City Council - Regular Meeting

do some pledges. Um, Chaplain Rodriguez, would you come up and lead us in prayer, please, sir? Ladies and gentlemen, let us pray. Lord God, maker of heaven and earth and of all created things, you make your just ones holy, and you justify sinners who confess your name. Hear us today as we pray to you. Look kindly on those assembled here, your children, servants of the people, and all those who may have bring to bis may bring business before this council today. Enlighten our hearts. Open our minds so that what goes on here will be for the betterment of our great city. Oh savior of the world, on the cross you redeemed us by the shedding of your blood. Help us now to be worthy of such a noble sacrifice. continue to guide us, to bless us, and to pour out your love and grace upon us today and every day. And we ask this in joyful anticipation through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Amen. Pledge to the flag of the United States of America and [clears throat] to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Honor the Texas flag. I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas. One state under God, one and indivisible.

Thank you, John. We've got some proclamations to read this morning. We'll read them in order. The first one will be telecommunications. Then we'll follow with month of the military child, safe digging month, fair housing, and national donate life month. When I read the appropriate proclamation that you are here to attend, I want all of those concerned to come up and stand up here beside me as I read it. We'll actually start off with National Public Safety Telecommunications Week. Is there anybody here for that? Come on down. Y'all would stand right here. Am I there? There there are some in here that would disagree with that. Blame. [clears throat] All right. Public safety telecommunication professionals play a vital role in emergency response. The responsibilities extend far beyond relaying information between the public and first responders. In critical situations such as cases involving missing, abducted, or sexually exploited children, the information they gather and the actions they take often lay the groundwork for a swift and effective response. When dealing with incidents involving suicidal callers or hostage situations, public safety telecommunicators are frequently the first point of contact. Their ability to remain calm under pressure and their communication skills can be life-saving, preventing further escalation and providing critical support in real time. These professionals serve as the first and most essential link between citizens in distress and emergency services. They are the calm voice on the other end of

the line during what may be the worst moments of a person's life, offering guidance, compassion, and assistance. They also serve as a crucial lifeline to law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel, providing real-time information, monitoring field safety and ensuring responder safety. The public safety telecommunication at the San Angelo Public Safety Communications Center have made outstanding contributions to our community, helping to apprehend criminals, suppress fires, provide life-saving medical assistance, and uphold public safety. Despite the emotional and physical demands of the job, often working long hours and around the clock, these dedicated individuals remain committed to their mission, it is essential that we at every level of government and within our communities recognize and honor their life-saving service. Therefore, I, Tom Thompson, mayor of the city of San Angelo, Texas, on behalf of the city council, do hereby proclaim April 12th through 18th, 2026 as National Public Safety Tele Telecommunicators Week in St. Angelo, Texas, and encourage all citizens to join me in expressing our deepest gratitude to the men and women whose diligence, dedication, and professionalism keep help keep our community safe. Who's going to come up and speak a little bit?

Yes. Who would have thought?

Good morning. Um, I'm in charge of recruiting for the police department and for dispatch. And it's harder to recruit a dispatcher than it is an officer because when I talk to them and I explain to them, you deal with everybody on the worst days of their lives because nobody's calling 911 because they just want to say hi. Uh, that every single phone call that you take is somebody's worst day and they have to deal with that day in and day out. But the professionals that I have working for me are amazing. Um, so I mean they they absolutely deserve this recognition. So thank you all very much. [laughter] All right. Month of the military child. Let's get that crowd to come up. Stand right here. Since 1986, the Department of Defense has recognized military children during the month of April. The commitment and sacrifice of our military's youngest heroes is supporting the brave men and women of the US armed forces is worthy of honor and celebration. The unique demands upon the children of our military personnel do not go unnoticed from often being the new child in school

or feeling the or the feeling of missing a parent deployed while serving our country. Here in St. Angelo, we are blessed to have Goodfellow Air Force base, strong military families that call our community home and add so much to our West Texas community. Today and for the month of April, we will make a special effort to lift up our military families and to salute them and the contribution and resilience of our military children. As part of this salute, St. Angelo ISD is partnering with the city of St. Angelo to honor our military families and children. The city of St. Angelo and SISD invite our St. Angela community to join in our salute and gratitude. Therefore, I, Tom Thompson, mayor of the city of St. Angelo, Texas, on behalf of city council, and together with St. Angelo Independent School District administrators, principles, educators, staff, and students, do hereby proclaim the month of April 2026 as month of the mil military child. And we urge all citizens of St. Angelo to acknowledge the occasion of this month of honor and recognition of the outstanding strength of our military children and their families in gratitude with their sacrifice. Colonel Olsen, do you like to speak? Do you want to speak or do you want him to?

Just check. But you have

Yeah, exactly. I can't begin to express how thankful I am to the city of St. Angelo and SISD for for recognizing the unsung heroes, our our military children. Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in a a ceremony at Belair Elementary School where we kicked off the month of the military child. In the ceremony, I asked each of the members that were there to tell me what branch of service their parents served in. Hands quickly shot up. My dad served in the army. My mom serves in the Air Force. I thought I called on everybody when I was there until the children reminded me, "Hey, there's some folks behind you with their hands up." I turned around and there were four teachers with their hands up as well. They were a military child once themselves. They wanted to share their experience. It happened. The same thing happened again. I asked the children, "Raise your hand if you've moved once. your hand raised if you move twice, three times more. Teachers raised their hands right next to their students because they were once a military child as well. At that point, I realized how important it is to be a military child. It's not a badge of honor that you wear just in your youth. It's something that changes you for the rest of your life. So this month, I challenge each of you to thank one of our military children. Ask them about their story. Listen to their journey. You'll be touched and inspired by the courage, the resilience, and the dedication they have to our country. Thank you again for taking the time to

