01-05-2016 MinutesMINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
January 5, 2016
A Regular Meeting was held by the Schertz City Council of the City of Schertz, Texas, on January 5,
2016, at 6:00 p.m., in the Hal Baldwin Municipal Complex Council Chambers, 1400 Schertz
Parkway, Building 44, Schertz, Texas. The following members present to -wit:
Mayor Michael Carpenter
Councilmember Grumpy Azzoz
Councilmember Cedric Edwards
Staff Present:
Executive Director Brian James
Executive Director Bob Cantu
City Secretary Brenda Dennis
Call to Order — City Council Regular Session
Mayor Pro -Tem Fowler
Councilmember Daryl John
Councilmember Robin Thompson
City Manager John Kessel
Executive Director Dudley Wait
City Attorney Charles Zech
Mayor Carpenter called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m.
Opening Prayer and Pledges of Allegiance to the Flags of the United States and State of Texas.
(Mr. Ken Ratcliff, Schertz Church of Christ)
Mr. Ratcliff provided the opening prayer followed by the pledges of allegiance to the flags of the
United States and the State of Texas.
City Events and Announcements
• Announcements of upcoming City Events (B. James/D. Wait/. Cantu)
Mayor Carpenter recognized Executive Director Brian James who provided the following
announcements:
Burial Services for Johnny Bierschwale's Mother:
Constance "Connie" Marlene Sanders, age 83, passed away Friday, January 1, 2016 in her
home surrounded by her children and grandchildren.
The family will receive friends on Thursday, January 7, 2016 at 5:00 P.M. — 9:00 p.m. with
a Rosary beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Schertz Funeral Home.
There will be a Funeral Mass held on Friday, January 8, 2016 at 10:00 A.M. at St. Peter
Prince of the Apostles Catholic Church, 111 Barilla Place, San Antonio, TX 78209.
Interment will follow the service at San Jose Burial Park, 8235 Mission Road, San Antonio,
TX 78214.
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• Announcements and recognitions by City Manager (J. Kessel)
Mayor Carpenter recognized City Manager John Kessel who stated that recently David Taylor
was promoted from Kennel Tech to Animal Services Officer and since that promotion bavid
has already made an impact to the department. Mr. Kessel stated that he had received an
email regarding David's professionalism and service that he had provided to a resident
recently. So if you see Mr. Taylor give him kudos and say thank you for the good work that he
is doing for our community.
Mayor Carpenter stated that on Christmas Eve Mr. Henry Gutierrez (owner of Bexar Waste)
was taken from us. He asked everyone to join him in standing for a moment of silence in Mr.
Gutierrez's memory.
PrPenn:a +inn
• Presentation of plaque and proclamation to homeowners Mr. & Mrs. Richard Campbell whose
property was named as "Landmark Properties ". (B. James/D. Weirtz)
Mayor Carpenter recognized Historical Preservation Committee Chair Dean Weirtz who
provided information on the recent recognition. Mr. Weirtz read and presented to Richard and
Kimberly Campbell a proclamation designating 539 Main Street as a Landmark Property.
Mayor Carpenter and Mr. Weirtz also presented them with a plaque that will be displayed on
their home.
Mayor Pro -Tem Fowler arrived at 6: 08 p.m.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Commissioner Jim Wolverton who was in the audience this evening.
Hearing of Residents
This time is set aside for any person who wishes to address the City Council. Each person should fill
out the speaker's register prior to the meeting. Presentations should be limited to no more than 3
minutes.
All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a body, and not to any individual member thereof.
Any person making personal, impertinent, or slanderous remarks while addressing the Council
may be requested to leave the meeting.
Discussion by the Council of any item not on the agenda shall be limited to statements of specific
factual information given in response to any inquiry, a recitation of existing policy in response to an
inquiry, andlor a proposal to place the item on a future agenda. The presiding officer, during the
Hearing of Residents portion of the agenda, will call on those persons who have signed up to speak in
the order they have registered.
