City Council Meeting Summary: December 16, 2025
El Paso City Council Meeting - December 16, 2025
This meeting of the El Paso City Council, held on December 16, 2025, began with a series of ceremonial proclamations recognizing local organizations and individuals for their contributions to the community, followed by public comment sessions addressing utility rates, procurement contracts, and homelessness. The council proceeded to discuss and vote on various regular agenda items, including street resurfacing contracts, zoning changes, economic development incentives, and community funding allocations, facing significant scrutiny and debate regarding contractor performance and the allocation of taxpayer funds.
Consent Calendar
- Approved with revisions: Item 5 (Thunder Canyon PIT dissolution) moved to regular agenda by Rep. Chavez; Item 14 deleted by Rep. Canales; Item 19 (Airport Appraisal Services) moved to regular agenda by Rep. Acevedo; Item 21 deleted per Real Estate Division; Item 18 moved to regular agenda by Rep. Acevedo.
- Item 6 (Electrical easement) moved to regular agenda by Rep. Lime.
- Item 4 (Solid waste liens) noted but no separate motion to remove; public comment requested by Rep. Osman regarding the program.
- Unanimously approved the amended consent agenda after revisions.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Ms. Lisa Turner expressed strong opposition to any Chapter 380 agreements, stating the council serves only 200 people rather than all citizens, and argued that taxpayers are subsidizing billionaires who do not need financial assistance while being charged additional fees for road usage. She demanded accountability regarding utility rate increases and the lack of representation for the elderly and disabled on the Public Service Board.
- Ms. Gloria Cron (Gloria Canaan) requested assistance regarding a 1996 housing repair loan where the City allegedly opened a new account and demanded insurance for her home without proof of non-payment; she stated she has been waiting over 20 months for promised repairs that never occurred.
- Gloria Cron (Speaker 2) requested a meeting with the Mayor regarding unresolved issues with city grants and alleged illegal coercion regarding a contract.
- Elizabeth Crawford spoke regarding pro-life issues, mentioning the "abortion industry" exploding in New Mexico and expressing concern over "throwaway kids" and the influence of abortion pills shipping into Texas.
- Ron Como advocated for cats against animal cruelty and urged the council to remove the "Haas Sheltering Plan" and associated organizations from the city's Animal Services management, citing low stray pick-up numbers and negative environmental impacts.
- Malik Tariq Mahmoud supported Ms. Cron's testimony regarding alleged illegal contract practices involving human development department scams and urged the council to address corruption starting at the local level.
- Eddie Travis Jr. highlighted the lack of water and sewer access in the Montana Vista colony, stating that residents have lived there for 20 years without utilities and that the city failed to build necessary colony buildings or outreach locations for them.
- Ms. Osman criticized the Sun Metro online reporting software as a "nightmare" for citizens trying to report crimes, and expressed concern that El Paso Water community meetings were segregated by location and contained misinformation regarding wage increases and poverty rates.
- Ms. Turner reiterated opposition to utility fees and Chapter 380 agreements, comparing the subsidization of multimillionaires to communism.
Discussion Items
- Proclamations: The council accepted proclamations for: the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl (Mayor Renard Johnson signed); Imperial Border Squad/Desert Inferno Squad (Star Wars charitable groups); Judy Marie Remo (Ruth's Chris Steakhouse manager); and La Tapatia (75th anniversary of the family-owned tortilla business). Representatives expressed support for the economic and charitable contributions of these groups.
- Item 20 (Vehicle Washing): Rep. Osman questioned a 178.18% cost increase; staff explained the increase was due to the quantity rising from 500 to 900 vehicles and the addition of hand-washing options for specialty vehicles.
- Item 31 (Wrestler Drive Vacation): Donations from Brent Harris to three council members were disclosed. Staff explained the donation was from the landowner seeking to acquire right-of-way for uniform development. The item passed unanimously.
- Item 36 (Trotter Memorial Park): Unanimously renamed Fortaleza Park to Trotter Memorial Park in memory of Sebastian and Charlotte Trotter, children who tragically died in a New Mexico flash flood. The council praised the community's support and the family's resilience.
- Item 38 (Water Community Meetings): Directed El Paso Water to conduct eight district-specific community meetings before the January 14, 2026 budget vote. Rep. Osman expressed concern about geographic segregation preventing access to meetings; Water staff confirmed they could accommodate eight meetings, potentially combining districts if necessary for logistics while maintaining separate sessions.
- Item 42 (Street Resurfacing - ZTEX): Awarded a $17.5 million contract to ZTEX Construction. The council debated the contractor's previous 63% completion rate on a prior contract and their high reputation score despite that performance. Reps. Chavez and Acevedo voted nay, expressing concern that the community expects 100% completion and that the company's speed was insufficient. Reps. Mack and others defended the procurement process and the department's efforts to catch up on the backlog, citing a 3-month lead time for rebidding as a risk to infrastructure progress.
