Aug 17, 2026 Work Session

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AUGUST 17TH, 2026 WORK SESSION OF THE GARLAND CITY COUNCIL. WE HAVE A PACKED AGENDA TONIGHT WITH A REGULAR SESSION THE SAME NIGHT. SO LET'S GET RIGHT INTO IT. FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS PUBLIC COMMENTS ON WORK SESSION ITEMS. MADAM SECRETARY, DO WE HAVE ANY SPEAKERS SIGNED UP? NO,

[1. Investment Portfolio Report]

[2. Calling the 2026 Special Tax Rate Election for November 3, 2026]

[3. FY 2026-27 Civil Service Classifications and Compensation Ordinance]

SEEING NO QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THOSE ITEMS, WE'LL MOVE ON TO OUR VERBAL BRIEFINGS. ITEM NUMBER FOUR IS FINAL DELIBERATION OF THE FISCAL YEAR. DEPUTY MOR PRO TEM, DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING ON THOSE, PLEASE? ON THE CIVIL SERVICE ORDINANCE, CAN WE CLARIFY THE NO INCREASE, THE NO RATE INCREASE IS FOR THE INCENTIVES, NOT FOR CURRENT PAY. IS THAT CORRECT? SORRY, I WAS ASKED THIS QUESTION EARLIER. AND TO CLARIFY, IT WOULD HELP ME TO ENSURE WE ACCURATELY ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE INCENTIVE PAY PAGES? CORRECT. THERE'S A PORTION WHERE IT SAYS THERE'S NO INCREASE. AND SO WE HAD A COUPLE OF A COUPLE OF GENTLEMEN THAT WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THAT AFFECTING THE 3% MERIT INCREASE. SO THE INCENTIVE PAYS ARE SET AS PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS. AND NEITHER DEPARTMENT REQUESTED A BUDGET CHANGE TO THOSE INCENTIVE PAYS. SO THOSE WILL REMAIN AS THEY WERE IN THE PRIOR YEAR IN TERMS OF THE MERIT PROCESS. THE HOURLY RATE RATES IN THE SCHEDULE SHOULD BE REFLECTIVE OF THAT. PERFECT.

THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THAT'S IT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. COUNCIL. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE THE WRITTEN BRIEFINGS. ALL RIGHT. VERY GOOD. WE'LL MOVE ON THEN TO VERBAL BRIEFINGS. ITEM

[4. Final Deliberation on FY 2026-27 Proposed Annual Operating Budget]

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I'LL JUST ADD TO THAT, MR. CHAIRMAN. ONE OF THE THE BUDGET PRIORITIES THAT I MADE CLEAR TO THE COUNCIL WAS THAT WE NOT SPEND ONE TIME MONEY TO SOLVE ONGOING PROBLEMS. THE ONE TIME MONEY SHOULD BE USED TO SOLVE OUR LONG TERM STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS. AND THE RISK OF USING ONE TIME MONEY TO SOLVEHIS IS THAT IT PROLONGS OUR STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS THAT WE HAVE. AND SO THE ALTERNATIVE WOULD BE TO FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO CLOSE IN THE CURRENT BUDGET OR SOMETHING ELSE TO DO LESS OF. IT MIGHT NOT MEAN CLOSING SOMETHING. I MEAN, YOU CAN TAKE ANY NUMBER OF, OF ITEMS THAT ARE IN THE BUDGET AND SAY, OKAY, I DON'T WANT THIS ITEM OTHAT ITEM TO KEEP THE PARK OPEN, BUT REMEMBER IT. THAT'S JUST THE OPERATIONAL PIECE. THAT DOESN'T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE CIP PIECE, WHICH IS $2.2 MILLION THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO SPEND, AND THAT WOULD HAVE TO COME OUT OF NEXT YEAR'S CIP PLAN. AND SO WE'D HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ROADS ARE WE NOT GOING TO FIX AND WHAT OTHER BUILDINGS ARE WE NOT GOING TO FIX? AND SO THAT'S THE SHORT ANSWER, IS THAT IT'S IT WAS A DECISION BASED ON THE FACT THAT EVEN IF YOU SPEND THAT MONEY, WHAT THE EXPERTS HAVE TOLD US, EVEN IF YOU SPEND THAT MONEY, THAT FACILITY IS AT THE END OF ITS USEFUL LIFE. AND SO THE DECISION, I THINK OF THE COUNCIL FROM THE CONSENSUS I'VE HEARD SO FAR, WAS, WAS NOT TO SPEND ONE TIME FUNDS TO TO CONTINUE TO SOLVE THIS PROBLBLEM D NOT TO SPEND THE CIP MONEY IN A WAY THAT THAT WE WOULD BE ESSENTIALLY PUTTING A BAND AID ON SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE SPENDING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO MAKE REPAIRS, BUT IT'S ONLY GOING TO BUY US A PERIOD OF YEARS. THANK YOU. IT SOUNDS GOOD. SO I JUST FOLLOW UP QUESTION. THIS WITH THE CLOSING PART OF THE PROPOSED BUDGETS THAT WE'RE GOING TO VOTE TONIGHT, THE CLOSE OF THE BRADFIELD RECREATION CENTERS OR THE THE THE POOL IS WILL NOT PREVENT US FROM THE FUTURE IF WE HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO GO BACK, LET'S SAY, ON OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE CAN BE ABLE TO DO IT AT A FUTURE DATE, AT ANY FUTURE DATE, CITY COUNCIL COULD ASK STAFF OR A FUTURE BOND STUDY COMMITTEE TO REVIEW A PROJECT AT THAT SITE OR ANYWHERE IN THE CITY FOR THAT MATTER, THAT WOULD NEED TO BE HANDLED WITH THE WITHIN THE OVERALL CITY'S FINANCIAL STRATEGY AND. AND BE A CONVERSATION WITH THE CITY COUNCIL LEVEL AND STAFF ON EXECUTING THAT. THANK YOU. I THINK THAT WE ARE WE NEED TO BE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY. SO I JUST WANT TO RAISE THAT AND SHARE WITH THE RESIDENTS THAT THEY KEEP ASKING ME RAISES FOR THEM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MAYOR. THANK YOU SIR. COUNCIL. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON ITEM NUMBER FOUR OPERATING BUDGET. ALL RIGHT, I SEE NONE. THEN WE ARE SCHEDULED FOR ADOPTION HERE IN ABOUT ONE HOUR. MAYOR, WE HAVE A COUPLE MORE SLIDES, IF WE MAY. PLEASE CONTINUE JUST TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE A THOROUGH OVERVIEW OF OF ALL ACTIONS TONIGHT. SO THE ADDITIONAL ITEMS THAT COUNCIL REACHED CONSENSUS ON WERE CHANGES TO THE FEES. SO INCREASE THE

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AND WE WILL CALL FOR THE SPECIAL TAX RATE ELECTION, ADOPT THE FEE AND RATE CHANGES AND THEN ADOPT THE CIVIL ORDINANCE, CIVIL SERVICE ORDINANCE. AND WITH THAT, WE'LL OPEN FOR ANY QUESTIONS. COUNCIL. ANY QUESTIONS. DISCUSSES THE PAST. WE'RE DOWN TO ABOUT 58 MINUTES NOW UNTIL ADOPTION. ALL RIGHT, I SEE NONE THEN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE'LL MOVE ON

[5. Garland Housing Finance Corporation Appointment]

FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO BE HERE THIS EVENING. I KNOW THERE WERE A LOT OF OTHER APPLICANTS, AND TO GET NARROWED DOWN TO THIS STAGE, I APPRECIATE THAT. MY NAME IS CHRISTOPHER VALENCIA AND I WAS A FIREFIGHTER HERE IN THE CITY OF GARLAND FOR 25 YEARS. I RETIRED IN 2019. I'VE LIVED IN THE CITY FOR 31 YEARS NOW, AND THE REASON THAT I APPLIED FOR THIS POSITION, THE BEST THING I CAN SAY IS THAT I GET IT. I WENT THROUGH THE GARLAND ON THE RISE STRATEGIC PLAN, AND IT'S SO ROBUST AND NOTHING WAS MISSED. SO WHOEVER WORKED ON THAT, KUDOS, BECAUSE THOSE ARE THINGS THAT I THOUGHT ABOUT FOR THE CITY THE ENTIRE TIME THAT I WORKED HERE. BEING FROM A SINGLE PARENT FAMILY WOULD ALLOWED ME AND MY MOTHER TO MOVE OUT OF MY GRANDPARENTS HOUSE WAS AFFORDABLE HOUSING. SO I KNOW IT FROM A LIVED EXPERIENCE. AND THEN ALSO SEEING WHAT THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO, LOOKING AT THE PROJECTS THEY'VE WORKED ON, SOME OF THOSE PROJECTS. I ACTUALLY BUILT THE APARTMENT COMPLEXES THAT ARE UP OFF OF CAMPBELL. I'VE BEEN THROUGH ALMOST EVERY ONE OF THOSE BUILDINGS AND GOING THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT PHASE OF THOSE PROPERTIES, MAKING SURE THAT THEY WERE DESIGNED IN THE BEST WAY AND IN A LONGEVITY WAY. I GOT TO SEE THAT FIRSTHAND. SO I KNOW WHAT THE G, H, S C CAN DO. THAT'S WHY I WANT TO BE A PART OF THE ORGANIZATION. THAT'S, THAT'S THE BIGGEST PART. BUT ALSO I FEEL THAT AS THE GARLAND ON THE RISE STRATEGIC PLAN BEGINS TO BE IMPLEMENTED, WE CAN BE A VERY, VERY STRONG PARTNER IN MAKING THAT WORK. ONE, ONE PART OF THE PLAN THAT I MENTIONED WAS THE THE VARIANTS OF PRODUCTS THAT WILL BE OFFERED FOR RESIDENTIAL. AND SO WHEN THE CITY IS FOCUSING ON THE HIGHER END THINGS, WE CAN FOCUS ON THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING. ONE BENEFIT THAT I THINK THAT PEOPLE MAY NOT GET ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS NOT ONLY THAT IT EXISTS, BUT ALSO WHAT IS THE QUALITY OF IT? WHAT IS THE LONGEVITY OF IT? AND SO WHEN PEOPLE HAVE A NICER PLACE TO STAY, WHEN THEY DON'T HAVE THE INCOME THAT MATCHES THE PLACE THEY STAY, THAT CAN BE BENEFICIAL TO THEM RAISING THEMSELVES IN THEIR LIVES. AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT A HAND UP IS NOT ALWAYS GIVEN. SO THE FACT THAT THE CITY OF GARLAND HAS TAKEN THE INITIATIVE TO PROVIDE THAT TO THEIR CITIZENS, I THINK WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IS THAT THERE'LL BE A SYNERGISTIC EFFECT WHERE, FIRST OF ALL, LET ME SAY THAT THE CITY OF GARLAND HAS AMAZING TALENT ON THEIR STAFF. AND HAVING WORKED HERE FOR 25 YEARS, I'VE HAD PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH ALL CITY DEPARTMENTS, AND I'VE SEEN THE TRAJECTORY OF SOME OF THOSE CAREERS. AND SO I KNOW THAT THE PEOPLE HERE CAN DO IT NOW. THEY HAVE A FRAMEWORK TO DO THAT WORK, AND I THINK THAT IT'S GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT'S JUST GOING TO GET GOING. AND BECAUSE OF THE WAY IT'S GOING TO BE IMPLEMENTED, BECAUSE OF THE COMMUNICATION THAT HAS BEEN PLANNED FROM CITY STAFF ALL THE WAY DOWN TO RESIDENTS, AS THE AS THE THE KNOWLEDGE BASE OF THE CITIZENS GROWS TO

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VERY GOOD. AND I HAVE A FIRST QUESTION I HAVE FOR YOU IS FROM DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM DENTON. I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BUT I JUST WANTED TO SAY I LOVE THAT YOU LOOK THROUGH THE STRATEGIC PLAN BECAUSE LIKE YOU, LIKE YOU SAID, IT'S GOING TO BE DETRIMENTAL TO HAVE THAT PARTNERSHIP. AND SO THAT THAT IS AMAZING THAT YOU READ THROUGH THERE. I LOVE THAT YOU SAID FIRE WILL OR NOT FIRE. WILL CAMPBELL FIRE WILL. 190 IS WHAT CAME TO MY HEAD BECAUSE KNOWING THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING DOES NOT HAVE TO BE UGLY, HOUSING DOES NOT HAVE TO LOOK LIKE YOUR STEREOTYPICAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING. I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE MISS THAT IN.

CAMPBELL IS A FANTASTIC EXAMPLE OF THAT. AND SO I, I THINK YOU HAVE A VERY GOOD GRASP ON WHAT WHAT WE NEED IN MOVING FORWARD WITH WITH THE G, F, H, C AND WE APPRECIATE THE TIME AND EFFORT THAT YOU HAVE PUT IN TO APPLYING AND TO COMING IN AND TALKING TO US TODAY. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. ANY COUNCILMEMBER THOMAS. SO THIS BOARD SERVICE CAN BE TIME SENSITIVE. PRETTY COMPLEX. HAVE YOU GOT THE TIME AND CAPACITY. ENGAGE IN THE MEETINGS, THE COMMITTEE WORK, DO THE PREPARATION. ABSOLUTELY I DO. SO WHAT I DO FOR WORK RIGHT NOW, SO OBVIOUSLY I'M A RETIRED FIREFIGHTER. SO I HAVE THAT INCOME. AND THEN ALSO I WORK FOR A FAMILY OWNED BUSINESS AND I DO COMMERCIAL FURNITURE. AND THE BUSINESS IS BASED IN MINNEAPOLIS. AND SO WE'RE BUILDING A BRANCH HERE IN, IN THE DFW MARKET RIGHT NOW. SO WHAT THAT ALLOWS ME TO DO IS BASICALLY FIX MY SCHEDULE THE WAY IT NEEDS TO BE. THERE IS NOT A PARTICULAR CLOCK IN THAT I HAVE TO DO ON A DAILY BASIS, BECAUSE I HAVE DIFFERENT MEETINGS AND DIFFERENT EVENTS THAT I NEED TO ATTEND, SO IT ALLOWS ME TO BE PRETTY FLEXIBLE WITH MY SCHEDULE. OKAY. BECAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IN THIS POSITION THAT THAT FLEXIBILITY HAS TO BE THERE. ABSOLUTELY. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU SIR. THANK YOU, MAYOR. SIR COUNCIL, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COUNCILMEMBER. THANK YOU MAYOR. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. I HAVE A QUESTION. I'M GOING TO ASK THE SAME QUESTION FOR OTHERS AS WELL. SO LET'S SAY YOU WOULD BE THE CITY REPRESENTATIVE ON THE GARLAND HOUSE FINANCE CORPORATION AND THAT OPERATE INDEPENDENTLY OF THE CITY AND THE PARTNER WITH PRIVATE DEVELOPERS. SO IF THE CORPORATION WANTED TO DO SOMETHING THAT IS GOOD FOR THE CORPORATION, BUT IS BAD FOR THE GARDEN RESIDENTS, WHAT WOULD YOU DO AND WHO WOULD YOU TELL? SO REFERRING BACK TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND ALSO THE WAY THAT THE G. HFC IS STRUCTURED, THERE'S A LOT OF TRANSPARENCY THAT IS THERE. SO THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE THAT MANY OPPORTUNITIES. I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THAT THE, THE, THE, THE GOALS OF THE CORPORATION WOULD BE IN CONFLICT WITH THE CITY.