Mayor Carpenter recognized the following who spoke:
• Mrs. Sandi Wheeler, 1508 Red Oak Cove, who provided information on pros and cons of
the recent Trap - Neuter- Release program, requesting that the City take another look at this.
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Ms. Wheeler provided each Councilmember a copy of the Pros and Cons regarding the
Trap- Neuter - Release Program.
• Mr. Gordon Green, 1508 Red Oak Cove, who also spoke regarding the Trap- Neuter-
Release program.
• Mrs. Jessica Crawford, 370 Pecan Meadows, who came forward stating that she is running
for the District Judge, 2nd 25th Judicial District seat, currently held by W. C. "Bud"
Kirkendall, who announced earlier that he would be stepping down from the bench. Mrs.
Crawford provided a brief bio of her qualifications for the position.
Consent Agenda Items
The Consent Agenda is considered self - explanatory and will be enacted by the Council with one
motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless they are removed from the
Consent Agenda upon the request of the Mayor or a Councilmember.
1. Minutes - Consideration and/or action regarding the approval of the minutes of the Regular
Meeting of December 15, 2015. (J. Kessel/B. Dennis)
2. Ordinance No. 15 -S -43 - ZC2015 -007 — Consideration and/or action approving an Ordinance
to rezone property located at 17160 IH -35 currently zoned Neighborhood Services District
anal property located at 5317 Cabana currently zoned Manufactured Home Subdivision
District to General Business District. Final Reading (B. James /L. Wood)
The following was read into record:
ORDINANCE NO. 15 -S -43
AN ORDINANCE BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZ, TEXAS
AMENDING THE OFFICIAL ZONING MAP BY REZONING AN
APPROXIMATELY 0.5086 ACRE TRACT OF LAND FROM NEIGHBORHOOD
SERVICES DISTRICT (NS) AND MANUFACTURED HOME SUBDIVISION
DISTRICT (MHS) TO GENERAL BUSINESS DISTRICT (GB).
Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Edwards who moved, seconded by
Councilmember Thompson to approve consent agenda items 1 and 2. The vote was
unanimous with Mayor Pro -Tem Fowler, Councilmembers Azzoz, John, Edwards and
Thompson voting for and no one voting no. Motion passed.
Discussion and Action items
3. Ordinance No. 15 -S -44 - SUP2015 -002 — Consideration and/or action approving an
Ordinance for a Specific Use Permit to allow a Convenience Store with Gas Pumps at 853 FM
3009. Final Reading (B. James/L. Wood)
The following was read into record:
ORDINANCE NO. 15 -S -44
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AN ORDINANCE BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZ, TEXAS
ZONING 853 FM 3009, SCHERTZ, GUADALUPE COUNTY, TEXAS TO ALLOW A
SPECIFIC USE PERMIT FOR OPERATION OF A CONVENIENCE STORE WITH
GAS PUMPS
Mayor Carpenter recognized Senior Planner Lesa Wood who stated that this item was taken
off the consent agenda and put on the discussion and action items because staff made one
change to the ordinance based on a recommendation from our City Attorney. Nothing about
the ordinance and development has changed; the site hasn't changed. We took the
development on the property which was in section one with the actual zoning of the property
and put it in section two that would allow staff to make some minor changes. For instance if
the sidewalk is adjusted and it is not exactly what is on the site plan, it would allow staff the
ability to do that and that is the only change.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Azzoz who moved, seconded by
Councilmember Edwards to approve Ordinance No. 15 -S -44 on final reading. The vote was
unanimous with Mayor Pro -Tem Fowler, Councilmembers Azzoz, John, Edwards and
Thompson voting for and no one voting no. Motion passed.
Roll Call Vote Confirmation
Mayor Carpenter recognized City Secretary Brenda Dennis who provided the roll call votes for
agenda items 1 through 3.
