2026-09-29 - City Council

Well, good morning, everyone, and welcome to City Council Chambers. Ms. Prime, we're ready to get started. Good morning, Mayor, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to the presentation of the mayor's

proclamations. We begin this morning with a pledge of allegiance. And to lead us, we have students from Brown Middle School at the invitation of Representative Alejandra Chavez. This morning, we have

Abria Escarcega, Aubrey Gomez, Eva Camacho, Sophia Pham, Evelyn Saucedo, Cassidy Sprague, Michelle Garcia, and Isabella Ramos. 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. B-N-S. Let's go, Bulldogs. B-N-S. Let's go, Bulldogs. B-N-S. Let's go, Bulldogs. Let's go. B-N-S.

Let's go, Bulldogs. Let's go. That brings us to the mayor's proclamations. For those of you receiving a proclamation this morning, your group will have up to four minutes collectively to come to the

podium and receive the proclamation. The first proclamation is October month. Representative Fierro. Thank you, Mayor. Welcome. Some wonderful architects walking up. Whereas the American Institute of

Architects El Paso chapter adds value to the city, county, and surrounding areas by creating places that enhance the quality of life through built environment for all the residents of El Paso. And

whereas the local AIA chapter is responsible for the design of many iconic buildings in El Paso, safeguards the culture, the region through historic preservation, and aids in review of local codes and

ordinances to maintain the health and safety and welfare of the citizens in El Paso. Whereas the local AIA chapter is one of the leading organizations in our community, focusing on energy efficiency,

urban planning, and the importance of building technology, emergent design, innovation, and helping improve our city. ... was Archtober, and I worked very hard on that, by the way. 2026, and its

theme, Gathered. AIA El Paso invites the community to come together and experience our shared places, engage with architect and design through tours, hands-on experience, open studios, workshops,

conversations, lectures, and community gatherings that celebrate the people and places that shape El Paso and strengthen our shared sense of place. Now therefore, be it proclaimed by the mayor,

council of the City of El Paso, that the month of October shall be known as Archtober month. Signed by the honorable Mayor Renard Johnson. Thank you. Good morning. Good morning, Mayor Johnson, city

council members, and everyone here today. I am John Reyes, president of the American Institute of Architects, El Paso chapter. Behind me are my colleagues and members of the executive committee.

Today, we are proud to stand before you to proclaim the month of October as Archtober. Our members invite the community to a month-long celebration of architecture and design. It will feature tours,

lectures, exhibitions, and special events that highlight architectural excellence and the role of architects in the built environment. Some of our highlighted events this month are, the AIA El Paso

has partnered and collaborated with La Nube Children's Museum for our first ever Steam Fall Camp for kids, October 5th through the 9th. We also collaborated with the History Museum for our Lego build.

This event will also coincide with Chalk the Block. We're supporting Texas Tech University to provide an architectural lecture. We'll also have a walking tour of the architecture of the legendary

Mabel Welch. Hmm. And we'll conclude the month with Texas Wrecking Ball Massacre. It will be a walking tour of the lost buildings of downtown. Our Archtober events will foster public engagement,

inspire future architects, and promote thoughtful design, and enhances the quality of life. We invite and encourage everyone to join us in promoting the importance of architecture in our community and

celebrate the impact that architects create in making El Paso a more vibrant, beautiful, and sustainable place to live. I'd like to allow my colleagues to- Sure ... introduce themselves. Thanks. Good

morning. Good morning, everybody. My name is Paula Muez Garcia, and I am with the Educational Outreach committee. Good morning. Good morning- Good morning ... Mayor Johnson, council members. My name

is Julie Vetter. I'm the education outreach advisor and secretary for AIA El Paso. Good morning, and hello. My name is Becca Dominguez, and I am with the Women in Architecture committee, part of the

AIA. Good morning. Good m- Hello. Good morning. Good morning. My name's Ashini Patel, and I'm a Franklin student. And I'm coming here to help show our Archtober event. Ah. Good morning. Good m- Good

morning. Good morning. I'm Sophia Hernandez. I'm also a Franklin High School architect student, just wanting to know more about architecture. Good morning. Good morning, everybody. My name is

Sebastian Escobar. I'm the vice president of the AIA El Paso chapter. Hey. Good morning- Good morning ... mayor, council, and everyone here today. I'm Josue Munoz Miramon, AIA El Paso's community and

outreach director. Archtober is an invitation to come together, experience the places that shape El Paso, and imagine what can be built together for its future. I want to very much thank you for

celebrating with us. Good morning. Good morning, mayor, city council. My name is Bruno Vasquez. I'm past president of AIA El Paso, and I'm also currently serving at the state level through the Texas

Architects Committee. And also at the national level, I was appointed by our president to serve in the Public Awareness Committee. So these series of events, it's one opportunity that I have to shine

and bring forth the value of architecture to our community. Fantastic. Thank you for having us. Fantastic. Cool. Once again, please join us and visit our website, aielpaso.org, for all the event

details. Yeah. And John, real quick, you guys had, was it the state conference here a couple of years ago? That's right. It's going to be next year. And it's coming back, right? That's right. Right.

And how many from across the state came to El Paso, do you remember? It was like 1,700? Like 1,200 people. 1,200. 1,200 architects. Wow. Yeah. Well, Art was trying to change Archtober month into

Arttober month. He was doing his best to change it into his name, but it didn't work, but- I have the T-shirts ready. Yeah. But congratulations. Thank you. And thank you guys for all that you do- Yeah

... in changing the landscape here in downtown and throughout El Paso through architecture. We appreciate everything you do. Congratulations. Appreciate it. Thank you. Oh, wow. You guys already posed

yourselves. Right. And the next proclamation is National Cybersecurity Month. Representative Rocha. Thank you. I see them all coming up here. Hi, Andrea. Good morning. I'll go ahead and read your

proclamation here. Whereas broadband services play an important role in workforce development, civic and cultural participation, lifelong learning, and access to essential services for El Paso

residents. And whereas digital opportunity means all individuals and communities have access to technology, devices, and the skills training needed for full participation in our society, democracy,

and economy. And whereas Digital Inclusion Week is an annual nationwide event sponsored by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance and dedicated to raising awareness about digital equity and the vital

importance of inclusion in our increasingly digital world. And whereas nationally, nearly half of all people who are digitally disconnected are people of color and are less likely to have a broadband

internet connection or a desktop or laptop at home. And whereas Cybersecurity Awareness Month is an awareness campaign that has highlighted the importance of taking regular action to reduce risks when

online and using connected devices, and is led at the federal level by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, CISA. And whereas El Paso is committed to closing the digital divide for

its residents by partnering with such regional nonprofit organizations as Borderplex Connect, managing digital El Paso for public access to Wi-Fi, distributing Wi-Fi hotspots through public libraries,

hosting skills training, and sharing resources. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed by the mayor and council of the City of El Paso that October 4th through 10th, 2026 shall be known as Digital Inclusion

Week, signed by the honorable mayor. Oh, excuse me, there's more. Furthermore, the month of October 2026 shall be known as Cybersecurity Awareness Month, now signed by the honorable Mayor Renard

Johnson. Good morning. Good morning, Mayor Johnson, city council members, and city manager. I'd like to especially thank Representative Maldonado and her staff who facilitated the opportunity to be

with you here today. As you all well know, today's world is increasingly becoming more digital. The people we serve often are on the sidelines of what many assume to be universal experiences, like

owning an internet-ready device, or navigating the internet with ease, or affording internet at home. Let me paint a picture for you of how being connected in today's world changes lives. There's

Terry, who needed help in order to send emails. After taking our classes, she was able to send emails on her own to her child's teacher. There's also Jerry, who at middle age found himself looking for

employment but didn't have a computer to apply for jobs. Through our programs, he was able to get a laptop. There's also Esme, who is deaf and is participating in one of our special initiatives and is

able to get reduced-cost internet at home. One family that we recently served is a mother who is taking her kids to the parking lot of a store in order to get free internet so her kids could do the

homework in her car. That hotspot we gave her was a game changer for her family. This is what it means to be digitally connected in today's world and empowered to pursue the aspirations you have for

your own life. On behalf of the coalition of Borderplex Connect partners and supporters, we appreciate your recognition of Digital Inclusion Week and National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. My name is

Andrea Tiras, and I lead Borderplex Connect. We are a regional nonprofit that serves Far West Texas and Southern New Mexico. Borderplex Connect is based in the Sun City, and we are a supporting

organization of the El Paso Community Foundation. Borderplex Connect works to close the digital divide in our region, with particular attention to economically challenged areas and households. On the

whole, the digital divide is improving in our region. However, there continues to be disparities among lower income neighborhoods and communities in pockets of El Paso and in more rural adjacent

communities with regards to, one, access to reliable internet. Two, ownership of computers and tablets. Three, the skills needed to navigate the internet and computers safely and with confidence.

Across far West Texas and southern New Mexico, affording internet on a consistent basis, not just introductory periods, continues to be a main hurdle for people from economically challenged

households. Our initiatives and programming include free in-person basic digital skills classes taught by bilingual instructors, distribution of internet-ready devices, and the Digital Back to School

campaign, which we launched this summer, and targets households with school-aged children prepare for success in today's world. We meet people where they work and live, and so our programming has

taken place at such places as Alamito Stream Learning Center, El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank, and Centro San Vicente. This month, I'm proud to say that we introduced a new component of our

digital skills classes, which involves incorporating a train the trainer model for promotoras. These community health workers are learning how to teach digital skills classes to others in the

community. Borderplex Connect and our network of partners are vested in the goal of making access to the digital world a possibility for everyone, no matter their language ability, their place of

residence, or their age. I'd like to thank those partners who work with us and lend us their space, their ideas, their time, and their energy to tackling the digital divide. They include units of

government like the City of El Paso, El Paso County, City of Las Cruces, Doña Ana County, large and small nonprofits, for-profit businesses, and individuals. We have some of our partners here today,

and I would like to recognize them. When I call your name, please raise your hand or step forward. Eric Pearson, who leads the El Paso Community Foundation. Is Eric back there? Not wearing a tie.

That's exactly right, Eric. Also, Crystal Hidalgo, also with El Paso Community Foundation. Not wearing a tie. Michael Nelson, Tech Frontier Nonprofit and Borderplex Connect Board President. Also not

wearing a tie. Wow. Judy Para, Borderplex Connect AmeriCorps member. David Merrick, founder of Drop Dev, a software company in El Paso and an AI company at that. Robert Chacon, Tristan Frescas, and

Luis Espada with Jackrabbit Internet, a local internet service provider. Lorena Cruz, promotora and Borderplex Connect student participant. Blanca Jaramillo, promotora and Borderplex Connect student

participant. Anthony Martinez, volunteer. And last, but certainly not least, El Paso city staff members who are also Borderplex Connect advisory board members. They include Omar Martinez and Dr. Lupe

Coral with the city manager's office. Thank you again for your recognition and support. I look forward to exploring more ways where we can build a more digitally connected community. I will be

following up with each of you in the coming weeks regarding the latest edition of the digital divide document for El Paso. This is a document where we track key indicators to understand where we're at

in closing the digital divide, and this document will help you as policymakers and as advocates. Again, thank you. Andrea, congratulations to everyone there on the Digital Inclusion Week and

Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Congratulations, and thank you guys for all that you do for the community. And, Mr. Eric Pearson, next time you come to council chambers, please wear a tie. Thank you,

guys. Thank you so much. You're giving me clueless face today. Oh my gosh. I want you to call me anyway. Okay. Mayor, is it okay if I take a moment to introduce a friend that's in the audience?

