[0:04] Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We

[0:06] will call our workshop session to order.

[0:09] It's 5:30, Monday, August the 24th,

[0:13] 2026. And uh

[0:16] first order of discussion is discussion

[0:19] and update regarding Central Texas Water

[0:21] Alliance meeting held on August the

[0:23] 12th,

[0:24] 2026. Mr. Steven Silver.

[0:28] >> Good evening, Mayor and Council. I just

[0:29] wanted to provide y'all with an update

[0:31] regarding the latest Central Texas Water

[0:32] Alliance meeting. They're currently in

[0:34] phase two strategic planning and

[0:35] assessment. Uh right now they're

[0:37] assessing all membership data. Everyone

[0:39] that's a member, including Leon passes,

[0:40] provided long-range planning to the

[0:42] water alliance. They're currently trying

[0:44] to determine where that fits in their

[0:46] goals and how to align everybody to be

[0:48] on the same page.

[0:50] Um they've also developed a number of

[0:51] strategic regional incentives.

[0:54] Uh incentive number one, they look to

[0:55] reserve a little over 66,000 acre feet

[0:58] per year from the Lake Whitney

[1:00] reallocation. Uh incentive initiative

[1:03] number two, they look to leverage unused

[1:05] water rights on Lake Belton for a an ASR

[1:07] project. We talked about this briefly.

[1:09] They're looking to scalp the lake

[1:11] when it's discharging, take that water,

[1:13] deep well inject it, keep it in Central

[1:14] Texas, essentially keeping it from run

[1:17] all the way to essentially keeping it

[1:18] from running all the way to the coast.

[1:20] Um initiative number three,

[1:23] uh evaluate and seek groundwater

[1:24] opportunities. Uh number four, they look

[1:26] to develop regional raw reclaimed water

[1:29] systems for industrial parks in Waco,

[1:30] Robinson, and McGregor.

[1:32] And then initiative number five is to

[1:34] conduct a feasibility study on

[1:35] acquisition of key water infrastructure.

[1:37] To put it shortly, they just look to buy

[1:39] any anything related to infrastructure

[1:41] that they possibly can if it benefits

[1:43] the long-term goal of the alliance. Um

[1:46] they did receive a report from the BRA,

[1:48] um the Bell house line, the raw water

[1:50] line uh connecting Lake Belton to

[1:52] Stillhouse is currently uh in its 60%

[1:54] engineering design.

[1:56] Uh they're still con- continuing

[1:58] easement acquisition and there is a

[1:59] small typo on the next one. They look to

[2:01] begin construction of that line in by

[2:04] end of year 2027 beginning of 2028. What

[2:07] this means for us is during the severe

[2:09] drought that we went to it went through

[2:10] in the previous years where Stillhouse

[2:12] was running

[2:13] almost on empty, um

[2:17] Lake Belton would continue to discharge

[2:18] into that uh possibly keeping it full. I

[2:21] don't know to what extent, I don't know

[2:22] where the discharge of Lake Belton is

[2:23] going to be in terms of depth, but

[2:25] they're just simply looking to connect uh Lake Belton to Stillhouse.

[2:30] And as you know, Stillhouse and

[2:31] Georgetown are already connected. So, it

[2:33] could potentially solve some surface

[2:35] water issues during drought conditions,

[2:37] which is of great news to Lampasas.

[2:40] Um the next section is relatively

[2:42] interesting. Uh Coryell Hydro Power uh

[2:45] reports that they were able to uh dig a

[2:47] test well somewhere in between cross

[2:49] country between Gatesville and McGregor.

[2:51] And what they determined was a series of

[2:55] well, tectonic fracture systems, if you

[2:57] will, um

[2:58] kind of hiding uh

[3:01] a raw untapped water source. Uh the

[3:03] water's roughly 16,000 ft deep and about

[3:06] 300°. So, they they look to the

[3:09] possibility of using geothermal power to

[3:11] actually treat the water in the long

[3:13] run. Um they pitched this to the Water

[3:15] Alliance. I don't see it taking traction

[3:18] cuz they're looking for a $5 million

[3:20] investment and that's pretty stiff pitch

[3:23] for not knowing exactly what the

[3:25] return's going to look like. They don't

[3:27] know how how much water's really there.

[3:29] They know that they know it's there,

[3:30] they know it's deep, they know it's hot,

[3:32] but in terms of capacity and how well it

[3:33] replenishes itself, it's a big unknown.

[3:35] So, for them to ask for a $5 million

[3:37] investment is well, it's a lot. So, um I

[3:40] don't know how that's going to play out,

[3:41] but uh if any more

[3:43] interesting information comes out of it,

[3:44] I'll let you guys know.

[3:46] Uh more importantly, they're reviewing

[3:47] full membership status versus affiliate

[3:49] status. So, they've got about

[3:51] approximately five uh board positions

[3:54] still left to fill.

[3:56] They've been on the hold of filling

[3:57] those positions for about 2 months now.

[3:59] And the reason they put them on hold is

[4:01] cuz they were trying to determine how to

[4:03] prioritize accepting these last

[4:05] remaining memberships cuz they've only

[4:06] got so many seats to fill and they've

[4:07] got more applicants than they do seats.

[4:10] Um when it comes down to it, they are

[4:12] trying to determine if we want to

[4:14] prioritize based on first come, first

[4:15] serve or if we want to give preference

[4:18] to water providers that are also

[4:20] wholesalers.

[4:22] Um

[4:23] in theory

[4:25] I believe they should keep doing it the

[4:27] way they in- initiated memberships in

[4:29] the beginning is it was first come,

[4:31] first serve. They didn't give preference

[4:33] to providers {slash} wholesalers. And

[4:35] mind you, had they given preference to

[4:37] wholesalers, Lampasas would not be in a

[4:38] membership status. Lampasas County

[4:40] wouldn't even be on the board because

[4:41] they're not a provider or a wholesaler.

[4:43] So, I I disagree with the logic and

[4:46] likely I will vote so. Um furthermore,

[4:50] the general manager approached me via

[4:52] email last week and wanted to know if

[4:54] the city of Lampasas would be interested

[4:56] in bumping down to an affiliate status

[4:58] versus a full membership status. Um I

[5:00] wanted to express that thought to you

[5:02] and tell you how much I disagree with

[5:04] it. Um

[5:06] it's not so much that we paid for a full

[5:08] membership.

[5:09] We When they opened the door, we got a

[5:11] seat at the table simply because it was

[5:14] recommended that we have a seat at the

[5:15] table to determine

[5:17] what resources were going to be brought

[5:19] to Central Texas and how we could

[5:20] benefit from them. So,

[5:22] if everyone's on board with it, I don't

[5:24] intend to vote in favor of Lampasas

[5:28] going to an affiliate position. It

[5:31] And by affiliate position, I mean a

[5:33] membership position with no voting

[5:34] rights. So, you're allowed to come to

[5:36] the table, you're allowed to speak, but

[5:38] really when it comes down to it, you're

[5:39] not allowed to vote. Um I think that

[5:41] would be a poor representation of the

[5:43] city of Lampasas to get a seat at the

[5:44] table yet not to vote. Um

[5:46] >> And with that, we're we're still

[5:48] required to pay a fee?

[5:50] >> Currently, membership fee and affiliate

[5:52] fees are the same. And membership fees

[5:54] will likely go up next year or affiliate

[5:57] fees will go down. But either way, there

[5:59] will be a a membership There will be a

[6:01] fee difference from membership to

[6:02] affiliate going into the next year. Um

[6:05] so, but either way, I would consider it unwise to bump down

[6:08] to an affiliate status.

[6:09] >> If they wanted, could they vote you down

[6:11] to affiliate or since we're one of the

[6:13] original

[6:15] >> Right now, we were simply asked if we'd

[6:16] be willing to. It's not coming to a

[6:17] vote. And I will respond to such that we

[6:19] are unwilling to. Um

[6:21] Furthermore, you know, I think

[6:24] in the upcoming years, as we as we if we

[6:27] stay a part of this,

[6:28] um

[6:29] year two, year three, we may strongly

[6:32] want to consider what our role here is

[6:33] going to be. Um do we want to continue

[6:35] being part of the alliance, finally? Um

[6:38] how does it benefit Lampasas? Um

[6:40] can we help in any way? Those are all

[6:43] great questions.

[6:45] Their focus right now predominantly

[6:47] seems to be on that I-35 corridor. It

[6:49] seems to be McLennan and Bell County.

[6:50] And rightfully so, it's heavily

[6:52] populated.

[6:53] I don't see the water alliance benefit

[6:56] to Lampasas or Lampasas County. I'm not

[6:59] seeing it to this day, but it's also

[7:00] still too early to tell. Um and when

[7:03] that opportunity comes around the

[7:04] corner, if and when there's a project

[7:06] that does benefit Lampasas,

[7:08] are we seriously going to contemplate

[7:10] investing large capital dollars

[7:13] and bringing another water resource to

[7:15] Central Texas when quite frankly, we've

[7:18] already secured ours? I ran some numbers

[7:20] this morning, and we have roughly 5,500

[7:22] acre-feet with the BRA. We're currently

[7:24] using on average

[7:26] almost 1,700 acre-feet a year. We're not

[7:29] using half of the capacity that we

[7:30] currently have. Granted, that capacity

[7:34] can go through drought stages, which

[7:35] hopefully the Bell House line would

[7:37] solve some of those issues.

[7:39] Um they're looking at doing doing

[7:40] aquifer storage and recovery, taking

[7:42] water from somewhere else, putting it

[7:43] here.

[7:44] We could do the same thing with Sulfur

[7:45] Creek if we really wanted to. We have

[7:47] 3,900 acre feet on Sulfur Creek. If we

[7:48] wanted to do an ASR project with that to

[7:50] keep it here in the drought months, we

[7:52] could also do that as well. So, my my

[7:53] point in relaying all this information

[7:55] over to you is I don't know that the

[7:57] Water Alliance is going to be the great

[7:59] big fix for the city of Lampasas. I

[8:01] think our predecessors that met and

[8:04] secured our water availability

[8:05] agreements with the BRA and secured

[8:07] these water rights with the state of

[8:08] Texas, I believe to some degree it's

[8:10] already been secured. Um there's no

[8:12] point in developing another resource. We

[8:14] just need to invest in what we have to

[8:16] get it to where we want to be for the

[8:17] next 20 to 30 years. But that being so,

[8:19] it may be unwise to separate ourselves

[8:21] from the alliance at this time. We may

[8:22] want to see how this is going to pan

[8:24] out. Um

[8:26] like uh

[8:27] membership

[8:29] dues are roughly only $5,000 a year

[8:31] right now. They may go up. Um

[8:34] you could look at that as a wise

[8:35] investment to see where it's headed, or

[8:37] you could look at that as a burden that

[8:39] we don't need to pay for anymore. Um

[8:42] it's really up to you guys. Um but uh my state on this is we we stay in a full

[8:47] membership status. We don't bump down to

[8:49] affiliate. I think it would be wise to

[8:50] hang on for the next at least one more

[8:52] year to see where it takes us. And

[8:55] at some point we're going to have to

[8:56] determine if we want to stay on it in

[8:58] the long term or give our seat to

[9:00] someone that is actually going to

[9:01] benefit from the Water Alliance.