Requests and Announcements
4. Announcements by City Manager
• Citizen Kudos
• Recognition of City employee actions
• New Departmental initiatives
No further Announcements were made.
5. Future Agenda Item Request for City Council: This is an opportunity for City Council
members to request that items be placed on a future agenda. No discussion of the merits of
the item may be taken at this time. Should a Council Member oppose placement of the
requested item on a future agenda, the Mayor, without allowing discussion, shall ask for the
consensus of the other City Council members to place or not place the item on a future
agenda.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Edwards who requested the City Attorney draft
a document to add to their Code of Ethics regarding public media address. Mayor Carpenter
restated and asked that for our next available meeting we have an agenda item generally for
discussion and potential action with regards to our Rules of Conduct and Procedure and our
Code of Ethics. Mayor Carpenter stated that this would give the Council the ability to discuss
other items and not just this single item.
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Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember John who stated he has two (2) requests related
to promoting Economic Development in Schertz. The 1St item is to take a look at our tree
mitigation ordinance to ease the financial burdens on sellers and purchasers of property, and
the 2nd item is he would like for staff to take a look at crafting an ordinance that would
address the issues of extending responsibilities of inspections to the engineer of record for
professionally engineered projects. Councilmember John stated that he had already spoken to
Mr. James regarding these two requests and he had indicated that this could be accomplished
and brought to Council in three weeks. Mayor Carpenter recognized Executive Director Brian
James who stated that these could be brought to Council on January 26, 2016.
6. Announcements by Mayor and Councilmembers
• City and community events attended and to be attended
• City Council Committee and Liaison Assignments (see assignments below)
• Continuing education events attended and to be attended
• Recognition of actions by City employees
• Recognition of actions by community volunteers
• Upcoming City Council agenda items
Mayor Carpenter recognized Mayor Pro -Tem Fowler who stated he is glad everyone made it
through the holidays. Mayor Pro -Tem Fowler also stated that he was very impressed with all
the support given the Gutierrez Family regarding the funeral services.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Edwards who stated that he had received an
invitation from the City of Kirby to participate in the Martin Luther King Day parade that they
have, which is Friday January 16"', prior to the holiday. He stated that he would not be
available for that but that they also extended the offer to anyone interested in participating.
Councilmember Edwards stated that he did provide Events Coordinator Mary Spence's
telephone number as a contact for the City if anyone was interested. He also wished everyone
a happy new year.
Mayor Carpenter shared with the individuals here this evening the comments from the
Gutierrez Family in regard to the outpouring of support and the presence that the family has
been able to observe over the last few weeks. Almost to a person, every family member said
the City of Schertz had treated them very well and taken very good care of them during this
time. Mayor Carpenter stated that he wanted to share this information with everyone as it was
touching-to him that they felt that way about us and I know we felt that way about Henry. It's
a great compliment to who we are as a city to have family over and over again express that.
Mayor Carpenter thanked everyone who has been involved in support of the Gutierrez Family.
Executive Session
7. City Council will meet in closed session under section 551.074 of the Texas Government
Code, Personnel Matters, to deliberate the evaluation, duties or discipline of a City Council
Member.
Mayor Carpenter read the above caption and recognized Councilmember Azzoz who stated
that if this particular item had to do with him that he would request that this be held in the
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public. Mayor Carpenter stated that it was absolutely his right and requested a five (5) minute
recess and at the bottom of the hour they will convene not in executive session but here in
open session.
Mayor Carpenter recessed the meeting at 6:25 p.m.
Mayor Carpenter reconvened the meeting at 6:35 p.m. and moved back to agenda item 7.
