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CITY COUNCIL MEETING M2005-R-23 CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS I. CALL TO ORDER With
a quorum present, Mayor Elizabeth G. II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor
Flores 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, Council
Member, District III Johnny
Amaya, Council
Member, District IV Johnny
Rendon, Council
Member, District V Gene
Belmares, Council
Member, District VI Jose
A. Juan
Ramirez, Council
Member, District VIII Donna
Magnon, Deputy
Secretary, IV Larry
Dovalina, City
Manager Cynthia
Collazo, Horacio
De Leon, Assistant
City Manager Rafael
Garcia, Assistant
City Manager Anthony
McGettrick, Cm. Ramirez left at IV. MINUTES Approval
of the minutes of Motion
to approve. Moved: Cm. Agredano Second: Cm.
Ramirez For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 V. COMMUNICATIONS
AND RECOGNITIONS Announcements None. Invitations None. Recognitions a. Recognition of Veronica Gaytan,
of the Parks and Recreation Department, on her
selection as November 2005 Employee of the Month. Miguel
Pescador, Parks & Recreation Director, reported that the Parks and
Recreation Department is very proud in the recognition of Veronica Gaytan. She has
worked for the City of b. Recognizing Uriel
Torres, selection as the recipient of the
$5,000.00 Bob Hope Scholarship. The Mayor
and City Council presented Uriel Torres, J. B.
Alexander High School Drum Major, a Seven Flags Certificate for his selection
as the recipient of the $5,000.00 Bob Hope Scholarship.
Communiqués a. Mayor Elizabeth G. Flores reports on the
City of Laredo Solid Waste Department. On any given
day, Created in
2003, the Solid Waste Department is responsible for collecting garbage,
recycling and lawn clippings, as well as maintaining the operation of the
City’s Landfill. The department has 132 full time employees and is comprised
of the Administration, Sanitation and Landfill divisions. The Solid
Waste Department is about to kick-off major initiatives that will help the
environment and improve customer service.
A future project includes building a compost facility that utilizes
yard waste and bio-solids from the wastewater treatment plant to produce a
beneficial compost product that will reduce the amount of waste being
deposited at the Landfill.
Additionally, the department will soon break ground on Citizens’ This division provides: ·
Twice weekly garbage pick up – one of the few ·
Weekly recycling and branch pick up – use
those famous blue bags for paper, plastic, tin and aluminum. ·
Special garbage collection service for events,
such as festivals and parades – think how messy the Washington’s Birthday
Celebration would be without them! ·
24-hour collection of animal carcasses from
city streets – animals should be inside plastic bags for the safety of the
workers. Sanitation
crews collected garbage from 50,000 households for a total of 90,000 TONS of
garbage deposited to the landfill. That’s over 5 million individual
collections in 2005! The division
operates a fleet of 24 fully automated state-of-the-art collection vehicles
equipped with mechanical “arms” to collect the trash and a Global Positioning
System used to track and direct vehicle deployment. They also operate a fleet of 24 rear loader
vehicles for recycling and branch pick-up.
In addition to residents, the department also serves 1,500 commercial
customers, collecting garbage from the downtown business district seven days
a week. Most importantly, over 3,000
tons of recycling was collected just this year. Landfill When garbage is picked up from a resident’s home, it doesn’t just disappear; it is taken to the City Landfill for proper disposal in an engineered and controlled facility. The Landfill’s mission is to ensure that the environment is protected while providing continuing service to the residents of Contrary to
popular belief, the trash is not just thrown into some big hole in the
ground. In fact, disposal areas are
lined with synthetic liners and the ground water and air all around the
perimeter of the facility is regularly monitored to insure that what goes in,
stays in. This is done to ensure that
the byproducts of the decomposing trash do not leach into the surrounding
land and water. This monitoring will continue for decades after the last load
of garbage is put into the landfill. Another
important activity of the Landfill division is recycling. The division has
developed a community outreach program, lead by Willie Bote,
Landfill
Facts: ·
Approximately 345,000 tons (690 million
pounds) were deposited in the City Landfill during 2005. ·
Over 114,000 customers have been served at the
Landfill Scale House in the last 12 months. ·
Almost 1,800 tons of branches were collected
at the City Landfill for converting into mulch, which is then made available,
free of charge to ·
Over 350 tons of goods were diverted from the
landfill and sold for scrap metal value. ·
Used oil is collected at 13 different sites
and then recycled. The division
collected 38,625 gallons in 2005. ·
Tire collection events are held monthly, which
yield over 2,000 tires per month. Talking trash is the Solid Waste Department’s business. So, you and your Willie Bote
can help them and their Willie Bote keep Cm. Agredano welcomed
Cm. Garcia also welcomed the returning
soldiers. He thanked the community for
making an extra effort to clean the parking lots at local business during the
holiday season. Cm. Galo
congratulated Alexander High School Band for participating in the Macy’s Parade
in Cm. Amaya welcomed
Tomas Sanchez, soldier and an employee of his, who served fifteen months in Cm. Rendon thanked Miguel Pescador, Parks &
Recreation Director, and Juan Carreon, Special Projects Coordinator, for
assisting him at the Las Damas de la Cultura de Oro Christmas Choir Festival. He made note that it was a very wonderful
event. He also thanked John Orfila,
Public Works manager for replacing the some sidewalks at the nursing home in
his District. Cm. Belmares said
that he hoped everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. He also congratulated the J. B. Alexander
Band for participating in the Macy’s Day Parade. He mentioned a toy drive that he will be
sponsoring for 90 children. He thanked
the community for assisting in the toy drive.