Absolutely. Mayor, and council members, I'd like to take the opportunity and welcome David Salazar Jr. He's from Edinburgh, Texas, he's a mayor pro tem, and he's here to bring us humidity and rain

from the RGV. Welcome, David. Great. Okay, Ms. Bryan? And the next proclamation is El Paso Children's Hospital Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Okay. Representative Acevedo. Thank you, Mayor. So, I

have an honor of reading the proclamation for the El Paso Children's Hospital. While you come up, I will start reading it, and then we'll go to comments, if that's okay. Proclamation, city of El Paso,

Texas. Whereas El Paso Children's Hospital provides the highest level of pediatric care in West Texas and southern New Mexico. And whereas close to 10,000 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed

nationwide among children this year alone, and many infants, children, and teens will suffer from long-term effects of comprehensive treatment, including secondary cancers. And whereas thousands of

children across the country will lose their battle with cancer, and many medical providers and medical professionals race against time to provide life-saving treatment and medical breakthroughs to

prevent this tragic loss of life. And whereas the Southwest University Pediatric Blood and Cancer at El Paso Children's Hospital is the only certified children's oncology group center in a 270-mile

radius, which provides quality clinical trials to treat many types of pediatric cancer. And whereas the means that children are able to stay right here at home to receive the best care, the latest

research and protocols, in a multi-specialty environment designed just for kids, where they receive the very same protocols as some of the top hospitals in the world. And whereas the Southwest

University Pediatric Blood and Cancer Center at El Paso Children's Hospital has been able to help hundreds of families affected by childhood cancer. Now therefore be it proclaimed by the mayor and

council of the city of El Paso that the month of September 2026 shall be known as El Paso Children's Hospital Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Signed, the Honorable Mayor Renard Johnson. Good

morning. Good morning. My name is Allie Valdespino. I have the privilege to work at El Paso Children's as the nursing director for the pediatric oncology unit. I want to thank Mayor Johnson,

Representative Acevedo, and our entire city council for recognizing September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month here in El Paso. We would like to give a special thank you to our Representative

Fierro for the wonderful, kind welcome that we received this morning. The Southwest University Pediatric Blood and Cancer Center, I know it as my infusion center, is a 24-bed unit, and it specializes

in pediatric and blood cancer disorders. It also includes Children's Oncology Group, we know it as COG, to support our research studies. Since joining COG in 2014, El Paso Children has diagnosed over

1,000 new pediatric oncology patients. Also registered 453 patients in our registry. We continue to still be the only COG hospital in this region. We have also celebrated 18 ringing of the bells this

year, and it symbolizes a child going into remission, and we average about 40 ringing of the bells every year. We would also like to thank our partners that are here today with us, Gold Out El Paso.

Aileen and Eric Montelongo, who is also one of our nurses, founded this organization in 2020, and has supported over 200 families here in El Paso who are faced with unexpected expenses during

childhood treatment journey. I would also like to thank the wonderful team of nurses that I work with every day. Some of them are here. My child life team as well, our marketing departments, and our

administration team that is here with us supporting us. And more importantly, the patient joining us today is Rebel Morales, his parents, Sylvia and Alex. And since we were last here, he has

celebrated a very important milestone, his accomplishment and ringing of the bell from his treatment of leukemia. Woo. You want to say thank you? You want to say thank you? Yes. Good morning. Good

morning. Thank you for this. I'm very grateful with the staff. They are amazing, and they helped us through this journey. You want to say hi? You want to say good morning? There's a microphone over

there. On the right. There's a little one. All right. Now they can see you, Rebel. Say good morning. Good morning. Good morning. All right. Thank you very much for having us today. Thank you all so

much. Congratulations, guys. Thank you. Yes, please, Representative Chavez. Thank you, Mayor. I just want to point out that Rebel was in the office of District 1 seeing the artwork this morning, and

there was a piece of art that wasn't named by the artist, and he named it rock star because it was a picture of a guitar with a star on it. And I want to say that today you are our rock star. Thank

you for coming. Yes. And congratulations. And today I asked him how old he was, and he kind of tricked me with the six, seven thing. He was seven and six, but he's six years old. Good to see you. All

right. He's so bad. Come on over here. No, he's... He's in here. Definitely. What a cute kid. I know. I already started crying. Hi. I do. Would you mind? Yes. The name is Ezra. Oh, hi, there. Okay,

Ms. Prime. And the next proclamation is Sergeant Jose L. Magdaleno Day. Represent Limón. Thank you, Mayor. We're here after a long-delayed recognition. City of El Paso proclamation honoring Sergeant

Jose Luis Magdaleno. Whereas Sergeant Jose Luis Magdaleno entered active duty service in the United States Army in December 1965 at the age of 17, answering the call to serve his nation during a time

of war. And whereas Sergeant Magdaleno completed military training at Fort Bliss, Texas, and Fort Gordon, Georgia, before deploying to the Republic of Vietnam with Company D, Fourth Battalion, Twelfth

Infantry Regiment, 199th Infantry Brigade. And whereas during combat operations near Saigon in May of 1968, Sergeant Magdaleno demonstrated extraordinary courage and leadership while serving as a

squad leader, leading his soldiers through intense enemy fire and taking decisive action that saved the lives of fellow service members. And whereas for his gallantry in action and exceptional heroism

under hostile conditions, Sergeant Magdaleno was awarded the Silver Star, one of the nation's highest military decorations for valor. And whereas on or about May 6th, 1968, Sergeant Magdaleno was

wounded in action when he was struck by shrapnel from an enemy mortar round while engaged in combat operations, continuing to exemplify the courage, resilience, and dedication expected of an American

soldier. And whereas throughout his military service, Sergeant Magdaleno earned numerous awards and decorations, including the Silver Star, Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman Badge, Vietnam Service

Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and Good Conduct Medal, reflecting a record of honorable and distinguished service to the United States. And whereas although his combat wounds were recognized

following his service, the Purple Heart to which he was entitled, was not awarded at the time, leaving an important chapter of his military service unrecognized for more than five decades. And whereas

after a thorough review of military records and supporting documentation, the Department of the Army formally verified Sergeant Magdaleno's entitlement to the Purple Heart and corrected the historical

record, ensuring his sacrifice received the recognition it deserved. And whereas following his military service, Sergeant Magdaleno continued his commitment to others by serving as a volunteer peer

support specialist for fellow veterans, and later as an employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs. positively impacting countless veterans and their families through mentorship, compassion, and

service. And whereas Sergeant Magdaleno and his wife, Amelia, have made El Paso their home, where they have raised three children, Nidia, Yasmin, and Joe Jr., while continuing a legacy of service,

family, and community leadership. And whereas Sergeant Jose Luis Magdaleno's life reflects the highest ideals of duty, honor, courage, sacrifice, and service to others, embodying the values that

strengthen both our nation and our community. Now, therefore, the mayor of the city of El Paso, Renard Johnson, and the city council do hereby proclaim their recognition and appreciation of Sergeant

Jose Luis Magdaleno for his heroic military service, his sacrifice in defense of the United States of America, his lifelong dedication to supporting fellow veterans, and the long overdue award of the

Purple Heart. The city of El Paso extends its deepest gratitude and profound respect for your courage, resilience, and unwavering commitment to this country and our community. Felicidades. Good

morning. Go ahead, sir. Good morning, everybody. This is more stressful than being in combat. At the age of 17, I never realized I was going to be here today, and I want to thank everybody involved,

the city council, the mayor, my family, the ones that couldn't be here also, and everybody present for honoring me after all these years. Back in the old days, when we came back from Vietnam, we were

being called ugly names. But now, after things changed, I'm being honored today, and I really appreciate it. Thank you. Just really quickly, for Veteran and Military Affairs, just wanted to thank you

guys for taking the time out to recognize Sergeant Magdaleno and his entire family. Thank you to Roberto Garza. He's somewhere back there. He was the one that brought this to my attention from the

Military Order of the Purple Heart. Excellent. So, Sergeant Magdaleno, as a fellow veteran myself, I just want to make sure that you know from the bottom of my heart, it's a privilege to be involved

in recognizing and honoring you. So, just thank you, and to his entire family, thank you guys for being a part of this journey with him. So thank you again, council, thank you again, the mayor's

office, and thank you again, Rep Limón. Thank you so much. And sir, Sergeant, come on back up. We're going to say some good words about you. You speak up. Well, okay. There we go. Well, today we honor

you, a person who answered the call to serve in 1965, and you saw combat three years later in 1968, and you were willing to go wherever our nation asked you. So we thank you for your service. We thank

you for your service, your sacrifice, and your courage to this country. Thank you for everything you've done for us. Congratulations. Thank you. Let's take a picture. Come and get this crown. Okay,

Ms. Brian. And the final proclamation is Robert Ash Retirement Celebration. Representative Canales. Thank you, Mayor. I'll read first. Proclamation, City of El Paso, Texas. Whereas Robert Ash has

devoted over 35 years of service to El Paso and to the public employees and retirees of our community through his leadership with the City of El Paso Employees' Retirement Trust. And whereas,

throughout his distinguished career with the Retirement Trust, as both executive director and legal advisor, Mr. Ash has provided leadership in the administration and stewardship of retirement

benefits for many thousands of city employees and retirees. And whereas, Mr. Ash has represented the Retirement Trust before the El Paso City Council and community stakeholders, helping provide

transparency, information, and leadership regarding the trust and its responsibilities to current and former city employees. And whereas, the City of El Paso is grateful to Robert Ash for his many

years of service to the El Paso community, which have reflected a commitment to professionalism, integrity, accountability, and the well-being of the employees who have dedicated their careers to

serving the city. And whereas, as Mr. Ash begins his retirement, the City of El Paso joins his colleagues, friends, family, and community members in celebrating his career and expressing sincere

appreciations for his contributions to our city. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed by the Mayor and Council of the City of El Paso that Tuesday, September 29th shall be known as Robert Ash Retirement

Celebration Day. Signed by our Honorable Mayor Renard Johnson. And I'll add, if it's okay, Robert, I have a bone to pick with you. Uh-oh. You're a difficult person to replace. Executive director and

legal advisor. That sounds like two jobs to me that you've been doing for a long time. So, my involvement with the pension fund doesn't go back quite as far as you've given your time there, but I

appreciate every minute of it. I've learned a ton from you, so thank you. Good morning, Robert. Good morning, Mayor and Council. Maybe for the last time, I'm Robert Ash. I'm the executive director and

legal advisor for the City Employees' Retirement Trust. This recognition was unexpected, but very much appreciated. Looking back, it's been nothing but a privilege to work on behalf of employees who

spend the majority of their working lives trying to make El Paso a better place. And to be able to help them transition from being an employee to a retiree takes time and effort, but it's a work of

pleasure. It's been quite a journey, and I think it's only appropriate that I thank some people that were so helpful along the way. I want to thank City Council, not only this City Council, but past

City Councils, for having the courage to change the pension ordinance when it needed to be changed. It's your plan, you govern it, and you've had the courage to do the things necessary so that pension

could thrive. I want to thank the city departments that have helped along the way. Starting with the city manager's office, Ms. Mack, Mr. Cortinas, always had an open door. They always gave us good

feedback on our financial position. I want to thank the city attorney's office, Ms. Neiman and her staff, the staff of purchasing and the IT departments. I want to thank Ms. Wiggins and the staff of

HR, for always being available to us, and it's a great partnership that we've had. I want to thank especially, the people at the water utilities, PSB, especially their accounting staff. I want to

thank the Office of the Comptroller. Ms. Muddin and her staff help us every month with closing the pension payroll. They provide financial reports to the board on a monthly basis, and they help us

with our audit. I'd be remiss if I didn't thank one group for sure, and that's the board of trustees. Not only for hiring me, but keeping me around for a little while. They have always acted in the

best interest of the plan and its participants. It's a big job with a lot of fiduciary responsibility and potential liability. And yet they volunteer to do this. They put in lots of time and lots of

effort, and I can tell you that two City Council reps always serve on the board of trustees by ordinance. And currently, Representative Fiero and Representative Canales both serve. Representative

Canales is on our investment committee. When he gets done with five or six hours here, he goes and spends another four hours talking about investments with us. And so, it's a lot of time and

dedication that's required to be on the board, and they've steered the ship and enacted policies that allow the pension fund to be successful. And I can't thank my staff enough. Not only the current

staff, but all the staff that ever worked with us. A group of great employees, dedicated employees, who always treated our retirees and our participants with nothing but respect and dedication. But

most of all, I want to thank some very special people who are here today, my family. They supported me when work took time away from them, and it happened quite often. Their patience and understanding

meant the world to me and allowed me to be a better employee. Again- It's been a ride of a lifetime. I appreciate everyone's support, and I can't thank you again for your support and kindness today.

Thank you very much. Representative Fierro. Thank you, Mayor. Mayor, do you mind if we ask Mr. Ash's family to come up with him, please? Absolutely. Mr. Ash, it's been a pleasure to serve with you the

last three-plus years. Your leadership, you just run a tremendous department. And we talk about taking time away from your family, I hear you're up at 3:00 in the morning watching the markets in Asia

or wherever else your TV can get a signal from. But thank you for that commitment, and thank you to your family for allowing us to share him with you. Thank you, Mayor. Yep. Robert, 35 years.

Congratulations. Thank you so much. Yeah. I didn't do it alone. And you touched on it. It's a sacrifice. Your family was there behind you, helping you along those years, and we know the sacrifice that

it took on the family as well. But thank you for that many years of service to the city of El Paso. We know that the next chapter of life is going to be even better. So congratulations on 35 years to

the city and your public service, and we wish you Godspeed on your next chapter of life. So thank you. Thank you so much. You got it. All right. I'll think I'd go this way. Congratulations. All right.

