City Council - Regular Meeting

hiding behind fix. See, I've already I couldn't open my email. Did you get yours too? No, I couldn't even open my email. They kept asking for password. So, you had to get it. No, I still don't have They printed this. That's all I got.

See, that's what happened with them. I usually Turn it around. That's a great idea. I already We're always waiting on Brett. Wait. He's socialized. Thank you for joining us everybody. Please uh silence your phones if you haven't done so already and uh join me with the invocation and the pledge. Tonight, Mr. Calabreda, we'd like to invite you to offer our invocation.

Let's pray together. Father, I thank you once again for all your grace and your love. I thank you that you're wonderful. Thank you that we can live in this country. We can live in this state, that we can live in this city, and I praise you for it. I pray that you give the council wisdom tonight as they decide things and help everyone to understand that we all are here because we want to see we do some great things and so just bless you for it in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. Please join me in the pledge. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Okay. Next item on the agenda is items of community interest. Cindy, I think you're here for that reason. I just wanted to thank everybody for the success we had for the weekend of the 30th annual chicken and bread days heritage festival and the sip and stroll before. Those were two of the biggest events that I've had my since I've been here um the luxury of of overseeing. So I like to thank everybody for participating and coming out and supporting the community. So

okay don't wait here. She's very hard to surprise. So Cindy was actually here for the 25th anniversary. I was.

And now she's here for the 30th anniversary. So we're going to award her with another one of the chicken and bread flags to put in her office for the 30th anniversary. I do want to tell you, I know you have a board, but I also know we try to do everything and we appreciate absolutely everything you do. This was the biggest and the [Laughter] So we wish you continued success. [Applause] chicken.

All right, let's um open the meeting with city manager report.

This probably needs to be under the items of community interest. I've got a visit this week from uh Corey Glurn who's a municipal marketing manager of Waste Connections that they've been doing the bulk traffic uh trash pickup days on Saturdays and they want uh in starting in November to change that to Tuesdays. The reason is is because if they have breakdowns or problems on Saturday, there's nobody there to supervise or to help or mechanics or whatever. So they're going to change it to Tuesdays. Uh it so it'll be the November 20 25th and then it'll be each uh I think it's uh the last Tuesday of each month. So everybody needs to schedule their book tra pickup for them. And remember you just call them one number and tell them you've got it and they'll pick it up. Uh it it more for to make sure that they don't have any problem than it is to hurt us. So, and I think if people put their trash bulk items out on Sunday that they'll be picked up by Tuesday. So, at any rate, uh we had a public meeting on Monday the September the 29th for the MA master plan grant project. Public management had several displays with information about our city which allowed citizens to provide comments and vote on their favorite parks and future improvements. Public management will use the information that they gathered from the meeting to recommend improvements that we need to make in the future. Even though the meeting was not very well attended, public management personnel assured me that uh this is a regular part of the project to have low attendance. Uh as we get further on, they'll say the attendance on these meetings will improve. Uh the SMA Street construction uh the the SM street

project is moving right along. The water line has been completed after resolving issues with tying in the line. Curbs are being poured and street bricks are being replaced. I would venture to guess that this project should be completed by the 1st of December. The slowest part of the project is when they're going to start replacing the bricks and and that'll take a lot of time because that's tedious, very tedious work. And I guess I should be saying this, but it's about chicken bread days that the streets downtown were filled the brink with people, cars, and booths. Everyone who attended uh the event had a great time and it's the largest so far. We consider it a great event. Congratulations to Cindy Roller and the community development board. That goes without saying. So congratulations, Cindy. You did a great job. Uh raw water pump update. The Hazen and Sawyer engineers are currently working on the 30% design drawing that is scheduled to have a internal question and answer session on October 31st and anticipate delivering the 90% drawing to the city review by November the 10th. Uh substation transformer, as far as we know, all materials are now on site, including the 138 KV switch, which was the main thing we were waiting on. The contractor is expected to be back either this week or next week and depending on their schedule. Rock and Pillar Street Bridge, the engineers are still working on the design of the bridge uh and channel uh plans uh will be ready to review by the end of November. So that's coming along. Uh we began our fiscal year on October the 1st. We now can now look forward to preparing for the audit which will be due this winter. We want to ensure that we complete the new audit on time as the Texas Attorney General Paxton is writing letters to several

cities that not receive their audits on time reminding them that their tax rates would not be effective due to the delay. So that makes it very important for us to get our audits in on time. That's it. Any questions? Who's engineer on the Rock and Pillar Street? Who? Mhm. Uh it is uh Corbett Pro and another name out of Witchaw Falls. The the main engineer is Blaine Boswell. He is a a drainage specialist. He has that feather in his hat and that's one of the reasons that we chose to use them. Was it who did the Nelson? Is that her?

