City Council - Regular Meeting

Well, good morning everyone and welcome to city council chambers. Miss Prime, we're ready to go to work. Good morning, mayor, and good morning everyone. Welcome to the presentation of the mayor's proclamations. We begin this morning with the pledge of allegiance.

Okay, we're going to ask the uh El Paso Police Department to give us a hand. Okay, Miss Bryan.

That brings us to the first proclamation. For those of you receiving a proclamation this morning, your group will have up to four minutes collectively to come to the podium and accept the proclamation. The first proclamation is Freeway Lady Kegler's International Friendship Bowling Tournament. Okay, represent Fiero.

Mayor, thank you for the opportunity to read this this morning. Ladies, welcome. Whereas the city of El Paso is proud of its strong and enduring relationship with the United States Armed Forces anchored by its presence of Fort Bliss and many service members and veterans who call our s our city home. Whereas Armed Force Day provides an opportunity to honor the courageous men and women who served in all branches of the United States military, recognizing their dedication, sacrifice, and commitment to protecting our nation. And whereas the freeway lady keglers I had to practice that mayor bowling club established in 1994 has selected Oasis bowling lanes on saragosa road in the city of El Paso as its hold site for their 10th annual international friendship bowling tournament. Whereas this tournament held in conjunction with the armed forces day reflects a deep patriotic spirit by bringing together the enjoyment of international sports with the heartfelt appreciation of our military community. And whereas this event welcomes participants and visitors from across the region including New Mexico, Mexico, while showcasing the sun del Paso rich culture, strong sense of community and steadfast support for those who served. Now therefore, be it proclaimed by the mayor and council of the city of El Paso recognizing and welcoming the Freeway Lady Keglers International Friendship Bowling Tournament of our city. Furthermore, the city of El Paso commends the organizers for their tribute to the armed forces day and encourage all residents to celebrate and support the special event on May 16th at Freeway Lane. Now, May 16th shall be known as Free Freeway Lady Kegler's International Friendship Bowling Tournament, honoring Armed Forces Day and the city in El

Paso's military community. Signed, the Honorable Mayor Renard Johnson. Welcome, ladies. Good morning.

Good morning, Mayor Johnson and representatives of city council. My name is Nancy Peters and I'm so honored that we could be here today to receive this proclamation. I am an Army veteran, a very proud Army veteran. Um when we decided to um host our tournament at Oasis, we did not realize at that time that it was actually falling on Armed Forces Day. And what a perfect day to honor both our armed forces and our bowling um our traditional bowling. Um our tournament is going to be very patriotic in its theme. We have um the American Legion is going to be having our P MIA table there. We have the an active duty soldier singing the national anthem and an all female color guard made up of veterans which will be posting the colors. Our theme throughout the whole tournament is patriotic and we are even wearing the logo of our um the patriotic our veteran capital of the United States. Um at this time I would like to introduce our our cap our president of our organization and she's going to tell you a special thing we're going to be doing at our tournament. But thank you so much for this proclamation. We do appreciate it very much.

Got it. Good morning. Thank you. I'm Gigi. I'm president of the freeway lady gagglers. On Saturday when we're hosting our tournament, we will have a lot of the veteran services out there to explain to anybody that comes in and offer their services. And we will also be putting up a wall of honor with family members that have been in the service to honor everybody there. We'd like to invite you all to come down and see the wall of honor and and see what we're putting on. Very good. Thank you.

Thank you. Um if I might add, I did forget. Um we do have multiple veteran service organizations that will have tables at our event. So please, the VFW, American Legion, um Women Veterans Group. So there'll be information and we're rich in in our military history here. So we want this to be not just a fun bowling event, very competitive bowling event, but a very um informational event as well for our community. So come on out, enjoy Armed Forces Day and help us celebrate. Thank you. You got it. Thank you, Nancy. You're welcome. Represent Fiero.

Thank you, Mayor. You know, ladies, first and foremost, thank you all for your service and for everything you've done to allow us to be here in in in this the freedom and here in the United States. So, we can never thank you enough for that. But secondly, I don't know if you realize this, but um this bowling alley is in district six, which is a very fine district. And let me I may add the heart of the of our city, but it's also there was a survey that's conducted every year and one of the things that came out was District 6 is a friendliest in the city. So So welcome to District 6. Oh my god. Well, Nancy, there's some there's some other ladies there with you. Do they want to introduce themselves? Good morning.

Good morning. My name is Carmen Antunes. Good morning. My name is Tracy Gunther. Good morning. My name is Melody Sanchez. Good morning. My name is Margie Esparsa. Good morning. Well, I got some questions about the tournament. Okay. So, it's the 10th annual. When does it start? What time?

Um, our tournament will begin actually the registration for our ladies. This being an international tournament, um, we rotate the tournaments throughout the different centers um, in the southwest. So, it's made up of teams from Wades, um, New Mexico, and from El Paso. Um, our tournament starts at 8 o'clock, registration, um, at Oasis and the ladies will come in and start checking in. Um, it's very competitive, so we have brackets where they actually pay money to see if they compete against each other on the side. Um, then we'll have coffee and pastries, and that's where our veteran service organizations will have tables set up, provide information, and if there are any other VSOs out there that still want a table, there's room, so come see me. Um, at 8:30, we'll have our opening ceremonies. Um that's when we'll have the posting of the colors with our all all female veteran color guard. Um headed up by Eloisa Cox. Um very involved um retired veteran here in our community. Um the singing of the national anthem will be headed up by Miss uh Canina Niles. She's an active duty specialist at Fort Bliss. And then we have our PMIA table by the um American Legion out of Horizon City. our practice will start actually our district rep um for from the county will be presenting us with a resolution from your same area. Um so she'll be coming out um Miss Oen and um so we'll be having her there and we'd encourage you all to join us. Um we serve we have six games our ladies bowl six games to start the top bowlers in each area of each qualifying division move forward. So there's 40 ladies that will move forward to the semifinals. then the top 20, then the top 10, and then the top of each division. It's a long day. There could be a number of nine games bold. Um, so then there's trophies. And this year, our team has chosen to have very patriotic trophies. They're purposeful trophies, but they're all very patriotic in nature. So, from what from the beginning to the end, it's a very patriotic theme. Um, we're just tickled

about it. in the wall of honor that Miss Gigi, our president, decided to to do all of our our veterans that our our veteran bowlers and their family members, our pictures are going to be displayed. So, it's just it's just an allaround patriotic um emotional day because a lot of them are gone. Yeah. Um but, uh being being a drill sergeant, my picture will be up there, too. But, um but anyways, so that kind of gives you a rundown, but it's a it's a long day. Um but a fun day and but very competitive. These ladies are very competitive bowlers. Oh my god. So that that keeps keeps me and Art out of the competition. The bowling starts at 9:00. Yes.

Very good. Very good. So, and it's truly international. You have folks coming from Wades and Correct. Where else do they come from around the region? There's teams from New Mexico, from Alamagord, Las Cusus. Um, it just depends on if they have enough teams put together. But, um, it's it's that's why it's international because they come from Watson. Very good. And you guys were established in 1994. Our team, our our club was the Freeway Lady Keglers. The Freeway lanes has been gone for quite some time, but we keep the tradition and that's I love it. We're still freeway.

I love it. Well, congratulations and again, thank you for all that you do for the military community and congratulations on your event and maybe we'll come out and see how you guys can throw the first ball, Mayor. That might be a little embarrassing. Yeah, I need I'll need the bumpers for sure. But thank you guys and congratulations.

Thank you. All right.

And the next proclamation is 20th anniversary of the medical center of the Americas foundation. represent Basto.

Thank you, Mayor. I have the honor of reading this proclamation. I can't believe it's 20 years. The MCA is so important and I'm lucky to have it in my district. So, I'll read the proclamation and then we'll hear from uh MCA leadership. Proclamation, City of El Paso, Texas. Whereas proud members of the Medical Center of the Americas Foundation community in El Paso are gathering to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of this impactful organization. And whereas the MCA found founded in 2006 exists to ensure that the healthc care needs of the Basa North region are met by fostering the growth of a robust life sciences ecosystem, advancing healthcare education and workforce training and supporting the commercialization of biomedical research and innovation. And whereas originally headquartered in downtown El Paso, where they were working towards building a campus incorporated into the city of El Paso's comprehensive plan, they envisioned a healthc care center of excellence in the heart of the city. A home to a medical university, teaching hospitals, community clinics, and biotech research parks, a life science hub that would provide advanced quality healthc care, train medical professionals, and create skill, high-skll, highwage jobs. And whereas the MCA's vision was recognized as a 440 acre medical and biotechnology campus in South Central El Paso, nestled between the Rio Grand in the Franklin Mountains, and is now home to institutions such as Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso University Medical Center of El Paso, El Paso Children's Hospital, UT Health, Houston School of Public Health, the VA Wellness Center, the Cardwell Collaborative, and numerous state, county, and city organizations. s dedicated to advancing health. And whereas the MCA collaborations and relationships within the region are strong, lasting, and rooted in the many shared accomplishments in the community. MCA's leadership through its clinical trials program. The innovation center named for the Melinda and Meer Marcus

Foundation STEM Innovation Lab and Infrastructure Developments current and planned on the MCA campus formed the core programs in developing the community's medical center along with its campus partners. And whereas the medical center of the Americas Foundation headquartered in the Cardwell Collaborative is an integral part of the MCA campus connecting with the university's businesses and entrepreneurs across the Paso Norte region and beyond with the shared vision of healthcare innovation and economic prosperity. And whereas the Medical Center of the Americas Foundation has demonstrated a sustained commitment to strengthening the local economy by fostering innovation, cultivating talent, and supporting a vibrant life sciences focused campus. And whereas its initiatives have strengthened the local ecosystem, increased access to quality healthcare, and enhanced the city's position as a hub for innovation and investment. Now therefore be it proclaimed by the mayor and council of the city of El Paso recognizing and commending the medical center of the Americas Foundation for its vision, leadership, and transformative impact on the city of El Paso's economic future and community well-being. Signed, the Honorable Mayor Renard Johnson.

Good morning.

Good morning, Mayor. Good morning, city council. My name is Carlos Ortega and I'm the president and CEO CEO of the Medical Center of the Americas Foundation. On behalf of the Medical Center of the Americas Foundation, we are sincerely honored and grateful to stand here today and receive this official proclamation recognizing MCA's 20th anniversary. It is a very meaningful affirmation of the economic development work MCA has pursued in contributing to the development of a medical center in our community and catalyzing the life sciences ecosystem in our region bringing together health care, medical education, research and innovation to improve the lives and our standard of living. Over the past 20 years, what began as a bold vision to create a center of excellence for healthc care and life sciences has come to life through MCA's programs. Today, the MCA Medical Center campus stands as a powerful example of what collaborations innovation and commitment can achieve with the city's partnership and collaboration with our campus partners, Texas Tech Health, UT Houston Health, University Medical Center, El Paso Children's Hospital, and the Veterans Administration. We are especially grateful for the city's trust in the MCA as a beneficiary of the impact fund grant. This investment has not only strengthened our capacity to serve, but has amplified our impact, creating opportunities, advancing economic development, and fostering innovation throughout the community. This proclamation recognizes not just the organization but the collective efforts of MCA staff, its board, partners, donors, and countless individuals who have believed in our

mission. It truly reflects what a private public partnership can achieve. We are part proud to be a part of a community that believes in advancing healthcare, investing in education and workforce development, and creating opportunities that improve lives across the El Paso Don Norte region. We remain committed to strengthening partnerships, supporting innovation, and continuing to build a future where El Paso is a leader in health and life sciences. We thank you for your leadership, your vision, your partnership, and today's honor. Thank you.

Now, Carlos, you have a team there with you. You want to introduce? I'd like to I'd like to have our staff members come up and introduce introduce themselves, please. Good morning. Hi, good morning. I'm Emily Gomez and I work with the innovation center. Nancy Lowry, senior director of the innovation center. Good morning. Good morning. No, Modaka. I work with infrastructure group at the MCA. Good morning. I'm Monica Pñena. I'm the controller at the MCA.

Good morning. My name is Javier Cardinz, director of engineering. I'm Jackie. She's over there. Good morning. Hello. I'm Jackie Loa, a public relations with the MCA. Good morning. Well, good morning you guys. And again, congratulation on 20 years. It it doesn't seem like 20 years. Yeah, it uh it's gone by fast. Yeah, it has come. There's still a lot more to do. Yeah, a lot more. But the the MCA area has grown. And can you tell us what the foundation is working on or are there any funding trials or what are you guys working on?

Well, you know, there's always the clinical trials work that's going on that's continuous and and the objective there is to continue to expand it by bringing clinical trials to the area. We uh have access in our community to cutting edge research and cutting edge healthc care uh techniques. Uh then the innovation center, we're always uh building and teaching and coaching and mentoring people that have ideas and innovation and uh uh are looking to advance translational research. We just had uh uh our uh scientific poster session. I believe we had 31 researchers there. Wow.

Present their posters. Representative Lemon was there uh to to to see that happen and all the people that were there. It it it's fun when you sit across and you listen to these researchers and the innovation and scientific research that they're working on, which we hope at some point to bring it into a translational research stage for commercialization. And that's what the MCA wants to do in its innovation center. Let's commercialize this stuff. Let's create opportunities. Let's create companies uh that are then going to be have employees and and uh and uh add to the business community. And then, you know, there's the STEM. That's the fun part is the STEM camps and the kids that come into our building. Uh Maryanne Mihadis heads that up.

And so those are the kinds of thing. And then the infrastructure group, we've got, you know, plenty of acres to continue to develop, continue to build buildings. We think the Fox Cancer Center there on campus is going to be significant and be a real catalyst to continue to develop uh buildings and and uh real estate infrastructure that's going to be necessary again to continue to build that med medical center campus. And so those are the kinds of things that are going on. Well, Carlos, thank you guys for all that you're doing. And it's exciting times, especially in healthcare and the clinical trials that you guys fund and support. And like you said, there will be a company that will come out of that. There will be research that will help this community. So, we can't thank you guys enough. 20 years, couldn't do it without without the city. I mean, that that that's it.

Well, thank you so much. Your your help, your vision, your leadership. Yeah. Well, 20 years. We got to get 20 more years. Absolutely. All right. Congratulations. Congratulations, guys. Represent Lemon,

I just wanted to comment that I I had a wonderful time. Mayor, this is like um science posters. I'm familiar elementary, middle school, and high school, and some college. But let me tell you, these were way over my head. But I did have three intelligent conversations with three of them. It It's unbelievable. Just totally unbelievable. Thank you for the invitation. I loved going to visit.

Well, we're we're we're great we're very grateful that you came and hope that that you enjoyed it. But these are real scientists. Uh this this these are real scientists that are doing work in our communities. Texas Tech, uh UT, the Burell College of Medicine. Yeah. Uh Community College. And so it these are real scientists. Fantastic. Thank you, Carlos. Congratulations, guys.

Thank you. Not at all.

I know. I was like, I'm going to just make my life easy. All right, can we get everyone to take a couple steps back right towards the dance for me? And the next proclamation is 50th anniversary Eastwood's 1976 state champion state.

Representative Lemon. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. 1976. Well, 1975, mayor. I began my teaching career at Eastwood High School. So, yeah, I'm over 50. A little bit.

Just a little. And I'll tell you the story that as a rookie teacher, the principal stands out in the hallway recruiting people to do a lot of strange things and things that the uh seasoned teachers won't do. And I was asked by Mr. Bradley to chaperon. I mean, the kids were almost as old as I was at the time, but I was a chaperon to something that I had no idea what it was. It was a basketball game in Austin. Little did I know that I would be a tiny little part of that history.

So, let me share with you the proclamation of the city of El Paso. Whereas in 1976, the Eastwood High School troopers won the UIL class 4A championship by defeating John Tyler High School 74 to 62 after finishing the season with a record of 31 wins and three losses. And whereas starters Gilbert Shepard, Daryl Molex, Jim Bowen, Tim Krenshaw, and Steve Walkemoth played their finest games under the leadership of coach Bobby Lesley, assistants Gary Pippen, and Steve Henry, and trainer Jerry Holberg. And whereas three key players, Gilbert Shepard, Jim Bowen, and Tim Krenshaw were named to the all tournament team. And whereas four key managers and trainers, David Jabi, James Bennell, Eddie Barber, and JB Ryan were always present with their support and enthusiasm. And whereas as of 2026, they are still recognized as the last El Paso area boys basketball team to win a UIL state title. And whereas coach Lesie had 10 reserves ready to help the starters players Mike Chapman, John Abbott, Ernie Colorado, Eric Smith, Mickey Torres, Da Fever, Jerry Thompson, Doug Ruer, Jerry Krampen, and Bob Guthrie were champions, too, that made history in 1976. And whereas the troopers defeated top ranked Victoria High School in overtime by 6967 to move to the state final. And whereas the city of El Paso continues to celebrate your victories of 50 years

ago. Now therefore be it proclaimed by the mayor and council of the city of El Paso recognizing these outstanding athletes exceptional work. May 12th shall be known as Eastwood High School UIL State Basketball Champions Day signed by the Honorable Mayor Renard Johnson. Congratulations.

Well, good morning. Good morning. Don't be bashful, Gary. Gary was there as one of the assistant coaches. You want to step forward, Gary? And we also have this the principal of Eastwood High School and and some players and a trainer, Gary. Good morning, coach. Good morning. I would like to have each one of these gentlemen behind me come up and introduce themselves and then I'll talk. Okay. So, I'm Gilbert Shepard. I was the point guard. Yes. Yes. Gilbert. Good morning. Jerry Holberg, nationally certified statelicicensed athletic trainer. Ah. Good morning. My name is Doug Rudder.

Good morning. My name is Mr. Rudy Marias and I serve Eastwood High School as assistant principal. Fantastic. Good morning.

Good morning. Robert Robleto and I get to serve Eastwood High School as principal. And I'm Gary Pippen and I had the great luck and fortune to be the assistant coach to Bob Lesley who's no longer with us but in my opinion he's probably the greatest high school coach ever to come out of El Paso. This group of young men that that are being honored today and it's really interesting because the first two groups it was 20 years and with this group it's 50 years. And that's pretty amazing when you stop and think basketball has changed a lot. When these young men played and played so well, you realize no three-point line, only two referees, five games to win the state championship. Only El Paso High School is the only other El Paso team to win the state championship. Today, the highest classification is 6A. Back then, it was 4A. This group of young men is real hard to put into words because Bob's first year at Eastwood was 1966. He got me up there in ' 67 and then I went in the army for three years and came back in 73. And it was this group that I had on my JV. Well, as freshman, they struggled. I think they won a couple games. That was all on the JV. We won about 16. the next year when the when they were juniors they went down to the last game of the year but Tim Krenshaw one of our best players busted his ankle so he didn't make it and then the next year three seniors two juniors started for us and then we had a tremendous bench and I never will forget because Bob Lesie never liked to talk about what his plans were

but when I got back out of the service he pulled me aside and he says you know he says I think this group of people that we have is going to be a special group. But I never heard him say that before. And so that's the way it turned out. Each year they got better and better and better. They played basketball all the time. You didn't have the camps, the clinics, the traveling teams, the personal coaches. We had outdoor courts, indoor courts, open gym. That's all we could do. And these kids lived in the gym. and they played together at both ends of the court, but they really hated to lose. And it seemed like if somebody needed to step up, it was Gilbert Shepard, it was Tim Krenshaw, Daryl Mullik, I mean, you name it. It was a total team effort. And this is probably before most of your time. But when Eastwood High School opened, there was a comedy show on TV called F Troop. And it was about a bunch of bumbling troopers. Well, that was Eastwood when it first started. Everybody wanted to play Eastwood to build up their win record, but that all changed over time. And this group is just an outstanding group of young men. Four still live in El Paso. Two are here today. Doug Ruer, Gilbert Shepard, Jim Bowen, Tim Crrenshaw both live here. The rest go out of town and they couldn't be here. But to have Representative Lemon, who used to be at Eastwood, make this proclamation to thank you all for signing off on whatever, it was a tremendous honor. It's a tremendous honor. It'll never be forgotten. And one other thing, Eastwood has a brand new gym, and I just found out this past year. It's very nice. If you've never been to it, Eastwood and Bair probably have the two nicest gyms in town. But I asked about the seating in Eastwood's gym because it's theater seats. And then I did a double take when they told me how many seats. 1,976.

Wow. Thank you. Well, coach, that is that was a you walked us through a great story there and uh congratulations. And to know this is the only El Paso, Texas team to win a UIL state uh championship 50 years ago. And I know to to many of you it doesn't seem like it was that long ago. And coach, can you can you kind of walk us through that day? What you were thinking going into overtime and winning by two points? Take us back.

Well, you know, that season before we came close and there was a couple landmarks of that thing, but when you get into the state tournament, it's win or go home. So, we won the by district game. We beat Asetta. We beat Arlington, Sam Houston, and Witchah Falls for the regional. And then we end up playing at that time number one ranked Victoria who had an all-state player that was very good. Well, again, no three-point line. And so our kids battled and battled and battled and and uh everybody that that played knew what was on the line and it got down to crunch time and and our kids made the big play and Bob made the right choices out on the court, whatever. And it was just amazing. Now, when it got to the championship game with Tyler, John Tyler, that was a different ball game because they had a 6-9 kid and our tallest player was Daryl Mullik's about 63, 6'4. And the kids played a great game. But the interesting thing about that championship game is our five starters played the whole game. They never came out and they won the state championship. And it was amazing. and everybody went crazy and it was just an unbelievable time. I don't care what the sport is, whether it's boys or girls or individual or team. Any state championship at any level is something to be really proud of because it doesn't happen very often. And El Paso's had a lot of individual state champions, state champions in soccer, wrestling, whatever. Haven't been too many in basketball, but this was the last one 50 years ago. Thank you. Wow. Thank you, coach. And congratulations to the team on your 50th anniversary and the 1976 state championship day. We're glad to celebrate this with you. Congratulations.

Thank you for

Mayor. One one one final thing that I wanted to share um was and you you'd be pleased to hear this that one of the young men that was on the bus that I chaperon just happened to be Dana Petard, General Petard in the future. So very happy to see that. And so tonight, take a moment and look up at the mountain for the star on the mountain will be lit in your honor to reflect shine on forever. Eastwood High. I don't know if that's okay.

Yeah, it always wobbles.

The repception I saw a moment. You're good. You're good. Got a lot of

Okay, Miss P. The next proclamation is police week. represent Nino.

Thank you, Mayor. It's an honor to read this proclamation today. As they make their way up here, I'm going to start reading the proclamation. Says, "Proclamation for the city of El Paso, Texas. Whereas since the first recorded death in 1786, more than 24,000 law enforcement officers in the United States have made the ultimate sacrifice killed in the line of duty, including 2,78 from the state of Texas. And whereas the names of those dedicated public servants are added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial for Officers killed in previous years, engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC. And whereas by joint resolution approved October 1st, 1962, Congress authorized pres and President John F. Kennedy proclaimed May 15th of each year as Peace Officers Memorial Day in honor of those who have been killed or disabled in the line of duty, further designating the calendar week in which May 15th falls as police. And whereas in the city of El Paso, the state of Texas and every American community, law enforcement officers with the El Paso Police Department are committed to the preservation of life and property, risking their lives to protect us from those who have to who would defy the law, providing law and order and service the cause of justice. And whereas the city of El Paso and the state of Texas honor the heroism of all of our law enforcement officers, especially those who had given their lives so that others might be might might live asking God's blessing for the lives and families of their friends they leave behind. And whereas in the 153-year history of the El Paso Police Department, 35 officers have lost their lives in the line of duty, paying the ultimate sacrifice while serving and

protecting the El Paso community. And whereas in the city of El Paso, the state of Texas during Police Week, the na the nation's flags will be flown at half staff on Peace Officers Memorials Day under public law 103-322 as amended. And now therefore, it be proclaimed by the mayor in the council of the city of El Paso that week of May 10th through May May 16th shall be known as National Police Week and that May 15, 2026 shall be known as El Paso Police Officers Memorial Day, signed by the Honorable Mayor Bernard Johnson.

Good morning, Chief. Good morning.

Good morning. Thank you very much uh for this uh proclamation and recognition. Yesterday you heard from Mr. Martin about the uh humanitarian side of police officers externally for the public uh out there every single day. Every officer knows when they take the oath of office that our city clerk uh Miss Prime uh gives at every graduation and once that badge is pinned on their chest that they have taken the oath to put others first before them. There's a reason why the badge is larger than the name tag on the uh officer's uniform because they're putting others first. I'd like to introduce Lieutenant uh Lynn Pequard. Um this is the humanity on the inside of the department. Um what her and her officers do there. This is all collateral duty. This is not their duty assignment uh on taking care of those families that have lost uh officers throughout the history of the El Paso Police Department. So, I'd like to introduce uh Miss Lynn Peard, Lieutenant Lynn Peard, to introduce her. She has some words to say, but also she'd like to introduce her staff, both sworn and civilian.

Good morning. Good morning. Um, Lieutenant Picard, as Chief said, I oversee the honor guard team. Um, our members of the honor guard and our funeral committee are the ones that set this whole police week by doing different events for the fallen officers and their families. We started off yesterday with cemetery cleanup. Today, the proclamation. Thank you guys for having us. And then on Friday, we're going to have the fallen officer police officer memorial, which is going to be at Chuck Henrich Park at 9:00 a.m. You guys are welcome. And before I close out, I'll let them introduce themselves. Perfect. Thank you. Good morning. Good morning. I'm Officer David Aaran, chairman for the El Paso Police Department Funeral Committee.

Good morning, Mayor City Council Funeral Committee. Santiaga.

Good morning. Good morning. Astred man, funeral committee board member. Good morning. Girls, funeral committee member.

Good morning. Elizabeth Gallardo, funeral committee member. Good morning. Good morning. Valerie Valley, funeral committee member. Good morning. Good morning, Gabella Dominguez, funeral committee member. Good morning. Good morning, mayor and city council. Thank you for having us. Sergeant Miguel Kuna, thank you. Good morning, Sergeant. Good morning, Officer Martinez, part of honor guard. Good morning. Good morning. I'm Officer Rees, part of the honor guard team as well.

Good morning. Chief, there's a lot more brass out there. They're being bashful on us. Good morning. I'm Commander Jason Johnson. I'm the commander of the Pebble Hills Regional Command Center. All right, Commander. Before you leave, congratulations. Thank you, sir. You were just uh let me make sure I get University of Chicago Police Leadership Academy. That's correct. Yeah, congratulations. Very well done. Appreciate it. GOOD MORNING, MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL.

GOOD MORNING, Assistant Chief Biones. I have the honor to work with this great office in civilians. Thank you very much. Good morning, Mayor Council. Um John Lanahan, assistant chief. Um I'm just here to support our Feno committee and uh our honor guard. They do a great job and appreciate you honoring it. Thank you so much. Good morning, Chief. Did we get everybody? Got everybody.