Good to see you. Thank you for your kind words. Nice to see you. And the council meeting will convene at 10:00 a.m. Okay. Good morning, Ms. Fry. I think we're ready to begin. Good morning, Mayor, and

good morning, everyone. This is a meeting of the El Paso City Council for Tuesday, September 29th, 2026. Mayor Johnson is present and presiding in the council chambers, along with Mayor Pro Tem

Chavez, Representative Maldonado Rocha, Representative Boya Trejo, Representative Nino, Alternate Mayor Pro Tem Fierro, Representative Limon, and Representative Canales. It is 10:00 AM. Will everyone

please silence their electronic devices so as not to disturb the meeting, and rise for the invocation delivered by El Paso Police Chaplain, Rabbi Levi Greenberg. Good morning. Before I begin, I will

do an act of charity by placing a dollar in a charity box. Almighty God, sovereign of the world, look favorably upon the mayor and honorable members of the city council of our great city of El Paso,

and bestow upon them and all of us gathered here today in person and online, the joy of life, good health, and prosperity. Bless these distinguished individuals who have been chosen to make laws and

decisions for the citizens of our city, and with all people who live here with wisdom and understanding in their noble pursuit of justice and equality. Our tradition teaches that you gave all humanity

the seven Noahide Laws, universal principles of justice, reverence for God, respect for life, honesty, family, and compassion. These timeless values remind us that freedom flourishes only when guided

by morality, divinely guided morality, and responsibility. This week, Jews in El Paso and throughout the world are celebrating the Jewish festival of Sukkot, a holiday in which we commemorate the

miraculous ways God provided our ancestors as they journeyed in the desert for 40 years on their way to the promised land. Although they were laden with plenty of treasures from their former captors,

there was simply no way to secure proper accommodations for a few million people in the wilderness, regardless of the price. They were provided shelter, food, water, and security directly from God.

Therefore, for one week, we are commanded to live in a sukkah, a structure built of walls sturdy enough to brave the wind, but exclusively roofed by foliage separated from the ground. The exposure to

the elements and the relative insecurity of the sukkah remind us of the precarious conditions our ancestors were subject to at the infancy of their nationhood, and the reality that God is the ultimate

provider of all our needs. This is an exercise in gratitude, and therefore appropriately called the season of rejoicing, as we acknowledge the kindness granted to us each and every day. Almighty God,

give us all assembled here today the wisdom and good judgment to appreciate the blessings of life and to have empathy for those who are suffering. As we grapple as a nation with tragedies near and

far, we pray that pain and suffering come to an end. May love, acceptance, and true brotherhood reign supreme, and may this season of joy usher in an era of true peace for the entire world. And let us

say amen. Amen. That brings us to public comment on consent agenda and regular items for those that signed up to speak at 10:00. Mayor? Yes. So public comment is now open. Each speaker will have the

time allotted under the rules of order. Please keep your remarks within the permitted time and maintain civility and decorum as required by our public comment conduct policy. Thank you, Mayor. And the

first speaker is Wanda Helgeson. She signed up to speak on consent item number three, which is a resolution to sign an interlocal agreement between the City of El Paso and University Medical Center of

El Paso to collaborate and promote stewardship and optimal utilization of blood products. Good morning. Good morning. Mr. Mayor, Council, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you again. My name

is Wanda Helgeson, and I'm the executive director of Border RAC. As I've shared with you before, we address time-sensitive emergency healthcare needs and disaster preparedness. I'm here in support of

the consent agenda number three. Pre-hospital whole blood administration can make a very real difference in whether someone lives or dies. For those ages one through 44, trauma is the number one cause

of death in the United States. Hemorrhage accounts for up to 40% and remains the leading preventable cause of trauma-related deaths. As many as 74% of trauma deaths occur either in the pre-hospital

phase or during the first hour of hospital arrival. In severe trauma, one of the greatest threats to life is uncontrolled bleeding. When someone is critically injured in a vehicle crash, workplace

accident, shooting, or other emergency, the clock starts immediately. For a patient who's hemorrhaging, the time between injury and receiving blood can be the difference between life and death. But

we're not just talking about trauma patients. In Texas, more than 50% of the patients that receive pre-hospital whole blood are not trauma patients. They're individuals with gastrointestinal bleeds

and even pregnancy-related bleeding. Traditionally, the blood transfusion starts when the patient arrives at the hospital, but for some patients, that's just too late. A pre-hospital whole blood

program changes the timeline by putting life-saving blood in the hands of specially trained EMS professionals, allowing transfusion to begin before the patient arrives to the hospital. This interlocal

agreement allows the El Paso Fire Department to rotate blood that has not been administered with University Medical Center in a timely manner, assuring that we are not allowing blood to expire. And

having it available for hospitalized patients is our crucial intent not to waste blood. By bringing the whole blood closer to the patient, we have an opportunity to begin life-saving treatment

earlier, strengthen our regional trauma and emergency healthcare system, and improve our community's preparedness for the next major emergency. For us, we understand that August 3rd, 2019, we

experienced a mass casualty event that none of us will ever forget. We need to prepare to make sure that the emergencies will never happen again. The program brings the right treatment to the right

patient at the right possible moment. Thank you for your continued support. Border RAC continues to be very proud to work with our partners to achieve this wonderful new setting for our emergency

healthcare system. Thank you. Thank you, Wanda. And I gave you all blood drops, so it's important to remember. Thank you, Wanda. Thank you very much. Thank you. Also signed up to speak at 10:00 is

Marco Sanchez. Mr. Sanchez signed up to speak on item 28, and this is discussion and action on a motion by City Council to grant an exception from the prohibition of the sale of alcoholic beverages

within 300 feet of a public or private school or daycare, requested by Mojo's Good Vibes LLC. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning, Mayor Johnson and Council. My name is Marco Sanchez, and I'm

here to speak on an item that I don't believe should have existed in the first place. I think it's very wild that we're considering allowing alcoholic beverages to be sold within 300 feet of a daycare

or public school. And in this case, it's Americas High School. If you look at the address, 12275 Pelicano, it's literally 240 feet away from Americas High School's front door. And I'm pretty sure

we've all seen the recent serious security incidents that have happened at Americas High School, and I think it really sends the wrong message to families and students, especially as we're trying to

reform the culture there after the pain and anguish caused by recent incidents. The 300-foot rule isn't an arbitrary term or just made up to harm whatever business Mojo's Good Vibes LLC is trying to

run. But it's a line drawn to protect our youth from the same beverage that is responsible for thousands of roadside deaths in El Paso, and a serious drunk driving problem that we have. It's the same

thing that is commonly found in the systems of school shooters, agitators, violent agitators, and it's supposed to be an implication that schools are sacred ground. And you set a precedent when you

add these things to the City Council agenda, that given enough persuasion or hiding this under the rug enough, that some of these more minor restrictions can be overrun. And with that, it's a

precedent that's hard to undo. And it permanently damages trust with parents and students, especially in a culture as damaged as Americas High School. Now, I'm not here to oppose any business or

directly attack Mojo's LLC, but I'm simply asking the Council to keep in mind the concerns that the community has, especially around Americas High School after the recent incident this year. So please

consider these safety concerns and the importance of maintaining a buffer zone between a literal bar and a school environment. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you. And the next speaker is

Mary Olguin. Ms. Olguin signed up to speak on Item 32, and this is a resolution that City Council approval granted in the resolution of July 1st, 2024, to allocate funds from capital asset sales to

fund the City of El Paso's local match obligation for the downtown bicycle improvements and McCray Boulevard shared use path projects is rescinded upon the City of El Paso's receipt of State

Infrastructure Bank loan funds. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning, Mayor and Council. My name is Mary Olguin, and I travel District 8 on Stanton Street and Rim Road. I wanted to

say, why don't each district do a study on how many bike riders use the bike lanes, if it is even feasible spending and asking for more funding? I will comment on the bike lanes around Resler,

Belvedere, and surrounding areas. I never see any bike riders, and I'm out and about all day long, all hours. Another area that is congested is the Stanton and Rim Road streets. Whose bright idea was

it to cram the trolley, the area where People stand to get the trolley and bike lanes with poles. We have doctor's appointments in that area, and Stanton is a shortcut for my travel back home to avoid

UTEP. You can't even turn onto Stanton Street without being super careful, afraid to hit the plastic poles, which you can see that people have hit them. No big trucks can even travel through there. In

closing, the majority of the bike lanes that I have seen are full of dirt, rocks, and debris. If bike lanes can't even be kept up with, what can we expect with our streets full of potholes and worn-

out pavements? Thank you. Thank you. That brings us to the call to the public portion of the meeting. The El Paso City Council is a local government charged with serving the citizens, and the meetings

must be focused on the meeting at charge. The City Council meetings are public meetings under the Texas Open Meetings Act, and public comment on non-agenda items is an accommodation and not a

requirement of City Council. All persons in attendance are expected to display civility and decorum that is respectful to other persons without the use of insulting, profane, threatening, or abusive

language, nor may any member of the public use this forum for political statements or campaigning. Please note that during call to the public, the City Council may not deliberate or decide any subject

that is not on the agenda. However, council may propose that a topic brought forward be posted on a future agenda. This morning, we have 11 members of the public signed up to speak. The first person

is Ms. Elizabeth Crawford. I don't see her phone number in the queue. We'll move on to Marty Loya. Marty Loya? I don't see that person coming forward. Ron Como? Ron Como? I don't see him coming

forward. Mary Holguin? Ms. Holguin signed up to speak on water manholes condition and debris that collects in drains and streets. Good morning, ma'am. You have three minutes. Good morning, Mary. Good

morning again, mayor and council. My name is Mary Holguin, constituent of District One. I have lived in the West Side for 42 years. First, I would like to address the El Paso water about manholes on

Ressler Drive, starting from Transmountain going towards I-10. The surrounding material around the manholes are cracked and sinking, causing your vehicle wear and tear on your tires and alignment

because they cannot be avoided when you are driving on the lane. Who do you report these conditions to? El Paso Water or 311? Second, the PIO from El Paso Water, Denise Parra, was talking to one of

the TV stations last week that people are the culprits of trash being thrown, clogging the water drains. But the fact is that the debris from winds that we have had have caused for the tree branches,

dried palm tree leaves, dirt and rocks, trash that has been blown around is what is causing the drains to be backed up. You never see any El Paso Water workers clearing up the drains before the

rainstorms start. That's the problem, not the people. Third, Street, Northwestern Drive from Transmountain to Paseo del Norte is in a deplorable condition. There are many open cracks on the pavement,

two to three or more inches wide. Probably the 18-wheelers are causing the majority of the conditions since there are several companies that are located there, like Schneider, that has five plants,

Eaton, BCD, and others. Most likely, that street would need stronger material to withstand truck traffic. These are just a few of many streets that need repairs, but because mainly I travel this area,

I wanted to comment on them. In closing, my daughter has asked me, "Why do people go speak to City Council meetings on call to the public? It seems that they are wasting their time since no one

listens, cares, or nothing is done about the comments made." Maybe since I came today, I will get information on the El Paso water manholes and let her know that you all do listen to us, or maybe she

is right, that we are just wasting our time. And Mary, there's a representative from El Paso Water here that can give you the number to contact. Thank you. You're very welcome. And the next speaker is

Patricia Osman. Ms. Osman signed up to speak regarding transparency, First Amendment civil rights of citizens, and undue influence of donors and vendors on elected officials. Good morning, Ms. Osman.

