Jul 01, 2024 Work Session

[00:00:05]

WELL. GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO THE MONDAY, JULY 1ST, 2024 WORK SESSION FOR THE GARLAND CITY COUNCIL, OUR FIRST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA THIS EVENING IS PUBLIC COMMENTS ON WORK SESSION

[CONSIDER THE CONSENT AGENDA]

[1. Reserve at Shiloh Development Agreement]

[2. Interview for Appointment to the Texas Municipal Power Agency]

DOES IT MATTER WHICH SEAT? IT'S PURELY YOUR CHOICE. AND EXCUSE ME. AND AS YOU HAVE SEEN BEFORE, WHAT WE USUALLY DO IS WE'LL GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO TELL US ABOUT YOU, WHY YOU'RE INTERESTED.

WHAT'S YOUR. WHAT DO YOU BRING TO THIS APPOINTMENT? VERY GOOD. WELL, RIGHT OFF THE BAT, WE KICKED THE MEETING OFF HERE. SO, PETER ZEHR, CEO OF CARROLL CLEAN, LOCATED HERE IN GARLAND, I THINK IT'S BEEN HERE ABOUT 62 YEARS. AND AS A CEO AND THE OWNER, MY EXPERIENCE THERE IS LEADING AN ORGANIZATION AND BRINGING FRESH NEW IDEAS TO AN OLDER COMPANY THAT I ACQUIRED A FEW YEARS AGO. SO, MY STRENGTHS AND BACKGROUND REALLY, LEADS ME TO, LOOK AT AN ORGANIZATION AND FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY'VE ACCOMPLISHED SUCCESSFULLY. AND THEN BREATHE NEW LIFE OR NEW VISION INTO AN ORGANIZATION DONE THAT SUCCESSFULLY THROUGH SIX ACQUISITIONS AND 20 PLUS YEARS OF A CORPORATE WORLD BEFORE BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR MYSELF, IT'S BEEN INTERESTING, HAVING STARTED THAT COMPANY YEARS BEFORE AND THEN MOVING TO GARLAND AND GETTING TO KNOW HOW GARLAND OPERATES, INTEGRATING MYSELF INTO THE CHAMBER, INTO THE DALLAS MANUFACTURING ASSOCIATION, THAT'S BEEN REALLY FANTASTIC ORGANIZATION THAT THE CITY HAS INPUT INTO, SO I THINK OVERALL IN A BIG, HIGHER LEVEL, MY SKILL SET IS TO BRING ENERGY AND NEW IDEAS TO, TO AN ORGANIZATION, I COULD RAMBLE A LOT ABOUT MYSELF. I THINK SPECIFICALLY THE POWER ORGANIZATION IS IT'S OBVIOUSLY COME THROUGH A LOT OF CHANGES OVER THE YEARS. AND I DID HAVE A CHANCE TO ASK SOMEBODY RECENTLY WHAT THE VISN OF THAT ASSOCIATION WAS. AND I DIDN'T GET A GOOD ANSWER. THERE WASN'T CERTAINLY ON THE WEBSITE. IT DOESN'T GIVE YOU ANY INDICATION, IF YOU LOOK AT THE BIGGER SCHEME OF WHAT THE STATE IS TRYING TO DO, OBVIOUSLY OUTSIDE OF POWER AND WATER, THERE'S TRANSMISSION IS REALLY EVERYTHING. AS RECENTLY AS THE STORMS, WE WENT THROUGH A FEW WEEKS AGO, WHEN THE TRANSMISSION LINES GO DOWN, EVERYTHING COMES TO A FULL HALT AND WE ALL SUFFER THROUGH THAT A LITTLE BIT HERE. THREE WEEKS AGO. SO I THINK I IF I CAN GET MY HANDS AROUND WHAT THE CURRENT BOARD IS DOING, BRING A NEW SET OF EYES, A NEW PERSPECTIVE, SOME ENERGY, MAYBE THAT TRANSMISSION CAN TAKE ON A NEW CHALLENGE. IF THAT'S SO, BE WHAT THE FOUR CITIES WANT IT TO DO. SO I'D OPEN UP TO QUESTIONS OR THOUGHTS OF WHAT YOU GUYS REALLY SEE IN THIS POSITION. SURE. AND FIRST UP, COUNCIL MEMBER HEDRICK. THANK YOU. MAYOR. I MENTIONED COMING UP WITH SOME NEW IDEAS. CAN YOU MAYBE SHARE 1 OR 2 THAT YOU MAY THINK YOU COULD HAVE FOR THIS AGENCY? RIGHT, RIGHT. SO I THINK THE BIG THING WITH TRANSMISSION IS, IT'S AN INTERESTING ASSOCIATION BECAUSE IT USED TO GENERATE POWER. WOULD IT BE INTERESTED IN, HAVE THEY TALKED ABOUT AND WHAT THEY DON'T DISCLOSE ANYTHING ON THE WEBSITE, AND THE PEOPLE I'VE ASKED CAN'T GIVE ME ANSWERS. DO THEY WANT TO GET INTO GENERATION AGAIN, WHETHER IT BE SOLAR OR WIND, WHICH OBVIOUSLY ARE THE GROWTH AREAS, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, DO THEY WANT TO LOOK AT BATTERY OR, ENERGY SINK STORAGE BECAUSE IT'S ONE THING TO GENERATE IT. IT'S MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO KEEP IT. AND THEN TRANSMIT IT AND TRANSMIT IT WHEN REQUIRED. AS WE CAN SEE, YOU CAN

[00:05:01]

THANK YOU PETER. APPRECIATE YOU COMING OUT TODAY. THANK YOU, PETER, JUST SOME, BASIC KNOWLEDGE. DO YOU KNOW THE MEMBER CITIES OF TAMPA? YES. YOU GOT GREENVILLE, DENTON, GARLAND AND BRIAN. PERFECT. AND THEN, CAN YOU CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THE ENERGY SECTOR, PARTICULARLY IN RELATION TO MUNICIPAL POWER AGENCIES? RIGHT. NONE NONE. NO SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE THERE. OKAY. AND I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBER HEDRICK TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT VISION, SO ASIDE FROM, YOU KNOW, FUNDING A POTENTIAL GENERATION, THE FUTURE OF TAMPA, ESPECIALLYR IN TERMS OF SUSTAINABILITY AND MEETING THE GROWING NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY? WELL, I THINK THAT'S THE ENTIRE CONVERSATION IS WHAT WHAT DO THESE FOUR COMMUNITIES WANT? WHAT'S THEIR VISION FOR IT ? WHAT HAS THE BOARD DONE AND WHAT IS THE BOARD TRYING TO DO? CERTAINLY NONE OF THAT'S DISCLOSED IN ANYTHING I CAN READ OR GATHER OR IN CONVERSATIONS I'VE HAD, IT SEEMS TO BE STAY THE COURSE, WHICH IS FINE. STAY THE COURSE. IF THAT'S THE PLAN. BUT I WOULD THINK OUTSIDE OF WATER, ELECTRICITY IS THE BIGGEST. IF NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT. BECAUSE WATER, YOU CAN AT LEAST GO BUY AT THE GROCERY STORE. YOU CAN'T RUN DOWN THE STREET WHEN THE TRANSMISSION LINES HAVE TROUBLE. OKAY AND, AS FAR AS STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT IS CONCERNED, HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH COLLABORATION WITH THE VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING CITY OFFICIALS, OTHER MUNICIPALITIES, OTHER MUNICIPALITIES, AND, CAN YOU PROVIDE ANY EXAMPLES OF A SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATIVE PROJECT THAT YOU'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN IN THE PAST? SURE, SURE. GREAT QUESTION. SO AS AN OWNER OF AN ORGANIZATION, IT'S COLLABORATIONS EVERY DAY, RIGHT? SO THERE'S REALLY THREE PILLARS THAT, THAT, THAT ALL OF THIS STANDS ON. YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE GOOD PEOPLE. AND IN ANY CITY THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME GREAT PEOPLE AND THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME PEOPLE THAT ARE A LITTLE BIT OF HEADWIND, BUT YOU FIND THEM AND YOU WORK WITH THEM, THEN YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE A PROCESS. YOU'VE GOT TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THEIR PROCESS IS AND WHAT MAKES THEM WORK, AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO WORK WITHIN THEM. AND THEN YOU'VE GOT TO COMMUNICATE.

