[*This meeting was joined in progress*]
[00:00:04]
THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING YOUR MEETING THAT YOU GIVE US THE HONOR OF HOSTING.
AT THIS TIME, I'M GOING TO INVITE PASTOR BRIAN GIBSON UP, AND HE WILL GIVE THE INVOCATION.
[2. Invocation ]
IF YOU GUYS WOULD ALL PLEASE RISE AND STAY STANDING FOR THE PLEDGES.MATCHLESS, MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH.
WE THANK YOU THAT YOU'RE HERE WITH US. WHERE TWO OR MORE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN YOUR NAME.
WE PRAY TOGETHER FOR THE CITY OF AMARILLO, TEXAS.
I ASK THE BLESSING OF GOD TO COME UPON THIS CITY, THAT LORD, WE WOULD BE A LEADER IN THE NATION, THAT WE WOULD LEND THE MANY AND NOT BORROW. FATHER, I DECLARE THIS TOWN AS THE HEAD AND NOT THE TAIL.
FATHER, I THANK YOU THAT YOU DO EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL WE COULD ASK, THINK, OR IMAGINE.
I PRAY FOR THE WISDOM OF GOD. NOW FOR THE MAYOR ALSO FOR THIS COUNCIL.
LORD, I PRAY THAT WE DO ALL THINGS WELL. LEAD US, GUIDE US, PROTECT US, KEEP US FROM THE EVIL ONE, AND I PRAY FOR REVIVAL FOR THE CITY IN THE NAME OF JESUS.
WE THANK YOU FOR IT, AND EVERYBODY SAID AMEN.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU, PASTOR. APPRECIATE YOU. IF YOU GUYS WOULD JOIN ME IN THE PLEDGE.
PLEASE BE SEATED. MISS CITY SECRETARY, DO WE HAVE ANY? MISS CITY SECRETARY, WE HAVE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS TODAY? NO, SIR. OKAY.
THANK YOU. I'M SORRY. DID I HAVE SOMEBODY SPEAK? HE WAS TALKING IN THE MICROPHONE. YOU COULDN'T HEAR ANYTHING OUT HERE. THAT GUY. I JUST COME TO TURN IT ON. IT'S ON NOW. OH, MICROPHONE IS TURNED ON. THANK YOU FOR LETTING US KNOW.
APPRECIATE THAT SIR. AT THIS TIME WE'RE GOING TO MOVE INTO PUBLIC COMMENT.
[6. Public Comment ]
I THANK EVERYONE FOR BEING WILLING TO COME AND SPEAK TO US HERE TODAY.WE WILL LISTEN AND PAY ATTENTION. I'LL HAND IT OVER TO OUR CITY SECRETARY TO WALK US INTO THAT.
THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING IN TODAY'S CITY COUNCIL MEETING.
YOUR INPUT AND YOUR OPINIONS ARE IMPORTANT TO US, AND WE'RE GLAD THAT YOU'RE HERE TO SHARE THEM. TODAY, AT EACH POSTED MEETING, WE INVITE OUR FELLOW COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO ADDRESS CITY COUNCIL REGARDING POSTED AGENDA ITEMS OR TOPICS RELATED TO CITY POLICY.
EVERY SPEAKER TODAY WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO ADDRESS THE COUNCIL.
AT THE END OF 2.5 MINUTES, A WARNING BEEP WILL SOUND TO ALERT YOU THAT YOU THAT YOU HAVE 30S LEFT.
TO WRAP UP YOUR THOUGHTS. WE HAVE MULTIPLE PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE AGENDA TODAY.
IF YOU'RE HERE TO SPEAK ON A PUBLIC HEARING, WE WOULD ASK THAT YOU MAKE YOUR COMMENT EITHER DURING PUBLIC ADDRESS OR DURING THE PUBLIC HEARING, BUT NOT BOTH, IN ORDER TO HELP US KEEP ACCURATE RECORDS.
IT IS YOUR DECISION AT WHICH TIME YOU WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK.
KEEP IN MIND, IF YOU SPEAK ON ITEMS RELATED TO CITY POLICY TODAY THAT ARE NOT ON THE AGENDA, COUNCIL IS LIMITED IN HOW THEY CAN INTERACT WITH YOU ON THOSE ITEMS, SO THEY MAY RECITE A STATEMENT OF FACT OR POLICY.
THEN YOU MAY BEGIN ADDRESSING COUNCIL. AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS.
OUR FIRST SPEAKER TODAY IS KENNY WILSON AND AFTER KENNY WILL BE CHAPPELL GIBSON.
COOL. I CAN'T STAND JUST YET. CAN I TAKE THIS FROM HERE? YOU. YES, SIR. IF YOU NEED A HAND, LET US KNOW.
HELLO. ALRIGHT. HERE'S HOW I INTEND TO START THIS.
HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF SOMEONE ATTACKED YOUR FAMILY AND ALMOST KILLED YOUR WIFE? YOU WOULD BE RATHER UPSET. YES. OKAY. ON THE 10TH OF DECEMBER, I HAD AN ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER SHOW UP IN MY FRONT YARD. PULLED UP IN FRONT. THERE WAS A LOT OF CATS IN MY FRONT YARD, AND I DO FEED THE FERAL CATS.
I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT. I'VE LOOKED UP THE LAWS ON IT.
THE LAW SAYS THERE'S NO LAW AGAINST IT. WHEN THE OFFICER COMES OUT, I'M SUPPOSED TO BE EDUCATED.
SO FAR, THERE'S BEEN NO COMPLAINTS. I'VE KEPT IT UNDER CONTROL.
I'VE LEARNED HOW LEARNED HOW TO KEEP THE NURTURE OF THE KITTENS AND GIVE THEM AWAY.
[00:05:03]
BY GIVING THE KITTENS AWAY. RIGHT WHEN THIS LADY SHOWS UP IN MY YARD, SHE JUMPS OUT AND SHE SAYS, ARE THESE ALL YOUR CATS? MY WIFE SAYS, YOU COME IN THE HOUSE, YOU'VE GOT.SHE'S GOT AN ATTITUDE PROBLEM. Y'ALL AREN'T GOING TO GET ALONG.
WELL, I NOTICED THIS RIGHT OFF BECAUSE I'M GOING TO HAVE TO BE LOUDER THAN HER TO GET MY VOICE HEARD, WHICH IS GOING TO MAKE HER FEEL THREATENED, WHICH IS GOING TO MAKE HER CALL THE POLICE.
MY OLD LADY IS 100% RIGHT. I GO IN THE HOUSE, RIGHT? SO I LISTEN TO HER SAY THAT SHE CAN WRITE CITATIONS ON THIS AND THAT, AND THAT SHE DOESN'T TRY TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT EDUCATION OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
SHE TELLS MY WIFE THAT SHE'S GOING TO BE WRITING THREE CITATIONS.
I DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT FOR. WE DIDN'T GET NO COPIES OF THEM.
WE NEVER RECEIVED THEM IN THE MAIL. AT WHICH POINT MY WIFE WAS WORRIED ABOUT GETTING THE LOTS AND THE TAXES PAID THIS YEAR, AND THINGS ARE TIGHT. WE ARE BEYOND BROKE, AND THAT'S NOT NO EXAGGERATION.
OKAY, SO SHE STARTS TO CRY WHEN MY WIFE STARTS TO CRY.
YOUR OFFICER DRILLS HER A LITTLE BIT HARDER, WHICH MAKES ME MAD.
YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO RIDE UP AND DOWN THE STREET AND SAY, HEY, THIS IS GOING ON.
KNOCK ON MY DOOR AND SAY, THIS HAS GOT TO BE TAKEN CARE OF.
YOU NEED TO GET THIS TAKEN CARE OF. AIN'T THAT CORRECT? RIGHT? WELL, ANYWAY, SHE SCHEDULES A FOLLOW UP FOR THREE FOR A WEEK LATER, AT WHICH TIME MY WIFE HAS LET THE DOGS OUT.
I HAVE FIVE DOGS. I HAVE TWO PUGS. I HAVE TOO MUCH, AND I HAVE A SERVICE DOG.
MY WIFE'S SERVICE DOG. I DON'T HAVE A SERVICE DOG.
IT'S HER DOG. NOW, ACCORDING TO LAW, FEDERAL AND STATE LAW, MY SERVICE DOG IS NOT CONSIDERED A PET.
ACCORDING TO YOUR CITY ORDINANCE, HE IS STILL CONSIDERED A PET.
NOW, I WAS DIGGING THROUGH LAWS AND STUFF. YOU KNOW, I'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME LOCKED UP.
I'VE SPENT MY TIME IN THE LAW LIBRARY WHENEVER POSSIBLE.
YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHICH BOOK IS WHICH, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIND STUFF, BUT I HAVE GOOGLE THAT SAYS, NOW I CAN ASK GOOGLE, WHERE IS THIS FOUND AT? CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION, SIR? CAN YOU LET ME FINISH? OKAY.
WHEN SHE'S THE ISSUE NOW BECOMES I HAVE TO GET RID OF A DOG.
OKAY, SO SHE CONTINUES TO DRILL MY WIFE UNTIL MY WIFE STARTS AN ANXIETY ATTACK.
SHE HAS TROUBLE BREATHING. SHE TELLS YOUR OFFICER SHE'S GOING IN THE HOUSE.
YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE THAT, AND THAT'S THE WAY IT ENDED.
SO, LIKE, I GET HOME. I WASN'T THERE WHEN THIS HAPPENED.
SO WHEN I GET HOME, MY SERVICE DOG, OUR SERVICE DOG HAS GOT HER PINNED IN A CHAIR.
SHE'S STILL HAVING PROBLEMS BREATHING. SHE REALLY CAN'T TELL ME WHAT JUST HAPPENED.
FIRST NAME IS KENNY, CORRECT? FIRST NAME IS KENNY.
I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. YOU CAN'T HEAR ME? NO.
OKAY. I CAN HEAR YOU, BUT I CAN'T UNDERSTAND THE WORDS.
OKAY. AN IMPORTANT ISSUE THAT I'D LIKE TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH YOU ON.
IF YOU'LL GIVE HER YOUR PHONE NUMBER, I'LL CONTACT YOU TOMORROW AND WE'LL GO THROUGH IT.
BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THAT THIS FORUM WOULD ALLOW FOR THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT YOU AND I NEED.
ANYWAY, I'VE SAID WHAT I NEEDED TO SAY. I FEEL MUCH BETTER.
I'M NOT MAD. I'LL GLADLY TAKE IT FURTHER WITH THEM.
PRETTY MUCH. THANK YOU. FLOYD. WE'LL HANDLE THAT.
IT HAS TO DO WITH CONTROLLING THE ANIMAL POPULATION AND.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, SIR. THANK YOU.
CHAPPELL GIBSON, YOU'RE UP NEXT. WHAT'S YOUR PHONE NUMBER? WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON, YOUNG LADY. I GET THAT RIGHT.
[00:10:03]
AND SO ME AND MY FRIENDS, WE REALLY LIKE TO GO PLAY AT JOHN'S VOLLEYBALL, THE SAND VOLLEYBALL COURTS, AND WE GO WITH LIKE A BUNCH OF OTHER CHURCHES, AND OUR ENTIRE YOUTH GROUP GO WITH GOES WITH US AND WE GO ON WEDNESDAYS, FRIDAYS, SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS, MOSTLY WHEN IT'S NICE OUTSIDE AND THE LIGHTS DON'T TURN ON AND YOU KNOW NOTHING GOOD HAPPENS IN THE DARK.WE COULD STEP ON GLASS OR A NEEDLE OR SOMEBODY COULD BE WATCHING US THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW, AND THERE'S BEEN OCCASIONS WHERE THAT HAS HAPPENED, AND I WAS WONDERING IF Y'ALL COULD TURN THE LIGHTS ON A COUPLE HOURS AFTER DARK ON THOSE DAYS THAT WE GO AND PLAY.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, CHAPPELL.
MISS GIBSON, I GOT A FEELING WE CAN WORK TOWARDS THAT.
WE'LL TALK TO STAFF AND SEE WHAT OUR CAPABILITIES ARE ON SETTING A TIMER.
THANK YOU. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Y'ALL ALL WANT TO SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HER, DON'T YOU? YOU KNOW, I'D BE THE GUY THAT WOULD TAKE THE TIME TO DO THAT. OKAY.
TO YOU. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR CHAPPELL. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU. THERE WE GO EVERYBODY.
GOOD AFTERNOON. COUNCILMAN. MY NAME IS CASSIE GREEN.
I'M AN AMARILLO RESIDENT, AND I'D LIKE TO TAKE PUBLIC TIME TO USE MY PUBLIC COMMENT TO TALK ABOUT ITEM EIGHT J. NOW, I DO UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S CONSIDERED TO BE A WHAT DO WE CALL THAT? ANY ITEM AFTER A IS A CONSENT ITEM, AND I KNOW WE DON'T HAVE TO PULL IT TO DISCUSS IT, BUT I WOULD LIKE ONE OF YOU GUYS TO MOTION TO DO THAT, AND THIS IS WHY.
I'D ACTUALLY ALSO LIKE YOU TO TABLE IT UNTIL WE CAN FIND OUT WHAT THE CONTRACT LOOKS LIKE WITH THIS ORGANIZATION, HARRIS COMPUTER SYSTEMS. I'M GOING TO PULL THIS, AND YOU KNOW, I KNOW YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT THE CONTRACT LOOKS LIKE, BUT US AS AMARILLO CITIZENS, I'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT I MEAN.
CAN THEY SELL OUR INFORMATION? WHAT ARE THEY DOING WITH THE INFORMATION THAT THEY COLLECT FROM THE SMART METERS? IT SEEMS LIKE YOU MIGHT BE PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE.
BECAUSE I CALLED THE CITY TODAY. THE WATER CITY, THE WATER DEPARTMENT, AND THEY SAID THAT I ASKED, WHAT CAN I DO TO OPT OUT OF THE SMART METER? AND THEY SAID, YOU CANNOT, THAT THEY ARE BEING PLACED.
REGARDLESS IF WE WANT TO OPT OUT OF IT, AND I SAID, WELL, WHERE ARE YOU IN MY AREA YET? AND THEY SAID, NO, WE'RE FINISHING UP IN THE COLONIES.
I LIVE BY THE MALL, SO IT'S PUCKETT WEST, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO BE HITTING SLEEPY HOLLOW, AND THEN YOU'RE NEXT, AND I WAS LIKE, OKAY, SO AS SOON AS IT HITS MY HOUSE, I CAN CALL THEM AND OPT OUT OF THE ANTENNA.
SO IN ESSENCE, THAT'S OPTING OUT, AND THEN I DID ASK HIM THAT WILL I BE PENALIZED FOR THIS? AND THEY SAID NO. SO THAT'S GOOD, BUT IF I HAVE TO ASK THESE QUESTIONS, I'M SURE THE AMARILLO CITIZENS DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I KNOW, AND THE ONLY REASON I KNOW WHAT I KNOW IS BECAUSE I DIG.
SO I THINK THAT WE NEED TO INFORM THE AMARILLO CITIZENS ON WHAT IT TAKES TO OPT OUT OF THESE WATER SMART METERS, AND THAT'S WHY I THINK YOU'RE PLACING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE, BECAUSE YOU'RE ALREADY PLACING THESE SMART METERS, BUT WE HAVEN'T EVEN SIGNED THE CONTRACT WITH HARRIS COMPUTER SYSTEMS YET, SO I KIND OF FEEL LIKE THOSE THINGS NEED TO BE COINCIDED OR WHATEVER.
ANYWAY, AS I FINISH UP LET ME READ THIS ALSO, I WOULD ACTUALLY LIKE YOU TO TABLE IT UNTIL WE GET OUR DIGITAL ORDINANCE IN PLACE. I FEEL LIKE ALL THINGS DIGITAL, THE SMART CITY, CONVERSATIONAL CITY, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT, ALL OF THOSE THINGS NEED TO BE TABLED UNTIL WE HAVE SOME PROTECTION IN PLACE, AND THAT'S IT.
THANK YOU. MISS CASSIE, WE APPRECIATE YOU SPEAKING.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU. WE'LL BE GLAD TO PULL THAT FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION.
I THINK IT'D BE VERY HELPFUL IF STAFF'S OKAY WITH IT.
RICH GAGNON COULD SPEAK TO IT ON WHAT THAT IS.
[00:15:03]
THAT'S A RADIO METER. IT'S NOT A SMART METER.SO IT'S JUST A RADIO REMOTE, AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU DID STATE THAT YOU CAN OPT OUT OF IT AT NO ADDITIONAL COST, AND THEY'RE NOT SMART METERS LIKE WE'VE BEEN TERMING THEM.
AS TO THE HARRIS COMPONENT OF THAT, I DON'T KNOW THAT THE TWO ARE EVEN RELATED.
FLOYD, YOU COULD WAIT UNTIL WE PULL IT. OR YOU CAN TELL US NOW.
I'D I PREFER, MAYOR, NOW; I'VE GOT A COMMITMENT AT FOUR.
THIS IS A YEAR EXTENSION OF THAT SYSTEM. AGAIN, THE CUSTOMER CAN OPT OUT, AS WAS IDENTIFIED.
THAT OPT OUT DOES MEAN THAT THEY PULL THE TRANSMITTER AND THE ANTENNA SYSTEM, BUT THE METERS ARE STILL THERE COLLECTING THE READINGS FOR THE BILLING SYSTEM. THEY WOULD BE MANUALLY READ AT THAT POINT.
OKAY. GO AHEAD. COUNCILMAN. CAN YOU ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF SHE BROUGHT UP ABOUT INFORMATION THAT'S COLLECTED IF IT'S SOLD OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT? IT JUST SPEAK TO THE INFORMATION. THIS IS A COMPONENT OF THE SOFTWARE.
SO THIS THIS ACTUALLY IS NOT SOMETHING WHERE THEY COULD SELL THE INFORMATION AND THEY DON'T IN THE BILLING SYSTEM ARE NOT IMPLYING THAT ANY PART OF OUR SYSTEM DOES THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU SIR.
MR. GAGNON, CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THE RADIO METER IS AND ANY HEALTH RELATED CONCERNS TO MAYBE LIKE THAT SMART METER TECHNOLOGY THAT WE'RE A COUPLE OF NOTES TO YOUR QUESTION. NO, THE DATA ISN'T SOLD. IT'S READ AND IT'S PUT IN THE UTILITY BILLING SYSTEM, BUT THAT'S ALL IT DOES. IT DOESN'T. THERE'S NOT A THIRD PARTY STORE.
WE DON'T SHARE DATA WITH ANYONE. THAT'S LIKE, NOT SOMETHING WE LIKE TO DO.
THERE'S A THERE'S A FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE THAT I WANT TO CLARIFY.
IN OTHER WORDS, THERE ARE METERS OUT THERE WHERE YOU CAN CONTROL WATER FLOW.
YOU CAN DO A LOT OF OTHER THINGS. THAT'S NOT WHAT WE BOUGHT.
WE BOUGHT A METER WITH A RADIO IMPLANTED THAT ALLOWS US ALLOWS US TO READ IT REMOTELY.
THAT'S IT. TO TURN IT OFF, YOU STILL HAVE TO GO OUT TO THE METER OR TAKE A WRENCH AND TURN A VALVE, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. ALSO, THESE ARE NOT ON WI-FI.
THEY'RE NOT ON 5G. THEY'RE ON LICENSED SPECTRUM FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS.
ONE, FOR SECURITY BECAUSE IT MAKES A WHOLE LOT HARDER FOR SOMEONE TO GET INTO.
YOU WOULD HAVE TO HAVE A SPECIALIZED RADIO AND KNOW WHAT FREQUENCY IT'S ON, ETC.
TO BE ABLE TO GET INTO IT, AND IT'S IN A KNOWN FCC LICENSED BAND THAT WE KNOW IS SAFE.
OKAY. VERY GOOD. MISS GREEN, I WOULD ASK, ARE YOU YOU COMFORTABLE WITH THAT DISCUSSION? WOULD YOU STILL LIKE US TO PULL IT AND DISCUSS IT FURTHER? I THINK THESE WERE THE POINTS THAT I WAS WANTING TO MAKE. YES.
THANK YOU GUYS FOR INFORMING FOR THAT. I FEEL KIND OF COMFORTABLE.
MY THIRD POINT WAS IF WE COULD PULL IT UNTIL WE GET THE ORDINANCE IN PLACE.
WHAT DO YOU NEED? FLOYD, AND GETTING THIS PUSHED THROUGH. DO WE HAVE ANYTHING WITH THIS CONTRACT.
ARE YOU OR RICH? THIS IS TIME SENSITIVE TO MAINTAINING OUR SERVICE WITH THE EXISTING ARMY.
WE'RE ABOUT 50% DONE WITH THE INSTALLATION OF THE METER.
SO THAT 50% OF THOSE READINGS. WE NEED THIS TO MOVE TIMELY, TO GO AHEAD AND KEEP THAT BILLING SYSTEM OPERATING EFFICIENTLY AND RICH, THIS BEING RADIO FREQUENCY WOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE DIGITAL BILL OF RIGHTS.
IS THAT CORRECT? OR THE SECURITY? NO, BECAUSE THERE'S NO PERSON DATA ON THOSE METERS.
THE ONLY THING THAT'S GOING ACROSS THE AIR IS A METER ID AND A READING.
I MEAN, IT'S LITERALLY JUST THAT IT JUST SENDS A NUMBER THAT SAYS X NUMBER OF X VOLUME.
OKAY. I'LL STILL PULL IT. WE'LL FURTHER DISCUSS IT FOR YOU.
SO I'D LIKE TO GET AS MUCH COMFORT AS POSSIBLE IN WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE INTENTION OF DIGITAL RIGHTS, DIGITAL PRIVACY RIGHTS AND FURTHER BEING ABLE TO EDUCATE OUR COMMUNITY ON THE PAINSTAKINGLY SLOW PROCESS OF MAKING SURE THAT IT IS WRITTEN IN A WAY THAT HAS SOME TEETH AND IT PROTECTS YOUR DATA, YOUR INFORMATION, AND THAT WE'RE IN NO WAY EVER MOVING TOWARDS A 15 MINUTE CITY, A SURVEILLANCE CITY, ANYTHING THAT WOULD EVER BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, THE BILDERBERG GROUP, THE ILLUMINATI, OR ANY OTHER GLOBAL ELITIST THAT COULD SOMEHOW IMPOSE SOMETHING ON OUR GOOD FREE PEOPLE HERE THAT WE
[00:20:01]
KNOWINGLY LOVE AND PROTECT, AND SO AMARILLO WILL NEVER BECOME A 15 MINUTE CITY LOCKED DOWN FOR ANY REASON, AND THE REASON THAT WE WON'T IS BECAUSE WE WON'T TOLERATE IT.YOU'RE THE BOSS. THIS IS YOUR MEETING, AND WE'LL GO SLOW.
SOMETIMES WE SPECULATE, AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE HERE AND I APPRECIATE SO MUCH THE MARINE THAT'S STANDING HERE IN FRONT OF ME THAT IS A VETERAN AND IS A SOLDIER AND IS A PATRIOT. THAT ALSO COMES FROM A GOD FEARING BACKGROUND OF KNOWING, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO PROTECT THE TECHNOLOGIES THAT WE ARE TAKING ON, AND THIS IS A POWERFUL TOOL AND IT COULD BE USED IN A DANGEROUS WAY.
SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PROTECT OURSELVES.
WE LIVE HERE TOO. SO THANK YOU. WE'LL PULL IT.
SO WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS. THANK YOU, RICH. JAY HOPSON, AND AFTER JAY WILL BE CLAUDIA STERVATO.
MY NAME IS JAY HOPSON. I THANK YOU FOR HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO SPEAK TO YOU.
I LIVE OUTSIDE OF THE CITY LIMITS OF AMARILLO.
WHAT YOU JUST BROUGHT UP BORDERS ON AND SPEAKS INTO WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THE CONVERSATIONAL CITIES--REALLY, THE SMART CITIES. YOU DIDN'T REALLY.
ASSUAGE MY CONCERNS WHEN YOU SAID WE'LL GO SLOW, BECAUSE THAT'S LIKE THE TURTLE.
YOU JUST THE FROG YOU PLACED IN THE BOILING WATER AND GO SLOW.
WHETHER YOU BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IF YOU START MOVING INTO AN AGENDA THAT IS SPOKEN BY THE WORLD ORDER, THE NEW WORLD ORDER, YOU CAN EASILY SLIP INTO IT AND SLIDE INTO IT AND FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THE $500,000 IS ALREADY INVESTED IN THE SMART CITY TECHNOLOGY IS WAS DONE BY THE PRIOR ADMINISTRATION.
THANK GOD FOR THAT, BUT YOU GENTLEMEN HAVE THE RIGHT AND THE ABILITY TO STOP IN ITS TRACKS THAT KIND OF TECHNOLOGY THAT WILL NOT ONLY SUPPOSEDLY HELP CRIME, BUT IT WILL CAPTIVATE PEOPLE.
IT'S LIKE THE COVID AGENDA, THE LOCKDOWNS AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WAS MEANT.
THE SUPPOSED VALUE OF IT WAS TO STOP THE VIRUS, BUT IT WAS BASICALLY DESIGNED TO STOP AND HALT AND CONTROL PUBLIC ASSEMBLIES AND THAT SORT OF THING IS HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE. SMART TECHNOLOGY, JUST SO YOU KNOW, IT MEANS SURVEILLANCE, MONITORING, ANALYSIS, REPORTING AND TECHNOLOGY. THIS FRIGHTENS ME, AND WHAT THAT ACTUALLY SPEAKS OF IS DARKNESS.
JUST A DARK FLOW OF INFLUENCE, TRYING TO CROWD TOGETHER AND SLOW DOWN AND STOP THE PUBLIC SPEAKING, AND I APPRECIATE YOU GIVING US THE ABILITY TO SPEAK, BUT I'M GOING TO LEAVE YOU WITH THIS.
THE DARKNESS IS STILL TRYING TO COME INTO CITIES THAT AMARILLO ALL OVER THIS NATION.
PEOPLE ARE WAKING UP AND SAYING, OKAY, WE NEED TO TALK TO THE CITY COUNCILS.
WE NEED TO GO INTO THE SCHOOL, THE SCHOOLS, SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS, AND WE NEED TO TALK.
WE THE PEOPLE HAVE GOT TO START TAKING A STAND.
SO I'M GOING TO TAKE A STAND WITH YOU, JUST LIKE CHAPEL DID EARLIER.
THE 13 YEAR OLD GIRL. COUNCILMAN, PLEASE TURN ON THE LIGHTS.
PLEASE LET THE LIGHT SHINE IN AMARILLO. SO, JAY, LET ME RESTATE BEFORE YOU WALK AWAY THERE.
BY GO SLOW, I MEAN THAT THE MEETING WILL GO SLOW TODAY AND US APPROVING OR NOT APPROVING, CHOOSING TO APPROVE A CONTRACT FOR A METER READING SERVICE THAT IS A SOFTWARE. SO WE'RE NOT AGAINST SOFTWARE, WE'RE NOT AGAINST COMPUTERS.
WE'RE NOT EVEN AGAINST TECHNOLOGY. WE ARE AGAINST MOVING EVEN ONE INCH DOWN THE SLIPPERY SLOPE OF MOVING INTO AN AGENDA, WHICH I WILL STATE AGAIN, NO SUSTAINABLE CITIES, NO CONVERSATIONAL CITIES, NO SMART CITIES, NO SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY, NOTHING. SO WE ARE NOT WORKING UNDER AN AGENDA.
[00:25:05]
WE HAVE NOT SIGNED ANY DOCUMENTS. WE ARE NOT UNDER ANY GRANTS THAT HAVE ANY HOOKS IN THEM.WE HAVE NOTHING OTHER THAN A REMOTE CONTROLLED WATER METER THAT IS BEING READ.
THAT WAY, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THE ONLY THING THAT WE'RE DOING IN AMARILLO, TEXAS, IS THE SAME CRIME FIGHTING TECHNIQUES THAT WE'VE ALWAYS IMPLEMENTED AND THAT THERE IS NOTHING NEW AND THAT WE ARE NOT WORKING TOWARDS, AND WE'RE NOT WILLING TO INCREMENTALLY GO WITH ANY OF THESE AGENDAS.
SO I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SIR. NEXT IS MS. STERVATO .
A LOT OF INSTITUTIONS AND CITIES HAVE SAID WHAT THEY'VE DONE IN THE PAST YEAR AND WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO IN THE NEW YEAR, BUT WE HAVEN'T HAD MUCH OF THAT. FIRST, I'M SORRY TO LEARN THAT COUNCILMAN CRAFT ISN'T GOING TO BE WITH US AFTER HIS TERM EXPIRES, AND I FEEL THAT HE AND THE REST OF THE COUNCILMAN LEARNED A GREAT DEAL THAT YOU CAN NOW PUT TO USE.
IT WAS A LEARNING PERIOD FOR ALL OF YOU. COMMENDATIONS ARE IN ORDER, AND I'M PARTICULARLY FOR THE COUNCIL'S ESTABLISHMENT OF A WOMEN'S CLINIC, WHICH MAYOR STANLEY AND COUNCILMAN TIPPS AND I DISCUSSED THE PROBLEMS THAT INDICATE THE NEED FOR THIS OVER A YEAR AGO.
IN FACT, I THINK IT'S BEEN LONGER THAN THAT BECAUSE OF THE NEED FOR WOMEN TO OBTAIN PRENATAL CARE IN AN AREA THAT IS JUST ALMOST A DESERT FOR WOMEN'S HEALTH CARE. THE COUNCIL ALSO THIS PAST YEAR FOUND DISCOVERED A ROADS BOND THAT HAD BEEN MISPLACED, OVERLOOKED, LOST, WHATEVER, AND I'M GLAD YOU ALL FOUND IT, AND BECAUSE OUR ROADS ARE IN DIRE NEED OF HELP.
THEY'RE NOT IN GREAT CONDITION. GREAT CONDITION, AND SNOW REMOVAL HAS BEEN NOT GOOD JUST LAST WEEK, BUT A CITY OUR SIZE NEEDS BETTER ROADS THAN WE HAVE.
SO FINDING THAT BOND WAS IMPORTANT. WE ALL LEARNED A LOT ABOUT THE AMARILLO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, MAYBE MORE THAN WE WANTED TO KNOW. THESE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEES EXIST THROUGHOUT TEXAS AND ARE CRITICAL TO GROWTH. THEY SHOULD HAVE OUR SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE AND OPERATE CONSISTENT WITH THE REST OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEES AROUND THE STATE THAT OPERATE AT THE STATE'S PLEASURE.
