3.8.2005
This week, I felt like a
member of the audience at the circus.
Fortunately, there was no abuse of animals at this circus…it was the audience, the citizens and the City Manager
who were being abused, my dear reader.
Read
on, if you dare.
Problem Minutes?
Yet again, Vivian Rojas
decided to postpone some minutes:
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: [Municipal Clerk, Richarda
Duffy Momsen, (915) 541-4127] Approval
of Minutes for Regular City Council Meeting of March 1, 2005 and Special City
Council Meeting of February 17, 2005 (Joint Meeting with Las Cruces City
Council). Special City Council Meeting Minutes of February 17, 2005 POSTPONED
FROM 03/01/05
(Attachment) - Regular City
Council Meeting of March 1, 2005
(Attachment) - Special City
Council Meeting of February 17, 2005
It
was the February 17th minutes she wanted postponed…again.
Missing Man
One City Representative was
absent this week:
3. REQUEST
TO EXCUSE ABSENT CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS:
Paul Escobar
Maria Teran Keeps Cashin’ In!
The newly appointed member
of the Public Service Board, Maria Teran, through her company Sierra Machinery,
made a nice chunk of change off the City this week. Approved on the consent agenda was the following award:
17A. Solicitation No.: 2005-087 Articulated
Truck
Award to:
Sierra Machinery El Paso, TX
Item:
Alternate Bid
Item 2A-1 Articulated Truck 30 Ton Capacity
2 each @
$288,900.00 $577,800.00
Item 2A-2 5 Year Repair Expenses
2 each @ $41,390.00
+ 82,780.00 (Not to Exceed)
Total Recommended Award $660,580.00
Item 2A-3 Guaranteed Repurchase Price
2 each @ 107,900.00 - 215,800.00
$444,780.00
Less
Trade-In Allowance (Items 1 thru 7) - 340,000.00
Net Cost
$104,780.00
Department: Solid Waste Management
Funds available:
40415-508006-34340200
($577,800.00)
40403-502300-34010296
($82,780.00)
Funding source:
FY2004 Solid Waste
Management Revenue Bonds
FY2005 Solid Waste Management
Operating Funds
Total award: $660,580.00
District (s): All
The Fleet Services, Solid Waste Management and
Purchasing Departments recommend award as indicated to the lowest responsive
offer, by definition meeting specifications, from responsible parties. This is
a fixed-price, single (one-time) purchase, to purchase two (2) 30 Ton Capacity
Articulated Trucks. There is an option
to purchase up to one hundred percent (100%) of the original contract
quantities, at the same unit price, if the option is exercised within one
hundred eighty (180) days from the date of award of the contract. No prompt payment discount is offered. It is requested that the Mayor and Staff be authorized
to execute budget transfers for this purchase, as necessary. (Attachment) [Purchasing
Department, Alfonso Guerrero, Jr., (915) 541-4654]
As you may recall, I informed
my readers last week that her company had also won an award (for over $100k)
through the PSB the week before she was appointed.
Because she does so much
business with the Public Service Board and the City, I do not think she was the
best possible pick for the Public Service Board appointment. I strongly believe that the individuals
serving on that very powerful board should not even have a perceived conflict of interest in any way, shape or form, and
should be completely free of PSB or City money and contracts.
Call
me crazy, but that’s my opinion.
Changing of the Tune*
*Unlike Britain’s “Changing of the
Guard,” the “Changing of the Tune” generally occurs around campaign season
The following item is so
long-winded, pompously written and disingenuous that it could only have been
drafted by Mr. Disingenuous Long-Winded Pomposity himself, Robert Cushing. Moreover, if this item ain’t an 11th
hour campaign ploy, I don’t know what is:
21B. Discussion and action to authorize the Mayor to
enter into negotiations with the County of El Paso to develop a joint
contingency plan to protect the citizens of El Paso from any harmful effects
that may occur as the result of emissions of heavy metals and other
contaminants from ASARCO, pending the ruling in the case styled ASARCO v. Texas
Commission of Environmental Quality v. The City of El Paso, Cause No. GN
401709, in the 261st District Court of Travis County, Texas. The ruling, whether adverse or favorable to
the citizens of El Paso, will ultimately result in a lengthy appellate process,
and in the event the ruling is adverse, such ruling, pending appeal/s could
wrongfully deny the citizens of El Paso of the proper opportunity to fully
demonstrate the magnitude of harm that would be caused by ASARCO's resumed
operation. The City and the County share equal responsibility in ensuring the
rights of the citizens to be heard at the contested case hearing, as is
evidenced by the continued operation of the El Paso City County Health unit
that stands as a first line of health and safety protection for all citizens of
El Paso. [Representative Robert A. Cushing, Jr., (915) 541-4996 and Mayor
Pro-Tem Anthony W. Cobos, (915) 541-4123]
Poor Richarda Momsen was
almost out of breath when this exercise in
two-faced showboating was read into the record!
“The reason we put this on
the agenda is in conversation with, uh, Asst. City Attorney Jim Martinez, uh,
the case that’s in Travis County where basically ASARCO is questioning the
right or authority of the TCEQ to hold the contested case hearing was held in
the court down there and to this point,” announced Cushing. “We as a City have done a tremendous job in
moving this thing forward.”
How Cushing could say that
without fearing a bolt of lighting to be shot into him was beyond me. A
tremendous job in moving this thing forward?!? Sorry, Bob, but you can’t fool a fool like me.
Cushing continued, “We
survived the, uh, temporary, uh, injunction that tried to stop the, uh,
contested case hearing, but now with this case, and I believe, I think Jim’s
here, when is the ruling due to come out in the case, Mr. Martinez?”
And at that point, Jimbo
with the Jumbo salary (a/k/a Jabba a/k/a “El Superstar”) stepped up to the
podium.
He
said the judge committed to having a ruling by March 11th.
Mutual . . . Approbation
Pointing out that there will
probably be an appeal one way or another, Cushing said, “And so what I really
wanna do is, uh, be able to authorize the mayor to get over with the County,
and I really haven’t seen them get involved in any way whatsoever concerning
the ASARCO issue to this point. And
we’re now, I guess, it’s at the critical stage, and, uh, to the best of my
knowledge they aren’t even listed as a party in the contested case hearing.”
