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CITY OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING M2008-R-05 CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS I. CALL TO ORDER With a quorum present, Mayor II. PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE Mayor III. ROLL CALL In attendance: Raul
G. Mike
Garza, Council Member, District I Hector
Garcia, Council
Member, District II Johnny
Amaya, Council Member, District IV Johnny
Rendon, Council
Member, District V Gene
Belmares, Mayor
Pro Tem, District VI Juan
Chavez, Council Member, District VII Juan
Ramirez, Council
Member, District VIII Gustavo
Guevara, Jr., Horacio
De Leon, Assistant
City Manager Raul
Casso, IV. MINUTES Approval
of the minutes of Motion to approve. Moved: Cm. Rendon Second: Cm. Amaya For: 5 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Cm.
Garza, Cm. Garcia, and Mayor Pro-Tempore Belmares were not present at this
time. V. COMMUNICATIONS
AND RECOGNITIONS
Recognitions a. Recognition of Judge Oscar O. Martinez for
being named 2008 LIFE Rancher of the Year during the 45th annual LIFE Mayor Salinas and the City Council
publicly recognized Judge Oscar O. Martinez for his great work to our
community. b. Recognition of the Border Olympics Board of
performance during the 2008 Border
Olympics Event. Mayor Salinas presented Certificates of
Recognition to Gregorio “Goyo” Lopez, President; Pancho Averill,
Mike Drake, and Osvaldo Guzman. c. Recognition of Felix Garcia for
being selected to the National Team. Not
present. d. Recognizing the Service Award from the Code Enforcement
Association of No action taken. e. Recognition of the 2008 Mayor's
Cup-City Employee Softball Tournament Winners.
No action taken. Motion to recess at Moved: Cm. Rendon Second: Cm. Amaya For: 7 Against: Abstain: Cm. Garcia not present. Returned at
Communiqués Citizen comments VI. APPOINTMENTS TO
COMMISSIONS, BOARDS AND COMMITTEES a. Appointment by Mayor Pro-Tempore Gene
Belmares of Sammy Alasi to the Convention & Visitors Bureau Advisory Committee. Motion to approve. Moved:
Cm. Garcia Second:
Cm. Ramirez For:
8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 b. Appointment by Council Member Johnny Rendon
of Richard Perales to the Transportation and Motion to approve. Moved:
Cm. Garza Second: Cm. Garcia For:
8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 VII. GENERAL COUNCIL
DISCUSSIONS AND PRESENTATIONS 1. A. Request
by Mayor 1. Status report on the canopy for Bridge I,
with possible action. take five months to complete. He commented that it will be ready by July
or August. B. Request by Council Member Mike Garza 1. Discussion with possible action on setting
a date for a Budget Retreat. Cm. Garza requested to set a date for a Budget
Retreat and also requested that the Budget Director start setting up a
calendar. 2. Discussion with possible action on
directing the City Manager to conduct a study to alleviate the problems on garbage pick
up. Cm. Garza stated that he received a
report on garbage pick up which indicates that national holidays
that fall on Sundays and are observed on Mondays are balanced out with those that fall on Friday. He
commented that there may be issues when garbage is not picked up
after a holiday because it falls on a weekend. He requested that staff look into alternatives or other
possibilities to alleviate this problem.
C. Request by Council Member Hector J. Garcia 1. Discussion with possible action regarding
outstanding loans/debts owed to the City of Cm. Garcia stated that he wants to have
something stable right now, so that at the end the year debts to the City are not
written off. He pointed out that there
are millions of dollars that have not been paid to the
City. He asked staff to come back with
a report to see what is owed. He added that contracts should be written
stating that the business may be audited at any time. He requested a report by the next
meeting. Finally, he commented that there should be a plan in
place for the collection of insurance, ambulance services, and rent. 2. Discussion with possible action on
appropriating matching funds to a 3 million dollar Transportation Grant for a hike and bike
trail along Chacon Creek. Cm. Garcia reported that the money is
available and asked to have a trail through Miguel Pescador, Parks and Recreation
Department Director, reported that a status report on the Transportation Grant of 3
million dollars was provided. He
stated that the grant requires a local match of 20 %. He noted that the Advanced Money Agreement has been executed and is currently
under review by the state. He mentioned
that they are in the process of finding the 20%
local match required. He informed City
Council that from the original 3.3 million
amount 20% would have been $660,000, but it has been reduced because
of the Economically Disadvantaged Communities Programs Grant.
