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WELL, THIS MEETING OF THE BAYTOWN CITY COUNCIL ORDER, IT IS 6 32.WE'RE IN BAYTOWN CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS.
WE'LL BE LED IN OUR PLEDGE AND INVOCATION THIS EVENING BY COUNCIL MEMBER CHARLES JOHNSON OF DISTRICT NUMBER THREE.
YOU JOIN ME IN THE SITE OF THE PLEDGE TO THE US FLAG.
I PLEDGE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO, TO THE REPUBLIC, WHICH STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INVIS WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE.
HONOR THE TEXAS FLAG, MY PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE TEXAS ONE STATE UNDER GOD ONE AND INDIVISIBLE BOW FOR A MOMENT OF PRAYER.
DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER, THANK YOU FOR YOUR MANY ABUNDANT BLESSINGS.
THANK YOU FOR THE ABILITY TO BE INVOLVED IN USEFUL WORK AND FOR THE RESPONSIBILITIES ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
I PRAY FOR THE VARIOUS LEVELS OF CITY OFFICIALS.
I ASK THAT YOU GRANT US THE ABILITY TO WORK IN HARMONY.
WE EVEN WHEN WE MAY HAVE HONEST DISAGREEMENT, THE WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE, AND UNDERSTANDING NEEDED TO GOVERN.
I PRAY YOU PROTECT ALL OF OUR SERVICE MEMBERS, POLICE OFFICERS, FIREFIGHTERS, EVERYONE WHO SERVES IN ARMED FORCES LOOK UPON THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES.
I PRAY FOR THE AGENDA THAT'S SET BEFORE US TONIGHT.
PLEASE GIVE US AN ASSURANCE OF WHAT YOU WOULD WANT OUT OF YOUR WILL.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, I'D LIKE TO LIFT UP SOMEONE IN THEIR LAST MEETING, MR. KEVIN TROLLER.
I PRAY THAT YOU WOULD BLESS HIM AND HIS FAMILY, AND THEY'RE GOING OUT AND THEY'RE COMING IN.
I PRAY THAT WHATEVER HIS FUTURE HOLDS FOR HIM, YOU WOULD GIVE HIM CONTENT, HAPPINESS, JOY FOR HIM, HIS WIFE AND HIS CHILDREN, AND YOUR SON, OUR LORD AND SAVIOR.
[1. MINUTES]
WE HAVE, UH, APPROVAL OF THE MENACE.WE HAVE, UH, ITEMS ONE A AND B, IF WE CAN TAKE 'EM TOGETHER.
UH, THE FIRST ONE IS FOR THE, UH, WORK SESSION, REGULAR MEETING HELD ON AUGUST 25TH, AND THE SECOND IS FOR THE AUGUST, UH, BUDGET WORK SESSION HELD ON, UH, AUGUST 18TH.
SO, I'D ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR ITEMS ONE, ONE A AND B TOGETHER.
ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, OR ABSTENTIONS? IF NOT ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MENDS IS WRITTEN, PLEASE SAY, AYE.
[a. Recognize City of Baytown Employees for their Years of Service.]
A RECOGNITION OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN EMPLOYEES FOR THE YEARS OF SERVICE.I'M HERE TO PRESENT AGAIN OUR EMPLOYEES, UM, WHO HAVE GIVEN US THEIR DEDICATED SERVICE.
DAMIKA RAYMOND ACCOUNTANT, ONE WITH FINANCE, ADAM ESPINOZA, MECHANIC WITH PUBLIC WORKS AND ENGINEERING.
JUAN NAVARRO, PATROL OFFICER WITH POLICE.
STEVE OCON, CORPORAL WITH POLICE.
STEVE OCON WAS BORN IN LUBBOCK, TEXAS.
BEING FROM A MILITARY FAMILY, HE FOUND HIMSELF MOVING FROM ARMY BASE TO ARMY BASE THROUGHOUT HIS CHILDHOOD, EVENTUALLY CALLING KILLEEN, TEXAS, HIS HOMETOWN.
AFTER GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL, HE MOVED TO THE HOUSTON AREA AND ATTENDED THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON.
WHILE THERE, STEVE DECIDED TO FULFILL HIS LONG-TERM DREAM OF BEING A POLICE OFFICER, AND HE ENROLLED IN THE U OF H DOWNTOWN POLICE ACADEMY, GRADUATING IN 1994.
AFTER GRADUATION, HE WAS HIRED BY THE LIBERTY COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND WORKED THERE UNTIL JOINING THE BAYTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
STEVE WORKED THE EVENING SHIFT UNTIL 1999 WHEN HE WAS ASSIGNED TO THE GULF COAST VIOLENT OFFENDERS TASK FORCE, AND HE WORKED ALONGSIDE THE US MARSHALS.
HIS PRIMARY ASSIGNMENT WAS TRACKING DOWN VIOLENT FUGITIVES FROM JUSTICE, WHICH LED TO HUNDREDS OF ARRESTS.
IN 2000, STEVE RETURNED TO THE PATROL DIVISION, WORKING THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT AND BECOMING A FIELD TRAINING OFFICER AS AN FTO FOR 10 YEARS.
HE TRAINED MANY OFFICERS THROUGHOUT THE DEPARTMENT AND EVENTUALLY WAS PROMOTED TO CORPORAL IN 2010.
THROUGH THAT SAME PERIOD, HE WAS ASSIGNED AS A SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER AT THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY GUIDANCE CENTER, NOW KNOWN AS THE POINT.
SINCE 2013, STEVE HAS BEEN ASSIGNED TO THE CRIME PREVENTION UNIT, WHERE HE'S THE DARE PROGRAM COORDINATOR AS WELL AS AN INSTRUCTOR.
STEVE IS VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT EDUCATING STUDENTS WITH LIFE LEARNING SKILLS THAT WILL HELP THEM IN THEIR FUTURE.
IN ADDITION, HE IS ALSO THE CRIME STOPPERS CAMPUS COORDINATOR,
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NATIONAL NIGHT OUT COORDINATOR, A RED INSTRUCTOR AND PART OF THE DEPARTMENT'S BIKE PATROL UNIT.THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER, STEVE HAS RECEIVED MANY LETTERS OF COMMENDATION FROM SUPERVISORS AND CITIZENS.
SOME OF THESE INCLUDE BEING RECOGNIZED BY THE BAYTOWN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AS OFFICER OF THE MONTH, RECEIVING THE JOHN H COVER LIFESAVING AWARD EARNING TWO EMERGENCY SERVICE RIBBONS AND A COMMANDER'S AWARD OF EXCELLENCE.
STEVE HAS BEEN MARRIED FOR 29 YEARS AND HAS TWO CHILDREN.
IN HIS SPARE TIME, HE ENJOYS FISHING, KAYAKING, AND LOVES TO BARBECUE.
HIS FAVORITE PASTIME IS SPENDING TIME WITH HIS FAMILY, ESPECIALLY WITH HIS FOUR GRANDCHILDREN.
FOR MANY YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, SEAN LATA, CORPORAL WITH POLICE.
DURING HIS 25 YEARS OF SERVICE WITH THE BAYTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT, SEAN HAS HELD NUMEROUS POSITIONS, INCLUDING BEING A MEMBER OF THE SWAT TEAM FOR 23 YEARS.
CURRENTLY, HE IS PART OF THE TRAINING DIVISION AT THE BAYTOWN POLICE ACADEMY.
SEAN FEELS BLESSED FOR ALL HIS PROFESSION HAS ALLOWED HIM TO EXPERIENCE AND TO HAVE SHARED THIS TIME WITH SOME OF THE BEST PEOPLE.
HE KNOWS THOSE WITHIN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS THE MANY OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS HE'S HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH.
HE LOVES BEING SURROUNDED BY HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS, BUT DOESN'T MIND SOME ME TIME ON OCCASION AS WELL.
SOME OF THE THINGS SEAN ENJOYS DOING IN HIS SPARE TIME INCLUDES RIDING MOUNTAIN BIKES, KAYAKING, PLANNING VACATIONS.
HE NEVER TAKES, PUSHING HIMSELF HARD UNTIL HE TASTES COPPER, AND THEN TRYING TO HANG ON FOREST BATHING AND ALL THINGS LIKE SAM RAYBURN.
HIS FAVORITE QUOTE TO SHARE IS, DON'T BE UPSET BY THE RESULTS YOU DIDN'T GET WITH THE WORK YOU DIDN'T DO BY ZIG ZIGLAR.
THANK YOU, CORPORAL LATA FOR YOUR MANY YEARS OF SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY.
RENEE AND OSA LIEUTENANT WITH POLICE.
RENEE GRADUATED THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON DOWNTOWN POLICE ACADEMY IN 1994, BEGINNING HIS LAW ENFORCEMENT CAREER WITH THE HEMPSTEAD POLICE DEPARTMENT, MOVING ON TO BECOME A RESERVE OFFICER WITH THE RICHMOND POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND THEN ON TO WORK FOR THE TOMBALL POLICE DEPARTMENT BEFORE JOINING BAYTOWN PD IN SEPTEMBER OF 1997.
AFTER THREE YEARS AS A PATROL OFFICER, RENEE TRANSFERRED TO THE DEPARTMENT'S PROBLEM RESOLUTION TEAM, WHERE HE UTILIZED COMMON SENSE TACTICS TO SOLVE VARIOUS CRIME PROBLEMS IN THE COMMUNITY.
HIS SUCCESS IN THIS UNIT RESULTED IN BEING ASSIGNED TO A DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION TASK FORCE IN GALVESTON, WHERE HE SERVED FOR ONE YEAR WITH HIS NARCOTICS TRAINING, HIS ABILITY TO WORK UNDERCOVER.
AND AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE TEAM, RENEE WAS TRANSFERRED TO THE HARRIS COUNTY ORGANIZED CRIME UNIT.
DURING HIS THREE YEARS IN THE UNIT, HE WORKED NUMEROUS LARGE SCALE NARCOTIC INVESTIGATIONS, SOME OF WHICH SPANNED SEVERAL STATES.
IN 2004, RENEE TRANSFERRED BACK TO THE BAYTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT WHERE HE BROUGHT ALL OF HIS EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE BACK TO THE PATROL DIVISION BASED ON THESE ATTRIBUTES, ALONG WITH HIS ABILITY TO LEAD OTHERS AND WORK WITH LITTLE OR NO SUPERVISION.
IN 2008, RENEE'S SUPERVISORS UNANIMOUSLY APPOINTED HIM TO THE RANK OF CORPORAL AND ULTIMATELY A FIELD TRAINING INSTRUCTOR FOR THE DEPARTMENT.
IN 2011, RENEE PROMOTED TO THE RANK OF SERGEANT AND WAS ASSIGNED TO THE PATROL DIVISION WHERE HE SERVED FOR TWO YEARS BEFORE MOVING TO THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS DIVISION.
AS THE DETECTIVE SERGEANT RENEE PROMOTED TO LIEUTENANT IN JANUARY, 2022 AND CURRENTLY SERVES AS A SUPERVISOR IN THE PATROL DIVISION.
RENEE CURRENTLY HOLDS A MASTER'S PEACE OFFICER LICENSE AND IS CERTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT INSTRUCTOR THROUGH THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON LAW ENFORCEMENT.
HE IS A GRADUATE OF THE FBI LEADER TRILOGY PROGRAM, WHERE HE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED TRAINING IN SUPERVISORY COMMAND AND EXECUTIVE LEVEL LAW ENFORCEMENT LEADERSHIP, EARNING HIM THE FBI LEADER A TRILOGY AWARD.
RENEE'S OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS INCLUDE NUMEROUS LETTERS OF COMMENDATION FROM SUPERVISORS AND CITIZENS.
TWO, EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE MEDALS, TWO COMMANDERS AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE, THE CHIEF'S UNIT, CITATION FOR HONORABLE CONDUCT AWARDS, A LIFESAVING AWARD, AND TWO EMERGENCY SERVICE RIBBONS.
THANK YOU LIEUTENANT OSA FOR SERVING OUR COMMUNITY WITH SUCH DEDICATION THROUGH THE YEARS.
RON ELLIS, PATROL OFFICER WITH POLICE.
RON GRADUATED FROM THE THE LONE STAR POLICE ACADEMY IN SEPTEMBER OF 1995 AND WAS HIRED BY THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY PRECINCT FOUR CONSTABLE'S OFFICE.
AFTER SERVING FOR TWO YEARS AT THIS AGENCY, HE JOINED THE BAYTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT AS A PATROL OFFICER IN SEPTEMBER OF 1997.
HIS PRIOR POLICE EXPERIENCE ENABLED HIM TO EXCEL THROUGH THIS TRAINING PROGRAM.
AFTER TWO YEARS ON PATROL, HE WAS SELECTED TO REPRESENT BAYTOWN AS AN INVESTIGATOR AT THE HARRIS COUNTY VIOLENT OFFENDERS TASK FORCE, WHERE HIS PRIMARY ASSIGNMENT WAS LOCATING AND TRACKING DOWN VIOLENT FUGITIVES FROM JUSTICE.
IN 2006, RON WAS SELECTED TO BECOME A SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER FOR FOUR YEARS.
HE MONITORED THE HALLS OF STERLING HIGH SCHOOL, INTERACTING WITH STUDENTS AND FACULTY DOING HIS PART IN PREVENTING AND REACTING TO CRIMES ON CAMPUS.
RON HAS ALWAYS BEEN KNOWN FOR HIS DEDICATION AND HARD WORK, NO MATTER WHAT ASSIGNMENT HE WAS GIVEN.
AND FOR THAT REASON, HE WAS SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE ON INTERVIEW BOARDS, SCREENING POLICE APPLICANTS DURING THE HIRING PROCESS.
AS RON SERVED ON THESE BOARDS, HE RECOGNIZED THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL TO SORT THROUGH THE MANY POLICE APPLICATIONS AND CONDUCT BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS.
SO HE VOLUNTEERED TO BECOME MORE INVOLVED IN THE HIRING
[00:10:01]
PROCESS.RON WAS OFFICIALLY ASSIGNED TO THE BAYTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT'S HIRING AND RECRUITING OFFICE IN 2018 WHERE HE CURRENTLY SERVES.
HE REGULARLY GOES ABOVE AND BEYOND TO INVESTIGATE AND RESEARCH EACH APPLICANT CONDUCTING THOROUGH BACKGROUND CHECKS ON POLICE APPLICANTS TO SEEK OUT THE BEST CANDIDATES FOR THE JOB, AND PROVIDING A VALUABLE SERVICE TO THE BAYTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
RON CURRENTLY HOLDS A MASTERPIECE OFFICER CERTIFICATE WITH A TEXAS COMMISSION ON LAW ENFORCEMENT AND STANDARDS.
IN A SPARE TIME, RON ENJOYS TAKING LONG TRIPS TO SEE THE COUNTRYSIDE AND SPENDING TIME WITH HIS FAMILY ON LAKE CONROE.
THANK YOU OFFICER ELLIS FOR SERVING OUR DEPARTMENT AND COMMUNITY FOR SO MANY YEARS.
ROBERT PARKER, CORPORAL WITH POLICE.
ROBERT WAS BORN IN COOKEVILLE, TENNESSEE, WHERE HE LIVED UNTIL MOVING TO LIVINGSTON, TEXAS IN 1982.
AFTER GRADUATION, HE BEGAN HIS LAW ENFORCEMENT CAREER AS A POLK COUNTY JAILER.
IN 1994, ROBERT GRADUATED FROM THE ANGELINA CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACADEMY IN COLLEGE AND WAS HIRED BY THE ON ALASKA POLICE DEPARTMENT.
HE MOVED TO THE LIBERTY COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT IN 1995 AND WORKED THERE AS A DEPUTY SHERIFF UNTIL SEPTEMBER, 1997 WHEN HE JOINED THE BAYTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ROBERT BEGAN HIS CAREER WITH BAYTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT AS A PATROL OFFICER BEFORE MOVING INTO VARIOUS OTHER POSITIONS.
IN 2000, HE WAS SELECTED AS ONE OF THE DEPARTMENT'S FIRST TRAFFIC UNITS AND WAS CERTIFIED AS A COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.
IN 2012, HE WAS ASSIGNED TO THE DEPARTMENT'S CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS DIVISION WHERE HE WORKED PERSON CRIMES AS A DETECTIVE INVESTIGATING ROBBERIES AND HOMICIDES.
ROBERT RETURNED TO PATROL IN 2017.
HE WAS ASSIGNED TO THE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT TEAM WHERE HE CURRENTLY SERVES ON BOTH DAY AND NIGHT SHIFTS AS A CRIME SCENE OFFICER, FIELD TRAINING INSTRUCTOR, AND CRASH RECONSTRUCTIONIST.
ROBERT HAS ALSO SERVED AS A SENIOR FIELD TRAINING INSTRUCTOR, BREATHALYZER TEST OPERATOR, AND AS A COORDINATOR OF THE EXPLORERS PROGRAM WHERE HE WORKS WITH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN A LAW ENFORCEMENT OR OTHER CRIMINAL JUSTICE RELATED CAREER.
HE IS AN INSTRUCTOR FOR THE CITIZENS POLICE ACADEMY AND HONOR GUARD COMMANDER AND A BIKE PATROL OFFICER.
HE CURRENTLY HOLDS A MASTER'S PEACE OFFICER CERTIFICATE AND WAS PROMOTED TO CORPORAL IN JANUARY, 2022.
OUTSIDE OF WORK, ROBERT HAS DONATED COUNTLESS HOURS SERVING OUR COMMUNITY BY VOLUNTEERING WITH THE BAYTOWN SPECIAL RODEO HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, THE HIGHLANDS ROTARY CLUB, AND THE THIN BLUE LINE DOG PROJECT.
HIS MOTTO IS SERVICE OVER SELF AND ONE PROFITS MOST WHO SERVES BEST DURING HIS SERVICE.
ROBERT HAS RECEIVED NUMEROUS AWARDS, LETTERS OF ACCOMMODATION AND MERIT RECOGNITIONS, INCLUDING THREE HONORABLE CONDUCT MEDALS AND EXCELLENT SERVICE MEDAL FOUR LIFESAVING MEDALS, THE CHIEF'S UNIT CITATION, TWO EMERGENCY SERVICE RIBBONS, THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA DISTRICT MERIT AWARD, THE LEARNING FOR LIFE LEADERSHIP AWARD, AND BAYTOWN JCS, YOUNG OFFICER OF THE YEAR.
THANK YOU CORPORAL PARKER FOR SERVING OUR COMMUNITY IN SO MANY WAYS THROUGH THE YEARS.
I THINK IT'S OBVIOUS TO SEE ELISE FOR TONIGHT THE, THE AMOUNT OF, I GUESS, HIRING WE DID 25 YEARS AGO IN THE BAYTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
BUT IF YOU, UM, IF YOU KNOW THESE OFFICERS, YOU KNOW THAT THEY, THEY ARE CERTAINLY SOME OF BAY TOWN'S FINEST OFFICERS.
I BELIEVE I WAS TOLD THERE WERE SIX OF 'EM TO HIRE TOGETHER AND I THINK FIVE ARE STILL WITH US.
AND SO YEAH, I THINK IT JUST REFLECTS, UH, ONE, UH, THE AMOUNT OF, OF, UM, LONGEVITY A LOT OF OUR EMPLOYEES AND MANY DEPARTMENTS HAVE WITH THE CITY, AND CERTAINLY, UH, HOW LAW ENFORCEMENT, UH, WHEN YOU GET TO KNOW SOME OF THESE NAMES, UH, AND EVEN THEIR FIRST NAMES, UH, TO KNOW HOW THEY CONTINUE TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY AND PROTECT OUR CITIZENS.
SO I DO, I CERTAINLY THANK THEM FOR THEIR SERVICE TO THE CITY, UH, AND PARTICULARLY WHOEVER'S DOING THE HIRING, UH, THEY DID A REALLY GOOD JOB AND KNOCKED IT OUT THE PARK.
[b. Recognition of Assistant City Manager Kevin Troller.]
MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT ITEM.BEFORE WE DO THAT, MR. CITY MANAGER, WE DO HAVE ONE SYSTEM THAT DID SIGN UP TO SPEAK ON ITEM TWO B.
UH, MR. ISAAC, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES OR LESS.
WANT YOUR THREE MINUTES? I'LL TRADE YOU FOR I HAVE THOUGH.
OR ONE OF YOUR, UH, GREEN BAY PACKER OWNERSHIP DOGS.
MR. MAYOR COUNSEL, I CAME HERE TONIGHT TO, UH, RISE IN RECOGNITION OF MR. KEVIN TROLLER AS AN ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER.
UH, JUST TO GIVE YOU A FUN FACT, LIKE I SAID, HE IS A PART-TIME OWNER OF THE GREEN BAY PACKERS
AND SO HE KNOWS WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE A COACH OF A FOOTBALL TEAM OR A A ANY SORT OF ORGANIZATION, ANY TEAM, AND NOT GET CREDIT WHEN CREDIT IS DUE SOMETIMES TO TAKE THE FLACK WHEN FLACK ISN'T REALLY DUE SOMETIMES.
HE'S BEEN HERE FOR QUITE A WHILE.
MY GRANDFATHER RETIRED IN 2011 AFTER
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23 YEARS OF SERVICE, WHEN HE FOUND OUT THAT MR. TROLLER WAS LEAVING, UM, HE WAS KIND OF DISAPPOINTED.WE'RE GONNA LOSE A GREAT TEAM MEMBER TODAY FOR WHATEVER REASON.
BUT I HAD TO COME HERE TODAY AND TELL YOU THAT, UH, HE HAS BEEN A ASSET TO THIS COMMUNITY IN MANY WAYS.
