[2021 District 6 Update with Council Member Robert Vera]
[00:00:08]
HI, AND WELCOME TO ANOTHER GARLAND CITY COUNCIL UPDATE.
AND TODAY WE'RE IN DISTRICT SIX WITH COUNCILMAN ROBERT VERA, MR. VERA, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING A PART OF THIS TODAY, UM, TO BE HERE.
UM, I KNOW YOU'VE GOT A WHOLE LOT GOING ON, SO LET'S JUMP ON IN, I KNOW ONE OF THE MOST, UM, IMPORTANT, UH, PROJECTS UPCOMING FOR, FOR YOUR DISTRICT IS THE NEW LIBRARY THAT WILL BE BUILT OVER AT HOLLABAUGH.
YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT WHERE WE ARE ON THAT? UH, I MET WITH ND HAS HER BELIEVE TWO WEEKS AGO, AND, UH, THEY SHOWED ME THE MAPS AND EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO.
AND, UM, UH, THE BEGINNING OF NEXT YEAR, THEY'RE GONNA START DOING THE, UM, WELL, THEY'LL HAVE THEIR, THEIR, UM, DESIGN ALL PLANET AND EVERYTHING I SAW PART OF THE DESIGN ALREADY, OR MORE OR LESS WHAT THEY'RE GONNA DO.
AND, UM, IT PROBABLY BE AROUND JULY WHEN THEY'LL, WE'LL START WORKING ON IT NEXT JULY.
SO THAT'S, UM, THAT'S IT, THAT'D BEGINNING OF THE CALL ABOUT CENTER RECREATION CENTER.
AND, UM, I'VE BEEN, I'VE BEEN IN THE DISTRICT FOR 34 YEARS AND, UM, THEY'RE JUST, THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE BACK IN OH FOUR AND I DON'T KNOW THE REASON WHY THEY DIDN'T DO IT, BUT THIS, UM, GYM SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUILT BACK THEN.
AND, UH, THE HOLLABACK CENTER SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECREATION CENTER SHOULD HAVE BEEN BIGGER THAN WHAT IT IS NOW, BUT, UH, WE'LL W L IT'S COMING.
AND, UM, ANOTHER THING TO DORSEY THAT WE GOT COMING IS A WALNUT CREEK LIBRARY THAT'S IN ED WOOD AND IT WOULD BE RIGHT NEXT TO CALL THE BUS CENTER IN THE GYM.
I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
SO WE'LL CONSTRUCTION ON BOTH BEGIN NEXT SUMMER, OR ARE THEY GOING TO START THE LIBRARY FIRST? AND THEN THE RISKS, THE REC CENTER WILL START IN JULY.
UH, I BELIEVE MAYBE THE LIBRARY STARTS IN OCTOBER, SOMEWHERE IN THERE BECAUSE THEY'RE STILL DOING THE DESIGN.
AND, UM, I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT.
UH, I MEAN, THIS IS A LONG TIME COMING AND I'M GLAD THAT WE'RE WHEN I JOINED THIS COUNCIL, I SAID THAT I WOULD LIKE TO BE PROACTIVE AND GET THINGS DONE.
AND SO FAR WE HAVE DONE THAT, YOU KNOW, AND I'M REAL PROUD OF THIS COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR AND THAT WE HAVE DONE A LOT FOR THE CITY OF GARLAND.
YES, YES, YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE.
NOW I KNOW ONE OF THE BIG THINGS THAT YOU ALL JUST DID WAS UPDATE OUR DISTRICT LINES AND YOU'RE GOING TO BE GAINING A FEW NEIGHBORHOODS.
MY NEIGHBORHOOD RIGHT NOW IS BETWEEN BUCKINGHAM AND MILLER AND CHILO AND, UH, PLAYING OR ROAD PARTIAL.
THEY AIN'T PLAYING THE ROAD AND, UH, ACCORDING TO WHAT WE HAVE GLOATED ON, AND THEY DE IN AN OLD MAN, I WILL GAIN FROM SHILOH ROAD, FAR SLAIN TO GARLAND ROAD IN EAST AND MILLER ROAD IN THE SOUTH.
THAT'S GOING TO EXTEND THEIR DISTRICT THE LARGER.
SO, YOU KNOW, SO WE COULD ALL HAVE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SAME, UM, OCCUPANCY OF POPULATION.
THAT IS THE GOAL OF OUR REDISTRICTING IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE BALANCED REPRESENTATION.
AND THAT, THAT IS GOING TO BE REAL GOOD.
AND I BELIEVE THEY CALLED THAT THE WILLIAMS NEIGHBORHOOD AS STAGE YEAH.
