11-20-2017 MinutesMINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING
November 20, 2017
A Special Meeting was held by the Schertz City Council of the City of Schertz, Texas, on November
20, 2016, at 6:00 p.m. in the Hal Baldwin Municipal Complex Council Chambers, 1400 Schertz
Parkway, Building #4, Schertz, Texas. The following members present to -wit:
Mayor Michael Carpenter
Councilmember Mark Davis
Councilmember Scott Larson
Councilmember Angelina Kiser
Councilmember Elect David Scagliola
Staff Present:
Executive Director Brian James
Assistant to City Manager Sarah Gonzalez
Call to Order — City Council Special Session
Mayor Pro -Tem Cedric Edwards
Councilmember Ralph Gutierrez
Councilmember Robin Thompson
Councilmember Bert Crawford
City Manager John Kessel
City Attorney Charles Zech
City Secretary Brenda Dennis
Mayor Carpenter called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m.
Opening Prayer and Pledges of Allegiance to the Flags of the United States and State of Texas.
( Councilmember Crawford)
Councilmember Crawford provided the opening prayer followed by the pledges of allegiance to the
flags of the United States and the State of Texas.
Mayor Carpenter welcomed Schertz - Cibolo- Universal City Independent School District Board
Trustees Mr. Gary Inmon and Mr. Robert Westbrook who were in the audience.
Mayor Carpenter welcomed Cibolo Councilmember Elect Member Mr. Joel Hicks and Cibolo Mayor
Elect Stosh Boyle.
Mayor Carpenter welcomed former Councilmembers Mr. Jim Fowler, Mr. Carl Douglas and Mr.
Grumpy Azzoz. Mayor Carpenter welcomed Dr. Scagliola who is newly elected and elected back to
the City Council this evening.
1. Resolution No. 17 -R -106 — Consideration and/or action approving a Resolution canvassing
the returns and declaring the results of the November 7, 2017 General Election; and other
matters in connection therewith. (M. Carpenter/B. Dennis)
The following was read into record:
11 -20 -2017 Minutes Page - 1 -
RESOLUTION NO. 17 -R -106
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SCHERTZ, TEXAS,
APPROVING THE CANVASS OF THE NOVEMBER 7, 2017 GENERAL ELECTION (.
AND DECLARING THE RESULTS OF SUCH ELECTION
Mayor Carpenter recognized City Secretary Brenda Dennis who provided the following
information regarding the official results of the November 7, 2017 General and Special
Election:
Early Voting Election Day I
Comal / Comal / Total Votes
Bexar Guadalupe Bexar Guadalupe Cast
Citv Council Place 3
Scott Larson 24 788 36 477135
Dani Salas 13 384 29 253 679
Council Place 4
Cedric Edwards 1 35 1 1045 1 52 1 653
City Council Place 5
David L. Sca liola 22 631 27 403 0$_
Robin Thomason 17 572 39 353 981
Ms. Dennis stated that with these results, Scott Larson is re- elected to City Council Place 3,
Cedric Edwards is re- elected to City Council Place 4 and David Scagliola is elected to City
Council Place 5.
Roll Call Vote Confirmation
Mayor Carpenter recognized City Secretary Brenda Dennis who provided the roll call votes for item
1.
Mayor Carpenter stated that before he entertains a motion he stated that he would also like to
thank all those here that ran and did not prevail; thank you for stepping forward in choosing to
be a part of the process.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Thompson who moved, seconded by Mayor
Pro -Tem Edwards to approve Resolution No. 17 -R -106 canvassing the returns and declaring
the results of the General and Special Election. The vote was unanimous with Mayor Pro -
11-20 -2017 Minutes Page - 2 -
Tem Edwards, Councilmembers Davis, Gutierrez, Larson, Thompson, Kiser and
Crawford voting for and no one voting no. Motion passed.
Mayor Carpenter stated that before we administer the oaths of office our Charter compels us always
at Council meetings give an opportunity to speak and opened it up to the public to address Council.
Mayor Carpenter recognized the following who spoke:
Former Councilmember Jim Fowler, 1057 Boxer Pass, who stated when he looks at the seven
member of Council he knows it's been a learning experience for everyone to work together.
Mr. Fowler stated that he had to admit with Dr. Scagliola started to run for Council he thought
that there is not a very good track record running against an incumbent, but he pulled it off.