to recognize these unsung heroes that deserve every bit of recognition and praise that they Thank you. Next we have a group with National Safe Digging Month, the 811ers. National Safe Digging Month is observed in April to remind homeowners, contractors, and any professional excavator to keep communities safe by calling 811 before any digging project. Digging without knowing the approximate location of underground utilities can result in disruptions to critical service, serious injuries, and costly repairs to underground utility lines. It is simple and easy to make a free

request online or over the phone before digging. To help communities maintain essential utility service, promote safety, and reduce the likelihood of accidentally digging into buried lines. Call 811 services free, safe, and required by law. And as part of the National Safe Digging Month, Atmas Energy asks everyone to become a safety ambassador by taking the Atmos Energy call 811 pledge at atmosenergy.com/call811 pledge. Homeowners are further encouraged to take a few precautionary measures when planning any digging project this spring. If work is scheduled for an upcoming weekend, make a free 811 request on Monday or Tuesday, providing ample time for the approximate location of lines to be marked. Confirm that all lines have been marked. Consider moving the location of your project. If it is near utility lines or markings, if a contractor has been hired, confirm that the contractor has contacted 811. Don't allow work to begin if the lines are not marked. Please visit 811 before you dig.com before complete or for complete information. Everyone who contacts 811 a few days before digging is connected to a local notification center that will take the caller's information and communicate it to a local utility company. Professional locators then will dig the site to mark the approximate location of underground utility lines with spray paint, flags, or both. Therefore, I Tom Thompson, mayor, city of St. Angelo, Texas. On behalf of the city council to hereby proclaim the month of April 2026 as National Safe Digging Month in the city of St. Angelo. I encourage all parties to always call or contact 811 before you dig.

Miss Molly got some words?

I've got a few words. Thank you, Mayor Thompson, and thank you, council, for recognizing this month as National Safe Giving Up Month. Um, we know when spring weather comes around, it's a perfect opportunity for us to start our outdoor projects. Um, whether that's planting a garden, installing a fence, or building a deck, but digging without first locating underground utilities can lead to serious injuries, service outages, or inexpensive repairs. That's why National Estate Digging Month throughout April is such an important reminder for homeowners, contractors, and businesses to plan ahead and prioritize safety by contacting 811 before digging. Um, at least three business days before starting any dig digging project, contact 811 to have the approximate location of underground utility lines marked with painter flags. It doesn't matter how small the project is. It's free, it's safe, and it's required by the law. Everyone who calls 811 is connected to a local center and professional locators will come out and mark lines to make sure it's safe to dig. Uh together we can protect our community and keep San Angelo safe. Thank you all.

Thank you, Mayor. Let's take a photo. Fair Housing Month. I see a crowd in the back. Come on down, Tiff. Glad you got here on time. Right on time. Right with Joe. Calling you out. The Fair Housing Act enacted on April 11th, 1968 enshrined into federal law the goal of eliminating racial segregation and ending housing discrimination in the United States. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, family status, national origin, and disability, and commits recipients of federal funding to affirmatively further fair housing in their communities. The city of St. Angelo and the San Angelo Association of Realtors is committed to the mission and intent of Congress to provide fair and equal housing opportunities for all. Our social fabric, the economic health, and the environment are strengthened in diverse, inclusive communities. More than 50 years after the passage of the Fair Housing Act, discrimination persist, and many communities remain segregated. Acts of housing

discrimination and barriers to equal housing opportunity are repugnant to a common sense of decency and fairness. Therefore, I, Tom Thompson, mayor of the city of San Angelo, Texas, on behalf of the city council, do hereby proclaim April 2026 as fair housing month in the city of San Angelo as an inclusive community committed to fair housing and to promote appropriate activities by private and public entities to provide and advocate for equal housing opportunities for all residents and prospective residents of San Angelo, Texas. Who's going to give you some words? Tiff.

Thank you, Mayor Thompson, for reading the proclamation for us. Um, and also thank you to the city of St. Angelo for recognizing that this is fair housing month. Um, the San Angelo Association will continue and are very dedicated to continue um to um give everyone equal opportunity in St. Angelo, thank you so much. Last but certainly not least, National Donation Life Month. Do we have anybody here with this proclamation? All right, Monica, have the crew line up right there. Donate Life, established in 1992, promotes awareness and education surrounding organ, eye, and tissue donation nationwide. Every April, National Donate Life Month is observed across the nation to raise awareness of the life-saving power of organ, eye, and tissue donation. More than 100,000 people in the United States are currently waiting for a life-saving life-saving organ transplant with 10,000 Texans among them. The National Donate Life Month is designated to educate the public on the importance of organ, eye, and tissue donation and to encourage individuals to register as donors. The gift of life given through organ donation is one of the most meaningful

acts of generosity a person can make. Living donors selflessly extend lives by donating a kidney or a portion of a liver. Increasing donor registration through community education and awareness is essential to meeting the growing need for transplants to ensure our community is informed with the information to make decisions about donation. Community partnerships with health care systems and donor advocacy organizations such as Texans organ sharing alliance TOSA Shannon Medical Center and Donate Life America play a vital role in donor registration, education and advocacy throughout Tom Green County. Tom Green County proudly recognizes the generosity of donors and donor families whose selfless decisions saved 13 lives in 2026 just within our community alone leaving a lasting legacy. Therefore, I Tom Thompson, the mayor of the city of St. Angelo on behalf of the city of S on behalf of the city council do hereby proclaim the month of April 2026 as national donate life month. Tom Green County encourages all residents to learn more about organ, eye, and tissue donation and to consider registering as donors and join community partners in supporting life-saving donation efforts. Thank you, mayor, and city council for proclaiming April of 2026 donate life month. Although um Tom Green County is recognizing that this is a nationally recognized month throughout the state and nationally. Um the the proclamation did read that there are over 100,000 men, women, and children that are waiting for this life-saving gift. Um but I wanted to really touch base here in our community. I was born and raised in our community, and like the proclamation read, in 2025, we saved 13 lives last year. And these are individuals that live right here in our very own community. Um we are

