City Council - Special Meeting

Coming up next on ECN, a regularly scheduled meeting of your Edinburgh city council. on the council. Mayor Omar Ooaha, Mayor Prom David Salasar, Council Member Dan Diaz, Council Member Jason Delejon, and Council Member Jerry Losano. sitting in his adviserss, city manager Myra Ayala and city attorney Josie Ramirez Solis. And now, live from the Edinburgh City Hall, the Edinburgh City Council. Time is 6 p.m. and I am calling this uh city council meeting to order. Uh I do see that we have all members of council present with the exception of council member Jason DeLeon. So we do have a quorum. Uh can we please start with a prayer and tonight we have u Mr. Rabbi Heck coming in to lead us. Good evening friends. Let us join together in prayer. Almighty God, we have assembled here today for the purpose of communal service on behalf of the residents of our beautiful city. Bless our work here today. Bless the work of the honorable mayor, city counselor, city manager, city officials, and all their staff along with all our fellow citizens. Bless us that our efforts bear good fruit, that our thoughtful, honest, and respectful dialogue lead to constructive results. Please guide our hand as we make important decisions for our community. In our civic service, we fulfill the mandate that you have bestowed upon us, instructed to Noah in

his day and conveyed through Moses at Mount Si, known as the seven universal ethics. One, to worship you and you alone. Two, never to curse your holy name. Three, not to commit murder. Four, not to commit adultery or any sexual misdeeds. Five, not to steal, lie, or cheat. Six, not to be cruel to any living creature. And seven, that every society be governed by just based laws on the recognition and acknowledgement of you, oh God, and the sovereign ruler of all humankind and all nations, as this assembly is doing right now by opening this meeting with a prayer as the foundation of our work for this great city. all to make your garden, our world which you have given us to inhabit, a safe, moral and constructive place, a beautiful place, one filled with goodness and kindness that expresses the beauty of the divine intent. Almighty God, in the merit of our sincere efforts, bless us all with good health, success in all our endeavors, and positive results from our work. Bless our wonderful city and communities so that it continues to prosper and grow to be a model city within our great state and our beloved country. Almighty God, bless us with clarity, bless us with strength, and bless us with peace. And now let us say amen.

Uh Council Member Diaz, can you lead us in the pledge? Yes, please. If I could ask everyone to please stand, remove all head gear, face the flag with me. Let us think of our soldiers serving all around the country. Let's say it together. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. All right. Moving on to uh item two, certification of public notice. Madam Secretary, yes, sir. Mr. Mayor, the meeting was posted in accordance to the Texas Open Meetings Act on March 11, 2026 at 6:50 p.m., sir. All right. Next item is the disclosure of public interest. Mr. City attorney.

Mr. Mayor, under state law, a local government official is required to disclose a substantial interest for themselves or certain family members and abstain from voting on matters related to such conflict. Are there any conflicts to disclose related to the pending matters on today's agenda? No, sir. Thank you.

Uh, next item is the mayor's report. Just an update on several city events that are happening over the course of the next week. Uh the reason the list is so long is uh we meet every first and third Tuesday of the month and March just happens to be one of those five Tuesday months. So the next time we'll be here is not for about 3 weeks uh until April 7th. But between now and then, we've got a lot of exciting things happening in the city of Edinburgh. We've got a uh community health fair actually this weekend uh which will take place at the uh Sakula Library uh from 11:30 to 2:30 p.m. Uh we're also going to have a regional um Rio Grand Valley dance competition uh that's going to be open for the public uh at the ACE building uh and that'll take place next Friday uh the 27th. Uh the day after that on the 28th we're going to have the uh city's annual big squeeze uh which is a Konhuto actually competition uh and a lot of fun. It'll be over at the uh ACE building um starting uh noon until 9:00 p.m. on Saturday the 28th. Uh thereafter we're going to have an outdoor expo. It's a good opportunity to take uh some of the kids out to do some fishing uh actually over at our municipal park. Um there'll be um uh I believe a raffle for some free rods for some of the kids also. Uh so if you have a chance uh come out to that. Uh and then of course the city's uh annual Easter egg hunt uh is coming up as well. That will be on uh April 2nd uh at the Edinburgh Municipal Park um from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Again, free of charge for all the families to come out. It's a huge event. There's lots multiple fields filled with parks. um if I'm filled with eggs that the parks and rec department does a really great job of all of that together. Uh so lots of events, lots of things coming up, right? It's a really busy active time of year. Uh which is awesome. So those are the big city events uh and updates here for the mayor's report. Uh

moving on, we'll go to item five uh which is the proclamations. Uh madam secretary, if you can read item A. Uh, and while you're doing that, if the if the honory could please step that B and C. What's that? Four and C. Oh, I don't have any updates on BNC. Yeah, we're all good. Uh, so on item A, if you can read the uh caption for that, and if you can step up to the front, we'll come down, take some pictures with you while she's reading the proclamation also. Thank you. Go ahead.

Yes, sir. Presentation proclamation recognizing March 2026 as theater in our schools month as requested by Jose JT Gonzalez Robert Villa High School thespian president. Theater in the schools month March 2026. Whereas every year in March the American Alliance for Theater and Education, the Educational Theater Association and the International Thespian Society partner for theater in our schools month to raise awareness about the value of theater education and draw attention to the need for all students to have access to a quality theater program. And whereas theater is an integral part of arts education and the arts have been fundamental part of human life enriching enriching and deepening the human experience while adding creativity and meaning to our environment. And whereas all students participating in arts education benefit from the skills and processes developed through theater applying them in a very a variety of disciplines and career paths. And whereas participation in theater fosters essential life skills such as listening, understanding, human experiences, adapting to diverse perspectives, effective communication, critical thinking, and creative expression. And whereas theater helps students build self-confidence, enhance self-reliance, and cultivate empathy and compassion toward themselves and others. And whereas as both a creative outlet and a foundation for potential professional careers, theater programs in Edinburgh, Texas shape the future of our young people by providing them with invaluable skills including problem solving, teamwork, leadership, and collaboration. Now therefore, the mayor and council of the city of Edinburgh, Texas, by the power of resident by law, do hereby recognize the month of March as theater in our schools month, and encourage everyone to celebrate and support theater education, its students, and its educators as we work toward a brighter future enrich enriched by the performing arts. All right. All right. Floor is yours.

Thank you. Good evening, mayor and city council, and thank you for recognizing March 26 as theater in our schools month. I am honored to be here today representing theater students and educators from across the city. Theater is often seen as something that happens after the bell rings or behind the curtain. But for many students is where we find our voice, our confidence, and our purpose. Through theater education, students learn how to lead, collaborate, and communicate. We learn how to listen to others, how to step into perspective perspectives different from our own, and how to take responsibility not just for ourselves, but for an entire team. These are skills that carry into college, careers, and civic engagement. For many of us, theater is also a place of belonging. It is where students feel safe to express themselves, take risks, and grow into young, confident adults. This proclamation recognizes this is not just an art form, but the impact that theater has on students well-being, academic growth, and community connection. We're especially grateful because this recognition reflects the voices of students across the city of Edinburg who believe in the power of theater education. These stories, creativity, and passion are the reason that I stand here today. Thank you for valuing the arts education and for affirming that theater has a meaningful place in our schools. On behalf of the students and educators throughout the city of Edinburgh, we are proud and honored to accept this proclamation today. Thank you.

Thank you very much. appreciate your words. I can tell that uh your acting training has done very well for public speaking. So, thank you so much for stepping up. Thank you for your leadership on this issue. Uh and appreciate you requesting this proclamation. Uh next item we have are public comments. Uh anybody signed up for public comments, Madam Secretary?

Yes, sir. Mayor, good evening everyone. The Edinburgh City Council allows for a specific portion of the city council meeting to be dedicated to public comments. Public comments are limited to three minutes. I'll be taking time. Please note the com public comment period is not interactive. The council may not respond to public comments. At this time council, there are seven public comments. The first public comment is Rabbi Hec regarding education and sharing.

