[00:00:02]
[CALL TO ORDER]
I'D LIKE TO OFFICIALLY CALL THIS MEETING THE RICHARDSON CITY COUNCIL TO ORDER AT 6:00 PM AT THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO ASK, UH, MR. MAGNER TO[A. VISITORS/ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PUBLIC COMMENT CARDS]
ANNOUNCE ANY VISITORS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COMMENT CARDS, PLEASE.UM, I DO HAVE ONE CARD IN ADVANCE OF THE 5:00 PM DEADLINE.
IT WAS FROM MRS. ANGIE, HE HELDON OF 7 0 4 MARYLAND DRIVE.
THE TOPIC WAS SHORT TERM RENTAL REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.
UM, I DO WANNA LET, UM, UH, MS. HEON KNOW THAT ALL OF THE COUNCIL HAS A COPY OF THOSE COMMENTS AND CITY STAFF IS RESEARCHING, UH, THE ISSUE THAT SHE BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION.
AND, UH, A MEMBER OF OUR STAFF WILL FOLLOW UP WITH HER ONCE WE HAVE, UH, A, UH, RESPONSE PREPARED.
AND, UH, BEYOND THAT, MAYOR, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY OTHER, UH, VISITORS.
AT, AT THIS TIME, WE'LL GO TO ITEM
[B. REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT (DART) PROGRAMS AND TOPICS OF INTEREST]
B, REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT OR DART PROGRAMS AND TOPICS OF INTEREST.MR. MAGNER, UH, THANK YOU MAYOR.
VERY EXCITED TONIGHT TO, UH, HAVE NADINE LEE, THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF, UH, DART WITH US.
IN ADDITION, I WANT TO INTRODUCE TREY WALKER, WHO'S THE VICE PRESIDENT OF, UH, CAPITAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.
UM, AS WELL AS, UH, YOUR APPOINTEE TO THE DART BOARD.
GARY SLAGEL, THE CURRENT VICE CHAIR, AND SHE SNUCK IN AND PROBABLY DIDN'T THINK THAT, UH, SHE WAS GOING TO BE INTRODUCED.
BUT, UH, ED DIAZ, WHO IS THE, UH, VP OF GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS, A GREAT PARTNER OF OURS, PARTICULAR IN ALL THINGS OUTREACH.
AND, UH, AS WE RAISE AWARENESS, UM, UH, NADINE AND HER TEAM ARE HERE TONIGHT TO PROVIDE KIND OF A STATE OF THE DART SYSTEM FOR YOU.
OBVIOUSLY, DART IS AN INCREDIBLE, UH, PART OF OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY, BUT IT'S ALSO AN INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT RESOURCE, UH, TO MANY OF OUR RESIDENTS, UH, AND OUR BUSINESSES, UH, AS THEY HELP MOVE, UH, UH, FOLKS NOT ONLY THROUGHOUT HERE IN RICHARDSON, BUT ALL THROUGHOUT OF NORTH TEXAS.
AND SO, NADINE'S GONNA COVER ON SOME OF THEIR OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE CONSIDERATIONS, SOME OF THEIR INITIATIVES, UH, TO IMPROVE SERVICES.
AND THEN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT STRATEGY AND STRATEGIC PLANNING THAT THE, UH, DART STAFF IS UNDERTAKING.
SO, NADINE, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
THANKS FOR BEING A GREAT PARTNER TO THE CITY, AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU FOR FURTHER BRIEFING.
AND, UH, MAYOR DUBBY, IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE.
UH, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH FOR HAVING ME TONIGHT.
UM, I AM REALLY DELIGHTED TO BE HERE TO GIVE YOU KIND OF AN UPDATE ON WHERE DART IS.
UM, I KNOW THAT I HAVE NOT HAD A CHANCE TO PRESENT TO THE RICHARDSON CITY COUNCIL IN MY PREVIOUS YEARS HERE.
UM, I'M NOW GETTING CLOSE TO THE TWO YEAR MARK.
UH, IT'LL BE TWO YEARS ON JULY 12TH.
SO, UM, SO WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF WORK, WHICH MAYBE YOU PROBABLY COULDN'T SEE, BUT I'LL, I'LL GO THROUGH SOME OF THAT TONIGHT, UM, IN HOPES THAT I CAN, UH, BRING YOU UP TO SPEED ON WHERE WE ARE.
SO, UM, LET ME JUST START, UH, I KNOW THERE'S A COUPLE OF NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS, SO LET ME JUST FIRST START WITH JUST THE DART FACTS.
UM, SO, UH, WE HAVE A 1.7 BILLION BUDGET IN FY 23.
WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING THROUGH OUR BUDGET PROCESS RIGHT NOW TO, UH, ESTABLISH OUR BUDGET FOR FY 24.
UM, THE LARGEST PORTION OF OUR BUDGET IS IN THE CAPITAL, ON THE CAPITAL SIDE OF THINGS.
UM, AND THAT HAS A LOT TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT WE HAVE THE SILVER LINE UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
UM, WE DO SERVE A 700 SQUARE MILE SERVICE AREA, AND IT DOES COVER 13 SERVICE AREA CITIES.
UM, AND SO WE HAVE A LOT OF STUFF GOING ON, ON ANY GIVEN DAY.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT WE'RE RUNNING AROUND LIKE CRAZY PEOPLE SOMETIMES TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING'S RUNNING SMOOTHLY.
UM, FROM A FLEET PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE RUNNING, UM, ACTUALLY THIS BUS NUMBER HERE, I THINK IS A LITTLE HIGH COMPARED TO WHAT WE'RE RUNNING RIGHT NOW IS ABOUT 600 BUSES THAT WE'RE RUNNING OUT IN THE SERVICE AREA TODAY.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE HAVE 163 LIGHT RAIL VEHICLES.
WE'RE RUNNING 93 MILES OF LIGHT RAIL HERE.
UM, AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT LATER.
BUT IT IS THE LONGEST LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM IN THE COUNTRY.
UM, WE HAVE 65 STATIONS, AND YOU CAN SEE OUR RIDERSHIP NUMBERS THERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE ALSO RUN PARATRANSIT SERVICE ACROSS THE SERVICE AREA AS WELL.
UM, TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SERVICE LEVELS IN RICHARDSON.
UM, I WANTED JUST TO SHARE WITH YOU KIND OF THE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE IN THE, UH, CITY OF RICHARDSON.
UM, WE ARE RUNNING TWO RAIL LINES WITHIN THE CITY, AND THE RED LINE AND THE, THE ORANGE LINE.
WE HAVE FOUR STATIONS, YOU CAN SEE THEM LISTED RIGHT HERE.
UM, AND WE DO HAVE A NUMBER OF BUS ROUTES THAT RUN IN RICHARDSON.
UH, THE MOST NOTABLE OF WHICH IS 8 83, UH, ALSO KNOWN AS THE COMIC CRUISER, WHICH SERVES THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS DALLAS.
FROM A RIDERSHIP PERSPECTIVE, WE ARE CARRYING MORE THAN TWO, UH, TWO TIMES AS MANY RIDERS ON THE BUS SIDE THAN ON THE RAIL SIDE.
UM, AND THAT IS LIKELY DUE TO THE FACT THAT WE HAVE ALL THE STUDENTS COMING INTO UTD.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE'RE, UH, WE ACTUALLY HAVE OUR HIGHEST RIDERSHIP BUS ROUTE IN THE CITY OF RICHARDSON, WHICH WE'RE REALLY SUPER PROUD OF.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE GLAD THAT RICHARDSON LIKES BUSES, UM, BECAUSE WE THINK THAT BUSES ARE THE WORKHORSE OF OUR SYSTEM.
LET ME JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHERE WE'VE BEEN.
UM, IT'S NO SECRET TO EVERYBODY THAT WE OF COURSE, HAD TO DEAL WITH THE COVID PANDEMIC.
[00:05:01]
EVERYONE'S REALLY FAMILIAR WITH THE IMPACTS OF THE PANDEMIC.UM, BUT FROM A TRANSIT PERSPECTIVE, WE HAVE A TON OF FORCES WORKING AGAINST US RIGHT NOW.
UM, CERTAINLY WE HAVE THE LABOR SHORTAGES THAT HAVE, HAVE BEEN REALLY WORLDWIDE.
I MEAN, THAT'S NO SECRET TO ANYBODY.
UM, AND IN SORT OF ON TOP OF THAT, DART ACTUALLY HAD A VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT PROGRAM DURING THE PANDEMIC BECAUSE OF ALL THE UNCERTAINTY RELATED TO THE ECONOMY AND THE SALES TAX COLLECTIONS.
AND, AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW THAT WE HAVE A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF OUR BUDGET THAT, OR A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF OUR REVENUES THAT COME FROM SALES TAXES.
SO, UM, THIS VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT PROGRAM, UM, WE LOST OVER 350 EMPLOYEES AT THAT TIME.
UM, SO IF YOU CAN IMAGINE A MAJOR, UH, LOSS, LOSS OF KNOWLEDGE, UM, INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE AT THAT TIME, UM, COUPLED WITH ALL OF THE SHORTAGES IN STAFF, GENERALLY WE WERE DOWN ABOUT 500 POSITIONS WHEN I ARRIVED TWO YEARS AGO.
BUT WE ARE RECOVERING, UM, WE HAVE A TON OF NEW FACES AT DART.
YOU PROBABLY KNOW DEE LEGETT, WHO IS TREY'S BOSS.
UM, SHE IS OUR CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER.
YOU PROBABLY SEE HER A LOT, UH, WORKING ON THE SILVER LINE, DOING COMMUNITY MEETINGS.
UM, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, OUR RIDERSHIP RECOVERING NOW.
UM, SILVER LINE IS, UH, WELL UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT HERE IN A, IN A COUPLE MINUTES.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THANKFULLY THE ECONOMY'S PERFORMING REALLY WELL, PARTICULARLY IN NORTH TEXAS, WHICH IS VERY HOPEFUL FOR THE FUTURE.
SO WE HAVE A LOT OF THINGS GOING FOR US.
UM, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY HOPEFULLY ON THE UPWARD TR TRAJECTORY.
UM, I FEEL LIKE I SPENT THE LAST TWO YEARS JUST TRYING TO STABILIZE DART.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE NOW WE HAVE, UM, A PRETTY SOLID ORGANIZATION AND, AND WE'RE READY TO TAKE OFF RUNNING.
SO LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SILVER LINE, CUZ I KNOW EVERYBODY'S EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
UM, OF COURSE WE'RE BUILDING THE SILVER LINE COMMUTER RAIL PROJECT, WHICH SPANS FROM SHILOH ROAD AND PLANO ALL THE WAY TO TERMINAL B AT D F W.
UM, IT'S 26 MILES GOING THROUGH SEVEN CITIES.
UM, THIS PROJECT IS ACTIVELY IN CONSTRUCTION.
IT'S GOING TO BE PROBABLY FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS STILL.
UM, BEFORE WE START TO GET TO TESTING, UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF CONNECTIONS TO OTHER DART SERVICES, INCLUDING THE GREEN LINE, THE ORANGE LINE, RED LINE, UM, AND TEXT RAIL AS WELL, WHICH IS RUN BY TRINITY METRO IN FORT WORTH.
AND, UM, WE ALSO HAVE GOLINK SERVICES THAT CONNECT INTO THE SILVER LINE AND, AND LOTS OF BUS SERVICE AS WELL.
UM, THE REVENUE SERVICE, UH, DATE FOR THIS CORRIDOR IS STILL, UM, A LITTLE BIT UNCERTAIN, BUT WE'RE TARGETING SOMETIME IN LATE 2025, EARLY 2026 FOR THE OPENING.
UM, IT'S BEEN NO SECRET THAT WE'VE HAD SOME CONSTRUCTION DELAYS, UM, AND THERE ARE A LOT OF REASONS FOR THAT.
BUT WE HAVE JUST RECENTLY, UM, YOU KNOW, SIGNED A NEW AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, AN AGREEMENT WITH OUR CONTRACTOR AND WE'RE MOVING ALONG QUITE WELL AT THIS POINT.
ON THE VEHICLE SIDE, WE ACTUALLY ARE GOING TO HAVE EIGHT NEW VEHICLES.
THESE ARE DIESEL MULTIPLE UNIT VEHICLES.
THEY'RE BUILT BY A SWISS COMPANY CALLED STADLER.
UM, WE ARE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THEM.
THEY'RE ACTUALLY BEING MANUFACTURED RIGHT NOW IN SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.
AND THE FIRST FOUR VEHICLES ARE ACTUALLY SCHEDULED TO BE SHIPPED TO NORTH TEXAS THIS SUMMER.
UM, AND THE REMAINING FOUR VEHICLES ARE SCHEDULED TO COME AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
SO THEY'RE COMING A LOT EARLIER THAN WE ANTICIPATED BECAUSE WE HAD THE DELAYS ON THE CONSTRUCTION SIDE.
BUT, UM, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE THOSE VEHICLES AND WHEN THEY'RE HERE, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO BE, UH, TO DO SOME, UM, PR OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU ALL TO COME AND SEE THEM IN PERSON.
UM, THESE VEHICLES ARE SIMILAR TO THE COMMUTER REAL, I'M SORRY, THE COMMUTER VEHICLES THAT ARE USED BY TEXT RAIL AND ALSO THE A TRAIN FOR DENTON COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY.
UM, THEY ARE DESIGNED FOR A LONGER TRAVEL TIMES ARE LONG TRIPS.
UM, SO THE SEATS ARE LARGER, A LITTLE BIT MORE COMFORTABLE, A LITTLE BIT MORE PLUSH, AND, AND WE HAVE RACKS FOR PEOPLE'S BELONGINGS.
UM, THINGS LIKE LUGGAGE AND THAT SORT OF THING.
UM, FROM A SERVICE PERSPECTIVE, WE ARE PLANNING TO RUN 30 MINUTES IN THE PEAK AND 60 MINUTES IN THE OFF PEAK, UM, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, THE INFRASTRUCTURE WILL BE IN PLACE AND WE'LL HAVE THE CAPACITY, UH, TO INCREASE THAT LEVEL OF SERVICE WHEN THE TIME COMES.
TOTAL TRAVEL TIME, UH, FROM SHILOH ROAD TO D F W IS UNDER AN HOUR.
I KNOW IT'S 58 MINUTES, UM, BUT, UH, BUT YOU KNOW, WE JUST WANTED TO KIND OF INCLUDE THIS, THESE, UH, TRAVEL TIMES FOR YOU SO YOU CAN KIND OF SEE, UH, HOW LONG IT TAKES TO GET FROM STATION TO STATION.
AND THESE ARE SORT OF ADDITIVE.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T TAKE 24 MINUTES TO GET FROM CYRUS WATERS TO DOWNTOWN CARROLLTON.
SO I THINK WE HAVE TO DO A LITTLE SUBTRACTION.
UM, FROM A CONSTRUCTION PERSPECTIVE, UM, THERE ARE TWO STATIONS ALONG THE SILVER LINE THAT ARE IN THE CITY OF RICHARDSON.
SO CITYLINE BUSH STATION, AS WELL AS UT DALLAS.
UM, BOTH OF THE STATIONS ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION RIGHT NOW, AND I'M GONNA SHOW YOU A FEW RENDERINGS OF THESE STATIONS.
UM, IT'S ALWAYS GREAT WHEN YOU ARE IN CONSTRUCTION, WHEN YOU START GETTING TO RENDERINGS AND PICTURES OF THE CONSTRUCTION BECAUSE, UM, IT HELPS TO KIND OF CRYSTALLIZE WHAT THINGS ARE GONNA LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE.
[00:10:01]
THE FIRST IS CITYLINE BUSH STATION.UM, WE'RE GONNA, THIS IS WHERE WE'RE GONNA CONNECT TO THE RED LINE LIGHT RAIL.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, HERE WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE INVESTMENT THAT THE CITY OF RICHARDSON HAS MADE IN THE CITY LINE BUSH STATION AND ALL THE DEVELOPMENT IN THAT AREA, ALL THE DENSITY, ALL THE ACTIVITY CENTERS AND, AND THE PUBLIC SPACES.
UM, SO WE'LL BE BRINGING PEOPLE THERE ALONG THE SILVER LINE AS WELL AS THE RED LINE.
UM, AND SO ONE OF THE PIECES WE'RE MOST EXCITED ABOUT, IF YOU LOOK IN THE LOWER LEFT CORNER, UM, THERE'S ART THAT WE'RE PLANNING AT ALL OF OUR STATIONS, OF COURSE, INCLUDING THIS ONE.
AND, UM, HERE WE HAVE, UM, A CONCEPT FOR AN ILLUMINATED ARCH THAT IS CONNECTING THE RED AND SILVER LINE STATION.
SO YOU CAN KIND OF SEE THAT IT'S SHOWN IN GREEN HERE ON THIS PICTURE.
UM, BUT IT'S PROMISING TO BE A REALLY BEAUTIFUL, UM, LIGHTED FEATURE ON AT THE STATION.
SO, UM, SORRY, I JUST, I JUST REPEATED MYSELF.
SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS IT, THAT WAS WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY ABOUT THAT.
UM, AND SO HERE'S, UH, ANOTHER PHOTO OF THE CONSTRUCTION THAT'S GOING ON AT SITTING CITY LINE.
UM, THE EXISTING STATION FOR THE RED LINE IS ACTUALLY ON THE RIGHT OF THE IMAGE AND THEN THE NEW SILVER LINE STATION IS ON THE LEFT.
AND THE ARCHITECTURE HERE IS DESIGNED TO KIND OF MIMIC WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE RED LINE SO THAT WE WILL HAVE SOME UNIFORMITY OF THE LOOK AND FEEL, UM, OF THE, OF THIS STATION AREA.
AND SO WE'RE AT ABOUT 60% COMPLETION, UM, FOR THIS PARTICULAR LOCATION.
AND HERE'S JUST A QUICK PHOTO OF THE CANOPY AT CITYLINE JUST SO YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, IT DOES KIND OF MATCH WHAT WE HAVE THERE TODAY FOR THE RED AND ORANGE OR THE RED LINE FOR THE U T D STATION.
UM, WE HAVE, OUR FOCUS ACTUALLY WAS TO COMPLIMENT THE AESTHETIC OF THE CAMPUS AND TO, AND TO TRY TO, YOU KNOW, MATCH, UH, THE FUTURE PLAN DEVELOPMENT THAT'S ADJACENT TO THE STATION.
SO, UM, WE ACTUALLY HAVE, UH, THIS IS ACTUALLY AN AERIAL PHOTO OF THE STATION.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THE UTD CAMPUS ON THE RIGHT, UM, TO THE LEFT OF THIS PHOTOGRAPH IS THE NEW DEVELOPMENT THAT THEY'RE PLANNING, UM, BETWEEN THE SILVER LINE STATION AND WATERVIEW PARK PARKWAY.
SO IT'S A PARTNERSHIP WITH U T D.
UM, I, I HEARD A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT TODAY.
UM, I THINK THEY'RE GONNA HAVE SOME REALLY EXCITING THINGS BEING BUILT IN THAT AREA, SO IT'LL BE A NICE, UH, WAY TO USE THAT SPACE AND CONNECT IT FOR PEOPLE BETWEEN THE STATION AND, AND WATERVIEW.
JUST ANOTHER PHOTOGRAPH OF THE PLATFORM CONSTRUCTION AT U T D AND LET ME JUST WALK YOU THROUGH SOME MORE CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES THAT ARE HAPPENING.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S CONSTRUCTION THAT'S KIND OF ONGOING, UM, DURING THE DAYS AND SOMETIMES AT NIGHT.
UM, I, I THINK IF THERE'S ANYTHING GOING ON AT NIGHT, YOU ALL WILL KNOW ABOUT IT AHEAD OF TIME IN CASE YOU GET ANY CALLS.
SO WE, WE TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE INFORM YOU ALL OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IF, IF WE HAVE TO HAVE SOMETHING OPEN AT NIGHT OR ON THE WEEKENDS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, THE SILVER LINE ACTUALLY INCLUDES ABOUT 40 BRIDGE STRUCTURES.
UM, THE LONGEST ONE IN THE CORRIDOR IS ACTUALLY IN RICHARDSON.
IT'S CROSSING US 75, UM, OUT OF CITYLINE STATION.
UH, IT'S ABOUT A MILE LONG, UH, STRUCTURE.
AND SO WE ACTUALLY JUST INSTALLED THE GIRDERS EARLIER THIS YEAR.
AND, UM, AND THAT WAS A COORDINATION WITH TECH DOT OBVIOUSLY, CUZ WE'RE CROSSING THE HIGHWAY AND, AND SO WE HAVE TO HAVE PERMISSION TO DO THAT.
UM, AND SO OUR CONTRACTOR IS ACTUALLY WORKING ON PUTTING THE SPANS ACROSS US 75, UM, ON THE APPROACH TO US 75.
WE'VE GOT THE BRIDGE OVER US 75, AND NOW WE'RE WORKING ON THEIR APPROACHES.
SO ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING THINGS ABOUT THIS IS THE AESTHETIC ARCHES, WHICH ARE SUCH A BEAUTIFUL ART FEATURE, UM, THAT WE'RE ADDING TO THE A 75 BRIDGE.
UM, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, IS SCHEDULED TO BE PLACED IN MID 2024, BUT WHAT WE'RE WORK WORKING ON THE FOUNDATIONS RIGHT NOW.
AND SO, UM, THIS WILL BE AN AMAZING GATEWAY TO THE CITY OF RICHARDSON.
AND THEN OF COURSE WE HAVE OTHER WORK HAPPENING, BUILDING A SECOND STRUCTURE OVER RENNER ROAD.
UM, AND SO WE'VE JUST RECENTLY SET THE BEAMS FOR THIS PARTICULAR, UH, BRIDGE, ALTHOUGH YOU CAN'T SEE THEM YET.
YOU'VE GOT THE, THE PIERS THERE.
BUT, UM, BUT NOW WE'VE GOT THE BEAMS SET IN PLACE.
UM, ACTUALLY HERE'S A PICTURE OF US PUTTING THE BEAMS IN PLACE, AND THAT WAS ACTUALLY IN MAY OF THIS YEAR.
AND THEN I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE WORK THAT'S COMING UP TOO.
YOU KNOW, I MENTIONED THAT WE TRY TO LET YOU KNOW WHEN SOMETHING'S HAPPENING IN YOUR CITY, UH, RELATED TO THE CONSTRUCTION.
SO, UM, WE'RE GONNA BE, UM, DOING A FULL ROAD CLOSURE AT WATERVIEW, UM, DURING THE WEEK OF AUGUST 4TH.
AND WE'LL BE SENDING OUT A NOTIFICATION TO YOU AHEAD, AHEAD OF TIME.
BUT JUST GIVING YOU A LITTLE BIT OF A HIGHLIGHT, UM, AT THIS PARTICULAR BRIEFING SO YOU'RE AWARE OF IT, UM, WHEN THE TIME COMES.
AND, UM, OF COURSE, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE ALL OF OUR WORK AT ALL THE STATIONS EVERY YEAR.
WE, UH, GO OUT TO THE COMMUNITIES AND WE SPEND SOME TIME TALKING TO THEM ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING.
AND, UM, SO WE'RE GETTING READY TO START, UH, ONE OF OUR SERIES OF MEETINGS IN ALONG THE CORRIDOR.
AND SO THE RICHARDSON MEETING, UM, TO KIND OF UPDATE PEOPLE ON CONSTRUCTION AND GET FEEDBACK AND TALK ABOUT HOW THINGS ARE GOING.
[00:15:01]
JULY 26TH AT U T D.UM, JUST PIVOTING FOR A SECOND.
UM, YOU ALL HAVE APPROVED THE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT FUNDS INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT.
UH, THAT'S A MOUTHFUL, BUT WHAT IT IS, IS IT IS SOME, UH, ADDITIONAL SALES TAX MONEY THAT WE HAD AVAILABLE, UH, WE DART HAD AVAILABLE THAT WE WANTED TO GIVE TO THE CITIES, UM, TO HELP YOU ALL, UH, DO THINGS ON THE TRANSPORTATION SIDE THAT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO BOTH YOU AND, AND DART.
SO, UM, AND ACTUALLY WE, WE NEED TO UPDATE THE SLIDE BECAUSE NOW ALL 13 SERVICE AREA CITIES HAVE APPROVED, UH, THIS PARTICULAR ILA, UM, WE DISTRIBUTE IN TOTAL 234 MILLION.
AND I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT SHARE THAT IT WAS FOR RICHARDSON, BUT I KNOW IT WAS SIGNIFICANT AND IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE FELT WAS IMPORTANT FOR US TO DO TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL HAD SOME EXTRA MONEY TO, TO HELP US, YOU KNOW, DO COMPLIMENTARY TRANSPORTATION SERVICES IN YOUR AREA.
LET ME TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.
UM, OUR PRIMARY FOCUS IS ON CUSTOMER RETENTION RIGHT NOW.
UM, ANY OF YOU WHO ARE IN BUSINESS AND SELL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES KNOW THAT IF YOU CAN'T KEEP THE CUSTOMERS YOU HAVE TODAY, YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO GET NEW CUSTOMERS.
SO, UM, SO WE UNDERSTAND THAT IN ORDER TO RETAIN THE CUSTOMERS THAT WE HAVE, WE REALLY HAVE TO IMPROVE, UH, SECURITY, CLEANLINESS AND RELIABILITY.
AND SO WE ARE FOCUSING ON THOSE THINGS RIGHT NOW.
UM, FROM A SECURITY PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE TAKING A MULTIFACETED APPROACH TO CREATING A SENSE OF SECURITY ON OUR SYSTEM.
UM, WE HAVE AN IMMEDIATE NEED FOR VISIBLE SECURITY PRESENCE, AND SO WE WANNA SUPPLEMENT OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT PRESENCE WITH, UM, TECHNOLOGY AND OTHER STRATEGIES TO HELP US DO SOME SURVEILLANCE ON THE SYSTEM.
UM, WE NEED TO WORK WITH ALL OF OUR CITIES AND ALL THE BUSINESSES, UM, IN THE COMMUNITY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE DO ABOUT SHELTER SEEKING RIDERS.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS NOT DART'S FAULT, BUT IT'S OUR PROBLEM.
IT HAPPENS TO SHOW UP ON OUR SYSTEM.
UM, IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS ALWAYS CHALLENGING.
SO THIS IS WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY WANT TO COLLABORATE WITH ALL OF OUR CITIES AND, AND TRY TO FIND SOME SOLUTIONS THAT ARE, UM, THOUGHTFUL AND, AND HELPFUL FOR THE, UH, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE SUFFERING FROM HOMELESSNESS.
UM, CERTAINLY THAT INVOLVES THINGS LIKE MENTAL HEALTH, UM, SAN SANITATION, SANITARY CONDITIONS, HYGIENE CONDITIONS, HYGIENIC CONDITIONS, UM, THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT, THAT WE NEED TO GRAPPLE WITH.
AND I THINK ALL OF OUR CITIES IN OUR SERVICE AREA ARE DEALING WITH THIS RIGHT NOW.
SO, UM, WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS.
WE ARE PARTNERING WITH THE MEADOWS MENTAL HEALTH INSTITUTE TO TRY TO PUT TOGETHER SOME CLEAN TEAM, OR, I'M SORRY, NOT CLEAN TEAMS. THEY'RE, THEY'RE, UH, UH, OUTREACH TEAMS, UM, THAT INCLUDE MENTAL HEALTH SPECIALISTS AND ALSO, UM, SOME PARAMEDICS TO HELP US ACTUALLY INTERVENE WITH SOME FOLKS WHO ARE ON THE SYSTEM WHO MAY NEED SOME SERVICES WHO OTHERWISE WOULDN'T GET THEM.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE HOPE TO LAUNCH LATER THIS YEAR.
WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THE AGREEMENTS RIGHT NOW FROM A CLEANLINESS PERSPECTIVE.
WE HAVE A CLEAN TEAM INITIATIVE THAT DEPLOYS ONBOARD CLEANING PERSONNEL FROM THE UNITED COMMUNITY OF FAITH, UM, TO REMOVE TRASH AND DEBRIS ABORT OUR LIGHT RAIL VEHICLES.
THE UNITED COMMUNITY OF FAITH IS EMPLOYING PEOPLE WHO ARE FORMERLY HOMELESS.
AND SO IT'S KIND OF, YOU KNOW, KIND OF KILLING TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE, RIGHT? WE'RE ACTUALLY EMPLOYING PEOPLE, BUT ALSO, UH, BRINGING SOME SERVICES THAT ARE VERY, VERY MUCH NEEDED ON OUR, ON OUR SYSTEM.
SO THESE TEAMS ARE ACTUALLY SUPPLEMENTING THE EXTENSIVE CLEANING PROTOCOLS THAT WE ALREADY HAD IN PLACE.
AND, UM, AND WE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL 24 CONTRACTED CLEANERS, UM, TO ACTUALLY PICK UP TRASH AND, AND BOARD OUR LIGHT RAIL VEHICLES THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
AND THEY RIDE THE SYSTEM ALL DAY AS WELL.
UM, THEY'RE OPERATING ACTUALLY, UM, UH, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, UM, FROM 6:00 AM TO 10 P PM.
AND SO WHAT WE FOUND, THIS WAS REALLY INTERESTING, WHAT WE FOUND WAS THAT THE PRESENCE OF THE CLEAN TEAMS WAS ACTUALLY HELPING PEOPLE FEEL MORE SECURE ON THE SYSTEM.
SO IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE AN ARMED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, JUST HAVING SOMEBODY THERE IN A UNIFORM, UM, SAYING DART, UH, SEEMED TO MAKE PEOPLE FEEL A LOT MORE COMFORTABLE.
SO THAT WAS GREAT, A GREAT LEARNING FOR US.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, OF COURSE WE CONTINUE WITH OUR REGULAR CLEANING REGIMEN, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, CLEANING THE TRAINS EVERY NIGHT, WASHING AND, AND, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, CLEANING ALL THE SEATS AND ALL THAT STUFF.