anticipating that number is going to double because we are just in April of 2026 and um we've already saved four lives here in Tom Green County. Um so being able to stand alongside um our critical care team here um they support TOSA, they support my initiatives and not only that they support our families guys. They support our local families, walking alongside them throughout the whole entire d organ donation process. Um, and it's a daunting process for these families. Like the first group said, um, they're walking into one of the worst days of their lives. And so the, um, the way that the healthcare team approaches them, um, with the grace and the love, they walk alongside their donor families because they are going to leave a legacy. That legacy is going to be left behind with them. So, I wanted to recognize our team here at Shannon Medical Center. Um, if you guys would just wave so they can recognize you. We have JT Tucker. He's a director of pastoral care at Shannon Medical Center. Uh, we have Lissa Garcia. She is the ICU director and she is our donation council chair at Shannon. Um, we have Pam Bradshaw. She's our chief operations officer. And we have Michael Smith who's our associate chief nursing officer. Um, so if you ever see these guys at Shannon, say hi. Tell them thank you. They do so much. Again, not only supporting the donation um registry, but also me um with TOSA. Um so, thank you again for um proclaiming um April as National Donate Life Month in Tom Green County um and for helping us raise awareness and encourage our community to say yes to donation.

All right. At 8:54, we'll go ahead and move in the public comment. Members of the public may raise issues or concerns not listed on the regular agenda during this time. To participate, please sign in with the city clerk prior to the beginning of the meeting. Speakers will be called in order they signed in. When speaking, citizens must speak from the podium. Address all comments to the dis. Begin by stating your name and address or single member district number and limit your remarks to three minutes or less. Heather, do we have public comment?

Yes. Uh, Abel Laredo. Okay. Uh, Mike Bernett. Morning everyone. Mike Bernett, SMD1, executive director of Concho Valley Community Action Agency and chair of the Concho Valley Homeless Planning Coalition. Uh, every January volunteers across the country take part in the HUD point in time count. It is a one night snapshot of how many people are experiencing homelessness. It's not perfect, but it's the best tool that we have to see what's really happening in our streets. On January 22nd, 2026, here in St. Angelo, that count found that 194 people experiencing homelessness on a single night, 156 were unsheltered, 65 were chronically homeless, 13 were veterans, and four were children. That's the data, but we all know that those numbers are conservative. The pit count captures one night, but it doesn't count people doubled up on couches. is it doesn't count folks staying out of sight because being visible isn't safe. Most experts agree that the real number is two to three times higher. For St. Angelo, that means the number is closer to 400 neighbors experiencing homelessness on any given night. These are not statistics. These are people. They are family who grew up here, friends who worked here, veterans who served, seniors who ran out of support, people for who for one reason or another fell through a system that has more gaps than nets. But St. Angelo is a city that shows up. We prove it over and over again. Last fall, uh, last summer, when there was a flood, the the community showed up. When there's a crisis, we show up. That's who we are. Right now, homelessness is asking us to show up in a different way. Not with quick fixes, but with long-term care. That's why I

want to offer a brief reminder about the Concho Valley Rockrow Community Campus, an effort this council knows and supports. It's been understandably quiet since the July 4th flood, but we're nearing a time when it will need visible public support to move forward. RockRose is about safety, dignity, and accountability. It's about doing what actually works. This is not about enabling. It's about stabilizing. It's not about ignoring concerns. It's about solving problems. And it's not about those people. It's about our people. For many in our community, sitting on the sidelines feels safe, but that's also how nothing changes. If you want to help, contact CVCAA or any of the homeless coalition agencies. Our next homeless navigation day is Tuesday, April 28th at the First Presbyterian Gym. Remember, caring for our unhoused neighbors should not be a weakness of a city, but a measure of its strength. St. Angelo, we have the heart for this. We have the data, and we have a path forward. Now is the moment to act like the community we say we are. Thank you,

Heather Wy. Good morning. My name is Heather Wy. I'm a resident of District 3. There's often a belief that companies will regulate themselves, that it's in their own interest to make sure that everything is in order and no harm is being done to the communities in which they're located. A company is not likely to regulate itself. The fees issued to them are less than their profit. Asking a data center to regulate itself would be like having a citizen call the police to report that they're driving over the speed limit. It isn't going to happen. Citizens have come before this council asking for transparency regarding the data center and they trust that you're advocating for them and their best interests will always come first. In keeping with the best interests of residents a priority, too many questions remain unanswered for us, certainly myself, to feel confident that any data center is the right choice for St. Angelo. I make this statement to you today thinking of my young children. My oldest is three, my youngest turns one this week and the world that I want to leave for them. If you have beloved young ones in your life, maybe you can recall those ages with your own special memories. I'm troubled by new information about data centers across the country. Studies now indicate that data centers get so hot they can increase the heat of surrounding areas by 16° up to six miles away. What does that mean for people living within six miles of these things? I live within six miles of where you are planning to put this data center and others. Many of us do. My home is a generational home. My grandparents loved it and my children are the fourth generation to live within its walls. I can't just sell it and move to a different part of town and unempathetic advice for this situation. That is true for many of us. We can't just sell and move away. Our lives and our hopes are here. I can't change your minds even

though I have been speaking to you now for many months. And I know my statements feel repetitive and redundant by this point. I know most of us have seen conversations happening online surrounding the Skybox data center. Do your citizens really want this? If the data center was something like a department store or another strip mall, the citizens of the city would understand what to expect. But it isn't. Instead, we your citizens read articles or hear stories about this fast-moving industry poisoning water wells close by, increasing utility bills, and giving people cancer or miscarriages, especially when they're located near neighborhoods and small communities. My father died from cancer only a year ago. I had three miscarriages back to back before our youngest was born. And thinking about something environmental potentially causing that kind of pain to another family is intolerable, especially when it doesn't have to happen. The concern surrounding the data center is legitimate. Too many questions remain unanswered. Please stop the data center. Thank you,

Lisa Thornhill. Thank you. Yes, ma'am.

