San Angelo City Council 10-18-22

[0:00:00] welcome to the city council meeting it is officially called to order as usual we will start we will start with our chaplain prayer and pledges and it looks like we have Ralph Dawkins here to lead us in both thank you good morning let us pray father thank you for the opportunity to invoke prayer and your word into this Gathering of City officials leaders and concerned citizens Lord you declare that your word says that we should acknowledge you in all of our ways and you would direct our paths you said that if we Delight ourselves in you that you would give us the desires of our heart I pray father that you give these servant leaders knowledge wisdom and courage to deal with the agenda items today that will take care of the business and any problems that are on the agenda and issues facing our city and its people we ask you bless them mightily today come into this room and cause them to have a productive meeting lead each and every one of them to make fruitful contributions to deal with every agenda item and enable them O Lord to think and to strategize in ways that will help them achieve great results I pray that you will give them Godly wisdom directions and instructions on how to lead and manage and to operate the city in all of its departments lastly I pray O Lord for the chief of police the mayor her staff the assistants and the city Mac City Council Members the city manager and every person and Department that is instrumental in leading our city pray that you will bring our city economic Prosperity may you draw and attract to our city industry businesses and corporations that will produce jobs and revenue and help us to grow and progress in Jesus name I pray amen let us say to Pledge of Allegiance of the United States of America

[0:02:05] the Republic for indivisible honor the textures thank you our first Proclamation this morning is for the San Angelo amateur radio club so those of you who are here in the audience for that please come forward welcome you want to come back around me so everyone can see your faces they don't need to see your back they want to see your faces huh the San Angelo amateur radio club which traces its Origins to amateur radio Pioneers in 1922 is proud to be one of the oldest in Texas and certainly is the oldest radio club in the Concho Valley the original membership was largely formed by curious and enthusiastic people intrigued with the possibilities of these emerging Technologies and their potential use worldwide on Thanksgiving Day 1923 members of the newly formed San Angelo amateur radio club transmitted what is believed to be the first ever high school football game broadcast on radio in Texas and quite possibly the first in the nation a matchup between San Angelo high school and their opponent Brownwood High School the grams cup the games coverage included play-by-play updates to approx approximately 100 homes in San Angelo

[0:04:09] that had a radio receiving set a separate two-way amateur radio broadcast was made in Morse code to an operator in Brownwood sharing real-time updates in that City unfortunately Brownwood won the game 7-0 locally and Statewide the San Angelo amateur radio club call sign whiskey five Quebec x-ray continues to make an impact in the radio television broadcast Industries radio retail Commerce and Public Safety radio and provides backup communication assistance during city and county emergencies since their founding and throughout the Great Depression in World War II through present day the club has provided local support including Disaster Response storm spotting Civic event support civil defense stem education and of course promotion of the amateur radio Hobby San Angelo's amateur radio enthusiasts look hundreds of hours each year in support of our community citizens and their needs therefore I Brenda Gunter mayor of the sen mayor of San Angelo Texas on behalf of the city council do hereby Proclaim October 2022 as a 100th anniversary of the San Angelo amateur radio club and congratulate all its members for their contributions to our community community thank you [Applause] my name is Bob Heiser and I would just like to thank the mayor in the consul for for remembering us and honoring us thank you [Applause] thank you

[0:06:38] no last man foreign I know we have folks from the United Way here so would you please come forward at least we have ape no two persons two okay good good that's all right yes all is good Community the mission of the United Way of the Concho Valley is to provide the means by which a cross section of our community may join in a community-wide effort to provide and deliver Health and Human Services programs which address current Community needs in a collective and collaborative manner in 2021 more than 65 000 local Concho Valley residents benefited from the United Way of the Concho Valley contributions through social service agencies that provide emergency food and shelter day and after school programs for children Mental Health Services substance use treatment and Prevention Services for victims of child abuse and domestic violence and many other social services the objective of the United Way of the Concho Valley is to assist in the expansion or the development of service programs promote preventive activities and Foster cooperation among local state and National agencies serving the community the United Way is ready to assist all individuals with whatever needs may arise in the city of San Angelo city of San Angelo supports the United Way of the Concho Valley and we ask that you do the same therefore I Brenda Gunter mayor of the city of San Angelo

[0:08:40] on behalf of the city council do hereby recognize and applaud United Way of the Concho Valley for its achievement and positive determination to make a difference in our community thank you so much for what you do would you like to speak yes I'm going to sign this okay my name is Ashley Ammons and I'm the president and CEO of the United Way and I just want to start by saying thank you the city has been such an incredible supporter for the 97 years that United Way has been in existence and it is absolutely impossible for us to do what we do as well as our Community Partners do without the support of the city and the residents not only do the city of San Angelo individuals who live here even the folks who work here support the United Way Through volunteerism they serve on our boards they serve as loaned Executives they serve on our community impact panels our committees and their donors and they put their hard-earned dollars back into this community to hopefully provide a hand up to those 65 000 people who needed hope last year so we are super appreciative we are grateful we are thankful and we just are just so blessed to live in such a wonderful city thank you [Applause] our next Proclamation is to honor Daniel valenzuela's 10th anniversary So Daniel if you will come down good news is we got rain the bad news

