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RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU WANT ONE, AND WE'LL KNOW[Garland District 5 Town Hall Meeting on April 2, 2026.]
TO BRING YOU A NOTE CARD BECAUSE YOU'RE HOLDING YOUR QUESTIONS TILL THE END.LET, UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING TO THE DISTRICT FIVE TOWN HALL.
UM, WE'VE HAD A, UH, AN EXCITING LAST YEAR AND AN EXCITING YEAR COMING IN 2026.
AND, UM, THAT'S WHAT THIS WHOLE TOWN HALL IS ABOUT, WHAT TO EXPECT, AND A LITTLE BIT OF A RECAP OF WHAT HAPPENED.
UM, SO WE'RE GONNA DO AN UPDATE.
WE'LL GO INTO THE INTRODUCTION OF OUR NEW CITY MANAGER AND THEN NINE BY NINE
UM, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, ANY QUESTIONS? I, I DON'T HAVE A SET AGENDA FOR THE UPDATE.
UM, I KIND OF WANTED TO JUST FEEL A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS BEFORE WE GET INTO THINGS.
SO IF THERE'S A BURNING THING ON YOUR MIND, WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT NOW AND THEN JUMP INTO THINGS.
I HAVE ONE QUESTION ALREADY, AND IT'S ON SATURN SPRINGS DRAINAGE PROJECT.
WILL WE HAVE ACCESS TO OUR HOMES AND DRIVEWAYS DURING CONSTRUCTION? TYPICALLY DURING THESE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, THEY DO ONE SIDE OF THE STREET AT A TIME.
UM, I WILL CONFER WITH STAFF AND MAKE SURE THAT IS THE CASE.
AND THEY'LL PUT DOWN THINGS LIKE, UM, APPLY WITH BOARDS FOR YOU TO ACCESS YOUR HOME OVER ANY CONSTRUCTION AREAS.
AND I KNOW
UM, THEY'RE NOT QUITE THROUGH WITH DESIGN.
I THINK THEY'RE AT LIKE 70 OR 80%.
UM, ONCE THAT'S THROUGH, I WILL LET ORCHARD HILLS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION KNOW, AND I'LL SEND OUT EMAILS AND I'LL POST IT.
AND THEN THEY'LL ALSO LET EVERYONE KNOW.
WE HAVE A COUPLE OF, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF EVENTS COMING UP, SO THERE'S A A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY.
ANYBODY, ANYBODY BEFORE WE GET INTO IT, WE HAVE A CITY MANAGER.
MIKE HAS WORKED FOR THE CITY OF GARLAND AND HE HAS RETIRED TWICE.
UM, REALLY BROUGHT US TOGETHER REALLY, UM, UNDERSTANDS ALL OF OUR DIFFERENT CHALLENGES.
AND BECAUSE HE'S SO IN TUNE WITH THE ORGANIZATION, HE UNDERSTANDS STAS CHALLENGES AS WELL.
SO THAT'S A, THAT'S, THAT MEANS A LOT AND, AND IT REALLY SHOWS IN HIS DAY-TO-DAY WORK.
OH, I DIDN'T DO ANY INTRODUCTIONS.
SO LET'S DO SOME INTRODUCTIONS.
I'M GONNA GO AROUND THE ROOM AND OVER HERE ON THE LEFT WE HAVE SCOTT BOLLINGER.
HE IS WITH THE OFFICER NEIGHBORHOOD.
WE HAVE OUR MAYOR, DYLAN HEDRICK.
UM, MY HUSBAND
AND THEN
SHE'S ALSO OVER NEIGHBORHOOD VITALITIES LIBRARIES AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
THEN WE HAVE OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR BY SCHUSTER
AND ARE YOU OVER CBD ALSO OR IS THAT THERE? OKAY.
AND THEN WE HAVE AMBER THOMPSON.
SHE IS IN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND ALSO OVER WEEKEND, WHICH IS OUR WAYWARD ENCAMPMENT.
COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE AND COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE NETWORK.
WE USED TO CALL IT THE HOMELESS TASK FORCE, SO IT'S BEEN QUITE A SWITCH TO, TO GO TO THAT.
AND THEN EVERYONE KNOWS FRANCIS HEINER.
WE HAVE OUR NEW CFO ALLISON BEON AND OUR DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, MATT WATSON.
TRAVIS TRAVIS IS THE ONE THAT HANDLES EVERY
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SINGLE COUNCIL MEETINGS.UM, HE STAYS WITH US DURING THE LONG MEETINGS AND HE MAKES SURE THAT EVERYBODY CAN HEAR.
SO HE'S WHO YOU NEED TO CALL JIM
WE HAVE JUDY GRANADO, SHE'S OUR CITY MARSHAL.
AND THEN I'M GOING TO LET YOU ALL INTRODUCE EVERYONE ELSE.
UM, JUST BECAUSE I DO NOT WANT TO GET NAMES IN CORRECT JAIL, I HAVE TWO OF MY COMMAND STAFF HERE TONIGHT.
THIS IS, UH, LIEUTENANT PATRICK ARNOLD AND LIEUTENANT STEVEN BARINGER WITH THE MARSHAL'S OFFICE.
LIEUTENANT, THIS IS OFFICER SHERRY, INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
I'M MIKE AND I'VE BEEN CITY MANAGER.
I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING CITY MANAGER.
I WAS INTERIM, UH, BACK IN NOVEMBER AND I WAS MARCH.
UH, I'VE BEEN, UH, THE CITY FOR 20 YEARS.
UH, RAN A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT OPERATIONS AROUND THE CITY.
THERE WAS A TIME WHEN I LEFT WHEN I WAS RUNNING PROJECT OPERATIONS AND AFTER I RETIRED I FOUND OUT THEY HIRED FOUR PEOPLE OPERATIONS.
AND THEN, AND THEN WHEN ANOTHER GUY RETIRED, I HIRED A FIFTH.
SO THEY HAD FIVE PEOPLE IN PLACE, FIVE OPERATIONS MARSH FOR A WHILE.
I WAS THE HEAD OF LITIGATION FOR THE CITY AND I ESSENTIALLY AS THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF POWER OF MY COMPANY, UH, OVER DECADE.
I WAS THE HEAD OF RISK MANAGEMENT.
AND THEN I RETIRED AND, AND I RETIRED ABOUT SIX MONTHS IN THE CITY.
CALLED AND SAID, ANY CHANCE YOU WOULD BE WILLING TO AND RUN IT FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME? I SAID, ACTUALLY NOT.
AND, AND TWO WEEKS LATER I WAS, UH, APPOINTED AS C IT AND I TOLD HIM, I'M ONLY STAYING THREE MONTHS.
AND TWO AND A HALF YEARS LATER I LEFT AND I SAID, I'M NEVER, NEVER EVER, NEVER, NEVER WORKED AGAIN.
AND THEN SEVEN WEEKS LATER I CALLED AND SAID, IS THERE ANY CHANCE
AND ON MARCH 3RD, THE COUNCIL, UH, GRACIOUSLY ME AND I'LL BE, UH, MANAGER 23RD.
AND SO I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT AND THINGS GOING ON ON THERE.
ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT'S REALLY WORKING IN THESE TOWN HALLS, BECAUSE THESE TOWN HALLS ARE A PLACE WHERE WE GET AN OPPORTUNITY.
AND YOU KNOW, FOR TOWN THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON AT THE CITY.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HELPS US HELP YOU BEST AS A CITY IS TO HAVE AN INFORMED PRESENCE.
IF THE RESIDENTS HERE ARE INFORMED ABOUT WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE DOING IN THE CITY AND WHY WE'RE DOING IT, THEN Y'ALL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE DOING.
WE HAVE A BETTER OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE YOU WHEN YOU NEED SOMETHING FROM US, YOU'LL KNOW WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE DOING.
AND SO THAT'S KIND OF BIG PLAN TO WORKING ON A LOT OF THINGS IN THE CITY WE'RE TRYING TO WORK ON, DEVELOP TIME, WORKING ON, UH, SOME OTHER BIG PROJECTS THAT GETTING THE BOND PROGRAM IMPLEMENTED THAT WE TO, TO IN PLACE AND, AND, UH, GENERALLY TRYING TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF THE MONEY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE OPERATING EFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF THE TAX OFFICE.
AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT MY, MY GOAL IS.
ANYWAY, I'M PLEASED TO BE HERE TONIGHT AND, UH, I'M GRATEFUL THAT COLLEGE HERE BECAUSE THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO, UH, YOU.
SO THANK THANK YOU FOR COMING.
UM, THERE WAS ONE, WELL, TWO PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY THREE, BUT I INTRODUCE BECAUSE THEY'RE SITTING DOWN.
HE'S OVER BUILDING INSPECTIONS AND CODE AND PLANNING, DEVELOP PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE CHIEF LEY.
HE IS CHIEF OF OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT AND CHIEF JEFF BRIAN, WHO IS OUR CHIEF OF POLICE.
ONE DAY, SOMEBODY, ONE OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WAS SAYING, OH, YOU KNOW WHAT JEFF SAID THE OTHER DAY.
I WAS LIKE, WHO'S JEFF? I LIKE CHIEF BRIAN.
I WAS LIKE, OH, I ONLY CALL HIM CHIEF BRIAN.
SO, UM, I'M GONNA LET YOU COME UP AND, AND GIVE A, AN UPDATE FOR DISTRICT FIVE,
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AN UPDATE FOR DISTRICT FIVE, BUT, BUT CHIEF RYAN IS HERE IF YOU HAVE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS AND WILL HELP US ANSWER ANYTHING IF WE CAN'T DO SO.UH, I KNOW MOST OF YOU, UH, YOU LOOK FAMILIAR, BUT IF YOU KNOW YOU, UH, CAPTAIN AND ONE OF ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY SERVICE CAPTAIN, UH, AND I PROBABLY HAVE THE MOST FUN ENTERTAINING, UH, WILD JOB AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
I'M OVER THE MPO UNIT, I'M OVER SPECIAL EVENTS, UH, SO CHRISTMAS ON THE SQUARE, JULY 3RD, MARTIN KING PARADE USING MADE HERE SERIES DOWNTOWN FIRST WEEKEND OR THE MONTH.
UH, BUT MOST PEOPLE LIKE TO TALK OR WANT ME TO TALK ABOUT THE NM PO UNIT AND WHAT IT IS AND HOW THAT CAN HELP YOU AND HOW THEY'RE DIFFERENT FROM PATROL.
UH, SO YOUR NPO UNIT IS YOUR COMMUNITY LIAISON, THEIR JOBS TO BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY, UH, HOW THEY'RE DIFFERENT FROM PATROL.
WHEN YOU CALL 9 1 1, A PATROL OFFICER ENTERS THAT CALL AND THEIR JOB IS TO BE THERE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AND TO COMPLETE THAT CALL SUFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE TO GRAB IT FOR THE NEXT EMERGENCY CALL.
UH, SO SOMETIMES WHEN THEY WANT TO WORK ON A PROJECT, THEY NOTICE THERE'S A CRIME, UH, HAVE IT IN THEIR AREA, THEY WANT WORK ON THAT PROJECT, BUT REALLY THEY CAN ONLY WORK IT UNTIL THEY'RE CALLED TO ANOTHER EMERGENCY IN THEIR DISTRICT.
THAT'S WHERE THE MBOS GONNA GO.
SO THEY'RE NOT ANSWERING 9 1 1 CALLS AND THEIR JOB IS KIND TO WORK ON THOSE PROJECTS TO DEVELOP, UM, AN OVERNIGHT PROJECT OR A FIVE TEAM PROJECT.
UH, WE'LL DO SURVEILLANCE AND KIND OF HANDLE SOME OF THOSE COMMUNITY ISSUES THAT PATROL CANNOT SPEND THE TIME TO DO BECAUSE THEY NEED TO BE AVAILABLE FOR THOSE.
SO BROAD TWO, IF YOU'RE IN DISTRICT FIVE, I'VE GOT TWO OTHER NPOS, OFFICER SHERRY AND OFFICER DAVIS.
UH, SO THOSE ARE TWO DISTRICT FIVE NPOS.
AND THEN LIEUTENANT GR IS OVER ALL OVER THE SOUTH SIDE NPOS, UH, IF YOU'RE NOT IN DISTRICT FIVE, I DO GO MAP WITH ARE ON THE SIDE AND IT'S GOT ALL THE DISTRICTS, UH, AND THE EMAIL AND THEIR PHONE NUMBERS FOR YOU TO CONTACT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT? UH, THE MAIN QUESTION WE GET IS, HEY, HOW DO WE START A NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME WATCH? AND REALLY, IT TAKES, IT TAKES A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE FROM YOUR, FROM YOUR COMMUNITY.
SO THIS IS EITHER A HOA MEETING, A NEIGHBORHOOD BLOCK PARTY, BUT PEOPLE GET TOGETHER AND SAY, HEY, WE WANNA START THIS CRIME WATCH.
AND THEY GET WITH, HE EXPLAINS THE PROCESS.
AND THERE'S A, UH, COORDINATOR YEAH, COORDINATOR FOR COORDINATOR FOR THAT CRIME WATCH.
AND WHAT WE DO IS WE HAVE A QUARTERLY MEETING THAT COORDINATOR ATTEND THOSE MEETINGS.
THE LAST MEETING THAT WE HAD, WE'VE HAD 20, 25 DIFFERENT COORDINATORS THERE, BUT THE S ARE EXPLAINING SOME OF THE RECENT CRIME TRENDS, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT KEEP YOU SAFE, SOME OTHER THINGS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
THAT COORDINATOR TAKES IT BACK TO THEIR INFORMATION.
SO IT'S REALLY JUST TO GO BETWEEN WHAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S WORKING AND HOW THEY CAN HELP YOUR COMMUNITY.
SO CIS POLICE ACADEMY HAS COME UP.
WE ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR THAT AND WHO'S GONNA ASSIST POLICE ACADEMY COUPLE.
UH, SO THAT'S A GREAT WAY TO GET INVOLVED WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UH, GREAT WAY TO SEE LIKE BEHIND THE SCENES WHAT WE DO.
AND SOME OF THE SPECIALIZED UNITS, THE KINE UNIT THAT BOMB WITH SWAT.
UM, I'VE NEVER MET ANYBODY THAT'S DONE THE PROGRAM AND SAID, OH, THAT WAS OKAY.
EVERYBODY THAT'S NEVER DONE THE CITIZEN POLICE ACADEMY, THAT WAS LIKE THE GREATEST PROGRAM I'VE EVER BEEN IN.
WE'RE GONNA LAND THE HELICOPTER FOR YOU.
YOU'RE GONNA GET A CHILD BOMB, THE BOMB UNIFORM THAT YOU'RE GONNA MEET.
THE POLICE CAME, YOU'RE GONNA RUN THROUGH SCENARIOS.
YOU'RE GONNA BE DISPATCHED TO A 9 1 1 CALL.
YOU SEE WHAT THOSE OFFICERS, UH, ENCOUNTER, HOW YOU HANDLE THAT.
IF YOU WERE PART, IF YOU WERE A POLICE OFFICER, UM, YOU'RE GONNA MEET FORENSICS, UH, DRONE DRONE'S GONNA COME OUT THERE, YOU'RE GONNA GET TO DRIVE A POLICE CAR.
AND IT'S, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A LOT OF FUN.
BUT PEOPLE GAIN NEW PERSPECTIVES OR A POLICE DEPARTMENT ONCE THEY GO THROUGH THAT PROGRAM.
AND A LOT OF THEM BECOME SINCE THIS POLICE ACADEMY ALUMNI AND THEY HELP OUT WITH SOME, A LOT OF OUR FUNDRAISING AND A LOT OF OUR SPECIAL EVENTS AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
UH, BUT THAT'S A 13 WEEK PROGRAM.
BUT AGAIN, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN LEARNING THINGS ABOUT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT MAYBE YOU DIDN'T KNOW OR YOU JUST WANT A LITTLE BEHIND THE SCENES BEHIND THE SCENES, I WOULD START THERE WITH THE CITIZENS.
BUT I'LL BE IN THE BACK TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
YOUR NPOS ARE HERE FROM DISTRICT FIVE, AND LIKE I SAID, IF YOU, THE APPEAL IS, UH, I CAN HELP YOU WITH THAT.
WHEN DOES THE NEXT POLICE ACADEMY START? SO WE JUST, WE JUST STARTED ONCE.
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IT DOESN'T START UNTIL JANUARY.UH, SO IT'S GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT, BUT AGAIN, IT'S 13 WEEKS, THAT'S WHY.
SO YOU CAN SIGN UP COURT IN ALMO? YES.
AND THEY DO FILL UP PRETTY QUICK.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT CRIME IN DISTRICT FIVE? UM, I WILL SAY THAT OF THE CRIME LISTS I GET, THE MAJORITY OF THEM ARE THEFT AND THE MAJORITY OF THOSE ARE AT WALMART.
IT IS AT RIGHT OFF OF 6 35 PEOPLE COME IN AND THEN LEAVE.
AND I'LL ALSO SAY THAT MANY OF THE CRIMES COMMITTED HERE ARE COMMITTED BY PEOPLE THAT DO NOT LIVE IN GAR.
UM, IN SOME CASES THEY DO, BUT I, THE MAJORITY OF THOSE ARE PEOPLE.
IT, IT'S JUST THE, WHAT IS THAT CALLED WHEN IT'S, UH, EASY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
AND BECAUSE WE'RE SO CLOSE TO THE HIGHWAY, THAT IS ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE SEE THIS.
A WHILE BACK THERE WAS, UH, BOMBS FOUND AT, UM, WAS IT LONG WIND? MM-HMM
PARK WAS, BUT WE NEVER HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT IT AFTER THAT.
HE'S LEAVING DUNNO IF PREMIER UP TO DATE ON THAT.
SO, UH, THEY FOUND A NUMBER OF BOMBS OF DEVICES AND UH, THEY WERE, UM, WE COULD TELL THEY'VE BEEN SITTING THERE A LONG TIME.
AND SO WHAT WE'VE DONE NOW IS WE'VE TAKEN THOSE DEVICES AND WE, THE FBI COLLECTED 'EM AND THEY SENT 'EM OFF FOR DNA, WE GOT DNA SAMPLES BACK, BUT THE DNA SAMPLES DID NOT MATCH ANYONE IN ANY DATABASE.
SO NOW WE'RE GOING THROUGH A GENEALOGY DNA SAMPLE, THEY'RE TRYING TO MATCH IT TO FAMILY.
SO WE HAVE THE DNA, UM, WE HAVE THE, UM, THE MATERIALS, BUT WE'VE NOT MATCHED IT TO A PERSON YET.
BUT THERE FBI'S ALL OVER THIS.
SO I, I WISH I HAD A A A GREAT SOLUTION FOR YOU, BUT IT'S, IT'S STILL IN THE PROCESS.
UH, THE STABBING THAT TOOK PLACE AT FIESTA, UM, IS THAT MAN JUST A MENTAL CASE OR THAT THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR YOU.
HE DIDN'T GIVE US A REASON WHY HE DID THAT.
HE SAID THAT HE WAS ANGRY, THAT HE WAS TIRED OF PEOPLE MAKING FUN OF HIM, THAT HE WANTED TO ACT LIKE HE'S TOUGH.
UM, HE SAID, UH, HE'S BEEN THINKING ABOUT DOING THIS A LONG TIME AND THEN JUST PICKED A RANDOM PERSON AND DID IT.
HE HAD ALMOST NO CRIMINAL HISTORY.
HE HAD ONE SMALL INCIDENT LIKE 10 YEARS AGO.
NO CRIMINAL HISTORY, NO MENTAL HEALTH HISTORY.
UH, AND I CAN TELL YOU MOST OF THE CRIME WE SEE VIOLENT CRIME IN DARLAND.
THE VICTIM AND THE SUSPECT KNOW EACH OTHER.
IT'S SOME TYPE OF RELATIONSHIP.
AND THEN SOMETHING INVOLVES IN BEING THIS, THE, THE FACT THAT THIS WAS A RANDOM IS VERY UNUSUAL AND VERY DISTURBING.
