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CITY OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING M2004-R-08 CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS I. CALL TO ORDER With
a quorum present, Mayor Pro Tempore Galo called the meeting to order. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor
Pro Tempore Galo led in the Pledge of Allegiance. III. ROLL CALL In
attendance: Elizabeth
G. Flores, Mayor Alfredo
Agredano, Council
Member, District I Hector
Garcia, Council
Member, District II John
C. Galo, Mayor
Pro Tempore, District III Johnny
Amaya, Council Member, District IV Eliseo
Valdez, Jr. Council
Member, District V Gene
Belmares, Council
Member, District VI Jose
A. Juan
Ramirez, Council
Member, District VIII Gustavo
Guevara, Jr., City
Secretary Jaime
Flores, IV. MINUTES None. V. COMMUNICATIONS
AND RECOGNITIONS
Announcements Cm.
Agredano invited everyone to participate in the 12th Annual Letter Carrier
Food Drive to be held on Cm. Garcia
extended warm greetings to all mothers on their special day on Mayor Pro
Tem Galo extended Happy Mother’s Day greetings to all mothers and urged everyone
to show their appreciation to their mothers.
He also congratulated Dr. Cantu for the dedication of a building at Cm. Amaya
stated that he attended the Jesus Garcia Head Start Program and stated that
he truly enjoyed the program that they presented and thanked the staff for
the fine work they do. He also thanked
the Parks and Recreation crews for the great job they did in replanting the
palm trees around the skate park on Cm. E.
Valdez, Jr. stated that his time as a public servant to the citizens of
District V was coming to a close. He
thanked his constituents for all their support through the years and the crew
from Public Works for taking care of the numerous requests coming in for
District V, the City Manager for his quick response to the district’s drainage
issues, the Parks & Recreation Department for wrapping up most of the pending
projects. He also extended
Mother’s Day greetings to all
mothers in the community, especially his mother and wife. Cm.
Belmares also extended Mother’s Day greetings to all mothers especially his
wife, mother, and mother-in-law. He
also thanked the City Manager for the time given to address important issues
in District VI, with a special thanks to Eddie Garza, Juan Gomez, and Ed
Gilpin of the Engineering Department who worked diligently on the flooding
issues. Cm. J.
Valdez, Jr. extended greetings to all mothers for a special Mother’s Day holiday
and to all teachers for Teachers Appreciation Week. He also thanked the crews from Public
Works for the excellent work done to control the erosion at the creek on Cm. Ramirez
congratulated Mr. Vasquez who was responsible for the painting of a mural in
the Azteca neighborhood. He
congratulated the Transportation Safety Association on its first annual
Safety Conference to be held in Mayor
Flores congratulated Dr. Dennis Cantu for the dedication of a building at Invitations
Recognitions a. Recognition of Associate Judge Belinda
Mendez on her appointment to State Judge officially
known as Title IV-D Master I, which deals with family law matters. Mayor Flores and
City Council presented Belinda Mendez with a Certificate of Recognition for
her service to the City of b. Recognizing Jonathan Leyendecker as the
District 5A Individual Golf Champion and fellow
teammates from Mayor Flores and
City Council presented Jonathan Leyendecker with a Certificate of Recognition
along with fellow teammates
Brian Caroll, Rene Rangel, Albert
Galvan, Luis Guerra, and Ernie Benavides for their achievement. c. Recognizing Christopher Welnetz,
senior at District Champ sectional runner up for
the third time. Mayor Flores and
City Council presented Christopher Welnetz with a
Certificate of Recognition for his achievement. d. Recognition of City departments for their
contribution and participation in the 2003 United Way Campaign. Dan Migura,
Administrative Services Director, introduced David Cardwell, the current
president, and Peggy Garcia, Executive Director, for their efforts to this
cause. He also thanked members of the
R.E.A.C.H. Committee for the remarkable contributions made by them to this
year’s and last year’s campaign: Anita Stanley – Parks and Recreation
Department, David
Cardwell, current president of Recognitions
were made to the following departments for their contributions to the
organization: Gold
Glass Award Fire Chief
Luis Sosa $31,
751.80 Green Glass Award Police Chief
Agustin Dovalina $23,325.16 Gold Category City Manager’s Office Parks and Recreation Horacio
De Leon $6,225.44 Health Department Hector
Gonzalez $5,276.40 Transit – El Metro Tom Lucek $5,172.18 Bridge Department Rafael
Garcia, Jr. $5,137.68 Silver Category Engineering/Public
Works Public
Library Traffic/Safety Administrative
Services Dan Migura $2,541.94 Community
Development Solid Waste Oscar
Medina $2,044.00 Environmental
Services Riazul Mia $2,473.74 Planning
& Zoning Keith Selman $1,604.40 Engineering
Department Public
Access Utilities Pablo
Martinez $1,265.00 Budget Municipal
Court Tommy
Ochoa $1,222.00 Convention
& Visitors Bureau Nick Reyna $1,211.86 Tax Recognition Mayor &
City Council Mayor
Elizabeth G. Flores City
Secretary’s Office Gustavo
Guevara, Jr. New
Employee Orientation Dan Migura M.I.S. Sandra
Aleman Highest
Employee Group Contributor and Pacesetter Award Grand
Total $123,409.34 e. Recognizing the Financial Services
Department on their fifteenth consecutive distinguished award for
Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government f. Recognition by the Parks and Recreation
Department of the 3rd Bowling Tournament winners, fundraiser
for the American Cancer Society. Mike Pescador, Assistant Parks Director,
requested to postpone the awards presentation for
the next meeting. He mentioned that
there were 22 teams comprised of City employees
who collectively raised over $1,000.00 at this event. He read the winners’ categories which are
as follows: 1st Place Laredo Police Department team 2nd Place Laredo Police
Department team 3rd Place Laredo Police Department/Fire
Department team Best Bowler Jerry
Cantu – Environmental Services Most Spirited Team Budget/MIS/City Manager’s Office g. A
special recognition was made to Cm. Hector Garcia on behalf of the Dr. H.
