[00:00:01]
[I) Call Meeting to Order, Roll Call, and Excuse Absences]
NOW I'M GONNA OPEN THE REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING.TODAY IS UH, JULY 21ST, 2026, AND THE TIME IS SEVEN 11 AND I WANNA WELCOME EVERYBODY TO THIS REGULAR SCHEDULED MEETING.
UM, CAN I GET A ROLL CALL PLEASE? FLORES KALE? HERE.
WE HAVE SEVEN, SO THAT'S, WE HAVE A GU.
UM, NEXT I'D LIKE TO DO THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, PLEASE.
[II) Approval of Minutes]
GOT AN APPROVAL OF MINUTES.MAYOR, I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR THE SPECIAL MEETING FROM JUNE THE 27TH.
ALSO, THE SPECIAL MEETING ON JULY 2ND WITH THE REGULAR MEETING THE SAME DAY.
WELL, ACTUALLY ON THE SEVENTH, SO A TOTAL OF THREE FOR APPROVAL FOR THE MINUTES SECOND.
CAN I HAVE A MOTION BY MAYOR PRO TEMP TOBIAS AND A SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER MCKINNEY.
[III) Citizen Comment Period with City Council]
NEXT WE HAVE CITIZENS' COMMENTS.THE CITY COUNCIL WELCOMES COMMENTS FROM CITIZENS EARLY IN THE AGENDA OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS.
THOSE WISHING TO SPEAK ARE ENCOURAGED TO SIGN IN BEFORE THE MEETING BEGINS.
SPEAKERS WILL BE PROVIDED WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK DURING THIS TIME PERIOD ON ANY AGENDA ITEM OR ANY OTHER MATTER CONCERNING CITY BUSINESS.
AND WE ASK THAT YOU PLEASE OBSERVE THE THREE MINUTE TIME LIMIT.
OKAY, I HAVE SEVERAL OF THESE.
SO UP FIRST WE HAVE DON CONLEY, UM, AN SC MERLE.
MY NAME IS DON LEY AND I'M A RESIDENT OF KYLE.
IT IS IN THE GOVERNMENT THAT IS LETTING THE COW LB LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY DOWN.
DURING THE JUNE 27TH COUNCIL MEETING, I WAS ECSTATIC THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE COUNCIL RECOGNIZED THAT MARKET DAYS ARE NOT THE APPROPRIATE VENUE TO CELEBRATE JUNETEENTH PRIDE AND HERITAGE MONTHS.
THESE CELEBRATIONS SHOULD STAND ALONE AND BE MORE THAN OFF AFTERTHOUGHT TIL MARKET DAY.
THEY SHOULD BE MORE THAN DECORATIONS, WELL PAINTED BACKDROPS FOR PHOTO OPS AND MERCHANDISE AND YOU JUST WANNA SETTLE FOR MARKET DAY.
THANK YOU MAYOR, FOR TAKING THE INITIATIVE TO SEE IF THE VENDOR APPLICATIONS CAN BE WORDED TO BE MORE WELCOMING TO ALL DIVERSE GROUPS SUCH AS THE L-B-G-T-Q COMMUNITY.
THANK YOU FOR MAYOR PRO TEM FOR GIVING US HISTORY AND HOW FORMAL COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE MADE DIFFERENCES FOR THE COMMUNITY BY USING THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES AND PLANNING EVENTS AND BRINGING THEM BACK TO COUNCIL.
I HAD HOPE THAT YOU COUNCILWOMAN ZAPATA AS AN L LGBTQ PLUS COUNCIL MEMBER WOULD'VE JUMPED ON BOARD WITH TOBIAS'S INVITE AND HELP BRING BACK COUNCIL AN EVENT THAT HAD YOUR HEART AND PASSION.
NOT ONLY DO YOU DECLINE THE INVITATION FROM TOBIAS TO BE HELP AND CREATE A PRIDE EVENT TO BRING BACK TO COUNCIL, YOU THEN CREATED A TIC-TAC TIKTOK THAT USED LIES TO MAKE IT SEEM THAT THEY'RE HOMOPHOBIC.
I ASKED YOU TO DO BETTER AND TAKE CHARGE OF A PRIDE OF IT, AND YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE DOWN TO NO GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO IT, BUT COUNCILWOMAN, AREN'T YOU PART OF THE GOVERNMENT? THE LBGT COMMUNITY HAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE SOMEONE WITH PASSION AND EXPERIENCE SET UP, STEP UP AND PLAN SOMETHING MORE WITH HEART AND PRIDE THAN WHAT A STAFF WOULD CAN DO AND USE APA TO DROP THE BALL.
L BG L LGBTQ PLUS RESIDENTS SHOULD ORGANIZE AN EVENT WHEN THEIR OWN COUNCILWOMAN WON'T DO IT.
AND THAT EXACTLY WHAT I'M DOING AT THIS POINT.
AND AGAIN, THE GOVERNMENT SHOULDN'T LET JUST DOWN.
THE GOVERNMENT DIDN'T LET US DOWN.
YOU DID SO MANY GREAT COMMUNITY EVENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS HAVE ORIGINATED BECAUSE THEY SAW A NEED, FELT PROUD OF THEIR COMMUNITY AND WANTED TO STAND ALONGSIDE WITH THE GOVERNMENT.
THEY DIDN'T SEE THE GOVERNMENT FAILING THEM.
THEY SAW AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP THE GOVERNMENT AND THEIR COMMUNITY.
SYLVIA SANDOVAL DEDICATED HER LOVE FOR HER COMMUNITY AND SAN MARCUS PRIDE HAPPENED.
HURST DEDICATED HER LOVE FOR COMMUNITY AND THE SENIOR CENTER AND, AND AND ORGANIZATION HAPPENED.
DEX ELLISON, A FORMAL COUNCIL MEMBER, DEDICATED THEIR LOVE FOR HIS COMMUNITY AND A PEACE AND DIALOGUE HAPPENED FOR KYLE AND FOR JUNETEENTH AND HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH.
CASH JUNETEENTH FLAG CEREMONY AND CELEBRATION WAS A RESULT OF INDIVIDUALS WHO DIDN'T WANT A MARKET DAY JUNETEENTH, BUT WANTED SOMETHING MORE.
AND FOR FIVE YEARS NOW THAT PROGRAM HAS GROWN.
I COULD GO ON AND ON ABOUT HOW COMMUNITY AND GOVERNMENT ALONGSIDE EACH OTHER WORK PERFECTLY AS CITY HOSTED ONLY PRIDE EVENT ISN'T THE ONLY WAY TO CLEARLY AND PUBLICLY STATE THAT WE, RESIDENTS OF THE LBG PT
[00:05:01]
Q PLUS ARE BELONGING TO THE GOVERNMENT AND AND THEY'RE STANDING BESIDE US.COUNCIL MEMBER SHOULD BE SUPPORTIVE AND PROUD WHEN A COMMUNITY MEMBER SHOWS INTEREST IN HELPING MAKE THEIR COMMUNITY COME TOGETHER.
MAYBE IT'S POSSIBLE, I DON'T KNOW, BUT MAYBE THERE'S A MOTION THAT COUNSEL COULD INVITE ME AS A RESIDENT AND HER KYLE COMMITTEE TO MEET WITH PX AND REC TO REVIEW A PROPOSAL THAT I HAVE AND BRING IT BACK TO COUNCIL WITH FEASIBLE THAT SHOWS A REFLEX OF LOGISTICS AND COST IF A PARTNERSHIP WAS TO HAPPEN.
BESIDES THAT, WHILE MANY MANY SEE PRIDE MONTH AS A TIME TO CELEBRATE SEX AND INDIGENCY PRIDE WAS ACTUALLY SPARKED A CELEBRATE AND HONOR HISTORY IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT OF THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY.
PEOPLE HAVE BEEN MURDERED, BEAUTIFULLY ATTACKED, LABELED UNHIRABLE UNHIRABLE BARRED FROM SERVICE IN THE MILITARY AND RESTRICTED TO BE IN A HOSPITAL ROOM TO HOLD THEIR LOVED HANDS, LOVED ONE'S HAND WHILE THEY DIED, JUST BECAUSE OF WHO THEY LOVED.
NO ONE SHOULD BE TREATED THIS WAY.
THIS IS PART OF PRIDE MONTH AND I BELIEVE ANYONE IN THIS ROOM WOULD SUPPORT THAT TWO YEARS KYLES HAD HAD PRIDE MARKET DAY AND THE COMMUNITY DIDN'T MAKE THE NEWS OF TOPLESS PEOPLE RUNNING AROUND IN RIOTS.
SO I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANYTHING TO FEAR.
THE COMMUNITY PRIDE EVENT THAT I'M HOPING THAT I CAN BRING FORWARD WITH A PARTNERSHIP WOULD NOT JUST HAVE OUR PHOTO OPS AND DECORATIONS AND MERCHANDISE, BUT THERE'D BE ART DIALOGUE, A TIME TO LOOK AT HISTORY AND TO BRING A COMMUNITY TOGETHER SO WE CAN CELEBRATE THAT WE'RE NOT BACK IN THE 1950S.
HI, I'M BETTY CONLEY AND I AM A RESIDENT OF KYLE AND I'D LIKE TO HAVE THIS ON RECORD.
GOOD EVENING MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL AND STAFF.
I'D LIKE TO HAVE IT ON RECORD THAT A FACT WAS STATED ON JUNE 27TH AFTER I MADE A, UH, TALK AND COMMENT ABOUT MS. ZAPATA NOT ATTENDING THE PRIDE EVENT AND SHE MADE A STATEMENT FACT.
I SEE NOW THAT SHE PUTS IT ON HER FACEBOOK THAT IT WAS A MISTAKE TO ME.
WHEN YOU ARE MAKING STATEMENTS, THOSE CAN BE MISTAKES, BUT WHEN YOU SAY IT'S A STATEMENT OF FACT, YOU ARE TELLING PEOPLE IT'S THE TRUTH AND IF IT WAS A MISTAKE, WHY ARE WE STILL WAITING TO SAY IT WAS A MISTAKE? THIS HAPPENED JUNE 27TH, MADE ME LOOK LIKE I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT AND I DID.
FURTHERMORE, YOU HAVE IT ON YOUR FACEBOOK, YOU CAN'T ATTEND EVERYTHING.
THIS IS ONE EVENT THAT YOU WANTED PRIDE EVENT ONE A YEAR, JUST ONE THAT YOU SHOULD BE SUPPORTING AND YOU DIDN'T SHOW UP.
SO I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU FEEL THAT COUNSEL HAS TO BE SO COMMITTED AND PUTTING ON THIS EVENT WHEN YOU DON'T EVEN CARE FOR IT.
ALRIGHT, UM, NEXT I HAVE HOWARD H CONNELL, PLEASE.
GOOD EVENING, MY MAYOR AND COUNSEL.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO RECAP THE RECENT COUNCIL MEETING REGARDING FORMER CITY MANAGER BRIAN LE'S, $140,000 CLAIM FOR UNPAID CREDITED VACATION AND SICK LEAVE.
FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOUR MAYOR CALLIE FOR HAVING A WISDOM TO SEEK AN OUTSIDE THIRD PARTY LEGAL OPINION.
COUNCIL MEMBERS, MELISSA MEDINA, COURTNEY ZER, AND MY SENIOR BUDDY OVER HERE, MIGUEL MICHAEL KBI.
UM, THEY DID THE RIGHT THING BY SUPPORTING INDEPENDENT REVIEW.
THE LEGAL OPINION PROVED THIS 140,000 CLAIM WAS ILLEGITIMATE.
BY DENYING THIS FALSE CLAIM, YOU NOT ONLY PROTECTED KYLE TAXPAYER'S FUNDS, BUT LIKELY SPARED JOBS OF ONE, POSSIBLY TWO CITY STAFF, EMPLOYEES, AND THEIR FAMILY'S INCOME AND HEALTHCARE BENEFITS.
[00:10:02]
CON SORRY.CONVERSELY, CONVERSELY, MEMBERS ZAPATA HARRISON MCKINNEY DESERVE NO CREDIT.
THEY VIGOROUSLY ARGUED THAT THE CITY SHOULD HONOR A VERBAL PROMISE TO LANGLEY WITH ZERO SUPPORTED EVIDENCE, ONLY TO EVENTUALLY FLIP UNDER ARGUMENTS AFTER INTENSE SCRUTINY GOING FORWARD.
HOW COULD YOU THREE COUNCIL MEMBERS EVER HONESTLY ARGUE COST TO JUSTIFY A POSITION YOU DIDN'T CARE THAT NIGHT? TO DO SO WOULD EXPOSE YOUR HYPOCRISY WHEN IT COMES TO COST SAVINGS.
YOU THREE HAD YOUR OPPORTUNITY ONCE, IF NOT THREE TIMES AFTER HEARING THE LEGAL OPINION TO SHOW YOUR COMMITMENT TO CITIZENS SEEKING TRUTH AND STANDING BY IT.
COUNCIL MEMBERS, YOU GET ONE BITE AT THE APPLE.
PUBLIC FUNDS ARE NOT A PINATA TO KEEP BEATING UNTIL YOU GET WHAT YOU WANT.
YOU ARE ELECTED TO ARE GATEKEEPERS FOR THE CITIZENS OF KYLE, NOT GAMERS.
I HAVE MICHELLE SAL SALMAR, SO MY TIME STARTED.
UH, GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, MAYOR PRO TEM AND COUNCIL.
MY NAME IS MICHELLE MEYER AND I AM A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT FOUR IN KYLE, TEXAS.
I'M HERE TONIGHT TO SPEAK IN FAVOR OF AGENDA ITEM 17.
I HAD PREVIOUSLY SENT COUNSEL AN EMAIL ABOUT THIS AND I WANNA THANK THOSE OF YOU ON THE DAAS WHO RESPONDED.
UH, AND I'M HERE TONIGHT BECAUSE I THINK THE MAJORITY OF RESPONSES I READ FROM YOU ALL MAY HAVE MISSED THE POINT AND MAYBE HEARING THIS FEEDBACK IN MY OWN VOICE WILL HELP WITH YOUR UNDERSTANDING.
I HAVE LIVED IN THE CITY SINCE 2016.
I, ALONG WITH MANY OF MY NEIGHBORS HERE, IDENTIFY AS A MEMBER OF THE L-G-B-T-Q-I-A COMMUNITY.
I AM DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED BY THE MAJORITY OF COUNCILS LACK OF STRONG VISIBLE SUPPORT FOR PRIDE THEMED MARKET DAYS.
PRIDE EVENTS ARE ABOUT ENSURING THAT L-G-B-T-Q-I-A RESIDENTS, FAMILIES AND VISITORS KNOW THEY ARE WELCOME, VALUED, AND SAFE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
THIS WAS NOT ABOUT SAVING THE MONEY ON SAVING THE CITY MONEY ON THIS EVENT AS VIRTUALLY ALL OF Y'ALL AGREED WITH CUTTING THE SOUND AND STAGE ELEMENTS OF MARKET DAYS, WHICH WAS BY FAR THE MOST EXPENSIVE ELEMENT OF THESE EVENTS.
RATHER, THIS WAS ABOUT POLITICAL CAPITAL AND PLAYING IT SAFE TO KEEP A VOCAL AND BIGOTED MINORITY OF RESIDENTS PLACATED AT THE EXPENSE OF SOLIDIFYING THE CITY'S STANCE AS AN INCLUSIVE SPACE FOR MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES.
I BELIEVE COUNCIL SHOULD BE INVESTING OUR TAX DOLLARS INTO SMALL EVENTS THAT DO BIG THINGS FOR OUR COMMUNITY, SUCH AS PRIDE MARKET DAYS, HISPANIC HERITAGE MARKET DAYS, JUNETEENTH MARKET DAYS, VETERANS MARKET DAYS, ET CETERA.
I'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT ON THE DIOCESE ABOUT WANTING TO REPRESENT ALL RESIDENTS DURING THIS DISCUSSION.
AND I WANNA BE CLEAR THAT ETHICAL REPRESENTATION OF ALL RESIDENTS REQUIRES YOU ALL AS ELECTED LEADERS TO PRIORITIZE INCLUSION FOR GROUPS THAT CONTINUE TO FACE DISCRIMINATION AND HOSTILITY.
COUNCILWOMAN ZAPATA STATED IT PERFECTLY THAT ANYTHING LESS THAN THIS IS NOT TRUE ALLYSHIP AND IT SHOULD NOT FALL ON MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES TO CREATE THEIR OWN INCLUSIVE EVENTS AND SPACES.
KYLE IS A GROWING AND DIVERSE CITY SUPPORTING PRIDE MARKET DAYS IS NOT ABOUT POLITICS.
IT'S ABOUT DEMONSTRATING THAT EVERYONE DESERVES TO PARTICIPATE OPENLY IN COMMUNITY LIFE WITHOUT FEAR OF EXCLUSION.
I ENCOURAGE THE CITY COUNCIL TO TAKE A MORE ACTIVE ROLE BY PUBLICLY SUPPORTING PRIDE EVENTS LIKE PRIDE MARKET DAYS, OR ANY EVENT THAT THE CITY STAFF WILL COME BACK WITH.
IF THIS AGENDA ITEM PASSES AND MAKING IT CLEAR THAT L-G-B-T-Q-I-A RESIDENTS ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR COMMUNITY, I HOPE THE COUNCIL WILL REFLECT ON THIS OPPORTUNITY AND CHOOSE TO LEAD WITH COURAGE, INCLUSION, AND RESPECT FOR ALL HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED MEMBERS OF KYLE.
THANK YOU TO COUNCILWOMAN ZAPATA AND COUNCIL MEMBER HARRIS FOR YOUR FIERCE ADVOCACY TO PRESERVE THIS SPECIAL TRADITION, THE ONLY ONE OF ITS KIND IN OUR CITY.
UM, NEXT I HAVE MICHELLE ROMBE CHAMBERS.
I APOLOGIZE IF I SAID THAT MIDDLE ONE WRONG.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS MICHELLE ROMANS CHAMBERS.
I'M A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER WITH MORE THAN 26 YEARS OF TRANSPORTATION EXPERIENCE, INCLUDING SERVICE WITH T BEFORE RETIRING.
I'M SPEAKING TONIGHT AS A TRANSPORTATION PROFESSIONAL AND A RESIDENT WHO IS CONCERNED ABOUT THE CITY'S CONSIDERATION OF REEVALUATING COMPLETED INTERSECTION DESIGNS.
IN TODAY'S ENVIRONMENT, IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO SEPARATE FACTS FROM OPINION SHARED ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
MY CONCERN IS THAT REVISITING THE COMPLETED
[00:15:01]
ENGINEERING WORK COULD RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT COST TO THE CITY AND ITS TAXPAYERS WITHOUT PROVIDING MEANINGFUL BENEFITS.FIRST, THERE IS A DIRECT COST OF CONDUCTING A NEW ENGINEERING STUDY.
ENGINEERING COSTS HAVE INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY IN RECENT YEARS, AND A NEW STUDY WOULD LIKELY COST MORE THAN THE ORIGINAL STUDY.
IN ADDITION TO THE CONSULTANT COSTS, THE CITY WOULD ALSO INCUR STAFF COST ASSOCIATED WITH DEVELOPING THE WORK ORDER, MANAGING THE EFFORT IN REVIEWING THE CONSULTANTS' FINDINGS.
SECOND, THERE IS A COST OF DELAYING CONSTRUCTION.
CONSTRUCTION COSTS CONTINUE TO RISE EACH YEAR AFTER YEAR, MEANING THAT PROJECTS BECOME MORE EXPENSIVE THE LONGER THEY ARE POSTPONED.
IF THE CITY ULTIMATELY DECIDES TO PURSUE A SIGNALED INTERSECTION, ADDITIONAL DELAYS MAY OCCUR DUE TO THE PROCUREMENT OF SIGNAL EQUIPMENT.
BEFORE RETIRING FROM TXDOT, I ROUTINELY SAW TRAFFIC SIGNAL POLES REQUIRING 12 TO 18 MONTHS FOR FABRICATION AND DELIVERY.
EVERY MONTH OF DELAY INCREASES PROJECT COST AND EXTENDS THE TIME THAT THE RESIDENTS MUST WAIT FOR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS.
MY FINAL CONCERN RELATES TO SAFETY.
I'VE HEARD DISCUSSIONS SUGGESTING THAT THE CITY MAY BE CONSIDERING LIMITING OR ELIMINATING THE USE OF ROUNDABOUTS.
WHILE EVERY INTERSECTION SHOULD BE EVALUATED BASED ON ITS SPECIFIC CONDITIONS, ROUNDABOUTS ARE WIDELY RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE SAFEST INTERSECTION TREATMENTS AVAILABLE.
RESEARCH CONDUCTED IN THE UNITED STATES AND INTERNATIONALLY HAS CONSISTENTLY DEMONSTRATED THAT SUBSTANTIAL REDUCTIONS AND CRASHES WHILE CONVENTIONAL INTERSECTIONS ARE COVERED, CONVERTED TO ROUNDABOUTS.
STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT REDUCTIONS IN INJURY CRASHES RANGING FROM 70 TO 80% WITH SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN OVERALL CRASHES AS WELL.
THESE SAFETY BENEFITS OCCUR 'CAUSE ROUNDABOUTS ELIMINATE THE MOST SEVERE TYPE OF COLLISIONS, INCLUDING HEAD-ON RIGHT ANGLE CRASHES WHILE REDUCING VEHICLE SPEEDS THROUGHOUT THE INTERSECTION.
ROUNDABOUTS ALSO PROVIDE IMPORTANT SAFETY BENEFITS FOR PEDESTRIANS BY SHORTENING CROSSING DISTANCES, REDUCING VEHICLE SPEEDS, AND ALLOWING PEDESTRIANS TO CROSS ONLY ONE DIRECTION OF TRAFFIC AT A TIME.
AS BOTH A TRANSPORTATION PROFESSIONAL AND A RESIDENT, I BELIEVE THE CITY SHOULD CAREFULLY CONSIDER THE FINANCIAL AND SAFETY IMPLICATIONS BEFORE WE'RE VISITING THE INTERSECTION DESIGNS.
IF THE GOAL IS TO PROVIDE THE SAFEST POSSIBLE SOLUTION FOR OUR FAMILIES, OUR CHILDREN'S AND FUTURE GENERATIONS ROUNDABOUTS DESERVE SERIOUS CONSIDERATION.
UH, I'VE LIVED IN THE CITY OF KYLE FOR 33 YEARS AND I'M HERE TO EXPRESS MY SUPPORT FOR ITEM NUMBER 14, WHICH IS THE FORENSIC AUDIT AND MY STRONG OPPOSITION TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER 17, DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO BRING BACK OPTIONS FOR THE CITY SPONSOR OR ORGANIZATION OF A PRIDE EVENT, WHICH IS THE TOPIC WHERE I'D LIKE TO SPEND THE REMAINDER OF MY TIME.
MY OPPOSITION IS NOT ABOUT WHETHER PEOPLE HAVE THE FREEDOM TO GATHER.
EVERY CITIZEN HAS THE SAME CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS TO ASSEMBLE, SPEAK, AND ORGANIZE EVENTS.
THIS IS ABOUT THE CITY PAYING FOR SOMEONE TO EXPRESS THEIR SEXUAL PREFERENCES.
MY CONCERN IS WITH GOVERNMENT SPONSORSHIP.
OUR CITY GOVERNMENT EXISTS TO PROVIDE ESSENTIAL SERVICES, PUBLIC SAFETY STREETS, WATER PARKS, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND RESPONSIBLE STEWARDSHIP OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS.
IT SHOULD NOT USE PUBLIC RESOURCES TO PROMOTE SOCIAL OR POLITICAL CAUSES THAT DIVIDE OUR COMMUNITY.
OUR RESIDENTS COME FROM MANY DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS, CULTURES, AND FAITHS.
THEY HAVE SINCERELY DIFFERENT BELIEFS ABOUT SEXUALITY, MARRIAGE, AND MORALITY.
WHEN THE CITY OFFICIALLY SPONSORS A PRIDE EVENT, IT SENDS A MESSAGE THAT ONE PARTICULAR VIEWPOINT IS BEING ENDORSED BY THE GOVERNMENT.
EVEN THOUGH MANY TAXPAYERS FUNDAMENTALLY DISAGREE WITH IT.
I BELIEVE GOVERNMENT SHOULD REMAIN NEUTRAL ON ISSUES THAT DEEPLY DIVIDED CITIZENS.
CITY HALL SHOULD SERVE EVERYONE EQUALLY WITHOUT PROMOTING ONE SIDE OF CONTROVERSIAL CULTURAL DEBATES.
AS A CHRISTIAN, I BELIEVE EVERY PERSON IS CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD AND DESERVES TO BE TREATED WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT THAT INCLUDES THOSE WITH WHOM I DISAGREE.
RESPECT FOR PEOPLE, HOWEVER, DOES NOT REQUIRE THE GOVERNMENT TO CELEBRATE OR ENDORSE A LIFESTYLE OR IDEOLOGY.
MANY FAMILIES IN THIS COMMUNITY WOULD NOT WANT THEIR TAX DOLLARS OR THEIR CITY GOVERNMENT USED IN THIS WAY.
THEIR VOICES DESERVE TO BE HEARD AND RESPECTED JUST AS MUCH AS ANYONE ELSE'S.
I ENCOURAGE THE CITY COUNCIL TO STAY FOCUSED ON THE
[00:20:01]
RESPONSIBILITIES ENTRUSTED TO YOU BY THE TAXPAYERS.ADDRESS OUR FINANCIAL WOES, INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS, PUBLIC SAFETY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND THE MANY PRACTICAL ISSUES FACING OUR CITY.
LEAVE ADVOCACY AND CELEBRATIONS OF CONTROVERSIAL SOCIAL ISSUES TO PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS.
WHILE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE CERTAINLY ENTITLED TO THEIR PERSONAL BELIEFS, THEIR ROLE IS TO EXERCISE IMPARTIAL JUDGMENT, FOCUS ON CORE CITY RESPONSIBILITIES AND MAKE DECISIONS THAT BENEFIT ALL CITIZENS.
RATHER THAN CHAMPIONING ONE PARTICULAR AGENDA, I RESPECTFULLY ASK YOU TO VOTE AGAINST ANY PROPOSAL FOR THE CITY TO SPONSOR A PRIDE EVENT OR FOR SPENDING ANY FUNDS TOWARD PRIDE ADVOCACY.
UM, I TAKE THE LAST COUPLE SECONDS.
I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU, MAYOR, FOR YOUR EFFORT, UM, TRYING TO GET CITY BACK ON TRACK AND FOR OUR INTERN CITY ADMINISTRATOR, UH, DOING THE BEST JOB THAT HE CAN.
THAT IS, THAT IS A BIG SHOE TO FILL, STEPPING IN, UM, AS AN ASSISTANT AND I I APPRECIATE THAT, THAT THAT HARD WORK.
UH, FIRST I WANNA SAY I WISH WE KNEW.
I KNEW THAT WE COULD ACCUMULATE MINUTES, OTHERWISE I WOULD'VE BROUGHT 10 FRIENDS AND TALKED TO Y'ALL FOR HALF AN HOUR.
UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PRECEDENT FOR THAT IS AND I WANT Y'ALL TO, UM, EXAMINE WHETHER THAT'S FAIR TO BE ABLE TO HAVE PEOPLE ACCUMULATE THEIR MINUTES FOR ONE PERSON.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PRECEDENT FOR THAT IS, BUT I DID NOT CARE FOR THAT.
NEXT, UM, COUNCIL MEMBERS DE PATTA, I WANT TO COMMEND YOU.
YOU COME HERE EVERY SINGLE MEETING AND HAVE MULTIPLE PEOPLE JUST HURL INSULTS AT YOU.
AND THERE ARE TWO FACEBOOK GROUPS DEDICATED TO PEOPLE JUST HATING ON YOU ALL THE TIME AND THE FACT THAT YOU CONTINUE TO SHOW UP AND DO THE RIGHT THING EVEN IF IT MAKES YOU UNPOPULAR.
I APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH AND COUNCIL MEMBERS HARRIS AND MCKINNEY, I APPRECIATE THAT OF Y'ALL AS WELL.
REGARDING THE CANCELLATION OF MARKET DAYS AS A WHOLE AND IN PARTICULAR THE PRIDE ONE, UM, THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER WAY.
IT IS NOT A BEDROOM COMMUNITY AND I DON'T WANT US TO BECOME ONE EVENTS LIKE MARKET DAYS, MAKE KYLE A HOMETOWN RATHER THAN JUST SOMEWHERE PEOPLE FROM AUSTIN BUY HOMES.
UM, I THINK THAT THERE IS A WAY THAT YOU CAN DIRECT THE INTERIM CITY MANOR MANAGER TO EXPLORE WAYS TO MAKE IT REVENUE NEUTRAL THROUGH SPONSORSHIPS OR PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, UH, RATHER THAN JUST THROWING THE BABY OUT WITH THE BATH WATER.
YOU KNOW, I THINK TAKING THE BALL AND GOING HOME IS NOT FAIR WHEN WE HAVE MONEY FOR PET PROJECTS, FOR INVESTIGATIONS AND ANALYZING AND STUDYING ROAD PROJECTS TO DEATH.
UM, BUT WE DON'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, MONEY FOR EVENTS THAT BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER AND CREATE COMMUNITY HERE IN THE CITY.
UM, AND I WANNA TALK ABOUT WHY WE NEED PRIDE AND SOMETHING THAT A PREVIOUS SPEAKER SAID REALLY KIND OF HIT, I DON'T KNOW IF HIT A NERVE WITH ME IS THE RIGHT THING, BUT, UM, I WANNA TALK ABOUT COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, LETTING DOWN THE LGBT COMMUNITY.
UM, RATHER THAN TALKING ABOUT CLAUDIA ZAPATA ADVOCATING FOR US, WE SHOULD TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT COUNCIL MEMBER MEDINA WAS AT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY CONVENTION FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS WHERE THEY PASSED A, UH, A PLATFORM THAT SAID HOMOSEXUALITY IS QUOTE, AN ABNORMAL LIFESTYLE CHOICE AND OPPOSES SAME SEX PARENTING.
WELL, I PLAN ON HAVING CHILDREN AND I'M GONNA BE A GREAT FATHER WITH MY PARTNER.
I WANT YOU ALL TO LET THAT KNOW RIGHT NOW.
ALSO, THE MAYOR ENDORSED A MOMS FOR LIBERTY ENDORSED SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER, UH, A CANDIDATE FOR SCHOOL BOARD MOMS FOR LIBERTY IS A BOOK BANNING HATE GROUP THAT HATES LGBT PEOPLE.
YOU KNOW, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT A VERY PROMINENT SUPPORTER OF THE MAYOR CALLED ME A HETERO PHOBE BECAUSE I SUPPORT PRIDE.
THESE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT MAKE IT CLEAR.
PRIDE IS A GOVERNMENT RECOGNITION THAT WE BELONG.
WHEN THINGS LIKE PRIDE HAPPEN, WE ARE FINALLY ABLE TO COME OUTTA THE CLOSET AS GAY PEOPLE AND LGBT PEOPLE AND WE ARE ABLE TO SHOW YOU THAT WE ARE HERE AND WE'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE.
UP NEXT I HAVE HEATHER A. GOOD EVENING.
I WANT TO SAY THAT I HAVE APPRECIATED THAT THE CITY OF KYLE HAS INCLUDED PRIDE MARKET DAY FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS.
I'VE SEEN IT HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT,
[00:25:01]
UM, ON CITIZENS THAT ARE PART OF THE L-G-B-T-Q COMMUNITY FEELING SEEN AND INCLUDED IN MY CITY.THAT'S GIVEN ME A SOURCE OF PRIDE.
BUT HAVING THE THEME MARKET DAYS ORGANIZED BY PARKS AND RECS, IT SENDS A MESSAGE OF VALUING ALL RESIDENTS BECAUSE IT IS BACKED BY THE CITY.
IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT A PREVIOUS OPEN COMMENT, UM, PROVIDED BY A COMMUNITY MEMBER ABOUT PRIDE IN SAN MARCOS, WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY SPEARHEADED BY SYLVIA SANDOVAL, HAS HAD SAN MARCOS CITY SUPPORT FOR THE 10 YEARS IT HAS BEEN HELD.
IT IS AN ESSENTIAL EVENT IN SAN MARCOS AND THE CITY OF KYLE IS JUST STARTING TO CREATE THAT TYPE OF INCLUSION HERE.
I PARTICIPATED IN THE MARKET DAYS AS A VOLUNTEER WITH BOBCAT PRIDE SCHOLARSHIP FUND AND SAN MARCOS QUEER COUNCIL, BOTH NON-PROFITS THAT SERVE THE L-G-B-T-Q-I PLUS HAYES COUNTY COMMUNITY.
THROUGH THAT INVOLVEMENT, WE MET COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND OTHER AFFIRMING ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE WOULD NOT HAVE OTHERWISE MET.
AND IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS, THE PERSONAL REAL CONVERSATIONS, WE HAD COMMUNITY MEMBERS OF KYLE EXPRESS RELIEF AND APPRECIATION FOR BEING ABLE TO BE THEMSELVES FULLY AT AN EVENT THAT WAS SUPPORTED HERE.
IT ALSO ALLOWED THEM TO RE LEARN ABOUT THE RESOURCES AND BUILD CONNECTIONS WHICH CREATES SAFETY FOR ALL OF OUR CITIZENS, THESE GATHERINGS, UM, TO CREATE COMMUNITY AND CELEBRATE EVERYBODY AND KYLE AND HAYES ARE ESSENTIAL AND DESERVE TO BE CITY LED WITH THE OPPORTUNITY FOR NONPROFITS AND VOLUNTEERS TO WORK WITH THE CITY.
I URGE THE CITY TO CONTINUE THE PRIDE THEME MARKET AS WELL AS JUNETEENTH, JUNETEENTH AND HISPANIC HERITAGE CELEBRATIONS.
AS WE EXPERIENCE OUR STATE AND NATION CREATING MORE DIVISION THROUGH DISCRIMINATION AND EXCLUSION, COLLECTIVE COMPASSION IS ESSENTIAL.
AT OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY LEVEL COUNCIL HAS THE OPPORTUNITY AND RESPONSIBILITY TO MAINTAIN THESE Q AND A GATHERINGS WITHIN A REASONABLE BUDGET, GIVEN THE BIG POSITIVE IMPACT THESE GATHERINGS HAVE ON OUR CULTURE AND KYLE AND THE CONNECTIONS.
UM, NEXT I HAVE MICHAEL MCDONALD.
I WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE A BRIEF DEFINITION OF WHAT A REAL MARKET DAY IS.
IT IS A SELECTED DAY WHEN VENDORS, FARMERS, GARDENERS, LOCAL CRAFTERS, ET CETERA, CAN COME TO A SPEC SPECIFIED LOCATION TO SELL THEIR GOODS.
OUR COUNCIL HAS PREVIOUSLY VOTED TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF MARKET DAYS FROM EIGHT TO TWO PER YEAR DUE TO BUDGET CONSTRAINTS.
I BELIEVE COUNCIL ALSO VOTED NOT TO ATTACH A THEME TO EITHER OF THESE TWO REMAINING MARKET DAYS, LEAVING THEM AS STANDALONE EVENTS.
UNFORTUNATELY, COUNCIL MEMBERS OF APART ARE VEHEMENTLY OPPOSE MARKET DAY REDUCTIONS, WHILE DEMANDING THAT ONE OF THE REMAINING TWO MARKET DAYS BE DESIGNATED AS A PRIDE THEME EVENT COUNCIL MEMBERS A APART THE FIELDS THAT THE CITY OF KYLE AND COUNCIL IS DISCRIMINATED AGAINST THE L LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY BY NOT DESIGNATING THE PRIDE THEME MARKET DAYS FOR ONE OF THE REMAINING TWO MARKET DAYS.
SO SHE WENT AS FAR AS TO PROPERLY CALL OUT OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO DISAGREED WITH HER.
HOW'S THAT FOR BEING A UNITER? AS AN NET LARGE COUNCIL MEMBER, THIS COUNCIL MEMBERS ABOUT TO REALIZE THAT SHE REPRESENTS ALL KYLE RESIDENTS, EVEN THOSE WHO DISAGREED WITH HER, THOSE WHO DISAGREE WITH HER SHOULD HAVE JUST AS MUCH RIGHT TO REPRESENTATION AS THOSE WHO AGREE WITH HER.