Thank you very much for this opportunity and for um establishing March 29th this year as education and sharing day uh Edinburg. So if you just give me the opportunity, I'll read the proclamation on behalf of the city and uh through this hopefully put into the year its significance. Education and cheering day March 29th, 2026. Whereas a quality education is one of the significant foundations for the continuing success of our state, our county, and our society at large. In the city of Edinburgh, we strive for betterment of all of our citizens through an increased focus on education and sharing. Whereas through providing the possibility of an excellent education for all, especially children, with which to gain knowledge through rigorous study, we can create hope for a brighter, kinder and more united and prosperous future in the lives of so many. And whereas the educational system must also focus on building character by emphasizing the cultivation of universal moral and ethical values that have been the bedrock of society from the dawn of civilization including the values known as the seven noahide laws. And whereas one of the leading global advocates for the advancements of education, the labreba rabbi mendelers of righteous memory stressed the importance of moral and ethical education as the bedrock of humanity and the hallmark of a healthy society and strongly urged that education be reinforced reinforced by the inculcation of strong moral values. And whereas in recognition of the Revy's outstanding and lasting contributions towards improvements in world education, morality, and acts of charity, he was awarded the Congressional Medal and the United States at the United States Congress has established his birth date as a national day to raise awareness and strengthen the education of our

children. And whereas March 29th, 2026 will mark 124 years since the Reb's birth. And that date will be celebrated across the United States and around the globe in tribute to the Reb's vision, guidance, and leadership. For more than 40 years, the president of the United States has recognized and honored the Reb's vision each year on that day by proclaiming it education and sharing day USA. Now therefore, I on behalf of the mayor and this great city, by the power vested into the city and the mayor by law, do hereby proclaim March 29th, 2026 as education and sharing day in Edinterburg, Texas. A call upon government officials, educators, volunteers, and residents to reach out to those within your communities and work to create a better, brighter, and more hopeful future for all. A witness thereof, I hear unto set on behalf of the city and the mayor, the seal of the city of Vandenberg, Texas and Municipal Corporation to be affixed on the sitting day of the of March 2026, establishing this year March 2026 as education and sharing day USA. Thank you very much. God bless you and this great city. The next public comment is Miss Fermit regarding taxpayers money. How did you like it last time when I wasn't here? Kind of quiet. Councilman, I'm going to try to make your job easier by telling you what we want and what we don't want. First, we don't want this council to take any action that will increase our taxes. See, that was simple and direct. I say this because every 12 months, this council produces a budget that is higher than the last one, and it

includes things that we don't want. We do not want the city to sell bonds or vote to support the existing members of the appraisal district. We want the voters to vote for them. We do not want this council to invest or give money to any private businesses any way of in uh improving the economy. As an example, this council gave DHR $10 million to create 300 uh permanent jobs when I requested documentation uh that DHR had complied with the comments and the commitments that it had signed but the that we got the number but there were no salaries. They were redacted. So, the answer is no, they did not. But we are giving them the money anyway. This council gave a developer $93 million to build a sports arena, $10 million for a training facility that was supposed to be for the children. Santana Textile was funded by the city and left the community owing $15 million. They not only left, they also took all their equipment. The city has very little success in long-term creations of jobs. I can see the staff of the Economic Development Corporation probably coming out of their chairs. Okay, answer this question. How much money did the city provide and how long did the jobs last? Santana is no longer here, but they never came close to the jobs they promised. How many jobs did the sports arena or the training facility create? I know the response is that you have to look at the total impact. The total impact means that families making $60,000 a year have to carry the financial burden of the city expenditures. That is why the 26% of the population is living in poverty. I will say again, it's always the small businesses that create jobs. The answer is not a good one, but it is coming. The city will have to get voters approval to

sell bonds and then the party is over. All because council members cannot control their spending. And I'd also like to say happy St. Patrick's Day. And I'd also ask everyone to please pray uh pray for Israel in the United States. We are in a war for people to have freedoms as I'm able to come here tonight as a woman and speak to you. And I know that that's what uh other countries especially in Iran, but we also want the safety of the people that live in Israel. I believe they are God's chosen people. So, I pray that y'all will pray for this battle that we might win. Do you want me to say on the two things that I signed up or do you want me to wait?

Oh, if you can go ahead.

All right. I've signed up for 9A and 12B. I would just like them to kind I'm hope usually you do, but every once in a while y'all just vote and go on explain what 9A is. it is um uh a location and I pulled up your little picture thing and I had the wrong place because I was looking at a lot of the homes and things. So, I'd like them to explain that one as to where it's at and how many homes or businesses are there. And then on 12B, I would like them the lady to she talked to me a little bit about it. I'd like her to explain it to the public because I did get a phone call from a gentleman that wanted to know when does the CO money ever run out and cuz co thank the Lord is gone and hopefully won't ever come back. So if you'll just have those explained, I'd appreciate it. Thank you. The next public comment is Cash Silva and Rosie Silva regarding item 11 A. Good evening. Um, this I'm Rosie Silva. Here's Cash. We just wanted to touch up on item 12 118.

Hi, my name is Cash Heva. Thank you for keeping Stephen F Steven F. Austin safe and and closing up fountain fencing up fountain park so we don't have to so we could get a bigger play area and thank you for listening to my comment.

So we're just very grateful that you guys were able to come together with the school district and share some of our concerns. Um, a lot of the parents are just very grateful for you all to even make that effort. I know you guys are really busy to take that time and say, "Hey, this is something that legitimately was going on and was putting the kids at risk." Um, they had a really small play area for 300 and some kiddos. And now they're extremely excited that we went we went and spoke at the school district also extremely excited that by the end of the year, God willing, they'll have, I think, three place playground sets that they'll get to enjoy for 300 kids. So, we just wanted to say thank you. That's what we wanted to come here for today. And there's 300 other kids that are very grateful also. So, thank you. Thank you very much. The next public comment is Miss Diane Teter regarding taxes and water. Good evening. Diane Teter, professor of maritive biology at South Texas College. What is the most urgent reality shaping Edinburgh's future? Water. In South Texas, water is the limiting factor for growth, public safety, and long-term stability. Yet, the state's policies and some of our own local land use decisions are putting our city at risk. And our local reszoning requests are being approved at a rapid pace, often converting open land that naturally absorbs storm water into dense development. Every acre we pave over increases runoff, strains our drainage system, and reduces the land's ability to buffer floods. and every new subdivision, apartment complex, and

commercial projects long-term demand to a water supply that is already stretched thin. Overdevelopment without guaranteed water is not planning. It's wishful thinking or kicking the can down the road. At the same time, the state's 3.5% cap on annual property tax revenue growth restricts the very funding cities need to maintain and upgrade water systems. Treatment chemicals, pumps, pipe replacement, and regulatory compliance all rise far faster than that 3.5%. Yet, the state keeps enforcing the cap and telling cities to make it work. Meanwhile, Corpus Christi is facing a severe water crisis, and our governor publicly threatened to take over the city's water utility, claiming the city had squandered state funds, claims that reporting shows were inaccurate since most of that $750 million he cited, was never released as spendable money. That should alarm every city in the valley. When the state mischaracterizes funding and shifts blame during a crisis, it creates a dangerous cycle. Local governments are held responsible for problems they are prevented from solving. Edinburgh cannot keep approving reszoning and paving over flood absorbing land while our water supply shrinks and our tools are restricted. Water must come first because no amount of development can outrun a dry river. And I also attended the UDC meeting this afternoon and I have to commend the great job that the staff and the advisory members made as far as their

suggestions and the analysis of the subdivision variances. when I was on ZBA with you, this was very useful. So, this is a good tool to start that redirection. Thank you. The next public comment is Lao Garza regarding item 10A. Good afternoon everyone. I am uh Vo Gatsum, the director of Special Olympics Texas for the Rio Grand Valley and we are uh I am here requesting a temporary special use permit for our annual spring uh games here in Edinburgh. Uh we've had here the last couple years and it's uh we put on a uh an event if you're not familiar for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. So nearly 2,000 uh participants come here to Edinburg to participate in in track and field. Uh as a matter of fact, I think Mayor uh Oo, he was a volunteer with us last year and I think he had a I think he had a great time, I think. So um uh we just uh I said it's a great event that brings the entire community together. On April 8, we'll have what we call athlete celebration and we'll have uh our parade of athletes and we'll have our our most exciting probably event, our relays, and which we invite everyone to come at uh from 5:30 to about 8:30. So, we just want to thank uh I just want to thank the the city of Edber and everybody for being very supportive uh of us uh particularly the parks and direct which we uh work with a lot to put on this event. I said it's nearly 2,000 uh uh participants that we have from across the valley and uh it's a it's a it's just a such an important uh way of showing inclusion for uh for everyone in our in our community and uh

and we hope you you consider this. Thank you.