Yeah. Yes. Okay. Any other questions for Bert? All right. Well, at this time, we're going to open a public hearing at 608 regarding the request from Tommy and Trent Park to reszone 308 and 400 Highway 59 South and 301 and 303 Jones Street from single family residential and manufactured housing to light industrial. Do we have any comments from the public? No questions. I have a question. What is light industrial?

Um I don't I don't know full definition of light industrial. Mr. Cal, do you want to take that answer? Yes. industrial is where they manufacture things, but there's not a lot of noise, not a lot of pollution, and so it's not much impact on what's going on that district. Yeah, because I went I went through that address and it looked like there was a a business already there, a house already there. Is that where they're going to to Yes. have the business inside there? Because there are houses around it. grandfather that

so it's something that's quiet is what you're saying you know relatively so yes

oh okay all right any other questions what type of business will it be I'm not sure that we're at liberty or are even told that. No. So, they'll just know they have to follow the light industrial rules. Yes. Is there a sound level that they can't go above or what are you want to take that?

Yes. Are those things Anything else? All right. How many houses around this area? How many residences are there? Yeah, there's houses all around. How many looking at?

I didn't count them, but they're impacted on them. It's on the corner. 11 12 tiny houses, right? The tiny houses are the the place they're talking about is like a long building. No, it's worth Okay, we need a conversation that everybody can hear if we're going to have a open hearing about this. So, let's let's tackle exactly where it is. Okay, we're talking. Okay, so let let Donna talk first and then that way the people aren't talking over her.

Well, it's just on a corner. Um, and there's houses behind it and kind of there's a whole street that runs behind it with houses. Okay. So, everybody was mailed a letter in that neighborhood. Okay. And no one responded negatively. There were businesses. There was a business there. Used to be the old school. Yeah. They're on the corner. So it was a business already. And the other side of it was an old insurance company. So they were businesses. Is that And it's blue. I think it was blue. I already remember. I think you're on the opposite end of that. Down further down the street is where because where the feed store is is now torn all up. Yes. All that's gone. It's just

just dirt. That's it. That's the property. Oh, that's the property. That That's the property that they purchased. Okay. Cuz the GPS said it was a house around it, but on the other end from on the other end. So, the the the letters were sent out to the public all around it and then they asked for this zoning so it complied with the planning and zoning committee. Yes, ma'am.

If it's the old mine in your store building, I used to own that place years ago and um those it faces on 59, but those little tiny houses are right there adjacent to it and then there's a road and then you get to another building on the other side of that road. But that's that's what I'm talking about.

Yeah, that's that area right there. Okay. Anything else? All right. Well, let's close the public hearing at 6:13. All right. Ladies and gentlemen, in your packet is the consent is the agenda minutes for the last meeting, September 23rd. If you have read them and approved them, I would entertain a motion to accept them as presented. So moved. Ashley. Trux Shaw I Sprouls. Hi Post. Hi Walker. Hi Ashley. Hi

Trux. Hi. Thank you very much. Our next item on the agenda is to consider recommendation from the planning and zoning commission to approve the request from Tommy and Trent Park to reszone 308 and 400 highway 59 South and 301 and 303 Jones Street from single family residential and manufactured housing to light industrial. I'll turn the meeting over to Mr. Calabrada.

All right. The planning and zoning commission met on September 18th. We had a forum and we discussed this. We of course first had the public hearing and there was no public comments at all. No one had anything to say about it. And uh when we looked at it uh we're just continuing some light industrial into that area. All behind it is already zoned that way. And so they want to use it that way and we approved it. Passing it on to you folks. So now you're being asked to approve the planning and zoning commission's request for Tommy and Trent Par to reszone 308 and 400 Highway 59 South and 301 and 303 Jones Road from single family residential to manufactured with manufactured housing to light industrial. at the recommendation of the planning and zoning board. So, do I have a motion to approve?

So, moved. Sprouls. Second. Post Shaw. Yes. Truax. Ashley. Yes. Perh Walker. Yes. Post. And Sprouls.

Hi. Thank you. Don't go anywhere. All right. So the next item on the agenda is to consider recommendation from the planning and zoning commission to replplat all of lot 2 through 7 block two part of the Taylor Street Taylor's edition creating lot 2R and lot 4R lot 7R block two Taylor edition

and the property is one big piece at this point and they want to redo it so that they can have three separate pieces. If you have a map, a little map that you have, uh you'll see that between the two properties that are on Mil Street, uh they have to have a way to get back to the third property and so there's going to be a driveway between the two properties. Uh they all meet all the setbacks and there's enough acreage and all. So we approve this.