- Item 45 (Veterinary Vaccines): Awarded to Intervet Inc. (Merck Animal Health) following a tie-breaker drawing of lots, as two vendors submitted identical prices. Public comment from Ms. Osman questioned the fairness of the process and potential influences.
Key Outcomes
- Unanimous Votes: Approved resolutions for renaming Fortaleza Park to Trotter Memorial Park; awarding vehicle washing services; vacating Wrestler Drive right-of-way; signing specific easements; appointing special permits; authorizing district discretionary funds (Districts 2, 3, and 8); directing eight water community meetings; awarding postal services and speed cushions; and authorizing pre-construction services for Sun Metro TOC.
- 6-2 Vote (Item 42): Approved the contract with ZTEX Construction for street resurfacing ($17.5M), with Representatives Chavez and Acevedo voting against the motion due to concerns over the contractor's past performance (63% completion) and project speed.
- Unanimous Vote (Item 45): Awarded the veterinary vaccine contract via the casting of lots.
- Unanimous Vote (Item 47): Approved the Texas Economic Development (TED) Fund agreement for the Rancho del Rey Logistics Park ($2.325M funding for drainage infrastructure).
- Unanimous Vote (Item 48): Approved a Chapter 380 amendment extending the Mills Plaza Properties project completion deadline by 12 months in exchange for increasing the minimum investment commitment to $30 million.
- Adjournment: The regular meeting was adjourned at 2:41 PM, with the City Council wishing a Merry Christmas to the community.
Meeting Transcript
Well, good morning, everyone, and welcome to City Council Chambers. We are glad to have you here today. Good morning, City Council. Good morning, Miss Prime. We're ready to go. Yes, sir. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the presentation of the mayor's proclamations. We begin this morning with a pledge of allegiance led by Imperial Border Squad Desert Infernal Squad at the invitation of City Representative Diana Maldonado Rocha. We have Greg Trujillo and Jaime Villalba. Right there. All right. Ready? That brings us to the proclamations, and the first proclamation is Sun Bowl Association annual Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl Football Game. All right. Proclamation for the City of El Paso, Texas. Whereas the Sumball Association has served as guide to enhancing the lives of the citizens of El Paso for ninety-two years. And the Tony the Tiger Sombal is known throughout the country as one of hospitality, professionalism, fun, and excitement. And whereas the annual Tony the Tiger Sanball has grown to be the largest single sporting event in the city, as well as one of the topped entertainment values while showcasing the city on CBS on a national television audience for 57 years. Continues to showcase the city of El Paso on a national stage with outstanding football teams, their fans, families, and supporters right here in the Sun City. And whereas the Tony the Tiger Sumball, sponsored by Calog's, Sombal Executive Director Bernie Oliv, the Sombol President Tamara Gladguski, and Board of Directors, and the Sombal Queen and Court work to make this a football game that is embraced by the citizens of El Paso as their own and reserves as a great backdrop to the city. The people and the culture of El Paso, Texas. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed by the mayor and the council of the city of El Paso, Texas, that the week of December twenty-eighth shall be known as Tony the Tiger Samball Week. Congratulations signed by the mayor, Renard Johnson. Good morning. Good morning, Bernie. Good morning. Three main reasons that the Sunbowl exists. Number one is to give the citizens of El Paso a quality event. If anybody's ever gone to the Sun Bowl, I think it's a pretty neat event for the city. Number two, to give El Paso some positive national attention. And for 57 consecutive years, CBS does not for four hours, does nothing but sing the praises of our city nationwide. And third of all, most importantly, is the economic impact that the Sombol brings to the city of El Paso and surrounding area. Up to 25 million dollars in one week that are that our visitors that follow their teams, they come in, they stay in our hotels, they eat at our restaurants, they shop at our stores. And those are the three main reasons that the Sumble exists for 92 years. So we're extremely happy again to put this uh put this on. Uh behind me, it brought some very important people associated with the Sumbow. Our President Tamara Glakowski, our Queen, Caroline Mann, and our lady in waiting, Janais Milan. And I'd like for our president to maybe say a couple of words about the matchup that we have and how great a game it's going to be. Absolutely. Good morning. Good morning. Thank you, Bernie. We are so excited. We are going to have a tremendous, tremendous game. As you all know, we have the Arizona State Sun Devils facing off against the Duke Blue Devils. Both teams have eight wins. Arizona State was in the playoffs last year, and Duke pulled up an upset uh win over Virginia to get the ACC championship. So it's going to be an amazing matchup. We appreciate City Council's support of this event. It's huge.
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