AND THERE'S MANY DIFFERENT WAYS TO COMMUNICATE, BUT YOU WANT TO A PROACTIVELY BEGIN THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND ENGAGE IN WHAT THEY DO. SO A SUCCESSFUL PROJECT , I WAS VERY BLESSED IN MY CORPORATE CAREER BETWEEN THE AGE OF 20, WHENEVER I GOT OUT AND GOT MY FIRST JOB, BY THE TIME I WAS 30, I WAS MY CORPORATION HAD MOVED ME TO DALLAS AND I WAS REPORTING TO THE CEO AND A 2000 EMPLOYEES AND EXECUTED WELL FOR THAT ENTIRE SPAN. AND THEN IN 2012, I WENT OUT AND BOUGHT A LITTLE COMPANY. I WENT FROM 2000 EMPLOYEES TO TEN LITTLE EMPLOYEES THAT I OWNED. AND THROUGH SIX ACQUISITIONS AND A WHOLE SERIES OF ACTIVITY, WE WENT FROM A 2000 SQUARE FOOT FACILITY TO BEING ABLE TO MOVE IN HERE TO GARLAND, 180,000FT■S, PULLED ALL THOSE ORGANIZATIONS TOGETHER. SO COLLABORATION THROUGH PEOPLE AND PROCESS AND COMMUNICATION, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT'S ABOUT. OKAY AWESOME. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MAYOR. VERY GOOD, COUNCILOR WILLIAMS. THANK YOU SIR. GOOD EVENING SIR. HELLO. GOOD. GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN, YOU MENTIONED SEVERAL WORDS. YOU MENTIONED VISION, NEW LINE, NEW IDEAS. NUMBER ONE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A MUNICIPALLY OWNED UTILITY. OKAY IF YOU WERE SELECTED TO SERVE ON ON THIS BOARD, TELL ME. GIVE ME A COUPLE OF YOUR IDEAS OR VISION PIECES THAT WOULD IMPACT OUR UTILITY. WELL, SURE. IF YOU IF YOU GO BACK AND READ THE HISTORY OF GAL, IT STARTED WITH A VISION AND THEY WENT AND CREATED A POWER STATION AND WITH FOUR OTHER THREE OTHER CITIES AND TODAY, WHAT IS THAT VISION THAT THE THAT THE BOARD LEADS, OR WHAT IS THE VISION THAT THE BOARD IS EXECUTING ON BEHALF OF THE FOUR CITIES? SO I THINK THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES IN THERE, WHETHER IT BE BATTERY STORAGE OR ENERGY STORAGE OR GENERATION, BUT THOSE IDEAS WERE DECADES AGO, AND I'M TRYING TO ASCERTAIN WHAT DO THESE CITIES WANT AND WHAT'S THE BOARD DOING. AND I FROM FROM WHAT I'VE GATHERED IN THE CONVERSATIONS I'VE HAD, I'M NOT GETTING A LOT OF THAT INFORMATION. SO I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP IS TO GET ONTO THE BOARD. AND THEN FROM INSIDE, UNDERSTAND AND BUILD FORWARD.

OKAY. THANK YOU. AND YOU, YOU YOU STEPPED RIGHT INTO MY NEXT QUESTION. YOU MENTIONED SEVERAL TIMES ABOUT INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS. WERE YOU SELECTED TO THIS BOARD GOING

[00:10:03]

OKAY THANK YOU SIR. THANK YOU MAYOR. VERY GOOD. SORRY. ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? I SEE NONE THANK YOU SIR. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S TIME. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THE CONSIDERATION. THANK YOU. AND NEXT UP WE HAVE, THE HONORABLE JAMIE RATLIFF. LIKE I'VE SAID PREVIOUSLY, FORMALLY HONORABLE. FORMALLY HONORABLE? YES YES. AS I APPROACH FORMALLY HONORABLE, I HAVE A MUCH MORE BETTER APPRECIATION FOR THAT. WELL, YOU'RE A YEAR OR SO YOU'LL YOU REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. I SUSPECT THE TERM LIMITS THE. BACK YEARS BACKGROUND IS, I'VE BEEN ON THE COUNCIL. WAS ON FIRST ONE ON THE GARLAND CITY COUNCIL IN 1983, I WAS ACTUALLY THERE WHEN THEY HAD THE POWER WAS TURNED ON TO THE GIBBONS CREEK WHEN IT WAS A POWER PLANT, SUBSEQUENT TO THE YEARS I'VE BEEN ON THE COUNCIL, AS MAYOR, WE DOWNSIZED THE PLANT SIGNIFICANTLY FROM, LIKE, 340 SOMETHTHING PEOP DOWN TO ABOUT 200, TODAY WE'RE DOWN TO SIX NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET. WE'RE DOWN TO FIVE PEOPLE. SO, BASICALLY, WE'RE A TRANSMISSION OPERATION AT THIS POINT, THE DECISION WAS MADE A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO. COMPLIMENTS OF EPA. PROCESSING.

