* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:08] HELLO [District 7 Update with Council Member Dylan Hedrick] AND WELCOME TO ANOTHER CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT UPDATE TODAY, WE'RE WITH DISTRICT SEVEN COUNCIL MEMBER, DYLAN HEDRICK. UM, AND THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS ON YOUR LIST OF TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT. LET'S START WITH THE MOST DIFFICULT THING WE'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH THIS YEAR. AND THAT'S THE COVID RESPONSE. YES, I, THAT'S A REALLY BEEN OUR FOCUS SINCE THE MIDDLE OF MARCH WITH US AND GARLAND. WE'VE GONE REMOTE WITH OUR COUNCIL MEETINGS. WE'VE HAD CLOSURES AND GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS. THEN FOR A BRIEF TIME, WE WERE ABLE TO REOPEN THEM. AND UNFORTUNATELY, WITH THE RISE IN CASES CURRENTLY, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, RECLOSING SOMETHING LIMITING SOME CAPACITY AND SOME PUBLIC FACILITIES LIKE LIBRARIES AND IMMIGRATION CENTERS. AND, UH, THIS WEEK GARLAND PASSED A HUNDRED THOUSAND CASES TOTAL, UH, IN THE CITY, WHICH IS ABOUT ONE IN EVERY 23 PEOPLE IN GARLAND. NOW HAVE IT, WHICH IS THE NUMBERS ARE TURNING WRONG WAY. BUT FORTUNATELY IN RECENT NEWS THAT THE VACCINES ARE SEEMINGLY VERY CLOSE TO BEING, BEING DISTRIBUTED. AND THANKFULLY THAT, UH, WE'LL HAVE THAT SOON. AND I KNOW THAT OUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT AS WELL HAS DONE A TRIAL RUN ON VACCINES. THEY DID AS PART OF THEIR FLU DISTRIBUTION. SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE LOOKING AT VERY CLOSELY AND WE'RE HAPPY THAT OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT'S GOING TO BE READY AND READY TO GO AND DISTRIBUTE THOSE WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE. YEAH. YEAH. THAT WILL BE GREAT. AND I DO WANT TO POINT OUT TO OUR VIEWERS THAT IF YOU'RE VIEWING THIS VIDEO, SOMETIME MONTHS AFTER WE'VE RECORDED THIS, IT WILL ALWAYS BE BEST. IF YOU WILL GO ONLINE AND TRY TO CONTACT THE DEPARTMENT, YOU NEED TO DO BUSINESS WITH, FOR YOU ACTUALLY MAKE TO THE TRIP TO THEIR OFFICE, BECAUSE IN THESE DAYS OF COVID, WE NEVER REALLY KNOW WHAT THE STATUS THINGS MIGHT BE. SO THAT'S WHAT THAT WEBSITE RESOURCES GOOD FOR. OKAY. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT SOME MORE POSITIVE STUFF. I MEAN, IT HAS BEEN IMPRESSIVE HOW WELL EVERYONE HAS DONE DEALING WITH COVID OUR CITIZENS, OUR, OUR RESIDENTS, OUR BUSINESSES, AND, AND, AND US AS AN ORGANIZATION, BUT WE'VE ALSO TAKEN CARE OF SOME GOOD BUSINESS THAT WE'RE REALLY PRETTY, PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT. RIGHT. RIGHT. MEANWHILE, WHILE COVID IS HAPPENING, BUSINESSES CITY GOES ON AND WE KNOW THAT A LOT OF OUR CITIZENS ARE STRUGGLING RIGHT NOW WITH VARIOUS, UH, YOU KNOW, LOSING WORK OR, UH, REDUCED HOURS AND WORK. AND WE'RE HAPPY THAT WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME PROPERTY TAX RELIEF ON COUNCIL. WE WERE ABLE TO INCREASE THE HOMESTAY EXEMPTION FROM 8% TO A TEMPERATURE LEVEL. WE ALSO INCREASE THE SENIOR OR DISABLED EXEMPTION FROM $51,000 TO $56,000. AND EVEN AT A LOSS TO THE