THE UNITED STATES IS THE MOST DIVERSE COUNTRY ON EARTH.
WE HAVE MORE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PEOPLE IN ONE COUNTRY THAN THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY.
THE ONLY THING THAT HOLDS US TOGETHER IS THE US CONSTITUTION AND THE RIGHTS IT PROVIDES TO ITS CITIZENS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR COLOR, THEIR LANGUAGE, OR THEIR RELIGION.
THERE'S NO QUESTION THAT THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IS A HISTORICAL BUT RELIGIOUS DOCUMENT.
IT IS A RELIGIOUS DOCUMENT. IT IS NOT SEPARATE FROM THE BIBLE OR RELIGION, AND IT IS BECAUSE OF OUR DIVERSE POPULATION, NOT EVERYBODY, NOT EVERY CITIZEN HOLDS IT IN THE ESTEEM THAT OTHERS DO.
[00:30:05]
WHICH I RESPECT AND I THINK WE ALL RESPECT, BUT WE ARE NOT ABLE TO, AS GOVERNMENTS PUT ONE RELIGIOUS BELIEF OVER ANOTHER. WE'VE THIS COUNTRY FOR ALMOST 200 YEARS HAS WORKED HARD TO SEPARATE CHURCH AND STATE AND SO I WOULD PLEAD WITH YOU TO RECONSIDER, REGARDLESS OF WHO'S PAYING FOR IT. I MEAN, I MIGHT JUST WELL, JUST AS WELL HAVE SOME BUDDHIST QUOTE UP THERE IF I WERE MAYOR, AND I HOPE YOU CAN SEE HOW ANY ONE OF US WOULD PUT SOMETHING DIFFERENT UP IN FRONT OF THE CITY COUNCIL, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE UNITED STATES IS. IT'S DIVERSE AND IT PROTECTS ALL OF ITS CITIZENS.I SAY, LET'S START LOOKING AT THE ROADS. MAYBE FIND SOME MORE LOST BONDS OR PASS SOME MORE BONDS AND TAKE CARE OF CITY GOVERNMENT. THANK YOU MA'AM. THANK YOU. MAYOR, THAT CONCLUDES YOUR SPEAKERS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
MR. FISHER, WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO FIRST? OKAY.
YOU HAVE A HANDOUT, MIKE. I'LL PASS THEM OUT.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MY NAME IS MIKE FISHER.
I LIVE WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF AMARILLO. I'VE GOT THREE TOPICS.
YOU COULD HAVE A DISCUSSION AND YOU COULD PASS AN OUR RESOLUTION TO GIVE ME THE RECORDS.
I MEAN, MR. COLE STANLEY, YOU SAID WE'VE GOT TO BREAK ALL THIS DOWN BEFORE WE CAN BUILD THAT PLACE BACK UP AND THERE'S A REASON WHY LAURA STORRS DOESN'T WANT ME TO SEE THOSE RECORDS. SO HOW ABOUT JUST GIVE THEM TO ME AND SEE WHAT I CAN COME UP WITH? THEY GAVE ME GENERAL LEDGER RECORDS, AND I SAID THAT WASN'T WHAT I ASKED FOR.
SO THE SAME PERSON THAT'S A TREASURER ON THE AEDC SAYS I CAN'T HAVE RECORDS FROM THE CITY.
MY POOL BUILDER WHO CAME FROM CALIFORNIA, HE SAID, MIKE, CHECK THIS OUT.
IN CALIFORNIA, THE CODE INSPECTORS HAVE GUNS AND HANDCUFFS.
GUESS WHAT WE HAVE IN AMARILLO. NOW YOU'RE SAYING WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE THIS, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT, SMART CITY OR TAKEOVERS. WE GOT INSPECTORS WALKING AROUND WITH GUNS, AND THERE'S AN AD RIGHT NOW TO HIRE ANOTHER ONE, BUT WE'RE 30 SOMETHING COPS SHORT. A GUY PASSED ME DOING 100 MILES AN HOUR COMING HERE.
WELL, THERE'S ONE MORE THING. THE SAME PEOPLE THAT HAVE LED US INTO ALL THESE PROBLEMS. THE LAWYERS, BRIAN MCWILLIAMS, MICK , THE SAME GUYS, THE UNDERWOOD LAW FIRM.
WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN RID OF ANY OF THEM. THEY'RE ALL STILL HERE. THEY'RE ALL THE ONES THAT SAID IT WAS OKAY TO GIVE A MILLION BUCKS TO THE RANGE. THEY SAID IT WAS OKAY TO BUILD THIS BALLPARK. THEY SAID IT WAS OKAY TO DO ALL THESE THINGS, BUT WE STILL GOT THESE GUYS LEADING THE SHIP.
THEY'RE TELLING YOU HOW TO STEER IT. WE GOT TO GET RID OF THESE GUYS.
THE LAST THING IS, IS THESE THESE STOPLIGHTS? THE GUY YOU JUST EVALUATED TODAY, MR. AND REW FREEMAN, HE TOLD ME I HAVE SOME SORT OF AGENDA OR A NARRATIVE.
THERE'S BEEN. FOUR FATALITIES AT LIKE LIKE INTERSECTIONS THAT HAVE STOPLIGHTS. I'VE BEEN COMPLAINING ABOUT THESE STOPLIGHTS.
NOBODY IN HERE CAN'T TELL ME THESE LIGHTS ARE SCREWED UP, BUT WE GOT THIS SMART CITY STUFF WHERE WE IMPLEMENTED OVER A MILLION BUCKS TO CONTROL OUR STOPLIGHTS, AND EVER SINCE THAT'S HAPPENED, IT'S CRAZY HERE, AND THERE'S TONS OF ACCIDENTS, AND SO IN LOOK AT THE STATS I JUST GAVE YOU BASED ON AMARILLO, WE HAVE 200 STOPLIGHTS BASED ON NATIONAL AVERAGES.
ONE STOPLIGHT PER THOUSAND PEOPLE. SO WE HAVE 200 STOPLIGHTS.
[00:35:02]
SO NATIONAL AVERAGE SAYS WE GET ONE FATALITY PER 70 INTERSECTIONS.THAT GIVES US 2.9 DEATHS. THAT'S ACCEPTABLE AT AN INTERSECTION IN OUR CITY.
SO LOOK AT THAT NUMBER. WE'VE HAD 4 IN 6 MONTHS AND I'VE LISTED THE LOCATIONS FOUR IN SIX MONTHS.
SO THAT MEANS WE'RE ON PACE TO HAVE EIGHT, BUT WE'RE ONLY ALLOWED 2.9.
SO THIS NARRATIVE THAT I'M PAINTING THAT'S BASED ON FACTS, THESE ARE FACTS.
PEOPLE ARE DYING. SOMEBODY DIED THIS MONTH ON SONCY.
DO YOU THINK I SHOULD PAY PROPERTY TAXES? DO YOU? I DON'T FEEL SAFE LEAVING MY HOUSE. FOUR DEATHS, AND LOOK AT THE OTHER ONE.
THERE'S SIX. THERE'S FIVE JUST ON SONCY WITHIN A QUARTER MILE OF MY HOUSE, AND YOU WANT ME TO PAY SIX GRAND A YEAR TO LIVE OVER THERE IN SLEEPY HOLLOW? SLEEPY HOLLOW IS THE HOOD. WHERE ELSE HAS SOMEBODY? WHERE ELSE HAVE SIX PEOPLE DIED IN THIS CITY? THANK YOU, MIKE. SHOW ME. I DEMAND THAT I SHOULD BE SAFE DRIVING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY IN SLEEPY HOLLOW.
COME ON. WE APPRECIATE YOU SPEAKING TODAY. MR. FORD. MIKE FORD, AMARILLO, TEXAS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR MAKING THAT DECISION.
I WANT TO ADDRESS TWO THINGS THE IMPORTANCE OF OPENLY DISCUSSING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND THE HARM CAUSED BY HIDING CHALLENGES AND FAILURES FROM PUBLIC VIEW, AND THE ROLE OF THE AGENDA IN ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY AND PREVENTING ILLEGAL MEETINGS.
FAILURE IS NOT THE EXCEPTION. IN BUSINESS, IT'S THE NORM.
IT'S FAR MORE COMMON THAN SUCCESS AND WE NEED TO ANTICIPATE IT.
SO WHY WOULD WE HIDE AEDC FAILURES AND SETBACKS WHEN THEY HAPPEN? OUR CITIZENS DESERVE TO KNOW WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN'T.
CHALLENGES AND FAILURES SHOULD NOT BE SEEN AS SOMETHING TO HIDE, BUT AS OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN, ADAPT, AND IMPROVE. RECOGNIZING A PROBLEM EARLY ALLOWS US TO ADDRESS IT HEAD ON, LIMIT LOSSES AND FIND BETTER SOLUTIONS.
KEEPING FAILURES HIDDEN ROBS US OF THAT CHANCE AND MAKES US THROW GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD, AND THIS ISN'T JUST ABOUT SAVING PROJECTS, IT'S ABOUT SERVING THE PUBLIC. AS THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT SAID IN ACKER V TEXAS WATER COMMISSION 35 YEARS AGO REGARDING THE PURPOSE OF THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT. OUR CITIZENS ARE ENTITLED TO MORE THAN A RESULT.
HIDING THESE DISCUSSIONS DENIES OUR COMMUNITY THIS RIGHT.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS ARE FUNDED BY TAXPAYERS AND EXIST TO SERVE THE PUBLIC GOOD.
CITIZENS HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO SEE THE FULL PICTURE.
UNDER THIS AND PREVIOUS COUNCILS, WHEN CITIZENS COME FORWARD TO POINT OUT POTENTIAL VIOLATIONS OF THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT OR OTHER LEGAL CONCERNS, NOTHING HAS CHANGED, AND I WILL NOTE THAT TODAY THAT WAS DIFFERENT.
THIS PATTERN ERODES PUBLIC TRUST AND TRUST AND DISCOURAGES CIVIC ENGAGEMENT BECAUSE IT SENDS THE MESSAGE THAT NO MATTER WHAT CONCERNS ARE RAISED, THE OUTCOME IS PREDETERMINED. MY LAST PAGE. THE PUBLIC HAS NO OTHER OPTION THAN TO SERVE, THAN TO ASSUME THAT THE MAYOR CONTROLS AND APPROVES THE CONTENT OF THE AGENDA, AND IF THAT'S NOT THE CASE, MR. MAYOR, IT SHOULD BE ACCORDING TO THE CITY CHARTER THAT SHOULD BE THE CASE.
AS THE LEADER OF THIS COUNCIL AND WITH THE CITY MANA GER'S ASSISTANCE, THE MAYOR HAS THE RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT EVERY ITEM ON THE AGENDA COMPLIES WITH THE LAW AND SERVES THE BEST INTEREST OF THE PUBLIC.
ACTUALLY, THAT'S THE CITY MANA GER'S FIRST STATED DUTY UNDER THE CHARTER.
WITHOUT CLEAR ACCOUNTABILITY, THE PUBLIC'S TRUST IN THIS PROCESS WILL CONTINUE TO ERODE.
IN THIS CASE, THE PUBLIC'S RESPONSE TO THIS PLANNED MEETING, WHOSE LEGALITY WAS CLEARLY IN QUESTION, WAS ELEVATED TO PREVENT THE COMMISSION OF A CRIMINAL ACT, AND I'M GLAD TO SAY IT SUCCEEDED.
TRANSPARENCY BUILDS TRUST. PUBLIC INPUT FOSTERS COLLABORATION AND SOLUTIONS.
[00:40:01]
WHEN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS ARE HIDDEN BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, IT WEAKENS OUR CITIES, LIMITS SOLUTIONS, AND ROBS US OF THE CHANCE TO LEARN AND GROW.THIS COUNCIL HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE, TO EMBRACE OPENNESS, TO ENSURE THAT THE AGENDA REFLECTS LAWFUL AND MEANINGFUL GOVERNMENT, AND TO REBUILD THE TRUST OF THE PEOPLE YOU SERVE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU MIKE. THANK YOU.
ANYONE ELSE HERE TODAY THAT WOULD LIKE TO OFFER PUBLIC COMMENT? YES, SIR. HI. FIRST, MY NAME IS JOHN ADAIR, AND FIRST OF ALL, I WANTED TO SAY THAT I SAW ALSO SAW JOSH CRAFT'S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT HE WASN'T GOING TO BE RUNNING FOR REELECTION THIS TERM.
I RAN IN 2023, THE SAME ELECTION ALL OF Y'ALL DID, AND I GOT TO KNOW JOSH VERY WELL, AND I THINK HE'S DONE A GREAT JOB WHERE HE'S BEEN, AND I THINK HE'LL BE MISSED IN THE SEAT THAT HE'S IN, AND THAT LEADS ME TO ANOTHER QUESTION I WAS WANTING TO ASK JOSH.
ARE YOU GOING TO BE STEPPING DOWN FROM YOUR BOARD AT THE AEDC? SINCE THOSE PLACEMENTS WERE MADE ON AN AGREEMENT THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE A TEMPORARY THING.
AS A STATEMENT OF FACT, I WILL BE REPLACED WHENEVER WE DO THOSE BOARD APPOINTMENTS.
OKAY, COOL, AND WITH I ALSO WANTED TO DO SOMETHING ELSE SINCE WE WERE KIND OF TALKING ABOUT SOFTWARE AND THE SMART CITY STUFF, AND WE SPENT A LOT OF MONEY ON EMMA, THE DIGITAL ASSISTANT. SO I THOUGHT WE'D PULL HER UP AND ASK HER A FEW QUESTIONS HERE REAL QUICK TO SEE HOW SHE DOES.
EMMA, CAN YOU TELL ME WHEN THE NEXT CITY COUNCIL MEETING IS? THE NEXT AMARILLO CITY COUNCIL MEETING IS ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 14TH, 2025.
THERE'S A WORK SESSION AT 11 A.M, AND A REGULAR MEETING AT 3 P.M.
IN THE CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBER. EMMA, CAN YOU SHOW ME AN AGENDA FOR THIS MEETING? I'M SORRY, I DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE SPECIFIC AGENDA FOR THE UPCOMING MEETING.
YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK WITH CITY HALL FOR MORE DETAILS.
CAN YOU TELL ME WHEN THE NEXT AMARILLO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION MEETING IS.
THE NEXT AMARILLO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15TH, 2025 AT 10 A.M. IN THE ED DAVIS CONFERENCE ROOM.
CAN YOU TELL ME WHO IS ON THE BOARD OF THE AMARILLO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION? I'M SORRY, I DON'T HAVE THE SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON WHO IS CURRENTLY ON THE BOARD OF THE AMARILLO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK DIRECTLY WITH THEIR OFFICE FOR DETAILED INFORMATION.
LET'S GO OVER HERE TO CHATGPT. WHO IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE AMARILLO EDC.
DIDN'T DETECT THAT. HOW MUCH MONEY DID THE AMARILLO CITY SPEND ON EMMA, THE DIGITAL ASSISTANT? AND IT TELLS US HERE THAT $583 WAS SPENT OR 583,000 WAS SPENT ON THAT IN 2023, AND FOR THE MOST PART, ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU ASK HER, SHE TELLS YOU SHE DON'T KNOW OR CONTACT THE CITY OR SCROLL THROUGH THE WEBSITE, WHICH IS BASICALLY EVERYTHING THAT WE DID BEFORE.
WELL, MR. ADAIR, MY TIME IS UP. SO IT IS. I APPRECIATE YOU BEING RESPECTFUL OF THAT, BUT I DO ALSO APPRECIATE YOU ALLEVIATING THE CONCERNS OF ANYONE HERE WHO BELIEVES I COULD POSSIBLY THREATEN THEIR SAFETY IN THE CITY.
OUR AI OBVIOUSLY DOESN'T HAVE THAT TYPE OF CAPABILITY.
IT IS A GLORIFIED QUESTION AND ANSWER PAGE. IT IS VERY HELPFUL FOR ORGANIZING AND GETTING SOME THINGS THROUGH IN CERTAIN DEPARTMENTS. IT HASN'T BEEN FULLY ROLLED OUT YET.
[00:45:10]
BE FOUND ON THE WEBSITE. SO IT'S ONLY GOING TO BE AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WHAT'S ALREADY CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ON YOUR WEBSITE, AND SO I APPRECIATE THE DEMONSTRATION, AND I THINK THAT WAS THE POINT THAT I WAS MAKING, IS THAT THERE'S A LOT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION OUT THERE, AND IT SEEMS LIKE AS OF NOW, I'M SURE IT WILL IMPROVE, I HOPE IT DOES, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE SHE DOESN'T HAVE ACCESS TO VERY MUCH.RIGHT? CORRECT. WE HAVE. THAT'S A GREAT POINT.
SO AS A STATEMENT OF FACT, WE HAVE TO FEED EMMA THE DATA AND SO IT HAS TO BE UPLOADED.
SO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CHATGPT, WHICH IS AI IS IT HAS ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND IT CAN THINK AND CREATE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS FOR YOU. OUR DATA HERE IS UPLOADED AND THEN READILY RETRIEVABLE FOR EMMA ONCE SHE GETS UP AND GOING, BUT APPRECIATE YOU SPEAKING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU FOR CONTRIBUTING, AND I APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S PATIENCE.
[7.A. Review agenda items for regular meeting and attachments ]
OF ANY SPECIFIC AGENDA ITEM? NOPE. WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO ITEM 7B.[7.B. Coming Home and Peer Reintegration Employment Partnership (PREP) Academy outcomes and successes ]
THIS IS A GOOD ONE. THIS IS OUR PREP ACADEMY AND IT IS JASON RIDDLESPURGER COMING FORWARD WITH A FEW GUEST SPEAKERS, SO WELCOME SIR. I KNOW THIS WAS REQUESTED BY COUNCILMAN SCHERLEN WANTING TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE OF WHAT YOU'RE DOING OVER THERE, AND SO PLEASE GIVE US THE LATEST AND GREATEST.ARE Y'ALL? TURN YOUR MIC DOWN A LITTLE, SEE IF THAT HELPS.
I TURNED IT DOWN OVER HERE. OKAY. TEST TEST TEST THAT BETTER.
I STILL WANT TO THANK Y'ALL EVEN THOUGH YOU COULDN'T HEAR ME, BUT SO I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT YOU WERE GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME UP HERE AND TALK ABOUT SOMETHING POSITIVE AND AMAZING THAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR CITY.
Y OU KNOW, I'VE BEEN ABLE TO KIND OF HAVE ABOUT, I DON'T KNOW, A KNOW, A MONTH SINCE WE LAST TALKED THAT I'VE GOT TO REALLY JUST DIVE INTO THIS AND TO SWIM AROUND AND JUST POSITIVE STUFF THAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR DEPARTMENT.
SO I'M GLAD TO GET TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU. YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS IS I DIDN'T WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU A WHOLE BUNCH OF NUMBERS AND STATISTICS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BECAUSE I WANT TO I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU SOMETHING THAT'S WAY MORE IMPORTANT THAN THAT, AND THAT'S OUR PEOPLE THAT'S THE PEOPLE THAT WE'RE AFFECTING IN THIS PROGRAM.
SO I AM GOING TO GIVE YOU A FEW LITTLE QUICK, QUICK FACTS HERE.
SO THAT NUMBER IS INCREASING THAT'S ABOUT A 12% INCREASE FROM LAST YEAR.
SO IT'S JUST GETTING MORE AND MORE. I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT AMARILLO IS TAKING A PROACTIVE APPROACH TO THIS, AND WE'RE WORKING ON AMARILLO. WE'RE NOT WAITING FOR THE US FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OR THE STATE GOVERNMENT TO SOLVE THIS FOR US.
WE'RE DOING IT OURSELVES AND WE'RE DOING IT THE RIGHT WAY, AND THAT'S LED BY YOU GUYS.
SINCE THEN WE'VE HAD 100 PEOPLE OVER THAT, THAT 250 THAT HAVE GRADUATED THE COMING HOME PROGRAM, AND A COUPLE OF Y'ALL WERE ABLE TO COME AND SEE LAST DECEMBER WHEN WE HAD OUR PARTY, WE HAD 20 NEW GRADUATES THAT HAPPENED IN DECEMBER OF 2024.
SO WE'RE DOING GREAT WORK AND I'M EXCITED TO GET TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU.
MANY OF THOSE ARE WORKING RIGHT HERE IN OUR CITY OF AMARILLO. SO I LOVE SEEING OUR FOLKS.
THIS IS JUST A FEW OF OUR PARTICIPANTS THAT HAVE BEEN IN THIS VIDEO.
WHO DON'T WANT TO BE IN THAT SITUATION THAT REALLY BENEFIT FROM PROGRAMS LIKE THIS, THAT WANT TO JUST BE IN A HOME, TO BE ABLE TO SLEEP COMFORTABLY AT NIGHT. WE NEED PROGRAMS LIKE THIS IN EVERY STATE FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO BETTER THEIR LIVES. THEY WANT TO GET OUT OF THE HOMELESS SITUATION.
[00:50:04]
IN AMARILLO, A BEACON OF HOPE SHINES FOR THOSE STRUGGLING WITH HOMELESSNESS.I TALK ABOUT THE QUICKSAND A LOT IN MY STORY BECAUSE I WAS IN QUICKSAND IT WAS SUCKING ME DOWN AND I DIDN'T KNOW I COULDN'T GET OUT, I COULDN'T MOVE, AND I WAS TIRED OF FIGHTING IT.
SO I'VE HAD QUITE A HISTORY OF ALCOHOL ABUSE AND DRUG ABUSE SINCE I WAS ABOUT TEN, AND REALLY, I FELT LIKE I HAD NOTHING LEFT TO LIVE FOR.
SO. I WAS TOGETHER WITH MY WIFE FOR SIX YEARS AND THEN ONCE WE SEPARATED, I CAME DOWN TO AMARILLO THINKING MY MOM WOULD HELP ME, BUT IT DIDN'T GO QUITE THE WAY I PLANNED AND ENDED UP HOMELESS FOR A YEAR AND CAME THROUGH COMING HOME BECAUSE I TRIED TO END MY LIFE AND ENDED UP IN THE HOSPITAL. OUTREACH TEAM MEMBERS SEEK OUT INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AND MEET WITH THEM WHERE THEY'RE AT, PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO THOSE THAT MAY NOT SEEK IT OTHERWISE.
WE PROVIDE A LOT OF ENCOURAGEMENT AND HOPE TO PEOPLE WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH MULTIPLE LIFE ISSUES.
MEETING THAT PERSON WHERE THEY ARE AND NOT JUDGING THEM AND GIVING THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO GROW FROM THAT PLACE THAT IS THE BY FAR THE MOST IMPORTANT BREAKTHROUGH THAT I FOUND IN THE HOUSING FIRST MODEL.
I TALKED TO HEATHER AND SHE INTERVIEWED ME AND SHE SAID, OKAY, WHAT'S GOING ON? AND I LIED ABOUT MY ADDICTION FOR SO LONG. SHE GOES, WELL, DON'T SELL DRUGS OUT OF YOUR HOUSE AND KEEP DOING THE BEST YOU CAN.
I WAS LIKE, WHAT? YOU KNOW, BECAUSE NO ONE EVER MET ME WHERE I WAS.
THEY ALWAYS WANTED ME TO BE HERE, BUT I COULDN'T EVEN GET OFF THE GROUND.
WE BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE CAN BE HOUSED EVEN WITH ALL OF THOSE ISSUES, AND THEN WE JUST SURROUND THEM WITH THOSE SERVICES THAT HELP THEM GET STABLE AFTER HOUSING. IT WAS REALLY A HAND UP, AND IT REALLY MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE IN MY LIFE.
JUST THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE PEOPLE AND OF THE PROGRAM.
THE PURITY OF IT. CLIENTS ARE ASSIGNED A DEDICATED CASE MANAGER WHO MEETS WITH THEM REGULARLY TO ASSESS THEIR CURRENT STATE AND NEEDS, WHILE CONNECTING THEM TO NECESSARY RESOURCES.
AFTER I WAS HOUSED, THEY STILL HELPED ME WITH THINGS LIKE FOOD STAMPS AND MY DISABILITY.
I GOT TO DO CLASSES AT GOODWILL COMPUTER TRAINING AFTER GOING THROUGH THAT APPLYING FOR JOBS AND WIND UP PUTTING IN ONE AT UTILITY BILLING AT THE CITY AND WHAM, BAM, THANK YOU SIR.
YOU KNOW, HERE I AM. YOU KNOW, TODAY I'VE BEEN IN TRAINING AND.
WITH AN 85% SUCCESS RATE. THE COMING HOME PROGRAM EXEMPLIFIES AMARILLO COMMITMENT TO OVERCOMING HOMELESSNESS, OFFERING NOT ONLY A PATH TO HOUSING STABILITY, BUT ALSO RESTORING DIGNITY TO THOSE WHO NEED IT MOST.
I DIDN'T IMAGINE THAT I'D BE ABLE TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT IN ANY KIND OF WAY.
IT IS JUST REALLY AWESOME THAT I'M ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, PAY MY CAR BILL, PAY FOR INTERNET, PAY FOR MY RENT. I'M, YOU KNOW, GOING TO COLLEGE, AND I ALREADY HAVE A PLAN FOR UNIVERSITY AND ALL THE WAY UP TO EVEN POSSIBLY A DOCTORATE DEGREE BECAUSE I'M AIMING HIGH.
I'M ACTUALLY A FUNCTIONAL MEMBER OF SOCIETY, AND I CAN POUR INTO PEOPLE WITHOUT DYING AT THE END OF THE DAY, BECAUSE I'M POURING OUT FROM AN OVERFLOW. I'M ABLE TO EAT EVERY DAY.
I'M ABLE TO SLEEP COMFORTABLY IN A BED PROVIDED BY Y'ALL, AND JUST BEING ABLE TO BE IN MY PLACE AND NOT BE ON THE STREET HAS JUST BEEN WONDERFUL.
I DON'T THINK I WOULD BE LOOKING AT THE WORLD THE SAME EITHER.
SO IT'S REALLY CHANGED MY LIFE, AND I KNOW I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE.
IT'S ABSOLUTELY AN AMAZING WAY TO SPEND TAXPAYER MONEY.
[00:55:01]
IT REALLY HELPS. IT HELPS PEOPLE. IT REALLY DOES.I THINK THAT PEOPLE ARE THE WISEST INVESTMENT THAT YOU COULD EVER INVEST ANYTHING IN.
SO I CAN TELL BY YOU GUYS THAT YOU APPRECIATE THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST SO LUCKY EVERY DAY THE FIRST THING WE DO WHENEVER WE HAVE OUR MORNING MEETINGS IS THAT WE GET TO TALK ABOUT THE POSITIVE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING SO THAT WE CAN FEED OUR SOULS SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO DO THE HARD WORK.
IT'S NOT EASY. IT'S HARD WORK, BUT IT'S WORTH IT.
IT'S WORTH IT TO HAVE BETH. IT'S WORTH IT TO HAVE ERICA.
IT'S WORTH IT TO HAVE THESE FOLKS THAT ARE MAKING IT, THE HUNDRED GRADUATES THAT ARE MAKING IT, THE PEOPLE THAT ARE WORKING RIGHT HERE IN OUR CITY ALONGSIDE US.
IT'S WORTH IT. I WANTED TO GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ANYBODY THAT.
[APPLAUSE] THANK Y'ALL. IT WAS. IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR ME TO BRING PEOPLE TO SEE YOU HERE, AND FOR YOU TO SEE THE PEOPLE RIGHT HERE.
ALSO, BEFORE I STOP. SORRY. COULD I GET THE COMING HOME STAFF THAT'S COME HERE TO SUPPORT THEM, TO STAND UP? [CHEERS] [APPLAUSE] JUST SO YOU KNOW, WITH THE COLD WEATHER ACTIVATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD, WE'VE ALREADY HAD 12 ACTIVATIONS. THEY'VE ALREADY HAD, I THINK OVER 250 ENGAGEMENTS.
THEY'VE TRANSPORTED LOTS OF PEOPLE TO THE SHELTERS AND KEEPING THEM SAFE.
I HAD A STORY THIS MORNING THAT WE'RE PRETTY SURE WE SAVED ONE MAN'S LIFE AND AT LEAST HIS FEET BECAUSE HE WAS SO, SO COLD AND LEFT OUT IN THE COLD. SO ALL THAT TO BE SAID, IF THERE'S ANYBODY IN MY GROUP THAT FEELS BRAVE AND WANTS TO COME UP AND SAY ANYTHING TO COUNCIL. ERICA, YOU ALWAYS WANT TO TALK. [LAUGHTER] DO YOU WANT TO COME UP AND TALK TO THE MAYOR AND THE COUNCIL? SURE. OKAY, COME ON UP. HELLO, EVERYONE. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME BEFORE YOU TODAY ON BEHALF OF COMING HOME AND PREP ACADEMY. IT IS AN HONOR AND A PRIVILEGE TO BE A CITIZEN OF AMARILLO.
I'M FROM DALLAS INITIALLY. I'VE BEEN HERE RIGHT FOR FIVE YEARS NOW.
HENCE THE VIDEO. ME BEING HOMELESS AND WOUND UP SLEEPING ON A FRIEND OF MINE'S COUCH.
COMING INTO THE COMING HOME PROGRAM THEY GOT ME HOUSING.
I DIDN'T GO STRAIGHT INTO PREP ACADEMY BECAUSE I WASN'T READY YET.
MY MINDSET WASN'T READY YET, BUT ONCE I GOT INTO HOUSING, I HAD A SECURE PLACE TO STAY.
WIND UP THESE PEOPLE REALLY DID CARE ABOUT ME WHICH TOOK A LITTLE BIT.
I DIDN'T TRUST MYSELF, LET ALONE ANYONE ELSE.
IT WAS SOME GOOD INFORMATION. I FOUND OUT ABOUT THE METERS, SO THIS IS REALLY INSIGHTFUL.
I REALLY WISH THAT SOMEONE FROM UTILITY BILLING WAS HERE SO THEY COULD HAVE MORE INFORMATION, MAYBE TO SHARE WITH US BECAUSE I AM IN TRAINING, SO I'LL TAKE THIS AS A PART OF TRAINING, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR WHAT YOU ALL DO. THANK YOU FOR THE FUNDS THAT YOU ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO POUR INTO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND TO THE PREP ACADEMY, ESPECIALLY GETTING PEOPLE PREPARED TO GO FURTHER IN LIFE AND GIVING THEM THE TOOLS THAT THEY NEED TO EXCEL IN LIFE.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I CANNOT NOT SAY IS THE FACT THAT YOU PRAYED FIRST AND PUT GOD FIRST.
