CITY OF LAREDO
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
M2000-R-16
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
1110 HOUSTON STREET
LAREDO, TEXAS 78040
JUNE 19, 2000
5:30 P.M.
I. CALL TO ORDER
With a quorum present Mayor
Elizabeth G. Flores called the meeting to
order.
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Elizabeth G. Flores led in the Pledge of Allegiance.
III. ROLL CALL
In Attendance:
Elizabeth G. Flores Mayor
Alfredo Agredano, Councilmember,
District I
Louis H. Bruni, Councilmember,
District II
John C. Galo, Councilmember,
District III
Johnny Amaya, Councilmember, District IV
Eliseo Valdez, Jr., Councilmember,
District V
Joe A. Guerra, Councilmember, District VI
Jose A. Valdez, Jr., Councilmember,
District VII
Consuelo “Chelo” Montalvo Mayor
Pro Tempore District VIII
Gustavo Guevara, City
Secretary
Cynthia Collazo, Acting
City Manager
Larry Dovalina, Acting City Manager
Jaime Flores, City
Attorney
IV. MINUTES
Approval of the minutes of May 15, 2000 and May 18, 2000.
Moved: Cm. Agredano
Second: Cm. Amaya
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
V. COMMUNICATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS
Announcements
Invitations
Recognitions
a. Mr. Jose L. Flores has been
appointed to serve on the newly created Texas Airport
Management Association Board of Directors, as the Region 4
member. Region 4 extends from Webb
County to El Paso.
The Mayor and the City Council recognized Jose L. Flores, Airport Director, for his recent
appointment to the Texas Airport Management Association Board of Directors, as
the Region 4 member.
The Mayor announced that the appointment brings honor to the City
of Laredo. She added that Laredo is the
eighth largest air cargo facility to and from Latin America.
Mayor Flores and the City Council presented a Certificate of
Appreciation to Mario G. Alvarado for serving as City Council Member from May
1996 to May 2000.
Furthermore, Mayor Flores and the City Council presented a Certificate
of Appreciation to Consuelo “Chelo” Montalvo for her service as a City Council
Member from May 1988 to June 2000.
Finally, the Mayor and the City Council presented Dr. Cecilia May Moreno a Certificate of
Appreciation for her service as a Council Member from April 1990 to May 2000.
Communiqués
a. Presentation by the
U.S. Census Bureau Representative Victor Salvatore Assistant
Manager of Field
Management and Sylvia Romero Partnership Specialist regarding the
approaching deadline of
July 7, 2000 and the opportunity to call in and report by those f
families not previously
counted in the 2000 Census at 723-2182.
Sylvia Romero, U. S. Census Bureau Partnership Specialist, stated
that the Census 2000 Partnership Program was designed to create partnerships
with the government and non-governmental organizations. She added that state, local, tribal
governments, community groups and the media motivated the public to participate
in the Census. The partnership program
provided the most effective mechanism for reaching the hard to enumerate
population.
She disappointedly stated that the mail response rate was
50.02%. She noted that she would
continue working diligently to obtain the most accurate count until the Census
2000 is complete in mid August. The
final projections will be submitted in April of 2001.
She asked the City Council and the public to submit a synopsis of
“Laredo Census 2000” to the Dallas Regional Center. The address is 8700 N.
Stemmons Freeway, Suite 300, Dallas, Texas 75247 . The information will be important in evaluating what is
effective for Laredo.
Victor Salvatore, Assistant Manager of Field Operations, stated
that enumerators have the arduous task of following up on any unanswered
responses. He added that refusals are
proxies and are included in the Census.
b. Communities in Schools
of Laredo (CIS-L) continue to be active with the Americas
Promise Movement/Texas Pledge goals. CIS-L was invited to participate and represent the City of Laredo
at the follow-up Summit in Orlando, Florida from June 24 to 28, 2000. On behalf of the CIS Program, its Board of
Directors and the youth of our community, we are requesting the support on this
trip from the City Administration and City Council.
Jose Gutierrez, representing Communities in Schools, stated that
six students and seven staff members would be attending the Summit. He added that all the participants are
honored to represent the City of Laredo.
c. Presentation of a
$1,000.00 check donated to the Laredo Children's Museum from
Celedon Trucking on
behalf of Mayor Elizabeth G. Flores.