GENERAL REVENUE, THIS IS GOING TO CREATE A DEFICIT IN YOUR REVENUE BY ALMOST A MILLION DOLLARS, BUT WE FELT IT WAS JUST IMPORTANT TO DELIVER SOME TAX RELIEF TO HOMEOWNERS THAT THEY HADN'T SEEN FOR OVER A DECADE. AND THAT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING ANY LITTLE BIT HELPS DURING THE PANDEMIC. SO WE'RE HAPPY THAT WE WERE ABLE TO GET THAT ACCOMPLISHED FOR OUR CITIZENS. AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY COUNCILS HAVE BEEN WANTING TO PURSUE FOR A FEW YEARS NOW. UM, IT'S JUST THE TIMING OF BEING ABLE TO GET THIS DONE NOW IS PARTICULARLY GOOD FOR OUR CITIZENS. YEAH. WE WERE HAPPY TO WORK TOGETHER. AND THEN, UH, TIMING WISE AS WELL. I KNOW WE HAD A, A BIG SETTLEMENT THAT CAME THROUGH WITH THE, UH, NORTH TEXAS MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT. THAT WAS JUST WITHIN THE PAST MONTH, THAT WHOLE, UM, AGREEMENT WAS FINALIZED BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT MEMBER CITIES TO FINALLY GET US OFF THIS TAKER PAY SYSTEM, WHERE WE WERE PAYING FOR SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER WATER USAGE FROM A LEVEL THAT WAS SET 14 YEARS AGO IN 2006 TO NOW. SO EVENTUALLY OVER THE 13 YEAR ROLLING PERIOD, OUR WATER RATES WILL ROLL BACK TO OUR AVERAGE OF ACTUAL USAGE AND WE'LL SAVE VOLUME 9 MILLION ESTIMATED DOLLARS TO OUR GARLAND WATER CUSTOMERS OVER THE TIMELINE OF THE IMPLEMENTATION. SO IT'S LITTLE THINGS LIKE THAT THAT WE'RE HOPING TO HELP OUR CITIZENS AND REALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, HELP THEM IN THE POCKET BOOK AS WELL, AND GET A BETTER VALUE, YOU KNOW, JUST PLAYING, GET A BETTER VALUE. AND SPEAKING OF GOOD VALUES, WE'RE WORKING ON PROGRAMS TO HELP IMPROVE THE VALUE AND THE AESTHETICS OF SOME OF OUR WELL-ESTABLISHED GOOD NEIGHBORHOODS, RIGHT? AND THAT'S SO IMPORTANT TO ESTABLISH THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS IS OUR NEIGHBORHOOD VITALITY APARTMENT. THEY ARE REALLY FOCUSED ON IMPROVING THE LOCAL NEIGHBORHOODS. I'M PROUD TO SAY THAT THE CAMELOT NEIGHBORHOOD, MY DISTRICT WAS JUST NOMINATED NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE YEAR FOR THIS YEAR. AND IT'S THE SECOND YEAR THAT A DISTRICT SEVEN NEIGHBORHOOD WAS NOMINATED AS NEIGHBORHOOD THE YEAR AFTER MY NEIGHBORHOOD OF OAK RIDGE WAS NOMINATED AND AWARDED THE PREVIOUS YEAR. SO I'M LOOKING FOR THE OTHER, OTHER VARIOUS NEIGHBORHOODS IN MY DISTRICT TO STEP UP, TO KEEP IT THREE YEARS IN A ROW RUNNING. AND I KNOW WE CAN HOPEFULLY DO THAT, BUT IT'S GREAT TO HAVE THOSE AWARDS AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD VITALITY DEPARTMENT WORKING, BUT ALSO THAT DEPARTMENT NOT ONLY ISSUING NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE YEAR AWARDS, THEY ALSO HAVE A HOME IMPROVEMENT GRANT PROGRAM THAT AS PART OF THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE, A COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE, I'M ON, I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE'VE HAD LOTS OF GREAT APPLICANTS. [00:05:01] I KNOW THE INITIAL FUNDING WAS EXPENDED VERY QUICKLY AND WE NOW HAVE A WAITING LIST FOR THE NEXT TRAUNCH OF FUNDING THAT THE