I BELIEVE THAT WITHOUT HIM BEING THE CENTER THAT EVERYTHING ELSE WILL CRUMBLE.
SO LET'S STAY OUT OF THE SAND, OKAY SO THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME SHARE.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ERICA. [APPLAUSE] I JUST DON'T WANT TO GIVE ANYBODY ELSE.
THANK YOU TO THE CITIZENS OF AMARILLO THAT VIDEO, THAT'S WHAT YOU DID.
WE DID THAT THROUGH YOU GUYS. SO THANK YOU, AMARILLO, AND THANK YOU, CITY COUNCIL.
APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU JASON. COUNCIL DO YOU HAVE ANY REMARKS?
[01:00:04]
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO SIR. YEAH. THANK YOU.YEAH, AND CONGRATULATIONS. GOOD JOB GUYS. IT'S NOT EASY.
MR. RIDDLESPURGER. I'LL TELL YOU THE COOLEST THING THAT WE GET TO SEE FROM UP HERE.
YOU GET THAT PHONE CALL USUALLY ON DAY 1 OR 2.
SO IF YOU EVER GET ELECTED, YOU'LL GET IT. YOU HAVE A PROBLEM, MAYOR.
YOU HAVE A PROBLEM, COUNCILMAN. THERE'S A TENT HERE.
THERE'S A HOMELESS PERSON. THERE'S THIS OVER HERE.
THERE'S THAT OVER THERE. THERE'S A DETRACTION.
AND SO WHAT OUR CITIZENS RECOGNIZE IS, IS THAT THIS IS OUR PROBLEM.
YOU'LL NEVER SOLVE THIS PROBLEM WITH MONEY, BUT IT DOES TAKE GOOD STEWARDSHIP OF MONIES ON THE FRONT END, INVESTING IN PEOPLE VERSUS ON THE BACK END IN CLEANING UP, ARRESTING, MOVING, TRANSPORTING, AND ALL OF THE OTHER MANY BOTTOM LINE ISSUES THAT HIT THE BOTTOM LINE OF ANY COMMUNITY, BE IT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, HOUSING, QUALITY OF LIFE, YOU NAME IT. SO YOU ARE THE SOLUTION BECAUSE YOU'RE PROVIDING ONE THING AND THAT'S HOPE.
SO WHEN PEOPLE GET THEMSELVES TO A POSITION IN A PLACE IN QUICKSAND, THEY LOSE HOPE, AND IF YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE ON THAT ISLAND OF QUICKSAND, YOU'RE HOPELESS, AND SO WHAT YOU GUYS DO IS YOU SHOW THEM THERE'S HOPE.
THANK YOU. [APPLAUSE] GOOD. APPRECIATE YOU. OKAY.
THANK YOU GUYS. ALRIGHT. ITEM 7C. TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW THERE ZIMMERMAN.
[7.C. Transformation Park Update from Transformation Park Executive Director ]
HOPE YOU BROUGHT SOMETHING. [LAUGHTER] THANK YOU TO WHOEVER PUT ME IN THIS SPOT.I GREATLY APPRECIATE IT. SO. AFTERNOON, SIR. GOOD AFTERNOON.
GOOD AFTERNOON. THANKS FOR LETTING ME GIVE YOU AN UPDATE.
FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO THANK EACH OF YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF TRANSFORMATION PARK.
WE'RE GETTING REALLY CLOSE TO OPENING OUR FIRST PHASE AND IT'S GETTING EXCITING.
TENTATIVELY, TENTATIVELY, HEAR THAT, IT'S SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 12TH.
OKAY, AND I'LL BE SENDING EACH OF YOU A MORE DETAILED SCHEDULE BECAUSE I'VE GOT SOME EVENTS.
I'VE GOT SOME IDEAS THAT I NEED YOUR HELP WITH, AND I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO BE A PART OF.
THIS IS OUR PROJECT TOGETHER, AND SO I WANT YOU TO BE AS MUCH A PART OF THAT AS ANYTHING ELSE.
SO JASON, I STILL HAVE SOME WORK TO DO TO GET ALL THAT DOWN.
SO THIS BEFORE YOU COMES OUT OF A CONVERSATION WITH THE MAYOR.
THIS WAS A 4AM I CAN'T SLEEP PRODUCT, AND WE WERE DISCUSSING THIS A FEW WEEKS BACK THAT WE NEEDED TO GET A MASTER PLAN ON PAPER, BECAUSE IT WAS ROLLING AROUND IN MY HEAD, AND SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO GET IT FROM MY HEAD TO SOMEONE ELSE'S HEAD, AND SO THIS WOULD MAYBE HELP US GET IT. NOW, THIS IS BY NO MEANS PROFESSIONAL OR THE END PRODUCT THAT WILL COME LATER.
THIS IS MY INITIAL. HEY, LET'S TALK THIS THROUGH.
OKAY, AND WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS WHAT I WANT US TO.
WHAT I WANT YOU TO SEE IS THAT THERE'S POSSIBILITIES.
THERE'S THE NEXT STEPS THAT I THINK TOGETHER WE NEED TO TAKE, AND SO THIS ALSO HELPS MYSELF.
IT HELPS OUR BOARD STAY FOCUSED, BUT WHAT YOU SEE HERE ARE OUR DREAMS, OUR WHAT IFS, OUR POSSIBILITIES, AND TO ME, IT HELPS US BEGIN THIS CONVERSATION, OKAY, OF WHAT'S NEXT FOR TRANSFORMATION PARK.
EVEN THOUGH WE HAVEN'T EVEN OPENED YET OUR FIRST PHASE, I STILL THINK WE NEED TO START TALKING ABOUT WHAT'S NEXT, AND SO THERE'S SO MUCH POTENTIAL OF WHAT WE CAN DO.
I'M REMINDED TIME AND TIME AGAIN THAT GOD HAS BEEN AT WORK AT THIS A LOT LONGER THAN WE HAVE.
HE'S GONE BEFORE US AND WE'RE FINALLY CATCHING UP TO WHERE HE'S BEEN WORKING, AND HE'S ALREADY GONE AHEAD AND HE'S STILL WORKING, AND SO HE HAS BLESSED THIS ENDEAVOR ALREADY, AND I TRULY LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING HOW HE CONTINUES TO UNVEIL FUTURE BLESSINGS FOR TRANSFORMATION PARK. SO LET'S TALK THE CONVERSATION.
WHAT'S NEXT? WHAT INROADS IF WE ARE GOING TO MAKE INROADS INTO OUR HOMELESS COUNT, THEN WE NEED TO REALIZE THAT IT'S ALL INTERCONNECTED. OKAY? IT'S NOT JUST HOUSING. IT'S NOT JUST PUTTING THEM UP FOR THE NIGHT.
IT'S ALSO HEALTHCARE. IT'S ALSO LOW MINIMUM WAGES.
IT'S ALSO JOB TRAINING. LOW INCOME HOUSING. ET CETERA.
ET CETERA. ET CETERA. SO MUCH MORE. IT'S ALL INTERCONNECTED.
I WAS TAUGHT AS A CHILD, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU EAT AN ELEPHANT? ONE BITE AT A TIME, BUT WHAT IF ALL THOSE BITES ARE INTERCONNECTED? WHAT BITE DO YOU START WITH? WELL, WE HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE, AND WE'RE STARTING WITH WHAT?
[01:05:03]
WE'RE STARTING WITH A NIGHT SHELTER WITH A DAY, A DAY SHELTER OR, EXCUSE ME, A DAY CENTER TO FOLLOW.OKAY. NOW, SO WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS THAT KIND OF TEAL COLOR.
THAT'S PHASE TWO. I'VE ALREADY TASKED THE ARCHITECT WITH LAYING OUT MORE CABINS IN THAT AREA, AND SO HE WILL DO A MUCH BETTER JOB THAN I DID OF PUTTING THAT TOGETHER.
HE ALREADY KNOWS THE SETBACKS. HE'S FAMILIAR WITH THIS PROJECT.
HE DREW THE REST OF THE CABIN AND NIGHT SHELTERS FOR US, AND SO I'VE ASKED HIM TO GET PHASE TWO READY BEFORE WE HAVE OUR GRAND OPENING, SO THAT WE CAN PRESENT THAT AT OUR GRAND OPENING TO BASICALLY STRIKE AS THE IRON'S HOT AND PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN WHAT'S NEXT.
AND SO YOU KNOW, THE REALITY IS, SOMETIMES IF PHASE TWO GETS BUMPED BACK TO PHASE THREE, THREE TO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE JUMP UP TO A PHASE TWO BECAUSE OF HOW THINGS FALL, HOW OPPORTUNITIES PRESENT THEMSELVES, BUT I WANTED TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU, AS I SAID, THAT WE HAVE PLANS BEYOND THE SAFE SPACE AND CABIN COMMUNITY AND DAY CENTER.
THAT'S JUST THE START. NOW, THESE FUTURE PROJECTS BEFORE YOU.
I'M HERE TO MAKE A BIG ASK. OKAY. BIG ASK. A S K.
AS A KEY PARTNER THAT YOU'VE BEEN I'M ASKING THAT YOU WOULD MAYBE CONSIDER ALLOCATING A REOCCURRING EVERY YEAR RECURRING $250,000 FOR TRANSFORMATION PARK, AND HERE'S FOR WHAT THE LION'S SHARE OF THAT WOULD ASSIST WITH THE SECURITY PORTION OF OUR SHELTERS, OUR DAY CENTER AND PROJECTS.
OKAY. I, TOO, AM A PUBLIC SAFETY ADVOCATE, AS I KNOW ALL OF YOU ARE, AND AS EACH PHASE IS REALIZED, OUR SECURITY NEEDS AND SECURITY DEMANDS ARE GOING TO GO UP.
THEY'RE NOT ONLY GOING TO CONTINUE, BUT THEY'RE GOING TO GROW IN SCOPE.
WHEN I VISITED, A SHELTER IN PHOENIX I SAW A CAMERA SYSTEM THAT MADE ME SALIVATE.
THEY WERE INTERNALLY TRAINED. MOST OF THEM WERE FORMER HOMELESS CLIENTS.
THEY WERE INDIVIDUALS THAT THEY SAW POTENTIAL IN AND THEY HAVE BEEN VERY, VERY EFFECTIVE, VERY SUCCESSFUL TAKING THIS APPROACH, AND I TRULY, I TRULY BELIEVE THAT WE CAN ADOPT THIS APPROACH AND ADAPT IT TO OUR SITUATION.
IT PROVIDES A SAFER ENVIRONMENT BOTH WITHIN AND AROUND OUR BOUNDARIES.
ONE OF OUR KEY GOALS INTERNALLY IS THAT WE WANT TO CUT DOWN ON THE CALLS TO APD.
WE WANT TO HELP CUT INTO THOSE AS MUCH AS WE CAN.
WE WANT TO HEAD OFF WHAT WE CAN DEAL WITH, WHAT WE CAN, AND THEN ONLY WHEN ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, MAKE THAT CALL TO APD. AND SUCH A CAMERA SYSTEM CAN HELP US DETER SOME UNSAVORY ACTIVITIES LIKE LOITERING AND ILLEGAL CAMPING, THEFT, VANDALISM, A LEVEL OF VIOLENCE, ETC. AND THE OBJECTIVE IS TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF OUR SHELTER RESIDENTS, OUR VOLUNTEERS, OUR STAFF, AND OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, AND BEYOND THIS CAMERA SYSTEM, WE NEED A WELL TRAINED SECURITY TEAM THAT WILL CREATE A SECURE SHELTER ENVIRONMENT, AND THAT REDUCES THE LIKELIHOOD OF THOSE NEGATIVE INTERACTIONS SPILLING INTO THE NEARBY SURROUNDING COMMUNITY.
THERE ARE MORE THAN A FEW NEIGHBORS, I'M SURE YOU'VE HEARD FROM THEM THAT ARE NOT EXCITED ABOUT TRANSFORMATION PARK BEING PLACED IN THEIR BACKYARD, AND SO WE DESIRE MY TEAM, WE DESIRE TO BE EXCELLENT, CARING NEIGHBORS TO THE SAN JACINTO NEIGHBORHOOD.
WE NEED A ROBUST SECURITY CAMERA SYSTEM. WE NEED A SECURITY TEAM THAT KNOWS THAT VISION AND THAT OBJECTIVE TO HELP US ACHIEVE THAT VISION. WE WANT TO STRENGTHEN THE TRUST OF THAT NEIGHBORHOOD AND ULTIMATELY BENEFIT AMARILLO'S WELL-BEING.
SO IF YOU WERE TO AGREE TO THIS REQUEST, IF YOU WERE TO FIND MERIT IN PARTNERING FURTHER IN OUR PUBLIC SAFETY INITIATIVE, HERE'S HOW I WOULD ASK THAT WE WOULD SPEND IT PRACTICALLY THIS CALENDAR YEAR.
ASI, ALLSTATE HAS QUOTED US A ROBUST CAMERA SYSTEM FOR $119,000, AND THAT'S FOR 75 HIGH QUALITY CAMERAS AND THE NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE TO MAKE THAT WORK.
ONE OF THE PREREQUISITES THAT I HAD FOR THEM WHEN THEY, TO QUOTE THIS, WAS THAT SYSTEM HAD TO FEED INTO THE APD CRIME CENTER, AND THEY ASSURED ME THAT IT THAT IT CAN AND THAT IT WILL.
NOW, THE CHIEF HAS MENTIONED TO ME THAT IT NEEDS TO FEED INTO THAT MORE THAN ONE OCCASION.
SO I TAKE THAT AS IT'S OF HIGH IMPORTANCE TO HIM AND TO APD THAT IT FEED INTO THE CRIME CENTER.
[01:10:07]
SECONDARILY, WE HAVE A $30,000 QUOTE FOR A WALK THROUGH METAL DETECTOR AND A BAG SCANNER.NOW, THESE ARE OF IMPORTANCE, BUT AGAIN, SECONDARY TO THE CAMERA SYSTEM.
NOW THERE IS A SECURITY GRANT OUT THERE THAT I'VE LOOKED AT THAT WE CAN APPLY FOR IN THE FUTURE, BUT ONE PROBLEM WE KEEP RUNNING INTO CURRENTLY IS THAT WE HAVEN'T DONE ANY OF THIS YET.
EVERYTHING IS, IN THEORY, EVERYTHING. WE HAVEN'T STARTED THIS YET.
WE HAVE NO TRACK RECORD. WE HAVE NO RESULTS TO SHARE, AND THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE.
NOW ON THE FEEDING PART, I THINK WE'VE DONE A GREAT JOB.
WE HAVE A TRACK RECORD. WE HAVE. WE'VE DONE GREAT THINGS THERE AND WE HAVE RECEIVED OUR FIRST GRANT FOR THAT AREA, AND WE'RE APPLYING FOR A SECOND GRANT AT THE END OF THE MONTH, AND I'M THRILLED WITH OUR WITH OUR TRACK RECORD.
MATTER OF FACT, WITH THE PARTNERSHIP OF THE NEW UNITED MARKET STREET, THEY'VE COME ALONG BESIDE US.
WE NOW ARE AVERAGING 14,500 MEALS A MONTH OUT OF OUR KITCHEN TO THE HOMELESS AND THE HUNGRY, AND SO I'M VERY PROUD OF THAT. I'M PROUD OF MY TEAM THAT'S BACK HERE THAT MAKES THAT HAPPEN.
I'M PROUD OF OUR VOLUNTEERS THAT MAKES THAT POSSIBLE.
SO THE BUDGET FOR THE SECURITY EQUIPMENT CAMERAS AND DETECTORS IS ABOUT 150,000.
HONESTLY, I ONLY HAD 30,000 BUDGETED FOR THE LATTER PART, AND IN FF&E.
THIS SECURITY SYSTEM WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRESENTED CONSTRUCTION BUDGET, NOR WAS IT INCLUDED IN MY FF&E BUDGET FOR VARIOUS REASONS, AND I WANT TO STATE EMPHATICALLY THAT WE CANNOT OPEN TRANSFORMATION PARK WITHOUT THESE IN PLACE.
SO I WOULD ADVOCATE THAT UNTIL IF YOU SAY YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THIS, AND THAT'S TOTALLY UP TO YOU, WE NEED TO DELAY OPENING TRANSFORMATION PARK UNTIL WE CAN FURTHER FUNDRAISE THESE SECURITY NEEDS.
WE ARE WE'RE CURRENTLY FUNDRAISING FOR OTHER FF&E ITEMS THAT WE HAVE.
FRIENDS, WE ONLY HAVE ONE CHANCE TO DO THIS, RIGHT, AND IN MY HUMBLE OPINION WE'RE ASKING FOR BIG TROUBLE CREATING A TRUE PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE IF WE DON'T HAVE THIS IN PLACE. NOW, LET ME REMIND YOU THAT THE OVERALL CITY'S PROJECT BUDGET FOR THIS NIGHT SHELTER PHASE IS $6 MILLION. YOU GUYS ARE IN FOR A LOT, AND AS THE MAYOR CAN PROBABLY ATTEST, WITH EVERY CONSTRUCTION JOB YOU HAVE AN OH, CRAP, WE FORGOT TO INCLUDE THAT MOMENT OR OH, I DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING MOMENT, AND YOU HAVE TO REASSESS, AND SO SOMETIMES ON PAPER IT JUST DOESN'T TRANSLATE UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY WALK IT AND TALK IT AND SEE IT IN CONTEXT.
IT'S HAPPENED TO ME ON ALMOST EVERY HILLSIDE PROJECT THAT I HAVE OVERSEEN, WHICH IS, I THINK, 14 OF THEM. AND NOW, IN THE SCOPE OF THE ENTIRE CONSTRUCTION BUDGET, THAT ITEM OR ITEMS ARE USUALLY VERY, VERY LOW PERCENTAGE OF THE OVERALL CONSTRUCTION BUDGET.
SO I GOT CURIOUS. ALL RIGHT. SO THIS 150,000 WHAT IS IT THAT WE'VE MISSED.
IT'S POINT IF I DID MY MATH RIGHT LAURA IT'S 0.025% OF THE ENTIRE BUDGET.
VERY VERY LOW. OKAY, AND I HAVE SEEN AND I'VE EXPERIENCED ARE FAR, FAR WORSE, AND SO THERE ARE A FEW OTHER ITEMS WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT HAVE NOT BEEN INCLUDED, BUT NOTHING TO ME IS OF GREATER IMPORTANCE THAN THE SECURITY PORTION OF OUR PROJECT.
I WANT TO INTERJECT HERE JUST FOR A MOMENT, I DIGRESS.
THE FACILITIES DEPARTMENT THAT I'VE DEALT MAINLY WITH DEREK SPARGO.
THEY'VE DONE AN OUTSTANDING JOB, JERRY. YEAH, HE'S DONE OKAY JOB.
[LAUGHTER] JUST KIDDING JERRY. I JUST KNEW YOU WERE HERE. HE'S BEEN GREAT TOO.
THEY'VE BEEN A JOY TO WORK WITH. THIS PROJECT IS MY FIRST PUBLIC, PRIVATE ENDEAVOR.
I'VE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE, AND YOU PUT PUBLIC AND PRIVATE TOGETHER, AND THAT ADDS ANOTHER LAYER OF COMPLEXITY TO A PROJECT THAT I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED, AND WE EACH HAVE OUR OWN WAYS OF DOING THINGS, AND SO I'M GOING TO STAND HERE AND JUST SAY IT'S MY FAULT AS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.
I TAKE FAULT FOR NOT ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.
I TAKE FAULT FOR NOT FORESEEING THE COMPLEXITY OF THIS PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.
BUT IN REALITY, IN SOME OF OUR PLANNING, WE HONESTLY, WE JUST DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WE NEEDED UNTIL WE GOT LATER INTO THE PROJECT, AND WE'RE HERE NOW. WE KNOW WHAT WE NEED. THERE'S STILL PARTS OF THIS I'M NOT COMPLETELY CONFIDENT OF, AND BRINGS ME SOME TREPIDATION AND SOMETIMES A LITTLE SLEEP, AND I'M UP AT 4 A.M.
GETTING STUFF DONE. WE HAVE DONE OUR RESEARCH.
WE HAVE VISITED MANY OTHER SITES, BUT EACH CITY, EACH FACILITY, EACH ENTITY, HAS ITS OWN PERSONALITY AND HAS ITS OWN NEEDS, JUST LIKE OURS WILL. SO WITH THAT SAID, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE DON'T KNOW QUITE YET, BUT WE'RE GOING TO FIGURE IT OUT AS WE GO.
OKAY. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE GROWING PAINS. WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SOME MISTAKES.
[01:15:01]
SO I'M GOING TO ASK AHEAD OF TIME FOR YOUR GRACE AND YOUR MERCY AND YOUR FORGIVENESS FOR WHEN WE MAKE THOSE MISTAKES, AND SO I JUST WANT TO REMIND YOU, HOMELESSNESS DOESN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT.SO THEREFORE THE REVERSE OF THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN OVERNIGHT.
IT'S GOING TO TAKE TIME TO GET TO WHERE WE ALL WANT IT TO BE.
I'M REMINDED QUITE OFTEN THAT TRANSFORMATION PARK IS QUITE SPECIAL, IT'S UNIQUE.
IT'S AN ANOMALY. I CAN'T FIND THESE THREE PARTNERS COMING TOGETHER ANYWHERE ELSE, AND SO 24 YEARS AGO, WHEN I ROLLED INTO TOWN WE WERE CALLED HERE BY GOD BUT MY WIFE AND I HAVE CHOSEN TO STAY HERE TO CALL THIS HOME.
IT'S AN AMAZING PLACE. I DON'T KNOW WHY ANYBODY WOULD WANT TO LEAVE.
WELL, EXCEPT MAYBE ON A MARKED DAY WHEN HEREFORD BLOWS IN, YOU KNOW THERE YOU MIGHT WANT TO LEAVE.
RIGHT, BUT IT'S AN AMAZING PLACE, AND SO, IN MANY WAYS, THIS PARTNERSHIP OF CITY, CHURCH AND COMMERCE, WE'RE PAVING A NEW WAY TO TAKE ON OUR CITY'S UNFORTUNATE ISSUE OF HAVING WAY TOO MANY FELLOW CITIZENS THAT ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
NOW, THE REST OF THAT ALLOCATION OF THAT 250, I WOULD PROPOSE GOING TO HIRING OUR FIRST 3 OR 4 INTERNAL SECURITY GUARDS THAT WILL LEAD BY EXAMPLE. SO WE HAVE TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT PEOPLE.
I'VE BEEN ADVISED BY MORE THAN ONE OTHER NONPROFIT MORE THAN ONE NONPROFIT, TO DO THIS INTERNALLY.
DON'T OUTSOURCE SECURITY. SEVERAL HAVE GONE FULL CYCLE AND FULL CIRCLE AND COME BACK TO INTERNALLY HIRING INTERNALLY TRAINING, AND SO WHEN YOU DO THAT, YOU GET TO PICK THE PEOPLE.
YOU GET TO INSTILL IN THEM THE VISION OF WHAT YOU, WHAT THEY'RE EXPECTED TO EXPECTED TO DO, AND IN RETURN THEY ACHIEVE OWNERSHIP. THEY ACHIEVE A SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND PERSONAL WORTH, AND TOGETHER WE BEGIN JOB CREATION FOR THE VERY RESIDENTS OF TRANSFORMATION PARK.
I ALSO HAVE FOUND A FEW SECURITY GRANTS OUT THERE, BUT FEW THAT I'VE SEEN.
SO SECURITY CAMERAS, METAL DETECTOR, BAG SCANNERS, THESE ARE ALSO GOING TO BE NEW TO THE MAJORITY OF OUR HOMELESS RESIDENTS, AND SO IT'S GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE TO GAIN THEIR TRUST, BUT IT CAN AND IT WILL HAPPEN.
IT'S JUST GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME, BUT AGAIN, I JUST REITERATE, IT'S A NECESSITY FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR RESIDENTS, FOR OUR VOLUNTEERS, FOR OUR STAFF, FOR OUR NEIGHBORS, IT'S A MUST, AND SO BACK TO THE GRANT THING, AND THEN I'LL BE DONE. IT'S GOING TO GO A LONG WAY TO BE ABLE TO PUT DOWN THAT THE CITY IS CONTINUING A PARTNERSHIP WITH US.
IT'S NOT JUST A ONE AND DONE THING THAT IT WILL GO A LONG WAY TO BE ABLE TO STATE THAT WE HAVE THE CITY ON OUR SIDE, THAT WE HAVE SEVERAL PARTNER CHURCHES, WHICH WE DO, GIVING X AMOUNT OF DOLLARS A YEAR.
THAT WE HAVE TWO PARTNERS THAT ARE PROVIDING WELL OVER $30,000 WORTH OF GROCERIES A MONTH BETWEEN THE TWO TO FEED OUR HOMELESS AND OUR HUNGRY, AND SO WHEN WE GO TO APPLY FOR THOSE FOUNDATION GRANTS, THAT'S WHAT THEY ASK FOR, THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE. THEY WANT TO SEE COLLABORATION.
THEY WANT TO SEE PARTNERSHIPS, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE KEY AREAS THEY ASK ABOUT.
SO IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT BENEFIT FOR THE PRESENT, AND IT WOULD BE A GREAT BENEFIT FOR THE FUTURE TO HAVE AN ONGOING MONETARY RELATIONSHIP PARTNERSHIP. THANKS FOR LISTENING TO ME RAMBLE A BIT.
THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING THIS REQUEST, AND I AM CONFIDENTLY SURE THAT YOU HAVE QUESTIONS THAT YOU WANT TO ASK, SO ASK AWAY. QUESTIONS, COUNCIL. I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
MARK DO WE? DOES THE CITY HAVE ANY ONGOING SUPPORT RIGHT NOW AT ALL TOWARDS TRANSFORMATION PARK? NO, SIR. NO FINANCIAL SUPPORT. NO FINANCIAL SUPPORT.
ONGOING SUPPORT. NO. YOU'RE FUNDRAISED FOR EVERYTHING OTHER THAN THE ITEMS THAT YOU JUST DIRECTED US TO, AND THEN YOU HAVE COMMUNITY SUPPORT THROUGH YOUR PROGRAM THAT ARE YOUR KEY STAKEHOLDER CONTRIBUTORS? YEAH. I MEAN, DONATIONS AND THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS.
I THINK THERE ARE SOME ORGANIZATIONS OUT THERE AND PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO ARE JUST WAITING TO SEE, YOU KNOW, DOES THIS WORK? I'VE HEARD MANY TIMES, HEY, THE CITY HAS TRIED SEVERAL THINGS AND IT HASN'T WORKED.
WHAT'S GOING TO MAKE THIS DIFFERENT? I THINK WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT IS THIS PARTNERSHIP OF CITY, CHURCH AND COMMERCE COMING TOGETHER, EACH BRINGING TO THE TABLE, EACH BRINGING TO THIS ISSUE WHAT WE DO BEST AND WHAT WE CAN BRING.
AGREED. COUNCILMAN. HAVE YOU LOOKED INTO POSSIBLY LEASING THE SECURITY EQUIPMENT?
[01:20:02]
I THINK THEY DO LEASE. I HAVE NOT. I HAVE NOT.I MEAN, WOULD YOU MIND CHECKING INTO THAT? I WILL SURE.
BE A LITTLE BIT CHEAPER. SURE. I HONESTLY, I'VE ONLY GAVE ASI A WEEK'S NOTICE TO GET THIS TOGETHER, AND SO THEY ARE CONTINUING TO TRY TO DRIVE THE BUDGET DOWN BY ASKING FOR SOME DONATIONS AND ASKING FOR, YOU KNOW, CUT RATES. I DO THINK THEY LEASE MARK.
SO OKAY. YOU MIGHT CHECK WITH THEM AND SEE. THANK YOU.
SO THE REQUEST FOR $250,000 IN YEAR ONE IT IS FOR WHETHER LEASE OR BUY THE SECURITY EQUIPMENT? YES. AND THEN I GUESS A STARTING SECURITY STAFF, WHICH WOULD BE 3 OR 4 INDIVIDUALS.
YEAH, AND THEN ONGOING THE $250,000.
IT CAN BE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE, AND WE'RE GOING TO NEED MORE PEOPLE.
YEAH, AND ARE YOU STAFFING IT SECURITY WISE 24 HOURS? YES. OKAY. THAT'S GOING TO BE A NECESSITY. HOW DO OTHER I MEAN, WE HAVE TROUBLE HIRING POLICE OFFICERS.
YOU KNOW, OTHER PEOPLE HAVE, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY I MEAN, HOW ARE OTHER COMMUNITIES FINDING PEOPLE THAT WANT TO DO THIS TYPE OF SECURITY WORK? 24 HOUR SEVEN THIS TYPE OF ENVIRONMENT. DO YOU KNOW USUALLY IT'S PEOPLE. IT'S USUALLY PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN FORMER RESIDENTS OR I KNOW AT THE BRIDGE, AND THAT'S THE ONE I WANT TO TAKE FROM. MAJORITY OF THEM WERE FORMER CLIENTS, FORMER RESIDENTS THAT THEY'VE HELPED BY DOING THAT, AND SO IN EVERYTHING WE DO, FROM LANDSCAPING TO LAUNDRY, TO COOKING, ALL THAT.
WE CAN MAYBE GET THEM ON WITH ASI OR OTHER AGENCIES.
OKAY. THANK YOU. MAYBE EVEN A POLICE OFFICER OR TWO.
GO AHEAD. ONE MORE QUESTION MARK. I WAS WONDERING IF POSSIBLY.
EXCUSE ME. IF WE GET TO THIS POINT HERE, YOU'RE ASKING FOR $250,000 A YEAR. AS THINGS GO, YOU MIGHT GET MORE GRANTS.
YES, AND AS THAT GOES, WOULD YOU COME TO US AND TELL US THAT YOU DON'T NEED THAT FULL $250,000? WELL, OF COURSE, OF COURSE. I MEAN, YES. I WOULD LIKE THAT TO BE OUT THERE BECAUSE.
SURE. AT SOME POINT WE CAN PROBABLY GET A LOT OF GRANTS TO HELP WITH THAT SITUATION.
CORRECT. CORRECT. THANK YOU. SO, MARK, THERE IS NO SCANNER.
SO I MEAN, AT THIS POINT YOU DON'T HAVE A SCANNER LIKE A METAL DETECTOR OR WHATEVER.
NO. SO AT THIS POINT, ARE YOU JUST THINKING. I MEAN, IF YOU DIDN'T GET ONE OR HAVE MONEY THAT A SECURITY TEAM WOULD JUST SEARCH AND SEARCH AND WAND , WHICH WILL TAKE MORE INDIVIDUALS TO DO.
