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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN FEB 17 2004 J M I N U T E S - CITY OF BEAUMONT With Corrections As Approved Lulu L. Smith EVELYN M. LORD, MAYOR Nancy Beaulieu Andrew P. Cokinos CITY COUNCIL MEETING Becky Ames, Mayor Pro Tern Bobbie J. Patterson February 17,2004 Audwin Samuel Lane Nichols, City Attorney Kyle Hayes, City Manager Rose Ann Jones, City Clerk The City Council of the City of Beaumont,Texas, met in a regular session on February 17,2004,at the City Hall Council Chambers, 801 Main Street, Beaumont, Texas, at 1:30 p.m. to consider the following: OPENING Invocation Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call Presentations and Recognition Public Comment: Persons may speak on scheduled agenda items/Consent Agenda Consent Agenda Mayor Lord called the council meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. Rev. Ed Hillyer of Forest Park United Methodist Church gave the invocation.Councilmember Patterson led the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll call was made by Rose Ann Jones, City Clerk. Present at the meeting were Mayor Lord, Councilmembers Smith, Beaulieu, Cokinos, Samuel and Patterson. Absent: Mayor Pro Tern Ames. Also present were Kyle Hayes, City Manager; Lane Nichols, City Attorney; and Rose Ann Jones, City Clerk. Proclamations, Presentations, Recognitions Presentation made by Max Duplant, Finance Officerand Ted Williams,Auditorfrom the firm Cook Shaver Parker&Williams who conducted the 2003 audit for the City of Beaumont. The audit report revealed that the City received a "clean opinion"which means everything was found appropriate in the financial statement. Public Comment: Persons may speak on scheduled General Business Agenda Items 1/Consent Agenda. None CONSENT AGENDA Approval of minutes - Minutes of February 10, 2004 Confirmation of committee appointments A) Approve a resolution authorizing the acceptance of a ten foot(10')wide water line easement to provide mandatory access for the fire prevention services - Resolution 04-040 Minutes-February 17,2004 B) Authorize a resolution accepting maintenance of the street, storm sewer,water and sanitary sewer improvements in Fairfield Phase I Subdivision - Resolution 04-041 Councilmember Cokinos moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Beaulieu seconded the motion. AYES: MAYOR LORD, COUNCILMEMBERS SMITH, BEAULIEU, COKINOS, SAMUEL AND PATTERSON NAYS: NONE MOTION PASSED GENERAL BUSINESS 1. Consider approving an ordinance calling the General Election for May 15,2004 to elect a Mayor and two (2) Councilmembers-At-Large - Ordinance 04-013 The City Charter dictates that all elected officials shall be elected on a regular election day established by the Election Code of the State of Texas. The City of Beaumont has established the third Saturday of May to conduct this election, and will conduct a joint election with the Beaumont Independent School District. The City of Beaumont will elect a Mayor and two(2) Councilmembers-At-Large fora one(1)year term. The Beaumont Independent School District will elect two (2) Trustees for Districts 3 and 5. The General Election will be conducted May 15, 2004. Councilmember Cokinos moved to ADOPT ORDINANCE 04-013 TO CALL THE ELECTION TO BE HELD ON MAY 15, 2004 TO ELECT A MAYOR AND TWO (2) COUNCILMEMBERS-AT-LARGE; DESIGNATING POLLING PLACES AND APPOINTING ELECTION OFFICIALS FOR SUCH ELECTION; PROVIDING THE FORM OF THE BALLOT AT SUCH ELECTION; DIRECTING THE GIVING OF NOTICE OF SUCH ELECTION; PROVIDING FOR A JOINT ELECTION WITH THE BEAUMONT INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT; AND CONTAINING OTHER PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE SUBJECT. Councilmember Smith seconded motion. AYES: MAYOR LORD, COUNCILMEMBERS SMITH, BEAULIEU, COKINOS, SAMUEL AND PATTERSON NAYS: NONE 0 MOTION PASSED WORKSESSION - Public Workshop convened at 1:40 pm * Receive information from the Police Department relating to motorized scooters Tom Scofield,Chief of Police conducted the workshop. Last year 5,900 nationwide emergency room injuries were reported due to motor scooters. In the City of Beaumont,there has only been Page 2 of 35 Minutes-February 17,2004 one reported scooter accident where emergency treatment has been required. There is an increasing number of these near accidents being reported. The speed of these scooters is between 18 and 22 mph. It is felt that this speed is too dangerous for children to be riding in the streets with no safety regulations in effect. The Police Department is recommending that these scooters be prohibited from use in the city streets. This would not include motorized wheelchairs. Discussion from Councilmembers included a concern for complete prohibition of scooters, restricted road use, age and safety regulations. It was recommended that Council receive more detailed information about the different type of scooters as well as some additional recommendations for city regulations. Another workshop is being scheduled for two weeks. Workshop adjourned at 1:55 p.m. COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS SEE VERBATIM COMMENTS Ge eI AEABER SMITH —N C7P(C STREET 171 NTI ING T'1E DIFFERENT MUSEUMS V■■\►.V 1 IYL GeUNelLMEMBER TJVI'CTIYVs" GeUNelLMEMBER SAMUEL NONE J ETI 11GS^OHMIIV V IION AN8 TUr GITV n AV1► n THE FINE IT../ ■ MeffsleNF- ^1T\ MANAGER KYLE HAYES TATr■1 THAT TI Ir MAYeR WAS •ATI►1A IN HER eFMIAL eApAeiTy As MAYER AND NeT AS AN 7 7 TIJ�CC G1TY AT-TOR, NEY LANE Niel le r eeNF In u_Y 91I AT THE ' vieLATED 1 7 7 7 BY 7 . T_I_IrRrrnRE7 sloNeE T-1 1E eIVIL PENALTY WAS IVSUE AGAINST. T'IE 7 THE MI-L- \11 ► v v v I\ � AA1C AL IJ f R EMPLOYMENT AND TLC PENALTY 61 IA+u n BE n A 1n BY T-1■ /11 MAYOR LORE) ------1-1-rA�-- T IIAT SHE eFFERED TO PAY T1 IE FINE BUT WAS ■ !lt V Y I I I I L.