COUNCIL HAS APPROVED FOR THAT. SO IT'S GREAT TO HAVE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE HOUSES, NEW PAINT ON HOUSES, NEW FENCES, NEW DRIVEWAYS, ALL KIND OF PROJECTS THAT THE PROGRAM HAS FUNDED. AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S KIND OF THE, THE KEEPING UP WITH THE JONES'S EFFECT. IF SOMEONE ON YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS AWARDED A GRANT AND THEY GET A NEW FENCE AND YOU DOWN THE STREET MIGHT SAY, HEY, I'M GOING TO IMPROVE MY NEIGHBORHOOD, MY HOME AS WELL TOO, TO MAKE MINE LOOK JUST AS GOOD AS THEIRS. SO THAT'S THE KIND OF MOMENTUM WE HOPE TO HAVE WITH THAT PROGRAM TO GET EVERYONE'S HOMES, YOU KNOW, RISING TIDE LIFTS ALL BOATS. SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HOPING FOR. THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT. AND ON THE SUBJECT OF ALL THESE IMPROVEMENTS, WE ARE RAPIDLY MOVING INTO THE BOND PROGRAM THAT WAS APPROVED BACK IN 2019. YEAH. I'M, I'M SO PROUD OF THAT. THAT'S BEEN THAT EVER SINCE, BEFORE I WAS ON COUNCIL, PART OF THE BOND STUDY COMMITTEE, AND NOW I GET TO SEE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE PROJECTS. IT'S SO REWARDING. AND I KNOW THE ELECTION FOR THE BOND APPROVAL WAS IN MAY OF 2019. AND IT SEEMING LIKE WE'RE A LITTLE WAYS AWAY FROM THAT NOW IN NOVEMBER OF 2020, BUT THAT TIME WAS NECESSARY FOR THE STARTING THE DESIGN OF ALL THESE PROJECTS. AND I KNOW VERY SOON THAT, UH, MYSELF AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL WERE GOING TO GOING TO GO ON A BARNSTORMING TRIP AROUND THE CITY FOR VARIOUS GROUNDBREAKINGS. WE'RE LOOKING TO START GROUNDBREAKING ON THE LONG AWAITED ANIMAL SHELTER, THE POLICE EVIDENCE BUILDING SEVERAL FIRE STATIONS. SO WE'RE GOING TO BE HAVING A LOT OF, UH, PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES. AND IT MEANS THAT WE'LL BE FINALLY ABLE TO TURN SOME GROUND AFTER THE DESIGN OF THESE PROJECTS ARE COMPLETE. IT'S GOING TO BE A VERY EXCITING TIME, SOMETHING TO MAKE 2021, SOMETHING TO BE EXCITED ABOUT AND LOOK FORWARD TO RIGHT AFTER THIS 2020, I'M DEFINITELY LOOKING FORWARD TO 2020, BE A GOOD RESET BUTTON FOR US, BUT WE'VE ALSO GOT A LOT OF AMENITIES. SOME OF WHICH WERE PART OF THE BOND PROGRAM AND SOME ARE BEYOND THE BOND PROGRAM, BUT WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF PLANNING WORK AND PREPARING TO MAKE GARLAND EVEN MORE, UH, BENEFICIAL FOR OUR CURRENT RESIDENTS AND FOR FUTURE RESIDENTS, RIGHT? AND ALONG WITH ALL THE BOND WORK WE'D BEEN DOING IS WE'VE BEEN HAVING SEVERAL MASTER PLANS FOR THE DIFFERENT FACILITIES AROUND, UH, AROUND THE CITY AND THE TRAILS AND BIKEWAYS MASTER PLAN, THE PARKS MASTER PLAN, THE AQUATICS MASTER PLAN. THESE ARE ALL GOING TO GUIDE HOW THE COUNCIL USES THE, UH, THE CITY BUDGET IN THE FUTURE TO HELP IMPROVE THE CITY FOR THE CITIZENS. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THE BOND STUDY COMMITTEE WAS A LOT OF CITIZENS WANT MORE TRAILS. THEY WANT MORE AMENITIES. THEY WANT THEIR PARKS TO IMPROVE AND, AND HAVING THESE MASTER PLANS, IT REALLY GIVES US THE BEST BANG FOR OUR BUCK AND SAYS, WELL, THIS IS WHAT OUR SYSTEMS WANT. THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO PROVIDE FOR THEM. AND ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT. NOW WE'RE GOING TO MOVE SOON INTO THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGETING PART OF THE YEAR, WHERE WE'LL BE ABLE TO SPEND THOSE THAT MONEY ON CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT THROUGHOUT THE CITY. SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEW PART OR NEW PLAYGROUNDS AND NEW TRAILS AND THAT SORT OF THING ALL OVER THE CITY. I KNOW I HEAR A LOT ABOUT THE TRIALS AND WE SO NEED THEM. UH, DESPITE THE FACT THAT OUTDOORS HAS BEEN SO IMPORTANT THIS YEAR, OUTDOORS ARE IMPORTANT TO US ALL THE TIME. AND I KNOW THAT OUR DOG PARK HAS BEEN A BIG HIT. IT CERTAINLY HAS. I JUST DROVE BY YESTERDAY DURING MY LUNCH HOUR. AND THERE WAS PROBABLY 30 PEOPLE OUT THERE WITH TWICE AS MANY DOGS. IT WAS GREAT TO SEE ALL THAT AREA BEING USED AND, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO REUSE THAT FACILITY FOR A FIRST DOG PARK AND GARLAND, WHICH OPENED IN JULY. AND I KNOW IT'S A GREAT PLACE AND ALTHOUGH I DON'T HAVE A DOG, I KNOW MY DAUGHTERS ARE BUGGING YOU FOR ONE. WE MIGHT HAVE TO GET ONE SOON AND HEAD OUT THERE OURSELVES. WELL, I KNOW WHERE YOU CAN GET A GOOD ONE OUT OF THE ANIMAL, YOU KNOW, AND AGAIN, WE COME BACK TO YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU GOT TO HAVE THE ROADS TO GET WHERE YOU'RE GOING, ALL THESE DIFFERENT STREET AND ROAD PROJECTS WE'VE GOT GOING ON RIGHT NOW. AND THAT'S ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT TO ME IS A CIVIL ENGINEER. I DEAL WITH THAT IN MY DAY JOB ALL THE TIME, BUILDING ROADS AND BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE. AND I'M PROUD TO SAY THAT GARLAND IS REALLY PUTTING THE MONEY TO IMPROVING THEIR STREETS AND ROADS AS WELL. WE HAVE NEARLY $30 MILLION IN THE STREET BUDGET THIS YEAR. THAT'S DOUBLED FROM WHERE IT WAS FROM FIVE YEARS AGO. AND IT REALLY SHOWS THAT WE HAVE THIS PAVEMENT CONDITION INDEX. IT'S A MEASUREMENT OF HOW THE QUALITY OF THE STREETS. AND IT WAS A LOW OF 74 FOR OUR STREETS JUST A FEW YEARS AGO IN 2018. AND NOW IT'S UP TO 80, WHICH IS AHEAD OF WHERE WE WERE PROJECTED TO BE. AND EVEN OUR ALLEYS IMPROVED FROM THE 64. AND NOW THEY'RE A 71 AVERAGE CITYWIDE. SO YOU CAN SEE THAT OUR, OUR MONEY IN THE STREETS IS REALLY PAYING OFF. AND WE WERE GOING TO CONTINUE BUILDING AND REBUILDING OUR STREETS AND IMPROVING THOSE NUMBERS. AND IT REALLY IS THAT LAST MILE PROBLEM A YOU, IT REALLY MAKES YOU UPSET IF THAT LAST MILE TO YOUR HOUSE IS THE ONE THAT IS FULL OF POTHOLES. IT IS REALLY HELPS IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE IF WE CAN GET THOSE IMPROVEMENTS. AND IT SHOWS IN THE NUMBERS THAT WE ARE DOING THAT. YEAH, WE ARE. IT'S FUNNY BECAUSE I WILL HEAR FROM PEOPLE SOMETIMES WHO WERE SAYING, WHAT ARE, Y'ALL GOING TO DO MORE? [00:10:01] AND I'M LIKE, I KNOW WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT. WE JUST HAVEN'T HAPPENED TO GOT TO GET TO THE STREET THAT YOU'RE TRAVELING EVERY DAY YET, BUT WE ARE GETTING THERE. UM, AND WE'RE, AND WE'RE REALLY MAKING GOOD STRIDES THAT WAY. THERE'S BEEN AN, YOU KNOW, A