YEAH. YEAH. THAT WAS ONE THING I DID SEE IN TULSA WAS THAT THEIR SECURITY GUARDS WERE INUNDATED WITH THE SEARCH, BECAUSE THEY HAD TAKEN SOME OF THAT EQUIPMENT OUT WHEN THEY REMODELED, RENOVATED, AND THEN NOW THEY WERE RENOVATING THE RENOVATION TO PUT SOME OF THAT STUFF BACK IN BECAUSE THEY DID NOT THINK IT THROUGH. SO WE GOT A I GOT A FORESIGHT INTO WHAT IT COULD BE AND WHAT I DON'T WANT IT TO BE.
YEAH, I'M GOING TO I'M GOING TO TAKE THE LEAD ON THIS ONE JUST IN GIVING AN ANALOGY THAT I'VE LIVED THROUGH PLENTY OF TIMES IN BUSINESS WHERE MAN, YOU SPEND A DOLLAR, BUT YOU ENDED UP A NICKEL SHORT, AND SO YOU'VE RAN $6 MILLION THROUGH YOUR ENTITY IN ORDER TO PRODUCE WHAT YOU'VE DONE SO FAR, AND YOU'RE ASKING FOR $250,000 AND A COMMITMENT. I SEE THE HESITANCY ON OUR SIDE TO JUST TO CONTINUE TO KIND OF MUCH LIKE YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS.
YOU DON'T WANT TO ENABLE YOU DON'T WANT TO. YOU DON'T WANT TO BECOME MOM OR DAD BUT YOU YOU ALSO NEED TO INVEST, AND SO I SEE THIS IN THE WAY WHERE I WOULD ENTERTAIN THE 250 IN OUR ANNUALIZED WORKING BUDGET, BECAUSE THIS COUNCIL HAS DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB OF MANAGING THE DOLLARS THAT WE HAVE, AND IT IS AVAILABLE.
I DON'T HAVE TO ROLL A FIRE TRUCK TOO MANY TIMES WITH SOMEBODY, MAYBE CAUSING A FIRE OR CAUSING AN ACCIDENT OR AN ISSUE FOR THAT TO THAT TICKET TO ADD UP. OR ANOTHER PUBLIC SAFETY APPARATUS. SO I WOULD ENTERTAIN IT.
I THINK THE HESITANCY THAT I, THAT I WOULD FEEL FROM THIS COUNCIL IS THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH MAKING AN INVESTMENT AS LONG AS YOU GIVE THAT INVESTMENT TIME TO SHOW YOU THE RETURN. AND SO I THINK IF YOU'RE IF YOU'RE MAKING AN ASK KIND OF A ONE TIME ASK UNTIL YOU'RE ABLE TO SHOW THE RETURN AND WE SEE YOUR PLAN,
[01:25:10]
I THINK THE PLAN WITH PHASES IS GOOD. IT COMMUNICATES UPFRONT THAT YOU'RE YOU'RE NOT DONE COMING BACK INTO THIS CHAMBER, AND WE APPRECIATE THAT. WE WANT TO BE A GOOD PARTNER, BUT I THINK THAT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PHASE ONE AND GETTING OPEN AND HAVING ONE SHOT TO REALLY DO THIS RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE. I'D LIKE TO SEE US INVEST THAT, BUT THEN I WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOU BE ABLE TO PERFORM AND FUNCTION AND RUN IT, YOU KNOW, FOR A YEAR, AND SO IF YOU'RE SAYING THE 250 IS AN ADEQUATE AMOUNT OF MONEY, AND YOU TAKE COUNCILMAN SCHERLEN'S OPTION OF MAYBE NOT CASH FLOWING THE EQUIPMENT, I THINK YOU PROBABLY COULD LEASE IT OR PUT IT ON A MONTHLY PLAN, AND THAT WOULD GIVE YOU SOME FLEXIBILITY TO REALLY HONE IN ON WHAT YOU NEED FOR THAT SECURITY PIECE. AND THEN WE JUST WANT TO SUPPORT YOU.WE WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WE ARE IN YOUR CORNER AND WE APPRECIATE WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN US AS THE CITY TRYING TO IN-HOUSE EVERYTHING BECAUSE YOU SEE HOW GOOD THE COMING HOME PROGRAM IS WITH THE PEOPLE THAT WE'VE BUILT THE KIND OF THE FAMILY INTO THAT HAVE COME FROM OUTSIDE OF, YOU KNOW, THE CITY WALLS. AND SO I THINK YOURS IS THE SAME, AND I KNOW YOU HAVE A LOT OF GOOD SUPPORTERS AROUND TOWN, AND WE WANT TO SHOW THAT WE'RE IN STEP WITH THEM AS WELL.
SO I WOULD ASK COUNCIL TO TAKE THIS RISK, BUT NOT IN NOT IN THE WAY OF I MEAN, IF YOU'RE NOT WILLING TO DO THE ANNUALIZED YEARLY, AT LEAST DO THE ONE TIME WORK IN BUDGET AND THEN, YOU KNOW, BE PREPARED FOR YOU TO COME BACK AND SHOW THE RETURN ON THE INVESTMENT, THE ROI, AND THEN LET US CONTINUE THAT SUPPORT.
SURE. SO, COUNCIL, I WOULD JUST ENTERTAIN ANYTHING IF YOU WANT TO REDIRECT.
ANY FUTURE COUNCIL OR FUTURE BUDGET WOULD BE TAKEN ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS.
SO I'M SUPPORTIVE OF TAKING IT OUT OF OUR BUDGET, YOU KNOW, FOR THIS YEAR, AND AS WE MOVE FORWARD, CERTAINLY LOOKING AT ATTEMPTING TO CONTINUE IT, BUT DEFINITELY COMMITTING TO GETTING YOU OFF TO THE RIGHT START.
YEAH, I WOULD AGREE. YEAH, I WOULD AGREE AS WELL.
I MEAN, THE COMMIT TO THE ONE TIME, YOU KNOW, FOR NOW THE 250 TO GET YOU UP, AND WE CERTAINLY DON'T WANT TO BE A STUMBLING BLOCK OF YOU OPENING. WE WANT THAT. WE'RE EXCITED FOR THIS TO OPEN AND TO GET ROLLING, BUT LIKE MAYOR SAID, KIND OF LOOK AT ROI. YOU KNOW, EACH YEAR AND MAYBE EVEN COME, I DON'T KNOW, BUDGET TIME.
YEAH. SO THAT WE SO WE'RE A LITTLE BIT MORE PREPARED.
RIGHT. SO WHEN WE BEGIN TO PREPARE BUDGET OR THE FUTURE COUNCIL BEGINS TO PREPARE A BUDGET.
MAYBE A LINE ITEM CAN BE PUT IN THERE. AS THE ASK.
I LOVE THAT IDEA. IT GIVES YOU REALLY 6 OR 7 MONTHS TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK WHEN BUDGET SEASON STARTS, AND TO APPROACH US AS A PARTNER AND BE ABLE TO SHOW THAT ROI ON THE 250 INVESTMENT, BECAUSE I THINK WE'LL SEE A DRASTIC CHANGE IN OUR COMMUNITY WHEN YOU GUYS ARE UP AND RUNNING.
I THINK I'M I HAVE VERY HIGH EXPECTATIONS. I JUST WANT TO SAY, I THINK WE'VE ALREADY SEEN A LITTLE SNIPPET OF THAT IN JUST THE 3 OR 4 THAT WE'VE HAD HELP US COOK AND WE'VE GOTTEN JOBS FOR, AND ODIE WOODS RIGHT HERE IS OUR NEW INTERN, OUR NEW PROJECT, AND FORMALLY HOMELESS, AND WE'RE TRYING TO HELP HIM GET BACK ON HIS FEET, AND SO WE'RE SEEING SNIPPETS OF THAT, AND I'M LIKE, JASON, I WANT TO I WANT TO CELEBRATE THE SUCCESSES AND THE CHANGED LIFE STORIES WITH YOU ALL. YOU KNOW, AND IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT NUMBERS.
IT'S ABOUT PEOPLE WHOSE STORIES ARE STILL BEING WRITTEN JUST LIKE OURS ARE.
YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE WALKING THROUGH THIS WITH YOU. SURE.
IT WON'T BE THE LAST TIME WE'RE ALL TOGETHER, BUT IF WE DON'T HAVE ANY DIFFERENCE IN DIRECTION FROM STAFF, THAT'S WHAT OR FROM COUNCIL. THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD ASK STAFF TO DO.
OKAY. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING US.
TRULY, EXCEPT FOR YOU. I'M MAD AT YOU. [LAUGHTER] APPRECIATE YOU, SIR. YOU DON'T HAVE TO VOTE FOR HIM IF YOU DON'T LIKE HIM. I'M NOT.
YOU CAN WRAP ME IN. OKAY. WE'RE GOING TO KEEP MOVING.
WE'VE GOT THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYONE THAT WAS HERE.
[7.D. Fire Truck Leasing/Purchasing Options ]
WE'LL PROBABLY GET THROUGH THIS ONE, AND THEN WE'LL TAKE A RECESS. ALL RIGHT.THANK YOU, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. ACTUALLY, I'M FIRST GOING TO HAVE CHIEF MAYS COME UP.
[01:30:03]
WE WANTED TO DO JUST A QUICK REFRESHER OF SOME INFORMATION THAT WAS PRESENTED TO YOU ALL AT YOUR LAST COUNCIL MEETING, BUT THAT WAS BACK, I THINK, ON DECEMBER 10TH.GOOD AFTERNOON COUNCIL, MAYOR. AFTERNOON. AFTERNOON.
SO IN THIS PROJECT AGAIN, THIS WAS JUST TO COME UP WITH A VEHICLE TO PURCHASE VEHICLES IN A MORE RELIABLE MANNER THAT HOPEFULLY FREED UP SOME CASH TO MAKE THOSE EXPENSES AND ACQUIRE MORE VEHICLES ACROSS THE CITY THAT WEREN'T JUST FIRE TRUCKS.
SO JUST A REVIEW, AND I'M NOT GOING TO HIT ALL THE POINTS THAT CHIEF KOUBA, DAVID KOUBA, WHO'S BACK THERE, IF AGAIN, YOU ALL ARE STUCK WITH SECOND STRING, IF WE GET ANY COMPLICATED QUESTIONS, I'LL DEFINITELY BE PULLING HIM UP HERE, AND YOU CAN TALK TO THE SMART GUY, BUT THE MOST OF OUR FIRE TRUCKS THAT YOU SEE AND WHAT WILL PREDOMINANTLY BE DEALING WITH IN TRYING TO PURSUE THIS METHOD AND ACHIEVING FIRE TRUCKS IS OUR FIRE ENGINES AND OUR FIRE LADDERS FIRE ENGINES, OUR WORKHORSE UPPER LEFT CORNER.
EVERY ONE OF OUR ENGINES, AND OUR LADDERS HAVE A PARAMEDIC READY CAPABILITY WHERE IF WE HAVE MEDICS THAT ARE AT THE STATION THAT DAY, THEY CAN RESPOND AND PROVIDE THAT ALS IF THEY'RE NEEDED.
LADDER TRUCKS, ESSENTIALLY THE SAME THING, JUST A LITTLE BIT BIGGER OF A TOOLBOX WITH THE L ADDER COMPONENT ON TOP OF THE VEHICLE THE PLATFORM TRUCK THAT WILL BE ONCE THAT ARRIVES, THAT WILL BE FOR FIRE STATION 14, WHICH FOR EVERYONE HERE, THAT WAS A REMINDER THAT WILL BE IN OUR HOSPITAL DISTRICT.
WE ALSO ARE STAFF, CROSS STAFF, GRASS RIGS AND COMMAND UNITS WHO FUNCTION AS INCIDENT COMMANDER ON ANY FIRST ALARM OR GREATER EMERGENCY. THE TRUCKS, THE VEHICLES THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH, WITH THIS PROJECT IS OUR ENGINES AND OUR LADDER. THE TOP TWO PICTURES, AND JUST A QUICK BACKGROUND AND FLEET SUMMARY.
WE DO HAVE 13 FRONTLINE FIRE ENGINES FOUR FRONT LINE LADDER TRUCKS.
EIGHT FRONT LINE GRASS RIGS, THREE FRONT LINE COMMAND UNITS AND JUST NEARLY A ROLLING STOCK OF APPROACHING 100, INCLUDING THE GOLF CART THAT WE USE AT TRAINING.
IN THE PAST, OUR PREVIOUS PRACTICE WAS TO PURCHASE FIRE TRUCKS EVERY 13 YEARS OR SO, AND THEN ONCE THEY HAD THAT, THEY SERVED THAT FRONT LINE CAPACITY, WE WOULD MOVE THEM INTO RESERVE STATUS WHERE THEY WOULD BE IN PLACE FOR 2 TO 7 YEARS UNTIL THAT REPLACEMENT ARRIVED.
WE GOT A LOT OF MILEAGE ON THEM, AND WHAT WE HAVE FOUND IS AROUND AFTER SEVEN YEARS OR SO, OF ALL THE FLEET AND MAINTENANCE COSTS THAT WE SEE THERE IT'S NOT VERY EFFICIENT TO DO WHAT WE'RE BEING, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO. TYPICALLY WE HAVE ORDERED 1 TO 2 ENGINES EVERY YEAR, INCLUDING THE LADDER OR TWO HERE AND THERE.
FISCAL YEAR 22 AND 23, WE WERE ABLE TO REPLACE TWO OUT OF OUR THREE SCHEDULED ENGINES FOR PURCHASE.
WE ALSO ORDERED THE PLATFORM TRUCK THAT WILL BE AT THE NEW FIRE STATION 14.
TH AT WILL BE THAT PLATFORM TRUCK KNOWN AS LADDER 14.
WE WERE ALSO IN 22 AND 23, ABLE TO PURCHASE A COMMAND UNIT.
WE CEASED OPERATIONS FOR PURCHASING IN FISCAL YEAR 23 AND 24 DUE TO ALL THE CHALLENGES THAT WE WERE FACING WITH THE INCREASES IN THE PRICE AND THE DELAYED TIMES. EVEN IF WE'D ORDERED THEM, WE WOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN THEM ANYWAYS WHAT IT'S LOOKING LIKE.
HOWEVER, IN THAT YEAR WE DID PURCHASE ANOTHER COMMAND UNIT AS WE ADDED THE THIRD BATTALION CHIEF TO A, B AND C SHIFT AND STAFF THAT VEHICLE 24 OVER SEVEN.
WE'RE ALSO ABLE TO ACQUIRE THREE FIRE MARSHAL UNITS AND TWO GRASS RIGS AND A NEW REHAB TRAILER.
WE'RE SEEING ACROSS THE COUNTRY SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN COST AS WELL AS THOSE EXTENDED BUILD TIMES.
[01:35:01]
TIMES FROM BUYING ONE TO THE NEXT, THE PRICE HAD INCREASED FOR OVER 100%.SO IT'S AMAZING LY, HOW EXPENSIVE THESE VEHICLES HAVE BECOME.
THEY WERE EXPENSIVE TO BEGIN WITH, AND NOW, AS WE SEE, IT'S GONE UP DRAMATICALLY.
NOW, FOR A FULLY EQUIPPED FIRE ENGINE, IT'S A MILLION AND A HALF DOLLARS.
THE LAST TWO THAT WE PURCHASED IN 22 AND 23 WERE $650,000 APIECE, AND THAT DOESN'T COUNT THE $120 FEE TO UPFIT THEM WITH THE EQUIPMENT THAT THEY NEED TO RESPOND TO CALLS.
OUR LADDERS ARE NOW ARE AT THE $2.3 MILLION DOLLAR MARK.
THE REPLACEMENTS THAT WE PURCHASED IN 2020 WERE ONLY A MILLION APIECE, AND IT'S CRAZY TO SAY ONLY THE EXTENDED BUILD TIMES THAT WE'RE FACED WITH NOW. WHAT USED TO BE AT WORST, AND WE COULDN'T BELIEVE WHEN IT TOOK 16 MONTHS BEFORE WE COULD SEE THE TRUCK THAT WE PURCHASED. IT'S NOW. WE WOULD GO BACK TO THAT IN A HEARTBEAT.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. OR ACTUALLY I'LL TURN THIS OVER TO YOU AND I'LL GET TO THAT OTHER SLIDE.
PERFECT. OKAY. SO WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT TRYING TO FIND SOME OPTIONS.
BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY OUR FIRST RESPONDERS NEED PROPER EQUIPMENT TO RESPOND WITH, AND SO COUNCIL LAST TIME ASKED FOR US TO KIND OF LOOK AT THOSE OPTIONS AND TO BUILD IT OUT A LITTLE BIT FURTHER THAN LOOKING AT A YEAR OR TWO.
SO I PUT A TEN YEAR COMPARISON HERE ON YOUR SCREEN FOR YOU, AND IT STARTS IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, AND THESE ARE THE NEEDS THAT HAVE BEEN OUTLINED BY OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR THE APPARATUS REPLACEMENT OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS.
SO IT STARTS IN THE CURRENT YEAR WITH SIX ENGINES AND TWO LADDERS.
SO PLEASE KNOW THAT THESE DOLLARS ARE ALL LISTED HERE IN MILLIONS.
SO THERE'S THREE COLUMNS OUTLINING THE THREE DIFFERENT KIND OF OPTIONS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO US.
THERE'S A CASH OPTION. OBVIOUSLY THERE'S SOME CHALLENGES, ESPECIALLY IN A YEAR LIKE THIS.
FIRST ONE WHERE TO BUY SIX ENGINES AND TWO LADDERS THAT'S $13.5 MILLION.
ON THE LEASING STANDPOINT WE HAVE TALKED TO SEVERAL GROUPS AND I'VE HAD EVEN MORE SINCE THE FEW THAT OR THE SEVERAL THAT WE'VE TALKED TO COME FORWARD AND SAY THEY'D BE WILLING TO WORK WITH US ON SOME OPTIONS.
SO TO DO A TRADITIONAL LEASING MODEL WHAT WE DID IS OF THE ONES THAT WE HAVE EVALUATED, WE TOOK THE MOST FAVORABLE ONE HERE, AND I'VE OUTLINED WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE OVER THIS TEN YEAR PERIOD AS WELL.
THEN ON THE FAR RIGHT, I HAVE LISTED A DEBT INSTRUMENT OPTION AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES ON THOSE, BUT I WANTED YOU TO SEE THOSE SIDE BY SIDE ON THESE THREE DIFFERENT OPTIONS.
FOR EACH OF THE NEEDS ON THESE FISCAL YEARS, AND I APOLOGIZE.
SO THE LEASING MODELS HAVE ALLOWED US TO GO THE FIRST TWO YEARS WITHOUT ANY CASH PAYMENT TOWARDS THE LEASE, AND THEN YOU PICK IT UP IN YEAR THREE AND YOU PAY IT OUT OVER A TEN YEAR PERIOD, AND THEN THERE'S A BUYBACK OPTION ON THE LAST PAYMENT.
SO WE MODELED SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THAT ON A DEBT INSTRUMENT.
SO WHAT WE DID ON THAT IS WE SAID IN YEAR ONE THERE'S NO UPFRONT PAYMENT.
IT STARTS IN THE NEXT YEAR ON AS AN INTEREST ONLY PAYMENT.
THEN IT MODELS OUT OVER THE SAME TIME PERIOD WITH THE FINAL YEAR PAYMENTS.
SO IT'S A TOTAL OF A 13 YEAR STRUCTURE. THE FINAL PAYMENT IS DONE WITH THE OPTION OF THE BUYBACK.
NOW WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE MANUFACTURER THAT THEY'RE WANTING TO WORK WITH AND SOME OF THE BENEFITS RELATED TO THEM, BUT THIS IS LOOKING JUST AT AN APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON ACROSS THE THREE MODELS.
SO WE WALK FORWARD IN THE YEAR. SO NEXT YEAR WE'RE LOOKING TO NEED TO ORDER THREE ENGINES.
THE YEAR AFTER THAT FOUR. WE GET A BREAK FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, AND THEN WE START AGAIN WITH ONE ENGINE REPLACEMENT AND THEN ONE ENGINE AND ONE LADDER, ONE ENGINE, TWO LADDERS AND ONE ENGINE. SO WE HAVE OUTLINED HERE AND PLEASE NOTE IN YOUR CASH OPTION THAT'S PAYING FOR EVERYTHING UP FRONT, RIGHT? FULL CASH PAYMENT WHEN WE PLACE THE ORDER.
[01:40:03]
ON THE LEASING AND THE DEBT MODELS. WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS YOU'RE ENTERING INTO AN ANNUAL PAYMENT ASSOCIATED WITH EACH ORDER.OKAY. SO THOSE ARE THE COMPOUNDED AMOUNTS. SO YOU CAN SEE HERE OBVIOUSLY YOU'RE PAYING OUT THE LEASING AND THE DEBT A LITTLE PAST THIS TEN YEAR PERIOD, AND SO YOU WILL PAY THE FULL 42.8 MILLION. THIS MODEL COULD GO ON FOREVER.
SO I JUST I STOPPED IT AT TEN YEARS SO WE COULD KIND OF LOOK AT IT ON THE SCREEN ALL AT ONCE.
LOOKING AT THE LAST TWO COLUMNS THERE, BETWEEN LEASING AND DEBT, YOU'LL SEE THAT DEBT IS LOOKING TO BE MORE FAVORABLE OVER THAT TEN YEAR PERIOD, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT IS HERE IN JUST A SECOND.
SO I WANTED TO TALK, AND WE CAN FLIP BACK TO THIS IN A MINUTE IF NEEDED.
IF WE WERE TO ADD ANOTHER STATION OR NEEDED ANOTHER COMPANY, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
THIS IS JUST OUR CURRENT FLEET. SO I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES REAL QUICK IN THE OPTIONS, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT SOME OF THIS IS A LITTLE BIT SELF-EXPLANATORY, BUT ON YOUR CASH OPTION OBVIOUSLY IT'S THE MOST EXPENSIVE UPFRONT, RIGHT? BUT IT IS THE CHEAPEST OVER THE LIFE OF THE APPARATUS BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT PAYING ANY KIND OF AN INTEREST PAYMENT WHEN YOU'RE DOING A LEASE, A TRADITIONAL LEASE, OR YOU'RE DOING SOME SORT OF A DEBT INSTRUMENT, THERE IS AN INTEREST RATE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
SO OVER THE LIFE IT IS ACTUALLY GOING TO COST MORE.
IT JUST MAKES YOUR PAYMENTS LESS UPFRONT. ONE THING TO KEEP IN MIND WITH A CASH PURCHASE ANNUALLY, HISTORICALLY, WE HAVE ONLY HAD ABOUT 5 TO $8 MILLION ANNUALLY IN CASH TO REPLACE EVERYTHING IN THE CITY'S FLEET, NOT JUST FIRE, AND THIS ISN'T EVEN ALL OF FIRE'S FLEET WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE, BUT THE ENTIRE CITY FLEET.
SO THAT'S ALL YOUR POLICE CARS, THAT'S ALL YOUR TRASH TRUCKS, THAT'S ALL OF YOUR TRAFFIC TRUCKS, YOUR BUILDING SAFETY TRUCKS GOING OUT. ALL OF IT IS BEING PAID FOR BETWEEN 5 AND 8 MILLION.
SO THAT IS ALSO WHY WE ARE WAY BEHIND ON OUR REPLACEMENT SCHEDULE.
WE TALKED IN DEPTH ABOUT THAT DURING BUDGET THIS YEAR.
I WANTED TO CALL THAT OUT BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE IN THESE OTHER TWO OPTIONS. SO THAT COMES FROM YOUR O&M, YOUR OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE SIDE OF YOUR TAX RATE. YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN THROUGH TWO YEARS OF BUDGET. I KNOW Y'ALL ARE VERY WELL VERSED ON THE PROPERTY TAX RATE.
AS A REMINDER, THAT O&M SIDE IS CONSTRAINED TO NO MORE THAN A 3.5% GROWTH EACH YEAR.
OKAY. SO THAT IS A CAPPED INCREASE THAT CAN BE CAPTURED EACH YEAR.
SO NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOUR FIRE TRUCKS ARE GOING UP IN COST EACH YEAR, NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOUR POLICE CARS ARE GOING UP EACH YEAR, YOU CAN ONLY CAPTURE 3.5% GROWTH ON YOUR PROPERTY TAX RATE.
SO LET'S NOW TALK ABOUT YOUR LEASING OPTION REAL QUICK.
SO THIS IS A TRADITIONAL LEASING OPTION. WE HAVE LOOKED AT SEVERAL GROUPS I WANT TO FLIP BACK REAL QUICK HERE AND SHOW YOU KIND OF THE ASSUMPTIONS BUILT IN THIS. IN THE LEASING COLUMN THIS WENT OFF OF THE MOST FAVORABLE TERMS THAT WE HAD BEEN ABLE TO GET FROM A LEASING GROUP, AND THE INTEREST RATE ON THAT ONE IS A 4.69% INTEREST RATE.
OKAY. I ACTUALLY GOT AN EMAIL FROM A GROUP TODAY.
I THOUGHT IT WAS INTERESTING SAYING THEY WOULD REALLY LIKE TO TALK TO US ABOUT SOME LEASING MODELS.
SO THAT'S KIND OF THE RANGE WE'RE LOOKING AT.
SO I WANT YOU ALL TO KEEP THAT IN MIND AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LEASING.
IT HAS TO COME FROM THAT OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE SIDE OF YOUR PROPERTY TAX RATE AGAIN.
SO THAT'S THE CAPPED PIECE. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THE DEBT FINANCING PIECE.
SO I SAID ON LEASING YOUR INTEREST RATE WAS 4.69.
THE REASON FOR THAT IS OUR CREDIT RATING ALLOWS US TO GO OUT FOR A COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROCESS THAT WILL DRIVE THAT INTEREST RATE DOWN. SO AS YOU'RE LOOKING OVER THE TEN YEAR PERIOD ON THIS SLIDE, IT'S THE DIFFERENCE IN THOSE INTEREST RATES IS REALLY WHAT'S CAUSING ABOUT A WE'RE ESTIMATING ABOUT A $1.4 MILLION DIFFERENCE OVER THAT TEN YEAR PERIOD.
[01:45:02]
SO WHAT THAT DOES IS IT ALLOWS THAT PORTION OF THE TAX RATE TO FLUCTUATE AS NEEDED BASED ON THE ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE PAYMENTS FOR THIS APPARATUS. SO WHAT IT WOULD ESSENTIALLY DO IS YOU ALL, AS COUNCIL WOULD BE LOCKING IN, THAT WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE PROPERTY TAX AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR THAT DEBT INSTRUMENT FOR THIS FIRE APPARATUS.IF ARE THERE QUESTIONS ON THIS BEFORE I GO, I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT A TIMELINE THAT WE'RE KIND OF UP AGAINST, BUT ARE THERE QUESTIONS FIRST ON THESE? I JUST HAVE A COUPLE.
SO IT WOULD BE A TEN YEAR NOTE ON THE DEBT FINANCING SIDE.
ACTUALLY, WE MODELED IT OUT AS A 13 YEAR NOTE, AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS WE WERE TRYING TO MIRROR EXACTLY WHAT THE LEASING MODELS WE'RE DOING THAT GIVES US A COUPLE OF YEARS TO ALLOW THE APPARATUS TO ACTUALLY COME IN BEFORE WE START PAYING PRINCIPAL PAYMENTS.
SO IT WOULD BE A 13 YEAR NOTE WITH A KIND OF A, FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM, A BALLOON PAYMENT AT THE END OF ABOUT, I THINK IT WAS ABOUT 2.6 MILLION. I'M LOOKING BACK AT DAVID KOUBA BACK THERE, AND THAT IS FOR US TO EXERCISE A BUY BACK TRADE IN OPTION THAT THE MANUFACTURER IS ALLOWING US TO PARTICIPATE IN.
OKAY, AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION IS, HAVE YOU ALL LOOKED AT THE WHAT DEBT IS ROLLING OFF, YOU KNOW, IN THIS TIME FRAME THAT 'S A GREAT QUESTION. INSTEAD OF NEW DEBT, YOU KNOW, ROLLING OFF ON THE OLD ONE.
YES, ABSOLUTELY, AND THIS MODEL THAT'S RIGHT HERE, THIS IS JUST A STANDALONE SNAPSHOT RELATED TO THESE EQUIPMENT PURCHASES. WE ABSOLUTELY WE COULD WE CAN STRUCTURE ACTUALLY THE RE ON FROM A DEBT STANDPOINT.
WE COULD ABSOLUTELY DO THAT IF COUNCIL WOULD LIKE US TO.
I GOT A FEW IF YOU'RE DONE. YES. YOU WANT TO GO AHEAD, TIPPS.
YEAH. LET ME THINK ON THIS NEXT ONE. MAYBE CIRCLE BACK TO ME AFTER. OKAY.
WHY NOT SIMPLE FINANCE. MEANING YOU'VE GOT IT KIND OF BUILT OUT INTEREST ONLY, AND THE AM I ASSUMING CORRECTLY? IT'S 3.1. 3.7 THAT'S YOUR DEBT SERVICE AMOUNT AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
THAT'S NOT THE TOTAL. THAT IS YOUR ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE PAYMENT.
ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE? YES. SO BY THE TIME YOU GET TO 3.7 A YEAR, THAT'S ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE FOR ALL OF THAT EQUIPMENT THAT YOU'VE PURCHASED OVER THE TEN YEARS. SO CURIOUS, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THE EQUIPMENT'S COMING OUT IN PHASES, YOU'RE LIMITED TO KIND OF PAYING AHEAD, MEANING IT'S 2 MILLION AVERAGE EVERY YEAR. IF WE BUDGETED 2 MILLION, JUST PUT IT IN THAT ACCOUNT, THEN IT LEVELS THAT OUT TO WHERE IN YEAR TEN YOU'RE STILL AT 2 MILLION.
SO I MEAN WE COULD WORK IF THE GOAL WAS, AND HERE'S WHERE IT GETS A LITTLE BIT TRICKY.
SO YOU ALL AT THIS POINT WOULD AFFECT THE FIRST ORDER, WHICH HAPPENS TO BE THE BIGGEST ORDER, BUT YOU WOULD ALL WOULD AFFECT THE FIRST ORDER, BUT IF YOU KIND OF INSTRUCTED US, HEY, SEE IF YOU CAN GET THIS TO KIND OF A LEVEL DEBT SERVICE PAYMENT ANNUALLY, WHICH I THINK IS WHAT YOU'RE ASKING.