AN EXAMPLE OF MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH THAT IS HAVING BEEN IN THE DEVELOPMENT GROUP FOR THE CITY. WHEN I WAS A FIRE INSPECTOR, WE WERE WORKING DIRECTLY WITH THE DEVOPERS TO, TO, LIKE I SAID, TO BUILD THESE. THESE PROJECTS THAT CAME INTO THE CITY, NOT ONLY THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT JUST IN GENERAL, ANY DEVELOPMENTAL PROJECT THAT COMES IN. AND SO WHAT I'M GETTING TO IS THAT IN A WAY, YOU ACT ALMOST AS A CONSULTANT. SO THERE IS A ALMOST A FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY WITHOUT HANDLING THE MONEY. SO I FEEL LIKE THAT'S WHAT, WHAT WOULD KEEP THE MUCH OF A CONFLICT THERE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MAYOR SIR.

COUNCILMEMBER MOORE. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR APPLYING FOR THE POSITION. THERE ARE A LOT OF GREAT THINGS ABOUT YOU. THANK YOU. LET ME ASK YOU, I THINK I'M GOING TO DO THE SAME THING THAT COUNCILMAN TRENT IS DOING AND ASK THIS QUESTION OF ALL OF OUR APPLICANTS. IN YOUR VIEW, WHAT DISTINGUISHES PUBLIC PURPOSE HOUSING, FINANCE CORPORATIONS, PRIVATE HOUSING DEVELOPERS, AND HOW SHOULD THAT AFFECT BOARD DECISION MAKING? I THINK THE MAIN THING THAT THAT IS A DISTINCTION IS THAT THE THE GRANTS AND THE DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE THAT THE HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION IS ABLE TO PROVIDE IS SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T COME FROM THE PRIVATE INDUSTRY. IN THE SAME WAY, THERE IS A DRIVE FOR THE CORPORATION TO HAVE THOSE THINGS AVAILABLE AND MAKE THOSE AVAILABLE. AND WHEN THE CORPORATION IS ABLE TO PUT $2 MILLION BACK INTO CITY PROGRAMS AND ALSO COMMUNITY PROGRAMS AS

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THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. COUNCIL. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I HAVE ONE QUESTION MYSELF FOR YOU. YES, SIR. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF SENATE BILL 21 FROM 2025? I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP. SO IT'S GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE THE CORPORATION BE NIMBLE, BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO GET EITHER AN AGREEMENT TO KEEP THE PROPERTIES THAT ARE NOT INSIDE THE CITY LIMITS, OR THERE'S GOING TO HAVE TO BE SOME KIND OF EXCHANGE OF PROPERTIES WHERE IT'S GOING TO BE SOLD OFF, OR, YOU KNOW, THOSE AGREEMENTS HAVE TO BE BROKEN UP BASED ON THE, THE, THE PARTNERSHIPS THAT WERE MADE TO, TO BUY THE PROPERTIES AND TO BUILD THE PROPERTIES. SO THE ONE THING THAT I THINK IT HELPS IN A WAY IS THAT BECAUSE OF GARLAND ON THE RISE, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO REPLACE THOSE PROPERTIES ANYWAY. SO IT MAKES US BE MORE AGGRESSIVE TOWARDS GETTING MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS THAT FIT WITHIN THE STRATEGIC PLAN OF GARLAND ON THE RISE. SO I SEE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE APPRECIATE. THANK YOU ALL AGAIN. MADAM SECRETARY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL OUR NEXT CANDIDATE, ERIC SCHOLL? SIR, IF YOU'D PLEASE GIVE YOUR NAME, INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND TELL US WHY YOU'RE APPLYING FOR THIS BOARD. GOOD EVENING COUNCIL. MY NAME IS ERIC SCHOLL. AGAIN AS MR. SAID, SORRY. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE AMONGST THE OTHER APPLICANTS. IT'S TRULY AN HONOR. I'M HERE THIS EVENING BECAUSE I'VE SERVED PROBABLY PROPERTY STANDARDS BOARD FOR ROUGHLY EIGHT YEARS, AND I FELT IT WAS TIME FOR ME TO STEP DOWN FROM THAT AND TAKE ANOTHER CHALLENGE. BUT I CONTINUE MY SERVICE TO THE CITY OF GARLAND. I'M NOT A LONGTIME GARLAND RESIDENT. I'M MOVED. I'M A TRANSPLANT FROM MARYLAND. BUT I DID MOVE HERE 12 YEARS AGO AND EVER SINCE HAVE BEEN AS INVOLVED AS I COULD BE IN THE IN THE COMMUNITY, PARTICULARLY ON THE REAL ESTATE SIDE OF THINGS.

THAT IS MY BACKGROUND. I AM A REALTOR, SO THAT IS HOW I, IN THE PAST MET COUNCILMAN, FORMER COUNCIL MEMBER DAVID GIBBONS. I WAS WITH METRO, THE METRO ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS, WHERE WE HOSTED THE GARLAND MLS MEETING. WE'VE HAD HENDRIX HERSELF AS A SPEAKER AMONGST OTHER FORMER CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. SO BEING HAVING THE REAL ESTATE BACKGROUND AND UNDERSTANDING FIRSTHAND THE NEED FOR AFFORDABLE HOMES, ESPECIALLY HERE IN GARLAND FOR FAMILIES, I'VE SEEN IT FIRSTHAND. I'VE WORKED WITH OUR OWN PROPERTIES WITH HFC, ALSO WORKED WITH THE GARLAND CITY OF GARLAND ON THEIR PROGRAM AS WELL. SO I'VE SEEN IT FIRSTHAND THE AMAZING BENEFITS THAT THESE PROGRAMS PROVIDE TO FAMILIES WHO, AS YOU SAID, AREN'T LOOKING FOR A HANDOUT, BUT A HAND UP. SO MANY FAMILIES ARE PAYING CURRENTLY PAYING A MORTGAGE IN THEIR RENT, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE THAT DOWN PAYMENT. AND ONE OF THE PROGRAMS PROVIDING THAT DOWN SYSTEM, DOWN ASSISTANCE, ASSISTANCE TO THE DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE, I'M SORRY, TO THE FAMILIES IS, IS A WAY TO GET THEIR FOOT IN THE DOOR AND START THAT DREAM OF HOMEOWNERSHIP. I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS FOR YOU. WE'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER. HI. GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SERVING. I JUST HAVE A REALLY QUICK QUESTION. WHEN YOU DID A REALLY GREAT JOB ON YOUR INTERVIEW, BY THE WAY. THANK YOU. TERMS THAT I REMEMBER IS DIVERSE HOUSING, ASSISTING WITH THE DOWN PAYMENT, GROWING GARLAND IN A POSITIVE WAY. THAT'S THAT'S EXCELLENT. SO GOOD JOB ON THAT. SO YOU INDICATED THAT YOU SERVED ON A BOARD BEFORE EIGHT YEARS, DID YOU SAY? I BELIEVE IT WAS A TOTAL OF EIGHT YEARS. OKAY. UNDER COUNCILMAN GIBBONS AND COUNCILMAN BASS BASS. OKAY. IN THAT TIME FRAME, HOWOW MANY MEETINGS DO YOU THINK YOU MISSED? DID YOU MISS A LOT OF MEETINGS? THERE WERE THERE WERE A FEW BECAUSE OF CONFLICTS OF SCHEDULE AT THAT TIME. IF A CLIENT ISSUE CAME UP, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THAT TOOK PRIORITY AT THE TIME. BUT MY WIFE AND I ARE BOTH REALTORS, SO SHE'S MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE NOW THAN WHERE SHE WAS IN THE BEGINNING WITH MEETING ONE ON ONE WITH THE CLIENT WITHOUT MY PRESENCE. SO ATTENDANCE SHOULD NOT BE AN ISSUE. OKAY, I DO UNDERSTAND. YES, YES, YES, LIKE DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM AND MENTIONED IT'S A IT'S A LONG COMMITMENT. DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG THE THE COMMITMENT IS FOR THIS BOARD? I BELIEVE IT'S FOUR YEARS, FOUR YEARS, SIX YEARS. YEAH. SO IT IS A LONG COMMITMENT, NOT MORE THAN US, SOME OF US ON HERE. BUT THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH, ERIC. COUNCILMEMBER LUCK, THANK

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COUNCILMEMBER MOORE. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. SAME QUESTION TO YOU, SIR. AND AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR APPLYING FOR THE POSITION. OKAY. IN YOUR VIEW, WHAT DISTINGUISHES PUBLIC PURPOSE HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATIONS FROM PRIVATE HOUSING DEVELOPERS WITH THE EMPHASIS ON AND HOW SHOULD THAT AFFECT BOARD DECISION MAKING? AND AS WAS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, IT'S A SEPARATE ENTITY COMPLETELY BETWEEN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC. PRIVATE SECTOR. YOU'RE ANSWERING YOUR. ANSWERING FOR OR WORKING ON BEHALF OF INVESTORS, PUBLIC SECTOR. YOU ARE WORKING FOR YOUR COMMUNITY, THE BETTERMENT OF YOUR COMMUNITY, THE PEOPLE. IT'S BEAUTIFICATION PROGRESS DOWN THE ROAD. IT'S NOT ABOUT A QUICK RETURN RIGHT AWAY. THANK YOU SIR, COUNCILMEMBER TRENT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MR. ERIC SHOWS THAT WE WE TALK. THANK YOU FOR YEARS OF YOU SAY EIGHT YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE TO THE PROPERTY BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT.

I'M ASK THAT YOU MOVE ON. BUT IT'S GOOD THAT YOU APPLY FOR THIS POSITION. SO I'M GOING TO ASK THE SAME QUESTIONS. SO IF YOU ARE SELECTED AND YOU WOULD BE THE CITY REPRESENTATIVE RIGHT ON THE FIVE GALLON HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION AND IS OPERATED INDEPENDENTLY FROM THE CITY. AND YOU WORK WITH A LOT OF PRIVATE DEVELOPERS. SO. IF THE CORPORATION WANTED TO DO SOMETHING THAT WAS GOOD FOR THE CORPORATION BUT IS BAD FOR THE GARDEN RESIDENTS, WHAT WOULD YOU DO AND WHO WOULD YOU TELL? WELL, I WOULD VIEW I VIEW THAT RELATIONSHIP AS I VIEW MY RELATIONSHIP AS A REALTOR TO MY CLIENT. MY CLIENT IN THIS POSITION WOULD BE THE CITY, THE BOARD, THE CITY RESIDENTS. I'M REPRESENTING YOU ON THAT BOARD. WHEN I SAY YOU, I MEAN THE CITY OF GARLAND. SO MY FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY IS SOLELY TO YOU, NOT THE BETTERMENT OF THE CORPORATION. THE CITY'S INTEREST IS IS THE REASON FOR THIS POSITION TO BE ON THE BOARD. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MA'AM. SIR. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COUNCIL. SAME QUESTION FOR YOU. WHAT ARE YOUR WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON HOUSE BILL 21 FROM 2025? WELL, AS I SAID, I'M NOT AS FAMILIAR WITH THE RISE PROGRAM. I BELIEVE THAT WAS REFERENCED TO IT. BUT IN REGARDING THE OUT OF DISTRICT PROPERTIES, IS THAT THE THE INTENT OF THE ORGANIZATION? MY UNDERSTANDING IS GARLAND HOUSING. SO IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT INVESTMENT PROPERTIES, I KNOW PREVIOUSLY THERE WERE PROPERTIES IN PLANO THAT HAD BEEN LOOKED AT, I BELIEVE. AND IF I'M MISUNDERSTANDING THIS, I DO APOLOGIZE. BUT MY UNDERSTANDING WOULD BE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GARLAND HOUSING. THANK YOU, SIR, AND THANK YOU FOR MOVING HERE FROM MARYLAND. I DID THE SAME THING MYSELF. WE WERE ACTUALLY KIND OF NEIGHBORS.

YES. AT THAT TIME, YES. SO IT'S GOOD. AS A NATIVE TEXAN. IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK HOME. YES.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU SIR. THANK YOU ALL. HAVE A GOOD EVENING. ALL RIGHT. MADAM SECRETARY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL OUR NEXT, NEXT APPLICANT, KYLE PARIS? SIR, IF YOU'D PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND TELL US WHY YOU'RE APPLYING FOR THIS BOARD. YEAH. HI. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS KYLE PARIS. I AM AN INDEPENDENT BROKER AND OWNER, JUST LIKE MY FRIEND OVER THERE. SO I'VE BEEN IN REAL ESTATE FOR 13 YEARS. I AM, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT QUALIFIES ME THE MOST. I CURRENTLY MENTIONED METRO TECH'S BOARD OF BOARD OF REALTORS, WHICH IS THE THIRD LARGEST REALTOR ASSOCIATION IN THE COUNTRY. I WILL BE THE CHAIRMAN OF OUR BOARD NEXT YEAR, WHICH IS A PRETTY, PRETTY IMPORTANT ROLE IN OUR DECISION, OUR ADVOCACY EFFORTS, AND JUST EVERYTHING THAT WE AS REALTORS TRY TO GET INVOLVED WITH IN OUR COMMUNITY. THAT'S ONE OF THE

[00:30:05]

AND I WAS THINKING, OH MAN, YOU KNOW, 12 YEARS, I GUESS THAT MAKES ME A NEW GUY. BUT ULTIMATELY, YOU GOT TO LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE AND YOU WANT TO SERVE WHERE YOU LIVE. AND PART OF THE REASONS THAT I APPLIED FOR THIS IS I KIND OF ACCUSED MYSELF SOMETIMES OF BEING A SERIAL VOLUNTEER IN THE REAL ESTATE WORLD AND THE REALTOR ECOSYSTEM. I'VE HAD PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO GET INVOLVED THERE. AND, YOU KNOW, I'VE JUST ALWAYS OPERATED WITH THE DESIRE TO IMPROVE MY COUNITY, IMPROVE ORGANIZATIONS THAT THAT I LIVE, WORK AND PLAY. AND THIS SEEMS TO BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ME NOT NOT TO JUST HAVE ANOTHER, ANOTHER NOTCH IN MY BELT OR ENRICH MYSELF ANY OTHER WAY THAN JUST BY GROWING IN INFORMATION AND BEING ABLE TO AFAFFECT THE CITIES WHERE I LIV. IN MY SERVICE WITH METRO TECHS AND THE REALTOR ORGANIZATIONS, IT'S, IT'S A DIFFERENT IT'S A DIFFERENT WORLD. WE DON'T NECESSARILY DIRECTLY GET TO IMPACT THE, THE RESIDENTS AND THE WAY THAT I SOMETIMES WOULD LIKE TO. A LOT OF THE ADVOCACY EFFORTS ARE MADE MORE AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL THAN RIGHT HERE LOCALLY, ALTHOUGH WE DO HAVE A VERY GOOD IMPACT IN DOING THAT. AND SO I JUST THINK MY, MY EXPERIENCE THERE SERVING AND MY DESIRE TO, TO STAY INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY HOPEFULLY QUALIFIES ME TO BE A GOOD APPLICANT FOR THIS POSITION. VERY GOOD. GOOD QUESTIONS FOR YOU OR START WITH COUNCILMEMBER MOORE. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR APPLYING FOR THE POSITION. SAME QUESTION TO YOU. IN YOUR VIEW, WHAT DISTINGUISHES PUBLIC PURPOSE HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATIONS FROM PRIVATE HOUSING DEVELOPERS? AND AGAIN, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON AND HOW SHOULD THAT AFFECT BOARD DECISION MAKING? I THINK THE PRIVATE SECTOR HAS THE ABILITY TO HIDE BEHIND. NOT HAVING TO HAVE TRANSPARENCY AND EQUITABLE DECISION MAKING.