Pointing out that the City-County
Health Unit issues have now been resolved, he said it’s important to get County
support in this – either legally or financially during the appeal.
Cobos, as usual, had to heap
his praise upon his compatriot and ally in corruption and said, “I wanna
applaud you, Mr. Cushing, for bringing this discussion forward.”
You gotta love these
guys. They have absolutely no
shame. Cushing is the same guy who
privately (and at times publicly) has said that Senator Eliot Shapleigh, the
elected official pushing this issue, is wrong to fight ASARCO, and Cobos is the
guy who frequently chastises Shapleigh for his aggressive involvement in the
face of our City government’s inaction.
It took a march on City Council by citizens of this community for
Council to do the right thing by finally filing a last-minute brief on behalf
of the city opposing ASARCO’s reopening.
But here they are, patting
each other on the back. These guys
couldn’t give a whit about reality because in their little world, they create
the facts and their “facts” fly in the face of the real facts.
Cobos continued, “I think we
need to plan for the worst-case scenario.”
(I wanted to ask, “You mean, you guys getting re-elected?” Because that, my friends, would indeed be the
worst-case scenario.)
Cobos echoed Cushing’s
statements that he wants County money and legal support in case of an appeal
and again gave a little dig at the
senator saying that “there are politicians who want to point fingers.”
“You’re doing a great job,”
said Cushing to Jimbo with the Jumbo Salary, asking him (an Assistant City
Attorney) if it was okay if they gave the mayor permission to “get together
with the County to see if we can bring some synergies into this relationship
here?”
Jabba
graciously granted him permission.
Cushing made a motion to
allow the mayor to talk to the County about working together (this is
leadership?!), and the motion passed unanimously.
The Guard Dogs at Work
The following item elicited
some passionate debate among Council:
21C. Discussion and action on allowing certain
exceptions to policy requiring City to hold first lien on rental rehabilitation
projects under the HUD-funded HOME Investor-owned Properties program, including
but not limited to an exception for the Desert Pines project on George Dieter
Blvd., submitted by the San Antonio Alternative Housing Corporation. [Representative Paul J. Escobar, (915)
541-4182]
Although there was no backup
provided on this item, I learned (through the discussion at the meeting) that
City Representative Paul Escobar wanted the City to consider granting a waiver
to a San Antonio non-profit, the San Antonio Alternative Housing Corporation
(SAAHC) that had been denied local Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
funding. The SAAHC needs the funding in
order to purchase and rehabilitate a large apartment complex on George Dieter,
which would then be set aside for affordable housing for El Paso families. In addition to the CDBG funding, the SAAHC
would also be asking for tax credits from the Texas Department of Housing and
Community Affairs (the TDHCA).
For those of you unfamiliar
with tax credits, here’s how the TDHCA explains them:
“The tax credit program is the primary means of
directing private capital towards the creation of affordable rental housing.
The tax credits provide developers of low income rental housing with a benefit
that is used to offset a portion of their federal tax liability in exchange for
the production of affordable rental housing. The value associated with the tax
credits allows residences in HTC developments to be leased to qualified
families at below market rate rents.”
http://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/lihtc.htm
Because the SAAHC would be
applying for tax credits through the TDHCA, I wondered how Cushing and Cobos
(who are wholly owned by Bobby Bowling) would react to the item. Bowling, who in addition to owning Wardy,
Cushing and Cobos, also owns Tropicana Homes, depends on these tax credits,
because, my friends, they are one of the ways that he stays rich. (Imagine that—a champion of free enterprise
who makes much of his money from government benefits.)
As a reminder of the kind of
guardians Cushing, Cobos and Wardy have been when it comes to defending
Bowling’s interests, I’ll say one word:
Suncrest. In 2003, on behalf of
Bowling, Cobos viciously attacked one of Bowling’s competitors, Ike Monte, and
his partner, the Housing Authority, on the Suncrest Townhomes issue. The City got involved in something that was
none of their business, and a lawsuit was filed. The City ended up on the losing end, had to expend legal fees and
had to turn over many City-owned properties (paid for through taxpayer funds)
in the settlement.
All of Cobos’s work (riling
up the neighborhood with racist, classist, mendacious scare tactics, attacking
the Housing Authority and its partner developer, requiring that the City retain
legal counsel to defend against the inevitable lawsuit, and giving up our
City-owned property) was all done in the name of Bobby Bowling and protecting
his tax credit empire. God forbid Bobby
Bowling ever have any competition!
Back
to the agenda item.
Representative Escobar, who
placed this item on the agenda, was absent that day from Council, so Susan
Austin took the lead on this.
Positively Puzzing Policy
“What is at issue here today
is the policy of whether we might consider certain home investor owned
properties to be eligible for our program—these are federal funds—if we have a
second lien instead of a first lien under certain circumstances. And right now our rules provide for only
first lien projects…so there are various policy issues here,” she said.
The City has created a
policy to reject projects that do not list it as the first lien holder (the
George Dieter project lists the City as a second lien holder). “It very clearly presents the policy issue
of whether it might be appropriate in certain cases to have the City have a
second lien to get very large highly leveraged projects done.”
Cushing wanted to know how
the City would secure the money if it only holds a second lien. Austin said, “It’s still a lien.”
Robert Salinas, the Director
of the Community Development Department, explained that his department’s
mission (from which funds for this project would come – federal funds sent to
the City) is to provide safe, decent and affordable housing and to revitalize
and preserve affordable housing in low-income areas. He showed pictures of some of the projects the City is currently
working on (which were properties in disrepair). He said that in light of President Bush’s desire to cut funding
to Community Development funds, “I think we need to look at our priorities.”
He
also showed a map identifying where these properties were located.
The George Dieter property
in question, said Salinas, is north of the freeway and not in an economically
depressed area. I couldn’t tell if he
was trying to assert that there are no economically
distressed areas north of the freeway; if he was, my friends, such an assertion
would most assuredly be wrong.