Your microphone is ready. You have three minutes. I don't know why I have to continuously, along with other people who speak, remind our city employees or city officials about First Amendment rights

supersede county, municipal, or state codes and laws. First Amendment supersedes it all. And the reason we have the First Amendment is so that we can speak against our government when we see that they

are doing wrong, to criticize in hopes to improve. I had to send out a letter to all of you the last time in regards to a comment I heard after I spoke, clarifying that speaking out about a wrong is

not personal attack. It is First Amendment criticism that our founding fathers gave us all. And with that, we have got some expenses on the P card. There is a $1,250 expense for- Ms. Hausman ... Fair

Gat LLC. Ms. Hausman, this is for call to the public. You're speaking about a- Yes ... item on the consent agenda, and we're not on the consent agenda yet, ma'am. Okay. But part of that was in regards

to vendors. So I'm going to keep on with the fact that, like that lady before stated, her daughter and others feel it's useless to speak to you all. And if you all look at social media and the

bloggers and so forth out there, you all know why. You know what everybody is speaking about. You all seem to not care. But this is the thing, we have a First Amendment right for a reason. You all

seem to like to step on it constantly. It is shameful, the fact that people have to remind you, and you still step on their First Amendment rights. It is not an insult to point out the wrongs within

departments and within certain rep offices within our government entity. That is why we have that right. Federal supersedes everything. Perhaps your city attorney didn't learn that in the legal

classes, because I know my legal classes, I did learn that. Thank you, Ms. Hausman. You've reached the three minutes, ma'am. The next speaker is Marco Sanchez. Mr. Sanchez signed up to speak regarding

digital safety, AI literacy, and smarter local investment. Good morning. Good morning, Mayor Johnson and council. My name is Marco Sanchez, as stated before, and I just wanted to also be here as a

statement that we, the youth, are keeping up. We're trying to watch city council meetings and know what's going on locally from every bill that's passed, and we're trying to communicate with each

other. We wanted a lot of speakers from EPYA today, the El Paso Youth Alliance. Unfortunately, Hurricane Polo disagreed with us, so a lot of parents kind of pulled back and they're like, "We're not

going to be driving on the highway today. It's too wet." So I just wanted to say we're watching and we're engaged. We're not going to be here every single city council meeting because of school and

stuff, but I am here today just to say we're here, and we love this city, and we want to see you guys take care of it. And when you guys do, we're very happy. And when you guys don't, it's definitely

a disappointment. So speaking specifically, over the past year, El Paso's made a lot of major investments in the space of AI and literacy, specifically like the El Paso Computes partnership between

UTEP, the city, and EPISD. Supported by almost $3 million of grants from the city, the program has trained hundreds of teachers and allowed almost 20,000 K through 12 students to get training and

learn more about how to use AI responsibly. And I think this is extremely important. I think this is very good and a step in the right direction. But my concern with this is that it's a very expensive

top-down solution, and I think the most impactful way to educate our youth and our future workforce on a technology that, whether we want it or not, is going to change the entire world, is bottom-to-

top solutions, starting with parents and starting with engaging the youth specifically. And I think the easiest way to do that is to have public library workshops, parent communication campaigns,

either online or through mailers, youth-friendly digital literacy materials. We need this to be free and accessible. It has to be something that parents can quickly learn about, especially in El Paso,

we have a big problem with parents just not knowing a lot, like how the internet works. So when you throw AI into the mix, it definitely throws people off. And especially with a data center being

constructed nearby, I think this is a great opportunity. As we saw in the normal agenda, I think the meta something grant that the city was going to ask for, I think this would be a great application

of those funds. And there are low-cost, higher impact solutions than the one that the city is pursuing right now. But I do want to say that this is a good thing, and it can be improved upon. So thank

you very much for your time. Thank you. The next speaker is JD Martinez. Mr. Martinez signed up to speak regarding public safety. Mr. Martinez, star six, please. Your microphone is ready, and you have

three minutes. Hello. Can you guys hear me? Yes. I'm up. Okay. So I came to comment on an incident that happened. I know I said public safety, this is actually a complaint. I forgot to write complaint

on the thing. So at the beginning of the month, I went to the city dump right after that city council meeting. I don't know if you remember, I was at the first city council meeting of the month. Right

after that, I went to the city dump to take care of business and literally dump trash in there. And what had happened was I got there and I got cussed out by a city employee in Spanish and he told me

a lot of really nasty things because I was holding up a line. And when I turned around to see the line that I was holding up, there was nobody behind me. The fact that after I wrote bunch of emails to

his supervisors, which he told me doesn't exist, he told me he didn't have any supervisors. He told me a bunch of BS, there's no other way to round it, and I wrote these emails out and they had said

they would reach out to me. They never did. That's why I'm here at city council. I would've been here on the September 15th meeting, but I was busy. I was busy losing my job, and I can't imagine how

long it's going to take for me to get another one. But really that's what I was here for. I had a bunch of other complaints that I wrote down and I'll get to them the next city council meeting. But

the fact that I went to a city dump, Citizen Collection bank on the east side on Confederate Drive, and I think it was September 1st. The fact that I went there and got cussed out is super concerning.

Somebody, whoever's in charge of that, I know somebody there is, has to look into this incident because I wrote an email explaining the whole situation. Then, I wrote a one-star Google review and I

said, "The guy working there, Hugo," he gave me his name and I can't even tell if it's a real name or a fake name. Hugo, he told me was his name. I wrote an email describing the whole incident and I

said, "Look, this is unacceptable." Me and my dad were there and we're both veterans with PTSD and the fact that this guy's yelling at us is, at a professional business place, we can't have that in

the city. And I bet you a million bucks that he still has his job because right after I wrote my one-star Google review, a bunch of five-star Google reviews came out of nowhere and needs to be looked

into and needs to be investigated because all these Google reviews, after every one-star Google review, there's a bunch of five-star reviews. And whoever's in charge- Thank you, Mr. Martinez ... of

Citizen Collection- Thank you, sir. You've reached the three minutes. The next speaker is Cornelius Brown. I don't see Mr. Brown coming forward. John Muniz. Mr. Muniz signed up to speak regarding

economic development. He will be followed by Claudia Contreras Siller and Marcy Chavez. Good morning. Good morning. I wanted to come up and speak and provide some food for thought and some contrarian

thought. And the food for thought is, I think that the current way that the city's going about economic development is kind of thinking about it in a reverse way. Right now, the current thought is

outside investment, such as the metadata center. And with the metadata center, it's a good idea, but the problem with that is it's arguable whether the tax abatement was deep, and the current tax

abatement that was given begs the question, is the city that desperate for business? And I would argue it is. And the thought is, how does the city move more towards a-- It's known as a-- I forgot the

name of it, but the economic theory thought is retaining obviously talent, but spurring more of that innovative, creative thought within our youth. And the problem is that when you have more of the

youth come about abetted by certain city council members attacking technology, attacking investment, how do you go about and spur those innovative entrepreneurial ideas? Case in point, the life

science sector. We have the Cardwell Collaborative which is a life science incubator, but why hasn't it been able to take off? UTEP graduates biological science majors, it graduates PhDs, but within

this city, why has it been unable to spur drug discovery companies and more biotechs? And the problem, in my opinion, is that the city needs to move more away from making UTEP too accessible. When you

have an increase in accessibility, you have credential inflation, which eventually leads to disgruntled individuals due to the lack of jobs. Making a hard pivot potentially towards more tech-based

jobs, diesel mechanics, whatever it may be, and actually moving more towards-- That would allow us to be able to potentially bring about more creative entrepreneurial spirit. So the point and the case

today and the problem is that lack of entrepreneurial spirit and the increase in reliance on outside investment, getting the bottom scraps, isn't going to allow the city to be able to fund the rising

costs. So Just a potential way of thinking about economic development, as you possibly already have. But the difficulty there is that UTEP's at an all-time high attendance rate. What do we have to

show for them? People are graduating and graduating and graduating, and you would think at this point in time, we have more of that entrepreneurial spirit here. It's a multifaceted problem that's

obviously very complex to solve, but just a different way of thinking. But thank you. Thank you. The next speaker is Claudia Contreras Siller. Her topic is 915 United. Good morning. Good morning.

Hello. Good morning. So I was looking at a video posted on YouTube on the city website, June 18, and there is a former employee stating that Meta is part of national security. Nowhere in the public

papers it has been stated, and I think it goes against the ethics code. June 18, minute 58. I want to say, and I want to encourage everybody to download Instagram and start using FidFam, because

they're always the first ones with the news. Also, I was here, I think a month ago, stating that I got signatures to get speed bumps and lights for my street because animals are being run over. I

received an email. I told the person, "Hey, I got all the signatures." Only five buildings were honored out of 25, and they want me to get more signatures. Why would I get more signatures if the

duplexes are not being honored? And I haven't received any calls from you, Mr. Fierro. You're my city representative. I've been here a year and nine months, and that's why we're voting you out. I've

been advocating for animals, and I understand that they're not a priority, sadly. And I've been speaking to a lot of people in the community. A lady that drives a school bus opened her heart to me and

told me that the system is not helping them. And I think it's a disgrace because the school receives 48% or 47% from the property tax, and the people driving the buses are telling me that they don't

have time to go to the restroom. They have to drive on top of the freeway with a lot of kids that are misbehaving, and it's a danger. So I want to call on to whoever manages the schools for them to

listen to their employees. Also, I want to talk about drunk drivers. And I was at a court, and it was infested with meth dealers and meth users, and I want to tell the community for them to focus on

what is really messing up our society, and that we can achieve more if we're united. And I want to tell all the people that are asking for our votes to come and use this mic. Why do they have to get a

paycheck to start advocating for the city? Come in two weeks, and I want to tell everybody that has agreed with everything I've been saying here for a year and nine months to please remember my name

in their hearts and in their minds. Thank you. There's no campaigning. But Ms. Prime. That's correct. The final speaker is Marcy Chavez. Ms. Chavez signed up to speak regarding El Paso electric and

utility rates. Good morning, Marcy. Good morning, everybody. Good morning. I just want to first of all, I used to always say, "God bless you," but now I'm going to say, "God forgive you all." We don't

have representation whatsoever. I spend many hours of my time, much money of my money, which I don't get paid to do all of your jobs. And this little story that I'm going to tell you is regarding the

electric bill. There's this lady, she's 93 years old. She goes to my church, and her electricity got cut off. Why? Because she received a $700 bill on a fixed income. How dare you all. And you know,

Mayor, I called you on that regards because this lady needs medical equipment. She needs air. And for just your little smart meters that you all have installed everywhere, just turn off the switch,

and if you don't pay that bill, they will not turn it on. I went through it, so I know how it works. That's why they want to even make this city a smart city, because you want control of us. But what

you all don't understand is that people are awake, and they're seeing the true colors of all of you. And it's a shame because, Mrs. Rocha, I constantly go to your meetings. I didn't know she was my

representative. So I don't care whether you're blue, black, white, red, or whatever. It's not about color. It's not about you're a Democrat, you're a Republican. It's about we're representing the

people of El Paso. And when I say representing, it's not let's beautify El Paso right now when a lot of us can't even afford to buy groceries. It is ridiculous what you all are doing. We're not here

for your behalf on whatever you all do in your pockets. And I'm talking about misspending the taxpayers' money. The data centers, you all know that is just to control people, to have vigilance, to

raise the electric, the water, whatever. It is control what you all are doing, and that's evil. It's against God's laws. And if I was you, I would start fearing Him, because don't think He's going to

applause you and say, "Oh, come on in to my kingdom," just as we are here right now in the land. So I believe that many will not vote. They're going to vote you out, because we are fed up that we

constantly come here, many of us, to speak out, and none of you, it goes in through one ear and goes out through the other. So it's time that we take charge and remove you from any office, chair, or

seat that you all are in right now. And we're- Thank you, Ms. Chavez ... not asking about replacement either. You've reached the three minutes. Thank you. Thank you. God bless. That concludes call to

the public. For the record, Representative Acevedo joined the meeting shortly after it convened. Council, per the rules of order, no use of personal cellular devices, nor personal communication should

take place on the day as when the meeting is in session. Once you obtain the floor from the mayor, you will have up to 10 minutes for debate and may speak twice per debatable motion. Please speak into

the microphone and refrain from side conversations while the meeting is in session. And for those of you joining virtually, please make sure your microphones are muted to reduce any background noise.

That brings us to the consent agenda. All matters listed under the consent agenda will be considered by city council to be routine and will be enacted by one motion unless separate discussion is

requested by council members. Prior to the vote, members of the audience may ask questions regarding items on the consent agenda. When the vote has been taken, if an item has not been called out for

separate discussion, the item has been approved. Council may, however, reconsider any item at any time during the meeting. Mayor Pro Tem? Thank you, Ms. Frane. I make a motion to approve the consent

agenda with the following revisions. Page 14, item 26, postpone two weeks per Office of Management and Budget. Page 15, item 27, delete per Economic and International Development. Okay, Representative

Acevedo. Thank you, Mayor. Can I pull item six and seven and take them together as one? Six and seven? Yes, please. Sure. Okay, there's a motion to approve the consent agenda with the revisions as

framed. We have public comment? Yes. Is there a second? Second. Thank you. We do have Ms. Osman. She signed up to speak on item six and seven, but those are being moved to the regular agenda, and she

also signed up for nine, 11, and 12. Number nine is a resolution that the city manager sign a license agreement between the City of El Paso and the El Paso Community Foundation's Borderland Rescue

Fund for storage for approximately 10,000 square feet for storage of pet and personal hygiene products for the library pet pantries. Item 11 is a notation of delinquent hotel occupancy tax report, and

item 12 is a notation of P-Card transactions. Go ahead, Ms. Osman. Your microphone is ready. You have three minutes. Really quick, I'm going to speak on item nine, which is the Border Fund, below the

project, below the pet pantries. I just find it odd that John Bellew is on the board of directors and may be a conflict of interest when he is technically a municipal employee since he is at the

municipal utility. In regards to 11, the hot tax, I find it odd how you all have no problem putting on liens for trash and weed clearing to residential property, but you have still got millions of

dollars that you don't have liens on to the hotel. Now in regards to the P-Card, we've got some expenses. I'm not going to talk about the thousands of dollars in expenses for travel between the city

attorney's office and the city manager's office. Every citizen needs to look through that. But I do have a problem with the fact that there is a $1,250 expense to Fair Data LLC, which if you look up

that company, it is a political consulting group. They do campaign work. Now, I will file a FOIA request. I was already on the phone earlier this morning with the city attorney's office in regards to

what exactly those text messages stated. That detailed information needs to be there because quite frankly, no tax dollars should be used on anything dealing with campaigns, and a recall is also

campaign. I know, I've already spoken to the legal department at the Texas Ethics Commission. So I hope between the Office of Management and Budget and Ms. Trejo's office, they have all the detailed

information in regards to that expenditure, along with the fact that there's $875 to Casa de Norte Community Foundation, which I find strange. It's coming out of tax dollars and out the discretionary

fund. And the details on that, also very vague. It is beyond insulting. The travel expenses, the food, and the catering, all on the public dime. While people are starving in this city, while people

have to line up at the food banks, you all will order catering. You all will culver tax dollars for your own travel. and other expenses without any concern of the suffering of the least of us in this

city, all for your dedication to the elite and the corporate city contractor class. Thank you, Ms. Osman. You've reached the three minutes, Mayor. That concludes public comment on the consent agenda.

