7.12.2005 This week Ray Gilbert goes ape in a grumpy gab fest, certain El Paso boys go wild and live to talk about it, and we learn about classy cornering from Alexandro Lozano.Yakkety YakThere were several people who signed up to speak during this week’s… CALL TO THE PUBLIC - PUBLIC COMMENT Ray Gilbert was the first to speak and he was there to again complain about the fact that citizens were not allowed to speak on the “introductions to ordinances” section. (Remember, citizen input is taken two weeks after that posting during the public hearing). Then, referring to the Electric Company franchise and agreement, he also alleged that Council was “effectively cutting off all citizen input into this; whereas, the other side has had five or six people over here every day workin’ in your offices, seeing you, taking you out. Isn’t that against the ethics, lobbying?” Patriot GamesHe continued, “I firmly feel, I watched The Patriot last night, and we fought a battle against this type of thing years and years ago during the revolutionary war. And the backward attempt to increase our taxes in this case is extremely important. It even should be [sic] public hearings all over the County of El Paso. What y’all are doin’ is err, and you’re keepin’ the public from speaking on it…The public has the idea now has the sense in not coming down here because they’re not gonna be allowed to speak. They come down here and they sit here and they have to go home.” And then the threats began. “The gag order is out!” he announced, adding, “and the citizens don’t like it…the only thing they say is a lot of you have two-year terms, and you won’t be back, a lot of you have four-year terms, the recall is in effect now on four-year people.” There it is! The recall threat…and from Ray Gilbert, too! Outrageous. Although I don’t know the man personally, I suspect that Gilbert, a government watchdog and failed county judge candidate, generally means well. But the fact that he believes that enforcing fair rules regulating public input is a “gag order” shows that what he wants is rules that benefit him. And the recall threat, well, I gotta tell you, folks, that threat (usually issued by Jaime O. Perez) is getting old. If only folks would put as much energy into building projects, offering solutions and working to create things as they do trying to destroy things, we’d all be better off. Until that happens, can we vote them off the island? Hopefully, this Council won’t be intimidated by Ray Gilbert the way the Wardy crew was. Wardy would practically buckle at the knees when Gilbert started making threats. Anyway, after five minutes of his speechifying about how he is not allowed to speak, he said, “Remove these gag orders that you have, and let the citizens have their say on things that are really important to the citizens of El Paso that you all are lobbied on continuously, you get one side of the story, you don’t get both of them.” And then returning to his discussion on the Electric Company, he then complained that “it’s hard to get a telephone call returned; it’s hard to meet with you when asked to meet with you…because you’re not interested,” and he accused them of only being interested in “where the money is.” Unbelievable! This is the guy who supported Joe Wardy, Anthony Cobos and Robert Cushing – the “quid pro quo” crony crew (say that ten times!) that truly represented corruption in politics. Thanks for Nothin’When it was all over, both John Cook and Steve Ortega thanked him and Presi Ortega could be heard under his breath saying, “I’m not gonna thank him.” Right on, Presi! I wanted to rush the dais and high five Presi. I wish he had had the courage to say it out loud. But at least he spoke out against the drivel that came from Gilbert. I understand that Council doesn’t want to engage with Gilbert, especially because this time before the meeting is really for the public to air its opinions and not for debate, but those allegations were so serious and unsettling, their silence was inappropriate. Gilbert was, essentially, accusing them of corruption when he made the unsupported claims that the Electric Company is being allowed to work out of City Council’s offices and that they would only hear their side, not the people’s. This should not be tolerated. Fact Checker
Because I rarely trust the allegations and rumors Gilbert throws out without regard to the impact they will have, I decided to check Gilbert’s claims. I emailed the Mayor and City Council earlier this week to ask them about what Gilbert had accused them of; I received responses from Cook, Byrd, Lozano, Holguin, Steve Ortega, and Beto O’Rourke. I did not get a response from Ann Lily, Melina Castro or Presi Ortega. 1. The first question I asked them was if it was true that the Electric Company had people lobbying in their offices every day.
o All of them said they met with Hedrick and the lobbyists between a few times and several times. It seems no one had the Electric Company folks “working out of their offices.”
2. The second question was about Gilbert’s accusation that “it’s hard to get a phone call returned,” and that it’s difficult for him to get a meeting with them.
o Mayor Cook and Eddie Holguin both said they discussed the issue with Gilbert, but that Gilbert never attempted to meet with them.
o Steve Ortega said that he returned Gilbert’s phone call the same day Gilbert called.
o Beto O’Rourke and Susie Byrd both talked to him over the phone; Byrd said he’d meet with her if she wanted to but that he didn’t ask to set up a formal meeting.
o Lozano admits to having lunch with Laura Uribarri (the Electric Company lobbyist), but says Gilbert never tried meeting with him or even contacting him at all.
O’Rourke, Byrd, Steve Ortega and John Cook further informed me that they have spent many, many hours of due diligence on the subject and O’Rourke added, “During this decision process, I never went to lunch with, had drinks with, or received any favor of any sort from the electric company.” O’Rourke and Byrd also both informed me that they received small campaign contributions from the head honchos at EPE before they won their respective elections (about $250 from Gary Hedrick and Patricia Holland-Branch); they both added, however, that the contributions in no way influenced them.
