* 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. HELLO EVERYBODY. [00:00:01] I GUESS WE HAD TO DO A ROLL CALL. [ Environmental and Community Advisory Board on October 10, 2022.] DAPHNE, YOU'RE UP. DAPHNE DEAN, DISTRICT TWO FOUR, YOON SOUTH LIAISON. BOB BRUNS, DISTRICT THREE. BETTY ROBERTS, DISTRICT FIVE. PATRICIA HANSON, DISTRICT SIX. ROB, DISTRICT EIGHT. ANDRIS, SIR. MAYORS APPOINTEE PRESENT, RIGHT? IT'S LIKE WE HAVE A QUORUM. ANYBODY READ THE MILLIONS MINUTES? ANYBODY WANNA ADD OR MAKE ANY CHANGES? VOTE TO, UH, APPROVE. THE MINUTES IS WRITTEN. I APPROVE IT. IF YOU CAN SIGN, ALMOST. THANK YOU. THERE WE GO. ALL RIGHT, WHAT DO WE HAVE GOING ON TODAY? WE HAVE US. I HAVE A PRESENTATION. GOOD EVENING NUMBER ONE. GOOD EVENING. OZ RODRIGUEZ, ADMINISTRATOR FOR SANITATION. UM, IT'S BEEN A WHILE, I THINK SINCE IT'S A WEEK GIVING YOU GUYS A DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW. UH, WE'VE GOT SOME NEW BOARD MEMBERS AS WELL. SO WE KIND OF WANTED TO KIND OF GO THROUGH A GENERAL, I GUESS, AN OVERVIEW OF OUR DEPARTMENT. UM, SO WITH THAT, WE'LL GET STARTED HERE. OF COURSE. UH, CITY OF GARLAND, UH, 13TH, LARGEST CITY IN TEXAS. POPULATION OF 20 OF 238,000. UH, WE SERVICE ABOUT 63,000 HOMES EVERY WEEK. WE HAVE 2100 BUSINESS CUSTOMERS, UH, AND IN ALL WE DO ABOUT 130,000 COLLECTIONS WEEKLY WITH ALL OUR DIVISIONS COMBINED. UM, THIS YEAR WE'RE PROJECTED TO, UH, PROCESS ABOUT 131,000 TONS OF TRASH THIS YEAR, OUR STAFFING. SO WE HAVE SIX DIVISIONS WITH IN SANITATION, UH, ADMINISTRATION, UH, BRUSH AND BULKY DIVISION, UH, RESIDENTIAL WASTE DIVISION, RECYCLE COMMERCIAL AND TRASH. UM, WE HAVE 112 FULL-TIME PERMANENT EMPLOYEES, AND WE HAVE, UH, 12 TEMPORARY STAFF MEMBERS THAT WE USE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AS WELL. OUR ADMINISTRATION FOLKS. UH, OUR LADIES DO A FANTASTIC JOB TAKING CARE OF US. UM, UH, THIS PAST YEAR, UH, ABOUT 26,000 CALLS IS WHAT WE TAKE IN ON, ON A YEARLY BASIS. OF COURSE, THAT VARIES. UM, OUR, OUR LADIES UP FRONT TAKE CARE OF THE SCALE HOUSE. THEY, OUR COMMERCIAL SERVICES IS, IS ALSO HANDLED IN HOUSE. UH, AND WE HAVE AN HR PERSON, UH, A PROCUREMENT PERSON OR DISPATCHER. AND OF COURSE, OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH PERSON IS ALSO HOUSED IN OUR ADMINISTRATION BUILDING. SO OUR LADIES WORK REALLY HARD. UM, IF, IF YOU GUYS EVER GET A CHANCE TO CALL UP THERE, I, I GUARANTEE YOU, YOU'RE GONNA GET THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER. UM, WE, WE REALLY TAKE PRIDE IN DOING THAT FOR OUR, FOR OUR CUSTOMERS. AND, AND I'LL, I'LL PUT OUR STAFF UP AGAINST ANYBODY ANYTIME. I THINK WE DO A FANTASTIC JOB. OUR FIRST DIVISION, OTHER DIVISION WE WANNA TALK ABOUT IS OUR BRUSH AND BULKY DIVISION. UH, THIS IS OUR LARGEST DIVISION. UM, EACH ROUTE, UH, WILL HAVE A BOOM OPERATOR, IDEALLY A BOOM OPERATOR, TWO LONG TRUCK DRIVERS, A REAR LOADER DRIVER, AND AGAIN, IDEALLY TWO HELPERS. UM, WE'LL TALK ABOUT STAFFING HERE IN A LITTLE BIT, BUT, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE REALLY TRIED TO DO THIS YEAR WITH OUR BBG DIVISION IS REALLY IMPROVE OUR STAFFING LEVELS. UM, ON A, ON A YEARLY BASIS, IN 2021, WE COLLECTED, UH, 49,000 TONS OF, UH, OF DEBRIS. UH, THIS YEAR WE'RE PROJECTED TO ABOUT 50,000 TONS AS WHAT WE'RE PROJECTING THIS YEAR. UH, THERE YOU'LL SEE, UH, A PICTURE OF OUR NOCO BOOM TRUCK, WHICH IS AK THE CLAW TRUCK THAT EVERYONE CALLS, CALLS IT A PICTURE OF OUR REAR LOADER AND A PICTURE OF OUR LONG TRUCK. SO IT IS BY FAR OUR BIGGEST DIVISION. UM, AND, UH, HISTORICALLY IT'S BEEN OUR TOUGHEST DIVISION TO STAFF. NOT ONLY THAT, UH, THE CITY OF GARLAND IS ONE OF THE VERY FEW MUNICIPALITIES THAT OFFERS BRUSH AND BULKY COLLECTIONS ON A WEEKLY BASIS. MM-HMM. AGREE WITHOUT LIMITS AND WITHOUT FEES. WHY IS THAT? BECAUSE WE'RE GOOD FOR CITIZENS. IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, ITS, OR MOST, UH, IS OR HIGHEST DEMAND BRUSH AND BULKY, UH, CITIZENS, LIKE THE, LIKE THE ASSURANCE THAT IF THEY SET SOMETHING OUTSIDE, IT IS GONNA GET COLLECTED. SO HOW MUCH HAS THAT BEEN INCREASING? I NOTICED YOU HAD LAST YEAR IN ANTICIPATED FOR THIS YEAR. WHAT ABOUT THE PRIOR YEARS? HAS IT BEEN GRADUALLY? IT HAS BEEN. FOR BRUSH AND MILK, IT'S BEEN ABOUT A THOUSAND TONS A YEAR. IT'S GRADUALLY INCREASING EVERY YEAR. YOU GOTTA KEEP IN MIND GARLAND IS AN OLDER CITY, RIGHT? YOU LOOK AT DISTRICT TWO, FOR EXAMPLE, DISTRICT TWO, UH, SOUTH GARLAND, SOME AREAS, UH, THIS YEAR WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF HELP. IT'S, IT'S REALLY HOT, SO OBVIOUSLY WE'RE NOT GETTING A LOT OF VEGETATION. SO, SO, UH, IT'S, IT'S NOT AS BUSY AS OTHER US OTHER YEARS. BUT, UH, IT'S A COMBINATION OF THINGS. BUT HISTORICALLY [00:05:01] IT IS BEEN INCREASING ABOUT BY A A THOUSAND TONS A YEAR. SO OUR NEXT DIVISION, OUR RESIDENTIAL DIVISION, UH, THAT IS, THAT IS OUR PRIORITY. UH, JUST FROM A A SANITARY STANDPOINT, WE GOTTA, WE GOTTA COLLECT THAT TRASH ON A WEEKLY BASIS. UH, WE COLLECTED IN 2021, 70,000 TONS. UH, THIS YEAR WE'RE ON PACE FOR ABOUT 72,000 TONS. UM, WE HAVE ABOUT 17 ROUTES, UH, AND 63,000 CUSTOMERS. AND YOU'LL SEE A PICTURE THERE OF, UH, ONE OF OUR SIDE LOADERS. UM, ONE OF OUR HARDER WORKING VEHICLES. WE JUST GOT A, A NEW, A NEW ROUND OF TRUCKS IN HERE RECENTLY. UM, WE GOT SIX OF THE NEW SIDE LOADERS IN. AND, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE THEM. CUZ THESE TRUCKS, WE DO PUT 'EM THROUGH THEIR PACES EVERY DAY. SO OUR DIVISION, UH, WE HAVE ABOUT 43,500 CUSTOMERS, UH, LAST YEAR, ABOUT 13,000 TONS THIS YEAR. WE'RE ON PACE, UH, JUST ABOUT THE SAME AND NOT TOO MUCH DIFFERENCE THERE. UH, WE HAVE SEVEN ROUTES THAT WE RUN, AND WE USE THE SAME VEHICLES THAT WE USE FOR RESIDENTIAL. UM, THEY'RE KNOW, THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE NOT CATERED. THEY GET EMPTIED OUT EVERY NIGHT. THEY'RE NOT DEDICATED TO ONE OR THE OTHER. UM, BUT OUR, OUR, ONE OF OUR MAJOR GOALS FOR OUR RECYCLING OPERATION IS, IS TO BE EFFICIENT AND REALLY TO REDUCE CONTAMINATION. YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS HAVE HAD MICHELLE TALK TO YOU GUYS SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS, AND THAT'S YOUR PRIMARY JOB, IS TO REALLY GET CONTAMINATION DOWN. SO WE HAVE CLEANER, CLEANER MATERIAL IN THERE. SO, SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF ROUTES LESS BECAUSE IT'S JUST LIMITED TO RESIDENTIAL AREA. IT'S IN, IT'S EVERY OTHER WEEK. IT'S ALSO EVERY OTHER WEEK. WE, WE RECYCLE THEM EVERY OTHER WEEK, NUMBER OF ROUTES THAN BEFORE. WHEN I CAME TO THE DEPARTMENT THREE YEARS AGO, WE ONLY HAD SIX. AS THE CITY GROWS, AS THE, THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS GROW, THEN WE HAVE TO GROW IN ROUTES. OTHERWISE, YOU'RE PUTTING, YOU'RE NOT A ONE. DRIVER'S NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO FINISH THE ROUTE. SO YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE ROUTE SMALLER IN ORDER FOR, FOR THEM TO COMPLETE IT. YEAH. SO THERE'S SIX TIMES THIS MUCH BULKY STUFF TO PICK UP AS, AS RECYCLING. IT, IT, IT REALLY, IT REALLY VARIES. UM, BUT OUR BULK DIVISION, BECAUSE THE MATERIAL WE'RE PICKING UP, IT'S SO CUMBERSOME THAT WE HAVE TO JUST HAVE MORE PEOPLE DO THAT. CUZ, YOU KNOW, WITH THE CLAW AND THE BOOM AND THE BIGGER TYPE ITEMS, IT JUST TAKES MORE RESOURCES TO MOVE. ALL THAT STUFF. I WAS, AND YOU GOTTA KEEP IN MIND, IT'S A LOT HEAVIER TOO. BRUSH AND BULKY INCLUDES APPLIANCES. IF YOU HAVE A STOVE THE YOU WANNA GET RID OF, YOU SET IT ON THE CURB, WE'RE GONNA PICK IT UP. SO YOU COMPARE THAT TO RECYCLING, WHICH IS EXTREMELY LIGHT. SO, SO THAT'S WHY. GOT IT. BUT TECHNICALLY, IF YOU THINK ABOUT 13,000 TONS OF RECYCLING MATERIAL, THAT'S A LIE. OUR NEXT DIVISION WE WANNA TALK ABOUT IS OUR COMMERCIAL DIVISION. UM, GARLAND IS A, IS AN OPEN MARKET. UM, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS COMMERCIAL TRASH HAULING, UM, WE DO HAVE PLENTY OF COMPETITION IN GARLAND. UM, WASTE MANAGEMENT REPUBLIC, ALL THE MAJOR HAULERS, YOU KNOW, HAVE ACCOUNTS HERE IN GARLAND. UM, WE ARE HAVING A PRETTY GOOD YEAR THIS YEAR, AND I'LL SHARE SOME NUMBER, SOME NUMBERS WITH YOU GUYS TOWARD THE END. BUT AGAIN, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK SETS US ASIDE ON THE COMMERCIAL, UH, DIVISION IS OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND OUR RESPONSIVENESS, RIGHT? SO WHEN YOU CALL US, YOU'RE GONNA GET A PERSON EVERY SINGLE TIME. YOU'RE NOT GONNA GO THROUGH A SWITCHBOARD. YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE TO PRESS SIX OR SEVEN DIFFERENT PROMPTS TO GET TO TALK TO