Hi. Thank you, uh, mayor and city councilman. Um, I appreciate the opportunity to come. I was lived in St. Angelo for 26 years. Um, and briefly moved to Abene and then have been back now since um, for about six weeks. and I currently live at Spring Creek Marina. Um, I'm here today to ask for your urgent support um regarding the use of golf carts access from Spring Creek Marina to the uh new Horseshoe Beach area um and possibly at all parks and and corresponding um natural areas and parks that we have in St. Angelo. Um, I rely on my electric wheelchair for my mobility each and every day. Um, and it's my form of walking. So, I take walks um, from where I live at Spring Creek down to the beach area and around the park and the play area um because it's beautiful. It's beautiful. But what should be a simple peaceful routine has become increasingly dangerous. Um just in the short weeks that I've been living at Spring Creek, um I've had multiple close calls with vehicles. And these vehicles aren't small, you know, sports cars. They're large um vehicles that tow RVs. And so

that timer's a little behind you. I don't know if you can see. You have one minute. I want to make sure you get your point across in one minute. No, you're fine. Keep going. I'll hurry. [laughter]

Um but because I sit low to the ground um in a wheelchair, drivers can't see me. And so in one incident, I had a large um u half ton pickup coming towards me. And he could he wasn't I don't know. He couldn't see me and just at the last minute um he veered away from me or he would have hit me head head on because there's nowhere for me to go. I had another car that backed into me and the only reason she stopped is because I had to hit the back of her car. Um because I can't I'm a sitting duck. Um um I'm sorry. um that I mean being those close of calls and seeing this large vehicle coming at you head on or having to stop a car simply by hitting their the back of their car. Um it it's very clear that how vulnerable I am and not only me but the kids in the area riding their bicycles and things like that. Um you know it's not Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry. Did I time out?

You know, we're we're at the end, Lisa, in the be 30 seconds. No, we we we can't let anybody go further on that, Lisa, but Okay. Your your comment is taken and documented as you and I have communicated. We'll we'll follow up on this. Thank you for showing up today. I appreciate you. I appreciate y'all. Thank you for your time. Thank you, [clears throat] Lisa. Thank you,

Antonio Martinez. Morning, mayor and city council. I'm Antonio Martinez, a resident of single member district 4. Um, I came here today to bring up the detrimental impacts data centers have on the communities that they operate in. Uh from adverse health effects to rising costs for the average working family, the seemingly intentional reticence of this council on the matter has left the citizenry at large in the dark and the future prosperity of our oasis in the desert at risk. [clears throat] The worry of rising energy costs is not only a detriment to our working families, but to the local businesses those families support. The increased demand for data centers in our state are projected to raise electricity costs from 25 to over 70% in the next 5 years. uh that is not a small matter to those living paycheck to paycheck. On the low end, a 25% increase in cost to residents just in electricity alone can result in hundreds of dollars a year uh for the average working family. So, out of necessity, these residents will have to cut back on spending locally and leaving smaller businesses with not only higher electricity costs, but reduced revenue from uh reduced spending by the the citizenry. Um um so consumers are already being bled dry by the uh economy. Um these increasing costs are are unacceptable as it is. Um the data centers can also cause adverse health effects to those living nearby due to the emissions of infrasound. The sounds that are at frequencies below the human range of hearing. Uh these extremely low frequencies are not heard but felt and are known to cause headaches, dizziness, fatigue, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and panic. Although the proposed location is near the Tom Green County Jail, it would be an injustice to subject those conditions

to not only the population of the jail, but to the working people in the jail as well, possibly creating other unforeseen consequences between them as a side effect. Unfortunately, 3 minutes is not enough to uh time to cover every health effect, negative social outcome, environmental risk, and proven detrimental economic impact of what a data center could bring. So, I'm asking you, mayor and members of the council, some of you having ran on the intent of being a voice for the people, to take a step back and look outside of consultations, the interests of land owners and big businesses that don't represent the interests of working people living in our communities and look at empirical evidence from health, economic, social, and environmental experts and commit to keeping public properly informed so that they can voice their concerns and make the right decision on this matter. Uh, thank you very much. number six

and Nancy Treadwell seem to be following a trend. I'm Nancy Treadwell. I'm at 5217 Saddle Ridge Trail. I'm a longtime resident of St. Angelo. Moved here in 73 with my family and my life is tied up in St. Angelo. Um, as the other people have asked, uh, we're interested in water. We're concerned about water. Uh, my husband is a general aviation pilot and forget the data center, other center times when we have had severe drought in this area. We've flown over our water sources. We've watched the spillway dry up. We've watched the lakes almost go to nothing. And so my question is, we've got a data center coming that has a closed system that isn't flawless and it's going to use a lot of water. We've got people who may be coming to this area. I know our uh realtors encourage people coming to St. Angelo. This is going to add to the infrastructure. Stress on the infrastructure. So, if push comes to shove, who's going to get priority? Is it going to be the citizens who need the water or is it going to be the data center? Um we have people, pets, livestocks, and crops that are going to be uh involved in this. Um, we have rents that are already high. Um, how are you going to address the housing issue? I know there's one in Abalene. I know that on March 31st on K Texas, every town in St. Angelo, no, in Texas and probably across the nation has human trafficking, but there is an increase in human trafficking now in Abalene. Kudos to Travis Griffith and our police force. They do a wonderful job, but you can be stretched kind of thin. So, how are we going to address this one? Again, I am interested in the environmental