All right. Again, congratulations you guys and thank you so much uh for what you do for this community. I'm going to go back and just give a little bit of history, but most may not know that the El Paso Police Department is one of the oldest departments in Texas. It dates back to the 1800s. And uh back then your mission was a little bit different. You're you dealt with cattle wrestling, train robberies, uh gambling halls, smuggling, and just old west uh violence, and your primary patrol um vehicle was a horse. You used to be horseback back then. But again, today, we're here to to to say thank you. And the loss of one uh officer's life is is one too many. And we cannot thank you for what you're doing to keep our community safe. And you know, again, we we we appreciate you more than you know, and we just want to say thank you and congratulations. So today's your day. Enjoy. Congrats.

And the final proclamation is celebration of bag pipes 40 day. Represent Lemon. Oops. Oops. Mayor and I am very happy to share the wealth. Okay, good. And so Bair High School is in the in her in u Okay. her district I we did the the leg work and we're very happy to have him here today. We'll see them Saturday, but thank you. Perfect. Yes. And and thank you Reply Moan for the for the opportunity to read this proclamation. I really appreciate it.

Good morning, Highlanders. Whereas Belair High School and the Bair Classic Highlander Clan Alumni Group are excited to announce a celebration of bag pipes 4 event at Bair High School on May 16th, 2026. This year's event is designed to reflect the unique history of bag pipes at Bair. It will include a salute to our military service personnel and will highlight the important role bag pipes have played throughout the centuries. The celebration will feature various local bands and artists including the El Paso Police and Firefighters pipe and drum corps and Belair's own bagpipe band. And whereas this year's event will be a music festival held in Belair's courtyard and will feature popular local bands, artists, food trucks, and booth activities from 1:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. And whereas the inspiration for the Highlander MA mascot and an accompanying bagpipe band in El Paso was recognized originally by a US soldier stationed in Canada during World War II. That soldier's name was JM Hanks who was the Isleta Independent School District's superintendent of schools and was activated to serve during the war. And whereas throughout the decades, Belair's pipe and drum corps kept the dream alive by providing the sound of bag pipes at football games, music festivals, parades, international competitions, graduation ceremonies, presidential visits, and the raising of flags and presentation of the colors around the El Paso area. And whereas John Estes came to El Paso in the early 1960s after being recruited to a high

school in the highlands of El Paso's Lower Valley and was given the mission to build a tradition of a bagpipe band at Bair High School, which now is o one of only a handful of public high schools in the US and possibly the only public high school in Texas with a bagpipe band. And whereas funds raised from the celebration of bag pipes 4 event will support the John Estie's scholarship fund, which benefits Bair High School's music programs and will help a deserving piper or drummer continue their education after graduation. The scholarship is also designed to bring attention to the rich tradition of the bagpipe band and raise awareness of the importance of the band's contributions not only to Belair High School but to the city of El Paso and the Southwest. Now therefore, be it proclaimed by the mayor and council of the city of El Paso that May 16th, 2026 shall be known as celebration of bagpipes for day signed by the honorable mayor Renard Johnson.

Good morning. Good morning. Hear me? Okay, I can we can hear you.

Very good. My my name is John Watson and I'm a 1971 graduate from Bair and I'm I'm sad to say that it took me more than 50 years to understand the history of the bag pipes of Bair. Uh when when the 71 grads were doing our 50th reunion uh we found it was during co we had to cancel it. So we took made a call to the 72 graduates said let's do this together. When we were planning the 7271 reunion, we we heard a rumor the bagpipe band has was non-existent. They were dissolved and we said that's not possible. They played per presidents. We marched 50 some odd bagpipers. It was a history that we just took for granted. The classes said we got to do something about that. And so 72 and 71 raised the first year after that and presented a check to Belair for more than $20,000. We had one football player that gave us $17,000 on his own. He said, "When I went out on the field, the bag pipes inspired me to really fight like a Scottish Highlander would fight." And if you know anything about bagpipe history, Scottish Highlanders are the most fierce fighters known to mankind. And bag pipers usually led in World War I, World War II. A single bag piper without weapons would lead soldiers into battle. So we we wanted to save that tradition. The first year we raised $20,000. We presented that to the to the band in the high school. The second year we had a concert. Third year we decided, let's make this a music festival for El Paso to see the entire uh reason we have a bagpipe band. This year is the fourth year. It's going to be a full music festival in the courtyard. We want everybody from El Paso to come be a bagpipe warrior. I'm pleased to have two bagpipe warriors standing beside us here as students because in those years during co there was about three to four students that kept the spirit alive and kept the the tradition going. I consider them bagpipe warriors and I think today

we probably got 14 or 15 bagpipers and we're excited to say that the tradition is still alive at Bair. Come join us. It starts at 1:30 to 9:30. We're going to also be celebrating recognizing the military. Uh the first armored division's uh uh brass band will be joining us. And we've got bag pipers from the El Paso Fire Department with us.

We're going to actually have bagpipe people sending us videos from around the world. Mexico City send us a video. They've got a bagpipe band. Highlander High School in West Milford, New Jersey is sending us a video and congratulating the the guys what work they're doing. So, we're thrilled to be here. Thank you for the proclamation. Come be a bagpipe warrior on Saturday. And Lily, thank you for uh the star that you're raising or lighting for Bair and remembrance of the bagpipe band. And I'm going to turn it over to the other guys here. Good morning. We actually if we want to we want to scare you if we can just play. Well, I was wondering. Yeah. Could we? Yeah.

You want to get ready to go, Kylie? We'll we'll uh so get up front.

So, this is Zeno and Kylie, and they're going to play something for us, I think, and try to lead us into battle for Saturday. So, we appreciate the appreciate the effort. Heat. Heat. WOW.

WOW. That was incredible. That was amazing. Yeah, it literally was amazing. Yeah. Wow. I just want to say one more thing that I'm what I'm most excited about this year in particular. John Estus is still alive. John will be with us at the celebration and we'll also have some of his first students from 1962 that's going to join us at the celebration of bag pipes. So, it's going to be an exciting time and we want to keep this tradition alive at Bellair and hopefully El Paso and make this a bigger and better thing each year. So, thank you guys.

All right. And John, give us the dates again. Dates and times. May 16th, which is actually Armed Forces Day at Fort Bliss. So, we're excited about that because there's such a military connection between bagpipes and the military leading people into leading warriors into battle.

May 16th starts at 1:30. We're going to have the Sagand uh folklorico group kick us off literally uh or figuratively and we end up with Rap City at 8:00 uh kicking off the final band. But we're having a celebration of the bag pipes portion where we'll have our dignitaries. Lily will be there to say a few words and other dignitaries and we're going to have that at 6:15 which will run for about an hour and a half with bag pipes only from El Paso. Uh the Empire Pipe Band is going to be there and we'll do a mast band and we've got videos from around the country and and North America if you will of bagpipe bands playing for us as well. So we're excited. It's going to be a great time. Sounds like a big celebration.

It it it will be. We hope. Thank you very And congratulations you guys on on the celebration of backpacks uh day. We're proud of you. Congrat. You did you did wonderful. Thank you guys. Pleasure. Thank you so much.

Okay, Miss Brian, I think we're ready.

Yes, Mayor. Good morning everyone. This is a meeting of the El Paso City Council for Tuesday, May 12th, 2026. Mayor Johnson is present and presiding in council chambers along with Mayor Prom Chavez, Representative Asdo, Representative Alonado Rocha, Representative Boy Trejo, Representative Nino, Alternate Mayor Prom Fiero, Representative Lemon, and Representative Canales. It is 10:06 a.m. Will everyone please silence their electronic devices so as not to disturb the meeting and rise for the invocation. And this morning the invocation is delivered by El Paso Police Chaplain Rabbi Levi Greenberg.

Good morning, Rabbi.

Good morning, Mayor, Council members. Before I begin the invocation, I will do an act of charity by giving a dollar into the charity box. Sovereign of the world, look favorably upon the honorable mayor, the members of this honorable council, and all of us gathered here this morning in person and online. Bestow upon us all the joy of life, good health, and prosperity. Bless these distinguished individuals who have been chosen to make laws and decisions for our city with wisdom and understanding in their noble pursuit of justice and equality. This is not only a civic responsibility but also a holy endeavor. Our tradition teaches of seven universal laws given to mankind by God through Noah, including the instruction to foster a moral society governed by law. These laws also include the importance of serving God alone, respecting God's name, and the prohibitions against murder, theft, adultery, and cruelty against all living creatures. Next week, the Jewish community will start celebrating the two-day festival of Shàuot. the anniversary of the revelation at Sinai which occurred 3,338 years ago. During that historic event, God communicated the famous ten commandments as they are recorded in the Bible. These ten commandments contain lofty theological messages as well as obvious and selfunderstood prohibitions against murder and theft. This teaches us that trust and faith in the Almighty are truly genuine only when it is evident in our everyday behavior. Conversely, the constant awareness of the supreme divine being is what can

truly motivate a life of morality and purpose. About an hour ago, we proudly proclaimed this recognition and our commitment to unity and justice in our nation's pledge of allegiance, one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all. It behooves us to reflect on the statement in God we trust printed on our currency. To appreciate that all our success is a blessing from above and we ought to utilize these blessings to spread goodness and kindness one routine action at a time thereby fostering unity and friendship preparing the world for an era of true peace and tranquility. Please God, give strength to our elected officials to be cognizant of your presence and that they have the ability to elevate the quality of life for everyone in our region and to inspire us all to come together in unity. That we truly care for our peers, for society, our environment, and work together to make our world a better place for all. May our borderland region serve as a beacon of light, strength, and moral courage as we do our part in preparing the world for an era of global peace and tranquility. May this occur speedily in our times. Amen.

Okay, Miss Bryan.

Yes, Mayor. That brings us to public comment. On agenda items for those that signed up to speak at 10, we'll begin with Miguel Escoto. Mr. Escotto signed up to speak on item 29, which is a an ordinance amending title 18 by deleting chapter 18.46 landscape in its entirety and adopting a new chapter 18.46 landscape. Mr. Escotto Miguel Escoto I don't see him coming forward. Is Jay Mana here? Mr. Mana also signed up to speak on the same item.

Good morning. You have three minutes. Good morning. Good morning. I'll be quick on this one. I signed up to speak again. Um, I just hope that y'all understand what this entails and how much it's going to affect the future of shrubs and green spaces in our community. We already have four or five data centers targeting us. The last thing we need to do is cut back on trees and shrubs. Um, so please consider uh not going forward with this. Thank you. Thank you. Good morning, Mr. Essoto. You have three minutes. Good morning.

Hello. Good morning, council. Yeah, I'd also like to um share my concern with this item. Um and I ask for you to delay the vote to fix the ordinance before adoption and to protect shade, trees um and water-wise landscaping. This um is not a trivial issue. We're talking about what can be a very substantial carbon footprint that we are reducing. Um it's not a trivial issue and and we do want to voice that we're paying attention and it's it's really important issue. Um especially as it relates to our climate goals. So this institution has spent a lot of time, hours, millions of dollars to create a climate action plan. And I'm sure a lot of us I'm sure a lot of you are very proud of this climate action plan. Um I know a lot of us are. And so what we ask is for you to respect the intentions of this plan and keep in mind um carbon reduction measures like these that are fairly simple. It's a lot easier to do this um than a lot of other things. So please consider that uh respect the spirit and the intents of the climate action plan. Thanks.

Thank you. The next speaker, Lupe Lucero. Lupe Lucero signed up to speak on item 32, which is an action directing the city manager in coordination with the city attorney to prepare and present to city council a comprehensive overview of driving while intoxicated data in the city of El Paso within 45 days. Lupe Lucero. She will be followed by Eileen Diaz de Leo. Go ahead, Miss Lucero. You have three minutes. Good morning. Good morning, Mayor.

Good morning, mayor, city council. My name is Lupernandez Lucero, founder of Sober Streets Movement. We are here today for our community. This issue is not about statistics. It's about families, children, victims, and entire community living with the consequences of impaired driving. Line item 32 is an important step forward because driving while intoxicated impacts countless families across El Paso every single year. Behind every DWI, arrest, a crash, injury, and death is a mother, a father, a child, a friend, a co-orker, or a neighbor whose life may never be the same again. We are families, survivors, mothers, fathers, children, and neighbors whose lives have been forever changed because of impaired drivers. We stand before you, not asking for sympathy. We are demanding change. Our pain is real. Our losses are real. And the danger on our streets is real. Our community has been has seen families lose loved ones, survivors suffer lifelong injuries and injuries and children go up without parents because of a preventable impaired driving incidents. The emotional, financial, and psychological damage reaches far beyond the crash itself. Entire neighborhoods carry these losses. We can no longer afford to lose another loved one to our impaired driving. We cannot continue having discussions without action. Our community has heard enough promises. What we need we need now is leadership, accountability, and change. I strongly support the city directing the city managers and city attorney to prepare comprehensive overview of DWI data in El Paso. Develop a city-wide anti-DWI strategy and advocate for stren stronger

anti-DWI priorities at the state level legislative level. But this effort must include direct community involvement, victim advocacy organizations, public health health experts, law enforcement, schools, and families personally impacted by DWI tragedies. Data is important, but actions what saves lives. We need stronger prevention and education, more support for addiction and mental health services, increased awareness campaigns, safer transportation alternatives, mandatory ignition interlock devices for offenders, and accountability measures that truly protect the public. Our state across the country have already adopted stronger anti-DWI laws, and El Paso should push Texas lawmakers to follow those examples. States like Arizona, Utah, Virginia, and Tennessee have implemented tougher penalties, mandatory ignition interlock requirements, stricter enforcement, and stronger repeat offender laws.

Thank you, Miss Lucto. You've reached the three minutes. Ma'am, please do something. We need our community to stand up. Enough is enough. No more victims. Thank you. The next speaker is Eileen Diaz, followed by Claudia Contra Siller, also on the same topic. Good morning. You have three minutes. Good morning.

My name is Eileen Diaz DeLeon. I'm here today because my little sister, Angelique Diaz DeLeon, was killed by an intoxicated driver January 1st of this year, 2026. Angelique was 18 years old when she was killed. She just turned 19. We celebrated her 19th birthday March 29th without her. Angelique didn't drink, she didn't smoke. She was responsible, honest, and so full of life. She graduated high school with her associates degree and was already enrolled at Puma Medical Institute working towards becoming an occupational therapy assistant. She's the heart of our family, the most caring, giving soul you can imagine. She was kind, confident, smart, goofy, and genuinely happy. She was so mature for her age, yet still so innocent and pure like a child. She was close to God, she valued life, and showed up for everyone she loved. She wasn't just my sister. She was a daughter, a thea, a best friend, and a girlfriend. I wish I had more time to speak about her because 3 minutes is not enough. But today, I'm here on behalf of my family and everyone who loved her. Because this man didn't just kill Angelique. He killed a part of all of us. This was not an accident. It was not a mistake. This was a choice. A choice to drink and drive so severe that it took Angelique's and many others lives. Yet somehow still comes with barely any real consequences. Right now, our community is accepting the bare minimum. This is not just about grief anymore. This is about a failure to protect the very people you are responsible for. You might say this is a community issue, but you, the mayor, the district attorney, our city and state representatives, the chief of police, prosecutors, judges, the people in leadership are part of this community. And if the people in charge cannot fully recognize the seriousness of this crisis, how are we supposed to expect true accountability for the people who commit these crimes? What is being taught is that you can drink and drive, pay some fees, maybe do probation, then go home. Why are offenders given chance after chance when Angelique didn't even get one? You tell us you support us and I appreciate that. But support without action is just empty words. Action means no probation for DUI cases involving death. Mandatory jail time with no bond for cases involving death. Real

consequences for firsttime offenders. Mandatory jail time. Not a few hours to sleep off the alcohol. Longer license suspensions and penalties strong enough to actually make people think twice before getting behind the wheel intoxicated again. I'm tired of hearing that nothing can be done because of the system or the constitution. What about the rights of the victims? What about Angelique's rights? Her life was taken and somehow it feels like the person responsible is still the one being protected. And if judge juries are continuing to hand out light sentences, then they need to be educated. It is the responsibility of leadership to make sure people understand the true impact of these crimes and devastation they leave behind. The responsibility should not fall on grieving families who are already shattered. At our last meeting, April 27th, there had already been around 700 DUI arrests. Today, that number is already reaching the 900s in less than a month. The numbers keep rising because people are not afraid of the punishment. Increasing arrest just to release people back into the community is not solving the problem. It is enabling the cycle to continue. Do something about it. We need leaders who are brave enough to finally put innocent lives before the comfort of offenders. I wish I could wake up tomorrow and hug Angelique through the and see her walk through the door to go back to the beautiful life we had, but we can't. So, the least we can do is fight for change. Thank you for hearing us and for being here truly but for my sister's life hearing us is not enough.

Thank you ma'am. Thank you. The next speaker is Claudia Contra Siller also on the same topic. She will be followed by Manuel Barasa.

Good morning. Thank you whoever presented uh item 32 and I think it's going to take a long time for the city uh attorney to present it to the city manager. 90 days. It's 3 months and this is happening every day. People are dying very often and also it's a you guys need a lot of organizational and corporate communication. Not only our city manager should be coming up with a plan. All of you should be coming up with a plan. Talk to our first responders to the paramedics to the police officers. I'm sure all of them already have some solutions. Please review their solutions, their tips, and also the family's tips. Um, the 19 is going to be two months since a beautiful angel was taken away from this earth. A week ago, I was holding her father crying in tears. He's a veteran of war and I saw the pain. And it's not the first family I saw in pain because of the decisions of a drunk person that decides to get drunk and drive. Also, I want to say that this movement is leaded by Jesus Christ. I was I've been here a year and five months advocating for our animals and this is the movement that has the most uh sincere and selfish like nonselfishness and that's why I like to support them. I went to their to their protest outside the courthouse and that was a protest with an intention. It's pinned in the real fitfam and I want to thank them and also the the communication partners that they're backing them up. Please listen to whatever they have to say and also have in mind not that not everybody has

the is fighting the same battle. This is the battle that has to be be fighted, you know, before it reaches one of our family members. Okay? Please do whatever you have to do to escalate it. Write a letter to the governor, to the president. We need to go all the way to the top. God bless the police. Thank you. The next speaker is Manuel Barasa. Manuel Barasa. I don't see him coming forward. Selia Lopez.

Good morning. Okay, everyone can follow along um using the QR code on the screens through the Wartley app. Mr. Manos, Mario.ch. for

Mario. No. Jose Mario. Gracias. Lopez.

Gracias. Thank you.

The next group of speakers signed up to speak on item 34, which is a lease agreement between the city of El Paso and Carl L. Robinson Heat Retreat for the property located at 5509 Will Ruth Avenue. We'll begin with Guermina Campos. Guermina Campos. She will be followed by Carlos Science, Julia Curtain, Theodora Hug, Jessica Kell, Ivonne Rosales, and Mary Heighten.

Good morning. respect grandees. basketball. The Northeast Albernosh, for me

Carlos, the northeast. Muchas gracias.

The next speaker is Carlos SC. Carlos SCS will be followed by Julia Curtain, Theodora Hug, Jessica Kell. Good morning, sir. You have three minutes. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. You remember me.

Uh, I'm here in reference to that article in the YMCA deal thing. We would like more transparency also as to what, when, and how and more support from our our representatives, northeast represent. I know Miss Treco has been involved. We need the other gentleman involved also. And just like the lady says, it helps a lot of us uh the auto families down from five point areas all the way to chaparel. The other topic is the border border tech or the plaza deck with all this money being spent. You guys can refer that to let me let me let me allow you

to speak only on item 34. You will be invited to speak again when we go to call to the public. This is for item 34 only.

Sorry about that. But yeah, this reflects the YMCA and expenditures and how to have them open. Uh very very important for all of us in the northeast. And again, I state we need uh our support from our two city representative. That just one. I know MO has been involved. Uh we need our other representative, Mr. Saledo involved also. If he'd be so kind to I'd really appreciate it. And I need the support from all of you in reference to the YMCA. get the funding, get the grants as you guys have done in other situations. There's grant money out there. You just really have to apply yourselves to it to get it for this kind of situation. There's thousands of families that are being affected about this. Elderly, young, the whole nine yards. So, please, if you can help us.

Thank you. The next speaker is Julia Curtain. She will be followed by Theodora Hus. Good morning. You have three minutes. Good morning.

Good morning, sir. Good morning, mayor. Good morning, council members. My name is Julia A. Curten, and I am a proud resident of Northeast El Paso, a mother and a member of the Aqua Coalition, advocates for quality urban aquatics of Northeast El Paso. First, I want to sincerely thank the city staff and community me leaders for listening to and honoring the voices of Northeast residents throughout this process. It truly means a lot to our community to feel heard and to have a seat at the table. This is a good example of what partnership looks like. I am here today in strong support of agenda item 34 regarding the lease agreement with the Carl L. Robertson heat retreat. This proposal represents more than a building. It represents partnership, hope, and investment in Northeast El Paso. Over the years, our community has lost several aquatic and wellness spaces. Families, seniors, and youth have felt those losses deeply. For many residents, the Bowling Family YMCA is not just a facility. It's a community lifeline. It is preventative health care. It supports healthier lives and helps address challenges like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease through wellness and activity. In fact, more than 15% of adults in El Paso County live with diabetes. higher than both the Texas and national averages. At the YMCA, I witnessed preventative health care in action. A full parking lot inside a hub

of activity, seniors exercising, friends connecting, families building healthier lives together. It reminded me that places like this are essential, essential community spaces. As a mother of a competitive swimmer, I know firsthand how aquatics can change lives. Swimming gave my daughter confidence, discipline, friendships, and opportunity. It also changed my own health and well-being for the better. What makes the proposal so meaningful is that it reflects true partnership. A nonprofit step forward willing to invest in facility in the facility, preserve public access, retain staff, and work alongside the city to keep this resource alive for the community. The Aqua Coalition believes in solutions, focused collaboration. We believe in partnership with the city. So hear us. We believe in community stewardship. We want a seat at a table. We want our voices reflected in the decisions that shape our community, including efforts like the parks and recreation master plan. We need our voices recorded.

Thank you, M. We want to be heard. Vote for item 34. The next speaker is Theodora Huff. She will be followed by Jessica Kell. Good morning. Good morning, Mayor. Good morning. Good morning, everybody. Good morning, everybody.

I'm going to try. Okay. Uh, good morning, mayor, council members. I am Mrs. a northeast resident of more than 40 years.

I am also the voice for the many citizens that could not attend today's meeting. We have watched this center grow into like to grow into a life line for hundreds of families and the northeast. in the northeast. This is not just about the building. It is about the programs the staff and the trust families have built since 1960. Communities become stronger when different generations work together. Older residents share wisdom from years of experience. Middleage folks provides leadership and resource. Young people bring fresh ideas and energy like you guys. Energy. Children remind us to stay hopeful about the future. If we don't act now, we lose more than a center. We lose a community nucleus, a safety net and a symbol of El Paso's commitment to family unity in the northeast. Your legacy for future generations. We permanently request for the family center to prevail in the northeast area with the help of your support and reserve cap capabilities. Envision in the northeast with the help of you support and resource

capabilities and the northeast where every child has access to safe learning spaces uh spaces. Every parent has a place to connect and every senior citizen to remain pertinent. That is our future. Thank you. Thank you, mayor. Thank you.

The next speaker is Jessica Cal. She will be followed by Ivonne Rosales and Mary Height. Good morning. You have three minutes. Good morning.

Good morning. Can you hear me? Okay. Good morning and after uh mayor, city council, and city staff. My name is Jessica Kell, and I'm here to urge you to vote yes on item 34. First, I want to tell you a little bit about my story. For two years, parents of Northeast Sea Devil Swim Team had lived in an exhausting routine during um driving across the city just so our kids could practice. Veterans Pool, the only indoor public pool in the Northeast, had been closed. As a triathlete, I felt that loss as well. There was nowhere nearby to swim, nowhere for our kids to grow. Opportunities might have been lost. A handful of parents met to share our stories, the ignored emails, unanswered calls, and the feeling that individual voices weren't being heard. We realized that concern without structure does not lead to progress. We organized and formed the Aqua Coalition, a advocates for quality urban aquatics in the Northeast. We discovered that accessibility to aquatics wasn't just a swim team issue. It was a communitywide need that touches every generation in the Northeast. From learn to swim programs for my our high school swim teams, our senior citizens who use it for therapeutic purposes. Our vision is simple. We envision a community that is informed, engaged, and empowered to advocate for itself. where equitable access to resources such as aquatics is a standard and where public projects reflect the collective voice and needs of the people. That is why item 34 matters. This resolution to authorize a lease agreement with the Carl L. Robinson heat retreat for the former YMCA property represents a real tangible step forward restoring aquatic access to our community in the northeast. This is

an opportunity to invest in our youth, in our families, in health for our seniors, and for the future of our side of town. A yes vote on item 34 shows that the city is listening to. It shows that you recognize the urgency, the need, and the ability of this property to keep serving our community. It shows that you value transparency, partnership, and equitable access to aquatics, which is what our residents have been asking for loudly and continuously. We are not here to make demands. We are here to be part of the solution. And today, the solution is clear. On behalf of Aqua Coalition, on behalf of our Northeast seniors and families, I respectfully urge you to vote yes on item 34. Thank you for your time and your service to our community.

Thank you. The next speaker is Ivan Rosales, followed by Mary Height. Good morning.

Good morning. Good morning, mayor, members of city council. My name is Ivan Rosales. I am a proud resident of Northeast El Paso, a swim parent, and a member of Aqua Coalition Advocates for Quality Urban Aquatics. I urge you to vote yes on agenda item 34 and approve the lease that will allow the Carl L. Robinson Heat Retreat to continue operating the facility formerly known as the Bowling Family YMCA. Northeast El Paso has been overlooked for far too long. We are a community of more than a 100,000 residents. Yet, we still fight for basic resources others take for granted. With veterans pool closed, this is the last pool serving not just northeast El Paso, but Fort Bliss families and Chaparal. Our children deserve a place to swim. Our swim teams deserve a place to practice. Our seniors deserve a place to stay active and connected. For veterans and residents with disabilities, aquatic therapy is a lifeline. If this facility closes, we lose far more than a pool. we lose a place of healing, opportunity, and belonging. I've had the privilege of meeting the founders of Carl L. Robinson Heat Retreat who have also founded and founded other successful organizations and nonprofits. They've dedicated themselves to serving youth, strengthening our community. And in every interaction, I've seen integrity, compassion, unwavering commitment to the Northeast. That's the kind of commitment we need. They are not asking the city to solve this problem. They are stepping up and bringing a solution. Saving one pool and one facility will not solve the crisis in the northeast. But it is a start. Today you have a choice. Stand with families, seniors, veterans, and children who rely on this resource. Vote

yes on item 34 and show Northeast El Paso that we still matter. Thank you. Thank you. The final speaker is Mary Height.

Mary H. Okay. Thank you, ma'am.