UM, FROM A RELIABILITY PERSPECTIVE, WE LAUNCHED OUR NEW BUS NETWORK IN JANUARY OF 2022.
UM, I HAD, I ALREADY MENTIONED OUR LABOR SHORTAGE.
UM, DUE TO THE LABOR SHORTAGE A YEAR AGO, WE WERE MISSING ABOUT 15% OF OUR SCHEDULED TRIPS.
AND SO WE HAD TO SCALE BACK OUR SERVICES IN JUNE OF 2022 BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH OPERATORS.
AND SO THAT'S NOT WHERE WE WANTED TO BE.
UM, AND SINCE LAST JUNE, OUR HIRING TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING SUPER CLOSELY WITH OPERATIONS TO HIRE LIKE CRAZY.
UM, WE'VE HAD HIRING EVENTS EVERY MONTH WE HAVE ARRANGEMENTS WHERE WE CAN ACTUALLY, UH, BRING PEOPLE IN AND THEY CAN WALK OUT WITH A JOB OFFER.
UM, OF COURSE, THEY STILL HAVE TO GO
[00:20:01]
THROUGH ALL THE TESTING AND, YOU KNOW, DRUG TESTING AND ALL, YOU KNOW, ALL THE BACKGROUND CHECKS AND EVERYTHING ELSE, BUT THEY SHOW UP TO WORK, WE GET THEM TRAINED, WE DO ALL THE OTHER, UM, SORT OF REQUIRED TESTING AND, AND CHECKS AND, YOU KNOW, IF ALL THINGS CHECK OUT, THEN THEY'RE, THEY'RE OFFICIALLY EMPLOYED.SO IT'S REALLY REDUCED OUR HIRING TIME.
UM, RIGHT NOW WE ACTUALLY HAVE FULLY FILLED ALL OF OUR OPERATOR POSITIONS, UM, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT NO ONE ELSE IN THE COUNTRY IS DOING.
SO SINCE THEN, WE HAVE RESTORED FULLY ALL THE SERVICES THAT WE CUT BACK IN JUNE OF LAST YEAR.
WE RESTORED THEM IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR.
AND NOW, UM, WE ARE HITTING 99% OF OUR TRIPS.
SO WE'RE CANCELING ACTUALLY LESS THAN 1% OF OUR TRIPS.
AND THAT'S BEEN A VERY CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE, UM, SINCE WE, UH, FULLY RESTORED OUR SERVICES.
SO WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF THAT.
WELL, WHAT'S IN STORE FOR DART IN THE FUTURE? UM, DART IS LOOKING AT THE FUTURE AND HOW BEST TO IMPROVE MOBILITY IN OUR SERVICE AREA.
AND SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE A BUS FLEET REPLACEMENT COMING IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
SO WE'RE DEVELOPING SOME TRANSITION PLANS THAT WILL ACTUALLY LOOK AT FUEL TYPES AND TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE, UH, THINGS THAT WILL WORK IN OUR OPERATING ENVIRONMENT.
UM, WE'RE JUST NOW STARTING TO ENGAGE THE SERVICE AREA, CITIES AND AREA MOBILITY PLANS, WHICH ARE REALLY DESIGNED TO LOOK AT WHERE YOUR HIGH ACTIVITY CENTERS ARE GONNA BE IN THE FUTURE, WHERE YOU EXPECT GROWTH TO HAPPEN IN TERMS OF TRAVEL AND MOBILITY, WHAT CORRIDORS THOSE ARE AND HOW DARK CAN HELP YOU ADD CAPACITY TO THOSE CORRIDORS SO THAT YOU'RE NOT HAVING TO WIDEN YOUR STREETS.
UM, IT'S REALLY EASY FOR US TO ACTUALLY PUT A BUS ROUTE ON A CORRIDOR TO CONNECT YOUR DESTINATIONS AND TO REALLY ADD THAT CAPACITY THROUGH OUR BUSES AND, AND TRAINS.
SO, UM, WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING WITH YOU ALL TO, UM, TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN PARTNER AND, AND PROVIDE BETTER SERVICES FOR YOUR COMMUNITIES.
UM, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT THE NEXT PHASE OF OUR, UH, NEW BUS NETWORK.
WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE NEED TO ADD ADDITIONAL SERVICE, UM, TO OUR, UM, TO OUR CURRENT BUS NETWORK.
AND WHEN WE LAUNCHED THE NEW BUS NETWORK, WE WENT FROM SEVEN TO 22 FREQUENT ROUTES.
UM, WE'RE FINDING THAT SOME OF OUR LOCAL ROUTES ARE STARTING TO SEE THE RIDERSHIP THAT WARRANT US INCREASING SERVICE.
SO WE'RE GONNA START TO ADD TO OUR PORTFOLIO OF SERVICES THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE, UM, PROVIDING TO ALL OF OUR CITIES.
ANOTHER THING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS WHAT I REFER TO AS THE WAITING EXPERIENCE.
UM, WE REALLY NEED TO, UM, IMPROVE THE WAITING EXPERIENCE FOR THE BUS RIDERS.
NOW IF YOU LOOK AT THE RAIL EXAMPLE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE BUILD A RAIL SYSTEM AND BUILD A STATION, WE ALWAYS PROVIDE SHELTER SEATING AND LIGHTING FOR OUR RAIL PASSENGERS.
THAT'S NOT TRUE ON THE BUS SIDE.
AND IF YOU GO OUT ANYWHERE IN OUR SERVICE AREA, YOU MIGHT FIND A BUS STOP WHERE IT'S LITERALLY LIKE A POLE IN THE GROUND WITH A SIGN ON IT.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO RIGHT NOW IS WE'RE TRYING TO PROVIDE A DIGNIFIED RIDE FOR OUR BUS RIDERS.
WE'RE THINKING ABOUT WHAT IT'S LIKE FOR PEOPLE TO WAIT FOR A BUS THAT MAYBE ONLY COMES EVERY 15 MINUTES OR MAYBE AN EVEN, EVEN AN HOUR, AND WHAT IT'S LIKE FOR THEM IN A HUNDRED DEGREE HEAT WITH HEATING INDEX OF 113.
SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS LOOK AT THE NEXT GENERATION OF BUS SHELTERS, AND WE PARTNERED WITH THE, UM, ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON TO COME UP WITH A BUS BUS SHELTER OF THE FUTURE.
AND SO WE'RE ACTUALLY WORKING RIGHT NOW, I DON'T HAVE THE ACTUAL RENDERING OF THE, UM, THE PROPOSED BUS SHELTER, BUT WE'RE WORKING WITH A MANUFACTURER RIGHT NOW TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO MANUFACTURE A PROTOTYPE.
AND WHEN WE GET THAT, WE'RE HOPING TO BRING PEOPLE OUT TO HAVE A LOOK AT IT.
WE'RE PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT IT BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, REALLY HELP PEOPLE FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE AS THEY'RE WAITING FOR THEIR BUSES.
ON THE RAIL SIDE, WE HAVE A MAJOR SYSTEM MODERNIZATION PROGRAM COMING UP.
UM, WE HAVE A SCHEDULED FLEET REPLACEMENT, UH, COMING IN THE 2026 TIMEFRAME.
AND THAT HAS TRIGGERED A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT THINGS AND A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES THAT WE HAVE TO DO ON OUR SYSTEM, UM, INCLUDING IMPROVING OUR MAINTENANCE FACILITIES, UH, LOOKING AT OUR PLATFORMS, UH, LOOKING AT OUR SIGNAL SYSTEM ON THE LIGHT RAIL, UH, LIGHT RAIL NETWORK.
UM, BASICALLY WE HAVE A 25 YEAR OLD SYSTEM.
AND WHEN YOU BRING A NEW VEHICLE IN, YOU DON'T WANNA DUMB DOWN THE NEW VEHICLE TO WORK WITH OUR OLD SYSTEM.
WE WANNA UPGRADE OUR EX OUR EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE SO WE CAN ACTUALLY MAKE THINGS TALK TO EACH OTHER AND WORK REALLY WELL.
SO WE'RE DOING A WHOLE SYSTEM MODERNIZATION.
IT'S GONNA BE A HUGE INVESTMENT.
UH, IT MAY CAUSE SOME DISRUPTION, BUT WE'LL BE TALKING TO YOU ABOUT THAT AS WE GO ALONG.
AND ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING THINGS WE HAVE GOING RELATED TO THE FLEET REPLACEMENT ON THE, ON BOTH THE BUS AND THE RAIL SIDE, IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE OUR CUSTOMERS IN HELPING US DESIGN THE INTERIOR OF THESE VEHICLES.
UM, THIS IS A, A, YOU KNOW, UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO ACTUALLY TALK TO THEM ABOUT WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE, WHAT MAKES THEM MORE COMFORTABLE, UH, IN TERMS OF THE LAYOUT OF THE SEATS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF SEATS DO YOU LIKE, UH, HOW, HOW HIGH OR LOW DO THOSE HANDHOLDS NEED TO BE? UM, I WAS JUST RECENTLY IN A ANOTHER CITY AND, AND, UH, I NOTICED THAT THE HAND, THE LITTLE STRAPS WERE ACTUALLY LOW ENOUGH FOR SOMEBODY MY HEIGHT TO ACTUALLY HOLD ONTO THEM.
UM, WHEREAS HERE, OURS ARE LIKE WAY UP HERE AND
[00:25:01]
I CAN'T ACTUALLY REACH THEM ALL THE TIME.UM, SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE KEN IN ORDER TO, UM, YOU KNOW, REACH THOSE STRAPS.
SO, UM, SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO ENGAGE OUR CUSTOMERS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN TELL US A LOT OF THINGS ABOUT WHAT WE'RE WORKS FOR THEM AND EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO ACCOMMODATE AND MAKE THEIR RIDE MORE COMFORTABLE IS WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE WANNA DO.
ALONG WITH THE LIGHT RAIL, UH, FLEET REPLACEMENT.
UM, AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE SOME FACILITIES UPGRADES THAT WE NEED TO TAKE CARE OF.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE WE HAVE OUR SIGNAL SYSTEM.
WE HAVE BETWEEN TWO AND FOUR SIGNAL SYSTEMS ON OUR, ON OUR LIGHT RAIL, DEPENDING ON WHO YOU ASK.
UM, BUT WHAT WE WANNA DO IS UNIFY OUR SIGNAL SYSTEM.
SO WE'RE WORKING WITH MODERN TECHNOLOGY AND WE HAVE THE BEST TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE TO US.
OKAY, THAT WAS ALL THE CONSTRUCTION STUFF, UM, AND TECHNICAL STUFF.
LET ME TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
UM, AND LET ME GIVE YOU SOME BACKGROUND ON WHY THIS MATTERS.
SO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT, UH, THE COG HAS BEEN DOING AND WHAT THE RT RTC HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT, UH, ALL THE PROJECTIONS ARE THAT WE'RE GONNA BRING 4 MILLION MORE PEOPLE TO THE METROPLEX IN THE NEXT 20 YEARS.
AND WITH THAT 3 MILLION MORE JOBS AND WITH ALL THE RELOCATIONS COMING TO THE METROPLEX AND DEVELOPMENT SHIFTING, UM, FROM SORT OF THE TRADITIONAL CENTERS, THE, THE HUBS THAT WE'VE ALWAYS DESIGNED FOR, UM, WE HAVE INCREASING DEMAND ON A, AN OVERSUBSCRIBED SYSTEM AND A, A CONGESTED SYSTEM IN TERMS OF OUR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A CHOICE RIGHT NOW TO MAKE ON HOW WE'RE GOING TO, UH, LOOK INTO THE FUTURE AS IT RELATES TO TRANSPORTATION.
AND I THINK THIS, UM, IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT BOTH AT THE MACRO LEVEL, UM, THE METROPLEX LEVEL, UM, BUT ALSO AT THE CITY LEVEL.
UM, AS I KIND OF ALLUDED TO BEFORE, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO THINK ABOUT TRANSIT AS PART OF THE BROADER TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM AND REALLY TRY TO FIND WAYS TO MAKE THE TRANSIT SYSTEM WORK BETTER FOR PEOPLE SO THAT PEOPLE WILL ACTUALLY TAKE IT MORE.
UM, AND I THINK THAT IS WHERE DART HAS A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE RESPONSIBILITY, RIGHT? I I NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO ACTUALLY IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF OUR SERVICES.
A LA THE WAITING EXPERIENCE STUFF THAT I TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, UM, IMPROVING, YOU KNOW, BUS SHELTERS, IMPROVING FREQUENCIES, UH, MAKING TRANSIT MUCH MORE AVAILABLE TO PEOPLE.
SO WE HAVE A STRATEGIC PLANNING EFFORT UNDERWAY TO HELP US FOCUS AND PRIORITIZE OUR INVESTMENTS AND EFFORTS OVER THE NEXT SEVEN YEARS.
AND THIS PLAN IS GOING TO BE BOTH A MANAGEMENT AND A COMMUNICATIONS TOOL, AND IT'LL ALSO BE SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE CAN USE TO HOLD DART ACCOUNTABLE.
SO I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS.
UM, THIS JOURNEY THAT I'M TALKING ABOUT IS, YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS TALK ABOUT GOING FROM POINT A TO POINT B.
UM, WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME, LIKE THE LAST SIX MONTHS INTERVIEWING CITY MANAGERS, UH, BOARD MEMBERS, UM, STAKEHOLDERS ACROSS THE, UH, METROPLEX JUST TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THE FUTURE SHOULD LOOK LIKE.
BECAUSE BEFORE YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU'RE GONNA DO AND HOW YOU'RE GONNA DO IT, YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU WANNA BE.
SO YOU GOTTA DEFINE THE VISION.
SO, UM, THIS IS JUST A VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF, OF US, YOU KNOW, WANTING TO GET TO POINT B.
AND THE IDEA HERE IS IF WE SPEND ENOUGH TIME DEFINING WHAT OUR VISION LOOKS LIKE, THEN WE CAN ACTUALLY ACCELERATE, UH, THE TRANSITION FROM A TO B.
SO IN OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS, AS I SAID, THE STRATEGIC DESIGN AND THE VISIONING PROCESS WAS REALLY ABOUT DEFINING WHAT POINT B LOOKS LIKE.
AND OUR STRATEGIC PLAN IS GONNA HELP SET INTO MOTION ALL THE ACTIONS TO OPERATIONALIZE THAT, UH, THE VISION COMING TO FRUITION.
AND SO WE'RE WORKING ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN PART OF IT RIGHT NOW.
WE'VE JUST FINISHED THE STRATEGIC DESIGN PART, AND SO WE'RE GONNA START TO REWRITE THE MISSION AND VISION OF DART.
UM, WE'RE GONNA START TO SET THE GOALS AND METRICS FOR ACTUALLY ACHIEVING, UM, OUR GOALS.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO BE WHEN WE GROW UP.
REALLY WHAT WE WANNA DO IS WE WANT DART TO BE A REGIONAL STRATEGIC ASSET FOR ALL OF OUR CITIES.
I THINK A LOT OF TIMES, UM, NOT SO MUCH IN RICHARDSON, BUT WHAT WE HEAR FROM PEOPLE IS THAT THEY REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND THE RELEVANCE OF DART.
AND SO WE REALLY WANT TO BECOME A LOT MORE RELEVANT.
WE WANT TO BE SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE UPHOLDS AS THE PRIMARY REASON WHY YOU WANT, WOULD WANT TO LOCATE OR RELOCATE TO THIS SERVICE AREA.
UM, WE NEED, WE NEED TO DO THAT THROUGH IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF OUR SERVICES.
UH, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE JOURNEYS THAT WE PROVIDE FOR PEOPLE ARE EASY AND CONVENIENT.
AND THE THING THAT I THINK IS THE MOST EXCITING IS THE IDEA OF WORKING WITH OUR CITIES TO ACTIVATE ALL THE SPACES THAT WE HAVE AROUND OUR STATIONS.
UM, ALL OF THE LAND THAT WE HAVE THAT WE HAVE NO USE FOR RIGHT NOW.
UH, WE WANNA WORK WITH YOU TO FIND WAYS TO MAKE THEM, UH, PLACES WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER, WHERE THEY, THEY WANT TO HANG OUT, WHERE THEY WANT TO, UH, BUY THINGS AND SPEND MONEY AND REALLY GENERATE REVENUES FOR THE CITIES.
SO, UM, IT'S REALLY TRYING TO INTEGRATE OUR STATIONS AND OUR LAND, UM, WITH THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY SO IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT'S A BARRIER ANYMORE.
AND I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A STATION PLATFORM SURROUNDED BY A SEA OF PARKING, AND THEN THERE'S A NEIGHBORHOOD.
[00:30:01]
WANNA BLUR THE LINES WHERE THAT PARKING IS, RIGHT.UM, IF WE CAN FIND WAYS TO ACTIVATE THAT SPACE AND BRING MORE PEOPLE TO THAT SPACE, THEN I THINK WE'VE REALLY ACCOMPLISHED OUR GOAL AND CREATED PLACES FOR PEOPLE TO, UM, TO REALLY ENJOY LIVING IN A CITY LIKE RICHARDSON, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO WE HAVE, UM, SET INTO MOTION THESE NEXT STEPS FOR OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE A DRAFT PLAN BY THE SEPTEMBER TIMEFRAME AND, UM, AND HOPEFULLY FINAL APPROVAL OF THE PLAN, UM, TOWARDS THE END OF THIS YEAR.
AND SO OF COURSE, WE'LL BE UPDATING YOU AS WE GO ALONG THE WAY, AND, UM, AND WE'LL BE REALLY EXCITED TO REVEAL THAT TO YOU WHEN WE, WHEN WE GET TO THAT POINT.
UM, AND THEN THE LAST THING IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY ARE EXCITED ABOUT WORKING WITH YOU.
WE VALUE THE PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE WITH ALL OF OUR CITIES.
UM, THERE ARE JUST SO MANY ISSUES THAT WE ALL ENCOUNTER HERE IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR AND GOVERNMENT.
UM, I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE TRYING TO RESOLVE ANY OF THESE ISSUES WITHOUT THE PARTNERSHIP AND SUPPORT, UM, BETWEEN US AND OUR SERVICE AREA CITIES.
AND SO WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE CAN'T DO THIS ALONE, AND WE REALLY HOPE THAT YOU WILL, UM, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH US AND CONTINUE TO WORK WITH US AS YOU HAVE BEEN.
UM, THIS IS REALLY THE LAST THING.
UM, SO I UNDERSTAND THAT RICHARDSON IS CELEBRATING ITS HUNDRED 50TH ANNIVERSARY THIS WEEKEND.
CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY.
UM, CONCURRENT TO THAT, DART IS CELEBRATING A 40TH ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR IN AUGUST.
AND SO, UM, WE ARE, YOU KNOW, GOING TO BE CELEBRATING THAT, UM, IN THE COMING MONTHS, UM, ACTUALLY THE COMING YEAR.
AND WE'LL BE ROLLING OUT A LOT MORE INFORMATION AS WE GO ALONG, BUT WE WILL BE INVITING ALL OF YOU TO PARTAKE IN THE CELEBRATIONS.
IN FACT, I THINK OUR, UM, RECEPTION WE'RE SCHEDULED TO HAVE AT THE EISMAN CENTER, SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING SUCH A GREAT AMENITY FOR US TO, UH, HOST, UM, IN, IN RICHARDSON.
SO, UM, WE'LL BE IN TOUCH WITH YOU WITH MORE INFORMATION.
AND LAST THING IS JUST HERE'S MY CONTACT INFORMATION.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.
I'M REALLY DELIGHTED TO BE HERE, AND I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
MR. WALKER, EITHER OF Y'ALL WOULD LIKE TO ADD ANYTHING TO THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, I'LL SAY THAT THAT, THAT, UH, MS. LEE HAS HAD A TREMENDOUS CHALLENGE, AS SHE INDICATED, BUT, BUT WATCHING HER UNFOLD THAT THE NEW LEADERSHIP SHE HAS IN PLACE, THE, THE ORGANIZATION THAT SHE'S PUT IN PLACE, THE WORK SHE'S DOING ON STRATEGY HAS JUST BEEN PHENOMENAL.
SO I'M VERY OPTIMISTIC, UH, ABOUT WHERE WE'RE GOING AND CITIES THAT ARE PART OF DART WILL PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN THAT BECAUSE WE'LL BE BACK, WE'LL BE WORKING WITH YOUR STAFF TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE CAN DO TO SERVE YOU BETTER AND, UH, AND KEEP YOU UP TO, UP TO DATE ON OUR PLANS AND WHERE WE'RE GOING.
AND SO IT'LL BE A TEAM EFFORT FOR SHARING.
WE APPRECIATE YOUR INVOLVEMENT.
I'D LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING TO HER JUST, JUST AS A KINDA A BRIEF MEANS OF INTRODUCTION.
I'M, I'M NEW TO THE AREA MYSELF.
I'VE BEEN IN, BEEN IN THE METROPLEX FOR ABOUT TWO MONTHS NOW, AND, YOU KNOW, DIRECTOR SLAGEL AND, AND, UH, NADINE MENTIONED IT'S SORT OF THE VISION THAT'S BEING, BEING CAST IS WHAT GETS ME EXCITED AND, AND, UH, EAGER TO BE HERE AND BE A ROOT, UH, IN, IN THE COMMUNITY, IN THE PROJECT THAT'S GOING ON, THE SILVER LINE, AND THEN SORT OF THE NEXT STEPS THAT WE HAVE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF OUR, UH, OF OUR SYSTEM.
SO, UH, AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THE PARTNERSHIP.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND WELCOME TO RICHARDSON.
ONE THING THAT YOU DIDN'T SPEAK ON, NADINE WAS I THINK IT WOULD Y'ALL USE THE TERM RAIL TO TRAIL, HOW Y'ALL HAVE PARTNERED WITH THOSE AMENITIES THAT ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO OUR CITY AND THE CONNECTIVITY THROUGH THE TRAILS.
YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING ON THAT REAL QUICK? YEAH, UM, I MEAN, CERTAINLY DART, UH, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE CALLED DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT, UM, YOU KNOW, TRANSIT IN MY MIND IS VERY MULTIMODAL.
AND SO WE ARE REALLY HAPPY TO ASSIST WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF, YOU KNOW, ALTERNATIVE, I SHOULDN'T SAY ALTERNATIVE OF OPTIONS, UM, FOR TRANSPORTATION.
AND SO RAIL TO TRAILS, UH, OF COURSE PART OF THAT.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, ON THE SILVER LINE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN, UH, DOING KIND OF A FIRST PHASE, UM, TRYING TO PUT IN A LOT OF THE STRUCTURES FOR THE, THE REGIONAL HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL.
UM, I THINK THEY CALL IT THE COTTON BELT TRAIL, UM, ALSO, BUT, UM, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE POINT HERE IS TO TRY TO INCREASE ACCESS TO OTHER WAYS OF MOVING AROUND SO THAT PEOPLE ARE NOT SO HEAVILY RELYING ON SINGLE, SINGLE OCCUPANT VEHICLES TO GO WHERE THEY NEED TO GO.
COUNSEL, ANY QUESTIONS BY ANYONE? MR. CORCORAN? HEY, THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR.
HEY NADINE, WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING BEFORE US AND, UH, AND PRESENTING AND I'M REALLY HAPPY TO GET TO MEET YOU AND, UM, BELATED WELCOME I GUESS TO DFW AND TO DART.
UM, AND I DEFINITELY, YOU MENTIONED
[00:35:01]
AT THE VERY BEGINNING YOU SAID YOU PROBABLY HAVEN'T SEEN THE WORK WE'RE DOING.WELL, I LIVE RIGHT ON RINER, SO I SEE IT ALL THE TIME.
AND, UH, IN FACT, AN 18 WHEELER FROM ONE OF YOUR SITES PULLED OUT RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME AS I WAS COMING HERE.
I'M GLAD THE WORK'S GETTING DONE
I JUST WANNA, I HAD A COUPLE COMMENTS AND, AND CLARIFICATIONS REAL QUICK.
DID YOU SAY 12 YEARS FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE SILVER LINE? NO, NO.
YEAH, JUST TAKE OFF 10 YEARS, 18 TO 24 MONTHS.
I DON'T KNOW WHERE I GOT THE 12 YEARS FROM.
YEAH, NO, YOU JUST ABOUT GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK.
AND CONGRATS ON THE AGREEMENT WITH DALLAS.
I JUST READ ABOUT THAT, SO IT'S, THANK YOU.
UM, REAL QUICK, UH, SOMETHING, SO JUST SO I'LL START WITH THE FEEDBACK, THEN I'LL GET THE, THE QUESTIONS CUZ ACTUALLY, UM, UH, AROUND THIS TIME LAST YEAR, FEBRUARY 22, LAST YEAR, MY CAR WENT LIKE COMPLETELY OUT AND THEY COULDN'T GET THE PARTS IN.
SO I ACTUALLY RODE THE DART ABOUT 20 DIFFERENT TIMES THROUGHOUT THAT PERIOD, THROUGHOUT THAT MONTH.
UM, AND I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT GO PASS APP IS A LIFESAVER.
THAT THING IS, WAS JUST AMAZING FOR PLANNING TRIPS ALL AROUND D F W I FOUND THE BUSES TO MOSTLY BE ON TIME ACTUALLY.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR MYSELF, I DIDN'T FEEL PARTICULARLY SCARED ON THE BUS, BUT THEN AGAIN, I'M A 32 YEAR OLD GUY, RIGHT? SO JUST WANTED TO SAY, I MEAN, FROM THAT, FROM THAT ASPECT, UM, I FOUND IT TO BE PRETTY USEFUL AND I WRITE IT INTERMITTENTLY SINCE, AND I'VE HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE.
WE'RE ALWAYS GLAD TO HEAR POSITIVE COMMENTS,
I'M SURE YOU DON'T GET A LOT OF THEM, WHICH IS
I, YOU KNOW, I THINK, I THINK YOU ALL ARE UNIQUELY, UH, POSITIONED TO UNDERSTAND, UH, THE NATURE OF THE COMMENTS THAT WE ALL GET MM-HMM.
WELL, IT'S, THEY'RE USUALLY NOT POSITIVE
AND, AND ESPECIALLY WITH RICHARDSON, RIGHT? DART IS SO IMPORTANT TO OUR SUCCESS AS A CITY, UM, AND MAYBE MORE SO THAN OTHER CITIES, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY STATIONS AND SO MANY PEOPLE WHO USE IT.
MY OTHER LITTLE ANECDOTE, WHICH IS JUST REALLY INTERESTING WHEN I HAVE THIS BRIEFING TODAY, BECAUSE THIS AFTERNOON SOMEONE CAME UP TO ME AND YOU MENTIONED LIKE THE RETENTION PIECE OF IT AND SHE SAID, HEY, I, YOU KNOW, I USED TO RIDE DART ALL AROUND AT THE VA, UM, BUT I DON'T WRITE IT ANYMORE IN THE AFTERNOON, BUT I STILL WRITE IT IN THE MORNING CAUSE IT'S SAFER IN THE MORNING.
RIGHT? AND IT'S, IT'S JUST, IT WAS AN INTERESTING ANECDOTE BECAUSE WE'RE HAVING THIS BRIEFING NOW AND I WAS REALLY HAPPY TO BE ABLE TO TELL HER ALL THE INVESTMENTS Y'ALL ARE MAKING IN SAFETY FOR THE FUTURE.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A PART ON COUNCIL AS WELL, ADVERTISING THAT TO OUR CONSTITUENTS AND GETTING PEOPLE TO, TO STAY WRITING DART WITH THESE INVESTMENTS YOU'RE MAKING.
UM, SO A COUPLE OTHER SORT OF QUESTIONS I HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR THE, THE HOMELESS HOMELESSNESS INITIATIVE, AND YOU SAID THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT REALLY FALLS ON, ON US AS A CITY TO COLLABORATE WITH Y'ALL.
DO YOU HAVE ANY KIND OF IDEAS OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD OR NOT, OR THAT YOU'VE BEEN THINKING OF? UM, WHAT INITIAL THOUGHTS DO YOU HAVE FOR, FOR HOW TO COLLABORATE WITH CITIES? UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WHAT I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING IS, YOU KNOW, ARE THERE SERVICES AVAILABLE WITHIN YOUR CITY? UM, WHAT WORK DO YOU ALL ALREADY DO, UM, TO TRY TO, YOU KNOW, MITIGATE SOME OF THE MM-HMM.
I DON'T THINK ANY CITY, NO, IN THE COUNTRY HAS THE ANSWERS AND NO TRANSIT AGENCY HAS THE ANSWERS MM-HMM.
UM, BUT I THINK THE BOTTOM LINE IS JUST TRYING TO WORK TOGETHER AND UNDERSTAND HOW, UM, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO HELP SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE IN NEED.
UM, WE NEED TO ADDRESS SOME, SOME REAL, YOU KNOW, ISSUES.
UM, HOMELESSNESS ITSELF OF COURSE IS NOT A CRIME, BUT LIKE I SAID, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, BEHAVIORS AND CONDITIONS THAT PERHAPS POSE A THREAT TO OTHER PEOPLE.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT HOW WE APPROACH THIS AND, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WANNA BE, UM, COGNIZANT OF THE FACT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK PEOPLE DON'T WANNA SEE IT.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE ALL ARE IN THIS TOGETHER AND I THINK AS A SOCIETY AND A COMMUNITY, I THINK WE ARE MUCH BETTER TOGETHER THAN WE ARE APART.
UM, MEADOWS MENTAL HEALTH INSTITUTES, YOU MENTIONED THAT ONE, MAJOR ONE, OF COURSE, DALLAS COUNTY, CITY OF DALLAS.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, ANY OTHER, UH, ORGANIZATION WHO WE CAN WORK WITH, I THINK PARKLAND IS INVOLVED.
UM, WE MAY BE REACHING OUT TO METRO CARES.
SO, UM, I THINK TRYING TO CONNECT WITH THE SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO PEOPLE, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH THEM TO GET THE VARIOUS PROFESSIONALS ON THE TEAMS IS REALLY HELPFUL.