[0:10:42] the allergies have really kicked in and that means I've taken an allergy pill so my tongue's kind of thick and heavy today so apologies for not being able to be as clearly spoken as I sometimes are October 10th 2022 marks Daniel valenzuela's 10th anniversary as our city manager this is rare by today's standards and represents a significant accomplishment more than anything it shows his commitment to our community in December 2019 Daniel surpassed Harold Dominguez as the longest serving Hispanic city manager of San Angelo in January 2022 Daniel surpassed Tom Adams as the third longest serving city manager in the history of San Angelo just behind Stephen Brown who served 13 years in HD for dick Howard who served 23 years with the average service length for 30 for a city manager in San Angelo around six years Daniel is not far from becoming our second longest serving city manager since joining the city he has been at the Forefront of efforts to secure more water improve streets and other infrastructure streamline development processes make pay more competitive for city employees and increase the number of First Responders therefore I Brenda Gunter mayor of San Angelo Texas on behalf of the city council do hereby recognize the 10th anniversary of San Angelo city manager Daniel Valenzuela and thank him for his hard work and dedication to our community and organization for the past 10 years foreign [Applause] thank you so much I'm so humbled by this recognition first and foremost I'd like to thank God I'd like to give him praise honor and glory for the opportunity he's given me the blessing to serve this wonderful

[0:12:43] community I also want to thank all the council members that have had the honor of working with from the group that appointed me back in October of 2012 to the spine group that we have right now that I've worked with that's been just an extreme honor I also want to thank the incredible staff that I have here at the city of San Angelo from the directors to the first line workers everyone does such an incredible job everyone's so dedicated to the work that they do and that to me is very very special I'd be remiss and not thanking my my beautiful wife Susannah who's left Branch she has an interview here at nine o'clock on the radio and she's here still here to support me so sweetheart thank you for your support as well when I first arrived in San Angelo I had been city manager in this very small community for four years then I moved up to a beer community and I was there for four years so when I arrived here people were asking me Daniel is this your stepping stone you're going to do another four years and move on to the next bigger community I'm here to tell you once you live here in San Angelo you love this community San Angelo is no one stepping stone I love this place and as the mayor said hopefully I can move up to the number third spot maybe in the second spot maybe the first spot who knows it depends on how long the city council will have me so but again thank you all much love and respect to this community we love what we do thank you and God bless foreign wait a minute

[0:15:13] we will now go into the public comment portion of our agenda issues or concerns not on the regular agenda may be raised by the public at this time citizens should speak from the podium address all comments to the Diaz Begin by stating their name and address for single member district number and limit their remarks to less than three minutes are there individuals in the audience who would like to come forward and offer public comment please come forward Lane White District Six mayor Gunner you just ceremoniously recognize city manager Daniel Valenzuela on behalf of this city council so it seems appropriate that I should also take this opportunity to publicly recognize Daniel Valenzuela on my own behalf as you know mayor Gunner the gigantic Hotel Cactus sign a top Leaf pflueger's 14-story Cactus Hotel in Downtown San Angelo has been a disgraceful embarrassment to our entire city since 2005. when over half of the letters were removed and not subsequently replaced as you also know since January of this year of aggressively attempted to initiate private and or public renovation of that iconic rooftop sign in recent months I've forced several City officials to admit in writing that the rooftop sign has been in violation of City Sign code ordinances for many years mayor Gunner you and Lee Pfluger are arguably the two most highly acclaimed Advocates of historical preservation and renovation

[0:17:15] in San Angelo yet for the last 17 years neither of you have initiated effective action to restore the unsightly rooftop sign as I stated in my last public comments here for many months City officials have exhibited a pattern of unethical and or illegal activities in order to prevent legally mandated sign code enforcement against Leith Pflueger City officials have repeatedly informed me the code violation citations will not be issued to leave Pflueger while also inform me that City officials have absolutely no obligation whatsoever to enforce city ordinances if they choose not to do so when I public publicly expose this corrupt activity at a city council meeting two months ago Daniel Valenzuela immediately felt the need to defiantly thin defend the actions of planning and development services director John James and his wife City attorney Teresa James regarding this matter the corrupt activity now appears to have occurred at the specific direction of Daniel Valenzuela in much the same way a number of other unethical and or illegal actions also reportedly directed by Daniel Valenzuela were publicly exposed in a very recent city of San Angelo Development Corporation meeting that direction by Daniel Valenzuela two two months ago Daniel Valenzuela to unlawfully directed police officers to remove me from City Hall while I was peacefully attempting to file a formal written complaint against the city government related to sign code enforcement that direction by Daniel Valenzuela immediately immediately led to my unlawful arrest mayor Gunner you and this city council are mandated to immediately initiate a comprehensive credible investigation regarding my official corruption allegations against Daniel Valenzuela Teresa James and John James and also regarding PRI precisely

[0:19:18] why Daniel Valenzuela chose to use his governmental authority to illegally have me forcibly removed from City Hall by police on August 18th three minutes are up yeah thank you so much further public comment Brian Groves District Six Communications manager for the city just wanted to remind everyone that we have a charter Review Committee town hall meeting tonight at City Hall at 6 PM in East mezzing and just wanted to invite the public to attend other public comment good morning Spencer Matthews smd5 I know the train has left the station already but I'd like to add a viewpoint on the vote for life that's coming up before doing so let me state that I'm neither Republican or Democrat call myself a naturalist don't worry I'm not going to go streaking through the halls or anything like that I'm just I I'm personally convicted to align with God creation and the natural process of birth and death and so I am pro-life I stay in my personal convictions to Simply say that I've I that I'm my following statement is not based on morals but on process our founding fathers gave us the Constitution a represent a representative Republic the arguments at the time of our founding were largely between Federalist and Anti-Federalists or rather who should have this the power of the states or the federal government the conclusion was the federal government was essential in protecting our natural god-given rights and that the states would get all the rest and that is why the federal the Supreme Court overthrew Roe versus Wade the correct constitutional decision before the this decision this chamber

