COUNCIL MEETING CITY COUNCIL MAY 12, 2025 A regular meeting of the Groves City Council was held May 12, 2025, in the Groves City Council Chamber with Mayor Chris Borne, Mayor Pro Tem Pete Konidis, Councilmember Mark McAdams, Councilmember Brandon Holmes, and Councilmember Rae Shauna Gay in attendance. Mayor Borne called the meeting to order and welcomed the attendees and news media. The local VFW then led the prayer and pledge of allegiance. Mayor Borne asked if there were any reports, and City Manager Kevin Carruth gave an update on the pipe bursting project between McKinley and Roosevelt, which is complete, and that there will be a more in-depth report at the next Council meeting. Mr. Ken Loftin of VFW 4820 reported on the end of World War II in Europe. On May 8, 1945, celebrations erupted around the world to mark the war's end, and the day after became known as Victory in Europe Day. The event coincided with President Harry Truman's 61st birthday in the United States, and he dedicated this victory to his predecessor, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Mr. Loftin then stated that very few Veterans are left from World War II, and local VFW 4820 has seven World War II Veterans to this day, including one from Groves. There were no further reports. Mayor Borne then called for citizen comments, and there were none. HEAR AND DELIBERATE ON THE PRESENTATIONS OF THE GROVES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MOTHER OF THE YEAR FOR 2025 AND MAYOR'S PROCLAMATION DECLARING MAY 12, 2025, AS "KATHY GUIDRY DAY": Mayor Borne then presented Ms. Kathy Guidry with her proclamation proclaiming May 12, 2025, as "Kathy Guidry Day". DELIBERATE AND ACT TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE APRIL 28, 2025, CITY COUNCIL MEETING: Councilmember Holmes moved to approve the minutes of the April 28, 2025, City Council Meeting as written, and Councimember Gay seconded. There was no discussion, and the motion passed unanimously. DELIBERATE AND ACT ON A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE SUBMITTAL OF A MOTOR VEHICLE CRIME PREVENTION AUTHORITY FY2026 GRANT TO PURCHASE AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READERS AND DESIGNATE THE CITY MARSHAL AS THE AUTHORIZED OFFICER: Mayor Pro Tem Konidis made a motion to deliberate and act on a Resolution authorizing the submittal of a Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority FY2026 Grant to purchase automated license plate readers and designate the City Marshal as the authorized officer. Councilmember McAdams seconded the motion. City Marshal Christopher Robin addressed the Council with his request for a Resolution authorizing the submittal of a City Council Meeting May 12, 2025 Page 2 Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority Grant. Marshal Robin explained that this' would help the department acquire and deploy automated license plate readers, which are camera systems focusing on vehicle plate descriptors. These readers are stationary, put in specific segments of ingress and egress in the City, and used for investigative purposes. The primary focus of this grant is catalytic converter theft prevention. The total project cost would be $76,000, which requires a Resolution, and the City match would be 20% or $12,667. The proposal supports a continuation and an expansion of our vehicle crime prevention strategy, which we have enacted thus far. Marshal Robin stated that we have a prior ALPR Grant pending through Homeland Security, but it does not look like it will be funded. With this grant, twelve ALPR units will be installed, and these systems will be integrated into the Beaumont Real-Time Crime Center. While targeting the catalytic converter theft is a priority, this technology supports a broad spectrum of vehicle- related crime prevention. This technology would not only help us locally but also assist neighboring agencies. This grant application we will submit also comes with an ALPR trailer that is maneuverable, mobile, and can be stationed anywhere. Marshal Robin then informed Council that if the grant award comes in at a lower amount, we can scale this process down with the minimum for our size agency, whil is four ALPRS. Mayor Borne asked if there is a projected cost for subscriptions or any annual updates, and Marshal Robin stated that these specific types are subscription-based at one-year terms. This grant would fund one full year, and if that year is up and there is no continuation grant, once that contract ends, whatever company we decide to go with will come and pick up their cameras, and there will be no additional charge. The 12 LPRS and the trailer without any grant funding would cost $36,000 annually. Mayor Pro Tem Konidis asked about the cellular service for these, and Marshal Robin stated that anything those cameras require to function is included in this pricing. Mayor Borne wondered if there was an application fee, and Marshal Robin said there was no fee. City Manager Kevin Carruth stated that if approved, the City's match would be budgeted for next year. The City Manager also reinforced that a key benefit of the project would be access to the City of Beaumont's Real-Time Crime Center. There were no further questions, and the motion passed unanimously. DELIBERATE AND ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE ISSUANCE OF A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR AUDITING SERVICES: Counci/member Gay made a motion tof deliberate and act to authorize the issuance of a request for proposals for auditing services, and Mayor Pro Tem Konidis seconded. Finance Director Lamar Ozley informed the Council that this last audit from Wathen, DeShong, and Juncker was City Council Meeting May 12, 2025 Page 3 their fifth and final audit under their previous contract. Mr. Ozley then stated that since their contract has expired, he is requesting permission from the Council