UM, BUT OF COURSE THAT TAKES A LOT OF WORK AND, UM, AND YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T WANNA MAKE IT SOUND LIKE WE'RE ONLY DOING THIS IN DALLAS, UM, BUT THEY, THEY HAPPEN TO HAVE A LOT OF THE SERVICES THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
SO, UM, IF YOU HAVE OTHER IDEAS ABOUT OTHER SERVICE SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE, UM, WE WOULD LOVE TO JUST GET WITH YOU AND HEAR ABOUT THEM.
UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ANSWER IS,
[00:40:01]
UM, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITIES.WELL, I MEAN, I'LL JUST DEFER.
I KNOW THAT WE ARE WORKING REALLY HARD ON IT, UH, WITH OUR CITY STAFF, AND I THINK IF ANY OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER TO KIND OF GET INTO THIS, UH, THIS WHOLE NETWORK OF HOMELESS AND HOUSING ADVOCACY GROUPS, WE SHOULD, WE SHOULD TAKE THAT PLUNGE TOGETHER WHERE WE CAN.
I, I THINK, UH, TO, TO KIND OF BUILD ON THAT, I THINK AS A LOT OF THIS THINKING IS IN THE FORMATIVE STAGES MM-HMM.
AND SO I THINK THEY'RE, THEY'RE UNDERWAY.
IT'S STILL IN THE FORMATIVE STAGES, BUT, UH, THE GOOD NEWS IS EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT IT.
SO, WELL THANK YOU FOR, FOR THAT PART.
UM, NOW LEMME SEE REAL QUICK ALSO, UH, WITH THE, THE FULL, THE ROAD CLOSURE ON WATERVIEW ON AUGUST 4TH, AND THEN KIND OF TYING THAT INTO THE, THE WEDNESDAY, JULY 26TH UTD MEETING.
HAVE Y'ALL BEEN, HAVE YOU BEEN, HAVE YOU, HAVE YOU HEARD OF A, A GROUP WE HAVE AT UTD CALLED COMMENTS FOR BETTER TRANSIT? HAVE Y'ALL EVER YES.
WORKED WITH THEM? YOU HAVE, I I KNOW THAT, UM, I MEAN, I HAVE HEARD OF THEM.
I HAVEN'T INTERACTED WITH, UM, I THINK SOME OF THEM MAY HAVE COME TO OUR MEETINGS OR PUB, OR I'M SORRY, OUR BOARD MEETINGS.
SO I'M JUST THINKING IF YOU'RE TRYING TO GET SOME REALLY GOOD TURNOUT AT THE UTD EVENT, I MEAN, THEY COME TO OH, THEY'VE BEEN VERY HELPFUL.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY MIGHT BE REALLY GOOD FOR GETTING PEOPLE TO SHOW UP.
THEY'RE REALLY INVOLVED IN, IN EVERYTHING WE DO.
NOT JUST TRANSIT, BUT TRANSPORTATION RELATED AROUND RICHARDSON, I'LL, I'LL CONNECT WITH OUR, UM, OUR, UH, PUBLIC, OUR COMMUNITY RELATIONS TEAM.
YEAH, THEY'RE VERY HELPFUL FOR US TOO.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I WANTED TO ASK? I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S ALL I HAD.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO, AND THANK YOU.
UM, AND I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE ALL THE CHANGES COMING THROUGH.
COUNCILMAN COUNCILWOMAN JUSTICE.
IT'S A PLEASURE TO FINALLY MEET YOU IN PERSON.
LIKE, UH, COUNCILMAN CORCORAN SAID
UM, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT GOLINK THAT WAS SORT OF A BIG CHANGE FOR RICHARDSON RELATED TO THE BUS ROUTING AND SORT OF A NEW MODEL.
UM, CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW RIDERSHIP HAS CHANGED SINCE INTRODUCING, UH, GOLINK, PARTICULARLY IN RICHARDSON, UM, AND THEN IN THE BROADER CONTEXT? SURE.
SO, UM, WHEN WE EXPANDED THE GOLINK UH, ZONES, UM, ACTUALLY WHEN WE LAUNCHED THE NEW BUS NETWORK, ONE OF THE DECISIONS THAT WAS MADE AND, AND SOME OF THE PLANNING WAS DONE BEFORE I ARRIVED, BUT WHEN WE LAUNCHED THE NEW BUS NETWORK, UM, WE ACTUALLY REPLACED SOME OF OUR LOW PERFORMING FIXED ROUTE SERVICE, FIXED ROUTE BUS SERVICE WITH GOLINK.
SO IT WAS AN ON DEMAND SERVICE.
UM, AND, AND THE IDEA WAS THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU CAN'T PROVIDE, YOU KNOW, A 15 MINUTE SERVICE, UM, ON THE BUS, UM, THEN MAYBE IF YOU HAVE A DEMAND RESPONSIVE SERVICE THAT RESPONDS WITHIN 15 MINUTES, THAT MIGHT ACTUALLY WORK BETTER FOR PEOPLE.
AND WHAT WE'RE FINDING IS THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF USAGE ON GOLINK AND, AND I'LL HAVE TO GET SPECIFIC DETAILS ABOUT THE COMPARISON OF OUR GOLINK RIDERSHIP IN RICHARDSON COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS FIXED ROUTE.
BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT IN A NUMBER OF ZONES, UM, THROUGHOUT OUR SERVICE AREA WHERE WE HAVE GOLINK THAT REPLACED PREVIOUS FIXED DROUGHT, UM, THE RIDERSHIP ON GOLINK HAS ACTUALLY MET OR EXCEEDED THE PREVIOUS FIXED DROUGHT RIDERSHIP.
UH, WE MAY NOT BE CARRYING THE SAME RIDERS THAT WE AREN'T CLEAR ON.
UM, BUT THE NICE THING ABOUT THE DEMAND RESPONSIVE SERVICE WITH MICRO TRANSITS OR GOLINK, UM, IS THAT YOU CAN GO MORE PLACES.
YOU'RE NOT LIMITED TO TRAVEL ALONG A PARTICULAR CORRIDOR.
UM, AND YOU'RE ALSO KIND OF, YOU KNOW, YOU GET A RIDE THAT'S DOOR TO DOOR.
UM, THE, THE TRICK IS, IS THAT IT'S LIMITED TO A PARTICULAR BOUNDARY, RIGHT? UM, WE DO HAVE SOME EXPERIMENTS GOING ON WITH THE ZONE TO ZONE OPERATION IN PLANO.
WE'RE EXPANDING THE ZONE TO ZONE PILOT TO A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT LOCATIONS IN THE SERVICE AREA.
I'LL HAVE TO GET A LIST FOR YOU.
UM, I THINK IT'S, LIKE I SAID, A COUPLE, BUT I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY FIVE MORE LOCATIONS.
UM, I CAN'T REMEMBER IF RICHARDSON IS ONE OF THOSE, BUT I SUSPECT IT MAY BE.
UM, AND SO THE WHOLE IDEA THERE IS TO KIND OF EXPERIMENT MORE TO FIND OUT, WELL, HOW LONG ARE THE TRIPS THAT PEOPLE ARE TAKING, YOU KNOW, HOW LONG ARE THOSE TRIPS? UM, AND WHAT IS THE, THE TIPPING POINT WHERE IT BECOMES LIKE TOO DIFFICULT FOR US TO RESPOND WITHIN 15 MINUTES, UM, IF WE DO A ZONE TO ZONE TRIP.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT WAYS TO, UM, SORT OF ADAPT THE GO LINK SERVICE BECAUSE THERE'S A BIG DIFFERENCE OR A BIG GAP BETWEEN A 15 MINUTE RESPONSE, UH, YOU KNOW, GO LINK SERVICE AND A, YOU KNOW, HOURLY OR HALF HOURLY BUS SERVICE, UM, THAT ONLY
[00:45:01]
RUNS IN A PARTICULAR CORRIDOR.SO THERE'S STILL A GAP THERE, UM, IN TERMS OF TRYING TO GIVE PEOPLE ACCESS TO THE TYPE OF TRAVEL THAT THEY NEED.
UM, AND SO WE, WE KEEP KIND OF ITERATING AND, AND REINVENTING OURSELVES TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO.
I WAS JUST CURIOUS, ONE, IT SOUNDS LIKE PEOPLE ARE USING IT, SO THAT'S GOOD AND SORT OF UNDERSTANDING, UM, ITS PURPOSE.
AND SO I WOULD BE CURIOUS ONCE YOU HAVE THEM TO SORT OF SEE THE NUMBERS, UM, HOW, IF THAT'S INCREASING RIDERSHIP OR YOU KNOW, REALLY HOW MANY PEOPLE IN RICHARDSON ARE UTILIZING, UM, GOLINK, I, I WOULD BE CURIOUS TO KNOW THAT.
UH, I WANNA CONGRATULATE YOU ON GETTING ALL 13 CITIES, UH, TO SIGN ONTO THE IR, UH, ILA.
I'M SURE THAT THAT WAS, UM, UH, NO SMALL FEAT.
UM, AND, UH, COUNCILMAN CORCORAN AGAIN MENTIONED, UH, COMMENTS FOR BETTER TRANSIT, UM, RECEIVED A COUPLE OF, UH, COMMENTS FROM THEM RELATED TO THE SERVICE HOURS OF THE SILVER LINE.
I KNOW WE'RE A LITTLE WAYS OUT ON THAT.
UM, AND SO, UM, TO BE FAIR TO THEM, I WANTED TO EXPRESS THEIR COMMENT, WHICH IS, COLLEGE STUDENTS WILL BE USING THIS RAIL LINE AND 11 IS A LITTLE BIT EARLY, UH, FOR SERVICE TO TERMINATE PARTICULARLY ON, YOU KNOW, WEEKENDS.
SO, UM, I AM OFFERING YOU THEIR COMMENT THAT THEY WISH THAT THAT WOULD RUN LATER.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, THOSE FOLKS, ESPECIALLY COMMENTS FOR BETTER TRANSIT, UM, THEY COME TO TALK TO US A LOT ABOUT USING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND UM, YOU KNOW, THEY REALLY WANNA BE ABLE TO UTILIZE IT AND THEY'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT, BUT THEY, THEY NEED IT TO RUN A LITTLE BIT LATER.
SO I'LL PUT THAT PIECE IN FOR THEM.
UH, THEIR COMMENTS ARE DULY NOTED.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR COMING BACK AND SPENDING TIME WITH US.
UM, I'M GONNA TRY AND START AT A STRATEGIC LEVEL, AND THEN I'LL WORK DOWN TO MY KIND OF MORE, UH, BASIC QUESTIONS.
BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS, YOU KNOW, EVERY TIME I LOOK AT Y'ALL'S, UH, MAP OF SERVICE, UNFORTUNATELY YOU STOP VERY, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE GET TO THE NORTH OF US, YOU STOP VERY QUICKLY AND THAT'S NOT ON Y'ALL.
IT'S THAT BACK IN 19, WHATEVER IT WAS THAT WHEN DART WAS ESTABLISHED, CITIES TO OUR NORTH DIDN'T, DIDN'T COME ON BOARD.
AND I'M JUST CURIOUS, YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE I'VE THOUGHT A LOT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE IN, IF YOU'RE IN ALLEN OR MCKINNEY OR IF YOU'RE OVER ON, ON, UM, THE TOLLWAY OR ON 35 OR ANY OF THOSE AREAS, YOU KNOW, UM, HAVE Y'ALL, IS THERE A PART OF YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN THAT YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT OF GOING BACK TO THOSE CITIES? BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT, IF YOU LIVE IN, LIVE IN ALLEN TO GET IN YOUR CAR AND DRIVE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE GONNA GO TO DALLAS, YOU'VE GOTTEN IN YOUR CAR, YOU'VE MADE THE INVESTMENT, IF YOU WILL, TO GET ON 75, WELL, YOU'RE JUST GONNA KEEP ON GOING.
YOU'RE NOT GONNA STOP AND GET OUTTA YOUR CAR AND JUMP ONTO DART TO GET ON INTO DALLAS.
BUT I, I'M JUST CURIOUS IF Y'ALL HAVE THOUGHT AS AN ENTITY, AS A BOARD, GARY, I'D PUT THAT TO YOU, UM, OF, IS THERE, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION, IS THERE ANY THOUGHT TO GO BACK TO CITIES THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY A PART OF DART AND TRY TO GET THEM TO COME ON, ON BOARD? UH, BECAUSE I THINK IT, I THINK THAT'S ALWAYS BEEN, YOU KNOW, THE MAJOR QUESTION THAT I'VE HAD IN MY MIND IS HOW DO YOU, YOU KNOW, REALLY PUT THE AREA TO WORK IN YOUR NAME, IF YOU WILL.
UM, YOU DEFINITELY GOT DALLAS, YOU DEFINITELY GOT RAPID TRANSIT.
IS THAT AREA PIECE THAT I THINK IS ALWAYS THE, THE QUESTION THAT I HAVE IN MY MIND, SO I'M JUST CURIOUS IF Y'ALL HAVE TALKED ABOUT THAT OR THOUGHT ABOUT THAT.
YEAH, SO I'LL, I'LL START AND THEN MY BOARD MEMBER CAN MAKE A LIAR OUTTA ME.
I GOTTA GET HIM, YOU KNOW, WE GOTTA MAKE HIM WORK.
I MEAN, WE, WE, YOU KNOW, WE APPOINTED HIM.
HE'S GOTTA, HE'S GOTTA AT LEAST COME UP WITH SOMETHING TONIGHT, RIGHT? UM, WELL, SO, SO I THINK OF, UM, OUR CURRENT 13 SERVICE AREA CITIES MUCH IN THE SAME WAY THAT I THINK OF OUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS.
I REALLY NEED TO RETAIN THE CITIES THAT I HAVE.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW, I, I DO HEAR FROM SOME OF OUR CITIES THAT THEY DON'T FEEL LIKE WE'RE SERVING THEM WELL.
AND SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME TO MAKE SURE I'M SERVING ALL OF MY CURRENT CITIES WELL BEFORE I WORRY ABOUT EXPANDING.
UM, AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF THE PHILOSOPHY THAT I OPERATE UNDER.
UM, THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE DON'T WANNA SOMEDAY EXPAND, BUT YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW IF I HAVE SOME OF MY MEMBER CITIES SAYING WE'RE NOT SURE WE GET VALUE OUT OF DART, THEN THAT MAKES ME THINK MAYBE I SHOULDN'T SPEND ALL OF MY TIME TRYING TO RECRUIT A MCKINNEY OR AN ALLEN.
UM, SURE NOT TO SAY I DON'T WANT TO SOMEDAY, BUT, UM, BUT CERTAINLY I WANT MY CURRENT DISEASE TO BE REALLY HAPPY BEFORE I DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
NO, IT, IT IS, IT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WHEN I WAS IN YOUR SEAT, I WORKED ON A LOT TO TRY TO CONVINCE OTHER CITIES TO BECOME A PART OF DART.
AND THE ISSUE IS WHEN THE STATE LEGISLATURE CREATED FOUR A, FOUR B, ALLOWING AN THAT PENNY TO BE USED FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND OTHER USES, IT, IT, IT, WHEN WE JOINED DART, IT WAS A NEW TAX.
[00:50:01]
BEING, SALES TAX IS BEING USED BY THE OUTLYING CITIES.AND EVERY TIME WE GET INTO THAT DISCUSSION, IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE DON'T WANT TO GIVE THAT UP.
WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT FINDING OTHER, OR, OR CREATING AN INCREASE IN SALES TAX TO ALLOW THAT TO HAPPEN, BUT THE STATE LEGISLATURE HADN'T, HADN'T REALLY EMBRACED THAT AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
SO WE'VE GOT, I THINK AS THESE ADDITIONAL PEOPLE COME TO THE METROPLEX AND SETTLE IN SOMEWHERE, WE'RE, THOSE CITIES THAT ARE NORTH OF US IN PARTICULAR, ARE REALLY GONNA HAVE A PROBLEM WITH MOBILITY WITH THEIR CITIES AND MOBILITY INTO THE REST OF THE METROPLEX.
AND THEY'LL BE, YOU KNOW, WE'LL GET, THEY'LL GET TO BE A POINT WHERE WE HAVE TO SOLVE THAT PROBLEM.
AND MAYBE IT'S THROUGH SOME LEGISLATIVE WORK.
I DON'T KNOW HOW IT WILL UNFOLD, BUT, YOU KNOW, I AGREE WITH NADINE.
WE HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF WHO WE HAVE.
BUT WE CAN'T FORGET ABOUT, ULTIMATELY WE NEED TO ALSO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THAT PROBLEM.
AND IT'S, IT'S BEEN A DIFFICULT NUT TO CRACK, SO TO SPEAK.
NO, I, I APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH.
UM, NEXT QUESTION IS, GIVEN THE RECENT AGREEMENT WITH DART, A LITTLE PUN INTENDED, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT COULD KNOCK THE SILVER LINE OFF OFF ITS TRACK AT THIS POINT IN TIME TO, TO, TO GO LI SORRY, I KNOW IT WAS A BAD PUN.
IT WAS FATHER'S DAY YESTERDAY.
I GET ONE DAD JOKE IN THERE SOMEWHERE.
UM, I WAS AFRAID TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
YEAH, I KNOW
YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A REASONABLE STATEMENT.
THE TRACK IS AS CLEAR AS IT COULD POSSIBLY BE AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
UM, IT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'VE GONE THROUGH SOME CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS LIKE I HAVE, THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING, UM OH, SURE.
YOU KNOW, THINGS DON'T EVER GO AS PLANNED, BUT, UM, BUT YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW WE FEEL, UH, WE FEEL MUCH MORE EQUIPPED TO, UM, TO MANAGE THROUGH ANY OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE GOING TO FACE.
SO, YEAH, I, I FEEL REALLY CONFIDENT NOW COMPARED TO WHERE I WAS MAYBE A YEAR AGO.
AND THEN JUST LASTLY, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT HOMELESSNESS, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HEAR, UM, OUT IN THE COMMUNITY, AND IT GETS BROUGHT UP FROM TIME TO TIME IS THE WHOLE KIND OF THE FAIR COLLECTION SYSTEM WHERE, AND I DON'T KNOW IF, IF THERE'S THOUGHTS AS YOU'RE DOING THE UPGRADES OF YOUR, OF THE, THE SYSTEM, YOU KNOW, CAUSE WHAT WHAT I HEAR IS, WELL, OF COURSE YOU'RE GONNA GET PEOPLE TO GET ON THE TRAIN AND JUST RIDE IT ALL DAY LONG BECAUSE THERE'S REALLY NOT ANY, UM, UM, WHAT'S THE WORD I WANT TO USE? ANY, ANY, UM, UM, MONITORING MAYBE IS THE RIGHT WORD TO USE OF WHO PAYS FARRIS, WHO DOESN'T PAYS FARRIS.
I KNOW THERE'S SOME ELECTRONICS.
SO THAT'S, THAT ADDS A, IT ADDS, YOU KNOW, WHEN COUNCILMAN CORCORAN WAS TALKING, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT MAKES IT VERY EASY FOR HIM, BUT IT MAKES IT MORE DIFFICULT, DIFFICULT FOR Y'ALL TO BE ABLE TO CONFIRM.
AND I KNOW, YOU KNOW, AND I KNOW THERE'S ALSO THAT MANPOWER PIECE, SO I DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE WAS SOME, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS TO THE POINT NOW FROM AN AUTOMATION STANDPOINT, AS YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE NEW TRAINS WHERE IF YOU GO TO GET ON THE TRAIN, IF YOU DON'T EITHER HAVE A, YOU KNOW, AN ACTUAL, I'LL USE THE WORD TICKET OR THE, THE GO PASS OR SOME, SOME WAY THAT THERE'S, YOU KNOW, LIGHT GOES OFF, AN ALARM GOES OFF, SOMETHING GOES OFF WHERE, WHERE THAT, CUZ I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT I HEAR FROM PEOPLE IS, IS THEY, THEY AT LEAST BELIEVE THERE'S A LOT OF BELIEF OUT THERE AND Y'ALL ARE THE EXPERTS, BUT THAT, THAT WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE, THAT ARE POTENTIALLY HOMELESS OR OTHER OTHER ISSUES WHERE THEY'RE JUST GETTING ON THE TRAIN AND RIDING IT FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME.
BECAUSE AT THIS POINT THERE'S REALLY, THERE'S NOT THAT, THAT FAIR CHECKING IF YOU WILL OR HOWEVER YOU WANNA SAY THAT.
SO I, AND THEN I JUST, I, I PUT THAT OUT THERE CAUSE THAT'S WHAT I HEAR MOSTLY FROM, FROM PEOPLE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HOMELESS AND THEN KIND OF THE FAIR PIECE AS WELL.
SO YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
I MEAN, CERTAINLY TECHNOLOGY HAS ADVANCED ENOUGH FOR US TO HAVE SOMETHING IN PLACE LIKE THAT THAT COULD POTENTIALLY, FOR EXAMPLE, READ A TICKET, YOU KNOW, WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE IT IN YOUR HAND, IT MIGHT BE IN YOUR POCKET.
UM, THERE IS A TECHNOLOGY LIKE THAT AVAILABLE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE COULD, UM, YOU KNOW, LOOK INTO THAT AS PART OF OUR VEHICLE PROCUREMENT, UM, BECAUSE THAT, YOU KNOW, IT MAKES SENSE FOR US TO DO THAT.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE LOOKING, UH, LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW IS REALLY THE MODERNIZATION OF OUR, OUR FAIR COLLECTION ANYWAY.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE ASKED US IF WE WOULD BE WILLING TO CLOSE OUR SYSTEM, YOU KNOW, AND UNFORTUNATELY THE WAY THE SYSTEM WAS BUILT, IT'S NOT A CLOSED SYSTEM AND YOU KNOW, LIGHT RAIL IN AND OF ITSELF IS JUST DIFFICULT TO CLOSE WHEN YOU HAVE SORT OF SURFACE LEVEL, UM, ACCESS.
[00:55:01]
YOU KNOW, I THINK WE CAN LOOK INTO THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TECHNOLOGY THAT COULD HELP US SORT OF PREVENT, UM, THAT SORT OF FAIR EVASION.UM, I WILL SAY THAT A SURPRISING NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE HOMELESS ON OUR SYSTEM DO ACTUALLY HAVE FAIR, UM, SO THEY'RE GETTING THEM FROM, YOU KNOW, THE SHELTERS THAT THEY'RE, UM, GOING TO AT NIGHT OR WHATEVER.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY HARD FOR US BECAUSE IF SOMEBODY IS ON THE TRAIN AND HAS FAIR, UH, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE MUCH OTHER MECHANISM TO, TO MANAGE THAT.
THAT'S VERY, AGAIN, LIKE IF SOMEBODY'S POSING A THREAT TO OTHER PEOPLE, THAT'S A DIFFERENT STORY.
BUT, YOU KNOW, EVASION ISN'T ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, SORT OF SOMETHING THAT'S HAPPENING, YOU KNOW, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, WAS NEWS TO ME WHEN I LEARNED THAT AS WELL.
YEAH, NO, AND THAT'S A REALLY GOOD POINT AND I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING THAT UP.
CAUSE I WAS NOT AWARE OF THAT, AND THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT'S DISCUSSED, IF YOU WILL, OR PUT OUT IN THE, IN THE PUBLIC.
SO I THINK THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT POINT BECAUSE YEAH, IF SOMEONE'S ON THERE AND THEY PAY THE FAIR AND THEY WANNA RIDE IT ALL DAY LONG, THEN YEAH, THERE'S, THAT'S YOU, YOU CAN'T DENY THEM AT THAT POINT, SO.
WELL, I APPRECIATE YOU
GOTTA PUT YOU TO WORK A LITTLE BIT.
UH, THANK YOU MR. MAYOR AND THANK YOU MS. LEE FOR COMING AND TALK, EXCUSE ME, TALKING TO US TODAY.
AND MR. SLAGEL OF COURSE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
WE APPRECIATE ALL YOUR WORK, UH, PRIOR AND YOUR WORK ON THE DART.
WHEN I, WHEN I FIRST ARRIVED IN NORTH TEXAS, IT WAS JANUARY OF, OF 2000, UH, I ARRIVED AT A, AS A STUDENT AT, UM, AT CHRYSLER NATIONS INSTITUTE IN SOUTH DALLAS.
AND, UH, I THINK I CAME INTO TOWN WITH A SUITCASE AND ABOUT $600 IN MY POCKET, NO CAR, NO BIKE.
AND DART PLAYED A BIG ROLE IN ALLOWING ME TO GET A JOB LINE, PAY MY WAY THROUGH SCHOOL AND, UH, PART OF BIG PART OF MY SUCCESS STORY.
UM, SO I DO APPRECIATE DART AND THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
THEY, HAVING A SYSTEM SUCH AS DART PROVIDES TO PEOPLE, UH, THAT WERE IN A SITUATION LIKE I WAS.
AND, UH, AND, UH, I WAS ABLE TO USE IT TO, UH, TO MOVE UP AND PROVIDE A DIFFERENT, UH, TRAJECTORY FOR MY FAMILY THAN I HAD.
UM, WITH THAT SAID, AS AN ELECTED OFFICIAL, I DO, YOU KNOW, HAVE HAVE SOME CONCERNS AND SOME QUESTIONS.
UM, WITH I, SOME OF MY CONCERNS AND QUESTIONS WERE RIGHT ALONG THE LINE OF WHAT, UH, COUNCILMAN HUTCHIN WRITER HAD.
UM, BUT FOR A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT KIND OF REASONING, I WAS, I WAS THINKING OF A CLOSED SYSTEM, NOT NECESSARILY BECAUSE OF THE HOMELESSNESS OR THE SAFETY AS MUCH, AS MUCH AS THE, THE ABILITY TO COLLECT DATA.
UH, LIKE ANY BUSINESS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SHOW RETURN ON INVESTMENT.
UM, AND LOOKING IN AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, I SHOW THAT LIKE IN 2018 WE HAD 36 MILLION, UH, INTO DART.
THAT'S QUITE, QUITE A INCREASE.
AND I AM SURE THAT'S ONLY GONNA INCREASE.
AND THAT PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE BECAUSE AS ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WE HAVE IN RICHARDSON IS AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND, YOU KNOW, SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND PEOPLE HAVING ACCESS TO WORKFORCE BECAUSE IT'S GETTING MORE AND MORE EXPENSIVE TO LIVE HERE.
UH, UNLESS YOU'RE MAKING A PRETTY HIGH AMOUNT OF MONEY.
AND SO WE NEED RESOURCES AND PARTNERS LIKE DART IN ORDER TO BRING WORKFORCE INTO THE CITY.
AND I ONLY SEE THAT AT THE CURRENT DIRECTORY.
SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA RELY ON YOU GUYS MORE AND MORE, UH, TO HELP PROVIDE.
BUT AS WE PUT MORE MONEY IN, AND AS YOU LOOK AT GROWTH, I'M REALLY CONCERNED ON HOW, WITHOUT A CLOSED SYSTEM, HOW TRUE IS THE DATA AND HOW YOU'RE ABLE TO TRACK ALL THAT.
AND HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO MAKE STRATEGIC DECISIONS, UH, LOOKING FORWARD WITHOUT CLEAR AND PRECISE DATA IN A WORLD THAT'S SO, UM, BASED ON DATA.
AND DATA IS EASILY ACCESSIBLE IN MOST REALMS OF WHERE WE MAKE DECISIONS.
WE TALK ABOUT MAKING DATABASE DECISIONS, YOU KNOW, IS THAT A CONCERN OF YOURS? ARE THERE, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN SHARE REGARDING THE POSSIBILITIES OF A CLOSED SYSTEM? CAUSE I'M THINKING, AGAIN, YOU UNDERSTAND THIS AT A DIFFERENT LEVEL, BUT EVEN SOMETHING LIKE AT ARAPAHO STATION, JUST PROVIDING OFFENSE, A FENCE, DOES IT KEEP EVERYBODY OFF THE SYSTEM? WELL, NO.
I MEAN, THERE'S ALWAYS GONNA BE THOSE THAT JUMP CRAWL AROUND.
YOU KNOW, YOU'RE ALWAYS GONNA HAVE THOSE ONE-OFFS, BUT PROVIDING SOME KIND OF FENCE OR A GATE WOULD PROVIDE SOME KIND OF AN OPPORTUNITY TO COLLECT DATA.
NOT JUST FAIRS, BUT YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE TRAVELING EACH STATION AND ALLOWING YOU TO MAKE BETTER
[01:00:01]
STRATEGIC DECISIONS.UM, SO MY CONCERN ABOUT CLOSED SYSTEM IS MORE TOWARDS THAT, OBVIOUSLY SAFETY, SAFE RIDER, SAFETY'S A, A CONCERN.
UH, HOMELESSNESS IS A BIG CONCERN.
I'M ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, I VOLUNTEER WITH MY CHURCH, UH, WITH FEEDING TO HOMELESS AND VARIOUS HOMELESS CAUSES.
SO THAT'S A, THAT'S A TOPIC CLOSE AND DEAR TO MY HEART.
BUT LIKE A CITY, A LOT OF OUR CRIME IS, IS, YOU KNOW, DUE TO DRUGS OR OTHER LARGER SOCIETAL ISSUES.
AND WHILE THAT'S A SOCIETAL ISSUE, I STILL HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO OUR CITIZENS TO DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO KEEP THE CITY SAFE SO THEY CAN SLEEP AT NIGHT.
SO, WHILE HOMELESSNESS IS A SOCIETAL ISSUE, WE DO HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY, UM, FOR THAT SAFETY WHILE THOSE RIDER ARE IN DARK.
THE, THE ORIGINAL ONE IS SOME MORE THOUGHTS ABOUT DATA COLLECTION AND HOW IT RELATES TO A POSSIBLE CLOSED SYSTEM MOVING FORWARD AND HOW THAT INTERFACES WITH ANY STRATEGIC DECISIONS MOVING FORWARD.
