This conference will now be recorded.
>> Appreciate it.
» Appreciate it.
Today is Friday, July 31st, 2026 and I
would like to call today's emergency
city council meeting to order. If we
could all please rise for the Pledge of
Allegiance.
» I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America,
and to the republic for which it stands,
one nation under God, indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all.
» Thank you.
Clerk, can I please have roll call?
>> Council member Rivard?
» Council member Rivard?
>> Present.
» Present.
>> Council member Casberg?
» Council member Casberg?
>> Present.
» Present.
>> Council member Boyle?
» Council member Boyle?
>> On time.
» On time.
>> Council member Friend?
» Council member Friend?
>> Here.
» Here.
>> Council member Serveny?
» Council member Serveny?
>> Present.
» Present.
>> Mayor Strobel?
» Mayor Strobel?
>> Here. Thank you, Clerk. Thank you,
» Here. Thank you, Clerk. Thank you,
everyone.
Uh thank you for coming on such short
notice, 24 hours. Uh really pushed the
limits tonight. I do appreciate it. Um
there is reason for the emergency
meeting.
Um these Well, I'd probably let Do you
want to speak about it first, Peter?
Okay. Let Peter go ahead and speak
first.
>> Sure, Mr. Mayor, city council. So, we
» Sure, Mr. Mayor, city council. So, we
had We recently had a meeting with the
school district. And uh
our understanding is that they are
preparing an application for a DOJ
grant, Department of Justice grant, for
school security.
That grant would help the school pay for
an intercom system in the elementary
school and high school.
And maybe there might be some money left
over for well, uh secure locks in the
schools, also.
Um
with that, uh
I think the estimate is about 400,000,
in that range.
>> Before you go into that, Peter, can I
» Before you go into that, Peter, can I
interrupt you just for a second? This is
also to bring them up into standards of
Ashley's Law.
>> Right.
» Right.
>> Ashley was a student or Alyssa's
» Ashley was a student or Alyssa's
Alyssa's Law, sorry. I'm so sorry,
Peter. And let the record stand that
Peter Rosenkrance, superintendent of La
Center School District, is in the
audience and willing to to speak to you
guys
uh on behalf of what we're speaking
about tonight. Uh but this will bring
them up to standards with the Alyssa's
Law,
uh which does state that they have to
have a two-way communication to every
single classroom in uh in case of
emergencies.
Um and then locks uh that we have been
conversating about with the school
district is to
get the classrooms locked up in case of
a school shooter or
those type of emergencies where they
cannot enter into the classrooms.
Um sorry.
>> Right. No, that's great. I appreciate
» Right. No, that's great. I appreciate
that.
Uh
so the grant does call for a match.
And in meeting with the school, uh the
city has determined that there's a
public safety interest the city has also
in ensuring that these improvements to
the school buildings take place.
Uh
what we're proposing
uh what we discussed was a $50,000 match
from the city, uh which would come from
the general fund.
I believe it's over the course of 3
years um that 50,000 would be spread
out. That's my understanding at this
point.
What we would be asking city council for
uh when the application goes in, I
believe August 11th,
uh
it would benefit the school district to
have a letter endorsed by city council
uh that would indicate that the city is
willing to put up that $50,000 as the
grant match.
>> So
» So
>> So a little bit more to that as well,
» So a little bit more to that as well,
Peter,
>> Please.
» Please.
>> that you came in on that meeting a a
» that you came in on that meeting a a
bit. Uh
the school a an operating budget right
now 26 days. They're supposed to by law
have 60 days of operations. They do not
have it.
Um
they don't have the full funds to do the
match. The match uh or what they'd be
going for is a $500,000 grant from the
Department of Justice.
The match would be $125,000
and the city um looked at some of its
finances and said that we can kick in
50,000.
The reason for the emergency meeting is
that the letter of intent had to go in
and then he has to have the entire
packet submitted to
uh the DOJ for the grant by August 11th,
and that's before our council meeting.