Patricia McDonald, Executive Director for the Laredo Children’s
Museum, and Mercurio Martinez Jr.,
Children’s Museum Board of Director, received the donation from Celedon
presented by Mayor Flores.
Cm. Galo encouraged the
public to attend the annual 4th of July “5K Fun Run” which was
created to benefit the Children’s Advocacy Center. The
enjoyable event will be held on July 2, 2000 and will begin at 8 a.m.
There is an entry fee of $10.00.
Cm. Bruni recently
attended a seminar in Austin. He
presented the following report to the Honorable Rick Perry, Lieutenant Governor
of Texas. He thanked Horacio De Leon for
his assistance in compiling the report.
The report reads as follows:
City of Laredo, Webb County Small Business Needs Assessment
prepared for Texas Small Business Advisory Council
Laredo, at the turn of the century, can certainly be described as
a metropolis of economic opportunity for small business and corporate
industry. This is due to its
strategically geographic location on the border between the U. S. and
Mexico. Laredo sits 150 miles north of
Mexico’s most industrial city of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, and 150 miles south of
the city of San Antonio, a hub for major exporting. Laredo has been recognized as the most efficient and effective
land port in North and South America.
Small business has been the heart of this City and the foundation
to recent exponential growth. Over the
last ten years, population growth increased by 48.8%, employment increased by
52.3%, and industry sales increased by 32.9%.
It is well known that this prosperity was fueled by the repercussions of
a strong U. S. – Mexico trade cross border commerce. Since the implementation of NAFTA (1994), trade between the U. S. and Mexico has increased
200%. In 1999, over 50% of this trade
passed through Texas’ ports of entry, and over 35% passed through the port of
Laredo. As a result of this prosperity,
Laredo continues to be the second fastest growing city in the nation and the
first in the State of Texas.
The trade sector of the Laredo economy is largely comprised of
small business that include retail, wholesale and support services. Although not always viewed as “small
business’ in Austin or Washington, because of the dynamic nature of the
import-export business, it has flourished to employ 45% of our population. Despite
all this prosperity and economic development, Laredo is still plagued with a
high rate of poverty and ranks among the lowest in median income when compared
to the state data. This is much
attributed to the lack of “added value jobs”, low number of higher education
graduates, lack of skilled training for technical jobs, and the influx of
unskilled workers.
The following is an assessment of needs identified by the local
leadership and public input in the area of small business:
·
Continued
access to start-up capital
·
Employee
Health Insurance and Worker’s Compensation
·
Workforce
Training of “Value added jobs”
·
Access to
government procurement
·
Access to
E-Commerce and telecommunication infrastructure
Continued Access
to Start-Up Capital
The City of Laredo, through the Laredo Development Foundation
(LDF), offers small business development services and Small Business
Administration (SBA) Guaranteed Loans through the Small Business Development
Center (SBDC) program. These services have been very effective in assisting
small business in preparing their plans and financial data to be
“bankable”. Loan guarantees year to
date were provided for 22 approved loans to in the amount of $8.5 million and
16 pending loans in the amount of $4.5 million. This program has been executed
by a federal grant from SBA and matching monies from the LDF.
Solution: To obtain the matching funds that
were earmarked by the State of Texas for SBDC programs for Laredo. In past years all the funding has gone to
the large metro areas. Having such
additional funding will enhance programs to prepare more small business to open
their doors and to expand.
Employee Health
Insurance and Worker’s Compensation
Small business owners are in need of a health benefit package for
their employees and for themselves that specifically addresses the basic health
needs and/or liability at the work place at a feasible cost. Small business owners are recently
experiencing a shortage in workforce.
Unemployment is at its lowest in our area and competition among small
business, corporate industry and public agencies has been a concern. The lack of health benefits among the small
business employers has placed them at a disadvantage.
Solution: Legislative
action that would create a pool among small business owners much like a coop to
acquire health benefits and worker’s compensation at a reasonable cost. The
creation of a pool should decrease insurance premiums from current
providers. If not, the coop could
consider a self-insured program.
Workforce Training and
“Value added Jobs”
In the current tight job market employees are demanding
better-trained and skilled workers in all levels of work. Currently, Laredo is in need of a broad
cross section of skill workers.
(i.e. diesel mechanics, truck
drivers, computer operators, welders, tool and die workers, trailer repair
serviceman, surveyor technicians, computerized accounting, web mater, etc.)