IT SEEMS THAT IF SHE'S FORGOTTEN WHAT THE WORD ALL MEANS AND FEELS THAT IF SHE IS ABOVE ANY RULES AND CAN DO IT, SHE PLEASES, FOR EXAMPLE, AS AN AS AT LARGE COUNCIL MEMBER.
WHAT PROOF HAS COUNCIL MEMBERS HAS SHOWN THAT SHE REPRESENTS ALL RESIDENTS OF KYLE? AND CAN WE TRUST HER WHEN SHE SPEAKS AS A COUNCIL MEMBER? HAS SHE PROVEN THAT SHE IS A UNITER AND NOT A DIVIDER? HAS SHE PROVEN THAT SHE CAN RESTRAIN HERSELF FROM BREAKING THE RULES OF COUNSEL BY VERBALLY ATTACKING AND CALLING OUT OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS FROM THE DAAS THAT DISAGREE WITH HER? HAS SHE PRO PROVEN THAT SHE RESPONDS TO ALL CITIZENS' EMAILS FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE? SHE STILL HAS NOT RE REPLIED TO ONE, REPLIED
[00:30:01]
TO ONE THAT I SENT A COUPLE WEEKS AGO.HAS SHE PROVEN THAT SHE IS A LIAR BY SAYING THAT SHE WAS A COUNCIL MEETING AT, AT A COUNCIL MEETING ON A DAY WHEN THERE WAS NO COUNCIL MEETING TO COVER UP HER LIFE? HAS SHE PROVEN THAT SHE'S A HYPOCRITE BY SAYING THAT SHE CARES DEEPLY ABOUT PRIDE THEME MARKET DAYS WHEN SHE DID NOT EVEN ATTEND THE LAST ONE.
HAS SHE PROVEN BY HER VOTING RECORD AND ARGUMENTS THAT SHE IS SELFISH AND DOES NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THOSE CITIZENS WHO DISAGREE WITH HER AGENDA WHILE VOTING FOR HER WANTS? I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY PROOF.
YOU CHOOSE, DEFEND THE FLAMES OF DIVISION BY YOUR WORDS AND ACTIONS TO ACHIEVE YOUR AGENDA.
CITIZENS OF KYLE DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE CROCODILE TEARS AND PLAYING THEIR VICTIM CARD.
WHEN HER PROPOSALS AND AGENDA ARE REJECTED OR SHE'S CONFRONTED OR CALLED OUT BY CITIZENS OR OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS, SHE KNOWS THAT IN ORDER TO FORCE OTHERS TO SURRENDER TO HER AGENDA, SHE MUST CAUSE DIVISION AND TURMOIL WHILE USING GUILT TO SUCCEED.
COUNCIL MEMBERS DON'T BE DUPED OR SWAYED BY THIS FACADE.
I BELIEVE YOU HAVE ALREADY VOTED ONCE TO STAND FOR STANDALONE MARKET DAYS THAT UNITE AND NOT DIVIDE US.
VOTE AGAIN TO KEEP MARKET DAYS STANDALONE.
THE ENGINEER WHO SPOKE IN FAVOR OF ROUNDABOUTS, SHE FAILED TO MENTION THE SATURATION POINT OR THE ROUNDABOUTS.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE ROUNDABOUTS REACH THAT POINT? THANK YOU.
ALL RIGHT, UP NEXT I HAVE ALICIA HILL.
I SAID HER NAME'S ALICIA HILL.
GOOD EVENING MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
I'M HERE TO SPEAK IN OPPOSITION TO AGENDA ITEM 17.
JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO, THIS COUNCIL DISCUSSED THIS VERY ISSUE DURING THE MARKET DAY'S BUDGET DEBATE.
AFTER HEARING PUBLIC INPUT, COUNCIL MADE A DECISION AND VOTED NOT TO SPONSOR A PRIDE EVENT.
NOW WE'RE BACK DISCUSSING IT AGAIN.
AT A TIME WHEN OUR CITY IS FACING SIGNIFICANT BUDGET CHALLENGES, I QUESTION WHETHER ASKING STAFF TO SPEND ADDITIONAL TIME RESEARCHING OPTIONS, ESTIMATING COSTS, PREPARING PRESENTATIONS, AND BRINGING BACK THE ISSUE.
BEFORE COUNCIL IS BEST USE OF TAXPAYER RESOURCES.
STAFF HAS ENOUGH ON THEIR PLATES ADDRESSING ALL THE CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE FACING IN OUR GROWING CITY.
A FEW MEETINGS AGO IT WAS SAID THAT KYLE HAD A REVENUE PROBLEM.
KYLE HAS A SPENDING PROBLEM, WHICH IS WHY THE FORENSIC AUDIT ISN'T JUST NEEDED.
EVERY FAMILY IN THIS CITY UNDERSTANDS WHEN MONEY GETS TIGHT, YOU DON'T CONTINUE ADDING DISCRETIONARY EXPENSES.
YOU STOP EATING OUT, YOU SKIP MOVIES, YOU POSTPONE VACATIONS, YOU PRIORITIZE YOUR NEEDS OVER WANTS.
GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO THE SAME.
I'VE HEARD THIS PRIDE EVENT DESCRIBED AS ONLY A $6,000 EVENT.
THEN WHAT NEXT YEAR? IT'S A $10,000 EVENT.
WHEN DOES IT END? I'VE ALSO HEARD COUNCIL MEMBERS ABTA ARGUMENT THAT GOVERNMENT SHOULD OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY THROUGH CITY HOSTED PRIDE EVENT.
I RESPECTFULLY HAVE A DIFFERENT VIEW.
GOVERNMENT'S MAIN ROLE IS TO KEEP US SAFE AND OUR GOVERNMENT RECOGNIZES EVERY RESIDENT BY PROVIDING EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW AND DELIVERING ESSENTIAL CITY SERVICES FAIRLY, NOT BY SPONSORING CELEBRATIONS FOR PARTICULAR IDENTITIES OR VIEWPOINTS.
COMMUNITY CELEBRATIONS ABSOLUTELY HAVE VALUE, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE GOVERNMENT FUNDED TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
IN FACT, I WANT TO COMMEND COUNCIL MEMBER GZA FOR TAKING THE INITIATIVE AND SHOWING EXACTLY HOW THESE EVENTS CAN HAPPEN.
SHE HAS PUBLICLY PLEDGED HER OWN MONEY AND IS HELPING TO ORGANIZE A PRIVATELY FUNDED PRIDE EVENT THROUGH VOLUNTARY DONATIONS AND COMMUNITY SPONSORSHIP.
I APPLAUD THAT EFFORT BECAUSE NO TAXPAYER IS FORCED TO SUPPORT SOMETHING THEY DO NOT BELIEVE IN.
AS A CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIAN AND A PROUD MAGA REPUBLICAN, I PERSONALLY WOULD NOT FEEL WELCOME AT PRIDE EVENTS YET I WOULD BE EXPECTED TO PAY FOR ONE WITH MY TAX DOLLARS.
MEANWHILE, VETERANS HAVE ONE DAY MOMS, DADS HAVE ONE DAY.
WHERE DOES IT END? I WOULD NEVER EXPECT TAXPAYERS WHO DISAGREE WITH MY BELIEFS TO FUND A CELEBRATION, UM, OF MY POLITICAL OR RELIGIOUS VIEWS.
IF THE CITY BEGINS SPONSORING CELEBRATION CENTERED ON IDENTITY OR VIEWPOINT, WHERE DOES IT END? WILL WE HAVE PEOPLE WITH BROWN HAIR DAY? WILL WE HAVE A PEOPLE WHO LIKES DOG DAY? CAN WE HAVE A SECOND AMENDMENT DAY? THE CITY SHOULD NOT BE PLACED IN A POSITION OF DECIDING WHICH VIEWPOINTS DESERVE TAXPAYER FUNDING AND WHICH DO NOT.
THE DECISION OF THE COUNCIL HAS ALREADY MADE, ALLOWED STAFF TO FOCUS ON SERIOUS FINANCIAL OPERATIONAL ISSUES BEFORE US AND LET COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS CONTINUE DOING WHAT THEY DO BEST.
[00:35:01]
TOGETHER THROUGH VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION, PRIVATE FUNDRAISING AND SHARED PURPOSES, NOT COMPELLED TAXPAYER SUPPORT.AND MOMS FOR LIBERTY IS NOT A BOOK BANNING.
WE DO OPPOSE THE SEXUAL EXPLICIT BOOKS.
I'M GONNA ASK THAT YOU GUYS PLEASE STAY ORDERLY.
UH, UP NEXT I HAVE MS. CYNTHIA BENTLEY, MAYOR, MAYOR PROTE, AND COUNCIL MEMBER.
MY NAME IS CYNTHIA BENTLEY AND I'M SPEAKING AS A CITIZEN OF KYLE, TEXAS.
FOR THE PAST MAYBE 5, 6, 7 YEARS, WE HAVE GIVEN AWAY FREE BOOKS AT ALL THE MARKET DAYS AND ANY OTHER EVENTS AROUND THE CITY OR IN HAYES COUNTY.
SOME OF THE BOOKS THAT WE HAVE GIVEN AWAY.
THIS BOOK IS ABOUT A YOUNG LADY THAT WAS BORN WITH ONE HAND, BUT WHEN WE GIVE THIS BOOK AWAY AT THE DIFFERENT, UM, EVENTS, WE SAY IT CAN BE FOR ANYTHING.
IT CAN BE FOR SOMEBODY THAT'S BROWN SKIN, SOMEBODY WITH LONG HAIR, SOMEBODY WITH BLUE EYES, SOMEONE WITH A SEXUAL, UH, PREFERENCE.
THIS IS A VERY NICE BOOK BORN JUST RIGHT.
THERE'S ANOTHER BOOK WE GIVE AWAY.
MAMA, DO YOU LOVE ME? THE KID IS ASKING THAT ALL THE TIME.
AND THIS WOULD GO FOR ANYTHING THE SAME THING, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, COLOR OF YOUR HAIR, YOUR EYES, THE WAY YOU WALK.
ANOTHER BOOK THAT WE GIVE AWAY, MR. THE ELLEN BOOK.
ALL OF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE ELLEN BOOK.
DO YOU KNOW WHO ELLEN DEGENERES IS? WE GIVE AWAY THIS BOOK TOO.
I LOVE I WILL LOVE YOU, I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU.
ANOTHER ONE IS MY RED, WHITE, AND BLUE.
THIS BOOK IS ABOUT A LITTLE BOY THAT'S PRAISE IT.
OH, HE'S JUST SO HAPPY ABOUT HOW THINGS ARE WORKING TODAY.
BUT GRANDDADDY HAD TO COME IN AND SAY NO, IT WASN'T ALWAYS LIKE THAT.
SO HE HAD TO GIVE HIM THE HISTORY.
ANOTHER BOOK THAT I COULDN'T FIND, AND I PROBABLY DON'T HAVE IT BECAUSE WE HAVE GIVEN 'EM ALL AWAY, IS CALLED WHEN AIDEN BECAME A BROTHER.
AND I WANT YOU TO LOOK THAT UP.
I'M NOT GONNA TELL YOU WHAT IT'S ABOUT.
GOOGLE IT AND READ WHAT IT'S ABOUT.
THE REASON WHY I'M BRINGING THESE BOOKS IS THAT EVEN THOUGH IT DOESN'T SAY A SEXUAL ORIENTATION, THESE ANY OF THESE BOOKS CAN BE USED FOR THAT.
I WAS ON THE PHONE AND I CRIED AND I SAID, WHY ARE WE AT THIS POINT WHERE WE ARE SO AGAINST EACH OTHER BECAUSE OF SOMEBODY'S COLOR, THEIR HAIR, THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION, THEIR RACE, THE WAY THEY LOOK, OR WHAT HAPPENED 50 YEARS AGO? I DIDN'T GO ON AND ON AND TELL YOU HOW I WAS DISCRIMINATED AGAINST BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF MY SKIN, NOT BY PEOPLE THAT DON'T LOOK LIKE ME, PEOPLE THAT LOOK LIKE ME.
OH, I WAS A LITTLE SKINNY PERSON.
OH, MY SKIN IS CORN IS DARKER THAN ALL OF MY SISTERS AND BROTHERS.
DISCRIMINATION CAN BE ANYTHING.
I CRIED BECAUSE I WANNA KNOW WHY AND WHEN WE HAVE GOTTEN BACK TO WHERE WE ARE FIGHTING OVER MARKET DAYS, FIGHTING OVER WHAT GONNA HAPPEN, THERE WAS A MOVIE IN 1989 CALLED WAR OF THE ROSES.
ANY OF YOU FAMILIAR WITH IT? AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE ARE HEADING.
THERE WAS NOT A HAPPY ENDING WITH THAT MOVIE WAR OF THE ROSES.
AND I FEEL THAT WE ARE HEADING IN THE SAME DIRECTION.
THIS IS NOT A WIN-WIN SITUATION AT ALL.
WE ARE ALL GOING TO LOSE IF WE DON'T COMMUNICATE NICELY.
LISTEN NOT WITH YOUR UH, ON PERSONAL PREFERENCES, BUT LISTEN ON WHAT'S GONNA BE BEST FOR OUR CITY.
ALRIGHT, UP NEXT I HAVE SPENCER DEWALT.
COUNCIL MAYOR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE TIME.
UH, I ALSO WANT TO THANK YOU VERY MUCH SO FOR YOUR, UH, ENHANCED FISCAL VISIBILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY.
UM, AS A YOUNG HOMEOWNER AND HAYES COUNTY, UH, THE TAXES AND UTILITIES HAVE BEEN ABSOLUTELY CRUSHING.
I'M A SINGLE FAMILY, NOT SINGLE FAMILY.
I'M LIVE IN A SINGLE FAMILY HOME.
AND, UM, UH, AND WE ARE SINGLE INCOME.
AND SO ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DOWNSTREAM
[00:40:01]
IN TERMS OF REDUCING DEBT AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, GIVING SAVINGS BACK TO TAXPAYERS IS VERY, VERY WELL APPRECIATED.UH, WHICH IS WHY I BRING IT TO, UM, AGENDA ITEM, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER 17.
I KNOW SOME OF YOU PROBABLY AREN'T GONNA LIKE THIS, BUT I FIND PRIDE WILDLY OFFENSIVE AND THERE ARE PROBABLY AS MANY THINGS THAT YOU WOULD FIND WILDLY OFFENSIVE ABOUT WHAT I BELIEVE.
AND THAT'S THE GREAT THING ABOUT AMERICA, THAT WE CAN COME HERE AND WE CAN SAY THINGS THAT, HEY, I LIKE THIS OR YOU LIKE THAT.
AND WE, AND WE ALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY IT.
I THINK THE LINE SHOULD BE DRAWN AT WHAT WE ACTUALLY DECIDE TO SPEND MONEY ON.
AND AS YOU ALL ARE WORKING VERY DILIGENTLY TO BRING BACK SAVINGS TO PEOPLE LIKE ME, NEW, NEW, MORE ENGAGED VOTERS, I WOULD HOPE THAT THINGS THAT WOULD BE CONTROVERSIAL TO SOME PEOPLE, UM, WOULD BE CONSIDERED ON WHETHER OR NOT THAT MY TAX DOLLARS WOULD GO TO THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
AND SO, UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE TIME AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE GOOD WORK THAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING.
I KNOW SOME OF YOU KNOW ME AND I KNOW EVERYBODY'S EXPECTING ME COMING TO RIP MISS A NEW ONE.
WHAT I'M HERE FOR TONIGHT IS TO TALK ABOUT RESPECT AND PUBLIC SERVICE, OKAY? I GIVE RESPECT UNTIL RESPECT IS NOT SHOWN BACK.
ONCE THAT HAPPENS, I TEND TO WALK AWAY.
DO I TALK ABOUT MS. PATTA THAT IS ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY OF HER WORDS AND HER ACTIONS? I DO THE SAME ABOUT MCKINNEY, ACTUALLY.
MR. TOBIAS, I THINK YOU'VE BEEN ON THE RECEIVING END A FEW TIMES.
MAYOR, YOU'VE HAD IT FROM ME A FEW TIMES.
AND MS. GZA, YOU'VE ALSO HAD IT FROM ME FOR A FEW TIMES.
NOT ABOUT HATE, I DON'T HATE ANYBODY UP THERE.
I KNOW MR. TOBIAS AND I KNOW THE MAYOR.
NOT ABOUT HATE, IT'S ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY, PUBLIC SERVICE.
HOW CAN I PUT THIS? I COME TO YOU AS A FORMER RESIDENT, 18 YEARS I LIVED HERE AND I SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING.
I WANNA TALK ABOUT PUBLIC SERVICE, WHAT IT MEANS TO ME.
WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING, MR. TOBIAS? I'M IN LAW ENFORCEMENT 23 YEARS FEDERAL.
HOW LONG HAVE I KNOWN YOU? I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO TALK TO YOU.
THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME OF THAT.
I SERVED HAYES COUNTY AND KYLE AS EMERGENCY RESPONSE, DIDN'T ASK FOR ANYTHING.
IT WAS ON MY OWN TIME AND DIME.
I'M NOT SAYING EVERYBODY SHOULD.
THERE'S LOTS OF PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE HERE.
OKAY? WE WANTED SOMETHING, WE WENT OUT AND WE MADE IT HAPPEN.
WE DID NOT DEPEND ON THE CITY, OKAY? SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE DILE, HE SUPPORTED SO MANY NON-CITY SUPPORTED THINGS.
WILLIE TENORIO, MRS. CHAPPA, HER DAUGHTER, BECKY CHAPPA.
OKAY, ARMANDO, HER HUSBAND, MARTHA LYONS.
LUIS LOPEZ, LARRY SIMONE, THE FORMER CAS PRESIDENT.
HE WAS ALWAYS THERE FOR EVERYTHING.
OKAY? MACK MCADAMS. I HAD THE PLEASURE OF BEING WITH A BUNCH OF PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM TO WORK ON THE VERY FIRST KYLE VETERANS PARADE.
HE WAS THERE, HE WAS OUR GRAND MARSHAL.
WHAT I'M ASKING FOR HERE, I LOVE THIS CITY.
I HAVE LOTS OF PEOPLE HERE THAT I LOVE.
WHAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IS NOT BRINGING THE, THE CITY TOGETHER, ALL IT'S DOING THROUGH FACEBOOK.
YES, I'M ONE OF THOSE FACEBOOKERS THAT WAS MENTIONED.
SAY IT RESPECTFULLY YOU DISAGREE, THAT'S FINE, BUT DO IT RESPECTFULLY.
OKAY, UP NEXT I HAVE TRACY SHIELD.
MAYOR PROTE, COUNCIL MEMBERS, STAFF.
UM, MY NAME IS TRACY SHIELD AND I COME TO YOU AS A RESIDENT OF THE CITY OF KYLE.
UM, I READ SOMETHING, A POST ON FACEBOOK AND
[00:45:01]
OF COURSE I BELIEVE ABOUT 0.1% OF WHAT'S EVER POSTED ON FACEBOOK.UNLESS OF COURSE I KNOW THEM AND TRUST THEM, THAT PAUSE IS GOING TO STOP, UM, THEIR FACILITY HERE IN KYLE.
THAT MEANS OUR ANIMAL SHELTER IS NOW MORE DIRE.
WE NEED TO HELP SUPPORT AND BEFRIEND OUR FOUR-LEGGED RESIDENTS AS MUCH AS OUR TWO-LEGGED RESIDENTS.
AND I KNOW WE'RE HAVING ISSUES WITH THE LOCATION OF WHERE IT'S AT, BUT WE NEED TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING AND COME UP WITH SOMETHING SOON.
AND JUST QUICK, OUR PETS, ELISE MINE, SORRY, SHE JUST PASSED, UM, WAS MY LIFE.
AND MOST OF THE STAFF KNOWS I BROUGHT HER EVERYWHERE.
UM, AND IF SHE GOT LOST, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THAT THERE WAS A SPOT I COULD GO TO TO SEE IF SHE WAS THERE.
SO, UM, IT'S JUST, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE GET THIS DONE NOW.
OKAY, SECOND, THIS IS A MORE, UM, KIND OF THING.
UM, I WANT TO INVITE EVERYBODY HERE AND EVERY CITIZEN THURSDAY NIGHT AT 5:00 PM FROM 5:00 PM TO 9:00 PM UH, AT TEXAS ROADHOUSE, THEY ARE DOING A TIPS FOR COPS.
THIS IS THE SUPPORT SPECIAL OLYMPICS.
SO COME AND JOIN US, OUR OFFICERS, I DON'T KNOW, OFFICER PATE, WILL YOU BE THERE? OKAY.
SO, UM, BE THERE, THEY'LL HAVE THEIR APRONS ON.
THEY'LL BE SERVING I THINK, UH, JAMES PLANT, UH, IS PLANNING ON, UH, ROLLING AROUND WITH ALL THE BREAD AND BUTTER.
SO COME ON OUT AND, UM, HELP US, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKE SOME MONEY IN, UH, FOR SPECIAL OLYMPICS.
OKAY, UP NEXT I HAVE STEPHANIE MCDONALD.
GOOD EVENING MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TONIGHT.
I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU MOVE ITEMS 14 AND 16 TO THE TOP OF THE DISCUSSION.
UM, PLEASE THINK ABOUT OUR CHILDREN AND HAVE THIS STUDY DONE TO LOOK AT PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC.
THE PEDESTRIANS WERE NOT COUNTED AND EVALUATED.
THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE IN A SEPARATE STUDY BECAUSE OF THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE CLOSE BY.
AND THAT IS A HUGE IMPACT ON THIS CORRIDOR IS THE SCHOOLCHILDREN AND THE BICYCLISTS.
SO THIS STUDY WAS ALSO DONE WITH SINGLE LANE ROUNDABOUTS AND NOT MULTIPLE LANE ROUNDABOUTS, WHICH MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE.
UM, THE TRAFFIC STUDY WAS HANDED OUT.
I WAS DATED JANUARY, 2023, BUT THE DATA IN IT SAYS 2020, SO IT REALLY WOULD BE A 6-YEAR-OLD STUDY.
SO I'D REALLY LIKE YOU TO LOOK AT THAT.
I FEEL THIS ISSUE HAS NO BUSINESS BEING BROUGHT BEFORE ANY COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION.
HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RUNNING A CITY AND ITS OPERATIONS.
THERE'S BEEN MUCH VALUABLE COUNCIL TIME, MEETING TIME WASTED ON THIS SUBJECT THAT SHOULD BE SPENT ON CRITICAL ISSUES THAT ARE CURRENTLY FACING OUR CITY.
NO ONE CANCELED THE PRIDE EVENT.
THE AGENDA ITEM CALL FOR THE NUMBER OF ANNUAL MARKET DAYS TO BE CUT FROM EIGHT TO TWO.
THAT'S BECAUSE OF OUR 14 PLUS MILLION DOLLARS BUDGET SHORTFALL.
AND THIS WAS NEVER SAID TO BE A PERMANENT CHANGE.
IT'S JUST, I THINK WE'RE TRYING TO GET THE BUDGET BACK UNDER CONTROL.
AND I THINK I HAVE TO SAY THAT THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT HAS DONE A STELLAR JOB.
I THINK THEY RECOUPED ABOUT OVER $5 MILLION AND JUST PROBABLY LESS THAN TWO MONTHS, WHICH IS AMAZING.
SO, UM, COUNCIL MEMBERS OF POT, A TARGET TARGETED ONLY THREE OF THE FIVE THAT VOTED FOR IT, FOR US TO CHANGE THAT NUMBER FROM EIGHT TO TWO.
SHE HAD TWO OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS DISAGREE WITH HER, BUT SHE KEPT VERY QUIET ABOUT THOSE.
COUNCIL MCKINNEY, COUNCIL MEMBER MCKINNEY SAID HIS OPINION AS MARKET DAYS IS JUST THAT MOST OF THE COUNCIL FELT THAT JUST DO MARKET DAYS WITHOUT A THEME OR JUST A GENERAL THEME.
THE CITY SHOULD DECIDE HOW TO ALLOCATE MONEY THAT BENEFITS MOST PEOPLE IN THE CITY, MOST RESIDENTS.
AND THAT DECISION WAS NOT MADE TO SINGLE OUT ANY ONE GROUP AS COUNCIL MEMBERS, APA HAS INFERRED PRIDE MARKET DAYS HAS ACTUALLY BEEN VERY POORLY ATTENDED IN COMPARISON TO OTHER MARKET DAYS.
[00:50:02]
TAXPAYERS SHOULD NOT BE FORCED TO PAY FOR SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS ONCE COUNCIL MEMBERS UPON US TRYING TO REVERSE A FIVE TO TWO MAJORITY COUNCIL DECISION.THIS TAKES TIME, COUNCIL MEETINGS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
WE DON'T NEED F UH, CITY FUNDED THEMES.
AND I'M SURPRISED ABOUT PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT A MARGINALIZED COMMUNITY.
I MEAN, WHEN I GO TO HEB, I DON'T KNOW WHAT ANYBODY'S SEXUAL PREFERENCE IS AND I DON'T WANNA KNOW.
AND IT'S NOT GONNA CHANGE MY MIND HOW I VIEW THEM AT HEB OR ANYWHERE ELSE.
IT'S, IT'S, I DON'T KNOW WHY THAT HAS TO BE AT THE FOREFRONT.
UM, ALSO, I AM LOOKING FOR COUNCIL MEMBERS OTTA TO MAKE A STATEMENT ABOUT HER MISTAKE AND MAKING A STATEMENT OF FACT THAT SHE WAS, UH, MISSING THE PRIDE THEME THAT WAS SO IMPORTANT TO HER BECAUSE OF THE CITY COUNCIL BUDGET MEETING THAT DIDN'T OCCUR.
UM, IF IT WAS AN IMPORTANT EVENT NEAR DEAR TO HER HEART, SHE WOULD'VE BEEN THERE AND SHE MADE A QUOTE SAYING, I DON'T HAVE TO ATTEND AN EVENT FOR IT TO BE WORTHY OF HAPPENING.
THAT'S KIND OF A PRETTY BAD LOOK.
UM, THE MAJORITY OF RESIDENTS BOTH EMAILED AND SPOKEN SPEAKING BEFORE YOU ARE AGAINST REVISITING THIS.
GOOD EVENING MAYOR COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, MY ISSUE THAT FOR SOME ODD REASON SOMEBODY'S DROPPING THE BALL SOMEWHERE.
NUMBER ONE, THERE IS NO LEGAL AID OFFICE FOR SENIOR CITIZENS THAT'S COLLECTING SOCIAL SECURITY THE FURTHEST ONE AWAY.
I MEAN, I WENT TO THE LIBRARY.
THERE'S FOUR DIFFERENT PLACES, BUT THEY'RE NOT LOCATED HERE IN CO THERE'S NO PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, MOTOR VEHICLE OFFICE LOCATED HERE.
YOU GOT ALL THIS ROOM OVER HERE, BUT YET THE CITIZENS OF KYLE HAVE TO GO TO EITHER BEDA OR SAN MARCOS FOR SPECIFIC THINGS LIKE A PERMIT OR DRIVER'S LICENSE.
WHY NOT PUT THAT FINANCIAL COMMERCE BACK IN OUR OWN BACKYARD? WHY SHOULD A CITIZENS OF KYLE HAVE TO GO THAT WAY TO HELP THEM FINANCIALLY INSTEAD OF PUTTING THE FINANCIAL COMMERCE IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD? YOU HAVE ALL THIS EMPTY SPACES, I MEAN, ALONG ARLINGTON ON VETERANS DRIVE.
I MEAN, THERE'S WORD THAT THERE'S, YOU'RE GONNA BUILD A A PROBATION OFFICER OVER THERE BY BEBE ROAD.
WHY DID I PUT OVER THERE BY THE POLICE STATION AND PUT SOMETHING ELSE OVER THERE THAT'S FEASIBLE FOR THE RESIDENT OF KYLE.
I'M NOT DEGRADING OR KNOCKING THE COUNCIL MEMBER'S DECISIONS, BUT I THINK MAYBE YOU MAY WANT TO RETHINK SOME ISSUES HERE OF WHAT'S LACKING FOR SENIOR CITIZENS AND THE RESIDENTS OF KYLE.
WHY ARE WE FEEDING OTHERS FINANCIALLY? WHEN WE COULD PUT THAT MON, YOU COULD PUT THAT MONEY RIGHT BACK HERE IN YOUR BACKYARD ON THE RANKING OF THE 12 FASTEST GROWING CITIES IN TEXAS.
KYLE RANKS SEVENTH FASTEST GROWING CITIES IN TEXAS.
WAIT A MINUTE, THAT MAN MIGHT HAVE A POINT.
I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE FORMS. IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE THAT WOULD LIKE TO COME UP AND SPEAK? ALL RIGHT.
COME UP AND THEN IF YOU CAN STATE YOUR NAME AND THEN KINDLY FILL OUT A FORM, THAT'D BE GREAT.
THE FIRST TIME I'VE EVER BEEN BEFORE THIS LORD, GO AHEAD.
DO I DO ANYTHING ELSE OR I JUST START? OH, WELL HE'S GONNA GIVE YOU A FORM, BUT YOU GO AHEAD AND START.
WELL I AM IN OPPOSITION OF 17, UH, THE PRIDE EVENT DOWNTOWN.
UM, OUT OF CURIOSITY, I LOOKED UP WHAT DOES L-G-B-T-Q PRIDE REFER TO AND WHAT DO THEY STAND FOR? AND I FOUND THAT IT IS A PROMOTION OF THE RIGHTS AND QUALITY OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE CHOSEN A PARTICULAR LIFESTYLE APART FROM THE MAJORITY OF A NATION'S PEOPLE.
[00:55:01]
PRIDE IN AN INDIVIDUAL'S CHOICE THAT IS THE OPPOSITE OF THE NORM.MALE AND FEMALE STANDARDS IN RELATIONSHIPS, MARRIAGE AND RAISING FAMILIES.
I BELIEVE EVERYBODY HAS THEIR OWN CHOICE AND I DON'T, I DON'T INTERFERE WITH CHOICES THAT'S UP TO THE INDIVIDUAL.
HOWEVER, THE LB, UH, LGBQ PRIDE EVENTS PROMOTES VISIBILITY AND RIGHTS BY BRINGING TOGETHER INDIVIDUALS TO CELEBRATE THEIR IDENTITIES OPENLY.
EVENTS THAT SERVE AS PLATFORMS FOR ADVOCACY, RAISING AWARENESS AND ISSUES, PUSHING FOR EQUALITY AND ACCEPTANCE IN SOCIETY.
UM, WE SEE ALL ACROSS OUR NATION RIGHT NOW, UM, AND EVEN IN TEXAS GROUPS WHO ARE PURSUING EQUALITY AND ACCEPTANCE IN SOCIETY.
AND WE ARE SEEING THE VIOLENCE SURROUNDING SUCH GROUPS.
SO FOR THE L-G-B-T-Q PRIDE INDIVIDUALS WHO LIVE IN KYLE, TO ASK THE CITY TO APPROVE A WEEKEND MARKET THAT ONLY THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO L-G-B-T-Q BE ALLOWED TO HAVE THEIR BOOTH IS ACTUALLY A KIND OF POLITICAL MOVEMENT THAT CAN CAUSE RESENTMENT AND PUSHBACK.
NOW I LOOKED UP, UH, SOME OF, UH, KYLE'S ORDINANCES.
NOW ACCORDING TO CHAPTER 26, 13 8, RESERVE AND PARK FACILITIES STANDARDS FOR ISSUANCE.
NO PERSON, GROUP, OR ORGANIZATION SHALL BE ENTITLED TO THE ISSUANCE OF A PERMIT.
THE TIME, PLACE, OR MANNER OF USE OF THE PARK OR FACILITY IS LIKELY TO CAUSE SUBSTANTIAL IF IN OTHER WORDS, THEY SHOULDN'T ISSUE A PERMIT.
IF THIS IS POSSIBLE, THE TIME, PLACE, OR MANNER USE OF THE PARK OR FACILITY IS LIKELY TO CAUSE SUBSTANTIAL DISTURBANCE TO THE PERSONS OCCUPYING THE PROPERTY ADJOURNING OF THE FACILITY OR THE TIME, PLACE OR MANNER OF USE OF THE FACILITY IS LIKELY TO RESULT IN DAMAGE TO CITY PROPERTY OR THE PROPOSED ACTIVITY OR USE WILL REASONABLY INTERFERE WITH OR DETRACT FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC'S ENJOYMENT OF THE PARK OR RECREATION AREA.
AND SIX OF BOTH ACTIVITY AND USE WILL REASONABLY INTERFERE WITH OR DETRACT FROM THE PROMOTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH, WELFARE, SAFETY, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
NOW I BELIEVE, IF I'M NOT WRONG, RECENTLY THERE WAS A POLITICAL MOVEMENT IN DOWNTOWN KYLE THAT CALLED CHAOS AND TRAFFIC CONGESTION.
SO MY QUESTION TO YOU IS WHY NOT JUST KEEP THE MARKETPLACE A WEEKEND PARTICIPATION FOR WHOEVER WANTS TO HAVE A BOOTH EXHIBIT IN THEIR WARES AND JUST CALL IT KYLE MARKETPLACE, OPEN TO ALL VENDORS REGARDLESS OF CHOICE OF GENDER, POLITICS, ET CETERA.
AFTER ALL, WE'RE ALL THE PEOPLE OF KYLE.
WE PAY TAXES HERE AND WE MAINTAIN KYLE'S PARKS.
UM, AND WE HAVE A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO ARE PETITIONING THE COW TO ALLOW HIM TO HOLD AN EVENT.
AND THAT'S PAID FOR AT THE SAME TIME BY, BY ALL OF US.
AND I DO NOT THINK THAT WE SHOULD ALLOW A PARTICULAR GROUP A PARTICULAR TIME TO PURSUE AND TO CONVINCE EVERYBODY ELSE THEY HAVE MADE THE CHOICE OF THEIR LIVES.
SO I JUST SAY I VOTE NO, ABSOLUTELY NO TO THE PRIDE PARK WEEKEND AT ANY COW PARK ANY TIME.
NOW AS A REMINDER, I I AS THE MAYOR, I'M THE CHAIR OF THE MEETING AND SO I DO ALLOW RESIDENTS TO GO OVER A LITTLE BIT.
UM, AND THAT'S PROBABLY FROM ME BEING TAKEN AWAY FROM THE PODIUM.
UM, I WANNA GIVE EVERYBODY A FAIR CHANCE TO EXPRESS WHAT THEY SAY.
I DON'T KNOW IF THREE MINUTES IS LEGALLY ALLOWED AND SO I DO ALLOW THEM TO GO OVER A LITTLE BIT.
IF ANYBODY HAS AN ISSUE WITH THAT, YOU CAN EMAIL ME AT Y KE@CITYOFKYLE.COM.
ALRIGHT, UM, NEXT I HAVE MS. KELLY.
WOULD YOU MIND SAYING THAT?
I'M UH, PRECINCT CHAIR FOR PRECINCT 2 54 AND I'VE WORKED IN KYLE, UH, MANY YEARS AGO BEFORE I RETIRED.
UH, I'M HERE TO SPEAK AGAINST UH, UH, NUMBER 17 ALSO.
I BELIEVE THAT, UM, MY PRIDE FLAGS ARE THOSE FLAGS RIGHT BACK THERE, THE ONES THAT ARE BEHIND YOU, OUR UNITED STATES FLAG AND OUR TEXAS FLAG.
AND I THINK THAT SHOULD BE OUR MAIN CONCERN AS AMERICANS AND AS PEOPLE FROM HAYES COUNTY AND AND
[01:00:01]
FROM, UH, BUTTA, KYLE, ANY OF THE SURROUNDING AREAS, THOSE SHOULD BE OUR PRIDE FLAGS.UH, I THINK THAT HAVING A SPECIFIC, UM, DIVISION IS JUST THAT IT IS A DIVISION AND WE NEED TO STAND UNITED.
UM, I'M ALL OUT OF FORMS. IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE THAT WOULD LIKE TO COME UP AND SPEAK BEFORE I CLOSE? CITIZEN'S COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT, SEE NONE.
I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND MOVE FORWARD.