�71 T--7- ADVISED AGAINST IT r O n USE IT WAS-A GTI TinCr\jrZT Page - 3 of 35 Minutes-February 17,2004 2 MAYOR LORD: All right . Two weeks, if that ' s agreeable . And believe it or not, I think that ' s the end of the formal agenda. So, we ' ll ask councilmembers if they have any comments to make on various matters . Shall we start with you, Councilman Smith? COUNCILMAN SMITH: (Inaudible) MAYOR LORD: Councilman Beaulieu. COUNCILMAN BEAULIEU: I think we're missing a good story there. Yes, ma'am. I would like to point out to people the wonderful new signs that we have on Main Street with our museums . I 've had several people comment to me about it, about how much easier it makes to identify which is the Energy Museum, which is the Art Museum, and encourage people driving through Beaumont to stop off and see some of our attractions . So, I think it ' s a really good addition. I congratulate the folks who took care of that . MAYOR LORD: I think there will be more of the same kind, will there not, as different things -- yes . Thank you, councilman. Councilman Cokinos . COUNCILMAN COKINOS : No thank you, mayor. MAYOR LORD: Councilman Samuel? P� �t 3 COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: No thank you, mayor. MAYOR LORD: Councilman Patterson? COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: Yes, mayor. Thank you. I guess it ' s, more or less, for my benefit as much as it is for the taxpayers ' benefit and my constituents . One of the things that -- that -- that I pride myself on and that I feel good about is that I 'm able to sleep good at night but over the past week I 've kind of had a couple of restless nights and I 've been kind of tossing back and forth whether or not I should say something and I came to the conclusion that is only the right thing to do and is -- I would only feel better had I said this . I 'm a little concerned about the -- the issue with the Ethics Commission and the fact that our mayor was fined and that our city, our taxpayers paid the fine. I 'm real concerned about that and I 'm -- I don' t like it . I don't like the fact that we had to pay a personal fine. I think it ' s wrong and I think we are using --well, we 're not being prudent in our spending. And no matter how small or how large, it still affects the total budget of our city. It affects the accountability of our city. It affects the accountability of elected officials as we are. I 'm Pis { l i 4 also -- that ' s one issue. I don't agree with the City paying an individual councilmember's fine . They didn ' t pay mine. I- didn't ask for it . They didn ' t offer. I would not have accepted it. And I know that we all do some things, sometimes we make mistakes or we make wrong decisions; but if we 're going to be the leaders of our city and send out a message to our -- our citizens as well as our young people, who are really watching us at this point, then we need to take ownership, admit we made a mistake, suffer the consequences, whatever that may be, and move on but not pass our -- pass it on to the taxpayers. That ' s one thing. The other thing is that when there ' s a issue like this and it ' s not discussed with the full council and the full council is not abreast of it and is not abreast of the fact that there ' s a fine upon an individual -- if there ' s a fine upon an individual, if they choose not to say, that ' s their business but when they choose to use City money to pay that fine, then it is our business . UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: You're right. COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: And I think that that should have been discussed with us as council . Now, I don ' t know how any other councilmember feels. I P%6 5 don't believe -- I wasn't here last Tuesday, and I apologize for that. I was under the weather. I don 't know if any other councilmember has addressed it; but I, as one councilmember, feel it is important to address, that we just can't have that . We can't do that. And now knowing that there may be a couple of other City officials maybe facing the same charge -- we don't know what the outcome of that is -- is that also going to come out of the City coffers, too? We don't know. We don't know, but we can't set a precedence with stuff like that. We just can't do that. I just don't feel that it ' s right. And the fact that the money was paid without our knowledge as a council -- well, I guess I should speak for me. As a councilmember I didn't know the fine was paid out of the City' s coffers until it was paid. I didn't know that a fine was made until I heard it on the media. I was not abreast of any of that . That was the first time I heard of it, and I really think that it was wrong. It was wrong for the City attorney, the City manager to suggest that we should pay, and paid before even discussing it with council, the fine. And just that ' s my take on it, and I wanted to publicly say that . I did not want to be remiss in not voicing my opinion on that, because I am part of this �% 11 6 council and I am elected by the taxpayers whose money we're using to pay an individual elected official ' s fine and I think that before -- we already know that Mr. Lee -- and I hope I 'm not doing anything wrong by saying his name but he ' s filing charges against other elected