SOMETIMES THE THE PUBLIC SECTOR IS IS REALLY OUT THERE TRYING TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY IN THE COMMUNITY IS BENEFITING FROM IT AND NOT JUST ENRICHING THE RICH ALREADY. AND I THINK IN REAL ESTATE, WE SEE THAT A LOT. THERE'S DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE TO BENEFIT A FEW AND NOT THE MASSES THAT REALLY NEED IT. AND SO I, I REALLY THINK THE BOARD'S DECISION MAKING PROCESS NEEDS TO, TO BE LOOKED AT WITH, WITH A FINE TOOTH COMB AND REALLY ASK THE TOUGH QUESTIONS ON, ON WHO'S REALLY BENEFITING FROM CERTAIN DECISIONS. UNFORTUNATELY, I THI SOMETIMES TOO MANY PEOPLE DECISIONS CAN BE MADE AND IT'S FOR THE WRONG REASONS. SO I'M HERE TO TO SERVE AND BE PART OF THAT. I DON'T WANT TO SAY A ROADBLOCK, BUT I'VE ALWAYS TOLD MYSELF THAT I GET INVOLVED WITH THINGS BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO SIT THERE AND COMPLAIN ABOUT THE DECISIONS THAT I HEAR AND THE THINGS THAT I SEE. I WANT TO ACTUALLY HAVE SOME IMPACT AND SOME ABILITY TO STAND UP FOR THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE THE VOICE. AND I'M JUST GOING TO ASK THE THING, YOU HAVE STATED THAT YOU ARE IN LINE TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF YOUR ORGANIZATION, CORRECT? YES, SIR. CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD. HOW IS THAT GOING TO IMPACT YOU THINK IT'S GOING TO IMPACT AT ALL YOUR ABILITY TO SERVE ON THIS BOARD? I THINK IT WILL IMPACT IT POSITIVELY BECAUSE BEING IN THAT ROOM, BEING IN THAT POSITION ASS THE CHAIRMAN OF A 23 PERSON BOARD, AS THE AGAIN, THE THIRD LARGEST REALTOR ASSOCIATION IN THE COUNTRY, IT SHARPENS MY SKILLS. IT PUTS ME AT THE FRONT LINES OF ALL THE INFORMATION THAT I NEED TO KNOW.

IF YOU'RE IF YOU'RE ASKING ME THE QUESTION OF, AM I GOING TO HAVE THE TIME DOWN THE ROAD? THE ANSWER IS YES. MY MY SERVICE AT THAT, THE LOCAL ASSOCIATION. I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE IN MY POSITION THAT TEND TO ADVANCE AND GO UP TO THE TEXAS REALTORS OR NAR, BUT I HAVE MORE OF A DESIRE TO STAY LOCAL. AND SO MY HOPE NOBODY I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS EVEN STREAMED OR NOT. ONE OF MY BOARD MEMBERS SAID SHE WAS GOING TO STREAM THIS POTENTIALLY, BUT I HAVE NO DESIRE TO TO MOVE ON UP. I MEAN, I WANT TO FULFILL MY MY DUTIES AS A CHAIR FOR NEXT YEAR, AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S GOING TO NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE COMMITMENT THAT THIS WOULD APPEAR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SIR. COUNCILMEMBER LUCK. YES, I WAS WONDERING SAME QUESTION AS BEFORE. IF YOU BRIEFLY DESCRIBE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF GARLAND ON THE RISE, OUR STRATEGIC PLAN. I DON'T HAVE AN IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF THAT BECAUSE IT WAS NOT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I. I DO HAVE A LOT OF OTHER THINGS THAT I DO AND MY MY TIME.

[00:35:06]

SO IF THE CORPORATION AND WANTED TO DO SOMETHING THAT WAS GOOD FOR THE CORPORATION, BUT IS BAD FOR THE GARLAND RESIDENTS, SO WHAT WOULD YOU DO AND WHO WOULD YOU TELL? I MEAN, YOU GOT TO RAISE THE RED FLAG. YOU GOT YOU GOT TO TELL EVERYBODY REALLY. I MEAN, IF IF THE DECISIONS AREN'T GOOD FOR FOR THE CITY, FOR THE RESIDENTS, THEN I HAVE TO ASK MYSELF, WHY? WHY ARE WE EVEN DOING IT? THANK YOU. BUT I, I WAS THINKING ASK THE SAME QUESTION WITH COUNCILMAN MOORE ABOUT THE TIME. BUT YOU LIKE YOUR ANSWER. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MAYOR SIR.

COUNCIL. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THAT'S MY SAME QUESTION AS WELL. WHAT'S YOUR OPINION ON TEXAS HOUSE BILL 21, 2025? I DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE AN OPINION ON THAT. WE'VE I'VE GOTTEN EOSED AND BEEN PART OF A LOT OF ADVOCACY EFFORTS. BUT BUT THAT ISN'T ACTUALLY ONE THAT. AND I MEAN, I'M SITTING OVER THERE THINKING I COULD CHATGPT THE HECK OUT OF THAT, BUT I DIDN'T THINK THAT WOULD REALLY BE. BE FAIR HEARING THE QUESTION FIRST AND THEN SITTING THERE. BUT SOME HONEST ANSWER IS THAT I DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY OPINION ON THAT RIGHT NOW. THANK YOU SIR. SEE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS. THANK YOU FOR COMING DOWN. MADAM SECRETARY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL OUR NEXT APPLICANT, ROBERT SHEPHERD? PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND TELL US WHY YOU'RE APPLYING FOR THIS BOARD. GREETINGS. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. MY NAME IS ROBERT SHEPHERD. I'M A PROUD GARLAND. RESIDENTS. WHY AM I APPLYING FOR THIS POSITION AS A SERVANT LEADER IN THE NONPROFIT SPACE? AS A PASTOR, I'M BUSY, BUT WHEN I LOOKED AT AFFORDABLE HOUSING, YOU'RE LOOKING AT A PRODUCT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING. AS A FORMER REAL ESTATE BROKER AGENT, NOW A REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL, I UNDERSTAND AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT ABOVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND YOU CAN OFFER AFFORDABLE HOUSING WITH THE AWESOME THINGS THAT THIS CORPORATION DO DOWN PAYMENT CLOSING COSTS, EVEN INFORMING THEM FOR ADS, KNOWING HOW TO SUSTAIN THEMSELVES FINANCIALLY. AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS ONLY AFFORDABLE IF WE CAN TEACH RESIDENTS HOW TO SUSTAIN, MAINTAIN AND KEEP THE HOUSING IN WHICH PERHAPS WE AFFORD THEM TO HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE, SUCH AS GIVING THEM THE DOWN PAYMENT, CLOSING COSTS AND ETCETERA I PERSONALLY NEVER EXPERIENCED LIVING IN A HOUSE, HAVING MY OWN ROOM. WE LIVED IN EAST TEXAS AND WHAT WE CALLED IN THE 70S WELFARE OR PROJECTS, BUT I BELIEVE EVERYONE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO AT LEAST HAVE IT AFFORDED TO THEM. THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEASE, GO TO WHAT WE CALL THE AMERICAN DREAM HOME OWNERSHIP. SO WHY AM I HERE AGAIN? BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND AFFORDABLE HOUSING DIDN'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO STAY IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT HOUSING, BUT MY MOTHER OF SIX CHILDREN DID WHAT SHE COULD AS A REAL ESTATE AGENT.

MY FOCUS WAS NOTHING BUT THE SOUTHERN SECTOR AT THAT TIME. WHEN I WAS FIRST LICENSED IN 1999, BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THAT GOOD PEOPLE NEED GOOD PLACES TO LIVE. AND AS I BELIEVE, DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM DUTTON SAID, THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING DOESN'T HAVE TO LOOK LIKE IT'S AFFORDABLE HOUSING, JUST NICE. AND A PLACE WITH SOMEONE EVERY MONTH CAN MAKE THAT MORTGAGE PAYMENT, PAY IT OFF AND PASS ON THE GENERATIONAL WEALTH. THAT'S REALLY WHY I'M HERE. MY FIRST QUESTION FROM COUNCIL MEMBER. HI THERE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING IN. GREAT JOB ON YOUR INTERVIEW AS WELL. YOU DID A REALLY GOOD JOB. THANK YOU. TWO THINGS. I NOTICED THAT YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER TRAINS APPOINTED ON THE UNIFIED BUILDING STANDARDS AND THEN INTERVENE FOR THIS. IS THIS GOING TO BE THAT SEEMS LIKE A LOT. DO YOU FEEL LIKE THAT WOULD BE A CONFLICT OR AND THEN YOU'RE PASTORING AND YOU DO YOUR OTHER ACTIVITIES? DO YOU THINK THAT THAT'S GOING TO BE A LOT OR NONE AT ALL? IT'S ONCE SAID THAT IF YOU WANT SOMETHING DONE, GIVE IT TO A BUSY PERSON. CORRECT. WE'VE ALL HEARD THAT. I'M HONORED TO BE ABLE TO

[00:40:02]

ALSO SERVE ON THE COMMUNITY FELLOWSHIP BREAKFAST BOARD. I'VE NEVER MISSED THAT MEETING.

I AM HONORED AND BLESSED TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT AS A PROFESSIONAL WHO OWNS HIS OWN BUSINESS, THAT, AND I DON'T SAY THIS BRAGGING, BUT I REALLY CONFIDENT. SAY THAT I CONTROL MY OWN SCHEDULE. I'M VERY PROTECTIVE OF MY SCHEDULE AS WELL. AND SO NO, THAT WOULD NOT BE A CONFLICT AT ALL. OKAY. THANK YOU. ONE OTHER THING I'D LIKE TO SAY, MAYBE TRAN WOULD SUPPORT ME ON THIS. CLASS 45 IS THE BEST CLASS. YOUR CLASS OF WHAT? I'LL WAIT FOR HIM TO SAY WHAT HE SAY, BUT. WELL, CLASS 43 IS THE BEST CLASS EVER. THANK YOU. OUR LEADERSHIP. YOU GUYS ARE ALL IN THE CULT TOGETHER. YEAH. COUNCIL MEMBER MOORE. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR AND REVEREND SHEPHERD, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PASSION. THANK YOU. SAME QUESTION. IN YOUR VIEW, WHAT DISTINGUISHES PUBLIC PURPOSE HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATIONS FROM PRIVATE HOUSING DEVELOPERS, AND HOW SHOULD THAT AFFECT BOARD DECISION MAKING? I'M GLAD YOU ASKED THAT. I'M GOING TO APPROACH IT THIS WAY. I TRULY BELIEVE THAT. WHAT THE GARLAND HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION, DO THEY AFFORD OPPORTUNITY? NOT ONLY DO THEY AFFORD OPPORTUNITY, BUT THEY ALSO GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR AS EXTENDING THOSE DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM CLOSING COSTS.O BE HONEST, AS A REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL, I'VE WORKED WITH A LOT OF DEVELOPERS AND NOT ALL, BUT MOST DEVELOPERS ARE NORMALLY AFTER THE BOTTOM LINE.

IT DOESN'T MAKE THEM SENSE. IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. I DON'T THINK THAT THE CORPORATION THINKS THAT WAY. I THINK IF THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE INDIVIDUAL, THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE FAMILY AND THEY'RE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY. SO IF YOU ASK ME TO, WHAT DIFFERENTIATES THE TWO? ONE GIVES THE OTHER ONE. IF I CAN SAY TAKE BY WAY OF MAKING SURE THAT IF NOTHING ELSE, THEIR BOTTOM LINE IS MET, THAT WHAT DIFFERENTIATES THE TWO? THAT'S FAIR. THANK YOU SIR.

COUNCILMEMBER LUCK. HI. HELLO. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TONIGHT. I'LL ASK THE SAME QUESTION I ASKED OF THE OTHERS. GIVE ME A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN. GARLAND ON THE RISE. THE TEN YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN ADOPTED THIS JUNE. SAY, I'D LIKE THE PLAN BECAUSE ONE OF THE ASPECTS OF THE PLAN, AS I WAS LOOKING AT THAT, WAS FOCUSING MORE ON INCREASING THE TAX REVENUE BY WAY OF EXTENDING OPPORTUNITIES COMMERCIALLY. I THINK THE OTHER PLAN IS LOOKING AT WHAT WE HAVE EXISTING NOW, BE IT EXISTING COMMERCIAL PROPERTY, RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES THAT MAY BE IN WHAT WE CALL DISARRAY, BRINGING THOSE UP TO MARKET AND THEN INCREASING THE TAX VALUE THERE. I THINK IT'S A GREAT PLAN BECAUSE WE'RE NOT LOOKING AWAY FROM WHAT WE HAVE HERE IN GARLAND AND A LOT OF PARTS OF GARLAND, A LOT OF OUR DISTRICTS, IT REALLY NEEDS TO LOOK AT TO BE REVITALIZED. AND I THINK THAT OVER THAT TEN YEAR PLANS, WE REVITALIZE WHAT WE HAVE, INCREASING THOSE VALUES. WE CAN INCREASE THE TAX VALUE ON WHAT WE HAVE EXISTING, AS WELL AS THE CORRIDORS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON, TRYING TO GET THE VISIBILITY FROM 635 INTO GARLAND, I BELIEVE THAT WOULD BRING ON MORE COMMERCIAL PARTNERS AS WELL. SO I BELIEVE THAT THAT'S A GREAT STRATEGIC PLAN. NOT ONLY THAT, I THINK NOT I THINK I KNOW THAT IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. SO INCREASE TAX BASE FROM BOTH THE EXISTING AND THEN PULLING IN COMMERCIAL PARTNERS. IT'S A GREAT PLAN. I LIKED HOW YOU MENTIONED THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING DOESN'T NECESSARILY LOOK LIKE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, RIGHT? BECAUSE MANY PEOPLE HEAR THAT AND THEY THINK LIKE THE PROJECTS OR WHATEVER. THAT'S SIMPLY NOT THE CASE. I'M GLAD THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT.

