[0:02] This conference will now be recorded.

[0:05] >> Appreciate it.

[0:07] » Appreciate it.

[0:07] Today is Friday, July 31st, 2026 and I

[0:09] would like to call today's emergency

[0:11] city council meeting to order. If we

[0:12] could all please rise for the Pledge of

[0:14] Allegiance.

[0:17] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

[0:19] United States of America,

[0:22] and to the republic for which it stands,

[0:24] one nation under God, indivisible, with

[0:28] liberty and justice for all.

[0:35] » Thank you.

[0:37] Clerk, can I please have roll call?

[0:39] >> Council member Rivard?

[0:41] » Council member Rivard?

[0:41] >> Present.

[0:41] » Present.

[0:41] >> Council member Casberg?

[0:43] » Council member Casberg?

[0:43] >> Present.

[0:44] » Present.

[0:44] >> Council member Boyle?

[0:45] » Council member Boyle?

[0:45] >> On time.

[0:47] » On time.

[0:47] >> Council member Friend?

[0:49] » Council member Friend?

[0:49] >> Here.

[0:49] » Here.

[0:49] >> Council member Serveny?

[0:51] » Council member Serveny?

[0:51] >> Present.

[0:51] » Present.

[0:51] >> Mayor Strobel?

[0:52] » Mayor Strobel?

[0:52] >> Here. Thank you, Clerk. Thank you,

[0:54] » Here. Thank you, Clerk. Thank you,

[0:54] everyone.

[0:55] Uh thank you for coming on such short

[0:57] notice, 24 hours. Uh really pushed the

[1:00] limits tonight. I do appreciate it. Um

[1:03] there is reason for the emergency

[1:06] meeting.

[1:07] Um these Well, I'd probably let Do you

[1:10] want to speak about it first, Peter?

[1:12] Okay. Let Peter go ahead and speak

[1:14] first.

[1:15] >> Sure, Mr. Mayor, city council. So, we

[1:17] » Sure, Mr. Mayor, city council. So, we

[1:17] had We recently had a meeting with the

[1:19] school district. And uh

[1:22] our understanding is that they are

[1:23] preparing an application for a DOJ

[1:26] grant, Department of Justice grant, for

[1:28] school security.

[1:30] That grant would help the school pay for

[1:34] an intercom system in the elementary

[1:37] school and high school.

[1:39] And maybe there might be some money left

[1:42] over for well, uh secure locks in the

[1:44] schools, also.

[1:46] Um

[1:48] with that, uh

[1:49] I think the estimate is about 400,000,

[1:52] in that range.

[1:53] >> Before you go into that, Peter, can I

[1:54] » Before you go into that, Peter, can I

[1:54] interrupt you just for a second? This is

[1:55] also to bring them up into standards of

[1:58] Ashley's Law.

[1:59] >> Right.

[1:59] » Right.

[1:59] >> Ashley was a student or Alyssa's

[2:02] » Ashley was a student or Alyssa's

[2:02] Alyssa's Law, sorry. I'm so sorry,

[2:03] Peter. And let the record stand that

[2:05] Peter Rosenkrance, superintendent of La

[2:07] Center School District, is in the

[2:08] audience and willing to to speak to you

[2:10] guys

[2:11] uh on behalf of what we're speaking

[2:13] about tonight. Uh but this will bring

[2:15] them up to standards with the Alyssa's

[2:16] Law,

[2:17] uh which does state that they have to

[2:19] have a two-way communication to every

[2:20] single classroom in uh in case of

[2:23] emergencies.

[2:25] Um and then locks uh that we have been

[2:28] conversating about with the school

[2:29] district is to

[2:31] get the classrooms locked up in case of

[2:33] a school shooter or

[2:35] those type of emergencies where they

[2:37] cannot enter into the classrooms.

[2:40] Um sorry.

[2:41] >> Right. No, that's great. I appreciate

[2:42] » Right. No, that's great. I appreciate

[2:42] that.

