7.19.2005

WARNING: Humor levels in this week’s column are at dangerously low levels. This is the result of a dearth of comedic moments. Nevertheless, it was an interesting meeting with a few important issues.

Read on!

Odds and Ends

There were several people signed up for this week’s…

CALL TO THE PUBLIC - PUBLIC COMMENT

William F. Hart spoke out against tolls and although he was also signed up to speak on buffalos, he ran out of time. Pity. Yvette Ramirez Ammerman, a local mother and activist from Kern Place whose child has elevated lead levels, updated Council on the continuing ASARCO battle.

Walt Phillips discussed DWIs and heat-related deaths. “I love El Paso and that’s why I’m here today,” he said, adding that there have been too many DWI’s. “I would like to offer my services on any committee, any organization you wanna put together on toughening our DUI and DWI laws.” Now that’s productive input.

K.L. Meiser spoke and his topic was the City’s alleged breach of contract with MHMR. Before he spoke, Mayor John Cook apologized for not reaching him the morning of the meeting. “You had plenty of time to call me; you chose not to,” said Meiser. He said he has been working on this issue since August 2004 and sent a letter to Cook last month letting him know that the City and Thomason are not paying what they promised and that there has been no annual report by the Executive Director assessing MHMR. He threatened to sue if the City continues to do nothing about these issues.

Hammering Those Who Get Hammered

Lisa Turner also spoke about DWIs and the police budget. She said the City needs a permanent DWI task force, not a temporary one, and said “we need a very large hammer” that teaches folks not to drive drunk. She said that since the Police Department is short 268 patrol officers, the City should hire an additional 50 officers above what is budgeted and use some of them for a permanent DWI task force.

Once the public portion was over, it was time to move on to other City business.

No Mo’ Minutes

I’m no longer going to post minutes and the links to them in my notes. The City’s minutes of our public meetings are painfully inadequate and contain nothing of substance.

Funding More Fiestas?

The following item was approved on the consent agenda with no discussion:

3B. That the Mayor be authorized to sign an amendment to Grant Agreement and a Memorandum of Agreement by and between the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, the State of Texas and the City of El Paso, Texas related to the implementation of the 1999 Empowerment Zone Planning and Implementation Grant, whereby additional funds in the amount of $661,333 will be added to the grant. [Community and Human Development, Thomas Serrano, (915) 541-4642] (Attachment)

The agenda item states, “The $661,333 appropriation for the El Paso Empowerment Zone is to be used in conjunction with economic development related activities consistent with the strategic plan of the El Paso Empowerment Zone program.” The item also states that since 1999 the El Paso EZ has received $25,615,333.

My regular readers know that I’m no fan of the way the Empowerment Zone has been using our empowerment zone dollars of late—for fiestas on Texas Avenue. I love street festivals as much as the next elote lovin’, people watchin’ El Pasoan, and I think they generate great community pride; however, I don’t believe that our precious, dwindling empowerment zone federal funds should pay for parties. I also believe that $25 million, if used appropriately, creatively and thoughtfully, could have made a remarkable difference in El Paso.

I looked (again) on the EZ website to find out more about them and found the mission statement:

One of 15 cities in the nation, and the only city in Texas to be awarded EZ designation, the El Paso Empowerment Zone provides funds and incentives for businesses to locate or expand within the Zone, build sustainable neighborhoods, and develop human capital.’

http://www.elpasoez.org/eng/index.php?option=content&task=category&sectionid=7&id=13&Itemid=40

Call me crazy, but I don’t know how a “Chopper” and Custom Car Festival or a Salsa Festival accomplishes that goal…now a Fishing Hole Fiesta…that’s different.

I also found the 2004 annual report on their website and discovered that salaries account for almost $339,000 of the annual budget (up by $28,000 from the previous year) and that rent is $50,592 (throw in an additional $3,842 for parking) a year.

And in today’s paper…

The El Paso Empowerment Zone board is to consider providing $75,000 for a biomedical education program at El Paso Community College when it has its monthly meeting Tuesday.
http://www.elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005507240344

If only they spent as much on the biomedical education program as they did on their $250,000 festivals (http://www.elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005506190323). I’m sorry, but this is a prime example of skewed values.

I guess at least some folks are being empowered, though, eh?

Ortega’s Rule Amendment

As promised, here’s the amendment to the public portion of the agenda:

10. MAYOR AND COUNCIL: Discussion and action on an amendment to Section 12 of the Rules of Order to allow for public comment on more than one topic during the allotted time slot afforded to members of the public during the public comment portion of the agenda. [Representative Steve Ortega, (915) 541-4124] (Attachment)

This item would allow public speakers to discuss more than one topic in their allotted time during the public portion of the agenda.

