* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. RECORDING IN [00:00:01] PROGRESS. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING, [I. INVOCATION, PLEDGE & ROLL CALL] GOOD MORNING. AND I'D LIKE TO WELCOME EACH OF YOU THIS MORNING ON THIS HISTORIC OCCASION, WHICH HAPPENS TO BE MY FINAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING AS MAYOR OF THE GREAT CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS. A THAT IS A, THAT'S A BIG DEAL. AND I HAVE HERE AS SOON AS I GET THIS WORK RIGHT, AND IF ANYONE HAS EVER BEEN TO ONE OF OUR COUNSELING MEETING, LYNN HAS BROKEN THIS, AND HE'LL COME AND FIX IT BECAUSE IT WON'T, IT WON'T. UH OH, THERE IT GOES. I TOLD YOU HE BROKE IT. UH, ALSO AS WE BEGIN, AND IT'S NOW 9 39, SO WE ARE ABOUT SEVEN, EIGHT MINUTES, UH, MAYBE OFF, BUT WE DO HAVE, IN OUR MIDST, MARY, LET CHARLOTTE, MOSES STANDS, UH, MARY L WANT TO CONGRATULATE YOU AND LET YOU KNOW THAT YOUR PROBLEMS BEGIN TOMORROW. THAT A HONEYMOON WILL BE OVER 1201. OKAY? AND I'LL COME TOMORROW AND JUST PASS THIS STUFF TO YOU, OKAY? BUT WE APPRECIATE YOU. AND ALSO SHE HAS WITH HER MY, UH, LINE BROTHER, MY, UH, CHILDHOOD FRIEND, YOU KNOW, MY COLLEGE TRUMP, THE NEW FIRST GENTLEMAN IN THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, REVEREND ALBERT, MOSES, STAN, REVEREND. AND, AND, AND THAT'S, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, I TOLD YOU HE'S MY LINE BROTHER. SO THAT'S HOW YOU SHOULD REFER TO HIM AS THE NEW FIRST GENTLEMAN OF THE GREAT CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS. NOW, WITH ALL OF THAT HAVING BEEN SAID, YOU ARE WELCOME AGAIN TO CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS HERE ON THE FIFTH FLOOR OF THE GREAT CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS AT 4 44 FOURTH STREET. IT IS TUESDAY, JUNE 17TH, 2025, AND IT IS NOW 9:40 AM AND IN THIS MEETING, YOU MAY PARTICIPATE AND ATTEND THE MEETING VIA TELEPHONIC AND, UH, VIDEO CONFERENCE MEDIUMS. HOWEVER, YOU MUST FIRST DIAL 8 7 7 8 5 3 5 2 4 7, OR 8 8 8 7 8 8 0 0 9 9, AND YOU WOULD ENTER THE MEETING ID OF 8 1 4 3 1 6 2 2 4 8 8, AND THE PASSCODE OF 2 3 6 2 8 7. AND YOU WILL BE PERMITTED TO ATTEND AND PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING. ALSO, IN THIS MEETING, WE ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT. AND IF YOU HAVE NEED FOR SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS, YOU WOULD ONLY NEED TO CALL THE CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE AT 4 0 9 9 8 3 8 1 1 5. HOWEVER, IT HAS TO BE DONE 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE, AND THE CITY SECRETARY STAFF WILL DO ALL WITHIN ITS POWERS TO ACCOMMODATE YOU AND ACTUALLY LIVE UP TO YOUR REQUEST. WITH THAT BEING SAID, OUR NORMAL OPENING IS AN INVOCATION, THE PLEDGE, AND THE ROLL CALL ON TODAY, I HAVE MY, UH, PERSONAL ATTORNEY HERE TODAY AND PERSON OF ATTORNEY JAMES PAYNE, WHO IS ALSO REVEREND JAMES PAYNE. AND I WOULD LIKE TO CALL YOU UP, IF YOU WILL, AND YOU MAY HAVE TO TAKE THAT HANDHELD MIKE, AND YOU WILL OFFER OUR INVOCATION. OKAY? YOU CAN STAND IN YOUR POSITION OF POSTURE FOR PRAYER. LET US GO TO GOD IN PRAYER. HEAVENLY FATHER, HOW EXCELLENT IS YOUR NAME, LORD, BEFORE WE ASK YOU FOR ANYTHING, WE JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE ALREADY DONE. WE THANK YOU FOR TRAVELING, GRACE, BRINGING US TO THIS PLACE SAFELY. LORD, WE THANK YOU FOR ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE DOING FOR THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR. BUT LORD, WE KNOW THAT YOU'RE NOT DONE YET BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT GREAT THINGS ARE ON THE RISING. LORD, WE THANK YOU FOR MAYOR BARTEE FOR THE SIX YEARS THAT YOU HAVE KEPT HIM AND PROVIDED HIM WITH COMFORT, AND WISDOM, AND UNDERSTANDING AND DISCERNMENT. WE THANK YOU BECAUSE WE KNOW NONE OF THIS WOULD BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT YOU. BUT LORD, WE KNOW THAT YOU'RE NOT DONE AGAIN. AND SO, LORD, WE LIFT UP OUR FUTURE. MAYOR, MAYOR MOSES. LORD, WE ASK THAT YOU COVER HER AS WELL. GIVE HER THE STRENGTH, GIVE HER THE WISDOM, GIVE HER THE COMFORT. MOST OF ALL, LORD, WE PLEAD THE BLOOD OVER [00:05:01] HER AND THIS ENTIRE COUNCIL, CONTINUE TO WATCH OVER THEM. STAND BY THEM. LORD, LET US BE DISAGREE, DISAGREE, BUT NOT DISAGREEABLE. CONTINUE TO GUIDE EVERYTHING THAT TAKES PLACE THAT MIGHT BE NOT ONLY PLEASING TO THIS COUNCIL, BUT MOST OF ALL PLEASING TO YOU. WE GIVE YOU PRAISE AND GLORY. AND THE ONLY NAME THAT I KNOW, THE MATCHLESS NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, I PRAY ALL THOSE WHO BELIEVE, CONCUR, SAY AMEN. AMEN. AMEN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, ATTORNEY. WOULD YOU PLEASE JOIN NOW IN SAYING THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVIDUAL WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INDULGENCE IN OUR OPENING CITY. SECRETARY, WOULD YOU BE SO KIND AS TO ESTABLISH A QUORUM FOR ME, PLEASE? MAYOR BARTEE. PRESENT, MAYOR PRO, TIMM ETT PRESENT, COUNCIL MEMBER LEWIS PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBER HAMILTON, EVER FIELD PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBER BECKHAM. HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER KINLAW HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER FRANK, PRESENT. YOU HAVE A COURT MAYOR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO KINDLY. AND AGAIN, [III.B.(1) Recognition Of The Port Arthur Industrial Group And Scholarship Recipients, From The Port Arthur Independent School District Requested By Councilmember Beckcom)] ON TODAY, WE'RE GOING TO BEGIN JUST A LITTLE DIFFERENT, DIFFERENTLY RATHER THAN WE HAVE IN THE PAST. AND WHAT I'D LIKE TO BEGIN WITH IS WE HAVE RECOGNITION OF, UM, SOME STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED, UH, SCHOLARSHIPS FROM THE PORT ARTHUR INDUSTRIAL GROUP. UH, WOULD THAT GROUP BE PRESENT? WHERE ARE YOU? RIGHT HERE. RIGHT HERE. OKAY. NO. WELL, I KNOW EVERYBODY'S TELLING ME NOBODY STOOD . YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY'S TELLING ME LIKE I'M, YOU KNOW, I KNOW I'M OLD. I MIGHT BE BLIND AND CAN'T HEAR, BUT I SAID IT. ANYONE HERE, WHENEVER YOU IN THIS TYPE MEETINGS, TEACHABLE MOMENT AND SOMEONE SAYS THAT YOU RISE. THANK YOU SO KINDLY. GO RIGHT AHEAD, SIR. SO, MAYOR BARTY, UH, UH, CITY MANAGER BURTON, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, RECOGNIZE SOME VERY SPECIAL FOLKS FROM OUR CITY. UH, MY NAME IS GARY PARSLEY. UH, I'M A NATIVE OF PORT ARTHUR. I'M THE PLANT MANAGER FOR THE CHEVRON PHILLIPS CHEMICAL PLANT, UH, HERE IN PORT ARTHUR. UH, BUT THAT'S NOT WHY I'M IN FRONT OF YOU TODAY. I'M ALSO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PORT ARTHUR INDUSTRIAL GROUP, AND, UH, I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE HONOR TO HONOR SOME VERY, SOME VERY SPECIAL FOLKS, UH, FROM OUR CITY. SO THE, UH, ONE THING I DO WANNA POINT OUT IS THAT THIS DOES MARK 25 YEARS SINCE THE PORT ARTHUR INDUSTRIAL GROUP, UH, HAS BEEN, UH, ACTIVE AND IT'S, IT'S AN EXAMPLE OF INDUSTRY AND THE COMMUNITY WORKING HAND IN HAND TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF THE CITIZENS OF PORT ARTHUR. UH, THIS YEAR WE'RE PROUD TO HAVE AWARDED $90,000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS TO THESE INDIVIDUALS. UH, THANK YOU. AND, AND, AND THESE STUDENTS ARE GOING ON TO FURTHER THEIR EDUCATION, UH, AND, AND AT INSTITUTIONS LIKE LAMAR STATE COLLEGE, PORT ARTHUR, BUT ALSO TEXAS A AND M UNIVERSITY. JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME EXAMPLES OF, OF WHERE THESE, UH, WHERE THESE FOLKS ARE GOING. UH, THESE YOUNG SCHOLARS, THEY REPRESENT THE FUTURE AND THE FUTURE OF OUR COMMUNITY. SO WE'RE REALLY PROUD TO, UH, TO HELP THEM ON THEIR, UH, ACADEMIC CAREER. UH, I MENTIONED THAT THE PAIG IS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN INDUSTRY AND THE COMMUNITY. I WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE, YOU KNOW, AIR PRODUCTS, UH, BASF, TOTAL ENERGIES, PETROCHEMICALS, MOTIVA CHEMICALS, AND REFINING OXBOW CAL SIGNING TOTAL ENERGY'S REFINING VALERO REFINERY, UH, VEOLIA, AND CHEVRON PHILLIPS CHEMICAL. THOSE ARE REALLY THE MEMBER COMPANY, THE INDUSTRY MEMBERS, UH, THAT PARTNER WITH THE COMMUNITY AS PART OF THE INDUSTRIAL GROUP. SO, UH, AND WITH ALL OF THESE COMPANIES, EDUCATION AND EMPOWERING THE COMMUNITY IS AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF, OF WHAT THIS THIS GROUP DOES. SO WITH THAT, UH, I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND, AND INTRODUCE THE, UH, UH, THE STUDENTS THAT RECEIVED THE, THE, UH, SCHOLARSHIPS. UH, SOME [00:10:01] ARE PRESENT, BUT I'LL GO THROUGH ALL OF THE NAMES. GUYS, IF YOU WOULD, WHEN YOU HEAR YOUR NAME, PLEASE STAND UP, UH, FOR THE COUNCIL, UH, YVAN BRAS. JAVON CHAPMAN. TORY FOWLER. ABEL GARCIA. SEE YA. GABRIELLE LEBLANC. EXCUSE ME. EXCUSE ME. YOU HAVE ONE OF YOUR STUDENTS IN THE REAR. WILL YOU COME UP SO THAT YOU CAN BE IN THE FRONT EAR WITH EVERYONE ELSE? OH, THANK YOU, MAYOR. YES, SIR. I JUST, YEAH, YEAH. BUT YOU ALL COME UP. YOU ALL CAN COME UP RIGHT HERE IN THE FRONT. YEAH. ALL RIGHT. VERY GOOD. UH, DYLAN NGUYEN, LUIS REYES, PADILLA CLEAR , DANIEL THOMAS. AND LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, UH, CHIEF, CHIEF, WRONG. CONGRATULATIONS AHEAD. CERTAINLY. THANK YOU, COUNCIL. ANYONE, ANYTHING TO SAY? YES, GARY, I JUST WANT THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, AND I WANT THANK ALL OF THE PORT ARTHUR INDUSTRIAL GROUP FOR, UH, AWARDING SCHOLARSHIPS TO THESE AMAZING STUDENTS. WHEN I SAW THE ARTICLE ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE PORT ARTHUR NEWS, I SAID, WE GOTTA GET THEM HERE. SO WE MADE IT HAPPEN. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ARRANGING YOUR SCHEDULES TO BE HERE, TO RECOGNIZE THESE STUDENTS TODAY, STUDENTS TO YOU. I WANNA SAY CONGRATULATIONS BECAUSE YOU WOULD NOT HAVE GOTTEN THESE SCHOLARSHIPS, BUT FOR YOUR EXCELLENT WORK IN SCHOOL. SO I WANT YOU TO BE FORWARD THINKING, KEEP THAT UP WHEREVER IT IS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO SCHOOL. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT COMING BACK TO PORT ARTHUR. OKAY? I'M A CASE IN POINT. I LEFT TO GO TO SCHOOL. I STAYED GONE FOR A LITTLE BIT, BUT I CAME BACK AND I BUILT MY CAREER HERE, AND I RAISED MY FAMILY HERE. AND I HOPE THAT YOU WILL CONSIDER DOING THAT AND GIVING YOUR TALENTS BACK TO THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR THAT MADE YOU WHO YOU ARE TODAY. OKAY? CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU. I WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK WHEREVER YOU ENDEAVOR TO GO TO COLLEGE OR TRADE SCHOOL, AND THAT YOU WILL HOPEFULLY COME BACK TO US WHEN YOU'RE DONE. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU, MAYOR. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU. I TELL EVERY STUDENT THAT GETS TO GRACE US, I EXPECT GREATNESS FROM YOU. THERE IS PRESSURE, AND IT'S GOOD PRESSURE BECAUSE WHEN YOU DO HAVE THE GOOD PRESSURE, YOU ALSO HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY BEHIND YOU. SO PLEASE REMEMBER TO USE YOUR RESOURCES AND CALL ON US HERE AT HOME TO HELP YOU THROUGH THOSE THINGS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH WHILE YOU'RE REACHING THOSE GOALS. I DON'T EVER WANT YOU TO THINK THAT YOU DON'T HAVE SUPPORT OR NO ONE HAS YOUR BACK. AND THOSE OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU TO REACH OUT WILL COME. AND I WANT YOU TO REMEMBER TO USE YOUR RESOURCES BECAUSE WE DO EXPECT GREATNESS FROM YOU, BUT WE HAVE RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP SUPPORT YOU AND LIFT YOU UP TOO. SO, CONGRATULATIONS AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT'S NEXT FOR Y'ALL. WELL, WE WANT TO THANK EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. I WANT TO TAKE A POINT OF PERSONAL REFERENCE. GABRIELLE IS MY, UH, GODDAUGHTER. AND I CAN REMEMBER, UH, WHEN, UH, WE BROUGHT YOU HOME, UH, AS A SMALL BABY. AND TO SEE WHERE YOU'VE COME NOW IS JUST A JOY FOR US. BUT TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU, WE APPLAUD YOU AND WE CONGRATULATE YOU. I WANT TO SAY TO YOU THAT AS YOU ARE GETTING READY TO GO FORWARD AND GO TO COLLEGE, YOU'RE GETTING READY TO GO TO SCHOOL, AND YOU'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO MAKING [00:15:01] A LIVING. YOU WANNA MAKE MONEY. YOU WANT TO HAVE ALL OF THE THINGS THAT INDIVIDUALS HAVE. BUT I WANT TO APPLAUD AND SAY TO YOU ON TODAY, DON'T JUST MAKE A LIVING, MAKE A LIFE. AND YOU MAKE A LIFE BY SERVING OTHERS. AND SO, HOWEVER YOU CHOOSE TO DO THAT IN THE FUTURE, MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE DOING THAT. WE APPRECIATE YOU AND WE ARE HERE FOR YOU, NOT JUST TODAY, BUT IN THE DAYS THAT ARE YET TO COME. CONGRATULATIONS. YES, I APPRECIATE ALL THAT THE INDUSTRY HAS DONE. WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO PARTNERSHIP WITH THE INDUSTRY FOR A LONG TIME. TO BUILD A COMMUNITY, A, IT'S A MIGHTY POOR FARMER THAT DOESN'T REST THE LAND OR REVITALIZE THE LAND. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE ALWAYS WORKED AGAINST EXPORTING YOUTH AND IMPORTING POVERTY, THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING OVER THE YEARS. BUT THAT'S HOPE ON THE HORIZON, THAT THIS INDUSTRY, LOCAL INDUSTRY IS PARTNERING WITH THE COMMUNITY, PARTNERING WITH THE COUNCIL, AND PARTNERING WITH THE INDUSTRY. THAT'S WHY ALWAYS WE GIVE GRANT TAX ABATEMENT AND ALL THESE INCENTIVES YOU HAVE TO HAVE, UH, EMPLOYMENT COMPONENT. WITHOUT AN EMPLOYMENT COMPONENT. YOU ARE EXPORTING YOUTH. I CAN GO TO PASADENA AND IN THE HOUSTON AREA AND SERVE BIRTH, AND FIND LOTS OF SUPPORT OUT THE PEOPLE. BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN IN THE, HAVING A HISTORY OF EXPORTING YOUTH AND IMPORTING POVERTY. WE ARE ABOVE THE AVERAGE ON THE LOW INCOME HOUSING COMPLEXES. SURROUNDING COMMUNITY DOESN'T HAVE 'EM. WE, IN ORDER TO BUILD ADDITIONAL LOW INCOME HOUSING, THE COUNCIL HAS TO PASS A WAIVER. I'M TIRED OF THAT. IT'S TIME FOR US TO TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN, REVITALIZE THE COMMUNITY, LET THE YOUTH GIVE THEM RECREATION, WHATEVER IT TAKES TO STABILIZE THEM. WE ARE IN THERE. I'M GONNA SAY IT ONE MORE TIME. I'M TIRED OF EXPORTING YOUTH AND IMPORTING POVERTY. THANK YOU ALL FOR WHAT YOU DO. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UH, IT JUST, UH, GIVES ME A, A PUT A SMILE ON MY FACE TO SEE YOU GUYS OUT THERE. MANY OF US THAT, UH, THAT SIT UP THERE. WE WORKED IN INDUSTRY BEFORE, SO I KNOW IT PAYS WELL. IT'S A GOOD LIVING, IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO GO TO COLLEGE. BUT I HAVE TO CONCUR WITH, UH, COUNCIL COUNCILWOMAN, UH, BECKHAM, YOU KNOW, JUST DON'T GET THE EDUCATION TO MOVE AWAY. CONSIDER MOVING BACK TO PORT ARTHUR BECAUSE PORT ARTHUR IS ON THE GROWTH. WE ARE INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE, AND YOU ARE OUR FUTURE. AND I'D LIKE TO CONGRATULATE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU GUYS. THANK YOU. YEAH. YEAH, YEAH. THAT'S WHY. NEXT [III.A.(1) Gail Pellum Of The African American Cultural Society Regarding Juneteenth Celebration] ITEM, WE WOULD HAVE, UH, WE HAVE A SPEAKER OF MS. GAIL PELLUM OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN CULTURAL SOCIETY REGARDING JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION, MS. PELLUM, AND YOU THAT, HEY, HANDHELD MIKE FOR [00:20:01] US, PLEASE. I'M SORRY. HANDHELD. OH, OKAY. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS GAIL LER, AS HE STATED. I'M THE PRESIDENT OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL SOCIETY. UH, I AM ALSO A PROUD BOARD MEMBER OF THE MIDDLE PASSAGE CEREMONIES IN PORT MARCUS PROJECT. UH, IT AGAIN IS WITH GREAT PRIDE THAT I EXTEND AN INVITATION TO THE BOARD OR TO THE ELECTED OFFICIALS TO COME OUT AND PARTICIPATE IN OUR JUNETEENTH ACTIVITIES. OUR THEME THIS YEAR IS GRAND RISING. OUR FIRST PROGRAM WILL BE A SILENT CEREMONY AT THE, UM, RIGHT ACROSS FROM THE PORT ARTHUR POST OFFICE AT THE BOARDWALK. UH, IF SUN COMES UP AT FIVE 30, WE'LL BE THERE FOR FIVE 15. BUT WE WILL BE GREETING THE SUN AS A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR THE ANCESTORS THAT WE HAVE LOST THROUGH THE MIDDLE PASSAGE, AND THUS FORWARD ALL THE ATROCITIES OF OUR PEOPLE. UM, THIS YEAR WE'RE ALSO DOING IT INTERNATIONAL JUNETEENTH, UH, JUNETEENTH AFFECTED US ALL OVER THE WORLD. SO THE SUNRISE SERVICE WILL BE HELD. UH, YOU NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO ATTEND. UM, EVERYONE IS JUST ASKED TO STAND WHERE YOU ARE IF YOU CAN'T BE THERE. THE SUNRISE SERVICE, UH, WE ARE JUST ASKED THAT YOU FACE THE RISE AND SUN. IF THERE IS NO SUN THAT DAY, WE ONLY ASK THAT YOU JUST TAKE A MOMENT AND BE SILENT IN REMEMBRANCE. UH, THE PARADE, AS USUAL, IS ALWAYS ON JUNE THE 19TH, UH, LINEUP IS AT FIVE O'CLOCK. THE PARADE STARTS PRECISELY AT SIX. READY OR NOT FOLLOWING THE PARADE, WE WILL HAVE ACTIVITIES AT THE PARK. AND, UM, I'M JUST REALLY EXCITED ABOUT JUNETEENTH. I'M ALWAYS EXCITED ABOUT JUNETEENTH. THIS WILL BE MY 40TH FIRST YEAR DOING JUNETEENTH, BUT, AND THIS WILL BE MY FINAL YEAR OF DOING JUNETEENTH. NOT THAT I'M NOT GONNA BE DOING JUNETEENTH. I'M JUST, I JUST WON'T BE DIRECTING JUNETEENTH, UH, OR ANY OTHER REALLY MAJOR ACTIVITIES. UH, I JUST HAVE SOME MORE THINGS THAT I WANT TO DO. I'M TURNING 70 THIS YEAR. I'M A WRITER. I'M A ARTIST. I'M A POET. I'M A CALLIGRAPHER. SO I WANNA DO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT GALE PELHAM DOES. I REALLY WANNA SHOW OFF. YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN TRYING TO ENCOURAGE OUR COMMUNITY TO JUST STAND UP AND SHOW OFF. SO I'M GONNA HAVE TO STAND UP AND SHOW OFF. SO I WOULD JUST LIKE TO, AGAIN, PLEASE, YOU KNOW, AS ELECTED OFFICIALS AND OUR NEW MAYOR, PLEASE, UH, WITH MY PERSONAL INVITATION, BE IN THE PARADE. LET YOUR CONSTITUENTS SEE YOU GIVE THEIR BEAUTIFUL WAVE. AND TO THE REST OF THE MEMBERS, I ASK THAT YOU PLEASE COME OUT. THIS IS MY LAST JUNETEENTH PARADE, AND I REALLY WOULD LIKE FOR IT TO BE A BANG. SO IF Y'ALL WOULD COME OUT, BE REPRESENTED, LET THE COMMUNITY SEE YOU, AND, AND I'M ASK THAT YOU THE NEXT GENERATION THAT STEPS UP TO DO JUNETEENTH, THAT WE STILL GET THE SAME SUPPORT FROM THE CITY, IF NOT MORE. AND THE COUNCIL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANY S ANY QUESTIONS? JUST YES, GO RIGHT AHEAD. THANK YOU, MS. GALE, FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE OVER, SINCE I CAN REMEMBER. AND YOU SAID FOR 41 YEARS, I THINK. I CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER HOW YOUNG WE WERE WHEN MY PARENTS HAD US PARTICIPATING IN JUNETEENTH. SO, AND I'M LIKE, YEAH, SHE WAS OUR MISS JUNETEENTH 1994 . SO THANK, THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE LOVE AND SUPPORT THAT YOU'VE GIVEN US OVER THE YEARS. AND ALTHOUGH THIS MAY BE YOUR LAST, UM, TIME COORDINATING, I'M SAYING TO THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, THIS WILL NOT BE OUR LAST JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION. IT MUST GO ON. SO LET'S, LET'S MAKE THAT CLEAR. WE WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE JUNETEENTH CELEBRATIONS. YES. ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS THAT MS. GALE DIDN'T MENTION, THERE IS NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR THE PARADE. THERE'S NO FEE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PARADE. YOU JUST HAVE TO BE READY FOR LINEUP AT FIVE O'CLOCK AT STILLWELL AND PROCTOR ON THURSDAY, JUNE 19TH. JUST KEEP ALERT. UM, PAY ATTENTION TO THE WEATHER. IF IT'S DRIZZLING, I GUARANTEE YOU MS. GALE WILL STILL HAVE US IN LINE. IF IT'S LIGHTNING, THEN SHE MAY SAY, JUST WAIT A FEW MINUTES, BUT WE WILL ROLL OUT AT SIX O'CLOCK. AND WE PLACED AN ORDER FOR SUNSHINE THAT DAY. WE PLACED THE ORDER FOR SUNSHINE THAT DAY, SHE SAYS. AND THEN THE PARADE WILL LEAD TO BARBARA JACKET PARK, WHICH IS STILL AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN AS GILLUM CIRCLE. AND WE WILL HAVE THE JUBILEE. SO PLEASE COME, BRING YOUR FAMILIES TO HELP CELEBRATE IN THIS WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL EVENT. AND I CANNOT EXPRESS ENOUGH. EVERYONE IS WELCOME EVERYONE. [00:25:02] EVERYONE IS WELCOME, EVERYONE. CULTURE, RELIGION, RACE, SEX, CREED, WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL IT. EVERYONE IS WELCOME EVERYONE. SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ON SATURDAY. I MEAN ON, LORD HAVE MERCY ON THURSDAY. THURSDAY, JUNE 19TH. THANK YOU. THANK COUNCILMAN LEWIS. OKAY, JUST MINUTE. HELLO GAIL. DON'T RUN OFF. MISS GAIL, DON'T RUN OFF. I'LL LET YOU GO IN A MINUTE. SHE'S SHY. SO I AM, WE, WE ENCOURAGE YOU. PEOPLE DON'T BELIEVE I'M TRYING. YES, SHE'S GAIL. I REMEMBER WHEN, WHEN YOU FIRST GOT STARTED WITH THE JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION. YES. AND I APPRECIATE THAT. AND IT IS BEEN A LONG TIME. 41 YEARS. 41 YEARS. YEAH. I RECALL THE FIRST FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND THAT ON THE WE WEST SIDE OF YES. UM, ONE OF, WE ARE NOT OLD. WE JUST BEEN HERE A WHILE. OH YEAH. . SO I APPRECIATE ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE DONE FOR THE COMMUNITY AND THE AWARENESS AND THE PRIDE. THAT GOES A LONG WAYS. YES. A LONG WAYS. APPRECIATE YOU NECESSARY, YOU KNOW, OUR COMMUNITY TO TRULY GROW. WE MUST KNOW. YES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO. THANK YOU. BEFORE WE MOVE TO THE NEXT REVEREND, UH, THOMPSON. THOMPSON AND MR. JOHNSON, WOULD Y'ALL PLEASE COME UP AND TAKE THESE SEATS RIGHT HERE. MR. WATKINS, WOULD YOU COME AROUND PLEASE? I GOT SOME SEATS RIGHT UP HERE. I'D LIKE FOR YOU TO COME PLEASE. YEAH, IT'S BEST TO BE CALLED UP. I AIN'T CALLING YOU DOWN. CALL, I'M CALLING YOU UP. COME ON, TAKE THE SEATS THERE. YEAH. SEE AND NO, IT'S JUST THE SECURITY IS STANDING. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. [III.A.(2) Evie Jones, MBA, Budget And Compliance Analyst For The City Of Port Arthur Regarding Winners Of The Finance 2025 Budget Book Photo Contest] OKAY. NOW WE'D LIKE TO HAVE NOW, UH, A SPEAKER. I THINK IT'S MS. EBY JONES, UH, UH, MBA, UH, ON BUDGET AND COMPLIANCE ANALYSIS FOR THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR REGARDING WINNERS OF THE FINANCE 2025 BUDGET BOOK PHOTO CONTEST. GOOD MORNING MAYOR, CITY COUNSELOR AND CITY MANAGER AND COMMUNITY. THIS YEAR MARKS OUR SECOND YEAR OF THE BUDGET BOOK PHOTO COVER CONTEXT, WHICH ENCOURAGES COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO SUPPORT ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS THAT HIGHLIGHT, HIGHLIGHT PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS IN OUR COMMUNITY. THIS YEAR, ENTRIES WERE ASSESSED BY A JUDGING PANEL BASED ON THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA, RELEVANCE OF THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR COMPOSITION AND VISUAL APPEAL, CREATIVITY AND ORIGINALITY. THIS YEAR WE HAD A TOTAL OF FIVE CANDIDATES FROM OUR COMMUNITY TO PARTICIPATE. OUR THIRD PLACE WINNER WAS MR. JERRY CONLEY FOR HIS PHOTO ENTITLED FOGGY MORNING ON THE APPEAR OF WALTER HUMPHREY STATE PARK ON PLEASURE ISLAND. OUR SECOND PLACE WINNER WAS MISS SHERRY STOCKS WITH HER PHOTO ENTITLED PORT ARTHUR BOARDWALK. AND OUR GRAND WINNER, WHICH HIS PHOTO WILL BE, UH, FEATURED ON THE COVER OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2026. BUDGET BOOK IS MR. JERRY CONLEY FOR HIS PHOTOGRAPHS SPRING RISE AT THE PLEASURE ISLAND MARINA. I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS A HEART FOR GRATITUDE FOR THE PARTICIPANTS OF DAY OF CREATIVITY AND CONTRIBUTION. ADDITIONAL SPECIAL RECOGNITION TO MS. CHERYL, MS. TIANA AND MS. TAMMY, AND ALSO THE JUDGING PANEL AS WELL. ALSO WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE THE WINNERS FOR THEIR BEAUTIFUL, CAPTURING THE SPIRIT OF PORT ARTHUR AND THEIR WORK. I BELIEVE MR. JERRY IS HERE. I WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT YOU WITH A LITTLE AWARD AS WELL AS YOUR MONETARY GIFTS. ALRIGHT. THANK [00:30:12] THE SUN. SUN YOU TAKE. OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING COUNCILMAN OVERFIELD? I WANT CITY MANAGER. IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO HAVE THESE, UM, PRINTED ON CANVAS AND DISPLAYED WITHIN THE BUILDING? THAT'S ALRIGHT. THAT'S ALRIGHT. FOR ALL THREE OF THEM. THANK YOU. LOOK AT IT. YES. THANK YOU. WE'LL GET SOMETHING DONE. WE'LL GET SOMETHING. OKAY. THAT, THAT, THAT WAS WHAT YOU WANTED TO, YES. OKAY. [II. PROCLAMATIONS] NOW WE WILL, UH, MOVE TO OUR, UH, PROCLAMATIONS. THE VERY FIRST PROCLAMATION WE HAVE IS FOR MR. JOHN DEFRA. IF HE'S HERE, OR IF NOT, IF SOMEONE, UH, IS HERE TO ACCEPT THIS FOR MR. DEFRA CHIEF, COME RIGHT ON. AND IT SAYS HERE, UH, IT DOES NOT MATTER IF THE COBBLERS AND THE MASONS FAILED TO DO THEIR JOBS WELL, BUT IF THE GUARDIANS FAIL, THE DEMOCRACY WILL CRUMBLE. AND THIS IS A STATEMENT BY PLATO. WHEREAS JOHN DEFRA JOINED THE PORT ARTHUR POLICE DEPARTMENT ON JANUARY 24TH, 1994. AND WHEREAS HE WAS A MASTER POLICE OFFICER AND WAS A MEMBER OF THE ADVANCED ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION TEAM FOR NINE YEARS, JOHN RECEIVED 14 COMMENDATION LETTERS, ONE LIFE SAVING AWARD AND ONE UNIT CITATION. AND WHEREAS WE APPLAUD YOUR TENURE AND COMMITMENT AND WHEREAS THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR IS PLEASED TO RECOGNIZE JOHN DEFRA FOR HIS SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO PUBLIC SAFETY AND NUMEROUS ACCOMPLISHMENTS. NOW, THEREFORE, I THURMAN BILL BARTY, MAYOR OF THE GREAT CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS, DO HEREBY PROCLAIM JUNE 17TH. AS JOHN DEFRA DAY IN THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, I WILL ASK ALL CITIZENS TO JOIN ME IN HONORING HIM FOR HIS DEDICATION AND COMMITMENT TO OUR COMMUNITY. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I HAVE HERE UNES SET MY HAND AND CAUSE THE SEAL OF THE GREAT CITY OF PORT ARTHUR TO BE AFFIXED THE 17TH DAY OF JUNE IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2025. AND ALSO HAVE A KEY TO THE CITY FOR MR. DE FRANCIS FOR HIS SERVICE. AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE A YOUNGER OFFICER HERE WHO PROBABLY JOINED IN 2024 . HE SAYS HE HAS 30 MORE YEARS TO DO SO. HE WON'T TALK TODAY. , YOU GONNA MISS HIM TOO. [00:35:23] NOW WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS TAKE EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE AND SORT OF CHANGE THE SCOPE OF HOW THE MEETING ISN'T WORKING. I DON'T THINK IT IS. CHANGE THE SCOPE OF HOW THE MEETING IS GOING. AND BECAUSE YOU HAVE A NEW MAYOR ON TOMORROW, , I CAN DO WHAT I WANT TO DO TODAY. . ALRIGHT, SO WHAT I, WHAT I WANNA BEGIN WITH, I WANNA BEGIN WITH, I NEED SOME HELP. SOMETHING THAT I THINK IS DEAR FOR ME. LIKE FOR MY CHILDREN, MY GRANDKIDS, MY ONE GRANDSON WHO SHOWED UP, THE OTHER ONE WENT TO SWIMMING, HIS MOTHER LET HIM GO TO SWIMMING. Y'ALL COME ON. AND I HAVE SOME OTHER RELATIVES HERE, SOME COUSINS HERE. MY SISTERS HERE. AND THIS IS WHAT I LIKE TO BEGIN THIS WITH. THIS IS OFFICE OF THE MAYOR AND OF COURSE THURMAN BILL BARCE IS THE MAYOR . IT SAYS, LIFE HAS AFFORDED ME THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING ABLE TO WEAR MANY, MANY HATS AT TIMES TO FIT SEEMS EITHER TOO LARGE OR TOO SMALL. HOWEVER, WITH ADJUSTMENTS, THE FIT BECOMES WEARABLE. THE GIVER OF LIFE, THE ALMIGHTY GOD WHO CONTROLS EVERYTHING AND WITH HIS OMNISCIENT POWER, GUIDED ME TO TAKE THE OFFICE OF MAYOR IN 2019, THE SAME GOD NOW HAS DELIVERED ME TO MAKE AN EXIT IN 2025 WITH THE COMPLETION OF THE ORIGINAL TASK FOR THESE THINGS. I AM MIGHTY, MIGHTY, MIGHTY, GRATEFUL. MY FAMILY AND OTHERS WHO ARE OUT THERE, YOU, THE CITIZENS, ASSOCIATES, CONTEMPORARIES HERE IN THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, IN THIS REGION, IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, AROUND THE STATE OF TEXAS, I CAN EVEN SAY AROUND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. YOU HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO A SUCCESSFUL ADMINISTRATION DURING MY MAYORAL TENURE. MY FOUR CHILDREN, TWO OF THEM, WHOM OF WHOM I HAVE PRESENT TODAY. THIRD AND BRANDON, ASHLEY AND JEFFREY. MY SEVEN GRANDCHILDREN, TIARA CORRIN, WHO WAS PRESENT. ADDISON, ASHLYN, BRENDAN WHO WENT TO SWIMMING. AS WE AND AARON, EACH OF YOU HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO MY SUCCESS DURING THIS TENURE. I NOW MOVE FORWARD TO MY NEXT ASSIGNMENT AND I PRAY GOD'S BLESSINGS UPON EACH OF YOU THAT YOU'LL BE THERE TOO. AS I EMBARK UPON MY NEXT ASSIGNMENT, I CLOSE THIS CHAPTER AND I COMMENCE ON THE NEXT. SO WHAT I LIKE TO DO AS CITY MANAGER, I NEED THREE OTHERS. [00:40:01] GON ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER. THEY'RE GOING TO DO IT THOUGH. OKAY? I NEED THREE MORE OF THESE OR FOUR MORE REALLY? 'CAUSE I WANT ONE JUST LIKE THIS. AND SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO REALLY EXPLAIN THIRD BODY BEING THE FIRST BOY. I'M GONNA LET YOU GET THIS ONE. OH, THANK YOU . AND YOU ONLY GET, THEY PUT ME OUT TOMORROW. SO THEY DON'T KNOW HOW FAST THEY GOING TO DO 'EM. . BUT WE'LL GET 'EM TO YOU ALL. OKAY? WE'LL WE'LL GET 'EM TO YOU. BUT TO MY FAMILY, TO MY CITIZENS, I SAY THANK YOU. IT IS HUMBLING TOUCHING THAT YOU WOULD ENTRUST ME FOR THE PAST SIX YEARS TO BE YOUR MAYOR, MAYOR ELECT. ALL I CAN TELL YOU IS SOME DAYS IT'S GOING TO BE GOOD . SOME DAYS IT'S GOING TO EVEN BE BETTER. SOME DAYS IT'S GOING BE WORSE. BUT THROUGH IT ALL, HE SAID, I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NEITHER WILL I FORSAKE YOU. SO ALL YOU'VE GOT TO DO THROUGH ALL OF THOSE VASS AND THOSE CHANGES THAT THEY BRING YOU THROUGH, KEEP YOUR HAND IN HIS HAND. HE'S GOING TO GUIDE YOU. SOMETIMES I DIDN'T DO THAT. THAT SOUND GOOD? . NOW Y'ALL KNOW ME. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT HE DID? BECAUSE HE LOVES ME SO MUCH AND BECAUSE I'M HIS CHILD, HE JUST SNATCHED ME AND WHIPPED ME RIGHT BACK. OKAY? SO THAT'S FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO LIKE ME, YOU ALREADY KNOW WHEN YOU GET OUTTA LINE, HE PULL YOU BACK. THAT'S WHY I DON'T MIND GOING OUTTA LINE. HE GONNA PUT ME BACK . BUT I THANK EACH OF YOU TODAY FOR DOING THIS TO MY SON WHO MET MY GUEST THIS MORNING AND TOOK CARE OF NO MAN. BERNARD TEXTED ME 15 MINUTES BEFORE HE TOLD ME HE WAS GOING TO BE HERE AND SAID, I'M HERE . I AM WAITING FOR HIS SISTER. SO I TELL YOU WHERE ARE YOU? HE SAID, WELL, I'M THERE. I SAID, WELL, WE GET MAN FINALLY OUT THERE AND BRING HIM UP TO THE OFFICE. SO YOU DID YOUR DUTY, MAN. THE ONLY THING HE DIDN'T DO WAS OVERRIDE HIS WIFE. OKAY? THEN YOU, EVERYBODY AT CITY HALL KNOWS WE WERE WAITING FOR BRENDA, RIGHT? , SHE SAID HE WANTED TO GO TO SWIMMING. SO WE, AND SHE SAID HE WAS ACTING LIKE A BOY SO SHE WASN'T GONNA FOOL WITH HIM. OKAY? MY GRANDSON CORRIN MY HIGH DRIVER WHEN HE COMES. I APPRECIATE YOU MAN. EITHER OR JUST FINISH HIS FRESHMAN YEAR IN COLLEGE. YEAH. AND HE DIDN'T PUT HIM OUT. SO MAY I APPRECIATE YOU MAN. AND IT'S A FAMILY JOKE, BUT I'M GONNA SAY IT. HE WORE HIS WINTER CLOTHES JOE GOING LIKE, WHY? HE SAID, I SAID, SON, YOU, YOU DON'T HAVE NO SUMMER STUFF. . YOU KNOW WHAT HE SAID? I'M COOL BUT I JUST TOOK THAT TIME Y'ALL TO LET Y'ALL KNOW FAMILY. I LOVE Y'ALL. LOVE Y'ALL, LOVE Y'ALL. ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT. AND MY DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, EVEN THOUGH SHE DIDN'T LET MY GRANDSON COME, SHE LET HIM RUN HER. YOU STILL GOOD? THANK YOU ALL. OH, OH, OH, OKAY. WE GOTTA DO THIS. OKAY? AND SEE, THAT'S WHY I WANTED TO CHANGE THIS. YOU GONNA FIGURE THAT OUT WHEN YOU'RE DOING IT. THAT THING IS TO ME, THANK YOU. APPRECIATE . THANK YOU ALL, YOU ALL THE BEST FOLK IN THE WORLD. OKAY? NOW WHAT I LIKE TO DO, AND I'M JUST ABOUT FIVE OR 10 MINUTES OFF THE SCHEDULE, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU HAVE THESE PROFESSIONAL PEOPLE, THEY REALLY RUN ON THE SCHEDULE. 'CAUSE HE GOT [00:45:01] SOME PEOPLE WITH GUNS IN HERE. UH, AND THEY ROUND THE ROOM AND I, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY I WANTED Y'ALL TO SIT DOWN. YOU KNOW, NICK, COME GET A SEAT UP HERE, MAN. YOU GOT A SEAT. COME ON RIGHT THERE. YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY WANT YOU BECAUSE THEY KNOW YOU LET THE SECURITY STAND. OKAY? BUT IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S A REASON. SO YOU HAVE TO, I HAVE TO FOLLOW THE, THE INSTRUCTIONS AND ALL THOSE THINGS. NOW IT'S WHAT I LIKE TO DO BECAUSE THIS WAS MY FINAL MEETING AND THERE WAS SOME FOLK WHO ARE PORT ARTHURS. THEY NO LONGER LIVE IN PORT ARTHUR. THEY ARE NOT BIG TIME ATHLETES. YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT, UH, YOU KNOW, I GUESS I DIDN'T SEE 'EM PLAYING LAST NIGHT. Y'ALL DON'T PLAY WRONG, . OKAY? BUT I BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE DESERVING OF RECOGNITION FROM THEIR HOME CITY FOR THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS, FOR THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT THEY'VE MADE IN EACH OF YOU MADE THOSE ACCOMPLISHMENTS, MAN. SO WE APPRECIATE YOU AND I'M MOVED TO DO THIS. SO THE FIRST ONE I WANNA CALL UP IS MR. FRED WILSON SAYS, HAVE A VISION OF EXCELLENCE, DREAM OF SUCCESS, AND WORK LIKE HELL. DR. SAMUEL DUIS COOK. YES, SIR. WHEREAS FRED WILSON IS A PROUD PORT ARTHUR NATIVE WHOSE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT AND DEDICATION TO EXCELLENCE HAVE MADE A LASTING IMPACT ACROSS MULTIPLE INDUSTRIES IN TEXAS. AND WHEREAS HE IS THE FOUNDER OF WILSON HOSPITALITY GROUP AND THE VISIONARY BEHIND DOVE'S RESTAURANT IN MIDTOWN HOUSTON AND UPSCALE SOUTHERN ASIAN FUSION DINING EXPERIENCE THAT HAS QUICKLY BECOME A STANDOUT IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON ON ITS CULINARY SCENE. AND WHEREAS IN ADDITION TO RUNNING EIGHT PRESTIGE TAX SERVICE OFFICES, WILSON OWNS AND OPERATES ON TIME LOGISTICS, TEXAS, A SUCCESSFUL TRUCKING COMPANY. UNDER HIS BROAD PORTFOLIO, FRED WILSON INVESTMENTS. FRED IS AN ACTIVE REAL ESTATE INVESTOR WITH HOLDINGS ACROSS TEXAS. AND HE IS ALSO THE CO-FOUNDER OF ULTIMATE DRIP THERAPY AND WELLNESS. AND WHEREAS FRED IS DEEPLY COMMITTED TO GIVING BACK, MOST NOTABLY THROUGH HIS NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION, THE TEAM WILSON FOUNDATION, HE ACTIVELY SUPPORTS LOCAL YOUTH AND DESERVING IN BROTHER THE UNDESERVING ER COMMUNITIES. WHEREAS FRED'S JOURNEY IS A POWERFUL EXAMPLE OF WHAT IS POSSIBLE WITH HARD WORK, WITH A VISION AND DESIRES TO HELP OTHERS. NOW, THEREFORE, I THURMAN BILL , MAYOR OF A GREAT CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS TO HEREBY PROCLAIM JUNE 17TH, 2025 AS FRED WILSON DATE HERE IN THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR. WE CELEBRATE YOU, FRED, AND WE ARE PLEASED TO PRESENT THIS KEY TO THE CITY AND THIS PROCLAMATION. APPRECIATE AND WITNESS WHEREOF I HAVE HERE TO SET MY HAND AND CAUSE THE SEAL OF THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR TO BE AFFIXED THIS 17TH DAY OF JUNE IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2025. AND THIS IS YOUR PROCLAMATION AND KEY TO THE CITY. OKAY? AND IS SOMEONE GONNA THE VIDEO [00:50:01] THE VIDEO, IS IT, IS IT, IS IT READY IF THEY READY BEFORE HE SPEAKS? I WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, I I I HAD A PRODUCER. WE WERE DOING THIS LAST NIGHT, BUT I BUT Y'ALL, DID YOU ALL SEE MINE WHEN YOU CAME IN? SO Y'ALL WERE TIRED OF MINE. THAT'S WHY I DIDN'T PLAY MINE AGAIN. . OKAY, ONE SECOND. I'M GONNA WAIT. OH, JUST ONE PICTURE. OKAY. MY MAN CHANGED IT. OKAY, LOOK HERE I WAS GONE. OKAY, BUT HERE, HERE YOU GO THEN. OH, ALRIGHT. UH, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU. OH, LEMME PUT THIS YOUR HOLD LIST FOR ME REAL QUICK. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. UH, FIRST OF ALL, I APPRECIATE THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, MAYOR. THANK YOU. UH, CITY COUNCIL, UM, CITY MANAGER, ATTORNEY, UH, ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS. I GREATLY APPRECIATE THIS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. UM, YOU KNOW, I'M FROM THIS CITY. I LOVE THIS CITY. I LOVE GIVING BACK. UM, AND TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED FOR THIS PRESTIGIOUS, UM, THIS PRESTIGIOUS AWARD IS, IS UM, IT'S ACTUALLY MIND BLOWING BECAUSE I'M JUST, I'M THE KIND OF GUY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, I PUT MY HEAD DOWN, I WORK HARD. UM, I'M EMOTIONAL GUY, , IT'S ALL RIGHT. UH, BUT, UM, I AM THANKFUL. I'M THANKFUL FOR THE RECOGNITION. I'M THANKFUL FOR THE LOVE, I'M THANKFUL FOR THE LOVE THAT I DON'T RECEIVE. BUT I STILL KNOW YOU LOVE ME BECAUSE WE ARE GOD'S CHILDREN. AND, UM, AND WITH THIS AWARD, I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA HANG THIS ONE OVER THE FIREPLACE. MY WIFE WILL BE MAD . YEAH. BUT, UH, I DO GREATLY APPRECIATE EVERYONE. I, I WASN'T PREPARED. I SAID I WAS JUST GONNA SPEAK FROM THE HEART. UH, BUT I, BUT I DO GREATLY, GREATLY APPRECIATE THIS. AND I WILL CONTINUE TO JUST KEEP MY HEAD DOWN AND CONTINUE TO MAKE MY CITY PROUD AND BE THE ENTREPRENEUR THAT I AM BUILT TO BE AND CONTINUE TO PUSH THROUGH THE BUMPS. 'CAUSE EVERYTHING THAT YOU SEE, IT WASN'T ALWAYS THIS JOURNEY. IT'S BEEN MULTIPLE FAILURES ON THE WAY ALL YOU GUYS SEE IS THE, IS IS THE, IS THE FINISHED PRODUCT. BUT IT WAS A LOT OF FAILURES. IT WAS A LOT OF PAST DUE BILL PAYMENTS. IT WAS SOME REPOS ALONG THE WAY. IT WAS A SHORT SALE THAT ME AND MY WIFE HAD YEARS AGO. BUT GUESS WHAT? THE WAY THAT GOD WROTE MY STORY, I'M HERE TO STAND AND TALK ABOUT IT AND KNOW, HOLD ON. AND, AND TO KNOW THAT ALL THAT THAT I WENT THROUGH, IT WAS A PART OF MY JOURNEY TO GET TO WHERE I AM TODAY. AND I'M ENJOYING THE RIDE. AND I'M THANKFUL THAT GOD HAS CHOSE ME FOR THE JOURNEY THAT I'M ON RIGHT NOW. SO, WHETHER PEOPLE LIKE IT OR NOT, MAN, I, HE PICKED ME. AND I MEAN, I'M SORRY, BUT I'M, I'M WEAR, I'M WEAR THIS. I'M GONNA WEAR THIS CROWN THAT HE'S GIVEN ME WITH, WITH DIGNITY AND PRIDE. AND I'M A, I'M GONNA JUST GALLEY ON ALONG THE WAY, HOWEVER, WHICH DIRECTION HE'S TELLING ME TO GO. BUT I THANK YOU CITY OF PORT ARTHUR. I LOVE ALL OF YOU. I'VE SEEN SO MANY OF YOU COME TO MY RESTAURANT THAT THE MAYOR'S ALWAYS THERE AT THE BAR. UH, THE , HE, HE, HE DRINKING SHIRLEY TEMPLE. OH NO, HE, HE DRINK THE NON ALCOHOLIC DRINKS THOUGH. HE DRINK THE NON ALCOHOLIC DRINK. AND, AND, AND THEN, AND THEN THE NEW MAN WAS JUST THERE. UH, SHE WAS JUST THERE ABOUT A FEW WEEKS AGO. SHE WASN'T DRINKING IT. NO, NO. SHE WAS JUST SITTING AT THE TABLE. SHE WAS SITTING AT THAT. BUT IT'D BE SO, UH, IT'S JUST SUCH A GOOD FEELING BECAUSE WHEN I'M THERE, I'M, EVEN WHEN I'M THERE, BUT I'M NOT THERE. 'CAUSE I LOOK AT THE CAMERAS A LOT AND I SEE SO MANY PEOPLE COME AND SUPPORT. AND IT MEANS A LOT BECAUSE IT, IT'D BE PEOPLE I HAVEN'T TALKED TO FOR YEARS. AND JUST TO SEE THEM COME IN, IT'S, AND I TELL MY WIFE AND I TELL MY BUSINESS PARTNER WHO'S HERE ALSO, I SAY, MAN, THIS PORT ARTHUR GOT A DIFFERENT KIND OF SPIRIT AND A DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE. UH, 'CAUSE YOU'LL SEE PEOPLE JUST COME THAT MAN, I'VE SEEN MY SCHOOL TEACHERS COME, I SEE THIS MIDDLE SCHOOL AND IT'S JUST CRAZY HOW WE POUR INTO EACH OTHER. AND THAT'S WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE COMMUNITY, MAN. WE COULD BE ALL THE WAY IN CHINA AND IF YOU GOT SOME WING SPOT THERE, YOU BELIEVE ME, OR PULL OFF THE PERSON GONNA WALK IN THERE . YEAH. YOU KNOW, SO AND SO ON THAT SPOT, YOU KNOW. BUT ANYWAY, I'M GONNA CUT IT SHORT. AGAIN, I THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND FOR THE DAY. MAYOR, I APPRECIATE YOU. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH MY BROTHER. AND I WISH YOU SO MUCH ON YOUR, IN YOUR NEXT ENDEAVOR AND YOUR JOURNEY AND WHATEVER YOU CHOOSE TO DO IN YOUR LIFE MOVING FORWARD. THANK MAN, I GREATLY APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU AGAIN. AND YI WANT TO ADD THIS, YOU REMEMBER WAS ONE I LITTLE JUNIOR DEACONS AT CHURCH? YES, I WAS. I SLAP HIM ON THE HEAD. I GOTTA REACH UP TO HIT HIM NOW. SO I'M ALRIGHT. I'M GOOD. I'M GOOD. I APPRECIATE YOU MAYOR. THANK YOU BABY. ALRIGHT, MAYOR. OH, EXCUSE ME. GO RIGHT AHEAD. COUNCILMAN LEWIS. FRED, CONGRATULATIONS, MAN. YOUR STORY SOUNDS SO FAMILIAR. I USED TO, I USED TO OWN AND OPERATE THE GOLDEN EAGLE RESTAURANT. OKAY? A FEW PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THAT. OKAY? I'M THE ONE WHO STARTED WINGS IN PORT ARTHUR WHOLE WINGS. OKAY? [00:55:01] BUT, UH, YOUR STORY STRIKES MIND. I WOKE UP ONE, WE WAS DOING GREAT, DOING GREAT. I WOKE UP ONE MORNING, MOTIVA LAID OFF STRIKES, UH, SHIPYARDS LAID OFF ON STRIKE, AND ALL THE ECONOMY TANKED ON ME, TANKED ON ME. AND THAT'S A, IT'S A, THAT'S A HEARTFELT STORY. WHEN, UH, YOUR WIFE CALL YOU IN AND SAY WHAT'S HAPPENING TO OUR MONEY, YOU'RE TRYING TO PROP THINGS UP AND UNTIL YOU GET THROUGH THE CHOPPY WATERS, YEAH, TRUST ME, IT DOESN'T WORK. OKAY, . SO SHE SAID, WHERE'S OUR MONEY GOING? WE ARE BEHIND THREE MONTHS ON OUR BILLS AND EVERYTHING. I HAD 13 EMPLOYEES. I HAD TO MAKE A DIFFICULT DECISION. I WENT DOWN THERE AND CALLED IMMEDIATE MY EMPLOYEES AND SAY, I'M GONNA HAVE TO PUT SOME OF Y'ALL IN THE WATER. Y'ALL HANG ONTO THE BOAT, THINGS GET BETTER. I'LL LET YOU BACK IN THE BOAT. I HAD TO LAY OFF. BUT YOUR STORY SOUNDS FAMILIAR. THEY ALL, THE ONLY EVERYBODY IN THIS ROOM, ALL THEY SEE IS THE FINISHED PRODUCT. EVERYTHING LOOKS GOOD. THEY USED TO COME TO THE RESTAURANT, BE BOOMING AND EVERYTHING. THEY DON'T SEE THE HARD WORK THAT GOES INTO THIS STUFF AND THE LATE HOURS AND YOU LOSE SLEEP AND YOU WONDER HOW YOU GOING TO, YOU START DIPPING IN YOUR, YOUR RESERVE TO PROP THINGS UP. OKAY? AND NEXT THING YOU KNOW, HEY, WHERE MY CAR, WHERE IS MY WIFE'S CAR? REPOSSESSED. THOSE ARE THE HORROR SOR. YEAH. APPRECIATE YOU MAN. CONGRATULATIONS. OKAY, MR. WILSON, YOU GET COMMENT FROM ME. I NORMALLY DON'T COMMENTS 'CAUSE EVERYBODY SPEAK AND I DON'T WANT TO BE REPEATING WHAT EVERYBODY SAYS, BUT IN YOUR PARTICULAR CASE, I FEEL THAT I NEED TO, I ALWAYS ADMIRE PEOPLE CAN COME UP TO THAT PODIUM AND SPEAK AND IT COMES OUT OKAY. WHEN YOU SAY YOU EMOTIONAL, IT MEANS IT'S COMING FROM THE HEART. CORRECT. AND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS HOW YOU FEEL AND EVERYTHING YOU SAID, PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL WILL KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SAYING ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES TO GET TO BE SUCCESSFUL. SO, YOU KNOW, I'M QUITE SURE FROM YOU BEING HUMBLING. AND WHEN THE PEOPLE, WHEN PEOPLE GET EMOTIONAL, THEY HUMBLE. YEAH. OKAY. THAT'S WHAT IT'S, THAT'S WHAT IT'S ABOUT. WHEN YOU BECOME EMOTIONAL, IT SAYS, I JUST DON'T KNOW WHY Y'ALL DOING THIS. I'M JUST TRYING TO MAKE IT, YOU KNOW, SO I JUST HAD TO REMARK. 'CAUSE I SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE COME BEFORE US AND SPEAK AND STUFF, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE SOMEONE WHO COME AND TELL A STORY OF HOW IT REALLY WAS AND TELL IT FROM THE HEART SO THAT MOST PEOPLE IN HERE CAN RELATE TO. OKAY? SO I, ONCE AGAIN, I WANT TO ALSO THANK YOU AND WISH YOU ALL LUCK IN THE FUTURE. SO YOU DON'T HAVE ANY MORE BAD TIME, MAYOR, I HOPE YOU DON'T HAVE ANYBODY ELSE THAT YOU GONNA GIVE A PROCLAMATION THAT COUNCILMAN LOU IS GOING TO RELATE TO BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE NO MORE STORIES, OKAY? . AND, YOU KNOW, HE IS GONNA RELATE TO IT. SO, UH, UH, JUST REAL QUICK, FRED, YOU KNOW, JUST OPPORTUNITY MAN. I, I'VE, UH, YOU'RE A LOT YOUNGER THAN I AM, BUT I'VE ADMIRED YOU FROM A DISTANCE. UH, I KNOW YOU A PERSON THAT GIVES BACK. AND WHEN YOU SAY YOU GIVE BACK, YOU GIVE BACK TO PORT ARTHUR. SO I JUST WANNA RECOGNIZE YOU. WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT WANTS TO MOVE OUT, WANTS TO BECOME SUCCESSFUL, BUT YOU'RE ONE OF THOSE ONES THAT'S SUCCESSFUL AND YOU'RE GIVING BACK TO PORT ARTHUR. SO I JUST PERSONALLY WANT TO THANK YOU. UH, I PLAN ON VISITING YOUR, YOUR RESTAURANT. I DIDN'T KNOW, BUT, UH, MY WIFE AND I, WE ARE PLANNING ON GONNA VISIT VISITING. BUT THANK YOU FOR GIVING BACK TO THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR AND RECOGNIZE PORT ARTHUR. THANK YOU, MA'AM. GOOD MORNING. I REMEMBER BACK IN THE DAY LONG, LONG TIME AGO, BUT I WANT TO HONOR YOU AND, UH, I CONGRATULATE YOU ON YOUR SUCCESS. BUT I WANNA GIVE YOU JUST A QUICK SECOND TO ACTUALLY, WE TALK ABOUT THE GIVING BACK, BUT WE WANT THE COMMUNITY TO KNOW WHAT THAT ACTUALLY IS. THE GIVING BACK. YES. AND SO SHARE, SHARE TO, TO SHOW OFF. MS. GAIL MENTIONED IT EARLIER. YOU KNOW, SHOW OFF OF WHAT YOU'VE ACTUALLY DONE. AND SO PLEASE TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO ACTUALLY SHARE. SO I'M SO THE MICROPHONE'S BEHIND YOU, BRO. OH, SO MY GIVING BACK CONSIST. CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME? SO MY GIVING BACK CONSISTS OF, WELL I DO AN ANNUAL GOOD FRIDAY EVERY YEAR WITH MY CLASS. THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS I DO. JUST LIKE A CELEBRATION FOR GOOD FRIDAY. BUT I ALSO, UM, I HAVE NUMEROUS, [01:00:01] UH, INDIVIDUALS AS WELL AS GROUPS THAT'LL REACH OUT TO ME IN REFERENCE TO LIKE DISCONNECT NOTICES, EVICTIONS, BACK SCHOOLS, THINGS LIKE THAT. UH, I DO. AND GIVE IT OUT THROUGH MY FOUNDATION TO HELP GET THESE FAMILIES IN NEED AND WHATEVER THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY GOT GOING ON. THANK YOU. AND, AND I HELP AND I ALSO HELP WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, I I'VE DONE CAR PAYMENTS, UH, SEVERAL DISCONNECTS NOW THAT IS NOT PLEASE UNDERSTAND COMMUNITY, THAT IS NOT MEANING FOR YOU TO CALL THIS MAN TO PAY YOUR BILLS. NO, NO. , OKAY? AS I DO THAT, THAT'S NOT START. THAT, THAT IS NOT WHAT THAT MEANS. BUT IT'S SOMETHING I DO FROM THE HEART, UH, TO HELP , UH, YOU KNOW, JUST SOMETHING I DO FROM THE HEART AS WELL AS MY BACK TO SCHOOL AND STUFF I DO, UH, FOR FAMILIES THAT'S IN NEED. THANK YOU FOR SHARING NOW. THANK YOU. OUR NEXT HONOREE WOULD BE MR. GARY WITH THE T HAYES. NOW. AND, AND, AND I LIKE TO SAY THIS BEFORE I EVEN BEGIN THIS, WHENEVER I VISIT ATLANTA, I JUST NEED TO CALL GARY. I KNOW IF HE'S GOING DO IT FOR YOU, GARY, COME PICK ME UP IN A ROLL. ROYCE MY ONLY CAR, OH, . AND BRINGS ME TO, WELL I, I LIKE LENNOX MALLS, BUT HE BRINGS TO THE MALLS AND I HOPE THOSE PEOPLE NOT WATCHING GARY GETS THEM TO GIVE ME ALL THIS COLOGNE. UH, THESE EXPENSIVE COLOGNES. I CAN'T EVEN PRONOUNCE THE NAMES OF THEM , BUT HE BUYS SO MUCH OF IT THAT THEY JUST FIX ME LITTLE BOTTLES OF IT AND GIVE IT TO ME. OUR HOMEBOY, GARY WITH THE T'S. BUT IT'S, THIS IS FROM THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR GARY. AND IT SAYS, SUCCESS IS NOT THE KEY TO HAPPINESS. HAPPINESS IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS. IF YOU LOVE WHAT YOU ARE DOING, YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL. AND THIS IS FROM ALBERT SWIER AND I DON'T WANNA MESS THAT MATH'S NAME UP SCHOOL TEACHER. SO I USED TO SAY THE NAME. WHEREAS GARY WITH THE T HAS BEEN LIGHTING UP THE AIRWAYS AND SCREENS WITH HIS VIBRANT PERSONALITY FOR YEARS. AND WHEREAS FAMOUS FOR HIS MUST HEAR COLOR OF THE DAY, HIS PASSION REPORTS AND CELEBRITY NEWS CALLED GARY'S TEETH. HE'S A STAPLE OF THE NATIONALLY SYNDICATED, THE RICKY SMILEY SHOW AND FOX EDITION OF DISH NATION, WHICH REACHES OVER 116 MARKETS DAILY. WHEREAS HE IS NOT JUST A MEDIA PERSONALITY, HE IS A DEDICATED COMMUNITY ADVOCATE. GARY HAS BEEN AN AMBASSADOR FOR THE AGE WALK ATLANTA AND DALLAS. HE HAS PROMOTED AND STILL PROMOTES MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS AND CARRY HIMSELF THAT LOOK LIKE WHAT HE'S GONE THROUGH. HE IS A CANCER SURVIVOR. YES. AND HE USES HIS PLATFORM TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO GET CHECKED. AND WHEREAS GARY WITH THE T CONTINUES TO BLEND ENTERTAINMENT WITH ADVOCACY, MAKING A DIFFERENCE WHILE KEEPING US ALL INFORMED AND LAUGHING. NOW THEREFORE, I THURMAN BILL BARTY MAYOR. THAT'S THE ONLY THING [01:05:01] I'M GONNA MISS DOING MAYOR OF THE GREAT CITY OF FOR ARTHUR, TEXAS. DO HEREBY PROCLAIM JUNE 17TH, 2025 AS GARY WITH THE T HAYES DAY HERE IN THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS. WE CELEBRATE AND WE ARE PLEASED GARY, TO PRESENT YOU WITH THIS PROCLAMATION AND YOUR KEY TO THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR. AND IT SAYS IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I HAVE HERETO SET MY HAND AND CAUSE THE SEAL OF THE GREAT CITY OF PORT ARTHUR TO BE A FIXED THE 17TH DAY OF JUNE IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2025. Y'ALL. GARY, WITH THE TEAM THURMOND, THANK YOU SO MUCH. I LOVE THURMOND. I DON'T CARE WHAT Y'ALL SAY ABOUT HIS CRAZY ASS, BUT I LOVE HIM . I LOVE THURMAN FROM WHEN I USED TO GO TO STEVE STREET AND LISTEN TO HIM SING DELORES WAS ANCHOR DELORE AND IT WAS PLANET EARTH. I LOVE THURMAN THURMAN, THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU GARY. THANK YOU MAN. YOU KNOW IT'S FUNNY, LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU SAID, YOU KNOW WHEN PEOPLE JUST LOOK LIKE THIS, EVEN THOUGH BEYONCE SAID I WOKE UP LIKE THIS. WELL, I WOKE UP LIKE THIS, BUT THERE WAS A LOT TO IT, . BUT I'M GONNA START OFF BY SAYING THIS, YOU KNOW, NATALIE COLE WROTE A SONG, ANNIE MAE, Y'ALL MIGHT NOT REMEMBER THAT SONG. SHE SAID ANNIE MAE GROWING UP WASN'T EASY FOR ANNIE MAE. SHE SAID, A LITTLE GIRL IN A GREAT BIG WORLD, ANNIE MAE. WELL, GROWING UP WASN'T EASY AND IT WASN'T BAD FOR ME AND MY BROTHER JAMES, MY BROTHER RIGHT THERE, JAMES AND THE WIFE, MY MAMA USED TO PUT US ON MY DAMN UNCLE TRUCK AND CUT YARDS, . WE USED TO CUT YARDS BABY, WE CUT ALL THE GOOD RICH WHITE FOLKS YARDS, , WE CUT 'EM ALL, WE CUT 'EM ALL BABY, WE DID ALL GRIFFIN PARK. WE CUT THOSE YARDS, HONEY. AND I MEAN 10 TO 12 YARDS A DAY. MY UNCLE USED TO CUT THOSE YARDS. AND HE IS LIKE, AS I GOT OVER AND I THOUGHT ABOUT IT, I SAID, OH, COST YOU WAS PAYING JAMES 50 AND WAS GIVING ME 25 FOR DAMN 20 YARDS ALMOST A DAY. AND WE STILL GAVE MONEY TO THE HOUSE. WELL MAMA SAID, Y'ALL GOTTA GIVE TO THE HOUSE BECAUSE THEY TAUGHT US HOW TO LIVE. SO WE WOULD GIVE TO THE HOUSE AND AS WE WERE CUTTING THESE YARDS AND NOT TO GET TO THE POINT WHERE A DREAM, WE CUT THESE YARDS AND THESE PEOPLE LIVED IN MANSIONS. IF YOU GO DOWN GRIFFIN DRIVE, YOU'LL SEE ALL THOSE BEAUTIFUL MANSIONS AND STUFF LIKE THAT. AND I WAS LIKE, GOLLY, I WISH WE LIVED IN SOMETHING LIKE THAT. WISH WE DIDN'T HAVE A BAD HOUSE, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE THOSE HOUSES. AND I WAS LIKE, GOD, IF WE COULD JUST, IF I COULD JUST LIVE IN SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND MY MAMA WILL TEXT, I TELL HER ALL THE TIME, I'LL NEVER GET HER IN ONE OF THE UM, LADIES' YARDS. WE WERE CUTTING AND BABY THIS GIRL DROVE UP IN HER NEW CHRYSLER, IT WAS THE MINGLES. THEY OWNED MINGLE MOTORS. MS. MINGLE DROVE UP INTO HER, HER CHRYSLER BABY. THIS GIRL PUSHED A BUTTON AND THE GARAGE OPENED AND SHE JUST DROVE IN IT. I'M LIKE, MY GOD, HELL, WE GOTTA LIFT OURS UP. I'M LIKE, I WOULD LOVE TO LIVE LIKE THAT. JUST PUSH A BUTTON. AND THE GARAGE OPENED AND SHE JUST DROVE IN, B***H AND SHE OPEN, SHE JUST DROVE. SHE JUST, SORRY, Y'ALL CAN TAKE, TAKE IT OFF HERE. HEY, THAT'S MY CLUTCH WORD. THAT'S MY CLUTCH WORD. THIS IS NOT THE RADIO STATION. SHE PUSHED THE BUTTON AND THE GARAGE DOOR WENT DOWN AND WE DIDN'T SEE HER NO MORE. BUT ANYWAY, I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST AMAZING AND I JUST, AND I THOUGHT, I SAID, GOD, IF I COULD JUST LIVE LIKE THAT. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, SO, YOU KNOW, AS I GOT OLDER, YOU KNOW, I WENT TO SCHOOL AND YOU KNOW, AND WHAT HAVE YOU. AND UM, I MOVED TO HOUSTON. WELL I LIVED IN HOUSTON FOR A LITTLE WHILE AND UM, MOVING FORWARD I HAD A BREAKDOWN. SO I HAD A BREAKDOWN. MY PARENTS COULDN'T FIND ME. I WAS HONEY, MY FRIENDS FOUND ME, UM, YOU KNOW, WRAPPED UP IN A BLANKET IN MY APARTMENT. SO THEY WERE LIKE, WE COULDN'T FIND THEM. SO THEY ASKED THE APARTMENT MANAGER TO COME, YOU KNOW, LET ME IN. SO THE APARTMENT MANAGER LET THEM IN. THEY FOUND ME WRAPPED UP. AND SO THEY TOOK ME TO THE HOSPITAL. THEY PUT ME IN THE HOSPITAL FOR LIKE A WEEK. I WAS ON A PSYCH WARD, SO I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON. BUT THEY COME TO FIND OUT, THEY SAY, WELL HELL, YOU GOT MAN DEPRESSION. I SAID, OH, OKAY. SO, YOU KNOW, WE WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS. THEY, YOU KNOW, GAVE ME A DIFFERENT MEDICINE. I WAS TAKING COACH JEN ESCALATING OUR VEIN. MY PARENTS CAME, GOT ME. THEY SAID, WELL GARY, I'M JUST CUTTING IT SHORT. THEY SAID, WELL YOU CAN'T MOVE BACK TO HOUSTON. SO I COULDN'T MOVE BACK TO HOUSTON. SO I MOVED TO DALLAS. WELL, MY LOVELY SISTER JOYCE, WHICH IS OVER HERE, JOYCE HAD [01:10:01] JUST GOT MARRIED. SHE SAID, WELL GARY, YOU COULD MOVE WITH ME. SO I SAID, OH GOOD. SO HONEY, I DID LIKE THE BEVERLY HILL BUSINESS. I LOADED UP MY TRUCK AND I MOVED TO DALLAS . SO I MOVED TO DALLAS, HONEY, LIVED WITH MY SISTER FOR A LITTLE WHILE. UM, I GOT A JOB AND MY DADDY SAID, WELL GARY, YOU GOT A JOB NOW WAS JUST A MONTH. I'M LIKE, HELL, MOST BLACK PEOPLE LIVE WITH OTHER PEOPLE FOR A YEAR. MY DADDY SAID A MONTH, HE GAVE ME A MONTH. I LIVED WITH MY SISTER FOR A MONTH AND I, UM, YOU KNOW, AND I MOVED OUT. SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS, THURMAN, WHAT IT WAS. BUT ONE DAY I JUST CALLED THE RADIO STATION. SO I CALLED THE RADIO STATION AND I WAS TALKING TO THE DJ. HELL, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I TOLD HIM, BUT I WAS TELLING HIM SOMETHING AND HE WAS LAUGHING. I'M LIKE, OH, HE'S LAUGHING. SO I WOULD JUST TALK TO HIM AND HE WOULD JUST LAUGH AND WHAT HAVE YOU. SO, UM, EVENTUALLY I MET THE DJ OUT. THEY WERE OUT DOING A REMOTE, WHICH A REMOTE IS LIKE, UM, UM, BUT B GOT OUT THERE WITH THEM. HAMBURGERS, Y'ALL GO GET YOU A HAMBURGER. SO THAT'S CALLED A REMOTE. HE WAS DOING A REMOTE. SO HONEY. SO I WOULD GO OUT AND MEET THEM, UM, AT THE REMOTE AND ONE THING, LET KNOW, SO THE DJ SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, GARY, WELL WE CAN'T PAY YOU. SO THEY GAVE ME, HE WOULD GIMME $20 AND HE WOULD GIMME TICKETS TO A CONCERT. SO I SAID, WELL THAT WAS GOOD 'CAUSE I WAS WORKING AT THE HOSPITAL AT THE TIME. SO I SAID, WELL THE $20 IN THE TICKET, THAT WAS GOOD. SO I TOOK THAT. SO NEVERTHELESS I WOULD TAKE THE $20 IN THE TICKET OR WHATEVER. THEN ONE DAY EVENTUALLY I ASKED THE TEACHER, I SAID, WELL, I WANNA GET ON THE STATION'S PAYROLL. 'CAUSE THAT $20 WAS GOOD, BUT IT WASN'T A LOT. I COULDN'T GO TO NEMAN MARCUS. I JUST GOT A CARD. SO, UH, I JUST GOT MY NEIMAN'S CARD. NOW I DIDN'T KNOW YOU HOW TO PAY, I DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD TO PAY FOR IT. I CHARGED UP ALL THE STUFF AND DIDN'T PAY AND THAT'S WHY MY CREDIT GOT BAD AT THE TIME. SO ANYWAY, SO I, UM, SO I ASKED, DID YOU KNOW, COULD THEY PAY ME? SO THE STATION HIRED ME. SO THE STATION HIRED ME AND THEY PUT ME ON THE PAYROLL. SO I STARTED WORKING FOR THE RADIO STATION AND UM, IT WAS LIKE MAYBE WITHIN A COUPLE OF MONTHS, UM, ME AND MY COWORKERS WE'D GO TO CANCUN AND CAME BACK FROM CANCUN AND THE STATION WAS GONE. THEY FLIPPED THE STATION. THEY WENT FROM HIP HOP TO COUNTRY. SO THAT MEAN I DIDN'T HAVE A JOB. SO, SO NEVERTHELESS, I WENT ON AND A GUY NAMED, UH, MOVING FORWARD, A GUY NAMED STEVE HARVEY CAME TO TOWN. SO HE WAS DOING A SHOW, WELL AT THE STATION. SO I WOULD GO IN THE ROOM AND TALK TO STEVE HARVEY AND THE BOSS WOULD SAY, LEAVE HIM ALONE. HE DON'T WANNA TALK TO YOU. AND STEVE HARVEY SAID, LET HIM SIT HERE. HE TALKING TO ME. SO I WOULD JUST TALK TO STEVE HARVEY AND CLOWN WITH HIM. AND EVENTUALLY HE HIRED ME. HE GAVE ME A JOB. HE DIDN'T WANT ME TO TALK ABOUT CELEBRITY GOSPEL BECAUSE HE WAS CELEBRITY. SO HE, SO, SO HE CHANGED MY NAME FROM GARY TO DREW. AND I, YOU KNOW, WORKED WITH HIM. HE STAYED THERE FOR LIKE A YEAR AND A HALF. AND THEN HE, UM, MOVED TO LA SO THEN, UM, A GUY NAMED RICKY SMILEY CAME. SO RICKY CAME AND RICKY NEEDED SOMEBODY TO GO BUY HIM SOME FURNITURE 'CAUSE I WAS GONE AGAIN. SO THEY SAID, WELL, GARY JOY, A GIRL FROM PORT ARTHUR, ONE OF MY CLASSMATES, SHE SAID, WELL GARY, STEVE WANTS SOMEBODY TO GO BUY HIM SOME FURNITURE, WOULD YOU GO? I'M LIKE, GIRL, YEAH, I HAVE, BECAUSE I WAS DELIVERING PAPERS AT THAT TIME. SO ROLLING OUT MAGAZINE, THEY WAS PAYING ME A HUNDRED DOLLARS, BUT GIRL, IT WORKED. SO I, SO I DELIVERED THE NEWSPAPER AND STUFF AND I TALKED TO STEVE, BUT YOU KNOW, ABOUT ROLLING OUT. AND I, UM, SO I DID THAT WITH RICKY. SO, UM, I ASKED HIM, I SAID, WELL, RICKY, YOU NEED AN ASSISTANT. HE SAID, WELL, TALKED TO MY SISTER. 'CAUSE HIS SISTER, UM, WAS HIS MANAGER. SO I TALKED TO THE SISTER AND SHE SAID, WELL, HOW MUCH YOU CHARGE? WELL, I DIDN'T KNOW HOW MUCH TO CHARGE. SO I ASKED JAY, I SAID, WELL GIRL, HOW MUCH I CHARGE? SHE SAID, WELL CHARGE HIM ENOUGH TO PAY A BILL . SO I CHARGED HIM ENOUGH TO PAY A BILL. SO NEVERTHELESS, MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT, I STARTED WORKING FOR RICKY AND YOU KNOW, THINGS WENT ON FROM THERE. THE THING IS THAT I WANNA SAY IS THAT STEVE HARVEY TOLD ME THIS. HE SAID BLACK PEOPLE IN PARTICULAR, HE SAID, WE DON'T DREAM ANYMORE. HE SAID, WE JUST DREAM. HE SAID, WE DON'T DREAM NO MORE. WE DON'T HAVE HOPE. BECAUSE MY THING IS, I DREAMED ALL I DREAMED OF MY MAMA DADDY PUSHING A BUTTON AND DRIVING IN HER GARAGE LIKE THE MAJORITY I DID. AND SHE'S DOING IT TODAY. SO, HONEY, YES SIR, SHE'S DOING IT TODAY. AND I DREAM OF ALL THAT STUFF. AND I THINK YOU DREAM. AND THEN NOT ALL OF HIS DAD, YOU GOTTA LOOK AT THE BIGGER PICTURE. I WAS MAKING PENNIES WHEN I WORKED FOR RICK. HE WAS PAYING ME PENNIES. BUT GIRL, IT WAS WORKING. MY FRIEND SHIRLEY SAID SHE, HER GRANDMOTHER SAID, YOU CAN'T MAKE A DIME, MAKE A NICKEL. AND HONEY, I DONE MADE A MINI NICKELS AND STILL MAKING SOMETHING. I'M STILL MAKING SOME PICKLES, BUT, BUT I AIN'T GONNA PUT IT OUT THERE. BUT ANYWAY, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU JUST HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO DREAM AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE FAITH. AND THROUGH ALL OF THAT STUFF, I WENT THROUGH CANCER. LATER ON I WENT THROUGH COLON CANCER. I HAD COLON CANCER. AND THE THING ABOUT THAT WAS WHEN I WAS GOING THROUGH MY COLON CANCER, I WENT TO WORK EVERY DAY. WHEN I WOULD GET OFF OF WORK AT NINE 30 IN THE MORNING, CHARLOTTE, I WOULD, UM, GO TO UM, CHEMO. I WOULD GO TO RADIATION. AND EVERY DAY I GOT THERE, I SAY, I ASKED THE DOCTOR, WHO YOU COOKING TODAY COOK [01:15:01] THAT DAMN RADIATION COOKED YOU . OH, IT COOKED YOU. BUT I WENT THROUGH MY COOKING AND IT COOKED ME AND I WORE CHEMO PAINT, A CHEMO POUCH. I DIDN'T GO THROUGH CHEMO LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE DID. I HAD A POUCH. SO I HAD IT UNDER MY SHIRT AND I WOULD GO TO WORK EVERY DAY. AND I WENT TO WORK EVERY DAY AND EVERY DAY WHEN I GOT THROUGH WITH MY CHEMO AND RED AND I WENT HOME AND WATCHED JUDGE JUDY, I LOVED JUDGE JUDY, MY DAD. YOU LOVE HER TOO. MY DAD DIDN'T LIKE IT SINCE SHE WAS TOO ARROGANT. BUT, UH, BUT I LOVE JUDGE JU. AND, AND THAT'S WHEN I STARTED WATCHING TV IN THE BED BECAUSE I AIN'T NEVER WATCHED TV IN NO BED. HELL, WE DIDN'T, MY MAMA DIDN'T LET US SIT IN NO BED. WATCH NO TV. YOU BETTER GET YOUR ASS IN THAT DANCE. AND THAT. WELL, WE WATCHED TV IN THE DINNER. BUT ANYWAY, SO . SO, BUT IT WAS, IT WAS, YOU KNOW, LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT. I AM GRATEFUL AND I'M HONORED, YOU KNOW, THURMAN FOR THIS AWARD BECAUSE THE FIRST AWARD I GOT HERE IN PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS WAS FROM THE SAVOY GROUP, THE MARTIN LUTHER KING CENTER, THEY GAVE ME. AND I WAS SO PROUD OF THAT AWARD, HONEY TERRY, SHE BACKED THERE. THEY GAVE ME THAT AWARD AND I WAS SO PROUD. AND THEN OTHER AWARDS STARTED COMING, YOU KNOW, BUT THIS AWARD HERE IS A GREAT KEY. BUT MY THING, I WANNA KNOW THIS THOUGH, THERMO, CAN I OPEN UP SPEAKEASY WITH IT? CAN SPEAKEASY. OH, WE, OH, WE CAN'T. WHAT ABOUT IES? ? OH, THEY GO TOO. OH HELL. BUT ANYWAY, THON, THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND I WANNA THANK TO COUNCIL. THANK YOU. RON BERGMAN, CITY MANAGER. I SPOKE WITH RON BERGMAN ON ONE DAY ON THE PHONE. HE WAS SUCH A PLEASANT GUY. AND I LIKE THOMAS KEN LAW. I LIKE, COULD THEY COME HIM MY CHRISTMAS PARTY? I GIVE A CHRISTMAS PARTY. THAT'S WHAT I DO FOR THE COMMUNITY. I GIVE A CHRISTMAS PARTY AND I GIVE Y'ALL GIFTS. YOU JUST GOTTA ALL GET INVITED. AND, UH, MR. THAT TIFFANY, UH, WILLIE BAY LEWIS, ME AND YOUR DAUGHTER, DR. LEWIS, WE WERE TOGETHER LAST WEEKEND. DIONNE BECKER DONNE IS MY CLASSMATE. SHE AND I GRADUATE TOGETHER. HEY, DONNE. YES. AND I WANNA THANK ALL OF Y'ALL THAT CAME OUT AND ALL Y'ALL TO SUPPORT THIS AND SUPPORT ME, HONEY, I'M VERY GRATEFUL. 'CAUSE THEY SAID OUR PRINCE WILL NEVER BE A PRINCE IN THIS HOMETOWN. BUT GUESS WHAT, TRACY? I'M A PRINCE IN MY HOMETOWN. THANK YOU SO MUCH. STERN. THANK YOU, GARY. GARY WITH THE TEA IS FROM. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, MAYOR, MAYOR, MAYOR, MAYOR, MAYOR, MAYOR. OH, EXCUSE ME, MAYOR, WE GOT ONE SPEAKER. GO, GO RIGHT IN. I'M SORRY. COUNCILMAN LEWIS MAYOR HERE. COME BACK UP THERE. COUNCILMAN LEWIS. OH, GO AHEAD, COUNCILMAN. OH YES. LOOK, TODAY WHEN YOU DRIVE UP NOW IN THESE RICH NEIGHBORHOODS, YEAH, THE GARAGE DOOR IS SOMETHING. IT IS ANTIQUE. OKAY, NOW THE DRIVEWAY ROTATES. YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO BACK OUT. YOU HAVE THE TURNTABLE. YOU DRIVE IN AND YOU ROTATE THE, UH, THE DRIVEWAY. LOOK AT YOU. OKAY. COUNCILMAN, COUNCILMAN KEN LAW. HEY GARY. MAN, YOU, YOU DESERVE THIS HONOR, UH, TO BE RECOGNIZED IN YOUR, YOUR HOMETOWN. UH, EVERY TIME WE GO TO NLC, THAT'S A NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS. I WOULD CALL GARY. HE WOULD COME PICK ME UP. AND IF I WANTED TO GO TO MALL RESTAURANTS, YOU'VE ALWAYS OPENED YOUR DOORS, UH, FOR ME PERSONALLY, ALONG WITH, UH, BILL AND, UH, CARRIE. UH, AND, UH, I JUST WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU, MAN. BECAUSE ONE THING I REMEMBER, WE WERE IN A CAR AND THAT ROSE AND YOU MADE A STATEMENT, UH, TO ME. YOU SAID LAUGHTER IS HEALTHY. YEAH, I DID. AND I WAS LIKE, WELL, OKAY. ALRIGHT. BUT I SEE WHAT YOU DO. I WATCH YOU ON TELEVISION AND YOU MAKE PORT ARTHUR PROUD. THANK YOU, MAN, ABOUT PORT ARTHUR. I TALK ABOUT PORT ARTHUR ENOUGH ON THE TV SHOW, AND THEY BE LIKE, WHO IN THE HELL? WHERE IS PORT ARTHUR ? OH, AND I ALSO WANNA SAY TOO, CHARLOTTE, CONGRATULATIONS. GOOD LUCK TO YOU AND YOUR ENDEAVOR. I KNOW YOU'RE GONNA DO WONDERFUL THINGS. I MEAN, THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE KEY FROM YOU, BUT THURMAN SAID HE BEAT YOU TOO. COUNT COUNCILWOMAN COUNCILMAN D NO COUNCILWOMAN HAM HAMILTON, JUST TO, TO GIVE YOU YOUR FLOWERS. WE HONOR YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS. AND YOU LOOK SO SHARP. SO SHARP. I THANK YOU FOR YOUR HOSPITALITY. ALSO, WHEN WE WENT TO A, A CONFERENCE AND YOU INTRODUCED ME TO CLIVE CHRISTIAN, AND I'VE BEEN HOOKED EVER SINCE. GIRL, YOU WEARING YES. . DON'T TELL THAT GIRL. COUNCILMAN CLIVE CHRISTIAN UNDER THE BOTTLE. BUT ANYWAY, COUNCILMAN, COUNCILMAN LEWIS, YOU HAVE SOMETHING ELSE? YES. JUST A BRIEF CLEAR YOU TO REINFORCE [01:20:01] WHAT COUNCILMAN UH, KEN LAW SAID, LAUGHTER IS THE GREATEST THING FOR YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM. I RECALL YEARS AGO, HE HAD A GUY HAD, HE'S A NEWS REPORTER, HE HAD, UH, STOMACH CANCER. AND HE WENT AND LOCKED HIMSELF IN A ROOM. AND HE JUST WATCHED OLD, FUNNY, OLD, FUNNY MOVIES AND LAUGHED AND LAUGHED. YOU KNOW, HE KILLED HIM. YEAH. THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. SO LAUGHTER IS GREAT. IT'S STAYING FOR YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM AND YOUR HEALTH. AND CONGRATULATIONS ON ALL YOUR ENDEAVORS. THANK YOU, GARY. TELL MY DAUGHTER HELLO. OKAY, I'LL, I'LL SEE YOU TOMORROW. OKAY, GARY, THE ONLY THING I'M GONNA SAY IS SOMETHING I'VE ALWAYS BEEN GLAD TO SEE ANYBODY FROM PORT ARTHUR MOVE AWAY AND BECOME SUCCESSFUL. AND I SEE EVERYBODY'S ALWAYS PROUD. THEY'RE QUICK TO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT PORT ARTHUR. THEY'RE NOT, THEY DON'T SAY, I'M FROM HOUSTON, I'M FROM BEAUMONT. IF THEY'RE FROM PORT ARTHUR, THEY BECOME SUCCESSFUL. THEY'RE GONNA TELL PEOPLE THEY'RE FROM PORT ARTHUR. BUT I ALWAYS WONDER WHERE MAYOR, WHERE THE MAYOR WAS GETTING TO SHOP FOR HIS CLOTHES. . OKAY, SO, BUT, BUT I GOT YOU. I GOT YOU, SIR. SIR, CITY, CITY MANAGER. WONDER WHERE YOU GOT YOUR CLOTHES FROM? YEAH, IT'S CITY MANAGER GARY. UM, CITY MANAGER. BEING CITY MANAGER REQUIRES A CERTAIN LEVEL OF MENTAL EQUILIBRIUM. YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE SEVEN BOSSES AND YOU HAVE 56,000 PEOPLE WHO ARE YOUR BOSSES AS WELL. SO YOU BRING A CERTAIN LEVEL OF MENTAL EQUILIBRIUM TO ONE WHO HAS TO DRIVE TO WORK ON A DAILY BASIS. AND IT WAS THAT DAY, SOMETIME LAST YEAR WHEN I HEARD YOUR STORY ABOUT THE PORT OF CHILE WHEN YOU WORK AT WENDY'S. AND I SMILED ALL THE WAY TO CITY HALL IR RESPECTED THAT DAY THAT I HAD A CITY COUNCIL MEETING, YOU KNOW? SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR DELIVERING THAT LEVEL OF MENTAL EQUILIBRIUM TO MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY. THANK YOU. LET ME, RIGHT BEFORE YOU LEAVE, GARY, GARY, RIGHT BEFORE YOU LEAVE, MAN, LET ME SAY MAN, YOU MAKE US PROUD. UM, EVERY MORNING, EVERY DAY YOU MAKE US LAUGH, MAN. WE APPRECIATE YOU. YOU DID SAY SOMETHING THAT IS SO IMPORTANT FROM FROM AFRICA TO OMAHA, NEBRASKA. IF YOU ARE FROM PORT ARTHUR, MAN, SOMEBODY KNOWS YOU AND YOU CAN MEET SOMEBODY FROM PORT ARTHUR AND YOU MAKE US PROUD TO BE FROM PORT ARTHUR. AND WE'D LOVE EACH OTHER. WE LOVE YOU, MAN. THANK YOU. YES, YES. ONE OF THE THINGS I WANT YOU TO REMIND YOUR AUDIENCE, THERE ARE TWO, TELL THEM TO LOOK UP GOOGLE IQ AND EQ, UH, UH, EI, YOU'D BE SURPRISED YOU GOT A GREAT EI OKAY? THANK YOU. EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT. OH, . OKAY. OKAY. UH, MOVING RIGHT ALONG. MOVING RIGHT ALONG. AND I HOPE YOU, WELL, I CAN SEE YOU ALL, DON'T MIND, BUT WE KINDA OFF THE SCHEDULE I GAVE YOU AND YOUR PEOPLE, YOU ALL, YOU ALL, AND LOOK AT Y'ALL. IT, THIS WHAT IT IS, YOU KNOW, NOT THAT, THAT, THAT, UH, BUT IT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYBODY ELSE. SO HE HAD, HE HAD THE REAL, REAL SCHEDULE. AND GARY AND FRED WAS JUST LIKE, OKAY, MAN, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S BUD GOING TO DO? HOW IS IT GOING? OKAY, THIS GONNA WORK, AND IT, IT IS HAPPENING. SO WE, WE WE'RE LITTLE OFF. RIGHT NOW. YOU GOT A LINE OF PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT'S WAITING FOR CHIEFS. KEEP LOOKING OUTSIDE. OH, THEY'RE EATING. OH, THAT'S WHY I LEFT OUT HERE. ALRIGHT, WE GOOD? NOW, THE NEXT AWARD OR PROCLAMATION I SHOULD SAY IS TO MR. BERNARD, BUN B FREEMAN. COME ON UP. AND WELL, BEFORE I BEGIN, I'M GONNA JUST SAY, SAY WHAT I HAVE TO SAY HERE. YOU KNOW, AND I SAID IT DOWN DOWNSTAIRS. WE, YOU KNOW, WE HAD THE GREEN ROOM TOO. YOU KNOW, MY OFFICE IN THE COM AND THE CONFERENCE ROOM AT THE GREEN ROOM. YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU HAVE STARS, YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT TO DO, . YOU KNOW, SO IT'S NOT GREEN, BUT IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S THE GREEN ROOM. YEAH. BUT ANYWAY, WE WERE IN THE GREEN ROOM, AND I WANNA LET HIM KNOW IS THAT HE'S ALWAYS BEEN BERNARD FREEMAN TO ME. AND I WAS ALWAYS MR. BOY TO HIM. AND FOLK WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, I SAY, YEAH, OKAY, BERNARD. YEAH. AND, AND THEY LIKE, BUT MAN, IT'S BERNARD BECAUSE THIS IS THE NAME HE HAD WHEN HE BE STARTED. UGK. YEAH. WHEN HE, WHEN ON THAT ACCELERATION TO GREATNESS. [01:25:01] HE NEVER HAS. NEVER. AND I KNOW HE WILL NEVER, I TOLD YOU THAT YESTERDAY AGAIN. HE'S NEVER FORGOTTEN PORT ARTHUR. THAT'S RIGHT. NEVER. SO, FROM THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, JUST IN THE OFFICE OF A MAYOR SAYS, SUCCESS USUALLY COMES TO THOSE WHO ARE TOO BUSY TO BE LOOKING FOR IT. AND THIS IS FROM HENRY DAVID THOREAU. BUT WHEREAS IT HAS BEEN WELL OVER 30 YEARS SINCE BERNARD FREEMAN BETTER KNOWN TO THE WORLD AS BUN B, REVOLUTIONIZED THE HIP HOP LANDSCAPE AS ONE HALF OF THE LEGENDARY UGK, HIS UNIQUE CONTRIBUTIONS, INCLUDING SIX CLASSIC ALBUMS AND TWO EPS AS PART OF THE GRAMMY NOMINATED DUO, AND FIVE SOLO PROJECTS THAT EMBODIED HIS FOR ARTHUR TEXAS MANTRA. AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT IS? KEEP IT REAL. AND WHEREAS BUN BES RISE TO FAME INCLUDES MANY MILESTONES THAT HAVE REACHED ON PHANTOM OF THE WALL. EDDIE RAY, HUH? YEAH. HEIGHTS FROM UUG K'S 1992 DEBUT. TOO HARD TO SWALLOW. AND THERE ARE GROUNDBREAKING INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS, ANTHEM, WHERE I CHOOSE YOU WITH OUTKAST. 15 YEARS LATER TO THEIR CAMEO ON JAY-Z'S BIG PIMPING SOUTHERN HIP HOP WAS MADE BETTER. AND WHEREAS VAN B'S INFLUENCE EXTENDS BEYOND THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AS A PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY AT RICE UNIVERSITY, HE, ALONG WITH PROFESSOR ANTHONY PENN, LED A GROUNDBREAKING COURSE ON RELIGION AND HIP HOP CULTURE, WHICH BECOMES AVAILABLE, OR WHICH RATHER BECAME AVAILABLE DIGITALLY IN 2015. THIS FURTHER SOLIDIFIED HIS INFLUENCE IN ACADEMIA AND THE HIP HOP CULTURE. AND WHEREAS FROM SELLING MILLIONS OF GRAMMY NOMINATIONS, CHANGING ACADEMIA, PUBLISHING, RELEASING A RAP COLORING AND ACTIVITY BOOK WITH SHEER SERRANO GRABBING A HOLD OF THE LIFESTYLE AND SNEAKER CULTURE OF WHICH I EVEN ARE DOING TODAY, WITH THE NIKE JORDANS, THE CLASSICS, THE PROGRAMS FOR YOUNG PLAYERS TO SHOWING THE WORLD HIS FOODIE SIDE WITH THE LAUNCH OF THE FOOD BLOG. YOU GOTTA EAT THIS.COM VIA THE COMPLEX NETWORK, BU BE OR BA BEAD RATHER. VERSATILITY AND MULTIFACETED ACHIEVEMENTS ARE NOW INSPIRING. AND WHAT I'M GOING TO SAY THAT'S NOT ON HERE, HIS AWARD WINNING 4 0 9 TRI BURGERS, OF WHICH I'VE GONE SEVERAL TIMES, AND I'M GONNA TELL YOU HOW GOOD HE IS, MAN. HE SAID, MAN, WHY YOU DIDN'T CALL ME TO TELL ME YOU WERE COMING, I WOULD'VE COME DOWN, OR, YOU KNOW, AND YOU COULD'VE GOT MY SPOT. THAT'S THE ONLY REASON WHY TO CALL ME. HE PARKED AT THE DOOR . OKAY? AND NOW WE HAVE TO WAIT IN THE LINE. BUT I WANTED TO JUST TAKE, TAKE IN, LIKE I TOLD YOU THIS MAN LISTENING TO FOLK TALK, SEEING EVERYBODY MOVING AROUND IN THAT RESTAURANT KNOWING THAT THEY HAVE A PASSION FOR BERNARD FREEMAN FROM PORT ARTHUR TAXES. HEY Y'ALL, THAT MEANS SOMETHING. AND I HAVE SEVERAL PICTURES WITH PIMP C ON THE WALL. I THINK I SENT ONE TO YOU. YEAH. YOU KNOW, BECAUSE HE SOLIDIFIES BEING FROM [01:30:01] PORT ARTHUR AND KEEPING IT TRUE RIGHT NOW. THEREFORE, THAT'S MY LAST TIME SAYING THIS. Y'ALL , DON'T START CRYING. DON'T START. I'M EMOTIONAL. NOW DO PLEASE DON'T. PLEASE DON'T SAVE US NOW. THEREFORE, I DIAMOND BILL NOW OF THE GREAT CITY OF PART OF THE DO HEREBY PROCLAIM TODAY, JUNE 17TH, 2025, AS BERNARD BUN FREEMAN DAY HERE IN THE CITY OF FOR CELEBRATE YOU. AND WE PRESENT TO YOU THIS PROCLAMATION AND THE KEY TO THE CITY. AND IT'S IN WITNESS WHEREOF I HAVE HERE TOO. Y'ALL GOT IT. YOU KNOW, I GOT IT MEMORIZED. AFFIXED MY SIGNATURE. AND CAUSE THE SEAL OF THE GREAT CITY OF PORT ARTHUR TO BE AFFIXED ON THIS DOCUMENT ON THIS DAY AT 11:09 AM ON THE FIFTH FLOOR OF 4 44 FOURTH STREET IN THE GREAT CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS. AND IT SIGNED BILL BARTY, MAYOR OF THE GREAT CITY. AND I GIVE THIS TO YOU, BUT I APPRECIATE YOU, MAN. LOVE YOU, MAN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MAN. I, I TALK LOUD. SO, AND THIS THING KEEP GOING IN AND OUT ON TO DEAL WITH ALL THAT. I TOLD, I KNEW PEOPLE GET NEW ONE. I WAS GONNA CRY, BUT IF FRED DID THAT, THEN I SAID, I'M GONNA TELL SOME JOKES. AND THEN GARY DID. AND I KNOW PEOPLE WANNA GET OUT HERE AND GO GET A BURGER. SO I'M, I'M GONNA KEEP IT SHORT. UM, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO GIVE GLORY AND HONOR TO GOD, JESUS CHRIST, MY SAVIOR. I AM SO HONORED TO BE SITTING HERE, STANDING HERE IN CITY HALL TODAY, BEING HONORED BY THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR GROWING UP IN THIS TOWN. THIS WAS NEVER ANYTHING I THOUGHT WOULD HAPPEN. OH, GROWING UP IN THIS TOWN, I NEVER THOUGHT THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS GONNA BE SOMEBODY TO BE LOOKED UP TO, REVERED ANYBODY OF ANY ACCLAIM OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. BUT I HAVE TO REMEMBER, I'M FROM PORT ARTHUR, SO ANYTHING IS POSSIBLY ME. YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? UM, IT'S HARD, YOU KNOW, FOR ME TO DO THESE THINGS BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE THAT HELPED ME GET TO THIS POINT THAT ARE NOT HERE TODAY. MY BROTHER CHAD LAMAR BUTLER, HIS MOTHER WRESTLING MONROE, UH, MY STEPFATHER VINCENT TAYLOR. THESE WERE PEOPLE THAT REALLY SOLD INTO ME AND HELPED ME BECOME WHO I'M TODAY. LIKE NOT JUST AN ARTIST, NOT JUST AN ENTREPRENEUR, BUT JUST A GOOD PERSON THAT WERE MEMBERS, WHERE HE CAME FROM AND WHO HELPED HIM WHEN HE DIDN'T HAVE. AND THAT'S ALL I'VE EVER TRIED TO DO AND REPRESENT, WHETHER IT WAS MUSIC, WHETHER IT WAS TEACHING, WHETHER IT WAS WITH THESE BURGERS. I JUST WANT TO KNOW THAT SOMEBODY FROM PHIL ARTHUR WAS OUT HERE TRYING TO DO THE RIGHT THING IN THIS WORLD. I LOOK IN THIS ROOM TODAY, I SEE CLASSMATES, I SEE FRIENDS, I SEE PEOPLE, BIG SISTERS AND LITTLE BROTHERS. I SEE KEN FOLK IN HERE. AND I'M SO GLAD THAT Y'ALL JOINED ME TODAY TO BE HERE. I REALLY WASN'T SURE WHAT I WOULD SAY WHEN I GOT UP HERE. BUT LOOKING AT Y'ALL, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYTHING TO SAY. I SEE THE PRIDE OF PORT ARTHUR IN THIS ROOM, AND EVERYBODY'S FACES IN EVERYBODY'S EYES. AND I'M LOOKING IN THE MIRROR RIGHT NOW. I REALLY AM. BECAUSE EVERYTHING I AM YOU ARE BECAUSE I'M NOTHING WITHOUT THIS CITY AND THE PEOPLE FROM THIS CITY. SO MANY PEOPLE, SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE ARGUED FOR ME AT THE WATER BOTTLE IN THE BARBER SHOP, COLLEGE CLASSROOMS, ANYWHERE, YOU NAME IT, THERE'S BEEN ARGUMENTS. WE THE BEST RAPPER WHO GOT THE BEST BURGER OF ALL OF THIS STUFF. I TAKE PRIDE IN THAT AND I TRY NOT TO LET PEOPLE DOWN. I'VE KNOWN THURMAN NOW FOR ALMOST 30 YEARS IN THURMAN. I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE SIX YEARS OF DEDICATION AND FOCUS THAT YOU'VE PUT IN TO TRY TO LIFT THIS CITY UP. I WANT TO THANK THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS HERE TODAY FOR CONTINUING TO PUT FORTH AN EFFORT TO TAKE PORT ARTHUR TO PLACES THAT IT SHOULD BE. PORT ARTHUR IS JUST AS GOOD AS ANY OTHER CITY IN AMERICA. WE DESERVE THE SAME RESOURCES SPECIFICALLY FROM AUSTIN FOR THIS CITY. WE NEED COMMERCE. WE NEED OPPORTUNITY FOR THESE CHILDREN. AND I THANK YOU ALL FOR DEDICATING YOUR LIFE TO THIS CITY AND THIS COMMUNITY. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, [01:35:03] THIS IS, THIS IS BIGGER THAN THAN ME. MY, MY MOTHER, ESTHER TAYLOR, SACRIFICED SO MUCH FOR ME JUST TO HOPE I WOULD BE A GOOD MAN. AND I'VE TRIED TO BE THE BEST REPRESENTATION OF MYSELF, HER, AND MY FATHER THAT I COULD POSSIBLY BE. AND I HOPE TO GOD THAT I'M HALFWAY THERE BECAUSE I THINK I STILL GOT A LOT LEFT TO GIVE TO THIS WORLD AND A LOT LEFT TO SHOW. UM, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING FOR MY FAMILY. 'CAUSE I AM MY MOTHER'S CHILD. I AM MY FATHER'S CHILD, AND I AM A PART, PUT OUT THE RESIDENT AND LIFELONG, LIFELONG REPRESENTATION OF THIS CITY. AND I REASON I SAY RESIDENT, 'CAUSE I DO, I OWN MY MAMA HOUSE. SO I GOT OUT HERE AND I, GOD FORBID ANYTHING HAPPENED TO, I WOULD WANT TO MOVE INTO THAT HOME. UM, BUT I REALLY WANT TO THANK Y'ALL FOR MAKING PORT ARTHUR WORTH REPRESENTING. THAT'S ALL I WANNA SAY. I REALLY WANT TO THANK ALL THE GOOD WHOLESOME, HARDWORKING, FOCUSED CHRISTIAN GOD FILLED PEOPLE AT PORT ARTHUR FOR HELPING ME BECOME THE MAN I AM TODAY. I'M ETERNALLY GRATEFUL FOR Y'ALL. NOW LET'S TRY TO GET THESE PEOPLE SOME FOOD. OH, ON THIS SIDE. OKAY, MAYOR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NOW, MAYOR. OH, OH, OH. HOLD ON. BOB, WHY ALL, WHY DON'T YOU OTHER TWO GUYS GET UP HERE WITH HIM, TAKE A PICTURE WITH ALL THREE OF 'EM. HOMEBOYS HAD COME BACK AND HAVE 'EM FORGOT ABOUT OUR SEE THAT ABOUT ALL Y'ALL CAN A PICTURE? Y YEAH. ALRIGHT. I TELL YOU WHAT. HEY, MAYOR, MAYOR, MAYOR, MAYOR. PULL UP. LET'S BRING THEM UP. HOW ABOUT BRING THEM, BRING I WANT THEM HERE AND, AND YOU COME UP HERE. WE AND WE GOING BE THEY BACKGROUND. LET US BE THEIR BACKGROUND. WE GONNA BE BACKGROUND SINGERS TODAY. I NO PROBLEM. YOU KNOW, WE GOING DO, I'M GONNA PULL THESE OUT AND WAIT. YEAH, THAT THE BED BACK SECTION I SEEN BRING, CAN PULL THOSE TWO. THEY AFRAID CITY ATTORNEYS PUT 'EM KIND OF LIKE THAT SO THEY WON'T LOOK, THEY WON'T LOOK JUDGE YET. AUDITOR BEHIND OUR CELEBRITIES. WELL, I CAN STAND DOWN HERE WITH YOU. YEAH, YOU CAN. YES, ABSOLUTELY. AND SKIING GREAT DAY, PA OKAY. SHE CITY WEBSITE. OKAY. OKAY. WE GOTTA TAKE [01:40:01] A PICTURE. YOU AND I. YEAH, YOU GOTTA, HOW DID I REACH YOU WHEN I GO TO YOU IN ATLANTA? YEAH. OKAY, THEN GIMME HIS NUMBER. FRED. HEY, I'M A RECESS. OKAY. UH, LOOK, EXCUSE ME, WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO NOW. OH, AND Y'ALL, Y'ALL CAN KEEP ON. WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS, IT IS NOW 11, ABOUT 1120. WE'RE GONNA RECESS THE COUNCIL MEETING UNTIL 12 NOON. OKAY? AND WHAT THAT'S GOING TO DO IS GONNA GIVE YOU TIME. IF YOU NEED TO GO OUT AND TRY TO GET, UH, A TRIO BURGER, YOU, YOU SHOULD HAVE TIME. AND THEN I DON'T, IT'S NOT RAINING. THE WEATHER IS GOOD. AND, UH, 1 25 SQUARE DOWNSTAIRS, WE HAVE CANS OUT THERE AND THERE'S SOME SEAT AND SOME SEATING DOWN THERE. OKAY? AND YOU ARE WELCOME TO BE DOWN THERE. BUT, UH, THOSE WHO WERE IN THE GREEN ROOM, UH, WITH ME THIS MORNING, WANT YOU TO COME DOWNSTAIRS, IF Y'ALL DON'T MIND, COME DOWNSTAIRS. THEY, THEY HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU. FIXED UP. OKAY? SO, UH, COUNSEL, WHAT WE'LL DO, WE'LL RECESS NOW UNTIL 12 NOON. OKAY? ALRIGHT. CITY SECRETARY WILL, WILL YOU PLEASE ESTABLISH A ROLE CALL PLEASE? MAYOR BARTEE. MAYOR PROTE ETT. PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBER LEWIS. COUNCIL MEMBER HAMILTON, EVER FIELD COUNCIL MEMBER BECKHAM. HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER KEN LONG HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER FRANK, YOU HAVE A QUORUM MAYOR PRO. OKAY. THANK YOU. [IX. WORKSHOP] AT THIS TIME, WHAT WE'LL DO IS WE WOULD LIKE TO BRING UP ITEM THE WORKSHOP IS ON PAGE 11, I THINK IT'S, HUH? WE'RE GONNA MOVE ITEM NUMBER NINE, WORKSHOP UP TO THE PRESENT. SO AT THIS TIME, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO, TO MOVE ITEM NINE UP SECOND. IT HAS BEEN MOVED IN SECONDS. AT THIS TIME WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER NINE, THE WORKSHOP. THE WORKSHOP IS BY MS. BARRY BEN REGARDING THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR'S FIVE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN. MS. DUN, IT'S YOUR TIME. GOOD. MOR I GUESS IT'S AFTERNOON NOW. OKAY. I GOT THIS RIGHT. OKAY. IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE WITH ALL OF YOU AGAIN. THANK YOU MAYOR PRO TEM, MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL. UM, IT'S BEEN A LITTLE WHILE SINCE WE SAW YOU LAST, UH, DURING YOUR, UH, STRATEGIC PLAN, UM, DEVELOPMENT WORK SESSION, UM, WHICH WE HAD, UH, EARLIER THIS YEAR. AND SO WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF WORK WITH STAFF, UH, DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS, REALLY REFINING THIS DRAFT WHERE THEY TOOK YOUR WORK, UM, AND, AND PUT IT INTO THIS, UM, COMPLETE DOCUMENT. IT'S DEFINITELY IN DRAFT FORM, IT'S CURRENTLY IN A WORD DOCUMENT. IT'S GOING TO BE A BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED DOCUMENT AT THE END OF THE DAY. BUT WE DIDN'T WANNA DO THAT UNTIL WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THIS WORK SESSION WITH YOU, GET YOUR FEEDBACK, AND MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE PLAN AS NEEDED BASED UPON THINGS THAT YOU SEE. UM, SO THE AGENDA FOR OUR WORK SESSION IS, UH, TO JUST DO A BRIEF RECAP OF THE PROJECT APPROACH TO REMIND YOU OF WHAT WE DID TO GET FROM THE BEGINNING OF THIS PROJECT TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY. UH, REVIEWING THE ACTUAL DRAFT OF THE PLAN. SO WE'RE GONNA WALK THROUGH IT SECTION BY SECTION. YOU'LL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, DISCUSS IT AND TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND THEN ANY QUESTIONS AT THE END. UM, AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'LL BE DOING, UH, WITH OUR TIME TODAY. ALRIGHT. SO A QUICK RECAP OF THE PROCESS, JUST BEING CLEAR ABOUT WHAT A STRATEGIC PLAN IS. SO IT IS, UM, THE, WHAT THE CITY IS GOING TO FOCUS ON, NOT NECESSARILY THE HOW WE'RE GOING TO BE CREATING A COMPANION IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THAT WILL HAVE ALL THE DETAILS ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO CARRY OUT THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. UM, SO THEY, THIS STRATEGIC PLAN CONVEYS THE PRIORITIES OF THE CITY AND THE FOCUS AND THE LONG-TERM VISION. IT'S MEANT TO BE A LIVING DOCUMENT THAT WILL LAST FIVE YEARS, THAT WILL GUIDE YOUR DECISION MAKING, THAT WILL GUIDE, UM, BUDGET DECISIONS THAT YOU MAKE AND THAT YOU WILL USE AS A TOOL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY TO THE COMMUNITY. SO THE COMMUNITY HAD, UH, INVOLVEMENT IN THE CREATION OF THIS PLAN. WE, WE DID SURVEYS. WE HAD A VIRTUAL PLATFORM. WE DID COMMUNITY FORMS. WE DID INTERVIEWS WITH STAKEHOLDERS. AND SO YOUR COMMUNITY IS GONNA BE INTERESTED TO KNOW HOW YOU'RE MAKING PROGRESS ON THIS STRATEGIC PLAN. UM, ONCE WE ADOPT THIS PLAN, ONCE YOU ALL ADOPT THIS PLAN, WE [01:45:01] WILL MOVE INTO THE IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING PHASE. AND THAT WILL BE A VERY DETAILED DOCUMENT THAT WILL GUIDE YOUR DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS AND THEIR STAFF IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ALL OF THE STRATEGIES THAT YOU ALL SET, SET IN MOTION. SO THERE WERE A FEW DIFFERENT ROLES OF, UH, THE STAKEHOLDERS THAT WERE ENGAGED IN THIS PROCESS. UM, WE STARTED WITH THE PORT ARTHUR COMMUNITY DOING INTERVIEWS, FOCUS GROUPS, COMMUNITY FORUMS. UH, WE, WE HAD A VIRTUAL ENGAGEMENT PLATFORM THAT WE USED THAT GAVE PEOPLE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE INPUT ABOUT PORT ARTHUR'S FUTURE. AND SO WE GATHERED ALL OF THAT INFORMATION TOGETHER AND WE PRESENTED IT TO YOU AT YOUR PLAN DEVELOPMENT SESSION, UM, EARLIER THIS YEAR. SO IN THAT SESSION, YOU WORKED ON DEVELOPING THE MISSION, THE VISION, THE VALUES, THE STRATEGIC FOCUS AREAS, AND THE GOALS. AND, UM, YOUR ROLE ULTIMATELY WILL BE TO FINALLY ADOPT THIS PLAN WHEN YOU'RE HAPPY WITH, WITH WHAT'S IN THERE. AFTER YOUR SESSION. WE MET WITH DEPARTMENT, UH, DIRECTORS IN A DAY LONG SESSION TO REFINE THE WORK THAT YOU ALL DID, UH, TO, UH, CREATE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES FOR EACH OF THE GOALS AND PRIORITIES AND DEVELOP PERFORMANCE MEASURES SO YOU CAN MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS. UM, THAT WAS AN ITERATIVE PROCESS THAT TOOK SOME TIME TO REFINE ALL OF THAT COMING OUT OF THAT SESSION. AND THE DOCUMENT YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU TODAY, UM, REFLECTS THAT THAT SAME GROUP OF FOLKS WILL BE INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ONCE YOU ADOPT THE STRATEGIC PLAN. THIS IS THE STRUCTURE OF THE PLAN. SO YOU'LL SEE, UM, THIS, UH, VERSION OF A HOUSE. UM, THE, THE PLAN STARTS REALLY WITH THE MISSION STATEMENT, WHICH IS THE, THE FOUNDATION FOR THE ROOF. UM, IT WILL INCLUDE A VISION STATEMENT, WHICH IS, UH, FIVE PLUS YEARS LOOKING OUT INTO THE FUTURE. THERE ARE STRATEGIC PRIORITY AREAS, UH, THAT WE WILL SHOW YOU TODAY. UH, THEY ARE THE ONES THAT YOU IDENTIFIED ACTUALLY IN YOUR PLAN DEVELOPMENT SESSION. UM, THE STAFF REALLY DIDN'T DO MUCH REFINEMENT OF THOSE. THEY KIND OF TOOK THEM AS THEY ARE AND BUILT A SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES AROUND THEM. SO WE HAVE A GOAL STATEMENT FOR EACH STRATEGIC PRIORITY, AND WE HAVE OBJECTIVES FOR EACH STRATEGIC PRIORITY. AND THEN PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR EACH ONE. OOPS, I SKIPPED A SLIDE THERE. UM, SO WHAT SOURCES DID WE USE TO DEVELOP THE STRATEGIC PLAN? UH, I MENTIONED WE HAD A VARIETY OF STAKEHOLDER INPUT, UM, FROM THE COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO FROM DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS AND EMPLOYEES INSIDE THE ORGANIZATION. UM, WE HAD THAT SOCIAL PINPOINT, A VIRTUAL ENGAGEMENT PLATFORM THAT HAD A SURVEY, A POLL, AN IDEAS WALL. UM, WE LOOKED AT A LOT OF DATA. SO WE GATHERED OUR OWN DATA THROUGH THE DIFFERENT RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO US, UM, AND FOLDED THAT IN, UM, AS WELL AS YOUR CURRENT CITY PLANS AND YOUR, YOUR ACTUAL BUDGET DOCUMENT. SO WE USED ALL OF THAT DATA, UM, TO SERVE AS THE FOUNDATIONAL INFORMATION TO INFORM THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN. SO NOW WE'RE GONNA GET INTO THE ACTUAL REVIEW OF THE PLAN, AND PLEASE FEEL FREE TO STOP AT ANY POINT AND OFFER INPUT. I THINK IT'S WISE TO TAKE YOUR INPUT AS WE GO, RATHER THAN SAVING IT ALL TO THE END. THAT WAY WE CAN GO SECTION BY SECTION. UM, SO THE FIRST THING THAT WE DEVELOPED WAS THE MISSION STATEMENT. AND YOU CAN SEE, WHOOPS, I NEED TO ADVANCE THE SLIDE. THERE WE GO. UM, THE CHART PAPER ON THE SIDE IS YOUR BRAINSTORMING, AND I WANTED TO SHOW YOU SNIPPETS OF THAT SO YOU COULD SEE HOW WE INCORPORATED YOUR THINKING INTO THE STATEMENT. SO THE, THE PROPOSED MISSION STATEMENT, UM, AND THIS IS THE STATEMENT OF THE CITY'S PURPOSE. ITS REASON FOR BEING PORT ARTHUR IS COMMITTED TO AN INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY THROUGH SERVICE EXCELLENCE, TRANSPARENCY, FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, INNOVATION, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, ENHANCING QUALITY OF LIFE, AND ENSURING PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY. SO THE STAFF WANTED TO GET YOUR WORDS IN THERE THAT YOU DESCRIBED, USED, USED SEVERAL OF THE WORDS YOU CAN SEE IN YOUR, YOUR CHART, NOTING THAT WE DID FROM YOUR SESSION, AS WELL AS DESCRIBING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THE CITY ACTUALLY PROVIDES TO THE COMMUNITY. SO I'LL STOP THERE AND ASK FOR ANY FEEDBACK OR QUESTIONS OR THOUGHTS YOU HAVE ABOUT THE PROPOSED MISSION STATEMENT. SO THIS IS DIFFERENTIATED FROM THE VISION. SO THIS IS THE, WHAT THE CITY DOES, RIGHT? IT'S PURPOSE FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY. AND THE VISION STATEMENT WILL BE THE IDEAL STATE FOR THE FUTURE. AND WE'LL LOOK AT THAT NEXT. [01:50:03] SO DO YOU FEEL THIS IS A DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY'S ROLE? THE CITY'S PURPOSE. OKAY. OKAY. AND AS WE GO THROUGH IT, MARY, IF THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, THEY'LL TURN THE LIGHT ON AND WE'LL ADDRESS IT. SOUNDS GREAT. IF, IF YOU SEE NO LIGHTS, THEN GO AHEAD, THEN YOU MAY KEEP, CONTINUE, KEEP GOING. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE YOUR, UH, LETTING ME KNOW WHAT YOUR PROCESS IS. THANKS. OKAY. I'M GONNA MOVE ON TO THE VISION STATEMENT 'CAUSE I DON'T SEE ANY LIGHTS GO ON. SO, OKAY. ONCE AGAIN, YOUR BRAINSTORMING AND THOSE BRIGHT COLOR STICKY NOTES IS ON THE RIGHT. THOSE WERE THE THINGS THAT YOU GENERATED IN YOUR PLAN DEVELOPMENT SESSION. AND, UH, THIS IS THE PROPOSED STATEMENT OF VISION, UH, THAT WE LANDED ON. PORT ARTHUR STRIVES TO BE A VIBRANT CITY WITH WELL-MAINTAINED NEIGHBORHOODS DEDICATED TO ENHANCING COMMUNITY WELL-BEING THROUGH UPGRADED INFRASTRUCTURE, DIVERSE RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, AND STRONG COMMUNITY EFFORTS AND PARTNERSHIPS. DOES THAT REFLECT THE IDEAL FUTURE THAT YOU ALL DESCRIBED WHEN WE MET WITH YOU EARLIER IN THE YEAR? I THINK IF YOU, THE STICKY NOTES ARE MAYBE A LITTLE HARD TO READ, BUT IF YOU READ THEM, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE AGAIN, REALLY TRY TO INCORPORATE YOUR THINKING INTO A CONCISE STATEMENT. WHAT A QUESTION. QUESTION. UH, COUNCILMAN FRANK. THANK YOU. I THINK THAT THAT IS CONCISE. UM, I THINK, UM, AS I WAS READING IT, I LIKE THE, UM, THE DIVERSE RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND STRONG COMMUNITY EFFORTS AND SOME KIND OF WAY WEAVING INTO THAT. BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS. OKAY. BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS. MM-HMM . I THINK THERE IS AN EMPHASIS THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT AS FAR AS, UH, THOSE PARTNERSHIPS. I, I'D LIKE US TO BE SPECIFIC ABOUT THOSE. YEP. YOU KNOW, UH, THOSE BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS, PRIVATE PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS, WE CAN, WE CAN ADD THAT, UM, DEVELOPMENT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, HOMES, DEVELOPMENTS, ALL OF THOSE KINDS OF, SOME KIND OF WAY TO BRING THAT IN, UH, UM, AND HAVE SOME INCLUSIVITY IN THAT. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBER. FRANK. PRIVATE PUBLIC. YES. PRIVATE PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS IS STRONG, GREAT, STRONG COMMUNITY COUNCILWOMAN AT HAMILTON EVER FEEL. THANK YOU, SIR. UM, HELLO. HI. I CONCUR WITH THE BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS. MY THOUGHTS WERE THE LAST PORTION OF THE SENTENCE. A STRONG COM, UM, AND STRONG COMMUNITY EFFORTS. WE'LL HAVE TO REWORD THIS 'CAUSE WHAT I'M ABOUT TO SAY SOUNDS TOO WORDY OKAY. FOR A VISION STATEMENT, BUT, AND PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS. BUT MY REQUEST IS TO INCLUDE SOMETHING REGARDING LEADERSHIP ACCOUNTABILITY. OKAY. WE HAVE THAT IN THE, WE HAVE THAT IN THE MISSION. MM-HMM . BUT WE, WE HAVE YOU. YES MA'AM. YOU ARE, YOU ARE. RIGHT. I DID RECOGNIZE THAT. YEAH. MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT FOR THIS VISION WAS WE WANT TO HAVE, WE ENVISION HAVING A CONTINUOUS, UM, SIGN OF STRONG LEADERSHIP ON THIS DIOCESE. YEP. AND SO ALWAYS WANTING TO, UM, REELECT STRONG LEADERS AND OFTEN IT BE MANY CITIZENS FEEL LIKE IT BECOMES A POPULARITY CONTEST. NOT OF YOUR PERFORMANCE BASED. YEAH. DO YOU, YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING? I DO. SO SOME SOMEHOW MM-HMM . UM, GIVING US THE VISION OF WE, WE WANT THAT, THAT THIS COMMUNITY IS SAYING WE WANT STRONG LEADERSHIP, WE DESERVE STRONG LEADERSHIP. THE, THE COMMUNITY DID SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE REMEMBER WE PRESENTED THE RESULTS OF THE STATISTICALLY VALID SURVEY. YES, MA'AM. MAAM, YES MA'AM. AND YOU'RE RECALLING YES MAAM. THAT WAS MA'AM A SIGNIFICANT FINDING IN THAT SURVEY. SO, UM, YES. THAT WOULD BE A GREAT THING TO ADD TO THE VISION. YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU COUNCILMAN FRANK. I'M SORRY I FAILED TO TURN MY . OKAY. NO OTHER QUESTIONS. READY TO GO? ALRIGHT. THIS NEXT ONE ARE THE CORE VALUES. AND YOU CAN SEE THE STAFF SPENT QUITE A BIT OF TIME THINKING ABOUT THIS. AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR STAFF TO OWN THESE BECAUSE THIS IS THE BEHAVIORS THAT THEY'RE [01:55:01] SAYING THEY SHOULD BE DEMONSTRATING IN THEIR ROLES. AND SO THESE ARE THE SEVEN CORE VALUES THAT STAFF RECOMMEND, UH, FOR THE STRATEGIC PLAN. AND AGAIN, THE CORE VALUES REPRESENT HOW WE'RE, HOW THE CITY IS GOING TO CONDUCT ITSELF AND HOW THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY, INCLUDING YOU AS ELECTED OFFICIALS, ARE GOING TO CONDUCT YOURSELVES IN THE DELIVERY OF SERVICE AND PROGRAMMING TO THE COMMUNITY. SO I'LL GIVE YOU A MOMENT TO READ THROUGH THOSE AND I'LL LOOK FOR RED LIGHTS. . SO CHAIR. OKAY. WHEN YOU LOOK, DO ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS NO, I JUST WANTED, OH, NO, I'M JUST SAYING IF, IF, IF WE, IF WE SEE A LIGHT AND YOU SEE NONE OF THAT IN THIS CASE, JUST GO IN ON AND SPEAK. OKAY. AND DON'T HAVE TO, I WON'T RECOGNIZE YOU. WE WON'T WASTE TIME. GOT IT. OKAY. IF IT'S MORE THAN ONE LIGHT, THEN I'LL LOOK ON HERE AND I'LL CALL. OKAY. ALRIGHT. OTHER THAN THAT, LET'S JUST CONTINUE. OKAY. OKAY. ALRIGHT. SO AS WE WERE, AS WE WERE DEVELOPING THOSE CORE VALUES, AND AS YOU WERE WRITING THOSE DOWN, THESE WERE DRAWN FROM THE DIFFERENT MEETINGS. AND SO THESE ARE SUMMARIZED AND PUT TOGETHER AS, AS BUY-IN YES. FROM, FROM STAFF, UH, AND FROM ALL OF THE GROUPS THAT WERE MET WITH. RIGHT? CORRECT. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, THESE GREW OUT OF, UM, A SESSION THAT ACTUALLY PREDATED BARRY DUNN COMING ON SITE, UM, THAT, UM, LEADERSHIP CONDUCTED IN THE ORGANIZATION TO GENERATE INITIAL THINKING TO DEVELOP THESE. UM, SO IT, THERE WAS A MUCH LONGER LIST AND THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS THAT WE WORKED WITH TOOK THAT LIST AND REALLY HONED IT. UM, AND, UM, REALLY PUT A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT INTO THE STATEMENTS THAT ARE NEXT TO THOSE BOLDED WORDS. THANK YOU. OKAY. I'M GONNA MOVE ON. NO, LIKE . ALL RIGHT. THIS IS JUST A QUICK NOTE TO SHOW YOU THAT THOSE, UM, STICKY NOTES ON THE VERY TOP ROW WERE THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES THAT YOU IDENTIFIED. AND YOU'RE GONNA SEE THE FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY EMBRACING DIVERSITY, VIBRANT DOWNTOWN, I CAN'T READ THE PURPLE ONE. , ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE AND ECONOMIC VITALITY. MODERN INFRASTRUCTURE. MODERN INFRASTRUCTURE. THOSE WERE THE PRIORITIES. AND WE DIDN'T REALLY CHANGE THOSE. SO YOU'RE GONNA SEE NOW EACH OF THOSE PRIORITIES WITH THEIR, THE ACCOMPANYING GOAL STATEMENT THAT THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS CREATED BASED UPON YOUR INPUT. WHEN WE ASKED YOU THE QUESTION, IF THOSE ARE YOUR PRIORITY FOCUS AREAS, WHAT OUTCOMES ARE YOU HOPING TO ACHIEVE IN EACH OF THOSE PRIORITY AREAS? SO THEY DEVELOP THE GOAL STATEMENTS BASED UPON THE OUTCOMES THAT YOU TOLD US YOU WANTED. SO WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH THOSE RIGHT NOW. SO OPERATING INFRASTRUCTURE, DEVELOP A RELIABLE AND SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE, INCLUDING PUBLIC FACILITIES, STREETS, WATER, WASTEWATER, DRAINAGE, AND SOLID WASTE TO MEET AND SUPPORT THE NEEDS OF A VIBRANT COMMUNITY. THE SECOND AREA WAS COMMUNITY VITALITY. FOSTER A VIBRANT, INCLUSIVE, AND RESILIENT COMMUNITY WHERE RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES THRIVE THROUGH COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS, EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITIES, AND A SHARED COMMITMENT TO SERVICE INTEGRITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE. ECONOMIC VITALITY, FOSTER COLLABORATION AMONG INDUSTRIES, BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS TO DRIVE INNOVATION, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABLE GROWTH. ENSURING LONG-TERM PROSPERITY AND COMPETITIVENESS IN THE COMMUNITY. FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY. ACHIEVE FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY BY ENSURING LONG-TERM ECONOMIC STABILITY, OPTIMIZING RESOURCE ALLOCATION AND FOSTER FOSTERING RESPONSIBLE FINANCIAL PRACTICES, ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE. BE A LEADER IN THE PROVISION OF EFFICIENT MUNICIPAL SERVICES, IMPLEMENTING STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATIVE HUMAN RESOURCE PROGRAMMING, IDEAL CUSTOMER SERVICE, AND EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP. AND FINALLY, EMBRACING DIVERSITY, FOSTER AND INCLUSIVE, COHESIVE AND CULTURALLY AWARE COMMUNITY WHERE EVERYONE FEELS RESPECTED AND VALUED AND THEREBY STRENGTHENED RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THE CITY. SO THOSE ARE YOUR SIX PRIORITY AREAS OF FOCUS WITH THE GOAL STATEMENTS OF WHAT THAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE. IF YOU FOCUS ON THOSE SIX THINGS, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS ABOUT ANY OF THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND THEIR ACCOMPANYING GOAL STATEMENTS. YES. UH, GO, GO AHEAD. YEAH. A VIBRANT [02:00:01] DOWNTOWN THAT, THAT HAS COME AND GONE. OKAY. THAT YOUR DOWNTOWN AREAS WHERE YOUR CENTRAL, YOUR BUSINESS ARE CENTRALIZED IN, AND THAT'S, THAT'S IN NORTH OF THE COUNTY. ALL OF THAT'S STILL PORT ARTHUR. AND WE, WE GET ALL OF THE TAXES. OKAY. NOW THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS BREAKS UP. SO WE GOT ABOUT FIVE SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN PORT ARTHUR MM-HMM . SO THAT BREAKS UP. BUT ALL OF THAT, THE NEW DOWN, THE NEW DOWNTOWN IS OUT THERE WHERE THE MALL AND WHATEVER, ALL YOUR BUSINESS IS CENTRALIZED. NOW, WHAT IS I HAD IN THE FOCUS WHEN I INITIATED A DOWNTOWN, UH, TAX ABATEMENT. OKAY. AND THEN LATER ON IT SPREAD IT TO INDUSTRY. OKAY. UH, I DID THAT BECAUSE I INITIATED THAT TO ATTRACT CORPORATE OFFICES. IT TOOK A LONG TIME, BUT WE FINALLY ATTRACT THE CORPORATE OFFICERS. AND THAT'S WHAT THAT IS. THIS IS BASICALLY GONNA BE A HISTORICAL AREA. OKAY. NOT OUR DOWNTOWN, IT'S A HISTORICAL AREA. OUR DOWNTOWN HAS SHIFTED MM-HMM . OKAY. YEP. AND SO YOU WILL SEE THAT WE DID MAKE ONE CHANGE IN THE PRIORITIES. WE, WE FELT THAT THE VIBRANT DOWNTOWN WAS, UM, WAS NESTED WITHIN COMMUNITY VITALITY AND ECONOMIC VITALITY. SO INSTEAD OF CALLING OUT THE DOWNTOWN ON ITS OWN, WE WANTED IT TO SHOW UP IN THOSE TWO AREAS. AND YOU'LL SEE SOME OBJECTIVES ABOUT DOWNTOWN WHEN WE GET INTO, UM, EACH OF THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES. MM-HMM. FORTUNATELY, UM, WE DO HAVE A DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION, UM, PROGRAM MM-HMM . AS WE SPEAK. IT'S ACTIVE. YEP. SO THESE, UM, QUOTE ME IF I'M WRONG, CITY MANAGER, BUT AT LEAST THE NEXT, LIKE FIVE TO EIGHT BLOCKS OVER FROM CITY HALL, THIS IS STILL OUR DOWNTOWN PORT ARTHUR. YEP. MM-HMM . AND WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING FOR REVITALIZATION AND TO THE POINT TO WHERE A STRATEGIC SURVEYS ARE BEING DONE AS WE SPEAK, IN ORDER TO GATHER THE INFORMATION FOR WHAT THE COMMUNITY WOULD LIKE TO SEE DOWNTOWN. NOT ONLY WITH HOUSING, BUT ALSO INVITING BUSINESSES HERE. UM, ALSO INCLUDING CODE ENFORCEMENT WITH THEIR ASSISTANCE WITH CLEANING UP, UM, THE DOWNTOWN AREA. AND ALSO WORKING WITH PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT TO TRY TO FIND OUT WHO OWNS, UM, SPECIFIC PROPERTIES. MM-HMM . ALL OF DOWNTOWN PORT ARTHUR IS NOT OWNED BY THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR. AND SO WE DO HAVE SOME RED TAPE AND A FEW, YOU KNOW, HURDLES TO, TO, TO JUMP. BUT WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF WORKING THOSE THINGS OUT NOW SO THAT WE CAN, UH, REVITALIZE THIS DOWNTOWN AREA, NOT ONLY WITH EVENTS AND, UH, FESTIVALS, BUT ALSO WITH QUALITY OF LIFE FOR PEOPLE TO ACTUALLY LIVE HERE. MM-HMM . YES, MA'AM. YES. AND, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER HAMILTON, YOU WILL SEE SOME OF THOSE, SOME OF THE OBJECTIVES THAT ARE IN THE PLAN THAT ACTUALLY TIE TO THAT DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION PLAN. WE DIDN'T WANNA CREATE A WHOLE NEW PLAN. RIGHT. SO WE'VE EMBEDDED SOME OF THOSE THINGS IN THE OBJECTIVES, IN THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AROUND COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC VITALITY. AND THAT THAT'S A GREAT THING. JUST SO YOU KNOW, THE, UM, THE OB, THE, SORRY, NOT THE SURVEY, THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, THE PRESENTATION THAT YOU ALL PROVIDED US MONTHS AGO MM-HMM . HAS ALSO BEEN PROVIDED TO THE GROUP THAT'S SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON, ON THE DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION. THAT'S GREAT. RETAIL STRATEGIES. YEAH. OKAY. BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MUCH GOOD INFORMATION THAT CAME FROM THE COMMUNITY, BOTH FROM THE STATISTICALLY VALID SURVEY, BUT ALSO THE OTHER DATA THAT WE GATHERED. YES, MA'AM. THAT'S GREAT. YES, MA'AM. OKAY. I DON'T SEE 'EM ON RED LIGHT, SO I'M GONNA MOVE ON. OKAY. SO NOW WE'RE GONNA SHOW YOU THE OBJECTIVES AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR EACH OF THE PRIORITY AREAS. I'M NOT GONNA READ THEM OUT TO YOU, I'M GONNA JUST LET YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THEM, GIVE YOU A MINUTE TO DO THAT, AND THEN WE'LL KEEP GOING. IF I DON'T SEE RED LIGHTS, WE'LL KEEP GOING. SO THIS, THESE ARE THE PROPOSED OBJECTIVES FOR OPERATING INFRASTRUCTURE. AGAIN, THESE WERE DEVELOPED BY STAFF, UH, FOLLOWING YOUR GUIDANCE FROM THE, THE DAY ONE WORKSHOP AND THE DAY TWO, THIS IS WHAT THEY GENERATED. AND THEN WE, WE LOOK TO MEASURE EACH ONE OF THOSE FOUR OBJECTIVES. AND SO I'LL SHOW YOU THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES. IT'S A COMBINATION OF OUTCOMES, OUTPUTS, UM, AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES. UM, AND THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT STAFF FELT STRONGLY THEY COULD MEASURE RELATED TO THOSE FOUR OBJECTIVES. AND SO THOSE ARE THE, THE THINGS THEY'RE PLANNING TO REPORT PROGRESS ON THAT WILL LET YOU KNOW YOU'RE MAKING PROGRESS ON EACH OF THOSE FOUR OBJECTIVES, MA'AM? YES. UM, THE OBJECTIVES AND OPERATING [02:05:01] INFRASTRUCTURE. YES. UM, NUMBER TWO, DEVELOP MAINTENANCE AND REPLACEMENT PLANS FOR ALL PUBLIC FACILITIES TO BE SAFE, MODERN, AND PROVIDE SPACES TO SUPPORT CITY, CITY STAFF. I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF WE WOULD, UH, AS WELL ADD TO THAT, DEVELOP MAINTENANCE AND REPLACEMENT PLANS FOR ALL PUBLIC FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT THAT WOULD KEEP US AHEAD, UH, BUDGETARILY, UH, KEEP US AHEAD, LOOKING FORWARD ABOUT HOW WE WOULD INCORPORATE ADD IN EQUIPMENT INTO REPLACEMENT OF EQUIPMENT, ALL OF THAT. SO WHILE WE'RE COMING WITH MAINTENANCE PLANS, ESPECIALLY THOSE, THOSE CAN BE KEPT AS WELL TO ENSURE THAT, YOU KNOW, ANY, UH, ANY THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED IN THE FUTURE. SO IF WE COULD, WE COULD DO THAT. YEAH. YOU'RE SURPRISED. NO, NO, NO. I'M GOOD. IT WAS CLOSE TO ME. YEAH. I, I I WAS WANTED TO WHISPER TO YOU EQUIPMENT SLASH ASSETS. YES. EQUIPMENT. YES. AND WE DO THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER FRANK. AND WE DO HAVE A SEPARATE OBJECTIVE FURTHER INTO THE PLAN THAT DEALS WITH TECHNOLOGY, UM, ASSETS. AND SO THAT ONE IS CALLED OUT SPECIFICALLY, BUT THERE, THERE IS OTHER EQUIPMENT AND ASSETS THEN THERE TECHNOLOGY. SO WE CAN DEFINITELY ADD THAT TO THIS OBJECTIVE. THANK YOU. OKAY. UM, I AM, I'M LOOKING FOR CLARIFICATION ON NUMBER THREE AND HAVE A COMMENT FOR NUMBER FOUR. FOR NUMBER THREE, THE PUBLIC, GOD BLESS YOU. PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITIES ARE, IS THAT LIKE FIRE AND POLICE? YES. OKAY. OKAY. ALRIGHT. AND MEANING THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF WHERE THEY OPERATE OUT OF YES. THAT IS PAST DUE NEEDED. I'M SURE THEY'D BE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. . OKAY. AND, UM, WOULD THAT ALSO INCLUDE THE, THE, UM, THE STATIONS, LIKE THE 9 1 1 STATIONS OR THE TECHNOLOGY THAT'S NEEDED FOR THE FD TWO? I'M GOING TO ASK, UM, CITY MANAGER BURTON TO ANSWER THAT. UM, THE QUESTION WAS DID YOU HEAR THAT? YES. GO AHEAD. SO GO AHEAD, GO AHEAD. NO, NO, NO. REPEAT THAT. OH, THE, FOR THE, UM, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, SHE DID CONFIRM THAT IT WAS THEIR PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF WHICH THEY OPERATE OUT OF MM-HMM . BUT I'M ALSO ASKING FOR THE, HE TALKED ABOUT EQUIPMENT, BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT LIKE THE, UM, THE ACTUAL LIKE 9 1 1 STATIONS OR THE, THE STATIONS THAT THE FD USES WHEN THEY'RE, THE, THE CALLS MAY BE ROLLED OVER TO THEM FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES. SO IT'S A LOT THAT GOES INTO THAT. I JUST DIDN'T WANT IT TO BE A PRETTY STRUCTURE AND THEN NOT BE ADDED VALUE TO WHAT THEY ACTUALLY NEED TO OPERATE. YEAH. THOSE, I I, I GET YOUR POINT. THOSE WILL BE CONSIDERED, BUT THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE EFFORTS THAT REQUIRE COLLABORATION AMONG OTHER AGENCIES LIKE THE SOUTHEAST TEXAS REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION. OKAY. THAT WE HAVE NO DIRECT CONTROL, WE ARE PARTICIPANTS IN, AND WE WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE, THE DI YEAH. DDC HERNANDO WE WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE DIALOGUE. DEFINITELY. BUT THOSE ARE NOT THAT WE, THOSE ARE NOT ONES THAT WE HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OVER. OKAY. BUT WE WILL OKAY. TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION. AND ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT AS YOU, YOU MADE A VERY GOOD POINT ABOUT THE PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITIES. MM-HMM . LET'S, UM, ADD IF THE COUNCIL IS OKAY WITH IT, THE COURT SYSTEM AS WELL. YES. IS THAT OKAY? YES. YEAH. OKAY. ABSOLUTELY. YES. AND THEN FOR NUMBER FOUR, UM, THE COMPREHEND REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE HAZARD MITIGATION, IS THERE SOME WAY THAT WE CAN ADD, ALTHOUGH HAZARD EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COULD FALL UNDER HAZARD, BUT IT EXTENDS THESE TYPES OF SERVICES THAT WE'LL WE'LL NEED TO PROVIDE. WE ARE, WELL THE GULF COAST IS LESS, IS ACROSS THE STREET. YEAH. WELL, AGAIN, THAT'S A REGIONAL DOCUMENT THAT WE DEVELOP IN COLLABORATION WITH THE SOUTHEAST TEXAS REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION WITH ALL THE OTHER COUNTIES. OKAY. UH, IT'S A VERY COMPREHENSIVE DOCUMENT THAT WE WORK WITH THEM, UM, TO DEVELOP. AND WE DO HAVE AN INPUT INTO IT. YOU KNOW, UM, STAFF IS ENGAGING EVERY TWO OR THREE YEARS IN ORDER TO, UM, MAKE THAT HAPPEN AND TO PROVIDE THE AMENDMENTS THAT ARE NECESSARY THAT REFLECT OUR NEEDS AS A CITY AS WELL. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. CITY MANAGER BURTON. ALL RIGHT. SO I MENTIONED THE, THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES. YES MA'AM. YES. [02:10:01] ON THE, AND NUMBER FOUR. ON THE NUMBER FOUR, MAKING THE COMMUNITY MUCH SAFER. CITY MANAGER, I JUST WANNA REMIND YOU AGAIN, WE'VE TALKED OVER THE PHONE, BUT I NEED TO MEET WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT ON CLOSING, UH, ONE WAY 14TH, WEST 14TH AND WEST 13TH AROUND PRINCETON. I NEED TO MEET WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT ON, ON THOSE ITEMS TO MAKE THE COMMUNITY MUCH SAFER. ALRIGHT. SO I, I DON'T THINK IT WILL PROBABLY DO US MUCH BENEFIT TO, TO DO MUCH WITH THESE PERFORMANCE MEASURES TODAY. THESE, THE STAFF WORKED REALLY HARD ON THESE AND WE USED OUR EXPERTISE, UM, DOING THIS WORK NATIONWIDE TO REALLY HELP STAFF FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY MEASURE. SO, UM, IF, IF YOU SEE SOMETHING GLARINGLY MISSING, LET US KNOW. BUT THIS IS BASICALLY STAFF TELLING YOU WHAT THEY FEEL CONFIDENT THAT THEY CAN MEASURE. ALRIGHT. SO THE NEXT FOCUS AREA OR PRIORITY AREA IS COMMUNITY VITALITY. THERE ARE SIX OBJECTIVES THAT STAFF DEVELOPED BASED ON YOUR GUIDANCE. AGAIN, I'LL GIVE YOU A MOMENT TO LOOK AT THOSE AND I'LL LOOK FOR MICROPHONE LIGHTS TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADJUST. MA'AM, CAN YOU OFFER A LITTLE CLARITY AS TO, I I WANNA REPEAT TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTOOD. YOU SAID THAT THESE ARE THE OBJECTIVES THAT STAFF SAID THAT THEY, WHAT? SO THESE OBJECTIVES WERE DEVELOPED BY STAFF MM-HMM . SO THEY TOOK YOUR OUTCOMES AND THE PRIORITY AREAS THAT YOU ALL IDENTIFIED IN YOUR PLAN DEVELOPMENT SESSION AND SAID, THIS IS THE STUFF WE THINK THAT WE CAN DO IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS IN ORDER TO MAKE PROGRESS TOWARDS THAT PRIORITY AND THAT GOAL STATEMENT. THIS IS, SO THIS, ARE WE LOOKING, ARE WE LOOKING AT THIS FROM THE PARTICULAR STANDPOINT OF, OF THE, OF THE, OF THE COUNCIL LEADING THESE EFFORTS? OR IS THIS A CONGLOMERATION OF US ALL? SO THIS IS A CONGLOMERATION OF YOU ALL. UM, WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IN THE OBJECTIVES ARE THE THINGS THAT STAFF WOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR. THEY WOULD LEAD ON THOSE OBJECTIVES. UM, AND THEY WOULD REPORT OUT TO YOU ON HOW THEY'RE MAKING PROGRESS ON THOSE OBJECTIVES THROUGH THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES THAT I INDICATED ON A REGULAR, SOME TYPE OF REGULAR CYCLE. SO YOU WOULD BE KEPT A PACE AND AWARE AND YOU WOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE. UM, WHAT, WHAT YOU ARE, YOUR ROLE AS THE COUNCIL IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CITY IS, UM, WORKING IN THOSE SIX PRIORITY AREAS AND WORKING TOWARDS THOSE LONGER TERM GOALS WITHIN THOSE SIX PRIORITY AREAS. BUT YES, EVERYTHING YOU'RE SEEING HERE IS A CONGLOMERATION OF THE WORK THAT YOU DID, THE WORK THAT STAFF DID WITH THE INPUT THAT WE RECEIVED FROM THE COMMUNITY. UM, THE DATA FROM THE COMMUNITY, THE STATISTICALLY VALID COMMUNITY SURVEY AND ALL THE WORK THAT BARRY DUNN DID. AND WE WILL USE, UM, THESE OBJECTIVES THEN TO BUILD A DETAILED IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THAT WILL INCLUDE ACTION STEPS FOR EACH OBJECTIVE, WHICH DEPARTMENT AND PEOPLE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT OBJECTIVE. AND WHAT IS THE PROGRESS REPORTING CYCLE GOING TO BE FOR THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES THAT ARE RELATED TO THAT OBJECTIVE. EXCELLENT. THAT'S THE NEXT STEP AFTER WE ADOPT THE PLAN. EXCELLENT. SO IT'S BASICALLY ACCOUNTABILITY AS COUNCILMAN DO SAID YES. NORMALLY SAYS, I GIVE YOU A BUDGET, YOU KNOW, YOU NEED TO SHOW ME THE OUTCOMES OR WHAT HAVE YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE WITH THE BUDGET THAT I GIVE YOU ON, NOT AT THE END OF THE BUDGET, BUT IN A CONTINUAL BASIS. YES. EVERY 30, EVERY 90 DAYS, EVERY 60 DAYS YOU COME BACK AND YOU REPORT TO ME WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE WITH THAT BUDGET? AND THE OTHER THING I WOULD SAY IS THAT THIS DOCUMENT, ONCE YOU HAVE A FORMALLY ADOPTED IT AS A COUNCIL, SHOULD BE DRIVING YOUR BUDGET DECISIONS OVER A FIVE YEAR PERIOD SO THAT YOU'RE ALLOCATING RESOURCES TOWARDS THE PRIORITIES THAT YOU AS A COUNCIL IDENTIFIED. OKAY. I, I'D JUST LIKE TO ADD THIS [02:15:01] BASED ON A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS THAT HAVE JUST BEEN ASKED. I GUESS CITIZENS PROBABLY NEED THE CLARIFICATION. I THINK YOU'VE ANSWERED IT INDIVIDUALLY, BUT I JUST SAY THIS BECAUSE IT'S GONNA HELP CITIZENS THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THIS PRESENTATION, THIS WORKSHOP, EVERYTHING YOU PUTTING UP THERE, WE DID THAT AS COUNSEL, WE MET WITH YOU, YOU BROUGHT THESE THINGS UP, WHATEVER WE GAVE YOU, THAT'S WHAT THE STICKERS THAT YOU HAD. YES. SO WHAT YOU'RE SHOWING US TODAY IS BASICALLY WHAT WE GAVE YOU WHEN WE MET WITH YOU IN THE WORKSHOP. 'CAUSE YOU GAVE A LOT OF CERTIFICATE DATA THAT YOU HAD SURVEYED. YEAH. AND THEN WE GAVE OUR INPUT ON THE DIRECTION WE WANT TO GO. CORRECT. YOU TOOK WHAT WE SAID, THEN YOU WENT WITH STAFF AND TOLD STAFF, THIS IS WHERE THE COUNCIL WANTS TO GO. CORRECT. NOW HOW DO YOU ALL FEEL YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO, WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO GET THERE? SO WHAT YOU'RE DOING TODAY IS BRINGING US BACK TO HOW THE STAFF SAID THEY WILL ACCOMPLISH WHAT WE CORRECT. SET OUT TO DO. SO A LOT OF WHAT WE SEE HERE IS NOTHING BUT HOW STAFF IS GOING TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT WE AS A COUNCIL DECIDED. THAT'S RIGHT. WE WANT TO BE AS A PRIORITY AND WHAT WE WANT TO BE WITH THE PLAN. SO THAT IS RIGHT. IT'S PRETTY MUCH ALL OF IT COMING FROM US. MM-HMM . AND THE, AND WHAT WE SEE IS WHAT STAFF HAS TOLD US. SO AS CITIZENS REVIEW THIS AND SEE THIS, THEY JUST NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT IS HOW STAFF SAID WE GONNA DO WHAT YOU ALL SAID Y'ALL WANTED US TO DO. YES. IN ORDER TO MOVE THE CITY IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. AND, AND MAYOR PERAM TO SET, I'D JUST LIKE TO UM, PUT A FINE POINT ON WHAT YOU SAID TO SAY THAT, UM, THE SECOND DAY WHEN WE MET WITH STAFF, UM, THEY SAW THE SAME ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN WITH ALL OF THE DATA THAT WE SHOWED YOU. SO NOT ONLY DID THEY GET ALL THE GUIDANCE FROM YOU, THEY LOOKED AT THE, THE RESULTS OF THOSE, THE STATISTICALLY VALID SURVEY AND ALL THE OTHER DATA AND BUILT OBJECTIVES WITH THAT COMMUNITY, UM, SORT OF VIEW IN MIND. SO THANK YOU FOR THREADING THE NEEDLE AND LETTING THOSE IN THE AUDIENCE KNOW HOW THIS ALL CAME TOGETHER. YES. COUNCIL MEMBER HAMILTON YES. FOR THE OPERATING INFRASTRUCTURE, I UNDERSTAND THAT SOME OF THESE, SOME OF THESE ARE SPECIFIC AND SOME OF THEM ARE MORE BROAD IN THE LIST MM-HMM . AND SO I'M ASKING FOR US TO INCLUDE A MORE BROAD BULLET POINT THAT INCLUDES, UM, IMPROVEMENTS OF WATER INFRASTRUCTURE. 'CAUSE THERE'S SO MANY FACETS THAT WE WOULD NEED TO ADDRESS, BUT I KNOW THAT STAFF WANTS TO ADDRESS WHEN IT COMES TO WATER INFRASTRUCTURE, JUST AS AN EXAMPLE. YES. MORE THAN THE THREE DRAINAGE PROJECTS. SO OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, COUPLE THINGS, UM, WE'LL DEFINITELY TAKE THAT COMMENT BACK TO STAFF. UM, COUPLE OF THINGS. YOU WILL SEE A MIXTURE OF SHORT, SHORTER TERM VERSUS LONGER TERM OBJECTIVES BECAUSE SOME OF THEM ARE MEANT TO BE DONE IN THE NEXT YEAR OR TWO AND SOME OF THEM WILL TAKE THE ENTIRE FIVE YEAR CYCLE OF THE PLAN TO FINISH. OKAY. UM, IT WAS KIND OF A, A REFINEMENT PROCESS TO DETERMINE WHAT WAS HIGH LEVEL ENOUGH TO GO INTO THIS PLAN VERSUS WHAT GOES INTO AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. MM-HMM . SO IF THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIFIC COUNCIL MEMBER HAMILTON YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THAT IS NOT IN HERE THAT YOU WANT STAFF TO CONSIDER, PLEASE LET US KNOW THAT AND WE CAN HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AGAIN ABOUT WHAT GOES IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN VERSUS THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. YES MA'AM. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. WE WERE ON COMMUNITY VITALITY. SO ANY OTHER THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS PRIORITY BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ONE? ONE THING, AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO PUT IT, I DON'T KNOW HOW IT WOULD BE INCORPORATED INTO THE STRATEGIC PLAN, BUT THE WORD THAT I WANT TO SEE SEAMLESSLY WOVEN THROUGHOUT THIS WHOLE PROGRESS PROCESS IS THE WORD TIMELY. BECAUSE I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENS AND TRANSPIRES IN OUR OPERATING SOME KIND OF WAY WE GET CAUGHT UP AND I KNOW THAT WE'RE BUSY AND WE DO THAT, BUT I WOULD LIKE US TO START MOVING IN A MORE, I KNOW THE, THE WHEELS, YOU KNOW, [02:20:01] GRIND SLOWLY , BUT THEY GRIND FINE. BUT SOME KIND OF WAY WE, WE NEED TO FIND WAYS TO PUT TIME CONSTRAINTS ON US TO MOVE, MOVE THE PROCESS ALONG. UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THAT'S, WHETHER THAT'S THROUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, A CONSTANT, UH, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT LOOKING AT THE SYSTEM AND SEEING HOW WE CAN IMPLEMENT IT IN A BETTER WAY. MAKING SURE THAT IT DOESN'T GET LOST IN ONE OFF. LIKE IF, IF WE HAVE A WORK ORDER, IF WE HAVE A WORK ORDER IN THE WATER DEPARTMENT OR IN ANY OTHER DEPARTMENT, I'M NOT PICKING ON ANY DEPARTMENT, BUT SOMETIMES WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT WORK ORDER GETS LOST MM-HMM . OR THAT WORK ORDER, YOU KNOW, ISN'T MOVED THROUGH THE SYSTEM AS TIMELY OR DOESN'T GET WHERE IT NEEDS TO GET. SO IF WE CAN IMPLEMENT THAT IN OUR PROCESS TO SOME DEGREE, THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND I THINK ONE PLACE I'D LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT MAYBE WE TRY TO EMPHASIZE THAT AS AN OVERARCHING PRINCIPLE IS MAYBE IN THE CORE VALUE STATEMENTS TALKING ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF TIMELINESS AND RESPONSIVENESS. UM, AND ALSO THE THING THAT IS GOING TO MAKE THIS TIMELY AS, AS THE STRATEGIC PLAN IS IMPLEMENTED AND UNFOLDS IS THOSE PERFORMANCE MEASURES. BECAUSE SOME OF THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES HAVE A TIME BOUND, UH, DUE DATE ON THEM. THE MILESTONE MEASURES WE'RE SAYING WE'RE GONNA DO THIS BY THIS DATE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE THIS COMPLETED AND FINISHED BY THIS DATE. AND WE WERE, UM, ADVOCATING FOR MILESTONE MEASURES IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN SO THAT IT DOES, UM, COMMUNICATE THAT SENSE OF URGENCY AND WE NEED TRACTION AND WE NEED TO KEEP MOVING. THANK YOU. ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT UM, COUNCILMAN FRANKEN, I THINK COUNCILMAN DOUCETTE MENTIONED IT TO ME SOMETIME AGO IS FROM COUNCILMAN FRAN'S POINT OF VIEW, THE IMPLEMENTATION AND I THINK WE, WE SPOKE ABOUT IT BEFORE OF TECHNOLOGY MM-HMM . IN ORDER TO DO THAT. AND WE ARE GETTING PAPERLESS TO SOME EXTENT AND TWO IMPLEMENTING STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. YES. THERE'S A STRATEGIC PRIORITY CALLED ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, WHICH INCLUDES SOME OF THOSE PIECES YES. THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AND WHAT UM, CITY MANAGER BURTON JUST MENTIONED SO THAT WE COULD MOVE THINGS ALONG YEAH. REAL QUICK WHERE WE HOLD PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE AND RESPONSIBLE. SO WE'LL, WE'LL GET TO THAT. I THINK THAT'S THE LAST SE SECOND TO THE LAST OF THE SIX PRIORITIES. I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ADD IN, IN THIS, I THINK YOU MENTIONED EARLIER WHERE WE HAD THAT UH, TIME, UH, THAT COUNCILMAN FRANK TALKED ABOUT. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I'VE ALWAYS TALKED ABOUT TOO. I'M GLAD HE MENTIONED IT. BUT THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS IN OUR I IMPLEMENTATION, YOU SPOKE TO THAT EARLIER AND THAT WILL COME UNDER REQUIRING MORE REPORTING. YES. WHEN WE START GETTING REPORTING THEN THESE THINGS THAT HAVE EXTENDED PAST TIME WILL NO LONGER BE THERE BECAUSE WE WILL BE CONSTANTLY ABREAST OF THE PROGRESS AND THAT'S RIGHT. KEEP UPDATES. SO UNDER IMPLEMENTATION, SHE MENTIONED EARLIER NOT SHE SAID IT THEN AND SHE MISSED IT I GUESS COMING BACK AROUND , BUT SHE SAID MORE REPORTING WILL KEEP US MORE UPDATED AND ABREAST OF THINGS AND THEREFORE WE CAN ALWAYS TRACK ON TIME. 'CAUSE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT COUNCILMAN FRANK SAID WE WANT TO IMPROVE ON. YEAH. HERE IN, IN THE CITY. WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE GET THINGS DONE IN MORE TIMELY MANNER. BUT I THINK WHEN WE TALK IMPLEMENTATION WHERE ALL OF THESE THINGS WILL COME INTO PLAY BECAUSE THE PLAN ITSELF WILL PROBABLY COME UP WITH ALL KINDS OF STUFF WE CAN ADD TO IT. . YEAH. BUT I THINK ON THE IMPLEMENTATION, DONALD, SHE HAD MENTIONED UPDATING. I THINK THAT'S WHAT I WOULD LOOK FOR BECAUSE THAT UPDATING IS ALWAYS COMING BACK TO US. MM-HMM . SO WE'LL KNOW SOMETHING IS FALLING BEHIND. I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN MISSING, THESE REGULAR UPDATES WITHOUT US ASKING MM-HMM . AND ONCE WE IMPLEMENT THAT, THEN THE TIMING AND EVERYTHING WILL START FALLING IN PLACE FOR US. 'CAUSE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I REALLY FEEL WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB ON. AND THE STAFF TOOK THAT REALLY SERIOUSLY AND THEY THOUGHT THAT THROUGH WHEN THEY WERE CREATING THOSE PER THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES BECAUSE THAT'S HOW THEY'RE GONNA KNOW WHETHER THEY'RE ON TRACK OR NOT ON TRACK. AND THEN THEY'LL BE REPORTING THAT TO YOU ON A REGULAR CYCLE. COUNCIL MEMBER HAMILTON. THANK YOU MA'AM. UM, CITY MANAGER, WHAT WE ARE DISCUSSING NOW IS WHAT I ASKED ABOUT A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO DEALING WITH PROJECT MANAGEMENT. THERE ARE SO MANY PROJECT MANAGEMENT, UM, PROGRAMS THAT WE CAN ENGAGE IN THAT WE NEED TO USE TECHNOLOGY TO OUR ADVANTAGE AND BE ABLE TO FOLLOW THROUGH. THERE SHOULD NOT BE A REASON THAT SOMEONE SAYS, OH, I DIDN'T GET A PAPER SLIP. THAT'S LIKE, THAT'S SO ANTIQUATED AND WE [02:25:01] ARE SMARTER THAN THAT. YEAH. AND WE HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO PROGRESS AND MOVE FORWARD, UM, IN A MORE STRATEGIC WAY. SO I'M ASKING THAT WE PLEASE, I'M IMPLEMENT A PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCESS AND WE HAVE SEVERAL ON OUR STAFF THAT HAVE P AND P CERTS. SO I KNOW WE KNOW HOW TO, TO DO IT. I'M JUST ASKING THAT WE MOVE FORWARD AND ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT THOSE SKILL SETS SO THAT WE CAN BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT ACCOUNTABILITY ALONG THE WAY. AND I THINK THAT FITS NICELY INTO THE ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE PRIORITY, WHICH WE CAN, I'VE MADE A NOTE OF THAT. THANK YOU. AS WE MOVE ALONG, MISS UM, COUNCILMAN EVER FEEL, COUNCILMAN EVER FEEL YOU SEE THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE AMENDMENTS TO OUR ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, UM, MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO YOU TO MAKE AMENDMENTS TO THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AS WELL AS LOOK AT THE VARIOUS POSITIONS AND CHANGE THE JOB DESCRIPTION SO THAT OUR ROLE CONTINUE TO EVOLVE AND WE PROVIDE STAFF WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO AUGMENT THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS SO THAT THEY CONTINUE TO SERVE IN THAT CAPACITY IN A MUCH MORE ENHANCED WAY. UH, OKAY. I'M GOING TO QUICKLY SHOW YOU THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR THE COMMUNITY VITALITY PRIORITY. SO THIS IS WHAT STAFF IS PREPARED TO MEASURE RELATED TO THIS, THESE, UM, GOALS, THE GOAL AND OBJECTIVES FOR THIS PRIORITY. ALL RIGHT. OUR THIRD PRIORITY AREA IS COMMUNITY. I'M SORRY, ECONOMIC VITALITY. THERE ARE ALSO SIX OBJECTIVES RELATED TO THIS, UM, PRIORITY. I'LL GIVE YOU A MOMENT TO LOOK THROUGH THOSE. LET LET ME KNOW IF YOU SEE ANY AREAS THAT NEED CLARIFICATION OR ADJUSTMENT. SO YOU SAW SOME OF THE DOWNTOWN, UH, FOCUS IN THE PREVIOUS ONE, AND YOU'LL SEE IT IN THIS ONE. ALSO. I, I WOULD ASK THAT WE SOMEHOW INCLUDE WHETHER IT'S HERE OR SOMEWHERE ELSE, SOMEWHERE ELSE, INCLUDE THE LANGUAGE OF THESE SEVEN OF US, OR POSTER CHILDREN FOR THE CITY, RIGHT? AND SO IT IS OUR JOB TO ADVOCATE, PROMOTE, AND RECRUIT. AND WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO OFFER THE, WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB AT TELLING OUR OWN STORY AND NOT ALLOWING, UM, NEGATIVE WINS TO, TO GUIDE MM-HMM . HOW WE RESPOND. SO I THINK THIS WOULD BE A GREAT SPACE IN ORDER FOR US TO, TO EFFECTIVELY LEARN HOW TO MARKET OUR COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. WE'LL TAKE THAT BACK TO STAFF AND SEE HOW WE CAN INCORPORATE THAT. YES, MA'AM. ANYTHING ELSE ON ECONOMIC VITALITY? LOTS OF MEASURES ON THIS ONE, BUT AGAIN, ALL THINGS THAT STAFF WORKED THROUGH AND FELT STRONGLY THAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO GATHER THIS INFORMATION TO REPORT BACK TO YOU. AND YOU'LL SEE SOME OF THOSE MILESTONE MEASURES THROUGHOUT. I WOULD ASK THAT WE DECREASE THE TIME OF GROWTH. I'M SORRY, NOT, NOT GROWTH. UM, INCREASE SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT AND WEBSITE TRAFFIC. THAT'S BEEN SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN HEAVY ON MY HEART REGARDING OUR INTERNET PRESENCE. MM-HMM . BUT NOT WEIGHT. TO SEE WHAT THAT'S LIKE IN A YEAR, WE NEED TO WAIT TO SEE WHAT THAT'S LIKE IN 90 DAYS, YOU KNOW, 30 DAYS, 60 DAYS, BECAUSE IT CHANGES, CONSTANTLY. CHANGES. TAKE A YEAR IS TOO LONG FOR US TO OKAY. GO BACK AND REVISIT. WE'LL TAKE THAT BACK TO STAFF AND ASK THEM TO THINK ABOUT THE FREQUENCY. WE DON'T HAVE A SECURITY. THE NEXT [02:30:01] PRIORITY AREA. ECONOMIC, UM, I'M SORRY. FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY. WE HAVE FOUR OBJECTIVES HERE, MA'AM. YES, I WAS LOOKING AT THE, I WAS LOOKING, IT SAYS COMPLETE A CYBERSECURITY PLAN BY JUNE, 2026. OH, IS THAT ON THE LAST ONE? WHERE, WHERE ARE YOU? UM, COUNCIL MEMBER. OUTCOMES, OUTPUTS, PERFORMANCE MEASURES ON ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE. ON WHICH, WHICH ONE? YES. WHAT PAGE? JUST THE PREVIOUS SLIDE. PREVIOUS SLIDE. TEENTH. YEAH. CAN YOU BACK UP YOUR SLIDE? UH, YES. SORRY. BACK UP YOUR SLIDE. SORRY ABOUT THAT. I'M OPERATING OFF OF TWO SYSTEMS HERE. IS THIS THE ONE YOU WANTED TO GO TO? YES. COUNCIL MEMBER. FRANK, WHAT WERE YOU ADDRESSING? NO, I'M SAYING I, IT SAYS COMPLETE A CYBERSECURITY PLAN BY JUNE, 2026. OH, THAT'S NOT ON THIS ONE. IT, IT'S ON THE ONE RIGHT BEFORE THE, UM, 16TH. EMBRACE DIVERSITY SLIDE. OH, YOU'RE AHEAD. UH, YOU'RE AHEAD OF ME. OKAY. PAGE 22. OKAY. THIS ONE. OH, HERE WE GO. YOU, YOU JUMPED AHEAD, BUT THAT'S OKAY. . ALRIGHT, I'M SORRY. YES. WHAT, WHAT? SO YOUR QUESTION ABOUT THIS ONE COUNCIL MEMBER, FRANK? NO, I WAS JUST SAYING COMPLETE A CYBERSECURITY PLAN. YOU MEAN A NEW CYBERSECURITY PLAN? I MEAN, DO WE HAVE WE HAVE A CYBERSECURITY PLAN, RIGHT? I BELIEVE SO. I I'M GONNA GO TO CITY MANAGER BURTON. IT, WE DO HAVE A COMPLETE, UM, A COMPREHENSIVE TECHNOLOGY PLAN, WHICH INCLUDES CYBERSECURITY UNIT. AS A MATTER OF FACT, YOU JUST A, IS IT ON THIS AGENDA? YES. IT'S, IT'S ON THIS AGENDA TO IMP UM, TO AMEND, TO AMEND THE PLAN. SO WE'RE DOING THAT TODAY. OKAY. YES, WE'RE DOING THAT TODAY. I'M SORRY. SO THIS WOULD BE AN AN, AN UPDATED PLAN. AN UPDATED PLAN. THAT'S WHAT WE DO TODAY. YEP. OKAY. ALRIGHT. UPDATE PLAN. OKAY. I'M GONNA GO BACKWARDS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, WE'VE HIT FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY THAT YOU'RE OKAY WITH THIS ONE. SO THESE FOUR OBJECTIVES UNDER FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY. ANY THOUGHTS OR QUESTIONS HERE? UM, ONE OTHER NO, NO MA'AM. NOT UNDER FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY, BUT WHEN, UH, WHICH, WHICH PRIORITY ARE YOU SPEAKING TO? YES, MA'AM. I'M TRYING TO GET TO THAT PAGE TO MAKE SURE. I'M NOT SURE WHICH IT MAY FALL UNDER AND QUITE POSSIBLY I, WHEN I THINK ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE, I THINK ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT WE NEED TO MAKE US OPERATIONALLY EFFECTIVE. RIGHT? NOT JUST INFRASTRUCTURE GOES BEYOND A, A PHYSICAL BUILDING OR A ROAD. AND I THINK ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE USE. AND SO MAYBE I NEED TO HOLD THIS COMMENT UNTIL THEN, EVEN THE SPEAKERS AND THE TELEVISIONS THAT WE USE. YEP. YOU KNOW, IN THIS BUILDING WE INCORPORATED THAT INTO ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE. ALRIGHT. SO IF YOU CAN WAIT UNTIL, MA'AM UNTIL WE GET THERE, AND THEN RAISE WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU THINK WE NEED TO ADDRESS. YES, MA'AM. YEP. IT WAS LIKE, IT WAS KIND OF A THIS OR THAT, YOU KNOW, IN DETERMINING WHERE TO PUT IT. AND THE STAFF REALLY LIKED PUTTING IT IN, IN ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE. 