[9:03] All good decisions to be had.

[9:04] >> Steven, what other entities or

[9:07] organizations are looking at um the

[9:10] affiliate status?

[9:11] >> Um I only know of one. They didn't they didn't uh relay them all off. I

[9:15] only know of one because well, I I know

[9:17] the company. So, the Central Texas Water

[9:19] Supply Corporation is one of the members

[9:20] knocking on the door.

[9:22] That is why I believe they're asking us

[9:24] to step down to an affiliate status is

[9:26] because our wholesaler

[9:28] is actually asking for a full

[9:29] membership.

[9:30] And

[9:32] if it was a traditional relationship, I

[9:34] would say that's not a bad decision to

[9:35] make if they're equally representing us.

[9:37] But as we all know, we're not entirely

[9:39] sure if the city of Texas is equally

[9:40] representing us. So, why would we want

[9:41] to step down

[9:43] at this time? Just my opinion.

[9:45] But then there's a there's a handful of

[9:47] others. I I don't know who they all are.

[9:49] Um

[9:51] Any other questions?

[9:56] Thank you.

[10:01] » Number three, discussion regarding the

[10:02] comprehensive fund balance policy.

[10:07] >> Good evening, Mayor and Council. Um you

[10:09] have on the agenda later this evening

[10:11] possible change to our fund balance

[10:14] policy. Our fund balance policy hasn't

[10:17] been updated since 2013.

[10:19] Um and there are a couple of items that

[10:21] I would like to propose to change.

[10:23] Currently, the policy is written that um

[10:27] we'll observe a 35% fund balance in the

[10:30] general fund, electric fund, and water

[10:33] fund. And anything in excess of the 35%

[10:37] will be made available for capital

[10:39] purchases. It's also written in such a

[10:42] way that the 35%

[10:44] number is applied to the most recently

[10:47] completed audited fiscal year. So, the

[10:50] reserves necessary for this year going

[10:53] into next budget year are based on our

[10:55] operating numbers from FY 25. So, we're

[10:59] running

[11:00] It's not necessarily applying that

[11:02] reserve balance to our current operating

[11:06] expenditures.

[11:07] Um so, I would like to update that to

[11:09] bring it to the current fiscal year or

[11:12] the next fiscal year when we're

[11:14] presenting um this sheet during budget.

[11:18] Additionally, I would like to propose

[11:19] that we look at changing the percentage,

[11:22] the 35%,

[11:24] to a number of operating days.

[11:27] Um

[11:27] you know, we have this reserve

[11:30] policy in case there were a major

[11:34] emergency within the city, the city

[11:36] could keep operating if there weren't

[11:37] any revenues coming into the city. The

[11:40] likelihood that that lasts for

[11:44] 4 plus months is is quite unlikely

[11:47] without us receiving some additional

[11:49] assistance. So, what I've proposed in

[11:51] this fund balance policy is 90 days for

[11:56] the general fund, 3 months of operating.

[12:02] 120 days for the electric fund.

[12:05] You could recommend higher, but as the

[12:07] city doesn't own its own substations,

[12:11] if we're not on the hook if one of those

[12:13] large transformers go out, so it's not

[12:15] as expensive to replace those. And then

[12:18] also 120 days in the water fund. So,

[12:21] it's not that far off percentage-wise

[12:23] other than in the general fund, it would

[12:25] drop from 35% to about 25%.

[12:29] Um, but it still maintains a consistent

[12:32] fund balance for operations in case of

[12:34] an emergency. Monica, if you could go to

[12:36] page 69 of the packet.

[12:39] Um, the existing policy is also written

[12:42] that in the order of reserves spent, you

[12:45] would spend your most restricted funds

[12:48] first and your least restricted funds

[12:51] last. And I think that's kind of

[12:53] counterintuitive because if you've

[12:54] restricted funds for a particular

[12:56] purpose, that means you've been saving

[12:58] up for that purpose. And you would think

[13:00] that you would spend the free available

[13:03] dollars before you would spend the more

[13:05] restricted funds. It also the policy the

[13:08] proposed policy implements

[13:11] mandatory reporting, so twice a year um,

[13:13] council would get an update on fund

[13:15] balance and fund balance projections.

[13:18] And it also establishes a timeline for

[13:21] if a fund is below the recommended fund

[13:24] balance, what steps are we taking within

[13:27] 2 years to get that funds to our reserve

[13:31] policy? So page 69 is basically

[13:37] our existing policy except I did apply

[13:39] 35%

[13:41] to the upcoming fiscal year rather than

[13:43] FY25

[13:45] to give you an apples-to-apples

[13:46] comparison. So with current reserves or

[13:50] fund balance, the general fund is

[13:53] currently at 31.26%

[13:56] or $519,000

[13:58] shy of that 35%

[14:01] reserve fund goal. You can scroll down a

[14:03] little bit, Monica.

[14:06] You'll see that the electric fund is at

[14:07] 51.19%

[14:09] with $2.12 million in excess above the

[14:12] 35%.

[14:14] And then the water fund is at 29.92%

[14:18] which is $277,000

[14:21] shy of the 35%

[14:23] fund balance requirement in our policy.

[14:26] If you scroll to the next page which is

[14:28] the proposed policy and you apply the

[14:30] number of days

[14:31] that I proposed versus the percentage

[14:34] method, you'll see that that flips the

[14:37] general fund

[14:38] to hold what we would have in reserves

[14:42] estimated at the end of FY27

[14:45] is 114 operating days. So $919,000

[14:50] excess in reserves in the general fund.

[14:53] The electric fund would be at 187 days,

[14:56] $2.4 million excess. And the water fund

[15:00] is still

[15:01] tracking a little low

[15:03] but about $110,000

[15:06] less than the 35%.

[15:09] I think what this might show you is

[15:12] we're here to be stewards of our

[15:14] taxpayer and our utility payers' money.

[15:17] And I understand being conservative and

[15:22] really building up a fund balance, but

[15:24] at some point there's a balance between

[15:27] being good stewards and not responsibly

[15:30] spending our taxpayers money when we

[15:32] have some funds that have so much excess

[15:36] in reserve. Whether you're looking at

[15:38] the 35%

[15:40] or the 120 days.

[15:43] So that's the basis of my

[15:45] recommendation for changes for the fund

[15:47] balance policy. Of course, it's

[15:50] certainly up for questions and and

[15:51] conversation.

[15:52] >> Does this play into financial auditing

[15:55] purposes at all or do they look at both

[15:59] when they're doing an outside audit?

[16:00] >> They'll look at our adopted policy.

[16:05] » It seems that this is a

[16:06] looking at number of days versus

[16:08] percentages a pretty common governmental

[16:12] standard.

[16:12] >> You'll find it both ways.

[16:15] >> I've run into number of days more often,

[16:18] I guess.

[16:18] >> Sure.

[16:24] » Any other questions?

[16:25] >> I'd be on board for it. Seem like the

[16:28] proper thing to do at this time in the

[16:30] world we're living in.

[16:32] I think that's a would be a good avenue

[16:34] for us.

[16:37] » I do

[16:38] kind of as a caveat to this, you know,

[16:41] at our last meeting I said that I

[16:43] wouldn't recommend decreasing our

[16:45] electric rate at this time, but I do

[16:47] think given this information that we're

[16:49] looking at now that we have room to do

[16:52] that.

[16:55] >> Appreciate your hard work

[16:56] >> Thank you.

[16:57] >> putting this together.

[16:58] And how how soon can we reduce the

[17:00] electric rate?

[17:01] >> We'll adopt it with our fee schedule to

[17:02] take effect October 1.

[17:04] >> Okay.

[17:05] >> Did you have a question?

[17:06] >> No, I was just going to make a comment.

[17:08] I'm in agreement that you know, we're

[17:09] stewards with our with taxpayers money

[17:12] and

[17:13] I don't think government should ever

[17:14] feel like they can spend

[17:16] our citizens money better than they can,

[17:18] so

[17:19] there's no reason to hold on to that

[17:21] much cash if we don't have to.

[17:24] >> If we have to if we go to the number of

[17:27] days

[17:28] is that an ongoing analysis and review

[17:31] of the finance department?

[17:32] >> So, we'll I'll do this twice a year.

[17:34] We'll do it in March when we're

[17:35] beginning our budgeting process

[17:37] internally, and then there will be one

[17:40] in your budget book that you receive

[17:43] later that summer. Okay. We'll report to

[17:45] you twice a year on

[17:47] fund balance.

[17:49] Okay.

[17:51] >> Now, this

[17:52] uh

[17:53] what's in excess can only be used for

[17:56] capital improvements, or how does that

[17:57] work?

[17:57] >> It is recommended that it's used for

[17:59] one-time capital improvements, and that

[18:01] is in the policy. Um

[18:04] obviously, if you're drawing down on

[18:07] fund balance to support the cost of

[18:10] recurring expenditures, so personnel,

[18:12] for example, those costs don't go away,

[18:15] but the reserves eventually will.

[18:17] >> Yeah.

[18:18] >> And so, it's recommended that it's used

[18:19] for capital projects rather than ongoing

[18:22] expenditures.

[18:23] >> So, water capital improvement projects

[18:26] can be included in that?

[18:27] >> Yes.

[18:28] >> Thank you.

[18:32] Anyone else?

[18:34] Thank you, Mr.

[18:41] Discussion regarding any item on record

[18:43] session for August 24th, 2026. No action

[18:47] to be taken during workshop session.

[18:50] >> I have an item I wanted to just mention.

[18:53] In the department reports

[18:55] uh that are in our packet

[18:57] there's a really incredible report from

[18:59] the library department uh from our

[19:02] library the kind of work that they've

[19:03] done with the staff, the director, and

[19:06] the board

[19:07] on improving and reaching out to our um

[19:10] citizens with different kinds of

[19:12] services and different kinds of programs

[19:14] to to be important to our people and our

[19:18] community. I just think that is

[19:20] something that's commendable and we have

[19:22] we don't often tell our people thank

[19:23] you. And I just like to hear that from

[19:27] all of us once in a while and and this

[19:29] is one of those times.

[19:34] » Anything else?

[19:38] Number five, discussion regarding any

[19:40] items not included on the regular

[19:42] session for August 24th, 2026 for

[19:45] consideration on the future agenda.

[19:47] No action can be taken by the city

[19:49] council.

[19:54] And there is none.

[19:56] And can I get a motion to adjourn

[19:57] workshop?

[19:58] >> So moved.

[19:59] >> Second.

[20:00] >> All in favor?

[20:01] >> Aye.

[20:03] >> And that will move us into our regular

[20:05] session. We'll call to order. All rise.

[20:18] Let us pray.

[20:19] Dear heavenly Father, we couldn't be

[20:20] more grateful to be in this great

[20:22] community of Lampasas tonight.

[20:24] In this great facility and most good

[20:26] people.

[20:27] We ask that you be with us, be with our

[20:29] council, be with our citizens. Help us

[20:31] to make some good decisions, exchange

[20:33] some good information.

[20:35] And until you can meet again, we ask

[20:36] that you be blessed and safe. And as

[20:38] always, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

[20:40] >> Amen.

[20:41] >> Do you all want me to pledge?

