[00:00:03] HELLO, AND WELCOME TO BUILD GARLAND DAY. WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS DAY FOR FOR QUITE A WHILE, AND WHILE WE NEVER DREAMED THAT WE'D BE DOING THIS DURING DURING A PANDEMIC, WE WE ARE EXCITED TO BE HERE, AND IT IS A TESTAMENT TO THE FACT THAT PROGRESS HAS CONTINUED, EVEN THROUGH THESE CHALLENGING TIMES. FIRST STOP, BOB HALL PARK, ONE OF 24 PLAYGROUNDS BEING REPLACED ACROSS THE CITY. IN 2019, VOTERS APPROVED SPENDING 117-MILLION DOLLARS UPGRADING THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS AND REC CENTERS. THIS PLAYGROUND IS REPRESENTATIVE OF ALL 24 PLAYGROUNDS ACROSS GARLAND, AND OUR EIGHT COUNCIL DISTRICTS. WE'RE A LITTLE BEHIND ON OUR PARKS. I WANT THESE TWO PIECES HERE MOVED TO A PLAYGROUND MUSEUM SOMEWHERE, BECAUSE THEY THOSE ARE CLASSIC PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT RIGHT THERE AND THAT THERE'S PROBABLY VERY FEW OF LEFT IN EXISTENCE SO THEY DEFINITELY ,WE DEFINITELY GOT OUR MONEY'S WORTH OUT OF THEM. "ONE, TWO, THREE..." THE PARKS PROJECTS WILL BE COMPLETED IN PHASES WITH THE FIRST NINE EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF THIS YEAR, ANOTHER EIGHT BY THE SPRING OF 2022, AND THE FINAL SEVEN PARKS TO BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF 2022. I GUESS IT WAS ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO WHEN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT CAME TO US AND SAID NOT THAT THEY NEEDED A NEW EVIDENCE BUILDING, BUT THEY HAD TO HAVE A NEW EVIDENCE BUILDING BECAUSE OF SOME REQUIREMENT CHANGES ON HOW EVIDENCE IS STORED. NEXT STOP, THE SITE OF THE NEW 17-MILLION DOLLAR POLICE PROPERTY AND EVIDENCE BUILDING TO BE BUILT IN THE 2200 BLOCK OF FOREST LANE IN DISTRICT 8. "WHEN YOU ENTER THAT BUILDING YOU CAN SEE THAT WE ARE BUSTING AT THE SEAMS THERE ARE BOXES ON TOP OF BOXES. THEY'RE LEANING. WE JUST, THERE'S NO ROOM. THE MORE AND MORE EVIDENCE WE HAVE TO RETAIN FOR LONGER PERIODS OF TIME WE ARE NOT CAPABLE TO HANDLE THE INFLUX THAT WE ARE ANTICIPATING. THIS NEW BUILDING WILL STREAMLINE EVIDENCE HANDLING AND PROVIDE A SAFE AND SECURE ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR OFFICERS. THIS NEW BUILDING ALLOWS FOR, AS WE SAID, MUCH GREATER STORAGE CAPACITY, AND IT WILL HAVE A STORM, A STORM-HARDENED STORAGE VAULT WITH GENERATOR BACKUP TO ENSURE THE INTEGRITY OF THE PROPERTY AND THE EVIDENCE, AND ALSO NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO AID IN THE PRESERVATION OF DNA EVIDENCE THAT OUR CURRENT FACILITY JUST DOES NOT JUST DOES NOT HAVE. THE NEW FACILITY WILL BE TRIPLE IN SIZE COMPARED TO THE CURRENT ONE, WITH ROOM TO EXPAND. IT'S EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED IN EARLY 2022. [MUSIC] I GUESS YOU CAN CALL US TRENDSETTERS. FOR THE FIRST TIME, WE'RE PUTTING A LIBRARY AND A REC CENTER TOGETHER. IN GARLAND, THE FUTURE HOME OF THE WALNUT CREEK BRANCH LIBRARY IS STOP NUMBER THREE. THE 11-MILLION DOLLAR LIBRARY WILL BE BUILT RIGHT NEXT TO HOLFORD PARK REC CENTER. IT'S GOING TO BE AMAZING AND STATE OF THE ART. SO WE'LL HAVE 18,000 SQUARE FEET OF SPACE THAT INCLUDES BOTH INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR SPACE FOR THE PUBLIC TO BE ABLE TO USE. THERE ARE MEETING ROOM FACILITIES, STUDY ROOM FACILITIES, ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND SPACES TO BE ABLE TO SERVE THE WEST GARLAND COMMUNITY. I HOPE THAT THIS MODEL WORKS VERY WELL FOR US BECAUSE WHO KNOWS? WE COULD DO MORE OF THIS TYPE, YOU KNOW, CO-LOCATION IN THE FUTURE. THE NEW WALNUT CREEK BRANCH LIBRARY WILL BE ABOUT A MILE FROM THE CURRENT ONE. CONSTRUCTION EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED BY MID-2023. STOP NUMBER FOUR IS RICK ODEN PARK WHERE CONSTRUCTION IS ALREADY WELL UNDERWAY. VOTERS APPROVED 20 MILLION DOLLARS FOR THIS PARK ALONE. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TRAILS THAT CONNECT US THAT GO ALL AROUND THE PARK, BUT THAT ALSO CONNECT US SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH CROSSING AN ACTIVE STREET. THEY'RE GOING TO GO ALL THE WAY UP TO CENTRAL PARK. THEN, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A LARGE PLAYGROUND, SPLASH PAD AND A CHAMPIONSHIP BASEBALL FACILITY, ALONG WITH A HIGHLY ANTICIPATED 40,000 SQUARE FOOT SKATE PARK APPROVED IN THE 2004 BOND ELECTION. WE'VE HAD SOME FOLKS WHO'VE COME TO OUR MEETINGS WHO ARE LIKE, I WANTED THIS AS A CHILD. I VOTED FOR IT [00:05:03] WHEN I WAS 18, AND NOW THEY'RE IN THEIR IN THEIR 30S, THEIR LATE 30S AND THEY WANT TO BRING THEIR KIDS HERE, AND SO IT'S A KIND OF A MULTI-GENERATIONAL PROJECT. IT WILL BE ONE OF THE LARGEST SKATE PARKS IN THE DFW AREA, AND IT'S EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED IN EARLY 2022 BUILD GARLAND DAY WRAPS UP IN DISTRICT ONE, THE SITE OF THE NEW FIRE STATION NUMBER 7, ONE OF THREE NEW STATIONS BEING CONSTRUCTED THROUGH THE 2019 BOND PROGRAM. THE NEW LOCATION AT PLEASANT VALLEY ROAD AND FIREWHEEL PARKWAY WILL MEAN FASTER RESPONSE TIMES. CONSTRUCTION EXPECTED TO START IN LATE 2024. THE NEW FIRE STATIONS WILL ALSO BE DESIGNED WITH FIREFIGHTER SAFETY IN MIND ISSUES REVEALED BY THE PANDEMIC. "BECAUSE OUR FIREFIGHTERS THAT ARE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO EACH OTHER AT NIGHT TIME IT'S NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO WEAR ONE OF THESE MASKS SO WE WERE EXPOSING OUR FIREFIGHTERS TO TO PEOPLE WHO MAY HAVE BECOME ILL AND AND CONTAGIOUS OVERNIGHT IN THAT BEDROOM POPULATION THE NEW FIRE STATIONS TODAY THAT WE'RE DESIGNING WILL HAVE INDIVIDUAL BEDROOMS WITH INDIVIDUAL AIR HANDLING UNITS IN THOSE BEDROOMS SO SO ANY AIR THAT COMES IN OR LEAVES THAT ROOM WILL BE SPECIFIC ONLY TO THAT BEDROOM" THERE ARE ALL PROJECTS THAT WERE APPROVED OVERWHELMINGLY BY THE VOTERS IN MAY OF 2019 AND WE ARE SHOWING THAT WE ARE PUTTING THOSE PROJECTS ON THE GROUND, AND WE CERTAINLY THANK THE VOTERS FOR THEIR VOTE OF CONFIDENCE AND THEIR WILLINGNESS, WILLINGNESS TO SUPPORT THIS VISION THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITY. THIS IS A GREAT INVESTMENT FOR GARLAND AND WE CAN'T WAIT FOR ALL OF YOU TO BE ABLE TO ENJOY THESE NEW AMENITIES. THIS IS A GREAT DAY THIS GREAT DAY FOR GARLAND, AND AND NOT JUST FOR WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE AT RICK ODEN, BUT FOR WHAT WE'RE DOING ALL AROUND THE CITY, AND IN MANY RESPECTS WHAT WE'VE SEEN TODAY WITH THESE FIVE PROJECTS IS JUST THE TIP OF OF A VERY LARGE ICEBERG. THERE'S ANOTHER, YOU KNOW, THERE'S FOUR OVER 400-MILLION DOLLARS OF PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS COMING. WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF THEM TODAY AND IT'S JUST IT'S A WONDERFUL THING. [MUSIC] TO KEEP UP WITH THESE AND THE REST OF THE BOND PROGRAM PROJECTS, CHECK OUT BUILDGARLAND.COM. FOR THE CITY OF GARLAND, I'M SAUL GARZA. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.