Thank you. That concludes a public comment on agenda items. We now move to call to the public. The El Paso City Council is a local government body charged with serving the citizens and the meetings must be focused on the meeting at charge. The city council meetings are public meetings under the Texas Open Meetings Act. Public comment is an accommodation and not a requirement of city council. All persons in attendance are expected to display civility and decorum that is respectful to other persons without the use of insulting, profane, threatening, or abusive language. Public comment will not be used for personal attacks, nor may any member of the public use this form for political statements or campaigning. Please note that during call to the public, the city council may not deliberate or decide any subject that is not on the agenda. However, council may propose that a topic brought forth be posted on a future agenda. This morning, we have 15 members of the public that sign up to speak. They will each get three minutes. The first person is Elizabeth Crawford. Miss Crawford, star six, please to unmute your telephone. Miss Crawford's topic is my body, my choice, the rallying tent. Thank you. Good morning. Thank you. Um, a young Texas uh legislator and seminarian um is very publicly um going around saying that the position for abortion and the Bible are compatible. Really? uh my body my choice is the mantra of the radical feminist agenda. This is completely the opposite of the message of the Bible. Romans chapter 12 the apostle Paul wrote I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy acceptable to God which is your reasonable service. This is the Christian life. Christianity is based on the supreme sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Instead of selfishly asserting

my body, my choice, Jesus went to the cross of Calvary in love, he gave his body, his choice in sacrificial love to redeem sinners and save them. My body, my choice is selfishness. His body, his choice is Christianity. No matter what people may say in the name of religion, we need to check what God's word truly says. Romans 12:1, the Apostle Paul again, he wrote, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." Thank you. Hope you have a good day. Thank you. Thank you.

The next speaker is Claudia Contra. Miss Siller's topic is clause against cruelty. She will be followed by Ron Ko, Alfredo Ariano, Marielena Weiss.

Good morning. Good morning. So, I'm wearing a shirt uh from animal services. It says clause against cruelty. I want to give thanks to them because they're the ones that go and fight animal cruelty. Uh I've been here since I knew 30 dead cats were appearing dead. I spoke to the sanitation person. He told me 30 dead cats a day are appearing dead. At that time, I had moved around 300 dead animals out of the streets. And I said 30 a day, that's too much. That's 10 days like in my trajectory of of years. So that's what pushed me here. Also, I'm going to say it again. The city needs to be educated on how to report cruelty, on how to report owner negligence and sick animals and animals in danger. They need to dial 911 if it's act of animal cruelty. Not a lot of people know where to dial. I get calls every other day about a lot of stuff. Also, I want to give a huge shout out to the animal cruelty unit, to the real fit fam for posting all the pro cat stories that are posting. Also to the firefighters and this keeps us motivated and to have hope because not everything has to be bad against like cats. I used to feed an alley in Ooa Street. I used to feed a lot of cats. The mechanic destroyed my car, so I couldn't go. All of the cats are dead. There was the same people killing the cats. Next thing I know about that street that someone was burnt alive there and I was there feeding cats like a year before. So, don't be deceived. Animal cruelty goes hand in hand with family violence, with murders. So, if you see someone treating bad a

cat, re uh poisoning a cat, you report it. Please, guys, dial 311 911 for active animal cruelty. And please buy this beautiful shirt by the animal services. Um, I had a dream I could buy my way to heaven. When I woke up, I spent it on the cats. So that's my mission and that's a lot of people's mission. And if you go in the streets and you start feeding animals, you start seeing their suffering. You're going to find a purpose. And we cannot be attacking animal services because they're the ones that are seeing all these animals suffering. Please uh do everything possible uh to keep advocating for the animals. A cat, it's the same as a dog. If you see an animal inside of a hot car, call 911. Don't wait. Don't be afraid. God is watching. And whoever um commits animal cruelty, God is going to hold them accountable in the final day of judgment, all the honor and the praise to Jesus Christ. Thank you. The next speaker is Ron Ko.

Mr. Ko will be followed by Aryano. Mr. Como's topic is exercising his constitutional rights to the rescue of 1983 animal services. Good morning, Ron.

Morning. How's everybody doing today? Hey, first of all, I want to thank thank you for the open doors and the conversations that we've had over the last four weeks. It's a great improvement. I'm hoping this will continue. Um, I want to bring up a small fact, not small. Two weeks ago, I talked about Morehead and completing Morehead. When I walked out that door, there was people standing under the TV screen. They're from that district. They thanked me for bringing up the fact that Morehead's not what Morehead was supposed to be. They felt like they've been lied to because there was all these community meetings discussing what was going to happen and what they felt about the shelter in that neighborhood. They feel like they were just blown off. So, I kind of gave him a hint on what happened and who was responsible. Hopefully this will go a little further at the rallies later on this year. Um, next thing I want to discuss the we always discuss the constitutional rights to the rescue 1983. These guarantee animal advocates to be able to come up here and speak the truth about what's happening at the shelter and in our city. But yet our city has violated our employees, our volunteers, and our rescue's rights by signing NDAs. The rescue contract of the city of El Paso, line number five, is an NDA saying that we can't say anything bad about the shelter. That's a viol direct violation of our civil rights. When we signed the Best Friends Embedded program, everybody was told that there's an NDA, which is in the contract, and not only could you not say anything bad about Best Friends, which is so easy to do, we couldn't say anything after 3 years of them being here. Now, that is a direct violation of our civil rights.

Now, I'd lay bets that the employees and the volunteers also have the same contracts with NDAs in them because it seems like people are afraid of letting the truth out about what's happening. I mean, I was told because I was on ASAC that I couldn't speak bad about best friends because we had an NDA. Didn't work out very well for her, did it? I speak the truth. I speak what I can prove. I sent you all information. Hopefully, you read it. It discussed the church that's being investigated by the FBI that was best friends and they closed it because I made more money doing panels. I send you these things for information so you know who you're dealing with, not because I'm bored and have nothing better to do. You need to understand who you're working with. For four years, 11,000 less were picked up in our shelter. And yet all we heard was is the shelter's full. The shelter was full but not a dodge. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker is Alfredo Ariana. Mr. Ariano's topic is mental health crisis response reform and use of force accountability in El Paso. Good morning, Alfredo.

Good morning, uh, mayor, council members. Alfredo Ariano. I'm a psychiatric nurse practitioner here in El Paso, my hometown that I love. I'm here to talk about uh the law enforcement response to psychiatric emergencies. It's police week. Sorry I had to bring this up, but this is not an anti- police uh you know presentation. I want to be clear, mental illness is not a crime. Yet, when we orchestrate a response for police to intervene, patients get charged with offenses. I'll give you examples. A psychiatric emergency crisis is a time for careful response. Um, you are aware of multiple lawsuits, settlements made through the years due to excessive use of force and death resulting by law enforcement. Let me give you a quick history. August 2024, XFBI agent throwing rocks at Franklin High School. EPISD officer responds, shoots, and kills him. He had a rock. Don't know how big it is, but he had a rock. shot and killed. May 5th last year, I as a provider orchestrated a call with emergence, the El Paso Police Department 911, the family to pick up one of my patients who was mentally ill, needed to go into the hospital. The crisis response team did not um respond. Police responded. Instead of ending up in the hospital, he ended up intubated for 5 days in a medical surgical hospital. Two months ago, he was picked up for charges for assault. Okay. Um July of

last year, you're aware Xavier Gonzalez crisis on I 10. Okay. On his knees asking for help. He didn't deserve to be choked with a thumb in his karate. He didn't deserve to have four officers on top of him. He died by homicide. Two weeks ago, my patient, 74 years old, high functioning individual, uh, going through a crisis, picked up by the police, family called, he's attacking my sister and the wife. Police charges him for domestic abuse. Okay. Ended up in a psychiatric hospital, had to turn himself in. $10,000 later, and court hearings, you know, he'll be without charges. We're better than this, okay? We need training. We also need transparency because what's appalling is when the police department tells us that homicide is a medical term. When you kill someone, that's murder. Okay. There's no talk about what are the results of the investigation. What's happened with uh my patient? The family has asked for Mr. Yes. So please uh council member I volunteer my time education change the standard training and hold people accountable.

Thank you. Welcome. The next speaker is Marilena Weiss. Marena Weiss. Okay. Thank you. Uh Ashley Candelaria. Miss Gandelaria. Star six please to unmute your telephone. Miss Gandelia's topic is speaking on the importance of mental health and connection to DUI, DWI, public safety issue in El Paso. Yes, ma'am. We can hear you. You have three minutes.

Okay, perfect. Uh, good after or good morning, uh, mayor, city council, and community members. My name is Ashley. I'm here today to because we need to have a more honest conversation about the connection between mental health, substance abuse, and the growing number of drinking and driving tragedies in our community. Let me be clear. Mental health is not an excuse for drinking and driving, and people must absolutely be held accountable for the decisions they make. But accountability and prevention can exist at the same time. Right now, we continue reacting after tragedy happens instead of investing more into prevention, awareness, education, and accessible resources for people uh before people reach dangerous situations. Too many people in our community are struggling silently with stress, trauma, addiction, anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. At the same time, resources are difficult to find. Conversations around mental health still carry stigma, and many people do not seek help until they are ready in crisis. We cannot continue saying mental health matters while doing the bare minimum when it comes to community education and accessible support. I am asking this council to focus on rural prevention efforts including city-led awareness campaigns focused on mental health, substance abuse prevention and responsible decisionmaking partnerships that provide safe ride options during high-risisk weekends and holidays. Expanded access to mental health and substance abuse resources. Community outreach that makes people aware of tools and support available before tragedy happens. greater transparency and collaboration between city leadership, law enforcement, schools, businesses, advocates, and the district attorney's office. These tragedies are happening so frequently that many people are becoming desensitized to them, which should devastate a community is starting to feel routine. That is unacceptable. El Paso deserves leadership willing to uh willing to treat this like the

serious public safety and community health issue it has become. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. Thank you. The next speaker is Carlos Science. Mr. Science's topic is Deck Plaza. He will be followed by Jesus Moreno, Daniel Reyes, Jay Mana, Sugatore. Good morning, sir. You have three minutes. Good morning.

I'm back again. Uh this is in connection with it's also two parts. It refers to the YMCA and the deck plaza with all due respect and we wasted a lot of money here. Let me start with a statement. As the last time I was here, there was a reference in percentages of the deck plaza as for the citizen. Sir, can you speak into the microphone? We can't

as wanting it or not. The percentages right now stated by the news media 72 or 71% of the population does not want the deck plaza. If the city wants it, let's put it to a vote. Let the citizens vote on it. Period. And you got this is a lot of money has been spent, grant money has been applied, gotten for the deck plaza. In retrospect, we can also find grant money for the YMCA, for our people, for the people of the YMCA, for all these people from again from Five Points all the way to the Northeast area and further beyond. I mean, it can happen. I know there's money out there. I know there's grant money out there. We just need the right people to uh secure that money, apply for the grant. There is money. So, I ask the council or whatever bodies uh to acquire it. Do the research and find the money. If you're able to find grant money for the deck plaza, you're able to get money for the YMCA. And also, you could also instead of the 16,000, you can get a dollar rent money from it like you had for the past 30 years. I guess you don't need you didn't have that money coming in the 16,000 for the rental before. So what's the difference? Keep up with the $1 rent and that's it. And help us help the community. Help all the Northeast, Central and Northeast. And yes, these are statistics that were given to me by the news media at 71%. Sir, I didn't rely on other apps to give me the percentages. So, and that's why I provided you copies of it so that you can see that I'm not making up stuff and when I when I talk I basically have this stuff in my hand. Okay? So, please help us. Thank you.

Thank you. The next speaker is Jesus Moreno. Jesus Moreno will be speaking on the Federal Trade Commission and public comment. Good morning. So, you have three minutes. Good morning. All right. Good morning, Mayor Council. How's everyone doing today?

Good. Awesome. Okay. I'm gonna send you all an email in regards to what I'm going to speak about. Just so you have more context. Right here, I'm speaking about the Federal Trade Commission a um they're going to have public comment for some issues that are coming up. There's a deadline. It's going to be happening May 18th. Uh that's in regards to online food and grocery feeds. And the Federal Trade Commission is seeking public input on a proposed rulemaking to address misleading fees and charging for food and grocery items ordered through online delivery platforms. The commission is soliciting feedback on whether such a rule is needed to prevent unfair or deceptive practices. Share and to share your perspective on proposed online food delivery service regulations. Um this is coming from the Aspen Institute. I'm sure you all are aware, but please, please, please share this with your constituents and with any stakeholders that you have or are worthy to submit quality public comment items. They're seeking quality, not quantity. Of course, if you all have anybody who wanted to submit something, please send it over. They're also supposed to be speaking on gas and energy affordability. Uh, it's the request by the gas industry associations to extend two energy conservation standards compliance deadlines by more than three years. And then on FMLA, they're also seeking public input for this is to propose guidance on clarifying how to determine joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act. And the proposal is also including amendments to the regulations implementing the Family and Medical Leave Act. Uh again, when we speak about all these issues, whether it's your fees and groceries and energy and affordability, uh let's give the citizens some hope. Um, I'm sure you all understand the the costs and fees implied on everything that's in our daily lives. But when we speak about a call to action or you want to have something uh a say in what's going on, I understand this federal administration isn't very welcoming towards any of that. But let us at least give some chance and hope to your constituents and really give a a sense of fighting back and actually you actually advocating on

behalf of of your people and anybody in the crowd as well. Just reach out to the representatives. they have the information and they will of course let us know if you have any questions. Um again this is from the Aspen Institute. This is public comment on Federal Trade Commission regulations. Again a lot of these companies and conglomerates have a lot of deceptive practices. Um if you all are tired of having to pay these fees I really recommend you go through this and submit your comments that's quality and has lots of research involved. Uh but that being said I welcome any questions but please feel free to reach out. Thank you. Thank you. The next speaker is Daniel Reyes.

Miss Prime, before we go on, I just want to acknowledge Mayor Cook who just joined us. Good to see you, Mayor. Go ahead, Mr.'s topic is data centers. Good morning. You have three.

Hello. Yes. Um, thank you. Thank you all for having me. Uh, my name is Daniel Reyes and I'm coming as simply a concerned community member. Um, on the topic of data centers, uh, I'm going to start off with a very simple anecdote. Um, about 2 3 months ago, uh, I met a gentleman and he was complaining about how much he hated El Paso and how much he couldn't wait to get out of here. And so me as a person who loves El Paso, um, asked I simply asked him, um, well, where are you from and what brings you to El Pasu? El Paso. Um he said that he's from Tal New Mexico and he's here in El Paso um as a construction worker at the Meta data center. So that surprised me um because it was my understanding that Meta was supposed to be creating local jobs here and I think that speaks to the mountain of lies that we've been fed uh concerning data centers in general. Um yes. Um so job create local job creation has been overstated. Um financial benefit to the region has been overstated and energy usage has been way understated. Uh including uh gas, electric, water, all that has been way understated. And on top of all that, my big concern is I don't see the benefit of AI. It's growing. it doesn't need our help. AI is is a fastmoving industry. Um I don't think that we need to give it any extra push here. Give it any extra tax breaks. Uh give it access to our region. Um the resources of the Southwest. Um, and I don't want to live in a world that's overrun by some fake soulless AI art, AI videography, AI music that's

robbing from real artists. So, um, I am urging you guys to please break the 380 agreement with Meta. Please put a moratorium on future data centers and I urge the public service board to break the agreement with Meta. Thank you guys very much for your time. The next speaker is Jay Mana followed by Sugata Eduardo Hernandez, Mia Gonzalez, Miguel Escto, Mr. Mana's topic is also meta data center. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning.

I'm Jay. I'm a member and organizer with Manet People's Project. Uh I spoke here several times over the past few months as have my colleagues and fellow community members who are just as upset and scared about what our city is becoming as I am. By now, I hope you all understand how incredibly toxic and controversial these data centers are. I have yet to find a community around the country who has data centers built and running at full scale that feel positive about living in close proximity to them. Folks are getting sick, wells and aquifers are depleting, and people are becoming increasingly desperate. This week in Georgia, it was revealed that a data center accidentally took 30 million gallons of water, more than it was allowed. For years, we have been told to conserve water, not to waste electricity. For what? Our kids still sit in hot classrooms across EPISD. Across all of our local school districts, teachers are having to use their own money to buy supplies. I know several teachers in EPISD who have to bring their own AC units to their classrooms because the heat is so unbearable. Water mains are breaking around town left and right, leaving people without. Our air quality was just rated one of the worst in the country. And the group that you all have trusted to shape economic development in El Paso has issued a call to arms against us and called all of us a virus because we're concerned. This is what your community is going through. The audacity that it takes to allow Meta to show up here, not have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes despite using more energy than the entire region while the families that you represent are barely getting by and settling for inadequate public funding and decaying public schools. It's pitiful. Like I said last month, we're asking you to fight. We elected you. We need you to fight for us. If you want to see communities who are represented by local governments that cater to billion-dollar companies at the expense of their people, I encourage you to go to the Peran Basin. They're pumping all the money in the world out of the ground there. And the people are still sick, public funding is abysmal, and children are significantly more likely to develop chronic lug issues and cancer. Whoever doesn't vote to break the deal will go down for our allowing our beautiful desert city to become nothing

more than an extension of the Peran Basin. A hot, dusty, and polluted place that people think twice about starting a family in because billionaires are allowed to come there and take every drop of profit that they can. Listen to the people who voted you into a position of power. Use that power and break the deal. The next speaker is Sugatar, also speaking on the Meta Data Center, followed by Eduardo Ernnandez, Mia Gonzalez, Miguel Escto. Good morning.

Good morning. Uh, good morning, mayor and council. Uh, my name is Suga Portuger. I live in district 8 represented by Chrisales and I'm a graduate student here at UT. I'm here to demand that El Paso City Council one, break the 380 agreement with Meta and all associated companies. Two, put a moratorium put a moratorium on all data center development in the city or county of El Paso. And three, urge the public service board to break the agreement with me. In both the short and long term, these data centers will unequivocally destroy El Paso both environmentally and financially. At our current consumption, at our current consumption, not with any data centers or anything, we are about 30 years uh from running out of from completely running out of water. uh both from the Rio Grande as well as the Waco meons. Do you understand what that means? 30 like you know in 30 years that means that the majority of El Paso being priced out of living here completely because if we're going to come and water in from hundreds of miles away you know that 99% of El Paso cannot afford that simply um if you all let the data data centers be built you will bring that date forward by decades which means that the mass the mass immigrations of Ed Boswins out of the city will come 10 to 20 years earlier if not more all the tax revenue in the world will not save you nor will it save us when our water runs out. Please do your job as our representatives and your duty as El Paso to oppose bringing in the data centers completely. Break the 380 agreement with META. Put a moratorium on data center development and make the public service board break their agreement with me. Please say El Paso.

Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker is Eduardo Nandez. Eduardo Ernnandez. Mia Gonzalez. Miss Gonzalez's topic is also the meta data center. She will be followed by Miguel Escto. Good morning.

Good morning, council. My name is Mia Gonzalez and I'm here to speak against the deal that the city has made with the meta data center. I have attended all of the meetings that the city and the community have had regarding the data centers in El Paso and one thing is for certain. Our people do not want this data center in our region. And more importantly, no one wants to subsidize these developments if there are really no benefits to our economy or our community. These centers are exploiting our resources and banking on the fact that our leadership and people are too ignorant to realize what is going on or what is at stake. Do we want that as our legacy as a city? Can our finite resources handle this? The answer to both of those questions is no. I do not want my hard-earned taxes to support this billion-doll company that cares nothing about our beautiful city. They wish to run us dry and then up and leave when it's no longer beneficial for them. But I have to ask, where will we go when there's no more clean water? When our skies are lit up through the night because of the light pollution that these centers emit? when our people can't sleep because of the unsettling noise that these centers give off. These very things have been happening in cities across the country. This is not some theoretical understanding of the situation. This is real. You all live here and this will catch up to you too. If the goal is to invest in this community and create a sustainable future where people can continue to thrive and actually build families here, then we cannot move forward with keeping these data centers here. I urge this city council to break the 380 deal with Meta. We need a moratorum on future data centers and we must urge the public service board to break their agreement with Meta. If you do not take the proper action to address this crisis, we are watching and we will have no choice but to vote you out come November. So, thank you for your time and I hope you seriously consider what your community is telling you.

Thank you. Next speaker is Miguel Escto. also speaking regarding the metadata center. He will be followed by Omar Galache.

Good morning.

Morning, city council. Um, Miguel Escotto from district 2. I'm one of the thousands of El Pasoans that are begging you to do something and not make excuses. I want to talk about air pollution and what cancer can be caused by these data centers. Since 2020, I have visited the Perian Basin oil fields to document emissions from the oil and gas industry. I co-founded an environmental watchdog group called Oil Field Witness. And I worked with certified thermographer Sharon Wilson. She uses a optical gas imaging and OGI camera to visualize emissions from the oil and gas infrastructure. I have seen pollution from pipelines, refineries, and importantly gas plants. Data centers require gas plants. A gas plant causes cancer. A gas plant emits volatile organic compounds or VOCC's like benzene and toyline. I have witnessed through the optical gas imaging camera pollution from El Paso Electric's gas plants, the Rio Grand Plant in Sunland Park, the Newman gas plant in the northeast, the Montana Vista gas plant in the Far East. Pollution is invisible, but it impacts our health dramatically. I aming I am emailing all of your offices oil field witness OGI videos at visualize emissions from an existing data center in Memphis, Tennessee, the XAI data center that's very similar to the one that Meta wants to create. The meta data center will double the amount of pollution in our city.

The meta data center wants to double the amount of pollution in our city. I want you all to absorb that reality. This is not normal. You're not permitting a warehouse or a new business or a garage or a bar. This can will fundamentally impact the air that we breathe. And it doesn't matter if you were present December 2023 when the vote which sold out El Paso Teta happened. It doesn't matter. What matters is that you're in those seats today. What matters is what you do with your power right now. And we are pleading for you to be brave, for you to break the 380 agreement. And we won't take your excuses. It's not an exaggeration to say that your inaction can lead to El Pasoans getting sick, developing asthma, and even developing cancer. Do something. History will not forgive you. Thank you. Thank you.

The final speaker is Omar Galache and his topic is epilepsy. Good morning. You have three minutes. Good morning.

Good morning, honorable mayor, members of the city council, and members of the public. My name is Omar Galache and I am here today not only as a constituent, but as someone who's personally living with epilepsy and advocating for families across the El Paso border region who continue facing major gaps in neurological and epilepsy care. I first want to sincerely thank the city of El Paso and previous councils for publicly recognizing epilepsy over the years throughout purple day proclamations and epilepsy awareness month resolutions. That recognition matters and I appreciate it. But for families living with epilepsy, awareness alone is not enough. People living with epilepsy do not know when their next seizure may happen. Many live with constant uncertainty involving employment, transportation, education, independence, emergency care, access to specialized treatment, and long-term quality of life. Just last week in Washington DC, more than 120 epilepsy advocates from over 35 states gathered on Capitol Hill during the Epilepsy Foundation's public policy institute to meet directly with Congress regarding the bipartisan national plan for epilepsy act and increased federal support for epilepsy programs, research, suit awareness, seizure response education, and specialized care access. That national movement is exactly why I began bringing this issue before our local government here in El Paso. At the federal level, Democrats and Republicans are now working together through the bipartisan National Plan for Epilepsy Act, Senate Bill 494 and House Resolution 1189, led by Senators Eric Smith and Amy Clolobashar and Representatives Jim Costa and Greg Murphy. This issue goes beyond politics. It is about public health, disability access, emergency preparedness, medical infrastructure, and quality of life for our community. Our region has already made important progress. University Medical Center in Texas Tech Health El Paso recently achieved designation throughout the

National EP Association of Epilepsy Centers as a level four adult epilepsy center, the highest level of epilepsy care available. That achievement did not happen overnight. It took years of advocating, years of institutional development, specialized staffing, epilepsy monitoring, capability, medical collaboration, and demonstrated regional demand. And respectfully, that achievement should be viewed as the beginning, not the finish line. El Paso remains medically underserved in neurological and epilepsy care. For years, I have continued advocating publicly for stronger epilepsy infrastructure and support in our region. I have personally emailed members of the council and the mayor's office and prop a proposed resolution framework supporting the development of a regional epilepsy initiative and task force to help begin formal co coordination around this issue. I would also like to involve city of El Paso in the broader work of already taking place nationally so our region is not left behind as these conversations continue to grow across the country as these discussions continue nationally in Washington. Um, thank you.

Thank you. I can't have another minute. Like, what's that? I can't have another minute. Just quick, you guys. Okay. Spin the rules. Give him a minute. Go ahead.

I I appreciate you guys. As these discussions continue nationally in Washington DC, I intend to continue engaging with lawmakers, advocacy organizations, healthcare leaders, and medical stakeholders so El Paso is included in future conversations surrounding epilepsy policy infrastructure, research, and funding opportunities. I respectfully ask the city council to continue supporting epilepsy awareness efforts and begin exploring what a coordinated long-term regional epilepsy initiative and task force could look like through collaboration with UMC Texas Tech Epilepsy Foundation Texas local neurologists, public health leaders, and community advocates. For over a decade, El Paso has acknowledged epilepsy publicly. Now we have the opportunity to build something meaningful around it, and I will continue advocating for that goal. I respectfully ask council to place this matter on a future agenda and work with regional medical partners towards establishing a comprehensive regional epilepsy center. Thank you sincerely for your time, your leadership and your consideration of this important issue. Appreciate you guys.

Thank you council. That concludes call to the public. Okay. For the rules of order, no use of personal cellular devices nor personal communication should take place on the deas while the meeting is in session. When you you obtain the floor from the mayor, you will have up to 10 minutes for debate and may speak twice per debatable motion. Please speak into the microphone and refrain from side conversations at the desk while the meeting is in session. For those of you joining virtually, please make sure your microphones are muted to reduce any background noise.

Okay, that brings us to the consent agenda. All matters listed under the consent agenda will be considered by city council to be routine and will be enacted by one motion unless separate discussion is requested by council members. Prior to the vote, members of the audience may ask questions regarding items on the consent agenda. When the vote has been taken if an item has not been called out for separate discussion, the item has been approved. Council may however reconsider any item at any time during the meeting. Mayor Proen.

Thank you, Miss Prine. I make a motion to approve the consent agenda with the following revisions. Page 13, item 34, take the item at 11:00 a.m. per real estate. Page 10, item 29, postpone two weeks per representative aso. Page 13, item 37, delete per municipal court.

Repeat them, please. Page 13, item 34, take the item at 11:00 a.m. Per real estate. Page 10, item 29, postpone two weeks per representative aso. Page 13, item 37, delete per municipal court. Okay, Miss Bryant. So, that revision, the the additional one is not on the sheet. We we received that from representative after we had distributed the sheet sir. Okay. So if we have represent fier thank you

m prime if we disagree with one of the items being deleted we'd vote no on the you can ask that that item be taken separately that revision be taken separately if you would like. Let's we're going to take that one separately. Yeah. Thank you mayor. which is what item again on the second one she mentioned item number what is the one 29 29 postpone two weeks thank you so we're taking 29 separately yes all right there's a is there a second to approve second okay

and we do have public comment on items seven and eight is Mr. Carlos SCS here. Carlos SCS. He signed up to speak on items seven and eight. I don't see Mr. Science coming forward. Okay. Miss Prime, call for the vote.

