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49TH.

2023

[00:00:01]

PARKS

[Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on February 9, 2023]

AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, UH, BOARD MEETING.

AND, UH, WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A ROOM FULL OF GUESTS TONIGHT, WHICH WE'RE GLAD TO HAVE ALL OF YOU HERE.

WE'D LIKE TO SEE YOU COME BACK EVERY TIME, , AND, AND I'M SURE THE TIME WE'D GET THROUGH THIS, IF YOU STAYED ALL ALONG, YOU, YOU'D BE READY TO GO.

UH, SO, UH, THE FIRST THING ON THE AGENDA TONIGHT IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER MEETING.

UH, I NEED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.

I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE APPROVE THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED, A MOTION MADE BY MR. PARISH AND SECOND, SECOND BY MR. KERNER.

DO WE HAVE ANY DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE.

WE'LL CALL FOR A VOTE.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.

AYE.

AYE.

ALL OPPOSED? LIKEWISE.

MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY.

UH, WE'LL HAVE ONE OTHER PIECE OF BUSINESS HERE.

WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A NEW MEMBER WITH US TONIGHT.

OH, BOY.

OH BOY.

OH BOY.

UH, TAMARA, WOULD YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOU? GOOD EVENING.

MY NAME IS, UH, TAMARA KENO.

I, UH, GREW UP IN GARLAND, UH, MOVED AWAY, WENT TO A AND M, MAJORED IN PARSON REC, AND, UH, CAME BACK AND, UH, WANTED TO BE BACK WHERE I GREW UP AND STUDYING, UH, MY MASTERS IN, UM, UH, PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AT UTD.

AND I OVERSEE THE LAKE HIGHLAND NORTH REC CENTER FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS.

UH, I'VE BEEN THERE FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS.

RIGHT NOW I'M ABOUT TO GRADUATE FROM THE TEXAS PARK AND REC SOCIETY'S ACADEMY LEADERSHIP NEXT MONTH AT THE CHAPS INSTITUTE.

SO, REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.

UM, AND YEAH, LOVE RECREATION, UM, LOVE OUTDOORS, AND, UH, I'M REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

WELCOME.

WELL, THANK YOU.

AND YOU, YOU STARTED YOUR WORK BACK WHEN YOU CAME OUTTA COLLEGE.

DID YOU START HERE WITH THE CITY OF GARLAND? YES.

YES, I DID.

UM, I WAS A REC A AT THE HBA RECREATION CENTER.

HOBA, YES.

OKAY.

AND YOU'RE NOT GONNA RECOGNIZE THAT ONE IN A FEW MONTHS.

.

I KNOW.

YEAH.

I'M VERY EXCITED.

GET A, GET A GYM, .

ALL RIGHT.

WELL, THANK YOU MA'AM.

FINALLY BEING HERE.

ALL RIGHT.

UH, WE'RE GONNA CHANGE THE, JUST A LITTLE BIT.

WE'RE GONNA, THAT WAS, UM, WE'RE GONNA GO TO ITEMS UNDER, FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION.

I'M GONNA MOVE TWO A TO THE REAR OF THE MEETING SO WE CAN GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED WITH THE, WITH OUR MAJOR PART OF, UH, THIS MEETING.

UH, GOING TO MOVE TO, UH, ITEM TWO B, WHICH IS CONSIDERED THE RECOMMENDATION OF FACILITIES AND FINANCE COMMITTEE TO GATHER ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR POSSIBLE RENAMING OF SKATE PARK.

AND, UH, Z I SEE YOU'VE COME UP TO THE FRONT, OR YOU YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A PRESENTATION FOR US HERE? YES.

GOOD EVENING.

UM, MY NAME IS Z KOROT, AND I'M HERE TO, UH, PRESENT ON THIS ITEM.

UH, SO JUST A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND.

I DO HAVE A, A FEW SLIDES TO SHARE.

ONE MOMENT.

ZIA, WOULD YOU GIVE US YOUR, UH, POSITION WITH THE PARKS DEPARTMENT? YES, I'M THE, UH, PROJECTS ADMINISTRATOR, UH, HEAD OF THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION.

THANK YOU, SIR.

SO, UM, MEMBERS OF THE PARKS BOARD, UH, WE'RE COMING FORWARD TONIGHT WITH, UH, AN ITEM TO DISCUSS THE RENAMING OF, UH, THE BONEYARD AND GARLAND SKATE PARK, UH, IN RECOGNITION OF JOHN COMER.

UH, SO THE BACKGROUND ON THIS ITEM IS TO, UM, DISCUSS A RECENT REQUEST FROM, UH, BY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO NAME THE NEWLY CONSTRUCTED SKATE PARK IN THE NAME OF JOHN COMER.

UH, JOHN COMER WAS A TRAILBLAZER AND ADAPT TO SKATEBOARDING, AND, UH, HE INSPIRED MANY SKATEBOARDERS, UH, DUE TO HIS REMARKABLE SKATEBOARDING SKILLS, DESPITE HAVING A PROSTHETIC LEG.

UM, SOCIAL MEDIA VI VIDEO WAS CREATED BY TONY HAWK, UH, PROFESSIONAL SKATEBOARDER CLOSE TO JOHN COMER, UH, URGING THE CITY OF GARLAND TO NAME THE NEWLY CONSTRUCTED SKATE PARK IN, UH, JOHN COMER'S NAME.

UH, THE, THE GARLAND CITY COUNCIL, UH, HAS, UM, HEARD THE, UH, REQUEST FROM THE PUBLIC AND DESIRES TO GATHER ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON, UM, COMER'S CONNECTION TO THE CITY.

AND SO THIS ITEM IS BEING BROUGHT TO THE PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD FOR DISCUSSION, UH, ON THE COUNCIL'S REQUEST.

AND SO, UM, UH, SO TONIGHT, UH, THE RECOMMENDATION FROM STAFF IS TO REQUEST THE PARK BOARD, UH, HELP GATHER INFORMATION ABOUT JOHN COMER AND HIS CONNECTION TO THE CITY OF GARLAND.

UM, I DID, UM, INCLUDE A LINK TO A NEWS ARTICLE THAT WAS, UM, PUBLISHED BY W F A A, UH, THAT HAS THE VIDEO THAT, UH, TONY HAWK, UM, DID PUT OUT, I BELIEVE, ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

AND I'LL PULL THAT UP IN JUST A MOMENT.

[00:05:01]

HEY, GUYS, THIS IS TONY HAWK WITH A MESSAGE TO THE GARLAND COUNCIL, UM, ABOUT JOHN.

LET ME SEE IF I CAN GET IT IN FULL SCREEN.

WELL, THAT'S NOT, NOT GONNA ALLOW ME TO DO THAT.

REMEMBER WHO I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF SKATING WITH FOR ALMOST A DECADE, AND ACTUALLY SPONSORED, UH, ON MY TEAM BIRDHOUSE FOR A LITTLE BIT.

AND HE WAS TRULY AN INSPIRATION TO SKATERS.

HE WAS A PIONEER IN SKATING.

HE, HE WAS AN AMAZING INDIVIDUAL, UM, AND A HUGE INSPIRATION TO ADAPTIVE ATHLETES, ESPECIALLY IN SKATING AND IN ACTION SPORTS.

SO, UM, I BELIEVE THAT IT WOULD BE IN YOUR BEST INTEREST TO MEMORIALIZE HIS NAME, UM, IN ASSOCIATION WITH ASSOCIATION WITH THE SKATE PARK IN HIS HOMETOWN.

IT WOULD HELP SOLIDIFY HIS LEGACY, UM, AND IT WOULD BE AN INSPIRATION FOR OTHER SKATERS IN YEARS TO COME.

UM, HE WAS, LIKE I SAID, HE WAS AN INSPIRATION TO ME.

UH, I'M SO THANKFUL TO HAVE KNOWN HIM AND TO HONOR HIM IN HIS HOMETOWN OF GARLAND, TEXAS WOULD BE HUGE.

SO I ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO SO, AND I PROMISE, UH, YOU'LL, YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.

AND, UM, HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY WILL THANK YOU FOR IT.

SO PLEASE KEEP HIS LEGACY ALIVE.

THANK YOU.

UH, THERE'S A, A FULL ARTICLE ON W F A A, UM, AND I, I CAN SHARE THIS LINK WITH YOU, UM, IF YOU'D LIKE TO READ THE ARTICLE, THAT THOSE AND SEVERAL OTHER ARTICLES ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE.

UM, SO, UM, JUST GOING BACK TO, UM, THE DISCUSSION, UH, THERE ARE SEVERAL OPTIONS THAT, UM, CAN BE CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD FOR, UM, A FORMAL RECOMMENDATION TO COUNSEL.

I THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND SOME TIME GATHERING INFORMATION ABOUT JOHN COMER AND HIS CONNECTION TO THE CITY, UM, SO THAT, UH, THE PARKS BOARD, UH, CAN BE MADE AWARE OF, OF THE FULL STORY, AND THEN PROVIDE A FORMAL RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME.

UH, WE'VE INCLUDED A FEW OPTIONS, UH, FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.

UH, NONE OF WHICH ARE, UM, FINAL OR FORMAL IN ANY WAY.

UH, THEY'RE JUST FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.

THEY CAN BE COMBINED OR EXCLUDED, UH, YOUR DISCRETION.

UH, ONE WOULD BE TO, UH, FORMALLY RENAME THE SKATE PARK, UM, FROM THE BONEYARD AND GARLAND, UH, TO A DIFFERENT NAME WITH, UH, UH, JOHN COMER, UH, MENTIONED.

UH, ANOTHER OPTION MIGHT BE TO, UM, UH, HOLD AN ANNUAL SKATEBOARDING COMPETITION, THE NAME OF JOHN COMER.

ANOTHER MIGHT BE TO, UH, DEDICATE THE SKATE PARK WITH THE PLAQUE IN THE NAME OF JOHN COMER.

UM, ANOTHER OPTION, UH, MIGHT BE TO, UM, COMMISSION A PUBLIC ART PIECE IN THE NAME, UH, IN HONOR OF JOHN COMER.

UH, SO THERE ARE MANY OPTIONS THAT, UM, ARE AVAILABLE, UH, FOR RECOMMENDATION AND CONSIDERATION.

UM, SO WITH THAT, I'LL, I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.

ANY QUESTIONS, MR. PARISH? SIR, DO WE HAVE A TIMEFRAME WHEN WE NEED TO GET BACK WITH COUNSEL? UH, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THERE'S, UH, THERE'S NO TIMELINE THAT THE COUNCIL HAS, HAS, UM, HAS ASKED FOR.

SO I THINK THAT THE, THE MAIN GOAL IS JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE WHOLE STORY AND A, UM, A THOROUGHLY, UM, THOUGHT OUT, YOU KNOW, RECOMMENDATION TO PRESENT TO THEM.

YEAH.

SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT, UM, WE GET THE STORY RIGHT, YOU KNOW? SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS WE PROBABLY DON'T KNOW.

AND, UH, WE WANT TO BE SURE THAT WE, YOU KNOW, BRING FORWARD, NOT NOT JUST A RECOMMENDATION, BUT THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION THAT SUPPORTS THAT RECOMMENDATION AND, UH, THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT INTERESTED IN DELAYING IN ANY WAY.

IT'S SOMETHING THAT SEEMS LIKE A REASONABLY GREAT THING TO DO, BUT, UH, JUST TO BE SURE THAT, THAT WE BRING THE, THE PROPER DOCUMENTATION ALONG WITH US AND INCLUDED IN THE CITY'S HISTORY, MIGHT WORK WITH THE LANDMARK MUSEUM ON THIS.

THANK YOU, MR. PARISH.

THAT'S, UH, THAT, THOSE ARE GOOD THOUGHTS TO GET US STARTED.

UH, ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR STATEMENTS TO MAKE ABOUT THIS FROM THE, THE BOARD? OKAY.

UH, I'D LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YES, YES.

OUR GUESTS THAT ARE HEARING THEIR NE THEIR NEXT STEP, , ZIYAD, WHEN WE, WHEN WE'VE DONE THIS IN THE PAST, BASICALLY WHAT THE COUNCIL'S DONE IS THEY'VE ASKED US TO, TO DO RESEARCH, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW, THAT WE'RE, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING AS PROPERLY AS WE CAN.

AND, UH, AND TO SECONDLY, TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL, UH, OF COURSE, THAT THAT RECOMMENDATION IS NOT BINDING UPON THE COUNCIL.

UH, IT IS A RECOMMENDATION, AND THEY, THEY'RE THE ONES THAT, THAT WOULD HAVE THE FINAL SAY SO IN THIS.

BUT WHAT, UH, WHAT WE WOULD HOPE TO DO IS, UM, WORK THROUGH THIS WHERE WE GIVE THEM SOMETHING THAT'S WRAPPED UP SO

[00:10:01]

THAT WHAT COMES OUTTA HERE WILL BE VERY CLOSE TO WHAT WINDS UP IN THE END.

SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR OPENING.

YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO ADD? UH, NO, SIR.

THAT'S, UH, THAT'S ALL THE INFORMATION I HAVE.

THANK YOU, SIR.

WE APPRECIATE THAT.

OKAY.

THANK YOU.

AT THIS TIME, WE'LL CALL ON MEMBERS OF THE AUDIENCE THAT WE HAVE, UH, HERE TONIGHT.

UM, I'VE GOT SEVERAL HUNDRED CARDS HERE, , I'VE GOT A NICE NUMBER OF CARDS.

AND, AND, UH, WE'RE VERY APPRECIATIVE OF EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU SHOWING UP THIS EVENING.

UH, THERE IS A, THERE'S A PROTOCOL FOR THIS.

UH, YOU'VE SIGNED, YOU'VE REGISTERED ON THE CARDS, AND YOU'VE PUT IN THERE WHETHER YOU'RE GONNA GIVE, WANT TO GIVE ORAL TESTIMONY OR WHETHER YOU ARE NOT TESTIFYING.

WHATEVER YOU PUT ON THE CARD, DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU'VE CHANGED YOUR MIND AND, UH, AND I CALL YOU OUT AND SAY YOU HAD, UH, YOU WANT TO GIVE ORAL TESTIMONY AND YOU DECIDE THAT YOU DON'T, THAT IS OKAY.

YOU CAN STAND UP AND STILL SAY YOU SUPPORT, UH, SUPPORT, AND THEN SIT BACK DOWN.

UM, AND IF WE'VE GOT ON HERE THAT YOU'RE NOT TESTIFYING AND YOU DECIDE THAT YOU DO WANT TO TESTIFY, SAME THING.

OKAY.

SO THE ONLY THING THIS DOES IS GIVES ME A GUIDELINE TO GET STARTED.

AND SO, UM, ARE, YOU'RE ALSO GONNA COME UP HERE TO THE MICROPHONE.

BEFORE YOU START TALKING, GIVE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS, UM, SO THAT WE HAVE IT ON THE RECORD.

UH, WHO'S SPEAKING WHILE, BECAUSE THIS IS A, THIS IS A RECORDED, UH, MEETING.

OKAY.

AND YOU WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO DO THAT.

OUR, OUR TIMEKEEPER OVER HERE HAS HIS, HAS HIS WATCH READY? NO.

HAS HIS, YEAH, HE'S GOT HIS EGG TIMER READY.

AND, UH, AND HE WILL, HE WILL GIVE US A SIGNAL WHEN YOU'VE GONE TO YOUR THREE MINUTES, AND, UH, WOULD ASK YOU TO WRAP UP IF YOU GET THERE AND YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED.

AND WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL TAKE IT FROM THERE.

ALL RIGHT.

ARE WE READY, MR. CARTER? SIR, IF, IF, SINCE THIS IS AN AGENDA ITEM, IF WE HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SOMETHING THAT'S PRESENTED BY ONE OF OUR SPEAKERS, MAY WE ASK A QUESTION? I WOULD THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE TOTALLY APPROPRIATE.

OKAY.

I THINK THAT'S, THAT IS THE THING TO DO, BECAUSE THAT MAY HELP US TO GET A PIECE OF INFORMATION.

WE CERTAINLY WANNA UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT THEY, THAT THEY OPENED UP THAT WE WEREN'T AWARE OF.

AND WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION STARTING THIS.

SO HERE WE GO, EVERYBODY.

UH, THE FIRST, UM, SPEAKER IS, UH, ROB COMER.

UH, HE WANTS TO GIVE ORAL TESTIMONY.

AND MR. COMER, YOU'RE UP FOR THREE MINUTES.

MIDDLE SEAT, I GUESS.

THAT'S PERFECT.

UH, I'M ROB COMER.

UM, I CURRENTLY RESIDE AT 1 2 35 BURWICK MANOR COURT.

I'M A RESIDENT OF SPRING, TEXAS.

CAN YOU JUST PULL THAT MICROPHONE JUST A LITTLE BIT CLOSER SO WE GET IT RECORDED WHILE WE CAN HEAR YOU, BUT LET'S MAKE SURE THE, HELLO? YEAH, HELLO THERE.

GO AHEAD.

I MIGHT NEED JUST A MINUTE.

WE'RE WITH YOU.

WE'RE DONE.

WE HAVEN'T STARTED THE TIMER YET.

SO WE BOTH GREW UP IN GARLAND, UM, NEAR, UH, BELTLINE AND 30 JOHN ATTENDED TOLLER, UH, LYLES AND GRADUATED FROM LAKEVIEW.

HE, UH, WAS THROWN OVER BY A CAR IN THE ALLEY WHERE WE GREW UP.

AND THEN, UH, HIS AMPUTATION HAPPENED SOMETIME AFTER THAT.

THEY, THEY ACTUALLY TRIED TO SAVE HIS LEG.

UM, I MOVED, I MOVED ON, UH, TO LIVE WITH OUR, OUR DAD.

SO I DIDN'T GRADUATE, UM, HERE IN GARLAND.

SO TIME PERIOD OF OUR LIFE, WE, WE LIVED SO SOMEWHAT SEPARATE, BUT, UH, I KIND OF GOT HIM STARTED IN SKATEBOARDING AND, UH, HE TURNED OUT BETTER THAN ME .

BUT SKATEBOARDING WAS ALWAYS HIS PASSION, ALWAYS BEING FROM TEXAS WAS ALWAYS

[00:15:01]

HIS PASSION.

AND, AND REALLY BEING FROM GARLAND, UM, HE STARTED HIS LIFE IN GARLAND.

HE, HE WAS A RESIDENT OF GARLAND WHEN HE PASSED.

I WOULD SAY, EVEN FOR MYSELF, I, I MOVED AWAY FROM GARLAND.

I ACTUALLY OWNED A BUSINESS HERE IN THE LATE NINETIES.

UH, IT WAS A TOY STORE AND WE HAD A, UH, A SKATE SHOP INSIDE THE TOY STORE WHERE HE AND I, HE AND I DESIGNED BOARDS AND SOLD THEM.

AND THEN WE SOLD BOARDS FROM OTHER COMPANIES.

UM, IT WAS, THAT WAS MORE MY, MY, MY CONTR CONTRIBUTION TO HIS, HIS LIFESTYLE AT THAT POINT.

UM, I, I DON'T, I DON'T WANNA MAKE, UM, ANY OF THIS LIKE A FAMILY AGENDA FOR US, CUZ I THINK THERE'S PLENTY OF PEOPLE HERE NOT RELATED THAT WOULD SPEAK TO WHO HE WAS AS A PERSON.

JOHN AS A PERSON PROBABLY WOULDN'T AGREE WITH ANY OF THIS .

HE, HE WAS VERY HUMBLE.

HE DIDN'T GET WHAT, WHAT HIS INFLUENCE WAS.

MR. COMER.

YEAH.

YOUR, YOUR, YOU'RE, YOUR THREE MINUTES IS UP, BUT, BUT, BUT OKAY.

YEAH.

UH, TELL US JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, HIS WORK WITH THE SCOTTISH RIO HOSPITAL AND OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAD, UH, AMPUTATIONS IN THEIR LIFE.

DO YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THAT OR WOULD YOU HAVE RATHER HAVE SOMEONE ELSE TALK ABOUT I PROBABLY AM NOT THE BEST PERSON TO, TO GIVE YOU AN, A LOT OF THAT INFORMATION.

I THINK THERE'S PEOPLE HERE THAT, THAT COULD, THEY COULD.

UM, I, I, I MEAN, I AM, I DO TALK TO, AND I'M FACEBOOK FRIENDS WITH SOME OF HIS DOCTORS FROM SCOTTISH WRIGHT.

BUT THEY, I MEAN, FOR ME, UH, THAT IS A PART OF KIND OF WHAT'S HAPPENED IN THE LATER PART OF HIS LIFE WHERE YOU'VE GOT OTHER ADAPTIVE ATHLETES AND STUFF COMING OUT THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, SHOWING THAT THEY'VE BEEN INFLUENCED BY HIM.

THERE ACTUALLY IS A SKATE CONTEST FOR HIM THAT STARTED LAST YEAR.

UM, SO, AND IT, AND IT'S ALL ADAPTIVE ATHLETES.

WELL, THANK YOU, SIR, FOR YOUR, YOUR TESTIMONY.

AND I KNOW IT SEEMED A LOT EASIER SITTING OVER THERE THAN IT WAS WHEN YOU HAD TO SAY IT , BUT, BUT YOU DID GREAT.

THANK YOU.

MY NEXT CARD TO HAVE UP IS LOU LONGORIA, UH, WAS PUT DOWN NON TESTIFYING, BUT LOU, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK WHO'S CALLING? NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD, SIR? LOU LONGORIA, UH, 1 0 2 NORTH, NO, YING, DALLAS, TEXAS.

UM, WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED? OKAY, CAN YOU HEAR ME AGAIN? UH, ROB NAILED IT.

YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY EMOTIONAL FOR THE FAMILY.

UH, I'M THE STEPFATHER THAT'S COMING TO THEIR FAMILY AND, UH, JOHN COMER'S WAS, UH, QUITE A SKATEBOARDER.

UH, HE WAS A GARLAND, UH, JEWEL HERE BECAUSE, UH, HE, HE JUST DID A LOT FOR, UH, THE COMMUNITY AND HE DID A LOT.

UM, BEING A MASON AND BEING HERE WITH THE HELLA SHRINE, WHICH YOU GUYS ARE FAMILIAR WITH, I'M A MASON FROM THE EAST GRAND LODGE IN 1200.

UH, SO I'M A LITTLE BIT FAMILIAR WITH THE SCOTTISH WRIGHT AND, UH, AND WHAT THE MASONS HAVE DONE FOR HIM.

AND IF YOU GO DOWN TO THE SCOTTISH R YOU'LL SEE HE'S GOT HIS TROPHIES OUT THERE.

HE'S GOT HIS PICTURE, HE'S GOT EVERYTHING THAT, UH, THE SCOTTISH R HAS DONE FOR HIM.

AND HE IS AN INSPIRATIONAL PERSON.

HE INSPIRES THESE YOUNG KIDS COMING UP.

THEY WATCH HIM, THEY SEE HIM, THEY SEE HIM ON THE WALL UP THERE, AND THEY SAY, HEY, I WANT TO BE LIKE HIM BECAUSE I HAVE AMPUTEES, WHETHER IT'S AN ARM OR LEG.

I MEAN, THEY, THEY GET ENCOURAGED BY HIM.

SO IT IS EMOTIONAL FOR US CUZ IT'S FAMILY AND, UH, HE'S GONE.

BUT THE PARK WOULD BE GREAT.

PEOPLE WILL REMEMBER HIM AND THEY KNOW HIM.

HE'S GOT A GOOD AUDIENCE.

YOU KNOW, HAWK WAS A GREAT LEADER FOR HIM AND HE EXCELLED VERY WELL WITH HIM.

AND THAT'S IT.

I'LL LET THE REST OF THE GUYS THAT KNOW HIM REAL WELL, TELL 'EM ALL ABOUT YOU.

TELL EM, LET, TELL 'EM ABOUT.

THANK YOU, SIR.

WE APPRECIATE THAT.

[00:20:01]

THANK YOU.

UH, NEXT CARD UP, UH, STEVEN OR RONDE.

IT'S ALL RIGHT HERE.

RIGHT? OKAY.

MY NAME IS STEVEN RONDY.

UH, I AM FROM ADDISON, TEXAS.

AND, UH, CLOSER ADDRESS, PLEASE.

OH, UH, 14, 6 29 STRATFORD COURT.

UH, ADDISON, TEXAS, 75,001.

ANYWAY, UM, I, UH, MOVED TO TEXAS AS QUICK AS I COULD.

I'M ORIGINALLY FROM NORTH DAKOTA.

UM, AND, UH, I HAD JUST FINISHED UP SCHOOL FOR PROSTHETICS, UM, IN CHICAGO.

AND, UH, HAD LOOKED INTO A JOB, UH, THAT WAS KIND OF ON THE BULLETIN BOARD AT NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY IN CHICAGO, WHERE I WENT TO SCHOOL AND SAW AN AD FOR A JOB AT SCOTTISH WRIGHT HOSPITAL.

SO I LOOKED INTO IT, AND SURE ENOUGH, I WENT AHEAD AND GOT HIRED THERE.

INITIALLY I WAS HIRED AS AN ORTHOTIST, BUT THEN I, UH, DID MY FURTHER TRAINING IN, UH, THERE TO GET MY CERTIFICATION IN PROSTHETICS.

SO I DID JUST COME FROM WORK TODAY TOO.

SO I HAVE MY SCRUBS ON FROM WORK.

AND, UH, I FIRST WAS, HAD THE, UH, OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH JOHN COMER WHEN HE WAS 12 YEARS OLD.

HE'D ALREADY HAD A PROSTHESIS MADE BY ONE OF THE OTHER PRACTITIONERS AT SCOTTISH WRIGHT.

AND IT WAS A, UH, VERY LOW TECH, UH, KIND OF A VERY SIMPLE COMPONENTS TO HIS PROSTHESIS.

UH, EVEN THOUGH THEY WEREN'T HIGH TECH OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, THAT DIDN'T KEEP HIM FROM EXCELLING AT SKATEBOARDING, HE WAS JUST A NATURAL, UH, WHEN IT CAME TO DOING THAT.

SO I CAN'T REALLY JUSTIFY THAT.

EVEN WHEN I GAVE HIM THE HIGH TECH, UH, PROSTHETIC COMPONENTS THAT WERE MADE OUT OF CARBON FIBER AND HAD THE, UH, BLADES AND ALL THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, JOHN WAS GONNA BE A GOOD SKATEBOARDER NO MATTER WHAT YOU PROVIDED FOR HIM.

AND THAT WAS WHAT MADE HIM UNIQUE.

AND, UH, I THINK HIS PERSONALITY WAS, UH, LIKE EVERYONE SAID BEFORE HERE, HE WAS A VERY HUMBLE GUY.

UM, I LOVE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, GO TO SOME OF HIS COMPETITIONS AND, AND WATCH HIM DOING THE SKATING.

AND, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN WORKING AT THE HOSPITAL FOR 37 YEARS NOW, WHICH, UH, HAS BEEN QUITE AN EXPERIENCE AND WORKING IN THE PROSTHETIC DEPARTMENT.

AND THE THING I LOVE ABOUT MY JOB IS THE FEEDBACK THAT I GET FROM MY PATIENTS AND WHAT ABILITIES THEY HAVE AS AMPUTEES.

AND JOHN COMER WAS A INSPIRATION TO SO MANY OTHER KIDS AT THE HOSPITAL.

HE WOULD OFTEN COMES TO, WE USED TO HAVE A, UH, WELL, WE STILL HAVE THAT.

IT'S A PROSTHETIC AND LIMB SUPPORT GROUP THAT MEETS AT THE HOSPITAL ON A REGULAR BASIS.

AND JOHN WOULD OFTEN COME AND SPEAK TO OTHER KIDS, YOU KNOW, AT THE, THE HOSPITAL, YOU KNOW, DURING THE MEETINGS THAT WE HAD.

AND THAT WAS JUST REALLY INSPIRATIONAL.

AND, UM, ONE THING HE ORGANIZED, UM, I CAN'T REMEMBER THE YEARS, HOW MANY YEARS AGO IT WAS, BUT, UM, UH, HE ORGANIZED THE THING TO, UM, CALLED THE ART OF SKATEBOARDING.

SO HE GOT A LOT OF DIFFERENT SKATERS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY COME TO, YOU KNOW, SKATE, PAINT THE BOARDS WITH DIFFERENT ARTWORK, AND THEN WITH ALL THAT ARTWORK, THEY WOULD AUCTION OFF THESE, UH, SKATEBOARDS AND PEOPLE WOULD BID ON 'EM.

AND THE TWO YEARS THAT THEY HAD THAT, THAT JOHN HAD ORGANIZED, HE HAD ACTUALLY RAISED THE FIRST YEAR WAS ABOUT $40,000, WAS RAISED FROM THE AUCTION OF THOSE SKATEBOARDS TO THAT MONEY, WENT BACK TO THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE HE WAS SO APPRECIATIVE OF WHAT THE HOSPITAL PROVIDED FOR HIM AND CARE.

AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, THE SECOND YEAR IT WAS SOMETHING SIMILAR

[00:25:01]

TO THAT WHERE THEY ACTUALLY RAISED PROBABLY ANOTHER 40 OR 45,000, UH, AND THAT ALL WENT TO SUPPORT THE HOSPITAL AND THE WORK THAT WAS DONE.

YOU, YOU'VE BEEN THREE MINUTES AND SO, OKAY.

AND WHAT GOES FAST, DOESN'T IT? YEP.

UH, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU AFTER SURE.

SEEING THE, THE VIDEO, UM, UH, THAT HE TENDED TO WEAR OUT A LOT OF LEGS, UH, JUST SHARE, BRIEFLY SHARE THAT WITH US.

AND I FOUND THAT VERY INTERESTING.

I, UM, WAS NEVER SURPRISED TO SEE JOHN COME TO OUR PROSTHETIC DEPARTMENT WITH A BROKEN BLADE, CARBON BLADE.

UM, AND, UH, WE WERE ALWAYS, UH, ACTUALLY ONE OF OUR BIG HELPERS THAT'S IN THE PROSTHETIC DEPARTMENT IS KNOWN AS DUCT TAPE .

WE WOULD USE DUCT TAPE AND WRAP A LOT OF BROKEN PROSTHESIS, JUST WRAP IT WITH A WHOLE LOT OF DUCT TAPE TO HOLD IT TOGETHER UNTIL WE COULD ORDER A NEW FOOT FOR HIS PROSTHESIS.

SO THAT WAS ALWAYS, UH, SOMETHING WE WERE DOING ALL THE TIME.

AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THE DOCTOR THAT I WORK WITH, HE'S THE CHIEF OF STAFF AT SCOTTISH WRIGHT HOSPITAL.

UM, HE WOULD ALWAYS LOVED TO SEE JOHN COME IN WITH BROKEN DEVICES BECAUSE HE KNEW THEY WERE GETTING FULL USE OUT OF THE PROSTHESIS.

AND, UH, AMAZINGLY THIS CHIEF OF STAFF, UH, HIS CHIEF OF STAFF EMERITUS AT THE HOSPITAL RIGHT NOW IS 82 YEARS OF AGE.

AND, YOU KNOW, HE HAS NO INTENTIONS OF RETIRING .

HE'S STILL WORKING THERE, SO, ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU, SIR.

DO WE HAVE ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE SPEAKER? ANYONE ELSE? THANK YOU.

THAT WAS VERY GOOD.

WE APPRECIATE THAT.

UM, GABRIEL COMER, UH, YOU'VE WRITTEN, NOT TESTIFYING, BUT WOULD YOU LIKE TO NOW? YES.

NAME, ADDRESS AND RELATIONSHIP TO JOHN? UH, MY NAME IS GABRIEL COMER.

GABE COMER.

UM, I LIVE IN, UH, ARLINGTON, TEXAS.

UH, MY ADDRESS IS 26 20 CRESS MOORE COURT.

UM, AND JOHN COMER WAS MY DAD.

UM, MAN, I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START.

THIS IS SO NERVE WRACKING.

.

UM, HOW DID HE INFLUENCE YOU? HE, I MEAN, HE WAS MY DAD.

HE INFLUENCED ME.

, LIKE EVERY WAY YOU CAN IMAGINE .

BUT, UM, IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, HIS RELATIONSHIP TO GARLAND AND HIS RELATIONSHIP TO SKATEBOARDING, UH, SO WHEN MY PARENTS GOT A DIVORCE, UH, I WAS LIVING IN KELLER WITH MY MOM, WHO'S HERE AS WELL.

UM, AND HE MOVED TO GARLAND.

AND SO I WOULD SPEND EVERY OTHER WEEKEND HERE WITH HIM.

AND WE WOULD, EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND WE WOULD BE, WE WOULD GO AND SKATE, WE WOULD SKATE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S LIKE A A HUNDRED DIFFERENT PUBLIC PARKS IN, UH, THE, YOU KNOW, THE METROPLEX THAT WE WOULD GO TO.

AND WE'D, YOU KNOW, SKATE BASICALLY EVERYWHERE.

AND OUR ADDRESS HERE IN GARLAND, THE PLACE THAT HE LIVED, UH, WAS 2116 SUNNYBROOK, I THINK, WHICH IS JUST, IT'S LITERALLY LIKE THREE BLOCKS DOWN THE ROAD FROM, FROM WHERE THE PARK IS.