Cook began by complimenting Ortega for putting this on the agenda and said that the intent of the rules of order was to promote public input, not suppress it.

Steve Ortega said he appreciated the concern expressed by Lisa Turner and Ric “Peace, Love and Understanding” Schecter and he made a motion to approve, seconded by O’Rourke.

The change passed unanimously. Ric, ole buddy, you can go to town now!

City Attorney Musical Chairs

Some folks predicted this, and I didn’t see it coming, but I was frankly delighted when I saw it on the agenda:

1. Resolution that Council affirm the Mayor's reinstatement of Charlie F. McNabb into City service as the City Attorney and that the City Manager be authorized to sign an Employment Agreement between the City and Charles F. McNabb setting forth the terms of the employment, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit "A." [City Manager Joyce Wilson, (915) 541- 4844] (Attachment)

Folks who have been privy to recent events (READ: the destruction that was the Wardy administration) understand the need for a good City Attorney. Without one, the department falls apart, Council is up a creek without a paddle, cronies are able to operate with impunity, cronies get tacky redecorating budgets, and the public ends up paying the price for all of this. We learned a valuable lesson through the Lisa E. debacle.

Mayor Cook, the first to speak, said that when he was elected mayor he felt the legal department, especially the trial section, needed to be reevaluated and rebuilt. He said he called his “good friend” Charlie McNabb who agreed to come back on a temporary basis to help. Cook said that after a little over a week on the job, McNabb told him he loved what he was doing and agreed to take on the position permanently.

Cutting the Search Engine

“I can think of no better person in the state of Texas than Charlie McNabb to run the legal department in the City of El Paso,” said Cook, adding, “He has more than 27 years experience,” said Cook, adding, “I know that we had talked about a process, doing a search, and allowing Council members to appoint somebody to an evaluation committee. When I made that commitment, it was not knowing that Charlie would even be willing to come back permanently.”

He acknowledged that some Council members were concerned about the public statement that there would be a process—some wanted a national search—to find the new permanent City Attorney, “but I would ask them to consider that they appoint themselves as the persons who are evaluating whether or not Charlie McNabb is the proper person to lead our legal department.”

Lozano thanked McNabb for taking the job and said, “Welcome home.”

Steve Ortega spoke and said, “I was one of those Council members that expressed some concern about the public representation that we made about having a process. At that time Mr. McNabb’s name was not one that was in consideration because he told me that he would only be here for a month, but now given this change in circumstance, I’ve had about three weeks to work with Mr. McNabb and I can say to my constituents that I have the utmost in confidence in him. And I don’t think I’ve told him this, I don’t think there’s a better person on the face of this earth to be El Paso’s City Attorney, my only problem was the process, the representation that we made to the public, but I’m going to support Mr. McNabb because I think he’s going to be an excellent City Attorney for El Paso.”

Presi Ortega said that the institutional knowledge McNabb brings back to the City is invaluable and that there will be challenges ahead that he will have to guide them through. Indeed!

P. Ortega made the motion to approve and Susie Byrd seconded the item.

Ric “This is War!” Schecter was there and said that his concern was the length of the contract: Five years. Schecter pointed out that this new mayor and Council let Lisa Elizondo go because they had no confidence in her and they wanted someone they had confidence in. He called extending Charlie McNabb’s contract one year into the next mayor’s term “inconsistent.”

Cook said they wanted to make sure there is stability in the City Attorney’s Office (especially with the new or re-elected officials who begin terms in 2007), and Steve Ortega said that the contract could always be terminated. Schecter said it could indeed, but at a cost. Schecter said a four-year term with two six-month extensions would be better. Steve Ortega, coming close to expressing frustration with Schecter’s insistence that they cut the contract down, said twice that this is a policy decision that Council would make.

The contract with McNabb was approved unanimously and the audience applauded.