NEIGHBORHOOD, YOU KNOW, AND, UH, THERE'S WHERE I'M RIGHT NOW WE HAVE, UM, THE, UH, GARLAND ACTAULLY, WHICH SCOTT VOLUNTEER IS OVER THERE IN THAT DISTRICT.
I MEAN, IN THAT AREA, EVERYTHING, THE OFFICE OF NEIGHBORHOOD VITALITY IS WORKING SOME PROJECTS
[00:05:01]
IN THAT AREA RIGHT NOW.MA'AM NOW A NEIGHBORHOOD OR A NEW SUBDIVISION REALLY THAT'S ALREADY IN YOUR DISTRICT WILL CONTINUE TO BE RIVER SET IS ALSO EXPANDING.
MA'AM UM, RED NOW, BUT IT'S KIND OF FUNNY.
UH, I USED TO HAVE HORSES HERE IN DOUBT IN GARLAND AND MY HORSES WERE THAT FAR ALONG.
AND, UM, THE, UM, THE, UM, UH, ABOUT A YEAR AGO, A YEAR, A YEAR AND A HALF, WHENEVER THEY STARTED BUILDING HOUSES THERE, THEY ALREADY DID THE NORTH PART OF THE PROPERTY.
NOW THEY'RE STARTING ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE PROPERTY.
THE FUNNY THING ABOUT IT DIDN'T KNOW THIS UNTIL THEY STARTED WORKING ON THAT.
AND, UM, THEY, UH, THEY DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THEY GOT INTO A LOT OF ROCK THAT IS PRETTY SOLID ROCK ALL THE FORM.
I DUNNO HOW IT LOOKED TO ME THAT IT WAS DIRT, BUT AS SOON AS THEY DIG ABOUT TWO FEET DOWN, IT WAS A ROCK THAT'S LIMESTONE TERRITORY RIGHT THERE.
AND IF ANYBODY, IF YOU BUILD YOUR HOUSE THERE, I'M PRETTY SURE THERE'S NO BIG CRACK IN LIKE OTHER PLACES, YOU KNOW? YEAH.
YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A FARM FOUNDATION ON TOP OF THAT.
WELL, AND THE FOLKS WHO LIVE THERE, UM, ARE GOING TO BE HERE IN THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS, BENEFITING FROM IMPROVEMENTS TO SHILOH ROAD.
THERE'S A NEW THERE'S WE'RE IN THE BEGINNING PHASES OF, OF EXTENDED SHALLOW ROAD PROJECT.
THEY, UH, THEY STARTED FROM 6 35 TO KINGSLEY AND FROM KINGSLEY, THEY'RE GOING TO GO TO MILLER, NAN FROM MILLER.
WE'RE GOING TO FOREST LANE NAME FROM FOREST LANE.
MAKE IT THREE LANES, SIX LANES, ACTUALLY THREE AND THREE.
BUT ANY IDEA WHAT THAT TIMELINE LOOKS LIKE? I PERSONALLY THINK IT'S GOING TO TAKE ANOTHER, MAYBE EIGHT TO 10 YEARS TO FINISH THAT WHOLE STRETCH BECAUSE THEY'LL DO IT IN THOSE PHASES.
THEY'LL DO ONE STRETCH AT A TIME.
THERE'S A LOT OF ELECTRIC WIRES, YOU KNOW, AND TELEPHONE LINES AND, AND, UH, SSRIS ALLIANCE AND ALL OF THAT THAT THEY HAVE TO DO.
AND THEY ALSO HAVE TO BUY SOME PROPERTIES, YOU KNOW, TO GET THAT STRETCH PUT IN THERE.
SO YEAH, IT'S GONNA, THAT'S GONNA TAKE A LITTLE WHILE, BUT IT WILL BE DONE, YOU KNOW? SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
I'M EXCITED ABOUT WHAT WE HAVE DONE IN MY DISTRICT SINCE ACT CAME ABOARD BOARD AS A CITY COUNCIL.
YOU KNOW, WE, UM, WE HAVE, LIKE I SAID BEFORE, WE HAVE RICKY ROCKET ON MAILER, JUPITER, AND THEN ON THE, UM, UM, UH, WHAT WAS THAT? UM, THE, UM, NEXT TO RICKY ROCKET, THAT WAS THE, UM, ELECTRIC COMPANY.
WHAT WAS THAT RACY OFF? THAT WAS THE RACI ON CAMPUS ALL DAY, ALL THE WAY TO MARK CAS AND THIS PEOPLE BOUGHT IT AND THEY BUILT SOME WAREHOUSES AND EVERYTHING.
AND IT'S FUNNY, LIKE THEY SAY, IF YOU BUILD, THEY WILL COME WELL, THERE THEY'RE ALL FULL RIGHT THERE.