Anybody have any questions? Understand the map.

So we have how many? We got we have houses on parts of the lots now. Two of the properties and the third is a shop I guess you call it, but he's going to turn it into a house. And then they'll have to provide access to Mil Street.

They'll have to provide access to Mil Street to those properties. All right. Any other questions? If not, I would entertain a motion to accept the recommendation from the planning and zoning board, planning and zoning commission to replplat all of lot 2 through 7 block two, part of Taylor Street and Taylor Edition, creating lot 2 R, lot 4 R and lot 7R, block two, Taylor Edition. So post. Do I have a second? Second. Walker Shaw. Yes. Ashley. Hi. Truax. Hi.

Sprost. Hi, Walker. Thank you, Mr. Cal.

All right. The next item on the agenda is ordinance 2025-11 an ordinance of the city council of the city of Buouie Texas amending article 1.11000 library chapter chapter 1 general provisions by amending section 1.13 board of trustees appointment terms repealing any conflicting clause providing a severability clause and establishing effective date. If you was there, was there a reason they wanted to do this? There is a reason.

Oh, she wanted to go from three to five. She wanted to go from three to five years. I guess there was a consensus among their own um organization that they would rather have this two to five in here. I mean two to five, sorry, three on the brain. Um, she wanted to go to five for continuity for some reason. It's I mean, it's kind of up to the board and how they want to work. It It didn't really matter to us. So, it really kind of matters to y'all. Any problem with it? If not, then I would entertain.

How will they How will they would that be everybody? And the current term is now five or no the new elections will carry next. Each new election will carry a new term. And they're still staggered and all that. Yes. How many board members they currently have? Seven. They have seven. Okay. Don't we have to approve those every time? Yeah, that would be good because when they're staggered like that, there'll be a lot of approving. So, I guess I make a motion that we approve ordinance 2025-11.

Thank you. Um, Ashley, a motion. Do I have a second? Second. We all Okay. Post Shaw. I Truax. Hi, Sprouls. Hi, Post. Hi, Ashley. Hi, Walker. Hi.

Thank you. The next one is ordinance 2025-12, an ordinance amending the adopted municipal budget for fiscal year 202425 for specific funds, accounts, 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, declaring a severability clause, and providing for an effective date. That was a mouthful. She's giving me a hard time. So, um, Pamela will be at the All right. Good evening. Hello. How is everyone? Good.

Good. Well, I know this is quite lengthy this year, but if you take a hard look at this, a lot of these amendments are due to we received the $2.75 million um bond last year. We didn't spend all the fund. So, 680,000 in improvements for the street is from that. the um ambulance didn't come in in time. So 400,000 is for that. We already received the funds for that. And then you're going to see a lot of different um new line items. We wanted to separate those out especially for like the bonds. Instead of using that in a line item, now it has bond transfers for our sewer bond payment. Okay. So there's a lot of extra revenue in there. Also, you're going to see sales tax went up. School resource officer, we collected more um code enforcement and that's offset by the expenditures. You're also going to see leases went up and that's due to the vehicles cost a little bit more than we thought in the aftermarket. We have to pay for those upfront. So, if you want to go per line item, we will, but they're pretty self-explanatory. Why? When? How come? Um the one that um I'm having problems with is the credit card fees. I was on the phone today with two different entities. Um I'm putting that out for rebid so we can't lower that cost for rate assessment.

Well, I've already went line by line with I know she was already in my office. So on the credit card charges because it the way it looks. I know a lot of that is in code and that's necessary because of our software. Well, these charges right here are straight from I separated that out to the best of our ability. Now, there might be a couple that slip through, but they charge us also for each transaction that we have, right? So, you're absolutely correct. But also, the credit card company is charging us um overall per month for different rates for different type credit cards.

Discover costs a little bit more. Visa's a little bit less. master charge. You know, it just depends on the card. So, what I want is what I want them to come back if possible is just one flat fee that we know what we can budget for and what we're actually spending money on. And some of these expenditures were um if you look at your budget for next year, like chemicals for the plant, that was um increased for next year's budget. So hopefully we won't have to do all these amendments. You know, it's like um on um we'll use uh finance. Did we know that the dropbox outside for the mail was going to crumble? So I had to increase the maintenance on the building. There's things that we can't adjust for. You know, it's your best guess estimate at the time of a budget when you put it forward throughout the year as just like your house. You don't know if your um car is going to break down or you're going to get a flat tire. We try to adjust for those to the best of our ability, but you know, life happens in a city municipality just like it does in your household.