WHEN I HOSTED THE CHRISTMAS ON TEXAS AVENUE EVENT, MR. TROLLER SPOKE DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC, WAS THERE TO SPEAK FOR US WHEN MANY CITY LEADERS WERE TOO AFRAID TO GO OUTSIDE AT SOME POINT IN TIME.
UM, HE'S WORKED DILIGENTLY ON THE POLICE ISSUE THAT THAT ARRIVED LAST YEAR.
HE IS BEEN WORKING TO CORRAL, UH, UH, THE POLICE ADVISORY BOARD AND ITS INFANCY WHEN IT, UH, ATTENDED A MEETING WHERE THEY WERE SHOWING THE NEW, UH, THE FACILITIES.
AND, UH, I JUST WANTED TO TO SAY THAT HE'S AN OVERALL, UH, A GOOD PERSON.
WHEN I MET HIM IN HIS OFFICE AND, AND SAW A PICTURE OF, UH, UH, A YOUNG KID WHO WAS IN BOSNIA WHEN HE SERVED THERE IN THE MILITARY, UH, IT IT, IT TOLD ME A GREAT DEAL ABOUT, UH, HOW MUCH HE CARES FOR PEOPLE AND THEIR WELLBEING.
AND I WANNA THANK YOU MR. TROLLER, FOR YOUR SERVICE HERE IN BAYTOWN.
AND, UH, YOU CAN HAVE THE REST OF MY TIME IF YOU WANT,
WELL, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, UH, DITTO TO EVERYTHING MR. ISAAC SAID.
UH, DON'T KNOW HOW, UH, WHAT I COULD ADD TO THAT, BUT, UH, I AM HERE OFFICIALLY TO, UH, RECOGNIZE MY FRIEND KEVIN TROLLER, UH, ON THE EVE OF HIS, UH, RETIREMENT.
UH, YOU OBVIOUSLY WILL NOT BE REPLACING KEVIN.
YOU'LL BE FILLING A SLOT THAT KEVIN WILL BE LEAVING, BUT YOU CANNOT REPLACE KEVIN.
YOU CANNOT REPLACE HIS HEART, HIS SPIRIT, HIS CARING FOR THIS COMMUNITY.
UH, THIS IS A PERSON, EVEN WHEN HE SLEEPWALK.
HE, HE WORKS, UH, PROBABLY, UH, ONE OF THE HARDEST WORKING PEOPLE I HAVE EVER, UH, HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF SERVING WITH IN MY CAREER.
UM, SOMEBODY WHO CARES SO DEEPLY ABOUT THIS COMMUNITY AND THERE WAS NO MYSTERY TO ME THAT HE INTENDS TO REMAIN HERE.
WHY HE WOULD WANNA REMAIN HERE BECAUSE HE LOVES BAYTOWN.
AND WITH THAT, KEVIN, WILL YOU JOIN ME HERE AT THE PULPIT JUST FOR A, A, UH, A MOMENT.
UH, YOU CAN TELL HOW CASUALLY HE'S TAKING HIS LAST COUNCIL MEETING.
UH, HE'S, HE'S GOT ON THE SACRED MAROON, UH, KEVIN, THE, UH, THE ARTICLE THAT WE'VE ORDERED FOR YOU IS NOT HERE.
IT'S SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES AND ALL I HEARD THAT'S AN ISSUE.
TROPHIES ARE, YOU KNOW, MOSTLY MADE IN CHINA AND COULD NOT GET IT HERE.
UH, BUT WE DO HAVE A CERTIFICATE SUITABLE FOR FRAMING.
I THINK THAT CAPTURES OUR, OUR FEELINGS, UH, ADEQUATELY.
UH, SAYS THE CITY OF BAYTOWN PRESENTS THIS CERTIFICATE TO KEVIN TROLLER AND WISHES TO EXPRESS OUR SINCERE GRATITUDE FOR MORE THAN A DECADE OF FAITHFUL SERVICE.
ACTUALLY, IT'S 14 YEARS OF SERVICE.
YOUR WISDOM AND DESIRE TO UPHOLD THE CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE.
HAVING INSPIRED COUNTLESS EMPLOYEES OVER YOUR 14 YEARS WITH THE CITY, THE MARK YOU HAVE LEFT ON THE CITY AND ITS EMPLOYEES AND CITIZENS WILL BE A LASTING ONE.
WE WISH YOU NOTHING BUT JOY, HAPPINESS, AND PEACE IN YOUR FUTURE DAYS.
SO WITH THAT, KEVIN, I PRESENT THIS TO YOU.
OH REALLY? DAVID, I WANT THREE OF YOUR MINUTES.
YOU HAVE, UH, 37 SECONDS LEFT.
I JUST WANNA SAY A COUPLE OF THINGS DAVID.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, Y'ALL KNOW I'M FROM CHICAGO AND THE LAST THING THAT I WOULD BE WOULD BE A PACKERS OWNER.
MY DAUGHTER AND MY SISTER ARE PACKERS FANS, BUT
SO ANYHOW, I JUST, IT'S BEEN AN INTERESTING RIDE AND SO THIS HAS BEEN AN INTERESTING MONTH AND ALL I'VE TRIED TO DO THIS MONTH IS SAY THANK YOU.
AND SO I, I'M GONNA ASK Y'ALL TO GIVE ME JUST A LITTLE ATTITUDE HERE 'CAUSE THERE'S THINGS I JUST FEEL STRONGLY ABOUT TO SAY.
[00:20:01]
THEY ALWAYS LOVELY AND VIVACIOUS.WE'LL BE MARRIED 40 YEARS, OCTOBER 15TH.
AND THERE IS NOTHING THAT I'VE EVER DONE THAT I COULD DO WITHOUT HER.
I WISH Y'ALL COULD HAVE SEEN HER IN THE ARMY.
THERE'S SO MANY THINGS THAT I HAD TO DO AND WAS GONE A LOT.
BUT SHE HAD A ROLE SIMILAR TO MINE FOR THE SPOUSES AND THE CHILDREN, THE FAMILY READINESS GROUP, FAMILY SUPPORT GROUPS.
SHE HAD TO MAKE SURE THEY KNEW WHAT WE WERE DOING WHEREVER WE WERE AT.
AND SO THERE IS NEVER A TIME THAT I SPEAK ABOUT THE MILITARY AND I DON'T SINCERELY THANK MILITARY SPOUSES BECAUSE WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO FOR US TO DO WHAT WE DO.
AND I KNOW THE CHIEFS UNDERSTAND THE SPOUSES.
THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, MAYOR TO GARY BRUMBACK, THE CITY MANAGER IN 2007, WHO HE AND I SERVED IN THE ARMY IN GERMANY AND FORT HOOD.
MARY AND I FLEW DOWN HERE AND MET HIM AT CARINO.
I REMEMBER LOOKING AT GARY AND SAYING, WHY DON'T YOU STAY FOR A WHILE AND LET'S MAKE SURE THAT'S GONNA BE A GOOD THING FOR YOU.
AND THEN HE CALLED IN 2008 AND WE CAME DOWN AND WE STARTED WORKING FOR GARY.
I JUST HAVE A LOT OF RESPECT FOR GARY.
THERE ARE, HE LEFT IN JANUARY OF 11 AND THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE STILL DO OR WE WOULD NEVER HAVE DONE WITHOUT GARY.
AND WHAT HE STARTED HERE AND THE TEAM THAT HE AND FORMER MAYOR DON CARLOS WERE.
AND I REMEMBER, ESPECIALLY IN THE EARLY YEARS, THE MENTORSHIP THAT I GOT FROM BOTH OF THEM, JUST, I'M VERY, VERY THANKFUL.
EVERYTHING THAT WE DO IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS IS IMPORTANT.
BUT WHAT I WOULD SAY WE DO IS WE SET THE CONDITIONS FOR PEOPLE TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
'CAUSE THE REAL WORK OF THE CITY IS NOT WHAT WE DO IN HERE.
AND MY GREATEST JOY WAS WATCHING AND WORKING WITH OUR, OUR EMPLOYEES.
AND I HAVE TO START WITH ALL THE DIRECTORS AND CHIEFS, WHO MOST OF MY TIME IS WITH THEM AND RICK AND JAY AND RON AND BOB AND TO ALL OF OUR DIRECTORS HERCULEAN EFFORT THAT Y'ALL DO.
THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING THE LEADERSHIP AND GUIDANCE YOU DO.
BUT I GET REALLY PAROCHIAL ABOUT THE ONES I GET TO WORK WITH DAILY.
THEY'RE MINE, ED, TOM, JACK, ITS, ANGIE JACKSON, CITY CLERK LIBRARY, JAMIE TIS, TONY GRAY.
HELPED WITH ANIMAL CONTROL, CLIFF HATCH, PARKS AND RECS AND AQUATICS, MARTIN SCRIBNER PLANNING AND BILLING SERVICES.
AND CAROL FLINT IN HR EVERY DAY.
I DON'T TALK TO ALL SEVEN OF THOSE.
AND WE HAVE WORKED THROUGH A LOT OVER THE YEARS AND ALL SEVEN OF Y'ALL MEAN SO MUCH TO ME.
AND I ENJOY AND LOOK FORWARD TO THOSE CONVERSATIONS NO MATTER WHAT WE'RE DOING.
SO I REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE ALL OF THE DIRECTORS AND WHAT YOU DO.
AND THEN MY MIND STARTED WANDERING AND I STARTED WRITING DOWN PEOPLE OVER THE 14 YEARS THAT MEANT SO MUCH TO ME.
AND I WON'T GO THROUGH, BUT THERE WAS ABOUT 40 PEOPLE THAT I JUST STARTED.
'CAUSE I DON'T WANT TO SAY 'EM ALL BECAUSE I'LL FORGET SOMEBODY AND THEN THEY'LL SAY, YOU DIDN'T REMEMBER ME AND THEY'LL BE RIGHT AND I'LL BE IN TROUBLE.
AND WHAT ELSE IS NEW? UM, BUT TO OUR EMPLOYEES, THEY DO HERCULEAN THINGS FOR THIS CITY.
AND I USED TO SAY A LOT, I WISH YOU COULD FEEL WHAT I FEEL WHEN I WEAR MY ARMY UNIFORM.
I WISH YOU COULD FEEL WHAT I FEEL.
WELL, I WISH YOU COULD SEE WHAT I SEE WHEN I GO UP AND DOWN OUR RANKS OF ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES WATCHING WHAT THEY DO EVERY SINGLE DAY.
AND MOST OF THEM NEVER COME IN HERE, NEVER GET RECOGNIZED.
AND I'M SO PROUD OF OUR EMPLOYEES.
SO PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME A LOT WHAT I'M GONNA MISS THE MOST.
I STARTED THINKING ABOUT WHAT I'LL MISS THE MOST.
I STARTED WORK HERE SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2008, THE WEEK OF HURRICANE IKE IN THE EOC ON WEDNESDAY.
AND HURRICANE IKE HIT SATURDAY.
AND I WILL TELL YOU MY FAVORITE PLACE IN THE CITY IS THE EOC IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT BECAUSE IT'S SO MUCH LIKE A TACTICAL OPERATION CENTER IS TRYING TO BRING ORDER OUTTA CHAOS TO SO MANY PEOPLE AND THEN PUT THE CITY BACK TOGETHER.
I'VE GOTTEN TO WORK WITH SOME PRETTY POLARIZING THINGS, ANIMAL CONTROL.
WE HAD OUR DAYS AND WE'LL STILL HAVE OUR DAYS.
IT'S JUST A POLARIZING THING THAT PEOPLE FEEL VERY STRONGLY ABOUT.
BUT EVERYTHING THAT WE DO EVERY DAY, THE NEW SHELTER OPEN CAN TO CANDACE THOMAS AT THE LEAD.
WE HAVE NEVER HAD SUCH A GOOD STAFF AT ANIMAL CONTROL DOING WHAT THEY DO.
BUT WHAT, WHAT CLIFF AND JENNA DO AND WHAT WE DO OUT THERE AND HOW HARD WE'VE WORKED TO MAKE THAT A BUSINESS.
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OF THEM.WHAT DO I LIKE DOING? WANDERING AROUND, CHECKING ON STUFF, DRIVING STREETS, STOPPING AND TALKING TO OUR PEOPLE IN CREWS.
I TOLD MARY, I SAID, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M GONNA DO WITHOUT, YOU KNOW, TIME JUST TO RUN AROUND.
'CAUSE SOMETIMES THAT'S WHAT I DO.
I GO TO EVENTS, I CHECK ON THINGS.
I LOVE SHINING THE SPOTLIGHT ON OUR PEOPLE WHEN THEY DO GOOD THINGS AND THEY DO A TON OF GOOD THINGS.
I LOVE THE DAILY CONVERSATIONS WITH MY DIRECTORS AND FINALLY TO THE CITIZENS AND THE BUSINESSES.
I DID EVERYTHING I COULD TO HAND MY CARD TO EVERY BUSINESS THAT OPENED UP IN THE CITY.
AND I DID IT SO THEY WOULDN'T CALL YOU.
AND I DID IT SO THEY WOULDN'T CALL RICK BECAUSE Y'ALL HAVE GOT WORK TO DO TOGETHER.
AND I PREFERRED IF THEY NEEDED SOMETHING FROM THE CITY THAT I COULD GET 'EM THERE.
I'LL MISS THE CALLS, I'LL MISS THE VISITS.
AND TO MY DEAR FRIEND IN LAKEWOOD, BILLY KERR, WHO I'VE TALKED TO EVERY DAY, EVERY MONTH FOR 14 YEARS.
AND I HAVE BINDERS OF THINGS BILLY WANTS DONE IN OUR CITY, BUT HE IS A REFLECTION OF HOW ADAMANTLY AND EMOTIONALLY AND WHICH PASSION SOME OF OUR CITIZENS HAVE.
AND I'LL MISS TALKING TO BILLY KERR.
SO I I APPRECIATE THE TIME TO ALL THE CITIZENS TO EVERY ONE OF YOU HERE, MARK.
YOU KNOW, I TOLD MATT WHEN HE WAS HERE THIS WEEK, THANKS TO THE BAYTOWN SON, YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN FAIR TO US.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE'VE LIKED EVERYTHING YOU SAID, BUT YOU'VE BEEN FAIR.
AND I APPRECIATE THAT AND I APPRECIATE THE RELATIONSHIP THAT WE'VE HAD WITH THE PAPER AND WITH THAT, I'M JUST SO THANKFUL FOR ALL THAT I GOT TO DO.
SILVER, SILVER EAGLE, SIX OUT
ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU COLONEL TROLLER.
ALRIGHT, WE WILL MOVE ON TO, UH, AN APPEAL, WHICH IS ITEM THREE A.
EXCUSE ME, CAN WE JUST SAY A FEW WORDS OR WE CAN SURE.
JUST REAL QUICK, VERY BRIEFLY.
SO I JUST WANTED TO, UH, YOU KNOW, WISH KEVIN WELL.
HE, HE'S, I, I'VE KNOWN KEVIN FOR QUITE SOME TIME, UM, BEFORE, LONG BEFORE I WAS ON COUNSEL.
AND HE'S AN EXTREMELY GENUINE PERSON.
AND IN MY OPINION, THAT'S A VERY GOOD THING, ESPECIALLY AT CITY HALL.
UM, HE SAID THAT HE, HE WISHES WE COULD HAVE SEEN HIS WIFE IN THE ARMY.
WELL, WE WISH WE COULD HAVE SEEN KEVIN IN THE ARMY AS WELL.
AND, UH, SO WE, WE KNOW HE IS GOT A LOT OF LIFE LEFT IN HIM AND, AND WE'LL SEE HIM AROUND AT THE EVENTS AND, AND I'M SURE HE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THOSE THINGS AND WE WISH YOU MUCH SUCCESS IN RETIREMENT.
ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS? UH, I'LL TAKE A, A QUICK, UM, MINUTE FOR A COMMENT.
UH, I DID MEET MR. TROLLER, UM, REALLY FOR THE FIRST TIME, AS HE SAID IN THE EOC WITH HURRICANE IKE.
I WAS, UH, MAYOR PRO TEMP AT THE TIME.
AND, AND, UH, I WAS, UM, INVITED, I GUESS TO KINDA JUST BE A FLY ON THE WALL AT THE EOC DURING IKE.
BUT JUST LIKE ANY OTHER TIME, MR. TROLLER TOOK A VERY HANDS-ON APPROACH WITH ANY OF THE ISSUES THAT WE HAVE IN OUR CITIZENS.
ANYTIME THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT REALLY NEEDED TO BE, I WAS GONNA SAY BIRD DOGGED AND, AND KIND OF A FIRE PUT OUT, MR. TROLLER DID AN EXCEPTIONAL JOB OF, OF SEEING IT CRADLE TO GRAVE.
THERE WERE SOME DIFFICULT THINGS.
WE HAVE DIFFICULT THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN OUR CITY.
AND MR. TROLLER ENSURED THAT THE CITIZEN CAME FIRST, THAT THEY WERE INFORMED AND THAT TO THE BEST OF THE ABILITY OF, OF OUR RESOURCES THAT THE ISSUE WAS RESOLVED.
AND I DO THANK YOU FOR THAT THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.
SO, UM, WITH THAT WE'VE ALWAYS, WE DO WISH YOU THE BEST.
I KNOW WE, YOU HAVE, WE'RE GOING AWAY HERE SOON AND, BUT FOR YOU AND MARY AND THE REST OF THE FAMILY, WE, WE AS, AS I'M SURE ALL THE COUNSEL, UH, WE, WE DO WISH YOU THE VERY BEST PEACE, HAPPINESS IN, UH, YOUR NEXT CHAPTER.
SO WITH THAT, UH, WE, WE HAVE AN APPEALS, UM, HEARING HERE, COUNSEL.
I KNOW THIS IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN, THAN, UH, OTHER APPEALS THAT WE HAVE.
I I CAN TO KEEP IT, UM, THE WAY IT NEEDS TO BE.
UH, THERE WAS TWO INDIVIDUALS THAT DID SIGN UP.
ONE, MR. YOUNG, YOU'RE PART OF THE, THE APPEAL ITSELF, BUT YOU DID SIGN UP, SO I DON'T THINK THERE'S A NEED FOR YOUR THREE MINUTES.
YEAH, I WASN'T SURE HOW THAT WORKED.
AND THEN MICHELLE, THERE'S, MICHELLE WORKS FOR THE COMPANY.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT, UH, SINCE YOU'RE GONNA BE SWORN IN HERE, UH, IN A SECOND, ANYBODY'S GONNA GIVE TESTIMONY THAT YOUR THREE MINUTES IS, IS NOT NEEDED.
'CAUSE YOU'RE GONNA BE, YOU'RE GONNA BE SPEAKING ANYWAY.
SO WITH THAT IN MIND, UH, SO WE
[a. Consider an appeal to the City Council for the denial of two Open Air Vendor permit applications for "Texas Rock Chip" and "In and Out Rock Chip" at the property located at 6430 Garth Road. ]
NOW CALL ORDER ITEM THREE A, WHICH IS AN APPEAL TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR THE NILE OF TWO OPEN AIR VENDOR PERMIT APPLICATIONS FOR THE ROCK CHIP, DR.AND IN AND OUT ROCK, ROCK CHIP REPAIR, INC.
MISTAKENLY IDENTIFIED AS TEXAS ROCK, ROCK CHIP, AND IN-N-OUT ROCK CHIP ON THE AGENDA.
UH, AT THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 64 30 GARTH ROAD.
[00:30:01]
I UNDERSTAND MR. LARRY YOUNG IS HERE ON BEHALF OF THE APPELLANTS.MR. YOUNG, DO YOU, UH, INTEND TO PROVIDE TESTIMONY YOURSELF? YES, I DO.
AND SO IF YOU'RE GONNA GIVE TESTIMONY, WE'RE ALSO GONNA HAVE OUR, UH, DIRECTOR OF HEALTH, UH, IS ALSO GONNA GET SWORN IN.
AND ANYONE ELSE THAT'S GONNA GIVE TE TESTIMONY AS PART OF THIS APPEAL, I NEED YOU TO COME UP SO I CAN SWEAR YOU IN.
I, I DUNNO IF MICHELLE, SHE CAN ANSWER CERTAIN QUESTIONS.
IF SHE DOESN'T NEED TO SAY ANYTHING, THAT'S FINE.
BUT, UH, FOR THE RECORD, LET'S GO AHEAD AND GET HER SWORN IN.
UH, I, I JUST HAVE TO READ A FEW WORDS.
UH, PLEASE RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND.
SO DO YOU, DO YOU SOLEMNLY SWEAR OR AFFIRM THAT THE TESTIMONY YOU ARE ABOUT TO PROVIDE IS THE TRUTH UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY? YES.
SO NEXT WE HAVE PRESENTATION OF EVIDENCE.
UM, I WILL SAY, UH, MR. YOUNG, IF YOU HAVE ANY, IS THERE ANY DOCUMENTS THAT YOU WANT TO SUBMIT TO COUNSEL? YES.
UM, IF, IF, IF YOU DO, WHAT I NEED YOU TO DO IS DESCRIBE WHAT YOU'RE SUBMITTING TO US.
AND, AND, UM, THEN YOU'LL HAND IT TO OUR CITY CLERK AND THEN SHE WILL DISTRIBUTE THAT TO COUNSEL.
SO THIS MORNING I SENT EACH OF YOU AN EMAIL.
I DON'T KNOW THAT YOU HAD TIME TO READ IT, BUT BASICALLY IT'S AN EMAIL OF THE POINTS THAT I WANTED TO BRING UP TONIGHT.
AND IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE BIT TOO LENGTHY TO BRING ALL THAT UP HERE TONIGHT, BUT THAT'S WHAT I'M MARKING.
UH, SO TO SPEAK AND TURN IN FOR YOU GUYS A COPY FOR EACH PERSON.
AND ON TWO OF THE PAGES IN HERE, I JUST MADE A BIGGER PICTURE JUST TO POINT OUT A COUPLE OF THINGS TO YOU GUYS.