Solution: Enhancement of infrastructure, brick
and mortar, administrative and instructional funding for current programs at
LCC and new institutions offering “tech “oriented programs that address the
needs of the business community, along with the opening of a new campus by
Texas State Technical College in Laredo to specialize in diesel mechanics,
trailer repair and other electric applied sciences.
Access to
Government Procurement
Small business is always the labor force driving the completion or
indirect services of government contracts.
While workers in small business do the lions’ share of the work, they in
turn many times have difficulty representing themselves independently and
financially responsible to perform a project. The impact of this is higher cost
for government construction and service contracts with the lions’ share of the
money (profits) taken by non-local institutions with very minimal to non local
presence.
Local efforts: The City of Laredo in partnership with the
Laredo Development Foundation had initiated research and exploration of a model
to self insure local government for the direct hiring of small businesses to
serve as sub-contractors to the City, hence eliminating the middle man. Meetings with the Texas Municipal League
were held for review of the City’s risk pool.
State statue impedes the recognition of this organizational structure
under procurement practices.
Solutions: Development of programs that allow small
business owners to obtain cost effective bonding coverage or government to be
self-bonded for projects of $250,000 to increase the number of bidders and
decrease construction cost for public projects at all levels of
government.
Access to
E-Commerce and Telecommunication Infrastructure
E-Commerce is certainly another way of doing business, and although
currently still within the minority, E-commerce is expected to catch on like
wild fire throughout the world.
E-Commerce offers small business another form of marketing, advertising,
contracting, forming buying pools, financing, sales and other on-line services
that will make small business more efficiently. Competition on the internet and availability of product and
services on the web has created another deficiency in the lack of
infrastructure and technical assistance for some small business owners. The purchase of computer hardware and
software for small business may be challenging not to mention telecommunication
services that provide online communication.
Solution: The
availability of financial and technical assistance under small business
administration loans and programs to acquire computer hardware, software, and
technology consulting to set-up a web-page on the net for those businesses that
may find themselves out of the market and unable to compete without a web page
service.
Cm.
Bruni submitted the following reports from the Southwest Texas Rain
Enhancement Association:
SWTREA
Seed Tracks and Storm Locations
Seed Flight # 20
06/17/00 (Start 5:26 p.m. Stop 5:49 p.m.)
Result: Storms responded
favorably well to seeding. Radar
reflectivity, total cell area, and resultant rainfall increased a short time
after seeding was done. The storm
complex continued to build up and moved into Frio County. Radar estimated precipitation for the storm
as 5:49 p.m. was 0.79 – 0.98 inches over northern La Salle County.
Seeding success rating: Excellent
SWTREA
See Tracks and Storm Locations
Seed Flight # 21
06/17/00 (Start 6:09 p.m. Stop: 7:15 p.m.)
Result: Storm responded
well to seeding. Radar reflectivity,
total cell area, and resultant rainfall were strong prior to this flight. However, this flight was mainly a hail
suppression mission. The storm complex
continued to build up and moved into Frio County and eastern Zavala County. l
But, the areas of hail instances were mainly in western Frio County. There were no reports of hail from this
storm. At best, only pea size hail
feel. Radar estimated precipitation for
the storm was up to 2.5 inches over eastern Zavala County.
Seeding success rating: Good
VI. APPOINTMENTS
TO COMMISSION, BOARDS AND COMMITTEES
a. Appointment of Hilario
Cavazos III by Council Member Eliseo Valdez, Jr. to the
Transportation
Commission.
Moved: Mayor Pro Tempore Montalvo
Second: Cm.
Guerra
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
b. Appointment of Martha
Gonzalez by Council Member Joe A. Guerra to the Third Party
Funding Ad Hoc
Committee.
Moved: Cm.
Agredano
Second: Cm.
Galo
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
c. Appointment of Clifford
M. Black by Council Member Louis H. Bruni to the Third Party
Funding Ad Hoc
Committee.
Moved: Cm. Agredano
Second: Cm. Amaya
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
d. Appointment of Pepe L. Gonzalez
by Council Member John C. Galo to the Third Party
Funding Ad Hoc
Committee.
Moved: Cm.
Bruni
Second: Cm.
Amaya
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
e. Council confirmation
on Mayor's appointment of Council Member John Amaya to El
Metro Transit System Committee and of Council Member Jose A.
Valdez, Jr. to the Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Moved: Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. Agredano
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
f. Council Member John
Amaya District IV Committee Members:
Airport Advisory
Committee - Margarito Benavides, Jr.