AND WE'VE JUST PASSED IT ON OUR WAY HERE.

UM, AND I KNOW THAT IF THAT PARK HAD BEEN THERE, YOU KNOW, WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, WE WOULD'VE BEEN THERE, GOT EVERY SINGLE DAY WE WOULD'VE BEEN THERE NONSTOP.

UM, AND YEAH, I THINK, UM, LIKE ROB AND SOME OF THE OTHERS SAID, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, I, I HOPE THAT THIS DOESN'T COME OFF AS LIKE SOME KIND OF VANITY PROJECT FOR OUR FAMILY OR SOMETHING, OR, OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

I, I AGREE THAT MY DAD WAS A REALLY HUMBLE PERSON AND I THINK THAT HE PROBABLY DIDN'T REALIZE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE EFFECT THAT HE HAD ON SOME PEOPLE AND HOW INSPIRATIONAL HE WAS TO OTHERS, AND ESPECIALLY MYSELF.

UM, YEAH.

I THINK THAT'S ALL I HAVE.

UH, VERY GOOD.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? QUESTIONS FOR GABRIEL? ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? SO WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE SKATE PARK AND, UH, THAT YOU'VE BEEN TO YOU? YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY OURS, .

WE WE'RE, WE'RE ALL BIASED.

I HAVEN'T BEEN TO YOURS YET, UNFORTUNATELY.

YOU SHOULD GO TRY IT.

IT'S A BUSY PLACE.

YEAH, IT LOOKS NICE.

I, UH, I I'M NOT TOO MUCH OF A SKATER ANYMORE, UH, UNFORTUNATELY, BUT, UM, HMM.

GOSH, LET ME THINK.

YOU GOT DOWN HIS LOVE OF BOOKS.

YEAH, RIGHT.

EXACTLY.

YEAH.

MY DAD READ TO ME NONSTOP WHEN I WAS A KID, AND THAT'S WHERE I'M

[00:30:01]

AT.

RIGHT.

.

WELL, GABRIEL, THANK YOU FOR, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TESTIMONY.

IT, IT SEEMS A LOT EASIER SITTING OVER THERE THAN IT IS WHEN YOU GET TO, IT DOES THE MICROPHONE.

AND WE, WE UNDERSTAND.

YOU DID A GOOD JOB.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

AMY COMER, UH, DECIDED, NOT TESTIFYING, BUT OH, SHE CHANGED HER MIND.

NAME, ADDRESS AND RELATIONSHIP TO JOHN AMY COMER, EX-WIFE, UH, 73, 36 BLACK THORN DRIVE IN FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

WOOEY.

YEAH.

UH, LIKE ROB SAID, AND LIKE GABE SAID, I CALLED GABE ACTUALLY THE OTHER NIGHT, AND I SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT? YOUR DAD WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN INTO THIS.

HE WOULD'VE BEEN LIKE, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? WHY? BUT HONESTLY, I MEAN, LIKE, I NEVER MET ANYONE THAT HAD A BAD THING TO SAY ABOUT JOHN EVER.

SUCH A POSITIVE OUTLOOK ON EVERYTHING WHEN WE WERE MARRIED, HE WOULD NEVER FIGHT WITH ME, EVER.

IT WAS, I DON'T CARE, WHATEVER.

HE'S JUST AN EASYGOING, AWESOME PERSON THAT LOVED SKATEBOARDING MORE THAN ANYTHING.

I MEAN, HE REALLY, REALLY DID.

AND HE INFLUENCED SO MANY KIDS WATCHING THE ADAPTIVE CONTEST THAT ROB BROUGHT UP.

THEY HAD ONE, THE FIRST ONE WAS, UM, LAST OCTOBER IN GRAND PRAIRIE.

YEAH.

AND, UH, IT WAS SO COOL JUST TO SEE ALL THE KIDS THERE WITH THE DIFFERENT, UM, YOU KNOW, AMPUTATIONS AND WHATEVER, DIFFERENT THINGS.

UH, NOW I COME TO A POINT WHERE I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO SAY BECAUSE I'M NERVOUS.

, BUT THAT'S OKAY.

HOW ABOUT, DO YOU THINK HE WOULD, DO YOU THINK HE WAS A BIGGER INFLUENCE TO THE SKATEBOARDERS OR HE WAS A BIGGER INFLUENCE TO THOSE WHO HAD SPECIAL ISSUES OF AMPUTATIONS? BOTH B.

BOTH.

BOTH, YES.

YEAH.

BECAUSE SKATEBOARDERS SAW IT AS HOW IN THE HECK IS HE DOING THAT WITH ONLY ONE FOOT? I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THAT WORKS, BECAUSE IT'S ALL MOVEMENT OF YOUR ANKLES.

AND THEN THE KIDS WITH, YOU KNOW, PROSTHESIS AND STUFF WERE LIKE, HOLY CRAP, I COULD PROBABLY DO THAT TOO.

I THINK THAT'S AMAZING.

I THINK I ANSWERED YOU.

YES, YOU DID.

YOU DID.

VERY FINE.

UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM ANYONE ELSE ON THE PANEL? I HAVE A QUESTION.

THANK YOU, DAVID.

WE HAD IT, UH, PRESENTED TO US THAT HE HAD AT ONE TIME HAD ARTISTS COME IN, IN AND PAINT THIS, THE, UH, SKATEBOARDS FOR, UH, SALE AT AUCTION.

WAS ART SOMETHING THAT, UH, HE FELT A PASSION FOR? YES.

ART MUSIC BOOKS.

LIKE GABE SAID, WHEN WE WOULD TAKE A ROAD TRIP, HE WOULD READ AN ENTIRE BOOK OUT LOUD TO OUR FIVE YEAR OLD SON.

OKAY.

LIKE DOUGLAS ADAMS HITCHHIKER GUIDE.

YEAH.

JESUS.

ALL THE WAY IN THE CAR.

YOU A FIVE YEAR OLD.

YES.

YEP.

YEP.

WE WERE, WE WERE VERY YOUNG PARENTS.

RAYMOND, THE GRAPES OF WRATH AND OTHER FIVE YEAR OLDS WOULD BE INTERESTED IN.

OH, YEAH.

ALL RIGHT.

HOW WOULD HE HAVE THOUGHT, IN YOUR OPINION ABOUT A WORK OF ART CELEBRATING HIM AND HIS LIFE? DEPENDS ON THE WORK.

I MEAN, I THINK HE WOULD THINK ANYTHING IS LIKE, WHY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP IT.

STOP, STOP.

.

YEAH.

OKAY.

WHICH KIND OF MAKES US FEEL LIKE THIS IS THE KIND OF GUY WE WANT TO YES.

RIGHT, RIGHT.

YES, A HUNDRED PERCENT.

ALL RIGHT.

AND THIS IS, I'M HIS EX-WIFE AND I'M HERE SAYING THESE THINGS.

.

YEAH.

WE GOT THAT.

OH, ME.

ANY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? CIG? NONE.

THANK YOU, MA'AM.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT.

RYAN HALEY? YES.

TESTIFYING.

OH, DO I GET TO ASK YOU YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE ? I, I'M, I AM A GOOD FRIEND RELATIONSHIP, LET'S SAY, UH, NEARLY 40, 40 YEARS.

CLOSE TO 40 YEARS NOW.

NOT EVEN ADDRESS.

THANKS.

UH, RYAN HALEY AT, UH, 1,117 VANDER GIFT DRIVE, CARROLLTON, TEXAS 75,006.

UM, I'LL KIND OF, FIRST I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU GUYS FOR, FOR HEARING US OUT IN THIS SITUATION.

WE'VE, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I, UM, THE IDEA CAME ABOUT ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO, AND WE TRIED TO REACH OUT TO SEVERAL PEOPLE, THEN COVID HIT, AND IT JUST KIND OF FELL OFF THE, FELL OFF THE MAP, AND WE DIDN'T GET A CHANCE AND DIDN'T PICK UP THE BALL.

AND THEN BEFORE WE KNEW IT, THIS SKATE PARK WAS ROLLING , AND, AND IT WAS UP, AND IT HAD A NAME.

AND IT'S EXCITING.

I'VE BEEN THERE SEVERAL TIMES MYSELF.

I'M, I'M NO LONGER

[00:35:01]

THE SKATEBOARDER I USED TO BE, BUT I, I TRY TO GET OUT THERE.

I MEAN, JUST THE FACT THAT MY HOMETOWN HAS A SKATE PARK, YOU DON'T, THAT IS, IT IS AN EXCITING, EXCITING THING.

UM, JOHN IS SYNONYMOUS WITH GARLAND AND SKATEBOARDING.

UM, THERE ARE NAMES THAT COME UP, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE IN YOUR OWN LITTLE CIRCLES AND STUFF, YOU KNOW.

UM, BUT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TEXAS SKATEBOARDERS, WE GOT PEOPLE LIKE CRAIG JOHNSON, MIKE CRUM, UH, JEFF PHILLIPS, BUT JOHN COMER POPS UP IN THIS, HIS NAME.

HE WAS SO PROUD TO BE FROM GARLAND.

UM, I COULD SEE HERE ALL DAY AND TELL YOU ALL THE LITTLE SKATE SPOTS WE WENT TO.

WE DIDN'T, WHEN WE DIDN'T HAVE CARS, WE WERE ROLLING MILES AND MILES AND MILES ALONG, DOWN BELT LINE GOING UP, YOU KNOW, ALL THE WAY THROUGH DUCK CREEK.

WE HAD ALL OUR LITTLE SKATE SPOTS THAT WE WENT TO.

UM, IT WAS, IT, IT WAS MEMORIES.

I CAN'T, UH, I CAN'T BEGIN TO, TO TELL YOU HOW MUCH THEY MEAN TO ME.

AND I KNOW THEY MEANT TO JOHN.

AND AGAIN, HE'S A VERY HUMBLE, HUMBLE MAN.

HE WOULD HATE THE IDEA OF HAVING ANYTHING NAMED AFTER HIM, BUT I BELIEVE IT, IT WOULD BE AN AMAZING THING FOR, I MEAN, IT WOULD BE AN HONOR FOR GARLAND TO, TO NAME, UH, THE PARK AFTER HIM.

I, I, I TRULY, TRULY BELIEVE THAT.

UM, THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS THAT CAN COME ABOUT THAT ADAPTIVE SKATEBOARDING CONTEST AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

I BELIEVE THAT WOULD BE FANTASTIC.

YOU KNOW, PR WE ALL LOVE PR, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I JUST THINK THINGS OF THAT NATURE CAN BE BROUGHT UP AND, AND, UM, BROUGHT FORTH.

AND, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, I WON'T TAKE UP ANY MORE OF, OF Y'ALL'S TIME, BUT I JUST WANTED TO LET Y'ALL KNOW THAT GARLAND AND SKATEBOARDING AND JOHN COMER ARE ALL SYNONYMS. THEY'RE THE, THEY'RE THE, THEY'RE THE SAME THING, YOU KNOW, THEY, THE, AND, UM, AND I, AGAIN, I APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S HEARING OF, OF US AND, AND CONSIDERATION OF, UH, OF NAMING THE PARK AFTER HIM.

WELL, THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO COME HERE.

HANG ON JUST A SECOND.

ANY QUESTIONS FROM ANYONE? SO GIVE US ONE REALLY GREAT MEMORY WITH JOHN, UH, ONE REALLY GREAT MEMORY WITH JOHN.

UH, OH.

CAN YOU, CAN YOU SAY THIS IS BEING RECORDED? OH, YEAH, YEAH.

, HE WAS A PRETTY, HE WAS A PRETTY STRAIGHT LACED GUY, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU.

YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING BAD IN HIS HISTORY.

BUT, UM, UH, THERE'S TWO, I MEAN, THERE'S, UH, WE GREW UP, WE WENT TO TOLLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, UM, WHERE ME AND HIM BECAME FRIENDS IS WE WERE WALKING HOME ONE DAY, AND OUT OF NOWHERE SOMEONE SHOT A BLOW GUN, UH, A BLOW DART AT ME, .

IT WENT THROUGH THREE OF MY BOOKS IN MY BOOK BAG.

AND, BUT JOHN WAS THE ONE THAT GRABBED ME AND TURNED ME.

AND, AND, AND, AND I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT THING WOULD'VE GONE.

I DON'T KNOW HOW IT WOULD'VE ENDED UP IF, IF IT HAD HIT THE FRONT OF ME OR WHATNOT.

BUT IT, IT WAS ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, HIM SORT OF, THAT, THAT'S WHEN, WHEN OUR FRIENDSHIP TRULY BEGAN.

CUZ WE WOULD ALL WALK HOME IN DIFFERENT GROUPS AT THAT TIME.

AND THEN, BUT THAT'S WHEN ME AND HIM STARTED TALKING AND HANGING OUT.

SO, UM, YEAH.

AND, UH, THAT, THAT, LIKE I SAID, THAT DIDN'T INVOLVE SKATEBOARDING, BUT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, JUST GOING BACK.

I BELIEVE THAT WAS IN THIRD GRADE, SO.

WOW.

YEAH.

AND I'M, I'M 46 NOW, SO THANK YOU, SIR.

ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU.

WE DO APPRECIATE IT.

APPRECIATE IT.

THANK YOU.

JOE COLLINS, NOT TESTIFYING STAYS THE SAME.

SAME.

NOT TESTIFYING.

THANK, BUT YOU ARE IN FAVOR? YES, I AM IN FAVOR.

OKAY.

THANK YOU.

UH, SUSAN BLOCK OR BLACK IN FAVOR? UH, NOT TESTIFYING, BUT IN FAVOR.

THANK YOU, MA'AM.

UH, JESSICA LLOYD, UH, NOT TESTIFYING.

JESSICA.

OH, TESTIFYING.

OH, VERY GOOD.

CHANGE OF HEART.

NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD, PLEASE.

UH, MY NAME IS JESSICA LLOYD, UH, 1 52 MONTEREY DRIVE, GARLAND, TEXAS.

UM, I AM NOT RELATED AT ALL TO THE COMER FAMILY.

I AM HERE AS SOMEONE WHO, UM, WAS VERY MUCH INSPIRED BY ROB.

I GREW UP DURING A TIME WITH A LOT OF KIDS IN THE, I GRADUATED IN THE EARLY TWO THOUSANDS.

AND, UM, I KNEW A LOT OF KIDS THAT WERE NOT JUST INFLUENCED BY ROB, BUT, UM, IN AWE OF HIM.

AND, UH, I'M SORRY, JOHN ROB IS, UM, JOHN'S BROTHER, AND HE SPENT A LOT OF TIME AT ROB'S SHOP.

AND A LOT OF MY FRIENDS WERE GOING TO THAT SHOP VERY OFTEN.

IT WAS LIKE A SAFE HAVEN FOR THEM.

AND, UM,

[00:40:02]

A LOT OF THOSE KIDS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN SPENDING THEIR NIGHTS DOING A LOT OF DIFFERENT STUFF WERE INSTEAD BUILDING, UM, ALL KINDS OF SKATE RAMPS AND HALF PIPES, AND NOT HALF PIPES, BUT THINGS LIKE THAT IN THEIR BACKYARDS.

AND, UM, IT MADE A HUGE MARK ON A LOT OF PEOPLE'S LIVES WHEN I WAS GROWING UP.

AND I KNOW IT'S NOT JUST IN GARLAND.

I KNOW IT'S NOT EVEN IN THE UNITED STATES.

IT'S WORLDWIDE.

AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW MUCH ABOUT TONY HAWK, BUT HE'S, HE'S, UH, HE'S PRETTY UP THERE.

AND, UM, ROB WAS, I'M SORRY, JOHN WAS, UM, I'M, I'M NERVOUS.

, UH, JOHN WAS, UM, UH, JUST AN AMAZING PERSON FROM BEGINNING TO END AND INSPIRED MANY PEOPLE IN GARLAND, AND I KNOW A LOT OF THEM COULDN'T BE HERE TONIGHT, AND SOME OF 'EM HAVE MOVED ON.

SO I'M TRYING TO BE HERE AND, AND IN SUPPORT OF, OF HIM AND REPRESENT THOSE PEOPLE THAT HE INFLUENCED FROM GARLAND.

AND I ALSO WANTED TO SAY, UH, I MOVED AWAY FOR A WHILE.

I LIVED IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, AND NEW YORK.

AND WHEN I WOULD SAY I WAS, YOU KNOW, I WAS FROM TEXAS OH, WHERE? OH, A TOWN CALLED GARLAND.

MAYBE YOU EVER HEARD OF IT? AND MORE THAN ONCE, I HEARD, OH YEAH, THAT'S WHERE, THAT'S WHERE JOHN COMER'S FROM, RIGHT.

SO, UM, HE IS A JEWEL.

SOMEONE SAID HE'S A JEWEL IN THE CROWN OF GARLAND.

THAT IS FOR SURE.

YOU DID VERY GOOD FOR A NERVOUS PERSON, .

UM, ANY ANY QUESTIONS? I HAD A QUESTION.

AND WHAT WAS THE NAME OF ROB'S SHOP? TOYS FROM THE CRYPT.

TOYS FROM THE CRYPT, YES.

ON BROADWAY.

ON BROADWAY.

ALRIGHT.

ALL RIGHT.

AND YOU SAY HE WAS RECOGNIZED AROUND THE WORLD? YEAH.

YEAH, DEFINITELY.

GIVE US JUST A, GIVE US ANOTHER 15 TO 30 SECONDS ON THAT.

I, I, I COULDN'T, I I JUST, I KNOW FOR SURE THAT HE HAD AN INDELIBLE EFFECT ACROSS MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE'S LIVES ACROSS THE WORLD AND AN AND IN THE UNITED STATES.

DID HE, DID HE COMPETE OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES? UM, YES.

YES, YES, YES.

WHAT WAS, I BELIEVE THE ANSWER WAS YES, .

VERY GOOD.

THANK YOU, MA'AM.

WE DO APPRECIATE IT.

THANK YOU.

VICTOR NELSON.

YOU KNOW THE ROUTINE BY NOW, .

HEY THERE.

UH, VICTOR NELSON, 8 0 6 BANDA LANE, GARLAND, TEXAS.

UM, I SAID BEFORE YOU AS ONE OF THE KIDS THAT JOHN INSPIRED, I GREW UP SKATEBOARDING IN NORTH TEXAS.

UM, I'M NOW THE OWNER AND OR ONE OF THE OWNERS AND THE OPERATIONS DIRECTOR FOR ACTION PARK ALLIANCE.

WE MANAGED SKATE PARKS.

I'M A MEMBER OF TEAM USA SKATEBOARDING'S PARALYMPIC SUBCOMMITTEE, AND I'M ALSO THE PRODUCER OF THE JOHN COMMER MEMORIAL SKATE JAM.

UH, WE KICKED THAT OFF BACK IN 2021 AT MY HOME PARK IN GRAND PRAIRIE.

UH, WE MOVED IT TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TO ONE OF MY OTHER FACILITIES LAST YEAR IN DECEMBER.

AND THE GOAL IS TO BRING IT BACK HERE TO TEXAS THIS YEAR, GIVEN THE, UH, APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF, UH, SUPPORT TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

AND, YOU KNOW, THE CITY HAS DONE AN AMAZING JOB BUILDING THE PARK THAT YOU GUYS HAVE.

IT IS, I SPENT A LOT OF TIME AT SKATE PARKS, AND I HAVE TO TELL YOU, IT'S ONE OF THE BEST SKATE PARKS I'VE, UH, BEEN ABLE TO ENJOY IN THE COUNTRY, IF NOT THE WORLD.

AND IT'S JUST AMAZING TO SEE, YOU KNOW, AN AN AMENITY LIKE THIS FOR THE CITY.

UNFORTUNATELY, I FEEL LIKE A MONUMENTAL OPPORTUNITY WAS MISSED WITH THE NAMING OF THE SKATE PARK.

YOU KNOW, SEEING BACK ON SOME OF THE PREVIOUS COUNCIL AND PARK BOARD DISCUSSIONS, OBVIOUSLY THERE WASN'T A LOT OF COMMUNITY OUTREACH FOR THE NAMING OF THE PARK.

AND GIVEN THE PETITION, I THINK IF THAT EFFORT WAS MADE, YOU'D SEE HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE VOICING THAT SUPPORT TO SEE THIS PARK BEING NAMED AFTER JOHN.

UM, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING IS AS IT SHOULD BE, AND SEEING THAT, HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS TO THE COMMUNITY AND EVERYONE AROUND THE WORLD PERSONALLY, I'VE BEEN DOING ADAPTIVE EVENTS SINCE 2014, WHICH IS REALLY, UH, A UNIQUE THING BECAUSE I GREW UP WITH JOHN COMER BEING A PERSON THAT JUDGED THE CONTEST THAT I PARTICIPATED IN, AND HE MANAGED THE SKATE PARKS THAT I WOULD FREQUENT.

AND TO HAVE THAT GO, GO FORTH FULL CIRCLE.

UM, SOME OF THE FIRST ADAPTIVE CONTESTS THAT I HOSTED AND PRODUCED, HE WAS COM COMPETING AT AND LED ME TO MEET SOME OF THE BEST PEOPLE THAT I KNOW TODAY THAT I WORK WITH IN THE ADAPTIVE SPACE, WHICH HAS GROWN FAR BEYOND SKATEBOARDING.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS ARE AWARE, BUT THERE'S NOW KIDS IN WHEELCHAIRS IN ALL KINDS OF DISABILITIES THAT ARE NOW PARTICIPATING IN SKATEBOARDING BECAUSE OF JOHN AND IN SKATE PARKS.

AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THIS CAN GET TRACED BACK TO HIM.

I MEAN, THROUGH MY EXPERIENCE, WE'VE POSTED PEOPLE FROM OVER 12

[00:45:01]

DIFFERENT CO COUNTRIES, BRAZIL, SWITZERLAND, UK, GERMANY.

I MEAN, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAS BECOME A WORLDWIDE THING.

AND IT ALL GOES BACK TO JOHN BEING THE FIRST TO GAIN NOTORIETY IN THIS SPACE.

AND, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT TRYING TO TALK TOO FAST.

I'M NERVOUS, , BUT THE IMPACT IS OBVIOUS, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK IF THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT COULD HAPPEN AND BECOME A REALITY, IT'S, IT WOULD SAY A LOT FOR THE CITY.

IT WOULD SAY A LOT FOR ADAPTIVE SKATEBOARDING.

AND I THINK THERE'S INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITIES TO BRING THIS EVENT TO GARLAND, TO BRING OTHER EVENTS TO GARLAND.

THERE'S A LOT OF INTEREST RIGHT NOW BEHIND GETTING ADAPTIVE SKATEBOARDING INTO THE PARALYMPICS.

THE COMMITTEE WAS FORMED JUST THIS LAST DECEMBER IN VISTA, CALIFORNIA.

AND I KNOW THAT THE DISCUSSIONS ARE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW TO CREATE THAT PATHWAY.

SO THIS COULD POTENTIALLY LEAD TO BEING SOMETHING THAT COULD BE A PARALYMPIC SANCTIONED EVENT TO QUALIFY FOR TEAM USA.

HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE TO HAPPEN HERE IN GARLAND? UM, ANYWAYS, IN A NUTSHELL, THAT'S ALL I GOT TO SAY.

BUT JOHN HAD A HUGE IMPACT ON MY LIFE.

ADAPTIVE SKATEBOARDING AND WCMX.

THE WHEELCHAIR SKATING SPORTS HAVE BECOME MY PASSIONATE PROJECT, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT I LOVE TO DO AND NATURALLY HAS JUST BECOME A PART OF SOMETHING IN THE SKATE PARK.

AND I HOPE THAT YOU GUYS CONSIDER RENAMING THE BONEYARD SKATE PARK, THE JOHN COMMER MEMORIAL SKATE PARK.

SO THAT'S IT.

ANY THANK YOU, SIR.

ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE I'VE GOT, I'VE GOT A QUESTION.

UM, YES.

YES, MR. BRADLEY.

SO I KNOW YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU, UM, PRODUCED OR HELPED PRODUCE MM-HMM.

, UM, THE INAUGURAL AND THE SECOND, UM, SKATE CONTEST.

WHAT WAS THE, UM, HOW MANY PARTICIPANTS DID YOU HAVE EACH YEAR? AND THEN ALSO HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU THINK PARTICIPANTS AND SPECTATORS, UM, ATTENDED THE EVENT? YEAH.

THE, THE FIRST YEAR WE HAD WITHIN A COUPLE HUNDRED PEOPLE IN SPECTATING, UM, WE PROBABLY HAD A GOOD 20 TO 30, UH, PARTICIPANTS, WHICH WAS MIXED BETWEEN, EXCUSE ME, MIXED BETWEEN, UM, ADAPTIVE SKATEBOARDING AND WHEELCHAIR ATHLETES.

AND THEN WE ALSO INCLUDED ABLE-BODIED ATHLETES BECAUSE JOHN PARTICIPATED IN THE NORMAL DIVISIONS.

THERE WAS NO ADAPTIVE DIVISIONS WHEN HE BECAME KNOWN.

AND TO CREATE THAT ENVIRONMENT WHERE EVERYONE CAN SHARE THE SPACE IS, I THINK WHAT REALLY RESONATES.

BECAUSE THE AMAZING THING ABOUT SKATE PARK IS IT DOESN'T MATTER YOUR ECONOMIC BACKGROUND, YOUR RACE, WHERE YOU'RE FROM, WHO YOU ARE, YOUR SKILLSET.

IT'S A SPACE THAT YOU CAN ALL SHARE AND HAVE COMRADERY.

AND BRINGING ADAPTIVE AND WHEELCHAIRS INTO THAT SPACE REALLY TAKES THAT EVEN A STEP FURTHER.

IT REALLY EMPOWERS PEOPLE.

AND I THINK TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE DOING THAT AND HAVING A CITY THAT SHOWS THAT SUPPORT IS HUGE.

THANK YOU.

VICTOR.

JUST ONE, ONE QUICK QUESTION FOR YOU.

YEP.

THE LAST FOUR NUMBERS IN YOUR PHONE.

NUMBER ONE SEVEN ZERO FOUR ONE SEVEN NINETY ONE SEVEN NINETY ONE.

OKAY.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, SIR.

WE DO APPRECIATE IT.

VERY GOOD.

DENNY COLLINS, UH, NOT TESTIFYING DENNY? YEAH, NOT TESTIFYING.

MS. COLLINS, YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANNA SPEAK? UM, I'LL SEE.

YOU HAVE TO SEE HER.

OKAY.

AND, AND YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO JOHN.

WELL, MAYBE WE'D LIKE, LIKE TO HEAR THAT.

I'M JOHN'S MOM.

THANK YOU.

IN ROBBIE'S MOM.

AND, UM, MY ADDRESS IS 1 0 2 NORTH EWING DALLAS.

AND, UM, I MEAN, EVERYBODY'S DONE A GREAT JOB OF KIND OF SAYING WHO JOHN WAS AS A SKATER.

UM, I I JUST THOUGHT OF A FUNNY THING WHILE I WAS SITTING THERE.

I DON'T KNOW IF STEVE REMEMBERS THIS OR IF STEVE ACTUALLY MADE THE ARTIFICIAL LEG, BUT JOHN HAD QUITE A FASHION SENSE, AND ONE OF HIS ARTIFICIAL LEGS WAS DESIGNED TO LOOK LIKE AN ARGYLE SOCK.

AND, UM, A FEW WEEKS AGO, SOMEBODY POSTED ON ROBBY'S FACEBOOK THAT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR THE ONE OF JOHN COMER'S ORIGINAL SKATEBOARDS.

AND I JUST MADE A NOTE THAT, UM, HIS MOM ALSO IS LOOKING FOR ONE, BECAUSE SOMEHOW I WOUND UP WITHOUT ONE OF HIS SKATEBOARDS.

AND I GOT A BOX IN THE MAIL LAST WEEK, AND ONE OF HIS SKATEBOARD FRIENDS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAD SENT ME ONE OF JOHN'S SKATEBOARDS.

AND IT, IT SHOWED WHERE JOHN HAD SIGNED IT START.

JOHN WAS A REALLY MESSY WRITER, AND HE HAD STARTED TO SIGN IT, AND THEN HE WROTE, OOPS, I MESSED UP .

AND THEN, AND THEN JOHN COMER, BUT ALSO IN THE BOX WAS, UM, WHEN JOHN WAS IN LIKE THE FOURTH GRADE, THEY HAD TO DO A PAPER MACHE PROJECT.

AND JOHN'S PROJECT WAS, HE MADE A PAPER MACHE ARTIFICIAL LEG, AND HE DECORATED IT WITH AN

[00:50:01]

ARGYLE SOCK ON IT.

AND SO THIS FRIEND OF HIS STILL HAD THAT LEG AND SENT ME THAT LEG IN THE BOX.

IT WAS TERRIBLY FADED, BUT IT IS NOW HANGING ON THE WALL IN OUR GAME ROOM RIGHT NEXT TO THE SKATEBOARD THAT JOHN MESSED UP SIGNING .

WAIT A MINUTE, DON'T PUSH OFF.

DON'T PUSH OFF YET.

NO QUESTION FOR YOU.

I UNDERSTAND THAT HE HAD A HABIT FROM TIME TO TIME, UH, BECAUSE PEOPLE, IF THEY DIDN'T KNOW, THEY DIDN'T, THEY DIDN'T KNOW THAT, THEY DIDN'T KNOW THAT HE WAS, UM, SKATING ON IT WITH AN ARTIFICIAL LEG.

AND FROM TIME TO TIME, SOMEHOW OR ANOTHER, THAT LEG WOULD HAPPEN TO FALL OFF AND WOULD TYPICALLY GET PEOPLE'S ATTENTION WHEN IT WOULD HAPPEN.

, THEY DIDN'T REALIZE HE WAS THERE IN SECOND GRADE, HE KICKED THE SOCCER BALL AND HIS FOOT CAME OFF AND HIS TEACHER DID NOT KNOW HE WAS WEARING AN ARTIFICIAL AT TIME.

SO IT WAS, I GOT A CALL TO COME TO THE OFFICE BECAUSE YOUR SON BROKE HIS LEG.

.

YEAH.

THANK YOU MS. COLLINS.

WE APPRECIATE THAT.

CHRIS JEFFERS.

I'M FOR, AND I'M NOT TESTING, ARE YOU? DID YOU SAY CHRIS OR MISS? I SAID CHRIS.

OH, OKAY.

, I'LL BE HAPPY SPEAKING.

I'M FOR, YES.

YEAH, .

UH, SO MY NAME IS CHRIS JEFFERS, RESIDE AT 8 29 EAST DARDY, UH, DRIVE, GARLAND, TEXAS 75,041.

UM, I'M ACTUALLY HERE WITH MY MOTHER, UH, REPRESENTING BOTH OF US.

MY RELATION TO JOHN IS, UM, I STARTED SKATING IN 1988, AND IT, UH, A COUPLE YEARS LATER I MET JOHN.

UH, WE BECAME REALLY GOOD FRIENDS, STARTED SKATING A LOT TOGETHER AND FILMING TOGETHER.

AND, UM, WE, WE JUST, UM, YEAH, WE, WE WENT FROM THERE.

UH, REAL QUICK, UH, TODAY I POSTED, UH, UH, SOME, SOME FILM FROM 1992, AND JOHN AND I WERE SKATING IN GARLAND TOGETHER.

IF Y'ALL HAPPEN TO PULL IT UP, PLEASE DON'T HOLD US ACCOUNTABLE FOR SKATING AT NORTH ROBIN HIGH SCHOOL.

THAT WAS MORE THAN 30 YEARS AGO.

I'M SURE Y'ALL PAINTED IT TIME AND TIME AGAIN, .

UH, BUT JUST THE IMPACT OF JOHN, MY MOM, WHO'S WITH US.

SHE ACTUALLY TOOK US THERE AND FILMED THAT CLIP, SO SHE'S CULPABLE AS WELL.

.

UM, BUT WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, UM, WHEN I THINK OF THE WORD BONEYARD, WHICH IS WHAT THE PARK IS CURRENTLY NAMED, UH, I THINK OF A CEMETERY.

MORE SPECIFICALLY, I THINK OF THE DESERTS IN THE SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE UNITED STATES WHERE AIRPLANES NO LONGER IN SERVICE ARE TAKEN TO LIVE OUT THEIR FINAL DAYS WHERE THEY LAY LIFELESS ONLY BEING USED FOR SPARE PARTS.

THIS IS IN TOTAL CONTRADICTION TO WHAT SKATEBOARDING ALONG WITH OTHER ROLLER SPORTS IS ABOUT.

SKATEBOARDING AMONGST SO MANY OTHER THINGS IS ABOUT THE FREEDOM TO LIVE LIFE, HAVE FUN AND RISE TO OVERCOME CHALLENGES.

THESE ARE PRINCIPLES THAT JOHN JOHN COMER SKATED BY AND THROUGH SKATEBOARDING, JOHN LIVED IN THE EARLY 1990S.

JOHN WAS ENTERING COMPETITIONS, NOT JUST LOCAL COMPETITIONS, BUT CONTESTS ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY.

DURING THIS TIME, JOHN WAS COMPETING AGAINST THE PROS OF TOMORROW.