AND TWO, WHAT SPECIFICALLY ARE YOU DOING WITH DART POLICE, EITHER IN PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL CITIES, INCREASING NUMBERS, AND I'M SURE YOU PROBABLY HAVE AN ISSUE FINDING OFFICERS JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER CITY, UM, OR GOVERNMENT ENTITY IS, IS STRUGGLING TO FIND OFFICERS.
UM, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? WHAT ARE YOU SPECIFICALLY DOING TO ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE RIDER CONCERNS TOWARDS, TOWARDS SAFETY? OTHER THAN JUST SAYING, YES, IT'S A SOCIETAL ISSUE, CUZ WHILE WE RECOGNIZE IT'S A SOCIETAL ISSUE AGAIN, WE STILL HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO DO WHAT WE CAN.
LET ME, UH, TRY TO TACKLE MAYBE THE SECURITY PIECE FIRST.
UM, SO, UM, WE DO HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH ALL THE LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES, BUT WHAT WE'RE FINDING IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE COULD CERTAINLY, UH, WORK WITH YOUR POLICE CHIEF TO POST ANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR OVERTIME WORK, UM, THAT, THAT YOU ALL ARE WILLING TO POST FOR US.
BUT I KNOW YOU ALL ARE SHORT STAFFED TOO.
AND SO THE OVERTIME THAT YOUR FOLKS ARE WORKING ARE, ARE USUALLY FOR THE CITY ALREADY.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE FINDING IS WE'RE NOT GETTING A LOT OF TAKERS ON ANY OF OUR EXTRA WORK.
UM, SO WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE HAVE AN, AN ADDITIONAL SECURITY CONTRACT, UM, FOR ADDITIONAL ARMED, UH, SECURITY, UH, ABOUT A HUNDRED OFFICERS WHO WILL BE JOINING OUR SYSTEM HERE SHORTLY.
I THINK WE GET THE FIRST TRANCHE OF THEM IN MID JULY.
UM, IT'S NOT REALLY FINANCIALLY SUSTAINABLE FOR US TO FLOOD THE SYSTEM WITH OFFICERS, BUT, UM, IT'S WHAT WE CAN DO RIGHT NOW.
UM, IT WAS THE SORT OF SHORTEST LEAD TIME.
UM, AND SO WE'RE GOING TO KIND OF SUSTAIN THAT FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS AND SEE WHAT THAT DOES.
UM, COUPLED WITH THAT, UM, I AM WORKING ON WITH MY STAFF, UM, WHAT I CALL A COMPREHENSIVE SECURITY STRATEGY THAT WILL INVOLVE NOT ONLY ARMED PERSONNEL AND FAIR ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, UM, IT'S ALSO GOING TO LOOK AT OUR CODE OF CONDUCT.
IT'S GOING TO LOOK AT, UM, TECHNOLOGY AND HOW WE CAN USE, UM, SOME OF OUR, UM, SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY TO HELP MITIGATE SOME OF THE, UH, SECURITY ISSUES THAT PEOPLE ARE ENCOUNTERING.
UM, I, WE ARE WORKING WITH THE CITY OF MEDELLIN, UM, IN, UH, COLUMBIA TO, UH, TALK TO THEM ABOUT HOW THEY CREATED A SECURE, UH, UH, CULTURE ON THEIR SYSTEM, UM, THROUGH SOME OTHER MEANS.
UM, SOME THINGS THAT WE HAVEN'T HEARD BEFORE AND HAVEN'T TRIED BEFORE.
UM, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HOW WE USE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE TO DEAL WITH OUR MESSAGING ON OUR SYSTEM.
SO SOME OF THE COMMUNICATIONS WE PUT OUT.
SO WE WANNA TAKE A MULTIFACETED APPROACH TO CREATING A BETTER SENSE OF SECURITY ON THE SYSTEM.
UM, TRY TO ATTACK IT AT FROM A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT ANGLES.
UM, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WE AREN'T GOING TO BE ABLE TO NECESSARILY MITIGATE ALL OF THE SECURITY CONCERNS JUST BY FLOODING, UM, FLOODING OUR, UH, TRAINS AND BUSES WITH ARMED LAW ENFORCEMENT.
AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT NOT EVERYONE FEELS SAFER WITH ARMED LAW ENFORCEMENT.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO, UM, LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, NEW AND INNOVATIVE WAYS TO, TO MAKE OUR SYSTEM MORE SECURE.
NOW, ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO MAKE IT MORE SECURE IS TO GET MORE PEOPLE TO RIDE, BUT THAT'S A CHICKEN AND EGG THING, RIGHT? IF PEOPLE DON'T FEEL SECURE, THEY'RE NOT GONNA RIDE.
BUT IF PEOPLE DON'T RIDE, NOBODY'S GONNA FEEL SECURE.
SO WE'VE GOTTA DO SOMETHING, WE GOTTA CHANGE, CHANGE THINGS.
UM, AND SO THAT'S ON THE SECURITY SIDE.
UM, THAT'S NOT REALLY AN ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION OTHER THAN TO SAY, UH, WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT DIFFERENT WAYS OF DOING BUSINESS, UM, IN THAT RESPECT BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING IN THE PAST ISN'T REALLY, UM, ON THE CLOSED SYSTEM PIECE TO COLLECT DATA.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, UM, CLOSED SYSTEM CAN MEAN A LOT OF THINGS, RIGHT? YES.
SO, UH, A LOT OF TIMES WHEN WE TALK ABOUT A CLOSED SYSTEM, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PHYSICAL, PHYSICALLY CLOSING THE SYSTEM.
NOWADAYS, UM, YOU CAN GEO-FENCE THINGS, YOU CAN CREATE THESE ELECTRONIC BOUNDARIES OR DIGITAL BOUNDARIES.
I THINK THERE ARE WAYS FOR US TO BE COLLECTING DATA.
UM, EVERY, YOU KNOW, NOT EVERYBODY, BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE CELL PHONES, RIGHT? I HOPE THIS ISN'T A SURPRISE TO ANYBODY, BUT I THINK PEOPLE TRACK YOU, UM,
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S,
[01:05:01]
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK CELL PHONE DATA IS AVAILABLE TO US TO HELP US UNDERSTAND BETTER, UH, WHO'S RIGHT, NOT WHO, BUT LIKE HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE WRITING OUR SYSTEM, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF TRAVEL PATTERNS DO THEY HAVE? UM, YOU KNOW, ARE THEY TRAVELING LONG DISTANCES OR SHORT DISTANCES, FOR EXAMPLE? SO WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE EXACT, UM, COORDINATES ON WHERE PEOPLE ARE.UH, WE NEED THE DATA TO BE PERFECT ENOUGH TO UNDER UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, HOW PEOPLE ARE TRAVELING ON OUR SYSTEM AND HOW THEY'RE USING OUR SYSTEM.
AND THAT GOES FOR BUSES AND TRAINS AS WELL AS, UM, ANY OF OUR MICRO TRANSIT, WHICH ACTUALLY MICRO TRANSIT'S A LITTLE BIT EASIER, UM, BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE USE GO PASS TO, UM, TO, TO TAKE IT AND TO CALL IT.
SO, UM, SO FOR THOSE TYPES OF THINGS, I THINK WE CAN, UM, WE CAN COLLECT SOME OF THE DATA THAT I THINK WOULD GIVE US BETTER INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING ON OUR SYSTEM.
WE ABSOLUTELY WANNA USE DATA, UM, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, TO THE, THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN COLLECT THAT DATA AND MINE IT AND HELP, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, USE THAT DATA TO HELP US IMPROVE SERVICES FOR PEOPLE.
THAT'S REALLY WHERE WE WANNA GO.
AND, UH, SO ARE YOU CURRENTLY USING DATA IN THAT WAY? FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, I'M THINKING, OKAY, UH, LOOK AT THE VARIOUS STOPS OF RICHARDSON, YOU, WHAT'S THE PERCENTAGE OF USE OF ARAPAHOE VERSUS SPRING VALLEY AND RELATIONSHIP THERE? AND IF WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON, YOU KNOW, BUILDING OUT MAIN STREET AND DIFFERENT PDS, YOU KNOW, DO WE HAVE THE TRANSIT THROUGH THERE AND, AND THE, UH, FOOT TRAFFIC TO SUSTAIN VARIOUS PROJECTS? AND IS THERE A RELATIONSHIP? SO DO YOU HAVE THAT KIND OF, ARE YOU CURRENTLY USING THAT DATA ON CELL PHONE OR ANY OTHER DATA MINING CAPABILITIES TO LOOK AT THAT? RIGHT NOW PER STOP BASIS? WE, WE HAVE USED CELL PHONE DATA ON A LIMITED BASIS.
UM, WE, I DON'T THINK WE'VE GOTTEN TO WHAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED, WHICH IS REALLY UNDERSTANDING, FOR EXAMPLE, FOOT TRAFFIC THROUGH A PARTICULAR AREA TO FIND OUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE POTENTIAL MARKET IS FOR, UM, SOME SORT OF COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT'S VERY SPECIFIC.
UM, BUT WE DO HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE CURRENTLY DATA ON, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO ARE TAPPING ONTO OUR SYSTEM.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OUR PASSENGER COUNTERS ON OUR, ON OUR TRAIN VEHICLES, UM, AND WE KIND OF CROSS-REFERENCE SOME OF THAT STUFF SO THAT WE CAN, I MEAN, WE RECONCILE THAT INFORMATION TO KIND OF VALIDATE THE NUMBERS THAT WE'RE GETTING.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT, UM, IT, IT GETS US A NUMBER.
UH, WE DON'T KNOW HOW PERFECT THAT NUMBER IS.
UM, WHAT WE DON'T KNOW IS LIKE, WE KNOW WHERE PEOPLE GET ON OUR SYSTEM, WE DON'T ALWAYS KNOW WHERE THEY GET OFF.
YOU KNOW, IF, IF YOU'RE ON PARATRANSIT, WE PROBABLY KNOW WHERE YOU GET OFF BECAUSE THAT DATA'S AVAILABLE TO US.
BUT, UM, BUT YOU KNOW, FOR THE MOST PART, UH, PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST SORT OF RIDING THE SYSTEM REGULARLY, WE DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THE DESTINATION INFORMATION AS MUCH AS WE HAVE THE ORIGIN INFORMATION.
AND, UH, IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU LOOK AT MOVING FORWARD, I, I MEAN I, I'D LOVE TO SEE MORE OF THAT KIND OF DATA BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY DATA HELPS, YOU KNOW, TELL THE STORY AND AS WE'RE, YOU KNOW, INCREASING MORE OF THAT MONEY, AND OBVIOUSLY THERE'S TRADEOFFS BETWEEN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND MONEY INTO DART AND ALL KINDS OF TRADEOFFS THAT HAPPEN IN PARTNERSHIPS, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN THAT TO, UM, OUR RESIDENTS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE EXPLAINING THAT RETURN ON INVESTMENT.
AND, UH, WHILE I UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE OF DART, AND I UNDERSTAND WHY DART IS IMPORTANT FOR A CITY, AND, AND I, AGAIN, I, I HOPE THAT WE CONTINUE TO EXPAND AND CONTINUE TO GET USED BECAUSE I THINK WE'RE GONNA NEED IT MORE AND MORE AS WE GROW AS A CITY.
UM, WE, WE ALSO HAVE TO BE ABLE TO TELL THAT STORY.
I DO WANT TO, BEFORE I SHUT OFF, I DO WANNA COMMEND YOU, UM, THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNITED COMMUNITY OF FAITH.
AND, UH, I, I HOPE THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, WORKS OUT FOR DART AND CONTINUE TO GROW, CUZ I, UM, I THINK THAT'S THE KIND OF PROGRAMS THAT CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO I APPRECIATE YOU SHARING THAT WITH US TODAY.
UM, ACTUALLY I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT SOME OF THE STAFF THAT WE HIRED THROUGH UNITED COMMUNITY OF FAITH HA HAVE ACTUALLY TAKEN PERMANENT JOBS WITH OUR CONTRACTORS WHO ARE DOING CLEANING.
SO IT'S BEEN A REALLY GREAT, UH, PILOT PROGRAM THAT WE STARTED AND WE'RE SEEING SOME REAL BENEFITS FOR THE, FOR THE PEOPLE WHO START WORK WITH US THROUGH THAT PROGRAM.
MR. MAYOR, AND WELL THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
I DON'T THINK IT WAS QUITE 56 SLIDE.
OH, I, I THINK IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN OKAY, BUT I THREATENED THAT IT WAS 50 SLIDES.
LET ME TELL YOU, IT'S 55 SLIDES ACTUALLY.
HOW MANY PIECES OF GUM DID YOU GO THROUGH? NO, THAT'S, THAT, THAT WAS WONDERFUL.
UH, WELL, I HAVE FEW QUESTIONS, BUT LOTS OF GOOD QUESTION HAS BEEN ASKED AND YOU'VE BEEN VERY PATIENTLY ANSWERING, UH, ALL THE QUESTION.
AND, UH, I, I APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE AND I'M GONNA ASK ONE OF THE QUESTION THAT HAS
[01:10:01]
BEEN ASKED TWICE, SO I'LL BE THE THIRD TIME I'LL BE ASKING, BUT I'LL BE ASKING THAT IN THE LAST, UH, BEFORE THAT, COULD YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, OR TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE MAINTENANCE OF THOSE DART STATION, SPECIFICALLY THE PARKING LOT? UH, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW HOW THE CON CONCRETE WORKS, IT DON'T, IT, WHEN CONCRETE DOESN'T REALLY LISTEN TO US ALL THE TIME, SOMETIMES IT SETTLES, UH, CREATE PONDING IN THE PARKING LOT.SO ESPECIALLY AFTER, AFTER THE RAIN, UH, WE SEE WATER STANDING DIFFERENT PLACES.
SO WHAT'S YOUR MAINTENANCE PROGRAM FOR THAT, TO ELIMINATE THAT? SO, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
I MEAN, WE, FROM A CAPITAL MAINTENANCE PERSPECTIVE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE OBVIOUSLY DO OUR INSPECTIONS.
IF YOU FIND SOMETHING, UM, THAT YOU'RE CONCERNED ABOUT, PLEASE CALL US BECAUSE, UM, WE DEFINITELY ARE OUT THERE CLEANING AND DOING THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN NEVER ACTUALLY MAINTAIN THINGS, YOU KNOW, OFTEN UP TO THE, YOU KNOW, ORIGINAL STANDARDS.
BUT, BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE REALLY WORKING ON, IS REALLY BOOSTING UP OUR MAINTENANCE PROGRAM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, UM, NOT ONLY JUST KIND OF REPAIRING THINGS, BUT THAT THE QUALITY OF THE REPAIR, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY IS, IS CLOSER TO NEW THAN IT IS.
YOU KNOW, LIKE, I MEAN, AND SPEAKING AS SOMEBODY WHO LIVES IN ANOTHER CITY TO BE UNNAMED, UM,
YOU KNOW, THAT DON'T ALWAYS LOOK SO GREAT.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING THROUGH A PROCESS OF THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT ARE THE STANDARDS FOR THE REPAIRS THAT WE MAKE ON ANY OF OUR FACILITIES? BECAUSE, UM, I THINK IN THE PAST WE'VE SORT OF SAID, OKAY, WE'RE GONNA JUST PATCH THIS THING.
UM, BUT BECAUSE WE'RE DOING SYSTEM SYSTEM MODERNIZATION AND BECAUSE WE CARE ABOUT HOW, UM, HOW WE PRESENT TO ALL OF OUR, UM, ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS AND OUR CITIES, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE THINKING DIFFERENTLY ABOUT HOW THE WORK THAT WE DO, WHETHER IT'S MAINTENANCE OR, OR A NEW BUILD, WE WERE THINKING ABOUT HOW THAT, YOU KNOW, IS PART OF OUR REPUTATION AND OUR BRAND.
SO, UM, SO WE'RE TAKING A VERY DIFFERENT APPROACH TO MAINTENANCE.
UM, BUT IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S IMMEDIATE, PLEASE LET US KNOW.
YEAH, I MEAN, THE IMMEDIATE THINGS IS SO RELATIVE.
UH, SOME CITIES WHEN THEY SEE THE PONDING, PONDING IS SOME CITIES THEY THINK IT'S NOT A PROBLEM, IMMEDIATE PROBLEM BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S A CONCRETE, SOLID CONCRETE, ALL LOOKS GOOD.
IT'S ONLY AFTER THE RAIN, THERE'S WATER STANDS.
UH, IT'S ONLY THE PEOPLE WHO LIVES AROUND THERE OR PEOPLE WHO WALKS AROUND THAT AREA, THEY FEEL THE PAIN.
BUT SOME CITIES, THEY WILL REALLY TAKE IT VERY SERIOUSLY AND FIX IT TOTALLY WITH A NEW ONE BECAUSE IT'S NOT BROKEN.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT, UH, IS, IT PROBABLY PHYSICALLY DID NOT BROKEN, BUT IT'S PROBABLY IS THE FUNCTIONALITY IS BROKEN.
SO ANYWAYS, THERE ANY, UH, UH, ONLINE OR ANY LINK THAT, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE COULD, UH, REPORT OR, UM, LET ME CHECK INTO THAT AND GET BACK TO YOU.
UM, I ACTUALLY THINK FOR, FOR ALL OF YOU, IT'S PROBABLY BEST JUST TO CONTACT ME.
UH, AND I DO GET FEW CALLS SOMETIMES BECAUSE OF THAT.
AND, UH, I'M GLAD THAT YOU HAVE THAT TRASH PICKUP THING.
SO HOW OFTEN THAT'S HAPPENING, IS THAT, UH, PILOT PROGRAM ONLY OR THAT'S HAPPENING IN RICHARDSON ALSO.
SO THE CLEAN TEAM INITIATIVE IS HAPPENING, UH, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK FROM 6:00 AM TO 10:00 PM AND SO THEY'RE JUST, THEY'RE RIDING TRAINS ALL DAY.
AND SO THERE'S, I THINK THERE'S TWO SHIFTS.
YEAH, I THINK THERE'S TWO SHIFTS THAT OPERATE.
UM, AND SO THEY'RE, I THINK IT'S TEAMS OF LIKE TWO PEOPLE AT A TIME, AND THEY'RE, I THINK, I CAN'T REMEMBER HOW MANY TEAMS THERE ARE, BUT THEY'RE DEPLOYED ON ALL THE DIFFERENT LIGHT RAIL LINES AND THEN, UM, AND THEN AT, AT THE STATIONS AS WELL.
YEAH, I THINK YOU, YOU DID MENTION REALLY, REALLY ON YOUR SLIDE THAT THOUGHTS, THOSE ARE REALLY, UH, MAKING ALSO PEOPLE FEEL MORE SECURED BECAUSE WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE, UH, OTHER PEOPLE, THEY FEEL SECURE THAT THEY CAN RIDE SAFELY EVEN THOUGH THERE MIGHT BE SOME QUESTIONABLE PEOPLE AROUND THEM.
SO THERE'S A REALLY, REALLY GOOD PROGRAM.
UH, NOW THE QUESTION, THIRD TIME, I'M GOING TO ASK YOU ON THAT SILVER LINE, YOU SAID THAT VERY CONFIDENTLY, 18 TO 24 MONTHS, RIGHT? THAT NUMBER STUCK INTO MY BRAIN.
HOPEFULLY THAT WILL NOT NEED TO BE ERASED OR REPROGRAMMED.
AND, UH, IS THERE ANY PUZZLE IN IT THAT YOU THINK THAT NOT SOLVED, BUT COULD BE SOLVED? OR HAS ALL THE PUZZLE BEEN IN SIMPLE WORD? IS THERE ANY QUESTION OR ANY ANYTHING PENDING ISSUE, UH, ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTION? IS THAT 24 MONTHS? BECAUSE PURELY THE CONSTRUCTION TIME IS GOING TO TAKE 24, UH, AND YOU CAN START EVERYTHING ON SCHEDULE THAT YOU HAVE.
SO, UM, LET ME SEE IF I CAN ANSWER IT THIS WAY.
AND, AND I APPRECIATE THAT YOU'RE AN ENGINEER.
SO SCHEDULE MATTERS
[01:15:01]
SAY IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT I INHERITED WHEN I ARRIVED WAS VERY UNCERTAIN.AND AT THIS POINT IN TIME, UM, ME AND, AND, AND D LEGETT, WHO'S OUR CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER IN TREY, UM, WE NOW HAVE CONTROL OVER WHAT'S HAPPENING.
WE HAVE CONTROL OVER THE BUDGET, WE HAVE CONTROL OVER THE SCHEDULE.
UM, SO WE ARE MUCH MORE IN CONTROL OF THE OUTCOME OF THIS PROJECT THAN WE HAVE BEEN IN THE PAST.
AND SO, UM, SO THAT IS WHAT GIVES ME A HIGHER LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE THAN I HAD BEFORE.
UM, AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT DOESN'T EXACTLY ANSWER YOUR QUESTION.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO SPEED THINGS UP WITHOUT OF COURSE COMPROMISING QUALITY.
BUT, UM, BUT AT LEAST NOW, UM, EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING TO BE DONE ON THE PROJECT HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR.
AND SO IT'S, IT'S A VERY DIFFERENT, UM, VERY DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT NOW.
AND SO, UM, SO NOW, YOU KNOW, WE, YOU KNOW, WHEN I SAY 18 TO 24 MONTHS, UM, AND THAT'S BEFORE WE START TESTING, BY THE WAY, NOT WHEN WE START REVENUE SERVICE.
SO, UM, SO REVENUE SERVICE IS LIKE ANOTHER SIX TO 12 MONTHS AFTER THAT.
SO, UM, BUT OUR PROJECTION IS THAT WE WOULD BE OPENING TOWARDS THE END OF 25, EARLY 26.
I MEAN, I ALWAYS SAID THAT I'M VERY OPTIMISTIC, BUT BEING OPTIMISTIC, I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, REALISTIC ALSO COMES WITH THAT.
SO, AND NOW I FEEL VERY OPTIMISTIC.
UH, THE OTHER QUESTION IS THAT THE, I KNOW THAT IT'S DIFFICULT, UH, FOR PEOPLE THAT WHEN YOU HAVE THIS PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ISSUE COMES UP, BUT IF YOU CAN'T REALLY INCREASE THE FREQUENCY OF THE RAIL, UH, THEN YOU REALLY CAN'T ATTRACT THE, YOU KNOW, MORE PEOPLE IN IT BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO BE, YOU KNOW, THEY FEEL THAT PEOPLE NEED TO FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT YES, I CAN LIVE WITHOUT A CAR.
UH, BUT SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE A CAR, THEN YOU HAVE THE TRAIN, THEN WHICH ONE YOU TAKE AND THE ONE THAT YOU THINK THAT, OKAY, I CAN CONTROL THE, THE ONE THAT YOU SAY I HAVE MORE CONTROL ON SOME SOMETHING.
SO THAT'S WHY WE DON'T SEE MUCH ON THE TRAIN.
SO HOW, YOU KNOW, IS THERE, UH, ANY, I'M SURE YOU HAVE THE THOUGHT PROCESS OR PROCESS OF, YOU KNOW, MANAGING THE FREQUENCY OF THE TRAIN.
UH, SO CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT? WHAT WILL THIS REQUIRED TO MAKE THIS THING MORE FREQUENT, UH, RIDE OR STOP, UH, WHAT, WHAT IT'LL TAKE TO INCREASE THE FREQUENCIES, UM, FREQUENCY OF THE STA UH, THIS TRAIN THAT EACH FOR JUST OVERALL THROUGH, THROUGH THE RECHARGE ON ANY STATION, UH, INCLUDING THE SILVER LINE THAT'S COMING UP FOR UT D YOU KNOW, IF YOU CAN HAVE THAT MORE FREQUENT, RIGHT? YEAH.
ON THE LIGHT RAIL MON MODERNIZATION EFFORT, WE'RE GOING TO ACTUALLY LOOK AT, UH, ALL OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE ON OUR LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM AND FIGURE OUT WHAT, UH, SORT OF WHAT THE BOTTLENECKS ARE ON THE SYSTEM.
UM, USUALLY IT'S THE JUNCTIONS, UM, BUT LOOK AT ALL THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND WHAT THE LIMITATIONS ARE FOR INCREASING SPEED AND INCREASING FREQUENCY.
UM, YOU KNOW, I BELIEVE, I'D HAVE TO CHECK, BUT I BELIEVE WE COULD POTENTIALLY RUN 10 MINUTE SERVICE ON, ON OUR, ON OUR SYSTEM RIGHT NOW.
BUT, UM, THERE MAY BE SOME PLACES WHERE WE WOULD END UP CLOGGING UP THE SYSTEM BECAUSE OF THE WAY IT'S CURRENTLY DESIGNED.
SO WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT THAT.
UM, THAT'S PART OF THE REASON WE'RE DOING THE MODERNIZATION PROJECT, UM, NOT JUST FOR THE RAIL VEHICLES, BUT ALSO BECAUSE, UM, WE THINK THAT WE NEED TO LEVERAGE THE SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE AND MAKE MODEST IMPROVEMENTS ON IT SO THAT WE CAN INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF THE SYSTEM, UM, BECAUSE THAT'S MUCH BETTER THAN TRYING TO BUILD SOMETHING NEW.
SO, LIKE I SAID, IF, IF WE FIND THAT ONE OF THE BOTTLENECKS IS AT THE JUNCTION, THEN AT ONE OF THE JUNCTIONS, THEN WE CAN ACTUALLY LOOK AT THE GEOMETRY OF THE JUNCTION.
I'M GETTING REALLY TECHNICAL HERE, EVERYBODY, UM, LOOK AT THE GEOMETRY OF THE JUNCTION TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN ACTUALLY IMPROVE, UH, THE SPEED AND THE, AND THE TIME, TRAVEL TIME THROUGH THE JUNCTION.
SO, UM, AGAIN, THAT'S REALLY TECHNICAL, BUT UM, BUT THE WHOLE POINT IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GONNA BE LOOKING VERY CLOSELY AT HOW TO OPTIMIZE THE CAPACITY OF THE ENTIRE SYSTEM BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD HAVE A BOTTLENECK IN ONE LOCATION THAT AFFECTS, YOU KNOW, ALL THE DIFFERENT LINES AT ANY GIVEN TIME.
SO, UM, SO WE NEED TO REALLY IMPROVE OUR SERVICES.
MOST OF THE CLOGGING IS HAPPENING IN DOWNTOWN, DOWNTOWN DALLAS.
I, AT LEAST I WANTED TO SEE THAT YOU GUYS ARE LOOKING AT, LOOKING AT IT AND, UH, SO WE KNOW THAT, THAT WE'RE NOT JUST STUCK WITH THIS SYSTEM IS GONNA CHANGE.
UH, HOW LATE, UH, HAVE YOU THOUGHT THAT THE, YOU KNOW, THE, WAS THE SILVER LINE BUILT THE LAST, YOU KNOW, THE FLIGHT AT THE D F W AIRPORT AIRPORT AND THE LAST TRAIN THAT PEOPLE CAN TAKE, IT MIGHT BE LATE, LATE NIGHT.
UH, HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT RUNNING LATE NIGHT? I KNOW THAT THERE IS SOME ISSUE ABOUT THE SECURITY THAT, YOU KNOW, RUNNING.
I THINK YOU GUYS ARE TRYING TO TRAP ME INTO SAYING THAT I'M
[01:20:01]
GONNA EXTEND THE HOURS OF SILVER LINING.UM, WELL LET ME, LET ME TELL YOU, UM, JUST KIND OF MY GENERAL PHILOSOPHY ON SERVICE AND, AND I'M NOT SAYING AT ALL THAT THIS ISN'T GONNA COST MONEY CUZ IT WILL.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE DO THE PLANNING FOR THESE, UM, YOU KNOW, ANY OF OUR NEW SERVICES, YOU KNOW, WE KIND OF SAY, OKAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE DEMAND? AND YOU KNOW, WE, WE LOOK AT WHEN, YOU KNOW, HOW LONG WE NEED TO RUN THE SERVICE, THE SPAN OF SERVICE AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN REALLY THINKING ABOUT IS, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY NEED TO HAVE SOME CONSISTENCY BETWEEN ALL OF OUR DIFFERENT MODES.
AND SO, UM, TO ME THERE'S A LOT OF LOGIC IN MAKING SURE THAT THE HOURS OR THE SPAN OF SERVICE, UM, ON, YOU KNOW, COMMUTER RAIL SHOULD MATCH, YOU KNOW, LIGHT RAIL AND BUS AND ALL THOSE THINGS.
NOW LOGICALLY, YOU KNOW, IF WE END UP DOING THAT AND WE FIND THAT WE HAVE ZERO RIDERS, MOST OF THE TIME, UM, SOMEBODY WILL SAY, DO YOU NEED TO RUN THAT MUCH SERVICE, YOU KNOW, ON A SILVER LINER OR A LIGHT RAIL, WHATEVER IT IS.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN, WE CAN THINK ABOUT THAT AS WE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF MOVE TOWARDS REVENUE SERVICE.
WE GOT A COUPLE YEARS AT LEAST TO THINK ABOUT THAT BEFORE WE LAUNCH ANYTHING AND WE COULD DO SOME NEW MODELING AND MAYBE IN THAT TIMEFRAME WE CAN REALLY IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF OUR OTHER SERVICES.
SO WE'RE SEEING A LOT MORE USAGE, UM, ACROSS THE ENTIRE SYSTEM.
AND IDEALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, CITIES LIKE RICHARDSON ARE CONTINUING TO DO THE DEVELOPMENT THAT ENCOURAGES MORE PEOPLE TO RESIDE CLOSE TO A RAIL LINE OR CLOSE TO A BUS LINE WHERE YOU ALL CAN ENCOURAGE MORE RIDERSHIP AS WELL, WHICH YOU ARE ALREADY DOING.
SO, UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE THINGS YOU'RE DOING IN THAT REALM BECAUSE THAT ONLY HELPS US.
AND SO WE'VE GOT SOME TIME TO FIGURE THAT OUT.
UM, I CAN'T MAKE ANY COMMITMENTS YET, UM, BECAUSE I STILL HAVE TO TALK TO THE BOARD ABOUT IT.