Yes, sir. The motion was made by mayor prom chavez, seconded by alternate mayor prom to approve the consent agenda with the revisions to take item 34 at 11:00 a.m. and to delete item 37. On that motion, call for the vote in the voting session. And that motion passes unanimously. Okay. Let's take the the one item, Miss Frank. Okay. Item 29. The revision on item 29 is to postpone the item for two weeks. Okay. Is there a second on this item? Second.

Okay. Oh, I need

Okay, Miss P, read to us what we're doing again. So we this one is a request from representative ADO and this is to postpone the public hearing of the ordinance for two weeks. This is item 29 to postpone it for two weeks. Okay. Representative Mosto.

So I just wanted to explain a little bit more um on why I'm asking for another two weeks. I talked to Miss Mack um a few minutes ago. Um there I've been asking for a red line for this and there's no red line and it's making it really difficult for me to understand what these changes are cuz there's no um comparison from what they were doing before to what they're doing now. And the presentation in the backup is not very clear to me in terms of how they're saying this is what was before and this is what's after. So I I feel that we need to have more information in that sense and that's why I'm asking for this postponement for two weeks.

Okay. Mayor. Okay. Representative Lemon. Mayor, can I just explain something? Yes, ma'am. Quick. Representative Ato. The I asked staff for a red line. But if you look at the caption of the ordinance that is being proposed, the entire chapter on landscape is being deleted. So we traditionally don't provide a red line because It would make no sense to give you a side-by-side comparison because it's literally being deleted and a new one is being written in its place. So, I would defer to staff in order to explain to you what those comparison

and we've had conversations over the last weeks, but I couldn't even get the the prior one because I I understood that there was a whole deletion, but I was asking for the original document before we got to the deletion. So the current the current version of this section is in the city code which is accessible online and you can pull up that provision specifically. I don't know that staff has like the current version of that version from when it was first passed.

Good morning Mr. Mayor, city representatives Tony de la Cruz planning inspections department. Um just to clarify, we did have an initial briefing where we did mention to all the representatives that because the landscape ordinance was a major reorganization of existing components of the ordinance plus amendments uh that we had in coordination with our development community, the office of sustainability and multiple stakeholders that we weren't providing a set of red lines. uh we did respond to a CR that requested the red lines on March 19th where we explained that same matter uh that we did not have the red lines because of that. Uh so the the issue with providing red lines is that multiple sections of the landscape code were relocated to where it flowed better and that's why it was difficult to provide those red lines and that that's exactly why we moved with the deletion of the existing ordinance and the replacement of the new. Okay, represent Canales.

Thank you, Mayor. On the question of the postponement, I'd ask perhaps that we uh in instead of postponing now could move this item to the regular agenda. Sure. See the presentation and if there are lingering questions at that point, it might be a better time for the council to make a decision on whether or not to postpone the item. All right. Is there a second to do this? Well, I think we we have a motion on the floor. You would just Well, the motion on the floor is to delete the item for two weeks. Postpone postpone. So, they And now you're saying move it to the regular agenda. Yes. But it would be a new main motion, I think. So, uh, M. Prior, what do we do here? Let's see if we can get this

moment would take precedence. You would have to vote on the So, I I will wait and I can make a motion later. There we go. But, let's let's take this first. You're making the motion to postpone it to the regular agenda. No, I can't make that mo. That motion is not in order at the moment. Okay. We we have to we have to vote on Miss Prime, get us organized here. You have to vote on the postponement. Okay, let's do that. The the motion that's currently on the floor. Okay, we're going to do that first. Miss Leone, represent Lemon.

Thank No, thank you. That's okay. Um I I I think it's really important uh for us to streamline and when items like this come up. I had an opportunity to meet and had a briefing extensive briefing on this item and taking the time to do that in advance answers a lot of the questions that we have. So I know that I will not be in support of postponing this. Thank you. Representative Fier. Mayor I have to agree with my colleague Representative Le Mo. We were briefed. Um, all our questions were answered and um, I don't see any reason to postpone it.

Okay. So, Mr. P, we're gonna call for the vote on this and voting in favor of it is to postpone it. Voting against it is to deny the deny the motion. That's right. Okay, Mr. Bryan, call for the vote. On the motion to postpone for two weeks. Call for the vote. in the voting session and that motion fails. 7 to1 representative as the voting I the remainder of council voting me. Okay.

Go ahead. Represent can um I I this is procedurally a little interesting but I'd like to move item 29 to the regular agenda. Sure. You just want to table the the remainder of action on item 29 until we get to that item. Correct. Because it is on the regular agenda. Oh, it is on the regular agenda. Correct. Yes, of course. Never mind. Yes. And it's procedurally very simple. Wherever it is, not that vote. Okay. All right. We're good. Right. We're going to vote. We're going to vote on the Okay. So, mayor, at this point, would you like to go to item 34? We're going to take item number 34.

Okay. And after item 34 is mass transit. Item 34 is discussion and action on a resolution authorizing the city manager designate to execute a lease agreement between the city of El Paso and Carl L. Robinson Heat Retreat for the property located at 5509 Will Ruth Avenue, El Paso, Texas, 79924 for an initial term of 5 years with two options to renew one year each at a rental amount of $12,000 per year. The total contract value being $84,000. Representative Tjo, would you like to make a motion to approve? Motion to approve. All right, Mary Lou. We'd love to see a presentation.

Good morning, Mayor and Council. Mary Lewis Vinosa with the real estate division. For the record, this item is regarding the lease agreement for the property located at 5509 Willil Ruth. Before we get started, I would like to bring up to the podium and introduce Mr. and Mrs. Austerland, please. Good morning, mayor, city council members, city staff. How is everybody today?

Kind of filled up the room a little bit today, huh? Um, so, uh, we met with some of you already. We're really excited about this potential partnership with the city. Um, my husband and I currently own a nonprofit youth program just up the road from, uh, the Will Ruth facility. Um, it's focused on the youth of basketball. Uh we shared that with some of you already. Uh we sent emails to kind of tell you a little bit about ourselves and what we do. Um we are very very proud of the work we've done in the past couple years with that nonprofit youth program. Um our our athletes are thriving. They're getting opportunities. They're getting exposed outside of El Paso. Um scouts, coaches, all that good stuff. They're looking at them and we're putting El Paso on the map. Um, the I want to be honest, the the YMC the the the the building at Will Ruth, we never stepped foot in there, my husband and I. I'll be completely honest, we've never seen the facility. We didn't really know much of what was happening in there. Um, and when news broke that the Y was going to be closing and there was a lot of, uh, outcry from the community, a lot of groups, uh, constituents, coalitions, just so many people reached out to both my husband and myself, um, parents in my program asking if there was anything that we could do to save it, keep the doors open, partner with them, just anything. And we were flooded with so many messages. Um, so we looked into it. We visited the facility. We spoke with a lot of the members that are here. Um they shared their stories with us. It was very moving. Um I'm not going to exaggerate when I say these members rely heavily on that facility. They do. This is literally their lifeline. And um listening to their stories and and their pleas. We just we made the commitment and said, "Hey, we can make the impact that we're doing on a larger scale. We can expand so it's multigenerational." Um, so we're reaching um, you know, all the families in the northeast and the broader El Paso community. Um, our plans

for the facility will keep we want to keep it um, very much similar to what the Y offered. Uh, we want to ensure that it's senior focused that our youth does not, you know, we don't forget about our youth that the the leadership programs there, the sports there um, stay intact. So, we've done everything in our power. We've been very proactive about um keeping all the programming there as best as we could under our nonprofit. Um I also want to share we tried working with the Y and and trying to get a transition uh so that the members are who we prioritize to keep those doors open so those the services are still available to them. So we we attempted to uh try to work with them. Uh we were able to be successful to purchase uh the facility equipment at the facility. We did that last week. We were very proactive about that. So that way the members had access to the equipment that um that they're used to. We spoke with instructors. We spoke with employees. We guaranteed uh uh job security for the employees that wanted to stay there and continue the mission because a lot of the members are attached to the employees. Um so we offered that job security. We offered um members the exact same um uh programming that they were receiving for their wellness with aquatics to their dance classes. So what we want to do is we want to keep those resources open in the Northeast. Okay? The Northeast is so near and dear to to myself to all of us here. Um and and it's a it's a vital uh facility that we have to make sure stays open for the community. So, uh, we hope that, um, we have the support of of of of everybody today and we won't let the city down in this partnership if you give us the opportunity to elevate that facility and keep it keep it going as it was. Um, and I'll close with the name that we went with, which is, uh, the Carl L. Robinson Heat Retreat.

And quickly, um, we, my husband and I never met, uh, Mr. Robinson, but when news broke out about this potential, uh, partnership with the city, a lot of, uh, different groups reached out to us and shared their stories about what Mr. Robinson did when he served on city council, as well as his programs with the underserved, feeding the hungry. And, um, as these stories were were funneling in, my husband was like, "Wait a minute. when I was knocking on doors when I ran for school board, I remember knocking on on the Robinson family door and his son uh speaking with my husband about the Browns. My husband's originally from Ohio. He's a Browns fan. They were they were sharing their stories about Ohio and um his son told my my husband, you know, we're trying to get recognition for my dad. He did this, he did that. And if you're ever in a position to to do that, will you do that for me? And my husband tells him, I'm just running for school board. I'm a nobody. I don't think I'll ever be in a position to do that. So, when this happened, it was like, wow. It's almost like a, you know, meant to be type of thing. So, we said, what, you know, when when they were asking us to name maybe the community garden that we're bringing back and things like that after him, we said, we're going to do one better. If he impacted the northeast this much and that facility, he did a lot a lot of work out of that facility. His kids went to that facility. They relied heavily on that facility. So, we decided to honor him in that way, but keep a piece of our nonprofit program, the heat, uh, still connected to the to what we want to build there. So, anything you want to say?

Thank you very much. I think I took all the time.

Good. Good morning. Good morning. How are you doing?

Good. I'm doing well. Doing well. Also, um, Dau Wakefield, El Paso veteran of the year. I got to say that. Also, representative here for the Northeast. I'm a transplant, meaning that I moved here as a travel nurse. And I was told, "Don't move to the Northeast. It's ghetto." For real. For real. And then I found a real estate person that said, "You move where you want to move." I said, I just want my toys to have a house. Not me, my toys, my motorcycle, my everything. And so we found a place in the Northeast. Love the Northeast. Have been fighting and vying and doing everything, not just for veterans, but for the community of the Northeast. My thing is with the vision that Sarah and Robert have for the Will Ruth facility, it could not have been a better name than Carl L. Robinson. Carl L. Robinson, if you know, just like they said, he stood for everything El Paso, but definitely had a yearning for anything. Northeast. You could be hungry. Whatever time he would come for you, feed you, take you to the store, buy you groceries on his answer machine. You cannot reach me, I'm out making the Northeast better. That was his sound on his voicemail to you. We get up at 5:00 to go to the convention center, serve people just to say we represent the Northeast. Come have food. Come have a clean t-shirt for Thanksgiving. Having a place in the Northeast that's going to be viable for all the seniors. I'm a senior. may not look like it will make me. But seriously, when you're talking about seniors and their children and grandchildren that have lived and been invested in this facility for all of these years, it's only fair that a

facility be rehabilitated, revised, rejuvenated, and then be allowed to have the Northeast citizens and residents have a place to call their own. Um, I don't know what heat means. Um, I didn't get to ask Sarah, but what I decided was I'm going to tell her what it is right now. She don't think I know this, but I made a a quick reference to heat. It is for health, education, activity, and togetherness. And that's what we are. Uh,

and before I finish, I want to do one thing because Carl Robinson's son Anthony did message me and his message to me was just please keep please keep them in mind and my dad in mind and please let them get it done. Me and my dad are a part of that YMCA. He enrolled me in the afterchool program and I used to go to the summer camp at the YMCA. They taught me how to swim at the YMCA and we played Dungeons and Dragons with the nerd kids at the YMCA. And my dad was the coach of our basketball team at that Northeast YMCA. That's a historical place to me and a big part of my childhood. He was also involved with the Special Olympics back then in the 80s. Thank you very much, Anthony Robinson. So, just letting you know from the old people to the young people, please let this come to fruition. Thank you.

Thank you. Good morning, Mary Lou.

Good morning, Mayor. All right, let's get to this. This property is sitting on five acres of land zoned R4 residential. It is currently occupied by a tenant asking for or that has a nonprofit discounted rental rate. And so the let's talk about the eligibility criteria for that. To be uh eligible for a nonprofit discounted rental rate, the nonprofit has to have a 501c tax exempt status and they have to submit a formal request to the city with documentation including of the proposed public benefit and annual work plans that include benchmarks and performance measures. They also must pass the constitutional compliance rule that is statemandated and that is to serve a public municipal purpose. The city has to retain control to ensure that that purpose is met and the city of course has to receive the benefit provided. The proposed uh terms for this lease agreement again the tenants are the Carl L. Robinson Heat Retreat. The building size is 37,387 square ft. The discounted rental rate is $12,000 a year with an initial term of five years with two options to renew of one-year piece. The market rental rate for the record on this property is $447,963 and operating expenses totaling $54,211.15 per year. The public benefit that we are receiving from this organization is a value exchange of $2.2 million in tenant funded capital improvements. They will also assume 100% of the operational responsibility. This eliminates the need for city- funded repairs and staffing. There is an avoided financial burden of approximately $878,250

a year for operating expenses and an additional $3.83 million of immediate critical repairs. Additionally, up to 12.5 million long-term capital exposure that will be seen through a performance-based structure with investment milestones within the first three years. The strategic outcome for this is that it would maintain service to the community in the northeast. It would leverage private capital for public infrastructure and protect high-v value city assets without direct exposure. Staff's recommendation is to lease the property to the proposed tenant in accordance with these terms. Questions?

No, this is fantastic. We've got this thing is lit up like a Christmas tree here. We're going to start The motions are done, but we're going to start with comments from Representative Lemon first. She's going to go last. I'm gonna go last. You want to go? Yes. Oh, yeah. Out of disrespect for you. Thank you very much. This is what a true public private partnership looks like.

Two sides, not just one side. and you will serve as the poster child of that. What a true private public partnership looks like. I cannot thank you enough. Carl was a good friend of mine. I I just I served on council with him. uh remained friends throughout and I am just so happy and honored that his name is back up on the marquee somewhere. Um I stand ready to help in any way that I can. Um I want to buy the first membership that you have. Uh or number seven, either one. Either one. Uh but congratulations to both of you. a young couple stepping forward. What a great gift for not only for Northeast El Paso, but for the whole city. Let this be the example that we will continue to follow throughout when we have people stand.

Yeah. Thank you very much. Thank you, Representative Chavez. Thank you, Mayor. Well, first I I want to just congratulate the Northeast.

Congratulations. uh district 1 and district 4 uh were representative and are district sisters. Um our district's abat in on Trans Mountain actually. So we did a video there last year and I know that well we both came into office at the same time January 2025. So we've gone through the ups and the downs and I am just so happy for representative for the entire northeast. I am extremely grateful to the Austerlands for stepping up um out of your own u goodness of your heart really and bringing this to the community. What what a beautiful gift this will be to the entire Northeast. And I know I've said it many times, but I'll say it again today, Representative Tjo. When one of us wins, we all win as a city. So congratulations and blessings to all of you. Thank you. represent Basto.

Thank you, Mayor. This is a huge deal for the Northeast. Um, Rep. Buertjo and I get to share the the Northeast and that's always something that I really appreciate and I also want to thank Report for all that you've been doing to get us to this point. I want to thank our city manager, our city attorney staff. They've spent countless hours getting us to today. There were many many months of of work of trying to see what we could do to save the YMCA. And I I saw them really go above and beyond to save that organization. And you know, a few weeks ago, I I was a little upset that the narrative that that came out was that we were taking the YMCA out. We did everything in our power to keep them there. And once that didn't work out anymore, we had the Osterlands come and say that they wanted to get this property and now we're here. And this is how fast the staff worked. I mean, it was probably four or five weeks of work to get get us um a contract that we're hopefully going to pass today. And so I'm I'm just really thankful. You've done so much for the Northeast. I I think both of you are a Northeast institution. what you've done with youth and sports is a really big deal and I really appreciate what um you do with with the heat. Now you're going to have another place to continue your legacy of impacting the Northeast in a positive way. Um and when we were meeting about this last week, you told us that you were gonna help during this transition and you're not going to make an a penny off of this. And and I know you didn't want to come and say like praise yourself cuz like

that's kind of weird and it feels weird when you're praising yourself, right? But I want to praise you and and I think you're amazing.

So So my constituents have really been impacted by this. you know, um the the closure of of this or the potential closure of this was a big deal and you know, my my constituents start at Hondo Pass. So, they're not really saying, "Well, I can't go over there cuz that's District 4." Um and I live in District 2, right? And so, this is so impactful throughout the entire Northeast. And I really wanted to be clear on that and and just thank you so much. So, um I think you're also going to save jobs that could have been lost. So, I wanted to put that out there and I really look forward to everything that you're going to do at that facility and make it grow and I I have nothing but appreciation for both of you. Thank you.

Thank you,

Representative Nino. Thank you, Mayor. Um, you know, community is extremely important and here in El Paso, we truly all all our family. A few months ago, there was a lot of uncertainty. I know that I had a conversation with Representative Djo um you know cuz I I I felt for the northeast of what was happening but you all have brought a lot of hope and partnerships and you guys have brought community together again. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And I know how hard also Repjo has been working to ensure she continues to advocate for the northeast. And I think that's extremely important to share with the members of the community that your representative has been fighting hard to to advocate for your district and ensure that there was this community space. So, thank you Repo for for doing that. And to the Austerlands um and to the Austerlands, thank you also for stepping up and and and bringing this together and also all of our city staff, city manager, city attorney, uh for making this a reality and getting us here. So, I'm happy to support this item. Thank you.

Represent Fiero. Thank you, Mayor Representative Thjo. Congratulations. And mayor, I I know you had a a little bit to do with this and and and you had a lost a little bit of hair with all the stress having to go through this. Um but but thank you for for keeping it together and keeping the facility open for all these great citizens from the northeast. But I I need to share with you. I was a little bit nervous and thank you all because you you really saved Representative Lemon. Um, since the passing of our friend Carl Robinson, um, she has been looking for a way to honor him and get his name in the Northeast, and she was about ready to start tagging his name all over the Northeast.

So, so you, so you saved her. Thank you very much. Thank you, mayor. Represent Canalis.

Thank you, mayor. Um, I'll try to avoid being repetitive. I I couldn't let the moment pass without saying thank you both for stepping up to to take this over. I I think you know we ended up in a situation that wasn't good for anybody. Um and I don't think that was uh due to anyone's bad faith. I mean I think that very clear that the YMC YMCA uh was in a little bit of trouble um financially and and with their ability to upkeep that facility. Um we we as as my colleague Representative Aso said, you know, desperately wanted to keep the facility open and to work with them. Um, and really you all uh performed a miracle for us in in showing up at the 11th hour to uh to to keep the facility open because uh you know we all understand how important it is for the community in the Northeast, particularly given uh the the lack of other options at the moment for uh that kind of recreational facility. So, um, we're really overjoyed that this is the end result of what started off as a as a pretty difficult situation. Um, and really that's thanks to uh the Austral family and uh, you know, Ber Trejo and and the work of our wonderful staff

to the city. I mean, it's a partnership. I I I think it's important for the public to understand that uh the the situation at at the at the Will Ruth facility was not a doing by the city. Um you guys tried to and with us working with you guys, uh my husband and I can honestly say that the city did everything in their power to keep those doors open. Um their hands were tied. You know, they're they don't own the Y. They don't have powers over the Y. They had, you know, no say in that decision. And I think there's a lot of misinformation to that extent. Um, so what's important is that the the broader public needs to know that the city tried everything to see what they could do to keep those doors open. And I will tell you, they gave us this opportunity uh met with us really quick. They expedited everything to to try to ensure that that those doors stay open, that we can get information to the community. Um, so I think it's really important that we uh we we understand that the city did everything in their power uh to keep it open and they've they've accomplished it because they've entered into a partnership with us should this all go well and um the doors are going to stay open and I think the the the public needs to be aware of that.

And so I'll say what I'll say one final time we're we're so grateful to you for your role in that. um really the the star role in that and uh I I think that we'll have uh long and and fruitful partnership there at the facility. So, thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Yeah, represent Rocha.

Thank you, Mayor. I just want to say thank you personally. Thank you very much for for the offer and for coming in and saving such a vital important resource for the community. Congratulations to the Northeast. I look forward to seeing the new I look forward to seeing the new signage go up. So, please uh you know, congratulations again to everyone involved in this in this wonderful wonderful uh process that took place to keep this facility open. Representative Tjo.

Thank you, Mayor. This is amazing. Thank you all for showing up. Thank you, Austster Linds, for coming forward. Thank you, Debo, for being diligent in finding a way to honor Carl. So, I want to share a few words in support of this partnership and my experience with the Austerlands. They have cons consistently stepped forward and are a blessing to our community. Last year during the floodings in the Palomino and Laramim neighborhood, I called them for help and they responded immediately. They brought their family and their team to clean and disinfect homes, to haul debris, and toi assist the families in need, most of whom were seniors. When we organize community cleanups, they join us, recruit volunteers, youth, and parents to join us, and they get their hands dirty picking up trash and pulling weeds. They have been people that I and our community can count on with a simple phone call. So when they called and asked if if uh when they called me and shared that they wanted to find a way to continue services and programs at the Y uh facility, I was ready to do what I could to support their efforts because I know their heart for this community and their commitment is genuine. Many in the Northeast community also know the Austerlands. They have received over 5,000 signatures from residents who wanted to see their efforts move forward. My office shared surveys and received hund hundreds of responses and support. And we've also as a council have received numerous emails asking to preserve this these services. I have shared many times that the Northeast is like family. We are a community that shows up for one another, extends a hand when help is needed

and we care about our neighbors and that is exactly what I saw with the Austerlands way before this item came before council. We have had numerous conversations about the facility and during one of those conversations I asked if they would be willing to name the facility after Carl Robinson who we've already shared how important he is to this community. And I I thank Dau also for working so diligently to to honor him. And they immediately said yes when it was asked if this if they would be willing to do this. So, you know, my fellow my fellow council members and mayor, this agreement will preserve recreation and wellness opportunities in Northeast for our residents and uh keeping a city-owned facility active, maintained, and a public service. The Austerlands are prepared to continue community services, make significant private investments into this facility and assume operational responsibilities, maintenance, and hire existing staff, some of which they've already hired and maintain program, which is so important. They are committed to they are committing approximately 2.2 2 million toward critical repairs and improvements over the next three years, including roof, sewer, HVAC, safety, and ADA related work. And there is so much more to share with their vision and commitment to this community. And I can hardly wait to see what they what they have to to be able to put this together. So, I respectfully ask for your support. I trust the people before us and their commitment to our community. Thank you for stepping forward.

All right, Miss Prime, before we take I know we have public comment, I just want to add a few things and say Northeast showed up. Yeah.

Yeah. We are Northeast. That's awesome. Miss Mr. Mo, I would just like to say a serious thank you to our councilwoman, Tjo. Yeah. Uh we don't always agree, but we do get it done.

Um and one thing about it, Northeast is not ghetto. Northeast is no longer the redheaded stepchild. You're going to see us do great, wonderful, exhausting, but exasperating and enormous things because of the Oelins and because the citizens in the Northeast and I know a lot of you already know family members of Carl L. Robinson, but we have them here in our audience. I just want them to step forward, please, because some of them are online long distance and some of them are physically here in our audience and we just want to make sure that they see the love still going on for their family member Carl L. Robinson.

Good a good morning. My name is Melvin Douglas and this is my daughter Tammy and we are representing the Robinson family and just want to thank the mayor and the council members for allowing us to come up and say a few words and also to thank the uh the leaders of the organization that's putting it together not only because of the name of Carl but what Carl represented and we know he put his best foot forward trying to do the best that he could for the Northeast and for the city and also for the county for that matter. And uh he put it in there and he tried to do the best that he could. And just like Debo was saying, that message that he had on his phone, he was always out about the community business, wasn't he? So, uh just wanted to uh come up and say a few words on behalf of the organization and our family's appreciation for them adopting the name of Carl L. Robertson. So, uh finally, I just want to say Heat Retreat, LET'S GET HOT. I LOVE IT. UH, so I think we do have some, but again, you know, I'm a product of the Northeast, so my family's been there since the late60s. So, you know, absolutely. Yes. This is a proud moment for me as well because I grew up, you know, in the Northeast going to Arlington Park, Nations, Tobin. I could go on and on and on, but that is still my home. And I was there this weekend making sure I was with my mom over Mother's Day. But let this be the model of what can be done when you work with the city and you work with good partners um to get things accomplished. like Sarah and Robert, we cannot thank you guys enough for what you're doing and how you're stepping up

to lead this community uh in a time like this. Also, we have to acknowledge Carl Robinson. I mean, he has touched so many lives. Uh this is just a small representation of who he's touched throughout his career, not only here in the city, but also in in in the county. I can also tell you that the name for some reason seems like it's always been there. You know, the the Carl Robinson Heat Retreat. I don't think Oh, I forgot the L. Carl L. Robinson Heat Retreat.

I don't know it has any other name now. You know, this is it. So, congratulations and and this is such a good day for the wonderful wonderful people of Northeast El Paso. Yeah. And last but not least, people. There you go. And last but not least, I want to thank Representative Tjo for

Yes, please. Representative Tjo, when she heard the Y was closing, she went to work. She rolled up her sleeves and went to work. And look what happened. So telling us it can't be done, it can be done. So what a great day for El Paso and congratulations to everyone. Miss All right. We're real close to some real big noise happening, but we got public comment first.

Yes, Mayor. We have Miss Crystal Johnson. She's in in the queue. Miss Johnson, star six, please to unmute your telephone. Crystal Johnson. Good morning, ma'am. You have three minutes. Can you hear me? Yes, ma'am.

All right. Thank you so much. Good afternoon. Or I think it's afternoon. I'm in Florida. Um, my name is Crystal Johnson, as it was stated, and I'm the niece of the late great Carl Robinson, Carl L. Robinson. It is my pleasure to represent the rest of the Robinson family who are also online. And in doing so, we just want to thank you all for the honor that you have bestowed upon my uncle. Um, he loved this city. He we heard about the Northeast District all the time and so we definitely appreciate that. This makes us proud that his legacy will continue to live on and be remembered in your city. We hope that when the uh doors are reopened or not reopened or when everything is completed and they do a ribbon cutting that we will we will be invited um to come in person so that we can um you know represent the family to the fullest extent. So again I thank you. I thank you. I thank you. Um, I've met a few of you all when we were there for his uh, services and so we definitely appreciate you guys um, continuing to just honor him um, as much as possible. Thank you.

