City Council - Regular Meeting

[snorts] I know. [laughter] Not any good.

Like one of these. I'll trade you. Could this be what you're looking for? [laughter]

Yeah, I've got to go to Valentine's coming up, so I'll take the big Sorry, not watching the clock. Everybody's Everybody's microphones on. All right. I would like to invite everybody I mean thank everybody for attending tonight and invite you to stand for the pledge.

Um can I ask for the invocation first and David I mean that would you offer that father God give you praise give you thanks God we ask you tonight as they make decisions for our city your will be done not theirs God of our city in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Please join me in the pledge. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one indivisible with liberty and justice for all. I'm sorry. As soon as I stood up, my my my mind started working. [laughter]

It was going fast.

I know. We're going to take things a little bit out of order because um we have an economic development board member that needs to leave. So, I'm going to ask you to go to new business section two. Janice, do you need the podium? I'm going to read this resolution 2026-01. It's a resolution of the city council of the city of Buouie, Texas, authorizing the Buouie economic development corporation to administer and fund an equipment purchase and installation project supporting the private capital investment exceeding $170,000 at 203 North Mason Street, Buouie, Texas. designating the BEEDC as agent and administer provider and sever providing a severability providing for severability and providing for an effective date. So Janice, you have the floor.

Sure. So I I mean it's pretty self-explanatory. Basically, we are incentivizing this company um by up to $15,000 for the improvement that he made at Milanos. So it is Omar but here for questions. What is what's the scale? What's it dependent on?

Okay. So um he put in a new HVAC system and a fire suppressant benefit. So for the total of $26,000 and we are actually uh allotting $10,000 for that expenditure. And then he received a $5,000 um from the CDBG which for the facade enhancement. So total he got $15,000. And your but your part is is 10 10. Okay. In case you don't know the CDBG is the community development grant.

Okay. Um, any other questions? If not, I'd like to call for a motion to ex to accept the ordinance the resolution as presented. So moved. Do I have a second? Second. Post. Holstein. I Spr. Post. Hi. And Shaw. Hi. Thank you. It passed. Thanks for moving us up to

Absolutely. Thank you for taking your time out to be here. We appreciate that. All right. Now, let's go back up to the top and start with Adam's community interest. I want to announce that the chamber banquet is January the 26th and tickets will be on sale online tomorrow at the chamber website or you can contact anybody on the chamber. But I would check online or call the chamber office. And now Bert, you have a city manager's report. Yes, ma'am.

I understand and this is probably from now going forward. I have to get this done so early, a week and a half before the time that changes and sometimes I have to add stuff. So, and it sounds like I'm going into last week and that's where my brain was last week when I wrote this. So, uh, the downtown revitalization project for SM Street, and it says here, is almost done. It's done. They finished it. They put in the last light post uh yesterday or today. I'm not sure. Uh, the contractors was still laying a few bricks up on the Terrence my street, but that's that's finished now. We had to extend the contract because the initial contract ends uh this month in midmon and we weren't sure whether the contractor would be completed by then. Uh public management our grant writer asked us to extend the contract which really didn't affect anything. Uh I urge each of you to go down SM Street and see the improvements. They look great and uh some businesses are making some improvements down there. So we we like that. [clears throat] Stony Lawrence and I met with Carl Propston and Boyd, the engineer on the Rocks and Pillar Street project last week. We now have the 30% design plans and we met and discuss the changes which uh we believe are necessary. You're welcome to come by the office and review the plans and share any suggestions that you might have. Our electric crew has been busy at the new pickle ball courts, but will soon return to the substation to complete the wiring for the new transformer controls. The control wire terminations are the only items that we need to complete uh the construction phase. Initial testing of the new transformer [snorts] should begin around the 1st of February. So, that's good news. The airport fencing

grant is finally coming to fruition. On January 27th, we'll be hosting a pre-bid conference in our conference room at 2 PM. We will then begin advertising for bids and open them on February the 12th. The bid opening will be in Austin at Texas Aviation Department. So, we won't know anything about that until after that bid opening. Uh we plan to install a new 8 inch water line 786 feet along Monte Street from Matthews to SM Street to increase flow and pressure in the downtown area where the development is underway on SM Street. There's not enough flow and pressure to operate the code required fire sprinkler systems in the downtown area. The cost will be approximately $36,000. We also have plans to add another line next year, an additional 725 ft, which should increase the flow and pressure for all of the south side of the downtown area. Any questions?