officials or appointed officials or staff. We need to discuss . That needs to be a discussion among council . That should not be -- there should not be any more money spent out of the City coffers for individual fines; and should that happen, we need to make sure that that does not happen. And I 'm -- I 'm really a little appalled that it happened and it happened without the full council ' s knowledge. And I say "full council" because I 'm a part of this council and, so, if there was a -- a forum of such, then I was not informed of that particular forum. And that ' s basically what I wanted to say. MAYOR LORD: I think I 'd ask -- excuse me but no applause or comments are allowed, if you read your rules of decorum, no matter what the subject matter is, even when I love what you're saying, but I would like the City attorney, please, to address some of those issues that the councilman brought up. COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: Let me add one more thing because I don't want to be derelict in saying Pt� 3 , 7 this, too. I did find out in questioning a City staff about some -- something that I wanted to do in terms of Operation One Vote and educating the voters . I found out a couple of days before that the videotape was going to be taped. Okay. And I want -- I don't want anybody to get the understanding that I didn ' t know anything about it . I did find that out only because I inquired about a project for educating the voters and videotaping it myself. Okay? That ' s how I found out. There was no discussion before. There was no discussion after. That was not a decision made by the council to do that . And if it was, again, I would say I am part of the council and there was never that particular type of forum. MAYOR LORD: Mr. City Attorney, Mr. City Manager wishes to speak. MR. HAYES : I mean, you brought this up in a public meeting. So, we might as well get the facts on the table. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Yeah. You're right . MR. HAYES : The mayor was acting in her Official capacity as the mayor relating to that program, which was a City program, with the City manager, the City attorney, and the City clerk at that time. The difference between what the Texas Ethics Commission did �� ot 8 relating to the mayor, which she was singled out by Mr. Lee -- the difference between when you were fined by the Texas Ethics Commission, you paid your fine, it was related to your election report . It was a matter of -- it was a personal matter -- COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: That was a personal matter. I 'm sorry. MR. HAYES : -- with you. Yes, ma'am. COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: You're right. That' s not my -- that' s not what my concern is about. MR. HAYES : Outside the capacity of your office. That ' s the difference between why we paid this for the mayor, totally different . And the City attorney can correct me if I 'm wrong. Second, when you're acting in your official capacity, whether you're a police officer, you work in Clean Community, if you're involved in an accident - (UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKERS) MR. HAYES : -- if you' re involved in an accident, if you' re involved in any other wrongdoing, as long as it ' s not criminal, the City -- the City will hire your attorney and help you through that process . UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Channel 6. MR. HAYES: That ' s the difference, meaning if there was a criminal finding, then an employee is on Q% to 9 their own to handle it for themselves . So, the difference between the City paying this relating to the mayor and what happened with your fine, totally different, No. 1 . And then second, we -- we have a hundred and fifty million dollar budget, the City of Beaumont. We are paying -- I mean, whether it be travel, purchases, expenditures, every day, what we bring to the council is items over $25, 000 or items that we think you need to be aware of, controversial, maybe a purchase, could be $15, 000, but you need to be aware of it. And in this case the mayor was acting in her official capacity as the mayor out there, the taping of that program. I was involved. The City attorney was involved. And that' s the difference. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Mayor -- MAYOR LORD: Mr. City Attorney. And then, of course, you may speak again. MR. NICHOLS: Am I next? MAYOR LORD: Yes . MR. NICHOLS: Okay. The statute that the Ethics Commission found violated requires for a person to be found violative of the statute that they be a public official or an employee of a public body. So, the mayor as Evelyn Lord but not as the mayor could not I 10 I have been found responsible for a violation of that of that provision. So, it wasn' t personal. It was personal only because it ' s a person and she was picked out by Mr. Lee but she holds an office and because she held that office, she was responsible under this statute, notwithstanding the fact that none of us believe that there was any violation of the statute. The only reason she was picked out was because somebody picked her out and she could not have been held violative of that Ethics Commission provision had she not been an officer or employee of the City of Beaumont. So, for that reason aTrd bdcause from the beginning the project was designed to inform the voters about what was going to occur, we all considered it to be a City project. It would not have been done by Lamar University but for the fact they had a contract with the City to do that