[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.