I MEAN THIS IS, YOU KNOW, BUT WE'LL WORK ON THAT.
I MEAN, WE ARE, WE HAVE NOT REALLY SEEN THE FULL BENEFIT OF THIS TRAIN SYSTEM, YOU KNOW, UH, THAT'S TRUE.
PROBABLY WE'RE LOOKING AT MAYBE ANOTHER 10, 15 TO 20 YEARS BEFORE WE SEE THIS THING.
YOU KNOW, PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, THAT TIME THEY WILL APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER HAPPENED IN THE PAST, UH, THAT IT WAS A GREAT IDEA BECAUSE IT'S, YOU CAN'T REALLY BUILD THIS THING, UH, IN, IN 10 YEARS OR 15, 20 YEARS.
IT TAKES LIKE A LONG TIME REALLY TO DOUBLE THIS STRANGE SYSTEM.
SO IT WAS VERY FUTURE, UH, YOU KNOW, WHOEVER DID THAT HAD HAD GREAT VISION AND ONE OF THEM SITTING HERE I APPRECIATE.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, YOU ARE IN LOTS OF PEOPLE'S PRAYER NOW, EVEN IN THE FUTURE.
UH, NOW I'M EXCITED ABOUT, UH, DART.
SO CONGRATULATIONS AND, UH, YOU KNOW, YOUR SUCCESS IS OUR SUCCESS.
UM, I'LL TRY TO KEEP THIS SHORT.
UH, THE COUNCIL REALLY DID HAVE A LOT OF GREAT QUESTIONS, WHICH SORT OF NARROWED DOWN A COUPLE QUESTIONS FOR ME AND A CURIOSITY ONE, THANK YOU DAINE AND MR. SLAGEL AND MR. WALKER FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT.
IT'S, THIS IS A VERY EXCITING TIME, UH, FOR THE SILVER LINE.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I'M EXCITED ABOUT SUPPORTING THE ARTS, OF COURSE, IS THE DELIVERY INTO U T D, UH, FOR THE FUTURE CROW MUSEUM AND THE DELIVERY, UH, TRANSIT OVER TO CITYLINE AND OVER TO THE EISMAN.
SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IS, UH, BENEFICIAL FOR OUR CITY.
AND I'VE BEEN ASKED, UM, THE TIMELINE FOR SOMEONE TO MAKE A SHOW OR, UH, SOME, SOME SORT OF ENTERTAINMENT.
WHAT IS THE DELIVERY TIME IF SOMEONE WERE TO HOP ON, UH, LET'S SAY ON WATERVIEW OR UTD AT THIS POINT AND TRANSFER OVER TO CITYLINE AND TRANSFER TO THE RED LINE OVER TO THE EISMAN, WHAT TIMEFRAME DO YOU HAVE IF SOMEONE WAS TRYING TO MAKE A, A SHOW OR A, UH, A CONCERT OF SOME SORT, WHAT, WHAT DELIVERY TIME DO YOU HAVE? UH, GIMME THOSE LOCATIONS AGAIN,
JUST WONDERING WHAT THAT TURNAROUND TIME WOULD BE IF SOMEONE WERE PLANNING AN EVENT.
I'M SAYING THIS OUT LOUD CUZ THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ASK AND I JUST WANNA SAY IT OUT IN THE OPEN SO PEOPLE CAN HEAR.
UM, I ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE THE SCHEDULE, UM, OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, SO IF I CAN GET BACK TO YOU, I'D BE HAPPY TO GIVE YOU SOME SENSE OF WHAT THOSE TRAVEL TIMES WILL BE, INCLUDING WAIT TIMES.
I DON'T THINK I CAN ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
NO, THAT'S GOOD THAT, THAT WAS A HARD TEST.
UH, MY SECOND QUESTION IS, YOU MENTIONED EARLIER ABOUT THE UNITED KINGDOM OF FAITH AND I KNOW, UM, COUNCILMAN BAR, UH, BARRIOS AND A FEW OTHERS MENTIONED THIS, THAT PROGRAM, UM, WITH THAT ORGANIZATION AND OTHERS, UM, IS THAT SOMETHING YOU'RE DEVELOPING
[01:25:01]
AND, AND, AND WITH THAT ARE HOW MANY FULL-TIME, PART-TIME OR, UH, EVEN TEMPORARY, UM, INDIVIDUALS ARE UTILIZING THAT SERVICE AND THEN, AND HOW DO THEY COME ABOUT INTER OR ARE APPLYING FOR THAT? I KNOW THOSE ARE THREE QUESTIONS, BUT MAYBE SUMMED UP INTO ONE.I'M JUST LOOKING BACK TO SEE IF I HAD THE ACTUAL, UM, NUMBERS HERE.
UM, I THINK WE HAVE 24 CONTRACT CLEANERS AND OF COURSE THEY, THEY TURN OVER CUZ AS I SAID, WE HAVE A FEW WHO ARE TAKING PERMANENT JOBS WITH OUR, UM, OUR OTHER CLEANING CONTRACTORS.
SO RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE ABOUT 24 CLEANERS, UM, IN TERMS OF HOW THEY GET EMPLOYED.
I THINK THAT WAS YOUR QUESTION.
WE HAVE A CONTRACT, UM, WITH UNITED COMMUNITY OF FAITH, AND SO THEY FIND THE WORKERS FOR US AND THEN WE DEPLOY THEM.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S REALLY, IF THEY WANT, IF SOME, IF YOU KNOW SOMEBODY WHO WANTS TO WORK WITH THEM, I WOULD PROBABLY BE DIRECTING THEM TO UNITED COMMUNITY OF FAITH, UM, OR YOU CAN DIRECT THEM TO US AND WE'LL CONNECT THEM.
AND, AND, AND DO THEY APPLY FOR ANY POSITION OR IS IT JUST RESTRICTED TO SPECIFIC DUTIES? UM, I THINK, WELL IN THIS PARTICULAR PROGRAM IT'S JUST FOR THE CLEANER, THE CLEAN TEAMS. UM, NOW WE HAVE STARTED SOME CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW TO, UM, HOW TO, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH, UM, SECOND CHANCE PROGRAMS AND, AND OTHER TYPES OF PROGRAMS TO GET PEOPLE INTO JOBS AT DART.
UM, AND, AND YOU KNOW, WE REALLY HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL KINDS OF HIRING EVENTS WHERE ANYBODY REALLY COULD COME AND, YOU KNOW, AS LONG AS THEY, UH, CHECK OUT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN HIRE THEM.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE EVERYONE ELSE WE'RE, WE'RE JUST, YOU KNOW, SCRAMBLING TO GET YEAH, MORE PEOPLE.
UM, WE HAVE TONS OF VACANCIES STILL, UM, ALTHOUGH WE'RE, WE'RE 90% I THINK OF FILLED, FILLED POSITIONS RIGHT NOW.
AND I KNOW, AND I KNOW IT'S DIFFICULT, UH, IT'S A GOOD PROGRAM ACTUALLY FOR ALLOWING THAT, UH, THAT THOSE INDIVIDUALS TO GET A BACK ON THEIR FEET AND, AND, AND GIVE BACK TO SOCIETY AND MAKE THEMSELVES FEEL GOOD ABOUT SOMETHING THAT THEY HAVE SOMETHING THEY CAN DO.
I JUST HAVE ONE OUTTA CURIOSITY AND NO ONE ASKED THIS QUESTION BY THE WAY.
I NOTICED THAT, UH, YOU MENTIONED EARLIER THAT THE TRAINS ARE DEVELOPED, UH, FROM A SWISS COMPANY CALLED STRADDLER, AND THEY'RE MANUFACTURED HERE LOCALLY, IS THE MAN.
WHAT PART OF THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS OF THE TRAINS ARE, ARE DEVELOPED HERE AND ARE THE PARTS AND PIECES COMING FROM DIFFERENT AREAS, UH, FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD? OR DO WE, I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH ARE WE GIVING BACK TO OUR, OUR, OUR COMMUNITY HERE AND YEAH, SO MANUFACTURING, I KNOW THAT THEY'RE BEING ASSEMBLED HERE.
TREY, DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE PARTS? I MEAN, WE, SO WE HAVE BY AMERICA THAT WE HAVE TO, UM, ADHERE TO, UM, FOR MOST OF OUR, UM, PURCHASES RELATED TO TRANSIT.
SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW WHAT PERCENTAGE WE HAVE TO ADHERE TO, TO ROLLING STOCK IS CERTIFIED AT 70%.
SO GENERALLY YOU'RE LOOKING TO, TO GET CERTIFIED TO UTILIZE FEDERAL DOLLARS ON THAT PIECE OF EQUIPMENT, GENERALLY IT'S ABOUT 70%.
UM, AND SO THAT WOULD BE WHAT'S BEEN DONE FOR ALL EIGHT OF THOSE VEHICLES.
NOW, SPECIFIC PIECES THAT ASSEMBLE THE VEHICLE, WE CAN GET FURTHER INFORMATION ON THAT.
WHERE IS IT BEING ASSEMBLED AGAIN? YOU, SALT LAKE, LAKE CITY, UTAH, SALT LAKE CITY.
I DON'T, DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT IS? TOTAL, TOTAL BUILD TIME OF A RAIL VEHICLE RIGHT NOW IS, IS PRE, UH, PRE-UP SUPPLY CHAIN WAS RUNNING CLOSER, YOU KNOW, TWO YEARS FROM START TO FINISH ON, FROM GETTING DESIGN COMPLETE AND THEN DELIVERY OF VEHICLE.
NOW WE'RE CLOSER TO THREE YEARS.
AND BY THE TIME THAT YOU RECEIVE IT, WE'RE PROBABLY HAVING TO TURN THOSE OVER AGAIN, AREN'T WE? AS FAR AS REPLACEMENT? NO, WE'LL GET, WE'LL RECEIVE, SO WE'LL RECEIVE THE VEHICLES, UH, OUR FIRST SHIPMENT IN JULY.
AND REALLY THAT'S JUST THE TOW, THE TIME TO RECEIVE THAT IS JUST THE TOW FROM SALT LAKE CITY TO NORTH TEXAS.
UM, AND SO THAT, THAT'LL BE A COUPLE WEEKS JUST WORKING THROUGH RAIL LOGISTICS IN THE COUNTRY.
SO, UM, IN GENERAL IT'S ABOUT THREE TO FOUR YEAR FROM KIND OF CONCEPT PUTTING OUT AN RFP FOR, FOR A NEW VEHICLE TO RECEIVING THAT VEHICLE.
AND THEN YOU'VE GOT A 30 YEAR USEFUL IPHONE ON THE VEHICLE.
WELL, I APPRECIATE IT AND THANK Y'ALL AGAIN FOR, UM, COMING TONIGHT.
I REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE.
DAN, DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION? YES, MR. MAYOR, I, UH, FORGOT TO ASK A QUESTION AND IT WAS, HE ASKED SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES, THE VEHICLE
[01:30:01]
UPDATE SLIDE.CAN YOU GO TO THAT REAL QUICK? UH, WHERE IT SAYS ANTICIPA ANTICIPATED STATION AND STATION TRAVEL TIMES, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I WAS READING THIS PROPERLY.
I DON'T REMEMBER WHICH ONE THAT WAS ANTICIPATED TRAVEL.
I DON'T REMEMBER WHERE IT WAS.
THIS IS, THIS IS WHERE YOU REALIZE THERE, RIGHT THERE, THERE REALLY ARE 55 SLIDES,
UM, SO, SO IF I'M READING THIS CORRECTLY, AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG FROM CITYLINE, IF THEY WERE TO GET ON WESTBOUND AT CITYLINE AT EIGHT MINUTES AFTER THE HOUR, THEY ARRIVE IN TERMINAL B, 58 MINUTES, IT'S A 50 MINUTE, MINUTE TRAVEL TIME.
IS THAT, HOW AM I READING THAT RIGHT OR WRONG? THAT'S CORRECT.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I WAS READING THAT PROPERLY.
UM, ONE QUE ANOTHER QUESTION OR COMMENT UNRELATED TO THIS.
UH, YOU MENTIONED THERE WAS A PROJECT YOU WERE WORKING WITH UT ARLINGTON ON, WHICH I THINK IS GREAT.
UH, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, THEY WERE NOT A PART OF THE, UH, OF DART, BUT UTD IS, AND WE HAVE SOME REALLY SMART PEOPLE OVER AT UTD, AND, UH, WE DO PAINT IN THE DART.
SO IF THERE'S ANYTHING IN THE FUTURE, I'M SURE WE COULD LOVE TO CONNECT YOU WITH PEOPLE OVER AT UTD, UH, TO, UH, PARTNER IN ANY PROJECTS YOU HAVE GOING FORWARD.
UM, I'M, I'M SURE THERE'S, AND TO HAVE A VERY ACTIVE TRANSIT COMMUNITY AS JOE MENTIONED.
AND, UH, UM, BUT, UH, THAT MIGHT BE ANOTHER WAY THAT WE COULD HELP S YOU KNOW, EXPLAIN TO OUR, TO OUR RESIDENTS, UH, THAT PARTNERSHIP SO WELL.
THE INNOVATION CENTER AT UTD IS A, A VERY ATTRACTIVE PLACE TO START PITCHING SOME IDEAS ABOUT THINGS LIKE DATA AND AI AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THE THINGS THAT MAKE PEOPLE NERVOUS.
ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? HEY, DEAN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
WE APPRECIATE YOU JOINING US THIS EVENING.
TREY, THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US.
[C. REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE ENVISION RICHARDSON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE AND COMMUNITY SUMMIT ONE]
AT THIS TIME WE'RE GONNA GO TO ITEM C REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE ENVISION RICHARDSON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE AND THE COMMUNITY SUMMIT ONE.UH, AS YOU SEE, WE'RE KIND OF DOING A LITTLE BIT OF A TRANSITION HERE.
MARK BOWERS AND JESSICA ROSSI WITH, UH, KIMLEY HORNE ARE GONNA, I GUESS TAKE THE SEATS HERE, UH, WHERE MARK AND, UH, PREYA WERE JUST SITTING.
AND, UH, THEN, UH, MONICA HYDE WITH PROLOGUE PLANNING.
YOU MAY REMEMBER, UH, THE NAME MONICA HYDE.
UH, SHE'S BEEN THROUGH MANY OF THESE COUNCIL MEETINGS, UH, THROUGHOUT HER CAREER.
AND, UH, WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO HAVE HER BE PART OF OUR TEAM.
UM, YEAH, MARK, JUST, JUST, JUST TAKE THE SEAT,
UM, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO HAVE, HAVE THE TEAM HERE TONIGHT.
UM, I DO WANNA DO A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, LEVEL SETTING WITH RESPECT TO, TO WHAT WE HEAR.
SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, UH, IN, IN TERMS OF, UH, BASEBALL ANALOGY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE FIRST INNING OF, OF THIS COMP PLAN, UH, PROCESS.
AND WHAT WE'RE HERE TO DO TONIGHT REALLY, IS, UH, TO PROVIDE YOU WITH WHAT WE WOULD CONSIDER TO BE A LITTLE BIT OF A CONDITIONS OVERVIEW.
AND SO THESE ARE THINGS THAT, UH, WE HAVE HEARD, UH, FROM KEY STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS AS WELL AS LOOKING AT DATA.
AND SO YOU'LL SEE IT DIVIDED UP IN THAT WAY.
UM, AND THEN WHAT WE'D REALLY LIKE TO TURN OUR ATTENTION TO IS REALLY THE PUBLIC INPUT AND ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.
I THINK YOU'RE GONNA BE VERY EXCITED, UH, WITH, UH, THE, THE, UH, SUGGESTIONS FOR ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY THROUGHOUT THIS, UH, PROCESS THAT, UH, MARK AND HIS TEAM HAVE PUT TOGETHER.
AND, UH, BUT AGAIN, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE HERE TO DO TONIGHT.
THERE MAY BE SOME PRELIMINARY TAKEAWAYS THAT WE SHARE WITH YOU, BUT AGAIN, THESE ARE EXTREMELY PRELIMINARY AND, UH, THERE'S, UH, MANY, MANY MORE, UH, UH, OPPORTUNITIES FOR INPUT AND ENGAGEMENT AS WE REFINE THESE EARLY TAKEAWAYS, UH, TO, TO THIS PROCESS.
SO, UH, MARK, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND TURN IT OVER TO YOU AND, UH, FOR, FOR FURTHER REASON, ME AND I THINK MARK WILL, UM, UH, TAKE THE PODIUM AND THEN, UH, JESSICA WILL, UH, WILL GO UP ABOUT MIDWAY AND THEN BE HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS, UH, THAT YOU HAVE FOR THE WHOLE TEAM.
SO MARK, THANKS AGAIN FOR BEING HERE.
AGAIN, MY NAME IS MARK BOWERS, AND I AM A PLANNER, URBAN DESIGNER WITH THE FIRM KIMLEY HORN, AND WE'RE REALLY PLEASED TO BE WITH YOU THIS EVENING.
UM, WE WANT TO GIVE YOU THIS OVERVIEW PRES PRESENTATION.
IT'S INTERESTING THAT DART'S PRESENTATION WAS ABOUT 50 SLIDES, SO IS OURS, BUT WE PROMISE WE WILL GO THROUGH THIS, UH, PRETTY QUICKLY.
UH, THE MAIN THINGS THAT WE WANTED TO ACCOMPLISH THIS EVENING WAS TO PROVIDE THIS OVER OVERVIEW TO YOU, THE PROGRESS TO DATE, UH, SHARE WITH YOU THE TYPES OF EXISTING CONDITIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT, UH, SO FAR.
UH, WE HAVE STARTED TO DO SOME, UH, INVESTIGATION INTO SOME POTENTIAL REINVESTMENT AREAS, REINVESTMENT AREAS WERE SO IMPORTANT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE, THE PREVIOUS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY UPDATING.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE SHARE THE DIRECTION WE'RE GOING
[01:35:01]
AND GET ANY FEEDBACK ON THAT.UH, AND THEN JESSICA IS GOING TO, UH, TAKE THE BULK OF THE PRESENTATION TO TALK ABOUT THE DEMOGRAPHIC AND MARKET ANALYSIS, UH, OVERVIEW THAT SHE HAS PREPARED.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE WILL START TO WRAP THAT UP WITH THE COMMUNITY SUMMIT OVERVIEW AND NEXT STEPS.
SO RELATED TO THE PROJECT OVERVIEW, AND I KNOW ALL OF YOU ON COUNCIL ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THIS, BUT WE DO WANNA SHARE THIS FOR SOME OF THE FOLKS THAT MAY BE, UH, WATCHING ONLINE.
SO A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IS A DOCUMENT, UH, THAT STATES THE COMMUNITY'S DESIRED VISION FOR THE FUTURE.
AS I SAID, THIS IS AN UPDATE, UH, TO THE CITY'S PREVIOUS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
WE'RE NOT THROWING IT OUT, WE'RE BUILDING UPON, UH, THAT PREVIOUS PLAN THAT WAS DONE.
AND IN YOUR PARTICULAR CASE, UH, THIS PLAN IS GOING TO, UH, CONSIST OF A COORDINATED SET OF PLANS ORGANIZED BY SUBJECT, WHICH IS THE WAY YOUR PREVIOUS PLAN WAS ORGANIZED.
UH, WHILE A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN STATES THE COMMUNITY'S VISION, IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE ZONING.
SO HOW IS IT USED? UH, TYPICALLY WHAT WE'LL SEE IS THAT THAT CONS, UH, COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DOES PROVIDE DIRECTION FOR CREATING DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS.
UH, IT BECOMES VERY IMPORTANT TO THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS FOR THE CPC AND FOR THE CITY COUNCIL RELATED TO FUTURE ZONING DECISIONS.
AND IT ALSO HELPS GUIDE DECISIONS, UH, RELATIVE TO PUBLIC INVESTMENTS.
AND IT WILL HAVE A VERY ROBUST IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY.
UH, THAT STEP-BY-STEP, UH, REALLY STARTS TO SPELL OUT THE ACTIONS THAT THE CITY AND ITS PARTNERS SHOULD BE TAKING TO IMPLEMENT THE PLAN.
UH, THIS PARTICULAR PLAN, IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE CITY THAT IT, UH, ALSO CONTAIN A FISCAL IMPACT ANALYSIS SO THAT, UH, WE'LL BE DEVELOPING A TOOL FOR THE CITY TO USE TO UNDERSTAND THE DECISION PROCESS.
AND IF, IF YOU DO DETERMINE TO GO A DIFFERENT WAY FROM, UH, THE DIRECTION THAT THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WAS SUGGESTING, UH, YOU CAN START TO UNDERSTAND THE FISCAL, UH, BENEFITS OR COST OF MAKING THOSE TYPES OF DECISIONS IN THE FUTURE.
UM, SO THAT OVERALL PROCESS, UH, IT IS A 22 MONTH PROCESS.
WE ARE RIGHT AT FOUR MONTHS INTO IT.
UH, SO IT'S REALLY BROKEN UP WITH DATA COLLECTION AND STRATEGIC DIRECTION, UH, THAT WILL BE WRAPPING UP THE END OF THIS YEAR.
AT THAT POINT, WE'LL HAVE A VISION STATEMENT, GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND, AND PRELIMINARY DIRECTION FOR THE PLAN THAT WILL BE BUILT UPON WHAT WE'RE HEARING IN THE COMMUNITY.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS IS THE COMMUNITY'S PLAN, NOT THE CONSULTANTS' PLAN.
SO WE'RE REALLY FACILITATING DISCUSSIONS TO COME UP WITH THOSE IDEAS.
UH, THEN NEXT YEAR WE'LL BE GOING INTO THE PLAN DRAFTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, BETWEEN JANUARY AND AUGUST AND ULTIMATELY, UH, IMPLEMENTATION.
WE'LL FOLLOW ALONG CLOSELY WITH THAT, UH, WITH THE PLAN BEING WRAPPED UP IN THE NOVEMBER TIMEFRAME OF, OF NEXT YEAR.
SO AS WE LOOKED AT THE EXISTING CONDITIONS, UM, WE, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF MAPS THAT WILL BE SHARED ONLINE, UH, WITH MORE DETAIL, BUT AT THIS POINT WE JUST WANTED TO SHARE, UH, SOME OF THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
SO AS A PART OF THE EXISTING CONDITIONS, WE'VE, WE'VE MAPPED A LOT OF THE EXISTING CONDITIONS IN THE COMMUNITY.
THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT ARE EXISTING BUILT CONDITIONS, REGULATORY SYSTEMS, SO THINGS LIKE ZONING, UH, NATURAL SYSTEMS, SO FLOOD PLAINS STREAMS, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS. THEY WERE ALL MAPPED AND REVIEWED TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED IN THE PLAN.
AND THROUGH THAT PROCESS, WE ALSO, UH, HAD A WORK SESSION WITH CITY STAFF WHERE WE GAINED A LOT OF INSIGHTS ON THE DAY-TO-DAY ISSUES THAT STAFF IS DEALING WITH WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN THE SECOND PIECE OF THAT IS, UH, LOOKING AT SOME OF THE RECENTLY COMPLETED, UH, PLANS.
SO WE WILL BE INCORPORATING, UH, THE KEY COMPONENTS OF THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN AND THE PARKS, RECREATION AND OPEN SPACE MASTER PLAN.
WE'VE EVALUATED BOTH OF THOSE, THEIR APPROACHES AND THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, TO BE ABLE TO UTILIZE THOSE AS WE GO FORWARD WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
SO AT THIS POINT, I'M GOING, OH, WE STILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL REINVESTMENT AREAS.
SO, UH, UH, IF YOU'LL RECALL, AGAIN, THE REINVESTMENT AREAS, UH, UH, WERE REALLY KEY COMPONENTS.
THAT WAS A REALLY UNIQUE IDEA THAT RICHARDSON PUT FORTH IN YOUR LAST COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IN 2009.
IT WAS A VERY SUCCESSFUL PROCESS OF FOCUSING BACK IN SINCE YOUR COMMUNITY WAS SO BUILT OUT.
UH, SO THROUGH THIS PROCESS, WE'VE BEEN ASKED TO IDENTIFY SIX POTENTIAL REINVESTMENT AREAS TO BE EVALUATED.
UH, FOUR ARE CURRENTLY UNDER STUDY, AND THEN WE WILL BE WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY THROUGH THIS, UH, NEXT ROUND OF COMMUNITY SUMMITS, UH, TO IDENTIFY, UH, TWO ADDITIONAL AREAS THAT WE'LL BE EVALUATING BEFORE WE COME BACK TO COUNCIL.
SO THE TYPES OF THINGS WE EVALUATE ARE, WE CALL 'EM INDICATORS FOR RIGHT RIPENESS FOR REINVESTMENT.
SO WE LOOK AT OWNERSHIP PATTERNS, ASSEMBLAGES THAT PROPERTY OWNERS MAY HAVE OWNER TENURE, HOW LONG HAVE THEY OWNED THE PROPERTY, UH, IS IT A LOCAL OR AN
[01:40:01]
NON-LOCAL OWNER.UH, THE, THE IMPROVEMENT TO LAND RATIO IS OFTEN A RATIO THAT'S IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT, UH, TO UNDERSTAND THE RIPENESS FOR REINVESTMENT, UH, ALSO LOOKING AT RENTAL AND LEASE RATES, VACANCY RATES, AND THE AGE OF IMPROVEMENTS ON THE PROPERTIES.
SO WE'LL BE DOING THAT DETAILED EVALUATION OF ALL SIX AREAS FOLLOWING THE FIRST ROUND OF, UH, MEETINGS WITH THE PUBLIC, THE COMMUNITY SUMMIT, AND BRINGING THAT INFORMATION BACK TO COUNCIL AT YOUR JULY 31ST JOINT WORKSHOP WITH THE CPC.
AND WE'LL ASK YOU TO PROVIDE DIRECTION TO US ON WHICH FOUR YOU THINK ARE THE CRITICAL ONES TO MOVE FORWARD THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
SO LOOKING AT A HIGH LEVEL AT THOSE REINVESTMENT AREAS.
UH, WE HAVE IT ON THE MAP RIGHT HERE.
ESSENTIALLY IT'S GOING FROM ARAPAHOE ON THE NORTH AND DOWN TO THE ALLEY JUST NORTH OF STAGECOACH ON THE SOUTH.
UH, THESE REINVESTMENT AREAS DO NOT INCLUDE THE, UH, SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL AREAS, WHICH WAS ALSO THE CASE IN THE 2009 PLAN.
UH, SO IT'S, IT'S PRIMARILY COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES, SOME OF THE MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES IN THE AREA.
ONE OF THE KEY THINGS HERE IS THE PROMENADE CENTER, UH, DOWN IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE, UH, OF THE AREA.
UH, WELL REALLY THE CENTRAL PART OF THE AREA.
AND THEN, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT, OH, THIS PARTICULAR AREA WAS INCLUDED IN THE 2009 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
IT WAS AN AREA THAT, UH, DID NOT MOVE FORWARD FOR A MORE DETAILED STUDY.
AND SO REALLY AS WE KICKED OFF THIS PROCESS, THE QUESTION TO BE ANSWERED WAS, LET'S AT LEAST SCRATCH THE SURFACE OF IT AND SEE IF THERE ARE REASONS WE SHOULD LOOK AT IT FOR MORE DETAILED STUDY.
AND SO THIS PROCESS WILL START TO DO THAT.
UH, WEST CAMPBELL ROAD IS THE SECOND AREA.
AGAIN, THE AREA WE'RE LOOKING AT ALONG WEST CAMPBELL IS BETWEEN CUSTARD AND, AND FLOYD.
UM, AND SO REALLY A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT THERE, UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE OPEN SPACES, INDIVIDUAL OFFICE BUILDINGS, SINGLE STORY OFFICES, UH, ALONG, THIS WAS NOT AN AREA THAT WAS INCLUDED IN THE 2009 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
IT'S A NEW AREA THAT WAS IDENTIFIED FOR POTENTIAL, UH, TO, FOR REINVESTMENT.
AND WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT IT ALSO BECAUSE OF ITS PROXIMITY TO U T D AND SOME OF THE SURROUNDING SINGLE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOODS.
THE THIRD AREA IS WEST ARAPAHOE.
IT WAS AN AREA, UH, THAT WAS IN THAT 2009 PLAN.
AGAIN, IT WAS ONE OF THOSE AREAS THAT, UH, DID NOT HAVE THE MORE DETAILED STUDY.
ESSENTIALLY IN THIS TIME, THIS CASE, WE'D BE LOOKING FROM CENTRAL EXPRESSWAY WEST TO NEWBURY DRIVE.
UH, IT DOES INCLUDE, UH, THE, UH, THE CITY HALL SITE, THE LIBRARY.
UH, SO THERE ARE SEVERAL CITY FACILITIES, UH, LOCATED WITHIN THE, THE STUDY AREA.
AND THEN, UH, LIKE I SAID, IT WAS INCLUDED IN THE 2009 PLAN.
AND WE JUST WANNA SEE, AGAIN, SCRATCH THE SURFACE AND SEE IF IT'S AN AREA THAT IS, UH, IN NEED OF A MORE DETAILED LOOK.
AND THEN THE FINAL AREA THAT CAME UP, UH, WAS THE BELTLINE AND PLANO AREA, IF YOU THINK THE OLD RICHARDSON SQUARE, UH, SHOPPING MALL SITE.
AND REALLY IT'S THE FOUR CORNERS AT PLANO AND BELTLINE.
AGAIN, THIS AREA WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THAT 2009 PLAN, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THROUGH THE STAKEHOLDER DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING, SOME OF THE INTERVIEWS WE'VE BEEN HAVING, THIS WAS ONE OF THE SITES THAT CAME UP IN MULTIPLE INTERVIEWS.
SO THERE IS SOME INTEREST, AT LEAST AMONG THE STAKEHOLDERS, BUT WE WANT TO TEST THAT WITH THE, UH, THE GENERAL COMMUNITY AS WE GO THROUGH THIS NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS.
SO NOW I WILL TURN IT OVER TO JESSICA TO TALK ABOUT THE DEMOGRAPHIC AND MARKET ANALYSIS.