And the air conditioning went out here. That's correct. on the police leased vehicles that increased expenditure. How many can you tell me how much of that is allocated towards the school resource officers? Now those vehicles are swapped in and out to my um knowledge and the increase on those was the vehicles cost a little bit more in the aftermarket for the um lights and the decals on them. And we did receive um two new vehicles this year. They were budgeted for last year and we thought they were going to come in last year, but lo and behold, they came in this year. And we have

four of those vehicles that are with the school resource officers that were not reimbured for nine months out of the year. Correct. That's correct. But they pay for the salary for the officers for the officer for nine months. That's well we have so many vehicles.

That's correct. We've also, so you'll know, made sure that the school resource officers are driving the older vehicles on the new recently. Yes. So if you drove by, you know, prior, you might have seen a new vehicle out there, but recently I think um the city manager took care of that. And then on the emergency expenditure miscellaneous.

Okay. What that is is that's our um safe room grant. And when you approve the grant, I had to have somewhere to also allocate the expenditures when we reimburse the citizens when they built their safe room. But if you also look up in the general fund revenue increase um underneath, believe there's a line item there. I can't see it. Um Oh, state and local grants. That's 102,000. All that was covered in that. Um, all but we're still waiting on about uh maybe 6 9,000.

So 20,000 of it was already reimbursed. And that's a new light item for um revenue. So you can see when we receive those state and local grants come back in instead of in miscellaneous. Pamela, why does the pretty foundation expenses exceed the income? Because they carried over 10,000 from last year. Okay. I thought that's what it was. It's really hard to look at these numbers and tell.

I know. I know. And there's quite a few of them. I apologize for that. There's just a little bit here and there that um and to be honest with you I checked um September just a quick snapshot and bank rats aren't completed yet but I did enter the budget because I want to take a look where we are at and right now revenue on both funds are over expenditures. Okay. and it's looking pretty promised. But I will tell you after um I took a look at that when I put started putting this together, I used August financials, we had some pretty good size invoices come in. So I might have to come back with you with a small adjustment in some areas and credit card fees is one of them. Okay.

Okay. Any other questions for Pamela? I made note the fact that FEMA owes us about $800,000. It sure does, if not a little bit more. They have not reimbured us for the generators. Nope. And they've got a Nope. Independent accounting company that is questioning every dot, every te I mean everything. That's correct. Kirk has really gone through the grinder trying to get them release those funds and that will make it look a whole lot better after we get that.

Well, I took those funds and they're on a balance sheet as a receivable under restricted. So, when they do come, you won't see it much on your revenue and expenditures cuz I already accounted for those. Had to somehow otherwise these would not look as well as they are. But it does show you in expenditures when we do actually pay for the generators. All right, any other questions? If not, I would entertain a motion to accept the amendments. Post. Do I have a second? Second. Ashley. Scrolls. Hi, Walker. Hi, Truax. Hi, Shaw. Hi, Post.

Hi, Ashley. All right, where are we at now? Oh, now we're done. Public comments. I'm gonna only guess that by the number of people that are in our room, we have some public commenters. Pamela, would you like to go first? Sure.

Some of you may have seen this already, but since some people don't look at Facebook or whatever, um, I thought it would be best to go ahead and speak it to the assembly because you apparently have become the enemy of those in power. This is a message I received recently. And why? Because I tell the truth. Even if it's to someone in a position of power. Even to someone who thinks they can squash me like a bug. I have been here for 40 years. 40 years. You're happy that I'm here when you need me. You're happy when I volunteered year after year for Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Buoy, chicken and bread days, clear the shelter, banquetss, lunchons, parades, speeches at school assemblies, raffles, and all manner of public activities. Not just to enjoy, but to give my time, money, and work to serve beside you and make Buoie better. It appears there is a phone tree here in Buoie where a select group of top buoy citizens are connected apparently on a minute-by-minute basis to share and repeat the local gossip and slander me. I call this the buoy power click and shame on y'all. Whenever I have had a problem, I went to you personally and privately at your office or ask you to come here. Mostly you listened and ignored me. When you asked me to give you time and not go public, I kept all my promises. In return, you told me since I live outside the city limits and despite my business in town, I don't have a voice or a vote here. So, I don't really matter to you at all. In fact, you cursed that opinion to my face in public. I offered the use of my clinic for a campaign meet and greet to all the Buoie candidates in the November

election both by a public Facebook post on Buouie Texas citizens and then face to face. Only one candidate has accepted that offer so far. I am not now nor have I ever supported any of the candidates. I can't vote. If one person wants to take advantage of an open offer and another doesn't, that's not my fault or any of my doing at all. You, however, hit the phone tree and texted all manage of false accusations and innuendo against me. Why? To hurt my feelings or just to make yourselves feel better? Well, shame on you. Buoy deserves better. Be honest. Tell the truth, do the right thing, and stop the smear. Anybody else? Yes, ma'am.