[20:44] >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

[20:46] United States of America

[20:48] and to the republic for which it stands,

[20:51] one nation under God,

[20:53] indivisible, with liberty and justice

[20:56] for all.

[20:57] Honor the Texas flag.

[20:59] I pledge allegiance to the Texas flag,

[21:02] one state

[21:03] under God, one and indivisible.

[21:24] Tonight we have a a special group of

[21:26] folks here with us tonight.

[21:30] It uh

[21:32] it's a tough one for me and as well as

[21:34] it is for I I can't even imagine what Adrian has been through in the last

[21:41] several months with the loss of

[21:43] Adela and uh

[21:47] I felt like I wanted to say thank you,

[21:50] Adrian, to you and your team for what

[21:53] you had

[21:55] contributed to our community.

[21:58] Most importantly, what Adela

[22:01] has contributed

[22:03] into our community.

[22:06] Uh

[22:07] we probably don't know how many taxpayer

[22:11] or taxes that your group has paid into

[22:14] this city.

[22:16] And uh

[22:18] got uh

[22:19] Mr. Finney.

[22:21] He's got uh

[22:23] a couple of comments

[22:25] tonight.

[22:26] He's from our

[22:27] economic development director.

[22:32] » On behalf of the Economic Development

[22:34] Corporation, I along with the other

[22:36] members of the EDC would like to express

[22:38] our sincere appreciation for your

[22:40] continued commitment to Lenexa's

[22:42] economic growth.

[22:44] Your businesses have made a meaningful

[22:45] impact on our local economy and provided

[22:48] jobs for many people.

[22:50] We are grateful for your role in

[22:51] fostering a thriving business

[22:53] environment and for being an important

[22:55] member of our community.

[22:57] We would also like to extend our

[22:59] heartfelt condolences to you and your

[23:00] family for the loss of Adela.

[23:03] Thank you.

[23:07] » And this evening, I'm taking the

[23:08] opportunity offer

[23:11] the council and my personal heartfelt

[23:14] condolences

[23:15] to Adrian

[23:17] and his three children

[23:20] and his entire extended family

[23:24] and his team that's with him here

[23:26] tonight

[23:28] concerning the recent ultimate death

[23:31] of Adrian's wife, Adela Villa, and their

[23:35] 14-year-old son, Adrian Frias

[23:38] on February the 28th, March 1st

[23:42] when the car they were in was struck by

[23:44] another driver.

[23:46] As most people know in town, Adrian and

[23:50] Adela started working in the restaurant

[23:52] business in Lampasas many, many years

[23:54] ago.

[23:55] Over the years through extremely

[23:57] demanding work, they had become

[23:59] successful owners and operators of two

[24:03] very well-loved, busy restaurants in

[24:05] Lampasas

[24:07] Giovanni's and El Frias.

[24:10] For decades, Adrian and Adela have also

[24:13] been active citizens and participants in

[24:16] the Lampasas community

[24:18] as well as staying involved with their

[24:20] children's

[24:21] lives, education, activity

[24:25] including

[24:26] Adrian Jr.'s involvement in soccer.

[24:30] The Frias family are notable examples

[24:34] of the optimistic, industrious,

[24:36] enterprise spirit that has played a

[24:38] critical role

[24:40] in the ongoing economic growth of our

[24:42] community.

[24:44] We, the council, city staff, we want to

[24:48] express to you guys

[24:51] our heartfelt appreciation for the hard

[24:54] work and dedication to the success

[24:58] that Adrian and Adela

[25:01] and their families, including Adrian

[25:04] Jr., have given over the years to help

[25:06] build

[25:08] and feed the city.

[25:10] Only a few citizens have achieved the

[25:12] position of respect and high esteem

[25:15] that Adrian and Adela have in the city.

[25:19] Because of their business acumen,

[25:21] diligence, and extraordinary work ethic,

[25:26] Adela and Adrian Jr.'s absence will be

[25:28] felt in Lampasas

[25:31] forever.

[25:33] Finally,

[25:34] I personally want to thank

[25:37] to be sure Adrian knows that I

[25:39] personally stand behind him

[25:42] and mourn deeply with him now.

[25:46] And I think our council would express

[25:47] the same thing

[25:49] in the darkest of times.

[25:52] And I know

[25:54] God's with you guys.

[25:57] I've seen him work,

[25:59] and it's been miraculously

[26:02] that you guys are here today.

[26:04] And today, on behalf of the city

[26:08] and the city council,

[26:10] Adrian, I want you to come forth on a

[26:12] present to you the keys of the city.

[26:31] It's my pleasure.

[28:30] » Adrian, if you guys if you guys want to

[28:32] leave now or you can certainly or

[28:35] welcome to stay for the whole city

[28:37] council meeting. May get a little boring

[28:39] after that.

[28:44] Thank you guys. We love you.

[29:27] All right, that'll take us to our public

[29:28] hearing citizens comment. We have a

[29:31] 3-minute time limit.

[29:33] Citizens comment, any citizen who

[29:35] desires to address the city council on a

[29:37] matter not included on this agenda may

[29:39] do so at this time.

[29:41] For possible posting and discussion by

[29:43] city council

[29:45] on future agenda the city council may

[29:47] not deliberate

[29:49] on items presented up underneath this

[29:51] agenda item and we have none.

[29:58] 1.2 any citizen who desires to address

[30:01] the city council on a matter that is

[30:02] included on the agenda may do so at this

[30:04] time and we have none.

[30:08] Consent agenda discussion and possible

[30:10] action regarding the approval of minutes

[30:12] on the regular meeting held on August

[30:14] 10th, 2026.

[30:17] » I move to approve the consent agenda.

[30:19] >> Second.

[30:21] >> Any discussion?

[30:23] All in favor.

[30:24] >> Aye.

[30:25] >> Boards and department report.

[30:36] » Good evening Mayor and council.

[30:46] » I'm going to sit here.

[30:48] I can go by memory, but I don't think

[30:49] it'll work out well.

[30:52] There it

[30:55] a week.

[31:05] Stand by.

[31:09] Got it.

[31:10] All right.

[31:12] So, the department overview, uh we have

[31:14] a full-time staff of 15 personnel. 12 of

[31:17] those are operations, three of them

[31:19] administration.

[31:20] Um that's the fire chief, the assistant

[31:22] chief, and the fire marshal. Uh we have

[31:24] a part-time staff of seven. Those are

[31:26] utilized as needed uh when we have a

[31:28] vacancy, if somebody takes off vacation,

[31:30] calls in sick, we fill that seat with a

[31:33] part-timer if they're available.

[31:36] Um our shift schedules are 48/96. So,

[31:38] it's 48 on, 96 off.

[31:41] Uh on each shift, we have a captain, a

[31:43] driver, and two firefighters.

[31:45] Our facilities work we have one fire

[31:47] station that we share with the volunteer

[31:49] fire department, and then we have the

[31:50] administration office.

[31:52] Uh we run uh we have two engines, so

[31:55] 2023 and a 2011. We have one ladder

[31:58] truck, which is a 2001.

[32:00] We have a brush truck that's a 2004.

[32:02] Um my vehicle is a 2023.

[32:05] Um

[32:06] The assistant chief's vehicle is a 2012.

[32:08] Fire marshal's is a 2011.

[32:10] And then we have a support vehicle that

[32:12] we use to pull our little trailer

[32:14] around. It's a 2005.

[32:16] And then we also have a 2006 Polaris

[32:18] Ranger that we use

[32:21] for different

[32:23] things.

[32:26] So, our operations division, uh we cover

[32:28] fires, EMS, accidents, swift water

[32:31] rescue calls, and everything in between.

[32:34] Uh we also provide uh mutual aid

[32:36] assistance to Lampasas County Um all the

[32:39] way into Burnet County as well.

[32:45] Uh Fire Marshal's office, he's

[32:46] responsible for all annual fire

[32:48] inspections in the city, fire

[32:49] investigations in the city and in the

[32:51] county. We have an agreement with

[32:53] Lampasas County and also with the city

[32:55] of Lometa

[32:57] uh that he provides fire investigations

[32:59] for.

[33:00] Um

[33:01] he is in charge of all the public

[33:03] education programs, uh smoke detector

[33:05] install program,

[33:07] uh

[33:08] extinguisher classes throughout the

[33:09] city. We do a lot of them with assisted

[33:11] living and a lot of your

[33:13] elderly

[33:15] facilities. He does all the he schedules

[33:17] all those classes and he's also in

[33:19] charge of all the school fire safety

[33:21] programs.

[33:24] He does a lot.

[33:27] This year uh

[33:28] we're up we ran 1,798 calls. We're up

[33:31] 12.82% from last year. Of those calls uh

[33:36] EMS, rescue, motor vehicle collisions

[33:39] was 1,426.

[33:41] 372 of those were fire-related calls. Uh

[33:44] 331, which is 18.4% of those were

[33:48] overlapping, which meant we were on a

[33:51] call when we got called to another one.

[33:53] Uh some of those were even three calls

[33:55] back-to-back. Um

[33:59] uh

[34:00] Our city, we broke it into four

[34:02] geographic zones, uh northwest,

[34:05] southwest, northeast, and southeast.

[34:08] Uh

[34:09] you can see there the uh northwest is at 21%, southwest

[34:14] 24%,

[34:16] uh

[34:17] northeast. Our

[34:19] busiest uh

[34:20] parts of the city are in the southeast.

[34:23] Um we ran 48 calls in Lampasas County,

[34:25] which is about 2 and 1/2% and we ran

[34:28] three calls in Burnet County this year.

[34:32] Uh

[34:33] training and professional development

[34:34] this year we've

[34:36] had currently have six members enrolled

[34:38] in the aerial operator certification

[34:41] course. Uh

[34:43] The assistant chief attended year one of

[34:45] the Texas Fire Chiefs Academy. We uh had

[34:48] two members attend the Fire Marshals

[34:50] Conference. Uh we have four members that

[34:53] uh

[34:53] obtained swift water rescue technician

[34:56] certification in Tarrant Tarrant County

[34:58] College which almost brings our

[35:00] department up to 100% swift water

[35:02] certified.

[35:04] Uh we have one member that attended boat

[35:06] operations with the Texas Parks and

[35:07] Wildlife Division.

[35:09] And 100% of our department obtained

[35:11] wildland firefighting certifications

[35:13] this year.

[35:14] And one member just obtained his fire

[35:16] and life safety educator certification.

[35:19] Um in addition to that we've logged two

[35:21] over 2,030 additional training hours for

[35:24] all full-time personnel.

[35:27] This year we were able to replace a

[35:30] outdated SCBA fill station. We thank you

[35:32] very much for that. Uh

[35:34] I've got it on order. We were able to

[35:37] purchase a huge rescue raft to aid in

[35:39] swift water rescue incidents. Um the

[35:42] hydrant maintenance program is fully

[35:43] operational. What that is is we have

[35:46] touched We're at about 90% of the fire

[35:49] hydrants in the city have been touched

[35:50] by our guys this year. They've been

[35:52] flowed, they've been greased. Um a lot

[35:54] of them have been painted. Uh

[35:57] we ran out of paint but for next budget

[35:59] year we'll be right back on it but

[36:01] um that just assures us that those fire

[36:03] hydrants are going to work when we need

[36:05] them and it gives y'all peace of mind

[36:06] knowing that we've done it.