The next public comment is O Mononttoya regarding pay raise. Here we go again, gentlemen. Uh, Jerry, you're looking good. Dan, hope you hadn't had a good St. Patrick today and everything. Uh, anyhow, Omar, of course. Uh, they I don't know where Jason's at, but I want to tell you one thing. This lady right here, Clarice, she's always smiling. Every time I call city hall secretary, she's always smile. And uh you know back in the day in Austin uh on Sixth Street they would serve uh green beer there. But anyhow like that uh St. Patrick's Day and everything. But anyhow uh my uh reason for me to be here is Shalom Drive in Alberta. David, I've called you. You don't answer me. Alberta Road is not done yet. Now, I don't know where the cameras are at, but I will tell you, Robert Becker, that's wrong. We've been going around this Alberta Island and everything closing. Okay. I have a 90-year-old aunt that cannot use her BMW coming out of Shalom Drive because Alberta is nothing but a dip. That's on your nickel, Omar. We're alumni from Austin. And I will say this, get the engineering department, Marke, you know, us or whatever. Now, I had had a long conversation for an hour on some young lady named Alice Carmona. And she laughed when I told her, "My aunt can't go in there or out. She's 90 years old. on Shalom Drive and she gave me the wrong address. Oh, you can go out there

secretary road and everything and come out here, bro. Come on. You recognized the engineering department last meeting and you had a full house here. Oh, whatever this not doing their job, bro. They're not. And I expect every one of you, including you, Jerry and David, next election time, make it happen, bro. The the dip is hard, man. It's hard. I don't know what you drive. I don't know what you drives, but I guarantee you won't drive down that street. That road, Shalam and Alberta, is worth Reosa Tamalipas. And I know that town. So please, I hear some people laughing out there, but they know they're right. Please, man. You and I went to the same college. All right. I'm not going to use all my three minutes, but hook them horns. Okay. All right. For the last comment, I can't read the name, but it's regarding uh Baths public

here last minute. Sorry about that. Uh I just wanted to uh Can you just give your name for the record, please? Yes, of course. Ricardo Gomez. I be recognized, sir. Yes, please go ahead.

Yeah. Uh so, uh like they were saying about the water being uh necessary for public civility, I'm sure, uh I've been here before on uh bus routes for the homeless and helping them get to workforce and things like that. And I just thought maybe somewhere like the infrastructurees already been built like the public pools where they only charge like I think $3 for admittance and they could shower off and you know so I don't know how we would uh manage something for them uh fundraising or or what but I know some of these big uh gym membership places they also are supposed to have you know showers and locker rooms and things like that. And so I just think it it might be a nice addition to what I brought up beforehand. And uh yeah, water, you know, it gets a little bit necessary, but I think one of the things like she would mentioned about the public's ability is uh yeah, just being able to be presentable for for that job interview or what have you. And uh for health reasons, of course. And uh I also just want to make a comment uh from the person who spoke beforehand uh about the arenas. I know that uh sometimes uh a taxpayer ends up picking up the bill for building them and then uh they get a whole bunch of tax exemptions. And I just don't think it's very fair that they then get to control how much the food costs in those arenas when uh legally they're supposed to keep it within a certain range of everything outside of that arena because they're in control of all the food stands that are inside. So, I mean, uh I just it seems to me like maybe they could find some money there. And, uh I think the infrastructure's already been built. I mean, these showers are being used anyway.

Maybe I don't know you can put in some lowflow plumbing uh get the engineers on that but just figuring something out for the for the people you know that uh are homeless and that just want to uh be able to have some means of uh especially out here where I think it was what uh 100 101 just a couple days ago and then it slammed straight down to 50. I'm sure that that's not uh you know the kind of situation you want to you want to be living in without at least a a shower. I mean, I don't want to get, you know, too pedantic or, you know, overly flamboyant about it, but uh I mean, if anyone's ever seen like The Walking Dead and and then they go for I don't know how many days or months without a shower, like a true shower, and they say you feel you feel human again, you know, and uh so yeah, I just I just wanted to bring that up as well along with my previous statements. Thank you. There are no further comments, mayor.

Okay, moving on to item 7A. If secretary can read the caption. Yes, sir. Mayor, presentation of the annual comprehensive financial report for the city of Edinburgh for fiscal year ending September 30th, 2025.

Good afternoon, Mayor Aoa, council members. Uh today we have uh Mr. Alfred Vera and Mr. Royel Canu with a firm of uh Costco and Associates PC, the uh city's independent auditors to present the annual comprehensive financial report for fiscal year uh ending September 30th, 2025. So I'll be uh handing it over to Mr. Mr. Vera and Mr. Ku. Good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of the council. My name is Alfred Vetta. I am the principal at Kos and Associates, PC. I want to thank you all for having us here this evening to present to you the annual comprehensive financial report for the year ended September 30th, 2025. I'd also like to thank Mr. Alonso and his team for all their hard work for them being able to provide all the items that we have requested and just making the audit go a lot smoother this year than it has been since we've been working with them. So, thank you for for all their hard work. I also want to thank you all for choosing us to do your your audit. We know that you have a choice and we're grateful that you have given us the opportunity. With me here this uh evening is Mr. Roel Canu. He is our audit supervisor and he was the lead auditor on the audit this year. He will go through the report uh point out a couple of items and then uh give you your days of operations and if you have any questions, we're here uh to answer them. Anything a little more in detail, we'll turn it over to Mr. Alonso. Thank you.

It's going to pop up there. Oh, okay. Perfect.

Good evening, uh, members of the council. Uh, the mayor, uh, in front of you, you should have a copy of the annual financial report. as well as a summary sheet that looks like this. Everything that I'm going to be talking about right now is within this summary letter. I've also included page numbers so you can cross reference anything that uh you want to look into in the future. Um but thankfully it is here on screen. So this is the summary letter and if I could please direct your page attention to page eight of the report which should look like this. This is going to be the independent auditor's report. This year, the city of Edinburgh earned an unmodified opinion. What that means is that the financial statements are presented fairly in all material respects for the governmental activities, business type activities, component units, each major fund, and all the aggregate remaining funds. This is the cleanest and most favorable opinion an entity can receive. So congratulations on that. And I do want to put a emphasis on the word earned. It's earned through the hard work that you all do throughout the fiscal year. We don't just give these out to everyone. So again, congratulations on that. Next, on page 131 of the report, which should look like this right here. Here you will see the report on internal controls. What this report states is that during our testing of internal controls, we did not find any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses. However, due to our limited scope of testing, significant deficiencies or material weaknesses still may exist. All that really means in a nutshell, we