[0:21:21] heard many arguments to go against what was considered federal law of the land to make San Angelo unique and morals not in conviction of the pulpit but by mob decision my concern is in the process less so now because the states have the power and Texas will be pro-life so we'll probably align however this is more of a statement of conviction that the FED passes powers to the states just like the states passes Powers down to the local levels my concern is that ignoring this process for emotion for and for it we're making ourselves very exposed to expensive lawsuits that are simply our city simply cannot afford we also do not want the set precedent for other cities to do the same with their own agendas like transhumanism which is knocking on our door and will be the agenda for the next several decades so as this vote approaches I know even though I stand for life I oppose the process and will vote no and I hope that others will do the same further public comment seeing none we will move into our consent agenda I will start with Larry do you have an item from this consent agenda that you would like to pull there's a couple of us who would like to have g polled g you got it Aaron same Lucy Harry Tom nothing nipple Tommy no ma'am okay may I have a motion for approval of the consent agenda for everything except item G please yes um that move that motion is made by Tommy yeah I have a second second by Karen any public comment concerning any of the agenda items with the exception of item G

[0:23:26] saying none we'll check a vote all those in favor say aye with none opposed the consent agenda is passed with the exception of item G did I get that right with the exception of item G item G is considered ratifying Cosa DC board approval of a of a resolution authorizing a project under chapters 501 and 505 of the Texas local government code to utilize sales and use tax funds in an amount not to exceed seventy five thousand dollars to Rosenberger Site Solutions LLC for project related to business enterprises that create or retain primary jobs subject to city council approval and authorizing the board president to negotiate and execute all necessary documents Michael Dane you're on thank you good morning mayor and Council Michael Dean acting economic development director uh special thanks to the chamber folks who put this deal together for us uh I'll I'm going to introduce Michael and let him give you an overview of the project I will give a little bit of a spoiler and point out that that our incentive is dramatically below their cost to relocate to San Angelo and with that Michael would you go over the project for us Michael Looney VP of Economic Development San Angelo Chamber of Commerce thanks for giving me a few minutes to present these slides on Rosenberger Rosenberger is a germany-based company that develops and sells and distributes Electronics gear Electronics equipment mostly for the Telecommunications and Automotive aircraft and defense Industries they have a multitude of different divisions grossenberger gayambeha in freedolf in Germany is the headquarters they have a U.S division that was formed in 1996 that is Rosenberger North Rosenberger North America

[0:25:28] rosenberger's Site Solutions is a division of Rosenberger North America but they're all contained under the Rosenberger group I want you to pronounce I do too okay when it says division of Rosenberg or pronounce the next name please approval will be based upon your ability to pronounce this and we have a second third and fourth and fifth Rosenberger Hall frequency technique I've been talking to him a lot so um they're an advanced manufacturer they design sell distribute globally their products are used in just about every kind of telecommunications vertical in the world um we were very uh enthusiastic to have been introduced to them we were in competition with another city fairly close by City And we stuck with them we worked on this project for about six months and they are very enthusiastic about their arrival in San Angelo they are they employ 6 200 employees globally they have a one billion dollar in Revenue cash flow stream they will employ 25 to 30 people in San Angelo they're going to start with 20 move into 25 and then to 30. uh everything from accounting Logistics and technicians we project that they will have about a 1 million thirty nine thousand dollar a year salary uh for all their employees once they're settled in San Angelo economic input of 7.5 million annually and we have already begun discussions with them about prospective expansion within San Angelo they wanted to get the first division set up first and then we'll move on from there uh this is a slide screen from their website they're a uh this is a slide screen for their telecommunications related to defense this is some of the image of some of the

[0:27:30] product that they will be producing here in San Angelo and um this is what the inside of their one of their fabrication facilities in Hungary looks like but they've told us that this is what the San Angelo site will look like they have at least done a long-term lease on a building on tractor Trail and so the inside of the tractor Trail Building looks very similar to this image that you see on the screen this is an image of the verticals that they make the equipment for and they don't build the exact Tower but they build all the gear that goes on the tower there is a video for about two minutes that shows a little bit about the company and how their applications are done if you wanted to see that we could play it if not let's see if there's some questions first all right all right the screen says it's about a million dollar annual salary impact yes so that's a combination of the salaries for the 25 people so all right you said that it goes from 20 to 25 to 30. so when you're looking at the million dollars 39 585 is that for 20. it's for 20. yes yeah that we programmed it for the 20. yep okay and what's the time frame for growth to the 25 to the 30. uh within a year so that would be pretty rapid it is um and they will only be bringing in one person from out of state and that is he's actually from Germany and he is their director of engineering but everyone else will be will be local hires so when we started the process uh we we knew we were in pretty Fierce competitions so what we did was we got very close to Dr Bill kitch at Angelo State University and Howard College because of their really relatively newly formed uh electrical technician program and we started to push those resources to Rosenberger to let them know that we've got the feedstock for all the