Okay, Ms. Prime. I'm going to ask that we keep it down in the chamber so we can have the meeting. Ms. Prime, we have a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda? Yes, the motion was made by

Mayor Pro Tem Chavez, seconded by Representative Maldonado Rocha, and this is to approve the consent agenda with the revisions read into the record. On that motion, call for the votes. I second it.

Let me stop the voting. So the motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Chavez. And seconded by Representative Trajo. Seconded by Representative Boye Trajo. Yes. Let me correct that. On that motion, call for

the votes. End the voting session, and that motion passes unanimously. Okay. Let's take consent agenda item number six and seven. Yes, sir. Item six is a resolution that the city manager or designee

be authorized to terminate the multiple use agreement for construction, maintenance, and operation of public recreational area, Lincoln Park, on the Texas Department of Transportation right-of-way,

originally dated the 8th of August 1974, where the Texas Department of Transportation provided such documents are approved by the city attorney's office as to form and comply with department policies

and procedures. And item seven is a resolution that the city manager or designee be authorized to sign the multiple use agreement for the construction, maintenance, and operation of Lincoln Park, El

Paso's Chicano Park, on the highway right-of-way US 54 with Texas Department of Transportation, provided such documents are approved by the city attorney's office as to form and comply with department

policies and procedures. Okay. Representative Acevedo, is there a motion on this one? Yeah, move to approve. Okay. Is there a second? Second. Okay. Representative Acevedo. Thank you, Mayor. Joaquin

Manley, I was looking through the backup and the red line. Is this something that we're cleaning up because it was such an old agreement? Are there major changes? That's mainly what I wanted to ask.

So, Joaquin Rodriguez with the Capital Improvement Department. Yes, this is basically a cleanup. TxDOT reached out to us, that this agreement was one of the older agreements that they have here, in

the city of El Paso, and statewide they're trying to clean up some of these older MUAs to a newer template format that they have. The only major change is that the parking area outside of the actual

facility used to be both under the city's MUA and under the MACI MUA. That's being removed from the city's MUA, so the MACI organization will be entirely responsible for that parking area outside the

facility. Okay. And so that was something that was kind of already in practice- Correct ... for several years now. So this makes that official? Correct. Okay. And we worked with Pablo at the Parks

Department to ensure that wasn't going to have any impact on park operations. And he confirmed that there would not be, so. Okay. We also verified with TxDOT that this would not interfere with the

existing murals or any efforts for future murals. Okay. And we're still doing the maintenance on there, none of that is changing? Correct. Okay. All right. Thank you so much. Yes, sir. Okay. Ms.

Prime, we have public comment on item six and seven. Yes, we have Ms. Osman. Ms. Osman, this is on item six and seven. Your microphone is ready, ma'am, go ahead. Okay. So I do have a few questions

because this is a little different between what is being rescinded and what's being proposed. So I will take your attention to page three, and in several parts of that. One, the rental fee. If you

start reading that down to where it is fees, down to C, it gives the impression that any rental fee, so car clubs, preachers, whatever they're going to rent, and I'm thinking as the way it's read,

that the facility means the entire park. So those rental fees are only to be used for the way this reads, in my legal professional education knowledge, the way I would read it legally, is that those

fees are only to be used in the park and not utilized in parks and recreation as a whole. No different than like turf spending and so forth. Now in prohibition. There is a prohibition on flammable and

explosive and no peddling. That means sales. Now, peddling is people who move from here to there to sell, which would entail food trucks, which all of the car shows bring in. Car shows also are an

explosive. That means the propane tanks and grills could not be used in the area Should gasoline generators, as per the way this reads, it prohibits all that. Now, if somebody went through the park

during an event and saw that, took photos, and reported it to the state, and I understand why the state has that in there, because of what occurred with the Texas Street Bridge and the fire

underneath, and the damage that was occurred. They don't want that underneath the spaghetti bowl. I understand the purpose of it. So I want to find out, because our city guy there thinks it's not

going to affect anything, but quite frankly, that contract reads as though it would. Now, maybe you all don't have the same legal expertise and have not drawn up legal contracts as much as I have, but

I'm reading that as that is what it is. So how is that going to be rectified? And then the liability, there have been shootings. The state's saying it's on the city, not on them when you have an

event. Thank you, Ms. Osborne. So none of that was properly addressed. You've used the three minutes, ma'am. Thank you. All right, Ms. Prime, we have a motion and a second to approve items number six

and seven. Yes, the motion was made by Representative Acevedo, seconded by Representative Limón, and this is to approve the resolutions on items six and seven. On that motion, call for the vote. End

the voting session. And that motion passes unanimously. Okay, that takes us to item number 19, I believe. Yes, item 19 is a public hearing of an ordinance authorizing the conveyance of real property

owned by the City of El Paso to Double H Contracting, Inc. for the purchase price of $209,228. The property legally described as a portion of Lot 1, Block 5, Continental Industrial Park, an addition

of the City of El Paso, El Paso County, Texas. Representative Limón? Move to approve. Okay, is there a second? Second. Okay. Mary Lou, good morning. Good morning. Good morning, Mayor and Council. Mary

Lou Espinoza with the Real Estate Division for the record. This item is for a property sale agreement for a property located on Yermeland and Diesel, property identification number 220354. This item

was brought to council in September of 2025 where the property was vetted as surplus and approved for its listing. It was listed in accordance with the state local government code for the 30 days on

that multi-listing service. It is 0.5 acres in size, zoned PI, planned industrial. It was listed in October of 2025. The proposed buyer is Double H Contracting. The appraised value on the property is

$207,000. The purchase price is $209,228 plus closing cost. The city did receive two offers, and we are recommending that we sell this property to the highest offer. All right. Questions for Mary Lou

on this item? Okay. Ms. Prime. The motion was made by Representative Limón, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Chavez, and this is to adopt the ordinance on item 19. There's no public comment on that motion.

Call for the vote. End the voting session. And that motion passes unanimously. Okay, Ms. Prime, let's take item number 20, please. Item 20 is a public hearing of an ordinance granting a special permit

to allow for infill development with a reduction to average lot width on the property at 8009 Mitzi Ram Place. Representative Acevedo. Move to approve. Okay. Second. Okay. Good morning. Good morning,

Mayor and Council. Luis Zamora with Planning and Inspections. Item 20, it's a special permit request for a property located at 8009 Mitzi Ram. Here you can see the aerial, south of Titanic. It's

currently vacant. Current zoning is R4 residential. Here's a conceptual plan. Actually, it should be a detailed site plan. So this is binding. So the proposal is to do a duplex on this property. The

request for a special permit is to allow a reduction of the lot width requirement. Currently, R4 requires a 70-foot-wide lot. This property is 50 feet wide, in order to allow for the duplex use. So

the applicant is requesting that reduction of 20 feet for the lot to accommodate the duplex use. They comply with all requirements. They do have parking at the front for parking spaces, two per unit.

By the way, I forgot to mention, this is going through the infill policy, so that's part of the special permit request. Here you can see elevations. It's a single story proposed home or duplex with

16.5 feet in height. So that will kind of be consistent with surrounding properties. So here's a picture of the subject property. Again, it is vacant currently. Surrounding development, everything is

R4 around this property, and it consists of other single-family homes and duplexes as well across the street. The applicant did notify the applicable neighborhood associations at the time of submittal

of the application. Staff did send property notices to property owners within 200 feet as far as back June 5th of this year. And as of today, technically, we have only received two emails in

opposition to the request Here you can see the notice map. So we did notify approximately 40 properties around the area. With this, the staff and the zipline commission recommend approval of the

special primary request, as well as the detailed site development plan included. And this concludes my presentation. Okay. And Representative Rocha. Thank you, Mayor. And thank you. What did you say

the width of the development will be for each duplex? So- Did you say 50 feet? Yes. So right now it's a lot with 50 feet. It's 50 feet wide. The code, for a duplex, requires it to be 70 feet wide. So

the site itself is 50 feet wide. Correct. And you're going to put a duplex in there. So each duplex will be...? I'm not sure how wide each duplex is. I can probably assume probably 20 something each

unit. It seems from the applicant that it's going to be obviously side by side. And then the two letters or emails in opposition, can you tell me why they opposed it? Yeah. So, I think part of the

complaints that we received about the opposition was that apparently there's an issue with the road. Well, not with the road, but with the road being not wide enough. And at this time, apparently

there's been parking on both sides, so there's concern that it will inhibit traffic and especially the safety, like the firetruck or ambulance is going through there because there's parking on both

sides. Mm-hmm. So apparently what staff did was check what happened there. So apparently, back a couple of years ago, before development started in this area, there was a fire lane with no parking

signs. For some reason they got removed. We're not sure what happened. We did check with streets department, and they did go back and make sure that that side of the street, well, one side, was

dedicated as a fire lane, so there was no parking to avoid that issue. Is there going to be parking allowed on the property? Yes. Or are they going to have to have street parking? Technically, anyone

can have on-street parking. This one is proposing four spaces. On the actual property- On the property ... of the development? Yes. So two per each unit. It's the 20 feet wide that I'm... Correct.

Yeah. Okay. Do you know the size of the total of each duplex in square feet? Let me check. I think- 11 ... each one is probably 22. 1120, it says. Yeah, 1,120 per each, to a total of 2,240 square

feet. Thank you. Okay. Any further questions? All right, Ms. Bryan. The motion was made by Representative Acevedo, seconded by Representative Limón, and this is to adopt the ordinance on item 20.

There's no public comment on that motion. Call for the vote. In the voting session. And that motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Okay, Ms. Bryan, let's take item number 21. Item 21 is a public

hearing of an ordinance amending Title 15, Public Services Chapter 15.12, Water and Sewer System, to add certain definitions in Sections 15.12.005 and adding Section 15.12.080, Required Disclosures,

Section 15.12.082, Form of Disclosure, Section 15.12.084, Application/Exclusion, Section 15.12.086, Violations, and Section 15.12.088, Enforcement. Representative Canalys. Thank you, Mayor. Is there a

motion? Oh, I move to approve. Okay. Second. Okay, Representative Canalys. And, yes, this is the return of an item that I brought to the council a few months ago. It has been brought forward in

essentially exactly the same languaging condition as when it was proposed, and so there's no change. And again, this is to regulate specifically what has to be printed on those paper solicitations

that people get at their doors from private companies that either use confusing language or logos impersonating our public utilities in order to try to sell you a product. And so we want to make sure

that these companies are taking the steps they need to disclose that they are not related to any government entity or any public utility, and that they are, in fact, trying to sell you a product, that

the piece of paper you're holding is an advertisement. And I hope it will make a difference in helping to reduce some of the, I think, bad business practices that we see from some of these companies,

where they're telling people that their water might be dangerous, and using that fear to sell them a product that they might not need. Very good. Ms. Bryan, we have public comment on this item? Yes,

Ms. Osman signed up to speak on this item. Go ahead, ma'am. Your microphone is ready. Now, I do appreciate that this item is on here, but it doesn't go far enough. And I state that because I did bring

up this exact issue... Yeah, you can hear me, correct? Yes. Okay. I brought this exact issue up to Christina Montoya, who is, what, public relations for AP Water, during a meeting that AP Water had

During one of our district meetings in regards to... In fact, it was during the same time that I had asked John Balloo whether he had signed the NDA with Meta. So that exact same meeting, I brought

the paperwork. There's two different ones. There's that new one they stick on your mailbox or at your fence, and then there is a larger one that gets mailed to you from Service Lines Warranties of

America. That one is endorsed by El Paso Water. I don't understand how it is they were given permission from the municipality for a third party to sell insurance on your water lines to residents. So

yes, you have that little tag, and they try to be shady, and I called them out too, and I called that number, and I've spoken about that. But there is the one that El Paso Water is endorsing, that the

elderly in this town also are getting bamboozled with. Thinking that because it has El Paso Water Company endorsement, which Christina Montoya verified, and I showed it to John Balloo at that same

meeting, they both confirmed, yes, they have endorsed this and allowed them to use El Paso Water, their logo on here. Why is it this insurance from a third party is being sold and mailed out to

residents? This is a travesty. So it almost seems as though, yeah, the other shady group, you're going to penalize them, but you're still going to allow this shady warranty deal to be pushed by El

Paso Water, a municipality utility. A municipal utility is letting a third-party insurance company... They have access to everybody's address that has water service, and they're sending it out. Why is

nothing being done about this? Because that is harming the citizens in this city. Thank you, Ms. Osman. You've reached the three minutes, ma'am. Okay, Ms. Friem, we have a motion and a second to

approve item number 21. Yes, the motion was made by Representative Canales, seconded by Alternate Mayor Pro Tem Fierro, and this is to adopt the ordinance on item 21. Public comment has been taken.