THE PROBLEM WAS WE HAD A COAL PERMIT THAT WAS COMING UP FOR RENEWAL, PREVIOUSLY, IT WAS BEST AVLABLE TECHNOLOGY TO KEEP THE PLANTS OPERATING, EPA CAME IN AND SET THE RULES THAT, YOU WILL HIT THESE STANDARDS HAPPENED TO BE UNDER THE COAL PLANT STANDARDS. THERE WAS NO AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY THAT COULD HIT THAT. AND THAT'S WHY ACROSS TEXAS NOW, YOU SEE COAL PLANTS BEING SHUT DOWN AS THEIR PERMITS COME UP FOR RENEWAL. THEY JUST THEY CAN'T HIT THE EPA, YOU KNOW, AND ENVIRONMENTAL THINGS. IT'S ACROSS STATE POLLUTION ISSUES WERE THE WERE THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THAT. SEVERAL YEARS AGO WE SHUT DOWN THE PLANT, WE'VE SUBSBSEQUENTLYOLD OFF THE PROPERTY, WE ARE, AS I'VE SAID IN THE TRANSMISSION BUSINESS, THE REASON I WOULD LIKE TO STAY ANOTHER COUPLE OF YEARS IS BECAUSE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF REVIEWING AND LOOKING AT, AT WHAT IS THE AGENCY GOING TO BE? WE'RE LOOKING AT A POSSIBILITY OF A TRANSITION, WHAT WE'RE BASICALLY LOOKING AT IS DO WE WANT TO DISTRIBUTE THE ASSETS TO THE INDIVIDUAL CITIES, AND HOW WILL THOSE ASSETS BE DISTRIBUTED, THOSE ASSETS AND MARKET VALUE OF THOSE ASSETS IS ABOUT $900 MILLION. THAT'S MARKET VALUE, BOOK VALUE ON THOSE THINGS IS ABOUT 175 MILLION PLUS OR MINUS, SO ANYWAY, THE DISTRIBUTION OF THAT, THIS 330, ABOUT 330 MILES OF DISTRIBUTION LINES IS WHAT TAMPA IS. 340 MOST OF IT'S 345 KV LINES. THAT'S A BIG LINES.

YOU GUYS SEE RUNNING CROSS COUNTRY. ANYWAY, WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT, ONE. DO WE WANT TO, DISTRIBUTE IT TO THE INDIVIDUAL CITIES, WE'LL BE LOOKING. DO WE JUST WANT TO REMAIN BASICALLY THE SAME SIZE WE ARE, OR DO WE ACTUALLY PERHAPS WANT TO INCREASE ADDITIONAL TRANSMISSION, THOSE THINGS HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH THE PUC. T COST RATES OF RETURN, WE'RE IN A POSITION NOW THAT WE DON'T WANT TO OVER EARN. IF WE OVER EARN, THEY'LL COME IN AND REDUCE THE T COST, THE TRANSMISSION COSTS. AND I'LL. SORRY, REVENUES THAT, TAMPA RECEIVES AND THAT IS CONSEQUENTLY THAT IS DISTRIBUTED TO THE INDIVIDUAL CITIES, GARLAND GETS ABOUT 47% A LITTLE OVER 47, 47.3% OF THAT OF THAT REVENUE AFTER EXPENSES, WHAT DO

[00:15:05]

WE KNOW MOST OF MOST OF US, KNOW EACH OTHER VERY WELL, AND WE WORK TOGETHER WELL. I ENJOY REPRESENTING GARLAND'S INTEREST. I'VE DONE IT FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS. OVER THE YEARS, WE'VE SAVED, ESPECIALLY MR. JEFFRIES AND I WORKING TOGETHER. WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SAVE THE CITY LITERALLY MILLIONS AND HELP MAKE THE CITY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OVER THE YEARS, ADDITIONAL GENERATION. I'VE HAD A CONVERSATION WITH ONE OF THE STATE SENATORS, AND THEY'RE LOOKING AT THIS PROBABLY IS NOT GOING TO GO ANYWHERE. I DON'T KNOW THAT THE CITY OF GARLAND REALLY WANTS TO PARTICIPATE IN IT BECAUSE OF THE EXPENSES ASSOCIATED POTENTIAL LIABILITIES ASSOCIATED WITH IT. BUT THE STATE IS AWARE MOST OF YOU ARE AWARE IS LOOKING AT ADDING A LARGE AMOUNT OF GENERATION THERMAL GENERATION, THAT'S NON WIND. NON SOLAR. IN OTHER WORDS THINGS THAT CAN WORK ON DEMAND. THEY'RE LOOKING AT AGENCIES. IT WAS SUGGESTED BY SOMEBODY FROM GARLAND THAT THEY MIGHT WANT TO LOOK AT BRAZOS. I'VE HAD A CONVERSATION WITH LIKE I SAY A STATE SENATOR. THEY'RE LOOKING FOR A VEHICLE TO DO IT. AND, YOU KNOW, TAMPA CAME UP IN THE CONVERSATION WITH HIM. HE BROUGHT IT UP. BUT BEFORE THAT TO HAPPEN, IT WOULD TAKE A BASICALLY THE STATE LEGISLATION WOULD, YOU KNOW, STATE LEGISLATURE WOULD HAVE TO CHANGE THE CHARTER. THE TPA WOULDN'T BE A BASICALLY A FOUR CITY ENTITY AT THAT POINT, AT THAT POINT, IF THE STATE DECIDED TO DO THAT, THE ASSETS WOULD HAVE TO BE DISTRIBUTED IN A MANNER TO THE INDIVIDUAL CITIES, BUT WE'RE TALKING A LOT OF MONEY. AND, YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE I'VE GOT THE LONGEVITY, THE HISTORY AND THE WORKING KNOWLEDGE, TO SEE THIS THROUGH TO THE END. SO HOPEFULLY THIS, THIS GAME WILL BE UNDER CONTROL OR WILL HAVE TO KNOW WHERE IT'S GOING IN THE NEXT YEAR OR TWO. SO IF ANYBODY AND I'VE TRIED TO BE BRIEF, WITHOUT PUTTING TOO MANY ANGELS ON THE HEAD OF A PEN, BUT IF THERE'S QUESTIONS, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM OR TRY. OKAY.

COUNCILMEMBER BASS, THANK YOU. THANK YOU, JAMIE, FOR COMING. I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND ASK YOU THE SAME QUESTIONS THAT I ASKED PETER. GIVE EVERYBODY THE SAME OPPORTUNITY. CAN YOU NAME THE TEAM TMPA MEMBER CITIES? I'M SORRY. CAN YOU NAME THE TMPA MEMBER CITIES? YES GARLAND, DENTON, GREENVILLE AND BRYAN. THANK YOU. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I ASK EVERYBODY THE SAME QUESTIONS. YEAH. AND I KNOW WHAT THE ACRONYM TPA STANDS FOR. ALSO WELL, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD PEOPLE WHO COULDN'T ANSWER THAT QUESTION BEFORE. I HAVE ADDED IT TO MY LIST, OKAY, SO YOU'VE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE TALKED QUITE A BIT ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE. WE'RE FAMILIAR WITH THAT. SO, YOU'VE ANSWERED THAT QUESTION AND THEN, SO AS FAR AS THE, THE VISION AND FUTURE OF TAMPA IN TERMS OF, SUSTAINABILITY AND MEETING GROWING ENERGY NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY. WHAT DO YOU WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING THERE FOR MY OWN, IT, WELL, ACTUAL, I'M NOT GOING TO. I'LL GIVE YOU AN ANSWER IN A SECOND, AND I'M NOT GOING TO HEDGE. I THINK MOST PEOPLE THAT KNOW ME PERSONALLY AROUND HERE KNOW THAT WHAT MY ANSWER WOULD BE. BUT BASICALLY IT'S WHAT'S GOING TO MAKE MOST SENSE TO THE INDIVIDUAL CITIES. IN MY CASE, GARLAND WAS GOING TO BE IN GARLAND'S BEST INTEREST, WHETHER IT'LL BE REMAIN THE SAME, DISTRIBUTE THE ASSETS OR EXPAND THE AGENCY, MY PERSONAL PREFERENCE IS, I'D LIKE TO SEE THE ASSETS DISTRIBUTED TO THE INDIVIDUAL CITIES, IN OTHER WORDS, TAMPA BASICALLY GET OUT OF THE TRANSMISSION BUSINESS. I CAN'T GIVE YOU A SPECIFIC REASON FOR THAT. THAT'S JUST PHILOSOPHICAL. HOWEVER, THERE MAY THERE'S PROBABLY FINANCIAL REASONS THAT IT MIGHT MAKE MORE SENSE, YOU KNOW, TO STAY IN AND,