[36:08] Uh

[36:10] we were able to promote an assistant

[36:12] chief internally this year. Uh

[36:15] we

[36:16] started an automatic aid agreement with

[36:18] Lampasas Volunteer Fire Department which

[36:19] allows them as soon as we're toned to a

[36:22] house fire they automatically get toned

[36:23] so that we're not waiting

[36:25] for additional personnel. Um same goes

[36:28] for them. We We're going to send

[36:30] somebody to help them.

[36:33] And we've had two members this year

[36:34] achieve master firefighter

[36:35] certification.

[36:38] That is a picture of the Airfield

[36:40] station that

[36:41] y'all allowed us to purchase.

[36:43] Um

[36:44] hopefully it'll be in soon.

[36:46] And that is the rescue raft that we

[36:49] were able to obtain.

[36:53] Um some of the challenges that we're

[36:54] facing right now our overtime budget is pretty extensive because of our our

[37:00] minimum staffing.

[37:02] is four. Anytime

[37:04] somebody takes off, we have to fill that seat.

[37:09] We have state mandated laws that require

[37:10] us to have a certain amount of staffing.

[37:13] Um

[37:15] our apparatus

[37:16] our ladder truck is 25 years old, our

[37:18] brush truck is 22 years old, and they've

[37:21] reached their end of service life by

[37:22] national standards. We've also got two

[37:24] staff vehicles that are at the end of

[37:26] their service life.

[37:28] Uh facilities

[37:30] we have some station upgrades needed for

[37:32] growth and safety improvements. And then

[37:35] uh

[37:36] we have a continued need for specialized

[37:38] rescue and leadership training.

[37:41] Uh goals for '26 '27 uh

[37:44] again like last year I'd like to try and

[37:46] seek funding for a swift water rescue

[37:48] boat. Uh we were very fortunate this

[37:51] year we didn't have as many

[37:53] flood calls as we did the year prior.

[37:55] Um

[37:56] we're going to continue community risk

[37:58] reduction programs in schools and

[37:59] neighborhood. The fire marshal is doing

[38:01] a great job with that.

[38:03] Uh

[38:04] replace aging apparatus and upgrade

[38:06] firefighting equipment. Um

[38:08] that's kind of at the top of the list

[38:10] and

[38:11] extra expand training partnerships with

[38:14] surrounding departments. We're currently

[38:15] working on that where we can utilize

[38:17] some of the

[38:19] fire training facilities in our

[38:22] neighborhood

[38:24] at neighboring departments.

[38:28] That's it. Do you have any questions for

[38:29] me?

[38:33] » All right. One question on the swift

[38:35] water rescue boat. Uh

[38:37] SCAG or SCRA, do they offer any kind of

[38:39] grant, any assistance to help us obtain

[38:42] that?

[38:42] >> There are grants out there and we have

[38:44] applied for a couple of the grants and

[38:45] were unsuccessful.

[38:47] Uh

[38:49] boats aren't a top priority on a grant

[38:54] for a lot of grant people that that give

[38:56] the grants.

[38:56] >> Is there a life on a boat as well as far

[38:59] as a national standard that you know 10

[39:01] year, 15 year

[39:03] Yeah, or is it

[39:05] the the the bit the actual equipment as

[39:07] long as it's held up to standard?

[39:09] >> On a boat as long as it's held up to

[39:11] standards uh

[39:13] you know, they don't get used near as

[39:14] often as fire trucks.

[39:17] So, they tend to last a lot longer.

[39:20] >> Couple of things. Um you had mentioned

[39:23] overtime for staff. Is that

[39:26] Are you Are you saying that you need

[39:28] more people to kind of bring down the

[39:29] overtime or what is that?

[39:31] >> Yes. So, right now we have a minimum of

[39:34] four um that we have to keep. Uh state

[39:36] law requires us to have a two in two out

[39:38] rule, which means if two people's in a

[39:40] house, two people have to be outside.

[39:42] Um so

[39:44] uh

[39:46] in order to maintain that, we have to

[39:47] have full man staffing on the engine. Uh

[39:50] if somebody takes off vacation or calls

[39:52] in sick or is out on a an extended leave

[39:55] uh for injury, we try to fill that

[39:58] position with a part-timer.

[39:59] Um unfortunately, all those part-timers

[40:01] have full-time jobs somewhere else. They

[40:03] work at another fire department

[40:05] somewhere.

[40:06] And so, trying to get them to fill those slots is you know, we do our best,

[40:12] but if we can't, we have to fill it with

[40:14] a full-time

[40:15] uh personnel.

[40:17] >> Uh did we do that at one time as

[40:19] volunteer

[40:21] firefighters?

[40:23] >> So, since I've I've

[40:26] came on board here, um they were in the

[40:28] middle of a separation when I got here.

[40:30] Uh so, now there's two separate

[40:32] entities. So, we share the same house,

[40:35] but we're two separate entities.

[40:36] >> Okay.

[40:39] What did you spend last year in

[40:40] overtime?

[40:42] >> Last year was 170

[40:45] 2,000.

[40:46] And this year we're at 100

[40:49] We're at 180

[40:52] >> So, you're asking for

[40:55] saying that you need one additional

[40:57] person per shift. Is that what you're

[40:58] saying?

[40:59] >> Yes.

[40:59] >> What would that cost?

[41:02] >> Um base salary

[41:04] roughly 55,000 a year. That's a little

[41:07] high plus benefits. So, you're looking

[41:09] at 75,000 a year.

[41:12] Um times three plus you'll still have

[41:15] overtime.

[41:17] It's inherent in the schedule that they

[41:19] work. They'll they'll receive overtime

[41:21] hours for each

[41:22] >> You're still back up to 230, 240.

[41:24] >> Well, it'll decrease your actual

[41:27] overtime line item, but it'll increase

[41:29] your So, it's

[41:34] » Okay.

[41:34] >> I could probably reduce the overtime

[41:37] by about um with what we're on track

[41:40] this year, probably about 80,000.

[41:44] >> You'd reduce it by 80,000.

[41:45] >> I could probably come close to reducing

[41:47] it by 80,000.

[41:48] >> Three full-time positions

[41:49] >> Three.

[41:51] We have We have three shifts.

[41:54] >> Three full-time positions would reduce

[41:56] it by 80,000.

[41:57] >> About 80,000 of the overtime budget.

[41:59] >> But it will increase your personnel

[42:01] costs

[42:02] >> Overtime by 225.

[42:04] >> 225.

[42:08] » I have a question about the ladder

[42:10] truck. Because I know I have had it

[42:11] restored and then we decided to try to

[42:13] look at any ladder truck that was at the

[42:15] end of the ladder

[42:16] or

[42:16] >> We talked about it.

[42:18] It's It's been discussed.

[42:21] You know, 2 years ago.

[42:23] And then we actually specked one out.

[42:25] And got a price 2 a year and a half ago.

[42:28] It was 2. Right at 2.3. That same ladder

[42:32] truck, I just spoke with them last week.

[42:34] That same ladder truck is 2.7 now.

[42:40] » How really is a super ladder truck?

[42:42] >> 6 to 10 6 to 10% a year is what they

[42:45] typically go up.

[42:48] Um

[42:49] >> What

[42:50] If we got a new ladder truck, what would

[42:52] we do with the

[42:53] current ladder truck?

[42:55] >> My recommendation would be to keep that

[42:58] ladder truck as a reserve.

[43:01] Um it's paid for.

[43:03] Um keep it as a reserve. Uh it would

[43:06] lower our ISO rating by having a reserve

[43:08] ladder.

[43:09] Um

[43:10] and

[43:12] the engine that we currently have in

[43:13] reserve, the 2011,

[43:16] uh

[43:17] I cringe every time they drive it out of

[43:19] the station because something breaks on

[43:20] it.

[43:21] Um the ladder truck is more reliable

[43:23] than the 2011 engine we have, and we

[43:25] have to have a reserve. Um

[43:27] Our engine Our brand new engine was out

[43:30] of service for about a month and a half

[43:32] uh

[43:33] this year due to It went in for a PM.

[43:37] While it was in the shop, they messed it

[43:39] up. And they ended up having to send it

[43:41] to San Antonio to get it repaired on

[43:44] their dime. Um but it was a month and a

[43:46] half before we got it back. We were

[43:48] in the Luckily, the ladder truck was

[43:50] here. We had it. We were in the ladder

[43:52] truck for the majority of that month and a

[43:54] half.

[43:55] >> So, just out of curiosity, let's say

[43:58] you ended up having to sell the ladder

[44:00] truck. The old engine is like

[44:02] >> Mhm.

[44:03] >> Um and

[44:04] that same a happened. Would they have to

[44:06] provide some kind of a replacement

[44:08] vehicle while they're fixing it if they

[44:10] want to screw it up?

[44:11] >> No, they're not obligated to.

[44:15] Unfortunately, it's, you know,

[44:17] Now, there is a shop in Killeen that uh

[44:20] that does repairs, um which is Siddons

[44:23] Martin, which is who we sent the new

[44:25] ladder truck with because they had a

[44:27] shop in Killeen, a very uh

[44:31] impressive shop in Killeen.

[44:33] Um

[44:35] they do have a loaner program.

[44:37] But, currently, the

[44:39] we have a

[44:41] we bought our truck through Metro, and

[44:43] they do not have a loaner program.

[44:45] >> What what would be a good estimate and

[44:48] just I know it's hard to say

[44:51] uh the percentage of time that you use

[44:53] the ladder truck on on these calls here?

[44:56] >> So, good question. Um I would use it on

[44:59] every call, uh on every fire call if we

[45:02] could. We just don't have the personnel

[45:03] to do it. If I was able to hire an

[45:06] additional person per shift, that would

[45:09] be five per shift, I would put three on

[45:11] an engine and three on a ladder truck,

[45:13] which would guarantee that that ladder

[45:15] truck was going to show up to a house

[45:17] fire every time.

[45:20] Um right now, we're just running one

[45:22] engine out of that station. Uh

[45:24] if we get a house fire,

[45:26] we rely on personnel coming back

[45:30] to get the ladder truck to bring to the

[45:31] call.

[45:33] >> So, you currently have five on a shift?

[45:35] >> Four.

[45:37] >> What what Yeah, what if one How would you put three and three on

[45:41] >> I would put three and two.

[45:42] >> Okay.

[45:43] >> So, three on an engine, which would be

[45:44] the primary response because it's a

[45:46] smaller vehicle, less maintenance than

[45:49] the ladder truck. I would put two on the

[45:50] ladder truck, guaranteeing that ladder

[45:52] truck.

[45:53] And it also helps with the overlapping

[45:55] calls. If that engine is on a a call and

[45:58] they get toned out for another one, the

[46:00] ladder would respond imme- immediately.

[46:03] Right now

[46:04] we may or may not be able to respond

[46:06] depending on the call we're on.

[46:09] It would also a fifth person would also

[46:11] allow if somebody took off we wouldn't

[46:13] it wouldn't require overtime. We would

[46:15] try and get a part-timer to fill that

[46:17] position. If we couldn't then we would

[46:19] run with four.