Call for the vote. End the voting session. And that motion passes unanimously. Okay, Ms. Friem, let's take item number 22. Item 22 is discussion and action to approve a resolution that the City

Council declares that the expenditure of District A discretionary funds in an amount not to exceed $1,000 for the curation, construction, promotion, and/or programming of the El Paso Museum of History

exhibit, Where It Began: Civil Rights and the El Paso Branch of the NAACP, coinciding with the 89th Annual Texas National Association Convention to be held in El Paso, serves the municipal purpose of

enhancing the quality of life of citizens of El Paso through entertainment and education and by fostering community pride and encouraging civic engagement, and that the city manager or designee be

authorized to effectuate budget transfers and execute any contracts and/or related documents necessary to ensure that the funds are properly expended for the municipal purpose. This item was placed by

Representative Canales. Okay. Representative Canales? I move to approve. Second. Okay. Representative Canales. And then I just wanted to extend an invitation as well. The NAACP is having their state

conference here in El Paso coming up from October 1st through October 3rd. I think it will be a wonderful, large, successful convention here downtown, and grateful to the El Paso Museum of History,

who was interested in popping up an exhibit about our local branch of the NAACP, which was the first in Texas. And so, I welcome the council and the public to come enjoy the exhibit. I think there's

some excellent information that will be there, and it is launching this week coinciding with the conference, and will run for a month. And so hopefully you have the opportunity to come in and learn a

little bit about the NAACP branch here locally and all of the things that they've accomplished here in El Paso. Very good. This is one of many state conventions we're having, but we're looking forward

to hosting them this week here in El Paso. NAACP, it's going to be great. Ms. Friem? Yes, the motion was made by Representative Canales, seconded by Representative Limón, and this is to approve the

resolution on item 22. On that motion, call for the vote. End the voting session. And that motion passes unanimously. Okay, Ms. Friem, let's take item number 23, please. Item 23 is discussion and

action on the request that the Director of Purchasing and Strategic Sourcing be authorized to issue purchase orders for Solicitation 2027-0028, Toll System Maintenance to Revenue Markets, Inc., for a

term of one year and an estimated amount of $250,000. Okay, is there- Move. Second. All right. Ms. Friem, call for the vote. I'm sorry, who made the motion? Motion was made by Alternate Mayor Pro Tem

Fierro, seconded by Representative Limón, and this is to approve item number 23. On that motion, call for the vote. End the voting session. And that motion passes unanimously. Okay, let's take item

number 24, please. Item 24 is discussion and action on the request that the director of purchasing and strategic sourcing be authorized to issue purchase orders for solicitation 2026-0130, Biblioteca

to Biblioteca LLC, the sole authorized distributor of self-checks, title tape gates, and book checks, for the term of three years and an estimated amount of $241,700.53. Okay. Move to approve. Okay,

there's a motion. Is there a second? Second. And there's a second. Ms. Prime. Yes, the motion was made by Representative Limón, seconded by Representative Boyer Trejo, and this is to approve item

number 24. On that motion, call for the vote. End the voting session. And that motion passes unanimously. Okay, Ms. Prime, let's take number 25, and good luck reading this one. Item 25 is discussion

and action on the award of solicitation 2026-0421, armored car services to Night Eyes Protective Services, for a term of three years and an estimated amount of $3,869,712. And this will cover armor

car services for international bridges, libraries, office of the comptroller, mass transit, Sun Metro, parks and recreation, and public health, tax office, zoo, and environmental services. Move to

approve. Second. All right. There's a motion, second. Very good, Ms. Prime. Call for the vote. Representative Rocha. Thank you, Mayor. And this is just a clarification. This was a name change, is that

correct? Good morning. Aaron Garcia with the purchasing and strategic sourcing. No, this was a replacement- Replacement ... contract. Yes. Thank you. Appreciate it. Okay. Any further questions? Okay.

Ms. Prime. Yes, the motion was made by Representative Limón, seconded by Representative Boyer Trejo. And this is to award the solicitation on item 25. On that motion, call for the vote. Mayor Pro Tem

Chavez? Yes. Thank you. End the voting session. And that motion passes unanimously. Okay, Ms. Prime, that takes us to item number 28. That's correct, Mayor. Item number 28 is discussion and action on

a motion by City Council to grant an exception from the prohibition of sale of alcoholic beverages within 300 feet of a public or private school and daycare, requested by Mojo's Good Vibes LLC for the

property located at 12275 Pellicano. Is there- Good morning. Good morning. Is there a motion? Motion. Is there a second? Second. Okay. Good morning, Mayor and Council. Morning. Good to see you all

this morning. Raul Garcia, Planning and Inspections. This item is a request to waive the prohibition of alcohol sales within 300 feet of a public school and daycare. So just a quick recap in terms of

the provisions that govern these types of requests. These types of requests are mandated by the state, by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, which Section 109 does enable cities to enact ordinances

prohibiting the sales within certain distances of protected uses. Within that same provision, they stipulate how distances are measured, as well as provide for methods for municipalities to provide

exceptions and/or waivers to these types of requests. Our current zoning ordinance essentially mirrors the state requirements, in terms of distance and the protection from distance from protected

uses. In terms of the waivers and exceptions, there are two ways that municipalities or that in this municipality, these prohibitions can be waived. One of them is if the business does obtain a letter

of non-opposition from the affected user, and that is an administrative process. So if that letter is obtained, then the prohibition can be waived. In cases where that doesn't happen, then the

alternative is to provide a direct request to council, requesting that waiver and/or exception. As you noticed, there is no recommendation from staff, there's no city planning commission, no direct

notice to neighbors. All that is in line with stipulations spelled out in the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code. So this is just an aerial of the subject property. On the left is the proposed bar. It's

within a small shopping center that also includes a convenience store. And across the street from Bob Hope, is the existing preschool and daycare. Bob Hope is essentially 90 foot wide. In line with

the code, the distance is measured property line to property line. So obviously the 90 feet is less than the 300, necessitating this request. And that does conclude my presentation. Okay.

Representative Canales Thank you, Mayor. I just have a couple of questions. And I know that we may not have this information because this isn't a zoning application or anything like that. The intended

use of the property, do we know if it's a 51% establishment? From my understanding, yes. A full-blown bar. Okay. Yeah, it was represented, I think, as a bar and grill. So that could range from

anything from something that's a 51% establishment to something like an Applebee's or a restaurant of that sort. So your understanding is that this is a bar that will serve food, but otherwise is a

51% establishment? Correct. The license requested does include late hours, beer, and mixed beverages. Okay. And then, the property across the street, am I correct in saying that's the Paso del Norte

Children's Development Center? I believe so, sir, yes. And that opened this year, correct? Correct. Okay. Just recently. Just recently opened. And I know we had a public commenter earlier speak about

the distance to Americas High School. It appears to be more than 300 feet. Is that correct? That is correct, sir. Okay, so the school district doesn't come into play there. The only establishment that

they would've needed the letter from is the children's development center across the street. Yes, sir. Correct. Okay. Those are all my questions. Thank you. Okay. Representative Rocha. Thank you,

Mayor. Those were actually a couple of questions that I had. Do you know how far it is to Americas High School from this location, by any chance? We didn't exactly measure that. I can tell you if you

measure this establishment door to door to the school, which is going down to the intersection with Pelicano- Right ... going around, it's about 400 feet. Okay. I don't know if that helps. That

actually helps a lot. And what is the nearest... So the company that, or I guess the school is the one that provided the letter of opposition? So what happened in this case, the applicant did request

the letter from the school- Mm-hmm ... and the school refused to provide it. Prior to it being this request, there was another establishment that was there that was operating as a 51% business. Is

that correct? That is correct, ma'am. From our research since 2013, at least. Do you know if Paso del Norte had access or was the owner of this property prior to... Or I know that they built within

the last couple- Right ... of years. How long have they been the owner of the property? Do you know? I don't have that information, ma'am. Okay. But they built with a 51% already across the street. Is

that correct? So there was some overlap, especially when you look at the previous license- Mm-hmm ... when it was active and when construction happened and was completed. There is overlap there. There

is overlap between what was there prior- Correct ... as the bar prior to building the school. Correct. Is that right? Yes, ma'am. Yes. Okay. Do you know if there were any instances of any type of

police interactions or calls or noise ordinance complaints on that? So we didn't look specifically at police, but we did do a quick check on code enforcement. Okay. And there was really minimal to

none activity going back to 2013. Okay. I believe there was one a few years ago, and that was pretty much all we could identify. In the 13 years that that prior establishment was there? Correct. Okay.

Thank you. In terms of code enforcement, yes. Those are all the questions I have, Mayor. Thank you. Representative Fiero. Thank you, Mayor. Mayor, I believe the property owners are here, and the

business owners are here to speak on this item. I hope you all signed in for public comment. My question was in regards to, I was going to ask the same question about law enforcement visiting the

previous location that had been there for 15 years. I had spoken to the potential business owner, and he showed no visits from the police department or complaints from the police department over that

time span. Just another question, and you may or may not know this, but aren't Applebee's listed as 51%- Mm-hmm ... bars also? Somebody brought up Applebee's as an example, but I believe their liquor

license says 51%. Yeah. That's something we would have to look into, sir. Okay. That specific, see what type of alcohol license they obtain. Sure. Okay. Now, Ms. Prime, did they sign up for public

comment? No. I just have Mr. Osmond. Okay. Mayor, can they- Sure ... the potential business owner speak on the item? Sure. Would council on the want to suspend the rules of order to allow additional

public comment on item 28? Yeah. Point of order, Mayor. You sent out a memo a few weeks ago saying that you weren't allowing that anymore, so I'm trying to understand that. He's not yielding his time.

He's asking the guy does he want to speak. It's probably, it's still the same thing. It would take a motion to suspend the rules. All right. It- Motion to suspend. Okay. Is there a second? Second.

Okay. There's a motion and a second to suspend the rules of order to allow additional public comment on item 28. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? Opposed. No. I'll take a roll call. Mayor

Pro Tem Chavez. Aye. Acevedo. No. Rocha. Aye. Trejo. Aye. Nino. Aye. Pierro. Aye. Limon. No. Canales. Aye. And the motion passes. Okay. Sir, will you please state your name for the record? And you'll

have three minutes. Hi. Good morning, Mr. Mayor and Council. Good morning. My name is Shalen Herbai. Uh We built this property back in 2006. So my brother and I have owned that strip center, and we

have, in our 20 years experience, never had any sort of issue with any of our tenants, including the bar. The owner of the bar's been doing business, I think, for 14 years without any incident

whatsoever. The PDN Children's did come and build approximately a year ago. I did reach out to Mr. Velarde from PDN, requesting the letter of no objection. He said he would bring it to his board. He

sent me a one-liner email back saying, "Sorry, board's decided not to give you the no letter of objection." I did ask him why, and he said their concern was parking and trash. I can understand that as

a knee-jerk reaction if they were even in our same parking lot, even on the same side of the road. Bob Hope is a four-lane road that as a patron of a bar, no one's going to park across the street,

number one. Number two, I did speak with the previous bar owner, and never once did any of their patrons park across the street and then make the effort to come to the bar. We've never had an issue

with trash. I have a company that on a weekly basis, does clean the property. So I'm not sure exactly where their objection initially came from, other than just the sort of, "Hey, I don't want a bar."