to request bids for a new City auditor. Mayor Borne asked if the last City auditor had a three-year contract with two (1) year options, and Mr. Ozley stated that's correct, and that would also be the terms of the new agreement. Mr. Ozley noted that this permits staff to go out for bids. The City would gather the results, form an audit review committee to evaluate the bids, and then present a recommendation to the Council. There were no further questions, and the motion passed unanimously. DELIBERATE AND ACT ON ORDINANCE 2025-09, APPROVING AN EXTENSION OF THE MORATORIUM ON GAME ROOM APPLICATIONS: Counciimember McAdams made a motion to deliberate and act on Ordinance 2025-09, approving an extension of the moratorium on Game Room applications, and Councilmember Gay seconded. City Manager Kevin Carruth stated that the Council executed a six-month moratorium in November because we were getting overrun by applications for new game rooms. When this moratorium passed, the City already had six operating game rooms and two already in the permitting process. Since then, the Fire Marshal and Police Department have conducted inspections at some of the game rooms, of which three were inspected and had multiple violations, resulting in the revocation of their gaming permits. All three of these locations appealed the revocations to the appeal board, and the board upheld their permit revocations on April 29th. That leaves us with four operating game rooms and one more waiting to build out its space. Mr. Carruth then stated that the last time we had a moratorium in January of 2023, a permit expired, SO the Council extended the existing permit until the Council decided what to do with that moratorium. Mr. Carruth stated that the City is waiting for S * Jefferson County Officials to determine what their stance is going to be on prosecutions with violations of existing statutes. Staff is also looking at what Beaumont, Orange, and the legislature are going to do, SO it is the staff's recommendation to extend the moratorium until these play out and we have more definition. The current legislature goes on for a couple more weeks, and there are bills pending that can impact this area of the law. City Manager Kevin Carruth stated that it comes down to whether the Council wants to extend the moratorium and what the Council intends to do with the permits that expire within the moratorium. * Mayor Borne asked if fees were paid for extending the permits during the moratorium, and they were not. He stated that he does not want to do that; fees need to be paid for the months of operation after the expiration of the current permit until the moratorium ends. Mayor Borne asked if this would require a change in the ordinance presented for this agenda item, and Mr. Monk stated that this could still be approved, City Council Meeting May 12, 2025 Page 4 and then the fees could be administered as desired. There were no further questions, and the motion passed unanimously. DELIBERATE AND ACT ON THE MAY 6, 2025, INVOICE LIST: Councilmember Gay made a motion to deliberate and act on the May 6, 2025, invoice list, and Councilmember Holmes seconded. Councilmember Gay amended her previous motion to change the date to May 12, 2025, and Councilmember Holmes seconded. INVOICES: City Manager Kevin Carruth presented invoices for payment totaling $282,129.17 as follows: 1. Absolute Insulation Spray insulation for Activity $34,656.50 Building. 2. Chameleon Industries Polymer for water plant. $35,518.40 3. EGSW Micro Solve 55-gallon drum. $6,550.00 4. Enterprise Fleet Lease payment for March and $23,262. Management April 2025. 5. Epic Engineering 2021 GLO CLRF Grant second $103,425.72 LLC payment for SCADA system. 6. Lower Neches Valley Raw water purchased for April $24,942.15 Authority 2025. 7. Moody Bros., Inc. Annual preventative maintenance. $7,874.12 8. Pump Solutions High Service #1 motor and $11,000.00 installation. 9. Silsbee Ford Parts for 2025 PIU patrol unit $14,077.10 slick top. 10. Silsbee Ford Parts for 2025 PIU patrol unit $15,113.12 with overhead, 11. Southern Tire Mart, Tires for solid waste vehicles. $5,709.63 LLC City Council Meeting May 12, 2025 Page 5 Councilmember Holmes asked if Enterprise installed the parts for the patrol units, and City Manager Kevin Carruth stated that we had to hire someone to install them. Mayor Borne then asked if we could keep the old stuff taken out of the patrol cars, and Marshal Robin stated that we could keep anything we added to the patrol cars. Councilmember Holmes asked if the patrol car items were budgeted for, and Marshal Robin said they were. Mayor Borne asked how close they are to finishing the SCADA system, and Public Works Director Troy Foxworth noted that they are still waiting on some parts. Mayor Pro Tem Konidis asked about the spray insulation, and Mr. Carruth stated that it was budgeted for, but we did add something at the last minute. The spray insulation did not look good, sO we added a flame retardant. That also added additional R-value to the insulation. There were no further questions, and the motion passed unanimously. CITY COUNCIL WILL HOLD AN EXECUTIVE SESSION PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER 551 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AUTHORITY CONTAINED IN: A. SECTION 551.071 (1) (A) - CONSULTATION WITH ATTORNEY WHEN THE GOVERNMENTAL BODY SEEKS THE ADVICE OF ITS ATTORNEY ABOUT PENDING OR CONTEMPLATED LITIGATION. B. SECTION 551.072 - DELIBERATIONS ABOUT REAL PROPERTY. C. RECONVENE INTO OPEN SESSION. The Council went into Executive Session at 5:42 p.m. The Council reconvened in an Open Session at 6:31 p.m. Mayor Borne asked for Council comments. Mayor Pro Tem Konidis congratulated the Mother of the Year, Kathy Guidry. There were no further comments. There was no further business, and the meeting was adjourned at 6:31 p.m. Mayor J ATTEST: 5 City Clerk - 4 : * RCJE