AND SO I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHY HE DID THAT.
UH, AND HE ISN'T GIVEN US A GOOD REASON, BUT HE DID TURN HIMSELF IN AND HIS FAMILY ACTUALLY TALKED HIM AND HE TURNED HIMSELF IN.
UH, I WELL, WE TURNED THAT OVER TO THE FEDERAL.
WE'RE THE ONES WHO DETERMINE HIS, UH, LEGAL STATUS.
SO THAT'S NOT SOMETHING WE, WE KNOW ARE RELATED TO.
ONE THING YOU MIGHT TELL EVERYBODY I KNOW BEING, UH, THROUGH A CRIME ONE, TELL 'EM HOW THEY CAN LOOK UP THE STATS FOR THEIR AREA BY THIS.
SO THAT'S ON, THAT'S ON THE CITY BOTTOM WEBSITE.
AND THEN YOU CAN GO TO THE RONALD POLICE.
YOUR CRIME STATS ARE ON THERE FOR YOUR DISTRICT.
SAID THERE WAS A HIGH SPEED CHASE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, UM, KIDNAPPING IS WHAT I UNDERSTOOD, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
THAT WAS NOT, NOT A, THAT'S WHAT I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT ARE WHAT'S THE RULES FOR HIGH SPEED CHASES THROUGH NEIGHBORHOODS? THERE'S A LOT OF FACTORS THAT, THAT GO INTO THAT TIME OF DAY.
HAS IT BEEN RAINING? WHAT'S THE CRIME THAT WE'RE CHASING THIS PERSON FOR? UH, SO I COULDN'T GIVE YOU LIKE AN EXACT BREAKDOWN OF IT, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF FACTORS THAT GO INTO IT.
YOU, ARE WE CHASING SOMEBODY FOR MURDER? ARE WE CHASING SOMEBODY BECAUSE THEY, IT GO OVER FOR SPEEDING OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? SO ALL THOSE FACTORS COME INTO PLAY WHEN WE'RE FIGURING OUT WHAT TO DO AND, AND WHERE WE'RE CHASING AND HOW LONG WE'RE CHASING, UH, NEIGHBORHOODS.
RIGHT? UH, IF THERE'S KIDS OUT AND ADULTS, WE DON'T WANNA CHASING CHASE THAT AT ALL.
SO PUBLIC SAFETY MAKES PRECEDENT OVER, OVER THAT CHASE.
SO YOU'RE NOT, THERE'S NO SIREN GOING.
YOU'RE NOT, THERE'S NO FOR WARNING, THEY'RE JUST GONNA COME TEARING THROUGH.
I MEAN, I, I JUST, IF IF THE POLICE OFFICERS ARE IN CHASE UHHUH,
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WE HAVE, WE HAVE LIGHTS AND SIRENS.UM, I DO RECOMMEND THE GARLAND CITIZENS POLICE ACADEMY.
UM, I'M PART OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION.
IN FACT, NEXT WEEK, MATT AND I VOLUNTEERED TO BE IN THE SCENARIOS LAST TIME I WAS A DRUNK MOM,
UM, YOU'VE REALLY LEARNED SO MUCH ABOUT OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT AND WHAT THEY DO ON A DAILY BASIS AND, AND THEY, THEY WORK HARD.
AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU GUYS.
UM, LET'S, SO I'M THE FIRE EMS STAKEHOLDERS COMMITTEE.
UM, THAT WAS REALLY BROUGHT FORWARD BECAUSE, UH, THE FIREFIGHTERS ARE LOOKING INTO A 24 72 SCHEDULE.
CURRENTLY THEY'RE ON A 24 48 SCHEDULE.
GOING TO THAT LONGER TIME OFF REALLY IS QUITE EXPENSIVE, ABOUT $17 MILLION.
WE, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT IT FOR A WHILE.
UM, AND, UH, PART OF THAT, WHICH I'M SURE YOU ALL HEARD ABOUT WAS PRIVATIZING EMS IN ORDER TO PAY FOR THAT SCHEDULE CHANGE.
WELL, I CAN TELL YOU THAT WE ARE NOT PRIVATIZING EM S SO WE ARE LOOKING INTO OTHER WAYS TO FUND THAT AND HOW WE CAN ROLL IT OUT.
UM, BUT THAT'S WHERE WE ARE AT ON THE COMMITTEE RIGHT NOW.
HOW, HOW MANY FIREFIGHTERS WILL IT? 76.
SO WE'LL TAKE AN ADDITIONAL 76 FIREFIGHTERS TO, UM, TO CREATE THAT EXTRA SHIFT TO ALLOW FOR THE INCREASED TIME OFF.
BUT HERE'S BASICALLY WHAT I JUST SAID IN A LOT OF WORDS.
UM, ONE OF THE OTHER REASONS THAT WE'RE LOOKING INTO IT IS BECAUSE PLANO WENT TO 24 72.
UM, WE DO HAVE A REALLY TOUGH JOB WITH PLANO.
THEY HAVE A LOT MORE MONEY THAN WE DO, AND IT'S SO MUCH EASIER FOR THEM TO FUND THINGS LIKE THIS, INITIATIVES LIKE THIS.
UM, WHERE FOR US IT IS, IT'S LIKE, WHERE ARE WE TRYING TO FIND MONEY? YOU KNOW, IT IS A, IT IS, FIRE DEPARTMENT IS WORRIED ABOUT LOSING FIREFIGHTERS TWO PLANO.
UM, I THINK THAT THAT IS REALLY A, A DAILY THREAT THAT REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE SHIFT IS, QUITE HONESTLY, I MEAN, IF YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO WORK IN A SHINY CITY LIKE THEY ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT CONSIDER DOING THAT.
BUT WE HOPE THAT THE GRATITUDE AND JUST THE IDEA OF BEING A FIREFIGHTER AND WORKING IN THE CITY OF GARLAND AND SERVING IS SOMETHING THAT KEEPS OUR FIREFIGHTERS HERE.
AND FROM, FROM ALL OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICE THAT I HAVE TALKED TO, I BELIEVE THAT IS THE CASE.
SO, UM, WE WILL REPORT OUT ON TO COUNCIL, UH, THE STAKEHOLDER COMMITTEE WILL ON IN THE, IN JUNE, I BELIEVE.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT SPECIFICALLY? WE'RE GOING TO JUMP INTO A LOT OF THE HEAVIER STUFF, UM, DEVELOPMENT AND REDEVELOPMENT.
I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR A VERY, VERY LONG TIME.
AND WE FINALLY HAVE SOME REAL MOMENTUM WITH THIS.
WE HAVE SOME HOUSING STUDIES THAT BECKY'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT.
WE HAVE OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOND THAT WAS PASSED IN MAY, 2025, WHICH FOCUSES ON THIS AND STREETS AND THE GRANDVILLE CENTER AND, AND REALLY BRINGING MORE PEOPLE INTO GARLAND TO SPEND THEIR MONEY AND THEN GIVING 'EM A SMOOTH ROAD TO LEAVE ON.
BUT THE POINT IS, WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE OUR NEIGHBORHOODS BETTER HERE.
AND THAT IS NOT JUST ABOUT MONEY THAT INVOLVES CODE ENFORCEMENT, THAT INVOLVES AESTHETIC INITIATIVES LIKE SIGNAL LIGHT WRAPS AND MURALS, AND, UM, MAKING SURE THAT CARS AREN'T PARKED OVER SIDEWALKS.
I MEAN, THERE, THERE ARE SO MANY DEPARTMENTS INVOLVED IN THIS.
IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
UM, SO KEEP THAT IN MIND AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THIS.
AND AGAIN, WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH IT SINCE I THINK WE'RE ACTUALLY A LITTLE BIT AHEAD OF SCHEDULE.
SO IF YOU DO WANNA HOP IN AND ASK A QUESTION, PLEASE
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DO SO, BUT I'LL TRY TO KEEP THE RESPONSE TIME A LITTLE LIGHT SO THAT WE CAN KEEP IT ROLLING.BUT BECKY, DID YOU WANNA COME UP AND TALK ABOUT THIS? THIS WAS A, THIS HAS BEEN A REALLY FUN STUDY.
IT'S CALLED A CZB HOUSING STUDY, AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS DATA, AND DATA IS WHERE WE ARE DECIDING HOW TO SPEND THE MONEY FROM CROP B.
AND DO YOU WANT THIS OR JUST LET ME KNOW? I'LL DO IT FOR YOU.
UM, IT'S MY PLEASURE TO BE HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE HOUSING STUDY.
SO THE HOUSING STUDY IS PART OF SEVERAL THINGS.
UM, GARLAND IS WORKING ON RIGHT NOW.
UH, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THAT, WE ARE WORKING ON ROLLING OUT A NEW CITY STRATEGIC PLAN.
IT, UM, TAKES INTO ACCOUNT THE FINDINGS FROM THE HOUSING STUDY AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, SOME OF OUR, UM, OTHER FINANCIAL ANALYSES AND, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STUDIES.
AND THEN, UM, YOU MAY KNOW THAT THE CITY'S ALSO WORKING ON UPDATING ITS, UM, COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, WHICH IS THE, UH, IT'S A PLANNING DOCUMENT.
I LOOKING HOW I'LL DO A TERRIBLE JOB OF EXPLAINING THIS.
BUT, UM, IT'S A PLANNING DOCUMENT THAT HELPS GUIDE ZONING, LAND USE DECISIONS AND HOW THE CITY DEVELOPS GOING FORWARD.
OKAY, SO WHY DID WE DO A HOUSING STUDY? UM, WITHOUT IT BEING HOW OLD? I'M, I'LL JUST SAY THAT I HAVE BEEN IN GARLAND A REALLY LONG TIME, AND I DON'T BELIEVE THAT WE'VE EVER DONE A TRULY COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING STUDY BEFORE.
AND WE FELT LIKE IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO DO THAT FOR THESE REASONS.
SO, UM, UNDERSTANDING WHAT'S SHAPING GARLAND'S HOUSING MARKET IN LIGHT OF THE REGION AND HOW WE'RE PERFORMING AND HOW THAT AFFECTS OUR ABILITY TO ATTRACT THOSE DESIRED AMENITIES THAT I KNOW A LOT OF, EVEN SOUTH GARLAND, WEST GARLAND ARE LIKE, WHY, WHY DON'T WE HAVE MORE SHOPS AND RESTAURANTS AND, AND THE BUSINESSES THAT WE WANT? THOSE TWO THINGS ARE CONNECTED.
UM, ALSO LOOKING, YOU KNOW, THE METRO PLATES JUST CONTINUES TO GROW AND YOU KNOW, AS YOU KNOW, VARLANDS LARGELY BUILT OUT, BUT PEOPLE KEEP COMING.
AND SO TRYING TO STUDY HOW DO WE PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE IN TERMS OF HOUSING NEEDS WHILE PROTECTING THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR CURRENT RESIDENTS.
AND THEN FINALLY, THE CITY ALWAYS HAS A LOT FEWER RESOURCES THAN, THAN WE WOULD LIKE.
HOW DO WE DEPLOY THE, THE LIMITED RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE AND THE BEST WAY TO MAKE THE MOST RETURN ON THOSE RESOURCES.
SO THOSE WERE OUR THREE BIG GOALS WITH CONDUCTING THE HOUSING STUDY.
SO WE DID BRING IN A FIRM CALLED, UH, CCB, AND, UM, WE'VE BEEN REALLY IMPRESSED WITH THEIR KNOWLEDGE, THEIR UNDERSTANDING, UM, HOW MUCH THEY'VE DUG INTO, I THINK THEY KNOW EVERY REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION THAT'S OCCURRED IN, YOU KNOW, THE ENTIRETY OF THE REGION.
THEY SPENT A LOT OF TIME DRIVING AROUND GARLAND NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, THEY'VE ACTUALLY ASSESSED THE CONDITION OF TWO THIRDS OF THE HOUSES IN GARLAND.
SO IT'S A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, TIME ON THE GROUND.
AND, UM, THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS, SOME OF THESE THINGS WILL NOT BE SURPRISING TO YOU.
GARLAND'S AVERAGE HOUSE IS THE OLDEST IN ALL THE SUBURBS IN THE REGION.
OUR AVERAGE AGE OF HOUSING IS THE OLDEST.
UM, YOU KNOW, MOST OF OUR HOUSING, OR MUCH OF OUR HOUSING STOCK WAS BUILT BEFORE 1980.
WE DID A LOT OF BOOMING GROWTH IN THE FIFTIES, SIXTIES, AND SEVENTIES.
AND SO THAT'S WHY, UM, ALSO OUR HOUSEHOLD INCOME TRAILS THE REGION BY 15%.
SO THAT AFFECTS OUR PURCHASING POWER.
SO BACK TO THAT QUESTION ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE.
HOW DOES OUR HOUSING MARKET AFFECT OUR ABILITY TO ATTRACT THE AMENITIES? YOU KNOW, THE COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES THAT YOU WANT? WELL, THEY'RE CONNECTED.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WELL, I TOOK THAT LAST POINT RIGHT THERE, SO WE'LL GO TO THE NEXT ONE.
OH, I, I MISSED THE, IT ALSO IMPACTS THE BURDEN THAT IS PLACED ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY TAX.
SO IT'S HARDER TO ATTRACT BUSINESSES.
IT MEANS WE GET LESS SALES TAX THAN THE REST OF THE METROPLEX.
IT ALSO MEANS THAT THERE'S LESS COMMERCIAL PROPERTY TAX BEING PAID, UM, IF WE DON'T HAVE HIGHER QUALITY COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT.
SO THAT PLACES MORE OF THAT BURDEN, UNFORTUNATELY, ON RESIDENTS.
[00:30:01]
TO TELL THAT THIS MAP OVER HERE, AGAIN, THEY MAPPED THE REAL ESTATE, THE HOUSING REAL ESTATE MARKET IN THAT WHOLE AREA.IT'S KIND OF HARD TO SEE DOWN HERE ON THE GARLAND MAP, BUT BASICALLY WHAT IT SAYS IS, IF YOUR PINK OR RED OR PERFORMING ABOVE AVERAGE, IF YOU'RE ONE OF THOSE DARKER PURPLELY BLUES, YOU'RE PERFORMING BELOW AVERAGE.
AND SO, AS YOU CAN SEE, GARLAND ONLY HAS A A FEW PINK AREAS PINKY BREAD AREAS, UM, A GOOD BIT OF TURQUOISE, THAT'S AVERAGE, BUT A LOT THAT'S IN THE DARKER AVERAGE PURPLELY BLUE.
UM, WHAT THIS DOES IS IT CREATES CHALLENGES THAT REINFORCE EACH OTHER OVER TIME.
SO AS MAINTENANCE GETS DEFERRED, IT LIMITS NEW FUTURE GROWTH, NEW FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES.
YOU GET CAUGHT IN THIS, IN THIS CYCLE.
UM, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER BIG FINDING, AND THIS WILL BE NO SURPRISE, I'M SURE MANY OF YOU LIVE WITH THIS, BUT IT'S NOT JUST IN BARLAND, IT'S NATIONWIDE, AND THAT'S JUST AFFORDABILITY.
THE COST OF HOUSING, IT'S GOING UP EVERYWHERE.
A LOT OF IT IS DRIVEN BY THE INCREASE IN CONSTRUCTION COSTS.
UM, AND SO WHAT THAT DOES THOUGH IS THAT THAT PLACES A COST BURDEN ON YOU.
SO AS INTEREST RATES GO UP, AS CONSTRUCTION COSTS GO UP, RENTS AND SALES PRICES GO UP, INSURANCE, ALL THINGS START TO SQUEEZE HOUSEHOLDS, AND THAT'S LESS MONEY THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO PUT INTO MAINTAINING THEIR PROPERTIES.
AND WHEN WE'RE ALREADY TRAILING THE REGION BY 15%, YOU CAN SEE HOW THOSE THINGS START TO FEED ON EACH OTHER.
THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES THOUGH, SO THERE ARE SOME, ONE OF THE THINGS THEY DID IS THAT DON'T JUST GIVE US BAD NEWS, LIKE GIVE US, GIVE US A ROADMAP FOR IT, RIGHT? SO THEY IDENTIFIED OPPORTUNITIES.
AND SO THERE ARE SOME AREAS OF TOWN THAT THEY LOOKED AT AND THEY SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT, THESE, THESE AREAS OF TOWN HAVE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY TO BE MORE COMPETITIVE THAN THEY ARE.
UM, AND THEY HAVE, YOU HAVE THE LEAST, UM, ROOM TO MOVE IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO ATTRACT THOSE AMENITIES THAT YOU WANT.
AND SO THEY STARTED IDENTIFYING WHAT THOSE ARE.
THE REASON, AND I SAY THAT IS BECAUSE PREVIOUS SLIDE WE TALKED ABOUT HOW DO WE DEPLOY OUR LIMITED RESOURCES TO GET THE MOST RETURN AND THE MOST IMPACT FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SO THAT'S GONNA BE CRITICAL, IS FOCUSING STRATEGICALLY HOW WE USE OUR LEARNING RESOURCES.
SO NEXT STEPS, THE STUDY WAS COMPLETED IN JANUARY.
WE'VE MOVED INTO STRATEGIC, UH, IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING.
UM, THE GOAL IS TO HAVE THAT PHASE COMPLETED BY EARLY SUMMER.
AND WE ARE, WE ARE NOT WAITING FOR INK ON THE PAGE TO EVEN NOT JUST DRIVE.
IT'S NOT EVEN ON THE PAGE YET.
WE'RE ALREADY FIGURING OUT HOW WE'RE GONNA START DEPLOYING THE STRATEGY.
SO, UM, WHAT'S COMING, YOU CAN EXPECT SPECIFIC NEIGHBORHOODS IN CORRIDORS TO BE IDENTIFIED WHERE WE WILL FOCUS INVESTMENT FIRST.
THAT DOES NOT MEAN WE'RE ABANDONING THE REST OF THE CITY.
THERE'S STILL BASIC, YOU KNOW, NEIGHBORHOOD VITALITY PROGRAMS, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, UM, STREET MAINTENANCE, ALL THE THINGS, THOSE THINGS STILL HAPPEN CITYWIDE.
UM, AND IT'S GONNA BE A VERY CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL EFFORT.
YOU'RE GONNA SEE MAYBE AN UNPRECEDENTED AMOUNT OTHER THAN, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD RESPOND TO EMERGENCIES.
AS OUR C CITY MANAGER POINTED OUT, BARLAND REALLY SHINES WHEN ALL THE DEPARTMENTS COME TOGETHER AND REALLY FOCUSED ON AN IMPORTANT CORE MISSION.
SO THIS IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE WE'RE GONNA WORK TOGETHER.
UM, BUT WE DIDN'T JUST LISTEN TO THE CONSULTANTS.
WE'RE ALSO LISTENING TO WHAT YOU, THE RESIDENTS SAID.
SO AS PART OF THAT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN INITIATIVE, UM, WE RESIDENTS, AND THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE HEARD THAT WE THINK ARE IMPORTANT TO THIS, UH, HOUSING STUDY AND THE STRATEGIC PLAN GOING FORWARD.
SO ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WAS, DO YOU THINK THE CONDITION OF YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS GETTING BETTER OR WORSE? AND 45% OF YOU SAID IS GETTING WORSE.
WE ALSO ASKED HOW CONNECTED DO YOU FEEL WITH ADJACENT NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE BROADER COMMUNITY? 55% SAID DISCONNECTED.
THE MORE YOU FEEL CONNECTED TO YOUR COMMUNITY, YOUR NEIGHBORS.
UM, WHEN IT COMES TO THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, MAINTENANCE AND PRIDE, THERE'S ACTUALLY STUDIES THAT SHOW THERE'S, THAT'S A TANGIBLE RETURN FINANCIALLY ON
[00:35:01]
YOUR COMMUNITY.JUST THAT SENSE OF CONNECTEDNESS AND, UM, PRIDE YOUR COMMUNITY.
RATE THE CONDITION OF COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MAINTENANCE WITHIN 15, 20 MINUTE WALK OF YOUR HOME, LOW AVERAGE TIME.