Board of
Adjustment - Alfredo Juarez
Cemetery Advisory
Committee - Francisco Llanes
Citizens Environmental
Advisory Committee - Dr.
Cecilia Moreno
Library Advisory
Committee - Patricia Tijerina
Noise Advisory
Committee - Guillermo Medrano
Parks & Recreation
Advisory Committee - Gilberto Mancha, Jr.
Planning Zoning
Commission - Juan Narvaez
Plumber/Electrical
Advisory Ad Hoc Committee - Fernando
Chavarria
Telecommunications
Advisory Committee - Juan Reyna
Third Party Funding Ad Hoc Committee -
Blanca N. T. Castro
Transportation &
Traffic Safety Advisory Committee - Rick Garza
Tree Advisory
Committee (Tree City USA) - Ina Pool
Laredo Women's
Commission - Rosa Gutierrez/Aurora Rendon
Moved: Cm.
Agredano
Second: Cm.
Galo
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
VII. PUBLIC HEARINGS
1. Public hearing
authorizing the City Manager to amend the City of Laredo Fire
Department FY1999-2000 Budget in the amount of $2,901.50 for a
total of $10,401.50 distributed from Senate Bill 102 EMS/Trauma Systems Care
Fund to be used toward the purchase of educational, communication and training
equipment. Original budgeted amount for
FY1999-2000 was $7,500.00.
INTRODUCTION OF AN ORDINANCE
Authorizing the City Manager to amend the City of Laredo Fire Department
FY1999-2000 Budget in the amount of $2,901.50 for a total of $10,401.50
distributed from Senate Bill 102 EMS/Trauma Systems Care Fund to be used toward
the purchase of educational, communication and training equipment. Original budgeted amount for FY1999-2000 was
$7,500.00.
Motion to open the public hearing
Moved: Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. Bruni
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
There was no public input.
Motion to close the public hearing and introduce.
Moved: Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. E.
Valdez
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
Ordinance introduction:
City Council
2. Public hearing to
approve an amendment to the contract with the Texas Department of
Health and budget revision in the amount of $20,000.00 in
additional funds for the HIV/AIDS Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS
(HOPWA) Project of the City of Laredo Health Department for the period
beginning February 1, 2000, through January 31, 2001.
INTRODUCTION OF AN ORDINANCE
Approve of amendment to the contract with the Texas Department of
Health and budget revision in the amount of $20,000.00 in additional funds for
the HIV/AIDS Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) Project of the
City of Laredo Health Department for the period beginning February 1, 2000,
through January 31, 2001; and increase revenue line item 226-0000-323-4058 from
$74,409.00 to $94,409.00 and expenditure line item 226-6018 from $74,409.00 to
$94,409.00.
Motion to open the public hearing
Moved: Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. Amaya
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
There was no public input.
Motion to close the public hearing and introduce.
Moved: Cm. Agredano
Second: Cm. Galo
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
Ordinance
introduction: City Council
3. Public hearing
authorizing the City Manager to amend the City of Laredo's 1999-2000
Annual Budget in the amount of $380,000.00 for the upgrade of the
Laredo Police Department's communication system and to pay for the security
fence around the narcotics building.
The upgrade of the communications system is not to exceed
$350,000.00. Funding is available from
the opening balance of the Laredo Police Department's Trust Fund.
INTRODUCTION OF AN ORDINANCE
Authorizing the City Manager to amend the City of Laredo's 1999-2000
Annual Budget in the amount of $380,000.00 for the upgrade of the Laredo Police
Department's communication system and to pay for the security fence around the
narcotics building. The upgrade of the
communications system is not to exceed $350,000.00. Funding is available from the opening balance of the Laredo
Police Department's Trust Fund.
Motion to open the public hearing
Moved: Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. Montalvo
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
Jesus Ponce, interested citizen, spoke on the communication
systems that San Antonio has.
Mayor Flores informed the public that San Antonio has acquired the
state of the art radio equipment.
However, they have a much larger tax base than Laredo.
Motion to close the public hearing and introduce.
Moved: Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. Agredano
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
Ordinance
introduction: City Council
4. Public hearing
authorizing the City Manager to amend the City of Laredo's 1999-2000
annual budget in the amount of $208,466.00 for the Local Law
Enforcement Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. This project funds the salaries, fringe
benefits, overtime, and equipment for support personnel. Two additional clerical staff members will
be added. The U.S. Department of
Justice will designate $158,466.00 and the City of Laredo will designate
$50,000.00 to fund this grant from October 1, 1999 through September 30, 2001.