And the reason I called the emergency
meeting is because I know several of you
are on vacations and going to be
unavailable for trainings uh next week
to even have this meeting
or an emergency meeting, and it's really
kind of hard to do an emergency meeting
the night before we have a regular
council meeting. So,
hence why tonight was pretty important
to
uh accomplish.
Peter, do you have any any words you
want to add to this?
Okay. Yeah, please.
» Test. Okay. All right, there we go.
Yeah, um
I appreciate the opportunity.
>> State your name for the record, please.
» State your name for the record, please.
>> Peter Rosenkranz, Superintendent of the
» Peter Rosenkranz, Superintendent of the
Center School District.
Um
appreciate the opportunity to speak with
you about this. Uh I welcome um any
funding you are able to provide for
match funds. A couple clarifications, if
I may. The 60-day cash on hand is a
recommendation by the uh not necessarily
law, but it does go into our bond
ratings, and it goes into be able to
have run a solvent district. Many
districts around us are
uh very much strapped for cash. We We're
no different. We're just We're shifting
the tide
um in that direction. But again, we're
well below what the uh
uh state auditor's office would
recommend that we have uh for cash on
hand.
Um so, we are when we do the
application, we are going to uh ask for
a waiver of the um
cash match to see if we can do that. Um
I appreciate the city's initiation of
this. They started down the road uh of
application, and then as of uh
yesterday, we took it over from there.
And we've already submitted it's due the
uh
initial application to say you're
interested is due by Tuesday. We've
already We submitted that this morning.
Um and then I also submitted a letter or
request for a letter from Representative
Gluesenkamp's office as well. Um and
so
what we're specifically targeting is the
elementary and the high school for
it's uh
an intercom system that we can not only
interact with the classroom
uh one-to-one, but we're also it it's uh
identifies what's happening to those in
the hallway. So, if you've been in the
middle school, middle school has the
system. If you've been there during an
alarm, it says, "This is a fire drill.
Exit the building." Or, "Intruder alert.
Lock down." It'll give you very specific
directions of what to do, and then you
can interact um with classrooms.
The locks, I I was trying to call
uh
my team that put this together this
morning of whether locks were on this or
not. Um cuz we were talking about the
physical locks. There's two types of
locks. We're working towards outside
doors are controlled by electronic key
cards
um that that we can limit and provide
access as necessary for community use,
but also in lockdown, we can just lock
the door down.
Individual classrooms, what we're
actually They're very sturdy doors.
All the glass has wire in them. The
research tells us when on active
shooters, they when they reach a locked
door, barricaded door, they don't try to
uh shoot their way in or damage the door
and such, just continue to hammer at the
door to get in. They go on to the next
one.
Cuz alarms are going off.
It's noisy.
They're wanting to do their damage as
quick as possible.
Um and so I I'm not as concerned The
concern I have with the doors is that
the teacher does not have to go outside
the classroom to lock the door with a
key and then go back in. From the inside
the door, they can just push the button
and it locks and no electronics required
that we have to worry about. So,
um any other
questions?
Yes.
>> Well, maybe this is a silly question,
» Well, maybe this is a silly question,
but I'm wondering then you would have
training for the children. You'd do like
a fire drill type training.
>> Uh each month we're required to do one
» Uh each month we're required to do one
emergency drill, whether it's uh shelter
in place, uh evacuation for fire, uh
lockdown, hold. Um there's a variety
that we work with in the standard
response protocol and collaborate with
local law enforcement as well. And when
the middle school does their drills, so
they do a fire alarm, they'll pull the
alarm and that activates the system.
What also comes with that is any
classroom can activate a lockdown from
their room.
So, if the sit if if it's
the assumption is it's always in the
office. So, the office would have the
control to push the button, but it could
actually be in the classroom or the
classroom could initiate the lockdown
from that point. Um so, it's
pretty high-tech and maybe
part of this at some point would be to
show you what we have at the middle
school currently, which is what we'd be
going for for the elementary and high
school.
