City Meeting, June 11th, 2024

Updated: June 27, 2024

Iris Garcia
Special to LFN

On Tuesday, June 11th, the city of Los Fresnos held its monthly regular city council meeting. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Flores, and Mr. Milum, city manager, led the meeting in an invocation. The mayor and three of the commissioners were present.

No visitor remarks were made during this meeting, but there was a public hearing to get input from the citizens about the changes to the Texas CBDG Program Community Development Contract CDV21-0095. Part of the amendment is to remove the sewer improvement work along 2nd Street between North Alamo Street and Arroyo Boulevard. The city manager explained the sewer line is no longer active and thus does not need to be replaced. Additionally, the amendment will incorporate water line work to a line in the alley between Ocean Boulevard and East 5th Street to have proper spacing or adequate access to the sewer line and meet the required regulations.

The council considered (10) consent agenda items— which are matters considered to be routine by the City Council and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless requested by a member of the City Council. The item may subsequently be removed from the Consent Agenda to be considered separately.

All (10) Consent Agenda items were motioned for approval by Commissioner Escobedo and seconded by Commissioner Fernandez. Motion carried unanimously, 4-0, and are listed below:

Consideration and ACTION to approve the minutes from May 14, 2024.
Consideration and ACTION to approve an updated preliminary plat for Los Fresnos Oaks Subdivision.
Consideration and ACTION to approve the preliminary plat for Los Laureles Subdivision.
Consideration and ACTION to approve the second reading of an ordinance amending the Los Fresnos Code of Ordinances, Chapter 48- Zoning, Article II-District Regulations, Division 7-Additional Standards, Subdivision IV-Signs, Section 48-273 Signs exempted from certain regulations and repealing all ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict therewith.
Consideration and ACTION to approve the second reading of an ordinance approving the Economic Development Agreement between the City of Los Fresnos, the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone #2, City of Los Fresnos, and GF Development of Los Fresnos, LLC; authorizing execution of the agreement, and various provisions related to the foregoing subject.
Consideration and ACTION to approve a resolution of the City of Los Fresnos, Texas finding that AEP Texas INC.’s requested increase to its electric transmission and distribution rates and charges within the city should be denied; finding that the city’s reasonable rate case expenses shall be reimbursed by the company; finding that the meeting at which this resolution is passed is open to the public as required by law; requiring notice of this resolution to the company and legal counsel.
Consideration and ACTION to approve a resolution for the submission of a grant application for the City of Los Fresnos to the office of the Governor.
Consideration and ACTION to approve a resolution requesting U.S. Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, District 34, and U.S Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, along with appropriate state officials, to submit a rider to the farm bill or any related bill, federal or state, to include the City of Los Fresnos, Cameron County, Texas, to be eligible for all rural programs based on its rural character.
Consideration and ACTION to excuse the absence of Mayor Alejandro Flores from the May 14, 2024 City Council meeting.
Consideration and ACTION to excuse the absence of Larry Meade from the May 20, 2024 Planning and Zoning meeting.

Following the consent agenda, the city council covered the (6) Action Items.

Discussion and action to pass Resolution 7-2024 authorizing the submission of an amendment for TxCDBG project no. CDV21-0095 to remove the sewer improvement work along 2nd Street between North Alamo Street and Arroyo Boulevard.
The city manager explained that in addition to the public hearing, the amendment to remove the sewer improvement work has to be officially removed from the books to satisfy the grant process that it’s a part of. Commissioner Fernandez made a motion to approve and seconded by Commissioner Vinson. Motion carried, 4-0.
Discussion and action to approve Change Order No. 1 for TxCDBG project no. CDV21-0095.
The change order will be “a deduct and will provide a credit of $65,476.00, which is funding that can be used in another project down the line”, said Mr. Milum. Commissioner Escobedo made a motion to approve and seconded by Commissioner Fernandez. Motion carried, 4-0.
Consideration and ACTION to approve a Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Los Fresnos and The Lower Rio Grande Valley TPDES Stormwater Task Force Partnership, INC for representative appointment to the regional Lower Rio Grande Valley TPDES Stormwater Task Force.
The city manager stated, “This is the agreement for the coalition that we are a part of, to meet requirements for stormwater drainage, and what is called MS4 program. We have been part of this coalition where many cities come together under the umbrella of UTRGV for many years. Having the University as the lead, along with many cities of the valley, we are assured to have the best guidance and program possible. Currently, 25 cities are part of this coalition. The agreement is for 5 years since that is the length of the storm water permit we have. The annual payment for the assistance provided was $11,992 but is now increasing to $14,390.40 per year. We don’t have the expertise or the personnel (manpower) to do this outside of the coalition. I recommend approval.” Commissioner Escobedo made a motion to approve and seconded by Commissioner Fernandez. Motion carried, 4-0.
Consideration and ACTION to accept bids submitted to replace Water Ground Storage Tank #3, authorize the City Manager to issue a contract, and approve the budget amendment.
The Council approved to obtain bids to replace the ground storage tank using ARPA (COVID) Funds in February. City manager recommended approval of the low bid to Ferguson System Services for $150,000, who have also worked on the other tank and are familiar with the city’s water plant and operations. Commissioner Fernandez made a motion to approve and seconded by Commissioner Escobedo. Motion carried, 4-0.
Consideration and ACTION to upgrade Los Fresnos Police Department Patrol Vehicle Cameras & Officer Body Cameras.
The city manager briefly explained that “the current system for the police vehicle cameras and the officer’s body cameras is old and becoming obsolete, and will no longer be supported in December. We need to upgrade to current technology to not only provide safety for our officers but also for the general public as interactions take place. We have looked at different companies that provide the service and all are similar in cost and product capabilities. The staff feels that the Motorola Solution is the best option to take.” Commander Banda took the podium to provide a list of some of the capabilities the new system will provide. He said it was a cloud-based system, which means it will offer unlimited storage, GPS capability, mobile accessibility, transcripts, live streaming, videos will load immediately, ability to share files with the DA’s office and other agencies, and add-ons will also be available.
The system will equip 10 patrol units, 17 officers, 1 spare body camera, and 1 interview room. This is a 5-year agreement at $54,641.38 for the first year, and $51,338 for the next 4 years. Commissioner Fernandez made a motion to approve and seconded by Commissioner Vinson. Motion carried, 4-0.
Consideration and ACTION to approve fleet management services with Enterprise Fleet Management.

The city manager stated that the Finance Director, Pablo Garza, “along with the Police Department and Public Works administrative staff have been looking into leasing programs for the city’s fleet of vehicles. Representatives will be present to discuss the proposal to move our 27 vehicles to their fleet management system. There are many positives that we will discuss during the presentation. Some of the negatives are it locks us in during the lease time. We won’t own our vehicles. When we own our vehicles, we generally push off buying new if we have a tough budget year, giving us funds to do something else with. That flexibility will not be available. We will still be able to defer some things, but not like when we buy our own. We will have to use their certified repair shops. There are others that we can add. Based on the information presented so far, I recommend approval.”

A representative from Enterprise provided information about the lease program. Some of the advantages the program will offer are cuts to maintenance costs, and vehicles will be replaced before their resale value diminishes. Commissioner Fernandez made a motion to approve and seconded by Mayor Flores. Motion carried, 4-0.

The motion to approve the city manager’s report was made by Commissioner Fernandez, and seconded by Commissioner Escobedo. Motion carried, 4-0. Then a motion to approve the department head’s reports was made by Commissioner Escobedo and seconded by Commissioner Vinson. Motion carried, 4-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:04 PM.