Mr. Fowler thanked Scott for running and remembers sitting down with him when he was
thinking about running and thinks he is fmding that it is a little different than what he thought.
He reminded Scott that there are six other members and you learn together. You learn to
compromise and learn to know when to make your stand, and that is for the citizens.
Mr. Fowler addressed Cedric commenting 'on not having an opponent and that he lucked out.
He mentioned that while he was on Council he was one of the ones he looked to. They
became friends and had prayer time together and continues to do so. Mr. Fowler stated that he
is glad Council still opens with prayer. Mr. Fowler wished everyone great success.
Mr. Carl Douglas, 2550 Woodland Village Place, who address council stating that he was one
of the first Councilmembers to meet in this building and at the time there were only five
members. He stated it has now expanded to seven, if it is not what you want it to be, stay the
course and you can get it to be what you want it to be. It is not necessarily what you want it to
be, you are representing the citizens of the City of Schertz. Listen to them, do what they say, it
may not be exactly what you want but the art of compromise comes in, they can put you in
and they can take you out. Pay attention to the citizens, and if it is not what you want in
conjunction with the citizens, you can get there. All you have to do is work among yourself
and it will happen.
• Cibolo Mayor Elect Stosh Boyle, who congratulated all those elected and stated he is looking
forward to working with the Council and extends open arms.
• Cibolo Council Elect Joel Hicks, who also congratulated everyone and is looking forward to
working together with open arms and this community. He also looks forward to working with
the School District.
Mayor Carpenter stated that at this time he would like to open it up for Council to have an
opportunity prior to the Oaths of office and then after he will open it up to those that were sworn in.
Mayor Carpenter recognized the following members of Council:
Councilmember Ralph Gutierrez who stated that as we bid farewell it is difficult to say good
bye to a colleague. He stated that you have been a pillar to our community with unwavering
support and encouragement. Your time and efforts have made the City of Schertz a better
11 -20 -2017 Minutes Page - 3 -
place to live. The city appreciates your exceptional dedication to our community and he
sincerely wishes him continued success in his endeavors. This was read towards
Councilmember Thompson.
• Councilmember Larson thanked the citizens of Schertz for the opportunity to continue to
serve. To Councilmember Thompson he wants to say thank you for your time and faithful
service and the wonderful things he has done for the community. He stated we will miss you
and to Dr. Scagliola we are excited to have you join the team. The best days of Schertz are
still ahead of us.
• Mayor Pro -Tem Edwards who stated it is always good to see change come about. Seeing the
changes happening in Cibolo and changes happening around the community, not just in our
city but for the growth of the whole region. He appreciates the change. To Councilmember
Thompson, thank you for your service as well.
• Councilmember Thompson who stated it has been a great honor to sit up on the Council for
three years. You learn that we have a tremendous community. Our citizens are the best
around and it is truly an honor to have served them. He offered his congratulations to Dr.
Scagliola who ran a very good campaign. He would in particular offer his accommodations to
his wife. He believes she set a role model and example on how a spouse can support a
candidate, a very positive example of that. He mentioned as a final thought, one of the things
that he has learned is that we have an excellent staff and leadership team in the City of
Schertz. Our employees deserve the best, they are a tremendous group of employees and staff
to work with and would continue to encourage this Council to work with them in a way that
brings out the best in them and in you.
• Councilmember Kiser who stated whenever there is an election she considers it an
opportunity. Its an opportunity for more residents to get involved and what we saw with the
two out of the three positions having an opponent, we are seeing more involvement from the
citizens and residents of the City of Schertz. As we move forward she thinks they are going to
do well, the Council, they do represent the people of Schertz as Mr. Fowler stated earlier. She
looks forward to working with everyone again, including the surrounding cities. She wished
Councilmember Thompson good luck and congratulations to Dr. Scagliola.
• Councilmember Crawford who addressed newly elected Mayor of Cibolo Stosh Boyle and
newly elected Councilmember Joel Hicks thanking them for showing up this evening. This is
a good sign that we want to work together. He is thankful for those who came out to vote this
year, and wished we would have more, but that is the function of off year elections and not
national elections. For all those who didn't you have a chance again next year.