Molotov Cocktail, Anyone?After having watched Gilbert in action for years, I have come to know that he will sometimes throw Molotov cocktails into community discussions to try to force people to do what he wants. There is absolutely no excuse for making such inflammatory accusations during a televised public meeting. He should be ashamed of himself for making such unfounded claims to score cheap political points. He is a lot like Anthony Cobos in that respect, and uses these rumors (that he creates) to generate community opposition against these folks…and now, he’s even threatening a recall! In El Paso, recalls are becoming the last refuge of scoundrels. Boys Gone MildThe next speaker was Walt Phillips, who announced he would speak about New Orleans. Before speaking, he presented Council members with Mardi Gras beads, and while Mr. Phillips was handing them out, some of the men on Council began chatting. Representative Steve Ortega could be heard saying, “Do I have to take my shirt off?” Everyone on that side of the dais chuckled and then Presi Ortega could be heard saying, “What if ‘Girls Gone Wild?’” and someone replied, “You gotta earn ‘em!” and then Presi, pointing to the men on the right side of the dais (the two Ortegas, Holguin and O’Rourke) added, “I can say that to this side.” I guess he can’t say such things to the female side of the dais. When Phillips had distributed the beads, he said he was recently at an Optimist Club convention in New Orleans, where it was very expensive and very humid. He added that there are over 120,000 members from over 30 countries, and he asked that they promise to help bring that convention to El Paso in 2011 or 2013. That’s an excellent idea. Cook asked Phillips to meet with Bill Blaziek from SMG, the company that runs the Convention Center, and Phillips replied, “If he buys me lunch, I’ll get with anybody,” and said he would work on it from his end. He closed by saying, “I know that everybody’s an optimist, it’s just that some of you don’t pay dues.” What a charming respite Phillips is from folks like Gilbert (and others) whose style is throwing out accusations and threats. Phillips routinely comes to Council with suggestions and points out issues that need improvement or attention. He’s a community gem, and that’s what community involvement is about: Solutions, not just complaining. The next speaker was Tedd Richardson who presented Council with photographs of themselves (presumably taken on election night; I couldn’t tell from my angle) and thanked them for their commitment to their offices. It’s My Public Comment PeriodThe final speaker was Lisa Turner and she wanted clarification of the rules and wanted to know if it was accurate to say that people could only use their public speaking time to speak on one item. Mayor Cook informed Turner that Representative Steve Ortega would be introducing a change in those rules next week to allow folks to speak on as many items as they wanted to during the public input time at the beginning of the meeting. Turner responded by saying, “You have the right to limit how long I can talk, but you do not have any right at all to tell me what I can talk about in that five minutes. If I want to cover three topics, that’s my five minutes and I should be able to cover those three topics.” Right on, Lisa T.! “I appreciate that concern, Ms. Turner,” said Steve Ortega. Special Minutes
The following are the minutes for the latest slew of special City Council meetings: 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: [Municipal Clerk, Richarda Duffy Momsen, (915) 541-4127] Approval of Minutes for the Regular City Council Meeting of July 5, 2005 and Minutes for the Special City Council Meetings of July 1, 5, 6, 7, 2005
(Attachment) Minutes for Special City Council Meeting held on July 1, 2005(Attachment) Minutes for Regular City Council Meeting held on July 5, 2005 (Attachment) Minutes for Special City Council Meeting held on July 5, 2005(Attachment) Minutes for Special City Council Meeting held on July 6, 2005
They were passed on the consent agenda along with the following item: 3H. That Representative Ann Morgan Lilly and Representative Presi Ortega, Jr. are appointed to the Board of Directors of the El Paso Central Appraisal District Board to be seated immediately and fill unexpired terms commencing from January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2005. (Attachment) [Mayor's Office, Matthew Briones, (915) 541-4145] Also approved on the consent agenda was the following ordinance introductions…their introduction means that the public hearing will occur in two weeks, and Cook called it their “insurance policy” that was placed on there just in case it was needed (an extension of the current Electric Company Franchise): 15A. An Ordinance amending Ordinance No. 012539, an Ordinance Granting a Franchise to El Paso Electric Company and Waiving Application Process, to extend the term of the Franchise through August 31, 2005. (Attachment) [City Attorney's Office, Jorge Villegas, (915) 541-4550] The public was allowed to ask questions about it. Ray Gilbert complained (again) that this was an example of how the public is not allowed to speak, and Lisa Turner said her question was answered with Cook’s comment about it only being “an insurance policy.”
Why Don’t We Do It In the Corner?
Then, it was time for the regular part of the meeting to begin. The first item up was a consent agenda item that was pulled off by Alexandro Lozano: 3B. That the City Manager to be authorized to sign a Trademark License Agreement by and between the City of El Paso, acting through the Department of Aviation ("Licensee"), and Texas-New Mexico Newspapers Partnership, d/b/a El Paso Times ("Licensor") for the right to use the mark IT'S AN EL PASO THING ("Licensed Mark") in connection with promoting business and tourism in the El Paso metropolitan area. (District 3) (Attachment) [Airport, Patrick T. Abeln, (915) 780-4724]
After the item was read into
the record, it soon became very clear that Lozano was not pleased with this
idea. He wanted to know if this went
through the board; Pat Abeln, Director of Aviation, said it had not and that it
was a policy decision for Council to make.
Lozano said he didn’t understand why the City was using “a trademark that
belongs to the Times, endorsing the El Paso Times at the Airport”; Abeln
said they saw it “as an opportunity to use a catchy phrase,” and not an
endorsement of the Times.
Then Lozano launched into an
explanation of slogans and said, “You know, we have the Tourism and Convention
Bureau that it’s their job to, you know, kinda promote El Paso, and they have,
you know, their theme is that ‘we do it differently,’ or ‘do it in the corner
of Texas,’ uh, you know, so forth and so on,” (I could’ve sworn I heard
giggling in the background…or was that my own giggling, ringing in my
earpiece?). He continued, “Uh, I mean,
uh, Coca Cola has ‘this is the real thing,’ ‘it’s the real thing,’ you
know. Uh, I mean, you gonna open up for
discussion to allow other companies to come into the Airport and do their
theme. So, you know, I don’t agree with
that Mr. Abeln, and I’m surprised.”
Huh? Alex, Maybe you “do it in the corner”
(whatever “it” is) after you’ve lit the flag.
I honestly don’t want to know, though.
Really I don’t.
Cook pointed out that all
the Airport would be doing is using the phrase, not endorsing the paper or even
mentioning the Times.
“But Mayor, we can also use
‘it’s the real thing,’” responded Lozano.
Uh, no, Alex, we can’t—at least not without a licensing agreement or a
lawsuit. (Can you see it now, “Welcome
to the City of El Paso…it’s the real thing™!”)
Why don’t we just use our existing slogan (according to Lasagna)…come do
it in our corner of Texas!