ALL THE WAREHOUSES BIG WAREHOUSES THAT THEY DID ON JUPITER IS FULL THEY'RE FULL, AND THE ONE BEHIND IT, UM, THAT YOU GO INTO MARQUETTE MARTY'S, UH, THAT BIG PROPERTY OVER THERE TOO.
AND, UM, WE'RE THERE WORKED IN NOT RIGHT NOW, BUT IT'S GONNA COME SOONER OR LATER.
IT'S THE, UM, ON MARTY'S AND JUPITER.
THERE'S, UM, A BIG PLOT THERE AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY ACRES THEY'RE THERE.
SO THAT'S GOING TO BE BUILT ALSO FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, TALKING TO THE OWNERS OF THE PROPERTY AND THAT REDNECK THEY'RE COMING BUILD LATER, YOU KNOW? YEAH.
[00:10:01]
ROOM FOR DEVELOPMENT THERE.AND ALSO, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU READ THE PAPER LAST WEEK ABOUT, UM, THE, UH, THAT WE HAVE, UH, UH, ALSO DEAL WITH THE ARMY, YOU KNOW, TRAVELOCITY.
AND, UM, THAT IS, UH, I AM, I'VE BEEN OVER THERE TO THEIR WAREHOUSE AND SAY, NO THEN, AND I AM SO GLAD FOR THOSE PEOPLE THAT THEY WILL GET A CONTRACT FROM THE ARMY.
SO I WILL BE HAPPY THAT ALL THIS HAVE BEEN DONE IN GARLAND, NOT MORE ELSE THAT PEOPLE HAVE, AND WE'RE NOT TALKING TO PEOPLE THAT CALL ME AND THEY TALKED TO ME, THEY WANT TO STAY IN THE DALLAS AREA, YOU KNOW, NEXT TO DALLAS BECAUSE IN MESQUITE AREA RIGHT HERE, BECAUSE THERE'S WHERE A LOT OF THE WORKERS ARE, YOU DON'T I WAS TALKING TO PLAYERS AND THEY WERE TELLING ME, HE SAID, THE REASON WE'RE HERE BECAUSE THE MAJORITY OF OUR EMPLOYEES ARE FROM GARLIC MESQUITE AND ACROSS 6 35 IN DALLAS.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT FOR LOGISTICS SAKES KNOW, BEING RIGHT THERE ON 6 35 IN THESE MAIN ARTERIES OF TRANSPORT ARE ALSO TO OUR ADVANTAGE.
UM, UH, BUT I WANT TO SAY GOING ON TWO YEARS NOW, OR A YEAR AND A HALF, UM, THERE WAS A BIG, UH, BIG COMPANY CALLED ALL STATE ON FOREST SHALANI NEXT TO THE, UM, CLOSE TO THE SCHOOL GIS.
THEY, UH, ADMINISTRATION BUILDING OVER THERE, WEST OF THERE.
WE JUST SIGNED UP THIS COMPANY THAT THEY WILL BE THERE FOR.
THEY GOT A 20 YEAR SUP TO STAY THERE, WHICH I WAS VERY GLAD, AND I WAS VERY HAPPY TO HAVE THEM IN THERE.
SO THEY DID, I AM THIS COUPLE, PUT A LOT OF MONEY IN THAT, IN THERE.
AND, UM, THERE WERE ABOUT TO QUIT AND I SAID, I DON'T WANT Y'ALL TO QUIT.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE GARLAND, YOU KNOW, CELIA GARLAND WILL HELP YOU.
AND THEY STAYED AND THEY WORKED IT OUT AND I'M SO HAPPY THAT THEY'RE, THEY JUST GOT THEIR SUP FOR 20 YEARS.
AND I WAS VERY HAPPY TO MEET THEM AND WORK WITH THEM.
AND NOT ONLY ME, THE WHOLE CD STAFF WORK WITH THEM.
AND, UH, I WAS VERY HAPPY ABOUT OUR CREWS DOING ON THEM.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT, UM, THAT'S WHAT MAKES THIS CITY UNIQUE BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THE RIGHT PEOPLE.
AND, AND THAT, THAT'S WHAT MAKES ME SO HAPPY TO BE PART OF GARLAND.
WELL, AND YOU'VE, YOU'RE ACTUALLY, WE HAVE TERM LIMITS HERE IN GARLAND FOR CITY COUNCIL AND YOUR, IN YOUR FINAL TERM.
SO IN MAY OF 20, 23, YOU WILL ROLL OFF.
I YOU'VE ACCOMPLISHED SO MUCH.
