The Mayor issued certificates of recognition to the 2011 Miss Helotes and her Court. 

Miss Helotes and her Court

He also issued certificates of appreciation to exiting Council members Gary Johnson and Rich Whitehead, both of whom had chosen not to run again for their Council positions.

The Mayor also swore in newly-elected Council members Norbert “Bert” Buys and Paul Friedrichs.

Norbert "Bert" Buys

Paul Friedrichs

Mayor Schoolcraft reported that City officials went to Austin to see the appropriate State officials about changing how money from our Municipal Court Building Security Fund can be spent (House Bill 3603/Senate Bill 1521).  Apparently, Helotes has a sizeable building security fund, but we have no need for metal detectors, etc.  The Mayor wants to be able to spend the money on other things (which he is apparently currently kept from doing legally), such as our Warrant Officer and his related equipment.  This request was added to the bill, and it has passed the Senate with no opposition.  It will now go to the House floor and will go into effect immediately if passed.

These consent agenda items were approved unanimously (without discussion):

- the monthly Revenue and Expenditure Report.

- the quarterly Investment Report.

- the acceptance of the resignation of Bert Buys from P&Z.

- the acceptance of the resignation of Paul Friedrichs from the Helotes Economic Development Corporation.

- the acceptance of the resignation of David Legendre from City Council.

- the final plat for Wind Gate Run (on Hausman Road).

- the revised Storm Water Management Plan for Wind Gate Run.

Other items discussed and approved unanimously:

- reappointment of Council member Ed Villanueva as Mayor Pro Tem.

- application for a variance for a wall-mount sign for the Hill Country Feed & Supply.

- reappointment of Keith Muhlestein and Council member Cynthia Massey to the Helotes Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors for terms to expire on September 30, 2012.

Council also discussed filling the vacancy left by the resignation of Council member Legendre.  The Mayor stated that an ad had been placed in the Echo.  They will accept letters of interest from all interested citizens detailing their qualifications.  When these are received, they will be reviewed and discussed and a selection made.

At 7:29 p.m. Council went into a closed session to consult with the City Attorney regarding the lawsuit filed against the City by the Northside Independent School District (after enjoying some cake and beverages in appreciation of the service of Council members Johnson and Whitehead and in celebration of new Council members Buys and Friedrichs.)

Gary Johnson is not running for re-election to his position which is Alderman, Place 3, on the Helotes City Council.  Norbert “Bert” Buys and Myfe Moore are running for that position.

Paul Friedrichs is running for Alderman, Place 5, on Council, which was held by Rich Whitehead.  Whitehead told me that after someone he found acceptable agreed to run for Council (Friedrichs), he (Whitehead) decided to go on and resign to spend more time with his family.  The result of that decision is that Friedrichs is running unopposed and will be declared elected, which, in effect, means that Whitehead selected his successor.  I think Whitehead should have resigned, if that was what he wanted to do, before the filing period was over giving someone else the opportunity to run against Friedrichs, letting the voters decide who was more “acceptable.”

Election day this year is on Saturday, May 14, 2011.  If you vote on election day, you have to vote at your precinct location.  Precinct number 2063 will vote at SA MUD #1, 16450 Wildlake.  Precinct number 2101 will vote at O’Connor High School, 12221 Leslie Road.  Precinct number 3099 will vote at Bob Beard Elementary, 8725 Sonoma Parkway.  Precinct numbers 3101 and 3106 will vote at Helotes Elementary, 13878 Riggs Road.  Polls are usually open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but I couldn’t find confirmation of that on the City’s website.

Early voting begins today, May 2, and goes through Tuesday, May 10, 2011.  There will be no early voting locations open on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 8.  Monday, May 2, through Friday, May 6, the polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, May 7, they will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Monday, May 9, through Tuesday, May 10, they will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.  Early voting locations include the Helotes City Hall, but there are many more locations also available.  Some of the locations closest to Helotes are the John Igo Library, 13330 Kyle Seale Parkway (off Hausman inside 1604), Maury Maverick, Jr., Library, 8700 Mystic Park (off Bandera Road), UTSA, 1 UTSA Circle; and Leon Valley Conference Center, 6421 Evers Road.  There is a complete list of all the early voting locations on the City’s website, www.helotes-tx.gov, under “Notices.”

For more information, contact the Office of the Bexar County Elections Administrator, Jacquelyn F. Callanen, at 210-335-8683.

“Although I have not been directly active in Helotes politics, I have been an indirect supporter of the city as well as the current city council.  I enjoy staying abreast of the current issues and can honestly say that it seems there is a lot of common sense on the council today and am proud to be able to say that I live in Helotes.  I believe that I, too, can bring both common sense as well as a good practical business sense to the table.”

On July 9, 2009, Gary Johnson was appointed by the Mayor and the current City Council to serve on the Council in Place 3, replacing Jeff Ellis who resigned in May.  He will serve on Council until the next general election in May 2010, at which time he will have to run for the position he has been serving in, if he wants to remain on Council.

Council announced that night that four citizens had been interviewed for the vacancy.  The Herald has learned that those citizens were Norbert “Bert” Buys, Jr., Paul Friedrichs, Ardith Garner, and, of course, Gary Johnson, who was the least known of the four candidates.

Bert Buys has lived in Helotes for 19 years, and he is currently serving on the Parks and Recreation Committee.

Paul Friedrichs has lived in Helotes since 2004, and is currently serving on the Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors.

