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[CALL TO ORDER]
I CALL THIS MEETING OF THE RICHARDSON CITY COUNCIL TO ORDER AT 6:00 PM ITEM A ON OUR AGENDA IS A PUBLIC COMMENTS AND AGENDA ITEMS AND VISITORS FORUM.MR. MAGNAR, UH, THANK YOU MAYOR.
MAYOR, COUNCIL, WE ARE NOT IN RECEIPT OF ANY CARDS IN ADVANCE OF THE 5:00 PM DEADLINE, AND I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE ANY VISITORS, UH, THAT HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK AT THIS TIME.
[B. RECOGNITION FOR THE WINNERS OF THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL BOX ART CONTEST]
B RECOGNITION FOR THE WINNERS OF THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL BOX ARC CONTEST.WE'D, UH, FIRST LIKE TO WELCOME ALL OF THE, UH, AWARD WINNERS TONIGHT AND THEIR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO HAVE YOU JOIN US, UH, FOR OUR CITY COUNCIL MEETING AND YOUR RECOGNITION.
UM, OUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, MCKAYLA DOLLAR, IS GOING TO MAKE OUR WAY TO THE PODIUM AND LEAD THIS BRIEFING.
UH, MAYOR, AFTER WE RUN THROUGH THE PRESENTATION AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE INDIVIDUAL WINNERS, WE'D LIKE TO, UH, ASK YOU TO, UM, CONVENE UP AT THE, UH, SCREEN WITH THE WINNERS AND TAKE A GROUP PICTURE TO KIND OF CELEBRATE AND THEN WE'LL, UH, BE ABLE TO KIND OF PROMOTE THAT INTO RICHARDSON TODAY AND OUR OTHER COMMUNICATION, UH, AVENUES.
SO, UH, LEMME TURN IT OVER TO MIKAYLA AND SHE'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE US THROUGH THE BRIEFING.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNSEL.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME HERE THIS EVENING TO PRESENT YOU WITH THE WINNERS OF OUR ANNUAL TRAFFIC SIGNAL BOX ARC CONTEST.
THIS CONTEST FALLS UNDER THE CITY COUNCIL'S STRATEGIC GOAL TO CONTINUE TO EXPLORE UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN RESIDENTS IN ALL STAKEHOLDERS.
AND IT ALIGNS REALLY WELL WITH YOUR COUNCIL TACTIC THAT'S RELATED TO PLACEMAKING INITIATIVES THROUGHOUT THE CITY WITH WAYFINDING AND PUBLIC ART.
A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ABOUT THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL BOX ART PROGRAM.
THIS ORIGINATED AS AN IDEA WITH THE FORMER KIWANIS CLUB, WHERE THEY CAME TO THE CITY IN 2021, AND WE RESEARCHED THE PROGRAM, SAW THAT IT WAS DONE IN OTHER COMMUNITIES, AND ULTIMATELY LAUNCHED IT IN THE SPRING OF 2 20 22.
SO THIS IS THE THIRD ANNUAL PROGRAM, AND THIS YEAR IT IS SPONSORED BY THE RICHARDSON ROTARY CLUB.
WE DO HAVE TWO MEMBERS OF THE ROTARY CLUB HERE TO REPRESENT THIS EVENING AS WELL.
THE PROPOSALS ARE REVIEWED AND EVALUATED BY A SELECTION COMMITTEE, AND THEN THE CITY WORKS WITH WINNING ARTISTS TO FINALIZE THE PROPOSALS AND HAVE THEM PRINTED ONTO VINYL WRAPS AND INSTALLED AROUND THE CITY.
THE CALL FOR ARTISTS THIS YEAR WENT LIVE ON MARCH 1ST WITH SUBMISSIONS DUE APRIL 25TH.
THE FINALISTS WERE DETERMINED BY A SELECTION COMMITTEE, AND THEY WERE BASED ON ADHERENCE TO THE THEME, WHICH THIS YEAR WAS TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION.
ALSO, CREATIVITY AND ARTISTIC MERIT WERE CONSIDERED THE WINNING ARTISTS RECEIVE A $200 AWARD, AND THAT IS SPLIT BETWEEN THE CITY AND THEN THE, THE RICHARDSON ROTARY CLUB AS PART OF THEIR CONTRIBUTION FOR DESIGN AND CRITERIA.
WHAT WE DO, UM, CONSIDER TO BE CRITERIA FOR THE, THE ARTISTS OR THAT THEY LIVE IN THE DFW AREA.
THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS EXPANDED LAST YEAR SO THAT WE COULD GET MORE APPLICATIONS.
THEY HAVE TO ALSO PROVIDE A PROPOSAL IN AN APPROPRIATE DIGITAL FILE.
IT HAS TO BE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN TAKE REPLICATE, SENT TO THE PRINTER AND CAN BE PRINTED WELL.
AND THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE, OF COURSE, A COMPLETE APPLICATION FOR DESIGN CRITERIA.