[0:29:34] different employee types that they would need and that made a really big impression in fact it probably ended up turning their minds to San Angelo because we proved that we've got that capability to give them the employees that they need that conversation then began to evolve into a slightly higher number than the 20 based on their market share so this is actually a relocation from Akron Pennsylvania to San Angelo so um what was their connection to fine San Angelo we still don't really know we've become uh I would say close to their comptroller and to their Vice President of Operations in the United States we know that they wanted to be somewhere near Austin but they found that that Marketplace was very compressed from a Workforce standpoint and from an available facility standpoint because it's only about a 20 000 square foot facility it's not a huge mega facility and so they just started working further and further out and um and that's how that's how they they came into the the Concho Valley big country area and so yeah well I know at one point um you thought this deal was dead and it came back alive again I know that you were concerned that we had lost them at one point in time so I appreciate your continuing to stick with and stay in contact and bring the actual project to a vote well I appreciate that and I also appreciate you helping us in the summer when we were looking for a facility and we found one that was in Tommy's District but the zoning would have needed to be changed and that was going to be very very difficult to do so Tommy and I had several conversations about whether that could be done and uh fortunately for us for San Angelo and for our economy uh they became they got re-interested in a building that they'd looked at initially

[0:31:35] so um so here we are we're going to be making a more formal announcement this afternoon hey Brian Groves are you in the house oh here we go they sent us an animation of what the applications will be used for internet is here foreign [Music] thank you [Music] I would add that Rosenberger is also very interested in apprenticeships and that is one of the reasons why we've created that link between Angelo State Engineering and this company foreign [Music] quality of the animation really tells a lot about the company as well they have

[0:33:39] an entire library of this type of material that they've sent to us foreign [Music] foreign are there any other questions about Rosenberger whole frequency technique uh Lucy hey hey did you tell us how long this company had been around um they're a pretty young company they've been around since 1958. um what did I do great thank you 1958's when they were formed there's no further questions Larry you have a question uh it's not so much a question as a clarification I think the public is interested is understand how this quid pro quo works there's 75 000 over three years a lot of folks think it's hey if the company decides to pull out we're left holding the bag on it and it's it's Performance Based it's as they

[0:35:43] go in other words we don't hand them a 75 000 check the day they employ their first person yeah that's a that's a really great question uh councilman because uh there's a kind of a myth that that when we recruit a technical company or an energy company manufacturer we we write them a check that's not the case it is all totally Performance Based so they have to hire a certain number of jobs in this case 20 create full-time equivalent jobs at a certain salary for a certain period of time minimum three years once they've achieved those Milestones they submit proof of that to co-cdc Cosa DC examines it researches it for veracity and then we'll we'll make that contribution to the company uh the same thing with their with their moving costs too A lot of the bulk of the 75 is is to relocate um extremely delicate equipment halfway across the country and so um that was something that was uh pretty dear to them pretty important to them and uh and it uh it's something that they'll be reimbursed for so the reimbursement for moving the equipment is part of the seventy five thousand dollars yes ma'am it surely is Sean mine here with that further questions if not may I have a motion for approval Lucy moves to approve who was seconded Gary is second by Harry any public comment Anna Bartosh uh single member district one uh just I don't know if anybody does any research on I assume this is 5G and Beyond and has anybody done research on the health effects of the 5G and Beyond

[0:37:48] I know it affects the animals we are an animal that certainly does affect us in some way so I don't know if there's any of you have done research on on that and what effects might be experienced as a result of all this 5G thank you specifically this go ahead Tom I'm assuming these are just the fittings they have nothing to do with the cellular coverage can you repeat that sir these are just the fittings and the connections and the production of those has nothing to do with the type of the coverage that would be out there that's correct yeah it's just it's just again it's a manufacturing operation 5G no they're just providing equipment for multiple levels of communication including cable I I could have presented for an hour on the depth of the markets that they penetrate globally it's it's it's it's everything uh use your imaginations on the Austin connection um Automotive aircraft and research is all part of their package so no matter what they do would have even gone back to the early days of cable very much so very much so yeah so um okay that's all I have all right so you want to leave you want to stand there until we vote or would you like to sit down we'll stand right here that there's a motionless second we've had public comment all those in favor of approving this opportunity please say aye aye with none opposed motion passes seven zero okay we'll go get another one thank you all good job that completes our consent agenda we will now move into the regular agenda the regular agenda's comments regarding items on the regular agenda may be made by the public when each item is discussed as outlined above applicants applicants proponents and appellants are exempt from the time limit above and instead must limit their remarks to less than five minutes today we'll start with

[0:39:50] a presentation impossible action regarding San Angelo accessibility issues and we have Kim Henry and Andrea souffle souffle here to present today would you speak into the microphone we can't hear you good morning my name is Kim Henry and I'm with District three and she's passing out a couple of forms that I wanted to provide you before I get started all right um again I'm Kim Henry and I want to first thank you for your time and attention when it comes to talking about accessibility in San Angelo I previously conducted a public comment and was uh I'm very grateful to be able to put on the agenda but something that I want to kind of start with is one who we are a little bit about ourselves a little more um so myself I'm a licensed social worker and I focus on accessibility and really inclusion for everybody I live in district one and um I'm a advocate for Mobility so why are we here we're here because our goal is really to ensure that every citizen visitor and newcomer has the access and motivation to participate in every program service and opportunity that San Angelo has to offer however people do not participate in things downtown in the community of San Angelo anywhere they don't shop they don't eat they don't go out because of accessibility issues we're here to demonstrate today that these concerns are important but also provide you an action plan not just a problem but a solution so some things I would like for you to keep in mind today is that for someone who's legally blind it could take up to three or four people just for

