City Council - Regular Meeting

You will not catch me. Are you ready for it? Are you ready? Good news.

Good deal. This is just

Got a twominute warning.

It's 6:00 and we're calling the January 20th regular city council meeting to order. And we do have a quorum present. And Howdy, would you give us our invitation? Thank you. Please join me in a moment of prayer. Gracious father, we take a moment and pause in the middle of a busy day and a busy season. Thank you for the health that you give us. Thank you for the freedom uh that you've provided to us. So may we never take them for granted and may we always carry the responsibility of these matters uh with sobriety. We pray for those that may not have the freedom. Thank you.

Joining us from uh East Texas A&M University is the assistant director of programming and civic engagement Juan Alipo. Coming up in March is the uh university's the big event which is a day of service in the community for university students to give back to comm community uh to commerce. Please come to the podium and lead us in the pledge and let us know more about the big event. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and [clears throat] to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. I aliance to the Texas one state under God one and indivisible.

Absolutely. First of all, I want to say thank you for having me uh allowing me to be here. Um like mentioned, my name is Juan Leva. I serve as the assistant director of programming and civic engagement for the office of student engagement at East Texas A&M University. Um wanted to come today to talk about the big event. The big event happening Saturday, March 28th is the biggest day of service from East Texas A&M University to the city of commerce. It's basically a a chance for our students and our university to say thank you to Commerce for allowing us to be here. The eight months out of the year that that um school is in session. Um last year we had over 300 students registered and volunteered, 27 different site locations within city limits. Um and these site locations are anything from basic house chores, painting, organizing, doing yard work, things like that. Basically anything that doesn't involve power tools. And our students are our volunteers that go and do that. Our students um get a training on what they're supposed to be doing, how to help our residents, and really while they're there connecting with the the city of commerce and uh being able to say thank you. Um we have a couple handouts that that were printed and that we brought. There's this QR code um that's on there. On the back side, there's also the full application. Um, grab a grab a couple handouts, give it to your neighbor, your friend, take one for yourself, and uh hopefully we're able to uh come back and uh do a huge impact for for the city of commerce. As a uh local being, uh raised in in the city of commerce, it's a big deal for me to be able to work at the university and give back to the city that helped raise me. Um so, I'd be more than happy to push that along and get students over to your neighbors, yourselves house, and give back. Thank you very much.

Thank you'all so much. Okay, now we have the uh consent agenda. You'll look at it and if you have any questions or concerns or issues, let us know. I move that we accept the minutes as uh presented. Second. I have a motion to sec to accept the consent agenda. All in favor say I. I.

All oppose? Nay. Motion carries. All right. Now we have the uh presentation to the city council by members of the public. This is to be conducted as close to 605 as possible with a threem minute limit per person. Um, public comments will cease at 6:20. This period is reserved for citizens to discuss items not on the listed agenda. The response to public comments will be limited to a statement of fact or policy, direction to take an item or an issue with a city uh staff member and an offer to place an item on a future council agenda. I have one card from Rob Forum. Would you come forward and state your name and where you live? Rob Ford, 1012 North Neil Street. Uh, happy new year to everybody. Hope everybody had a good holiday. Um, the card states about the reszoning for duplexes and multi-plex housing. Uh, driving on Washington Looks like another duplex is being built from the ground up. And uh when I spoke to the contractor, they had said that they had presented to y'all the council getting that reszoned to put that multiplex in there. Now, I've stated this before. I'm going say it again. I've had several meetings with Howdy and we've talked about some of these concerns and issues. If 60 to 65%

of [clears throat] our property owners are rentals and only 35% of the property owners are actually living on their property. It doesn't do well for the property owners for y'all to continue to allow somebody to come in and build multi-ousing in a residential area because what's going to happen it's going to affect right now everybody's housing went up u property tax evaluations but as these multiplex and duplexes come into these residential areas is our property value is going to go down and that's not fair. It's not I again I said this once before y'all represent us. So when I express this and someone comes to y'all presenting, oh I want to be. You need to say no. Don't sit. It doesn't it's not about the letters that y'all send out for the other residents. Y'all make that final decision. And I'm asking y'all cuz I know on the other side of Culver, if if somebody came in, y'all probably wouldn't allow them to build it over there. It seems to be always on this side, always at the college. And you know what? The college may need housing, but it's not the city's responsibility to provide that housing for the college. It's the college responsibility. And as y'all make those decisions, it's going to hurt us, the property owners. So, I'm asking y'all, next time someone comes, give it a little more consideration. Think about the people that y'all represent. Because

building that duplex over there on 1811 Washington, what's the gain for the city? The utilities, that's it. Because the property owner, the ones that written it out, he's still going to have to pay the taxes and everything. So, thank y'all for listening. Please, I'm not a bad guy. I'm very passionate about these things. I moved here for a reason and I would hope that y'all would respect that and want the same possible things that we want. Thank you, M.

