* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:06] GOOD EVENING, AND WELCOME TO THE APRIL 3RD, 2023 WORK SESSION FOR THE GARLAND CITY COUNCIL. UH, THE FIRST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA TONIGHT, ITEM ONE, IS PUBLIC COMMENTS ON WORK SESSION ITEMS. TO MY KNOWLEDGE, I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK THIS EVENING. SYDNEY SECRETARY CONFIRMS. SO WE WILL MOVE [2. Consider the Consent Agenda] ON TO ITEM TWO, CONSIDER THE CONSENT AGENDA. I HAVE NOT, UH, SEEN ANY REQUEST TO HAVE ANY ITEMS PULLED AND CONSIDERED SEPARATELY, BUT OBVIOUSLY THERE'S STILL TIME. BUT IF YOU COULD LET US KNOW, THAT WAY WE CAN MAKE SURE WE HAVE STAFF AVAILABLE AND THAT WILL MOVE US TO WRITTEN BRIEFINGS. [3. Written Briefings] ITEM THREE, ITEM THREE A, CONSIDER AMENDMENTS TO THE GARLAND DEVELOPMENT CODE REGARDING PLANNING AND ZONING FEES AND TREE MITIGATION, LANGUAGE CLEANUP, ALL AS WELL THERE. ALL RIGHT, THAT LANDS US AT ITEM FOUR, UH, VERBAL BRIEFINGS. ITEM FOUR A [4.a. Interviews for Appointment to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Board] INTERVIEWS FOR APPOINTMENT TO THE DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT BOARD. UH, COUNSEL, WE HAVE THREE APPLICANTS. UH, THEIR INFORMATION, UH, IS IN THE PACKET AND, UH, SOME POTENTIAL OR POSSIBLE QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN PROVIDED, IF YOU SHALL CHOOSE. UH, AND I WILL TAKE THEM IN THE ORDER, UH, THAT, UH, THEY ARE PRESENTED ON THE AGENDA. WE'LL INVITE EACH APPLICANT FORWARD AND GIVE THEM TIME TO, UH, TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THEMSELVES AND, UH, WHY THEY'RE SEEKING, UH, THIS POSITION. AND THEN WE'LL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS. SO FIRST ON THE AGENDA IS DIANA O HERN. IF YOU CAN COME PICK A SEAT, ANY SEAT. THERE'S REALLY AND I DUNNO IF YOU CAN PULL THE MICROPHONE CLOSE TO YOU, THAT WAY WE GET YOU. CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? VERY GOOD. IF YOU CAN, UH, JUST TELL US, TELL US ABOUT YOU. I MOVED HERE 22 YEARS AGO, AND MY, THE SECOND YEAR I WAS HERE WAS ALREADY ON A BOARD. I WAS ON SCENIC. I SERVED ON THERE FOR ABOUT SEVEN YEARS AND REALLY ENJOYED IT AND HAVE SINCE BEEN ON THE LIBRARY BOARD, THE GARLAND CIVIC THEATER BOARD, UH, BOARDS WITH THE, UH, GARLAND FIRE DEPARTMENT, UM, NOW WITH GLOWS, WHICH IS A, UH, GROUP THAT PROVIDES OVERNIGHT HOUSING AND HOMELESS FOR THE HOMELESS AND MEALS. AND SO I'M ON THE BOARD OF THAT SO WE CAN OBTAIN OUR 5 0 1 . UM, I'M ACTIVE WITH ACTS METHODIST CHURCH AND BUCKINGHAM METHODIST CHURCH. TWO CHURCHES ARE BETTER THAN NONE. AND, UM, WHAT ELSE? I, I LOVE TO VOLUNTEER AND I WAS VERY MUCH ENJOYED WHEN I WORKED FOR DART FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. I LIKE TO TAKE THE DART BOARD, TAKE, EXCUSE ME, THE DART BUSES AND TRAINS, UM, GOING TO THE FAIR AND GO THE ZOO IS JUST A WONDERFUL THING. I WORK DOWNTOWN, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, AND I DON'T TAKE THE TRAIN PURELY BECAUSE THE WALK FROM THE TRAIN TO WHERE WE ARE IS A KIND OF A BAD NEIGHBORHOOD. SO, OTHER THAN THAT, UM, I'VE JUST, I THINK THE TRAIN IS FUN AND I THINK IT REALLY MAKES A LOT OF SENSE, ESPECIALLY WHEN EVERYBODY STARTS COMING BACK TO WORK AND LESSENS THE TRAFFIC GOING DOWNTOWN. SO, UM, WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW? ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE FOR US TO KNOW? I MEAN, I'M TELLING YOU WHAT, WHAT, OKAY. MY INTEREST IS SIMPLY TO BETTER THINGS OR HELP WITH BETTERING THINGS, WHETHER IT'S DART OR ANY OTHER PART OF THE CITY THAT I COULD HELP WITH. AND I'VE ENJOYED ANY PART OF IT THAT I'VE VOLUNTEERED FOR. SO I DON'T, I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE BOARD FOR THE DART SYSTEM WOULD BE. I WOULD IMAGINE ANY CHANGES THAT THEY MAKE TO WHERE THEY HAVE THE, UH, BUSES OR, UH, ANYTHING MIGHT HAPPEN WITH THE TRAIN STATIONS THERE. I, I'M NOT REALLY SURE WHAT THEY'D ASKED. DO YOU KNOW SCOTT ? OKAY. UH, THAT, THAT IS FOR THE APPLICANT. YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, WE'RE WE'RE HERE TO SEE YOUR INTERESTS OKAY. IN, IN, IN SERVING ON THE BOARD. WELL, IT MADE SO MUCH SENSE. YOU LOOK AT CITIES LIKE MESQUITE AND ARLINGTON THAT DID NOT GET INTO THE DART BOARD SYSTEM, AND I MEAN, THEY DON'T HAVE THE TRANSPORTATION AVAILABLE FOR, ESPECIALLY FOR PEOPLE THAT DON'T HAVE A LOT OF MONEY TO BE ABLE TO TRAVEL AND EVERYTHING. SO IT MADE SO MUCH SENSE HERE. I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THEY'RE GOING TO, TO JUST DISCUSS AS THEY ADD ON MORE TRAIN STOPS AND THINGS LIKE WHAT THEY DID ROULETTE FROM HERE. SO THEY ACTUALLY, NOW THEY GO TO, UM, THE AIRPORT. SO THEY'RE EXPANDING IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS. SO I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THOSE KIND OF THINGS, THAT WOULD BE WHAT THEY WOULD DISCUSS PERTINENT TO GARLAND. I, I'M NOT SURE WHAT THEY DO SINCE WE HAVE SUCH A GOOD SYSTEM AND WE HAVE TWO PLACES TO BOARD THE, I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M PICKING ON YOU TO LOOK AT [00:05:01] . UM, JOHN, HELP ME OUT HERE. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. I WOULD LIKE VERY MUCH TO BE ON THIS COMMITTEE. OKAY. HANG ON. LET'S SEE IF WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR YOU. OH, COUNCILMAN HEDRICK. GO AHEAD. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR, I, I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOUR OPINION ON THE SILVER LINE IS AND WHERE DO YOU THINK THAT'S NECESSARY PART OF THE DART SYSTEM? THE ONE GOING TO LIKE TO HOUSTON AND OTHER TOWNS? IS THAT THE ONE THAT'S NO, THAT'S NOT PART OF THE DART SYSTEM. THAT'S A, OH, WELL, NO, THEY TALK, TALKED ABOUT HAVING A TRAIN, TRY TO GO THERE. OKAY. I GUESS I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR, CUSTOMER WILLIAMS. HANG ON ONE SECOND. THANK. THANK YOU, MAYOR. GOOD EVENING. UH, ONE QUESTION FOR YOU. THANK, UH, IF YOU, IF YOU WERE SELECTED, UH, TO REPRESENT GARLAND ON THE BOARD BOARD, WHAT, IF ANY CHANGES WHICH YOU MADE IN THE OPERATION OF OUR TWO OF, UH, DART TRANSIT STATIONS? I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE SAFE. I DON'T THINK WE'VE HAD A LOT OF TROUBLE, A LOT OF TROUBLE IN THE GARLAND ONES. THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF IT DOWNTOWN. I HAVE NEVER ENCOUNTERED ANY REAL PROBLEMS ON THE TRAIN, BUT THEY HAVE PEOPLE THAT WALK THROUGH THAT ARE LOOKING, SEE IF YOU HAVE HER TICKETS, LIKE MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE SAFE. BUT SOME OF THE PLACES I'VE GOTTEN OFF, NOT IN GARLAND, WERE DARK AND NOT IN AN AREA THAT I THINK THAT LIKE A WOMAN WOULD WANT TO SIT THERE BY HERSELF. SO I THINK SAFETY WOULD BE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT THE TWO PLACES THAT WE HAVE ON, UM, FOR OUR DART SYSTEM DOWNTOWN, IT'S WELL LIGHTED AND WHERE THE BUSES ARE. UM, I JUST, I HAVE NEVER HEARD ANY PROBLEMS IN THE GARDEN AREA, BUT SAFETY WOULD BE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ONES FOR ME SO THAT THERE'S NO PEOPLE THAT CAN BE HIDING AROUND ON THE BUSHES AND THINGS. THEY'RE WELL KEPT UP, UM, EVERY TIME I'VE BEEN ON EITHER OF THE TWO STATIONS. SO, UM, CLEANLINESS, KEEPING IT SAFE, HAVING THE MACHINES WHERE YOU BUY YOUR TICKETS AND THINGS OPERATING PROPERLY. WHEN I'VE HAD THAT HAPPEN THAT I COULDN'T BUY MY TICKET, THEN THEY ALWAYS HAD SOMEONE THAT WOULD FIX IT WHEN I REPORTED IT WAS FIXED RIGHT AWAY. SO I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TOO. THANK YOU, MA'AM. THANK YOU, MAYOR. VERY GOOD. CONSIDER LUCK. OH, ONE MORE QUESTION. WAIT FOR ME. I'M SORRY. . I'M SORRY. THAT'S OKAY. UM, SO YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU WORK AT THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS. YES. DOWNTOWN. WILL ATTENDING THESE MEETINGS, UM, POSE ANY PROBLEMS FOR YOU OR YOUR EMPLOYER? NO. OKAY. THANK YOU. THEY LIKE IT IF WE VOLUNTEER. OH, GOOD. THANKS. THEY GIVE US TIME OFF TO VOLUNTEER. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND APP. OKAY. NEXT UP WE HAVE MARK ABRAHAM, MR. ABRAHAM, AS I SAID BEFORE, WE'LL GIVE YOU A MOMENT TO, UH, TO, UH, TELL US ABOUT YOU, TELL US ABOUT WHY YOU'RE INTERESTED IN DART AND THEN WE'LL SEE IF WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR YOU. OKAY. PERFECT. CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME? ABSOLUTELY. AWESOME. UH, SO THIS ALL KIND OF STARTS HOW EVERYTHING ELSE STARTS. SO I ACTUALLY SERVED IN LEADERSHIP GARLAND CLASS OF 41, UH, THE BEST CLASS. THERE YOU GO, . UM, SO THAT WAS KIND OF MY INITIAL INTRODUCTION INTO SERVING THE COMMUNITY. UM, SO THIS IS JUST ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO SERVE. UH, THAT'S, THAT'S MY BIGGEST PUSH AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT BROUGHT ME HERE. UH, THE OTHER THING IS I'VE, I'VE BEEN A, I'VE LIVED IN GARLAND SEVEN PLUS YEARS. I'VE BEEN A DISTRICT THREE RESIDENT FOR THAT ENTIRE TIME. UM, BUT YOU KNOW, I'VE KIND OF DONE SOME RESEARCH ON WHAT THIS, UH, DART POSITION ENTAILS. I'VE TALKED TO, UH, JUDD A LITTLE ABOUT IT. AND THEN I'VE AL I ALSO TALKED LAST NIGHT TO, UH, JONATHAN KELLY, WHO WAS THE INCUMBENT IN THIS POSITION. SO I GOT A STRONG FEEL FOR WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS ARE AND WHAT THE TIME COMMITMENT IS. AND THEN ALSO HE KIND OF SHARED WITH ME LIKE WHAT A GOOD PERSPECTIVE CANDIDATE FOR THIS POSITION WOULD BE, WHICH I FEEL LIKE I AM. SO A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT SERVE ON THE BOARD ARE, UM, FROM A LEGAL BACKGROUND. I'M NOT FROM A LEGAL BACKGROUND. NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING FROM A LEGAL BACKGROUND, IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES TO GET THINGS DONE, YOU JUST GOTTA, YOU KNOW, PULL AWAY AND PUT THE NUMBERS TOGETHER. UH, THE OTHER THING IS I'M A CFO OF TWO COMPANIES. I'M A CPA. UM, I WORK IN TWO DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES. ONE IS A FULFILLMENT COMPANY, WHICH IS A STARTUP. UM, AND THEN THE OTHER ONE IS A REAL ESTATE COMPANY, REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER. AND THAT'S KIND OF MY CORE FORTE. UM, SO ONE OF THE BIG THINGS THAT JONATHAN SHARED WITH ME [00:10:01] WAS KIND OF AROUND THE SILVER LINE AND WHAT'S GOING ON THERE IS THERE'S EASEMENTS, THERE'S ENTITLEMENT ISSUES, AND THOSE ARE A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT I ENCOMPASS, YOU KNOW, I, I DEAL WITH ON A DAILY BASIS AS FAR AS BUILDING PROJECTS AND GETTING THINGS DONE. UM, SO I, I THINK THAT'S IT. OKAY. WE'LL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS. COUNCIL MEMBER HENDRICK. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR, I'D LIKE TO GET YOUR OPINION ON THE NEW DART ROUTING. UM, WHAT'S YOUR OPINION ON BALANCING THEIR LEVEL OF SERVICE VERSUS THE EASE OF ACCESS NUMBER OF ROUTES? YEAH, SO MY OVERALL OPINION ON IT IS UNTIL I'M FULLY INFORMED, I DON'T KNOW. UM, I THINK ONE OF THE BIG THINGS WHEN I TALK WITH JUDD ABOUT IT, A NEED FROM THE CITY IS A MOBILITY PLAN. SO IT'S, IT'S ALWAYS A TWOFOLD THING, RIGHT? BECAUSE THIS POSITION IS FOR THE CITY OF GARLAND. UM, SO I'M ALWAYS GONNA TRY TO SERVE THAT. I MEAN, THAT'S THE BIGGEST PURPOSE AND IT'S A CONDUIT TO YOU GUYS. UM, BUT AS FAR AS LIKE ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS, I'M, I'M JUST NOT INFORMED ENOUGH ON IT YET TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A, AN OPINION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. SORRY. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER MOORE. THANK YOU. SMEAR. I'M WONDERING, JUST LISTENING TO YOUR BACKGROUND, YOU SEEM LIKE YOU GOT A FEW IRONS IN THE FIRE AND, UH, FROM READING THE, UH, TIME COMMITMENT, IT SEEMS LIKE THE QUITE A BIT OF TIME GOING TO BE INVOLVED. UH, TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU, WHY YOU THINK YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO DEAL WITH IT AS FAR AS THE TIME IS CONCERNED. WELL, THERE'S ALWAYS SATURDAYS, UH, . ALRIGHT. YEAH. SO THAT, THAT, I MEAN, THAT'S JUST A HONEST JOKE THERE. BUT NO, I, IT'S ALWAYS FUN TO BE BUSY. UM, AND THERE'S ALWAYS COMMITMENTS THAT I COULD PASS OFF ONTO OTHERS. UH, I HAVE A FULL STAFF AT MY REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, AND THEN I HAVE A STAFF AT THE FULFILLMENT COMPANY. AND THIS IS ALSO SOMETHING THAT I'VE SHARED WITH MY PARTNERS. SO IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT GONNA BE A SURPRISE TO ANYONE. UM, NOW MY BOSS TOLD ME TODAY, HE SAID, DON'T TAKE OFF FOR 12 DAYS, CUZ THAT'S NOT GONNA WORK. BUT I THINK A TUESDAY HERE OR THERE, AND, YOU KNOW, SATURDAY, SATURDAY STUDIES AREN'T, AREN'T SOMETHING I CAN'T HANDLE. AND YOU DO LIVE IN DISTRICT THREE? I DO. OKAY. YEAH. . THANK YOU MR. VERY GOOD. COUNCIL MEMBER BATHS. THANK YOU. UH, THANK YOU MARK. UM, JUST ONE QUESTION FOR YOU, MARK. CAN YOU TELL ME, UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE IN REPRESENTING AN ORGANIZATION WHILE ALSO AIDING THE PUBLIC? I D I DON'T. OKAY. I DON'T. OKAY. THANK YOU. UH, COUNCIL WILLIAMS. GOOD AFTERNOON, SIR. GOOD TO MEET YOU. EVEN THOUGH YOU LIVE IN DISTRICT THREE. YEAH, , I STILL GO TO THE WALMART IN DISTRICT FOUR. I GOT YOU. . THANK YOU. OKAY. OKAY. WE, WE ARE OKAY NOW, . OKAY. UH, GOT MY QUESTION. UH, MY QUESTION FOR YOU IS, AGAIN, REGARDING THE, UH, TRANSITED STATIONS MM-HMM. , ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE, AND I'VE GOT ONE OF THE ANCHOR ONES LIKE WE HAVE A, UM, IS USER ACCESS OF ENERGY SERVICES. UH, I'VE WATCHED PEOPLE, UH, RIDE THE BUS DOWN TRYING TO GET OUT THE BUS, CAN'T EVEN WALK IN TO CHARGE THEIR CELL PHONES, CAN'T USE THE RESTROOMS, UH, CAN'T TAKE A BREATHER, CAN'T GO AHEAD AND FEED THE BABY CUZ THE BUILDING IS LOCKED. IF, HOW WOULD YOU ADDRESS MAKING OUR, UH, STATIONS, PARTICULARLY LAKE RAY HUB, MORE USER FRIENDLY AND ACCESSIBLE TO RIDER? UH, SO IT'S TWOFOLD THING. SO YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHO, WHO OWNS THE, BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF LAND RIGHT THERE. SO ONE THING IS YOU GOTTA HAVE POSTED HOURS WHEN EVERYTHING'S OPEN, YOU GOTTA MAKE SURE IT'S, I MEAN, IT'S FRIENDLY TO THE PUBLIC, WHICH IS PUBLIC RESTROOMS, THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT THEN THE OTHER PIECE IS IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO BRING COMMERCE, DEPENDING ON WHO OWNS THAT LAND, YOU DO THAT. SO THERE COULD BE SOME KIND OF ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES TO BRING ADDITIONAL USES TO BE ABLE TO HAVE MORE OF A POPULATION THERE WHERE MAYBE IT'S NOT A PUBLIC BATHROOM, BUT MAYBE IT'S A RESTAURANT, MAYBE IT'S, I DON'T KNOW, SOME KIND OF, UH, I COULD, FOOD TRUCKS COME TO MIND TO ME, BUT JUST THINGS TO KIND OF, UH, ADD ADDITIONAL COMMERCE AND POPULATION TO WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT ACCESS POINTS WITHIN THAT, [00:15:01] THAT LOCATION. BUT IT, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE Y YOU KNOW, YOU KIND OF TALK WITH PEOPLE THAT HAVE KIND OF EXPERIENCED IT AND THEN YOU DECIDE WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE BEST APPROACH IS. BUT THAT WOULD BE MY INITIAL COMMENT ON IT. OKAY. YOU GAVE ME A, A VERY, AN EXCELLENT GLOBAL RESPONSE, BUT WITH WHAT WE GOT RIGHT NOW ON THE GROUND CURRENTLY WITH WHAT WE'VE GOT NOW, THE STRUCTURE WE'VE GOT NOW, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT CHANGES DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO MAKE? WHAT'S AVAILABLE? WHAT'S THERE NOW? MORE USER-FRIENDLY AND AVAILABLE. NOT THAT YOUR, YOUR IDEAS ARE EXCELLENT. YEAH. BUT THE EXISTING FACILITY, WHAT, WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT IMPROVING THE EXISTING FACILITY? MAKING THE EXISTING FACILITY AND THEN AFTERWARD IS EXISTING FACILITY MORE USER-FRIENDLY TO RIDER OF OUR DART SYSTEM? SO I'D HAVE TO WALK IT HONESTLY, UM, AND THEN FROM THERE, BUT I, I THINK THE MAIN THING IS MAKING SURE YOU ADDRESSING