Returning to the Fold

The next three appointments were also discussed:

2. Reinstatement of Al Avila as Assistant City Attorney/City Prosecutor effective August 1, 2005. [City Manager Joyce Wilson, (915) 541-4844] (Attachment)

3. Appointment of Laura P. Gordon as Deputy City Attorney/Trial Supervisor effective September 1, 2005. [City Manager Joyce Wilson, (915) 541-4844] (Attachment)

4. Reinstatement of Raymond L. Telles as Assistant City Attorney effective August 15, 2005. [City Manager Joyce Wilson, (915) 541-4844] (Attachment)

Charlie McNabb, who was now standing at the podium, said that Cook’s foremost concern was rebuilding the trial section in order to bring in more cases that have been outsourced. McNabb said that Al Avila was the chief prosecutor for many years and is an “extraordinary attorney who was dedicated to the prosecutor’s office.” McNabb explained that the prosecutor’s office is the only place that most citizens have contact directly with the City, so “it is imperative that that office function be receptive to the needs of the public…and not to just prosecute people for speeding, but to provide service to the public.”

Cook said that Ms. Gordon served as the trial supervisor throughout his term as City Attorney and CAO, and “she brings to us a tremendous amount of institutional knowledge and experience in running the trial section of the office.” McNabb said he thought she could stabilize and modernize the office and rebuild that section of the office. REBUILD is the operative word here.

McNabb said that Raymond Telles would be replacing Sylvia Firth, who is the attorney at the Airport. Firth would be moving to City Hall and would act as the intergovernmental liaison for the City, coordinating work with the City’s lobbyists and keeping up with activities in Austin and Washington, D.C.

McNabb said that together, the four attorneys bring over 50 years of municipal experience back into the office.

Meditation on the Compensation

Steve Ortega asked McNabb to explain the salaries because they could become an issue just as salaries had been an issue during the Wardy administration. I’m glad he did, because the salaries are indeed an issue for me.

McNabb said that he carefully reviewed all the salaries in the office and found that there are “disparities that were not based on objective criteria.” (I wanted to slip McNabb a note that read, “No, they were based on Lisa E. criteria!”)

McNabb said that he believes the salaries should be based on objective criteria like the number of years of experience as a lawyer, the number of years of municipal experience or direct experience for trial lawyers, competence and meritorious service. Imagine that! McNabb said that in the past there has been “little relation between the attorneys that have similar level of experience with each other…it creates the perception of favoritism.” Indeed, it does.

He said that he himself asked for a salary that was 5% lower than the City Manager. (He also got $10,000 for his deferred compensation plan, $10,000 of moving expenses paid, and $350 per month for vehicle expenses. This seems a little too generous, even to me, and I’m an enormous fan of Mr. McNAbb.) He said that, traditionally, city managers and city attorneys are the highest paid professionals in City government and that city managers are typically paid more than city attorneys because of their greater responsibility.

McNabb said he followed Civil Service guidelines for Laura Gordon’s salary, which was 5% lower than his at $150,000. Sorry, folks, but for me, that’s a bit high, especially when you consider there is a second deputy City Attorney, Terry Cullen Garney, also earning close to that. Ms. Gordon was earning $128,000 when she left, and I can’t see why there’s the need for a $22,000 salary jump here. McNabb said that Terry Cullen Garney, the other deputy in his office, is paid less than Gordon, but he would review that soon.

He further explained that Al Avila was earning around $90,000 when he left, and he was not given his merit increase before he left, so McNabb placed him where he would’ve been when he left. McNabb said he placed Telles in the group that had similar experience, and he would be looking at everyone’s salary and come up with a standardized formula for placing people where they belong appropriately rather than “willy nilly.”

Beto O’Rourke asked him if he would need to add anyone else to that office, and if so, at what salary range. McNabb said he’d wait for Gordon to make decisions about the trial section, where the need probably exists. He also said that he would like to add a position that works with department heads on disciplinary matters. When O’Rourke asked him for a ballpark figure for that position, McNabb said it would be between $80,000-100,000 to get the level of experience necessary for that position.

All of the appointments were approved unanimously.

Continuing the Work

The following item was taken off the agenda by Eddie Holguin:

3F. That the Mayor be authorized to execute an Interlocal Governmental Agreement between the City of El Paso and the City of Socorro establishing a farmer's market in Mission Valley that will benefit both entities and the people of El Paso County by providing a valuable tool for community and economic development. The market will be operational from July 30, 2005, through October 29, 2005. The City of El Paso will pay the City of Socorro $37,220.00 for the administration, marketing and management of the market. [Quality of Life Services, Deborah Hamlyn, (915) 541- 4686] (Attachment)

Lilia Ruiz, Socorro City Manager, spoke on behalf of this item and the item was approved unanimously with little discussion. This program was started by the Wardy administration and unlike Wardy, it appears that Cook is not dead set on killing what the previous mayor did.