Thank you. The next speaker is Muddy P. Kaitton. Muddy P. Kaitton. Good afternoon. You have three minutes. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor and city council representatives. Um, my name is Marie Paitton and I'm here as a northeast resident, a mother, and someone who has watched our side of town fight for resources and that other parts of El Paso receive without question. I want today I want to speak in strong support of Robert and Sarah and their effort to take over and preserve the Northeast YMCA facility and urge you to vote yes on item 34. What the Oerlands are doing is not a business move. It is not a political move. It is a selfless act of service to a community that has gone without far too many many times. They are stepping up because they see a need for our seniors, for our youth, for our families, and they are willing to fill that need with no ulterior motives. I know the Osterlands personally, I have seen the work they do when no one is watching. Their nonprofit has supported young people in El Paso, giving them training, mentorship, structure, and opportunities they would not have had otherwise. Mr. Osterland serves as a school a school board trustee and from the moment he was elected he got to work. He didn't wait. He didn't make excuses. He immediately began advocating for better conditions, better resources, and better outcomes for the students and families of EPISD district 5. And Sarah, she has been the backbone of their youth programs. She works tirelessly to make sure kids receive proper coaching, exposure, and support. She's the kind of leader, sorry, who shows up early, stays up

late, and puts her heart into every child who walks through their doors. These are the people who have already proven their commitment to the city. Allowing the Ozerlands to take over the Northeast Y means something bigger than just keeping a building open. It means our seniors will still have a place to gather, exercise, and stay connected. It means our youth will have safe programs, mentorship, and activities. It means families will have a community hub instead of another empty building in the northeast. For too long, our side of town has watched facilities close, programs disappear, and opportunities shift elsewhere. This is a chance, a rare chance to say yes to a solution that is already on the table. A solution that cost the city nothing but gives the community everything. The Oerlands are not asking for a special treatment. They are asking for a fair chance to serve the Northeast. I urge this council to support this effort and recognize the good they have already done. Thank you for your time and thank you for considering what is what this means to the Northeast. That concludes public comment meeting.

Okay. Something magical is getting ready to happen here. So, Miss Prime. Yes, sir. We're going to call for the vote. Miss Prime, call for the vote. Yes. Motion was made by Representative Boyjo, seconded by Mayor Prom Chavez to approve the resolution on item 34. On that motion, call for the vote.

Drum roll. End the voting session. And that motion PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. YES. YES. YES. YES.

CONGRATULATIONS, GUYS.

Uh you guys go take one. We're going to keep going, though. Thank you. Okay, this way. Yes. Let me They're gonna take a picture with him and then we're gonna squeeze everybody in.

First step. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you. Oh yeah.

So, we're gonna take it in the rot.

Yes. We had other things to Let's go outside. They did great.

Council, we need you on the deas, please, so we can continue the meeting. We need two more on the deas, please. The meeting is still in session. So sorry. Thank you so much, M. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Johnson. Thank you so much, mayor. Thank you.

We We've lost a quorum. We need two more members of council on the deas, please. We've lost quorum. We need two more members of council, please. On the deis, I see Representative Fero approaching the deas and representative Canales paging. Representative Pierro.

Okay, we've we've regained a quorum. Mayor, would you like to recess for Mass Transit at this time? Yes, please. Is there a motion to recess? So move. Second. There's a motion and a second to recess a regular city council meeting in order to conduct the Mass Transit Department board meeting. All in favor? I. Anyone opposed? And the meeting is in recess at 12:16 p.m. Good morning. Good morning. Good afternoon.

Oh, yes. It is 12:16 p.m. Good morning. Well, good afternoon. This is a meeting of the El Paso Mass Transit Department board for Tuesday, May 12th, 2026. It is now 12:17 p.m. Present and presiding is board chair Johnson. Also present in the council chambers is board member Chavez Maldonado Roachcha Nino Fiero Lemon and Canales. There is no public comment sir.

Okay. So all matters listed on the consent agenda will be considered by the mass transit board be to be uh routine and will be enacted by one motion unless separate discussion is requested by board members prior to the vote. Members of the audience may ask questions regarding items on the consent agenda. When the vote has been taken, if the vote has not been called out for separate discussion, the item has been approved. The Mass Transit Department board may however reconsider any item at any time during the meeting and we only have item number one which is the approval of the board minutes for April the 1st and a resolution to authorize to sign a donation agreement with the El Paso Mission Trail Association to accept a donation of the mural.

Okay. Represent Lemon. Mayor, I wish to pull item number two from the consent agenda. Okay. and move to approve item number one. Okay. Is there a second? Okay. There's a motion and second, Miss Frank. I may miss Nunes. Who seconded? I'm sorry. Second.

Thank you, sir. So, we have a motion to approve the minutes by board member Lemon, seconded by board member Pierro. Voting session is open. And the item has been approved with board member ADO and Bertjo not present for the for the vote. Item

Go ahead. Let's take item number two. Item number two is the resolution that the city manager or designate be authorized to sign a donation agreement between the city of El Paso and the El Paso Mission Trail Association to accept the donation of the mural by the El Paso Mission Trail Association. Okay. Represent Leon. Thank you, Mayor. I make a motion to approve item number two. Is there a second? Okay. Represent Leon, you want to say anything on this? Well, I I Anthony, if Mr. Daiser, I'm sorry. if you would u do a presentation and then I'll comment a little afterwards.

So So I don't I don't have a like a formal presentation, but I do I do have things to say. Um uh mayor, city council, um Anthony de Kaiser, um director of mass transit. So there's a lot to say about the Elish El Paso Mission Trail Association. They've been in our city for a long time. They're a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving the historic 9mm corridor in El Paso Mission Valley. They've led the way in in in doing that. Sun Metro partners with them at Mission Valley while they, the association, have provided visitor service while preserving and informing the community. This mural highlights the historical significance of the area and encourages the use of public transportation. It fosters community pride and enhances the quality of life. The artist is also from here. He's an award-winning artist in El Paso area. A realistic expression of portraits and landscape. This is what they do for our community. and some metros partnered with them to try to emphasize the things that they do and promote transit in the community. So, I'd like to uh introduce now uh Linda Almeida, the the president um so she can come up and talk about some of the great wonderful things she does. So, ple please welcome Linda.

Good afternoon, Lydia. Good morning, uh, Honorable Mayor Johnson and Council. We are representing the El Paso Mission Trail Association and, um, we wanted to go ahead and share some things with you about the mural itself. Okay. But at the same time, I want to introduce somebody or I want to introduce my partners in crime here. We have our past president, Shelby. Come up here. Shelby has been the trailblazer in getting this mural on the wall. Okay. He has worked diligently and very hard working with Joyce Garcia, our city attorney. Thank you so much, uh, Joyce. And working very hard with Carl Ramus from Sun Metro as well. And so Shelby is a pillar to our association and we really appreciate the fact that he was out there pulling for us. So in that at that same time, I would like to introduce Robert Dosal. Robert Dosal is going to be the artist for our mural. And so I know that um it was introduced to him a little bit, but let me tell you something. This will be the second acquisition by Robert Dosal that the city will be getting. You all already received uh a painting called Trio Panama and it's about the three musicians and you it's somewhere in this building. Yes,

it's in your office. All right. So it's in uh representative city uh liy lemon and uh so anyway this will be the second acquisition that the city gets okay and it is called trio panama and um I also want to thank our representative Lily Lemon Lily Lemon has been there for us from the get-go. What can I do? What can we what can we do to support you? And she generously donated a a lump sum money towards the murals. So we're very happy about that. Thank you. Uh, Representative Sle Lemon Lemon. Uh, the Trio Panama won best show of the El Paso Art Association's callers song 2016 exhibition. The artist is here, Robert Dosal is a renowned El Paso multimedia artist and retired art teacher from Isleta Independent School District. And so whose work has captured realistic to expressionist portraits and landscapes. And uh you are going to see that in a little bit. And so our second uh our thoughts are that you know we appreciate the fact that the Sun Metro has worked diligently with us and that you as city council are going to approve this uh beautiful mural agreement. So I would like Robert to tell you a little bit about what the mural is going to look like. Okay.

Good afternoon Robert. Good afternoon. Uh it's an honor to be here uh in front of you all and especially Representative Lemon and after years and years what seemed like years and years of red tape we're finally at the point where uh we're going to be paint you mind coming up and showing us that um yeah so I was amazed at all the red tape that it takes to to get to this point and I think we're waiting until the hottest part of the summer to for me to

for me to be outside and paint the mural. But uh yeah, I wanted to bring a little bit of color and a little bit more pride to the area of uh Isleta. Uh and I say more more pride because these communities are very very proud uh communities. And um I feel like I'm coming back home because I was born just a few blocks away from the site where the mural is going to be at Johnstone Clinic. So, I'm very proud to uh bring a little more color to the area and uh thank you so much to everyone that was involved. This is an awesome project and it's going to be I'm sure a landmark uh there at uh Edisa uh for the people. I feel like I'm giving something back to the people of the community. So, thank you. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you, Robert. Thank you. Uh just a a few comments if I could. I grew up in Isleta. I grew up in the shadows of Isleta High School and all my life I would go up and down Alamia. Thank you.

To see those buildings, see those communities. And so I always wanted for us to do something that would uplift the community of Islleta. It's a little bit like uh what you heard today with the people of Northeast. How do we lift up? How do we raise the consciousness? How do we show art? How do we show literature? How do we present music? And through this piece of art, this iconic work, I think we're going to be able to make great strides in lifting the community pride and spirit. And so we certainly uh appreciate your help on this effort.

You're very welcome. Represent Lemon. Oh, Lydia, you want you want to say anything else? No, sir. I think we're done. Thank you. Okay. Represent Lemon.

Indeed, it has been a year. We started this process a year ago and and things do take time. I will tell you that an uh Mr. Daiser first told me says, "Oh, it'll take a year and I said, "Oh, no. It won't take a year. I only have four years. I got to do it fast and we've got to move fast." Well, here we are one year later, but it came through and all of the things that needed to be accomplished to get it done properly were we're were certainly done and we appreciate all your help and leadership, Mr. Daiser, because you really really stepped up to the plate and were able to move things around. This is going to be a beautiful site on the wall of Alameida, right at the corner of Saragoa, Caddy Corner to the oldest mission in in really in the country, the oldest operating mission. And my first exposure to your work, Robert, was in um former county judge Alicia Chakon's home. She has this beautiful piece of yours and she was the first person that commissioned a piece of work from you. U it still hangs in her home and so for years and years I saw that piece and when I met with Lydia and the discussion was that you would be the artist. I was just I was blown away. But the piece is beautiful and it it serves so much history for that area and so much pride that here we are at the Neestor Valencia Transit Center. Neestor also was a lived down the street from there. You lived down the street. You taught at Isla High School for so many years and now you're going to share your beautiful skills. And if you need someone to hold an umbrella for you this summer, I'll be happy to do it. But now it's a a a process of let's get it done. Thank you very much. And thank you, Lydia. Shelby,

if I may say something before uh we finish here. Um we will be working with the city traffic engineer for the closure of the west lane closest to the mural wall for Robert's safety. Okay. So, we're hoping that we can get that done because it is facing exactly Alama Avenue. Thank you. Very good. Okay. Miss Nunes, we have a motion and second on this item.

Yes, sir. We do have a motion made by board member Lemon, seconded by board member Nino. Voting session is open and the item has been approved unanimously with board member Pyrejo not present for the vote. Yay. Thank you. Congratulations and thank you Robert. Thank you Lydia. Thank you. Is there a motion to adjurnn? Second. All those in favor? I. Anyone opposed? And the Mass Transit Department board meeting for May 12th is adjourned at 12:29 p.m. Thank you. Okay. Move to reconvene the uh regular city council meeting.

Okay. Thank you. There's a motion and second to reconvene. There's a motion and a second to reconvene the regular city council meeting. All in favor? I. Anyone opposed? The meeting is back in session at 12:29 p.m. May, I move to recess for one hour for lunch, returning at 1:30 p.m. Okay, there's a motion and a second. There's a motion and a second to recess the city council meeting for lunch. All in favor? I. Anyone opposed? The meeting is in recess at 12:30 p.m. and we'll reconvene at 1:30 p.m.

Okay, Miss Brian, I believe we're ready to get started again. Yes, council. Is there a motion to reconvene? So move. Second. There's a motion and a second to reconvene the council meeting. All in favor? Anyone opposed? The meeting is back in session at 1:32 p.m. And Miss Bryant, I believe we're on item number 25. We're on the first reading of ordinances. Mayor Oh, mayor. Motion we move on the first reading of second. All right, Mr. Brian. There's a motion and a second.

Yes, sir. There a motion made by Representative Lemon, seconded by Representative Fiero to approve the first reading of ordinances. These are items 18 to 24. On that motion, call for the vote. It's fine.

Oh, got it.

First reading or board. First reading of ordinance with Representative Vasel. Is there thank you in the voting session and that motion passes unanimously. Representatives Voyer Trejo and Canal is not present. Okay. Uh, let's take item number 25.

Yes, sir. Items 25 and 26 are related. Would you like to take those together? I'm afraid to, but yes.

Thank you. Item 25 is a public hearing of an ordinance authorizing the conveyance of real property owned by the city of El Paso to EP amendment Aria Properties LLC for the purchase price of $799,129 for the property legally described as lot 26, block 3, Keystone Business Park. In addition to the city of El Paso, El Paso County, Texas, item 26 is the public hearing of an ordinance authorizing the conveyance of real property owned by the city of El Paso to EP or Properties LLC for the purchase price of $352,531. Property legally described as lot 25 block 3, Keystone Business Park in addition to the city of El Paso, El Paso County, Texas. Okay.

Okay. There's a motion to second and I don't see Mary Lou and I know we have two presentations. Nicole, you want to take it? Okay. If it could bring up the presentation for 25 and 26. Hello, Nicole. Cody. Oh, there's Mary Lou. There she is. Mary Lou, we're on item 25.

25. This item is the second reading of an ordinance for a property sale of 4160 Donafan. Okay. In September of 2025, give me just a second. I'm a little winded. And took a little longer than I expected. I also read item 26. So if you want 26.

Yes. Okay. So, in September of 2025, we brought this item to council. It was vetted as surplus property and it was approved for its listing in accordance with the Texas Local Government Code section 253.014. The property was marketed via broker and listed for 30 days on that multi-listing service. Okay. Uh the property is 1.91 acres in size, zone C4. It was listed on January 20th. The proposed buyer is EP Aria Properties LLC. The appraised value is $653,47560. The purchase price is $799,129 plus closing cost. We did receive two offers and we are recommending to sell this property the highest offer.

Okay. Okay. Representative um Chavez. Thank you, Mayor Mayor, and thank you, uh Mary Lou. I know we've had discussions about this, so I just want to go on record. Um I'm in favor of this the sale of this property, but I did come to know that this property was being used as a tree farm by our parks and recck department. So I think um we had a discussion about identifying a different spot for those trees. Is that correct? Yes, ma'am. Okay. So the Northwest Corral will have a tree farm still in the area basically. That is my understanding. Yes.

Okay, that's great. Thank you so much. Of course. Okay, let's take item 26.

Item 26 is the property sale of a property located be on the corner of Donafan and Kappa. property identification number 87412. This property was also brought to council in September of 2025 and was vetted as vetted as surplus property and approved for its listing. It was listed in accordance with the Texas Local Government Code section 253.014. The property was marketed via a broker and listed for the 30 days on that multilisting service. It is 1.49 49 acres zone C4 SC. It was listed on January 20th, 2026. The proposed buyer is EP Aria Properties LLC. The appraised value for this was $336,844.80 with a purchase price of $352,531 plus closing cost. We did receive two offers and we are recommending to sell this property to the highest offer.

Okay. Any questions for Mary Lou? Mayor. All right. Represent. Sure. Mayor for the public purpose that we vote on them independently. Yes, that's fair. Thank you. So, let's take item number 25 first, Miss Fry.

Okay. For item 25, we have a motion made by Mayor Prom Chavez, seconded by Representative Lemon, and this is to adopt the ordinance on item 25. We do not have any public comment on that motion. Call for the vote. And the voting session and that motion passes unanimously. Okay, let's take item 26, please. Is there a motion? Second.

There's a motion made by Mayor Pro Tim Chavez, seconded by Representative Oyjo, and this is to adopt the ordinance on item 26. And Miss P, not to get technical on you, but didn't the motion and second from earlier that covered 25 and 26? It did, but we took that we disposed of that motion. Oh, so okay, that's fine. Okay. Yep.

There is no public comment on that motion. Call for the vote and the voting session. And that motion passes unanimously. Now you see why I said let's take them separate. Yes sir. Let's take number 27. Item 27 is a public hearing of an ordinance granting a special permit to allow for a site setback reduction on the property at 3305 Hayawa Drive. Motion approved. Second. Okay. Good afternoon.

Hi, good afternoon mayor and council with Sam with planning and inspections. Uh so item 27 uh it's actually an appeal to city council from the decision of the city plan commission um of a uh denial recommendation for a special primary request for 3305 Hayawata. Uh the request by the way it's to uh was to reduce the site setback. Uh so staff and C plan commission did recommend denial of the special permit uh for the following uh reasons. the the structure that was built uh doesn't comply with existing special permit that's already was granted back in the '90s for the area where this property is located. Uh it's inconsistent with the the comprehensive plan and it hasn't been demonstrated that the uh existing construction complies with building requirements, building code requirements. So the property is located south of Edgemeir and east of George Theater. So we can see here in the aerial uh it is a panhandle lot. So it's kind of in the middle of of the block uh behind all these other uh single family homes. Uh existing zoning is our three which is a single family uh zoning district. Um technically mostly allows only single family homes. Uh so there's as I mentioned there's a special permit for a planned residential development that was actually uh granted back in 88 by city council and what this did it was a bigger area uh that was owned back then by a developer and they decided to they decided how they will they wanted to develop this area. Uh so before they did the subdivision they laid out the the parcels and technically they accept the the required setbacks at that time to make sure that entire area this little area cannot match everything uh when once they started building.

So here we have the the site plan. Uh so there's an existing single family home. Uh so what happened is that uh at least as far as we know um back in 2024 uh code enforcement went and issue a notice of violation. So apparently what happened is and you can see here on the site plan in yellow uh and in red that there was an addition to the home that was built without permits. So they issued the notice of violation and then at that time the the applicants kind of uh were working on with that having to trying to legalize this trying to fix the issue. Um there were some discussions with our department with planning inspection about how what options existed to to legalize it. Um so one of the things uh after discussions was that they could request a special permit to to try to legalize thing. And really the big issue is that portion in red it's a sidear encroachment. So per city code they required to have 5t of separation between the property adjacent uh and whatever they built and that's what they don't have. Uh so that's kind of the other thing. So back in 2025 uh and it's actually August a year after the the they got cited because of the construction without permits they actually decided to continue on requesting the special permit. So this special permit that you know they're they're asking to appeal the decision from city count uh city plan commission uh is actually that's when they submitted and been we've been going at this since then. Uh also I want to kind of mention there's other structures that also don't have permits. Uh so technically those also they they will need to get permits for those things. So again the the requirement here what they're requesting is they have a 5 foot setback they had

to comply uh because of what they built. They only have 1.6 feet and that's what they're asking to reduce that setback to what they have. Here we can see some elevations. So maximum height is about 26 feet. Uh and this is kind of a twotory or it may not be at the story but it's just too tall. Uh and here in yellow is obviously an entire addition that was built without permits. Here we have the the site plan superimposed on aerial imagery and they is a it is a panhandle lot. So it has kind of access through this long uh deep driveway through other homes. Uh so technically this is and this is a picture kind of showing the entrance to that home. Uh so this is a driveway looks like an alley. That's the actual driveway to to get back to to the home. And this is obviously the home once you enter uh you're within the property. So you can see right there on the right that's the the twotory addition that was built. Uh it's kind of showing a picture and it was kind of hard to obviously take a good picture uh because it's too close but kind of shows how close it is to the property line. Uh property line typically will will go through the middle of the rock wall. Uh so through that high ridge of the rock wall that's kind of the property land. So again the requirement is a five foot separation from any construction. And this is kind of an aerial view from Google Earth kind of showing you uh the relation to all the neighboring properties. Uh so as I mentioned uh everything surrounding because it's kind of in the middle of the block they're all single family homes uh and then the same zoning R3 and they're all kind of part of this special permit for plan residential that was granted back in 88. Uh this property doesn't fall within any recognized neighborhood associations. So there was no notice to any of them. Uh obviously the city staff did provide

notices to all property owners within 300 ft. uh once we started going through public hearings uh we did receive two calls of inquiry about once we started going through hearings uh but no one really we had no communication in opposition or support to this request. Uh this is kind of the notice map. So you can see that we notify 77 uh properties and property owners. Uh so I want to kind of touch on this a little bit uh because it has come in the past from city council. So there's some consequences about building without permits uh especially with this request. Uh so one of the things that uh an applicant or property owner will have to do is first they will have to resolve all all land use violations. Uh so in this instance is the setback. So they're encroaching uh into that setback. So there's two options obviously uh obviously it's going to the special permit. If it gets uh denied, technically what they will have to go is go back to the the addition they built and they will have to modify to comply with that setback. Um the other one is if if the special permit is granted uh technically that allows them to keep that encroachment and then the next step in either case will be to continue with build building permits. Uh again, the addition was built without a permit. So they still need to whatever the case is, unless they ever remove the entire thing, they will still need to get building permits. Uh so in order to get those building permits, obviously they had to submit for uh get approval for the building plans. So they will have to create uh the building plans, submit them to to the planning inspections or the onetop for review and make sure that we can approve them. Uh one of those things is because it's already existing uh they may be required to provide engineer assessment of the structure make sure it was built safe. Uh at this time obviously we don't know how it was

built. It hasn't been inspected because again it was built without permits. Uh so again they will need to submit for for permitting. The city will review make sure everything is in compliance at least in the plans on paper and then after that they will be required obviously to uh request inspection. And so the city will go and inspect, make sure that everything that's built complies with the plans that got approved. And once everything is approved, then they will be required to get a certificate of occupancy that will technically state that the the building is safe to to occupy. And then after this uh because there's again a code violation, uh actually the the owners have been to court already. they will need to resolve that those that outstanding municipal court case. Uh so we want to make sure uh that it's clear any for any legalization of any encroachment uh they need to get the certificate of occupancy. So even if the council approves right now special permit doesn't mean everything is legal at this time. They still need to go through permitting and everything and get that final certificate of occupancy. So again, just to go back to the recommendation. So, uh, city staff and the city plan commission recommended denial of this special permit again because the the structure doesn't comply or the property doesn't comply with the existing special permit that got was granted back in 88. Uh, it is inconsistent with the goals of plan El Paso and it still needs to be demonstrated that the construction was is technically uh solid. And with this, that concludes my presentation.

Represent Fiero.

Thank you, mayor. Um, mayor, the reason I asked um for a motion to approve and ask this council to consider a special permit is that it's not they still have to go back get the permits. They still have to go back correct or or come into compliance with um the MUN uh municipal court. they still have to go back and get engineering to to ensure that the addition is engineered secure or safe. So there there's there's a lot of hoops that they still need to go through to be able to continue to to live in the house the way it is and it has to be safe and it has to be legal. Uh those are two things they have to comply with right away. um there was no complaints from any of the neighbors in regards to um the the building and and so that was the reason that I I brought this and and uh supported it and and hope that you'll consider uh supporting it also. Thank you, mayor.

Okay. Yeah. So,

just to be clear, what are we voting on? Uh so this a special permit and we do have some conditions in in case you you'll like to uh move moving to to approve. Uh so this technically a special permit granting uh the the setback reduction. So, one thing I'd like to know though on this item is uh we would like to make sure that to be careful about making president. We've heard from from city council before uh having bringing items that are technically, you know, people build without permits and and they're trying to legalize it after the fact. Uh what happened on in this specific instance is one of the neighbors actually wanted to build something. So when they came to request kind of to build the same thing at the city uh we did kind of tell them it it wasn't permitted and they couldn't do it and that's technically how all this came came to to light and that's why the violation started you know uh city started focusing on that violation. Okay. Represent Lemon.

I I have a big problem because anytime you set a president, it's so hard to reel it back. Um I have a case in my district where a homeowner built on an easement. Um and it's just been almost impossible to get it back into some sort of compliance. Um, I don't know all the particulars on this case, but I do have a big concern with that because I think we're setting your department and you all up. I can just imagine someone coming in with a similar case and saying, "Well, you let so and so go through and why are you not letting me do it?" And I don't know if that's a proper thing for us to be doing. Kevin,

good afternoon. uh representatives, mayor Kevin Smith with planning inspections. So that is one of the concerns from staff as we look at it. Um we have setbacks for a reason. One of the main uh reasons we have setbacks is just for safety. Um years and decades ago, we didn't have setbacks or many communities didn't. And so we saw issues with fires and earthquakes that really damaged and uh spread pretty quickly. As Luis mentioned, um we did have a uh actually the neighbor come before us and ask for a similar request. So it is it is something to consider as council considers this. Uh again this process does allow for a path to compliance. Uh any special permit or any zoning action is not a given and each applicant we make sure they are aware of this. Um whether staff recommends approval or denial at the end of the day that responsibility and that action lies with city council. So, um, it does create a precedence and there are repercussions to building without permits. As Luis mentioned, I want to make it very clear is that no building permits have submitted as of yet that I'm aware of. They have not been approved. And so, they still have to submit those regardless of the council action today. Um, and depending on the findings, there may be modifications to the structure to make sure it's built properly. At the end of the day, our codes are built for the health, safety, and welfare of the community. And the the permits that come before us, they're reviewed with that same intent and inspected. And anything that is not designed or constructed will have to be modified to meet our code requirements.

Representative Chavez.

Thank you, Mayor, and thank you to the planning and inspections team. Um, I I also have something similar in my district where someone built something without permits. And again, just like with Representative Lemon, it's it's created a a big concern for the residents in that area, which may be different than in this case specifically, but it's still something that's done in an improper way, right? And um, in Spanish, we say, which basically says it's it's easier to say sorry than to ask for permission. and we don't want to be setting that precedent from my opinion just because of the experience that I'm having in my district. Um, and the legal department's involved and a lot of other people are involved and it's just been very difficult to remedy something that these people have done and and created a problem in that neighborhood specifically. So, uh, I I do have a a difficult um problem supporting um the approval of this, if the recommendation from CPC and planning and inspection is is not to move forward with it.

You know, if I might just to anyone who's listening who may be looking at this, just again come see us at the planning inspections department. We will tell you what are the ability the plat path to achieve this. It may be achievable, it may not be. We'll give them guidance. The main thing is just to come talk to us and it's a whole lot easier to do it that way. We can give proper guidance otherwise it's a it's sometimes a lengthy process as we know sometimes this takes to get to be compliant. So please anyone out there and members of the public and please let your constituents know uh members of council that just please come talk to us and we'll we'll be able to give you the guidance you need to uh within the confines of our code. Thank you

representative Roachcha. Thank you, mayor, and and thank you all for for the presentation. I I know I very similar to what my colleagues are saying, I had a situation where it was actually a a neighbor that called in to report her neighbor for the improper building. And she that that neighbor came to us once she was was given the citation to square everything away. Here's a question though. This came before the CPC on January 29th. Is that correct? Correct. January 29 of this year

of this year. And so what um what the path forward is to get a special permit or the path forward is to could they have done anything between now and Janu January 29th and now to come into compliance? So the only path technically to compliance will be to get rid of that encroachment that violation which again is uh they required to have that those five feet of separation. Uh so they could technically have uh modify already the structure.