[0:41:51] them to be able to go eat at a restaurant downtown or anywhere again in San Angelo one person has to get the person who's legally blind out of the car and the other one would have to go find a parking spot somewhere it take this weekend when I was at the river stage I watched five people helped an elderly gentleman down the steps at the river stage to get to his seat families here have actually also saved a lot of money for accessible vehicles to allow wheelchair access us and they're not even able to use it because there's either not enough accessible parking spots or the law enforcement is not held accountable so if someone even were elected right now or if one of you were to become limited Mobility you would actually have a difficult time getting to your seat today because of the way that the city council and the stream is set up so our Mobility is temporary and I really just want to want you to keep that in mind but what I do know is that we can do better San Angelo has the capacity not to just set the standard and meet it but actually be Texas most accessible City we could build a ramp all the way up to the cactus if we wanted to but would it be accessible would it really be usable and would it be something that everyone would want to use we have to stop sending our own people to the basement to use the restroom or to the back door just so they can come into a building we cannot I mean I want you to consider how you would feel if you were told to use the back door which is probably locked anyways so going to the next slide this is what we've done so far it's a very brief but essentially we've talked to a lot of people throughout the city Advocates people city employees so forth and so on but I wanted to provide a timeline for you and before we specifically talk a little bit more about San Angelo I want to provide the definition of the Ada the American with Disabilities Act of 1990. it prohibits it prohibits the discrimination and guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everybody else and that includes Employments the ability to purchase goods and services and of course participate in our state and local government programs and Services I provided a definition here of what the Ada defines disability has for your review if you would like this slide are commonly referenced Ada

[0:43:54] standards and regulations specifically we're focused on Title II because that's what the city is responsible for is falling within Title II and it mandates that the designation of an ADA coordinator for cities with over 50 employees which we have as well as Public Notices and an establishment of grievance procedure which I'll cover if you look at your packet you see that this slide is actually broken up a little bit more but what are your requirements as a city first is to designate an actual employee um also known as the Ada coordinator not someone who might handle the Ada but someone who's focused and dedicated to helping the public identify somebody to answer questions to to make sure that we're in compliance to protect the city and to investigate any complaints the city is also required to make a public notice and not just something on the city website page but something that's accessible to everyone so we know who to interact when we have accessibility concerns and that should be continuously updated the grievance procedures which is the third thing listed here also should be a formal outline process we don't really have one if there's a concern who do I call um calling one person he may coordinate some things but there's again nobody designated to to handle any grievance or concerns the last two self-evaluation and transition plans so these are broken out because it does take a lot the self-evaluation I don't think San Angelo's ever done one I found did not find one on record and it was supposed to be completed by 1992 which goes into the transition plan which I brought up last time is that the transition plan has been updated since 1993 which is when the law was passed saying we need a transition plan so a self-evaluation is an evaluation of the city and where we're at with accessibility and the transition plan identifies any barriers that we have and how we're going to address those very barriers I wanted to provide you I know the city council and every a lot of people are concerned about the economy when it comes to San Angelo and money um people with disabilities have a huge impact on the economy specifically I've provided some stats down here about Tom Green County I know we're just the city

[0:45:57] of San Angelo but how many people within the county use our services or are employed in the city of San Angelo and I want you to keep in mind that of all employees people with a disability actually report a higher work quality and have a higher rate of retention studies even show that people with disabilities take fewer absence days and they're more likely to stay on the job longer than non-disabled workers so they contribute to our society so where are we at when it comes to accessibility in the city I created this to kind of give a snapshot of where we are in comparative to other cities um we have the populations of course and the Ada coordinator if you look at your chart we actually have an update Abilene does now have an acting Ada coordinator and a city citizens advisory committee and right now we have again an acting coordinator so no one officially designated to take care of ADA compliance which puts the city at a lot of risk and of course makes accessibility very difficult within the city of San Angelo you we could take time to review this but I want to keep within time limits we're not necessarily behind everybody else but we're not alone I would say but we are definitely behind and we can definitely set a standard for others you'll need to speak into the microphone if you could if you're going to make comments please it shows it we can set a standard for cities our size which is an exciting option and we know since downtown is a priority we wanted to share this specifically this chart here is a chart you see the black squares are parking lots and the blue squares are accessible parking spots some of them not in the best area or not actually really accessible because there's no ramp nearby or the the street is not well kept so I'm going to turn it over to Andrea and she's going to point out some things we went through downtown I went through downtown and took some photos this first one is of the Social Security admin building which is new to downtown

[0:48:01] however the ramps that are available are on the very corner there are not any accessible parking spots in front of the building the closest parking spots in the parking garage because they're not accessible the the parking garage has a sign up on it that says not to enter so the closest tickets for Social Security personnel only it's not for the public to use I think that's what the sign is indicating it's for Social Security employees which would you would hope would also be for people coming in to that building to use so not just to employees but people because people apply for this disability yeah in the SSI building yeah yes the closest parking spots are about half a block away um behind the library there's only four spots right there and those are usually utilized for the library this is in front of egg Myers which is a largely tourist attraction but a lot of local people shop at egg Myers I know I do but this is the condition of the sidewalk uh facing okay and then this is right in front of their sidewalk I have actually tripped on these Pavements on these pavers before and then this is what I found when I was there the other day taking photos which had not been cleaned up which is definitely a trip Hazard for anyone across the street at um confetti Concho confetti there's an accessible parking space which is great however the sidewalk ramp is to the right and you'll have to travel behind your car into oncoming traffic in order to get to the sidewalk ramp