[00:20:02]

OKAY. THANK YOU JAMIE. AND THEN LAST QUESTION, SO HOW HOW DO YOU APPROACH COLLABORATION WITH, VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING CITY OFFICIALS AND OTHER MUNICIPALITIES? WELL, WE ARE WE DEAL. WE INTERFACE. YOU KNOW, I INTERFACE TIME INTERFACES. WE INTERFACE WITH OUR STAFF, GAL STAFF ON A NEARLY A CONSTANT BASIS. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, IT'S I MEAN, SOMETIMES THERE'S IDEAS BOUNCING AROUND. IT'S LIKE REALLY, YOU KNKNOW, I MEAN, IT DOESN'T, BUT IT. AND THEN BEFORE BOARD MEETINGS, WE OBVIOUSLY WORK WITH EACH OTHER GETTING IT DOWN. AND OF COURSE, WE'RE UNDER OPEN MEETINGS, ACT JUST LIKE YOU GUYS ARE. BUT WE, TOM AND I, WE SEEM TO GET, YOU KNOW, THE BOARD REALLY GETS ALONG VERY WELL INDIVIDUALLY. INDIVIDUALLY. SOMETIMES THERE'S DIFFERENCES OF OPINION, BUT, THE BOARD IS VERY GOOD. IT'S WHEN THE WHEN THE VOTE'S OVER, THE VOTE'S OVER.

YOU KNOW? SO IT'S WHAT I REALLY DON'T LIKE. ONE OF THE THINGS I DISLIKE ABOUT THE AGENCY AND THOSE OF YOU THAT DON'T KNOW, YOU'LL LEARN SOON ENOUGH. WE CONTROL 47% OF THE. WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR 47% OF THE DEBT. AND THE ISSUES AND THE INCOME AND EVERYTHING THAT COMES OFF.

BUT WE ONLY HAVE A 25% VOTE TO ME, THAT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE, BUT THAT GOES BACK TO WHEN TAMPA CAME IN AN ORGANIZATION. AND I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY A RESPONSE TO THE GENTLEMAN WHOSE NAME ACROSS THE STREET, THE UTILITY BUILDING, IS NAMED AFTER. BUT, ANYWAY, IT GOES BACK TO WAY BACK WHEN. THAT, TO ME, MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THAT'S THE REALITY THAT WE LIVE WITH. BUT BUT WE COLLABORATE. THE BOARD GETS ALONG VERY WELL. YEAH.

OKAY. COOL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU JAMIE. THANK YOU MAYOR. VERY GOOD. ANY EXCUSE ME. ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, COUNCILMEMBER WILLIAMS OKAY. GOOD EVENING. THE HONORABLE ONE.

SHE DON'T GO THERE. BE OKAY. CAN I USE THAT? ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS, SIR, JUST PIGGYBACK ON JAMIE. HOW MANY MEMBERS? JUST FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION. HOW MANY WHAT HOW MANY MEMBERS ARE ON THE BOARD? EIGHT. EIGHT MEMBERS ON THE BOARD, IF YOU REAPPOINTED, WHAT DO YOU OTHER THAN WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY CITED, WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FACING THE BOARD GOING FORTH THAT YOU'VE NOT ALREADY MENTIONED, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO AND WE'LL BE WORKING WITH, CITY STAFFS IS A BALANCE BETWEEN EARNINGS AND, T COSTS. WE DON'T WANT TO TRIGGER A RATE HEARING IF WE EARN TOO MUCH ON OUR ASSETS, IT WILL TRIGGER A RATE HEARING, WHICH WE DON'T WANT WITH THE PUC BECAUSE THEY COULD COME IN AND REDUCE RATES. I SEE THAT AS THAT'S AN ISSUE. TAMPA PROBABLY HAS. AND IN GARLAND HANDLES A MAJORITY OF THE TRANSMISSION ISSUES FOR TAMPA. NOW YOU KNOW, WITH, SIX EMPLOYEES GOING TO FIVE, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NOT MANY TAMPA TRANSMISSION FOLKS, BUT, IT PROBABLY TAMPA AS FAR AS IS. QUALITY OR OR RELIABILITY. NOT ONLY IS GARLAND POWER AND LIGHT VERY RELIABLE, BUT TAMPA IS VERY RELIABLE. WE BECAUSE WE TRY TO KEEP IT THAT WAY AND THAT HELPS US ON OUR T COST, WE ARE OCCASIONALLY WE DO EXPAND LINES INTO PLACES, WE ALSO HAVE REQUIREMENTS BECAUSE WE'RE

[00:25:06]

ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? I SEE NONE THANK YOU SIR. THANK YOU. AND THIS WILL BE UP FOR, FORMAL

[3. Interviews for Appointment to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Board]

[00:30:02]

THANK YOU MAYOR. VERY GOOD. ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? THANK YOU SIR. ALL RIGHT. THANKS AND NEXT UP WE HAVE, THE HONORABLE MARK ENOCH. I'M NOT SURE HOW HONORABLE I AM, BUT. WELL, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT CARRIES IT AT SOME TIMES, 30 YEARS, IT PASSES. SO HOW, YOU KNOW, PROTOCOLS ARE WHAT THEY ARE ARE PROTOCOLS ARE FOREVER. HONOR MY WIFE ABOUT PROTOCOLS. PROTOCOLS ARE FOREVER HONORABLE AS IS, YOU KNOW, HAS SOME TIME LIMITS ON IT. WELL, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME HERE, I'VE BN ON THE BOARD OF REPRESENTING GARLAND AND GLENN HEIGHTS AND ROWLETT, THE CITY IN WHICH I LIVE AND HAVE LIVED FOR 42 YEARS. AND, USED TO REPRESENT FARMERS BRANCH. BUT EVERY TEN YEARS, WE HAVE TO ARRANGE BASED UPON POPULATION BECAUSE I HAVE PARTIAL CITIES THAT I REPRESENT, AND I HAD TO MOVE FROM FARMERS BRANCH TO GLENN HEIGHTS, WHERE I REPRESENT GLENN HEIGHTS. NOW, MY JUST TO PICK UP ON A COUPLE OF THINGS HERE, THE, THE I THINK, MARK, FIRST OF ALL, MARK'S DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB FOR YOU, AND I THINK YOU WOULD DO WELL TO REAPPOINT HIM, THOUGH A NEW MEMBER, HE'S CAUGHT ON TO ISSUES VERY QUICKLY. HE PAYS ATTENTION, WORKS HIS PACKET. SO HE COMES PREPARED. SO I'LL JUST KUDO THAT, I THINK SECURITY AND SAFETY IS AS BIG OF AN ISSUE AS WE HAVE RIGHT NOW WITH UNHOUSED USING OUR TRAINS AND, AND SPACES FOR LIVING. WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH THE MEADOWS FOUNDATION AND THE CITY OF DALLAS AND OTHERS TO SEE IF WE CAN'T GET SOME OF THE FOLKS OFF THE TRAIN AND TO PLACES WHERE THEY DON'T HAVE TO COME BACK TO THE TRAIN FOR, THEIR LIFE TO LIVE ON COLD MORNINGS OR ON HOT DAYS. WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF THAT NOW. I HOPE IT'S SUCCESSFUL. I JUST TALKED TO FOLKS AT SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA TRANSIT SEPTA.