WE COULD WORK WITH OUR FINANCIAL ADVISORS AROUND THAT AND KIND OF TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE STRUCTURING OF THE DEBT BASED AROUND WHEN SOME OF THAT DEBT IS ROLLING OFF THE TAX RATE AS WELL. WE COULD DO THAT IF I.
SO HOW MUCH OF YOUR BUDGETED CASH ARE YOU SAVING? AND THE ONLY WAY FOR ME TO GET THERE IS IF I GIVE YOU A $2 MILLION A YEAR AVERAGE.
YES. OTHERWISE, WE'RE JUST SAVING CASH UP FRONT AND BURDENING SOMEBODY WITH A LARGER AMOUNT LATER.
SO. WELL, IF WE WERE TO DO THE LEASING MODEL, IF YOU LOOK THERE BECAUSE WE'RE JUST ASSUMING WE'RE GOING TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO BUY ALL OF THIS. I WOULD ASSUME THE DEBT MODEL THOUGH ON THE I&S SIDE.
THAT WAY I COULD CALCULATE. YES. THAT FACTOR.
YES. SO YOU WOULD BE SAVING WHATEVER AMOUNT YOU'RE PAYING ON YOUR I&S SIDE.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? NO. YES, BUT I THINK I'M NOT ASKING IT THE WAY I NEED IT.
SO IN OUR CURRENT O&M, WHAT'S OUR CURRENT BUDGET FOR PURCHASING EQUIPMENT.
SO ON THE GENERAL FUND SIDE, I'D HAVE TO LOOK IT UP.
I BELIEVE IT'S SOMEWHERE AROUND 6 TO $7 MILLION.
OKAY, AND I'M JUST REMEMBERING OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, I CAN GET YOU ALL THOSE NUMBERS AS WELL.
AND SO THESE PIECES WOULD BE COMING OUT OF THAT SIDE OF THE O&M.
RIGHT. SO, SO IN THE CONSIDERATION OF I&S MOVES THAT OFF OF MY BLOCK TAX RATE AND PUTS IT OVER,
[01:50:07]
BUT IT STILL AFFECTS THE OVERALL TAX RATE. I WOULD HAVE THE ABILITY TO LOWER ONE SIDE TO MATCH THE OTHER, BUT THEN IN ORDER TO TAKE THE AMOUNT ON CURRENT, I WOULD NEED TO FORMULATE YOU KNOW, AN ACTIVE PAYMENT EVERY YEAR SO THAT IT GIVES AN AVERAGE OVER THE TEN YEARS. SO IT'S 2 MILLION AVERAGE VERSUS 0 TO 4, RIGHT.YOU FOLLOW WHERE I'M GOING. I THINK SO, YES. OKAY.
BUT ALL THAT'S DOABLE IF WE WANTED TO DO IT. YES.
OKAY. YES, AND AGAIN. WE WILL IF YOU ALL DECIDE TO GO WITH EITHER THE LEASING OR THE DEBT MODEL, AND I'M SURE YOU'VE ALREADY KIND OF FIGURED OUT WHICH ONE I'M GOING TO RECOMMEND, BUT WHAT YOU WOULD BE DOING AND I'LL WALK YOU THROUGH THE TIMELINE AS WELL. THESE ARE THERE'S GOING TO BE MORE DISCUSSIONS THIS NEXT BUDGET SEASON, BECAUSE THE DECISIONS YOU GUYS ARE MAKING RIGHT NOW DOESN'T AFFECT THE CURRENT PROPERTY TAX RATE. THIS AFFECTS THE NEXT PROPERTY TAX RATE.
SO THAT WILL BE THE ONE THAT WE DISCUSS AT FURTHER LENGTH AT THIS UPCOMING BUDGET LATER THIS YEAR, AND TO YOUR POINT, MAYOR, I THINK THAT WILL BE A DISCUSSION OF, AS WE SHIFT THINGS OFF OF THE O&M SIDE OF THE TAX RATE ON THE I&S SIDE OF THE TAX RATE.
ARE WE WANTING TO BALANCE THAT OUT? ARE WE WANTING TO LEAVE IT BECAUSE WE HAVE OTHER PRESSING NEEDS? THOSE THINGS WILL BE COMING. RIGHT, AND I JUST WANTED TO SHOW IT IN A WAY WHERE THERE'S AN AVERAGE OR A MEAN.
SO THAT WE COULD BALANCE THAT TO SAY, THE 6 MILLION CURRENT BUDGET.
OKAY. OTHERWISE, I THINK WE'RE WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY APPLES FOR APPLES IN THAT MATH PROBLEM, AND WE WOULD BE HURTING OURSELVES LATER DEPENDING ON THE CHOICE THAT WE MADE.
IT ONLY WORKS ON THAT AVERAGE. IF LET'S SAY WE GO WITH A 2 MILLION, AS LONG AS WE KEEP IT GOING AND COUNCIL'S CONTINUE TO DO THIS YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? IT DOES. OKAY. OTHER QUESTIONS COUNCIL OR CAN SHE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE TIMELINE? LAURA? YEAH. OH. GO AHEAD. I'M SORRY BROTHER.
JUST SO I'M CLEAR ON THE DEBT SIDE. THIS. WE'RE GOING TO END UP OWNING THOSE APPARATUSES.
OR IS THAT THE COUNCILMEM BER CRAFT. I FORGOT TO PUT THAT POINT IN THE SLIDE AS WELL.
ON THE LEASING MODELS, I BELIEVE THE LEASING COMPANY HAS THE LIEN ON THOSE APPARATUS.
SO WE OWN IT, AND AT THE END, WE CAN CHOOSE WHAT WE WANT TO DO WITH IT.
ON THE LEASING MODELS, THOUGH, THEY DO GIVE US A LOT OF OPTIONS.
WE CAN ACTUALLY OUTRIGHT BUY IT AT THE END AS WELL.
SO TWO QUESTIONS FOLLOW UP TO HIS. DOES THAT PUT US IN A BETTER POSITION AS FAR AS ASSETS THAT WE HAVE? OR DOES THAT CREATE MORE OF A PROBLEM? WE HAVE AN AGED ASSET THAT WE'VE DEPRECIATED OUT, AND WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TO DO WITH IT OTHER THAN TRADE IT IN.
I MEAN, DO WE LOOK AT THAT? SO THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF EVOLVEMENT IN GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS, AND I WILL NOT BORE YOU ALL ON THIS, BUT THEY HAVE ESSENTIALLY TAKEN ANY KIND OF A LEASE, AND THEY'VE TRANSLATED IT INTO ESSENTIALLY WHAT YOU WOULD REFER TO AS A CAPITAL LEASE AND WHERE YOU'RE BOOKING AN ASSET AND KIND OF DEPRECIATING IT AS YOU GO.
SO THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO, WHERE HISTORICALLY THERE HAVE BEEN.
I'LL SELL IT. I'LL SAY, I'LL JUST PUT THIS IN, I'LL PLUG THIS IN FOR ALL MY ACCOUNTANTS OUT THERE.
THE DEBT FINANCING MODEL IS WAY EASIER TO ACCOUNT FOR THAN THE LEASING ONE, BECAUSE GASB HAS MADE IT VERY COMPLICATED, BUT WE'RE DOING A LOT OF THAT RIGHT NOW, SO, BUT NO, THEY ARE A LOT CLOSER.
OKAY. WHAT ABOUT MAINTENANCE? IS THERE ANY. YES.
IS THERE A BENEFIT? GREAT QUESTION, AND ACTUALLY I WAS GOING TO TALK ABOUT THAT ONE AND I KIND OF I'M JUST STAYING ON THE NUMBERS FOR A MINUTE, BUT SO THE GROUP THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO WORK WITH AND I'M GOING TO FLIP FORWARD TO A COUPLE.
CAN I ASK A QUESTION REAL QUICK BEFORE YOU GO? YEAH, SURE.
ON THE LEASING? YES. SO IS THAT FIXED INTEREST RATE THE LIFE OF THE LEASE? YES. AND THEN WHEN YOU LOOK AT 21.8, WE SPEND 21.8, AND AT THE END OF THE LEASE WE HAVE NOTHING UNLESS WE WANT TO PAY MORE MONEY. YES. BUY IT. SO LET'S SAY FOR EXAMPLE, BECAUSE ON THE DEBT SIDE WE PAY 20.4.
WE HAVE WE OWN IT AT THE END AT 2 1.8 WE'D HAVE TO SPEND X NUMBER OF DOLLARS, COULD BE A MILLION, $2 MILLION TO THEN PURCHASE IT. SO REALLY THE PRICE OF THAT TO RETAIN THE APPARATUS WOULD BE EVEN MORE THAN THE 21.8.
[01:55:07]
SO ACTUALLY THE LEASING GROUPS WE'VE WORKED WITH HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL.THEY'RE THEY HAVE WORKED WITH THE MANUFACTURER.
AND IF I NEED CHIEF OR KOUBA TO JUMP UP HERE, I'LL LET THEM HELP ME.
THIS SAFE INDUSTRIES GROUP THAT WE ARE PLANNING TO ORDER THE APPARATUS FROM, THEY ARE GIVING US THE OPTION OF A IT'S A BUYBACK OPTION THAT ON THE LEASING MODEL, THE BUYBACK WOULD BE WE EITHER CAN SELL IT TO THEM AND THEY MAKE THE FINAL LEASE PAYMENT, OR WE CAN GO AHEAD AND MAKE THE FINAL LEASE PAYMENT AND KEEP THE APPARATUS WE IN.
WHEN I HAD OUR FINANCIAL ADVISORS RUN THESE NUMBERS HERE, I HAD THEM MIRROR THAT EXACT SAME MODEL ON THE DEBT SIDE SO YOU COULD LOOK AT IT APPLES TO APPLES. SO THERE IS ALSO A BUYBACK OPTION THAT WE HAVE FACTORED IN ON THE DEBT.
YOU ALWAYS OWN IT, BUT ESSENTIALLY WE'RE SAYING ON THAT LAST YEAR OF THE PAYMENT FROM THE DEBT SIDE AS WELL, WE'LL NEED TO MAKE THE DECISION DO WE WANT TO PAY THAT LAST BIGGER PAYMENT, OR DO WE WANT TO SELL IT BACK TO SAFE INDUSTRIES AND THEN START WITH A NEW ONE AND HAVE THEM MAKE THAT VERY LAST DEBT SERVICE PAYMENT FOR US? SO HONESTLY, THEY'RE ALMOST APPLES TO APPLES ON THIS.
WE COULD OUTRIGHT BUY, OR WE COULD BASICALLY TRADE IT IN OR SELL IT BACK AND THEN ORDER THE NEXT ROUND OF APPARATUS, AND THE THOUGHT PROCESS BEHIND THAT WAS TO HELP US NOT GET SO FAR BEHIND.
AND I THINK IT'S RIGHT BEFORE YOU START PUTTING A LOT OF MONEY INTO THE MAINTENANCE OF IT.
I DO KNOW THAT WE AT LEAST HAVE ONE FIRE APPARATUS THAT I THINK WE'VE ALMOST PAID FOR TWICE, JUST BECAUSE OF MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS, AND SO THAT'S REALLY THEY HAVE DONE A TON OF RESEARCH, AND I WANT TO COMMEND OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT. THE CHIEFS HAVE DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB RESEARCHING THIS STUFF, AND WE'RE REALLY HEAVILY LEANING ON THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS BECAUSE IT DOES MAKE A LOT OF FINANCIAL SENSE.
YEAH. SO OKAY, BACK TO HIS QUESTION. THE VALUE OF THOSE APPARATUSES AT THAT AT THE END OF THE LEASE.
YES, IT'S SET LIKE REGARDLESS OF WEAR AND TEAR OR MILEAGE OR ANYTHING ELSE.
I MEAN, IF WE THAT THING IS OUT A LOT MILEAGE IS WAY OVER.
I MEAN, ARE THERE RESTRICTIONS PLACED ON THAT LEASING, AND I DON'T BELIEVE SO.
I'M GOING TO HAVE DAVID KOUBA COME UP TO KIND OF HELP ME ANSWER SOME OF THESE.
NOW, THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE WE COULD GO OUT TO MARKET AND SELL THAT APPARATUS FOR EVEN MORE, AND I'M GUESSING I MEAN, I'M GUESSING THEY HAVE FACTORED IN SOME OF THAT RISK ASSOCIATED WITH THE WEAR AND TEAR, THE ADDITIONAL MILEAGE, ALL OF THAT KIND OF STUFF, AND I'M GUESSING THERE THERE COULD BE A CHANCE IF A TRUCK IS IN A REALLY GOOD SHAPE, WE COULD SELL IT A LOT MORE THAN WHAT THEY'RE GUARANTEEING, AND THEY'VE SAID, WHATEVER Y'ALL WANT TO DO, YOU CAN SELL IT YOURSELVES. SO WE SO WE COULD SELL IT, AND THEN WE COULD MAKE THAT FINAL LEASE PAYMENT OR MAKE THAT FINAL DEBT PAYMENT, OR WE COULD TURN IT BACK INTO THE SAFE INDUSTRIES, AND THEY ALREADY HAVE GIVEN US THE GUARANTEED AMOUNT THAT THEY'LL GIVE US FOR THIS APPARATUS AT THE END OF THAT TEN YEAR PERIOD.
IS THAT CORRECT? DID YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING? THAT'S CORRECT. OKAY. PERFECT.
ALL RIGHT. GREAT QUESTION, AND THEN I DID WANT TO SAY REAL QUICK ALL OF THE WARRANTY WORK, THERE'S A REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM, ALL THAT IS FACTORED THROUGH THE SAFE INDUSTRIES GROUP WHO IS TIED IN WITH THE MANUFACTURERS.
SO IT'S NOT NECESSARILY TIED IN WITH THE LEASE OPTION AND OBVIOUSLY NOT WITH THE DEBT OPTION.
WE DO HAVE A PHENOMENAL MAINTENANCE TEAM. WE HAVE A FIRE FLEET MAINTENANCE TEAM, AND THE PLAN IS FOR THEM TO DO ALL THE WARRANTY WORK AND THEN FOR US TO GET REIMBURSED BACK ON THE WARRANTY. THE MORE WE CAN GET THIS APPARATUS REPLACED ON A TIMELY MANNER, HOPEFULLY. I MEAN, WE WILL GET OUTSIDE THE WARRANTY PERIODS.
WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT APPARATUS AND THEN BE BACK IN A WARRANTY PERIOD.
SO THE MAINTENANCE THE MAINTENANCE IS A IT'S A WASH BECAUSE WE'RE BUYING A NEW APPARATUS WITH CASH.
WE STILL HAVE THE WARRANTY PERIOD VERSUS A LEASE.
YES ON ALL THREE OPTIONS. SO IT'S JUST REALLY WARRANTY.
THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION THOUGH. YEAH. BY PURCHASING NEW EQUIPMENT ON A REGULAR BASIS LIKE WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, I WOULD THINK OUR REPAIR COST WOULD DROP DRAMATICALLY.
[02:00:06]
DID Y'ALL FACTOR IN HOW MUCH WE SPEND ON REPAIR COSTS YEARLY AND HOW MUCH WE WOULD POSSIBLY REDUCE THAT AMOUNT? SO WE HAVE STARTED DISCUSSING SOME OF THAT. I THINK THERE'S DEFINITELY SOME UNKNOWNS, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO TAKE US HOW MANY YEARS TO REPLACE THIS PART OF THE FLEET? WAS IT? WAS IT 13 YEARS. TO GET THE FULL REPLACEMENT OF OVER 15 YEARS? 15 YEARS. IT'S GOING TO TAKE US 15 YEARS, I WILL SAY, WHEN I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE BIG PICTURE OF THE CITY'S FLEET.ONE IS FOR OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE, AND ONE IS FOR REPLACEMENT.
SO IT IS SPLIT KIND OF BASED ON HISTORICAL AMOUNTS.
WHAT I'VE MODELED OUT THROUGH FUTURE YEARS IS STARTING TO MOVE MORE OF THAT OUT OF THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE SIDE AND OVER TO HELP OFFSET SOME OF THE INFLATION ON ACTUALLY BUYING EQUIPMENT AND VEHICLES GOING FORWARD.
SO YES, ABSOLUTELY. WE'RE STARTING WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THAT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE, BUT I THINK AS THEY GET MORE AND MORE OF THEIR FLEET REPLACED AND STAYING REPLACED, THOSE COSTS ARE GOING TO GO DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY.
DO WE KNOW ABOUT HOW MUCH WE MUCH WE SPEND EVERY YEAR NOW? ON JUST FIRE MAINTENANCE OR ON THE? FIRE MAINTENANCE.
I CAN LOOK THAT NUMBER UP AND GET IT TO YOU. YEAH, I DON'T KNOW IT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
LAST YEAR, JUST ON AUTO PARTS, AND THEN THEY HAVE CIVILIANS, NO CIVILIANS AND SOME SWORN PERSONNEL.
I THINK THAT WORK. SO WE HAVE ALL THEIR LABOR COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH IT, TOO.
COST LABOR IS ABOUT LAST YEAR, LABOR WAS $94,000, COME ON UP HERE, DAVID. WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR ENGINES AND LADDERS.
THAT'S THE BULK OF OUR REPAIR AND GRASSROOTS COMMAND UNITS.
ALL OF THE VEHICLES, BUT. CHIEF, HEARING THAT I WOULD HOPE THAT COUNCIL WOULD BE ABLE TO JUST LOOK AT THE UPFRONT COST BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO HAVE MAINTENANCE AND STAFF, AND SO THAT'S SUCH A SMALL NUMBER ON MAYBE MATERIAL OR PARTS.
YOU SAID $455,000, $155,000 IS WHAT WE WERE BUDGETED LAST YEAR.
WE SPENT IT. WE SPENT IT ALL, AND IT'S AND IT'S BEEN TRENDING THAT WAY FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS FROM WHAT I COULD TELL AND WE HAD BUDGET INCREASES. BUT IF WE TO CONFIRM IF WE LOOK AT YOU HAVE A $6 MILLION ANNUAL BUDGET WITHIN YOUR DEPARTMENT THAT GOES TOWARDS PURCHASING OF EQUIPMENT.
YEAH. NO, THAT'S, JUST IN THE GENERAL FUND AS A WHOLE.
PROBABLY THE BIGGEST PIECE OF THAT. YEAH. YEAH.
SO 6 MILLION IN THE GENERAL FUND, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ALLOCATED TO JUST THAT DEPARTMENT.
LOOK AT EMMA . I APOLOGIZE. SHE IS QUICK. SO WHO NEEDS EMMA.
SO 1.2 MILLION IS WHAT WE HAVE IF WE BUDGET 2 MILLION, YOU KNOW, BUT WE I&S IT THEN WE'RE GOING TO PULL 1.2 OVER INTO THE FREED UP BUDGET. YES. THAT'S WHAT WE NEED. YES.
I JUST HAD ONE QUESTION I HAVE TO ASK CHIEF. YEAH.
CHIEF OR WHICHEVER. YEAH. JUST CURIOUS. BLUNT HONESTLY, WHAT WOULD WORK BEST FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION? I MEAN, THE DEBT SIDE OR THE LEASING SIDE? DAVE, UNLESS YOU HAVE AN OPINION ON THIS, THIS ISN'T A NEW ARENA, A NEW VENUE THAT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THIS IS BRAND NEW GROUND FOR US AS FAR AS THE ISSUING OF DEBT.
HONESTLY, IT'S WHATEVER HELPS US BE THE BEST TEAM PLAYER FINANCIALLY.
I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE ON THAT OF WHAT WOULD BE THE MOST IDEAL, BUT YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU ASK FOR AS MUCH MONEY AS WE ARE TO KEEP THESE TRUCKS ON THE ROAD WE'RE CERTAINLY WE'RE JUST TRYING TO DO THE BEST WE CAN TO PLAY BALL WITH EVERYONE.
SO AS YOU ADD MORE FLEET, YOU CAN ACTUALLY MEET THAT NEED TO BUY MORE EQUIPMENT.
IF YOU'RE ON THE O&M SIDE, YOU'RE STUCK, AND SO I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING FIRE TODAY.
[02:05:08]
COOL. THANK YOU. OKAY LET'S TALK TIMELINE AND THEN WE'LL CIRCLE BACK FOR ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.GREAT. YOU WANT YOUR COMPUTER? OKAY. PERFECT.
ALL RIGHT, SO I WANTED TO GO THROUGH A TIMELINE, AND I UNDERSTAND THIS IS PRETTY AGGRESSIVE.
SO OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, THE CHIEFS HERE HAVE BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY WITH THE MANUFACTURER, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN GET THE BEST PRICE LOCKED IN.
SO THEY HAVE GOTTEN A A PRICE SECURED FOR US.
YOU SAW THE $13.5 MILLION. THERE ARE PREPAYMENT DISCOUNTS BUILT INTO THAT.
THERE'S THEY HAVE PRICE INCREASES EACH YEAR, JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.
THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO LOCK US INTO THAT 13.5 MILLION.
AS LONG AS THE ORDER IS PLACED PRIOR TO JANUARY 31ST.
I'M GOING TO FLIP TO THIS OTHER SLIDE RIGHT HERE.
THEY'VE STATED AT THE VERY BOTTOM THERE, THE PRICE IS GOING TO GO UP FOR THIS APPARATUS BY $402,000 IF WE'RE NOT ABLE TO PLACE THE ORDER BY JANUARY 31ST. T HEY'VE BEEN VERY GRACIOUS TO WORK WITH US, AND WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN ABLE TO EXTEND THAT DEADLINE A LITTLE AND THIS IS THE ONE WE'RE UP AGAINST. SO TO MEET THAT DEADLINE, HERE'S WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING WE WOULD ACTUALLY BRING THE APPROVAL FROM YOU ALL TO ORDER THE APPARATUS. SO THAT WOULD BE THE SIX ENGINES AND THE TWO LADDERS.
AT THAT POINT, AS LONG AS YOU ALL APPROVED IT, WE'D PLACE THE ORDER.
THE MANUFACTURER HAS SAID THAT THEY WILL HONOR OUR PURCHASE ORDER FOR UP TO 60 DAYS AFTER THE ORDER IS PLACED, AND IF FOR SOME REASON FUNDING DOESN'T COME THROUGH, THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO CANCEL IT WITHOUT ANY PENALTIES FOR US.
SO THE NEXT STEP THEN WOULD BE, AS WE'RE RECOMMENDING, TO MOVE FORWARD WITH A DEBT INSTRUMENT.
SO WHAT WE WOULD LOOK AT IS ON FEBRUARY 11TH, WHICH WOULD BE TWO COUNCIL MEETINGS FROM NOW, WE WOULD GO THROUGH A COMPETITIVE SALE, AND WE WOULD THEN BRING YOU ALL THE BEST OFFER THAT WE RECEIVE.
WE'RE HOPING TO GET SEVERAL OFFERS ON THIS THAT WILL DRIVE THE INTEREST RATE DOWN.
SO WE WOULD SEEK APPROVAL FROM YOU ALL TO GO AHEAD AND ISSUE THAT DEBT INSTRUMENT ON FEBRUARY 11TH.
THEN WE WORK THROUGH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL PROCESS, ALL OF THAT BEHIND THE SCENES, AND WE WOULD ANTICIPATE FUNDING WOULD COME TO US AROUND MARCH 11TH, AND THEN WE WOULD SUBMIT THAT OVER TO SAFE INDUSTRIES IN ORDER TO SECURE THAT PREPAYMENT DISCOUNT, TO LOCK EVERYTHING IN. AND THEN WE ARE ORDERED AND WE'RE IN LINE AND MOVING FORWARD.
SO AGAIN, I KNOW THIS IS A FAIRLY AGGRESSIVE TIMELINE, BUT TO MEET THAT PRICE INCREASE THAT WE'RE UP AGAINST FROM SAFE INDUSTRIES AND THE MANUFACTURER, I GUESS THIS IS WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
THEY HAVE WORKED WITH US VERY HARD BECAUSE ISSUING DEBT IS A VERY IT TAKES TIME.
IT JUST TAKES TIME TO GO THROUGH SEVERAL STEPS.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO A RATING CALL WITH SUP AND ISSUE AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT.
LOTS OF THINGS, AND SO THIS IS THE FASTEST TIMELINE WE CAN DO TO GET THE MONEY FOR THEM.
THEY JUST NEED THE FUNDING WITHIN 60 DAYS OF US PLACING THE ORDER.
SO WE PLAN TO ORDER IF COUNCIL APPROVES ON THE 28TH, WE PLAN TO PLACE THE ORDER THE NEXT DAY, AND THIS WOULD GET US WITHIN THE 60 DAY TIME PERIOD.
QUESTIONS ON THAT OR I'LL IF Y'ALL HAVE QUESTIONS FOR THE CHIEFS, WE'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO HELP.
SO HOW ARE WE GOING TO. SO IF WE ORDER NOW, WE'RE NOT REPLACING ANYTHING FOR 3 TO 5 YEARS.
WE'VE GONE A COUPLE YEARS NOT REPLACING THE FULL FLEET.
ARE ARE WE GOING TO BE OKAY IN THE INTERIM PERIOD? IT'LL BE TIGHT. OUR EXPENSES. WE KNOW I MEAN, WE CAN OBVIOUSLY ANTICIPATE INCREASES IN AUTO PARTS DOWNTIMES AND A LOT OF OUR FRONTLINE APPARATUS, WHICH WE'RE SEEING THAT POSSIBLY REQUESTING ANOTHER MECHANIC JUST TO KIND OF KEEP UP WITH THE DEMAND TO KEEP OUR APPARATUS ON THE ROADS.
BUT I DO HAVE FULL FAITH THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN TAKE WHAT IT WHAT WE CAN DO, WHAT WE NEED WE NEED TO DO TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE TRUCKS IN EVERY STATION, EVERY DISTRICT. SO YEAH. SO YOU DON'T AND, I MEAN, WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW WITH THE ONES THAT WE HAVE IN A RESERVE THAT WE REPAIR, WE DON'T HAVE ANY CONCERN THAT WE WON'T BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE FULL AMOUNT OF VEHICLES FOR ALL OF OUR FIRE STATIONS UNTIL WE GET THESE NEW THESE NEW UNITS. OTHER THAN THE BRAND NEW FIRE STATION THAT'S COMING UP WE DO HAVE THAT LADDER TRUCK.
WE ARE IN LINE AND WE'RE WAITING ON THEM TO GET THAT BUILT.
SO WE'RE EXPECTING THAT FEBRUARY, I BELIEVE, OF 2026.
SO WE AT LEAST HAVE SOME HELP COMING ON ITS WAY.
IT'S JUST MOVING FORWARD BEYOND THAT WE'RE OBVIOUSLY WE'RE TRYING TO GET AHEAD OF THAT.
OKAY, BUT BUT WE FEEL PRETTY COMFORTABLE THAT WE DON'T NEED TO LOOK AT ANY OTHER.
I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW, I MEAN, THE LAST THING YOU WANT IS TO SAY, WELL, WE HAVE SOME MAJOR FIRE THAT HAPPENS, AND FOR SOME REASON, YOU KNOW, WE KIND OF, BUT IF YOU FEEL CONFIDENT THAT WE THAT WE CAN GO THROUGH THIS PERIOD WITH THE EQUIPMENT THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW,
[02:10:04]
I DO. I MEAN, A LOT OF THERE'S ALWAYS THAT ELEMENT OF THE UNKNOWN, AND YEAH, WE'RE I DON'T EVEN WANT TO SPEAK OF SOME OF THE THINGS THAT COULD HAPPEN THAT WOULD WHERE WE WOULD BE DOWN AN APPARATUS, BUT IF THINGS CONTINUE AND WE DRIVE SAFE AND YOU KNOW, IT WILL BE TIGHT. WE ARE SEEING SOME OF THE UPKEEP.WE KNOW THAT RIGHT NOW, I BELIEVE HALF OF OUR APPARATUS ARE NEARING THAT THE TEN YEAR AGE WHERE WE REALLY SEE THINGS START TO UNWIND A LITTLE BIT, AND WE ARE SEEING A LOT OF DOWNTIME. AGAIN, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF OUR RESERVES.
THANKFULLY, WE DO HAVE A GOOD RESERVE. WE HAVE A GOOD AMOUNT OF RESERVE VEHICLES.
OBVIOUSLY WE'RE COVERING WHILE A NEWER VEHICLE IS GETTING REPAIRED.
WE'RE DOING THAT WITH SOMETHING THAT'S HIGH UP THERE IN THE MILEAGE AND IN THE YEARS.
SO IT'S NOT QUITE THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY OF DOING IT, BUT WE ARE TRYING TO SOLVE THAT PROBLEM WE'VE GOT WONDERFUL PEOPLE THAT ARE KEEPING US PATCHED UP AND ON THE ROADS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.
CRAFT I THINK YOU'RE NEXT. THIS WAS JUST A FINANCE QUESTION.
[INAUDIBLE] I MEAN, WHAT IS THE TAX RATE LOOK LIKE AS FAR AS INCREASE ON THE I&S SIDE? I MEAN, IS IT I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT IN THE PAST.
I JUST CAN'T REMEMBER HOW MUCH OF A PENNY IT IS.
SO I BELIEVE OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD I THINK WE GET ONE PENNY ON THE TAX RATE.
CURRENTLY GIVES US ABOUT 1.6 MILLION THAT. YES, SIR.
I'M SORRY. GO AHEAD. SORRY. OH. IT'S OKAY, AND THAT NORMALLY GROWS ANNUALLY BECAUSE AS APPRAISED VALUES CONTINUE TO GROW, ONE PENNY DOES STRETCH A LITTLE FURTHER. SO YOU CAN KIND OF LOOK AT THE NUMBERS UP THERE AND COME UP WITH WHAT MAYBE A ROUGH ESTIMATE WOULD BE.
YEAH. CAN YOU RUN THAT AGAIN. ONE PENNY ON THE TAX RATE.
I THOUGHT I HAD DIFFERENT NUMBERS. SO. SO WHAT WERE YOU REMEMBERING? I THINK WHAT I WAS REMEMBERING WAS THE ABILITY TO BORROW $14 MILLION WITH 1 MILLION WORTH OF DEBT SERVICE.
OKAY. YES. AND SO THE PENNY ON THE TAX RATE, I THOUGHT ONE PENNY EQUALED 1.5 MILLION.
IT'S AROUND THAT 1.5, 1.6 MILLION. SO WE WERE.
SO ANYWHERE FROM, LIKE 20 TO 25 YEARS, AND SO YOU CAN, YOU CAN GET A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THAT, AND AGAIN, THIS HAS ALL OF THESE PURCHASES ROLLED INTO THOSE ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE PAYMENTS.