THERE WAS NO SPECIAL DIVISION HE SKATED WITH AND AGAINST THE BEST, NOT ONLY THROUGH HIS SKATING, BUT THROUGH HIS PER PERSISTENCE TO SKATE AT THE LEVEL NEEDED, OVERCOMING CHALLENGES THAT MOST OF US HAVE NEVER HAD TO ENDURE.

ALONG WITH THE PERSONALITY THAT MADE, MADE ANYONE.

HE MET AN INSTANT FRIEND.

JOHN WOULD LATER BE TURNED PRO.

JOHN THEN WENT ON TO COMPETE IN CONTEST AND DO DEMOS AROUND THE WORLD.

THIS WAS ALL PRE-SOCIAL MEDIA AND, AND YOUTUBE.

WITHIN TIME, MORE PEOPLE WOULD SEE JOHN SKATE AND LEARN THAT HE WAS SKATING WITH THE PROSTHETIC LEG SOMETHING.

UNTIL THEN, THAT WAS UNHEARD OF IN SKATEBOARDING FROM THEN ON, SKATEBOARDING STARTED TO SEE MORE AND MORE PEOPLE WHO, THOUGH THEY MAY NOT HAVE HAD USE OF ALL THEIR FACILITIES, THEY WANTED TO BE THEIR OWN PERSON AND DO SOMETHING FUN, CHALLENGING AND REWARDING.

FAST FORWARD TO 2021, UH, SKATEBOARDING WAS IN THE OLYMPICS FOR THE FIRST TIME ONLY.

NOW THE WORLD OF WHAT WOULD BECOME KNOWN AS ADAPTIVE SKATEBOARDING WAS LARGELY AS KNOWN TO HAVE PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD COMPETE IN THAT SPECIFIC DIVISION.

I DON'T KNOW OF ANY COMPETITOR WHO COMPETED IN THE ADAPTIVE SKATEBOARDING DIVISION OF THE OLYMPICS, WHO HASN'T BEEN INFLUENCED BY JOHN.

THIS IS WHY I BELIEVE THE SKATE PARK IN GARLANDS SHOULD BE RENAMED TO JOHN COMER MEMORIAL SKATE PARK.

IN HONOR OF JOHN TO HEAR AND SEE HIS NAME FOR MYSELF, I'M IMMEDIATELY REMINDED OF THE PERSEVERANCE I SAW JOHN DEMONSTRATE WHEN HE TOOK THE HARDEST FALLS IS WHEN HE WOULD GET BACK UP THE QUICKEST TO GIVE THE TRICK HE WAS TRYING ANOTHER GO, ALWAYS RISING UP TO THE CHALLENGE, OVERCOMING EVERY OBSTACLE.

THUS, I ENCOURAGE THE CITY TO FORMALLY RECOGNIZE AND RENAME THE PARK IN JOHN'S OWNER.

SO NOT ONLY I, BUT EVERYONE WHO COMES TO THE PARK AND SEES THE NAME CAN LEARN.

JOHN WAS THE SON OF GARLAND WHO EXUDED SUCH POSITIVE TRAITS, AND IN TURN, VISITORS BE INSPIRED TO PRACTICE THESE TRAITS AS WELL FOR THE CITY.

IT'S A GREAT SHOW OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT SOMEONE SO EXTRAORDINARY AND INFLUENTIAL

[00:55:01]

WAS A PROUD SON OF GARLAND.

IN ADDITION, AS MENTIONED BEFORE, IN 2021, A MEMORIAL EVENT DEDICATED JOHN TO JOHN, SHOWCASING THE SKATING OF ADAPTIVE SKATES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, WAS HELD AT ALLIANCE SKATE PARK IN GRAND PRIX.

IT WOULD ONLY BE FITTING TO SEE THIS EVENT IN JOHN'S HOMETOWN AND AT A SKATE PARK THAT WAS BUILT WHILE THE COUNTRY ITSELF WAS FACING ITS OWN GREATEST CHALLENGE OR ONE OF ITS OWN GREATEST CHALLENGES.

THE COVID PANDEMIC.

I ENCOURAGE A AND ALL INVOLVED TO CONTINUE DISCUSSIONS WITH THE SKATE COMMUNITY AND ALLOW US SKATERS TO SHOW THROUGH JOHN'S INSPIRATION AND OVERCOMING OBSTACLES THAT WE TOO ARE UP TO THE CHALLENGE.

AND WE WILL RISE TO BRING THE NAME CHANGE TO FRUITION.

IN CLOSING, RENAMING THE PARK, THE JOHN COMER MEMORIAL SKATE PARK IS WIN FOR EVERYONE, THE CITY, THE SKATERS OF TODAY, AND FOR THE FUTURE VISITORS OF THE PARK.

THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU, SIR.

HANG ON JUST A MINUTE.

DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? ANY, NONE.

AGAIN, THANK YOU, SIR.

IT'S VERY, VERY INFORMATIVE.

THANK YOU.

ANTHONY LORO, DO I REALLY HAVE TO GO AFTER HIM? , HAD WE KNOWN WE WOULD'VE ALL, UH, CAN WE STRIKE ANTHONY FROM THE RECORD AND JUST PUT TONY LARO? YOU DID THIS.

NOT ME.

UNLESS I'M IN TROUBLE.

I KNOW I WROTE IT, SO IT'S KIND OF IRONIC, I GUESS.

.

UM, ALL RIGHT.

CAN YOU HEAR ME PROPERLY? THREE MINUTES GO.

ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU.

UH, SO MY NAME IS ANTHONY LORO.

UH, I RESIDE AT 32 0 6 NINTH STREET IN DALLAS, TEXAS.

UM, I MOVED TO TEXAS IN 1992, AND, UH, SHORTLY THEREAFTER I MET JOHN COMER.

UH, WE WERE SKATEBOARDING.

UH, FIRST OF ALL, EVERY, EVERY BEST FRIEND I HAVE, I HAVE FROM THE SKATEBOARDING, AND I'M, YOU KNOW, GOSH, I'M GONNA BE 46 YEARS OLD THIS YEAR.

MM-HMM.

.

SO, UM, JUST LIKE WHAT SKATEBOARDING, UM, MEANS TO ME, YOU CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MEANT TO, TO JOHN COMER, THIS PERSON WHO, UH, GOSH, I LITERALLY TOLD MYSELF I WASN'T GONNA CRY, AND NOW I'M JUST .

UM, ALRIGHT, BREATH.

UH, BUT, UH, IT'S, IT'S REALLY CLEAR THAT JOHN WAS AN INSPIRATION.

UM, WHEN I FIRST MET JOHN, UH, HE WAS SKATING WITH TWO OTHER FRIENDS, AND WE WERE SKATING DOWN THESE SEVEN STAIRS.

AND, UH, YOU KNOW, HE WAS TRYING A TRICK DOWN THESE STAIRS, AND WE, YOU KNOW, I WAS KIND OF JUST BARELY GETTING THE, THE NERVE TO RIDE DOWN THEM.

UH, BUT HE WAS DOING THESE FLIP TRICKS AND KIND OF GOING CRAZY AND GOING DOWN THE HANDRAIL.

UM, AND THEN HE FELL REALLY HARD AND HIS LIKE, FOOT CAME OFF .

AND I WAS LIKE, THIS GUY'S HARDCORE.

LIKE, I HAD NO .

I DIDN'T REALIZE AT THE TIME THAT HE HAD A PROSTHETIC.

SO THAT WAS ONE, ONE OF THE MANY, UH, AMAZING MOMENTS WHERE YOU KIND OF REALIZE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S STORIES ABOUT, UH, LIKE DAN GABLE WINNING THE GOLD IN THE, IN THE, UH, IN WRESTLING IN THE OLYMPICS.

AND KENNY MONDAY, THE GUY WHO GOT SILVER, HE WAS KIND OF LIKE NURSING HIS WOUNDS, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT MORNING.

AND HE'S THERE KIND OF EATING BREAKFAST AT THE HOTEL.

AND DAN GABLE GETS UP AND HE, YOU KNOW, UH, KENNY MONDAY LOOKS OUT THE WINDOW AND DAN GABLE'S RUNNING, UH, TRAINING FOR THE NEXT THING.

THAT'S THE KIND OF PERSON JOHN WAS.

UM, HE NEVER GAVE UP.

HE NEVER, HE NEVER STOPPED.

UH, AND HE WAS A, UM, MORE THAN JUST BEING A GREAT SKATEBOARDER, HE WAS AN AWESOME FRIEND.

UH, I REMEMBER GOING, YOU KNOW, YEARS AT A TIME, UH, OUR, OUR KIDS, UH, OUR FIRST SONS WERE BORN, UH, IN THE SAME YEAR, 1997.

AND, UM, WE USED TO HANG OUT A LOT WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG.

AND, UH, I JUST REMEMBER EVERYWHERE WE'D GO, UM, SKATEBOARDING, EVERYONE'S LIKE, HEY, WHERE ARE YOU FROM? UH, AND EVENTUALLY LATER ON IN THE YEARS, HE'D SAY, DALLAS, TEXAS, CUZ PEOPLE WERE LIKE, WHERE'S GARLAND? BUT HE WOULD ALWAYS SAY, GARLAND, TEXAS.

AND JUST THE IDEA OF JOHN, YOU KNOW, NOT WANTING ACCOLADES OR HONORS, UH, IT WAS ALMOST COOL FOR HIM TO SAY GARLAND, TEXAS, CUZ NOBODY'S EVER HEARD OF IT.

BUT HE WAS PROUD OF IT.

UM, AND, YOU KNOW, IF HE WAS STILL HERE TODAY, HE WOULD, HE WOULD DEFINITELY SAY HE'S FROM GARLAND, TEXAS, AND HE'D BE REALLY PROUD TO, UH, TO SAY THAT THAT.

BUT, UM, I GUESS THE POINT I WANNA MAKE IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE FUTURE WE'LL LOOK BACK AND WE'LL SAY ALL THESE FAMOUS PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S RECORDS OF WHERE THEY'RE BORN AND WHERE THEY COME FROM.

JACKIE ROBINSON WAS BORN IN CAIRO, GEORGIA.

TONY HAWK WAS BORN IN CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA.

JACK DEMPSEY WAS BORN IN MANASSA, COLORADO, AND JOHN KUMER WAS BORN IN GARLAND, TEXAS.

AND I THINK, UH, THE, THE CITY WOULD, WOULD, UH, WOULD DO A GOOD THING BY HONORING HIM, UH, AT THE SKATE PARK.

AND, UH, I THINK IT WOULD BE, UH, UH, IT WOULD BE GREAT FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS TO BE ABLE TO KNOW, UM,

[01:00:01]

THAT GARLAND, TEXAS, UH, WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE HIM.

SO, THAT'S IT.

ALL RIGHT.

STAY, STAY THERE.

JUST A SECOND.

UH, ANY QUESTIONS OF THE SPEAKER? UM, LET ME MAKE SURE THESE, THESE THINGS ARE ACCURATE.

I'LL GET A COUPLE OF THINGS HERE THAT I, THAT I FOUND ON, UH, INTERNET ABOUT HIM.

UH, HE WAS THE FIRST PROFESSIONAL SKATEBOARDER WITH A PROSTHETIC LIMB DOING IT DUE TO AN AMPUTATED LOWER LEG, AND WAS REGARDED AS THE GODFATHER OF ADAPTIVE SKATEBOARDING.

HE WAS FEATURED IN THE AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENT, DOCUMENTARY, NEVER BEEN DONE.

UH, IN THE EIGHTIES AND NINETIES, HE DOMINATED SKATEBOARD COMPETITIONS.

HE WON 73 TITLES AND WAS NAMED THE TOP VERT SKATER EVERY YEAR FROM 1984 TO 1996.

HE ALSO INVENTED DOZENS OF MOVES, INCLUDING THINGS THAT WE WOULD ALL KNOW, UH, THE OIE TO INDY, THE GYMNAST PLANT, THE FRONT SIDE, FIVE 40 RODEO FLIP, AND THE SARANT WRAP.

THAT'S PRETTY GOOD.

JUST RIGHT THERE IN, YEAH, I, JUST, REAL QUICK, SINCE I STOPPED A LITTLE BIT EARLY, UM, UH, AMY, ROB, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU GUYS REMEMBER THIS, BUT THERE WAS A SKATE CONTEST AND TONY HAWK'S TEAM CAME DOWN.

I THINK IT WAS IN ROCKWALL, I WANNA SAY, OR WAS IT SIX FLAGS? I DON'T, I FORGET.

OKAY.

WELL, THE STORY IS, I'M STANDING THERE WITH MY WIFE, UH, UP AGAINST THE WALL WATCHING THE SKATERS GO BY.

UM, AND I HAD PREVIOUSLY MET TONY HAWK THROUGH JOHN, UH, AND TONY HAWK GOES BY AND MY WIFE'S LIKE, OH MY GOSH.

AND HE GOES, HE GOES, HEY, YOU'RE JOHN'S FRIEND, AREN'T YOU? AND TO THIS DAY, I TELL THAT STORY, LITERALLY, PEOPLE ARE LIKE, MY DAD.

MY KIDS GO, MY DAD KNOWS TONY HAWK , BUT HE WAS LITERALLY REFERENCING, I KNOW YOU BECAUSE YOU KNOW JOHN, UH, AND YOU KNOW, I'M GONNA HANG ON TO THAT STORY FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

SO THANK YOU, SIR.

.

VERY GOOD.

THANK YOU.

NEXT, MARK REED, UM, ORAL TESTIMONY.

AND YOU SAID YOU WEREN'T GONNA TALK.

I KNEW YOU WOULD .

I KNEW YOU WOULD.

I THOUGHT I MIGHT NOT.

NO.

MY NAME IS MARK REED.

I LIVE AT 36 19 GLENBROOK COURT IN GARLAND.

I'VE BEEN HERE FOR 38 YEARS.

WE GREW UP, UH, IN THE SAME NEIGHBORHOOD WITH, UH, DENNY AND, AND JOHN AND ROBBIE, UH, MY SON, UH, OUR SON, UH, WAS FRIENDS WITH JOHN.

UH, THEY WOULD GO AND, UH, SKATE AND, UH, GET INTO, UH, TROUBLE.

BUT, YOU KNOW, I GUESS THE, THE, ALL THE OTHER SPEAKERS HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB OF TELLING YOU, OF WHO JOHN WAS, GIVING YOU A GREAT PICTURE.

AND YOU ALL UNDERSTAND, I THINK THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RENAMING, UH, THE, UH, JUST THE EFFECT THAT IT HAS ON PEOPLE, HIS LEGACY, HIS STORY IS UNIQUE.

THERE'S JUST NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.

IT'S A UNIQUE STORY.

IT'S A GREAT STORY.

JOHN HAD HIS TROUBLES, YOU KNOW, WE ALL HAVE OUR TROUBLES, BUT HE'S, HE'S DEFINITELY STANDS, HE STANDS ALONE IN HIS FIELD.

AND, AND YOU'VE ALL HEARD THAT STORY.

I JUST WANTED TO SAY ONE MORE THING.

UH, WHEN, UH, JOHN AND OUR SON WERE PROBABLY ABOUT 12, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, THEY THOUGHT WAS GREAT SPORT WAS WHEN THEY WOULD GET OUT AND ONE OF 'EM WOULD TACKLE JOHN AND SOMEONE ELSE WOULD TAKE HIS LEG .

UH, AND IT WAS, THEY WERE JUST KIDDING AROUND, YOU KNOW, BUT, BUT HE COULD HANDLE THAT.

HE COULD, YOU KNOW, HE, JOHN HAD A SENSE OF HUMOR ABOUT IT.

IT, HE DIDN'T, AND THEY WEREN'T DOING IT TO BE MEAN.

THEY'RE JUST DOING IT, HAVING FUN.

AND, UH, SO YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S JOHN AND HIS HISTORY IN GARLAND.

HE'S JUST A, A REGULAR KID, REGULAR GUY, BUT MUCH MORE THAN THAT.

AND, AND YOU'VE ALL HEARD THAT STORY, SO I JUST, YOU SIR, SIR, ANY ANY QUESTIONS OF MR. REED? SEEING NONE.

THANK YOU, SIR.

MY LAST SPEAKER CARD, UH, K JEFFERS AND NOT TESTIFYING? NO, NOT, YOU'RE STILL NOT AFTER ALL THAT.

IT'S ALL BEEN SAID, HASN'T IT? IT'S ALL BEEN SAID.

ALL RIGHT.

UM, VERY GOOD.

WELL, WHAT THIS IS, IS WE'RE, WE'RE GATHERING INFORMATION AND I BELIEVE WE'VE GATHERED IT TONIGHT.

UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING.

THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING A PART OF THIS.

AND, UH, I JUST BECAUSE OF ONE STATEMENT THAT WAS MADE THERE, WE, WE HAVE SEVERAL DIFFERENT CONSIDERATIONS.

UH, WE HAVE CONSIDERATIONS OF LEAVING, LEAVING THE PARK AT, UH, AT THE NAME BONEYARD.

WE HAVE CONSIDERATION OF NAMING IT, BONEYARD, UH, IN HONOR OF, AND THEN POSSIBLY DOING SOMETHING LIKE A, A PLAQUE THAT WE, THAT COULD BE THERE TO TELL SOME OF THE STORIES THAT YOU GUYS HAVE TOLD.

AND THEN WE HAVE THE,

[01:05:01]

THE THIRD, THE THIRD THING OF NAMING IT, UH, JUST IN HIS NAME.

WE, WE DON'T KNOW WHERE THIS IS GONNA GO YET, UM, BUT AN INTERESTING, AN INTERESTING PIECE BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT HERE FROM TIME TO TIME.

AND ALSO I SERVE ON THE GAR LANDMARK, UH, COMMISSION AND, UH, ABOUT DOING A TRAIL OF THE, UH, PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN INFLUENTIAL TO THE CITY OF GARLAND.

AND THIS COULD BE AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THAT VERY FIRST.

I SEE, I SEE A BRONZE PLAQUE, SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF WHAT YOU SEE WITH THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THEIR, AND THEIR, UH, MEMORIALS TO THE DIFFERENT IMPORTANT PLACES.

UH, WE HAVE ONE OF THOSE ON THE, MY GREAT-GREAT GRANDFATHER'S LOG CABIN IN EDGEWOOD.

AND WE CAN'T HELP BUT STOP AND LOOK AT THAT PLAQUE EVERY TIME WE COME UP THERE AS A, AS A FAMILY.

AND THIS COULD BE THE FIRST OF STARTING THAT TRAIL.

SO THAT'S NOT, NOBODY ELSE HAS HEARD THAT.

AND IT'S JUST NOW COME OUT FOR THE FIRST TIME.

UH, LET'S TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK, UH, FOR EVERYBODY.

AND, UH, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE.

MOVE, MOVE.

HOLD ON.

, I'M TRY TO FIGURE OUT, HE'S NOT GOOD AT THAT.

HE'S GENERALLY HAS SOMEBODY DO THAT FOR HIM.

HERE WE GO.

.

3, 2, 1.

AWESOME.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

ME.

AN EMAIL.

OH, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

IT WAS LIKE 20.

SO READY TO CRY.

NO DOUBT, DUDE.

THERE WAS SOME GOOD STUFF.

YES.

THIS IS ROB, UH, MASTER NATIONALIST.

AND THIS HERE IN GARLAND.

HE'S ALSO, HE MARKET ROCK.

I'M, UH, YEAH, MY NAME IS CAMERON.

I'M REPRESENTING DISTRICT TWO AND I'VE WORKED WITH BRETT JOHNSON BEFORE.

CUZ YOU'VE DONE POLLINATOR PROJECTS TOGETHER.

I'VE WORKED FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS PARK REC DEPARTMENT.

SO YEAH.

I LOVE THE, I FOLLOWED THE NORTH TEXAS MASTER NATIONALS INSTAGRAM PAGE.

.

OH, I HAD TO GET YOU THROUGH THE TRAINING, YOU KNOW, AND ALL YOUR SPARE TIME, RIGHT? YEAH.

WHERE? I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT IS.

I GUESS IT'S, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO SLEEP, BUT, UM, DO YOU DO THE ONES OUT THAT THEY, THAT THEY DO AS THE CREEK CREEK PRESERVE? LIKE WHEN THEY DO THE NATURE WALKS? MM-HMM.

, THANKS FOR SO MUCH FOR DOING THAT.

THAT'S AMAZING.

I'M SO HAPPY THAT BABY DRIVES THAT.

LOVE IT.

IT'S SUCH A GREAT HURTING CATS.

HURTING CATS.

WELL, I, I'M, YOU KNOW, I'S GOTTA GET OUT THERE.

IT'S GOOD.

UPDATE NEW SHADE.

GOT THE MM-HMM.

.

DO WE HAVE ALL THESES? OH, NOT MATT, SORRY.

RECORDING ISSUES.

I'M DEFINITELY THE BEST.

VOLUNTEERS ARE GOOD.

YOU HAVE MORE PEOPLE INVESTED IN THE COMMUNITY.

CONTINUE THE WORK EVEN AFTER THE, WHERE'S THE UNIFORM? AND I WAS LIKE, I WAS LIKE, OKAY.

I KNOW I LOOKED, I LOOKED AT THE ATTACHMENT, UH, WHEN, YEAH, I LOOKED PRETTY STRAIGHT FORWARD.

BUT THIS'S SOMETHING THAT WE WERE KIND OF LOOKING AT ON HERITAGE TREES.

SO ORIGINALLY APPROVED KINDA NO, IT MIGHT BE WORTH TALKING ABOUT.

NO, JUST GONNA LISTEN.

OKAY.

, NON-COMMITTAL, THAT'S ALL.

UH, DO YOU THINK THE, UH, REVISED PROJECTS GONNA APPLY WE'RE WHERE THEY LACK THE PROJECT, PROJECT, THE TRAIL BUILDING.

[01:10:01]

DEFINITELY PROTEST.

UM, ABOUT THE TIME THAT, AS WE FOUND OUT, WHICH, YOU KNOW, AND, AND I MEAN, BRI DID THE RIGHT THING.

HE SAID, HEY, MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE BECKY.

AND WE DID OUT, SHOWED HER AROUND, YOU KNOW, AND THEN SHE FOLLOW UP WITH AN EMAIL AND SHE KINDA EXPRESSED ALL HER STUFF.

YEAH.

YEAH.

IT WAS IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT I THOUGHT THAT HEAR TRAFFIC, IT WAS PRETTY SMALL TRAIL GOING HOME.

SMALL LOOP, BUT ALRIGHT, EVERYONE, YOU'RE, TAKE YOUR PLACE.

THIS WE GET STARTED WITH THE REST OF THE EVENING.

OKAY.

OH GEEZ.

COME ON MAN.

GOT ANOTHER COUPLE.

WE DID THIS.

OH, THANK YOU.

I'M SOME OF THESE TIMER SHOULDN'T STOP WRITING TIME.

NO, I, I WAS WONDERING, DID HAVE Y'ALL COME UP WITH LIKE, UM, WOULD'VE BEEN APPROPRIATE IMAGES OF WHAT THE ART INSTALLATION COULD LOOK LIKE IF THEY WERE TO DO IT RIGHT NOW? IT'S LIKE AN IDEA.

I THINK IT WOULD COMMISSION PIECE THAT WE'D HAVE TO DO A LOT OF COLLABORATION WITH THEM.

AND, AND THEN I FORGOT TO ASK, BUT BUDGET, IS THERE A BUDGET TO WHATEVER CHANGE OR THERE FUNDING FOR WHATEVER IS GONNA HAPPEN? INFORMATION'S ALSO RECOMMENDATION MY PRESSURE.

AIR .

OH MAN.

OKAY.

UH, THE MEETING'S CALLED, UH, BACK TO ORDER.

UH, WE TOOK A BREAK THERE TO LET THE ROOM CLEAR OUT.

AND HOW MANY, HOW MANY SPEAKERS, HOW MANY PEOPLE DID WE HAVE HERE IN, IN ALL TOGETHER? UH, YES MA'AM.

15 ALL TOGETHER.

15 SPEAKING AND NOT SPEAKING.

AND, AND, AND THAT WAS OKAY.

THAT WAS EVERYBODY.

OKAY.

VERY GOOD.

UH, THAT WAS VERY INTERESTING.

VERY INTERESTING.

I THINK THAT GIVES US A, A CHANCE OF DOING WHAT THE COUNCIL HAD CHARGED US WITH DOING.

UM, BEAR WITH ME JUST A SECOND.

THAT PIECE I THREW OUT THERE, UM, HIT ME AFTER I, AFTER I, I SPENT THE, OVER A COUPLE HOURS YESTERDAY GOING THROUGH YOUTUBE AND, AND, UH, FINDING THE, FINDING THE VIDEO AND, UH, THE STORY, THE STORY OF HIS LIFE, WHICH WAS, WHICH WAS AMAZING, UM, PRODUCED BY, UH, FOX SPORTS AND, UM, HAD A QUITE A BIT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCOTTISH R HOSPITAL AND, AND JOHN'S WORK THERE AND HIS INFLUENCE ON PEOPLE WITH THE PROSTHETICS AND HOW THEIR LIFE IS NOT OVER, BUT IT CAN BE ANYTHING THAT, UH, THAT THEY WOULD MAKE IT TO BE.

UM, AND OUT OF THAT, BECAUSE OF TALK WE'VE DONE HERE TALK I'VE DONE WITH THE CHAMBER IN YEARS PAST AND, UH, WITH THE GARLAND, UH, UH, LANDMARK SOCIETY, UH, THERE'S BEEN, THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN THESE TALKS OF THIS TRAIL OF THE, OF THE HISTORY OF THE CITY OF GARLAND AND THE HISTORY OF CITY GARLAND'S, THE HISTORY THAT'S PEOPLE HAVE MADE, UM, IN BEING HERE.

AND I REALLY, THIS IS, THIS JUST ALL CAME TO FRUITION IS WE WERE LISTENING TO ALL THIS TONIGHT, WHAT A WONDERFUL PLACE TO HAVE TO START THE TRAIL AND HAVE THE, HAVE THE PLAQUE, WHICH TELLS YOU MORE THAN JUST IT, IT'S SOME, IT'S SOME PERSON'S NAME FROM IN THE PAST.

AND I THINK IT WOULD ADD A LOT TO THE OVERALL, THE, THE, THE OVERALL FEELING OF BEING HOME WHEN YOU'RE IN THE CITY OF GARLAND, WHEN YOU KNOW WHY SO MANY OF THESE THINGS HAVE BEEN NAMED THE WAY THEY'VE BEEN NAMED.

WE KNOW THE NAMES AND IF WE'RE LUCKY, UH, BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHY.

AND THAT'S, THAT'S THE WHOLE THING THAT, THAT THIS COULD ACCOMPLISH.

SO ANYWAY, WE'VE TAKEN A LITTLE LONGER THAN, UH, UH, THAN WE'D NEED ON ANYTHING.

BUT THEN WE DID NEED THIS TONIGHT.

AND, UH, THE CHAIR WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION, UH, TO POSTPONE A DISCUSSION ON THIS UNTIL, UNTIL OUR NEXT MEETING, UH, IF THE, IF THE BOARD WISHES, IF NOT, WE'LL DISCUSS IT.

NOW.

I MOVE TO POSTPONE MR. BRADLEY MOVES THAT WE, THAT

[01:15:01]

WE POSTPONED.

UH, HERE A SECOND.

I'LL SECOND NOW WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR IN A SECOND.

NOW WE HAVE DISCUSSION.

SO DO WE WANT TO TAKE SOME TIME IN BETWEEN FOR, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THIS COULD CERTAINLY BE A, A TASK OF THE FACILITY, JUST FINANCE COMMITTEE TO KIND OF PULL THIS INFORMATION TOGETHER THAT WE COLLECTED TONIGHT.

YOU KNOW, KIND OF HELP START SCOPING OUT THE STORY THAT WE GOT HERE TO, UH, SUPPORT WHATEVER DECISION WE MIGHT WANNA MAKE.

SO, SO WE HAVE SOMETHING MORE TO, TO, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, STAND BEHIND OUR, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHATEVER OUR FINAL RECOMMENDATION IS.

I, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT SUGGESTION AND I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE, THE RECORDING FOR THE TONIGHT COULD BE MADE AVAILABLE TO HELP KIND OF PULL THAT TOGETHER AND, AND REALLY KIND OF PUT IT IN A STORYLINE FORMAT.

AND THEN DEPENDING ON THE, THE PARK BOARDS RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL, I DO THINK THAT THAT'S THE, BEEN, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT STEP IS A FORMAL RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL THAT THEY CAN TAKE UNDER ADVISEMENT.

AND THAT WAY THE STORY'S COHESIVE, THOUGHT OUT AND ROLLED OUT IN A WAY.

AND I'D, I'D LIKE TO SEE IN MY PERSONAL OPINION, UH, PARK BOARD, MAKE THAT PRESENTATION TO COUNCIL, UM, AND, AND DO IT, DO IT SOME JUSTICE BASED ON WHAT YOU HEARD TONIGHT, DO THIS IN A WORK SESSION.

YES, SIR.

COME SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE.

YES, SIR.

THERE'S A, THERE'S A PHYSICAL NOTE OF COURSE, WITHIN, WITHIN NAME CHANGE.

AND, AND YOU KNOW, I THINK THE THING WE'LL HAVE TO BE WONDERING ABOUT BETWEEN NOW AND THEN IS WHETHER OR NOT WE GO WITH THE BONEYARD AND THEN DO SOMETHING, SOMEHOW ANOTHER, UH, TIE IN TO, UH, JOHN COMER.

YOU, YOU'D USE THE, YOU'D USE SOME TERMS ONE TIME THERE.

THAT WAS, THAT WAS, YOU REMEMBER WHAT, WHAT YOU SAID.

WE WERE VISITING JUST A SECOND.

IT WAS, IT CAME OUT QUICKLY AND IT SOUNDED REALLY GOOD.

BUT, UH, YEAH, , ANYWAY, UH, CELEBRATING, CELEBRATING THE LIFE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS BASICALLY, UH, OF, UH, OF A YOUNG MAN, UH, FROM GARLAND WHO BECAME KNOWN ALL OVER THE WORLD.

AND I THINK THAT, BOY, THAT'D MAKE A PRETTY GOOD FIRST SENTENCE TO START WITH, UH, IN THIS THING.

UH, ANYWAY, WE'VE GOTTA DECIDE HOW WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT.

AND OF COURSE, WHAT WE DO IS JUST ON, IS ONLY A RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL AND THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE IT.

BUT I THINK WE CAN DO A GOOD ENOUGH JOB.

THEY JUST GO, WOW, NOBODY COULD DO BETTER THAN THAT.

AND THIS GROUP'S GOOD.

OKAY.

YEAH.

AND WE ALL HAVE AN END TO AT LEAST ONE.

COUNCILMAN .

ALRIGHT, WE HAVE A MOTION TO SECOND ON THE FLOOR TO TABLE THIS TO THE, TO OUR NEXT MEETING.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.

AYE.

AYE.

ALL OPPOSED.

LIKEWISE.

MOTION PASSES.

THANK YOU.

ALRIGHT, LET ME SEE NOW WHAT'S ON PAGE TWO.

OKAY.

VERBAL BRIEFINGS.

UM, SUPERVISOR REPORT.

CARVER SENIOR CENTER.

MM-HMM.

, DO WE, ARE THEY AWAKE DELI? I'M SORRY, TWO EIGHT.

DID YOU WANT TO DO THAT? OR YOU GOING BACK TO THAT? IT DOESN'T MATTER.

OH, LET, LET'S STILL LEAVE THAT TILL THE, TILL THE END.

I, I THINK WE KNOW WHERE WE'RE GONNA GO WITH IT.

BUT LET'S, LET'S LEAVE THAT TO THE END.

THANK YOU DELEE.

AND, AND BEFORE DELEE GETS STARTED, UH, WE ALL, YOU, YOU ALL NEED TO KNOW THAT DELEE AND AND ZIYAD HAVE BEEN ON A MISSION, UM, WITH FOUR OF THESE PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THIS, UH, PROCESS OF FINDING OUT WHAT THIS CITIZENS OF GARLAND WANT IN A SENIOR CENTER.

AND THEY'VE DONE AN OUTSTANDING JOB.

I'VE ATTENDED TWO OF THE FOUR.

UH, AND THEY WERE, UH, IT WAS VERY CLEAR AND CONCISE.

ZI ODD HAS A REAL GOOD WAY OF EXPLAINING THINGS, SO EVEN A SIMPLE MINDED PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND IT.

AND SO ANYWAY, UH, DELEE, IT'S ALL YOURS MA'AM.

LET ME GET THIS QUEUED UP REALLY QUICK.

WELL, IN THAT CASE, I'LL KEEP TALKING.

NO .

OKAY.

WELL GOOD EVENING PARK BOARD MEMBERS.

I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF INTRODUCING YOU ALL TO JULISSA BAKER.

SHE IS THE CENTER SUPERVISOR OVER AT CARVER SENIOR CENTER, AND SHE HAS BEEN IN OUR DEPARTMENT.

SHE'S KIND OF GROWN UP IN OUR DEPARTMENT.

SHE STARTED WITH CAMPS IN 2013 AND, UH, THEN SHE WORKED OVER AT AUDUBON IN 2016 IN THE PERMANENT PART-TIME POSITION.

UM, AND THEN WE PROMOTED HER IN, UH, LAST JULY TO THE, UH, CARVER SENIOR SUPERVISOR POSITION.