impact, the rising temperatures, and we already have people who are, as you know, because of our current federal or situation or whatever, we're already paying more for gas. We're pouring more for food, having to pay more for more air conditioning, more infrastructure, whatever is going to add hardship to hardship. How are we going to address these needs of our citizens? And lastly, and I've got 57 seconds, I have been teaching in St. Angelo at all kinds of levels my entire life. And St. Angelo prides itself on education. We have Angelo State, which is going to be a hundred years. We have Howard College, which is, I guess, now in its 52nd year. There is a worldwide process known as the flattening of the human mind, which is to put it basically, people are getting stupider. Now, we have prided ourselves on education and having an intelligent community. How can we continue to pride ourselves when a data center is just going to add to this flattening of the human mind? Um, that's my question. I know you all have children and grandchildren. This is an impact on them too. Thank you very much. Appreciate your time.

Thank you, Mr. Treble. That [clears throat] concludes public comment. We'll go ahead and move into the item five consent agenda. I will start down here with you, Miss Mary, and go through. Is there anything you would like to pull? No, sir. Karen? No, sir. Patrick, I have nothing to pull. Harry, no. Joe, [laughter] I'd like to pull item D. Item D. We couldn't let that go through. And that's a great one to pull. So, um, can I get a motion? All right. Can I get a second? Second.

So, all items excluding D, we have a first and a second. Do we have any public comment on any of those items? With that, we'll take a vote on all items except item D. All in those in favor say I. Any opposed? All items except D pass 70. Now we'll go into item D. Consider awarding RFB OP-1-26 Lake Nazworthy boat ramp replacements to Shirley and Suns in the amount of 2 million 2.1 million775,284.16 and authorizing the city manager to negotiate and execute all related documents. You don't look like Patrick. Much better. [laughter] Morning guys.

He'll watch [clears throat] this. Okay, he will. Although he's at his father's funeral, bless the fact Feric family. But anyway, you're on.

Good morning, Jeremy Miller, assistant director of operations. Uh we're excited today to come to you to seek your approval for construction of three boat ramps out of Lake Nazworthy. Uh we put out a request for bids and we received one qualified response from Shirley and Suns. Uh they've performed much larger projects than ours and seem very qualified. So we're we're excited to move forward with them. Basically, [clears throat] an overview of the project. We've got three ramps we're going to reconstruct. One at Batty Road, Nickerbucker Park, and South Kono Drive. So, each of those ramps will be fully reconstructed. We'll add sidewalks and a courtesy dock as well as regrade and do some shoreline protection and improve the uh parking services. Uh that's for all three ramps. And then addition to that, the ramp on Batty Road will also get a fish cleaning station. So, should be some much needed improvements out at the lake. Uh but more importantly, the funding for this has come from a grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Division. So we've got received $ 1.5 million from them to construct this as well as they paid for most of the design of the project. So the remaining funds would come from the Lake Nazworthy trust fund. So

reason I pull this is to to hear a highlight of the project. This has been going on for six and a half years is when the six and a half years ago the voters approved using funds from the Lake Nazworthy trust fund to do improvements around the lake. This being one of them. So I wanted to highlight really staff that worked on this. Um we have some citizens here that I know were involved in this. So I just wanted to say thank you Jeremy to you and your crew. I know Shane has worked on this as well throughout the last six and a half years. So, this is this is a good thing in my opinion. I don't I don't have any questions. Um, so whenever you're ready for a motion, mayor, uh, I'll

Well, I want to I just want to echo what you said. For for many years, we have discussed this in a discussion yesterday with Shane and Tina, assistant city managers, talked about everybody that y'all have worked with to bring this forward. I do want to let the citizens know, we're not going to do all three at the same time. We'll do them one at a time so we can still get into the water. That was a common question, but I thought we had that one handled. I'm glad to see this move forward and like you say, Tommy, it's been several years. This will improve the accessibility to our lake and I'm just want to thank staff and the HOA and the trust for all them for working with us. With that, I'll look for a motion. So move. I have a first from Tommy Heert, a second from Harry Thomas. Any public comment?

With no public comment on item D, I'll look for a vote. All those in favor say I. I

any naysay? Item passes 70. With that, we'll move into the regular agenda. Comments regarding items on the regular agenda may be made by the public when each item is discussed as outlined above. To participate, please sign in with the city clerk prior to the beginning of the meeting. Speakers will be called in the order they signed in. Comments are limited to less than three minutes. Applicants, proponents, and appellants are exempt from the time limit above and instead must limit the remarks to less than 5 minutes. Regular agenda item A. Consider awarding RFQOP-206 Lake Nazworthy vegetation removal to Jones Lake Management in the amount of $2,969,11.17 and authorizing the city manager to negotiate and execute all related documents.

