Littlefield’s City Council conducted a regular business meeting Tuesday, Oct. 27th in the City Council Chambers, 525 Phelps Avenue.
Council members and city officials present were: Eric Turpen, Mayor; Michael Rangel, Mayor Pro tempore, and District 2; Ben Warren, District 1; Buddy Holmes, District 3 (absent); Kenny Rucker, District 4; City Manager Mitch Grant, and City Secretary Janine Butler.
Six city staff members were also present in the audience.
Agenda
Mayor Eric Turpen called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m., then offered the invocation, before leading the Pledge of Allegiance.
There were no public requests to comment on any of the agenda items.
There were no new city employees to be introduced. Council Member Kenny Rucker made the motion to approve the minutes from the Oct. 20th meeting. Council Member Ben Warren seconded the motion, and the motion passed unanimously.
Council members considered and approved the monthly departmental reports from the Police Dept.; Fire Dept.; EMS; Code Enforcement; Animal Control; Landfill; Water/Wastewater; Streets and Parks; Municipal Court; Monthly Financial Reports; Sales Tax Collection; Property Tax Collection reports; and the LEDC A and B minutes, if their boards met.
Council Member Ben Warren made the motion and Mayor pro tempore Michael Rangel seconded the motion to approve the monthly reports, and the motion passed unanimously.
Mayor pro tempore Michael Rangel made the motion and Council Member Kenny Rucker seconded the motion to approve an Ordinance of The City of Littlefield, amending Chapter 11, Section 11.04.002 of the City of Littlefield Code of Ordinances by Repealing the Existing Section 11.04.002(A) and replacing it with a New Section 11.04.002(A) to Provide that the Hotel Occupancy Tax Rate is 4% of the Consideration Paid by the Occupant of Such Room; Providing a Severability Clause; and Providing and Effective Date. The motion passed unanimously.
Council Member Ben Warren made the motion and Kenny Rucker seconded the motion to approve the city’s 2021 holiday calendar. The motion passed unanimously.
Mayor pro tempore Michael Rangel made the motion and Council Member Ben Warren seconded the motion to approve the tax deeds for Trust Properties in the City of Littlefield from Texas Communities Group:
Parcel 20687, 913 W. 11th St., winning bidder Juan David Perez for the amount of $50; and Parcel 19781, 501 W. 2nd., winning bidder Juan David Perez for the amount of $50. The motion passed unanimously.
The Council convened into Executive Session at 6:17 p.m., in Accordance with Tex. Gov’t Code §551.071 to seek the advice of the City Attorney about pending or Contemplated Litigation, Settlement Offers or as required under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of Texas. (James Thomas complaint)
Mayor Turpen closed the Executive Session and reopened the regular session at 6:28 p.m. regarding matters discussed in the Executive Session. No action was taken.
The council then considered the approval of 2021-2022 TDA TxCDBG Engineering Selection and Authorized the execution of a contract.
Mayor Pro tempore Michael Rangel made the motion, and Council Member Kenny Rucker seconded the motion to accept an engineering proposal from Parkhill Smith & Cooper, and to authorize Mayor Turpen to execute the contract. The motion passed unanimously.
Council Member Ben Warren made the motion, and Council Member Kenny Rucker seconded the motion to approve the Inter-local Fire Protection Agreement with Lamb County. The motion passed unanimously.
Council Member Kenny Rucker made the motion and Council Member Ben Warren seconded the motion to approve the Interlocal Agreement Concerning Ambulance Service with Lamb County. The motion passed unanimously.
Next, the council discussed a water and sewer connection request from a Truck Wash Facility Planned Adjacent to City Limits.
Mayor Eric Turpen made the motion to approve the request with the agreement to include the Customer will (1)Pay for all extensions and connection costs for Water and Sewer (2)Pretreat or dilute wastewater, as required by city (3)Accept an annexation agreement stating that you will not object to annexation, should the city decide to annex the property and Payment In Lieu of Taxes and said agreement would remain valid for 12 months from today. The second motion was made by Mayor pro tempore Michael Rangel, and the motion passed unanimously.
A resolution documenting Policies and Procedures related to the Procurement of Real Property, Goods, and Services and Conflicts of Interest of Public Officers and Employees of the City of Littlefield was approved, following a motion by Council Member Ben Warren and seconded by Mayor pro tempore Michael Rangel to approve the resolution. The motion passed unanimously.
Mayor Turpen adjourned the meeting at 7:11 p.m.