Okay. Uh we'll move on to our next item which is the council comments. This is pursuant to Texas local government code 551- or 0415B. The purpose of this is to uh sections to allow the mayor and each city council member the opportunity to announce city events uh community interest and uh request for items to be placed on the city council agendas. Mr. Henry.

Yes. uh clue was New Year's Day. I was riding down uh Monroe and city crew was out working on New Year's Day. And uh I just want to give kudos to those guys. You know, on New Year's Day, you could be upset that you're working it. I waved at them. They waved. They smiled. They were getting things done so we could have what we need, water. [snorts] So just kudos to those guys and just thanks to staff for

I just want to say um not as in official capacity from the movie set of course the movie's been filming the past couple of days and uh the people of commerce have showed up for that and they've uh just em embraced the movie crew but the movie crew has also embraced the city as well and uh I just want to thank those of you who have come out to the set or been an extra whatever Thank you so much for that and uh hopefully we'll see you come out um for more extra opportunities. Oh, I don't have anything. Thank you. Daniel took mine. Sorry. And I have nothing.

Okay. All right. Item uh number seven, resolution accepting a land donation to the city of commerce from Hunt Regional. This is a discussion and possible action on a resolution by the city council of the city of commerce, Texas, accepting a land donation for the property located at 2900 Sterling Hard Drive to the city of Commerce, Texas from Hunt Regional Hospital District. Authorizing a land donation agreement and general warranty deed for property the said property and authorizing the city manager to execute any necessary documentation and providing for an uh an effective date. Howdy Lizenb city manager

mayor council thank you for the opportunity to present this. Uh I think most of the the the the residents of Commerce remember uh the old hospital site uh where the Commerce Hospital used to be located uh along Sterling Heart in the curve there. And um at some point 2017ish um that hospital was closed and demolished. Uh and then sometime after that, Hunt Regional uh constructed their facility out on Highway 24. And so the hospital district has retained ownership of that vacant property. Uh and so it's a vacant lot. Uh there is an unused radio tower and then there's a small uh metal building on the corner of Sterling Heart and Charity uh that they use for some operations and they'll ultimately close those operations. So it's been vacant for a little while. Um within the city's uh comprehensive plan and included in that is our parks master plan. Uh there was conversation about uh adding to the park system uh and adding some outdoor uh fitness locations and then the comprehensive plan also talks about other types of development and housing needs that are definitely needed within the community. Uh and with this property being held by the hospital district, there was really no development potential for that lot. I had talked with the hospital CEO, Mr. bowls [snorts] a couple times over the past three years about the potential of partnering with them to do something on that lot to benefit the community. Um, and then uh recently Mr. BS uh approached the city with the idea of of donating that land uh so that the city would own it and could do with it as we needed to. And so last month the hospital board took action and authorized uh Mr. balls to uh negotiate with the city and and gift that land uh to us. And so we had our attorneys draft the uh the agreement and the deed and

we've presented that to the hospital. They've not had any comments back and so we're just asking approval of the resolution uh that allows me to negotiate the final details. Um but at this point the hospital is gifting that land uh to the city uh for us to use in whatever best uh serves our community. [snorts] All right. Approximately five acres. Anybody have any questions? Did that donation also include the radio tower as well? Includes the radio tower and it includes that metal building there on the corner. [snorts] Any other questions?

Do I have a motion? Motion we adopt the resolution accepting land donation for the property located at 29 Hun00 Sterling Heart Drive in Commerce. Second. I have a motion and accept uh in a second to accept the land donation um from Hunt Regional. All in favor say I.