What's the timeline on the rock and Well, we're at 30%. We'll probably be I've got that timeline in my office. I don't but probably another couple of months uh and we'll get the design and then we'll start the bid process. So I will tell you that I encouraged him to have us out to bid by May. I said June and he said he wants to go by May because there's a lot of followup once they right we we choose to accept it. [clears throat] So better part of the year.

Yeah. Yeah, everything all added together. And then um on the SM Street project, uh I know there was a lot of the business owners or property owners that had some thoughts. Have they been satisfied with the completion? I don't know. I hadn't heard it from any of them directly. Okay. I assume they are. They're satisfied with it. It looks awful.

Not at our place. I hear your comments. There's at least two sections right next to it where they're going to do the walk engineer are going to do the walk through next week. Uh and and that's when they'll start the checklist of things that need to be fixed. So be sure and show that to them. Brandon knows where he was. Yeah, Brandon and his supervisor.

Oh, Brandon the engineer who I thought you were talking about and his supervisor are coming to do the walk through and checklist. Any other questions? Okay. Well, let's move on past the city manager's report and go to the approval of the minutes for the December 9th meeting. They were in your packet. So, if anybody has read them and wants to make a motion to accept as presented. So moved. Post. Do I have a second? Second.

Sprouls Shaw I. Holstein I Sprouls I post I

thank you. The next item on the agenda is the second reading of ordinance 2025-15, an ordinance of the city of Buouie, Texas, abandoning all right title and interest in a portion of Wilberger Street being attractive land consisting of 048 acres out of block 39 Hill County School Land Survey A-319, city of Buouie Bonte County, Texas. And and who is that? Are we in trouble?

I hope so. That probably means we're either having computer problems or phone problems. Um, providing for the furnishing of a certified copy of this ordinance for recording in the official public records of Monte County, Texas as a quick claim deed and authorizing the city manager to execute any documents necessary to complete set abandonment and providing for an effective date. Obviously, this is Don't push it. Something it's flashing red. We're having problems. Okay. You're just going to have to ignore it. I'm sorry. That's okay. I just don't want to blow up on my knee. Um, this is our second reading of this ordinance.

This this so you'll know what it is. This is where we're trading a little bit of Wilberger Street and an alley for the easement on the Glen Hill lift station rebuild. So, this will complete complete that. [clears throat] So, do I have a motion to approve as presented? So, moved. Sprouls. Do I have a second? Second. Going with Brent. Um, Sprouls. Hi. Post. Hi. Holstein. Hi. And Shaw. Hi. Thank you.

New uh under new business, we have a reappoint. and 17 pages in between of Karen. Let me see if I can do this right. Milk Canowski. Is that right? Close. Is that pretty close? That's pretty close. Uh to the library board again. This is a reappoint. She's been there before. Entertain a motion to accept as presented. So move. Post. Do I have a second? Sure. Second. We're all just anticipating the next beat, I guess. So, [laughter] post

I Holstein. Hi, Sprouls. Hi, Shaw. I really nothing against her.

We've already done number two. Next item on the agenda is new business for ordinance of the city of Buouie, Texas abandoning all right and title an interest in a portion of this that [clears throat] certain alley rightway described as a tract of land consisting of 31 acres out of block 34 and block 39 Hill County school land survey A319 city of Buouie Monte County Texas and being more particularly described in exhibit A attached here providing for the furnishing of a certified copy of the ordinance for this reading of public records of Monte County, Texas as a quit claim deed authorizing the city manager execute any documents necessary to complete set abandanment and providing for an effective date.