UM, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO IN THESE FINAL TWO YEARS OF YOUR TERM? WELL, I JUST HOPE THAT WE DIDN'T, THEY'LL BRING PEOPLE IN, I MEAN, COMPANIES, UH, ESPECIALLY ON THE WEST PART OF GARLAND, YOU KNOW, AND I'M ALSO ON RICH ALBAN, HE'LL BE GOING OUT IN MAY, BUT OVER THERE, HIS PART OF WHERE I'M AT ON JUPITER.
AND HE HAS A LOT OF COMPANIES HAVE MOVED IN THERE TOO, YOU KNOW, AND, UH, UH, I JUST HOPE THAT WE CAN, UH, I HOPE THAT WE CAN GET MORE COMPANIES TO MOVE TO GARLAND.
YOU KNOW, WE CAN PUT A MAN I KNOW WHERE ALMOST LOCK IN ON PROPERTIES, YOU KNOW, BUT, UM, THAT THE PROPERTY ON THAT RIVER SAID THAT THEY HADN'T BUILT A HOUSE.
[00:15:01]
I MEAN, A PROJECT LIKE THAT IN MY DISTRICT SINCE 1963.THAT WAS ONE BIG, LARGE GREENFIELD THAT WAS LEFT IN THAT PART OF GARLAND.
AND WE DIDN'T HAVE, WE, WE ARE ALMOST BUILT OUT A LOT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING IS REDEVELOPMENT, BUT THAT'S AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY RIGHT THERE.
AND, UH, IN THIS NEWEST STATE WE'LL, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE SOME MORE PROPERTY, UH, CLOSE TO THAT WILLIAMS, UH, STATE WITH MY HEAD, SOME MORE PROPERTY TO, YOU KNOW, THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO BUILD A BIT THERE ON THE CORNER OF MILLER AND CHILO ON THE NORTHEAST CORNER BEHIND THAT, UM, UH, CONVENIENCE STORE.
THERE'S, THERE'S SOMEBODY, I GUESS, HALF AN ACRE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT ACRE THAT PEOPLE CAN STILL BUILD AROUND THERE, YOU KNOW, WHICH IS GOOD.
BUT, UM, I AM VERY HAPPY ABOUT ALL THIS BUILDS IN, YOU KNOW? YEAH.
WELL, AND WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THIS CITY.
I KNOW, UH, BEYOND YOUR YEARS ON CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION, YOU'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS COMMUNITY FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, SERVING OTHERS.
SO WE, WE ARE APPRECIATE APPRECIATIVE OF YOUR SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY.
I, UM, I, UH, WHEN I, WHEN I CAME ABOARD, THERE WAS, UH, UH, HARRY HOLLABAUGH WAS MY NEIGHBOR AND, UH, DAVID GREER WAS MY OTHER NEIGHBOR.
AND THEY'RE THE ONES THAT GOT ME STARTED ON COMMITTEES AND, YOU KNOW, DOING THE RIGHT THING.
AND, UH, AND I'M GLAD THAT THEY DID THAT FOR ME BECAUSE I STAYED AND, UH, THEY'RE GONE ALREADY.
AND, UH, UH, I, I TRY TO DO WHAT DATA WE'RE TRYING TO DO, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE ON THAT LEGACY EXACTLY.
BECAUSE MY CIRCLE, WHEN, WHEN I WAS HERE, WHEN I'M WORKING HERE, THEY CAME TO ME AND SAYS, SINCE YOU'RE MOVING HERE, THIS IS A PRETTY GOOD CIRCLE AND, OR CALL IT A SACK.
AND, UH, YOU HAVE TO WORK, GET INVOLVED WITH DECISIONS.
I DIDN'T HOW MUCH WORK THEY WERE GONNA PUT IN THE GYM.
BUT NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.
NO, NOT FOR THE WEAK DILLON'S EITHER.
THERE'S NOT A LOT OF HARD WORK, YOU KNOW? YEAH.
WELL, MR. VERA, WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING ALL THESE UPDATES WITH US TODAY.
I WANT TO, I WANT TO REMIND YOUR CONSTITUENTS AND ALL OUR VIEWERS, THAT IF THEY NEED MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THINGS GOING ON WITH THE CITY OF GARLAND, GO TO THE CITY'S WEBSITE, GARLAND, TX.GOV.
THERE ARE PLACES THERE TO SIGN UP TO GET, UM, EMAILS WHEN WE SEND OUT INFORMATION, JUST CLICK ON NOTIFY ME AND YOU'LL SEE WHAT SOME OF THOSE ARE.
UM, MR. VERA, WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
UH, WE THANK THE CITIZENS FOR LISTENING AND, UH, HOPE EVERYONE WILL JOIN US FOR THE NEXT GIRL AND CITY COUNCIL UPDATE.
AND I HOPE THAT EVERYBODY HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE THANKSGIVING.