» Thank you.
>> When the when the locks are re-keyed,
» When the when the locks are re-keyed,
is is there a
do you have a um
a master key
or a master key set that's
uh stationed somewhere so that law
enforcement can get to it?
>> We have the
» We have the
knock Knox blocks. No, that's Jell-O.
>> Knox Box.
» Knox Box.
>> Knox Box.
» Knox Box.
>> Knox Box.
» Knox Box.
>> Yeah. So, the little black box on the
» Yeah. So, the little black box on the
side of the building that's uh
Um we but we went through that with Phil
and we'll go through it again with Todd
and make sure we have two sets of master
keys. All keys law enforcement want and
first responders were required to access
the building. Two sets because one can
stay with the command instant command,
another one can be gone. They They can
hit multiple sections.
I guess we do.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> I I believe you have a training next
» I I believe you have a training next
month as well, right? With the Clark
County Sheriffs?
Is there some sort of a meeting?
>> Uh Monday. We have the uh
» Uh Monday. We have the uh
our uh
I have um
>> I didn't mean to put you on the spot.
» I didn't mean to put you on the spot.
I'm sorry.
>> no. My brain is Friday afternoon brain,
» no. My brain is Friday afternoon brain,
right? Uh
It's our safety summit, there it is. And
we get together the entire region, all
all superintendents leadership teams get
together and talk through
um
all the ills that can come of school in
an emergency situation and and work to
plan through with fire, law enforcement,
and FBI, and the works.
>> I think that's important for the public
» I think that's important for the public
to know.
>> Yeah.
» Yeah.
>> Yeah.
» Uh I have a couple of comments or
questions.
Um one program I'm familiar with is COP
School Violence Prevention Program. Is
that what this is?
Yeah.
>> Okay.
» Okay.
And so it So, it's a 25% match.
And the school district is putting in
75,000
and the city would come in with 20 with
50, is that correct?
>> Yeah. If the waiver's not received, then
» Yeah. If the waiver's not received, then
yeah, we would come in with the rest
>> asking for You are asking for a waiver.
» asking for You are asking for a waiver.
Okay.
>> We are. And if that comes through, then
» We are. And if that comes through, then
we can adjust from there.
>> Okay. And uh
» Okay. And uh
you know, I
I think probably a community partnership
with the city involved probably gives
some added strength to the application.
Which is a good thing. I absolutely
believe
uh that school safety and the safety of
the students is a extremely high
priority.
Uh
I was actually pleased to hear earlier
this week that a school shooter in
Georgia, who was 14 at the time he did
it,
was sentenced to life in prison.
Because I don't think we should be tall
in any way
making it easier for people to think
it's okay to go into a school.
And definitely we need the security at
the schools. I also think good schools
enhance
uh
other values in our community.
I think people that are likely to start
businesses, people that have money to
spend, people that are looking for a
safe place to raise their family,
move to districts where they know the
schools are strong asset.
They don't go to places if they can
avoid it where schools are weak and
chaos is existing.
So, you know, I'm
I didn't really know when we started
this yesterday what the meeting was for,
but
I like the fact that the meeting has
been called and that the discussion is
occurring tonight.
So, thank you for being here.
>> want to say that this this also is
» want to say that this this also is
payable over the 3 years.
>> Yeah. Right.
» Yeah. Right.
>> So, it'd be the 50,000 from us for over
» So, it'd be the 50,000 from us for over
3 years and 75,000 from them over 3
years if the waiver is not accepted.
>> Yeah. My my only other temptation would
» Yeah. My my only other temptation would
be to ask
and I know this the answer to this
already.
Uh
do we have anybody that will want to
give the district or the city
the money
and designate the designate the donation
to the city or the school district
specifically to be targeted for this?
Because I believe you could do that. I
just don't know who to turn to to find
the money.
Other than
>> Lou, we'll definitely take donations.
» Lou, we'll definitely take donations.