[2:43] Uh

[2:45] so the grant does call for a match.

[2:48] And in meeting with the school, uh the

[2:51] city has determined that there's a

[2:53] public safety interest the city has also

[2:56] in ensuring that these improvements to

[2:59] the school buildings take place.

[3:02] Uh

[3:03] what we're proposing

[3:05] uh what we discussed was a $50,000 match

[3:09] from the city, uh which would come from

[3:12] the general fund.

[3:14] I believe it's over the course of 3

[3:16] years um that 50,000 would be spread

[3:19] out. That's my understanding at this

[3:21] point.

[3:22] What we would be asking city council for

[3:26] uh when the application goes in, I

[3:28] believe August 11th,

[3:31] uh

[3:32] it would benefit the school district to

[3:34] have a letter endorsed by city council

[3:37] uh that would indicate that the city is

[3:40] willing to put up that $50,000 as the

[3:43] grant match.

[3:45] >> So

[3:45] » So

[3:45] >> So a little bit more to that as well,

[3:47] » So a little bit more to that as well,

[3:47] Peter,

[3:48] >> Please.

[3:48] » Please.

[3:48] >> that you came in on that meeting a a

[3:50] » that you came in on that meeting a a

[3:50] bit. Uh

[3:52] the school a an operating budget right

[3:54] now 26 days. They're supposed to by law

[3:56] have 60 days of operations. They do not

[3:58] have it.

[3:59] Um

[4:00] they don't have the full funds to do the

[4:02] match. The match uh or what they'd be

[4:04] going for is a $500,000 grant from the

[4:07] Department of Justice.

[4:08] The match would be $125,000

[4:11] and the city um looked at some of its

[4:14] finances and said that we can kick in

[4:16] 50,000.

[4:18] The reason for the emergency meeting is

[4:19] that the letter of intent had to go in

[4:21] and then he has to have the entire

[4:24] packet submitted to

[4:26] uh the DOJ for the grant by August 11th,

[4:30] and that's before our council meeting.

[4:32] And the reason I called the emergency

[4:33] meeting is because I know several of you

[4:35] are on vacations and going to be

[4:37] unavailable for trainings uh next week

[4:40] to even have this meeting

[4:42] or an emergency meeting, and it's really

[4:43] kind of hard to do an emergency meeting

[4:45] the night before we have a regular

[4:46] council meeting. So,

[4:48] hence why tonight was pretty important

[4:50] to

[4:51] uh accomplish.

[4:53] Peter, do you have any any words you

[4:55] want to add to this?

[4:57] Okay. Yeah, please.

[5:07] » Test. Okay. All right, there we go.

[5:09] Yeah, um

[5:10] I appreciate the opportunity.

[5:12] >> State your name for the record, please.

[5:13] » State your name for the record, please.

[5:13] >> Peter Rosenkranz, Superintendent of the

[5:14] » Peter Rosenkranz, Superintendent of the

[5:14] Center School District.

[5:16] Um

[5:18] appreciate the opportunity to speak with

[5:19] you about this. Uh I welcome um any

[5:21] funding you are able to provide for

[5:23] match funds. A couple clarifications, if

[5:26] I may. The 60-day cash on hand is a

[5:28] recommendation by the uh not necessarily

[5:31] law, but it does go into our bond

[5:33] ratings, and it goes into be able to

[5:35] have run a solvent district. Many

[5:37] districts around us are

[5:38] uh very much strapped for cash. We We're

[5:41] no different. We're just We're shifting

[5:43] the tide

[5:44] um in that direction. But again, we're

[5:46] well below what the uh

[5:48] uh state auditor's office would

[5:49] recommend that we have uh for cash on

[5:51] hand.

[5:52] Um so, we are when we do the

[5:54] application, we are going to uh ask for

[5:55] a waiver of the um

[5:59] cash match to see if we can do that. Um

[6:02] I appreciate the city's initiation of

[6:04] this. They started down the road uh of

[6:06] application, and then as of uh

[6:08] yesterday, we took it over from there.