Salinas explained that City
Council required the department to ensure that the City be in first lien
position when entering into these projects and prohibited the refinancing of
existing debt. In August 2004, the policy
was found to be “too restrictive” and Council kept the first lien position
requirement, but allowed for refinancing of existing units. He said that staff was required to follow
that policy.
He said that in December,
the San Antonio Alternative Housing Corporation (SAAHC) submitted an
application for funding. Salinas showed
pictures of the SAAHC property, which was not as run down as the other
properties, and said that SAAHC is not yet the owner of the property and needs
to reapply for the funding once they do own the property. Salinas added that he is obligated to deny
the project based on Council policies.
Suncrest Redux?
Cobos, predictably, was a
strong opponent of the project (see…I told ya so…he really wants to protect
Bowling at any cost). Cobos became
increasingly hostile as he argued against supporting the project and said,
“This is a big, big deal. We have very
limited resources with CDBG monies, and those resources are going to be
cut. There’s a process that needs to be
followed to change our policy…Using El Paso resources, our limited resources to
bank a deal is not appropriate.”
Hypocrisy Alert!™
Cobos, who lobbied hard for
an exclusive, no-bid, sweetheart deal for Luther Jones’ client on the Fats, Oil
and Grease (FOG) contract, is talking about misusing limited resources?
I wanted to rush the podium
and announce, “Misuse our limited resources? You do this every time your rig a bid, Mr. Cobos! Are you telling me you can’t review policy
in order to help stretch those resources and at the same time create more
affordable housing? Is there no limit
to your hypocrisy or your bad faith?”
(Of course, I didn’t. I just sat, watched and took notes.)
City Manager Joyce Wilson
supported the staff recommendation.
Representative Vivian Rojas, who called this section of George Dieter
“upper income,” made a motion to deny the request. Cobos quickly seconded the motion and Lozano, trying his best to
short-circuit any additional debate by Council members or the public, tried to
keep Austin from speaking.
Extreme Makeover, Government Style
Wardy allowed Representative
Susan Austin to speak and she explained why this was a good deal. She said, “In our consolidated [Community
Development] plan all about housing…it says very clearly that…there is a
deficit in El Paso of over 25,000 units of affordable housing, 25,000, alright? And so the thing is, we can do projects, for
example, the other projects that you mention, the other nine in the hopper,
what would you say is the average amount per unit that’s being spent, what,
$400,000, to get 12 units?”
“You’re correct,” responded
Salinas, adding, “The cost is higher for the more dilapidated units, that is
common sense.” Salinas explained that
the George Dieter units only need moderate rehab as opposed to the extreme
rehab needed by other units.
Austin
asked how much is being spent per unit on the other nine units.
Anywhere between $10,000 to
$35,000 per unit, said Salinas – for a total of ten units.
“That’s $350,000 and we get
10 units. This project we’re spending
$900,000 and we’re getting 109 units. I
don’t mean to talk about this project in particular, but where you have highly
leveraged projects you could be getting over 100 units, so ten times as many
units for three times as much cost,” said Austin.
By George, she makes sense!
She also wanted to know if
these projects—without the rehab money—would have to target a “certain income
level family.” She explained, “In other
words, these apartments as they exist today, they’re not reserved for
affordable families are they?”
“No,”
replied Salinas.
“So if we did a project
where we put home funds into rehab and get 100 units, those could be reserved
for affordable housing for 15 years, is that right?” she asked, “So we could be
assured of preserving 100 units for a whole 15 years!”
Salinas, who is the
absolutely perfect bureaucrat and who is defending policies that were probably
recommended by his boss, Debbie Hamlyn, wouldn’t budge and seemed determined to
resist the good sense that this project makes.
“Over the past four years,
how much money have we spent on home rehab?” asked Austin. The answer was about $3 million annually,
generally. Wow.
Austin asked, “For how many
units? At what rate are we chipping
away at the 25,000 needed in units?
Isn’t it true that we’ve only done about 110 units in the last 4
years…and used all our money?” The
reluctant answer was yes.
Folks,
that’s unacceptable.
City Manager Joyce Wilson
explained that because this came up only two weeks ago, there wasn’t enough
time to really evaluate the project well enough to issue a recommendation to
accept it.
We’re in Wardyland, Land of
Inarticulocracy (Rule by the Inarticulate)
Lozano complained that he
didn’t know anything about this and wasn’t briefed. “But you know, I don’t think, that, what I hear right now, I
don’t know, I don’t appreciate it, I don’t think we’re doing on the right
track, it is not responsible…what you’re talking about, maybe it’s good ideas,
and staff is right.”
Huh?
Cobos, disagreeing with
Austin, said that he thought that the money had effectively fixed up Central El
Paso. Arguing against using the money
outside of Central, he tried to paint a very bleak picture, saying, “We may be
able to get more units [and he used the silly finger quotes when he said ‘more
units’] per if we, if we go with a large apartment complex like this, but at
what cost? At, uh, at the expenditure
of losing more homes, of, of an exodus in central El Paso? [Huh?] What about our infill policies and
concerns?”
Hmmm. Interesting. Cobos, who is a big fan of building new homes on the outskirts of
El Paso because he’s owned lock, stock and barrel by Bobby Bowling of Tropicana
Homes, talking about infill? Methinks
the man doth protest too much…could it be he felt that this group was a
competitor to Bobby Bowling? His
hostility and doom and gloom lecture seemed so inappropriate, especially
considering that he’s been soooo concerned about the CRISIS of incoming Fort
Bliss troops who will need access to affordable housing.
Cushing was also
pontificating about why he didn’t support the project (hey, when this guy feels
one of his patrónes is threatened, he, like Cobos, becomes a very tenacious
guard dog). In fact, at one point, he
became extremely irritated (and kinda scary) when Susan Austin disagreed with
him and corrected him.
When Wardy asked Salinas if
he had anything else to add before leaving the podium, Salinas answered, “I
think the message is clear.”
Lisa Turner, an activist I
usually agree with (not this time, though), spoke out against the project.
