Agenda

AGENDA

CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
City of Garland

REMOTE MEETING

Monday, April 5, 2021
6:00 p.m.

DEFINITIONS:

Written Briefing: Items that generally do not require a presentation or discussion by the staff or Council. On these items the staff is seeking direction from the Council or providing information in a written format.

Verbal Briefing: These items do not require written background information or are an update on items previously discussed by the Council.

NOTICE: Due to the COVID-19 emergency, and pursuant to Section 551.125 of the Texas Government Code and the executive orders of Governor Greg Abbott suspending provisions of the Texas Government Code and other applicable laws of the State regarding normal open meetings, the City Council will hold this meeting by internet/telephonic remote means.

The meeting will be broadcast by webinar or telephone at the following URL:

https://garlandtx.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rPmthvNgRRiFJJHOCo-s1w

Registration for the online meeting is required. The meeting will be recorded and will be available for viewing the next day at www.garlandtx.gov.

For those without internet access to the meeting, a dial-in option is available. The numbers are:

346-248-7799
470-250-9358
470-381-2552

The Meeting ID is: 970 6552 4119

For participants (online and by phone) who wish to speak, a public comments period is provided as the first item on the agenda. If you desire to address the City Council on a matter that is posted on this agenda, please be prepared to do so at the beginning of the meeting. After the City Council has begun its discussion of the agenda, you will not be recognized to speak. The public comments portion of the meeting is provided for citizen comments. You are invited to offer a comment or make a statement on any item on the agenda. However, please bear in mind that offering comments should not be done in the form of posing questions. Generally, due to legal restrictions, the City Council is not able to answer questions during the public comments portion of the agenda. Your comments must relate to an item on this agenda - non-germane comments are not in order.

If an Executive Session is included as part of the agenda for this meeting, the Executive Session will be conducted by teleconference between and among the members of the City Council and relevant City staff. Public access to that call is prohibited by State law.

COUNCIL HOUSE RULES

1. Decisions based on issues, goals and vision.	9. Follow goals, principles and action agenda.
2. Do not take things personal.	10. Decide, vote and move on.
3. Project a positive attitude.	11. Avoid ambushes - Council or staff.
4. Focus on issues, not on the person.	12. Talk to staff before meetings.
5. Be prepared to discuss issues.	13. Vote our convictions, but be willing to compromise "What is best for Garland."
6. Maintain decorum.	14. Follow Roberts Rules of Order consistently.
7. Keep your sense of humor.	15. Agree to disagree.
8. Honor and respect each other; accept each other as individuals.	16. Be open and honest.

NOTICE: The City Council may recess from the open session and convene in a closed executive session if the discussion of any of the listed agenda items concerns one or more of the following matters:

(1) Pending/contemplated litigation, settlement offer(s), and matters concerning privileged and unprivileged client information deemed confidential by Rule 1.05 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. Sec. 551.071, Tex. Gov't Code.

(2) The purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property, if the deliberation in an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the position of the City in negotiations with a third person. Sec. 551.072, Tex. Gov't Code.

(3) A contract for a prospective gift or donation to the City, if the deliberation in an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the position of the City in negotiations with a third person. Sec. 551.073, Tex. Gov't Code.

(4) Personnel matters involving the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline or dismissal of a public officer or employee or to hear a complaint against an officer or employee. Sec. 551.074, Tex. Gov't Code.

(5) The deployment, or specific occasions for implementation of security personnel or devices. Sec. 551.076, Tex. Gov't Code.

(6) Discussions or deliberations regarding commercial or financial information that the City has received from a business prospect that the City seeks to have locate, stay, or expand in or near the territory of the City and with which the City is conducting economic development negotiations; or to deliberate the offer of a financial or other incentive to a business prospect of the sort described in this provision. Sec. 551.087, Tex. Gov't Code.