IT HAS TO BE ORIGINAL WORKS ONLY.
THEY CANNOT CONTAIN COPYRIGHTED OR TRADEMARK IMAGES.
THEY CAN'T CONTAIN COMMERCIAL LOGOS OR ADVERTISEMENTS, AND THEY CAN'T CONTAIN REPRESENTATIONS OF TRAFFIC LIGHTS, SIGNS, OR SIGNALS FOR OUR COMMUNICATION STRATEGY.
WE WORKED WITH THE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT TO GET THIS CONTEST OUT IN ALL OF OUR REGULAR OUTLETS.
WE ALSO PARTNERED WITH RICHARDSON ROTARY CLUB TO PROMOTE IT TO THE COMMUNITY, AND WE WORKED WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND LOCAL ARTS ORGANIZATIONS TO PROMOTE THE PROGRAM AS WELL.
THE SELECTION COMMITTEE CONSISTED OF THE CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION MEMBERS AND TWO REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE RICHARDSON ROTARY CLUB.
YOU CAN SEE THE MAP HERE THAT WE HAVE, THE, THE FIVE YEARS THAT THE PROGRAM IS OUTLINED TO ROTATE BETWEEN LOCATIONS WITHIN THE CITY.
YOU CAN SEE THE 2022 LOCATIONS OUTLINED IN GREEN, THE 2023 LOCATIONS IN PURPLE, AND THIS YEAR'S LOCATIONS OUTLINED IN BLUE.
WE CHOSE, UM, LOCATIONS THAT WERE NEAR SCHOOLS IN OUR CITY, OR THE ONE AT ALMA AND COLLINS AS IN THE HEART OF OUR TECHNOLOGY CORRIDOR THERE IN THE IQ.
SO WE WILL START ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS NEXT.
THE FIRST WINNER OF OUR, UM, CONTEST THIS YEAR IS ALEJANDRA MUSSO.
YOU CAN STAND RIGHT OVER THERE FOR ME.
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THE SECOND WINNER THIS YEAR IS ELI WORLEY.DID ELI MAKE IT? OKAY, WE'LL SEND HIS TO HIM, BUT THIS IS HIS ARTWORK.
AND NEXT WE HAVE CAROLINE DUGGAN.
AND FINALLY WE HAVE RITA YUNG RIGHT OVER HERE.
ALRIGHT, BEFORE WE TAKE A PICTURE, DOES COUNSEL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? COUNSEL? ANY COMMENTS? ANYBODY? ALRIGHT, THUMBS UP.
WE'D LIKE TO ASK OUR ASK OUR SPONSOR AND ROTARY ROTARIANS TO COME JOIN US, PLEASE.
PARENTS, WE'LL GET EVERYBODY SET UP.
[C. REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE PUBLIC ART SELECTION FOR THE ANIMAL SHELTER AND FIRE STATION 5]
C, REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE PUBLIC ARC SESSION FOR THE ANIMAL SHELTER AND FIRE STATION FIVE.WE ARE REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE, UH, MEREDITH MCKINLEY, UH, WITH VIA PARTNERSHIPS BACK WITH US, UH, THIS EVENING.
UM, I AM, UM, REALLY PLEASED WITH, UM, THE, UH, PRESENTATION SHE'S GONNA PRESENT TO YOU.
AND I, I HOPE THAT, UH, YOU'RE GONNA BE AS EXCITED BY, UH, THE PROPOSALS THAT WE BROUGHT TO YOU TONIGHT AS I WAS WHEN I FIRST SAW HIM.
SO, MEREDITH, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE TO GET US TO THIS POINT, AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
UM, SO TODAY WE'RE GONNA FOCUS OUR, UH, UPDATE ON FIRE STATION FIVE IN THE ANIMAL SHELTER.
THESE ARE TWO OF THE PROJECTS, AS YOU'RE AWARE THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
AND, UH, I'LL BE BACK IN JULY TO TALK ABOUT, UH, THE PUBLIC LIBRARY IN CITY HALL.
UM, SO IN, UH, NOVEMBER, WE ISSUED A CALL FOR ARTISTS, UM, BASED ON THE PROJECT PLAN THAT YOU ALL APPROVED LAST YEAR.
UM, THAT CALL FOR ARTISTS WAS OPEN FOR ABOUT SIX WEEKS.
WE DISTRIBUTED IT NATIONALLY, UM, AS WELL AS LOCALLY.
WE DID A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF RESEARCH AND CONTACTED OUR PUBLIC ART COLLEAGUES HERE AND THE, UM, DFW AREA, AS WELL AS ACROSS THE STATE, UM, AND POSTED IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE, UM, AND OTHER LISTSERVS AND, AND WEBSITES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
WE GOT A TREMENDOUS RESPONSE TO THAT CALL.
UM, AND THAT CALL FOR ARTISTS.