I WORK AT KIMLEY HORN WITH MARK, UM, AND SUPPORT HIM ON COMPREHENSIVE PLANS AND SMALL AREA PLANS ALL OVER THE STATE OF TEXAS.
UM, I SPECIFICALLY FOCUS ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, MARKET ANALYSIS, AND FISCAL IMPACT STUDIES.
SO WHEN, WHEN MARK TALKS ABOUT EXISTING CONDITIONS, A PIECE OF THAT THAT'S REALLY KINDA NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART ARE, UM, IS, IS LOOKING AT THE, THE DEMOGRAPHICS AND THE, UH, ECONOMIC METRICS OF A COMMUNITY.
UNDERSTANDING WHO LIVES THERE, WHO WORKS THERE, WHO PLAYS THERE, AND WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THEM.
UM, WE ARE DIGGING INTO THE HOUSING OF, OF A COMMUNITY AND THEN DIGGING INTO THE COMMERCIAL ASPECTS OF A COMMUNITY AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PIECE.
SO I'M GONNA WALK THROUGH EACH OF THOSE BUCKETS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
SO STARTING WITH THE COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS SUMMARY, UM, THERE'S JUST A FEW HIGHLIGHTS OF SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE FINDING THROUGH OUR STUDY.
SO YOUR COMMUNITY HAS GROWN SINCE 2010 BY ABOUT 22,500 PEOPLE.
SO THAT WORKS OUT TO BE AN ANNUAL GROWTH RATE OF 1.7%.
AND THE ESTIMATED 2022 POPULATION IS OVER 121,000 PEOPLE.
[01:45:01]
UM, YOU CAN SEE ON THIS SLIDE THAT WE HAVE LOOKED AT THE RACIAL DIVERSITY OF THE COMMUNITY.UM, WE'VE ALSO LOOKED AT THE AGE OF YOUR RESIDENTS AND HOW THAT'S CHANGED THROUGH THE YEARS.
AND SO, UM, IN THE CHART ON THE TOP LEFT, UM, YOU, WE CAN SEE THE, THE CHANGES IN AGE GROUPS, UM, OVER TIME.
SO WHERE WE SEE THE LARGEST GROWTH IS IN THE 15 TO 24 AGE GROUP.
AND SO THAT'S GONNA BE, UM, COLLEGE STUDENTS.
IT'S GONNA BE YOUNG PROFESSIONALS, UM, YOUNG FAMILIES.
AND THEN WE ALSO SEE QUITE A BIT OF GROWTH IN SOME OF THOSE OLDER ACTIVE ADULT GROUPS STARTING AT THE AGE OF 65.
UM, AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE AGE, THE COMPARISON OF MEDIAN AGE, UM, BETWEEN RICHARDSON AND THE METROPLEX, YOU SEE THEY'RE PRETTY COMPARABLE.
RICHARDSON IS JUST SLIGHTLY OLDER THAN THE METROPLEX AS A WHOLE, UH, FROM A PROSPERITY OVERVIEW.
YOU CAN SEE THE DISTRIBUTION OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT.
SO THIS IS GONNA BE FOR ALL RESIDENTS IN RICHARDSON OVER THE AGE OF 25.
UM, YOU HAVE A REALLY HIGH SHARE OF RESIDENTS THAT HAVE EARNED, UM, A, A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT DEGREE.
SO, UM, BE 28.9% HAVE EARNED A HIGH, UH, HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA.
UM, 37.7% HAVE EARNED A BACHELOR DEGREE, AND ANOTHER 20 20% HAVE EARNED A GRADUATE OR PROFESSIONAL LEVEL DEGREE.
SO VERY HIGHLY EDUCATED, UM, RESIDENT BASE, WHICH THEN OFTEN, UM, WORKS OUT TO ALSO HAVE A HIGHER THAN AVERAGE INCOME.
SO YOU CAN SEE YOUR MEDIAN INCOME AT OVER $90,000 PER YEAR COMPARED TO THE METROPLEX AT 77,000 AND CHANGE.
UM, AND YOU CAN ALSO SEE, UM, THE COMPARISON BETWEEN THE CITY OF RICHARDSON'S, UM, PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLDS AND THEIR INCOME RANGES.
UM, SO THE HIGHEST IS, UH, RESIDENTS EARNING BETWEEN A HUNDRED AND 150,000, UM, WHICH IS ALSO CONSISTENT WITH THE METROPLEX.
UM, YOU CAN KIND OF SEE ACROSS THE BOARD, RICHARDSON HAS HIGHER SHARES OF HOUSEHOLDS EARNING EV ALL OF THE HOUSEHOLDS EARNING OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR.
FROM AN ECONOMY STANDPOINT, RICHARDSON BENEFITS FROM BEING PART OF THE, UM, DALLAS FORT WORTH METROPLEX, WHICH HAS SEEN SIGNIFICANT JOB GROWTH.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THE IMPACT OF THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC THERE IN 2020, BUT YOU CAN ALSO SEE VERY SIGNIFICANT JOB GROWTH IN BOTH 2021 AND THROUGH THE FIRST THREE QUARTERS OF, UM, 2022.
SO THE REBOUND THAT OCCURRED AFTER COVID WAS SIGNIFICANT, AND THAT REALLY JUST THE POSITIONING IN THE METROPLEX REALLY PUTS RICHARDSON AT, UH, AT AN ADVANTAGE.
UM, THERE ARE ALMOST 88,000 JOBS IN THE CITY OF RICHARDSON, UH, WITH THE LARGEST, UM, MOST SIGNIFICANT, UH, INDUSTRIES BEING HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, INFORMATION FINANCE AND INSURANCE.
AND THEN WHEN WE LOOK AT HOW PEOPLE TRAVEL TO THOSE JOBS, UM, RICHARDSON IS AN AT ATTRACT IS AN AREA OF ATTRACTION.
THERE'S, UM, ALMOST 105,000 PEOPLE, UM, TRAVELING INTO RICHARDSON DAILY FOR WORK, UM, WITH ANOTHER 44,000 PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE TRAVELING OUT.
SO WHEN YOU THINK OF THE SWELL OF YOUR DAY, OF YOUR DAYTIME POPULATION, SO THE PEOPLE WHO STAY HERE TO WORK, THE PEOPLE WHO STAY HERE TO LIVE AND RECREATE, PLUS ALL THE PEOPLE THAT ARE COMING IN FOR, UM, EMPLOYMENT, THERE'S A PRETTY, UM, THAT'S A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT NUMBER.
AND THE REASON THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT IS THAT ALSO SPEAKS TO HOW THEY'RE SPENDING AND SHOPPING, HOW THEY MIGHT WANNA RECREATE AND WHAT THAT MIGHT, UM, INFLUENCE AS WE LOOK AT THE PLAN IN THE FUTURE.
SO NEXT, STEPPING THROUGH SOME OF OUR INITIAL FINDINGS FROM HOUSING SUMMARY, I WILL TAKE A QUICK PAUSE HERE AND TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHY WE DO A MARKET ANALYSIS AND WHAT THE PROCESS OF THAT IS.
AND WHAT I REALLY LIKE YOU ALL TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS SLIDE IS THAT, UM, I'M KIND OF SPEWING A LOT OF DATA AT YOU TODAY, AND I LOVE DATA, AND DATA IS GREAT, BUT THAT DOESN'T ALWAYS TELL THE FULL STORY.
AND SO ANOTHER REALLY IMPORTANT PIECE THAT, UM, MARK AND MONICA AND THEIR TEAM HAVE BEEN WORKING ON IS TALKING TO STAKEHOLDERS, UM, TALKING TO THE COMMUNITY, AND REALLY MARRYING THOSE, THAT, THAT QUANTITATIVE SIDE OF MARKET ANALYTICS WITH THE QUALITATIVE SIDE TO ENSURE THAT, UM, WE'RE REALLY KIND OF GETTING A COMPREHENSIVE STORY ABOUT THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA BLEND ALL OF THOSE DATA PIECES TOGETHER.
WE WILL IDENTIFY KEY GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES AND STRATEGIES THAT, UM, THAT RICHARDSON HAS, UM, IN THE FUTURE, UM, THAT WILL INFLUENCE SOME OF THOSE REINVESTMENT AREAS THAT MARK TALKED ABOUT.
AND THEN ULTIMATELY, WE'RE GONNA STRATEGIZE AND WE'RE GONNA DO THAT FISCAL IMPACT ANALYSIS.
SO ALL PULLING ALL OF THAT TOGETHER GIVES YOU A MARKET BASED, UM, VERY FORWARD THINKING, COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
SO REALLY QUICKLY THROUGH THE HOUSING,
[01:50:01]
UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE HOUSING STOCK HERE IN RICHARDSON, UM, IT IS SLIGHTLY OLDER, BUT NOT VERY MUCH THAN THE, THE METROPLEX.SO THE MEDIAN YEAR BUILT IS 1981 FOR ALL OUR HOUSING COMPARED TO 1988.
UH, THE MEDIAN HOME VALUE, UH, 318,000 COMPARED TO 330,000.
UM, BUT WHAT WE ARE SEEING IN THE DATA AND HEARING IN THE STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS IS REALLY TOUCHING ON THE AVAILABILITY OF HOUSING AND THE COST OF HOUSING.
AND SO THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE, UM, PIECES THAT WE'RE INVESTIGATING THROUGH THE DATA, BUT WE ARE DIGGING INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, FROM A SINGLE FAMILY.
SO THIS IS GONNA BE YOUR SALE.
SO IF YOU WANT TO BE A HOMEOWNER, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN RICHARDSON.
UM, THERE'S ABOUT A THOUSAND TO 1500 HOME SALES PER YEAR, AND THAT'S BEEN PRETTY FLAT.
SO THAT'S GONNA BE THOSE ORANGE BARS ON THE LEFT, I THINK ON THE LEFT.
UM, AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE DATA IS IT'S SLOWED DOWN A LITTLE BIT.
SO IN 2022, YOU SEE THAT ORANGE BAR DROP A GOOD BIT.
THAT'S PROBABLY, UM, SOME OF THE IMPACT FROM THE INCREASE IN MORTGAGE RATE.
IT'S COOLING THE MARKET JUST A BIT.
UM, AND YOU'LL SEE THE GREEN LINE ON THAT CHART IS SHOWING THAT RICHARDSON SHARES OF THE REGIONAL HOUSING CLOSINGS HAS, UM, KIND OF GRADUALLY DECLINED OVER THE YEARS.
AND I THINK WHAT, WHAT THAT IS, UM, WHAT IS CAUSING THAT ARE AREAS ON THE FURTHER ON THE ARTS OUTSKIRTS THAT HAVE LARGE DEVELOPABLE TRACTS OF LAND THAT ARE ABLE TO BUILD, YOU KNOW, HUGE SWATHS OF SINGLE FAMILY HOUSES.
AND SO WE'RE SEEING THE GROWTH AND MOMENTUM MOVE AROUND IN OTHER AREAS.
UM, WE TALKED, I THINK WE HEARD YOU ALL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOUSING AFFORDABILITY.
UM, DURING THE TRANSIT SECTION, WE, UM, FROM A FOR SALE CLOSING PRICE, SO A SALES PRICE, IT HAS IN INCREASED PRETTY SUBSTANTIALLY.
UM, IN THE LAST 10 YEARS, 2022, THE FULL YEAR AVERAGE WAS 465,000 FOR A HOUSING UNIT.
UM, IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2023 THAT DID NOT COOL OFF MUCH.
IT'S ABOUT 460,000 FROM A RENTAL STANDPOINT.
THERE'S OVER 18,000 RENTAL UNITS IN YOUR COMMUNITY.
UM, THE MAJORITY OF THEM WERE BUILT IN THE 2010S.
THE NEXT MOST COMMON YEAR BUILT WAS IN THE 1980S.
AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING FROM A VACANCY STANDPOINT IS THE, IS BACK TO THE IDEA OF AVAILABILITY OF HOUSING UNITS.
UM, THE, THE VACANCY FOR THE CITY OF RICHARDSON IS SITTING AT ABOUT 6.6% FOR APARTMENTS.
UM, IT A REALLY, UM, EASY RULE OF THUMB, DEVELOPERS USE 7% AS A SIGN OF A HEALTHY MARKET.
SO, UM, HEALTHY, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T HAVE A LOT OF EXCESS APARTMENT INVENTORY.
UM, THIS IS COMPARED AGAINST THE DALLAS FORT WORTH, UH, METROPLEX IN THAT GREEN LINE.
SO YOUR VACANCY RATE IS A LITTLE LOWER.
UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT, UM, ASKING MONTHLY RENTAL RATES, UM, YOUR MONTHLY RENTAL RATE IS 1,673 ON AVERAGE, UM, IN THE, IN, UM, APRIL OF THIS YEAR.
THAT WAS, THAT WAS THAT, UM, METRIC.
AND THAT COMPARES TO ON LESS THAN 1500 A MONTH FOR THE METROPLEX.
UM, THAT NUMBER IN BOTH OF THOSE GEOGRAPHIES HAS BEEN ON THE RISE WITH A VERY SIGNIFICANT BUMP BETWEEN 2021 AND 2022.
NOW FINALLY, MOVING THROUGH SOME OF OUR INITIAL FINDINGS ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE.
SO THIS IS GONNA TOUCH ON RETAIL OFFICE AT INDUSTRIAL AND HOSPITALITY.
UM, THIS IS KIND OF GIVING YOU THAT SAME SENSE OF INVENTORY, UM, FOR, UH, RETAIL OFFICE AND INDUSTRIAL 7.4 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF RETAIL WITH THE MOST COMMON YEAR BUILT IN THE 1970S, UM, 22.4 MILLION SQUARE SQUARE FEET OF OFFICE.
AND THERE'S A LOT OF DISTRIBUTION BY AGE HERE.
SO, UH, 33% WAS BUILT IN 1980, UH, 22.8% WAS BUILT IN THE NINETIES.
ANOTHER 16% WAS BUILT IN THE TWO THOUSANDS, AND ANOTHER 19% WAS BUILT IN THE 2010.
SO WE HAVE A, A LOT OF VARIATION IN THE INVENTORY FOR OFFICE SPACE AND THEN 8.5 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF INDUSTRIAL SPACE.
UM, QUICKLY STEPPING THROUGH RETAIL.
RETAIL VACANCY RATE IS, IS RELATIVELY LOW.
UM, IT IS, ALTHOUGH IT IS A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN THE METROPLEX AS A WHOLE.
SO 7.4%, UM, OF YOUR TOTAL INVENTORY IS VACANT AND AVAILABLE SPACE.
UM, WHERE WE ARE DOING SOME DIGGING NOW IS LOOKING AT THE AGE OF THE INVENTORY, UM, THE CLASS OF THE INVENTORY AND MATCHING THAT AGAINST KIND OF TENANTS THAT ARE SEEKING NEW SPACE TO KIND OF UNDERSTAND WHAT THE GAP IS THERE OR THE NEW DEMAND.
UM, YOUR AVERAGE RENT PER SQUARE FOOT IS $19 AND 23 CENTS COMPARED TO 1831 FOR THE METROPLEX.
[01:55:01]
FROM AN OFFICE STANDPOINT, YOU TRACK VERY CLOSELY FROM A VACANCY RATE WITH THE LARGER METROPLEX.UM, BOTH AREAS HAVE BEEN ON THE RISE, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE SEEING ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
A LOT OF THAT IS STARTED WITH THE ONSET.
YOU CAN SEE A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPTICK BETWEEN 2020 AND 2021.
UM, THAT SPEAKS TO SOME OF THE INFLUENCE OF COVID AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING.
UM, KIND OF CONTINUED INFLUENCE OF PEOPLE, UM, UH, CONSIDERING OR BEING MORE FLEXIBLE WITH WHERE THEY LIVE AND WHERE THEY WORK.
AND, UM, JUST HAVING, UM, A LITTLE BIT OF SHIFT IN WHAT NEW, WHAT COMPANIES NEED FROM AN OFFICE PERSPECTIVE.
UM, YOUR RENT PER SQUARE FOOT FOR OFFICE SPACE IS OVER $18 A SQUARE FOOT COMPARED TO OVER 23% OR $23 FOR THE METROPLEX.
INDUSTRIAL SPACE IS HARD TO COME BY.
UH, VACANT CURRENT VACANCY RATE IS, SITS AT ABOUT 4.4%, AND YOU HAVE, UH, QUITE A BIT HIGHER RENT PER SQUARE FOOT.
UM, IT'S OVER $13 AND 50 CENTS A FOOT COMPARED TO $8, UM, FOR THE METROPLEX IN A WHOLE, UM, A A BIG PIECE OF, UH, THAT DRIVING, UM, VARIATION IN RENT PER SQUARE FOOT IS THE SIZE OF THE SPACE.
SO, UH, A HUGE DISTRIBUTION CENTER THAT THAT HAS, UM, YOU KNOW, A MILLION SQUARE FEET IS GONNA LEASE FOR A LOWER RATE THAN, UM, SMALLER 25,000 SQUARE FOOT FLEXOR INNOVATION SPACE.
AND THEN FINALLY, HOTEL INVENTORY.
UM, ABOUT 41% OF YOUR ROOMS, OF THE 3,200 HOTEL ROOMS YOU HAVE IN YOUR COMMUNITY WERE BUILT IN THE 1980S.
THE MAJORITY OF THEM ARE UPSCALE CLASS OR, UM, UPPER MIDDLE CLASS OR UPPER UPSCALE CLASS.
SO, UH, THOSE ARE ALL JUST FANCY WAYS TO SAY THAT YOU HAVE A REALLY NICE HOTEL INVENTORY.
UM, AND THAT SPEAKS TO THE TYPES OF AMENITIES THAT THOSE FACILITIES OFFER.
UM, WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS, IS A GOOD REBOUND, UM, A RECOVERY FROM WHAT WE, UH, WHAT WE EXPERIENCED DURING COVID.
UM, UH, BUT YOUR, UH, HOTEL LEASE RATE IS, UH, JUST SHY OF WHAT THE METROPLEX IS.
SO $87 A FOOT COMPARED TO $93 A FOOT.
UM, SO THERE'S A A LOT OF NUMBERS THERE AND DATA THAT I JUST THREW AT YOU, AND I APPRECIATE THAT.
BUT AGAIN, THINK BACK TO THE IDEA OF MARRYING THAT WITH WHAT WE'RE HEARING FROM THE STAKEHOLDERS.
AND I THINK I'M GONNA HAND THAT BACK OVER TO MARK TO TALK THROUGH SOME OF THAT.
JESSICA, BEFORE YOU SIT DOWN, CAN I ASK ONE QUICK QUESTION? SURE.
WHEN YOU ARE SPEAKING OF RENTAL SPACE, DO YOU HAVE A SEPARATION RELATED TO SINGLE FAMILY RENTALS VERSUS MAYBE APARTMENT TYPE RENTALS? YEAH, WE HA WE DO HAVE SOME OF THAT DATA AVAILABLE.
UM, I WILL SAY THAT THE SINGLE FAMILY RENTERS RENTALS, SO THAT INVESTOR OWNED, WE CAN, WE CAN GET SOME HIGHER LEVEL INFORMATION ON THAT, WHAT WE CAN FIND FROM ONLINE POSTINGS, JUST TO UNDERSTAND THE AVAILABILITY OF THOSE UNITS.
UM, BUT THERE'S NOT A GREAT DATA SOURCE FOR THAT TYPE OF INFORMATION, BUT WE ARE TRYING TO PULL IN AS MUCH OF THAT AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE I THINK THAT THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF THE STORY HERE AS WELL.
AND I WILL BRING IT HOME WITH THIS NEXT PIECE.
UH, SO WE WANT TO GIVE YOU, SO THE, THE LAST THING WE WANTED TO GO THROUGH WITH YOU IS KIND OF AN OVERVIEW OF THE COMMUNITY COMMUNITY SUMMIT AND A COMMUNITY SUMMIT IS, UH, NOT JUST A SINGLE MEETING, IT'S A SERIES OF ACTIVITIES, UH, UH, THAT ARE GEARED TOWARDS MULTIPLE POPULATIONS THAT'LL BE TAKING PLACE OVER A EXTENDED PERIOD.
UH, SO REALLY THE KEY THING WE WANTED TO POINT OUT IS THIS WHOLE PROCESS STARTED WITH A PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PLAN.
UH, WE PREPARED A DETAILED PLAN ON HOW WE WERE GOING TO BE REACHING OUT TO THE, THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
UH, THAT ENGAGEMENT PLAN IS INTENDED TO CHANGE OVER TIME.
SO IF WE ARE GOING ALONG AND FINDING THAT THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE'RE NOT REACHING POPULATIONS THAT WE REALLY THINK ARE CRITICAL TO REACH, UH, THAT WE WILL BE TWEAKING THAT PLAN AS WE GO THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.
UM, SO, UH, UH, THE KEY COMPONENTS OF THAT OR THE ONLINE PRESENCE, THE TARGETED PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNITY EVENTS, AND REALLY THIS FIRST ROUND OF COMMUNITY SUMMIT STARTS THIS SATURDAY, JUNE 24TH, UH, WITH THE RICHARDSON HUNDRED AND 50 50TH CELEBRATION, AND THEN WILL CONTINUE FOR, UH, ESSENTIALLY THREE PLUS WEEKS FOLLOWING THAT.
SO SEVERAL OF THE COMPONENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
UH, WE HAVE THE ONLINE PRESENCE THAT HAS BEEN GOING SINCE, UH, OUR LAST BRIEFING WITH THE COUNCIL.
WE KINDA LAUNCHED THE, THE BRANDING THAT HAD TAKEN PLACE IN THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE WEBSITE.
UH, THAT ONLINE PRESENCE IS@ENVISIONEDRICHARDSON.COM, UH, IS CURRENTLY CONFIGURED TO FACILITATE FEEDBACK AND NEARLY A HUNDRED LANGUAGES, UH, UTILIZING GOOGLE TRANSLATE.
AND, UH, SHOULD BE PROVIDING A TRANSPARENT
[02:00:01]
VISUAL DASH DASHBOARD FOR THE PUBLIC TO LEARN ABOUT THE PROJECT, BUT ALSO TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO THE CONSULTANT TEAM AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS.UM, STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS, AS WE TALK ABOUT TARGETED PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT FOR THIS FIRST ROUND, UH, THAT IS INCLUDED THROUGH THESE STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS WHERE WE ARE TARGETING CERTAIN GROUPS THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING IN INPUT FROM.
UH, SO WE'VE HAD MORE THAN 20 INTERVIEWS.
UH, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF MORE THAT WE'RE COMING BACK THAT WE'VE ADDED TO THE LIST AT THIS POINT.
REPRESENTATIVE STAKEHOLDER GROUPS INCLUDE THE CITY COUNCIL, CPC, FAITH-BASED COMMUNITY, CULTURAL GROUPS, RICHARDSON, CHAMBER CORPORATIONS, SMALL BUSINESSES, NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, EDUCATION PROVIDERS, PARTNER OR ORGANIZATIONS, NONPROFITS AND REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS.
UH, THE KEY THING RELATED TO THIS IS THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE HEARD THAT WERE UNIQUE TO EACH OF THE GROUPS.
SO IT'S REALLY GREAT TO HEAR IDEAS AND CONCERNS THAT ARE COMING FROM EACH OF THE GROUPS INDIVIDUALLY.
BUT WHAT WE ALSO SAW WAS A LOT OF CONSENSUS ON CERTAIN THINGS.
SO AS WE LOOK AT THOSE THINGS WHERE THERE MIGHT BE DIFFERENCES IN OPINION, WHERE, WHAT DIRECTION THE COMMUNITY SHOULD BE GOING, THOSE ARE REALLY THE THINGS WE WANT TO DRILL INTO AND HAVE DISCUSSIONS AND DEBATE ABOUT THOSE PARTICULAR ISSUES IN THE COMMUNITY TO BE ABLE TO BUILD THE CONSENSUS AND DEVELOP THE DIRECTION FOR THE PLAN.
UH, ONLINE ENGAGEMENT ROOMS ARE EXACTLY AS THE TITLE SAYS.
UH, THOSE ONLINE ENGAGEMENT ROOMS WILL BE LIVE STARTING THE 24TH.
UM, AND AS YOU LOOK AT THE IMAGE THERE, UH, THIS IS A SNAPSHOT OF, OF WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK AT, LIKE ON A COMPUTER SCREEN.
SO IF YOU WERE GOING TO AN ACTUAL FACE-TO-FACE MEETING, YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO GO ONLINE AND, AND INTERACT IN THE EXACT SAME STATIONS THAT WE WOULD BE HAVING IN FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS.
UH, THE PEOPLE WILL BE ABLE TO REVIEW BACKGROUND MATERIALS AND PROVIDE, UH, FEEDBACK ON THE FUTURE COMMUNITY VISION, COMMUNITY PRIORITIES, REINVESTMENT AREAS, UH, THAT WE TALKED ABOUT A FEW MINUTES AGO.
UH, CITYWIDE STRATEGIES, TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY IN NEIGHBORHOODS AND HOUSING.
UH, UH, COMMUNITY SURVEY IS ANOTHER INSTRUMENT THAT WE'LL BE USING.
THOSE OF YOU THAT PARTICIPATED IN, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, IN THE STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS, THIS IS A DIFFERENT SURVEY, A DIFFERENT SET OF QUESTIONS THAT WE'LL BE ASKING THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
UH, THAT, UH, WILL BE A AVAILABLE, UH, THROUGH A SURVEY LINK ONLINE, UH, THROUGH THE WEBSITE.
UH, QR CODE WILL BE AVAILABLE AT OPEN HOUSES.
AND THEN THE NEXT STEP AFTER COMPLETION OF THE VIRTUAL ENGAGEMENT ROOMS IN THE KIOSK STATIONS.
UH, THIS WILL BE COMING OUT WITH EMAIL AND SOCIAL MEDIA REMINDERS.
UM, WE WILL ALSO HAVE HARD COPIES AVAILABLE AT THE COMMUNITY EVENTS AND POPUP LOCATIONS IN AMBASSADOR LED SMALL GROUP MEETINGS, UH, COMMUNITY SUMMIT WORKSHOPS.
UH, SO THERE, THERE ARE SIX MAJOR IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS, UH, FOR THE ENTIRE PROJECT.
TWO OF THOSE WITHIN EACH ROUND OF ENGAGEMENT.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TWO MORE AT A DIFFERENT POINT WHERE WE'RE HAVING DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES ASKING DIFFERENT QUESTIONS IN THE OCTOBER, NOVEMBER TIMEFRAME THIS YEAR.
AND THEN TWO MORE, UH, NEXT YEAR AS WE'RE STARTING TO TEST SOME OF THE IDEAS AND THE THINGS THAT WE'VE HEARD IN THE COMMUNITY TO MAKE SURE WE'RE GETTING THOSE THINGS RIGHT.
SO THIS FIRST ROUND ARE, UH, THE, THOSE, UH, WORKSHOPS ARE GONNA BE HELD ON, UH, JUNE 27TH AT THE HEIGHTS RECREATION CENTER FROM SIX 30 TO EIGHT 30.
AND THEN WE WANTED TO ALSO MAKE A SATURDAY OPPORTUNITY AVAILABLE ON JULY 8TH FROM 10 TO 12 AT THE HUFF FINDS RECREATION CENTER.
SO, ALL OF THOSE THINGS, THOSE ACTIVITIES I IDENTIFIED ONLINE, OR THE SAME ACTIVITIES THAT A PERSON CAN CHOOSE IF THEY DECIDE NOT TO GO ONLINE, IF THEY WANT TO GO FACE-TO-FACE, THAT THEY CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AT THOSE EVENTS.
UH, EXISTING RICHARDSON EVENTS.
SO INSTEAD OF ASKING PEOPLE TO COME TO US OR GO ONLINE, UH, WE OFTENTIMES WANT TO GO TO EXISTING EVENTS WHERE THERE MAY ALREADY BE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY ATTENDING.
SO, UH, WE'VE ALREADY HAD WORKING WITH CITY STAFF, UH, TABLES AT THE COTTONWOOD ARTS FESTIVAL, THE WILDFLOWER ARTS AND MUSIC FESTIVAL, AND THE IQ BREW, UM, REALLY MORE PROMOTING THE PLAN AND ADVERTISING WHAT WOULD BE GOING ON.
UH, AND THEN, UH, IN THE COMING WEEKS, WE WILL BE AT THE RICHARDSON HUNDRED AND 50TH CELEBRATION THIS SATURDAY, UH, WITH A KIOSK FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN, UH, TO BE ABLE TO, UH, START PROVIDING FEEDBACK.
AND THEN AGAIN, ON THE RICHARDSON FAMILY FORCE CELEBRATION AT BRECKENRIDGE PARK ON JULY 4TH, UM, MEETING IN A BOX.
THAT'S ANOTHER TOOL THAT WE'RE USING.
UH, ESSENTIALLY WE'VE ASKED, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UH, TO VOLUNTEER AS PROJECT AMBASSADORS TO TAKE MATERIALS BACK TO THEIR CONSTITUENCIES, BACK TO THEIR GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS TO BE ABLE TO
[02:05:01]
RE UH, RECEIVE FEEDBACK.UH, THOSE QUESTIONS ARE GONNA BE MUCH IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE QUESTIONS THAT WE ASKED AT THE STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS.
SO THEY'RE STRUCTURED IN A WAY THAT THERE CAN BE SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS AND MULTIPLE LANGUAGES, UH, DEPENDING ON THE NEED WITH EACH OF THE GROUPS.
AND THEN PROVIDE FEEDBACK UPLOADED ONLINE TO THE CONSULTANT TEAM TO BE ABLE TO INCORPORATE THOSE.
UH, WE THINK THAT'S A GREAT GRASSROOTS TOOL THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO THE COMMUNITY TO GET OUT.
UH, AS MANY FOLKS AS WOULD LIKE TO FACILITATE THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
UH, POP-UPS WE TALKED ABOUT THAT THESE POP-UP KIOSKS WILL BE AROUND THE COMMUNITY OVER THE NEXT THREE PLUS WEEKS.