He reported that the new match amount is $280,500. He added that there is currently a motion (#30) on tonight’s agenda
to award a $322,813 design and construction contract to Carter Burgess
Inc. for the hike and bike trail. Motion to earmark $322,813 from Cm.
Garcia’s Discretionary Fund with reimbursement. Moved:
Cm. Garcia Second:
Cm. Landeck For:
8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 3. Discussion with possible action to consider
amending the priority procedures manual by placing the general Council discussion
items at the end of the agenda as opposed to the current order in which they are placed. Motion to place the General Council
Discussion items at the end of the agenda. Moved:
Cm. Garcia Second:
Cm. Garza For:
7 Against: 1 Abstain: 0 Cm.
Ramirez 4. Discussion with possible action regarding
the closing of and Police
Department equipment. Cm.
Garcia mentioned that he had placed this item on the agenda before. He reported that for safety reasons the street in
back of the Police Station needs to be closed for the security of the police officers. Motion
to start the procedure for the closing of the street and send to the Street
Closing Committee. Moved:
Cm. Garcia Second: Mayor Pro-Tempore Belmares For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0
D. Request by Council Member Johnny Rendon 1. Discussion with possible action on placing
speed humps on
Motion to approve. Moved: Cm. Chavez Second:
Cm. Amaya For:
8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 E. Request by Mayor Pro-Tempore Gene Belmares 1. Discussion with possible action on
impounding uninsured vehicles and those operated by unlicensed drivers. Mayor Pro-Tempore Belmares stated that
in 1998, Congressman Henry Cuellar, passed a state law that allowed municipalities to
make that choice. He commented that he wants to begin the process of creating an
ordinance. He stated that the
ordinance would give more authority to the Police Department
to call the wrecker services and have the cars towed
and impounded. He also stated that the
ordinance would set up the due process for those people having to go to
Municipal Court to retrieve their vehicles.
He instructed staff to prepare a draft ordinance to
have City Council review it. 2. Discussion with possible action on setting,
publishing and conducting public hearings to amend the towing ordinance to reflect
necessary changes as per the ordinance. Mayor Pro-Tempore Belmares stated that
the ordinance has to have a caveat stating that every two years
there has to be a public hearing to discuss if there are any changes to the ordinance. He reported that there have not been any
public hearings in the last 8 to 10 years.
He pointed out that the cost of insurance and labor has gone up
dramatically. He noted that storage fees have not changed
in the last 10 years. Tommy Ochoa, Municipal Court
Administrator, stated that in the current fiscal year they are 15% ahead of their projections in
their budget and revenues. He reported
that for the month of February the net revenues are
up 23% ahead of last year, maintaining the same levels of
citations. He added that it is the
same volume, but the revenues are up. He mentioned that there are provisions
under state law where the city can be reimbursed for the cost of
their time when a private wrecker has to be called in to pick up vehicles. He recommended adding a fee which has to be
paid before the vehicle is released.
He pointed out that this would be for the
towing process. He stated that they would still have to go to court to
adjudicate the case as the due process allows. 3. Discussion with possible action on a water
distribution action plan for summer 2008. Tomas Rodriguez, Cm.