HOWEVER, GARLAND DOES HAVE TWO AND A HALF TIMES MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAN 26 CITIES SURROUNDING US. SO HOW DO YOU FEEL? WHAT IS YOUR STRATEGY FOR ANY KIND OF OPEN LAND THAT WE HAVE THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE REVITALIZATION? AND HOW WILL YOU. HOW WILL YOU ADDRESS THAT IF YOU'RE ON THE BOARD, ANY OPEN LAND THAT'S NOT UP FOR DEVELOPMENT. I BELIEVE IN THE GREEN SPACE, MOST DEFINITELY. I THINK WE NEED TO MAINTAIN AS MUCH GREEN SPACE AS POSSIBLE WHILE THERE ARE OPEN LAND THAT'S AVAILABLE, AND IT'S MAYBE AVAILABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT, I WOULD SAY THAT WE REALLY NEED TO CONSIDER, IN MY OPINION, MAJORITY OF THAT SPACE, AT LEAST GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BE IT SINGLE FAMILY DWELLINGS,

[00:45:05]

THANK YOU MAYOR. THANK YOU PASTOR. THANK YOU FOR APPLYING. AND THANK YOU FOR YEARS OF SERVICE AND CONTINUE TO SERVE THE UNIFIED BUILDING STANDARD COMMISSION FOR DISTRICT ONE.

APPRECIATE IT. SO I HAVE A SAME QUESTION WITH OTHERS. MR. VALENCIA'S MR. SHOW MOVED TO PARIS EARLIER. SO YOU WOULD BE THE CITY REPRESENTATIVE ON THE GARLAND HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION THAT OPERATE INDEPENDENTLY FROM THE CITY AND PARTNER WITH DEVELOPERS. SO IF THE CORPORATION WANT TO DO SOMETHING THAT WAS GOOD FOR THE CORPORATION BUT IS BAD FOR GARLAND RESIDENT, WHAT WOULD YOU DO AND WHO WOULD YOU TELL? GREAT. LET ME LET ME IF I COULD LET ME ATTACK THAT THIS WAY. THE PREVIOUS APPLICANT WAS ASKED IF HE KNEW THE TERM OF THIS COMMITMENT. SIX YEARS IS THE LONG TERM. I BELIEVE THAT THE CURRENT BOARD THAT SITS ON THIS CORPORATION HAS BEEN TOGETHER FOR, AT A MINIMUM SIX YEARS. QUITE SURE. THERE'S A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE, A WEALTH OF WISDOM THAT THOSE INDIVIDUALS KNOW HAND AND FOOT, WHAT'S DOABLE, WHAT'S NOT. BUT TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, SHOULD THAT EVER ARISE, I BELIEVE IN PROTOCOL, I REALLY DO. I FEEL THAT IF I HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE, I HAVE A VOICE AT THE TABLE, AND I SHOULD VOICE THAT CONCERN OPENLY. SECONDLY, I FEEL THAT I WOULD NOT FEEL I KNOW I WOULD TAKE IT TO THE CHAIRPERSON BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT THE UTMOST RESPECT WOULD BE THAT I WILL PULL HIM OR HER TO THE SIDE AS MY LEADER, AS CHAIRPERSON, AND BRING THAT TO THEIR ATTENTION. THAT'S THE FIRST THING THAT I WOULD DO, AND I WILL BE REALLY DEPENDENT UPON THEM AND TRUSTING THAT THEY WILL MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION, NOT ONLY FOR THE CORPORATION BUT FOR THE CITIZENRY HERE IN GARLAND. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MAYOR.

THANK YOU SIR, COUNCILMEMBER THOMAS, THANK YOU FOR COMING DOWN HERE. MR. SHEPARD, YOU CAME OUT OF THE PROJECTS IN EAST TEXAS. THAT IS CORRECT, TO BECOME A HIGHLY REGARDED CITIZEN HERE IN THE CITY OF GARLAND, AS BEST I CAN TELL. YES. THANK YOU. I, I KNOW CLASS 44 WAS JUST A LITTLE BIT BETTER THAN 43. AND I THI COUNCIL MEMBER CARAWAY WILL TESTIFY TO THAT AS WELL. SO HOW DO YOU SEE YOU YOU CAME OUT OF THE PROJECTS AND YOU'VE DONE VERY WELL, SIR. HOW DO YOU SEE THIS AS HELPING OTHER PEOPLE DO THE SAME THING THAT YOU DID? IT'S GOING TO GIVE THEM HOPE. EVERY WEEKEND THAT I WENT TO MY COUSINS, WE HAD A MOTHER AND A FATHER, THREE BEDROOM, TWO BATH IN THE BACKYARD. IT GAVE ME HOPE. THE TWO OLDER SIBLINGS DROPPED OUT AT 10TH GRADE EDUCATION. I SWORE TO MYSELF, ONE DAY, I'M ON MY OWN. JUST NEED TO GIVE THEM HOPE. I FEEL WE GIVE PEOPLE HOPE JUST BY AFFORDABLE HOUSING. CITIZENS WILL ACT RIGHT. THEY'LL WALK RIGHT, THEY'LL TALK RIGHT. THEY'LL TREAT EACH OTHER RIGHT.

IT'LL GIVE THEM HOPE. YEAH, THAT'S THAT'S A GREAT ANSWER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MAYOR.

THANK YOU SIR. MY FINAL QUESTION FOR YOU IS WHAT'S YOUR OPINION OF HOUSE BILL 21 FROM TEXAS LEGISLATURE IN 2025 2125? I AM AN ADVOCATE, SO IT THIS WAY. I AM AN ADVOCATE OF PUBLIC

[00:50:12]

FROM A REVENUE GENERATING PERSPECTIVE. IN SHORT, THAT WOULD BE MY POINT. THANK YOU SIR, I SEE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS. I APPRECIATE YOU PLAYING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. MADAM SECRETARY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL OUR NEXT SPEAKER, OUR NEXT APPLICANT, SHERRY CROSBY WHEELER. ALL RIGHT, MA'AM. PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND TELL US WHY YOU'RE APPLYING FOR THIS FOR. LAST BUT NOT LEAST. YES, MA'AM. I AM SHERI CROSBY WHEELER, AND AS I'M SITTING LISTENING TO EVERYONE, WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH MY MIND IS SERVICE IS THE RENT THAT WE PAY TO BE ON THIS EARTH. AND THAT'S WHY ALL THE THINGS THAT I DO IN DIFFERENT CAPACITIES, BOARDS, ETC. IT'S BECAUSE I LIKE TO SERVE AND I KNOW I HAVE TO SERVE. I CAN'T JUST SIT AT HOME AND GO ABOUT MY DAY AND NOT BE CONCERNED ABOUT ANYBODY ELSE. SO THAT'S WHY I APPLIED FOR THIS BOARD. I HAVE APPLIED FOR ANOTHER BOARD IN GARLAND, BUT I DIDN'T GET IT, WHICH IS FINE. I SAID, LET ME TRY AGAIN. LET ME LOOK IN MY LITTLE NEWSPAPER THAT CAME. LET ME SEE. OH, WHAT ELSE IS THERE AVAILABLE? AND I SAW THIS ONE AND IT CAUGHT MY EYE. AND SO ALONG WITH ALL THE OTHER SERVICE I DO, I SAID, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO DO SERVICE IN THE CITY WHERE I LIVE. I HAVEN'T LIVED HERE VERY LONG, BUT I'M A TEXAN AND THAT'S WHY I APPLIED. THANK YOU MA'AM.

COUNCIL QUESTIONS. COUNCIL MEMBER LUCK. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TONIGHT. YES. WILL YOU BRIEFLY DESCRIBE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN? GARLAND ON THE RISE. SO LIKE A COUPLE OF THE OTHER CANDIDATES, I HAVEN'T LOOKED AT IT YET, BUT IF I WAS IN THE POSITION IF I WAS AFFORDED THE OPPORTUNITY, OBVIOUSLY THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT I WOULD LOOK AT AND MAKE SURE THAT DECISIONS THAT WERE MADE, ALIGNED WITH THAT STRATEGIC PLAN. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER MOORE. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH, MAYOR. MISS CROSBY. YES. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR APPLYING. MY QUESTION TO YOU IS, IN YOUR VIEW, WHAT DISTINGUISHES PUBLIC PURPOSE HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATIONS FROM PRIVATE HOUSING DEVELOPERS, AND HOW SHOULD THAT AFFECT BOARD DECISION MAKING? SO THE OPTIMAL WORD PUBLIC VERSUS PRIVATE PUBLIC IS FOCUSING ON THE PEOPLE AND SPECIFICALLY THE PEOPLE OF GARLAND VERSUS A PRIVATE DEVELOPER. THEY MAY BE FOCUSING ON THE MONEY AND THE BOTTOM LINE. SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE, THE LINE THAT I WOULD ALWAYS BE THINKING ABOUT. IN MAKING SURE THAT THOSE TWO ARE NOT GETTING TOO ENTANGLED. BECAUSE IF I'M ON THAT, ON THE GARLAND, YOU KNOW, FINANCING BOARD, THEN I'M SUPPOSED TO BE FOCUSED ON THE PUBLIC. THAT'S I MEAN, FIRST AND FOREMOST, THAT'S, THAT'S WHO THAT'S THE NORTH STAR. SO I THINK THAT'S THE WAY THAT THE DECISIONS WOULD GO THROUGH MY MIND. AND THAT'S THE DISTINCTION THAT'S MADE FOR ME. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR, SIR. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. COUNCILMEMBER, THANK YOU MAYOR. THANK YOU FOR APPLYING.

SO I HAVE THE SAME QUESTION WITH THE FOUR CANDIDATES. I'M GOING TO REPEAT THE SAME. SO YOU WOULD BE THE CITY REPRESENTATIVE ON THE GARLAND HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION AND THAT OPERATE INDEPENDENTLY OF THE CITY AND PARTNERS WITH THE PRIVATE DEVELOPERS. SO IF THE CORPORATION THAT WANTED TO DO SOMETHING THAT WAS GOOD FOR THE CORPORATION AND IS BAD FOR GARLAND RESIDENTS, WHAT WOULD YOU DO AND WHO WOULD YOU TELL? SO BEING LIKE A JUNIOR MEMBER, BECAUSE I WOULD BE NEW, I WOULD GO TO OBVIOUSLY, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THE BOARD WHO HAVE MORE

[00:55:03]

THAT'S NOT THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW CHAPTER. I THINK IT'S 364. I'M NOT 100% SURE, BUT I STARTED LOOKING AND I JUST THOUGHT, I'M GLAD THAT THAT LOOPHOLE WAS CLOSED BECAUSE IT DOESN'T SEEM TO SARE WITH THE PURPOSE OF HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATIONS. AND SO THAT'S MY THOUGHT ON IT. I WAS LIKE, GOOD. I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT, BUT I'M GLAD I KNOW MAKING THAT DECISION HERE IN JUST A FEW MINUTES FOR APPOINTMENT. I WAS GOING TO HAVE TO TABLE ITEMS SIX AND SEVEN UNTIL AFTER OUR RECESS. I DO WANT TO SAY THAT WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBERS ON ITEM EIGHT, COUNCIL MEMBER TRAN, ITEM NINE, COUNCIL MEMBER CARAWAY, ITEM TEN, COUNCIL MEMBER SCOTT AND ITEM NUMBER 12. COUNCIL DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM DUTTON HAS APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ON ITEM NUMBER 11. COUNCIL MEMBER LUCK IS PULLING HER NOMINATION AND WE WILL BE MAKING THOSE APPOINTMENTS HERE IN JUST A FEW MINUTES. SO COUNCIL AT 657, WE'RE GOING INTO RECESS, AND WE'LL RECONVENE IN REGULAR SESSION TH.

[6. Garland Housing Finance Corporation (GHFC) Annual Report]

ALL RIGHT, HONORABLE DAVID GIBBONS, WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU HERE TODAY, SIR. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. I KNOW HOW YOU ARE WITH TECHNOLOGY. YOU KNOW ME AND TECHNOLOGY. I SAW THAT LOOK ON YOUR FACE. YEAH. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

WE'RE GOING TO RUN THESE SLIDES AT 1.5 TIMES AND SPEED THINGS UP FOR YOU GUYS. I'LL TRY TO BE THOROUGH, BUT AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE. HOW ABOUT THAT, MR. MAYOR? THANK YOU.

CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. MR. BATS, IT'S OUR PLEASURE TO JOIN YOU GUYS ONCE AGAIN FOR OUR ANNUAL REPORT. CITY COUNCIL. IT'S BEEN A. 2025 WAS A STRANGE YEAR FOR US, BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF EXCITING THINGS TO REPORT TO YOU. AND THEN WE HAVE NOT NOT AS MUCH EXCITING NEWS TO SHARE WITH YOU ABOUT WHAT WE THINK OUR FUTURE LOOKS LIKE AT HFC. BUT, BUT LET US GET STARTED. AS YOU KNOW, THERE ARE FIVE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD DON'T NEED TO REMIND YOU THAT YOU JUST APPOINTED ONE OF OUR NEWEST MEMBERS, MR. ARMAGNAC, WHOSE TERM EXPIRED IN THIS YEAR, HAS CHOSEN NOT TO APPLY FOR REAPPOINTMENT. AND YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN KIND ENOUGH TO APPOINT MR. VOLUNTEER TO TO JOIN US ON THE TEAM, AND WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. IN ADDITION TO OUR BOARD MEMBERS, THE BOARD MEMBER APPOINTED DALE ADAMS, WHO'S OUR PRESIDENT, HAS BEEN OUR PRESIDENT FOR THE LAST SIX YEARS, IS WITH ME HERE ALSO OUR VICE PRESIDENT, DOLORES ELDER

[01:00:01]

SINCE WE STARTED THE PROGRAM IN IN 2008, I BELIEVE WAS WHEN THE PROGRAM STARTED. WE HAVE FUNDED A DATE FOR LOANS TOTALING $91 MILLION WORTH OF MORTGAGES FOR FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS IN GARLAND. AGAIN, WE SHARED WITH YOU PREVIOUSLY, AS OF THE END OF 25, WE'VE ONLY HAD TWO FORECLOSURES IN THE TERM IN THE LENGTH OF THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN GOING ON. THIS PROGRAM IS DESIGNED FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED HELP TO GET INTO THEIR HOME. IN THE BEGINNING OF THOSE 401 LOANS THAT WE HAVE CREATED OVER THE LIFE OF THE PROGRAM, OVER 340 OF THEM ARE STILL IN EXISTENCE, THAT PEOPLE ARE STILL IN THEIR HOMES. THE THE LOAN STAYS IN PLACE. IT'S INTEREST FREE. UNTIL YOU EITHER SELL YOUR HOME, REFINANCE YOUR HOME, OR PAY OFF THE FIRST MORTGAGE. BECAUSE THE MORTGAGE CREDIT PROGRAM IS TIED TO THE TO THE FIRST MORTGAGE. SO WHAT WE SEE HERE, THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT JUST GETTING THIS AND USING IT TO BUY A HOME AND THEN FLIP IT AND GET OUT OF IT. THEY'RE STAYING IN THEIR HOMES HERE IN GARLAND AND BEING LONG TERM MEMBERS OF OUR FAMILY HERE. AS YOU CAN SEE, WE FUNDED 85 LOANS IN 2025. THAT'S UP FROM 80 IN 2024. THE NEXT SLIDE WILL KIND OF TELL YOU THE CHALLENGE THAT WE FACE IS THAT YOU SEE THE AMOUNT OF THE MORTGAGE FACE VALUE OF THE MORTGAGES THAT ARE BEING TAKEN HAVE LEVELED OUT FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS, AND THAT IS DUE TO THE LIMITATIONS FROM THE INCOME LIMITS THAT PEOPLE CAN'T QUALIFY FOR MORTGAGES HIGHER THAN WHAT WE SEE AS JUST AVERAGE, WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN 2026, AND WE'LL BE REPORTING TO YOU NEXT YEAR, IS WE'VE SEEN A DRAMATIC DROP OFF IN APPLICATIONS FOR THIS PROGRAM. WE HAVE ONLY FUNDED 24 LOANS SO FAR THIS YEAR. WE BELIEVE THAT IS A COMBINATION OF THE OVERALL ECONOMY IN ITSELF AND THE UNKNOWNS THAT PEOPLE FACE WITH CURRENT MORTGAGE RATES, AS WELL AS CURRENT INFLATION RATES. IN ADDITION TO AT THIS LEVEL OF MORTGAGE LEVELS, THE AVAILABLE POT OF HOMES TO CHOOSE FROM IS CONTINUES TO SHRINK BECAUSE PRICES OF HOUSES KEEP GOING UP. SO THERE'S FEWER HOMES THAT PEOPLE CAN AFFORD AT THIS AT THIS PRICE POINT THAT THEY CAN QUALIFY FOR. SO WE ARE HOPEFUL THAT WE SEE AN UPTICK AT THE FOR THE LAST PART OF THIS YEAR. BUT RIGHT NOW, THE NUMBERS DO NOT LOOK GOOD IN TERMS OF MATCHING WHAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST. WE DID A QUICK BREAKDOWN.