ARTISTS WERE INVITED TO SUBMIT THEIR QUALIFICATIONS.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS IN THE PUBLIC ART WORLD IS, UM, IMAGES OF THEIR PRIOR WORK, UM, A LETTER OF INTEREST TO LET US KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THEIR INTEREST IN CREATING A WORK OF PUBLIC ART FOR RICHARDSON AND HOW THEY WOULD APPROACH IT, UM, AS WELL AS A RESUME AND REFERENCES.
AND THOSE, UM, UH, QUALIFICATIONS WERE REVIEWED, UM, AND FOR EACH FACILITY HAD A DIFFERENT SELECTION PANEL.
WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN A SECOND.
THE SELECTION PANEL SELECTED, UH, FOR EACH FACILITY, THREE FINALISTS.
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UM, AND THOSE FINALISTS WERE, UH, WERE PROVIDED WITH A STIPEND TO DEVELOP A CONCEPT PROPOSAL, UM, AND PRESENT THAT BACK TO THE SELECTION PANEL.SO THAT CONCEPT PROPOSAL INCLUDED RENDERINGS, WHICH WE'LL SHARE WITH YOU TONIGHT.
UM, A DESCRIPTION OF MATERIALS FABRICATION, A PRELIMINARY BUDGET AND TIMELINE, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, AGAIN, A NARRATIVE DESCRIBING THE PIECE.
UM, AND THEN THOSE WERE PRESENTED TO THE SELECTION PANEL.
UM, WE HAD A GREAT CONVERSATION WITH EACH GROUP, AND THEN THEY SELECTED OR RECOMMENDED THE, UH, THE, THE PIECE THAT I'M GONNA BE PRESENTING TO YOU IN JUST A SECOND.
THOSE WERE ALSO REVIEWED BY THE CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION, UM, AT THEIR LAST MEETING.
AND THE REVIEW CRITERIA YOU SEE HERE, THERE'S THE SAME REVIEW CRITERIA THAT WAS IN THE PROJECT PLAN AND REALLY LOOKS AT, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THE WORK RESPONDS TO THE GOALS THAT WE ESTABLISHED FOR THE PROJECT, AS WELL AS THE ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE OF THE WORK.
UM, THEIR ABILITY TO MEET TIMELINES AND SCHEDULES AND BUDGETS FOR THE PROJECT, AS WELL AS OUR MAINTENANCE AND, UM, AND SAFETY CONCERNS.
SO WITH THAT, WE'LL GO THROUGH EACH PROJECT.
WE'LL START WITH, UM, THE PUBLIC ART BUDGET FOR THAT PROJECT IS $75,000.
ESTIMATED INSTALLATION IS GONNA BE THE FIRST QUARTER OF, UH, 25 OF NEXT YEAR.
SO WE'LL BE TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE THE OPENING OF THIS PROJECT, NOT, UH, TOO LONG FROM NOW.
UM, WE HAD A GREAT SELECTION PANEL.
I HAVE TO COMMEND THE SELECTION PANELS.
THEY, THEY HAVE QUITE A LOT OF WORK TO DO FOR THESE PROJECTS.
WE MET MANY TIMES AND THEY HAD HOMEWORK AS WELL.
UM, OUR GOALS FOR THIS PROJECT ARE THE SAME AS WHAT PRESENTED IN THE PROJECT PLAN, UM, AND REALLY FOCUSED ON HONORING THE ROLE THAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT PLAYS, UM, IN KEEPING THE COMMUNITY SAFE BY EMPLOYING, UH, NARRATIVES AND IMAGES RELATED SPECIFICALLY TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UM, FOR THIS PROJECT, YOU MIGHT RECALL, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING FOR THE ARTIST TO DESIGN A, A SCREEN, A FUNCTIONAL AMENITY THAT WOULD BECOME PART OF THE BUILDING ITSELF.
UM, THAT COULD BE VISIBLE FROM THE STREET VISIBLE FOR THE PUBLIC, BUT ALSO, UM, SERVE A PURPOSE, WHICH IS A, A TO SCREEN OUT, UM, AN AREA THAT IS USED BY THE, BY THE FIREFIGHTERS AND FIRE STATION PERSONNEL FOR OUTDOOR USE.
UM, AND THEN COMPLIMENTING THE RESIDENTIAL NATURE OF THIS PARTICULAR FIRE STATION.
SO AGAIN, HERE'S THE SORT OF, DO I HAVE A THING? YEAH, SO YOU CAN SEE HERE, UM, THERE'S A SCREEN HERE.
THIS IS THE SORT OF ART ZONE OR AREA OF OPPORTUNITY.
IT'S ABOUT A 23 AND A HALF FOOT LONG, UM, PRIVACY SCREEN.
UM, AND AGAIN, CREATES AN AREA BACK HERE THAT CURRENTLY EXISTS, UM, WHERE THE FIREFIGHTERS CAN EAT OUTDOORS, CAN STUDY OUTDOORS, UM, AND CAN JUST BE OUTSIDE OF DECOMPRESS.