Rod Raitle, the executive
director of the San Antonio Alternative Housing Corporation (which is a
non-profit, not a greedy corporation as Cobos had tried to paint them during
his speech), explained that this project will add 180 units for 30 years (not
15). The SAAHC creates affordable
housing in San Antonio and Austin, and they were hoping to do it here as
well.
(It was at this point, dear
reader, that I wanted to slip Mr. Raitle a note, saying, “The reason Cobos and
Cushing are so hostile towards your project, sir, is because their owner, Mr.
Bobby Bowling, has a monopoly on affordable housing in El Paso. So, good luck!)
Raitle explained that El
Paso is not gaining but instead is losing affordable housing units. He also explained the City’s second lien
position to them and said that if the project went belly-up, the City would
still recoup its investment. He argued
that specifically because the City’s CDBG funding is shrinking – they need to
look at stretching the money to create more units (which this project does).
Local housing professional
and housing advocate Sandra Almanzan (who at one point clarified that her
company, Fannie Mae, was making no money on the project and was there simply to
support the project), said that because there are such limited resources for
affordable housing, Council should try to get the “biggest bang for your buck,”
and creatively leverage money in order to get more from City investments.
She’s
absolutely correct.
She also said that the
City’s CDBG investment of $900,000 will bring in $8.8 million in investment and
construction, “which I think is pretty impressive [and] merits your
consideration.” She told Council that
the final decision rests with them and said this is “an affordable housing
issue,” and said that she doesn’t believe that any one of them would tell her
that they don’t need affordable housing throughout the entire city.
Again,
she’s absolutely correct.
Guarding the Trough
Cobos, who I had suspected
all along of wanting to protect TDHCA tax credit money for his boss, Bobby
Bowling, began to question Almanzan’s information and (confirming my
suspicions), said, “From what I understand, the set-asides [the TDHCA money],
if they are not utilized [by non-profits], then they go to the for-profit
sector.”
A-ha! He doesn’t want non-profits to get the
credits/money that could go to his boss, the private developer Bobby
Bowling! He sure does work hard for
good ole Bobby.
Jose Gonzalez, a consultant
for the SAAHC, told Cobos that he was confusing two programs. He explained that if El Paso does not take
advantage of the TDHCA money the SAAHC was trying to get access to for the
George Dieter project, the money would be sent back to be used for another
community. He also said that El Paso is
growing and that the pressures on housing will only grow and that El Pasoans
who need affordable housing shouldn’t be forced to live in one particular part
of town. Here’s another irony alert™ moment. When he was waging his war against Suncrest,
Cobos made the disingenuous argument that the Suncrest Townhomes Project
represented “clustering” and that affordable housing should be scattered around
town. Singin’ a different tune now, eh,
Tony?
Representative Presi Ortega
said the project “has a lot of merit” and Representative John Cook seemed to
support the project near the end of the discussion. Even Wardy supported the project (but he used that clichéd
language that just kills me…and recommended that Council “think out of the box”
and called it a “good exercise for
our community.”)
Rojas, who made the motion
to deny the request, complained that she did not get briefed, but pulled her
motion. The item was postponed for
three weeks.
Humps Are Alright!*
*Sung to
the tune of “Surrender” by Cheap Trick…sing along, folks!
Before the
following item was read into the record (and during another discretionary
budget item), Lisa Turner asked that Council refrain from using discretionary
funds during campaign season.
11B. Authorization to use District 3
Discretionary Funds to fund the installment of two temporary speed bumps,
estimated at $2,300 for two 8-piece units; one set to be installed at end of
the 9100 block of Cosmos, and the second set in the vicinity of 7356 Franklin
Road; and to instruct the City Manager to direct the appropriate staff to
proceed under the new Traffic Management Guidelines to have these speed bumps
placed within the next 30 days to address the concerns brought up by
constituents regarding traffic and pedestrian safety. Dept ID #01010003, Account #504420, Class #01001, Fund #01101
[Representative Jose Alexandro Lozano, (915) 541-4515]
Rick Connor informed Council
that the motion calls for speed bumps and he recommended against them. He also said that the City recently adopted
a traffic management plan, which he had hoped Council would adhere to; the
neighbors, he said, followed their own process, which happened before the plan
was in place. He also said that it
would not be possible to get the humps installed within 30 days.
Lisa
Turner asked, “Why bother with the process if you’re not gonna follow it?”
Lozano said the public could
answer her question, and she said, “You put it on the agenda!”
“It’s been okayed by staff,”
responded Lozano. “It’s alright to put
a hump. Not a bump. So humps are okay.”
Glad to hear that. Okay, all you red hot lovers out there. Alexandro’s given you the green light. Time to make whoopee!
The
item passed unanimously.
Larry Keeps His Job
Passed after very little
discussion:
4L. That the
Mayor be authorized to sign a Contract between the CITY OF EL PASO and LARRY E.
ROMERO, to assist the Economic Development Department as a Business Retention
and Expansion Manager, at a biweekly rate of $2,115.38, for 40 hours per week.
The term of the contract shall be for the period of March 14, 2005 through
March 13, 2006. This contract is
subject to the concurrence of the Civil Service Commission. (Attachment) [Economic
Development, David G. Dobson, (915) 541-4680]
He’s
on board until 2006.
Mr. Wardy’s Flying Circus
Just as the following item
was being read into the record, someone on Council sighed and said, “Oh, boy!”
and Lozano giggled:
16. BEST
VALUE PROCUREMENT: This contract shall be awarded to the bidder who provides
the best value to the City. The City
may consider price and other relevant criteria listed in the request for bids.