'CAUSE IT WOVE TOGETHER WITH SEVERAL OF THE THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO HAVE IN PLACE TO HAVE AN EXCELLENT ORGANIZATION. TECHNOLOGY BEING ONE OF THOSE THINGS. IT'S A, THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY AND AUTOMATION EFFECTIVELY IS A SIGN OF ORGAN ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH. SO THAT'S WHY THEY PUT IT THERE. OKAY. I'M GONNA GO BACK TO FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY. MAKE SURE WE'RE OKAY WITH THIS. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, FRANK, YOU'VE GOT YOUR, YOU MEANT TO TURN. OKAY. JUST CHECKING. . DON'T WANNA MISS ANYBODY. ALL RIGHT. THESE ARE THE THINGS THEY INTEND TO MEASURE RELATED TO THIS ONE. AND LET ME JUST MAKE ONE COMMENT ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES. THOSE MAY EVOLVE OVER TIME. SO THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT STAFF FEEL THEY CAN MEASURE NOW, BUT AS YOU MAKE PROGRESS, START TO MAKE PROGRESS TOWARDS THE THINGS IN THIS PLAN, THEY MAY HAVE NEW AND BETTER MEASURES TO ADD AS YOU GO ALONG, BUT THIS IS THE STARTING POINT. AND THE IDEA BEING YOU GET BETTER AND BETTER AND BETTER WITH YOUR REPORTING. RIGHT. YOU [02:35:01] GET MORE PRECISE AS YOU GO ALONG. WELL HERE WE ARE, COMMISSIONER, I'M SORRY, COUNCIL MEMBER HAMILTON. WE'RE AT ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE EXCELLENCE. YEP. FOR, FOR THE FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY, IS IT, UM, SOMEHOW HAVE PROCUREMENT INCLUDED IN THAT THESE PROPOSED OBJECTIVES? YEAH. SO HOW ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT THAT? UM, HOW EFFECTIVE WE ARE IN, SO THERE, OH, I KNOW THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT USES A FAR PROCESS, RIGHT? AND SO IT'S HELPING TO CONFIRM THAT THEY ARE USING THE, GETTING THE BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK, WHETHER IT'S WITH SERVICES OR WITH PRODUCTS, UPDATING THE PROCESS THAT WE USE FOR THAT. UH, CITY MANAGER BURTON, YOU WANNA ADDRESS THAT? YES. YEAH, YEAH. UM, THE GOLD STANDARD FOR THE STATE IS TO ENSURE THAT YOU COMPLY AND IN SOME INSTANCES EXCEED ALL THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE LOCAL TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE. MM-HMM . AS IT'S BEEN STIPULATED IN THE CODE AS IT RELATES TO OUR FINANCE ACCOUNT AND BUDGETING. AND FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS, WE HAVE RECEIVED THE AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FOR THAT. UM, OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO ADD ONTO THOSE THAT WILL TAKE US TO THE PLATINUM STANDARD. OKAY. WHERE WE COULD, UM, LIKE I, I ALWAYS USE FRISCO AS THE PLATINUM STANDARD FOR EXCELLENCE. YEAH. UM, TO SHOW THAT, UM, WHAT WE DO IS TRANSPARENT, OPEN, AND FAR EXCEEDS THE MINIMUM THAT IS REQUIRED UNDER THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COULD, AS FAR AS FINANCE IS CONCERNED. THANK YOU. I, I'VE ALWAYS, I BROUGHT IT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE CONSULTANT THAT I ALWAYS LOOK AT FRI SCHOOL YEP. WHEN I, I SET THE STANDARDS. YEAH. THEY'RE ONE OF OUR CLIENTS. WE ACTUALLY LOOK UP FOR SCHOOL A LOT TOO, TO SHARE THEIR BEST PRACTICES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. YES. YEAH. IT'S A GOOD EXAMPLE. YEAH. THANK YOU. OKAY. ONCE, I'D JUST LIKE TO ONCE AGAIN REITERATE THIS, A STRATEGIC PLANS FOR FIVE YEARS IN ADVANCE. AND IT'S JUST SOMETHING FOR US TO WORK ON. I GUESS WHAT CITIZENS AND EVERYBODY NEED TO UNDERSTAND IS THIS THING COULD BE IMPROVED AT ANY TIME. THAT'S RIGHT. ANY YEAR THIS YEAR, NEXT YEAR. IN FACT, WE SHOULD REVISIT IT EVERY YEAR TO ENSURE THAT THE NEXT YEAR WE CAN MAYBE TWEAK IT AND DO BETTER. BUT BY HAVING A PLAN THAT MEANS WE HAVE A, A GOAL, A DIRECTION WE WANT TO GO. SO THIS PLAN AS IT STANDS TODAY, THERE'S NO WAY WE GONNA DO A PLAN TODAY AND IT'S GONNA BE GOOD FOR THREE YEARS FROM NOW. YOU KNOW, YOU JUST DON'T GO. SO IT'S A PLAN. AS LONG AS WE GOT SOMETHING TO WORK FOR, THEN IT'S OUR JOB TO CONTINUALLY THAT'S RIGHT. LOOK TO MAKE CHANGES TO IMPROVE IT MM-HMM . SO IT'S JUST A GUIDE RIGHT NOW, BUT ALL THESE THINGS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, WE COULD DO THAT AT ANY TIME, EVEN AFTER WE ADOPT IT. OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE A PLAN, BUT ONCE WE ESTABLISH IT SHOULD ALWAYS BE LOOKED TO IMPROVE IT MM-HMM . AND NEVER BE SATISFIED WITH WHAT WE HAVE. BECAUSE AS TIME CHANGE, WE NEED TO CHANGE OUR PLAN NEED TO CHANGE, BUT WE HAVE TO HAVE SOMETHING TO GO ON. AND THIS, THIS DOCUMENT, THAT'S ALL IT'S FOR. IT'S TO STEERS ON THE ROAD. THAT'S RIGHT. OKAY. IT, IT, IT, IT'LL NEVER BE GOOD FOR FIVE YEARS, BUT IT'S THE PLAN. SO THAT'S WHY ALL THE THINGS WE CAN, THIS DOCUMENT CAN BE BETTER OVER YEARS, BUT WE HAVE TO HAVE SOMETHING TO WORK WITH. AND THIS IS WHAT THIS DOCUMENT'S SUPPOSED TO BE. , YOU, YOU WILL MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THIS. THERE'S NO QUESTION. SOME OF THE THINGS IN HERE YOU WILL COMPLETE IN A YEAR OR TWO AND THEY'LL DROP OFF. RIGHT. AND YOU WILL WANNA MAYBE REPLACE WITH SOME NEW THINGS. UM, IT'S A LIVING DOCUMENT AND A BEST PRACTICE IS TO REVIEW IT ANNUALLY. YOU GET THE PROGRESS REPORTS ON DIFFERENT OBJECTIVES, MAYBE EVERY 90 DAYS OR WHATEVER CADENCE WE DECIDE. BUT EVERY YEAR THERE SHOULD BE AN ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE PLAN. WELL, VERY MOST, MOST CASES [02:40:01] WHERE I'VE SEEN YOU WORK WITH PLANS WORKING FIVE YEARS, 10 YEARS IN ADVANCE, THE WAY THEY'RE ALWAYS DONE, MOST CASES IS EACH YEAR YOU REVIEW THE PLAN, YOU DROP OFF THE YEAR THAT'S PASSED, BUT YOU ADD THINGS THAT YOU MAY WANT TO DO. IT'S LIKE THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR FIVE YEARS. YOU KNOW, YOU ALWAYS ADD IN A YEAR OF WHAT YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH. YEAH. AND I THINK THIS, SO YOU REVIEW IT AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT OUR STRATEGIC PLAN SHOULD BE. ONE THAT WE KEEP IT UPDATED. SO IT'S ALWAYS FIVE YEARS AND THAT'S WHERE ALL THESE CHANGES THAT WE TALKING ABOUT AND THESE THINGS THAT WON'T DO. WE PUT THE PRIORITIES INTO THE PLAN YEP. AND WORK IT. THE THING THAT YOU, THAT DOESN'T TYPICALLY CHANGE OVER THE FIVE YEAR PERIOD ARE, IS THE VISION AND THE GOALS AND THE PRIORITY AREAS. THOSE REMAIN CONSTANT, LIKE THE NORTH STAR, THE OBJECTIVES AND THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES WILL CHANGE OVER TIME. YEP. ALRIGHT. UM, OPERATIONAL OR ORGANIZATIONAL E EXCELLENCE. UM, COUNCIL MEMBER HAMILTON, I THINK THIS IS ONE THAT YOU WANTED TO USE TO ADDRESS, UM, THE WHOLE IDEA OF, UM, PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND HOW THAT FITS IN. WE DON'T HAVE AN OBJECTIVE THAT'S SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO THAT, BUT WE COULD DEVELOP ONE. SO THESE ARE THE SEVEN OBJECTIVES STAFF CAME UP WITH AROUND HOW THEY WANT TO IMPROVE, UM, THE ORGANIZATION, THE SORT OF STRUCTURE AND SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM OF THE CITY. AND HERE'S, HERE'S WHERE THEY'VE ADDRESSED SOME OF THOSE TECHNOLOGY AND AUTOMATION OBJECTIVES. WHAT SEVERAL COUNSELORS HAVE STATED WITH KNOWING WHAT THE GOAL IS, KNOWING WHAT THE UPDATES ARE ALONG THE WAY AND HOW WE'VE FOUND SOLUTIONS TO MEET THOSE GOALS IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT. I WAS JUST GIVING A, A NAME TO IT MM-HMM . AND A PROCESS MM-HMM . TO IT. AND THERE ARE PROGRAMS AVAILABLE FOR US TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT WITH. UM, LIKE WE MENTIONED EARLIER, CITY MANAGER HAS HE HIMSELF, BUT HE ALSO HAS STAFF WHO IS CERTIFIED, WHO ARE CERTIFIED PROJECT MANAGERS. AND SO THEY KNOW WHAT TO DO AND WILL BE ABLE TO HELP GUIDE US THROUGH THAT PROCESS. UM, IT IS CONSIDERED TO BE, UM, A, A HALLMARK OF AN ORGANIZATION THAT'S OPERATING AT A HIGH LEVEL. UM, HAS AN, UH, INSTITUTED AN ACTUAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK THAT IS CONSISTENTLY USED ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION. SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. ABSOLUTELY. IT LEAVES LESS OPPORTUNITY FOR BALLS TO BE DROPPED ALONG THE WAY. YEAH. ALRIGHT. ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THIS PRIORITY AREA OR ANY OF THESE SEVEN OBJECTIVES? HERE ARE THE MEASURES THAT STAFF WILL COME UP WITH. OKAY. AND THE FINAL, UH, STRATEGIC PRIORITY IS EMBRACE DIVERSITY. AND THE STAFF IDENTIFIED FOUR OBJECTIVES TO WORK ON ANY CLARIFICATIONS, ADJUSTMENTS FOR THE EMBRACE DIVERSITY PRIORITY AREA. I DON'T SEE ANY LIGHTS. CT 20 MADE AN IMPORTANT POINT. LET'S GO BACK TO FRISCO. AGAIN. EVERY BUDGET THAT IS PRESENTED CONTAINS A PERCENTAGE FOR THE VISUAL ACTS. OH. YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE, WE NEED TO LOOK AT THAT, LOOK AT THAT COMPONENT AS WELL. IF THE COUNCIL AGREES THAT WOULD HIRE. AS WE CONTINUE TO PLAN AND IMPLEMENT OUR PLANS, WE NEED TO TELL OUR STORY AND OUR, THE REFLECTION OF OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS TO TELL THAT STORY AS TO WHO WE ARE, WHERE WE'RE COMING FROM, [02:45:01] WHETHER IT'S THE BACKGROUND AS AN OILING COMMUNITY THAT GREW FROM OIL TO WHERE WE ARE GOING MAYBE WITH NATURAL GAS AND OTHER THINGS, BUT REALLY TELL OUR CULTURAL STORY THROUGH THE ARTS. MM-HMM . AS WE PRESENT IT ALL OVER THE CITY, HOUSTON DOES A GOOD JOB OF IT. OTHER COMMUNITIES DO A VERY GOOD JOB OF IT AS WHERE THEY'RE COMING FROM CULTURALLY AND WHERE THEY'RE GOING. MM-HMM . AND AS A PLANNER, IN EVERY PROJECT THAT'S DONE A, A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE, WHETHER IT'S 2% OR 1%, IS BEING COMMITTED, PLEDGED TOWARDS THE ARTS TO TELL THE STORY OF THE PROJECT AND TELL THE STORY OF THE COMMUNITY. WHETHER IT'S THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY, WHETHER IT'S THE CAUCASIAN, AFRICAN AMERICAN, OR OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS. WE CAN TELL OUR STORY MM-HMM . AS A BLEND OF PEOPLE. YEAH. AND PART OF THAT STORY WAS TOLD THIS MORNING WITH THE INDIVIDUALS THAT MAYOR BART DECIDED TO RECOGNIZE, UH, IMPORTANT PART OF THE FABRIC OF THE COMMUNITY. THOSE THREE INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE, THAT WERE, UM, RECOGNIZED TODAY. YES. BECAUSE WE, WE ARE LISTED AS THE CAJUN CAPITAL OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS. IT'S A GOOD GUMBO. IT'S A GUMBO THAT YOU HAVE EVERYTHING IN. YOU'VE GOT SHRIMP, YOU'VE GOT CRAB, YOU GOT CHICKEN. YEAH. AND YOU'VE GOT GIZZARDS IN IT AS WELL. . YEAH. SO IT'S A GOOD STORY TO TELL. AND GO RICE. YES. A TURKEY NECK . I AM, UM, VERY GRATEFUL THAT THIS WAS INCLUDED TO RECOGNIZE THE DIVERSITY OF OUR COMMUNITY. WE ARE ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE COMMUNITIES IN THIS GOLDEN TRIANGLE AREA. MM-HMM . AND I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO NOT ONLY LET ME SAY IT LIKE THIS, I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO INCLUDE AND EX, UH, EXPAND WHAT DIVERSITY ACTUALLY MEANS BECAUSE IT'S MORE THAN JUST RACE. THAT'S RIGHT. AND SO WE HAVE TO, TO UM, INCLUDE DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, DIFFERENT SOCIOECONOMIC, UH, STATUSES. THERE ARE, WHEN MY MAMA WAS LITTLE, THERE'S A DIFFERENCE ON ONE SIDE OF THE TRACK OR THE OTHER . SO, AND, AND OUR CITY HAS DEEP, DEEP ROOTS, SOME FOR THE GOOD AND SOME FOR NOT, BUT THEY NEED TO BE ADDRESSED SO THAT WE CAN LEARN TOGETHER HOW TO OVERCOME SOME OF THOSE BARRIERS. MM-HMM . SO I'M ASKING THAT WE EXTEND WHAT DIVERSITY ACTUALLY MEANS SO THAT TOGETHER WE CAN ADDRESS AND OVERCOME A LOT OF THE BARRIERS THAT HOLD US BACK. THANK YOU. YES, MA'AM. IF I, IF I MAY SPEAK, AS SOMEONE WHO'S NEW TO THE CITY, UM, THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, AND HAVING WORKED AROUND THE STATE OF TEXAS, THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR IS EXTREMELY WEALTHY IN ITS INTERIOR STRUCTURES, HOLDING IMPORTANCE TO ITS CULTURE AND DIVERSITY. SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU SAW A CEREMONY HERE VERSUS A CEREMONY IN ANOTHER PART OF STATE PORT ARTHUR WOULD ALWAYS WIN BECAUSE THEY'RE SO OPEN AND, UH, VIBRANT AND ENGAGING AND, AND, UH, WILLFUL AND SPIRITUAL. BUT WHAT YOU DON'T SEE IN THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR IS THE ART AND THE VISUAL OUTSIDE THE STRUCTURES. SO YOU CAN GO TO THE GULF COAST MUSEUM AND IT'S GREAT STUFF IN THERE TOO. YOU CAN GO INTO A LOCAL CHURCH AND THERE'S GREAT STUFF HAPPENING IN THERE. YOU CAN GO TO OUR LITTLE PLAYHOUSE THEATER AND IT'S A WONDERFUL PLAY. BUT IF YOU'RE STANDING ON OUR STREETS IN THE COMMUNITY, YOU DON'T SEE, UH, AS MUCH ART, IF YOU WILL, THAT TELLS YOUR STORY. WHAT YOU SEE IS REFINERIES. AND SO I THINK IT'S, IT WOULD BE GREAT FOR THE CITY TO BRING OUT THE DIVERSITY. IT HAS MORE THAN JUST IN A PARK, BUT MAYBE IN A PARKING LOT. UM, YOU'LL SEE BIG CITIES LIKE THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO OR THE CITY OF DALLAS, THAT WILL ACTUALLY HAVE ORDINANCES THAT MANDATE DEVELOPMENTS SERVE A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF THEIR IN INVESTMENT TO THE ARTS. AND SO THAT'S WHY YOU CAN TRAVEL INTO DIFFERENT PARTS OF DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO OR DOWNTOWN DALLAS AND SEE ALL THESE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES AND IT BECOMES A SPOT OF ENGAGEMENT FOR THE COMMUNITY AND PRIDE. ALRIGHT. THESE ARE THE MEASURES. OH, GO AHEAD. I'M GONNA HAVE A COMMENT ON, OH, OKAY. DIVERSITY. I HAVE A COMMENT. YES. UH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE TALK DIVERSITY. AND I THINK WHAT PEOPLE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND IS IT'S SOMETHING YOU DON'T HAVE TO TALK ABOUT. IT'S SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO SHOW. PEOPLE HAVE TO SEE. [02:50:03] EVERYBODY COULD TALK ABOUT IT, BUT WHAT IS IT SOMETHING WE HAVE TO, AS LEADERS FACE AND UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE PERCEPTION. IS THERE A REALITY? WE MAY KNOW IT'S WRONG, BUT IF THAT'S THE WAY THEY PERCEIVE IT, THAT'S THE WAY IT'S GOING TO BE. WHEN WE SAT HERE ON A COUNCIL AND WE DON'T HAVE DIVERSITY, PEOPLE THAT LOOKS AT US, THEY SEE IT. A LOT OF THAT IS WHAT BRING CONFIDENCE AND TRUST FROM PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW. BECAUSE IF PEOPLE DON'T SEE DIVERSITY, THEY HAVE A TENDENCY TO, TO BELIEVE THE LEADERSHIP IS GOING ONE WAY OR TAKING CARE OF ONE GROUP OF PEOPLE. SO I'M GLAD THAT WE HAVE THIS IN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN. I'M GLAD THAT WE ARE RECOGNIZING THESE THINGS, BUT WE GOT TO EXECUTE THAT PORTION OF THE PLAN. I'M NOT ONE TO SELECT SOMEBODY FOR DIVERSITY BEING THE PRIORITY. I FEEL EVERYONE SHOULD BE QUALIFIED FOR WHICH THEY APPLY . BUT THAT HAS TO BE SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE IN THE COURTS. YOU KNOW, IN ORDER TO SERVE DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES, LIKE WE MENTIONED HERE IN OUR CITY, WE HAVE TO REFLECT OUR CITY. AND A LOT OF THAT BREEDS THE TRUST AND CONFIDENCE. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I'M GLAD TO SEE IN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN. I'M GLAD TO SEE IT BEING AS ONE THING THAT WE PUT FORWARD, BUT I THINK IT'S SOMETHING WE ALL ON COUNCIL SHOULD UNDERSTAND. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE TRY OUR BEST TO CREATE MORE DIVERSITY HERE ON THE COUNCIL BECAUSE THE END RESULT IS GOING TO BE THE PEOPLE THAT OUT THERE AND LOOK AT US IS GONNA HAVE MORE TRUST AND CONFIDENT IN WHAT WE DO AND HOW WE DO BUSINESS. AND LIKE I SAID, WE COULD BE ALL ONE COLOR AND DOING EVERYTHING RIGHT, LIGHT AND REALLY MAKING THINGS HAPPEN FOR CITIZENS. BUT THERE ARE GOING TO BE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE TRUST AND CONFIDENCE IN US BECAUSE THEY DON'T SEE OTHERS. SO WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND LEADERSHIP, YOU UNDERSTAND THAT IF YOU WANT PEOPLE TO BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU'RE ABOUT, YOU HAVE TO PROJECT THAT AND SHOW IT. YOU CAN'T TALK ABOUT IT BECAUSE NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT DIVERSITY, WHEN THEY LOOK UP HERE, IT'S REALITY. AND EVERYBODY CAN SEE AND THINK FOR THEMSELVES. SO THIS ONE PART, I HOPE WE REALLY PUT IN OUR PLAN AND I HOPE WE SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE EXECUTED. AND LIKE I SAID, I, I DON'T WANT ANYBODY BE SELECTED TO SERVE ON COUNCIL BECAUSE THEY'RE RACE OR ETHNIC GROUP. BUT IF WHENEVER POSSIBLE WE SHOULD ALWAYS REFLECT THE PEOPLE WE LEAD SO THAT THEY ALL HAVE TRUST AND COMPETENCE IN US. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER LEWIS, I WAS JUST LISTENING THAT WHAT WAS BEING SAID ABOUT DIVERSITY G WE ARE COMFORTABLE TODAY TALKING ABOUT DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVENESS. THAT HAS BEEN FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS, 40 YEARS, IT HAS BEEN THAT IT WAS NOT ALWAYS THAT WAY. I HAD TO FILE A LAWSUIT ALONG WITH WALTER MOSLEY AND WE WON THE LAWSUIT. THERE WAS NO DIVERSITY. THAT WAS, THAT WAS ONE BLACK FIREMAN. WE HAD 30 WE 35%, ONE BLACK FIREMAN, NO BLACKS ABOVE THE RANKS OF SERGEANT IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. NO BLACK DEPARTMENT HEADS, NO BLACK CITY MANAGERS, NO, NO. BLACK CHIEFS OF POLICE. ALL OF THAT CHANGED WHEN WE WON THE LAWSUIT. CAN YOU IMAGINE YOUR CITY BUDGETING $800,000 OF TAX PAYERS MONEY TO FIGHT CITIZENS? THAT'S WHAT THEY DID. THE POWERS TO BE BUDGETED $800,000 [02:55:01] TO CONTINUES TO DENY PROPER REPRESENTATION. THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED. WE GOT PLENTY OF DIVERSITY. NOW WE HAD PLENTY OF LIKE, BECAUSE IT WAS NOT ALWAYS THAT WAY. ALL OF THE WEALTH, ALL OF THE WEALTH WAS GOING TO ONE ETHNIC GROUP. ALL THAT'S CHANGED. YOU KNOW, MANURE AND MONEY HAS A LOT IN COMMON. NEITHER ONE OF THEM IS GOOD IN A PILE TO BENEFIT FROM MANURE AND MONEY, YOU HAVE TO SPREAD IT AROUND . SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT DIVERSITY, LOOK UP HERE AND BLACKS WERE SO THE COUNCIL WILL HAD, HAD DIVERSITY AFTER WE WON THE LAWSUIT. THEY WERE SO BUSY TRYING TO ELIMINATE MY POSITION, DISTRICT FIVE AND AND SIX. WE ENDED UP WITH NO, NO DIVERSITY ON THE COUNCIL. WE ENDED UP WITH A 100% BLACK COUNCIL. IT'S CHANGING AND WE CAN, WE CAN, WE'RE GONNA WORK ON IT SOME MORE AND WE'RE GONNA CHANGE IT SOME MORE BECAUSE THERE'S A PLAN THAT WE CAN PUT IN PLACE THAT WOULD INCLUDE ADDITIONAL DIVERSITY. SO AFTER FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING IN THE COURTS, FIGHTING THE POWERS TO BE WITH, WITH TAX PAYERS, MONEY USED AGAINST US, WE FINALLY ARRIVED AT DIVERSITY. AND WE WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE AND WE'D LIKE TO PROTECT THAT. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. THESE ARE THE MEASURES. I, AGAIN, A GOOD STARTING POINT. THOSE WILL PROBABLY CHANGE OVER THE FIVE YEAR CYCLE OF THE PLAN, BUT THAT'S WHERE STAFF WANNA START, AT LEAST AT THE BEGINNING. ALRIGHT. NEXT STEPS. WE WILL TAKE ALL OF YOUR INPUT. WE WILL DEVELOP, UM, SOME CHANGES TO THE DRAFT. OH, OH, GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD. UM, I'LL STOP IF YOU WANT TO, I JUST NEED FOR YOU TO GO BACK TO PAGE 15. OKAY. LET'S DO THAT BEFORE I DO THE CLOSING. THE SECOND FROM THE BOTTOM. THE SECOND ITEM FROM THE BOTTOM. PAGE 15. YEAH. THE COMMUNITY VITALITY. A ACADEMY NUMBER. A CITIZEN ACADEMY. YEAH. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU? SO I'LL ASK STAFF TO CLARIFY IF I'M GETTING IT WRONG, BUT A CITIZEN'S ACADEMY IS AN OPPORTUNITY WHERE YOU BRING PEOPLE IN TO LEARN ABOUT THEIR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND HOW IT WORKS SO THAT THEY CAN BECOME BETTER PARTICIPANTS IN THEIR COMMUNITY AND BETTER, UM, SORT OF ENGAGED PARTICIPANTS WITH THEIR LOCAL GOVERNMENT. THAT IS CORRECT. THAT'S CLOSE ENOUGH. MM-HMM . I HAVE A MORE BROADER, BUT THAT'S CLOSE ENOUGH. I'M GLAD YOU WAS ABLE TO DEFINE IT SO EVERYBODY IN THE ROOM CAN UNDERSTAND YEAH. WHAT A CITIZEN ACADEMY IS ABOUT. YEP. IT IS ABOUT JUST WHAT YOU SAID. AND I CAN SAY, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER LEWIS, THAT MORE AND MORE OF OUR CLIENTS ARE, ARE PUTTING THAT IN AS OBJECTIVE IN THEIR STRATEGIC PLANS BECAUSE OF A TREND OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF DECADES OF CIVICS NOT BEING TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS. AND SO WE HAVE A COMMUNITY COMMUNITIES THAT AREN'T WELL INFORMED ABOUT HOW THEIR GOVERNMENT WORKS. AND SO THIS IS BECOMING A VERY SIGNIFICANT TREND FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT CLIENTS, BOTH CITIES AND COUNTIES, UM, TO FOCUS ON THAT. YES, SIR. THANK YOU. YEAH. COUNCIL, COUNCIL COUNCILMAN LEWIS. UM, WHERE IS PAM? YEAH. IF YOU REMEMBER, YOU BUDGETED FOR THAT. IT'S IN THIS YEAR BUDGET FOR THE CITIZENS ACADEMY. YEAH. SO WE ARE AHEAD OF THE GAME. YEAH. YOU ACTUALLY PUT $10,000 TO GET IT STARTED. TO GET STARTED. AND UM, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIME THAT WE BRING IT BACK TO YOU WHERE YOU CAN IDENTIFY EACH OF Y'ALL BECAUSE WE ARE START, WE ARE THINKING MAYBE START WITH 14 PERSONS. EACH OF YOU ALL IDENTIFY TWO PERSONS THAT WILL TAKE FOR A PROCESS FOR THE YEAR. YOU IDENTIFY AND WE WILL, WE WILL DEVELOP THE CRITERIA AS TO WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR SO THAT THESE PERSONS BECOME FUTURE LEADERS. YOU KNOW, BUT IT'S IN THE BUDGET. MM-HMM . I I THINK WE ACTUALLY HAVE $10,000 IN THE BUDGET FOR THAT THIS YEAR. THAT'S EXCITING. YES. AND, AND, AND IN ADDITION TO WHAT THE CITY MANAGERS PARK, MY FUTURE LEADERS, ANOTHER THING THAT GAVE US OPPORTUNITY FOR FUTURE LEADERS, WE PUT IN, WE PUT IN TERM LIMITATIONS. SO THAT'LL, SO WHEN SOMEBODY'S TERMING OUT, A CITIZEN HAS THREE YEARS [03:00:01] TO LEARN GOVERNMENT, YOU CAN GET AN ASSOCIATE DEGREE FROM LAMAR RIGHT DOWN THE STREET IN TWO YEARS. SO YOU CANNOT COME DOWN HERE AND SAY, I'M LEARNING NO PORT OUT THE CITY COUNCIL. IT IS VARSITY. YOU GOTTA HIT THE GROUND PLAYING. YOU GOT TO KNOW WHAT YOU DOING UP HERE. . THANK YOU. IT'S NOT VARSITY. I MEAN THIS IS VARSITY. IT IS VARSITY. IT'S NOT A TRAINING GROUND. . THANK YOU. THAT'S RIGHT. UM, CITY MANAGER, IS THERE A TIMELINE THAT YOU THINK I'M MAYBE THINKING THAT'S WHY YOU WAS ASKING FOR MS. PAM? UM, IS THERE A TIMELINE THAT WE HAVE FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT? UM, WE'RE WORKING ON IT. WE'RE WORKING ON IT. I, YEAH. THANK YOU. YEAH, UHHUH. ALRIGHT, NEXT STEPS. UM, WE WILL TAKE YOUR INPUT AND DEVELOP SOME EDITS AND ADJUSTMENTS TO THE PLAN BASED UPON THE THINGS THAT YOU SHARED WITH US TODAY. AND, UM, WHEN WE COME BACK WITH THE, THE FINAL PLAN, WE WILL SHOW YOU TWO VERSIONS. ONE WILL BE A RED LINE VERSION WHERE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE WHERE WE MADE THE CHANGES TO REFLECT YOUR INPUT. AND THEN YOU'LL SEE ALSO THAT BEAUTIFULLY GRAPHIC DESIGN DOCUMENT THAT YOU CAN BE PROUD OF TO SHARE WITH YOUR COMMUNITY WITH PHOTOS AND GRAPHICS AND, UM, PLEASING TO LOOK AT AND, YOU KNOW, WRITTEN IN A CONCISE MANNER. SO WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, COMING BACK AND SHARING THE CHANGES AND HAVING YOU ADOPT THE PLAN. YES. SO WE, WE DO, AS WE MAKE THOSE CHANGES, WE COULD ADOPT THAT PLAN VERY AS WE ARE, AS WE MAKE THOSE CHANGES, THE VERY SAME TIME WE HAVE MADE THOSE CHANGES. CORRECT. SO THAT WE WILL HAVE A PLAN TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH, WITH THE BUDGET FOR THE BUDGET PROCESS. EXACTLY. YOU KNOW, AND THEN AS FOR THE NEXT COMING YES. AND, AND WE WILL PROBABLY START IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING SINCE YOU DIDN'T, YOU, YOU MADE DEFINITELY MADE SOME ADJUSTMENTS, BUT YOU DIDN'T MAKE RADICAL CHANGES TO THE PLAN. SO WE CAN START IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING WHILE WE'RE CREATING THE CHANGES FOR THE, FOR THE, UM, VERSION THAT YOU'RE GOING TO ADOPT. YES. AND GET GET A, GET A GET A ROLL ON THAT. RIGHT. ABSOLUTELY. GET THAT ROLLING. ABSOLUTELY MA'AM. UH, JUST ONE, JUST ONE BRIEF THING, STATEMENT I FORGOT TO INCLUDE IN MY LITTLE PRESENTATION. ALL NINE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT JUSTICES AGREED WITH US. WE FOUGHT, AND WHEN OUR WAY TO THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT AND ALL NINE, JUSTICE AGREED WITH US THAT PORT ARTHUR WAS A RACIST, HISTORICALLY RACIST CITY. AND THEY STRUCK DOWN THE PLAN. THAT'S WHY WE HAVE SENIOR MEMBER DISTRICT TODAY AND INCLUSIVE NOW WE GOT JUSTICE OF THE PEACE. MUNICIPAL JUDGES ALSO INCLUDED. YOU'VE MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS IN PORT ARTHUR. CONGRATULATIONS ON, ON THE HEELS OF PROGRESS. IS MS. PERKINS THERE? IS SHE IN THE ROOM? COME, COME, COME REAL QUICK, REAL, REAL QUICK. LEMME JUST RECOGNIZE MS. PERKINS. MS. PERKINS. THAT'S THE FIRST ASSIGNMENT I GIVE HER. OH MY GOODNESS. FIRST ASSIGNMENT I GIVE HER. WE COULDN'T HAVE DONE THIS WITHOUT CHANEL . YES. AND THEN YEAH, SHE IS, SHE IS. WONDERFUL. YEAH. , YOU THANK SO, I'M, I'M VERY PLEASED WITH THE OUTCOME OF IT. I'M, SHE WAS ABLE TO TAKE IT AND RUN WITH IT AND, YOU KNOW, ENGAGE STAFF, ALL THE DEPARTMENT HEADS AND ENGAGE A TEAM OF PEOPLE WHO WORKED WITH HER. I CAN'T REMEMBER. DARLENE, STEVEN WILLIAMS, IKA. TAMIKA. TAMIKA AND PAM. PAM AND PAM. THE, THE, AND I MEAN, THEY WORKED EVERY WEEK OR EVERY OTHER WEEK WE WERE ON THE PHONE, YOU KNOW, WE BURIED DOWN AND MAKING SURE THAT ALL THE SUGGESTIONS THAT YOU HAD, WE BROUGHT IT TO FRUITION. WE REALLY MADE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU SAID AS A COUNCIL HAD TO STICK AND WE HAD TO REFINE IT. YEAH. SO IT REALLY BECAME YOUR DOCUMENT, YOU KNOW, AND, UM, I THINK WE DID JUSTICE TO IT, TO WHAT YOUR IDEAS WERE. SO THANK YOU, CHANEL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WELL, AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY WE DO THIS WORK ALL OVER THE COUNTRY WITH MANY DIFFERENT, UH, CITIES AND COUNTIES, AND WE DON'T ALWAYS GET A RESOURCE THAT IS SO ON TOP OF EVERYTHING. AND CHANEL HAS BEEN AMAZING. SHE HELPED MAKE PARTS OF OUR JOB EASIER AND THINGS FLOWED VERY SMOOTHLY. AND THIS HAS BEEN PART OF THE REASON THIS HAS BEEN SUCH A REWARDING PROJECT IS THE PARTNERSHIP THAT BARRY DUNN HAS BEEN ABLE TO HAVE WITH THE CITY. SO, THANK YOU, CHANEL. THANK YOU. SHE KEPT ON TIME. THANK YOU. WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO ADJOURN MYSELF AND LET YOU GO ON TO THE REST OF YOUR WORK. THANK YOU. OKAY. SO WE WOULD GET, UH, MOTION TO ADJOURN THE WORKSHOP. SECOND IS MOVE AND SECOND MOVE. ADJOURN THE WORKSHOP. WE READY FOR [03:05:01] QUESTION? ANY ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT? WE ALL IN FAVOR? A AYE, ANY OPPOSES AS HAVE IT? SO IT IS ORDERED, THE WORKSHOP IS NOW COMPLETED AND WE WILL MOVE BACK TO THE [III.B.