Agenda and minutes
Regular meeting, 25 August 2026
Tuesday 25 August 2026, 5:30 p.m. to 9:12 p.m.
- Where
- City Commission Chambers, City Hall, 512 South Nebraska Avenue, San Juan, Texas 78589
- Presiding
- Mayor Mario Garza presiding
- Quorum
- Quorum of four present at 5:33 p.m. A fifth member arrived at 5:49 p.m.
- Interpretation
- A Spanish interpreter was present in the chamber for the whole meeting, and the public-comment period was taken in both languages.
- Recorded votes
- 4
Demonstration data
The campuses, the trustees and the seal are real. Every enrollment figure, bus position, vote and dollar amount on this site is invented, and each page that shows one says so.
Notice
Posted Friday 21 August 2026 at 3:52 p.m. — 97 hours and 38 minutes before the meeting. Texas Government Code § 551.043 requires at least 72 hours.
Where it was posted
- Bulletin board in the City Hall lobby, 512 South Nebraska Avenue, readily accessible to the public at all times — 21 August, 3:52 p.m. (Gov't Code § 551.050)
- The city website — 21 August, 4:02 p.m. Not required: the § 551.056 internet-posting mandate reaches municipalities of 48,000 and up, and San Juan is 36,448. The city posts online because it chooses to.
I certify that this notice was posted on the bulletin board at City Hall, a place readily accessible to the general public at all times, on August 21, 2026 at 3:52 p.m. — Office of the City Secretary
Who was there
| Member | Attendance | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Mario Garza | Present | — |
| Jesus “Jesse” Ramirez | Present | — |
| Mario Cantu | Present | — |
| Gilbert Garza | Arrived late | Arrived 5:49 p.m. Absent for the first vote. |
| Marco “Markie” Villegas | Present | Left the dais 7:31 to 7:58 p.m. for item 6 — recusal |
The agenda, item by item
1 Call to order, invocation and Pledges of Allegiance
Called to order at 5:30 p.m. by the Mayor. Invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag and the Pledge to the Texas flag.
Reconstructed from the approved minutes. The city currently publishes this meeting through CivicClerk inside an iframe that has no accessible name, so a screen reader reaches the public record by announcing the word “frame” and nothing else.
2 Roll call and finding of a quorum
Four of five members present. Quorum found at 5:33 p.m. A fifth member arrived at 5:49 p.m.
3 Public comment
Who spoke
- A resident of the Nebraska Avenue area · S Nebraska Ave · 3:00 · spoke in Spanish
Said she had tried three times to sign up for the city's emergency alerts using the link on the city's own Frequently Asked Questions page, and that the link never loaded. Asked why the answer to a question about emergencies points somewhere that does not open. - A small-business owner on North Raul Longoria Road · N Raul Longoria Rd · 2:30 · spoke in English
Counted the accounts he keeps with the city: one to pay a water bill, one to pay a citation, one to apply for a permit, and a fourth to see whether the commission had voted on his plat. Asked why four systems cannot tell each other that they belong to the same business.
What happened after: Both speakers were sent the outcome of item 6 in the language they spoke in, on 27 August.
- A resident of the Nebraska Avenue area · S Nebraska Ave · 3:00 · spoke in Spanish
4 Approval of the minutes of the regular meeting of 28 July 2026
Main motion · Carried
To approve the minutes of the regular meeting of 28 July 2026 as presented.
Moved by Jesus “Jesse” Ramirez · seconded by Mario Cantu
Unanimous · Roll call at 17:41
Vote on the motion to approve the minutes of 28 July 2026 Member Office Vote Mario Garza Mayor Yes Jesus “Jesse” Ramirez Commissioner, Place 5 · Mayor Pro-Tempore Yes Mario Cantu Commissioner, Place 2 Yes Gilbert Garza Commissioner, Place 3 Absent Marco “Markie” Villegas Commissioner, Place 4 Yes Result All seats Passed 4–0. One member had not yet arrived. 5 Street reconstruction, South Standard Avenue — award of construction contract
- Department
- Public Works
- Amount
- $2,740,000
In plain language
Rebuilding South Standard Avenue, including the block in front of the Memorial Library. Four companies bid; the item is here because it is the largest single award of the night.
Procured under Local Government Code § 252.021 as a competitive sealed bid, the threshold for which is $50,000. Four responses were received. The recommended bid was the lowest responsible bid. Two members asked whether the library would keep its entrance open through construction and were told the contract stages the work so the Standard Avenue entrance is never closed for more than one week.