Same thing part of that. This is the first reading of this ordinance though. So this will come back to you as a but it's on that same project. Yes. So this will come back to you again on the next meeting for a second. Is this a different portion of that same Well, if you look at the plat there, you should have a picture of the plat. Uh so one's the street and one's the alley,

right? One of the end of what used to be the end of Wilberger Street. We still go a little bit in the their property, but the back side of Willburgger would have extended on. It's closed off anyway right now. And anyway, we deeded that to them. And then the alley that uh set up, it's not an alley anymore. It's just a utility, which is basically the same thing. Okay. So, I would entertain a motion to accept the ordinance. So, moved. Shaw. Do I have a second? Second. Post Sprouls I Holstein

I post I Shaw hi. Next item on the agenda is ordinance 2026-2. An ordinance amending the adopted municipal budget for fiscal year 202425 for specified funds. account and line item designations, declaring all other appropriations of the budget document unchanged, instructing the city manager to make necessary revisions to the city's accounting records, and declaring a severability clause and providing for an effective date. So, that is why Pam is here tonight. Pam, would you like to explain these adjustments?

Good evening. Well, last thing I wanted to do is be back on that budget. I thought it was moving forward with auditors. But what occurred here was these two line items here. One's a new line item as you can see, community planning. We receive the invoices late October. Both of these are grant funds. They have to go through approval. We receive the funds and then we can actually release and pay them. Well, this rolled into December by the time they were paid. I had a long discussion with our auditor over these two and it could have went either which way, but we decided to go ahead and do a budget amendment because if you see the amount here, it's $228,000 and we actually received some funds on the FEMA grant and so forth and our actual grants that we have on the table now that could have put us over to $1 million for a single audit next year. So, we're looking to the future. Does that make sense?

Yep. To explain what she just said, if we get more than a million dollars a year of grant funding, we have to do not just an audit. We have to do an audit just on that only. A single audit. Yes. And that's state, local, and FEMA. And it cost anywhere from 10 to 15,000 to do that audit. So easy that amount. Yeah. So that's why I'm back in front of you. We decided to go ahead and do this budget amendments and go ahead and roll this back to where it probably should be. But it's hard to pay for something when you don't receive the invoices and or approval to pay it and or the funds to pay. That makes sense.

And that's what happens with the grants when you receive them like that. It was just bad timing. And as you can see, community planning grant. That's a brand new grant and those are hard to tell when they're going to come in for reimbursement, but that's 100% reimburseable. Both of these are reimburseable grants by who? Well, one's from um is our downtown just talked about my street. That's reimburseable. And the other one's our fing from FEMA. No, that's general land office. Yeah, that public management is doing. That's 100% grant.

So, I would like your approval on these so next year we're not sort of staring down a barrel trying to make sure we're underneath that $1 million on a single audit. And this has not our expenditures, but this is receivable the monies that you receive. So, if we do receive some funds on that FEMA and or different grants and we still have some grants out there, we can easily go over that one million and if we're not watching what we're doing, which is not a bad thing, but why ask for it? Well, yeah, because we're hoping like crazy we see our FEMA money. I know. So, so that's going to put us real close to it.

Yeah. If you take the 228 almost 700 and finishing up the community planning grants, another 200, you're looking at 900 right there. Let alone the other grants that we do have out and receive. I make a Can I make a motion? Make a motion to accept the budget amendments. Yes. Do I have a second? Second. Post. Holstein. Hi, Sprouls. Hi, Shaw. Hi, Post. Hi. Thank you. Thank you.