I'm a small business owner here in El Paso. I've been doing business here for 30 years. We've been blessed. The city's been great to us. We've done projects and partnered with the city on other

projects such as Nino Aguilera Project, which is a small 43-unit apartment complex that is devoted and solely used for low income and very low income. And we've had that now for about 17 years, so

this is even predating some of the bar. So once we realized we were not getting this letter, my next option at that time was to come before you and ask your favor and get the waiver exception for the

prohibition of the sale of alcohol. Does that C Store sell beer and wine? Do you know? Yes, sir. It does. It does? In the same strip center? In the same strip center. That was the first business that

was established there. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, Ms. Brown, we have public comment on this item. Yes, Ms. Osmond. Go ahead, ma'am. Your microphone is ready. You're back on mute, ma'am. Star

six, please. Okay, your microphone is ready. So just for clarification, any grocery store or liquor store that you can go in and purchase alcohol, you cannot consume on premises, in the parking lot,

none of that. So it is relevant if there's a store that sells alcohol. I find it very hypocritical that you all would make a big old deal about DUIs and trying to prevent that, and then go ahead and

try to approve this exception. Now, maybe it's not the parking. Maybe it's just drunk drivers leaving that parking lot with children across the street. Maybe there's no police interaction in the

building, but how there been any DUIs from patrons? Maybe that should have been considered. The hypocrisy on the fact that you all will give exceptions, exemptions like this, you all will allow

festivals with drinking, and then try to claim that you care about the community in regards to reducing DUIs. That quite frankly is you all want as many drunks out on the road as possible because it

is taxation by citation. I understand that. City makes money off of it, but people get harmed. I understand he has this business, but there's nobody else he could've rented it to? A full-on just

restaurant? If there was already a bar there, then why was the school allowed to open up? None of this makes any logical planning sense. No permanent sense. But you all cannot give an exception and

then go and tell the public you care about DUI, especially when you're going to allow them across the street from children. Because what time does this bar open? Is there going to be day drinking?

Midday drinking? Fine, the kids will be gone later in the evening, but what time does it open? You all aren't really asking the real questions. It's like, "Let's try to ask questions to give the

exemption." And that's the problem. Maybe because he's already done business with the city, as he stated. You all are really good about helping your vendors. Thank you, Ms. Osmond. You've reached the

three minutes. Okay, Ms. Prime, no further public comment. Let's call for the vote, please. Yes, the motion was made by Alternate Mayor Pro Tem Fierro, seconded by Representative Canales, and this is

to approve that action on item 28. On that motion, call for the vote. In the voting session, and that motion fails 3-5. Representatives Rocha, Fierro, Canales voting aye. Representatives Chavez,

Acevedo, Puerto, Trejo, Nino, and Limon voting nay. The motion fails. Okay, Ms. Prime, let's take item number 29, please. And I believe items 29 through 32 are related, Mayor. Can we take them

together? Yes, if council wishes. Item 29 is discussion and action on a resolution that the City Council hereby accepts a State Infrastructure Bank Loan agreement in its substantially final form in

order to secure receipt of funds in the amount of $2,547,000 to be fully repaid over no more than 25 years, per SIB Loan number S2026-015-11 for Buffalo Soldier Reconstruction and Brown Street Shared

Use Path. Item 30 is a resolution that the City Council hereby accepts the State Infrastructure Bank SIB Loan agreement in its substantially final form in order to secure receipt of funds in the

amount of $1,854,000 to be fully repaid over no more than 25 years per SIB Loan number S2026003-06 Downtown Bicycle Improvements and McCray Boulevard Shared Use Path. Item 31 is that City Council

approval granted in the resolution of July 1st, 2024 to allocate funds from capital asset sales to fund the City of El Paso's local match obligation for Buffalo Soldier Reconstruction and Brown Street

Shared Use Path projects is rescinded upon the City of El Paso's receipt of State Infrastructure Bank Loan funds. And item 32 is a resolution that City Council approval granted in the resolution of

July 1st, 2024 to allocate funds from capital asset sales to fund City of El Paso's local match obligation for the Downtown Bicycle Improvements and McCray Boulevard Shared Use Path project is

rescinded upon City of El Paso's receipt of State Infrastructure Bank Loan funds. Okay. Representative Canales, is there a motion? I move to approve. Second. Okay. Representative Canales. Thank you,

Mayor. I might save you the presentation, Joaquin, we'll see. There's a lot of words here to say that these projects aren't changing, just for the public's understanding. So on these projects, there

is a requirement for local match dollars, and we were previously going to fund those with the sale of capital assets, proceeds from essentially selling city properties, and are instead funding the

match requirement through financing from the State Infrastructure Bank that's now available to us, and that's all. It's a lot of words just to say that those two changes are happening to these two

projects. Joaquin, you mind walking us through one of the presentations? I've got one presentation for all of them, so- Let's do it ... don't mind doing it. Next slide, please. IT. So some background,

as Representative Canales said, this is nothing new. These projects are not changing. April 29th, council approved the use of SIB Loans to fund our city match and local contribution for federally

funded transportation projects. That group of loan covers projects from the FY25 to 28 Transportation Improvement program that gets approved by the Transportation Policy Board on a rolling four-year

cycle. These loan applications were approved by the Transportation Commission April 30th of this year, and this resolution is to approve the SIB Loan agreement. This is the last step in the process.

Next slide, please. So there are two agreements associated, are being put before you for approval today. The first is for Downtown Bicycle Improvements and the McCray Boulevard Shared Use Path. That's

a total of about 1.8 million. The second agreement is for Buffalo Soldier and the Brown Street Shared Use Paths. So a total of two SIB Loans to be executed and a total of $4,401,000. The grouping of

the projects into one loan agreement gives us a little bit of flexibility. If there are savings on one project, we can apply them towards the other project included on that loan agreement, only within

the projects listed on that agreement. Next slide, please. This is just a little bit of background on executed loans to date. We've executed loans so far for Sean Haggerty, Railroad, Sun Valley, Playa

Drain, Knights to Midway, Sunland Park Shared Use Path, and the Traffic Management Center upgrades. The total amount of executed SIB Loans to date is 22,186,000. With this additional group, we are

looking at an additional 4.4 million, and the only pending SIB Loan that council has already approved our application for is the Safe Streets and Roads For All grant. We recently received the federal

funding agreement for that grant a couple of weeks ago, so we're working with the SIB Bank to expedite the execution of that loan agreement. It's already been approved by the Transportation

Commission. They were just waiting on that federal funding agreement to be able to move forward. So the total for all of our City of El Paso SIB Loans for the FY 24 to 28 TIP will be $29,087,000. We

are working on the next batch of projects, which would be in the 26 to 30 TIP. We're working on bringing that before you all for approval, hopefully sometime in the spring Next slide, please. The term

and interest rate on these loans are similar to what we've received in the past 25 years, 3.56% interest. We are asking today for approval to execute the civil loan agreements and take any other

necessary actions required to implement those funds. Okay. Ms. Ryan, we have public comment on this item? Yes. These items. Ms. Osman, this is for items 29, 30, 31, and 32. Your microphone is ready.

You're back on mute, ma'am. Star six, please. You're still muted, ma'am. Star six. Go ahead. Your microphone is ready. I understand it's all four items. The only thing is, what this is, it's a debt

swap. Okay? Let's be very clear. All debt, whether it's bond, certificates of obligation, this state loan, it's all paid for by tax dollars, the majority from residential property taxes in this city.

As per the budget, our city is pretty over-leveraged, and if you all don't keep up with the global market, quite frankly, other countries want to start calling the bond debt. And government debt is

sold, not just in the United States, municipal, state, federal, sold to other countries, not just our own retirement. And other countries want to call some of those bonds because of what's going on,

on our federal level. They're pulling out the gold out of our country. Aside from that, they're trying to swap from using the dollar, the petrodollar, getting away from that. At some point, our bonds

are going to be worthless. Our debt is going to be way too expensive, because it already is. And you can say, "Hey, it's from the state." Doesn't matter. It's still taxpayers, residential taxpayers,

because you give all the corporations the tax incentives and the tax breaks, and Meta, 45 years. We won't see much of anything from that. So, that burden is on the least of us to pay this debt. That's

what this is. It's a loan, and that's a debt. I don't know how many of you have gotten a loan on a car, on a house, and so forth. You shouldn't be getting debt you cannot afford. Now, I don't mind how

it was before. Hey, you spend what you got. But our city gets too comfortable about spending what they don't have. And I sat there, and I listened one day to that young man in front of you talk with

other colleagues in his department about future projects they would like if they had the money. It's not your money. This isn't a Monopoly board. These are people's lives, people's income, and

people's struggle. Debt you are putting on them. Hope you remember that each time you make these debt swaps. Live within your budget. Stop having those lattes, right? No more avocado toast. You all

should live by that same motto, but you don't. Ms. Osman, thank you. You've reached the three minutes. Okay. Ms. Ryan, please call for the vote on items number 29 through 32. Yes. The motion was made

by Representative Canales, seconded by Alternate Mayor Pro Tem Fierro, and this is to approve the resolutions on items 29, 30, 31, and 32. On that motion, call for the vote. End the voting session,

and that motion passes unanimously. Okay. Let's take item number 33, please. Item 33 is discussion and action authorizing the submission of a grant application to the Meta Platforms, Inc., Futures For

Everyone Fund, requesting $4 million in grant funds with no match required from the City of El Paso for the El Paso Climate Action Implementation Program. Okay. Is there a motion to approve this item?

Motion to approve. Second. Okay. Fernando. Hi. Good morning. Good morning, Mayor and Council. Fernando Verjano with Strategic and Legislative Affairs. So, I have a presentation. IT, please. There you

go. So, this is a discussion and action item for you all to hopefully approve the submission of a grant proposal for the Meta's Futures For Everyone Fund up to $4 million with no match required by the

City of El Paso. About the Futures For Everyone Fund, a brief overview about that fund. We learned from Meta two weeks ago that this opportunity comes under this fund, but it's actually a continuation

of their community grants program that it's been running all throughout the US for the last 15 years in communities where they have data centers. So, the focus for these community grants or this

opportunity that we're presenting today, it's community enhancement, economic vitality, education, and sustainability. A very important part of the application process of the terms of the guidelines

provided by Meta is that any awarded project needs to be implemented within a year from the signing of the contract. And- Each entity can apply for one project. And you can see there the eligible

entities within El Paso County. So this program is open for El Paso County entities, and it's nonprofits, municipalities, schools, and other public charities. What the city has used to select what

we're proposing here, that you'll see later, is the criteria that we use is that the project or projects that we're proposing are aligned with the Climate Action Plan and with the Safe Routes to

School plan. And those projects impact on sustainability, safety, and community connections. Again, there is no match required by the city, and the expected benefits are citywide. How we don't know if

the $4 million that we're asking for is going to be awarded. We've based that ask in historical evaluation of this community grants program from Meta. But the scope of work that we put together is a

modular one. In case that we don't get the $4 million, we get less, we can scale down or scale up the programs that we are suggesting. And getting into the scope of work, we have a three-prong scope

of work. The first part is the installation of solar lights to impact on public safety and public safety infrastructure. We have a budget of $2 million for that part of the projects that will help us

install 235 or so lights across the city, around 30 lights per district. And the benefits will be impacting safety and supporting the Vision Zero and what we'll be presenting later in this

presentation, but we'll have avoided life cycle expenditures versus traditional grid-connected lights. The second part of the scope is the installation of water smart systems at parks. We've all heard

the concern of the community about water and water usage. And our water consumption and water cost are significant in many of our parks. That's why we're asking for $1 million for upgrade irrigation

infrastructure, making it more efficient. That way we'll be saving a lot of water, but also we'll have operational savings throughout the life cycle of those systems. You can see here a tentative

proposed sites across the city. We've coordinated with parks with this list, but again, I wanted to highlight the tentative award that you see there, and this is something that we'll revisit once we

get the award, hopefully, and we'll see how many of these parks, or if any other park would need to be added to the list. And finally, the last portion of the scope is the implementation of Vision

Zero to increase safety under the Safe Routes to School program, and we are asking for $1 million to implement quick build projects across the city close to schools that have been identified by CID

and the team. Again, you see a tentative list of proposed sites. We've had comments from some of you regarding that list. I know CID is working on updating the list in the upcoming months. So

hopefully when we get the award in February, March of 2027, we'll have an updated list. But the criteria used for the selection of schools is based on crashes and facilities nearby, socioeconomic

indicators, and also walkability around those schools. And that's the presentation for you all to consider to let us submit that application for the Meta grant opportunity. Okay. Thank you, Fernando.