and to provide this service for free. So, it was all a City project beneficial to the voters, I think, in the long run and the idea that we couldn't pay it doesn't bother me at all . MAYOR LORD: I would also add that I offered to pay it myself, but it was determined that it would be properly done by the City because it was a City project . Now, I think Councilman Beaulieu and then �� la 11 Councilman Patterson, Councilman Samuel . COUNCILMAN BEAULIEU: Thank you, mayor. Excuse me . A couple of thoughts came to mind as all this discussion started. And I did see your comments, Bobbie, to the Enterprise. But a couple of things that crossed my mind as I evaluated this were, one, I think the reason it didn' t come up before us when it happened, when they decided to do the video is it wasn' t considered controversial, it wasn't considered anything unusual because the intent was just to say why are we -- why are we doing this charter thing. This is very unusual . People need to know why we were recommending to them as a council that we have some charter changes . And I think that was the intent of -- of the project initially. I didn't look at it because I 'd already been through that discussion with all of you. So, I knew why we were doing it . So, I didn ' t look at it. So, I don ' t know if anybody got too enthusiastic and perhaps that' s why it is interpreted the way it is, but I think the intent was very clear and very clean in -- in its i motive . I understand that doesn' t excuse it. If people decide that there ' s (inaudible) legality, then that ' s fact. But as far as who paid the fine, if I 'm acting 12 on advice of our City attorney in my capacity as a City councilperson and legally they tell me "This is what we ' re going to do and this is -- it ' s okay to do it" and I do it, I expect to be covered. I expect somebody to step up and say "You were acting on good faith advice from an attorney that was employed by the City" and I think that ' s where we left this . It ' s that our mayor was acting on advice of our council and it ' s not a personal thing. If I don' t file my ethics report, then it' s me that -- personally and nobody told me -- I didn't -- Lane Nichols didn't tell me I didn't have to do it or, you know, you don't have to send it in or -- and it ' s just between me and Ethics Commission. But this $500, I think, is strictly -- it ' s just like the other indemnities that we pay for City officers who have car accidents, who -- people file on us and we -- we say "Okay. They were acting on City business . We 're going to pay their fine. We 're going to pay their -- we're going to pay to have these cars repaired, " whatever. So, that is why that $500 didn' t bother me . Now, whether people should have come and told us that there was some discussion about it being filed with the Ethics Commission, I mean, maybe we could have been kept more abreast of that . I don't -- I don' t know, DO 13 what the decisions were made on that but personally I think we -- we have competent City staff and a mayor I have a lot of confidence in and I don' t -- I don' t think that there was any intent to deceive or hide from or deal people out of the equation. I certainly did not feel insulted that they didn't ask me what I thought about it and nobody' s asked me today what I thought about it either, but here I am telling you. But I appreciate everybody' s concern over it . I think certainly, in light of past occurrences in our community, we ' re all very sensitive on the issue of public ethics and trying to evaluate carefully that what we do is appropriate and within City statutes and within the State statutes . I don' t know anybody that cares more about ethics than our mayor does, and I certainly stand behind the decision and the attempt that they made to help people understand what the issues were on the ballot, however faulty or -- you know, I don't know -- not having seen it, I don't know what they're criticizing exactly except I assume there was too much enthusiasm and somebody said "Yeah, we really ought to pass that. " But if that happened, I 'm sure there was an oversight. But a fine ' s been paid and I think we move on. But _paying the fine out of the City doesn't bother Pg �5 14 1 me a bit because she was acting on City counsel ' s advice, City -- not City council -- UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: City legal counsel . MS . BEAULIEU: Lead counsel . Thank you. MAYOR LORD: C-o-u-n-s-e-l . COUNCILMAN BEAULIEU: Yes . I can' t spell it either, but there you go. MAYOR LORD: Yes . Councilman Patterson. COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: Okay. First of all, when you say that it was a City project and that the mayor was acting in official capacity, if I as a councilmember wanted to put a project like this on on behalf of the City, I can do that, is what you're saying, as a capacity -- because in my estimation and basically from reading the charter and the state election code, each and every one of us appear -- or councilmember per se, each and every one of us should not be making any individual directives or decisions and then staff just follow that at the taxpayers ' expense and saying that we ' re in an official capacity. Any directive that you or you get comes from j the council, each and every one of us, not one particular person. Had the mayor discussed this with council, this came from council, yes, I would say she was acting in official capacity. However, that did not Q,% 1b 15 occur. Yes, our citizens needed to be aware what the charter change was . The