SOMEONE. WHEN YOU CALL OUT THERE, SOMEONE'S GONNA ANSWER THE PHONE IN PERSON. UM, AND I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE THING THAT KIND OF SETS US ASIDE AND THE COMMERCIAL DIVISION IS, IS WHEN YOU WANT TO TALK TO SOMEBODY, YOU'RE GONNA GET US, YOU'RE GONNA GET US EVERY SINGLE TIME. SO I JUST MOVED BUSINESS BACK TO GARLAND. AND, UM, IN DALLAS WE USED, BECAUSE YOU WOULDN'T GO TWO BLOCKS OUT OF GARLAND, WE USED, UM, MORE AND MORE IS THREE AND A HALF WEEKS TO SWAP A ROLL OFF. YEP. WHEREAS MY CAVALIER PLACE 24 HOURS, GENERALLY, YOU GUYS ARE HITTING ME A, A NEW 30 YARD. THAT'S UNHEARD OF ANYWHERE ELSE ABOUT THE GOAL FOR THE COMMERCIAL DIVISION THAT IF YOU AS A CUSTOMER, AS A BUSINESS OWNER, YOU CALL US REQUESTING OUR SERVICES OR GOAL IS WITHIN 24 HOURS TO GIVE YOU A BRAND NEW CONTAINER. EVEN MY RECEPTIONIST CAME TO ME AND SAID, THOSE PEOPLE ARE SO NICE. . MM-HMM. . I MEAN, HONESTLY, HONESTLY, HE WASN'T LYING. I MEAN, NO, I'M, WE GOT A LOT OF EMPHASIS INTO CUSTOMER SERVICE. YEAH. I BELIEVE I SENT YOU AN EMAIL CUSTOMER WHEN WE FIRST YEAH. IT WAS, WE NEED SOMETHING TO SET US ASIDE. AND THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT SETS ASIDE IN A REALLY GOOD MANNER. SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE ABOUT 2100 CUSTOMERS. WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO GROW THAT OUR CUSTOMER BASE, UM, ON PACE TO DO ABOUT 5.3 MILLION IN REVENUE THIS YEAR. UM, THIS YEAR WE'RE PROJECTED ABOUT 55,000 TONS. LAST YEAR WE DID ABOUT 51. UM, THOSE ARE OUR TWO MAJOR VEHICLES THAT WE USE FOR COMMERCIAL SIDE OF THE BUSINESS IS OUR ROLL OFF TRUCK, WHICH YOU MENTIONED EARLIER. AND OF COURSE OUR FRONT LOADER. UM, AGAIN, WE'LL TALK ABOUT SOME NUMBERS HERE TOWARD THE END, BUT WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF THIS DIVISION, UH, WHAT THEY, WHAT THEY'VE DONE THIS YEAR FOR SURE. NOW, THOSE 2100 CUSTOMERS, THAT'S FRONT LOAD ONLY. THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE ROLL OFF, ROLL OFF THIS YEAR. I'M PROJECTING AROUND 3,600. SO THAT PUTS US LITTLE AROUND 50, 5700 CUSTOMERS FOR THE YEAR. LIKE I'M ON MY SIXTH TO ONE AND SIX WEEKS. SO WE WE'RE DUMPING A 20 OR 30 YARD ALL THE CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS EVERY [00:10:01] WEEK. YEAH. AND THEN I'VE INSISTED ALL THE CONTRACTORS USE GARLAND TOO. GOOD. THANK YOU. PART OF THE CONTRACT. THAT'S GOOD. WE APPRECIATE THAT. OUR TRANSFER STATION, WHICH IS WHERE THE MAJORITY OF, OF THE DIVISION'S TRASH GOES, UH, 31,000 TONS. WE'LL PROCESS THIS YEAR, ON AVERAGE, WE HAVE, ON A GOOD DAY, WE HAVE MAYBE FIVE TO SIX TRANSFER TRUCKS RUNNING BACK AND FORTH TO THE LANDFILL. ON AVERAGE, EACH ONE OF THOSE TRUCKS MAKES ABOUT 25 TRIPS A DAY ON AVERAGE. SO TYPICALLY WE PROCESS RIGHT AROUND 500 TONS PER DAY OUT OF THE TRANSFER STATION. SO WE DO HAVE SOME EQUIPMENT THAT GOES DIRECTLY TO THE LANDFILL, UM, BUT THE MAJORITY OF OUR REFUGE COMES OUR TRANSFER STATION, THEN IT'S TRANSFERRED TO THE LANDFILL. I LOVE THAT. YEAH. BRUSH AND BULKY GOES TO THE LANDFILL RIGHT AWAY, DOESN'T IT? OUR, OUR LONG TRUCKS DO. OUR, OUR REAR LOADERS WILL COME TO THE TRANSFER STATION. AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS THE LONG TRUCKS ARE TOO LONG TO BE ABLE TO GO INSIDE THE TRANSFER STATION. AND WE DON'T TAKE, WE DON'T TAKE ANY TRAILERS AT THE TRANSFER STATION, INCLUDING OUR OWN. WE DON'T, WE DON'T, THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH ROOM TO MANEUVER UP THERE SAFELY. OUR LEADERSHIP, OF COURSE, UH, URIEL AND I, UH, WE'VE GOT A REALLY FANTASTIC TEAM OF PEOPLE THAT WORK FOR US. UM, TALK ABOUT TWO OF OUR, OF OUR GUYS THAT REALLY GET STUFF DONE AS ED, MICHELLE, UH, AND HECTOR. UH, I'D AGAIN, UH, ED'S OUR COMMERCIAL SERVICES MANAGER AND, AND HECTOR'S OUR, OUR FIELD SERVICES MANAGER. YOU KNOW, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, YOU'RE, YOU AND I ARE JUST REALLY PUSHING BUTTONS ALL DAY. THESE ARE THE GUYS THAT ARE REALLY DOING ALL THE, ALL THE MAJOR WORK. UH, HECTOR, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS A STAFF AROUND, WHAT, 70 FOLKS, 60 TO 70 FOLKS THAT HE MANAGES ON A DAILY BASIS. I KNOW HE'S GOT QUITE A BIT NUMBER OF SUPERVISORS TO HELP HIM OUT. BUT OVERALL, THE STAFF LEVEL, THIS IS PRETTY HIGH. UM, BUT HE'S, HE'S, HE'S REALLY EXPERIENCED, HE'S DONE ALMOST EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT WE HAVE. UM, SO HE, HE DOES A FANTASTIC JOB FOR US. ED, AS I MENTIONED ABOUT OUR COMMERCIAL DIVISION, ED IS REALLY DOING A FANTASTIC JOB IN GROWING OUR COMMERCIAL BASE. UM, AND THAT, AND THAT'S PRETTY TOUGH THESE DAYS BECAUSE WITH STAFFING AS IT IS, YOU KNOW, JUST INDUSTRY WIDE, IT'S HARD TO FIND PEOPLE TO WORK. YOU KNOW, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WE KEEP ADDING ACCOUNTS, KEEP ADDING ACCOUNTS. WELL, HOW DO WE SERVICE THOSE ACCOUNTS WITH THE EXISTING STAFFING WE HAVE ON HAND, RIGHT? UM, AND THAT'S, ED'S DONE A FANTASTIC JOB MAKING THAT WORK OUT. SO OUR SUPERVISORS, AGAIN, THESE PEOPLE ARE THE REAL STARS. UM, AND, AND AGAIN, WE TALKED ABOUT THE CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT WE PROVIDE WHERE WITH OUR ADMIN STAFF, WITH OUR COMMERCIAL STAFF, WHEN THEY ANSWER THE PHONE, OUR OPERATORS, OUR DRIVERS, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE DEDICATED JUST THE SAME TO PROVIDE IN THE SAME LEVEL A CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT OUR OFFICE STAFF DOES ON A DAILY BASIS. WE HAD A, WE GOT A COMPLIMENT THE, THE DAY ABOVE FROM A CITIZEN, UM, ON PRINCETON THAT OUR GUYS WERE JUST THE FRIENDLIEST BUNCH OF GUYS HE'S EVER RUN ACROSS. YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE KIND OF WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND TO HELP MOVE SOME HEAVY OBJECTS. YOU KNOW, HE WAS REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THAT. BUT HE MENTIONED THAT I'VE NEVER REALLY RUN ACROSS CITY STAFF THAT'S BEEN IN SUCH A GOOD MOOD AND SO HAPPY TO BE HERE. YOU KNOW, AND, AND, AND AGAIN, ALL THESE GUYS, THESE, THESE GUYS ARE THE REASONS WHY WE HAVE SUCH A GOOD STAFF. UM, AND WE PREACH IT EVERY DAY THAT, YOU KNOW, KEEP YOUR STAFF ENGAGED, KEEP OUR STAFF. WE TRY TO MAKE OUR STAFF FEEL IMPORTANT. WE DON'T WANT OUR STAFF TO JUST FEEL LIKE THEY'RE ONE OUT OF 80, RIGHT? SO WE, WE TRY TO GO ABOVE AND BEYOND TO TRY TO, TO MAKE THEM FEEL, RESPECT AND MAKE 'EM FEEL APPRECIATED THAT EVERY JOB THAT THEY DO HERE IS IMPORTANT FOR US. SOME OTHER PEOPLE THAT TO REALLY HELP US OUT IS, OF COURSE, YOU GUYS KNOW MICHELLE, UM, MICHELLE'S VERY ACTIVE IN OUR COMMUNITY. UH, SHE PUSHES OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE. UH, MICHAEL ROBSHAW, HE, HE'S, HE, HE'S REALLY BEHIND THE SCENES KIND OF GUY, BUT MIKE'S OUR FLEET COORDINATOR, AND MIKE'S ESSENTIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR HAVING ALL OF OUR PIECES OF EQUIPMENT UP AND RUNNING ON A DAILY BASIS. SO HE'S GOT CLOSE TO ABOUT A HUNDRED VEHICLES THAT HE'S REALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR GETTING ON THE ROAD, COORDINATING WITH OUR FLEET SERVICES DIVISION TO MAKING SURE WE HAVE ENOUGH VEHICLES FOR THE DAY. WE, WE GOTTA HAVE 66 EVERY SINGLE MORNING JUST TO GET THE JOB DONE. SO HE COMES IN AT FOUR IN THE MORNING YEAH. AND STARTS WORKING ON THOSE TRUCKS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE WHAT WE NEED, YOU KNOW, AND WITH THE CHALLENGES THAT OUR FLEET DIVISION HAS, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH, WITH STAFFING ON THEIR OWN. AND THEN TO FIND PARTS, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO FIND PARTS FOR THESE BIG VEHICLES IS REALLY HARD TO DO. I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S, SOME OF THESE PIECES ARE THREE, FOUR WEEKS ON BACK ORDER, YOU KNOW, AND EVERYONE'S FIGHTING FOR THESE, FOR THESE SAME PARTS. SO MIKE DOESN'T HAD FANTASTIC JOB GIVING US WHAT WE NEED ON A DAILY BASIS. OUR SAFETY GUY, MIGUEL MARTINEZ, HE'S BEEN WITH US JUST ABOUT AS LONG AS I'VE, I'VE BEEN HERE ABOUT A YEAR. UM, AND MIGUEL'S COME IN HERE AND DONE A FANTASTIC JOB TRYING TO KEEP OUR STAFF SAFE WITH THE STAFF OF THAT SIZE, YOU KNOW, DOING THE KIND OF WORK THAT WE DO. YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT WE, WE HAVE A LOT OF, WE COULD POSSIBLY HAVE A LOT OF INJURIES, BUT ONE OF THE UNIQUE THINGS THAT MIGUEL HAS DONE IS MIGUEL INSTITUTED A, A, A PRE-TRIP STRETCHING PROGRAM, RIGHT? SO BEFORE THESE VEHICLE, BEFORE THESE OPERATORS JUMP IN THEIR VEHICLES AND START WORKING FOR THE DAY, RIGHT? THEY DO A SERIES OF EXERCISES THAT HE CAME UP WITH, JUST MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE, THAT THEY'RE LOOSE, THAT THEY'RE READY TO GO. I MEAN, AND SSC GUYS ARE QUOTE UNQUOTE ATHLETES, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE USING THEIR BODIES, YOU KNOW, TO DO ALL THIS HARD WORK, RIGHT? SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT THEY'RE READY TO GO FOR THE DAY. AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK IS PRETTY [00:15:01] UNIQUE IN THE CITY. I THINK WE'RE THE ONLY DEPARTMENT THAT DOES THAT. UM, BUT WE'RE GONNA START TO SEE, IT'S KIND OF EARLY, BUT HOPEFULLY WE'LL START TO SEE SOME BENEFITS AND HAVE A LOT LESS OF THESE SOFT TISSUE INJURIES, YOU KNOW, MUSCLE PULLS, STRAINS AND WHATNOT. BUT, UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE REALLY HOPING THAT'S GONNA HELP US, BECAUSE WHEN WE HAVE AN EMPLOYEE THAT'S INJURED AN OPERAT THAT'S INJURED, WE'RE DOWN TO THAT EMPLOYEE FOR, FOR MONTHS, SOMETIMES SIX MONTHS, SOMETIMES LONGER THAN THAT, RIGHT? AND THEN WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T REPLACE, AND WE CAN'T GO OUT THERE AND HIRE SOMEONE TO OVERHAND. WE JUST, WE'RE KIND OF STUCK WITH THAT ESSENTIALLY USELESS POSITION, RIGHT? SO WE REALLY, MINIMIZING OUR INJURIES IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO US. AND MIGUEL, UH, IS ON THE RIGHT PATH TO DOING THAT FOR US. SO SOME OF OUR VICTORIES THIS YEAR, OUR 2022 VICTORIES, RIGHT? UH, WE'VE MENTIONED, TALKED ABOUT STAFFING EARLIER TODAY. UM, CURRENTLY WE ONLY HAVE FOUR VACANCIES FOR THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT. UH, YEAR AGO, THIS TIME LAST YEAR, WHAT WERE WE, WHAT DO WE HAVE? UH, CLOSE TO 20. CLOSE TO 20. IN THE, IN THE THREE YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN IN THE DEPARTMENT, WE AVERAGE ABOUT 15 THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. UH, CDL DRIVERS HAVE A LOT OF OPTIONS THESE DAYS. SO WHEN YOU SEE A DEPARTMENT AS BIG AS OURS WITH ONLY FOUR VACANCIES, IT'S UNHEARD OF. TALK TO PLANO, TALK TO DALLAS, TALK TO IRVING, OLDEST RUNNING CITIES. EVERYONE IS CUTTING SERVICES BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH DRIVERS. MM-HMM. FOR US, WE, WE HAVE FOUR VACANCIES, WHICH IS, LIKE I SAID, IS THE LOWEST I'VE SEEN IN THE, IN THE THREE YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN IN THE DEPARTMENT. YEAH. YOU AND I WERE LISTENING TO A PRESENTATION GIVEN BY THE CITY OF IRVING SANITATION DIRECTOR LAST WEEK AND ON A DAILY BASIS. AND BEFORE THEY EVEN START THEIR DAY, THEY'RE DOWN 20 PEOPLE. THEY'RE DOWN 20 PEOPLE, AND THEY'RE HAVING TO NOT DO RECYCLING ONE DAY OR NOT DO BULK, A BROKEN BRUSH ONE DAY JUST TO GET THE TRASH ROUTES COMPLETED. THAT'S HOW BADLY THEY'RE HURTING, YOU KNOW? AND, AND, AND WHAT WE'VE DONE HERE WITH OUR, WITH OUR STAFFING IS WE JUST, AGAIN, WE TREAT THESE GUYS WITH RESPECT AND DIGNITY. YOU, OR THEY WANT TO BE RESPECTED. THEY WANT TO FEEL LIKE THEY'RE PART OF A TEAM. UH, WE JUST DON'T DO THEM AS A NUMBER, YOU KNOW? UM, WE'VE WORKED REALLY HARD WITH OUR HR DEPARTMENT TO TRY TO TRY TO BE COMPETITIVE WITH SALARIES. YOU KNOW, AS YOU ALL MENTIONED, THE CDL MARKET IS EXTREMELY HOT RIGHT NOW. AND PEOPLE ARE PAYING THESE CDL DRIVERS JUST RIDICULOUS AMOUNTS OF MONEY TO GO WORK FOR THEM, YOU KNOW? AND, AND WE'RE THE CITY. WE'RE NONE, NONE OF US ARE GONNA GET FILTHY RICH DOING THIS, RIGHT? UM, SO WE, WE'VE GOTTA GET CREATIVE ON HOW WE, WE, WE TREAT THE EMPLOYEES TO NUMBER ONE, TO BRING THEM IN AND THEN TO RETAIN THEM. YOU KNOW, WE DO A LOT OF THINGS TO 'EM. WE DO, WE DO COOKOUTS LIKE EVERY QUARTER FOR 'EM. UH, WE DO EVERY OTHER FRIDAY, WE'LL, UH, ED AND HECTOR WILL POP UP SOME POPCORN FOR THE GUYS ON THEIR WAY OUT, AND WE'LL GET 'EM SOME DRINKS AND WE TRY TO RUB IT THEM, WE CAN TRY TO MAKE THESE GUYS FEEL APPRECIATED. AND, YOU KNOW, AND THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, UM, HAVE MEMBERS WILL BUY US LUNCH EVERY NOW AND THEN. APPRECIATE WE WERE TALKING, MR. KYLE WAS TALKING ABOUT THAT EARLIER, EARLIER, AS A MATTER OF FACT. UM, ANOTHER THING THAT WE'VE DONE TO KIND OF HELP OUR STAFFING LEVEL IS, ESPECIALLY IN OUR, IN OUR BRUSH DIVISION, IS WE, WE CROSS-TRAIN MOST OF OUR OPERATORS SO THEY KNOW HOW TO DRIVE MULTIPLE PIECES OF EQUIPMENT, RIGHT? IN THE PAST, WE'VE JUST HAD ONE GUY, AND THAT'S, THAT'S HOLLYWOOD EVER DRIVE, RIGHT? BUT NOW OUR BOOM GUY CAN DRIVE A REAR LOADER. A REAR LOADER CAN DRIVE A LONG TRUCK. A LONG TRUCK CAN DRIVE A, A, A, YOU KNOW, A BOOM TRUCK AND A BOOM TRUCK CAN DRIVE ALMOST ANYTHING, RIGHT? SO, UH, WE, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF TRAINING, UH, THIS PAST YEAR TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE KNOWS HOW TO DO EVERYTHING JUST SO WE HAVE VACANCIES. WE CAN KIND OF MOVE PIECES AROUND, TRY TO GET OUR, OUR ROUTES ON IN A TIMELY MANNER. UM, AND ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE PRODUCTS OF THAT IS OVER TIME, UH, THIS TIME LAST YEAR IS DOWN $60,000 FROM LAST $60,000 FROM LAST YEAR. SO THAT'S SIGNIFICANT. IF YOU PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE, IF BUREAUS TO GET ANOTHER POSITION FROM THE CITY MANAGER ABOUT $60,000 IS WHAT THAT POSITION WOULD COST. SO THAT, THAT IS, THAT IS SOME SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE, THAT WE SAVED THIS YEAR OVER LAST YEAR BECAUSE OF THESE LITTLE ADJUSTMENTS THAT WE'VE MADE WITH OUR STAFFING. UM, WE TALKED ABOUT OUR COMMERCIAL, UH, DIVISION EARLIER TODAY. OUR COMMERCIAL DIVISION THIS YEAR IS UP $664,000 FROM LAST YEAR. YOU KNOW, AND, AND YOU MENTIONED ABOUT THE ROLL OFF SPECIFICALLY, OUR ROLL OFF DIVISION THIS YEAR MAY ACTUALLY BREAK A MILLION DOLLARS IN SALES AND ROLL OFF ALONE. SO, UM, AND AGAIN, I REALLY DO THINK BECAUSE WE ARE AN OPEN MARKET, IT, IT'S, IT'S THE LEVEL OF SERVICE THAT WE PROVIDE. IT'S THE CUSTOMER SERVICE, THE RESPONSIVENESS. UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE SAY WE'RE GONNA BE THERE AT TWO O'CLOCK, WE'RE GONNA BE THERE AT TWO O'CLOCK BECAUSE WE KNOW OUR CUSTOMERS HAVE, THEY HAVE OPTIONS. THEY CAN USE ANYBODY THEY WANT. SO THAT'S ONE THING THAT ED AND THIS TEAM HAVE REALLY DONE REALLY GOOD THIS YEAR. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE KIND OF SET THE BAR HIGH FOR ED. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WORK OUTSIDE OF GARLAND AND WE'RE NOT WORKING OUTSIDE OF GARLAND AND FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE, BUT I MEAN, IS THERE AN OPTION FOR US DOWN THE ROAD? WHO KNOWS WHO BLOCKS? YEAH. WHO BLOCKS, YOU KNOW, BUT WITH THE, WITH THE STAFF THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, IF THAT'S SOMETHING WE DECIDE TO DO DOWN THE ROAD, I MEAN, IT'S JUST MORE REVENUE FOR THE CITY. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE MAY HAVE ON THE HORIZON. UH, ANOTHER THING THAT WE DID REALLY WELL THIS YEAR IS WE'RE USE THE TECHNOLOGY, UM, EVERYWHERE WE CAN. SO ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE USE IS, IS A SYSTEM CALLED SAMSARA. UM, AND SAMSARA IS, IS A, IT'S A FLEET TELEMATICS COMPANY. WHAT THEY DO IS A, THERE'S A LITTLE GPS UNIT IN THE, IN THE TRUCKS AND CAMERAS, AND THEY MONITOR SPEED, THEY MONITOR THE LOCATION, THE CAMERAS RECORD THE DRIVER'S ACTIVITIES. THEY RECORD WHAT'S [00:20:01] OUT IN FRONT OF 'EM, WHAT'S GETTING PICKED UP. UM, AND WHAT WE'VE FOUND OUT HERE IS WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO REALLY IMPROVE THE LEVEL OF OUR SERVICE. BECAUSE, FOR EXAMPLE, OUR BRUSH AND BROKEN DIVISION, BEFORE, WE DIDN'T KNOW IF A DRIVER GOT THROUGH HIS ROUTE, WE FLAT OUT DIDN'T KNOW. RIGHT? WELL, WITH SAMARA, WE CAN GO BACK AND ACTUALLY TRACK EVERY STREET HE WAS ON THROUGHOUT HIS ENTIRE ROUTE. SO OUR MISSES WHEN CUSTOMERS CALL THAT, HEY, YOU MISSED MY BRUSH AND BULKY, THAT'S, THOSE NUMBERS ARE GOING DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY BECAUSE OUR DRIVERS KNOW NOW THAT, HEY, LOOK, EVERYWHERE I GO, I'M, I'M, I'M, I'M LEAVING A BREADCRUMB, SO TO SPEAK. YOU KNOW? SO THEY KNOW WHERE I'VE BEEN, MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHERE I HAVEN'T BEEN FOR THE DAY, RIGHT? SO, AND, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, SUPERVISOR WILL LOOK AT THEIR COVERAGE MAPS AND IF THERE'S GAPS, HEY, YOU GOTTA GO BACK AND GET THAT AREA. OR THEY'LL START THEIR FIRST THING IN THE MORNING, RIGHT? AND SOMETIMES THESE, THESE GAPS ARE BECAUSE A TRUCK BROKE DOWN OR THERE'S CONSTRUCTION. THERE'S A, A LOT OF DIFFERENT REASONS WHY WE, WE MAY MISS A, A COLLECTION, BUT TYPICALLY IT'S STUFF LIKE THAT. BUT, BUT AGAIN, WITH, WITH