Community Development

The predecessors to the following items have been discussed in detail in earlier notes, and these items represented the final approval for Community Development Block Grant projects:

11A. Public Hearing to receive comments on, and discussion and action on, Program Performance and on the adoption of the Proposed 2005-2010 Consolidated Plan for the City of El Paso and the adoption of the Proposed Annual Action Plan 2005-2006 including the 31st Year (2005-2006) Community Development Block Grant Program Budget, the FY 2005 Emergency Shelter Grant and FY 2005 HOME Investment Partnerships Program Budgets. (Citywide) [Community and Human Development, Robert Salinas, (915) 541-4643] (Attachment)

11B. Discussion and action on a Resolution that the City Council, having conducted a public hearing in order to receive comments on Program Performance and on the Draft Consolidated Plan for 2005-2010, including the Proposed Annual Action Plan 2005 - 2006, hereby adopts a Final Consolidated Plan for 2005 - 2010, and the Final Annual Action Plan for 2005- 2006, including the 31st Year (2005-2006) Community Development Block Grant Program, FY 2005 Emergency Shelter Grant Program, and FY 2005 HOME Investment Partnerships Program Budgets. (Citywide) [Community and Human Development, Robert Salinas, (915) 541-4643] (Attachment)

11C. Discussion and action on a Resolution that, having conducted a public hearing in order to receive comments on Program Performance and on the Draft Consolidated Plan for 2005 – 2010 and the Proposed Annual Action Plan 2005 - 2006, and having adopted the Final Consolidated Plan for 2005 - 2010, including the Annual Action Plan 2005- 2006; That the City Manager be authorized to sign and submit to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) the Consolidated Plan, including the Annual Action Plan, and all certifications contained therein, and to sign (i) Grant Agreements with HUD for the three entitlement grants covered by the Annual Action Plan; (ii) grant contracts and related documents with agencies approved for funding in the Annual Action Plan, and (iii) related documents required by HUD or the State of Texas for activities covered by the Consolidated Plan 2005-2010 and the Annual Action Plan 2005-2006. (Citywide) [Community and Human Development, Robert Salinas, (915) 541-4643] (Attachment)

Ten people signed up to speak on the item; Cook gave them three minutes each.

Charles Roark (executive director of Hospice and an EPISD board member) spoke and said that there are still inequities and would like Council to work with staff to develop a fair process.

Lisa Turner offered suggestions on how to keep funding in place in order to preserve funding for children and told Council that eliminating any programs that affect children is wrong. Turner also suggested maintaining funding for Christmas in April by using the Palo Verde reward money and was told that couldn’t happen.

Partially undoing a Wardy administration decision (a move I wholeheartedly support), Council deleted funding for the Central Fire Station HVAC project in order to allocate money to Creative Kids, Inc., the Rescue Mission of El Paso and the City-wide curb-cut program. (The replacement of the HVAC project funding will come from either old Certificates of Obligation or the Palo Verde rewards…Turner called it “interesting” that the rewards could be used for the fire station and not Christmas in April.)

Cook complimented the Rescue Mission and the new City Council members for working on compromises that helped make sure more funding went further.

Andrea Gates Ingle thanked Council for supporting the Creative Kids project (rehabbing an old building they purchased in Union Plaza that will house their offices, a gallery, and other non-profit organizations). Steve Ortega thanked them for setting a positive example for other young people who are making a difference in El Paso, thanked them for committing to downtown El Paso, and pledged his strong support of them for as long as he’s on Council.

Marina Rios and Basilio Valenzuela thanked Council for funding the San Juan Center. Additionally, Rios told Wilson she liked her hair and Valenzuela said he wished he could thank Robert Cushing, too.

Lozano surprised me with a very diplomatic response, telling Valenzuela that Susie Byrd was there now and that she, too, would continue to help the community. Good for him!

David Gillooley from the Opportunity Center also spoke and said, “I wish Ms. Turner was still here because I would like to be able to tell her that our City is to be commended and has been commended in the past by HUD for the process we use in allocating these funds…and we hope that process continues.”

Beto O’Rourke made a motion to accept the changes (finding alternate funding for the Fire Station in order to fund other non-profits with the CDBG funding), and the only no vote was…yes, folks…Melina Castro. (I’ve been told that Cobos and Cushing were instrumental in denying funding for Creative Kids—I wonder if Castro continues their bias against that non-profit.) She never spoke out against the changes, never informed the public why she was not supporting the item, and never offered alternatives for consideration. She just voted no. I guess we’ll have to ask Luther why she voted no, if we care.

When it came time for Council to vote on the adopted plan (items 11B and 11C), again, Castro was the only “no” vote both times.