Cuellar Elementary basketball team as a token of
appreciation. Coach Felix Nunez
presented a plaque to Cm. Garcia in appreciation for
his dedication and commitment to the 4th grade basketball
team.
Communiqués a. Presentation by Jose Ortiz regarding City owned public restrooms. Jose Ortiz stated
that he wanted to call attention to one of the serious problems which is the
condition of the public restrooms in the downtown area. On two occasions, he visited the downtown
area and had to use the facilities made available for shoppers and
visitors. He stated that he pointed
out several deficiencies to the city officials who referred him to the Parks
and Recreation Department. He was told
that these facilities are a continual problem because vagrants and transients
use these public facilities to bathe on a daily basis. He would like these facilities to be
brought up to par and would like a response from the City as to how this
problem will be corrected. Mayor Flores
mentioned that these deficiencies that he brought to the City’s attention are
correct. She explained that City crews
go by the facilities every hour on the hour to clean and check for supplies and
the problem resurfaces when they go back.
She stated that most public restrooms in major cities are closed down
for the same reasons. She added that
the Parks and Recreation Department will follow up with Mr. Ortiz and make
some recommendations to City Council to hopefully come up with a solution to
this ongoing problem. b. Presentation by the Parks and Recreation
Department Miracle Youth Committee regarding
recent special events and activities. Anita
Stanley, Parks and Recreation Centers Manager, introduced the committee which
was formed in February, 2003. She
stated that this committee empowers the youth and allows them to have a voice
in the activities being scheduled. She
introduced the members of the committee and those officers present: President Tony Rangel Secretary Crystal Limon Sgt-at-Arms Jose Casiano President
Tony Rangel explained the purpose of the committee is to serve as an advisory
committee and the primary purpose is to help put youth’s opinions into the
events and programs at the recreation centers. He added that their mission, along with the
City Council’s help and cooperation, is to make the recreation centers a
better and exciting place for the future leaders of this city. VI. APPOINTMENTS TO
COMMISSIONS, BOARDS AND COMMITTEES a. Appointment by Council Member Hector J.
Garcia of Ricardo Gonzalez to the Ad Hoc Vehicles for Hire Committee. Motion to approve. Moved:
Mayor Pro Tem Galo Second:
Cm. Belmares For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 VII. PUBLIC HEARINGS 1. Public hearing and introductory ordinance
amending the Zoning Ordinance Map of the City of
Laredo by rezoning the west 46.30 feet of Lot 8, Block 1536, Eastern
Division, located at 2602 Ash Street, from R-1 (Single Family Residential
District) to R-2 (Multi-Family Residential District); providing for
publication and effective date. The
Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended denial of the proposed zone change. Motion to
open the public hearing. Moved: Mayor Pro Tem Galo Second: Cm. Garcia For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Juan
Botello, resident of 2604 E. Ash, asked to have a ruling on this proposed
zone change rather than postponing it.