[0:50:05] now this is fun um I've never been to city hall or the Murphy performance center because I'm not able to walk up the steps so when I really tried to see how I would get into or anybody um with mobile difficulty would be able to get into city hall or the Murphy performance center I was met by a very constricting and confusing signage so the first um sign that I encountered was actually in between City Hall and the old library which the planning department is in right now there are two handicap spots or accessible spots right there there's also a sign there that says accessibility to the left of the building okay so then I encountered this picture that's on the far right and it says it says accessible entrance [Music] um around the building so then you go to the west side of the building so on the west side of the building there are two accessible spots but then that sign says accessible entrance to the right which means you have to go back to the front of the building so then I'm like I don't know which I don't know which door to enter we've also had comments from other people in our advocacy group saying that they've had to enter through a back door and it was locked so if you're um into independent living such as I am I'm not necessarily with other people I would not be able to walk around the front of the building to get the door unlocked however um there were two people so one person had to stay there in their chair and they which makes them very vulnerable to any kind of attack or robbery or I'm not

[0:52:10] saying it'll happen but it makes them really vulnerable so then they had to wait till their person got inside got somebody to unlock the door went downstairs and then they kind of had to enter like a second-class citizen through the back door through the basement and then go up an elevator it's just very involved now this is the area that's um behind the Fellowship Church by the new ramp that was built and this is on the river level and so I found one accessible spot there however there was this um in the middle picture there was this orange metal thing so hopefully you can fit whatever device you're walking with or rolling with through there the pavers are very um messed up so that creates a trip Hazard then the incline or decline of the ramp is quite steep as you can see there and there and then there are two tracks of what I'm guessing is an old train of some sort like for our kids a kitty train but these are if you have a cane or if you are have sight issues or you're in a walker or anything on Wheels this is a major trip Hazard right there this is the map of downtown the black areas are parking lots which are wonderful but none of them except the one right here and the one along Mrs Hattie's parking lot have accessible parking the temporary spots that the churches put out are very helpful they usually do that on Sunday mornings actually the Catholic Church there has

[0:54:13] has them in pots with flower pots has about four of them there so they're quite aware that they are in need of more spots for their congregates um and it's wonderful that they provide that but um it just shows the lack of accessibility downtown and then this was great I found this it's right across the street from here there's an accessible this is setting the example this is what we should be doing along all of our Parks is um there's an accessible space with a ramp and the picnic bench the picnic table is on a concrete slab but the thing is the concrete slab extends out to the sidewalk which along our Rio Concho the river um those picnic benches and the the benches on their own and even the swing they're on concrete slabs but there's no this grass in between the concrete slab and the sidewalk so that creates accessibility issues but this one also has space right here for a wheelchair to wheel right up to the table so it's a great spot so we're not just here of course to talk about either parking spots or you know the events or the programs or services that the government provides that everyone should be able to participate in but we're here again to provide action plan and these are our main goals because what do we need to do we have a strategic list of goals essentially to get San Angelo moving in the right direction we understand this is going to be a long process I do not expect to see a lot of change immediately but this is the steps that we recommend taking first establishing and endorsing a mayor's committee on people living with disabilities if you look in your packet I provided a example of the Fort Worth meeting agenda for their committee and if they Support Compliance efforts they

[0:56:16] are Disability Advocates people living with disabilities and of course key City personnel and we would also like to request that we create this committee and allow for quarterly updates on the city council agenda we feel it's very important that this committee be involved in the hiring process of an ADA coordinator and also participate or have representation at certain commissions like the Planning Commission but you see here they talk about things like accessibility the Community Education they provide reports it's extremely important number two here is that we would like to request that city council and key City personnel I'll receive a free 90-minute accessibility simulation at the next training day that you may have presented by our team to show on essentially what it's like to live with accessibility concerns or disabilities in San Angelo the next goal here is our step would be to hire a certified Ada coordinator I've attended the Ada coordinator certification training for the first half and there's a certification training program we don't just want someone hired in the position that we would like that's you know a person in the community we want someone yes local but someone that has completed this training and again our committee take part in the hiring process I provided some more information on your packet of what specifically the Ada coordinator is responsible for but primarily they need to be hired to also participate in the developments and implementation of the self-evaluation and transition plan number four is to publish an RFQ we were told that Kimberly horn may just be the person doing our transition plan and we would like to request that there actually be a published RFQ so people can make bids and we can find someone who is very knowledgeable and has expertise specifically on Ada transition plans and self-evaluations number five is to implement an accessibility and Facilities request form I hope later today you do review this packet and when you go back and look at how we compare to other cities we do not have anything that someone can go into and say hey this is you know I noticed this is a problem not necessarily a complaint every time but hey um there I need an ASL interpreter for Here We I don't know if we've even had one ever at a city council meeting ASL