[6:10] And we've already submitted it's due the

[6:13] uh

[6:13] initial application to say you're

[6:16] interested is due by Tuesday. We've

[6:18] already We submitted that this morning.

[6:21] Um and then I also submitted a letter or

[6:22] request for a letter from Representative

[6:25] Gluesenkamp's office as well. Um and

[6:29] so

[6:31] what we're specifically targeting is the

[6:33] elementary and the high school for

[6:36] it's uh

[6:38] an intercom system that we can not only

[6:39] interact with the classroom

[6:42] uh one-to-one, but we're also it it's uh

[6:45] identifies what's happening to those in

[6:47] the hallway. So, if you've been in the

[6:49] middle school, middle school has the

[6:50] system. If you've been there during an

[6:52] alarm, it says, "This is a fire drill.

[6:54] Exit the building." Or, "Intruder alert.

[6:57] Lock down." It'll give you very specific

[6:59] directions of what to do, and then you

[7:01] can interact um with classrooms.

[7:04] The locks, I I was trying to call

[7:07] uh

[7:08] my team that put this together this

[7:10] morning of whether locks were on this or

[7:12] not. Um cuz we were talking about the

[7:14] physical locks. There's two types of

[7:16] locks. We're working towards outside

[7:18] doors are controlled by electronic key

[7:20] cards

[7:21] um that that we can limit and provide

[7:24] access as necessary for community use,

[7:27] but also in lockdown, we can just lock

[7:28] the door down.

[7:30] Individual classrooms, what we're

[7:31] actually They're very sturdy doors.

[7:34] All the glass has wire in them. The

[7:36] research tells us when on active

[7:38] shooters, they when they reach a locked

[7:40] door, barricaded door, they don't try to

[7:43] uh shoot their way in or damage the door

[7:45] and such, just continue to hammer at the

[7:47] door to get in. They go on to the next

[7:49] one.

[7:50] Cuz alarms are going off.

[7:52] It's noisy.

[7:53] They're wanting to do their damage as

[7:55] quick as possible.

[7:56] Um and so I I'm not as concerned The

[7:59] concern I have with the doors is that

[8:00] the teacher does not have to go outside

[8:01] the classroom to lock the door with a

[8:03] key and then go back in. From the inside

[8:06] the door, they can just push the button

[8:08] and it locks and no electronics required

[8:11] that we have to worry about. So,

[8:13] um any other

[8:15] questions?

[8:17] Yes.

[8:18] >> Well, maybe this is a silly question,

[8:20] » Well, maybe this is a silly question,

[8:20] but I'm wondering then you would have

[8:21] training for the children. You'd do like

[8:24] a fire drill type training.

[8:26] >> Uh each month we're required to do one

[8:27] » Uh each month we're required to do one

[8:28] emergency drill, whether it's uh shelter

[8:30] in place, uh evacuation for fire, uh

[8:33] lockdown, hold. Um there's a variety

[8:36] that we work with in the standard

[8:38] response protocol and collaborate with

[8:40] local law enforcement as well. And when

[8:43] the middle school does their drills, so

[8:45] they do a fire alarm, they'll pull the

[8:47] alarm and that activates the system.

[8:49] What also comes with that is any

[8:51] classroom can activate a lockdown from

[8:53] their room.

[8:54] So, if the sit if if it's

[8:56] the assumption is it's always in the

[8:58] office. So, the office would have the

[8:59] control to push the button, but it could

[9:01] actually be in the classroom or the

[9:03] classroom could initiate the lockdown

[9:05] from that point. Um so, it's

[9:08] pretty high-tech and maybe

[9:10] part of this at some point would be to

[9:11] show you what we have at the middle

[9:13] school currently, which is what we'd be

[9:15] going for for the elementary and high

[9:17] school.

[9:19] » Thank you.