The Plan for a Plan

The next item was an update on what has become a fairly controversial item in some folks’ eyes, the Strategic Agency Plan for the Arts:

14. QUALITY OF LIFE: [Quality of Life Services, Deborah Hamlyn, (915) 541-4686] Discussion and action on progress report on Strategic Agency Plan for the Arts, presentation by consultant and public advisors. POSTPONED FROM 07/06/05 SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Joyce Wilson reminded the Mayor that this item was discussed at a special City Council meeting and was moved to a regular meeting per the request of Council members, who wanted more time to “digest” the plan. As a result, there would be no public presentation. (To see the meeting on streaming video, visit http://www.elpasotexas.gov/realplayer.asp and click on the July 6, 2005 special meeting.)

Susie Byrd was the first to speak. She said she wanted the mission statement to reflect that “the reason we ought to fund art is for the sake of arts, the value it provides in expressing who we are…to grow arts audiences and grow artists.”

Beto O’Rourke suggested that the mission be, “To assist in developing a world class arts community in El Paso, Texas,” adding that he believes the City should “assist,” not lead or develop, the arts. Byrd agreed and O’Rourke made the motion to change the mission statement and that amendment passed unanimously.

Byrd also recommended that the strategic goal of the Arts and Culture department be to “to bring arts to all El Pasoans,” and then evaluate if that goal is being met. She also wanted to include the following:

“Provide programming that is accessible to a large and diverse audience of El Pasoans; that fills gaps in cultural programming available; that brings world class performers to El Paso or that introduces El Paso performers and artists to a larger El Paso audience; that maximizes limited City resources through new revenue streams such as sponsorships, grants and creative collaborations and partnerships.”

Byrd said that the current programming should be reviewed based on these guidelines and that the evaluation of the cost per person be reconsidered. Steve Ortega said that Byrd’s ideas should be brought back to Council within a month so that it’s not just “aspirational fluff.” Ouch! When Byrd explained that the staff would really have to be the ones doing the analysis, Ortega suggested instructing staff to do that so that Council is able to get more specific information.

Byrd’s recommendation to add the language “to bring arts to all El Pasoans” passed unanimously.

Representative Beto O’Rourke wanted to add language to the goals that would “position the Arts and Culture Department to become an independent non-profit arts Council supported by private and public financial resources.” O’Rourke said he doesn’t intend to decrease public funding for the arts, but that this would get more community buy-in, depoliticize direction, and help them solicit tax-deductible contributions.

Byrd said the idea should be reviewed, but she’s not sure that’s the best route to follow. Eduardo Diaz, the individual who was working on the plan for the City, said that two large cities (Houston and Fort Worth) have a private arts Council and works well in those cities (and other cities that have private arts Councils) because of the large corporate base and private donations that come from them. The implication was that El Paso doesn’t have as much private money for donations as those larger, more affluent cities do. On this point, Diaz is correct.

Steve Ortega wanted to postpone the item so Council didn’t make a decision “on the fly” as he believed they might have done so in the past; the City Manager said that this process, although new to this Council, had gone through a lengthy process through staff. Alexandro Lozano said, “let’s not stop it…we can always amend it.”

Ortega made the motion to postpone for 16 weeks and send the item to a legislative review committee; Eddie Holguin seconded the item. The postponement failed 4-3 (Presi Ortega was gone, and only Castro, Holguin, and S. Ortega supported a postponement.)

Byrd again said she didn’t know enough about making ACD a non-profit to make it a goal in their strategic plan, and said it might be explored as an objective instead. O’Rourke’s motion died for lack of a second.

Byrd made a motion to include O’Rourke’s non-profit suggestion as an objective instead and O’Rourke seconded that motion; that amendment passed with one abstention by Steve Ortega, who said he didn’t have enough information.

Outrageous Suggestion

Leil Chambers, artistic director of the Outrageous Fortune Theater Company, said that she felt Council should “question the role of the City in creating arts programming,” and thought assisting and nurturing existing non-profits was more appropriate. I disagree strongly. The Arts & Culture Department (under the leadership of Alexandrina Drew) did an outstanding job of doing exactly what Byrd was requesting that they continue to do – bring art to all El Pasoans. If the non-profits in El Paso need support, I think the City should indeed do that, but to do it at the expense of other El Pasoans and their access to great programs like Music Under the Stars or Alfresco Fridays would be unacceptable.

Chambers continued and claimed the arts community is currently “in a state of stasis.” I guess she was looking for the City’s Arts & Culture Department to solve that problem for them.