All right. Our next item on the agenda is to back up here. Put down the wrong page. um accept award the bid to Legend Bank for the city depository. That information is also in your packet. Um do you have anything to say about this? No, I'm just really happy. Yeah, they're the only ones. They were the only ones. They're the only ones that bid. So So yeah, I imagine

So there's really not an option here, but I still have to take a vote. So, a motion to award the bid to Legend Bank. So, moved. Boyd. Do I have a second? Second. Stephanie Post. Hi. Holstein. Hi, Sprouls. Hi, Shaw.

Hi, All right. Approve theou between Texas Division of Emergency Management and Texas Emergency Management Assistant Teens Participating Jurisdiction. And that's going to be up to Kirk. Good evening. It's only 10 pages long. That's all. You're not going to rate it, are you?

No, no, no new. It is not that difficult if you look through it. Let's go over there a little bit. Um, I apologize. This is the fill-in-theblank version that we wrote in the jurisdiction, that kind of stuff. TDM, for some reason, has decided not to do hard copyus anymore. If we approve this tonight, the mayor will get to come back to my office tomorrow and sign on the screen with her finger instead of doing it, scanning it, and sending it in. I'm not sure why they do that. Um, the state of Texas operates five different emergency management assistance teams. They're listed there on page one. These have existed for a number of years. They've been expanded. Individuals who wish to be on those teams in the past would have to contact those teams, get an application, go through all the stuff, and then get accepted onto the teams. They have consolidated for all five teams into this oneou. Everybody's working off the same sheet of music when it comes to pay, reimbursement, all of those kind of things. But they've also put it to where the jurisdiction is now the one who says who can be on the team. So if the city wants an employee to be on the team, they can tell team app we want to do this or they can say no. So it gives a lot more control back to the cities instead of the individuals having to go out and do it individually. There's nothing significant in here. Basically, it spells out that if you have an employee that volunteers for one of these teams and gets deployed, we will cover all expenses for their deployment.

their salary, their benefits, their travel, their lodging, their meals. If you have to have a backfill person to fill in for that person while they're gone, they will cover that expense as well. Uh they do spell out one of the issues was workers count. They spell out that the individual will remain on the jurisdiction's workers comp if they become injured during the deployment. Uh you will forward all the bills and receipts for any care they received, any fees that are accompanying the workers count to TDM and they will reimburse the city for those expenses. TM's goal is to where they want these people to help them. They're going to make sure that they cover all of the expenses. So, it's actually a pretty nice deal. It's a tremendous learning experience [clears throat and snorts] as well for anybody that wants to participate. This does not obligate us to responding when they send out a message and say we need people to deploy for this. Uh, I get those messages all the time and it's hit one for yes, hit two for no. And they have no problems whatsoever if you say no because they realize you've got a full-time job and you may not be able to go at that point. So, there's no obligation for people to deploy as

So, I asked you a question about one of us. Um, can we that's

Have they found a way to do that? No, there is a line in here on in item N on page three. It says unaffiliated member. Everybody they've been talking about in the past has been city employees who are drawing a salary and have benefits. They're trying to find a way to get unaffiliated PE. Those would be volunteers who aren't affiliated with the city, don't have workers count, that kind of thing. They're trying to figure out a way to do that. Okay.

Actually, Miss Post snuck in and deployed with them early on before they figured out there was a problem. Yeah. So, yeah. Uh they they left the unaffiliated member definition in here hoping that they'll be able to just edit the down the road and that the criteria for that, but right now they haven't figured out how they're going to do it. Okay, any questions for Kirk? Well, if not, I would entertain a motion for us to accept theou as presented. Stephanie second.

Sure. Second. Boy Shaw. Hi. Holstein. I sps I post I Oh, do we have any public comments? Do you have any public comments? Yes. No. Uhuh. I said, "Do you have any public comments?" Do you have any public comments? Um, have have you spoken to them about Okay, please don't leave and go see Sandy. She has something to ask each one of you. If there are no other questions, then uh we'll adjourn the meeting tonight at 6:26. Is it us? Are we grounded?

I'm out of here. Trouble principal's office.