[IV) Agenda Order]
UM, WE'RE GONNA DO AGENDA ORDER NOW.I AM GONNA PULL UP AGENDA ITEM 15 AFTER CONSENT BECAUSE WE ARE PAYING, UM, AN ATTORNEY AND I WOULD LIKE TO GET THEM OUT THE DOOR BEFORE IT COSTS US TO MORE THAN IT NEEDS TO.
I'M ALSO GONNA NOTE FOR THE RECORD THAT STAFF IS PULLING ITEM FIVE AND IT WILL COME BACK AT A LATER DATE.
OKAY? ITEM FIVE, IS THERE A REASON WHY WE'RE PULLING ITEM FIVE? IT'S NOT READY TO GO THERE.
AND I WOULD REQUEST TO PULL UP ITEMS NUMBER 17, 14 AND 16.
OKAY, SO WE'LL PUT THAT ABOVE THE PUBLIC HEARING.
ALL RIGHT, SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE GONNA DO
[V) Consent Agenda]
CONSENT.IS THERE ANYTHING ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO PULL FROM CONSENT? ALL RIGHT, SEE NONE.
I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE.
AGENDA ITEMS 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 AND 11 SECOND.
I HAVE A MOTION BY MYSELF AND A SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER MEDINA.
OKAY, OF NEXT WE'RE GONNA, UM,
[15) Update from the City’s outside legal counsel, Frank Garza of the law firm Davidson Troilo Ream & Garza, PC, regarding the response received from the law firm, Clark Hill, PLC, representing the former City Manager Larry Bryan Langley; and provide direction to the Interim City Manager regarding the City’s response and any related actions.]
MOVE UP AGENDA ITEM 15 AND THAT'S GONNA BE UPDATE FROM THE CITY'S OUTSIDE LEGAL COUNSEL, FRANK GARZA OF THE LAW FIRM DAVIDSON, TLO REAM AND GARZA PC REGARDING THE RESPONSE RECEIVED FROM THE LAW FIRM CLARK HILL, PLC, REPRESENTING THE FORMER CITY MANAGER LA LARRY BRYAN LANGLEY, AND PROVIDE DIRECTION TO THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER REGARDING THE CITY'S RESPONSE AND ANY RELATED ACTIONS.MAYOR, MAYOR PROAM, COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR THE RECORD, I PERVEZ MOHI CITY'S INTERIM CITY MANAGER AND FINANCE DIRECTOR IN RESPONSE TO THE CITY COUNCIL'S DIRECTION ON JUNE 16TH, 2026 REGARDING THE FINAL PAYOUT OF ACCRUED OR EARNED VACATION AND SICK LEAVE BALANCES TO THE CITY'S FORMER CITY MANAGER.
HIS ATTORNEY HAS SENT THE LETTER DATED JULY 6TH, 2026 TO THE CITY'S OUTSIDE LEGAL COUNSEL THAT WAS RETAINED BY THE CITY FOR THIS MATTER.
I, AS THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER, HAVE REQUESTED THE CITY'S OUTSIDE LEGAL COUNSEL, MR. FRANK GARZA, WITH THE LAW FIRM OF DAVIDSON, TROY REEM AND GARZA PC TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE TO THE CITY COUNCIL REGARDING THIS LETTER AND THIS MATTER.
AFTER MR. GARZA'S BRIEFING TO CITY COUNCIL STAFF IS REQUESTING DIRECTION FROM THE CITY COUNCIL CONCERNING THE CITY'S RESPONSE TO THIS LETTER FROM THE FORMER CITY MANAGER'S ATTORNEY AND ANY RELATED ACTIONS THAT THE COUNCIL WANTS THE STAFF TO PURSUE.
PLEASE NOTE THAT I HAVE ALSO PLACED A RELATED EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEM, UH, ON TODAY'S CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA TO ALLOW THE COUNCIL IF IT CHOOSES TO CONSULT AND CLOSE SESSION WITH THE CITY'S OUTSIDE LEGAL COUNSEL REGARDING THIS MATTER.
SO WITH THAT BRIEF OVERVIEW, I WILL NOW TURN IT OVER TO MR. GARZA.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
UM, TO UPDATE THE COUNCIL AND A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND AGAIN WITH THE ISSUES THAT, WITH THE MATTER BEFORE US IS THERE'S A DISPUTE BETWEEN THE FORMER CITY MANAGER AND THE CITY WITH REGARDING POST-EMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.
AS YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH, THE PRIMARY ISSUE IS WHETHER THE CREDITED LEAVE GRANTED UNDER HIS EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT AND SPECIFICALLY THE AMENDMENT, UH, MUST BE PAID UPON HIS VOLUNTARY RESIGNATION OR THE WHETHER THE CONTRACT ONLY REQUIRED THE ACCRUED LEAVE TO BE PAID.
THE SECONDARY ISSUE THAT WAS RAISED WAS THE ALLEGED FAILURE TO PAY, MAKE DEFERRED COMPENSATION CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FORMER CITY MANAGER'S 4 57 B AND 4 0 1 A
[01:05:01]
PLANS.SO JUST A REMINDER WITH A LITTLE BIT OF A TIMELINE ON MAY 19TH OF THIS YEAR, EMAIL WAS SENT TO THE CITY, TO THE FORMER CITY MANAGER REGARDING HIS FINAL PAYCHECK PAY PERIOD NUMBER 17 ON MAY 21ST, KIM MOORE, WHO WAS THE FORMER CITY MANAGER'S, UH, ATTORNEY, UM, SENT A LETTER TO THE CITY ATTORNEY OUTLINING THAT THEIR POSITION WAS THAT WAS, THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT PAYMENT MADE IN THE LAST PAYCHECK ON JUNE 8TH.
UH, FOLLOW UP OF EMAIL FROM KIM MOORE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY AGAIN STATING THAT THEY BELIEVE THERE WAS A BREACH IN THE AGREEMENT AND STATES THAT IF MEDIATION DOES NOT OCCUR WITHIN 30 DAYS, THEY MAY SEEK TO ENFORCE THE AGREEMENT BY GOING TO COURT ON JUNE 22ND.
ANOTHER EMAIL FROM KIM MOORE AND THIS TIME TO MYSELF 'CAUSE I HAD BEEN RETAINED AS OUTSIDE LEGAL COUNSEL STATES THAT THE CITY HAD ONLY PAID A PORTION OF WHAT WAS OWED AND REPEATS THE MEDIATION DEMAND AND GAVE A DEADLINE OF JUNE 26TH TO AGREE TO THE EXPEDITIOUSLY MEDIATE WITH AGREED MEDIATOR.
IF NOT, THEY WOULD PROCEED TO SUIT ON JUNE 28TH.
I COMMUNICATED BASED AFTER OUR MEETING WITH THE CITY COUNCIL, THAT WE, THE CITY HAD AGREED TO PAY THE ACCRUED LEAVE OF 63.55 VACATION HOURS AND THE ACCRUED VACATE SICK HOURS OF 365 42, BUT DISPUTES THAT MR. LANGLEY IS DUE THE HOURS HE IS CREDITED WITH AND CITED PROVISIONS IN THE AGREEMENT.
ON JULY 6TH, WE RECEIVED A LETTER FROM KIM MOORE TO MYSELF DISPUTING THE CITY'S POSITION.
UH, THEY OUTLINED THE REASONS WHY THEY BELIEVED THEY WERE FULL DO OWE THE FULL CREDIT AMOUNT, THEY MADE A DEMAND TO BE RESPONDED TO BY JULY 13TH, I COMMUNICATED AND SAID THAT THE COUNCIL DID NOT MEET UNTIL THIS DATE AND THEY WENT AHEAD AND EXTENDED OUR RESPONSE UNTIL JULY 23RD.
SOME OF THE, AGAIN, RELEVANT CONTRACT PROVISIONS IS THAT IT SPECIFICALLY STATES IN SECTION 13 LEAVE BENEFITS THAT THE MANAGER WILL ACCRUE THE SAME NUMBER OF HOURS OF VACATION LEAVE AND SICK LEAVE, AND WILL BE SUBJECT TO THE SAME MAXIMUM HOUR CAPS, PAYOUTS, AND OTHER BENEFITS RELATED TO VACATION AND SICK LEAVE OF A FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE WITH AT LEAST 20 YEARS OF HIS SERVICE WITH THE CITY.
THE CONTRACT ALSO STATED IN SECTION 17 TERMINATION SEVERANCE, THE CITY WILL NOT BE OBLIGATED TO PAY THE SEVERANCE PAYMENT, INCLUDING PAYMENT OF ACCRUED LEAVE OR OVER THE MAXIMUM HOURS FOR PAYOUT CAPS PUR PURSUANT TO THE CITY'S PERSONAL POLICY SET FORTH IN PARAGRAPH B OF THIS SECTION.
IF AND NUMBER FOUR WAS MANAGER VOLUNTARY RESIGNS OR RETIRES FROM THE POSITION OF CITY MANAGER.
LATER IN THAT SAME SECTION, IT STATES IF MANAGER TERMINATES THIS AGREEMENT BY VOLUNTARY RESIGNATION AND THAT'S WHAT OCCURRED IN THIS INSTANCE OF THE POSITION OF CITY MANAGER MANAGER SHALL GIVE THIRD DAY'S NOTICE TO ADVANCE UNLESS THE COUNCIL AGREES OTHERWISE, IN THE EVENT OF RESIGNATION OF RETIREMENT MANAGER WILL BE ENTITLED, COMPENSATION FOR ACCRUED LEAVE AND OTHER BENEFITS ON THE SAME BASIS OF ANY OTHER FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE OF THE CITY, EXCEPT THAT ALL ACCRUED VACATION AND SICK LEAVE WILL BE PAID OUT AND WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO MAXIMUM HOURS FOR PAYOUT, EXCEPT THAT CREDIT LEAVE WILL NOT BE PAID OUT WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR.
THAT'S IN THE ORIGINAL CONTRACT IN THE AMENDMENT THAT WAS SIGNED ON MAY 5TH OF 25, IT STATES SECTION NINE.
DEFERRED COMPENSATION IN THE AGREEMENT IS HEREBY AMENDED TO INCREASE CITY'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE MANAGER 4 0 1 A PLAN AND FROM 4% TO 6%.
THE AMENDED LANGUAGE FOR SECTION NINE IS SHOWN BELOW AND IT SAYS THE CITY AGREES TO PAY DEFERRED COMPENSATION.
AGAIN, THIS IS ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT WAS RAISED ON BEHALF OF THE MANAGER AND THE AMOUNT OF 7% OF MANAGERS ANNUAL BASE SALARY TO A DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN ESTABLISHED IN A 4 57 AND THE CITY FURTHER AGREES TO CREATE A 4 0 1 A PLAN FOR MANAGER TO UTILIZE AND TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE PLAN ON BEHALF OF THE MANAGER IN THE AMOUNT OF 6% OF MANAGER'S ANNUAL BASE SALARY.
THE CHANGES REFLECTED IN THIS AMENDMENT ARE EFFECTIVE.
AMENDMENT ONE WAS SPECIFICALLY JUST ADDRESSING DEFERRED COMPENSATION.
IT DID NOT ADDRESS SEVERANCE OR TERMINATION PAY.
AMENDMENT ONE WAS SPECIFICALLY JUST DEALING WITH DEFERRED COMPENSATION AMENDMENT TWO THAT WAS SIGNED ON AUGUST
[01:10:01]
OF 2025.SECTION NINE, DEFERRED COMPENSATION AGREEMENT IS AMEND, DELETE THE LANGUAGE SHOWN IN CROSS THROUGH AND ADD THE LANGUAGE SHOWN AS UNDERLINED.
AND AGAIN, IT BASICALLY STATED THE SAME LANGUAGE ABOUT THE CITY AGREEING TO PAY DEFERRED COMP OF 7% IN THE 4 57 PLAN AND AGREED TO PAY 6%.
AND EVEN THOUGH IT SAYS 4% AND THEN SAYS SIX, THE INTENT WAS THAT JUST LIKE THE FIRST AMENDMENT WAS TO GIVE 6% OF MANAGER'S ANNUAL BASE SALARY IN THE 4 0 1 AND IT STATES AND IT STATES ANY ADJUSTMENTS TO MANAGER'S, DEFERRED COMP MADE BY COUNCIL OR IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CITY'S PERSONAL POLICY WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY AFFECTED IN THIS SECTION WITHOUT THE NEED TO AMEND THE AGREEMENT.
IN READING THE LAWYER'S LETTER THAT REPRESENTING YOUR FORMER CITY MANAGER, THEY CONTEND THAT THEY'RE OWED THE 7% AND 6% FOR HIS ENTIRE ANNUAL SALARY.
IT IS OUR POSITION THAT HE IS OWED THE 7% AND 6% FOR THE SALARY HE EARNED WHILE WORKING FOR THE CITY.
AMENDMENT TWO WAS THE SECTION THAT DEAL DEALS WITH ACCREDITED LEAVE VERSUS THE ACCRUED LEAVE.
AS YOU RECALL, STATE LAW WAS AMENDED AS TO WHAT AN EMPLOYEE A CITY MANAGER WOULD RECEIVE IF HE WERE TO BE TERMINATED STATE LAW, LIMITED CITIES AND OTHER GOVERNMENT BODIES TO NO MORE THAN FIVE MONTHS OF SEVERANCE.
HIS ORIGINAL CONTRACT CALLED FOR 12 MONTHS OF SEVERANCE, SO THE CITY AMENDED THE CONTRACT TO REDUCE SEVERANCE TO FIVE MONTHS IF HE WERE TO BE TERMINATED AND CREATED COMPENSA CREATED CREDITED LEAVE AND THE CONTRACT SAYS THAT IF HE WAS TERMINATED HE WOULD GET THE CREDITED LEAVE BUT IT DID NOT CHANGE THE LANGUAGE IF HE WERE TO RESIGN.
IT STATES IN SECTION 13 ON THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS AMENDMENT, MANAGER'S LEAVE ACCRUAL.
BANKS WILL BE CREDITED 1,280 ADDITIONAL HOURS OF VACATION LEAVE FOR A TOTAL OF 1360 OF CREDITED VACATION LEAVE AND 40 HOURS OF SICK LEAVE THE CREDITED LEAVE AND THEN MANAGER WILL ACCRUE THE SAME NUMBER OF HOURS OF VACATION LEAVE AND SICK LEAVE AND WILL BE SUBJECT TO THE SAME MAXIMUM HOUR.
CAPS, PAYOUTS AND OTHER BENEFITS RELATED VACATION SICK LEAVE FOR A FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE WITH AT LEAST 20 YEARS OF SERVICE WITH THE CITY EXCEPT THAT MANAGERS SHALL BE ELIGIBLE TO ACCRUE UNLIMITED VACATION LEAVE ACCRUE UNDER HIS TERMINATION.
IT'S STATED IN SECTION 17, TERMINATION SEVERANCE PAY OF THE AGREEMENT IS HEREBY AMENDED TO DELETE THE LANGUAGE SHOWN IN ACROSS AND ADDS THE UNDERLYING.
AND THIS IS THE SECTION THAT IS IMPORTANT.
IF MANAGER TERMINATES THE AGREEMENT BY VOLUNTARY RESIGNATION, THE MANAGER IS TO GIVE 30 DAYS NOTICE IN ADVANCE UNLESS THE COUNSEL AGREES OTHERWISE.
IN THE EVENT OF RESIGNATION OR RETIREMENT MANAGER WILL BE ENTITLED, COMPENSATION FOR ACCRUED LEAVE AND OTHER BENEFITS ON THE SAME BASIS.
ANY FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE OF THE CITY EXCEPT THAT ALL ACCRUED VACATION AND SICK LEAVE WILL BE PAID OUT AND WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO MAXIMUM PAYOUT CAPS.
VACATION LEAVE WILL BE LIMITED TO 77 20 HOURS OR THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT ALLOWED BY CITY POLICY WHICHEVER'S GREATER.
THEY'RE INTERPRETING THE CREDITED LEAVE OF SEVEN 20 IS WHAT THEY ARE OWED.
I READ AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS THAT I'VE HAD READ THE CONTRACT IS THAT IF HE WERE TO RESIGN ONLY THE ACCRUED LEAVE IS OWED TO HIM AND NOT THE CREDITED LEAVE.
AND THAT IS STILL OUR POSITION.
THE CITY HAS PAID MR. LANGLEY WHAT WE BELIEVE IS OWED SPECIFICALLY THE ACCRUED HOURS UNDER THE CONTRACT.
THE FORMER CITY MANAGER IN OUR OPINION, IS NOT ENTITLED TO BE PAID FOR CREDITED HOURS.
THEIR ATTORNEY FOR THE MANAGER, FORMER MANAGER DISPUTES THE CITY'S POSITION WITH THAT THE CITY HAS PAID WHAT IS WHAT THAT THE CITY HAS PAID WHAT IS REQUIRED UNDER THE CONTRACT.
TWO ISSUES ARE RAISED BY THE FORMER CITY MANAGER'S ATTORNEY.
ONE THAT THE CITY HAS NOT PAID FOR ALL THE HOURS CREDITED TO MR. LANGLEY AND THE CITY HAS NOT MADE THE REQUIRED 4 57 AND 4 0 1 CONTRIBUTIONS.
THEY, UH, A FORMER CITY MANAGER'S POSITION IN THEIR JULY 6TH LETTER.
AGAIN, THE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT OF APRIL 23RD WAS AMENDED.
THE CITY'S REQUIRED TO PAY MR. LANGLEY FOR ALL VACATIONS, SIX HOURS, SPECIFICALLY 720 VACATION AND 305 OF SICK.
UH, THERE THIS IS THEIR POSITION AS THE TERMS OF THE AGREEMENT WERE ALREADY APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL.
THERE SHOULD BE NO REASON FOR WITHHOLDING
[01:15:01]
THE DELAYED OR ADDITIONAL VOTE.CONTRACT LANGUAGE REFERENCES NON-PAYMENT OF CREDIT LEAVE ONLY IF TERMINATION RESIGNATION RETIREMENT OCCURS DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF EMPLOYMENT.
SHE'S FORGETTING THE FACT THAT THAT FIRST YEAR LANGUAGE WAS STRICKEN FROM THE AMENDMENT.
IMPLYING PAYMENT IS NOW REQUIRED AS MR. LANGLEY MADE IT, MADE IT PAST THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY.
THE AMENDMENT REMOVED RESTRICTIONS ON PAYMENT OF CREDIT LEAVE AND DID NOT EXPRESSLY EXCLUDE IT FROM PAYOUT AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS TO 4 57 4 1 DID NOT OCCUR TIMELY AND RESPONSES NEEDED BY JULY 13TH AND AGAIN THEY'VE AGREED TO EXTEND THAT UNTIL JULY 23RD.
THE REASON I'M HERE AGAIN, THE 4 57 4 1 ISSUE.
THERE'S NO PROVISION IN THE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT THAT ENTITLES THE FLORIDA CITY, THE FORMER CITY MANAGER TO 4 57 4 1 CONTRIBUTION ON THE PAYOUT OF LEAVE BALANCES FOLLOWING VOLUNTARY SEPARATION.
THE CITY'S POSITION IS THAT THE 4 57 4 1 CONTRIBUTIONS ARE BASED ON ANNUAL BASE SALARY, WHICH APPLIES ONLY TO COMPENSATION EARNED FOR THE PROFESSIONAL WORK SERVICE RENDERED AND PAID THROUGH HIS REGULAR LAST BIWEEKLY PAYROLL.
OUR IS OUR POSITION THAT THE FORMER CITY MANAGER WAS FULLY COMPENSATED THROUGH PAYROLL DURING HIS EMPLOYMENT FOR ALL HIS 4 57 AND 4 0 1 CONTRIBUTIONS.
THE CURRENT SITUATION, THE CONTRACT THAT WAS SIGNED THAT WAS NOT THIS PROVISION, WAS NOT AMENDED, IS THAT THE FORMER CITY MANAGER'S ATTORNEY IS REQUESTED MEDIATION AS REQUIRED UNDER THE AGREEMENT.
IF AN ANSWER IS NOT RECEIVED BY JULY 23RD, THEY MAY PROCEED WITH SUIT.
THE LANGUAGE SPECIFICALLY SAYS THE PARTY SHALL IN GOOD FAITH ATTEMPT TO SETTLE ANY CONTROVERSY OR CLAIM BY ANY PARTY HERETO ARISING OUT OF RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT BY MEDIATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS AND RULES OF THE STATE OF TEXAS.
SUCH MEDIATION SHALL BE HELD WITHIN 30 DAYS AFTER THE DEMAND THERE MADE BY ANY PARTY.
IF ONE PARTY FAILS REFUSE TO MEDIATE WITHIN SUCH 30 DAY PERIOD, THE OTHER PARTY MAY PROCEED TO ENFORCE SUCH PARTY'S RIGHT IN A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION.
KEY QUESTIONS AGAIN, IS IT ACCRUED VERSUS CREDIT LEAVE? YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT OUR POSITION THAT WE BELIEVE IT IS ACCRUED AND DOES THE FIRST YEAR LANGUAGE APPLY? IT IS OUR POSITION THAT IT IS NOT IT WAS DELETED IN THE SECOND AMENDMENT.
POTENTIAL LEG LITIGATION IS THAT THEIR CLAIM WOULD BE BREACH OF CONTRACT FOR UNPAID COMPENSATION FOR CREDIT LEAVE AFTER VOLUNTARY RESIGNATION AS WELL AS UNPAID 4 57 AND 4 0 1 CONTRIBUTIONS, ATTORNEY FEES, LITIGATION COSTS VERSUS COSTS OF MEDIATION.
UM, IF THEY WERE TO FILE SUIT, IT IS MY POSITION THAT THE COST FOR TRIAL WOULD BE HIGHER THAN TRYING TO GO FOR MEDIATION.
IT IS UNDISPUTED THAT THERE'S A DISAGREEMENT ON WHETHER THE COMPENSATION TO THE FORMER CITY MANAGER SHOULD ONLY BE BASED ON WHAT HE HAS ACCRUED OR WHETHER IT IS MAXIMUM HOURS CREDITED.
THE CASE WILL BE LANGUAGE HEAVY AND WILL TURN ON THE INTERPRETATION OF THE LANGUAGE IN THE AMENDMENT.
MEDIATION MAY HELP SOLVE THE INTERPRETATION AND AVOID THE COST OF LITIGATION.
ANY MEDIATED SETTLEMENT WILL HAVE TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.
I'VE BEEN IN MANY MEDIATIONS REPRESENTING CITIES AND WE ALWAYS LET THE MEDIATOR KNOW THAT IT IS CONTINGENT ON COUNCIL APPROVAL.
IT ALWAYS SHOULD GO BACK TO COUNSEL FOR THEM TO APPROVE ANY PROPOSED MEDIATED SETTLEMENT.
SINCE THIS IS A BREACH OF CONTRACT CLAIM, TML RISK POOL WILL NOT COVER THE CITY, SO IT WILL BE ON THE CITY'S DIME FOR ANY ATTORNEY'S FEES.
FOR YOUR REPRESENTATIVES, I RECOMMEND MEDIATION AND THE REASON I RECOMMEND MEDIATION IF THEY WERE TO FILE SUIT, 99% OF COURTS WILL REQUIRE YOU TO GO TO MEDIATION ANYWAY BY SHOWING THE COURTS.
WE'VE ALREADY GONE THROUGH MEDIATION.
I'VE HAD MUCH LUCK CONVINCING COURTS AFTER THE LAWSUIT'S FILED NOT TO HAVE TO GO TO MEDIATION AGAIN BECAUSE YOU'VE ALREADY GONE THROUGH THE MEDIATION PROCESS.
SO IT IS MY RECOMMENDATION THAT WE GO THROUGH MEDIATION.
I'M NOT ASKING FOR A SCOPE OF WHAT THAT MEDIATION SHOULD BE 'CAUSE THAT IS NOT SOMETHING I WILL DISCUSS IN PUBLIC
UM, BUT I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT YOU AUTHORIZE, PROCEED WITH MEDIATION, HAVE THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER AND A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COUNCIL TO ATTEND THE MEDIATION.
THAT IS, IN MY OPINION, THE BEST WAY THAT IF THERE, IF WE BELIEVE THERE'S A, A SETTLEMENT THAT WE CAN CONVINCE THE REMAINDER OF COUNCIL, IT IS ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COUNCIL TO BE PART OF THAT MEDIATION ALONG WITH A CITY STAFF PERSON, UH, WHO WILL KNOW THE NUMBERS AND, AND THE DETAILS FOR THAT MEDIATION.
SO AGAIN, UH, THAT IS MY RECOMMENDATION.
I'M HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
ALL RIGHT, ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS?
[01:20:03]
NOPE.HAVE THEY PROVIDED US AN AMOUNT THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR? 'CAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE THEY WANT SOME OF THE UNEARNED TIME AND SOME BENEFITS FOR THE FOUR.
FOR THE, THE LETTER THAT WE RECEIVED ASKS FOR ALL THE FULL CREDITED AMOUNT, THE SEVEN, THE FULL SET, THE SEVEN 20.
AND I KNOW WE PROVIDED SOME DOLLARS BUT MINUS WHAT WE'VE ALREADY GIVEN PLUS THE SICK LEAVE.
WE TOOK OUT THE FOUR ADDITIONAL 40 HOURS OF SICK LEAVE.
THAT IS WHAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR IN THAT INSTANCE.
AND WITH THE 4 1 4 57, THEY'RE ASKING FOR ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS TO BE COMPENSATED FOR BASED ON THE CREDITED LEAVE AND SO FORTH THAT IF HE WERE TO GET, THEY WANT US TO ALSO DONATE TO THE 4 57 4 0 1.
IT IS OUR POSITION THAT THAT SEVERANCE OR PAYMENT WOULD NOT RISE TO LEVEL OF ANY 4 57 4 1.
THAT'S BASED ON ANNUAL BASE SALARY THAT THEY EARN.
SO WE DON'T KNOW LIKE A, AN A DOLLAR AMOUNT.
UM, THE LAST NUMBER I SAW FOR THE FULL CREDITED HOURS I BELIEVE WAS OVER 200,000 MINUS WHAT WE'VE PAID.
SO WE'RE PROBABLY TALKING WITH THE 4 0 1 457.
WE'RE PROBABLY TALKING AROUND THE $200,000 RANGE.
'CAUSE YOU ADD WHAT WE'VE DEDUCTED FROM THE ACCRUED LEAVE PLUS ANY CLAIMS THEY HAVE TO 4 57 4 1.
SO I'M, WE'RE PROBABLY TALKING ABOUT THE $200,000 RANGE.
DO WE WANNA GO BACK THAT THAT WOULD BE ADDITIONAL ADDITIONAL MM-HMM
TO WHAT WE'VE PAID AND YOU GUYS NEED DIRECTION.
DO WE NEED TO GIVE THAT AN EXECUTIVE? UM, IF YOU DIRECT US TO GO TO MEDIATION AND AGREE TO HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNCIL AND THE UH, INTERIM CITY MANAGER, WE DON'T NEED, UNLESS YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THE SCOPE OF WHAT YOU'RE WILLING TO SETTLE FOR OR MEDIATE FOR.
BUT THAT MAY BE PREMATURE AT THIS STAGE BECAUSE WE KNOW WHAT THEY WANT, WE KNOW WHAT WE'VE OFFERED AND I THINK IT'S AT THIS STAGE JUST TO SEE IF THERE IS A MEDIATION WE CAN COME TO.
WELL I'M COMFORTABLE SENDING MR. MOHE COUNCIL MEMBER ZA I WOULD GO.
ARE YOU GUYS COMFORTABLE SENDING COUNCIL MEMBER COZA? SURE.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO UM, HAVE OUR INTERIM CITY MANAGER AND COUNCIL MEMBER GZA ATTEND A MEDIATION WITH MR. GARZA.
I HAVE A MOTION BY MYSELF AND A SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER TOBE.
IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? ALL RIGHT.
ONCE WE HAVE A MEDIATOR SELECTED, I'LL CONTACT YOUTH AND, AND PEREZ TO SCHEDULE IT.
SO WE'RE GONNA GO TO AGENDA ITEM 14.
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION ONE, IDENTIFYING, SELECTING AND PRIORITIZING SPECIFIC AREAS FOR THE SCOPE OF SEPARATE OR SEQUENCED FORENSIC AUDITS.
TWO, WE ACTUALLY MOVED 17 UP 'CAUSE I THINK THERE WERE A COUPLE OF REQUESTS FROM RESIDENTS TO HAVE 17.
UM, IT LOOKS LIKE THERE WAS 14, 16, AND 17.
AND SO IF WE WANNA MOVE THEM UP IN ANY PARTICULAR ORDER, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S FINE.
PEREZ
[17) Consider and discuss directing the City Manager to bring back options for the City of Kyle to host a LGBTQ+ Pride event in 2027, including potential formats and estimated costs.]
AGENDA ITEM 17.CONSIDER AND DISCUSS DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO BRING BACK OPTIONS FOR THE CITY OF KYLE TO HOST A LGBTQ PLUS PRIDE EVENT IN 2027, INCLUDING POTENTIAL FORMATS AND ESTIMATED COST ITEM PRESENTER CLAUDIA ZAPATA AND LAURA LEE HARRIS.
ALRIGHT, SO BEFORE I BEGIN, I WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND A PUBLIC APOLOGY TO MS. BETTY CONLEY.
I CORRECTED HER FROM THE STATUS WITH A STATEMENT OF FACT THAT WAS ACTUALLY INCORRECT.
IT WAS A GENUINE MISREMEMBERING AS THERE WAS A SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING HOSTED DURING A MARKET DAYS, BUT IT WAS JUNE JUNETEENTH.
AND SO I OFFER MY SINCERE APOLOGIES AND I WAS WAITING FOR A MOMENT TO ADDRESS IT PUBLICLY WHEN I BROUGHT UP THIS ITEM.
THIS ITEM IS NARROW IN SCOPE, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT IN MEETING.
IT ASKS THE CITY MANAGER TO RETURN WITH OPTIONS FOR THE CITY OF KYLE TO HOST A PRIDE EVENT IN 2027.
I WANNA THANK COUNCIL MEMBER HARRIS FOR CO-SPONSORING THIS ITEM.
IT MEANS A LOT TO RESIDENTS AND TO MYSELF.
LAST MONTH WHILE COUNCIL WAS REVIEWING PARKS AND RECREATIONS EVENTS, STAFF RECOMMENDED REDUCING COW MARKET DAYS FROM SEVEN EVENTS EACH YEAR TO FOUR AT A COMBINED ANNUAL COST OF APPROXIMATELY $24,000 OR SO BECAUSE THAT REDUCTION WOULD ELIMINATE SEVERAL THEMED EVENTS.
I ASK THAT ONE OF THE REMAINING MARKET DAYS RECOGNIZE PRIDE, THE ONLY
[01:25:01]
PRIDE THEMED EVENT CURRENTLY HOSTED BY THE CITY.I ALSO PROPOSED AN INTERNATIONAL DAY SO THAT EVEN AS SEPARATE CELEBRATIONS SUCH AS JUNETEENTH AND HISPANIC HERITAGE WERE BEING CUT, THE CITY COULD STILL RECOGNIZE THE MANY CULTURES AND TRADITIONS REPRESENTED HERE IN KYLE.
A COUNCIL MEMBER THEN PROPOSED REDUCING MARKET DAYS EVEN FURTHER FROM FOUR EVENTS TO TWO.
I CONTINUED TO ASK THAT PRIDE BE PRESERVED DURING THAT DISCUSSION.
IT WAS SAID BY MEMBERS OF THIS COUNCIL THAT WE CANNOT SUPPORT A PRIDE EVENT BECAUSE WE MUST THINK ABOUT EVERYONE THAT A GOVERNMENT SHOULD REMAIN NEUTRAL AND THAT THE CITY SHOULD NOT PROMOTE AN AGENDA.
THOSE STATEMENTS ARE RECKLESS AT BEST AND HOMOPHOBIC AT WORST.
LGBTQ PLUS RESIDENTS ARE NOT SEPARATE FROM EVERYONE.
AND REFERRING TO THEIR PUBLIC RECOGNITION AS AN AGENDA, TREATS THEIR EXISTENCE AND BELONGING AS A POLITICAL CONTROVERSY.
THAT LANGUAGE MAY BE PRESENTED AS NEUTRAL, BUT IT IS A FAMILIAR FORM OF ANTI L-G-B-T-Q RHETORIC.
EVERYONE IS WELCOME PROVIDED THE GOVERNMENT NEVER HAS TO ACKNOWLEDGE LGBTQ PLUS PEOPLE.
SPECIFICALLY THIS AGENDA ITEM DOES NOT MANDATE A LARGE EVENT.
IT DOES NOT ESTABLISH A FIXED BUDGET OR PRESCRIBE ONE FORMAT.
IT SIMPLY ASKS STAFF TO DEVELOP REASONABLE OPTIONS THAT COULD INCLUDE THINGS SUCH AS A PRIDE EVENT COMPARABLE TO KYLE MARKET DAYS, WHICH WERE COSTING APPROXIMATELY $6,140 OR LESS.
A SMALL PARADE, WHICH BASED ON OTHER CITY SUPPORTED PARADES COULD COST LESS OR AROUND $2,000 OR A SPONSORED OR PARTNERSHIP BASED EVENT THAT IS LARGELY OR ENTIRELY BUDGET NEUTRAL.
THOSE ARE MODEST OPTIONS AND ASKING STAFF TO EVALUATE THEM IS NEITHER EXCESSIVE NOR FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE.
THE BUDGET ARGUMENT MUST ALSO BE COM APPLIED CONSISTENTLY.
SOME OF THE SAME NUMBERS WARNING THAT KYLE MUST CUT STAFF AND SERVICES AND PUBLIC EVENTS BECAUSE OF A DEFICIT ARE SUPPORTING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN NEW ENGINEERING STUDIES.
AFTER THE CITY HAS ALREADY PAID FOR PROFESSIONAL ANALYSIS, THE CITY HAS ALSO SPENT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS.
AND IT'S CONSIDERING SPENDING TENS OF THOUSANDS MORE PURSUING ALLEGATIONS AGAINST THE FORMER MAYOR, FORMER COUNCIL AND FORMER CITY MANAGER THAT ARE BASED SUBSTANTIALLY ON HEARSAY.
WHEN PUBLIC MONEY IS AVAILABLE TO REPEAT ENGINEERING WORK, REVISIT OLD POLITICAL DISPUTES AND PURSUE SPECULATIVE INVESTIGATIONS.
BUT A PRIDE EVENT COSTING BETWEEN ZERO AND SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS IS TREATED AS UNAFFORDABLE.
THE ISSUE IS NOT SIMPLY THE BUDGET, IT IS THE PURPOSES.
IT IS WHICH PURPOSES CERTAIN MEMBERS BELIEVE ARE WORTHY OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT.
THE SUGGESTION THAT LGBTQ PLUS RESIDENTS SHOULD SIMPLY ORGANIZE PRIDE THEMSELVES ALSO MISSES THE PURPOSE OF THIS ITEM.
THE QUESTION IS NOT WHETHER THE COMMUNITY IS CAPABLE OF ORGANIZING AN EVENT.
LGBTQ PLUS PEOPLE HAVE ORGANIZED FOR THEMSELVES THROUGHOUT HISTORY BECAUSE GOVERNMENT EXCLUDED THEM, CRIMINALIZED THEM, DENIED THEM RECOGNITION TO THEIR FAMILIES, AND REFUSE TO PROTECT THEM EQUALLY UNDER THE LAW.
THEIR RESILIENCE SHOULD NOT BECOME AN EXCUSE FOR GOVERNMENT TO REMAIN ABSENT.
THE STRUGGLE FOR LGBTQ PLUS EQUALITY HAS ALWAYS INCLUDED THE DEMAND TO BE RECOGNIZED BY PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.
GOVERNMENT WAS NOT NEUTRAL WHEN IT CRIMINALIZED SAME-SEX RELATIONSHIPS.
IT WAS NOT NEUTRAL WHEN IT DENIED MARRIAGE LICENSES OR EXCLUDED PEOPLE FROM MILITARY AND PUBLIC SERVICE OR PERMITTED DISCRIMINATION THROUGH LAW, GOVERNMENT CAN NOW CANNOT NOW INVOKE NEUTRALITY AS A REASON TO WITHHOLD RECOGNITION FROM THE SAME PEOPLE IT ONCE ACTIVELY MARGINALIZED.
I HAVE ALSO SEEN THE COMMENTS DIRECTED TOWARDS ME AND TOWARDS LGBTQ PLUS RESIDENTS SINCE I RAISED THIS ISSUE.
