AMENDED AGENDA
CITY OF
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
M2002-R-01
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
I. CALL TO ORDER
With a quorum
present, Mayor Elizabeth G.
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Elizabeth G.
III. ROLL CALL
In attendance:
Elizabeth G. Flores, Mayor
Alfredo Agredano, Council
Member, District I
Louis H. Bruni, Council
Member, District II
John C. Galo, Council
Member, District III
Johnny Amaya, Council
Member, District IV
Eliseo Valdez, Jr., Mayor
Pro Tempore, District V
Joe A. Guerra, Council
Member, District VI
Jose A.
Juan Ramirez, Council
Member, District VIII
Gustavo Guevara, Jr., City
Secretary
Larry Dovalina, City
Manager
Cynthia Collazo, Assistant
City Manager
Jaime Flores, City
Attorney
IV. MINUTES
Approval of the minutes of
Motion to approve.
Moved:
Mayor Pro Tempore Valdez, Jr.
Second: Cm. Ramirez
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
V. COMMUNICATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS
Announcements
Mayor Flores announced a local contest that will determine the
name for the
Invitations
Recognitions
a.
Recognizing
of the Year by CLEAT (Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas)
at the recent CLEAT Convention in
Mayor Flores and City Council recognized Police Chief Agustin
Dovalina III, for being named Administrator of the Year by the Combined Law
Enforcement Association of Texas in
Toby Rodriguez, President of the Laredo Police Officer
Association, introduced Ron
De Lord, President of CLEAT.
Mr. Ron De Lord, President of CLEAT, applauded the Chief of Police
for his commitment to excellence. He
noted that the Laredo Police Department is ranked at the top of the state
because they have reached their goals in improving the department. He said that the Chief is well deserved in receiving
the award for his honesty, integrity and fair dealings over issues that are
important to the Laredo Police Department.
Agustin Dovalina III, Chief of Police, noted that he was humbled
and honored by the recognition that he received from CLEAT and the
Council. He accepted the award on behalf
of the men and women that he works for and with.
b.
Recognition of
Irene Garcia, Oscar "O.J." Chavez, and Armando Gonzalez for
representing
Mayor Flores presented Irene Garcia, Oscar Chavez, and Armando
Gonzalez a glass monument for representing
Communiqués
Cm. Agredano
wished everyone a Happy New Year.
Cm. Bruni
wished all the citizens of
Cm. Galo wished the citizens
of
Cm. Amaya
noted that he is ready to work diligently with the Mayor and City Council for
the community in the coming year.
Mayor Pro Tempore Valdez wished his constituents a Happy New Year
and asked everybody to keep a sense of patriotism alive and to pray for our
nation.
Cm. Guerra wished everyone a
happy and prosperous New Year. He
promised his constituents that he would do his best to complete the projects
that are still pending before his term ends this year.
Cm. J. Valdez wished everyone a Happy New Year.
Cm. J. Ramirez wished everyone
a Happy New Year. He reminded
individuals that are 18 years of age to register so they can vote in the
upcoming elections.
Mayor Flores asked Laredoans to keep a
light on during the year to honor the lives that were lost and the lives that
were saved on
“We asked God to grant us patience and God said “no” - patience is
a bi-product of tribulations… it is not granted… it is earned. We asked God to give us happiness and God
said “no”… I give you blessings…. and happiness is up to you. We asked God to spare us
pain and God said "no"…. suffering draws you apart from the worldly
cares and brings you closer to me. We
asked God to make our spirit grow and God said "no"….. you must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you
fruitful. We asked for all things that
we might enjoy life and God said "no". I will give you life so that you may enjoy
all things. We asked God to help us love
others as much as God loves us and God said finally…. you got the idea. This year let us stop telling God how big our
storm is...instead let us tell our storm how big our God is. Let's work together so that we can stay
together and be a better city.”
VI. APPOINTMENTS TO COMMISSIONS, BOARDS AND
COMMITTEES
a.
Appointment by
Council Member John C. Galo of Francisco Canseco to
the City Charter
Revision
Commission.
Motion
to approve.