AND IT WAS A REALLY, REALLY GOOD CHOICE.

UM, SHE'S DONE A GREAT JOB, SO I DON'T WANNA STEAL HER THUNDER IN SHARING ABOUT THE CENTER AND WHAT SHE'S DOING OVER THERE.

THAT WAS JULISSA.

OKAY.

THAT'S ME, .

UM, THIS IS MY RECREATION SPECIALIST.

HER NAME IS JICA MILLER.

UM, WE JUST HIRED HER IN AUGUST OF 2022.

UM, SHE HAS BEEN WITH THE CITY BEFORE, UM, EARLIER IN 2020 AS A WRECK

[01:20:01]

IN, YES.

AND THEN I HAVE TWO PERMANENT PART-TIME POSITIONS.

POSITIONS.

UM, THEY ARE REC ASSOCIATES.

UH, I HAVE DOROTHY, UM, WHO'S BEEN WITH THE CITY SINCE 2016.

AND THEN I HAVE ZOLA OLIVE, WHO HAS BEEN WITH THE CITY SINCE 2020.

UM, THEY'RE BOTH FANTASTIC.

UM, SO IN SEPTEMBER OF 2021, UM, WE STARTED DOING RESERVATIONS.

UM, CARVER BEFORE THAT TIME HAD NEVER DONE RESERVATIONS BEFORE.

UM, SO THIS IS SOMETHING FAIRLY NEW.

UM, WE HAVE A DINING ROOM, A MEETING ROOM, AND THEN WE HAVE A FULL CATERING KITCHEN.

UM, WE HAVE PRICES THAT AFFECT OUR SENIORS.

SO THEY ARE A SENIOR AND A RESIDENT OF GARLAND.

THERE IS A DISCOUNTED RATE FOR THEM.

AND THEN WE HAVE OUR REGULAR, UM, FEES FOR ANYBODY WHO WOULD LIKE TO RENT.

SO THIS CLASS THAT YOU'RE SEEING IS CALLED CARDIO DRUM.

OUR SENIORS HAVE A VERY GOOD TIME.

UM, WE, I LIKE TO BRING NEW PROGRAMS THAT THEY NECESSARILY WOULDN'T DO ON A NORMAL BASIS.

SO CARDIO DRUMMING IS SOMETHING THAT'S BECOME VERY, UM, POPULAR AS IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.

IT COMBINES MUSIC AND DANCING WITH FITNESS.

SO YOU HAVE A LARGE BALL AND YOU USE DRUMSTICKS AND YOU USE MOVE YOUR FEET AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

AS YOU CAN TELL, SOME OF THEM SIT, SOME OF THEM STAND.

UM, WE HAVE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE GOING ON EVERY MONTH.

WE HAVE A LUNCH BRUNCH THAT MEETS ONCE A MONTH AND WE GO TO A RESTAURANT IN SOME PART OF DFW.

UM, WE ALSO HAVE OUR CHAIR EXERCISE CLASS THAT HAPPENS ON MONDAYS AND THURSDAYS.

IT'S A 30 MINUTE, UM, LOW IMPACT WORKOUT CLASS AS WELL AS WE DO A COFFEE AND CONVERSATION EVERY MORNING.

UM, WE JUST KIND OF TALK AND GET THE SENIORS TO KIND OF COME FIRST WITH EACH OTHER.

WE ALSO HAVE A GUITAR CLASS, UM, AN INDOOR GARDENING CLASS AS WELL AS WE ARE WORKING ON A THREE DAY TRIP TO SAN ANTONIO, UM, FOR OCTOBER, 2024.

I KNOW THAT'S FAR OUT, BUT TRIPS TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME.

UM, SOME PROGRAMS THAT WE, SOME EVENTS WE HAVE COMING UP, UM, ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK, UM, WHICH IS VALENTINE'S DAY, UM, WE WILL BE HAVING A SENIOR PROM.

UM, SO BASICALLY ALL THE SENIORS GET TO GO BACK TO PROM IF THEY NEVER ATTENDED THEIR PROM.

THEY GET TO GO TO PROM AND THEY GET TO DRESS UP AND DANCE AND UM, IT WILL BE AT THE ATRIUM.

UM, AND SO ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK, IT'LL BE AT FOUR 30 AND WE'RE DOING IT AT SIX 30.

WE'LL HAVE FOOD RAFFLES.

WE GOT A NICE LITTLE PHOTO BOOTH SET UP FOR THEM.

WE GOT SOME GIVEAWAYS, UM, AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO IF YOU AREN'T DOING ANYTHING, FEEL FREE TO COME BY TO OUR, UM, PROM AND COME DRESSED UP.

UM, OUR NEXT EVENT AFTER THAT WILL BE OUR BLACK BLACK HISTORY CELEBRATION EVENT.

IT WILL BE ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH.

AND, UM, WE WILL HAVE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT THINGS.

WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON A VIDEO, UM, OF LEADERS IN GARLAND.

AND UM, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF FAMILIAR FACES THAT YOU WILL KNOW ON THAT VIDEO.

UM, AND THEY JUST KIND OF GIVE SOME ADVICE TO, UM, YOUNG PEOPLE WHO WILL BE LEADERS SOMEDAY.

WE'LL SHOW THAT AT THE PROGRAM.

UM, ALSO AS PART OF OUR CENTER, WE DO HAVE MEDICAL SPONSORS WHO COME IN AND THEY HELP OUR, UM, SENIORS BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES SENIORS DON'T ALWAYS KNOW.

AND IF I CAN FIND THE RESOURCES AND THEY CAN COME STRAIGHT TO THE SENIOR CENTER, WHY NOT HAVE THEM THERE? SO WE HAVE, THESE ARE A COUPLE OF THAT WE HAVE LIKE HERE IN CARE UNITED, UM, HEALTHCARE.

UM, THESE ARE JUST PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME.

UM, A NICE PROGRAM THAT DALLAS COUNTY OFFERED FOR US WAS CALLED A LITTLE TASTE OF AFRICAN HERITAGE.

BASICALLY THEY LEARNED HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY FOODS, UM, THAT ARE FROM AFRICAN HERITAGE.

SO SOMETHING THAT THEY LOVED AND THE LADY COOKED RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM AND THEY GOT TO ENJOY.

AND THEY GOT A COOKBOOK AT THE END OF THE CLASS.

AND A CERTIFICATE.

UM, SOME EVENTS THAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST.

UM, WE HAD HAWAIIAN DAY IN AUGUST.

UM, HAWAIIAN DAY IS WHEN WE TAKE ALL THE SENIORS TO HAWAII.

INSERT JOKE THERE.

UM, , WE ACTUALLY BRING HAWAII TO, UM, TO GARLAND AND WE DRESS UP THE CENTER, THEY GET TO HAVE FOOD AND THEY GET TO LUAU DANCE.

WE DO TRIVIA, BINGO, ALL KINDS OF THINGS.

SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE PICTURES THAT WE TOOK ON THAT DAY.

YOU CAN SEE MAYOR SCOTT LEMAY BACK THERE.

UM, HIM AND DEBORAH MORRIS CAME BY, UM, TO HANG OUT WITH SOME OF THE SENIORS FOR A BIT.

AND IT WAS JUST A FUN, RELAXING DAY.

UM, THESE ARE SOME OF THE OTHER PROGRAMS WE HAVE DONE.

[01:25:01]

UM, WE DID A VETERAN'S LUNCHEON, UM, TO HONOR ALL OF OUR VETERANS.

WE ALSO DID A THANKSGIVING POTLUCK.

UM, ALL THE SENIORS BROUGHT, UM, FOOD THAT THEY MADE AND AS WELL AS WE HAD A CHRISTMAS PARTY, COVER CHRISTMAS PARTY AND WE, THAT INCLUDED MUSIC, IT INCLUDED PHOTOS WITH SANTA.

WE ALSO HAD, UM, A GINGERBREAD MAKING CONTEST BETWEEN THE TABLES AND SOMEONE THREW AWAY THEIR WHOLE GINGERBREAD.

BUT IT WAS A WONDERFUL TIME AND THEY HAD A VERY GOOD TIME.

SO ALSO A PART OF MY JOB DESCRIPTION.

I AM, UM, THE SUPERVISOR OVER ALL OF THE SPECIAL EVENTS THAT RECREATION DOES.

UM, SO I OVERSEE ALL OF THE SPECIAL EVENTS THAT HAPPEN, MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE RUNNING SMOOTHLY AND ANY KIND OF IDEAS WE ALL KIND OF GET TOGETHER.

SO THE CLIP YOU SAW WAS ACTUALLY FROM THE SWEETHEART DANCE LAST YEAR.

WE HAD HAD A, UM, SOCK COP AND THIS YEAR WE HAD A, UM, DISCO BALL.

WE HAD A DISCO BALL AND IT WAS A LOT OF FUN.

WE HAD A DAD BREAK OUT IN BREAK DANCING.

UM, SO IT WAS GREAT IN A SUIT.

AND UM, WE DID THE Y M C A AS A WHOLE GROUP.

IT WAS WONDERFUL.

UM, AND WE ARE WORKING, WE HAVE OUR HAUNTED HOUSE AS WELL AS OUR EX GRANDMA.

OUR EX GRANDMA WILL BE COMING UP ON APRIL 5TH AT CARTER COMPLEX.

UM, AS WELL AS WE HAVE.

EXCELLENT.

SORRY, THERE'S THE HAUNTED HOUSE.

UM, THIS IS OUR PICTURE FROM THIS YEAR ACTUALLY.

UM, I SAW ABOUT 1300 PEOPLE EVEN THOUGH IT RAINED VERY HARD.

UM, AND IT STORMED, WE STILL SAW ABOUT 1300 PEOPLE COME THROUGH.

AND, UM, ALSO THE MLK FLOAT.

UM, I WAS IN CHARGE OF GETTING ALL THE SUPPLIES AND CREATING THE MLK FLOAT WHERE WE GOT SECOND PLACE AND THE CONTEST, UM, THAT IS THE FINAL FLOAT.

AND WE HAD, UM, FORMER MAYOR RON JONES AND AS WELL AS, UM, CURRENT MAYOR SCOTT LAMAY ON, AND RON JONES WIFE.

AND I WANNA GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO PARK OPERATIONS ON THAT FLOAT IN THE HAUNTED HOUSE CUZ THEY DO A LOT TO PARTNER WITH US AND HELP BUILD PROPS AND THINGS.

SO THEY'RE ALWAYS BEHIND THE SCENES, EVERYTHING WE NEEDED IT.

AND UM, THAT IS ALL IF ANYBODY HAS, I JUST WANNA BRAG ON JULISSA.

SHE'S LITERALLY THE ULTIMATE EMPLOYEE.

YOU KNOW, YOU ASK HER TO DO SOMETHING AND SHE DOES IT AND SHE DOES IT TO HER, THE BEST OF HER ABILITY AND SHE'S ALWAYS WILLING TO TAKE ON ANYTHING AND SHE DOES SO WITH A SMILE.

SO SHE'S AWESOME.

GITO, SHE'S STILL AWESOME.

THANK, THANK YOU.

, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU AND IT HAS TO DO WITH THE, UM, WHEN YOU HAVE A MEDICAL FACILITY, MEDICAL PERSONNEL COMING IN TO PROVIDE THIS.

WHEN WE TOOK A TOUR OF SOME OF THE OTHER, UM, SENIOR CENTERS IN OTHER SUBURBAN CITIES, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THEY WOULD SHOW WHEN THEY WERE JUST PROUD OF AND BRAGGING ON IT WAS THEY'RE PARTNERING WITH A WELL PRIVATE HEALTHCARE PROVIDER FOR ONSITE ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE.

AND I'M JUST WONDERING IF, UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD POSSIBLY EXPLORE FOR HAVING A MORE FULL-TIME PRESENCE AT CARVER, WOULD THAT BENEFIT, WOULD THAT, YOU KNOW, ADD REAL BENEFIT TO THE CITY AND THE, UM, RESIDENTS THAT MAKE USE OF CAR OF CARVER? UM, SO, UM, WE CURRENTLY ACTUALLY WHERE CARVER IS YEAH.

COMPLEX THAT WE'RE IN, UM, PARKLAND IS ACTUALLY RIGHT BEHIND OUR BUILDING.

SO A LOT OF THE SENIORS ACTUALLY THAT IS THEIR MAIN DOCTOR IS INSIDE OF PARKLAND.

SO WHEN THEY WALK TO THE BACK, PARKLAND'S RIGHT THERE AS WELL AS THE, UM, PUBLIC HEALTH CLINIC SO THEY CAN GET IMMUNIZATIONS.

OKAY.

SO A LOT OF TIMES THEY DO TALK TO US IF WE HAVE SOMEONE WHO NEEDS SOMETHING AND I REFER PEOPLE TO PARKLAND IF THEY'RE LOOKING FOR A CLOSED FACILITY TO GO TO THE DOCTOR.

OKAY.

SO THERE REALLY WOULD NOT BE ANY POINT IN BRINGING IT TO ONSITE FOR CARVER THEN.

YES.

AND I'M WONDERING THERE MAY BE SOME, UM, GUIDELINES AS FAR AS LIKE PARKLAND BEING THERE AND BEING ABLE TO HAVE THAT THERE.

UM, THERE'D BE SOMETHING WE COULD DEFINITELY TALK ABOUT THOUGH.

YEAH.

AND ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THE IS THE SPACE, CUZ IT, IT'S AB ABSOLUTELY SOMETHING THAT MAY END UP A STRONG CONSIDERATION AT THE, THE OTHER SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTER, BUT IT IS A LITTLE BIT OF A SPACE CHALLENGE, UH, OVER THERE.

I WOULD LOVE TO KICK SOME WALLS DOWN AND, AND EXPAND THE, THE REC CENTER, BUT WE GOTTA FIGURE OUT WHERE TO PUT THOSE PEOPLE IF WE KICK 'EM OUT.

BUT ANYWAY, WISH SHE'S THE REAL F*****G .

ANYBODY HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS? IT LOOKS LIKE YOU, UH, HAVE A VERY DIVERSIFIED, UH, A

[01:30:01]

LIST OF ACTIVITIES THAT THE, THAT THE GROUPS DOES.

SO THEY, THEY CAN, UH, THEY CAN FULFILL ANY, ANY NEEDS THAT THEY HAVE AS FAR AS AS, UH, STIMULATION, YOU KNOW, PHYSICALLY OR MENTALLY THERE.

AND SO IT, THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY AN INTERESTING PROGRAM THAT YOU'RE OVERSEEING THERE.

THANK YOU MA'AM.

YEAH, GOOD JOB.

.

HEY, YOU CAN GO ALREADY .

THANK YOU LISA.

NOW ARE WE GOING TO THE FEE EXEMPTION POLICY? DELEE? YES SIR.

I WILL JUST CONTINUE ON.

SO FOR SOME OF YOU THAT ARE NEW AND, AND HAVEN'T BEEN A PART OF THIS, SO WE HAVE A CURRENT, WE HAVE A FEE EXEMPTION POLICY THAT WE, A PROCEDURE THAT WE FOLLOW FOR NON-PROFITS OR ORGANIZATIONS THAT WOULD LIKE TO USE THE FACILITY FOR FREE.

AND SO THE CURRENT CRITERIA IS, UH, LISTED HERE IN YOUR PACKET, BUT TO BE A NON-PROFIT, CIVIC, CULTURAL OR SERVICE GROUP BASED WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF GARLAND WITH THE MAJORITY OF GARLAND RESIDENTS AS MEMBERS AND ALLOWING ALL GARLAND RESIDENTS TO BE MEMBERS.

OR THEY CAN BE A NON-PROFIT SERVICE ORGANIZATION PROVIDING A COMMUNITY SERVICE TO GARLAND RESIDENTS.

AND, LET ME BACK, LET ME GO BACK.

WE'RE BRINGING THIS FORWARD BECAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF QUESTIONS THAT COME UP WHEN I BRING FEE EXEMPTION REQUESTS TO THE BOARD AND SOME JUST DISCUSSION.

SO WE'RE GONNA JUST KIND OF REVIEW IT ALL TONIGHT.

IT'S NOT AN ACTION ITEM.

UH, SO ORGANIZATIONS HAVE TO CURRENTLY, UH, SUBMIT A LETTER OF REQUEST.

IT COMES TO ME AND THEY HAVE CERTAIN THINGS THAT THEY HAVE TO INCLUDE IN THAT REQUEST.

AND THEN ONCE I RECEIVE THAT, I THEN HAVE TO PREPARE THAT FOR AS AN AGENDA ITEM TO BRING TO THE PARK BOARD FOR Y'ALL'S CONSIDERATION.

YOU ALL HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO EITHER APPROVE OR DENY THAT REQUEST.

UM, AND THEN I LET THE ORGANIZATION KNOW, UH, THE DECISION OF THE BOARD OUR CURRENT FEE EXEMPTION POLICIES.

SO IF THEY ARE APPROVED BY THE BOARD, THE ACTIVITY MUST TAKE PLACE DURING OUR REGULAR OPERATIONAL HOURS.

SO THEY CAN'T COME IN WHEN WE'RE NOT OPEN TO THE, UH, PUBLIC.

IT CANNOT CONFLICT WITH ANY OF OUR SCHEDULED PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE GOING ON.

IT HAS TO BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, MEANING IT'S A PUBLIC BUILDING.

SO IF SOMEBODY WANTED TO COME INTO THEIR MEETING, THEY COULD, THEY CAN'T SOLICIT ANY KIND OF FEES OR DONATIONS DURING THEIR MEETING AND THEY CAN'T SELL ANY PRODUCTS OR GOODS AT THAT UH, MEETING.

SO I WANTED TO KIND OF, I KNOW THIS IS ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT HAS BEEN BROUGHT UP BEFORE IS HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ON THIS LIST? SO CURRENTLY IT'S 55 ORGANIZATIONS ON THE LIST.

AND I'LL, I HAVE A, A CHART THAT I CAN SHOW YOU ALL IN THE CURRENT PROCESS.

ONCE YOU'RE APPROVED, YOU'RE APPROVED, UM, FOREVER AND EVER.

AMEN.

AND SO, UM, SINCE I'VE STARTED BACK IN 2018, I, I'VE BROUGHT NINE APPROVALS.

I'VE BROUGHT NINE REQUESTS FORWARD AND ALL HAVE BEEN APPROVED.

AND SO THAT CURRENT LIST STATES BACK TO 2002.

THERE ARE A COUPLE OF OTHER ORGANIZATIONS ON THAT LIST, BUT THEY'RE REALLY HANDLED THROUGH ANOTHER, UM, LIKE THE FACILITY USE AGREEMENTS LIKE THE WOMEN'S ACTIVITY CENTER AND ALL OF THAT GOT TALKED ABOUT DOBA SPRING PRE, UH, PRESERVE.

SO THESE 55 ORGANIZATIONS THAT I'M TALKING ABOUT ARE, THEY COULD BE, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME WATCH MEETINGS, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS, NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS.

THEY MIGHT BE, UH, A TEEN COUNCIL, UH, BRANCH.

SO THERE'S A LENGTHY GROUP.

SO WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT HERE IS THE CURRENT PROCESS AND THEN WHAT IS OVER, I DON'T KNOW, IS IT LOOKING GREEN OVER HERE? YES.

OKAY.

UM, BACK IN 2019, WE BROUGHT FORWARD THIS TOPIC TO THE SITTING PARK BOARD ABOUT RECOMMENDATIONS TO MAKE A CHANGE TO THE CURRENT PROCEDURE.

SO WHAT IT IS, IS, I HAVE, YOU CAN GO JUST DOWN THE CHART, BUT THE CURRENT PROCESS ORGANIZATIONS WERE APPROVED ONCE, OUR RECOMMENDATION, WHICH WAS APPROVED BY THE PARK BOARD AT THAT TIME WAS TO, UM, ORGANIZATIONS HAD TO BE APPROVED ANNUALLY ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.

UH, THE CURRENT PROCESS, CITY OF GARLAND NONPROFITS AND THOSE PROVIDING A SERVICE TO GARLAND ARE ELIGIBLE FOR FEE EXEMPTION.

AND THE RECOMMENDATION MOVING FORWARD WAS GOING TO BE CITY OF GARLAND.

NONPROFITS ARE ONLY ELIGIBLE FOR FEE EXEMPTION.

SO IF YOU WERE A NONPROFIT WORKING OUTSIDE OF THE CITY LIMITS, YOU HAD TO PAY THE REGULAR RATES, RESERVATION RATES.

THE FEE EXEMPTION IN THE CURRENT PROCESS REQUIRES PARK BOARD APPROVAL AND RECOMMENDATION AND APPROVED BY THE PARK BOARD IN 2019 WAS THE FEE EXEMPT STATUS COULD BE APPROVED AT THE RECREATION CENTER LEVEL.

CUZ IT'S PRETTY CUMBERSOME WHEN SOMEBODY HAS TO GIVE ALL OF THAT INFORMATION.

AND DEPENDING UPON WHEN THE PARK BOARD MEETING IS, THEY MAY HAVE TO WAIT AN EXTENDED A MARI AMOUNT OF TIME TO GET THEIR ANSWER.

UM, IN THE CURRENT PROCESS, CITY OF GARLAND NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS AND CRIME WATCH GROUPS WERE ELIGIBLE FOR THE EXAM STATUS.

WE DIDN'T WANNA MAKE A CHANGE TO THAT.

AND PARK BOARD, UH, APPROVED THAT.

CITY OF GARLAND NONPROFITS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS AND CRIME WATCH GROUPS

[01:35:01]

WERE ALLOWED ONE RESERVATION PER MONTH AND WE DIDN'T WANNA MAKE A CHANGE TO THAT.

SO AGAIN, IF THEY WERE APPROVED, THEY WOULD BE ALLOWED THAT ONE ONCE A MONTH MEETING.

UH, IN THE CURRENT PROCESS, THERE'S NO MAX RESERVATION TIME FOR THE APPROVED ORGANIZATIONS DURING THE OPERATING HOURS.

SO IF A ROOM WAS AVAILABLE FOR FOUR OR FIVE HOURS AND THE ORGANIZATION WANTED IT, WE WOULD ALLOW THAT.

SO IN THE RECOMMENDATION BACK IN 2019, UH, WE HAD, UH, RECOMMENDED A TWO HOUR MAX DURING OUR, UM, APPROVED FOR APPROVED ORGANIZATIONS DURING OUR OPERATING HOURS.

AND THEN IN THE CURRENT PROCESS, THERE WOULD BE NO FEE FOR THE APPROVED ORGANIZATIONS AND WE DIDN'T WANNA MAKE A CHANGE TO THAT.

AND SO I BRING ALL OF THIS UP BECAUSE, UM, IN 2019 YOU'RE THINKING, WELL, IF THE PARK BOARD APPROVED IT, THEN WHY DIDN'T WE JUST START THAT PROCEDURE? AND THAT WAS AROUND THE TIME THAT A BIG DISCUSSION STARTED.

AND IF YOU WANNA CHIME IN, ANDY, BUT IT WAS IN REGARDS TO THE BIGGER NON-PROFITS THAT WE HAVE AGREEMENTS WITH IN TRYING TO CLEAN UP THAT PROCESS.

AND CITY COUNCIL'S SUBCOMMITTEE, THE ADMIN SERVICES COMMITTEE, UH, TOOK CHARGE OF THAT AND MADE RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL AT THAT TIME.

AND SO THIS WAS A SMALLER PORTION OF THAT PIECE.

AND REALLY CITY COUNCIL AT THAT TIME WAS NOT FOCUSED ON LIBRARY, YOU KNOW, RENTALS AND REC CENTERS.

THEY WERE LOOKING MORE AT THE BIG AGREEMENTS LIKE WITH THE WOMEN'S ACTIVITY CENTER, THE BOY SCOUT, UH, BUILDING DORA, THE SPRING CREEK, SPRING CREEK PRESERVE, AND GETTING ALL OF THOSE CLEANED UP AND ACTUAL AGREEMENTS IF AGREEMENTS HADN'T BEEN MADE IN THE PAST, FORMALLY MAKING IT A PROCESS.

SO THIS KIND OF GOT PUSHED TO THE SIDE OF, HEY, LET'S WAIT AND WE'RE GONNA FIGURE ALL OF THIS OUT.

SO I KEEP COMING BACK TO ANDY GOING, HEY, I REALLY WANNA ADJUST THIS AND I REALLY WANNA, UH, YOU KNOW, FINE TUNE IT BECAUSE WE, UH, DAVID, YOU HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS EVERY MEETING WHENEVER I BRING FORWARD A FEE EXEMPTION OF JUST MAKING SURE, HEY, I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS OR MAKING SURE ORGANIZATIONS KNOW WHAT THEY CAN AND CAN'T DO.

AND SO WE JUST WANTED TO CLEAN IT UP.

SO AGAIN, THE SITTING PARK BOARD IN 2019 MADE THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, THAT YOU SEE AND APPROVED THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU SEE THERE.

SO SOME QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION FOR YOU ALL.

UM, WE RECENTLY FOUND OUT THIS WEEK, UH, FROM OUR LEGAL, UH, THAT IF WE ARE MAKING CHANGES TO JUST THE RULES, THAT THAT'S AN ADMINISTRATIVE TASK AND THAT DOESN'T HAVE TO GO, UH, BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.

SO WHAT I HAVE OPTIONS IF I CAN DO, UH, IS IF THIS CURRENT BOARD IS FINE WITH WHAT'S IN HERE, WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD AND START MAKING THESE CHANGES IN OUR REC CENTERS, UM, TO THE POLICY.

IF YOU GUYS, UH, WOULD LIKE TO HAVE DISCUSSION AND POTENTIALLY MAKE SOME MORE SUGGESTIONS, COMMENTS, HAVE ME BRING BACK SOME MORE INFORMATION, WE CAN DO THAT AND BRING BACK AN AGENDA ITEM FOR YOU ALL IN MARCH FOR CONSIDERATION TO APPROVE SO THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT QUESTIONS.

I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WAS, I KNOW IT'S A LOT.

I HAVE, I HAVE ONE QUESTION.

YES.

IS IT, UM, MOVING TO AN ANNUAL REQUALIFICATION, IS THAT, IS THAT GONNA BE TOO CUMBERSOME ON THE, UH, REC CENTER STAFF? NO, BECAUSE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT WHAT WE WOULD DO IS WE'D MAKE IT PART OF OUR SOFTWARE SYSTEM, WHICH IS ACTIVE NET.

AND SO, UH, WE HAVE A REALLY OLD PROCESS RIGHT NOW WHERE I'M KEEPING JUST A MASTER SPREADSHEET AND THEY GO AND REFER TO SEE IF THE LIST IS ON THERE.

AND THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO APPROVE AT THE CENTER LEVEL WITH, YOU KNOW, THEY WOULD HAVE THE PARAMETERS, THEY WOULD UNDERSTAND WHAT COULD AND COULDN'T BE APPROVED.

THANK YOU.

MM-HMM.

AND THE ORGANIZATION'S AT THE REQUEST APPROVAL EVERY YEAR, OR WOULD THEY, YOU KNOW, IF THEY'RE USING IT AND WE KNOW THEY'RE A NONPROFIT, YOU'D JUST GO AHEAD AND YES.

IT WOULD BE A RENEWED YES.

HOW LONG WOULD, UH, I GUESS IF THEY WERE THE SLUR IMPLEMENTED, HOW LONG OF A NOTIFICATION WOULD YOU GIVE THESE NON-PROFITS THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY, THE EXISTING ONES? YEAH.

ESPECIALLY AT THE HOURS IF THEY'RE USED TO DOING FOUR TO FIVE HOURS RESERVATIONS.

SO, UH, FUNNY THE 55 OF THE 55, PROBABLY, PROBABLY NOT EVEN A QUARTER ARE ACTUALLY ACTIVE ANY LONGER, BUT WE WOULD DO OUR BEST TO TRY AND REACH OUT TO THE SAID ORGANIZATION.

SO THE ONLY WAY THAT WE WOULD KNOW CURRENTLY IF THEY'RE STILL ACTIVE IS GOING THROUGH OUR CURRENT REGISTRATION SOFTWARE.

SO IF IN WHICH WE IMPLEMENTED IN WHEN, IN 2017, 16, HOW FAR BACK DOES ACTIVE GO? FIVE, SIX YEARS? SO BEYOND THAT, IF THEY HAD NOT DONE A RESERVATION IN THAT TIME, WE WOULDN'T HAVE A WAY UNTIL THEY WERE TO COME BACK IN.

UM, SO BECAUSE WE MAY NOT HAVE THEIR INFORMATION ON FILE, SO YES, WE WOULD WANNA NOTIFY, WE'D WANNA GIVE AMPLE TIME.

UM, THERE ARE SOME, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S A A, AN AGREEMENT WITH, UM, THE CAMPFIRE GIRLS.

THAT'S A LONGSTANDING AGREEMENT, UH, THAT HAS BEEN IN PLACE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD JUST HONOR.

[01:40:01]

SO IT SHOULDN'T BE A CUMBERSOME PROCESS AND WE DON'T WANNA MAKE IT TO WHERE IT'S NOT USER FRIENDLY, CUSTOMER SERVICE FRIENDLY TO THE PEOPLE THAT WE ALREADY ARE SERVING.

THANK YOU.

YES, SIR.

UM, DO ANY OF THESE AFFECT AN INDIVIDUAL GROUP THAT IS TRYING TO, UH, RESERVE A ROOM IN THE BUILDING FOR LONGER THAN THE TWO HOUR MAX? SO THE IN TRUE INTENT OF THE FEE EXEMPTION WAS FOR PEOPLE TO HOLD THEIR MEETINGS, WHETHER THAT WAS A NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING, A BOARD MEETING FOR THEIR ORGANIZATION.

AND, UM, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME CASES WHERE THAT LINE HAS BEEN BLURRED AND PEOPLE WANTED TO DO MORE EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES AND REALLY THAT VENUE THAT THEY WANT TO DO NEEDS TO BE HANDLED AS MAYBE A CONTRACT CONTRACT INSTRUCTOR OR GOING THROUGH THIS SPECIAL EVENT PERMITTING PROCESS AND NOT AS A FEE EXEMPT ORGANIZATION WANTING TO DO THEIR MEETING.

SO OUR GROUP TRIED TO USE A, A GARLAND FACILITY BACK A YEAR OR TWO AGO FOR ONE TIME, ONE TIME EVENT, AND WE COULDN'T MAKE IT WORK OUT WITH WHAT WE HAD TO DEAL WITH.

AND WE WENT OVER TO ETTE AND USED THEIR FACILITIES AND I SAID, COME ON GUYS.

UH, ANYWAY.

AND IT WAS JUST A ONE TIME DEAL, IT'S JUST NOT STANDING.

IS THAT ADDRESSED HERE? IS THAT ADDRESSED ELSEWHERE? WELL, TO ANSWER, TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND YOUR FIRST QUESTION, SO TO ANSWER YOUR FIRST QUESTION, NO, I THINK IF IT'S USED FOR THE TRUE INTENT, UM, AND, AND AGAIN, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DID TALK ABOUT WITH THE SITTING BOARD IN 2019, IS, IS TWO HOURS FAIR? YOU KNOW, DO YOU WANNA CONSIDER THREE? SO, I MEAN, THAT'S STILL A DISCUSSION POINT THAT CAN BE HAD WITH YOU ALL.

AND THEN I, I'M NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND THE SECOND PART OF YOUR QUESTION.

ME EITHER.

OKAY.

.

SO AGAIN, JUST TO REITERATE, THE, THE EMPHASIS AND WHEN YOU GO BACK TO LOOK AT THE, HOW IT WAS CREATED AND WHY IT WAS CREATED, IT WAS REALLY TO GIVE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, CRIME WATCH GROUPS, UH, HOAS FOLKS THAT NEEDED A MEETING SPACE THAT THAT REALLY PAYING A HUNDRED OR $200 RENTAL FEE OR WHATEVER THE CASE MIGHT BE, WAS JUST REALLY OUTTA BOUNDS.

AND, AND THE CITY CLEARLY WANTS TO SUPPORT THOSE KIND OF NEIGHBOR, NEIGHBORHOOD DRIVEN ACTIVITIES.

SO IT DID KIND OF BECOME, BECAUSE IT HAD AN OPEN-ENDED TIMEFRAME, IT BECAME MORE OF AN EVENT PUT ON BY THOSE GROUPS RATHER THAN ITS ORIGINAL INTENT.

SO THIS IS JUST A, AN ATTEMPT TO CLEAN THE PROCESS UP, CLEAR THE BOOKS ON THE, ON THE DEADWOOD, SO TO SPEAK, THAT AREN'T, THAT HAVE BEEN ON THE LIST, THAT MAY NOT FUNCTION IN, IN THAT CAPACITY ANYMORE.

UM, ONCE THIS IS PUT IN THE DATABASE, THEN IT'S SHARED.

EVERYBODY HAS ACCESS TO IT WITH ALL THE FACILITIES.

UM, SO IT'S JUST MUCH SE SIMPLER AND CLEANER AND, AND SEEMS TO BE FAIR ACROSS THE BOARD.

AND THE REASON WE DIDN'T MOVE FORWARD IN 2019 IS WE WERE UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT IT WOULD NEED TO MOVE FORWARD TO COUNCIL AND THAT WAS PUT ON HOLD BECAUSE OF WHAT THE ADMIN SERVICES GROUP WAS WORKING ON, AND THEN C O V D AND THEN COVID AND THEN I STORMS AND STUFF.