Representative Trejo. Thank you, Mayor. Hello, Fernando. I have a question on this grant program. So this is different than what you all have brought to council previously, right? Can you explain more

on that? Yes, ma'am. Yes. This is part or the continuation of the community grants program that I mentioned before. What we brought to you all the last time, two weeks ago, was considerations about a

tentative community benefits agreement or a community agreement. That's different. Our understanding from our conversations with Meta is that the $1 billion that we've all heard and read about,

they're working on how they're going to be able to put that in motion across the US. So this is just the first opportunity to engage with a grant opportunity from Meta. That unlocking of that $1

billion, when they have more information, they'll share it with us, but right now, we're just taking advantage of this opportunity that I forgot to mention is going to be an annual program. So this is

the first opening for El Paso, and then we are hoping, and we wait for following years to be able to apply as well. Okay. And so what makes this different is that they're now giving municipalities the

opportunity to apply as well? Is that one of the things that is making this different? Yeah, you're right. In previous years, this opportunity was open for school districts. Now they're opening it to

other nonprofits, municipalities, and the only difference is that the school districts are able to submit more than one application. Okay. And then on page six, where you have the parks, you'd

mentioned that this is tentative. Is the list being included in the application, or is this something that is being left out? We'll be including the list in the application, so we show that we really

have done our due diligence, and we know where we want to have some impact tentatively. But again, we're going to make clear that it is a tentative list of sites. Okay. And that also goes for the list

of schools? Yes, ma'am. One of the things that I had mentioned is if we can take a look at the schools and the need there, if we could look at equity within all districts, the top schools that need

those enhancements with safe routes to school. And so I just wanted to put it on the record if we can take a look at that and make it more equitable throughout the city. Let's see. And those are the

only questions I have. Thank you, Fernando. Thank you. Representative Limón? Thank you, Mayor. Fernando, who is preparing the grant applications? Who's preparing them? So the grant application is

being prepared by the grants team under strategic and legislative affairs, and we are coordinating with them as part of the team. Okay. Let's see. And those are the only questions I have. Thank you,

Fernando. Sorry. I threw my voice across the room. No. Fernando, again on page seven or slide seven, there is an overwhelming focus on the El Paso Independent School District, and I really want to

make sure that the Ysleta Independent School District is clearly identified. I shared with you a couple of schools here that have incredibly low enrollment, and yet we have other areas with really

high enrollments within the city. So, I hope that we're brought up to date as the grant is coming along, rather than at the very last minute, "Oh, this is what was selected." I really want to advocate

for the Ysleta Independent School District. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. We'll take that into consideration, ma'am. Thank you. Representative Niño? Thank you, Mayor. And I know I've had a lot of

conversations with you, Fernando, and also Joaquin, in regards to the Safe Routes to School program. I know that I've requested different traffic studies through all the school areas within my

district. Recently, I just got a response of a street, Ralph Seitzinger, that has four schools within my district that a lot of residents have shared concerns about, and I know that that study did

identify the need of putting some sort of traffic calming measures just because individuals continuously speed through that area. I know that staff is going to start working on an update on the Safe

Routes to School study that took place in 2022-23. So I'm grateful for the work that that's happening because I echo the sentiment of some of the council members ensuring that whenever we're

advocating, we're advocating for all of the communities. I understand that there's different needs all across the district. We represent different individuals, but safety is a priority for all of us.

So I want to ensure that. Also make that on the record, ensuring that we do revisit that study. I know this is a tentative proposed site, but again, there's a need all across the city, and I want to

ensure that that's highlighted as well. So thank you guys for all of your work. Thank you. Representative Acevedo? Thank you, Mayor. Fernando, thanks for the information. I am kind of wondering, you

said that this is going to be the first year and there's going to be more every year, and I don't think we have this answered, or at least the last time I asked about a week and a half ago, we didn't

have this answer, but it's a billion dollars. There's about 30 to 35 data centers across the US. So just simple math was bringing that down to about 30 million for each community. And so I guess, is

this $1 billion just a one-time thing, or is the $1 billion carried over several years? So we're trying to figure out some of those details. Even on this grant, there may be some additional

information that we may have before we actually submit it. I am meeting with Ms. Zimmerman this week. This was the first time, from our understanding, that governments were allowed to apply for this

phase of work. And so as we learn more, we'll make sure that we are providing you with that information. And I also understand that we're still working on the second part, as Representative Trejo

talked about, that is outside of this bucket of dollars. And so as soon as we get that information, we'll be sure to share that with you. And I think what would be helpful, when I met with Meta about

a week and a half ago, they said that there was a committee that decides how this funding is awarded. If we could get that to be more transparent so the public knows the people that are making the

decisions for our community, that would be really helpful. Okay. It appears to be a third-party organization, so we'll make sure you have that information. It's called Change X. Yeah. And I think we

just need to be very accountable to the community so they know how this decision was made for different things. I'm also wondering, why did we go to $4 million? How did we choose that number? So we

looked at the historical awards, Representative, and those go from $100,000 to $2 million, $2.5 million. So we went a little bit over, probably being aggressive so we can get more dollars for the

community. Okay. And then on slide four, the selection criteria, this is something that Meta did, or this is the criteria that we developed? No, this is something that we did. So we presented to you

all two weeks ago talking about the implementation of the climate plan, probably with the larger opportunity in mind. So we used that same framework and taking advantage also of the connection with

the safe routes to school and safety and connectivity, so this is internal criteria. Okay. And I know that this was thrown on us from one week to the next, and you've been working on this for the last

two weeks from the moment that it came on. I think we had a council meeting when it came on, and then you got to this presentation in two weeks. One important thing that is also vital in this process

is how can we have community engagement on this? I know the deadline is something that Meta put on us, and it's not really on us in that sense. But if we can get Meta to get community feedback, that

would be really helpful as they are preparing to do these eight community meetings. I know that they haven't been announced yet as far as dates and times, but they should be coming very soon. So I'm

hopeful that at that point, there's some feedback from the community on what the city is doing, because it's a lot of money. It's also important projects for people. And some of my colleagues are

saying, "Well, why is Ysleta not here?" Right? And I think that might come up with the community. And so I know this was put together in a really fast way to meet the deadline, but that community

engagement is still really important in this process. So I'm hopeful that Meta can take that on, or I don't know if you have any other thoughts, Ms. Mack. I think from our perspective, we very much

tried to lean on was adopted plans by this body. And so as you look at the climate action plan with the input that we got from the community, we're pulling from that plan, and the safe routes to

school plan was also actually just very recently presented to you. So I think the community is pretty clear about what that criteria is, and we also have a mobility coalition team that is also looking

at some of these projects. And so I think from us, being able to show projects that have already been supported by the community that fall within plans that you all have already taken a look at,

knowing that we want to make sure there's some refresh. If this is an annual bucket that's available to us and we know that date, it gives us the opportunity to start now. But I would strongly suggest

we try to stick with some of the overarching plans that we wouldn't otherwise have funding for, that the community has already said is very important. I think that you all have been very committed to

things climate and safety. And so we're really looking at those alignments across the organization to make sure that those things that touch the community more frequently and be able to have as many

sites as possible were things that we thought were really low-hanging fruit in terms of being able to turn things around in a year. I think we'll have a lot of opportunities to develop this, in

conjunction with your offices, to really see what that looks like. But I really want to make sure as we're thinking about this, there's some framing around getting done the things that community

continue to say are really important in terms of traffic, safety, and lighting. I appreciate that response. And so I think it would be safe to say to one of my constituents that there were a lot of

opportunities for engagement throughout the climate action plan getting adopted, and now we are making that action plan a reality, and finding these funding sources and going more into possibilities

that maybe did not exist before. Okay. So I think that message just needs to be out there with the community so they have an understanding. And I appreciate your answer to that. Okay. Representative

Chavez. Thank you, Mayor, and thank you Fernando and Joaquin for the presentation and for putting this together. I'd also just like to advocate for slide seven to continue the discussion. During the

presentation, the Vision Zero presentation from a couple of weeks ago, Joaquin, there were some projects within my district that were qualified but not selected. So perhaps those could also be

integrated into this list. I know that Canutillo High School is not included in this list, so I'd like to probably see it there. I am collaborating with TXDOT to do some improvements on the frontage

road. They're going to be building a sidewalk to connect EPCC and Canutillo, so maybe perhaps there could be something that could partner with that project as well. I'm not sure, but that's worth

looking into for sure. And potentially another high school. But I'll follow up with an email to make sure that District 1 is represented in this list. Thank you. And Fernando, just to summarize,

there's no match from the city on this? Yes. You're right. No match. And I think Ms. Mack just touched on it, but we can apply on an annual basis for this particular grant? This program has been open

under a different name for 15 years, so we're expecting that that's going to continue annually. Yes. Okay. And selfishly, I think the amount of investment that they're making into the data center, we

should get the bulk of the funding. So that's just me speaking out loud. I would rather see a lot more than this come to our community, but we'll start there. But I know this came to you real quick,

too, so- Yeah ... you had to put something together real quick. Yeah. This has been a team effort- Yeah ... with CID, Parks, and the grants team. Yeah. From the time it was announced to right now, you

had to hustle up, so- Yes ... it was busy. Okay. Representative Rocha. Thank you, Mayor, and sorry I didn't push it before. Fernando, I have a quick question, and it may be for Ms. Mack also. The

funding that was going to come that was allocated to match at this point, right? Because now it's no longer... Oh, I'm sorry. There was supposed to be a match? Or this is not a match? So we're adding

in additional projects to the same types of projects- Perfect ... that you've seen- Okay ... using a new funding source. Perfect. Okay. So I think you saw some of the work around Safe Routes to

School. Mm-hmm. I believe that's actually funded through the city. We also have some grants- That is kind of in the CIP loan, right? So that's another bucket- Okay ... and another set of projects.

Perfect. And so these ordinarily would not have been funded as you're seeing right now in the lighting piece. Yeah. That was through our Prop C. Mm-hmm. And so that's also coming through capital

dollars. Okay, great. So this would be the first time I think we're infusing dollars that don't require a match- Perfect ... and don't have any burden on taxpayers, well, except maintenance. Thank

you. Thank you, Ms. Mack. Thanks, Fernando. Appreciate it. Okay. And Ms. Frank, we have public comment on this item. Yes, Ms. Osmond. Go ahead, ma'am. Your microphone is ready. Can you hear me? Yes.

Okay. I beg to differ with Fernando. Mind you, I've been speaking at city council, and even there in chambers long before the first time he did. In fact, I was in chambers the very first time he spoke

at city council. This does not agree with the Climate Action Plan. See, the citizens voted for climate action. Why? Because of everything going on with BOTA. Because of how asthma was proliferating

due to JOB being by McKellician Canyon. What we dealt with, with ASARCO. What we are still currently dealing with, with Freeport-McMoRan that used to be Phelps Dodge, and the refineries from the time

it was Chevron to now Marathon Petroleum. Our community and our leaders have allowed our community to repeatedly be poisoned. Meta, it's another poisoning of our community. So it doesn't abide by the

action plan because Meta never got approval from the public. They didn't even get approval through the action committee when it was approved. Omar could tell you that. Now, I understand. You know

what? There have been grants handed to nonprofits to silence them. Me and Omar had a little chat about that. And that's what this is. Take $4 million when you handed them three times as much, $12.8

million out of the COVID fund. So you're going to be handed a pence back. We've got to beg for that. Although you all just handed them everything to poison our community, steal our resources. Yeah, I

noticed the 915 trees not part of this after I mentioned the last time. Why? Because those trees aren't helping with Marathon. People are still getting poisoned. And that's what you think $4 million

is going to cover up the harm that's being done to this community? That is shameful. Thinking that just because-- If you look at Meta push on social media, they don't even allow comments. That's how

little they want to engage with the community. And yet we're supposed to beg them for $4 million when we handed them the keys to the kingdom. This isn't the action plan. That part is a lie. Thank you,

Ms. Osmond. You've reached the three minutes, ma'am. Okay, Ms. Frank, call for the vote on item number 33, please. Yes, the motion was made by Representative Boya Trejo, seconded by Alternate Mayor

Pro Tem Fierro, and this is to authorize the submission of the grant application on item 33. On that motion, call for the vote in the voting session, and that motion passes unanimously. Okay, Ms.

Frank, I believe that brings us to the end of the meeting. That is correct. Make a motion to adjourn. Okay, there's a motion and a second? Okay. There's a motion and a second to adjourn- Thank you,

Council ... the regular city council meeting. All in favor? Anyone opposed? The regular city council meeting for Tuesday, September 29th, 2026 is adjourned at 12:00 PM. Thank you, Council.