(7) Discussions, deliberations, votes, or other final action on matters related to the City’s competitive activity, including information that would, if disclosed, give advantage to competitors or prospective competitors and is reasonably related to one or more of the following categories of information:

generation unit specific and portfolio fixed and variable costs, including forecasts of those costs, capital improvement plans for generation units, and generation unit operating characteristics and outage scheduling;
bidding and pricing information for purchased power, generation and fuel, and Electric Reliability Council of Texas bids, prices, offers, and related services and strategies;
effective fuel and purchased power agreements and fuel transportation arrangements and contracts;
risk management information, contracts, and strategies, including fuel hedging and storage;
plans, studies, proposals, and analyses for system improvements, additions, or sales, other than transmission and distribution system improvements inside the service area for which the public power utility is the sole certificated retail provider; and
customer billing, contract, and usage information, electric power pricing information, system load characteristics, and electric power marketing analyses and strategies. Sec. 551.086; Tex. Gov't Code; Sec. 552.133, Tex. Gov’t Code]


1.		Public Comments on Work Session Items Persons who desire to address the City Council on any item on the Work Session agenda are allowed three minutes to speak. Speakers are taken only at the beginning of the meeting, other than invited testimony. Speakers are grouped by Work Session item and will be taken in the order of the Work Session agenda. Speakers must submit to the City Secretary a completed speaker’s card before the beginning of the meeting. Speaker cards will not be accepted after the Mayor calls the meeting to order. Speaker cards are available in the lobby, at the visitor’s side of the Work Session Room, and from members of staff. Speakers are limited to addressing items on the Work Session agenda – any item relating to a Regular Session agenda item should be addressed at the Regular Session and any item not on an agenda may be addressed during the open microphone at the end of the Regular Session.

2.		Consider the Consent Agenda A member of the City Council may ask for discussion or further information on an item posted as a consent agenda item on the next Regular Meeting of the City Council. The Council Member may also ask that an item on the posted consent agenda be pulled from the consent agenda and considered for a vote separate from consent agenda items on the regular agenda. All discussions or deliberations on this portion of the work session agenda are limited to posted agenda items and may not include a new or unposted subject matter.

3.		Written Briefings:

	a.	Neighborhood Vitality Matching Grant Fall 2020 Continued Applications Council is requested to approve the applications as submitted.

	b.	Notice of Intent to Issue Certificates of Obligation Council is requested to approve a notice of intent resolution to meet the legal requirements for issuing Certificates of Obligation in the amount of approximately $24 million to fund a portion of the CIP. This item is scheduled for formal consideration at the April 6, 2021 Regular Meeting.


	c.	Bond Refunding - General Obligation Commercial Paper Notes & Certificates of Obligation Council is requested to authorize staff to refund approximately $30 million of General Obligation Commercial Paper Notes, Series 2015 and approximately $1 million Combination Tax and Revenue Certificates of Obligation, Series 2011 with General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Series 2021. Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the June 8, 2021 Regular Meeting.

	d.	General Obligation Commercial Paper Program, Series 2021 Council is requested to authorize staff to terminate the General Obligation Commercial Paper Program, series 2015 and establish General Obligation Commercial Paper Program, Series 2021. Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the April 20, 2021 Regular Meeting.

	e.	2021-2022 CDBG, HOME and ESG Federal Grant Assistance Council is requested to consider the allocation of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, HOME Infill Partnership Grant (HOME) funding and the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funding.

	f.	Request from Farmers Electric Cooperative for Utility Easement at 2900 Elm Grove Road In November of 2020, Council authorized the conditional sale of a 3.0 acre tract to Rayburn Electric Cooperative. The tract is located near the intersection of Elm Grove and Vinson Road, which is in the vicinity of the entrance to the Charles M. Hinton Landfill. Rayburn’s intention is to construct an electric substation at the property. With the conditions of the sale being met (namely, approval of zoning changes and issuance of an SUP), the transaction was recently settled. Council is requested to approve the easement tract as requested to Farmers Electric Cooperative. Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the April 20, 2021 Regular Meeting.

	g.	Fencing at Former Marina Site A Budget Amendment to the 2021 Capital Improvement Program will be brought to City Council for consideration at a future date to appropriate $27,000 to the fencing along Rowlett Road to restrict access to the former marina site. Unless otherwise directed by Council, staff will begin the procurement process and the installation as soon possible.