SO, UM, IT'S NOT JUST WE WE'RE TRYING TO BE A DATA, DATA DRIVEN STRATEGY, AND THAT INCLUDES LISTENING TO YOUR INPUT AND YOUR OPINIONS.
WHERE ARE THE NEIGHBORHOODS? IS THAT IT? YEAH.
WHERE ARE THE NEIGHBORHOODS GONNA BE? WELL, COUNCIL HASN'T ADOPTED THAT VERY.
DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS SO FAR? YES, SIR.
WHAT ACTIONS CAN BE TAKEN? SO, UM, WE TAKE A NEIGHBORHOOD AND I BELIEVE IT WAS 15% OF THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, OR 2020, 20% IF WE INFUSE SOME OF THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOND MONEY IN THERE.
AND WHEN YOU REACH 20% OF REVITALIZATION IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, SO GRANTS THREE 80 AGREEMENTS, THINGS LIKE ADDING A SECOND STORY TO YOUR HOME, TOTALLY IMPROVING THE FACADE, REDOING YOUR BATHROOMS AND YOUR KITCHEN, LIKE BIG PROJECTS THAT REALLY ADD VALUE TO THE HOME.
YOU DO THAT WITH 20% OF THE HOMES IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, CATALYZE REDEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD AND INTO THE COMMERCIAL CENTER'S ROOM.
AND THEY'VE DONE CZ D SHOWED US STUDY AFTER STUDY WHERE THAT'S BEEN DONE AND IT HAS WORKED.
AND SOME OF IT MIGHT BE, SEEMS WE'VE GOT A LOT OF PLACES LIKE TIRE SHOPS, UM, BEAUTY SALONS, NAILS, AND DOES THE CITY DO ANYTHING TO ENFORCE COLLECTING THE TAXES FROM THESE PEOPLE? BECAUSE A LOT OF 'EM COLLECT CASH.
AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT I THINK GO UNDER THE TABLE.
WELL, I, THERE'S VERY LITTLE I THINK THAT THEY CAN DO ABOUT PEOPLE BREAKING THE LAW BECAUSE ESSENTIALLY THAT'S WHAT THAT IS.
IF YOU'RE NOT REPORTING THOSE, THE MONEY THAT YOU'RE MAKING, YOU'RE BREAKING THE LAW BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT PAYING TAXES ON IT.
BUT THAT'S A CITY, CITY DO ANYTHING AS FAR AS FINDING THESE PEOPLE AND ENFORCING IT? WELL, I I DON'T SO SO GO AHEAD,
SO, SO THE, THE COLLECTION STAFF STATE LAW ISSUE, THE STATE'S OFFICE MONITORS PEOPLE, WE AS THE CITY ARE JUST AS CONCERNED ABOUT IT AS HE WAS A RESIDENT BECAUSE THEY'RE STEALING SALES TAX, WHICH IS TAXPAYER MONEY THAT BELONGS TO YOU.
AND NON PAYING TAXES, PEOPLE PAYING TAXES, AND THEY CITY SERVICES, THAT MEANS YOU PAYING SERVICES.
THEY, THEY BY LARGE COLLECT THE SALES TAX.
AND SO THE, THE PRIMARY ENFORCEMENT OR SALES TAX IN THE STATE OF TEXAS IS THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE.
THEY'RE THE ONES CHARGED, NOT THE STATE WITH ENFORCING THE COLLECTION OF.
SO THE STATE CONTROLLER SUPPOSED TO RUN IN AND INVESTIGATE THE CHECK AND AUDITS.
DO THEY DO THAT? SOME AS MUCH AS WE'D LIKE? PROBABLY NOT.
IF YOU BECOME AWARE OF ONE, THERE'S A HOTLINE.
BUT SOUTH GARLAND JUST TURNED INTO THAT WHOLE THING, LOST ALMOST ALL OF OUR GOOD RETAIL AND WE'RE LEFT WITH TIRE PLACES, CAPITAL PLACES, I GUESS SO, SO LET ERASE THAT POINT.
IT'S PART OF THE REASON THAT WE'RE DEVELOPING STRATEGIC PLAN TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM.
SO THE, WHAT WHAT BECKY TOLD YOU IS TRUE THAT WHAT YOU SEE IN THE RETAILER AREAS IS A SYMPTOM OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE HOUSING MARKET.
THE ADJACENT NEIGHBORHOODS AS THE, AS THE CONDITIONS OF THE, UH, ADJACENT NEIGHBORHOODS WILL GO DOWN AND PEOPLE DON'T REINVEST IN THEIR HOMES AND KEEP THEIR HOMES UP.
THE COMMERCIAL ENTITIES THAT WOULD BE THE KIND OTHER THAN THE TIRE SHOPS AND SHOPS, THEY WON'T LOCATE IT.
THEY LOOK AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD ADJACENT AND THEY SAY, I CAN'T MAKE MONEY HERE.
THEY SEE A LAUNDROMAT ON THE CORNER AND THEY SAY, OKAY, THESE PEOPLE ARE USING LAUNDROMAT AND THEY HAVE TIRE SHOPS AND NOW SHOPS THAT DON'T SEE HEBS AND KROGER'S AND FANCY SHOPPING.
AND SO OTHER DEVELOPERS ARE ONE INVEST TODAY.
SO PART OF THE WAY WE BREAK THAT CYCLE
[00:40:01]
IS WHAT WE DISCUSSED IN THIS HOUSING STUDIES.YOU IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS, WE IMPROVE THE QUALITY NEIGHBORHOODS BY ENFORCING
WHEN THEY DO THAT, THEN THE DEVELOPERS, PEOPLE WHO SET UP THESE BUSINESSES AND DECIDE WHERE TO IS THIS IS AND SAY, YOU KNOW, I CAN MAKE MONEY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD BECAUSE THE NEIGHBORHOOD LOOKS NICE, THERE'S MONEY IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND THEN THEY COME NICER THINGS.
SO THE TWO, SO PART OF THE WAY YOU CAN FIX THIS PROBLEM IS YOU LOOK AT THE QUALITY OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD IN TERMS OF HOW MUCH PREFERRED MAINTENANCE IS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, HOW MUCH CODE VIOLATION IS THE NEIGHBORHOOD, TRY TO ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES.
AT THE SAME TIME WE'VE GOT THE COMMERCIAL ORDERS AND CLEAN UP COMMERCIAL ORDERS MAKE INTO THE BUSINESS LINE.
AND, AND TO SOLVE THAT, IT'S KIND OF A CYCLE, THE CYCLE OF HOUSING WE TALKED ABOUT, ABOUT, BUT, BUT IT'S THAT TIME TO SOLVE THAT PROBLEM.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'VE LEARNED IN THE HOUSING STUDY.
IT'S RELATED TO THE HOUSING STUDY.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU, IF YOU LOOK IN THE PLACES WHERE THE BUILDING SHOULD BE, YOU'LL SEE THERE'S A LOT OF HOUSES AND THEY TEND TO BE HIGHER, UH, QUALITY HOUSES.
AND AS THE NEIGHBORHOODS RUN DOWN AND THE STORES HAVE TO CLOSE AND THE TWO ARE RELATED, AND THEN THE PEOPLE DON'T MOVE THE NEIGHBORHOOD BECAUSE THERE'S NO NICE COMMERCIAL THERE, THE NEIGHBORHOOD, BECAUSE GO 20 MINUTES AWAY, GET, SO WE'RE TRYING TO THIS AND AS
WE ARE GONNA MAKE THIS AN ENTIRE CITYWIDE EFFORT.
WE'RE GONNA RESPOND TO THIS HOLD THE STAFF THE WAY WE RESPOND TO A TORNADO WHERE WE DON'T CARE WHAT DEPARTMENTS HAVE TO UP RIGHT NOW IN THESE NEIGHBORHOODS.
THE, THE, SOME OF THE QUALITY ISSUES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND IF THE DAMAGE CAN'T AFFORD TO FIX THEM, THEY'RE ELDERLY, THEY ARE LOWER INCOME.
CAN FAMILIES MOVE THE PROGRAMS IN PLACE TO SAY HOW DO WE IMPROVE THE QUALITY THESE HOUSES? SO PEOPLE THEN WANT THE SITE BUSINESSES THE ADJACENT COMMERCIAL QUARTER.
THAT'S THE, THE LONG TERM SOLUTION.
FAR WERE, UH, WERE APARTMENTS PART OF THIS HOUSING STUDY BECAUSE A LOT OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE OLDER APARTMENTS THAT ARE FALLING APART.
THAT THAT'S A OF THE EXACT SAME.
AND WE'RE CERTAINLY AWARE OF IT, WE'RE CERTAINLY GONNA ADDRESS THAT IN THE SAME WAY.
THERE'S DEFERRED MAINTENANCE GOING ON.
APARTMENTS LIVE THE WAY THEY DO AND, AND, UH, WE'RE GOING, ALL APARTMENTS MUST REPAIR THOSE APARTMENTS STANDARDS EXCEPT THAT OUR CODE ENFORCEMENT AND OUR TICKETS AND CITATIONS AND THAT, YEAH, WE, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING NEW, UH, NEW CODE PROGRAM, UH, WHERE OUR CRIMINAL CITATIONS ARE TURNING INTO CIVIL CITATIONS.
SO WHERE YOU WOULD GET A TICKET FOR $250 HALF TO VISIT MUNICIPAL COURT, COULD WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR THAT WHOLE PROCESS TO MOVE FORWARD 30 DAYS, 45 DAYS, YOU KNOW, HOWEVER LONG, AND THEN FINALLY MAYBE GET COMPLIANCE OR TO PAY IT AND THEN IT HAPPENS ALL OVER AGAIN THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO TICKET THEM IMMEDIATELY FOR $25 AND KEEP DOING IT UNTIL THEY TAKE CARE OF THEIR, THEIR PROBLEM.
UM, I DO WANT IT TO BE VERY CLEAR IN THESE SITUATIONS WHERE THERE IS, AND IT, IT LET'S IT'S BLIGHT WHERE THERE IS LIGHT.
UM, THE VICTIM IS NOT THE PERSON THAT HAS THE CODE VIOLATIONS.
THE VICTIM IS THE PERSON THAT HAS TO SEE THE CODE VIOLATIONS EVERY SINGLE DAY.
NEIGHBORS WHO HAVE TO LIVE NEXT TO PER TO PEOPLE WITH BUILDING MATERIALS IN THE BACK OF THEIR HOMES WHO WALK THEIR SIDEWALKS AND THEY'RE TRYING TO WALK THEIR DOGS.
THOSE ARE THE VICTIMS. SO I'M VERY PRO CODE ENFORCEMENT.
I HAVE LET OUR CODE DEPARTMENT KNOW THAT I TOTALLY HAVE THEIR BACK.
DO NOT CALL ME IF YOU GOT A CODE VIOLATION AND YOU WANT IT WIPED OUT.
'CAUSE I WANT, UM, I I REALLY FEEL LIKE THIS IS STUFF THAT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN CARE OF AND YOU'RE NOT TAKING CARE OF YOUR PROPERTY AND YOU'RE NOT BEING A GOOD PROPERTY OWNER.
THERE ARE RESPONSIBILITIES THAT COME WITH OWNING A HOME.
THERE ARE RESPONSIBILITIES THAT COME WITH BEING PART OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
PART OF THAT IS KEEPING UP YOUR PROPERTY.
SO, UM, ADELE HAD A QUESTION ON, WELL, I'M JUST GONNA ADDRESS YOU AND I HAVE TALKED, BUT I'M ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT, AS YOU KNOW, THE ISSUE I'VE GOT WITH THE NEIGHBOR AND MANY OF THE, I LIVE ON THE CUL-DE-SAC, BUT MANY OF THE NEIGHBORS NOW HAVE, UH, EVEN FOR A COUPLE OF RENTAL HOUSES, HAVE IMPROVED THE PROPERTY AND THE HOUSE AND EVERYTHING.
[00:45:02]
BUT WE'VE GOT A, A NEIGHBOR THAT'S STUCK BETWEEN MY HOUSE AND I TRIED TO MAINTAIN MINE NICELY AND THEN THIS, THIS NEW ONE AND THEN ONE STREET OVER BEHIND THAT HOUSE THERE IS A BEAUTIFUL HOME.IF YOU GO DOWN BONITA, YOU SEE THE HOME AND YOU THINK, OH, IT'S, IT'S FANCY, BUT BEHIND IT THERE'S A CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS, A CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS, AND THERE'S REBAR AND TWO PILES OF DIRT AND JUST JUNK.
AND, AND WE HEAR THE SOUND ALL DAY LONG.
THEY'VE GOT A CONCRETE CRUSHER.
IT IS LIKE BEING IN AN INDUSTRIAL AREA.
AND THIS, THIS IS EXACTLY THE PROBLEM THAT WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE IS BOTH THE CODE VIOLATIONS.
AND YOU SEE WHERE YOU HAVE A NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE THAT'S JUST FLIGHT ON THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND PROBLEMS WHERE PEOPLE ARE RUNNING COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES, RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE THEY SHOULDN'T, IF YOU THINK IT LIKE THIS, IT REALLY HARMS YOUR PROPERTY VALUES.
IT HARMS YOUR PROPERTY VALUES BECAUSE YOU CAN HAVE A LOVELY HOME AND SOMEBODY MIGHT COME AND SHOW UP AT YOUR HOME TO LOOK TO BUY YOUR PHONE.
THEY LOOK NEXT DOOR AND THEY GO, YEAH, BUT I'M NOT GONNA LIVE NEXT DOOR TO THAT.
AND THEN YOUR PROPERTY VALUE GOES LIKE THIS.
AND THE CYCLE THAT YOU GET INTO AS A RESULT OF, WE PROBABLY PASS THESE SLIDES NOW BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT IT.
THE CYCLE YOU GET INTO IS NOW YOUR HOMES WORTH LESS.
SO THAT WHEN YOU SELL IT, THE PERSON WHO MOVES IN HAS LESS INCOME AND TENDS TO BE THE MOST AFFORDABLE OPTION IN THE METROPLEX.
AND THOSE PEOPLE THAT COME IN THAT IT'S THE MOST AFFORDABLE, UH, PROPERTY THEY CAN BUY IN THE METROPLEX, THEY TEND TO HAVE LESS MONEY TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THEIR HOMES.
AND THEN WHAT HAPPENS IS THEN THERE'S LESS MAINTAINED HOMES AND THE NEXT PROPERTY, THAT'S PRETTY SOON YOU HAVE THESE POP UP AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
OUR JOB AS A CITY IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN IS TO BREAK THAT CYCLE.
WHEN WE BREAK THAT CYCLE, HARDWARE IS CODE COMPLIANCE, AS MAYOR SAID, THE VICTIM OF THE CODE COMPLIANCE VIOLATIONS IS THE PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING NEXT DOOR.
EVERY TIME I WENT TO TOWN ON MEETINGS AND, AND, AND UH, TALK TO THE PUBLIC, THEY SAY, YOU HEAR ABOUT PEOPLE COMPLAINING BECAUSE THEY GOT A COAT TICKET, BUT YOU DON'T LISTEN TO THE 20 PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHO ARE CRYING BECAUSE THE NEIGHBORHOOD USED TO BE BEAUTIFUL AND NOW THEY'VE GOT THIS FLIGHT GOING ON.
AND SO OUR JOB AS A CITY IS TO SAY, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY.
WE NEED TO MAKE IT SO THAT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD'S INVITED AND THEN YOUR PROPERTY VALUES, WELCOME PROPERTY VALUES, COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES, ONE SITE NEXT TO A NEIGHBORHOOD, HIGHER PROPERTY VALUES.
SO THEY BUILD NICER SHOPS, NICER RESTAURANTS, NICER SHOPPING, AND THEN YOU CAN SHOP LOCALLY.
INSTEAD, I DRIVE 15 MINUTES AWAY.
AND THAT'S THE WHOLE CYCLE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO BREAK.
AND WE'VE GOT A PLAN, AS I SAID, NOT JUST TO HAVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND WHATNOT, NOT JUST OUR NEIGHBORHOOD VITALITY, BUT TO HAVE EVERY DEPARTMENT IN THE CITY HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY TO MAKE THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS BETTER.
WE, WE, THE COUNCIL HASN'T ADOPTED YET, BUT IT MAYOR, I'M, I'M OFF FOR CODE COMPLIANCE BEING STRICTER BECAUSE I CALL CODE COMPLIANCE ABOUT THE PROBLEM NEXT DOOR AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH OR MORE.
I MEAN, YOU'LL HEAR AND THEY PROBABLY GAVE ME, YOU'LL HEAR THAT'S WHY WE'RE PUTTING THAT AS YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT THE CIVIL VIOLATION, UH, AND CIVIL ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM PUTTING IN PLACE.
THE REASON WE'RE PUTTING THAT IN PLACE IS RIGHT NOW A CODE TICKET.
IF YOU THINK ABOUT HOW MANY MAN HOURS IT TAKES TO WRITE A CRIMINAL VIOLATION BETWEEN THE TICKET YOU WRITE AND THEN A PROBABLE CAUSE AFFIDAVIT, YOU HAVE TO WRITE THAT THE COURT REQUIRES FOR FILING AND THEN A TRIP TO THE COURT FOR THE PRELIMINARY HEARING, A TRIP TO THE COURT FOR TRIAL.
A CODE OFFICER MIGHT HAVE THREE HOURS OF TIME IN WRITING, TAKE THE CIVIL VIOLATIONS.
THEY'RE ALL AUTOMATED AND THEY'RE ALL THINGS THAT YOU CAN SEE JUST FROM LOOKING AT THE PICTURE.
AND THE COURT OFFICER LITERALLY CAN SPEND A MINUTE AND A HALF AND BE DONE, PRESS THE BUTTON, THERE'S THE TICKET, MAILS IT TO THE HOMEOWNER, HERE'S YOUR GRASS THAT LOOKS LIKE THE PLANES IN THE SEREN AREA.
HERE'S YOUR DEBRIS ALL OVER THE FRONT LAWN.
HERE'S YOUR BROKEN WINDOWS AND YOUR BROKEN FACE REPORT AND YOUR APPEALING SIDE FORTH.
THE CODE VIOLATION WITHOUT GOES ON FOR THE NEXT HOUSE.
SO YOU TAKE WHAT'S A THREE HOUR PROCESS AND TURN IT INTO A MINUTE AND 32ND PROCESS, WHICH ALLOWS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE CODE ENFORCEMENT TO TAKE PLACE.
AND THAT'S PART OF THE PROCESS OF IMPROVING, ISN'T HE? RIGHT,
AND THEN I BELIEVE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THREE MONTHS.
THIS HASN'T BEEN CODIFIED BY COUNSEL YET.
UM, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT A PERIOD OF WARNINGS AND THEN A PERIOD
[00:50:01]
OF IF YOU FIX THE PROBLEM YOU FOR MAYBE A SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR, IF YOU FIX THE PROBLEM AFTER YOU RECEIVE THAT $25 VIOLATION AND THEY WILL DROP THE FEE FOR THAT $25 IF YOU FIX IT.IF YOU DON'T, THEN YOU HAVE TO GIVE TWO.
BUT ANY VIOLATION A THAT WE DO NOT HAVE A MECHANISM TO RELIEVE YOU OF THAT VIOLATION FEE.
SO YOU DON'T KNOW WHETHER YOU'RE GOING TO IMMEDIATELY FIND 25, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? NO.
WE'LL, WE'RE JUST NOT SURE HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE FOR US TO GET TO THAT PART OF THE PROGRAM.
SO INITIALLY WE'RE GONNA GET WARNINGS PROBABLY, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A PERIOD WHERE IF YOU, IF YOU GET A, YOUR FIRST VIOLATION, HOLD ON.
WHEN YOU GET YOUR FIRST VIOLATION, UM, YOU CAN GO TO THE, THE HEARING OFFICER AND SAY, LOOK, I'VE TAKEN CARE OF THIS PROBLEM.