AND ON THEIR BEHALF, I WANT TO OFFER MY SINCEREST APOLOGIES THAT YOU HAVE HAD TO READ COMMENTS THAT ARE BASED ON HATRED AND BIGOTRY AND THAT YOU HAVE HAD TO LISTEN TO PUBLIC COMMENT THAT IS BASED ON HATRED AND BIGOTRY.
PEOPLE HAVE DESCRIBED THEM AND MYSELF AS I AM PROUDLY PANSEXUAL AS SINNERS CLAIM THAT SEXUAL ORIENTATION IS A CHOICE AND REDUCED PRIDE TO A CELEBRATION OF WHO SOMEONE HAS SEX WITH.
THOSE COMMENTS ARE HATEFUL, DEGRADING AND REVEALING, AND THEY DEMONSTRATE EXACTLY WHY PUBLIC RECOGNITION AND THIS EVENT STILL MATTERS.
THIS ITEM GIVES THE CITY AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING REASONABLE, AFFORDABLE, AND MEANINGFUL BY BRINGING BACK OPTIONS AND ALLOWING COUNCIL TO DECIDE HOW KYLE CAN FORMALLY RECOGNIZE RESIDENTS WHO ARE ALREADY AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THIS COMMUNITY.
AND NOW PASS IT OVER TO COUNCIL MEMBER HARRIS FOR COMMENT.
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER ZAPATA HAS TO SAY.
I THINK IT'S SHAMEFUL THAT SHE'S BEEN ATTACKED THE WAY SHE HAS.
UM, I DO, UM, WANT TO SAY THAT WE HAVE OPTIONS AND HAVE ASKED FOR OPTIONS, UH, TO PRESENT
[01:30:01]
A, A PRIDE EVENT.UH, MS. CONLEY, DAWN CONLEY
UM, AND GAVE SOME VERY REASONABLE OPTIONS THAT THE CITY COULD PURSUE IN A PARTNERSHIP, UH, THAT WOULD COST LITTLE OR NOTHING.
I THINK THAT, UH, WE SHOULD PURSUE THAT.
I THINK THAT, UM, HAVING MARKET DAYS BE CULTURAL HAS BEEN A GREAT ASSET TO OUR CITY.
UH, IT RECOGNIZES A VARIETY OF PEOPLE, A VARIETY OF CULTURES, AND THAT IS, UH, THAT'S A GOOD THING.
UM, I WOULD SUPPORT THIS, UH, ITEM.
ALL RIGHT, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? COUNCIL MEMBER MEDINA.
SO I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR AND THAT MY OPPOSITION WOULD NOT BE ROOTED IN DISCRIMINATION, PREJUDICE, OR HOMOPHOBIA.
I DO HAVE FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS WHO ARE PART OF THE L-G-B-T-Q COMMUNITY AND I BELIEVE EVERY RESIDENT OF KYLE DESERVES TO BE TREATED WITH DIGNITY, RESPECT, AND WITH EQUALITY.
MY CONCERN IS JUST ONE OF FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, THE PROPER ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AS ELECTED OFFICIALS.
WE'RE STEWARDS OF THE TAXPAYER DOLLARS.
WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT PUBLIC FUNDS ARE BEING USED IN A MANNER THAT BENEFITS AND ADDRESSES THE CORE FUNCTIONS AND PRIORITIES OF OUR CITY.
THERE ARE MANY WAYS FOR COMMUNITY GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS TO ORGANIZE, CELEBRATE, AND HOST EVENTS THAT BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER WITHOUT REQUIRING THE CITY OF KYLE TO BEAR THE FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.
UM, JUST RECENTLY, COUNCIL MEMBER GZA PUT OUT A REQUEST ON FACEBOOK.
MANY RESIDENTS, UM, COMMITTED TO DONATING TO PUTTING TOGETHER AN EVENT FOR THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY.
IT HAD TO BE PAID FOR BY THE CITY OF KYLE TAXPAYER DOLLARS.
WE CAN CONTINUE TO SUPPORT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITHOUT BECOMING THE ORGANIZER OR THE FUNDING SOURCE OF EVERY CAUSE OR INTEREST GROUP.
WE DON'T CURRENTLY SPONSOR OR FUND CITY HOSTED EVENTS SPECIFICALLY DEDICATED TO EVERY COMMUNITY OR DEMOGRAPHIC GROUP.
UM, THERE'S, YOU KNOW, GROUPS CENTERED AROUND DISABILITIES, AUTISM AWARENESS, OTHER IMPORTANT CAUSES.
THEREFORE, I BELIEVE WE SHOULD BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT SETTING A PRECEDENT THAT WOULD CREATE, UM, EXPECTATIONS FOR CITY FUNDING OF EVENTS FOR VARIOUS GROUPS IN THE FUTURE.
AGAIN, MY POSITION IS NOT ABOUT EXCLUDING ANYONE, IT'S ABOUT ENSURING THAT TAXPAYER DOLLARS ARE SPENT RESPONSIBLY, CONSISTENTLY, AND IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE CITY'S PRIMARY OBLIGATIONS TO ALL RESIDENTS.
I WANT TO ASK, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ZAPATA RESPECTFULLY, WHAT IS IT THAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR AS FAR AS AN EVENT, UH, THAT YOU WANT THE CITY TO FUND? WHAT IS IT THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR? UM, 'CAUSE I CAN GO BY MY EXPERIENCE AGAIN.
UH, AND I'M GLAD MR. PART'S HERE.
UH, BECAUSE AS A SON OF A VETERAN, DISABLED VETERAN, UM, THE CITY OF KYLE REALLY NEVER RECOGNIZED OUR VETERANS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO SERVED AND WHO WERE DISABLED.
AND THE IDEA CAME UP AGAIN WITH, UH, MR. PARKER AND WE GIVE YOU CREDIT, UH, ABOUT HOW CAN WE REPRESENT OUR, OUR RESIDENTS, OUR, OUR VETERANS.
SO I BEGAN TO BRAINSTORM AND I DID GO TO THE CITY ABOUT IT.
I REMEMBER MENTIONING IT TO OUR FORMER CITY MANAGER MANAGER BACK THEN, UH, MR. SELLERS.
AND ALSO I KEPT ASKING OVER AND OVER AGAIN WHO COULD I SPEAK TO OR WHO COULD I REALLY WORK WITH TO BE ABLE TO GET SOME KIND OF CELEBRATION FOR OUR VETERANS? 'CAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING.
KYLE HAD ME AND SAID, MARCUS HAS THE VETERANS DAY PARADE.
AND THAT IDEA BECAME A BRAINSTORMING I IDEA BETWEEN MYSELF, UH, MR. PARK, A LOT OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS, INCLUDING COUNCIL MEMBER FLORES KALE AND DAX ELLISON AT THE TIME.
AND IF I COULDN'T GET THE CITY TO GET OFF THEIR TAIL TO HELP ME WITH THIS, I DID IT ON MY OWN.
AND WITH THE HELP OF THE DEPARTURE FAMILY, MS. CHOPPA, MS. MCADAMS, AND, UH, THE LATE WENDELL MCADAMS, WHO WAS MY UNCLE, WHO WAS THE FIRST, UH, GRAND MARSHALL VETERANS DAY,
[01:35:01]
UH, PARADE.AND WE HAD MEETINGS HERE AT CITY HALL.
WE HAD MEETINGS AT PEOPLE'S HOUSES, I REMEMBER.
AND WE JUST, IT WAS GRASSROOTS.
IT WAS, WE JUST DID IT ON OUR OWN AND IN TIME WE GOT THE CITY TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'RE GOING AND THIS IS WHAT WE PROPOSED AND, AND WE WENT FROM THERE.
UH, BUT A LOT OF IT WAS COMMUNITY BASED.
A LOT OF IT WAS SOMEBODY, UH, ONE FAMILY ON THEIR OWN PAYING FOR THE, UH, BAGPIPER AND ALSO REACHING OUT TO OTHER VETERAN GROUPS TO, UH, HOST THAT.
THE ONLY THING WE DID WAS THE CITY DID WAS WE'LL SET UP SOME TENTS AT GREG CLARK PARK AND JUST INVITE A BUNCH OF VENDORS AND WE'LL SEE HOW IT GOES.
AND THAT'S HOW ACTUALLY I FIRST MET, UH, UH, FORMER COUNCIL MEMBER DANIELLA PARSLEY.
'CAUSE SHE HAD HER, UH, HER BOOTH OUT THERE.
SO I GUESS MY QUESTION TO YOU, UH, MS. APTA IS WHAT IS IT SPECIFICALLY ARE YOU ASKING FOR? BECAUSE AGAIN, SOME PEOPLE COULD SAY, LET'S JUST BUY A BUNCH OF FLYERS AND SOME, UH, WHATEVER IT IS, HAVE MUSIC OUT THERE.
BUT WOULD THAT BE, IS THAT RECOGNIZING THE COMMUNITY ON THAT JUST A SPECIFIC DAY? OR SHOULD IT BE RECOGNIZED EVERY DAY? UM, AND DOES IT HAVE TO BE JUNE? I HEAR SAN MARCUS DOES THEIRS IN SEPTEMBER AND AUSTIN, WHEN DOES AUSTIN DO, I MEAN IT'S, IT'S LIKE A YEAR-ROUND THING, SO IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE SPECIFICALLY IN JUNE.
BUT I'M JUST TRYING TO GET AN UNDERSTANDING FROM YOU.
WHAT IS IT THAT YOU ARE ASKING THE CITY TO FUND? THE AGENDA ITEM ITSELF SAYS TO CONSIDER AND DISCUSS DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO BRING BACK OPTIONS FOR THE CITY OF KYLE TO HOST AN LGBTQ PLUS PRIDE EVENT, INCLUDING POTENTIAL FORMATS AND ESTIMATED COSTS.
THERE IS NOT ONE IN PARTICULAR GOAL IN TERMS OF WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE.
I WANT FOR THAT TO BE DECIDED UPON BY COUNCIL AS TO WHAT WE DECIDE TOGETHER WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
AND I APPRECIATE THE STORY THAT YOU SHARED BECAUSE I THINK IT GENUINELY ILLUSTRATES THE FAILURE OF CITY GOVERNMENT AT THAT TIME TO ACTUALLY PROPERLY RECOGNIZE AND SUPPORT VETERANS BECAUSE THE CITY FAILED, BECAUSE GOVERNMENT FAILED.
RESIDENTS HAD TO STEP UP AND DO IT THEMSELVES.
AND THEN EVEN AFTER THAT, YOU CONTINUED GOING BACK TO THE CITY.
WHY? BECAUSE IT MEANS SOMETHING, IT MEANS SOMETHING FOR THE CITY TO RECOGNIZE AND PUT ANY SORT OF BACKING BEHIND AN EVENT LIKE THIS.
AND AS DISCUSSED IN MY EARLIER STATEMENT, ANY OF THE OPTIONS PRESENTED COULD ALSO INCLUDE ONE THAT IS BUDGET NEUTRAL IN ONE IN WHICH THE CITY COULD.
AND THIS IS JUST AN OPTION WHERE THE CITY COULD JUST PROVIDE THE SPACE AND WE FIGURE OUT THE SPONSORSHIPS IN ORDER TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
BUT LIKE I SAID, THE ENTIRE AGENDA ITEM ITSELF IS JUST TO BRING BACK OPTIONS FOR US TO DISCUSS.
AND THAT'S WHY I'M, I'M COMING BACK TO YOU AGAIN BECAUSE IT IS YOUR ITEM ALONG WITH DR. HARRIS.
WHAT IS IT SPECIFICALLY LIKE WITH, WHEN I CAME FORWARD AND THIS IS WHAT I REQUESTED OR WHAT WE COULD DO, WHAT IS IT SPECIFICALLY YOU ARE REQUESTING? WHAT, WHAT YOUR IDEA OF A PRIDE EVENT WOULD CONSIST OF? I DON'T THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I THINK WHAT IT IS, IS THAT YOU'RE SAYING, WELL, I WANT THE CITY TO DO IT.
IT SEEMS LIKE I WANT THE CITY TO MAKE THE PLAN.
WELL, WHO IN THE CITY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THE PARKS DIRECT, UH, PARKS DIRECTOR IN THE FUTURE? ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THE PARKS, UH, COMMITTEE, THE PARK BOARD? ARE WE, ARE WE SPECIFICALLY ASKING THEM? AND HERE'S ANOTHER OPTION.
HAVE, HAVE YOU REACHED OUT TO THE ARTS AND CULTURAL COMMISSION AND SEE WHAT THEY HAVE ON THE AGENDA FOR NEXT YEAR? HAVE WE REACHED OUT TO THAT GROUP, LIKE THE PARKS BOARD OR THE LIBRARY BOARD? HAVE WE REACHED OUT TO THEM AND SAID, HEY LOOK, I HAVE THIS IDEA.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT YOU GUYS COMING AND, AND, AND WORKING WITH ME ON THIS PROJECT? 'CAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I FEEL STRONGLY ABOUT ON THAT END BECAUSE I, I THINK WHAT IT IS, I, I HEAR YOUR PASSION AND I SEE WHAT IT IS AND EVERYBODY HERE THAT'S IN THE AUDIENCE THAT'S SUPPORTING YOU.
BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IF, IF YOU'RE REQUESTING THE CITY TO PLAN THESE THINGS, IS IT LIKE, IS IT GOING TO BE SATISFACTORY IN A SENSE TO WHERE IT'S LIKE, WELL, NO, IT WAS ONLY 2000 OR 3000 AND SOME PEOPLE, OH, YOU SEE NOTHING, IT WAS, IT, IT WASN'T VERY WELL ATTENDED.
OR, OR WE GONNA, OR YOU'RE LOOKING AT SOMETHING THAT'S VERY GRAND OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND.
[01:40:02]
WHAT IS IT THAT YOU'RE, I KNOW IT SAYS TO BRING, TO HAVE THE CITY MANAGER BRING BACK A FORMAT, AN ESTIMATED COST.BUT AGAIN, WHAT WOULD BE THE COST? ARE WE LOOKING AT $2,000 OR ARE WE LOOKING AT $20,000? YOU KNOW, ARE WE LOOKING AT, UH, A PARADE OR ARE WE LOOKING AT A HUGE FESTIVAL, YOU KNOW, ON THAT END, UM, KYLE FEST OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? WELL, HAVING, SO I'M JUST TRYING TO GET AN UNDERSTANDING, SINCE THIS IS YOUR ITEM, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR OPTIONS THAT YOU WOULD WANT THE CITY TO DO? I THINK THAT'S FOR US TO DECIDE AS A GROUP, AS I'VE STATED, THERE ISN'T ONE PARTICULAR VERSION OF THIS OUTCOME THAT IS REQUIRED.
AND BY, IF YOU WERE TO VOTE AGAINST THIS ITEM, YOU'RE VOTING AGAINST EVEN JUST HAVING THE DISCUSSION AS TO WHAT THOSE POTENTIAL FORMATS COULD BE.
BECAUSE RIGHT NOW ALL THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING IS WHETHER OR NOT IT CAN BE BROUGHT BACK FOR DISCUSSION, FOR CONSIDERATION FOR US TO LOOK AT WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL OPTIONS AVAILABLE.
BECAUSE I, I'M, I DON'T KNOW ALL OF THE POTENTIAL OPTIONS AVAILABLE.
I DO KNOW THAT THERE'S WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN MAKE IT BUDGET NEUTRAL.
I KNOW THAT'S AN AVENUE THAT STAFF COULD EXPLORE.
SO IF THIS IS, IF THIS IS ABOUT THE IDEA RELATED TO COSTS, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO COST A LOT OF MONEY.
WHAT MAKES IT MEANINGFUL IS THE FACT THAT IT IS CITY SUPPORTED.
WHAT MAKES IT FACT, WHAT MAKES IT IMPORTANT IS THE FACT THAT INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE OFTEN MARGINALIZED AND STILL DISCRIMINATED AGAINST, AS HEARD BY OUR PUBLIC COMMENT, ARE ABLE TO RECEIVE THE RECOGNITION AND WELCOME AND SAFETY AND CELEBRATION FROM THEIR OWN CITY GOVERNMENT.
WELL, I ALWAYS LOOK AT IT THAT YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF WHO YOU ARE EVERY DAY, WHETHER HISPANIC, BLACK OR YOU'RE LGBQ, UH, OR YOU'RE A VETERAN.
IT, IT'S, YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF WHO YOU ARE EVERY SINGLE DAY.
SO I KNOW WE'RE HAVING THIS DISCUSSION, BUT AGAIN, I I, I DON'T MEAN TO PUT IT BACK ON YOU AS FAR AS THAT, BUT IT, THIS IS YOUR AGENDA ITEM.
SO I'M TRYING TO NARROW DOWN MY SCOPE OF WHAT IT IS THAT YOU PERSONALLY FEEL THAT A FORMAT A A POTENTIAL FORMAT WOULD, WOULD BE FROM THE BEGINNING AND WHICH ORGANIZATIONS FROM WITHIN THE CITY, NOT JUST PUT IT ON THE CITY MANAGER, THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, THE ARTS AND CULTURE DEPARTMENT, THE LIBRARY, UH, KAYAK, I DON'T KNOW.
I'M JUST TRYING TO SAY THOSE, THAT'S PART OF THE CITY AS WELL.
THOSE GROUPS RIGHT THERE ARE PART OF THE CITY.
AND FOR WHAT I'M UNDERSTANDING IS WE HAVE SOME NONPROFIT GROUPS OUT HERE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT IS ALREADY SAID THAT THEY ARE WILLING TO POSSIBLY HELP WITH THIS EVENT.
AND HAVE WE REACHED OUT TO THEM ON THAT END TO SAY, OKAY, WELL MAYBE WE CAN FIGURE SOMETHING OUT.
YOU KNOW? UH, AND AGAIN, THIS IS FOR NEXT YEAR, CORRECT? THIS WILL BE FOR NEXT YEAR.
AND I'M SO EXCITED THAT WE'RE GONNA BE HAVING A COMMUNITY CENTER, UH, OPENING UP NEXT YEAR.
AND NOT ONLY WOULD WE BE ABLE TO HAVE NOT ONLY ONE PLACE, BUT WE COULD HAVE TWO LOCATIONS THAT YOU COULD BE WORKING THROUGH.
SO THAT'S WHY I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT FORMAT WOULD YOU BE CONS, WOULD YOU, ARE YOU LOOKING AT, AND LIKE I SAID ALREADY, EVEN IF, IF THE CITY RIGHT NOW IS IS, IS WORKING THROUGH ITS BUDGETS, YOU HAVE A GROUP OUT HERE, I BELIEVE THAT IS WILLING TO ASSIST IN THAT AS WELL.
WOULD THAT, WOULD THAT BE AN OPTION FOR YOU AS WELL? THAT IS WHAT, WHAT I STATED AND, AND WHAT I CONTINUE STATING AS WELL IS THAT THERE'S MULTIPLE FORMAT OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO US.
SOME OF THOSE ARE BUDGET NEUTRAL.
THE KYLE BUTTA AREA DEMOCRATS TALKED ABOUT IT MAYBE A WEEK AGO, THAT IF COUNCIL DID NOT PASS THIS, THAT THEY WOULD HOST SOMETHING.
HAYES COUNTY YOUNG DEMOCRATS ALSO SAID THE EXACT SAME THING.
SO IF WE WANT TO IT JUST TO BE SOLELY THE COMMUNITY THAT DOES THIS, THEN YES, THERE'S MULTIPLE OPTIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE.
HOWEVER, IN AN EFFORT TO KEEP IT AS NON-PARTISAN AS POSSIBLE, IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD BEHOOVE US AS A CITY TO SPONSOR SOMETHING AND DEVELOP IN WHATEVER FORMAT IT IS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES AND MECHANISMS FOR US TO MAKE THIS EVENT BUDGET NEUTRAL.
IT IS, IT IS POSSIBLE AND IT IS ACHIEVABLE.
AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THIS AGENDA ITEM DOES, IS IT REQUESTS FOR THOSE OPTIONS TO COME BACK TO US TO BE DISCUSSED, TO BE THOUGHT THROUGH, BECAUSE WE HAVE AN ENTIRE YEAR TO PLAN IT OUT.
[01:45:01]
WHY OTHER PRIDE EVENTS HAPPEN LATER IN THE YEAR IS BECAUSE IN MAJOR CITIES, THEY DON'T WANNA HAVE OVERLAPPING PRIDE EVENTS BECAUSE IN MAJOR CITIES, WHETHER THAT BE AUSTIN OR SAN MARCOS OR WIMBERLY, THEY GENERALLY HAVE TO COMPETE WITH THE LARGER EVENTS THAT ARE HAPPENING EITHER NATIONALLY WHERE PEOPLE TRAVEL TO.BECAUSE IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'VE ALL, ALL ALSO RECEIVED A HANDFUL OF EMAILS FROM INDIVIDUALS WHO ACTUALLY HOST ROUND ROCK PRIDE, WHO ACTUALLY HOST OTHER PRIDE EVENTS, WHETHER THAT BE IN LOCKHART OR SAN MARCOS.
AND THEY HAVE ALSO SHARED, AND BETA BY THE WAY, HAVE ALSO SHARED HOW MUCH THIS ACTUALLY DRIVES THEIR ECONOMY, HOW MUCH IT BRINGS OUT EXTERNAL INDIVIDUALS TO THE CITIES THAT THEY'RE REPRESENTING AND HELPS PEOPLE ENGAGE AND EXPLORE AND LEARN AND ALSO SPEND MONEY HERE.
AND QUITE FRANKLY, WE NEED THAT REVENUE INCOME.
SO WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ESTABLISH SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE SMALL IN COSTS, BUT BIG IN ACHIEVEMENT AND BIG IN MEANING.
ALRIGHT, ANY OTHER COMMENTS? COUNCIL MEMBER GZA, I WANT TO DISAGREE WITH THE FACT THAT, UM, AN EVENT SHOULD NOT FALL ON THE BACKS OF MARGINALIZED PEOPLE AND SHOULD BE ORGANIZED BY THE GOVERNMENT.
I BELIEVE A COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION IS NOT A BURDEN OR A FAILURE OF OUR GOVERNMENT ACROSS TEXAS.
MANY SUCCESSFUL PRIDE CELEBRATIONS AS WELL AS CULTURE FESTIVALS, RELIGIOUS EVENTS, CHARITABLE PROGRAMS, AND NEIGHBORHOOD GATHERINGS ARE ORGANIZED BY NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, VOLUNTEERS, RESIDENTS, AND PRIVATE SPONSORS.
THAT MODEL GIVES COMMUNITIES OWNERSHIP OF THEIR EVENTS WHILE ALLOWING THE CITY TO TREAT ALL ORGANIZATIONS CONSISTENTLY.
IN THIS CASE, A NONPROFIT HAS EXPRESSED WILLINGNESS TO HELP ORGANIZE THE PRIDE EVENT.
AND SEVERAL RESIDENTS, AS WELL AS MYSELF, HAVE PLEDGED PERSONAL FUNDS TO SUPPORT IT.
THAT'S NOT AN ABANDONMENT BY THE CITY.
IT'S RESIDENTS, ELECTED OFFICIALS, NONPROFIT AND PRIVATE SUPPORTERS WORKING TOGETHER WITHOUT REQUIRING TAXPAYERS TO FUND AN IDENTITY BASED EVENT.
THE ALTERNATIVE RAISES A SERIOUS POLICY QUESTION.
IF CITY GOVERNMENT HAS AN OBLIGATION TO CREATE AND PAY FOR AN OFFICIAL EVENT, WHENEVER A GROUP HAS HISTORICALLY EXPERIENCED MARGINALIZATION, WHICH GROUPS QUALIFY? WHO MAKES THAT DETERMINATION? AND WHAT NEUTRAL STANDARDS WOULD BE APPLIED TO FUTURE REQUESTS? BECAUSE WE ALREADY HAVE AN ORGANIZATION WHO HAS STEPPED FORWARD, THE CITY HAS THE ABILITY TO PROMOTE THAT PROGRAM SINCE IT WILL BE AT A CITY FACILITY, I FEEL LIKE THAT IS SUFFICIENT ENOUGH WITHOUT USING, UH, EXTRA TAXPAYER DOLLARS.
AND SO I WILL BE VOTING NO FOR THIS.
ANY OTHER I, COUNCIL MEMBER MCKINNEY? I WOULD ARGUE THAT A VOTE NO ON THIS IS BASICALLY SAYING THAT THE CITY CANNOT PARTICIPATE IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM.
SO, UM, WHEN I AGREED TO SEPARATE THE MARKET DAYS FROM THE PRIDE EVENT, IN MY MIND IT WAS ALWAYS THAT, THAT THE PRIDE EVENT TOOK SECOND FIDDLE TO THE MARKET DAY ITSELF.
AND I'VE ALWAYS FELT LIKE OUR L-G-B-T-Q COMMUNITY DESERVED THEIR OWN EVENT.
IT DESERVED SOMETHING TO BE CELEBRATED IN AND OF ITSELF WITHOUT HAVING TO SHARE A FORMAT WITH SOMETHING ELSE.
UH, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN MY INTENTION SINCE THAT DAY THAT WE WOULD COME UP WITH A SOLUTION, UM, MOSTLY THROUGH COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE CITY PARTNER WITH THE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT SO THAT WE CAN, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF LOGISTICS THAT, UH, IF WE'RE NOT PARTICIPATING IN IT JUST MAKES IT THAT MUCH MORE DIFFICULT.
UM, WHETHER IT'S USE OF A CITY OWNED FACILITY, WHETHER IT'S USE OF A CITY OWNED PARK, UM, THERE HAS TO BE SOME KIND OF COORDINATION IF WE'RE GONNA PARTICIPATE IN THAT.
UM, I WILL SAY THAT THE L-G-B-T-Q COMMUNITY IS NOT A STANDALONE ENTITY.
THEY ENCOMPASS EVERY KIND OF DEMOGRAPHIC THAT THERE IS.
THEY ARE A MUCH BIGGER PART OF THIS COMMUNITY THAN YOU WOULD LIKE TO, TO BELIEVE.
I MEAN, IT'S, I'VE GOTTEN SO MANY MORE EMAILS THAN I EXPECTED AND I'VE TRIED TO RESPOND TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.
AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM I'VE ASKED LIKE, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THIS EVENT LOOK LIKE? BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT THERE'S TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY TO PUT ON SOMETHING AMAZING THAT TRULY CELEBRATES A GROUP OF PEOPLE TO ALL THEY DO IS REPRESENT LOVE.
AND I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU CANNOT SUPPORT THAT.
IT IS HOW YOU, YOU CAN'T SUPPORT EQUALITY, HOW YOU CAN'T SUPPORT, UH, PEOPLE OVERCOMING ADVERSITY.
[01:50:01]
THAT IS, THAT'S NOT THE AMERICA THAT WE LIVE IN.THAT'S NOT THE AMERICA THAT, THAT I WANT TO REPRESENT.
I WANT EVERYONE TO FEEL INCLUDED.
THIS IS A PHENOMENAL COMMUNITY I SERVE IN THIS CAPACITY BECAUSE I HAVE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF LOVE FOR EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THIS CITY, WHETHER WE AGREE WITH EACH OTHER OR NOT.
AND I CANNOT SIT UP HERE AND NOT SUPPORT THIS COMMUNITY, UH, AND, AND SAY THAT I LOVE IT.
I'M JUST GONNA BRIEFLY SPEAK
UM, SO I, I READ THE EMAILS THAT WE RECEIVED TODAY, AND I, I APPRECIATED ALL OF THEM AND I'M GONNA ACKNOWLEDGE ALL OF THEM.
THERE WAS, UP UNTIL THE TIME WE GOT HERE, THERE WAS A MAJORITY THAT WAS AGAINST THE CITY, UM, HOSTING THIS KIND OF EVENT.
UM, BUT THERE WERE TWO PEOPLE THAT STUCK OUT TO ME.
ONE WAS, UH, YANI VA AND THE OTHER ONE WAS SEAN MARBURGER.
SEAN, UM, IS THE C COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND ENTERTAINMENT DIRECTOR FOR THE ROUND ROCK PRIDE.
SO I LOOKED UP ROUND ROCK PRIDE, AND THAT IS A NONPROFIT THAT IS NOT THE CITY OF ROUND ROCK YANI, ACTUALLY YANI AND OR YOI, UH, I MIGHT BE SAYING HIS NAME WRONG.
UH, AND SEAN BOTH ARE AT AGREED TO HELP US HELP WHOEVER HOLDS THIS EVENT.
UM, AND, AND AS SOMEBODY WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE FIRST VETERANS DAY PARADE, UM, I FOUND IT REFRESHING AND, UM, I FELT VERY LOVED.
I FELT LIKE A COMMUNITY WHEN WE GOT TOGETHER AND DID IT ON OUR OWN.
UM, I'M TORN BETWEEN BEING AN ELECTED OFFICIAL AND BEING A PERSON.
AND I WANNA SAY, UM, MEETING HATE WITH HATE OR WHAT YOU THINK SEEMS TO BE HATE IS NEVER THE ANSWER.
SO I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH MY 16-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER WHO ASKED WHAT A BIG IT WAS, BECAUSE APPARENTLY THOSE THAT DIDN'T AGREE WITH WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER ZAPATA SAID WERE HOMOPHOBIC AND THEY WERE BIGOTS.
SO I HAD A 30 MINUTE CONVERSATION WITH MY 16-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER WHO HAS FIVE GAY FRIENDS OVER AT THE HOUSE AS WE SPEAK.
AND IT CAME DOWN TO THE DEFINITION OF A NARROW-MINDED PERSON WHO, WHO ADHERES TO THEIR OWN OPINIONS AND PREJUDICES, ESPECIALLY ONE WHO STRONGLY AND UNFAIRLY DISLIKES OR FEELS HATRED TOWARDS ANOTHER, IS BASED ON THEIR GROUP MEMBERSHIP.
SO I GOT TO SPEND THAT TIME EXPLAINING TO MY KID WHY SOMEBODY THOUGHT THEIR MOM WAS A BIGOT.
SO REGARDLESS OF HOW WE VOTE TONIGHT, I THINK WE NEED TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND REALLY LOOK AT THE WAY WE TREAT EACH OTHER.
BECAUSE WHEN WE ARE SO BLINDED BY THE THINGS THAT WE WANT, AND WE UNFAIRLY LIKE PEOPLE WHO DISAGREE WITH US, AND YOU ALMOST FEEL HATE TOWARDS THOSE OTHER BASED ON THEIR GROUP MEMBERSHIP, THAT MAKES YOU A BIGOT.
I DON'T FEEL LIKE I'M A BIGOT.
I LOVE PEOPLE WHO CAME UP HERE AND SAID, PLEASE DON'T SPEND MY MONEY.
AND I LOVE PEOPLE WHO SAID, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE EXIST AND THAT WE ARE HERE.
AND I AGREE WITH BOTH, AND I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN DO THAT.
DOESN'T MEAN WE HAVE TO HOST IT JUNETEENTH.
WE DON'T HOST, BUT WE DO SUPPORT IT.
AND I BELIEVE WE CAN DO THAT THROUGH THE WORK OF THE NONPROFIT.
I WOULD LOVE TO GET ON THE PHONE, SEAN MARBURGER AND MR. VA AND HAVE THEM COME HELP.
SO I HOPE AS WE MOVE FORWARD THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA SIT HERE AND DEGRADE EACH OTHER AND WE'RE NOT GONNA BE, I LOVE THE PASSION.
AND I REMEMBER BEING THAT PERSON IN 2020.
AND I SIT IN THIS CHAIR WITH FOUR YEARS OF EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING HOW TO NOT LET EVERYTHING GET UNDER MY SKIN.
[01:55:01]
FOR AS MANY POSTS AS THERE ARE ABOUT COUNCILMAN ZAPATA, THERE'S THAT MANY POSTS ABOUT ME FROM HERUM, AND, AND I, I STILL HAVE THE FLOOR.
PEOPLE HAVE TOLD ME, YVONNE, WE THOUGHT YOU WERE THE DEVIL.
I'VE SPOKEN TO PEOPLE WHO SAID WE WERE TOLD REALLY BAD THINGS ABOUT YOU.
THE MAJORITY OF 'EM KNOW WHO I AM.
AND SO IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO PAINT ME AS A DEVIL, SO BE IT.
I EMBRACE EVERY TIKTOK, EVERY YOUTUBE, THERE'S A WHOLE YOUTUBE WITH ME ROLLING MY EYES FROM THE FIRST TIME I WAS ELECTED AND I NEVER GOT OFFENDED BY IT.
THOSE WERE MY EYES, THAT WAS MY ACTIONS AND I'M ACCOUNTABLE FOR IT.
BUT WHAT I'M ASKING FOR AS A DIOCESE, AS WE MOVE FORWARD, NOT TO BE SO HATEFUL, NOT TO BE SO ANGRY, NOT TO BE SO MAD.
'CAUSE WE DON'T GET THE THINGS THAT WE'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT.
IF THAT WERE THE CASE, I'D STILL BE MAD ABOUT NOT GETTING MY ONE 50 BYPASS BACK IN THE 2022 BOND.
AND SO AS WE MAKE THIS VOTE, I THINK WE DO NEED TO GIVE MORE DIRECTION THAN JUST, HEY, WE'RE GONNA DO, FOR ME, IT HAS TO BE MORE, IT'S GONNA HAVE TO INCLUDE A NONPROFIT AS LITTLE TAX PAY DOLLARS AS YOU KNOW, AS POSSIBLE.
UM, ASKING TO RE-LOOK AT ROUNDABOUTS THAT DON'T HAVE A PEDESTRIAN REQUIRED REPORT IS NOT THE SAME TO ME AS HOLDING EVENTS.
AND I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT A PRIDE EVENT.
I'M TALKING ABOUT EVENTS IN GENERAL.
WE GOT A REALLY GREAT EMAIL FROM SOMEBODY THAT SAID, I DON'T CARE IF IT'S 6,000 OR 60,000, WHEN THE AMOUNT THAT WE ARE NO LONGER IN DEBT IS ZERO, THEN WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT.
AND I RESPECT THAT IF THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE, NONPROFITS, COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT ARE WILLING TO SHOW UP, STEP UP AND, AND HOLD THESE EVENTS, I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW WE COULD SAY NO TO THAT C COUNCIL MEMBER, TOBIAS.
UH, DO YOU MIND IF I HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM CASS COME TO THE PODIUM? JUST A LITTLE BACKGROUND.
THERE WAS A PROPOSAL THAT WAS SENT TO US, TO SOME OF US ABOUT THE CAS EVENT.
SO I WAS THOUGHT THAT I WAS UNTUCK TO SPEAK ACTUALLY AFTER YOU.
WHAT'S THAT? SHE WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK BEFORE YOU.
THAT'S, WELL, I WAS JUST ON STACK LIKE BEFORE THAT.
AND THEN ONCE YOU'RE DONE, OKAY, YOU'RE GOOD.
UM, WELL, ONE, DO NOT INFANTALIZE ME.
UM, TWO, THE LEVEL OF HATE AND DISCRIMINATION THAT HAS BEEN SENT MY WAY, EVEN IN JUST BRINGING ABOUT THIS ITEM, INCLUDES PHOTOS OF ME WITH GIANT RED XS OVER MY FACE BEING SENT TO ME.
INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE SITTING IN THE AUDIENCE HERE TODAY, WHO CONTINUE TO SPREAD INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE I LIVE.
INDIVIDUALS SITTING IN THIS AUDIENCE HERE TODAY WHO TALK ABOUT MY INTERRACIAL RELATIONSHIP OR PREVIOUS RELATIONSHIP AND WHO ARE NOW ALSO TALKING ABOUT MY QUOTE UNQUOTE CHOSEN SEXUALITY.
WHEN YOU ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY SAYING THAT YOU CANNOT SUPPORT THIS ITEM FOR WHATEVER PARTICULAR REASON, YOU ARE ALSO SIDING WITH THAT.
AND, AND THAT, EXCUSE ME, I HAVE THE FLOOR RIGHT NOW.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU WILL ULTIMATELY HAVE TO LIVE WITH.
I, FOR ONE, DO NOT APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT I AM BEING DRIVEN TO MAKE IT SEEM AMONGST THIS SHOW AS IF I'M SOMEHOW THE PERPETRATOR OF EVERYTHING LEADING TO THE CHAOS THAT THIS CITY HAS ABSORBED WHEN THAT HASN'T BEEN THE CASE WHATSOEVER.
