City Council - Special Meeting

Okay, today is uh Monday, April 13, 2026. We're going to go ahead and call this special city council meeting to order at 6 pm. We're going to go ahead and start off with opening prayer and pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States and the state of Texas uh by Councilman Ben Guerrero. Everybody please stand. Okay, bow your heads. Lord, we ask for strength, courage, and wisdom for each one of us to make the best decisions for our city. Please watch over this entire city council meeting as we all work together towards resolution of existing challenges and issues for the best interest of our residents. We worship you, Lord, as we accept your son Jesus Christ as our savior. Amen.

Amen. 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.

Texas flag. I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible. Okay, moving on to hearing of residents. This time we have Raquel Gar Garcia. Uh but before we do hearing of the residents, I do want to say that uh all remarks shall be addressed to the council as a body and not to any individual member thereof. Any person making any personal impertinent or slanderous remarks will while addressing the council may be requested to leave the meeting. All handouts and/or USB devices must be submitted to the city secretary no later than noon on Monday preceding the meeting. Handouts will be provided to each council member prior to the start of the meeting by the city secretary. All USB devices will be vetted by the city IT staff to ensure city property is protected from malware. And when you come up, you'll please state your name and your address. Raquel Garcia, I mean Raquel Gutierrez, please step up. My apologies.

Good evening, mayor, council, city staff, shorts residents. My name is Raquel Gutierrez and I recited 1016 silver tree. Tonight I come before you as a candidate filled with gratitude. I want to sincerely thank the residents who did their civic duty and voted during the special election. Your vote speaks volumes about your commitment to community and about the pride you have for our city. I also want to recognize and thank the other candidates who courageously stepped forward to run. Putting their name in the hat takes time, effort, and a willingness to serve and that deserves recognition and respect. Thank you all candidates. And I especially want to thank the many supporters who stood with me day after day out at the polling site. You gave your time. You endured the elements. You waved and smiled and encouraged neighbors throughout the day. You didn't just hold signs. You showed what it meant to truly care about this community. And to those who walked beside me while I knocked on doors and shared conversations, a huge thank you. Every door matter. Every conversation made a difference. That's where trust is built in how a community grows stronger. Shirts has been my home for over 35 years. It's where I've invested my time, build relationships, and remain committed to serving others. And with everything Team Recal has accomplished, every door and every conversation we've had, we're not done yet. Because Team Raquel is in a runoff. Every day is a marathon. Our work is not done. There's more doors to knock on, new neighbors to visit, more conversations to be had. And I'll say this from the bottom of my heart. Team Raquel still needs you and welcomes your support in the upcoming runoff. So to our community, I say stay

engaged. Look for Team Rquel in your neighborhood. We're committed to keep showing up, keep listening, and keep building stronger community together. I'm committed to serve with a heart, lead with experience and transparency. And now I respectfully ask for your vote and your support in the runoff. Thank you.

Thank you. That will end hearing of residents. Moving on to discussion and action items. Uh the first uh discussion we have resolution 26-R50 approving the cabineting of the election returns and declaring the results of the April 4th, 2026 special election for place six and other matters in connection there with we have uh Sheila Edmonson.

Thank you mayor. Good evening mayor, council, and city staff. Tonight I bring forward resolution 26R050 to approve the canvasing of the special election held on April 4th, 2026 for the unexpired term of play six. There were four candidates in the special election race, Miss Sarah Deetsz, Miss LSE Are Ares, Miss Tiffany M. Gib Gibson, and Miss Raquel Gutierrez. The official final vote count from the special election are as follows. Miss Deetsz received 544 votes or 45.26% of those who voted. Miss Lades received 14 votes or 1.16 percentage of the vote total. Miss Tiffany M. Gibson received 165 votes or 13.73% of the vote total. And Miss Raquel Gutierrez received 479 votes for a percentage of 39.85%. 85% of the votal of the vote total. The total votes cast during early ve uh early voting by personal appearance and absentee ballots were 1,01 votes. On special election day, there were 203 votes cast. The total number of votes cast in this special election was 1,24 votes. Staff recommends you approve resolution 26R050 and accept the final vote count from the Guadalupe County Elections Office.

Can I get a motion to approve resolution 26R-050? So moved. Second. All right, we have a motion by Council Member Hayward, seconded by Council Member Maluso. Can I get everybody to cast the votes? Can I get the votes published, please?

Okay, having seven yays, no nays. Motion passes. Thank you. Moving on to resolution number I mean moving on to item number two, resolution 26-R51, order runoff election for uh council place six. Uh we have city secretary Sheila Edmonson.

Thank you again, Mayor. Good evening, mayor, council members, and staff. On Saturday, April 4th, 2026, the city council of the city of Shirts held a special election for the unexpired term for play 6. This evening, through adoption of resolution 26R050, the city council canvased and approved the vote total count for this election, pursuant to Texas election code sections 2.021 21 and 2.023. If no candidate for the a place on the city council receives a majority of the vote, if no candidate for a place on the city council election receives does not receive the majority of the votes, a runoff election is required between the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes. Therefore, I bring forward resolution 26R051, a resolution to order a runoff election for the unexpired term for play 6. The two candidates who received the highest number of votes are Miss Sarah Deetsz, who received 544 votes, and Miss Raquel Cuttes, who received 479 votes. The runoff election will be held Saturday, May 16th, 2026. Early voting will take place Wednesday, April 29th through Tuesday, May 12th, 8 to 5:00 and no weekend voting. Monday, excuse me, May 5th, 2026 is the last day to apply for a mail-in ballot. Application must be received by the elections office. May 16th is the runoff election day for Play Six. and Tuesday, May 26, will be the scheduled date to canvas the results of the May 16th, 2026 runoff election. Staff recommends that you approve resolution 26R-051 and order a runoff election.

Okay. Can I get a motion to approve resolution 26-R51? So moved. Second. Second. Okay. We have a motion uh made by Council Member Hayward and we have a second by Council Member Watson. Can I get everybody to cast the votes, please? Can I get the votes published? Okay, having seven yays, no nays, motion passes. Uh this go ahead this will go ahead and conclude the uh special city council meeting on April 13, 2026 at 610.