AND THEY'LL DISMISS THE, THE VIOLATION OR YOU CAN SEND IT IN THROUGH, UM, SALESFORCE, TAKE A PICTURE OF IT AND SAY, LOOK, I'VE TAKEN CARE OF IT.
AND THEY CAN, THEY CAN WAIVE THAT $25 VIOLATION FOR A PERIOD OF TIME.
AFTER THAT INITIAL PERIOD PASSES.
YOU WILL HAVE THE OPTION TO GO TO A HEARING OFFICER WHO FEEL THAT THE FEE FOR THE VIOLATION IS, UM, NOT REAL OR BAD.
WHAT ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT? YOUR HOUSE'S LIVES,
I'VE RECEIVED SEVERAL VIOLATIONS, YOU KNOW, BUT WELL, AND THAT'S WHAT THE HEARING OFFICER IS FOR.
IF YOU, I MEAN, IF THEY SAY THAT YOUR TREES ARE GOING INTO THE ALLEYWAY AND, AND GETTING INTO THE POWER LINES AND CLEARLY THAT IS NOT THE CASE AT YOUR HOME, THEN YOU SHOULD THEM AND YOU'RE LIKE, OH, SORRY.
IT'S A LOT OF NOISE COMPLAINTS.
THAT'S, UH, HEY MARK? YES SIR.
UH, SO I HEARD THAT YOU GUYS ARE GONNA DO A PROGRAM CALLED CODE CARES.
I'M ACTUALLY A VOLUNTEER OF CODE CARES.
IT IS A PROGRAM THAT WILL HELP PEOPLE THAT DO NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO FIX THE VIOLATIONS THAT THEY RECEIVE.
UM, WE, WE DID A PROJECT ABOUT THREE WEEKS AGO WHERE A TREE HAD FALLEN INTO SOMEONE'S YARD, AN ELDERLY COUPLE.
UM, WITHIN TWO DAYS OF THAT FALLING, WE HAD A WHOLE TEAM THERE, CHAINSAWING AND PICKING UP ALL THE DEBRIS.
SANITATION CAME BY AND PICKED UP.
WE ACTUALLY TOOK CARE OF TWO TREES THAT DAY.
SO, UM, WE ALSO HAVE A TRAILER THAT HAS TOOLS AND ALL KINDS OF THINGS IN IT.
WE'RE MAKING THAT A MORE ROBUST TRAILER IN, I THINK, ARE WE GETTING MORE THAN ONE THREE? MIKE, IT'S MICHAEL TO PUT THREE OF THEM IN PLACE.
ONE, ONE OF THE COMMITMENTS THAT I MADE FOR THE COUNCIL WAS ONE, ONE MENTS I MADE FROM THE COUNCIL UP.
WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE PHYSICALLY TO, OUR GOAL IS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN NEIGHBORHOOD.
IT'S NOT TO PUNISH PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY CAN REPAIRS.
AND SO WE'VE GOT CO CARES WHO ARE GONNA BEEF UP CO CARE SUBSTANTIALLY.
WE HAVE ONE TRAILER CURRENTLY WITH TOOLS AND, AND LAWNMOWERS AND THINGS THAT PEOPLE CAN, UH, FIX THEIR HOME PROPERTIES WITH.
WE HAVE A WHOLE SWAT OF VOLUNTEERS AND WE'RE GOING TO, IN THE RED NOTICES THAT WE HAVE MOM TOLD YOU ABOUT THAT, GO OUT AND TELL PEOPLE YOU HAVE VIOLATIONS.
THERE'LL BE A QR CODE YOU CAN SNAP.
AND THEY'LL TELL YOU, HERE'S HOW YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR CODE CARES IF YOU'RE UNABLE TO MAKE THESE REPAIRS, YOU'RE UNABLE, PHYSICALLY UNABLE, ORALLY UNABLE, HERE'S HOW YOU SIGN FOR CODE CARE MEET WITH YOU AND SAY, OKAY, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO DO THIS.
HERE'S THE VOLUNTEERS AND THE RESOURCES WE CAN BRING TO HELP YOU.
AND THEN WE'LL BRING OUT THOSE TRAILERS AND WE'LL START MAKING IMPROVEMENTS.
AND I THINK WE'LL SEE THAT HAPPEN.
UH, IT'S MY COMMITMENT TO THE RESIDENTS IS THAT WE'RE GONNA FORCE, WE HAVE TO DO IN A WAY THAT'S MINDFUL OF THE FACT THAT NOT EVERYBODY IS ABLE TO PHYSICALLY MAKE SOME OF THESE REPAIRS.
AND YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ELDERLY HOME FOR A LONG TIME AND THEY CAN'T CUT TREES DOWN.
FINANCIAL RESOURCES ON SOCIAL FALL, WE'RE GONNA TO MAKE FOR REPAIR SO THAT THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, THEY'RE NOT CONTRIBUTING TO THE SO IS CODE CARES, JUST THE CITY CODE CARES WILL BE BOTH LISTED THERE.
BUT IN THE RED NOTICES AND THE VIOLATION NOTICES AND ON THE TICKET WARNINGS, THE TICKETS THAT YOU GET, THERE'LL BE A LINK TO CLIP.
AND IF YOUR HOUSE IS IDENTIFIED A CODE CARES HOUSE THERE COULD BE MAKING IMPROVEMENTS AND HELP YOU MAKE IMPROVEMENTS ON, THEN WE WILL, WE WILL CEASE ENFORCEMENT
[00:55:01]
MOST VIOLATIONS WHILE WE OUT CONFINE.IT WAS, I HAD A, ON THE, THAT'S BEING COLLECTED PERCENTAGE WISE, DOES ANYBODY KNOW HOW MUCH IS OWNER OCCUPIED AS OPPOSED TO NON-OWNER OCCUPIED? AND THEY CANVAS SURVEYS, DO THEY IDENTIFY WHETHER THEY'RE RENTERS OR OWNERS? THEY DO, BUT I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT, IT'S OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
I DON'T HAVE OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD EITHER.
WE DO HAVE THAT NUMBER BECAUSE THE RENTAL UNITS HAVE TO REGISTER AS 5 35 35 30 5% ARE RENTALS.
IF, IF IT'S THE CASE, WHEN CODE IS ISSUING VIOLATIONS, AT WHICH POINT DOES IT GO TO THE TENANT AND WHICH POINT DOES IT GO TO THE PROPERTY? MY PERSPECTIVE IS THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE PROPERTY OWNERS WHO ARE RENTING PROPERTY BUSINESS OWNERS, RUNNING BUSINESS, MAKING MONEY.
AND THEY SHOULD BE THE ONES RECEIVING THE CITATION AND FIXING THEIR PROPERTY.
IF YOU'RE GONNA EARN MONEY ON A PROPERTY HERE, YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR PROPERTY UP.
ONE OF THE COMPLAINTS WE GET A LOT IS IN THE RENTAL HOUSES AREN'T KEPT IN THE RIGHT, IN GOOD CONDITION.
AND IT'S INCUMBENT ON US AS A CITY TO MAKE SURE THAT IF YOU'RE USING YOUR HOUSE TO MAKE MONEY, AND SOME INVESTORS GOTTA CHECK TO SEE IN CALIFORNIA, BECAUSE RENTING THE HOUSE HERE, THAT INVESTOR NEEDS TO PUT MONEY BACK INTO THAT HOUSE TO KEEP IT UP IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
OR WE'RE GOING INSTANCE THAT WE DO THAT DOES IT GETTING WORSE.
SO THEY GET THE INFORMATION FROM VCA.
SO WHOEVER, WHOMEVER THE OWNER IS IN VCAP, THAT'S WHO THE GARAGE IS TOO TALL, THEY GONNA GET THE GUY IN CALIFORNIA, THEY'RE GONNA WRITE A TICKET.
SO THE BEAUTIFUL THING ABOUT RENTAL HOUSE, IF YOU RUN RENTAL THE HOUSE TO TAKE AND HE DOESN'T PAY IT RIGHT A TICKET BECAUSE THE SCRATCH IS TOO HIGH.
YOU WRITE A TICKET BECAUSE IT'S GOT BROKEN.
AND PEEL FACIA BOARD YOU RIDING A TICKET BECAUSE HE'S GOT HANGING OFF THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE BECAUSE THE WINDSTORM TOOK IT DOWN AND HIS TREES HAVEN'T GONNA BE CUT IN FOREVER WRITING THOSE TICKETS.
THE OWNER OF THAT RENTAL PROPERTY HAS TO PAY THOSE TICKETS.
IF HE DOESN'T PAY THOSE TICKETS, YOU CAN CONVERT THEM TO A CIVIL JUDGMENT AND LEAVE THE HOUSE.
UNLIKE A HOMEOWNER WHERE YOU CAN'T LEAVE THE HOUSE, YOU CAN LEAVE THE HOUSE WHEN THEY GET ENOUGH TICKETS AND YOU LEAVE THE HOUSE ENOUGH, YOU CAN FORECLOSE ON THE HOUSE AND OWN THE HOUSE ANYMORE.
AND SO IT'S, THERE'S A VERY HEAVY ENFORCEMENT MECHANISM AGAINST RENTAL PROPERTIES THAT WE CAN DO WITH A CIVIL ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM.
THAT'S ONE OF THE OTHER REASONS WE'RE RUNNING CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.
ARE YOU SAYING THAT THE, UH, YOU CAN'T PUT A LIEN ON UH, A HOME THAT'S OWN? YOU CAN, BUT YOU CAN'T FORECLOSE ON IT.
WHEREAS AT RENTAL PROPERTY, THAT'S NOT HOMESTEAD BECAUSE THE OWNER LIVES IN CALIFORNIA.
IF THAT RENTAL PROPERTY DOESN'T PAY HIS TICKETS AND THE TICKETS GET PAID ENOUGH, WE CAN GO IN AND TRY TO SEIZE THAT PROPERTY FROM.
THESE RENTAL OWNERS KNOW THAT.
AND SO WHEN WE GET SERIOUS WITH THE RENTAL OWNERS AND TELL 'EM WE NEED TO COMPLY, THAT'S WHY WE WANT TO WRITE THE OWNERS AND NOT THE TENANT.
A LOT OF TIMES THE TENANT IS A VICTIM OF THE FACT THAT THE OWNER WANTS TO PUT MONEY BACK IN THE PROPERTY BECAUSE WHAT DOES THE OWNER CARE HE'S GETTING EVERY MONTH? BUT WHO CARES? YOU ALL CARE.
YOU ALL CARE BECAUSE IF YOU LIVE NEXT DOOR TO A RENTAL HOME AND THEY'RE NOT BEING TAKEN CARE OF IT, THERE LOT VIOLATIONS TO OCCUR THERE THAT HARMS YOU AND HARMS YOUR, ALRIGHT, ONE MORE AND THEN WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON.
UM, RENTAL PROPERTIES IN RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS, WHO'S ENFORCING IT? CO BUILDING BECAUSE THE ADDRESS IS 1126
IT IS A RENTAL PROPERTY AND HAS BEEN CODE, IT'S CODE, IT'S A RESIDENTIAL RE IT'S A RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY.
IT'S CODE COMPLIANCE WILL ENFORCE THAT CODE.
CODE COMPLIANCE WILL ENFORCE THAT.
NOT BUILDING, NOT, THAT'S CORRECT.
SO WE REALLY DID GO THROUGH THIS AND THIS LAST DISCUSSION,
AND WITHOUT GOOD HOUSING, WITHOUT GOOD RETAIL, YOU'RE JUST IN THIS CYCLE FOR A VERY, VERY LONG TIME.
AND I FEEL LIKE WE ARE CURRENT, WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THIS CYCLE.
SO OUR GOAL IS TO GET IT AN UPWARD SPIRAL THROUGH THAT FOCUS DEVELOPMENT IN NEIGHBORHOODS THROUGH INVESTMENT IN THE COMMUNITY, WITH ALL OF THESE MECHANISMS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, GETTING US INTO AN UPWARD SPIRAL.
HERE'S SOME COOL STUFF THAT'S HAPPENING.
[01:00:01]
UM, DAISY BRAND IS EXPANDING.DO YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THIS? NO.
UM, THEY'RE INVESTING $30 MILLION INTO THESE.
OKAY, SO THEY ARE, THEY HAVE PURCHASED THESE FOUR BUILDINGS, CORRECT? THEY DID.
AND THAT ONE WELL, THEY, THEY, YES.
TALK ABOUT LET GOOD, UM, I OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, I SEE SOME OF THE HOW MANY FACES, BUT, UM, GARLAND, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE SO MANY EXCITING THINGS HAPPENING IN GARLAND, BUT TONIGHT OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, TIME IS LIMITED.
SO I LIKE TO FOCUS ON JUST DISTRICT FIVE.
YOU KNOW, GARLAND, WE HAVE ABOUT OVER 30 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF INDUSTRIAL.
AND THAT INDUSTRIAL, UH, BASE IS VERY STRONG AND STABLE.
AND WITH THOSE COMPANIES, THEY CONTINUE INVEST AND GROW.
AND THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE, DAISY BRAND, UH, THIS, UH, COMPANY, THEY ARE CURRENTLY ON THAT LOCATION, UH, JUST EAST OF SUB AVENUE, CLOSE TO UM, LBJ.
THEY, UH, PURCHASED THAT PROPERTY 1998.
HOWEVER, THEY STARTED VERY SMALL PROPERTY IN OFF KINGSLEY AND THEN THEY MOVED HERE AND THEY CONTINUE GROW.
AND, UM, SO THEY RECENTLY THEY PURCHASED THIS FOUR ACRE SITE.
NOW WHAT THEY GONNA DO IS THEY'RE GONNA BE BUILT A BRAND NEW, UM, RESEARCH AND THE INNOVATION CENTER, I'M SURE MANY OF YOU HAVE A DAISY GROWING SOUR CREAM IN YOUR FRIDGE.
THEY COTTAGE CHEESE MADE IN WATER, SO YOU EAT MORE SOUR CREAM.
ANYWAYS, UM, SO THIS ONE, UH, THEY'RE GONNA BE ADDING 40,000 SQUARE FEET INNOVATION CENTER.
AND THEN, UM, IT'S REALLY EXCITING.
IT'S NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE, BUT ABOUT 30 FOLKS.
UM, THEY'RE DOING A LOT OF TESTING AND RESEARCHING FROM THIS FACILITY.
AND THE NEXT ONE IS ANDERSON WINDOWS AND DOORS, OF COURSE, CONSTRUCTION A LITTLE BIT SLOWING DOWN.
BUT GARLAND IS REALLY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THEIR CONSOLIDATION.
THEY'RE CONSOLIDATING A A LOT OF FACILITIES.
SO THEY ARE PUTTING A MORE INVESTMENT HERE IN GARLAND FACILITIES.
UH, BUT THIS, UH, ANDERSON WINDOW PURCHASE SILVER AND WINDOWS.
THIS COMPANY IS SINCE, UH, IN GARLAND, SINCE 2000, 2006, ANDERSON WINDOW PURCHASE.
THIS COMPANYS, UH, THEY CONTINUE TO OPERATE, CONTINUE TO INVEST, AND CURRENTLY I THINK THEY HAVE ABOUT OVER 400 PEOPLE, 24 7 OPERATION, THREE SHIFTS.
SO THEY'RE GONNA DO 30 MILLION INVESTMENT HERE.
THIS PROJECT, UM, THIS VACANT CROW OVERSIGHT, ABOUT 50,000 SQUARE FEET TAKEN CLOSE TO 20 YEARS AND WE'RE ALL FAMILIAR.
BUT FINALLY WE HAVE A RIGHT PROPERTY OWNER, DAVID, AND INVEST.
YOU KNOW, THE INDIVIDUAL IS VERY IMPORTANT.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE A PRO RIGHT PROPERTY OWNER, KEEP INVESTING THAT PROPERTY GONNA RUN DOWN SURROUNDING AREA, GONNA BE, DOESN'T LOOK GOOD.
NOW, OF COURSE THIS IS STILL PROPOSED SITE.
WE ARE STILL CONTINUE WORKING WITH THEM, BUT THEY'RE GONNA BE TAKING OVER 53,000 SQUARE FEET AND A SMALL SHOPPING STRIP RIGHT HERE IN THE CORNER.
THEY'RE GONNA DEMOLISH AND THEN THEY'RE GONNA EXPAND THE PARKING, AND THEN THEY'RE GONNA DO ADE IMPROVEMENT, LANDSCAPE IMPROVEMENT.
AND I BELIEVE THE CHASE BUMP IN THE CORNER, THEY'RE GONNA HAVE A NEW, UH, BUILDING AND THEY'RE GONNA HAVE ANOTHER PET SITE ON THE CENTERVILLE.
THEY'RE GONNA ADD IN ANOTHER RETAIL SPACE THERE.
SO I THINK IT'S GONNA BE CHANGING A LOT.
THIS AREA, WE HAVE A BIG PROBLEM WITH VENDORS HERE, HERE, AND HERE, AND HERE.
IF YOU SEE THOSE, PLEASE REPORT THEM.
IF YOU HAVEN'T USED EIST AND NOW IT'S GO TO EIST AND THEN GO TO SALESFORCE.
IF YOU HAVEN'T SIGNED UP FOR THAT, IT'S SO EASY TO USE.
TAKE A PICTURE, REPORT IT THROUGH E ASSIST THROUGH SALESFORCE.
IT'S A SECONDARY LOGIN, BUT ONCE YOU GET IN THERE, SAVE THE PASSWORD AND THEN SIGN IN ON YOUR PHONE.
UM, UM, WE'RE REALLY, REALLY TRYING TO GET SOME WEEKEND ENFORCEMENT, REGULAR WEEKEND ENFORCEMENT OUT THERE TO DEAL WITH THOSE VENDORS.
UM, IT'S JUST GOING TO TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO FIND SOME FUNDING FOR THAT.
AND, AND, AND I MEAN, THEY, THEY REALLY WORK THOSE AREAS HEAVY BEFORE
[01:05:01]
AND AFTER AND DURING HOLIDAYS, BUT IT'S REALLY ALL THE TIME.UH, THE MORE WE REPORT THINGS, THE MORE THEY KNOW, THE MORE THEY SEE.
YOU CAN SNAP A PICTURE OF A LICENSE PLATE.
IS IT A GROCERY STORE? IT'S HBV, BUT YEAH, ATV HAS OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND SQUARE FEET.
THIS ONE IS A 53,000 SQUARE, THIS IS SMALLER, BUT THIS IS ALL THE A EV PRODUCTS.
THEY BE, AND ALSO IN THE CITY OF GARLAND, WE DO NOT ALLOW OUTSIDE STORAGE OVER FIVE FEET.
SO YOU WON'T SEE THAT STACKED UP SO HIGH.
JUST SO YOU KNOW,
THE NINE 9 CENTS STORE IS GOING TO BE A LA CHIANA, WHICH IS A, UH, HISPANIC MEAT MARKET.
AND THE OFFICE DEPOT IS GOING TO BE SOFT GOODS.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT BRAND? I DON'T EITHER.
THEY'RE ALSO BUILDING A DRIVE THROUGH HERE.
SO ONCE THESE SHOPPING CENTERS ARE ACTIVATED, YOU WILL SEE A LOT LESS OF THE VENDORS INHERENTLY, BECAUSE WE, WELL, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE DOING IS HOLDING PROPERTY OWNERS RESPONSIBLE, AND THAT INCLUDES COMMERCIAL PROPERTY OWNERS WHO ARE NOT KEEPING THEIR AREAS CLEAN AND, UM, SAFE FOR PEOPLE THAT CROSS AREA TOO.
JUST A REAL QUICK QUESTION, ALEX.
TIM, IS IT POSSIBLE TO COME UP WITH SOME KIND OF A VISION SALESFORCE TO, OR WE CAN CALL THAT PORTAL SOMETHING THAT'S MORE A, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT SOUNDS MORE LIKE WHAT IT IS AND NOT LIKE SOME KIND OF SALESMANSHIP, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW.
CAN WE CALL SALESFORCE SOMETHING? RIGHT? SO THE, THE CITIZEN FACING COMPONENT WILL NOT BE THAT, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE SOFTWARE PLATFORM THAT IS USED TO AS A, IT IS GONNA BE PLATFORM THAT IS ACTUALLY FOR ALL OF OUR DEVELOPMENT RELATED SERVICES.