Solicitation No.: 2005-074
City Hall 9th Floor Renovation
Contractor: Jan-Car, Inc. Horizon City, Texas
Department: Building and Planning Services
Funds Available: PPWFA03009-31260001-60615-508027,
$24,586.40
FY03
Certificates of obligation
PPWFA03009-31118111-27035-508027,
$49,421.98
1993
Certificates of obligation
PPWFA03009-31134000-27101,
27102 & 27105-
508027,
$40,529.33
1997A
Certificates of obligation
PPWFA03009-31250102-27178-508027,
$106,161.35
2000 Certificates of obligation
PPWFA03009-31250102-27179-508027,
$15,929.94
2000 Certificates of obligation
Items: Base
Bid II $236,629.00
Total Award: $236,629.00
District (s): 8
The
Departments of Engineering and Building and Planning Services recommend the
award of this contract to Jan-Car, Inc., as this Offeror has provided the Best
Value Proposal. It is requested that
the Mayor of the City of El Paso be authorized to sign the referenced
contract. Additionally, it is requested
that the City Manager and Staff be authorized to execute budget transfers for
this award and project, as necessary.
As part of
the award of this contract, the City Engineer is authorized to approve contract
changes which are necessary for proper construction of the work and carrying
out the intent of the design, but which do not increase the scope of the
contract as awarded, in an amount not to exceed $25,000 per numbered change
order, and not to exceed the total of 25% of the original contract price as
awarded, without further authorization by City Council. The work is to take
place inside the 9th floor of City Hall located at Two Civic Center Plaza, El
Paso, Texas. This project will provide
for furnishing and complete installation of an automated file system for the
City Attorney's office. Additionally, 2
renovated offices for City Attorney's Department, space for the City Manager's
Department and the Deputy City Manager's offices will be renovated. The total area renovated, not inclusive of
the filing system space, is 8,548 sq ft at a per sq. ft cost of $20.64.
The work
consists of interior demolition work including removal of carpet. Work
includes, but is not limited to sealants, doors and frames, hardware, glazing, partitions, finishes, vinyl
composition tile, paint, ceilings, etc., window blinds, operable metal storage system, HVAC, plumbing, electrical
power, lighting, and
special systems. Contractor
shall provide conduit for voice and data system. Contractor will not provide cabling for voice and data system.
Work
includes, but is not limited to sealants, doors and frames, hardware, glazing,
partitions, shelving, kitchen cabinets,
finishes - paint and
ceilings, HVAC, plumbing, electrical power and lighting. Contractor shall provide conduit for voice
and data system. Contractor will not provide cabling for voice and data system. Contractor will not provide carpet and cove
base.
The City
Manager and staff will be relocating to the 9th floor. This will allow for future 10th floor
reconfiguration to create a central reception area for visitors to 10th floor
offices, additional conference room meeting spaces for City Council and staff
other improvements and efficiencies in telephone and support services. (Attachment) [Purchasing
Department, Byron Johnson, (915) 541-4308] POSTPONED FROM 02/22/05
If you recall, this item
caused quite some controversy last week.
The City Manager explained last week that this money was already
programmed and ready to go, it would help her consolidate the Assistant City
Managers in one place (the 9th floor), and it would increase
efficiency.
As soon as it was read into
the record, John Cook made a motion to approve the item and Susan Austin
quickly seconded the item.
Unfortunately,
it wasn’t gonna be that easy or painless.
Cobos asked to speak and
said that he wanted to modify the plans in order to save money and moved to
reject all bids.
The City Manager said, “If
Council’s concerned about the scope of the project and the cost, then I have no
objection to rejecting the bids and re-thinking what our needs are. Certainly it’s not urgent that we do this
right now…there are some efficiencies that can be gained.” She said that she had presented Mayor and
Council with a detailed scope, map, layout and a summary of the history of what
renovations have been completed to date.
She reiterated that this is not urgent, and she would be okay with
moving on. She also said the bidder
will not hold the current bid for 60-90 days in order to rethink the
project. “If you’re not comfortable
approving it, then I recommend you reject it.”
“It costs people a lot of
money to submit bids and stuff like that,” said Austin. “And so when we put things out and then pull
them off the table because we’ve changed our minds, there is a cost to
that.” Again, wow, Austin was right!
Cobos insisted that there
are other savings to be found and said “it’s just a little more than I was
hoping to spend.”
Private citizens Lisa
Turner, Richard Schecter and Ray Gilbert all spoke and supported moving forward
with the project, arguing that doing this project in the future will cost more
and that the citizens voted for a City Manager and it’s important to give her
the tools she needs to be effective.
Wilson was again asked to
describe the project, and once she did, she said, “This is, like, not an urgent
transaction,” and although it would be beneficial, she said it didn’t need to
happen.
Cook pointed out that the
funding sources for this item are certificates of obligation dating back to
1993, and added, “We’ve had negative arbitrage on those all this time. The interest is just eating these funds up while
they sit there not being used, and I think it’s incumbent on us to go ahead and
move forward on this today.”
He’s
absolutely right.
Wilson said there are
programmed uses for this money on the 9th and other floors, and she
said that the 9th floor will remain vacant and unused until Council
decides to do something about it.
“In trying to save money are
we gonna end up spending more money?” asked Ortega. I can answer that: Yes.
What Is the Sound of One Mayor
Laughing?
Wardy then said, “So let’s
spend the money so we don’t have to pay interest,” and he laughed at this own
comment. (No one else laughed.)
Cobos then launched into a
lecture about how “reckless” certificates of obligation are (I guess mortgages
are “reckless” too, eh, Tony?) and then Cushing launched into his concerns
about the fact that the cost didn’t include carpeting. (I breathed a sigh of relief at this
moment—I was hoping someone would
bring up the glaring carpet omission.
Whew! Glad Cushing’s on top of
the carpet mysteries, aren’t you? He’s
a veritable forensic carpetologist!)
Cushing also complained that Wilson’s Assistant City Managers would need
furniture, but Wilson reminded him that they already have furniture that they
would use.
She
again urged them to move on and reject it if they cannot support the item.
Lozano Asks, WWJD?
It was time to vote on
Cook’s motion to approve. Austin gave a
quick yes, but when it was Lozano’s turn, he needed time…he looked down at his
laptop (as if waiting for an answer to come from it)…paused…said “I, uh…Jesus
Christ! You know, I know what you want, and we know what we want, but, uh, what
is it the citizens of El Paso want? And
I just heard three, you know…these people complain about our share and now
they’re allowing this…I’m gonna vote yes.”