SO YOU CAN SEE BY COUNCIL DISTRICT THIS REPRESENTS THE 85 LOANS THAT WERE FUNDED IN 2025,

[01:05:07]

A NEW FAMILY MOVED INTO THIS HOME IN EARLY 2026. THIS ONE WAS FINISHED RIGHT TOWARD THE END OF 2025 ON CUMBERLAND DRIVE. COUNCIL MEMBER CARAWAY CAME TO OUR OPEN HOUSE WE HAD THERE, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE WAS A HOUSE THAT WAS THERE BEFORE. IT WAS A LITTLE 831 SQUARE FOOT, TWO BEDROOM, ONE BATH HOME THAT WE RAISED. I WENT BACK WITH A FOUR BEDROOM, TWO BATH. NEW CONSTRUCTION HOME. THIS HOME IS SET TO CLOSE NEXT WEEK TO A NEW FAMILY. FIRST TIME HOME BUYER IN GARLAND. COUNCILMAN. YOU'LL HAVE TWO NEW VOTERS IN YOUR DISTRICT. RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET WAS 1802 CUMBERLAND. THIS. THIS HOUSE WAS FINISHED IN EARLY 26, AND THE CLOSING ON THIS HOUSE WAS ABOUT A MONTH AGO. FAMILIES ALREADY MOVED INTO THIS HOUSE. RUSSELL DRIVE.

THIS WAS A VACANT LOT THAT WE PURCHASED BACK IN 2021. WE SUBDIVIDED THE LOT AND BUILT THESE TWO HOMES AGAIN IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY. IT'S BEEN A LONG DAY AND I KNOW YOU WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE. I JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU SOME QUICK NOTES HERE. THIS TRACT OF LAND PRIOR TO US PURCHASING AND BUILDING THESE HOMES HAD A VALUE OF $125,000, AND THE TAXES TO THE CITY WERE $389 A YEAR BECAUSE IT HAD TO ADD CLASSIFICATION. THESE TWO HOUSES NOW ARE GENERATING OVER $4,500 A YEAR IN TAXES TO THE CITY. AND SO NOT ONLY ARE WE WORKING WITH THE CITY IN PARTNERSHIP TO DELIVER HOMES TO FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS, WE'RE ADDING TO THE TO THE TAX BASE OF THE CITY AND, AND PROVIDING THOSE AFFORDABLE HOMES THAT PEOPLE NEED FOR THEIR FIRST TIME PURCHASES. WE OWN SEVERAL MORE TRACTS OF LAND THAT WE WILL HOPEFULLY BE PARTNERING, PARTNERING WITH YOU GUYS OVER THE NEXT. I DON'T KNOW WHAT I DID. THIS IS A HOUSE AT 145 EAST WANDA. IT WAS 730FT■S. WE RAISED THAT. THIS WILL BE ONE OF THE NEXT LOTS THAT WE LOOK TO DEVELOP WITH THE CITY. WE ALSO OWN THIS PROPERTY AT 215 GLENFIELD. AGAIN, IT WAS A SMALL TWO BEDROOM, ONE BATH HOUSE AT 884FT■S. A GARDEN DRIVE WAS 840FT■S, AND ALL THESE WILL BE GOING BACK WITH FOUR BEDROOM PLUS HOMES DESIGNED FOR FAMILIES. I MEANT TO MENTION. AT 1802 CUMBERLAND, I MET THE FAMILY AT CLOSING, AND THIS YOUNG FAMILY WITH FOUR KIDS, AND THOSE KIDS ARE SO EXCITED ABOUT HAVING ALL THEIR OWN BEDROOMS. AND I THINK MOM WAS VERY EXCITED TO GET ALL THOSE KIDS THEIR OWN BEDROOMS TO. OH, THAT WAS A THAT WAS 600 RAYBURN. AGAIN, ANOTHER HOUSE THAT WE PURCHASED AND LOOKING FOR REDEVELOPMENT THERE. 83501 NEIMAN SCHOOL ROAD. THIS WAS A LARGE TRACT, HAD AN OLD FARM, AN OLD BARN, A LITTLE FARMHOUSE. OUR PLANS THERE WILL BE TO SUBDIVIDE THIS TRACT INTO THREE LOTS. BE ABLE TO PUT THREE HOUSES THERE. WE'RE WAITING FOR. I'M SURE, AS ALL OF YOU ARE.

THE COMPLETION OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF NEIMAN SCHOOL ROAD. BEFORE WE TRY TO DO ANY DEVELOPMENT THERE. SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. LAST OF WHAT WE HOLD FOR RESALE, THE ONE AND ONLY FAMOUS 1922 CASTLE FOR THE NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS. WE PURCHASED THIS PROPERTY BACK IN 2021. THERE WAS A DILAPIDATED, DECREPIT NURSING HOME THERE. IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN SEEING THE PHOTOGRAPHS THAT WE MADE, LET ME KNOW AND I'LL EMAIL THEM TO YOU. WE'VE HAD TO BLUR OUT ALL OF THE PROFANITIES THAT WERE SPRAY PAINTED ON THE SIDES OF THE BUILDINGS. IT WAS THE BUILDING HAD ALL THE ELECTRICAL WIRING PULLED OUT, HAD ALL THE COPPER PULLED OUT, ALL THE

[01:10:04]

CONSTRUCTION IS GOING ON. WE HAVE ALL OF THE UTILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE IN NOW. WE HOPE TO START POURING PARKING LOTS AND DRIVEWAYS THIS WEEK. THE CHALLENGE HAS BEEN TRYING TO DO RETAINING WALL AND STABILIZATION ALONG THE CREEK TO MAKE THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT HAPPY, BUT HOPEFULLY WE WILL SEE VERTICAL CONSTRUCTION BEGIN SOMETIME IN MID OCTOBER. I'M HOPEFUL. IN 2024, WE PURCHASED 1000 AVENUE A, WEST AVENUE A. IT IS 12 UNITS. IT IS DESIGNED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING. IT IS AT A 60% AMI LIMITATION. WHEN WE PURCHASED THE PROPERTY, IT HAD BEEN OWNED BY THE SAME FAMILY SINCE 1971. THAT FAMILY HAD PUT APPROXIMATELY $12.85 INTO THE PROPERTY SINCE 1971, AND SO WE HAVE SPENT TO DATE OVER HALF $1 MILLION IN IMPROVEMENTS TO THE PROPERTY. I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU SOME FREE ADVICE. IF YOU PURCHASE A PROPERTY THAT WAS BUILT IN 1967, PLEASE CHECK THE PLUMBING BEFORE YOU CLOSE. A SEWER LINE IS 5100 $0 IS THE GOING PRICE FOR SEWER LINE THESE DAYS, JUST SO YOU KNOW.

SO WE'VE WE'VE HAD SOME HICCUPS THERE, BUT WE HAVE NEW WATER LINES. WE HAVE NEW SEWER LINES.

WE'VE DONE INTERIOR RENOVATIONS. THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE BEFORE WE DID THE RENOVATIONS.

AND NOW WE'VE GONE IN ALL NEW KITCHENS, ALL NEW BATHROOMS, ALL NEW FLOORING, NEW WINDOWS, NEW DOORS, ALL NEW AIR CONDITIONING. VERY, VERY PROUD OF WHAT WE'VE DONE OVER THERE.

IT'S JUST BEEN A GREAT TURNAROUND IN. IN THE IN THE PROPERTY. IT WAS IT WAS PRETTY NASTY. WE HAD SOME UNSEEMLY RESIDENTS THAT WE HAD TO DEAL WITH, BUT WE'RE TICKLED TO DEATH NOW WITH WITH OUR RESIDENT PROFILE. AGAIN, JUST SO YOU HAVE SOME IDEA AT A 60% AMI THE MAXIMUM INCOME SOMEO CAN CAN A SINGLE PERSON CAN MAKE IS $49,000 A YEAR. TWO PEOPLE IS $56,000 A YEAR, OR A FAMILY OF FOUR $70,000 A YEAR MAXIMUM. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE'RE DOING RENTAL RATES, A ONE BEDROOM, THERE IS ONLY 975 A MONTH, AND A TWO BEDROOM IS ONLY $1,200 A MONTH. SO WE'VE BEEN VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT OWNERSHIP POSITION. IN ADDITION, IN 2025, WE DONATED THROUGH GRANTS AND OTHER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, $685,000. ALL THESE PROGRAMS THAT WE MADE CONTRIBUTIONS TO ARE ALL DESIGNED FOR PEOPLE MAKING 80% OR LESS OF THE AREA MEDIAN INCOME FOR THE CITY. WE FUNDED $540,000 GRANT FOR FOR THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT GROUP. AND AGAIN, I WANT TO SAY A GREAT THANKS TO JASON WILLETT AND HIS TEAM OF BEING ABLE TO NOT ONLY DO THE INTAKE OF THE APPLICANTS HERE, BUT ALSO OVERSEE THE, THE, THE REPAIRS. THIS IS THE FIFTH YEAR THAT WE HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THIS GRANT PROGRAM FOR THE CITY. TO DATE, WE HAVE AWARDED $2.3 MILLION TO THE CITY FOR THESE HOME REPAIR GRANTS. 28 FAMILIES WERE ASSISTED IN 2025. TO DATE, 127 FAMILIES HAVE BEEN ASSISTED IN THE CITY, OF WHICH 65% WERE ELDERLY AND 26% WERE WERE DISABLED. THIS KIND OF GIVES YOU A LIST. WHAT WE DID, YOU CAN SEE THAT PLUMBING, WATER SUPPLY AND WASTEWATER LINE REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT IS IS A BIG THING. ALSO A LOT IN TERMS OF EXTERIOR PAINTING AND SIDING REPLACEMENT. A LOT OF THIS CAME FROM ISSUES WITH CODE COMPLIANCE OF WHERE WE HAD CODE CARES ASSISTANCE. AND THEN THE ONE THING THAT'S KEPT JASON AND HIS TEAM BUSY IS HVAC. IN THE SUMMERTIME, WE'VE WE SEE A LOT OF FAILURES. AND SO WE'VE DONE A LOT OF HVAC REPLACEMENTS AND REPAIRS AND A LOT OF. ALSO ELECTRICAL PANELS, REPAIRS. YOU CAN SEE SOME PHOTOGRAPHS HERE IN A SECOND. BEFORE I GET TO THE PHOTOGRAPHS AGAIN, THIS IS BY COUNCIL DISTRICT OF WHERE

[01:15:02]

THE ONE ON THE LEFT HERE. THIS. THIS HOUSE HAD NO KITCHEN. EVERYTHING WAS JUST KIND OF STACKED AROUND A FENCE THAT WE THAT JASON AND HIS TEAM DID AS A RESULT OF OF CODE COMPLIANCE REQUEST. I DON'T KNOW WHY I CAN'T I'LL TRY THAT. THIS IS A RESIDING AND REPAINT ANOTHER BATHROOM THAT WAS REDONE. THESE BATHROOMS WERE BEING DONE FOR HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE WHERE PEOPLE COULD NOT GET INTO THE TUBS. AND SO THESE ARE DESIGNED FOR, FOR ROLLING AND THE NEW AC AND AGAIN, NEW PAINTING, NEW ROOFS. AS YOU CAN SEE, THE ONE ON THE TOP LEFT HAD SUFFERED A LOT OF WOOD ROT OVER THE YEARS. SO AGAIN, THESE ARE FOLKS MAKING LESS THAN 80% AMI THEY'RE IN THEIR HOME. THEY NEED HELP. AND THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, WE'VE BEEN EXCITED TO PARTNER WITH THE CITY TO, TO PROVIDE THE FUNDING FOR, FOR THOSE REPAIRS. THESE ARE DONE IN CONJUNCTION WITH CDBG REPAIRS. AND A LOT OF THESE, WE'RE USING GPHC DOLLARS TO SUPPLEMENT CBDG DOLLARS WHEN THERE'S A LIMITATION. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW THE LIMITATIONS, BUT I THINK 25,000 IS THE MAX YOU CAN AWARD TO ONE PERSON, AND THEN YOU CAN ONLY GET A GRANT EVERY FIVE YEARS AND ALL SORTS OF RESTRICTIONS. SO WE, WE SAID TO THE, THE CITY TEAM, WE DON'T WANT TO PUT ANY RESTRICTIONS ON THESE DOLLARS. USE THEM FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED NEED HELP. IN 2020, THERE WAS A TYPO THERE. THIS IS 2025. WE FUNDED $75,000 GRANT TO GSD EDUCATION FOUNDATION FOR VOCATIONAL AND ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIPS THAT WAS AWARDED TO 17 STUDENTS, ALL OF WHICH AGAIN, WERE FROM INCOME LIMITED FAMILIES IN GARLAND, FIVE FOR ARCHITECTURE, FIVE FOR ENGINEERING, THREE FOR ELECTRICIANS AND TWO FOR HVAC AND TWO RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION. SO THE PROGRAM IS BOTH FOR ACADEMIC AND VOCATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS. I NEED TO QUIT TOUCHING THAT. AND I IN 2024, WE AWARDED $200,000 TO THE SALVATION ARMY FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE IN GARLAND. TO DATE, THAT $200,000 HAS PROVIDED ASSISTANCE TO 35 FAMILIES IN GARLAND, 18, EXCUSE ME, 80% OF WHICH WERE FOR SINGLE FEMALE HEAD OF HOUSEHOLDS AND 2,626% ELDERLY AND DISABLED. AND AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE BY COUNCIL DISTRICT HOW FAMILIES WERE ASSISTED WITH WITH THAT GRANT. SO AS YOU AS YOU LOOK AT ALL THE DIFFERENT GRANTS AND THE VARIOUS COUNCIL DISTRICTS, YOU CAN SEE THAT EVERY DISTRICT IS GETTINGOME BENEFIT, SOME MORE THAN OTHERS WHERE THE NEED IS. BUT, BUT IT'S IT'S BEING SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE CITY. IN ADDITION, WE FUND RENTAL ASSISTANCE DIRECTLY TO THE PROPERTIES IN WHICH WE PARTNER IN THE CITY OF GARLAND, HOMETOWN, CITY SQUARE, FIREWHEEL, THE OLSON. AND IN 2025, WE DIRECTLY ASSISTED 17 FAMILIES TO THE TUNE OF $21,000 IN RENTAL ASSISTANCE. IN ADDITION TO THE SALVATION ARMY GRANT, WE FUNDED ALMOST $50,000 IN DIRECT CONTRIBUTIONS TO LOCAL NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, INCLUDING NAACP, AGATHA, GOOD SAMARITANS, HOPE CLINIC, NINTH STREET GYM, AND THE COUNSELING INSTITUTE OF TEXAS. AS YOU KNOW, WE ARE LIMITED, LIMITED ROLE PARTNERS AS GENERAL PARTNERS IN VARIOUS MULTIFAMILY, AFFORDABLE COMMUNITIES IN GARLAND AND OUTSIDE GARLAND. WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF HOUSE BILL 21 TO US IN A FEW MOMENTS. BUT AT THE END OF 25, WE WERE PARTNERS WITH DEVELOPERS IN JUST OVER 3000 RESIDENTIAL UNITS, OF WHICH 968 OF THOSE WERE SET ASIDE FOR SENIORS.