All oppose? Nay. Motion carries. Item number eight is [clears throat] discussion and consideration of authorization for the city of commerce to issue requests for proposals for administrative services or an RFP and request for qualifications or an RFQ for engineering services for the 2026 downtown revitalization and main street programs administered through the Texas Department of Agriculture and authorizing the city manager or his designate to execute any necessary documentation. Mr. Lisby,

mayor, council, thank you. Uh, as part of the city's downtown master plan that was adopted, uh, there are a number of improvements into our downtown district that are, uh, planned and anticipated to, uh, improve both the appearance and the functionality of our downtown area. Then after that, uh, the city council put a strategic plan together. And one of the uh proposals of the strategic plan uh is looking for other sources of revenue to include grants. And so the Texas Department of Agriculture has a number of grants uh that would be beneficial to us. Uh but this one specifically is the downtown revitalization grant. Uh we are not a main street community. So there's Main Street grants that don't apply to us and then there's downtown revitalization. So we will be looking at the revitalization grants. Uh and so because there's state funding involved, uh there's a very clear sequence of events and you've got to follow their process and so it requires a grant administrator and so we have to do an RFP to have a fair competition to select a grant administrator. Last year we went through this process and used Grant Works. Grant Works, thank you for being here. Um, and so we would like to do another RFP, uh, which we'll have more firms submit and we'll make a selection through the RFP process. And then you also have to have an engineer or design team uh, on the project. And so they have to be selected through an open and fair uh, competition based on qualifications. And so this is the first step in us preparing a grant application. I believe the grant's due in March uh, for phase one. Uh then those communities that submit phase one, they have an initial scoring. Uh if you score well enough, you get invited to phase two. Uh and so this just starts the process uh with the council authorizing us to issue the RFP and the RFQ. Uh this year, uh we're looking to

do a grant application specifically for the farmers market pavilion and the downtown bathrooms that are in the downtown master plan. Uh those are identified as eligible projects uh within this grant. The grant can be up to a million dollars. Um, and uh, you can go up to a 5% match to get the maximum points for that. So, if we get a million- dollar grant, our match would be 50,000. Uh, we have funding dedicated for the downtown improvements and so we have funding uh, that can cover that match. So, I'll be happy to answer any questions. Anyone have any questions? Mr. Lisby, [snorts] and thank you. You answered my question was the was the matching funds. Yeah. Thank you.

All right. Anybody else? Do I have a motion? I know that we authorize the city to issue the request for the grant and the RFP and RFQ for the 2026 downtown station. Long day. Yeah. Second. All right. I have a motion and a second for to issue an RFP. RFQ for engineering services related to downtown revitalization. All in favor say I. I. All oppose. Nay. Motion carries.

All right. Item number nine. U. This will be a first and only reading of calling for the May uh 2nd 2026 general and special election. This is a discussion and possible action on an ordinance calling for the May 202 May 2nd, 2026 general election for the purpose of electing two city [snorts] council members to place one and place three and for a full three-year term, which would be May of 2026 through May of 2029 and calling the May 2nd, 2026 special election for the purpose of electing a mayor, to the city council for a two-year unexpired term of May 26. 6, 2026 through May 2028. Um, Molly Jacobson, assistant city manager, community services. Good evening, mayor, city council, city manager, and citizens of commerce. Consistent with the city's charter, the governing body, or in this case, our city council is to call uh an election for the uniform election date, which will take place on the first Saturday in May, which this year is May 2nd of 2026. the [snorts] uh governing body has to call that election by February 13th. And so um this ordinance is you all calling not just the general election which is consistent with the charter this year for the general election is place one and place three currently held by incumbent Anthony Henry and Mr. Daniel Starks place one and place three. So that's your general election. Due to the vacancy that occurred in the position of mayor after about a year into his term, we will also be calling a special election to run concurrently with the general election. So all of the dates for the general election will be the same for the special election, but it's for the remainder of the mayor's unexpired term, which will run from May of 26 through May of 28. Place one and place three will be May of 26 through

May of 2029. A couple dates I want to point out to you. Um, if anybody is interested in filing for one of those three places on the ballot, you have to file between the dates of January 13th. So, it opened on Wednesday, January 13th at 8 a.m. And the filing deadline is Friday, February 13th. And so, Friday, February 13th at 5:00 p.m. is the last date and time to file for a place on the ballot for the May 2026 general election. [snorts]