City Manager Joyce Wilson
said that Mayor and Council had been briefed, and that “The El Paso Times anonymously introduced
this concept in the form of community pride building and did a series of
advertisements…and then invited anyone in the community to use it,” adding,
“But they do hold the trademark on it, so when you do wanna use it, you just
need to get their permission and that’s what we’re asking for here.”
Beto O’Rourke told Abeln
that he had done an excellent job at the Airport and wouldn’t think of
micromanaging on such a level and moved to approve; Steve Ortega seconded the motion.
As my loyal readers know,
I’m no fan of the Times, not by a
long shot, but I don’t think that using a catchy phrase to promote tourism—even
if the Times does own the phrase—is
improper or constitutes an endorsement of the paper. Get a life, people.
Lozano then said that he
wasn’t in agreement with the Tourism and Convention Bureau either (maybe it’s
that catchy “Do it in the corner of Texas” slogan that offends Lozano’s
delicate sensibilities) and suggested that maybe Abeln should be the director
of that organization instead.
The item passed with a vote
of 7-1, with Lozano, scowling in the corner, being the only “no” vote.
Hitting a Homerun (With a golf club)The following item was taken off the consent agenda by Lisa Turner (so much for Gilbert’s allegations of a “gag order” eh?): 11. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL: (Attachment) [Purchasing Department, Enrique Acosta, Jr., (915) 541-4267] This competitive sealed bid proposal is being awarded to the responsible offeror whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to the City, considering the relative importance of price and the other evaluation factors included in the request for proposal.
Solicitation No.: 2005-219R Golf Course Management FirmAward to: Kemper Sports Management, Inc. Northbrook, ILAmount: $12,500.00 (Fixed Monthly Fee) plusIncentive Fee: 5% of gross annual revenues exceeding $3,000,000.00Department: AviationFunds available: Revenue ContractFunding source: Revenue ContractTotal award: $450,000.00 Estimated (Fixed Fee)plus Incentive Fee: 5% of gross annual revenues exceeding $3,000,000.00District (s): 3The Review Committee recommends award as indicated. Kemper Sports Management, Inc. submitted the highest ranked and best proposal to meet the needs of the City. This contract provides for a Golf Course Management Firm. This is a fee-based management, revenue-generating contract for the El Paso International Airport. When the Golf Course opens for use, the compensation for this contract shall be a Fixed Monthly Fee of $12,500.00, in addition to an Incentive Fee of 5% of gross annual revenues exceeding $3,000,000.00. The term of the contract is three (3) years with the City's option to extend for one additional three (3) years period. Furthermore, it is requested that staff be authorized to negotiate, the City Attorney's Office to review and that the City Manager execute any additional documents as necessary.Additionally, authorize the City Manager to execute budget transfers as necessary during the contract.
Abeln said that most people
in the community are aware of the investment the City is making in a first
class golf course at the Airport, and he said that he felt they needed a
management team that could take care of it on a first class level. He said that they went through an RFP and
that Kemper had won the award. The
opening date is August 2006. (Can’t we
get a first rate, world class fishing hole down there, Mr. Abeln…then I’ll really be a big fan of yours!)
Lisa Turner was at the
podium and said, “This is great for the city, a great investment in our
city. My only question is will Kemper
Sports try to get us on the PGA or the LPGA tour?”
Good
question.
The VP of Kemper Sports said
they run professional tournaments in addition to golf courses, and said our
golf course would lend itself to both professional and high school tournaments
and yes, they would pursue all of those.
The
motion passed unanimously. Now get to
work on that fishing hole!
Tequila SunriseThe following item was one that would help continue the infill undertaken by JKS properties in northeast El Paso. JKS builds good homes, the owner is a good corporate citizen, and he has, in the past, been very responsive to community concerns: 20B. An Ordinance granting Special Permit No. ZON 05-00031, to allow for a Planned Residential Development on Lots 405, 406, 423 And 424, Sunrise Acres Unit One, El Paso, El Paso County, Texas, pursuant to Section 20.12.040 (Zoning) of The El Paso Municipal Code. The penalty is as provided for in Chapter 20.68 of The El Paso Municipal Code. Applicant: Karma-JKS Properties, Inc. ZON05-00031 (District 2) (Attachment) [Planning, Research and Development, Christina Valles, (915) 541-4930]
Rudy Valdez from Planning,
Research and Development explained that the developer was asking for a special
permit in this part of Sunrise Acres (in the northernmost part of District 2)
for special development; he explained it’s currently zoned R-4, and the
developer wants to put in 25 single-family lots on vacant land. The special permit is for lot depth, he
added.
Valdez also explained that a
woman had gathered petitions in opposition, and although the woman’s opposition
had been withdrawn, passage of the ordinance still required a “super majority”
vote (seven votes required).
District 2 Representative
Susie Byrd said that the neighborhood was initially concerned about the density
in that area, but after the developer met with the neighbors and changed the
density, the residents were okay with it. Cook thanked the developer for his commitment to working on infill
in northeast El Paso. I’d like to thank
him as well. While all other developers
are clamoring for cheap and easy land (hey, I know we all like it cheap and
easy), Colonel Smith (the developer) chooses empty lots within the City and
helps turn those vacant lots into homes.
That’s what infill is all about and it’s a darn good thing for El Paso.
Two residents spoke. The first, Veronica Jackson, said she didn’t
attend the community meeting on the issue but she opposes the planned
development because she has a good view, privacy, and “that’s gonna take that
away from me.” She also expressed
concern about traffic, parking issues, overcrowding and sharing a wall.
Jim Smith, representing JKS Homes,
said that it was too bad she wasn’t at that meeting and that the development
had been altered to address concerns expressed by the neighborhood, which
included parking and the wall.
Charlene Clark also
expressed concern regarding overcrowding in the schools, people parking on the
street instead of their garages, and a lack of a water fountain and bathrooms
in the neighborhood park.
“One of the reasons to get
involved in infill is to increase the tax base,” responded Smith, reminding
Council that he puts homes on empty lots, adding to the tax base – and that’s
money that goes into the schools. He’s
absolutely right.
