Exec session canceled; citizen cites procedure issues

A productive Alpine City Council meeting Tuesday night ended with a whimper when Mayor Mickey Clouse canceled an executive session she had requested.

The executive session, as the agenda item read, was for a "Yearly evaluation of City Manager and City Attorney."

As the regular meeting was about to end and the executive session was about to begin, community activist Jack McNamara told the council that the executive session was illegal. He cited several reasons:

€ No names were mentioned, only titles. If the executive session was to evaluate City Manager Chuy Garcia and City Attorney Rod Ponton, then the agenda item should have specifically named them.

€ The agenda item and the yearly evaluation were called for by Mayor Clouse. McNamara says the city charter specifically says that the mayor of the City of Alpine has no administrative duties. Calling for an evaluation is clearly administrative, he said.

After McNamara spoke, Clouse immediately asked Ponton if the item was in violation.

Ponton said he thought it might be but he was hesitant to rule because the agenda item affected him personally.

Clouse - and Councilwoman Diana Asgeirsson - were critical of Ponton for not reviewing the agenda items before they were made public.

Before much else was said, Mayor Clouse then declared the executive session canceled and adjourned the meeting.

Earlier in the meeting, council approved a motion by Councilman Avi Rangra, which calls for City Secretary Molly Taylor to assist the Brewster County Elections Administrator as a sworn elections clerk during the city, school and hospital district elections schedule for May 10.

The motion was in reaction to the problems that the county elections office had in the Democratic primary.

Council approved the motion.

Taylor explained at length how she could help the elections administrator, Jerri Jones. Taylor was the Tom Green County elections administrator for more than 20 years.

"I know and respect [Jones]," Taylor said. "She's smart, she works hard and she's totally honest. She simply did not receive the proper training."

Taylor and Rangra emphasized that the state requires county election administrators to run all elections in their jurisdiction.

Council spent a great deal of time discussing what should be done to bring two local motels up to date on hotel/motel tax money.

Councilman Gerald Raun brought up the issue. According to the city, as much as $100,000 is delinquent.

Raun was reluctant to say which motels he was talking about. However, when it was pointed out that not naming the two left the public guessing. City administrators said the two are the Ramada Inn and the La Loma Inn.

City Attorney Ponton was instructed to send letters to both owners. The letters are to contain language that indicates what the city will do if the money is not paid within 30 days.

The council was asked to authorize the city manager to apply for Texas Department of Agriculture money for infrastructure improvements for Hampton Inn, which is to be built west of town.

Councilman Rangra asked that approval be given only if:

* The city receives assurances that 12 fulltime employees will be hired

* Assurances are made in writing that the city is not liable for the money if the grant is turned down.

* Assurances are made in writing that if the 12 fulltime employees are not hired, then the grant money is to be returned.

Council took a giant step toward making an Alpine parks renovation a reality. The renovation will cost $964,000, with half coming from Texas Parks and Wildlife grants. The other half would come from the city through cash and in-kind donations.

Improvements will be made at Kokernot Park, Medina Park, Baiones Park, American Legion, Pueblo Nuevo and Sul Ross Trail Project.

Amit Rangra, a member of the Animal Advisory Board, provided council with an update on the proposed new animal shelter, which is to built on 10-40 acres of land on the eastern edge of town along the old Marathon highway.

Rangra provided council members with a drawing of the facility's interior. He also said that the drawing is under review and that a second, revised version would be ready soon.

He said the estimated cost is between $300,000 and $475,000. That figure will be reduced, he emphasized, by "at-cost" work that they expect to receive from several contractors.

Rangra also said that the local Humane Society, which has expressed a desire to contribute a significant sum to the building, is now unsure exactly how it will contribute. For that reason, Rangra said it might be wise for the council, in the interim, to explore the availability of grants for the project.

The Humane Society wants to own the building, he said.

Rangra was not critical of the Humane Society. He said the new animal shelter is definitely part of a long-standing partnership between the city and the society. Rangra was merely asking the council to ensure that all bases were covered.

Later in the meeting, the council did approve a motion authorizing the city manager to pursue grants for the new animal shelter.

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Exec session canceled; citizen cites procedure issues

A productive Alpine City Council meeting Tuesday night ended with a whimper when Mayor Mickey Clouse canceled an executive session she had requested.

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Diana Ramos Asgeirsson was born and raised in Alpine. Her parents, the late Alberto Ramos and Soveida Rodriquez, were native residents of Alpine and Fort Davis.