A couple other important dates to note is in the event um that one of the candidates on the ballot doesn't receive a majority of the votes. So reminder, we elect council members by a majority, not a plurality vote. If one of those people does not receive a majority of the vote, then the runoff election will be Saturday, June 13th. City Hall will be a polling place for early voting for [snorts] the May election. Some people confuse that with the March primaries. We are not a polling place for the early voting for March primaries. We are a polling place for March primary election day, which is March 3rd. We are a polling place for the May early voting. That will begin Monday, April 20th, and run through that Friday, April 24th. So, you can early vote here for the May election. And the following Monday and Tuesday, April 27th and 28th. The 28th of April will be the last day of early voting. And then we will be a polling place for election day on that Saturday, May 2nd from 7:00 a.m. to 7 p.m. That's a lot of information. It is all available on our website. We're pushing all of that information out on social media to keep everybody informed when the last day to register to vote is, when the last day of the filing period is, and when we'll be hosting early voting. So, this ordinance approves the calling of that general and special election. And I'm happy to take any questions if you have them. Does anybody have any questions? [clears throat]

Do I have a motion? Motion that we pass on the first and only reading. Second. Have a motion and a second to call the May 2nd, 2026 general and special election. All in favor say I. I. All oppose? Nay. Motion carries. Mayor, we are pulling item number 10. Uh that that action is no longer necessary.

All right. And we will move on to number 11. This will be uh a second reading for a conditional use permit to allow for the bar, lounge, or tavern at 1205 Main Street, uh Commerce, Texas, 75428. We will be conducting a public hearing and discussion and possible action on an ordinance authorizing a request for an uh by applicant Mr. Conquer for um bar club property or for conditional use property to allow for a bar lodge or tavern for the property located at 1205 Main Street, Commerce, Texas. Property ID 54143. Legal description S4380 original town of commerce block 3 lot 2 acres.0992 CD or corridor district and I guess you will get to do this since Mr.

Har Mr. Harper got ill at the end of the day or in the middle of the day and we didn't want him sharing it with everybody. So, we asked him to go ahead and go on home. Uh, and I told him that I would fumble through uh presenting both of these items. Uh, within the city's uh zoning ordinances, it establishes uh different geographical zones or districts within the community. And within each of those geographic zones, there are development regulations that allow property owners by right to do certain things. Uh then there are certain things that are not allowed in those zones because they're incompatible with the other uses. And then there are some land uses that can be allowed with conditions. Uh and that requires what's called a conditional use permit. And so again, the intent of the zoning regulations is to make sure that land use is consistent and complimentary within geographic areas. Uh and so for our corridor district, which is includes downtown, live oak, um there are mostly retail and commercial uses that are allowed. Issues like bar or tavern uh is allowed, but the council is allowed to place conditions on that use so that it's consistent and complimentary. Uh downtown commerce has been home to a number of bars over the years. Uh and so this is not a new use. It's actually a continuation of the pre previous use of that building with a new owner and a new name. Uh but since the ownership changed, it did require a new conditional use permit. This went through the hearing process uh and was recommended for approval. Uh it came to the council last month for the first reading. uh council did approve it and so we're bringing it for the second reading. Uh we recommend a public hearing and staff does recommend approval of this grant. Okay, we have a public uh hearing and we

will open that at 6:25. If you have any questions or comments, come to the podium. Seeing We're hearing none. I close the public hearing at 6:25. All right. Does anybody have any more questions or anything for this? May I have a motion? I move that we approve the conditional use permit for RD club. Second. Second. On second [snorts] reading.

Okay. I have a motion and a second on the second reading for um the conditional use permit to allow for a bar, lodge, or tavern at 1205 Main Street, Commerce, Texas. All in favor say I.

I. All oppose, nay. Motion carries. All right. Number 12, we have this is a second reading on a reszone request by Mr. for share for property ID number 386000 and property ID number 3861. This is a uh we're going to be conducting a public hearing and we're going to discuss and possible action or ordinance authorizing request by uh applicant Mr. Basher for 38600 legal description A1258 Julian JD track 11 acres 11.405 405 property 38601 legal description A 1258 Julian JD track 11-1 acres 17.55 also known as 2066 Wolf City Drive Commerce Texas from I Industrial District to PD Plan Development District.