THERE HAVE BEEN MOMENTS WHEN YOU YOURSELF HAVE STEPPED ON THIS DAES, AND I DON'T HOLD THOSE INSTANCES AGAINST YOU.
THERE HAVE ALSO BEEN MOMENTS PRIVATELY VIA EMAIL WHERE ONE, YOU GAVE ME A HUG THAT FRANKLY I DID NOT ASK FOR.
AND THEN VIA EMAIL, YOU SAID, DO NOT MISTAKE THAT HUG FOR WEAKNESS, WHICH WAS KIND OF WEIRD IN MY OPINION.
I THINK IT WAS KINDNESS FOR WEAKNESS, AND IT WAS THE FACT THAT YOU GAVE AN UNWANTED HUG AND THEN SOMEHOW USED IT AGAINST ME.
UM, BUT I THINK MORE THAN THAT, THIS ENTIRE ITEM IS SIMPLY ABOUT ADDRESSING SOMETHING SMALL BUT MEANINGFUL.
AND I KNOW THAT WE CAN ACHIEVE THAT.
AND ALSO, TO BE CLEAR, ROUND ROCK PRIDE IS A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION, BUT THE CITY DOES SPONSOR IT.
[02:00:01]
THE CITY DOES SPONSOR EVENTS HOSTED BY THAT NONPROFIT AND THE CITY TOGETHER.AND THOSE ARE OPTIONS THAT WE CAN PURSUE HERE TODAY.
AND THAT'S WHAT I'M ASKING FOR.
COUNCIL MEMBER TO MAY PRETEND TO BE US.
THANK YOU, UH, CAS AND MS. CONLEY FOR, FOR STAYING WITH US.
SO, UM, I HEARD THAT THERE COULD BE, UH, SOMETHING THAT YOU, YOUR GROUP, THE CS GROUP, THE WONDERFUL SENIORS ARE MAYBE PROPOSING FOR THIS TYPE OF EVENT NEXT YEAR.
WOULD YOU MIND MAYBE, UH, GIVING ME OR JUST GIVING US AN IDEA AGAIN OF A POTENTIAL IDEA THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE? UM, BUT YOU NEED ONE CORRECTION OR JUST GO AHEAD.
UM, HAS IS PART OF IT BECAUSE I SEEK THEM OUT AS A VENUE.
UM, THERE'S, UH, SO THEY'RE PART OF THE VENUE AND THEY'RE ALSO, UM, EVERY, THE TWO PRIDE MONTHS, TWO MARKET DAYS, I DID THE HISTORICAL PART, UM, AND DID A LITTLE MINI MUSEUM MM-HMM
SO IS IS IN THAT PART SAYING WE HAVE A PLACE.
UM, THE REST OF WHAT WAS SENT IS FROM SOMEONE WHO SAW THAT IT DIDN'T JUST WANT THE CITY TO THROW SOMETHING TOGETHER, SUCH AS LIKE A MARKET DAY WHERE I FELT LIKE IT WAS JUST AN AFTERTHOUGHT.
AND SO IT CAME TO MY HEART SAYING, WELL, IF I CAN'T GET ONE PERSON WHO HAS PASSION TO GIVE A DIRECTION AND THEN PUT IT IN THE CITY, THAT'S WHERE I CAME FROM, IS THAT I DO HAVE, I PUT OUT AND CALLED ZA.
UM, AND THOUGHT, WELL, MAYBE WE CAN GET THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE THOSE EXPERIENCES, THAT HAVE A VOICE THAT TOGETHER TO MAKE SOMETHING THAT IDENTIFIES KYLE AND NOT LOSE IT IN JUST A CHECK MARK EVENT.
SO I GUESS WHAT I'M GETTING AT NOW IN, IN, IN A NUTSHELL IS WAS THERE AN IDEA OF A POSSIBLE EVENT THAT EITHER YOURSELF YEAH.
OR LIKE I SAID, WHETHER CS OR SOMETHING WAS POTENTIALLY THINKING ABOUT HOSTING? YES.
SO I, UM, WOULD LIKE TO BRING, UM, KYLE PRIDE, UH, BE PROUD BU EVENT, UM, THAT USES A COMMITTEE TO BRING NONPROFITS RESOURCES, ASK THE ARTS AND CULTURAL BOARD TO POSSIBLY DO AN ART EXHIBIT, UM, ASK COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT TO DO A PIECE IN DIALOGUE, UM, AND MAKE IT AN, AN EVENT FOR THE DAY FOR THE FAMILY.
UH, FAMILY FRIENDLY THAT, UM, SHOWCASES THE HISTORY, UH, HAS HEALTHY DIALOGUE, HAVE FUN, HAS MERCHANDISE RESOURCES BECAUSE MARKET DAY HAS GREAT BOOSTS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO HAVE.
AND JUST TIE THAT ALL TOGETHER AND, AND, UM, AND THAT'S WHERE THE EVENT AND PASSION IS FROM.
AND, YOU KNOW, I STARTED TO GET SUPPORT.
AGAIN, SO BEFORE WE GET TO WHERE I WAS GETTING AT, I WANT EVERYBODY TO KNOW, AND WHEN IT CAME TO THE VOTE AGAIN FOR MARKET DAYS ON MY END, IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH ELIMINATING THE GAY, LESBIAN, TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY AT ALL.
AND IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH ELIMINATING HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH FROM SOMEBODY WHO ACTUALLY, WITH VANESSA WESTBROOK SPONSORED A, UH, FROM THE LOVE OF ART A FAMILIES OF KYLE BACK IN 20 22, 23, IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ELIMINATING OR CANCELING BLACK HISTORY MONTH OR JUNETEENTH.
WE DIDN'T EVEN, I DON'T THINK WE EVEN DID A PROCLAMATION THIS YEAR FOR MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY.
AND IT, BUT MARKET DAYS HAD NOTHING TO DEVOTE THAT I TOOK, HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH, IT HAD TO DO WITH WHAT THE CITY BROUGHT BACK SAYING THIS IS WHERE WE'RE AT FINANCIALLY.
IT WAS MORE OF A BUSINESS OBJECTIVE TO WHERE I LOOKED AT VERSUS ELIMINATING ANY KIND OF SPECIAL EVENTS THAT TOOK AWAY FROM ANY KIND OF CULTURAL OR ANY KIND OF RECOGNITION FROM PEOPLE ON THAT END.
AS PRESIDENT OF CAS WE FELT THAT IT'S MOST IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE WERE ACCEPTED BY THE COMMUNITY, NOT JUST GOVERNMENT DOING IT.
YOU WANT YOUR COMMUNITY TO ACCEPT YOU.
WHAT BETTER WAY THAN LETTING THE COMMUNITY, US AND NONPROFITS GET INVOLVED AND EDUCATE AND, AND HAVE THE FESTIVAL AND JUST MAKE IT BIGGER EACH YEAR.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHERE I WAS GETTING AT.
IF YOU'D LIKE, I LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND MAKE A MOTION IF POSSIBLE.
I LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION FOR THE, FOR THE CITY TO LOOK AT WORKING WITH THE NONPROFITS GROUPS, INCLUDING OUR PARKS DEPARTMENT, OUR ARTS AND
[02:05:01]
COMMISSIONS GROUP, ALONG WITH COUNCIL MEMBER CLAUDIA ZAPATA ON POTENTIAL, WHAT DO I HAVE HERE? A POTENTIAL FORMAT FOR AN EVENT.FOR AN EVENT FOR PRIDE OF 2027 NEXT YEAR.
OH, I WAS GONNA SAY, MY ONLY FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO THAT IS THAT IT'S COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, NOT JUST NONPROFITS.
'CAUSE SOME OF THE GROUPS THAT DO WORK HERE ARE COMMUNITY ORGS.
THAT IS WHY YOU'RE GOING TO BE WORKING DIRECTLY WITH OUR PARKS DEPARTMENT AND OUR ARTS AND CULTURE TO REACH OUT IN THAT SENSE THERE.
AND THEN, SINCE YOU HAVE A NONPROFIT THAT IS WILLING TO SPONSOR THESE THINGS, WHEN IT COMES TO PEOPLE SAYING, WELL, OUR TAX DOLLARS ARE COMING TO, ON THIS END, WHEREVER THE FACILITY IS, IT'S PRETTY MUCH GONNA BE A CITY FACILITY.
SO AS FAR AS THE TAX DOLLARS GOES, UH, I'M TRYING TO BE MORE OF AN ALL BRANCH ON THIS.
AND I'M TRYING TO BASICALLY SAY, NOT SO MUCH SPENDING A DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT I KNOW THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE, UH, EITHER IN FAVOR OF OR AGAINST, BUT WHAT I'M DOING IS I'M LETTING, I'M, I'M, THE MOTION THAT I HAVE IS FOR OUR NON-PROFIT GROUPS TO PLAN THIS AND WORK WITH EITHER THE PARTS OR ARTS COMMISSION, WHATEVER IT IS, WHATEVER FORMAT IT IS.
AND TO WORK WITH YOU DIRECTLY ON THIS, WELL, TO WORK WITH THE CITY.
I WANT YOU TO BE INVOLVED WITH THIS TO WORK WITH.
WHAT WAS THE, UH, UM, MOTION? THE MOTION IS TO HAVE THE CITY TO WORK WITH NONPROFITS ALONG WITH YOU AND THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND THE ARTS AND CULTURAL COMMISSION TO WORK ON BRINGING AN EVENT FOR NEXT YEAR.
BUT, BUT HAVE, SO THE CITY IS INCLUDED IN THAT.
BECAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE TO BE THEIR FACILITY.
I THINK THAT WHAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND FATHER WAS SAYING WAS NOT JUST TO LIMIT IT TO NON-PROFIT GROUPS, UM, BUT TO INCLUDE OTHER GROUPS THAT ARE NOT NECESSARILY NON-PROFIT WHO WHOEVER WANTS TO JOIN IN.
JUST LIKE WHAT WE DID WITH OUR VETERAN STATE PARADE, THAT WAS SO PROUDLY DONE WITH MR. PART.
SO FOR CLARITY, MAYOR TEMP TO BE AS THE MOTION IS TO WORK WITH NONPROFITS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS? YES.
AND YOU SECOND THAT MOTION? YES.
ARE WE GONNA BRING BACK OUT? HMM? ARE WE GONNA BRING BACK AN AMOUNT FIRST? RIGHT NOW, WE'RE JUST WORKING RIGHT NOW WITH THAT AND TO WORK WITH THEM ON A POTENTIAL FORMAT BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE DOLLAR AMOUNT JUST MM-HMM
BECAUSE FOR YOU, YOU NEVER KNOW.
YOU MAY HAVE SOMEBODY JUST WRITE A CHECK FOR ON THEIR OWN AS A NONPROFIT GROUP OR A PRIVATE OWNER.
IT'S GONNA SAY, HERE'S A CHECK.
AND WHETHER IT COULD BE ROUND ROCK, SAN MARCUS, OR ANY OTHER GROUPS THAT WANT TO COME IN AND JOIN, THAT'S GONNA BE UP TO THEM.
MAYOR, JUST TO BE CLEAR, IF STAFF IS BRINGING BACK THIS ITEM, IT WILL INCLUDE WHAT STAFF WOULD BE DOING AND A COST.
NOW WHETHER THAT COST IS PICKED UP BY A DONATION, THAT'S A SEPARATE STORY, BUT STAFF WOULD NEVER BRING BACK A PROPOSAL FOR A SPECIAL EVENT WITHOUT A COST ATTACHED TO IT.
SO WE'LL JUST GET THE INFORMATION FOR THE EVENT AND THEN MM-HMM
AND AGAIN, THIS IS NEXT YEAR, SO THEY HAVE A WHOLE EIGHT MONTHS TO GO.
WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
CAN I GET A ROLL CALL VOTE PLEASE.
MAYOR, CAN YOU RESTATE THE SECOND? SECOND? IT'S LAURA LEE.
WHO WAS THE SECOND? LAURA LEE.
[14) Consider approval of a Resolution (1) identifying, selecting, and prioritizing specific areas for the scope of separate or sequenced forensic audits; (2) authorizing the Interim City Manager to develop and issue Requests for Proposals (RFPs) from qualified firms to conduct forensic audit-based investigative examinations of the specific areas identified by, and in the priority order established by, the City Council; and (3) directing the Interim City Manager to return to the City Council with a recommended contract award for approval of a forensic auditor prior to engagement and commencement of each prioritized scope of forensic audit.]
WE HAVE AGENDA ITEM 14, CONSIDER APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION, IDENTIFYING, SELECTING AND PRIORITIZING SPECIFIC AREAS FOR THE SCOPE OF SEPARATE OR SE SEQUENCED FORENSIC AUDITS.AUTHORIZING THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER TO DEVELOP AN ISSUE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FROM QUALIFIED FIRMS TO CONDUCT FORENSIC FORENSIC AUDIT BASED INVESTIGATION EXAMINATIONS OF THE SPECIFIC AREAS IDENTIFIED BY AND IN THE PRIORITY ORDER ESTABLISHED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IN DIRECTING THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER TO RETURN TO THE CITY COUNCIL WITH A RECOMMENDED
[02:10:01]
CONTRACT AWARD FOR APPROVAL OF A FORENSIC AUDIT PRIOR TO ENGAGEMENT AND COMMENCEMENT OF EACH PRIORITIZED SCOPE OF FORENSIC AUDIT.ITEM PRESENTER, PEREZ MOHE MAYOR, MAYOR PROTIME.
COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR THE RECORD, I'M PEREZ MOHE CITY'S INTERIM CITY MANAGER AND DIRECTOR OF FINANCE.
SO TONIGHT I'M GONNA COVER REGARDING THIS FORENSIC AUDIT AGENDA ITEM, CITY COUNCIL'S DIRECTION TO INTERIM CITY MANAGER.
OVERVIEW OF A FORENSIC AUDIT, SPECIFIC ACTIONS BY CITY COUNCIL THAT I AM REQUESTING TODAY WILL GO OVER THE SPECIFIC SCOPE OR ISSUES FOR FORENSIC AUDIT BASED EXAMINATIONS.
WE WILL BRIEFLY COVER NEXT STEPS, AN ESTIMATED TIMELINE FOR FIRST FORENSIC AUDIT SCOPE, WHICH EVERYONE COUNSEL DECIDES ON.
AND THEN I'M GONNA ASK COUNSEL TO HELP WITH THE SCOPE SELECTION WITH PRIORITIZING, WHICH OF THOSE GO FIRST, SECOND, THIRD, AND SPECIFIC DIRECTION FROM CITY COUNCIL.
AND THEN LASTLY, WE'LL WRAP IT UP WITH QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.
SO CITY COUNCIL GAVE ME AS THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER DIRECTION, SPECIFICALLY AT THE JUNE 2ND COUNCIL MEETING.
AND THIS SPECIFIC DIRECTION STATED DIRECT THE CITY MANAGER TO RETURN WITH OPTIONS FOR RETAINING AN INDEPENDENT THIRD PARTY FIRM TO CONDUCT A FORENSIC AUDIT, INCLUDING PROPOSED SCOPE, COSTS AND TIMELINES.
THE POTENTIAL AUDIT SCOPE COULD INCLUDE REVIEW OF POTENTIAL FRAUD, MISUSE OF TAXPAYER FUNDS AND FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS RELATED TO CREDIT CARD EXPENDITURES, PROCUREMENT PRACTICES, PAYROLL AND CONTRACT AWARDS.
SO BEFORE WE GET INTO THE SPECIFIC SCOPES THAT I HAVE IDENTIFIED, I WOULD LIKE TO SPEND A FEW MINUTES TO GO OVER WHAT A FORENSIC AUDIT.
SOME OF THESE SLIDES MAY LOOK FAMILIAR BECAUSE WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT IT BEFORE.
SO OVERVIEW OF A FORENSIC AUDIT.
A FORENSIC AUDIT IS AN INVESTIGATIVE EXAMINATION OF FINANCIAL RECORDS DESIGNED TO FIND EVIDENCE OF FRAUD, EMBEZZLEMENT, THEFT, CORRUPTION, FINANCIAL, OR OTHER SERIOUS MISCONDUCT.
THIS TYPE OF AUDIT IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM AN INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL AUDIT, WHICH PRIMARILY EXAMINES AND CHECKS ACCURACY OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND FOR COMPLIANCE WITH REGULATORY STANDARDS.
SO I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT UPFRONT GOING INTO THIS.
UNLIKE AN ANNUAL INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL AUDIT, A FORENSIC AUDIT LOOKS FOR INTENTIONAL WRONGDOING, RECONSTRUCTS FINANCIAL EVENTS AND TRANSACTIONS GATHERS LEGALLY ADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE, OFTEN SUPPORTS LITIGATION OR CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.
A FORENSIC AUDIT IS NOT JUST ABOUT WHETHER THE ACCOUNTING RECORDS ADD UP, IT IS ABOUT DETERMINING A RECESS.
NEED A CALL? MOTION TO TAKE A 10 MINUTE RECESS.
HAD A LITTLE EMERGENCY OUTSIDE.
UH, HOPEFULLY EVERYTHING'S OKAY.
SO I'M SORRY MR. MOHE, IF YOU CAN CONTINUE.
SO I WAS REVIEWING WHAT A FORENSIC AUDIT IS ALL ABOUT.
[02:15:03]
SO FORENSIC AUDIT IS NOT JUST ABOUT WHETHER THE ACCOUNTING RECORDS ADD UP.IT IS ABOUT DETERMINING WHAT HAPPENED, WHEN DID IT HAPPEN, HOW DID IT HAPPEN? WHO WAS INVOLVED, HOW AND WHY DID IT REMAIN UNDETECTED? WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF ANY FINANCIAL LOSS? WILL, WILL THE EVIDENCE HOLD UP IN COURT OR OTHER LEGAL PROCEEDINGS? THE KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF A FORENSIC AUDIT INCLUDES IS INVESTIGATIVE IN NATURE.
IT MAY INCLUDE INTERVIEWS, DATA ANALYSIS, AND TRACING.
MONEY FLOWS, IT'S PURPOSE DRIVEN LOOKS.
IT LOOKS FOR A WRONGDOING, NOT JUST ERRORS.
IT DOCUMENTS AND GATHERS AND PRESERVES FOR LEGAL USE IS COURT READY.
FINDINGS ARE WRITTEN SO THEY CAN BE USED IN LAWSUITS OR CRIMINAL CASES.
WHEN IS A FORENSIC AUDIT ORDERED? IN A LOCAL GOVERNMENT, A CITY OR COUNTY GOVERNMENT TYPICALLY ORDERS A FORENSIC AUDIT WHEN THERE ARE RED FLAGS OR CREDIBLE ALLEGATIONS.
EXAMPLES INCLUDE THERE ARE ORDERED BY A COURT OR A STATE AGENCY, OR A FEDERAL AUTHORITY REQUIRED TO ACCESS GRANTS, TAX EXEMPT BONDS, OR EMERGENCY FUNDING, OR WHEN THERE IS SUSPECTED FRAUD OR EMBEZZLEMENT.
EXAMPLES INCLUDE MISSING FUNDS, UNAUTHORIZED PAYMENTS, PROCUREMENT FRAUD, PAYROLL FRAUD, OR GHOST EMPLOYEES, MAJOR FINANCIAL IRREGULARITIES, LARGE UNEXPLAINED BUDGET OVERRUNS, REPEATED AUDIT FINDINGS THAT NEVER GET RESOLVED.
CORRUPTION CONCERNS INCLUDING KICKBACKS, BID RIGGING, CONFLICT OF INTEREST, OR OTHER, UH, SIMILAR CONCERNS AND CONTRACTS, WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINTS, INTERNAL STAFF OR CONTRACTORS RAISE CONCERNS, ANONYMOUS TIPS THAT APPEAR CREDIBLE WHEN FOLLOWED UP, WHO ORDERS AND CONDUCTS A FORENSICS FORENSIC AUDIT, TYPICALLY ORDERED BY CITY COUNCIL.
CITY MANAGER, STATE OR FEDERAL REGULATORY AGENCIES IS CONDUCTED BY INDEPENDENT FORENSIC ACCOUNTING FIRMS, GOVERNMENT AUDITORS.
BUT NEVER SHOULD IT BE, EXCUSE ME, NEVER SHOULD IT BE CONDUCTED BY INTERNAL STAFF.
DOES A FORENSIC AUDITOR HAVE SUBPOENA AUTHORITY? THE FORENSIC AUDITOR TYPICALLY WOULD NOT HAVE INDEPENDENT SUBPOENA AUTHORITY UNLESS EXPLICITLY GRANTED.
IN THE CITY CHARTER UNDER THE KYLE CITY CHARTER, THE KYLE CITY COUNCIL HAS SUBPOENA AUTHORITY FOR INVESTIGATIONS INTO MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS, SPECIFICALLY ARTICLE FOUR, SECTION 4.0 3M STATES THAT THE COUNCIL MAY MAKE INVESTIGATIONS INTO MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS AND SUBPOENA PERSONS DOCUMENTS AND RECORDS AND COMPEL THE ATTENDANCE OF WITNESSES AND THE PRODUCTION OF RECORDS FOR SUCH PURPOSE.
SO THE CITY CHARTER GIVES COUNSEL THAT SUBPOENA POWER.
WHAT DOES A FORENSIC AUDIT REPORT INCLUDE? A DETAILED EVIDENCE BASED AND FULLY DOCUMENTED REPORT IDENTIFYING WHAT HAPPENED, WHEN DID IT HAPPEN, HOW DID IT HAPPEN? WHO WAS INVOLVED, WHY, AND HOW DID IT REMAIN UNDETECTED? WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF ANY FINANCIAL LOSS WHERE THE EVIDENCE CAN HOLD UP IN COURT OR NOT? REPORT WILL ALSO INCLUDE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CRIMINAL REFERRALS, CIVIL RECOVERY POLICY, AND INTERNAL CONTROL SOLUTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS.
SO THE CITY COUNCIL'S ACTIONS THAT I'M REQUESTING TODAY FOR THE UM, FORENSIC AUDIT PROCESS THAT COUNCIL DIRECTED ME TO COME BACK WITH ARE AS FOLLOWS.
I AM RECOMMENDING A PHASED APPROACH OR SEQUENCING OF THE FORENSIC AUDIT IN ORDER TO MANAGE THE SOLICITATION AND CONTRACT PROCESS, THE STAFF THAT WILL BE REQUIRED TO SUPPORT AND COORDINATE REQUIREMENTS DURING THE AUDIT AND THE FUNDING REQUIREMENTS.
[02:20:01]
COUNCIL'S FEEDBACK ON SPECIFIC SCOPE OF FORENSIC AUDIT BASED EXAMINATIONS.I AM REQUESTING YOUR DIRECTION ON SEVEN SPECIFIC SCOPE OR ISSUES IDENTIFIED US COUNCIL CAN MAKE MODIFICATIONS, YOU CAN ADD YOUR OWN SCOPE OR DELETE ANY THAT I AM GOING TO REVIEW WITH YOU.
THE GOAL TONIGHT IS FOR THE CITY COUNCIL TO FINALIZE SPECIFIC SCOPE SLASH ISSUES FOR THE FORENSIC AUDIT EXAMINATIONS.
I'M ALSO ASKING CITY COUNCIL'S DIRECTION TO HELP PRIORITIZE THOSE SPECIFIC SCOPE OR ISSUES FOR, FOR FORENSIC AUDIT EXAMINATIONS HELP DETERMINE PRIORITY BASED PHASES OR SEQUENCING OF THESE AUDITS.
THE GOAL HERE IS FOR THE CITY COUNCIL TO SELECT AND APPROVE THE SEQUENCING ORDER FOR THE FORENSIC AUDIT SCOPE OR ISSUES TO BE EXAMINED.
SO HERE ARE THIS THE, UM, SCOPE ISSUES THAT I AM RECOMMENDING BASED ON THE PUBLIC DISCUSSIONS.
THE ONE SPECIFIC MEETING I WAS IN ATTENDANCE, THAT'S, I'LL POINT THAT OUT TO YOU, BUT NONE OF THESE ARE LISTED ANY IN ANY SPECIFIC ORDER.
SO I'M GOING TO NEED YOUR HELP AT THE END AND YOUR DIRECTION, HOW YOU WOULD LIKE TO PRIORITIZE THESE.
SO THE FIRST ONE, THE FIRST SCOPE IS THE ALLEGED OVERPAYMENTS BY THE CITY FOR SPECIFIC PROPERTY ACQUISITIONS, THE SCOPE COULD BE CONDUCT AN INDEPENDENT FORENSIC AUDIT BASED INVESTIGATIVE EXAMINATION INTO ALLEGATIONS OF MISCONDUCT, BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY, IMPROPER PERSONAL ENRICHMENT, AND POTENTIAL WASTE OF PUBLIC FUNDS BY CITY OFFICIALS ARISING FROM ALLEGED OVERPAYMENTS FOR REAL ESTATE ACQUISITIONS OF THE FOLLOWING SPECIFIC PROPERTIES PURCHASED, AND THE AWARD OF RELATED REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE CONTRACTS BY THE CITY OF KYLE.
AND THIS WOULD INCLUDE SPECIFICALLY FIVE PROPERTIES LOCATED IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA THAT THE CITY ACQUIRED.
THREE PROPERTIES LOCATED ON VETERANS DRIVE, TWO PROPERTIES LOCATED ON REPUBLIC DRIVE AND TWO OTHER PROPERTIES LOCATED ON DACY LANE.
SO THIS IS THE FIRST SCOPE, BUT IT'S NOT IN ANY PRIORITY ORDER.
SO WHAT I INTEND TO DO IS TO RUN THROUGH ALL ALL OF 'EM AND THEN AT THE END, UM, REVISIT WITH COUNSEL FOR YOUR FEEDBACK AND PRIORITIZATION.
THE SECOND ONE IS ALLEGED IRREGULARITIES IN PROCUREMENT PROCESS AND CONTRACT ORDER.
THE SCOPE HERE IS AND CAN BE CONDUCT AN INDEPENDENT FORENSIC AUDIT BASED INVESTIGATIVE EXAMINATION INTO ALLEGATIONS OF MISCONDUCT, UE INFLUENCE, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND PROCUREMENT PROCESS, IRREGULARITIES BY CITY OFFICIALS IN THE SELECTION OF AND CONTRACT AWARD TO AMERICAN STRUCTURE POINT, INC.
THE THIRD INVOLVES ALLEGED WASTE, ABUSE AND IMPROPER USE OF CITY CREDIT CARDS.
THE SCOPE CAN BE CONDUCT AN INDEPENDENT FORENSIC AUDIT BASED INVESTIGATIVE EXAMINATION INTO ALLEGATIONS OF FRAUD, WASTE, ABUSE, AND OUR IMPROPER PERSONAL USE OF CITY ISSUED CREDIT CARDS BY SELECTED CITY OFFICIALS TO INCLUDE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, CITY MANAGER, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS, DEPUTY DIRECTORS AND ASSISTANT DIRECTORS, INCLUDING PROCEDURES DESIGNED TO IDENTIFY, ANALYZE, AND REPORT ON ANY IMPROPER, UNSUPPORTED OR PERSONALLY BENEFICIAL USE OF CITY ISSUED CREDIT CARDS BY CITY OFFICIALS COVERING THE PERIOD FROM TO.
[02:25:01]
I'M GONNA NEED DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL ON THIS ONE AS TO THE TIMEFRAME THAT THE COUNCIL WOULD LIKE TO THIS SCOPE TO INCLUDE OR EXAMINE.THE FOURTH ONE IS ALLEGED CORRUPTION PAYOFF, AN EXTORTION BY CITY OFFICIAL.
THIS IS THE ONE COUNSEL THAT I WAS IN A MEETING WHEN THIS WAS BROUGHT TO LIGHT IN MY PRESENCE.
SO I HAVE TO REPORT TO YOU AND I'M ALSO INCLUDING THIS ONE AS PART OF THIS, UH, SCOPE OF WORK CONDUCT AN INDEPENDENT FORENSIC AUDIT BASED INVESTIGATIVE EXAMINATION INTO ALLEGATIONS OF IMPROPRIETY, CORRUPTION, MISCONDUCT AND ABUSE OF OFFICIAL AUTHORITY BY A CITY OFFICIAL TO INFLUENCE AND EXTORT A BUSINESS OWNER AND KYLE, INCLUDING AN ALLEGED OFFER OF $1 MILLION OF CITY MONEY AND OTHER CITY OF KYLE RESOURCES IN EXCHANGE FOR FAVORABLE ACTION BY THE BUSINESS OWNER.
AND THIS WAS BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION FOR THE RECORD ABOUT A MONTH AGO.
NUMBER FIVE, ALLEGED CORRUPTION AND MISCONDUCT REPORTED BY CITY OFFICIAL TO KYLE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
CONDUCT AN INDEPENDENT FORENSIC AUDIT BASED INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPTION AND MISCONDUCT BY CITY OFFICIALS AS ALLEGED BY A FORMER HIGH RANKING CITY OFFICIAL AND SUBMIT IT TO THE KYLE POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR INVESTIGATION.
YOU'LL NOTICE ON MOST OF THESE, I AM LEAVING THE NAMES OUT OF THE SCOPE.
LET THE INVESTIGATORS FIGURE THAT OUT.
NUMBER SIX, ALLEGED CORRUPTION MISCONDUCT AND IMPROPER PERSONAL ENRICHMENT IN CONNECTION WITH CITY'S PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM.
THE SCOPE OF WORK CAN BE CONDUCT AN INDEPENDENT FORENSIC AUDIT BASED INVESTIGATIVE EXAMINATION INTO ALLEGATIONS OF FRAUD, CORRUPTION, MISCONDUCT, ABUSE OF AUTHORITY, AND IMPROPER PERSONAL ENRICHMENT BY CITY OFFICIALS IN CONNECTION WITH THE PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT DATA MANAGEMENT AND DATA UTILIZATION FOR THE CITY'S PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM, INCLUDING PROCUREMENT OF AND CONTRACT AWARD ASSOCIATED WITH THIRD PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS.
THIS IS ABOUT THE CITY'S UBER PROGRAM AND THE, UH, SPECIAL TRANSIT PROGRAM.
AND THE LAST ONE, AT LEAST IN THE ONES THAT I HAVE IDENTIFIED, I'M BRINGING FORWARD FOR YOU FOR POSSIBLE SCOPE OF WORK.
THE LAST ONE HERE IS REGARDING ALLEGED MISMANAGEMENT, RESULTING IN SIGNIFICANT DECLINE IN GENERAL FUND RESERVES.
AND THE SCOPE CAN BE CONDUCT AN INDEPENDENT FORENSIC AUDIT BASED INVESTIGATIVE EXAMINATION INTO ALLEGATIONS OF MISMANAGEMENT WITH SPECIFIC FOCUS ON DETERMINING THE CAUSES TIMELINE AND DECISION MAKING THAT RESULTED IN THE SIGNIFICANT DECLINE OF THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND RESERVE OR THE FUND BALANCE FROM A HIGH OF 34.2 MILLION IN FISCAL YEAR 2223 TO A PROJECTED LOW OF 10.3 MILLION IN FISCAL YEAR 25, 26.
THIS IS BASICALLY THE PRESENTATION THAT YOUR FINANCE TEAM PRESENTED TO COUNSEL ON MAY 16TH.
THAT KEEPS COMING BACK FOR AN ANSWER.
I BELIEVE THIS SCOPE OF WORK WILL PUT AN END TO THAT AND PUT IT TO REST FOR GOOD.
WHAT CAUSED WHAT, WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF THAT AND WHY DID IT HAPPEN? SO NEXT STEPS.
AN ESTIMATED TIMELINE FOR FIRST FORENSIC AUTO SCOPE.
DEPENDS ON WHICH ONE COUNSEL SELECTS OR AS A NEW ONE, THE TIMING MIGHT BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
IF WE WERE TO DO ONE JUST FOR ONE,
[02:30:01]
ONE SCOPE OF WORK.SO IN JULY, CITY COUNCIL'S REVIEWS AND APPROVES FORENSIC AUDIT SCOPE AND PRIORITIZATION.
IN AUGUST, STAFF DEVELOPS REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS FOR THE FIRST FORENSIC AUDIT SCOPE.
REMEMBER, WE'RE NOT GONNA DO ALL SEVEN AT THE SAME TIME.
WE'RE GONNA DO THIS IN PHASES.
IN SEPTEMBER, THE CITY'S BUDGET IS ADOPTED.
FUNDING IS SECURED FOR FISCAL YEAR 26 DASH 27.
IN OCTOBER, THE SOLICITATION PROCESS IS COMPLETED FOR THE FIRST FORENSIC AUDIT.
SCOPE OF WORK IN NOVEMBER, CITY COUNCIL SELECTS AND AWARDS THE CONTRACT FOR THE FORENSIC AUDITOR THAT SAME MONTH THE PROJECT KICKOFF TAKES PLACE FOR THE FIRST AUDIT MARCH APRIL TIMEFRAME.
REPORT TO COUNCIL IS PROVIDED BY THE AUDITOR AND IT ALSO DEPENDS ON THE SCOPE.
UH, IF IT'S A SMALLER SCOPE, IT CAN BE DONE BY APRIL, BUT IF IT'S A LARGER, MORE COMPLEX SCOPE, UH, IT MIGHT TAKE A LITTLE LONGER.
SO THAT JUST GIVES YOU AN ESTIMATED TIMELINE, WHAT, HOW LONG IT MIGHT TAKE TO GET ONE DONE.
SO NOW WE'RE TO WHERE I NEED COUNCIL DIRECTION FEEDBACK REGARDING THE SCOPE PRIORITIZATION AND YOUR DIRECTION.
SO ON THE LEFT YOU WILL SEE THE SCOPE.
WE WENT THROUGH ALL SEVEN OF 'EM AND I'LL GO EACH ONE ONE AT A TIME.
SO WHAT I NEED DIRECTION FROM COUNSEL IS ON THE RIGHT SIDE, YOU'LL SEE, DO WE INCLUDE THIS IN THE AUDIT SCOPE, YES OR NO? DOESN'T HAVE TO BE COMPLICATED RESPONSES.
THE PRIORITY, IS IT THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY OR THE NUMBER SEVEN PRIORITY? NUMBER ONE BEING THE HIGHEST, NUMBER SEVEN BEING THE LOWEST.
DO YOU WANT IT TO GO FIRST, SECOND, THIRD? IT MIGHT BE PRIORITY NUMBER ONE, BUT IT'S SO COMPLICATED.
YOU DON'T WANNA START WITH THAT ONE.
YOU MAY START THAT AS A NUMBER TWO SEQUENCE OR IT MAY BE ONE IN ONE FOR BOTH.
SO THE FIRST ONE THAT WE DISCUSSED WAS ALLEGATIONS OF OF OVERPAYMENTS BY CITY OFFICIALS FOR PROPERTY ACQUISITIONS AND AWARD OF REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE CONTRACT.
SO ARE WE GONNA INCLUDE THIS IN THIS FORENSIC AUDIT, YES OR NO? WELL, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR AMY.
UM, SHOULD THE COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT VOTED ON THOSE ACQUISITIONS REC BE RECUSED FROM THIS VOTE? SO I'M NOT SURE HOW MANY ARE HERE FROM SOME OF THE EARLIER ACQUISITIONS THAT MAY JUST BE COUNCIL MEMBER BIS 'CAUSE SOME OF THEM ARE BEFORE MY TIME.
UM, I FIND IT DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE IF THEY SHOULD BE RECUSED, UM, WITHOUT KIND OF UNDERSTANDING HOW THEY WOULD'VE BEEN INVOLVED.
IF THEY SIMPLY, YOU KNOW, WERE VOTING, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE VOTING FOR THE FORENSIC THAT AUDIT IT, THAT PROBABLY ISN'T A CONFLICT, RIGHT? IF THEY WERE MORE INVOLVED.
WELL, I'M PART OF THIS TOO, JUST SO YOU KNOW WHAT I VOTED IN FIRST.
I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT LIKE I'M I'M TICKING OFF THOSE OF US WHO HAVE AT LEAST BEEN A PART OF AT LEAST ONE OF THESE.
YEAH, THAT'S KIND OF THE CONCERN IS WE MAY HAVE A MAJORITY LEFT TO VOTE.
AND SO THERE ARE SOME WEIRD PROVISIONS IN STATE LAW WHEN THERE IS A MAJORITY.
