City right of way (File 26-0662)

Context: City Council adopted the ordinance terminating Pinnacle Media, LLC's non-exclusive bench franchise on 2026-07-07 on a motion by Representative Limón, seconded by Representative Canales, with the item expressly referencing Ordinance 018002 and Section 13.20.110.

Recommended: Pull the adopted termination ordinance and the original grant, Ordinance 018002, to determine the effective date of termination, any bench removal obligations, and how the penalty provision cited in the item — Section 13.20.110 of the El Paso City Code — applies to benches left in the right of way after termination. Without those two texts, any advice to a bench operator or advertiser on continued placement is unsupported.

Context: The ordinance adopted 2026-07-07 terminates a 'non-exclusive franchise to place benches at bus stops on City right of way' originally granted by Ordinance 018002.

Recommended: Ask the city whether bench locations vacated by the terminated franchise can be covered by a separate non-exclusive franchise grant, and on what terms. The ordinance language describes the terminated grant as non-exclusive, so confirm before assuming placements are closed or open.

Context: The item is labeled postponed from 06-09-2026, appeared before City Council three times, and passed 7-0 (Item 26 and Item 20) without any recorded explanation for the termination.

Recommended: Request the staff memo and any correspondence with Pinnacle Media, LLC explaining the grounds for terminating the bench franchise, and ask why the item was postponed from June 9 before first reading on June 23 and adoption on July 7. The record shows three council appearances and unanimous votes but no stated reason for the termination or the delay.

Context: City Council adopted the ordinance terminating Pinnacle Media, LLC's franchise to place benches at bus stops on City right of way on 2026-07-07, and the supplied record verifies no implementation milestone.

Recommended: Ask the city whether the bench at your bus stop was placed under the terminated Pinnacle Media franchise and, if so, when it will be removed and whether any seating replaces it. Riders at affected stops could lose seating with no notice, since the record contains no removal or replacement schedule.