YOUR COMPLAINTS OR YOU KNOW, YOUR COMMENTS AND FROM THERE IT'S GOING TO DART AND SAYING, OKAY, WELL HERE'S, HERE'S THE ISSUES THAT ARE GETTING BROUGHT UP, WHAT CAN WE DO RIGHT NOW? I MEAN, THAT, THAT'S ALL IT IS BECAUSE I WOULD, I WOULD HOPE THAT A STATION, ESPECIALLY WITH THAT MUCH, YOU KNOW, THROUGHPUT COMING IN AND OUT, YOU KNOW, THEY WOULD HAVE ACCESS TO THE, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR. RIGHT. THANKS SIR. THANK YOU MAYOR. VERY GOOD. UH, CUSTOMER LUCK. HI. UM, SO WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO FAMILIARIZE WITH YOURSELF WITH THE DART TRANSIT SYSTEM AND ESPECIALLY IN GARLAND, AND THEN HAVE YOU SEEN ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE FOR YOUR SERVICE TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON? UM, SO I, I RIDE THE, THE TRAIN A LOT. UH, I HAVEN'T USED THE BUS SYSTEM AS MUCH AS I SHOULD. UM, JUST CUZ IT'S, YOU KNOW, DOWNTOWN GARLAND OR DOWNTOWN ETTE TO A, A LOCATION. UM, MY BIGGEST, I GUESS IMPACT POINT OUTSIDE OF KIND OF WHAT WAS JUST SHARED WITH ME, JUST A NATURAL THOUGHT FROM ME IS, AND IT'S THE HARDEST THING TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS, BUT IT WOULD BE THE HOMELESS POPULATION ON THE TRAINS. UM, MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, THERE'S NOT REALLY AN ISSUE UNLESS YOU'RE RIDING PAST EIGHT O'CLOCK, UH, THE WEEKENDS THERE'S AN ISSUE. UM, SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ANSWER IS THERE, BUT IT'S SOMETHING TO GET BROUGHT UP AND YOU GOTTA FUNNEL THAT POPULATION SOMEWHERE, SO. OKAY. UH, MAYOR PROTON MORRIS. THANK YOU MAYOR. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS. SURE. UM, FIRST OF ALL, HOW, HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU SPEND IN DOWNTOWN GARLAND GIVEN ? YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER THAT. . THAT WOULD BE MY DISTRICT. I WAS AT THE ART FESTIVAL AND I SAW YOUR OFFICE. WHO KNOWS? ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT GUYS, JUST MAKING SURE. UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU INCLUDED IN YOUR, UM, INTRODUCTORY LETTER CAUGHT MY EYE. YOU SAID YOU WOULD BRING A DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH TO DECISION MAKING ON THE BOARD. CAN YOU PLEASE, UM, KIND OF ENLARGE ON THAT, WHAT YOU MEAN BY THAT? YEAH, SO ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS THAT KIND OF JUDGE SHARED WITH ME WAS THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A MOBILITY PLAN BECAUSE OF KIND OF THE, THE SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS OF GARLAND COMPARED TO OTHER CITIES. PLANO, UH, CARROLLTON, THERE'S A LOT OF BUS USERS, SO THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME KIND OF PLAN OR MAYBE THERE IS A PLAN AND THEN WE NEED TO EXPAND ON IT. AND, AND, AND THAT'S, THAT'S DATA DRIVEN, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S JUST LIKE WHEN WE'RE PUTTING UP A BUILDING, WE'RE LOOKING AT CLICKS OF TRAFFIC AND YOU NEED TO LOOK AT WHO'S, WHO'S USING WHAT, BUS STOP, WHO'S USING IT WHERE, AND THINGS, THINGS LIKE THAT. SO THAT WAS MY THOUGHT THERE. OKAY. UM, THANK YOU. YOU ALSO MENTIONED THAT YOU WOULD, UM, WORK TO ENSURE THAT DART SERVICES ARE DESIGNED WITH THE NEEDS OF ALL MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY IN MIND, INCLUDING THOSE WITH DISABILITIES. MM-HMM. , HOW FAMILIAR ARE YOU WITH DART'S CURRENT, UM, ACCOMMODATIONS FOR THOSE WITH DISABILITIES? SO, AS FAR AS THE TRAIN, IT'S VERY GOOD. UM, I'VE NEVER SEEN ANY ISSUES UNLESS THERE'S BEEN AN ELEVATOR THAT DIDN'T WORK, BUT I'VE NEVER REALLY SEEN ANY ISSUES. IT'S JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT'S ALWAYS OUT THERE. UM, WITH BUSES, NO. YEAH, NOT AS FAMILIAR. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MAYOR. VERY GOOD. UH, ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FOR MR. ABRAHAM? I SEE NONE. THANK YOU, SIR. WE ALSO SHARE YOUR OPINION THAT THERE'S ENOUGH LEGAL EXPERTS, UM, AROUND THANK YOU. THANK YOU. CAN WE GET A CONSENSUS ON THAT ? I'M NOT GONNA ASK [00:20:01] FOR A VOTE BECAUSE I ALREADY KNOW THE OUTCOME. AND OUR, UH, THIRD APPLICANT, MICHAEL CHENEY. MR. CHENEY, THANK YOU. LET ME JUST, UH, GIVE YOU A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE RESUME YOU ALREADY HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU. I BEGAN WORKING AS A CPA AND WHAT IS NOW CALLED PRICEWATERHOUSE COOPERS. IT WASN'T CALLED THAT WHEN I STARTED. IT WAS IBRAND ROSS BROTHERS MONTGOMERY. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO, UH, GO BACK THAT FAR, FOLLOWING THAT FIVE YEAR EXPERIENCE, I WORKED IN PROGRESSIVELY MORE RESPONSIBLE ROLES IN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AS A CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER IN A VARIETY OF INDUSTRIES. FINALLY, I WORKED AS A CONSULTANT EVALUATING FINANCIAL CONTROLS UNDER THE SARBANES OX OXLEY ACT OF 2002. I DID RETIRE IN 2011, BUT I'VE CONTINUED TO WORK IN A VARIETY OF CONSULTING ACTIVITIES SINCE MY COMMUNITY SERVICE ACTIVITIES ARE PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON SCOUTING. I'VE BEEN TREASURER TROOP 2 95 FOR 12 YEARS. I'M AN EAGLE SCOUT AND I'VE MENTORED 20 BOY, MENTORED 20 BOYS TO ATTAIN THE EAGLE SCOUT RANK. OVER THE LAST 12 YEARS, I SPENT OVER 30 NIGHTS IN SCOUT CAMPS DOING SERVICE WORK AT MEBA COUNSELING. IN THE LAST YEAR, I ORGANIZED A FOOD COLLECTION DRIVE THAT COLLECTED MORE THAN 30,000 ITEMS. THEY WERE DONATED TO LOCAL FOOD PANTRIES. I ACTIVELY SUPPORTED THE STOP THE BLEED CAMPAIGN THAT TEACHES LAYPERSONS HOW TO PROPERLY APPLY A TOURNIQUET TO INJURED PERSONS TO SAVE LIVES BEFORE EMT PERSONNEL CAN ARRIVE AT AN ACCIDENT SCENE. I HAVE DONATED OVER 25 GALLONS OF BLOOD AND BLOOD PRODUCTS IN THE LAST 10 YEARS. UH, I'VE GOT IT AND THEY NEED IT. I WAS GARLAND'S START BOARD REPRESENTATIVE FROM 2011 TO 2016. I CHAIRED THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AND WAS VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE FINANCE AND BUDGET COMMITTEE. MY PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT WAS TO HAVE DART BECOME A SAFE PLACE FOR PERSONS CAUGHT IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING TO ESCAPE. DART IS NOW THE NATIONAL LEADER IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING AVOIDANCE PROCEDURES AND TEACHES OTHER CITIES TRANSPORTATION AGENCY HOW TO INITIATE A PLAN OF ACTION. IN 2015 AT OUR ANNUAL RETREAT, I FOUND IN THE FINANCIAL PLAN, NECESSARY RESOURCES TO ACCELERATE THE SILVER LINE FROM 2036 THAT WAS IN THE PLAN TO THE PRESENT 2023 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. ATTACHED MY RESUME IS CONTACT INFORMATION FOR FOUR PERSONS WHO KNOW ME PERSONALLY, MY WORK, AND MY COMMITMENT TO SERVICE. RAY NOAH, PAST MAYOR AND MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGE FOR THE CITY OF RICHARDSON RAY. AND I SERVED ON THE DART BOARD TOGETHER IN, IN 2011. AND WE CONTINUE IN OUR BIBLE STUDY GROUP TOGETHER, DAVID BRADY. WE ALL KNOW WELL AS A DART ADVOCATE AS A MEMBER OF THE DART CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE SINCE 1984, JOHN LEE, A RETIRED MINISTER OF KING OF GLORY LUTHERAN CHURCH, JOHN LEE'S A MEN'S BIBLE STUDY GROUP IN WHICH I HAVE PARTICIPATED FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS. AND AARON COLEY, A CPA AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AT KY INDUSTRIES. I WORKED WITH AARON IN VARIOUS FINANCIAL CONSULTING ACTIVITIES FROM 2003 TO 2020. ALL OF THESE PERSONS GIVE YOU BACKGROUND AND INFORMATION ON ME. I HAVE MAINTAINED MY RELATIONSHIP WITH DOUG DOUGLAS AND HIS KEY ASSOCIATE TAMMY SINCE I LEFT DART. DOUG DOUGLASS IS VICE PRESIDENT OF THE PARATRANSIT DIVISION OF DART, WHICH PROVIDES TRANSPORTATION TO THE TRANSPORTATION DEPENDENT PERSONS IN OUR COMMUNITY. THIS IS TRULY ONE OF THE KEY ELEMENTS OF DART. I COMMIT TO YOU IF I BECOME YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AGAIN, TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A