Mayor, thank you again. Uh and so as I stated before, uh throughout our community, uh there are geographic zones that have been designated uh through a series of hearings and processes by the planning and zoning commission uh and the elected city council. And with each of those within those zones, there are land uses that are allowed by right. There are uses that are disallowed, and then there are some uses that are conditionally allowed. Uh and so these two properties are currently zoned as industrial. And so uh there are uh a more narrow type of uses that are allowed in an industrial zone. And so the developer has a plan uh with a number of different uses that they would like to incorporate all within this common lot. Uh and so rather than reszoning this large tract of land into several different types of zones, uh there is a mechanism called a planned development district. Uh and through a plan development district or a PDD, they can submit a set of development plans and standards in which they want to lay on top of the existing industrial zoning so that there is mixture of uses and different things that they're proposing and allowed to do. [snorts] Uh this resoning to plan development district uh did go through uh the appropriate number of notifications and hearings with the planning and zoning commission uh and has now been through one reading before the city council. Uh staff is recommending a second public hearing. The developer is here if they would like to address the council. Uh and then staff is recommending uh approval of this plan development district.

Okay. Anybody have any questions before we open it up? All right. We do need to conduct a public hearing. We'll open the public hearing at 6:29. Does anybody have any questions or comments? Sure. Come on up. Um good evening, mayor, council, citizens, and members. Uh thank you for being here tonight and thank you for giving me this opportunity to come and address you. Uh the my name is Shijahad Basher. Um I reside at 6923 DO in Irving, Texas. Uh and I'm representing Commerce Texas um Developers LLC. Tonight uh we're proposing a thoughtfully planned project um that aligns with the city's growth plans uh and it brings long-term economic benefit to the city. We have worked closely with the staff, the engineers and consultants uh to understand the infrastructure impacts that this project is going to have. Uh and we're committed to developing this responsibly um and be a long-term partner for the city. So um we respectfully ask for your support and if there are additional questions from the citizens or members, I'm happy to answer.

Anybody have anything? [snorts] Thank you very much. There any other comments from the public? I close the public hearing at 6:30. There any other questions or comments? Do I have a motion? I move to approve the request raise application for property ID 38600 from industrial district to plan development district. Second. That's 600 and 601. Yeah. And 601. Thank you.

All right. So, I have a motion and a second to reszone um property ID 38600 and 38601. All in favor say I. I. All oppose? Nay. Motion carries. City manager report.

Mayor, thank you. Uh Mr. Ford, thank you for uh the comments that you provided earlier. Um, as it's just kind of a statement of policy, there are a number of zones around our community in which property owners are allowed to do something by right. Um, and so the property specifically in question on Washington Street is located within a zoning district that we classify as A2, uh, which is anticipated for multif family zoning. Uh and so uh this project was consistent with the development standards within that A2 zone. Um where we sometimes get in trouble is when those requests are made in residential zones like R seven, R10, R16. Uh and so there's some conditions that may be placed. Um but duplexes and multiplexes within the multif family zones generally are consistent with uh the development that was anticipated in the city's previous comprehensive plan. I'll remind everybody we just went through a 12-month process where we adopted a new updated comprehensive plan uh that has a new future land use map uh and the comprehensive plan anticipates uh types of development within different areas of town. uh but a comprehensive plan is not enforcable as a zoning mechanism. And so our next step is then to review the current zoning uh ordinances and the zoning map and make sure that it is adjusted and consistent with the future land use plan as was put together by the community through that process. So we will be looking at new zoning maps and new zoning standards consistent with that change in the comprehensive plan. And some of these conversations will be back uh in front of planning and zoning and in front of the council. Uh as we look at uh placement and location of duplexes and multi-unit developments, there's also going to be conversation