VERY EXCITING DEVELOPMENT ALSO, UM, IS AS FAR AS OUR VETERANS AFFAIRS HOSPITAL, RIGHT? AND THAT'S ONE, THAT'S JUST SOUTH OF MY DISTRICT. AND, AND, UH, I'M SO HAPPY THAT WE WERE ABLE TO TURN THAT FACILITY AFTER THE HOSPITAL LEFT. AND THERE WAS A FEW YEARS WHERE IT WAS CLOSED, BUT THE CITY HAS BEEN ABLE TO WORK WITH OUR STATE AND FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES. AND WE'RE ABLE TO BRING THE VETERAN'S HOSPITAL TO CARLIN, WHICH IS GOING TO BE HUGE FOR THAT AREA. AS FAR AS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, I KNOW ALL THE BUSINESSES AND CLINICS AROUND THERE ARE GOING TO BENEFIT FROM THAT, BUT JUST HAVING A PLACE AT ANOTHER PLACE IN THE DALLAS AREA WHERE OUR VETERANS CAN GO FOR HEALTHCARE. SO IMPORTANT, IT IS, WE LOVE BEING ABLE TO HELP WITH OUR VETERANS HERE IN GARLAND. AND THEN YOU MENTIONED, UH, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS EARLIER, BUT ARE THERE SOME OTHER SPECIFICS YOU WANTED TO TALK ABOUT IN THAT PROGRAM? YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST A CONTINUATION OF OUR BOND PROJECTS. WE HAVE A TIMELINE THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING TO KEEP THOSE BOND PROJECTS ON TRACK. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SELL SEVERAL HOMES STARTING IN MY DISTRICT. I KNOW HOLFORD ROAD IS A BIG ONE THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO REBUILD. THAT ROAD IS A VERY NARROW AND DANGEROUS ROAD IF YOU TRAVELED IT RIGHT NOW. AND IF IT WAS OVER THE FLOODWAY. SO A LOT OF PLANNING IS GOING TO GO INTO RAISING THAT STREET UP OVER THE CREEK. ALSO LOOKING TO KICK OFF THE, UH, HOLFORD RECREATION CENTER, THE WHOLE POOL AND THE RECREATION CENTER, AND THE WHOLE PARK ITSELF IS GETTING A COMPLETE REBUILD, WHICH IS GOING TO BE VERY EXCITING. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE, BE ABLE TO HAVE THE POOLS REOPEN AND HAVE A NICE BRAND NEW FACILITY THAT IN THAT PARK, THAT'LL BE GREAT. I'M GOING TO DATE MYSELF HERE A LITTLE BIT. I WAS A KID WHEN IT ORIGINALLY OPENED. SO I REMEMBER THAT PLACE WELL, DID A LOT OF SPIN, A LOT OF MY CHILDHOOD HANGING OUT AT THAT POOL. RIGHT? ANY OTHER TOPICS I FAILED TO BRING UP FOR YOU THAT YOU WANT TO BRING UP? NO. I JUST THINK THAT WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON IMPROVING THE LIVES OF OUR GARLAND CITIZENS AT THE SAME TIME WE'RE DEALING WITH THE COVID CRISIS AND WE HAVE A LOT, LIKE WE'VE DONE SO FAR AND I KNOW 20, 21 IS GOING TO BE EVEN BETTER FOR US AND FOR THE CITY OF GARLAND. SO I CAN'T WAIT FOR IT TO START I'M WITH YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UH, COUNCILMAN HEDRICK FOR BEING WITH US AND FOR BRINGING THESE TOPICS OUT AND VISITING WITH FOLKS ABOUT THEM. UM, AND, AND IF PEOPLE WANT TO REACH OUT TO YOU, YOUR INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE, EMAIL AND PHONE NUMBER, UH, AND SO-AND-SO, IF THEY WANT TO REACH OUT TO YOU WITH SPECIFIC QUESTIONS. UM, SO, UH, THANKS TO OUR VIEWERS FOR BEING WITH US FOR YET ANOTHER CITY COUNCIL UPDATE. WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME. THANK YOU. . * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.