Before the vote was taken,
Byrd, speaking to neighborhood residents said, “I am recommending a
neighborhood planning process that would look at some of those issues moving
forward. There’s a lot of vacant land
in that area and we really have to make sure that we’re planning well for the
future, and that any development in that area reflects the values of the
community in that area. I just want to
let you know that.”
The
item passed unanimously.
And
then the longest part of the meeting began.
Electric Blue(s)
Back by popular demand for lengthy debate was: 18. CITY ATTORNEY: (Attachment) [City Attorney's Office, Jorge Villegas, (915) 541-4550] Discussion and action on a Resolution that the City Manager be authorized to sign a Rate Agreement by and between the City of El Paso and the El Paso Electric Company to freeze the electric rates for electric utility service for a period of five (5) years. POSTPONED FROM 07/05/05
19. PUBLIC HEARING - CITY ATTORNEY: (Attachment) [City Attorney's Office, Jorge Villegas, (915) 541-4550] An Ordinance granting a franchise to El Paso Electric Company and waiving application procedures. POSTPONED FROM 07/05/05
Before staff made its
presentations, Joyce Wilson announced that there would be two briefings: A management briefing that William Studer,
Deputy City Manager for Financial Services, would make on the negotiations and
agreement; and a second briefing by legal counsel to go through the rate and franchise
agreements and changes made to it.
Cook said he would allow
ample time for the public to speak (8 minutes per person), and that if any
member wanted additional time, he or she could ask for it. Cook also urged Council to make a decision
today as they’d had ample time to make changes and express their concerns.
Studer explained that the
agreements had been reviewed by the Public Utility Regulation Board, made up of
community representatives (an attorney, a small business owner, an energy
consultant, a CPA, a UTEP professor, an architect, and others) and they spent
several months reviewing the franchise agreement.
The key elements of the
agreement include (according to Studer):
Studer hit on the subject of
rate comparisons with other cities.
“When you talk about rates, you’ve got fixed costs and you’ve got
variable costs that contribute to the rate structure,” he said, “And fixed
costs are things like the transmission systems…that generate cost even if
there’s no electricity sold.”
When Less Is More
He explained that because
EPE has several hundred thousand customers as opposed to millions of customers
like those in other Texas cities, the utility is at a disadvantage. Utilities in other cities are able to take
fixed costs and divide them between hundreds of thousands more customers. In El Paso, the small number of customers
means higher fixed rates. He says that
El Paso also uses less electricity because of our swamp coolers (we use between
2-4 times less), which means the kilowatt hours are spread over fewer customers
as well.
Hmmm…so keeping it local has
some drawbacks…at least we know that if they sell to a bigger company (which I
am not endorsing) might mean that we’d get lumped together with other
residents, and there may be a benefit through lower rates.
Studer further explained
that the rate of return for the utility (between 7-11%) is in line with PUC
allowances, saying, “Their rates are relatively comparable to what PUC’s
allowed; our base rates are actually lower than they were ten years ago.”
Studer said that the
taxpayers and the ratepayers are not the same group, “There are a number of
entities that don’t pay any taxes to the City and yet use our services…and the
only way we get any dollars from them are through things like electric rates,
gas rates and so forth.” He explained
that San Antonio and Austin (which both own their own electric utilities)
transfer “huge amounts” to their general fund and are able to keep property taxes
down and diversify their revenues. He
said that Fort Worth, Dallas and Houston collect more in fees than El Paso does
(their fees are at 4%).
Susie Byrd added that
because Council would be taking an independent look at the rates within 12
months, if the rates were determined to be unreasonable, the agreement would
become null and void and the City would go to a rate case. (Don’t forget, rate cases are very, very
expensive and rate payers pick up that tab; a rate case should always be the
last resort.)
Presi Ortega asked what the
investment in the new facility would be and Gary Hedrick, CEO of EPE, said it
would be $200 million and that they currently pay between $5-7 million in
property taxes; with the new investment, they’d pay over $1 million more per
year in property taxes.
Joyce Wilson said this
requirement was placed on the deal “to increase the commercial real estate
investment in this community so there’d be a better balance between the
commercial property tax base and the residential property tax base.”
Folks, for those of you who
are not familiar with our tax base issues, part of why our tax base is small is
that we don’t have a lot of large corporate headquarters with
multi-million-dollar properties adding to our tax base. I can easily see why requiring them to build
their new facility within the city limits would be advantageous to the
City.
Cook said that investment
was the starting point for the initial negotiations through the previous
administration.
City Representative Eddie
Holguin wanted to know why the City couldn’t just hold off on an agreement for
the time being in order to have an independent party review the rates before
the agreement is signed and not “after the fact.” Cook reminded Holguin that there would be a safeguard in place in
the agreement that would make the deal null and void if the independent audit
finds unreasonable rates are being charged.
Enter the Lawyers
Assistant City Attorney
Jorge Villegas explained that the major changes made to the franchise include:
As the lawyers worked
through the language that incorporated Council’s changes, Representative Beto
O’Rourke said, “Let me just tell you where I’m trying to get to, and tell me if
we can get there. I don’t want El Paso
Electric’s headquarters to go anywhere else but El Paso, Texas, and I don’t
want the upper strata jobs leaving El Paso, really any of the jobs going
anywhere else…what I had suggested…is that it just read that upon change of
control this franchise agreement expires.”
After a lengthy and in-depth
discussion, that’s what he got.
Insiders have told me that O’Rourke put in a lot of effort and time to
ensure that El Paso Electric stays local, and if it doesn’t, the City gets to
renegotiate the deal. Good for him and
good for us.
Steve
Ortega asked that O’Rourke’s comments be entered into the minutes.
Susie Byrd had language
added to the agreement that would state the City would consider that the profit
sharing be returned to the ratepayer.
Steve Ortega stated that he thought the determination should be made if
and when that happens. Language that
allows returning the money to ratepayer was put in the agreement.
Gary Hedrick (looking eerily
like a disheveled Russell Crowe from “The Insider”), reminded Council that all
the changes had to first be taken back to his board of directors since they,
and not he, must approve the final agreement.
Lozano wanted to know why
Council had to commit to anything and suggested letting Hedrick just go back
with the suggested changes. Wilson and
McNabb both had to explain that El Paso Electric needed some kind of indication
as to what the City’s commitment would be.