Garcia emphasized that water meter of older residents should not be
disconnected without contacting them. Finally, Mr. Rodriguez reported that
there is a Meter Exchange Program which exchanges any commercial or residential meter
over 7 years old. He added that this makes the meter more efficient and also
helps identify illegal connections. F. Request by Council Member Juan Chavez 1. Motion to increase funding for the
Community Action Agency Meals on Wheels, with possible action. Motion to approve with an
extra $12,000. Moved: Cm. Chavez Second:
Cm. Garza For:
8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 2. Status report of the nationalization
ordinance, with possible action. Keith Selman, Planning and
Zoning Director, reported that the nationalization of vehicles ordinance is in effect and was
adopted about 3 months ago. He stated
that it is more restrictive and now
requires a Special Use Permit to establish a naturalization of vehicle business. He added that there are only certain
districts where it can be obtained and that would be in a B-3 district and
up. He mentioned that one of the
requirements is the size of the tract which there is a
two acre provision. He commented that
they recently received an application and in
the process they found out it was short of the two acre
provision. He commented that because
of this, the money had to be returned to them.
Finally, he said that there are businesses out there that have a legal
non- conforming status because they were issued
a Conditional Use Permits or became B-4’s legally. Cm. Garza asked that he would like to
see what other cities have in terms of ordinances and if they are
generating revenues from this type of service. G. Request by Council Member Juan
Ramirez 1. Discussion with possible action regarding
the purchase of Block 618 WD, located on east of Eagle Pass Avenue between a recreation center and a park. Cm. Ramirez reported that this is in the
area of the old San Francisco Javier neighborhood. He stated that he would like to see this
block purchased. Motion to authorize an
appraisal. Moved: Cm. Ramirez Second:
Cm. Mayor Pro-Tempore Belmares For:
8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 VIII. PUBLIC HEARINGS 2. Public hearing and introductory ordinance
amending the City of Department Fiscal Year 2007-2008 annual
budget by appropriating revenues and expenditures in the amount of $30,000.00
of additional funds from the Department of State Health Services for
continuation of the Abstinence Education Program, and
In-kind amount of $21,000.00 from L.I.S.D. for a total amount of expenditures of
$51,000.00 for the period of Motion to open the public hearing. Moved:
Mayor Pro-Tempore Belmares Second:
Cm. Garza For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 There was no public input. Motion to close the public hearing and
introduce. Moved:
Mayor Pro-Tempore Belmares Second:
Cm. Garza For:
8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Ordinance Introduction: City Council 3. Public hearing and introductory ordinance
amending the City of 2007-2008 annual budget by decreasing
revenues and expenditures by $8,551.00 for a total award amount of $79,249.00 from
the South Texas Development Council (STDC) for the continuation of the AIDS Projects (HOPWA) for the period of and authorizing the City Manager to
execute said contract. Motion to open the public hearing. Moved:
Mayor Pro-Tempore Belmares Second:
Cm. Garza For:
8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 There was no public input. Motion to close the public hearing and
introduce. Moved:
Mayor Pro-Tempore Belmares Second:
Cm. Garza For:
8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Ordinance Introduction: City Council 4. Public hearing and introductory ordinance
amending the City of 2007-2008 Annual Budget by appropriating
revenues and expenditures in the amount of $1,000.00 donated by Wal-Mart for the
administration of various programs and authorizing the City Manager to
implement said budget amendment. Motion to open the public hearing. Moved:
Mayor Pro-Tempore Belmares Second:
Cm. Garcia For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 There was no public input. Motion to close the public hearing and
introduce. Moved:
Mayor Pro-Tempore Belmares Second:
Cm. Chavez For:
8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Ordinance Introduction: City Council 5. Public hearing and introductory ordinance
amending the City of Laredo Land Development Code, Chapter 24, Article
III, by creating Section 24-56, entitled “Parkland Dedication Ordinance” and
amending the City of Code, Appendix A, by adding the Parkland
Dedication Fee Methodology as per the attached Exhibit A; providing for
severability, publication and an effective date. Motion to open the public hearing.
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