THOSE IN GARLAND INCLUDE THE AREA OVER ON BELTLINE. THIS PROPERTY JUST RECENTLY COMPLETED A $22 MILLION RENOVATION, WITH THE HELP OF SOME TAX EXEMPT BONDS THAT WE WERE INVOLVED IN THE FINANCING OF, AND THOSE ARE A RESULT OF SUPPORT OF FORMER COUNCIL MEMBER SMITH, AS WELL AS MAYOR PRO TEM, AND WE APPRECIATE THAT SUPPORT. IN ADDITION, HOMETOWN, WHICH IS AN ACTIVE SENIOR COMMUNITY ON CASTLE INTEGRATED REAL ESTATE, IS OUR PARTNER THERE. THAT PROPERTY. WE'VE BEEN PARTNERS SINCE 2011. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS PROPERTY ACTUALLY HAS 30%. AM I, WHICH IS LIKE LESS THAN $20,000 A YEAR, INCOME LIMITATIONS AND

[01:20:08]

IS WHERE OUR OFFICES ARE. OUR PARTNER THERE IS INTEGRATED REAL ESTATE. ALSO. THIS IS A WORKFORCE PROJECT OF WHICH 52% IS AN 80% AM I AND 48% IS AT A MARKET RATE. WATER NEAR GARLAND IS OUR NEWEST SENIOR COMMUNITY. IT'S ON, ON ON THE BUSH RIGHT NEAR CAMPBELL. IT IS 80% AM I AND 49% MARKET RATE. THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL PROPERTY FOR SENIORS. IT NOT ONLY IS FOR SENIOR LIVING, THEY ALSO HAVE OPTIONS FOR. CARE, DINING, TRANSPORTATION. IT'S A. IT'S A ONE STOP SHOP FOR. FOR SENIORS WHO WANT TO GET OUT OF HOMEOWNERSHIP AND HAVE THE FACILITIES THERE FOR THEM. OUR NEWEST PROPERTY IS IN DISTRICT ACTIVELY INVOLVED WITH. THIS IS VERY SUPPORTIVE OF US IN THE OLSON. THIS IS AT BOBTOWN AND I-30. BEAUTIFUL PROPERTY, A GREAT ADDITION TO. TO THE DISTRICT THERE. OUR PARTNER IS THERE A STONE HAWK CAPITAL AND THEN HUNTINGTON PLACE SENIOR LIVING. THIS WAS A VACANT TRACT OF PROBLEMS IN DISTRICT TWO.

FORMER COUNCIL MEMBER MORRIS AND FORMER COUNCIL MEMBER BEARDWOOD WOULD SHARE WITH YOU THE CHALLENGES THAT. THAT VACANT TRACT OF LAND. HELPED HOST OF THE OF THE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD PEOPLE WHO ARE CHILDREN PRIMARILY WHO LIKE TO PARTY ON THE WEEKENDS THERE.

BUT WITH THE ASSISTANCE AND COOPERATION OF BOTH THE FORMER COUNCIL MEMBERS, WE WERE EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS AS 204 SENIOR UNITS BRAND NEW, IT'S 100% AFFORDABLE AT 60% AM I. IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN THERE YET, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL PROPERTY. THEY'RE PLANNING A GRAND OPENING SOMETIME BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR. I WILL MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF YOU GET INVITATIONS, BUT THIS IS ON EDGEFIELD, AND IT'S SURROUNDED BY 1950S AND 1960S PROPERTY. THIS IS THE FIRST NEW DEVELOPMENT IN THAT AREA, PROBABLY IN 40 YEARS. IT'S RIGHT ACROSS FROM THE NEW SKATE PARK. IT'S RIGHT ACROSS FROM CENTRAL PARK. AND SO IT'S BEEN A GREAT ADDITION. IT'S BEEN A GREAT DEMAND FOR, FOR, FOR RESIDENTS THERE. THAT'S KIND OF THE LIMITATION OR THE EXTENSION OF, OF FOR PRESENTATION. I WANT TO TELL YOU A COUPLE OF THINGS. HOUSE BILL 21. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE LONG TERM EFFECT OF THAT IS GOING TO BE. AND, YOU KNOW, WE COULD SIT HERE AND DEBATE THE MERITS OF HOUSE BILL 21. ALL NIGHT LONG. THERE WERE OBVIOUSLY BAD ACTORS IN THE CITY, EXCUSE ME, IN THE STATE WHO TOOK THE ORIGINAL HOUSE BILL 394 AND ABUSED IT. AND I WILL BE THE FIRST TO TELL YOU. IN FACT, WE WERE OUT BANGING THE DRUM WITH ALL THE OTHER FOLKS THAT WERE DOING THIS SAYING, YOU NEED TO STOP THIS BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO GET US ALL IN TROUBLE BECAUSE OF YOUR HOGGISH NEED FOR FEES. AND I SAY IT, WE CALL THEM ALL FEE PROSTITUTES. THAT WASN'T THE THAT WASN'T THE WORD I USED.

BUT THIS IS ALL ABOUT EARNING FEES. AND IT WAS FEES FOR THE ATTORNEYS AND THE PEOPLE THAT WERE ADVISING THEM. AND THERE'S A WHOLE HOST OF PROPERTIES, INCLUDING PROPERTIES HERE IN GARLAND THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER, EVER BEEN CONVERTED TO THIS FORM OF OWNERSHIP. IT WAS NOTHING BUT SIMPLY TAX EXEMPT REFINANCING, PLAIN AND SIMPLE. AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT, UNFORTUNATELY, THE FOLKS IN AUSTIN AND THEIR INTENT WISDOM DECIDED TO THROW THE BABY OUT WITH THE BATHWATER. AND RATHER THAN LOOKING AT THIS FROM A SANE WAY TO OF CORRECTING IT AND LETTING THE TEST THAT'S IN PLACE NOW MAKE THE CORRECTION TO THE MARKET, THEY JUST SAID IT'S ALL OVER JANUARY 1ST, 2027. SO WE HAVE G. HFC HAS NINE OUT OF JURISDICTION DEALS. I WILL TELL YOU THAT I PERSONALLY ANALYZED EVERY ONE OF THOSE NINE. AND I COULD SIT DOWN WITH

[01:25:05]

NONE OF THOSE DEALS WERE DONE ON PERFORMANCE. THEY WERE DONE ON ACTUAL NUMBERS. WE SAT DOWN WITH THE RENT ROLL AND SAID, IF WE DO THIS DEAL, THESE PEOPLE'S RENTS WILL BE REDUCED BY THIS AMOUNT IMMEDIATELY. AND IF SOMEBODY BROUGHT US ONE OF THOSE DEALS THAT THE RENTS WERE ALREADY AT 60% AND YOU WEREN'T GOING TO GET A RENTAL REDUCTION WITH THE TAX EXEMPTION, WE SAID NO. IN FACT, I TURNED DOWN WELL OVER 150 DEALS THAT WERE BROUGHT TO G. HFC BECAUSE WE WE DIDN'T WANT OUR NAME ON THAT. SO UNFORTUNATELY, WE THINK THAT WE HAD A WHITE HAT AND THAT WE DID THE RIGHT THING IN DEVELOPING OUR PROGRAM. UNFORTUNATELY, OTHER PEOPLE DIDN'T PLAY THE SAME. AND IT'S UNFORTUNATE, BUT WE ARE GOING TO BE PENALIZED BECAUSE OF THEIR BAD BEHAVIOR. OUR PROJECTIONS RIGHT NOW IS THAT WE BELIEVE OUR REVENUE WILL DROP APPROXIMATELY 60% ANNUALLY, WHICH IS ABOUT $1.2 MILLION WE THINK WILL DISAPPEAR IN TERMS OF FEES THAT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW. SO OUR 2026 REPORT WILL BE DRAMATICALLY SCALED BACK. WE HAVE SCALED BACK OUR 2026 GIVING. WE SCALED BACK OUR GRANTS TO THE CITY. WE SCALED BACK OUR GRANTS TO GISD. WE SCALED BACK OUR DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. WE'RE JUST HAVING TO BECAUSE WE SIMPLY DON'T HAVE THE REVENUES ANYMORE TO DO THAT. SO HOPEFULLY THAT WE WILL HAVE BETTER IDEAS OF THE KNOWN OF THE UNKNOWNS. WE ARE WORKING WITH BOTH THE TEXAS ASSOCIATION, EXCUSE ME, THE TEXAS AFFILIATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROVIDERS AND THE TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCIES OF TRYING TO GET SOME RELIEF, PARTICULARLY FOR THOSE THAT ARE 100% OWNED, FOR EXAMPLE, WE'VE GOT THE SAME PROBLEM WITH AVENUE A IS THAT WE'VE GOT TO COMPLY WITH THE SAME RULES FOR A 12 UNIT BUILDING THAT SOMEBODY WITH A 475 UNIT BUILDING HAS TO COMPLY WITH, AND IT COST US JUST AS MUCH. SO HOPEFULLY NEXT YEAR WE'LL HAVE A BETTER INDICATION OF WHAT OUR REVENUE IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE AND HOW WE CAN CONTINUE OUR PROGRAMS. THE ONE THING THAT I WILL TELL YOU, REGARDLESS OF THE REVENUE SITUATION, AND I MET WITH CITY MANAGER AND HE. GAVE ME A GREAT DETAIL OF REGARDING THEISE AND THE PROGRAM. AND WE SAY TO YOU TONIGHT, WE ARE FULLY COMMITTED TO PARTICIPATE AND ASSIST. CERTAINLY, ANY REDEVELOPMENT NEEDS. DIFFERENT LEVELS OF REVENUE. YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD IS THERE'S NO DOUBT THERE'S ENOUGH AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN GARND. THE PROBLEM IS IT'S THE WRONG AFFORDABLE HOUSING. AND SO IF WE CAN GO IN, IN AREAS WORKING WITH THE CITY AND TAKE OUT SOME OF THAT OLD 1950S AND 60S WINDOW UNITS FOR PIPE CHILLER SYSTEMS, NO ENERGY EFFICIENT 400 SQUARE FOOT EFFICIENCIES, AND REPLACE THAT WITH THINGS THAT LOOK LIKIKE HUNTINGTON PLACE AND FIREWHEEL AND THE OLSON. THEN WE WE'RE GOING WE'RE GOING TO BE GOOD PARTNERS WITH THE CITY, AND WE'RE FULLY COMMITTED TO THAT PARTNERSHIP AND HOW WE CAN CAN WORK WITH THE CITY IN THAT REDEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. MIKE AND I HAD A VERY GOOD CONVERSATION, AND I. I SUPPORT THE PROGRAM. THE BOARD SUPPORTS THE PROGRAM.

ANDO WE'RE HERE. FINDING THE RIGHT MIX AND THE RIGHT TYPE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HOW WE WORK WITH THE CITY IN HOW OLD STUFF GETS REPLACED. YOU KNOW, WE WANT WE WANT TO BE IN THAT ROLE BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT THROUGH OUR BOND PROGRAM, THAT WE CAN ISSUE THE BONDS THROUGH OUR PROGRAMS, THROUGH OUR OTHER PROGRAMS, THAT WE CAN BE A PLAYER IN THAT REDEVELOPMENT PROCESS. SO WITH THAT, MR. MAYOR, I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE TIRED. IT'S BEEN A LONG DAY, AND I'LL TRY TO ANSWER AS MANY QUESTIONS AS I CAN. THANK YOU, SIR, FOR THAT PRESENTATION. I DO HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS FOR YOU. WE'LL START WITH COUNCILMEMBER LUCK. HI. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING TONIGHT. ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU WAS GARLAND ON THE RISE? HOW WILL GHC PARTICIPATE IN THE REVITALIZATION REVITALIZATION EFFORTS OUTLINED BY THE PLAN,

[01:30:01]

UNCOOPERATIVE LANDLORD SELL. SO DOES THAT BECOME ZONING ISSUES? DOES THAT COME CODE COMPLIANCE? I WILL TELL YOU THAT I DELIVERED MEALS ON WHEELS, AND ALL OF US AS A SOCIETY SHOULD BE ASHAMED THAT THE VILLA DEL RIO EXISTS AND PEOPLE LIVE IN THOSE PLACES. AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S HIGR CODE COMPLIANCE ACTIVITY, IF THAT'S INCREASED STANDARDS OF WHAT IT IS. BUT WE CAN ALL WORK TOGETHER TO GET PRESSURE ON THOSE FOLKS TO MAKE THEM DO SOMETHING, RATHER THAN SIT THERE AND JUST COUNT THEIR CASH. I THINK THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR. AND LOOKING TOWARDS CITY MANAGEMENT TO MAKE TO EFFECT ON, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT SPECTRUM, THE AVERAGE AGE OF A FIRST TIME HOME BUYER NOW IS 40. SO WHAT'S THE AVERAGE AGE OF YOUR FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS, AND HOW ARE YOU TRYING TO BRIDGE THAT GAP FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE UNDER 40 TO BUY HOMES? AND ARE YOU EVEN ALLOWED TO LOOK AT AGE IN THAT RESPECT? I, I CAN'T ANSWER FROM AGE, I CAN TELL YOU, IS THAT THE OVERWHELMING NUMBER OF OUR BORROWERS HAVE SMALL CHILDREN. SO I HAVE TO ASSUME THAT THEY'RE NOT MAYBE IN THEIR 40S, I DON'T KNOW. I THINK WHAT WE HAVE TO. DEAL WITH IS THE FACT IS THE INCOME LIMITATION DRIVES THE BORROWING LIMITATION. AND SO THAT'S WHY OUR DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AT TEN GRAND LETS THEM BORROW MORE THAN NORMAL, BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE TO COME UP WITH SO MUCH MONEY CLOSING OR THE PROGRAM THAT WE DO AT THE HOME PROGRAM, FOR EXAMPLE, IT'S $500 TO MOVE IN, RIGHT? BUT AGAIN, TRYING TO FIND AND WHAT HAPPENS IS THERE'S THIS SPACE, IF YOU MAKE THIS LITTLE MONEY, YOU DON'T QUALIFY. IF YOU MAKE THIS MUCH MONEY, YOU DON'T, YOU'RE OVERQUALIFIED. SO YOU CAN'T GET IT. SO THERE'S, YOU GOT TO MAKE AT LEAST 49,000, BUT YOU CAN'T MORE THAN 65,000. AND SO YOU'VE GOT TO GO FIND THAT PERFECT PERSON WHO WANTS TO BUY A HOME IN THE $280,000 PRICE RANGE THAT DOESN'T EXIST IN THE HOUSE THAT FRED BUILT ON THE HOUSE,