THAT BASICALLY AS LONG AS THE THE CONFLICT IS DISCLOSED, AT SOME POINT YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO VOTE.
YOU CAN'T HAVE LESS THAN A QUORUM VOTING.
AND SO THEN THE ITEM JUST SITS THERE WITH NO DECISION MADE.
OKAY? UM, AND SO THAT MIGHT BE THE SITUATION WE'RE IN.
'CAUSE I FORGOT THAT YOU WERE ON FOR SOME OF THOSE OLDER ONES.
I WAS THINKING THEY WERE SOMEHOW BETWEEN YOU AND ME, BUT THERE WAS ONLY LIKE A MONTH BETWEEN WHEN YOU CAME OFF AND WHEN I CAME ON
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD, I DIDN'T WANT THIS TO BE AN ISSUE IN THE FUTURE.
IF THAT GOT BROUGHT UP, WHAT I WOULD SAY IS YOU PROBABLY VOTE ON YOUR, AT YOUR OWN RISK.
UM, IF YOU'RE VOTING NO ON THIS AND THERE'S, THERE'S A LIKELIHOOD THAT SOMEBODY'S GONNA ACCUSE YOU OF DOING SO BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN PART OF THE CORRUPTIONS THAT'S BEING HEADED HIDDEN.
AND THAT'S NOT TELLING YOU HOW TO VOTE.
IT'S JUST GIVING YOU THE, THOSE ACCUSATIONS ARE GONNA BE THERE REGARDLESS.
UM, ALRIGHT, SO STARTING WITH NUMBER ONE.
I DON'T KNOW HOW WE WANT TO DO THIS.
[02:35:02]
IT WOULD BE, I WOULD PREFER A ROLL CALL VOTE.SO IT'S CLEAR FOR ME IN THE DIRECTION I'M RECEIVING.
UH, SO JENNIFER, FOR I JUST HAD A QUESTION AHEAD OF THAT.
UM, AND I MEAN THIS IS GONNA, UH, BE A QUESTION THAT I HAVE FOR, UH, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE.
UM, BUT WHAT SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE DO WE HAVE IN ORDER TO SUPPORT A FORENSIC AUDIT? TWO, I GUESS ITEM NUMBER ONE, BUT LIKE I SAID, IT'S GONNA BE A QUESTION THAT I ASK FOR ALL OF THEM.
THAT'S THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THIS AUDIT IS TO FIND THAT EVIDENCE.
THESE ARE ALL ALLEGATIONS AT THIS TIME.
COUNCIL MEMBER HARRIS, I'M SORRY.
I WAS GONNA SAY, UM, JUST SO RIGHT NOW IT'S ALL HEARSAY AND SO WE'RE, OKAY.
UM, MY OTHER QUESTION IS, IS IF WE ARE GOING TO BE DEVELOPING A BUDGET ACCORDING TO THE TIMELINE PRESENTED, THE BUDGET WOULD BE DEVELOPED AND SECURED, AND THEN WE WOULD ACTUALLY, UH, MOVE FORWARD WITH WHATEVER SEQUENCE OR PRIORITY IT IS THAT WE'RE INCLUDING.
UM, THAT MEANS THAT YOU MUST HAVE AN ESTIMATE AS TO HOW MUCH SOMETHING LIKE THIS WOULD COST IF YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO ADD IT INTO OUR BUDGET.
SO CAN YOU PLEASE SHARE THAT WITH ME? SO DEPENDING ON THE SCOPE, YOU ALL SELECT AND THE SEQUENCE, WE CAN ONLY DO SO MANY IN A FISCAL YEAR.
NOT ALL SEVEN WILL GET DONE NEXT YEAR.
TWO, IF THE FUNDING IS MORE THAN WHAT THE AUGUST 1ST NUMBER MAY HAVE, WE'LL HAVE TO AMEND THE BUDGET.
STAFF WILL HAVE TO COME BACK BECAUSE WE ARE GONNA BRING EACH ONE, ONE AT A TIME TO COUNCIL TO AWARD THE CONTRACT.
IT MAY NOT BE THE SAME AUDITOR FOR ALL SEVEN.
I THINK SHE'S ASKING IF YOU HAVE A NUMBER.
YES, AND I DON'T, I THINK I DON'T HAVE A PROPOSED BUDGET RELEASED YET.
NO, I, WELL, AND HERE'S A PROBLEM.
HE HAS TO KNOW WHAT THE SCOPE IS BEFORE THEN HE CAN TAKE IT OUT AND THEN HE CAN GET, BUT HE JUST SAID HE'S BRINGING IT ONE BY ONE.
AND SO IT, IT CONFUSES ME AS TO HOW YOU CAN PREPARE A BUDGET.
I CANNOT, SO YOU HAVE SOME SORT OF AN IDEA AS TO HOW MUCH IT'S GONNA COST AFTER TONIGHT, I WILL HAVE A GREAT IDEA AS TO THE PLACEHOLDER NUMBER I NEED PER, PER ONE OF THESE.
IF THAT'S HOW IT IS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE REVISITING.
IF WE'RE, IF EACH ONE IS GONNA BE BROUGHT BACK ONE BY ONE, THEN THAT MEANS AS YOU'RE PREPARING THE BUDGET, YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME IDEA.
IF YOU'RE GONNA PRESENT A BUDGET TO US, THAT MEANS THAT YOU, YOU HAVE A NUMBER.
SO WHAT I'M ASKING IS, PRIOR TO COUNCIL VOTING ON THIS, CAN WE HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW MUCH EACH ONE COSTS? I DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT IT WILL COST.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE AN IDEA, I CAN HAVE A PLACE IT'LL COST, BUT YOU'RE GONNA PROPOSE A BUDGET ON AUGUST 1ST THAT'S GONNA HAVE A LINE ITEM FOR THIS.
IT'LL HAVE A PLACEHOLDER DEPENDING ON THE SCOPE.
YOU ALL SELECT THE SCOPE, YOU MODIFY THE SCOPE YOU WOULD ADD OR DELETE.
WE COULD TELL HIM, HEY, WE WANT ALL SEVEN OF THESE DONE, AND THEN THAT'S ONE PRICE.
OR WE COULD SAY WE WANT ONE AND TWO DONE AND THAT'S ANOTHER PRICE.
AND THEN, I MEAN, HE NEEDS DIRECTION FROM US IN ORDER TO BRING US A NUMBER.
HE SAID IT'S GONNA BE A PLACEHOLDER AND NOT A NUMBER UNTIL HE PUTS IT OUT AND THEN HE CAN FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH THE COST IS GONNA BE.
BUT THE WAY IN WHICH IT WAS SAID WAS THAT EACH ONE OF US IS GONNA BE BROUGHT BACK ONE BY ONE.
SO WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE PUTTING TWO TOGETHER.
EACH ONE WOULD BE ITS OWN SEPARATE BUDGET.
BUT IF HE WANTS TO DO, IT'S, IF WE DECIDE THAT WE WANNA USE ONE FIRM TO DO THREE OF THESE, THAT'S GONNA BE A DIFFERENT AMOUNT THAN IF WE DO ONE AT A TIME.
OR I MEAN, I I I SEE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT I DON'T, I DON'T, HE DOESN'T KNOW.
WE, WE ARE TRYING TO TELL HIM HOW MANY WE WANT AND WHICH ONES WE WANT.
SO WE'RE BEING ASKED TO MAKE A DECISION THAT'S GOING TO LARGELY AFFECT OUR BUDGET THAT IS UNFUNDED WITHOUT KNOWING THE NUMBERS AHEAD OF TIME.
NO, HE'S GONNA BRING THE NUMBERS BACK.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE, HE'S GOING TO BRING THE NUMBERS BACK.
IT'S, IT'S, I I CAN EXPLAIN IT, BUT I CAN'T UNDERSTAND IT FOR OTHER PEOPLE.
SO WE'RE JUST GONNA MOVE ON AND YOU ARE GONNA SAY IF YOU WANT THIS OR NOT.
AND THEN IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, YOU, WE CAN ASK AS WE GO ALONG.
SORRY, I DID NOT VOTE FOR THIS, UM, AUDIT TO BEGIN WITH.
I READ THE DEC DEFINITION OF A FORENSIC AUDIT THAT YOU'RE USING HERE, AND I WAS TOLD THAT IS EXACTLY NOT WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO.
THAT WE ARE NOT LOOKING FOR EVIDENCE FOR A PROSECUTION.
UM, WE, FOR ALL OF THESE ITEMS OR MOST OF THESE ITEMS, WE EITHER HAVE A RISK AUDIT THAT CLEARLY INDICATED WHAT ITEMS WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT AND THAT IS BEING WORKED ON.
UH, WE GAVE BUDGET APPROVALS FOR ITEMS, UM, OR THEY HAD BEEN, UM, PRESENTED TO THE DA
[02:40:01]
AND MULTIPLE, UM, TIMES TO ETHICS COMMITTEE.IT IS NOT THIS, THIS LOOKS LIKE AN EMAIL THAT COUNCIL MEMBER ZA POSTED TODAY AS HER IDEAS FOR WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE AUDIT.
UM, THIS IS NOT WHAT WE DISCUSSED ORIGINALLY.
UM, AND EVEN THEN I HAVE, I VOTED AGAINST IT.
UM, THE, THESE I, ITEMS TWO AND THREE HAVE ALREADY BEEN RESOLVED.
SEVEN, UM, IS CLEARLY DETERMINED, DETERMINED ALREADY ACCORDING TO MR. MOE'S REPORTS ON MAY 16TH.
UM, THE OTHER ITEMS HAVE, UM, EITHER BEEN SENT TO THE DA ARE ETHICS ALREADY.
SO I I'VE FAILED TO SEE WHY WE WOULD PAY TENS OF THOUSANDS, MAYBE MORE FOR THIS PARTICULAR SEVEN ITEMS. OKAY.
COUNCIL MEMBER MCKINNEY, I, IF I'M UNDERSTANDING COUNCIL MEMBER ADA'S CONCERN IS THAT WE DON'T WANT TO COMMIT TO SOMETHING WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT IT'S GONNA COST.
SO CAN WE CONFIRM THAT THIS IS GONNA COME BACK TO US YES.
BEFORE WE HIRE A FORENSIC
EACH ONE OF 'EM WILL COME BACK TO YOU THAT WILL DEFINE THE SCOPE THAT WILL IDENTIFY THE FIRM DOING THE AUDIT AND THEIR BID.
THAT THEIR ESTIMATE, IT WON'T BE A FIRM PRICE, IT WILL BE BASED ON HOURLY RATE BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GONNA GET INTO.
AND, AND THAT'S, THAT'S UNDERSTANDABLE.
UH, I, I CAN TELL YOU FOR MYSELF, IT'S GONNA BE DIFFICULT FOR ME TO ASSESS A PRIORITY AND A SEQUENCE WHEN SOME OF THESE, I DON'T EVEN FULLY UNDERSTAND ENOUGH DETAILS TO MAKE AN EDUCATED JUDGMENT ON.
UM, LIKE I UNDERSTAND YOUR NEED TO BE SOMEWHAT VAGUE.
UH, HOWEVER, LIKE, UH, JUST USING NUMBER FOUR AS AN EXAMPLE, UM, I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT DETAILS REGARDING A CITY OFFICIAL AND A MILLION DOLLARS AND THE 22 ROAD BOND WERE, YEAH, WE DO.
WE TALKED ABOUT AN EXECUTIVE, IT WAS A CONVERSATION IN EXECUTIVE WITH ALL OF US AND IT WAS ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO BE INCLUDED IN, IN WITH WHAT WE JUST FINISHED IN EXECUTIVE, UH, MAYOR PRO TEMPTER OR ARE YOU DONE? COUNCIL MEMBER MCKEE.
I, I THINK WHAT, WHAT SOMETIMES THROWS THROWS US OFF, AND MAYBE IT'S JUST THE VERBIAGE THAT WE SEE, UH, OF COURSE IT'S BIG WORDS LIKE CORRUPTION AND OVERPAYMENTS AND STUFF.
I THINK IT'S A MATTER OF BREAKING DOWN, UM, WHAT WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY WANTING TO LOOK FOR.
AND, AND NOT ONLY SEE IF THERE WAS SOME FORM OF IMPROPER USAGE OF SOME OF THESE, OR THERE WERE SOME, UH, OVERPAYMENTS ON PROPERTY ACQUISITION.
I THINK WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO FIND WHEN WE'RE DOING THIS AUDIT, IF THERE WERE MISTAKES THAT WE MADE TO WAY TO WHERE WE CAN ALSO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO WHERE, HEY, LOOK, WE, YOU KNOW, THE CITY CREDIT CARDS, UH, MAY HAVE BEEN, NEEDS TO BE REVAMPED FOR CITY EMPLOYEES.
LOOKING AT IT LIKE THAT, IF THERE'S SOME OVER EXPENDITURES.
UH, SO LET'S GO LIKE TO NUMBER SIX.
UM, I WOULD LOOK AT IT IN THE VERBIAGE OF, YOU KNOW, UH, DOING A FORENSIC AUDIT ON OUR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, UH, UH, PROGRAM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE FOLLOWING WITHIN POLICIES.
WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE NO, UM, CONFLICT OF INTEREST FROM OTHER, UH, ENTITIES WITHIN THE CITY.
UH, MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, ALL THE PRACTICES ARE WITHIN, UH, FORMAT.
BECAUSE AGAIN, IF WE ARE GOING TO USE UBER AS AN EXAMPLE, WE DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC CITY DEPARTMENT THAT REALLY UTILIZES THIS, THAT ACTUALLY GETS NUMBERS.
AND I CAN REMEMBER BACK IN 23 OR NO, 9 23 AND 22 WHEN THIS WAS COMING FOR A VOTE, ASKING, UH, A FORMER CITY MANAGER, UH, FOR NUMBERS.
LIKE, WHERE ARE WE GETTING THESE NUMBERS FROM UBER? AND IT'S LIKE, WELL, WE'RE GETTING IT FROM THE COMPANY.
AND WE WERE, INSTEAD OF HAVING ME BE ABLE TO LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE NUMBERS, AND I THINK YOU VONNE ENFORCE K WAS ON COUNCIL AT THE TIME.
UH, THE VOTE WAS TO BE MADE LIKE RIGHT THEN AND THERE THAT NIGHT WITHOUT ANY KIND OF INFORMATION.
SO IT'S JUST THINGS LIKE THAT, MAKING SURE THAT CONTRACTS WERE OUR FOLLOW THROUGH.
[02:45:01]
MISUSE OF, OF, YOU KNOW, OR, OR POLICIES THAT WERE VIOLATED OR THAT WERE MISUSED.UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE NO CONFLICT OF INTEREST BECAUSE AGAIN, UH, WE DID HAVE, UM, UH, THIS WAS ALSO BROUGHT FORWARD BY, UH, SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S ALL LEGIT AND WE HAD NO SENSE OF, WE, WE HAVE NO KIND OF, OF, UM, CONFLICT OF INTEREST ON THAT END.
SO I THINK IT'S JUST NARROWING IT DOWN.
AND NUMBER TWO TO, UH, TO BOTH OF Y'ALL'S POINTS, WE'RE NOT GONNA KNOW A SPECIFIC DOLLAR AMOUNT BECAUSE WE GOTTA GO AND SAY, THIS IS THE KIND OF SCOPE AND DISSECTION AND THIS IS THE TYPE OF WORK THAT WE ARE REQUESTING.
SO MR. MOHE MAY HAVE TO GO AND, UH, RESEARCH A COMPANY OR A CONTRACTOR OR SOMEBODY OF THAT CO CONSULTING COMPANY TO SAY, THIS IS THE SCOPE OF WORK THAT OUR CITY COUNCIL WANTS TO DO.
AND THEY CAN COME BACK AND SAY, WELL, THIS IS WHAT OUR PRICE WOULD BE.
THIS IS WHAT OUR TIMELINE CAN BE, AND WE COULD GET IT TO YOU GUYS WITHIN SIX MONTHS OR IN SIX WEEKS.
AND THEN HE BRINGS IT TO US, UH, FOR, FOR A VOTE TO SAY, ACCORDING TO THE, THE PRIORITIZATION, LET'S SAY NUMBER FIVE, THAT THE CITY, UH, IS REQUESTING FOR AN, AN AUDIT REFERENCING, UM, SOME CITY OFFICIALS OF, OF AN INVESTIGATION, IT'S GONNA COST THIS MUCH.
WE MAY NOT HAVE THAT MONEY HERE, BUT I THINK WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO GET FROM US IS SAYS, GUYS, WHAT IS YOUR TOP PRIORITY FOR THIS AUDIT? WHETHER YOU SUPPORT IT OR NOT, WHAT IS YOUR TOP PRIORITY? SO THAT WAY I CAN GO AND FIND A COMPANY, CORRECT.
OR A CONSULTANT GROUP THAT CAN SAY, THIS IS THE SCOPE OF WORK THAT OUR COUNCIL WANTS DONE.
WHAT IS GOING TO BE YOUR PRICE? THIS IS WHAT OUR PRICE IS.
THIS IS OUR TIMELINE, THIS IS OUR EXPERIENCE, THIS IS WHAT WE CAN DO.
THEN YOU COME BACK TO US AND SAY, THIS IS THE COST OF WHATEVER IT IS, AND WE'LL PUT IT ON AN AGENDA AND THEN WE WE VOTE ON IT THERE.
CORRECT? IS THAT THAT KIND, THAT THAT IS, YOU'VE SAID IT BETTER THAN I COULD HAVE.
SO IT'S, IT'S KIND OF SO WHAT WE HAVE TO DO, AND BEFORE WE MAKE THE VOTE, WHAT ARE YOU REQUESTING? YOU WERE REQUESTING? YES.
NUMBER, LET'S SAY NUMBER TWO, WE WANT TO DO IT YES OR NO.
AND THEN WE HAVE TO RANK IT AS A PRIORITY, YES OR NO, OR SEQUENCE AT THE VERY END.
SO WE JUST GOTTA DECIDE, LET'S GO WITH NUMBER ONE.
ARE WE WANTING TO PUT THIS AS SOMETHING TO LOOK INTO, UH, ANY KIND OF OVERPAYMENTS FOR OUR REAL ESTATE? AND IT COULD BE JUST NOT WHAT WE HAVE HERE.
IT COULD BE SOME OTHER THINGS THAT WE MAY HAVE MISSED.
AND FOR ALL, YOU KNOW, WE MAY BE IN THE CLEAR ON THESE, YOU KNOW, WE MAY HAVE ACTUALLY UNDERPAID, YOU KNOW, ON SOME OF THESE THINGS.
SO IT'S JUST A MATTER OF SEEING AND GETTING THOSE RESULTS BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF RESIDENTS THAT HAVE QUESTIONS THROUGH THE YEARS OF, OF OUR, OF OUR REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS.
THAT'S, THAT'S JUST AN EX UH, AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT I'M LOOKING AT TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR COUNSEL TO GO THROUGH THESE SEVEN.
PERHAPS WHAT WE COULD DO IS GO THROUGH THE YES AND NO COLUMN FIRST FOR ALL SEVEN.
THIS WAY WILL ISOLATE WHICH ONES YOU DON'T, YOU'RE NOT INTERESTED IN DOING.
RIGHT? AND THEN WE CAN COME BACK AND PRIORITIZE QUESTION.
UM, WHAT SUBPOENA, BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE SUBPOENA POWER, AND IT ALSO FEELS LIKE A LOT OF THESE DON'T READ AS CRIMINAL, BECAUSE ONCE AGAIN, WE CAN'T PUT IT LIGHTLY.
THIS ISN'T A PERFORMANCE AUDIT WHERE IT'S SIMPLY JUST, OH, WHAT PROCESSES DID WE NOT FOLLOW? WHAT POLICIES MAY HAVE BEEN SKIPPED? OR WHAT DO WE NEED TO IMPROVE? THE, THIS IS ACTUALLY ABOUT PREPARING FOR A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION THAT IS QUITE LITERALLY WHAT THE, UH, PREVIOUS SLIDES THAT WERE JUST PRESENTED TO US AND THAT ARE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE, STATED.
UM, AND IT SEEMS THAT SOME OF THESE ALSO, IT WAS MADE CLEAR TO US THAT, UH, FOR THINGS LIKE, UH, NUMBERS, UM, FIVE AND FOUR, THAT THOSE ARE MATTERS THAT ARE HANDLED BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE.
UM, SO I GOT, AND, AND SOME OF THOSE HAVE ACTUALLY ALREADY BEEN SENT TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE.
SO I'M JUST WONDERING WHAT SORT OF OF LEGAL POWER DO WE HOLD OVER SOME OF THESE AS SOME OF SOME OF THESE, LIKE I SAID, APPEAR TO NOT BE CRIMINAL OR OUTSIDE OF OUR SCOPE? SO, MR. MOHE POINTED OUT THAT IN THE CITY CHARTER, WE DO HAVE SOME SUBPOENA AUTHORITY.
I WILL SAY AS A CITY COUNCIL, YOUR SUBPOENA AUTHORITY IS NOT THE SAME AS A COURT SUBPOENA AUTHORITY.
YOUR ABILITY TO PUT SOMEBODY IN JAIL IS NOT THE SAME AS A COURT'S ABILITY TO PUT SOMEBODY IN JAIL.
BUT YOU DO HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO SEND AN OFFICIAL SUBPOENA TO POTENTIALLY BRING SOME, TRY TO BRING SOMEBODY BEFORE YOU TO PROVIDE THE INFORMATION.
THE, UM, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THINGS THAT SHOULD GO TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.
I THINK IF, IF IT'S THE OPINION OF THE COUNSEL THAT RATHER THAN DOING THIS THROUGH FE GOT IT,
[02:50:01]
IT SHOULD BE REPORTED TO THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE OR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, I THINK THAT'S AN ACCEPTABLE POSITION TO TAKE.AND IN SOME INSTANCES MIGHT BE A PREFERRED POSITION TO TAKE DEPENDING ON WHAT THE SCOPE OF YOUR, YOUR, UM, INQUIRY IS.
BECAUSE THEY'RE, BECAUSE THE, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY AS LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES, THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE MORE STRINGENT, MORE STRICT, STRICTER SUBPOENA AUTHORITY THAN WE'RE GONNA HAVE AS A CITY COUNCIL.
THE ONLY THING I'M GONNA SAY, JUST AS A NOTE FROM ALL OF MY YEARS OF WORKING ON THINGS THAT ARE BEING PROCURED, IS THE MORE CLEAR WE CAN MAKE THESE SCOPES OF WORK, THE BETTER.
'CAUSE OTHERWISE, YOU'RE GOING TO GET A LOT OF QUESTIONS IN THE BIDDING PROCESS.
AND WE'RE GOING TO END UP COMING HERE ASKING COUNCIL, IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT? WELL, IS THIS THE RIGHT SCOPE BY THE, ARE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ASKING ALL THESE QUESTIONS AND WE MIGHT NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS BECAUSE THE SCOPE CAME FROM YOU AS COUNCIL, AND YOU ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT SCOPES, THAT THEY DO ACTUALLY MEET WHATEVER IT IS THE GOAL THAT COUNCIL HAS FOR THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE.
WE'RE GONNA DO A ROLL CALL, VOTE FOR THE YES OR NO, AND THEN WE'LL JUST SEE HOW, UH, HOW WE'LL PROCEED FROM THERE.
SO, AGENDA ITEM OR NUMBER ONE? I'M NOT GONNA READ IT ALL OUT UNLESS YOU GUYS WANT ME TO
I DO THINK TYPICALLY THIS WOULD BE DONE AS A MOTIONS AND THEY WOULD MAKE A MOTION TO EITHER APPROVE OR DENY AND EVERYBODY COULD VOTE.
SHOULD WE JUST DO A CROSS SUPPORT? YES.
AND THEN IT'S A PRIORITY THAT, THAT'S REALLY IT? YES.
SO I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE NUMBER ONE.
SO DID Y'ALL WANNA DO THE PRIORITY AND SEQUENCE AT THE SAME TIME, OR DO Y'ALL WANT TO COME BACK AFTER WE DO THE YOU WANNA COME BACK? LET'S COME BACK.
I'D LIKE TO MAKE A, A MOTION TO APPROVE NUMBER TWO.
UM, WE'VE HAD A INDEPENDENT, UH, FIRM EVALUATING THIS AND THEY'VE ALREADY BROUGHT BACK OUR STUDIES.
I'D LIKE TO HAVE THIS NUMBER TWO STRICKEN FROM THE LIST.
UM, I GUESS IF WE COULD, IF IT'S NOT SECONDED, THEN IT'LL DIE AND THEN WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE NUMBER TWO DOES NOT PASS.
I DO WANNA SAY THAT THAT INFORMATION THAT WE RECEIVED TODAY WAS ONE-SIDED.
UM, THERE WAS NOT FULL DISCLOSURE AND FULL INFORMATION.
I WOULD LIKE TO MOTION TO SUSPEND THAT ONE TEMPORARILY AND HAVE IT BROUGHT BACK LATER.
I, I FEEL LIKE WE CAN ALWAYS BRING ANY OF THESE BACK IF THEY DON'T PASS.
WHAT I'M SAYING FOR NOW, THAT'S MY OPINION.
WELL, THERE'S, OKAY, SO THE, THERE WAS NO MOTION SO IT DIED.
AND SO NOW THAT SHE MADE A MOTION TO TABLE IT, IF, IF THERE'S A SECOND TO WISH TO BRING IT BACK, I DO AGREE WITH THE POINT THAT THESE CAN ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, WE CAN ALWAYS BRING BACK ITEMS. OKAY.
LETTER DATES COULD BE ON
ALRIGHT, SO I GOT A MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER GOES A SECOND BY MYSELF TO TABLE AGENDA OR TO NUMBER TWO.
MCKINNEY, TO CLARIFY IF, IF IS A NO VOTE NO TO TABLING.
A NO VOTE IS NO TO TABLING, NOT NO TO THE ITEM.
SO WAIT, I'M COOL WITH TABLE
UM, NEXT, UH, NUMBER THREE, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THREE.
MAYOR ON NUMBER THREE, I'M ALSO SEEKING COUNCIL'S, UM, FEEDBACK ON TIMEFRAME.
ONE FISCAL YEAR, TWO FISCAL YEAR, FIVE FISCAL YEARS.
[02:55:01]
HOW FAR BACK ARE WE GOING? OKAY, SO I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THREE GOING FROM 2021 TO 2025 AND SECOND.I, I, I WOULD SAY FROM THE TIME THEY WERE ISSUED UNTIL THE TIME THEY WERE TAKEN AWAY.
TAKEN AWAY IN 2025, SPECIFIC MONTH INVOLVED.
SO FOR CLARITY CITY COUNCIL, CREDIT CARDS WERE ISSUED ON THOSE DATES.
ARE WE LOOKING EXCLUSIVELY AT CITY COUNCIL CREDIT CARDS OR DO YOU WANNA LOOK AT SPECIFIC STAFF CREDIT CARDS? I THINK THE SCOPE MR. MOHE PROVIDED WAS CITY MANAGER, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, DEPARTMENT HEADS, AND A FEW OTHER STAFF.
AND WHICH CASE START TO FINISH WOULD BE DIFFERENT.
SO WE WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR A DATE RANGE FOR ALL OR SOME OF THOSE.
I THINK THOSE, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD START DATE RANGE WHEN THE COUNCIL GOT THEIRS AND WHEN THEY WERE GONE.
I MEAN, WE DON'T WANNA GO 10 YEARS BACK, WE'LL BE PAYING.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE JUST THE CITY, UH, COUNCIL? NO, IT'S GONNA BE BOTH WITH THE SAME TIMEFRAME.
STAFF AND COUNCIL FOR THE SAME TIME PERIOD.
SO I WILL SAY, UM, JANUARY, 2021 TO DEC, DECEMBER, MARCH, MARCH 26TH, 12TH, 25.
WELL, I, DID ANYBODY USE IT IN MARCH 26TH? I WOULD SAY MAR I WOULD SAY DECEMBER, 2025 BECAUSE I DON'T THINK ANYBODY WAS USING IT.
OH, THE CITY WAS, IT'S IT'S YOUR MOTION MAYOR.
SO WHICHEVER DAY YOU WANT TO CURRENT TO CURRENT TO CURRENT OF THE TIME THE AUDIT'S DONE.
ARE YOU GUYS OKAY WITH THAT? SO TODAY'S DATE IS WHAT WE'RE SAYING FROM THE YEAR OF JANUARY, 2021 TO JULY OF 26.
THAT SOUNDS LIKE DATE, THAT CONTRACT FOR AUDIT IS AWARDED.
SO IF IT GETS AWARDED NEXT MARCH, IT'LL BE THROUGH NEXT MARCH.
COUNCIL MEMBER HARRIS, WE'VE, UM, REVIEWED THIS AT LEAST FOR THE COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, AND WE HAVE CHANGED OUR POLICY RELATED TO CREDIT CARDS.
IN FACT, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS KNOW DO NOT EVEN HAVE CREDIT CARDS ANY LONGER.
UM, THE CITY ISSUED CREDIT CARDS.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN, I'M HOPING MORE CONTROLLED.
UM, SO I WONDER IF IT'S REALLY WORTH OUR MONEY TO LOOK AT THIS ISSUE NOW, UM, AS WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF RESEARCH AND A LOT OF ATTENTION BEING MADE MADE TO THESE CREDIT CARDS IN THE LAST TWO YEARS.
ANYBODY ELSE? I THINK WE HAVE A, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHO SECOND IT WAS IT.
JUST WANNA MAKE SURE BEFORE WE MOVE ON, I KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING.
CAN I GET A ROLL CALL VOTE PLEASE.
CAN YOU CLARIFY THE FINAL MOTION AND WHO THE SECOND IS? YOU BET THE MOTION IS GONNA BE TO APPROVE NUMBER THREE, STARTING DATE JANUARY, 2021 TO WHENEVER THE, UM, AUDIT IS ACCEPTED.
AND WHO WAS THE SECOND SECONDED BY? COUNCIL MEMBER MEDINA.
CAN I JUST MAKE A COMMENT SO THAT ALL OF COUNSEL'S AWARE THERE WOULD BE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS THAT APPLY TO BOTH THE CIVIL RECOVERY OF FUNDS AND THE CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.
AND SO WE WANT TO, WE WANNA BE AWARE THAT SOME THINGS THAT MAY BE FOUND FROM THAT FAR BACK MAY BE PASSED THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS BY THE TIME THEY'RE DISCOVERED.
WHAT IS THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS? IT'S GONNA DEPEND ON THE AMOUNT OF MONEY INVOLVED IN A LOT OF CASES, BUT WE JUST WANNA MAKE, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE, IF IF SOMETHING'S FOUND AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, TWO YEARS PAST SCHEDULE LIMITATIONS, YOU'RE NOT SURPRISED.
NO, I THINK IT'S JUST FOR INFORMATION PURPOSE.
I THINK THE MOST, MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO IDENTIFY ANY PROCESSES THAT MAY HAVE BEEN MM-HMM
WE COULD CHANGE STELLAR, RIGHT.
WE COULD EVEN, BUT WE COULD DO THAT WITH THE PERFORMANCE AUDIT
EVEN IF IT'S PAST STATUTE THOUGH, WE COULD STILL TECHNICALLY INVOICE THEM.
THEY JUST WOULDN'T, IT JUST WOULDN'T BE ENFORCEABLE.
I MEAN, THERE'S AGAIN, THERE'S GONNA BE A COLLECTION DEADLINE AS WELL.
AND ON A LOT OF DEBTS IN TEXAS, THAT'S FOUR YEARS.
SO JUST MAKE SURE YOU'RE AWARE ON THE ABILITY TO COLLECT IT.
LIKE YOU CAN SEND A NOTICE, BUT CAN YOU LIST THOSE AMOUNTS? LIKE SEND IT TO US IN OUR EMAIL? LIKE, THIS AMOUNT IS, IT'S GONNA DEPEND ON WHAT THE CRIME WAS LIKE.
WAS IT A BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY? WAS IT, WAS IT A THEFT? THEY ALL HAVE DIFFERENT, UM, LEVELS AND SO WE'D, I'D HAVE TO GO PULL A LOT OF INFORMATION.
READY? YOU READY TO GO? HARRIS? NO.
I'D LIKE TO, UH, WHAT'S NUMBER FOUR? NUMBER FOUR.
I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE NUMBER FOUR.
[03:00:01]
SECOND, HAVE A MOTION BY MYSELF.AND A SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER MEDINA.
MS. ZAPATA? I HAVE DISCUSSION BEFORE WE CAN DO THAT.
I THINK THEY SHOULD GO TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, NOT US.
MCKINNEY? I AGREE WITH ZAPATA.
AND I DON'T MEAN TO BE RUDE, I'M JUST SAYING, AND I'VE DONE IT ONCE BEFORE TOO.
ONCE A MOTION IS MADE AND IT'S SECONDED AND WE STARTED TO, TO GIVE OUR VOTE, ESPECIALLY AT A ROLL CALL VOTE WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO TALK.
AND SO I RECOGNIZED THAT I DID IT ONE TIME AND THE ONE TIME I DID IT WAS WAS FOR BRIAN LANGLEY'S CONTRACT.
UM, BUT IN ORDER TO TRY TO KEEP THINGS ON, NOT EMOTIONAL OR NOT, YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO TALK.
ACTUALLY, IT'S ROBERT'S RULES.
SO THERE WAS ALSO NOT AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DISCUSSION THAT WAS GIVEN.
SO IF WE COULD JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE PROVIDE THAT OPPORTUNITY.
WE ARE NUMBER THIS FIVE, RIGHT? YES, THAT'S CORRECT.
WELL, YOU CAN MAKE A MOTION AND THEN YOU CAN HAVE A DISCUSSION AND IT'S SAFER TO DO IT THAT WAY.
'CAUSE I THINK THEN YOU COULD ADD SPARK, LIKE YOU CAN HAVE A DEBATE.
SO UNDER THE RULES OF COUNSEL, DISCUSSIONS PRIOR TO MOTIONS ARE TYPICALLY LIMITED TO FACT-BASED QUESTIONS.
AND AFTER THE MOTION IS MADE, YOU CAN START THE DEBATE.
WE HAVE NOT TYPICALLY ENFORCED THOSE RULES, BUT THAT IS TECHNICALLY THE WAY IT'S WRITTEN.
SO WHAT I'M SAYING IS IT'S BETTER FOR US TO MAKE A MOTION AND THEN WE CAN HAVE MORE THAN JUST FACT CONVERSATIONS.
WE CAN HAVE, YOU KNOW, DEBATE OR, WELL, THIS IS THE OTHER ONE.
I DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE DETAILS ARE TO MAKE AN EDUCATED DECISION.
WELL WE CAN MAKE A MOTION AND THEN WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT.
AND THEN WE CAN MAKE ANY ADJUSTMENTS IF WE NEED TO.
ARE YOU GUYS OKAY WITH THAT? MM-HMM
I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE NUMBER FIVE.
I GOT A MOTION BY MYSELF AND A SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER GOZA.
OKAY, SO THIS IS REGARDING AN ITEM THAT COUNCIL MEMBER GZA POSTED ABOUT ON FACEBOOK, WHICH THEN I THEN SCREENSHOT AND SENT TO KPD AND ASKED, WAS IT KPD THAT ACTUALLY FILED THIS REPORT? BECAUSE THAT WAS A STATEMENT THAT COURTNEY GZA PUT ONLINE.
KPD SAID, NO, WE DIDN'T ACTUALLY DO THAT.
AND IT'S ACTUALLY WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE ALREADY.
SO INCLUDING SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN IT, WHILE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE ALREADY HAS THIS AS A CASE, UM, I THINK WOULD BE A WASTE OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS IF IT'S ALREADY BEING LOOKED AT, UM, BY A, A AUTHORITY THAT HAS GREATER POWER THAN US.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS OF HOT, I HAVE A COUPLE COMMENTS.
ONE, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S INVESTIGATION HAS CONCLUDED AND THEIR CHARGES WERE FILED.
THE OTHER COMMENT I'M GONNA MAKE IS, MY UNDERSTANDING IS A LOT OF THIS HAD TO DO WITH CREDIT CARDS, AND SO IT MAY ALREADY BE COVERED BY A DIFFERENT SCOPE OF WORK.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I'M KIND OF HESITANT ON THIS ONE.
I WISH SINCE IT'S ALREADY BEEN CLOSED.