4.		Verbal Briefings:

	a.	COVID-19 Response Update and Further Actions Staff will provide an update to Council and ask for Council direction, if needed, on various matters related to COVID-19 and actions being taken by the City. Special Events City Facilities Aquatics

	b.	Audit Committee Report Rich Aubin, Chair of the Internal Audit Committee, will provide a committee report on the following items: External Audit Result - FY2020 Economic Development Incentive Program Audit

	c.	Update on Temporary Property Tax Exemption Related to Damages Caused by the Winter Storm Texas Property Tax Code Section 11.35 allows for a temporary exemption of a portion of qualified property's appraised value (improvements, not land) that was physically impacted by the disaster. Staff will provide an update on who may qualify and how to apply for this exemption with the Dallas County Appraisal District (DCAD).

5.		Announce Future Agenda Items A member of the City Council, with a second by another member, or the Mayor alone, may ask that an item be placed on a future agenda of the City Council or a committee of the City Council. No substantive discussion of that item will take place at this time.

GARLAND
POLICY REPORT


City Council Work Session Agenda		Work Session Item 3.a.
Meeting Date:	04/05/2021
Item Title:	Neighborhood Vitality Matching Grant Fall 2020 Continued Applications
Submitted By:	Scott Bollinger, Neighborhood Resource Manager
Strategic Focus Areas:	Vibrant Neighborhoods and Commercial Centers

ISSUE
Review the Fall 2020 Neighborhood Vitality Matching Grant applications that were continued to receive additional information from the applicants.
OPTIONS
Approve applications as submitted. Appove applications with modifications. Deny approval of applications.
RECOMMENDATION
The Community Services Committee recommends approval for Villages of Valley Creek North Homeowners Association as submitted. The Community Services Committee recommends approval with modifications for Irongate at Firewheel Neighborhood Association. The Community Services Committee recommends denial of the application submitted by Windjammer HOA. The Community Services Committee recommends discussion with the City Council regarding how the current Neighborhood Vitality Matching Grant policy applies to semi-public applicants such as the Trails Recreation Club. The Trails Recreation Club application will be scheduled as a Verbal Briefing on the April 19, 2021 Work Session.
BACKGROUND
Council has previously indicated that funds would be made available annually for neighborhood improvement projects. Preliminary bids obtained by the applicants total $97,772.00-$107,772.00. Costs may vary after awards are made and final bids are received.
CONSIDERATION
According to the program guidelines, approximately $500,000 will be available annually for the grant program. These funds will be appropriated as part of the annual Capital Improvement Program for approved Neighborhood Vitality projects. Staff has reviewed the applications to ensure compliance with the program guidelines. Issues identified during the review process are indicated on the project summary sheets.

Attachments
2020 NVMG Fall Projects - Written

GARLAND
POLICY REPORT


City Council Work Session Agenda		Work Session Item 3.b.
Meeting Date:	04/05/2021
Item Title:	Notice of Intent to Issue Certificates of Obligation
Submitted By:	Matt Watson, Finance Director
Strategic Focus Areas:	Enhanced Quality of Life through Amenities, Arts, and Events Sound Governance and Finances