AND SO WANTING TO CREATE A LITTLE BIT OF PRIVACY FOR THAT ACTIVITY, BUT ALSO, AGAIN, SOMETHING THAT, UM, UH, WAS VISIBLE FOR THE VISITING OR FOR, FOR THE PUBLIC WHO'S COMING TO THE FACILITY.
SO WE HAD 28 ARTISTS APPLY FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.
AGAIN, REALLY TREMENDOUS RESPONSE.
AND THE SELECTION PANEL SELECTED THREE FINALISTS.
AND AFTER REVIEWING THEIR THREE CONCEPTS, WHICH I'LL SHARE WITH YOU, THEY, UM, ARE RECOMMENDING TONY SCHROLE FOR THE PROJECT.
SO I'LL TALK ABOUT TONY FIRST.
UH, TONY'S FROM RICHARDSON, TEXAS.
UM, HE IS ALSO AN ARTS EDUCATOR.
HE WORKS AT THIS, AT THE, UH, AT THE, UM, SCHOOL DISTRICT, UM, AND HAS BEEN CREATING, UH, WORK FOR SALE AS WELL AS SOME PUBLIC ART PROJECTS, INCLUDING, UM, INCLUDING THE PROJECT HERE ON THE UPPER RIGHT, UH, WHICH IS, UH, A NEWLY COMMISSIONED PIECE FOR THE DART STATION HERE IN RICHARDSON.
UH, TONY'S CONCEPT, UM, UH, HAS MULTIPLE LAYERS.
SO THIS IS THE SCREEN, UH, WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IS A CLOSEUP OF THE SCREEN ENCLOSURE.
UM, SO I'M ZOOMING IN BEFORE WE ZOOM OUT.
UM, SO THERE ARE THREE LAYERS.
ONE IS THIS SORT OF EXTERIOR, OOPS, UM, EXTERIOR STEEL, UH, WHICH IS GONNA BE A PATTERN DESIGN, WHICH YOU'LL SEE IN A SECOND.
THE OTHER LAYERS INCLUDE A RED POWDER COATED, UM, CARBON STEEL MESH.
AND THEN BEHIND THAT IS 16 GAUGE STAINLESS STEEL, UH, MESH.
THE, THE RED MESH HAS SORT OF A GRID PATTERN, AND THEN THE STAINLESS STEEL MESH HAS, UM, A CIRCLE PATTERN.
UM, AND THIS ENCOMPASSES REALLY A, THE, THE SCREEN ENCLOSURE ITSELF.
UM, SO WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS A RENDERING, UM, OF THAT ENCLOSURE WITH A METAL MURAL ELEMENTS, UM, THAT ARE FACING THE PUBLIC SIDE.
UM, AND THOSE, AS TONY HAS SAID, ARE INTERCHANGEABLE.
THEY COULD BE USED TO INCORPORATE IMAGES, TEXT MEMORIALS AND OTHER THINGS.
THEY CAN BE CHANGED OVER TIME IF THEY SO DESIRE.
UM, BUT HE'S BEEN EMPLOYING IN THAT AND HIS CONCEPT DESIGN, DIFFERENT
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IMAGES THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THE FIRE STATION.AND THEN YOU'LL SEE HERE, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS NEXT ELEMENT OUT FRONT.
UM, WELL, THIS IS THE BACKSIDE.
SO THE BACKSIDE IS A LITTLE BIT CALMER.
UM, AND ONE OF THE REASONS THAT TONY CHOSE THESE MATERIALS WAS THERE WAS A REAL INTEREST IN HAVING SOMETHING THAT WAS POROUS ENOUGH TO ALLOW AIR TO PASS THROUGH SO THAT, SO THAT THEY DIDN'T GET TO BE TOO STIFLING, UM, BEHIND THAT SCREEN.
THE OTHER ASPECT OF THE PROJECT THAT TONY HAS CREATED IS THIS SORT OF LOVELY FIRE, UH, UH, NUMBER FIVE THAT WOULD GO IN FRONT OF THE FIRE STATION.
AND, UM, THE SIGN ITSELF, THE GRID MATERIAL HERE IS REPURPOSED STEEL FROM THE CURRENT FIRE STATION FIVE.
SO THIS WAS AN ENCLOSURE, THIS IS MATERIAL THAT WAS BEING USED FOR THE CURRENT, UM, FENCING, AND WE'VE SALVAGED THAT MATERIAL.
AND SO HE'S GONNA REUSE IT IN THE CREATION OF THIS FIVE.
AND THEN HE'S USING THE SORT OF MALTESE CROSS THAT RED MALTESE CROSS WITH THE NUMBER FIVE.
AND ONE OF THE REASONS HE TALKED ABOUT USING THIS IN THE DESIGN WAS THAT IT RELATES TO THE, UH, FIRE STATION ONE AND THE RED MALTESE CROSS ON THAT.