It
was then time for public comment.
Because someone signed up
after 9:00, City Attorney Charlie McNabb asked that Council vote to suspend
rules because “I just want to make sure the rules are always applied equally.” Isn’t that refreshing?
Walt Phillips was the first
to speak and made his friendly jab when he said, “As long as we get this
agreement done before I die, I would appreciate it.”
In addition to the
much-needed dose of humor, he had some questions. He wanted to know if the company would extend a freeze for the
new troops; why the rate sharing agreement was 75/25 percent instead of 50/50;
if there were a sale, could it, too, be headquartered in El Paso; what are the
plans for the old plant.
Hedrick said the old plants
would be enhanced and not retired for another 40-50 years; he also said that
they don’t disconnect electricity for deployed troops.
When Minutes Become Hours (or at least
feel like it)
The next person up was Ray
“rumor monger/threat-meister” Gilbert and he said that Council should delay
this yet again. He chose to use his
eight minutes to respond – issue by issue – to a guest column written by Gary
Hedrick (http://www.elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005507100329).
He talked about El Paso
Electric’s bankruptcy, saying that the ratepayers “bailed everybody out.” He said a lot of other things, the point of
which I couldn’t make out, and other things that simply didn’t make sense.
He spent his entire eight
minutes on the first few lines of the column alone. When the City Clerk’s timer beeped, Gilbert apologized and,
apparently referring to his cell phone or his watch, said, “I’m sorry, I turned
that thing off.” Richarda Momsen said,
“Mr. Gilbert, that’s me!”
When Cooked asked Gilbert
how much more time he needed, Gilbert said he needed ten more minutes. Council and the Mayor granted Gilbert 18
minutes. (Where was Ray Gilbert when
the Watergate investigators discovered the 18-minute gap in the Nixon
tapes? I’m sure ol’ Ray would have been
happy to fill that glaring gap with gritty government gab.) My fellow Americans, I believe that if
Gilbert gets to have 18 minutes, then everyone else should, too. (I guess inflation has made it everyone’s
expectation to have 18 minutes of fame.)
It’s simply not fair to apply the rules to everyone except one person. That’s basic. You grant a special favor for one person, you need to give it to
everyone.
Gilbert continued with his
accusations of deals being made by saying, “You are rewarding the Electric
Company, and it’s knowledge [sic] that since they’re paying you this, we’re
gonna reward you by giving you this, which all affects the ratepayer; it could
all be done and given to the ratepayer.”
He also called it a “back end tax increase.”
Hmm. Funny.
I don’t recall Gilbert ever complaining about this agreement (which was
begun by the previous administration) to Wardy during any of the meetings. It’s fine if Gilbert’s biased in favor of
Joe Wardy—I think that makes his politics abominable, but that’s his right—but
it does make him an utter hypocrite. I
never heard Gilbert complain about the corruption of the Wardy crew and all
their real, not imagined, back room deals.
I never heard him threaten to have them recalled. All Gilbert has succeeded in doing is
dissipate any credibility he’s ever had as a government watchdog.
Gilbert also complained
about (among many other things), El Paso Electric’s charitable contributions
(which, don’t forget folks, El Paso Electric said a few meetings ago comes from
its profits, and is not coming from the fees they collect from us). He then said, absurdly, “Also, charity. I don’t believe that anybody in this country
wants to give their money to somebody else that they would have their
electricity cut off for that company to give to Arriba, EPISO, and this is what
I heard.” That’s the problem, Ray. You go half-cocked about things you claim to
“have heard.” Council is not the place
for vague, unsubstantiated and sinister rumors. You need to grow up.
Then, without having offered
any specific information whatsoever—on what the specific areas he disagreed
with were, or what improvements could be made and how—he again urged them to
postpone any action.
When the time clock beeped,
indicating that his additional ten minutes were up, he kept talking.
Municipal Clerk Richarda
Momsen gently interrupted him, informing him that his ten minutes were up, he
still kept talking. Mayor Cook had to
interrupt him to let him know that his 18 minutes were up. He then asked, “Do I have any questions?”
What’s Eating Ray Gilbert?
Then, as if on cue, the
talking Melina doll chimed in. She
thanked Gilbert for the information and, reading from yet another prepared
statement, she solemnly intoned, “You’ve served as an unofficial ombudsman for
the past 20 years or so.” And then,
instead of asking him to specifically point out areas of disagreement and
asking for him to offer up solutions or suggestions on those areas of
disagreements, she asked this instead:
“Of all the issues you’ve dealt with in the past 20 years, how would you
rate this one in importance?” When she
finished asking her leading question, she put on her best serious, grown-up
face.
Gilbert replied, “I’m in my
77th year, and I’ve been around utilities and railroads all my life
almost, and this one made me sick because I have never seen anything that has
been put together by a staff and people not to the benefit of the ratepayers,
but to the benefit of you, of the City of El Paso.”
What Gilbert and others
don’t understand is WE ARE THE CITY
OF EL PASO! We are the ones who
utilize the City services—streets, maintenance, parks, libraries, traffic,
etc. Who the heck does Gilbert think
the City of El Paso is anyway? Some
anonymous entity or being? It ain’t
anonymous, folks…it’s you and me.
Furthermore, to advocate
that the City not look out for itself as an organization is
self-defeating. The Electric Company should pay higher franchise fees. They are using our streets, our rights of
way, and those franchise fees are the lowest in the state. Our City organization should indeed collect on what is due it. That, in turn, will keep our own taxes lower. Franchise fees make up an important part of
the City budget, and to ignore that fact is foolish.
Gilbert is also well aware
of the fact that this process was started last year by his favorite mayor and
favorite Council, and they could’ve gotten it done if they wanted to. And City staff was only following their
policy directions. And the fact is this
Council significantly improved on what that previous administration left behind.
Why didn’t Gilbert go to his
good buddy Wardy and ask to be more involved in this process if he was so
“sick” over it? Why didn’t he ask the
person he has said he admires so much, Robert Cushing, to allow him to provide
input into this agreement? And if he
was so “sick” over it, why didn’t he bother to set up appointments with the
City Representatives to share whatever information he had about whatever his
concerns were and give whatever his recommendations were? Why wait until the final hour to do it?