IS THAT AM I UNDERSTANDING THAT CORRECTLY? 1.4, 1.5 MILLION? YES. THAT IS. 13 YEAR NOTE. THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
SO 13 YEAR NOTE VERSUS LIKE A 20. NOT A PENNY WORTH NOT A MILLION WORTH OF DEBT SERVICE.
SO I THINK WHAT. SO LET'S BACK UP FOR A SECOND.
SO ONE PENNY GIVES US ABOUT LET'S JUST CALL IT 1.5 MILLION A YEAR.
SO WE CAN PAY 1.5 MILLION IN DEBT SERVICE, WHETHER THAT'S A 15 YEAR NOTE OR A 20 YEAR NOTE, YOU'RE GOING TO GET A DIFFERENT PRINCIPAL AMOUNT, BUT ONE PENNY PAYS ONE AND A HALF GIVES US ONE AND ONE HALF MILLION PER YEAR.
SO THE QUESTION WOULD BE WHAT'S OUR BORROWING POWER ON ONE PENNY? COULD YOU ESTIMATE THAT WITH THIS 13 YEAR NOTE TO BE 12, 13 MILLION, AND THEN CAN WE AVERAGE THIS.
I KNOW I SEE 13.5 MILLION AND THEN 4.7 AND SO ON.
JUST AND THIS WAS KIND OF SHOWING THE COMPREHENSIVE MODEL.
SO YOU'RE PAYING ABOUT $700,000 IN THE FIRST YEAR AND ABOUT HALF A MILLION IN THE SECOND YEAR, AND THEN IT GOES UP TO 1.4 ANNUALLY UNTIL YEAR 13.
IF THEY BOUGHT ALL THIS APPARATUS BACK FROM US, THEY WOULD.
IT WOULD BE WORTH ABOUT $2.6 MILLION. COULD WE ESTIMATE THAT COUNCIL WOULD BE DEALING WITH A HALF A PENNY FROM I&S TO O&M, GIVEN WHAT YOU'RE GIVING US LIKE INTEREST, ONLY $700,000 ANNUAL SO ON.
IT WOULD BE IN THE FIRST YEAR. YES, IT WOULD BE ABOUT HALF A PENNY.
SO THIS COUNCIL WILL BE DEALING WITH ROUGHLY A HALF A PENNY AND TRANSFERRING IT OVER.
[02:15:04]
YES, ACTUALLY PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN HALF A PENNY.YES, SIR. OKAY. DOES THAT HELP? IT HELPS ME BECAUSE MY HEAD WAS DIFFERENT.
SO TODAY IT'S WORTH THAT. NEXT YEAR, ITS VALUATION WILL PROBABLY GROW.
YEAH. OKAY. YEAH I THINK THAT'S A GREAT MAYBE JUST KIND OF AMOUNT TO HAVE IN YOUR MIND.
IT WOULD BE PROBABLY LESS THAN HALF A PENNY. OKAY, AND WITH THIS TOO WE CAN WORK WITH BOND COUNCIL.
THEY CAN DO SOME THEY CAN DO A LOT OF MASSAGING TO SMOOTH OUT PAYMENT STRUCTURES.
AND, ALSO WE WOULD TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE OFFLOADING DEBT WE HAVE GOING IN.
OKAY. I DON'T WANT TO JUMP IN FRONT OF YOU CRAFT I HAVE A FOLLOW UP QUESTION, BUT IF YOU GOT ANOTHER ONE. I'M GOOD. COULD WE ASSUME THAT THIS WOULD BECOME A SUCCESSFUL MODEL AND YOU WOULD BE LOOKING AT THE DEBT SIDE? LET'S SAY THAT 'S THE MODEL WE CHOOSE. ARE YOU GOING TO USE THIS AS A TEMPLATE AND PUT IT ON SOLID WASTE AND POLICE.
THAT'S THE PLAN. SO WE'RE GOING TO START LOOKING AT THAT. BORROWING POWER WOULD BE BETTER. REALIZE SAVINGS ON THAT 6 MILLION OUT OF THE CURRENT, YOU KNOW, GENERAL FUND, RIGHT. YES. SO WE'VE GOT MONEY TO WORK WITH.
YES, AND I THINK THAT'S A GREAT POINT TO LEAD INTO WHAT I'LL BE COMING BACK TO YOU GUYS WITH OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, BECAUSE I'M GOING TO BE COMING BACK WITH SOME, WE NEED TO BUY TRASH TRUCKS, AND WE NEED TO GET THEM ORDERED, AND WE ARE GOING TO RECOMMEND DEBT FINANCING THEM.
IT IS IT'S THE I THINK IT'S THE MOST SUSTAINABLE WAY.
SO WE'RE NOT HAVING DOWNTIME. SO YES, THAT WILL BE COMING.
WE'RE UP AGAINST A PRESSING DEADLINE TO GET THESE ORDERS IN BECAUSE OF THAT COST INCREASE.
I MEAN, IT'S $400,000, YOU KNOW AND SO WE'D LIKE TO GET THIS ONE PUSHED FORWARD, BUT THEN, YES, WE WILL BE COMING BACK AND THEN THE PLAN WILL BE IS AS WE GET THESE MODELS BUILT OUT EACH YEAR, WE'LL BE PUTTING IT IN BUDGET. WE'LL BE BRINGING IT TO COUNCIL SAYING WE'RE GOING TO DEBT FINANCE AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THIS MANY FIRE TRUCKS, THIS MANY TRASH TRUCKS, THIS MANY POLICE CARS OR WHATEVER ELSE.
SO THE PLAN IS WE'RE GOING TO DO KIND OF A BLENDED MODEL OF LEASING WHAT DONNY AND I KNOW HE'S NOT HERE TODAY, BUT LIKE OF LEASING, LIKE WHAT IS REFERRED TO FROM THE LEASING COMPANIES IS LIKE A WHITE FLEET.
ALL OF OUR BIG HEAVY EQUIPMENT, WHICH OBVIOUSLY INCLUDES ALL OF THAT FIRE APPARATUS.
SO YES, WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD A MODEL, AND YOU GUYS WOULD KIND OF BE EMBARKING ON A HISTORICAL THING, YOU KNOW, THAT WE COULD SET A MODEL IN PLACE FOR FUTURE COUNCILS TO FOLLOW TO GET ALL OF THIS IN A SUSTAINABLE, YOU KNOW, GET IT IN A SUSTAINABLE MODEL. OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY. WE I THINK WE WANT TO SEE THE NUMBERS. SO I THINK IF YOU WANT TO BRING THEM BACK.
OKAY. YES I THIS IS WHERE I'M, THIS IS WHAT I'M FEELING ON COUNCIL.
SO YOU'VE GOT A TIME FRAME OF AN APPROVED ORDER.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE COULD GIVE DIRECTION HERE TODAY.
OKAY. WE'RE NOT IN OPPOSITION TO IT AT ALL. WE PROBABLY PUSH BACK COUNCIL IF WE'RE NOT SEEING THIS THE SAME, WE WOULD LOOK FIRST TO THE I&S AND THE DEBT INSTRUMENT.
OKAY. IS THAT CORRECT COUNCIL OKAY. OKAY. SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'D WANT TO SEE.
GREAT. NOW, LOOKING AT THAT, ARE YOU WANTING A CALL TO VOTE ON THE 28TH OR ARE YOU WANTING A VOTE ON THE 11TH, AND THAT WOULD LET YOU BRING US SOMETHING BACK ON THE 28TH TO REVIEW? SO THE PLAN WOULD BE WE'D NEED A VOTE ON THE 28TH JUST TO PLACE TO DO THE AWARD TO SAFE INDUSTRIES, TO ORDER THE SIX ENGINES AND THE TWO LADDERS TO PLACE THE ORDER.
THEN WE WOULD COME BACK FOR A VOTE ON THE 11TH TO ACTUALLY ISSUE THE DEBT, BUT ON THE 28TH, WE'RE GOING TO BRING OUR FINANCIAL ADVISORS HERE. YOU GUYS ALL HAVE MET STEVEN ADAMS. HE'S GOING TO DO A PRESENTATION FOR JUST THIS ISSUANCE AND GIVE YOU ALL THE NUMBERS AND WE CAN ACTUALLY BRING A COUPLE OF MODELS BACK TO YOU IF YOU WOULD LIKE, KIND OF BASED ON YOUR FEEDBACK, AND THEN YOU WON'T HAVE TO MAKE THE DECISION UNTIL FEBRUARY 11TH ON THE DEBT INSTRUMENT.
MAYBE IF YOU DO BRING BACK, AND MY QUESTION WOULD BE CAN YOU BRING THIS IN ADVANCE? SO WE HAVE TWO WEEKS, YOU KNOW, COULD WE HAVE IT SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE LEAD UP TIME FOR REVIEW AND THEN THAT WAY COUNCIL COULD VISIT WITH YOU.
[02:20:05]
MAYBE ONE THAT'S JUST THIS STAGGERED BASED ON NEEDS AND ORDER TIME AND THEN THE OTHER ONE THAT WOULD BE MORE OF A SMOOTHED OUT. SMOOTHED OUT YES SIR. SO THAT WE WOULDN'T BE PUSHING FORWARD ANY FUTURE DEBT.YES, ABSOLUTELY. WE'LL GET SOME MODELS BUILT.
WE CAN SET UP TIMES TO TALK. SO THEN YOU'VE GOT SOME INFORMATION PRIOR TO US ASKING TO VOTE, BUT AGAIN, NEXT COUNCIL MEETING, IT'S JUST THE VOTE TO ORDER THE EQUIPMENT.
OKAY. ANY CONCERNS COUNCIL? ALL RIGHT. MRS. STORRS.
THANK YOU. CHIEFS, THANK YOU. APPRECIATE YOU GUYS.
LET'S TAKE A TEN MINUTE RECESS. LET'S COME BACK IN HERE AND HAMMER OUT THE REST OF THIS AGENDA.
WE'RE ON ITEM 7E, SO WE'VE GOT AN UPDATE FROM MR.
[7.E. Buc-ee's $275,000 Community Outreach Donation to benefit community-oriented projects, civic events, and other benevolent purposes within the City ]
FREEMAN ON BUC-EE’S. YES, SIR. SO NOW THAT BUC-EE’S IS OFFICIALLY OPEN, WE'RE HERE TO DISCUSS ANOTHER COMPONENT OF THEIR CHAPTER 380 INCENTIVE AGREEMENT, AND THAT IS A COMMITMENT FOR THEM TO PROVIDE A COMMUNITY OUTREACH DONATION.SO THE LANGUAGE IN YOUR PACKET IS BASICALLY VERBATIM FROM THE AGREEMENT.
THEY ARE GOING TO DONATE $275,000 TO BENEFIT COMMUNITY ORIENTED PROJECTS, CIVIC EVENTS AND OTHER BENEVOLENT PURPOSES WITHIN THE CITY, AS DETERMINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL. SO I'VE BEEN DISCUSSING WITH STAN BEARD, THE DIRECTOR OF REAL ESTATE AND DEVELOPMENT.
THEY DO HAVE ONE PREFERENCE FOR COUNCIL TO DISCUSS.
THEY WOULD LIKE TO PARTNER WITH A 501C3 TO PROVIDE THE DONATION TO.
I DID JUST HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THEM. THEY DON'T HAVE A LOT OF REQUIREMENTS PER SE, AS FAR AS WHERE IT GOES TO LIKE LIMITATIONS AS FAR AS THE TYPE OF NONPROFIT. I THREW OUT SOME DIFFERENT EXAMPLES WITH THEM.
WE ALSO DISCUSSED THE 275 DOES NOT HAVE TO GO TO ONE ENTITY.
IT COULD BE SPLIT UP BETWEEN MULTIPLE IF THERE WERE CERTAIN PRIORITIES.
YOU'VE GOT OUTDOOR AMARILLO FOR PARKS. 100 CLUB POLICE AND FIRE, TRANSFORMATION PARK OBVIOUSLY JUST PRESENTED FOR OUR HOMELESS INITIATIVES. THEY ARE A 501C3 AND SINCE KASHION IS IN THE AUDIENCE, CVB IS ALSO A 501 C3.
SO OBVIOUSLY COUNCIL WOULD HAVE A LOT OF OPTIONS.
THIS IS REALLY JUST SO Y'ALL CAN HAVE A DISCUSSION, PROVIDE SOME GENERAL FEEDBACK, AND WE WOULD BRING BACK FURTHER ACTION ITEMS ON IT BASED ON WHAT YOU DISCUSSED TODAY, AND WE'VE GOT SOME TIME TO WORK WITH BUC-EE’S THEY DID HAVE AN AGREEMENT WITHIN 30 DAYS TO DONATE IT, BUT HE'S HE'S WILLING TO GIVE US SOME MORE TIME TO KIND OF FIGURE OUT THE LOGISTICS, SINCE THIS IS A NEW ONE FOR US.
SO REALLY GOOD. I APPRECIATE THE SUMMARY. SO YOU THREW OUT A FEW.
I KNOW THERE'S PLENTY MORE. OH, PLENTY. YES, BUT IN KIND OF LEADING US IN A CONVERSATION THAT GIVES SOME CONSIDERATION TO SPLITTING IT UP, YOU KNOW, AMONGST SEVERAL VERSUS JUST GIVING IT TO ONE.
SO COUNCIL WITH THE $275,000 DONATION THAT'S COMING FROM OUR NEW PARTNER, BUC-EE’S WOULD YOU GUYS BE HAVE A, YOU KNOW, GREATER TENDENCY TO LOOK AT, SAY, 3 TO 5, 501'S AND TRY TO GO AHEAD AND PUSH THE MONEY IN DIFFERENT AMOUNTS. OR WOULD YOU RATHER PICK ONE AND TRY TO JUST PUSH THAT TO ONE? CAUSE I WOULD, I MEAN, JUST OFF THE CUFF, JUST EACH COUNCILMEMBER, THEY HAD ONE TO PICK FROM AND JUST SPLIT IT FIVE WAYS AND OKAY, THAT'S AN OPTION. I WOULD SAY $55,000, WHATEVER.
YOU KNOW FIVE DIFFERENT WAYS. COULD CERTAINLY DO THAT.
OKAY. QUICK MATH. I WOULD AGREE ON SPLIT. I MEAN I THINK IT'S GOOD TO GO DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE KIND OF HAD THAT DISCUSSION WHERE WE EACH GOT TO CHOOSE AN ORGANIZATION TO GIVE A PART TO, AND WE THOUGHT WE THOUGHT IT WAS GOOD AT FIRST. THEN WE THOUGHT, NO, THAT MIGHT NOT BE GOOD. WELL, YEAH. YOU KNOW, I GUESS PROS AND CONS HERE. YOU HADN'T HAD ANY TIME TO THINK ABOUT IT.
YOU COULD DIRECT IT TODAY, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WANTED SOME TIME TO THINK ABOUT IT, YOU COULD DIRECT IT TWO WEEKS FROM NOW. WE'RE NOT UNDER A TIME FRAME.
HOWEVER, YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE YOURSELF TWO WEEKS TO MAYBE GET PETITIONED FOR ALL SORTS OF GOOD CAUSES, AND THEN YOU MAY HAVE A HARDER TIME IN FACILITATING THIS REQUEST.
NOW, WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS INDIVIDUALLY, BUT THAT IS A THOUGHT.
SO TO MY OTHER TWO COUNCILMEM BERS, YOU HAVE ANY ANY LEAD ON THIS?
[02:25:08]
YEAH. LIKE [INAUDIBLE] WAS SAYING, I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE OR I CAN'T REMEMBER.WHAT WAS IT THAT WE DID GIVEN THE GIVING EVERYBODY A FREE PARK RENTAL? OH, YEAH. THE FEE WAIVER. YEAH, YEAH. WE THOUGHT, OH, THAT'S A GREAT IDEA, AND WE THOUGHT, YEAH, IT'S NOT A GREAT IT WAS A GREAT IDEA. Y'ALL DIDN'T LIKE IT. IT WAS YOUR IDEA. SO IT WAS ME.
DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA IN ANY OTHER I MEAN, SO BUC-EE’S IS FINE.
I MEAN, IT'S A BROAD. THEY DON'T REALLY HAVE A PREFERENCE.
I MEAN, WE COULD GIVE IT TO. YEAH. NO, NO REAL PREFERENCE ON THEIR PART.
THEY HAVE CHANGED THEIR APPROACH. IN OTHER CITIES, THEY WERE ACTUALLY DOING ANNUAL SMALLER AMOUNT DONATIONS. THEY DETERMINE IT KIND OF WORKED BETTER JUST GIVE IT ALL UP FRONT, BUT IT DOES MAKE IT MORE CHALLENGING TO DETERMINE HOW TO SPEND THOSE DOLLARS.
THIS IS A ONE TIME. ONE TIME YES. I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW, WE MAY GET CALLS, BUT I MEAN, THAT COULD BE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY EVEN DIVIDED UP FOR AN ORGANIZATION, AND RATHER THAN JUST US SAY, OKAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IF WE GET CALLS, FINE. IF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN IT, BUT I'D LIKE TO MAYBE GIVE IT A LITTLE BIT MORE THOUGHT TO JUST SAY, I MEAN, HOW CAN WE, YOU KNOW, WHAT CAN WE DO TO SIGNIFICANTLY HAVE AN IMPACT WITH THIS MONEY? AND FOR ME, I MEAN, I COULD HAVE LOTS OF IDEAS RIGHT NOW, BUT I'D HATE TO SIT HERE TODAY AND DECIDE IT OR JUST SAY, IT'S ONLY ME AND WHAT I WANT. SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, HEARING FROM THE COMMUNITY MIGHT BE A GOOD THING TO SAY THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, TO TAKE A METHODICAL APPROACH SO THAT WE'RE GETTING THE MOST BANG FOR THE BUCK FOR THE MONEY. I THINK I NEED TO RECUSE MYSELF FROM THIS DISCUSSION AT THIS TIME, BECAUSE I AM A HEAD OF A 501C3, AND I'D HATE TO MAKE A DECISION THAT WOULD AFFECT.
I THOUGHT YOU WERE JUST A FREQUENT SHOPPER AT BUC-EE’S.
RIGHT NOW, THEY'RE JUST TRYING TO BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY AND LEAVE IT TO Y'ALL.
SO PAYING IT UP FRONT. SO WE NEED TO MAKE A DECISION IF WE AS A BODY WOULD LIKE TO COME UP WITH FIVE ENTITIES, PEACE, OR IF WE WOULD EACH LIKE TO BRING ONE, AND THEN THAT AT LEAST WOULD, WOULD DECIDE, YOU KNOW, TWO WEEKS FROM NOW, DO YOU WANT TO DO YOU WANT TO HAVE ONE THAT YOU FEEL IS A IS A GOOD REPRESENTATION OF THE INVESTMENT, OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE PART OF A TEAM.
SO YOU'RE NOT NECESSARILY JUST PICKING AND CHOOSING ONE OVER ANOTHER.
I WASN'T DIRECTED AT ME. WAS IT OKAY, Y'ALL WANT TO DO ALL FIVE TOGETHER? PROBABLY BECAUSE IT'S SAFER. YOU CAN COME BACK NEXT TIME AS ANOTHER DISCUSSION ITEM TO BRING WHAT YOU HAVE TO DISCUSS IT, AND THEN EVEN THE NEXT MEETING VOTE ON IT. SO BECAUSE IF I CHOOSE ONE AND YOU CHOOSE THE SAME OR I MEAN, THEN WE GET OUT HERE AND EVEN IF WE CHOOSE TWO AND THERE'S BACKUP, I THINK IT LENDS TO CHAOS.
I MEAN, IT'S, YOU KNOW, TO TRY TO DETERMINE THE BEST WAY TO DO IT.
WELL, WE WON'T OVERCOMPLICATE IT. SO MR. FREEMAN WILL COME BACK WITH SEVERAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE THE, THE MONEYS GO TO, AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL GIVE DIRECTION ON THE 28TH.
HAPPY TO DO THAT AS WELL. I THINK THAT'S GOOD. JUST TO SEE IF YOU KNOW, IF WE IF WE WANTED TO GO ONE MORE TIME BACK TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND WE'RE TRYING TO HELP THEM MANAGE THAT, THAT GIFT. WELL, THAT SOUNDS GOOD.
OKAY. THANK YOU. COUNCIL. ITEM SEVEN F. WE'VE GOT SOME BOARD UPDATES FROM COUNCILMEM BERS SERVING,
[7.F. Updates from Councilmembers serving on outside boards and commissions]
AND WE'RE ONLY TRYING TO DO THE ONES THAT I THINK, YOU KNOW, HAVE SEEN SOME CHANGE.THERE'S BEEN SEVERAL THINGS OVER THE HOLIDAYS THAT JUST KIND OF HAVEN'T MOVED.
THEY'VE BEEN STATIC. SO WE'RE NOT HITTING EVERY ENTITY HERE, OBVIOUSLY, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO HIGHLIGHT THE ONES THAT WE FEEL LIKE HAVE SEEN A LITTLE PROGRESS. SO WE'LL START WITH COUNCILMEM BER CRAFT DOWN HERE ON BEAUTIFICATION, PUBLIC ARTS.
YEAH, UNFORTUNATELY I DON'T HAVE ANY UPDATES FOR THE BOARD.
WE HAVEN'T MET OVER THE HOLIDAYS AND THEN WE DIDN'T MEET THIS MONTH.
SO I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO UPDATE ON THAT. OKAY.
LET'S MOVE ON TO COUNCILMAN SHERWIN. OR HIS SURROGATE.
MY SURROGATE IS HERE, MISS CASH. SO I ALWAYS APPRECIATE HER COMING.
[02:30:05]
SHE DOES SUCH A GOOD JOB. SHE DOES A REAL GOOD JOB.THREE OWNER. FAST. THAT'S THE KEY. NO. THANK YOU.
SO I'LL GO BACK A LITTLE BIT. IN OCTOBER, OUR BIG ITEM WAS THAT WE APPROVED PROVED OUR GRANT DOLLARS THAT WE GIVE OUT TO NONPROFIT ARTS ORGANIZATIONS. A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY THAT WAS CUT BACK TO $80,000 BACK IN 2016.
AS OF LAST YEAR, WE WERE ABLE TO GO IN AND START ADDING MONEY BACK IN TO GET IT BACK TO WHERE IT WAS BEFORE THAT AND HAD BEEN, I BELIEVE, AT 120,000 FOR MANY YEARS. SO WE HAVE THAT UP.
AT THIS POINT, WE GRANTED OUT FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR, $143,000 OF MONEYS THAT WENT TO TEN DIFFERENT NONPROFIT ARTS ORGANIZATIONS HERE LOCALLY. THOSE GRANTS ARE REQUIRED TO USE THE DOLLARS TOWARDS MARKETING THEIR ORGANIZATION TO VISITORS 50 MILES OR MORE OUTSIDE OF AMARILLO. SO IT'S THE SAME AS HOW WE USE THE FUNDS AND IT'S HOT FUNDS, BUT IT IS A GREAT BRANDING OPPORTUNITY AND GIVES THEM SOME GOOD REACH. SO THAT WAS PUT FORTH AND APPROVED BY THE BOARD.
SO I'LL ACTUALLY BRING THAT POLICY FOR Y'ALL'S REVIEW AS WELL.
WHENEVER I COME FORWARD WITH A RESERVE REQUEST, ONCE OUR BOARD IS READY TO MOVE ON THAT, AND THEN WE HAD FILM COMMISSION PROJECT AND SALES EFFORT UPDATES. SO THAT WAS OCTOBER. IN NOVEMBER, WE APPROVED OUR 2025 INVESTMENT POLICY, APPROVED OUR CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT IN THE AMOUNT OF $1 MILLION FOR A SIX MONTH PERIOD, AND TABLE DISCUSSIONS ON OUR MASTER PLAN, WHICH WILL BE OUR MAIN FOCUS, APPROVING OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND OUR TOURISM MASTER PLAN.
ANY QUESTIONS? QUESTIONS FOR MISS CASHIN OR TOM? OKAY, AND I WILL GRACIOUSLY PULL THE CVB OUT OF THE BUCKIES.
SO NO IDEA. ARE WE GOOD? THANK YOU MA'AM. THANK YOU MA'AM.
MOVING QUICKLY, WE'LL GO TO ITEM THREE. ANIMAL MANAGEMENT COUNCILMAN SIMPSON.
THANK YOU. MAYOR. I THINK WE HAVE NOT HAD A MEETING SINCE THE LAST TIME I GAVE AN UPDATE.
AN OFFICIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD. WE HAVE ONE NEXT WEEK, BUT WE DID HAVE A SIGNIFICANT MEETING, AND I WANT TO THANK THE MAYOR FOR CALLING THE MEETING. I THINK BACK IN DECEMBER, WHERE WE MET WITH STAFF AND STAFF FROM ANIMAL WELFARE MANAGEMENT AND SOME KEY STAKEHOLDERS WHO ARE CONCERNED FOR ANIMALS IN THE COMMUNITY AND GIVE A LOT OF THEIR OWN TIME, ENERGY AND EFFORT TO DO THAT.
WE HAD A REALLY GOOD REALLY GOOD CONVERSATION ABOUT, AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE'VE WE'VE KIND OF TALKED AD NAUSEUM ABOUT THE ISSUE THAT WE HAVE WITH WITH ANIMALS. WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH AND WE KNOW THERE'S A PROBLEM TO SOLVE.
THE AND WHEN WE WERE HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS, THE ONLY WAY THAT WE'RE GOING TO PERMANENTLY SOLVE THIS IS BY DEALING WITH ANIMAL REPRODUCTION ISSUES, BECAUSE WE ARE STILL GOING TO HAVE THAT ONGOING, AND SO IF YOU REMEMBER, COUNCIL HAD SET ASIDE QUITE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY TO LOOK INTO THIS ISSUE, AND WE'RE NOW WORKING ON A PLAN.
I THINK IT'S GOING TO COME BEFORE ANIMAL WELFARE MANAGEMENT NEXT WEEK TO DEVELOP A VOUCHER PROGRAM FOR PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY TO HAVE THEIR ANIMALS SPAYED OR NEUTERED IF THEY CANNOT AFFORD IT. THESE GROUPS THAT ARE OUT IN THIS, YOU KNOW, IN THIS COMMUNITY, ARE GOING TO HELP KIND OF DETERMINE THE PARAMETERS, WORKING WITH CITY STAFF TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, BECAUSE AND IT'S GOING TO TAKE AN INVESTMENT TO DO THAT, AND SO WE'RE GOING TO WORK THROUGH THAT PLAN.
IT WILL COME BACK THROUGH COUNCIL AFTER IT GOES TO ANIMAL WELFARE MANAGEMENT, BUT I THINK YOU KNOW, SEVERAL PEOPLE ON THE THAT WERE PART OF THAT GROUP HAD RECENTLY TAKEN A TOUR OF OUR FACILITIES.
SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE BRINGING THAT BACK TO COUNCIL PRETTY SOON.
A PLAN ON HOW TO IMPLEMENT THIS AND HOW TO PROBABLY, I WOULD SAY, DEAL WITH THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF SOLVING THIS PROBLEM, WHICH IS JUST DEALING WITH THE REPRODUCTIVE ISSUE.
SO, MAYOR, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING TO THAT TO THE MEETING.
YOU KNOW, I GUESS I WOULD I WOULD GO AHEAD AND PUT IT OUT THERE. I THINK WE'RE TRYING TO ASSIST OUR RESCUE, OUR RESCUES, PRIMARILY MOST OF THE RESCUES THAT ARE OUT THERE DOING THE WORK OR THE INDIVIDUALS THAT THEY THOUGH THEY MAY NOT BE A RESCUE,
[02:35:04]
THEY THAT IS THEIR PASSION. WE HAD WE HAD DISCUSSED AROUND $500,000 FOR THIS VOUCHER PROGRAM.IS THAT STILL THE AMOUNT YOU'RE LOOKING AT? SO I THINK THAT WOULD GO A LONG WAY IN ASSISTING RESCUES AND RESCUES AND ASSISTING INDIVIDUALS FOR WHAT CAN BE 110 $120. PROCEDURE THAT CAN BE PAID AT TIMES, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO NETWORK THAT AND EXPAND THAT WITH AS MANY GOOD VETERINARIAN RELATIONSHIPS AS WE CAN. SO FOR THIS VOUCHER PROGRAM, CAN THEY OFFER, YOU KNOW, KIND OF A VOLUME DISCOUNT AND TAKING IT TO THAT NEXT LEVEL.
SO REALLY GOOD LEADERSHIP OUT OF COUNCILMAN SIMPSON OVER THERE ON KEEPING THIS ONE ON TRACK, AND IT WILL IMPACT IT. IT WILL MOVE THE NEEDLE AND IT'S GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME, BUT I THINK THE BIGGEST ISSUE IS SETTING EXPECTATIONS OF UNDERSTANDING.
THERE'S NOT JUST ONE THING YOU CAN DO THAT'S GOING TO IMPACT THAT ANIMAL CONTROL ISSUE.
YEAH. ONE OTHER THING I WANT TO ADD, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AS WE LOOK AT THIS ISSUE, IT'S GOING TO IT'S GOING TO TAKE A LONG TIME TO SOLVE IT, BUT YOU LOOK FOR SMALL WINS, AND I MAY HAVE MAY HAVE MENTIONED THIS BEFORE, BUT I THINK IT'S WORTH MENTIONING AGAIN.
ONE THING THAT'S HAPPENED IN ANIMAL MANAGEMENT IS THE NUMBER OF ANIMALS THAT WE ARE RETURNING TO THEIR OWNERS BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN CHIPPED IS INCREASING TREMENDOUSLY. SO THIS CHIPPING PROGRAM IS A GREAT WAY TO GET TO GET THOSE PETS BACK TO THAT QUICKLY SO THAT WE, YOU KNOW, THAT WE CAN FIND THE OWNER. SO YOU KNOW THAT 'S JUST ONE WAY OF MAKING PROGRESS IN THIS ISSUE.
IT'S A SMALL VICTORY, BUT I THINK IN WHAT WE'RE DOING, KIND OF MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE RECOGNIZING THOSE SMALL VICTORIES AND WHAT THAT'S DOING AS WELL IS JUST PART OF, YOU KNOW, HELPING WITH THIS, WITH THIS PROBLEM THAT'S GOING TO TAKE IT'S GOING TO TAKE QUITE A WHILE TO, TO SOLVE. I LIKE IT. OTHER QUESTIONS FOR COUNCILMAN SIMPSON.
THANK YOU. NOTHING ELSE. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE THE HARD WORK OVER THERE.