MONTHLY, MONTHLY SUMMARY OF KEY COMMITTEE AND COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE ACTIONS BY THE DART BOARD OF DIRECTORS. THIS WILL GIVE YOU TIME TO PROVIDE ME WITH YOUR COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MY VOTES ON DART'S. ACTIONS ON GARLAND'S BEHALF. I WILL ATTEND ANY WORK SESSIONS OR OTHER MEETINGS. AS YOU MAY DIRECT, I AM RETIRED AND HAVE TIME NECESSARY TO PROPERLY SERVE IN THIS POSITION. I'M VERY INTERESTED IN, ONCE AGAIN, SERVING THE CITY OF GARLAND IS YOUR DART BOARD REPRESENTATIVE. VERY GOOD, SIR. WE'VE GOT SOME QUESTIONS LINED UP FOR YOU HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER HENDRICK. THANK YOU. MR. MAYOR, CAN YOU TELL ME YOUR OPINION ON INTERLOCAL AGREEMENTS BETWEEN DART AND CITIES THEY'RE INVOLVED IN, ESPECIALLY ONES THAT CITY OF GARLAND IS, IS INVOLVED WITH? I'M NOT FAMILIAR RIGHT NOW WITH THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT, UNLESS YOU'RE REFERRING TO THE ONE WHERE WE'RE, WHERE 167 MILLION IS COMING BACK TO THE CITIES. IF, IF THAT'S THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, I'M, I ASSUME THAT WAS DONE UNDER ILA. UM, I KNOW THAT, UH, DALLAS CITY OF DALLAS IS HAVING A PROBLEM IN AGREEING TO THAT. AND I KNOW THE CITY OF GARLAND DID NOT, UM, BEYOND THAT, I DON'T KNOW TOO MUCH ABOUT THAT, THAT PARTICULAR AISLE. L I AND UH, ONE MORE [00:25:01] QUESTION IS, UM, YOU SERVED ON THE DART BOARD ALREADY. I DID. AND SO WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU CAN BRING IN YOUR SECOND TERM IF WE APPOINT YOU DURING THIS TIME BACK TO US? WELL, DIFFERENT FROM THE FIRST, I DON'T HAVE TO START FROM SQUARE ONE. UH, I, I UNDERSTAND HOW THE, THE PROCESS WORKS. I UNDERSTAND. UH, UH, I GUESS THE ORGANIZATION CHART. I KNOW WHO'S IN CHARGE OF WHAT. UH, IN THE CASE OF, UH, MR. WILLIAMS QUESTION ABOUT THE, UH, UH, SERVICE CENTERS, I'D GO DIRECTLY TO THE EVP OPERATIONS WHERE THOSE, UH, STATIONS ARE, UH, UH, HELD IN HER D DOMAIN. AND I WOULD, UH, PROBABLY ENCOURAGE HER TO GO WITH ME ON A TOUR OF THOSE FACILITIES AND SEE IF WE CAN COME TO A, UH, MUTUAL AGREEMENT, HOW THEY MIGHT BE IMPROVED OR BETTERED, UH, ON, ON BEHALF OF THE, OF THE PEOPLE WHO USE THOSE FACILITIES. SO KNOWING THINGS LIKE THAT, I THINK HELPED ME TO, UH, GET A LITTLE MORE SENSE OF URGENCY TO THE ROLE, UH, KNOWING WHERE TO START. I, I KNOW THEIR BUDGETING PROCESS. I KNOW WHAT THEY GO THROUGH IN THEIR FINANCIALS. UM, I'M NOT HAPPY WITH THE WAY THEY DO THEIR BUDGET PROCESS, AND I TRY TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO DO IT DIFFERENTLY WHEN I WAS THERE. BUT, UH, THAT REMAINS TO BE SEEN IF, UH, OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS THEY'VE CHANGED. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. WELCOME. YES, MA'AM. YES, SIR. LUCK. YES, SIR. UM, HOW OFTEN DO YOU RIDE DART? I RIDE THE TRAIN TO THE, UH, STARS GAMES, UH, AS A SEASON TICKET HOLDER. EVERY TIME THERE'S A HOME GAME, . SO, UH, I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE, UH, OPERATION, UH, OF THE ORANGE LINE, GETTING ME TO THE AA. THANK YOU. UM, DON'T RIDE A BUS VERY OFTEN. THANK YOU. OKAY. AND, UH, COUNCILOR WILLIAMS. GOOD EVENING, SIR. GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN. HI, HOW ARE YOU? I'M GREAT. I'M GREAT. JUST A COUPLE QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO PIGGYBACK ON YOUR RESPONSE. I'M GOING BACK TO THE STATIONS. YES, SIR. THAT SAME QUESTION. YES, SIR. IF YOU, IF YOU WERE SELECTED, UM, BY THIS COUNCIL TO SERVE AGAIN ON THE GUARD BOARD, WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY TO MAKE THOSE STATIONS SPECIFICALLY AT LAKE WHERE HUB STATION, MORE USER-FRIENDLY TO THE RIDERS OF DART, SPECIFICALLY WHAT, OTHER THAN HAVE CONVERSATION WITH THE RESPONSIBLE EXECUTIVE, CAN YOU SHARE A COUPLE OF SPECIFIC POINTS THAT YOU WOULD, YOU WOULD, UH, PUSH FOR TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE STATIONS OR, UH, MORE USER FRIENDLY, UH, TO THE RIDERS OF DART? I HAVE VISITED THOSE STATIONS RECENTLY, AND I AGREE WITH YOU. THEY ARE NOT SERVICE FRIENDLY AND THEY NEED TO BE, UM, HOW CAN I PERSONALLY AFFECT THE CHANGE IN THAT? I DON'T KNOW, SIR. I WOULD HAVE TO, AGAIN, LEVERAGE DART AND DART'S ACTIONS TO UNDER SO THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THEIR, THEIR SERVICE CENTERS ARE INADEQUATE FOR THE POPULATION THEY'RE SERVING. AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S ADEQUATE RECOGNITION AT THE DART LEVEL OF THAT. AND WE NEED TO MAKE THAT CHANGE BY CAUSING THEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY'RE NOT SERVING THE PUBLIC PROPERLY AND TO, AND TO AFFECT CHANGES. AND, AND THERE NEEDS TO BE CHANGE. I RECOGNIZE THAT, UH, I THINK YOU AND I HAD CONVERSATIONS YEARS AGO ABOUT GETTING WIFI WORKING AND I THINK THERE'S BEEN SOME PROGRESS IN THAT END. UH, AND I THINK MORE CAN, CAN BE DONE. UH, I UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT HAS NOT YET BEEN DONE IS EXPENSIVE AND I DON'T KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE IT IS, BUT, UH, THAT'S SOMETHING I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK INTO IS HOW WE CAN, UH, EXPAND THE WIFI SERVICE IN THE SYSTEM. THANKS, SIR. QUESTION IS, I KNOW, I KNOW THAT THERE'S AN INITIATIVE OF BEING, UH, PROMOTED A PUSH, WHATEVER THAT WORD IS AMONG THE STUDENT POPULATIONS, UH, ACROSS THE DART SYSTEM OR, UH, FREE BUS PASSES FOR STUDENTS. YES. DO YOU HAVE AN OPINION ON THAT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER? I SUPPORT IT. I THINK WE SHOULD ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO USE OUR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM. UH, AT ONE TIME, UTD WAS SERVICED AS A FREE BUS LINE. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S STILL THE CASE, BUT THEY HAD THEIR CONTRACT PROVIDED FOR, UH, FREE SERVICE FOR ALL THE UTD STUDENTS ON THAT PARTICULAR LINE. AS FAR AS, UH, OTHER STUDENTS USE IT, I THINK THAT, UH, ANYONE THAT HAS A, UH, UH, A SCHOOL ID SHOULD CERTAINLY BE ALLOWED TO USE OUR SYSTEMS, UH, WITHOUT CHARGE. THANK YOU. THANKS SIR. THANK YOU MAYOR. VERY GOOD. ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? [00:30:01] I'VE LIVED IN MR. BASS'S DISTRICT FOR THE LAST 12 YEARS. BY THE WAY, , I'VE BEEN A GARLAND RESIDENT FOR 23 YEARS. MAKE SURE YOU GET THAT IN. VERY GOOD. I DIDN'T WANNA LET MR. BASS SLIDE ON THAT. VERY GOOD. WELL, THANK YOU, SIR. WE APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. AND, UH, TO ALL THREE OF OUR APPLICANTS, THANK YOU FOR TAKING FIRST, THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE INTEREST. AND SECOND, THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO, UH, COME DOWN HERE TONIGHT, UH, TO SEE US. AND THIS WILL BE ON OUR AGENDA TOMORROW NIGHT FOR FORMAL CONSIDERATION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. MOVING ON TO ITEM [4.b. Garland Senior Activity Center Veteran's Tribute Garden] FOUR B, GARLAND SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTER, VETERANS TRIBUTE GARDEN. I'VE GOT IT. WELL, NO, THAT'S NOT YOU. THAT'S YOU. GO AHEAD. UH, GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNSEL. UM, SO YOU'LL RECALL IT OUR LAST WORK SESSION, UH, WE INTRODUCED SOME, UH, DISCUSSION ITEMS RELATED TO THE VETERANS TRIBUTE GARDEN AT THE SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTER. UH, BEFORE WE COME BACK TO YOU, UH, NEXT WORK SESSION WITH SOME OPTIONS AND KIND OF A FIRST LOOK AT THE SENIOR CENTER, WANTED TO JUST GET SOME FURTHER CLARIFICATION ON, UH, THE VETERANS TRIBUTE GARDEN AND, UM, SORT OF SOME DIRECTION FROM YOU ON HOW YOU WANT US TO HANDLE THIS. CUZ I, I, I WORRY THAT WE PUT, UM, TOWARD THE END OF THAT DISCUSSION LAST TIME, UH, WE TALKED ABOUT, UM, SOME, THE, THE DEADLINE OR THE, THE FACT THAT WE'RE BRINGING BACK TO YOU, UM, CONCEPTS FOR THE SENIOR CENTER AT THE NEXT WORK SESSION. I, I WORRY THAT THAT KIND OF PUTS SOME PRESSURE ON YOU TO HURRY AND MAKE A DECISION ABOUT WHAT TO DO WITH THE