can't test 100%. So based on the sample that we did select, we did not find anything that was deemed significantly deficient or materially weak. Again, this is the most favorable outcome that an entity can receive. So congratulations on that as well. Next, on page 133 of the report here, you will see the report on internal controls and on compliance for each major program that we've tested. What this report states again is that during our testing of federal programs, we did not find any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in internal controls. And all the grants that we did test were in compliance with all the requirements set out by federal by the by the uh granting OM the OM compliance supplement. Sorry. Again, this is the most favorable outcome that an entity can receive. So, congratulations on that as well. Next, on page 23 of the report, here you will see the balance sheet. Here you will see a snapshot of the city of Edinburg's assets, liabilities, deferred inflows, and fund balance as of 9:30 2025. For the purpose of this presentation, I'm just going to focus on the general fund because that's your main fund. Um, so you can see there at the top of the page you had 38 million worth of assets, but the number that I want to focus on is this unassigned fund balance of 28,487,000. These are funds that have no restrictions and can be used by the city for any one-time projects that you all have. For example, the purchase of vehicles, purchase of desks,

microphones. This is the fund that would be affected. Generally, we don't recommend for you all to use your uh unassigned fund balance, but it is there. Think of it as an emergency fund. And I want you to keep this number in mind because we're going to see the importance of it in a moment. Next, on page 25 of the report, here you will see the income statement. Here you will see all the schedules of sorry you'll see the schedules of revenues expenditures and changes in fund balance also known as the income statement. Here you will see all revenue inflows and expenditure outflows that occurred during the fiscal year. As you can see at the top of the page just general fund uh the city earned uh 83 million worth of revenues but the number that I want to focus on is that expenditures amount of 87,911,000. Now, if we were to get this number and divide it by 365, we're going to get a number which is 240,853. What that tells me is that on average, it costs the city of Edinburg to open their doors every single day, 240,853. Now, if we were to get the unassigned fund balance that I mentioned earlier of 28 million and divide it by this amount, we're going to get another number. And that number is 118. What that tells me is that you all have 118 days of operation. And basically, if for some reason the city were to stop receiving revenues, which I hope it never does happen, but if it were to happen, you have 118 days to operate if the city were to go fully liquid. Now, to put that in perspective, we generally recommend anywhere between 70 to 90 days. So, as you can see, you all are very financially healthy. And it was a big increase from last year to this year. I think you all doubled your days of operation from 24 to 25. So, as you

see, you all are doing very financially well. Overall, that pretty much concludes my presentation. If you have any questions, feel free to send them my way.

Anything to add to that, Mr. Lonzo? No, I I would just like to thank the firm of Kasco Associates, especially Mr. Reanu, Mr. Alfred Veta and my staff uh for the work they did. Uh as he mentioned, I think the city is is uh financially sound and uh I'm here to answer any questions you might have regarding the audit or anything you might would like for me to answer. Uh council members, any questions, comments?

I just want to thank Chon and his team, his finance team. um compared to 5 years ago when I got into office, I feel very very secure with your work, everything you guys have done. Thank you for taking the job and and thank you for this great audit. Appreciate all the work you all do. Thank you, sir. And and uh I couldn't do it without my staff. So I uh I think I I thank you so much. And on behalf of uh the city, I mean myself, I would like to thank the staff for all the work they do. Council members, any other comments, questions? I guess I do have a question. You said we haveund how many days? 118 days. Okay. And last year was I think it was like 52 if I'm not mistaken. Prior to that.

Prior to that? Yeah. I'm just off the top of your head. Oh man. Uh two years ago. I'm not entirely sure, but I can get that number for you if you'd like. I just, you know, I just I thank the fin the financial department and everything that's going on. You know, obviously we're showing improvements and that's what we want to hear. here. I think all of us got elected to move Edinburgh forward and I think this is actually a great great example what what we're all doing here as far as a city combined. But thank you for y'all's work. Thank you.

Um I just want to echo that real quick myself. Right. I think you know um uh the finance department has done a fantastic job in conjunction with the city management team to make sure that the city remains on a strong financial footing. um after you know so the audit is legally required right we have to do it the state actually has penalties if we don't do it within a certain time period um and this is on time so thank you to the finance department for making sure of that as well um really glad to get a healthy report um from an independent financial auditor uh obviously you know the the annual comprehensive financial report is the is the details it's the details of what the city's fund balances are of what we spend our money on um of where your tax dollars go. This is available online for everybody to be able to download and perview for yourselves, not just this past fiscal year, but fiscal years even prior before that. Uh so if you all love numbers and spreadsheets the way that I do, feel free to download all of them on there for yourselves and you can see from 100% the transparency that the city provides uh in terms of what the financial dollars are doing, your taxpayer money, right, is being used for. And you know, we're all up here to make sure that what the city does um is fiscally transparent and is fiscally responsible, right? That is certainly a pledge that I make to the taxpayers. Uh but thank you so much again for your work and thank you, Mr. Alonso, for everything the finance department does.

All right, next item. Uh we're moving on to public hearings. Um You want to read just read the instruction real quick and then I'll I'll chime in. Okay. Yes, ma'am. Um I would like for everyone to please note that all members of the public appearing before the Edmer City Council to be heard during public hearings and public hearing routine items shall be have three minutes to make their remarks.

Great. Uh so we have two items here under public hearings. Um items A and item B. Uh at this point, we're going to open the public hearing for both items, A and B, if there's any comments. Uh any anything anybody would wish to say on these two items. All right. Uh we did have a specific question on item 9A. Uh, on this one, if you could just kind of explain it real quick, Mr. Rosel, on item 9A, mayor. Yes, I'm sorry, 8A.

Oh, the question was 9A. We're not even there yet. My bad. All right, we'll go back to then. Um, since there's no comments available on item 8, A, or B, right? Public hearing was open on those. Did I miss I miss been misspeaking this whole time? Just to make sure. All right, one more time, I'm going to call out to the crowd. Anybody that wants to speak on item 8A or 8B, you're welcome to come up and speak on any of these those two items. Just making sure. Item item 8B. I make I make mistakes and I'm happy to try to correct it when I c when I do. I wanted to say a little bit on 8B. Yes, go ahead.

On 8B, uh this is a public hearing for renaming of u a baseball field in Edinburgh Municipal Park. This is field number seven and it's to honor Fernando Fernie Deagarsa. Uh the request was made by the Edinburgh or the city of Edinburgh little league board. Uh Mr. Deagarsa has been a coach. Uh he's been an an employee both with the school district and with the city and for his years of service uh the president as well as the other members of the Edinburgh Little League Board would like to honor him by changing the name of one of the fields, field number seven in his honor, Fernie Fernando Dearsa. Excellent. Uh, do we have any members of the league little league board that would like to come up and speak on this?

Mayor Armando Saladon, the president for the city of Emerly and Council. I think this is long overdue. We do have a icon with us, Fernando Deaga. He's left a legacy as far as starting Little League about 20 some odd years ago. He is the founder. He brought the charter to the city, right? And unfortunately, uh, he's retired and gone on due to his health and stuff on it. But I think this is a great accomplishment what he's done for our youth, you know, put in there and developing them into the champions that they are now. And on behalf of the city of Denver League, we want to thank Mr. Fernandoa for everything you've done for any and you you've done a prime example to our youth. And we continue holding that on our board to put smiles on the kids' faces every day coming in and out. And this is something we voted and we present to Mr. Java Arto that's here with us to present in front of city council to get this uh baseball field named after you for everything you've done for us and there's not enough thank yous that we can give you and I continue that God bless you and your future and stuff on that but this is something that's long overdue and once again I thank you for everything you've done for it and on behalf of the board we thank you've done as well. I don't know if any other board members want to say something. Uh just reiterating what uh President Saladon said. I'm Frankie Selenas, vice president for the little league. Uh a lot of y'all know Mr. Denn Garza. Most of us, me and Jerry probably played ball. He was our umpire during our little league with it wasn't Little League, it was Edinburgh Pony Baseball League Association. But through high school, through our years of venture, through baseball seasons, Mr. Delaro has always been there for us through and throughout. even when we became board members, uh he was still working as employee for the city erect department would go in there chime in telling us, hey, this is the way it goes. This is the way this is the way we keep our kids happy on the field. So that's the representation that Mr. Deagar has given the city of Edinburgh through his leadership through the baseball community and that's why we're here to honor him.