about tiny homes uh tiny home development uh and sizing standards. So there's a lot of conversations to come about the future development and the development standards of our community. But ultimately the intention is so that geographic areas are consistent and compatible in how they are developed. Uh so that you avoid uh a residential home next to a meat packing plant. Those uses are not consistent and compatible. And so there are land use regulations to try to avoid those conflicts upfront if possible. So there's a lot of future conversation coming uh about our specific zoning regulations and how they're applied uh in light of our comprehensive plan. Uh, and so with that, I will invite Miss Jamie uh for our finance update.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. So, um, I know I don't have a property tax update or a sales tax update for you just yet. Uh today was our final meeting and our final I'm going to say go ahead sign off process for doing the uh conversion for all of our financials from our previous uh platform to our new platform. And we also have the auditors that are here this week. Um so you'll have to give me a little bit of grace. I just wasn't able to get you your property tax or your sales tax, but I do anticipate to be back on track by the end of um this month. So um I do have for you though our quarterly investment report. So if you remember in uh towards the end of our fiscal year of 25 we opened up three new investment funds. Um one of them is directly related to a reserve account. um that reserve account was created um on our fund balance um policy which looks at 25% of our expenses should be held um in reserves. Um thankfully we have a healthier fund balance than that but I did take about 25% uh which was close to $2 million and um invested it um in our logic pool. Um, we have over the last 3 months gotten $20,000 in interest. Um, and so the other two accounts are directly related to the most recent bond issuances that we've done. Um, and so one is directly related to our INS portion and our projects related to the INS and then our projects related to water and sewer. What you will see is that we have had some withdrawals and what this is is as

we start completing projects and um start I'm sorry not completing starting projects and we start um making payments. What I'm doing is at the end of the quarter I am tallying up all the payments that we have made to our vendors on those projects and then I transfer those funds out of the investment back into our clearing account to cover um we have a very healthy clearing account but to cover those checks and to kind of reimburse us for those. Um the goal here is that we are getting interest and earning interest on these bond issuances that help us pay the interest on the bonds if that makes sense. And so we have a we have a very healthy interest rate on our uh regular clearing account, but that interest rate is matched and at times higher um in these investments accounts. And that's why we decided to do this. Um when we go through our next issuance, uh we'll be re-evaluating again and it is very likely that we will issue two more investments when it's time for us to do our 2026 bonds. Um if you have any questions, let me know. Otherwise, this is where we stand. One other update I want to give you guys when it comes time to um our [snorts] uh conversion. We are on starting phase two of the conversion moving of financial systems and that phase two consists of all of our utility billing and all of our cashiering. So cashiering is what you would anticipate. You go to the front desk, you make all of your payments. That's cashiering. So it's time for us now to start gearing up to make that transfer over. So um starting next week, we will close the utility

window so that uh Miss Rita and Miss Stacy can spend a lot of time getting [clears throat] a lot of training on utility billing and on cashiering on what the new modules will look like. Um we are scheduled to be live in the new modules in February. So all of this training we have um closed window training next week. Um that doesn't mean that we won't take your payment. Of course we'll take your payment if you need an extension. We're still here. Um we still have Miss Judy at the front desk that's going to assist us. I don't want you to think that we're closed off and we're not here to help you guys. It's just so that the girls can focus as much time as they can because this is going to be a new system for them. And so I want them to have all the tools necessary to keep helping our citizens through the transition. Um the second week of training, originally we had planned on closing the window. Um, but after talking to I guess I don't know what her title is, but our trainer, um, she said that second week is really just kind of jumping in when they have questions, that kind of thing. So, there's not really a need for us to close the window. So, we've shortened that window close time by a week. Um, please let me know if you have any questions. Payments are still available online at the kiosk, dropping off, mailing in All those are still available and we'll still be here for extenduating circumstances. Sorry, I know I'm shivering. I'm freezing up here. [laughter]

It is cold. Thank you. Feel

good evening again. I have a few upcoming events for you. Currently, our youth registration for baseball and softball is going on. While this season doesn't start until about March, registration is going on from now through February 9th. You can register the kiddos by stopping here at city hall or visiting commerce recreation.com or scan the QR code. It'll take you directly to the site to get the kiddos registered before the deadline. We are taking registration for kiddos age three for weeball all the way up through age 14, boys and girls.