Mayor Carpenter congratulated each of those who were reelected and elected. Mayor Carpenter
thanked Councilmember Thompson for his service. Mayor Carpenter stated that every person
who stands forth and chooses to serve their community in elected office, and he will speak from
personal experience, you find out quickly after you are first elected. that there are many things that
you thought and they not quite what you thought they were. Many things that you find that you
didn't know, and you thought you perhaps you did. There are many things that you continue to
learn throughout the entire time that you serve. It is an extraordinary gift of time. It is incredibly
time consuming and it is an act of giving to the community to stand forth. It's not always fund.
11 -20 -2017 Minutes Page - 4 -
He stated to tell you the truth, when you sit in an elected office you will have people who will not
like what you do, or you personally. You will not be able to please everyone all the time, its an
impossibility, and that makes it a challenge, but it's a great challenge. Pushing through that is a
difficult thing to do sometimes.
To Councilmember Thompson for stepping fourth to choosing to serve your community, for the
time you have given to the City on behalf of all the residents, the staff and this Council and his
family, thank you and he appreciates your service very much.
Mayor Carpenter turned the meeting back over to the City Secretary to provide the Oaths of
Office.
2. Oath of Office — (B. Dennis)
A. Newly Elected Officers — Oath of Office. (B. Dennis)
Mayor Carpenter recognized City Secretary Brenda Dennis who provided the oaths of
office to newly City Officials Council Place 3 Scott Larson, Council Place 4 Cedric
Edwards, Council Place 5 David L. Scagliola.
B. Certificate of Election — Presentation of Certificate of Election. (Mayor Carpenter)
Mayor Carpenter City Secretary Brenda Dennis presented the newly elected officials
City Council Places 3, 4 and 5, with their individual certificates of election.
Councilmember David Scagliola took his place on the dais.
Mayor Carpenter stated he will come back to each Councilmember that has been sworn in the
opportunity to address the Council and citizens.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Mayor Pro -Tem Edwards who stated that it has been a privilege to
serve. It is all made possible by many of the citizens but also wants to say that his wife and his
children have been his backbone through this whole process. He is extremely excited to have his
wife and daughter in the audience and thanked them. He thanked everyone for their support.
Mayor Carpenter recognized Councilmember Scagliola who stated he lost his election three years ago
and that was bitter sweet. But when one door closes another door opens and he was able to devote a
lot of time to another pursuit of his and he accomplished that goal.
Last year he ran to get back on this elected body and things have changed, it changed a lot. He
learned that campaigning in the City of 10,000 registered voters is a whole lot different in trying to
campaign in a City of over 20,000 voters. At that time the campaign turned political as well, and for
the record he does not like politics. He knows it is strange coning from someone sitting up here, but
he doesn't like politics. He does not have a lot of respect for people who want to play politics. He
started thinking to himself well, if you can't handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen. Don't get
involved in the political process if you don't want to get involved in politics. But you can't teach an
old dog new tricks, an old crew dog. He has learned some new tricks. He learned how to get
reengaged in the political process without comprising his integrity. The most important thing he
learned is that together everyone accomplishes more. Team work. He stated it turns out he has a lot
11 -20 -2017 Minutes Page - 5 -
of friends, he thanked those that showed up this evening. He also thanked his family. He thinks it is
interesting that some of his friends do not get along with his other friends, that's ok because they
found something that could bring them.together. They shared a common belief, they believed in him.
They believed that he could make a positive difference in the city once again. They came out and
supported him, gave him encouragement. They encouraged him to go above and beyond what he
even thought he was able to accomplish. In away this is their victory every bit as it is his. He is sitting
in this seat now and he remembers a long time ago that he made a pledge to the residents of the city.
He will make another one now, and he wrote this one down. He pledges to use his skills and
experiences to represent you the residents of this City. As we embrace the challenges and
opportunities of tomorrow and remembering the traditions of the past. He stated the last time he made
a pledge he believes he lived up to it. He asked do you think he will live up to this one? His answer
was yes. He will do his best.
Mayor Carpenter thanked Councihnember Scagliola once again. As there was no further business,
Mayor Carpenter mentioned that there are refreshments back in the conference room for those who
would like to stay and take photos. He again thanked those for joining us particularly the newly
elected officials, the former elected officials and currently elected officials that are serving us and all
the guests.
Adi ournment
Mayor Carpenter adjourned the meeting at 6:28 p.m.
chael R. Carpenter, Mayor
ATTEST � � J
Brenda Dennis, City Secretary
11 -20 -2017 Minutes Page - 6 -