Naturally, Castro’s
pre-packaged question was just a set-up to allow Gilbert another opportunity to
spew his contempt for the agreement and eat up more air time. Castro was clearly not interested in getting
any specifics or moving toward any solutions, which is what we elect these
folks to do. She just wanted to fuel
the Ray Gilbert hot air machine.
Joyce Wilson corrected what
I presume was one of many misstatements (intentional or not) by Gilbert and
said that the PURB (which has open meetings and is a board made up of community
members as stated earlier) was also involved and gave their
recommendation—which was followed—“so it’s not just a staff recommendation.”
I’m Still Standing
When she was done, Gilbert
(who was still standing at the podium although his time was up) said, “This
brings up something else that I’d like to comment on.” Representative Holguin had asked to speak
and Cook had to tell Gilbert, “Mr. Gilbert, you’ve had your opportunity to
speak.” Yes, indeed. But Gilbert was used to the way that Wardy
played fast and loose with parliamentary rules on his behalf and clearly didn’t
believe he should follow these new rules, either.
Eddie Holguin said he had
heard “lots and lots of opinions.” He
continued, “I’ve heard from the Electric Company and I’ve heard from the City,
lots of opinions, and the opinion that I value the most has been yours.”
Good Lord! This from the man who dances to the tune of
Jaime O. Perez. I think Mr. Holguin
would have been a whole lot happier being part of the Wardy crew. Holguin then stated that the City is only
looking out for the City.
Hellloooo? I felt like asking
Mr. Holguin who he thinks “the City” is.
Then, Melina Castro (doing a
mousy version of Robert Cushing’s “I’m a real bully and a pretend lawyer”
shtick) read from yet another prepared
statement and asked Joyce Wilson, “Have you carefully reviewed the financial
and legal implications of this proposed franchise agreement, and do you
recommend Council to vote its adoption in the best interest of the tax—of the
ratepayers of El Paso?”
Like an antsy know-it-all
kindergartner, Gilbert wanted to answer the question. (I’m surprised he didn’t jump up and down with his hand raised
saying “I know! I know!”) Cook said, “I believe that question was for
Ms. Wilson.”
Wilson explained that
attorneys, the utility expert attorney, staff, and a citizen’s advisory group
have been involved in these negotiations for the last nine months, “And any
time in that process, anyone could have interjected then that they wanted to
launch a full-fledged rate analysis; we’d have been happy to do so. We did not because it was not determined that
what we were proposing was out of the norm of the industry standard and so we
believe it’s in our overall best interest as an organization and community to
go forward in the direction that we’ve proposed.”
“So you’re saying it is in
the best interests of the ratepayers of El Paso?” Castro asked again.
“I think it’s in the best
interests of the community as a whole, including ratepayers, taxpayers, and
citizens at large” responded Wilson, adding, “I’m a citizen, I’m a ratepayer,
as well as a City official and it’s hard to, you know, you don’t separate your
duties as a City official to the City and think it’s not in the best interests
of the community. I mean, we work for
the community. We try to balance all those
needs and requirements as part of our due diligence and best professional
judgment.”
I couldn’t have said it
better myself. Wilson further reminded
Council that this issue and these meetings have been public for months and said
that she wished issues had been raised earlier.
Gilbert, who was still standing at the podium threw out,
“It wasn’t public until after the election.”
That, my friends, was yet
another misstatement. Actually, I
should just call it what it was:
Another lie. I will never understand
why Gilbert carries so much credibility and authority with anybody.
Joyce Wilson corrected him
once again, pointing out that all the meetings that occurred before the election were public and were
published and covered by the newspaper.
Gilbert wanted to continue
to speak and said it was the “most important part of my speech.” Ray, there’s nothing important about your
speeches. He was allowed more time. Sigh.
He talked about Enron, its
connection to El Paso Electric, sales, and I don’t know what else.
Lisa Turner was next, and
she, too, was against the agreement.
She said she didn’t believe they could vote on the item because it had
been changed substantially. (Charlie
McNabb later instructed Council on the law, advising them that they could
indeed vote on the item and that ordinances simply have to be general
announcements of what will be discussed and opportunities for the public to
speak on them.)
Turner also talked about
Moody’s rates, the fact that the ratepayer is entitled to 100% of the return,
and the fact that the community bailed out El Paso Electric and “now, as a
reward, they’re coming to rape us.”
Ouch! Just a tad of
overstatement, there, Ms. Turner? She
also said that if El Paso Electric sells (and she guessed it would happen
within a year), the new company will not put its headquarters in El Paso. Finally, she told Council that a carbon tax
would eventually be placed on electric bills, told Council they needed to
protect the ratepayer, and asked them to postpone the item.
Folks, I’m with Joyce
Wilson. Council must look at balancing
the needs of the entire community, not just one sector. They can’t ignore the ratepayer, but the
ratepayer cannot be the only factor.
There’s also the City, which provides services for everyone as well as
the company. I’m no company
cheerleader, believe you me, but after reading what I could get my hands on, I,
too, was comfortable with this. Would I
prefer to pay lower rates?
Definitely. But do I think this
was a fair deal? Yes, especially after
all the additional negotiating this Council did (with the exception of Holguin
and Castro who, it appears, did no negotiating on any issue whatsoever, offered
no changes, made no specific objections, but just complained about the work
that others did).
Bill Addington, an activist
from Sierra Blanca and a member of the Sierra Club, started by welcoming and
congratulating the new Council. He also
said that the professionalism of the new Council and the fairness they offered
speakers was “exemplary.” He reminded
everyone that Wardy started the process and the new Council “inherited”
this. He said the company’s investment
in Palo Verde drove them to bankruptcy and that Wardy should have explored
owning its own electric utility (Addington is absolutely correct), but that
option expired last year. He politely
made his case and thanked Council for allowing him to speak. What a stark contrast he was with Ray “I’m
the King of the Blowhards” Gilbert.