[9:20] >> When the when the locks are re-keyed,

[9:23] » When the when the locks are re-keyed,

[9:23] is is there a

[9:25] do you have a um

[9:27] a master key

[9:29] or a master key set that's

[9:32] uh stationed somewhere so that law

[9:34] enforcement can get to it?

[9:36] >> We have the

[9:37] » We have the

[9:37] knock Knox blocks. No, that's Jell-O.

[9:39] >> Knox Box.

[9:40] » Knox Box.

[9:40] >> Knox Box.

[9:41] » Knox Box.

[9:41] >> Knox Box.

[9:42] » Knox Box.

[9:42] >> Yeah. So, the little black box on the

[9:44] » Yeah. So, the little black box on the

[9:44] side of the building that's uh

[9:47] Um we but we went through that with Phil

[9:49] and we'll go through it again with Todd

[9:51] and make sure we have two sets of master

[9:53] keys. All keys law enforcement want and

[9:55] first responders were required to access

[9:57] the building. Two sets because one can

[9:59] stay with the command instant command,

[10:02] another one can be gone. They They can

[10:03] hit multiple sections.

[10:05] I guess we do.

[10:07] >> Thank you.

[10:08] » Thank you.

[10:08] >> I I believe you have a training next

[10:09] » I I believe you have a training next

[10:09] month as well, right? With the Clark

[10:11] County Sheriffs?

[10:12] Is there some sort of a meeting?

[10:14] >> Uh Monday. We have the uh

[10:17] » Uh Monday. We have the uh

[10:17] our uh

[10:19] I have um

[10:21] >> I didn't mean to put you on the spot.

[10:22] » I didn't mean to put you on the spot.

[10:22] I'm sorry.

[10:23] >> no. My brain is Friday afternoon brain,

[10:24] » no. My brain is Friday afternoon brain,

[10:24] right? Uh

[10:26] It's our safety summit, there it is. And

[10:27] we get together the entire region, all

[10:29] all superintendents leadership teams get

[10:31] together and talk through

[10:33] um

[10:35] all the ills that can come of school in

[10:37] an emergency situation and and work to

[10:39] plan through with fire, law enforcement,

[10:41] and FBI, and the works.

[10:45] >> I think that's important for the public

[10:47] » I think that's important for the public

[10:47] to know.

[10:47] >> Yeah.

[10:48] » Yeah.

[10:48] >> Yeah.

[10:51] » Uh I have a couple of comments or

[10:53] questions.

[10:54] Um one program I'm familiar with is COP

[10:57] School Violence Prevention Program. Is

[10:59] that what this is?

[11:01] Yeah.

[11:01] >> Okay.

[11:02] » Okay.

[11:02] And so it So, it's a 25% match.

[11:05] And the school district is putting in

[11:07] 75,000

[11:09] and the city would come in with 20 with

[11:11] 50, is that correct?

[11:12] >> Yeah. If the waiver's not received, then

[11:14] » Yeah. If the waiver's not received, then

[11:14] yeah, we would come in with the rest

[11:16] >> asking for You are asking for a waiver.

[11:18] » asking for You are asking for a waiver.

[11:18] Okay.

[11:18] >> We are. And if that comes through, then

[11:20] » We are. And if that comes through, then

[11:20] we can adjust from there.

[11:22] >> Okay. And uh

[11:25] » Okay. And uh

[11:25] you know, I

[11:26] I think probably a community partnership

[11:29] with the city involved probably gives

[11:32] some added strength to the application.

[11:34] Which is a good thing. I absolutely

[11:37] believe

[11:38] uh that school safety and the safety of

[11:40] the students is a extremely high

[11:42] priority.

[11:44] Uh

[11:45] I was actually pleased to hear earlier

[11:47] this week that a school shooter in

[11:49] Georgia, who was 14 at the time he did

[11:51] it,

[11:51] was sentenced to life in prison.

[11:54] Because I don't think we should be tall

[11:56] in any way

[11:57] making it easier for people to think

[11:59] it's okay to go into a school.

[12:01] And definitely we need the security at

[12:03] the schools. I also think good schools

[12:06] enhance

[12:07] uh

[12:09] other values in our community.