charter change has taken place pretty much every five years and there ' s an election on it every pretty much five years . Am I correct? UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: That ' s not correct. COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: Last one was in -- let ' s see -- nineteen eighty- -- not the last one. There was one in 1986. MR. NICHOLS: Don't make me lie. I don't know -- COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: Well, we have the charter book up here and -- MR. HAYES: Periodically it ' s been reviewed. COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: -- and it' s been pretty much every five years except for -- this last time it was a long time because it was in 1986. So, we decided to go ahead and do a charter change in 1996 or something like -- ten years . I 'm sorry. Not five years . Ten years . Ten years . Okay? And I guess I could agree that it might have been a good idea to give information -- just to give information about the charter change, yes, because I think it ' s a good idea but I still think that when you say she acted in official capacity as our mayor, she acts on behalf of Q% �q r 16 } council, you act on behalf of council directed by council . Okay? And that did not only happen. Okay? And then the other thing was -- I didn' t exactly know what the statute was . I don' t believe and I did not say -- and I don' t want anybody to put words in my mouth -- that it was an intent to deceive or mislead. But, yes, I was insulted. Maybe none of you were. I was . And so, I 'm speaking on my behalf because this is how I felt . I felt insulted that she act on the capacity -- official capacity of the council and I i wasn't privy to what she was acting upon. Suppose it + would have been something really, really illegal that she didn't know and that she didn' t have the advice of i counsel or he didn't know. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Can I ask a question? COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: I -- I -- you know, I respect the City manager. I respect the counsel . But he has advised me a couple times wrongly, too, not intentionally but it came back to bite me, but it was something that I did, he said, and it got out and, hey, that ' s the way it fell . Okay? None of us are perfect and I understand that and that ' s not my point. We all make mistakes, but we have to own up to our mistakes -- okay? -- and not at the expense of taxpayers, though, Q� Q r 17 not at the expense of someone else . I don't believe -- I don ' t care if -- now, if they said that on behalf of council, the council was fined, and then we sought legal counsel and he said that we should pay it on the behalf of the City, I can see that. That ' s not what happened. That is not what happened at all . MAYOR LORD: Can I ask a question? COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: Those are my points . I just can't -- that ' s me as one councilman. That' s my opinion. It ' s not up here. I 'm not stating this for no debate or whether you want to question what I feel . That ' s how I feel . That ' s what I said. Now, you can tell me how you feel and that ' s fine, but don't try to interpret what I 'm saying. Take it for what I said. It is what it is . It is what I said and it is what I feel and that' s all I was saying. MAYOR LORD: I think, Councilman Samuel, you wish to speak; and then you wish to speak again. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I just had a question. I just wanted to make sure I understood what -- what -- MAYOR LORD: Do you want to straighten that out now? COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: Go on while you. . . Q� �q 18 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Can I just interject a question? Thank you, councilman. So, are you saying, though, that the mayor should not -- who does -- you know, covers a lot more ground than any of us, because we look after our little districts we ' re elected from, wards, whatever we call it, are you saying, though, that the mayor shouldn't do anything, initiate any project, do any -- I 'm trying to think of a right word -- but shouldn't initiate anything without all of us signing off on it? COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: That is not what I said. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Well, that' s why I 'm asking because that ' s -- that' s what it -- that ' s how it sounded to me and, so, I 'm trying to understand what you're saying. COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: Okay. You asked that question. I gave you a answer. That ' s not what I said. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Oh, okay. If that ' s your answer. I think we ' ll just agree to disagree, then, councilman. COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: Okay. But I 'm saying, something as -- you saying -- he said this was official capacity of the -- of -- Qc� ao 19 MR. NICHOLS: Can I clear (inaudible) ? I said you can' t be found violative of this statute unless you' re in your official capacity. She was found violative of the statute as the mayor. That makes her in the course and scope of her employment. I didn't say anything about the council didn't have agreement or the council does have to approve it. All I said is she was there as the mayor, and for that reason she was found to be violating the statute. COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: Okay. MAYOR LORD: I would hope that further discussion -- COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: I heared what you said. That ' s not -- MAYOR LORD: I would hope -- excuse me. I 'm using the privilege of the chair now. I would hope that further discussion would be more on a peaceful note with one another. It ' s not my intention that we should become acrimonious with one another. It doesn't help US. It doesn 't help the City. It doesn' t help the situation. Councilman Samuel . COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: Thank you, ma'am. COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: Wait a minute, mayor. Are you saying that I 'm becoming that way? 20 MAYOR LORD: No, that ' s not what I said, ma'am. I said the conversation -- COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: Well, what is the point of saying that? I don' t think that we are becoming that way. MAYOR LORD: Because I see you beginning to go at one another and I -- COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: No, we ' re not going at one another. I 'm just addressing my concerns . MAYOR LORD: That ' s my opinion, councilman. COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: Okay. Well, I 'm just saying I 'm not. MAYOR LORD: Councilman Samuel. COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: Thank you, mayor. The first thing comes to my mind is judge not that you not be judged. By the same measure that you judge, so shall you be judged. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Amen. COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: This whole situation has many dynamics . You're hearing some feelings being expressed because of an injustice that goes on here every day and we 're silent about it -- or some are silent about it . We all have our opinions about the way statutes are interpreted. So, I ' ll simply request that 21 we get an attorney general ' s opinion as to whether we were proper in paying the fine. That ' s not -- I think that ' s the proper way to deal with it . I 've made statements before, mayor, I did not feel -- personally I did not feel that was appropriate but it was done by the City and it was not done by council but it was done by an administrative decision. And if that comes out to be wrong, then it was not a part of my decision and I can stand with that. But I am requesting the attorney general ' s opinion to determine whether we' re proper in that or not . I do agree with Councilmember Patterson that we need to know so that we will not do this . If -- if there are other fines that come from it, we need to know if we're right or not. ' Now, what I 'm saying: I think one of the first things I will address -- and it kind of addresses your question -- according to the charter, the mayor has the same rights, duties, responsibilities as any other member of council with the exception that she presides over our meetings . It does not give her any administrative responsibilities or duties . She has the time. She spends the time here at City Hall . I 'm not going to say, you know, she shouldn' t do some of the things she do. 4 a3 ' 22 But whatever she does, I think the danger in her taking actions on her own are just as this: When I saw -- and addressing you, Mr. Hayes, I think this is something that should have come to council . Once there was a fine assessed and we were going to pay it, I think we needed to know so that I wouldn't find out in the paper. I -- there' s no -- I don' t think there' s any question about that. Now, as I told the reporter as she interviewed me, did I feel like the session was appropriate, I felt like it was good intent. I don' t feel like the mayor went out to purposely violate any codes . If it happened, it happened. But what I do have a problem with is the first thing I see in the paper is that "City fined by the Ethics Commission. " We weren't fined by the Ethics Commission. The City was not fined. This City council was not fined. I take offense to that. Secondly -- and some will say it' s being speculative, but I 'm going to say it ' s a truth -- had it been me, Audwin Samuel, violates the code -- commission code -- UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Exactly. COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: -- it would have been there not only one day but every day that week. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Yes, sir. � a�{ 23 COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: First day it' s found at the bottom of the paper, no names mentioned in the caption. Second day it ' s not there at all . Third day it' s there at the bottom with the ex-mayor being headlined and the present mayor being at the bottom. I have a problem with that justice. That ' s not City. That' s not the City. It ' s not the City council ' s position but that ' s the racism that exists in this City and we act like we don't see it . Now, I understand what you' re saying. Why am I bringing this up, there ' s no reason to be divisive. It ' s divisive already. And until we address the wound, the wound will continue to exist and will not heal . UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Yes. COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: Fourth day it ' s on the front page of the regional section. Mayor, this is not about you personally; but it ' s about the way it ' s reported. It just happens to be you in that position. I understand how you feel . I dealt this -- with this for the past three years . So, I know what it feels like . Someone questions your integrity. Someone questions whether you did it intentionally. I 've been going through that