AND SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE CORRECT, IT WILL HAVE A, A PUBLIC FACING PORTAL THAT WILL BE CALLED SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT AND BE AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE, UH, SIMILAR TO E ASSIST.
SO THERE WILL BE, UH, AND IT'S IN, IN PROCESS RIGHT NOW.
SO I'M HOPING THAT WE'LL SEE IT.
PROBABLY OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE A FULLY LAUNCHED IN PUBLIC, PROBABLY AROUND SEPTEMBER 1ST.
UM, SO WE'RE WORKING OUT ALL THAT STUFF IN THE BACKGROUND RIGHT NOW, WORKING THROUGH WHAT IT IS THE COUNCIL IS DIRECTING US TO DO AS IT RELATES TO ALL THE CITATIONS AND WHATNOT.
SO THAT'S ALL BEING BUILT IN THE BACKGROUND.
UH, BUT YEAH, IT WOULD BE CALLED IS IS THE BE BLOCKS BUILDING GONNA BE, THAT WOULD BE A CRUNCH.
OKAY, SO ANOTHER IMPORTANT ENTRANCE TO THE SEA.
THIS IS 6 35 AND IT SOUTH ROW AVENUE.
THIS IS ANOTHER EXCITING PROJECT.
AND SO 2019 BOND, UM, YOU GUYS ALLOW US TO START INVESTING SOME PROPERTIES AND WE STARTED ACQUIRING SOME PROPERTY IN THIS AREA.
WE CONTINUE THAT AIRPORT, UH, BECAUSE WHEN WE ARE TALKING TO RIGHT DEVELOPER, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE CONTROL THE SITE.
GARLAND IS REALLY BUILT OUT, SO IN ORDER FOR US TO BRING EXPANDED PROJECT, WE HAVE TO CONTROL THE PROPERTY.
SO WHEN YOU SEE, UH, THIS MAP, UH, YELLOW IS CITY OWNED PROPERTY, IT IS ABOUT 50 55 ACRES INCLUDING HYPER MART SITE.
AND, UM, SO THIS IS A PART OF THE THREE OVER 300 ACRES REZONING.
UM, I THINK LAST YEAR, UH, COUNCIL APPROVED.
AND SO THIS IS REALLY, WE CONTINUE TO, UH, MEET AND RECRUIT AND THEY MEET THE QUALITY DEVELOPER.
PROBABLY IT TAKES A LITTLE TIME, HOWEVER, UM, BUT THIS IS REALLY ANOTHER KEY ENTRANCE TO THE CITY.
WE TRULY BELIEVE THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CITY.
AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE WORK WITH THE, UH, DIFFERENT DEPARTMENT AND PEOPLE AND WE CONTINUE TO PROMOTE THAT.
THIS IS 250,000 CAR DAILY ON THE LBJ EVERY DAY.
SO HOPEFULLY SOON THIS PROJECT GONNA BE OVER AT 6 35 IMPROVEMENT.
IT IS A MESS, BUT HOPEFULLY IT'S GONNA BE OVER SOON.
AND IT IS REALLY, WE CAN GET THE RIGHT DEVELOPMENT RING TO THE TABLE.
WE BRING IN DIA SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, FINANCIALLY HELPING THE CITY, AND ALSO WE CAN DRIVE PEOPLE TO GARLAND AND SPEND MONEY IN GARLAND.
I HAD MENTIONED THIS TO MARGARET.
UM, I KNOW THAT THE CEMENT PLANT SAID THAT THEY WEREN'T ADMITTING PARCELS OR WHATEVER, BUT THE TREES ALL ALONG GARLAND ROAD FROM LBJ FORD ARE JUST DYING AND THEY'RE IN SUCH BAD SHAPE.
AND I KNOW A TREE CITY AND TO ME THAT
[01:10:01]
JUST DOESN'T WELCOME ANYBODY.AND IT'S SAD TO SEE THOSE TREES SUFFERING LIKE THEY ARE.
SO, I DON'T KNOW, I'M NOT AN ARBORIST, BUT I THINK THE CITY SHOULD HAVE SOMEBODY LOOK INTO THOSE TREES AND SEE IF THEY CAN BE SAVED.
PARKS HAS LOOKED AT THE TREES, BUT WHEN, UH, WHEN WE REPORTED IT AND UH, WHEN THEY WENT OUT THERE, IT WAS STILL ALL WINTER TIME.
SO THERE WAS A, UM, THEY WERE WAITING FOR SPRING TO COME TO REEVALUATE THE TREES.
A CEMENT PLANT, BAT CEMENT, BATCH PLANT WILL BE GONE AS SOON AS 6 35 DONE.
WHEN IS THAT GOING TO HAPPEN? I DON'T KNOW.
WE'LL FIND OUT AT THE FIRST MEETING IN MAY.
UH, SEASON WITH TDOT IS COMING TO GIVE US AN UPDATE.
SO WE'LL HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF WHEN THAT IS.
THE SMITH BATCH PLANT IS CURRENTLY ON A MONTH TO MONTH LEASE.
SO AS SOON AS THAT THING IS DONE, THEY ARE OUT.
BUT MY CONCERN IS THE TREES HAVE BEEN AFFECTED.
WHAT IS IT DONE TO THE PEOPLE AND THE ANIMALS TOO? SO, I DUNNO, IT JUST, IT'S VERY, I, I'M NOT THE AUTHORITY, BUT IT WORRIES ME HOW MUCH THOSE TREES HAVE SUFFERED DURING THIS TIME.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE HAVE CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENTS COMING IN AS SOON AS 6 35 IS DONE AND THAT THING IS GONE.
SO THOSE THINGS WILL BE ADDRESSED.
UM, BUT IT'S JUST GONNA TAKE A LITTLE MORE TIME, UNFORTUNATELY, I HOPE SOME LAST, THEY REALLY DO.
I MEAN, IT'S WONDERFUL TO HAVE TREES.
THEY DO SO MUCH TO BEAUTIFY THINGS.
UM, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT A LOT OF THIS ALREADY.
UM, SO THERE'S THREE THINGS THAT I SAID WERE MY PLATFORMS. WHEN I FIRST STARTED IN 2022, PUBLIC SAFETY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, REDEVELOPMENT, AND AESTHETICS.
TO ME, AESTHETICS JUST ISN'T JUST THINGS ARE PRETTY.
WE'VE GOT A LOT OF TREES EVERYWHERE.
IT IS CODE ENFORCEMENT, IT IS PARKING, MARSHAL ENFORCEMENT.
IT IS MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE IMPROVING OUR GATEWAYS AND CORRIDORS.
THOSE THINGS ACTUALLY LIKE MURAL.
Y'ALL HEAR ME TALK ABOUT MURALS ALL THE TIME.
THE REASON I DO THAT IS BECAUSE IT'S SUCH A CHEAP WAY TO GET SOMETHING DONE AND, AND REALLY CREATE A UNIQUE SPACE THAT HELPS YOU IDENTIFY YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND REALLY GIVES PEOPLE A SENSE OF IDENTITY.
SO RATHER THAN SAYING, OH, TURN BY THE TIRE SHOP TURNED BY THAT FERRY ON THE, WHERE THE FERRY'S HOLDING THE BUTTERFLY, YOU KNOW, UH, THOSE ARE, SO, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS MAKE A HUGE IMPACT.
AND, UM, THAT REZONING THE 317 ACRE REZONING.
WE SPECIFICALLY LEFT OUT AUTO USE AS A USE IN THAT ZONING DISTRICT.
UM, I, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU WATCHED, BUT I AM VERY, I'M, I FEEL LIKE IF THERE'S SOMETHING THERE ALREADY, THERE'S NOT MUCH I CAN DO ABOUT IT.
BUT MOVING FORWARD, WOULD I EVER APPROVE AMOUNT OF USE? ABSOLUTELY NOT.
WILL I, WILL I APPROVE STORAGE BUILDINGS? ABSOLUTELY NOT.
WILL I APPROVE LAUNDROMATS? I'M NOT A BIG FAN.
UM, I ACTUALLY WORKED REALLY HARD TO GET THOSE AS AN SVPA SPECIAL USE.
THEY HAVE TO COME THROUGH COUNCIL ON THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO GET A LAUNDROMAT INTO COMMUNITY RETAIL ZONING.
I DID ALL OF THAT STUFF ON PURPOSE BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE IF I CAN AT LEAST HOLD OFF DEVELOPMENT OF SOME OF THOSE USES, WE CAN HAVE THE BIG, THE BIG DEVELOPMENT COME IN WITH ALL OF THE USES THAT WE WANT ALREADY APPROVED WITHIN THAT ZONING.
SO, UM, THIS STUFF TAKES SO LONG.
I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL FOR FOUR YEARS AND I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS STUFF FOR THAT LONG.
AND, UM, AND IT'S VERY FRUSTRATING FOR ME BECAUSE I WANT THINGS TO HAPPEN IMMEDIATELY.
I LIVE ON SATURN ROAD BETWEEN MILLER AND KINGSLEY, AND I'VE GROWN UP THERE MY ENTIRE LIFE.
AND I HAVE SEEN WHAT THINGS USED TO BE LIKE, AND I WANT TO BRING BACK THAT VIBRANCY THAT WE HAD.
I FEEL LIKE IT'S REALLY WEIGHING AND I FEEL LIKE WE'VE LOST A LOT OF IT, AND I WANT IT BACK.
AND I WANT, I WANT PEOPLE TO STAY HERE AND ENJOY AND HAVE PRIDE IN THEIR COMMUNITY AND THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.
SO THOSE ARE THINGS THAT I'M WORKING ON.
[01:15:02]
THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF WHAT OUR GATEWAY AND CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENTS WILL LOOK LIKE.UM, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MEDIANS, ADDING LANDSCAPING, HARDSCAPING, AND THEN, UM, THESE REALLY COOL RETRO LOOKING LETTERS AND WHEELS AND THINGS.
OH, NO, I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THESE
BASICALLY OUR GATEWAYS INTO GARLAND CODE AND PARK ENFORCEMENT.
WE'VE GONE THROUGH A LOT OF THIS, SO, UM, PLEASE HOLD YOUR QUESTIONS TILL THE END.
I KNOW, JEFF, YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT CODE ENFORCEMENT AND STUFF? NO, I'M ALRIGHT.
UH, SIR, WOULD YOU MIND? I WOULD THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
MY NAME IS AL RAYMOND AND I'M STANDING IN FOR BRIAN MORRIS.
BRIAN MORRIS, UH, SAID HE WON'T BE CONFUSED.
SO, UH, I'LL BE KIND OF PRESUMING THIS FOR YOU, BUT BEFORE I STARTED, I WANTED TO MAKE THIS POINT.
I'VE HEARD A LOT OF YOU COMMENT ON, IS IT BUILDING INSPECTIONS OR IS IT CODE, CODE, UH, COMPLIANCE CODE ENFORCEMENT.
THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT, MEANING THIS BUILDING YOUR HOMES, THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT IS ALWAYS CODE ENFORCEMENT.
THE ENVIRONMENT BEING BUILT, MEANING NEW CONSTRUCTION, THAT KIND OF THING.
THAT'S ALWAYS BUILDING INSPECTIONS.
WE DO WORK CLOSELY TOGETHER, BUT CODE ENFORCEMENT HAS THEIR BOUNDARIES, IF YOU WILL, IN BUILDING INSPECTIONS AS THERE.
AND SOMETIMES WE CROSS OVER, BUT THAT'S KIND OF THE DIVIDED LINE.
ANOTHER STATEMENT I WANTED TO BE BEFORE I GET STARTED IS THIS, AND YOU'VE HEARD IT A LOT TONIGHT, UM, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SPEAR THAT WE'RE USING, THE TIP TIP OF THAT SPEAR IS CODE COMPLIANCE, RIGHT? UH, UH, THEY SAID, UH, THE SPEAKERS HAVE SAID, HEY, A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS, ESPECIALLY CITY MANAGERS, A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS ARE ALL HANDS ON DECK FOR THE CHALLENGE THAT WE HAVE IN GARLAND.
BUT THE VERY TIP OF THAT SPEAR IS, IS CODE COMPLIANCE.
AND WHY IS THAT? 'CAUSE OUR CITY IS BUILT OUT, AS YOU HEARD, EVERYONE SAYS, OUR AGING HOUSING STOCK IS A CHALLENGE.
AND THAT'S WHERE, AND AS YOU NOTICE, OUR AGING COMMERCIAL, UH, STOCK IS KIND OF A CHALLENGE AS WELL.
SO WITH THAT IN MIND, WE HAVE, WE CAME UP WITH A LOT OF NEW INITIATIVES THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT IF YOU CHANGE THE SLIDE FORMAT, A LOT OF NEW INITIATIVES, UH, TO ADDRESS THAT ISSUE, KIND OF THE ALL HANDS ON DECK.
SO INITIALLY I WANTED TO START WITH THIS AND IT SAYS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING PLANS.
WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STUDY AND THE HOUSING STUDY BOTH EMPHASIZE NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION THROUGH, UH, CODE COMPLIANCE.
THAT'S HUGE, RIGHT? AND THEN IF YOU SEE HERE, AND IF YOU CAN READ THIS, UH, ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, IT'S, UH, WELL FOR YOU ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, IT'S, UH, RESIDENTIAL AND COMMUNITY PROPERTY MAINTENANCE.
ON THE OTHER SIDE, IT'S, IT'S COMMERCIAL.
AND THESE ARE OUR, RIGHT NOW, CURRENTLY IN 24, 25, THESE ARE OUR TOP, UH, UH, VIOLATION.
OUR TOP CHALLENGES ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIZE, IT'S HIGH GRASS AND WEEDS, IMPROPER STORAGE.
YOU KNOW, MANY OF YOU TALK ABOUT THAT.
AND OF COURSE, UH, ALLEY ENCROACHMENT, THERE'S A GAZILLION THINGS THAT WE DO.
BUT THESE ARE KIND OF, THEY RISE TO THE TOP AND WE HAVE TO ADDRESS THESE OFTEN.
8500, 3400, 3100 ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE.
UH, IT'S TALL GRASS AND WEEDS IS ONE, LITTER AND TRASH.
AND I'M SURE YOU SEE THAT GOING BY ALMOST ANY COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT.
AND OF COURSE, WE HAVE 140 OR ALMOST 150 VIOLATIONS WITH PERMANENT ACCESSORY BUILDINGS.
SO THE POINT I WANNA MAKE HERE IS THIS, THOSE NUMBERS ARE INCREDIBLY LOW, ESPECIALLY IN THE COMMERCIAL SIDE, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
AND I'M GONNA TALK TO YOU ABOUT WHY IT IS THE CASE.
BUT LOOKING AT THIS AND LOOKING AT THE STAFF THAT WE HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE, I HAVE 25 CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, 25, THE CITY IS ABOUT 60 SQUARE MILES, AND I GOT 25 OFFICERS.
AND WHAT HAS HAPPENED, AND, AND, AND THE CHANGES THAT WE'RE GONNA MAKE THAT WE'RE GONNA DISCUSS IS, IS TO BETTER GET OUR ARMS AROUND THE CHALLENGE THAT WE HAVE IN ADDRESSING THE PROPERTY MAINTENANCE, WHETHER IT'S RESIDENTIAL OR WHETHER IT'S COMMERCIAL.
UH, NEW INITIATIVES TO GET OUR ARMS AROUND THE, THE CHALLENGE, THE VERY FIRST THING ON HERE IS, UH, A DISTRICT BASED INSPECTION TEAMS. WHAT, WHAT, WHAT THAT SIMPLY
[01:20:01]
MEANS IS THIS, WE HAVE REALIGNED CODE COMPLIANCE TO BE, UH, TO BE DISTRICT BASED, WHICH MEANS THAT INSTEAD OF, I, I REALLY, I'M NOT SURE HOW THEY WERE ORGANIZED BEFORE, BUT NOW THERE WILL BE TEAMS AND DISTRICTS AND YOU WILL KNOW THEM.YOU WILL SEE THEM AND, AND, AND, UH, HOPEFULLY IT'S A MORE, UH, UH, IMPACTFUL WAY OF DOING CODE COMPLIANCE.
NOW, WHY DO WE DO THIS? FOR SEVERAL REASONS.
THERE'S A, A MANY REASONS, BUT THERE ARE THREE PRIMARY REASONS.
ONE, I THINK THIS NEW ALIGNMENT BRINGS THE CODE COMPLIANCE TEAM CLOSER TO THE CITIZENS AND THE AREA THAT THEY'RE SERVING.
TWO, I THINK IT BREEDS FAMILIARITY, WHICH IS GREAT BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA GET FAMILIAR WITH YOU AND GET FAMILIAR WITH YOUR AREAS.
AND HOPEFULLY IF YOU DESIRE TO, YOU'RE GONNA GET FAMILIAR WITH THEM BECAUSE YOU'LL BE SEEING THEM ALL THE TIME.
YOU'LL, THEY'LL BE IN YOUR AREA AND YOU'LL KIND OF RECOGNIZE YOUR FACES AND, AND IT MAY BE MOVING ON YOU TO JUST SAY, HEY, GET TO KNOW THEM, KNOW WHO THEY ARE AND NAMES, THAT KIND OF THING.
AND THEN FREE, IT IMPROVES OUR RESPONSE TIME, RIGHT? SO IF YOU SAY, HEY, UH, THERE'S A PROBLEM AT 26 15 HACKER, YOU GONNA BE SAYING THAT GUY, THAT LADY, THAT INDIVIDUAL ALL THE TIME, IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE THEN TO GO, OH, I'VE GOTTA GET TO IT.
BECAUSE I MEAN, YOU KNOW, IT'S THAT KIND OF, THAT KIND OF CLOSE RELATIONSHIP BREEDS ACCOUNTABILITY, WHICH I THINK IS, IS, IS A VERY GOOD THING.
WE LAUNCHED THIS, UM, IN JANUARY, RIGHT NOW, LET ME, WE LAUNCHED IT IN JANUARY JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO.
WE SPENT, UH, WHEN I GOT HERE IN 20 OCTOBER 24, 1 OF THE VERY FIRST, AFTER ASSESSING THE OPERATIONS, ONE OF THE VERY FIRST THINGS I DID IS SAY, HEY, I FOUND OUT THAT MY, UH, MY 25 CODE INSPECTORS WERE ALL SPECIALIZED.
THEY WERE, UH, MINUTES BY 8:00 PM THEY WERE, UH, IN SILOS OF THEIR, UH, IN SILOS OF THEIR EXPERTISE, RIGHT? SO I ONLY KNOW COMMERCIAL.
WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENED,
WE HAVE, WE HAVE TO FOCUS ON BEING VERSATILE, RIGHT? I GOTTA KNOW HOW TO BAT RIGHT HANDED, AND I HAVE TO KNOW HOW TO BAT LEFTHANDED.
SO WE SPENT MOST OF 25 CROSS TRAINING, TEACHING, LEARNING THE ENTIRE GAMUTS OF, OF CODE COMPLIANCE, RIGHT? AND WE PREPARE OURSELVES SO THAT WE COULD LAUNCH IN, IN JANUARY.
WE SPENT ALL OF JANUARY, UH, RIDING AROUND, UH, EVERY IN, IN A CAR, BEING TEACHING EVERYONE, HEY, OKAY, THIS IS WHAT WE LOOK AT WHEN WE DO MULTIFAMILY.
THIS IS WHAT WE LOOK AT, WE NEED TO DO IN COMMERCIAL, SO FORTH AND SO ON, RIGHT? SO WE LAUNCHED, BUT LET ME SHARE SOMETHING ELSE TO YOU.
WHAT ELSE? IN, IN ADDITION TO JUST LAUNCHING, UH, BEING IN THE NEW DISTRICTS, WE ALSO NOW REQUIRE A CODE OFFICE TO WEAR UNIFORMS. THAT'S, IT'S, IT'S A LONG STORY, BUT, UH, IT, IT MAKES US LOOK PROFESSIONAL, RIGHT? AND I, I, I THINK YOU APPRECIATE PROFESSIONAL.