Morning. Jeremy Miller, assistant director of operations. We're excited to be here again to make some more improvements out at the lake. um [clears throat] presentation here. Anyways, uh we we put out a request for qualifications to uh get some improvements done at the lake. We've been working with the homeowners association and other key stakeholders out at the lake to uh come up with a project to help improve the the recreation at the lake, improve the boating access, and other things at the lake. Uh just a quick background on the project. Uh if you recall, as Mr. Heert mentioned earlier, back in 2019, the voters approved spending $6 million from the Lake Nazwerly trust fund to help improve the the recreation activities out at the lake. Uh some of the projects we've accomplished with that has been the fishing pier, which has proved to be a good asset at the lake. it's been frequently visited as well as a new sandy beach toward the horseshoe area and as well as the some boat boat ramp improvements that we're getting ready to construct ones you just approved this morning as well as we have four other improvements that we're going to be coming to you soon that are in design right now uh with the remaining funds of this we're looking to today to get your approval for uh some vegetation removal and other projects out the lake uh we put out a RFQ and we got one response back from a qualified vendor. Uh we've been working with them to come up with a good project to uh to help us get this accomplished. So we're looking to award that to Jones Lake Management. So an overview of the project. So all of the areas you see here in yellow are subject to be removed. So this is an area that has a lot of visibility issues and has been restricted over the years with overgrowth from the vegetation that's kind of restricted boating access to it. So everything in yellow will be removed and then we'll add some

shoreline protection along here to shore this channel up as well. And then everything that's removed will be uh brought over here into this island number two and that'll be reshaped, regraded and then add some protection around the shoreline and it'll become a usable green space. So it'll be replanted and it'll be a place that we could use maybe to shoot the fireworks off or have other events or just people use to recreate there. everything is going to be removed. So, that'll open everything up, especially these areas here. We'll get these coes cleaned out so we can get in there for more fishing and just more usable space for the lake. So, it should help with safety, you know, increase the visibility. There's a lot of This is a popular area for skiing, so there's some visibility issues, people coming around the corners to u can't see somebody. So, that should alleviate a lot of that. So, uh, second area of the project over here off of area here, this this project, we'll remove all of these, uh, overgrowth here of this vegetation. So, this will free up all of this area here where we can get boats to come back in through here. So, we'll clean all that out and bring it back over to the area, too, and fill that island in back again. Okay. over here off of uh Batty Road, the ramp here, there's an old bridge that was uh demoed in place back in the day. So, there's a lot of concrete, rubble, and rebar that's there that creates a safety hazard. We've got hazard buoys there to restrict access because it's just not safe for the boers. So, this project, they'll bring in some floating excavators and remove all of that rubble to to make it to alleviate the safety hazards. And then we'll use some sonars to uh make sure we've scan the area properly and get make sure all the debris is removed so we can remove those buoys and open that area back up to uh for boers. So another part of the project is this

restoring this channel here off of Shady Point Circle. So, we're going to shore up the shoreline there, remove vegetation along there, as well as dredge this area to uh to get it back in more navigable waters. It's uh kind of filled in with sediment over the years, and it's a real shallow area. So, we're going to clean all that up, open it back up to the boers. That's the gist of the project. So, like I said, we've been working on this one for a while. So this will the funding for this will come from the remaining funds we have from the uh Nazworthy trust fund. So we're seeking your approval today to get this approved and awarded to contractor.

All right, Jeremy, thank you so much for that presentation. I just want to say this is along with what we talked about in the consent agenda. These are things we do to improve our lake. Uh accessibility make St. Angelo a more rewarding time for everybody. Um I'm excited to see it. My one question is, do you have a length of time that this project is going to be from start to finish?

One of the more difficult parts of this project is getting the permitting in place. Anytime you're dealing with the Army of Core Engineers and the federal US waters, uh there's it's highly regulated. So, we got to get permitting. Uh the contractor, we've been working with them to uh to get the project going and they feel that they can get if once we give them the go-ahad, uh that'll take them about 60 days to get the permitting in place. So, we're looking at maybe starting construction late summer, early fall, and then it'll probably be a three to four month process after that.

That's great. That fits the time frame as we have a lot of events going on the summer. I want to make sure we don't interfere with any of that. And also the fishing tournaments, there's things we work around, but as long as y'all are on top of that scheduling, no problem with I want to kick this off to Councilman Heber because this is in his district.

Thanks. Th this too is, as Jeremy alluded, um something that's been in the works a long time. He also alluded at the end of his presentate, [clears throat] pardon me, at the end of his presentation that uh the number of state and federal uh regulatory groups and uh agencies that they have to work with when they're on the water uh is almost mind-boggling to me. Um, so this is one of those things that uh people have uh been talking about and and I'll say being hopeful about for longer than the six and a half years, but that the funding had to be put in place. We had to go to the voters to do that. Um, and they did approve that. So again, Jeremy, thank you for y'all's diligence in in working through this um and bringing it to to the point where it is now. So hopefully within the next nine months to a year we can we can see the completion of the project and and if you're looking for a motion mayor I'd make a motion to approve this.

Let me run down the dice and then we'll come back. Mr. Cell Harry I have nothing. All right Patrick I do. Sure. Hey Jeremy. Um so we didn't even get a chance earlier to talk about it. How will this project coordinate with the boat ramps? Will they be going on simultaneously? Do they need to be at different times? We're going to work that out with the contractors. I mean, the first hurdle is getting the the permitting done. So, I feel like the the boat ramps will be constructed before we start this. So, they should should not coincide. So, we're going to try to remain as much access to the lake as we can. So, and then especially on this part here, how much is that going to affect those homeowners that um have that access? Are they going to be blocked off from their docks for a while?

It should not be. I mean, this project is not near as much vegetation removal. It's more of a dredging project. So, they should be able to get access. So, okay. As far as the other part parts of the lake, I mean, the the contractor is going to put up fencing, construction fencing around there. So, it'll be safe and it'll be we're going to work around the the busiest parts of the season. So, we should be able to know access and everybody should have access to every part of the lake and we'll move as quickly as we can through it. So,

and I I want to reate that part. I mean, I we kind of been alluded to, but the later the better for our summer. Our summer goes pretty late in St. Angelo. So, I would love to see this project in the winter and not in the summer. Um, there's very few people on the water in the winter. So, that's the only thing I would mention is even late summer seems kind of early to me. Um, because our summer lasts a long time. Y there's a there's a lot of mobilization, heavy equipment that's going to come in. So, it'll it'll take him a while to get going. So, even if we start late summer, you know, the bulk of the project would be over the fall. So, okay. Thank you. Karen, Miss Mary,

with that, I'll look for a motion. And then I have a sec. I have a first from Tommy Heert, a second from Joe Self. Any public comment? With none, we'll take a vote on item A. All those in favor say I. Any opposed? Agenda item A passes 70. We'll move into item B. Consider approving an interfill empowerment zone request for infrastructure funding cost for the water and sewer main extensions in the amount not to exceed 20,000 for residential project at Shiner Point, section 3. Presentation made by planning and development service director Aaron Venoi.