SO IT JUST KIND OF KEPT GETTING PUSHED TO THE SIDE.

SO I'M READY TO CLEAN IT UP, MOVE FORWARD AND, AND GET TO GO.

THE REQUEST OF THE BOARD IS TO DO WHAT? UM, JUST TONIGHT IT'S JUST A DISCUSSION ITEM.

IF YOU ALL ARE FINE WITH ALL OF THIS, THEN WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD WITH THESE, UM, OPERATING PROCEDURES IN THE RECREATION CENTERS.

UM, IF YOU THERE ARE CHANGES THAT YOU ALL WOULD LIKE TO SEE, THEN I WOULD BRING THAT BACK AS AN ACTION ITEM TO YOU IN MARCH.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY CHANGES THAT THEY RECOMMEND? UH, LET'S GET A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS.

I JUST HAD ONE MORE QUESTION.

IT'S NOT A, IT'S NOT AN, IT'S NOT AN ACTION ITEM, CORRECT? YEAH, WE, YES.

WE CAN JUST DO A THUMBS UP OR SOMETHING.

YEAH, THE, UM, SO WE HAVE TWO REC CENTERS AT LEAST THAT ARE DOWN RIGHT NOW, TWO REC CENTERS AND ONE SENIOR CENTER RIGHT NOW? YES.

YEAH.

AND UM, SO YOU KNOW, SOME NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, RIGHT, BY HOLFORD MM-HMM.

.

AND YOU KNOW, THE PLACE WHERE WE USUALLY HOLD OUR NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS BURNED DOWN OVER THANKSGIVING AND UH, SO, SO WE, WE MIGHT NORMALLY GO TO HOLFORD CUZ IT'S SO HANDY.

AND, UH, SO IF YOU'RE AN ORGANIZATION THAT MIGHT TYPICALLY BE USING A FACILITY BUT YOU DON'T BECAUSE THE FACILITIES CLOSED, WILL THEY BE CONTINUE TO MOVE THOSE, THOSE ORGANIZATIONS FORWARD? YES, BECAUSE, UM, JUST WOULD YOUR, THE FEE EXEMPTION DOESN'T APPLY TO JUST ONE FACILITY, IT'S TO ANY OF OUR FACILITIES.

THEY WOULDN'T AS LONG AS SPACE, YOU KNOW, EVEN AS FAR AS DOWNTOWN TO GRANGER, JUST CUZ IT'S TOO FAR FOR RIGHT.

ALL THOSE OLD COTTAGES.

.

ALRIGHT.

UM, WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE, UH, THIS RECOMMENDATION.

IT'S NOT NEEDED.

IT'S, IT'S JUST A DISCUSSION ITEM.

I'M SORRY.

IT'S NOT A, IT'S NOT AN ACTION, IT'S NOT AN ACTION ITEM.

OKAY.

SO WE DON'T NEED TO DO ANYTHING.

WE'RE GIVE ME A THUMBS.

WE'RE DONE.

HAPPY THUMBS UP.

THANK YOU.

THUMBS DOWN.

WELL, I DIDN'T SEE TOO MANY THUMBS DOWN, SO YOU DID GOOD.

THANK YOU LEE.

THANK YOU.

AND I'M JUST GONNA REMAIN NOW, ARE YOU GONNA GO TO THE GARLAND SENIOR

[01:45:01]

ACTIVITY CENTER PUBLIC INPUT UPDATE? YES, BUT I WAS REFERRING TO EARLIER, SORRY, I YES SIR, I WAS, I WAS STILL STUCK BACK ON THAT FIRST ONE THAT TOOK ME A LONG TIME.

UH, UH, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, THIS IS THE PART WHERE DELEE AND AND ZIYAD HAVE DONE, UH, YEOMAN'S WORK HERE.

IT'S BEEN, IT'S INTERESTING TO WATCH THEM OPERATE.

THEY, THEY HAD A WELL-OILED PLAN, THEY DID A GREAT JOB.

THEY PRESENTED A LOT OF INFORMATION TO SENIORS IN A MANNER THAT THEY COULD, UH, EASILY DISSEMINATE AND THEN GAVE HIM MORE, MORE OPTIONS THAN THEY GAVE 'EM STICKERS.

SO, UH, GO FOR IT.

DELEE.

OKAY.

WELL, UH, THANKS TO ZIA OVER THERE BY PARTNER IN CRIME, BUT WE HAVE STARTED THE PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS ON THE GARLAND SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTER.

SO TO GIVE YOU ALL AN OVERALL PROJECT SCHEDULE OF WHERE WE ARE CURRENTLY, UM, NOT SAYING THAT THIS COULDN'T ADJUST PENDING UPON STUFF, UM, BUT, UH, IT, WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PRE-DESIGN PHASE, UH, THAT IS PLANNED TO GO THROUGH THIS APRIL.

AND THEN ONCE WE COMPLETE THAT, AND BASICALLY THAT'S JUST GETTING DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL TO MOVE FORWARD, ONCE WE PRESENT TO THEM, UM, IT AND THE TARGET DATE IS APRIL TO PRESENT TO THEM, THEN OF COURSE WE'LL START THE DESIGN OF THE FACILITY, WHICH OF COURSE IS, IT TAKES A WHILE TO DO THAT.

AND THEN THE CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS, THE BIDDING PROCESS.

AND SO CURRENTLY WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, SOMETIME LATER 2025 OF THE NEW FACILITY OPENING.

SO I HAVE TO POINT OUT , WE HAD, UM, THREE PUBLIC INPUT MEETINGS AND ONE THAT WE DIDN'T ADVERTISE TO THE PUBLIC.

THAT WAS, WE WENT AND MET WITH THE USER GROUP OVER AT GALE FIELDS.

SO THE CURRENT SENIORS, GARLAND SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTER'S MAIN HUB RIGHT NOW IS GALE FIELDS'S RECREATION CENTER.

SO CAN I SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THAT? YES.

FIRST OFF, I WAS, UH, WORKING ON MY WINTER COAT, UH, AT THAT TIME .

AND UH, I WAS SENT THERE BY A FRIEND TO SEE IF YOU ALL TALKED ABOUT SIGNAGE AND CONNECTIVITY , WHICH I, WHICH I DIDN'T HEAR BY THE WAY.

, CARRY ON.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

MADE QUITE A SHOWING IN THE PICTURE, AS WE MIGHT SAY.

YES.

SO WE HAD, UH, 85 SENIORS THAT WE TALKED TO WHEN WE MET HIM OVER AT GAIL FIELDS.

AND THAT ONE WAS THE VERY FIRST ONE THAT WE DID AND OUR CONSULTANTS ACTUALLY KICKED THAT OFF.

AND BASICALLY IT WAS THE TRAINING FOR Z AND I TO GO OVER WHAT WE WOULD BE DOING AT THE THREE PUBLIC INPUT MEETINGS.

WEATHER REALLY TRIED TO WORK AGAINST US, BUT WE SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTED THREE UH, MEETINGS.

WE HAD TWO EVENING ONES AND ONE MORNING WHEN THAT WE ALSO HAD A ZOOM OPTION.

UM, I WANTED TO SHARE THIS LINK DOWN HERE, UM, TO SHOW YOU ALL.

UM, SO ON OUR WEBSITE, IF YOU GO UNDER RECREATION, WE HAVE, UM, THE NEW SENIOR CENTER PROJECT.

AND SO WE ARE GONNA BE UPDATING THIS PAGE WITH INFORMATION.

AND SO WE HAD ALL OF OUR INPUT, PUBLIC INPUT MEETINGS THAT PEOPLE COULD FIND HERE.

WE HAD THE ZOOM OPTION THAT WE HAD AVAILABLE EARLIER THIS WEEK.

UM, WE WE'RE STARTING TO ADD PICTURES OF, UH, THE PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS SO THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE THAT, UM, THESE WERE JUST ADDED TODAY.

THANK YOU HEATHER LAMBERT.

UM, AND SO JUST SO THAT PEOPLE CAN STILL FEEL LIKE THEY'RE ENGAGED IN THE PROCESS, EVEN IF THEY CAN'T BE THERE, UM, WE PUT A LINK TO THE PRESENTATION, WHICH I'M GONNA SHOW YOU SOME OF THOSE SLIDES HERE IN A MINUTE, UH, THAT WE DID AT THOSE PUBLIC INPUT MEETINGS.

AND THEN WE CREATED A COMMENT CARD, THANK YOU KEITH REAGAN.

UM, WHICH ALLOWED ME TO STILL BE ABLE TO GATHER COMMENTS FROM PEOPLE THAT COULDN'T ATTEND ANY OF THE MEETINGS.

SO THIS RESOURCE WILL BE AVAILABLE AND TO PEOPLE.

SO I WANNA SHARE THAT WITH YOU ALL SO THAT YOU CAN SHARE IT WITH PEOPLE THAT MAY ASK YOU ABOUT THE PROJECT.

YOU CAN DIRECT THEM HERE CUZ IT'S A SIGNIFICANT PROJECT AND I KNOW IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITY.

SO I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH ALL OF THESE SLIDES.

UH, BUT I WANTED YOU ALL, IF YOU WEREN'T ABLE TO ATTEND THE MEETINGS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT PEOPLE SAW.

SO WE WENT THROUGH INDOOR TRENDS WITH THEM AND TALKED ABOUT THE DIFFERENT OPTIONS.

AND THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS IS FOR THEM TO KIND OF UNDERSTAND AND VISUALIZE, HEY, WHAT ARE SOME OPTIONS THAT WE COULD HAVE AT OUR FACILITY AND ALLOWED THEM TO GIVE THAT SOME THOUGHT BEFORE WE TASK THEM WITH GOING AND VOTING ON WHAT THOSE AMENITIES WOULD BE.

AND YOU'LL SEE LOTS OF THINGS.

SOME THINGS SEEM CRAZY LIKE ESPORTS, BUT THIS IS A GOOD ONE TO POINT OUT TO THE PEOPLE THAT CAME TO THE PUBLIC MEETING BECAUSE THIS IS A GREAT CONNECTION BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT THEIR GRANDKIDS MAY BE DOING AND THAT, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THEY CAN DO WITH THEIR, UH, GRANDKIDS TO BUILD THAT RELATIONSHIP.

ALSO, WE IMPRESSED UPON THEM ABOUT HOW THE SENIORS OF TODAY ARE NOT GONNA BE THE SENIORS

[01:50:01]

OF TOMORROW AND SENIOR CENTERS, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT 55 AND 60, 70, 80 AND BEYOND.

AND I'M FIVE YEARS AWAY FROM BEING ABLE TO ATTEND THE SENIOR CENTER.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT I WANT IS MAYBE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT ONE OF THE CURRENT USERS WOULD WANT.

AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WHATEVER WE DO BUILD, UM, HAS MULTI UH, PURPOSE, BUT THAT IT'S NOT UNUSEFUL, IS THAT THE, HOW THEY DESCRIBED IT Z THAT IT WAS USEFUL MULTIPURPOSE SO THAT YOU KNOW IT, YEAH, IT'S NOT USELESS.

UM, BUT TO BE ABLE TO MEET THE NEEDS.

WE ALSO DID TALK TO THEM ABOUT THE PROGRAM BUDGET.

SO THE BUDGET, AND I MAY BUTCHER THIS AND MAY NEED ANDY OR SOMEBODY TO HELP ME CHIME IN, BUT THE TOTAL PROJECT IS AROUND 12 MILLION AND THAT INCLUDES THE DESIGN AND ALL OF THAT.

SO WHEN YOU GET DOWN TO THE ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION, YOU'RE LOOKING AT A BUDGET OF AROUND 8.8 MILLION.

I WILL TELL YOU THERE WAS SOME FACES THAT LOOKED LIKE THEY WENT DEFLATED IN THE AUDIENCE.

SO WE'LL SEE HOW THAT CONVERSATION GOES CUZ WE SHOWED 'EM ALL THESE PRETTY PICTURES.

UM, AND THEN WE WENT THROUGH OUTDOOR TRENDS WITH THEM AGAIN, JUST GIVING THEM IDEAS.

UM, WE DID MAKE SURE THAT WE IMPRESSED UPON THEM THAT WE UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE, UM, WHAT WAS THE EXISTING, UM, VETERANS TRIBUTE GARDEN AND HOW WE SALVAGED ALL OF THE BRICKS AND THE MEMORIALS THANK YOU TO PARK OPERATIONS FOR LEADING THAT EFFORT.

AND THAT WE HAVE ALL OF THAT TO BE ABLE TO BE INCLUDED IN THE NEW DESIGN.

AND THEN WHAT WE TASKED THE USERS, UH, THE PEOPLE THAT CAME TO THE MEETINGS TO DO IS THE DOT CRACY GAME AND THE COMMENT CARDS.

AND SO BASICALLY, AND YOU SAW SOME OF THOSE PICTURES WHEN I SHOWED YOU THE WEBSITE, BUT THEY WERE GIVEN 10 LITTLE STICKIES AND EACH OF THESE BOARDS MAY HAVE HAD FOUR OR FIVE DIFFERENT AMENITIES ON THEM AND THEY WOULD VOTE ON WHAT WAS MOST IMPORTANT TO THEM AND WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN THE NEW FACILITY.

THEY WERE ALSO ASKED FIVE QUESTIONS.

UH, THOSE WERE HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE WHERE YOU LIVE WHEN YOU'RE AWAY FROM GARLAND? WHAT PLACES OR EVENTS MOST VISITORS EXPERIENCE WHEN THEY'RE HERE IN GARLAND? WHY DO YOU LIVE IN GARLAND? HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE PERCEIVED AS A COMMUNITY AND HOW DO YOU NOT WANT TO BE PERCEIVED AS A COMMUNITY? WE GATHERED ALL OF THAT AND THEN WE ALSO HAD THE COMMENT CARDS THAT THEY COULD FILL OUT.

AGAIN, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT'S ONLINE.

IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THIS, BUT IT'S THESE SAME QUESTIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE.

UM, IT HAD ALSO, WE HAD A SU SUGGESTIONS, COMMENTS, THE WHAT ELSE? AND SO, UM, WE'VE GATHERED ALL OF THAT INFORMATION.

I HAVE JUST SHARED ALL OF THAT WITH OUR CONSULTANT AND TODAY SENT EVERYTHING OVER THAT WE HAVE AND WE HAVE SOME NEXT STEPS TO MEET WITH THEM.

AGAIN, JUST SHOWING Y'ALL THAT PROJECT SCHEDULE ONCE AGAIN OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.

UM, TRYING TO THINK, THINK IF THERE WAS ANYTHING ELSE.

WE MEET NEXT WEEK, UH, WITH THE CONSULTANTS AND WE'RE FLUSHING OUT WITH CITY MANAGEMENT OF KIND OF THAT PROCESS OF WHAT WE WILL, UM, WHAT AND HOW WE WILL PRESENT TO CITY COUNCIL.

WE DID DOCUMENT ALL OF THIS.

WE HAVE LOTS OF GOOD PICTURES AND VIDEOS.

WE INVOLVED OUR P M R UH, DEPARTMENT TO COME ALONG.

WE DID A TOUR, I FORGOT ABOUT THE TOUR.

WE DID THE TOUR THAT KIND OF KICKED EVERYTHING OFF AND WE HAD A COUPLE OF OUR PARK BOARD MEMBERS, UM, ON THAT TOUR.

SO IF Y'ALL WANNA SPEAK TO THAT.

WE VISITED THREE DIFFERENT, UH, SENIOR CENTERS IN THE METROPLEX, UH, RICHARDSON, PLANO AND MCKINNEY.

AND THAT WAS REALLY GOOD.

WE HAD SOME KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN THAT, NOT JUST UM, PARK BOARD MEMBERS, BUT WE ACTUALLY HAD USERS AND SOME INSTRUCTORS THAT THEY COULD SEE THINGS, GET IDEAS AND KIND OF GET THE BRAIN FLOWING.

UM, AND THEN WE DID A DIFFERENT ACTIVITY WITH THEM.

THEY WERE TASKED WITH SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT WHERE THEY HAD TO PICK AMENITIES, BUT THEY KNEW THE PRICE TAG OF THOSE AMENITIES.

AND SO THEIR UM, PRIORITIES SHIFTED OF COURSE BECAUSE THEY HAD A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE BUDGET THAN WHEN WE DID THE PUBLIC INPUT MEETINGS AND PEOPLE WERE JUST VOTING ON WHAT THEY WANTED.

BUT ALL OF IT'S IMPORTANT INFORMATION BECAUSE WE WILL HAVE TO PRESENT ALL OF THAT TO CITY COUNCIL.

SO ANY QUESTIONS? LET'S GO TO THE DAVID AND DAVID.

WE KNOW THAT WENT TO, WENT ON THE, ON THE TERM BRIEFLY.

UH, MR. PARISH HA YOU SAY TO ME, DEFINE BRIEFLY, UH, LESS TIME THAN I WOULD SPEND BY A LOT .

WELL, I THOUGHT THAT, UH, IT WAS INTERESTING THAT ALL THE CENTERS KIND OF HAD THE SAME FUNCTIONS.

YOU KNOW, THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY ALL HAD BILLIARDS AND I THOUGHT BILLIARDS, BUT IN ALL THE BILLIARDS ROOMS WERE BUSY.

THEY WERE ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THIS CLASSIC OF GUYS THAT ARE ALWAYS IN THERE, YOU KNOW, BEING GUYS I GUESS.

AND UH, YOU KNOW, AND THEY ALL HAD SOME KIND OF A CAFETERIA AND THEY ALL HAD, YOU KNOW, SOME KIND OF A LIBRARY WITH PUZZLES AND BOOKS.

YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF 'EM HAD NICE LITTLE NOOKS FOR THEIR LIBRARIES AND THINGS FOR, YOU KNOW, IT WAS NICE TO READ.

THEY ALL HAD SOME KIND OF BIG ROOM WHERE THEY DID, UH, ACTIVITIES, DANCING AND EXERCISE CLASSES AND SOME OF THEM COULD BE DIVIDED UP INTO DIFFERENT SORTS OF WAYS.

THEY ALL HAD PROGRAMS THAT

[01:55:01]

WERE LIKE ART AND CERAMICS AND YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THAT.

UM, THE SMALLEST ONE, THE ONE IN RICHARDSON WAS ACTUALLY SEEMED TO HAVE THE, THE BEST LAYOUT OF SPACE.

ALL THE OTHERS HAD LIKE LONG HALLWAYS AND YOU KIND OF REALIZE THAT HALLS ARE KIND OF WASTED SPACE THAT UH, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE ART AND THINGS AND, BUT THEY'RE ONLY A WAY TO GET FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER.

WHEREAS RICHARDSON WAS MUCH MORE OPEN.

SO IF I HAVING A BIG SORT OF A CENTRAL COURTYARD OR CENTRAL AREA WHERE PEOPLE WERE PLAYING CARDS AND DOING THINGS THAT ALL COULD BE OPENED UP.

YEAH.

AND ALL THE ROOMS WERE KIND OF OFF TO THE SIDE FROM THAT.

IT JUST SEEMED A LOT MORE LIKE A GOOD USE OF THE SPACE.

PLANO HAD A REALLY BIG WELLNESS CENTER, WHICH WAS, YOU KNOW, BUT THAT WAS KIND OF A DIFFERENT SORT OF FEATURE, YOU KNOW, AND IT HAD COUNSELING AND UM, NURSES AND YOU KNOW, ALL THESE KIND OF THINGS.

MCKINNEY HAD A SWIMMING POOL, WHICH, WHICH YOU KNOW, THE WAS LIKE EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE THING.

BUT WHEN WE DID THE EXERCISE WITH THE MONEY, IT HAD LIKE A WHOLE LOT OF DOLLAR BILLS ON IT.

THE UM, UH, AND THE MAIN THING WE LEARNED WAS WHATEVER IT IS, THEY'RE ALWAYS TOO SMALL.

SO, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY ALL KINDA HAD THE SAME THING, BUT THEY ALL SEEMED VERY DIFFERENT CUZ OF THE WAY THEY WERE LAID OUT OR THE DECOR.

THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, YOU THERE DAVE I'LL THERE OVER YOU? WELL THEY WERE CERTAINLY CONCERNED ABOUT, UM, YOU WILL ALWAYS UNDERESTIMATE HOW MUCH STORAGE YOU WILL NEED AND YOU WILL ALWAYS STORAGE.

OH, , YEAH.

STORAGE.

YES.

MM-HMM BOY THAT WAS BIG WITH THEM AND HOW TO ORGANIZE IT AND HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED? AND IT'S NEVER GOING TO BE ADEQUATE BECAUSE YOUR NEEDS WILL EXPAND AND GROW AND DEVELOP.

IN FACT, IN MCKINNEY THEY HAD A MEETING ROOM THAT THEY HAD SET UP WITH A PICKLEBALL COURT INDOORS IN THE INSIDE WITH NO PLACE TO STORE THE CHAIRS AROUND THE OUTSIDE.

SO ANYBODY RUNNING OVER FOR A LOOSE BALL ON THE EDGEWOOD DISASTER.

SO MAKE SURE YOU GOT ENOUGH STORAGE ALSO FOR YOUR STAFF AREA.

MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE, DON'T BUILD YOUR, UM, STAFF FACILITIES FOR TODAY'S NEEDS.

NEED IT, YOU KNOW, BUILD THEM FOR YOUR EXPANDING, GROWING NEEDS AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE THEIR OWN PRIVATE BREAK ROOM AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT BECAUSE THEY SPACE WILL ALWAYS BE AT A PREMIUM.

AND SO THAT WAS A KEY THING.

SO, UM, YEAH, MCKINNEY THAT UM, THAT SWIMMING POOL WAS OH, OH SO BEAUTIFUL.

OH, SO WONDERFUL.

ALSO ULTRA EXPENSIVE NOT JUST TO SET UP BUT TO MAINTAIN.

SO, SO YEAH, UM, THERE ARE WAYS TO DO IT.

RICHARDSON DEFINITELY SET UP HAD THE BEST, UH, SET UP AND, YOU KNOW, EXAMPLE FOR WHAT GARLAND WILL BE TARGETING.

SO THAT WAS, IF YOU EVER HAVE A CHANCE TO GO OVER THERE AND JUST, HEY, TAKE A QUICK LITTLE OLD TOUR AROUND, UH, BECAUSE MOST OF THESE, UM, CITIES WILL OFFER MEMBERSHIPS TO PEOPLE WHO LIVE OUTSIDE AND THEREFORE YOU CAN GO IN THERE INTO THE GUISE OF A POTENTIAL CLIENT AND JUST TAKE A WALK AROUND AND TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT RICHARDSON'S BECAUSE THAT COULD BE A VERY GOOD TEMPLATE FOR WHAT GARLAND WANTS TO DO.

THANK YOU GENTLEMEN.

UH, ANYONE ELSE? AMBER, WOULD YOU SAY THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE GONE TO VOTE SO FAR ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE CURRENT USERS, USERS OR PEOPLE THAT ARE THERE AS WELL? THAT ARE LIKE, IF YOU WERE TO HAVE THIS FACILITY, THEN I WOULD START GOING TO SENIOR PROGRAMS? SUPER GREAT QUESTION.

SO THE VERY FIRST MEETING WHEN WE MET WITH THE USERS, OBVIOUSLY THOSE WERE THE EXISTING USER GROUP, BUT THE THREE PUBLIC MEETINGS, UM, I WOULD SAY A, A LOT OF THE PEOPLE, CUZ THAT WAS ASKED AND FOR SURE A COUPLE OF THE MEETINGS OF HOW MANY OF YOU ACTUALLY ARE USERS AND THERE WEREN'T A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT WOULD RAISE THEIR HANDS.

UM, THERE WAS A GENTLEMAN THAT I'M THINKING OF AT, UH, THE GRANGER MEETING WHO SAID, GOSH, I'VE LIVED HERE 30 YEARS, YOU KNOW, AND I'VE NEVER CONSIDERED GOING.

AND HE'S LIKE, BUT YOU KNOW, HE WAS REALLY INVOLVED IN PICKING WHAT THOSE AMENITIES WOULD BE.

UM, SOME OF THAT'S A MARKETING CHALLENGE.

SOME OF IT'S LIKE, UH, SOME OF THE DISCUSSIONS, WHICH THIS IS I THINK A VERY REAL CONVERSATION THAT NEEDS TO BE HAD WITH THIS PROJECT.

THERE'S A GENTLEMAN WHO, UM, HE'S IN HIS SEVENTIES AND HE IS, I DON'T IDENTIFY AS A SENIOR, I DON'T WANNA GO TO A SENIOR CENTER.

SO THE NAME, YOU KNOW, DOES IT NEED TO BE, UH, PART OF THE DISCUSSION? SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, IN THE PUBLIC MEETINGS, I, MOST OF THOSE PEOPLE WERE NOT USERS.

OKAY.

AND, AND WHAT'S INTERESTING TOO IS IF I RECALL CORRECTLY, IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE PLANO ONE, WE ACTUALLY TALKED TO SOME GUYS IN THE BILLIARD ROOM THAT WERE FROM GARLAND AND THEY WERE USING PLANOS, , .

AND I GUESS I SPRING THAT UP CUZ THAT'S A GOOD THING.

SO, AND IT COULD BE THAT WE'VE YEP.

WHAT

[02:00:01]

WE HAVE NOW IS A, A, I GUESS IN A SENSE A DISSERVICE.

LIKE THEY DON'T WANNA GO BECAUSE THEY DON'T FEEL LIKE, ESPECIALLY IF THERE'S NOT AS MANY ACTIVE SPACES FOR THEM THAT, CUZ LIKE YOU SAID, THE, THE SENIORS ARE MUCH YOUNGER.

UM, AND SO THEY, IF THERE'S ONLY SENIORS LIKE LIKE BRIDGE AND THERE'S ONLY LIKE BRIDGE SPACE OR WHATEVER, BUT NOT LIKE PICKLEBALL COURTS OR, UM, ARE THERE A LOT MORE ACTIVE, LIKE A NICE FITNESS ROOM.

I RIGHT.

A NICE FITNESS ROOM.

SO THEN, UM, THEN HOPEFULLY WITH THIS NEW PROJECT WE CAN FINALLY BE A SERVICE TO A LOT, A BIGGER RANGE OF SENIORS.

THAT IS A DEFINITE GOAL WITH EVEN THE CURRENT STAFF IS, YOU KNOW, WANTING TO ATTRACT THAT NEXT GENERATION COMING THROUGH.

YEAH, THEY ALL HAD NICE, UH, WORKOUT ROOMS, ALL THE ONES WE SAW AND WEST HAD A DISCUSSION ON, UH, FLOORING, YOU KNOW, AND MCKINNEY HAD WOODEN FLOORS, WHICH WERE SOME, A BIT OF A CHALLENGE TO MAINTAIN, BUT, UH, A COUPLE OF 'EM HAD THIS LUXURY VINYL TILE, WHICH SEEMED TO BE LIKE THE BEST COMPROMISE TO AS FAR AS WEAR AND TEAR AND MAINTENANCE AND, BUT THE TYPES OF THINGS YOU WANTED TO, TO DO ON THEM.

MM-HMM.

, SO, AND I, AND I'VE TALKED WITH SOME OTHER SENIORS, I HAPPEN TO KNOW A FEW OF THOSE THAT RUN IN THAT LEVEL, THAT AREA UP THERE.

YOU KNOW, ANY JUNIORS I KNOW, I KNOW SOME JUST A LITTLE BIT YOUNGER THAN THAN ME.

UM, AND UM, THEIR, THEIR THOUGHTS WERE, UM, SOME OF 'EM HAD USED THE SENIOR CENTER EARLIER AND THEN FOUND THAT THE, THE OFFERINGS WERE A LITTLE OLDER THAN THEY THEY NEEDED TO BE.

AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS I HEARD YOU SAY IN, IN EACH OF YOUR PRESENTATIONS WAS THIS, THIS IS, WE'RE LOOKING FOR A MULTI-GENERATIONAL SENIOR CENTER.

IN OTHER WORDS, THEY FELT LIKE IT WAS TOO OLD.

IT WAS, IT WAS JUST TOO OLD.

AND I MEAN, THAT, THAT'S GREAT.

YOU'RE SERVING THAT NEED, BUT YOU'RE ALSO NOT SERVING THE, THAT COMING UP TO IT NEED DIDN'T.

AND I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE GONNA TRY TO DO HERE.

UH, ONE OF THE THOUGHTS THAT I, THAT'S, UH, THAT I HAD OUT OF THIS THAT I NEVER REALLY LOOKED AROUND THE OLD SENIOR CENTER.

I'VE BEEN IN IT SEVERAL TIMES, BUT I NEVER STOPPED AND LOOKED AROUND IT BECAUSE I WASN'T IN THAT POSITION TO BE DOING THAT.

BUT IT'D BE REALLY NICE IF THE SENIOR CENTER FELT LIKE IT WAS IN A PARK.

OKAY.

IF WE HAD A PARK FEEL.

NOW WHAT THAT MEANS, I DON'T KNOW.

OKAY.

BUT YOU, YOU WILL PROBABLY KNOW BETTER THAN I WOULD, BUT IF YOU WERE TO HAVE A, A BIG, SAY A LARGE COVERED PAVILION, SAY IN AN AREA THAT, THAT COULD BE A LOT LARGER THAN COULD BE IF IT WAS ENCLOSED IN THE BUILDING, BUT YOU HAVE A HAVE A ROOF OVER IT AND YOU HAVE AN AREA THAT'S 30 BY 40 OR 40 BY 50 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT WHERE, AND FACING IT INTO THE SOUTH SOUTHERN DIRECTION SO THAT IN THE SUMMERTIME YOU'D GET THE SUMMER BREEZES IN THE WINTER YOU'D BE, UH, GUARDED FROM SOME OF THE COLD, COLD WINDS WHERE YOU COULD HAVE MANY MONTHS OUTTA THE YEAR.

YOU COULD HAVE EVENTS OUT THERE, UH, FOR THE SENIORS.

AND IT WOULDN'T BE THE COST OF HAVING TO CREATE THAT INDOORS.

YES, YOU'D HAVE SOMETHING INDOORS, BUT THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING ON TOP OF THAT.

AND THEN THE, AND THEN THE LAST PIECE AND THIS ONE, THIS YOU MIGHT FIGURE OUT, THIS ONE'S MINE, IS THE CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN THE SENIOR CENTER AND DOWNTOWN GARLAND.

MAKE IT, MAKE IT SO IT'S, IT'S EASY.

SO THAT THEY, THEY COME THERE AND THEY'RE THEN THE SENIOR CENTER AND THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW, THEY'RE WALKING OVER INTO THE DOWNTOWN GARLAND AND THEY'RE ENJOYING WHAT YOU HAVE THERE, BECAUSE NOW WE'RE GONNA HAVE THINGS TO ENJOY IN THE DOWNTOWN SQUARE.

SO ANYWAY, IT'S, UM, ALL THE WORK THAT Y'ALL DONE HAS BEEN PHENOMENAL ON THIS THING, BUT, AND THAT'S, THAT WAS THE ONLY PIECES I HAD.

AND, AND I HAD, I HAD SEVERAL THINGS THAT PEOPLE HAVE GIVEN ME QUESTIONS, AND, AND MOST OF 'EM, YOU ANSWERED, AND, AND SEVERAL OF 'EM WERE THE, THEY WERE JUST TOO OLD.

THERE'S THINGS FOR THE OLDER FOLKS, BUT THERE WASN'T THINGS FOR THAT TRANSITIONAL GROUP THAT REALLY CAN'T DO WHAT THEY USED TO DO.

BUT THEY STILL WANNA DO SOMETHING.

WELL, I MEAN, AGAIN, IN, IN FIVE YEARS, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT I'LL EVER CONSIDER MYSELF TO BE A SENIOR.

SO I DON'T KNOW THAT I WANNA GO TO A PLACE THAT'S CALLED A SENIOR CENTER.

SO, BUT, UH, IT IS REALLY, UH, AN OPPORTUNITY, A GREAT OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE.

CUZ THIS WAS JUST SUPPOSED TO BE A RENOVATION PROJECT AND TECHNICALLY THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN MOVED IN ALREADY.

AND SO, BUT NO, WE'RE GONNA GET A BRAND NEW FACILITY AND IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO REMEDY SOME OF THOSE THINGS.

THAT, AND CHALLENGES WE HAD OUTDOOR, OUTDOOR, ADVENTURE, AREA PARK FEELING AND CONNECTIVITY WE'RE THROUGH, WE'RE THROUGH.

I WAS JUST GONNA COMMENT ON, YOU KNOW, I, I LIKE THE OUTDOOR SPACE AT AUDUBON, LIKE THE WINE AT FIELDS, YOU KNOW, THE PLANO HAD THIS LITTLE BITTY SPACE IN THE CENTER, KIND OF A COURTYARD THING THAT NOBODY USED PART OF, PART OF IT CUZ IT HAD STEPS AND ALL KINDS OF THINGS.

AND SO, SO YOU HAD TO BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT HOW YOU'D DO IT.

UM, MCKINNEY HAD A NICE LONG PORCH.

YOU KNOW, I, MY GRANDPARENTS HAD A NICE LONG PORCH AND IT WAS A WONDERFUL PLACE TO SIT.