Yeah. All right. Um, council member D. Yeah. And so, coach, I just want to reiterate what the board is saying. Welld deserved. Um, I heard a rumor that they put picked seven cuz that's the only one you could get a home run over when you were a kid. I don't know if that's true, but I'm glad to see you here. Um, good spirits. Um, I know you've had a a rough couple years, and it's great to see you up and around. Uh, like like everything, long overdue. Uh we talk about this all the time. Sometimes we recognize people way past when they when they they they deserve, right? And I'm glad that we're doing this early. You're here with us. You get to celebrate with us and we get to hear a few comments. No. Okay.

Thank you, coach. Anyone any other cast members comments? No. Uh I agree. This is worthy of celebrating. Uh Mr. daily says, "Thank you so much for founding the Little League program here in Edinburgh. You know, I was born and raised here. I'm a proud product. I played little league uh a choice pharmacy uh our baseball team. We were really good. Ronnie Dalde, the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce was on my team. Uh yeah, we were we were really good growing up. But thank you so much for the opportunity that you gave to the youth here in the city of Edinburgh and thank you to the board for bringing this forward. Uh I think it's really important, right, that we recognize our hometown heroes. Uh and Mr. Delgasa, you are certainly that. So, we appreciate everything that you've done. What's up?

Would you like to say anything, Mr. Darson? Or any of your family members? I know your family members are here as well. Tell me, please.

Commissioners. Um, good evening everyone. Uh my name is Fernando Deagarasad Jr. Um this guy's son right here. Um on behalf of my family and on behalf of my dad, I want to say thank you first and foremost. Uh we give thanks to God for blessing our family and allowing us to be here uh for such a special moment. We also want to thank the city of Edinburgh, the parks and recreation department, the Edenberg Little League Board, and everyone here tonight at city hall. uh this means more to us than than you all know. I'll try to keep this short, but if you know my dad, you know that might be a little difficult. Um as as some stated earlier, it's he's been giving his time to this city for a long time, so there's a lot to be said. I wanted to add a little personal tidbit. uh 19 years ago in 2007. I remember sitting at home with my dad watching the Little League World Series. Um and then all of a sudden he tells me, "Son, I'm going to bring Edinburg little league to, you know, to Edinburgh. I'm going to bring Little League to Edinburgh." And lo and behold, right here we are 19 years later and it's still going strong. Um, not long after that, he got to work figuring out the process, making the calls, and doing whatever needed to be done to turn that idea into reality.

And I can still picture him sitting at home on our old little Dell computer. my mom younger, you probably remember. Um, and and he worked through it step by step, did everything he needed to do. Honestly, I think that computer deserves a little credit, too, because without it, knows how long it would have taken for that to happen. But that's who he is. When he believes in something, especially when it comes to kids, he finds a way to make it happen. and starting the little league was just the beginning. He made sure it had a home. He got access to the old Edinberg High School Bobcat field that sat right next to Richard R. Floyd Stadium and he helped turn it into what became the home of Edinburgh Little League. I still remember growing up and we hosted camps there that the kids got to enjoy and my dad was out there and if you go to the Facebook our the old Facebook for Edinburgh little league you'll find a picture and that I think it speaks volumes. I wish I had it on me. Um it's my dad there surrounded by the kids attending the camp. And if you know my dad, I think that explains a lot. Just seeing him surrounded by all those kids and him giving them direction and and leading them on um is one of the reasons why he's up here. And that field became more than just a place to play. It became a place where kids learn how to win and lose, how to be a part of a team, how to respect others, and how to believe in themselves. It became a place where families came together, where friendships were built and where memories were made that people will carry with them forever. That's what makes today so special. Cuz this isn't just about a name going

on a field. It's about everything that field represents. Growing up, we got to see firsthand how much of himself my dad gave to this community. from serving as a first president of Venberg Little League to officiating games that many people in the crowd were a part of. And I'm sure some people might still question some of his calls to working for the school district and later with Edinburgh Parks and Recreation. He was always there. Early mornings, late nights, weekends, it didn't matter. If there was something that happening that could be that could help people, especially kids, he was going to be there. He did it because he loves this city. He did it because he believes in its people. And most of all, he did it for the kids. Before I continue, I also want to take a moment to recognize the people who helped make this all possible in the beginning. If any of the original Edinburgh Little League board members are here tonight, we want to thank you. And if you could please stand and be recognized. I still remember the days standing right outside the ed the old Edinburgh park and wreck signing up kids for registration and uh doing the pics at an old uh venue still still there still standing right off the expressway. Um, and a lot of great moments were had and to everyone who has been a part of this journey over the years, coaches, volunteers, parents, city staff, and supporters, thank you. You've all played

a role in building something that has impacted so many lives. To the current Edinburgh Little League board, thank you for continuing what he started. What you're doing truly matters. To our city leaders, thank you for honoring my dad and for continuing to invest in this community. And to the people of Edinburgh, this is what it's all about. I think I've heard those words once or twice from me. My dad didn't bring Little League here just for baseball. He brought it here to give kids a place to belong, to learn, and to grow. That purpose is bigger than any one person. it belongs to all of us. So we ask that you continue to show up for the kids in this community. Keep supporting them, keep encouraging them, and keep building something they can be proud of. Dad, seeing your name on a field is something our family will never forget. But the truth is, your legacy has been here for a long time already. It's in every kid who stepped onto that field. It's in every family that sat in those stands. And it's in every life you've impacted along the way.

We're proud to call you ours. Love you, Dad. Thank you.

Thank you, mayor, mayor, and commissioners. Thank you very much. I'm a happy camper. I know one call God calls me. I'm ready to go dancing, brother. So, we love you. I love you guys. And uh great job. And I know that Edinburg will always be number one, bro. Greatly appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you, Dan. Thank you, Mary. Thank you, bro. Myra, thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you, All right. Looks like we have another another individual would like to speak.

No, no, no. I'm sorry. I missed the thing. I I have twine. Uh good afternoon, good evening. I have twe I missed the the other one versus the first one. I'm I'm with the AA. Oh, it's okay. Is that okay? Yeah, you're right. Uh you you don't need to speak at this point. Yeah. Right. Yeah. You're okay. Don't worry. You want me are you are you speaking in support or against this item on 8A? I am the representative. Okay, that's all right. If you'd like to give a quick presentation, you can, but you don't have to. No, then that's right. Just to support this. Yeah. Thank you very much. Okay.

All right. Okay. Public hearing is now closed. Moving on. All right. Now that the that the public hearing is closed on item 8 A and B, I will entertain a motion to approve items 8 A and B. Motion to approve A and B. All right. Motion. Is there a second? Second.

All right. Motion and a second to approve items 8 A and B. All those in favor raise your right hand. All those opposed. All right. Motion passes. Congratulations, coach. All right, we're going to move on to the next set of items. Uh items nine, public hearings, routine items. And I just kind of want to uh speak about this a little bit so that the the uh members of the audience are kind of aware. Um what we've done here uh separated out um a subset of public hearing items under routine items. Did you have something? Okay. Under a subset of routine items, um the the items falling under uh routine items are uh public hearing items that have been unanimously approved by the planning and zoning department, our planning and zoning commission. Uh they have been recommended for approval by the city staff and the city has not received any comments uh against the item. uh written comments against the item. So having unanimous approval by the commission, having approval by the city staff, having no written comments against it, the assumption is that these items are routine um and will be presented to council for formal approval. Very similar to the consent agenda items. Um that is the idea. Now, of course, if any members of the public uh we will open it for a public hearing. If any members of the public would like to speak against an item, you are always welcome to come and and voice that so we can we can take that to consideration and act accordingly. Members of the city council can also ask that individual items uh be discussed uh and reviewed outside of the routine procedures. But otherwise, items falling under the

routine items on the public hearings, the assumption is since everybody's approved and there's been no written uh objections to them, uh that council will summarily approve those. All right. Okay. So, that's the idea uh under these routine items. So, that being the case, uh we do have items uh 9 A, B, and C. I will open the public hearing now. uh on items A, B, and C is if anybody is here to speak against any of these items.