KNOWING WHERE WE'VE BEEN, WE CAN REALLY FOCUS ON GOING BACK THERE AND GETTING THAT SERVICE TAKEN CARE OF. LIKE WE SHOULD HAVE ORIGINALLY, UM, SAFETY, UH, WITH THE CAMERAS THAT WE HAVE IN THERE, I'M SURE YOU GOT SOME SCREENSHOTS. SO, UH, THERE, YOU'LL SEE ONE OF OUR, ONE OF THE CAMERAS IN OUR TRUCKS, WE'VE GOT A FRONT FACING CAMERA AND A CAMERA FACING TOWARD THE DRIVER, RIGHT? SO WHEN IT COMES TO SAFETY, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SAM STEER DOES, HAS GOT TECHNOLOGY BUILT INTO THE CAMERA THAT IF IT FEELS THAT THE DRIVER IS DISTRACTED BY LOOKING AT HIS PHONE, IT SENDS AN ALERT. SO THIS DRIVER MAY BE DISTRACTED, RIGHT? AND THEN OUR SAFETY SPECIALIST, MIGUEL, HE'LL GET AN ALERT AND HE'LL, HE'LL REVIEW THE, AND SOMETIMES IT'S LEGITIMATE. IT COULD BE, COULD HAVE DROPPED SOMETHING, IT COULD HAVE BEEN LOOKING NOW FOR WHATEVER REASON, COULDN'T HAVE ALWAYS BEEN LOOKING FOR HIS PHONE, BUT HE'LL GET AN ALERT SAYING, HEY, THIS DRIVER JUST FLAGGED FOR BEING DISTRACTED. AND HE'LL REVIEW IT. AND IF IT WAS IN FACT, HE PICKED UP HIS PHONE OR HE DID SOMETHING UNSAFE, WE, WE'LL COUNSEL HIM. YOU KNOW, AND WE'VE GOT THE FOOTAGE TO BACK IT UP NOW, RIGHT? SO, UM, IT'S KIND OF A, IT'S KIND OF BIG BROTHERS CHOICE TO, TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO SAFETY, WE, WE REALLY CAN'T SPARE ANY EXPENSE WHEN IT COMES TO BEING SAFE, ESPECIALLY WITH SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WITH THESE VEHICLES, AS BIG AS THEY ARE, AS HEAVY AS THEY ARE, IF WE'VE GOT BAD OPERATORS, WE NEED TO KNOW THAT PRETTY QUICK AND, AND GET THEM DOWN THE ROAD. SO, UM, RIGHT THERE YOU'LL SEE THE OTHER, THIS OTHER PICTURE, YOU'LL SEE A, THERE'S SOMEBODY THAT, ONE OF YOUR BRUSH GUYS THAT COMES THROUGH MY NEIGHBORHOOD, HE DRIVES TOO FAST. AND WE'VE GOT, AND WE'VE GOT MEASUREMENTS FOR SPEED AS WELL, MEASURING THAT. GOOD. YEAH. SO WHEN WE GET, WHEN WE GET A CALL FROM BETTY CALLS AND SAY, HEY, YOUR DRIVER'S GOING A HUNDRED MILES AN HOUR DOWN THE STREET, WE CAN ACTUALLY PULL UP, WASN'T GOING QUITE THAT. WE CAN PULL IT UP THAT SECTION AND WE CAN SEE, HEY, THE DRIVER WAS ONLY WAS GOING, YOU KNOW, IN EXCESS OR NOT. BUT WITH, WITH SAMSARA, WE CAN PULL ALL THAT KIND OF, ALL THAT KIND OF INFORMATION. SO HERE'S A VIDEO. THIS IS KIND OF WHAT OUR, OUR MAPS LOOKS LIKE. THAT'S, THAT'S A PICTURE OF ALL OUR ASSETS THAT'S IN THE FIELD, RIGHT? AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE DIFFERENT COLORS BASED ON, YOU KNOW, IF THEY'RE RESIDENTIAL OR RECYCLED OR COMMERCIAL, THEY'RE DIFFERENT COLORS. IF, IF THERE'S A DOT, THAT MEANS THE VEHICLE STOPPED. IF IT'S AN ARROW, THAT MEANS IT'S MOVING AROUND OR WHATEVER. UM, AND, AND THIS PICTURE HERE, THIS IS OUR COVERAGE MAP, RIGHT? SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, OUR SUPERVISOR WILL LOOK AT THEIR COVERAGE MAPS AND SEE, DID WE MISS ANY STREETS, RIGHT? AND IF WE DID MISS ANY STREETS, WE'LL GO BACK AND SERVICE THOSE STREETS, RIGHT? OR EITHER WE'LL DO IT THAT SAME DAY, OR WE'LL DO IT THE FOLLOWING MORNING. YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES, LIKE I SAID, THERE'S CONSTRUCTION OR SOME OTHER INSTANCE. WE DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO GET TO THAT STREET. SO ANY QUESTIONS OR ANY COMMENTS CAN SCANNERS, I'M SORRY, PUT IN CANN SCANNERS WHERE IT'S R F I D, UH, OR BARCODE ON THE TOTES. SO YOU, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED TO FCC AND ROULETTE, THEY HAVE THOSE AND THEY FLAT OUT TOLD US, STAY AWAY FROM 'EM. THEY, THEY'RE, THEY'RE REALLY UNRELIABLE. THEY'RE NOT ACCURATE. UM, WE DO HAVE TO HAVE SOME KIND OF INVENTORY, UH, SYSTEM IN PLACE HERE PRETTY SOON. BUT I'M NOT, I'M NOT SURE THAT'S THE WAY TO GO. THE SHRED TRUCKS, THE PAPER SHRED TRUCKS USE BARCODE SCANNERS. SO THE BARCODES ARE PRINTED RIGHT ON THE TOTES. AND THAT'S OLD TECHNOLOGY. MM-HMM. , IT'S PRETTY FLAWLESS. THE R F I D IS SKETCHY. THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS YOU CAN DO, FILL THE CAN WITH METAL, LITTLE CHIN, A SINGLE. YEAH. SO, UM, BUT THE, TO KNOW IF SOMEBODY'S GOT A CAN, THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE, OR MAYBE EVEN WHERE YOU PICKED UP A LOAD OF CONTAMINATION, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO TELL WITH THEM THREE OR FOUR STOPS, UM, ON THE RECYCLE TRUCK. THAT, SO SPEAKING ABOUT THAT, SO ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO, I ACTUALLY MET WITH THE COMPANY THAT, THAT, UM, PROVIDES RFID SERVICES. IT IS EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE. YEAH. EXTREMELY. IT JUST WASN'T COST EFFECTIVE. IT WASN'T SOMETHING THAT I WAS GONNA BE ABLE TO SELL, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, THE BARCODES CAN, IT'S, IT'S GREAT. IT'S GREAT. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, INVENTORY, LIKE YOU SAID, IF YOU WANNA KNOW HOW MANY CONTAINERS YOU HAVE, WHO'S GOT EXTRA CONTAINERS AND NOT PAYING FOR THEM, YOU'LL GET ALL THAT INFORMATION. THE PROBLEM IS YOUR INITIAL COST IS EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE. WILL IT? ROI IS NO. YEAH. NO. AND YOU MENTIONED CONTAMINATION EARLIER. ONE OF THE TECHNOLOGIES THAT WE'RE SEEING THAT HAS JUST RECENTLY COME ABOUT IS FROM A COMPANY CALLED RUBICON. UM, AND WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE ACTUALLY TALKING WITH RUBICON RIGHT NOW ABOUT DOING OUR ROUTES FOR OUR COMMERCIAL DIVISION. BUT THEY HAVE ANOTHER, ANOTHER, ANOTHER CAMERA THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY SET ON THE TOP, ON THE TOP [00:25:01] OF TOP OF THE TRUCK. AND AS YOU'RE DUMPING THE MATERIAL, IT WILL TELL YOU, IT KNOWS THAT IT'S CONTAMINATION. IT'S NOT CARDBOARD, IT'S NOT PAPER, IT'S NOT ALUMINUM. IT KNOWS RIGHT. NOW YOU'RE SAYING AT THAT POINT, WHAT'S A MATTER, IT'S ALREADY IN THE HOPPER, RIGHT? BUT IT'LL HELP YOU DIRECT YOUR EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS, RIGHT? SO YOU GOT A LOT OF THESE HITS IN CERTAIN AREA. HEY MICHELLE, WE NEED TO CANVAS THIS AREA AND LET THESE FOLKS KNOW, YOU KNOW, IF THEY'RE NOT RECYCLING CORRECTLY, I HELPED A FRIEND PUT ONE ON A ROLL OFF TRUCK. YEAH. SO WE PUT ONE PRETTY MUCH AN ARM LIKE THIS, AND HE CAN TAKE A SHOT, THE DRIVER TAKES A SHOT OF THE CAN AS HE'S PICKING IT UP, SO YOU CAN SEE THE LOCATION AND SEE DOWN INTO THE ROLL OFF MM-HMM. . CAUSE PEOPLE WILL SAY, WELL, I DIDN'T HAVE ANY WOOD IN MY, IT'S A METAL TRUCK. I DIDN'T HAVE ANY WOOD OR ANY CONTAMINATION. IT'S LIKE, THEY KNOW BEFORE IT LEAVES THE LOCATION, WHAT'S IN IT. IT'S A GREAT TOOL. SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY BIG ON TE I'M, PERSONALLY, I'M VERY BIG ON TECHNOLOGY. I THINK IT REALLY DOES HELP US MAKE, MAKE US A LOT MORE EFFICIENT. UM, I, I GET TECHNOLOGY. I, I UNDERSTAND IT'S PURPOSE HERE. UM, AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO EXPLORE STUFF LIKE THAT TO TRY TO MAKE US A LOT MORE EFFICIENT. WELL, THANK YOU GUYS ARE DOING A GREAT JOB. YEAH. REALLY APPRECIATE IT. YES. YES. I WANNA TELL YOU SOMETHING THAT YOU, THAT YOU DID THREE WEEKS AGO. UM, MY TRASH WAS NOT PICKED UP THAT DAY, SO I CALLED AND YOUR SERVICE PEOPLE ARE SOMEWHERE ELSE. I MEAN, THE, YOU KNOW, ANYWAY, SHE SAID, I SAID IT WASN'T PICKED UP. AND SHE SAID, WAS THE LID OPEN? AND I SAID, NO, I DIDN'T LEAVE THE LID OPEN. UH, AND THEN SHE ASKED ME TWO OR THREE OTHER THINGS AND I SAID, NO, IT WAS, IT WAS FINE. I SAID, BUT YOU NEED, IT NEEDS TO BE PICKED UP BECAUSE IT'S GONNA BE SOUP IN THERE BEFORE THE DAY'S OUT, CUZ I CLEANED OUT MY FREEZER AND ALL THAT. SHE SAID, DID YOU BAG IT ? I SAID, YEAH, IT WAS IN BAGS. UH, BUT THE NEXT DAY ON FRIDAY MORNING, SOMEBODY PICKED UP MY TRASH MM-HMM. . AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS FOR THE WHOLE, MY WHOLE ROUTE RIGHT THERE, OR JUST MINE, BUT IT WAS GONE. AND I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU. THANK YOU. WELL, WHEN WE MISS THE PROPERTY, WE TRY TO TRY TO MAKE IT RIGHT AS SOON AS WE CAN MM-HMM. . AND IF SHE SAID IT MIGHT BE 48 HOURS, WELL, THIS WAS FRIDAY MORNING AND I THOUGHT, THEY'RE NOT GONNA PICK THIS UP ON SUNDAY, BUT THEY WERE THERE ON FRIDAY AND GOT IT AGAIN. WE, WE JUST, OURS DID NOT PICKED UP ON SAME THING THREE WEEKS BACK, YOU KNOW, AND THAT WAS GOOD. AND EVERYBODY'S WAS LYING THERE THE NEXT WEEK THEY PICKED UP. BUT THAT, WE REALLY FOCUSED ON THAT, THAT WAS GOOD. SO I'D SAY THANKS. MM-HMM. . SO WHAT ARE THE CONCERNS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE? OH, UH, THAT WE DIDN'T SEE ON THE PRESENTATION, REALLY. I MEAN, OUR BIGGEST CONCERN THAT WE HAVE, AND IT'S REALLY, IT'S IT'S STAFFING, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY HAVE IT REALLY NAILED DOWNWARD. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN AT TWO OR THREE MONTHS. YOU KNOW, SOME CITY COULD START OFFERING A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF MONEY TO, YOU KNOW, TO OUR DRIVERS. BUT RIGHT NOW, OUR BIG CONCERN WHEN I FIRST STARTED HERE WAS STAFFING. BUT HERE, I'M NOT REALLY WORRIED ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW. WE'VE GOT A GOOD GROUP OF GUYS AND I THINK THEY REALLY FEEL RESPECTED AND THEY, THEY ENJOY WHAT THEY DO. UH, YOU KNOW, SO I I, THAT'S OUR BIGGEST CONCERN. BUT RIGHT NOW, IT'S NOT REALLY AN ISSUE. UM, IF WE HAD ANOTHER CONCERN, IT'D PROBABLY BE THE AVAILABILITY OF PARTS TO SERVICE OUR VEHICLES. YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S JUST NATION, THAT'S INDUSTRY WIDE. IT'S, WE JUST, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH PARTS OUT THERE TO SERVICE THESE VEHICLES. UM, BUT AGAIN, WE, WE, WE HAVE A NEW, UH, FLEET DIRECTOR CAME ON BOARD, UH, LAST MONTH AND, AND WE MET WITH HIM. UH, WE'RE GONNA MEET WITH HIM ON A MONTHLY BASIS, AND HE'S GOT SOME REALLY GOOD IDEAS. HE'S REALLY OPEN. WE'RE NUMBER ONE CUSTOMER, RIGHT? SO YOU, IT'S A JOB TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE TAKING CARE OF. UM, AND WE HAD ABOUT AN HOUR LONG MEETING WITH HIM, AND HE'S GOT SOME REALLY GOOD IDEAS THAT I THINK WILL MAKE OUR, OUR, OUR, OUR RELATIONSHIP A LOT BETTER. SO STAFFING IS, UH, IS OUTSOURCE OR, UH, NO, WE DO ALL OUR OWN. OUR, OUR TEMPORARY, OUR TEMPS DO COME FROM A, FROM AN AGENCY, UHHUH. BUT WE, WE HIRE OUR OWN FOLKS. OH, OKAY. YEAH. YOU KNOW, IN TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, GIVING KUDOS TO ED AND HECTOR, THEY, THEY DO THE MAJORITY OF THE HIRING, THEY DO THE MAJORITY OF THE INTERVIEWS. AND THOSE GUYS ARE IN INTERVIEWS 3, 4, 5 TIMES A WEEK, YOU KNOW. BUT, UH, BUT THEY'VE DONE A FANTASTIC JOB, NOT JUST BRINGING STAFF ON BOARD, BUT GOOD QUALITY STAFF, YOU KNOW, STAFF THAT'S GONNA BE HERE FOR A WHILE, AND THAT'S REALLY GONNA HELP US. RIGHT. LET MCKAYLA KNOW THAT I, SHE DID A GOOD JOB ON THAT LITTLE PSA THING. YEAH, I APPRECIATE THAT. YEAH. HER LAST DAY WAS, UH, WAS LAST THURSDAY, I BELIEVE. THURSDAY, BUT YEAH, SHE'S, SHE'S A REAL SHARP KID. REAL SHARP KID. SO WE'RE PROUD OF HER. ANYBODY ELSE? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU GUYS. THANK YOU. YES, THANK YOU. THANK YOU, BETTY. I BELIEVE IT'S UP TO YOU NOW. OKAY. WELL, HOW LONG DO YOU WANNA STAY? I LOOK AT MY NOTES, FIND GOT HERE, OF COURSE, . OF COURSE . BUT COME TO THE KEEP GIRL IN BEAUTIFUL MEETING . YEAH, THAT'S TRUE. THAT IS TRUE. YEAH. INCLUDE THE BOARD NOTE. YEAH. THE, UH, LAST MONTH I GAVE YOU SOME DATES TO REMEMBER. UH, ONE IS SEPTEMBER THE 22ND, WHICH IS NORTH TEXAS, UH, GIVING DAY. AND, UM, I CAN GIVE YOU ALL INFORMATION ON HOW TO GIVE, AND I CAN EVEN TELL YOU HOW MUCH YOU CAN GIVE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THAT. UH, [00:30:01] BUT WE ARE A, UH, 5 0 1 C THREE. SO, UH, WE ARE INCLUDED IN THAT. AND SO WHEN YOU'RE GOING THROUGH THAT LIST OF WHAT, LIKE 5,700, UH, NON-PROFITS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR MONEY, UH, THAT'S WHAT NON-PROFITS DO. YOU KNOW, , THEY DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY. UH, THINK, REMEMBER, KEEP GARLAND BEAUTIFUL, PLEASE. UH, SO THAT'S ON SEPTEMBER 22ND. ACTUALLY, YOU CAN, UH, YOU CAN START BEFORE THAT AND JUST TELL 'EM TO HOLD IT TILL SEPTEMBER 22ND. OR THEY DO IT AUTOMATICALLY USED TO. YOU COULD ONLY GIVE ON THAT ONE DAY, BUT NOW THEY HAVE IT SET UP THAT YOU CAN GIVE AHEAD. THE NEXT, UH, BIG EVENT, A REALLY BIG EVENT IS OCTOBER THE FIRST. THAT IS THE TRI-CITY CLEANUP. AND KENNETH, YOU ASKED ME LAST MONTH, WE'LL BE, BE GOING TO THE HELLO, HELLO, SHRINE SHRINER PLACE. YES, WE WILL. UH, THE PLAN IS WE HAD MEETINGS THIS AFTERNOON OF, UH, REPRESENTATIVES FROM RT, UM, DALLAS AND GARLAND. UH, AND, UH, TALKED ABOUT THIS, UH, THE WAY IT WILL BE DONE THIS THIS YEAR, THE WAY WE DONE THE PAST TWO YEARS, AND WE'LL DO IT THIS YEAR, IS HAVE WORKSTATIONS OR WORK CLEANUP STATIONS SET UP WITH A TEAM LEADER. AND PEOPLE WILL GO STRAIGHT TO THEIR WORKS PLACE. THEY DON'T GO TO THE, UH, UM, OUT TO THE GROUNDS. FIRST THEY GO STRAIGHT TO WORK, AND THEN WHEN THEY FINISH THEIR CLEANUP, THEY LEAVE IT, THEY WILL PROBABLY LEAVE IT IN THAT PLACE BECAUSE PARKS IS GOING TO TALK TO YOUR OLD TO SEE ABOUT THE ROLL OFFS. UM, I'M JUST BEATING YOU TO BEATING HIM TO IT. . WELL, SINCE YOU'RE IN ROLLETTE, YOU CAN GET FCC TO PICK IT UP. WELL, NO, WE'RE IN GARLAND. WE'RE IN GARLAND. WE'RE RUNNING THE BORDER. IT'S IN GARLAND. MOSTLY JUST PARK IT ACROSS THE STREET. WE'LL BE THAT'S RIGHT. SO, UM, NO, WE CAN DO THAT FOR YOU GUYS. YEAH. UM, I HAVE A MEETING WITH MATT TOMORROW AFTERNOON AGAIN, AND WE'RE GOING TO DO MORE DETAILS. OKAY. UM, AND SO STARTING AT ABOUT 11 O'CLOCK, PEOPLE WILL START CHECKING IN AT THE, UM, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO CALL IT, THE GROUNDS, I GUESS. AND THEN WE'LL HAVE LUNCH. WE'RE HOPING THAT THE, UM, IT'S CALLED BIG TECHS. IT'S AT MOST HAS THIS BIG KITCHEN THING THAT THEY CARRY FROM PLACE TO PLACE FOR EVENTS. AND THEY COOK REALLY GOOD THINGS. THEY DO HOT DOGS, HAMBURGERS, AND THOSE, UM, SAUSAGE THINGS. AND THEY ARE REALLY, AND THEN WE PROVIDE THE SUPPLEMENTAL STUFF. UH, WE'LL HAVE DOOR PRIZES. WELL, WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE, UM, A DJ. SOME OF YOU'VE MET HIM. HIS NAME IS KEVIN DURANT. AND HE, HE HAS USED TO WORK FOR CITY OF GARLAND, BUT HE DOES A LOT OF WORK WITH DIFFERENT EVENTS. AND, UM, WE'LL HAVE, UM, AS I THINK WE, I SAID DOOR PRIZES AND RECOGNIZE PEOPLE WHO FOUND THE MOST UNUSUAL OBJECTS, THE MOST PEOPLE WHO TURNED IN, WHO CAME IN AND SO ON. THAT IS OCTOBER THE FIRST. AND IF YOU WANT TO SIGN UP, IT WILL START WEDNESDAY OF NEXT WEEK SIGNING UP. AND IF YOU WANT TO SIGN UP FOR IT, YOU DO IT, UH, WITH, UH, TRI-CITY CLEANUP.ORG, AND IT WILL DIRECT YOU TO, UM, BRIGHT, SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WHATEVER IT'S CALLED. IT WILL DIRECT YOU TO THAT. AND BY NEXT WEDNESDAY, WE HOPE TO HAVE ALL THE LOCATIONS IN GARLAND THAT PEOPLE CAN WORK AT. AND IF THEY WANT TO, TO WORK, FOR EXAMPLE, AT SPRING CREEK, THEY, THEY'LL SIGN UP AT SPRING CREEK OR IF THEY WANT TO WORK AT, UM, A SPOT ON DUCK CREEK, WE'RE GONNA HAVE LIKE SEVERAL SPOTS ON DUCK CREEK. AND, UM, SO YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR THE PLACE YOU WANT TO GO. IT'LL HAVE 'EM LISTED. AND WE ENCOURAGE WHOLE FAMILIES TO COME. INDIVIDUALS, CHURCH GROUPS, BUSINESS GROUPS, ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO DO THIS. HOW'D YOU GUYS DECIDE ON LOCATIONS? HOW DO WE DECIDE? YEAH, WE'RE DECIDING TOMORROW. , WE'VE ALREADY GOT ABOUT SIX IN MIND, BUT IF YOU HAVE ONE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE FOR US TO DO, TELL ME AND I'LL TELL MATT. UH, WE'LL, WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING ON MATT. HE'S, UH, THIS IS KIND OF BASED ON WHAT, WHAT PLACES WE'VE WORKED BEFORE AND WHERE THE, THE NOW, ONE THING ABOUT IT, UNTIL TODAY, WE DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THINGS FLOATING DOWN THE CREEK. . I KNOW I WAS ASKING ABOUT. YEAH, WE, THAT WAS NOT A PROBLEM. UM, BUT BY, BY, UH, OCTOBER [00:35:01] THE FIRST, WE HOPE IT WILL HAVE RAINED ENOUGH FOR THAT TO BE A PROBLEM. UM, I THINK THAT'S ALL THEFOR. AND IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER TO BE A LEADER, TEAM LEADER AT ONE OF THE LOCATIONS, THAT WOULD BE VERY GOOD. WE CALL TEAM LEADERS OR A ADULTS THAT SOMEBODY OVER THE AGE OF 18, YOU KNOW, UH, THEY CAN BE SCOUT LEADERS, UM, YOUTH COUNSELORS, I MEAN PEOPLE PARENTS. UH, BUT THEY, THEY HAVE TO, WE'LL FIND OUT WHO THEY ARE. AND WE ALWAYS HAVE PEOPLE HAVE TO SIGN THESE LIABILITY THINGS, WAIVERS, AND SO ON. UH, AND, UM, ROBERT HAS SERVED AS ONE FOR THE PAST. A HE'S HE'S MULTI-TALENTED. HE DID TWO IN ONE DAY. HE WAS AT TWO DIFFERENT PLACES. SO MAYBE YOU, MAYBE YOU'RE THAT TALENTED TOO. UM, I DON'T KNOW. ANY OTHER, ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT NORTEX? I MEAN ABOUT THE, UH, TRI-CITY CLEANUP THAT I HAVEN'T ANSWERED. IT WILL BE LISTED IN THE, UH, CITY PRESS. NEXT ISSUE IS CITY PRESS, WHICH WILL BE SEPTEMBER THE FIRST. BETTY, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT VOLUNTEERS NEED TO BRING WITH THEM? BAGS, GLOVES? WE HAVE TWICE IN GENERAL. NO, WE HAVE ALL THAT FOR PEOPLE. UH, IN FACT, , I HAVE ALL THAT FOR PEOPLE. UH, WE