He asked the community to “Shop Laredo First”. He said Christmas is a critical season for Mayor Pro
Tempore congratulated the soldiers who returned from Mayor
Flores advised that she had received a letter from a family in VI. APPOINTMENTS TO
COMMISSIONS, BOARDS AND COMMITTEES a. Appointment of a Council Ad-Hoc Committee
to review site evaluations from staff and the City’s consultant on the feasibility
of a municipal golf course. Mayor
Flores advised in an effort to anticipate the help that staff will need from
Council she created a committee to work with staff. The committee will also take over the Baseball
Committee after Mayor Pro Tempore Valdez leaves to pursue his campaign for
Mayor. The Committee of the council
will be called Sports Venue Committee.
It will address all issues relative to sports at City owned properties
and events before they are brought to Council. She appointed the following members: Cm. Garcia Cm. Rendon Cm. Belmares
VII. PUBLIC HEARINGS 1. Public hearing and introductory ordinance
altering and extending the boundary limits of the City of
Laredo, annexing additional territory of 440.32 acres, more or less, located approximately north of Bob Bullock Loop
and east of San Isidro Ranch East Point Center Subdivision, Unit 2, specifically
the San Isidro Northeast Tract, providing for the effective
date of the ordinance, authorizing the City Manager to execute a contract adopting a service plan for the annexed
territory, and establishing the initial zoning of R- 1 (Single Family
Residential District). Motion to open the public hearing. Moved:
Cm. Galo Second:
Cm. Garcia For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 J. J. Houdmann, representing San Isidro Management, L. C., said
that he has received the annexation agreement and it is identical to the
previous agreements except for three sentences. Basically, what it pertains to is the park
dedication requirements, which they are in agreement with, except that it states that should an
ordinance pertaining to the park dedication be adopted, the ordinance shall
superceded any provisions established herein.
He noted that they are in agreement, but he feels that it is not
necessary because Mr. Selman explained
that if we have already platted it does not pertain to the platted
property. The next sentence is Section
IV under land use upon annexation the property owner agrees not to utilize
the tract for agricultural purposes.
This particular provision is creating a covenant running with the land
that restricts it to other use that would exclude agricultural use. This is an agreement that is a ten year
agreement. At some point in the next
10 years if the real estate businesses changes, it would be advantageous to
the developer to have the option to be able to put development aside and have
the ag exemption.
Finally, he said that the last paragraph refers to impact fees that
may be adopted by the city that states that any ordinance shall supercede any
provisions established herein. The
company is agreeing annexation fees, water availability fees, and any other
fees. He asked Council to reconsider
the section pertaining to ag-exemptions. Motion to
close the public hearing and introduce with an amendment to the ag- exemption issue. Moved: Cm. Belmares Second: Cm. Cm.