THEY'VE GOT A PROGRAM THEY'VE WORKED FOR LONGER THAN WE HAVE. THERE'S, AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, TRANSIT AGENCIES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY ARE SEEING THE SAME ISSUE. SO WE'RE TRYING TO USE BEST PRACTICES AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO TAKE CARE OF IT. BUT THAT GIVES A FEELING, AN UNSETTLING FEELING TO DISCRETIONARY RIDERS. AND WE DON'T WANT ANYBODY WHO GETS ON OUR ON OUR TRAINS TO BE UNSETTLED. WE WANT THEM TO BE COMFORTABLE SO THEY CAN BRING THEIR FAMILY, WHETHER IT'S TO A TO A JOB OR TO A SPORTING EVENT. SO I THINK THAT IS GOING TO BE ONE OF THE CRITICAL ISSUES FOR US TO TACKLE IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS. THE SAFETY AND SECURITY ISSUE, I COULD FEEL SAFE ON A TRAIN AT 8:00 IN THE MORNING OR NOON, BUT IF SOMEONE ELSE DOESN'T, IT DOESN'T MATTER.

THAT PERSON'S NOT GOING TO GET BACK ON THE TRAIN. SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO GETS ON THAT TRAIN HAS A COMFORTABLE EXPERIENCE. WE HAVE, INCREASED SPENDING FOR OUR POLICE OFFICERS FOR FARE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, I WISH WE COULD HAVE ONE PER TRAIN THAT WOULD COULD WORK EACH CAR, BUT THE WAY THE TRAINS WORK IS THEY HAVE FRONTS AT BOTH ENDS. SO YOU CAN'T WALK THROUGH A TRAIN TO THE OTHER SIDE. SO ACTUALLY, AN OFFICER ON A TRAIN MIGHT BE CAPTIVE, IF YOU WILL, ON ONE OF THE CARS WHILE SOMETHING'S GOING ON THE OTHER CAR. SO WE'VE GOT TO WORK THROUGH THAT. I THINK WE'RE DOING WELL AS PART OF THE IN FACT, JUST BEFORE THE STRATEGIC PLAN WAS ADOPTED, WE HAVE A SAFETY AND SECURITY OVERALL PLAN THAT WE ASKED OUR NEW CEO. I SAY NEW THREE YEARS NOW, NADINE LEE TO COME THROUGH. AND I THINK IT'S AN EFFECTIVE ONE. SO, SO I THINK IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN, THIS THE FANTASTIC PLACES IS GOING TO BE GREAT. BUT IF WE CAN'T HAVE PEOPLE FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE ON THE TRAINS AND BUSSES THAT THEY ARE COMFORTABLE, NOT JUST SAFE, THEY'RE COMFORTABLE. I THINK WE'VE GOT I THINK WE'VE GOT A LOT TO, TO CONSIDER, AT LIKE ALL TRANSIT AGENCIES IN THE COUNTRY, OUR RIDERSHIP IS DOWN FROM WHERE IT WAS PRE-PANDEMIC, AND WE HAD A VERY GOOD INCREASE THIS LAST YEAR. BUT WE'RE STILL NOT BACK

[00:35:01]

I WAS MAYOR OF ROWLETT, SO I TAKE THESE THINGS VERY SERIOUSLY . PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO VOTE THEIR TAX DOLLARS. THEY REALLY DO. AND JUST BECAUSE A UNIT GETS A TAX DOLLAR NOW DOESN'T MEAN IT HAS A RIGHT TO HAVE IT NEXT WEEK. IT JUST DOESN'T. IF IT DESERVES IT, IT SHOULD HAVE IT.

BUT IMAGINE IF I CAME TO YOU, COUNCILMAN HEDRICK, AND SAID, NEXT YEAR, WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IS OPERATE THE CITY ON 75% OF YOUR REVENUES. IT'D BE CATASTROPHIC. YOU COULD NOT DO IT. AND FRANKLY, I UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE WANT TO PUSH THE ISSUE AND THEY WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT, BECAUSE THERE'S LOTS OF USES THAT THE CITY OF I MEAN, WITH FOR A FOR BE IT IS. IMAGINE IF YOU HAD A HALF A PENNY YOU COULD COMPETE AGAINST THE FRISCO'S OF THE WORLD. SO THE LEGISLATURE SCREWED THIS UP 20 YEARS AGO WHEN THEY DID THE FOUR A, FOUR B AND THE TRANSIT, THE ISSUE ISN'T TO STEAL THE MONEY TO TAKE IT FROM TRANSIT, BECAUSE TRANSIT IS NOT GOING TO BE LESS IMPORTANT NEXT YEAR THAN IT IS THIS YEAR, TEN YEARS FROM NOW THAN IT IS NOW. IF YOU JUST READ THE MORNING NEWS LAST WEEK, ALL THE NEW PEOPLE RUNNING WORTH THE 17TH BUSIEST CITY AS FAR AS OUR TRAFFIC GOES IN THE COUNTRY, IT'S NOT GOING TO GET BETTER. HOW MANY MORE LANES ARE YOU GOING TO BE ABLE TO ADD TO GARLAND AVENUE? YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE DOWN BUSINESSES ON BOTH SIDES TO DO THAT. IT'S TOO EXPENSIVE. TRANSIT IS THE FUTURE. WE NEED TO BE PATIENT FOR IT. WE NEED TO BE SMART ABOUT WHAT WE DO. BUT WHEN WE HAVE 40 MILLION OR ANOTHER 10 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE METRO IN THE METROPLEX AND ANOTHER 30 YEARS, WE'VE GOT TO HAVE PLACES FOR THEM TO BE AND TRANSIT IS GOING TO DO IT. AND RIGHT NOW, FOR EXAMPLE, NORTH CENTRAL EXPRESSWAY, THE RED LINE CARRIES TWO LANES OF TRAFFIC BOTH WAYS EQUAL TO RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC THAT TAKES TWO LANES OFF THE ROAD. THAT ONE THAT ONE TRAIN. SO EXCUSE ME, I'LL GET OFF MY SOAPBOX. SO I HOPE I ANSWERED THAT. I THINK WE OUGHT TO BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT HOW WE SPEND THE MONEY, AND CERTAINLY WE CAN BE MORE EFFICIENT, BUT I TOTALLY AGREE WITH MARK. WE'VE GOT THE 2.0 COMING OUT, THE TRANSIT STUDY 2.0, AND WE'VE GOT THE EONNI STUDY THAT WAS COMMISSIONED AS A RESULT OF SOME OF THE CITIES REQUESTING US TO DO IT. I JUST THINK WE OUGHT TO SEE HOW THAT HAPPENS, SEE HOW THAT COMES OUT, I APPRECIATE THAT. YEAH. AND SECOND QUESTION, SIMILAR TO THE LAST ONE I ASKED ALSO, IS THE TEN YEAR PLAN THE POINT B PLAN? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW TO IMPACT GARLAND? I DON'T KNOW YET. I MEAN, IT'S I SAY, I DON'T KNOW.