SO IT CREATES SORT OF THIS VISUAL LANGUAGE FOR THE FIRE STATION SO THAT THEY BECOME, IN SOME WAYS, SORT OF BRANDED IN A SIMILAR WAY.
THE CITING FOR THIS, AS YOU SAW IN THE PREVIOUS RENDERING, UM, IS STILL GOING TO BE DETERMINED ONCE THIS AREA IN FRONT THAT IS BEING, UM, TRANSITIONED FROM A POND INTO, UM, INTO A GARDEN AREA, HAS BEEN RESOLVED.
AND THEN IT'LL BE PLACED AT A VISIBLE LOCATION WITHIN THAT SPACE.
THE OTHER TWO DESIGNS, I'LL JUST SHARE VERY BRIEFLY, THIS WAS, UM, DAVID, MICHAEL FROM A COMPANY CALLED TEXTURE.
THEY'RE IN SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.
AND THESE ARE THREE DIFFERENT VARIATIONS ON A DESIGN THAT THEY PRESENTED USING CORTEN STEEL, WHICH IS THAT SORT OF VERY RUSTED STEEL.
AND THEN USING, UM, BASICALLY PIXELATED IMAGES WITHIN NET CORTEN STEEL.
UM, AND SO HE PROVIDED THREE DIFFERENT VARIATIONS ON THAT DESIGN.
UM, AND THEN INCORPORATED, AS YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, SOME SORT OF LOGO OR NAME FOR THE CITY AS WELL.
AND THEN THIS WAS ALSO USING CORTEN STEEL.
THIS IS DANIEL MOORE, WHO'S BASED IN ARIZONA.
AND HE, UH, HAD AN ENCLOSURE DESIGN THAT HAD THIS SORT OF CENTRAL FIREFIGHTER FIGURE, UM, WITH THE RADIATING, UM, UH, DESIGNS OUT THE SIDE.
AND WHILE THESE WERE BOTH VERY STRONG PROPOSALS AND GOT A LOT OF DISCUSSION, THE PANEL FELT THAT, UH, TONY SCHROTH NIGEL'S PROPOSAL WAS THE STRONGEST AND RESPONDED BEST TO THE GOALS FOR THE PROJECT.
NEXT, THE ANIMAL SHELTER, THE BUDGET FOR THIS PROJECT IS 48,900.
UM, SAME, UH, UH, QUARTER, UH, ONE OF NEXT YEAR FOR ESTIMATED COMPLETION.
AND AGAIN, WE HAD A REALLY FANTASTIC, UM, SELECTION PANEL, MEMBERS OF THE CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION AND, UM, FOLKS WHO, UH, WORK CLOSELY WITH THE ANIMAL SHELTER.
UH, THE GOALS HERE WERE REALLY ABOUT CREATING A WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE VISITING THE, THE SHELTER, UM, HIGHLIGHTING AS A PLACE TO ADOPT ANIMALS, UM, AND THEN SERVING AS A POINT OF PRIDE FOR SHELTER STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS.
WE IDENTIFIED WORKING WITH THE ARCHITECTS CHOOSE TWO POSSIBLE ZONES FOR ART.
SO YOU MIGHT RECALL WE HAVE THE NEW, UM, PARKING AREA HERE, UM, WHERE CARS WILL BE PARKING, AND THEN THE NEW ENTRANCE HERE.
UM, SO THIS IS THE STAIR AND THEN THE RAMP, SO THIS WOULD BE IN THE RAMP STRUCTURE.
AND THEN HERE'S AT THE FOOT OF THE STAIRS.
AND WE HAD 50 ARTISTS APPLY FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.
SO THAT PANEL WENT THROUGH 50 ARTISTS TO SELECT THEIR FINALISTS.
UM, AND THE FINALISTS WERE GIGI MILLER, JULIE RICHIE, AND TOM TISCHLER.
AND AFTER REVIEWING THOSE PROPOSALS, WHICH WERE PRESENTED TO THEM BY THE ARTISTS, THEY'RE RECOMMENDING GIGI MILLER FOR THE PROJECT.
GIGI'S AN AUSTIN BASED ARTIST.
UM, SHE CREATES WORK IN MOSAIC.
UM, THESE ARE SOME OF HER VERY SORT OF WHIMSICAL SCULPTURES USING DIFFERENT TYPES OF TESS ARRAY OR GLASS AND TILE MOSAIC.
SOME OF THEM, SOME OF THE TILES ARE HANDMADE AND SOME OF THEM ARE COMMERCIALLY MADE TILES, THE WAY THAT SHE CONSTRUCTS HER ANIMALS.
UM, THERE'S A STAINLESS STEEL ARMATURE, UM, AND THEN THOSE ONE SET ARMATURE, UM, SHE, WELL, SHE, SHE CREATES A, A DRAWING AND THEN SHE CREATES A MODEL, AND THEN SHE HAS A ARMATURE FABRICATED.