(2) A Presentation By Founder/ Managing Member Harry C. Crawford III Of Diligence Offshore Services LLC, Regarding Appreciation To The Mayor And The City Of Port Arthur ( Requested By Councilmember Lewis)] NORMAL FLOW OF OUR, UH, PRINTED AGENDA ON PAGE TWO, EXCUSE ME. UNDER ROMAN NUMERAL THREE PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS CONTINUED. WE HAVE NUMBER TWO, WE HAVE A PRESENTATION BY FOUNDER, MANAGING MEMBER, EXCUSE ME, HARRY COOPERATE III OF DILIGENCE, OFFSHORE SERVICES LLC REGARDING APPRECIATION TO THE MAYOR, MAYOR, AND THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR. AND THIS HAS BEEN REQUESTED BY COUNCIL MEMBER LEWIS. GOOD MORNING. ALRIGHT. FIRST, GIVING HONOR TO GOD, TO OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST AND HIS HOLY SPIRIT. WE CAME THIS MORNING TO SAY GOOD MORNING TO THE COUNCIL, TO, UH, ALL OF THE CITIZENS OF PORT ARTHUR. TODAY I'M FLANKED BY MR. ROGER KING WITH THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS, UH, MY FAMILY, MY MOTHER AND MY DAUGHTER, KENNEDY AND DORIS, MY SON CLARK, UH, JOHNNY HAYES. AND, UH, WE GOT A REVEREND QUEEN, UH, REPRESENTING THE, UH, GRACE HUB TODAY. UH, AS YOU KNOW, WE, UH, WENT THROUGH A, A, A LITTLE STRUGGLE TRYING TO GET A LEASE WITH YOU GUYS. AND THEN FINALLY, UH, THE CITY AND DILIGENCE WAS ABLE TO COME TO, UH, TO AN AGREEMENT. UM, SO TODAY WE WANTED TO COME TALK TO YOU ABOUT, AND THANK YOU FOR, UH, WHAT ALL TOOK PLACE. UH, WE UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU FIRST IN SOMETHING THAT THERE'S GONNA BE A STRUGGLE AT TIMES. SO THERE'S EIGHT WORDS THAT WE BROUGHT TODAY. ONE IS THE FIRST FOUR IS FIRST OF ITS KIND, AND THE LAST FOUR IS FIRST OF ITS PEOPLE, UH, AFRICAN AMERICANS. UH, WE, WE HAVE, UH, 13% OF AMERICA'S POPULATION. THAT MEANS WE HAVE 13% OF THE SPEND, BUT WE OWN LESS THAN 1% OF THE CAPITAL ASSETS IN THIS COUNTRY. IN OTHER WORDS, WE DON'T OWN ANY OF THE REFINERIES, THE, UH, POWER GENERATION FACILITIES. WE DON'T OWN ANYTHING THAT'S CONSIDERED A CAPITAL ASSET. AND SO TODAY WE COME TO UNVEIL SOMETHING THAT IS ROOTED RIGHT HERE IN THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS. WE COME, UH, AS A COMPANY WITH THE FIRST, UH, BLACK OWNED VERTICALLY VER VERTICALLY INTEGRATED, UH, ENERGY UTILITY IN THE, IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY. SO IT'S A, IT'S A DAY OF HISTORY. HIS HISTORICAL, AS THE MAYOR'S WALKING OUT THE DOOR, WE HE'S CLOSING IT ON, UH, HISTORY TODAY. SO WE CAME TO SAY THANK YOU, AND WE CAME TO, UH, TO GIVE OUT IF WE COULD SOME TOKENS OF APPRECIATIONS TO THOSE WHO ARE CONSIDERED VISIONARIES. UH, Y'ALL KNOW ME. WE ARE NOT HERE TO ASK FOR A SEAT AT THE TABLE. WE BUILDING OUR OWN AND WE'RE BUILDING IT AND POWERING IT WITH THE WINDS THAT OBEY THE VOICE OF CHRIST. WE'RE ELECTRIFYING IT WITH THE SUN MADE BY HIS WORD. AND WE ARE ANCHORING IT ON A FOUNDATION STRONG ENOUGH TO WITHSTAND THE VARIOUS STORMS. HE ONCE STOOD IN AND SAID, PEACE BE STILL. OUR PROJECT IS A 225 MEGAWATT COASTAL WIND FARM PROJECT, ANCHORED BY 3,391 MEGAWATT SOLAR, FVPA SUBSTATION FOR ADDITIONALITY RESILIENCE AND EXPANSION, A UTILITY SCALE BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE, AND A 850,000 SQUARE FOOT A SI DATA CENTER HOUSED IN A CAT FIVE HURRICANE RESISTANT DOME LIQUID. COOL. AND SCALABLE TO 180 MVA. UH, WE CAME TODAY TO SAY THANK YOU, BUT WE ALSO CAME WITH A RESPONSE TO A SOBERING TRUTH, THE TRUTH THAT I GAVE YOU, THAT, UH, AFRICAN AMERICANS DON'T OWN ANY OF THE UTILITIES. WE CONSUME ENERGY, BUT WE DON'T CONTROL IT. WE POWER AMERICA, BUT WE DON'T PROFIT FROM IT. AND WE'RE AFFECTED BY POLICY, BUT WE DON'T HELP TO SHAPE IT. THAT CHANGES TODAY. SO WE SAY THANK YOU. WE SAY IN THIS MOMENT, THIS MOMENT THAT WE'VE SHARED WITH YOU, UH, WITH, WITH BUM B GARY, WITH THE T UH, BROTHER WILSON AND THE REST OF PORT ARTHUR. BUT WE COME TO TELL YOU THAT, UH, WE'RE NOT FOLLOWING A CERTAIN BLUEPRINT. WE ARE THE [03:10:01] BLUEPRINT. WE KNOW THAT IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE WHAT Y'ALL USED TO SEEING HERE IN THIS COMMUNITY WITH THE REFINERIES AND WITH, UH, THOSE THAT OPERATE THE REFINERIES, THOSE THAT ALWAYS STAND BEFORE YOU. THE FACE IS DIFFERENT. BUT WE ARE HERE TODAY TO SAY THANK YOU, LIKE I SAID, AND WITH DEEP GRATITUDE FOR THE PAST AND WITH UNWAVERING FAITH GOING FORWARD, UH, ME BEING A PREACHER, THERE'S A, A SCRIPTURE THAT I LOVE. IT'S PHILIPPIANS FOUR AND 13. SO I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST, WHICH STRENGTHENS ME, WHICH MEANS WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO IT. WE HAVE THE, UH, ASSISTANCE TO DO IT, AND WE HAVE THE ASSURANCE TO DO IT FOR THE ONES WHOSE HAND WE HOLDING. SO WE THINK, AND IF YOU DON'T MIND, WE'D LIKE TO PRESENT TO PASTOR FRANK, UH, COUNCILMAN DOUCETTE, COUNCILMAN WILLIE BAY, AND THEN OF COURSE TO OUR MAYOR. AND WE, WE HAVE A, A LITTLE TOKEN OF APPRECIATION FOR, UH, REPRESENTATIVE MANUEL CHRISTIAN MANUEL, I THINK HIS MOTHER'S HERE TO, TO RECEIVE THAT TODAY. AND THEN WE WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO THE CITIZENS OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS. SO HOWEVER Y'ALL WANT TO HANDLE IT, UH, MAYOR BARTEE, IF EVERYBODY CAN COME DOWN, IF YOU DON'T MIND, WE CAN, WE CAN JOIN DOWN, MAKE OUR PRESENTATION. AND LIKE THE KIDS SAY, UH, NO CAP. WE JUST APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT THERE'S SOME VISION IN THE ROOM. AND, AND, AND ME BEING A, A, AN ENTREPRENEUR, UH, THE ONE WHO HELPED START IT ALL. MY MOTHER'S HERE, SHE'S BEEN WITH ME, BASICALLY MY WHOLE BUSINESS JOURNEY. AND, UH, SHE'S GOTTEN TO KNOW YOUR MAYOR PRETTY GOOD ALSO. SO SHE WASN'T GONNA MISS THIS DAY OF BEING ABLE TO COME DOWN AND SAY, SAY THANK YOU. UH, AND BEFORE WE DO THAT, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO UNVEIL WHAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN. COME ON CAR. TAKE IT. LOOK AT THAT. SO WE WANTED TO SHOW YOU WHAT I JUST GOT THROUGH TALKING TO YOU ABOUT THE, UH, YEAH, TAKE THE MIC. I DON'T NEED IT. SO, TO MS. TERRY, YOU WOULD, YOU DON'T MIND GIVING THAT TO OTHER CHRISTIAN? YOU, YOU WANT ME TO READ IT OR YOU WANT YOU WANNA READ IT? IT'S UP TO YOU. SO, TO, TO TO, TO STATE REPRESENTATIVE CHRISTIAN MANUEL, WHO HAS BEEN WITH US SINCE DAY ONE, UH, WHO TOOK IT UPON HIMSELF TO GO TO THE, THE STATE CAPITOL AND INTRODUCE OUR PROJECT. WE SAY, IN GRATEFUL RECOGNITION OF YOUR UNWAVERING LEADERSHIP, BOLD VISION AND STEADFAST SUPPORT OF DILIGENCE OFFSHORE SERVICES, THE NATION'S FIRST BLACK-OWNED HYBRID ENERGY, AND SUPER INTELLIGENT DATA CENTER INITIATIVE, YOUR DEDICATION TO JUSTICE, INNOVATION AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY HAS ELEVATED NOT ONLY POLICY, BUT ALSO THE PEOPLE IT'S MEANT TO SERVE BECAUSE OF YOUR VOICE OF FUTURE, ONCE DENIED TO US, IS NOW BEING BUILT BY US WITH DEEP APPRECIATION. HERESY CRAWFORD THIRD AND PAULETTE CRAWFORD, FOUNDERS DILIGENCE OFFSHORE SERVICES LLC, IF YOU DON'T MIND GIVING THAT TO YOU SON. APPRECIATE THAT. TO PASTOR DON RAY FRANK, YOU KNOW, IT IS ALWAYS GOOD THAT YOU KNOW, I KNOW YOUR CITY HAS HAS MEN OF GOD ON, ON THE COUNCIL. AND THE LORD SAYS, YOUR GIFT WILL MAKE ROOM FOR YOU. WHAT I SAY IS, THANK YOU AND RECOGNITION OF YOUR VOTE OF CONFIDENCE AND SUPPORT OF OUR SHARED PROGRESS DILIGENCE OFFICER OF SERVICES EXPRESSES THIS SINCERE GRATITUDE FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP IN HELPING LAUNCH ONE OF THE MOST FORWARD-LOOKING CLEAN ENERGY AND TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES IN THE HISTORY OF POLAR ARTHUR, TEXAS. YOUR BELIEF IN MISSION AND AND MISSION EMPOWERS OUR WORK, STRENGTHEN OUR COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY AND SETS A POWERFUL EXAMPLE OF PROGRESS THROUGH PARTNERSHIP WITH DEEP APPRECIATION. HARRY AND PAUL CRAWFORD. THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR, FOR BELIEVING. COUNCILMAN WILLIE BAY. WILLIE BAY SAY, MANURE AND MONEY GOT THE SAME EFFECT. [03:15:02] GOTTA SPREAD IT AROUND. A, A LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP HONORING COUNCILMAN WILLIE BAY LEWIS JR. FOR YOUR STEADFAST DEDICATION AND COURAGEOUS VOICE IN SHAPING THE FUTURE OF PORT ARTHUR TEXAS. DILIGENCE OFFSHORE SERVICES HONORS YOUR ENDURING COMMITMENT TO JUSTICE, TECHNOLOGY AND OPPORTUNITY. YOUR VOTE WAS NOT ONLY A GESTURE OF SUPPORT, IT WAS A DEFINING MOMENT IN THE CITY'S JOURNEY TOWARDS CLEAN ENERGY LEADERSHIP, ECONOMIC REVIVAL, AND GENERATIONAL UPLIFT. MAY YOUR LEADERSHIP BE REMEMBERED AS A CATALYST THAT MOVED PORT ARTHUR FROM PROMISE TO POWER WITH ENDURING RESPECT, HERESY AND PAULETTE CRAWFORD. THANK YOU DILIGENCE YOU TWO LAST RED TO COUNCILMAN DOUCETTE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONFIDENCE IN OUR VISION AND COMMITMENT TO PARTNERING WITH DILIGENCE OFFSHORE. WE EXTEND OUR HEARTFELT THANKS. YOUR VOTE WAS NOT ONLY A STATEMENT OF SUPPORT, BUT A VITAL STEP TOWARD REALIZING A TRANSFORMATIVE ERA OF CLEAN ENERGY AND INNOVATION IN PORT ARTHUR. YOUR LEADERSHIP STANDS AS A TESTAMENT TO WHAT CAN BE ACHIEVED WHEN BOLD IDEAS MEET UNWAVERING CIVIC PARTNERSHIP WITH DEEP APPRECIATION. HERESY CRAWFORD, PAULETTE CRAWFORD, DILIGENCE OFFSHORE MAYOR I I'VE GROWN TO KNOW YOU. WE HAD OUR UPS AND DOWNS, BUT THE TRUE MARK OF A CHRISTIAN IS WE HAVE A WAY OF SOLVING OUR DIFFERENCES MUCH BETTER THAN THE WORLD. AND WE DID THAT. I APPRECIATE YOU AND ON YOUR WAY OUT AS BEING THE MAYOR, PORT ARTHUR . IN HONOR OF YOUR COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP AND EXECUTIVE RESOLVE DILIGENCE, OFFSHORE SERVICES EXTEND ITS DEEPEST RESPECT AND APPRECIATION FOR YOUR PIVOTAL ROLE IN LAUNCHING ONE OF THE MOST TRANSFORMATIVE CLEAN ENERGY AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES IN THE HISTORY OF PORT ARTHUR TEXAS. YOUR SIGNATURE DID MORE THAN FINALIZE A LEASE. IT IGNITED A MOVEMENT. YOUR FORESIGHT WILL EMPOWER INNOVATION, CREATE GENERATIONAL WEALTH AND PLACE PORT ARTHUR AT THE FOREFRONT OF AMERICA'S ENERGY FUTURE PROFOUND GRATITUDE. HARRY CRAWFORD AND PAUL CR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I WANNA SAY TO ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL TO BE HONEST. UH, WE APPRECIATE YOU. WE APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT, UH, YOU'VE DONE FOR US. AND WE ARE HERE TO PARTNER WITH YOUR CITY, WITH YOUR NEW MAYOR, UH, WITH THE COUNCIL. WE, UH, HAVE A COMMUNITY BENEFITS PLAN THAT WE'LL BE IN INTRODUCING TO YOUR PRE-DEVELOPMENT GROUP. AND WE PRAY THAT THE LORD WILL CONTINUE TO BLESS THIS CITY, HIS LEADERSHIP. AND IT COULD BE ALL THAT IS STANDS OUT TO BE. THANK YOU. OH, YES. WELL, I'D LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING. OKAY. YES. THIS WAS DEFINITELY A CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE. IT IS ONE THAT TOOK A LOT OF TIME. UH, I THINK THE TIME THAT WAS TAKEN WAS A TIME WORKED WELL. I THINK THAT, UH, WE HAD TO LISTEN TO INDIVIDUALS FOR AND OPPOSING OKAY, I UNDERSTOOD BOTH SIDES. OKAY. AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, I THINK THE END RESULT WILL TELL US IN THE FUTURE WHETHER IT WAS THE RIGHT DECISION OR NOT. AND I THINK THAT WILL BE REALIZED BY NOT ONLY THE ONE WHO SUPPORTED THIS PROJECT, BUT THOSE WHO WERE AGAINST IT. ARE WE GONNA REALIZE THOSE WHO WERE AGAINST IT HAD THE BEST THING? BUT EVERY PROJECT NEED TO BE GIVEN A CHANCE. AND I THINK THE, FOR THE MAIN REASON, AS WE HEARD EARLIER TODAY, EVERYONE THAT SPOKE TODAY SPOKE OF STARTING AND HAVING HARD TIMES. AND IN THE END, THEY REACHED A LEVEL THAT THEY COULDN'T EVEN ENVISION. SO I'M NOT GONNA STAND HERE AND SAY THAT THIS IS THE GREATEST THING, SLICE BREAD, THIS IS WHAT'S GONNA SAVE PORT ARTHUR. BUT UNLESS WE GIVE IT A CHANCE, AN OPPORTUNITY, WE'LL NEVER KNOW. I THINK EVERYBODY NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO JUDGE FROM AN END RESULT INSTEAD OF THE BEGINNING. SO FOR THAT, I LOOK FORWARD TO SEE WHERE WE GONNA GO. AND HOPEFULLY IT TURNS OUT THE WAY WE ALL WANT AND EVERYBODY APPRECIATING [03:20:01] WHAT WE HAVE HERE, THOSE WHO SUPPORT IT AND THOSE WHO OPPOSED IT, THE END WILL LET US KNOW WHAT IS RIGHT OR WRONG, BUT ALWAYS REMEMBERED NOTHING IS PERFECT AND NOBODY KNOWS, BUT YOU'LL NEVER KNOW IF YOU'RE NOT GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY. SO I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR PROJECT AND ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO, WE WANNA SUPPORT IT BECAUSE WE WANT YOU TO HAVE A FAIR CHANCE. OKAY? THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY. GO AHEAD. YOU SAY THE BEST FOR LAST. OKAY. WE, WE WILL PICK UP A COLLECTION. I'M BETWEEN YOU AND FRANK. OKAY? OKAY. I, I WANNA POSITION ON THE COUNCIL BY 11 VOTES. THAT'S WHY IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT EVERYBODY VOTES. AND BE CAREFUL WHO YOU VOTE FOR. A PERSON RAN AGAINST ME, DIDN'T EVEN LIVE IN THE DISTRICT. I LEFT THAT ALONE, WAS IN VIOLATION, FILED A FALSE, A AFFIDAVIT AND EVERYTHING, BUT I LEFT IT ALONE. GOOD LORD, TAKE CARE OF THAT. WHEN I WON THE POSITION BY 11 VOTES, I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL FROM HARRY CRAWFORD'S COUSIN, AND Y'ALL KNOW HER. SHE, THEY CALLED HER COACH. SHE'S OUTSTANDING TRACK COACH AT THE, AT LINCOLN SCHOOL, SOMEWHERE UP HERE. BUT ANYWAY, SHE CALLED ME AND TOLD ME ABOUT THIS PROJECT. WELL, I'VE BEEN IN THE OIL INDUSTRY 45 YEARS IN OIL INSTRUMENTATION. I SERVICE ALL THOSE KIND OF THINGS. I KNEW THERE WERE WORRIES. AND SHE SAID HE HAS WALKED AWAY. HE'S BEEN HERE EIGHT MONTHS, HE HAS WALKED AWAY. HE IS TIRED OF THE DEALING WITH THE PORT ARTHUR CITY COUNCIL. WHAT YOU GOT TO UNDERSTAND, IT'S NOT THEIR FAULT. YOU GOT TWO, TWO IQS. YOU GOT AN IQ AND AN AND AN EI AN IQ. YOU CAN HAVE A HIGH IQ AND A LOW EQ WHEN YOU GOT A LOW EQ. THAT MEANS WHEN YOU GO FOR AN INTERVIEW, YOU FLUNK THE INTERVIEW. DON'T, DON'T GET THE JOB. SO I HAVE A HIGH EQ ALONG WITH A ABOVE AVERAGE IQ. YOU HAVE TO HAVE THESE THINGS IN PLACE TO MAKE CORPORATIONS RUN A LOT OF HIGH IQ PEOPLE. THEY CAN'T PUT IT TOGETHER TO MAKE IT. THE COMPANIES FAIL BECAUSE THEY DO NOT SURROUND THEMSELVES WITH THE QUALITY PEOPLE WITH HIGH EQS. YOU GET A CHANCE, LOOK UP IQ VERSUS EQ AND YOU'LL BE SURPRISED WHAT YOU FIND. THE EQ MEASURES YOUR AMPLITUDE AND ABILITY TO DO A LOT OF THINGS. SO WHEN YOU, ANYTIME YOU WANNA HIRE SOMEBODY, GET A PERSON THAT'S BALANCED ABOVE AVERAGE IQ AND A HIGH EQ AND YOUR CORPORATION WILL RUN SMOOTHLY. BUT, UH, AND I GET EMOTION EVERY TIME I THINK ABOUT THIS. WE ALMOST LOST THIS PROJECT, A PROJECT THAT SHOULD HAVE TAKEN A COUPLE OF WEEKS. A SIMPLE LAND LEASE ENDED UP BEING SIX MONTHS OR GREATER. THIS COMPANY SPENT AVERAGING ALMOST TWO YEARS TO TRY TO GET A LAND LEASE, A SIMPLE LAND LEASE MIX AND BOUNDS. THAT'S ALL A SIMPLE LAND LEASE. ALMOST LOST IT. BUT THANKS TO GOOD LORD, HE ALWAYS GAVE ME THE, THE PERSEVERANCE TO, TO PERSUADE THE COUNCIL. AND THEY, AND HE WAS WALKING AWAY. I HAD TO KEEP TALKING TO HIM. HOLD ON. IT'S GONNA WORK OUT. GIVE IT TIME. HE WAS MAD AT, IN A WET HAND. . MY TERMINOLOGIST COME FROM, I GREW UP ON A FARM IN EVERGREEN, LOUISIANA. I WAS AT MY EX FARMER. NOW, WHERE IS EVERGREEN, LOUISIANA. IT'S DOWN BY PLUM. NEARLY PLUM IN THE WOODS AND NEARLY OUT THE WORLD. OKAY. BUT ANYWAY, I, I BROUGHT A LOT OF THINGS FROM THE FARM, REVITALIZATION, REST THE LAND, A LOT OF THINGS THAT'S BASIC LIVING. BUT ANYWAY, I'M GONNA CUT IT SHORT. I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING AND YOU'RE GONNA BE SUCCESSFUL. I KNOW YOU'RE GONNA BE SUCCESSFUL AND GOING TO SUPPLY A LOT OF JOBS. AND GUESS WHAT? WE ARE GOING TO BE SET CITY OF PORT ARTHUR. IT'S GONNA BE A HUGE REVENUE STREAM FOR THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, THE DATA CENTERS. THEY'RE GONNA BE RELEASING THAT OUT. AND WE ARE GOING TO BE GETTING A PERCENTAGE OF THAT, A BIG REVENUE GENERATOR. AND THAT'S WHAT THE COUNCIL IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT. FINDING SOURCES OF REVENUE AND STAY OUT THE OTHER STUFF AFTER [03:25:01] THE COLLECTION, AFTER YOU, YOU TOOK LONG ENOUGH . I SIMPLY WANTED TO SAY, MAN. UM, WHEN I RAN FOR, WHEN I RAN FOR THIS POSITION ON CITY COUNCIL, UM, MAN, I TALKED ABOUT, UM, WATER PARKS ON PLEASURE ISLAND. I TALKED ABOUT, I TALKED ABOUT DOING THINGS ON PLEASURE ISLAND, UH, DEVELOPMENT. I TALKED ABOUT BRINGING BUSINESSES TO THE CITY. UH, I TALKED ABOUT A LOT OF THINGS THAT WERE CONSIDERED VISIONARY. UM, BECAUSE I BELIEVE WHAT THE WORD OF GOD SAYS AND THE WORD OF GOD SAYS, WHERE THERE IS NO VISION, THE PEOPLE PERISH. AND SO I SEE MY POSITION ON COUNCIL AS SIMPLY BEING AN INDIVIDUAL WHO, WHO UNDERSTANDS THAT OP OPPORTUNITIES COME OUT OF OBSTACLES. AND YOU'VE DONE THAT. YOU'VE PERSEVERED THROUGH THAT. ALL OF US WHO ARE STANDING HERE, ALL OF US ON COUNCIL HAVE GONE THROUGH SITUATIONS. ALL OF US WHO ARE PEOPLE, HUMAN BEINGS, RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE ALWAYS GOING TO BE OBSTACLES THAT STAND IN THE WAY THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE. AS I TALK ABOUT ON SUNDAY MORNING, SAND BALLOTS, TOBI GEISHAS, ALL OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO WILL SAY, COME DOWN TO ME. BUT WE HAVE TO HAVE INDIVIDUALS WHO WILL SAY, NO, I, I'M DOING A GOOD WORK. I CAN'T COME DOWN. THANK YOU. WANNA PICK UP THE COLLECTION? NO. ON BEHALF OF, UM, CHRISTIAN MANUEL ON HIS BOND WITH THE STATE REP, CHRISTIAN MANUEL, HE'D LIKE TO SEND HIS REGRETS THAT HE'S UNABLE TO BE HERE, BUT HE'S THANKFUL FOR THE RECOGNITION AND THE HARD WORK THAT YOU HAVE PUT IN. TALK ABOUT THE NEXT STEP THEN. OH, SAY THE BEST LAST. WELL, ON BEHALF OF GRACE UP, UH, INCORPORATED, WE WANT TO SAY WE ARE EXCITED AND ELATED ON WHAT THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, UH, IS DOING IN OUR, IN OUR COMMUNITY. UH, AND BECAUSE THIS HAS PASSED, UH, THERE WILL BE $39 MILLION, UH, BROUGHT AND POURED OUT TO THE CITIZENS OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS. UH, THE INITIATIVE IS INCLUSIVE OF MANY DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENTS. IT IS A HUNDRED, UH, RENEWABLE HOMES. UH, IT'S $12 MILLION IN TRAINING, UH, FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, TO PLANT SEED EVERY YEAR IN 50 BUSINESSES, $50,000 MINIMUM, TO ACTUALLY NURTURE DEVELOPMENT, TO NURTURE ACTUALLY HOW ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS SUPPOSED TO BE DONE. AND IT'S ALL DONE, UH, AT THE HANDS AND THE VISION OF MR. CRAWFORD, WHICH HE CALLS BOOTS ON THE GROUND. SO WE ARE GRATEFUL TO BE A PARTNER. GREAT. UH, GRATEFUL TO BE IN THE SPACE WITH YOU ALL. MM-HMM . ROGER, YOU WANNA LET HIM KNOW HERE? SO, MY NAME'S ROGER KING. I'M AN INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE IBW, THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHER OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS. I'M OUTTA DC. ONE OF THE THINGS WHEN I MET HARRY THAT HE DOESN'T SAY ENOUGH. HE'S NOT JUST PROVIDING JOBS. HE'S PROVIDING CAREERS FOR THIS COMMUNITY AND THESE, THESE, THESE CAREERS THAT HE'S GONNA HELP PROVIDE, GIVE THE PERSON AN ABILITY TO RETIRE WITH DIGNITY, TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY, TO BE PART OF THE COMMUNITY AND HELP BRING OTHERS UP TO THEIR LEVEL. SO I, I APPLAUD HARRY AND I'M PROUD TO BE WORKING WITH HIM. THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU. WELL, UH, ON MY EXIT MAYOR, IT IS THE GREAT CITY OF PORT ARTHUR . YEAH. SAY IT, SAY IT FOR ME. SAY IT. I'M THE MAYOR. AS THE MAYOR OF THE GREAT CITY OF PORT ARTHUR. WE CAN ONLY HOPE THAT HE DON'T TALK TOO LONG. THEY GONNA MISS ME, MAN. THEY GONNA REALLY ME. OH YEAH. OH YEAH. WE GONNA MISS YOU. OKAY. BUT AS YOU KNOW, I HAVE, I'M GOOD AND BAPTIST, I FIRST HAVE TO GIVE HONOR TO GOD. OH. AND TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE THIS PLAQUE AT MY EXIT FOR A WORK THAT WE HAD BEGUN, UH, ALMOST A YEAR OR SO AGO. AND HARRIS SAID IT. WE HAD SOME UPS AND DOWNS AND SOME TURNAROUNDS AND IT, IT WAS JUST A LOT OF THINGS THAT OCCURRED THAT ONE OF THE YOUNG MEN, UH, EACH, EACH OF THEM GAVE THE SAME MESSAGE THIS MORNING TO GET TO THE POINT THAT THEY'VE GOTTEN. THERE WERE SO MANY OTHER THINGS THAT A LOT OF FOLK DIDN'T SEE OR DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THEY HAD GONE [03:30:01] THROUGH BEFORE. THEY'VE GOTTEN TO ALL THE GLORY. SO, HARRY, 20 YEARS FROM NOW, 10 YEARS FROM NOW, IF YOU, WHEN YOUR DAUGHTER'S RUNNING THE COMPANY FOR YOU AND YOUR WIFE AND Y'ALL IN SOUTH OF FRANCE, YOU KNOW, CHILLING, SHE'S GONNA BE ABLE TO SAY, MY MOM AND DAD WENT THROUGH THIS. OR SHE, YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT BE RUNNING THE, BUT YOU KNOW, THE WOMEN JUST TAKE OVER STUFF, MAN. THAT'S WHY I SAID IT LIKE THAT ABOUT YOUR SISTER. YEAH, BUT YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU'D BE ABLE TO SAY THAT THEY HAD SOME TRIALS AND SOME TRIBULATIONS. MM-HMM. BUT IT'S SORT LIKE WHAT I TOLD, UH, THE NEW MAYOR COMING IN. YOU KNOW WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS THAT, YOU KNOW, HE'S NEVER, HE'S NEVER GOING TO LEAVE YOU. HE'S NOT GOING TO FORSAKE YOU. SO DURING ALL OF THESE TIMES, AND YOU KNOW, YOU AND I HAD THESE CONVERSATIONS, I KNOW YOU WOULD GET UPSET WITH ME SOMETIMES. GOTTA SAY, MAN, I GOT TO LET 'EM PLAY IT OUT. AND SEE ALL OF DELAY DOES NOT MEAN DENIAL. AND SOMETIMES THE DELAY, OR MOST ALL OF THE TIMES, THE DELAY IS IN YOUR FAVOR. SO FOR WHATEVER REASON, GOD PERMITTED THIS PROCESS TO TAKE AS LONG AS IT DID, IT'S FOR IT YOUR GOOD. EACH OF YOU DILIGENCE IS FOR YOUR GOOD AND FOR HIS GLORY AND OUR BENEFIT. Y'ALL CAUGHT THAT ONE? YEAH. OKAY. SO TO EACH OF MY COLLEAGUES WHO ARE HERE, I COME WITH RICE. YEAH. WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF, LIKE I SAID, OLD FOLK USED TO SAY AT CHURCH AND THEY'D BE HAVING A REVIVAL IN THE MIDST OF A BIG TIME. 'CAUSE AS I EXIT, I KNOW THAT THIS IS A PROJECT THAT NONE OF THE FOUR WHO WERE AFFIRMATIVE, NOT SAYING ANYTHING AGAINST THE THREE WHO COULD HAVE BEEN IN DISSENSION, BUT NONE OF WHAT WE'VE DONE IS GOING TO BE HELD AGAINST US. 'CAUSE GOD IS NOT GOING TO LET IT. THEY CAN'T FAIL. THEY WON'T FAIL. AND EVEN WHEN THEY TRY TO FAIL, HE'S NOT GOING TO LET THEM FAIL. THANK YOU. MY LAST SPEECH UNTIL TWO O'CLOCK. , COULD EVERYONE LINE UP HERE AND COULD YOU LEAVE THAT BEHIND THEM? JUST SLIDE OVER. OKAY. WHERE YOU WANT TO SUSPEND OUT OF THE WAY, LIKE, OKAY. YEAH. YOU GOOD? COOK IS OVER FOR ON. [03:35:06] OKAY. NEXT WE WILL HAVE, WE DON'T HAVE ANY, UH, OF THOSE C THROUGH F UH, ITEMS. AND [V. REPORTS / ITEMS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST LIMITED TO A TOTAL OF TWO ( 2) MINUTES PER COUNCILMEMBER)] NOW WE'LL GO TO, UH, ANY REPORTS OF, OF COMMUNITY INTEREST. MM-HMM. COUNCILWOMAN EVER FIELD. THANK YOU MAYOR. I JUST WANT TO REMIND THE COMMUNITY OF THE JUNETEENTH FESTIVITIES THAT WILL BE HELD ON THIS COMING THURSDAY, JUNE 19TH. JUST A REMINDER, THE LINEUP IS AT 5:00 PM AT STILLWELL AND PROCTOR AND THERE IS NO REGISTRATION, UM, REQUIRED. YOU JUST COME UP WITH THE MERCH OR TRINKETS, CANDY THAT YOU WANNA PROVIDE TO THE COMMUNITY, DECORATE YOUR FLOATS AND COME CELEBRATE WITH US. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL SOON. OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, ANYONE ELSE? IF NOT, [VI.(1) P. O. No. 7330 — An Ordinance Of The City Of Port Arthur, Texas Amending Chapter 62, Sections 62- 108 And 62- 109 Of The Code Of Ordinances Prohibiting A Registered Sex Offender From Residency Within 1, 000 Feet Of Any School And/ Or Park] WE HAVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS ON PAGE THREE AND ADAM, UH, PO NUMBER 73 30 AN AU IS OF THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS. AMENDING CHAPTER 62. SECTIONS 62 THROUGH 1 0 8 AND 62 THROUGH, OR SIX TWO THROUGH 1 0 9. YEAH. OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES PROHIBITING A REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER FROM RESIDENCY WITHIN 1000 FEET OF ANY OF, OF IN THE SCHOOL AND OR PARK. AND I BELIEVE, UH, ATTORNEY, WE MADE THE NECESSARY CORRECTIONS. YES, I'D AND I'D LIKE TO THANK COUNCIL MEMBER BECKHAM BEFORE I PUT ON THE FLOOR, I WANNA BE SURE WE HAVE IT ALL. OKAY. SO I GET A MOTION. COUNCILMAN ETT. SO MOVED. I GET A SECOND. COUNCILMAN KEN LAW SECOND. OKAY, WE MOVE. AND SECOND THAT WE WOULD APPROVE PO NUMBER 73 30 AS AMENDED. ACTUALLY, UH, WE READY FOR QUESTION THERE? ANY QUESTION? READY TO VOTE? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSES AYES AVERAGE. SO, PRI MEAN NO, IT'S PO NUMBER 73 30 IS APPROVED AS PRESENTED, [VII. CONSENT AGENDA] WE WOULD NOW GO TO THE CONSENT AGENDA. EXCUSE ME. CONSENT AGENDA IS FROM PAGES THREE, FOUR, UH, THROUGH PAGE, UH, SIX, IF I'M CORRECT ON THAT. YEAH. 3, 4, 5, AND SIX. UH, IF THERE ARE ITEMS THAT WE WOULD WANT TO HAVE REMOVED AND HANDLED INDIVIDUALLY, JUST LET ME KNOW THE PAGE NUMBER AND THE ITEM NUMBER. UH, COUNCILMAN EVER FIELD? I'M SO SORRY, MA'AM. MY LIGHT WAS JUST STILL ON FOR OH, OKAY. COUNCILMAN DSET? YES. ITEM NUMBER THREE ON PAGE FOUR. ITEM THREE. OKAY. THAT'S IT. LOOK, YOUR LIGHT WAS STILL ON. THAT'S IT. OKAY. OKAY. UH, ANY OTHERS? UH, COUNCILMAN MCKEN LAW? YES, MAYOR, UH, PR NUMBER 24 3 19. OKAY, WHICH, WHICH? THAT'S NUMBER. UH, 5 5 4. 5 0 4. OKAY. NUMBER, ITEM NUMBER FIVE ON FOUR. THAT I WAS OFF FOREVER. OKAY. ANY OTHERS? ANY OTHERS? IF THEY AREN'T, THEN COUNCIL MEMBER FIELD. ONE MORE. PAGE NUMBER SEVEN, PAGE FIVE. NUMBER SEVEN. OH, ON PAGE FIVE. UH, OKAY, SO I'M READY NOW TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR, EXCUSE ME, APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA WITH THE EXCLUSION OF ITEMS NUMBER THREE, FIVE, AND SEVEN. SO MOVED. MAYOR, I GET A SECOND. IT'S BEEN MOVED A SECOND THAT WE WOULD APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA WITH THE EXCLUSION OF THE STATED, UH, ITEMS. WE'RE READY FOR QUESTION. NO QUESTIONS. READY TO VOTE? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSES AYES? A SO THE CONSENT AGENDA IS APPROVED WITH THE, UH, EX EXCLUSION OF THOSE STATED ITEMS THAT WE WILL NOW HANDLE. UH, [VII.C.(3) P. R. No. 24298— A Resolution Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Contract With Corvus Communications LLC Of Cleveland, Texas, Through TIPS Cooperative Contract No. 250104 For Repairs To The Concrete Driveway For Port Arthur Fire Station No. 8 Located At 7800 9th Avenue, Port Arthur, Texas, In An Amount Not To Exceed 35, 727. 63; Funding Is Available In Fire Department Building Maintenance Account No. 001- 19- 047- 5312- 00- 30- 000] ON PAGE FOUR, ITEM NUMBER THREE, PR NUMBER 24 2 98. IT'S A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EMPTY INTO A CONTRACT WITH CORVER COMMUNICATIONS [03:40:01] LLC OF CLEVELAND, TEXAS THROUGH TIPS. COOPERATIVE CONTRACT NUMBER 20, UH, 2 51 0 4 FOR REPAIRS TO THE CONCRETE DRIVEWAY FOR PORT ARTHUR. FIRE STATION NUMBER EIGHT, LOCATED AT 7809TH AVENUE, PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 39 30 $5,727 AND 63 CENTS. FINDING IS AVAILABLE IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. UH, BUILDING MAINTENANCE ACCOUNT NUMBER 0 0 1 9 4 4 7 53 12 0 3 0 0. MAY I GET A MOTION FOR APPROVAL? COUNCILMAN FRANK? SO MOVED. MAYOR MAY GET A SECOND. COUNCILMAN KINLOCK. SECOND MAYOR, IT'S BEEN MOVED. AND SECOND THAT WE BEEN APPROVE PR NUMBER 24 2 98 AS PRESENTED. WE ARE NOW READY FOR QUESTIONING. COUNCILMAN ETT? YES. I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, MAKE A MOTION TO AMEND THIS RESOLUTION FOR THE CONTRACT WITH, UH, CORVUS COMMUNICATION LC OF CLEVELAND. MM-HMM . THAT IT'D BE HENSON'S CONTRACT AS TO BEING PASSED AND THE NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT BEING AMENDED TO THREE THOU. $37,323. 3 23 YOU SAID? YES. 3 23. OKAY. CITY SECRETARY. YOU GET THOSE AMENDMENT, I MEAN, WHAT HE WANTS TO, I'LL HAVE, OKAY, CAN YOU STATE IT AGAIN? I KNOW I HAVE THAT AMOUNT. OKAY. YOU'RE GONNA CHANGE THE CONTRACTOR TO HANSON, CONTRACTORS OF SABINE PASS AND NOT CORPUS. RIGHT. OKAY. AND THE NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT WILL BE $37,323. OKAY. AND THAT IS AN AMENDMENT TO, UH, THE ORIGINAL, I GET A SECOND. SECOND. OKAY. IT IS REMOVED. AND SECOND, THAT WE WOULD AMEND, UH, 24 OR 2 9 8. AS STATED, WE'VE ALREADY STATED THE AMENDMENTS. WE'RE READY FOR PRECAUTION ON THOSE. I HAVE A MOTION, UH, AND A SECOND. SO, UH, UH, ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT? YES, COUNCILMAN REBECCA, GO AHEAD. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS WHAT IT IS THAT'S TRANSPIRING HERE BECAUSE WE HAD AN ORIGINAL CONTRACT AMOUNT THROUGH THE TIPS COOPERATIVE CONTRACT, UH, WITH CORVUS, COMMUNICATIONS OF CLEVELAND, TEXAS. AND A NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT OF $35,727 AND 63 CENTS. NOW WE'RE GOING BACK AND AMENDING, AND WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING HIGHER. AND I REALIZE THAT'S WITHIN 5% OF THE LOWEST QUOTE, BUT WE'RE GOING UP TO A NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT OF $37,323. SO I, I'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW THIS TRANSPIRED. OKAY. I MADE THE AMENDMENT BECAUSE WHEN I WENT THROUGH THE AGENDA, I NOTICED THE ACTUAL BIDS. WELL, THE ESTIMATES THAT WERE GIVEN TO US, THREE ESTIMATES, WHEN I LOOKED AT THE ONE THAT HENSON HAD AND HENSON BEING A LOCAL, IT WAS PRETTY CLOSE TO WHAT THE CULVIS HAD. SO I TOOK THE FIVE PERCENTAGE THAT WE GIVE THE LOCAL OF, UH, CULVIS COST, AND THAT CAME OUT WITH, UH, A LITTLE LESS THAN WHAT THEY HAD. SO BASICALLY IF YOU ADD THE 5% TO THE, TO THE BID THAT COVID HAD, IT WILL THEN BE MORE THAN THE COST. NO, ADD THE 5% TO HENSON. THEN YOU WILL FIND OUT THAT THE BID WAS ACTUALLY SHOULD GO TO HENSON. AND THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THE 5% THAT WE GIVE LOCALS. SO, UH, THAT WAS THE INCENTIVE. SO WHEN WE APPLIED THE INCENTIVE, THEN HENSON SHOULD GET THE BID. AND WHY WAS THIS NOT DONE IN THE PURCHASING DEPARTMENT? I DON'T WORK THERE. I REVIEWED THE AGENDA AND I DID THAT CHIEF AND THE AGENDA. IT COULD HAVE BEEN SUDDEN THAT WAS OVERLOOKED. LET'S, LET'S LET, OKAY. CAN THE CHIEF HELP US WITH IT, PLEASE? WE REVIEWED THE, UM, THE BIDS AND WE WROTE THE PR, UH, AS IT STATED HERE, AND THEN IT WAS POINTED OUT TO US LATER THAT IT WAS WITHIN THE, UH, 5% GAP, AND THAT'S WITHIN OUR PURCHASING POLICY. SO WE WENT BACK YESTERDAY [03:45:01] AND AMENDED THE, UH, THE RESOLUTION. SO THOSE CHANGES WE'VE ALREADY MADE IN ANTICIPATION THAT THIS WAS GONNA HAPPEN TODAY. IF I CAN ADD CLARIFICATION ON THE LAW. GO AHEAD, MAYOR. THANK YOU, SIR. SO THERE IS A SECTION OF OUR TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE. IT'S CALLED SECTION 2 7 1 0.9051. UM, AND IT BASICALLY SAYS THAT A CITY CAN AWARD A CONTRACT TO A LOCAL BIDDER IF TWO THINGS ARE OKAY. OKAY. IF THE PROJECT'S UNDER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS AND THE BID IS WITHIN 5% OF THE LOWEST BID PRICE. SO CORBIS IS FROM CLEVELAND, TEXAS, AND HENSON CONTRACTORS IS FROM SABINE PASS, TEXAS. AND SABINE PASS IS WITHIN THE CORPORATE LI CITY LIMITS OF PORT ARTHUR. AND SO THE COUNCIL IS ELIGIBLE TO AWARD THE BID TO EVEN A HIGHER BIDDER BECAUSE THE BID IS UNDER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS AND IT'S WITHIN 5% OF THE LOWEST BID. AND IT'S SOMEBODY WITH WITHIN OUR LOCAL CITY BOUNDARIES. I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ADD, ALTHOUGH IT GIVES THE PEOPLE AN IDEA, THIS BID IS LIKE $200 MORE THAN WHAT THE, UH, COVID HAD. HOWEVER, BEING A LOCAL, MORE THAN LIKELY, THIS BUSINESS PERSON HAS ACCOUNTS WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES. THIS PERSON LIVES IN THE AREA, THIS PERSON, BUSINESSES IN THE AREA, THEY PAY TAXES IN THE AREA. THAT'S WHY WHEN WE DO BUSINESS LIKE THAT, WE GAIN MORE THAN $200 BACK. MORE THAN LIKELY. SO THAT IS WHY WE HAVE THE INCENTIVE IN PLACE, IS GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE IT WORK TO LOCAL AND HELP PUT BACK INTO THE ECONOMY. AND THAT'S, AND THAT'S ALL WHAT HAPPENED HERE WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS JUST OVERLOOKED. AND IF YOU LOOK AT THOSE NUMBERS AND, AND YOU'RE NOT REALLY LOOKING AT 'EM HARD, IT IS EASY TO OVERLOOK. OKAY, WE TALKING ABOUT LIKE A $200 DIFFERENCE. SO IT'S NOT ON CAMERA, SOMEBODY JUST OVERLOOKED IT. BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING I DO WHEN I DO THE AGENDA. THE NUMBERS ARE CLOSE AND, AND SOMEBODY'S OUTSIDE. THE CITY'S GETTING IN. SOMEBODY IN SAYING, WELL, I'LL RUN THE NUMBERS THEN. AND WHEN YOU RUN THE NUMBERS, THIS WHAT YOU COME UP WITH. OKAY. COUNCILMAN LEWIS? UH, CITY ATTORNEY. UH, THE, ALL THE BIDDERS WAS AWARE OF THE 5%, I'M PRETTY SURE. WAS THAT INCLUDED IN THE, IN THE, IN THE BIDS? YOU'LL HAVE TO ASK THE PUR. YOU'LL HAVE TO ASK THE PURCHASING DEPARTMENT ON WHAT WAS WITHIN THE BID. I DO KNOW THAT IT'S ALLOWED UNDER STATE LAW. RIGHT. OKAY. THAT'S DOWN, THAT'S DOWN WHEN THEY SUBMITTED COUNCILMAN LEWIS. HMM. THAT'S, THAT'S DOWN WHEN THE BIDS ARE SUBMITTED, THAT'S, THEY SUBMIT A BID. THE 5% IS SOMETHING THAT THEY CONSIDER IN THE PURCHASING DEPARTMENT IF THEY'RE LOCAL. YEAH. YEAH, I UNDERSTAND THAT PART. I JUST WANTED TO FIND OUT WHEN THE, THE BIDS GO OUT, ARE THE BIDDERS AWARE THAT THE 5% GOES LESS THAN 5% GOES TO THE LOCAL? IS THAT A PART OF IT WHEN BIDS GO OUT? YES. 'CAUSE IT'S IN OUR BID PACKAGE. NOW. THIS WAS A QUOTE THAT WAS DONE BY THE DEPARTMENT, SO I IT PROBABLY WASN'T TOLD TO ANYBODY TO BE HONEST WITH YOU. LOUIS CAN MAKE AN ANSWER. 'CAUSE LIKE I SAY, FIRE GOT THE QUOTES, BUT THE NORMAL PROCEDURE, IT GOES OUT. YEAH. BUT WHEN WE GIVE BIDS, IT'S PART OF OUR GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE 5% PREFERENCE. YES. I THOUGHT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT THAT BEFORE. OKAY. YEAH. OKAY. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER. THANK YOU. UM, MR. WILLIAMS, I UNDERSTOOD WHAT YOU SAID, CHIEF. I WOULD JUST WANNA REITERATE, YOU DID SAY THAT YOU'VE ALREADY CONTACTED THE COMPANY, COR UM, CORVUS. YOU'VE ALREADY CONTACTED CORVUS AND THE NEXT COMPANY IN LINE HAS ALREADY BEEN NOTIFIED. THEY HAVE NOT BEEN CON CONTACTED. WE DON'T CONTACT ANYBODY ABOUT DOING THE WORK UNTIL AFTER Y'ALL APPROVED. UNTIL AFTER, YES. OH, OKAY. UM, WELL PLEASE SEND OUR, JUST WANNA OFFER GRACE. OKAY. AND FOR UNDER UNDERSTANDING, THEY, THEY EXPECTED BUSINESS, THEY WILL NOTIFY THERE WOULD LOIS BETTER, BUT, BUT THE LAWS OF LAW AND WE ARE WORKING WITHIN THE LAW, SO WE JUST WANT TO SAY WE'RE STILL INTERESTED IN PLEASE HAVING THEM TO SUPPLY BIDS. THEY'RE, THEY'RE A VENDOR THAT, UH, WE HAVE WORKED WITH BEFORE. THAT'S GOOD. THANK YOU. ON DIFFERENT PROJECTS WITHIN THE CITY. SO THERE'S NOT GONNA BE ANY HARD FEELINGS OR ANYTHING THERE. THEY UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S A PROCESS. GOOD. THANK YOU, SIR. [03:50:02] OKAY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS? OKAY. WE ARE READY TO VOTE ON THE, THE AMENDMENT FIRST, BUT ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. IN THE OPPOSES AYE HAVE, SO THE AMEND, THE PORTION OF THIS, UH, ACTUALLY PASSES. NOW WE NEED TO VOTE ON THE MAIN MOTION, WHICH WOULD BE THE ACTUAL AWARD OF THE CONTRACT. WE READY FOR QUESTION? UNDER ANY QUESTION? WE READY VOTE ALL TO APPROVE. PR NUMBER 24, NOT 2 98. ALL IN FAVOR, AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSES? AYES HAVE IT. SO IT IS APPROVED. NEXT WE HAVE ITEM [VII.C.(5) P. R. No. 24319 — A Resolution Authorizing Beaumont Tractor Company, Inc. Of Beaumont, Texas To Repair A 2018 Batwing Tractor ( Unit # 2242) That Was Damaged Due To An Accident In The Amount Of$ 30, 833. 04; Available In Parks And Recreation Equipment Maintenance Account Number 001- 21- 065- 5318- 00- 20- 000] NUMBER, UH, FIVE PR NUMBER 24 3 19. IT IS A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING TRACTOR COMPANY, INCORPORATED A BEAUMONT, TEXAS TO REPAIR A 2018 BAT WIG TRACTOR UNIT, UH, NUMBER 2242. THAT WAS DAMAGED DUE TO AN ACCIDENT IN THE AMOUNT OF $30,833 AND 4 CENTS AVAILABLE IN PARKS AND RECREATION EQUIPMENT. MAINTENANCE ACCOUNT NUMBER 0 0 1 DASH 21 DASH SIX FIVE DASH 5 3 1 8 DASH ZERO DASH TWO ZERO DASH ZERO ZERO. MAY I GET A MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF COUNCILMAN ETT? SO MOVED. MAY I GET A SECOND? COUNCILMAN BECKHAM? SECOND MOVE AND SECOND WOULD APPROVE PER NUMBER 24 3 19 AS PRESENTED. READY FOR QUESTION? COUNCIL MCKEN LAW. THANK YOU MAYOR. UH, CITY MANAGER. UH, READING THE BACKGROUND, I JUST HAVE ONE COUPLE, WELL, TWO QUESTIONS. THE FIRST, UH, I'M LOOKING AT A PAYOUT SETTLEMENT FOR, WHAT WAS THAT, $20,833 AND 4 CENTS. CAN YOU GIMME SOME, UH, BACKGROUND ON WHAT TYPE OF ACCIDENT? THIS, THIS BAT WING IN INCURRED? JOHNNY BROWN ASKED, UM, THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT WAS UTILIZING THE EQUIPMENT AT THE TIME FOR SOME, A PUBLIC WORKS JOB, AND IT WAS DAMAGED ON SITE ON OUR SITE. GO AHEAD, JOHNNY. GIVE THE, AND IT WAS, UH, SEPTEMBER THE SEVENTH, 2024? YES. SO THAT'S MORE THAN SIX MONTHS AGO? YES, SIR. IT'S, IT'S BEEN IN THE SHOP IN, UH, WE WAS WAITING FOR TML TO, UH, GO OUT AND ASSESS IT. OKAY. SO THEY FINALLY WENT OUT AND ASSESSED ALL THE DAMAGES AND THEY WAS ABLE TO, UH, COME TO AGREEMENT ON THE PAYMENT. OKAY. AND, AND AGAIN, WHAT TYPE OF ACCIDENT YOU SAID IT WAS ON? WELL, THE STATE MANAGERS STATED THIS, IT WAS, UH, WE, WHAT HAPPENED? WE LEARNED IT OUT TO, UH, PUBLIC WORKS DRAINAGE DEPARTMENT, THE DRAINAGE DEPARTMENT, AND THEY END UP, UH, ACCIDENTALLY FLIPPING IT OVER ON A, UH, SW DITCH. OKAY, SIR? NO ONE WAS SIR. NO ONE WAS SIR. NO ONE WAS, SIR. BUT THE REASON I'M ASKING THAT QUESTION, UH, MR. BROWN MM-HMM . IS THE FINAL SETTLEMENT OFFER OF 20,000. SO WHAT DOES THAT ACTUALLY MEAN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FINAL SETTLEMENT OFFER? WELL, THEY GAVE US, NO, THE TML GAVE, THEY GAVE US 30. RIGHT. BUT THEN WE PAID 10,000 FOR, UH, THEY TAKE OUT OUR, UH, DEDUCTIBLE DE DR ON IT, RIGHT? CORRECT. BUT NOBODY WAS INJURED IN THIS ACCIDENT? CORRECT. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. NO PROBLEM. IT WOULD BE CHEAPER TO REPAIR IT THAN TO REPLACE, THAN TO PURCHASE ANOTHER, THAN TO REPLACE ANOTHER. CORRECT. YOU KNOW, AND IT WAS PRACTICALLY NEW, SO, RIGHT. YEAH. WE HAVEN'T LOST ANYTHING. YES, SIGNIFICANTLY. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS? WE'RE READY TO VOTE. ALL IN FAVOR? A. ANY OPPOSES AYES ABSENT? PR NUMBER 24 3 19 IS APPROVED AS PRESENTED NOW OVER TO PAGE FIVE, [VII.C.(7) P. R. No. 24365 — A Resolution Authorizing The City Manager To Execute An Agreement With Sciens LLC Of McKinney, Texas, Through TIPS- USA, A Purchasing Cooperative, For The Performance Of A Technology Assessment And The Development Of A City- Wide Strategic Technology Plan For The Next Five- Years, With A Projected Budgetary Impact Of $ 64, 630. 00; Funds Available In The Information Technology Professional Services Account No. 001- 09- 023- 5420- 00- 10- 000] ITEM NUMBER SEVEN P NUMBER 24 3 6 5. IT IS A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH SLLC OF MCKINNEY TE, UH, TEXAS THROUGH TIPS, USA, UH, A PURCHASING COOPERATIVE FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF A TECHNO TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CITYWIDE STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGY PLAN FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS WITH THE PROJECTED BUDGETARY IMPACT OF $64,630 FUNDS AVAILABLE IN THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ACCOUNT NUMBER 0 0 1 DASH NINE DASH 0 2 3 DASH 5 4 2 0 0 0. I GET A MOTION FOR APPROVE OF COUNCILMAN FRANK. MAYOR, MAY I GET A SECOND? COUNCILMAN KEN LAW. SECOND MAYOR, IT'S REMOVED. AND SECOND THAT WE WOULD APPROVE PR NUMBER 24 3 6 5 AS PRESENTED. WE'RE READY FOR QUESTIONING COUNCILWOMAN EVER FIELD. THANK YOU, MAYOR. CITY MANAGER. THIS IS, I'M SAYING IT OUT LOUD, PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG. THIS IS THE TYPE OF PROJECT THAT ALIGNS WITH THE ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE THAT WE TALKED ABOUT WITH BARRY AND DUNN. ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. SO THAT'S THE CEL THAT, THAT'S A GO AHEAD ON CELEBRATE. YES. YEAH, WE ARE AHEAD OF THE GAME IN THIS ONE. THAT'S RIGHT. YEAH. JUST WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE WERE SOME THINGS THAT WE DISCUSSED TODAY DURING OUR STRATEGIC PLAN. ARE ALREADY IN PLAY. YES. THANK YOU. OKAY. ANY OTHER READS THAT WE'RE READY TO VOTE? [03:55:01] ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSES AYES HAVE IT. SO, PR NUMBER 24 3 6 5 IS APPROVED AS PRESENTED. NOW MOVING [VIII.A.(1) P. R. No. 24347 — A Resolution Ratifying The City Manager' s Decision To Authorize The Emergency Repair Of The Sewer Line Located At Jade Avenue And 61st Street By Allco, LLC Of Beaumont, Texas In The Total Not To Exceed Amount Of $ 157, 430. 11. Funding In Water System Maintenance Account No. 405- 40- 000- 8516- 00- 00- 000, Is Contingent Upon The Approval Of The Budget Amendment In Proposed Ordinance No. 7340] OVER TO PAGE SIX, ROMAN NUMERAL EIGHT, WE HAVE THE FIRST ITEM IS PR NUMBER 24 3 4 7. IT IS A RESOLUTION RATIFYING THE CITY MANAGER'S DECISION TO AUTHORIZE THE EMERGENCY REPAIR OF THE SEWER LINE LOCATED AT JADE AVENUE AND 61ST STREET BY ALCO, LLC OF BEAUMONT, TEXAS IN THE TOTAL NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT OF $157,430 AND 11 CENTS FUNDING IN WATER SYSTEM MAINTENANCE ACCOUNT NUMBER 4 0 5 DASH 4 0 0 0 8 5 16 0 0 0 0 0. AND IT IS CONTINGENT UPON THE APPROVAL OF THE BUDGET. A, UH, AMENDMENT IN PROPOSED ORDINANCE NUMBER 73 40. MAY I GET A MOTION FOR APPROVAL? SO MOVED. MAY I GET A SECOND? OKAY, I'M SORRY. OKAY, THEN MOVED. AND SECOND THAT WE WOULD GET, EXCUSE ME, APPROVAL PR NUMBER 24 3 4 7 AS PRESENT. WE READY FOR QUESTION? HONOR THE QUESTION. YOU READY TO VOTE? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSES AYES HAVE SO PR NUMBER 24 3 4 7 IS APPROVED AS READ ON TO PAGE [VIII.A.(2) P. R. No. 24350— A Resolution Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Contract With Midwest Flow Control Products Of Olathe, Kansas For The Purchase Of Resilient Seat Valves For The Water Utilities Department With An Annual Projected Budgetary Impact Of 173, 345. 00. Funds Are Available In Account Nos. 410- 40- 215- 5315- 00- 00- 000 ($ 86, 672. 50) Water System & 410- 40- 220- 5313- 00- 00- 000 ($ 86, 672. 50) Sanitary Sewer System] SEVEN, ITEM TWO, PR NUMBER 24 3 50. IT IS A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH MIDWEST FLOW CONTROLLED PRODUCTS OF OLA ARC OLA, KANSAS, I'M SORRY, FOR THE, UH, PURCHASE OF A RESILIENT SEAT, UH, VALVES FOR THE WATER UTILITIES DEPARTMENT WITH AN ANNUAL PROJECTED BUDGETARY IMPACT OF $173,345. FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE IN ACCOUNT NUMBERS 1 4 1 0 DASH 4 0 15 DASH 53 15 DASH 0 0 0 AND THAT WOULD BE EIGHT $86,672 AND 50 CENTS IN, UH, WATER SYSTEMS AND ACCOUNT NUMBER FOUR 10 DASH FOUR ZERO DASH TWO 20 DASH 53 13 0 0 0 AND THIS WOULD BE 86,000, UH, $672 SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM. MAY I GET A MOTION FOR APPROVAL? COUNCILMAN ETT? SO MOVED. MAY I GET A SECOND? COUNCILMAN KINLOCK SECOND MAYOR IS MOVED. AND SECOND. AND WITH APPROVE PR NUMBER 24 3 50 AS READY FOR QUESTION, THE HONOR. ANY QUESTION IS READY TO VOTE? ALL IN FAVOR. A IN THE OPPOSES A ADDED SO 24 3 50 IS APPROVED AS READ ITEM NUMBER [VIII.A.(3) P. R. No. 24359 — A Resolution Authorizing The City Manager To Execute A Contract Amendment Between The Department Of State Health Services And The City Of Port Arthur To Continue The Heart And Stroke Prevention Innovative Program By Revising The Contract Termination Date To August 31, 2026, And Including An Additional Funding Award Of $95, 000. 00 For FY 2026, For A Total Grant Award Not To Exceed $ 265, 000. 00, With No City Match Required] THREE PR NUMBER 24 3 59. IT IS A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT AMENDMENT BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES AND THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR TO CONTINUE THE HEART AND STROKE PREVENTION INNOVATIVE, UH, PROGRAM FOR BY REVISITING THE CONTRACT TERMINATION DATE TO AUGUST 31ST, 2026, AND INCLUDING AN ADDITIONAL FUNDING AWARD OF 95,000 FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026 FOR A TOTAL GRANT AWARD NOT TO EXCEED $265,000 WITH NO CITY MATCH REQUIRED. MAY I GET A MOTION FOR APPROVAL? COUNCILMAN KINLOCK? SO MOVED. MAYOR, MAY I GET A SECOND? COUNCILMAN FRANK? SECOND. IT'S BEEN MOVED IN SECOND THAT WE WOULD APPROVE PR NUMBER 24 3 59 AS PRESENTED. WE ARE READY. ANY QUESTIONS? NO QUESTIONS. READY TO VOTE? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSERS? AYES HAVE IT SO IT IS APPROVED. NEXT ITEM [VIII.A.(4) P. R. No. 24360 — A Resolution Authorizing The City Manager To Execute A Professional Engineering Services Agreement Between The City Of Port Arthur And EJES, Inc., Of Dallas, Texas, For Traffic Signal Design At The Intersections Of 9th Avenue And Gulfway Drive And At Savannah Avenue And Gulfway Drive With A Projected Budgetary Amount Of $ 120, 000. 00. Funding Is Available In The Professional Services Account Number 001- 21- 051- 5420- 00- 70- 000. Project Nos. CE0011 And CE0012, Respectively] NUMBER FOUR PR NUMBER 24 3 6 0. IT IS THE RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A PROFESSIONAL SERVICE AND PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR AND EJES INCORPORATED OF DALLAS, TEXAS FOR TRAFFIC SIGNAL DESIGN AT THE INTERSECTIONS OF NINTH AVENUE AND GOWAY DRIVE AND AT SAVANNAH AVENUE AND GOWAY DRIVE WITH A PROJECTED BUDGETARY AMOUNT OF $120,000. FUNDING IS AVAILABLE IN THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ACCOUNT NUMBER 0 0 1 DASH 21 5 1 DASH 54 20 0 7 0 0. PROJECT NUMBER EO OH ONE ONE AND CCE OH ONE TWO RESPECTIVELY. MAY I GET A MOTION FOR APPROVAL? COUNCILMAN LEWIS APPROVAL? MAY I GET A SECOND COUNCILWOMAN [04:00:01] EVER FIELD IS REMOVED. AND SECOND THAT WE WOULD APPROVE PR NUMBER 24 360 PRESENTED. WE ARE READY FOR QUESTION. ARE ANY QUESTIONS? YOU READY TO VOTE? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSES? THE AYES HAVE IT. SO PR NUMBER 24 360 IS APPROVED AS PRESENTED. NEXT WE HAVE ITEM [VIII.A.(5) P. R. No. 24366— A Resolution Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into An Agreement With Mike Barnett Construction Of Port Neches, Texas, For Phase IV Repairs And Renovations Of Pompeiian Villa In The Amount Of $ 415, 250. 00. Funds Are Available In Project B00015, Account # 307- 21- 049- 8512- 00- 10- 000] NUMBER FIVE, EXCUSE ME, PR NUMBER 24 360 6. IT IS A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH MIKE BARNETT, CONSTRUCTION OF PORT NATURES TEXAS FOR PHASE FOUR REPAIRS AND RENOVATIONS OF PUMPING VILLA IN THE AMOUNT OF $415,250. FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE IN PROJECT NUMBER BU 0 0 1 5, ACCOUNT NUMBER 3 0 7 DASH 21 DASH 49 DASH 85 12 DASH ZERO DASH ZERO DASH ZERO. MAY I GET A MOTION FOR APPROVAL? COUNCILMAN LEWIS? MOTION FOR APPROVAL? I GET A SECOND. COUNCILMAN BERFIELD. SECOND. IT BEEN MOVED. AND SECOND THAT WE WOULD APPROVE PR NUMBER 24 360 6 AS PRESENTED. WE'RE READY FOR QUESTION UNDER THE QUESTION. WE READY TO VOTE? ALL IN FAVOR? OH, GO RIGHT IN. OH, GO AHEAD. NO, NO, NO, GO. IT'S OKAY. IT'S OKAY. OH, OKAY. MY, MY QUESTION IS THAT ACCOUNT NUMBER IS, IS IS THAT THE, UH, HOTEL MOTEL TAXES. OKAY, THAT'S WHAT I WAS LOOKING, I OVERLOOK. OKAY, THANKS. OKAY. COUNCILMAN . THANK YOU, SIR. I JUST WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT THIS BUILDING WAS. IT IS THE PINK BUILDING ON LAKE SHORE DRIVE, AND I WANTED TO ENCOURAGE MR. SAUNDERS, HE'S HERE TO, UM, GIVE A EXPLANATION OF HOW THIS BUILDING IS OPEN FOR THE COMMUNITY AND COULD BE AVAILABLE FOR LEASING AT SOME POINT FOR DIFFERENT, UM, TYPES OF EVENTS. CAN YOU PLEASE SHARE WITH US WHAT PURPOSE THAT BUILDING SERVES? IT IS CURRENTLY, UH, OPERATED ON A DAYDAY BASIS BY THE MUSEUM OF THE GULF COAST AND THE PORT ARTHUR HISTORICAL SOCIETY. MM-HMM . AND IT'S OPEN FOR TOURS WHEN IT IS AVAILABLE, UH, THROUGH THE MUSEUM. AND THEY GO THROUGH THE MUSEUM TO DO THE TOURS. ARE THERE, UM, RENTAL FEES FOR LEASING? I ATTENDED A CHRISTMAS PARTY THERE SOME YEARS BACK, BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT IT WAS HOSTED BY THE MUSEUM OF THE . THAT'S CORRECT. AT THIS TIME THEY DO NOT RENT IT OUT AS A RENTABLE SPACE. SO IT'S A HISTORICAL SITE IN THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR AND WE'RE ENCOURAGING CITIZENS TO PLEASE GO AND VISIT THIS FACILITY SINCE IT'S YOUR TAXPAYER'S DOLLARS SUPPORTING THE FACILITY. OKAY. OKAY. I JUST WANTED TO PUT IT OUT THERE THAT JUST FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. OKAY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS? YEAH, YEAH, GO RIGHT AHEAD. ARE WE STILL PAYING THE TOOL GUIDE? THE PERSON THAT MANAGED THAT, THAT PROJECT? I KNOW, UH, I I DON'T KNOW ALL THE DETAILS ON THAT PART. I KNOW THAT THE HOTEL TAX MONEY GO, A PORTION OF IT DOES GO TO THE SOCIETY TO HELP FUND SOME OF THE OPERATIONS THERE. UH, BUT I REMEMBER REMEMBER, DON'T US, I RECALL AT ONE TIME WE WAS PAYING THE PERSON A THOUSAND DOLLARS A MONTH. NO, NO, WE DON'T. WE'RE NOT PAYING ANYBODY. NO, NO. GOOD. NO, WE DON'T PAY THAT. UHUH UHUH . WE CAUGHT ONTO TO THAT. OKAY, WE'RE GOOD. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WE READY TO VOTE? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSES? AYE HAVE SO PR NUMBER, UH, THAT, YEAH, THAT IS 24 3 6 6 RIGHT IS APPROVED AS READ NOW ON THE PAGE EIGHT, [VIII.A.(6) P. R. No. 24367 — A Resolution Approving The Award Of A Bid And Entering Into An Agreement By Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation To S& S Investigations & Security, Inc. Of Groves, Texas For Security Guard Services To Serve The Spur 93 Business Park And Guard Services For The PAEDC Board Meetings In The Annual Not To Exceed Amount Of $ 126, 659. 00. Fund $ 125, 174. 00 Available In EDC Account No. 120- 80- 625- 5479- 00- 00- 000 ( Business Park Development) And $ 1, 485. 00 In EDC Account No. 120- 80- 625- 5420- 00- 00- 000 ( Professional Services)] UH, ITEM NUMBER SIX, PR NUMBER 24 360 7, A RESOLUTION OF APPRO THE AWARD OF A BID AND ENTERING INTO AN AGREEMENT BY PORT ARTHUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION TO, EXCUSE ME, S AND S INVESTIGATIONS AND SECURITY INCORPORATED OF GROVES, TEXAS FOR SECURITY GUARD SERVICES TO SERVE THE SPUR IN 93 BUSINESS PARK AND GUARD SERVICES FOR THE P-A-E-D-C BOARD MEETINGS, UH, IN THE, UH, ANNUAL NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT OF $126,659 FUND FUND, 1 25 170 4,000 AVAILABLE IN EDC ACCOUNT NUMBER ONE 20 DASH 80 DASH 6 25 DASH 54 79 DASH 0 0 0 0 0 BUSINESS PARK DEVELOPMENT AND $1,485 IN EDC ACCOUNT NUMBER ONE 20 DASH 80 DASH 6 25 DASH 54 20 0 0 0 [04:05:04] PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. MAY I GET A MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF COUNCILMAN? UH, ETT? SO MOVED. MAY I GET A SECOND? COUNCILMAN KINLOCK SECOND MAYOR, IT'S BEEN MOVED. AND SECOND THAT WE WOULD APPROVE THIS. WE READY FOR QUESTION? COUNCILMAN BECKER? YEAH, I'VE GOT SEVERAL QUESTIONS. I THINK CLIFTON, YOU'D BE ABLE TO ANSWER THESE FOR ME. I THINK I SEE THAT THE, THE PUBLIC NOTICE WENT OUT FOR THESE ON MARCH THE 22ND AND MARCH THE 29TH. AND I READ THE BACKGROUND ABOUT THE 11 SEAL BIDS AND ONE WAS RETRACTED AND FOUR WERE INCOMPLETE, BUT THEN ON APRIL THE THIRD THERE WAS AN ADDENDUM, AND ON APRIL 10TH THERE WAS AN ADDENDUM. AND SO DID WE ONLY RECEIVE A RESPONSE TO THOSE ADDENDUMS FROM SNS INVESTIGATIONS? NO. UH, OKAY. THAT WE REPE RECEIVED, UH, THE RESPONSE, I, I DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME SO I CAN REMEMBER, BUT NO, THEY WEREN'T THE ONLY ONE. OKAY. SO THE 11 SEALED BIDS AND THE FOUR THAT WERE INCOMPLETE AND THE ONE THAT WAS RETRACTED, THEY RESPONDED TO THE SECOND ADDENDUM? THEY DID. AND THE ONE THAT RETRACTED FILLED OUT ONE OF THE ADDENDUMS WAS A REVISED BID PAGE, INCLUDING THE BOARD MEETING THAT WE ADDED AND ALL THAT AND ADDENDUM. AND THEY MADE AN ERROR IN THEY BID. SO THAT'S WHY THEY HAD TO RETRACT THEIRS. OKAY. AND SO BETWEEN APRIL THE THIRD AND APRIL THE 10TH, THERE WAS QUITE A BIT THAT WAS ADDED. UH, THE ADDENDUM ADDED AN ARMED GUARD OPTION, THE OPTION FOR SECURITY AT THE EDC MEETING. UM, CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME HOW THAT HAPPENED BETWEEN APRIL 3RD AND APRIL 10TH? SO WHEN WE HAD THE PRE-BID MEETING, WHICH I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH DAY THE PRE-BID MEETING WAS, THERE WERE CERTAIN QUESTIONS THAT CAME ABOUT, ABOUT THE, UM, SHOULD THE GUARDS BE ARMED DENIED. SO UNDER THE CURRENT CONTRACT, THEY'RE NOT. UH, BUT THAT WAS ADDRESSED. SO WE DECIDED TO ADD THAT WHEN I TALKED TO THE EDC REP, UM, AND WHILE WE WAS AT THE MEETING TALKING ABOUT THEIR BOARD MEETINGS WAS LIKE, OH, THAT'S NOT INCLUDED. WE SHOULD INCLUDE THAT. SO THAT'S HOW THAT, THAT WAS ADDED. OKAY. AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION IS, WHO MAKES THE DETERMINATION WHETHER WE'RE GOING TO BE ARMED OR UNARMED AT THE BUSINESS PARK AND AT THE EDC BUILDING? EDC. OKAY. REP. REP OF EDC. ALL RIGHT. OKAY. AND THIS DOESN'T INCLUDE ANYTHING ABOUT THE CREDIT UNION THAT'S INSIDE THE PRESS BUILDING, DOES IT? 'CAUSE THERE'S BEEN SOME TALK AT SOME OF THE MEETINGS ABOUT SECURITY FOR THE CREDIT UNION? NO, THAT, THAT WASN'T ADDRESSED TO ME. THE ONLY THING THAT WAS ADDRESSED WAS EDC ITSELF AND I BROUGHT UP ABOUT THE BOARD MEETING WHEN THAT KIND OF CAME UP IN CONVERSATION, THAT MEETING'S LIKE, WHY DON'T WE INCLUDE THAT? BUT NOTHING WAS ADDRESSED ABOUT THE CREDIT UNION. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. OKAY. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON IT? WE'RE READY TO VOTE. ALL IN FAVOR, CONSTABLE FRANK, MAYOR, UH, WHILE WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT ISSUE, I'M, I'M SO GLAD THAT, UH, COUNCILWOMAN BECKHAM BROUGHT THAT UP AND THAT THIS INFORMATION HAS COME TO LIGHT AND I'M, I THINK WE'RE, I FEEL LIKE WE'RE GETTING READY TO VOTE FOR THIS, BUT I WANT TO BE SURE THAT WE ARE TAKING CONSIDERATION ON THIS ISSUE AND ALL OF THE ISSUES OF SECURITY IN LIGHT OF ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING, UH, NATIONALLY. UM, IT WOULD BE IMPERATIVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, WE HAVE SECURITY, UH, AS WELL. UM, BECAUSE, UM, YOU JUST NEVER KNOW NOW, OKAY. ON MY EXIT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE DON'T COME JUST BEAT YOU UP ANYMORE, THEY GONNA SHOOT YOU. SO IF THEY GET STANDING BACK THERE, I WANT THEM MAY HAVE A GUN. . YEAH, BECAUSE I BRING MINE. OKAY. ALRIGHT. ALL IN FAVOR? WELL, THAT'S, THAT, THAT BEGS THE QUESTION, WHO'S GONNA DETERMINE IF THEY'RE GONNA BE ARMED OR NOT? YOU KNOW, I MEAN THE BUSINESS PARK IS A BIG PLACE. THE EDC BUILDING IS A BIG PLACE. YOU KNOW, SOME OF THOSE MEETINGS HAVE A TENDENCY TO GET HEATED AS OUR MEETINGS HERE CAN SOMETIMES. SO WHO'S GONNA DETERMINE IF THEY'RE GONNA BE ARMED OR NOT? AND HOW ARE THEY GONNA BE NOTIFIED? HEY, WE HAVE A MEETING ON X DATE AND WE'VE DECIDED THAT WE WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO BE ARMED AT THIS MEETING. SO HOW'S THAT GONNA WORK? SHOOT YOU WHAT? READY? IS IT? GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. UH, VERY GOOD QUESTION. COUNCIL MEMBER BECKHAM, UH, AS IT RELATES TO THE PORT ARTHUR EDC, UH, WHAT YOU'RE DESCRIBING AS A MATTER OF POLICY. SO IT'S THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS THAT WOULD SET THAT, UH, YOU MENTIONED, UH, THE CREDIT UNION AND PRESS BUILDING. UH, WE ARE SWITCHING TO ARMED GUARDS AND ARE BUDGETING THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE IT BUDGETED FOR THIS YEAR. SO [04:10:01] WE'LL CONTINUE WITH UNARMED AND THEN SWITCH OVER TO ARMED AS A PART OF THE NEW BUDGET. WELL, AGAIN, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO DETERMINE IF THERE'S GOING TO BE AN ARMED GUARD AT AN EDC MEETING? DO YOU HAVE, IS, IS THAT IN POLICY ALREADY THAT WHEN THE EDC BOARD MEETS THAT THE GUARD WILL BE ARMED PRESENTLY? NO, MA'AM. UH, IT IS. THEY'VE GONE WITH UNARMED. BUT AT ANY POINT, BECAUSE WE ARE HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS, AS YOU SAID, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER FRANK, THEY ARE CONSIDERING AS WE'RE DEVELOPING THE BUDGET OF WHETHER OR NOT THEY WANT TO ADD THAT OPTION THEMSELVES IN ADDITION TO WHAT WE'RE GONNA ADD TO THE PRESS BUILDING. WELL THAT'S PART OF THIS CONTRACT, RIGHT? I MEAN THERE'S AN, THERE'S AN ARMED PROVISION FOR BOTH THE BUSINESS PARK, UH, AND THE EDC MEETINGS AND THEN THERE'S AN UNARMED PROVISION. SO I'M JUST, I'M CURIOUS IF THERE'S A POLICY IN PLACE ALREADY THAT DETERMINES WHEN ARE WE GOING TO REQUIRE THEM TO BE ARMED AT A MEETING? WHEN ARE WE GOING TO REQUIRE THEM TO BE ARMED WHEN THEY PATROL THE BUSINESS PARTY? THE QUESTION THERE PRESENTLY IS NOT. UH, BUT LIKE I SAY, THE, THE, THE BOARD IS AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE WORLD AND ARE TAKING UP THAT THOUGHT PROCESS AS WE'RE DEVELOPING OUR BUDGET. THIS PARTICULAR CONTRACT WILL COVER US AND GET US TO THAT POINT, BUT THOSE CONVERSATIONS NEED TO BE CONTINUED AS WE MOVE INTO THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR. AND IT WOULD BE THE BOARD THAT WOULD DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT THEY WANT TO CONTINUE WITH UNARMED, WHICH IS WHAT THEY PRESENTLY HAVE OR SWITCH TO ARMED. OKAY, BUT THIS CONTRACT COVERS BOTH AVENUES, CORRECT. OR UNARMED. OKAY. AND THIS, THIS IS FOR THE NEXT BUDGET YEAR? YES. HOWEVER, AS WE'RE DEVELOPING THE BUDGET, WE MAY COME BACK TO YOU AND ASK FOR AN AMENDMENT. OF COURSE. OBVIOUSLY WE HAVEN'T APPROVED THE BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR. SURE. SO WE'VE GOT A CONTRACT THAT'S EXPIRING NEED TO CONTINUE OFFERING SECURITY, BUT THE CONVERSATIONS AS IN TERMS OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE ARTICULATED ARE CONTINUING ON. AND WE MAY ACTUALLY BE BACK WITH YOU, UH, ASKING FOR AN AMENDMENT OR IF YOU HAVEN'T APPROVED THE BUDGET ALREADY INCREASING THAT NUMBER. OKAY. ALRIGHT. OKAY. COUNCILMAN FRANK? YEAH. UM, AS WE COME TO A CLOSE ON THE DISCUSSION OF THIS ISSUE, UM, WE HAVE ARMED GUARDS AT OUR MEETINGS AND I THINK IT WOULD BEHOOVE US AS A COUNCIL MEMBER AND AS THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE EDC TO MAKE WHATEVER POLICY CHANGES WE NEED TO MAKE, UM, IN ORDINANCE FORM OR, UH, ON OUR CHARTER OR WHATEVER WE NEED TO DO TO ENSURE THAT THOSE MEETINGS, THAT WAY WE HAVE PEOPLE SERVING IN THAT CAPACITY AT THE EDC AND HERE HAVE AN ARMED GUARD. AND SO I THINK THAT WITH, UM, WITH ALL EXPEDIENCY, WE NEED TO HAVE OUR ATTORNEY LOOK AT THAT AND MANDATE, UM, UH, HAVE OUR POLICY REFLECT THE FACT THAT WE ARE SERIOUS ABOUT PROTECTING THOSE WILL SERVE. AND NATURALLY THAT WOULD OVERRIDE THE BOARD. YOU'RE THE GOVERNING BODY. SO THAT WOULD SET THE POLICY. OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER OVERFIELD. THANK YOU MAYOR. UM, THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER FRANK, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE I WAS GOING WITH THIS. I, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO THE BOARD AND THERE ARE APPOINTEES, BUT MY LIFE ISN'T MORE IMPORTANT THAN KAYLA'S LIFE AND I WOULD WANT HER AND THE OTHER MEMBERS TO BE PROTECTED AS WELL. SO I DON'T WANT TO US TO BE LACKADAISICAL ABOUT THIS AND SAY, OH, WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET. I DO TRULY UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS A FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IF WE CHANGE THE TYPE OF SERVICES REQUESTED. UM, HOWEVER, THIS, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD PLAY WITH. WE NEED TO FIGURE IT OUT AND MAKE SURE THAT IT GETS DONE ON OUR SIDE TO BE ABLE TO OFFER THAT SUPPORT TO P-A-E-D-C, ESPECIALLY WHILE YOU ALL ARE, ARE IN MEETINGS. UM, I WOULD REQUEST THAT IT BE AT THE BUSINESS PARK AS WELL, BUT AT MINIMUM, FIRST THINGS FIRST, HAVE IT AT THE MEETINGS CITY MANAGER. IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD LOOK AT TO BE ABLE TO, UM, ACTION ON SOMEHOW WHEN OUR JULY 1ST MEETING, THAT WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED. THANK YOU, SIR. SO, UH, JUST, WELL, MY LAST 2 CENTS ON THIS, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE AN EXPIRING CONTRACT AND WE DO WANT SECURITY TO CONTINUE, UH, COULD I HUMBLY ASK THAT YOU GIVE CONSIDERATION TO PUTTING THIS CONTRACT IN PLACE AND THEN LETTING US GO OUT FOR THE PROPER BIDS TO ADD ARMED AND BRING THAT TO YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION? OKAY. UH, COUNCILMAN ETT. SORRY, LET ME ASK SOME CLARITY. I'M SORRY. WHENEVER WE HAVE SOMETHING [04:15:01] WE LIKE TO SEE WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, WE SHOULD REQUEST OR SEND SOMEONE THERE, GET WITH MR. STOKES AND BRING BEFORE THE BOARD. WE DON'T INITIATE THINGS AT THIS LEVEL. WE APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE. THEY'RE SEPARATE ENTITY. THEY'RE GOVERNED BY 5 0 4. WE OVERSEE THEM. BUT ANYTHING THAT WE REQUEST, WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND HOW IT'S DONE WITH THE EDC. WE SIMPLY SEND A LETTER OR SOMETHING DOWN THERE TO MR. STOKES AND HE BRING IT BEFORE THE BOARD AND THE BOARD TALKS ABOUT IT AND THEY IMPLEMENT IT WHEN IT COME TIME TO SPENDING MONEY AND STUFF. THAT'S WHY EVERYTHING INITIATED AT THE EDC. OKAY? NOT THE COUNCIL. WE EITHER APPROVE IT OR WE DISAPPROVE IT. IF WE WANT ANYTHING, WE JUST MAKE A REQUEST AND THEY GO THROUGH THEIR PROCESS. OKAY? SO WE DON'T GET TO DECIDE WHAT THEY HAVE AT THEIR MEETING OR NOT. WE CAN SIMPLY REQUEST THAT THEY GO TO AN ARM. 'CAUSE WE GOING TO AN ARM AND DOING. SO ALL HE HAS TO DO IS PRESENT IT TO THE BOARD. THEY GO TO AN ARM ANYTIME THEY CHOOSE, ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS AMEND THEIR BUDGET, SEND A AMENDMENT TO US WHO WE APPROVE THE AMENDMENT AND IT'S THE DONE DEAL. THAT'S THE WAY IT WORKS. OKAY? BUT WE DON'T, WE DON'T DECIDE UP HERE. OKAY? WELL, COUNCILMAN LEWIS, IT'S BEEN A PAST PRACTICE THAT THE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN, COUNCIL CAN'T INITIATE SOMETHING, BUT IT HAS TO GO TO THE BOARD FOR FINAL APPROVAL OR THEY CAN INITIATE IT. IT HAS TO COME TO COUNCIL FOR FINAL APPROVAL. OKAY? YES, WE, WE HAVE DONE THESE THINGS IN THE PAST, BUT FOR AS ARMED, UH, NOT TO BE ARMED, IT'S BETTER TO HAVE IT AND DON'T NEED IT AND NEED IT AND DON'T HAVE IT. THAT MEANS I'M FOR ARMED IN THE GUARDS. SO YOU WON'T HAVE TO GO LOOK FOR SOMETHING, OKAY? THEY NEED TO BE ARMED. FAIR ENOUGH. WORLD HAS CHANGED. OKAY. COUNCILMAN NEVILLE, YOU HAVE SOMETHING ELSE? MR. LEWIS SAID IT. MR. LEWIS EX EXPLAINED IT. OKAY. OKAY. THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YOU READY TO VOTE? ALL IN FAVOR? A ANY OPPOSES I HAVING? SO LET SEE, WHICH ONE WAS THAT? THAT WAS, UH, PER NUMBER 24 3 70, RIGHT IS APPROVED. 3 6 7, SIR. YEAH, THAT, THAT'S THE RIGHT ONE? YEAH. OKAY. NOW ITEM NUMBER NINE. WELL, UH, THE PICK CITY MANAGER. AM AM I GOING TOO FAST? I PUT THE WRONG PAGE. I DID, I KNEW I WAS GOING TO FAST. I WANTED TO BE AT NINE OR 10. OKAY. OKAY. YEAH, I DON'T LIKE NUMBER SEVEN, LIKE SOME DICE. OKAY. UM, ITEM [VIII.A.(7) P. R. No. 24368 — A Resolution Authorizing The Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation To Approve The Second And Final Renewal Of A Contract For Landscaping And Irrigation Maintenance At The Spur 93 And Jade Avenue Business Parks And Amend And Restate The Current Contract To Include Curb Strip Maintenance Of Spur 93, Jade Avenue, And Highway 73 Business Parks And Include Recreational Area Maintenance Of The Spur 93 Business Park With Frey' s Landscape LLC Of Orange, Texas In The Amount Of 129, 800. 