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MINUTES
EMERGENCY MEETING
COVID-19
SPECIAL SESSION CITY COUNCIL 
 March 13, 2020

An Emergency Meeting was held by the Schertz City Council of the City of Schertz, Texas, on March 13, 2020, at 6:00 p.m. in the Hal Baldwin Municipal Complex Council Chambers, 1400 Schertz Parkway, Building #4, Schertz, Texas. The following members present to-wit:
 
Present:
Mayor Ralph Gutierrez; Mayor Pro-Tem Mark Davis; Councilmember Michael Dahle; Councilmember Allison Heyward; Councilmember Tim Brown
Absent:
Councilmember Rosemary Scott - Excused absence; Councilmember Scott Larson - Excused absence; Councilmember David Scagliola - Excused absence
Staff present:
City Manager Dr. Mark Browne; Assistant City Manager Brian James; Assistant City Manager Charles Kelm; City Attorney Daniel Santee; City Secretary Brenda Dennis; Assistant to the City Manager Sarah Gonzalez; Deputy City Secretary Gayle Wilkinson
Call to Order – City Council Emergency Session

Mayor Gutierrez called the emergency meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
             
Opening Prayer and Pledges of Allegiance to the Flags of the United States and State of Texas. (Mayor Gutierrez)
             
Hearing of Residents

This time is set aside for any person who wishes to address the City Council. Each person should fill out the speaker’s register prior to the meeting. Presentations should be limited to no more than 3 minutes.

All remarks shall be addressed to the Council as a body, and not to any individual member thereof. Any person making personal, impertinent, or slanderous remarks while addressing the Council may be requested to leave the meeting.

Discussion by the Council of any item not on the agenda shall be limited to statements of specific factual information given in response to any inquiry, a recitation of existing policy in response to an inquiry, and/or a proposal to place the item on a future agenda. The presiding officer, during the Hearing of Residents portion of the agenda, will call on those persons who have signed up to speak in the order they have registered.

Mayor Gutierrez Recognized the following:

Maggie Titterington - 1730 Schertz Parkway, The Chamber. Maggie provided a quick update and encouragement about some measures our local businesses are taking in the wake of the Corona Virus. The following events have been canceled:
  • The Taste has been rescheduled for June 25th.
  • Military Hiring Affair that was scheduled for March 31st, has been canceled.
The encouragement included the following local businesses:
  • Santinkos sent out a release listing the extra measures they are taking to make their establishment safer such as sanitizing the seats, armrests, and cup holders after every show, nightly deep cleanings, and all of their employees are frequently washing their hands.
  • EVO is practicing separation of seats and not scheduling as frequent movies. They are diligent in their cleanings and are providing extra sanitation and soap, team members are being regularly trained on food safety products.
  • Chick-Fil-A has closed their playground, they are not using trays, all dine in orders will be bagged, they have discontinued condiment stations, refills of drinks are all brand-new cups, they are not participating in toy exchanges, they are removing anything on the tables, and they have an alarm that goes off every 15 minutes for employees to stop and wash their hands. They have also invested in a Nexus system in their air system that kills everything in the air.
             
Workshop
             
1. Discussion on taking precautionary measures on the COVID -19 Virus.  (Mayor/Executive Management)

Mayor Gutierrez began with an opening statement stating our city today does NOT have a confirmed virus or a case concerning the corona virus COVID-19.  He further stated "this was not a state of emergency, this is just a declaration of preparedness.  Containment will be our priority, we must take all precautions to prevent the spread of this virus.  We will not drag our feet, and we will take action. Our city will find a balance between confronting this virus and insuring our resident's civil liberties are not affected. Our community must be sensible and must remain calm.  Our priorities will continue to be the safety, the health and the well-being of our community.  This session was requested to discuss the precautionary steps in order to confront the corona virus COVID-19 issues facing our community and the steps we as a city will be implementing to evaluate and be evaluating daily." 