Good afternoon. I'm here to speak about item I believe it's 9B, the 16 acres on on West Davis Road. I preferred I uh made a small uh reading like that I wouldn't lose my train of thought. So, uh my name is Ailio Ramos. I currently reside on 909 West Davis with my lovely pregnant wife and our herd of registered American brahmen. The reason I find it important to mention both is to help you better understand my concerns. This development was presented to city council last year and I believe Mr. Diaz was with us last year um and was voted against after concerns were brought up against with my family and our fellow neighbors. Today I'm asking what's changed since the last presentation. Has the city widened our road, added street lights, light intersections? Has a developer performed any tests on the soils that concerned us last year? Um, my following concerns are these houses are going to be constructed on land that was a former air strip where planes such as crop dusters landed, refilled, spilled chemicals, released chemicals onto the ground. As for your staff, they currently meet requirements due to it being zoned agricultural land looking to turn into residential. But I ask, how is this possible? Are we citizens of Edinburgh elected officials with a public interest best mind not even a little concerned of what damage these dangerous chemicals that have seeped into the soil can cause? As a recipient of my agricultural science degree from the University of Texas Kingsville, I do know the danger that these chemicals such as chlorine, toxifene, and daldrin which were banned by our federal government for the dangers it causes humans in the late 80s and early 90s when this airship would have been is at its busiest. My second concern is also our current infrastructure. I understand the developer plans to widen our road and strengthen our water line that will benefit existing owners as well. My question is why are we city taxpayers relying on the developers to widen and pave our new road? Are we supposed to be comforted with the fact that this will be at city uh conducted at city standards the same standards not requiring any serious testing on the soil of this ground?

Again, no knock to the developers, but we understand this needs to make they need to make things cost efficient and able to turn a profit. As a business owner myself, I do understand this, but I ask should this come at the cost of existing residents or maybe even future residents. Uh due to time, I will go into detail my final concern still having to do with infrastructure. For sake of argument, let's say that you guys uh do go ahead and approve this and are happy with their plans. What are we supposed to do as existing residents and our new residents that are going to be on our street with us? What are we supposed to do at 7:00 a.m. when we're supposed to access the frontage to get to our jobs, our kids to school? Um, this is a dead-end road. This is the only in-n-out. So, we don't understand how we're supposed to be able to get out onto the frontage while there's morning traffic being fred from East Ramsey and East Davis to uh that are that are taking the act taking the frontage to get to Monte Cristo. In closing, I hope the council sees where we're coming from. This is not a case of uh existing stubborn neighbors not wanting the city to grow and the fact that we that's the opposite. We do welcome it, but we welcome it when it's done correctly. It is my opinion that Edinburg is the most beautiful city to live in in the RGV and I would expect developments to continue to meet the same standards.

Thank you, sir. I'm assuming my time is up, but uh if I can finish just saying I would hope that you guys do keep in mind not just our safety, but anybody that plans on living on these homes, they're not going to be aware that it was an air strip at one point. So, thank you. Thank you. Uh any other comments um for items A, B, and C? Good evening, mayors, city council members. I'm William Ratia. I'm the project engineer for Kasa Estates. Uh the subdivision we are proposing. Is this for item B? Yes. Yes. Great.

For MB. So I don't know what chemical he's talking about. I don't know if they have a report a study done that they found chemicals but David road is 18 foot wide street is not does not meet city standards. Our soul division starts 600 ft west of the intersection. My de the developer is going to pay from the front road all the way to the end to make it wider to 24 ft to meet the city standards. Also along Davis there's a two inch water line and we're going to propose a 8 inch water line 400 4,000 feet with hydrants every 600 ft. Also we're going to provide street lights. So we're improving David road to make it wider to make it safe with lighting safety um um water uh fire protection. So, and this is a 383 lot subdivision half lots where they're going to have high restrictions on this development.

Thank you. Thank you. Uh any other comments on items 9 A, B, or C? Hello, mayor and city commission. I am um talking up here about item 9B where they just both came and um spoke about this um subdivision on the reszoning process. Could you

My name is Karina Casares. I'm sorry. I'm with the developer Arcade Development and um yes, they do have um facts that that was an airirstrip and right now it is zoned as agricultural. So my question is what would be the difference if right now a farmer were to go and farm crops on there? If it's contaminated, that wouldn't be even allowed to be as an agricultural area because again, those crops would be contaminated. Whenever we do the process for um when these homes are being developed, once it goes into an halfacre lots, that's what we're proposing. Um there is termites um inspection that the cities require whenever they go through their permit process. So all those um termites um inspections, they're not going to be when we do the development, we are not going to be picking up dirt. What we're mainly focusing on is bettering Davis Road. How my engineer just said that we will be expanding from 18 in to 24 in. And you're not going to see this is an old road and we're just expanding to those 6 in. We're going to be adding a whole 1 and 1/2 inch overlay of asphalt over that whole Davis road. Last time they did mention concerns about um firefighter going in there and they had to back in into their property. What we are proposing also is a hammerhead um at the end of the road for um bus entrance firefighters. Right now if any of the kids were to go through the buses, those buses can turn around properly and right now that Davis road is not um up to par with traffic safety um for those residents. So what we are proposing is all these infrastructure benefits and also whenever we do develop we are um always in charge of doing those erosion controls and um the S SW3PS that the engineering department from the city of Edinburgh requires. So, we are um here to just say that we are here to work with the city of Edinburgh with the requirements of the engineering department, the permit department

whenever it comes to those residential houses being built. And we do care about the city of the residents of the city of Edinburg and that contaminating process. There is no um actual um log report of the contamination right now because that area is open for um agricultural. So I don't think that the hazard is to that um effect where nothing can be constructed ever there. Do you guys have any questions? No. Thank you so much. Thank you. All right. Another comment on item 9 A, B, or C? Step on up.

Uh I came here just with my daughter as our first city council meeting. My name is Edward Selenas. I live on East Mall. I didn't know. And you're speaking on which item? 9B. Good. Um, I didn't know about this before today, but I do work in oil and gas, so I can speak a little bit on bioides and like petrochemicals and stuff like that. Just because we don't have reports or log reports of these chemicals being there doesn't mean that they're not there. So, I believe before any of this development continues, there should be soil testing and stuff like that just for the future residents and for the people who live in the area. That's all I have. Thank you. Thank you. Other comments on items 9, A, B, or C? Yes, please go ahead. Hi. You can just state your name, state which item you're speaking on. Ramos and I'm 9B.

Go ahead.