00; PAEDC Funding Account No. 120- 80- 625- 5479- 00- 00- 000 ( Business Park Development)] NUMBER SEVEN, APPEAR NUMBER 24 3 6 8. IT IS A RESOLUTION, UH, AUTHORIZED IN THE PORT ARTHUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION TO APPROVE THE SECOND AND FINAL RENEWAL OF THE CONTRACT FOR LANDSCAPING AND IRRIGATION MAINTENANCE AT THE SPUR 93 AND JADE AVENUE BUSINESS PARKS. AND AMEND AND RESTATE THE CURRENT CONTRACT TO INCLUDE CURB STRIP MAINTENANCE OF SPUR 93 JADE AVENUE AND HIGHWAY 73 BUSINESS PARK AND INCLUDE RECREATIONAL AREA MAINTENANCE OF THE SPUR, UH, 93 BUSINESS PARK WITH FRIES, LANDSCAPE, LLC OF ORANGE, TEXAS IN THE AMOUNT OF $129,800 P-A-E-D-C FUNDING ACCOUNT NUMBER ONE 20 DASH 80 DASH 6 25 DASH 54 79 DASH 0 0 0 0 0 BUSINESS PARK, UH, DEVELOPMENT. MAY I GET A MOTION FOR APPROVAL? UH, COUNCILMAN, UH, KINLOCK. SO MOVE HERE. MAY I GET A SECOND? COUNCILMAN FRANK? SECOND. IT BEEN MOVED AND SECOND THAT WE WOULD APPROVE PER NUMBER 24 360 8. UH, HAVE QUESTIONS COUNCILMAN BECKER? YEAH, I, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I UNDERSTAND THIS CONTRACT BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S A RENEWAL, BUT WE'RE ALSO ADDING A PRETTY GOOD CHUNK OF CHANGE TO THIS FROM CONTRACTOR. UM, THIS ADDITIONAL CURB STRIP MAINTENANCE SERVICES AT THE AMOUNT OF $39,200. IT, IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE THAT SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT SHOULD HAVE GONE OUT FOR BID. I MEAN, WE'RE RE RENEWING A CONTRACT. IT'S THE FINAL RENEWAL FOR $90,600 WITH PRIZE LANDSCAPING, BUT WE'RE ADDING SOME MORE WORK TO THE CONTRACT FOR 12 MONTHS FOR $39,200. [04:20:02] UH, YES MA'AM. AND UH, WHAT WE ARE SEEKING TO, TO, TO, TO GET TO IS RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A SITUATION WHERE, UH, THAT BODY OF WORK IS BEING DONE INTERNALLY, HOWEVER, IT IS TAKING AWAY FROM THE MAINTENANCE OF OUR, UH, OTHER ASSETS, MOST NOTABLY THE, THE, THE TWO, UH, BUILDINGS. SO IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, UH, THROUGH EXPEDIENCY, WE WENT OUT, LOOKED AT TAKING CARE OF THIS PARTICULAR CONTRACT, WHICH IS LIKE, LIKE IT SAYS, UH, LEMME MAKE SURE THAT I READ IT PRECISELY HERE. UH, TO ADD ON THE CURVE STRIPPING MAINTENANCE OF SPUR 93 JADE AVENUE AND HIGHWAY 73, UH, IN TERMS OF SEPARATING THEM OUT, UH, WHICH IS WHAT I BELIEVE YOU'RE SUGGESTING, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, BECKHAM, UH, CERTAINLY THAT COULD BE DONE. UH, HOWEVER, UH, AND AGAIN, IN TERMS OF EXPEDIENCY, WE FELT THAT THIS PARTICULAR CONTRACT, UH, GAVE US SUFFICIENT PRICING AND SUFFICIENT QUALITY OF SERVICE. THAT GOING ON AND ADDING IT WAS NOT GOING TO, UH, HINDER US A GREAT DEAL IN TERMS OF BUDGETARY UH, IMPACT. UH, HOWEVER, IF IT'S THE BUDGET OF THE COUNCIL TO GO BACK AND SEPARATE THESE CERTAINLY CAN DO THAT. UH, STAFF AND THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS JUST FELT THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR THE, THE SAKE OF GETTING THIS ON AND DOWN THE LINE, LET'S GO AHEAD AND ROLL THIS INTO A NEW CONTRACT. WASN'T THIS MAINTENANCE PER PERFORM PERFORMED BY A CITY EMPLOYEE? UH, NO MA'AM. PAVC, ONE OF OUR, IT HAS BEEN, UH, TRADITIONALLY DONE BY OUR FACILITIES MAINTENANCE, RIGHT? UH, INDIVIDUAL, NOT TO GET TOO DOWN THE, THE HISTORY TRAIL, BUT BACK WHEN THIS ALL STARTED, UH, IN TERMS OF ASSETS, THERE WAS ONLY ABOUT 5,000 SQUARE FEET OF BUILDING THAT THAT INDIVIDUAL HAD TO KEEP UP WITH. SO IT WAS A LOT EASIER TO GO OUT AND TAKE CARE OF THE LANDSCAPING. NOW FAST FORWARD TO 2025, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOME 55,000 SOME ODD SQUARE FEET AND A MUCH GREATER STAFF AND STAFF ALSO GENERATES MAINTENANCE REQUESTS. SO, LONG STORY SHORT, WHEN I CAME ON BOARD, I LOOKED AT THE NOTES OF MY IMMEDIATE TWO PREDECESSORS. THIS WAS A MOVE THAT BOTH OF THEM PLANNED ON DOING FOR VARIOUS SUNDRY REASONS. THEY NEVER GOT TO IT. UH, I'M JUST NOW GETTING TO IT NOW BECAUSE I WANTED TO EVALUATE THE OPERATION. UH, I DIDN'T WANT TO JUST MAKE A KNEE JERK DECISION AND, UH, NOT THAT I DIDN'T TRUST THEIR, THEIR WISDOM AND THOUGHT PROCESS, BUT I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, LET ME EVALUATE, MAKE SURE IT'S NOT A STAFFING ISSUE, MAKE SURE IT'S NOT A PERFORMANCE ISSUE. UH, A YEAR AND A HALF LATER I CONCLUDED THAT, YEAH, WE JUST GOT WAY TOO MUCH BUILDING FOR ONE INDIVIDUAL AND BY THE TIME I'VE ADDED ANOTHER ONE, NOW I'M EXCEEDING THE COST OF THIS PARTICULAR CONTRACT. SO THE SENIOR FACILITIES MAINTENANCE WORKER THAT HAD BEEN PERFORMING THIS WORK IS GOING TO BE DOING WHAT NOW? TAKING CARE, DOING THE THINGS THAT ARE FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS NOW BECAUSE WE DO HAVE THEM OUT THERE IN THE HEAT TAKING CARE OF THESE FACILITIES. WHEREBY AGAIN, WHEN THIS WAS JUST AGAIN 5,000 SQUARE FEET OF BUILDING, THAT WAS A LOT EASIER TO DO AND THAT WAS A LONG TIME AGO. NOW WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, BACK WHEN WE STARTED HAVING THIS PARTICULAR ROLE DO THAT, THERE WAS NO PRESS BUILDING FOR EXAMPLE. SO THE AMOUNT OF INTERNAL WORK THAT HAS GONE UP PRECIPITOUSLY NOW WARRANTS US LOOKING AT OTHER ALTERNATIVES FOR GETTING THE LANDSCAPING DONE AND MAKING SURE THAT OUR TENANTS AT THE VARIOUS PARKS ARE TAKEN CARE OF, BUT AS WELL AS OUR INTERNAL ASSETS. ALRIGHT? RIGHT. SO JUST TO BE CLEAR, WE STILL HAVE A SENIOR FACILITIES MAINTENANCE WORKER WHO'S MAKING A LITTLE OVER $26 AN HOUR AND WE'RE GONNA ADD THIS $39,200 TO THE LANDSCAPING CONTRACT THAT FRY LANDSCAPING IS GONNA DO, RIGHT? YES. THAT OR I ADD ANOTHER STAFFING INDIVIDUAL AT THE SAME OR MORE PRICE PLUS THEIR BENEFITS. ALL RIGHT, THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO CLARIFY. THANK YOU. OTHER QUESTIONS? READY FOR VOTE? ALL IN FAVOR? ALL OPPOSED? NO. OKAY, ONE OPPOSED. MOTION PASSED. NEXT [VIII.A.(8) P. R. No. 24370 — A Resolution Approving An Economic Development Performance Agreement Between The Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation And Spidle & Spidle, Inc. In An Amount Not To Exceed $ 389, 661. 00; Funds Available In EDC Account No. 120- 80- 625- 5478- 00- 00- 000] ITEM PR NUMBER 24 3 7 0 A RESOLUTION APPRO AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PORT ARTHUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT [04:25:01] CORPORATION AND SPITE AND SPITE INCORPORATION AND IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $389,661. FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE. AND EDC ACCOUNT NUMBER 1 2 0 DASH 8 6 2 5 5 4 7 A 0 0 0 0 0 0. DO I HAVE A MOTION? SO MOVED. SECOND. SECOND. IT'S BEEN MOVED. AND SECOND QUESTIONS. THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS READY FOR VOTE? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL OPPOSED? MOTION PASSED. NEXT [VIII.A.(9) P. R. No. 24372 — A Resolution Approving The 2025 Community Development Block Grant ( CDBG) Funding Allocation Of 1, 006, 766. 00 From The Department Of Housing And Urban Development. The 2025 CDBG Grant Will Begin In The City' s FY26 Budget] RELU. NEXT RESOLUTION PR NUMBER 24 3 7 2. IT HAS BEEN REQUESTED BY THE CITY MANAGER THAT WE REMOVE THIS ITEM TO BE PLACED ON ANOTHER ITEM ANOTHER DAY. SO DO I HAVE A MOTION ACTUALLY, MAYOR PROTON? YES. THANK YOU. UM, THAT IS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE DISCUSSED IN EXECUTIVE SESSION TODAY. IF YOU CAN HOLD THE ITEM UNTIL AFTER EXECUTIVE SESSION. I THOUGHT THE CITY MAN JUST SAID WE'RE GONNA BRING IT BACK. YES, I DIDN'T REMOVE IT. OH. OH, YOU'RE GONNA REMOVE IT? YES, IT IS AN EXECUTIVE SESSION. YOU WANNA REMOVE IT FROM THE AGENDA TODAY, RIGHT? IT'S TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. I'M SORRY SIR. I MISUNDERSTOOD. OKAY. ALRIGHT, SO WE HAVE A UH, REQUEST TO REMOVE IT. SO WHO SECOND IT BEEN MOVED IN SECOND. ANY QUESTIONS? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIES PR NUMBER 24 3 7 4 [VIII.A.(10) P. R. No. 24374— A Resolution Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Contract With GFL Plant Services, LP, Of Port Arthur, Texas, For The Hauling Of Leachate From The City Of Port Arthur Landfill For The Projected Budgetary Impact Amount Of $ 174, 720. 00. Funds Are Available In The Landfill — Other Contractual Services Account, Account Number 403- 50- 320- 5470- 00- 00- 000] RESOLUTION AUTHOR BY CITY MANAGER. ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH GFL PLANT SERVICES LP OF PORT ARTHUR TAXES FOR THE HAULING OF LESS SHAPED FROM THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR LANDFILL FOR THE PROJECTED BUDGETARY IMPACT AMOUNT OF $174,720. FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE LANDFILL. OTHER CONTRACTOR SERVICE ACCOUNT. ACCOUNT NUMBER 4 0 3 5 DASH 5 3 2 0 DASH 5 4 7 0 0 0 0 0 0. DO I HAVE A MOTION? SECOND. IT'S BEEN MOVED. AND SECOND QUESTIONS. THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS. ALL IN FAVOR? A AYE. ALL OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIES. NEXT [VIII.A.(11) P. R. No. 24383 — A Resolution Authorizing The City Manager To Purchase Five ( 5) 2026 Mack LR67 ASL Garbage Trucks With 28 YD Python For The Solid Waste - Residential Garbage Division From Vanguard Truck Centers Of Houston, Texas, Through The TIPS Cooperative Purchasing Program For The Amount Of $ 426, 466. 77 Each ($ 2, 132, 333. 85 Total). Funding Is Available In The Solid Waste Residential Collection Motor Vehicles Fund Account, 403- 50- 310- 8523- 00- 00- 000, Pending The Approval Of PO 7340] PR NUMBER 2 4 3 8 3 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZED CITY MANAGERS TO PURCHASE FIVE 2026 MACK LR 67 A SL GARBAGE TRUCKS WITH 28 YARDS HAMS FOR THE SOLID WASTE RESIDENTIAL GARBAGE DIVISION FROM VANGUARD TRUCK CENTER OF HOUSTON, TEXAS THROUGH THE TIPS COOPERATIVE PURCHASING PROGRAM FOR THE AMOUNT OF $426,466 AND 77 CENTS EACH FOR A TOTAL OF $2,132,333 AND 85 CENTS. THE FUNDING IS AVAILABLE IN SOLID WASTE RESIDENTIAL COLLECTION MOTOR VEHICLE FUND ACCOUNT. 4 0 3 DASH FIVE DASH THREE ZERO DASH 8 5 2 3 DASH ZERO ZERO DASH ZERO ZERO PENDING APPROVAL OF PROPOSAL ORDINANCE NUMBER 7 3 4 0. DO I HAVE A MOTION? SO MOVED. IT BEEN SECOND. SECOND. IT'S BEEN MOVED. AND SECOND QUESTION COUNCILMAN LEWIS? YEAH. CITY MANAGER. THESE PURCHASES ON THESE UH, VEHICLES FOR GARBAGE AND SOLID WASTE, IS THAT AN THE MAINTENANCE ON THOSE VEHICLES WENT UP BECAUSE OF THE EX THE HARVEST STORM? NO. A LOT OF THOSE VEHICLES HAVE EXCEEDED THEIR LIFE OF EIGHT YEARS AND MORE. YEAH. AND WE HAVE GOTTEN THAT. UM, AS PART OF THIS STUDY THAT WE ARE DOING FOR THE LANDFILL, WE HAVE ASKED FOR THE PRELIMINARY REPORTS AND SO WHAT WE ARE DOING, WE ARE TAKING ADVANCE ACTION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ORDER THOSE VEHICLES AHEAD OF TIME. OKAY? NO OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIED. PR NUMBER 24 3 84 [VIII.A.(12) P. R. No. 24384 — A Resolution Authorizing The City Manager To Purchase Four ( 4) 2026 Mack Granite 64B Trash Trucks With Palfinger M13A80 For The Solid Waste — Residential Trash Division From Vanguard Truck Centers Of Houston, Texas, Through The TIPS Cooperative Purchasing Program For The Amount Of $ 327, 927. 22 Each ($ 1, 311, 708. 88 Total). Funding Is Available In The Solid Waste Trash Collection Motor Vehicles Fund Account, 403- 50- 305- 8523- 00- 00- 000, Pending The Approval Of PO 7340] A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING IN THE CITY MANAGER TO PURCHASE FOUR 2026 [04:30:01] M GRANITE 64 B TRASH TRUCKS WITH PAUL PIONEER 1 13 8 80 FOR THE SOLID WASTE RESIDENTIAL TRASH DIVISION FROM VANGUARD TRUCK CENTER OF HOUSTON, TEXAS THROUGH THE TIPS COOPERATIVE PURCHASING PROGRAM FOR THE AMOUNT OF $327,927 AND 22 CENTS EACH FOR A TOTAL OF 1,311,007 AND 8088 CENTS. FUNDING IS AVAILABLE IN SOLID WASTE TRASH COLLECTION MOTOR VEHICLE FUND ACCOUNT. 4 0 3 DASH 5 3 5 8 5 2 0 0 0 0 PENDING APPROVAL OF PROPOSAL ORDINANCE 7 3 4 0. DO I HAVE A MOTION? IT'S BEEN MOVED? SECOND. SECOND BEEN MOVED. AND SECOND QUESTION. THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS. ALL IN FAVOR? A ALL OPPOSED THE MOTION CARRIES PR NUMBER 24 3 85 [VIII.A.(13) P. R. No. 24385 — A Resolution Authorizing The City Manager To Purchase Six ( 6) 2026 Mack TE64 Commercial Trucks For The Solid Waste — Container Division From Van Guard Truck Centers Of Houston, Texas, Through The TIPS Cooperative Purchasing Program For $ 410, 080. 12 Each ($ 2, 460, 480. 72 Total). Funding Is Available In The Solid Waste Container Service Motor Vehicles Fund Account, 403- 50- 315- 8523- 00- 00- 000, Pending The Approval Of PO 7340] AND RESOLUTION AUTHORIZED CITY MANAGER TO PURCHASE SIX 2006 MAX T 64 COMMERCIAL TRUCKS FOR THE SOLID WASTE CONTAINER DIVISION FROM THE VANGUARD TRUCK CENTER OF HOUSTON, TEXAS THROUGH THE TIP COOPERATIVE PURCHASING PROGRAM FOR $410,080 AND 12 CENTS EACH FOR A TOTAL OF 2,460,000 $180 AND 72 CENTS. FUNDING IS AVAILABLE IN SOLID WASTE CONTAINER SERVICE. MOTOR VEHICLE FUND ACCOUNT 4 0 3 5 0 3 1 5 8 5 2 3 0 0 DASH ZERO ZERO DASH 0 0 0. QUESTIONS THERE. NOLE COUNCILWOMAN HAMILTON? THANK YOU SIR. JUST A QUICK ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO THE CITIZENS LISTENING TO THIS NOW OR LATER. UM, COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER HAS HEARD YOUR VOICE, HEARD YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT OUR SOLID WASTE ISSUES AND WE ARE IN PROGRESS. HENCE THE LAST FEW RESOLUTIONS PASSED OF NEW EQUIPMENT BEING PURCHASED TO HELP SERVE YOU BETTER. SO I JUST WANTED TO CELEBRATE THAT FOR A MOMENT TO SAY YES, YOU HAVE BEEN HEARD AND WE ARE IN PROGRESS OF PURCHASING THESE NEW VEHICLES TO BE ABLE TO SERVE YOU BETTER. THANK YOU. CITY MANAGER. NO OTHER QUESTIONS. ALL IN FAVOR? ALL OPPOSED. MOTION CARRIED. PR 24 3 86, [VIII.A.(14) P. R. No. 24386 — A Resolution Of The City Council Of The City Of Port Arthur, Texas, Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Lease Agreement With Mustang CAT Of Houston, Texas, For One ( 1) 2025 Caterpillar D5 LGP VPAT WHA Dozer For The Public Works Landfill Division, Through The Sourcewell Cooperative Purchasing Program At A Monthly Cost Of $ 14, 451. 09, Resulting In An Annual Cost Of $ 134, 320. 00 And A Total Lease Amount Of $ 268, 640. 00, To Be Funded Through The Solid Waste Landfill Equipment Fund Account And Subsequent Budget Appropriation, Account No. 403- 50- 320- 8522- 00- 00- 000, Subject To City Council Approval And Budget Appropriations For Fiscal Years 2025 Through 2028] THE RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL. THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS AUTHORIZING CITY MAYOR MAN TO ENTER A LEASE AGREEMENT WITH MUSTANG CAT HOUSTON, TEXAS FOR ONE 2025 CATERPILLAR, D FIVE L-G-P-V-P-A-T-V-H-A DOZER FOR THE PUBLIC WORKS LANDFILL DIVISION THROUGH THE SOURCE WELL COOPERATIVE PURCHASING PROGRAM AT A MONTHLY COST OF $14,451 AND 9 CENTS, RESULTING IN AN ANNUAL COST OF $134,320 AND A TOTAL LEASE AMOUNT OF 206 $8,640 TO BE FUNDED THROUGH THE SOLID WASTE LANDFILL EQUIPMENT FUND ACCOUNT AND SUBSEQUENT BUDGET APPROPRIATION ACCOUNT NUMBER 4 0 3 5 0 3 2 0 DASH 8 5 2 0 0 0 0 SUBJECT TO THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL OF THE PUBLIC APPROPRIATE APPROPRIATION FOR PHYSICAL YEAR 2025 THROUGH 2028. DO I HAVE A MOTION? ALL IN FAVOR? ALL MOTION. OH, I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T BRING IT DOWN. OKAY. HEY, I'M GETTING OUTTA HERE. ALL RIGHT, I HAVE A MOTION TO HAVE A SECOND, SECOND, SECOND. BEEN MOVED. AND SECOND QUESTIONS? NO QUESTIONS MAY APPROACH TIM AT THE PODIUM. , GOOD AFTERNOON. UM, FOR THIS ITEM IN THE NEXT TWO ITEMS I WOULD LIKE TO ASK COUNSEL, UM, TO ENTERTAIN AN AMENDMENT TO THE CAPTION, UM, AS IT RELATES TO THE AMOUNTS, UM, THE MONTHLY COST IS $14,451 AND 9 CENTS RESULTING IN AN ANNUAL COST OF $173,413 AND 8 CENTS. WAIT A MINUTE, HOLD UP PAM. YES SIR. SO YOU'RE CHANGING 268,600, YOU'RE CHANGING THAT TO ONE 70, THE 134,320 CHANGES TO $173,413 AND 8 CENTS. 1 31 AND 30 WHAT? WHAT'D YOU SAY? 1, 1 73. 4 1 3 IS 1 7 3 4 1 3 4 1 3 [04:35:03] INSTEAD OF THE 1 31? THAT IS CORRECT. I MEAN ONE 30. OH, OKAY. AND THEN THE 268,000 OKAY. IS AMENDED TO 346,000 3 46. $826. 8 26 AND 16 CENTS. 16 CENTS. OKAY, GIMME THE OTHER ONE WHILE YOU'RE UP HERE. YES SIR. OKAY. FOR ITEM NUMBER 15. OKAY. THE AMOUNT, THE 103,000 OKAY. CHANGES TO 100 2001 TWO. 100 $102,152. 1 52 AND 40 CENTS AND 40. OKAY. AND THEN THE, THAT MAKES THE TOTAL LEASE AMOUNT 204,000 2 0 4. 3 0 4 WHAT? 3 0 4? YES. 2 0 4. 3 0 4. $204,304 AND 80 CENTS. IS THAT 2 0 4? 3 0 4 YOU SAID? YES SIR. 204,000 2 0 4. $304. 304 AND 80 CENTS. AND 80 CENTS. AND THEN THE FINAL ITEM, WHICH IS NUMBER 16. OKAY, GO AHEAD. THE 290,000 CHANGES TO 412,412. $813. 813 AND 92 CENTS AND 92 CENTS WITH THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF EIGHT HUNDRED TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED AND TWENTY SEVEN DOLLARS. 6 27 AND 84 CENTS AND 84 CENTS? YES SIR. OKAY. THAT'S THAT. THAT'S IT ALL. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. OKAY, SO WE'LL GO BACK UP TO PR NUMBER 2 4 3 8 6. ONCE AGAIN, WE HAVE A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THAT RESOLUTION IN WHICH THE INDIVIDUAL COSTS OF EACH TRUCK IS NOW ONE $73,413 WITH AN ANNUAL TOTAL LEASE OF $346,826 AND 16 CENTS. OKAY, DO I HAVE A MOTION FOR, FOR THE AMENDMENT? OKAY, DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. OKAY, IT BEEN MOVED. AND SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL OPPOSED? OKAY, WE GO BACK TO THE MAIN MOTION FOR RESOLUTION 24 3 8 6. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? DO I HAVE A MOTION FOR WELL, WE HAVE NO QUESTIONS. ALL IN FAVOR? A. ALL OPPOSED? OKAY, THE MOTION PASSED PR [VIII.A.(15) P. R. No. 24387 — A Resolution Of The City Council Of The City Of Port Arthur, Texas, Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Lease Agreement With Mustang CAT Of Houston, Texas, For One ( 1) 2025 Caterpillar 938- 142VQC Dozer For The Public Works Landfill Division, Through The Sourcewell Cooperative Purchasing Program At A Monthly Cost Of $ 8, 512. 70, Resulting In An Annual Cost Of 103, 280. 00 And A Total Lease Amount Of $ 206, 560. 00, To Be Funded Through The Solid Waste Landfill Equipment Fund Account And Subsequent Budget Appropriation, Account No. 403- 50- 320- 8522- 00- 00- 000, Subject To City Council Approval And Budget Appropriations For Fiscal Years 2025 Through 2028] 2 4 3 8 7 THE RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL. THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR TAX IS AUTHORIZED AND CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO A LEASE AGREEMENT WITH MUSTANG CATER HOUSTON, TEXAS FOR ONE 2025. CATERPILLAR 9 3 8 DASH 1 42 VQC DOZER FOR THE PUBLIC WORK LANDFILL DIVISION THROUGH THE SOURCE. WELL COOPER THROUGH COOPERATIVE PURCHASING PROGRAM, A MONTHLY COST OF $102,152 AND 40 CENTS RESULTING IN AN ANNUAL COST OF TWO HUNDRED FOUR THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED AND FOUR THOUSAND EIGHTY CENTS SENSE. OKAY. TO BE FUNDED THROUGH THE SOLID WASTE LANDFILL EQUIPMENT FUND ACCOUNT AND SUBSEQUENT BUDGET APPROPRIATION ACCOUNT NUMBER 4 0 3 5 0 3 2 0 8 5 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 SUBJECT TO THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL AND BUDGET APPROPRIATION FOR PHYSICAL YEAR 2025 THROUGH 2028. DO I HAVE A MOTION? SO MOVED. SECOND. IT'S BEEN MOVED. AND SECOND QUESTIONS. THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL OPPOSED. MOTION PASSED. PR NUMBER [VIII.A.(16) P. R. No. 24388 — A Resolution Of The City Council Of The City Of Port Arthur, Texas, Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Lease Agreement With Mustang CAT Of Houston, Texas, For One ( 1) 2025 Caterpillar D8 WHA Dozer For The Public Works Landfill Division, Through The Sourcewell Cooperative Purchasing Program At A Monthly Cost Of $ 34, 401. 16, Resulting In An Annual Cost Of 290, 880. 00 And A Total Lease Amount Of $ 1, 038, 951. 57, To Be Funded Through The Solid Waste Landfill Equipment Fund Account And Subsequent Budget Appropriation, Account No. 403- 50- 320- 8522- 00- 00- 000, Subject To City Council Approval And Budget Appropriations For Fiscal Years 2025 Through 2028] 2 4 3 8 8 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL, THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF MAN TO ENTER INTO A LEASE AGREEMENT WITH MUSTANG CAT OF HOUSTON, TEXAS FOR ONE 2025 CATERPILLAR D EIGHT WHA DOZER FOR THE PUBLIC WORK LANDFILL DIVISION THROUGH THE SOURCE WELL COOPERATIVE PURCHASING PROGRAM AT A MONTHLY COST OF $412,813 AND 97 CENTS AND THE TOTAL [04:40:01] LEASE AMOUNT OF $825,627 AND 84 CENTS TO BE FUNDED THROUGH THE SOLID WASTE LANDFILL EQUIPMENT FUND ACCOUNT AND SUBSEQUENT BUDGET APPROPRIATION ACCOUNT NUMBER 4 0 3 5 0 3 2 0 8 5 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 SUBSTITUTE THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL AND BUDGET APPROPRIATIONS FOR PHYSICAL YEAR 25 THROUGH 28. DO I HAVE A MOTION MOVED? RECORD HAS BEEN MOVED. AND SECOND. ANY QUESTIONS? NO QUESTIONS. MOTION PASSED. [VIII.A.(17) P. R. No. 24395 — A Resolution Authorizing An Extension To The Contract With Evergreen Solutions, LLC To Conduct A Comprehensive Classification And Compensation Study For The City Of Port Arthur Not To Exceed 120 Days At No Additional Cost] RESOLUTION 24 2 4 3 9 5 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZED AND EXTENSION TO THE CONTRACT WITH EVERGREEN SOLUTIONS LLC TO CONDUCT A COMPREHENSIVE CLASSIFICATION AND COMPENSATION STUDY FOR THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR NOT TO EXCEED 120 DAYS AT NO ADDITIONAL CALLS. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO MOVE? DO I HAVE SECOND? SECOND. BEEN MOVED AND SECOND, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? YES SIR. COUNCILWOMAN HAMILTON HAVE AFIELD. THANK YOU CITY MANAGER. THIS PROCESS HAS BEEN LONG COMING AND 120 DAYS WILL BRING US CLOSER TO THE TIME OF US APPROVING OUR, UM, OUR BUDGET. SO I'M ASKING WHAT HAS BEEN THE HOLDUP AND IF POSSIBLE CAN WE DECREASE THAT TIMEFRAME AT LEAST BY HALF OF 60 DAYS. WE SHOULD GET, I SHOULD GET A PRELIMINARY REPORT SO THAT I CAN WORK WITH THE BUDGET, THE ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE DEPARTMENT. I SHOULD HAVE PRELIMINARY RESULTS. UM, WHAT I'M ASKING FOR IS TIME SO THAT I COULD GET THE DATA FOR THE JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND UPDATING OF JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND OTHER ITEMS THAT WILL GO WITH IT. SO YOU DO EXPECT THAT WE'LL HAVE ALL OF WHAT WE NEED PRIOR TO AND, AND IN ENOUGH TIME IN ORDER FOR IT TO BE INCLUDED IN OUR UH, 2026 BUDGET? YES. I HOPE YES. I'M WORKING TOWARDS THAT. YES. I FEEL VERY CONFIDENT THAT I WILL HAVE IT. OKAY. YES, THANKS. NO OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL OPPOSED THE MOTION PASSED [VIII.B.(1) P. O. No. 7340 — An Appropriation Ordinance Amending The City Of Port Arthur Budget For The Fiscal Year Beginning October 1, 2024 And Ending September 30, 2025, Increasing Hotel Occupancy Tax Fund ( 140) By $ 415, 250. 00 And Transferring That Amount Into Capital Improvement Fund ( 307) By $ 415, 250. 00, Increasing General Fund ( 001) By $ 243, 109. 00 And Transferring That Amount Into Water And Sewer Capital Fund ( 405) By $ 243, 109. 00 And Increasing The Solid Waste Fund ( 403) By $ 5, 904, 524. 00] ORDINANCE AND NON-CONSENT PROPOSED ORDINANCE NUMBER 7 3 4 0 AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR. BUDGET FOR PHYSICAL YEAR BEGINNING OCTOBER 1ST, 2024 AND ENDING YEAR SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2025. INCREASE IN HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES FUND AND ONE 40 BY $415,250 AND TRANSFERRING THAT AMOUNT INTO THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND. 3 0 7 BY $415,250 INCREASE IN GENERAL FUND 0 0 1 BY $243,109 AND TRANSFERRING THAT AMOUNT INTO WATER AND SEWAGE CAPITAL FUND. 4 0 5 BY $243,109 AND INCREASE IN SOLID WASTE FUND 4 0 3 BY 5,000,904. $524. I HAVE A MOTION. SECOND IT BEEN MOVED. AND SECOND QUESTION. THESE NUMBERS CHANGE. SO WHAT THEY GONNA CHANGE TO WE, SHE JUST CHANGED NUMBERS FOR THE TRUCKS. SO WE GOTTA CHANGE NUMBERS HERE, RIGHT? SO WE GOTTA TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THESE NUMBERS CHANGES GOING TO BE OR WE CAN ACTUALLY AMEND THIS AND AMEND IT TO REFLECT THE AMENDMENTS WE MADE IN THE PREVIOUS RESOLUTION. SO I CAN THOSE RESOLUTIONS AND IF COUNCIL APPROVE THAT, BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DOING IS GOING BACK AND RECALCULATING WHERE WE WENT UP AND DOWN AND IMPLEMENTED IN THERE. MAYOR PRO. OTHER THAN THAT, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO SAY, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO WAIT TO SHOOT YOU. MAYOR PRO TEM AND COUNCIL MEMBERS. GOOD AFTERNOON. LYNN BOSWELL HERE, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE. THE AMENDMENTS THAT YOU HAD MADE DURING THOSE THREE LAST ONES THAT HAD THE INCORRECT AMOUNTS ARE NOT AFFECTED AT ALL BY THIS AMENDMENT. THIS, THOSE HAD NOTHING TO DO AT ALL. THOSE WERE NOT DEPENDENT ON THE AMENDMENT TO THE BUDGET AT ALL. OKAY, SO LYNN THIS, UH, 5 MILLION? YES, IT'S [04:45:01] THE 5 MILLION DEFINITELY. AND THE REASON WHY IT'S NOT GOING TO, UH, AND WHERE THAT'S COMING FROM IS FROM THAT SOLID WASTE NOTE BECAUSE WE DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE GONNA GET A SOLID WASTE NOTE THAT YOU ALL APPROVED AND THE AMOUNT OF 6.4 WAS THE TOTAL AND IT WAS THE FIRST THREE ITEMS OF THE RESIDENTIAL AND THE GARBAGE TRUCKS. THOSE THREE ITEMS ON THE AGENDA THAT DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE, THE MUSTANG CAT EQUIPMENT FOR THE LANDFILL. THOSE, THAT'S THE FIVE, THAT'S THE 5 MILLION OUT OF THE 6.4 THAT YOU GUYS APPROVED AS THE TAX NOTE. IT'S ITEMS 11, 12, AND 13 ON TOP. THANK YOU. OKAY. UH, THANK YOU. OKAY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS. OKAY. SURE. O OKAY, LEE, I I'M, I'M WITH YOU, BUT, UH, I'M STILL LIKE 11, 12 AND 13. YOU SAID IT WOULD NOT AFFECT YOU BECAUSE IT'S 5.9 A TOTAL NOTE WITH 6.44. THAT'S CORRECT. AND YOU SAID IT WOULD NOT CHANGE ANY NUMBERS ON THIS AT ALL BECAUSE WE HAVE A BUFFER. IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? NO, THERE'S NOT A BUFFER. WEVE GOT 6.4. OKAY. AND, UH, WE ARE ONLY SPENDING CURRENTLY 5.9. THE 5.9 THAT, THAT'S IT, THAT'S THE, THAT WE'RE SO BY CHANGING AND ALTERNATE NUMBERS BETWEEN 11, 12, 13 WOULDN'T CHANGE THAT BOTTOM LINE NUMBER AT ALL. THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. THAT IS WHAT I'M SAYING BECAUSE THOSE NUMBERS ACTUALLY DON'T HAPPEN UNTIL AFTER WE RECEIVE THE EQUIPMENT. OKAY. WHICH WON'T COME UNTIL 26. BUDGET. ALRIGHT. ALRIGHT, NOW. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. YOU ARE WELCOME. OKAY. NO OTHER QUESTIONS. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ALL OPPOSED THE MOTION PASSED. AT [X. * CLOSED MEETING ( EXECUTIVE SESSION)] THIS TIME WE WILL MOVE TO EXECUTIVE SECTION IN ORDER TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF SECTION 5 5 1 0.101 OF THE CHAPTER 5 51 OPEN MEETING LAW OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE FORMALLY ARTICLE 6 2 5 2 DASH 17 SECTION TWO A. PRIOR TO GOING AT THE CODE SECTION, THE PRESIDING OFFICER OF THE CITY SHOULD MAKE THE FOLLOWING PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT. OKAY? OKAY. A CLOSED SESSION AS THE EXECUTIVE SESSION WILL BE HELD PURSUANT TO THE FOLLOWING SECTION OF 5 5 1 TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE. I'M GOING TO THE ONES WE GONNA DISCUSS. CITY SECRETARY, I'M GONNA READ THE ONES THAT WE WILL BE DISCUSSING. WE TALKED ABOUT IT ONE TIME AGAIN, THE SECTION WHERE YOU GOT ALL OF 'EM LISTED. WE WON'T, WE DON'T DISCUSS ALL OF THEM. WE SHOULDN'T EVEN PUT IT, OH, WE SHOULD HAVE THIS, THIS IS THE ONE WE'RE GONNA DISCUSS. OKAY. IT'S LIKE REPETITIONS. I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO READ ALL THESE CHAPTERS. OKAY. SECTIONS RATHER. 'CAUSE WE ARE ONLY GONNA BE DISCUSSING ONE SECTION 5 51 DASH 0 7 1 OF THE TEXAS OPEN MEETING ACT TO MEET WITH THIS ATTORNEY TO SEEK LEGAL ADVICE ON THE MATTER IN WHICH THE DUTY OF THE ATTORNEY TO THE CITY COUNCIL UNDER THE TEXAS DISCIPLINARY RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT OF THE STATE BAR OF TEXAS CLEARLY CONFLICTS WITH THE TEXAS OPEN MEETING ACT RELATING TO A STATE OF TEXAS VERSUS CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS. CAUSE NUMBER D ONE GN 2 5 0 0 1 2 85 IN THE 201ST DISTRICT COURT OF TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS TWO 2025 COMMUNITY BLOCK GRANT ALLOCATIONS AND TO DISCUSS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEGOTIATIONS PROJECT JUNO. SO AT THIS TIME, AT 3 0 3, WE WILL CONVENE INTO THE EXECUTIVE SESSION AND RECESS THE OPENING. UH, CITY SECRETARY, WOULD YOU REESTABLISH THE QUORUM FOR ME, PLEASE? I DIDN'T HAVE TO WAIT 'CAUSE HE WAS YEAH, I, I READ THAT. IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS STILL ON. COUNCIL MEMBER BECKHAM. HERE. MAYOR PRO. TIMM ETT. HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER FRANK HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER HAMILTON. EVER FIELD COUNCIL MEMBER? KEN LONG HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER LEWIS. HERE. MAYOR BARTEE FOR THE LAST TIME I'M HERE AND I DID THE ROLL CALL. NOTHING [04:50:01] MY FINAL PRESIDENT. YEAH, FOR REAL. I'M IN THE 12TH GRADE. I WONDER HOW GONNA TAKE OKAY. HOW MUCH TAPE THEY GOT? OKAY. . OKAY. UH, CITY ATTORNEY. DO WE HAVE ANY, UH, ACTION ITEMS COMING OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION? MAYOR BARTEE, WE DO NOT HAVE ANY ACTION ITEMS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. OKAY, WELL, THANK YOU. IS HAS BEEN A JOY WORKING WITH YOU ALL. I WANNA TELL YOU ALL THAT GOD'S BLESSINGS BE UPON YOUR LIVES, EVEN YOUR LIFE TOO, MAN. AND EVERYONE, IF YOU'RE STILL LISTENING AND LOOKING ON YOUR LIVES AS WELL. AND I WISH THAT IF YOU PRAY, IF YOU PRAY FOR MY LIFE AND WHOMEVER YOU PRAY TO, I PRAY TO JEHOVAH, BUT WHOMEVER YOU PRAY TO, ASK THEM TO BLESS ME. WE'LL FIND OUT THE RIGHT ONE WHEN WE ALL GET THERE. BUT I'M GOING WITH YOU OVER. BUT ANYWAY, WHAT I FEEL IS THAT IN THE PAST SIX YEARS I'VE LEARNED MANY THINGS. I'VE LEARNED SOME THINGS ABOUT THE BARTY DOUCETTE THAT I DIDN'T KNOW. GOD HAS USED EACH OF YOU IN HIS OWN WAY TO SHAPE ME OR WHEREVER IT IS I'M HEADED RIGHT NOW. I DON'T THINK THINGS JUST HAPPEN BY HAPPENSTANCE, AND I DON'T THINK THEY JUST OCCUR JUST BECAUSE WE MADE THEM OCCUR. BUT I SAID SOMETHING EARLIER THIS MORNING, HIS OMNISCIENCE ALLOWS ALL OF THESE THINGS TO COME TO BEING. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, WE ALL ARE BETTER PEOPLE. SO AS I EXIT FOR REAL THIS TIME, OKAY, FOR REAL, FOR REAL PROMISE, YOU GOTTA COME IN THE MORNING. BUT IT'S JUST FOR A FEW MINUTES. WELL SAY IT ALL NOW. DON'T COME TOMORROW. I'M HERE. I'M HERE. THAT'S ON THE CITY SECRETARY. ALRIGHT? SHE THE ONE MAKING US COME BACK TOMORROW. WE GOTTA COME BACK TIME TOMORROW AT 10 30 IN THE MORNING. I WILL REALLY HAVE MY REAL, VERY, VERY, VERY FINAL SAY. BUT I JUST WANT TO SAY THIS BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S, IT IS INTIMATE. IT'S ALWAYS COUNCILMAN DEUCE SAID THIS MORNING, YOU KNOW, UH, BEING EMOTIONAL, A LOT OF TIMES YOU DON'T CRY, BUT IT'S A FEELING THAT YOU HAVE. AND I HAD AMBIVALENCE LAST WEEK, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T KNOW TO FEEL GOOD OR I FEEL BAD. SOME DAYS I FELT DEPRESSED. I'M NOT LYING. SOME DAYS I'M LIKE, COME ON, I'M TOO OLD FOR THIS. AND THEN SOMEONE SENT ME SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, ONE THOSE THE INSPIRATIONAL THINGS. ONE MORNING, UH, IT MUST HAVE BEEN, I DON'T KNOW, IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE DAY BEFORE SATURDAY. IT COULD HAVE BEEN SATURDAY. AND IT SAYS, THE ENEMY IS TRYING TO MAKE YOU BE DEPRESSED. DO NOT LET THE ENEMY WIN. AND IT WAS LIKE, I DON'T KNOW WHO THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE THE DAY, BUT IT WAS, IT WAS FOR ME. AND I SAID, OKAY. NOW WITH THAT, I COME TO THIS CONCLUSION. I STILL GOT SOME GAS IN MY CAR, SO I STILL GOT SOME DRIVING TO DO. AND THEY GIVE OLD PEOPLE LICENSE. GOD BLESS YOU ALL. GOD KEEP YOU BY PRAYER. OKAY? I NOW DECLARE THIS MEETING. DULY, DULY ADJO. THANK YOU. GOD BLESS YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.