THAT ARMATURE IS COVERED WITH POLYSTYRENE, AND THEN THE POLYSTYRENE IS COATED WITH
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A FIBERGLASS MESH, UM, AND CEMENT THE, TO MAKE THE SCULPTURE READY TO RECEIVE THE, THE TILE MOSAICS AND THE, SHE DOES THE TILING HERSELF.SO SORT OF, YOU GET TO SEE A LITTLE BIT OF THE EVOLUTION OF THE PROJECT THERE.
SO GIGI'S CONCEPT COMES FROM A, UM, A BROTHER'S GRIM FAIRYTALE.
SHE'S VERY INTERESTED IN FAIRYTALES, AND THIS IS THE BREMEN TOWN HALL MUSICIANS.
AND IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THAT STORY, UH, IN VERY BRIEFLY, UM, IT'S ABOUT SOME AGING DOMESTIC ANIMALS THAT HAVE BEEN NEGLECTED AND MISTREATED, AND THEY RUN AWAY TO BECOME THE TOWN MUSICIANS OF THE TOWN OF BREMEN.
UM, THEY DON'T MAKE IT TO BREMEN.
THEY END UP TRICKING AND SCARING OFF A BAND OF ROBBERS AND MOVING INTO THEIR HOME WHERE THEY LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER.
SO SHE REALLY LIKED THIS STORY, UM, AND IS GONNA CALL THE PEACE THE TOWN MUSICIANS OF RICHARDSON OR SINGING FOR OUR SUPPER.
BUT INSTEAD OF, UM, UH, DOMESTIC ANIMALS, UM, LIKE DONKEYS, SHE IS GOING TO BE USING THE KINDS OF ANIMALS THAT YOU COULD ADOPT AT THE ANIMAL SHELTER.
SO THIS IS A ROUGH SKETCH OF THE PIECE.
UM, AND SHE WOULD LIKE TO CITE IT HERE, UM, AT THE FRONT ENTRANCE SO THAT IT'S VISIBLE FROM THE STREET AS WELL AS FROM THE PARKING LOT AND GREETS PEOPLE RIGHT AS THEY'RE COMING IN.
SHE ENVISIONS IT AS BEING SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE COULD GET THEIR PICTURE TAKEN WITH, UM, WHEN THEY'RE COMING TO ADOPT ANIMALS.
HERE YOU SEE ANOTHER VIEW, WE'LL BE WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE ARCHITECTS TO FINALIZE THE SIDING AS WELL AS SOME LIGHTING FOR THE PIECE.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE SELECTION PANEL REALLY LOVED ABOUT THIS PIECE WAS, UH, GIGI'S PROCESS.
SO SHE HAD A COUPLE OF, OF REALLY INTERESTING WAYS TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY AND THE CREATION OF THE PIECE.
UM, ONE THINGS THAT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SHE WOULD LIKE TO DO IS HAVE A TILE MAKING DAY THAT'S FOCUSED ON THE VOLUNTEERS AND PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTIVE WITH THE ANIMAL SHELTER SO THAT THEY CAN COME AND MAKE TILES.
THEY GET EMBEDDED INTO THE FINAL PIECE.
UM, HER OTHER IDEA WAS TO WORK WITH THE ANIMAL SHELTER TO HAVE AN ADOPTION DAY.
AND IF YOU ADOPT AN ANIMAL ON THE ADOPTION DAY, YOU CAN DO A PAW PRINT IN, UM, A, A PIECE OF CLAY, AND THEN SHE'LL GLAZE THAT AND INCORPORATE THAT INTO THE PIECE ITSELF.
SO THESE, UM, ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES COULD TAKE PLACE OVER THE FALL AS SHE'S BUILDING THE PIECE.
UM, OUR OTHER, UM, PROPOSALS WERE ALSO VERY GOOD.
UM, JULIE RICHIE, WHO'S FROM DALLAS, UM, ALSO WORKS IN MOSAIC, AND SHE HAD A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT CONCEPTS, UH, USING MOSAIC AND THIS SORT OF, UM, STONE RIP WRAP, UM, PIECE.
AND THEN TOM TISCHLER, WHO IS A RICHARDSON NATIVE AND IS, UM, WELL KNOWN FOR HIS BRONZE ANIMAL SCULPTURES THAT ARE IN, UM, ZOOS ALL ACROSS THE WORLD, UM, PUT TOGETHER ANOTHER SORT OF LOVELY STACK OF ANIMALS.
UM, AND TOM WAS, TOM, I HAVE TO SHARE.
TOM WAS LOVELY IN HIS PRESENTATION, AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK HIS CONCERN WAS VISIBILITY, THAT HE KNEW THAT HE WORKING IN BRONZE AT THE SCALE, THAT THE PIECE WOULDN'T HAVE THAT SORT OF CURBSIDE VISIBILITY.
AND HE SAID, YOU SHOULD GO WITH THE MOSAIC.