SO YOU NEED TO KNOW, HEY, WHO'S THE CITIZEN? AND WHO'S THE, WHO'S THE CO COMPLIANCE OFFICER? AND WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, SALESFORCE THAT WAS ALSO GOING IN IN, UH, JANUARY.
UH, SO THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF THINGS GOING ON WITH CODE COMPLIANCE.
AND, AND, AND, WELL, IT'S WITH ALL OF US IN THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS WITH CODE COMPLIANCE, IT'S KIND OF AT THE TIP BECAUSE EVERYONE'S SAYING, HEY, WE NEED, WE NEED YOU TO DO THIS.
WE NEED TO BE UP AND ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS.
SO THERE'S A LOT GOING ON THERE.
BUT WHAT WE'VE DONE IS IN, IN, IN DIVIDING UP INTO DISTRICTS, AND WE'LL SHOW THIS ON, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, IS THAT, UM, WE CREATED FOUR.
WE DIVIDED THE 25 INDIVIDUALS INTO FOUR, INTO GROUPS OF FOUR.
AND, AND THOSE GROUPS OF FOUR LED BY A LEAD AND FIVE INSPECTORS, UM, THEY ARE, THEY'RE IN, THEY'RE LOCATED IN SPECIFIC DISTRICTS.
UH, TWO, BECAUSE WE HAVE EIGHT OBVIOUSLY.
SO THAT'S HOW WE GET, THAT'S HOW WE, UH, DIVIDE THE CITY UP AND HOPEFULLY GET OUR ARMS AROUND EVERYTHING.
AND, AND, AND AS WE GET BETTER, UH, IN, INTO, UH, UNDERSTANDING OUR PACE, OUR METRICS, OUR CADENCE, UH, HOPEFULLY YOU'LL GET TO KNOW WHO IS IN YOUR AREA, THE LEAD AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE A PULMONARY ASSOCIATION MEETINGS OR BLOCK PARTY GATHERS OR WHATEVER, YOU CAN INVITE THEM AND THEY'LL COME AND SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEW THINGS THEY'RE WORKING ON AND WHAT THEY'VE DONE IN YOUR COMMUNITY AND SO FORTH AND SO ON.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THERE, A TEMPORARY SIGNS.
ONE OF THE THINGS I WANTED TO SAY ABOUT OUR TEMPORARY SIGNS BEFORE I TALK ABOUT TEMPORARY SCIENCE, WE UNDERSTAND, AND IT WAS TALKED ABOUT BEFORE, HEY, UH, WE HAD, UH, A LOT OF ILLEGAL VENDORS, RIGHT? PEOPLE ROLLING UP, OPENING UP THEIR TRUNK AND SETTING UP A TABLE OR MAYBE A TENT IN PARKING LOTS ON THE SIDE OF THE STREETS.
AND SO, FROM JUNE 1ST OF LAST YEAR TO SEPTEMBER 14TH, I THINK OF LAST YEAR,
[01:25:01]
WE HAD WEEKEND, UM, TEAMS OUT, UH, TO SITE AND, AND BASICALLY TO DISCOURAGE THAT KIND OF THING.AND, YOU KNOW, UH, EVERYONE KIND OF LEFT AFTER A WEEK OR TWO, AFTER SEVERAL WEEKENDS, THEY, THEY KIND OF LEFT, BUT THEY ALWAYS COME BACK.
SO WE KIND OF CYCLE BACK TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE WAS SAYING, YOU CAN'T DO THIS.
AND WE DID THE SAME THING WITH, WITH, UH, TEMPORARY SIGNS FROM, UH, TEMPORARY SIGNS.
NOVEMBER 1ST TO DECEMBER 15TH OF LAST YEAR, WE PULLED UP ABOUT 75 ILLEGAL SIGNS WRITING.
AND, AND WHEN WE DO THAT, EVEN WHEN WE WERE DOING THE, UH, THE BENDING, WE WANTED TO LET THEM KNOW, WE, WE TRY TO EDUCATE.
IT'S NOT JUST WE'RE COMING IN WITH A HAMMER.
WE TRY TO EDUCATE, HEY, YOU CAN'T DO THIS.
HEY, YOU CAN'T PUT UP THIS SIGN, RIGHT? YOU, YOU CAN'T DO THESE THINGS.
AND SO I THINK EDUCATION IS EQUALLY A BIG PART OF IT.
AND I THOUGHT WE HAD GREAT SUCCESS WITH IT, RIGHT? WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT SALESFORCE AND, AND YOU GUYS HEARD ABOUT THAT.
WE'VE LAUNCHED CODE, CODE COMPLIANCE LAUNCHED IN, UH, THIS IN JANUARY.
EVERYTHING'S NOT ALWAYS AS SMOOTH AS YOU LOCK IT BE.
WE'RE STILL HAVING BUMPS IN THE ROAD AND CHALLENGES, BUT HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET THAT UP AND RUNNING VERY, VERY SOON, BECAUSE IT'S A VERY ROBUST SYSTEM.
AND IT JUST TOTALLY TRANSFORMS HOW WE DO OUR BUSINESS, RIGHT? NOT ONLY HOW WE DO OUR BUSINESS INTERNALLY, BUT HOW YOU ENGAGE WITH US, RIGHT? FROM THE, FROM THE OUTSIDE.
WE TALKED ABOUT
THOSE TWO REALLY GO TOGETHER BECAUSE HERE'S WHAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON, RIGHT? BUT WE, WE HAVE ONE COMMUNITY TOOL SHED NOW, RIGHT? AND, UH, WE, WE ARE, AND WE'RE CLEANING UP ALL THE EQUIPMENT, GETTING LAWNMOWERS, RAKES, BROOMS, EDGERS, WEED, WHACKERS, EVERYTHING NEEDED SO THAT WHEN WE GO TO AN AREA, WE CAN, WE CAN LET THE CITIZENRY KNOW, HEY, LOOK, WE'LL BE AT, YOU KNOW, THIS NEIGHBORHOOD AND YOU GUYS CAN COME OUT, HOPEFULLY WE CAN, UM, SEE BECKY HERE A LITTLE, BUT HOPEFULLY WE CAN LINK UP WITH, WITH, UH, BECKY'S GROUP, UM, UH, WHICH IS NEIGHBOR, THE OPPOSITE NEIGHBORHOOD, VITALITY, MAYBE AT A BLOCK PARTY OR SOMETHING AND SAY, HEY, LOOK, THIS IS COMING.
AND IF YOU GUYS NEED TO GAUGE WHATEVER, YOU CAN DO IT.
AND THEY'LL BE A COMMUNITY, UH, YOU KNOW, TRAILER THERE TO, TO, TO ASSIST, RIGHT? IN ADDITION TO THAT, CO CARES BRINGS PEOPLE IN WHO CAN HELP.
SO IF YOU ARE ELDERLY LIKE ME, OR IF YOU ARE OUR SENIOR CITIZEN, OR IF YOU ARE, UH, DISABLED, OR IF YOU ARE IN HARDSHIPS, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT CO CARES DOES.
SO OUR DESIRE IS NOT TO HAMMER YOU WITH A CITATION, IT'S REALLY TO KIND OF HELP YOU ACHIEVE COMPLIANCE THROUGH ASSISTANCE, RIGHT? SO THAT'S REALLY KIND OF OUR GOAL.
AND THIS IS JUST KIND OF HOW WE ARE DOING.
AND WE'VE LAUNCHED THAT I THINK IN DECEMBER OR THE FALL OF LAST YEAR.
SO WHEN PEOPLE COME TO, TO, TO THE, TO THE CO COMPLIANCE FACILITY, YOU CAN KIND OF HAVE FEEDBACK ON, HEY, YOU GUYS ARE GOOD AT THIS AND NOT SO GOOD AT THAT.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I CHALLENGE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I AM PUSHING HERE IS PROFESSIONALISM.
ONE OF THE WAYS THAT YOU KNOW, THAT MY TEAM IS PROFESSIONAL IS THAT THEY, UH, THEY HAVE CREDENTIALS, RIGHT? SO I'M A CERTIFIED TEXAS CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.
I HAVE THE CREDENTIALS THAT SAYS, SO, AND I HAVE ANNUAL, UM, ANNUAL C THAT I NEED TO MAINTAIN, WHICH MEANS, UH, CONTINUING EDUCATION THAT SAYS, HEY, THIS IS THE CUTTING EDGE THING THAT WE'RE DOING NOW IN CODE COMPLIANCE.
IT'S ALL ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES.
SO THIS IS KIND OF HOW WE'RE TRYING TO TRANSFORM THE TEAM AND HOPEFULLY THEN TRANSFORM THE CITY.
THIS IS, THESE ARE THE QUADRANTS, RIGHT? THESE ARE THE QUADRANTS.
AND I, I WANTED TO, UM, I, UM, I'M GONNA SAY WE WE'RE DOING THIS, THIS WAS, THIS WAS VERY CHALLENGING.
WE KIND OF, UH, FIND THE RIGHT MIX THIS AND HOW WE WANTED TO KIND OF, UH, SUBDIVIDE THE CITY SO THAT WE COULD, WE COULD, UM, ADDRESS SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT YOU'VE HEARD TONIGHT AND YOU'LL CONTINUE TO HEAR, RIGHT? SO EACH OF THESE QUADRANTS HAS, UH, UH, A LEAD, WHICH IS THE INDIVIDUAL THAT WILL LEAD THE GROUP, KIND OF THE, THE CONDUCTOR, IF YOU WILL.
AND THEY HAVE FIVE STAFF MEMBERS.
ONE IS SIX, THAT'S, THAT HITS 25.
AND AS WE, UH, AS WE GET INTO THIS, HOPEFULLY IF YOU'RE ALL ENGAGING AND HOPEFULLY, AND WE'LL MEET IN OTHER AREAS, YOU'LL, YOU'LL GET TO KNOW THESE INDIVIDUALS.
'CAUSE YOU'LL SEE THEM ALL THE TIME, RIGHT? AND WHAT WE DO, LIKE, WE, LIKE WE DID WITH, UH, LIKE I SHOWED YOU WITH THE, UH, THE, UH, TEMPORARY SIGNS AND THE ILLEGAL BENDING.
WHEN WE NEED TO PULL ALL HANDS ON DECK, WE'LL PULL PEOPLE FROM WHENEVER TO ADDRESS AN ISSUE IMMEDIATELY.
AND THEN THEY, EVERYONE GOES BACK TO THEIR OWN AREAS.
SO IT IS AN, IT, IT IS A NEW APPROACH.
I THINK IT'S A GREAT APPROACH.
WE'VE DONE THIS IN TWO CITIES,
[01:30:01]
UH, AND IT'S, IT, IT WORKS OUT REALLY, REALLY WELL.THERE WERE A TON OF QUESTIONS ABOUT, UH, CIVIL CITATION, RIGHT? AND MY BOSS SAID TO ME, HEY, YOU KNOW, WELL, MAYBE NO ONE WILL ASK THESE QUESTIONS, BUT I'M GONNA SHARE WITH YOU, LET ME SAY IT THIS WAY.
IT, WE'RE STILL, UM, PUTTING THE FINAL TOUCHES ON THAT WHOLE OVERALL PROGRAM, BUT I'M GONNA GIVE YOU AN OVERALL ARCHING, UH, KIND OF WHAT IT IS AND KIND OF WHAT WE WANT TO, WHAT WE HOPE THAT IT DOES, DOES.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE NOTICE IS THAT WHEN, AND, AND, AND I THINK MIKE, THAT'S TALKED ABOUT IT A LOT, UH, HE SAID, UH, IN, IN SO MANY WORDS, UH, CRIMINAL CITATIONS TAKE TIME, NOT JUST FOR ME, BUT FOR THE, FOR THE INDIVIDUALS WHO GET IT, RIGHT? YOU GOTTA TAKE OUT WORK.
DANG, I GOTTA RUN TO THE COURT.
IT'S NOT A, YOU KNOW, WE'LL SEE YOU AT FOUR OR THREE OR TWO.
AND 'CAUSE WE'VE GOTTA BE THERE TOO.
AND IT'S WAITING ON YOUR END BECAUSE YOU, IF YOU DON'T SHOW UP, WHAT HAPPENS ULTIMATELY TURNS A WARNING.
NOW PEOPLE LOOKING FOR YOU, RIGHT? CIVIL CITATIONS ARE NOT LIKE THAT, RIGHT? THEY DON'T TURN INTO WARRANTS.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE TIME OFF OF WORK.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF DO THE WHOLE PROPER CIRCUMSTANCE THAT YOU WOULD DO WITH CRIMINAL CITATIONS.
WHAT WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE ON THE CIVIL CITATION PART IS TO, IS TO MAKE THE PROCESS EASIER.
NOT JUST FOR US, BUT REALLY FOR YOU ON YOUR SIDE, RIGHT NOW, I, I, I'M GONNA LAY OUT SOME, I'M GONNA LAY OUT KIND OF WHAT I, WHAT WHAT WE THINK THE, THE, UH, TIMELINE IS.
UM, AND OF COURSE, AS WE GET CLOSER TO IT, WE WILL CERTAINLY SHARE.
BUT RIGHT NOW, WE'RE IN THE MONTH OF APRIL.
SO THE MONTH OF APRIL AND MAY, WE'RE, WE'RE PUTTING THE FINAL TOUCHES ON, YOU KNOW, WHO'S ON FIRST, WHAT'S ON SECOND BEFORE WE KIND OF ROLL IT OUT TO, TO THE WORLD, RIGHT? WE'RE AT THE END OF MAY FROM JUNE, FIRST, JUNE, JULY, AUGUST, TILL THE END OF AUGUST, AS THE COUNCILMAN SAID.
THAT'LL BE THE, I I DON'T WANNA USE THE TERM GRACE PERIOD, BUT THAT'LL BE WHAT WE, WHAT WE, WE WILL BE ISSUING ALL OF THESE RED TAGS.
AND AS, UH, WE HAVE SAID THE RED TAGS WILL BE VERY, VERY INFORMATIVE.
THEY'LL TELL YOU, YOU KNOW, YES, NO, MAYBE, SO WHAT, WHAT CAN I DO? WHATEVER IT'S GONNA LIST.
HEY, IF YOU NEED HELP, HERE'S CODE CARES.
HERE'S OUR NEXT, UH, YOU KNOW, CALL, YOU KNOW, GO ONLINE AND REACH OUT TO SOMEONE.
HEY, ONE LITTLE LITTLE TRAILER WILL BE IN THIS AREA THERE.
THERE'LL BE SO MUCH INFORMATION ON THAT RED TAG, INCLUDING, HEY, YOU HAVE A VIOLATION OF TALL GRASS, OR WHATEVER IT MAY BE, RIGHT? SO FROM JUNE 1ST TO THE END OF AUGUST, IT'LL BE THIS, UH, LEARNING, UH, RED TAGS BY US, UH,
ANY WAY WE CAN GET THE INFORMATION OUT, HEY, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE DOING, THIS IS HOW WE'RE DOING IT, AND THIS IS WHY WE'RE DOING IT.
AND THEN WHEN SEPTEMBER ONE ROLLS AROUND THE, THE, UM, WE WANT THE NEW PROCESS TO START RIGHT NOW IN GENERAL, RIGHT? AS THE COUNCILMAN THAT SAID THAT OUR GOAL IS THIS TODAY, RIGHT? NOW, IF YOU'VE GOT A CITATION YOU WOULD GET TODAY, RIGHT? IF YOU HAD A VIOLATION AT YOUR HOME OR YOUR BUSINESS, YOU GIVE A NOTICE VIOLATION, AND THEN WE GET TIME HERE TO CURE, UH, TO, UH, CORRECT.
RIGHT? WE COME BACK AND GO, OH, MR. RAIN, YOU HAVEN'T CUT YOUR BADGE.
YOU HAVEN'T DONE, YOU KNOW WHAT WE SAID? AND IN TIMES PASSED, WE, WE GIVE A NOTICE VIOLATION TO MAYBE THREE, MAYBE FOUR, RIGHT? AND THEN WE STARTED THE CRIMINAL PROCESS.
'CAUSE WE, UM, YEAH, WE JUST DIDN'T WANT TO LAY ON THE, YOU KNOW, THE RESIDENTS.
LIKE, COME ON, MAN, I, I'VE GOT WORK, I'VE GOT THINGS TO DO RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT? WHAT WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE WITH CIVIL CITATIONS IS THIS, WHEN SEPTEMBER 1ST HAPPENS, YOU WILL STILL GET A NOTICE OF VIOLATION, RIGHT? HEY, YOU, YOU AGGRESSIVE TOO TALL, YOUR FACE BOARD, YOUR SIDING, YOUR THIS, YOUR THAT.
AND YOU'LL STILL HAVE THE TIME TO CURE IT, RIGHT? IF YOU DON'T CURE IT.
INSTEAD OF ME, INSTEAD OF US REENGAGING, HEY, MR. RE, YOU DIDN'T DO THIS, YOU DIDN'T DO THAT.
WE'LL JUST GET A CIVIL CITATION TO PAY 25 BUCKS.
LIKE THEY SAID IT, UH, LIKE, AND SAID, IT'S ALL ELECTRONIC, RIGHT? GOT, IT'S ALL ELECTRONIC.
UM, AND IF YOU TAKE A PICTURE, YOU CAN SEND IT IN AND GO, GO LOOK AT IT.
SO YOU DRUG, RIGHT? UH, IF NOT RIGHT, AND YOU DON'T CURE THAT VIOLATION.
I DON'T REALLY HAVE THE, UH, THE, THE STEEL OF WHERE IT GOES.
[01:35:01]
GOES TO, I THINK 50 AND 50 GOES TO SEVEN, FIVE OR A HUNDRED.I I DON'T REALLY REMEMBER ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE.
IT'S MUCH HIGHER ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE.
BUT THAT'S OUR APPROACH, RIGHT? AND DURING THAT 90 DAY GRACE PERIOD, AND I'VE GOT THE EXIT STAGE LEFT HERE.
DURING THAT 90 GRADE, THE GRACE PERIOD THERE, THERE IS, AND I HATE TO USE THIS WORD, THERE IS A, UM, WHAT WORD WOULD I USE? IT? IT'S, IT'S LIKE AMNESTY, RIGHT? SO YOU'LL SEE MY DRESS AND I, AND I GO, OKAY, I KNOW A 90 DAY AMNESTY.
I DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING, RIGHT? IN THEORY, THE ONLY IN THAT 90 SPIRIT WHERE WE'RE EDUCATING THE COMMUNITY, UH, ONE WHEN ONE OF THESE CALLS AND SAYS, LOOK, ALBERT, WE HAVEN'T CUT HIS GRASS.
WE'LL COME AND ABATE IT AND, AND SEND ME THE BILL, RIGHT? SO IT'S NOT LIKE FOR THAT 90 DAYS', I LIKE THE CITY JUST GO ALL WILLYNILLY.
THEY'LL STILL BE CONTROLS, BUT HOPEFULLY THROUGH EDUCATION EVERYONE WILL UNDERSTAND.
AND THEN WHEN, UH, SEPTEMBER ONE ROLLS AROUND, YOU HAVE A MUCH BETTER UNDERSTANDING NOW THAN YOU, YOU DID WHEN YOU STARTED.
SO, UH, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION, UH, I'VE GOT TO, UH, EXIT, BUT ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? UM, HERE'S THE, OH, THIS IS, UH, CIVIL PARKING ENFORCEMENT, RIGHT? OH YES, IT'S ADDRESS.
AND IT WAS A LOT OF PROACTIVE DEPARTMENT.
ONE OF THINGS I HEARD ALL THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS MEETING THAT I WENT TO, PEOPLE NOTICED THAT APART FROM THE SITUATION STARTED BETTER IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS, UM, WE, IT CHANGED THE WAY THE DEPARTMENT WORKS AFTER I RETIRED MARSHALL AND STARTED DOING BY COMPLAINT ONLY.
AND THE DEPARTMENT SITUATION WORSE.