[0:58:18] stands for adult sign language and so this is an example from Wichita Falls where they have this form online and you know it wouldn't just come straight to city council that's something that our committee could review before it goes to the Ada coordinator um and college stations uh number six this is an agenda that you have in your packet from when I attended the Ada certification coordinator certification training um and I highly recommend and we would like key City personnel to attend the next Ada Symposium which it's uh three days and it's in Kansas City so it's live so you can be there in Focus um but it is the first step in really becoming an ADA coordinator and not necessarily meaning all of us here need to be certified but to I mean it's going to give you what you need to know to understand and address accessibility effectively the last two numbers seven and eight um on your packet is very small uh it looks like it's not a lot of content but these are two huge recommendations and they're going to be the biggest project to tackle essentially um you know we've never again done a self-evaluation from what I can find and we're starting from scratch so we're expecting anywhere from six to 24 months just to be able to process this but keep in mind that the the Ada whatever your motivations are if you're motivated just because you care about people if you're motivated by money if you're motivated by following the Law whatever the case may be maybe someone in your family is living with a disability the Ada it's to protect everybody and it's so we can all enjoy if what San Angelo has to offer um you know what we're really asking for today is for city council to a lot time on the executive agenda for us to explore and discuss these things further and talk about the action plan because I believe within the next 30 days we can definitely have an official committee that's ready to walk or roll with this through the Journey with the city and so we're asking essentially to get a vote again to be on the executive agenda and to endorse a committee to drive this forward last slide these are some resources that I highly recommend you're reviewing as well I feel like it's your duties and responsibilities leading the city you'll

[1:00:21] have the links sent to you later today I'm pending further questions thank you are there questions from city council members okay thank you we've got a lot of work to do a lot of work to do it's kind I've heard the word embarrassing used a few times about things in the city of San Angelo whether it's a certain population or a program or a sign regardless um it's embarrassing that I have to have a meeting at my office which is actually at the economic development center downtown the business Factory and someone attended who was using a wheelchair and they had challenges getting in that building so um that's heartbreaking that I'm finding somewhere else to have a meeting to try to support people with disabilities is there not a ramp into the building there's a ramp but the ramp at the corner was flooded because of the city street and the other ramp which is by the back door which you have to have a key to even access is has a huge lip that you would I mean it was difficult for her to get over the ramp and her mother had to help her and so and not only that the sidewalk's tiny so you have to literally do like a huge I mean no no it was a struggle it's very short and narrow and you can't make that turn into it it's difficult to make that turn in a wheelchair also the other thing I wanted to add was we have ADA compliance right in things that we build right but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's Ada accessible so please keep that in mind it's it's just the the least amount of effort that needs to be done where you don't have to get fined or called up by the doj but it doesn't mean that it's really accessible and I think that that's something that a lot of us don't realize okay Tom just some quick then just number one we are already accessible you can come at

[1:02:23] the back and roll up and come around so that comment there I just want everybody know that we are actually in compliance here okay number two are you taking this to County people and federal and private individuals I looked at a lot of the properties down here that you have listed their private property all right I looked at some stuff here it's Federal and it's not city and then some of those buildings are County buildings so are you taking this same platform and presentation to those people too I can see us dealing with the city part but I don't want us being held accountable and saying well this is well that's private property I know there are buildings you know and so this one I have a 90 year old mother and if I holler it's in a stroller in a wheelchair so I get it I see those things but I understand those things come in time but not their entire life but I want to make sure you get the best coverage for what you're doing here is that are you also taking this to the county are you also taking it to some of the federal buildings around here so that's a great question so we I've started working on other avenues like the county and through Federal I even write federal grants so I understand what some of our funding goes to and what the requirements are for that um a key point of that is again we don't have an ADA coordinator so when I go to ask some of these buildings who is responsible for this I've had debate on who's responsible for this piece of parking or this parking lot or this building people don't even know the answer to that and so I would love for the entire world to hear what we're trying to say and they're going to eventually but if they don't even know what building they're responsible for or they don't know what their services are responsible for or programs you could have a private building but if there is a city function that's in that building the city is still responsible and so they need to have a role in that but again not having someone designated and focused on ADA compliance it's kind of just up in the air so we can't even direct people to take action right now that's a good question thank you I just wanted to make sure we were Fair on the coverage oh yes I agree and this isn't just something that this thing right and wait until somebody else

[1:04:26] does something but usually people that wait until someone else does something that's when the department of justice decides to come down and do it for them and I definitely don't want that to happen here in the city of San Angelo and we have a lot of resources here we have a lot of people of course um but yes I'm definitely taking other routes to make sure that the coverage is fully there because everyone's responsible yes sir the questions Larry I need to point out that this isn't by design that people don't correct the situations what it is is we don't think about it because unless it's our problem it's not a problem having been a caregiver for many years I've experienced the tiny bathrooms and the places you can't get up except to go out in the street and drive them around or the the blockage of a lift this morning I came in and I saw a parking space that was designated for handicap it also had a curbside pickup sign there when there's so many events that happen here how many people living with disabilities even come to the chamber luncheon like today right which talks about the city and so we're trying to make it more accessible and more comfortable comfortable as well as motivating for people to participate um because you're right it's you do see a lot of things that happen and it is essentially a lack of action um taken on part so yes thank you it's also an economic issue too and we talk heads in beds and those heads and beds of people with disabilities are important to our economic interests and as we've noticed this is a major medical center here people come from counties around to come in and they need to have services that are proper for them and accessible to different functions whether it's restaurants whether it's a