VETERANS GARDEN. AND SO ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I THINK WE'RE SEEKING SOME GUIDANCE ON IS WHETHER WE SORT OF, UH, SEPARATE THE TWO, UH, THE PATH THAT THE SENIOR CENTER'S GONNA GO THROUGH. A VERY, UH, A VERY ROUTINE DESIGN PROCESS WHERE WE'RE SEEKING INPUT FROM SENIORS. WE'VE ALREADY, YOU KNOW, MADE SOME HEADWAY ON THAT. UH, THERE'S STILL A LONG WAYS TO GO. SO THE, AS FAR AS THE ACTUAL VETERANS GARDEN, UH, THE BRICKS, THE MEMORIALS, THE STONES, THE UH, THE PLAQUES, ET CETERA. UH, DO YOU WANT THAT TO BE SEPARATED FROM THE SENIOR CENTER PROCESS OR, UH, DO WE, AS WE'RE DESIGNING THE SITE, UH, DO YOU WANT US TO SORT OF, UH, MARRY THE TWO AND, AND GO THROUGH THE PROCESS LIKE THAT? UM, THE BIGGER QUESTION THOUGH, I THINK JUST LISTENING TO THE CONVERSATION AND DISCUSSION LAST TIME, IS ARE WE REALLY TALKING ABOUT TWO PROJECTS HERE? UH, THE REPLACING WHAT WE HAVE AT THE SENIOR CENTER, THE VETERANS GARDEN, UH, THE MEMORIALS, ET CETERA. AND THEN PERHAPS A LONGER, LARGER, A LONGER TERM LARGER PROJECT AT THE ACT AROUND THE VA MEDICAL CENTER IN, IN THAT DISTRICT. UM, AND IF THERE'S REALLY KIND OF TWO PROJECTS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU WANT US TO HANDLE, I THINK SPECIFICALLY THE PUBLIC INPUT PART OF, UH, OF THE BIGGER, LARGER PROJECT? CUZ I THINK THAT'S GOING TO REALLY DEMAND SOME, SOME ATTENTION AND, UH, AND WE WANT TO ENGAGE THOSE THAT ARE INVOLVED, UM, AS VETERANS IN OUR COMMUNITY, UM, AND REALLY LOOK AT THAT. SO, UM, AGAIN, A COUPLE QUESTIONS. ONE IS, ARE WE REALLY TALKING ABOUT TWO DIFFERENT PROJECTS HERE? UM, AND THEN IF WE ARE TALKING ABOUT TWO DIFFERENT PROJECTS FOR REPLACING THE VETERANS MEMORIAL OR THE VETERANS GARDEN AT THE SENIOR CENTER, UM, HOW WOULD YOU LIKE US TO HANDLE THE PROCESS FOR THAT? SHOULD IT GO, GO IN LINE WITH THE SENIOR CENTER, UM, WHICH IS KIND OF IN THE EARLY DESIGN PHASE, OR SHOULD WE SEPARATE IT OUT AND KIND OF PUT IT, ITS ON, ON ITS OWN PATH IN TERMS OF, UH, IN TERMS OF PUBLIC INPUT AND WHO'S LEADING THAT EFFORT, UH, TO GET THAT PUBLIC INPUT. UM, AND I KNOW ANDY AND DELEE ARE HERE TONIGHT TOO, TO, TO CLEAN UP THE MASK THAT I JUST THREW OUT THERE. SO ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. WE'LL START OFF WITH MAYOR PRO, TIM MORRIS. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UM, WELL, SO MY BASIC THOUGHT ON THIS WAS, UM, I DID NOT WANT TO BE RUSHED INTO MAKING A LOCATION DECISION FOR THE TRIBUTE GARDEN AND THOSE MEMORIALS BECAUSE OF A HURRIED, UM, TIMEFRAME THAT WAS ATTACHED TO THE SENIOR CENTER. THE SENIOR CENTER NEEDS TO NOT BE DELAYED. IT NEEDS TO ROLL RIGHT ALONG. UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE VETERANS TRIBUTE GARDEN AND EVERYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH IT, SEVERED FROM THE SENIOR CENTER, AND MAKE THOSE TWO SEPARATE THINGS. LET THE SENIOR CENTER PROCEED AND LET THE LOCATION AND PLANS FOR THE TRIBUTE GARDEN PROCEED AS A SEPARATE ISSUE, SEPARATE FUNDING, AND NOT ON A, UH, APRIL 17TH TIMELINE. I DO BELIEVE, AND I'VE HEARD SINCE WE DISCUSSED THIS AT THE LAST WORK SESSION, I'VE GOTTEN CALLS, UH, MOSTLY [00:35:01] FROM THE FAMILIES OF VETERANS WHO WERE VERY IN FAVOR OF US JUST SLOWING DOWN, WAITING AND SEEING IF WE CAN FIND A PLACE NEAR THE, THE NEW VA HOSPITAL AND THE MEDICAL DISTRICT THERE. BUT THE FACT IS, SINCE WE DON'T HAVE A PLOT OF GROUND THERE TO DO THIS ON RIGHT NOW, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SEE THAT TAKEN, CUT IT AWAY FROM THE SENIOR CENTER, UM, AND LET THE SENIOR CENTER PROCEED AND LET THIS OTHER PROCEED WITH A, A GOOD SOLID OUTREACH TO ALL OF OUR VETERANS ORGANIZATIONS, UM, INDIVIDUAL VETERANS, OPEN THE DOOR FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AND DO A GOOD JOB JOB AND FIND OUT WHAT THIS, WHAT THEY WANT, UM, WITHOUT THERE BEING SUCH A TIGHT TIMELINE THAT WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO DO THAT. SO THAT WOULD BE MY PREFERENCE. AND I'M NOT SURE IF THAT FIT INTO EITHER OF THE CATEGORIES YOU SAID, BUT, UM, THAT'S WHAT I THINK. THANK YOU, SIR. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. VERY GOOD CUSTOMER LUCK. UM, I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE TRIBUTE GARDEN STILL CONNECTED TO THE SENIOR CENTER JUST BECAUSE THAT'S HOW IT ALWAYS WAS. HOWEVER, I DON'T WANT TO INHIBIT, UM, THE FUTURE OF OUR SENIOR CENTER EITHER IN ANY WAY. BUT AS TO THE SECOND PART OF YOUR QUESTION, I WOULD ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO SEE A BIGGER, UM, MORE MASSIVE PROJECT AT THE VA FOR VETERANS AS, AS A SEPARATE THING IF NECESSARY. UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOMETHING REALLY AMAZING THERE TO RECOGNIZE OUR VETERANS. SO IF THE, IF THE SMALLER, UH, MEMORIAL IS NOT A PART OF THAT, THAT'S FINE. UM, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOMETHING MUCH LARGER IN SCALE AT THE HOSPITAL. THANK YOU. ANDY, CAN YOU, UH, BEFORE WE GET, I FEEL LIKE WE'RE, I DON'T FEEL LIKE WE'RE GAINING THE CLARITY THAT YOU'RE SEEKING. UM, OKAY. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT, UM, WHERE WE ARE CURRENTLY WITH THE SENIOR CENTER. WE ARE NOT, WE ARE, WE, WE DON'T HAVE A DESIGN, WE DON'T HAVE IT LAID OUT YET, BUT INCLUDING IF WE WERE TO KEEP THE TRIBUTE GARDEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE SENIOR CENTER, IT IS, OR WILL IT NOT IMPACT WHAT WE CAN DO WITH THE SENIOR CENTER DESIGN? OBVIOUSLY, IT, IT TAKES UP ROOM THAT WE COULD BE DEDICATING TO SOME OF THE OTHER ADDITIONAL WANTS, AMENITIES. IS THAT, IS THAT A SAFE, IS THAT A SAFE ASSUMPTION? YES, SIR. THAT'S ACCURATE. SO WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS IS THAT IT IS AT A PROGRAM CONCEPT PHASE, NOT A PHYSICAL SPACE, BUT THERE ARE SOME, YOU KNOW, IS THE CONSULTANT GATHERS FEEDBACK ON WHAT THEY WANT IN THE PROGRAM. THEY START LOOKING AT ROUGH SQUARE FOOTAGE. UM, SO THE, THE QUESTION REMAINS, THERE WERE SOME BRICKS, PLAQUES, BENCHES THAT WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THE ORIGINAL TRIBUTE GARDEN, AND THERE WAS A SHAPE TO IT TOWARDS THAT BACK AREA. SO, UM, IF I'M UNDERSTANDING YOU CORRECTLY, THE, IF THOSE THINGS WERE TO BE PUT BACK ON SITE, HOW WOULD THAT GO? UM, THOSE, THERE ARE, THERE ARE, UH, WHAT APPEARS TO BE SOME SITE CONSTRAINTS AS THIS STARTS TO FLESH OUT, RIGHT? SO THE ORIGINAL SHAPE, UH, WOULD BE, WOULD BE A CHALLENGE. BUT, UM, SO HEARING LOUD AND CLEAR THE DESIRE FOR A COMPLETELY SEPARATE, UM, FACILITY IN A LARGER FACILITY AT A, AT A DIFFERENT LOCATION. UM, BUT THE REMAINING CLARIFICATION IS WITH THE ORIGINAL, UH, HARDWARE, BUT TO, TO MAYOR PRO TIM MORRIS'S POINT OF, IF WE WANT THE CONTINUATION, IF WE WANT THE CONTINUATION OF THE, THE PROGRESSION OF, OF THE SENIOR CENTER LAYOUT, WE HAVE TO KNOW IS IT, OR IS IT NOT BEING INCLUDED IN THE, IS THE TRIBUTE GARDEN BEING INCLUDED OR NOT? I MEAN, THAT'S REALLY THE, YES, SIR. THAT'S REALLY THE QUESTION IS IT'S THROUGH, THROUGH ALL THE, ALL THE FACT GATHERING. WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO, TO, TO SORT OF FIND OUT HERE IS DO WE WANT IT, DO WE WANT THE TRIBUTE GARDEN WITH THE SENIOR CENTER OR NOT? BECAUSE THAT IS GOING TO IMPACT YOUR NEXT STEPS AND THE, AND, AND, AND SO ON. IS THAT YES, SIR. WHERE WE, OKAY. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL CLEAR ON THAT, THAT IT'S, THAT, THAT THERE IS, IF IT STAYS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SENIOR CENTER, THERE IS AN IMPACT TO THE SQUARE FOOTAGE AND LAYOUT OF THAT FACILITY? THAT'S CORRECT. OKAY. VERY GOOD. I'VE GOT A FEW MORE QUESTIONS, BUT I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE WERE ALL UNDERSTANDING THAT, THAT REALLY WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW IS GO OR NO, GO WITH THE TRIBUTE GARDEN AT THE SENIOR CENTER. OKAY. [00:40:01] CUSTOMER WILLIAMS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UM, WITH, WITH ANDY'S CLA, CLARITY, CLARIFICATION, AND THANKS FOR ASKING FOR THAT. UM, I, I CONCUR WITH, UH, MAYOR PRO TIM. I THINK, UH, THE, UH, THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SENIOR CENTER SHOULD BE ON ONE TRACK. I LIKE SPRINGING OUT AND WHETHER OR NOT IT'S THE VA, WHAT WE DO OVER THERE, UH, I THINK SEPARATE. I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THOSE TWO ANSWER CITY MANAGER'S QUESTIONS. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THOSE ON, ON TWO DIFFERENT TRACKS, AS YOU MENTIONED. UH, BECAUSE IN ADDITION, WHICH WE ACTUALLY, YOU HAD TWO SEPARATE AUDIENCES INVOLVEMENT, UH, AFTER WE HAD OUR LAST DISCUSSION, I STOPPED BY THE PARKING LOT OF MY VFW. I DIDN'T GO OUTSIDE AND HAVE INSIDE AND HAVE A BEER. BUT , I, I STOPPED ON THE PARKING LOT AND THERE WAS HELL PEOPLE WHO HAD, WHO HAD WATCHED THAT DISCUSSION, AND THEY SAID THAT THEY HAD SOME THOUGHTS. THESE WERE VETERANS. OKAY. UM, NEITHER ONE OF THESE VETERANS HAS EVER BEEN TO THE SINGING CENTER. THEY'VE NEVER BEEN TO THE SENIOR CENTER, BUT THEY, THEY, THE EVENTS, BUT THEY KNEW ABOUT THE GARDEN. SO FOR THAT REASON, I, I, I WOULD, UH, UH, WOULD, UH, UM, UH, SUPPORT AS, AS THE MAYOR, TIM HAS SAID THAT WE, THAT WE DO THAT, AND ANDY, THAT WILL FACILITATE MOVING FORWARD, IF I UNDERSTAND YOUR ANSWER, THAT WAS FACILITATE WHATEVER DESIGN WE COME UP WITH, THAT LINE USES USE, RIGHT. IF WE SPIT IT OFF, AM I CORRECT? YES, SIR. THAT, THAT CLARITY AND DIRECTION IS HELPFUL. OKAY. OKAY. AND ANDY, DO YOU AGREE THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT AS FAR AS INTEREST GROUP WE ARE TALKING ABOUT NOW, THERE CAN, THERE CAN BE SOME OR BOTH IN THESE GROUPS, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FEEDBACK FROM, FROM TWO DIFFERENT GROUPS AT ITS CORE. DO YOU AGREE WITH THAT? I THINK SO, YES, SIR. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANKS, SIR. THANK YOU, MAYOR. OKAY. DEPUTY MAYOR PRO, TIM SMITH. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UM, I KNEW WHERE I WAS GOING WITH THIS UNTIL YOU TALKED, AND NOW I'M RIGHT BACK TO SQUARE ONE, . UM, SO LEMME ASK SOME, SOME QUESTIONS HERE. UH, IS, IS IT POSSIBLE TO DESIGN THE SENIOR CENTER IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT COULD ACCOMMODATE THIS GARDEN IN THE FUTURE OR OTHERWISE BE PROGRAMMED WITH OTHER OUTDOOR USES IN THAT SAME SPACE? COULD, COULD, WE, COULD, CAN WE HAVE IT BOTH WAYS? SO THE QUESTION IS, IS COULD THE EXISTING BRICKS, BENCHES, PLAQUES, ET CETERA, BE INCORPORATED INTO THE CURRENT DESIGN IN SOME FASHION? WELL, MORE OF, IF WE LEAVE THAT SPACE OPEN, UH, IN THE DESIGN THAT WE'RE DOING NOW, UH, FOR, AND, AND HAVE IT SIZED APPROPRIATELY TO WHERE IT COULD ACCOMMODATE THOSE THINGS, IF WE DECIDE TO PUT THAT, THAT THE MEMORIAL GARDEN THERE, UH, I'M THINKING MORE FLEX SPACE CONCEPTUALLY, UH, THAT WE COULD COMMIT TO AT A LATER DATE. YOU KNOW, DO, CAN WE, CAN WE WORK THAT IN? OR IS IT SUCH A LARGE AMOUNT OF SPACE THAT WE REALLY NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE DESIGN OF THE BUILDING? UH, MORE, UH, TO ADD ON TO THAT. SO HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH SPACE DID IT HAVE PREVIOUSLY AND HOW MUCH SPACE DID WE THINK IT NEEDS? I THINK THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE TALKING SQUARE FEET HERE, IT WAS RIGHT AROUND 5,000 SQUARE FEET FOR THE PLAZA SHAPE ITSELF AND THE THINGS THAT WENT ALONG WITH IT, I THINK MAYBE THE COUNCILMAN WILLIAMS 0.2 DIFFERENT AUDIENCES. AND I THINK THAT THE, THERE ARE THOSE THAT PARTICIPATED IN THE CREATION OF THE TRIBUTE PLAZA OR THE TRIBUTE GARDEN BEFORE, AND, AND A BROADER AUDIENCE AND PROBABLY ENCOMPASSES THAT GROUP AS WELL, THAT IS INTERESTED IN A LARGER PROJECT, LARGER SCALE, LARGER OPPORTUNITY, WHICH I THINK IS A WORTHY PROJECT SIDEBAR, UM, TO MEET THAT GOAL MIGHT BE A CHALLENGE ON THE, ON THE SITE, GIVEN THE SPACE THAT IS LIKELY TO REMAIN ONCE THE SENIOR CENTER IS DESIGNED. DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION A LITTLE BETTER? A LITTLE BIT. SO WHAT WE'RE SAYING IS THAT THE SIZE OF THE TRIBUTE GARDEN REALLY PRECLUDES IT FROM BEING ON THAT SITE, AND YOU WANT TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE FORWARD WITH, UH, THE SENIOR CENTER DESIGN, GET THAT THING ON THE GROUND AND TREAT THIS AS A WHOLLY DIFFERENT PROJECT THAT IS, WILL HAVE TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. SOUNDS ACCURATE? YES, SIR. OKAY. UM, YEAH, I MEAN, I'M, I'M, I'M FINE WITH THAT IN CONCEPT, UH, I'VE HEARD SOME PUSHBACK ON THE VA SITE, THE FINAL SITE. I MEAN, IT, UH, TO ME IT DOES, DOESN'T MATTER, UH, AS LONG AS IT'S, IT'S SOMEWHERE THAT'S ACCESSIBLE AND, UH, VETERAN FRIENDLY. SO WHETHER IT'S AT THE VA, WHETHER IT'S NEXT TO SOUTH GRO BRANCH LIBRARY, IT, YOU KNOW, WELL, I KNOW WE'LL DO RIGHT BY THE VETERANS WHEREVER IT GOES. SO, UM, I'M, UM, YEAH, I'M FINE WITH IT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MAYOR. OKAY. AND COUNCIL [00:45:01] MEMBER BASS, YOU WERE IN, YOU WERE OUT. YEAH. UH, EVERYTHING I HAD TO SAY WAS ALREADY SAID, SO. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, . WOW, YOU DIDN'T GO AHEAD AND SAY IT ANYWAY. , I WOULD LIKE FOR THE REST OF YOU TO TAKE NOTE OF THAT. , IF YOU COULD, JUST FOR A MINUTE, THE REST OF YOU , FOLLOW COUNCIL MEMBER VA'S LEAD? JUST THIS ONCE. JUST THIS ONE? YEAH, JUST THIS ONCE. THE OTHER THINGS, NOT SO MUCH, BUT, UH, OKAY. IS THERE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? AND, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, I THINK THE, THE QUESTION HERE REALLY IS DOES IT STAY ASSOCIATED WITH IT OR NOT? DOES IT MOVE TO THE VA? I MEAN, THAT'S OBVIOUSLY THE, THAT'S OBVIOUSLY THE ALTERNATIVE WE HAVE DISCUSSED. UM, BUT COULD THERE BE ANOTHER SPOT FOR IT? CERTAINLY. UM, BUT DOES THE MOST LOGICAL SORT OF SPOT LEAD IT TOWARDS THE VA? I GUESS MY, UH, I MEAN I I, I'VE HAD A CHANCE TO SPEAK TO MY APPOINTEE ON THE, ON THE SENIOR ADVISORY MISSION WHO HAPPENS TO BE THE CHAIR. UM, AND HER OPINION WAS TO REMOVE IT FROM THE SENIOR CENTER. I MEAN, BECAUSE I THINK THE, THE, THE PUSH, THE WISH, IF YOU WILL, IS TO FULLY MAXIMIZE WHATEVER FACILITY WE CAN BUILD THERE. I MEAN, WHETHER THAT'S CLASSROOMS, WHETHER THAT'S THE POOL THEY WANT OR WHATEVER, THAT, THAT EVERY CONVERSATION I'VE HAD ON THAT BUILDING HAS INVOLVED THE WORD POOL. UM, I, I THINK . SO, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH THAT, I THINK THE, YOU KNOW, OF, OF REALLY TRYING TO BE ABLE TO MAXIMIZE THAT SPACE OR WHAT WE CAN DO IN THAT, IN THAT PLOT OF LAND, UM, REMOVES THE SENIORS OR REMOVES THE TRIBUTE GARDEN FROM THAT LOCATION. UM, AND AS WE DISCUSSED, UH, AT OUR LAST WORK SESSION, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS, UM, WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND, I THINK IT WAS SAID THAT THE SITE AT THE VA COULD BE FIVE TO SIX YEARS OUT. AND WE HAVE TO BE, WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THAT IS THE ROUTE, IF THAT IS THE LOCATION WE'RE GOING TO PURSUE, THAT IT, IT'S GONNA TAKE SOME TIME AND, AND SOME EFFORT. UM, AND SO WE ARE GOING TO, UH, ESSENTIALLY BE WITHOUT, UH, FOR FIVE, SIX YEARS. I MEAN, THAT'S THE REALITY HERE. UM, SO IT JUST WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S, UH, IS, UNDERSTANDS THAT, THAT, THAT THIS IS NOT GONNA JUST IMMEDIATELY HAPPEN ON THAT VA PROPERTY. I MEAN, THERE'S, THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WORK TO BE DONE, UH, IN THERE. SO ANYWAY, JUST WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S CLEAR ON THAT. SO, UH, THE QUESTION IS, UM, MOVE FORWARD, UH, WITH THE DESIGN OF THE SENIOR CENTER WITHOUT THE TRIBUTE GARDEN. THAT WOULD BE UNANIMOUS, SIR. GREAT. APPRECIATE THE, I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT OUR NEXT MEETING. THANK YOU. I'M SORRY, . AND THAT LEADS US TO ITEM FOUR C, AUDIT [4.c. Audit Committee Meeting Report] COMMITTEE REPORT. DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM SMITH. UH, THANK YOU, MAYOR. UH, I JUST WANNA MENTION BEFORE WE GET STARTED THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN OFF AND ON AUDIT SINCE 2017. UH, WHEN I FIRST CAME ON, AND THIS MAY BE THE FIRST MEETING I'VE EVER CONDUCTED, UH, WHERE A STAFF RECEIVED, UH, A ROUSING APPLAUSE FROM THE ENTIRE GROUP. THAT JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN, AN AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETINGS, UH, BUT, UH, WHEN, UH, WEAVER FINANCIAL OR WEAVER, UH, DOES THEIR FINANCIAL REPORTING, UH, HOPEFULLY YOU'LL, Y'ALL WILL SEE WHY. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND IT'S OVER TO YOU, SIR. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR. COUNSEL, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US. UH, AS THE CHAIRMAN INDICATED, WE MET ON THE 27TH OF MARCH BY THE WEEK AGO, UM, DISCUSSED THE FINANCIAL AUDITS AND TWO OPERATIONAL AUDITS. I DO HAVE SARAH DEMPSEY, WHO'S THE PARTNER WITH WEAVER HERE. I'M GONNA TURN THIS OVER TO HER. SO SHE'S GONNA COVER THE FINANCIAL AUDIT, AND I'LL COME BACK AND COVER THE OTHER TWO OPERATIONAL AUDITS. YES, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME THIS EVENING. SO WE COMPLETED THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT AUDIT IN EARLY MARCH AND, UM, ISSUED AN UNMODIFIED OPINION. SO THAT'S A CLEAN LEVEL OF ASSURANCE. WE WENT THROUGH THE PRESENTATION WITH THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AND TALKED THROUGH REALLY OUR RISK ASSESSMENT PROCESS. THE AREAS THAT WE FOCUS IN ON, A LOT OF THAT IS OVERSTATEMENT OF REVENUE, UM, AND UNDERSTATEMENT OF LIABILITIES. SO THIS IS A FINANCIAL STATEMENT AUDIT WHERE WE'RE REALLY CHECKING TO SEE THAT THOSE BALANCES IN YOUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ARE MATERIALLY CORRECT. AND IT'S REASONABLE ASSURANCE, NOT ABSOLUTE ASSURANCE, BECAUSE WE CANNOT TEST EVERYTHING. [00:50:01] IT WOULD TAKE QUITE A LONG TIME. BUT WE DO SAMPLE AND GO THROUGH AND WE HAVE MATERIALITY AMOUNTS PER DIFFERENT FUNDS. SO THE ELECTRIC FUND WILL HAVE ITS OWN MATERIALITY AMOUNT. GENERAL FUND WILL HAVE ITS OWN. ALSO, DURING THE COURSE OF THE AUDIT, WE DO A SINGLE AUDIT BECAUSE YOU EXPEND MORE THAN $750,000 OF FEDERAL EXPENDITURES. SO WE TESTED THREE PROGRAMS, AND THAT MADE UP 80% OF YOUR FEDERAL, FEDERAL AWARDS. YOU'RE ONLY REQUIRED TO DO 20% BECAUSE YOU'RE A LOWER RISK, GOT A T. BUT, UM, THOSE THREE PROGRAMS HAD TO BE SELECTED. AND, UM, THOSE ALSO RECEIVED AN UNMODIFIED OPINION, AND THERE WERE NO FINDINGS TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION THAT ROSE TO THE LEVEL OF A SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCY OR MATERIAL WEAKNESS. SO THOSE ARE REPORTABLE LEVEL CONDITIONS. SO THAT'S THE RESULTS OF THE AUDIT, THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT AUDIT, AS WELL AS THE SINGLE AUDIT . I THINK ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT IS NO AUDIT ADJUSTMENTS. AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE AUDIT, THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT GOT THE ROUND OF APPLAUSE, IS THAT WE'RE NOT GOING THROUGH AND WHEN THEY'RE BRINGING THE NUMBERS TO US, MAKING CORRECTIONS THROUGHOUT IT. SO, YEAH. VERY GOOD. WELL, I DO WANNA EX FOLLOW THAT. YEAH, SURE. , THE CREDIT SHOULD GO TO MATT AND HIS TEAM. UM, THEY WORK WITH THEM A LOT IN A, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE WHEN THE AUDITORS ARE HERE ON TOP OF, WE ARE ALREADY HERE, THERE'S A LOT OF REQUEST. AND SO THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE THAT. I KNOW. UM, SO MATT AND HIS TEAM, ESPECIALLY CATHERINE, RICHIE, DESERVES A LOT OF CREDIT. SO I JUST WANTED TO, UH, INFORM THE COMMITTEE, I MEAN, FROM THE COUNCIL, BUT I'M KIND OF AFRAID WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN THE NEXT AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING, UM, BECAUSE WE ALREADY CELEBRATED TOO MUCH. UM, I'M NOT SURE WHERE WE ARE GOING WITH THIS . MARY, IF I MAY MOVE TO THE NEXT ITEM. LET'S GO AHEAD. THE NEXT ITEM WAS THE LANDFILL USAGE. AMAN, AS YOU'RE AWARE, UM, WE ARE THE EIGHTH LARGEST LANDFILL IN TEXAS. AND SO OUR OBJECTIVE FOR THESE AUDIT, UH, THERE WERE TWO OBJECTIVES. WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE IF THE FEES THAT WE ARE ASSESSING WERE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AGREEMENT, LANDFILL PERIODICALLY ENTERS AGREEMENT WITH DIFFERENT TYPES OF HAULERS. UH, THERE ARE THREE DIFFERENT MEASURE, THREE DIFFERENT KINDS, MEASURE HAULERS, UH, OTHER HAULERS. AND ALSO THERE IS ONE RECIPROCAL HAULER. AND THERE ARE DIFFERENT CRITERIA FOR EACH HAULERS, THE MEASURE HAULERS, WHY THEY, THEY GET A DISCOUNT RATE, BECAUSE THEY GUARANTEE CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF, UM, LANDFILL MATERIALS BRING TO THE CITY. UM, DURING THE AUDIT TIMEFRAME, UM, JUST FROM THESE AGREEMENTS, ALL, ALL ALTOGETHER, THERE WERE FOUR MAJOR HAULERS, 36 OTHER HAULERS WITH AGREEMENTS, AND THERE WERE AN, AN ADDITIONAL 24 WITHOUT THE AGREEMENT. AND ONE RECIPROCAL, THERE WAS A TOTAL OF 65 DIFFERENT TYPES OF, UM, HAULAGE THAT WE WERE LOOKING INTO. AND SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE CHARGING THE FEES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THOSE INCREMENTS. AND WE ALSO WANT TO CHECK THE EFFICIENCY AND THE EFEN EFFECTIVENESS OF FEE COLLECTION PROCEDURES. DURING THIS TIME, JUST FROM THESE AGREEMENTS, WE, THE CITY COLLECTED 14 MILLION. UM, USUALLY, UH, WHEN I COME UP HERE, I, I SPEAK A FEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT, BUT I DO WANNA INFORM THE COUNCIL THAT LANDFILL HAS DONE A GREAT JOB. OUT OF THE 14 MILLION, IT WAS LESS THAN 0.01% THAT REMAIN UNCOLLECTED. SO IF THEY'VE DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB IN COLLECTING THOSE FEES, ALSO RATES THAT THEY WERE CHARGING WERE ACCURATE. UM, SO WE DID NOT FIND ANY EXCEPTIONS WITH THAT. WE ENSURED THAT IF THERE WERE ANY VOIDED TRANSACTIONS, THOSE WERE PROPERLY DOCUMENTED. ALSO, WE RECEIVED A TOOL, MAINLY WE DO GET THAT WALKTHROUGH AND WE DO THIS TYPE OF AUDITS. UH, WE, I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE GAINED AN APPRECIATION, APPRECIATION OF THE LANDFILL SPORTERS AND HOW HARD THEY WORK IN A DIFFICULT ENVIRONMENT. SO JUST WANTED TO KURO TO THOSE FOLKS. THEY'RE TRULY, UH, HEROES TO, TO, TO, TO SERVE THE ENTIRE CITY. WHILE, UH, WE FOUND A LOT OF GOOD THINGS, THERE WERE A FEW AREAS THAT THEY COULD MAKE IMPROVEMENTS, UH, IN THESE INCREMENTS. A LATE PAYMENTS, UH, THERE ARE PROVISIONS FOR LATE PAYMENTS. SO IF A CUSTOMER IS NOT PAYING FEES ON TIME, UM, WE, YOU KNOW, FOR THE MAJOR HAULAGE, THERE'S A 10% PENALTY THAT THE CITY CAN ASSESS. FOR THE OTHER HAULAGE, WE CAN ASSESS A 10%, A SIMPLE INTEREST FEE. UH, OUT OF THE 849 INVOICES THAT WE LOOKED AT, APPROXIMATELY 40% OF THEM WERE DELAYED IN MAKING PAYMENTS. SO THERE WERE SOME IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED TO BE MADE. AND SO WE MADE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FOR, UH, LANDFILL TO WORK WITH THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT TO IMPROVE ON THAT, AND THEY CONCURRED WITH THAT. AND ALSO, WE'RE GONNA MAKE SOME CHANGES [00:55:01] TO THE, HOW THE INVOICES ARE PRODUCED CURRENTLY DOES NOT SHOW HOW MUCH THEY OWE US. UH, FROM AN OUTSTANDING PERSPECTIVE, IT ONLY SHOWS HOW MUCH YOU OWE FOR THIS THIS MONTH. SO THEY'RE GONNA MAKE SOME OF THOSE CHANGES. AND, UM, THE, THE LANDFILL DEPARTMENT WANTED TO ALLOW A LITTLE BIT MORE GRACE PERIOD, UH, ON TOP OF THE, AFTER THE DUE DATE. UH, CURRENTLY THERE IS A FIVE DAY GRACE PERIOD, BUT THEY WANTED TO INCREASE FIVE DAYS TO 30 DAYS GRACE PERIOD. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY WANTED TO DO OVERALL. UM, UH, THE COMMITTEE WAS FINE WITH IT. ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE AUDIT COMMITTEE PROPOSED IS TO COME BACK WITH A POLICY, UM, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY CUSTOMER, EVERY CLIENT IS TREATED EQUALLY. UM, SO THAT, THAT'S ONE THING THAT THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED, AND THAT IS GOING TO COME BACK. UH, IN FACT, UH, JED AND HIS TEAM WILL BRING THAT BACK, I BELIEVE, AS PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, I WOULD SAY. UH, SO THAT WILL COME BACK TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR DISCUSSION AS YOU'RE REVIEWING THEIR BUDGET PROCESS. ALSO, WE DID IDENTIFY THAT TWO CUSTOMERS HAD A PAST DUE BALANCE, OR APPROXIMATELY $36,000. THOSE WERE PAST DUE BALANCES FOR ALMOST A YEAR. UM, GOOD NEWS IS ONE OF 'EM, AS WE WERE FINISHING UP THE AUDIT, UH, THE CITY WAS ABLE TO COLLECT IT. UH, AND THE OTHER ONE, UH, THEY'RE WORKING WITH THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT TO ENFORCE THE COLLECTION EFFORTS. UH, AND ALSO WE NEEDED SOME, SOME PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS BECAUSE WE WERE ALLOWING SOME OF THESE CUSTOMERS, NOT JUST THESE TWO. THERE WERE A FEW OTHER CUSTOMERS. ALSO, WHEN PEOPLE WERE DELAYED IN MAKING PAYMENTS, WE STILL ALLOWED THEM TO BRING, UM, USE THE FOR. SO IF PEOPLE ARE NOT MAKING PAYMENTS WITHIN UNREASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME, I THINK WE NEED TO IMPROVE OUR SUSPENSION OF LA THEIR USAGE. SO THAT'S, THAT'S ANOTHER AREA THEY'LL START MONITORING. THE LAST AREA WAS, UH, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THERE WERE 24 CUSTOMERS WHO DIDN'T HAVE ANY TYPE OF AGREEMENTS, BUT WE WERE STILL ALLOWING THEM TO, UM, USE OUR MONTHLY BILLING PROCESS. UM, SOME OF THESE WERE FREQUENT, 17 OF 'EM WERE FREQUENT USERS, SEVEN OF 'EM WERE NOT. SO WE RECOMMENDED THAT WE NEED TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH, FOR THOSE 17 AND THE OTHER SEVEN, CONSIDER HAVING THEM PAY AS THEY COME TO THE CITY, UM, TO USE THE LANDFILL. THERE WILL BE SOME EXCEPTIONS, UH, BECAUSE, UH, SOME OF THESE CUSTOMERS ARE OTHER MUNICIPALITIES, THEIR EMPLOYEES MAY NOT HAVE A P CARD, SO THEY'RE GONNA MAKE SOME OF THOSE EXCEPTIONS. OVERALL, I DO WANNA INFORM THE COUNCIL LANDFILL WAS EXTREMELY COOPERATIVE THROUGHOUT THIS AUDIT. UH, CHRIS AND MAYELLA. UM, THEY'VE WORKED EXTREMELY WELL WITH US. UM, THEY AGREED PRETTY MUCH WITH EVERY RECOMMENDATION THAT WE HAD. I ALSO WANNA THANK PHIL, UH, TO JUMP IN AND PUT SOME OF THESE ACTIONS TOGETHER. UM, SO THE COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION WAS DEVELOP THE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES AND BRING IT BACK TO THE, UH, TO THE COUNCIL. ENHANCE COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN LANDFILL AND FINANCE AND COMMITTEE WAS OKAY WITH INCREASING THE GRACE PERIOD FROM FIVE TO 30 DAYS. SO IN A NUTSHELL, THAT WAS THE SUMMARY OF THAT AUDIT. I HAVE NO ONE IN THE QUEUE. OKAY, GOOD. THE LAST ITEM THAT WE DISCUSSED WAS THE G P N L TRANSMISSION VEGETATION MANAGEMENT SERVICES AUDIT FOLLOW UP. UH, AS YOU MAY REMEMBER, A FEW MONTHS AGO, I CAME, CAME TO THE COUNCIL WITH THE AUDIT. UM, THIS AUDIT, WE MAINLY FOCUSED ON THE TRANSMISSION SIDE. AS YOU'RE AWARE, WE OWN A NUMBER OF, UH, APPROXIMATELY 532 LINEAR MILES OF TRANSMISSION LINES. SO VEGETATION MANAGEMENT IS PART OF, UH, IS PART OF A, UH, PART OF THE PROGRAM. UH, IT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE NEED TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH NERC. IF NOT, WE CAN GET, UH, PENALIZED AND THERE COULD BE OUTAGES, OPERATIONAL PROBLEMS. SO THIS VEGETATION MANAGEMENT IS A CONTINUOUS PROCESS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE VEGETATION IS CLEAR. SO WE DID AN AUDIT, UH, A FEW MONTHS AGO, AND I CAME TO THE COUNCIL, UH, WITH THE REPORT. UH, DURING THAT AUDIT, UM, THERE WERE, WE HAD TWO INTERLOCAL AGREEMENTS. UM, ACTUALLY THE CITY HIRED TWO, TWO VENDORS THROUGH SEPARATE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENTS. AND, UH, WHEN WE DID THE, THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME WE DID THE AUDIT, AFTER A LONG TIME, WE FOUND SOME, SOME BILLING INACCURACIES. UM, PER THOSE AGREEMENTS, WE HAD LABOR ISSUES, UH, RECONCILIATION ISSUES WHEN IT COMES TO LABOR CHARGES, EQUIPMENT CHARGES PER DIEM AND MOBILIZATION CHARGES. AT THAT TIME, UM, UH, THE COMMITTEE, THE AUDIT COMMITTEE REQUESTED THAT WE DO A FOLLOW UP WITHIN A FEW MONTHS, OR WE WENT BACK AND DID A FOLLOW UP. AND THAT IS THE RESULT THAT I'M GONNA SHARE WITH YOU. SO WE HAD OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GP AND L UH, TO ENHANCE THEIR, UH, RECONCILIATION PROCESS TO COME UP WITH A NEW POLICY, UH, TO REVIEW THE BILLING ACCURACY WITH. THE GOOD NEWS IS THEY IMPLEMENTED ALL OF THAT. IN FACT, THEY DID A VERY GOOD JOB. SO, [01:00:01] UH, THE SCOPE OF THIS AUDIT WAS FROM OCTOBER THROUGH NOW TILL JANUARY. EVERYTHING THAT WE REVIEWED WERE PROPERLY SUPPORTED. THEY HAD PROPER REVIEWS, UH, OVER TIMES WERE PROPERLY REVIEWED AND APPROVED. SO KUDOS TO THE GP AND L FOLKS FOR IMPLEMENTING THIS. UM, ANOTHER RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE MADE, AS I INDICATED BEFORE, NUMBER OF YEARS AGO WHEN WE PROCURED THESE CONTRACTS, IT WAS THROUGH AN INTER LOCAL AGREEMENT. SO THE AUDIT, UH, RECOMMENDED THAT WE SHOULD TRY A, A, A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, GO OUT WITH A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, WHICH WE DID. UH, AND THE GOOD NEWS WAS SEVEN DIFFERENT VENDORS, UM, BID FOR THAT THIS PROGRAM, WHICH, WHICH IS GREAT. HONESTLY, I DIDN'T EXPECT THAT MANY COMPANIES TO, UM, YOU KNOW, SUBMIT THEIR BIDS AND, AND WE SELECTED A NEW VENDOR. IN THIS CASE, THE BID WAS AWARD TO A VENDOR THAT BID $283,000 LESS THAN THE PREVIOUS VENDOR. SO AGAIN, KUDOS TO, UM, GERALD AND HIS TEAM FOR DOING THAT WITHIN THE SHORT PERIOD OF TIME AND GETTING THIS NEW CONTRACT IN PLACE. THE LAST ITEM WAS, YES, THEY WERE REQUIRED TO CONDUCT THE INSPECTIONS BACK WHEN WE DID THE AUDIT. THEY WERE DOING AT LEAST THREE, UH, INSPECTIONS THROUGH USING HELICOPTERS. THEY ALSO WERE DOING OTHER ROUTINE INSPECTIONS. UNFORTUNATELY, UM, THE DOCUMENTATION WASN INSUFFICIENT. UM, SO WE MADE THAT RECOMMENDATION. UH, THEY ACTUALLY IMPROVED THAT PROCESS AS WELL. IN FACT, UH, THE, THE, THE, THE PERSON WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT CAME UP WITH AN APP, UH, WHICH IS BACKED UP IN THE GPN SERVER, UM, THAT COLLECTS ALL THIS INFORMATION, THE DATES, THE CONTRACTOR NAMES, THE SCOPE OF THE WORK EQUIPMENT, USE PICTURES. IT'S, IT'S WONDERFUL. UM, AGAIN, EVERYTHING THAT WE RECOMMENDED EXCEPT ONE THING THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO BECAUSE THEY CHANGED THE CONTRACT, THEY, UH, IMPLEMENTED IT. SO KUDOS TO G N N LASWELL. SO OVERALL, THAT WAS THE SUMMARY. CHAIRMAN, DID I MISS ANYTHING? OKAY. ALL RIGHT. I HAVE NO QUESTIONS IN THE QUEUE, SIR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU BOTH VERY MUCH. AND THAT WAS OUR LAST, UH, VERBAL BRIEFING. UH, WE ARE AT ITEM FIVE, [5. Announce Future Agenda Items] ANNOUNCE FUTURE, EXCUSE ME. ANNOUNCE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UH, IS THERE ANYONE WHO HAS ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS THIS EVENING? IF NOT, NOPE. COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIAMS. THANK, THANK YOU MAYOR. UH, BE IT THAT WE'VE GOT A LOT OF ACTIVITIES COMING UP SUMMER, SPRING, AND SORRY TO KEEP UP WITH, CAN WE GET, UH, JUST A BRIEFING, AN UPDATE FROM OUR CULTURAL LODGE DIRECTOR ON OUR SCHEDULE FOR SUMMER, SPRING, UH, EVENTS, ACTIVITIES? YES. AND COUNCIL MEMBER HEDRICK WILL BE THE SECOND ON THAT. IF WE COULD GET AMY IN HERE AND JUST KIND OF GIVE US AN OVERVIEW. YES. UM, THAT'D BE GREAT. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU, MAYOR. THANK YOU, SIR. ANY ADDITIONAL ITEMS? CUSTOMER LUCK. MAY I ASK THAT, UH, CINCO MAYO BE INCLUDED IN THAT DISCUSSION? BECAUSE I BELIEVE THERE MIGHT BE CHANGES IN IT. NO. ? YES. YES, THAT WILL BE INCLUDED. . . ANY ADDITIONAL? ALL RIGHT. UH, I SEE NONE. ALL RIGHT. WELL, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, UH, THAT WAS IT FOR US TONIGHT. UH, IT'S 7 0 3. WE ARE ADJOURNED, RIGHT MAN. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.