Huh? I didn’t know if I should kneel and pray or
if I should simply beat my chest.
The yes votes came from
Austin, Lozano, Cook and Ortega; the no votes were Cushing, Rojas (whose vote
was inaudible to me) and Cobos. The
item passed with a vote of 4-3.
“That’s
with a condition, right?” asked Lozano of no one in particular.
Yes, indeedie, it was a
circus. For your viewing pleasure,
here’s the link to Channel 7’s story about it:
http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=3049473&nav=AbBzXFUg
But that wasn’t the end of
it, my friends. Oh, no! That would be too easy. More on this item later.
A Semblance of a Plan Finally? (If you
will?)
David Dobson spoke on the
following item:
25. CITY
MANAGER: City Manager's report of
current events and issues: Business
First Program Introduction
Dobson explained that the
“Business First” Program was a “premiere” business expansion and retention
program created by Economic Development.
Dedicated staff members will focus on the program. He said most of the business growth in El
Paso comes from existing businesses expanding.
“This program will support the efforts, if you will, of REDCO [the private economic development foundation
also known to some community members as “REHASH”] in attracting new businesses,
uh, to our community. Your existing
businesses are your strongest tool, if
you will, in that attraction effort…we need to have happy campers, if you will, if we are to attract more
happy campers.”
I was starting to care less
and less about those campers and more and more about getting these people a
dictionary, a thesaurus, some reading materials so that they could expand their
limited vocabulary (if you will)!
He explained that over the
next six months, the staff will visit 300 businesses to tell them they
appreciate their businesses in El Paso, to determine what their needs are for
growth, and to connect them with the business network of over 24 organizations
that exists in the community (isn’t this what the Chambers of Commerce are
supposed to do?).
Dobson explained that Larry
Romero will be the business manager for this project. Del Birch, Vice President of “Executive Pulse,” a consultant
hired by the City who, according to Dobson, has “helped put together a state of
the art expansion program, if you will, for
our expansion activities. Birch
explained the need to grow existing businesses (this presentation,
unfortunately, was another snoozer…and this guy was the type of cheesy speaker
who looks like someone from another era with his outdated eyeglasses from 30
years ago, and who says “guys and gals” as he tries to motivate the audience…as
I say, cheesy).
Dobson explained that the
department would be hiring contract employees to help achieve this mission.
When Presi Ortega said the
City Representatives would be willing to help as long as they didn’t have to
attend 7:30 a.m. meetings, Wardy said, “Presi, party with the boys, get up with
the men,” and then laughed heartily.
This time he didn’t laugh alone.
Wilson
said they would also want to find “business volunteers” to help.
No
action was taken on the item.
Back to the Circus
As Council was ready to head
into executive session, Alexandro Lozano (after having taken a quick and quiet
call on his cell phone) said, “Mayor, I’d like to reconsider an item on the
agenda…number 16.”
“No,
no way,” said Cobos.
“I
make a motion to adjourn,” said Cook.
Lozano
made his motion to reconsider the item calling for 9th floor renovations.
Cook made a motion to go
into executive session, which was seconded by Presi Ortega. The motion was ignored.
“The
bleeding has stopped, why are we gonna pick our scab?” asked Cobos.
He’s Got a Condition All Right
“The reason, Mr. Cobos,”
said Lozano, “is because I thought we were gonna have a condition, and we don’t
have a condition, and I, I thought that, you know, that, uh, it was understood
that, uh, we were gonna have a condition with this expenditure, and I, well, I
don’t wanna get out here saying, ‘yeah, you can spend all this money.’”
Vivian Rojas seconded his
motion. When Richarda Momsen, the
Municipal Clerk began re-reading the item, Cook rightfully questioned why his
motion wasn’t being voted on.
Lisa Elizondo said it was up
to Wardy to decide which motion he wanted voted on. Hmmm. Oh, well, who needs
those pesky parliamentary rules anyway when we’ve got Joe (“the Council C’est
Moi”) Wardy to tell us how to run the meetings of City Council.
Wardy said that Lozano still
had the floor when Cook made his motion (to go into executive session) and that
he hadn’t recognized Mr. Cook.
“That’s the second time I
haven’t been recognized,” said Cook, removing his glasses and saying, “Hmm,”
acting as if he were looking in the mirror to see what about his physical
appearance had changed.
Chagrined by the sarcasm,
Wardy said, “It’s quite alright, Mr. Cook, don’t worry.” I think he has every reason to worry if
you’re calling the shots, Monsieur Joe.
Ignoring Cook’s motion,
Wardy instructed Momsen to take the vote to reconsider the item.
And I Asked Myself, Why Did I Goed?
Returning to form, Susan
Austin foolishly voted yes (up to that point, she had been so . . . sensible),
along with Cushing, Lozano, Rojas and Cobos, and, as a result, Council opened
up the discussion on all this absurdity once more.
Lozano
then made a motion to reject all bids.
“You cheated!” cried out Austin.
“I didn’t cheated,” he
responded (or is it “respondeded” in Lozanoville?). “Why did I cheated?” he asked Elizondo, who said he could make
whatever motion he wanted to make.
He gave a convoluted
explanation (one much too complicated even for this copious note taker).
Don’t Ask Lisa E—Her Backup Just Left
Austin asked Elizondo how
long the bid was good for and Elizondo said, “My purchasing lawyer has gone
upstairs,” and could not answer the question.
Austin made a motion to
postpone the item for one week and Cushing seconded it. The motion failed.
“If
somebody will recognize me…” said Cook, and Wardy said, “Mr. Cook!”
Cook made a motion to
approve the item and to ask the City Manager to renegotiate the item within the
scope of the law (to which Wilson said, “thank you”).
Cobos wanted to know if they
could specifically ask for a 25% reduction and they asked Elizondo for legal
advice. Because, naturally, she could
not specifically answer Cobos’s question or give competent legal advice, they
asked Ray Gilbert (a private citizen) for legal advice. Makes sense to me. Gilbert, a non-lawyer (I believe), has
probably forgotten more law than Elizondo has ever known.