Ardith Garner did not state on her application how long she has lived in Helotes, but in 2002 she started volunteering for the City when she was appointed to the Architectural Review Board.  She served on this Board until current Mayor, Tom Schoolcraft, dissolved the Board a couple of years ago.  She is currently serving as the president on the Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors.  While the three other applicants did not mention how or why they came to submit applications for the Council vacancy, Mrs. Garner stated that Mayor Schoolcraft asked her if she’d be willing to fill the vacant seat on Council.

The information below is taken from the application submitted to the City by Gary Johnson.  We feel that it is important to provide this information about Mr. Johnson, because so few of us know anything about him.

GARY JOHNSON

HELOTES, TEXAS

I have lived in the Helotes area for the past 16 years (13 in the ETJ and the last 3 in the city limits).  My wife and I currently live in the Estates section of Iron Horse Canyon with our two children.  We are members of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic church and have been since moving into the area in 1993.

I care a great deal about this community though have not considered directly participating in politics in the past.  My only prior “political” experience was as Vice President/Treasurer of the Helotes Ranch Acres – Unit 6 Home Owners Association.  I was one of three individuals that were instrumental in creating the HOA and entering into a settlement agreement with the Estate of John D. Smith.  The settlement agreement consisted of the Estate building a new bridge across Los Reyes Creek and providing “seed” money for the new HOA.

I am a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Texas with over 20 years of experience in both industry and public accounting.  My entire career has consisted of working in the tax arena with a concentration in the corporate and partnership areas from both international and domestic perspectives.  I currently serve as Sr. Executive Director in the San Antonio Tax Department of AT&T and am responsible for the federal and state income tax audits as well as the tax aspects of all mergers and acquisitions.  I have been with AT&T since 1994 and previously worked in the tax departments for both Ernst & Young in San Antonio and KPMG in Houston.  (More detailed work experience is listed below. Editor).

I received a Bachelors of Business Administration-Accounting degree in May 1988 from the University of Houston.  I received my CPA certification in 1990 and currently am a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as well as the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants and the San Antonio Chapter of Certified Public Accountants.

Prior to attending the University of Houston, I worked as a certified welder in the construction business from 1980 to 1984.  The work included building cranes to working in oil refineries and chemical plants.

Although I have not been directly active in Helotes politics, I have been an indirect supporter of the city as well as the current city council.  I enjoy staying abreast of the current issues and can honestly say that it seems there is a lot of common sense on the council today and am proud to be able to say that I live in Helotes.  I believe that I, too, can bring both common sense as well as a good practical business sense to the table.

CAREER SUMMARY:

CPA with 20 years of experience in both industry and the public accounting environment.  The majority of my career has been spent in the research and planning area from both an international and a federal taxation view point, specifically in the corporate and partnership areas.  I have also spent a great deal of time with income tax accounting responsibilities, which included working through SEC reporting issues, the implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley as well as the adoption of FIN 48.  From 1988 to November 2002, my primary focus was in the international area from compliance to research and planning, mergers and acquisitions, IRS audits and income tax accounting.  From December 2002 to the present, my role has been focused on the domestic side but with a much broader, global view point, which currently includes all domestic mergers and acquisitions, a portion of income tax accounting, income tax audits and employee benefits.  In addition, I have been responsible for managing several very significant special projects throughout my career that have gone beyond tax issues.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

AT&T Inc., San Antonio, TX – Sr. Executive Director – Planning, Audits & Benefits, June 2006 to the present; Sr. Executive Director – Tax Accounting & Compliance, November 2002 to June 2006; Director, International Tax, December 1999 to November 2002; and Corporate Manager, International Tax, December 1994 to December 1999.

Ernst & Young, San Antonio, TX – Manager, Tax, July 1993 to December 1994; and Senior, Tax, August 1991 to July 1993.

KPMG, Houston, TX – Senior, International Tax, October 1990 to August 1991; and Staff, International Tax, August 1988 to October 1990.

EDUCATION – University of Houston – Bachelors of Business Administration – Accounting, May 1988

SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS – Mergers and Acquisitions

Member of the tax due diligence and planning teams for the acquisitions of Ameritech Corporation (1999), AT&T Corporation (2005), and BellSouth Corporation (2006), as well as several smaller acquisitions;

Structural planning and due diligence on the AT&T Wireless acquisition in 2004 which was the largest cash acquisition in the U.S.;

Responsible for all tax aspects related to the acquisition of a South African telecom company, including due diligence, modeling and ownership structuring to accommodate a Malaysian partner;

Foreign tax credit planning and structuring for the acquisition of a very large telecom company in Canada.

Special Projects -

Managed four very significant restructuring transactions during 2000 to 2008.  These projects required coordination of several groups, both internal and external, as well as third party investors;

Planning with an internal captive insurance company; and

Several different entity elimination/rationalization projects, involving mergers, liquidations, spin-offs and conversions.

Income Tax Accounting -

Responsible for all aspects of tax accounting from 2002 to 2006, which included implementation of Sarbanes Oxley rules within the tax accounting function as well as the adoption of FIN 48; and

During that same time frame, I was responsible for the income tax footnote included within AT&T’s SEC quarterly and annual filings.

Income Tax Audits -

Currently have responsibility for both federal and state income tax audits which at this time includes four very large examinations and many more state audits at various stages; and

Handled settlement negotiations with both California and Illinois tax authorities for two very substantial controversies.