[46:23] » And so the

[46:25] things that you were going through chief

[46:27] talking north of 3 million three and a

[46:29] half

[46:30] >> Something like that. Everything that you

[46:31] need. What's the steps to

[46:34] What's the most important? What's your

[46:36] plan on trying to

[46:38] fill these needs?

[46:41] » Good question.

[46:42] We need money.

[46:44] >> I get that but I mean what's the

[46:46] strategic plan to try to do that?

[46:48] >> I had the strategic plan on paper

[46:50] starting with the ladder truck.

[46:52] Um

[46:53] but that was for

[46:56] ordering it in 2025.

[46:58] Uh

[46:59] so we moved it to 2026 and now it will

[47:02] move to 2027 and it will keep moving

[47:04] out. Everything

[47:06] in front of it is going to continue to

[47:08] move out as well. But at some point

[47:12] the equipment is going to fail.

[47:13] >> Right.

[47:14] >> Um we have a brush truck that you know

[47:16] I'm willing now to switch the brush truck and the ladder truck because the brush

[47:22] truck is giving us such fits. We're piecing it together.

[47:26] >> How much does a brush truck

[47:28] >> About 350,000.

[47:30] >> It's a lot more cost.

[47:31] >> Substantially cheaper than a ladder

[47:33] truck.

[47:34] >> And used a lot more often with the fires

[47:37] that we

[47:37] >> With the staffing that we have currently

[47:39] yes ma'am. It it's used a lot more

[47:42] frequent than the ladder truck is.

[47:43] >> I may have missed it chief but for

[47:46] transparency how many structure fires in

[47:49] the city have we had this last year?

[47:51] >> I do not have that report in front of me

[47:53] but I can get it to you and I will email

[47:54] it to the council.

[48:01] Any other questions?

[48:04] » Thank you, Chief.

[48:05] >> Thank you all.

[48:16] » 3.2, upcoming special events meetings,

[48:18] possible discussion by council.

[48:21] August 25th, 2026

[48:23] at 5:30 we have our charter review

[48:26] committee.

[48:28] September the 3rd, 2026 at 6:00 p.m.

[48:30] planning and zoning.

[48:33] September the 14th, 2026 at 5:30

[48:37] will be back in the city hall chamber.

[48:40] Council.

[48:43] 4.1, discussion, possible action

[48:47] regarding the first reading of an

[48:48] ordinance amending Land Passes Code of

[48:50] Ordinances,

[48:51] ordinance number 17-62

[48:54] regarding

[48:56] zoning regulations pertaining to smoke

[48:58] and tobacco shops.

[49:00] >> Good evening, Mayor and Council. This

[49:01] item was discussed during workshop of

[49:03] the August 10th meeting to change the

[49:06] ordinance the existing ordinance from

[49:09] 300 ft to 1,000 ft.

[49:19] » I still think it's over policing by the

[49:22] government on private business, but

[49:27] That's just my thought.

[49:28] >> I agree with that. It's just an

[49:30] ineffective use of of local government.

[49:33] This is a parental control parental

[49:35] responsibility issue, and it's also

[49:38] inconsistent with other

[49:40] uh distances for the liquor store, for

[49:42] instance, that is at 300 ft. So, I'm I'm

[49:46] very much opposed to this change.

[49:48] >> And y'all know where I stand on it.

[49:50] I'm for it

[49:52] because

[49:55] for all the reasons that I've

[49:57] said and yes, I know you don't think

[49:58] it's a problem thing,

[50:00] but if you have any idea as to what a

[50:06] for lack of a better word, epidemic it

[50:08] is at the high school level,

[50:10] you know, maybe you'll feel different,

[50:12] but

[50:12] >> No, I don't because signage doesn't do

[50:14] it.

[50:18] » No, I mean, anything can finish you if

[50:20] they want to do. I mean, realistically,

[50:22] if you want to do something, you're

[50:23] going to you're going to find a way to

[50:24] do it.

[50:25] But, I just feel like

[50:28] I personally don't want to see that in

[50:31] our town that close to our schools.

[50:33] That's my own opinion.

[50:34] >> That's exactly what a

[50:36] overstepping of a government entity is

[50:38] doing. You're saying personally you just

[50:40] don't want to see that.

[50:41] >> Well, I feel like I feel like part of

[50:43] our responsibility as city councils is

[50:48] to take what the community believes that

[50:51] we want the city to be,

[50:53] and I don't think it's overstepping.

[50:55] Because I've had and it's not just me,

[50:57] I've had many people

[50:59] concerned about it. They don't want to see that that close

[51:03] to the school.

[51:03] >> Where are they?

[51:06] >> What do you mean, where are they?

[51:08] >> Right here. These people.

[51:10] I'm sitting right here.

[51:12] On the front row with the on his phone.

[51:15] >> Well, I believe that this is basically a

[51:18] misuse of local government

[51:21] function.

[51:22] It's a issue for children's parents.

[51:25] It's an issue for uh

[51:28] those who might be addicted to some

[51:31] substance.

[51:32] The

[51:33] generally, the smoke shop ordinance

[51:36] talks about more than just vaping.

[51:40] It is much more broad-based, and it's an

[51:42] over This is just an overreach. It's

[51:44] just not necessary, and it's really not

[51:46] effective.

[51:48] >> Should we get rid of the 300 ft?

[51:53] » I mean, I don't think it really

[51:55] I don't think like restricting

[51:56] advertising on there really does much

[51:59] either way, but you know, it's the third

[52:01] time that it's come up.

[52:05] I just don't know why we keep on talking

[52:06] about it.

[52:07] I mean, 300 ft is fine, but

[52:11] >> It's really

[52:11] >> Well, that's where it's that's cuz it

[52:12] was approved before

[52:15] this council. Like literally right

[52:17] before this council.

[52:19] And then we have a different council

[52:20] that's brought back up.

[52:22] >> I was just curious if 300 ft is over

[52:24] stepping.

[52:27] >> I mean, cuz just as a example,

[52:32] we had a shop in town right next to

[52:34] Storms

[52:36] put up signs.

[52:38] How soon did everybody

[52:40] get a text, phone call saying,

[52:44] "I thought we weren't doing this."

[52:47] >> They're all city

[52:48] >> Right. So,

[52:50] if you're looking for a reason not to,

[52:52] that's the reason.

[52:55] At least with me. I had several people

[52:57] text and say, "No, we already have them

[52:59] in town."

[53:00] That's another point.

[53:02] We already have them in here.

[53:04] So, it's just a personal preference.

[53:06] Either you want to encourage more smoke

[53:09] shops,

[53:10] and as you know, Eric, and as you know,

[53:13] not everything they sell out of there is

[53:14] legal.

[53:16] They're waiting for the law to catch up,

[53:19] so it's proprietary illegal, but until

[53:22] that happens, they're going to continue

[53:24] selling them. And they don't care who

[53:26] they sell it to.

[53:27] >> But, I guess the uh

[53:29] the spirit and the intent behind that

[53:31] kind of ordinance would be to keep it

[53:33] out of hands of like kids. Is that what

[53:34] we're saying?

[53:35] >> I don't like marijuana would be a store

[53:37] of the law, but we know people who have

[53:40] >> What are we talking about? I mean, I'm

[53:42] simply asking is this about kids like

[53:44] Councilwoman McKinney's talking about

[53:46] not having in the high school or is it

[53:47] trying to regulate morality for adults?

[53:49] >> I don't I'm not regulating morality. I'm

[53:50] saying access to illegal substances.

[53:54] >> But I mean, you know,

[53:54] >> Alcohol's legal.

[53:56] >> The question is whether this is the

[53:57] right way to attack that issue.

[53:59] And the I don't think this is.

[54:01] >> I just don't think it's a matter of

[54:02] encouraging versus attack.

[54:05] Like we're encouraging versus attack.

[54:07] Everyone has their opinion. We've gone

[54:09] back and forth. So, we can vote and then

[54:12] just move on and then we'll be set. So,

[54:15] it's however everybody votes and then we

[54:18] can just live with it and move on.

[54:19] That's how I look. I mean, I didn't

[54:21] >> And and that was part of that was part

[54:23] of my issue with it is because before

[54:26] Officer Patrick

[54:27] for Councilwoman Walsh came on,

[54:30] it was passed and then Councilwoman

[54:32] Walsh came along and it was swung the

[54:33] other way and it was denied. So, it just

[54:36] >> They didn't put it on the agenda.

[54:37] >> I just didn't feel like we had a chance

[54:39] to put it on.

[54:40] Which is why I wanted to bring this back

[54:42] and make sure that we knew what

[54:44] the council felt

[54:46] was best.

[54:47] >> I don't know how I got back on that

[54:48] second time. I got on council. I didn't

[54:50] ask for it to be on there. I just was

[54:52] here.

[54:53] But also, I think Chief Cummings had

[54:55] never been a few times that the PD has

[54:57] stepped in when there's been issues with

[54:58] local shops if there was a question of

[55:00] if there was illegal substances being

[55:02] sold out of there where local PD went in

[55:04] to to make sure that shops were in

[55:06] compliance.

[55:07] >> Sure, a few times over the half of the

[55:09] year time

[55:11] good in compliance or something.

[55:13] We asked for information and concern. I

[55:15] mean, the law has changed up and down

[55:17] over the last three or four months using

[55:18] synthetic marijuana.

[55:19] But in coordination with the county

[55:21] attorney's office, we talked to the shop

[55:22] owners where we actually made the

[55:23] purchases there. You take all this into

[55:26] the lab.

[55:26] Uh

[55:27] you can come back and see if there's

[55:28] anything there.

[55:29] It used to be done and not be done. We

[55:31] always coordinated with the county

[55:32] attorney's office.

[55:34] >> Yes, sir. Uh

[55:36] and that's more in line with the duties

[55:38] of law enforcement though is is

[55:40] regulating the laws of the state of

[55:41] Texas, right?

[55:45] » I mean I get both of y'all's sides on

[55:47] this. I'm trying to figure out

[55:49] what I think, but

[55:51] >> It'd be different if there was no no

[55:53] smoke shops.

[55:54] >> overstepping. Is 300 ft overstepping it?

[55:57] Do we need to do away with that as well?

[55:59] >> So, what does it What does it say

[56:00] statewide?

[56:02] >> Uh statewide is for signage only and

[56:05] it's 1,000 ft within a school.

[56:07] >> I mean I guess going along with my

[56:09] mentality then it'd be

[56:11] 300 be too much too, but this is going

[56:13] back to an ex-smoker. I think vapes are

[56:15] real lame, too. I just

[56:18] I mean I'm just looking at it as being I

[56:21] just don't like the government meddling

[56:22] with private business. I mean that's it. I'm against Clearly I don't

[56:26] want kids having that.

[56:27] >> Well, yeah, and that's part of the

[56:28] problem, too, is because the the vapes

[56:31] that they get hold of

[56:32] are felony level vapes.

[56:35] And so, advertising it, making it more

[56:38] um

[56:39] socially acceptable

[56:41] to a kid's head,

[56:43] that's where That's where I'm at.

[56:44] >> But they're not I don't know if if signs

[56:46] in town are doing that as much as like

[56:48] these things. The advertising is

[56:51] >> Well, it's kind of both. I mean it

[56:53] >> How does that relate to the distance of

[56:55] a building to another building?