WE HAVE A STRATEGIC PLAN. THE QUESTION IS, FOR EXAMPLE, PART OF THAT STRATEGIC PLAN IS TEN BY TEN. I'M GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET TO A TRANSIT STATION. CAN'T CATCH A BUS IN TEN BY TEN. I'M NO FARTHER THAN TEN MINUTES AWAY, AND I'M NOT SURE THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT WITHOUT COMMITTING A NUMBER OF RESOURCES THAT WE DON'T YET HAVE TO DO THAT WHETHER WE CAN GET 15 BY 15. I HOPE WE CAN. SO THE QUESTION IS THIS STRATEGIC PLAN BOARDS CHANGE THIS BOARD.

IF THIS BOARD WERE HERE IN TEN YEARS OR FOR THE NEXT FIVE BUDGET SESSIONS, MUCH BETTER CHANCE. BUT EVERY BOARD COMES ON BOARD WITH THEIR OWN IDEAS AND THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THE STRATEGIC STRATEGIC PLAN TO MAKE SURE THAT THE NEXT BOARD IS EDUCATED TO WHAT THE LONG TERM GOALS OF THE AGENCY ARE. BUT YOU ALL HAVE BEEN IN CITY COUNCIL. YOU REALIZE CITY CITY COUNCILMAN SITTING IN THAT OR WOMAN SITTING IN THAT CHAIR. NEXT WEEK I'M GOING TO ILA CAN JUST CHANGE. SO YOU DON'T KNOW I HOPE IT'S A POSITIVE. I THINK IT'S A POSITIVE. I WOULDN'T BE VOTING.

I WOULDN'T HAVE VOTED FOR IT. BUT IT DEPENDS ON HOW WE ALLOCATE THE DOLLARS FOR THE NEXT TEN YEARS. AND I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW THE BOARDS ARE. I CAN TELL YOU WHAT I'M GOING TO DO.

I'M GOING TO BE CONSISTENT WITH THAT STRATEGIC PLAN. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THAT TOO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MAYOR. VERY GOOD, COUNCILMEMBER WILLIAMS, THANK YOU MAYOR. GOOD EVENING.

[00:40:01]

I'VE SEEN SOME STATIONS CLOSED. SO YOU TALKED ABOUT YOUR STRATEGIC PLANS. MAYBE I'M GIVING YOU SOMETHING. YOU. YOU WERE NOT AWARE OF. YES, SIR. I WISH I'D LIKE TO DIRECTLY ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. I JUST DON'T KNOW OF ANY STATIONS THAT ARE CLOSED NOW. I KNOW WHERE TVMS AREN'T WORKING. I KNOW WHEN WE DON'T HAVE OFFICERS THERE, WHETHER IT'S THE WEST END OR DOWNTOWN GARLAND THAT'S SOMETHING IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN. OKAY, BUT BUT I DON'T KNOW OF THEM BEING CLOSED.

I KNOW THAT THAT THE TRAINS OPERATE CERTAIN TIMES SO THAT A TRAIN STATION WON'T HAVE PEOPLE THERE WHEN THERE'S NOT TRAIN STATIONS COMING IN, OBVIOUSLY. BUT I'LL BE HAPPY TO TALK TO YOU OFFLINE BECAUSE I'M INTERESTED IN WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT IS NOT NECESSARILY TRAINS. I'M TALKING BUS. OKAY. SO WE CAN TALK OFFLINE ON THAT. BUT WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN, I'M WONDERING WHAT WHAT CAN YOU SHARE WITH US ABOUT THE STATIONS, THE GROUND STATION, NOT THE TRAIN STATIONS, BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT THE BUS STATIONS. SO. SO WHAT WHAT'S IN YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WILL BENEFIT GARLAND? THAT'S NOW A PART OF YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN, NOTHING. HANG ON ONE SECOND, MR. ATTORNEY. AM I AM I? WELL, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE BECAUSE THESE, AS WE KNOW, WE'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS BEFORE. NOT IT'S DIFFICULT TO SOMETIMES DRAW THE LINE BETWEEN AN INTERVIEW VERSUS A DART UPDATE WHEN YOU HE APPLICANTS THAT ARE ON THE DART BOARD CURRENTLY ON THE DART BOARD. AND SO WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW APPEARS TO BE NOT AN INTERVIEW, BUT MORE OF A DART UPDATE NOW. SO I'M JUST I'M JUST I'M JUST SUGGESTING THAT WE'RE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT WE DO. THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M ASKING FOR, MARK.

THAT IS NOT WHAT I'M ASKING FOR. I WAS JUST ASKING ANY STRATEGIC PLAN. YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT THE RAIL. CAN YOU CAN YOU SHARE ABOUT THE BUS PIECE OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WOULD BENEFIT GARLAND? THE BUS PIECE OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN WOULD BE GREATER HEADWAYS, SHORTER TIMES MEANS INCREASED RIDERSHIP. THAT'S THE TEN BY TEN. I WAS TALKING TO COUNCILMAN HEDRICK ABOUT. AND THAT WILL BENEFIT GARLAND NO MORE THAN IT WOULD OTHER CITIES WHERE THEY HAVE, FIXED ROUTE BUS SERVICE, AS YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE, I GUESS FIVE ROUTES IN GARLAND RIGHT NOW, FIXED BUS ROUTE SERVICE, WE HAVE SPENT AND ARE SPENDING EVERY YEAR TO BUILD OUT NEW BUS STOPS, THE CONCRETE BLOCKS WITH THE COVERED AREAS AND SOMETHING, FRANKLY, YOU ALL CAN HELP US WITH. IF WE CAN'T ADVERTISE ON THOSE, WE COULD ADD MORE OF THOSE MORE QUICKLY. IF WE COULD ADD ADVERTISING ON THOSE BUS SHELTERS. BUT THE BEST BUS SHELTERS ARE ARE GOVERNED BY CITY POLITICS. ON WHETHER OR NOT, WE'VE WE'VE IGNORED THE CITY ATTORNEY AT THIS POINT, BUT I'M GOING TO STEP IN AND I'M GOING TO PUT A STOP HERE. THANK YOU SIR. OKAY I'LL BE HAPPY TO TALK WITH YOU OFFLINE. COUNCILMAN. YES, SIR. ALL RIGHT. COUNCILMEMBER BASS. THANK YOU.