Ann Lilly said that she is
“real concerned about the ratepayer and the taxpayer,” and noted that the
four-year feud between Las Cruces and their electric utility cost the taxpayers
$15 million. She also said she didn’t
see any reason to drag this on any further.
Eddie Holguin said, “With
all the changes and all the confusion, I’d kinda like to postpone both items 18
and 19 for 30 days ‘till it’s all clarified so I can understand what all the
changes were and so forth.” Melina
Castro, no surprise, seconded the item.
Guys, if it takes you this long to understand this stuff, maybe you
should do better homework or, failing that, look for different jobs.
Too Many Scribbles
After Castro pulled her
second so that Beto O’Rourke could ask a question, O’Rourke asked Holguin what
questions he had about the agreement.
Holguin stammered, “Well, with all the changes, I just want it to be
written correctly. I don’t want to
approve something that’s, you know, it’s all written on, scribbled on and so
forth.”
Ah, yes. The “scribbled on and so forth” factor. Could you get more pathetic? This reminds me of the scene from Amadeus where the thoroughly dim-witted
Emperor Joseph says to Mozart, “your work is ingenious but there are simply too
many notes. Just cut a few and it will
be perfect.” Now, I’m not saying this
agreement is a work of genius, but I guess if Council would just get rid of the
scribbling, it would be perfect. And,
apparently, it would take a lengthy delay to accomplish this, eh, Mr. Holguin?
Holguin said he also wanted
information on what the changes meant and didn’t want to “take up the public’s
time at this time.” This, after an hour
and a half of discussion and explanation by lawyers and staff about what the
changes meant.
From Here to Eternity?
Melina Castro was next to
speak and she said, “This is an extremely important policy decision we’re gonna
make, and I think we really need to take the time to sit down and review it,
not here, but in our own time, and think things through before we make our
decision.”
This statement was
insulting, especially, I presume, to folks like Beto O’Rourke who (according to
his e-mail and confirmed by insiders) spent between 25-30 hours working on this
issue, discussing the changes he wanted made and having the Electric Company
address his concerns. It was also an
insult to the residents of the northeast, who presumably elected Ms. Castro to
do her homework and to think for herself.
Did Luther not get around to explaining the agreement to you, Melina? Or has he failed to make the explanation
simple enough?
Steve Ortega asked Hedrick
what another postponement would mean and Hedrick essentially indicated that
there could really be no movement by the board on this at all until a decision
is made. Do you understand Ms. Castro? The EPE board can’t vote on something that
might change from one week to the next—they need to vote on something that
represents a firm commitment from the City.
Hedrick also said he was “confused” about what more could happen over
the course of a postponement. He wasn’t
the only one.
Beto O’Rourke said he didn’t
see any reason to postpone the item (of course not; he had done his homework
ahead of time). He added, “To answer
your comments, Ms. Castro, this is gonna be a big agreement two weeks from now
or four weeks from now, and more time might always be needed to understand all
the details of it, but I think the big policy questions have been addressed…and
my two big considerations [the sale and an audit]…have been answered, so I
don’t see a good reason to postpone this, drag it on when we have some real
important hearings coming up, our budget hearings. I’d rather get this issue, if there aren’t any big pressing
issues out there, resolved and then let’s move on. We have a lot of business to do.”
Amen!
The Holguin/Castro attempt
to postpone failed, as they were the only two who voted “yes.”
Before the vote on approving
the items was taken, Melina Castro asked to speak. And yes…I know you know…she read from yet another prepared statement.
Below is her statement with my comments in brackets:
This
is an extremely important policy decision we are being asked to make today [yes, Melina, that’s what elected officials
do]. I want my position to be
clearly stated and understood, this is one of the reasons I’m gonna read it [because I’m not smart enough or articulate
enough to say anything without a script…besides, it will surely help the public
to “understand” me]. When this
franchise agreement comes up for renewal, I will be approaching the retirement
age. [I wish I could’ve retired that early!] That’s a long time for me.
[Your stint on Council will be a
long time for me.] If the
voters who sent us here could all be present, I’m confident that nearly all of
them, Republicans, Democrats, independents, liberals, conservatives, and any other
label you wish to name, all of them would want us to ask the same questions
they would ask. If the matter at hand
involved their personal interest. The
policy decision does involve their personal interest. It involves the expenditure of their funds. We are entering an era of great uncertainty
concerning the impact of rising price of fossil fuels, and how those rising
prices will impact nearly every aspect of our lives. Power generating companies, however, are not affected by this
uncertainty because all their fuel costs regardless of the amount are passed
through the consumer, so they suffer no meaningful potential risk in this
equation [wrong…the franchise fees, which
they pay to the City, are paid regardless of their profit level]. It is for this reason that I encourage my
colleagues on this Council to proceed with extreme caution in deciding this
issue. We leave [sic], we live in one
of the poorest cities in America.
Property taxes have reached levels that will soon force senior citizens
out of their homes. The increased
franchise fees called for in this agreement are in effect a hidden tax increase
because the riot [sic], rate payer pays the franchise fee, not the electric
company. If utility rates rise steeply
because of fuel costs, thousands will have to make choices between keeping
their homes, having adequate food, and medical treatment. Today we are being asked to vote for a
franchise agreement that was worked out by the electric company itself and our
City Manager [not true, many other
individuals, including the elected officials on City Council, worked it out],
who is not elected and answers to no one but this Council. I understand there was a citizen committee
that reviewed the document [and made
recommendations that were accepted, Melina, pay attention!], but I am also
aware that the committee did not engage in an independent review that would
have grounded its recommendations to Council [that’s what the citizen committee was for]. I have not heard today an adequate reason
why we are being rushed to judgment [anyone
who insists on using this now hackneyed phrase should be shot...furthermore,
she had plenty of time to inject her suggestions and ensure that they were
included in the negotiations], nor have I heard even the semblance of a
reason why the creation of this agreement was not created upon a valid,
independent and thorough rate study [which
will happen within 12 months] that would guide Council in making decisions
that are in the best interest not just of the company, but also the people that
this franchise monopoly is required to serve.