I WISH AND I DIDN'T KNOW IT WENT TO THE AGS OFFICE.
THAT'S WHY I ASKED MY QUESTION EARLIER ABOUT IT, THAT THERE'S SOME INSTANCES THAT ARE IN HERE IN WHICH OUR DA DOESN'T HAVE PURVIEW EITHER WILL GO TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE.
I HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT THIS BECAUSE I GOT IT THROUGH AN OPEN RECORDS REQUEST.
AND SO IAN DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT THE INFORMATION WAS RELEASABLE UNDER AN OPEN RECORDS REQUEST, I HAD TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE THE CASE WAS CLOSED OR NOT.
SO WE DID HAVE THE POLICE CHIEF IN HIS OFFICE FOLLOW UP WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND THEY WERE INFORMED THAT THE CASE WAS CLOSED.
AND CAN YOU SEND THAT LIKE THE EMAIL TO US? I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE WAS AN EMAIL.
I JUST, THAT'S JUST WHAT I WAS TOLD.
THIS WAS A COUPLE YEARS AGO AT THIS POINT, BUT I CAN CHECK WITH THE CHIEF.
WAS IT CLOSED BY THE DA'S OFFICE OR WAS ATTORNEY GENERAL? WAS IT CLOSED BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE? MY UNDERSTANDING IS IT WAS SENT TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND THE
SO YOU, YOUR INFORMATION IS THIRD HAND.
IT'S FROM THE CHIEF, NOT FROM THE AGS.
CAN WE FIND OUT, CAN WE FIND, CAN WE TABLE THIS ONE TOO? BECAUSE THAT, THAT WHOLE SITUATION TO ME WAS REALLY COMPLICATED.
UM, I, I WAS TOLD IT WENT TO THE DA'S OFFICE, BUT NOW YOU'RE TELLING ME IT WENT TO THE AGS OFFICE.
BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY CONFIRMATION FROM DIRECTLY FROM THAT SOURCE.
I WAS LOOKING IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM FOR A POLICE CHIEF.
CAN WE JUST TABLE THIS? JUST CHIEF MAY HAVE SOMETHING WE CAN LOOK AT IT AGAIN.
THE, THE OTHER COMMENT I HAVE IS THAT I'M PRETTY SURE THE ENTIRE ALLEGATIONS WERE RELATED TO CREDIT CARDS.
AND SO THAT MAY ALREADY BE COVERED BY THE CREDIT CARD.
[03:05:01]
MOTION? YEAH, I, I'M GONNA WITHDRAW MY MOTION, PLEASE.I THINK I GET A, THAT'S GONNA BE SECONDED, RIGHT? SECOND ESTIMATE.
SECOND, WHOEVER WITH SECONDED HAS TO WITHDRAW THE SECOND.
SHE WITH, SO CAN WE JUST TABLE THIS UNTIL WE GET MORE INFORMATION? MOTION.
SO I HAVE A MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER TOBIAS TO TABLE AND A SECOND BY MYSELF.
THANK YOU GUYS FOR MAKING THAT.
OKAY, SO NOW WE'RE ON TO NUMBER SEVEN.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE NUMBER SIX.
SECOND, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER TOAS, UH, DISCUSSION.
UM, SO ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS GOING TO BE ONE OF THOSE ISSUES WHERE WE DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH PURVIEW.
THE GREATER PURVIEW WOULD LIE WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE.
UM, IT, AND THE REASON I KEEP ON GOING TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE IS BECAUSE IT WAS MADE CLEAR TO ME THAT OUR DA'S OFFICE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE PURVIEW OVER STUFF LIKE THIS.
UM, SO IT WOULD BE MY RECOMMENDATION THAT, UH, WHATEVER THIS ALLEGATION IS, BECAUSE I'M JUST, I'M NOT, I HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING ABOUT IT, UM, THAT IT WOULD GO DIRECTLY TO ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE.
SO THE AUTHORITY WITH THE MOST POWER IS ABLE TO FULLY INVESTIGATE IT.
MAY I ASK YOU, WHO TOLD YOU THAT IT WAS BY KPD IN THE EMAIL THAT THEY RESPONDED BACK TO ME WHEN THEY EXPLAINED WHY THE OTHER ONE, UH, WHY NUMBER FIVE HAD TO BE SENT TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE.
AND SO THEY ALSO SAID CA THEY SAID NUMBER SIX WOULD ALSO HAVE TO BE SENT TO THE AGS OFFICE.
NO, BUT IT FALLS WITHIN THAT OTHER PURVIEW AND SCOPE IN THE SENSE THAT OUR LEGAL AUTHORITY AROUND THIS WOULD BE VERY LIMITED.
UM, AND SO IF WE WERE LOOKING FOR AN ACTUAL TRUE INVESTIGATION WHERE THERE WAS LARGER AUTHORITY TO ACTUALLY SUBPOENA BEYOND WHAT WE ARE ABLE TO, THEN THE RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE TO SEND IT TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE.
UM, MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE AGS OFFICE IS THEY DON'T JUST ACCEPT ANYTHING UNLESS THERE'S SOME KIND OF PROOF OR BACKUP.
UM, AND SO I, UM, I FULLY SUPPORT NUMBER SIX.
SO THE AGS OFFICE WON'T ACCEPT IT WITH PROOF OF BACKUP, BUT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO, WE
UM, I MEAN, YOU GUYS WANNA TALK ABOUT THIS? WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS UBER PROGRAM ALL DAY LONG, AND I PROMISE YOU Y'ALL WOULD PROBABLY BE IN FAVOR OF THIS.
I DON'T MIND HAVING THIS CONVERSATION, BUT I CAN TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, THIS IS ONE OF THE FORENSIC AUDITS THAT WE ALL NEED TO BE ON, ON BOARD FOR.
WE DON'T GO FROM 20,000 TO A MILLION AND, AND, AND NOT HAVE ENRICHMENT SOMEWHERE.
AND I WILL SAY I HAVE SEEN NUMBERS THAT MAKE NO SENSE AND I'VE, THE, THE NUMBERS FOR THE VETERANS RIDE MATCH THE NUMBERS FOR THE AIRPORT RIDE.
AND WHEN I QUESTIONED IT, I WAS TOLD, I'LL GET YOU NEW NUMBERS AND I AM NOT COMFORTABLE WITH THIS.
AND IF YOU GUYS ARE, THEN ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS JUST VOTE NO.
WHAT AUTHORITY DO WE HAVE OVER A PRIVATE ORGANIZATION? BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE THEN OUR ISSUES WOULD BE DIRECTLY WITH UBER, UM, AS THEY'RE THE ONES THAT SET THE PRICES, LIMITS, ALL OF THAT.
UNLESS YOU HAVE SPECIFIC, UH, ADVICE FOR COUNSEL, LET THEM DEBATE IT.
I WOULD JUST SAY THAT'S, THAT'S IN, THAT'S GONNA BE GOVERNED BY THEIR CONTRACT, SO WE'D HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT.
I MEAN, THEY'RE USING TAXPAYER DOLLARS.
SO AT SOME POINT I THINK THE CITY HAS AUTHORITY AND IF WE HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO SUBPOENA IN A, IN A WAY WHERE WE CAN GET THOSE DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE I'VE ASKED FOR SOME AND UBER DOESN'T SEEM TOO KEEN ON SHARING THAT INFORMATION WITH US.
THEN CAN WE AMEND THIS SO THAT WAY IT ACTUALLY DOES THAT BECAUSE THIS IS ONLY BY CITY OFFICIALS.
AND FROM THE DISCUSSION THAT I'M HEARING, IT LOOKS LIKE OUR ISSUES ARE WITH UBER DIRECTLY, BECAUSE LIKE I SAID, OUR CITY, OUR CITY STAFF AREN'T THE ONES THAT SET THOSE RATES.
AND THEN THERE'S ALSO COMPANIES THAT THE CITY PAYS THAT, THAT WE HAVE CONTRACTS WITH THAT MAY HAVE IMPERSONAL OR IMPROPER PERSONAL ENRICHMENT FROM CITY OFFICIALS.
WELL, I, I LOOK AT IT IN THIS, IF YOU DON'T MIND ME IF Y'ALL ARE DONE, BUT I'M LOOKING AT IT IN A WHOLE DIFFERENT SCOPE BECAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT, WITH OUR UBER PROGRAM, WE HAVE OUR A DA COMPLIANCE,
[03:10:01]
UH, TRANSPORTATION COMPANY.WE HAD OUR AIRPORT, UH, VOUCHER PROGRAM.
AND THERE WERE OTHER THINGS THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT, UH, OR WE INCORPORATED WITHIN THE UBER.
AND, AND AGAIN, I THINK WE'RE SO UBER FOCUSED MAYBE ON THE VERBIAGE THAT'S IN THESE, UM, DIRECTIONS THAT WE'RE GOING WHEN WE'RE USING THESE WORDS LIKE FRAUD, ABUSE, UH, CORRUPTION, ALL THIS STUFF.
I, AGAIN, THE WAY I'M LOOKING AT IT, LIKE WE'RE MAKE, I'M MAKING SURE THAT OUR UBER PROGRAM IS FALLING IN LINE WITH WHAT OUR CONTRACT HAS AND WITH ALSO WITH IF THERE'S OTHER VENDORS WITHIN THE UBER PROGRAM THAT IS FOLLOWING THROUGH ON THEIR END.
I'M LOOKING AT IT LIKE THAT BECAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT, WE DO HAVE, UH, WE DID START OFF WITH WHAT, 20,000 OR 200,000, UH, THE FIRST COUPLE YEARS AND NOW WE'RE AT A MILLION DOLLAR VOUCHERS.
UH, AND WE DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S, UH, PEOPLE FROM OTHER CITIES OR OTHER AREAS THAT COULD BE UTILIZING OUR PROGRAM.
UH, SO I THINK IT'S A GOOD FOR US TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THESE THINGS FROM THIS POINT OF VIEW TO WHERE IF THERE ARE IMPROVEMENTS WE NEED TO MAKE WITH, UH, WHETHER IT'S WITH SOME OF THESE OTHER, UH, ITEMS THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, WHAT IS, WHAT IS THE CREDIT CARDS OR IF IT'S THE, UH, UH, PROCUREMENT PROCESS, LET'S LOOK AT IT IN THAT SENSE TO WHERE WE'RE DISSECTING EACH ONE OF THESE THINGS A LITTLE BIT FURTHER TO WHERE WE ARE MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE ON THE RIGHT PATH WITH OUR CONTRACTS AND MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THERE IS NO, UM, UH, CONFLICT OF INTEREST FROM ANYTHING, FROM ANY COMPANY THAT, THAT WE'RE UTILIZING.
'CAUSE THERE ARE COMPANIES THAT DO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF GOVERNMENT AND CITY, UM, PROGRAMS WE, WE SEE ALL THE TIME.
SO I THINK IT'S JUST A MATTER OF, WE, WE ARE LOOKING AT IT IN THAT, IN THAT WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT IF WE CHOOSE TO GO THIS ROUTE, WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT THE UBER PROGRAM IS BENEFICIAL FOR US.
AND IF THE PRICES AT A MILLION DOLLARS, WE ARE GETTING EXACTLY WHAT WE ARE, UH, ASKING FOR ON THAT END.
THAT THAT'S HOW I'M LOOKING AT IT.
YEAH, WE JUST DISCUSSED THIS AS A BUDGET ITEM, UM, AND MADE SOME CHANGES IN THE PROGRAM.
I THINK THAT THIS, UM, SHOULD COME BACK NOT AS PART OF AN AUDIT, BUT AS A, AS A ITEM SPECIFICALLY TO DISCUSS RATHER, THIS IS OUR BEST OPTION AND IF THERE IS ANYTHING WE NEED TO, UH, ADJUST OR CHANGE WITHIN THE TRANSPORTATION PRODUCT, BUT NOT AS PART OF A FORENSIC AUDIT.
THANK YOU COUNCIL, COUNCIL MEMBER GZA.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY, WHEN I WAS GOING THROUGH A COUPLE OF THE UBER INVOICES THAT I HAD REQUESTED, I PULLED THE LONGITUDE AND LATITUDE FOR THE PICKUP ADDRESS WHERE IT STARTED AT.
AND IT WAS ACTUALLY AT A APARTMENT COMPLEX THAT'S TECHNICALLY IN SAN MARCOS.
SO THERE ARE RIDES THAT ARE ORIGINATING OUTSIDE OF KYLE.
UM, AND I BELIEVE THAT THAT WAS THE CUTOFF WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE GEOGRAPHIC AREA OF ORIGINATING IN KYLE AND THEN ENDING IN KYLE, UNLESS IT WAS TO THE VA OR THE AIRPORT, WHICH WAS HAPPENING AT THAT TIME.
WE'VE SINCE ELIMINATED THE AIRPORT JUST FOR CLARITY.
UM, SO WE SHOULD NOT BE HAVING THEM COMING OUT OF ST.
SO I, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT.
UM, AND I BELIEVE SOME OF THE ISSUES YOU HAD BROUGHT UP PREVIOUSLY WAS THAT THERE WERE, UM, PREVIOUS CITY OFFICIALS THAT KIND OF GOT ALL THAT STARTED.
AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S STILL QUESTIONS OF WHETHER THEY'RE INVOLVED IN SOME OF THOSE OTHER CONTRACTS THAT YOU WERE MENTIONING.
SO I THINK THAT MIGHT BE WHERE SOME OF THE CONFUSION IS HAPPENING ON WHY WE'RE INCLUDING CITY OFFICIALS IN THIS ONE.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO CLARIFY THAT.
I DON'T NEED TO CLARIFY IT, BUT COUNCIL MEMBER ZAPATA.
UM, SO I THINK I'M HEARING WHAT EVERYONE'S SAYING, BUT ONCE AGAIN, THE SCOPE OF WHAT WE'RE VOTING ON RIGHT NOW AND THE MOTION THAT'S PRESENTED DOESN'T ACTUALLY LOOK AT WHO IT IS THAT ACTUALLY CHARGES, AND THAT'S UBER ITSELF RIGHT NOW.
ALL THAT THIS IS DOING IS LOOKING AT THOSE ALLEGATIONS ABOUT THAT INDIVIDUAL WHO LIKE HELPED SUPPOSEDLY START THIS UBER 3 1 4 PROGRAM.
IT DOESN'T ACTUALLY LOOK AT WHAT ARE THE ISSUES THAT UBER MAY BE DOING OR HAVING, BECAUSE ALSO THEY'RE THE ONES THAT SET THE RADIUS FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND.
WE TELL THEM WHAT WE WANT AND THEN THEY'RE THE ONES THAT DO IT.
SO IF WE'RE ACTUALLY TRYING TO LOOK AT THE UBER PROGRAM ITSELF, THE SCOPE HERE DOES NOT MATCH WITH WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE.
THAT IS WHAT I'M TRYING TO POINT OUT.
WELL, I, MY QUESTION IS WITH THE
[03:15:01]
CONTRACTS THAT ARE BEHIND IT, SO I'M GOOD.SO WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY TRYING TO GET SOLVED THE PROBLEM.
UM, BUT THEY'RE NOT THE ONES THAT SET THE SPENDING.
LOOKS LIKE WE JUST HAVE ONE MORE.
UM, AND THAT'S GONNA BE NUMBER SEVEN.
UM, SO I WOULD JUST LIKE A, I'M GONNA MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE NUMBER SEVEN, CONSIDERING THIS WAS THE BASIS FOR, UM, THE WHOLE CONVERSATION.
I MEAN, I HAVE A MOTION BY MYSELF AND A SECOND BY MARK MCKINNEY.
ANY DISCUSSION? COUNCIL MEMBER HARRIS, I THINK THAT, UM, INTERIM CITY MANAGER MOHE MADE THIS VERY CLEAR WHERE THE, THE ERRORS WERE, WHAT THE PROBLEMS WERE AND WHAT THE RESOLUTION HAS BEEN.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHETHER WE'RE GOING TO FIND ANY MORE INFORMATION HERE.
UM, AND DOING A FORENSIC AUDIT ON THIS MAY NOT BE CALLED FOR.
CAN WE GET THE, CAN WE, CAN WE, CAN YOU, SO WE HAVE TWO ITEMS OF THE SEVEN THAT WERE TABLES.
SO YOU HAVE ONE THROUGH FIVE NOW.
CAN YOU SEE THE FULL SCREEN SO WE CAN, MARCO, CAN YOU PLEASE PUT IT BACK ON FULL SCREEN OR ADRIAN? OH, THEY'RE GONNA, OKAY.
LET ME SEE WHAT OTHER ONE WAS TABLED.
SO DISCUSSION ON SEVEN'S MY ONE PRIORITY SEVEN.
AND BASED ON SIX ONE, I'M GONNA ASSUME
I THINK COUNCIL MCKINNEY, FEEL FREE TO ARGUE
I'LL GO WITH BUDGET ITEMS. YEAH, YOU'RE RIGHT.
UH, MARK THIS SIX, AND I MEAN, SEVEN AND SIX SHOULD BE NUMBER ONE AND NUMBER TWO, BECAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S OUR BUDGET.
AND THEN ALSO OUR UBER PROGRAM IS PART OF OUR BUDGET AS WELL.
THOSE ARE TWO BUDGET ITEMS. YEAH.
UH, DO YOU GUYS ARE COUNCILOR ZA? UM, FOR ME, ONE AND THREE WOULD BE THE HIGHER PRIORITY BECAUSE OF THE POTENTIAL TIME THAT'S ALLOTTED TO THEM THAT YOU COULD PURSUE ACTION WITH SOME OF THE REAL ESTATE PURCHASES.
UM, THERE WAS ONE IN PARTICULAR DACY LANE, WHEN WE BOUGHT THE SENIOR CENTER, IT WAS ADVERTISED FOR A SPECIFIC PRICE.
IT CAME IN APPRAISED BELOW THAT LISTED PRICE, AND WE PAID SUBSTANTIALLY MORE THAN THAT LISTED PRICE.
IT WAS NOT A PROPERTY THAT WAS NEW ONTO THE MARKET, IT HAD BEEN SITTING ON THE MARKET FOR THREE YEARS.
SO THERE WAS NOT LIKE A MULTI OFFER SITUATION WHERE THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A PAYMENT THAT WAS HIGHER THAN THE ADVERTISED LISTED PRICE.
AND SO THAT DOES FALL UNDER THE FIDUCIARY DUTY OF THAT REAL ESTATE AGENT.
WE COULD PURSUE COMPLAINTS THROUGH OR PURSUE HIM LEGALLY IN ORDER TO RECOVER THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE PAID OVER AND ABOVE THE LISTING PRICE CONCEIVABLY.
SO THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT I WOULD LOOK FOR, UM, IS WHERE IT'S TIME LIMITED.
CAN YOU SHOW US WHAT THE, THE OTHER ONE OTHER PAGE ONE.
[03:20:04]
OKAY.NUMBER ONE IS IMPORTANT TO ME, I THINK, I THINK THOUGH NUMBER SEVEN IS, IS ARE YOU GUYS OKAY WITH NUMBER SEVEN BEING A PRIORITY? I THINK IT SHOULD BE.
SO NUMBER SEVEN IS A PRIORITY, NUMBER SIX.
I MEAN, I MEAN, I THINK ALL THESE ARE PRIORITIES REALLY.
I, I AGREE WITH COUNCIL MEMBER GOZA, THAT THAT ONE AND THREE SHOULD BE HIGH.
SO, SO FOR EACH ONE, IF COUNSEL WOULD GIVE ME YOUR TOP PRIORITY, WHICH IS NUMBER ONE.
SO WHERE WOULD NUMBER ONE BE PLACED? WELL, DO YOU WANNA MARK, THEY'RE ALL PRIORITIES AND THEN THE SEQUENCE, WELL, THE SEQUENCE IS THE LAST, RIGHT? YEAH.
WE CAN DO SEQUENCE LAST, BUT THE PRIORITIES, OH, HOW WE'RE GONNA DO IT.
SEE, SO I THINK SEVEN IS NUMBER SEVEN.
SEVEN IS GONNA BE NUMBER ONE, AND THEN ONE AND THREE WILL BE TWO AND THREE.
BUT WHAT I'M SAYING IS ONE AND THREE WILL BE ON THIS LIST WILL BE TWO AND THREE QUESTION.
I'VE GOT 'EM AT THREE AND TWO ON BEHIND THAT
COUNCIL MEMBER MEDINA WASN'T THE ORIGINAL DIRECTION.
PEREZ STATING THAT YOU COULD HAVE THREE THINGS PRIORITY NUMBER ONE, AND THEN THE SEQUENCE WOULD BE IN WHAT ORDER YOU WANT THOSE THREE TOP PRIORITIES TO BE.
NO, I MEAN, DID I MISUNDERS CONFUSED IT? YEAH.
WE SHOULD HAVE ONE THROUGH FIVE.
NOW ON PRIORITIES, WHICH ONE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TO COUNCIL? IT'S NUMBER ONE.
SO I'VE HEARD ITEM NUMBER SEVEN TO BE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY I, AND THEN I THINK NUMBER ONE AND THREE WE'RE ALSO GONNA BE, IT MAY BE FASTEST FOR ALL OF US TO DO LIKE A POINT SYSTEM.
DOES THAT SOUND FAIR TO EVERYBODY? YES.
SO LIKE THE, THE LOWEST POINT, LIKE SEVEN IS MY NUMBER ONE.
SO THAT'S GONNA BE THE LOWEST FOR ME.
SO THE LOWEST WOULD BE THE TOP PRIORITY AND THEN BOUNCE OUT FROM THERE.
IS THAT, IS THAT REASONABLE E AMENABLE TO EVERYBODY? WE'LL JUST HAVE TO SAY OUR NUMBERS OUT LOUD.
WELL, UH, LIKE IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ITEM NUMBER ONE.
IF I CAN HAVE SOMEBODY THAT'LL GOTCHA.
JOT DOWN EVERYBODY'S AND THEN AVERAGE 'EM OUT.
I MEAN, I DON'T MIND DOING IT.
I JUST DON'T WANT TO BE CALLED INTO QUESTION FOR MY MATH LATER ON.
ANDY, WOULD YOU BE SO KIND? WE CAN DO THAT.
SO FOR NUMBER ONE, IF YOU GUYS CAN JUST GO DOWN AND TELL US WHAT YOU, THAT PRIORITY IS FOR YOU SO THE LOWER THE PRIORITY, THE LOWER THE NUMBER, THE HIGHER THEIR PRIORITY? CORRECT.
SO YOUR MOST IMPORTANT ONE IS GONNA BE NUMBER ONE.
SO NOW WE'RE GOING TO NUMBER, LET'S JUST GO TO NUMBER ONE.
WHAT DO WE SAY THAT IS FOR US? ALLEGATION OF OVERPAYMENT BY CITY OFFICIALS.
WHAT NUMBER IS THAT FOR YOU? THAT WOULD BE NUMBER ONE FOR ME.
IT'S UM, GONNA BE ONE OF THE MORE EASILY PROVABLE IN MANY CASES.
UM, AND THEN IT'S THE ONE THAT WE KNOW WE COULD POTENTIALLY GO AFTER AND RECOVER FUNDS FROM.
COUNCIL MEMBER MEDINA, WHAT IS IT FOR YOU? I WOULD PUT THAT ONE FOR MYSELF.
I VOTED NO, SO I DON'T HAVE A PRIORITY.
UM, I SAY I'M GOING TO GIVE IT A TWO.
COUNCIL, HARRIS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO VOTE? NO, I VOTED IN THERE.
AND THEN MAYOR PROAM DUB STATE.
SO THEN WE'RE GONNA GO TO NUMBER TWO.
WHAT DO, WHAT NUMBER IS THAT FOR EVERYBODY? DO YOU WANNA GET THE AVERAGE FOR THAT ONE BEFORE WE MOVE ON? OH YEAH, YOU CAN DO THAT.
OR I THOUGHT WE COULD DO IT AT THE END, BUT IT'S OKAY.
BECAUSE ANDY'S GONNA GET CONFUSED.
CAN THEY PUT THAT IN THERE? SO NOW WE'RE WORKING ON NUMBER THREE.
[03:25:01]
YES.THAT WOULD BE A THREE FOR ME, I THINK.
UM, EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE A LOT OF CREDIT CARD TRANSACTIONS, I THINK IT, THEY'RE GONNA BE PRIMARILY SMALLER AMOUNTS.
SO I'M LOOKING AT LIKE, WHAT'S GONNA GAIN US THE MOST AMOUNT OF POTENTIAL DOLLARS BACK OR HEAD OFF DOLLAR LOSSES.
SO THAT'S KIND OF MY RANKING SYSTEM.
COUNCIL MEMBER MEINA NUMBER? THREE.
I GUESS INSTEAD OF IT GETTING COUNTED AS ZERO FIVE, I AM GONNA SAY IS A THREE COUNCIL MEMBER HARRIS? NO, NOT I.
THREE? WHAT'S THAT? NUMBER THREE FOR THE REC? JUST FOR THE RECORD.
'CAUSE I'M ALREADY TRACKING IT MYSELF.
TO BE A, YOU'D SAID THREE FOR BOTH OF THEM.
WOULD YOU CHANGE IT TO NUMBER TWO OR WHAT? THAT'S THREE.
I CAN'T REMEMBER IF COUNCIL MEMBER ZAPATA VOTED FOR THAT OR NOT.
YOU COULD, YOU COULD NOT HAVE VOTED FOR IT AND STILL GIVE IT A PRIORITY OR SEQUENCE.
THAT'S IT'S ONE THAT'S NOT RELEVANT TO THE OTHER.
NOT, NOT VOTING ALSO IS A STATEMENT TOO.
BUT THEN JUST SAY ZERO COUNCIL MEMBER MCKINNEY.
UH, I'VE GOT A FIVE FOR THIS ONE AND MAY REPORT 10.
AND I ALSO JUST WANTED TO LET THEM KNOW THAT THEY CAN STILL VOTE FOR THAT.
THERE'S LOTS OF THINGS THAT I DON'T NECESSARILY VOTE FOR, THAT I STILL SUPPORT AFTER IT'S PASSED.
OKAY, THE NEXT ONE IS GONNA BE NUMBER.
GOZA, WHAT NUMBERS HAVE I ALREADY USED? UM, FIVE.
THAT WOULD BE FIVE ALREADY AS WELL.
ZAPATA, THE ONLY NUMBER I HAVE LEFT IS THREE
RIGHT? SO WHAT DO I HAVE LEFT? UM, HALF COUNCILMAN ZERO.
AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER MCKINNEY.
OKAY, NOW WE'RE WORKING ON SEQUENCE.
SO THINK IN TERMS OF WHICH ONE WILL GO THE FASTEST.
NUMBER SEVEN WAS NUMBER ONE THEN.
YEAH, THEY JUST DID PUT IT IN THERE.
AND THEN WHAT WAS NUMBER SIX? DOES ANYBODY KNOW THAT THERE IS NO? WAS IT FOUR? SIX WAS WASN'T 6, 2, 4.
SO BASICALLY, WHICH ONE DO YOU WANT TO GO FIRST? THE SMALLEST OF SCOPE.
THE FASTEST IS GONNA GET DONE AND OUT OF THE WAY.
I'M GONNA SAY FOR ME IT'S GONNA BE THE SAME AS OUR PRIORITY LIST.
I'M GONNA HAVE A HARD TIME SAYING WE NEED TO JUMP A PRIORITY.
WELL, I WILL SAY I DO LIKE THE IDEA OF IT BEING DONE FASTER.
'CAUSE IT'S LIKE IF WE DO THE UBER, OR IF WE DO, I THINK THE REAL ESTATE'S GONNA GO BY REALLY FAST AS WELL.
UM, BECAUSE THERE'S FOUR, FOUR IS THE FASTEST AND THEN THE REAL ESTATE WOULD BE THE NEXT FAST.
AND I THINK LEGALLY WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO, TO TAKE CARE OF NUMBER FOUR.
AND THAT WOULD ALSO GIVE STAFF,
[03:30:02]
UH, THE ABILITY TO DIRECT THE CITY'S GEC WHAT TO DO ON THAT ROAD BOND PROJECT.DOES THIS MEAN THAT WE'RE WE PAUSED THE ROAD BOND PROJECT? NO.
IN ORDER TO DO THIS? NO, THAT ONE'S NOT BEING PAUSED.
IS STILL WORKING ON IT NOW? YEAH.
UM, I GUESS MY REQUEST WOULD BE THAT THE ONE THAT HAD MOST COUNCIL SUPPORT AND 'CAUSE IT WAS ALSO THE ONLY ONE THAT I VOTED ON, NUMBER SEVEN WOULD BE SEQUENCED AS ONE.
IF THAT'S THE ONE THAT HAD MAJORITY COUNCIL SUPPORT.
BUT HOW LONG IS THAT GONNA TAKE? I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S THE BIGGEST QUESTION THAT WE HAVE FACING US RIGHT NOW BY RESIDENTS.
SO I THINK TO ME THE EARLIER THAT WE GET STARTED ON IT, ALSO, THE BETTER IF WE KNOW THAT IT MIGHT TAKE A, A A MINUTE.
ANY OTHER FEEDBACK? MAYBE WE SHOULD JUST STICK WITH THE NUMBERS THAT WE GAVE.
IS THE SAME SEQUENCE GO BY PER, UH, MR. MO'S RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDATIONS? WELL, AT ONE POINT THIS, I KNOW THIS WAS COUNCIL MEMBER MEDINA'S ITEM, SO I'D KIND OF LIKE TO GET HER FEEDBACK.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
SO, SO SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE LIKE, WE JUST, WE USE A PRIORITY FOR THE SEQUENCE AND I WAS CURIOUS HOW YOU FELT ABOUT THAT.
UM, I MEAN THAT MAKES SENSE TO ME.
BUT THEN I UNDERSTAND THE CROSS OF THAT, OF GETTING DONE WHAT GETS DONE FASTER.
UM, AND I KNOW LIKE PRESS SAID NUMBER FOUR SHOULD BE EASY ENOUGH TO GET DONE QUICKLY SINCE IT'S BETWEEN TWO PARTIES.
UM, THAT SHOULDN'T TAKE TOO LONG TO GET DONE.
UM, SO IF ANYTHING, I MIGHT PUT THAT ONE IN SEQUENCE ONE AND THEN THE REST OF IT FALL IN THE ORDER.
THAT WAY YOU PUT THE PRIORITY.
BECAUSE I DON'T WANNA WAIT TOO LONG ON THE, UM, OVERPAYMENTS AND ON THE CREDIT CARDS IN THE EVENT THAT THERE IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE TAKEN CARE OF.
IT DOESN'T EXTEND ANY STATUTES THAT MAY HAVE ALREADY EXTENDED.
MY CONCERN IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE IS NUMBER SEVEN.
THAT IS WHAT RESIDENTS HAVE BEEN COMING TO US ABOUT.
I MEAN, RESIDENTS HAVE BEEN COMING TO ME ABOUT FORENSIC AUDITS FOR FIVE YEARS.
SO, BUT YES, THEY HAVE BEEN COMING RECENTLY ABOUT THIS.
MY POINT IS, I, I, AND I AGREE AND I, I CAN GET ON BOARD WITH THAT, BUT THIS IS GONNA TAKE THE LONGEST MM-HMM
IT'S GONNA COST THE MOST AND THEN EVERYTHING ELSE IS GONNA FALL TO THE SIDE.
I GUESS THAT MEANS FOR ME IT MEANS THAT WE SHOULD GET A HEAD START ON IT.
'CAUSE I MEAN, WE CAN'T GIVE 'EM ANSWERS RIGHT.
CAN WE, CAN WE GET PRICES ON THESE FIRST AND THEN WE CAN DO SEQUENCE
DON'T TELL ME WE'RE CIRCLING BACK TO THAT NOW.
WELL, THIS, THIS IS WHAT HE NEEDED.
HE NEEDED TO KNOW WHAT WE WANTED TO DO.
LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, HE CAN'T GO OUT AND ASK FOR NUMBER TWO IF WE DECIDED TO TABLE IT.
AND NOW THAT WE HAVE A PRIORITY, HE CAN SAY, OKAY, THIS, THESE ARE THE ONES THAT WE WANNA DO.
HOW, WHAT DOES IT COST FOR THIS LOOK LIKE AT AT FIVE MINUTES TO 11? WE'RE ALLOWED A LITTLE BREATH DEEP.
BUT, BUT HE'S ALSO GIVING US A RECOMMENDATIONS OF WHAT TO PUT FIRST THE QUICKEST.
SO WE SHOULD CONSIDER THAT HE'S, HE JUST GOT FINISHED TELLING US WE GO WITH THIS.
I COULD BE ABLE TO GO FROM THERE.
QUICKEST IS NOT NECESSARILY THE BEST ORDER THOUGH.
I I AGREE THAT NUMBER SEVEN, WE NEED TO GET STARTED ON SOONER RATHER THAN LATER BECAUSE IT'S NOT GONNA BE QUICK.
YOU KNOW, YOU WANNA FIND OUT TWO YEARS FROM NOW WHAT THE RESULTS WERE.
NO, BUT IF THAT'S THE CASE, IF, IF SEVEN IS NUMBER ONE, THEN LET'S JUST GO WITH THE SEQUENCE ORDER THAT WE'VE ALREADY PLACED IN, IN, IN SIGHT.
'CAUSE NOW WE'RE REVERSING IT.
WELL, THIS, I FEEL THIS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THAT.
WE GO WITH THE, WHAT WE JUST VOTED ON AND SAYING THIS IS THE, THIS IS OUR PRIORITY.
AND THEN PUT THE SEQUENCE ACCORDING TO THE PRIORITY.
WELL, I FEEL LIKE AT SOME POINT WE ALL DO HAVE A, A DUTY TO INVESTIGATE SOME OF THIS.
I KNOW PEREZ HAS A LEGAL DUTY TO AT LEAST BRING IT TO OUR ATTENTION.
I THOUGHT WE HAD A DUTY TO RESEARCH IT.
I MEAN, TECHNICALLY, IF I WOULD'VE KNOWN IT WASN'T GOING TO PAN OUT THE WAY IT WAS, I SHOULD HAVE DONE AN ETHICS COMPLAINT TO, TO JUST AT LEAST ADDRESS IT.
ACTUALLY, WE SHOULD ALL, ONCE WE HEAR THAT THIS WAS A SITUATION
[03:35:01]
REQUIRED BY ETHICS ORDINANCE TO TURN THIS IN.BUT THAT'S AN OPTION AVAILABLE TO COUNSEL TONIGHT.
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO GO WITH NUMBER FOUR FIRST IN SEQUENCE, YOU CAN DIRECT THE CITY ATTORNEY TO GO TO THE ETHICS COMMISSION.
NOPE, WE CANNOT, WE THAT IS NOT ALLOWED.
YOU HAVE TO INDIVIDUALLY FILE IT.
WE ARE REQUIRED BY STATUTE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US TO WRITE AN ETHICS COMPLAINT FOR OURSELVES.
IN FACT, THE ETHICS STATUTE SAYS WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO DIRECT SOMEBODY TO DO THAT FOR US.
SO AS LONG AS IF I WAS FOR CLARITY, IF YOU HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE THAT AN ETHICS VIOLATION OCCURRED, YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS.
YOU CAN EITHER REPORT IT TO THE COMMISSION THROUGH A COMPLAINT OR YOU CAN REPORT IT TO THE ETHICS COMPLIANCE OFFICER.
I'M HAPPY TO GIVE YOU ALL OF HER, ALL HER CONTACT INFORMATION.
MAYBE WE CAN DO THAT FOR THAT ONE AND THEN HAVE THEM INVESTIGATE IT.
I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT'S GONNA LOOK.
THEN WE DO SEVEN FIRST, WHICH IS GONNA TAKE THE LONGEST AND COST THE MOST.
AND I FEEL LIKE THAT'S GONNA BE TOUGH BECAUSE ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THIS BUDGET NEXT? BUDGET? WHEN WILL IT BE DONE THAT, WHEN CAN WE AFFORD IT? ALL OF THIS.
ANYONE YOU PICK IS GONNA HAVE TO HAPPEN AFTER OCTOBER 1ST.
SO YOU GUYS ARE OKAY WITH GOING WITH THE PRIORITY BEING THE SEQUENCE.
I, I MAKE A MOTION TO GO IN ORDER OF SEQUENCE TO BATCH IS OUR PRIORITY.
I HAVE A MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER MCKINNEY MCKINNEY.
UM, I DON'T THINK WE NEED A ROLL CALL.