Belmares withdrew his motion. Motion to close the public hearing and
introduce as written. Moved:
Cm. Belmares Second:
Mayor Pro Tempore Valdez For:
7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Ordinance Introduction: City Council 2. Public hearing and introductory ordinance
altering and extending the boundary limits of the City of
Laredo, annexing additional territory of 13.00 acres, more or less, located approximately south of U.S. Highway 59
and east of Loop 20, specifically the Killam Ranch Tract, providing for the effective
date of the ordinance, authorizing the City Manager to execute a contract adopting a
service plan for the annexed territory, and establishing the initial zoning of R-1A
(Single Family Reduced Area District). 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. Garcia Second:
Cm. For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Ordinance Introduction: City Council 3. Public hearing and introductory ordinance
altering and extending the boundary limits of the City of approximately east of Hurd Ranch I
Tract, providing for the effective date of the ordinance, authorizing the City Manager to execute a contract
adopting a service plan for the annexed territory, and establishing the initial zoning of R-1A
(Single Family Reduced Area District). 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. Garcia For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Ordinance Introduction: City Council 4. Public hearing and introductory ordinance
altering and extending the boundary limits of the City of
Laredo, annexing additional territory of 37.26 acres, more or less, located approximately east of Loop 20 and north
of Larga Vista Subdivision, specifically the Hurd Ranch II
Tract, providing for the effective date of the ordinance, authorizing the City Manager to execute a contract
adopting a service plan for the annexed territory, and establishing the initial zoning of R-1A
(Single Family Reduced Area District). 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. Garcia Second:
Cm. Galo For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Ordinance Introduction: City Council 5. Public hearing and introductory ordinance
altering and extending the boundary limits of the City of
Laredo, annexing additional territory of 0.33 acres, more or less, located approximately along State Highway 359,
1.4 miles east of Loop 20, and across from colonia Old
Milwaukee, specifically the Hector Gaona Tract,
providing for the effective date of the ordinance, authorizing the
City Manager to execute a contract adopting a service plan for the annexed
territory, and establishing the initial zoning of R-1 (Single Family Residential District). 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. Garcia Second:
Cm. Galo For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Ordinance Introduction: City Council 6. Public hearing and introductory ordinance
altering and extending the boundary limits of the City of Laredo, annexing additional
territory of 0.74 acres, more or less, located approximately
along State Highway 359, 1.4 miles east of Loop 20, and across from colonia Old
Milwaukee, specifically the Rolando Gaona Tract,
providing for the effective date of the ordinance,
authorizing the City Manager to execute a contract adopting
a service plan for the annexed territory, and establishing the initial zoning
of R- 1 (Single Family Residential District). 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. Agrerdano For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Ordinance Introduction: City Council 7. Public hearing and introductory ordinance
altering and extending the boundary limits of the City 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. Garcia Second:
Cm. Agredano For:
7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Ordinance Introduction: City Council 8. Public hearing and introductory ordinance
altering and extending the boundary limits of the City of
Laredo, annexing additional territory of 23.39 acres, more or less, located
approximately south of State Highway 359 and east of both the colonia Old Milwaukee and Dr. Ramos Tract, specifically
the Carrasco Tract, providing for the effective date of the ordinance,
authorizing the City Manager to execute a contract adopting a service plan
for the annexed territory, and establishing the initial zoning of R-2
(Multi-Family Residential District) for 4.91 acres, more or less; and R1-A
(Single Family Reduced Area District) for 18.47 acres, more or less. 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. Garcia Second:
Cm. Agredano For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Ordinance Introduction: City Council 9. Public hearing and introductory ordinance
altering and extending the boundary limits of the City of
Laredo, annexing additional territory of 222.28 acres, more or less, located
approximately a half mile south of State Highway 359 and the City of Laredo
landfill, specifically the E. G. Ranch Tract, providing for the effective
date of the ordinance, authorizing the City Manager to execute a contract
adopting a service plan for the annexed territory, and establishing the
initial zoning of R-1A (Single Family Reduced Area District). 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. Garcia For: 7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Ordinance Introduction: City Council 10. Public
hearing and introductory ordinance altering and extending the boundary limits
of the City of
Laredo, annexing additional territory of 37.65 acres, more or less, located
approximately north of State Highway 359, immediately west of Los Altos
Subdivision and north of Tanquecitos, Phase 2,
specifically the Tanquecitos Tract, providing for
the effective date of the ordinance, authorizing the City Manager to execute
a contract adopting a service plan for the annexed territory, and
establishing the initial zoning of R-1A (Single Family Reduced Area
District). 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. Amaya For: 6 Against: |