AND I ASKED THEM, DO A LOT OF PEOPLE USE THAT? AND THEY SAID NOBODY USES IT.

YOU KNOW, SO, SO WE DO AN OUTDOOR SPACE.

[02:05:01]

WE DEFINITELY WANT TO BE SURE IT'S A FUNCTIONAL SPACE, ESPECIALLY FOR SENIORS.

CAUSE WE HAVE TO KEEP THAT, THAT POPULATION IN MIND.

MOBILITY AND CHALLENGES THAT THEY HAVE AND WIDER SPACES THAT WE HAVE TO BE CONSIDERATIVE THAT THE ABILITY TO SIT AT ONE TABLE AND TALK TO PEOPLE AT THREE OR FOUR OTHER TABLES IS IMPORTANT FOR THOSE OLDER PEOPLE AND AS OPPOSED TO BEING ON A PORCH.

OKAY.

UH, ANYTHING ELSE YOU NEED FROM US? UH, DELEE? NOPE.

IT WAS JUST A REPORT.

WELL, WELL, IT'S JUST A REPORT, BUT WOW.

WHAT A PHENOMENAL AMOUNT OF EFFORTS GOING INTO THAT.

THANKS AGAIN TO YOU.

AND, AND Z ODD IS THE ODD STILL HERE? IS HE ASLEEP OR? OH, DOES THE ODD HE'S STILL UP.

OKAY.

VERY GOOD.

OKAY.

WE'RE, WE'RE RUNNING JUST A LITTLE BIT LONG BY AN HOUR OR TWO.

UH, BUT LET'S CONTINUE ON, UH, THE TREE ORDINANCE AND COUNCIL ADOPTION UPDATE SOMEBODY IN THE CROWD HERE FOR THAT ONE.

AND IS HE STILL AWAKE? OKAY.

ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU, SIR.

BUT THE LEE WAS DOING SO WELL.

I THOUGHT I MIGHT JUST LET HIM KEEP GOING.

.

THANK YOU MATT.

WE GO , I'LL MAKE THIS, UH, QUICK GOOD EVENING PARKS BOARD.

SO WE WANTED TO COME BACK AND GIVE YOU ALL, UH, AN UPDATE OF WHERE WE WERE SINCE THE LAST TIME WE HAD A DISCUSSION ABOUT TREES.

UM, SO I'LL GIVE YOU A QUICK LITTLE TIMELINE AND THEN WE'LL KIND OF GO THROUGH SOME OF THE UPDATES THAT CAME OUT OF COMMITTEE.

SO, UM, WE PRESENTED THE INITIAL RECOMMENDATION TO THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE ON NOVEMBER 15TH.

THEY HAD SOME QUESTIONS AND SOME RECOMMENDATIONS.

AND SO WE CAME BACK TO THEM AT THEIR DECEMBER MEETING AND PRESENTED OUR FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS.

WE THEN PRESENTED AT A COUNCIL WORK SESSION AT THE JANUARY 9TH MEETING.

UH, WE'RE GONNA BE PRESENTING HERE TONIGHT TO YOU WHAT THOSE CHANGES ARE GONNA BE.

AND THEN THAT'S GONNA BE GOING TO FINAL COUNCIL APPROVAL, UH, FOR THE LAST MEETING IN FEBRUARY, ALONG WITH A LOT OF OTHER CHANGES TO SOME DIFFERENT CODES OF ORDINANCES THAT ARE OUT THERE.

SO, UM, JUST WANNA START WITH, THIS WAS NOT A FULL REWRITE OF THE ORDINANCE, REALLY WHAT THIS WAS, WAS JUST KIND OF CLEANING UP A FEW THINGS, KIND OF TWEAKING A FEW THINGS, MAKING IT A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBLE, UH, IN WAYS THAT DEVELOPERS COULD BE ABLE TO OFFSET THEIR MITIGATION AS OPPOSED TO JUST HAVING TO WRITE A CHECK.

THE FIRST THING I WANNA MENTION IS THAT WE DO, WE'RE KIND OF UNIQUE IN A LITTLE BIT THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE OUR OWN PARK RULES AND PARK ORDINANCE THAT ARE CODIFIED.

AND IN THERE WE ACTUALLY HAVE A SECTION THAT ACTUALLY IDENTIFIES AND, AND SPECIFICALLY CALLS OUT TREES.

THERE WAS NO, NO CHANGE TO, TO THIS SECTION OF THAT ORDINANCE.

THIS ONE IS, IS PRETTY GOOD, UM, FOR US TO BE ABLE TO KEEP WHEN WE GET INTO THE ACTUAL G D C UH, TREE ORDINANCE.

WHAT WE FIRST NEEDED TO DO WAS JUST CHANGE SOME VERNACULAR.

WE NEEDED TO CHANGE SOME WORDS TO MAKE IT, TO MEET INDUSTRY STANDARDS.

ONE OF THE BIG ONES THAT WAS IN THERE IS IT REFERRED TO EVERYTHING AS CALPER INCHES.

CALPER INCHES IS PURELY A NURSERY MEASUREMENT.

ONCE A TREE IS ACTUALLY PHYSICALLY PLANTED, YOU ACTUALLY MEASURE IT THROUGH DBH.

YOU MEASURE TREES THAT ARE STANDING IN THE MATURE TREES BY DBH AND EVERYTHING WAS REFERRING TO CALIBER INCHES.

SO THERE WAS JUST SOME MINOR, UH, VERNACULAR, THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT WE NEEDED TO, TO FIX AND CHANGE.

AND SO WE WENT THROUGH AND WE CHANGED THOSE.

THE BIG THING THAT WE CHANGED, UM, WAS OUR DEFINITION OF PROTECTED TREES AND HOW THE ORDINANCE READ BEFORE WAS EVERYTHING REFERRED TO A LIST.

UM, I TRY TO GET AWAY FROM LISTS WHEN WE'RE DOING ORDINANCES BECAUSE LISTS CAN CHANGE OVER TIME.

AND IF, UH, FOR INSTANCE ON HERE WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT, UH, A LIST OF TREES THAT ARE ON THE INVASIVE SPECIES LIST.

AND THOSE ARE IDENTIFIED BY TEXAS A AND M FOREST SERVICE.

AND IF THEY ADD A LIST TO THAT OR ADDED TREE TO THAT LIST, WE DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO BRING THE ORDINANCE BACK AND HAVE TO GO THROUGH A WHOLE, A WHOLE REVIEW POLICY AND THEN GO BACK TO COUNCIL AND GET ADOPTED.

SO I REALLY TRY TO LIMIT LISTS.

SO, UH, WHAT WE DID IS WE GOT RID OF THE TABLES AND THE LISTS THAT WERE IN THERE, AND WE CHANGED OUR DEFINITION OF A PROTECTED TREE TO, AGAIN, WE STAYED WITH THE SIX INCH, UH, CLASSIFICATION.

UH, AND THEN WHAT WE DID IS WE PUT TREES INTO CLASSIFICATIONS, UH, SIX INCHES, WHAT WAS, WHAT WAS ON THE OLD ORDINANCE.

SO WE DIDN'T GO UP OR DOWN IN EITHER WAY IN TERMS OF WHAT IS A PROTECTED SIZE OF A TREE.

UM, AND THEN WHAT WE DID IS WE SAID, OKAY, ONE, ONE, WE DO HAVE TO HAVE ONE LIST.

AND ONE LIST IS, INSTEAD OF LOOKING AT PUTTING EVERYTHING AS WE'RE GONNA, THIS LIST, THIS TREE LIST REFERS TO LARGE TREES.

AND THIS TREE LIST REFERS TO MEDIUM TREES.

AND THIS TREE LIST REFERS TO SMALL TREES, WHICH IS WHAT WAS THERE.

YOU HAVE ONE DEAL THAT IS OUR UNPROTECTED TREES AND OUR UNPROTECTED TREES.

THOSE ARE THE TREES THAT WE SAY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GONNA CHARGE A, A DEVELOPER THAT WOULD, WOULD BE TAKING THESE TREES OUT IN ROOM FOR A DEVELOPMENT.

SO THESE ARE THINGS THAT ARE NOT WHAT WE WOULD CONSIDER OUR HIGH QUALITY TREES IN OUR AREA.

SO THINGS LIKE PEARS, CHINESE, UH, CHINA BERRY, CHINESE TAO, UH, CERTAIN SPECIES OF HOLLY PALMS TREE OF HEAVEN, WHICH IS A, A SEVERELY UH, UH, INVASIVE SPECIES EASTERN RED CEDAR, EXCEPT FOR ONE, UM, SPECIFIC SECTION WHICH WE'LL COME BACK TO.

AND THEN AGAIN, REALLY ALL LISTS OF INVASIVE TREES THAT FALL WITHIN

[02:10:01]

THE TEXAS A AND MVA UH, UH, INVASIVE SPECIES LIST.

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION, SIR? SO I WENT TO THE TEXAS, UH, FOREST SERVICE PAGE MM-HMM.

TO LOOK AT INVASIVE SPECIES.

YES, SIR.

YOU KNOW, AND I GOT KIND OF A GENERAL COMMON THING, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS 13 YEARS OLD, YOU KNOW, AND I, ONE, YOU KNOW, TREE I THINK NEEDS TO BE ON HERE IS, UH, UH, CHINESE PISTACHIO CUZ YOU KNOW, IT'S BECOMING MORE AND MORE INVASIVE.

CHINESE PISTACHIO IS ACTUALLY ON THE, IS ACTUALLY ON THE LIST.

SO, OKAY, WELL I DIDN'T SEE THAT LIST, SO, OKAY.

I'LL SEND YOU THE MOST IF YOU MAY HAVE BEEN LOOKING IN THE WRONG SPOT.

SO I'LL MAKE SURE I SEND YOU OPEN AT ONE CUZ IT HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE, THE LIST HERE RECENTLY.

YEAH.

AND I THINK JOON HOLLY HAS AN A IN IT SOMEWHERE.

OH, YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT.

I'M GONNA START SENDING MY PRESENTATIONS TO .

I'LL CHECK.

ALL RIGHT.

THAT'S ALL I GOT.

UM, ONE DEFINITION THAT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE ADD WAS A DEFINITION OF THE TAKE AREA, UM, AND WHAT THAT IS AND THE TAKE LINE.

AND THIS BECOMES, UH, IMPORTANT WITH A CASE THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY DEALING WITH CURRENTLY.

AND ALSO GOES BACK TO WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO AND TALK ABOUT WITH OUR EASTERN RED CEDARS HERE IN A MINUTE.

UH, THEN WHAT WE LOOKED IS OUR OTHER CLASSIFICATION.

SO WHAT WE DID IS PUT OUR TREES AND HOW I VIEW A, UM, ORDINANCE IS WE WANNA PROTECT OUR BIGGEST AND OUR BEST.

UM, AND SO WHAT WE CLASSIFY THOSE TREES IS WHAT WE WOULD CLASSIFY AS WHAT WE CALL A SIGNIFICANT TREE OR A CLASS ONE TREE.

AND THIS WOULD BE A PROTECTED HEALTHY TREE, UM, THAT IS OVER 18 INCHES IN DIAMETER THAT'S CONSISTING OF OUR AMERICAN ELMS, OUR SIBERIAN ELMS, SLIPPERY ELMS, CEDAR ELMS, ALL SYCAMORE VARIETIES, CHITHAM WOODS, COMMON PERSIMMON, PECANS, ALL OAKS, ALL WALNUTS.

THESE ARE OUR MOST COMMON VARIETY OF, OF HARDWOOD TREES THAT WE HAVE AROUND HERE.

IT'S OUR BEST TREES.

IT'S GONNA BE OUR MOST LONG-LIVED TREES.

THEY'RE GONNA BE THE ONES THAT GET THE LARGEST AND STICKING WITH WHAT WAS IN THE ORIGINAL ORDINANCE.

UM, THESE TREES WOULD BE REPLACED AT A TWO TO ONE RATIO.

SO IF YOU WERE TO REMOVE AN 18 INCH LIVE OAK OR AN 18 INCH CEDAR EL, THEN YOU WOULD HAVE TO, UH, REPLACE THAT AT A TWO TO ONE RATIO.

UM, A CLASS THREE TREE.

THIS IS ANY TREE THAT WE WOULD SAY IS, YOU KNOW, NOT A TRULY INVASIVE TREE.

UM, IT IS CONSIDERED TO BE A NATIVE TREE, BUT MAYBE DOESN'T HAVE THE SAME VALUE, SO TO SPEAK, BECAUSE IT'S, UH, UH, A QUICKER GROWING SPECIES.

IT'S NOT AS LONG-LIVED SPECIES LIKE A HACKBERRY, UM, OR A MULBERRY.

BUT THEY STILL HAVE WILDLIFE, UH, BENEFITS.

THEY STILL HAVE, UM, A LOT OF THOSE OTHER BENEFITS THAT, THAT COME TO OUR NA NATIVE AREAS.

BUT, BUT THEY'RE NOT IN INVASIVE, SO TO SPEAK.

UM, BUT THEY CAN TEND TO BE PROLIFIC, UH, IN AN AREA BECAUSE THEY ARE, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, THEY'RE AN INVADER SPECIES.

THEY GROW QUICKER.

SO A LOT OF TIMES YOU CAN GET A LOT OF THESE INTO AN AREA THAT MAYBE WAS GRAZED AT ONE POINT, AND THEN THEY GREW UP REALLY QUICKLY.

UM, AND SO IT'S NOT, UH, FA I DON'T, IT'S NOT ALWAYS RIGHT TO LOOK AT THESE AND, AND, AND, AND TO MITIGATE THEM AT THE, THE FULL, AT THE FULL RATE WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO BALANCE OUR ENVIRONMENT.

A ALONG WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

SO THESE TREES WOULD BE SOME SPECIES LIKE OUR ASH SPECIES, WILLOWS, COTTONWOOD, HACKBERRIES, UM, THINGS LIKE THAT.

AND THOSE WOULD BE MITIGATED AT A A 0.5 TO ONE RATIO.

SO IF IT WAS A SIX INCH HACKBERRY, IT WOULD BE MITIGATED AT THREE INCHES.

QUICK THING, WHEN YOU'RE RIGHT THERE, WHEN YOU'RE RIGHT THERE, IS THAT SLIVER MAPLE OR IS THAT SILVER MAPLE RIGHT THERE AT THE END OF THE LAST LONG SENTENCE? YOU GUYS ARE KILLING ME TONIGHT.

NO, NO, NO, NO.

THIS THING A LOT.

I YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT.

NO, IT'S, I'M OPERATING THOSE FINGERS ON THOSE THINGS BEFORE AND NOT FROM APRIL.

I WILL DEFINITELY, UH, GET THOSE CORRECTED.

OKAY.

CAN I HAVE YOU ONE MORE QUESTION REAL QUICK? UM, TREE ORDINANCES ARE THINGS THAT REALLY, UM, VARYING BETWEEN CITIES CAN, UH, CREATE A LOT OF PROBLEMS FOR DEVELOPERS AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IT IS THIS CITY WANTS AT THIS TIME.

HOW DOES THIS COMPARE TO OTHER CITIES AROUND US, UH, THAT ARE DEVELOPING ON, AND I WOULD SAY NOT COME TO THE RICHARDSONS AND THE PLANOS, BUT COME TO THE AREAS WHERE THERE'S MORE DEVELOPMENT AND BUILDING GOING ON FURTHER TO THE NORTH, FURTHER TO THE EAST.

AND THAT'S A, THAT'S A, A GREAT QUESTION.

AND IT'S, IT'S VERY SIMILAR.

AND ACTUALLY A LOT OF OUR, OUR CITIES THAT WERE GROWN ARE GOING TO MORE OF THIS TYPE OF A, OF A CONCEPT IN TERMS OF HOW THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE, THOSE TREES IN TERMS OF HOW DO YOU PROTECT WHAT WE CALL OUR BIGGEST AND OUR BEST AND NOT PUT AS MUCH VALUE ON ONES THAT USUALLY DEVELOPERS HAVE A HARDER TIME, OR WHAT I WOULD SAY PUT UP MORE OF A FIGHT, UH, IN TERMS OF THEY HAVE TO MITIGATE FOR, UM, A LOT OF THESE SIMILAR, UM, NUANCES THAT WE, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS ORDINANCE WERE THINGS THAT WE WORKED ON IN DALLAS AND WE PUT INTO THEIR ORDINANCE.

UH, WE REWROTE THE ONE IN RICHARDSON

[02:15:01]

AND PUT SOME OF THESE TYPES OF THINGS INTO THE RICHARDSON ORDINANCE.

UM, SO I WOULD SAY THAT THIS IS WHERE TREE ORDINANCES ARE HEADED AND GOING, UH, IN THE DFW AREA FOR, FOR A LOT OF THOSE REASONS.

ALL RIGHT.

AND THEN ONE LAST THING.

UM, THERE'S A DEVELOPMENT APPROVED, UM, A MONTH OR SO AGO AND BY COUNCIL AND THE AREA'S GOT A LOT OF TREES IN IT, AND IT'S GONNA BE A, UM, MULTI-FAMILY THING WHERE IT'S GONNA BE A FAIRLY HIGH DENSITY IS ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE ONE THAT WAS ON SHILOH ROAD? DIFFERENT ONE? MILLER.

CENTERVILLE.

OKAY.

UM, I HAVEN'T SEEN THAT ONE.

WHAT I WOULD, WHAT I WOULD SAY, IF YOU LET ME GET THROUGH THE OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS, I'LL KIND OF TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE PHILOSOPHY AT THE, THE END OF IT, OF KIND OF HOW IT ADDRESSES THAT.

OKAY.

THANK YOU.

UM, SO YOUR CLASS TRUE TREES WOULD BE ANY OTHER TREE THAT WE DIDN'T CAPTURE, UH, IN, IN, IN A CLASS ONE, AN UNPROTECTED OR A CLASS THREE.

UH, SO THAT'S KIND OF YOUR CATCHALL.

AND THEN THOSE WOULD BE MITIGATED AT A ONE-TO-ONE RATIO.

UM, OTHER PROPOSED LANGUAGE, WE, THERE WASN'T A PROVISION WITHIN THE ORDINANCE THAT IF A TREE WAS, UM, ENDANGERING PUBLIC HEALTH OR IF IT WAS SICK OR IF IT WAS DEAD, UH, THAT IT COULD BE NOT MITIGATED FOR.

SO WE ATE IT, WE ADDED THAT, AND THEN WE ADDED, WE THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT, UH, BECAUSE AGAIN, WE, WE WE'RE DEALING WITH AN IS ISSUE HERE THAT WHERE, UH, UM, SOMEBODY WENT IN AND REMOVED ALL OF OF THE TREES WITHIN THE, THE TAKE AREA.

UM, AND SO WE ADDED IN THERE ANY TREE REMOVED WITHIN THE TAKE AREA, UNLESS IT'S AN UNPROTECTED TREE WITH THE EXCEPTIONS OF EASTERN RED CEDAR WILL BE COUNTED AS A CLASS ONE OR TWO TREE.

AND WE THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE, UM, NOT HAVING WHAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED A CLASS THREE TREE, BECAUSE TREES WITHIN OUR TAKE AREA HAVE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT VALUE.

THEY HAVE A VALUE FOR STORM, FOR, FOR WATER, UH, QUALITY CLARITY FOR EROSION, UH, OF THE, THE STREAM BANK.

THAT'S NOT AN AREA THAT CAN BE DEVELOPED UPON.

SO IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE USING THIS AS A, AS A TOOL TO BE ABLE TO, UM, WORK WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

THOSE TREES ARE STRICTLY FOR, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT.

AND THERE'S, SO TO ME, THERE, THERE IS NO RE THOSE TREES ACTUALLY HAVE MORE VALUE THERE.

UM, THEY ALL, WELL REALLY THEY ALL HAVE THE SAME VALUE AND THERE'S NO REASON WHY WE WOULD CONSIDER ONE OF THEM LESS.

AND SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE ADDED A PROVISION OR THE RECOMMENDATION IS, IS TO ADD A PROVISION IN THERE THAT IF A TREE IS WITHIN THE TAKE AREA, THAT THERE WOULD BE NO CLASS THREE DESIGNATION.

UM, THERE WOULD ONLY BE CLASS ONES OR, OR TWOS.

WELL, THE ONLY REASON THEY'D TAKE A TREE IN THERE IS JUST SO THEY CAN IMPROVE THEIR VIEW OUT TO THE LAKE, RIGHT? CORRECT.

AND SO THE PENALTY, UH, THE PENALTY FOR REMOVING THOSE TREES SHOULD BE HIGHER, UM, IF YOU'RE REMOVING THOSE TREES.

UM, WHERE, WHERE WE WANTED TO ADD IN IS TO, TO YOUR POINT, MR. CARTER IS WANTED TO BUILD IN FLEXIBILITY.

UM, BECAUSE AGAIN, WHEN I, WHEN I TRY TO, MY PHILOSOPHY WHEN I BUILD ORDINANCES IS THAT IT SHOULDN'T ALL BE STICK.

THAT YOU NEED TO ALSO HAVE SOME OF THE CARROT IN THERE AS WELL TO BE ABLE TO HELP WITH, UM, BEHAVIOR IN TERMS OF TRYING TO SAVE TREES.

AND THERE WASN'T ANY, UM, IN OUR CURRENT ORDINANCE, NO WAY TO BE ABLE TO GIVE CREDIT TOWARDS, UH, IF YOU TRANSPLANT TREES ON SITE OR IF YOU PRESERVE TREES ON SITE.

SO IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO ADD A CREDIT TO BE ABLE TO INCENTIVIZE A DEVELOPER THAT'S GONNA SAVE TREES ON A SITE, UM, TO BE ABLE TO OFFSET WHAT THEIR POTENTIAL MITIGATION MIGHT BE.

SO FOR TRANSPLANTED TREES, YOU CAN SEE THERE, IF IT'S, UH, LESS THAN SIX INCHES, IT'S ONE TO ONE, SIX TO 12 ALL THE WAY UP TO WHERE IF THEY'RE MOVING REALLY, REALLY BIG TREES, THEY CAN GET AS MUCH AS A FIVE INCH CREDIT.

UH, IT'S, IT'S VERY EXPENSIVE TO MOVE LARGE TREES, SO YOU SHOULD GET A REALLY BIG CREDIT FOR IT.

UM, AND THEN IF YOU PRESERVE TREES ON SITE, UH, IF IT'S SIX TO 11 INCHES, IT'S A ONE TO ONE, 12 TO 17, A TWO TO ONE, AND IF IT'S GREATER THAN 18 A THREE TO ONE.

AND, AND REALLY THE PRESERVATION IS REALLY WHERE A DEVELOPER CAN, UM, CHANGE WHAT THEIR MITIGATION IS.

AND SO IF THEY'RE LOOKING AT THEIR SITE PLAN AND THEY'VE GOTTEN THEIR TREE SURVEY BACK AND THEY WANT TO CLEAR CUT THE LAND, IT'S NOTHING SAYING THAT YOU CAN'T CLEAR CUT THE LAND TO PUT IN YOUR DEVELOPMENT.

BUT THAT COULD BE VERY, VERY EXPENSIVE FOR YOU.

WHERE IF YOU PRESERVE POCKETS OF TREES, IF YOU PRESERVE A GROUP OF TREES, IF YOU PRESERVE TREES THROUGHOUT THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS, YOU HAVE THE, YOU HAVE THE, THE, THE ABILITY TO OFFSET YOUR OTHER MITIGATION TO REALLY BRING YOUR COSTS DOWN.

UM, AND SO THIS IS NOT DESIGNED TO TRY TO SAVE A DEVELOPER, UH, MONEY, BUT IT CAN, IF THEY ARE LOOKING AT THE DEVELOPMENT IN THE RIGHT WAY TO TRY TO PRESERVE THE BIGGEST AND THE BEST TREES, UH, ON THAT SITE, IT'S A WAY, IT'S A DESIGNED WAY OF, UM, MAKING SOMETHING THAT COULD BE EXTREMELY ONEROUS, UM, ACTUALLY WORKABLE.

AND I, AND I APPRECIATE THAT.

THAT'S, THAT'S THE BEST PAGE ON THE DEAL.

I THINK THE, THE KEY IS, IS

[02:20:01]

TO GET, IF YOU'RE DEVELOPING ON A SITE THAT IS HEAVILY, HEAVILY TREATED TO GET WITH OUR PLANNING DEPARTMENT TO REALLY LOOK AT HOW THAT SITE IS LAID OUT AND HOW THAT SITE IS PLANNED TO BE ABLE TO DO WHAT'S BEST FOR THE LAND, DO WHAT'S BEST FOR THE DEVELOPMENT, AND POTENTIALLY CUT DOWN ON WHAT THE OVERALL TREE MITIGATION, UM, POTENTIAL COULD BE.

UH, CUZ AS YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES TREE MITIGATION IS THE FIRST THING THAT THEY'LL GO TO COUNCIL TO GET WAIVED.

BUT IF WE CAN SHOW THAT THEY'RE NOT PAYING FOR UNNECESSARY TREES, UH, HACKBERRIES AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND EASTERN RED CEDARS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND THAT THE VALUE, THE TREES THAT THEY ARE PAYING FOR ARE BIGGEST IN OUR BEST TREES AND THAT WE'VE DONE EVERYTHING WE CAN TO TRY TO, UH, GIVE THEM A, A WAY AROUND PAYING, UH, AS MUCH INTO A MITIGATION FEE, THEN HOPEFULLY THOSE WON'T BE, BE WAIVED AS MUCH.

AND THEN IF YOU REMEMBER FROM THE, THE PRESENTATION WE HAD AT THE LAST MEETING, WE WILL HAVE A WAY FOR THAT MONEY TO BE BEING SPENT.

AND SO NOW WE'LL HAVE MONEY COMING IN, WE'LL BE ABLE TO SHOW THAT WE HAVE A PLAN TO SPEND IT, WHICH THEN HOLD LEADS TO LESS WAIVERS OF TREE MITIGATION FEES AT THE COUNCIL LEVEL.

UH, AND WITH THAT, I'LL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

LUCKILY THAT WAS SPELLED YES SIR.

MR. PARISH, UM, DO WE HAVE ANY HISTORIC TREES OF HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE IN GARLAND? NOT THAT I KNOW OF.

YOU WOULD PROBABLY KNOW THAT BETTER THAN I DID.

WASN'T THERE ONE IN THEOH WILLIAMS FUNERAL HOME? DIDN'T THEY HAVE UH MM-HMM A BIG OAK TREE IN? THEY DID THAT USED TO BE, UH, IT WAS LIKE IN THE TOP THREE LARGEST RED OAKS IN THE STATE.

UM, ALL THAT'S LEFT NOW IS A STUMP.

I THINK IT DIED.

UH, YEAH, THERE'S A DROUGHT THERE I THINK.

YEAH.

YEP.

BUT THAT WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT I EVER KNEW ABOUT.

I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY OTHER ONES.

SO I THINK EAB IS LOOKING AT SOME KIND OF, YOU KNOW, MERITORIOUS TREE CLASSIFICATION OR SOMETHING AND I WOULDN'T KNOW HOW THAT MIGHT AFFECT SOMETHING LIKE THIS.

WOW.

OKAY.

UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR MATT? THANK YOU, SIR.

WE APPRECIATE.

I HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION.

SO WHEN THIS ALL SIR, MAY, MAY, I .

SO, SO WHEN THIS ALL STARTED, UH, YOU KNOW, I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH ONE OF THE COUNCILMEN ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IN SOME CASES, YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT MAKE SENSE TO DO MORE, UH, LANDSCAPING WITH NATIVE PLANTS AND THAT KIND OF STUFF.

YOU KNOW, CUZ THAT BENEFITS THE ENVIRONMENT.

IT DOESN'T PROVIDE THE SAME THINGS YOU GET FROM A TREE.

WAS THERE ANY MORE DISCUSSION ON THAT, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW THAT MIGHT FIT INTO THIS SORT OF SCENARIO AND, YOU KNOW, MITIGATION? SO WE DID, WE WANTED TO START WITH THE TREE MITIGATION MM-HMM.

, UH, ORDINANCE FIRST, CUZ THAT WAS THE, THE INITIAL, UM, REQUEST.

BUT BY GOING THROUGH THIS DID REALIZE THAT THERE'S SOME ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT, UH, WITHIN OUR LANDSCAPING ORDINANCE.

UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WOULD LIKE TO, TO VISIT MORE WITH, WITH WILL ABOUT AND OUR DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS, UM, TO, TO START RE-LOOKING AT, AT THAT.

BUT WE WANTED TO CHECK THIS ONE OFF THE BOX FIRST.

OKAY.

ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU, MR. PARISH.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, MATT.

THANK Y'ALL.

GREAT PRESENTATION AND WE APPRECIATE IT.

OKAY, THAT'S TRUE.

ORDINANCE, UH, NUMBER FIVE, DISCUSS RECOMMENDATIONS ON UPCOMING ITEMS TO BE ASSIGNED TO EACH SUBCOMMITTEE.

UM, IS THAT MR. CHIEF OF STAFF? UH, NO COMMENT.

, I BELIEVE THE FIFTH .

IT'S NOT THAT EASY, YOU KNOW THAT.

OKAY.

SO LET'S SEE.

I HAVE ANY NOTES IN HERE.

, .

I THINK THE, THE, THE DESIRE HERE WAS, UM, AS WE DISCUSSED TO GET THE, THE SUBCOMMITTEES, UH, INVOLVED, UM, EARLIER IN THE PROCESS.

AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S BEEN, UH, I THINK WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH THAT HERE RECENTLY.

HANG ON.

I'M TRYING TO GET THROUGH SOME OF THESE.

SEE IF THERE WAS, WHILE YOU'RE LOOKING.

THAT WAS, THAT WAS THE, THE INTENT WAS TO, UH, WE HAVE THREE SUBCOMMITTEES WHICH, UM, HAD NOT BEEN MEETING ON A REGULAR BASIS.

AND, UH, SURELY THERE'S THINGS THAT, THAT COULD BE DONE, WHICH COULD BE OF ASSISTANCE TO THE, TO THE STAFF AND THE CITY.

SO, UM, YOU'RE HEADED THAT WAY.

YEAH.

RIGHT.

SO FROM OUR STANDPOINT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WOULD LIKE TO, AT YOUR REQUEST, AND WE TOTALLY AGREE, IS WHEN THERE'S A, AN APPROPRIATE, UM, ITEM FOR ONE OF THE, THE SUBCOMMITTEES IS TRY REALLY DILIGENTLY TO GET IT OUT A MONTH IN ADVANCE WITH SOME INSTRUCTIONS.

BECAUSE AGAIN, THE, THE SUBCOMMITTEES ARE CLEARLY DESIGNED TO NOT HAVE A QUORUM.

SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE THE TIMES THAT THEY MEET AS MUCH AS THEY MEET, WHEN THEY MEET, HOW THEY MEET ENTIRELY UP TO THEM.

IF THEY WANT TO HAVE SOME MEETING, UH, COME TO, TO THE OFFICE AND MEET WITH STAFF AND TALK THROUGH IT, THEY CAN, THAT WAY THAT WHEN THE, WHEN IT

[02:25:01]

COMES UP FOR DISCUSSION FOR THE FULL BOARD, AT LEAST THEY'VE HAD ADDITIONAL TIME TO DO SOME HOMEWORK, DO SOME RESEARCH, PUT SOME THOUGHTS TOGETHER, ASK EXPERTS, ASK STAFF, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.

SO THAT, THAT I THINK, UH, WOULD BE VERY, UH, BENEFICIAL AND EFFECTIVE.

I THINK THAT'D BE BE REAL, REAL VALUE TO THE, TO THE MEMBERS OF THE, OF THE BOARD BECAUSE OF THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THEY'D HAVE.

BUT, UH, AS MUCH VALUE, HOPEFULLY, IF NOT MORE, WOULD BE TO THE, TO THE CITY STAFF BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HERE REPRESENTING THE CITIZENS OF GARLAND, YOU KNOW, AND WE'VE GOT, WE'VE GOT NINE OF US TO REPRESENT 235 OR 40,000 PEOPLE.

AND, AND SO, UM, IT COULD BE, IT COULD BE A GOOD THING.

SO ANYWAY, THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE WE WERE HITTING WITH THAT.

UH, WE NOW WE ALSO, WE HAD A, A, ONE OF OUR STANDING COMMITTEES HAD A MEETING BEFOREHAND TODAY, AND THAT WAS FACILITIES OF FINANCE.

MR. PARISH, YOU WANNA JUST GIVE US A BRIEF? SO, SO WE KINDA TALKED ABOUT THE, THE, THE NOTION OR THE, THE NEED TO BUILD THE STORY FOR THE, UH, SKATE PARK, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, USE THE INFORMATION WE GATHERED HERE TONIGHT.

AND, YOU KNOW, THAT MIGHT BE A GOOD, UM, THING FOR THE FACILITIES AND FINANCE COMMITTEE TO TAKE THE LEAD ON AND HELP PUT THAT STORY TOGETHER, WORKING WITH STAFF.

AND I KNOW YOU'VE DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH, MR. CARTER.

UH, IT WAS, UH, IN THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS, I FOUND OUT A LOT MORE THAN, UH, THEY EVER KNEW ABOUT THE WHOLE PROCESS HERE.