I DO GET THE HONOR TO SIT ON THAT BOARD. AUD, AND SO THERE'S, THERE'S SEVERAL THINGS THAT ARE MOVING OVER THERE, AND , AND WE ARE CONTINUING TO TRY TO MEET AND FROM THE OVERSIGHT OF IT, I THINK IT HAS TO DO MORE WITH COLLABORATION. SO WHAT I WOULD SPEAK TO RIGHT NOW IS, IS THE WILLINGNESS TO ASSIST IN DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS WITH EVERYTHING FROM, YOU KNOW, PROGRAMS THAT ASSIST WITH EXTERIOR CURB APPEAL UPDATES.
WE'VE WE'VE SEEN, YOU KNOW, GOOD MOVEMENT IN SIDEWALKS, STREET LIGHTS, THINGS LIKE THAT THESE NEIGHBORHOODS ARE WORKING FROM, BUT REALLY IT'S COLLABORATIVE. SO WE'VE SEEN SOME GOOD ASSISTANCE AND PARTNERSHIP OUT OF OUR COUNTIES.
THEY SO INTO THIS, WE'VE SEWN INTO THIS, AND THEN I THINK WHAT WE ARE SEEING IS, IS THE, THE WILLINGNESS TO LOOK AT THIS HAS BEEN DONE VERY, VERY WELL IN A FEW OF THESE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, AND SO NOT TO SINGLE OUT ANY OF THEM, BUT THEY'RE ALL MAKING PROGRESS, AND A COUPLE OF THEM HAVE MADE TREMENDOUS PROGRESS.
SO WE WANT TO KEEP THAT GOING, AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO SOW THOSE MONIES INTO THOSE GROUPS WITH THE HOPES THAT EVENTUALLY YOU KIND OF GRADUATE OUT AND SOMEBODY ELSE WOULD COME IN, AND SO THAT REOCCURRING FUNDING THAT WE HAVE COULD CONTINUE.
SO COUNCILMAN SIMPSON YOU SIT ON THAT ONE WITH ME, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO SPEAK TO? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. I THINK IT'S SERVING AS A CATALYST IN THESE AREAS, AND , YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, AND WE'RE TALKING NOT MAJOR INVESTMENTS HERE.
WE'RE TALKING TEN, 15, $20,000. THESE BUSINESSES HAVE TO CONTRIBUTE TO IT.
SO, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE THEY'RE IMPROVING THEIR PROPERTY, WHICH OBVIOUSLY HELPS THE VALUE OF IT, BUT I THINK ONE THING THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO NOTICE IS THE AMOUNT OF ATTENTION THAT IT'S DRAWING TO SOME OF THESE BUSINESSES AND HELPING THEM, AND WE'VE BEEN PART OUR OFFICE DID A, I THINK, DID AN ARTICLE THAT SEVERAL NEWS OUTLETS PICKED UP ON ON LA FRONTERA, WHICH HAS BEEN HERE FOR A LONG TIME, THAT WAS ABLE TO DO TO DO QUITE A BIT OF WORK OF WORK ON THEIR EXTERIOR THAT I THINK NOT ONLY HELP THE EXTERIOR, BUT A LITTLE PUBLICITY FOR THAT BUSINESS AND THAT PART OF THE COMMUNITY THAT'S BEEN HERE A LONG TIME.
I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF BENEFITS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF COMING OUT OF THIS.
WELL SAID QUESTIONS FOR EITHER OF US COUNCIL.
COUNCIL, DO I HAVE ANYTHING FOR ITEM 7GA REQUEST FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEM?
[7.G. Request future agenda items and reports from City Manager. ]
I DO HAVE A COUPLE. ONE IS I WONDER IF WE CAN BECAUSE I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT IT, BUT I WONDER IF STAFF COULD PUT TOGETHER KIND OF A RECAP OF OUR LATEST SNOW EVENT.[02:40:02]
BUT I JUST KIND OF BE INTERESTED IN A RECAP, AND ANY LESSONS WE'VE LEARNED? MAYBE THINGS SINCE IT'S BEEN A WHILE, SINCE WE'VE HAD THAT AMOUNT OF SNOW TO BE TO BE ABLE TO GET A RECAP ON IT. ALSO, IF WE COULD REACH OUT TO OUR. I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE ANY CONTACTS AT OUR FRIENDS AT TEX-DOT, BUT I'D LIKE. I THINK WE'D LIKE TO KNOW, DID THEY SEND EQUIPMENT TO DALLAS FROM HERE? AND IF SO, HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN? WHY DOES THAT HAPPEN? BECAUSE I THINK, YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE PROBABLY ENDED UP PROBABLY COULD HAVE USED IT HERE IF IT'S IF IT'S TRUE, I DON'T KNOW FOR THAT. BUT IF WE CAN GET SOME CLEARANCE ON HOW THAT'S DETERMINED AND THAT TYPE OF THING I THINK WOULD BE BENEFICIAL AS I GET SOME INFORMATION BACK TO Y'ALL.OKAY, GOOD, AND THEN I HAVE ONE OTHER ITEM THAT I'D LIKE TO PUT ON THERE THAT I, THAT I TALKED WITH COUNCILMEM BER TIPPS ON THIS, BUT I'D LIKE TO REQUEST THAT ITEM BE PLACED ON THE JANUARY 28TH AGENDA TO TERMINATE THE RESOLUTION THAT WE PASSED ON JUNE 24TH, HIRING OUTSIDE LEGAL COUNSEL FOR THE AMARILLO CITY COUNCIL.
SO I'D LIKE TO ASK THAT BE PLACED ON THE AGENDA FOR THE FOR THE NEXT MEETING.
MR. CITY MANA GER, ARE YOU GOOD ON BOTH OF THOSE? SO I GUESS I WOULD ASK WITH THAT AGENDA ITEM FOR A TERMINATION OF THAT RESOLUTION.
DO WE HAVE ANY NEED TO BRING BACK THE PROTOCOL THAT YOU YOU WERE WORKING ON, SIR? WELL, THE TWO CAN BE CONNECTED, BUT THEY'RE THEY'RE ALSO SEPARATE AS WELL.
SO I CAN BRING THAT BACK THE 20TH. I KNOW, I KNOW, I'VE SHARED THAT WITH THE COUNCIL ALREADY THROUGH EMAIL, SO IT IS READY TO GO, BUT I'M ALSO MEETING WITH COUNCILMEM BERS INDIVIDUALLY ONE ON ONE TO TALK ABOUT IT AS WELL.
SO IT'D BE READY TO GO THE 28TH. I KNOW THIS COUNCIL HASN'T ALWAYS WE DEFINITELY WE DO OUR WORK AND WE DON'T MIND GOING SLOW BECAUSE I THINK WE MAKE GOOD DECISIONS WHEN WE MOVE SLOW. BUT FOR THIS ONE, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE, YOU'RE CALLING IT FOR AN ACTION ITEM, AND SO I JUST WANT COUNCIL TO UNDERSTAND WE WOULD BE PLACING THIS ON FOR A VOTE UP OR DOWN, AND I WOULD BE COMFORTABLE WITH THAT.
YOU KNOW, EITHER KEEP THE RESOLUTION OR RESOLUTION OR TERMINATE THE RESOLUTION ON THE 28TH, BUT I JUST WANT TO PUT THAT OUT THERE. THAT WAY WE SHOW UP UNDERSTANDING WHAT WHAT WE'D BE ASKED TO UNDERSTAND. SO WERE YOU ASKING ABOUT WHETHER BOTH RESOLUTIONS WOULD BE PUT ON? BECAUSE. YES, BECAUSE THEY ARE SEPARATE PROTOCOL, BUT THAT WASN'T, AND THEN WE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE BUT WASN'T ON TODAY'S AGENDA.
WELL, I GUESS PROBABLY IF I CAN ASK YOU IF IF YOU'RE ASKING OR YOU'RE REQUESTING FOR THE TERMINATION TO BE AN ACTION ITEM, I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE PLACE IT THAT WAY. YES.
OKAY, AND THEN THAT COMMUNICATES TO THE REST OF COUNCIL TO BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION ON THAT ITEM.
NOW, THE PROTOCOL YOU COULD BRING BACK AS A DISCUSSION, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE TASKED YOU WITH, AND I THINK THAT ONE ACTUALLY LENDS ITSELF MORE TO A DISCUSSION SINCE WE'VE HAD ONGOING CONVERSATIONS.
OKAY, GOOD. GOOD ENOUGH ON THAT. ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO PUT FORWARD ON THAT? THE WEATHER EVENT THAT THEY THEY ARE CALLING FOR EXTREME COLD THIS NEXT WEEK.
AND SO SINCE WE ARE BRINGING UP THE SNOW EVENT I THINK FOR STAFF TO, TO ALSO KIND OF COMMUNICATE TO THE PUBLIC ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING SO THAT WE'RE OUT IN FRONT OF IT, ESPECIALLY WITH THE ADDITIONAL YOU KNOW, HOMELESS AND, AND THE INITIATIVE FOR THE, THE CODE BLUE OR THE, THE EXTREME, YOU KNOW, WINTER WEATHER.
SO IF WE CAN MAKE SURE WE'RE IN FRONT OF ALL OF THOSE THINGS AS FAR AS.
OKAY, MOVING INTO SECTION EIGHT, OUR CONSENT AGENDA.
[8. Consent Items ]
DO I HAVE ANYTHING ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO PULL ON THE CONSENT AGENDA? I'M GOING TO PULL ITEM EIGHT J FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION.MOVE TO APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ITEM EIGHT J.
SECOND. I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS? ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION PASSES. ITEM EIGHT J. COULD I START? MR.
[8.J. CONSIDER AWARD - METER DATA MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE AGREEMENT FOR AUTOMATED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE (AMI) PROJECT ]
CITY MANA GER WITH RICH MAY BE COMING TO SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE, BECAUSE I THINK THAT STEMS FROM OUR I AND OUR DIGITAL RIGHTS, AND IF I COULD EXCLUDE THE HARRIS CONTRACT FROM THAT, THEN THEN THEY DON'T CORRELATE AND WE COULD MOVE FORWARD ON, ON ONE ACTION. YEAH. SO WE HAVE BOTH MICHAEL PRICE AS OUR UTILITY DIRECTOR, AND WE HAVE RICH GANNON HERE WHO CAN TALK ABOUT THE CONCERNS WOULD SHOULD WE[02:45:02]
REDIRECT AND HAVE MR. PRICE START? ARE YOU OKAY STARTING WITH RICH JUST TO SEPARATE THE TWO ITEMS? NO. RICH CAN START. IT'LL BE FINE. OKAY. I JUST DON'T WANT TO STEP OVER ANYONE, BUT.SO YOU CAN THINK OF THIS METER AS ALMOST A STANDARD METER WITH A RADIO ATTACHED THAT TRANSMITS READINGS OF HOW MUCH WATER IS MOVED THROUGH THE, THE METER AND TIME INCREMENTS. SO IT SENDS A METER ID AND IT SENDS A MEASUREMENT.
THAT'S REALLY IT. THAT'S WHAT IT DOES. IT SENDS THAT OVER LICENSED BANDWIDTH THROUGH THE FCC.
IT'S NOT 5G, IT'S NOT WI-FI. IT'S ACTUALLY LICENSED RADIOS.
AS I SAID EARLIER, WE DID THAT FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS.
ONE, BECAUSE WE WANTED TO USE KNOWN BAND, KNOWN, STUDIED BANDWIDTH, AND TWO, IT TWO, IT MAKES IT MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO HACK TO GET INTO, BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO HAVE A LICENSED RADIO TO CONNECT TO THE THING, OR TO EVEN TO RECEIVE THE SIGNAL.
THERE'S NOT REALLY PERSON DATA IN IT. LIKE I SAID, IT'S JUST A METER ID AND ATER MEASUREMENTS.
SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DIGITAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY.
I'M REALLY FOCUSED ON WHAT I CALL THE PERSON DATA STACK.
THAT'S DATA THAT YOU CAN TIE TO AN INDIVIDUAL AND INFORMATION ABOUT THAT INDIVIDUAL.
SO IT'S VERY LOW RISK IN THE DATA THAT'S IN IT.
THAT DATA IS STORED IN OUR UTILITY BILLING SOFTWARE.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE SELL OFF. IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE PARTNERSHIPS TO, TO SELL THAT KIND OF DATA OFF, AND , AND OTHER THAN BEING ABLE TO TELL, LIKE, MAYBE WHEN YOU TAKE A BATH OR WATER YOUR GARDEN, THERE'S JUST NOT A LOT OF DATA THERE. SO I'M LESS CONCERNED ABOUT THAT.
I, I'M MORE CONCERNED ABOUT OTHER THINGS. SO CAN I ASK A QUESTION THAT SO WITH THE METERS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE, THE NEW ONES THAT WE'RE THAT WERE REPLACING WITH DO THEY HAVE THE FUNCTIONALITY TO RESTRICT FLOW, TURN OFF, TURN ON? THERE'S NO MECHANICAL. NO.
THAT WAS THERE ARE METERS LIKE THAT, BUT WE'RE NOT USING THAT.
SO WE STILL HAVE TO SEND SOMEONE OUT TO TURN THE VALVE OFF TO TURN THE WATER OFF.
OKAY. AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'RE ALL WE'RE GETTING IS JUST THE DATA THAT WE'RE COLLECTING MANUALLY TO BEGIN WITH, AND SO I MEAN, THIS THROUGH THE RADIO READS, WE'RE ABLE TO SAVE A PERSON HAVING TO GO OUT THERE AND MANUALLY POP THE LIDS.
LOOK AT IT. I MEAN, WHETHER IT'S COVERED IN ICE, COVERED IN SNOW BEHIND A FENCE WITH AN ANGRY DOG OR JUST WHATEVER IT IS THIS, THIS ALLOWS US TO SAVE COST AND PERSONNEL, TO BE ABLE TO COLLECT THE DATA, TO THEN ACCURATELY BILL, AND BECAUSE UTILITIES IS A IS A MONEY GENERATED DEPARTMENT THAT REQUIRES FUNDING, AND TO DOVETAIL ON THAT, A LOT OF THE I HATE TO SAY COMPLAINTS, BUT A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT I WOULD TRY TO ADVOCATE FOR.
THROUGHOUT THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS IS A LOT OF UTILITY BILLING.
OR THEY MISREAD THE METER. MY MY BILL WASN'T THAT OR I HAVE A WATER LEAK, AND I THINK YOU MISREAD THE METER, AND WE SPEND WEEKS SOMETIMES BEFORE WE DO FIND OUT.
YEAH. YOU HAVE A WATER LEAK AND WE WISH WE WOULD HAVE STOPPED IT EARLIER.
SO SOME OF THIS TECHNOLOGY, THE BENEFITS ON IT ARE LEAK DETECTION IS GOING TO BE OBVIOUS CONFIRMATION AND THE LACK OF ESTIMATING AND THE ABILITY FOR RESIDENTS TO TRACK THEIR OWN WATER USAGE.
SO YOU CAN SEE I CAN SEE HOW MUCH MY WIFE ACTUALLY SPENDS ON OUR GARDEN EVERY YEAR.
RIGHT. SO ANY RISKS, HEALTH CONCERNS. SO, YOU KNOW, I'VE HAD SOME REPORTS ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF SMART METERS THAT ARE MOUNTED ON THE HOUSE AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE RADIATING A FREQUENCY CONTINUOUSLY AND YOU HAVE SOME HEALTH CONCERNS WITH THAT LEGITIMATE HEALTH.
HEALTH CONCERNS AND THE STUDIES EITHER HAVEN'T BEEN COMPLETELY DONE OR THEY'RE.
THERE AND WE DON'T ACKNOWLEDGE THEM. RIGHT. TALK ABOUT THIS THIS METER AND WHAT IT PUTS OFF, AND IT BEING IN A CONTAINER WITH A STEEL LID, AND THERE'S A COUPLE OF POINTS I'D MAKE ON THAT ONE.
IT'S LIKE VERY LOW POWER AND IT'S IN STUDIED BANDWIDTH.
IT'S FCC LICENSED, AND TWO, IT'S NOT ALWAYS ON.
IT COMES ON FOR MILLISECONDS TO TRANSMIT TWO NUMBERS ESSENTIALLY, AND THEN IT GOES RIGHT BACK OFF, AND IT JUST DOES THAT ON. I'LL HAVE TO ASK MICHAEL, I CAN'T REMEMBER HOW OFTEN IT SENDS ITS READ, BUT IT'S NOT ALWAYS ON. IT'S ON FOR MILLISECONDS AT A TIME AND THEN BACK OFF.
OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR RICH GENTLEMEN? YES, SIR. MR. PRICE, IF PRICE, IF YOU DON'T MIND, I WOULD LIKE TO GET AN UPDATE ON HOW MANY OF THESE YOU'VE ROLLED OUT AND HOW MANY YOU'VE GOT LEFT TO GO, AND THEN ANY CONCERNS YOU WOULD HAVE FROM YOUR DEPARTMENT.
[02:50:02]
WELL, GOOD EVENING GENTLEMEN. WE HAVE ROUGHLY 50,000 ROLLED OUT.WE'RE LOOKING AT IT BEING FULLY COMPLETED BY DECEMBER OF THIS YEAR.
AT THIS POINT WE'RE PROBABLY MOVING SLIGHTLY SLOWER THAN WE HAVE LIKED, BUT WE'RE STILL MAKING PROGRESS, AND THEN THE OPT OUT FEATURE I KNOW COUNCIL DIRECTED THAT.
SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WASN'T A PENALTY.
CAN YOU CONFIRM ALL THAT? THERE IS NO ADDITIONAL COST.
IF YOU OPT OUT, WE JUST REMOVE THE ANTENNA AND BECOMES JUST SIMPLY A METER.
STILL REPLACE THE METER, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE UPGRADE.
OKAY. ANYTHING ELSE YOU COULD ADD FROM, YOU KNOW, CONCERNS THAT YOU'VE HAD FROM DIFFERENT PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, IN THE COMMUNITY, AND WE HAVEN'T HAD TOO MUCH NEGATIVE FEEDBACK AT THIS POINT.
THE OPT OUTS HAVE BEEN QUITE LOW, I BELIEVE BELOW 100.
SO AT THIS STAGE WE'RE MOVING FORWARD QUITE NICELY WITH THE PROJECT.
OKAY, AND THEN THE HARRIS PIECE, WHICH IS THE IS THAT A SOFTWARE.
IT'S A CONTRACT THAT YOU CURRENTLY WORK WITH.
RIGHT. SO CURRENTLY THEY'RE YOUR SOFTWARE PROVIDER.
YES THAT'S CORRECT, AND THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF THE CONTRACT THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE IN PLACE.
ABSOLUTELY. DURING THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS, WE'RE GETTING AN EXTRA YEAR TO ALLOW US TO SEAMLESSLY TRANSITION ACROSS TO UTILITY BILLING ON THIS. SO THIS CONTRACT IS NOT NEW, DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH ANY ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS, NOTHING OUTSIDE OF WHAT YOU'RE ALREADY DOING USING IT FOR THE SOFTWARE.
ABSOLUTELY. THIS IS MERELY TO FACILITATE THE BILLING PROCESS.
SO IT'S BILLING SOFTWARE? YES. OKAY. THANK YOU SIR.
OH YOU'RE VERY WELCOME. THANK YOU. OKAY. COUNCIL WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION ON H.J.
IF WE COULD. MOVE TO APPROVE ITEM EIGHT J AS PRESENTED.
SECOND. I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? A J PASSES.
WE WILL MOVE ON TO OUR NON CONSENT AGENDA. ITEM NINE A WE HAVE OUR CITY SECRETARY COMING HERE TO.
[9.A. CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE NO. 8173 ]
IS THAT CORRECT? DO WE HAVE. YEP. SO THIS IS ONE THAT WE'VE TABLED, BUT WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT FROM THE TABLE BECAUSE WE PUT IT BACK ON THE AGENDA.SO WE HAVE SOME CLARIFICATION ON A O A TABC RESTRICTION.
MUCH SHORTER THAN THIS IS SET FOR MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
STEPHANIE COGGINS, CITY SECRETARY. AS THE MAYOR MENTIONED, YOU TABLED THIS AT YOUR LAST MEETING.
THIS IS AN ALCOHOL VARIANCE REQUEST FOR CAFE MOONWATER.
SO I'M GOING TO GO QUICKLY THROUGH THE INFORMATION.
JUST TO REFRESH EVERYBODY. THIS IS A BOUTIQUE CAFE THAT'S LOCATED AT 3313 SOUTHWEST SIXTH AVENUE.
WE DO HAVE MARCY ABRAMSON IN THE AUDIENCE WITH US.
SHE'S THE APPLICANT HERE FOR CAFE MOONWATER. THEY APPLIED FOR AN ON PREMISE CONSUMPTION PERMIT FOR BEER AND WINE AND WERE ULTIMATELY DENIED BECAUSE THEY'RE WITHIN 300FT OF SAN JACINTO CHRISTIAN ACADEMY.
SO THEY ARE APPROXIMATELY 59.5FT FROM THE SCHOOL.
AND THAT'S AS THE CROW FLIES FROM PROPERTY LINE TO PROPERTY LINE.
THE SURROUNDING AREA HAS ONE LEGAL ALCOHOL BUSINESS LICENSE WITHIN IT, WITHIN THE 300FT, AND WE'VE GOT A NEW MAP TO SHOW YOU THIS WEEK HERE IN JUST A MOMENT THAT SHOWS THE 300 FOOT PERIMETER, BUT IT ALSO SHOWS THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER RESTAURANTS OR BARS ALONG SIXTH STREET THAT ARE NEARBY, BUT OUTSIDE OF THAT, 300FT ON THIS. KEEP IN MIND, IF YOU WERE TO APPROVE THIS VARIANCE, THAT LOCATION IS GRANDFATHERED IN FOR THE FOR THE LIFE OF THAT LOCATION. IT CAN BE SOLD, IT CAN TRANSFER OWNERSHIP, AND IT CAN BE CHANGED TO A DIFFERENT TYPE OF PERMIT.
SO THIS IS A BEER AND WINE. IT COULD BE CHANGED TO A BAR, TO A RESTAURANT WITH MIXED BEVERAGE, TO AN OFF PREMISE TYPE OF CONSUMPTION BASED ON WHAT OUR ZONING WOULD ALLOW.
WE DID HEAR BACK FROM SAN JACINTO. SO WE APPRECIATE THE CONTACT INFORMATION FROM MARCY.
WE HEARD BACK FROM MR. MOODY. SAN JACINTO IS NOT TAKING A POSITION ON THIS.
SO THEIR STANCE IS NO POSITION. JUST A REMINDER, IF YOU DECIDE YOU WOULD LIKE TO APPROVE THIS VARIANCE YOU'LL HAVE TO HAVE TO SELECT ONE OF THE SIX OPTIONS ON THE SCREEN HERE.
IF YOU FEEL LIKE MORE THAN ONE FIT, YOU CAN PICK MORE THAN ONE, BUT WHEN YOU MAKE A MOTION, IF SOMEONE DOES TO MOTION FOR THIS ORDINANCE TO APPROVE IT, YOU'LL NEED TO ADD IN YOUR LANGUAGE WHICH OF THESE YOU WOULD LIKE TO APPROVE THAT VARIANCE
[02:55:02]
FOR. SO THIS IS A MAP, AND I KNOW IT'S KIND OF HARD TO SEE ON THE TVS UP HERE.THAT'S THE ONE OTHER ALCOHOL BUSINESS LICENSE THAT'S WITHIN 300FT OF SAN JACINTO OVER THERE, AND THEY WERE GRANTED A VARIANCE ORIGINALLY, AND THEN IF YOU'LL LOOK ALONG SIXTH AVENUE, YOU'LL SEE SOME STARS THAT ARE NOT IN THAT RED, BUT THEY'RE ALONG ON BOTH SIDES. THOSE ARE OTHER ACTIVE ALCOHOL LICENSE.
THAT ARE THERE ON SIXTH STREET, AND SO THAT'S KIND OF A RECAP OF INFORMATION WITH THE WITH THE MAP AND THE NEW INFORMATION FROM SAN JACINTO. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS I CAN ANSWER FOR YOU? QUESTIONS, COUNCIL? NONE FOR ME. ALL GOOD. MISS CITY SECRETARY, THANK YOU FOR THE RECAP.
I WOULD ASK FOR A MOTION ON ITEM NINE A. MOVE TO ADOPT ORDINANCE NUMBER 8173.
CAN YOU IDENTIFY WHICH WHICH ALLOWANCE YOU'D LIKE TO OFFER? OH. WHAT WOULD I PUT? I WOULD THINK NOT SERVE ITS INTENDED PURPOSE, SINCE WE HAVE OTHER ALCOHOL ESTABLISHMENTS THAT ARE ALREADY WITHIN THE 300FT.
BUT YOU COULD SELECT MULTIPLE. YEAH. SO MOVED.
SO MOVED. OKAY. CAN I ASK FOR A SECOND? SECOND? OKAY, I GOT A SECOND FROM PLACE FOUR. SO MOVED IN A SECOND.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION PASSES. ITEM NINE B.
[9.B. PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE NO. 8176 ]
WE HAVE MR. KENDRICK COMING UP HERE TO WALK US INTO ONE.THANK YOU, MISS CITY SECRETARY. AFTERNOON, BRADY.
THIS ONE IS A PUBLIC HEARING AND FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE THAT IS CONSIDERING REZONING 30.18 ACRES OF LAND THAT IS IN RANDALL COUNTY, TEXAS FROM AGRICULTURAL DISTRICT TO GENERAL RETAIL DISTRICT.
THIS IS IN THE VICINITY OF TOWNE SQUARE BOULEVARD AND SONCY ROAD, AND THE APPLICANT IS FIRM AND LAND SURVEYORS, INC. FOR THE O'BRIAN MARSH TRUST, AND THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS OF POTENTIALLY SELLING SOME OF THESE TRACKS WITHIN THIS PROPERTY TO RETAIL TYPE USERS. SO THAT IS THE REASON FOR THE REQUEST, AS THEY HAVE SOME PEOPLE INTERESTED IN DEVELOPING THIS PROPERTY WITH THE RETAIL USES IN THE NEAR FUTURE. THE REQUEST DOES CONFORM WITH THE COMPLETE NEIGHBORHOOD SCENARIO AND CITY PLAN 2045.
THE TRACT IS IDENTIFIED AS THE NEIGHBORHOOD MIXED USE CATEGORY FOR THE PROPERTY, AND GIVEN THAT THIS IS LOCATED ALONG SWANSEA ROAD, WHICH IS A ESTABLISHED RETAIL CORRIDOR, AND ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE TOWN SQUARE.
MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT. THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION FELT THAT THIS REQUEST WAS A LOGICAL CONTINUATION OF EXISTING ZONING AND DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS FOUND ALONG THIS PORTION OF SWANSEA ROAD. WE DID SOME PUBLIC NOTICES AS REQUIRED BY STATE LAW.
WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY COMMENTS AS OF TODAY IN THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION.
DID RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THIS WITH A70 VOTE AT THEIR JANUARY 6TH MEETING.
REALLY GOOD BRADY. I AM GOING TO RECUSE MYSELF FROM THIS ONE AND STEP OUT.
THANK YOU. MAYOR. DOES ANYBODY ON COUNCIL HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THIS ORDINANCE? I HAVE ONE QUESTION I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW. HAVE WE DONE A TRAFFIC SURVEY? I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT OF TRAFFIC PROBLEMS GOING INTO TOWN SQUARE WITHOUT A LIGHT OR ANYTHING THERE, AND I THINK IF WE'RE GOING TO EXPAND THAT, WE WOULD PROBABLY NEED A TRAFFIC LIGHT OR SOMETHING PUT INTO THAT AREA.
RIGHT. BEING WITH CHAUNCEY, BEING TEXDOT, ULTIMATELY THAT WOULD PROBABLY HAVE TO COME FROM TEXDOT.
I KNOW THEY DO KEEP AN EYE ON TRAFFIC COUNTS ALONG SONCY ROAD THERE, SO THEY DEFINITELY ARE.
I KNOW THERE'S BEEN SOME LIGHTS OUT ALONG SANTEE RECENTLY, SO IF THOSE TRAFFIC WARRANTS END UP BEING THOSE COUNTS AT SOME POINT IN THE NEAR FUTURE THAT WOULD ULTIMATELY PROBABLY BE A TEX DOTS CALL WITH SONZEE BEING A TEX DOT RIGHT AWAY.
THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THANK YOU. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN A PUBLIC HEARING ON ORDINANCE NUMBER 8176. IS THERE ANYONE PRESENT THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK FOR OR AGAINST ORDINANCE 8176?
[03:00:03]
SEEING NONE, I'LL CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AND ASK COUNCIL FOR A MOTION.MOVE TO ADOPT ORDINANCE NUMBER 8176. SECOND. I HAVE A MOTION, A SECOND.
ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION PASSES FOUR ZERO VOTE WITH THE MAYOR ABSTAINING.
ALL RIGHT. APPRECIATE THAT, MAYOR PRO TEM. ALL RIGHT.
ARE YOU UP ON THE NEXT ONE THERE, MR. KENDRICK? I AM ITEM NINE.
[9.C. PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE NO. 8177 ]
SEE? PLEASE GO AHEAD. YES, NINE IS ALSO A REZONING.PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE 8177.
THIS IS A REZONING OF LOT FIVE, BLOCK ONE, WILD HORSE ADDITION, UNIT NUMBER FIVE, LOCATED IN THE CITY OF AMARILLO IN POTTER COUNTY, TO REZONE FROM LIGHT COMMERCIAL DISTRICT AND LIGHT INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT TO LIGHT INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT.
THIS ONE IS IN THE VICINITY OF WEST AMARILLO BOULEVARD AND NORTH FANNIN STREET, AND THE APPLICANT IS THURMAN MERCANTILE EXCHANGE, AND THEY ARE PROPOSING A CHANGE IN ZONING TO DEVELOP THIS SITE WITH A MINI STORAGE AND STORAGE WAREHOUSING DEVELOPMENT, WHERE THEY WILL LEASE THESE UNITS OUT TO INDIVIDUALS.
THE STORAGE WAREHOUSING ELEMENT OF THIS DEVELOPMENT WAS THE PORTION OF IT THAT REQUIRED A ZONING CHANGES, AS THAT IS NOT ALLOWED BY RIGHT AND LIGHT COMMERCIAL DISTRICT.
THIS REQUEST WOULD CONFORM WITH CITY PLAN 2045 AND THE ASSIGNED PLACE TYPE OF MANUFACTURING AND LOGISTICS DISTRICT, AND THIS SITE IS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF AMARILLO BOULEVARD. THERE IS A CONCRETE BATCHING PLANT TO THE WEST AND A DRYWALL CONTRACTOR TO THE EAST.