ISSUE
On February 23, 2021, Council adopted the 2021 Capital Improvement Program (CIP), which contemplated a Certificates of Obligation (CO) bond sale in the amount of approximately $24 million to fund a portion of the CIP. Council is asked to consider approving a notice of intent resolution at the April 6, 2021 Regular Meeting to provide the legal authorization for the certificates.
OPTIONS
Consider approval of a notice of intent resolution on April 6, 2021 to meet the legal requirements for issuing Certificates of Obligation in the amount of approximately $24 million to fund a portion of the CIP. Do not approve a funding source for a portion of the CIP.
RECOMMENDATION
This item is scheduled for formal consideration at the April 6, 2021 Regular Meeting.
BACKGROUND
The City Manager formally submitted the proposed CIP to Council at the Regular Meeting on January 12, 2021 and staff made copies of the proposed CIP available for public inspection and review the next day in libraries and the City Secretary's Office. The City Council held a Special Budget Work Session on January 19, 2021 and January 26, 2021 to review the proposed program. In addition, a Public Hearing on the Proposed CIP was held on February 2, 2021 and February 16, 2021. The 2021 Capital Improvement Program was approved by Council on February 16, 2021 by Ordinance No. 7198. The adopted CIP is a $431.4 million work program for 2021. The work program will require the issuance of Certificates of Obligation. The CO's will fund $20 million tax-supported projects and $3.6 million revenue and internal service projects. In compliance with City Council's Financial Policy, Certificates of Obligation debt is issued so the debt maturities are aligned with the useful lives of the capital improvements being funded. CO principal maturities range from 5 years to 20 years. CO's require approval by Council and publication of a notice of intention for issuance.
CONSIDERATION
Legal Council approval of a resolution to publish a notice of intent to issue certificates of obligation will meet the legal requirements for debt issuance but will not obligate the City to issue the debt. Legally, a notice of intention must be published in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for two consecutive weeks, with the first publication to be at least 45-days before Council formally considers the ordinance authorizing the issuance of the certificates. In addition, this notice must be published on the City website for at least 45-days before the date Council will consider the ordinance authorizing the issuance of the certificates. Currently, staff plans on requesting City Council approval to issue Certificates of Obligation, Series 2021 at the June 8, 2021 Regular Council Meeting. Financial Since neither cash nor voter authorized bonds are available to fund a portion of the adopted 2021 CIP, staff requests the issuance of Certificates of Obligation. Based on information from the City's Financial Advisors, Hilltop Securities Inc., the proposed certificates of obligation can be sold at an estimated interest rate of 1.7% in the current interest rate environment. At this interest rate, the City will incur additional debt service (principal and interest payments) for the certificate of approximately $2.7 million per year for fiscal years 20222 to 2026, approximately $1.2 million per year for fiscal years 2027 to 2031, and approximately $745,000 for fiscal years 2032 to 2041. The actual interest rate, annual debt service and issue costs will be finalized at the time of the bond sale (June 8, 2021). The Interest and Sinking debt service tax rate is not impacted as a result of this debt issuance.

Attachments
Garland Certificates of Obligation 2021

GARLAND
POLICY REPORT


City Council Work Session Agenda		Work Session Item 3.c.
Meeting Date:	04/05/2021
Item Title:	Bond Refunding - General Obligation Commercial Paper Notes & Certificates of Obligation
Submitted By:	Matt Watson, Finance Director
Strategic Focus Areas:	Sound Governance and Finances

ISSUE
Consider refunding approximately $30 million of General Obligation Commercial Paper Notes, Series 2015 and approximately $1 million Combination Tax & Revenue Certificates of Obligation, Series 2011 with General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Series 2021. The purpose of this transaction is to refund a portion of variable rate commercial paper notes and to generate debt service savings.
OPTIONS
Authorize staff to refund approximately $30 million of General Obligation Commercial Paper Notes, Series 2015 and approximately $1 million Combination Tax and Revenue Certificates of Obligation, Series 2011 with General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Series 2021. Do not approve the refunding transaction.
RECOMMENDATION
Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the June 8, 2021 Regular Meeting.
BACKGROUND
Commercial Paper is a short-term debt instrument that is issued incrementally as funds are needed to finance the General Obligation Capital Improvement Program and has maturities ranging from 1 to 270 days. Interest is paid at each maturity date but principal is rolled to a new maturity date by issuing replacement commercial paper. This process continues until long-term debt is issued at a fixed rate to refinance the outstanding commercial paper. Due to current market conditions, staff and the City's Financial Advisor, Hilltop Securities, are recommending to refund approximately $30 million of outstanding Commercial Paper into fixed rate long-term General Obligation debt. In addition, the City of Garland has an opportunity to refund approximately $1 million Combination Tax and Revenue Certificates of Obligation, Series 2011. This refunding will not extend the amortization of these bonds and will generate approximately $145,000 in debt service savings between fiscal years 2022 and 2031. The exact amount of savings is subject to market conditions between now and the final pricing date of June 8, 2021.
CONSIDERATION
The Refunding Bonds will be fixed rate debt with a 20-year amortization period. The Bonds will have projected annual debt service payments of approximately $1.9 million a year between 2022 and 2041. The projected interest rate is 1.9%. The exact amount of annual debt service and the interest rate is subject to market conditions between now and the final pricing date of June 8, 2021.