[1:06:30] sporting event or whatever we need to do everything we can because it's dollars in our pocket right and and that's a good point um 20 or 18 of the tourism Revenue that San Angelo generates 20 18 almost 20 almost a fifth comes from medical tourism which is people coming outside of the city of San Angelo coming to San Angelo to get medical care which ironically maybe people living with a disability as well or have limited Mobility right and so um again that's a very good point thank you any further questions all right at this point I want to thank you for your presentation you did a lot of work a lot of effort and put a lot into this and I think most of us have gained some information from this I'm not sure we're ready to take any possible action but we will put together a game plan and it I'm not sure what the time frame will be but we understand it's important we understand the impact on the community and people with disabilities so we will develop a strategy and a plan who do I talk to you to check in on that you would check with Daniel Valenzuela okay look at um I definitely do recommend that we sit down work together develop a plan something that we can bring back to city council with a recommendation and uh I think that's the the starting point and that we can get the ball rolling to make sure that we're definitely complying and doing what we should be doing so um let's let's work together let's get together and I'll get my Essential staff as well and we'll come back with that recommendation thank you we greatly appreciate that thank you again thank you very much Item B is the first reading and public hearing of an ordinance for z22-19 a request to rezone property from the single family residential zoning District to the neighborhood commercial zoning District being 0.435 Acres located at 1901 junior junior street mayor mayor I hate to interrupt but I think we have some individuals who would like to make public comment on the last

[1:08:32] item John if you'll take your seats are there individuals who would like to come forward we didn't ask for public comment because we didn't have a motion on the floor but if you have like to offer some public comment we'd love to hear it my name is Dalton Allen and I live in Tommy Hebert's District I have a daughter that was in horrific car wreck and most of you all know her and she is in a wheelchair I want to tell you that we have encountered many problems over the years here in San Angelo Murphy Performance Hall I love to go to things and take her but there's lots of things I make a point of going to the box office on the day of the event and saying remember we're coming I have tickets be sure the doors open they've never had it open one time not once I've always said to go upstairs leave her downstairs I've had trouble with parking I paid well you could imagine this it was 38 000 for the fan and 37 000 have it converted at a really nice car for that and then she can't drive it why because people park over the lines I have met with two police Chiefs two and they give me a card of somebody to call because when we called the police and they come out they will not tow that car and it's it's been some problems so I commend you today for saying we're going to look at it I really appreciate what you said thank you well thank you for those comments for the public comment there are Kirkpatrick I'm in Larry's

[1:10:41] district and I have a suggestion if you think about hiring someone for this position that the lady talked about hire a handicapped person so that they can better uh look at things because when we traveled all the time when my husband was living he was he was handicapped and many of the hotels and the the places that you wanted to go they had handicapped areas but you couldn't use them and when you checked with the the West Best Western or something they would say oh no we designed that well if you're not handicapped you have no idea what you're going through so my suggestion is please hire if you're going to hire someone please hire a handicapped person thank you any further public comment seeing none John James you can come forward first reading and public hearing of an ordinance did I read this already I read it already yes you're on then thank you this is a rezoning request for a property you can see three lots here from the single family zoning District to the neighborhood commercial just under half an acre you can see here that it is the yellow is the neighborhood designation within our future long-range plan however the neighborhood commercial category is considered consistent with that neighborhood designation so there's no need to change the plan although you can see it is near this neighborhood center designation which is specifically designated for neighborhood commercial

[1:12:42] the other thing I'll note that most of that block Frontage is already zoned commercial mostly General commercial heavy commercial but then a little bit of neighborhood commercial this would just extend that to the end of the block although this is designated as neighborhood you can see that that's the Little League ball fields and so that's another reason we think the commercial designation would be appropriate there we did send our notices to the surrounding Property Owners did not receive any responses in support or in opposition as I mentioned this is consistent with our comprehensive plan as Stafford reviewed this I believe that this is an appropriate use at that location uh staff does Beckerman approval as did the Planning Commission unanimously at their September meeting with that I'd be happy to answer any questions do I have questions or comments from city council members yes go ahead Karen being requested an anticipation of some already identified tenants or clients not that I'm aware of and again as with the zoning request you're approving that zoning District which would allow anything within that zoning District so if there was somebody standing before you saying this is what we want to do I would often caution you they can do that but they can also do anything else that that zoning allows so in this case I'm not aware of a particular proposal why would it come forward for consideration if no one's requesting it no they are requesting it we just don't necessarily know what they're proposing on the side but they have to live within what that zoning requires that's correct for the comments or questions move to approve as presented thank you Tom seconded by Harry public comment seeing none we will take a vote all in favor of approving Item B of the regular

[1:14:45] agenda say aye with none opposed that motion passes 7-0 our closed session the executive session on the provision of government code title V open government ethics subtitle a open government chapter 551 open meeting sub chapter D exceptions to requirement that meetings be open under the following sections with Section 551.071 consultation with attorney regarding Cosa DC we shall adjourn for the closed session we'll be back following that session I'm in this meeting will be called back to order there's no announcements today concerning discussion and executive session so we will move on to follow up and administrative issues um meaning appointing various board nominations and today the tax increment reinvestment Zone appointment of John Mark Hogue smd1 is chairman of the board for the remainder of the Year ending January 2023 may I have a motion for that so I'll move by Tommy second by Tom any public comment seen none we will take a vote all in favor say aye aye motion passes 7-0 are there announcements of consideration for future agenda items mayor I would like to get an update on the animal shelter uh problem that we were having okay may I have a motion for adjournment some move by Tommy second by Lucy any public comment that you'd like us to drag this out a little bit longer none okay then we'll take a vote all in favor say aye aye it the meeting is adjourned

Captured 2026-07-26 · source: youtube.com/watch?v=NvLW_hMIO6g