AND IF YOU CANCEL THOSE DOCUMENTS, IF YOU CAN HAND TO HER, SHE'S GONNA DISTRIBUTE TO COUNSEL.
SO LET ME, LET ME ASK, JUST, JUST FOR THE RECORD ALSO, UH, ANYTHING FROM STAFF THAT'S GONNA BE PRESENTED AS EVIDENCE OTHER THAN YOUR TESTIMONY OR, OR ANYTHING ELSE? NO, SIR.
LOOKING, I WILL TELL YOU, MR. YOUNG, LOOKING AT, AT YOUR MULTIPLE PAGES, WHICH I DO APPRECIATE YOUR THOROUGHNESS, UM, THAT'S GONNA BE HARD FOR US TO ABSORB, BUT IF YEAH, OBVIOUSLY IN IN YOUR COMMENTS, CAN YOU JUST PLEASE SUMMARIZE EXACTLY, EXACTLY.
SO, SO WITH THAT, UM, EACH PARTY MAY PRESENT EVIDENCE AND QUESTIONS, UH, WITNESSES STATING THAT MR. YOUNG AND THEN WILL, IT WILL BE FOLLOWED BY MR. GRAY.
SO MR. YOUNG, YOU MAY PROCEED.
WELL, I DON'T WANNA YELL AT YOU, BUT NO, PLEASE COME TO THE MICROPHONE AND, UH, I GUESS YOU'RE GONNA STATE YOUR CASE AND YOUR APPEAL.
AND I MEAN, LET'S, LET'S TRY TO KEEP IT WITHIN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME.
YOU'RE NOT ON A TIMER, BUT, BUT YOU, YOU, IF YOU COULD SUMMARIZE IT, IT WOULD BE SHORT.
SO, UH, GOOD EVENING MAYOR AND COUNCIL AND SOME OF THE DEPARTMENT HEADS THAT ARE HERE AS WELL.
AND IN, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME WITH THIS SIGN UP FOR THREE MINUTES, I'VE SORT OF PARED THIS DOWN TO THREE MINUTES, BUT IT MAY GO A LITTLE BIT LONGER SINCE YOU SAID I HAVE SOME EXTRA TIME.
SO, BUT ANYWAY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME HERE TONIGHT.
BASICALLY, UM, I'M HERE ASKING FOR AN EXCEPTION OR PERHAPS A VARIANCE TO THE CITY CODE AS IT RELATES TO THE PERMIT THAT IT'S ISSUED BY THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, WHICH TONY, UH, AND I HAVE WORKED ON IN THE PAST.
AND THE HISTORY BRIEFLY OF THIS IS WE HAD A PERMIT FOR JULY, THE MONTH OF JULY AT THE HEB UP ON GARTH ROAD.
AND THAT'S A 30 DAY PERMIT ACCORDING TO THE COACH.
30 DAYS, I'M PRETTY SURE YOU GUYS KNOW ABOUT THAT.
AND THEN WE APPLIED AGAIN FOR AUGUST 1ST AND RECEIVED THE 30 DAYS THERE AS WELL.
SO WHEN SEPTEMBER COMES, WE APPLY FOR THE THIRD PERMIT.
IT'S A MONTH TO MONTH PERMIT, BUT AFTER TWO PERMITS ARE ISSUED TO A VENDOR, YOU CANNOT RECEIVE A THIRD PERMIT.
AND LIKEWISE FOR THE LANDLORD, WHICH IN THIS CASE IS HEB, THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE MORE THAN TWO PERMIT HOLDERS FOR 60 DAYS DURING THEIR CALENDAR YEAR.
SO MOST OF OUR LOCATIONS, HISTORICALLY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WITH HEB.
WE HAVE A, A CONTRACT, A LONG-TERM AGREEMENT WITH THEM AND THEY WOULD LIKE FOR US TO BE IN EVERY STORE THEY HAVE.
BUT, UM, WE APPLIED HERE FOR THE HEB GARTH ROAD AND WHEN THE DENIAL CAME UP, WE SCHEDULED A MEETING WITH TONY AT HIS DEPARTMENT AND PRESENTED VARIOUS THINGS ABOUT WHY WE BELIEVED IT'S A BENEFIT TO THE CITY AND TO THE CITIZENS.
IN FACT, FOR THE EIGHT WEEKS THAT WE WERE UP THERE, WE
[00:35:01]
HAD A LETTER FROM EACH OF ONE OF OUR CUSTOMERS AT RANDOM ASKED THEM, UH, DIFFERENT QUESTIONS.DID THEY WANNA WRITE A REVIEW? DO THEY HAVE ANY COMMENTS? THAT KIND OF THING.
AND WE TOLD THESE SAME EIGHT CUSTOMERS THAT WE WERE GOING TO BE POSSIBLY DOING AN APPEAL HERE, WHICH WE ARE TONIGHT.
WOULD THEY MIND WRITING THE LETTER? AND, AND SO THEY AGREED THAT IT WAS VERY CONVENIENT FOR THEM TO COME UP THERE AND GET THE ROCK CHIP REPAIR.
SO THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE SELLING UP THERE, IS CONVENIENT, IT'S A DRIVE THROUGH SERVICE.
UH, AND THERE'S NOTHING LIKE THAT HERE IN BAYTOWN.
AND SO A LOT OF OUR CUSTOMERS FOR 60 DAYS KEPT SAYING, GOSH, WE'RE SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE.
WE CAN'T FIND ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
AND SO WHEN THE DENIAL CAME AND WHEN THE APPEAL IS TO THIS POINT, WHAT WE'RE REALLY JUST ASKING YOU GUYS TO CONSIDER IS, INSTEAD OF A 30 DAY PERMIT THAT YOU CAN GET TWICE, WOULD YOU CONSIDER EXTENDING THAT LIKE OUR OTHER HEB LOCATIONS, WHICH JUST GOES ON MONTH AFTER MONTH AFTER MONTH BECAUSE IT'S CONVENIENT FOR THE CITY, I THINK TO JUST HAVE THE SAME PERMIT ISSUE OVER AND OVER SO LONG AS WE'RE COMPLYING WITH THE LAW AND DOING A GOOD SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND HEB PREFERS US TO BE THERE.
THEY HAVE A REALTY DIVISION AND AS I'M SURE YOU KNOW, YOU GO TO ANY HB, THEY ALMOST HAVE SOMEONE IN THE PARKING LOT VENDING SOMETHING.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE DO FOR THEM.
UH, FROM THE COMMUNITY STANDPOINT, WE ARE AN EXTRA SET OF EYES ON THAT PARKING LOT.
UH, MOST OF OUR LOCATIONS ARE IN HOUSTON, BUT WE HAVE THINGS IN OTHER STATES AS WELL.
AND I CAN'T SAY IT'S COUNTLESS, BUT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SOLVE A LOT OF CRIMES BY BEING ABLE TO BE THE FIRST EYES TO SEE A CAR BROKEN IN, A CUSTOMER ATTACKED SOMEBODY STEALING THE TRANSMISSION OR THE, THE EQUIPMENT UNDERNEATH.
AND SO WE'RE JUST AN EXTRA SET OF EYES.
WE PICK UP TRASH THAT BLOWS INTO THE PARKING LOT AND WE'RE THERE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, SERVICE THE CUSTOMERS, THE COMMUNITY AS WELL.
SO I, I'M HERE ALSO FOR HEB IN ADDITION JUST TO THE GLASS COMPANIES 'CAUSE WE'RE ON THE SAME TEAM.
AND WHAT HEB IS UNHAPPY ABOUT IS FOR 10 MONTHS OUT OF 12 MONTHS, THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO COLLECT RENT FROM US OR FROM ANY VENDOR IN THIS SITUATION.
SO THAT'S AN 83% REDUCTION IN THE AVAIL AVAILABILITY OF THEIR SPACE TO LEASE.
IN THIS CASE, IT COST THEM 10,000 A YEAR AND THEY'VE BEEN WORKING WITH US FOR THREE YEARS TO GET SOMETHING SET UP ON GARTH ROW.
SO IN THAT SENSE THEY'VE LOST 30,000 ONLY BECAUSE THE ORDINANCE JUST LIMITS IT TO 30 DAYS OF THAT PERMIT.
SO THAT'S, WE'RE ASKING YOU TO JUST CONSIDER COULDN'T WE EXTEND THAT MORE THAN 30 DAYS.
AND THE ILLUSTRATION THAT I'D LIKE TO SHOW YOU HERE TODAY, AND YOU REALLY DON'T HAVE TO FOCUS ON ALL THIS, BUT ALL THIS IS SAYING, IF EVERYONE CAN, CAN SEE THIS, REALLY ALL I'M SHOWING IS YOUR MAJOR STREET COMING THROUGH TOWN UP BAT YOU B THERE'S GARTH ROAD AND HERE'S THE CROSS STREET.
AND SO ALL I'M POINTING WITH THESE COLOR DOTS, WHICH NUMBER ONE THROUGH SIX, WE HAVE SIX GLASS COMPANIES.
AND WHAT YOUR ORDINANCE DOES ALLOW, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IS I CAN SET UP HERE AT HEB FOR 30 DAYS, WHICH WE DID.
AND FOR THE NEXT 30 DAYS, I HAVE TO USE ONE OF THE OTHER GLASS COMPANIES AND THEN I CAN BE THERE ANOTHER 30 DAYS.
BUT BECAUSE THE ORDINANCE, HEB CAN'T LET ANYBODY ELSE ON THERE FOR ANOTHER 10 MONTHS.
BUT WHAT I CAN DO AND WHAT THIS ILLUSTRATION SHOWS IS, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I CAN JUST WALK ACROSS THE STREET 30, 40 FEET AND SET UP TWO MORE GLASS DOORS.
I CAN WALK ACROSS THE STREET AND DO THE SAME THING BY JUST WALKING ACROSS AND ASKING FOR THE PERMIT THERE.
AFTER 60 MORE DAYS, I CAN WALK ACROSS THE STREET THAT WAY, 30 OR 40 FEET AND THEN GET TWO MORE 60 DAYS, THEN COME BACK ACROSS THE STREET AND GET 60 DAYS.
THEN I CAN COME ACROSS THIS PROPERTY LINE AND GET 60 MORE DAYS, THEN COME BACK THIS WAY AND GET 60 DAYS.
I'VE GOT MY 12 MONTHS AND THEN I CAN START IT OVER AGAIN AND JUST MAKE THAT CIRCLE.
BUT THAT'S, THAT'S INEFFICIENT.
IT JUST SEEMS LIKE A HARDSHIP ON EVERYONE.
CUSTOMERS HAVE A HARD TIME FINDING IT THAT SIX DIFFERENT LANDLORDS, THAT'S 12 DIFFERENT LEASES, THAT'S 12 DIFFERENT PERMITS AND SO FORTH AND SO ON.
AND WE'VE GOT A GREAT HISTORY WITH HEB.
WE PATTERN OUR UNIFORMS AND EVERYTHING TO LOOK LIKE AN HEB EMPLOYEE.
THEY WANT OUR COLORS, THE WHITE LETTERS ON THE BACK.
YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY HAVE HIGH STANDARDS ON WHAT THEY WANT TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY WITH THEIR EMPLOYEES AND WE'RE TRYING TO MATCH THAT.
AND SO WE BELIEVE THE CITIZENS REALLY LIKE US BEING THERE.
[00:40:01]
LOVES US BEING THERE.WE'RE WILLING TO PAY YOU GUYS AN EXTRA PERMIT FEE, DOUBLE IT IF YOU NEED TO.
IF THAT'S MORE EFFICIENT FOR YOU GUYS.
WE'RE EXTRA EYES ON THE COMMUNITY.
I JUST THINK EVERYBODY WINS IF WE STAY THERE.
AND IT'S SO MUCH MORE EASIER IF WE COMPLY WITH THE LAW AND, AND HAVE A NICE APPEARANCE AND CLEANLINESS AND SO MUCH.
I JUST THINK IT'S A HUGE BENEFIT.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT FURTHER INTO YOUR CODE SECTION 74, IT SAYS TO BROADLY INTERPRET THIS STATUTE AS FOR THE COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE OF THE CITIZENS OF TOWN.
AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE DOING.
AND IF WE HAVE TO PICK UP AND LEAVE LIKE WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW DURING THIS APPEAL PERIOD, THAT CONVENIENCE IS NO LONGER THERE.
AND THE WAY WE SELL OUR SERVICE, IT'S VERY COMFORTABLE.
WE'RE SELLING PEOPLE THAT YOU CAN STAY IN YOUR CAR, DON'T EVEN HAVE TO GET OUT, ROLL YOUR WINDOW, WE'LL COME UP TO YOU.
AND WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR OVER 20 YEARS NOW.
AND WITH THE COVID AS AN EXAMPLE, ALL OF US IN HERE KNOW THAT NOBODY REALLY WANTS TO GO IN A STORE ANYMORE UNLESS THEY HAVE TO.
I MEAN SOME OF US DO, BUT IT IS JUST A CONVENIENCE THAT WITH THE COVID HAS CHANGED EVERYTHING.
EVEN HUB WOULD TELL US YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE HOW OUR DRIVE UP SERVICE IS GOING THROUGH THE DOOR.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO STAY IN THEIR CAR AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SELLING.
SO I CAN ANSWER HOPEFULLY MOST OF THE QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY.
AND I TRIED TO MAKE THIS BRIEF AS I COULD.
BUT IN A NUTSHELL, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ASKING YOU TO DO.
UNDERSTAND WHAT I WANNA DO IS HAVE OUR STAFF AT LEAST, UH, PROVIDE THEIR, THEIR COMMENTS AND THEN WE'LL GET INTO SOME QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU FOR EITHER PARTY AND THEN, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE SOME CHANCE TO HAVE SOME CLOSING COMMENTS IF NEEDED.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE DELI, UH, DELIBERATION AMONGST COUNSEL.
UH, I TOLD HIM DURING THAT MEETING THAT THAT ORDINANCE DOES NOT HAVE A PROVISION FOR A VARIANCE.
UH, IT DOES HAVE A PROVISION FOR AN APPEAL IF A PERMIT'S DENIED.
UH, HE DID RECEIVE TWO PERMITS, ONE FOR THE MONTH OF JULY AND ONE FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST AT 64 30 GARTH ROAD, WHICH IS THE HEB SHOPPING CENTER.
UM, OUR ORDINANCE, UM, WHICH HAS BEEN IN PLACE.
JUST A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY ON THE ORDINANCE, UH, SINCE 2004.
UM, IF MEMORY SERVES ME, UH, WAS HERE THEN, UM, THERE WAS A LOT OF CONCERN WITH ALL OF THE VENDORS THAT WERE POPPING UP ON GARTH ROAD, UM, RUG VENDORS, PEOPLE SELLING MATTRESSES, PEOPLE SELLING JUST ALL KIND OF DIFFERENT MISCELLANEOUS NOVELTY ITEMS. AND SO COUNSEL AT THAT TIME TOOK THE INITIATIVE TO CREATE THIS ORDINANCE TO LIMIT THAT.
UH, AND THE, THE ORDINANCE DOES LIMIT BOTH, JUST LIKE MR. YOUNG SAID, IT LIMITS THE PROPERTY OWNER FROM HAVING UP TO ONLY TWO OPEN AIR VENDORS ON THEIR PROPERTY WITHIN A 12 MONTH PERIOD.
AND IT DOES APPLY TO THE VENDOR AS WELL.
UH, IT CALLS OUT THE, A VENDOR IS A, A PERSON THAT SELLS GOODS OR SELLS A SERVICE TO THE PUBLIC.
AND SO THAT IS LIMITED TO TWO TIMES IN A 12 MONTH PERIOD.
UM, JUST TO CLARIFY, UM, HE WAS SAYING THAT HE COULD GO ACROSS THE STREET AND DO THAT, UH, NOT TECHNICALLY THE WAY THE ORDINANCE IS WRITTEN BECAUSE IT SAYS A PERSON.
SO HE'S THE PERSON THAT OWNS THE COMPANY.
UH, AND SO, UM, THAT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY WHY I DENIED OR WE DENIED HIS APPLICATIONS THAT HE SUBMITTED IN AUGUST BECAUSE HE WANTED TO SET UP FOR SEPTEMBER.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, UM, THAT PROPERTY IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR ANOTHER OPEN AIR VENDOR UNTIL I GUESS NEXT JULY.
SO, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S, UM, THAT'S ALL I HAVE AT THIS POINT, UNLESS YOU HAVE MORE QUESTIONS.
I, I HAVE A QUESTION, BUT I'M JUST GONNA WAIT FOR A SEC.
UM, SO, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S SOME CLOSING COMMENTS UNLESS THERE'S SOME QUESTIONS.
I'M GONNA GET SOME QUESTIONS FIRST.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON WHAT HAS BEEN PRESENTED? SO ONE THING, HERE'S MY QUESTION THEN.
UM, SO LET'S JUST SAY HEB SINCE THAT'S KIND OF THE, THE, THE LANDLORD.
SO IF A LANDLORD, HOW MANY ARE THEY LIMITED TO? HOW MANY IN THE SENSE VENDORS THAT THEY GET IN CONTRACT WITH? SO RIGHT NOW HE HAS A CERTAIN SERVICE, BUT COULD THEY HAVE FIVE, COULD THEY HAVE 10? IS THERE A LIMIT THAT, THAT A LANDLORD COULD, UM, ALLOW TO OPERATE ON THEIR PROPERTY ORDINANCE? YEAH, THE, THE WAY I UNDERSTAND THE ORDINANCE AND UM, THE CITY ATTORNEY CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT IT, IT DOES LIMIT THE LANDLORD OR THE OWNER, WHOEVER'S IN CHARGE OF THE PROPERTY TO TWO OPEN AIR VENDORS IN A 12 MONTH PERIOD.
UH, SO, UH, THAT'S THE WAY IT'S CURRENTLY WRITTEN.
SO IS THAT, IS THAT THE, SO THAT LIMIT APPLIES TO ANY PROPERTY REGARDLESS OF SIZE, WHETHER IT'S A, A LARGE PROPERTY LIKE AN HEB OR A VERY SMALL CONVENIENCE STORE? THE, THAT NUMBER'S THE SAME? YES,
[00:45:01]
SIR.AS FAR AS I KNOW IT, IT DOESN'T, IT DOESN'T, UM, SPECIFY, IT DOESN'T DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE SIZE OF THE PROPERTY OR THE PARKING LOT.
IT'S GENERALLY AP APPROVED FOR GENERAL COMMERCIAL.
IT'S NOT ALLOWED IN IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO YOU'RE GONNA SEE 'EM IN THE COMMERCIAL TYPE BUSINESSES.
HERE'S THE SECTION NUMBER IF YOU NEED.
ALRIGHT, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I GUESS SO I HAVE A QUESTION.
UM, 'CAUSE I DID READ THAT YOU ARE A YEAR-ROUND BUSINESS.
UM, IS THAT CORRECT? I'M SORRY? YOU, YOU OPERATE, YOU'RE SIR, ALL YEAR LONG? YES MA'AM.
SO IF, IF IT'S UM, FRUITFUL FOR YOU, HAVE YOU NOT THOUGHT OF A BRICK AND MORTAR? WELL, UH, I'VE DEFINITELY THOUGHT ABOUT YOU NEED TO GO TO THE MICROPHONE.
UM, YES, I'VE DEFINITELY THOUGHT ABOUT THAT.
BUT WHAT WE HAVE FOUND, AND, AND WHEN, WHEN WE DESIGNED THIS TYPE OF BUSINESS STRUCTURE 20 YEARS AGO, WHAT PEOPLE WERE ASKING FOR WAS CONVENIENCE.
PEOPLE JUST WANTED TO DRIVE UP ALMOST LIKE A DRIVE THROUGH MOVIE.
YOU MIGHT SAY THEY WANT TO COME IN, DON'T GET OUT OF THEIR CAR, THEY JUST WANNA ROLL, THEY WANT US TO COME OUT AND CATER THEM.
THEY DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO GET OUT, THEY DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO LOCK THEIR CAR, THEY DON'T HAVE TO CARRY THEIR PURSE IN, PICK UP THEIR PHONE, THEY STAND IN LINE IN A LOBBY AND THEN WAIT AND SEE WHAT THE WAITING ORDER IS.
DO YOU HAVE TO DROP YOUR CAR OFF? DO YOU HAVE TO COME BACK AND SET AN APPOINTMENT? AND WE AVOID ALL THAT WITH THAT BUSINESS PLAN.
SO THAT'S WHY WE DON'T DO THAT.
IT'S JUST DESIGNED AS A IN AND OUT SERVICE.
IN FACT, THAT'S OUR COMPANY NAME IN AND OUT AND THAT'S WHY I UNDERSTAND THERE'S ACTUALLY, UM, AN OIL CHANGE BUSINESS THAT OPERATES THE SAME WAY IN A BRICK AND MORTAR RIGHT.
AND SO THAT'S WHY I AM ASKING IF YOUR, IF YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE WANTING THE DRIVE THROUGH NOT WANTING TO GET OUT OF A CAR, WELL WE HAVE AN OIL CHANGE BUSINESS THAT DOES THE SAME THING IN A BRICK AND MORTAR.
RIGHT? SO A LOT OF THE OIL AND GAS TYPE PLACES, THEY HAVE VARIOUS EPA REGULATIONS AND STORAGE FACILITY DEALS LOCK, CERTAIN CHEMICALS HAVE TO BE LOCKED UP AT HOURS AT NIGHTTIME.
UH, THERE'S SAFETY ISSUES THAT THEY HAVE BRIDGES FOR LADDERS, GLASS WA AREAS YOU CAN'T GO OUT HERE, OUR INSURANCE DOESN'T ALLOW IT.
SO WE AVOID ALL THOSE ISSUES BY JUST SIMPLY BASICALLY PUTTING ALMOST SUPER GLUE.