[00:45:02]

AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS I THINK PROBABLY SOME OF OUR SUBURBS WANT THE NY REPORT. THE NY REPORT IS GOING TO COME BACK. IT'S CALLED DISAGGREGATION. AND SAY IF PLANO PUT IN $109 MILLION, WHAT SERVICES IS IT GETTING OUT OF IT? IF WE PUT IN FOR IN GARLAND $46 MILLION, WHAT SERVICES ARE WE GETTING OUT OF IT? SO WE CAN EQUATE THOSE TWO AND DECIDE HOW HOW HOW WE'RE INVESTING IT. SO I, I DON'T SEE AS A CHALLENGE. I'VE NEVER SEEN A VOTE ON THERE THAT WOULD BE AT THE RISK OF GARLAND OR THAT I NEVER HAD TO NEVER HAD TO SLICE THAT. OKAY THANK YOU. THANK YOU MAYOR. ALL RIGHT. VERY GOOD. ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS. AND JUST A REMINDER ON THAT. WHEREAS WITH, THE PREVIOUS INTERVIEWS, TWMPA, WE HAVE ONE APPOINTMENT THAT WE'LL BE MAKING TOMORROW NIGHT FOR TMPA. BUT FOR DART. EXCUSE ME, WE WILL HAVE TWO APPOINTMENTS. WE'LL HAVE WE HAVE A ONE AND A THIRD. THE APPOINTMENTS THAT THAT WE WILL BE LOOKING AT FOR FORMAL COCONSIDERATN TOMORROW NIGHT. THANK YOU SIR. THANK Y'ALL. APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH.

[4. Audit Committee Meeting Report]

COUNCIL, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME AS THE CHAIRMAN INDICATED, WE BASICAY COVERED FOUR FOUR ITEM. THE AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING WAS ABOUT TWO HOURS. BUT MY GOAL IS TO GET OUT OF HERE WITHIN WITHIN A FEW MINUTES. THE FIRST ITEM WAS THE LANDFILL RENEWABLE GAS AGREEMENT. AS YOU'RE AWARE, IN 2020 THE CITY ENTERED INTO A 15 YEAR AGREEMENT WITH MOREL RENEWABLE LLC TO CAPTURE AND CONVERT LANDFILL GAS INTO RENEWABLE, NATURAL GAS. AS PART OF THIS AGREEMENT, THERE ARE SOME ROYALTIES THAT THE CITY GETS. BASED ON GAS PRODUCTION, GAS SALES AS WELL AS RENEWABLE ENERGY CREDIT. SO WE HAD TWO OBJECTIVES WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS AND TIMELINESS OF THE PAYMENT, AS WELL AS THE OPERATORS COMPLIANCE AND THE SCOPE WAS FROM JANUARY 2020 THROUGH JANUARY 2024. HAPPY TO REPORT THAT THE CITY RECEIVED DURING THIS TIME, APPROXIMATELY $3.5 MILLION IN ROYALTY RENEWABLE ENERGY CREDITS. INCENTIVES MAKE UP TWO THIRDS OF THAT. THAT'S SOMETHING TO UNDERSTAND BECAUSE THE CITY HAS NO CONTROL OVER.

IT'S A FEDERAL PROGRAM. SO BASED ON THE POLICY CHANGES, OUR REVENUE COULD GO UP OR DOWN OR STAY WHERE THEY ARE. THE CITY DID RECEIVE PAYMENT ON TIME AND ACCURATELY. LANDFILL DOES PERFORM AN ANNUAL AUDIT EVERY YEAR JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR CONTRACTOR IS COMPLIANT. SO KUDOS TO THEM FOR DOING THAT. THERE WERE THREE MINOR RECOMMENDATIONS AS PART OF THE RENEWABLE ENERGY CREDIT. THERE IS AN OFF TAKE OFF TAKE OFF, TAKE AGREEMENT, FEE BETWEEN OUR VENDOR AND THE BUYER, DURING THE AUDIT PERIOD THAT WAS APPROXIMATELY 12, WHICH IS A

[00:50:04]

SECONDLY, WE ALSO WANTED TO MAKE SURE THE MONITORING OF THE CONTRACT COMPLIANCE. THE SCOPE OF THE AUDIT WAS FROM OCTOBER 2021 THROUGH DECEMBER 2023. HAPPY TO REPORT THAT MANAGEMENT HAS TAKEN SOME PROACTIVE MEASURES, TO ENHANCE THE MONITORING AND THE OPERATION ITSELF. IN 2020, THE DIVISION CREATED A VERY DETAILED OPERATIONS MANUAL, WHICH THEY CLASSIFIED DIFFERENT PRODUCTS SEPARATELY BASED ON THE USAGE BASED ON THE NEED, BASED ON THE TYPE. SO KUDOS TO THEM FOR DOING THAT AND BASED ON THEIR REQUEST, WE ACTUALLY DID A METROPLEX WIDE SURVEY AMONG TEN NORTH TEXAS MUNICIPAL MUNICIPALITIES. AND BASED ON THAT SURVEY, WE ARE THE SECOND LOWEST FOR THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES, THIRD LOWEST FOR CONTRACTOR USAGE, FOURTH LOWEST FOR BUDGET, SIXTH HIGHEST FOR ACREAGE MAINTAINED, THIRD LOWEST FOR BUDGET PER CAPITA, FOURTH LOWEST FOR BUDGET PER ACRE. BASICALLY WHAT IT SHOWS IS WE ARE DOING MORE WITH LESS, BASED ON. AND SO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND, WHEN WE EVALUATED, REVIEWED THE WORK ORDERS AND THE MAINTENANCE EFFORT THAT THEY ARE PERFORMING, WE DID HAVE SOME DATA LIMITATIONS. THAT WAS MAINLY BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT CURRENTLY UTILIZING THE WORK ORDER SYSTEM. SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS. I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT THEY ARE ALMOST THERE WITHIN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS THAT WORK ORDER SYSTEM WILL BE IMPLEMENTED. SO THEY CAN HAVE A BETTER TRACKING, BETTER MONITORING. SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DISCUSSED. ALSO AS PART OF THE CONTRACT MONITORING, AS I INDICATED, DUE TO RESOURCE LIMITS, LIMITATIONS, THE CONTRACT MONITORING IS NOT NECESSARILY STANDARDIZED OR, IT'S NOT DOCUMENTED. CLEARLY, AS PART OF THIS IMPLEMENTATION, WE BELIEVE THAT WILL ENHANCE CONTRACT MONITORING BECAUSE THEY'RE ABLE TO USE THE GIS FUNCTIONALITY. AND DURING THIS AUDIT THEY DID CREATE A MANAGER POSITION. AND THERE ARE ALSO THINKING OF UTILIZING SOME PART TIME PART TIMERS TO FURTHER MONITOR CONTRACT, LASTLY IS, TICKET TRACKING. WHEN WE GET A REQUEST RIGHT NOW, WE DON'T ALWAYS NECESSARILY USE A WORK ORDER IN ORDER TO TRACK THOSE S, REQUEST. AND THEY AGREED THAT ONCE, AS PART OF THE IMPLEMENTATION, THEY WILL INCLUDE, ADDING WORK ORDERS FOR ALL ASSISTANTS WILL START TRACKING. SO IN A SUMMARY, THAT'S WHAT WE OBSERVED. AGAIN, I WANT TO THANK THE PARKS MANAGEMENT FOR WORKING WITH US, THROUGHOUT THIS AUDIT, THE THIRD AUDIT THAT WE COVERED WAS THE BENEFITS BILLING AUDIT. ONE THING. I'M SORRY, THE FIRST AUDIT WAS IN FACT, REQUESTED BY COUNCILMAN ART. I FORGOT TO MENTIONED THAT EARLIER. THAT WAS THE LANDFILL RENEWABLE GAS AGREEMENT. THANK YOU FOR TRUSTING US IN LOOKING AT THAT, THE LAST AUDIT THAT WE LOOKED AT WAS THE BENEFITS BILLING AUDIT. AS YOU'RE AWARE, THE CITY OFFERS VARIOUS HEALTH BENEFITS TO ITS EMPLOYEES, ITS RETIREES, AND THE AND THE HEALTH INSURANCE FUND IS ACTUALLY SELF-FUNDED, SO. AND IN 2023, WE PAID APPROXIMATELY $30 MILLION IN CLAIMS ITSELF, CITY DID HIRE THREE THIRD PARTY