[12:11] I think people that are likely to start

[12:13] businesses, people that have money to

[12:15] spend, people that are looking for a

[12:17] safe place to raise their family,

[12:20] move to districts where they know the

[12:23] schools are strong asset.

[12:25] They don't go to places if they can

[12:27] avoid it where schools are weak and

[12:29] chaos is existing.

[12:31] So, you know, I'm

[12:34] I didn't really know when we started

[12:36] this yesterday what the meeting was for,

[12:38] but

[12:40] I like the fact that the meeting has

[12:42] been called and that the discussion is

[12:43] occurring tonight.

[12:45] So, thank you for being here.

[12:47] >> want to say that this this also is

[12:48] » want to say that this this also is

[12:48] payable over the 3 years.

[12:50] >> Yeah. Right.

[12:51] » Yeah. Right.

[12:51] >> So, it'd be the 50,000 from us for over

[12:53] » So, it'd be the 50,000 from us for over

[12:53] 3 years and 75,000 from them over 3

[12:55] years if the waiver is not accepted.

[12:57] >> Yeah. My my only other temptation would

[12:59] » Yeah. My my only other temptation would

[12:59] be to ask

[13:01] and I know this the answer to this

[13:03] already.

[13:04] Uh

[13:05] do we have anybody that will want to

[13:07] give the district or the city

[13:09] the money

[13:10] and designate the designate the donation

[13:13] to the city or the school district

[13:16] specifically to be targeted for this?

[13:18] Because I believe you could do that. I

[13:20] just don't know who to turn to to find

[13:22] the money.

[13:23] Other than

[13:25] >> Lou, we'll definitely take donations.

[13:27] » Lou, we'll definitely take donations.

[13:27] >> Yeah, I figured you would.

[13:29] » Yeah, I figured you would.

[13:29] >> So, I'm very grateful for donations and

[13:30] » So, I'm very grateful for donations and

[13:31] all the donations we received to this

[13:32] point. We've We've received so many

[13:34] donations from the tribe

[13:37] from

[13:38] the Soul family, from the Golf family,

[13:40] from I can just go down the list

[13:42] multiple businesses that have donated

[13:44] time or materials

[13:46] to help with the field house and the

[13:48] stadium project to help with the skilled

[13:50] trade center. So, I'm

[13:52] very aware of how many times we're going

[13:53] out with our hand out and a lot of times

[13:55] folks are coming to us saying, you know,

[13:57] we want to help out with this program or

[14:01] this program. My kid really benefited

[14:02] from this program when they were here.

[14:04] They're now adults. I want to give back.

[14:06] So, there's always that opportunity. I'm

[14:09] also very aware not to just I I think

[14:12] it'll be paid for by volunteer hours or

[14:14] donations and and it's it's difficult,

[14:16] but always willing to take the

[14:18] donations. Um,

[14:20] we do pride ourselves on trying to be as

[14:22] secure as possible without being a

[14:25] prison-like

[14:26] uh, institution because we want to be

[14:29] able to have welcoming to parents and

[14:31] kids. Um, the conversations around

[14:33] fences always comes up. The

[14:35] conversations around the buzz in to the

[14:37] office and those types of things, which

[14:39] I'd be happy to talk to anybody that has

[14:41] questions about those things as to why

[14:43] or why not in doing so.

[14:46] Um,

[14:47] and the the uh,

[14:50] intercom systems that are able to

[14:52] interact. Uh, there's a variety of

[14:55] uh, state-of-the-art things that can

[14:57] come

[14:58] with those. I think what we're looking

[15:00] at is something that's bare-bones that

[15:01] actually

[15:02] really does what's expected out of

[15:04] Alyssa's Law to make sure we are

[15:07] notifying the folks in the building of

[15:08] what we're doing and how we're doing it.

[15:11] Uh, I think one of the strengths is we

[15:12] have a city because we're all the

[15:13] schools are in the city

[15:15] having worked in a school in the county,

[15:17] we have law enforcement in the city

[15:19] dedicated to the city.