AND SO THERE'S NO HARM HARMFUL CHEMICALS, THERE'S NO STORAGE ISSUES, THERE'S NO TRIP HAZARDS, UH, YOU KNOW, OPENING THEIR DOOR ON THINGS.
AND I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT ARE DANGEROUS ABOUT THOSE TYPE FACILITIES AND AND THEY GET CLAIMS ALL THE TIME 'CAUSE PEOPLE ARE GETTING HURT IN THOSE PLACES.
BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WE DON'T DO THAT.
AND IT WASN'T ME SAYING YOU WOULD OPEN UP AN OIL OIL RIGHT.
I'M JUST SAYING THE CONCEPT WOULD BE THE SAME.
SO, SO THAT CONCEPT IS DEVELOPED ACROSS THIS COUNTRY REALLY ON A WORLDWIDE BASIS BY SAFE LIGHT.
YOU CAN'T TURN ON YOUR TV OR RADIO OR LOOK AT THE BACK FIELD OF A BASEBALL GAME WITHOUT SEEING THE WORD SAFE LIGHT.
AND THEY'RE NUMBER ONE IN THE WORLD AND WE GET DAILY ALMOST, BUT CERTAINLY WEEKLY PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT HAVING TO GO TO PLACES LIKE THAT AND THEY WON'T.
AND THAT'S WHY THEY COME TO PLACES LIKE ME BECAUSE THEY JUST WILL NOT PUT UP WITH THAT HASSLE.
MEANWHILE, THEY WAIT AND WAIT AND KEEP THEIR FINGERS CROSSED HOPING THAT IT DOESN'T BREAK OUT OR CRIP UH, OR CRACK OUT ON THEM.
SO NOW THEY'RE STUCK HAVING TO BUY A WHOLE NEW WINDSHIELD.
SO, YOU KNOW, THEY JUST, PEOPLE JUST MOSTLY WANNA STAY IN THEIR CART, TAKE CARE OF TEXT CELL PHONES, CHECK THEIR EMAIL, LOOK AT THEIR APPOINTMENT CALENDAR.
YEAH, I THINK WE NEED TO MOVE ON.
SO DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY DIRECT QUESTIONS FOR MR. YOUNG OR MR. GRAY? NOT MR. YOUNG, BUT, UM, MR. GRAY
UM, SO IF THIS IS NOT SET UP AS, UM, A VARIANCE AND WHATEVER DECISION WE MAKE TONIGHT, THEN IT WOULD IMPACT EVERYONE ELSE.
UM, SO IT'S NOT LIKE WE WOULD MAKE THE APPEAL JUST FOR MR. YOUNG.
I MEAN WE WOULD BASICALLY BE SAYING OKAY, IF HE'S ABLE TO DO IT, THEN ANY OTHER OPEN AIR BUSINESS WOULD, AM I CORRECT IN SAYING THAT? NO, I WOULD SAY MA'AM, THIS, I THINK THIS APPEAL IS DIRECTLY ON, ON HIS APPEAL.
UM, BUT YES, I THINK THERE'S IMPLICATIONS MM-HMM
WELL, BUT YEAH, THERE'LL BE IMPLICATIONS AND SO YEAH, IF THAT'S, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE UM, I GUESS INFERRING THEN I WOULD AGREE.
MAKE A COMMENT ON THAT IF THAT'S OKAY.
UH, SO IS THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS WE HAVE? NO.
SO, ALRIGHT, SO IF THERE'S NO OTHER QUESTIONS FOR EITHER ONE OF YOU, SO WE'LL HAVE CLOSING COMMENTS, SIR.
JUST IF YOU CAN JUST IN A MINUTE ABSOLUTELY.
JUST WRAP UP A COMMENT OR TWO.
SO IN THAT REGARD, UM, SETTING A PRECEDENT SO TO SPEAK, FOR OUR PARTICULAR COMPANY IN AND OUT ROCK CHIP REPAIR, WE DO THIS
[00:50:01]
BUSINESS ON AN INTERSTATE BASIS AND, AND THERE'S CERTAIN LAWS THAT PROTECT, UM, LET'S JUST SAY A COMPANY LIKE OURS COMPARED TO THE GUY OUT ON THE STREET THAT MIGHT BE SELLING HIS CATS AND DOGS OR HIS ANTIQUES OR HIS GARAGE SALE.IN FACT, IF YOU GO INTO A LOT OF THE SMALLER TOWNS LIKE WHERE I GREW UP, NACODOCHES, TEXAS, UH, TOMBALL, THE CLOSEST ONE THAT I'VE LOOKED AT, THEIR ORDINANCE, UH, THEY SPECIFICALLY HAVE EXEMPTIONS IF IT'S A COMPANY THAT DOES AND WORK WITH INTERSTATE BUSINESS LIKE US.
AND, AND SO I DON'T THINK BY, LET'S SAY GRANT AN EXCEPTION FOR US, WOULD HARM YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT THE PEOPLE THAT ARE SELLING THOSE CERTAIN TYPES OF GOODS THAT ARE JUST SORT OF 60 MILES OR LESS FROM HERE SETTING UP OUT OF THEIR HOUSE.
SO I DON'T THINK THAT'S A, IT'S A CONCERN, BUT I DON'T THINK IT WOULD HOLD UP IF THAT'S HELPFUL FOR YOU TO CONSIDER.
AND WE'VE GOT CASES AND ATTORNEY GENERALS THAT WOULD SUPPORT THAT.
IF, IF YOU NEED TO LOOK AT THAT, I CAN CERTAINLY GIVE THOSE TO YOU IF THAT'S HELPFUL.
ANY CLOSING COMMENTS, MR. GRAY? UH, JUST REITERATING THE ORDINANCE IS THE WAY IT'S WRITTEN, UH, THAT'S WHY THE, THE PERMITS WERE DENIED BASED ON THE, THE WAY IT'S WORDED? NO, I THINK, I THINK YOUR DECISION FOR DENIAL, I, I I BELIEVE IT WAS CORRECT BECAUSE OF THE ORDINANCE AND, AND HOW IT IS WRITTEN.
AND SO YEAH, YOU HAVE AN INDIVIDUAL BUSINESS OWNER THAT IS APPEALING.
UM, THIS PARTICULAR, SINCE THERE IS AN A VARIANCE PRO, UH, PROCESS.
UM, SO WITH, WITH THAT APPEAL THEN WE'LL HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION ON, ON KIND OF WHAT'S IN FRONT OF US.
BUT AS, AS COUNCILWOMAN ALVARADO, UM, DID, UM, INFER THAT THERE COULD BE IMPLICATIONS BECAUSE WE HAVE OTHER VENDORS AND THIS IT IS BEYOND YOU, REGARDLESS OF YOUR OPINION.
THAT'S MY OPINION IS THAT IT WILL HAVE IMPLICATIONS ON MULTIPLE FOLKS THAT THAT PULLED THE SAME TYPE OF PERMIT.
SO UNLESS YOU HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS, THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO NO SIR, I WAS JUST GONNA, I JUST REITERATE WHAT, UM, MR. YOUNG SAID, WE DO HAVE A SAFE LIGHT, A BRICK AND MORTAR ESTABLISHMENT HERE AS WELL AS A JOY'S GLASS.
UM, AND REFERRING BACK OR REMEMBERING BACK WHEN IT WAS CREATED IN 2004, I THINK IT, THE INTENT REALLY WAS TO, UH, INSPIRE BRICK AND MORTAR TO LIMIT THE, THE NUMBER OF, UH, VENDORS AND THE NUMBER THAT ARE HELD ON A PROPERTY.
ALRIGHT, SO, UM, Y'ALL CAN BOTH HAVE, HAVE A SEAT.
NOW WE'LL MOVE ON TO COUNCIL DELIBERATION.
SO YOU HEARD, I GUESS KIND OF, UH, THE DISCUSSION BETWEEN, UH, STAFF AND THEN CERTAINLY WITH MR. YOUNG AND HIS BUSINESS.
SO ANY, AND WE HAVE THOUGHTS TO LET, THOUGHTS THOUGH, ON HOW WE PROCEED? LET ME TELL YOU THIS, WE DO NOT HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION TONIGHT.
HOWEVER, WE DO HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION FOR WHATEVER REASON BY OCTOBER 2ND.
WE HAVE NO MEETING SCHEDULED BETWEEN NOW AND OCTOBER 2ND.
AND I DON'T PLAN ON CALLING A SPECIAL MEETING FOR THIS.
SO WITH THAT IN MIND, I'M NOT SURE WHY THE OCTOBER 2ND, IS THAT SOMETHING WHERE THE APPEALS PROCESS AND DECISION BY COUNSEL IN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DAYS? YES, MR. RAM MAYOR, THAT'S PART OF THE, UH, CODE OF ORDINANCES IN CHAPTER 74.
SO I, I'M NOT GONNA CALL A SPECIAL MEETING.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT WE WILL, WE WILL GO AND, AND MAKE A DECISION, WHATEVER IT MAY BE, UM, UNDERSTANDING THE IMPLICATIONS EITHER WAY.
HOWEVER, THAT DOESN'T MEAN BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE ORDINANCE, IF THERE'S ANY THOUGHTS OF WAYS THAT YOU CAN PROVIDE, I MEAN, SOMETIMES THERE IS SOME, SOME REALLY GOOD BUSINESSES THEY WORK AT SOME REALLY GOOD LOCATIONS IN A SENSE, HEB AND AND SO ON.
AND, UM, WE, WE MAY HAVE TO CONSIDER CHANGES EITHER BY ORDINANCE OR OTHER ACTION.
SO, UM, I THINK WE HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION TONIGHT ON THIS APPEAL.
UM, BUT WE MAY, MAY HAVE TO REVISIT THIS AT A LATER DATE AS FAR AS SOME DISCUSSION OF, OF THIS.
UM, THAT'S, I HAVEN'T EVEN EXPRESSED WHERE I'M AT ON IT, BUT I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU.
SO, WHERE I'M AT, UM, SIMILAR TO THAT, SO TO ME, UH, YOU KNOW, THE INTENT OF THE ORDINANCE AT THAT TIME WAS REALLY FOR MORE TRANSIENT BUSINESSES AND, AND, YOU KNOW, GYPSY BUSINESS SELLING GARAGE SALE ITEMS AND FOR THE LACK OF A BETTER WORD, JUNK.
I, I, I DON'T, UH, SEE, UH, THIS VENDOR AS, AS WHAT THE INTENT OF THAT ORDINANCE WAS.
I MEAN, THEY'RE OPERATING AT HEB, THEY HAVE A CONTRACT WITH HEBI, I DON'T THINK YOU CAN GET ANY MORE CREDIBLE THAN THAT.
UM, THAT, THAT HEB SEES A BENEFIT.
UM, TWO TIMES IN 12 MONTHS TO ME SEEMS A LITTLE OVERLY RESTRICTIVE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE, AND I UNDERSTAND TO, TO INSPIRE BRICKS AND BRICK AND MORTAR ESTABLISHMENTS AND I CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT YOU KNOW, WE'VE ACTUALLY LOOSENED SOME OF THE REGULATIONS FOR FOOD TRUCKS AND WE NOW ALLOW FOOD TRAILERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO I DON'T KNOW THAT I DISTINGUISH THAT, THAT THEIR COMMAND ANY EXCEPTIONS WHEN OTHERS DON'T OR, OR TO BE LOOSENED UP IN THAT FASHION.
SO, YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND THE DENIAL.
I'M, I'M NOT REALLY, UM, AGAINST THE DENIAL BASED ON THE LANGUAGE,
[00:55:01]
BUT TO ME, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE CAN DO, MAYBE IT IS TO INCREASE THE PERMIT FEES OR WHATNOT, BUT IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THERE'S MORE OF A HAPPY MEDIAN AND IT SEEMS LIKE THAT THE ORDINANCE COULD BE REWORKED WHERE IT'S NOT QUITE SO OVERLY RESTRICTIVE.AND, AND THAT'S KIND OF WHERE I'M AT, MAYOR.
UM, SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, STAFF MADE THE RIGHT DECISION IN THE DENIAL BASED ON THE LANGUAGE AND THAT, YOU KNOW, IT WAS WRITTEN 18 YEARS AGO AND SO OBVIOUSLY IT COULD BE REVISITED BECAUSE THIS IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, UH, ELECTED BODY.
UM, I ALSO CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, THE ARGUMENT OF MR. YOUNG, HE HAS A LEGITIMATE BUSINESS WITH A CONTRACT AND IS PROVIDING A SERVICE THAT OUR COMMUNITY OBVIOUSLY WANTS.
AND IT IS DIFFERENT THAN THE POP-UP VENDORS THAT THIS, UM, ORDINANCE WAS REALLY MEANT TO PREVENT.
UM, IT DOES BOTHER ME THAT WE DO HAVE THOSE POPUP VENDORS EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND, UH, IN FRONT OF SAN JACINTO MALL ON GARTH ROAD, AND THEY'RE THERE FOR 30, 60, 90 DAYS OR, UM, YOU KNOW, EVERY WEEKEND FOR MONTHS.
AND, AND YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT THEM, BUT HERE'S A LEGITIMATE BUSINESS WHO TRIES TO DO THE RIGHT THING, GET A PERMIT, AND YOU KNOW, NOW HE'S RUNNING INTO TROUBLE.
SO I THINK IF, YOU KNOW, IF WE DON'T WANT POP-UP VENDORS ON GARTH ROAD, THEN WE REALLY NEED TO BE CONSISTENT IN OUR APPROACH.
UM, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, GO OUT THERE AND REALLY TELL EVERYBODY THAT'S OUT THERE THAT THEY CAN'T BE SELLING, UH, WHATEVER IT IS THAT THEY'RE OUT THERE.
UM, I DON'T THINK THAT THIS IS PROBABLY THE MEETING TO DEBATE A NEW POLICY.
APPEAL, YES OR NO? AND I MEAN, FOR ME, UH, STAFF MADE THE RIGHT DECISION BASED ON THE CURRENT POLICY.
I MIGHT BE IN FAVOR, UM, IF OF MAYBE, UH, A VARIANCE FOR JUST AN ADDITIONAL 30 DAYS TO OPERATE TO GIVE US A CHANCE TO DEBATE A NEW POLICY.
NOT NECESSARILY A VARIANCE FOR THE NEXT 10 MONTHS, BUT AT LEAST ENOUGH TIME TO GET US BACK TOGETHER TO DISCUSS THIS REALLY FOR THE FIRST TIME.
AND HOW WE WANT, UH, TO APPROACH THIS ORDINANCE, UH, IN THE FUTURE SINCE, LIKE I SAID, IT HAS BEEN 18 YEARS.
AND, AND MY, MY QUESTION WAS GONNA BE SIMILAR, BUT I WAS GONNA DIRECT IT TO OUR CITY ATTORNEY, UM, AND MAYBE EVEN THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
SO AS THE CODE IS WRITTEN, UM, I, I DO, AS EVERYONE HAS MENTIONED, UH, AGREE TO THE LANGUAGE AND WHY IT WAS APPEALED.
BUT I THINK FOR, UM, TO, TO KEEP IT CONSISTENT TO WHAT THIS ITEM IS FOR, IF WE ARE WANTING TO REVIEW THE POLICY, IS IT RE REQUIRED FOR US TO ACT ON IT AS TO THE WORD OF THE CODE AND THEN LATER, BECAUSE AGAIN, THERE IS NO VARIANCE.
I WOULD DEFINITELY, UM, I, I LIKE THAT IDEA OF COUNCILWOMAN BENTON COURT, BUT DO WE HAVE THAT, THAT LATITUDE, UH, BECAUSE THIS IS NO VARIANCE.
IT'S JUST STRAIGHT, YOU KNOW, APPROVE OR DENY IS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER.
I THINK BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE ITEM IS WORDED, IT'S LIMITED TO THE APPEAL.
AND QUITE FRANKLY, WHEN STAFF GOT TOGETHER TO PUT THIS ITEM, UH, ON THE AGENDA, THE ONLY THING THAT STAFF WAS CONCERNED ABOUT WAS THE APPEAL ITSELF.
AND THERE WAS NO DISCUSSION UNTIL LATE THIS WEEK ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF CHANGE OF THE ORDINANCE.
SO BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE MEETING WAS NOTICED AND THE WORDING OF THE ITEM, YOU DON'T HAVE THAT LATITUDE TODAY.
BUT WE CAN ALWAYS PUT ANOTHER ITEM ON, UH, A FUTURE AGENDA.
UM, ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? OH, I'LL MAKE SOME ADDITIONAL COMMENTS.
UM, I WAS ACTUALLY WORKING WITH THE CITY WHEN THIS CODE WAS PASSED, AND THE COUNCIL AT THAT TIME WAS VERY ADAMANT, UM, TO RESTRICT BOTH THE OPEN AIR VENDORS AS WELL AS THE PROPERTY OWNERS, BECAUSE IN AT THAT TIME TIMEFRAME, THE OPEN AIR VENDOR ISSUE WAS ALL OVER TOWN.
AND THEY WERE EVERY OTHER BLOCK, I MEAN, ANYWHERE FROM, IS MR. GRAYING, ANYWHERE FROM THE RUG DEALERS TO THE, TO THE CHINA CELLS TO YOU NAME IT.
AND, AND COUNCIL AT THAT TIME WAS PRETTY ADAMANT THAT WE HAD TO GET CONTROL OF THAT.
'CAUSE GARTH ROAD WAS TENT CITY.
UM, SO, SO THAT'S WHY THE CODE WAS PUT IN PLACE.
THAT'S WHY THERE WAS ALSO THE RESTRICTION PLACED ON, ON THE PROPERTY OWNERS.
SO THEY COULD HAVE TWO, OR EACH INDEPENDENT VENDOR COULD BE IN TWO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.
IT'S BEEN A VERY SUCCESSFUL ORDINANCE OVERALL.
YES, THERE ARE THOSE THAT SHOW UP ON THE WEEKENDS, THEY POP UP, THEY'RE THERE FOR A COUPLE HOURS AND THEY LEAVE.
[01:00:01]
IT'S A ROUTINE.IT WAS RIGOROUS TO ENFORCE THAT WHEN, WHEN, AGAIN, WHEN I WAS WITH THE CITY, IT WAS TOUGH TO ENFORCE.
UM, BUT WE DID MAKE AN IMPACT.
18-YEAR-OLD ORDINANCE PROBABLY NEEDS TO BE REVIEWED.
UM, I'M, I'M SADDENED THAT, THAT I'M, I'M KIND OF LIKE MY COLLEAGUE HERE IS LIKE, IF THERE'S A WAY FOR US TO, TO MAKE A RULING ON THE APPEAL.
'CAUSE I'M, I'M WITH, I THINK SO FAR, THE THREE THAT HAVE SPOKEN, UH, THE RIGHT DECISION WAS MADE AS FAR AS DENIAL OF THE PERMIT PER THE CODE.
THERE'S NOT A VARIANCE CAPABILITY, SO WE CAN'T JUST GIVE A VARIANCE.
SO WE EITHER HAVE TO SAY, WE HAVE TO RULE THAT THE, THE, THE DENIAL OF THE PERMIT WAS WRONG, OR WE HAVE TO SAY IT'S CORRECT, AND THEN HAVE TO COME BACK AND FIX THE CODE IF WE WANT TO FIX THE CODE.
UM, SO, BUT I ALSO AGREE WITH MY COLLEAGUE IS AS FAR AS THE IN AND OUT ISSUE OF DRIVING UP, AND THEY DON'T HAVE TO GET OUTTA THE CAR.
THEY'RE BRICK AND MORTAR TYPE FACILITIES TO DO THAT ALL THE TIME.
THEY DON'T HAVE TO GET OUTTA THE CAR.
THEY CAN JUST DRIVE UP AND DO THEIR THING AND, AND IT'S GONE.
UM, THE BUSINESS MODEL THAT THE COMPANY CURRENTLY USES IS A VERY INEXPENSIVE BUSINESS MODEL, AND THAT'S WHY IT'S THERE.
THAT'S, THAT'S HOW THEY MAKE, AND THAT'S WHY THEY KEEP THEIR PRICES LOW, WHICH IS A GOOD THING.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S JUST THE BUSINESS MODEL.
UM, BUT, BUT AGAIN, DEFENDING THE CODE TO SOME EXTENT, DOES IT NEED TO BE REVIEWED AND WE NEED TO LOOK AT IT IN MORE DEPTH.
AND WHAT TYPE OF IMPACT WOULD IT HAVE IF WE PULLED IT? WE HAD THE SAME DISCUSSION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, FOOD VENDORS AND, AND FOOD VENDING TRUCKS AND TRAILERS, YOU KNOW, IT WAS TIME TO, TO, TO CHANGE THE CODE.
MAYBE WE NEED TO LOOK AT THAT AGAIN.
GARTH RIVER WAS OUR MAIN COMMERCIAL AREA.
DO WE WANT TO SEE TENT CITY COME BACK? RIGHT.
SO, AND, AND I, I WISH THERE'S A WAY WE COULD PUT THE CODE ON HOLD FOR ABOUT 60 DAYS, ALLOW THEM TO CONTINUE TO OPERATE.
BUT THE CITY ATTORNEY SAID WE DON'T HAVE THAT OPTION TONIGHT, SO, YEP.
THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S OUR DECISION TONIGHT IS TO, IS, IS TO, TO EITHER, UM, I GUESS, UM, UPHOLD THE, UPHOLD THE DECISION.
UM, THAT'S WHAT THE APPEAL IS ABOUT THE DECISIONS MADE.
IS THERE ANYTHING TO PREVENT US FROM DISCUSSING THE ORDINANCE AT THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING? NO, THERE'S NO PREVENT.
THAT'S, THAT WAS MY WHOLE POINT, IS THAT, UM, I WANNA LET YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION, BUT WE HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION BY OCTOBER 2ND.