[01:35:06]

THEY JUST WANT TO HELP PEOPLE. AND, YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE THAT WE HELP ARE PEOPLE. THESE PEOPLE HAVE JOBS. THESE PEOPLE HAVE TWO JOBS. THESE PEOPLE ARE EMPLOYED. THEY JUST WANT A HOUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY JUST WANT TO OWN A HOME. THEY WANT PART OF THE AMERICAN DREAM. AND THEY STAY IN THESE HOUSES. THEY PAY THEIR BILLS. I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S TRULY, IT'S NOT A, WE'RE OUT JUST DASHING OUT MONEY BECAUSE SOMEBODY ASKED FOR MONEY. I MEAN, THIS, THESE ARE TRULY PEOPLE THAT ARE THAT ARE BENEFITING FROM THESE FROM THESE PROGRAMS. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, MA'AM. DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM DENTON. FIRST, YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN DOING YOUR OWN VERSION OF GARLAND ON THE RISE THIS ENTIRE TIME. AND WE HAD WE HAD NO IDEA THAT WE SHOULD CALL IT THAT. I HAVE LOVED YOU GUYS AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO FOR THE CITY SINCE I FIRST HEARD ABOUT YOU. AND I THINK THAT YOU GUYS ARE VERY UNDERRATED AND UNDER KNOWN ABOUT AND LIKE YOU SAID, THAT THAT SMALL GAP THAT YOU HAVE INCOME WISE TO GET PEOPLE INTO A HOUSE ARE THE SAME PEOPLE THAT DON'T THINK THAT THEY WOULD QUALIFY FOR A HOUSE. SO THEY'RE NOT EVEN LOOKING. AND SO THE ODDS ARE DEFINITELY STACKED AGAINST YOU. OUR CITY OF GARLAND EMPLOYEES ELIGIBLE TO APPLY WITH YOU GUYS. ANYBODY YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE TO BE. YOU GOTTA LIVE IN THE HOUSE. IF YOU IF YOU LIVE IN GARLAND, YOU GOTTA MOVE THERE. IF YOU DON'T LIVE IN GARDEN, YOU GOTTA MOVE TO GARLAND. BUT ANYBODY CAN APPLY. IT'S THERE'S, THERE'S NO EXCEPTIONS TO ANYTHING I, I HAVE HEARD FROM QUITE A FEW OF OUR, OUR TEAM GARLAND PEOPLE THAT WOULD LOVE TO LIVE IN GARLAND BECAUSE THEY WORK HERE. AND SO I'VE SENT A FEW GUYS YOUR DIRECTION, BUT I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MAYBE SOME KIND OF EDUCATIONAL THING FROM THE CITY STANDPOINT TO, TO TEACH OUR EMPLOYEES THAT YOU GUYS EXIST AND MAYBE GET SOME OF OUR TEAM MEMBERS HERE IN GARLAND AND HOMEOWNERS AND LET THEM REALLY EXPERIENCE GARLAND THE WAY THAT THEY SHOULD. I, I THINK THAT THE POTENTIAL IS THERE BECAUSE I'VE, I'VE HEARD QUITE A FEW PEOPLE WITHIN OUR DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS EXPRESS, YOU KNOW, WANTING TO BUY A HOUSE. AND WITH THE ECONOMY, THEY LIVE FAR. NOW, THE GAS IS EXPENSIVE. AND SO NOW THEY'RE WANTING TO, YOU KNOW, GET AWAY FROM THE MELISSA AND THE ANNAS AND GET GET A LITTLE CLOSER. AND SO MAYBE THAT'S SOME KIND OF SOMETHING THAT WE CAN WORK ON TO, TO BRING YOU SOME FOLKS ADVERTISING THAT PERFECT, PERFECT. AND THEN ONE LAST THING. HOW CAN WE AS COUNCIL MEMBERS HELP YOU GUYS? YOU KNOW, I WILL T TELL YOU THAT WE LOVE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY.

I THINK WE'VE YOU KNOW, IT'S NO SECRET THAT PRIOR TO 2020, I DON'T KNOW, IT WAS A GREAT PARTICULAR RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO ORGANIZATIONS FOR WHATEVER REASON. BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE WE'VE FIGURED OUT WE DEVELOPED THIS GREAT SYNERGISTIC RELATIONSHIP. AND, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S SOMEBODY NEEDING A FENCE REPLACED OR. WHATEVER OF HELP OR THESE PROGRAMS WE DO, I THINK THAT. WE, WE CAN DO THINGS THAT THE CITY CAN'T DO. AND YOU CAN DO THINGS THAT WE CAN'T DO. AND SO I, I THINK HOW, YOU KNOW, HOW WE SIT DOWN AND BRAINSTORM HOW WE WORK TOGETHER TO, TO ACCOMPLISH THOSE, YOU KNOW, BEFORE HOUSE BILL 21, WE WERE HAPPY TO HAND OUT AS MUCH MONEY AS WE COULD. WE WERE JUST GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE FOCUSED ON, ON WHERE WE WHERE WE FOCUS OUR DOLLARS. BUT WE'RE LONG TERM PLAYERS HERE. ABSOLUTELY.

I MEAN, AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'RE BOTH TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH THE SAME THING.

EXACTLY. YOU GUYS HAVE A LITTLE DIFFERENT AVENUES TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT THAN WE DO. AND BUT AGAIN, AT THE, AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE JUST WANT TO HAVE THE BEST CITY THAT WE CAN HAVE AND HAPPY RESIDENTS. SO I, I THINK THAT WITH OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND OUR GARLAND CARES PROGRAM, I THINK THE THE PARTNERSHIP POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS. SO YEAH. AND WHAT WE

[01:40:02]

THANK YOU SIR. COUNCILMEMBER. HI THERE. YES, I'M LEARNING SO MUCH, I. FOR THAT I A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAD THAT I WROTE DOWN, THEY WERE ADDRESSED BY DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM DUTTON AND COUNCILWOMAN LOT, BUT I DO HAVE A COUPLE. SO HOW ARE THE THE APPLICATION PROCESS? HOW DOES THAT WORK? DO THEY EMAIL YOU OR DO THEY GO ON THIS WEBSITE AND THEY FILL THAT OUT? HOW DOES THE APPLICATION PROCESS WORK? MAYBE WE'RE NOT INVOLVED IN ANY OPERATIONS IN THIS. WE ARE JUST THE MONEY PEOPLE, RIGHT? SO IF SOMEONE WANTS TO RENT OUT A UNIT AT HUNTINGTON PLACE, THEY GO TO HUNTINGTON PLACE LIKE THEY WOULD GO TO, OKAY, IF SOMEONE WANTS TO APPLY FOR A LOAN, YOU CAN GO TO OUR WEBSITE AND THERE'S A LIST OF APPROVED LENDERS THAT PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM. OKAY. YOU'RE JUST A BACKUP BANK. YEAH. ALL THESE THINGS WE DO, IT'S ME AND A PART TIME ASSISTANT. SO I DON'T HAVE TIME TO TO PUT ON THE ROOF.

YES. YEAH. AND LEASE THE UNIT AND ALL THIS. SO OUR ROLE IS PRIMARILY IS ALWAYS BEHIND THE SCENES, JUST FINANCING. BUT BECAUSE WE'RE PARTNERS IN ALL THESE DEALS, WE LIKE TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT WE'RE PROVIDING IN TERMS OF HOUSING. WE DO OWN. AVENUE A 100% AND WE WILL OWN 19, 22, 100%. SO THOSE WE WILL AND PEOPLE CAN GO TO THE WEBSITE OR CALL OUR OFFICE FOR THOSE. OKAY. 1922 WILL BE FOR SENIORS ONLY WHERE AVENUE A IS MULTI-GENERATIONAL. BUT AGAIN, IT'S 12 UNITS. SO IT'S WE'RE BLESSED THAT NOT MANY VACANCIES.

SO OKAY. YEAH, BUT IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, THEN COUNCILMAN, THEY CAN CALL OUR OFFICE AND WE'LL REFER TO THEM SOMEBODY. WE'RE NOT GOING TO SAY, NO, I CAN'T HELP YOU, BUT WE TRY TO STAY OUT OF THE OPERATIONAL SIDE OF EVERYTHING. OKAY? YEAH. LIKE KRISTA SAID, IT'S JUST LIKE THE EDUCATIONAL PART, YOU KNOW, LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO BE EDUCATED. SO YEAH. ARE WE TARGETING AT ALL? LIKE, YOU KNOW, FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS THAT ARE COLLEGE STUDENTS AND JUST GETTING OUT, YOU KNOW, SCHOOL AND STUFF OR NO, WE'RE OR IS THERE A FOCUS POINT OR JUST ANY ANYONE? WHAT WE FIND TYPICALLY IS I DON'T WANT TO BESMIRCH THE REALTOR INDUSTRY,

[01:45:03]

AND SO UNTIL. MORTGAGES OR UNTIL THE COST OF HOMES AND THAT INCOME LIMITATION GET CLOSE, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM FOREVER. SCOTT. OKAY. OKAY. WELL, THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT. I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. YOU'RE MOST WELCOME. THANKS, MAYOR. THANK YOU MA'AM. COUNCILMEMBER. THANK YOU. MAYOR. I TRY TO BE QUICK. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK AND DEDICATION AND AND ALSO THE BOARD. ALL YOU DO FOR OUR COMMUNITY. QUICK QUESTION.

I THINK THAT YOU ALREADY ANSWERED ME. SOME OF THOSE THAT COUNCILWOMAN ALREADY ASKED FOR CLARIFICATION, BECAUSE I SAW SOMEHOW THAT YOU PRESENTED THAT FROM THE O. AND THEN BECOME A NEW LOOK. PRETTY GOOD. HOW THE APPLICATION WORK ARE THEY? IF YOU HAVE SOME KIND OF NUMBERS, LIKE HOW MANY THEY APPLY AND HOW MANY THEY MIGHT BE.OU KNOW, ACCEPTED AND HOW MANY ARE WAITING IN THE PERIODS OF WAITING. I WISH BECAUSE THEY WOULD HAVE THE EXACT NUMBERS FOR YOU. I KNOW THAT I THINK CUMBERLAND, I THINK WE HAD LIKE EIGHT DIFFERENT FAMILIES APPLY BEFORE WE FOUND ONE THAT WOULD QUALIFY. IN MOST CASES, THEY WERE ALL OVER QUALIFIED. THEY MADE TOO MUCH MONEY TO BE ABLE AND BE IN THE PROGRAM. THANK YOU. AND THEN YOU MENTIONED EARLIER THE HB 41 THAT WILL AFFECT YOUR FINANCE BUDGETS, LIKE 60% DROP. WILL THAT I KNOW THAT AFFECTS YOUR ABILITY TO CONTRIBUTE TO DIFFERENT COMMUNITY, BUT WOULD THAT AO AFFECT YOUR, THE, THE, FOR THE HOUSING THAT WE TRY TO BUILD? YES. IT AFFECTS IT'S GOING TO AFFECT EVERYTHING WE DO. OKAY. NOW THE NOW THE HOUSING, IF IT'S PART OF THE HOME PROGRAM, IT WOULDN'T BECAUSE THAT'S THE CITY PARTNERSHIP. HOW THAT AFFECTS THE PROGRAM, THOUGH, IS THAT WE BUY THE LAND, WE BUY THE OLD HOUSE AND TEAR IT DOWN. THAT'S OUR CONTRIBUTION. AND WE USE THE HOME GRANTS TO BUILD THE HOUSE. SO THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE NECESSARILY PROBLEM IN BUILDING A HOME. IT'S GOING TO BE FINDING THE INVENTORY, FIND THE LOT THAT WE CAN AFFORD TO BUY THE LOT AND TEAR DOWN THE HOUSE. AND WHAT'S HAPPENED IS WE'RE TAKING ABOUT $100,000 LOSS ON EVERY PROPERTY. FOR EXAMPLE, 1802 CUMBERLAND THAT YOU SAW, WE PAID LIKE $140,000 FOR THE HOUSE. WE SPENT ANOTHER TEN, 12,000 TEARING IT DOWN. SO WE'RE INTO THE DEAL FOR ABOUT 165,000. WE ONLY WERE ABLE TO SELL THAT LOT TO THE CITY DUE TO THE RESTRICTIONS ON THE HOME PROGRAM FOR $60,000. SO IN 2022, THE BOARD MADE A COMMITMENT TO SET ASIDE $1 MILLION FOR LOSING 100 GRAND ON EACH LOT, BASICALLY. AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE THESE OTHER FIVE LOTS THAT WE STILL HAVE AN INVENTORY FROM THAT ORIGINAL EXPENDITURE OF THOSE DOLLARS. SO THE FUTURE OF WHAT THAT PROGRAM LOOKS LIKE WILL BE LIMITED BY HOW MANY LOTS WE CAN AFFORD TO BUY, WHICH WILL BE MUCH LESS THAN WHAT WE'VE BEEN BUYING IN THE PAST. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MAYOR. THANK YOU SIR. COUNCIL. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENTS. I JUST WANT TO SAY

[01:50:07]

WE HOPE IT'S SOON. AND JUST THE REASON WE GOT HIM HERE IS WHILE Y'ALL WERE IN THE COUNCIL MEETING, WE WERE IN THE KITCHEN EATING CANDY AND DRINKING. SO THAT'S WHY THEY ALL CAME. AND WE'RE HAPPY TO FEED YOU AS WELL. THANK YOU SIR. THANK YOU ALL VERY KINDLY. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY. ALL RIGHT. WE'LL MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT ITEM IS ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, GARLAND

[7. Garland Cares – Stewardship Program]