I THINK WE'RE SO ALL IN FAVOR FAVORS.
AND WHAT WAS THAT NUMBER 14?
AT THIS POINT, IF WE GOT INTO PUBLIC HEARING, WE'RE GONNA BE HERE FOR A WHILE.
LET'S JUST DO, KEEP 16 AS IT IS.
[12) Hold a public hearing regarding the draft Program Year 2026 (PY 2026) Annual Action Plan (AAP) for the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) as required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). (Related to Item# 14) Public Hearing ]
PUBLIC HEARING.NUMBER 12, HOLD THE PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING THE DRAFT PROGRAM YEAR 2026 PUI 2026, ANNUAL ACTION PLAN FOR THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT AS REQUIRED BY THE US DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT ITEM PRESENTER, JASON LUTZ.
UH, COUNCIL, UH, MAYOR, UH, TONIGHT IS THE, THE, UH, PUBLIC HEARING FOR OUR CDBG PROGRAM.
UM, THIS IS FISCAL YEAR 2026 SLASH 2027.
JUST SO YOU KNOW, IT'S, UH, UPCOMING.
UM, WE ARE ENTITLED TO FI IDENTIFIED AS AN ENTITLEMENT COMMUNITY THROUGH THE US DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND, UH, URBAN DEVELOPMENT.
UM, WE WILL BE RECEIVING FUNDING ANNUALLY.
THIS WILL BE OUR THIRD, UH, CYCLE GOING THROUGH.
UM, SO, UH, FEDERAL LAW REQUIRES US TO CREATE AN ANNUAL ACTION PLAN.
WE'VE DONE THAT THE PRIOR TWO YEARS.
UM, WE HAVE ONE THAT'S THE ACTUAL NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS THE RESOLUTION APPROVING THAT, UM, WE HAVE, UH, ARE REQUIRED TO CONSULT WITH CITIZENS COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS OBVIOUSLY GET PUBLIC FEEDBACK.
UM, BUT WE DO DEVELOP OUR OWN PROGRAM AND FUNDING PRIORITIES AND THEN SUBMIT THAT TO HUD FOR APPROVAL.
UM, SO WHILE WE'RE HERE, UH, AGAIN, WE ARE REQUIRED TO HOLD TWO PUBLIC MEETINGS, UH, AND A 30 DAY PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR THIS DRAFT PLAN.
UM, THIS MEETING IS, UH, OUR OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT PUBLIC COMMENT TONIGHT.
UM, STAFF HAVE PREPARED THE DRAFT OF THE ANNUAL ACTION PLAN.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT APPROXIMATELY 294,000, UH, $137 OF ALLOCATION TO BE SPENT, UM, IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
UM, THE PROPOSED PROJECT ON OUR ANNUAL ACTION PLAN, UM, IT'S, IT'S VERY, UH, I DON'T WANNA SAY VANILLA, IT'S A LITTLE GENERIC, UM, BUT IT GIVES US SOME FLEXIBILITY THAT WE CAN MOVE THAT PLAN AROUND.
UM, SO AGAIN, WE'RE LOOKING AT SIDEWALKS, UH, CURB RAMPS RELATED PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS IN THOSE LOW TO MODERATE INCOME AREAS.
UM, SO LAST TIME THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION ON WHERE THOSE SIDEWALKS CAN BE.
SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THIS MAP HERE, UM, THE RED IS THIS CURRENT CITY LIMIT.
SO WE WILL HAVE TO IDENTIFY PROJECTS LOCATED IN THOSE GREEN AREAS.
UM, BUT LUCKILY WE'VE GOT A LOT OF, A LOT OF CREWS OUT ON THE STREET PUBLIC WORKS.
UM, WE'VE GOT PLENTY OF OPTIONS FOR US TO CONSIDER, UH, AS WE MOVE THROUGH.
UH, BENEFITS OF THE COMMUNITY HAS APPROVED PEDESTRIAN SAFETY, A DA ACCESSIBILITY IMPROVEMENTS, INCREASED WALKABILITY, INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS, UH, AND THEN IT SUPPORTS THE GOALS OF THE 20 24, 20 28, UH, CONSOLIDATED PLAN.
SO AGAIN, UH, 30 DAY PUBLIC COMMENT WAS OPEN ON JUNE 17TH.
IT WILL GO RAN THROUGH JULY 20TH.
UM, THIS IS GONNA AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, BE OUR SECOND PUBLIC HEARING.
UM, AND THEN YOU'LL HAVE THE, THE ACTION PLAN IMMEDIATELY
[03:40:01]
AFTER THIS.UM, ANY COMMENTS THAT WE RECEIVE TONIGHT, WE WILL ALSO INCLUDE INTO HUD BE SUBMITTED.
UM, AND THAT DEADLINE IS AUGUST 14TH.
SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL BE GLAD TO ANSWER THOSE.
IF NOT, WE CAN OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING.
AND I DO LIKE TO OPEN MY PUBLIC HEARING AFTER PEOPLE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY.
I MEAN, NOBODY'S, I DON'T THINK EVERYBODY'S HERE, BUT JUST, JUST FOR FUTURE.
I DO LIKE TO HAVE THE PRESENTATION AND THEN HAVE THE BE ABILITY TO ASK QUESTIONS LATER.
SO, UM, I'M GOING TO OPEN UP THE PUBLIC HEARING.
IS THERE ANYBODY THAT WOULD LIKE TO COME UP AND SPEAK? SEE NONE.
NOW I DO WANNA SAY, UM, SOME PEOPLE ONLINE WERE LIKE, JUST FORGET THE ROADS AND THEN, BUT THIS MONEY IS ALLOCATED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE SIDEWALKS, RIGHT? YES.
UH, THERE ARE MULTIPLE OPTIONS WE CAN GO.
UM, BUT GIVEN THE THE DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT THEY'RE GIVING US, UM, IT MAKES MORE SENSE TO FOCUS ON THE SIDEWALKS.
WE THINK WE GET MORE BANG FOR OUR BUCK.
UM, IF WE WERE TO KIND OF USE SOME OF THIS ROAD AGAIN, 200, A LITTLE SHY OF 300,000, IF WE WERE TO PUT THAT ONTO A SECTION OF ROAD OR SOME OTHER COMMUNITY BENEFIT, UM, I DON'T THINK WE'D GET AS MUCH PROJECT, UM, FOR THE PRICE.
AND THEN IT KIND OF OPENS IT UP TO, UM, IF WE'RE HAVING A AUTO FEDERAL GUIDELINES, IF WE CAN'T DO THIS IN HOUSE.
SO, UM, THERE IS A REASON WHY WE'RE FOCUSING ON THE SIDEWALKS.
WE JUST THINK THAT'S THE BEST, BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK FOR THE COMMUNITY.
ANY QUESTIONS? I GUESS WE'LL MOVE ON TO AGENDA
[13) Consider approval of a Resolution approving the Program Year (PY) 2026 Annual Action Plan for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, which outlines the City’s priority projects for the anticipated $294,137.00 in PY2026 funding.]
ITEM 13, MA'AM.UM, THIS IS CONSIDERED APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE PROGRAM YEAR 2026 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN FOR THE US DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM, WHICH OUTLINES THE CITY'S PRIORITY PROJECTS FOR THE ANTICIPATED 294,000 $137 IN PYE 2026 FUNDING.
SO I'M GONNA GO THROUGH THIS REALLY QUICKLY.
YOU'LL SEE THE SLIDES WERE VERY SIMILAR TO THE LAST ONE.
IT'S JUST A LITTLE BIT OF BACK, UH, HUD, UM, HOW THE CBDG IS DETERMINED.
UH, AGAIN, WE'RE REQUIRED TO, TO ADOPT THIS ANNUAL ACTION PLAN REQUIRES THE PUBLIC INPUT, WHICH WE'VE DONE, UH, WHILE WE'RE HERE.
UM, THIS IS THE EXACT SAME ALLOCATION.
2 94 AGAIN PROPOSED SIDEWALK IS SIDEWALKS, UH, MAP AGAIN FOR A REFERENCE.
COMMUNITY BENEFITS, NO CHANGE.
UH, THIS IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, SO WE'LL RECEIVE ANY COMMENTS.
WE'LL SUBMIT THAT AGAIN AUGUST 14TH.
UH, ONCE IT'S APPROVED BY HUD STAFF, WE'LL NOW NARROW DOWN THE SCOPE OF WORK WITHIN THOSE AREAS.
UH, SO WE'LL, WE'LL WHITTLE DOWN THE PROJECTS.
UM, AND THEN OTHER FACTORS WE'LL BE LOOKING AT IS, AS WE DO THAT IS, UH, ARE THERE EXISTING GAPS? UH, OR DO WE NEED A REPAIR GAPS OR THOSE, JUST SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE LOOK AT WHEN WE IDENTIFY THESE.
UM, SO YOUR OPTIONS TONIGHT ARE APPROVE IS PRESENTED, APPROVE WITH MODIFICATIONS OR DENY THE RESOLUTION.
AND STAFF IS RECOMMENDING OPTION ONE AS IT MEETS ALL THE NECESSARY HUD REQUIREMENTS.
ALRIGHT, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? MAYOR? I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE AGENDA ITEM 13.
I'LL SECOND A MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER.
I MEAN, MAYOR PORT TOBI, AND A SECOND BY MYSELF.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER
UM, I WAS WONDERING IF WE COULD ALSO INCLUDE 3 1 1 DATA IN LIKE, WHENEVER WE NARROW THE SCOPE, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WE DO HAVE A LOT OF RESIDENTS WHO SEND IN INFORMATION OR REQUESTS, UH, FOR ASSISTANCE.
SO I THINK INCLUDING SOME OF THAT DATA CAN HELP US REFINE A LITTLE BIT MORE.
WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AND SEE IF WE HAVE ANY THAT, THAT HAVE, UH, MEET THOSE CRITERIA FOR A SIDEWALK OR CONNECTION ISSUES.
I WAS SORRY, I WAS THINKING ABOUT THIS TODAY.
I WAS WALKING MY DOGS NOT A GOOD IDEA.
BUT ANYWAYS, I WAS WALKING THEM AND I WAS THINKING, HOW DO THEY FIGURE OUT, LIKE, WE HAVE TO KNOW LIKE THIS NEIGHBORHOOD IS THE OLDEST AND THEN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD IS THE SECOND OLDEST.
SO DO WE HAVE LIKE SOME KINDA LIST SHOWING LIKE WHEN HOUSES WERE BUILT OR SUBDIVISIONS WERE BUILT THAT WE CAN ALSO USE AS GUIDE? YEAH, WE CAN GO THROUGH.
UM, SUBDIVISIONS ARE BY YEAR GENERALLY YOU DO SEE SOME RELAS OR SOME CHANGES THAT, THAT CHANGES THAT, BUT USUALLY WE KNOW THE TIMEFRAMES THAT, THAT THOSE ARE THERE.
UM, GENERALLY WHAT WE DO IS JUST LOOK IN THE LMI AREAS.
UM, WE DO RELY ON TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS.
THEY HAVE A REALLY GOOD IDEA ON WHERE THOSE ARE AT.
BUT, UH, WE DO HAVE A MAPPED, UH, OUR GIS LAYER, THEY, THEY TRACK OUR SIDEWALKS.
UM, THEY DO HAVE SOME NEEDS REPAIR NEEDS TO BE INSTALLED.
UM, OBVIOUSLY IF IT'S AN AREA THAT'S UNDEVELOPED, WE DON'T WANT TO MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS.
WE WANT THE BUSINESSES TO DO THAT UNLESS WE FEEL, YOU KNOW, IF WE FIND AN AREA THAT MIGHT NEED SOMETHING, IF THERE'S A A, A HOSPITAL OR SOMEWHERE WE CAN GET THOSE PEOPLE THERE.
AND, AND WE'RE, WE DON'T WANNA WAIT ON THAT GAP.
THAT MAY BE SOMETHING WE CAN LOOK AT AS WELL.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER DE DEBI AND A SECOND BY ME.
[03:45:01]
THANK YOU.[16) Receive a report, hold a discussion, and provide staff feedback regarding plans to update intersections traffic analysis at the 2 proposed roundabout intersections on Kohlers Crossing and 12 on Road Bond projects.]
SO WE JUST HAVE 16 AND THEN EXECUTIVE SESSION, RIGHT? OKAY.UH, NUMBER 16, RECEIVE YOUR REPORT, HOLD THE DISCUSSION AND PROVIDE STAFF FEEDBACK REGARDING PLANS TO UPDATE INTERSECTION TRAFFIC ANALYSIS AT THE TWO PROPOSED RUNABOUT INTERSECTIONS ON KOHLERS AND CROSSING AND 12 ON ROAD BOND PROJECTS.
ITEM PRESENTER, UH, L GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
UM, I HAVE A REALLY QUICK PRESENTATION.
THIS IS JUST AN UPDATE OF THE NEXT STEPS THAT STAFF IS GONNA TAKE TO, UH, REALIZE YOUR DESIRE TO, UH, TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT, UH, THE UPDATED TRAFFIC DATA FOR THESE INTERSECTIONS.
UH, WE RECEIVED THE DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL ON JULY 7TH TO REEVALUATE THE RECOMMENDED ROUNDABOUT LOCATIONS USING CURRENT TRAFFIC DATA AND FOLLOWING OUR, UM, NEW ORDINANCE, THE INTERSECTION ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS AT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS, THE KOHLERS CROSSING ROUNDABOUTS, CROMWELL, SANDERS, AND BANNER, AND ALSO 12 ROUNDABOUTS PROPOSED FROM THE 2022 ROAD BOUND PROGRAM.
UM, WE ALREADY COMMUNICATED, EXCUSE ME, WITH CONSULTANTS ON CONTRACTORS TO PAUSE ANY ONGOING WORK WITHIN THE INTERSECTION FUNCTIONAL AREA.
WE ARE CONTINUING ON THE WORK THAT DOESN'T AFFECT, UM, DOESN'T GET AFFECTED BY THIS UPDATED ANALYSIS.
UH, WE EVALUATE THE STATUS OF EACH PROPOSED ROUNDABOUT AND THERE ARE THREE ROUNDABOUTS THAT WE RECOMMEND TO BE REMOVED FROM THIS ANALYSIS.
FIRST OF ALL, UH, IS BIBB ROAD AND FICANO SENIOR PARKWAY.
THIS WAS, UH, PART OF THE BIBB ROAD ROAD BOND PROJECT.
HOWEVER, WITH A REVISED PROJECT LIMIT, THIS WILL BE EXCLUDED FROM THE PROJECT.
SO WE RECOMMEND REMOVAL OF THIS, UH, INTERSECTION, BB ROAD AND KOHLER CROSSING.
AS OF TODAY, THIS HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND UM, TRAFFIC IS, UH, VEHICLES ARE CURRENTLY USING THAT.
SO THIS ANOTHER PLACE THAT WE RECOMMEND TO BE REMOVED FROM THE ANALYSIS KOHLER CROSSING AND CROWN WALL DRIVE, BECAUSE WE RECOMMEND TO NOT, UH, DO THIS INTERSECTION AS FOR NOW.
AND WE NEED A MORE COMPREHENSIVE CO, UH, COMPREHENSIVE CORRIDOR STUDY IN THE FUTURE.
SO WE ALSO RECOMMEND THIS TO BE NOT INCLUDED AS THE CONSTRUCTION WILL NOT HAPPEN.
UM, I DO HAVE AN UPDATED MAP, UM, FOR THIS, UH, TO EXPLAIN WHERE ALL THE INTERSECTION LOCATIONS ARE.
SO THE THREE IN RED THAT, THAT ARE THE, UM, ROUNDABOUTS THAT ARE NOT GONNA INTERSECTIONS THAT ARE NOT GONNA BE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY.
AND ALL THE REST PURPLE ARE GOING TO BE INCLUDED.
AND THERE'S A TOTAL OF 12 OF THEM.
OUR NEXT STEP, OUR NEXT STEPS, UM, STAFF WILL ENGAGE WITH A CONSULTING FIRM FROM THE 2026 ROTATION LIST.
UH, WE SELECT BASED ON COUPLE CRITERIA, THEY WILL HAVE, UH, INTERSECTION EVALUATION EXPERIENCE.
THEY DEMONSTRATED TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION EXPERTISE AND ALSO WE SELECTED A FIRM THAT HAS NO PRIOR INVOLVEMENT ON ANY OF THE PRIOR MENTIONED PROJECTS.
AND, UM, ANY OTHER RAILWAY PROJECTS, UM, WITH THE CITY.
NEW TRAFFIC COUNTS WILL BE COLLECTED ON A TYPICAL WEEKDAY WHILE SCHOOL'S IN SESSION.
UM, THIS ANALYSIS WILL FOLLOW THE CITY ORDINANCE NUMBER 1410, UM, TO PERFORM THE INTERSECTION ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS TO START FROM A NEW INTERSECTION TO LOOK AT WHAT THE BEST TREATMENT OPTION IS.
AND WE WILL BRING BACK THIS TASK ORDER WITH THE DETAILED SCOPE AND FEES, UM, FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION ON AUGUST 18TH.
AND THAT IS ALL MY UPDATE AND I'LL GO BACK TO THE MAP IN CASE YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
ALRIGHT, ANY QUESTIONS? HAS ANYBODY DRIVEN ON THE NEW BPE ROAD? BPE ROAD WEST? RIGHT ABOUT IT'S NICE.
AND, UH, ESPECIALLY WHEN I WENT BEHIND ONE 18 WHEEL AND AS HE WAS GOING IN FRONT OF ME, HE ALREADY MERGED INTO BOTH LANES.
IS THAT A TWO LANE ONE? MM-HMM
THE TWO LANE, A TWO LANE LANE.
I WAS LIKE, AND IT'S A BIG ONE AND I'M NOT SAYING, LOOK, I WANNA SAY THIS FROM THE, LIKE FROM THE SINCE SERIOUS FROM THE PERSON WHO MADE THE MOTION TO APPROVE THE ROUNDABOUT ORDINANCE, WHAT I'M SAYING IS THEY'RE GREAT AND THEY CAN BE SAFE IF PLACED IN THE RIGHT AREA.
NOT EVERY AREA IS MADE FOR A ROUNDABOUT.
AND THAT'S ALL I WANNA SAY BECAUSE I DON'T WANT ANYONE TO THINK I'M TRYING TO SO, OR CHANGE, YOU KNOW, PEDESTRIAN.
I THOUGHT WE WERE TRYING TO MAKE KYLE A WALKABLE CITY.
[03:50:01]
WE HAVE REPORTS THAT DON'T EVEN HAVE PEDESTRIAN INFORMATION IN IT, THAT MAKES ME WONDER, YOU KNOW, AND WE WERE USING THE OLD ORDINANCE AT ONE POINT, I WAS TOLD WE HAD A ROUNDABOUT FIRST POLICY AND NOBODY KNEW WHERE THAT CAME FROM.AND SO, YOU KNOW, WITH ALL THIS UPDATED INFORMATION, UM, I THINK IF, IF A ROUNDABOUT FITS IN A CERTAIN AREA, THEN SO BE IT.
AND IF IT DOESN'T, I HOPE EVERYBODY ELSE IS JUST AS UNDERSTANDING.
SO I'VE READ ALL THE PR 'CAUSE I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE REFERRING TO ONE, AND THAT IS THE, UH, KOHLER BENNER SANDERS ONE.
UH, BUT THERE ARE A MULTITUDE FOR ALMOST EACH OF THE PROJECTS THAT EXIST HERE.
UM, SO MY CONCERN I GUESS IS, AND MAYBE THIS WILL BE BETTER EXPLAINED, UM, FOR THE KYLE PARKWAY, LIKE LAYMAN DACY AREA FOR THOSE IN THE PER, UH, IT STATED THAT THE, A LARGE REASON AS TO WHY ROUNDABOUTS ARE PREFERRED WAS BECAUSE OF THE SKEW OF, OF THE ROADS.
AND SO THAT IMPACTED, UH, IF WE WERE GOING TO DO SIGNALIZE INTERSECTIONS, IT WOULD, IT COST MORE IN RIDE OF WAY UTILITY RELOCATION.
AND THEN ALSO JUST STRAIGHTENING OF THE ROADS THEMSELVES.
ROUNDABOUTS, ACCORDING TO THAT PER WERE EASIER TO PUT IN PLACE BECAUSE THEY ALREADY KIND OF ALIGNED BETTER WITH THE FORMAT OF THE ROADS.
UM, SO I GUESS MY QUESTION IS THEN, UM, I'M FINDING IT DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND HOW IT IS THAT WE CAN PAUSE CONSTRUCTION ONLY AT THOSE SPECIFIC INTERSECTIONS.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF TXDOT RECOMMENDS THAT EVERY SINGLE REVIEW HAPPEN IN THE IDEA OF A CORRIDOR, NOT LIKE INTERSECTION BY INTERSECTION.
AND SO IF WE'RE ALREADY CONTINUING THE WORK ON SOME OF THESE ROADS, THEN I GUESS, YOU KNOW, MY QUESTION IS HOW DOES THAT AFFECT THE OUTCOME OF THE PER? IF THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT HAVE TO BE DONE TO THE ROADS RIGHT NOW IN ORDER TO FIT THAT ROUNDABOUT, UM, IN PARTICULAR, LIKE I SAID WITH THAT KYLE D. LANE BECAUSE OF THE SKU? UM, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, I DO WANNA CLARIFY THAT THE KYLE PARKWAY AND LAYMAN EXTENSION IS NOT UNDER CONSTRUCTION RIGHT NOW.
SO IT IS, UM, WE'RE STILL FINALIZING SOME DESIGN, THERE'S STILL SOME HOLDUPS.
UM, SO THAT WE'RE JUST PAUSING BECAUSE WE ARE DIRECTING THE CONSULTANT TO RETAKE A LOOK AT THE UTILITY RELOCATION AS WELL TO REMAIN OVERHEAD FOR THESE LOCATIONS.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON AND WE'RE NOT READY TO GO OUT TO BIDS AT THIS MOMENT.
UM, THE TWO LOCATIONS AS SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED FOR, UM, PAUSING THE CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY IS A CENTER STREET AT OLD STAGE COACH AND WENDY HILL AT CHERRYWOOD.
UH, WENDY HILL AND SHE WOOD, THE, UH, THE CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY HAS ALREADY EXCAVATED OUT THE ALIGNMENT OF THAT ROUNDABOUT.
SO WE, WE WANT THIS, UM, THIS PARTICULAR ANALYSIS TO BE COMPLETELY UNBIASED AND TAKE IT AS IF WE DID NOTHING.
HOWEVER, WHEN WE COME BACK AS A NEXT STEP, WHEN WE HAVE THE RESULT FROM THE STUDY, WE WILL EVALUATE WHAT THE CURRENT STATUS OF THAT LOCATION IS, WHAT IS THE STUDY TELLING US? WHAT IS OUR FINAL RECOMMENDATION? SO IT'LL BE KIND OF A TWO STEP PROCESS.
SO WORK HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE TO KIND OF SET IT IN LINE WITH THAT.
AND SO LIKE ALL OF THE RIGHT OF WAY ACQUISITION AND LIKE RELOCATION THE RIGHT OF WAY ACQUISITION'S BEEN COMPLETE.
'CAUSE I DON'T WANNA SPEAK ON BEHALF THE CONSTRUCTION.
NO, IT'S JUST IN ALL OF THE P THAT I READ, IT STATED IN PARTICULAR BECAUSE WENDY HILL ALSO BECAUSE OF THE SKEW OF THAT, IT POINTED OUT THAT SIGNALIZE INTERSECTIONS WOULD ACTUALLY REQUIRE US TO PURCHASE MORE RIGHT OF WAY.
UM, AND SO I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IS LIKE HOW WE COULD STILL, BECAUSE IT JUST SEEMS LIKE WE'RE DOING THINGS INTERSECTION BY INTERSECTION WHEN IT'S RECOMMENDED THAT THINGS ARE REVIEWED CORRIDOR, UH, BY CORRIDOR.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, I ALSO KNOW THAT SCHEMATICS AND DESIGNS CHANGE FROM THE ORIGINAL PER AND I KNOW THAT WE VALUED, ENGINEERED SOME THINGS OUT.
UM, BUT THERE'S THIS MISUNDERSTANDING OR MISCONCEPTION THAT ONCE WE HAVE THE PER, THAT'S IT, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE BIBLE AND WE DON'T TOUCH IT.
AND, AND THAT'S THE WAY THAT THE, UH, PROJECT, UH, PLAYS OUT.
SO I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD JUST WALK US THROUGH, FOR EXAMPLE, ON THE SANDERS AND BENNER ROUNDABOUTS, UM, WHAT DESIGN CHANGES TOOK PLACE AFTER THE PER? BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WE'VE DONE SOME THINGS TO SAVE MONEY.
UM, SO IF YOU, IF IF THERE'S OTHER EXAMPLES OF WHERE THOSE SCHEMATICS AND DESIGNS HAVE CHANGED, IF YOU COULD PLEASE JUST LIKE KIND OF GO OVER THEM BRIEFLY.
UM, I THINK I CAN TAKE KOHL SANDERS AND BENNER, UM, AS AN EXAMPLE.
[03:55:01]
GAVE US A COUPLE OPTIONS.IT LOOKS AT, UM, IF THERE ARE OPTIONS ON THESE INTERSECTION TREATMENTS.
IT DID TALK ABOUT IN, UH, SIGNALIZE INTERSECTION.
IT ALSO TALKED ABOUT THE ROUNDABOUT.
AND THEN, UM, ONCE THE DECISION'S BEEN MADE, UM, TO ACCEPT THE PER, THEN WE GO INTO P, S AND E.
SO THAT'S A MORE DETAILED DESIGN.
UM, SOMETIMES COUNSEL WILL TAKE A VOTE ON WHICH IF, WHICH INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENT THEY WILL LIKE BASED ON THE PER RESULTS.
UH, OTHER TIMES STAFF WILL MAKE A RECOMMENDATION ON WHICH, UH, INTERSECTION TREATMENT WE, UH, WE'LL WORK THE BEST HERE BASED ON, UM, ALL THE COMPARISONS THAT PRS LAID OUT.
AND THEN ONCE WE MOVE TO PSNE DESIGN, IT GOES, SO PR IS ALSO REFERRED TO AS A 30% DESIGN.
THOSE WILL GO INTO DETAILS ON RESOLVING UTILITY CONFLICT AND LOOKING AT ALIGNMENT AND RIGHT OF WAY, WHAT WORKS, WHAT NOT.
UM, DURING THOSE, THE ALIGNMENT COULD CHANGE.
THE FOOTPRINT COULD CHANGE BASED ON WHAT'S AVAILABLE AND WHAT KIND OF CONFLICT WE HAVE TO RESOLVE.
WE DO WORK THROUGH A LOT OF STEPS WITHIN THOSE PSNE.
THAT'S WHY IT TAKES PRETTY LONG.
YEAH, I THINK THAT IS NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND BECAUSE THERE IS THIS IDEA THAT SOMEHOW WE GO STRAIGHT FROM PER TO JUST USING WHATEVER THAT SAYS.
UM, AND THEN I THINK MY QUESTION FOR THAT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HEAR A LOT OF THIS CONVERSATION, UH, HAPPENING BECAUSE LIKE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING, ANYBODY OWN A GRAY JEEP TRUCK, GRAY, GRAY JEEP TRUCK.
THEY'RE AT, THEY'RE AT THE BAR
SO, UM, BECAUSE A LOT OF THE CONVERSATION IS CONCERNING LIKE PEDESTRIAN LEVEL DATA, UM, I WAS WONDERING DO WE ALSO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION LIKE OUR, UH, MOBILITY PLAN, TRANSPORTATION PLAN, OUR SIDEWALK MASTER PLAN, UM, AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH WHETHER THE PER OR PS AND E, UH, BECAUSE THAT ALSO PROVIDES A LOT OF PEDESTRIAN LEVEL DATA.
UM, AND THEN I ALSO WANNA POINT OUT THAT ALL OF THE ERS THAT ARE PRESENTED, LIKE I SAID, I'VE READ EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM, LIKE FORWARD AND BACKWARDS, UM, DO TAKE INTO, UH, CONSIDERATION PEDESTRIAN LEVEL DATA.
AND THEN OUR MASTER, UH, SIDEWALK, OUR SIDEWALK MASTER PLAN ALSO IS HUGE ON THAT.
SO I WAS JUST WONDERING IF WE INCORPORATE THAT.
THE SHORT ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS TO SOME DEGREE, YES, BUT THESE ARE LOOKING AT VERY SPECIFIC LOCATIONS ALONG THE CORRIDOR.
AND USUALLY TO MEASURE SIDEWALK LEVEL OF SERVICE, WE WOULD HAVE TO LOOK AT A CORRIDOR AS A WHOLE.
WHAT THE INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENT ITSELF WOULD LOOK AT WOULD BE THE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ASPECT AT AN INTERSECTION.
'CAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF CONFLICT THAT HAPPENS AT INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN VEHICLES TO VEHICLES, PEDESTRIANS TO PEDESTRIAN, WELL PEDESTRIAN CYCLISTS, PEDESTRIAN TO VEHICLE.
SO IT WOULD LOOK AT THOSE ELEMENTS IN DETERMINING WHAT THE BEST POSSIBLE CONFIGURATION AND TRAFFIC CONTROL IS FOR AN INTERSECTION.
IS IT GONNA LOOK AT HOW IT TIES INTO OUR SIDEWALK MASTER PLAN? HOW IS IT, HOW IS IT GONNA TIE INTO A MOBILITY PLAN AT A CORRIDOR LEVEL? NO.
'CAUSE WE'RE LOOKING AT AN INTERSECTION.
I THINK, I'M JUST WONDERING IF WE UTILIZE ANY OF THOSE DATA SETS, LIKE WHETHER OR NOT ANY OF THAT DATA IS TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION.
UM, AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS.
IT, IT WOULDN'T NECESSARILY APPLY AT AN INTERSECTION LEVEL BECAUSE ALL THOSE PLANNING LEVELS EFFORTS ARE DONE AT A 10,000 FOOT LEVEL.
SO THEY'RE NOT GETTING INTO THE WEEDS AT INTERSECTIONS IN TERMS OF WHAT TYPE OF CROSSINGS THEY'RE RECOMMENDING.
'CAUSE THEY'RE, THEY JUST DON'T DO THAT KIND OF ANALYSIS AT A MASTER PLAN EFFORT.
UM, I THINK MY NEXT QUESTION THEN IS, UH, IF A LOT OF THE CONCERN IS AROUND PEDESTRIAN USAGE, IS THERE A WAY THAT WE CAN DO THAT COUNT IN HOUSE? WE DO NOT HAVE ANY EQUIPMENT OR STAFF TO BE ABLE TO CONDUCT THAT KIND OF DATA COLLECTION AT THESE MANY INTERSECTIONS IN A TIMELY FASHION.
'CAUSE I JUST, I HAVE MAJOR CONCERNS WITH THIS BECAUSE I MEAN, ONE, I THINK THE, THE REASONING BEHIND IT IS VERY INCONSISTENT, VERY FLAWED.
THIS IS ALSO TO, TO A LAY PERSON, IT MAKES SENSE.
LIKE YEAH, WHY DON'T WE JUST LIKE REVIEW THE TRAFFIC ANALYSIS AGAIN.
BUT IT IS FAR OUTSIDE OF THE NORM FOR MAJOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS AND CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, UM, TO CHANGE IT UP LAST MINUTE LIKE THIS.
[04:00:01]
AND A LARGE REASON BECAUSE OF THAT IS BECAUSE OF THE COSTS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED TO IT.I MEAN, I TOTALED TOGETHER SIX OF THEM AND I DON'T THINK THAT INCLUDES ANY LIKE, TASK ORDER CHANGES SO FAR.
UM, BUT I, I TOTALED SIX OF THE DIFFERENT COSTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN APPROVED.
AND THAT'S, LIKE I SAID, THAT'S NOT INCLUDING ALL OF THESE.
AND THAT WAS ALREADY $800,753 AND 15 CENTS.
UM, AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT UP HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS POTENTIALLY BEING CONSIDERED IN ORDER TO UPDATE THESE THINGS IN AN INCONSISTENT MANNER.
I JUST, YEAH, I JUST, I I DON'T, YOU'VE ANSWERED MY QUESTIONS, WHICH I APPRECIATE, BUT I JUST, I'M, I'M AT A LOSS.
IS THERE ANY WAY THAT YOU CAN TELL ME WHAT THE LAYMAN BUTTON ROUNDABOUT SAYS ABOUT PEDESTRIANS IN THE SCHOOL TRAFFIC OR MAYBE COUNCIL MEMBER? SABATA, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE PPER SAYS ABOUT THE LAYMAN BUTTON? IF YOU GIVE ME A MOMENT? I HAVE SCREENSHOTS.
COUNCIL MEMBER HARRIS, I REMEMBER WE CONDUCTED EXTENSIVE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THAT AND THE DESIGN OF THAT INTERSECTION FOR THE PEDESTRIANS AND THE KIDS AND MADE A LOT OF ADJUSTMENTS ON WHERE THE KIDS WOULD CROSS, HOW THEY WOULD GET ACROSS, AND HOW THAT IN INTERSECTION WOULD BE, UM, DESIGN THAT WAS APPROVED.
I THINK THAT WAS APPROVED BEFORE YOUR TIME.
BUT WE'VE, WE'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS SINCE THEN.
I'D BE INTERESTED TO SEE WHAT THAT, WHEN, WHEN IT WAS APPROVED, THE PER DIDN'T EXIST WITH, WITH THE PEDESTRIANS.
I THINK LAST TIME COUNSEL TOOK A VOTE ON THAT INTERSECTION WAS AUGUST, 2023.
UM, WE ARE HOWEVER, PLANNING ON BRINGING BACK THAT INTERSECTION FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION.
'CAUSE WE UNDERSTAND IT'S A VERY CONTROVERSIAL DISCUSSION AND WE DO WANT TO FORM OUR DISCUSSION AROUND THE SCHOOL, UM, BECAUSE IT'S ONE OF THE INTERSECTIONS THAT GETS AFFECTED BY THE SCHOOL TRAFFIC LARGELY.
AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT'S A CONCERN.
UM, WE, WE WERE GOING TO BRING IT BACK BEFORE THE STUDY, BUT WITH THE STUDY, I THINK WE WOULD LIKE TO ALSO SEE THE MOST UP TO DATE TRAFFIC COUNTS BEFORE WE BRING BACK THAT RECOMMENDATION OR I THE DISCUSSION.
YEAH, I DON'T THINK THE SCHOOL WAS INVOLVED, UM, WITH THAT, UM, ROUNDABOUT OR THE DESIGN AT ALL.
AND SO I DO APPRECIATE YOU GUYS MAKING THAT EFFORT BECAUSE, UH, SOUTH LAKE RANCH RESIDENTS, UM, WERE REALLY WORRIED.
THEY LIVE RIGHT THERE AND, UM, THEY SPOKE OUT LOUD AND, UM, UNFORTUNATELY IT PA THE, THE ROUNDABOUT DID NOT PASS AND THEN TOOK A BREAK, CAME BACK, AND THEN IT PASSED.
AND SO TO ME, I JUST FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION THAT YOU KNOW, TO, TO MAKE A, AN EDUCATED VOTE.
AND I DRIVE PAST THAT AREA ALMOST EVERY SINGLE DAY AND I SEE ALL THOSE KIDS HEAD DOWN ON THEIR PHONES AND SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE, AND YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THE DRIVING SCHOOL THERE AND YOU ALSO HAVE, UM, THE KIDS THAT GO TO HIGH SCHOOL THERE.
AND EVERY YEAR YOU'RE GONNA GET A NEW SET OF DRIVERS.
AND SO MAKING SURE THAT WE KEEP OUR KIDDOS SAFE IS A TOP PRIORITY FOR ME.
NOTHING ELSE, I THINK, I THINK THAT'S IT.
[X) Executive Session]
GONNA GO INTO EXECUTIVE, UM, LET ME GET MY PIECE OF PAPER OUT.CITY COUNCIL WILL NOW GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS AGENDA ITEMS. WAIT, THAT'S NOT IT THERE.
AGENDA ITEMS 18 A TWO PURSUANT TO TEXAS, TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 51 0.071.
THE TIME IS 1248 AND WE ARE BACK FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION.
UM, THERE AND THERE WILL BE NO ACTION TAKEN.