GARLAND
POLICY REPORT


City Council Work Session Agenda		Work Session Item 3.d.
Meeting Date:	04/05/2021
Item Title:	General Obligation Commercial Paper Program, Series 2021
Submitted By:	Matt Watson, Finance Director
Strategic Focus Areas:

ISSUE
The General Obligation Commercial Paper Program was approved in 2015. The program has been a low-cost interim financing tool used to fund voter authorized bond programs. The contractual agreements for the current commercial paper program will expire in May 2021. Staff is requesting Council to consider termination of the 2015 program and authorization to establish a 2021 Commercial Paper Program.
OPTIONS
Authorize staff to terminate General Obligation Commercial Paper Program, series 2015 and establish General Obligation Commercial Paper Program, Series 2021. Do not approve termination of series 2015 and establishing series 2021.
RECOMMENDATION
Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the April 20, 2021 Regular Meeting.
BACKGROUND
Commercial paper (CP) is a short-term debt instrument that has been used to fund the General Obligation Capital Improvement Program since 2002. CP is variable rate debt that is issued with maturities ranging from 1 to 270 days. Interest is paid at each maturity date but principal is rolled to a new maturity date by issuing replacement commercial paper. This process continues until long-term debt is issued at a fixed rate to refinance the outstanding commercial paper. Commercial Paper is issued only when needed to meet cash flow needs instead of in advance like fixed rate General Obligation bonds. The current General Obligation Commercial Paper Program is set to expire in May 2021. Authorization of a new CP dealer and liquidity facility provider will allow staff to continue to issue debt at short-term interest rates for the purposes approved by voters in the 2004 and 2019 bond programs. It should be noted that short-term interest rates are typically lower than long-term rates which generates significant savings for the City.
CONSIDERATION
Staff and the City's Financial Advisor, Hilltop Securities, received Request for Proposals from qualified liquidity facility providers and qualified remarketing agents. After review and evaluation of these proposals Barclay's Bank was selected to act as both the liquidity facility and remarketing agent. They provided the best value and the lowest cost to the City. Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be formally considered at the April 20, 2021 Regular meeting.

Attachments
Garland GO CP Ordinance with Exhibit Drafts

GARLAND
POLICY REPORT


City Council Work Session Agenda		Work Session Item 3.e.
Meeting Date:	04/05/2021
Item Title:	2021-2022 CDBG, HOME and ESG Federal Grant Assistance
Submitted By:	Mona Woodard, Neighborhood Services Administrator
Strategic Focus Areas:	Enhanced Quality of Life through Amenities, Arts, and Events Vibrant Neighborhoods and Commercial Centers