UM, AND SO WITH THAT THEN, I, I THINK WHAT I'M HEARING IS A, A LOT OF US SO FAR AGREE WITH THE DECISION THAT WAS MADE BY, BY STAFF.
ALTHOUGH WE ARE INTERESTED IN AT LEAST REVIEWING AND, AND PURSUING CHANGES THAT COULD ALLOW LEGITIMATE BUSINESSES SUCH AS THE ONE IN FRONT OF US TO OPERATE.
UM, IN PARTICULAR, YOU KNOW, I THINK I ALSO WANNA BE DEPENDENT ON THE LANDLORD ITSELF.
RIGHT? UM, HOW DO YOU LIMIT THAT SO IT DOESN'T TURN INTO TENT CITIES? I GET THAT.
I, THERE'S NO DOUBT, THE MALL PROPERTY OR WHATEVER ELSE, UM, ANY ABANDONED PROPERTIES, I MEAN, VENDORS WILL, THEY WILL, THEY WILL SEEK ANY SQUARE FOOTAGE AS THEY CAN TO GO AND SELL THE PRODUCTS.
AND, AND I UNDERSTAND EVERYBODY WANTS TO TRY TO MAKE A LIVING.
UM, BUT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE DON'T HAVE PROLIFERATION OF THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, WE WORK REALLY HARD TO GO AND TRY TO RAISE THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND THE AMENITIES AND, AND THE, UM, BASICALLY THE ENVIRONMENT THAT OUR CITY OPERATES IN.
AND, AND THE LAST THING WE WANNA DO IS KIND OF CREATE ISSUES THAT DETRACT FROM THAT, I THINK, AS YOU YOU MENTIONED.
I'VE SEEN IT ON GARTH ROAD RECENTLY MM-HMM
AND SO I GOT AN EMAIL ON THAT.
UM, ALSO WITH, WITH COUNCILWOMAN ALVARADO'S POINT, I'M ASSUMING IS THAT WE ALSO HAVE TO VALUE, UH, SERVICES FOR, FOR THOSE THAT, SO THE, FOR THE BUSINESS OWNERS THAT HAVE INVESTED IN THE BRICKS AND MORTAR, THE JOEY'S GLASS AND SAFE FLIGHT AND OTHERS, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY GO, THEY PAY, THEY, THEY PAY PAY PROPERTY TAXES, THEY PAY THE SALES TAXES, THEY DO ALL THAT.
THEY PROVIDE A SERVICE, AND THEY'RE WILLING TO GO AND INVEST AT THAT LEVEL.
SO I HAVE TO RESPECT THAT TOO.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT YOUR POINT WAS, MS. ALVARADO, AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT I GATHERED.
SO WITH THAT, UM, I GUESS I'LL GO AHEAD AND, AND WE'LL JUST CALL FOR, WELL, LET ME CLOSE THE HEARING.
SO THIS HEARING'S NOW CLOSED AND ALL PARTIES AND WITNESSES MAY BE EXCUSED, BUT, OR THEY'RE NOT REQUIRED TO LEAVE.
NOW WE MAKE A DECISION, MR. CITY ATTORNEY.
SO WE DO HAVE, UM, A CONSIDERATION FOR ITEM THREE, WHICH IS CONSIDERED AN APPEAL TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR, FOR THE DENIAL OF TWO OPEN AIR, UM, VENDOR PERMIT APPLICATIONS FOR TEXAS ROCK CHIP AND IN AND OUT ROCK CHIP, OR HOW, I'M GONNA SAY HOWEVER, NAMED WHAT WE KNOW, WHAT TWO BUSINESSES WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AT THE PROPERTY, LOCATED AT 64 30 GARTH ROAD.
SO WITH THAT, UNLESS THERE'S ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, UM, I GUESS I WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR ITEM THREE A, WHICH IS DENIAL OF THE APPEAL.
YOU HAVE A MOTION CLAR CLARIFICATION.
SO, DENIAL OF THE APPEAL UPHOLDS THE DECISION DENIAL OF, OF THE BUSINESS OWNER'S APPEAL UPHOLDS THE CITY'S DECISION THAT THEY CANNOT, THEY COULDN'T GET A THIRD PERMIT.
HAVE A SECOND FOR MS. ALVARADO.
[01:05:01]
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS TO DISCUSSION? QUICK, QUICK COMMENT.I MEAN, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE THAT WE COULD PUT THIS, UH, ITEM UP FOR DISCUSSION FOR THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING? YES, SIR.
IT'S JUST A SHAME THERE'S NOT A VARIANCE, UM, PROVISION IN THIS, BECAUSE I WOULD EASILY GIVE YOU A VARIANCE TO JUST CONTINUE OPERATING UNTIL WE COULD DELIBERATE THIS.
CAN I MAKE ONE COMMENT OR IS IT TOO LATE TO SAY, UH, TOO, IT'S TOO LATE.
AND THE PART'S OVER WITH? UM, I THINK HE DID, I WILL SAY THIS.
I THINK HE PRE, HE, HE, HE PRESENTED HIM, I MEAN, HE CAN OPEN UP A THIRD BUSINESS AND OPERATE.
LIKE, I MEAN, THERE'S ALL THINGS THAT I THINK HE COULD DO.
SO I JUST CAN'T GO BACK TO HEB UNTIL WE MAKE A DECISION.
SO ANYWAY, THERE'S, THERE'S, THERE'S OPTIONS.
I GUESS I'M ASSUMING THAT THAT'S WHAT HIS POINT WAS, I BELIEVE MM-HMM
SO HE SAYS, WHY, WHY DO THAT? WHY DO THAT WHOLE SHUFFLE MM-HMM
UM, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL DISCUSS, UM, AND IN, I GUESS IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE.
SO WITH THAT, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND, UNLESS THERE'S ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, ALL THOSE IN, IN FAVOR OF ITEM THREE AS PRESENTED, PLEASE SAY, AYE.
SO YES SIR, WE'LL REVISIT THIS.
I DO APPRECIATE YOUR TIME COMING HERE AND EXPLAINING YOUR BUSINESS CASE.
AND IF I COULD MAKE SURE, AND, AND AGAIN, WITH THE OPTIONS THAT HE PROVIDED, HE, HE COULD STILL OPERATE, HE JUST HAS TO MOVE TO NEW LOCATION WITH ONE OF HIS OTHER COMPANIES.
THAT GIVES US THE NEXT, HE CAN'T, HE CAN HAVE TWO.
MAY I JUST, UM, FOR PURPOSE OF CLARIFYING THE RECORD, I WOULD JUST, UH, ASK COUNSEL TO, UH, INSTEAD OF US SITTING HERE SPECULATING ABOUT WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE, UH, WE CAN, UH, DIRECT MR. YOUNG TO THE PROCEDURES THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN THE, THE ORDINANCES.
AND, UH, WE'LL SEE WHAT SHAKES UP.
UM, MAYBE, UH, STAFF CAN EVEN RECOMMEND SOMETHING.
[a. Consider a resolution authorizing the City Manager to accept a 2022 National Fitness Campaign Grant from National Fitness Campaign, LP and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas to partially fund the purchase of a Fitness Court© outdoor infrastructure to be installed at Jenkins Park.]
UH, ITEM FOUR A, UH, CONSIDER RESOLUTION AUTHORIZED THE CITY MATTER TO ACCEPT A 2022 NATIONAL FITNESS CAMPAIGN GRANT FROM NATIONAL FITNESS CAMPAIGN, LP AND BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF TEXAS TO PARTIALLY FUND THE PURCHASE OF A FITNESS COURT, OUTDOOR INFRASTRUCTURE TO BE INSTALLED AT JENKINS PARK.UH, GOOD EVENING, MAYOR COUNSEL.
THIS IS A, UH, NATIONAL FITNESS CAMPAIGN.
UH, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT SCOTT JOHNSON ACTUALLY STARTED.
UM, THE FIRST ITEM IS TO RECEIVE THE $50,000 DONATION.
AND THEN THE SECOND ITEM WOULD BE TO THEN PURCHASE THE REMAINDER.
UH, JUST SO YOU KNOW, BEFORE YOU VOTED, THE REMAINING 92,000 OR 93,000 WOULD BE REIMBURSED BY BE WELL, UH, BAYTOWN.
SO IF, UH, APPROVED, IT WON'T COST THE CITY ANY, ANY MONEY AT ALL.
SO, BUT I DID BRING A, A QUICK VIDEO.
I SHORTENED IT DOWN TO ABOUT TWO AND A HALF MINUTES JUST TO SHOW YOU WHAT, UH, THE NATIONAL FITNESS CAMPAIGN IS AND WHAT THE FITNESS COURSE IS.
SO WE'RE CHANGING THE WAY AMERICA THINKS ABOUT FITNESS WITH 200 FITNESS COURTS OPEN.
OUR CAMPAIGN IS GROWTH FROM COLLEGE CAMPUSES TO CITY PARKS AND TRAILS.
WE'RE BRINGING FREE FITNESS EVERYWHERE, AND WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED.
HI, I'M MITCH MANAG, FOUNDER OF THE NATIONAL FITNESS CAMPAIGN.
NATIONAL FITNESS CAMPAIGN WAS FOUNDED IN 1979 WHEN WE OPENED THE FIRST FITNESS COURT, REDESIGNED FOR THE 21ST CENTURY.
THE FITNESS COURT IS THE WORLD'S BEST OUTDOOR GYM.
OUR SEVEN MOVEMENT SEVEN MINUTE SYSTEM ALLOWS YOU TO USE YOUR OWN BODY WEIGHT TO GET THE PERFECT WORKOUT.
EASY OR HARD, IT WILL WORK FOR YOU.
OUR GOAL IS TO BUILD HEALTHY COMMUNITIES BY MAKING OUTDOOR FITNESS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF PEOPLE'S LIVES.
SO THAT EACH DAY IS BETTER THAN THE LAST.
NOW, MORE THAN EVER BEFORE, IT IS VITAL THAT WE MOVE FITNESS OUTDOORS TO REMAIN SAFE, HEALTHY, AND STRONG.
UH, WE, AS SOON AS WE CAN, WE GO OUTSIDE, WHICH IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THE FITNESS CORPS WAS SUCH AN ATTRACTION TO US.
WHAT IMPRESSED US MOST WAS THEIR BASIC PHILOSOPHY THAT THEY WANNA PROVIDE WORLD CLASS FITNESS FOR FREE.
NO MATTER WHAT YOUR AGE IS, NO MATTER WHAT YOUR PHYSICAL FITNESS LEVEL IS, NO MATTER WHAT YOUR SKILLS ARE, IT IS VERY ADAPTABLE.
THOUSANDS OF CERTIFIED AMBASSADORS WILL BE TRAINED TO DELIVER CLASSES, CHALLENGES AND CLINICS.
AS PART OF OUR NATIONAL FITNESS CAMPAIGN, NEW PROGRAMS ARE BRINGING STUDENTS OUTDOORS ACROSS AMERICA.
THE FITNESS CORD MOBILE APP IS YOUR GATEWAY TO ENROLL IN THESE PROGRAMS. SIMPLY SCAN THE NEW DIGITAL WALL WITH YOUR PHONE TO ACCESS A LIBRARY OF FREE WORKOUTS DESIGNED TO OPTIMIZE YOUR EXPERIENCE ON THE FITNESS COURT, LEARN THE MOVES AND TAKE CHALLENGES AS WE DIG DEEP TO CREATE IMPACT FOR OUR PARTNERS ACROSS AMERICA.
THIS YEAR, WE ARE THRILLED TO INTRODUCE FITNESS COURT.
[01:10:01]
ART CITIES HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SELECT A LOCAL ARTIST TO DESIGN THEIR FITNESS COURT USING THE POWER OF THE ARTS AND FITNESS OUTDOORS IN ICONIC PUBLIC SPACES, WE'RE PROUD TO HAVE HELPED CITIES OF ALL SIZES RAISE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FROM RESPECTED SPONSORS TO SUPPORT FREE FITNESS.WHEREVER FITNESS IS A PRIORITY, YOU CAN FIND A FITNESS COURT.
I DON'T HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS.
THIS IS FREE, RIGHT? FOR THE INDIVIDUAL THAT USES IT? YES.
SO WHAT IS GOING, WHAT CAN BE DONE TO SAY THERE'S A GROUP OF PEOPLE BEING TRAINED BY SOMEONE THERE AND SOMEONE ELSE IS WANTING TO USE IT? DO WE HAVE ANY REGULATIONS SAYING THAT WE, WHETHER THEY'RE GONNA BE LIMITED IN THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT THEY CAN USE IT, PAYING A TRAINER SINCE WE WANT PEOPLE TO COME OUT AND USE THIS FOR FREE.
I WOULD HATE TO SEE IT BEING USED AT TIMES WHERE PEOPLE COME TO THE PARKS TO USE IT.
BUT IT'S THE, THE SPACE IS BEING TAKEN UP BY SOMEONE.
SO, SO THERE'S, THERE'S SIX DIFFERENT ZONES, UM, THAT YOU CAN WORK OUT IN.
THEY DO DIFFERENT PARTS OF YOUR BODY MM-HMM
SO IN THEORY, YES, THERE COULD BE PERSONAL TRAINERS OUT THERE, BUT THE APP SHOULD, UM, NEGATE THE NEED FOR A PERSONAL TRAINER.
UH, WE RUN INTO THE SAME PROBLEMS WITH TENNIS COURTS AND WITH SOCCER FIELDS AND ANYTHING ELSE TOO.
I MEAN, IT'S SOMETHING WE DEAL WITH, BUT WE DO IT ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS.
HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THAT? UH, TYPICALLY WE TRY TO GET THEM INVOLVED IN OUR PROGRAM.
WE TRY TO GET 'EM SIGNED UP AS A VENDOR OR A, UM, UH, AND THEN PROMOTE THEIR ACTIVITIES TO THEN, UH, JOIN WITH US.
UH, TO JOIN WITH US TO, THEN WE CAN PROMOTE THEIR, UH, ACTIVITY AT WHATEVER CASE.
CAMP GLADIATOR DID THAT WITH US FOR A LONG TIME.
I'M, AND JUST THINKING ABOUT INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD THE TRAINER, WHO ARE GONNA WANT TO GO OUT THERE, USE THE APP, USE IT FOR FREE, BUT IT'S BEING USED BY SOMEONE.
I JUST WANT TO BE SURE THAT IT'S BEING UTILIZED BY THOSE WHO NEED IT.
YEAH, WE CAN, WE CAN MONITOR THAT.
ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, THAT BE WELL BAYTOWN IS SO, UH, ON BOARD FOR THIS PRODUCT IS THE APP ITSELF.
'CAUSE THEY HAVE TO MONITOR HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE USING IT AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND ALL THE EXERCISES.
SO IF WE SEE A SHARP DECLINE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WE CAN ADDRESS IT THEN.
OR ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES, MA'AM.
WHERE IN JENKINS PARK ARE YOU LOOKING TO INSTALL IT? WE'RE LOOKING TO PUT IT, UH, WHERE THE CURRENT FITNESS, UH, AREA IS OVER THERE BY THE TEENAGE BASEBALL.
UH, RIGHT THERE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DISC GOLF COURSE.
IT'S, IT IS GOT, UH, WHERE THE BAT OLD BATTING AREA WAS.
UH, ON THE OTHER SIDE, UH, CLOSE TO THE FIRST BASKET AT, OR CLOSE TO THE FIRST TEE BOX, UH, NEXT TO THE BASKETBALL COURT, RIGHT AS YOU PULL IN OH.
WHERE THE OTHER FITNESS EQUIPMENT IS.
AND WE'LL REPURPOSE THAT IN OTHER PLACES.
BUT, UM, SO WITH THIS NATIONAL FITNESS CAMPAIGN ACTUALLY CAME OUT AND SELECTED, UH, WHERE THEY THOUGHT WOULD BE BEST UTILIZED AND, AND ALL THAT AND, AND ORDERED TO RECEIVE A LOT OF THE GRANTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
I RESEARCHED IT WHEN I SAW IT ON THE, UM, AGENDA ITEM.
AND EVEN KEVIN AND I WERE TEXTING BACK AND FORTH AND I ASKED THE SAME QUESTION, YOU KNOW, UH, WHERE IS IT GONNA BE IN, UH, AT JENKINS, BUT ALSO HOW JENKINS WAS SELECTED.
SO, UM, I DO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ASKED FOR IT OR THEY WENT OUT AND SCOUTED THE AREA.
SO I, I THINK WHAT'S INTERESTING IS THAT, YOU KNOW, PELLY HAS EXERCISE EQUIPMENT, PELLY PARK, AND SO I ALWAYS GET ASKED THE QUESTION, WHY CAN'T WE GET THAT EXERCISE EQUIPMENT IN OTHER PARKS? AND SO I, I THINK THIS IS THAT NEXT GEN, UM, TYPE OF, YOU KNOW, UTILIZING TECHNOLOGY AND I SEE CIRCUIT TRAINING GOING ON AND EVERYTHING.
SO I LOVE THIS AND, AND HOPEFULLY THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE THIS TO OTHER PARKS.
UM, I, I DID SEE, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE QUALIFICATIONS ARE, BUT I DID SEE FUNDING IS AVAILABLE FOR 2023, SO, OKAY.
ARE ANY, UH, OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? YOU HAD SOMETHING, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING WE ALL WAS GOING TO PIGGYBACK OFF OF WHAT MY TWO COLLEAGUES SAID HERE? UM, I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA.
WAS HOPING THAT'D BE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO GET ANOTHER ONE SOMEWHERE ELSE IN BAYTOWN.
I'M THINKING ABOUT DISTRICT THREE AND BUSH ROAD.
THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE ALL THE TIME, BUT JUST TO HAVE IT ANYWHERE, ANOTHER ONE, ANYWHERE IN, IN BAYTOWN WOULD WOULD BE AWESOME.
BUT THIS IS THIS, I THINK THIS IS GONNA BE A HIT.
UH, SO WITH THAT WE HAVE ITEM IN FRONT OF US.
I'D ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR ITEM FOUR, A MOTION TO APPROVE SECOND.
ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? IF NOT ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF FOUR A IS PRESENTED, PLEASE SAY AYE.
ALL THOSE OPPOSED IF ITEM FOUR B,
[b. Consider an ordinance authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with National Fitness Campaign, LP for the sole source purchase of a Fitness Court© to be built at Jenkins Park.]
CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZED THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH[01:15:01]
NATIONAL FITNESS CAMPAIGN LP FOR THE SOLE SOURCE PUR PURCHASE OF A FITNESS COURT TO BE BUILT AT JENKINS PARK.UH, SO I'D ENTERTAIN A MOTION APPROVE FOUR B SECOND.
SO WE HAVE A, A MOTION TO SECOND ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, IF NOT ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ITEM FOUR B AS PRESENTED, PLEASE SAY AYE.
THOSE OPPOSED? WE HAVE NEXT FIVE A RECEIVE
[a. Receive the no-new revenue tax rate and voter-approval tax rate.]
THE NO NEW OR REVENUE TAX RATE AND VOTER APPROVAL TAX RATE.MAYOR, IF YOU REMEMBER AT YOUR LAST MEETING YOU RECEIVED THEN THE NO NEW REVENUE TAX RATE AND VOTER APPROVAL RATE.
THE TAX COLLECTOR AND ASSESSOR HAS SINCE REVISED THE WORKSHEET.
AND TONIGHT WE HAVE THE FINAL VERSION OF BOTH RATES.
I CAN CONFIRM THAT THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE FOR NEXT YEAR IS 75.16 CENTS, AND THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE IS 81.38 CENTS.
THOSE ARE THE FINAL FIGURES, SIR.
SO WE WILL CONSIDER THOSE RECEIVED.
UM, IS THERE ANY COMMENTS THAT ANYBODY WANTS TO MAKE ON THAT? BUT I'LL SAY, VICTOR, YOU AND YOUR STAFF AND FINANCE AND FINANCE COMMITTEE, EVERYBODY WHO'S REALLY WORKED ON, WE SEEM TO REALLY FOCUS IN ON OUR, ON OUR RATE AND DEBT LOAD AND, AND AND HOW TO, HOW TO REALLY FRAMEWORK THAT SO WE CAN MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR CITIZENS, MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS AND SO ON.
UM, TO GO AND, AND DO THE THREE POINT, WELL, WE HAVEN'T SET THAT YET, BUT FOR WHAT YOU, YOU'RE STEALING MY THUNDER, MR. MAYOR
I DON'T WANT TO, BUT I'M, I'M JUST TELLING YOU, THANK YOU FOR GETTING US THERE BECAUSE WE'VE HAD MULTIPLE DISCUSSIONS.
AND SO IT'S REALLY ALL OUR THUNDER.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY THERE'S LANGUAGE THERE.
THERE'S LANGUAGE IN THE STATUTE THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU GO AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE BASICALLY FORCED, EVEN IF YOU REDUCE THE TAX RATE LIKE THE CITY OF BAYTOWN WAS AND, AND OTHER NEIGHBORING CITIES, YOU, YOU REDUCE YOUR TAX RATE AND THEY STILL, THE WAY IT'S WRITTEN, YOU STILL HAVE TO CLAIM A TAX INCREASE.
AND SO THE CITY OF BAYTOWN FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS HAS CONTINUED TO GO AND, AND, AND REDUCE THE TAX RATE, BUT IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT THAT'S HOW THE STATUTE WAS WRITTEN.
UM, BUT IT IS, IT IS WHAT IT IS, BUT IT'S, UH, IT'S CERTAINLY, UM, EXTREMELY APPRECIATIVE THAT YOU CONTINUED TO GO AND, AND WORK THE NUMBERS TO BEAT, TO, TO MEET BOTH THE, THE VOTER APPROVAL TAX RATE AND THE, THE NO NEW REVENUE TAX RATE.