So, my I came here a year. I don't believe any of y'all were here last year except Jason. Were you I don't Yes. Okay. So, they said no at that time because that was my main point. My thing is the developers have had a year I believe to tell us, hey, we did test it. That was the main concern. We weren't able to see at that time what they were proposing to develop. We came a few weeks ago. We saw what they were what they wanted to do while they come and propose a bright new shiny beautiful street that we right now we only go down one street and it's just one way you know you're fighting with the but it's fine. My thing is this. They're going to put 33 houses. If we put two cars a house that's going to be let's just say 60 cars for names sake plus the cars that are already there. 60 cars coming out of Davis. I don't care how big it is. What is the city going to do in order to stop it? D Ramsey, I live on Ramsey. My son lives on Davis. Ramsey, we always have accidents that people drive like crazy. 7:00 in the morning, there is a line because they put the new the new subdivision. I'm They were I was told they were probably going to put lights, you know, better lights, better things. My thing is also the my my main thing is the dirt. I have $150,000 worth of cattle on those 10 acres that while she says, "Oh, there's nothing going to be done." If they're halfacre lots, I'm assured you all aren't going to do sewer. There's going to be septic tanks. Yes, there are there is going to be dirt dug up. Y'all are going to put new lines, bigger lines for the water. Yes, there is dirt that's going to be dug up. So, I do want and need an answer of what if the chemicals are going to do anything for any future residents that are there that they're proposing. They should be more concerned because they'd be liable for the lawsuits. So, and the road, the streets more than anything, they did tell us at planning that it was going to take a year for

them to widen that street. So, we're going to be inconvenienced a year plus what they're going to be doing in and out on construction. That's not fair for us either. Thank you very much. Thank you. All right. Another comment. Please come on forward. Oh, you have something? Yes. Well, I signed up. I just wanted him to explain about it being in a commercial area because when you're talking about item 9A. Mhm. Okay. Thank you.

Yes, Mayor. In speaking um to Fern, she was a little bit confused as to where the item location was at. Uh once I explained to her that it was at the northwest corner of Gano and Fifth Street, uh she was okay with the matter. She she she she um I guess in reading the map, she thought it was two blocks south of where it's currently at, but um it's been cleared up. All right. Thank you. I saw another comment or someone wanting to comment, please come on up. I'm one of the owners from the project there. Uh which which item are you speaking on? Beats.

Thank you. Go ahead. Um, one of the concerns I heard from the neighbors was about the chemicals on the on the property. Uh, this week I was there in the property and um, there is a gentleman with about 20 30 sheeps on my property. They were eating u grass on the field. So I asked him he's welcome to be out there without any problem to to have the sheeps out there and he said that they've been doing that for years. for years. They've been going out there and most of the neighbors have animals and they take their animals down to our field. We have an open open grass field. The grass grows without any problems. Um there's mosquets there growing in the property. So I don't see why now they're concerned about the chemicals. They have their own animals eating on the on my field.

So I don't know right now why they're concerned if they're allowing their animals to be on my field eating eating the grass in there. So, okay. Thank you. Uh, you only have the three minutes. All right. Another comment. Uh, my name is Enrique Ramos and I own 20 10 acres there. Which item are you speaking on? Uh, B. Thank you. Go ahead.

We're not concerned of anything else other than I'm going to say a word and you all are going to know what I'm talking about. Tide. are all tied building, you know, here on Junior. That's our concern. We My uh my daughter-in-law is three months pregnant. That's it. Our concern is tied and that there's an air strip in the back and there's an air strip in the front. I should be concerned about the taxes that weren't paid on that place because it was an airirst strip and now they're going to develop it. Who's going to pay for the taxes? Well, we don't care. The chemicals. And it ain't on our orange trees. It ain't farming. It was hard chemicals. So, we need to do a little research as the city to see what the deal is. Thank you, gentlemen.

Thank you. Any other comments on items 9, A, B, or C? Okay. No other comments. We will close the public hearing. Um, we had items 9, A, B, and C. We can take them in one. We can take them one by one. Uh, however the council prefers, but we do need a motion. I make a motion to approve 9 A and C. Okay. Uh, motion is to approve items 9 A and C. There's a motion. Is there a second? Second.

All right. There's a motion and a second. Any discussion? All right. Hearing none. All those in favor of approving of the motion raise your right hand. All those opposed. All right. Motion passes. A and C are approved. Uh B is still pending. I'm going to make a motion on NB to table this item. I don't want to kill the project and I don't want to ignore the residents. I do have some questions. I remember this item. Um I wish I would have been reminded that this came a year ago, but um that's why I want to make the motion. I want to hear the residents out and not kill the project at the same time. That's why I'd like to make a motion to table. All right. There's a motion to table. Is there a second? Second.

All right. Motion to table and a second. uh discussion just that I um I I don't know obviously anybody could come up and and proclaim chemicals uh anything like that. So how do we verify where do we go from here? If this was something that was a concern a year ago, why wasn't it uh addressed and what changed a year ago from denial to staff approving? I I don't remember what the recommendations were a year ago. Um, yes, I could explain a little bit of uh last year it came before the city council with a positive recommendation from PNZ and staff. Okay.

Uh, it was denied at city council when residents showed up in opposition. Uh, la last year it was a little bit different because nobody showed up to PNZ, but they did show up to city council. So, the item failed. Uh, it didn't get the support from the council or or the mayor at that time. Uh, fast forward to where we're at today. Um, people did show up at PNZ. However, it did pass at P&Z. Uh staff's recommendation is still the same were were for the the the resoning. Um the claims about the airirstrip, that's something that was just brought up this time around. It wasn't brought up previously.

Okay. And so, how how can we uh assure that the residents get their questions answered uh in a timely manner? also considering the developer who who's obviously waited another year for this project. We could meet with the developer and then maybe invite some some of the residents. But what we did um previously was we imposed that the or I don't think we imposed it, but the the people that brought up the Tide property for resoning did some independent testing of their own. Um they hired a gentleman, I believe, from Utrgv to do some soil sampling. uh they tested the facility and found that it was safe or below the the levels the levels correct

uh and and as far as the obviously development is going to happen I appreciate that you guys are in you know large area I want to commend the the developer for doing halfacre lots I'm I'm glad that's going to be there it's bigger bigger uh lots right less density and so I think that's the best case scenario for neighbors that you might have uh versus smaller lots or multif family or something that will really inundate that um is there any truth to the widening could be delayed up to a whole year. Um it depends on on the project uh councilman. Some projects do take a lengthy time. Uh but if their funding is in place and and they get started, it shouldn't take that long. I guess staff said maybe up to a year,

right? Those are the only questions I had. But the engineer is is here. He could probably answer that question to see if it's going to take that. Well, that that's only if the council calls him up to answer. So, just for now, if you can just hold off for a second. Yeah. I guess my question for staff is how do how do we as a city approve a project know it's going to get uh a higher density, right? More homes, more cars, yet we don't have anything in place to widen the street before that happens. It's part of the development. It has to get done uh before the subdivision is finalized. Before it's finalized. Before it's finalized. Okay. Okay. That's all I had. Thank you.

Other questions from council members? So I guess my question is obviously they're saying residents are saying that there was chemicals that were used by against crop testers. So what's the difference? I again I'm not a scientist, right? I sell insurance and I represent the city. What's the difference between the chemicals that are being thrown out there in crop fields and and and also ranches compared to what's there right now? And so if staff can understand that or what the reports are because it's used on agriculture already today. And I mean I understand their point too. I have I have cattle myself and I you know I do a lot of that breeding programs but I mean that I know there's a crop field next to where I have my cles. I mean I mean and I have the high value stuff that you guys have too but to claim that that's going to affect your cattle or residents. I mean we get that airborne every single day. I mean so I I guess what did the exact report say from the sole tester that did the testing for UT from Utrgv? It was just that it was below the the uh the state acceptable levels that it was deemed safe

safe on on this property. No, it was only on tight, not on this property. It was on this one. I thought they did it on this property. No, correct. Right. Any other questions from council? No. Okay. Just a couple from from me. Um, you know, in terms of the the uh uh I guess the chem chemicals concerned, is there any known is there any known use of chemicals? Is there any um uh orders from the EPA? Is this a super fun site? Anything like that that we're aware of? Nothing that we're aware of.

Okay. And outside of that, um is there a process that the city requires some type of a soil test if there's not a known, you know, contamination or super fun site or anything like that? No, there isn't, mayor. Okay. All right. Um the the chemicals that may or may not have been used, I mean, do we know do we have any indication as to what those were? Whether they were actually used, were there actually any spillage, anything at all? Nothing at all. All right. No indication from some health agency, environmental agency, nothing. Nothing that puts that property on the radar now.