Mayor Gutierrez recognized Fire Chief/Emergency Management Coordinator Kade Long who provided a PowerPoint  (bulletpoints shown below) regarding the initiatives we will be taking as a city.  Chief Long gave a current overview of the National, State and Local status of COVID-19 and expressed a desire to model the behavior that is being provided by our National, State and Local levels. 
  • COVID-19 and the National, State and Local responses.
  • Flattening the Curve - limiting the cases contracted.
  • Facilities in reference to our city's pro-active response to COVID-19.
  • Canceling City sponsored events.
  • Goals of preemptive actions for the City of Schertz. 
Chief Kade Long recognized EMS Director Jason Mabbit who addressed our desire to "flatten the curve" minimizing cases contracted and not overwhelming our healthcare system. There are weekly counts in our region on machines necessary to combat COVID-19 and monitoring of our hospitals as well, to remain prepared.

EMS Director Jason Mabbitt recognized Assistant City Manager Charles Kelm who addressed the proactive initiatives taken in our city facilities. The following actions have been taken:
  • Daily Cleaning has been increased in City Hall, Public Safety buildings and Commercial Place.  General services is performing an additional cleaning along with our contracted cleaning. 
  • Additional cleaning supplies have been distributed throughout the city for employees to use in between the two formal cleanings. 
  • The Civic Center and Park Pavilions, we are continuing to work with staff to adequately clean them between already scheduled events and work to keep them open. 
  • We recommend closing some support facilities such as the Library and the Senior Center beginning March,16 at 8:00 a.m. for seven days to allow the city to do additional deep cleaning.  The city will continue to look for options to provide meals for the senior citizens that rely on the Senior Center.  
Assistant City Manager Charles Kelm recognized Assistant City Manager Brian James who addressed re-scheduling the following events:
  •  The Star Party March 28, at Crescent Bend Nature Park. 
  • Moving on Main April 5.  Options will be considered to re-schedule. 
Assistant City Manager Brian James announced the following events will remain scheduled:  
  • The Nature Discovery Series March 14, at Crescent Bend Nature Park. 
  • The Community Cleanup, March 7-22, at 15 Pecan Dr. 
  • The Community Shred Day March 28, at 125 Pecan Dr. 
Assistant City Manager Brian James noted the City will revisit weekly the upcoming events as to their status. 

Assistant City Manager Charles Kelm noted the intent of this meeting was to report we are posturing preemptively to COVID-19. The City wants to be part of the solution and not part of the problem and will continue to address the situation on a daily and weekly basis providing City Manager Dr. Browne, Mayor Ralph Gutierrez, and Council daily updates as they become available. 

City Manager Dr. Mark Browne summarized by stating the Library and Senior Center will be closed on Monday, March 16, for seven days. Next Friday we will make another determination whether to extend the seven days or re-open.  We plan to continue this evaluation on a weekly basis until we have other data that causes us to take differnent action. He also restated the two events that will be canceled:
  • The Star Party March 28, at Crescent Bend Nature Park. 
  • Moving on Main April 5.  Options will be considered to re-schedule. 
Dr. Browne stated all of our parks will remain open unless things progress any further. 

Mayor Gutierrez opened the floor for questions/comments from Council. Concerns were as follows: 
  • Senior Citizens maintain the meals provided by the Senior Center. 
  • Senior Citizens becoming isolated. 
  • Activities in our Community Center while remaining a higher standard of cleanliness.
Mayor Gutierrez remarked we are trying to minimize the spread of COVID-19 should we have a confirmed case.  We also want to provide the public a sense of awareness of the City's proactive stance while remaining calm. 

Mayor Gutierrez recognized City Manager Dr. Mark Brown who discussed messaging for our employees.  With the school district closing next week we are making every effort to work with our employees who have to take care of their children, and they can't on short notice find childcare. We're going to work with them and do our best to accommodate those needs. 

Councilmember Dahle asked the city to continue to provide accurate and timely information to avoid panicking and unnecessary behavior. 

Mayor Gutierrez thanked the Councilmembers for coming in during this emergency meeting and thanked all who attended. 

 
             
Roll Call Vote Confirmation
             
Adjournment

Mayor Gutierrez adjourned the meeting at 6:27 p.m.
_______________________________
Ralph Gutierrez, Mayor
ATTEST:


____________________________________
Brenda Dennis, City Secretary

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