UM, SO I WILL PAUSE FOR QUESTIONS JUST IN TERMS OF OUR NEXT STEPS.
SO THOSE ARE THE CONCEPT DESIGNS FROM THE ARTISTS.
WE NEXT MOVE INTO FINAL DESIGN.
SO THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO WORK CLOSELY WITH THE CAPITAL PROJECT TEAM, AS WELL AS THE ARCHITECTS TO FULLY INTEGRATE THEIR FOUNDATIONS AND LIGHTING AND OTHER THINGS THAT THEY NEED INTO, UM, THE CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS.
AND THEN THEY ALSO, UM, HAVE THEIR OWN PIECES ENGINEERED.
SO, UM, WE CAN BE ASSURED THAT THERE IS, THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE STURDY AND SAFE AND HERE FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
UM, THEY PUT TOGETHER MAINTENANCE PROTOCOLS AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
ONCE THEIR FINAL DESIGN DOCUMENTS ARE APPROVED BY THE CITY, THEY MOVE INTO FABRICATION AND INSTALLATION OF THE PIECE NEXT YEAR.
UM, WE'VE ALREADY CONVENED OUR RICHARDSON LIBRARY SELECTION PANEL, UM, AND HAVE SELECTED OUR FINALISTS.
OUR FINALISTS ARE NOW MOVING FORWARD.
THERE ARE TWO PROJECTS, UM, AT THE, AT THE LIBRARY, AND WE'RE GONNA BE MEETING, UM, THOSE ARTISTS ARE GONNA BE PRESENTING, UH, TO THE SELECTION PANEL IN JUNE.
SO WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU IN JULY WITH THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE SELECTION PANEL.
AND THEN WE'LL ALSO IN, UM, JULY BE COMING BACK, NOT WITH ARTISTS SELECTION, BUT WITH A PROCESS THAT WE'D LIKE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH FOR CITY HALL, UM, IN MORE DETAILS AND HOW WE'LL BE PROCEEDING WITH THAT.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
ANY QUESTIONS? I THINK YOU GOT A THUMBS UP,
[D. REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE SECOND QUARTER FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE FY 2023-2024 OPERATING BUDGET]
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ITEM D ON OUR AGENDA, REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE SECOND QUARTER FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR, FISCAL YEAR 20 23, 24 OPERATING BUDGET.OUR BUDGET OFFICER BOB, UH, KLEMMER IS GONNA PRESENT, UH, WHAT'S BECOME AN IMPORTANT CHECK-IN FOR US, UH, THE SECOND QUARTER BUDGET REPORT.
UM, WE'VE BEEN KEEPING YOU UPDATED ON A NUMBER OF TRENDS, AND, UH, BOB WILL TOUCH ON A COUPLE OF THOSE, UH, MORE IMPORTANT ITEMS THAT WE'RE MONITORING, AS WELL AS, UH, PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT ABOUT HOW WE'RE, UH, APPROACHING, UM, THOSE CHALLENGES AS THEY PRESENT THEMSELVES.
SO BOB, THANKS FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
AS DON MENTIONED,
UM, BUT AS DON MENTIONED, WE WE WANT TO TAKE THIS, UH, TIME TO, UH, PROVIDE YOU AN UPDATE ON THE CITY'S FIVE, UH, MAIN OPERATING FUNDS THROUGH THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THE YEAR.
UH, THE GENERAL FUND, OUR LARGEST FUND, UM, ABOUT 118.8 MILLION, OR 66% COMPARED TO 114 MILLION LAST YEAR, OR 64%.
SO WE ARE SLIGHTLY ABOVE LAST YEAR'S PACE, AND THERE ARE A COUPLE CHALLENGES THAT WE'VE SEEN.
UH, TOTAL PROPERTY TAXES OF, UH, 73 POINT, UH, 2 MILLION COMPARED TO 68.9 MILLION.
AGAIN, THAT'S, UH, BASED ON PROPERTY VALUES.
UM, AND, AND THE TAX RATE CURRENT TAXES ARE, AND, AND PENALTIES AND INTEREST ARE PERFORMING AS ANTICIPATED NOW.
WE ARE SEEING A SLIGHT DECLINE, UH, ROUGHLY ABOUT $600,000 IN THE PRIOR YEAR TAXES, UH, CATEGORY, UM, TAXPAYERS ARE ALLOWED TO APPEAL THEIR, UM, THEIR VALUES THROUGH THE A RB PROCESS.
AND IF THEY DON'T, UM, IF THEY'RE STILL NOT SATISFIED, THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO, UH, FILE AN APPEAL THROUGH THE DISTRICT COURT.
UM, THEN THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO, UH, BEGIN TO PAY ON THAT VALUE SET BY THE A RB PROCESS.
BUT AS THEY GO THROUGH THAT DISTRICT COURT PROCESS, THEY MIGHT END UP OWING A LITTLE BIT MORE OR A LITTLE BIT LESS.
AND IN THIS CASE, THEY OWED A LITTLE BIT LESS.