Until such rate study is conducted, and until there is a critical review
of persons having the expertise scope [sic] to give Council independent advice,
I cannot vote for its adoption, and I encourage my colleagues in opposing it
until these essential due diligence requirements are met.”
She then put her sheets of
paper down and adopted another “yes, I mean it, I’m really serious” look on her
face.
Of course, Castro offered
absolutely no solutions, no suggestions, no points of contention, no
specifics. She never answered my email
so I have no idea if she offered any issues for the negotiations, either. All she did, during the reading of her
mini-essay, was to disparage the people who worked hard on this agreement by
insinuating that this was a “rush to judgment,” discredit their work, time and
dedication, and parrot the catch phrases that she has been has been told will
elicit support from the “taxes = death” crowd.
She is no leader, my friends.
Banana Split
Alexandro “Mitosis Man”
Lozano said that “I don’t see nobody complaining, or the ratepayers are not
here,” and said that this is a hidden tax that we need (how one goes with the
other, I’m still not sure). “I’m split,
okay.” No, Lasagna, say it ain’t
so! Are you multiplying? One of you is way more than enough.
Eddie Holguin, jumping on
the Melina inflammatory-remarks-with-no-solutions bandwagon said, “I was put
here to defend not just the taxpayer but the ratepayer as well, which
ultimately is the taxpayer [no, Eddie,
not every ratepayer is a taxpayer].
In good conscience I cannot support this issue myself without having an
independent rate expert tell me that it’s okay [You mean kinda like how you need Jaime Perez to hold your hand through
other decisions, too?]. Other than
having the opinion of the electric company that stands to benefit, and the City
itself, which guarantees another $5 million, which in my opinion is just
another tax. Um, so, I, too cannot
support that,” and then turning to look to the television station cameras in
chambers, spoke right into them and said, “because I ran on a platform that I
wouldn’t be a tax and spend representative, so I’m going to stay true to my
word and not be a tax and spend representative, so I’m going to vote no.”
Again, like Castro and
Gilbert, no solutions, no suggestions, no negotiating, concrete criticisms, no
plan. Just plain “no.”
Then Susie Byrd spoke and
she rightfully defended the staff’s work saying, “It’s my understanding that
while we were not the Council that drove the policy decisions behind many of
this, it was the City Manager, acting on behalf of the policy direction given
to her um, by, um, the previous mayor and Council and we need to, um, those
folks were elected, um, and we need to sort-of give some thought to the fact
that it has gone through a due diligence process.”
Then, speaking to the
inflammatory language used by Castro, Holguin and Ray Gilbert, she said, “Um, I
also think, um, you know, nobody has, I think it’s unfair to use language like
‘hidden tax.’ Obviously, we’ve been
very up-front about ‘there’s $5 million there,’ nobody’s hiding it, um, we’ve
talked about it, we’ve gone through a process, a public process.”
And then, defending the work
they’d done she said, “I think it’s a really strong, um, agreement, and the
other piece, on the rate piece, I, um, like many of you on Council really
wanted to make sure that we said, um, and went through a process where we could
ensure ourselves that our rates are reasonable, um, and I think the current
agreement allows us to do this without, um, a lengthy, protracted, contentious,
expensive, um, rate case.”
She’s absolutely correct,
and good for her for standing up for the City Manager (who was doing her job
and following policy directions given by Wardy & Co.) and for not letting
Castro and Holguin get away with simply using inflammatory language to gain
cheap political points. And my
question—again—is where was Gilbert while Wardy & Co. gave this policy
direction he so disliked?
The franchise and rate
agreement both passed by a vote of 4-3; Lozano (who was part of the previous
Council that gave this policy direction), Castro and Holguin voted no.
Talking Debt
Hector Zavaleta from First
Southwest handled the following item:
21. CITY MANAGER: [Deputy City Manager, William Studer, (915) 541-4011] City Manager's report of current events and issues:
1. Financial Briefing with Council Members2. Plaza Theatre Debt3. Sun Metro Debt
He tutored Council on the various
forms of debt (something that cities, people, families, and businesses must
incur). He explained that bonds are
like loans and he covered the different kinds of debt the City can issue.
Our current (fixed rate)
outstanding principal is $416 million (a combination of the different types of
bonds). Zavaleta explained that there
are very low long-term interest rates, making it possible to refinance
outstanding debt. The City has a very
high credit rating right now, making it possible to keep low interest rates on
debt.
Steven Adams, also from
First Southwest, explained that commercial paper is a promissory note with a
variable rate, and commercial paper doesn’t have an impact on the City’s tax
rate.
Adams also went over all the
bonds issued in 2000 and 2002 and then explained that the City is now required
to pay its $17 million promise for the Plaza Theatre. He said the City could use either CO’s or International Bridge
revenue bonds, and either can be repaid with the revenue generated with the
increased parking meter fees (but which won’t cover the entire cost).
Cook reiterated some of what
Adams said in simple terms for you and me to understand and said, “You’re
trying to tell us that we need a certain amount of money to finish the Plaza
Theatre. And you’re recommending that
we issue Certificates of Obligation that would be that has a revenue stream that’s
going to pay off the majority of it, but that the underlying obligation still
falls back on the taxpayer should those revenues not be met.”
“Correct,”
said Adams.
There was a lengthy
discussion that followed about how to deal with those COs, how to guarantee the
money, and other possible options (like Regional Mobility Authorities, which El
Paso is now able to create).
Adams moved on to Sun Metro
and said that the department needs $20 million in City matching funds in order
to keep its enormous federal grants (and that’s more than Sun Metro has on a
one-time basis). Adams said Council
would have to find another way to get money aside from one-time revenues or the
City would be unable to take advantage of those grants. He said it would be very difficult for Sun
Metro to issue revenue bonds, so Council would need to think about what to do
with that challenge as there aren’t as many options as there are with the Plaza
Theatre.
Paul Braden, the City’s bond
counsel, covered the process for bonds and when he was finished, he said he’d
be happy to answer questions at that point or at any other time. Cook responded, “No, I think you’ve
sufficiently confused us,” and everyone laughed.
Cook’s correct…it is a
confusing process, but it was an important presentation, and I believe every
tax payer should view it.