[56:56] >> to the distance of the building? It's

[56:58] like kids could just walk right by and

[56:59] see it and drive by it every single

[57:02] solitary vape

[57:02] >> Well, we also have uh liquor stores that

[57:06] have uh advertising that is

[57:09] available. So, it's And that one is

[57:11] truly huge.

[57:12] >> But the liquor But the kids aren't

[57:15] Liquor is not as much of an issue at a

[57:18] high school campus as

[57:20] >> What?

[57:20] >> the vapes.

[57:21] >> What are you talking about?

[57:22] >> Not as much. It is, but not as much.

[57:25] They're not doing it. It's just They're

[57:27] not

[57:28] >> I don't know. I've been in high school

[57:29] for since almost been it

[57:31] Like

[57:33] And I mean and also like again like

[57:35] signage in town

[57:36] compared to what's online and the phones

[57:39] and on TV like it's

[57:41] I don't know.

[57:42] I'm just curious.

[57:43] >> agree with it. I just very much against the government

[57:47] stepping in private business.

[57:49] >> Is this only for smoke shops because

[57:54] gas stations sell

[57:55] these things as well, I mean, right?

[57:59] >> It's a specific percentage of sales that

[58:01] are spent on vapes specifically.

[58:04] >> Okay.

[58:05] >> Or tobacco.

[58:06] >> I mean, you go into Casey's and get that

[58:08] two for $6 slices, but you see ads for

[58:11] vapes as soon as you walk in.

[58:13] >> It's a percentage of the total sales.

[58:15] >> But still not we're still not getting

[58:16] rid of vapes within the even within the

[58:18] 300 ft rule.

[58:25] » I guess I'd Ed would like to see us call

[58:27] the question.

[58:29] >> I

[58:30] don't How would a vape shop advertise?

[58:32] What kind of signage would they be

[58:33] allowed to put up?

[58:35] They can't say vape or anything in their

[58:38] >> Right.

[58:38] >> name.

[58:39] >> He says it it relates to you know, it

[58:43] limits cartoon characters that would

[58:45] target kids. Like you have to be very restrictive with your

[58:49] >> of like hobbies and stuff.

[58:51] >> Right.

[58:53] >> So certain characters

[58:54] >> Yeah, they they're not allowed to use

[58:56] signage that would be appealing to

[58:58] children.

[58:59] within 1,000 ft of a school.

[59:01] >> But it could say such and such vape

[59:03] shop.

[59:04] Okay.

[59:11] » All right.

[59:13] Do we get a motion one way or the other

[59:14] this for the last time?

[59:17] >> All right, for just for the last time to

[59:19] get it get it done.

[59:20] I I would like to consider a motion to

[59:23] approve

[59:24] the 1,000 ft.

[59:25] >> Second.

[59:29] » All right. in favor?

[59:31] >> Aye.

[59:37] >> Nay.

[59:44] >> Thank you.

[59:59] » All right.

[1:00:00] 4.2 discussion and possible action to

[1:00:03] declare unusual city-owned IT equipment

[1:00:07] as surplus

[1:00:08] and allow staff to dispose of as state

[1:00:11] law allows.

[1:00:13] >> Mayor and city council, staff is

[1:00:15] requesting the approval to dispose of

[1:00:17] city-owned unusable IT equipment that

[1:00:19] was used at various departments. Equip-

[1:00:22] equipment includes desktop PCs,

[1:00:24] monitors, switches, laptops, wireless

[1:00:26] access points, toner, um UPS battery

[1:00:30] backups, uh tablets, cell phones, air

[1:00:33] cards, um and printers.

[1:00:35] The IT equipment that staff is

[1:00:36] requesting to dispose of is either

[1:00:38] end-of-life, no longer supported,

[1:00:40] broken, or has been replaced. Staff has

[1:00:43] removed all the parts that could serve a

[1:00:45] purpose to the city off of the equipment

[1:00:48] and the serial numbers of the equipment

[1:00:49] to be to be disposed of will be kept for

[1:00:52] uh record retention. And additionally,

[1:00:55] all hard drives have been removed or

[1:00:56] wiped containing city data.

[1:00:59] Uh staff is just requesting a motion to

[1:01:02] declare unusable IT equipment as surplus

[1:01:04] and allow staff to dispose of as state

[1:01:07] law allows.

[1:01:08] >> So moved.

[1:01:09] >> Second.

[1:01:12] » Any discussion?

[1:01:14] All in favor?

[1:01:15] >> Aye.

[1:01:17] >> Thank you.

[1:01:19] >> 4.3, discussion and possible action on a

[1:01:21] 5-year sponsorship agreement for

[1:01:23] beverage rights between the city of

[1:01:25] Lampasas and Coca-Cola.

[1:01:31] » Good evening, Mayor, Mayor pro Mayor pro

[1:01:33] tem and council. Sorry for that noise.

[1:01:36] Um you have before you a beverage

[1:01:38] agreement between the city of Lampasas

[1:01:40] and Coca-Cola. Uh as you know, Coca-Cola

[1:01:44] is an international company. Uh for this

[1:01:46] contract specifically, we are going to

[1:01:48] be dealing out of the Dallas office for

[1:01:51] this contract. They have multiple

[1:01:52] offices throughout the country. Um

[1:01:54] and Dallas is going to be the closest

[1:01:56] one to us, so this will be who

[1:01:58] specifically we go under contract with,

[1:02:00] but we will receive all the rights and

[1:02:01] benefits of any

[1:02:03] uh national partner. With this, um there

[1:02:06] is a hard There's it's difficult to put

[1:02:08] a dollar amount on this contract because

[1:02:10] there's a lot of commission-based and

[1:02:12] rebate-based uh monies that could come

[1:02:16] to the city.

[1:02:17] Um but we are also going to have

[1:02:19] guaranteed monies from day one of this

[1:02:22] contract. Um

[1:02:24] with this contract, we will receive at

[1:02:26] minimum

[1:02:29] $12,000 per calendar year.

[1:02:32] Uh that will be through merchandise.

[1:02:35] Um

[1:02:36] that merchandise could be umbrellas, it

[1:02:37] could be picnic tables, it could be menu

[1:02:39] boards. Uh any number of uh maybe

[1:02:42] digital TVs to show menus at concession

[1:02:45] stands, for example.

[1:02:47] Um

[1:02:48] and then $8,000 of those dollars per

[1:02:50] year will be loose funds for us to use

[1:02:52] whatever we would like.

[1:02:54] But then, on top of that, they are going

[1:02:56] to provide both drink coolers, which are

[1:02:58] the sliding glass coolers that you may

[1:03:01] see at the golf course or at the pool,

[1:03:05] as well as about a dozen vending

[1:03:07] machines for the city at no cost. The

[1:03:09] Coca-Cola will own those vending

[1:03:11] machines,

[1:03:13] um and they will give them to us for the

[1:03:15] length of our contract uh to sell their

[1:03:18] merchandise out of, and that does not

[1:03:20] uh factor into that uh merchandise money

[1:03:23] that we will receive each year.

[1:03:26] With that as well, any vending

[1:03:28] uh sales, we're going to receive from

[1:03:31] drink number one a 15% commission off of

[1:03:34] each one of those drinks.

[1:03:35] Uh if you go to the appendices in the

[1:03:37] very back of the contract, it's going to

[1:03:39] show you the drink breakdown,

[1:03:41] uh the purchase the cost that they will

[1:03:43] be put in the vending machine at,

[1:03:45] and the 15% uh commission on each one of

[1:03:48] those.

[1:03:50] Additionally, in your contract, you're

[1:03:52] going to see

[1:03:54] drink sales uh that we purchase for the

[1:03:58] city for redistribution or to consume as

[1:04:01] city staff ourselves.

[1:04:02] Uh the biggest one is going to be uh we

[1:04:05] will receive a $5 rebate on every single

[1:04:08] case of water,

[1:04:10] soda, or there are a couple other

[1:04:12] different beverage items in that $5 per

[1:04:14] case rebate.

[1:04:16] As well as there's another threshold of

[1:04:18] $2 rebates per case.

[1:04:21] We also have an incentive on here for

[1:04:25] case large quantity case thresholds at

[1:04:28] $2,000, and then an additional $5,000 if

[1:04:31] we do hit those thresholds.

[1:04:34] One of the good things about this

[1:04:35] contract is that we are not going to be

[1:04:38] paying for any signage out of

[1:04:41] our pocket because there is no signage

[1:04:44] that will be going on baseball fields,

[1:04:46] soccer fields, uh aquatic facilities.

[1:04:49] It's strictly going to be based off of

[1:04:50] those vending machines, those coolers,

[1:04:52] and mini boards. So, they're going to be

[1:04:53] the three main products we receive.

[1:04:56] Um

[1:04:57] if you have any questions, I think that

[1:04:58] pretty much covers all of the the

[1:05:01] financials of it.

[1:05:03] >> Did y'all So, on this, who negotiated

[1:05:06] this? Did y'all just go to Coca-Cola or

[1:05:08] you Is this coming through that company in

[1:05:11] Iowa?

[1:05:12] >> It's This is a Sports Solutions

[1:05:13] contract.

[1:05:14] >> Sports Solutions contract, what

[1:05:16] percentage did they get or is there a

[1:05:17] tax?

[1:05:18] >> Anytime we receive a check

[1:05:22] from Coca-Cola, we are going to within

[1:05:24] 30 days give 25% of that to

[1:05:28] um

[1:05:29] Sports Solutions.

[1:05:30] >> And then what how does that work with

[1:05:34] the um

[1:05:35] Little League what they what they

[1:05:38] do they get concession stands and

[1:05:39] they're taking your stocking and

[1:05:41] selling? Are they Are they only using

[1:05:43] Coca-Cola products?

[1:05:45] >> Yes, they will be able to receive them

[1:05:47] from us at cost that we receive them

[1:05:49] though, which is significantly below

[1:05:51] market value.

[1:05:54] >> Are they Are they going to talk to the

[1:05:55] different I mean

[1:05:57] they agree with that?

[1:05:58] >> LCYLA was present at the Parks Board

[1:06:00] meeting. Their representative was the

[1:06:02] other night and they're in agreement

[1:06:03] with this.

[1:06:05] >> What are the locations?

[1:06:07] >> Um there are if you are on the very

[1:06:10] first page of the contract, um section F

[1:06:12] is going to list off all the physical

[1:06:14] addresses, but it is going to include

[1:06:17] all the sports complexes, both pools,

[1:06:20] um

[1:06:22] the golf courses on here, W and Burke

[1:06:25] Park.

[1:06:26] >> Did the golf course or did

[1:06:28] they sign a contract

[1:06:30] last year or something or somebody?

[1:06:32] >> They have a distribution agreement with

[1:06:33] Pepsi, but that can be

[1:06:36] negated

[1:06:37] >> Okay.

[1:06:38] >> for this purpose.

[1:06:40] >> I mean sure

[1:06:40] we got Pepsi in here at the golf course.

[1:06:42] >> No, it's a it's a Pepsi

[1:06:44] >> So I remember they already had a

[1:06:45] contract with Pepsi in there.

[1:06:46] >> They We had to sign a contract with

[1:06:48] Pepsi for them to deliver products to

[1:06:50] the golf course.