Reconvene into Rejzular Session
Mayor Carpenter stated he will limit debate to 24 minutes, each councilmember having four
minutes for their conversation and comments. He offered to be the timekeeper. He asked that
everyone follow the rules of procedure and not interrupt another speaker who has the floor.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Mayor Pro -Tern Fowler who stated because of the language of
the item, he feels this discussion should be about if there are some events that have taken
place that we can use as `lessons learned' for all of us. He knows there are discussions about
the First Amendment rights and maybe there are some differences between freedom of speech
and what happens when you become an elected official. As we have this session, all of this
could be very beneficial to us and help us understand our limitations in certain situations.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Edwards who stated we are in a position to relay
public trust to our staff and among ourselves. This should be handled with great care. What
are some lessons we have learned and how do we go forward? He asked if this is the first time
in Schertz history that they have had an `open' executive session. Mayor Carpenter stated he
did not know the answer to that. As they learned in their recent team retreat, it is all about
trust.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember John who stated he would just like to make a
suggestion in this matter. While we don't have this type of thing happen often, he feels we
should just let the Police Officers do their jobs. The Police Chief can delegate who he wants
to make the public comments and provide public information they feel is necessary and we
need to just stay out of it.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Thompson who stated when homicides occur in
the city, there has been a pattern handed down that the City Manager e -mails a message
stating that no comment should be made about the specific case and all comments should be
directed towards the City. In the case of Mr. Gutierrez, City Manager John Kessel indicated
he would be receiving a phone call from Executive Director Dudley Wait, which did occur.
Mr. Wait stressed that we as council should not comment on the specifics of the case. He
presumes that Councilmember Azzoz received those same instructions. When a councilman
violates the trust given to him by the City and then speaks publicly so that others in the city
hear his comments on the case, there are enough people in the City who are familiar with our
Code of Conduct, that he received questions from individuals, `Why, what happened?' This is
a tragedy that he hopes we don't see again. He believes Councilmember Azzoz did cross the
line, but does not believe he did so deliberately. As a councilman who is responsible to the
citizens, city management and staff, he believes there are some consequences that should
entail.
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Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Azzoz who stated that Councilmember.
Thompson had it all wrong. He did not know what e -mails he was talking about. You crossed
the line by saying those words. Councilmember Azzoz stated he got the call (from Dudley
Wait) and he was in shock. Councilmember Azzoz stated he did not know of any e -mails from
Mr. Kessel where he instructed everyone. The media sought him out, he did not seek them
out. It is his duty and the only thing he repeated was whatever media and some of our law
enforcement people had already stated. He did not release any names and he does have his.
right of freedom of speech he did not cross the line. He did not jeopardize any investigation
if there was any and he does not understand where this is coming from. He stated, as you
heard earlier, Councilmember Edwards wanted to put in another ordinance. Councilmember
Thompson got it all wrong. Everything he said has no facts. If he is comparing me to him and
me crossing the line, that is all wrong.
Councilmember Azzoz stated that the City of Schertz is his priority when he walks through
these doors. He will do the best job he can; he has no special agenda, no motive. He doesn't
know what motive his colleagues have, but he did not cross the line. He expects him
( Councilmember Thompson) to apologize to you all because he compared what I received to
what he received. Councilmember Azzoz stated he helps anyone who comes to him and asks
for help. When he got elected he was attacked by the Chamber of Commerce, and it was
motivated. He had ethic complaints filed against him and was called names on the dais, by the
mayor and by city councilmembers; but he never crossed the line. He has never done what has
been done to him. This has all got to stop.
Councilmember Azzoz stated he went to the Gutierrez family and cared about them. What he
said was the true facts; there was no classified or unclassified information. There is nothing in
here (Code of Conduct) —maybe the city attorney can explain it, what it means.
There is a lot that went on that disturbs him and his family and friends that went on in the
past, where they should have been sanctioned — removed from office —and none was taken.