Main motion · Carried
To award the construction contract for the South Standard Avenue reconstruction to the lowest responsible bidder in the amount of $2,740,000, with a substantial-completion date of 31 May 2027.
Moved by Marco “Markie” Villegas · seconded by Mario Cantu
Unanimous · Roll call at 18:26
Vote on the award of the South Standard Avenue reconstruction contract Member Office Vote Mario Garza Mayor Yes Jesus “Jesse” Ramirez Commissioner, Place 5 · Mayor Pro-Tempore Yes Mario Cantu Commissioner, Place 2 Yes Gilbert Garza Commissioner, Place 3 Yes Marco “Markie” Villegas Commissioner, Place 4 Yes Result All seats Passed 5–0. What happened after: Notice to proceed issued 9 September 2026. The construction schedule and the affected blocks were published in both languages the same week — as text, on a page, not as a picture of a flyer.
6 Award of contract — one city platform, replacing eleven separate vendor systems
- Department
- Information Technology & Media
- Amount
- $548,000
In plain language
One system for payments, permits, service requests, agendas, alerts and the website, replacing eleven separate vendor products the city rents today. The item is here because it was a split vote and because one member had to step off the dais for it.
Staff presented a count of what the city runs today: separate systems for utility payments, court payments, permits, parks registration, agendas and minutes, mass notification, budget transparency, the code of ordinances, job applications, the help desk and the website itself — plus three separately branded websites for the library, the police department and the economic development corporation. The recommendation was one platform, one sign-in, and one place a resident can see everything that belongs to them. The discussion turned on what happens to the eleven contracts. Staff confirmed that four run to the end of the fiscal year and would not be renewed, five are month-to-month, and two carry termination-for-convenience clauses with thirty days' notice. One member asked what happens to the data. Staff answered that export is a condition of award and that the contract makes the city, not the vendor, the owner of the record.
One member recused
Commissioner Villegas filed a conflict-of-interest affidavit with the City Secretary on 21 August 2026, before the meeting, disclosing a substantial interest in a business entity related to one of the responding firms. They left the dais at 7:31 p.m., did not participate in the discussion, and did not vote. They returned at 7:58 p.m.
Local Government Code § 171.004 — the affidavit must be filed with the official record keeper before the vote, and the member must abstain from further participation.
Main motion · Carried
To award the city platform contract in the amount of $548,000 over three years, conditioned on data export in an open format at any time and on the city being named owner of the record.
Moved by Jesus “Jesse” Ramirez · seconded by Gilbert Garza
Split vote · Roll call at 19:54
Vote on the award of the city platform contract Member Office Vote Mario Garza Mayor Yes Jesus “Jesse” Ramirez Commissioner, Place 5 · Mayor Pro-Tempore Yes Mario Cantu Commissioner, Place 2 No Gilbert Garza Commissioner, Place 3 Yes Marco “Markie” Villegas Commissioner, Place 4 Recused1 Result All seats Passed 3–1, with one member recused. 1 The member voting no said the saving should be proved on two systems before the city commits to eleven.
What happened after: The first two systems moved on 1 October 2026. This site is what the result looks like.
7 Closed session
The commission recessed into closed session at 8:14 p.m. and reconvened in open session at 8:57 p.m.
Under which citation
- Gov't Code § 551.072 — deliberation about the purchase of real property on the north side of the city, where a public discussion would have had a detrimental effect on the city's negotiating position.
- Gov't Code § 551.071 — consultation with the city attorney on pending litigation.
- Gov't Code § 551.074 — personnel: the annual evaluation of the city manager.
Main motion · Carried
To authorise the city manager to continue negotiations on the property discussed in closed session, and to bring any agreement back to the commission in open session.
Moved by Mario Cantu · seconded by Jesus “Jesse” Ramirez
Unanimous · Roll call at 20:59
Vote after the closed session Member Office Vote Mario Garza Mayor Yes Jesus “Jesse” Ramirez Commissioner, Place 5 · Mayor Pro-Tempore Yes Mario Cantu Commissioner, Place 2 Yes Gilbert Garza Commissioner, Place 3 Yes Marco “Markie” Villegas Commissioner, Place 4 Yes Result All seats Passed 5–0. 8 Adjournment
Adjourned at 9:12 p.m.
How each member voted, across the whole meeting
Texas law requires the minutes to indicate each vote. It does not require the city to record how each individual member voted. Publishing the roll call is the city's own choice, and it is a stronger commitment than the statute asks for.