Right. Okay. Um, as far as the infrastructure goes, uh, I just want to be clear. Um, they're enhancing the road there. So, they're widening the road. Is that correct? And is that is that pursuant to the city's code? It'll be done to city standards, correct? Okay. And but I mean, are they are they widening that road because the city's requiring them to do that? It's a requirement. Yes. Okay. And then as far as the um u the water line, right, it looks like they are enhancing that from 2 in to 8 in. That's to provide fire protection. Okay. Is that also a city requirement? It's also a city requirement. Okay. Uh they're installing hydrants. Installing hydrants. Also a city requirement. Also a city requirement.

They're installing street lights. They're installing street lights as well. Are there street lights right now on that road? I don't think there is. Mayor. Okay. Is it the city requirement for them to install the street lights? It's a requirement on any new development to install street lights. Yes. Right. Um are they asking for is there any indication that they're asking for variances on this development? We have not seen any variances for this development. No. Okay. Uh and these are single family homes, right? This is not multifamily. This is not forplexes. That's correct. And they're halfacre lots in May. Okay. Halfacre lots. Um single family homes. They're following city standards. There's not any known contamination, nothing like that. Nothing.

Okay. Um, so there was a question about the road expansion and whether that would cause a delay. Um, I I do have a question about that. So if you do have a response, I'm happy to hear it. Mayors here, council members, the estimated time of construction will be four months for everything. Four months. Four months. Sorry. Yes. for all of the all the improvements? Yes, sir. Yes. Okay. And do you know while the road is being widened, is there going to be an impact to traffic? No. To the other residents? During the during the construction of the subdivision, we're going to implement traffic control devices

as per tech standards as per city standards. And we're talking about 4,000 ft. So, we're going to do it in sections and a,000 and then we move we move that the traffic control to another,000 2,000. So in four parts but consistent. So we're not going to do the whole 4,000 ft. So we want to improve Deb road right now. It's not safe, right? We want to provide lighting, fire protection. We want to overlay the entire 24 ft. We're going to widen to the south and then overlay everything, not just the extra six feet. So the whole road. So okay. Thank you very much.

Sorry to hear that. It's gonna be table but table on with what condition? Well, that's thank you for answering the question. Um, so can you Mr. Ato um expand on that? What is the city requirement in terms of them still allowing for traffic flow while they're doing the improvements? Do we have any standards or requirements on that? Um, traffic controls for streets. Mhm. That's not an area. While they're doing the improvements, right? Or are they allowed to shut down the entire road while they're doing the improvements? I'm not certain on that one, Mayor. Um I'm not too certain when it comes to streets and how they're built. Mhm.

Good evening, Mayor, City Council. Marino Hos, city engineer. So whenever there is a project uh development or even our own, there's traffic control that's implemented and only in certain occasions does it get closed uh but it's not it still gets local traffic to be able to get in and out of their homes. Okay, thank you. But there's a proper traffic control. I appreciate that. Um, on the fire protection, are there any hydrants out there right now with the 2-in water line? I don't think there's any hydrants out there. So, with when the fire if the if a fire truck ever responds out there, are they able to hook in? How do they get water if there's a fire out in this area? My assumption is that they just go with the water that's in the tankers and fight the fires with that truck.

Is that true, Chief? That as of right now, they can't there's no fire hydrants. There's nowhere to plug in. Fire department's got to take out a tanker with water right now. Yes, sir. That is correct. I mean, depending on the We would find the nearest hydrant, the location hook up to that one. So, depending where the nearest hydrant is, but it is I mean, a big benefit for us to extend that 8 in line and provide the hydrants for fire protection. Okay. It makes fire protection easier to have the hydrants. Yes, sir. It would make fire protection a lot better from going from a 2 inch to an 8 inch line and having a hydrant out there. Yes. Big benefit. All right. Thank you. Thank you. All right, those are all the questions I have. Any additional questions? This is right outside of ETJ or right outside the city living line. Am I looking at that right?

Yes. Thank you. Any other questions? All right. So, we we have a motion to table uh and a second. Um no further questions. Uh all those in favor of the motion to table, raise your right hand. All those opposed. All right. Motion does not pass. So item is still live. Any other motions at this time? I'll make a motion to approve. All right. Motion to approve. Is there a second?

All right. I think we're going to be stuck on this one. I guess so. Okay. Um so at at this point there's no action taken on this item. Uh we will move on to additional items. Uh but have the ability to re revisit this one if needed. Okay. Going on to um item 10A, ordinances. Is there a motion on this item? Motion to approve. Second.

Motion to approve and a second. Any discussion? All those in favor raise your right hand. All those opposed. Motion passes on item 11A. Uh on this particular one, I'm enthusiastic about it as well. I'm so glad that they came in to speak on this one. However, because it's a contractual item, there is some legal language uh that was flagged that we need to discuss. So, I would ask that this one uh be moved to uh executive session so that we can get an attorney consultation on this. So, move. All right. Second.

Motion in a second. Any discussion? All those in favor raise your hand. All opposed. All right. Motion passes. Uh takes us to the consent agenda, items A through F. Is there a motion to approve items A through F? So move. Second. Motion and a second. Uh any objection to the motion? Hearing none. The motion passes. Item A through F. Approved. Moving on to item 13. Yes, I have signed up for B. Oh, all right. Well, we've we've passed it, but who can speak on item 12B? There's an easy explanation on this one.

I hope that Well, that's what I wanted for the end of All right. So, on item 12B, could you just explain that briefly? It's already been passed. It's already It's already done, but if you could please.

Sure thing. Gladia Faras, director of the grants administration department. This item is to um amend the budget for the ARPA funds that the city received back in 21 and 22 to reallocate funding from two completed projects. The downtown water treatment plant generator project and the elevated water tower. There's cost savings in the amount of $91,06 and we propose we're proposing or proposed to reallocate that funding to the ongoing street improvements project. That project is um on track to meet the US Treasury deadline to expend all funds by December of this year.

Okay. Excellent. So, quick quick summation. We had about $91,000 in savings, right, on uh on projects that we were spending ARPA money on. And with that savings, we're going to put that into street improvements. Correct. All right. Very good. And our deadline to spend all of our ARPA money that we received back in 2021 and 2022 is December of this year. Correct. Correct. Okay, great. Thank you so much. Thank you. All right, item uh 13A. Any future items?

Okay, moving on to item 13B. Um there is a consideration to cancel and reschedule the meeting for Tuesday, May 19th. Um and I believe we would be rescheduling it to May 21st. Yes, that's the recommendation. Thursday, May 21st. Okay. All right. So, um, can I get a motion to approve to reschedule from May 19th to May 21st of 2026? So, move. All right. Motion. Second. Motion and a second. Any objection to the motion? All right. Hearing none. Uh, the, uh, motion is approved. Okay. Next item is executive session. Uh, if I can get a motion to enter into executive session. So, move. Second.

All right. Motion in a second. Any objection? Hearing none. Uh, motion passes. We are now entering executive session. Time is 7:31 p.m. Item A, consultation with city attorney. Item B, consultation with city attorney regarding personnel matters. Item C, discussion and possible action regarding the conveyance exchange or lease of real property. Number one, workforce resource center. Item D, discussion and possible action regarding economic development matters.

Time now is uh 9:56 and we are uh coming back into open session. But can I get a motion uh to enter into open? So moved. Second. All right. Motion and a second. Any objections? Hearing none. Uh we are back in open session. Um based on the discussion uh during executive session, are there any action items required under 14? You're uh mayor, under executive session, there are no items that need action at this time. Okay. Uh well, we'll circle back to the pending item which was 9B um from the public hearings. Um is there a motion on this item? Motion to approve. Motion to approve. Is there a second? Second.

Motion to approve in a second. Any discussion? All right. All those in favor of the item, please raise your right hand. All those opposed. All right, motion passes. Um, any other business? All right, no other business. We've reached the end. Uh, meeting is adjourned.

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