ISSUE
Information provided for Council review regarding the allocation of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, HOME Infill Partnership Grant (HOME) funding and the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funding.
OPTIONS
A public hearing will be held on April 6, 2021, during the regular City Council meeting on this item. This item will be brought back before the Council at the April 19, 2021 Work Session for discussion of CDBG, HOME, and ESG grant proposals. The final discussion on this item is scheduled for May 3, 2021.
BACKGROUND
The City expects to receive the following funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for 2021-2022: CDBG: $2,187,595 HOME: $701,303 ESG: $193,644 The proposed budget for fiscal year 2021/2022 must be submitted to the Department of Housing and Urban Development by August 13, 2021, for all federal grant allocations. To this point, there have been several input meetings to solicit feedback on the proposed use of funding.
CONSIDERATION
Staff received CDBG applications requesting a total of $578,157 for CDBG public services, $1,693,072 for CDBG City sponsored projects, and $437,519 for CDBG administrative use for next fiscal year. There is an estimated total of $271,135 available in CDBG funding for reprogramming to other projects. HUD regulations limit CDBG monies used for public services applications to a maximum of 15% of entitlement funding available; grant planning and administration is limited to no more than 20% of the entitlement funding available. As a result, funds available in the public service category for FY21/22 total $328,139, grant administration totals $437,519, and City-sponsored projects total $1,693,072. HOME entitlement funding available totals $701,303, and requests equal that amount. HUD regulations allow up to 10% of HOME funding to be used for administration, and 15% of HOME funding must be used by Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDO’s). The total funds available for the ESG program is $193,644. Housing and Community Services Department will use $23,024 in ESG funding for administration and data collection. Other categories include Shelter Operations and Street Outreach in the amount of $112,919 and Rapid Re-housing in the amount of $57,701. The City received a total of $179,529.

Attachments
Federal Grants Summary FY21/22

GARLAND
CITY COUNCIL ITEM SUMMARY SHEET


City Council Work Session Agenda		Work Session Item 3.f.
Meeting Date:	04/05/2021
Item Title:	Request from Farmers Electric Cooperative for Utility Easement at 2900 Elm Grove Road
Submitted By:	John Baker, Assistant City Manager

Summary of Request/Problem
In November of 2020, Council authorized the conditional sale of a 3.0 acre tract to Rayburn Electric Cooperative. The tract is located near the intersection of Elm Grove and Vinson Road, which is in the vicinity of the entrance to the Charles M. Hinton Landfill. Rayburn’s intention is to construct an electric substation at the property. With the conditions of the sale being met (namely, approval of zoning changes and issuance of an SUP), the transaction was recently settled. The area already has substantial electric facilities in the area. In order to efficiently connect to an existing transmission line, Farmers Electric Cooperative (FEC) has requested an additional easement through remaining City of Garland property. The shape and alignment of the requested 27,904 SF easement has been developed in coordination with existing and proposed GP&L facilities in the area. The appraisal of the property just sold to FEC valued land in the area at $2.30 per square foot. It is common to use a 50% reduction in value in determining easement values for property. Using this analysis, the value of the requested easement is $32,090.00. FEC has been notified and is willing to provide that amount.
Recommendation/Action Requested and Justification
Convey the easement tract as requested to FEC. Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the April 20, 2021 Regular Meeting.

Attachments
Easement Description
Easement Price Commitment


6.					Council will move into Executive Session

					EXECUTIVE SESSION AGENDA NOTICE: The City Council may recess from the open session and convene in a closed executive session if the discussion of any of the listed agenda items concerns one or more of the following matters:



					The City Council will adjourn into executive session pursuant to Sections 551.072, and 551.071 of the Texas Government Code to deliberate or discuss: The purchase, exchange, lease or value of several tracts of real property for roadway improvements located in the vicinity of the intersection of Brand Road and Naaman School Road and municipal facility improvements near the vicinity of the intersection of Avenue D and Avenue B (551.072). Pending or contemplated litigation, settlement offer(s), and matters concerning privileged and unprivileged client information deemed confidential by Rule 1.05 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct in regard to the use of eminent domain and related matters (551.071).

					The City Council will adjourn into Executive Session pursuant to Section 551.074 of the Texas Government Code (relating to personnel) to conduct the annual review of the Municipal Judges, the City Auditor, the City Attorney and the City Manager.

7.					Adjourn