AND SO THE WAY WE'RE PROPOSING TO MAKE THIS CONCEPT HAPPEN IS THROUGH A PILOT, WE'LL, WE'LL BE EVALUATING THE PILOT FOR IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, DIMENSIONS THAT I HAVE LISTED HERE, CAPACITY, RESPONSIBILITY AND OUTPUTS. BUT PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE IS THAT LESSONS LEARNED, BECAUSE I'LL BE THE FIRST TO TELL YOU, I DON'T I DON'T KNOW HOW ALL THIS IS GOING TO WORK EXACTLY. I CAN MASTER PLAN IT ALL DAY, BUT UNTIL IT ACTUALLY WE START DOING IT, WE'LL START TO LEARN SOME LESSONS. AND THE, THE, THE POINT OF THAT ISN'T THE POINT OF THAT IS TO BUILD REPEATABLE MODELS THAT WE CAN EXPAND THIS TO A BROADER DEPLOYMENT. LATER, I MENTIONED ZONES EARLIER. WHAT I MEAN BY A ZONE IS IT'S A MUCH SMALLER THAN WHAT WHERE THE HEART IS WORKS IN THIS WOULD BE LIKE A 3 TO 6 BLOCK AREA THAT WE'RE ASKING FOR A TWO YEAR

[01:55:04]

WE HAVE A LOT OF DATA. WE'RE ANTICIPATING GETTING A LOT MORE DATA IN SEPTEMBER AS THE CODE STUFF ROLLS OUT. AND SO WE'RE GOING TO DO SOME CLUSTER ANALYSIS TO IDENTIFY PATTERNS AND AND CONCENTRATIONS OF, OF AREAS OF NEED. AND THEN THE CITY WILL COME UP WITH SOME ZONE OPTIONS. BUT THIS THE STEWARD SELECTS THE ZONE. AND THAT'S A KEY POINT. WE WANT THE STEWARD TO BE EXCITED TO WORK IN THAT AREA, COMFORTABLE TO WORK IN THAT AREA. I MEAN, I HAVE SOME FIT CONSIDERATIONS LISTED HERE, BUT THE POINT IS THE WE, WE, WE DELIVER THE OPTIONS, BUT THE STEWARD ADOPTS THE ZONE. THEY CHOOSE WHAT ON WHATEVER BASIS THEY HAVE AMONG THOSE ZONE CANDIDATES. AND THEN THEY SELECT IT AND WE BEGIN OUR JOINT JOINT EFFORTS. WE DOCUMENT THE BASELINE CONDITIONS. WE CAN SEE IMPROVEMENTS LATER, BUT ALSO WE DO WHAT I'M CALLING A JOINT INTRODUCTION. THE CITY AND THE STEWARD GOING TOGETHER TO DO SOME KIND OF SMALL EVENT TO SHOW THAT WE'RE ALL WE'RE ON THE SAME TEAM. AND THE STEWARD IS, IS, IS PART OF THE GARLAND CARES CONTINUUM. AND SO WE HAVE OUR, OUR PILOT STEWARDS SELECTED. IF IT'S ALL RIGHT, MAYOR, I'D LIKE TO INVITE MISTER GREG UP FROM ALPHA PHI ALPHA. THEY'VE THEY'VE OF VOLUNTEERED TO BE THE THE PILOT STEWARD IF YOU COULD. YEAH.

COME. I GUESS I'D ASK THEM ALL IF THEY WANT TO JOIN US. THEY'VE BEEN SITTING IN THE BACK ALL NIGHT. IF YOU GUYS WANT TO STRETCH YOUR LEGS AND COME UP HERE. YEAH. YEAH. GO AHEAD AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND TELL US ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION. AWESOME. GOOD EVENING. IN NOVEMBER OF 24, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE ON THE COUNCIL, YOU KNOW, WE CAME TO THE COUNCIL TO INTRODUCE OURSELVES, TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE ARE, FIRST OF ALL, RESIDENTS OF GARLAND. SECOND OF ALL, WE ARE MEMBERS OF ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY INCORPORATED, WHICH IS THE OLDEST HISTORICALLY BLACK FRATERNITY, FOUNDED IN 1906 AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY IN ITHACA, NEW YORK. I'M ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE SERVICES NOT JUST WHAT WE DO. IT'S WHO WE ARE. AND SO WHEN WE. SINCE THAT TIME, WE THINK ABOUT COMMITMENT. WE HAVE WORKED WITH THE GISD WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, WITH VOLUNTEERING IN DIFFERENT AREAS. WE HAVE SIX BROTHERS WHO ARE ON DIFFERENT BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. AND AS OF FRIDAY, TWO OF US ARE IN CLASS 46, THE BEST CLASS LEADERSHIP. GARLAND. AND SO WHEN YOU THINK OF COMMITMENT AND WHEN WE THINK OF HOW WE ARE COMMITTED TO OUR COMMUNITY AND WHAT WE ARE, WHEN WE MET WITH CITY MANAGER BETSON, THANK YOU FOR OPPORTUNITY. WE ARE EXCITED. WE ARE HONORED TO BE HERE TO BE A PART OF THIS, TO BE A PILOT, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE DO. WE SERVE, AND WE'RE HERE TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY. I WAS THINKING EARLIER, I SAID, YOU KNOW, WE ARE MANY OF US ARE. WE'RE FROM THREE DIFFERENT CHAPTERS HERE IN LOCALLY, WE ARE ONE ALPHA, WE ARE ONE GARLAND, AND WE ARE GARLAND ON THE RISE. AND SO WE'RE HERE TO SERVE AND WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS PROGRAM, AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING AND PARTNERING WITH THE CITY. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALLOWING US THIS HONOR. MAYOR AND COUNCIL, IF I COULD JUST POINT OUT I, I MET WITH ARTHUR MONTHS AGO, AND WHEN WE FIRST CAME UP WITH THIS IDEA AND TALKED HIM THROUGH IT AND SAID, HERE'S AN IDEA I HAVE OF HOW WE CAN HELP OUR COMMUNITY AT SCALE. AND I SAID, BUT WE NEED A GROUP THAT CAN PILOT THIS, THAT CAN SHOW THE COMMUNITY THAT THIS CAN BE DONE. AND I MET WITH THE ALPHAS AT THE LIBRARY, THE CENTRAL LIBRARY, A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO AND SHOWED THEM THE PROGRAM, AND THEY HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS, A LOT OF GOOD QUESTIONS. HOW DOES THIS WORK? WHAT DO WE DO?

[02:00:04]

I WANT TO ADD TO COUNCIL CARAWAY AS WELL. SO YOU'RE STILL ACCCCEPT APPLICATION FOR THE ALPHA. YES. COME ON, COME ON. LET'S TALK. JIM JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU. AND YOU KNOW, ROBINSON'S IS GOOD FRIENDS AND IT'S PART OF MY. ALL THE WORK. I DO SO APPRECIATE IT. SO ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. SIR. COUNCILMEMBER MOORE. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. WELL, ARTHUR, IT'S BEEN ABOUT TWO YEARS, I BELIEVE, SINCE I MET WITH YOU GUYS OVER AT THE CHAMBER. AND SINCE THAT TIME, IT SEEMS THAT YOU HAVE STEPPED UP, YOU'VE STEPPED IN AND YOU'VE MADE A WONDERFUL IMPRESSION. AND AS I TOLD YOU DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME, THERE'S NO SECRET.

THERE'S NO SECRET WHATSOEVER TO WHAT CAN BE DONE IN THIS COMMUNITY WHEN WE DO IT TOGETHER. AND WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE DONE AT THIS POINT, YOU'RE SHOWING ALL OF US THAT IT'S EASY TO BE GREAT. GREATNESS COMES AT ONE EXPENSE, AND THAT IS BEING ABLE TO SERVE. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE NOTICED ABOUT ALL OF YOU. YOU'RE VERY READY TO SERVE. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HANGING IN THERE BECAUSE THAT WAS THE REAL KEY. A LOT OF PEOPLE GET STARTED. A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO, BUT YOU JUST HAVEN'T TALKEDHE TALK. YOU'VE STEPPED UP AND YOU'RE WALKING THE WALK.

THANK YOU. LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU IN THE FUTURE. BE BLESSED. THANK YOU. THIS IS NICE GUYS. PRETTY NICE. COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS. YES. SO THANK YOU GENTLEMEN FOR COMING OUT. I ASK HOW MANY OF THEM OF THERE ARE YOU WERE PLANNING TO VOLUNTEER FOR THIS PROGRAM. IS IT JUST YOU FOUR GENTLEMEN OR I ASSUME MAYBE MORE SO WE HAVE PROBABLY ABOUT 15 TO 20. THAT'S ON OUR THAT ARE RESIDENTS HERE IN GARLAND. BUT PROBABLY MORE THAN THAT. BUT THAT ARE WORKING THE CORE GROUP AMONGST THE THREE CHAPTERS WE HAVE PROBABLY OUR CHAPTERS AVERAGE ABOUT 100, A LITTLE OVER 100 BROTHERS. SO WE WOULD HAVE ACCESS TO AT LEAST 300. NOW, WE DON'T KNOW IF ALL 300 GONNA SHOW UP AT ONE TIME, BUT WE DO HAVE WE ARE EACH OTHER, WE'RE BROTHERS. AND SO BROTHERS TAKE CARE OF BROTHERS. SO IF WE NEED TEN, WE'LL HAVE TEN. IF WE NEED 20, WE'LL HAVE 20. WE'LL HAVE WHAT WE NEED. AND SO WE THIS HAS GONE TO OUR REGIONAL, OUR STATE, REGIONAL AND NATIONAL OFFICE. SO THEY KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING. AND IF WE HAVE TO CALL THEM MORE BROTHERS, THEN THEY'RE, THEY'RE THERE TO HAVE OUR BACKS. VERY GOOD. AND SCOTT, DO WE HAVE TARGET PICKED FOR THESE GENTLEMEN ALREADY OR. WE HAVE OPTIONS WE'RE WORKING ON. I HAVE WE HAVEN'T FINALIZED THAT. LIKE I SAID, WE'RE GOING TO DO SOME MORE DATA ANALYSIS IN SEPTEMBER TO TO FINALIZE THOSE ON CANDIDATE OPTIONS FOR THEM TO SELECT FROM. I SEE, SO WE'RE KIND OF WAITING TILL OUR CIVIL ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM KICKS IN ON SEPTEMBER 1ST. AND THEN AFTER ABOUT A MONTH, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE SOME PRETTY, SOME DATA ABOUT WHERE THOSE ARE CLUSTERED AND START THERE. YEAH, WE FIGURED WE'RE, WE'RE HERE NOW. WE MIGHT AS WELL SUMMARIZE KIND OF HOW YOU'RE GOING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE, WHERE IT IS. OKAY, THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE. I THINK THAT'S A, YOU KNOW, A LOGICAL, REASONABLE WAY TO PICK. YOU GOT TO START SOMEWHERE.

CAN'T START EVERYWHERE. AND THAT'LL BE A GOOD WAY TO DO THAT. SO ANYWAY, SOUNDS LIKE YOU'VE GOT ALL THE SUPPORT YOU NEED. IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 3 TO 6 BLOCK AREA, THEN YEAH, THE CORE GROUP 15 OR 20 WOULD BE MORE THAN ENOUGH TO COVER THAT. YOU HAVE MORE THAN THAT. AND WE

[02:05:06]

THAT'S CORRECT. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? OKAY, THAT SOUNDS GREAT. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. THANK YOU AGAIN, GENTLEMEN, FOR COMING OUT TONIGHT. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU SIR.

COUNCILMEMBER LUCK, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR TAKING ON THIS RESPONSIBILITY. IT'S A IT'S A BIG TASK AND IT'S A CHALLENGING TASK. AND I'M REALLY GLAD THAT YOU'RE UP FOR IT. DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM DUTTON AND I ARE BOTH GARLAND CARES VOLUNTEERS, SO WE'RE READY TO PACK UP OUR TOOLS AND GO WHEREVER YOU TELL US TO GO. ALL RIGHT, WE READY? LET'S GO. SO. OH, I'M SORRY, COUNCILMAN CARAWAY IS AS WELL. THANK YOU. BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH. I KNOW WHEN MOST PEOPLE THINK HERE FRATERNITY, THEY THINK THAT Y'ALL ARE ALL PARTYING AND STUFF. I. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A TIME. THERE WAS A TIME. BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR INFILTRATING GARLAND AND FOR BEING HERE AND JUST BEING PART OF, OF THIS WONDERFUL PLAN THAT WE HAVE.

AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED. THANK YOU. AND THE UNIQUE THING AS WE TALK ABOUT WE IN OUR CHAPTERS, WE HAVE SERVICE AREAS. AND SO WE DRIVE OUT OF OUR COMMUNITY TO DO THIS FOR OTHER PLACES.

AND WE GOT TOGETHER AND WE SAID, WE GOTTA, WE START AT HOME, WE GOTTA TAKE CARE OF HOME. WE LIVE HERE. AND SO THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT EVEN EVEN BETTER FOR US BECAUSE IT'S HOME. IT'S IN OUR BACKYARD. IT'S IN OUR IT'S OUR NEIGHBORS, IT'S FOLK WE SEE AT THE GROCERY STORE AND THE PARKS AND ALL THAT. AND SO WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO, FOR THEM TO SEE US AND FOR US TO SEE THEM AND SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE'RE ONE GARLAND NO MATTER WHERE WE ARE. AND SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE'RE HERE TO HELP. AWESOME. YEAH. JUST TELL US WHERE TO GO. GOTCHA. THANK YOU SIR. THANK YOU MAYOR. THANK YOU, MAYOR PRO TEM MARTIN. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. I'LL TELL YOU WHAT THE ENERGY OF THE ALPHAS IS. IT'S INSPIRATIONAL. THIS IS REALLY THIS IS GREAT. I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. AND TO ALL 15 TO 20 OF YOUR CORE, YOU'RE GOING TO BE I MEAN, YOU'RE GOING TO BE THE SERGEANTS ON THE GROUND DIRECTING ALL OF US ON, ON WHAT THE NEED IS AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO. SO I'M, I'M SO THANKFUL THAT YOU STEPPED UP TO DO THIS. GARLAND THANKS YOU. AND THIS REALLY GETS US, YOU KNOW, A DIRECTION FORWARD. SO THANK YOU, THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR.

THANK YOU SIR. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? COUNCIL. I'D JUST LIKE TO SAY, REMEMBER WHEN YOU FIRST CAME TO OUR COUNCIL MEETING AND YOU SAID, WE ARE HERE IF YOU NEED US, PUT US TO WORK. AND YOU'VE DEFINITELY HELD UP YOUR END OF THE BARGAIN. AND WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR VOLUNTEERING FOR THAT. AND WE'RE PUTTING YOU TO WORK NOW. SO WE'RE EXCITED TO SEE ALL THE RESULTS. AND WE KNOW ONLY GOOD THINGS WILL COME OF IT. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROGRAM. AND YOU'RE GOING TO BE THE EXAMPLE TO SET FOR OTHER GROUPS THAT EVENTUALLY THIS GROWS AND GROWS THE TRAILBLAZERS. I LIKE THAT WHAT WE DO. THANK YOU. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO HANGING OUT WITH YOU. SO JENNIFER AND MICHAEL. JENNIFER. ALL RIGHT.

COUNCIL. THAT WAS THE WE HAD OUR APPOINTMENTS ALREADY TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. WE TOOK CARE OF THAT DURING OUR THE END OF OUR WORK BEFORE THE RECESS AND DURING OUR REGULAR SESSION.

[ ANNOUNCE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]

[02:10:09]