WORSE BECAUSE QUITE FRANKLY, I THINK BEING ENFORCEMENT BY COMPLAINT ISN'T REALLY A GREAT IDEA.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU CALL ON THURSDAY NIGHT AND SAY SOMEBODY'S PARKED ACROSS THE SIDEWALK OR PARKED UP ON THE GRASS AND ALL THAT, AND THE, THE PARKING OFFICER WAS OUT THERE ON FRIDAY MORNING, COURSE BELIEVE I'M STILL THERE.
AND SO I, UH, APPOINTED JUDY GR AS A MARSHALL.
SHE WAS MY CHIEF WHEN I WAS, UH, MARSHALL, UH, APPOINTED HER AS A MARSHALL.
AND SHE, ONE OF THE FIRST THING SHE DID IS SAID, WE NEED TO GO BACK TO PROACTIVE PARKING ENFORCEMENT WHERE WE DRIVE THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND WE FIND VIOLATIONS.
THAT'S JUST TAKING 'EM RIGHT THERE INSTEAD OF LAYING AROUND ALL THAT LOOKING FOR COMPLAINTS FROM THE PRIOR NIGHT THAT AREN'T THERE.
AND SO, UH, YOU'LL SEE, AND WE'VE ALREADY SEEN IMPROVEMENT IN THE PARKING AS WE MORE WE DO PROACTIVE ENFORCEMENT, THE MORE WE'LL SEE THE TYPICAL VIOLATIONS WE SEE ARE OVERSIZED VEHICLES.
PEOPLE WALKING IN DRIVEWAY, SIDEWALKS PARKED UP ON THE SIDEWALK, UH, WITHIN 30 FEET OF THE STOP SIGN, WHICH IS DANGEROUS BECAUSE THEN YOU CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO SEE THE NEIGHBORHOOD PARKED ON ROOF SURFACES OF THE DEPARTMENT GRASS.
LARGE TRUCKS THAT PARK IN THE SHOPPING CENTERS, IN CHURCH PARKING LOTS ON THE WEEKENDS, WHERE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE PEOPLE WHO TO BY MULTIPLE SPOTS AND UNREGISTERED VEHICLES.
THE PARKING PROGRAM REMAINS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS IT USED TO BE, WHICH IS $25 SEVEN, UH, CITATION FOR THE FIRST OFFENSE, $50 SEVEN CITATION FOR THE SECOND OFFENSE, AND $75 FILLED CITATION FOR THE 30.
SO THAT'S THE PARKING PROGRAM IN A NUTSHELL, THE PROGRAM PROGRAM HAS BEEN ONE OF THE, WHEN IT FIRST KICKED OFF, WHEN WE SAW MARKETING ORIGINALLY WAS ONE OF THE S OF LOT NEIGHBOR ASSOCIATIONS, THEY SAID, WELL, SEEING SOME IMPROVEMENT, IT SLIPPED BACK WHEN WE STARTED COMPLAINTS.
AND NOW I THINK YOU'LL SEE IN MONTHS AHEAD, AS MARSH BROWN CONTINUES TO DO PROACTIVE ENFORCEMENT, HOW DO YOU REPORT PARKING VIOLATIONS? Y'ALL GET GOLD.
RIGHT BACK WHEN WE HAD A LITTLE BOOK THAT SAID, HI, THESE ARE THE CODE ORDINANCES.
AND IT SAID THINGS LIKE, DID NOT PARK A MOTOR VEHICLE IN YOUR BACKYARD, YOUR SIDE YARD, FRONT YARD, NO ATVS, NO SKI, NO TRAILERS IN THE FRONT.
IS THAT WHAT'S STILL? BECAUSE MY NEIGHBOR HAS TWO VEHICLES IN THE DRIVEWAY, TWO VEHICLES THAT THEY TAGGED TWICE, AND HE'S STILL PARKED, YOU KNOW, ON THE SIDEWALK, THE SIDE OF ONCE THE FIRE, WHICH IS ALSO VIOLATION, HAS THIS TRAILER UP FRONT, RUNS AN ILLEGAL REPAIR SHOP, AUTO REPAIR SHOP, ONE CAR AT A TIME, AND THE CITY DOES NOTHING, NOTHING.
THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR FOUR YEARS.
BUT YOU WOULD GET WITH MARSH AND THE ROAD THERE AND AND WRITE TICKETS ON ON TICKETS, YEAH.
RED TWICE WE CAN WRITE TICKETS IF THEY LEAVE THE VEHICLE.
WE CAN'T TOW A VEHICLE OFF THE ROAD.
[01:40:01]
AND HANDICAP CAN'T WALK DOWN THE, WE CAN'T TOW A VEHICLE OF PRIOR PROPERTY.IF THE PARK VEHICLE ON THE STREET DO THAT.
SO HE CAN STAY OVER THAT SIDEWALK AS LONG AS HE WANTS TICKET EVERY TIME HE DOES WELL, HE DOES IT EVERY DAY.
THERE'S TWO VEHICLES THERE RIGHT NOW.
WE CERTAINLY WILL, BUT NOTHING, HE'S JUST GONNA PAY.
IT COMES NOT EXPENSIVE BECAUSE THE, THE THIRD AND FIVE, AND WE'LL CERTAINLY, UH, IF YOU TALK TO MARSH BROWN, WE'LL MAKE SURE, MAKE SURE THE, AS BEST WE CAN.
HOW OFTEN CAN THOSE CIVIL CITATIONS BE WRITTEN? SO IF I THINK IT'S EVERY FOUR DAYS, IS IT THREE DAYS? THREE DAYS, THREE DAY PERIOD.
AND THE FOURTH DAY OF JULY WHEN YOU SAW THE RED TAPE, YOU RIPPED IT OFF AND THEN IT CAME BACK.
THEN YOU COME BACK BY, WE'RE GONNA SAVE MORE QUESTIONS ON PARKING FOR AFTER IT.
SO HI, I AM, UH, YOUR CULTURAL ARTS DIRECTOR, AMY ROSENTHAL AND MR. BETS, GUESS WHAT IT IS, BASEBALL SEASON.
AND SO IT'S TIME FOR A SEVENTH ENDING STRETCH.
SO EVERYBODY STAND UP FOR A SECOND HERE.
TELL YOUR NEIGHBOR, HEY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
SO, OKAY, GOTTA SHAKE IT OUT FOR A MINUTE BECAUSE I'VE GOT SOME GOOD NEWS TO SHARE.
UM, SO WE'VE HEARD A LOT, UH, ABOUT MEETINGS AND PLANS AND STATISTICS, BUT FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS, GARLAND HAS REALLY LISTENED AND WORKED HARD TO, TO PUT THINGS IN PLACE WITH REAL IMPROVEMENTS AND REAL RESULTS.
AND SO THIS IS GARLAND DELIVERED.
SO I JUST WANNA SHARE KIND OF, I'M GONNA KIND OF GLOSS OVER SOME OF THE REALLY FANTASTIC THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN OUR CITY.
SO WE'VE GOT OUR NEW, UH, GARLAND ANIMAL SHELTER.
THIS IS PUBLIC SAFETY IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, UM, ON OUR MINDS RIGHT NOW.
AND, UM, BETWEEN SOME OF OUR, OUR NEW, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITIES AND THE FIRE STATIONS THAT ARE COMING ONLINE.
UH, YOU KNOW, OUR ANIMAL SHELTER CONTINUES TO DO AN AMAZING JOB.
UM, AND AGAIN, WE'RE WORKING ON THESE NEW FIRE STATIONS TO BE CLOSER TO RESIDENTS, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, STATE OF THE ART FACILITIES, A SIMUL SIMULATIONS TRAINING FACILITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, REAL TIME TRAINING.
SO THE OTHER THING THAT'S HAPPENING TOO DOWNTOWN, UH, SO WE'LL GO ON TO OUR DOWNTOWN SLIDE.
I KNOW, I HOPE EVERYBODY'S BEEN TO DOWNTOWN TO EXPERIENCE ALL OF THE ENERGY AND WHAT'S HAPPENING IN DOWNTOWN.
THERE ARE PEOPLE THERE ALL THE TIME, UH, ENJOYING THE GREAT FACILITIES.
THERE IS SOMETHING GOING ON IN GARLAND EVERY WEEKEND.
SO THIS PAST WEEKEND WAS A SPRING ARTS FESTIVAL.
SATURDAY NIGHT IS A FREE CONCERT MUSIC MADE HERE.
UH, SO ALWAYS MAKE SURE THAT YOU COME DOWNTOWN.
WE'VE GOT GREAT BUSINESSES IN DOWNTOWN TOO, AND MORE ARE ON THE WAY.
UM, THE OTHER THING THAT, THIS IS REALLY ON PEOPLE'S MINDS RIGHT DOWN TOO, THANK YOU GARLAND BOAT VOTERS, UH, OUR PROPOSITION B FOR STREETS, NO PROPOSITION A, IT'S THE A NUMBER ONE MOST IMPORTANT.
AND LOOK AT EVERYTHING TOO, ESPECIALLY WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE IN DISTRICT FIVE.
YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE WORKS.
BUT HERE'S THE THING, THAT'S GREAT.
YOU CAN GO TO GARLAND GROVE.COM, TYPE IN YOUR ADDRESS AND YOU CAN SEE EXACTLY WHAT'S COMING IN, UH, FOR STREET IMPROVEMENTS RIGHT IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, IN YOUR STREET.
UM, THE OTHER THING THAT'S HAPPENING TOO IS OUR PARKS AND RECREATION.
SO LET'S GET OUTSIDE AND PLAY, UM, INCREDIBLE FACILITIES.
JUST A WHOLE RENAISSANCE OF PARKS AND RECREATIONS AND OPEN SPACES, BEAUTIFUL THINGS HAPPENING IN GARLAND.
WHEN WE GO TO CONFERENCES, WHEN GARLAND WALKS IN THE ROOM, PEOPLE NOTICE, I MEAN, WE HAVE AWARD-WINNING FACILITIES, UH, LIKE OUR WHOLE FOR RECREATION CENTER.
WE JUST OPENED THE BOB DAY TENNIS CENTER AND, AND FACILITIES LIKE THAT.
I MEAN, IT'S GREAT FOR OUR CITIZENS, IT'S GREAT FOR OUR RESIDENTS, BUT IT ALSO ATTRACTS VISITORS.
SO ONE OF THE BEST THINGS ABOUT THIS NEW TENNIS CENTER IS IT'S GONNA BE TOURNAMENTS THAT BRING IN PEOPLE FROM OUTSIDE OF OUR COMMUNITY TO SPEND MONEY IN GARLAND, MAYBE EVEN STAYING IN GARLAND AS WELL TOO.
WE'VE GOT LOTS OF AMAZING THINGS IN THE WORKS, THE HARBOR POINT, UH, PROJECT.
UH, THAT'S, THAT'S GONNA JUST TRANSFORM, UM, IN SOUTH GARLAND.
AND SO THEN ALSO ON THE SUMMERTIME TIME SPLASH ROUND, RIGHT, OUR SPLASH PAD.
SO WE'LL GO ONTO THE NEXT SLIDE.
THE BIG THING THAT'S HAPPENING, MARK YOUR CALENDARS RIGHT AFTER
[01:45:01]
MEMORIAL DAY IS THE SERT AND SWIM OKAY WITH A WAVE POOL.THERE ARE DISCOUNTS FOR RESIDENTS TO ENJOY THIS TYPE OF FACILITY.
THIS IS GONNA BE A BEAUTIFUL FACILITY WITH A LAZY RIVER.
UM, AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, COOL OFF IN ALL KINDS OF PARKS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UH, LOTS OF GREAT SPLASH PADS.
AND THEN FINALLY, GREAT NEWS COMING HERE, ESPECIALLY FOR SOUTH GARLAND LIBRARY.
SO WE'LL GO ONTO THE NEXT SLIDE.
OUR LIBRARY SYSTEM, YOU KNOW, LIBRARIES.
OH YEAH, I WANNA, IF YOU WANNA EXPERIENCE SERVICE SWIM BEFORE IT OPENS OR YOU HAVE GRANDKIDS OR NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS, THE GARLAND PARKS FOUNDATION IS SELLING TICKETS FOR MAY 16TH.
THEY'RE $10 A PIECE AND YOU CAN GO TO THE SURF AND SWIM BEFORE THE PUBLIC GETS TO GO AND EXPERIENCE THE PARK.
UM, SO SORRY, I MEAN, I MEAN THAT'S, THAT'S FANTASTIC.
NO, IT'S A GREAT, IT'S A GREAT DEAL.
WHERE DO THEY GET TICKETS? UH, THE GARLAND PARKS FOUNDATION.ORG.
AND THEN HERE TOO, JUST THE LIBRARIES, AGAIN, AWARD-WINNING LIBRARIES.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT CENTRAL LIBRARY, JUST RECEIVED, UH, A A, AN AWARD FROM THE TEXAS DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION.
LIKE THAT IS ONE OF THE TOP AWARDS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS FOR YOUR CENTRAL LIBRARY HERE IN GARLAND.
AND SO, UM, AGAIN, WE JUST RECENTLY OPENED WEST, WE'VE DONE SOME FACADE IMPROVEMENTS IN NORTH AND COMING SOON, UH, IMPROVEMENTS HERE TO, UH, TO, TO SOUTH.
SO, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE, ARE REAL IMPACTS.
IT MAKES MARLAND A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE, UM, A BETTER PLACE TO WORK.
UM, BUT I'M GONNA BRING UP MATT WATSON AND HE'S GONNA TALK JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE BUSINESS SIDE.
I'M ONE OF THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER AND I ALWAYS GET THE JOY OF GOING AFTER AMY.
SO I'M ALWAYS, THEY PUT THE FINANCE GUY RIGHT AFTER AMY.
WHAT THIS SLIDE IS SHOWING HERE IS ONE OTHER THING THAT WE DO VERY WELL HERE.
YOU HEARD IT FROM SOME OF THE DEPARTMENTS HERE TODAY TALKING ABOUT THE RESOURCES THEY HAVE.
WE RUN A VERY THIN SHOP AND THIS SLIDE SHOWS YOU BASICALLY WHY WHAT THIS IS SHOWING IS, IS A, UH, THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF PROPERTY TAX AND SALES TAX COLLECTED IN EACH ONE OF THESE AREAS, CITIES.
SO WE COMPARE IT TO, AND IT IS TAKEN THAT BASED OFF POPULATION AND LOOKING AT WHAT IS THE PER CAPITA REVENUE OF PROPERTY TAX AND SALES TAX PER PERSON IN EACH ONE OF THESE CITIES.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT GARLAND IN THE GREEN IS 40% BELOW THE METROPLEX AVERAGE WHEN IT COMES TO PROPERTY TAX AND SALES TAX COLLECTION FOR ITS GENERAL FUND, WHICH FUNDS ALL OF OUR POLICE FIRE PARKS, ALL THE WONDERFUL THINGS THAT HE JUST TALKED ABOUT.
ONE THING TO POINT OUT IS BECAUSE WE HAVE SUCH A LOW TAX BASE, IF WE WERE JUST THAT AVERAGE, THE AVERAGE IN GRAVE, WE WERE AN AVERAGE CITY IN THE METROPLEX, WE WOULD HAVE $90 MILLION MORE IN OUR GENERAL FUND TO DO ALL THE MORE EXCITING THINGS THAT AMY JUST TALKED ABOUT.
SO WITH THAT IN MIND, WE'RE MOVING FORWARD IN NOVEMBER WITH A TAX RAISE ELECTION.
AND OUR MAYOR HAS COINED THIS AS A SWAP AND DROP BECAUSE WHILE IT IS A TAX RATE ELECTION, IT'S REALLY JUST A FUNCTION OF STATE LEGISLATION OF WHY WE NEED TO GO TO THE VOTERS.
BECAUSE WE ARE LOOKING TO SWAP FROM OUR DEBT SERVICE TAX RATE ROUGHLY 3 CENTS TO OUR N AND O TAX RATE IN ORDER TO FUND MANY OF THE THINGS THAT WE CONTINUE TO, UH, ARE NEED TO PROVIDE TO OUR CITIZENS.
HOWEVER, THE DROP PIECE OF THAT SWAB TO DROP IS WE WILL BE MEETING WITH COUNCIL IN THE HOPE OF THE ENTIRE TAX RATE, BRINGING IT DOWN.
SO WHILE WE, THERE WILL BE AN ELECTION, AND THEN ON THAT BALLOT IT WILL SAY THIS IS A TAX RATE INCREASE.
IT'S AN INCREASE TO THE M AND O.
SO THE M AND O TAX RATE, OUR TAX RATE FIRST OFF IS BROKEN UP INTO TWO PIECES.
SO OUR TAX RATE IS ABOUT 68 CENTS PER $100 OF VALUATION.
IT IS BROKEN UP INTO THESE TWO PIECES, OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE, WHICH FUNDS ALL OF THE STAFFING, IT FUNDS ALL OF THE MAINTENANCE NEEDS.
IT FUNDS FUEL FOR ALL OF OUR CARS.
SO THIS IS WHAT THE OPERATION MAINTENANCE.
SO WE ARE LOOKING TO SHIFT A PORTION OVER TO THIS.
THE OTHER PORTION IS DEBT SERVICE.
SO IF DEBT SERVICE IS, IT CAN ONLY BE USED TO COVER DEBT SERVICE.
YOU CAN THINK OF THIS LIKE A MORTGAGE ON YOUR HOUSE.
SO ALL THE THINGS AMY JUST TALKED ABOUT.
NEW ANIMAL SHELTERS, NEW UH OH EVIDENCE ROOMS, NEW SPLASH PATHS.
A LOT OF THOSE WERE FUNDED IN THE 2019 BOND PROGRAM BY THE VOTERS.
AND WITH THAT WE INCREASED OUR DEBT SERVICE TAX RATE TO FUND THOSE.
[01:50:01]
NOW THAT WE'RE REACHING THE END IN COMPLETION OF A LOT OF THOSE PROJECTS, WE WOULD LIKE TO SHIFT THAT OVER.SO THE DEBT SERVICE PORTION WILL GO DOWN, BUT THE M AND O WILL GO UP.
SO THIS IS A LOOK AT, UH, WHAT I JUST TALKED ABOUT KIND OF IN THE GRAPHICAL SCENARIO.
SO WHERE WE WERE IN 2019 20, THEY'RE IN THE 2019 BOND PROGRAM.
WHEN VOTERS APPROVED THAT, THAT BOND PROGRAM, WE'RE AT ROUGHLY 76 CENTS PER $100 OF VALUATION.
WHERE WE ARE AT NOW, BECAUSE OF THE REVENUE CAPS, THE THREE AND A HALF PERCENT REVENUE CAP ON THE MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION, IT COMPRESSES THAT RATE DOWN.
SO WE CAN ONLY INCREASE OUR TAX RATE 3.5% TO GET 3.5% MORE REVENUE.
SO WHAT YOU SEE IS BECAUSE OF THAT REVENUE CAP, OUR TAX RATE HAS ACTUALLY GONE DOWN ABOUT 8 CENTS RIGHT HERE.
SO WHAT WE'RE ASKING TO DO IN THE NOVEMBER ELECTION IS TO MOVE A PORTION OF THAT GREEN BAR, THE DEATH SERVICE PIECE OVER TO THE BLUE BAR, WHICH IS OUR M AND O, SO THAT WE CAN FUND A LOT OF THE OPERATIONAL COSTS FOR ALL THESE NEW FACILITIES.
WE'VE OPENED THE ANIMAL SHELTER, THE BEAUTIFUL NEW SURF AND SWIM, AND ALSO STAY COMPETITIVE IN THE MARKET WITH A LOT OF OUR STAFFING.
THE POLICE OFFICERS YOU SEE IN THE BACK ARE FIREMEN AND WE JUST NEED TO MAKE THIS SHIFT SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SERVICES AT THE SAME LEVEL THAT WE'RE PROVIDING NOW.
HOWEVER, WE DO ANTICIPATE THAT WE WILL LOWER THE ENTIRE TAX RATE.