Cook said that this Council has had to tackle lots of big issues in a short amount of time, but that the plan can be amended in the future, and he wanted to commend Council for taking action.

The plan as amended passed 5-2 (with Holguin and Steve Ortega voting no).

Upper Valley Zoning Change

The following item had a rather disappointing outcome, especially to folks who had expected Ann Lilly to be their champion:

15A. An Ordinance changing the zoning of Parcel 1: All of Tract 9B and a portion of Tracts 6 and 10A, Block 11, Upper Valley Surveys, El Paso, El Paso County, Texas from R-F (Ranch and Farm) to R-3 (Residential) and imposing certain conditions; and Parcel 2: A portion of Tracts 9F and 10A, Block 11, Upper Valley Surveys, El Paso, El Paso County, Texas from R-F (Ranch and Farm) to R-2 (Residential) and imposing certain conditions. The penalty being as provided in Chapter 20.68 of the El Paso Municipal Code. Applicant: Mountain Vista Realty, Inc. ZON05-00006 (District 1) POSTPONED FROM 07/05/05, 06/14/05 AND 05/17/05 [Planning, Research and Development, Fred Lopez, (915) 541-4925] (Attachment)

George Sarmiento explained that the property in question, which is in the Upper Valley, is 25.5 acres of vacant property zoned Ranch-Farm (R-F), and the property owner is requesting R3 and R2 for a total of 79 units. This means that the lots would go from being rather large (R-F) to smaller, residential lots for homes. Sarmiento explained that this zoning change is part of the Upper Valley Plan approved in December 2003. The City Plan Commission voted to approve the zoning change request and required the owner to submit a traffic impact study; the DCC also approved it.

John Cook asked Council to suspend the rules of order so that Mary Francis Keasling, President of the Save the Valley, and officials from Canutillo ISD could speak on the item (she signed up late).

Keasling said that Canutillo ISD officials were present at the meeting and would speak after she did. She said that her organization, comprising 800 people, supports responsible development and said that two years ago, Save the Valley asked for a FEMA flood plain study. She said that in the past, Council has used discretion when it comes to zoning changes and that things other than density could be considered. She believed that the same discretion should be used in this case.

She had a power point presentation and while she was showing pictures of the area, she said residents are concerned about the fact that the zoning change (and new development) would increase traffic near an elementary school and would increase traffic on Strahan Road, a street that was already deteriorated as a result of flooding problems.

The road that was in the photographs was a narrow agricultural road. There was definite flooding visible, and if I were a parent near that school, I’d be pretty upset if I knew a new development would be creating increased traffic there that the City was not addressing.

The neighborhood was requesting that the zoning change be approved with the stipulation that an exit onto Upper Valley Road (instead of Strahan Road) be required and that there be a reduction in the density of the new development. Keisling also said that because the new exit onto Upper Valley Road would require crossing the canal, the developer could ask for a bridge over the canal from the water district. Keisling said that Chuy Reyes of the Water District said it would only take several weeks to get that done. (Note on Reyes: Don’t forget that Chuy Reyes, brother of Congressman Silvestre “Jobs for the Family” Reyes, was Wardy’s campaign manager.)

The Canutillo officials agreed with the neighbors and signed a petition saying so, which had enough signatures to trigger the requirement of a super-majority (7 votes) for this zoning change to pass.

Joyce Wilson informed Council that egress and ingress issues would be determined based on a traffic impact study, and she said the City would make any requirements of the developer regarding traffic issues, if necessary, as a condition to the subdivision plat. Susie Byrd asked if the meeting for that would be public, and the answer was yes. What was not asked was if the Council would be allowed to make any changes to the development once the subdivision part of the process came back to Council. I don’t know enough about planning to know if this was the last time Council could require something of the developer or if they have another opportunity to do so.

Charlie McNabb said that Council couldn’t require the developer to build a bridge over land he does not own and that it is very difficult to do that; Wilson added that the City had been trying to get that done with the Water District on another property and it has taken several months—not weeks as Reyes had indicated.

Ann Lilly finally spoke and said that the developer would agree to reduce the density of that development by 35%.

Sergio Coronado of the Canutillo ISD Board of Trustees spoke and said that the School Board had adopted a resolution supporting Save the Valley’s recommendations and concerns. Cook said that he wanted Coronado and the board to understand that Council has limited ability to force a developer to cross property he doesn’t own.