Good morning, mayor, city council. Aaron Venoy, planning and development services director. We've got this empowerment zone funding request for Shriner Point section 3. Uh an area that you guys might be familiar with, but Armstrong is right here to the east and 40th is kind of the main road that comes in there to the north. And you can see right here in the middle of the of the property is they're doing another section that they're going to end uh at a road coming down one across and then one on this side as well. So this is about 32 lots that are being created out of this nine acres. It's in district 2, Mr. Joe Self. It's in the Lake View neighborhood and it is under as a planned development uh 24-04. Uh and the vision plan is neighborhood. So uh the site is going to have the extension of Blum, a new local road called Limley Lane and a new local road Fleming Street. It'll be 32 lots. The improvements required uh through the plat were of course streets and drainage, water man and service lines, sewer main and service lines. And the estimated cost just for the utility installation, that's water main and service lines and sewer main and service lines is 358,000. Um, under our rules and state rules, the city can assist funding up to 50% which would be 179,000. Currently in our infill account, we have $20,34989. The infill account is a first come first serve that gets refilled uh as council does the budget every year. Um, and they have that option to fill it at $200,000 uh dollars and we're down to uh just at 20,000 currently. So been uh heavily used this year in the infill area. Again, here's the lot layout. You can see Blum Street, Limley Lane, and Fleming Street. And they continue to hope uh this this development continues uh to the south to connect to further

properties to the south. This is just uh the engineering stuff that they have to do to turn in for this happens to be a sewer um cross-section. Last thing, I just wanted to to remind everybody through our in um infill funding impact. Uh you can see when that presentation was brought forward a few months ago that when we invest the typical 5,000 into an infill lot, and that's an infill lot, we receive an average tax return of uh $1,454 every year after the completion. And so this is one that they're looking at adding um the infrastructure to and it will be a major improvement for that area and can will continue to allow that area to grow. Um so with that staff recommends approval of the empowerment zone infill award of an amount of $20,000 for this project. That I'll be happy to answer any questions.

All right, Erin. Um I'll start. It's we've been working on this specific piece of property for several years. It's about 2017 18. and I'm glad to see it moving forward. This puts in a price point of housing that helps become more attainable for constituents and it kind of follows with the theme we've had today. Um, with that, I'm going to kick it over to Joe and say, Joe, this in the middle of your district, if you want to lead the discussion on this, please. Uh, what what what's going in these lots?

Well, they're going to be single family houses. Okay. Um they're the the plan development allows them to be slightly [snorts] larger, but as you saw in the background information, um the developer is looking at uh at houses that are around 250,000. Uh and any of the infill money could possibly bring those dollars down, what it cost to put that in. Um so if you look at just the the streets, the wa the infrastructure, the drainage, that's about a million dollars in cost just to get started before they start construction on any lot. Uh but they are these are houses that are in that range that our housing study would say uh that that our community needs. Uh we certainly need those. Uh anytime infill funding can help bring those cost down, that's a that's a plus. Uh unfortunately, we just have $20,000 available in the infill account at this time.

I think I think that's good. That's good that we're doing something with that. Go Harry, you got comment?

I guess I got a real quick question. We've talked about infill for several years. This is 33 lots. The definition of infill, my definition infill, which may not be appropriate, has always been one or two or three lots was in a neighborhood or everything was basically established. You already have water and sewer or the case. Tell me how this particular piece of property, and don't get me wrong, I think it's great. And as the mayor said, we've been working on it for several years, eight or nine, I believe, and I I think we need to help the developer in any way that we can get affordable housing there. But tell me how this group of homes, 33 lots, qualifies for the infill money. Well, that's a great question. Um, so we started out with the 5,000 per lot uh in 2019 and that was to really like you said satisfy say a lot maybe was created over here that already has water, sewer and street. Um we saw that fund utilized quite a bit. And then we came back with the empowerment zone uh which was within the infill area, but it was for properties like this that we we recognized very quickly that there were large properties within our infill areas that were not developed. And to develop them would take additional incentives to get them developed. So, we did the research and looked through the state laws and there's lots of empowerment zones without with throughout the state. We created one within our infill area that would help with up to 50% of the utilities or it can help pay for uh permit cost. It can help pay for subdivision cost, other costs that are that are there to start getting these

large lots to break down into development. Because we already have services going by the large lots, whether that's water, sewer, police, fire, animal services that may have to go out and service that lot, it's advantageous for the city to invest into those lots to say, let's get something built so we have some property value there to help support those services that are coming. That's why we we added the empowerment zone. Now, the challenge is is just we only have a a limited amount of funds for both infill and empowerment and they're lumped together. Um I think that's potential for a budget discussion down the road of do we continue to invest in those areas and how much can we invest and does that come from different funds or does that all come out of the general fund.

That was my roundabout way to get into what you just said. We don't have enough money in that particular fund to do what we need to do. So, we're going the challenge will be for this council to try to find some of that additional money. Harry has never been so indirect in his life. [laughter] Anyway, with that, Patrick, do you have some questions?