The yes votes came from
Austin, Cook, and Ortega. The no votes
came from Cushing, Lozano (who got his condition!), and Cobos, who said he
regretted reconsidering the item. I regretted
a lot more than that.
Cook’s motion to approve the
item failed. Cushing made a motion to go into executive session, which was
seconded. Wardy wanted them to vote on
the moving to executive session as Austin tried to figure out what had happened. (Clearly, Wardy did not want this item to
pass and did not want his City Manager to get her request.)
Presi then made a motion to
postpone the item one week and Susan Austin seconded that motion.
Cushing then tried to figure
out what had just happened, and Elizondo (of all people!) tried to explain that
Council left the issue “in limbo” (or did I hear her say they left the issue
with “this bimbo”? I couldn’t tell…at
this point, I had been driven off the deep end by the atrocities being committed
by this Council in my presence).
The City Manager asked that
they move to simply reject all bids.
Ray Gilbert asked them to postpone it one week and negotiate a better
(or different) deal with the contractor.
Cobos said, “This very
unfortunate chain of events…it’s not fair to our City Manager to postpone
this. Let’s make a decision…and move
on.”
He made a motion to reject
all bids, seconded by Cushing. They
never voted on the motion to postpone.
Could
this get any more pathetic, my friends?
The
motion to reject all bids passed, with only Austin, Cook and Presi voting yes.
Cobos
apologized to the City Manager, “for what has happened.”
“Why are you rejecting
this,” asked Lisa Turner, suggesting, “This is a political power play and
you’re trying to put the City Manager in her place.” She’s absolutely right.
Wardy has expressed his displeasure with Wilson because the voters have
spoken and she has usurped his power.
Turner reminded Council that the citizens voted for a City Manager. “Since we’ve had a city manager, certain
members of this Council have worked very hard to undercut what the people of
this city wanted.”
Wardy replied, saying, “Ms.
Turner, what you’re hearing today is a lack of consensus. This is a Council-Manager form of
government…if Council does not have consensus, this is government in
action. I don’t know what your problem
is.”
“You’re
right,” replied Turner, saying, “inaction, that’s right, inaction.”
Wardy
laughed it off.
“That this is a power play
is false, it’s tabloid, and it’s untrue,” complained Cobos, who knows
falsehoods and untruths and tabloid lies very intimately.
“Then how do you explain the
article in the El Paso Times
predicting this was going to fail?” she asked.
To quote from that article:
“Asked
if the timing has to do with the May 7 election, Wardy said, ‘Yeah.’” http://www.elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050307/NEWS/503070303/1001
She
never got an answer and the item indeed failed, as did the “leadership.”
Council
then beat a hasty retreat into executive session chambers.
Executive Session Items
When
Council came back out, they voted on the executive session items.
Council authorized the City
Attorney’s Office to settle the following cases/agenda item:
26A. Ranchos Real IV, Ltd., vs. The City of El Paso;
Cause No. 2001-3371. (551.071) [City Attorney's Office, Michele Little Locke,
(915) 541-4550] POSTPONED FROM 03/01/05 AND 02/22/05
26E. Discussion and action on pending claim regarding
Raba-Kistner (SW), Inc. (551.071) [City Attorney's Office, Michele Little
Locke, (915) 541-4550]
Council also authorized
Elizondo to hire an outside lawyer for the following items:
26B. 6415 Boeing L.P. vs. The El Paso Central
Appraisal District and The City of El Paso, Cause No. 2003-1691 in the 171st
District Court 710, Inc. vs. The El Paso Central Appraisal District and The
City of El Paso, Cause No. 2003TX350 in the 171st District Court Airport
Business Center vs. City of El Paso, Cause No. 2003-1652 in the County Court at
Law No. 5 Richard N. Azar and Jerry M. Coleman d/b/a Azar-Coleman Properties
vs. City of El Paso, Cause No. 2002TX634 in the 168th District Court (551.071
and 551.072) [City Attorney's Office, James A. Martinez, (915) 541-4550]
Then they adjourned and the
excruciating pain was over. By this
point, I was huddled in the corner, whimpering, my hands over my ears, and I
couldn’t help but repeat, “make it stop…make it stop…make it stop…”
It
finally stopped.
Now,
on to campaign issues.
Record…What Record?*
A GOLFING record!
This week, Joe Wardy was on
the radio talking about just how busy he is.
In fact, he twice mentioned the fact that he is a busy man, despite the
fact that the City Manager has taken over all of his administrative
duties. And Wardy, who fails to show up
at candidate forums, also told the El
Paso Times:
"I'm still the mayor, and I have a full
schedule," Wardy said. "Today, I had meetings starting at 7 o'clock.
I was on the radio, and I had meetings in my office till almost noon."
http://www.elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050308/NEWS/503080330/1001/ARCHIVES
Woah! He had meetings ‘till almost noon! What a dog of a day that was!
Uh-huh. So you’re “busy” eh, Joe? You’re sooooo busy that you have plenty of
time to golf during the work week. Take
a look at Wardy’s golfing schedule between April and September of last year
(during budget season, even):
|
Score History |
|||||
|
If Used |
Type |
Date |
Score |
Crse Rating/Slope |
Diff. |
|
* |
H |
09/26/04 |
97 |
71.0 / 132 |
22.3 |
|
* |
A |
09/19/04 |
92 |
69.3 / 128 |
20.0 |
|
* |
H |
09/19/04 |
96 |
71.0 / 132 |
21.4 |
|
* |
A |
09/16/04 |
88 |
67.6 / 113 |
20.4 |
|
* |
H |
08/29/04 |
95 |
71.0 / 132 |
20.5 |
|
* |
H |
08/02/04 |
88 |
71.0 / 132 |
14.6 |
|
|
H |
07/20/04 |
99 |
71.0 / 132 |
24.0 |
|
|
H |
07/13/04 |
102 |
71.0 / 132 |
26.5 |
|
|
H |
07/01/04 |
100 |
71.0 / 132 |
24.8 |
|
* |
H |
06/23/04 |
95 |
71.0 / 132 |
20.5 |
|
|
H |
06/16/04 |
106 |
71.0 / 132 |
30.0 |
|
|
H |
05/09/04 |
100 |
71.0 / 132 |
24.8 |
|
* |
H |
05/02/04 |
87 |
71.0 / 132 |
13.7 |
|
|
H |
04/22/04 |
98 |
71.0 / 132 |
23.1 |
If you look on a calendar,
you’ll see that 8 of the 14 days in that time period are weekdays. In fact, there are a couple of Tuesdays in
there. Also on a workday (Thursday,
9/16/04), he played in an “A” tournament (meaning it was “Away”, not
“Home”).