Laurie Searls, another upper valley activist, read a letter into the record written by Charles Hart, superintendent of the Canutillo ISD, which stated that “productive agricultural land is a finite and irreplaceable natural resource” and that he opposed any zoning change from Ranch-Farm (RF) whatsoever.

Wayne Grinnell, the applicant and representative for the owner of the property, said the zoning case is in line with the comprehensive plan adopted by Council in December. He said a traffic study has been completed, but he didn’t mention the outcome.

Ann Lilly moved to amend the requirements of the development with a requirement for density reduction, which she said should help the traffic problems. After she made the motion, she said she was very sensitive to the traffic and school issues, but “There’s an old saying, you should’ve been here in the beginning, and I wasn’t.”

Huh? What does that mean?

The amendment and the item passed unanimously.

Lilly later told the newspaper "I was told by legal that traffic on Strahan is not a reason I can vote it down" (http://www.elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005507200347). And maybe that’s true, but at the very least, she should have made some public statements about what she expected staff to do to find solutions to those traffic problems and what she was willing to commit to doing herself.

I think Ms. Lilly has good community values; she needs her constituents to work more closely with her, however, so that they can inform her on some of the background to these pressing issues and she needs to take a more aggressive approach to solving some of these problems as a representative. I understand that the neighborhoods can’t always get everything they want (and they shouldn’t), but from what I could tell, that poor old road can’t handle any more traffic.

Keep On Infilling

The next item was another permit for the developer who is investing in infill in the northeastern part of District 2:

15B. An Ordinance granting Special Permit No. ZON05-00030, to allow for a Planned Residential Development on Lots 267 and 268, 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. ZON05-00030

(District 2) [Planning, Research and Development, Christina Valles, (915) 541-4930] (Attachment)

The development will create 12 new homes (the developer let go of two in a compromise).

Two members of the public were there to speak: Charlene Clark and Debra Seelig (sorry if I misspelled this name). Clark used her three minutes to simply read from the municipal code about zoning and when she ran out of time, Council granted her an additional minute to continue reading from the code.

Rudy Valdez from the Planning Department said that regarding the issues she focused on during her reading of the code (which were not clear to me as I zoned out during her reading), most of the issues are worked on during the subdivision aspect of the process. Seelig said she and other neighbors are opposed to this development and feel they are being discriminated against because they had to follow the ordinances in place. She said that relaxing the rules for infill penalizes existing neighbors. She was also concerned about drainage and said that all the schools in the area are at capacity.

What these folks don’t seem to realize (or maybe they do and just don’t care) is that infill is the smartest way for our City to grow. Infrastructure is already in place, schools (although probably close to capacity) are in place, libraries and police and fire stations are in place, and it costs us less (collectively) in the long run.

Rudy Valdez told Council that many of these issues are addressed during the planning stage of the development process.

Byrd called it a “good development,” and said that the developer “did a very good job” addressing community questions and concerns.

The ordinance passed unanimously.

The Money Pit

The final item on the agenda was an update on the under-funded police and fire pension funds, which taxpayers will probably have to pay for in the end:

16. CITY MANAGER: [Deputy City Manager, William Studer, (915)

541-4011] City Manager's report of current events and issues: Report on Actuarial Audit by the Stanton Group of Firemen's and Policemen's Pension Fund.

Bill Studer, Deputy City Manager for Financial Services, said Doug Anderson of the Stanton Group was there, and he explained that based on recommendations from First Southwest, the City’s financial advisors, the City retained the Stanton Group to look at the City’s unfunded liability in the Police and Fire Pension Fund. This is an actuarial analysis of where the City is that looks at the current status.

The second phase of Stanton Group’s analysis will be to design some options for dealing with this.

Anderson began his power point presentation (which, unfortunately, was not posted as backup online) and explained that retirement plans assets are audited every year, but the actuarial liabilities are audited less frequently. He said there were two steps to their process: “To try to duplicate the current calculations based on the current assumptions used by the current actuary based on the participant data…[and] to take a look at all the assumptions that go into that calculation and provide an opinion.”

He continued, “The process to measure liability is for every participant in the plan we calculate, we predict they benefit they will receive whether it’s due to retirement, disability, turnover or death, we predict the amount based on future expectations.”

He said that based on their estimates, it would take $422 million for the firefighter’s plan (which is 59% funded) and $624 million for the police officer’s plan (which is 72% funded) to meet all the obligations. In 2004, the City’s contribution to the firefighter’s plan was $5.7 million and the employees’ contribution was $4.8 million; the City’s contribution for the police officer’s plan was $9 million and the employees’ contribution was $5.9 million.