Moved: Cm.
Galo
Second: Cm. Agredano
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
b.
Appointment by
Council Member Johnny Amaya of Javier Martinez to the
City Charter
Revision
Commission.
Motion
to approve.
Moved: Cm.
Galo
Second: Cm. Amaya
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
c.
Appointment by
Mayor Pro-Tempore Eliseo
Revision
Commission.
Motion
to approve.
Moved: Cm.
Galo
Second: Cm. Amaya
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
d.
Appointment by
Council Member Jose A. Valdez of Maria de la Luz Flores to the City
Charter
Revision Commission.
Motion
to approve.
Moved: Cm.
Galo
Second: Cm. Amaya
For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
Cm. Joe A.
Guerra left at
VII. PUBLIC HEARINGS
1. Public hearing and
introductory ordinance accepting a grant awarded by the University
of
Motion to open the public hearing.
Moved:
Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. Amaya
For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain:
0
There was no public input.
Motion to close the public hearing and
introduce.
Moved:
Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. Amaya
For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
Ordinance Introduction:
City Council
2. Public hearing and
introductory ordinance amending the City of Laredo FY 2001-2002
Annual
Budget to appropriate $80,000.00 in the Friends of the Library Fund.
Motion to open the public hearing.
Moved:
Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. Amaya
For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
There was no public input.
Motion to close the public hearing and
introduce.
Moved: Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. Amaya
For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
Ordinance Introduction:
City Council
3. Public hearing and
introductory ordinance accepting a direct aid grant from the
State Library--Lone Star Libraries Program
and amending the City of Laredo FY 2001-2002 Annual Budget in the amount of
$22,131.00.
Motion to open the public hearing.
Moved:
Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. J.
Valdez
For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
There was no public input.
Motion to close the public hearing and
introduce.
Moved:
Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. J.
Valdez
For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
Ordinance Introduction:
City Council
4. Public hearing and
introductory ordinance amending the Zoning Ordinance (Map) of the
City of Laredo by rezoning Lots 9 and 11, Block 654, Eastern
Division, located at 1119 Travis St., from R-3 (Mixed Residential District) to
B-1 (Limited Commercial District); providing for publication and effective
date. The Planning and Zoning Commission
has recommended approval of the proposed zone change.
Motion to open the public hearing.
Moved:
Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. Bruni
For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
Vidal Palacios, neighbor to applicant, mentioned that he is not
against the zone change but he is opposed to selling flower off the street.
Motion to close the public hearing and
introduce.
Moved:
Cm. Amaya
Second: Cm. Galo
For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
Ordinance Introduction:
Cm. Amaya
5. Public hearing and
introductory ordinance amending the City of
annual budget by appropriating $612,860.00 from
the Bridge System Construction fund balance into the Toll Plaza Improvement
Account. Funding will be used for Bridge
I rehabilitation of the bridge deck and removal of submerged concrete
components in the river near Bridge I.
Motion to open the public hearing.
Moved:
Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. Agredano
For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
There was no public input.
Motion to close the public hearing and
introduce.
Moved:
Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. Agredano
For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
Ordinance Introduction:
City Council
6. Public hearing and
introductory ordinance establishing a payment plan for cemetery
burial plots and services. Payment plan sets penalty and finance charges
assessed on Cemetery Accounts Receivables of 2% for those accounts not
liquidated after 90 days and a finance interest rate of 8% per year; providing
for effective date and publication.
Motion to open the public hearing.
Moved:
Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. Agredano
For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
There was no public input.
Motion to close the public hearing and
introduce.
Moved:
Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. J.
Valdez
For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
Ordinance Introduction:
City Council
7. Public hearing and
introductory ordinance amending the City of
annual budget for the Hazmat Fund to appropriate
$150,000.00 from the fund balance to pay a portion of the remodeling cost for
the new Environmental Services Department office at
Motion to open the public hearing.
Moved:
Cm. Galo
Second: Cm. J. Valdez
For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
There was no public input.
Motion to close the public hearing and introduce.