SO WHILE WE ARE INCREASING THE M AND O FEES BY ABOUT 3 CENTS, WE ARE PLANNING ON LOWERING THE TOTAL TAX RATE WHEN IT COMES TO THE ELECTION.
WE HAVE NOT FIGURED OUT THE EXACT NUMBERS OF THIS, BUT WE'RE ANTICIPATING ABOUT 3 CENTS.
WE WOULD LIKE TO ASK THE MOTOR TO SHIFT FROM DEBT SERVICE TO M AND O AND THEN WE WILL TRY TO LOWER THE ENTIRE TAX RATE.
AND WHAT THIS AGAIN DOES IS WHY THIS MATTERS IS MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS FOR OUR PARTS AND OUR FACILITIES TYPICALLY OUTRUN 3.5%.
SO AGAIN, ON M AND O WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THAT, YOU MAY THINK YOU, WHEN YOU'RE GETTING 3.5% MORE REVENUE EVERY YEAR, A LOT OF OUR COSTS ESCALATE A LOT MORE THAN 3.5%.
WHEN YOU THINK OF THE PRICE OF CONCRETE, WHEN YOU THINK OF THE PRICE OF PROPERTY INSURANCE FOR ALL 280 FACILITIES THAT WE RUN, ALL OF THOSE COSTS ARE TYPICALLY OUTRUNNING THAT 3.5%.
SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS STRATEGICALLY JUST SHIFT THE DEBT SERVICE PIECE OVER INTO THE M AND O TO COVER THOSE SERVICE LEVELS, WHILE ALSO PROVIDING RESIDENTS SOME RELIEF BY REDUCING THE ENTIRE TAX RATE.
SO ONE WAY THAT WE TRY TO EXPLAIN THIS BECAUSE IT'S DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND BECAUSE THERE'S TWO COMPONENTS OF THE TAX RATE, IS TO THINK OF IT AS YOUR HOME AND WHAT YOU PAY FOR AT YOUR HOUSEHOLD.
SO THE DEBT SERVICES REALLY JUST THINK OF IT LIKE YOUR MORTGAGE.
WHEN YOU BOUGHT YOUR HOUSE, YOU PROBABLY TOOK OUT A LOAN OF 30 YEARS, 20 YEARS TO PAY FOR YOUR HOUSE.
WELL, WE'VE DO VERY SIMILAR THINGS WHEN WE'RE PAYING FOR SURFACE SWIM.
WHEN WE'RE PAYING FOR ANNUAL SHELTERS, WE TAKE OUT LOANS IN ORDER TO FUND THOSE.
AND THAT IS PAID FOR THE DEBT SERVICE PORTION OF YOUR TAX RATE.
HOWEVER, IN YOUR HOUSE, YOU ALSO HAVE OPERATIONAL COSTS.
YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR ELECTRICITY, YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR WATER, YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR FOOD, YOU HAVE TO PAY, THE HVAC SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED.
AND WE TYPICALLY DO THAT THROUGH OUR MO TAX RATE.
SO AGAIN, WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW IS WE BASICALLY LOWERED OUR MORTGAGE.
WE WOULD A LIKE TO ASK OUR, OUR RESIDENTS TO MOVE A PORTION OF THAT TO HELP US PAY FOR OUR OPERATIONS.
I MEAN, YOU CAN THINK ABOUT IT JUST NOW TODAY.
OUR CITY FACILITIES USE ALL 2000 PIECES OF OUR EQUIPMENT.
WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT GAS PRICES HAVE BEEN DOING, THEY'VE GONE UP MORE THAN THREE AND A HALF PERCENT.
SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO AGAIN, IS JUST BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN OUR CURRENT SERVICE LEVELS BY REDUCING THE DEBT SERVICE BECAUSE WE'RE ABOUT DONE WITH OUR, UH, BOND PROGRAMS IN OUR CAPITAL INTENSIVE BUILDING AND JUST MOVING OVER INTO OUR OPERATIONS WHILE ALSO STILL PROVIDING SOME RELIEF TO, TO THE, TO OUR CITIZENS BEFORE WE GET INTO THAT, UM, THIS IS A TAX RATE INCREASE.
WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR A LONG TIME.
AND WHEN YOU EVEN KEEPING THE TAX RATE AT THE SAME LEVEL OR EVEN DROPPING IT A LITTLE BIT, IF WE DIDN'T HAVE THIS INITIATIVE GOING, IF IT WAS NOT APPROVED IN NOVEMBER, THE TAX RATE WOULD GO
[01:55:01]
DOWN IN HIGHER.SO WE'RE KEEPING THE RATE AT THE, WE'RE KEEPING THE RATE THE SAME, WE'RE SWITCHING SOME STUFF INSIDE OF IT AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO LOAD A LITTLE BIT.
BUT THAT STILL WOULDN'T BE AS LOW AS IT WOULD BE IF IT WERE ON.
SO I DO WANT TO BE TOTALLY TRANSPARENT ABOUT THAT.
AND IT HAPPENED, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS AT EVERY TOWN HALL I'VE HAD SINCE 2024.
SO JUST KNOW THAT, UM, WHEN YOU GO TO THE BALLOT AND YOU READ ABOUT IT, IT WILL SAY A TAX INCREASE.
'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT IT'S, SO SB TWO CAPPED OUR ABILITY TO FUND EXISTING REVENUE STREAMS. THIS STUFF IS VERY, VERY COMPLICATED.
IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO EVEN UNDERSTAND AS A POLICY MAKER WHAT TAX RATES ARE ALL ABOUT, WHAT ALL THE PORTIONS ARE ABOUT, HOW ALL OF IT KIND INTERCONNECTS.
SO IF YOU EVER WANT TO SIT DOWN AND TALK ABOUT IT, I'M HAPPY TO DO THAT.
UM, BUT JUST KNOW IF YOU EVER HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT IT, IF THERE'S EVER SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT ABOUT IT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
BUT I DO WANNA BE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOTTA BE VERY OPEN ABOUT THIS STUFF.
IT, IT'S NOT, OH, EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE THE SAME AND YOUR, YOUR TAXES AREN'T GONNA GO UP.
APPRAISALS GO UP, YOUR TAXES GO UP, APPRAISALS GO DOWN, TAXES, GO BACK A LITTLE BIT.
IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, UM, THE TAXES WILL STAY ABOUT THE SAME, BUT IT IS TECHNICALLY A TAX OFFICE.
AND THE REASON THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR IT IS BECAUSE WE DELIVER.
WE'VE HAD BOND PROGRAM PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE MADE HAPPEN.
WE'VE GOT MORE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE MAKING HAPPEN.
WE WILL USE THIS MONEY RESPONSIBLY.
AND WE HAVE ALREADY STARTED OPERATING ON A VERY LEAN BUDGET.
UM, THERE ARE THINGS THAT I WANTED THAT I CAN'T HAVE BECAUSE OF IT.
AND UM, THAT'S JUST HOW IT IS.
MAYBE IN A FUTURE BOND I CAN GET SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I REALLY WANT, LIKE A LIBRARY IN DISTRICT FIVE OR SOME KIND OF MUNICIPAL FACILITY IN DISTRICT FIVE.
'CAUSE I HAVE TO MEET IN ANOTHER DISTRICT TO HOLD MY TOWN HALLS AND IT DRIVES ME AND SAY, BUT, BUT I'M NOT, I'M, I'M NOT GOING TO SAY THAT WE HAVE MONEY FOR IT 'CAUSE WE DON'T, WE'VE BUILT A LOT OF THINGS AND WE REALLY NEED TO PAY FOR OPERATING THOSE THINGS.
SERPENS SWIM IS GONNA BE A HUGE, A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR THE CITY TO OPERATE.
IT'S A LOT OF NEW EMPLOYEES, IT'S A LOT OF MAINTENANCE.
WATER, WATER STUFF IS DIFFICULT TO TAKE CARE OF.
UM, THE SENIOR CENTER THAT'S WAY BIGGER THAN IT WAS BEFORE, IT'S GONNA TAKE A LOT OF NEW EMPLOYEES.
IT'S GOING TO TAKE, UM, I MEAN THEY GO ON TRIPS AND THEY HAVE FUN AT THE SENIOR CENTER.
I, I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL I CAN ENJOY THE SENIOR CENTER LOTTERY THERE AND I CAN'T GO GET IT THERE.
BUT I GUESS, UM, ALL OF THESE NEW THINGS, NEW AND WONDERFUL THINGS THAT GARLAND PROMISED IT WOULD DO, IT IS DOING.
AND THAT IS WHAT THE TAX RATE INCREASE IS ALL ABOUT.
I'M GOING TO QUICKLY TOUCH ON DART BECAUSE I THINK EVERYBODY KIND OF KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON.
THERE WERE SOME CITIES THAT WANTED TO PULL OUT WITH DART BECAUSE OF FRANKLY OPERATIONAL FAILURE ON DART'S PARK.
UM, THOSE, UH, I BELIEVE THE ONLY ONE IS IT ADDISON AND UNIVERSITY PARK.
HELEN PARK, UNIVERSITY PARK AND ADDISON ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO WILL HAVE IT ON THE BALLOT.
I PROBABLY UNIVERSITY PARK AND HIGHLAND PARK MIGHT PASS.
UM, ADDISON IS LIKE THE RESTAURANT CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES.
SO THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM IF THEY GET RID OF IT.
UM, WHAT WILL HAPPEN IS THE DAY THE VOTE GOES THROUGH, IF IT'S APPROVED BY THE VOTERS, THE TRAINS AND THE BUSES, WELL THE BUSES WILL CEASE IN THAT CITY, IN THOSE CITIES AND THE TRAINS WILL GO RIGHT PAST 'EM.
UM, I PERSONALLY SUPPORTED KEEPING DARK BECAUSE I FEEL THAT IT IS BENEFICIAL FOR US.
HOWEVER, I RECOGNIZE THAT DART HAS A LOT
[02:00:01]
OF ISSUES MM-HMMSO, UM, WE'LL BE LOOKING AT UM, WELL WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR BOARD COMPOSITION THAT ACTUALLY HAS TO BE APPROVED BY THE STATE.
SO WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE STATE LEGISLATURE TO RECONVENE IN ORDER TO GET THOSE THINGS APPROVED.
UM, AND MAYBE LEE, WHO IS NOW, I GUESS THE FORMER DARK CEO, UM, SHE'S NOT RENEWING THE CONTRACT.
SO WE'LL SEE WHO TAKES THAT PLACE.
I'M REALLY HOPING THAT THESE OPERATIONAL ISSUES THAT WE SEE WILL, UM, START TO GET FIXED BECAUSE THEY'VE GOT PROBLEMS. ALRIGHT, GOOD.
IF WE STAND EVERYBODY
DO YOU, UM, JACKIE HAD A QUESTION.
THAT SEEMS LIKE A LONG, A LONG BURN.
SO, AND WHERE'S ANDY, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW LONG WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS HOUSING STUDY KIND OF TAKING TO IMPLEMENT AND LET'S JUST SAY ONE NEIGHBORHOOD.
HOW LONG IS THAT PROCESS GOING TAKE? FEW YEARS.
THAT'S REALLY HARD TO ANSWER BECAUSE EACH NEIGHBORHOOD IS GONNA BE UNIQUE.
EACH COMMERCIAL CENTER IS GONNA BE UNIQUE.
EACH CORRIDOR GONNA BE UNIQUE.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW IS A, UH, BASED ON THE STUDY THAT ALL THE THINGS WE'RE WORKING ON IS WHAT I WOULD CALL KIND OF A PRESCRIPTION OF INTERVENTIONS.
AND SO IT COULD BE LITERALLY BLOCK BY BLOCK, PARCEL BY PARCEL.
AND SO WHEN YOU START TO IMPROVE THE CONDITION OF THE PROPERTY, IT'S DIFFICULT TO KNOW HOW LONG, LONG THAT REBOUND WILL TAKE.
BUT IT COULD BE, I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF, WE'LL PICK A RANDOM NEIGHBORHOOD.
CODE ENFORCEMENT WILL GO THROUGH STARTING IN SEPTEMBER IN, IN MASS AND GOING DOOR TO DOOR TO DOOR AND MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE INFORMED THROUGH THIS RED TAG PROCESS OF, OF POTENTIAL VIOLATIONS.
IT MAY BE THE FIRST TIME THAT THEY'VE EVER BEEN TOLD, HEY, YOUR PROPERTY'S NOT UPSTANDING, OR THEY MAY HAVE HAD ONE, BUT REALLY NOTHING EVER CAME TO TUITION BECAUSE THE CRIMINAL PROCESS TAKES TOO LONG.
SO BY THE TIME WE'VE INFORMED FOLKS AND ALL THE INTERVENTIONS THAT WE'VE PUT IN, IT MAY TAKE A COUPLE OF THREE YEARS, PROBABLY AT THE EARLIEST TO REALLY SEE, 'CAUSE THE PROOF WE'LL START TO BE, YOU KNOW, GONNA HAVE LEAD AND LAG INDICATORS.
SO THAT PROOF MAY TAKE A WHILE TO START SEEING HOME PRICES REFLECT THAT INVESTMENT.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT FROM EVERYTHING WE'VE LEARNED, UM, AND THIS IS SOMETHING I'VE BEEN IN THIS BUSINESS 30 YEARS, I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING MORE IMPACTFUL THAN THAT CYCLE IN OUR ECONOMIC SITUATION IN PROPERTY CONDITION OR LINKED LIKE THIS.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA PUSH ALL OUR CHIPS INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE TABLE AND BANK ON THE FACT THAT, UM, LET, LET'S PUT IT THIS WAY, YOU ARE WHAT YOU TOLERATE.
UH, BACK IN 1969, A UH, A STANFORD PSYCHOLOGIST DID A, UH, HE'S A, HE DID A STUDY AND HE PUT A, A, A BROKEN DOWN CAR OUTSIDE OF, UH, STANFORD UNIVERSITY AND PUT ANOTHER ONE IN THE BRONX OUTSIDE OF NYU.
AND SO HE WANTED TO SEE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN.
AND SO ESSENTIALLY, UM, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE IN ONE NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, AND OVERNIGHT THAT THING WAS STRIPPED AND, AND SOLD OFF THE OTHER ONE, NOTHING HAD HAPPENED AND IT WAS PUZZLING TO HIM.
SO HE IS LIKE, WELL, THAT, THAT DOESN'T, THAT DOESN'T MAP OUT TO ME.
HE WENT AND BROKE THE WINDOW IN THE CAR IN PALO ALTO OUTSIDE OF STANFORD.
AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, OVERNIGHT, PEOPLE JOINED IN AND THEY OBSERVED PEOPLE DEMOLISHING THAT CAR.
IT TOOK A WEEK BEFORE THAT HAPPENED.
WELL, THAT IN 1969 BECAME KNOWN AS THE BROKEN WINDOWS HERE AND POLICE OFFICERS ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH IT.
AND SO THAT IT BECOMES, WHERE, WHAT HAPPENED IS, IS THAT IT SHOWED THAT IT IS OKAY, SPAN LOW STANDARDS ARE OKAY, AND THOSE LOW STANDARDS, WHEN THEY'RE TOLERATED, THE BAR GOES DOWN AND IT'S, IT'S CALLED SOCIAL PROOF.
JUST BASICALLY IT LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE WHAT WE TOLERATED AND SO IT'S GONNA TAKE TIME I KNOW IT'S A LONG WAY ANSWER FOR WHAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR TO, TO FOLLOW UP.
AND I JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION DIRECTLY.
IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN IN PLACE, WE, THE STRATEGIC PLAN IS A 10 YEAR PLAN.
WE EXPECT TO SEE SOME RESULTS IN THE FIRST THREE YEARS.
WE EXPECT TO SEE, UH, IN THE THREE TO FIVE YEAR RANGE, UH, ES AND PROPERTY VALUES GOING UP IN THE SEVEN, SIX TO 10 YEAR RANGE.
WE EXPECT TO SEE THE CYCLE THAT WAS DESCRIBED BEING BROKEN.
AND SO WE ARE GOING TO STAB THIS ORGANIZATION UNIFIED WAY UNTIL WE SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.
SO THE FUNDING IS THAT, OKAY, SO YOU'RE ONLY ACTIVATED 65%, RIGHT? NO, NO PROPERTIES.
ENCOURAGE TO IMPROVE THEIR HOMES.
SOME OF OUR PROPERTIES MAY BE ENCOURAGED BY CITATIONS.
[02:05:01]
THERE'S TWO WAYS TO ENCOURAGE, WE CAN ENCOURAGE THEM WITH PARENTS AND WE CAN ENCOURAGE REAL QUICK.ONE THING TO TOUCH ON, BY THE WAY, WE DIDN'T MENTION SPECIFICALLY, BUT CERTAIN VIOLATIONS, ONCE YOU'VE GONE TO THE FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD CITATION, YOU ARE NOT GETTING RESULTS.
THOSE CITATIONS CAN BECOME DAILY AND THEY WRAP UP VERY, VERY, VERY QUICKLY.
THEN IT GIVES US, LIKE MIKE SAID, SOME LEVERAGE ONCE THE STATUS ON 5 0 5 CENTERVILLE.
YOU FINALLY GETTING CALLED OFF.
MOST OF IT, UH, IT, IT IS, IT IS DOWN IN, IN HAULED OFF.
WE'RE WORKING ON AN AGREEMENT, UH, WITH THEM TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE ORIGINAL APPROVED, UH, PLAN.
SO THEY HOPEFULLY THEY'LL BE, THEY'LL BE WORKING ON THAT SOON.
I ASSUME THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO CLEAN IT UP.
THERE'S STILL SOME RUB ON THE GROUND.
THEIR CONSTRUCTION, THEY START GOING VERTICAL.
IT'S, UH, THAT DESPITE THE PROCESS WITH THOSE FOLKS, I WAS DOWNTOWN ON SATURDAY AT THE, UM, I FORGET WHAT WE'RE CALLING IT NOW, BUT THEY ARE HERE.
I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW, AS A RETIRED ART TEACHER FROM DALLAS, UM, WHO AT THE TIME THERE WERE NO ART TEACHERS IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN GARLAND.
UM, WHEN YOU OPENED THE GATES, THEY CAME AND SO AS I WENT AROUND THE TABLES TO TALK TO THESE ART TEACHERS, THEY WERE LIKE, OH YEAH, I CAME FROM THE STATE AND I CAME FROM HERE AND I CAME FROM THERE.
DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS? AND ALL OF THE ART THAT YOU'RE DOING IN THIS COMMUNITY, THAT'S THE HEART OF THE COMMUNITY.
WHEN THERE'S ART, THERE'S COMMUNICATION, THERE'S EXPRESSION, THERE'S LETTING EVERYBODY KNOW IT'S OKAY TO BE YOURSELF, WHOEVER YOU ARE, TO EXPRESS YOURSELF AND IT'S GOING TO BE NOTICED AND APPRECIATE.
SO YOU'RE DOING THE RIGHT THINGS, THE MUSIC, THE THEATER, ALL THESE THINGS.
IT, THEY'LL COME, THEY WILL COME.
NOW WILL THEY MOVE HERE? I DUNNO,
I'M LIKE, GARLAND IS THE BEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD.
I'VE NEVER MET SUCH WONDERFUL PEOPLE.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO PROMOTE THE FACT THAT WE MAY BE A BEDROOM COMMUNITY WITH A LOT OF INDU INDUSTRIAL AREAS, BUT WE'RE GOOD PEOPLE.
OUR FAMILIES IN YOUR HOMES, THEY LIVE THERE.
I MEAN, THERE'S JUST NOT THAT TURNOVER IN A LOT OF PLACES BECAUSE PEOPLE KNOW THE HARD PROBLEM.
IF I CAN GET PEOPLE, INSTEAD OF HEARING DARLAND SAY TO GO, OOH,
AND HONESTLY, I HEAR THAT LOT NOW.
I SAW DOWN YOUR DOWNTOWN IS AMAZING.
WE WANT THOSE DOWNTOWNS ALL OVER THE CITY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO, I THANK YOU EVERYBODY.
IF YOU ANYTHING AT ALL CARDS ARE ON THE TABLE.