SO THE SOUTH SIDE OF AMARILLO BOULEVARD IN THIS AREA IS OF A DEVELOPMENT TYPE AND PATTERN THAT THIS PROPOSED BUSINESS WOULD FIT WITHIN, AND GIVEN THAT AMARILLO BOULEVARD IS A 200 FOOT RIGHT.
200 FOOT WIDE RIGHT OF WAY, WE DON'T FEEL THAT THIS WOULD HAVE ANY IMPACTS ON THE PROPERTIES THAT ARE ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF AMARILLO BOULEVARD, ON THE NORTH SIDE. WE DID SEND PUBLIC NOTICES ON THIS ONE AS WELL AND HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY COMMENTS AS OF THE MEETING TODAY, AND THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION RECOMMENDED APPROVAL OF THIS ITEM WITH A60 VOTE AT THEIR DECEMBER 16TH MEETING.
VERY WELL. ANY QUESTIONS FOR BRADY BEFORE WE OPEN THIS UP, GENTLEMEN? YES, SIR. THANK YOU SIR. AT THIS TIME, WE'D LIKE TO OPEN A PUBLIC HEARING ON ITEM NINE.
[9.D. CONSIDER APPROVAL — LOCATION INCENTIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN AMARILLO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (AEDC) AND AAA COOPER TRANSPORTATION, INC. ]
D TO HAVE ANYONE HERE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK FOR OR AGAINST THIS ITEM.SEEING NO ONE, WE WILL CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AND WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION FROM COUNCIL.
MOVE TO ADOPT ORDINANCE NUMBER 8177. SECOND. I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION PASSES WITH A50 VOTE. MOVING RIGHT ALONG.
MR. KEVIN CARTER COMING UP HERE TO DISCUSS A REAL ESTATE DEAL, AND THEN ALSO AN INCENTIVE AGREEMENT.
OH, I APOLOGIZE. I SAID ITEM NINE D WHEN WE VOTED.
SO LET ME CLARIFY THAT. NINE C SO I ASKED FOR A MOTION ON ITEM NINE D TO CORRECT.
DO YOU NEED ANYTHING, MISS CITY SECRETARY? OTHER THAN STATEMENT OF FACT? NO. WE'RE GOOD. THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING. CLARIFYING.
ITEM NINE C PASSED WITH FIVE ZERO VOTE. NOW YOU'RE UP THERE, MR. CARTER. ITEM NINE D MAYOR COUNCIL. THIS ITEM WOULD CONSIDER A LOCATION INCENTIVE AGREEMENT FOR TRIPLE A COOPER TRANSPORTATION. TRIPLE A COOPER TRANSPORTATION IS A SUBSIDIARY OF KNIGHT-SWIFT, SO NATIONALLY KNOWN TRANSPORTATION COMPANY, AND THEY ARE SEEKING A LOCATION TO DEVELOP A REGIONAL TERMINAL THAT WOULD BE OPERATED BY TRIPLE A COOPER.
THEY ARE PLANNING ON INVESTING $10 MILLION ON A 25,000 SQUARE FOOT CROSS-DOCK FACILITY.
THIS TERMINAL WOULD ALSO PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS AND CONTRACT CARRIAGE.
IT WOULD ALSO BE FLEET MAINTENANCE. IT'S GOING TO BE A REGIONAL HUB FOR TRIPLE A COOPER.
THEY'RE GOING TO SPEND $10 MILLION IN TOTAL CAPITAL EXPENDITURE WITH INITIAL HIRE OF 20 NEW JOBS.
AT LEAST 52 ON AT FULL SCALE WITH AN AVERAGE SALARY OF $80,000 A YEAR.
I KNOW THAT MAP IS HARD TO SEE FOR THE FOR THE PUBLIC, BUT THAT'S ON I-40, RIGHT TO THE WEST OF THE FEDEX FACILITY THERE, AND ON THE EAST SIDE OF AMARILLO. THE AMARILLO EDC IS PROPOSING A LOCATION INCENTIVE AGREEMENT FOR UP TO 15 FOR $15,000 PER FTE, UP TO 60 NEW POSITIONS, WITH A MINIMUM AVERAGE SALARY OF $70,000. THE INCENTIVE WOULD BE PAID OUT OVER TEN YEARS, SO IT'S $900,000 TOTAL.
[03:05:05]
IS THE ECONOMIC IMPACT. IT'S 60 NEW JOBS AND OVER 50 NEW JOBS THAT WOULD BE CREATED AS AN ADDITION TO THOSE 60 NEW SPIN OFF JOBS, AND THEN IN THE PAYBACK WOULD BE A $20 MILLION ECONOMIC IMPACT EVERY YEAR OVER FOR 20 YEARS. SO THAT 40 THAT $200 MILLION NUMBER IS OVER 20 YEARS.SO A $10 MILLION, SORRY, $10 MILLION ANNUAL IMPACT FOR THIS PROJECT EVERY YEAR, AND ONE OF THE SLIDES THAT I ALWAYS LIKE TO LOOK AT IS THIS SLIDE LET YOU KNOW WHAT THE PAYBACK PERIOD OF THAT $900,000 INCENTIVE THAT WE'RE GOING TO PAY OUT OVER TEN YEARS.
THE ACTUAL PAYBACK IS THREE AND A HALF YEARS, AND SO ANYTHING UNDER TEN ON PAYBACK PERIOD IS, IS REALLY GOOD. SO THE EDC BOARD VOTED FIVE ZERO ON DECEMBER 2ND, 2024 TO APPROVE THIS LOCATION INCENTIVE AGREEMENT. CERTAINLY WOULD TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
HAVE WE EVER HELPED ANY OTHER FREIGHT COMPANIES OUT IN TOWN, OR HAVE WE BEEN ASKED TO? YES WE HAVE. WE DID A LOCATION INCENTIVE AGREEMENT IN THE LAST 18 MONTHS, I THINK, OR TWO YEARS WITH JACK.
TRANSPORTATION, WHICH THEIR REFRIGERATED DISTRIBUTION COMPANY.
I'M TRYING TO THINK THAT'S THE ONLY ONE SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, BUT I KNOW THAT WE HAVE WE DONE ANY OTHER? DOUG, SORRY TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT, BUT THAT'S THE ONLY ONE OTHER ONE I CAN THINK OF, MISS SHIRLEY.
FOR INSTANCE, FEDEX WHEN THEY CAME IN, OR ANY OF THESE OTHER FREIGHT COMPANIES WOULD THEY COME TO AMARILLO ANYWAY? THIS FREIGHT COMPANY, I MEAN, USUALLY WHEN THEY MAKE A MOVE, THEY'RE MAKING A MOVE BECAUSE THEY WERE GOING TO ANYWAY.
YES, SIR. I HAVEN'T TALKED TO THEM. YOU HAVE? DO YOU THINK THEY WOULD HAVE COME ANYWAY? I CAN'T MAKE THAT ASSUMPTION.
I'M NOT SURE THAT THEY. YOU KNOW, IF THIS INCENTIVE PUTS THEM OVER THE TOP, BUT WE CERTAINLY THEY THEY HAVE LOOKED AT OTHER LOCATIONS BESIDES AMARILLO OR THAT'S WHAT THEY TOLD US THEY WERE LOOKING AT THAT THEY HAD LOOKED AT OTHER LOCATIONS.
OKAY. THANK YOU. NOW, KEVIN, IS THIS IS THIS ONE OF THOSE SITUATIONS WHERE THEY SIMPLY QUALIFY FOR THE INCENTIVE OR THE THEY DO QUALIFY FOR THE INCENTIVE BASED ON THAT, THOSE THOSE SALARIES.
THAT'S CORRECT. WE DO HAVE AN INCENTIVE. GUIDELINE.
THE CITY HAS ONE IN THE EDC. THOSE ARE COMBINED DOCUMENTS.
YES. SO THEY SIMPLY QUALIFY FOR THIS. THAT'S CORRECT.
SO NO, NO LAND CONVEYANCE. THEY'RE PURCHASING LAND, PURCHASING THE LAND.
WHAT'S THE COST OF THE BUILD? 10 MILLION. AROUND 10 MILLION.
YES, SIR, AND THIS INCENTIVE WOULD BE PAID AS THEY PERFORM.
SO, AND WHAT WAS YOUR OFFER ON THE TAX ABATEMENT TO THEM.
NO TAX ABATEMENT, NO TAX ABATEMENT. JUST MAKING SURE WE ONLY HAVE JUST THE FTE.
THIS IS THE ONLY INCENTIVE THAT I KNOW OF THAT THE THAT THE CITY OR EDC IS OFFERING.
OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS. RIGHT ANDREW. YES.
SO ALL OF THAT TAX BASE WILL BENEFIT THAT ZONE DIRECTLY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON ITEM NINE D. NO, SIR. OKAY.
I MOVE TO APPROVE ITEM NINE D AS PRESENTED. SECOND.
I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND ON ITEM NINE D ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS ONE? ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION PASSES. MR. CARTER, MOVE US INTO NINE E.
[9.E. DISCUSS AND CONSIDER SALE - REAL ESTATE LOCATED AT BENCHMARK STREET (CENTERPORT BUSINESS PARK) ]
YES, SIR. THIS ITEM WOULD CONSIDER A. THIS IS A PURCHASE SALE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EDC AND SLIDE MOUNTAIN PROPERTIES, WHICH IS A AFFILIATE OF PACIFIC CHEESE, AND I KNOW THIS PICTURE IS REALLY SMALL, BUT INSIDE THAT BLUE SPOT, THAT'S THE CENTREPORT BUSINESS PARK.THAT PINK SECTION THERE, THEIR FUCHSIA SECTION IS WHAT WE'RE CONSIDERING.
THIS AGREEMENT WOULD BE A SALE TO SLIDE MOUNTAIN PROPERTIES, A PACIFIC CHEESE AFFILIATE OF 3.61 ACRES AT $45,000 AN ACRE, WHICH COMES TO $162,450 PLUS THE RELATED CLOSING COST.
THIS WOULD ALLOW THEM TO, IN THE FUTURE, MAKE A AN EXPANSION OF THEIR FACILITY.
[03:10:07]
WHICH IS WHICH IS GREAT. THAT'S WHAT WE WANT IS FOR BUSINESSES TO EXPAND, AND SO THIS PURCHASE OF THIS PROPERTY WOULD ALLOW THEM TO EXPAND AT A AT A LATER DATE. THE EDC BOARD DID VOTE WITH A50 VOTE ON DECEMBER 2ND, 2024 TO APPROVE THIS SALE.QUESTIONS FOR MR. CARTER ON THIS ONE. WILL THIS AFFECT OUR WASTEWATER SYSTEM ANYWAY OUT THERE WITH THEIR EXPANSION? YOU KNOW, THEY THEY ARE NOT A LARGE WASTEWATER USER.
THE ONLY THING THING THAT THEY USE WATER FOR IS THEIR CLEAN UP PROCESS EVERY NIGHT, AND SO IT'S GOING TO ADD SOME WATER TO IT, BUT IT SHOULD NOT BE SOMETHING THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT BURDEN TO IN THE FUTURE.
OKAY. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I WOULD ASK FOR A MOTION ON ITEM NINE E.
I MOVE TO ADOPT ITEM NINE E AS PRESENTED. SECOND.
I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND FROM PLACE TWO. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? MOTION PASSES WITH A50 VOTE. THANK YOU. MAYOR.
MR. CARTER, THANK YOU. APPRECIATE YOU GUYS BEING HERE.
ALL RIGHT. ANOTHER ITEM THAT IS AN EDC TOPIC.
[9.F. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION NO. 01-14-25-2 ]
IS OUR ITEM NINE F. IT'S OUR LAST ITEM HERE TONIGHT.APPRECIATE, EVERYONE, FOR HANGING IN THERE WITH US. THIS IS THE AMENDMENT OF THE ARTICLES THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON AND DISCUSSING PRETTY VIGILANTLY. SO WE HAVE MR. ATKINS HERE, AND I WOULD GO AHEAD AND INVITE YOU UP BECAUSE I THINK WE ARE GOING TO GOING TO WANT TO HEAR YOUR OPINION AND KIND OF GET AN UPDATE FROM YOU, JOHN TO WALK US INTO THAT. WE HAVE GONE THROUGH THIS FOR, FOR SEVERAL MONTHS NOW AT THIS POINT, AND SO IF YOU DON'T KNOW MR. ADKINS, HE WORKS AT THE UNDERWOOD LAW FIRM, AND HE IS THE ATTORNEY THAT REPRESENTS THE EDC RIGHT NOW.
HE'S BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN WORKING THROUGH THESE AMENDMENTS, ALONG WITH GEORGE HYDE FROM THE HYDE KELLY LAW FIRM AND THEN WITH OUR TEMPORARY BOARD. I BELIEVE MR. FAIRLIE HAS WORKED HAND IN HAND WITH YOU QUITE OFTEN.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND YOUR DILIGENCE ON IT AND GETTING IT BACK TO COUNCIL QUICKLY.
MY GOAL HERE TODAY WOULD BE TO DISCUSS THESE AMENDMENTS LAY OUT ANYTHING THAT EITHER SIDE EITHER DID OR DID NOT GET, HAD ANY ISSUES WITH CONCERNS ABOUT AND THEN TO VOTE ON THIS HERE TODAY, AND THEN FROM, FROM THAT, I THINK WHERE WE REALLY WOULD BENEFIT THE MOST IS IF WE CAN IDENTIFY THE WAYS IN WHICH WE WORK TOGETHER SO THAT THIS DIDN'T BECOME BURDENSOME, OR MAYBE THE FEAR OF IF WE CHANGE ALL THESE THINGS, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE PRACTICAL, IT'S GOING TO SLOW DOWN BUSINESS OR IT'S GOING TO CAUSE US ISSUES. SO JUST ONCE AGAIN, WANTING TO HEAR ANY OF THAT.
SO COUNCIL I WON'T TAKE US ALL THE WAY BACK THROUGH SOMETHING THAT I BELIEVE EVEN OUR MEDIA HAS KEPT UP WITH VERY CLEARLY AND WE ARE HERE BASED ON PUSHING THIS ITEM SEVERAL TIMES AND SO DOES ANYONE HERE HAVE ANYTHING THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO KICK OFF IN THE CONVERSATION? OTHERWISE, I'M GOING TO DIRECT A FEW QUESTIONS TO MR. ADKINS. I DON'T KNOW, I MEAN, MAYBE MR. ADKINS CAN JUST GIVE US A A HIGH LEVEL SUMMARY OF WHERE WE ARE WITH THIS DOCUMENT JUST SO THAT EVERYBODY'S ON THE SAME PAGE WITH BECAUSE WE TALKED ABOUT A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS IN THIS CHAMBER AND DOING A LOT OF THINGS IN CHAMBER APPROVAL, BUT JUST FOR FOR THE NOVICE THAT WOULD COME IN NOT KNOWING ANYTHING ABOUT THESE ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION, CAN YOU GIVE US A 2 OR 3 MINUTE SUMMARY OF WHERE WE ARE AND HOW HOW THIS WILL HOW THIS WILL WORK IN THE FUTURE AND ANYTHING THAT MAY HAVE CHANGED FROM HOW WE'VE DONE THINGS IN THE PAST.
YOU BET. YOU BET. I'D BE HAPPY TO. TO. I MEAN, FIRST OF ALL, I CAN SPEAK TO THE PROCESS.
MR. HYDE PROPOSED THE FIRST DRAFT. RESTATED ARTICLES.
OH, GOSH. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SEPTEMBER OR OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR.
HE AND I WORKED TOGETHER ON THEM IN LATE OCTOBER EARLY NOVEMBER.
MR. HYDE WAS VERY RECEPTIVE, AND WE WORKED WELL TOGETHER TO, YOU KNOW, REVISIONS THAT I SUGGESTED OR HYPOTHETICALS MAINLY DEALING WITH HOW THE DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS OF THE AMARILLO EDC COULD, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE TO FUNCTION LARGELY AS IT HAS IN THE PAST, BUT WITH THE STRENGTHENED CONTROLS THAT I THINK WERE SOUGHT BY THE COUNCIL.
SO, FOR INSTANCE, SPEAKING TO, YOU KNOW, WHERE PREEXISTING ARTICLES ARE NOW AND WHERE THEY WILL GO WITH THIS AMENDMENT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE BIGGEST ITEMS IS THERE CAN BE NO LINE ITEM SHIFTS IN IN DOLLARS FROM A BUDGETARY PERSPECTIVE.
SO A LINE ITEM IS A LINE ITEM, IS A LINE ITEM IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SHIFTS IN THESE ARTICLES.
[03:15:06]
IN ADDITION TO BRINGING JUST SOME, BRINGING THE ARTICLES TO A MORE MODERN STATE, AND IN THAT REGARD, THERE IS ONE ADDITIONAL REVISION THAT I THINK I WOULD SUGGEST.IT'S SOMETHING THAT I DIDN'T PROPOSE TO MR. HYDE, JUST WANTING TO NOT MAKE THE DOCUMENT LOOK LIKE IT WAS BLEEDING WHEN HE SAW A RED LINE, AND THAT IS NOMENCLATURE. THE TERM ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION WENT OUT OF EXISTENCE ESSENTIALLY, WHEN OUR BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS CODE WAS ADOPTED IN 2005.
ULTIMATELY FINALLY REPEALED IN 2010. SO ONE THING I WOULD SUGGEST THIS COUNCIL CONSIDER IS APPROVING AN ADJUSTMENT TO THE NOMENCLATURE FROM ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION TO CERTIFICATE OF FORMATION, WHICH IS THE CURRENT TERM.
SO THAT'S ONE THING I WOULD SUGGEST WE CONSIDER IN, IN CONSIDERING APPROVING THESE ARTICLES.
THERE'S, THERE'S TIGHTENING IN OTHER AREAS AS WELL.
BUT THE LINE ITEM, YOU KNOW, BUDGETARY SHIFTS IS THE MAIN NEW STRONGER CONTROL IN HERE.
THERE'S ADDITIONAL REFERENCES TO THINGS LIKE CHAPTER 171 OF THE TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE, WHICH DEALS WITH SOMETHING WE WITNESSED EARLIER IN THIS MEETING, WHICH IS ABSTAINING FROM DISCUSSIONS AND VOTES ON MATTERS YOU HAVE AN INTEREST IN, SO THAT REFERENCE IS NOW IN HERE, JUST TO REMIND ANYONE, YOU KNOW, THE READER OF THESE ARTICLES THAT OR I'M SORRY, THE CERTIFICATE THAT 'S SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND IN ANY MEETING BUDGET, BUDGET LANGUAGE ITSELF IN THESE IN THIS RESTATED DOCUMENT IS NOT TIGHTENED UP, YOU KNOW, WITH ANY FIRM LANGUAGE.
SO IF YOU WANT MORE DETAIL, YOU GET MORE DETAIL.
THIS COUNCIL MAY WANT MORE DETAIL THAN THE NEXT OR THE NEXT OR THE NEXT, AND SO RATHER THAN BUILD A RIGID, HERE'S EXACTLY HOW EVERYTHING MUST LOOK. THIS COUNCIL JUST NEEDS TO PROVIDE ITS GUIDANCE TO THE BOARD SUCH THAT IT GETS A BUDGET THAT IT MIGHT APPROVE, BECAUSE CERTAINLY THIS COUNCIL DOESN'T HAVE TO APPROVE ANY BUDGET IT'S NOT COMFORTABLE WITH.
SO RATHER THAN DEALING IN THE MINUTIA OF THE LANGUAGE OF HERE'S HERE'S EXACTLY HOW IT HAS TO LOOK.
THIS RATHER JUST DEFERS TO THE DISCRETION OF THE THEN CURRENT COUNCIL, AND OBVIOUSLY THIS BOARD UNDERSTANDS THIS COUNCIL WANTS MORE DETAIL IN THE IN THE UPCOMING BUDGET. AND THEN ONCE THE BUDGET IS APPROVED, THEN THAT FREES THE MONEY TO BE SPENT, AS LONG AS IT STAYS WITHIN BUDGET AND WITHIN THE LINE ITEM. CORRECT, BUT ANY SHIFTING OF LINE ITEMS OR GOING ABOVE BUDGET WOULD HAVE TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.
ABSOLUTELY. YES, SIR. THANK YOU. YES, SIR. DID THE BOARD VOTE ON THIS? TO APPROVE IT. WE DO NOT VOTING TO ADOPT IT, RATHER PROVIDED THE GUIDANCE TO GENERATE THE CURRENT STATE OF IT.
THE BOARD CERTAINLY UNDERSTANDS THAT THE COUNCIL IS IN CONTROL OF THIS PROCEDURE, AND SO IT HAD IT HAD MEETINGS TO DISCUSS THE LANGUAGE SETTLED IN ON WHAT IT'S YOU KNOW, IT'S WHAT IT'S PROPOSED IN ITS CURRENT FORM, BUT , YOU KNOW, THE COUNCIL'S INSTRUCTION IN THE I BELIEVE IT WAS NOVEMBER 12TH MEETING WAS TO GET BACK WITH THE EDC BOARD AND PROVIDE THAT INPUT FULLY.
THAT'S CORRECT. YES, SIR. YEAH. TOM, WE HAD A GOOD DISCUSSION.
OKAY. THERE'S ONLY ONE ISSUE, I THINK, THAT WE DISCUSSED AND CAME TO A CONSENSUS ON WHAT IT SHOULD.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR MR. ADKINS? JUST ON BACK TO THE CERTIFICATE OF FORMATION.
SO, LIKE, IS THAT GOING TO CHANGE IN EVERY SINGLE SPOT, SAYS ARTICLES AND CORPORATIONS DOCUMENT.
YES. YEAH IT WILL AND I CAN JUMP BACK THROUGH IT.
ALSO ELIMINATE THE FOOTNOTE AT THE TOP OF PAGE ONE, WHICH IS WHERE.
SO THAT WAS KIND OF MY QUICK AND EASY WAY TO FIX IT, BUT IT'LL BE JUST AS EASY TO FIND AND REPLACE IN THIS DOCUMENT AFTER WE BREAK HERE, IF THAT'S WHAT THE COUNCIL DECIDES. ANYTHING FURTHER? CRAFT. THAT'S IT. I APPRECIATE YOUR WORK. THANK YOU, MR. ADKINS. BYLAWS AND BUDGET. CAN YOU GIVE THE PUBLIC AN UPDATE ON KIND OF HOW YOU'RE COMING? AND DO YOU FIND THEM TO BE REASONABLE? DO YOU FIND THEM TO BE AGREEABLE? AND WHEN COULD WE POTENTIALLY TAKE ACTION ON THOSE LAST TWO FINAL ITEMS. YOU BET. YEAH. SO THE BYLAWS, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR TO THE RESTATED CERTIFICATE ARE UNDER THE KNIFE RIGHT NOW.
[03:20:05]
THE BOARD HAS A DRAFT OF RESTATED BYLAWS THAT THEY'RE CONSIDERING AT THEIR MEETING TOMORROW.THEY'VE ALSO WE ALSO MET. WAS IT LAST WEEK? SORRY.
MY WEEKS ARE RUNNING TOGETHER, BUT WE ALSO MET RECENTLY.
BUDGET, YOU THINK IS IN LINE WITH THAT AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, I'D HAVE TO DEFER TO KEVIN ON THAT.
KEVIN. WE SHOULD HAVE WE SHOULD HAVE THAT BUDGET TO YOU BY THE END OF THE WEEK FOR YOU ALL TO REVIEW AS A COUNCIL. WITH A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL, AND WE'RE ALSO GOING TO JUST PROVIDE THAT IN THE CITY'S FORMAT INSTEAD OF OUR FORMAT. SO I'M HOPING THAT'S OKAY. I MEAN, WE CAN PUT IT IN OUR FORMAT BUT WE'RE GOING TO PUT IT WE'VE HAD TO BUILD SOME NEW ITEMS IN THAT CITY BUDGET, BUT WE MET AGAIN YESTERDAY AFTERNOON WITH LAURA DOUG AND I, AND SO WE SHOULD HAVE THAT TO YOU. THAT WAY YOU HAVE A COUPLE OF WEEKS OF REVIEW.
BEFORE I KNOW THAT YOU HAD SAID MAYOR, YOU WANTED TO APPROVE THAT ON THE 28TH OR THAT WAS YOUR GOAL, AND SO THAT WAY IT GIVES YOU ALL TIME TO HAVE THAT TO REVIEW IT AND TO ASK QUESTIONS OF US OR TO CHANGE THINGS.
SO IT GIVES YOU ALL SOME TIME TO REVIEW THAT. SO WE SHOULD HAVE THAT TO YOU, I BELIEVE BY, BY THE END OF THE WEEK FOR SURE. THAT'S GREAT NEWS, AND I THINK THE FORMAT IS HELPFUL.
I KNOW AT COUNCILMAN SIMPSON REQUEST. IT IS NICE IF THEY'RE ALL LAID OUT THE SAME.
WE'RE LOOKING AT TRENDS THE SAME, EVERYTHING IN BUDGET SESSION SO THAT IT ALL.
PERFECT. SO ANY QUESTIONS ON BUDGET BEFORE WE GO BACK TO MR. ADKINS, I JUST HAVE ONE FINAL QUESTION. THANK YOU.
KEVIN. SO, MR. ADKINS, DO YOU FIND THE REVISED ARTICLES OR NEW, YOU KNOW, FORM OF CERTIFICATE TO BE REASONABLE? I DO, YES. OKAY.
IS IT IS IT PREVENTATIVE IN ANY WAY? IS IT GOING TO IS IT GOING TO BE A HARDSHIP OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT FOR THE TASK THAT THE EDC HAS FOR GROWTH AND EXPANSION, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT? NO, I DON'T I DON'T BELIEVE SO.
I THINK IT WILL OPERATE LARGELY AS IT HAS IN THE PAST, AND THE STAFF WON'T BE HANDCUFFED THROUGH IT REALLY GOOD WITH THE CONTROLS THAT THE COUNCIL WAS LOOKING FOR. WELL, WE APPRECIATE YOUR COLLABORATION AND WORKING WITH OUR SPECIAL COUNCIL TO GET US TO THIS, THIS GOAL LINE. SO DO WE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU'D LIKE TO ASK? THANK YOU. MISTER ATKINS WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION FROM COUNCIL.
CAN I, CAN I ONE THING. YES. BEFORE WE VOTE, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS HAS AFFECT THIS, BECAUSE THERE'S A MINOR CHANGE THAT NEEDS TO BE MADE TO THE FINAL DOCUMENT, BUT JUST AS A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE, AND I THINK YOU FOUND THAT I'VE KIND OF BEEN PRETTY CONSISTENT IN THIS OVER MY TWO YEARS OR YEAR AND A HALF. I WOULD RATHER DELAY THIS FOR TWO MORE WEEKS FOR THE VERY REASON WE HAVE A DOCUMENT THAT'S BEEN THAT'S BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR 35 YEARS.
THE FINAL VERSION OF THIS WAS ONLY MADE PUBLIC ON FRIDAY.
I HAVE NO REASON TO THINK IT WOULD NEED ANY MORE CONVERSATION, BUT JUST AS A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE, I WOULD RATHER ON SOMETHING THIS IMPORTANT. THAT'S BEEN 35 YEARS IN EXISTENCE.
SO WHILE I APPRECIATE YOUR PRINCIPLE IN IT AND OFFER I PERSONALLY WOULD DECLINE BASED ON THE FACT OF, OF NOMENCLATURE. SO. SO THIS IS A FORMALITY THAT'S ALREADY TAKEN CARE OF IN THE STATE LAW.
THIS IS NOT ANYTHING MATERIAL TO WHAT WE'RE DOING, AND IT'S OF NO CONCERN FOR US THAT IS AN ISSUE THAT WE WANT TO WE AND I AGREE WITH MR. ADKINS THAT IT SHOULD BE CLEANED UP. SO I THINK THAT THIS COUNCIL'S FULL, WELL CAPABLE OF OF MAKING A MOTION AND, AND BRINGING ABOUT THAT CERTIFICATE CHANGE SO THAT THE NOMENCLATURE IS UPDATED.
THIS WAY, WE KNOW IT'S A DOCUMENT THAT'S BEEN PUBLIC FOR A LITTLE OVER 72 HOURS.
WELL, I DON'T MIND REDIRECTING SO THAT YOU'RE NOT TAKING MY WORD FOR IT, BUT, MR. ADKINS, IS THERE ANYTHING MATERIAL TO THE NOMENCLATURE CHANGE THAT IS ALREADY CITED IN STATE LAW THAT SHOULD PREVENT US FROM VOTING ON THIS DOCUMENT?
[03:25:06]
NOT ON THE NOMENCLATURE, NO, MR. MAYOR. IS THERE ANY OTHER CHANGES IN THE DOCUMENT THAT I'M UNAWARE OF THAT WOULD BE CHANGING THAT ARE MATERIAL? WELL, WHAT I'M NOT AWARE OF IS WHAT VERSIONS ANYONE ELSE HAS SEEN BECAUSE WE HAVE PASSED BACK AND FORTH VERSIONS, YOU KNOW, AMONGST THE BOARD IN OUR DISCUSSIONS. SO THAT'S WHAT I'M UNAWARE OF, IS WHAT HAVE FOLKS SEEN? THE VERSION THAT WE SENT OUT IN THE PACKET WAS A CLEAN COMPARISON AGAINST MR. HYDE'S IN MY VERSION FROM EARLY NOVEMBER. SO I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT FOLKS HAVE SEEN.OKAY, WELL, I APPRECIATE YOU BEING VERY UPFRONT WITH THAT, AND I'M NOT SPEAKING TO WHAT PEOPLE HAVE OR HAVE NOT SEEN, BUT IT IS IN OUR PACKET AND IT WAS PROPERLY NOTICED.
SO I WOULD GO AHEAD AND CALL THE VOTE AND WOULD ASK THOUGH I, I RESPECT THE PRINCIPLE MATTER.
I DON'T THINK THAT IT'S MATERIAL. SO I WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION ON ITEM NINE F.
I'LL MAKE A MOTION. WE. CONSIDER RESOLUTION OH ONE, DASH 14, DASH 25, DASH TWO.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS ONE? ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
AYE. ANY OPPOSED? NO. THAT MOTION PASSES WITH A41 VOTE.
CAN I GET A MOTION TO ADJOURN? WE HADN'T DONE THAT IN A MINUTE.
MAKE A MOTION TO ADJOURN. MOTION. MOTION, AND A SECOND.
YOU'RE ADJOURNED. THANK YOU GUYS FOR BEING HERE.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.