Moved:
Cm. Bruni
Second: Cm. Agredano
For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
Ordinance Introduction:
City Council
8. Public hearing and
introductory ordinance authorizing the City Manager to amend and
appropriate the FY 2001-2002 annual budget in the
amount of $30,000.00 from the Texas Department of Health Local Projects
Grant. The grant award of $30,000.00
will be assigned toward the purchase of an ambulance for the Laredo Fire
Department.
Motion to open the public hearing.
Moved:
Cm. Bruni
Second: Cm. Galo
For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
There was no public input.
Motion to close the public hearing and
introduce.
Moved:
Cm. Bruni
Second: Cm. Galo
For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
Ordinance Introduction: City
Council
VIII. GENERAL COUNCIL DISCUSSIONS AND
PRESENTATIONS
9. A. Request by Mayor Elizabeth G. Flores
1. Inform members of the
City Council and community about information presented
in
letter from Mayor Ross C. Anderson of
The Mayor read the
following letter:
“Dear Mayor Flores:
I write to inform you of an unfortunate situation that has arisen
at
Paul Warner, the US attorney for Utah, informed me recently that
an investigation had disclosed that certain individuals who had access to
restricted areas of Salt Lake City International Airport had misrepresented
their backgrounds. I agreed with him
that the situation needed to be corrected.
We must have confidence that we know the background of every worker in
these secure areas, and we cannot permit people to work in a compromising
position that might be exploited by terrorists.
The approach that federal and state law enforcement agencies took
to solve the problem at our airport was to embark upon a clandestine (secret
even to me), seven-week investigation, which started in mid-October. The inquiry disclosed that 67 individuals
with access to secure areas had provided false background information to their
employers. Sixty-one of these employees
were migrant workers who had falsified social security numbers.
At the end of the investigation, state and federal officers
arrested and imprisoned dozens of workers.
These arrests left many families in turmoil, with children waiting at
home for their parents to return from work.
After the families figured out what was happening, an even greater
reality hit home: those arrested faced criminal prosecution and
deportation. All this left many families
wondering why they were bring treated like terrorists and what they would do to
make ends meet. There is no evidence that any of those arrested planned any terrorist
activity, and most were just trying to support their families by working
maintenance and food-service jobs at the airport.
The events of September 11th have taught us to expect a new level
of vigilance from our government regarding security issues. Nowhere is this watchfulness more needed than
at our nation's airports, where we should expect swift action when security
breaches are uncovered. I wholeheartedly
concur with the need to tighten all aspects of security at our nation's
airports, including the need to screen carefully all workers who have access to
restricted areas. Those migrant workers
who falsified social security number;, however, likely
had no idea they were doing anything that would subject them to prosecution or
deportation. They were simply doing what
thousands of other economic migrants are doing throughout the state, and what
millions are doing throughout the nation.
Most of them were working at low-paying food service and janitorial jobs. Unfortunately, their employers placed them in
secured areas of the airport.
Fundamentally, our nation's hypocritical policies toward migrant
workers are at fault for this situation.
The federal government, including
The gap between the law (undocumented workers are "illegal)
and subject to deportation) and common practice (allowing economic migrants to
work where we need them, even after using false social security numbers) is
obvious to any informed observer. Facing
this reality, even President Bush ahs considered granting a general amnesty to
Mexican workers in the U. S.
Given these circumstances, a more reasonable, compassionate
approach should have been pursued with
I understand that US Attorney's across the nation may be pursuing
similar actions. I implore you and other
mayors to address this issue at your airport facilities immediately and to
handle the situation in a humane, compassionate manner. If you intervene now by asking any airport
workers who might have falsified their applications to immediately leave
secured areas and voluntarily relinquish their jobs, you will be able to
increase security at your airport quickly and inexpensively, without waiting
for the well-publicized arrests that will embarrass your airport and city
officials, and the federal prosecutions and deportations that will cause sever
disruptions in the lives of migrant workers and their families.
We can work together to solve the problems facing our country and
our communities, and make this a nation that treasures diversity, freedom, and
compassion for all. Please do not
hesitate to contact me if you would like to discuss this matter. I would be glad to assist you in preventing
what happened in