[1:06:51] >> Okay.

[1:06:52] And how does this this is kind of

[1:06:54] far-fetched and reaching, but

[1:06:55] it's a question.

[1:06:57] We had a little water problem.

[1:07:00] And we got water from Red Cross or State

[1:07:04] of Texas and it was great value. It was

[1:07:07] whatever they could bring us.

[1:07:09] >> This is for the

[1:07:17] Not an not an emergency.

[1:07:19] This is not going to affect that either

[1:07:21] because

[1:07:26] This is not going to affect that. This

[1:07:27] is more based towards what we are

[1:07:30] selling our customers.

[1:07:32] >> We give that water away, that emergency

[1:07:34] water.

[1:07:40] » Yes.

[1:07:45] And I and the county included Tony

[1:07:47] Water.

[1:07:48] >> not make a difference, but these two

[1:07:51] distributors have competed over several

[1:07:53] months to get to this point that we're

[1:07:55] at.

[1:07:55] >> Yes, and so back to Councilwoman

[1:07:57] Keeney's point, this has a been a

[1:08:00] Sportsman's Solutions contract and we've

[1:08:02] had Coca-Cola and Pepsi both on site and

[1:08:04] they have

[1:08:05] >> competitively bid this back and forth

[1:08:08] >> multiple months. Um if you do look at

[1:08:11] point number two on the very first page,

[1:08:13] this negotiation started on April the

[1:08:15] 1st and so um

[1:08:17] I did forget to omit the original date

[1:08:19] on this beverage agreement of April 1st,

[1:08:21] 2026. That will just move to the date

[1:08:23] that we execute the contract.

[1:08:26] >> So um

[1:08:28] just to

[1:08:29] make sure I understand the numbers here.

[1:08:31] Annually, we get $8,000 in cash, $4,000

[1:08:36] in merchandise, whatever that may be,

[1:08:39] and then 60 cents per $4 purchase, but

[1:08:43] we pay 15 cents of that out to

[1:08:46] Sportsman's Solutions.

[1:08:47] >> Correct. Also, for every case of water

[1:08:49] that we purchase, for example, the fire

[1:08:51] department, the police department,

[1:08:53] um public works, they tend to order

[1:08:56] their drinks by the their water by the

[1:08:59] pallet for their for their guys out in

[1:09:02] the field and so we would receive $5

[1:09:04] back on every single one of those cases

[1:09:06] on that pallet as well.

[1:09:09] >> Okay.

[1:09:10] >> Even if the city is consuming that

[1:09:12] instead of reselling it.

[1:09:15] >> Okay, so

[1:09:17] in that situation

[1:09:19] that department would have to buy from

[1:09:21] Coca-Cola.

[1:09:23] >> Correct, but it's going to be at a

[1:09:25] below market cost from what we're even

[1:09:28] purchasing from Walmart or Sam's Club

[1:09:29] right now because we're receiving it as

[1:09:31] a essentially as a vendor to resell it

[1:09:34] at the market value. And those numbers

[1:09:36] are in one of the appendices in the

[1:09:37] contract as well.

[1:09:41] » On exhibit A and B, it's not a dumb

[1:09:43] question, but when you're looking at the

[1:09:44] product list, what what is this PET

[1:09:46] stand for?

[1:09:49] » I didn't hear. What did you say?

[1:09:51] >> PET on the exhibits. What does it stand

[1:09:53] for?

[1:09:53] >> Hit.

[1:09:55] >> What does it stand for though?

[1:09:57] >> That is an excellent question.

[1:10:00] >> All right, and another question.

[1:10:02] >> a it's a bottle, not a can.

[1:10:04] >> Okay.

[1:10:04] >> It's a it's a plastic bottle.

[1:10:05] >> Okay, so the

[1:10:08] So is that right that bottle of water is

[1:10:10] three bucks in the in the vending

[1:10:12] machine?

[1:10:12] >> That's going to be from vending.

[1:10:13] >> From what?

[1:10:14] >> From vending. We don't have to if we're

[1:10:16] at the aquatics facility, we don't have

[1:10:18] to sell it at $3, but they they service

[1:10:22] those vending machines. We don't service

[1:10:24] those and so they will set the cost on

[1:10:27] those and that's set out uh on that

[1:10:30] exhibit A year one through two

[1:10:33] three and four year five.

[1:10:34] >> And so in five years, a bottle of water

[1:10:36] costs $3.50?

[1:10:38] >> Inflation, I mean.

[1:10:40] >> That's brutal.

[1:10:41] Spring water.

[1:10:42] >> And also the swimming pools, the Johanna

[1:10:45] Springs and Hancock are

[1:10:47] the Hancock Springs is listed, but not

[1:10:50] Hancock.

[1:10:51] >> Um

[1:10:52] the issue with one of the sliding glass

[1:10:56] door

[1:10:59] machines at Han Hancock is the

[1:11:03] concession stand is way too small. You

[1:11:05] can barely sit two people in there right

[1:11:07] now and it's really cramped. And so

[1:11:10] they're going to put a vending machine

[1:11:12] on the external of the building there.

[1:11:15] Um but there will not be one of the

[1:11:16] sliding glass coolers there because

[1:11:18] there's physically not enough space.

[1:11:20] >> And that space this house would be the

[1:11:22] same inside?

[1:11:23] >> Correct.

[1:11:25] >> Everywhere they want to put a vending

[1:11:26] machine and there's not currently

[1:11:28] electricity, who's responsible?

[1:11:31] >> We have We went around with the company

[1:11:33] and everywhere that we want to put a

[1:11:35] vending machine there's electricity

[1:11:37] except for one location um and this is

[1:11:40] the 580 Sports Complex where we want to

[1:11:42] put the vending machine and there is a

[1:11:44] uh spot we can take electricity from

[1:11:47] just like from a floodlight like 2 ft

[1:11:49] above where the machine would be.

[1:11:51] >> So it would only work when the lights

[1:11:53] are on?

[1:11:55] >> No,

[1:11:56] it would work all the time.

[1:11:57] >> I'm serious.

[1:11:58] >> It would work all the time.

[1:12:00] >> But if if it's city contract and I know

[1:12:03] this is probably already been answered

[1:12:05] um

[1:12:06] and we have a event and a lot of people

[1:12:09] donate things to the fire department.

[1:12:11] They donate Gatorade.

[1:12:13] They donate pallets. Is Coke going to

[1:12:15] have an issue with us drinking

[1:12:18] you know, they're we're supposed to be

[1:12:19] under Coca-Cola and some citizen

[1:12:22] donates?

[1:12:23] >> The The issue would become if we turned

[1:12:25] around and tried to sell that

[1:12:26] merchandise that was not Coca-Cola.

[1:12:28] >> Okay.

[1:12:29] >> Um if they donate again

[1:12:32] Gatorade instead of Powerade that that's

[1:12:35] not it doesn't apply here. It's like it

[1:12:38] would be the same if I took Gatorade

[1:12:39] into my office and drink it instead of

[1:12:42] drinking Powerade in my office.

[1:12:45] >> It's only Powerade now.

[1:12:47] >> Body Armor.

[1:12:48] >> It's only Powerade.

[1:12:49] >> And Body Armor.

[1:12:50] >> Do we

[1:12:51] uh

[1:12:52] Do we get to this stuff on the ISD

[1:12:54] property?

[1:12:55] Like the stadium.

[1:12:57] >> The ISD is not in this. No, sir.

[1:13:00] >> And what

[1:13:02] This wasn't like naming rights for 580

[1:13:05] or anything like that. It's just them

[1:13:07] being It's basically having the products

[1:13:08] around town at all the

[1:13:09] >> Correct. They don't want their name on

[1:13:11] anything other than the product they're

[1:13:13] selling or vending up above.

[1:13:15] >> So, that's still out there.

[1:13:17] >> Correct. Um

[1:13:19] Just to kind of like put it out there, has been some interest in the

[1:13:22] rodeo arena, but that's a little bit

[1:13:25] more down the line. You know, it has

[1:13:26] nothing to do with specifically this

[1:13:29] contract.

[1:13:36] » All right. Do we get a motion?

[1:13:44] » I make a motion to approve this

[1:13:46] sponsorship agreement between the city

[1:13:47] of the one passes Coca-Cola

[1:13:50] for a base plus commission-based

[1:13:52] contract for 5 years.

[1:13:54] >> Second.

[1:13:55] Any other discussion? All in favor?

[1:13:58] >> Aye.

[1:13:59] >> Thank you.

[1:14:04] » 4.4 discussion possible action for

[1:14:06] approving a resolution to amend the

[1:14:08] city's comprehensive fund

[1:14:10] balance policy.

[1:14:12] >> Mayor and council, as reviewed during

[1:14:14] workshop, our fund balance policy was

[1:14:16] last updated in 2013 after adoption in

[1:14:19] 2011.

[1:14:21] Um we're recommending to modify the

[1:14:22] reserve balances from a percentage

[1:14:24] applied to the most recently complete

[1:14:26] audited fiscal year to a number of days

[1:14:28] applied to operating expenditures of the

[1:14:30] current fiscal year.

[1:14:32] Modifying the order of spending

[1:14:33] resources from

[1:14:35] spending restricted fund balance first

[1:14:37] to using the least restricted categories

[1:14:39] of funds first. Creating a monitoring

[1:14:42] and reporting requirement and creating a

[1:14:45] replenishment time frame.

[1:14:47] >> So, moved.

[1:14:48] >> Second.

[1:14:49] >> Any discussion?

[1:14:51] All in favor?

[1:14:52] >> I.

[1:14:55] » And we'll get a motion to adjourn into

[1:14:57] executive session. Oh, I'm sorry.

[1:15:04] I am so sorry.

[1:15:07] Come right on up, Ms. Melissa.

[1:15:12] » Good evening, Mayor and Council. Thank

[1:15:14] you for having me back. The purposes of

[1:15:15] my

[1:15:17] time here this evening, I came to

[1:15:19] present my fiscal report fiscal budget

[1:15:22] for 26-27,

[1:15:24] but I would like to go back just a

[1:15:26] second and talk about the last time I

[1:15:29] was here, which was for my Q3 report. I

[1:15:31] had mentioned to you that we would have

[1:15:33] all of our Lampasas promotion budget

[1:15:36] allocated. And when I come for my Q4

[1:15:39] report

[1:15:40] in a couple months,

[1:15:42] I will have a proposal. It's actually not a

[1:15:46] proposal. It's actually the the

[1:15:48] marketing campaign for the marketing funds that I agreed to use

[1:15:55] by the end of this fiscal year. So,

[1:15:57] which will be October or September 30th.

[1:15:59] So, that is not in your packet this

[1:16:01] evening, but I would like to make a

[1:16:03] statement at the end of it and just read

[1:16:06] that to you understanding where we're

[1:16:08] headed as far as tourism in Lampasas.

[1:16:11] So, the key takeaway for my marketing

[1:16:13] campaign that will actually go on

[1:16:17] through 2027, however, it started back

[1:16:21] in August, is tourism marketing isn't

[1:16:23] about convincing people to visit

[1:16:24] Lampasas. It's about making sure

[1:16:26] Lampasas can be considered when

[1:16:28] travelers are deciding where to go.