Um, was the developer, did they come for the full half or were they just coming to see what they could get? uh they they could absolutely use the full half. Uh when I told them that there was only 20,000, they kind of scratched their head and wondered if it was worth it. And I said, "Well, 20 is better than zero." Uh and so they came forward. Um I I think if you were to ask them, they would they would love to find a way to to get up to 50% of those funds. But that's a decision for for council and others to to look at. Um how would they do that? And would that be available in the future on this empowerment zone? When uh does it fund in October? Is that Yes, sir. Yeah. Um so we'll

this will spend all those funds and so there won't be any infill or empowerment if this is approved today and encumbered. Um it there will be nothing remaining for the rest of this year. Do you know roughly how many have been um utilized so far? I mean roughly 180,000 I guess, but is that for a lot? Yeah. So, divide that by 5,000 each and close enough. Yeah. Yeah. I'll let somebody with better math skills than me. Um, in y'all's discussions, is it something that they could do in stages and get what they can done now and then be able to utilize that next year when it comes back, come come again for another 20 30,000 to do the next section?

Well, that that's the challenge. The way our program is written, it's a it's a one-time funding and unfortunately the way utilities work is you gota you got to put it all in. Now, they could come back and say, "Well, we only want to build Blum Street." And maybe they separate a plat off here and then that's a different discussion. But with it platted all together as one, they have to make all those connections as one time um investment. Okay, [snorts] perfect. Thank you.

So, while Patrick brought that up, I want to go and Karen, I'll get to you in Mary just a sec, but Patrick brings up a good point that we've I wondered about in the past. Um, a lot of times we a lord the we award these funds on a first come first- serve basis and I remember actually this exact same developer we limited one time instead of can we do up to 6,000 but I think we limit him at five just to leave some funds in the balance for this. Um I would say you would have the encouragement we'll throw this to Tina of the council to to double if not triple the amount of infield funding we have in future years. Um the payout is great. It helps a great cause, but I think there's some things there that to make it fair for people, as Patrick pointed out, we need to make sure that it's everybody's feeded, everybody's treated fair and consistently all the way to the board, and that may take some timing. With that, I'll go on Karen, have you got any questions?

No questions. But I do want to speak in support of your comment that funding should probably be increased as we move toward committing to infill housing and attainable housing in this community. So, good idea there. I guess the only remaining concern would be how might this impact other developers for the remainder of the budget year?

Well, it certainly would impact them if they were hoping to get infill funding or empowerment funding. So, if they've already pulled their permit and gone to neighborhood services and encumbered their $5,000, that's already been set aside. So, those that have already come and done that between October 1 and today, their money is secured as long as they meet the the commitments. Um, anybody coming forward after if this is approved today, there would not be funding available. Miss Mary,

thank you. No, I like it. It's just a matter of me understanding the the whole language and where else where we because everybody's fighting for the same dollar right now. How are the developers tas has this stopped anybody from wanting to develop an area knowing that we're there's limited funds there?

I don't know that the amount of limited funds has stopped anyone. Um, I would say that the cost of infrastructure development can limit some. I mean, we have a number of areas, as we shown in our presentation a few months ago, that are platted lots but don't have streets or they don't have a water line or they don't have a sewer line. And is that part of the strategy in the future to add those areas to a capital improvement program to ensure those capital improvements are there so those lots could build? But it's, you know, if you go back to, well, excuse me, you know, just his utilities is that much for that for the 32 lots. That's just the utilities, water and sewer line. Uh, now there's a lot of grading and a lot of slope things that have to be done and connections and manholes, but that's a lot of a lot of money to develop. And that's just that money into that lot cost already,

let alone whatever they had to pay for the land. Now you've got the street cost on top of that curb gutter and then leveling out and then whatever the drainage system needs to be and then you get to start building. So lot cost gen it's very challenging and then if you're trying to build a product that's in that $200 to $250,000 range it's very challenging.

Well thank you Erin Harry. You believe you had a round two? Well, please. Yeah, this developers in investing a lot of money. Go back to that slide where you had the the numbers. $358,000 just on utilities alone. While this is probably not going to make a lot of difference whether we approve 6,000 or 20,000, I'm going to make the recommendation that we approve the 20,000 even though that almost depletes the whole thing. because I don't think we have enough money in there to begin with. Uh the next developer will come back in in 30 days and take that $14,000 out of there. So from my perspective, I'm going to take the recommendation that's a staff ad and say I believe we ought to uh fund this $20,000.

I think we all agree that's this is the full balance, the remaining balance, right, Aaron? Yes, sir. All right, Harry. Words well spoken. Joe, I'll I'll give a motion to approve as presented. With that, I have a first from Joe. Second. I got a second from Patrick. Any public comment on item? Patrick did. All right. I know there was a third that came out over here, [laughter] but being the eagle ear that I am, I caught Patrick in this here. All right, we'll go with It's personal, Heather. Exactly. It's personal. Is there any public comment on this item? With all that, all those in favor say I. I.

Any opposed? No. No. With no nazs. Item B passes 70. There are no items for close session. We'll move on to item eight, follow up and administrative issues. Consider items discussed in executive session, which is a zero. Item B, considering approving various board nominations, parks and recreation advisory board, Daniel Aguar, SMD2, to a first term ending December 2027. Can I get a motion on that? Second. I have a first from Joe and a second from Tommy. All those in favor say I. I.

Any opposed? Appointments clear. With that, does anybody have any announcements or considerations for future agenda items? Do what? Budget for Friday. We'll go ahead and close the meeting. Uh we'll make a motion to close. and a second for him. And with that, we will close the session. But anybody listening, just remember we have a budget meeting up here on Friday at the mezzanine, East Mezzanine, [clears throat] 7:30. All right. Thank you very much. We are adjourned. I'd like to thank the group here from attending. I still owe y'all a spaghetti and pizza dinner.