Anderson said there were minor differences between the findings of this audit and the actuary’s report.

Anderson said, “It’s okay to have an unfunded liability when there’s progress being made towards paying that.” He said the unfunded accrued liability in the firefighter’s plan is $135.7 million as of January 1, 2004 and would require a $6.5 million contribution to reduce that unfunded liability to zero over a 40-year period, but the requirement would increase by 4% each year that it’s not taken care of. This, of course, is above and beyond the normal contributions made each year.

The City’s options: Change the benefits; increase contributions (from the City or employees); increase investment areas (but, he added, everyone’s already doing their best to get the best possible return); or lower administrative costs (which would contribute the smallest amount).

Joyce Wilson described other options, including taking it to the voters in a charter amendment election. Anderson’s firm, however, would bring back recommendations and suggestions at a later time.

John Cook said that by his estimates, the cost needed to fund the unfunded pension fund would approach half a million dollars if the City did nothing in four years.

Cook said, “So the message here, is ‘Houston, we have a problem.’”

“A big problem,” added Steve Ortega.

Council took no action and will await the next part of Stanton’s analysis.

Remnants of Corruption Central

The Council then retreated into executive session, and when they came out they discussed the following case:

17A. City of El Paso and Joseph Wardy Mayor of the City of El Paso v. The Housing Authority of the City of El Paso; No. 08-05-00083-CV in the Eighth Court of Appeals (551.071) [City Attorney's Office, Michele Little Locke, (915) 541-4550] POSTPONED FROM 07/12/05

This, of course, is a hold-over from the Wardy administration’s attempt to stack the board of the Housing Authority, one of the most important agencies in our community and the one that helps our most vulnerable populations. The motion made to accept HACEP’s settlement offer and to dismiss the appeal was passed unanimously.

Speaking of HACEP, it looks like David Escobar is poised to retain his powerful position as Chair of that board—despite the wishes of the community—thanks to Mayor Cook. On this week’s HACEP agenda, Escobar is asking the board to vote for a new Vice Chair and to discuss and take action on the new Executive Director. (http://www.hacep.org/meeting_detail.sstg?id=77).

And the “They Have Some Nerve” Award Goes to….

Mike Dipp and the Dipp Family! Applause, applause.

In Sunday’s El Paso Times, the Dipps (who were major Wardy supporters) talk about their ownership of one of our community treasures downtown: The Plaza Hotel. That family owns quite a bit of downtown property in addition to the Plaza Hotel, which was once considered the finest in the southwest yet has remained unoccupied and unused for over 10 years under their ownership. In that article, Mike Dipp had the nerve to say:

"Something's gonna happen, especially now with everything going on around us," Dipp said.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050724/NEWS/507240331/1001

Interesting. “Something’s gonna happen?” Gee…could it be that maybe, just maybe, these very wealthy folks (who have some of the grandest homes in El Paso, including one on Rim Road) will finally invest some of that money in our community treasures (which they own)? That finally, just finally, these folks will fix up properties that have caused our downtown to deteriorate and look like a ghost town? That finally, these folks will take their responsibilities as owners of prime real estate seriously?

Well, here’s the answer:

“Though no timetable has been set for resuscitating the Plaza, the Dipps said the building is in good shape, ready to be transformed any time, ready for an infusion of millions of dollars.”

Ready for an infusion? That’s the understatement of the year. But what are they going to do about it?

Well, here you go:

“Dipp has major reasons to be optimistic, even though the family has no firm offers on the table right now for redeveloping the hotel or upgrading an adjacent lot.”

Oh, okay, so they’re waiting for someone else to do something about it. Just who would that be?

“Mike Dipp jokes that maybe it's time for the Plaza's fans to set up the velitas, the Mexican custom of lighting candles to the saints to ask for special favors.”

Velitas? Special favors? The saints? Good Lord!

This is precisely the attitude that has kept downtown hostage for so long, my friends…the Dipps (and others) own prime downtown real estate (historic landmarks, even) but they expect to sit back and do nothing while the rest of the community has to figure out how to revitalize their buildings for them.

I’m with Lisa Turner…let’s take their property by eminent domain!

Reminiscing

And finally, folks, I’d like to ask that each one of you help me by doing a little bit of homework on your own. I’m asking my readers to send me, via email, their favorite moments, quotes, themes from my column over the past two years. If possible, I’d like you to send them to me before Wednesday. Thanks!

Until next week…

Comments or questions: shmaven@yahoo.com

My commentaries are posted weekly at http://www.thestrelz.com/shm/shm.htm

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