[15:22] And I think of

[15:23] Todd and I working on building that

[15:24] relationship to where we can get them in

[15:25] to have lunch with the kids and be more

[15:27] interactive with the kids. Not an SRO

[15:30] per se,

[15:31] uh but very much a

[15:33] presence and be able to interact and not

[15:35] seen as

[15:36] the bad guys coming or the police. No,

[15:38] they're there to help. So.

[15:41] >> I appreciate you adding all that, uh

[15:44] » I appreciate you adding all that, uh

[15:44] very much and uh

[15:46] thank you for being here tonight.

[15:52] Any other questions or comments?

[15:54] >> Will this be included in your upcoming

[15:57] » Will this be included in your upcoming

[15:57] budget as it's own line item?

[15:59] >> Yes.

[16:03] Yes. Sorry, I want to make sure it's on

[16:05] the record.

[16:06] Peter, you want to speak to that?

[16:07] >> Yeah, I I should mention also that if

[16:10] » Yeah, I I should mention also that if

[16:10] this does go forward, we would need an

[16:13] interlocal agreement with the school

[16:14] district.

[16:16] Uh so that would come before council

[16:18] also for approval.

[16:21] Um the letter we're requesting right now

[16:23] is for the grant application.

[16:27] » Do we need to have a motion for this or

[16:29] is this just uh

[16:32] >> We do need a motion.

[16:33] » We do need a motion.

[16:33] >> Yeah, we do need a motion.

[16:36] » I would like to make a motion to

[16:38] authorize the mayor to issue a letter of

[16:39] intent for the LISD school district

[16:42] Department of Justice Security Grant

[16:44] match in the amount of $50,000.

[16:48] >> Over 3 years.

[16:49] » Over 3 years.

[16:49] >> Over 3 years.

[16:52] » Over 3 years.

[16:52] >> Second.

[16:53] » Second.

[16:53] >> Okay.

[16:56] » Okay.

[16:56] It's been moved and seconded. Clerk, can

[16:57] we get a roll call vote, please?

[17:01] » Councilmember Rivera?

[17:02] >> Yes.

[17:03] » Yes.

[17:03] >> Councilmember Casberg?

[17:04] » Councilmember Casberg?

[17:04] >> Yes.

[17:05] » Yes.

[17:05] >> Councilmember Boyle?

[17:06] » Councilmember Boyle?

[17:06] >> Yes.

[17:06] » Yes.

[17:06] >> Councilmember France?

[17:08] » Councilmember France?

[17:08] >> Yes. Councilmember Servaty?

[17:09] » Yes. Councilmember Servaty?

[17:09] >> Yes.

[17:11] » Yes.

[17:11] >> All right. Motion passes. Thank you,

[17:13] » All right. Motion passes. Thank you,

[17:13] Council. I think uh

[17:15] uh what we did here on an

[17:17] day. Uh, only the second time that I've

[17:20] ever had sitting in the council

[17:22] chambers. I think, uh, we did a good

[17:23] thing here today. I appreciate your

[17:25] time.

[17:26] Um,

[17:27] at this point, I'd like to go ahead and

[17:29] close the special city council meeting.

[17:31] Can I get a motion?

[17:32] >> So moved.

[17:33] » So moved.

[17:33] >> Second.

[17:33] » Second.

[17:33] >> Second.

[17:34] » Second.

[17:34] >> It's been moved and seconded. All those

[17:35] » It's been moved and seconded. All those

[17:35] in favor?

[17:36] >> Aye.

[17:36] » Aye.

[17:36] >> Aye.

[17:37] » Aye.

[17:37] >> Opposed?

[17:38] » Opposed?

[17:38] Abstain? Motion passes. Thank you,

[17:39] council. Thank you, everyone.

[17:44] » I'm being

[17:46] I said 15 minutes.

Special City Council Meeting - 31 Jul 2026

Transcript