RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF SOUTH HOUSTON JULY 24, :30 P.M. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:

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1 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OF THE CITY OF SOUTH HOUSTON 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Soto called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Councilwoman Claudia Melendez Councilman Guillermo Rios Councilwoman Amy Leal Councilman Eddie Torres Councilman Robert Garcia Also present at the Council table were City Secretary Barbara S. Bigham and City Attorney Gregg & Gregg, Jr. 3. INVOCATION City Attorney Dick Gregg, Jr. 4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Audience CITIZENS ADDRESSING COUNCIL 5. RESIDENTS WISHING TO ADDRESS COUNCIL ON AGENDA ITEMS There were no residents wishing to address Council on Agenda Items. 6. RESIDENTS WISHING TO ADDRESS COUNCIL ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS There were no residents wishing to address Council on Non-Agenda Items. OTHER COUNCIL BUSINESS 7. PRESENTATION BY SHERRI RIVERON OF RIVERON CORPORATION, SOUTH HOUSTON S GRANT-WRITING SERVICE Ms. Riveron stated that she had checked out some grants for parks and recreation facilities. Explained that in past grant applications, the results have been okay; 1

2 however, a lot of times in the grant applications, it is a requirement to cite back to a plan. A lot of the applications award more points if the applicant has already gone through a planning process. Said that she and the Mayor had spoken of what they could do to increase the chances of being awarded more grants. Explained that the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department does not require, but highly recommends, that applicants have a master parks plan that has been vetted by the community. Stated that forming a committee to work on the parks plan would put them in a better position of receiving a grant. Mentioned other types of grants which might be available. Emphasized that the first step was the appointment of a Parks Committee. Explained the procedures to be followed by the Committee. 8. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF ESTABLISHING A PARKS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE Councilman Garcia moved for approval; Councilwoman Melendez seconded. Motion carried 9. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF MAYOR JOE SOTO S APPOINTMENT OF THERESA BRYANT, SHIRLEY SAVELL, JUDY LEIJA, CHRISTY HERNANDEZ AND PATRICIA LOPEZ AS MEMBERS OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE Councilwoman Leal moved for approval; Councilman Garcia seconded. Motion carried Mayor Soto excused the newly appointed Committee so they could hold their first meeting. 10. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF A MOBILE HOME MOVE-IN AT 1202 NEBRASKA AVENUE, SPACE #5, FESTIVAL 1993 (14 X 56 ) Councilwoman Melendez moved for approval; Councilwoman Leal seconded. Voting was as follows: Aye: Councilwoman Melendez, Councilman Torres, Councilman Rios and Councilwoman Leal; Abstain: Councilman Garcia. Motion carried. MINUTES 11. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OF JULY 10, 2012 Councilman Garcia moved for approval; Councilman Rios seconded. Motion carried Mayor Soto then moved to the Addendum. 2

3 ADDENDUM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH HOUSTON, TEXAS COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 1019 DALLAS STREET TUESDAY, JULY 24, :30 P.M. 1. COUNCIL S CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF MAYOR JOE SOTO S RECOMMENDATION OF ADDING DEBRA COLE, SEAN BRYANT, CHRISTY HERNANDEZ AND PATRICIA LOPEZ AS COMMITTEE MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH HOUSTON TOURISM AND HISTORICAL COMMITTEE AND ADDING GILBERT LEAL AS THE COMMITTEE LIAISON Councilwoman Leal moved for approval; Councilwoman Melendez seconded. Motion carried Mayor Soto returned to the Regular Agenda. FINANCE RESOLUTION 12. FINANCE RESOLUTION NO AUTHORIZING PAYMENT TO CITY VENDORS AND CONTRACTORS SUBMITTING INVOICES Councilwoman Leal moved for approval; Councilman Rios seconded. Motion carried 13. COUNCIL S REPORT COUNCIL S REPORT Councilwoman Melendez Thanked everyone who volunteered to be on the Parks Committee. Said she thought this was a good idea. Said she thought they would now have a good chance to get a grant for the parks. Thanked Chief Gilbert and the Police Force for the increase in patrolling. Said that she was happy about this. Councilwoman Leal Mentioned that Ms. Riveron had said she wanted pictures of residents using the City s parks and other recreational facilities. Stated that everyone could start taking pictures right away. Mentioned the opening day for baseball, softball, or activities at local schools. Also commended the Police Chief and his officers. Stated that she had received calls from residents expressing their happiness with more visible police protection. 3

4 Councilman Garcia Stated that Main Street was getting bad; it has a lot of low and uneven spots; especially between Indiana Avenue and Virginia Avenue. Emphasized that Virginia Avenue was really a mess. Councilwoman Leal asked to add some information said her husband had griped at her for the past two days concerning the poor condition of the City s streets. Said she had told him to attend the meeting and speak his mind. However, he is not in attendance. Stated that she had told him that the City could not fix everything immediately. She also told him that the more it rains, the more the streets sink. Councilman Rios Thanked everyone for coming to the meeting. Stated that he had been in New Orleans training for Disaster Relief the past week. Said that he had seen first-hand the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Stated that this was a good trip he had gotten to speak with representatives from FEMA, the American Red Cross, etc. Told those present that their complaints are minor compared with some of the ones in New Orleans. Said he had also met the Mayor of New Orleans. Emphasized that one of the main lessons he had learned was that South Houston was a little city, but it had to work with what it had. Councilman Torres Told everyone to be careful on the wet streets. 14. MAYOR S REPORT MAYOR S REPORT Mayor Soto Mentioned that everyone was invited to a meeting with Commissioner Jack Mormon and others concerning the flooding issues in the City. The meeting will start at 7 p.m. Said that the meeting will be held at the Presbyterian Church which is off Theta Street. Told everyone to use a dummy camera or a sign stating that the house was under video surveillance in order to deter burglars. Also recognized Dora Molina, who lives on Virgil Street across from Avenue A Park, who was asking if anything could be done about the sidewalks. Stated that the City was working on this by trying to get a grant to help pay for this. If this does not work out, the City will ask the South Houston Economic Development Corporation to help fund the sidewalks. Explained that he was talking about putting a sidewalk all the way down Avenue A, from the front of the park from Allen-Genoa all the way down. Also said that the City plans to put a sidewalk on 8 th Street and Texas Avenue; and re-do the ones on Avenue N and re-do the ones from the elementary school all the way to Freeway Manor. 15. ADJOURNMENT ADJOURNMENT Mayor Soto adjourned the meeting at 7 p.m. 4

5 PASSED and APPROVED this the 14 th day of AUGUST JOE SOTO, MAYOR City of South Houston, Texas ATTEST: BARBARA S. BIGHAM, CITY SECRETARY City of South Houston, Texas 5