Uh so technically well let me kind of rewind a little bit about what how the process goes. So they need to submit for a building permit to request that building permit submit the plans those get reviewed. If everything is in compliance when we're reviewing those plans, then we issue the permit and then they're they're good to go technically to go build whatever and then obviously gets inspected and and so on. Uh obviously in this instance uh they're still not complying. Uh that encroachment still exists. So the only solution for them again and I had mentioned earlier was to either remove it, modify it to remove that encroachment and then continue with the venting permit or or wait for this special permit to be granted so they can continue as technically as it is and get those permits approved I mean uh plants approved.

So those are the options. So let me ask you what are the dangers of having that encroachment so close? So, one of the the issues is obviously is too close to the to the neighboring property. Um, again, at this time, obviously, we don't know whether it's sound and safe. Um, it could fall on the neighboring property. Uh, it could fall under obviously on the under the residence. Um, one of the other things and I think Kevin mentioned was uh fire safety. So, in case there's a fire, it could jump over to the next property. Uh as one of the things I mentioned, obviously this property is in the middle of the block, right? It is surrounded by other homes. Uh so that's kind of one of the other dangers that will need to be reviewed. The city does have obviously uh some requirements per the building code about how to fireproof and those things those are obviously modifications that may may be needed required if it continues if it obviously gets approved. Um again at this time we're not sure. Uh it could be still they may need to do major modifications to the structure. At this time we don't know because we have not looked at it.

Okay. Thank you. I appreciate it. You're welcome. Represent Nino. Thank you mayor. And just for clarification, the motion on the floor is a motion to approve the special permit. Is that correct, Miss Brian? That is correct. It's to adopt the ordinance granting the special permit. Okay. Um question for staff. Thank you for your presentation. Um I think Kevin mentioned that they still need to submit their plans regardless of council action. Is that correct?

Yes sir. So if if this is approved, they will have to submit the um required permits and get reviewed and um inspected obviously. Um if this is denied um they will have to scale back the structure to be within the setback. So that would obviously be a couple of feet. Um but still no matter whether this gets approved or denied, building permits still need to be issued to our department. Uh those have to be reviewed, approved, and then then we have to look and make sure it's properly built. So, I'm trying to get clarification in regards of say that the special permit gets approved today. They still submit the paperwork and the plans, but they still don't meet the code. What happens then?

It it's possible. I don't want to say one way or the other. Again, we have not reviewed nor inspected any of it, so it's unclear whether they meet code or not. If they do not meet code, there they may have to demolish some of the structure. Um, again, if it's not structurally sound, that structure may have to get modified. Um, it's it's not only for the the neighbors, but it's also for their safety of themselves, any guests they may have on that on that uh property that so either or they possibly would have to do some sort of setback depending on the plans that get submitted. And I think the issue here is that the plans haven't been submitted. So, you haven't been able to review them. Correct. And so again, we at this time we do not know what what those may be.

Gotcha. Okay. So the the the main thing is and make sure council understands is this is just one of the steps along the process. The council action here whether it gets approved or denied, the next step would be submit building permits and then go through that process with our our plan review team and eventually on to inspections. So even if the special permit was to be denied, they still have an opportunity to submit the permits and correct their action correct and get the actual either apply for a special permit or an actual permit in order for them to be within correct requirements. The only thing if it is denied then they will have to scale back the structure to be within that 5ft setback. So they would have to take off you know a couple a few feet.

Okay. So even again if we were to grant the special permit they would still be required to submit the plans. Correct. Would still be vetted through planning and inspections and you would still make the determination should it be fit. Correct. Okay. No further questions. Mayor Kevin, I got a quick question. Maybe this is a holistical question, but that's a significant size structure and there looks like there was an electrical contractor, roofing contractor, drywall. No one took a permit out. No one took a permit out. Okay. And unfortunately, mayor, we've seen this also happen where full structures have been built without permits. I'm not going to

say anything about the contractoring company, but um as we tell them is they have to submit permits. Understand? And the property owner is responsible at the end of the day for anything built there, but obviously the the contractor frankly should know better. Yep. Understood. Mr. Prime, we have public comment on this item. Yes, mayor. Representative Rocha. Thank you, Mayor. One one quick question on that. Is the contractor licensed for this structure? Again, I I'm not sure who built it. Okay. Again, when it comes in, as as Luis mentioned, one of the requirements may be for an engineering assessment. That would have to be done by a professional engineer.

Okay. Thank you. And wait, Kevin, now that represent Roachcha mentioned that, is there penalties for contractors that build without getting permits? So the the main one we have as as was mentioned on this slide is um the prop owner may be assessed a double fee for any permits. A contractor is triple feed. Triple feed triple feed to the contractor. Again, if we're not able to ascertain who that contractor was, then that would fall on the property owner. Okay, perfect. Miss Brian, I believe we have public comment. Yes, we have Aruro Ramirez followed by Marisan Ramirez.

Good afternoon, Mr. Damides. You have three minutes. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, honorable uh major and city council. Uh yes, we are the owner of the facility, but I mean we were just told that uh we don't need no permit. That was back then. Now was I'm seeing all of you all. I feel like uh a criminal, which I am not. And I'm trying to do everything as at best. Uh we did uh pay for the special permit when when we were asked to and I thought we were going to move forward ever then and we have the receipts and we have the the plans the pictures that it was done there. We hire a professional uh at this time and we just want to move forward. I mean, of course, I'm not going to build something that is going to damage my my family, which I'm the homeowner. Uh that's my retirement home. Uh that's not my investment. That's my life. I dedicated just for we dedicated that time for our house to be built. Well, and like I say, we're we're coming from a boom home to a house is a big different picture. We were all like dumb to tell your truth for not following up with the life and safety and all that. But uh like I say, I've been trying to I've been going to courts. I'm not hiding. I'm doing my best to not do it again. Like for example, we just did the roof roofing on my of the entire house. And yes, this time we went and asked for a permit, which we already know. And that's that's the for my new new generation. I'm gonna to tell them and tell them to make sure to be safe and sorry like she says. So that hit me hard cuz that's where my

heart is coming from from way down there. So please take uh help us out. Like I say if if I needed to bring it down, I'll bring it down. But if I take it off, where am I gonna sleep? Because like you say, it's not like uh it's not a two twostory house. It's combined. So if I take everything, like I say, I don't know where you're going to sleep. Thank you. Okay. Thank you.

And the public can follow the translation using the QR code on the screen. foreign. Mamachech. Okay. for

Gracias represent um Nino.

Thank you, mayor. And I don't know if staff could answer this question. Um has there been previous permits that have been granted like for example for the roof? Uh so I cannot uh confirm right now but I know that we typically will issue permits for re roofing because that's kind of a safety hazard, right? We don't want anyone to just it's leaking and continues because they cannot get permits because there's another issue that they have to fix first. So that's typically something we'll allow to have them uh obtain just for the the roofing. So, in order to get a permit for a roof, what are the requirements to satisfy that type of permit? Would someone be able to clarify that? I'm trying to understand if we did issue a previous permit for a roof, but then we're not approve, you know, essentially if this special permit doesn't get approved. I'm trying to understand at what point do we submit or approve certain permits and we don't when it doesn't the whole structure itself is not up to code is what I'm trying to get to.

So, so good good afternoon everybody. Daniel Chvida with planning and inspections. So I can tell you in general for roofing permits, it could be obtained by a contractor or a homeowner to to either install the new roof covering. So roof permit does not include the structures. It's just the covering of an existing roof, either repair uh existing roof covering material or install a new one. Okay. Okay. And we don't know if there has been a previous permit that was issued for the roof for this specific home previously. They did obtain a roof permit. Okay. Okay. I just wanted to to get that. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. I have no further questions.

Represent Lemon. I'm represent Canales and then I'll come back to you. Okay. Represent Canales. Thank you. Um I I love Asella Citizen Access. I just pulled up the permitting for the property. They they did receive a roof permit it looks like in September of this past year and was double feed. Um so they they did already pay the double fee on the roof permit uh while they have the other one pending. So um it shows as already closed and so I I take it the re-roofing already happened. That's all I have.

Okay. Represent. Mayor, this is um this is one of those really difficult cases where it's really really hard. You know, which way do you go? My gut reaction is we don't want to set a president. You know, we're gonna be strong. go buy it. And then as I listened to them, they were basically robbed. If a contractor came in and did the work without a permit or permits, is that correct? The construction that took place there that we know,

Kevin, no. No. Okay, let's see. So, uh again, um the it be it's a private matter basically. Um when a structure is built, they need to requ uh obtain a permit. If there was a contract between the homeowners and a contractor, whoever that may be, that's a private matter that the city would not get involved in. Okay. Um but we just have our our portion that we can can uh can enforce on our end.

Well, let me ask Seenor Ramirez. construction. Okay. Oh, no. Okay, Kevin, was this um so this is a a property within the within the city and was the was the original building constructed by a contractor or was it just a self-made house? Uh, I don't have the information. Most more than likely it was a a contractor, but obviously this this was years ago when this area was um initially developed. Um, it can you pull up the presentation, please? So, this is the um it can you pull please display the Thank you. Um, this is the original approved special permit from 1997. So, um, this area has been at least planned for, uh, a little bit over almost 30 years.

And the area is in red is the subject property. Fore! Fore!chch! Fore! Foreign! Foreign! Okay. Tropicana Home. Correct.

All right. And says, Kevin, so she's saying that that property originally was going to be a ponding area. That that was the original and then it was sold.

Yeah. If I might have a planning inspection for the record. Uh so we did start check the the subdivision plan. That's when the the developer looks into how they're going to split the properties and the lots at that time. that's when they decide whether it's going to be a drainage pond or not. So after checking there was there's no indication that was the case. Uh perhaps what the developer was kind of saying is that there was an in initial intention but they never follow up with that. So this property was technically subdivided for for a single family home just as they never in property. I guess a reminder there's two properties in the middle of the block. And so that that extension that

Yes. So I think you're referring to the the driveway. That's how they connect to to the to the road. Um per city code uh for development. Every property technically is required to have legal access to to a from a road from a public rideway a road, right? So they have to can technically have some frontage so they can legally access without having to go through other people's property. Uh, so that that's what we c call them panhandle lots. Um, and and that's their their legal access to go to that to the back. Well, that's that's that's very interesting.

Um, okay. So, let me let me see if I understand. If we vote no, what happens? So, if the the appeal gets denied, uh, what happens is that the the the owner will have to go and modify again. Let me let me see. bring the the site plan really quick and go through the permits the request can you please put the presentation so technically the the entire request is for that uh red sliver uh so if it gets denied technically what they have to do is modify and remove that portion in red uh and then they can continue with the permits for everything in yellow uh so that that's technically what will happen if it gets denied

how deep is that so that's probably I believe it says uh they're they have 1.6 of separations. Uh they require 5 ft. So that's about um 3.4 ft into the setback. Um not entirely sure about the the square footage. Um yeah, we don't know yet, but we can check on that. Okay.

But it it's technically just 3.4t going into that that setback. Okay. See,ch. Silo. Okay. Okay. Okay. So just to to help clarify things uh I think mostly for them is we're not requesting that they demolish everything again it can you pull up the presentation really quick um so what was built everything yellow and red was what was built with apartments so technically from the city perspective the only issue is the portion in red

uh so they will have to remove that. Everything else they they need to go through the permitting for that. They can keep it. They don't need to remove everything. So, they could keep it again, but one of the things that we're kind of uh kind of uh cautioning about is we don't know whether any modification will be required. It's always possible they can keep it as it is. It was maybe built correctly. It's possible it's not and they will have to technically take everything down and if they want they can rebuild. Um but again the right now what's at stake from city council is that portion in red. That's what is being requested.

Okay. Thank you. Close. Then your career. Firewall. for

Kevin. Okay. Seech. Okay. Okay. Thank you, ma'am.

No problem. No worries. Um Kevin, couple questions that sparked. So this this particular home is sitting in there kind of at an angle. Yes sir. And the corner that's in question here is how far from the center of the rock wall? Uh it can you pull up the presentation please? If you look at like slide 11 or or 10? Yeah. On slide five it is a little bit set back. Um the closest point again is about 1.6 ft from the rock wall. Um it is a little bit to the uh to the rear of the property if you will. Um as you look at it, it is um at an angle. Um

so as it goes further out it gets in compliance uh a little bit. Yeah. And so the picture here like this one, this one here is the closest point, but it um it is fairly close. Okay. And she said that they're good with the Did the neighbors complain? Um actually the neighbor is how we found out from what I understand is the neighbor came in asking for a similar issue or an addition and this one got identified code enforcement went out there and saw that there was a violation of a structure bill. Okay represent

thank you mayor I wanted to ask you specifically about this slide you pulled it up. So, this entire wall would need to be demolished and brought in about 3 and 1/2 ft to be in compliance. Um, it is probable. Yes. If if this is denied. Okay. Again, it just has to be within that 5T. Anything within that 5T would have to be removed. So, move the wall in in about three. Do we know what's behind that wall? Is that the living room or

I I'm not sure. Um, again, we haven't seen plans. Okay. Um, and so she brought up that they could do a firewall and be in compliance. Is that true? Uh, that is one of the options. Um, again, that would have to be looked at during building permits, but again, um, that is one thing that may be required. Um, again, we we don't know yet. Um, if this if this is approved, that will more than likely be a requirement. I think Danny can chime in.

Yeah, let me ch with planning inspections again. So, the last thing we want is further encroachment. So, it's not going to be building a new firewall. It's modifying the existing to meet the fire separation requirements. Okay. So, that that would happen if we vote yes. And if we vote no, they have to demolish the wall and bring it in 3 and 1/2 ft to be 5 ft with the setback. Correct. Correct. Do we know the length of that wall that we're seeing in that picture? It's it's more or less about 10 ft. 10 feet. Okay.

Okay. I I think that answers what I have. Thank you, President Pierro. Thank you, Mayor. Um Kevin, I believe with Tropacana Home came up. Um but they built the home originally. They did not do the the addition. Am I correct? Uh I am I'm not sure who built the addition, but it sounds like Tropic County Homes built the one-story parcel that were portion that you can see there um on the screen on the left. Okay. But I just I just want to clarify cuz I wasn't sure you brought somebody brought traffic kind of home and that they didn't do the addition. They did the original building. That's my understanding. Thank you.

All right, Kevin, before you go, if they if we if council votes yes, what are they doing?

So, if council approves the special permit, I will go to this to this slide here, I think is the best way. If council approves a special permit, the next step would that would allow the encroachment to take place. The next step for them would be to submit for building permits and go through the building permit process. Okay? And again, no matter the outcome, we're we're here to help the them guide them through the process. If this is denied by city council, the portion in red would have to be removed and scaled back to be at least five feet away from the property line. Okay.

And building permits would still have to be submitted and that process would need to be completed. Okay. We're going to sum represent Chavez and then we'll Thank you, Mayor. Um I guess I'm I'm in a bind Kevin and I would just like to understand. So the neighbor went to you because she wanted to also do an expansion of her home and then that's when you realized that the neighbor was not in compliance and had done this additional um part of the home without any permits. Is that right? That is my understanding. And once staff found out about this code enforcement was sent out, it was evaluated and that's when it was confirmed.

So then let's let's just say we approve this. I'm I'm just wondering what the process would be. So the neighbor would come back to you and say, "You approved my neighbor. I want to do the same thing." So what would happen then? And again, there there's an option for them. Again, staff, even though we may recommend denial of that request, they can submit it and it would go through the process of of um requesting this. Again, they can do an addition as long as it meets within the required setbacks and allowances. But if it is something like this, it would come back before council and the neighbor would have to come in a similar process. So again, that that's a concern from staff is just that creating the precedence. Yeah.

Um here and I guess that's where I'm torn, right? Because I I definitely sympathize with the couple. I mean, I definitely think that they were misled possibly from a contractor. Um I don't think that they had any wrong intentions in what they did. Um, I know that for the most part, I don't think the neighbors are upset about it. I'm I'm just worried about the the precedent that it sets and and unfortunately I think council's aware of how many of the times this happens throughout the city. Yep.

And it happens in every every district and it's it's unfortunate. Some have to go before the zoning board of adjustment. Others um like this one, it would be city council, right? And I think um it's it's important to be fair and I don't know what we would do with the neighbor now if she were here she or he would come back and say I want to do the exact same thing with the exact same amount of setbacks or you know conditions or whatever they ask for. I don't know but that that's where I'm kind of um having trouble here. Thank you, Kevin.

Represent Lemon and Mayor. I let us not overlook the fact that an unscrupulous contractor did this work fully knowing the boundaries, the setbacks. How do you just go out there and build something that close to another wall and that person or persons are nameless and maybe continuing to do business in this city? And I have a big problem with that. I have a really really big concern with that. A yes vote will mean that they will have the opportunity to proceed obtaining permits to determine if the or to get to get the property into compliance or to get that permits. Not a guarantee they would get it

correct. All right. And a no vote would mean demolition. Demolition of only the portion in red, the tiny little portion. Okay. Again, it may not be. Again, if there's any demolition or modifications, I want to make sure it's to the property owners so that they're aware. It may not mean the entire structure has to come down. We just need to make sure it meets city code building requirements. And Luis, do they understand that that you could share the yes and no? Okay, Miss Bry, we're going to go ahead. Yes. Represent Broch, you have a question. No, I was just going to say yeah, we're going to previous Yeah, we're going to call the vote. Miss Frank.

Yes, mayor. The motion was made by alternate mayor prompier, seconded by representative Lemon. And this motion is to adopt the ordinance granting the special permit. If you vote yes, it's to adopt the ordinance. If you vote no, it's to deny. On that motion, call for the vote. in the voting session. And the motion passes 5 to three to adopt the ordinance granting the special permit. Okay.

Thank you guys. Okay, council. Uh we have a few judges that need to get back. So, we're going to just take a couple items real quick. Items number 36 and 38 and then we'll come back. Yes, sir. Item 36 is discussion and action on the reappoint of Judge Elia Garcia to fill substitute associate judicial vacancy. The position serves as substitute for the elected municipal court trial judges at trial and other court hearings hearings such as arraignment magistrate on graveyard shifts, parking and animal services relief. Move to approve. Second. Good afternoon.

Hi. Good afternoon. Thank you. Honorable Casus Municipal Court. Um, I'm just gonna say Judge uh um Bar needed to step away. He needed to pick up um his kiddos from um from school. I do have Judge Garcia if you'd like to um Hi, Judge. A little bit about you. Hi, good afternoon. Um I've been working with the municipal court for the past four years and it's been a very enjoyable opportunity. I've covered um every single type of hearing just about. I've learned a lot and it's just something that I really enjoy with the community. I'm able to help them be in compliance as well as to educate them as their mistakes and hopefully prevent further issues. So if you'all have any questions, I'm here. Okay. To answer them.

Thank you, judge. Any questions for the judge? All right, Miss Bry. Yes, sir. The motion was made by Representative Lemon, seconded by alternate mayor Prompto, and this is to approve the reappoint on item 36. On that motion, call for the vote. and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously. Okay, let's take item 38, please. Congratulations.

Yes, sir. Item 38 is discussion and action on the reappoint of Judge Manuel Parro to fill substitute associate judicial vacancy. The position serves as a substitute for the elected municipal court trial judges at trial and other court hearings. Hearings such as arraignment, magistrate on graveyard shifts, parking and animal services related. All right. Is there a motion to approve? To approve. Second. Okay. Good afternoon. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Miss Prime, call for the vote.

Yes, sir. The motion was made by Representative Lemon, seconded by alternate mayor prompo to approve the reappoint on item 38. On that motion, call for the vote in the voting session. And that motion passes unanimously. Okay, Mr. R, I believe we're on item 28 now. Yes, sir. We're on page number 10. Item 28 is a public hearing of an ordinance granting the zoning of all of lots 1-6 and 21 through 32 and the vacated alley from M1 Light Manufacturing to C4 Commercial. This is at 210 Lee Street.

Good afternoon. Good afternoon, uh, mayor and council. We sora again with planning and inspections. Uh, so item 28, they say resing request for the property located at 210 Lee. Uh, says property is located um east of Cotton and south of I 10. Uh, it's almost a block you can see on the aerial imagery. Uh, it's currently vacant, so it's being repurposed uh, for a group residential facility. Existing zoning is M1. Uh so the request is to resone from M1 to C4. And just for a little more information, C4 is kind of one of the highest kind of commercial uh borderline industrial light industrial uh zoning district. Uh which kind of goes along with what's existing uh the existing zoning already. Uh the future language map designates this area as G7 industrial and or rail yards and technically calls for in the instance where manufacturing industrial uses are no longer viable uh then this could be uh uh redeveloped uh to provide for commercial or or multi-use uh uses mixeduse uses. Well uh so here we have the conceptual plan. So this is not obviously not going to be binding. Uh and technically what it shows is what's existing that there are uh buildings that are existing and right now technically uh the request is to keep everything assessed. Uh again there's the the applicant is proposing to redevelop for a group uh residential facility. So here's kind of an image from the of the subject property. Uh again it is still vacant. Uh everything is there. it's been built uh surrounding development. Obviously, we have other manufacturing uses, offices and those style of of uh business operating. Again, everything is on M1 manufacturing. That's the like manufacturing district for the city. Uh

the applicant did notify El Paso Central Business Association also familiar Shamisal uh the Sunrise Civic Group and the McGoff and historic historical neighborhood associations of this resoning request. once they submitted the application. Uh we have obviously STA has sent property uh notices to all property owners within 300 feet for the public hearings. At this time we did receive one letter uh via email and we had three people uh in in person at the city plan commission providing commentary uh in opposition to the resing request. Here we have the notice map. So we did notice uh notify 21 properties in total around this property. again in those 300 uh foot buffer. Uh and to end this uh staff and cank recommendation is to approve the resoning request. Again, this is from M1 to C4 commercial.

Okay. Represent Canelis. Do we have a motion to approve this? I move to approve. Okay. All right. Represent Canelis. Thank you. Um I understand uh that there's we we have a mix of opposition and support as well. We've received I think maybe since the time of the preparation of the of the PowerPoint um some some letters of support including from the McGoffen uh historic uh neighborhood association as well. Um we we re the council received them by

Yes. Uh just to make a note there. Yeah. staff is not aware of any. Um, so obviously you may all have received something separate. Um, this uh went to the CPC on February 12th. Uh, can you talk a little bit about the recommendation from the CPC?

Correct. So they go to on February 12th of this year to the SL commission. Again, the recommendation from Zipline Commission was to approve the resigning request. Um obviously I think part of the commentary that got was there at the meeting was that uh there was a concentration of homeless people in the area. Uh and the issue was really they didn't want more concentration. Um this is obviously the applicant is um rescue mission of El Paso. Uh obviously they kind of showed that the proposal obviously they want to to expand to this location. Uh the resoning which is really what's at stake here. uh it does go along with what's existing existing zoning uh the zoning district around it again which is M1 C4 is technically one step lower from uh the industrial and so that's kind of what it seemed from the city plan commission why they went with the recommendation of approval

um I see Mr. Barrow from the uh rescue mission is in the audience um mayor would it be okay if Mr. Barl comes up just to answer a couple of questions. He's actually he's actually signed up for public comment. Do you want him now? He is. I don't want to deprive I have questions for him. I don't want to deprive him of the time to speak uh whatever else he planned to say. Is it okay with council? Okay. Yeah. Coming up this time, right? And I I I'll start off by just saying I I think the rescue mission has been uh an incredible partner there. Um, and uh, you do a wonderful job of containing your operations within the grounds of the rescue mission.

Um, and I anticipate more of the same here. Am I correct in saying that you have previously used this property for a different use? Correct. Um, yes. Blake Barrow, good afternoon, mayor and council, uh, CEO of the Rescue Mission of El Paso. back when we had the huge influx of migrants coming in, um the property at that time was owned by the water department and we leased it from the water department in order to house migrants. Uh and I think by all accounts, uh that was a pretty seamless experience for the neighbors. Um I never received I don't think a single complaint

about that. Um, and you had quite a lot of people at that property at one point. At some point we had 320 a night and that's 320 people that would have been on our sidewalks if if we hadn't been there. Now the the beauty of the the property, it's surrounded by a high rock wall on all sides. So you mentioned we did a good job containing the people. Yes. Anybody we put within the lot I is not really visible from the street. Um and then uh you did you were ultimately able to purchase this property. Is that correct? Yes.

I I was here a little over a year ago uh presented uh you may remember the lot. Uh it was purchased from the city. Of course, the city legally was holding it in trust for the water department and um the property was purchased with an ARPA grant, American Recovery Plan Act through the county and the specific purpose for that grant was to expand shelter capacity. So that this that function doesn't get effectuated unless we get the zoning change.

Yeah, you you jumped one or two questions, one of my questions ahead. Uh, I think you anticipated where I was going with that. Um, this council approved selling you the property for this specific purpose. And so, um, I I would, uh, ask that we avoid maybe being hypocritical and and then, you know, later not approving the zoning for you when, uh, when the sale of this property was essentially for this specific purpose.

Thank you. Um, I I again thank you for the wonderful partnership that I think you've had with the city, with your neighbors as well. Um, you know, I I see with my eyes and hear about uh other impacts within the neighborhood. Rarely uh essentially never do those come from the rescue mission. I think um you have a very different operation than some of uh the other providers in the neighborhood um just based on the nature of of you know different types of of shelters and operations. But uh you know I I think uh I I will do my best to convey to uh anyone else in the neighborhood to your neighbors uh that that this will be an operation that I think will be in keeping with your others uh and that it will be quiet and will have very little impact on the surrounding area.

It will have a big impact on the surrounding area and we're in a positive way a lot of homeless people off the street of course. Yeah. Um I I know it's very preliminary. Do you have an idea of how many uh beds you plan to make available on this site?

Well, the couple of different parts of the the project. So uh one area we're going to have rooms uh for population groups at the rescue mission that have outgrown their space, specifically families with children and then the medically infirm. We run a hospice and respit care section. We have a registered nurse seven days a week. Uh we need more space to house those patients. Most all of them are referred from University Medical Center. Now the back side of the lot is where is my favorite part of the project. So um you may be familiar with the corner of hope is at the corner of McGoffen and Cotton and uh that is the rescue missions outreach to people who are not living in any shelter at all. Well um this winter we opened it as a night shelter as well and the real shocker was when the weather turn started turning warm the numbers of people did not go down. Now, the corner of hope is currently handling about 40 men and five women per night, every night. Um, and so those are people, well, put it this way, the rescue mission is a dry shelter. It's got to be because we're running a drug and alcohol rehab program. The corner of hope you may call a damp shelter, which means you may come in under the influence. You may not use drugs or alcohol in the corner of hope. So, it's given the rescue mission an opportunity to reach out to those people who may never dry up on their own. And the results have been rather phenomenal since um um November when we opened. Uh about 20 people at the corner of Hope have gotten jobs and half of those are already moved into apartments. So, they're no longer homeless at all. So moving the corner of hope back to to

this street, it it gets that big crowd off Cotton Street. It gives the corner of hope a lot more space. And now think of it this way. Why are so many people lying on concrete sidewalks? The city tries to enforce the ordinance and move them along and all they accomplish is moving people from one sidewalk to another sidewalk. They're on the sidewalks because there is no other alternative. Well, we're going to build a park. So, I'm going to offer people who are laying on the sidewalk a better alternative than where they are. Let's plow up about the the plan is 3,800 square feet in the back of that lot. We're going to plant grass, shade trees, flowers, put in uh picnic benches, build restrooms, not porticans, real restrooms with showers, offer laundry service, and staff it with our counselors. So, what we're doing now is handling about 45 people a night. I could see that number going up to 60. I I know you are uh a bit of a botonist yourself and you uh keep some wonderful raised flower beds at the uh at the rear of Hallelujah Barbecue. So I I imagine the park will be quite nice.