WELL, I CAN'T IMAGINE THAT WE WENT THROUGH THE WHOLE SKATEBOARDING THING AND THIS GUY'S NAME NEVER CAME UP.

I JUST, IT WAS, AND IT JUST, IT IT, IT FELL THROUGH THE CRACKS.

THERE WAS PEOPLE TRYING TO DO IT, BUT THEY SOME, YEAH, THEY MAYBE WEREN'T TIMELY IN THEIR ACTIONS.

YEAH.

KNOW SOMETIMES PEOPLE JUST DON'T KNOW.

I MEAN, I, BEFORE I WAS JUST ON THIS BOARD, I WOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN WHAT KIND OF THINGS TO BRING HERE.

MM-HMM.

, YOU KNOW, MAY, MAYBE WE NEED SOME OUTREACH ON THAT SIDE.

OKAY.

AND, AND SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE WILLING TO TAKE YOUR SUBCOMMITTEE AND WORK WITH, UH, STAFF IN WHATEVER MANNER, WHATEVER MANNER THEY NEED.

THANK YOU ALL.

THANK YOU ALL.

THANK YOU ALL.

OKAY.

CAPITAL PROJECTS.

UPSTATES.

LET'S MOVE.

SLOAN, YOU ONLY HAVE ONE MORE HOUR.

AND I'M MARRIED.

ROCKS .

STARBUCKS STILL OPEN.

STARBUCKS STILL OPEN.

SEND OUT, SEND OUT FOR COFFEE FOR THE NEXT NEXT BIT.

EXCUSE ME.

UH, THANK YOU MR. CANINO FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT IN ONE OF OUR TYPICAL MEETINGS.

.

OH, TYPICAL.

OH, TYPICAL.

OH, YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHAT YOU SIGNED UP FOR, BUT YOU'RE LEARNING IN THE HURRY.

I TOLD YOU.

WE TOSSED YOU IN.

OKAY, HERE WE GO.

Z ONLY WHEN THE SKATEBOARD GUYS SHOW UP.

UH, I HAVE JUST A FEW SLIDES.

I'M JUST GONNA GO THROUGH KIND OF IN RAPID FIRE WHERE WE ARE WITH A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME ACTIVE PROJECTS.

UH, WE HAVE A, A FOLLOWING PRESENTATION, UH, AFTER THIS THAT KIND OF GOES INTO SOME OTHER DETAIL ABOUT THE C I P AND, AND THE, UH, PROCESS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FUNDING AND, AND THOSE PROJECTS.

SO, UM, JUST REAL, I KNOW IT LOOKS LIKE A LONG LIST, BUT WE'RE WORKING ON A LOT OF PROJECTS.

SO THIS IS THE, THE CURRENT HIGHLIGHTED PROJECT.

SO JUST REAL QUICK, I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A RUNDOWN ON RICK OEN PARK AND, AND JUST, UH, FROM MEMBERS WHO MAY NOT BE AWARE, THERE IS A CAPITAL PROJECTS UPDATE SHEET AT THE END OF THE PACKET THAT YOU CAN GET SOME, SOME DETAILS ABOUT OUR SUMMARY REALLY ABOUT, UH, PROJECTS.

SO, RICK ODEN PARK, WE'RE IN THE FINAL STAGES OF WRAPPING UP PHASE ONE.

PHASE ONE, IF YOU RECALL, IS NORTH OF THE TENNIS COURTS.

PHASE TWO IS SOUTH OF THE TENNIS COURTS.

UH, WE ARE ACTIVE, UH, IN CONSTRUCTION ON PHASE TWO.

BUT, UH, JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT, UH, ALL WE REALLY RE UH, UH, LACK IN PHASE ONE IS SODDING.

ALL THE TRAIL CONNECTIONS ARE MADE.

UM, EVERYTHING IS IS READY.

IT'S JUST A MATTER OF CLEANING UP AND SODDING.

SO, UH, PHASE ONE IS, IS VERY CLOSE.

UH, PHASE TWO, WE'RE GETTING READY TO PAVE THE PARKING LOT, WHICH I KNOW IS SOMETHING THE TENNIS CENTER FOLKS ARE REALLY READY FOR.

UM, AND, UH, WE'VE DONE ALL THE SUBGRADE PREP FOR THE PLAYGROUND AND, UH, WE SHOULD START BUILDING THE PLAYGROUND, UH, SHORTLY TOO.

THERE'S A LARGE RETAINING WALL ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.

THE NEW RESTROOM BUILDING IN PHASE TWO IS ALREADY PLACED, AND SO ALL THE UTILITIES ARE DONE.

UH, WE'RE MOVING RIGHT ALONG WITH, WITH RICK ODEN, UH, AVALON PARK.

UH, WE ARE ALSO IN THE FINAL STAGES OF THIS PROJECT, AND, UH, UH, IF YOU RECALL, THIS PROJECT INCLUDED, UH, SOME DRAINAGE STRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS AND REPLACEMENT OF THE FISHING PIER AT AVALON POND.

SO, UH, IT'S LOOKING REALLY GOOD.

YOU'LL SEE SOME PICTURES OF THAT IN JUST A FEW, UM, A FEW MINUTES.

AND JUST TO HIGHLIGHT KIND OF WHERE WE ARE WITH PLAYGROUND REPLACEMENT PROGRAM, WE'RE IN GROUP THREE AND WE'RE, UM, UH, GETTING REALLY GOOD MOVEMENT IN, IN GROUP THREE.

SOME OF THE PLAYGROUNDS THAT ARE IN GROUP THREE ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SOME LARGER PARK DEVELOPMENT, SO WE CAN'T CLAIM AS GROUP THREE.

THE PROGRAM IS DONE UNTIL THOSE OTHER PROJECTS ARE

[02:30:01]

DONE AS WELL.

UH, WATSON PARK, UH, LAWN WIND PARK, UM, THOSE ARE JUST A COUPLE OF THEM THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SOME LARGER IMPROVEMENTS.

SO, UH, FRED HARRIS SECTION AT SPRING CREEK GREEN BELT.

THAT ONE IS, UM, UH, IF NOT OPEN ALREADY VERY CLOSE TO BEING OPEN.

INDEPENDENCE PARK IS TECHNICALLY PA UH, PART OF, UH, GROUP TWO.

UM, BUT WE RAN INTO SOME ISSUES WITH THAT AND WE ARE WRAPPING THAT UP HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS.

UH, SAME WITH WOODLAND PARK.

UH, THOSE COUPLE OF PARKS, UH, JUST REALLY LACK SODDING AND CLEANING UP, UH, CARTER SOFTBALL COMPLEX.

UH, RAN INTO A, A COUPLE ISSUES WITH, UM, ADA ACCESSIBILITY.

HAD TO COME BACK AND REWORK SOME THINGS.

AND, UH, WE'RE PUTTING IN AN ACCESSIBLE RAMP, UH, TO THAT PLAY STRUCTURE.

UH, AT, AT CARTER.

UM, THERE'S ALSO A FEW OTHER IMPROVEMENTS GOING ON AT CARTER SOFTBALL COMPLEX CURRENTLY, UM, AT MONTGOMERY PARK AND ARMSTRONG AND YARRO.

UM, THOSE ARE KIND OF IN FULL FORCE.

THEY'RE JUST IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CONSTRUCTION.

UM, LOTS GOING ON THERE.

THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS AT MONTGOMERY PARK.

WE'RE NOT, I CAN'T SAY THAT WE'RE CLOSE TO THE END, BUT WE'RE GETTING A LOT CLOSER.

UH, THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, COMPONENTS ALREADY VERTICAL IN THAT PARK.

UH, ARMSTRONG AND YARBOROUGH ARE, ARE KIND OF IN THE, THE BEGINNING STAGES.

SO THEY'RE, UM, YOU KNOW, KNOW A LOT OF, A LOT OF DIRT IS EXPOSED AT THIS POINT, BUT, UH, NOT MUCH MORE, UH, LONG WIND SPLASH PAD.

UH, WE HAVE, UM, THE AREA GRADED.

IT'S READY, IT'S FORMED UP READY FOR CONCRETE AT THE SPLASH PAD.

REALLY LOOKING GOOD THERE.

UH, EMORY PARK, WE ALREADY HAVE CONCRETE ON THE GROUND WITH SPLASH PADS GOING.

NO VERTICAL COMPONENTS THERE, BUT, UM, WE ARE STILL TRACKING TO HAVE THOSE, UM, OPEN BEFORE THE SUMMER AND, UH, WATSON PARK WHERE IT SHOULD BE BREAKING GROUND HOPEFULLY THIS MONTH.

UH, EVERYTHING WE GOT, WE GOT THE GREEN LIGHT TO GO FROM TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE.

EVERYTHING IS, IS READY TO GO.

ALL OF, UM, PURCHASING DOCUMENTS ARE IN PLACE, SO IT'S JUST A MATTER OF GETTING MOBILIZED, GETTING THE CONTRACTOR MOBILIZED.

TUCKER BILL PARK, UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY AT 95% DESIGN ON THE NEW TENNIS CENTER.

UH, SO FOR ANYONE WHO DOESN'T KNOW, WE'RE BUILDING TWO NEW 10 12 NEW TENNIS COURTS AT, UH, UH, TUCKER BILL PARK WITH A PRO SHOP AND, UH, PARK ROAD PAVING, UH, TRAILS LIGHTING AND A LOT OF GREATER IMPROVEMENTS GOING ON THERE.

UH, LOU HUFF PARK, UH, THIS IS ONE OF THE FIVE OPERA PROJECTS THAT IS GOING THROUGH OUR DEPARTMENT, UH, LOU HUFF PARK.

WE'VE, UH, SECURED A CONSULTANT.

WE'RE GETTING READY TO GO INTO PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.

UH, SO THAT SHOULD HAPPEN, UH, START HAVING THOSE MEETINGS SOMETIME IN MARCH.

AND, UH, WHEN JOYCE PARK, UH, AND RICK ODEN, SPLASH PAD AND KINGSLEY, WE FINALIZED OUR, UH, RFQ FOR THOSE ARPA PROJECTS.

AND, UM, HAVE YET TO SECURE OUR AGREEMENTS WITH THOSE CONSULTANTS.

WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING THROUGH SCOPING AND, UH, THEIR FEE PROPOSALS.

ONE THING, UM, I I MENTIONED ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH IS TRAILS IS THE CENTRAL PARK LOOP TRAIL, WHICH IS ANOTHER ARPA FUNDED PROJECT, AND WE'RE KIND OF IN THE SAME STATUS WITH THAT, UH, DUCK CREEK SOUTH EXTENSION.

UM, GREAT NEWS HERE.

WE'VE SECURED ALL THE EASEMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PROJECT.

UH, WE ARE WRAPPING UP DESIGN AND HOPEFULLY GET THIS PROJECT OUT TO BID, UH, THIS SPRING.

UH, AND THIS IS A, AN A, A PROJECT THAT'S FUNDED, UH, IN PART BY, UM, DALLAS COUNTY.

AND SO WE HAVE SOME COUNTY SUPPORT ON THIS, ON THIS PROJECT, UH, ALONG WITH GARLAND AVENUE, UNDERPASS NAME, FOREST CONNECTION AND DUCK CREEK AUDUBON.

THOSE ARE ALL DUCK CREEK, UH, DALLAS COUNTY SUPPORTED.

AND GARLAND APAS IS IN CURRENTLY IN 30% DESIGN.

UM, THIS IS GONNA CONNECT TO EXISTING TRAILS THAT ARE IN SPRING CREEK GREEN BELT, UH, UNDERNEATH GARLAND AVENUE.

THE NA AND FOREST CONNECTION WILL CONNECT, UM, THE TRAIL THAT'S IN, IN SPRING CREEK, UH, GREEN BELT ON THE SOUTH SIDE TO NAMAN, UH, NAMAN SCHOOL ROAD, WHICH IS A PROJECT THAT ENGINEERING IS, IS DOING THAT HAS A TRAIL COMPONENT ASSOCIATED WITH IT.

SO IT WILL CONNECT EAST AND WEST ALL THE WAY TO LEVON DRIVE EVENTUALLY.

AND THEN THIS TRAIL WILL GET CONNECTED, UM, UNDERNEATH, UH, GEORGE BUSH TURNPIKE AND CONNECT IN WITH BRAND ROAD, UH, ON THE NORTH SIDE.

UH, AND THEN BRAND ROAD PROJECT IS ANOTHER ENGINEERING PROJECT THAT WILL HAVE A TRAIL ASSOCIATED WITH IT.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF INTERCONNECTIVITY THERE.

UM, BISBEE, SORRY, DUCK CREEK AUDUBON.

WE'RE STILL, UH, WORKING THROUGH DETAILS ON THE, UH, GETTING OUR CONSULTANT, UM, UH, THEIR CONTRACT APPROVED.

UM, AND THAT PROJECT WILL GET, UH, ULTIMATELY CONNECT THE DUCK CREEK TRAIL THAT RUNS NEAR B UH, IN BILL CODY PARK ACROSS DUCK CREEK AND INTO AUDUBON PARK.

UH, SO THEN WE WILL HAVE A FULLY, UH, A FULL CIRCUIT OF TRAIL IN DUCK CREEK, GREEN BELL, COMPLETELY OFF STREET, CUZ CURRENTLY PEOPLE HAVE TO GET UP ONTO OATS.

IT'S A SEPARATED TRAIL, BUT THEY HAVE TO GET ON OATS TO GET BACK AROUND

[02:35:01]

INTO AUDUBON PARK.

SO, UH, THIS WILL BE A GREAT WAY TO, UH, TO HELP MARKET, UH, FIVE KS AND BRING IN, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT, UH, RUNNING, WALKING EVENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AS WELL AS JUST REGULAR EVERYDAY USERS.

OF COURSE.

UM, BISBEE TRAIL HAS BEEN, UM, UM, BID OUT FOR CONSTRUCTION, UH, THAT WENT TO COUNCIL THIS WEEK FOR, UH, CONSIDERATION.

UM, AND SO WE SHOULD BE GETTING STARTED ON THAT PROJECT, UH, VERY SOON.

UH, IN TERMS OF CONSTRUCTION, UH, DUCK CREEK CENTRAL TRAIL, UM, THIS IS BROKEN INTO THREE SEG SEGMENTS, TWO SEGMENTS IN RICK ODEN ARE CURRENTLY, UM, ONE IS ABOUT TO GET FINISHED OR ONE IS FINISHED.

ONE IS, UH, GETTING WORKED ON IN PHASE TWO.

UH, SEGMENT THREE IS, UM, GOING FROM MILLER ROAD TO CENTRAL PARK.

UM, IT'S, UH, WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH, UH, WITH KCS RAILROAD IN TERMS OF GETTING A, A SOLUTION IN PLACE THAT, UH, WILL ALLOW US TO GET OUR TRAIL UNDERNEATH THE RAILROAD.

AND SO IT'S JUST TAKING A LONG TIME TO GET AN AGREEMENT WITH KCS RAILROAD.

AND SO, UM, UH, UNFORTUNATELY IT JUST, IT TAKES A LONG TIME WITH THEM AND WE'LL HOPE WE'RE HOPING TO GET A, A SOLUTION WORKED OUT, UM, THAT WORKS FOR THEM AND US.

SO, UH, THE GOAL IS TO CONNECT RICK ODEN PARK WITH CENTRAL PARK WITH THAT TRAIL.

UM, CENTRAL PARK LOOP TRAIL, UH, AS, AS I MENTIONED, IS ARPA FUNDED.

THAT WILL COMPLETE THE CIRCLE, THE CIRCUIT THAT'S WITHIN CENTRAL PARK TO HAVE A TRAIL WITHIN THE PARK THAT PEOPLE CAN WALK AROUND AND MAKE A LOOP, UH, WITHIN THE PARK.

UH, CHIHA ROAD, LAKE RAY, HUBBARD GREENBELT.

AND THAT'S ANOTHER PROJECT THAT'S ASSOCIATED WITH AN ENGINEERING PROJECT THAT WILL, UM, ESTABLISH ONE OF OUR, UH, A TRAIL SECTION THROUGH, UM, ALONG THE LAKESHORE LAKEWAY HUBBARD, UH, FROM I 30 ALL THE WAY TO CHIHA ROAD AND UP TOWARDS I 30 NEAR HARBOR POINT, UH, ROUTE ROAD.

CY CYCLE TRACK IS, UH, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT A CYCLE TRACK IS, IT'S A SEPARATED BIKE LANE, TWO-WAY TRAFFIC THAT HAS A, A CONCRETE BARRIER BETWEEN THE, THE BICYCLES AND THE, THE TRAVEL LANES.

AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW THAT THAT PORTION IS GONNA CONNECT DUCK CREEK TRAIL TO THE LAKESHORE, EAST AND WEST ALONG ROLLETTE ROAD.

UM, SO THERE'S SOME GREAT POTENTIAL THERE, UM, FOR EASTWEST CONNECTION AND TO TIE INTO, UH, EXISTING TRAILS AND FUTURE.

UM, THE LAKESHORE TRAIL THAT IS EVENTUALLY GONNA BE BUILT ALONG LAKE RAY HUBBARD, UM, LIONS ROAD SIDE PATH, UM, ACCIDENTALLY LEFT THAT ON THERE.

UNFORTUNATELY, THAT WAS A PROJECT THAT HAS BEEN TABLED UNTIL THE FUTURE, UH, DUE TO FUNDING RESTRICTIONS.

UH, BOB TOWN ROAD SIDE PATH IS ACTUALLY FULLY BUILT.

UH, THAT'S JUST ANOTHER ONE ASSOCIATED WITH ENGINEERING.

UM, AND I JUST, THEY ARE CLOSING OUT THAT PROJECT NOW.

AND THAT PROJECT GOES FROM ETTE ROAD DOWN BOB TOWN AND UP, UM, UP WATERHOUSE ALONG, UH, NEXT TO LAKE HOUSTON CENTENNIAL HIGH SCHOOL AND ENDS AT ROAN ROAD.

UH, ROSE HILL ROAD STREET SCAPE IS A 12 FOOT WIDE STREET SCAPE SIDEWALKS, LARGE EXPANDED SIDEWALKS ALONG ROSE HILL ON BOTH SIDES FROM, UM, FROM BOB TOWN TO I 30.

AND THERE'S A LOT OF POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT RIGHT THERE WITH IT BEING INTO THE CATALYST AREA THAT'S IN ALONG I 30.

AND THERE'S SOME GREAT POTENTIAL FOR SOME OF THOSE NEW NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE BEING BUILT AND PROPOSED, UH, TO HAVE A, A NICE WALKABLE, UM, STREET SCAPE.

AND THEN THERE'S ON STREET BICYCLE FACILITIES.

UM, WE ARE WORKING THROUGH GETTING OUR, OUR ON STREET, UM, BIKE LANES FULLY SIGNED THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY 62 MILES WORTH OF SHARED LANES SHARED USE LANES THAT ARE PROPOSED THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

AND, UH, OUR GOAL IS TO GET ALL THOSE SIGNED SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A ROUTE DESIGNATED.

AND THEN ONCE WE GET THAT WITH THE CURRENT FUNDING, WE WILL BE ABLE TO BACKFILL SOME OF THE, UM, STRIPING ON THE GROUND AND, AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

UM, AS, AS FUNDING COMES AVAILABLE.

UM, THERE'S JUST A, A REAL CHALLENGE WITH GETTING ALL THOSE PUT IN WITH THE FUNDS THAT WE HAVE.

UM, AND SO THE GOAL IS AT THIS POINT TO GET EVERYTHING THAT WAS IDENTIFIED IN THE TRAILS AND BIKEWAYS MASTER PLAN SIGNED AND ROUTED SO THAT PEOPLE ARE, AT LEAST IT RAISES AWARENESS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE OUT THERE BIKING RIGHT NOW.

WE REALLY WANNA RAISE AWARENESS FOR THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE ZOOMING DOWN THAT ROAD WITH THE BIKERS.

YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.

AND I HAVE A VIDEO THANKS, UH, KEITH FOR HELPING PUT TOGETHER, UM, THIS ANIMOTO THAT, UM,

[02:40:39]

INSTRUCTORS ARE NOT REALLY THAT FUN, BUT THEY HELP THE STAGE MUSIC ELEMENTS.

SO WE'RE DOING A LOT OF STUFF AND THOSE ARE JUST A FEW PLAYGROUNDS OF OUT OF 25.

SO OUR PLAYGROUND PRO PROGRAM INCLUDES 25 PLAYGROUND LOCATIONS.

COUPLE OF QUICK QUESTIONS.

YES.

UH, FIRST EASY ONE, UM, THE SOFTBALL, ADULT SOFTBALL COMPLEX.

HAVE WE DONE ANYTHING WITH THE CENTER COVERING YET, OR WE HAVE WE NOT BEEN ABLE TO ADDRESS THAT ISSUE YET? YES, WE, SO WE, THE, THE STRUCTURE HAS BEEN REMOVED AND WE'RE WORKING ON GETTING THE NEW STRUCTURES IN.

WE, ONCE WE STARTED DIGGING HOLES, WE, YOU CAME ACROSS A LOT OF UTILITY CONFLICTS FROM DECADES OLD OF HAVING UTILITIES RUN THROUGH THERE.

SO WE, WE WORKING THROUGH ALL THOSE AND WE SHOULD HAVE, UM, THE LAST BIT OF IT KIND OF ADDRESSED.

SO WE'RE TRYING TO START GOING VERTICAL VERY SOON.

YEAH.

THAT, THAT, THAT'S AN UNDERSTATEMENT.

THEY FOUND ALL OF THE UTILITIES AND DIDN'T MISS ONE.

HUH? NOT OF, DIDN'T, YEAH.

SO, OKAY.

WE HAD WHAT, SIX SIX PERIMETER POSTS AND A CENTER POST.

YEAH.

AND EVERY ONE OF 'EM HAD SOME SORT OF UTILITY IN IT, SO THEY DID A GREAT JOB OF KIND OF SCRAMBLING AND FINDING, UH, SUBCONTRACTORS TO GET STUFF MOVED.

BUT IT IS GETTING CLOSE'S GONNA BE KIND OF, KIND OF TIGHT WITH THE SEASON STARTING, BUT IT'S, IT'S GONNA BE UNBELIEVABLY STRIKING.

UH, I THINK IT'S GONNA, UH, REALLY MAKE A SPLASH AND PEOPLE TAKE NOTICE.

IT'S GONNA BE REALLY PRETTY.

WELL THAT'S FANTASTIC.

I HADN'T HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT STARTING AT ALL, UH, ON, ON THAT.

UH, JUST ANOTHER ONE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WORKING ALL OVER TOWN.

YEAH.

WHERE I'M DRIVING DOWN THE STREET

[02:45:02]

NOW YOU'RE DOING STUFF ALL OVER.

EVERYTHING.

WHY, WHY DON'T WE HAVE SOME KIND OF SIGNAGE? IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THE MOST PHENOMENAL THING IN THE WORLD.

SAID WE'RE NOT DOING MONUMENTS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

THE SIGNAGE JUST IN THIS PROJECT, PART OF THE IMPROVEMENTS FROM THEN 2019 BOND ELECTION, SOMETHING, SOMETHING THAT, I MEAN, WE HAVE, I SEE ONE EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, BUT THEY'RE EVERYWHERE WE'RE WORKING AND, AND I JUST, I JUST DON'T THINK PEOPLE ARE SEEING THEM IN, IN THE LAST PHASE OF THAT.

LET'S GO TO AUDUBON AUDUBON PARK.

NOBODY CAN TELL YOU DID ANYTHING TO THAT BUILDING.

THERE'S, THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE THAT TELLS 'EM THAT COME SEE THE NEW WHATEVER.

UH, I JUST, I JUST FEEL LIKE WE'RE, WE'RE MISSING AN OPPORTUNITY TO SELL WHAT THE GARLAND PARKS DEPARTMENT IS DOING, UH, ALL OVER THIS CITY.

THAT'S NEVER BEEN ABLE TO BE DONE ON THE BUDGET.

CHANGE THE BUDGET.

OKAY.

NO.

SO IT IS A, SO IN THE C I P THAT WAS APPROVED JUST A WEEK AGO OR NO, THIS WEEK, I GUESS.

UM, WE DID HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDS PUT IN THERE FOR RE REPLACE CONTINUING THE SIGN PROGRAM.

UM, I MEAN IT'S ULTIMATELY PROBABLY THREE, THREE OR $4 MILLION WORTH OF SIGNS TO DO ALL OF OUR PARKS WITH THE ADOPTED SIGN PLAN.

SO WE'VE, WE WERE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO GET A FEW HUNDRED THOUSAND IN THE BUDGET THAT WILL BE ONGOING SO THAT THE VERY FIRST ONE ACTUALLY WENT IN TODAY AT GRANGER AND IT LOOKS PHENOMENAL.

YOU CAN'T MISS IT.

UM, AND SO THE NEXT ONE WILL BE AUDUBON PROBABLY.

AND SO IT'S HAPPENING, UH, IT'S JUST A FUNCTION OF BUDGET.

THEY'LL, THEY'LL, THEY'LL EVENTUALLY, PERHAPS BY THE TIME I RETIRE THEY'LL WE'LL BE DONE AT THAT PACE.

BUT , IT'S, AND, AND I'M JUST, AND THAT IT'S MOVING FORWARD THOUGH, THAT'S ULTIMATELY WHERE WE WANT TO BE.

BUT THE FIRST THING IS WHERE ARE WE NOW? I JUST, JUST SOME SIGN THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT THE SIGN DEPARTMENT OUT THERE ON FOREST LANE COULD CREATE FOR US, UH, AS A, AS A TEMPORARY THAT THIS, THIS COMING SOON OR, YOU KNOW, SEE THE NEW THING IN THE CITY OF GARLAND.

I WILL SAY THAT EACH, NOBODY CAN HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING.

WE CAN'T EVEN HARDLY HAVE AN IDEA.

EACH, EACH CONSTRUCTION SITE, THE CONTRACTOR'S REQUIRED TO HAVE A BOND CONSTRUCTION SIGN, AND THEY DO HAVE ONE AT EACH LOCATION.

IT'S A FULL FOUR BY EACH SHEET.

USUALLY IF PLYWOOD, THAT'S PRETTY, IT'S GOT THE GRAPHIC THAT THE RENDERING RENDERING ON IT, THE BUILD GARLAND LOGO, THE BUILD GARLAND WEBSITE.

IT, IT'S ON AND REQUIRED.

IT'S ON EVERY SITE AND IT'S, IT'S REMOVED ONCE THE PROGRAM IS, OR THE PROJECT'S COMPLETE, BUT IT'S, IT'S THERE FROM DAY ONE.

IT'S REQUIREMENT IN THE BID DOCS.

MM-HMM.

.

ALL RIGHT.

SORRY, I GOT FURTHER THAN WANTED TO.

MR. PARIS, YOU HAD SOMETHING YOU WANTED TO I WAS JUST, UH, AT THE CARTER SOFTBALL, WE WERE, ARE WE PUTTING A DIFFERENT KIND OF A COVER IN THAT CENTER AREA THAN WHAT WE HAD BEFORE? YEAH, IT'S LIKE A SH IT'S A, IN INSTEAD OF THE GIANT ORANGE JUICER.

IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S, IT'S SHADE SALES.

OKAY.

I LIKE KIND OF A, I, WHAT'S THE WORD I'M LOOKING FOR? LIKE A SALES IS WHAT IT IS.

THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE USING SALES THAT ARE STAGGERED AND OVERLAPPING IN, IN COLORS.

AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE WEREN'T MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES WE MADE.

OH MAN.

OH NO, THIS WILL BE THE THIRD TIME A THOUSAND DOLLARS.

THIS IS A, THIS ONE'S GONNA BE PRETTY COOL.

THANK YOU, SIR.

THANK YOU, SIR.

I DID HAVE SOMETHING, SORRY.

UM, UH, SORRY.

I DID HAVE SOMETHING.

UM, I GUESS TO SPEAK TO WHAT MR. CARTER WAS SAYING IS, I GUESS, DOES UH, GARLAND HAVE A, LIKE AN INSTAGRAM PAGE OR SOMETHING WHERE WHEN A PROJECT IS DONE, IS THAT SOMETHING LIKE THEY POST ABOUT, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S TRUE.

WE DO WHAT? IT'D BE GREAT TO REALLY ADVERTISE, LIKE, CAUSE I'M SEEING EVERYTHING LIKE WOW, LIKE ANYTHING'S, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS GOING ON, BUT I WOULDN'T HAVE KNOWN CUZ I'M HERE AS LONG AS IT'S UNDER CONSTRUCTION, BUT YOU DIDN'T REALLY PAY ATTENTION ONCE IT GETS FINISHED.

OH, THERE'S SOMETHING HERE.

THERE'S A, THERE'S A REASON FOR US TO TURN IN HERE.

MM-HMM.

SO GENERALLY TO, TO HER QUESTION IS THAT THAT THE, UM, THE BOND PROJECTS ARE HANDLED THROUGH THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE AND THEY'VE GOT A BILL GARLAND WEBPAGE AND THEY'VE GOT SOME UPDATES THAT THEY PROVIDE.

BUT THERE'S ALSO THE, THE P M R DEPARTMENT, PUBLIC AND MEDIA RELATIONS ALSO DOES QUITE A BIT OF PUSHOUT ON ALL THAT.

AND THEY, THEY MAINTAIN THE SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES.

AND THEN WE ALSO DO, UM, BUILD GARLAND DAYS TO WHERE COUNCIL AND AND PARK BOARD AND THE CITIZENS WILL, WILL BE INVITED TO, UM, VARIOUS EVENTS.

THEY MIGHT BE GROUNDBREAKINGS, THEY MIGHT BE, UH, I THINK IN THE ONE COMING UP IN THE NEXT QUARTER, WE'LL STOP BY.

I THINK IT'LL BE EMORY SPLASH PAD BECAUSE IT'LL BE THE CLOSEST.

SO A LOT OF PUBLICITY OPPORTUNITY THERE.

UM, SO, SO YES IS THE SHORT ANSWER, BUT, UM, IT'S LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE.

WE USE A HUNDRED CHANNELS OF MEDIA AND PEOPLE STILL SAY, I DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD A DOWNTOWN , SO I DON'T KNOW YOU PEOPLE FROM A DIFFERENT GENERATION.

, I'LL SHOW YOU MY SLIDE RULE.

OKAY.

.

ALRIGHT.

UH, WHAT ELSE? WHAT ELSE DO WE, ARE, IS THAT FINISHED WITH YOU? THE, DID YOU GET EVERYTHING? THAT'S EVERYTHING ON THAT ITEM? YES SIR.

YOU HAVE ANOTHER ITEM.

THE ONE THAT'S FOLLOWING THAT IS, OKAY, WELL WHY DON'T YOU DO THAT ONE THAT'S FOLLOWING THAT THEN THIS IS THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PRESENTATION.

IS THAT WHAT

[02:50:01]

WE'RE DOING NOW? OR, YES, SIR.

THIS, THIS WAS THE 2023.

THIS IS THE MONEY.

THIS, THIS IS THE PRESENTATION MADE TO COUNSEL REGARDING, UM, THE PROPOSED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.

NO WONDER SO MUCH.

NA, DID WE GET EVERYTHING WE WANTED? I MEAN, IT'S PROPOSED ALMOST.

IT'S, WELL, I THINK IT WAS ADOPTED.

IT'S BEEN ADOPTED THIS, THIS WEEK.

YES, SIR.

AT THE TIME THIS PRESENTATION WAS MADE, IT WAS, IT WAS PROPOSED.

YEAH.

ALL RIGHT.

UH, BUT WHAT, WHAT A LOT OF THE FOCUS WAS ON, ON THIS PRESENTATION WAS JUST DISCUSSING SOME OF THE, THE FUNDING CHALLENGES WE'VE HAD WITH, WITH THESE PROJECTS.

AND SO WHAT YOU'LL SEE ON THESE SLIDES IS AN EXPLANATION OF COST INCREASE ON EACH ONE.

AND, AND WHAT WAS COMMUNICATED TO COUNCIL AT THE TIME WHEN WE DID THIS DURING THE SATURDAY SESSION AT DALLAS COUNTY ROAD AND BRIDGE, UH, BUILDING WAS JUST KIND OF TALKING THROUGH, UH, THE PROJECT THAT A HIGH LEVEL AND, AND DISCUSSING, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE REASONS WHY THAT THE COSTS HAD TO INCREASE, UH, FOR THESE PROJECTS.

AND SO I'LL JUST KINDA RUN THROUGH ALL THIS, UH, THIS, THESE, UH, KINDA LIST THE, THE CURRENT PROJECTS THAT WERE, UH, FUNDED THROUGH THE, FOR THE 2023 YEAR.

SO THESE WON'T INCLUDE ANY OF THE, THE OTHER PROJECTS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN COMPLETED OR, OR SLATED FOR FUTURE YEARS.

UM, SO SURF AND SWIM REGIONAL AQUATICS FACILITY, YOU KNOW, IS CURRENTLY IN DESIGN.

AND, UM, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW WE'RE LOOKING, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THE INITIAL STAGES OF DESIGN WITH THE CONSULTANT.

UH, RIGHT NOW WE'RE, WE'RE TARGETING A COST INCREASE, UM, JUST TO MAKE THE ADJUSTMENTS TO ALIGN WITH OUR, OUR MASTER PLAN AND INCLUDE THESE, THOSE COMPONENTS THAT ALIGN WITH OUR EXPECTATIONS IN THE MASTER PLAN.