Marcial Ruben Gonzalez,
resident of 2603
Pedro
Castaneda stated that the block in question already has three corners with
apartments. He cannot understand why
these residents are objecting to the zone change request being made now when
there were not objections made for the other three requests from those
property owners. Motion to
close the public hearing and postpone for Moved: Cm. Amaya Second: Cm. J. Valdez, Jr. For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 2. Public hearing and introductory ordinance
amending the City of Laredo Land Development
Code, Article III, by creating section 24-57, “Green Space Preservation,” and
amending the City of Motion to
open the public hearing. Moved: Cm. Belmares Second: Cm. Agredano For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Motion to
close the public hearing and introduce. Moved: Cm. Agredano Second: Cm. Belmares For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Ordinance
Introduction: City Council 3. Public hearing and introductory ordinance
amending the City of Laredo FY 2003-2004 annual budget by
appropriating revenues and expenditures in the amount of $2,000.00 in
additional funds for a grant total of $22,000.00 from the Motion to
open the public hearing. Moved: Cm. Belmares Second: Mayor Pro Tem Galo For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 There was
no public input. Motion to
close the public hearing and introduce. Moved: Cm. Belmares Second: Cm. Garcia For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Ordinance
Introduction: City Council 4. Public hearing providing community
residents an opportunity to comment on their housing and
community needs and the projects that they wish to see funded through the
30th Action Year (AY) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), the 2004 HOME
Investment Partnerships Grant (HOME), the 2004 Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG),
and the 2003 and 2004 American Dream Downpayment
Initiative Programs (ADDI) in support of the preparation and submission of
the 2004 Consolidated Plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD). Also for discussion
and comment is the Fiscal Year (FY) 2002-2003 Consolidated Annual Performance
Report regarding the City’s administration of HUD Programs. Motion to
open the public hearing. Moved: Cm. Garcia Second: Cm. Agredano For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Motion to
close the public hearing. Moved: Mayor Pro Tem Galo Second: Cm. E. Valdez, Jr. For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 5. Public hearing and introductory ordinance
authorizing the City Manager to enter into agreement
with Texas Parks and Wildlife to accept a grant in the amount of $55,380.00
with a 20% local match for the construction of the Chacon Creek Trail Phase
II and amend the City of Laredo Fiscal Year 2004 Capital Improvements
Projects Fund annual budget by appropriating revenues and expenditures in the
amount of $90,380.00 for the construction and development of Phase II of the
Chacon Creek Hike and Bike Trail. Motion to
open the public hearing. Moved: Mayor Pro Tem Galo Second: Cm. Amaya For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 There was
no public input. Motion to
close the public hearing and introduce.
Moved: Mayor Pro Tem Galo Second: Cm. Agredano For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Ordinance
Introduction: City Council VIII. INTRODUCTORY
ORDINANCES 6. Authorizing the City Manager to execute a
contract by and on behalf of the City of Laredo as
Zone Grantee of Foreign Trade Zone No. 94 Site 6 and specifically authorizing
the City Manager to enter into operations agreement with Ravisa
Distribution Center, as Zone Site Operator for approximately 5,000 square
feet of activated space and 2,150 square feet of yard space located at 13485
South Unitec Drive, Unitec
Industrial Park Foreign Trade Zone Site 6 and authorizing the City Manager to
execute said agreement. Providing
activation, administrative and transaction fees to the City and providing for
an effective date. Ordinance
Introduction: City Council 7. Authorizing the City Manager to execute all
necessary documents to effectively to convey to
Jesus Padilla, fee simple title to the “Surface Only” of certain property
described as being a 3,544.6830 square feet or 0.081 acres, more or less,
parcel of land, at its market value of $5,300.00 and being situated in Survey
1019, Abstract 62, City of Laredo, Webb County Texas; as described by metes
and bounds and survey attached as Exhibits A and B; and providing for an
effective date. Ordinance
Introduction: City Council 8. Amending Chapter 19, “Motor Vehicles and
Traffic” Article VIII; Stopping, Standing or Parking, of
the Code of Ordinances of the City of Laredo:
Specifically Section 19-364, Restricted Parking Areas, establishing a
“No Parking Anytime/Tow Away Zone” on the east side of the 11000 block of
McPherson Road between Nafta Street and Grand
Central Boulevard, within city limits of Laredo; providing for severability,
effective date and publication. Ordinance
Introduction: City Council IX. FINAL Motion to waive the final readings of
ordinance # 2004-O-087; # 2004-O-088; # 2004-O-089; # 2004-O-090; #
2004-O-091; # 2004-O-092; # 2004-O-093; # 2004-O-094; # 2004-O-095; #
2004-O-096; # 2004-O-097; # 2004-O-098; # 2004-O-099; # 2004-O-100; #
2004-O-101; # 2004-O-102; # 2004-O-103; # 2004-O-104. Moved: Mayor Pro Tem Galo Second: Cm. Agredano For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 9. 2004-O-87
Third and Final Reading authorizing the granting to Batista Roman Enterprises,
Inc., a non-exclusive franchise to construct, maintain and operate a
commercial container refuse gathering and disposing service in the City of
Laredo, Texas and providing the terms, conditions, obligations, and
limitations upon and under which such franchise shall be exercised; providing
indemnity to the city; city retains authority to regulate rates except for
rate increases resulting from increased landfill fees which are passed on to
the customer; providing for increased services rates; providing for franchise
payments; and providing for severability, publication and effective
date. (As amended) Motion
to adopt Ordinance # 2004-O-87. Moved: Mayor Pro Tem Galo Second: Cm. Agredano For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 2004-O-88 Amending Section 24-94, of the Laredo Land
Development Code, in order to revise the
established standards and procedures governing the issuance of Conditional Use Permits;
providing for publication and effective date.
Motion
to adopt Ordinance # 2004-O-88. Moved: Mayor Pro Tem Galo Second: Cm. Agredano For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 2004-O-89 Amending the Zoning Ordinance Map of the C |