SO I, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU PERSONALLY ON THAT.
YOU KNOW, I, I WANTED TO SAY WE DID SOMETHING FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL THAT HASN'T BEEN DONE BEFORE BY HAVING A AND E TAKE A LOOK AT PROJECTS FINANCE COMMITTEE PIGGYBACK OFF OF THAT.
AND THAT WAS A GREAT COLLABORATIVE EFFORT FROM TWO SUBCOMMITTEES, ALL OF US INVOLVED ON COUNCIL TO BRING THIS ABOUT.
UM, THAT, THAT IMPRESSED ME IN MY MIND TO SEE, TO SAY THAT WE HAD, I DON'T KNOW WHOSE IDEA IT ORIGINALLY WAS, BUT FOR THE MAYOR TO SAY, HEY, LET'S TRY THIS THIS TIME AND TO SEE THAT IT WORKED.
AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN DO THAT GOING FORWARD.
I THINK, UM, WE SHOULD ALL BE PATTING OURSELVES ON THE BACK FROM THIS DIOCESE FOR THE EFFORT THAT WE ALL PUT IN WITH THE EXTRA MEETING TIME, THE DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'VE HAD.
UM, THIS IS THE MOST SINCE I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL, WE'VE MET AND DISCUSSED THE BUDGET.
AM I RIGHT? THE, THE MOST TIME WE'VE HAD TO DELIBERATE IT AND OR TO DEBATE IT AND COME BACK AND THE CITIZENS ARE REALLY BENEFITING FROM THIS.
SO THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUES AND THANK YOU TO FINANCE COMMITTEE FOR THE WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE.
YEAH, AND I'LL JUST ECHO THAT BRIEFLY, MAYOR, WE DID SLOW DOWN THE PROCESS THIS YEAR, UM, AND IT, IT, WE WERE MORE DELIBERATE AND IT WAS VERY FRUITFUL.
UH, HOPEFULLY IT IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE REPLICATED MOVING FORWARD.
AND, AND, AND OF COURSE VICTOR DID GOOD WORK AS WELL, OFFICIATING SOME OF THE DISCUSSION AND, UH, I THINK WE HAVE A GOOD BUDGET IN FRONT OF US.
I ASSUME WE'RE ON ITEM FIVE B.
WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO GET THERE, BUT YES.
FIVE A STILL AND WE JUMPED ON JUMP IN THERE FOR CREDIT.
UM, SO, UH, I AGREE WITH WHAT EVERYBODY SAID ABOUT, UM, ALL THE WORK THAT'S GONE UNDER THIS BUDGET.
AND I'M JUST WONDERING IF STAFF HAS THOUGHT ANY ABOUT COMMUNICATING THAT AND BEING PROACTIVE WITH ALL THE HARD WORK, UH, TO OUR CITIZENS THAT WENT INTO THIS BUDGET.
AND I THINK THERE'S A LOT TO BRAG ABOUT, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE TAX RATE, WHICH I KNOW VICTOR IS DYING TO ANNOUNCE.
UM, IT'S DEFINITELY ONE OF THE BIGGEST CUTS, I THINK, AT LEAST IN RECENT HISTORY.
AND, AND SO I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THE CITY HAD ANY PLANS TO COMMUNICATE THAT WITH OUR CITIZENS BEYOND THIS MEETING.
[01:20:01]
I THOUGHT WE WERE ON BFY.SO WE HAVE, HAVE SEGUE INTO FIVE B, MR. MAYOR, IF YOU WANT ME TO PRESENT THAT TO YOU.
UM, SO YOU, OBVIOUSLY BOTH YOU AND COUNCILMAN JOHNSON OBVIOUSLY CREPT INTO MY OFFICE EARLIER AND READ MY NOTES.
OBVIOUSLY
UM, IT HAS BEEN INDEED INCLUSIVE, IT HAS BEEN ITERATIVE.
YOU PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO THAT.
WE HAD WORK SESSIONS, YOU HAD, UH, VARIOUS COMMITTEE MEETINGS, YOU HAD THE PUBLIC HEARING AND A LOT OF BACK AND FORWARD BETWEEN US ALL, UH, ABOUT THE BUDGET AND JUST KIND OF HIT THE HIGHLIGHTS.
LET'S NOT FORGET THAT THIS BUDGET INCLUDES INCREASED EXEMPTIONS FOR THE OVER 65 AND DISABLED, TAKING THAT UP TO 80,000 NEXT YEAR.
THAT'S WORTH ABOUT $150 A YEAR TO THE, UH, TO THE TAXPAYER.
AND OUR INTENTION IS TO INCREASE THAT FURTHER NEXT YEAR.
UM, WE HAVE FROZEN UTILITY RATES FOR LOW VOLUME USERS.
WE HAVE PROPOSED A TAX RATE, WHICH REDUCES OUR HEADLINE RATE BY THREE AND A HALF CENTS.
I CAN'T FIND ANYWHERE IN THE HISTORY OF THE CITY THAT WE HAVE REDUCED OUR TAX RATE BY THAT NUMBER.
AND IT TAKES US BELOW THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE AND THEIR VOTER APPROVAL RATE FOR THE THIRD TIME IN A ROW.
UM, IT ALSO INVEST AGGRESSIVELY AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND AGAIN, YOU, WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS.
WE ARE PUMPING MORE CASH INTO THE CIP NEXT YEAR, DRAWING DOWN OUR FUND BALANCE AGGRESSIVELY.
WE WERE SITTING WITH ABOUT 150 DAYS IN FUND BALANCE BY USING THAT MONEY TO FUND CAPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND NOT BORROWING.
WE WILL REDUCE THAT, UH, 72 DAYS NEXT YEAR.
UH, THAT ALSO MEANS THAT WE HAVE REDUCED THE AMOUNT OF DEBT THAT WE WILL BE ISSUING NEXT YEAR, UH, DOWN FROM 45 MILLION TO 25 MILLION.
UH, TO THAT END, I WANT TO GIVE CREDIT TO BOTH COMMITTEES WHO PUT AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF WORK IN.
AND I KNOW WE HAD TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF MODERATION IN THAT PROCESS, BUT WE GOT TO A GOOD CONCLUSION.
UM, NOW JUST FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE RECORD AND TO MEET OUR STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF ISSUING DEBT, MR. MAYOR, I HAVE TO MAKE THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT.
WE PUBLISHED AN NOTICE OF INTENT ORIGINALLY TO ADOPT AN ORDINANCE AT THIS MEETING TONIGHT, APPROVING THE ISSUANCE OF C CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION.
WE ARE POSTPONING CONSIDERATION OF THAT ORDINANCE TO OUR NEXT MEETING ON THE 13TH OF OCTOBER AT 6:30 PM IN THIS CHAMBER.
WE HAVE POSTED NOTICE ON THE WEBSITE REGARDING THIS CHANGE.
I MAY HAVE POSTED NOTICE ON THE BULLETIN BOARD USED FOR NOTICES FOR ALL CITY MEETINGS.
NOW WHY ARE WE DOING THAT? IT WAS BECAUSE I'M CONCERNED THAT WE MAKE THE FORMAL APPROVAL ONLY AFTER WE ADOPT THE BUDGET, WHICH I HOPE YOU DO TONIGHT, AND THEN ADOPT THE TAX RATE AT YOUR NEXT MEETING.
SO, MR, IN CONCLUSION, I'LL NOT BORE YOU ANY LONGER.
UM, I WOULD SUGGEST TO YOU THIS IS A BUDGET FOR STABILITY BECAUSE IT PROTECTS VITAL PUBLIC SERVICES AND IT PROVIDES RESOURCES TO MEET THE EXPECTATIONS OF OUR CITIZENS.
IT IS ALSO A BUDGET FOR INVESTMENT AND KEY COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE.
MR. MAYOR, THIS IS A BUDGET THAT WILL INDEED MOVE US FORWARD BOLDLY AND I COMMAND IT TO YOU.
NOW I'D LIKE TO HAVE SOME COMMENTS.
AND, AND I AGREE WITH ALL MY COLLEAGUES AND, AND, AND MS.
WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THIS BUDGET.
AND, AND YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT THE ORIGINALLY PROPOSED BUDGET, WHICH IS JUST A STARTING POINT, THE ORIGINALLY PROPOSED BUDGET HAD A $45 MILLION CERTIFICATE, OBLIGATION DEBT, HAD A HALF CENT REDUCTION AND 90 DAY TARGETS ON, ON RESERVES, ALL THE DELIBERATIONS.
AND THERE WERE A LOT OF DELIBERATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS.
SOMETIMES A LITTLE AGGRESSIVE ON SOME FROM SOME OF US
BUT WE'VE, WE HASHED OUT A, A BUDGET THAT IS THREE AND A HALF CENT REDUCTION OF TAX RATE HELPS FAST ON, ON, ON PRICE, ON ON FEES.
THE, THE SENIOR CITIZEN ISSUES REDUCE THE TARGET FROM 90 TO 72 DAYS.
I ASKED VICTOR EARLIER, UH, YESTERDAY, WHERE ARE WE ENDING UP THIS YEAR? ON, ON RESERVES? HE SAID SOMEWHERE AROUND A HUNDRED FORTY FIVE, A HUNDRED AND FIFTY DAYS.
'CAUSE NEXT YEAR, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE TARGET'S 72, WE MIGHT END UP AT
[01:25:01]
STILL 120, 130 DAYS.NOW HE'S INDICATED THAT THAT'S NOT LIKELY BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE ADJUSTMENTS HE'S MADE TO HELP US FUND A LOT OF PROJECTS IN CASH INSTEAD OF GOING OUT TO DEBT.
SO AGAIN, I I, I CAN'T DO ANYTHING BUT COMPLIMENT MY COLLEAGUES.
I MEAN, THEY, WE'VE HAD THESE DISCUSSIONS AND IT HAS DRAWN OUT AND AT TIMES IT'S BEEN A LITTLE FRUSTRATING.
BUT I THINK THIS IS A BUDGET THAT OUR CITIZENS CAN LOOK AT AND SAY, WOW, THEY DID IT.
AND, AND, AND THEY'RE STILL GETTING EXCELLENT SERVICES.
WE STILL HAVE EXCELLENT BUDGET PRESENTED.
FROM MY SIDE, IT'S KIND OF, IT'S ONLY MY SECOND TIME AROUND WITH THIS.
AND, AND, AND I APPRECIATED THE, THE DISCUSSIONS AND THE DEBATE THAT WE HAD AT THIS COUNCIL.
IT'S CITIZENS JUST REALLY DON'T REALIZE HOW MUCH EFFORT AND STAFF WAS PHENOMENAL.
EVERY TIME WE ASKED THEM TO DO SOMETHING, THEY CAME BACK AROUND AND GAVE IT RIGHT BACK TO US.
THAT WAS A GOOD, GOOD BACK AND FORTH.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? WE STILL NEED A MOTION FOR MAYOR.
I WON'T ADD ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS IN TERMS OF HOW THE PROCESS WENT, BECAUSE I THINK EVERYTHING HAS BEEN SAID.
BUT, UM, I KNOW ONE KEY THING THAT WE WERE GOING BACK WITH BACK AND FORTH WAS, WAS PRIOR, UH, PRIORITIZATION OF THE PROJECTS.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, I KNOW I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS, ESPECIALLY HEARING FROM TOURISM TO SUPPORT WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY, UH, WHEN THEY DID THEIR PRESENTATION, IS MAYBE PRIORITIZING THE 100 BLOCK, UM, YOU KNOW, AS A HIGH PRIORITY TO BE COMPLETED.
UM, SO THAT'S REALLY THE ONLY THING I WANTED TO ADD.
I, I THINK, UM, WE'VE WORKED HARD ON THIS.
UM, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT TACKLE.
COULD I JUST MAYBE GET AN ANSWER TO MY QUESTION? SURE.
ANY PLANS TO COMMUNICATE TO THIS, TO CITIZENS BEYOND TONIGHT'S MEETING? INDEED.
I WAS GONNA PICK THAT UP AND I WOULD DEFER TO, UH, MY COLLEAGUE THOMAS RE WHO HAS BEEN PUTTING A LOT OF WORK INTO THAT.
QUICKLY, I WILL SAY THAT THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT AND FINANCE DEPARTMENT HAS WORKED COLLABORATIVELY IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS TO, TO COME UP WITH TWO DISTINCT PROJECTS FOR THIS BUDGET AND FOR COMMUNICATING IT TO THE PUBLIC.
WE HAVE A VIDEO THAT PUBLIC AFFAIRS HAS BEEN WORKING ON THAT WILL BE JUST A SHORT VIDEO THAT WE CAN PUSH ONLINE AND ON OUR WEBSITE THAT GIVES AN OVERVIEW OF THE BUDGET PROCESS AND THEN ALSO THE NUMBERS THAT CAME ALONG WITH IT THAT YOU'RE ADOPTING TONIGHT.
AND THEN ALSO, UH, THE SECOND THING IS A CITIZENS' BUDGET GUIDE.
AND IT TAKES YOUR BINDER AND IT, UH, BOILS IT UP INTO SIX OR SEVEN PAGES OF GRAPHS AND CHARTS.
UH, THAT MAKES IT REALLY BITE SIZE AND DIGESTIBLE FOR THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND, AGAIN, THIS PROCESS.
AND THAT'LL BE AVAILABLE, THAT GOES OUT WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS AS WELL.
ALRIGHT, SO WE HAVE, UH, ITEM FIVE
[b. Consider an ordinance adopting the City of Baytown Fiscal Year 2022-23 Municipal Budget, and setting a proposed tax rate.]
BEING I ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING THE CITY OF BAY TOWN'S FISCAL YEAR 2223 MUNICIPAL BUDGET AND SETTING A PROPOSED TAX RATE.YOU WILL ADOPT THE TAX RATE AT THE NEXT MEETING, MR. MAYOR? YES.
SO WITH THAT, UH, MOTION FOR APPROVAL.
ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? UH, WHAT I'LL SAY IS, IT'S ALREADY BEEN ECHOED, BUT I DO THINK EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU THAT'S SERVED ON BOTH COMMITTEES, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK A LOT OF, UM, UM, OPINIONS WERE, WERE PLACED AND IT WAS BEYOND JUST THIS BUDGET.
IT WAS MORE HOW, HOW ARE WE, WHAT IS OUR FINANCIAL HEALTH STATUS? WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TODAY? WHAT DOES IT, WHAT SHOULD IT LOOK LIKE THE NEXT FEW YEARS? YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ALL THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE BUDGET ITSELF, I THINK, WHICH, WHICH WAS VERY GOOD, UM, WAS HOW DOES IT FIT IN THIS YEAR AND HOW'S IT GONNA FIT IN FUTURE YEARS? I DO LIKE THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE A AND E AND FINANCE BECAUSE, UH, I THINK AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE OUTCOME WAS REALLY THE BEST OUTCOME, UH, CERTAINLY FOR OUR CITIZENS AND CERTAINLY FOR, FOR, UM, THESE, THESE BUDGETS.
AND SO WITH THAT, UM, WE HOPE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE THAT KIND OF APPROACH, UH, UH, WITH COUNCIL AND, AND THOSE, THOSE TWO COMMITTEES.
SO WITH THAT, UM, I DO APPLAUD EVERYONE'S, UH, EFFORT.
I'M CERTAINLY PROUD OF THE COUNCIL AND CERTAINLY, UH, THANKFUL TO STAFF FOR, FOR GOING AND GETTING THIS TO THIS POINT.
SO WITH THAT, THERE'S A MOTION.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? ITEM FIVE B AS PRESENTED, PLEASE SAY AYE.
[a. Consider a resolution accepting two (2) Teqball Tables for the Parks and Recreation Department to be used at Jenkins Park and The Baytown Community Center, donated by Teqball USA LLC.]
ITEM SIX A CONSIDER RESOLUTION ADOPTING TWO TECH.IS IT TECH BALL? TECH BALL, CORRECT.
TECH BALL TABLES FOR THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT TO BE USED AT JENKINS PARK AND THE BAYTOWN COMMUNITY CENTER DONATED BY TECH BALL.
SO IT IS SIMILAR TO THE OTHER, UH, PROGRAM.
THIS IS, UH, ACTUALLY TWO TABLES, ONE'S INDOOR, ONE'S OUTDOOR.
THE, UH, COMPANY, UH, APPROACHED US.
THEY, UM, THEY, UM, THEY SELECTED THE COMMUNITY CENTER IN JENKINS PARK AS WELL.
UH, BEFORE YOU VOTED ON IT THOUGH, I WANTED TO SHOW YOU, YOU HAD ANOTHER VIDEO.
SO IT'S ONLY ABOUT A MINUTE THOUGH.
[01:30:16]
FIVE SPORTS.YEAH, JUST SOMETHING NEAT THAT, UM, IT WON'T COST AGAIN, IT WON'T COST CITY ANYTHING.
IT'S A A HUNDRED PERCENT DONATED.
UM, ANYWAY, SO THERE'S, THERE'S ITEM SIX A.
SO I WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR ITEM SIX A IS PRESENTED.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THIS? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? ITEM SIX A IS PRESENTED, PLEASE SAY, AYE.
[a. Receive the Baytown Police Advisory Committee's Quarterly Report to the City Council on its work and progress.]
WE HAVE, UH, SOME REPORTS.WE HAVE A CITIZEN THAT SIGNED UP TO SPEAK FOR ITEM SEVEN A.
MR. ISAAC, IF YOU MAY, MR. MAY I HAVE A QUESTION OF PROCEDURE? UH, AM I ALLOWED TO HEAR THE REPORT FIRST AND THEN COMMENT OR NO? YOU'RE, YOU'RE ALLOWED TO SPEAK.
YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES AS YOU KNOW, TO SAY THINGS THAT ARE ON TOPIC AND WHERE YOU'RE AT.
IF, IF YOU, IF YOU DON'T HAVE MR. MAYOR, I'VE BEEN, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY ANYTHING.
WELL, I'LL EXERCISE MY LIBERTY AND SPEAK TONIGHT.
ABOUT THIS COMMITTEE, UH, WHO WILL GIVE A REPORT.
I'VE BEEN FOLLOWING THEM FOR SOME TIME NOW.
THERE HAS BEEN SOME PROGRESS MADE, UH, MOSTLY WITHIN THE, UH, UH, FIELD OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE, UH, MOSTLY WITHIN THE FIELD OF, UH, UH, BEING ABLE TO ADDRESS, UH, MENTAL HEALTH AND, AND BEING PROACTIVE.
UH, THAT'S PROBABLY THE GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT OF THIS COMMITTEE SO FAR.
UH, HOWEVER, I WOULD LIKE TO START TO GET INTO THE BRASS TACKS.
UH, SOME INTIMATE, THE TIMER HASN'T STARTED YET, BY THE WAY.
UH, SOME INTIMATE DETAILS THAT I WOULD LIKE FOR THIS COMMITTEE TO HASH OUT IN THE FUTURE.
FOR STARTERS, UH, THE DARE PROGRAM, UH, HASN'T BEEN, UH, SUCCESSFUL IN THE WAY THAT THE COMMUNITY SEES IT.
WELL, UM, I DON'T THINK THAT KIDS SHOULD BE EXPOSED TO, UH, CERTAIN DRUGS AT A CERTAIN AGE AND, UH, HAVE POLICE OFFICERS, UH, TELL THEM WHAT DRUGS DO TO THEM WHEN THEY HAVEN'T DONE ANY DRUGS.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, THAT LEADS ME TO MY NEXT TOPIC, WHICH IS THE HIRING ASPECT OF THIS, OR A LOT OF RESTRICTIONS TO HIRING WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, UH, CREATING A DI A DIVERSE WORKFORCE WITHIN OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT.
WHEN WE LOOK AT LEE COLLEGE, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE CITY, WHEN WE LOOK AT OTHER INSTITUTIONS THAT ARE TRYING TO PUSH DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION, UH, OUR POLICE, UH, DEPARTMENT SHOULDN'T HAVE NO EXCEPTION TO THAT.
NOW, I UNDERSTAND THEY GET A LOT OF TRAINING, UH, SPEND A LOT OF TIME TRAINING ON THAT ISSUE.
UH, HOWEVER, UH, THE RESTRAINTS THAT THE STATE HAS GIVEN THEM WHEN IT COMES TO RECRUITING, UH, IS AS FOLLOWS.
IF YOU HAVE SMOKED MARIJUANA FIVE YEARS, NOT, NOT, UH, CHARGED A CRIME, JUST IF YOU HAVE SMOKED MARIJUANA WITHIN FIVE YEARS OF, OF, OF APPLYING FOR YOUR APPLICATION, YOU ARE DISQUALIFIED FROM BEING A POLICE OFFICER, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND.
AND IT'S THE SMALL THINGS LIKE THAT.
THERE ARE SOME, SOME ISSUES ABOUT HIRING WOMEN.
UH, THE, UH, THE, THE, THE HIRING PROCESS WHEN IT COMES TO THE TESTS THAT YOU HAVE TO TAKE.
THERE'S CERTAIN STRENGTH TESTS INVOLVED WITH TRAINING WITH, UH, WITH THE, UH, APPLICATION PROCESS.
UH, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE INCLUDED GOING FORWARD? AND THEN FINALLY, THIS IS PROBABLY THE UGLIEST TOPIC THAT I WOULD, I'M GOING TO TOUCH ON, BUT, UH, I HAVEN'T HEARD ANY ENGAGING DISCUSSION WITH OUR UNIONS.
HOW DO WE KNOW AS A MUNICIPAL, UH, AS A MUNICIPALITY, HOW WELL OUR POLICE OFFICERS ARE DOING IF WE HAVE NO PUBLIC RELATIONSHIP WITH, UH, OUR POLICE UNIONS? NOW, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE INVOLVED POLITICAL, OKAY, I GOT ONE MINUTE.