>> Yeah, I figured you would.
» Yeah, I figured you would.
>> So, I'm very grateful for donations and
» So, I'm very grateful for donations and
all the donations we received to this
point. We've We've received so many
donations from the tribe
from
the Soul family, from the Golf family,
from I can just go down the list
multiple businesses that have donated
time or materials
to help with the field house and the
stadium project to help with the skilled
trade center. So, I'm
very aware of how many times we're going
out with our hand out and a lot of times
folks are coming to us saying, you know,
we want to help out with this program or
this program. My kid really benefited
from this program when they were here.
They're now adults. I want to give back.
So, there's always that opportunity. I'm
also very aware not to just I I think
it'll be paid for by volunteer hours or
donations and and it's it's difficult,
but always willing to take the
donations. Um,
we do pride ourselves on trying to be as
secure as possible without being a
prison-like
uh, institution because we want to be
able to have welcoming to parents and
kids. Um, the conversations around
fences always comes up. The
conversations around the buzz in to the
office and those types of things, which
I'd be happy to talk to anybody that has
questions about those things as to why
or why not in doing so.
Um,
and the the uh,
intercom systems that are able to
interact. Uh, there's a variety of
uh, state-of-the-art things that can
come
with those. I think what we're looking
at is something that's bare-bones that
actually
really does what's expected out of
Alyssa's Law to make sure we are
notifying the folks in the building of
what we're doing and how we're doing it.
Uh, I think one of the strengths is we
have a city because we're all the
schools are in the city
having worked in a school in the county,
we have law enforcement in the city
dedicated to the city.
And I think of
Todd and I working on building that
relationship to where we can get them in
to have lunch with the kids and be more
interactive with the kids. Not an SRO
per se,
uh but very much a
presence and be able to interact and not
seen as
the bad guys coming or the police. No,
they're there to help. So.
>> I appreciate you adding all that, uh
» I appreciate you adding all that, uh
very much and uh
thank you for being here tonight.
Any other questions or comments?
>> Will this be included in your upcoming
» Will this be included in your upcoming
budget as it's own line item?
>> Yes.
Yes. Sorry, I want to make sure it's on
the record.
Peter, you want to speak to that?
>> Yeah, I I should mention also that if
» Yeah, I I should mention also that if
this does go forward, we would need an
interlocal agreement with the school
district.
Uh so that would come before council
also for approval.
Um the letter we're requesting right now
is for the grant application.
» Do we need to have a motion for this or
is this just uh
>> We do need a motion.
» We do need a motion.
>> Yeah, we do need a motion.
» I would like to make a motion to
authorize the mayor to issue a letter of
intent for the LISD school district
Department of Justice Security Grant
match in the amount of $50,000.
>> Over 3 years.
» Over 3 years.
>> Over 3 years.
» Over 3 years.
>> Second.
» Second.
>> Okay.
» Okay.
It's been moved and seconded. Clerk, can
we get a roll call vote, please?
» Councilmember Rivera?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Councilmember Casberg?
» Councilmember Casberg?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Councilmember Boyle?
» Councilmember Boyle?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Councilmember France?
» Councilmember France?
>> Yes. Councilmember Servaty?
» Yes. Councilmember Servaty?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> All right. Motion passes. Thank you,
» All right. Motion passes. Thank you,
Council. I think uh
uh what we did here on an
day. Uh, only the second time that I've
ever had sitting in the council
chambers. I think, uh, we did a good
thing here today. I appreciate your
time.
Um,
at this point, I'd like to go ahead and
close the special city council meeting.
Can I get a motion?
>> So moved.
» So moved.
>> Second.
» Second.
>> Second.
» Second.
>> It's been moved and seconded. All those
» It's been moved and seconded. All those
in favor?
>> Aye.
» Aye.
>> Aye.
» Aye.
>> Opposed?
» Opposed?
Abstain? Motion passes. Thank you,
council. Thank you, everyone.
» I'm being
I said 15 minutes.