[1:16:30] By strategically investing hot funds

[1:16:32] into a long-term digital tourism

[1:16:33] initiative, Visit Lampasas is building

[1:16:36] sustainable marketing assets that will

[1:16:38] promote the community, support local

[1:16:39] businesses, strengthen tourism, and

[1:16:42] contribute to economic growth for years

[1:16:44] to come.

[1:16:45] One investment creates marketing content

[1:16:47] that can continue promoting Lampasas for

[1:16:49] years. That can That can continue

[1:16:51] promoting Lampasas for years. I state

[1:16:53] that because

[1:16:55] it has been put upon me to actually

[1:16:57] expand our digital marketing presence

[1:17:00] through the Lampasas promotion line

[1:17:02] item. And I do truly believe that we are

[1:17:05] doing that. We are working very closely

[1:17:07] with the city, very closely with the

[1:17:09] EDC. I was at the EDC meeting last week

[1:17:12] and it came up that we need to do a

[1:17:15] better job at marketing Lampasas as far

[1:17:17] as holiday promotions. Hunting is a

[1:17:19] given, spring host kind of a given. We

[1:17:22] are looking at doing a little bit more

[1:17:24] marketing of our venues and actually

[1:17:26] events that bring in different um

[1:17:29] bridal events and

[1:17:32] family reunions and things of that

[1:17:33] nature. We have several different venues

[1:17:36] that are popping up all around the city

[1:17:38] and the county

[1:17:39] that would bring in sales tax for retail

[1:17:43] and dining and then also for lodging, of

[1:17:46] course, the hotel motel tax. So, stay

[1:17:49] tuned. We've got a lot coming up. I'm

[1:17:52] working with a lot of different

[1:17:53] resources to ensure that we are actually

[1:17:57] expanding our footprint properly with

[1:17:59] this new marketing campaign. We actually

[1:18:03] are on several different platforms

[1:18:06] including Google, Google Maps, Apple

[1:18:08] Maps, Bing, Bing Maps, Yelp, Trip

[1:18:11] Advisor, and additional online

[1:18:12] directories and tourism platforms

[1:18:14] including YouTube.

[1:18:16] We have created three 48-second

[1:18:18] commercials and then also one two and a

[1:18:20] half-minute commercial and those are

[1:18:23] already running and we will be

[1:18:25] rebranding to do a Visit Lampasas um

[1:18:29] brand instead of the Lampasas County

[1:18:32] Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center

[1:18:33] brand.

[1:18:34] So, Um, going back to my budget,

[1:18:37] if you will notice on there my budget is

[1:18:39] actually down 1722

[1:18:42] for the year or for this coming year.

[1:18:45] That is in a couple of different areas,

[1:18:47] but I will open the floor up to any

[1:18:49] questions based on the evaluation that I

[1:18:51] provided

[1:18:53] for this budget.

[1:18:56] » It's tough

[1:18:58] that you don't have a breakdown about

[1:19:01] this marketing and promotional expenses

[1:19:04] and more information about it. A lot of

[1:19:06] the

[1:19:08] platforms you just talked about like

[1:19:10] search engines and whatnot.

[1:19:12] Are you on there?

[1:19:14] >> No, we're not.

[1:19:15] >> How?

[1:19:17] >> We're not because we do not we have not

[1:19:19] tied into doing search engine

[1:19:21] optimization.

[1:19:23] We have not allowed our Visit Lake

[1:19:27] Charles brand to be marketed on all of

[1:19:31] those platforms and

[1:19:32] >> you mean you haven't allowed? We've

[1:19:34] allocated money for it.

[1:19:35] >> we haven't had the content. I apologize.

[1:19:37] We haven't had the content created. Now

[1:19:39] we do have the content with those videos

[1:19:42] to be able to

[1:19:44] get that search engine optimization on

[1:19:46] all those different platforms.

[1:19:47] >> You don't need

[1:19:49] two videos to get SEO movement.

[1:19:53] I mean you're saying you couldn't get

[1:19:55] any SEO movement because you didn't have

[1:19:56] two videos?

[1:19:58] >> No, I mean you have to purchase you have

[1:20:01] to purchase with marketing companies to

[1:20:02] get SEO.

[1:20:03] >> for a business for a number of years

[1:20:05] now.

[1:20:06] I I just don't know why this is we're

[1:20:08] just now talking about this in 2026.

[1:20:12] Like there's not a breakdown of how

[1:20:14] money's being spent for tourism marketing and promotional

[1:20:17] expenses and your first statement and

[1:20:18] second statement were the same thing.

[1:20:20] >> So,

[1:20:22] I do have a breakdown that's written

[1:20:24] down. I've got printed maps, I've got

[1:20:26] brochures, I've got tourtexas.com,

[1:20:29] I've got newspaper digital newspaper

[1:20:31] ads, I've got this AMP marketing um

[1:20:35] campaign that we're doing, visitors

[1:20:37] guides,

[1:20:39] YouTube

[1:20:41] uh YouTube

[1:20:42] placement

[1:20:44] um

[1:20:45] >> How much is spent on 101 Fun Things to

[1:20:47] Do, Texas Highways, Texas Events, or

[1:20:49] Hill Country Trail?

[1:20:50] >> Well, it depends. I mean, sometimes we

[1:20:52] do those, sometimes we don't. Those are

[1:20:54] >> Which ones are done this past year?

[1:20:55] >> I'm sorry.

[1:20:56] >> Which ones were done this past year?

[1:20:58] >> Um this past year, we've done visitors

[1:21:01] guides in other multiple communities.

[1:21:05] We've done

[1:21:06] >> So, none of those were

[1:21:08] >> Let me get to the

[1:21:10] ones that you asked about.

[1:21:17] Where Okay, the 101 Fun Things, the

[1:21:18] Texas Highways, we've done that.

[1:21:21] Um the Hill Country Trail, we've done

[1:21:22] that.

[1:21:23] >> What was in those and how much was that?

[1:21:25] Do you know?

[1:21:25] >> They're just ads. So, they're just

[1:21:27] tourism ads that we do. It's a placement

[1:21:29] ad. It's a tourism ad. It's usually a

[1:21:31] quarter page ad.

[1:21:32] >> Monthly? Was it in one issue?

[1:21:34] >> Most of them are quarterly.

[1:21:36] >> Quarterly?

[1:21:36] >> So, some of them are monthly. They're

[1:21:38] extremely expensive. Print is extremely

[1:21:41] expensive. That's why we didn't

[1:21:43] I mean, you're talking thousands of

[1:21:44] dollars.

[1:21:47] >> It's just It's just

[1:21:48] >> for one little ad for almost sometimes

[1:21:50] just a business business card size ad

[1:21:53] >> Which

[1:21:53] >> in these publications that don't have

[1:21:55] much distribution.

[1:21:56] >> So, is it business card or half page or

[1:21:58] quarter page?

[1:22:00] Cuz you're saying most

[1:22:01] >> on what you buy.

[1:22:02] >> I don't know what you buy cuz I'm just

[1:22:04] looking at what you're saying.

[1:22:06] >> I've not had to provide that. I can go

[1:22:08] back and I can provide that.

[1:22:10] >> I mean, I'm not trying to be to be mean

[1:22:11] or anything. It's just if you're if

[1:22:13] you're asking

[1:22:13] >> show you the breakdown.

[1:22:15] Yeah.

[1:22:16] I can show you what we spent

[1:22:19] for this past year.

[1:22:21] >> Cuz you start when you started out with,

[1:22:22] I know we don't have this now, but this

[1:22:24] is what I'm asking for my budget for

[1:22:26] next year.

[1:22:27] But I'm going to get back to you on what we're doing.

[1:22:29] >> No, I've started it, but it'll be the

[1:22:33] AMP agreement will be paid out before

[1:22:35] the end of this fiscal year to use up

[1:22:37] that Lampasas Promotions budget that you

[1:22:39] asked me to use.

[1:22:41] But it will go into it's an annual

[1:22:42] contract. So that will go into the new

[1:22:45] year.

[1:22:45] >> I mean you you're saying it like that

[1:22:46] I've asked you to use or we've asked you

[1:22:48] to use. You asked for the money as part

[1:22:49] of your budget, so it's it's of course

[1:22:51] we're asking you to use it for that cuz

[1:22:53] if not then we don't need to budget

[1:22:54] that.

[1:22:55] >> Sure. I understand.

[1:22:58] >> And again, I'm not trying to be rude. I

[1:22:59] just

[1:23:00] I'm just trying to

[1:23:01] >> I've ne- and I give the breakdown, I

[1:23:03] give the receipts for what I've spent in

[1:23:05] my quarterly reports and those come

[1:23:07] every quarter. So those reimbursements

[1:23:10] and those receipts are in that those

[1:23:11] packets.

[1:23:12] >> Okay.

[1:23:13] >> They're not in this budget packet. But

[1:23:15] they can be.

[1:23:15] >> I need to go back and look at all four

[1:23:16] of those and I just will not make a

[1:23:18] decision today about about your budget.

[1:23:20] >> Got it.

[1:23:21] >> Well, I'm going to

[1:23:23] update the ask to change the budget to

[1:23:25] the amount of the visitor center budget

[1:23:27] for 2017.

[1:23:29] >> Second.

[1:23:32] >> Any other discussion?

[1:23:35] All in favor?

[1:23:36] >> Aye.

[1:23:41] >> Nay.

[1:23:44] >> Thank you.

[1:23:56] » Now we can get a motion to move into

[1:23:59] executive session.

[1:24:00] >> So moved.

[1:24:02] >> Second.

[1:24:07] » You want to read that, Kaylee?

[1:24:09] >> Yes.

[1:24:10] >> That's a lot of words.

[1:24:18] » The city council of the city of

[1:24:20] Lampasas, Texas will meet in closed

[1:24:21] executive session pursuant to Texas

[1:24:23] Government Code Chapter 551 as follows.

[1:24:26] Section 551.074,

[1:24:29] personnel matters, to discuss city

[1:24:31] manager and city attorney.

[1:24:33] Section 551.087,

[1:24:36] economic development, to discuss project

[1:24:38] heavy loads.

[1:24:39] Section 551.086,

[1:24:42] relating to the authority of public

[1:24:43] power utility governing bodies to

[1:24:45] deliberate regarding competitive

[1:24:47] matters.

[1:24:48] Section 551.072,

[1:24:51] deliberation regarding real property, to

[1:24:53] discuss land acquisition.

[1:24:56] We can adjourn.

[1:25:00] » All right. We'll

[1:25:01] adjourn to executive session.

[1:25:08] » All right.

[1:25:09] Back to

[1:25:11] our regular session. We've got a

[1:25:14] item.

[1:25:17] A motion?

[1:25:18] to adjourn the session.

[1:25:21] >> Uh motion to authorize staff to

[1:25:23] negotiate the purchase of land for the

[1:25:26] entry point improvement project

[1:25:28] uh of 580 East and 190 East.

[1:25:32] >> Second.

[1:25:34] >> Any discussion? All in favor?

[1:25:37] >> Aye.

[1:25:40] » Motion to adjourn.

[1:25:41] >> Second.

[1:25:42] >> All in favor?

[1:25:43] >> Aye.

Budget Workshop - August 24, 2026

Agenda

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