FOR INSTANCE, THEY BACKED THE MAYOR IN THE LAST ELECTION CYCLE, BUT, UH, HAD NO DEBATE SPOKE AS TO, DIDN'T SPEAK AS TO WHY THEY SUPPORTED THE MAYOR.
WHENEVER I, UH, INTERVIEW OR SPEAK WITH POLICE OFFICERS AT LENGTH, UH, NONE OF THEM ARE ABLE TO TELL ME WHEN I SAY, OH, WELL, WHAT DOES THE POLICE DEPARTMENT NEED? AND I CAN SEE SOME HESITATION ON THEIR END BECAUSE PERHAPS THEY DON'T WANT TO OFFEND THEIR UNION.
SO I WOULD LIKE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE POLICE OFFICERS TO NOT BE AFRAID TO, UH, UH, ADDRESS THE PUBLIC.
AND I WOULD LIKE FOR THE PUBLIC TO NOT BE AFRAID TO ADDRESS POLICE OFFICERS.
AND AS I RECOGNIZE THE NUMBER ONE STRENGTH OF THIS COMMITTEE AND WHAT THEY'VE ACHIEVED, I'LL RECOGNIZE THE NUMBER ONE WEAKNESS.
AND THAT IS THAT THERE HAS NOT BEEN ENOUGH INVOLVEMENT FROM THE COMMUNITY IN THIS COMMITTEE.
AND WE NEED TO WORK AS A CITY COUNCIL, AS A GOVERNING BODY
[01:35:01]
TO HELP THEM COMMUNICATE, UH, PROGRESS IN THIS DEPARTMENT.UH, SO WE HAVE TO RECEIVE THE, THE BAYTOWN POLICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE'S COURTLY REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL HAS WORKED IN PROGRESS.
IT'S, UH, MY PRIVILEGE TO BRING THE REPORT TONIGHT, UH, FROM THE BAYTOWN POLICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
AND THIS IS OUR QUARTERLY REPORT.
JUST TO REITERATE, THE COMMITTEE FOCUS IS AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
UM, THE, THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE HAS NO OVERSIGHT AUTHORITY.
UM, THERE'S CLEAR OVERSIGHT OVER THE POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT IS SET BY THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE AND THE TEXAS COMMISSION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.
SO THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE HAS NO, UH, ABILITY TO CHANGE POLICY AND PROCEDURE, UH, IN ANY WAY.
UM, OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, UM, THERE HAVE BEEN WHAT HAS BEEN CALLED BUCKETS OF CONCERN.
AND THIS WAS, UH, SET, UH, BACK IN EARLY 2020 WHEN THE, YOU KNOW, DURING ALL THE PANDEMIC, UH, ALL OF THAT, ALL OF THE BUCKETS OF CONCERN, UH, THAT WE PUT IN PLACE, THE MENTAL HEALTH, THE TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT, POSITIVE ENGAGEMENT.
ALL OF THE BUCKETS OF CONCERN HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED MANY TIMES.
UH, AND THE BAYTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT DOES CONTINUE TO LISTEN, UH, TO THE BPAC AS CONCERNS ARE ARISING, UH, IN THE NEW TERM, WHICH WILL BEGIN OCTOBER 1ST.
ONE OF THE FIRST BUSINESS ITEMS FOR THE COMMITTEE IS ACTUALLY TO DISCUSS THE BUCKETS OF CONCERN AND THEN TO DETERMINE IF A NEW FOCUS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED AND ON, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT THE, THE, THE, THE FOUR PRIMARY BUCKETS, BUT ALSO MAYBE LOOK AT, SEE IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER CONCERNS THAT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED AND BROUGHT BACK TO COUNSEL.
UM, AND SO THEY WANT TO ADDRESS WHETHER OR NOT THERE NEEDS TO BE REVISIONS TO THE FOCUS OF CONCERN.
SO THAT IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE COMMITTEE.
UM, AS FAR AS COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT, UH, EACH OF THE, THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE CONTINUING TO ENGAGE, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, PARTICULARLY IN THEIR, UH, RESPECTIVE DISTRICTS FOR INSIGHT.
UM, BUT WE WOULD LIKE TO SOLICIT THE, THE COUNCIL TO HELP US, UH, WITH ASSISTANCE AND INPUT FROM THE COUNCIL WOULD BE APPRECIATED AS THEY DIRECT COMPLAINTS.
'CAUSE I KNOW Y'ALL'S PHONE, Y'ALL'S PHONE IS RINGING, AND WE, WE DEFINITELY WANT TO TRY TO CREATE A, UM, A CONSENSUS OF IF WE'RE HEARING MULTIPLE THINGS, THAT WE COULD THEN BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THOSE IN THE, UH, THE BUCKETS OF CONCERNS TO DATE.
UM, ONLY A FEW CITIZENS, WHEN YOU LOOK AT PERCENTAGE WISE, A I WOULD NOT EVEN SAY 1% OF THE, THE CITIZENS OF BAYTOWN HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THE CITIZEN INPUT OPPORTUNITY THAT IS NOW BEING PROVIDED AT EACH OF THE BPAC MEETINGS.
AND SO THAT THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CITIZENS TO COME.
THEY HAVE THREE MINUTES TO, UH, ADDRESS CONCERNS OR BRING SUGGESTIONS.
AND SO, UH, WE WANT, UH, WE DO WANT TO INVITE THE COMMUNITY TO COME FORWARD WITH LEGITIMATE MATTERS THAT RELATE TO THE BAYTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
WE ARE, THE BPAC HAS BEEN LOOKING FOR CONCERNS AS WELL AS SUGGESTIONS.
AND CITIZENS CAN SPEAK DIRECTLY, UH, TO US IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THOSE IN, IN, IN FRONT OF THEM.
THERE IS AN ONGOING EFFORT BY BAYTOWN POLICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO MEET OUTSIDE OF CITY HALL.
THE REASON I BRING THIS UP IS THAT THE HIGHEST ATTENDED BPAC MEETING WAS SEVERAL MONTHS AGO AT LEE COLLEGE.
AND THAT WAS THE HIGHEST ATTENDED BY THE COMMUNITY.
IT WAS ALSO THE HIGHEST AMOUNT OF CITIZEN INPUT THAT, THAT WE RECEIVED.
AND SO THE COMMITTEE, THE COMMITTEE DOES IN FACT, DESIRE TO BE MORE VISIBLE AND ACCESSIBLE TO THE COMMUNITY IN ORDER SO THAT WE CAN, UH, YOU KNOW, ABSORB WHAT'S, WHAT THE, THE COMMUNITY IS FEELING, AND SO THAT THAT CAN BE PASSED ON TO THE COUNCIL AND GIVE ADVICE TO THE, THE COUNCIL.
ONE OF THE THINGS, AND THIS IS NOT
[01:40:01]
A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT DIRECTLY BY BPAC, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE COMMITTEE WOULD LIKE FOR US TO REALLY APPLAUD IS UNIDOS.AND THAT IS THE HISPANIC LATINO COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
KNOWING THAT 52% OF THE BAYTOWN POPULATION IS LATINO, UH, IN POPULATION.
LIEUTENANT RE RENEE HINOJOSA, WHO IS A FORMER BAC MEMBER, UM, IS HEADING THIS UP.
THERE'S BEEN GREAT TEAMWORK TO REACH INTO THE LATINO COMMUNITY, AND WE ARE VERY THANKFUL FOR THAT, UH, ESPECIALLY WITH THE FACT THAT THEY'VE GOT AN UPCOMING, UH, TOWN HALL MEETING AND MORE DETAILS ON THAT IS GOING TO BE COMING OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
BUT, BUT AS A COMMITTEE, WE ARE VERY THANKFUL FOR THE ENDEAVORS THAT ARE, THAT ARE GOING ON WITH THAT.
MATTER OF FACT, IT, THEY MAY BE BACK NOW, BUT THEY'VE BEEN UP IN THE DALLAS AREA RECEIVING TRAINING FOR, FOR THIS INITIATIVE.
AND SO WE'RE VERY THANKFUL BECAUSE THIS IS PART OF THE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT THAT, THAT YOU TASK US TO, UH, PARTICIPATE IN.
SO WE'RE VERY, WE'RE VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THAT.
WE WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE BAYTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, PARTICULARLY, AND I WANT TO TAKE THIS KIND OF A PERSONAL 'CAUSE.
THIS IS GOING TO BE MY LAST, UH, ACTION AS, UH, ON THE, THE BAYTOWN POLICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND ALSO BEING THE CHAIR.
I WANNA PERSONALLY THANK FORMER CHIEF KEITH DOHERTY, ASSISTANT CHIEF MIKE HOLDEN, AND NOW CHIEF STRINGER FOR ACTIVELY BEING INVOLVED, UH, WITH THE BAYTOWN POLICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
AND HEARING ALL OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE'VE HAD.
ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, CITY COUNCIL FOR SUPPORTING BAY BPAC BECAUSE WE'RE TWO YEARS INTO IT, AND WE'RE, THEY'RE JUST NOW GETTING TRACTION TO, TO REALLY MAKE, UH, SOME EFFORTS IN THE, IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
I'D ALSO LIKE TO SAY, UH, THANK YOU TO MR. KEVIN TROLLER BECAUSE, UH, HIS GUIDANCE AT THE, IN INCEPTION OF THIS COMMITTEE, AND ALSO MS. ANGELA JOHNSON AND RAQUEL MARTINEZ FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE IN PUTTING UP WITH ME, UH, ASKING A HUNDRED, 101 QUESTIONS.
BUT, UH, WE, WE DEFINITELY APPRECIATE WHAT THE BAYTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN, UH, MOVING FORWARD TO, TO HEAR OUR CONCERNS.
SO I WILL LEAVE YOU WITH THAT WITH ANY QUESTIONS.
ANY QUESTIONS, UH, COUNSEL COMMENT.
YOU HAVE AN MM? YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
UM, I WOULD LIKE, I'VE ATTENDED A FEW OF THEIR MEETINGS AND, UM, THE DISCUSSION IS VERY PRODUCTIVE.
I WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYONE ON COUNCIL TO TAKE SOME TIME AND GO OUT TO ONE OF THE MEETINGS.
I KNOW THAT THE PERSONS ON THAT COMMITTEE WOULD BE HAPPY TO SEE ANY OF US AT ANY TIME.
I'M ACTUALLY GONNA GET WITH YOU TO MAKE A SUGGESTION ABOUT A LOCATION NORTH OF I 10.
HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET SOME CITIZENS NORTH OF I 10 TO COME OUT TO ONE OF THOSE MEETINGS HERE SOON.
AND IF WE CAN THINK OF ANY PLACES IN OUR DISTRICTS RESPECTIVELY, WHERE THEY COULD COME OUT AND MEET, UM, JUST TO GET CITIZEN MORE CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT, I THINK THAT'D BE A GOOD IDEA.
BUT ON THE FLIP SIDE OF THAT, WHEN WE DON'T HAVE VERY MANY PEOPLE HERE, IT'S KIND OF A SIGN THAT WE'RE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION LISTENING TO OUR CITIZENS.
AND THAT MAY BE WHAT'S GOING ON WITH BPAC, BECAUSE I, I WOULD NOT DISAGREE WITH THAT.
YEAH, I, I'VE SEEN THE ADVERTISEMENTS.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE ASKED FOR.
I'VE HEARD THAT THERE'S BEEN SOME, UM, LITERATURE PASSED OUT AND WHAT I, THE RESPONSES I'M GETTING THAT PEOPLE ARE HAPPY WITH WHAT'S GOING ON NOW, BUT THEY ARE THANKFUL FOR THE COMMITTEE AND THE, THE LEVEL OF BUCKETS BEING LOWERED BY THE ACTIONS THAT YOU ALL HAVE TAKEN.
MAYOR, UM, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THE BPAC.
UM, AND, AND ONE COMMENT ON THE PRESENTATION HERE.
UM, I'M, I'M HAPPY TO SEE, UH, THE IDEA OF TAKING, UM, THE MEETING OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY.
WE TALKED ABOUT THAT WHEN YOU HAD THE ONE AT LEE COLLEGE.
I'M HAPPY TO HEAR IT WAS SO WELL ATTENDED.
UM, AND I KNOW OF A CHURCH IN DISTRICT FIVE THAT MAY WILLING TO HOST, YOU KNOW, THAT NOW THAT THERE'S GONNA BE A LEADERSHIP CHANGE, THAT THERE, THERE IS A CHURCH IN DISTRICT FIVE THAT WILL PROBABLY BE ABLE TO HOST THAT SO GOOD.
WITHOUT ANY TETHERS AND ANYTHING.
SO HOPEFULLY THAT WILL HAPPEN IN, IN, IN DISTRICT FIVE.
ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? NO, JUST ECHO THE THANKS TO THE, TO THE CHAIR FOR ALL OF HIS HARD WORK
[01:45:01]
AND, UH, HE'LL BE MISSED.YOU, YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN INVOLVED MM-HMM
AS THIS, AS THIS KIND OF, THIS, THIS ISSUE AS, AS, UM, PAST FEW YEARS HAS JUST TAKEN, TAKEN, HOLD.
AND I THINK WE, WE'VE, WE TRY TO ADDRESS EVERYTHING WE CAN TO HAVE THAT LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND OUR CITIZENS.
AND SO WE CONTINUE TO, UH, WORK ON, ON IMPROVEMENT.
AND THAT, THAT WAS, THAT WAS THE ENTIRE THOUGHT BEHIND THIS IS, IS, UM, GOING, CREATING AND ENGAGING POSITIVE COMMUNICATION.
AND SOMETIMES IT MAY BE DIFFICULT COMMUNICATION, BUT THROUGH A POSITIVE MEANS AND RESPECTFUL MEANS.
SO I, I DO THANK YOU FOR, FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THIS COMMITTEE.
ALRIGHT, SO WE WILL, UH, MOVE ON TO ITEM EIGHT A.
AND SO WE DO HAVE A CITIZEN, UH, ASSIGNED TO SPEAK.
MR. ISAAC, MR. MAYOR DAVID ISAAC.
SO TONIGHT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT HOW NRG ENERGY, WHO IS HERE TO, UH, PROPOSE A PROJECT MOONSHOT AND EXPANSION OVER AT THE CEDAR BAYOU PLANT IN EAST BAYTOWN.
AND, UH, GOT ME THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE FACT THAT WE DON'T HAVE AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, MORE THAN ONE PERSON AT THE CURRENT MOMENT.
UH, THAT WE INVESTED A LOT ON THE MALL AND GIVING THEM A $16 MILLION TAX ABATEMENT THAT WE JUST WORKED 17 YEARS IN YOUR CASE, MR. MAYOR.
AND, UH, WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE AIR THAT I'M BREATHING AND THE, THE, THE SEWAGE, UH, UH, WATER AND, AND THAT QUALITY, UH, I HAVE, UH, TROUBLE TRYING TO COME TO TERMS WITH GIVING, UH, THIS COMPANY, UH, TWO MONTHS AGO, I PROBABLY WOULD'VE SAID FAT CAT COMPANY, BUT THIS LARGE COMPANY, UH, GETTING A TAX ABATEMENT ON THE BACKS OF THE TAXPAYER IN THE PROPOSAL THAT THEY'RE ABOUT TO SHOW YOU, THEY DISCUSSED A LASTING ECONOMIC BENEFIT FOR THE COMMUNITY AND WITH UNEMPLOYMENT AT 3.2%.
AND ACCORDING TO RICK DAVIS'S STRATEGIC, COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PLAN, WE KNOW THAT 80% OF PEOPLE WHO WORK IN BAYTOWN, UH, DON'T LIVE IN BAYTOWN.
SO IT'S NOT GUARANTEED THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE JOBS THERE.
IT'S NOT GUARANTEED THAT WE'RE GONNA BENEFIT OFF OF THE TAX REVENUE THEY'RE ASKING FOR NOT ONLY A TAX ABATEMENT, NOT ONLY HELP FROM THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, BUT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR HELP FROM CHAMBERS COUNTY, THE STATE OF TEXAS, HARRIS COUNTY.
I THINK THAT, UH, IF WE GET LEE COLLEGE, GOOSE CREEK, I MEAN, THIS IS LIKE AN ALL HANDS ON DECK SORT OF ASK HERE.
NOW, THEY'RE GONNA SHOW YOU THEIR PROPOSAL, BUT THEY'RE NOT GONNA ASK FOR MONEY UNTIL JANUARY.
AND WHEN THAT COMES UP, I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO CONSIDER HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN HELPED THROUGH THE MDD FROM THEIR SMALL BUSINESSES WHO HAVE BEEN KILLED BY COVID.
I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO CONSIDER, UH, THE MANY ISSUES THAT WE HAVE AHEAD OF US.
THE FACT THAT WE JUST WORKED HARD DILIGENTLY TO MAKE A, A, A BALANCED BUDGET AND LOWERED, UH, LOWERED OUR TAX RATE.
SO I THINK IN THIS CASE, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE SEE THIS COMPANY, UH, WANTING TO OFFSET THEIR CAPITAL COSTS OF MINIMIZING TAX LIABILITIES, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, ON THE BACKS OF THE TAXPAYER, SO MR. MAYOR, MR. COUNCIL, THOSE OF HERE, THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE ELECTED BY OUR, BY OUR CITIZENS, BY OUR REGISTERED VOTERS, TO SERVE US AND TO BE STEWARDS OF THE TAXPAYERS, I NEED YOU TO KEEP IN MIND THAT, UH, THOSE FOLKS AREN'T GONNA GET TAX BREAKS LIKE THIS.
DON'T HAVE THE AUDACITY TO ASK FOR TAX BREAKS LIKE THIS.
DON'T HAVE THE AUDACITY TO ASK FOR THE TYPE OF COMPLIANCE THAT NRG IS GONNA ASK FOR TONIGHT.
DAVID ISAAC, THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY THIS EVENING ABOUT THIS COMPANY.
ALRIGHT, SO WE HAVE, UH, WE'RE
[a. Receive a presentation from NRG Energy Inc., regarding Project Moonshot, an expansion project at the Cedar Bayou Plant in East Baytown.]
GONNA RECEIVE A PRESENTATION FROM NRG, UH, ENERGY INC.REGARDING THE, UH, PROJECT MOONSHOT, AN EXPANSION PROJECT AT THE CEDAR VALLEY PLANT IN EAST BAYTOWN.
UH, SO WE HAVE MR. FREEMAN, UH, GOOD EVENING MAYOR COUNSEL.
I JUST WANNA GIVE, UH, SOME BACKGROUND, UH, INTRODUCE, UH, MR. FREEMAN ALONG WITH HIS COLLEAGUES, UH, THROUGH HERE.
NRG ENERGY HAS BEEN PURSUING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A 670, UH, MEGAWATT GENERATION FACILITY AT THEIR CEDAR BAYOU PLANT.
UH, THE EDF HAS BEEN PROVIDING SUPPORT, UM, TO THE PROJECT, UH, AND DATING BACK TO THE FIRST QUARTER OF 21, PRIMARILY IN THE FORM OF, UH, UM, INFORMATION SHARING AND, UM, ACTUALLY ENGAGING UNITS OF GOVERNMENT AND TAXING ENTITIES SO AS TO PURSUE, UH, THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROJECT.
THE PROJECT IN AND OF ITSELF IS VERY IMPORTANT FROM AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE, AND YOU'LL HEAR SOME OF THE BENEFITS THAT, UM, HAVING THIS NEW CAPACITY COME ONLINE AT THE CEDAR BAYOU FACILITY AND WHAT IT MEANS TO OUR ABILITY TO CONTINUE TO ACCOMMODATE, UH, PROJECTS, UH, IN THAT GENERATION FACILITY, NOT ONLY HERE LOCALLY, BUT ALSO IN THE GRID.
THERE ARE SOME RADIAL BENEFITS IN PROXIMITY TO THE CEDAR BAY, UH, LOCATION THAT THIS, UH, GENERATION FACILITY WOULD ALLOW.
SO WE HAVE DAVID FREEMAN, WHO'S THE DEVELOPMENT,
[01:50:01]
UH, EXECUTIVE FOR THE PROJECT.UH, HE'S ALSO JOINED BY ROB ICK, WHO'S THE LOCAL, UH, FACILITY MANAGER.
AND ANN HAN IS A PUBLIC RELATIONS LEADER.
SO DAVE'S GONNA STEP THROUGH THE PRESENTATION THAT YOU HAVE AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
UM, I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH THE WHOLE PRESENTATION.
SO, UH, I JUST WANT TO HIT SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS THAT ARE IN THERE.
UH, THE PROJECT, UH, UH, UH, IS, UH, I THINK ALL OF YOU ARE AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON GLOBALLY WITH ENERGY, THE ATTENTION THAT ENERGY IS GETTING IN EUROPE WHERE THERE'S LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE DANGER OF, OF, UH, UH, LOSING, UH, CRITICAL UTILITY SERVICE TO CUSTOMERS.
UH, THIS WINTER, WE, WE FACE THE SAME CHALLENGES, UH, UH, HERE, UH, IN TEXAS.
AND SO WHAT KEEPS ME AWAKE AT NIGHT IS EVENTS LIKE STORM URI OR WHEN WE'RE GOING THROUGH HOT WEATHER CONDITIONS, WHAT CAN WE DO TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON? SO TEXAS IS DOING A GREAT JOB OF HURLING TOWARDS RENEWABLE ENERGY.
A LOT OF THOSE RESOURCES, WIND RESOURCES AND SOLAR RESOURCES ARE REMOTE FROM BAYTOWN.
THEY'RE IN WEST, UH, WEST TEXAS.
THAT'S WHERE THE LARGE PROJECTS ARE GOING.
AND SO WHAT KEEPS ME AWAKE AGAIN, IS THAT'S FINE OUT WEST.
AND MOST OF THE TIME IT, UH, WE CAN BRING THAT TO, UH, UH, UH, POWER TO BAYTOWN, UH, ESPECIALLY LIKE SOLAR DURING THE DAY.