Mayor Carpenter stated that Councilmember Azzoz' time to speak had expired.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Edwards who explained to Councilmember
Azzoz that he was not asking for another ordinance, just that something be done with our
Code of Conduct or our Rules of Policy and Procedure for our Council. His reason for asking
for this is that we have no way of covering anything that addresses this particular issue and
keeping it from happening again. As Mayor Pro -Tem Fowler stated, it is a learning curve. He
wanted to state that he is not singling Councilmember Azzoz out. In going forward, this is a
learning opportunity.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Mayor Pro -Tem Fowler who stated in light of saying we are
looking for lessons learned, he would like to ask the Police Chief if he can respond to what
was said by Councilmember Azzoz on the media video —were the comments correct or not?
Mayor Carpenter stated they would not have staff address any questions now but will direct
any questions Council has to City Manager John Kessel to answer.
City Manager John Kessel stated to Mayor Pro -Tem Fowler that in his conversations with the
Police Chief, there was some information presented that was not accurate. He does not know
the nature of that information nor the degree. He also asked was there anything compromised
in the case due to that and the answer was no.
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Mayor Pro -Tern Fowler again stated that he thinks the lesson learned may be that even though
some things may seem right, they may not be entirely true. Therefore we need to rely upon a
source we can use before we go before the public with any information. This is a good
reminder for us that we need to always check our sources. Mayor Carpenter stated Mayor Pro-
Tern Fowler's speaking time was expired.
Mayor Carpenter stated he was going to make a few comments. The first one is that
Councilmember Azzoz is correct. We all have a first amendment right to say anything we
want to say. This means the rest of the Council also has an amendment right to say what they
want to say. This Council can also speak as a body with their first amendment right. He agrees
with Councilmember Azzoz that he committed no breach of our code of ethics; no breach of
any rule or rule of procedure that we have, and that only he was asked not to talk about an
ongoing investigation in the public or with the press and he chose to do so anyway.
Mayor Carpenter stated he had talked with Councilmember Azzoz on the phone before he
spoke to the media. Councilmember Azzoz said he would like to give an interview and the
Mayor said you should absolutely do so and talk about your feelings for Mr. Gutierrez and his
relationship with the City, etc. He did ask that if the media asked any questions about the
investigation to simply say we do not say anything about ongoing investigations. As the
conversation continued, Mayor Carpenter said he repeated his request to Councilmember
Azzoz not to discuss the ongoing investigation and in the end he chose to do so anyway.
Although Councilmember Azzoz had that right, Mayor Carpenter thinks it was not the correct
decision to make. When information is given by staff or the Police Department to Council,
they rely on us to be discreet and keep things confidential and that is a trust relationship that
we have. If we endanger that relationship, it will make them (staff) rethink whether they can
trust us again. The staff will then have to decide what future information they can share or
what they may need to filter. That is the principle problem.
The other principle problem is we have a Police Department that is conducting a case and they
need to be the ones that manage the release of information. We also have a public information
office that is qualified to work with the police department to release information. He believes
the Police Department is singularly capable and positioned to decide what should be released,
in what manner, to whom and at what time, to aide in their investigation. None of us have that
information and therefore he thinks none of us have the ability to decide when those things
should or should not be released to the press. This is why we are having this discussion now.
Mayor Carpenter stated he does not think there is anything we can do within our Code of
Conduct or Rules of Procedure to limit anyone from their freedom of speech. This is a trust
issue we have to decide, each one of us for ourselves, as to whether we are going to go along
with the requests of our departments or go out on our own. He encourages every member of
Council to, in the future, when asked by any department to not make any comment to the
press, to honor their request. If you feel you must speak to the press, then expect this Council
to talk about it. The Mayor thinks it is a breach of trust to release information when we were
asked not to do so by staff. Let our professionals do their jobs. The best thing we can do for
them is to support them and not interfere.
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7a. Take any necessary action based on discussions held in closed session under Agenda Item
number 7.
No action was taken as there was not an executive session.
Roll Call Vote Confirmation
No roll call as there was no action taken.
Adi ournment
Mayor Carpenter adjourned the meeting at 6:56 p.m.
Mic ael Carpenter, Mayor
.ATTEST:
Brenda Dennis, City Secretary
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