I would like to point out that this season we will have what we call field number three uh construction completed at the Edmore complex. Uh it has been a number of years since we've been able to offer 12U baseball or 14U baseball and that field will be constructed and completed and available. So, we're hoping to resurrect uh baseball for the 12U and 14U groups. Uh so, if you have children in that age group that want to play baseball, we will be ready to make that happen. [snorts] And I know I mentioned this, but I'm going to mention it again. Uh the filing period to run for a place on the ballot for the May 2nd, 2026 election began January 14th and runs through February 13th. As a reminder, the three positions on the ballot are place one, place three, and the mayor. The mayor for a two-year unexpired term, place one, and place three for a three-year term. Again, all of this information is available on our website at commercex.org. You can go to the city secretar's page. There's a link to elections and voting. It has everything you would need to know if you wanted to run or just to be an informed voter. Um, it points you to websites to make sure your voter registration status is current so that you can also vote in the election. With uh impending weather uh expected to impact our area this coming weekend, we are pushing out reminders to everybody that the city transitioned about two years ago from Hyper Reach or excuse me from Iris to Hyper Reach. So we are now with a system called Hyper Reach. Um, and you can use that QR code. we have them posted on the door to sign up to get alerts. Um there are some ways in which you can automatically be entered into it and so that may apply to you. But if you don't want to receive phone calls and you'd rather receive texts, you can go in and manage your account to make sure you're receiving alerts in the best way that makes sense for you and your household. Um for those who are

less techsavvy, if you have family members, please check in on them uh with the weather this weekend. If you have elderly neighbors, um check in. um follow us on social media. We'll be posting alerts as best we can, but if there any if anything happens um of course we hope it doesn't, but if anything happens related to water or power or gas or anything like that, that's the way in which we reach our residents to provide updates. So, please make sure you're signed up to receive those alerts um and then following us on social media. I mentioned last month that we uh issued our 2025 [clears throat] 2026 clean commerce campaign. So our next pickup date would be at the end of January for section B. So that'll be the last Wednesday of the month. You can start putting bulk trash curbside the weekend before, as early as the weekend before for pickup by that Wednesday. Um we used to mail these out, which was uh an exorbitant cost in the in the past. So now we have them up here at city hall. If you would like a physical copy to hang on your fridge, you're certainly welcome to come get them. We have them in English and Spanish. Uh we brought some extras that are up here at the table if you'd like to grab one before you leave. Um but in order to save some paper, we share them also to social media in advance of all of these pickup dates. So you can pick one up or you can find it on uh our website and also on social media so you know what section. The back of it has the map so you know what section you're in. Um, you're always welcome to call and we can help let you know what section you're in as well. And that's all I have.

Thank you, Molly. Um, just a matter of project updates. Uh, we've continued to make progress out at the Commerce uh, airport. Uh, our airport is a general aviation airport, so it's managed by Texot Aviation. Uh, and so, as you know, we completed the fuel farm project a number of months ago. Uh and then Texot came in and resurfaced uh the runway. Uh so the runway has been the maintenance that they do on the runway has been completed. Uh they've repainted the markings on there. Uh and so they just recently completed that project. Is that 9010 that the textile? No. Close.

We only had to do 50,000. We we matched $50,000 and then all the rest of the cost uh textile aviation covered uh through their program and so uh that is back open uh and much better condition than it was for for pilots. Our next project is going to be uh an AWAS system, AWOS, automated weather observation system. Currently, when pilots fly into Commerce Airport, if they want weather updates, they have to get it from either Greenville or Sulfur Springs. Well, as many of you know, wind and weather conditions in Greenville may be different than wind conditions in Commerce or Sulfur Springs. Uh, and so this project will allow us to provide um weather updates uh to pilots as they're flying into our airport, which improves safety, and there is some text funding available to support that project as well. So, as we get further along the road, we'll give you updates on on that process. Uh, and then finally, the city annex building. Uh, we had planned to do the interior demolition on that, but with the movie production coming, uh, we knew they were going to need some of that space. And so, their housing and some of their activities uh, in that bank building. So, we're getting lots of questions. What's going on at the bank building? A movie. [laughter] Uh and so uh as they complete and move out uh then we'll start the demolition so that we can remodel that uh into a a true community center. And then finally uh Chief Basma and I are meeting with some local pastors. I think the mayor's going to join us uh to discuss warming centers. Uh we get lots of questions in advance of severe winter weather about whether there are warming centers available. The city currently doesn't have a facility that's adequate for a warming center. So, we partner with our local church congregations. And so, we're going to meet with some pastors, develop a plan, and then we'll make some announcements uh once we've got a plan coming out of that about warming

locations for this severe uh winter weather. Uh that's all I have, mayor. Okay. We do have a need for executive session and in accordance with the Texas Government Code section 551.001, um the city council will need to recess into executive session. Do I have a motion? Do I have a second? Second. I have a motion and a second to executive session as of 6:47.