UH, THEY'LL, THEY'LL BE ROTATED IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, AND THEY WILL BE TAKING YOU TO THE ONLINE, UH, INPUT.
SO THEY'LL BE IN CITY FACILITIES LIBRARY, SENIOR SITTER CENTER, ET CETERA.
UH, BUT WE'RE ALSO, UH, STRUCTURING THEM TO BE IN LOCAL CHURCHES AND FAITH FACILITIES IN NONPROFIT FACILITIES AND CULTURAL CENTERS IN MAJOR EMPLOYMENT CENTERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS IN DALLAS.
AND THEN ALSO POPPING UP AT SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL EVENTS AT THE CHAMBER IN IQ.
AND AGAIN, THOSE WILL BE, UH, THE MATERIALS DESCRIBING HOW TO UTILIZE THE POPUP.
UH, AND THE POPUP INFORMATION ITSELF WILL BE AVAILABLE IN NEARLY A HUNDRED LANGUAGES USING GOOGLE TRANSLATE.
SO THAT'S THE OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING OVER THE NEXT THREE PLUS WEEKS.
WE WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE NEXT STEPS AND THEN OPEN IT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE FOR US.
UM, SO THE REMAINING STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS WILL BE COMPLETED, AND A SUMMARY OF FEEDBACK WILL BE, UH, PUBLISHED ON THE WEB WEBSITE WILL BE SUMMARIZING THE, THE KEY IDEAS THAT HAVE COME OUT OF THOSE.
UM, THE COMMUNITY SUMMIT NUMBER ONE WILL COMMENCE THIS SATURDAY, AS WE SAID, JUNE 24TH AND CONTINUE THROUGH MID-JULY.
AGAIN, THAT'S THE ONLINE ENGAGEMENT ROOMS@ENVISIONRICHARDSON.COM.
THE PROJECT AMBASSADORS WILL BE FACILITATING DISCUSSIONS WITH THEIR GROUPS.
WE'VE ALREADY HAD TWO TRAINING SESSIONS FOR THEM.
THERE'LL BE ANOTHER TRAINING SESSION THIS WEEK, AND, UH, UH, THOSE WILL WILL BE ASKING FOR THEIR FEEDBACK BY JULY 14TH.
COMMUNITY SUMMIT WORKSHOPS ARE SET FOR JUNE 27TH AT THE HEIGHTS RECREATION CENTER, JULY 8TH AT THE HUFFINES RECREATION CENTER.
AND THEN THE FEEDBACK OPPORTUNITIES AT COMMUNITY EVENTS PLAN FOR THIS SATURDAY'S HUNDRED AND 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION.
AND, UH, THE FAMILY FOURTH CELEBRATION ON JULY 4TH.
AND THEN FINALLY, THE JOINT CPC AND COUNCIL WORK SESSION IS SCHEDULED FOR JULY 31ST.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE'LL BE GIVING YOU AN OVERVIEW IN ADDITION TO THIS BACKGROUND MATERIAL THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS OF WHERE THE COMMUNITY'S STARTING TO WEIGH IN AND WHAT THEIR THOUGHTS ARE FOR THE FUTURE OF RICHARDSON.
SO WE'D LIKE TO OPEN IT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
AND MONICA, IF YOU DON'T MIND JOINING US UP HERE, I THINK WE'LL TAKE THE QUESTIONS HERE.
AND WHILE MONICA'S GOING TO COME UP THERE, UH, ONE QUICK QUESTION.
UH, WELL, NUMBER ONE, LET ME ADD THIS.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE HUNDRED DIFFERENT LANGUAGES THAT WE'RE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH OUR CITIZENS AND MAKE THEM FEEL ENGAGED AND SO FORTH.
THAT I THINK THAT'S A GREAT TOUCH.
UH, THE ONE QUESTION I HAVE IS, HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE AN INDIVIDUAL TO COMPLETE THAT SURVEY? SO THE SURVEY ITSELF IS A, A, A PRETTY QUICK TOOL.
SO, AND, AND PEOPLE CAN, THEY DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER EVERY QUESTION IF THEY CHOOSE NOT TO.
SO CERTAINLY LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES TO COMPLETE THAT, THAT SURVEY ON THE VIRTUAL ROOMS THEMSELVES, THAT'S, UH, ALMOST LIKE GOING AROUND STATIONS AT A MEETING.
UH, SO THAT DOES TAKE A BIT LONGER.
UH, BUT AGAIN, WE HAVE THE OPTION FOR PEOPLE TO JUST PARTICIPATE IN PARTICULAR STA STATIONS THAT THEY'RE MOST INTERESTED IN.
COUNCIL, ANY QUESTIONS? COUNCILMAN BARRIOS? UH, THANK YOU, MAYOR.
I, UH, FIRST OF ALL, AND I'M ROSSI, ROSSI, ROSSI, ROSSI, MS. ROSSI, UM, YOUR, YOUR PRESENTATION IS, UH, RIGHT, RIGHT DOWN THE LINE OF THE KIND OF STUFF I ENJOY.
I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, CUZ UM, CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT E S R I AND HOW KIND OF, I'M GUESSING AT THE THIRD PARTY DATA, CAN YOU JUST TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THEM? CAUSE I'M UNFAMILIAR WITH THEM.
UM, SO THEY, THEY TAKE, UH, CENSUS DATA AND, UM, PULL IT INTO THEIR SYSTEM.
AND WHAT MAKES THEM SO GREAT IN, IN MY PERSPECTIVE IS IT ALLOWS US TO LOOK AT DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHIES.
SO I CAN PULL CENSUS DATA FOR KIND OF, FOR, UH, THE CITY OF
[02:10:01]
RICHARDSON.I CAN PULL IT FOR COUNTIES AND FOUR REGIONS, BUT I, IT CENSUS STOPS REALLY AT ALLOWING ME TO KIND OF CUSTOM CREATE MY OWN GEOGRAPHY.
AND ONE PIECE OF INFORMATION THAT WE DID NOT INCLUDE HERE IS ANOTHER COMPARISON THAT LOOKS AT A TRADE AREA.
SO WHAT IS THAT BIGGER GEOGRAPHY AROUND RICHARDSON THAT PULLS PEOPLE IN OR THAT, UM, RESIDENTS IN RICHARDSON ARE TRAVELING OUT TO FIND A SERVICE THAT THEY DON'T HAVE HERE? OR, SO THERE'S, THERE'S ANOTHER GEOGRAPHY
UM, THAT ESRI ALLOWS US TO KIND OF CUSTOM GEO, UM, DEFINE IT BASED ON DRIVE TIMES.
UM, AND SO IT, IT STICKS VERY CLOSELY TO THE CENSUS DATA, BUT IT, IT GIVES US A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBILITY IN THE AREA THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
SO IT'S PULL, IT'S PULLING IN STRAIGHT DATA FROM THE CENSUS, BUT THEY'RE, THEY'RE PULLING IN SHOPPER DATA AND THEY'RE VARIOUS INDUSTRY.
THERE'S A LOT MORE IN IT THAN JUST THE, THAN THE CENSUS DATA.
UH, I DID WANNA MAKE A QUICK COMMENT, UH, MR. BOWERS, UM, I, I, I THINK THIS ONLINE ENGAGEMENT ROOM, THAT'S NEAT.
I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THAT, THAT JUST ALL THE VARIOUS OPTIONS.
UM, THE ONLY QUESTION I REALLY HAD WAS HOW ARE YOU IDENTIFYING, WELL, I'LL MAKE A COMMENT.
I HOPE THAT WHEN WE GET THE DATA, WE CAN BREAK IT DOWN.
IT ALIGNS WITH OUR, I KNOW I SHARED THAT IN OUR CONVERSATION.
AND, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THAT WHEN YOU DO RECEIVE THAT DATA THAT WE CAN HAVE, IT TRULY REPRESENTS RICHARDSON, UH, AND OUR, ALL OUR DEMOGRAPHICS.
HOW ARE YOU IDENTIFYING, SO I'M LOOKING AT THE TARGET PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS.
UM, HOW ARE YOU IDENTIFYING LIKE, CULTURE GROUPS, FAITH-BASED COMMUNITY, UM, AND, AND SOME OF THOSE, DID WE HAND YOU GUYS, LET'S SAY THESE ARE KIND OF THE BIG PLAYERS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
DID YOU IDENTIFY 'EM THROUGH TALKING TO, I KNOW INTERVIEWS WITH COUNCIL AND VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS, STAFF, OR HOW, HOW ARE, HOW DID YOU IDENTIFY THOSE? THE ANSWER IS YES.
SO THERE, THERE WAS A PRELIMINARY LIST THAT THE CITY GOES TO FOR MANY OF THE ORGANIZATIONS, BUT THROUGH THESE STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS, FOR INSTANCE, UH, AS WE WERE INTERVIEWING SOME OF THE NONPROFITS, THERE WERE THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THOSE INTERVIEWS THAT HELPED INFORM US OF DIFFERENT GROUPS THAT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT.
UH, ALSO THROUGH SOME OF THE MEM UH, COUNCIL INTERVIEWS, UH, UH, THERE WERE OTHER GROUPS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED THAT WE HAVE ADDED TO THE LIST AND ARE REACHING OUT TO.
AND I THINK THE, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WE WANT TO POINT OUT IS THAT, UH, WE HOPE THAT LIST WILL CONTINUE TO GROW.
SO THIS IS THE STARTING POINT FOR THIS KICK KICKOFF THAT WE'RE HAVING RIGHT NOW.
UH, BUT WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO DIG IN AND FIND ADDITIONAL GROUPS THAT WE SHOULD BE TALKING TO.
SO THERE MAY BE A PERSPECTIVE THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM A CERTAIN, UH, CULTURE OR DEMOGRAPHIC GROUP.
UH, BUT THROUGH THOSE INTERVIEWS, UH, WE'RE HOPING THAT WE'RE ABLE TO IDENTIFY EVEN OTHER GROUPS THAT THEY SUGGEST THAT WE BE TALKING TO, SO THAT WHEN WE DO COME BACK AROUND, WE CAN REALLY LOOK ACROSS AND SAY, WHAT IS THE, WHAT IS THE MAKEUP OF RICHARDSON? AND HAVE WE REALLY, UH, BEEN ABLE TO GET A REPRESENTATIVE GROUP FROM EACH OF THOSE, THE COMMUNITY SUMMIT POP-UPS, UM, THESE KIOSK ARE, THESE STAFFED KIOSK ARE LIKE, IF YOU GO PLACE SOME IN FRONT OF A, OR THE LOBBY OF A MOSQUE OR A CHURCH, OR, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHERE IN THE COMMUNITY OR THE THE REC CENTER, ARE YOU GONNA HAVE A VOLUNTEER? ARE YOU RELYING ON THE HOUSE OF FAITH TO PROVIDE A VOLUNTEER THAT'S INTERESTED IN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OR HOW, OR PEOPLE, SO THEY'RE NOT STAFFED, BUT WE DO HAVE, SO ESSENTIALLY IT'S A KIOSK WITH AN IPAD AND A BANNER THAT HAS INSTRUCTIONS.
AND DEPENDING ON WHERE IT'S LOCATED, THOSE INSTRUCTIONS, UH, THERE, THERE WILL BE A QR CODE, UH, THAT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO GO IN AND CHOOSE WHICHEVER LANGUAGE THAT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO NAVIGATE THE KIOSK.
AND FOR CLARIFICATION ON THE COMMUNITY SUMMIT, EXISTING RICHARDSON EVENTS, UM, IT LISTS COTTONWOOD AND WILDFLOWER.
DID WE COLLECT DATA AND TALK TO PEOPLE IN COTTON AND WILDFLOWER? THOSE FIRST THREE THAT WE HAVE LISTED THERE, WE DID NOT COLLECT DATA.
WHAT WE DID IS WE, UH, STARTED TO PROMOTE THE PLAN.
WE, SO WE REALLY WANTED TO WAIT UNTIL WE HAD, YEAH, OKAY.
SO WE WERE PROMOTING THE PLAN, GETTING PEOPLE TO THE WEBSITE, STARTING TO REALLY BUILD SOME MOMENTUM AT THOSE EVENTS SO THAT WHEN WE HAVE THIS KICKOFF SATURDAY, WE'RE REALLY STARTING TO GATHER THAT DATA.
UH, THAT'S THE ONLY QUESTION AGAIN, UH, FROM WHAT I SEE SO FAR, GREAT JOB IN PROVIDING VARIOUS
[02:15:01]
OPPORTUNITIES.I HOPE THAT WHEN WE, UM, WE'RE USING THE TWO REC CENTERS, I HOPE THAT AS WE PROGRESS TO THE NEXT STAGES, MAYBE WE THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX ON HOW WE CAN, YOU KNOW, ARE THERE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO HIT SOMETHING OTHER THAN REC CENTERS? I DON'T KNOW.
I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY HERE FOR ENGAGEMENT.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, JUST TO ADD ON THIS THING, THE HISTORY, IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT JUST ONLY THE DATA PROVIDER.
THEY ARE, UH, VERY REPUTABLE SOFTWARE DEVELOPER, GIS SOFTWARE AND MAPPING, YOU KNOW, I USE ART VIEW.
UH, NOW THE QUESTION ABOUT THE DATA, UH, I SEE THERE IS, ON ONE OF THE SLIDE, YOU HAVE 104,000 PLUS PEOPLE COMING INTO THE CITY MM-HMM.
AND, BUT THERE IS ONLY 87,000 JOB AS PER YOUR DATA.
DID I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, OR I WAS LIKE, WHAT AM I DOING? OR THERE IS 20,000 PEOPLE JUST, UH, STANDING OUTSIDE FOR EMPLOYMENT.
SO THERE IS SOME FINE PRINT AT THE BOTTOM THAT I DIDN'T READ, UM, IN DETAIL, BUT I CAN OH, DIFFERENT, YEAH.
UM, SO THIS IS ACTUALLY A MIXING OF, OF TWO DATA SOURCES.
SO, UH, THE, THE ESRI JOB COUNT, JUST SHY OF 88,000, UM, IS A 2022 ESTIMATE BASED ON DATA, BASED ON ADDRESS POINTS OF MAJOR EMPLOYERS AND THE REPORTING THAT THEY DO OF THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT THEY HAVE.
THE DATA ON THE SCREEN RIGHT HERE THAT SHOWS THE INFLOW OUTFLOW IS BASED ON, UM, THE US CENSUS, UM, LONGITUDINAL EMPLOYER HOUSEHOLD DYNAMICS DATASET.
UM, THE CHALLENGE WITH THIS DATA SET IS 2019, UP UNTIL LAST WEEK-ISH, 2019 WAS THE MOST RECENT YEAR THAT, UM, THAT US CENSUS HAD RELEASED THIS DATA SET.
SO AS YOU CAN PROBABLY IMAGINE THERE MAY, THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW CHANGES TO THE COMMUTING PATTERNS OF, OF FOLKS SINCE 2019.
UM, THEY JUST STARTED RELEASING THE 2020 NUMBERS.
UM, SO WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND UPDATE THAT, BUT I WOULD, I WOULD ARGUE THAT 2020 IS ALSO A PROBLEMATIC YEAR.
SO, UM, BUT I THINK THAT THE, THE SENTIMENT HERE THAT THERE IS A MUCH LARGER SHARE OF PEOPLE TRAVELING INTO RICHARDSON FOR EMPLOYMENT THAN RESIDENTS TRAVELING OUT IS ACCURATE.
I THINK THAT WHERE THE RES WHERE RICHARDSON, WHERE WORKERS LIVE AND WHERE THE RESIDENTS ARE TRAVELING FOR WORK, I THINK THAT THE, THE LOCATIONS AND THE KIND OF THE SHARE OF THOSE LOCATIONS IS RELATIVELY ACCURATE.
BUT I WILL PUT A GRAIN OF SALT THAT THE NUMBERS DO NOT MATCH PERFECTLY WITH ESRI.
I MEAN, WHEN WE COMPARE DATA, THAT'S WHEN DATA BECOME IMPORTANT OR LESS IMPORTANT.
SO I, I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE DYNAMICS, BUT YOU KNOW, THIS IS ONE SLIDE.
IF YOU GO TO ANOTHER SLIDE THAT HAS THE NUMBER OF JOB MM-HMM.
SEE 80,000, 87,908 JOB IN CHARON MM-HMM.
BUT YOU'RE SAYING THAT 104,000, BUT THIS IS, I BELIEVE 2019 TETA, MAYBE THIS IS 2022.
SO THE OTHER PIECE OF THIS EQUATION, RIGHT, THERE'S 106, 105,000 PEOPLE THAT TRAVEL IN AND THERE'S 44,000 THAT TRAVEL OUT.
SO YOU WOULD SUBTRACT THE PEOPLE THAT TRAVEL OUT AND THEN ALSO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE AND WORK THERE TO COME UP WITH THE TOTAL JOBS THAT ARE THERE EVERY DAY.
IT'S, IT, IT'S HARD TO COMPARE.
AND I WOULD LOVE TO SIT DOWN AND WE CAN KIND OF LOOK AT THE DIFFERENT DATA SOURCES AND, AND THE NUMBERS OF WHERE THEY'RE COMING FROM.
JUST IF YOU LOOK AT THAT, IF TROUBLE IN MEANS I DON'T HAVE TO SUBRATE WHO TROUBLES OUT BECAUSE THAT'S THE NET COMING IN AND NET GOING OUT, IT DOESN'T MATTER REALLY.
UH, BUT ANYWAY, I THINK THIS NUMBER A LITTLE BIT CONFUSING AND PAULINE, I AGREE.
I JUST WANTED TO UNDERSTAND THIS DATA.
YOU KNOW, THE OTHER PIECE, WHICH I DID NOT UNDERSTAND THAT I WOULD MENTION REALLY QUICKLY THAT NADINE MENTIONED, UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE USING SOME OF THE CELL PHONE DATA TO HELP BETTER UNDERSTAND THESE NUMBERS BECAUSE US CENSUS CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH RIGHT NOW, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE OF THE DISRUPTION FROM C O V I D.
[02:20:01]
ANOTHER PLACE THAT, UM, PEOPLE ARE LOOKING TO TRY TO BE EVEN BETTER UNDERSTAND OR MORE ACCURATELY UNDERSTAND, UM, MOVEMENTS OF PEOPLE BASED ON THE FACT THAT WE CAN'T TAKE OUR PHONES OUT OF OUR HANDS FOR EVEN FIVE SECONDS.NOW DOES I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION IS, UH, FOR, UH,
UH, SO YOU'RE GONNA BE SENDING THIS THING OUT TO DIFFERENT PLACES TO COLLECT DATA? YES.
SO THE KIOSK WILL BE ON A ROTATING BASIS.
I THINK THERE'S, I I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO END UP WITH SIX OR EIGHT OF THEM.
THERE WILL BE SIX OR EIGHT, BUT WE'LL HAVE TWO OF THEM WITH IPADS.
THE OTHER ONES WILL JUST HAVE THE QR CODE.
UM, SO THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE BANNER.
UH, BUT HOW YOU WOULD CHOOSE THOSE LOCATION THAT'S GONNA GO, OR THOSE INDIVIDUAL NONPROFIT GROUP, THEY CAN REQUEST THAT.
HOW THAT WILL WORK? WELL, UH, WE'VE STARTED REACHING OUT, WE'VE REACHED OUT TO UTD SOME OF THE OTHER, UH, FAITH, UH, COMMUNITIES.
UM, WE WORKING WITH NETWORK, WE HAVE THE COUPLE OF THE, UH, OF COURSE THE REC CENTERS IN THE LIBRARY.
UM, BUT WE'RE FINDING THAT, FOR INSTANCE, AT THE REC CENTERS, WE WON'T NEED TO HAVE THEM AS MUCH BECAUSE THEY HAVE OTHER, UM, POSTER TYPE MOUNTS THAT WE COULD USE.
UM, ALSO IF ANYBODY'S INTERESTED IN HAVING A POPUP LOCATED AT THEIR FACILITY BASED ON AN EVENT OR A SPECIFIC FESTIVAL, UM, WE CAN HAVE THOSE MOVED OVER THERE.
SO THEY COULD REQUEST YOU FOR THAT? YES.
BECAUSE I KNOW EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE ONLINE ACCESS GOING THERE, BUT WITH OUR, YOU KNOW, LIFESTYLE, WE REALLY, WE HAVE TO SEE THAT PEOPLE ARE DOING SOMETHING SO THEY FOLLOW THAT RATHER THAN GOING ONLINE THEMSELVES AND DOING SOMETHING.
THANK YOU FOR ALL THIS EFFORT.
I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE GREAT REPORT.
COUNCIL MEMBER HUTCHER WRITER.
SORRY, JESSICA, I'M GONNA HAVE YOU HOP BACK UP AGAIN.
CAN YOU GO TO THE SLIDE THAT TALKS ABOUT RETAIL TRENDS? NOPE.
SO I WANNA MAKE SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING WHAT THIS SLIDE SAYS TO US, BECAUSE I DON'T THINK WE'VE, WE'VE SEEN THIS BEFORE AND IT'S ALARMING TO ME IF I'M INTERPRETING YOUR SLIDE CORRECTLY, IF I'M UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOUR SLIDE'S TELLING ME, IS THAT EVERYWHERE THERE'S A RED CIRCLE THAT'S SAYING THERE'S RETAIL VACANCY RATE THAT'S OVER 15%? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE TELLING US? YES.
SO THOSE ARE INDIVIDUAL EITHER BUILDINGS OR SHOPPING CENTER.
SO IT COULD BE A FREESTANDING BUILDING, IT COULD BE A SHOPPING CENTER.
SO I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I JUST WANNA BRING UP, AND AGAIN, IT'S MY VIEWPOINT, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US TO SEE THAT IS, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE PLACES IN OUR CITY THAT GET A LOT OF ATTENTION CUZ WE HEAR A LOT ABOUT IT.
BUT THIS SLIDE HAS ME VERY CONCERNED BECAUSE WE HAVE, AND AS SOME CASES, SOME OF OUR NEWER, UM, DEVELOPMENTS HAVE OVER 15% EXISTING RETAIL VACANCY RATES.
AND THAT'S VERY CONCERNING TO ME.
I'VE NOT SEEN THIS SLIDE BEFORE.
WE DON'T TALK, WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT IT.
AND IF, IF WHAT YOU'RE SAYING TO ME THIS, THIS IS, THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST ALARMING SLIDES THAT I'VE SEEN IN YOUR PRESENTATION BECAUSE WE FOCUS A LOT ON SOME VERY SPECIFIC AREAS, WHICH I'M NOT SAYING ARE NOT IMPORTANT, BUT WE'VE GOT MY WORDS, THE RED MAKES ME THINK OF THIS.
WE GOT MORE HOTSPOTS, MORE FIRES, IF YOU WILL, OF RETAIL VACANCY IN OUR COMMUNITY THAN WE'VE, THAN MAYBE WE'VE ALL COLLECTIVELY RECOGNIZED.
AM I, AM I OVERSTATING THAT OR AM I STATING IT? HOW THAT SLIDE REPRESENTS.
SO WE ALSO HAVE SOME OTHER VARIATIONS OF THIS MAP THAT I'D BE HAPPY TO SHARE, WHICH ALSO KIND OF COMPARE THAT VACANCY RATE WITH AGE.
SO YOU CAN START TO SEE IS IT AN AGE, IS IT AN OLDER SHOPPING CENTER THAT JUST IS STRUGGLING TO MAINTAIN ITS TENANTS? UM, OR IS IT A NEWER ONE THAT'S MAYBE IN LEASE UP THAT IS TELLING.
SO IT STARTS TO, TO BRING A LITTLE BIT MORE NUANCE TO THE DATA.
UM, THE OTHER PIECE OF IT THAT, THE OTHER VARIATION OF THE MAP IS COMPARING THE VACANCY RATE BY THE SIZE.
SO IF IT WAS, YOU KNOW, UH, EMPTY F FREE STANDING RETAIL WITH A HUNDRED PERCENT VACANCY, BUT IT'S ONLY 4,000 SQUARE FEET, UM, THAT'S TELLING ONE STORY.
[02:25:01]
VACANCY OF A 250,000 SQUARE FOOT SHOPPING CENTER, THAT'S TELLING A VERY DIFFERENT STORY.UM, SO I THINK THAT THERE ARE SOME HOTSPOTS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT HOW THAT RELATES TO THE REINVESTMENT AREAS MM-HMM.
SO YOU'RE GONNA SEE EVEN MORE DETAILED INFORMATION, UM, WHEN WE'RE PULLING SOME OF THOSE REINVESTMENT AREAS OR TESTING THEM, UM, TO SEE HOW, HOW THEY'RE PERFORMING.
BUT OVERALL, YOU KNOW, A 7.4% VACANCY RATE ISN'T AN ALARMING NUMBER, YOU KNOW, IN ITS TOTALITY.
UM, IT'S HIGHER THAN THE REGION, BUT IT'S, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT I WOULD CONSIDER TO BE AN ALARMING NUMBER.
CAN I, I THINK, UM, AS, AS I LOOK CLOSER AT THIS MM-HMM.
AS I LOOK AT TWO CREEKS, FOR INSTANCE, THERE'S NOT FOUR SEPARATE BUILDINGS BEING RETAILED AT TWO CREEKS.
AND YOU CAN SEE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE THERE AT CAMEL CU.
SO MY, MY GUESS IS THERE'S SOME SOMETHING WITH PROPERTIES OR PROP, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S PARSING THAT OUT.
TWO CREEKS IS ONE SHOPPING CENTER, IT'S GOT IT IDENTIFIED AS FOUR DIFFERENT CENTERS AND ONE OF THE CENTERS HAS 15% VACANCY.
THAT'S, THAT'S NOT AN ACCURATE PICTURE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING THERE.
WELL, THAT'S WHY, THAT'S WHY I BROUGHT THIS UP.
AND I, THAT'S WHEN I STARTED LOOKING AT THIS, IT MAKES ME VERY CONCERNED.
I, I LOOK, I THINK, I THINK ACO AND CAMPBELL AND, YOU KNOW, I MEAN THERE'S THAT, THERE'S NOT THAT MANY DIFFERENT CENTERS.
THERE'S, THERE'S, THERE'S SOMETHING GOING ON BEHIND THE SCENES HERE.
BUT LET US, LET US TAKE A, WE OWE, WE OWE A BETTER EXPLANATION.
LET US TAKE A DEEPER DIVE INTO THIS.
BUT I THINK THIS MAY BE JUST A LITTLE BIT MISLEADING WHEN YOU LOOK AT IF EACH, EACH.IS SUPPOSED TO SOMEHOW INDICATE A SEPARATE FREESTANDING BUILDING OR A, A MULTI MULTI-TENANTED BUILDING, THAT THERE'S NOT THAT MANY, THERE'S NOT THAT MANY GOING ON IN THESE DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.
SO IT'S SOMETHING, SOMETHING'S GOING ON HERE, YOU KNOW, CAUSE WHEN I, CAUSE WHEN I LOOK AT IT, I MEAN, WE, WE OBVIOUSLY KNOW THE, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALREADY BEEN IDENTIFIED, RICHARD RICHARDSON, SQUARE MALL THAT SOME, SOME OF THE OTHER AREAS THAT WE KNOW ABOUT.
BUT WHEN I, YOU KNOW, I START LOOKING AT, IT'S UP CITYLINE, IF I'M, IF I'M READING THE MAP CORRECTLY, WE'VE GOT OVER 15% RETAIL BY VACANCY RATE.
I MEAN, THERE'S, THERE'S SOME UP, I MEAN, YEAH, THERE'S JUST A LOT OF PLACES THAT PRIOR TO SEEING THIS MAP, IN MY OWN MIND, I WOULD'VE SAID, OKAY, WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THREE TO SIX, I DON'T KNOW, DON'T KNOW THE EXACT PERCENTAGES, BUT THERE, THERE, THERE WERE OUT THERE.
BUT THIS, THIS JUST REALLY CONCERNED ME AS I, AS I SAW THIS.
SO YEAH, I'D, I'D LOVE TO SEE A, A DEEPER DIVE ON THIS.
JUST SO WE UNDERSTAND, BECAUSE AGAIN, I'M NOT, MY, MY CONCERN IS, IS WE'RE GONNA PUT A LOT OF, AND, AND APPROPRIATELY, SO WE'RE GONNA PUT A LOT OF EFFORT IN AREAS THAT WE'VE, THAT Y'ALL HAVE SOMEWHAT IDENTIFIED THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IT VERY, I GUESS I'LL SAY GLOBALLY, AND I DON'T MEAN, UH, GLOBALLY FROM A RICHARDSON STANDPOINT, THAT'S NOT THE, THE WORD TO USE.
IT'S ONLY ONE I'VE GOT AT THE MOMENT.
BUT ANYWAY, TO, TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THE, THE CITY IN ITS IN, IN ITS ENTIRETY.
AND WE NOT JUST GET SO TUNNEL FOCUSED ON A, ON A FEW AREAS IF THIS MAP IS TRULY REPRESENTATIVE, IF IT'S NOT, AND THERE'S, THERE'S OTHER DATA OR OTHER MAPS THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT, AND THAT, THAT MY WORDS KIND OF EXPLAINS IT AWAY.
BUT I JUST, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE.
AND THEN, THEN MY LAST QUESTION IS, IS YOU SAY METROPLEX.
CAN YOU F CAN YOU FURTHER DEFINE THAT WHEN YOU SAY METROPLEX, WHAT IS ACTUALLY IN THE DEFINITION OF METROPLEX? CAUSE EVERYBODY THROWS AROUND, YOU KNOW, DFW AREA, METROPLEX, THERE'S A LOT OF, THERE'S A LOT OF DEFINITIONS, IF YOU WILL.
AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE KNOW KIND OF FROM A LEVEL SET STANDPOINT, WHAT DOES METROPLEX, WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THAT DEFINITION? SO THROUGHOUT THIS ANALYSIS, WE USE METROPLEX EXCHANGEABLE FOR THE DALLAS FORT WORTH METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA.