It will. Um yeah, again I I think just want to reassure people we're talking about a facility to house families with children medically infirm and then provide the opportunity to take people off of the street out of the neighborhood uh at nighttime and I think that's only a benefit to the surrounding community. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Okay, Miss Brian, let's take public comment. Yes, sir. Mr. Barl, you had signed up. Are you gonna I I did sign up. I I think I've I've already spoken. Unless council members have questions, I'll pass my time to someone else. Thank you, sir. We'll proceed with Paul Dip, followed by John Cook and Frank Ldios.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Mayor. Good afternoon, council. Great to see everybody. Uh, and by the way, I had a delicious barbecue sandwich at Hallelujah. So, we missed you. You should get out there. It's incredible. uh we are the neighbors to uh this entire installation. This is a very sophisticated, wellthoughtout, well planned and wellexecuted operation. I would say best of class. We have never had an issue. We're open 22 hours a day, six days a week at our distribution center. There's never had a single issue and they're uh stones throw away. We endorse and and with full enthusiasm and with complete confidence the entire plan. Uh we understand the people that are involved. I can assure you you will not find a better well-run, wellthought or wellspirited opportunity for the neighborhood than what this organization is going to provide to you. So that being said, I'd like to ask for your support. Uh it's not a difficult ask. What we're talking about here is public safety. You're taking people from the corner of hope that have exposure to the street, exposure to the elements, and you're putting them in a safe environment, secure, away from the front street. And that is basically one of the primary missions of this on behalf of uh myself as a neighbor and all of our neighbors and everybody that understands what this incredible organization and exceptional group of people are doing every single day. and their mission and their their uh approach to everything that they do. I'd like to thank this organization for just an outstanding uh effort and the results that they perform for our community. They are touching people every single day in a very special way. They're converting lives and they're making everybody better. And by the way,

when you go down there, you'll be better, too. So, I I would just like to say if you haven't seen it, and I'm sure most of you have, please take the tour. And if you haven't eaten there, and I'm sure most of you have, this is a fundraiser for them. So, you should eat there twice a day. And uh congratulations to the organization. Thank you, Mayor Cook, followed by Frank Ldios. Good PSA. Good afternoon, Mayor.

Good afternoon, Mayor. I thought you were going to move this item all the way to the end so I could stay longer and have reminisce the old days, but uh thank you. Um, you know, I have an affinity for homeless people and it probably goes back to my wife who was a refugee from North Vietnam back in the late 50s and uh so she experienced homelessness herself. uh her her mother and her I met her at at her mother's restaurant when I was a private E2 uh stationed at Fort Bliss and it was amazing because when I got promoted to private E3 her brother invited me to the restaurant and his sister waited on my table and uh uh but 30 days later I was in Vietnam and so I wrote letters to her for a year at at the end of the year I came home, we got married. Shortly after that, we had our first date. Um, and we've been married ever since.

So, but, uh, I've worked with Blake over the years on homeless issues. Uh, when we had the first lady's homeless Thanksgiving dinners, which went on, it was for 10 years. We did that. Uh, Blake prepared all the turkeys for us, did the stuffing and I think the mashed potatoes and the gravy. Uh the the Salvation Army helped too. I want to tell you a little statistic in Los Angeles. Onethird of the fires in Los Angeles between uh uh 2020 and 2025 were the result of homeless people. We don't have that here. And one of the reasons is is because we have a very strategic approach to handling homeless people. We don't treat them all the same and put them all in the same buildings. Each of the homeless organizations that we have here has a specific mission. And Blake's mission is to help people recover from drug and alcohol abuse, which is very important to all of us, but it's also to give people a safe place to live. And that's what this was will end up doing. Uh rather than being a blight on the on the neighborhood, it'll give homeless people a good place to go and they'll look at what a better life is going to be like. So, I wholeheartedly um endorse this project and I hope that we can count on a unanimous vote from the city council. Thank you for all you do. God bless you. And I don't want to take my last 34 seconds.

Thank you, mayor. And the final speaker is Frank Ldios. And Mr. Ldios will need the Elmo, please. It the overhead project. Yeah. Right. Let me Thank you so much. Yeah. Good afternoon. Good afternoon,

Mr. Johnson. Council members, thank you for this opportunity to u strongly support the rescue mission of El Paso. Uh, I'm an outsider. Um, and I'm also here to to on behalf of the residents of this neighborhood, the Magin Historic District, we also we like to also mention that they're very very happy that someone is is doing something about the homeless situation. Um this is the this is just one one um one this is what the neighborhood looks like uh on any given day. Uh I have few pictures for you u to to take a look at um um and also like to take the opportunity to thank the uh the deputy city manager Mr. Dieago Costino because he's quick at helping us remove every time these little camps built up. He's quick at getting the I don't know who code enforcement, police, or a combination of both and they they get them cleared up. But it doesn't take time for these guys to come back and rebuild. They just move from from place to place. Yeah. So that's that's a situation there and in the neighborhood. Um and obviously we all know what these people do. crime, drugs, um um property damage not only to homes but also so also vehicles. The result of this is very common to it's very common to also see people just laying laying on the street. they're obviously they're just incapacitated people. Um but that's that's pretty common. Um the result of

this homeless population in the neighborhood is is is that um residents in the neighborhood that are actually moving out. Some of some neighbors some they're moving out. They're trying to sell their home. Nobody's buying it. Uh tenants are also moving out. We have uh we have plenty vacant uh apartments, single homes uh and and residents. When the residents move out, of course, you guys know what happens with property values, but then the homeless are quick to move into this this these prop these properties. This is one of the last ones that got damaged by fire by by the homeless. This happened just just in December. Um I lost track of how many properties have gone through this. Uh there's at least four or five, six, I don't know. And some of them actually get burned twice the initial damage and they they come back again and they burn they burn the the place the place again. So hopefully this this project is going to help a lot and it's going to help help the neighborhood. Um, and I just like to make a very strong point that uh the rescue mission of

El Paso at 3 minutes, Mr. L. Thank you. Just a quick 20 seconds if Go ahead. Um, they know how to they know they know what they're doing. They they they know how to feed the needy. They know how to shelter the homeless without compromising the safety and the well-being of the neighborhood. So, that's that's very important. They're they're they're the best of what they do in this neighborhood. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Okay. Represent public comment. Okay. Represent canales.

Thank you, mayor. One thing uh that I wanted to point out. I hope I'm not embarrassing Mr. Barrow, but I uh wanted to take the opportunity to say that uh he's written a wonderful book. It's called Stories from the Shelter: A Lawyer's Ministry with God's Children Who Were Homeless. Um, if anyone uh would like to read it, I have a copy in my office. I'm happy to lend it out. Um, it's it's quite short, but it's very powerful and good. So, um, anybody that's either the council or any member of the public if they'd like to read it. Um, please reach out and I'm happy to lend it. Uh, highly recommended. Thank you. Very, very good. Thank you, Miss Prime. Let's call for the vote.

Yes, sir. The motion was made. Council side conversations, please. The motion was made by Representative Canales, seconded by Representative Lemon, and this is to adopt the ordinance on item 28. Public comment has been taken on that motion. Call for the vote in the voting session. And that motion passes unanimously. There you go. All right, Miss R. Take item number 29, please.

Yes, sir. Item 29 is a public hearing of an ordinance amending title 18 building and construction chapter 18.46 landscaped of the El Paso City Code by deleting chapter 18.46 landscape in its entirety and adopting a new chapter 18.46 landscape in its place. Okay. Is there a mot? All right. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor and council member representatives. Tony La Cruz with the planning inspections department. And as already mentioned by Miss Prime, item 29 is a ordinance that would delete the current landscape ordinance uh chapter 18.46 of the city code and replace it with a new 18.46. As we uh earlier discussed, we did go over some of the components regarding the red lines. And the primary reason why red lines were not provided during our briefings was because there was a lot of reorganization throughout the existing ordinance. So, uh, sections of the existing ordinance were simply relocated to play to for the ordinance to have better flow and for our applicants to be able to review them easier without having to jump from one section to the other. So, with that being said, I'll go ahead and start moving through the presentation. The overall purpose of the proposed amendments is really to simplify and clarify the current uh and proposed code requirements. This will result in the beautifification and improve visual aesthetics for residents, businesses, and visitors to our city by increasing landscape density and distribution along street frontages and commercial corridors. The landscape code as it currently stands and it is and with the proposed amendments would apply to commercial development and new residential subdivision development to ensure that we were aligned with the Chihuahua desert climate action plan. We did coordinate meetings with the climate and sustainability group and I believe we have representatives from that group here at at council chambers to provide the council with a brief chronology of the landscape ordinance. The landscape ordinance for the city of El Paso has been in effect since 1995. As you can see, it has been modified and amended throughout the years with the biggest amendment coming in 2007 when

the ordinance was changed from title 20 zoning to chapter 18, the building and construction code. At that point, that was a complete rewrite of the ordinance and that has been the most significant change since then. Overall for public outreach, we have been working on this ordinance ever since uh my director boss Philipe got back into the city approximately 2019 but proposed amendments were actually taking place even before then. So we had we had multiple meetings with our developers focus group which involves a series of developers, builders, contractors, uh architects, engineers, and the different uh utilities uh on a once a month basis over at city 3. We did coordinate again with the utility companies to ensure that we uh received their input and adjusted the ordinance as necessary. And in some areas we agreed, other areas we disagreed. Uh that's just part of developing an ordinance. We had public meetings with the architects, landscape architects, land owners, uh licensed irregulators, and of course the local American Institute of Architects chapter for our area. Uh and as previously mentioned, we did coordinate with our climate and sustainability group. And finally, uh our presentation to the city plan commission on March 26 of 2026. So overall, we're going to be going over uh the major amendments that did get modified during the reorganization. And just um to give you an example of what it is that our team typically looks at when we're looking at the ordinance, we're looking at four distinct sections. Uh currently three, hopefully four. The first one is the street trees. So the street trees, what we're looking at is the spacing of street trees in comparison to the amount of rightway that they front. And I'll cover those a little bit more as we go. As you

transition in uh past the property line, then a 10-ft landscape buffer is required with additional trees. And part of these modifications would include shrubbery, a minimum percentage of shrubbery to be located in that portion. After that, we move over to the land landscape project area, which takes into account the calculation of the size of the parcel minus the size of the building multiplied by 15% so we can arrive at the minimum landscape area required. The 15% uh requirement is not being modified through any of these amendments. And then the last one that is currently not in the ordinance and I'll cover that is a 10-foot buffer if a commercial property is abudding residential properties. So to go over the first uh proposed major amendment, it's regarding the street and buffer trees that are located uh towards the frontage of the property. So current code requires a tree per 30 feet of rightway frontage to be placed both in the buffer and in the street. uh Parkway. Uh the proposed code would allow a developer or a builder designer to opt to provide large or medium uh canopy trees from the city of El Paso plant list that have a mature canopy of 40 foot or greater. When that criteria is met, the trees could be spaced out at 40 ft. Uh but if that criteria is not met, the current requirement of 30 foot on center would still stand. This would allow for faster growth of the tree and greater shade canopy at maturity, but also provides the spacing in between the trees to redistribute some of the shrubbery into that front u buffer area. The required landscape area currently landscape the landscape area is allowed

anywhere on the parcel. If uh I know many of you guys have driven the back areas of Sam's uh any shopping center and you start seeing landscape there that is not visible to the public through this proposed ordinance all that landscaping would be required to be brought from the back wall of the building forward to where it really provides more of an aesthetic for the visitors, drivers and pedestrians overall. As far as unit requirements, this is the calculation that I mentioned earlier, the parcel minus the building times 15%. It gives us a unit requirement. One unit is equal to 1,000 square ft of landscapable area in this area. What what we're recommending is to reduce the amount of shrubs because we're reducing the amount of plantable area around and behind the building from 45 shrubs to 30 shrubs of 5gallon size. The unit requirements for the trees are still applicable. So under current code, if the code requires you to provide 10 trees, the new code would still require you to provide 10 trees, the the requirement on shrubs would go from 450 to three 300, but 15% of those would need to be placed in that front frontage buffer. Again, this enhances the aesthetics for our community. And really uh as part of the El Paso plant and tree list, they have the option of selecting trees that are native or naturalized drought tolerant plants for our region. The final one that we saw in the picture of the property is really the residential to commercial buffer. current code doesn't have that requirement and I'm sure council is familiar with every time we bring a resoning to before a council that is a budding residential we always impose a condition that a 10-ft landscape buffer

will be provided whenever they're abudding. This is a routine uh zoning condition that through by applying it to just landscape code in general would be applicable to any property regardless of zoning that hasn't been developed. It provides a sound and visual barrier from the residential properties to the commercial properties and codifies a routine zoning conditions that t that is typically imposed on commercial properties. And finally, current landscape code does provide a bio buyout option for landscaping. The buyout option currently is only available for our unmanned facilities uh when that uh parcel requires less than one unit of plant material, basically 1,000 square ft, one tree, and currently 45 shrubs. What we're recommending, and this was a recommendation from our developers, is why don't we expand that to an already developed site? Let's say for example, a small shopping center where they're wanting to do a small addition. The addition in itself would be minimal uh would be minimal typically between five to six thousand square feet. They would have the opportunity to buy out rather than hiring a landscape architect, landscape irrigator, the actual plants, installing the systems, and installing the plants. The current fee right now is $5,300. And these fees can be used to enhance landscaping throughout existing city assets. So overall staff's recommendation is approval of the proposed amendment to the landscape ordinance and I'll open up for questions.

All right. Representative Canelis. I think that was selected from last time. Okay. Any questions on this particular item? And I know we have public comment. Miss Bri. Yes, we do. There's Mr. Richard Deu. Good afternoon, sir. Good afternoon. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, mayor and council. Thank you for this opportunity to speak before you. For the record, I am Richard Deub, Thunderbird Management Consulting, and I am a registered lobbyist with the city. I stand before you uh playing the role of individual though who happens to serve on the developer focus group that Tony just mentioned a few moments ago. I've been serving on there going back into uh my days at the chamber probably 2014 2015 so a very very long time. And uh I'll keep my comments very brief in that we have worked with the city staff and and I want to I kudos to the city staff in planning inspections. They have worked diligently, Philip and Kevin and Tony and Danny and the list goes on as well as El Paso Water. I want to give them credit. I I work with Jennifer Bar and her predecessor trying to come up with policies that make ecological sense for the desert we live in while still meeting the necessary requirements for providing walkable neighborhoods, shade, uh but have it make common sense. They gave you one example with an industrial building where we literally acquired landscaping inside the wall in the back of a building when no one would ever see them providing virtually no value whatsoever. So without further ado, I simply want to first of all thank all of you for considering this today. It's been a decade. We're ready to move forward. I sincerely hope and I want to encourage you strongly to support this as has been presented today. Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Richard. Okay, Miss Brian. No more public comment. No, sir. Okay, let's call for the vote.

Yes, sir. The motion was made by Mayor Prom Chavez, seconded by Representative Pedro, and this is to adopt the ordinance on item 29. Public comment has been taken. On that motion, call for the vote. Thank you, Representative Lemon. In the voting session and that motion passes 7 to1, Representative Ato voting nay. The remainder of council voting I. The motion passes. Okay, let's take item number 30, please.

Thank you, council members. Item number 30 is a public hearing of an ordinance authorizing the city manager to execute a quit claim tax resale deed conveying all right title and interest to Miguel Gayo to for the parcel 1 acre out of track 5 and ka track 5Y block 11 lower valley surveys being more particularly described as parcel A in volume 420 page 1306 deed records of El Paso County Texas. Okay. Council I would entertain a motion to approve. So move. Okay. Is there a second? Okay. Thank you. Any discussion? All right. Miss Fry.

Yes, sir. The motion was made by Representative Lemon, seconded by Representative Boy Trejo, and this is to adopt the ordinance on item 30. There is no public comment on that motion. Call for the vote. in the voting session. And that motion passes unanimously. Representative Fedo not present. Okay, let's take item number 31, please.

Yes, sir. Item 31 is discussion and action on a resolution authorizing the expenditure of district 1 discretionary funds in an amount not to exceed $22,400 to fund solar lights to improve visibility for Park Hills Park and Simmeron Park number two for park users. Serves the municipal purpose of enhancing and sustaining the community safety and quality of life, fostering community pride and aligning and implementing key investment strategies. sustaining and enhancing park system operations and outdoor offerings. And further that the city manager designate be authorized to use any remaining funds toward other city park projects within district 1 upon consultation and approval from the district 1 representative.

Okay, there's a motion and a second. Representative Chavez.

Thank you, mayor. Can it please pull up the presentation? Thank you. So, mayor and council, this item is not only to request to invest in district 1 discretionary funds into quality of life and safety improvements, but also I want to take the opportunity today to provide transparency regarding these funds. I will walk through how funds were restored, invested, reconciled, and how today's request fits into the broader effort. The goal is to ensure residents understand where these dollars are going and the benefit they are providing to the community. Next slide. So transparency matters especially when taxpayer dollars are involved. Since taking office in January 2025, my focus has been on using discretionary funds for visible community centered improvements. These investments are already producing measurable results in parks and public spaces in my district. Next slide. Discretionary accounts are highly regulated and expenditures require approval and compliance according to city policy. There was recent confusion regarding the reported balance of district 1 discretionary funds that was caused by delays in departmental reconciliation. The key point is this. Projects have been completed. The accounting reconciliation occurred later by the department that completed them. Next slide. Last year, council approved returning funds back to District 1 that had been transferred to the general fund by a previous council. Approximately $77,000 was restored to District 1 discretionary fund. I quickly reinvested these funds into neighborhood improvements rather than leaving them unused. And and I'm going to go through those uh on the next

slide. So, after restoring those funds to district 1, which was in February of 2025, in March, that same year, council approved an item I sponsored to use $48,000 in discretionary funds for immediate infrastructure and safety improvements. Those uh improvements included speed feedback signs, solar uh lights, and um yes, those those two things in combination. I worked closely with city staff. It was then that uh Richard Bristol helped me in identifying locations around my district where I could put the speech feedback signs and parks and wreck also helped me regarding uh solar lighting in in some of the parks in district 1. So by summer last year of 2025, those improvements that council had approved had already been installed at the corner of Upper Valley and Gomez Road on High Ridge uh drive and in West Green Park. Those were real projects that residents can already see and benefit from. Next slide. So although uh the projects were approved and completed last fiscal year, it's important to note here that the expenditures were not formally reconciled against the district 1 account until recently. So the previously reported balance created some confusion because the completed projects had not been formally reconciled. The work had been completed but the streets and maintenance department more specifically hadn't drawn down uh the funds from my account after discussions with uh Robert Cortinez and Sasho. The reconciliation has recently been corrected. Next slide. Each district office receives an annual discretionary allocation of around $10,000 through our adopted budget and the balances fluctuate based on

expenditures, reimbursements, donations, and the timing of reconciliation. So, I have also um in the next slide, please. Yes. Last year secured $11,500 that council approved in donations for community events and resident engagement activities. Those donations are separate from discretionary expenditures and have gone back directly into community programming. Next slide. So today's agenda item is a request for council to approve an expenditure of $22,400 for four additional solar lights at basketball courts in two district 1 parks. My intent again is to improve safety, increase park usability, and build stronger community spaces. Next slide. So, Alex Hoffman from the city has helped me by producing some data that shows park usage and how that affects park uh park uh people to use those parks. During winter, it becomes dark too early and for many working families and young people, it is difficult to use the facilities once it's dark. And during the summer, recreation becomes even more important because of the daytime heat. So, it's important to use the parks when the sun has gone down. If there's no lighting, the parks are not able to be used. So, lighting again creates safer and more welcoming public spaces. Next slide. We'll go through this. So, this is uh data that shows West Green Park. As I mentioned last year, uh we installed two solar lights at the basketball court on West Green Park and uh council approved this expenditure in March. They were installed by May. And this slide will show you the increase of usage at that park uh between April and May. The the blue line shows the increase in visitation at the West Green Park. Um and we believe it's because of the solar

lights that were installed. This is an 800% increase in usage at that park. Next slide. This is another data uh that Alex Hoffman had uh provided for me. You can see the time of day where the uh usage increases. So visitation to the park increases. And again, we're talking about the summer months when it gets darker a little bit later in the day. So you can see that May and June is the orange line. And you can see that when it got dark because of the lights, the visitation significantly increases at that park, meaning that people are really using those lights. When we uh put the solar lights into West Green Park, uh we went out there and had a pizza party and you can see uh there were a lot of kids, a lot of uh basketball groups that were were there that night. And these are some pictures of the way the basketball court looks at West Green. Okay, next slide. Okay, so this is the data that Alex Hoffman has now provided for the parks that I want to put the solar lights in if council approves of this expenditure. So this is one of the parks. This one is Simmeron Park number two. And you can see how the visitation to the park starts to decline after it starts to get dark. So between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. and then after 7 8 9 the visitation to that park starts to decline because of the lack of lighting. In this park uh specifically I was just there this weekend and it is pitch pitch dark. There's not a single light anywhere on in this park. Not in the playground not in any area of the park. Next slide. So this is what that park looks like. There's also a volleyball court in the park. There's a playground at the park and the basketball court. My intention is to provide two solar lights at this park. Um each solar light costs $5,600. I will say that last year each solar

light cost me $5,000. So every year they're getting more expensive, but um my goal is to provide two solar lights to the basketball court area that could maybe be used also in the volleyball court area for this park. And again, we have the slides that Alex Hoffman has already provided with the data and the visitation. So it will be a great base to see what the comparison is before and after the lights have been installed. Next slide. So this is the second park. It's Park Hills Park. Again, Alex Hoffman, thank you for for this information. The red zones are the areas where a lot of people visit the park and the blue zones are the colder areas, so less uh visitation to the park. The basketball court is in the uh left top part of this picture where the blue zone is currently located. Next slide. And this is a mock picture of what that basketball court will look like after the installation of two solar lights. Again, pitch dark. There's not any light. I think this park has one light, but it's way at the other side of the park where the playground area is. Okay, next slide. So, uh, again, I want to, uh, just make sure I put on the record that the previously reported balance that was reported of approximately $110,000 was inaccurate due to unreconciled expenditures tied to uh, completed projects. But after coordinating with the finance department, with our streets and maintenance department, the corrected projected balance in district 1 discretionary account following today's expenditure, if approved by council, would be $48,000. Um, I just Yes. Oh, next. Yes, this is about stewardship, transparency, and investing in neighborhoods. I have uh been very mindful and very

intentional about where I use my discretionary account funding funds. Um as I mentioned, I did receive some donations last year for specific events in my in my district for programming. I think those donations were very helpful. The funds that I do have in my discretionary account I am intentionally using to provide quality of life for my constituents for creating a safer environment and for building community in these parks. Um I because of the experience I had at West Green I knew how successful installing those two solar lights was and I want to continue doing that in other areas that are in need in my district. I also want to note that sometimes when we discuss investments in our community, most of the time many of these projects cost hundreds of thousands or sometimes millions of dollars. And I just want to make sure that council knows that sometimes small investments have a very big impact for specific neighborhoods. So we should never feel like unless we invest millions of dollars, we can create a big impact. we can invest in my case $10,000 at West Green Park or um now the cost has gone up a little bit more but even then you know around 10 to $15,000 creates a huge impact for a neighborhood. I'm hoping that if approving if you all approve these uh expenditure today um these four solar lights in two different parks in district 1 will create a big impact for these neighborhoods and I'm very excited about this project. I'm very grateful to Miss Mack, to uh Alex Hoffman, to uh parks and wreck, of course, and streets and maintenance. Everyone who's ever helped me coming to these decisions has been um wonderful to work with. So, thank you. I kindly ask for your approval.

Very good. Any questions for Representative Chavez? The only thing I would add is you had a wonderful presentation with a lots of data, but we didn't get a chance to see any of that in the backup. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, because of the the map. It was very, very good, very detailed. Um, that goes for all the council. If you have a good presentation, put it in the backup so we can enjoy it. Okay. Miss Bryan, call for the vote.

Yes. A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tim Chavez, seconded by Representative Orier Treco to approve item 31. On that motion, call for the vote. and the voting session. And that motion passes unanimously.

Okay, let's take item number 32. Item 32 is discussion and action directing the city manager in coordination with the city attorney to number one prepare and present to city council a comprehensive overview of driving while intoxicated DWI data in the city of El Paso within 45 days. Number two, develop a citywide anti-DWI strategy and return to council with recommendations within 90 days. and number three to amend the city of El Paso's 90th session state legislative agenda to include anti-DWI advocacy priorities. This item was placed by Representatives Nino and Mayor Johnson. Representative Nino, would you like to make a motion? Yes. Motion to approve. Second.

Okay. Represent Nino.

Thank you, Mayor and colleagues. First and foremost, Mayor Johnson, thank you for co-sponsoring this effort alongside with me. I also want to thank the city manager and the city attorney for having meaningful conversation with me over the last few months. Driving while intoxicated continues to be one of the most serious public safety challenges that continues to impact our community. Over the past few months, I've been having conversations with many families who have lost loved ones, survivors, District 5 residents, community advocates, law enforcement leadership, and first responders about the growing concerns surrounding driving while intoxicated in our community. Last weekend, I also had the opportunity to participate in a ride along with the El Paso Police Department DWI Task Force, which operates daily from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. And what I witnessed firsthand was eye opening for me. During the wider along, I witnessed the number of calls, the traffic stops and investigations that officers respond to throughout the night, as well as the significant time and attention and resources that are dedicated every day to keep impaired drivers off of off from our roads. It reinforced how active and ongoing this issue is within our community, especially during overnight hours when many families are either asleep or they're simply trying to get home safely. It also reinforced how important it is that we continue working together as a community to prevent these tragedies before they happen. And this is not an issue that just impacts only one neighborhood or one part of our city. It impacts families across of El Paso every single day and it's something our community must continue confronting together. With that being said, I want to recognize and thank the El Paso Police Department's DWI task force and

all of our law enforcement agencies for the work they do every day to help keep our community safe and removed impaired drivers from our roadways from 2023 through April 25th, 2026. The El Paso Police Department alone has arrested 4,956 people from driving while intoxicated. That that number does not include arrests made by the sheriff's office or the law enforcement agencies, nor does it account for individuals who continue making the dangerous decision to drink and drive, but we who we will never know about. What's even more concerning is the number of repeat offenders. During the same time, 478 individuals were arrested for DWI second time or more and 593 individuals were arrested for DWI three times or more. This data that I'm sharing reflects enforcement efforts, but it does not paint the whole picture. Additionally, I spoke with the sheriff this past week and the sheriff's office reported 617 DWI arrest in 2025 and in just the four months of 2026 alone, they've already made 240 arrest. It's important to note that behind every statistic, it's a family whose life has changed forever. These are not just numbers on a spreadsheet. Some of them are parents who never made it home, children who lost a mother or father, friends, classmates, neighbors, and loved ones whose lives were taken because someone chose to drive impaired. And I think it's also important that we recognize the survivors, lives who have been permanently changed. There are members within our community who have suffered life altering injuries, individuals who lost limbs, suffered f severe trauma and may never be able to

work again. Some now depend on family members or caregivers for everyday support because of a decision that should have never happened in the first place. For many families, that pain does not end after the crash. They continue to carry physical, emotional, and financial burden every single day. And despite everything that they have endured, many survivors and families continue showing up, speaking out, educating others, and advocating for change so other families don't have to experience the exact same pain. And that strength says a lot about our family about about our community. One of the most powerful parts of these conversations have been hearing directly from families and survivors. Their courage, their advocacy, and willingness to share their stories have profoundly touched me and help me help move this community forward. Uh, I want them to know that their voices matter and that this community hears them. The reality is that every one of those tragedies is preventable if people make the right choice. Choosing not to drink and drive could save lives. It could protect families and prevent lifelong pain and trauma. We also have to continue building a culture where planning a safe ride home is normalized, where friends look out for one another, and we're making the responsible choice is expected and not optional. And the reality is this is not just a law enforcement issue. This is a community issue. Additionally, I am aware that we're not going to arrest our way out of this issue, which is why I believe a strategy is important. This is an issue that require all of us working together. Everyone from our government, our law enforcement, our schools, our local businesses, community organizations, families and residents.