for three years . I had to wake up in the morning going to the front page of the paper being found guilty before -- P% �-5 ' 24 presumed guilty before proven innocent . It ' s different for you simply because of the color of your skin. Anybody they' re seeing this, you may say it ' s wrong but I 'm viewing it from the way that I see life . I 'm calling it like it is because it ' s here. Until we look this ugly monster in the face, it ' s going to continue to be a predator in our community and if you don't see it. . . MAYOR LORD: I think a lot of us see it and we do what we can about it. Bobbie, I have a question, Councilman Patterson, and I don't know the answer to it, but I would really like for guidance. Did you bring your -- when you used the same facilities to film your One Vote, did you bring this before council for approval? COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: No, ma'am. I didn' t do it in the capacity of a city councilmember. MAYOR LORD: You used the Lamar facilities which are only available, I understand, because we have the contract . COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: I didn't do it in the capacity of the City. I didn' t do it in the capacity of a City councilmember. I didn' t do it from the City Hall or council . Okay? MAYOR LORD: We didn' t do it from City ' 25 Hall or council either. It ' s required that you be elsewhere. I think, Councilman Smith, did you have something -- COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: Hold. Hold. Hold. COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: No. No. Come on back. Come on back. Finish it . MAYOR LORD: I 'm sorry. I thought he had finished. COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: Well, I -- COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: No. I was talking about you. COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: Now, mayor -- COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: Let ' s close it out, I mean, put closure to -- COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: Hold it, Bobbie. Hold it, Bobbie. MAYOR LORD: You answered my question. COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: That is totally different . If Bobbie had used our contractual agreement to be on the Public Access Channel, then that would have been the same thing as we 're dealing with here; but did you use Public Access Channel? COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: I called the gentleman at Lamar. I called the City manager and asked 26 him to check with the City attorney to see if it was okay, not as a capacity as a councilmember, not as the capacity in behalf of the City but Operation One Vote . This was three or four years ago. MR. HAYES: This administration, yeah. MR. NICHOLS: You asked me about (inaudible) . COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: I didn't ask you about that. I asked him. MR. NICHOLS: Yes, you did. COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: I asked him to ask you. MR. NICHOLS : You called me and asked me about that. COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: Oh, you're talking about the recent one that I just had? MR. NICHOLS: Yeah. COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: Oh, yeah. That one, yeah; and I didn't do it, did I? MR. NICHOLS: (Inaudible) MAYOR LORD: Did Councilman Smith have something she wanted to add? You want to use your mike, please, councilman. COUNCILMAN SMITH: I am sick and tired of the whole mess . 1 27 UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: So are we. COUNCILMAN SMITH: And I don' t think that there was anything wrong. I think the mayor was trying to give some information because the public was asking questions about what was this for and what it would do and how it would impact City council and we -- the -- the charter, those were changes that needed to be made long ago and I just feel that we've spent enough time on this . We need to get back to work, and I don't think that there ' s any racial intent in this . I think you're making it a racial thing. COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: Oh, Councilmember Smith. MAYOR LORD: Please. No matter what side you're on out there, please do not make comments. COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: I 've been sick and tired just like you are sick and tired. You're sick and tired now. This has been two weeks . You hadn't said you were sick and tired before today of all this -- COUNCILMAN SMITH: I haven't said anything. 0 COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: -- big cloud over City -- (CONCLUSION OF SIDE A AND BEGINNING OF SIDE B) p� DA ' 28 COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: -- in our City; is that what you' re saying? COUNCILMAN SMITH: I 'm talking about this situation right here. COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: I don't see the racism in her going on Public Access Channel making a mistake, no, I don't see that as being racist. The fine coming, no, I don' t see that as being racist. The City paying her fine, I don't see that as being racist. What I do consider to be racist is the way that we have allowed the media here to address it and you sat back and said nothing, the Beaumont Enterprise particularly. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: May I comment, mayor? MAYOR LORD: Yes, ma'am. It' s your this is your forum and I do not stop my councilmen our councilmen from saying what they want to say. You may have noticed -- COUNCILMAN BEAULIEU: I 'd like to lead this to more ground that we have in common. I do -- I do agree with you, Mr. Samuel, that we can' t get too much communication. It would have helped to -- to know what was going on better than we knew and I think that we learn something every time we realize we 've not communicated as clearly or as frequently or as �� 30 29 thoroughly as we should as a council with each other or from staff to us, vice versa. I certainly agree with that . I will also agree with you -- I mean, I will tell you that I went with Mr. Sammy Bean and sat down in the editor' s office at the Enterprise to talk to him about the very issue that you' re raising. This was more in line with athletic coverage than the other issues that we're discussing here today but certainly mattered just as much to him that his players or the players that he supported or the kids at that school that he was concerned about got equal coverage and fair play and I sat -- went with him, sat there and made the argument with him that they look at that more clearly and that they evaluate more clearly and I think, yes, we should demand of our media as much fairness as possible. I will tell you on the other hand, though, is : It doesn't matter how much you complain. We don' t call the shots at the newspaper, and you know that. I know you know that . I mean, that ' s a frustration we all deal with. I _don' t like everything Channel 6 puts on the air. I don't like everything that -- that the Enterprise prints . That ' s the Country we live in. I agree that it will always need work and I can appreciate. ` the frustration that you see in that respect . 30 So, on that note I would like to say that I think we have some common ground in this but obviously we 've all come to this with different experiences . But to focus on what really is -- this discussion is about is this one incidence with the mayor and I agree with everything you said about intent and correctness and there was no -- certainly no racial overtones to any of that and I think it ' s good that we can say that because I think there was probably a time in this City when we couldn't say that. So, let ' s at least admit there' s been progress and agree that we ' ll go forward and try to improve on that . COUNCILMAN SAMUEL: Well, my last comment will be : Thank you, Councilmember Beaulieu. I sincerely appreciate your honesty and your coming forthright. That ' s something I can truly appreciate because it ' s a breath of fresh air. At least you stand and you state where you stand and you let it be known, whether it be with me or not . I can appreciate that. But at least you do acknowledge truth, and that ' s all I 'm talking about. Thank you. MAYOR LORD: Thank you, Councilman Samuel . Councilman Patterson. COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: Yes . And I can appreciate your -- your standing and speaking up for �� 3a 31 what you think and even if we agree, we disagree, at least, you know, we do know where we stand. , UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: That ' s right . COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: Okay. But as I said before, my comments was the last part, not that I was trying to say there was any intention of you doing anything illegal or racist or anything. As I said before, the awareness of what ' s going on in the charter, I think that was -- I said it from the beginning, the fact that we were not aware of the fine and we wasn't aware that the City -- I still believe that the council should have been aware of that and that that should -- I still stand that it should not have been paid by City council -- I mean, by. the City' s funds . UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Well, let' s end it with we agree -- COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: And that's the way -- UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: -- on communication. COUNCILMAN PATTERSON: -- I feel . Okay? I 'm done . MAYOR LORD: And now, if no other councilmember has anything to add, we would cordially invite any member of our audience who wishes to speak. `� 33 Public Comments (Persons are limited to three minutes) Roberto and Ella Flores 2425 Buchanan Beaumont TX Concerned with the drugs in the neighborhood and child safety;encouraged others to protect their neighborhood Marie Hubbard 1990 Nora Beaumont TX Concerns with the Police Department Rev. Samuel LaDay 7498 Boyt Road Beaumont TX Voiced his concerns about the Ethics Commission, fine from the Ethtics Commission, and racism of the city Walter Swift 4325 Crow Road Beaumont TX Variety of concerns including the unfinished sidewalks with wheelchair access, bicycle paths and the fine from the Ethics Commission Renada Bernitta Jackson 8464 8461 Landry Lane Beaumont TX Fine paid by City; money for the MLK statue Patricia Gray 2185 Bourbon Beaumont TX Complaints of racism on City Council Doris Smith 28551 Grand Pine Beaumont TX Need for more buses to make travel easier especially for the senior citizens in the Pine Street and the Parkdale Mall area Jackie Spivey 5620 Helbig Road Beaumont TX Concerns with the Police Department and court system Bennie Mendoza 5655 S. Kenneth Beaumont TX Wanted to let Council know he felt they were doing a good job; belongs to COPE on College Corridor and they patrol every night Page=o of 35 Minutes-February 17,2004 There being no Executive Session, Council adjourned at 3:00 p.m. Audio tapes are available upon request in the City Clerk's Office. Evelyn Lord, ayor Rose Ann Jones, City C rk 35 Page 6 of 35 Minutes-February 17,2004