SO IT'S THE LARGER REGIONAL AREA THAT'S DEFINED BY THE US CENSUS, WHICH THEY PROBABLY ARE GOING TO REDEFINE HERE IN THE NEXT YEAR, UH, BASED ON THE 2020 CENSUS RESULTS.
BUT IT'S THE, UM, US CENSUS'S VERSION, AND I CAN GET YOU THE EXACT COUNTIES THAT ARE IN IT.
SO THAT'S WHY I, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTOOD IF IT, IF THAT WAS THE DEFINITION OF YOU, BECAUSE WE SEE THAT DEFINITION A LOT.
UM, METROPLEX WAS A LITTLE, I JUST WASN'T QUITE SURE WHAT YOUR DEFINITION WAS.
SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I WAS LEVEL SETTING MY BRAIN WHEN I'M LOOKING AT ALL YOUR DATA.
CAUSE I, UH, I, WE, AMY SENT IT OUT EARLIER AND I DOVE AS FAST AND AS DEEP AS I POSSIBLY COULD INTO IT TO TRY AND UNDERSTAND THE PRESENTATION.
AND SO THAT, THOSE WERE THE THINGS THAT THEY JUST HAD ME, SOME HAD ME A LITTLE, LITTLE, THE QUESTION ON THE DEFINITION MM-HMM.
THANK YOU AGAIN, COUNCILWOMAN JUSTICE.
UM, I SHARED COUNCILMAN HUTMAN RIDER'S CONCERN LOOKING AT THAT, BUT IT DID SORT OF GIVE ME A LITTLE BIT OF, UM, RELIEF THAT SOME OF THE PROJECT AREAS LINE UP WITH THE AREAS WHERE WE'RE SEEING MOST OF THESE DOTS.
AND SO IT SEEMS LIKE THE DATA IS AT LEAST, UM, BEING SUPPORTED BY THE, THE FEEDBACK YOU'RE GETTING.
SO THAT WAS THE ONE SILVER LINING IN THAT.
UM, I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE THAT DEEPER DIVE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
UM, I JUST WANNA APPLAUD YOU ON THE AMOUNT OF PUBLIC OUTREACH THAT YOU'VE DONE.
UM, IT'S NOT JUST AN ONLINE SURVEY, IT'S THE AMBASSADORS, IT'S THE ONLINE SURVEY IN A HUNDRED LANGUAGES.
[02:30:01]
UH, THE EXISTING EVENTS.UH, YOU KNOW, I SAW KEITH AND SAM OUT THERE SWEATING IT OUT AT, YOU KNOW, COTTONWOOD, UH, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE REALLY KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON AND AT WILDFLOWER, UM, THAT THIS WAS COMING UP AND THAT THERE WERE OPPORTUNITIES TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK.
UM, SO I JUST WANNA APPLAUD OUR STAFF.
I WANNA APPLAUD YOU FOR REALLY TAKING THAT, THAT THAT MANDATE FROM US VERY SERIOUSLY.
UM, AND THAT YOU'RE CONTINUING TO FIGURE OUT WAYS THAT YOU CAN DO THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, BEING OUTTA THE 4TH OF JULY, IT'S NOT GONNA BE COOL, BUT YOU GUYS WILL BE OUT THERE AND, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, PROVIDING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE WHO MIGHT NOT OTHERWISE KNOW ABOUT THIS, UM, TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK.
SO I WANNA ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTINUE DOING THAT AND KEEPING THAT AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE MIND BECAUSE IT IS ABOUT WHAT OUR RESIDENTS WANT, UM, MORE THAN WHAT JUST WE, UH, OR OUR PLANNERS WANT.
I CONCUR WITH A COUNCIL MEMBER.
JUSTICE, I MEAN, JUST THE VERY CREATIVE WAYS THAT YOU GUYS ARE REACHING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY IS SOMETHING THAT I HAVEN'T REALLY FULLY SEEN BEFORE ON THIS D SO I'M, I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE HOW THE COMMUNITY TAKES TO IT.
AND, UM, I'M REALLY HAPPY YOU GUYS ARE DOING IT.
SO THANK YOU FOR, FOR REALLY JUST KNOCKING OUT OF THE PARK WITH THE DIFFERENT IDEAS AND, AND, UM, I'M EXCITED FOR THAT EVEN THOUGH I MIGHT NOT SOUND LIKE IT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WHEN IT COMES TO MAPS LIKE, LIKE THIS AND A LOT OF THE OTHER DATA THAT WE'VE SEEN, WHAT'S IT'S REALLY SPRING IN MY MIND IS IT'S GONNA BE AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION THAT WE HAVE ON THIS SIDE ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE ACTUAL GOAL OF REINVESTMENT AREA WILL BE.
I MEAN, IS IF THE GOAL IS PURELY TO TACKLE VACANT RETAIL SPACE, THEN, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE MORE MAPS LIKE THIS COULD JUST DEFINE IT FOR US IF THE GOAL IS TO TACKLE OTHER ISSUES AS WELL.
UM, I DON'T KNOW, IT JUST KIND OF SPURS A LOT OF NEW THOUGHTS IN MY MIND THAT I DIDN'T HAVE INITIALLY WHEN THINKING OF THIS COMP PLAN.
AND, AND WHEN I TALK ABOUT RE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT REINVESTMENT DISTRICTS, IS THAT TIFFS OR IS THAT JUST, YOU KNOW, CHAPTER THREE 80 AGREEMENTS? WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THERE? YEAH, I MEAN, RIGHT.
I I THINK IT'S, RIGHT NOW WE CHARACTERIZE 'EM A LITTLE BIT MORE AS, AS SPECIAL STUDY AREAS.
THEY COULD EVENTUALLY BECOME A TIFF.
THAT WOULD BE SO SOMETHING WE WOULD EVALUATE IN THE FUTURE AS WE LOOK TO WHAT KIND OF STRATEGIES WE'D PUT IN PLACE TO HELP REALIZE THE VISION FOR, FOR THAT PARTICULAR AREA.
BUT THEY WOULDN'T NECESSARILY BE TIED TO TIF OR ANY OTHER KIND OF, UM, UH, PARTICULAR ZONE AT, AT THIS POINT.
IT'S MORE OF A SPECIAL STUDY AREA AT THIS POINT.
SO LIKE I KNOW YOU'D MENTIONED THAT THE, THE QUITE AREA WAS AN AREA THAT HAD BEEN SORT OF IDENTIFIED IN THE LAST COMP PLAN, AND THEN WE DIDN'T REALLY RUN WITH IT AS A CITY FOR FURTHER STUDY ASIDE FROM SPRING VALLEY.
IS THERE ANOTHER AREA THAT WEST WEST, UH, WEST ARAPAHOE, WEST ARAPAHOE WAS THE OTHER AREA.
THAT WE, IT WAS JUST, I MEAN, AND THIS IS THAT WE, THAT WE IDENTIFIED, I'M SORRY, WHAT I MEANT WAS ANOTHER AREA THAT WE DID HAVE IN THE COMP PLAN THAT WE IDENTIFIED FOR FURTHER STUDY WEST, WEST ARAPAHO IS THE SIXTH, WAS THE SIXTH AREA THAT WE DIDN'T GET TO.
THE FIFTH AND SIXTH AREA WE'RE COTON WEST ARAPO.
AND, AND THAT'S WHY REALLY, I MEAN AS, AS WE LOOK AT, AS WE LOOK AT, UH, THIS COMP PLAN, I THINK FOUR IS A, IS A RIGHT, THE RIGHT NUMBER.
I MEAN, IF WE'RE GONNA DO, UM, THESE SPECIAL STUDY AREAS AND, AND UTILIZE THE KIND OF ENGAGEMENT PROCESS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TONIGHT MM-HMM.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE JUST SIMPLY RAN OUT OF TIME IN THE, IN THE, IN THE DECADE FROM THE 2009 PLAN I'M SURE.
AND, UM, SO FOR STUDY AREAS SEEM VERY DOABLE AND WILL ALLOW US TO REALLY HAVE THE KIND OF ENGAGEMENT, UM, WITH THE COMMUNITY THAT, THAT WE ALL VALUE THROUGHOUT THE PLAN.
BECAUSE THEN RECALL AFTER THE, THE SPECIAL STUDY AREA VISION, THERE'S THE WHOLE ENTITLEMENT PIECE.
AND THAT'S A WHOLE SECOND PHASE YEAH.
TO, TO EACH OF THESE SPECIAL STUDY AREAS.
SO YEAH, I THINK I'M ASKED MY QUESTION WRONG.
IT WHAT, WHAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF AN AREA THAT WAS IDENTIFIED IN THE COMP PLAN AND THEN WAS TAKEN FURTHER WITH A SPECIAL STUDY.
SO IT WASN'T, OKAY, SO THE, THE COLLINS ARAPAHOE, THE OPPOSITE US 75 IN MAINE, THAT WHICH EVENTUALLY BECAME THE IQ.
IT WAS COLLINS ARAPAHOE COMING OUT OF IT.
ME SEE THE PROGRESSION OF WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE STUDIES SURE.
AND HOW IT INVOLVES INTO SOMETHING ELSE.
I'M SORRY, I THOUGHT YOU WERE ASKING WHAT DID WE NO, IT'S HELPFUL.
UM, AND THEN, AND SO KIND OF ALONG THAT, MY LAST QUESTION KIND OF ALONG THAT LINE, I MEAN, I KNOW A COMP PLAN ISN'T ZONING, BUT IT CAN LEAD TO ZONING RECOMMENDATIONS MM-HMM.
IS THERE ANY CHANCE THAT YOU GUYS, AGAIN, EVEN THOUGH THIS IS NOT ZONING IN ITSELF, WOULD HAVE A COMP PLAN THAT RECOMMENDS TO US SOME KIND OF ZONING RECOMMENDATION FOR CERTAIN AREAS OR THINGS? SO IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE SPECIFIC, BUT LIKE BROADLY EVEN.
SO TYPICALLY WHAT A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DOES, IF YOU'LL RECALL I SAID THAT MM-HMM.
AND IT'S THAT MASTER LIST OF ALL THE THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE BY THE CITY, BY ITS PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS TO HELP, YOU KNOW, MOVE TOWARDS THE VISION THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS SAID THAT THEY WANT TO SEE.
[02:35:01]
FOR US IN A, ESPECIALLY IN SOME OF THESE SMALL AREAS TO SAY, DO FURTHER STUDY.UH, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE ITEMS MIGHT BE TO, UH, CONSIDER REZONING OF CERTAIN AREAS OF THE COMMUNITY TO BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH, UH, THE VISION ESTABLISHED BY THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
SOME CITIES WILL SAY, WE WANT TO GO IN AND REZONE THOSE AREAS BASED UPON THE VISION THAT WE'RE HERE FROM THE COMMUNITY.
IN OTHER COMMUNITIES THEY SAY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA LET THIS AREA JUST HAPPEN OVER TIME.
WE'RE GOING TO MAKE IT AVAILABLE.
BUT PEOPLE STILL NEED TO BE ABLE, THEY STILL NEED TO COME IN AND REZONE THEIR OWN PROPERTIES INDIVIDUALLY.
RICHARDSON'S TAKEN THE APPROACH OF, YO THIS IS THE VISION FOLKS WANNA SEE.
SO AFTER THIS VISIONING PROCESS, UH, THE NEXT STEP, ESPECIALLY IN THESE SMALL AREAS, HAS BEEN TO GO IN AND CREATE A FORM-BASED OR A, A PD FOR EACH OF THOSE AREAS.
I MEAN, IF YOU'RE GONNA SPEND ALL THAT TIME AND ENERGY CREATING THE VISION, YOU WANT TO ELIMINATE ALL THE OBSTACLES TO ACHIEVING THAT VISION.
A HUGE, A HUGE OBSTACLE ELIMINATED NOT, NOT MAKING A PRIVATE DEVELOPER OR DEVELOPERS COME IN AND GO THROUGH THAT WHOLE PROCESS.
SO IT'S BEEN VERY EFFECTIVE IN THAT WAY.
WELL, WELL THANK YOU AND THANKS FOR JUST KIND OF LAYING IT OUT FOR ME.
THIS IS MY FIRST AND BASED ON THE TIMELINES, MOST LIKELY LAST ONE OF THESE, SO
AND I APPRECIATE Y'ALL HELPING ME OUT WITH THAT.
UH, MR. ME MCKEN, I HAVE ONE QUICK QUESTION.
COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, JOE
UH, YOU MENTIONED A COUPLE, FEW TIMES ABOUT LIKE FOR THOSE AREA THAT YOU HAVE IDENTIFI IDENTIFIED FOR, FOR THE STUDY, AND YOU HAVE MENTIONED THAT YOU'RE GONNA GO JUST SCRATCH THE SURFACE.
IF THAT, UH, DEEPER STUDY NEEDED, WHAT DID YOU REALLY EXACTLY MEAN BY THAT SCALE, THE SURFACE? SO, SO FAR WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE HAVE IDENTIFIED THE BOUNDARIES OF EACH OF THE AREAS.
UH, WE HAVE STARTED TO PULL THE DATA, LIKE JESSICA HAS SHOWN YOU TONIGHT, FOR EACH OF THOSE AREAS TO LOOK AT VACANCIES, TO LOOK AT THE PROPERTY OWNER, UH, YOU KNOW, ARE THEY LOCAL, ARE THEY OUT OF STATE? UH, WE'VE STARTED TO LOOK AT THE IMPROVEMENT VALUE TO, BUT WE HAVE NOT, WE HAVE NOT DRAWN ANY CONCLUSIONS THAT ARE READY TO BE SHARED.
SO WE'VE JUST STARTED TO SCRATCH AT IT.
WE ALSO WANT TO GET FURTHER INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY AS TO WHETHER THEY SEE THOSE AS KEY AREAS.
UH, IN A LOT OF THE STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS WE HAD, WE SAID, WHAT ARE THE AREAS OF RICHARDSON THAT MAKE YOU PROUD WHERE YOU WANT TO TAKE PEOPLE AND SHOW THEM, BUT ON THE INVERSE, WHAT ARE THOSE AREAS THAT YOU MAY TELL PEOPLE COMING TO VISIT? YEAH.
MAYBE TAKE THIS ROUTE, DON'T DRIVE BY THAT AREA.
SOMETHING YOU MAY NOT BE AS PROUD OF.
AND I THINK PART OF THAT QUESTION WAS TO START TO IDENTIFY WHAT ARE THOSE AREAS THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT WITH THIS LEVEL OF DETAIL TO IDENTIFY, YOU KNOW, WHERE IS, WHERE IS THERE, WHICH ONES ARE RIGHT FOR THIS TYPE OF REINVESTMENT STUDY? SAM, YOU WANT TO ADD SOMETHING TO THAT? YES, SIR.
REAL QUICK, WHAT MARK HAS JUST DESCRIBED TO YOU IS, IS REALLY WHAT WE DID WITH THE 2009 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND THOSE REEN ENHANCEMENT AREAS, UH, OR ENHANCEMENT AREAS, IS THAT WE ARE, WE ARE DOING THAT RE THAT RESEARCH, THAT ANALYSIS UPFRONT, SO THAT WHEN WE GET TO THE POINT THAT THE CONFERENCE PLAN IS, IS ADOPTED, WE ALREADY HAVE A, A SCENARIO, A PLANNING SCENARIO, THAT WE CAN TAKE STRAIGHT TO A ENTITLEMENT OF THE PROPERTY AS OPPOSED TO IDENTIFYING AT A FUTURE DATE DOING THE VISIONING STUDY AND THEN COMING BACK FOR, FOR AN ENTITLEMENT.
SO WE'RE KIND OF SHORTENING THAT TIMEFRAME BY DOING THESE KIND OF SMALL AREA FOCUS STUDIES.
AND THEN ONE OTHER THING THAT I'D LIKE TO REALLY ASK YOU IS WE NEED YOUR HELP.
WE ARE CURRENT, WE ARE STILL, UH, RECRUITING AMBASSADORS.
SO ANY, ANYONE THAT YOU CAN LEAD US TO, ANY DISCUSSIONS THAT YOU CAN HAVE WITH YOUR ORGANIZATIONS, WITH YOUR, WITH YOUR CONSTITUENTS, WE WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE THE, HOW MANY DO YOU NEED? HOW MANY DO YOU NEED? AS MANY AS WE CAN GET.
THIS IS THE THIRD COMPREHENSIVE PLAN THAT I'VE WORKED ON.
AND THE SUCCESS OF THESE COMPREHENSIVE PLANS ARE REALLY THE INPUT WE GET FROM NEIGHBORS.
AND NEIGHBORS ARE MORE LIKELY TO SPEAK TO OTHER NEIGHBORS SOMETIMES THAN THEY ARE TO SPEAK TO US AS STAFF OR, OR, UH, THE CONSULTANTS.
UH, SO THE MORE THE MERRIER
UH, NOW I UNDERSTAND THIS FOR AREA THAT YOU HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT NOW THIS, IF YOU COMBINE, YOU KNOW, LIKE INSTEAD OF LOOKING THOSE INDIVIDUALLY, IF YOU COMBINE ONE OF THIS AREA WITH ANOTHER AREA THAT MIGHT GIVE YOU A TOTALLY DIFFERENT, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, VIEW.
[02:40:01]
FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU LOOK AT, UH, MAYBE I'M NOT UNDERSTANDING, MAYBE YOU CAN EXPLAIN THIS THING TO ME A LITTLE MORE EASIER WAY.UH, IF YOU LOOK SPRING VALLEY CORRIDOR THROUGH ALL THE WAY TO CAMPBELL, UH, YOU KNOW, ALONG GREENVILLE OR SOME OF THE CHAIRMEN.
SO, AND IF YOU LOOKED AT, YOU KNOW, LIKE THAT AREA ONLY INDIVIDUALLY, UH, INSTEAD OF, YOU KNOW, DIVIDING THIS AREA, LIKE TWO, THREE AREA THAT MIGHT GIVE YOU, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT, UH, IDEA, DIFFERENT, UH, UH, STATISTICS, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, INSTEAD OF SOMETHING THAT WAS DONE IN THE PAST LOOKING THE SAME WAY? OR YOU'RE GOING TO LOOK TOTALLY DIFFERENT WAY BY COMBINING DIFFERENT DATA? SO I THINK, AND I, I, YEAH.
SO MONICA, MONICA POINTED OUT, AND SHE WAS OUR CLIENT WHEN WE DID THIS.
UM, ORIGINALLY THE CITY HAD EACH OF THESE AREAS SEPARATE AND, UH, THERE WAS GOING TO BE A STUDY FOR THE CENTRAL EXPRESSWAY CORRIDOR, AND THERE WAS GOING TO BE A SEPARATE STUDY FOR THE MAIN STREET CORRIDOR.
AND AS TIME PROGRESSED, THE AFTER, AFTER THE FIRST STUDY WAS DONE ON WEST SPRING VALLEY, THE CITY SAID, WHY DON'T WE COMBINE THESE? BECAUSE I THINK IT DOES MAKE MORE SENSE TO COMBINE THEM BECAUSE, UH, THEY WERE REALLY INTERRELATED WITH EACH OTHER IN THE WAY THEY FUNCTIONED.
AND SO IT WAS IMPORTANT TO DO THAT.
SO THAT BECAME A COMBINED STUDY.
THE OTHER THING I'LL SAY IS IT, IT WAS, IT WAS A VERY INNOVATIVE APPROACH THAT THE CITY TOOK IN 2009 TO CREATE THESE AREAS.
UM, FOR EACH AREA THAT WE WORKED WITHIN, WE DEVELOPED NEW TOOLS AND NEW TECHNIQUES AND NEW APPROACHES JUST BUILDING UPON WHAT WE HAD DONE BEFORE AND STARTED THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX IN EACH AREA.
AND SO I THINK THAT WHEN WE GO FORWARD WITH THESE AREAS, YOU WILL SEE VERY NEW APPROACHES TO THESE AREAS, UH, IF IN COMPARISON TO SOME OF THE AREAS THAT HAPPENED IN THIS FIRST, IN THIS 2009 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
UM, SO I THINK THERE WILL BE THE OPPORTUNITY, BUT AT THIS POINT, WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK WITHIN THE GEOGRAPHIC AREAS TO DO THESE COMPARISONS.
AND IT MAY VERY WELL BE THAT WE FIND SOME RELATIONSHIPS, CERTAINLY FROM THE STANDPOINT, I THINK FROM A MARKET STANDPOINT, IF YOU HAVE TWO CENTERS THAT ARE COMPETING WITH EACH OTHER WITHIN YOUR CITY LIMITS, TRYING TO DRAW THE SAME TENANTS, THEN IS THERE A WAY THAT YOU CAN START TO POSITION TO THOSE TO WHERE THEY'RE BOTH UNIQUE IN SOME WAY SO THAT THEY'RE NO LONGER COMPETING WITH EACH OTHER AND THEY'RE BOTH THAT MUCH MORE VIABLE.
SO THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS WE'LL BE LOOKING AT AS WELL.
AND THAT'S GREAT BECAUSE THE DATA IS LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY POWERFUL.
AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THE RIGHT DATA, UH, GIS BY CLICKING FEW POINTS HERE AND THERE IS NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU THE RIGHT DATA ALL THE TIME.
UH, SO THAT'S ONE OF THE REASON WHEN YOU SEE DIFFERENT DATA TOGETHER THAT WILL POP UP, SAY SOMETHING THAT, OKAY, MAYBE WE NEED TO LOOK OTHER WAY TO COMPARE.
AND RICHARDSON, WE'RE NOT THAT BIG CITY, REALLY.
YOU CAN DRIVE WITHIN 10 MINUTES EVERYWHERE.
SO, UH, WE ARE BASICALLY ONE COMMUNITY, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE DIVIDING THIS THING TO LOOK AT DIFFERENT WAY, BUT WE ARE ALL INTERCONNECTED.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE REALLY THE WHOLE THING EVENTUALLY.
I JUST WANTED TO ADD TO THAT, I KNOW YOU'RE, TO YOUR POINT THAT YOU'RE NOT TRYING TO, UH, STEER PEOPLE IN ONE AREA.
I THINK ACTUALLY THROUGH OUR INTERVIEW PROCESS, ONE OF THE THINGS I HAD MENTIONED IS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE CITY LINE, OF COURSE, THAT'S A DESTINATION LOCATION FOR RICHARDSON.
WE ALSO NEED DESTINATION LOCATIONS FOR THE EAST SIDE, UH, OF, OF RICHARDSON, MEANING, UM, WE'LL CALL IT DISTRICT ONE.
AND I THINK, UM, TO YOUR POINT, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO CREATE A DYNAMIC OF WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO CLUSTER.
AND TO YOUR POINT TOO, UM, UH, PRO TIM, UH, SHAMSUL ABOUT PEOPLE, YOU CAN GET AROUND IN RICHARDSON EVERY 10 TO 15 MINUTES, BUT PEOPLE LIKE TO CLUSTER IN A PARTIC A PARTICULAR AREA.
SO PEOPLE WANT TO DRIVE ONE TO TWO MILES AND GO TO A LOCAL FACILITY AND ENGAGE IN THAT FACILITY.
THOUGH WE TRAVEL THROUGHOUT RICHARDSON.
I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT THAT DATA AND, AND, AND TRY TO CREATE THAT DYNAMIC.
AND, UH, MY OTHER QUESTION TOO, AND I WAS GONNA ASK A QUESTION ABOUT THE AMBASSADORS, BUT JUST FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE WATCHING AND FOR US, WHAT IS THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE AMBASSADORS? AND WILL THEY ALL BE DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT OR ARE, WILL THEY BE SPREADING, UM, DIFFERENT THINGS ACROSS THE CITY? UM, THEY'LL BE DOING THE SAME THING, BASICALLY.
THEY'LL BE FOLLOWING A, UM, SERIES OF QUESTIONS SIMILAR TO YOUR INTERVIEW QUESTIONS.
UH, I BELIEVE THERE'S 13 ON THE LIST.
[02:45:01]
AND THEY CAN FOCUS ON INDIVIDUAL ONES.THEY DON'T HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING, BUT GENERALLY THEY BRING TOGETHER A GROUP OF FRIENDS.
IT COULD BE FOUR OR FIVE 10, UM, TO DISCUSS THOSE QUESTIONS AND PROVIDE ANSWERS.
UH, IT'S THROUGH AN ONLINE FORM.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE A PDF VERSION SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU, UH, RECEIVED PRIOR TO YOURS AS WELL.
UH, UM, AND GENERALLY, WE, I THINK THE RANGE COULD BE EVERY, ANYWHERE FROM 30 MINUTES TO TWO HOURS.
IT COULD BRING YOUR COWORKERS DURING LUNCH AND JUST START CHATTING.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOUR, YOUR BRIDGE CLUB, YOUR, UH, YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, BLOCK, YOUR, YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, UH, PRETTY MUCH DIS SKY'S THE LIMIT, UM, ON, IN TERMS OF IF YOU CAN GET A FEW PEOPLE TOGETHER, THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE YOU GO.
GOOD BLOCK WALKING EVERYTHING.
AND WE, AGAIN, WE THINK THAT GRASSROOTS SUPPORT IN THE COMMUNITY IS THE, FOR ME, IT'S ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL THINGS WE NEED TO HAVE HAPPEN.
IS REALLY GET IT OUT IN THE COMMUNITY SO THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN HAVE DISCUSSIONS AMONG THEMSELVES AND THEN PROVIDE US THE FEEDBACK.
COUNCILMAN BARRIOS, YOU HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION? YEAH, SAM, JUST TO CLARIFY, I KNOW, UM, COUNCILMAN JUSTICE ASKED ABOUT HOW MANY YOU NEEDED.
UM, SO ARE YOU SAYING, I KNOW YOU, THERE WAS MENTION OF POPUPS, SO IF I'M A MEMBER OF A CIVIC CLUB, THE ROTARY OR, UH, UH, SOME OTHER, YOU KNOW, CIVIC CLUB WHERE WE'RE GONNA HAVE A MEETING, CAN WE REQUEST THE POPUP SO THAT IF WE HAVE 30, 50 PEOPLE? IS THAT KIND OF WHAT YOU'RE HOPING FOR? UM, I THINK SO.
I THINK, UH, WHEN I MENTIONED WHAT WAS MENTIONED ON THE, UH, SLIDE ABOUT SOME OF THE CHAMBER AND IQ EVENTS, UM, THERE'LL BE AT LEAST ONE THAT I THINK WILL BE MORE OF A SPOT, UM, YOU KNOW, COUPLE HOUR TYPE THINGS FOR THE, FOR A LOT OF THE OTHERS, IT MIGHT BE FOR A WEEK, LIKE AT U T D, UM, WEEKEND AT THE MOSQUE OR CHURCH.
UM, SO IT IS GONNA VARY, BUT I THINK THERE'S AT LEAST ONE THAT, UM, UNLESS WE HAVE A COUPLE THINGS HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME, WOULD BE ABLE TO GO FROM LOCATION TO LOCATION.
WELL, IF THERE'S ANYTHING I, AND I'M SURE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS WOULD SAY THE SAME THING, IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO HELP FACILITATE THAT OR HELP POST OR PUT IT OUT.
I MEAN, I THINK WE'RE ALL COMMITTED TO GETTING MORE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS.
UH, QUICK QUESTION, THIS MIGHT BE DONE.
UM, I KNOW THERE WAS TALK ABOUT OVERLAP WITH, UM, THE, UH, CITY HALL FEEDBACK.
UM, AND I KNOW THERE WAS SOME PARTS OF IT OVERLAP, BUT SOME FEEDBACK DIDN'T OVERLAP.
I KNOW THE TWO EVENTS WE'RE HAVING AT THE REC CENTERS WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK, WHICH BY THE WAY, I'VE SHARED WITHIN MY, SOME OF MY CIRCLE, AND I'VE GOT NOTHING BUT POSITIVES ON THAT.
SO WHOEVER IDEA THAT WAS, HATS OFF TO THEM.
UM, BUT AS FAR AS FEEDBACK WITH THESE POP-UPS AND STUFF LIKE THAT, IS THERE OVER, IS, ARE THEY GONNA BE RESPONDING AND PROVIDING FEEDBACK TO CITY HALL? OR IS THIS, WE'RE GONNA DO SOMETHING SIMILAR AT A LATER TIME FOR THAT? UH, NO.
CITY HALL'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT OF A, OF A PROCESS.
UM, WE'LL HAVE THE SURVEY, WHICH, UH, MUCH MUCH LIKE THE LIBRARY WHERE WE, YOU KNOW, GET ALMOST A THOUSAND, UM, RESPONDENTS.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE THE TWO OPEN HOUSES THAT'LL, I THINK THEY'RE, UH, JUNE AND JULY, UH, JUNE THAT THE DATES THAT, THE SAME DATES THAT ARE IN COMP PLAN.
UM, AND THEN, UH, WE'LL CONTINUE WITH THE STAKEHOLDER, UH, AND, AND, AND KEY USER, UH, GROUP FEEDBACK FOR THE CITY HALL.
UM, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY, WE DON'T HAVE THIS KIND OF A ENGAGEMENT PROCESS BUILT INTO THAT TIMEFRAME.
YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THE, THE DIFFERENCE THERE IS WE'RE UP AGAINST A BUDGET THAT WAS APPROVED BY THE PUBLIC, AND WE'VE, YOU KNOW, AS WE MENTIONED TO YOU, EVERY, ABOUT EVERY MONTH OF TIME THAT ELAPSES IS, IS ABOUT A, IS ABOUT A $400,000 HIT TO THE CONSTRUCTION BUDGET.
AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO, AGAIN, STRIKE A BALANCE BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, TAKING THAT, THAT PUBLIC INPUT, HAVING A TIME FOR THE PUBLIC TO COME ENGAGE WITH STAFF.
WE'RE, WE'LL, WE'LL THEME THAT FEEDBACK UP AND, AND THAT WE RECEIVE THROUGH, THROUGH THE SURVEYS.
UH, AND THEN WE'LL BRING THAT TO YOU FOR, FOR CONSIDERATION IN THE FORM OF A CONCEPT PLAN.