UH, THE GRANT BEFORE, BEFORE YOU GO FURTHER, JUST A SECOND, UM, THE MONEY, WE'RE SHOWING THE 2023 PROJECTED COST AND WE'RE SHOWING THE TOTAL PROJECTED COST.

HAVE WE, HAS THERE BEEN EXPENDITURES PRIOR TO 2023? LET'S JUST START AT SERVING SWIM.

HAVE THERE BEEN EXPENDITURES PRIOR TO EXPENDITURES PRIOR TO THAT? SO WE REALLY DON'T HAVE THE AMOUNT LEFT THAT WE SAY WE HAVE HERE.

THAT'S A QUESTION, NOT A STATEMENT.

THE, THE COST THAT YOU SEE IN THE 2023 PROJECT COST LINE INCLUDES ANYTHING DONE IN 2023 AND BEFORE.

THANK YOU.

THAT ANSWERS IT.

THANK YOU.

MM-HMM.

.

AND SO, UM, YOU'LL SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT'S 2.3 MILLION IN 2023, MOST OF THAT IS GOING TOWARDS DESIGN AND, UM, THERE'S SOME OTHER, UM, ASPECTS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO WORK IN WITH, WITH DEMOLITION, UH, WITHIN THIS TIMEFRAME.

UM, BUT THE TOTAL PROJECT COST IS, IS 22 7, 20 2,000,007 GRAINER REC CENTER, UH, ANNEX RENOVATION, UH, WE'RE, IF YOU DRIVE BY, WE'RE CURRENTLY IN MIDDLE OF CONSTRUCTION THERE.

UH, ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THE COST INCREASE WAS WHEN WE WERE GETTING ALL THE WALLS DEMOLISHED.

WE SURPRISINGLY, YOU KNOW, HAD A LOT OF STRUCTURAL ISSUES AND THE WHOLE WALL, YOU KNOW, TENDED IT, IT FELL DOWN AS, AS IT WAS BEING DEMOLISHED.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A LOT OF ISSUES WE RAN INTO THERE AND SO WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THOSE, BUT IT'S SHAPING UP REALLY NICELY NOW.

UH, TUCKER PARK DEVELOPMENT, UH, AS WE STARTED IN WITH OUR DESIGN PROCESS AND WORKING WITH OUR IT DEPARTMENT, UH, WE REALIZED THAT THERE WAS NOT, UH, GARLAND FIBER OPTIC CABLE NEARBY.

AND ACTUALLY WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO BORE UNDERNEATH HIGHWAY 66 TO GET FIBER OPTIC CABLE TO OUR, UH, NEW TENANT CENTER.

SO, UM, THERE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL, UH, FUNDS, UH, REQUESTED FOR THAT TO, TO CORRECT FOR THE FIBER OPTIC SERVICE AND SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDS FROM TREE MITIGATION FOR TRANSPLANTING SOME REALLY GREAT TREES THAT WE HAVE ON SITE.

YES, SIR.

ARE ANY OF THESE ADDITIONAL FUNDS COMING FROM THE ARPA FUNDS? NO, SIR.

THEY ARE NOT.

NONE OF THOSE.

UH, AT, AT SOME POINT IN TIME THERE WAS A DISCUSSION ABOUT FUNDING CONSTRUCTION OF TUCKER BILL WITH ARPA.

UH, IT HAS SINCE BEEN SHIFTED TO A DIFFERENT PROJECT, AND THIS IS FUNDED THROUGH CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION.

MY, MY COMMENT WAS, IN GENERAL, IN ANY OF THESE, ARE WE USING SOME OF THE ARPA FUNDS HERE OR IS THAT FOR LATER ON? UM, I BELIEVE THERE MAY BE A PROJECT OR TWO WITH ARPA IN THERE.

I, I CAN'T RECALL.

WE'LL, WE'LL GET TO 'EM.

UH, OKAY.

FURTHER IN THE SLIDESHOW, UH, GREENBELT DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS, UM, REALLY THE INCREASE HERE, UH, THIS, THIS INCLUDES THE WORK AT OBLONG PARK, WHICH IS ALMOST DONE.

THE OTHER PORTION OF THIS, UM, PROJECT IS TO, UH, RE REBUILD A GIAN WALL IN MEADOW CREEK BRANCH.

AND, UM, THAT PROJECT IS, IS SEVERELY UNDERFUNDED.

AND THAT HAS ONE, UH, THAT IS NOW SHIFTING OVER TO THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT.

AND BASED ON CURRENT COSTS, YOU KNOW, THAT WE ARE SEEING, UM, IN THE MARKET, UM, WE HAD TO INCREASE THIS PROJECT BY 750,000 TO, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GONNA BUILD THIS CORRECTLY AND, AND ADDRESSED THE FULL SCOPE OF THE WORK.

WAS THIS AFFECTED BY THE NEW DEVELOPMENT THAT'S COME IN RIGHT BESIDE IT? OR WAS THIS JUST NOT COUNTED ON THE BEGINNING? THIS PROJECT IS ACTUALLY, UH, WAS TRIGGERED BY THE FLOODS.

IT WAS MADE WORSE BY

[02:55:01]

THE FLOODS IN 2015.

GOT YOU.

MM-HMM.

, UH, RICK ODEN PARK.

UH, THE EXTRA, THE ADDITIONAL REQUEST HERE IS LARGELY FOR PHASE TWO, UH, FOR SCOPE CORRECTIONS, UH, FOR ADDITIONAL CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS TESTING AND WAYFINDING SIGNAGE.

UH, SO THERE WERE SOME, UH, FUNDING THAT WAS REQUESTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING OUR FULL CONNECTIVITY THROUGHOUT THE PARK AND MAKING SURE OUR SIGNAGE IS, IS ADEQUATE TO MAKE PEOPLE AWARE OF, OF WHAT EVERYTHING IS.

UH, WHAT, WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE PARK? IT'S, IT'S A PRETTY LARGE PARK.

AND WHAT, AGAIN, JUST BRIEFLY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, WE TALKED ABOUT IF WE WERE TO COME UP WITH THIS, UM, PLAQUE USING THIS PLAQUE, SIMPSON BEING THE FIRST PART OF A DEAL IN THAT, IN THAT PARK WE HAVE, UH, NOW WE WOULD HAVE THREE INDIVIDUALS WHO, WHO DIED EARLY.

UM, UM, RICK OEN OF COURSE, WHEN HE WAS IN, UM, LITTLE LEAGUE THERE, THE MIDDLE, IT WAS WEST GARDEN LITTLE LEAGUE AT THE TIME.

AND MARION WILLIAMS, THE BASEBALL PARK, MARION WILLIAMS, UH, WAS SERVING ON THE PARK BOARD AND HE PASSED AWAY AT A VERY EARLY AGES.

IS MARION WILLIAMS THE THIRD OR FOURTH? THIS IS NAMED AFTER THE FOURTH.

THE FOURTH, YEAH.

YEAH.

HE, HE JUST A LITTLE BIT OLDER THAN I AM.

UM, AND HE'S BEEN GONE FOR A LONG TIME NOW.

IT'S BEEN SAD, BUT ANYWAY, THAT THERE'S A PLACE WHERE ALL OF A SUDDEN WE COULD, WE COULD START THE SIGNAGE UP AND IT COULD BE, IT COULD BE A WHOLE NEW ERA FOR THE WAY WE'RE DOING THINGS IN THE CITY.

THANK YOU.

GOOD ENOUGH.

HALLAH REC CENTER, UM, AS YOU KNOW, THIS IS, UH, BUILDING A NEW GYM IN HOBA PARK AND, UM, WE ARE COORDINATING WITH THE, WITH THE, UH, LIBRARY DEPARTMENT TO GET THE WALNUT CREEK LIBRARY LOCATED ADJACENT TO IT.

UM, THERE WERE NO, UM, COST INCREASES LISTED HERE, UH, GARLAND SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTER.

UM, IT IS NOW A REBUILD, AS YOU KNOW, SO WE ARE NOT RENOVATING THAT ANYMORE.

UH, HOLFORD REC CENTER, UM, WE SHOULD BE STARTING CONSTRUCTION ON THAT IN THE NEXT MONTH.

? YES, UH, WE'RE VERY CLOSE.

EVERYTHING IS, IS, UM, IS, IS VERY CLOSE.

THERE WERE SOME ISSUES REGARDING DRAINAGE THAT WE'VE SINCE RESOLVED AND, AND IT'S, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE IT'S A VERY CHALLENGING SITE CUZ IT'S, IT'S RELATIVELY FLAT AND THERE'S A LOT OF STORM WATER, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE THAT IS, HAS BEEN IN THE GROUND FOR SEVERAL DECADES THAT IS UNDERSIZED.

AND SO WHAT WE'RE HAVING TO DO IS JUST FIGURE OUT SOME, SOME CREATIVE DESIGN SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS THAT.

BUT, UM, I KNOW THAT HAS BEEN RESOLVED.

AND SO RIGHT NOW THEY'RE THE CONTRACTOR'S, A CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK CONTRACT HAS ALREADY BEEN AWARDED THE CONTRACT AND THEY'RE GETTING READY TO START, START DEMOLITION, CORRECT.

YEAH, I WAS GONNA SAY THEY HADN'T DONE ANYTHING YET.

WE GOTTA GOT CLOSED DOWN, FENCED OFF AND READY TO GO.

YEAH.

YEAH.

THIS IS THE TRAIL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

UH, WE'VE ALREADY KIND OF TALKED THROUGH ALL THESE TRAILS ALREADY.

UM, THERE'S BEEN A, A SLIGHT, UM, SCOPE CORRECTION IN THE AMOUNT OF 405,000 FOR CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS TESTING, PROJECT MANAGEMENT COSTS, AND, AND MAKING SURE WE'RE MAXIMIZING OUR FUNDING WITH THE DALLAS COUNTY.

AND THIS IS A, A MAP IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING WHERE ALL THESE TRAILS ARE THAT WERE LISTED.

SO THIS HAS A, A GOOD KIND OF, UM, OVERVIEW OF WHERE ALL THESE TRAILS ARE.

I THOUGHT I SENT IT TO YOU.

PLAYGROUND IMPROVEMENTS, AS I MENTIONED, BROKEN UP INTO THREE GROUPS.

UH, WE HAD TO INCREASE THE SCOPE A LITTLE BIT, UH, TO ADD A FENCE BETWEEN DUCK CREEK PLAYGROUND AND DUCK CREEK DRIVE IT, UH, PER THE REQUEST OF COUNCIL.

AND, UH, THIS IS OUR, UM, A REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL, UH, SIGNAGE AND, UH, NEW SCOREBOARDS, UH, WITHIN OUR PARKS.

AND THIS IS ALSO ANOTHER NEW REQUEST FOR SECURITY ALIGNING AND, AND CAMERA, UH, TO ADDRESS SOME SECURITY ISSUES FOR AND ADD SOME LIGHTING IN, IN A FEW OF OUR PARKS.

SO I, I REALLY DON'T WANT TO GET IN TOO MUCH DETAIL HERE.

I THINK MATT'S THE BEST PERSON TO KIND OF TALK THROUGH THIS SLIDE AND PRE MITIGATION, HAVEN'T, HAVEN'T WE HEARD FROM HIM ABOUT THIS EARLIER , UH, WE WERE ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING THAT'S WHEN I WAS SPENDING THE MONEY THAT WE'VE GOTTEN FROM THIS.

SO, UM, UH, MONTGOMERY PARK IN DOWNTOWN SQUARE WAS, I THINK JUST TO COVER SOME COST OFFSETS FOR SOME TURF AND, AND LANDSCAPE MATERIAL, UH, TUCKER PARK.

WE WERE, UM, IN THE PROCESS OF LOOKING AT THAT SITE AND WHERE THE NEW COMPLEX IS GONNA GO AND THERE WAS SOME BEAUTIFUL TREES THAT WE HATED TO, TO LOSE ON THAT.

UH, SO WE WERE ABLE TO USE SOME TREE MITIGATION FUNDS AND WE'RE GONNA BE TRANSPLANTING, UH, CLOSE TO A HUNDRED TREES ON THAT SITE AND THEN REPLANTING, THEN I'M ON SITE IN LOCATION OF WHERE THE NEW, UH, LOOP TRAIL WILL BE.

SO WE'LL HAVE LARGER TREES AT THE BEGINNING OF THAT AND BE ABLE TO REPURPOSE A LOT OF THOSE TREES

[03:00:01]

AND ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO DO IT CHEAPER THAN IF WE WERE HAD TO, TO PLANT THOSE TREES.

UH, THEN THE LAST PIECE WAS FUNDING OUTTA THE TREE MITIGATION FUND TO DO THE TREE CANOPY STUDY THAT I BRIEFED YOU ON LAST MONTH.

SO PHENOMENAL USE OF THE FUNDS TO, TO RELOCATE TREES IN THE AREA.

SO YOU START OFF WITH, UH, WITH MATURE TREES AS OPPOSED TO HAVING TO WAIT SEVERAL YEARS FOR THOSE TWO.

YES SIR.

HEY JEFF.

VERY GOOD.

JUST GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT YOU SURVIVE.

WE WILL .

WE GOT IT, MAN.

THANKS MATT.

THE NEXT FEW SLIDES ARE JUST LOOKING AT THE SCHEDULE.

SO THE FIRST COLUMN IS 2023 AND EXCUSE ME, AND THEN, UH, FUTURE YEARS FROM THERE.

SO THE, THESE ARE THE, UM, PROGRAM YEARS FOR EACH OF THESE PROJECTS.

LOTS OF PROJECTS AND LOTS OF PROGRAMS WITHIN, WITHIN THIS.

SO HERE'S A SUMMARY OF OUR FUNDING FOR 2023.

OUR OVERALL IS, OVERALL REQUEST FOR THIS YEAR IS 66,000,900, 6,000.

SO I REMEMBER WHEN WE WERE GETTING LIKE 10 MILLION A YEAR, AND THAT WAS LIKE A GOOD TRY TO GET ONE EMPLOYEE.

MM-HMM.

.

SO, UH, YOU'LL, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT WE'RE KIND OF IN THE SPENDING OF OUR BOND PROGRAM WHEN, WHEN IT COMES TO PARKS.

WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF THE PARKS DONE.

UM, IN TERMS OF OUR PLAYGROUND REPLACEMENT PROGRAM.

I DIDN'T MENTION OUR, OUR PARKING LOT PAVING REPAVING PROGRAM.

UH, WE DID EIGHT PARKING LOTS.

UM, THE LAST ONE IS BEING COMPLETED NOW IN CENTRAL BASEBALL, AND IT'S IN WITHIN A FEW WEEKS OF, OF BEING DONE, DONE, OR A COUPLE WEEKS OF BEING DONE.

UM, AND WE HAVE TRAILS.

AND AS YOU KNOW, LIKE IN THE FIRST YEAR, THE BOND PROGRAM, A LOT OF THE FUNDS WERE SPENT IN DESIGN STARTED CONSTRUCTION.

SO NOW YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF THE BIG SPENDING HAPPENING ON OUR, OUR BIG, UH, BUILDINGS LIKE THE HOLFORD REC CENTER, AQUATIC CENTER, THE NEW GYM AT HOLLAH, UH, THE NEW, UM, UH, SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTER, SURF AND SWIM.

SO THOSE ARE KIND OF THE BIG TICKET ITEMS. AND SURF AND SWIM WAS ACTUALLY THE MOST OF FUNDING WILL BE NEXT YEAR AND IN THE YEAR AFTER.

SO, UH, WE'RE KIND OF IN THE PEAK OF, YOU KNOW, GETTING ALL THESE BIG SPENDINGS DONE.

SO OF THE 117 MILLION THAT CAME TO PARKS IN THE 2019 BOND PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, 56 MILLION IS, IS A LOT OBVIOUSLY FOR ONE YEAR TO BE SPENT.

UM, AND, UM, BUT YEAH, WE HAVE PROBABLY BY THE END OF 2025 OR 26, UM, WE SHOULD BE FULLY DONE WITH, WELL, WE HAVE TO BE DONE WITH ALL THE ARPA PROJECTS.

, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE DEADLINE FOR ALL OF ARPA AND, AND REALLY FOR THE BOND PROGRAM.

SO BY THE END OF 2026, EVERYTHING WILL BE ON, ON THE GROUND AND SPENT FROM, FROM THOSE TWO FUNDS.

YOU, YOU HIT THE PIECE I WAS INTERESTED IN.

WE, WE ARE, WE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DILIGENTLY USE THE, UH, ADDITIONAL FUNDING THAT WE RECEIVED IN THE, IN THE ARPA FUNDS, UH, FOR OUR PARKS PROGRAMS. UH, OF THE 53 MILLION OF ARPA FUNDS THAT CAME FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, UH, PARKS GOT 32 MILLION.

SO IT'S A SIGNIFICANT, UM, PUSH IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

SO O OVERALL, WE'RE ABOUT 150 MILLION WORTH OF PARKS IMPROVEMENTS HAPPENING BY THE END OF 2026.

WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO NEXT AFTER THAT? REST FOR A YEAR? , I DON'T KNOW.

THERE'S, THERE'S STILL PLENTY OF WORK GOING ON.

THERE'S NO RESTING ANOTHER, OH, WE CAN GET ANOTHER BOND PROGRAM GOING.

, COME UP WITH SOMETHING HERE.

COME UP WITH SOMETHING.

IT'S FANTASTIC.

SEE, I MEAN, THE THINGS THAT YOU GUYS ARE ACCOMPLISHING IS, IS HAVING BEEN NOT IN THE PARK SYSTEM BUT CLOSE TO IT FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.

IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT, IT'S A WORD THAT I CAN'T EVEN COME UP WITH.

IT'S MORE THAN EXCITING.

IT'S MORE THAN THRILLING.

IT'S JUST PHENOMENAL.

AND, AND YOU'RE HANDLING IT.

IT'S GREAT TIME TO BE IN GARLAND AND THERE'S A LOT OF GREAT THINGS HAPPENING.

AND I THINK THE EFFECTS OF WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY WAS, WILL BE FELT FOR A VERY LONG TIME.

A VERY LONG TIME.

AND, UH, THE ENTIRE STAFF IS JUST, IT'S BEEN AMAZING TO ME.

EVERY TIME I'VE NEEDED SOMETHING FROM SOMEBODY, IT WAS BANG AND IT WAS DONE.

AND IT'S, UH, AND IT'S NOT THAT I'M ASKING A WHOLE LOT, BUT I, I, I DO HAVE AN IDEA OF THE THINGS I NEED TO KNOW.

SO ANYWAY, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU FOR, FOR YOUR WORK.

WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A GREAT TEAM.

VERY LUCKY TO BE HERE.

THERE YOU GO.

ALRIGHT, NEXT ITEM UP ON THE AGENDA.

ARE WE GONNA DO THE RECREATION DIVISION UPDATE OR HAVE WE DONE THAT NOW? I THINK WE'VE COVERED IT ALL.

REALLY? YEAH.

, YOU THINK WE'VE COVERED THAT NOW? YEAH.

OKAY.

ARE WE READY TO DO, UH, UH, MISCELLANEOUS?

[03:05:01]

WE COULD DO MISCELLANEOUS, WE CAN GO BACK AND WE SAY NOW THEN THE REASON I WANTED TO HOLD ON WHETHER OR NOT WE HAD THE, THE MEETING IN MARCH WAS TO SEE HOW MUCH WE ACCOMPLISHED, UH, TONIGHT.

AND, UH, THIS HAS BEEN A MARATHON FOR US.

WE GENERALLY DO NOT DO THIS, BUT, UM, UH, THE REASON WE'RE MEETING DENIED AS OPPOSED TO MEETING WHEN WE WERE SUPPOSED TO WAS MY FAULT.

NOT ANYBODY ELSE'S.

AND I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT, BUT IT YOU PICKED A GOOD TIME TO BE OUT OF TOWN.

YEAH, I PICKED A GOOD TIME.

YOU HAVE BEEN MEETING ANYWAY, THERE.

YOU OKAY.

SO I CAN, I CAN BE FORGIVEN, HOPEFULLY.

UH, BUT ANYWAY, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR CHANGING THEIR SCHEDULES TO, UH, TO MEET THIS, UH, STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS.

LIKEWISE.

AND, UM, IT'LL BE, I, I KNEW, I KNEW WE WERE GETTING A LOT IN HERE.

I, I SENT, UH, A COUPLE OF PAGE REQUESTS, UH, TO STAFF ABOUT THINGS THAT I'D LIKE TO SEE, UH, MAYBE DONE A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY OR SOME THINGS THAT WE HADN'T BEEN SEEING.

THERE WASN'T MUCH WE HADN'T BEEN SEEING.

AND THEY HIT, THEY HIT VERY, THEY HIT IT RIGHT DOWN THE LIST.

SO AGAIN, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE TO BRING BEFORE THIS BOARD? UH, SIR, JUST WHAT WE WANT TO DO ABOUT MARCH, MARCH, MARCH, MARCH.

WE WANT, WE WANNA DO IT, DO OUR MEETING TO THE MARCH MEETING AND THEN BE THE, OKAY.

THE MARCH MEETING WOULD LOOKING TO, UM, SIT OUT MARCH AND COME BACK IN APRIL AND, UH, WE'D NEED A MOTION TO, UH, NOT MEET DURING MARCH.

SO IT DEPENDS ON, UH, SO THAT THE, THE REASON FOR THAT REQUEST IS THAT THAT'S TRAPS WEEK IF, UH, STAFF AND PARK BOARD ARE GONNA BE AT THAT, UM, I WOULD THROW OUT THAT IF, IF IT'S EASIER TO CANCEL IT, THAT WOULD BE PROBABLY MORE, UH, FEASIBLE THAN MOVING IT IN MARCH.

PRIMARILY BECAUSE THE FIRST FULL WEEK OF MARCH AND THE SECOND FULL WEEK OF MARCH TENDS TO BE SPRING BREAK OR STAFF.

AND, AND SO YOU, WE MAY BE ON A SKELETON CREW.

UM, SO IT MAY BE EITHER LEAVE IT ON THE FIRST AND EVERYBODY GET BACK FROM TRAPS, WHICH I THINK IS PROBABLY DOABLE.

UM, OR CANCELED WOULD BE PROBABLY MY RECOMMENDATION.

I THINK GARLAND SPRING BREAKS THE THIRD WEEK.

13TH THROUGH THE 17TH.

YEAH.

I, AND I'LL BE GONE THE FIRST WEEK.

DELEE WILL BE GONE THE SECOND WEEK.

AND CUZ WE'RE ALL LIVE IN DIFFERENT PLACES.

I GUESS THE REAL QUESTION IS, IS THERE ANYTHING WE REALLY NEED TO COVER IN MARCH THAT WE CAN'T, CAN'T WAIT TILL APRIL, INCLUDING THE NAMING OF THE SKATE PARK.

IT.

YEAH.

STEVE, UH, KEITH, WHAT DO YOU HAVE? UH, AMY WAS GOING TO BRING THE, UH, MARCH DISTRICT TO THE BOARD IN MARCH.

SHE CAN PROBABLY DO IN APRIL, BUT IT'S KIND OF PUSHING HER DEADLINES.

SO THAT'S THE ONE.

OH, THAT'S RIGHT.

THANK YOU.

UH, YEAH.

SO WHAT SHE'S TRYING TO DO IS, IS GET THE APPLICATION IN FOR THE, UH, TO THE STATE FOR THE CULTURAL ARTS DISTRICT DESIGNATION, WHICH IS KIND OF A BIG DEAL FOR US.

IT OPENS UP SOME GRANT DOORS AND THE IDEA BEING THAT, UM, THE MOST PUBLIC, THE, THE MORE PUBLIC INPUT OPPORTUNITIES SHE HAS, THE BETTER.

BILLY, WHAT DO YOU HAVE? MY STANDARDS OF CARE? THAT JUST TIMING OF IT.

OH, YES, THAT'S IT.

THE ANNUAL STANDARDS OF CARE, IT'S USUALLY DONE BY NOW.

DO IT IN MARCH.

CAN APRIL, BUT I MAY COULD DO APRIL, MAY IF THAT NEEDS TO BE MY, MY PERSONAL PREFERENCE IS FROM A STAFF STANDPOINT IS TO KEEP IT ON MARCH 1ST, BECAUSE I THINK WE CAN MAKE IT BACK FROM TRAPS BY THE TIME YOU'RE DONE WITH THE LAST SESSION AT FOUR O'CLOCK.

AND WILL WE HAVE INFORMATION ON THE SENIOR CENTER THEN? POSSIBLY? UH, I DON'T.

TOO LATE.

I DON'T THINK SO.

I DON'T, THAT'S DULY.

I DON'T THINK WE'LL HAVE TIME FOR OUR CONSULTANT TO COMPILE AND REPORT OUT.

IT'S MOST LIKELY GONNA BE APRIL.

SO WE COULD EXPECT A, UH, AN ABBREVIATED MEETING IN MARCH.

AT LEAST THERE.

YES, SIR.

I THINK SO.

THAT WOULDN'T REQUIRE AS MUCH STAFF TIME PREPARATION.

YES, SIR.

OKAY.

SO COVER THESE KEY THINGS WE NEED TO COVER.

YEAH, THOSE ARE A COUPLE ACTION ITEMS THAT WE DO IN FACT NEED, SO I APPRECIATE YEAH, THESE GUYS REMINDING ME.

PLUS IT'S ST.

DAVID'S DAY, SO THERE YOU GO.

OH, OKAY.

, IS THIS YOUR CALENDAR? YEAH.

THIS'S SPRING.

OH, I WAS GONNA SAY, EVERYBODY'S INVITED TO OUR, UH, TROUT LILY TOUR.

ISN'T THAT WHAT, WHAT IS THIS? DON'T WE? YEAH, THE LAST, THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF, UH, FEBRUARY.

OKAY.

26TH.

WHAT'S UP? WE NEED TO MAKE A MOTION.

HIS, WE WE DON'T HAVE TO IF IT'S GONNA STAY.

WHAT? OKAY.

ALL RIGHT.

ARE ANY OTHER, ANY OTHER INFORMATION TO BRING BEFORE THE BOARD? UH, YES, KEITH, YOU NEED TO MAKE THE, UH, BOARD A APPOINTMENT OFFICIAL.

I KNOW YOU ALREADY TOLD TAMARA WHAT'S, UH, COMMITTEE, COMMITTEE ON.

OH.

AND SO WE NEED TO GET, WE NEED TO GET A VOTE ON THAT.

OH, YOU JUST, YOU JUST APPOINTED YOU DO IT IN HERE SO IT'S ON TAPE.

NOT SO IT'S ON THE PUBLIC RECORD.

RIGHT.

SO I NEED NEED A PUBLIC RECORD ON THAT.

SO IF SHE DOESN'T LIKE THIS, SHE CAN HOLD ME PERSONALLY LIABLE AND PO ON THIS THING.

UM, .

OKAY.

[03:10:01]

UH, OUR NEWEST, UH, BOARD MEMBER, TAMARA KENO, UM, HAS UH, BEEN APPOINTED TO THE POLICIES AND PROGRAM, UM, SUBCOMMITTEE.

AND SHE WILL BE TAKING THE PLACE OF, UM, BOARD MEMBER DAVID MOOREHEAD, WHO WILL BE STEPPING OFF OF THAT COMMITTEE.

AND BOTH HAVE BEEN, UH, CONSULTED ABOUT THIS AND ARE AND APPROVE OF IT.

SO NOW ARE YOU HAPPY ? WE'RE ALWAYS STEPPING.

YEAH, I'M ALWAYS HAPPY.

OKAY.

ANYTHING ELSE TO BRING BEFORE THE BOARD? UH, MS. KEENO, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO GIVE US? JUST A QUICK RECAP OF WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT.

WE, WHAT WE DID TONIGHT REAL QUICK.

, SHE SAID REAL GOOD.

THAT WAS DONE.

IT'S MORE LIKE A SIDEWAYS, YEAH, THAT'S A SIDEWAYS OVER, UNDER SIDEWAYS DONE.

OKAY.

UH, NO FURTHER BUSINESS TO BRING BEFORE THE BOARD.

THE ONE, ONE LAST THING.

THE, THE ONE MORE THING, THE .

UH, SO I DON'T KNOW IF EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS OR NOT, BUT I FIGURED I'D MAKE IT OFFICIAL.

SO, UM, I WILL BE TAKING ON A NEW ROLE AS OF JANUARY 23RD.

UH, I WAS, UH, FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE ONE OF THE NEW ASSISTANT CITY MANAGERS.

UH, CRYSTAL OWENS IS THE OTHER WHO WAS, WHO'S OVER PUBLIC WORKS AND NOW IS ALSO OVER WATER AND WASTEWATER.

UM, SOME, SO SHE'S GOT SOME VERY LARGE DEPARTMENTS.

I'VE BEEN ASKED TO TAKE OVER THE DEPARTMENTS THAT JUDD REX WAS PROMOTED TO CITY MANAGER.

THAT WOULD BE ALL YOUR PRIVATE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.

UH, SO, UH, BECKY KING'S DEPARTMENT, AYAKO WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, LIBRARIES UNDER BECKY KING, UH, BRITA VAN HORN, AND, UH, HAS GOT BUILDING INSPECTIONS, UM, AND CODE ENFORCEMENT.

UM, PROBABLY FORGOT ONE, BUT, UH, PLANNING WITH WILL GARRON AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT, UM, UH, WHICH IS ALL VERY EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES.

AND AGAIN, THE BEST TIME IN THE WORLD TO BE ANYWHERE AND PARTICULARLY IN GARLAND WITH ALL THE, THE, I THINK PHASE TWO IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER OF OF GARLAND'S REIMAGINATION.

UH, THERE'S SOME REALLY INTERESTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLANS THAT HAVE BEEN ROLLED OUT.

UH, PRESENTED TO COUNCIL LAST WEEK, THE FINAL REPORT.

I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU GUYS TO COME HEAR THAT WHEN IT'S, UH, ON THE AGENDA.

UM, JUDD'S GOT A VERY, UM, UH, I THINK EFFECTIVE VISION FOR THE CITY AND HOW, AND HOW WE'RE GONNA GET THERE IS, IS PRETTY AMAZING.

AND SO WHAT I'M GONNA DO GOING FORWARD IS I'M, I'VE MOVED UPSTAIRS TO CITY HALL, UM, I WILL BE ASKING AND HAVE DISCUSSED WITH STAFF.

MATT GICH WILL BE IN THIS CHAIR KIND OF MODERATING FROM A STAFF STANDPOINT.

AND THEN JUST, OF COURSE, DELEE AND ZK AND ANY OTHER STAFF WILL HAVE A, AN INCREASED ROLE OR, OR REALLY THE SAME ROLE.

BUT, UM, Z ZEDD GOT A PASS FOR A FEW MONTHS CUZ HE WAS TRYING TO GET SOME OTHER, SOME KIND OF DEGREE OF SOME SORT .

SO I FIGURED, YOU KNOW, ASSOCIATES, SO HE'S, UH, HE'S GOT A MASTER'S IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION.

FANTASTIC.

WAY TO GO ION.

SO ANYWAY, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE STORY AND I'M STICKING TO IT AND I'M, I'M APOLOGIZE.

I I MUST BE MORNING DOWN.

UM, AND THEY THEN, AND THE NEXT QUESTION IS THEN ON A, ON A, THERE'S A NEED TO KNOW, NOT AT THE THE HIGHEST LEVEL, BUT WHERE, IF WE NEED TO KNOW SOMETHING, DO WE STILL CONTACT YOU? SHOULD WE CONTACT MATT? SHOULD WE CONTACT? GREAT QUESTION.

SO REALLY NOTHING'S CHANGED FUNCTIONALLY.

UH, THE, THERE'S NO PLANS RIGHT NOW.

WE'RE BUDGET RIGHT NOW TO BACKFILL THE POSITION IS JUST, I'VE GOT THE SAME DUTIES, SAME RESPONSIBILITIES, JUST NEW ADDRESS AND SOME ADDITIONAL DUTIES.

SO, UM, THERE'LL BE, AGAIN, MORE, MORE ROLES TAKEN ON BY THE STAFF AS IT SHOULD BE.

THEY'RE IN INCREDIBLY CAPABLE TO, TO DO GREAT WORK.

SO I DON'T HAVE, I'M VERY COMFORTABLE WITH THIS NEW ROLE KNOWING THAT THAT THINGS IN THE PARKS AND REC AND CULTURAL ARTS WORLD IS IN GREAT SHAPE, UM, AND HAVE FULL TRUST AND CONFIDENCE IN THE STAFF TO DO THEIR JOB.

SO, UH, I THINK THINGS STAY PRETTY MUCH THE SAME.

HONESTLY, I JUST MAY NOT BE HERE AT EVERY MEETING.

UM, MAYBE AT SOME, DEPENDING ON WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA, BUT, UM, SO NOT, NOT A TON OF CHANGES, QUITE HONESTLY.

I'LL STILL BE INVOLVED IN THE AGENDA PREP AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING WHAT THE PARK BOARD NEEDS.

ALL RIGHT.

EVERYBODY LISTEN TO THIS AND I HOPE YOU NEVER HEAR IT AGAIN.

IT'S, UH, 10:18 PM AND WE'RE ADJOURNED.

.