[00:55:08]

WE ALL TO DECIDE IF WE DO NOT WANT TO ROTATE THEM, WE CAN ACTUALLY CHANGE REQUEST A CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT AS MANAGER WHO SENIOR WHO'S CONDUCTING THE AUDIT. SO THAT THAT WAS BROUGHT UP BECAUSE OF LACK OF RESOURCES. FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS, WE HAVE BEEN USING OUR CURRENT EXTERNAL AUDITOR FOR THE PAST TEN YEARS, THE LAST WE DID GO OUT FOR AN RFP FIVE YEARS AGO, AND WE SELECTED TO KEEP THE SAME EXTERNAL AUDITOR. BUT MATT AND YOU KNOW, WE WORK TOGETHER AND WITH JED AS WELL, WE ALL WANTED TO BRING IT TO THE COUNCIL'S ATTENTION THAT, DUE TO THE ONGOING RESOURCE LIMITATION, IF IT IS UP TO THE COUNCIL, MATT WOULD LOVE TO EXTEND THE CURRENT CONTRACT WITH THE EXTERNAL AUDITORS FOR ANOTHER TWO MORE YEARS SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WAS DISCUSSED DURING THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE HAD A CONSENSUS THEY WERE FINE WITH IT, BUT THAT WAS BROUGHT TO, BROUGHT BROUGHT DURING THE AUDIT COMMITTEE. AND AS THE CHAIRMAN INDICATED, I'M NOT SURE IF IT WILL BE IN THE TOMORROW'S CONSENT AGENDA OR THE ONE AFTER, BUT IT WILL BE COMING TO THE COUNCIL. THAT'D BE ON THE 16TH. MAYOR THAT'S EVERYTHING THAT'D BE COVERED. DO YOU HAVE. GO AHEAD. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE, IF THEY'RE NOT, I JUST WANT TO FIRST OF ALL, EXPRESS MY APPRECIATION TO, AGAIN, THE AUDIT TEAM, WHILE THERE MAY NOT BE A LOT OF QUESTIONS THAT ARE ASKED HERE IN THIS MEETING, TWO HOURS IS A LONG TIME TO BE IN A MEETING FOR THE COMMITTEE. AND WHAT I'M SAYING THERE IS THERE ARE A LOT OF QUESTIONS THAT ARE ASKED THERE. IN OTHER WORDS, WE ATTEMPT TO REALLY DO A GREAT JOB IN THE WAY OF UNDERSTANDING WHAT HAS TAKEN PLACE WITH THE AUDITS AND OFTENTIMES WHAT WE HEAR IN THE END IS A GREAT PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AND WHOEVER IT WAS THAT THEY DID THE AUDIT WITH. AND I THINK THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT CAN HAPPEN IN THE END, THIS AUDIT COMMITTEE AUDIT TEAM TRULY HELPS US TO IDENTIFY AREAS WHERE WE NEED TO IMPROVE, WHERE WE CAN

[01:00:02]

[ANNOUNCE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]

I LOOK, I SAW EVERYONE'S CONFUSED. LOOK. YEAH, WELL, IT CAME OUT AS INTENSE ANTENNAS AND. OKAY RADIO TOWERS, THAT KIND OF. YEAH ANTENNAS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES. MY GOODNESS. AND COUNCIL DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM LUCK IS THE SECOND ON THAT. THANK YOU. ANYTHING ELSE? I'M SCARED TO PRESS MY LUCK. NOW I'M SCARED TO ASK THE QUESTION. I'M GOOD FOR NOW. OKAY THANK YOU. DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM LUCK. SPEAK CLEARLY. I WOULD LIKE FOR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES TO LOOK AT, MURALS AND THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR PLACING THOSE . OKAY ALL RIGHT. I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S A DEVELOPMENT SERVICES. ANY COMMITTEE, I THINK IT'S, MR. MAYOR CAN ASK ME EITHER WAY. JUST A CLARIFYING QUESTION ON THAT. ARE YOU REFERRING TO CITY PLACED OR CITY PARTNERSHIPS WITH PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS OR JUST PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS IN GENERAL, PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS AND THE ORDINANCE THAT THAT THEY HAVE TO FOLLOW CURRENTLY, I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT THAT ORDINANCE AGAIN. OKAY. THAT'S WE DON'T REALLY HAVE AN ORDINANCE IN PLACE FOR MURALS PER SE, FOR PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS OTHER THAN A ONE THAT'S THERE IN WORDING. BUT WE'RE VERY CAREFUL WITH THAT BECAUSE OF CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES. BUT YEAH, THAT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD LOOK AT AGAIN ANYWAY, BECAUSE THAT WAS THE LAST TIME WE GOT DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL ON THAT ISSUE WAS PROBABLY SIX YEARS AGO, FIVE YEARS AGO. AND IT WAS BASICALLY TO GET OUT OF IT. AND SO IT'S PROBABLY TIME TO LOOK AT IT AGAIN. SO THAT MAKES SENSE.

RIGHT. LET'S GO TO ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES. SOUNDS GOOD. AND COUNCILOR WILLIAMS IS THE SECOND. ALL RIGHT. ANY ADDITIONAL FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? ALL RIGHT. I SEE NONE MOVING.

MOVING. THAT WAS THAT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST INTERESTING THAT TOPIC HAS EVER BEEN, YOU KNOW, OVER MANY YEARS, NEXT, WE'LL MOVE INTO EXECUTIVE. YEAH. IT WAS. THANK YOU. WE'LL MOVE

[EXECUTIVE SESSION]