WIND TENDS TO BLOW AT NIGHT, BUT WE HAVE TO HAVE RELIABLE RESOURCES WHEN, YOU KNOW, THE WEATHER ISN'T COOPERATING THAT WE CAN DEPEND ON AND CALL UPON TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON.
SO THIS IS THIS SORT OF, UH, UH, ASSET, A GAS FIRED ASSET, UH, CAN, CAN EVENTUALLY, UH, CONVERT OVER, CAN BURN HYDROGEN IN THE BEGINNING AND THEN EVENTUALLY, UH, UH, UH, TRANSITION TO A HUNDRED PERCENT HYDROGEN.
BUT THIS IS THE SORT OF ASSET THAT, UH, WILL PROVIDE THAT RELIABILITY AND, UH, UH, AND ARE WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY CHALLENGED WITH IS HOW TO MAKE THAT, UH, ECONOMICALLY VIABLE.
SO WE WERE, UH, WE HAD BEEN WORKING EARLIER IN THE, EARLIER IN THE YEAR TO, UH, TRY TO GET THIS, UH, UH, TO PROCEED, UH, UH, A RANGE OF FINANCING AND, AND TO PROCEED, UH, IN JUNE.
AND, UH, UH, I THINK CITY MANAGER, UH, REFERRED TO SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES, ANOTHER GLOBAL ISSUE THAT WE'RE FACING.
SO IT JUST MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO, TO GET ACCEPTABLE FINANCING AND, UH, UH, GET THE MATERIALS HERE, THE LABOR AND EVERYTHING IT WOULD TAKE TO, TO HAVE THIS PROJECT ONLINE BY SUMMER 25.
SO WE PIVOTED, UH, DELAYED THE PROCESS, UH, SLIGHTLY, UH, TO, UH, UH, UH, BRING IT ONLINE BY, UH, SUMMER OF 26.
AND, UH, WE'RE RIGHT NOW FOCUSED ON, UH, REALLY IDENTIFYING THE COSTS, UH, THAT MAKE THIS PROJECT, UH, VIABLE AT A RATE THAT'S ACCEPTABLE TO, UH, THE CUSTOMERS OF, OF THE COMMUNITY.
SO WITH ME TONIGHT, UH, ROB KRILLICK, HE'S THE PLANT MANAGER OUT THERE RIGHT NOW, AND ANN DHAN WHO, UH, IS, IS, UH, MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS.
UH, ROB MANAGES 55 PEOPLE OUT THERE AT THE PLANT.
UH, ROB, WHAT, 10 OF 'EM ARE BAYTOWN RESIDENTS, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
AND THIS PROJECT WOULD ADD 18 EMPLOYEES.
SO, YOU KNOW, RATIO WISE, YOU CAN KIND OF SEE HOW IT'S, HOW IT'S GOING IN TERMS OF THE ONES THAT ARE ACTUALLY RESIDENTS OF, UH, UH, BAYTOWN ITSELF.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT, UH, I'VE, UH, UH, BEEN VERY IMPRESSED WITH IS, IS, UH, THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS, UH, BAY TOWN'S COMMITMENT, THE COMMUNITY'S COMMITMENT TO, UH, NOT JUST INDUSTRY AND HAVING JOBS HERE, BUT ALSO DOING IT AN ENVIRONMENTALLY UH, DESIRABLE WAY.
WE LIVE BY THE, UH, LIVE BY THE, UH, OCEAN.
WE ENJOY NATURE, WE ENJOY THE, UH, ENVIRONMENT THAT WE HAVE HERE.
AND BLENDING THOSE TWO AND FINDING WAYS TO MAKE THOSE TWO WORK TOGETHER.
UH, UH, THE LOCAL COMMUNITY HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, DOING A FANTASTIC JOB OF, OF, OF DOING THAT.
I THINK THIS PROJECT EMBODIES THAT EFFORT.
I THINK ONE OTHER KEY POINT TO UNDERSTAND IS THE PLANTS THAT ROB MANAGE UNIT ONE AT, AT THAT, UH, FACILITY WENT ONLINE IN 1970.
SO OVER 52 YEARS AGO, UNIT TWO, THE YEAR THEREAFTER, IT CONTINUED, THOSE UNITS CONTINUED TO RUN RELIABLY PRODUCING POWER, UH, ESPECIALLY DURING SUMMER, SUMMER MONTHS, AND HAVE PROVIDED A GOOD TAX BASE WELL BEYOND WHAT ANYONE WOULD'VE PREDICTED.
SO THEY'RE IN THEIR 50TH, UH, 50TH YEARS.
I THINK WHEN WE DO OUR SPREADSHEETS WORKING WITH VICTOR, I THINK WE'RE PROJECTING OUT, YOU KNOW, 30, 35 YEARS.
BUT IT'S, UH, WITH ROB AND THE WAY HE OPERATES THE PLANTS, WE OFTEN TIMES CAN KEEP THAT TAX BASE OUT THERE, UH, FOR, YOU KNOW, DECADES BEYOND WHAT, UH, SOMEONE WOULD PREDICT.
[01:55:01]
I THINK I'LL JUST END IT THERE AND, AND ENTERTAIN QUESTIONS.UH, UH, I'M HERE TO, YOU KNOW, BE A, WE'RE ALL HERE TO BE, UH, INFORMATION RESOURCED.
IS THERE ANY, ANY INDIVIDUAL QUESTIONS YOU HAVE FOR ENERGY? OKAY.
ANOTHER THING WITH THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, TONIGHT WE'RE NOT CONSIDER ANYTHING OTHER THAN YOUR PRESENTATION.
AND THEN IF THERE'LL BE SOMETHING IN FRONT OF COUNCIL, I'M ASSUMING IN, IN THE NEAR FUTURE, UH, REGARDING, YOU KNOW, UM, SOME INCENTIVES THAT THAT CAN GO AND HOPEFULLY THAT YOU CHOOSE TO SITE AND CERTAINLY CREATE, CREATE A, A FACILITY AND CERTAINLY CREATE JOBS.
AND SO WITH THAT, WE DO THANK YOU.
WE, WE, WE CERTAINLY HOPE YOU CONSIDER, UH, THIS PARTICULAR SITE.
SO WITH THAT, UM, THANK YOU, UH, HAVE A GREAT EVENING.
[9. CONSENT All Consent Agenda items listed are considered to be routine by the City Council and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Council Member requests, in which event the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the agenda.]
OUR CONSENT AGENDA.SO WE HAVE CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS A THROUGH N.
SO I'D ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR CONSENTS, A THROUGH N YOU TO APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA NINE A THROUGH N SECOND.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? EXCUSE ME, SINCE THIS CONSENT.
SO WE DO HAVE A MOTION, WE HAVE A SECOND.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF CONSENT AS, UH, PRESENTED, PLEASE SAY AYE.
IS THERE, UM, THERE'S LOTS OF ITEMS ON THIS.
UM, ANY YOU THINK THAT, I KNOW NOTHING WAS PULLED, BUT, UM, I DO APPRECIATE IT.
UH, A LOT OF THE STAFF, THERE WAS SOME STUFF THAT WAS PUT IN HERE, UM, THAT I BELIEVE WILL BENEFIT OUR, OUR EMPLOYEES.
AND SO I JUST WANT TO, THAT'S NOT HIGHLIGHTED, BUT, UH, ITEM K.
IT'S CERTAINLY, UM, A MODERNIZATION OF SOME OF OUR POLICIES.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL MOVE ON TO 10
[a. Consider the appointment of six (6) members of the Baytown Police Advisory Committee.]
A CONSIDER THE APPOINTMENT OF SIX MEMBERS OF THE BAYTOWN POLICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.UH, SO WHAT I'LL DO HERE, THERE IS, UM, SIX SPOTS.
SO I'LL JUST START BY DISTRICT.
SO FIRST, UH, I THINK CURRENTLY IT IS VACANT, BUT MS. ALVARADO, DO YOU HAVE A NAME? I HAVE ONE IN FRONT OF ME, BUT IT, IT, IT'S YOUR NOMINATION.
UH, MAYOR, I AM RECOMMENDING MS. DORIS THOMAS, UH, TO SERVE IN DISTRICT ONE.
ALRIGHT, UH, NEXT WE HAVE OUR CITY MANAGER, UH, THAT, UH, HAS AN APPOINTMENT.
UH, IN DISTRICT TWO, UM, WE CURRENTLY HAVE BOARD MEMBER, UH, DR.
CORRECT? I'D LIKE TO REAPPOINT.
UH, IN DISTRICT FOUR WE HAVE RICHARD INGER, I WILL REAPPOINT RICHARD INGER.
AND LET'S SEE, UH, HERE WE HAVE DISTRICT FIVE.
IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT, UM, THAT APPOINTMENT IS NOT YET READY TO BE MADE.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.
AND THEN IN DISTRICT SIX WE HAVE ATHENA GREEN, UM, AS THE, UH, CURRENT BOARD MEMBER AND I'M GONNA REAPPOINT HER.
SO, UM, I THINK, UH, SO AGAIN, WE'LL HAVE, UH, DORIS THOMAS, NATALIE ROBINSON, UH, DR.
MREL MORENO, RICHARD HUNSINGER, AND ATHENA GREEN BEING REAPPOINTED ARE BEING APPOINTED OR REAPPOINTED.
SO ALL THOSE, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE NOMINATION THAT'S PRESENTED.
I GUESS, CAN YOU MAKE A MOTION FOR THE NAMES I JUST DESCRIBED? MOTION TO APPROVE.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? IF NOT, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? UH, AS THE NOMINATIONS IS PRESENTED, PLEASE SAY, AYE.
ALL THOSE OPPOSED? OKAY, WE MOVE ON TO ITEM,
[b. Consider four (4) appointments to the Animal Control Advisory Committee.]
UH, 10 B.CONSIDER FOUR APPOINTMENTS TO THE ANIMAL CONTROL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
UM, I BELIEVE, UM, AT LEAST WHAT'S IN FRONT OF ME, UH, LOOKS LIKE THERE'S JAMES GARCIA, UH, DIRECTOR OF HEALTH, UH, DESIGNEE.
FRANCISCO ALVAREZ, A LICENSED VETERINARIAN, UH, ALSO SEEKING REAPPOINTMENT.
THERE'S CORPORAL JAMES KERR, WHICH IS THE CHIEF POLICE DESIGNEE APPOINTMENT.
UM, THERE'S ALSO ONE INTERESTED CITIZEN.
UM, I WOULD ASK COUNSEL, WE, WE CONSIDER THAT AT A LATER DATE AND, AND AT LEAST TAKE THE THREE NAMES THAT I JUST MENTIONED, UH, FOR THIS ACTION ITEM, UH, THIS EVENING.
SO WITH THAT, WE HAVE JAMES GARCIA, DR.
FRANCISCO ALVAREZ, AND CORPORAL JAMES KERR.
SO I ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR THOSE THREE INDIVIDUALS.
MOTION TO APPROVE THE FOUR MENTION NAMES SECOND.
SO ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
[c. Consider one (1) appointment to the Parks and Recreation Board.]
UH, ITEM 10 C.CONSIDER ONE APPOINTMENT TO THE PARKS RECREATION BOARD.
UM, SO THIS IS, UH, UH, I THINK THIS WILL FINALLY HAVE US FULLY STAFFED AGAIN AT OUR PARKS AND REC BOARD.
I WILL BE NOMINATION, UH, BE NOMINATING MS. MIAM MORALES, WHO'S HERE WITH HERE, UH, HERE WITH US THIS EVENING.
THANK YOU FOR STICKING AROUND.
UM, CERTAINLY EXCITED FOR THE APPOINTMENTS AND, AND CERTAINLY SOME NEW FACES, UH, ON THE, THE PARKS BOARD.
SO I'D ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF MS. MORALES.
SECOND, I HAVE A MOTION TO SECOND.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF MS. MORALES, PLEASE SAY, AYE.
ALL RIGHT, WE WILL HAVE OUR MANAGER'S
[11. MANAGER'S REPORT Notice is hereby given in accordance with Section 551.0415 of the Texas Government Code, the City Council of the City of Baytown may receive a report about items of community interest from City staff and/or a member of the City Council, but no action or possible action shall be taken or discussed concerning the subject of such report, except as provided by Section 551.042 of the Texas Government Code.]
REPORT AND THAT WILL BE FOLLOWED BY A COUNCIL MEMBER DISTRICT REPORT FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CHARLES JOHNSON.I'M GONNA SEED JUST A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO MY RING CLIFF,
[02:00:01]
WE'VE GOT ONE MORE VIDEO FOR YOU GUYS.THE, UH, UH, JACOB, UH, UH, WAS UNABLE TO BE OUR MC THIS YEAR.
HE'S A, A PART OF THE REO COMMITTEE.
HE'S UNABLE TO BE HERE AND HE WAS UNABLE TO BE A PART OF THE G***O FEST THIS YEAR.
UH, WE DID GET THE OPPORTUNITY FOR HIM TO COME BY AND TAKE A VIDEO AND WE WERE PUSHING IT OUT ON FACEBOOK.
WE'RE HAVING GLI FEST TWICE THIS TIME, TWICE AS NICE.
WE'RE HAVING THE PRE-PARTY IN SEPTEMBER 30TH.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE DERADO ANJ PEREZ.
AND THEN OF COURSE, ON THE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1ST, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE GRUPO MESO LAS PHOENIX AND FEST.
BRING YOUR MAMA, BRING YOUR DADDY, BRING YOUR, BRING YOUR UNCLE, BRING EVERYBODY YOUR GRANDMA TOO, BECAUSE IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT TIME.
WE'RE GONNA BE THROWING THESE SHIRTS OFF OF THE STAGE.
IT'S GONNA BE THE BEST THING YOU'VE EVER SEEN IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE FEST.
COME ON DOWN FEST, BECAUSE IT'S GONNA BE THE BEST FEST EVER.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE IN YOUR COURTROOM? OH, THAT, THAT'S NOT JUST RECOVERING FROM THAT.
UH, YEAH, I'M GOING TO DO THAT ON MY LAST DAY.
ANYWAY, HEY, I JUST WANNA CONGRATULATE OUR PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT WITH A PRODUCTION OF ANOTHER EXCELLENT, UH, VERSION OF THE BAYTOWN VOICE.
PLEASE, UH, TAKE TIME TO PERUSE THAT AND, UH, EVERYONE WILL GET ONE AT THEIR HOUSE AND, AND OUR INTENTION IS THEY KEEP IT AND USE THAT AS A REFERENCE UNTIL WE PRODUCE OUR THIRD ONE.
BUT, UH, THIS IS JUST AN EXCELLENT REPRESENTATION OF OUR COMMUNITY AND A LOT OF GREAT INFORMATION AND SO PROFESSIONALLY DONE SO CONGRATULATIONS TO, TO PUBLIC AFFAIRS FOR ANOTHER GREAT PRODUCTION.
UH, SPEAKING OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND OUR OWN LLOYD LIVELY WHO KEEPS RACKING IN THE AWARDS.
THIS ONE FROM THREE CMA FOR THE SHOEBOX PARADE.
YOU REMEMBER THAT WHEN COVID ISS GOING ON AND, AND, UH, THAT ONE, A AWARD OF EXCELLENCE.
THREE CMA, OF COURSE IS HIS CITY COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING ASSOCIATION.
SOUNDS LIKE ICMA ONLY WITH THREE.
LLOYD, YOU, THAT IS, THAT'S EXCELLENT.
LLOYD, THIS IS A, THIS IS A FINE BRICK AND I'LL GIVE, I'LL GIVE THAT BACK TO YOU.
UM, AND THEN, UH, SOME SHOUT OUTS TO SOME OF OUR FIREFIGHTERS, UH, JOSHUA LESTER, UH, AND ROBERT FORD AND BRADLEY BRYANT FOR ACHIEVING THEIR INTERMEDIATE STRUCTURE FIREFIGHTERS CERTIFICATION.
AND OUR ADVANCED STRUCTURE FIREFIGHTERS, UH, CERTIFICATE AWARDEES ARE KEN AND CRUZ, JEREMIAH CHAPLAIN AND GEORGE LOCITO AND MASTER STRUCTURE FIREFIGHTERS, UH, CERTIFICATE, UH, RECIPIENTS ARE JACOB GRIFFITH AND ROBERT BAMO.
SO HATS OFF TO THESE FIREFIGHTERS FOR, UH, ACHIEVING THESE SIGNIFICANT, UH, CERTIFICATIONS.
UM, WITH THAT MAYOR, THAT IS ALL I HAVE.
I MADE THIS REPORT REGARDING THE, UH, BAYTOWN MAGAZINE.
SO I, I ALSO WANNA THANK, UM, PUBLIC AFFAIRS FOR THIS AND INCLUDING ME IN THE PROCESS OF, OF, UH, THE BILINGUAL PORTION.
WE WORKED THROUGH SEVERAL OPTIONS AND HOW TO BEST PRESENT THE BILINGUAL PORTION.
WE DID THAT WITH THE FIRST EDITION AND NOW AGAIN WITH THE SECOND EDITION.
AND THEY'VE CONTINUED TO IMPROVE, UM, LANGUAGE ACCESS THROUGHOUT OUR MATERIALS, BUT ALSO WITH THE WEBSITE.
UM, THEY ADDED MULTI-LANGUAGE, UH, TO IT AS WELL UTILIZING, UM, THE GOOGLE PLATFORM.
SO I JUST APPRECIATE THEM, UH, WORKING EVERY WHICH WAY THEY CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY REACH ALL OF OUR CITIZENS IN WHATEVER LANGUAGE THEY SPEAK.
ALRIGHT, THAT CONCLUDES THE MAN'S REPORT.
[a. Receive a report from Council Member Charles Johnson regarding District No. Three projects and programs. ]
MEMBER, UH, JOHNSON, WHAT IS THE DISTRICT THREE REPORT? DISTRICT THREE, WE REALLY HAVEN'T HAD MUCH CHANGE.I KNOW EVERYONE'S EXCITED ABOUT THEM ALL.
WE WERE OUT THERE THE NEXT DAY WITH A BULLDOZER TAKING PICTURES AND EVEN THOUGH NOTHING WAS TORN DOWN THAT DAY, I CAN TELL YOU THAT UH, THAT POST THAT WAS MADE GOT A LOT OF HITS ON IT.
PEOPLE ARE DRIVING BY, I SEE PEOPLE DRIVING BY AND ON THE WEEKEND THERE ARE ACTUALLY PEOPLE OUT THERE TAKING PICTURES.
UM, I DIDN'T REALIZE PEOPLE WOULD BE THAT EXCITED TO SEE SOMETHING TORN DOWN IN BAYTOWN, UM,
[02:05:01]
THAT ACTUALLY ROBBED.UM, THERE WAS A BRUSH PILE ON SPUR THREE 30 FEEDER NEAR THE, UM, RESIDENCE OF MIDDLETON THAT THEY WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT.
HAD A PHONE CALL WITH RICK THAT HAS BEEN ELIMINATED.
SO THANK YOU TO, UH, RICK AND CITY STAFF FOR LOOKING OUT FOR THE CITIZENS ON THAT SMALL ROAD OF MIDDLETON AND THEIR CONCERNS.
IF YOU HAVEN'T GONE BY THERE, PLEASE GO BY THERE AND SUPPORT THEM.
THAT'S A BUSINESS ON BAYWAY SOMETHING, A BUSINESS THAT WE WOULD HOPE WOULD SPUR OTHER BUSINESS ON BAYWAY DRIVE.
AND WE ALSO HAD A MEETING ABOUT A DOG PARK, MAYBE A BIGGER PARK.
THE CITIZENS HAVE YET TO MAKE UP THEIR MIND ON WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH ONE OF THREE OR FOUR LOCATIONS.
WAS IT THREE LOCATIONS OR FOUR, THREE LOCATIONS NEAR LAKEWOOD.
UM, THE TURNOUT WAS VERY, VERY GOOD.
THE MEETING WENT LONGER THAN WHAT I, I I EVEN EXPECTED.
AND I'VE RECEIVED SOME PHONE CALLS AND TEXT MESSAGES REGARDING THAT.
NATIONAL NIGHT OUT IS COMING UP.
THAT'S NOT JUST FOR DISTRICT THREE, BUT THIS IS FOR ALL OF US.
WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE ANOTHER COUNCIL MEETING BEFORE THEN, BUT TAKE SOME TIME TO GET OUT.
FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS, UM, CITY STAFF THAT ARE GOING TO BE OUT SUPPORTING NATIONAL NIGHT OUT IN VARIOUS NEIGHBORHOODS.
I KNOW THAT DISTRICT THREE, I NORMALLY STOP AT ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS AND DISTRICT THREE ALONE.
UM, PROUD TO SAY THAT DISTRICT THREE REALLY TAKES PRIDE IN BEING OUT FOR NATIONAL NIGHT OUT.
ALRIGHT, THANK YOU COUNCILMAN.
[13. EXECUTIVE SESSION]
NOW RECESS AND INTO AND CONVENE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTIONS 5 51 7 1 0 7 4 TO SEEK THE ADVICE OF THE ATTORNEY REGARDING RECRUITMENT FOR THE CITY OF BAYTOWN CITY MANAGER POSITION 8 39.SO, OKAY, WE READY? SO, AND I'LL RECONVENE OUR OPEN MEETING OF THE BAYTOWN CITY COUNCIL AND ACCORD AND, AND ANNOUNCE THAT IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 5 5 1 0.102, THE TEXAN GOVERNMENT CODE.
NO ACTION WAS TAKEN IN EXECUTIVE SESSION.
SO I BELIEVE THAT BAYTOWN CITY COUNCIL HAS ADDRESSED ALL POSTED AGENDA ITEMS THIS EVENING.
SO THIS MEETING IS NOW ADJOURNED.