Can you all hear me?

All right. My name is Danielle McCarti. I'd like to piggy back off of the Buouie, Texas citizens post that I saw and watched the video as I I have to collect my thoughts, as I watched that, I thought, okay, here is a per a citizen and a public employee, a government employee of this city yelling in the street. Private citizens that yell at government officials. Okay, maybe not their best moment. Government officials are held to a higher standard of ethics and conduct. I worked for the government for 20 years. This is a government. Correct. City of Buouie is a government. The city manager has the responsibility to have a higher level of ethics and behavior towards anybody. Doesn't matter if they're screaming at them. It doesn't matter. You are a government employee. I was thinking about buying a piece of property here. It was a business. But I have concerns. I have a lot of concerns. If I wanted to buy that piece of property or another piece of property, I would have to work with the city manager who

blatantly screamed very clearly, I don't give a Okay.

Yes. That is shocking. It's shocking for a private citizen to say that. Correct. But it's even more shocking when it is your city government doing that. I mean, do we really want to look like this town is in a Foot Loose movie? Come on. We need to get with it. No business is going to come here and and want to work with the city when that is what they get or that is what they may get. Let's say I want to have a business and I come to work with the city manager or any of y'all. But since it's the city manager that decided to use this language and that conduct in public, this is not in a private office. This is not this is in public. Thank you.

I'm sorry. That's your three minutes. That's my three minutes. Yes, ma'am. Okay. Well, I've said my piece and I really, really, really hope there was some kind of accountability from this city council to your employee. Thank you very much. Anybody else? Sorry, Lori, you'll be next. You want that one? No, you're already

I'm gonna make the same comment that I made on Facebook about it. Shame on you council members for allowing your city manager to speak to a taxpaying business owner in that tone. That is it. It is should never happen. We all know if we work for someone, if you were at your job and you done that, you would would not have a job. So that's my opinion. Lori, you wanted to go next? I'm just a little confused. All I've heard was um the Buoie, Texas citizens page mentioned. I I don't think that's ran by the city council. Is there so we mad at the city council or we mad at the Buoie Texas citizen page? I mean I could be wrong. two private citizens are the administrator of the three Texas citizen page. So I don't I'm confused on why we're directing our anger one way and then bringing up someone else's name.

I think the anger is directed at the conduct not the vehicle the conduct showing behavior. Okay. So then the buoy Texas citizen doesn't have anything to do with this. So that's just a where the recording was posted. Oh, well that is a I see. Okay. I was just confused. I just wanted that. Anybody else?

Yes, sir. go to a slightly different topic. My name is Gary Whistler. I own the property at 104 North Smite and I've been watching on a daily basis for the last couple months the construction that's going on on the street. And I'm amazed at the lack of super supervision of the contractor, the essentially non-existence of the engineering firm that's overseeing it. And if you compare the construction that's been done to the plans, there are numerous places where the construction deviates from the plan. Um, similar process I think happened on Nelson Street and we all know how much that project ran over time. Mr. Cunningham spoke recently about the Buoie comprehensive plan. In fact, we're fixing to go into a session hopefully to do other projects around this town. We need to make sure that whatever process we have in place for contracting and engineering does not run into the same issues. You've got a project coming up for Pillar Street. Again, the same thing. I was gr gratified to hear that you have reached out to a different engineering firm. The state of Texas on their community development block grant lists 33 different engineering firms that are certified by them to be capable of looking at projects. They also have 25 different management companies that are capable of doing the planning what have you. So, you know, we've got a lot of opportunity in this town to make it better, but we need to

make sure that use our very limited resources to the best of our advantage. Thank you. Thank you. Anybody else? All right.

Excuse me. Is that a edited video? Did anyone notice that was an edited video that was posted or did you see the whole video? Post the whole video. The whole video came off of my security camera and that was not edited. It was the the piece that was on my security camera. Okay. Anybody else? Well, if not, then I will attend the meeting tonight at 6:41. Thank you for your attendance.