It truly impacts our hospitals, our first responders, our courts, our infrastructure, and our taxpayers. It requires significant public resources, time, staffing, emergency response, investigations, medical care, and also repairs to damage public property. We should also recognize the emotional tools these incidents have on our first responders who are often the first to witness these tragedies firsthand. Beyond the human impact, these incidents also create significant cost for our community, including damage to public infrastructure, as I mentioned, traffic signals, street lights, and other city assets that are paid by the taxpayers. I also want to recognize that our law enforcement agencies, first responders, and different community organizations are already doing important work every day through enforcement operations, education efforts, outreach initiatives, and preventions campaigns such as the mayor Johnson's enough is enough campaign. And thank you, mayor, for that. This item is intended to build on these efforts, identify gaps, and help better understand where additional strategies and resources may be needed. We need a comprehensive understanding of what is happening across our city in order to further combat this issue. That includes reviewing not only enforcement data but also DWI related crashes, fatalities, non-fatal injuries, repeat offenses, damage to the public infrastructure, impacts on our emergency response, and the overall strain these incidents place on the taxpayers and our city resources. That's why this item directs the city manager in coordination with the city attorney to return with a full overview of DWI related data. Additionally, developing a city a citywide anti-DWI

strategy and incorporate anti-DWI advocacy at our state level with our legislative agenda. This item is about public safety. It's about education, prevention, mental health, accountability, and truly finding means to continue protecting our community. to Chief Pacillas, Chief Briones, the El Paso Police Department DWI Task Force, the Sober Street Movement, Matt El Paso, our first responders, and most importantly, the families and the survivors who continue advocating and sharing your stories. Thank you. El Paso has always been a community that comes together during difficult times, and this issue should be no different. And I truly believe that by working together, families, advocates, our law enforcement, our educators, our local businesses, and us as community leaders, we can continue building safer streets, stronger neighborhoods, and a safer future for our next generation. And I truly believe that through the further education, further prevention, further accountability, community partnerships, we could continue to save lives. And if we could save one life just through this conversation or this effort, then it's absolutely worth it. We truly owe that to every single person in our community and council. This is just the beginning of the conversation. I humbly ask for your support and mayor, thank you again for sponsoring this item with me.

Thank you, Represent Representative Chavez.

Thank you, Mayor. Well, I'd like to start by first thanking you and Representative Nino for bringing this item forward. I I strongly support it and I'm very grateful for your initiative on this. So, um there have been many conversations and news articles written about DWI. We've all seen uh the prevention that's been happening on the streets on weekends and nights. And I started thinking a few months ago, what could be done, right? Um, and I know that a lot of people are putting a lot of effort towards preventing uh DWIs. Um, and for me it's it's a little bit personal because I have a two teenagers at home um and one who's about to start driving. So I started thinking, you know, what can we do? And I started talking to her about drunk driving, getting in the cars with with someone who's been drinking or even preventing someone from getting behind the wheel after having uh had something to drink. But I thought, you know, it shouldn't stop just in my in my house. This education, this conversation probably could be broader, probably could be taken um to schools. So, a few weeks ago, I met with uh Mothers Against Drunk Driving. I met with someone from the our police department and I also met with the Texas&M Transportation Institute. They have um a whole initiative called teens in the driver's seat and it's a program that they're doing along the alongside the police department and we had a discussion about how we could better reach teenagers before they make the dangerous decisions involving alcohol and driving and just as representative said it really takes a whole team effort you know from a lot of different organizations to really um talk about this and prevent drunk driving. I also had the opportunity to speak with Chief of Police Chief Basillas um who has signed off on on this initiative. So, we're working

together uh MAD uh the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and our police department on developing a pilot partnership and the high school that we're going to be working with this month is Gano High School. The Cano Independent School District was very open to the idea of having a pilot program in their high school where high schoolers can meet um these these organizations and our police department, our DWI task force, and we can talk about the the high risk about getting behind the wheel or or driving drunk. Um, so I believe that this item that you've brought forward, I mean, just coincidentally, because this is something very new that I've just started working on, uh, presents itself at a very good time and we are hoping that this pilot program will take place this month, right before what they have deemed uh, Tex has deemed the highest risk period, which is during graduation times or right before summer breaks, things like that. So, as we develop this citywide anti-DWI strategy, I believe that it is essential if we could include public education, prevention, and youth outreach initiatives focused on teenage drunk driving. I know that mayor, you have teenagers at home, too. So, this is something that hits close to home for for many of us on the DIYs here. Um the data tells us that risk periods consistently are aligned with times when teenagers and young adults are most socially active. And Texot has said that it's prom season, graduation, summer break, spring break, major holidays. Um Tex also says that alcohol-related crashes are already involving young people between the ages of 13 and 20. And what is especially concerning is that these incidents are not limited to minor crashes. The data includes serious injuries and fatalities involving young people and alcohol-related driving,

including multiple fatalities among both young women and young men. Just uh in April of this year in District 1 on U Basel Norte and Westtown Marketplace, a fatal crash took place. A 19-year-old was behind the wheel, intoxicated, and took the life of a 56-y old man. that 56-y old man just happened to be one of my cousin's best friends. And it's just it's just amazing that it hits so close to home. It it really does. And you just never know. And again, as I keep thinking of my daughter getting behind the wheel, going to events, and potentially um having friends that that want to drive her home, what does that mean for me, for my family, and for many other families? and for many other families who have unfortunately already experienced tragedy regarding a DWI. So I don't think that these are isolated bad choice events. I think there are patterns and if we could educate our youth then we could hopefully as Representative Nino said prevent even at least one death we would already be better for what we're trying to do. Um, so if we're serious, I believe, about DWI over the long term, then I think we could address it at every level, enforcement, prevention, education, and early intervention. Um, I would like to ask the city manager if the agenda item today, I believe it is broad enough, Miss Mack, to to uh include all of these last things that I just mentioned, enforcement, prevention, education, and early intervention. or if you need specific direction to make sure that we look at this approach holistically and we can involve other agencies and organizations like the ones I just mentioned.

I believe the original language covers it and it has been partly our strategy. We've been working with high schools and others and so it would be comprehensive. Okay. Thank you.

That's great. Um, so again, I just want to thank Mayor Johnson, uh, Representative Nino, um, and the whole council, our police department, of course, our officers. It's just amazing the work that you do day in and day out for our community, and I'm very, very grateful and privileged to serve this community alongside with you, and I mean that wholeheartedly. I'm excited about uh just creating an impact in our community in a positive way and having a little bit more outreach with our youth. Our youth is our future, so we have to take care of them. Thank you once again and I'm looking forward to working with everyone.

Very good. Thank you, Representative Representative Lemon. And while she's getting ready to speak, Chief and Commander and Chief, would you guys come up? Come on in. Good. Because I have a question related to that. First of all, thank you representative Nino and mayor for this item. Um um Representative Maldonado Roachcha yesterday and I attended a town hall meeting with um state representative Vince Perez and it's really interesting because he's going to be uh leading legislation precisely on this. Did you want to could you add a little bit more to it and then I'll come back? Sure.

Because it was really good. Thank you, Replemon. So, I know that one of the concerns is uh on the DWI side or even driving impaired side according to Representative Bettis is that you have this new combination of THC with our proximity to New Mexico. And it I know that that's presenting a a new challenge for your officers that are patrolling to be able to identify what the individual is. um is impaired from whether it be alcohol or it be drugs or narcotics or anything like that. So, I know Representative Bettis is going to be um looking at how to present that legislation from a state level uh to be able to to help um officers to be able to identify or make those punishable by some some type of um I guess legislative law at this point because I I understand and correct me rep Lemon if I'm wrong that it currently does not exist. And I guess the question chief becomes how do um in the process we keep hearing and we'll still hear it in some conversations intoxicated

and and we kind of think they tend to think of alcoholic or beer or something like that but there's another realm to it and I guess the question based on what we heard yesterday that I have is do you have a me mechanism for detecting that through a normal check or is that a different arena? that you go through.

So, I'm going to go ahead and speak very shortly about it. I'll turn it over to uh Chief Bionis. But, we do have officers uh on the department that are certified as uh detecting uh also drug uh uh impairment. Also, it's a different certification than the standard certification that our officers get, all officers get when they go through the basic training academy. Our DWI officers have it too to detect alcohol intoxication, but we do have officers that can uh are certified to detect uh the drug side of it. Also,

no. Uh assistant should be for the record. Yes, Miss Leone. We have uh the majority of our DWI officers are DR certified drug recognition experts and uh they know uh they run certain tests to determine this person under the influence of a drug. Um if we need to uh get a warrant for their blood, we will and send it in for uh for testing because if you stop someone and you don't smell then but they're impaired and you know there's something wrong but you're not really really sure what it's going to be. So, it means taking them in to the substation or how does all that work?

Yes, ma'am. It's pretty much the same. I mean, uh there's going to be tests done on the side and uh they're going to monitor them. There's certain tests that are done under the DR program. Drum experts will do the test and determine if this person is uh impaired to be driving. Like I said, more than likely we get a warrant because we're not going to get a specimen, a breast specimen. We'll get a warrant for their blood and then be able to uh send that in and wait for the results. And I guess my final just real quick note is um are are you are you tracking that data? Is that something new or is that something that you've been doing um for a while? Tracking um not just alcohol but drugs. We've been doing that for a long time. Good. A long time. We do have data on that.

Thank you, Mayor. Very good. Represent Nino.

Thank you, Mayor. And I'm glad that you know it's sparking further conversation amongst us as well. Uh, you know, during my ride along, I was assigned with a Sergeant Barentos, who is a DR, a drug recognition expert. Uh, I believe we have six officers now that are recognized as Dr. and they talked about that exact same challenge that Rep Lemon is mentioning, right? Because they go through the process of doing first the field test to see if they might be impaired. And even at that point, they might not know what they're impaired with, right? And even if an individual is not at the limit, legal limit of the alcohol level that they are allowed to be at while they're driving, it doesn't mean that they're still not impaired, right? And so that's even its own challenge. That's why I think it's important for us to really look at a a broad strategy because it might be again the education, the prevention, the the I don't know if it's going to be a PSA, you know, of really all of us sharing with the community that we have to really truly protect each other because it's it's an overall it it's such a broad issue but it's very complex issue and that was again during my ride along and and I I would challenge all the council members to do that night shift ride along from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. to really just see the whole process. I mean, I got to witness everything from an individual being stopped for not turning on their signal to possibly identifying the individual that was impaired to them determining, they call them clues, right? That's what they call them, clues, saying, "Okay, they met the threshold that we think that they're impaired." Then you get to see the whole process of asking them if they would be willing to do a blood test or or a breathalyzer test. Then they get

to go to the regional command center with them. And even the challenges of having to wait for a tow truck, you know, and time is of essence because they're trying to identify if this person is impaired or not. But um again, it was a whole experience that I got to see not just just the community challenges, but also the challenges that our first responders and our law enforcement face every day. Um and that's why I thought it was important to really think of a holistic strategy to be able to further navigate the conversations of what could possibly be adopted by the council in the future.

Very good. And you know, Representative Nino, first of all, I want to thank you for co-sponsoring this item and and getting it on the agenda, but I want some numbers to sink in with the community. We talk about 4,956 rough roughly 5,000 drivers were arrested for DWI between 23 and and 2025 um in a three-year period, two-year period. And that's 6% over for that that period of time. uh of an increase. And if you look at 2025, there was 19 fatal alcohol-related crashes here in El Paso. But what's really alarming is in just 2025, there was 2,000 DWI arrest alone. And I can tell you that DWI does not know what time of day it is. It doesn't know that it's 7 in the morning or 10:00 at night. And no one is immune to not getting the call or that knock on the door that one of your loved ones is been involved in a a a DWI or an accident and then and they are no longer coming home. So we cannot thank you know our our El Paso Police Department enough for what you're doing. I also want to recognize our district attorney's office uh Sheriff Garte who is doing a lot of work. our state representatives who are now uh putting work in at the state level. But again, it's going to take the entire community to to move this needle and to to really um drive down the DWIs and the D uh UIs in in our community. But again, you know, there's no one wants to be at home where that bedroom has been untouched for for year after year because someone uh lost

their lives. There's an empty table or chair at the the kitchen table. Um I can't even imagine what the families would go through when you lose a loved one uh to someone that is driving while intoxicated. But we can do better and enough is enough and the chief has, you know, made this a priority and I appreciate everyone that is working to make El Paso safer and we will continue to do what we can to to get the DWI and DUI offenders off of the El Paso road. So, thank you guys. I also want to thank this council because you guys have been tremendous in support of this type of effort of getting uh our our streets safer. So, I want to commend the council. I want to commend the city manager and city attorney uh for all the great work that we're doing to to tackle this. So, it's going to take an entire community to stop this. So, we appreciate you guys. And chief, you want to say something?

Yes. I just want to also recognize Commander Johnson who's standing off my left shoulder and uh Chief Brionis. They've been working hard uh on these issues. Chief Brionis also oversees the training academy. And one of the initiatives was uh uh um the police leadership academy at the uh Commander Johnson just graduated from last Thursday. Um it's a from the University of Chicago. there's an intense five months for him and his project uh was on fatalities in DWI uh on there that were going to be his strategies that were accepted by the University of Chicago's team as his capstone project uh on it that these two uh Chief Brionis and Commander Johnson have been working very hard for solutions. So I'd like to recognize Commander Johnson and let him talk to you just a little bit about his capstone if that's possible. Commander,

good afternoon, council, Mr. Mayor. Uh, it's it's been a pleasure to sit here and listen all day. Uh, the secret is the answers have floated in this room all day, but they've floated in silos. They've been compo compartmentalized. My project uh with the University of Chicago uh took things like education uh we took things like prevention but we also looked at traffic data like we looked at crime data. So in other words not necessarily for response but for resource purposes we can identify those places where traffic is faster because DWI is only a small part of it. What about the people that drive 100 miles an hour to get to work at 7 o'clock in the morning? So, we took the totality of traffic to look at it at a holistic level uh to come together with education with enforcement. We need to do a little bit more work and we will. I've talked to Chief Pillas about that. Um we need to look at the community as a whole and I've heard that said so many times today. But we have to bring all these programs together constructive as one unit to combat this this this problem. I think we have a blueprint. Uh I've worked with uh a lot of people from all over the country and Canada while in Chicago. Uh I think we have a blueprint to do that. All we have to do is come together and make it happen.

Thank you. Commander, congratulations again on on that program. Thank you. Okay, Miss Prime. We are ready for this vote. Yes, sir. The motion was made by Representative Nino, seconded by Mayor Prom Chavez to approve the direction on item 32. On that motion, call for the vote and the voting session. And that motion passes unanimously. Thank you, council.

Thank you, guys. All right, Miss Brian, let's take item number 33, please. Item 33 is discussion and action on the award of solicitation 2026-000096 JAR order contracting demolition and remediation services to border demolition and environmental incessment Geossciences Inc. DBA Tasman Inc. Alamo Environmental Inc. DBA Alamo1 for the initial term of two years and three one-year options. The length of each contract, including the initial term plus options, is five years for an estimated total aggregate amount of $5 million. Okay. Is there a motion to approve? Move to approve. Second. All right. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. Derek Russell with purchasing strategic sourcing department. So, I'll just cover the procurement portion of it. This was a competitive sale proposal for JLC demolition remediation services. The solicitation had 72 views. Four proposals were received, two being local suppliers. A protest was received for this requirement, but it was denied. And we are recommending this award as indicated to Border Demolition, Environmental Ink, Tasman Geosciences Inc., DBA Tasman Inc., Alamo Environmental Inc., DBA Alamo One, the highest ranked offers based on the factors established for this procurement. That's it. That's all I have unless you guys want the presentation that Mr. Costa has for you guys. Sure. It's only a couple pages. Sure. Yeah. Okay. Sorry. And and Representative Lemon has a question.

Can you go back again? You told us there were 72 views. Yes, ma'am. And then four proposals were received. Four were received and two were local. Ma'am, and we selected one local. We selected one local. The other one was from out of state and the other one was from Texas as well. Thank you. No problem. Let's see the presentation. It's not that long.

Good afternoon, Mayor.

Good afternoon. Costa Capital Improvements Department. Um, this is just to go through the solicitation for the job order contracting for demo and remediation services. Um, a lot of the same information I'll go through, but I'll go through it slide by slide. So, location of course citywide all districts $5 million aggregate. The funding source is paced uh project to project. The funding will be determined by task order which is tied to the individual project. City staff determines the funding source and it can be used by any city department ESD, SAM, uh, CID, economic development, fire, PD. So, some of the the benefits of a contract like this is it selects it pre-selects a pool of contractors who can be assigned work quickly without going through a lengthy bid process each time and this does not include civil infrastructure projects. So the scope of work uh selective demolition remediation services for city- owned structures, removal of scheduled city-owned structures, removal of blighted structures under the building standards commission orders, and emergency structure removal under imminent threat. Um just to go through blighted structures, it's not a term you hear very commonly. Um, blight structure is a property that shows objectively determinable signs of deterioration sufficient to pose a threat to human health, safety, and public welfare. And then just to go through the procurement summary, uh, this was a competit competitive sealed proposal. Again, they went over the four firms and the two local vendors. And the recommendation was for to award this construction contract to Border Demolition Environmental, Tasman GeoSciences, and Almo Environmental. in the amount of $5 million aggregate uh for a term of two years, optional terms for three one-year extensions for a total of five years.

And that's concludes the presentation. Okay, any questions? Okay, Mr. Bryan, call for the vote. Yes, sir. The motion was made by Representative Lemon, seconded by Representative Canales, and this is to award the solicitation on item 33. On that motion, call for the vote. and the voting session and that motion passes unanimously. Okay, Miss Brian, I believe this takes us to the last item number 35.

That's correct, sir. Item 35 is discussion and action on the award of task order number 4A-1 for solicitation 2025-000087 on call horizontal construction 2025 MSAR Inc. for Sun City Lights Marty Robbins Park for a total of $867,10.80. Approval will allow the city to start construction services for District 6 Sun City Lights program. All right, there's a motion and a second. There's a presentation. Let's take a quick look.

Yes, Javier Costa for the records. Capital improvements. This is uh the long presentation showing It's the wrong one, right? Yes. Um, so I can get it up.

Bless you. There we go. Okay, this is the Sun City Lights at Marty Robbins Park. Uh Marty Robbins Park 11620 Vista del Soul District 6. Total budget 1.3 million. The funding source uh 2019 capital plan. The project details the overview of the project. Sun City Lights reflects the communitydriven vision rooted in vocal identity. Of course, Marty Robbins was one of the the main inspirations for this. Um, so we're introduce very similar to some of the other Sun City Lights projects like PBLO Veko. Um, a lot of community involvement and feedback. So, we're going to introduce an outdoor amphitheater that celebrates his music and storytelling combined with integrating seating, enhanced landscaping, improved connectivity, and cohesive lighting. These enhanced enhancements create safer uh vibrant welcoming spaces that activates the park day and night. Of course, my Robbins is famous for his song El Paso when he fell in love with a Mexican woman. Um so there might be an opportunity for some of that to happen at this outdoor theater kind of enhancing that quality of life to another level. Uh the scope of work will include again the outdoor amphitheater with integrated seating and lighting, new sidewalks for connectivity with lighting, glow-in-the-dark aggregate on sidewalk leading to the stage. Um I've never seen something like that, so I'm very curious to see what that ends up looking like. New landscaping and irrigation system. So a look at the location. Uh the nearest intersections George Deer and Riso del. This is at the northwest corner of Marty Robbins Park.

Here's a a look with a more zoomed in look showing the features. ADA parking, uh connectivity. There was no previous connectivity before going uh back and forth in between the facilities, the new exterior amphitheater, new landscaping, and again the connectivity with glow-in-the-dark uh sidewalks. And then a look at the project rendering. There's a look at the pavilion uh with the the seating areas. So glow-in-the-dark sidewalk. Again, this is facing towards the park, facing towards the the inside of the park. The roadway is up on top. Here's a look, another look at from the backside with the landscaping, the connectivity, and the pavilion area. Again, just going over the procurement summary. Um, total award contract totar inc for 867,000. uh construction schedule summer of 2026 and the end December 2026 and that concludes the presentation repres you know the the power behind getting us to these points and so I just wanted to give her a moment not that you didn't do a good job but you know appalonia do you see I mean from where we were with these projects working with you all really getting into to a place where they really can be transformative. I think the team has done an incredible job across the districts on these. And so I just wanted to recognize her work and the team's work on these as we're I think we only have one more we're bringing after this, right? Oh, this is the last one to award.

Let's step up to the mic so we can hear you. Yes. So we have a total of four um under my management three and then we have pending five points. Okay. Yeah. So we're excited about these. Very excited. Very good. Representative Lemon, we we have certainly come a long way from the original uh project that really was nothing more than a sign, you know, that kind of identified the area to a project like this one that invites the community. Uh mayor, we have an appointment on Thursday. Mayor, we have an appointment on Thursday at 2 where we're doing groundbreaking ceremonies for the Pueblo.

That's right. And that one too a lot of the same kinds of elements. Amphitheater places for people to gather. Um our particular one is almost reflective of Glorico skirt with the swirls of the lights and the coloring in it. I really really like this concept so much better than because so much money was put into a sign and yet this is going to be really interactive and really great. Now Polonia has done a great job. So has Javier and keep us keeping us informed. Um, you're our last speakers today and I really appreciate you being around for this long. No, thank you. Thank you, Mayor. You got it. Represent Canales. Did I see you on there? Represent Gales.

Oh, I I'll wait. Represent Gales. Thank you. Um, yeah, I'm very interested in the the glow-in-the-dark aggregate. Is that um I guess from a cost perspective uh how much does that uh escalate the cost compared to just regular paving?

So we are doing regular paving. Um we're actually we have started construction on Sun City Lights at Washington Park which falls under um Representative Acaveed. It will be our first project in the city using the glow-in-the-dark. So we're using it in in two forms. We're using on on his project is going to be in sand. So it's mixed in in the concrete and then the aggregate is kind of just thrown on top once we form the the the concrete. Okay.

Um as far as the warranty, it's good for 20 years. It only takes about 8 minutes to charge and it gives you light about 8 to 10 hours. So we're really excited. So, we're really using Washington as a pilot program and then we'll be using that um also in Marty Robbins, not PBLO VJO. I'm sorry, Representative Demo. So, I guess what I'm trying to understand is how much of a how much of an additional cost does it represent?

It it's not it's not cheap. It's about It depends also on how much glow you want. Um, but we are talking about approximately about $40 a bag, but that bag has a certain square footage coverage. Would you say it's like a 50% increase on the like if we were going to pave a sidewalk without it and we were going to pave the sidewalk with it, would it be about 50% more, maybe 100% more?

I don't have the cost. I can I can pull it up and then send it through email because I think there's a lot of opportunities. I know the federal team is looking into maybe using this for striping for bike lane. So, I think it's great. Yeah. And during the day it looks white, right? Okay. Yeah. Yeah, I know I'm asking because my mind goes a million different directions of ways that this could be used um both for placemaking but also for safety and other other uh applications where I think we could do something with it be I'm I'm definitely going to do some reading. I want to learn more about

and I'm really interested in solutions that the team are bringing forward that are um resistant to vandalism and replacement costs that we have with some of the installations that we have that add some type of lighting. So I I we we've had some installations that have just cost us a lot of money to upkeep. And so I think we've learned some things in some of those projects. And so I'm really excited to see as you say what what this um results in in terms of additional lighting for the community. Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you both. Represent Rocha. Thank you, Mayor. Uh Repier, go ahead. No, Rep. It's a question for you, Repro, since this is going at Marty Robbins. Is

I've been skipping him over. Is what? It's in your district, so maybe you can go last. That's okay. Is this your version of a mini duck park? No. I will tell you what it is. I know the answer on the rock of the glowing dark rocks. By the way, it's buy one get one free this month, just so you know.

Is that was that was it? That's it. Okay. Representative Fo,

thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Aalon. I wanted to be the first to thank you for all your all your great work, but also your creativity. Um, because when when I first saw this project, it was a corrugated sign on one post and with two colors, no glow-in-the-d dark rocks, no nothing else. And you turned it into this like beautiful masterpiece that's going to really take that park from uh just to another level and and especially in that corner. It's so I just want to personally thank you for your creativity for um well it would have been better if I was first but anyway but on on the hopefully our our ribbon cutting coming soon groundbreaking but it's just a tremendous uh piece of work that you your team has produced. Thank you.

We're sorry I was last. We have to do the groundbreaking at night so we could see the glow. Oh there you go. Perfect. We'll invite Chris you do ribbon cutting at night. That'd be nice. Oh ribbon cutting. We'll throw the rocks. Yeah, good point. Thank you, mayor. All right. Uh, represent Canelis. Thank you. I just wanted to speak one more time so that he couldn't be first or last. Thank you. Anyone else want to speak? Okay, I think we're losing counsel here. They're getting delirious. Miss Prime, please call for the vote.

Yes, sir. The motion was made by alternate mayor promped, seconded by representative Neimon, and this is to award the task order on item number 35. On that motion, call for the vote in the voting session. And that motion passes unanimous. All right. Before there's a motion to adjurnn, I just want to thank staff and I definitely want to thank our ASL sign language folks that stay here. Yes, they have been here with us all day. So, thank you guys. And now, is there a motion to adjurnn? Second.

There's a motion and a second to adjurnn the council meeting. All in favor? Anyone opposed? And the city council meeting for Tuesday, May 12th, 2026 is adjourned at 4:12 p.m.