INTRODUCTION OF AN ORDINANCE
Authorizing the City Manager to amend the City of Laredo's
1999-2000 annual budget in the amount of $208,466.00 for the Local Law
Enforcement Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. This project funds the salaries, fringe
benefits, overtime, and equipment for support personnel. Two additional clerical staff members will
be added. The U.S. Department of
Justice will designate $158,466.00 and the City of Laredo will designate
$50,000.00 to fund this grant from October 1, 1999 through September 30, 2001.
Motion to open the public hearing
Moved: Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. Agredano
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
There was no public input.
Motion to close the public hearing and introduce.
Moved: Cm. Montalvo
Second: Cm. Agredano
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
Ordinance introduction: City Council
5. Public hearing to amend
the City of Laredo's 1999-2000 annual budget in the amount of
$1,552,624.00 for the Laredo Multi-Agency Narcotic Task
Force. The Office of the Governor,
Criminal Justice Division will be designating $1,164,624.00 and the City of
Laredo will be designating $175,000.00 from the opening fund balance and
$213,156.00 of personnel salary contributions for a total amount of $388,156.00
in matching funds. Funding will be used
to pay salaries, fringe benefits, overtime expenses, indirect operating
expenses, and equipment from June 1, 2000 through May 31, 2001.
INTRODUCTION OF AN ORDINANCE
Amending the City of Laredo's 1999-2000 annual budget in the amount
of $1,552,624.00 for the Laredo Multi-Agency Narcotic Task Force. The Office of the Governor, Criminal Justice
Division will be designating $1,164,624.00 and the City of Laredo will be
designating $175,000.00 from the opening fund balance and $213,156.00 of
personnel salary contributions for a total amount of $388,156.00 in matching
funds. Funding will be used to pay
salaries, fringe benefits, overtime expenses, indirect operating expenses, and
equipment from June 1, 2000 through May 31, 2001.
Motion to open the public hearing
Moved: Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. Agredano
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
There was no public input.
Motion to close the public hearing and introduce.
Moved: Cm. Montalvo
Second: Cm. Agredano
For: 8 Against:
0 Abstain: 0
Ordinance
introduction: City Council
VIII. GENERAL COUNCIL DISCUSSIONS AND
PRESENTATIONS
6. A. Request by Council Member Louis H. Bruni
1. Discussion with
possible action on a letter dated April 11, 2000 sent by Pastor
Dale Young from the First Presbyterian
Church.
Cm. Bruni submitted the following letter:
I am one of your neighbors.
I am the pastor at the First Presbyterian Church, just around the corner
from your house, and I am wondering if you can assist me. (I have tried calling you through your
office numerous times, but have not found you in. l Since I’m in and out all
the time too, I have not left a message.)
Our church made a proposal to the City of Laredo three years ago,
and we’ve never gotten a response. As
I’m sure you have experienced for yourself, the traffic around Lamar Middle
School is quite chaotic at 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Cars are parked on both sides of the street, as parents wait for
their children, leaving space for only one car to go down the street at a
time. Since there are many cars
waiting, the back-up can be several blocks long.
More importantly, it is very difficult to see the children as they
dart out from between the cars in an attempt to get to their rides. In an effort to help alleviate this problem,
we have proposed widening the street immediately across from the school to the
north, beginning at Milmo and continuing down the length of our property to
Texas, donating the land from our sidewalk to the street (thereby making it the
same width as in the 2300 and 2400 blocks).
Our letter was jockeyed around the City Engineer’s Office, the
Traffic Department, and the Department of Community Development. Then, we were lost in bureaucracy! Since you are a neighbor, and may have a
vested interest in this, I was wondering if we could speak about the proper
channel I should go through.
My home number is 712-4441.
We could simply talk on the phone, or we could meet in front of the
church on the strip of land to discuss the matter.
Thank you for your attention to this
matter.
Sincerely
Dale Young
Pastor, First Presbyterian
Motion to acquire the right of way and widen Lane Street between Milmo and Arkansas. (thereby making it the same width as the
2300 and the 2400 blocks). Also to
viciously pursue the project by retrieving funds from the mineral accounts or
other projects with available funds.