WILL MEET THE WEEK, SOMETIME IN THE WEEK BEFORE OCTOBER THE FIRST AND FEEL WHAT WE CALL GOODIE BAGS. AND SO IF VOLUNTEERS WANT TO DO THAT, AND WE'LL PROBABLY MEET OUT AND RALLY IT AND DO THIS, AND WE HAVE THESE LITTLE BACKPACKS OR WHATEVER, AND WE PUT ALL KINDS OF, UM, UH, USEFUL AND USELESS ITEMS IN THEM. UH, BUT, UH, WE, WE DO THAT. AND SO IF SOMEBODY WOULD LIKE TO DONATE, UM, THAT SORT OF THING. WE PUT IN WATER. WE HAVE WATER BOTTLES, JUST REGULAR WATER, WATER BOTTLE, REFILLABLES. UM, BUT DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WOULD BE USEFUL THAT ARE ENVIRONMENTALLY GOOD. SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE AREN'T GONNA THROW AWAY AS SOON AS THEY GET, UH, THEY CAN, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE DON DONATIONS, I DIDN'T BRING MY, UH, PEN THAT MICHELLE GAVE US, BUT THAT CUTE LITTLE PEN LIKE Y'ALL HAVE . UH, THOSE ARE NEAT. UH, WE HAVE NOTEPADS, WE HAVE THAT. WE'VE HAD, UM, THE LITTLE SHOWER TIMERS FOR PEOPLE. UM, ALL OF THE, UH, AND WE WERE LISTENING TO INVENTORIES TODAY FROM THE CITY OF, OF DALLAS. AND SO THEIR WATER DEPARTMENT AND THEIR, UH, THE, WHOEVER DOES THE LAKE, WHATEVER WE CALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO MANAGE, WHO DO THE LAKE, AND, UM, DOES ANOTHER DEPARTMENT THAT THEY ARE GOING TO BE WORKING WITH US. SO WE GET A FEW THINGS FROM THEM. BUT THAT'S THE SORT OF THING THAT'S GOOD ADVERTISEMENTS FOR THE CITY THAT, UM, PEOPLE WILL PICK IT UP AND SAY, OH, WELL LOOK WHAT PEOPLE IN GARLAND DO. MM-HMM. . UM, BUT I HAVE TRASH BAGS AND I, UH, AROUND PEOPLE HAVE A LOT OF TRA WE HAVE A LOT OF TRASH BAGS. WE HAVE THE GLOVES, WE HAVE, UH, GRABBERS, UM, WE HAVE, UM, THESE HOOKS THAT GO INSIDE TRASH BAGS. UH, UM, IF ANYTHING, UH, WELL, THEY'RE HOPING TO HAVE A KAYAK. SOME KAYAKS GO OUT OF A COUPLE, A FEW PLACES. UH, UP UNTIL TODAY THEY COULD HAVE WALKED OUT THERE , YOU KNOW? MM-HMM. , WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN. BUT, UH, THERE WILL BE, UH, THEY HAVE THESE LONG GRABBERS THINGS FOR THE PEOPLE ON THE KAYAKS. AND UH, THEY HAVE, THEY HAVE THESE SPECIAL CREWS THAT DO THAT. SO THE AVERAGE PERSON IS GONNA SIGN UP TO BE ON A KAYAK. BUT, UM, SO THEY'RE TRYING TO COVER ALL THE, ALL THE BASES OF WHAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN DO. BUT THOSE, THOSE KIND OF ITEMS THAT WE GO ARE, ARE AS KENNETH CALLS, 'EM SWAG, BUT I CALL 'EM GOODY BAGS. UH, , THAT WOULD BE, WELL, I'M ASKING FOR SWAG FOR 'EM RIGHT NOW. ARE YOU? YES. YOU'RE GOOD. GOOD FOR, YOU HAVE TO RECYCLINGS BRAND ITEMS THAT YOU GUYS ARE TRYING TO GET, TRYING TO GET RID OF. WE CAN LOOK INTO THAT. YEAH, HE, THAT'S WHAT I WAS ASKING. TO SEE WHAT WE HAVE ON IN STORY AND, AND INVENTORY AND THEN, UH, WE CAN GET WITH YOU PAULA. UH, BRACE ACTOR HAS SOME THINGS. WE'RE GONNA HAVE THESE DOOR PRIZES AND PAULA ALWAYS HAS REALLY NEAT STUFF FOR DOOR PRIZES. UM, BUT JUST THINGS LIKE THAT WOULD BE, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT TODAY, WE JUST DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH STUFF TO FILL THE BAGS. WOULD THIS BE A GOOD TIME TO REQUEST A ROLL OFF ? I'VE ALREADY REQUESTED THE ROLL OFF'S GONNA COVER THE DOTS FOR EACH LOOK. ALREADY DID. I'M ALREADY DONE THAT. UH, LET'S SEE, ANYTHING ELSE THAT ANYBODY HAS A QUESTION ABOUT? ON, ON THE, ABOUT HOW MANY BAGS DO YOU THINK YOU [00:40:01] WANT TO DO? HOW MANY BAGS? YES. GOODY BAGS. IF I'M ASKING FOR SOMEBODY TO ATE SOMETHING, WHAT? 500 SOMETHINGS? NO, WE DON'T NEED THAT MANY BECAUSE WE HAVE SOME, BECAUSE WE WERE, THE PAST TWO YEARS, WE HAVE NOT USED AS MANY THINGS. YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T GIVEN THAT AS ME. SO WE HAVE SOME LEFT IN RESERVE, BUT ONE THING WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, WERE T-SHIRTS. DO WE WANT T-SHIRTS THIS YEAR? OR DID THEY WANT BANDANAS OR SOMEBODY CONSIDER THIS NECK THING THAT YOU PUT ON FOR COOLING, YOU CAN GET COOL, WHAT DO YOU CALL IT? COOLING TOWELS, WHATEVER. YEAH. AND, UH, THEY HAD ANOTHER NAME FOR IT. THEY DID THAT AND IT NICE BAG OF WHATEVER. YEAH. IT'S WHATEVER , IT'S, SO THEY SAID YOU PUT IT AROUND YOUR NECK AND IT GETS YOU COOL. OR IF IT'S COLD, YOU PUT IT OVER YOUR FACE AND IT KEEPS YOU WARM. MM-HMM. , IT'S A TALENTED COOLING TOWEL, WHATEVER. SO, UM, UM, THEY WERE HOPING, WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE CLOSE TO 500 PEOPLE AND WE HAVE 300, I CALL 'EM DIDDY BAGS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO CALL 'EM. UH, THAT WE CAN FEEL. UH, SO THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE AT THE MOMENT. SO GO WITH 300, BOB. YEAH. THANK YOU. UH, WELL, WE HAVE 300 AND WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE 300 MORE WOULD COME IN. YEAH. WHATEVER. AND AS, AND AS PEOPLE SAID, IF WE DON'T USE 'EM THIS YEAR, WE'LL USE 'EM NEXT YEAR. AND RET WILL HAVE SOME TOO. SO YEAH, WE WILL, WE'LL HAVE EM. SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR LIKE WATER BOTTLES. UH, THAT WAS, OR CAN I GET SOMEBODY SPONSORED T-SHIRTS? DO WE HAVE ENOUGH TIME? YEAH, SURE. OH YEAH. SOME KEEP GROWING BEAUTIFUL T-SHIRTS WITH THE, THE RECYCLING COMPANIES ON 'EM. WE, WHATEVER, WHATEVER SOMEBODY WANTS TO DONATE. UH, AND FCC IS REALLY GOOD. THEY DONATE TO $2,500 TO, UH, KIND OF UNDERWRITE THE WHOLE, WHOLE THING. THREE X THROUGH BOB . LET, BUT THEY'RE THE ONES THAT RALLY DO BUSINESS WITH WHO, UH, WHO ARE YOU GUYS TALKING TO AT FCC? I DON'T KNOW. WE JUST MET WITH THE DIRECTOR. AUSTIN AND I JUST MET WITH THE DIRECTOR YESTERDAY. WELL, I BET THAT'S WHO MARTHA GOES TO. OKAY. YOU KNOW, UH, MARTHA, YOU KNOW MARTHA OUT OF OUTTA RALLY AT MARTHA BROWN? SHE'S, UH, CITY COUNCIL KNOWING SHE'S ON THE CITY COUNCIL. YES. YES SHE IS. I KNOW WHO SHE IS. YES. SHE'S WITH, UH, KEEP RILEY AT. BEAUTIFUL. OH, OKAY. NOW SHE'S ON THE CITY COUNCIL. AND SEE, I MEAN, WE'VE GOT THE BIG GUNS. WE'VE GOT MATT, HE'S THE MAYOR. , YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE, WE'RE GOING WITH HIM. SO THAT'S GOOD. UH, AND TOMORROW I'M MEETING WITH MATT AND PAULA AND, UM, NANCY TENNELL. WE'RE ALL MEETING TO WORK OUT MORE DETAILS. NOW, LAST TIME WE HAD THE MAYORS FROM BOTH. YEAH. THEY'RE GONNA DO THAT AT TW AT 11 TO 12. AND YOU'VE ALREADY ASKED SCOTT. WELL, THEY WILL START DOING IT RIGHT NOW. YOU WANT ME TO DO THAT? WELL, IF YOU WANT HIS, HE'S GONNA KNOW ABOUT IT. IF YOU CAN ASK HIM AND TELL HIM SAVE THE DATE. YEAH. I MEAN, THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD FALL INTO MY WEEK. IT WOULD BE 11 TO 12 TIME, TIME. AND THEY'RE GONNA RAISE THE FLAGS AND ALL. I KNOW WHAT ALL THEY'RE GONNA DO. CAUSE WE JUST, TODAY WAS OUR FIRST OUR FIRST MEETING. HOW MUCH DO YOU CHARGE FOR A SPONSORSHIP? I DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA ABOUT THAT. 500. I'LL HAVE TO TALK TO, TO 500. I DON'T KNOW. WE'LL HAVE TO TALK TO MARTHA ABOUT THAT. YEAH, YEAH. OKAY. OKAY. THAT'S MY, UH, WELL, IF THEY WANNA PUT THEIR LOGO ON THEIR SHOES. OLD SERVICE. YEAH. IT'S 500 TO GET A LOGO. I CAN TELL YOU THAT. YEAH. UM, OKAY. IS THAT, UH, OH, AND ANOTHER THING IS I'VE ALREADY HAD THREE SEPARATE, AND PEOPLE HAVE CALLED ABOUT DOING SEPARATE CLEANUPS. SO WE'RE ALREADY, UH, OUTFITTING PEOPLE. THEY'RE NOT WITH TRI-CITY, THEY'RE JUST WANTING TO DO, YOU KNOW, SO WE'RE, PEOPLE ARE GETTING STARTED AT IT. OKAY. THAT'S THE OCTOBER 1ST. Y'ALL GOT MOST OF THE INFORMATION. MOST OF WHAT I KNOW. LAST TIME IT WAS 200 MINIMUM FOR A T-SHIRT ON THE T-SHIRT, LIKE $500 WOULD GET 'EM PROMINENT. PLACEMENT . WHAT IF THEY BUY THE SHIRTS? WE DON'T KNOW IF THEY PAY FOR THE WHOLE THING. AND THEY'RE ON THE, WELL, WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL TALK LAST TO 'EM. HOW ABOUT IT? UM, OKAY. THAT'S WHAT I KNOW ABOUT, ABOUT THAT. UM, ANOTHER THING, THE SCHOLARSHIP. UH, WE HAVE WORKED UP A SCHOLARSHIP AND IF I KNOW YOU WERE GONNA BE BROUGHT THE APPLICATION TONIGHT TO SHOW YOU WHAT WE'VE DONE. I CAN'T, COULDN'T SEND IT TO YOU BECAUSE IT CAME TO ME IN BITS AND PIECES AND I, SO I JUST HAD TO PRINT 'EM OUT SEPARATELY. BUT I'LL GET IT TO YOU SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT WE'VE DONE. OKAY. THAT'S TRY. HAVE I COVERED EVERYTHING? YES. THAT'S I'M THROUGH WITH KICK GOING AND BEAUTIFUL. AWESOME. NOW I'M READY FOR A RECOGNITION. RECOGNITION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT. YES. AMEN. I'VE GOT SOMEBODY I'M INTERVIEWING NEXT WEEK, AND IT'LL BE SOMEBODY Y'ALL YOU REALLY KNOW REALLY WELL, AND YOU'LL BE GLAD TO BE HIM. AND, UH, WE'LL DO THE RECOGNITION IN OCTOBER, EITHER PROBABLY THE LAST MEETING, A CITY COUNCIL MEETING IN OCTOBER. IT'S [00:45:01] DAVID PARRISH WITH THE, WHO'S WORKED FOR THE CITY FOR SO LONG WITH, UH, PARKS AND ALL OTHER KINDS OF THINGS. SO I HAVE AN INTERVIEW WITH HIM TO GET THE INFORMATION WRITTEN UP. HOW ABOUT THAT? THANK YOU, . VERY GOOD. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT. KEN, COUPLE OF THINGS FROM ON V THEY, UH, CITY COUNCIL APPROVED ONE GRANT FOR THE, UH, SPRING. UH, ON AUGUST 2ND, THEY APPROVED A, UH, DEAL FOR THE RUSTIC OAKS HOA, WHICH IS JUST SOUTH OF I 30. SOME AMENITIES OVER THE POOL. THE SPRINGTIME IS GENERALLY LESS BUSY FOR GRANT APPLICATIONS AND GRANT APPROVALS THAN IT IS FOR FALL, FOR WHATEVER REASON. I GUESS FALL PLANTING IS PROBABLY HAS TO DO WITH THAT. UM, AUGUST, LET'S SEE, 15TH AT THE, I BELIEVE IT'S AUGUST 15TH AT THE CITY COUNCIL, MEANING, UH, ON V'S. GONNA BE THERE FOR A WORK SESSION. DISCUSS THE, AND WE TALKED ABOUT THIS BRIEFLY A COUPLE OF TIMES AGO, THE HOME IMPROVEMENT INCENTIVE PROGRAM. SO ON V AND, AND CITY COUNCIL WILL BE DISCUSSING THAT. THAT'S WHERE THEY DO, UM, A REBATE PROGRAM. UH, THIS PAST YEAR THEY, THE AVERAGE REBATE FOR, UH, THE PROPERTY WAS ALMOST $6,000. SO THEY'VE REBATED ALMOST $2 MILLION IN THE LAST TWO AND A HALF YEARS WITH THIS HOME IMPROVEMENT APPLICATION APPROVAL. UM, ALSO, AND THAT'S, I BELIEVE AUGUST 15TH IS THAT MEETING, WHICH IS LIKE COMING UP. UM, ALSO NATIONAL NIGHT OUT IS OCTOBER 4TH, SO I MAKE A NOTE ON IT. REMEMBER IN TEXAS IT COMES IN OCTOBER, USUALLY THE FIRST TUESDAY IN OCTOBER. UH, ALSO THE NEIGHBORHOOD SUMMIT THIS YEAR IS IN PLANO AT THE SAM JOHNSON CENTER. THAT'S, UH, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH. AND THEY'RE TRYING TO GET ENOUGH PEOPLE INVOLVED TO WANNA RENT A BUS TO GO UP THERE, UH, TO TRANSPORT PEOPLE. PROBABLY FROM HERE OR AT THE, WHAT'S IT, WHAT'S THE GRANDVILLE? GRANDVILLE, YEAH, GRANDVILLE, UH, TO THE, UH, SAM JOHNSON CENTER FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD SUMMIT THIS YEAR IT WILL BE LIVE INSTEAD OF MM-HMM. VIRTUAL LIKE IT'S BEEN FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE. I HAVE SOMETHING I WANNA TELL Y'ALL THAT, YOU KNOW, MICHELLE WAS HERE LAST MONTH AND TALKED TO US AND I SAID, CUZ SHE COME TO OUR BOARD MEETING. SHE CAME, WAS AT OUR BOARD MEETING FOR ORCHARD HILL'S NEIGHBORHOOD. AND, UM, EVERYONE THERE SAID THEY LEARNED A LOT ABOUT RECYCLING. AND THESE ARE THE PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHO KNOW THE MOST ALREADY, YOU KNOW, IF ANYBODY KNOWS ANYTHING, BROOKE KEEPER ON AS PART OF YOUR MEETINGS. I MEAN, SHE'S REALLY TRYING TO GET INVOLVED WITH THE COMMUNITY. YEAH. SO IF YOU HAVE A MEETING AND YOU WANT HER THERE, UH, BUT SHE, UH, CAME AND, AND, AND SHE GAVE US THESE CUTE LITTLE PINS WITH THE LITTLE RANGERS, THE RANGER THINGS WITH THE HATS AND SO ON. UM, BUT WE WERE REALLY PLEASED THAT, UH, THAT SHE CAME AND TALKED TO US. AND SO I WANT TO ENCOURAGE OTHER PEOPLE, IF YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO HAVE HER COME TO YOUR MEETINGS AND DO CUZ UH, SHE, YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS, SHE KNOWS A LOT. SHE'S GOT GOOD INFORMATION. AND SO THE PEOPLE WHO WERE, YOU KNOW, WHO ARE NOT AT THESE MEETINGS, DON'T KNOW THESE THINGS. SO THEY, UM, INVITE HER. THAT'S WHAT I'M GONNA SAY. IF YOU HAVE A CHANCE, GET HER TO YOUR MEETING. MICHELLE. YES. UM, MICHELLE IS VERY ACTIVE WITH THE COMMUNITY. IF, IF THERE'S A CHURCH GROUP THAT'S HAVING A MEETING AND, AND YOU WANTED TO GO AND SPEAK IN FRONT OF THE GROUP, HOA MEETINGS, NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETINGS, JUST RANDOM GATHERINGS OF PEOPLE, IF YOU WANT TO LEARN ABOUT RECYCLING, LET US KNOW. AND, AND SHE'LL GO AND, AND, UH, EDUCATE THE GROUP ON RECYCLING. YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS GONNA MENTION IS THAT THE CITY OF GARLAND SEEMS TO BE VERY, VERY PROACTIVE IN INVOLVEMENT IN COMMUNITY INITIATIVES. AND FOR EXAMPLE, UH, CODE COMPLIANCE, CHRIS HARRIS CAME OUT AND SPOKE AT OUR HOA MEETING, OUR, OUR ANNUAL HOA MEETING. AND THEY'RE MORE THAN HAPPY TO COME OUT AND, AND OFFER THAT KIND OF INFORMATION AND STUFF TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS OR HOAS AND STUFF, BECAUSE THAT HELPS, IT MAKES THEIR JOB EASIER BECAUSE THAT WAY THEY'RE SHARING INFORMATION DIRECTLY WITH THE RESIDENTS AND THE HOMEOWNERS AND STUFF, RATHER THAN PUTTING THE ONUS ON US TO TRY TO SPREAD THE WORD. AND THAT'S, THAT'S A LONG PROCESS. BUT ENVIRONMENTAL WASTE, UH, STORM WATER POLO COME OUT AND TALK TO PEOPLE. SHE DOES A GREAT COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND, AND I DIDN'T KNOW CODE COMPLIANCE WAS THAT HEAVILY INVOLVED, BUT THEY ABSOLUTELY WILL. AND IT WAS KIND OF AS A RESULT OF CHRIS COMING AND TALKING TO US THAT ONE NIGHT, HE SAID, YEAH, I'LL BE HAPPY TO COME OUT. SO SURE THEY DID. ALSO, YOUR NPO FOR ANYBODY THAT HASN'T BEEN IN, IN ANY OTHER BOARDS OR ANY OTHER MEETINGS? I WAS AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, MEETINGS A COUP THE LAST TWO TIMES. SPEAKING OF COMMUNITY INITIATIVES, THERE'S [00:50:01] IN DISTRICT THREE, THERE IS A, THERE'S A PROPOSAL TO BUILD A NEW HIGH DOLLAR APARTMENT COMPLEX, UH, RENTAL COMMUNITY. AND IT'S, YOU DON'T REALIZE WHAT ACTUALLY GOES INTO ALL THAT UNTIL YOU ATTEND ONE OF THESE MEETINGS WITH THESE OTHER GROUPS. AND THEY ARE VERY FORMAL IN THE PLANNING COMMITTEE. I MEAN, THE PLANNING COMMISSION IS VERY FORMAL. THEY'RE ALL IN SUITS. THEY'RE ALL MADAM MA, MR. CHAIRMAN , HE WAS LIKE, YOU ALL AIN KIDDING? AND, AND IT'S AN EYE OPENER BECAUSE THIS WAS A PROPOSAL TO CHANGE THE ZONING ORDINANCE TO ALLOW SOMETHING OTHER THAN WHAT IT WAS ZONED FOR COMMERCIAL. AND NO COMMERCIAL RETAIL'S GONNA BE THERE, BUT IT WAS A HIGH DOLLAR, HIGH END, UH, COMMUNITY THAT'S BEING PLANNED ABOUT. THERE. I WAS ONE OF FOUR PEOPLE WHO WAS IN SUPPORT OF IT AS OPPOSED TO ABOUT 40 PEOPLE WHO WERE AGAINST IT. AND THESE WERE THE OLD FOLKS THAT HAD BEEN THERE FOR 50 YEARS AND DIDN'T WANT US TO BE BUILT 20 YEARS AGO. IS THAT THE GOLF CART AREA? HUH? IS THAT YOU TALKING ABOUT THE GOLF CART AREA? ZION ROAD AREA WAS ZION ROAD AT 30. AND THAT, THAT IS A, A GOING TO BE A HUGE DEVELOPMENT AS THEY START BUILDING I 30 OUT. MM-HMM. . SO IT'S A, IT'S AN AREA THAT'S KIND OF UNTAPPED RIGHT NOW. IT'S OVER BY BASS PRO, BUT FOUR PEOPLE, INCLUDING FORMER MAYOR LLOYD DOBSON, CAME OUT AND SPOKE ON BEHALF OF, LET'S PUT SOMETHING THERE. NOW THAT'S GONNA BE HIGH DOLLAR REVENUE PRODUCING RATHER THAN ANOTHER CHURCH OR A CHEESY STRIP MALL OR A CAR WASH, WHICH WE ALL KNOW WHAT THAT BRINGS. WE'VE GOT NORTH GAR THIS MONTH THERE UNITS. YEAH. YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE NEED MORE, MORE OF THAT. BUT EVERYBODY WAS GRIPING CUZ THEY DIDN'T WANT ANOTHER APARTMENT COMMUNITY. WELL, AT $1,700 A MONTH, THERE'S NOT GONNA BE A WHOLE LOT OF RRA IN THEM APARTMENTS. I'M JUST GONNA SAY THAT. SO IT'S AN EYEOPENER THOUGH, TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF WHAT SOME OF THESE OTHER BOARDS AND ESPECIALLY SOMETHING AS FORMAL AS THE PLANNING COMMITTEE GOES THROUGH, THERE'S FORMAL COUNCIL MEMBERS ON THERE AND IT'S JUST, IF, IF YOU GUYS GET A CHANCE, GO SIT DOWN ON ONE OF THOSE. CUZ I THINK THEY WOULDN'T KNOW WHAT WE DO. WE CERTAINLY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY DO TILL WE GET IN THEIR SHOES. AND IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S A REALLY UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO GET A CHANCE TO DO IT. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. LET'S SEE, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? YES, I HAVE ONE ANNOUNCEMENT. UH, I JUST WANNA LET FOLKS KNOW THAT THERE'S A GREEN COMMUNITIES CONFERENCE IN WACO ON SEPTEMBER 14TH AT NINE TO FIVE. IT IS FREE, BUT YOU DO HAVE TO REGISTER. UH, IT SAYS, HONOR THE GREEN COMMUNITY CONFERENCE IS A ONE DAY EVENT THAT WILL CREATE AN INTENTIONAL SPACE TO GET INVOLVED IN A DIVERSE GROUP OF DOERS WHO WANNA SEE REAL EFFECTIVE CHANGE, JOIN OTHER PROBLEM SOLVERS, ASPIRING CHANGE MAKERS FROM ACROSS TEXAS TO UNPACK, UNDERSTAND, AND TAKE ACTION TOWARD A MOVE TOWARD A MORE SUSTAINABLE, INCLUSIVE FUTURE. WHEN IS THAT ROBERT? THIS IS SEPTEMBER 14TH IN WACO. WACO. AND IT'S LIKE FROM NINE TO, IT'S FROM NINE TO FIVE. WHAT'S IT? COLD. THE DREAM GREENER TOGETHER. YOU CAN PASS THAT DOWN. OOPS. YEAH, YOU'LL DO THE SHELL OUT THERE. I TRIED TO SEND BETTY OUT THERE. YEAH. I SAID, YOU GO. GOOD IDEA. AND YOU'LL HAVE HER ASSISTANT RIGHT THERE. IS THAT IT FOR ANNOUNCEMENT I'D BE DEVICE, SO MM-HMM. , ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? WELL, I'D KINDA LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE COMMERCIAL RECYCLING, UM, BUT I THINK WE'VE COVERED IT PRETTY WELL, BUT I JUST DON'T KNOW IF WE UNDERSTAND THE, THE WAY THE PROGRAM WORKS AND HOW SMALLER COMPANIES CAN GET INVOLVED IF THEY CAN GET INVOLVED AND THAT SORT OF THING. ANYBODY ELSE IS INTERESTED? I, YOU KNOW, ONE AREA THAT WE HAVEN'T REALLY COVERED ON HERE IS ANIMAL SERVICES. AND I KNOW YOU'RE, THAT'S A BIG, YOU KNOW, BIG HEART FOR URIEL. UM, AND MYSELF. I THINK IT'D BE NICE TO EXPOSE THE REST OF, OF EVERYBODY HERE WITH SOMEBODY FROM ANIMAL SERVICES TO COME TALK TO US ABOUT WHAT THEIR INITIATIVES ARE. TO TALK ABOUT NEW EVERYONE HERE BEING TO THE NEW ANIMAL SHELTER. I YOU HAVEN'T HAVEN'T, THAT'S THE REASON I GO, WE DID THE KETTLE CORN FOR THE GRAND OPEN. I DON'T WANNA TAKE ANOTHER ONE. OH, THE NEW PLACE, RIGHT? IT'S YEAH. SO MUCH. NICE. I'VE SEEN PICTURES. IT IS SO WE CAN, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS AND IF YOU GUYS WANT TOUR THE FACILITY. IT IS AMAZING. IT IS. WE CAN DO IT BEFORE THEY OPEN, UH, SO THAT IT'LL BE PRIVATE JUST FOR THE BOARD. WE CAN DEFINITELY GET SOMEONE OUT HERE. WE HAD ART OUT HERE BEFORE, BUT THAT WASN'T HIS, HE WASN'T IN THAT ROLE AT THE TIME. NO. HE WAS JUST TRANSITIONING OVER TO IT. CORRECT. AND YOU USED TO WORK THERE THAT YOU WERE THE DIRECTOR. I WORKED THERE FOR FIVE YEARS. YOU WERE THE DIRECTOR. [00:55:01] I'M GONNA SAY , BUT, BUT I DID ALL THE WORK FOR THE NEW SHELTER. YES. AND GET TO ENJOY THE NEW FACILITY THOUGH. EXACTLY. BUT, BUT YOU'VE BEEN THERE MANY TIMES. AND THAT GRAND OPENING WAS VERY, VERY NICE. YOU CAN WALK, I MEAN IT'S, AND, AND, AND YOU CAN, YOU CAN SAY THAT IT WAS, THAT SHELTER WAS, CAME FROM THAT VISION FROM EVERYBODY GOING TO SEE THE, THE TAJ HALL, THE SPCA OF TEXAS. YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY THAT PLACE IS IS THE TAJ MAHAL OF ANIMAL SHELTERS. AND THEY SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT, THIS IS WHAT WE NEED. WE TOOK A BIG TOUR OUT THERE AND THEY SAID, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO. THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO. IT WAS NICE. AND I'M, AND I'M VERY PROUD THAT WE WERE ABLE TO GET IT DONE. AND THAT'S HOW IT ALL STARTS, YOU KNOW, AN INITIATIVE LIKE THAT. IT WAS A GROUP OF WHAT, FIVE OF US? 6, 5, 6. YES. TURNING TO A $12 MILLION STATE-OF-THE ART FACILITY. BUT IT ALL STARTS WITH ONE PERSON SAYING, HEY, WE, WE NEED TO DO THIS AND WE CAN GET IT. IT DONE. YEP. SO LET'S GET SOME MONEY FROM ANIMAL SERVICES TO COME AND TALK TO US NEXT TIME. AND WE DO HAVE A CITIZEN BECAUSE RECYCLING PUPPIES IS ALSO RECYCLING . YEAH. AND KITTEN, THE CITY HAS A PROGRAM TO KEEP ANIMAL WASTE, UH, UNDER CONTROL TOO. SO, YOU KNOW, THEY PUT UP THE DO DO THE DOO DO THE RIGHT THING. SIGNS. THERE'S ALSO A FINE FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR PEOPLE THAT DON'T KNOW THIS, THERE'S A FINE FOR PET CONTAMINATION. THERE'S ALSO A LEASH LAW. THERE'S ALSO A PIT BULL ORDINANCE IN THE CITY OF GARLAND, WHICH A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW. SO THOSE ARE THINGS THAT, THAT WE MIGHT WANNA KNOW TO, TO HELP SHARE WITH THE PEOPLE IN OUR I CAN TALK TO ART AND WE'LL GET 'EM OUT AND HOPEFUL THE NEXT MEETING. YEAH. WHO KNEW THERE WAS A PIT BULL ORDINANCE. I DID A SPECIFIC PIT BULLDOG AND PEOPLE WERE INSISTING I GET A SIX FOOT FENCE BECAUSE OF IT. IT'S OKAY. THEY CAN JUMP THAT TOO. UM, CITIZEN COMMENTS. WE HAVE SOMEBODY TONIGHT. HELLO? YES, OF COURSE. BEFORE I HAVE THREE MINUTES. COULD SOMEONE YES, YES. YOU'VE GOT, YOU'VE GOT THREE MINUTES AND WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO COMMENT. OKAY. BEFORE I START, I WANTED TO TELL THIS GENTLEMAN, I DO HOME IMPROVEMENTS AND I WORK IN LOTS OF DIFFERENT CITIES AND LOTS OF CITIES PICKUP TRASH. AND GARLAND IS PHENOMENAL. MM. DALLAS IS ONCE A MONTH. NOW WE CHARGE YOU OVER THREE CUBIC YARDS OR FIVE. I JUST WANNA LET YOU KNOW, I HAVE A LOT OF RESPECT FOR YOUR CITATION DEPARTMENT. APPRECIATE IT. YEAH. SO, IF YOU DON'T MIND, CAN, CAN YOU START WITH YOUR NAME AND YOUR ADDRESS AND THEN WE'LL START WITH YOUR THREE MINUTES. OKAY. THAT'S, THAT'S REASONABLE. UH, MY NAME IS STEVE TAYLOR. I LIVE AT 1302 FRIO LANE IN GARLAND. YOU CAN HAVE A SEAT. YEAH, I'LL STAND, I DON'T MIND STANDING. WE WON'T. I'M SITTING FOR, IT'S JUST THE, THE MEETING IS BEING RECORDED AND THUS THE MICROPHONE IS GONNA BE ABLE TO CATCH YOUR VOICE BETTER IF YOU SIT RIGHT. I'LL SIT FOR THE MICROPHONE. . SO MY THREE MINUTES HAVE STARTED. I'LL START RIGHT NOW. I SENT A, THIS DOCUMENT, THIS LETTER TO UH, JEFF BASS. I DON'T THINK HE'S HERE TONIGHT. I'M GONNA READ IT QUICKLY. I DON'T KNOW IF ALL OF YOU HAVE SEEN IT. HE ASKED ME TO PUT MY CONCERNS AND A PROBLEM AND SOLUTION APPROACH. THE PROBLEM I HAVE HERE IS WE AS HUMANS ARE DESTROYING OUR PRECIOUS AND BEAUTIFUL HOME AND PLANET. WE'RE ACCOMPLISHING THIS BY DOING A VERY BAD JOB OF MANAGING AND DISPOSING OF OUR WASTE. WE ARE DEPOSITING PESTICIDES, HERBICIDES, PLASTICS, LEAD NUCLEAR WASTE, AND COUNTLESS OTHER TOXINS OVER THE ENTIRE PLANET. I'M HERE TO TRY AND FOCUS ON PLASTIC. IT IS NOW IN MICROPLASTIC FORM AND IN MOST OF OUR BODIES, I DUNNO IF YOU'RE AWARE OF THAT OR NOT. UM, IT'S A BIG PROBLEM. SO, UM, I'M ASKING THE, UH, THE CITY AND YOU ALL FOR SOME LEADERSHIP IN HELPING US PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT IN GARLAND. UH, I'M IN THIS ASKING THIS COMMITTEE TO RECOMMEND ALLOCATING FUNDS TO CREATE SOMETHING ON THE LINE OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAM. I SPOKE WITH MICHELLE ALREADY, SHE'S NOT HERE TODAY CUZ SHE'S HAVING SOME STOMACH PROBLEMS. SHE'S, UM, IN FAVOR OF WHAT I'M TALKING TO YOU ABOUT. AND SHE SAID TO ME, SHE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S 83,000 HOMES HERE AND, UH, SHE'S ONLY ONE PERSON TO GO OUT AND SEE THEM. AND THERE'S ALMOST A QUARTER OF A MILLION PEOPLE. AND SHE WAS, YOU KNOW, SHE WOULD ENCOURAGE ANY ADDITIONAL HELP. UM, MY SOLUTION HERE. OH, AND, AND SO THE IDEA IS AS YOU KNOW, OUR DEMOCRACY IS BASED ON OUR EDUCATING OUR PUBLIC, WHICH IS WHY WE HAVE PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM. IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AND I, I REALLY FEEL THAT THERE'S A GREAT NEED NOT ONLY IN GARLAND, BUT IN A LOT OF PLACES FOR EDUCATING PEOPLE MORE ABOUT RECYCLING AND THE DAMAGE WE'RE DOING TO OUR ENVIRONMENT AND HOW IT CAN BE CHANGED SO THAT THE THREE R'S, AS YOU ALL KNOW, ARE VERY IMPORTANT. AND I WOULD LIKE TO ADVOCATE THAT. SO MY, LIKE, MY SOLUTION IS I WOULD ADVOCATE, UH, $1 FEE ONCE A QUARTER TO ADD IT TO OUR UTILITY BILLS THAT WOULD APP CREATE APPROXIMATELY $340,000 TO BE USED TO THIS. WHAT I'M ASKING FOR AN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ORGANIZATION. UM, THE, AND I'M, AND I, AND SPEAKING TO MICHELLE, YOU KNOW, SHE TOLD ME SHE'S DOING SOME OF THESE THINGS, BUT SHE'S JUST REALLY, YOU KNOW, IT'S OVERWHELMING THE NUMBER OF, OF PEOPLE IN THE NUMBER OF, UH, HOUSEHOLDS [01:00:01] TO TRY TO GET TO. UM, REAL QUICKLY, I'LL TELL YOU A QUICK STORY. I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO GO INTO ALL WHAT I WANT TO. 45 SECONDS. THANK YOU. UM, SO I BUY A 12 PACK OF BEER FROM KROGER ONCE A WEEK, UH, LAST ME OF THE WEEK. AND IF I HAVE FRIENDS OVER, I RUN SHORT AND I'LL GO TO THE STORE AND GET A SIX PACK. EVERY TIME I'VE GONE TO THOSE, GET A SIX PACK, THEY PUT IN A PLASTIC BAG AND I SAID, NO, NO, I DON'T NEED A PLASTIC BAG. THANK YOU. OH, IT'S THE LAW. YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT IN A PLASTIC BAG. WELL, IT'S NOT THE LAW. I'VE TALKED TO THE POLICE AND SO THIS LAST PERSON WOULDN'T SELL ME THE BEER BECAUSE I WOULDN'T TAKE IT IN A PLASTIC BAG. SO THERE'S THAT KIND OF IGNORANCE AND PEOPLE ARE SPREADING SAYING YOU HAVE TO HAVE PLASTIC BAGS. THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF, OF THE KIND OF PROBLEMS AND THAT'S ENDEMIC IN OUR CULTURE. UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THAT, ANYWAY, SO THERE'S, THERE'S LOTS OF ISSUES THERE AND I DON'T HAVE A LOT MORE TIME TO GO INTO, BUT THAT'S WHAT I'M ASKING YOU ALL TO, TO, TO DO. SO I'LL END IT THERE AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU SIR. THANK YOU. SURE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. SO I BELIEVE THAT IS IT FOR TODAY. AND UH, THANK YOU EVERYBODY. I HAD FUN. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU DID. * 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.