Now, I don’t begrudge anyone
their hobby…heck, I love getting out, fishin’ in the great outdoors, and would
do more of it if I could. But if you’re
golfing after Council meetings, and if you’ve got time to play sooo much golf,
you ain’t that busy, my friend.
It would be my hope that on
May 7th (election day), the voters allow Mr. Wardy to play golf full time. Let’s help him out, people!
And the Bozo Award of the Week Goes To…
Anthony
Cobos! [Applause…applause]
Congratulations, Mr. Cobos!
This week, Cobos was on the
radio, but unfortunately, nary a soul called in to challenge him. What a sad thing that was. When Wardy was on earlier in the week, only
one critical phone call was made. Aside
from that one caller, it was all love, my friends.
Where are the irate
citizens? Where are the opposing candidates? Where are the opponents’ supporters? C’mon, people! If these bozos get re-elected, we have no one to blame but
ourselves, especially when we have talented, exciting candidates opposing them
(in most—though not all—races).
The most hilarious part of
the program, however, came when he tried to talk about a “slate” of candidates
running. He used his opportunity on the
radio to try to speak the beautiful language I love and only ended up mangling
a rather simple saying and making a complete idiota out of himself.
Cobos said, “There’s a
saying in Spanish, ‘Digame con quien andas, y te digo quien soy.” Here’s the translation of what he said: “Tell me who you run with and I’ll tell you
who I am.” I loved it. I fell down laughing. (Which is a scary thing for an old geezer
like me! Nearly broke a hip!) Tony, don’t bother telling me who you are; I
already know. You’re an utter
mediocrity who preys on poor folks in your business outside City Council and
who shills for Bobby Bowling inside City Council—oh, and you’re a guy who
regularly embarrasses himself by mangling the Spanish language. Does that about sum you up?
And the Used Car Salesman Look-Alike
Award Goes To…
Anthony Cobos, again! [Roar of applause] Mr. Cobos, a double congratulations to you!
This week, a reader
forwarded me a link to Mr. Cobos’s new website: www.anthonycobos.com
(by the way, his challenger’s website—Beto O’Rourke--is www.beto2005.com).
You simply MUST check it out.
While one reader/emailer
called it “smarmy” and another one referred to the sorry attempt at “bedroom
eyes” (click on “issues” for those), I believe he couldn’t have looked more
like a used car salesman had he tried.
Can’t you just picture him trying to get you to test-drive a 1974
Gremlin?
Stabbed In the Back by Our Very Own
And finally, if we had a
“Judas” Award, it would go to the elite “leadership” in El Paso. Do you want to know why El Paso is mired in
mediocrity and always receives the short end of the stick from Austin? Look no further than our own local business
“leaders.” As Gary Scharrer reports in
his Saturday column in the El Paso Times,
these individuals lobbied El Paso’s delegation of House legislators to vote for
HB2, the regressive non-solution to Texas’s school funding crisis that every
member of the El Paso delegation (both Democrat and Republican) recognized as a
sop to rich Texans and as a slap in the face at border communities like El Paso. http://www.elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050310/NEWS/503100333/1001/ARCHIVES
Scharrer’s article makes it
abundantly clear exactly who the members of this lobbying group are:
“The El
Paso legislators who were lobbied to vote for HB2 agreed to discuss the
pressures put on them so long as the names of the community leaders were not
publicly identified other than to describe them as Gov. Rick Perry's major El
Paso campaign contributors. They were the same people who tried to talk U.S.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison out of running against Perry next year during a
December meeting with her in El Paso.”
http://www.elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005503120320
Who are those people? I’ll give
you the list of Perry’s re-election campaign committee members from El Paso: Alejandro Acosta Jr., Paul Braden, Robert Brown, Kenn
Carr, Hector Delgado, Paul Foster, Rick Francis, Ted Houghton, Woody Hunt,
Michael Moore, Roger O'Dell, Rene Ordonez and David Thackston.
http://www.borderlandnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050301/NEWS/503010333/1001
Many of these guys were
present at the meeting mentioned in the article (for more on that, see http://www.cleanuptexaspolitics.com/node/view/318).
According to Rep. Joe
Pickett, these Perry sycophants couldn’t even articulate why HB2 was a good
bill for El Paso. According to
Scharrer, Pickett said he asked how HB2 would help El Paso's schoolchildren and
was told, "Don't know, you just need to support it."
Let
me close with Chente Quintanilla’s quote from the Scharrer article.
Our
so-called community leaders don't care for the 165,000 schoolchildren in El
Paso who deserve as good an education as everyone else across the state. . .
. For them to try to force our
legislators to vote for something that is not good, that has no equity, is
beyond my understanding.
Mine
too. But then again, maybe they want to
keep El Paso uneducated so they can continue to pursue their “minimum wage”
dreams for this town. This group (the
same guys who are also big Wardy supporters) obviously cares more about
supporting Rick Perry and the personal agendas of their rich country club
golfing buddies than about supporting the children of El Paso. And a majority of our City Council members
think these folks are the best thing since sliced bread. What more do El Paso voters need to realize
we need new leadership in this town at every level?
Until
next week, my friends.
Comments or questions: shmaven@yahoo.com
My commentaries are posted
weekly at http://www.thestrelz.com/shm/shm.htm
Also, if any of my readers would
like to add their own comments or thoughts, they can do that at
http://strelzbacktalk.proboards19.com/index.cgi?board=shm