IF YOU REMEMBER LAST YEAR, UM, DCA WAS HIT BY A CYBER ATTACK, THAT'LL CAUSE THEM TO DELAY BEING ABLE TO PROCESS SOME OF THOSE, AND IT CROSSED INTO FISCAL YEAR.
AND, AND THAT'S WHAT'S HITTING HERE.
WE DON'T EXPECT THAT TO GET WORSE.
WE THINK THAT'S ABOUT, ABOUT WORST CASE SCENARIO RIGHT NOW.
UH, BUT THAT'S ALL DUE TO THE DELAY THAT THE CYBER ATTACK CAUSED ON DALLAS COUNTY, UM, SALES TAX.
THIS ONE IS ONE THAT WE'VE KIND OF BEEN FAMILIAR WITH THROUGH THE FIRST SIX MONTHS.
UH, WE WERE, UM, 24.4 MILLION COMPARED TO 25.6 MILLION LAST YEAR.
THAT'S 1.26 MILLION BELOW LAST YEAR, AND ABOUT $1 MILLION BELOW OUR ADOPTED BUDGET.
NOW, SINCE THIS REPORT, WE'VE RECEIVED BOTH APRIL AND MAY, UH, AFTER THAT, WE ARE ABOUT 2 MILLION BELOW LAST YEAR AND ABOUT 1.84 MILLION BELOW THE BUDGET.
UM, YOU'LL SEE BASED ON THIS, THAT HAS BEEN SIX MONTHS, CONSECUTIVE MONTHS OF DECLINE YEAR OVER THE YEAR, UM, WHEN WE LOOKED INTO SOME OF THAT DETAIL, UH, THE FINANCE AND RENTALS CATEGORY, WHICH IS PREDOMINANTLY, UH, SALES TAX FROM LEASES ON, UM, OFFICE FURNITURE AND OFFICE EQUIPMENT.
UH, THAT CATEGORY IS DOWN 2.4 MILLION AS OF THE END OF APRIL.
WE DON'T HAVE THE DETAIL THROUGH MAY YET.
UH, SO THAT'S WHERE THE BIGGEST DECLINE IS.
AND WE DID SEE A LITTLE BIT OF A, A DECLINE IN THE WHOLESALE TRADE.
AGAIN, IT'S RELATED TO OFFICE EQUIPMENT AND SOME SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT.
UH, BUT SOME OF THAT WAS DUE TO AN AUDIT ADJUSTMENT.
UH, WE ARE SEEING THE REST OF THE CATEGORIES MOSTLY FLAT WITH, UH, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND CONSTRUCTION CATEGORY.
WE'RE SEEING AN INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR.
UM, THE REMAINING REVENUES, FRANCHISE FEES ARE PERFORMING AS ANTICIPATED NOW, THE MILDER, UM, FALL, UH, WINTER AND, AND SPRING.
SO WE, WE HAVE, UH, ELECTRIC FRANCHISES TRENDING A LITTLE BIT UP, OFFSETTING, UH, GAS FRANCHISES BEING A LITTLE BIT DOWN.
LICENSING PERMITS ARE, UH, EXCEEDING OUR EXPECTATIONS.
SOME OF THAT IS A RESULT OF SOME FY 23 REVENUE THAT WASN'T RECEIVED IN UNTIL FY 24.
BUT THAT CATEGORY AS A WHOLE, UH, IS, IS PERFORMING FAIRLY WELL.
UM, THE OTHER REMAINING, UH, THE OTHER REVENUE SUBCATEGORY IS BEING IMPACTED BY, UM, SOME GOOD WORK AT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ON AMBULANCE REVENUE.
UM, THEY HAVE A NEW PROGRAM WHERE THEY'RE REVIEWING SOME OF THE BILLING.
IT'S NOT THAT THEY WERE ARE, WE'RE BEING BILLED INCORRECTLY, IT'S JUST NOW WE'RE BEING A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFIC ON HOW WE'RE BILLING THAT, WHICH IS INCREASING.
UM, OUR, OUR INSURANCE REIMBURSEMENT, UH, THE REMAINING CATEGORIES ARE PERFORMING AS ANTICIPATED, BUT INTEREST, YOU'LL SEE THAT ACROSS ALL FUNDS.
TOTAL EXPENDITURES OF, UH, $70 MILLION OR 46% COMPARED TO 68, 6 0.8 PER, UH, MILLION LAST YEAR.
ALL CATEGORIES ARE PERFORMING AT OR OR BELOW EXPECTATIONS THROUGH THE FIRST SIX MONTHS.
SO KIND OF AS A SUMMARY OF THE FUND, UH, WE KNOW THAT THERE IS SOME
[00:30:01]
CHALLENGES THERE, UH, WHETHER IT'S, UH, MAINLY SALES TAX, BUT SOME OF THE, THE PROPERTY TAX CHALLENGES.BUT WE KNOW THAT'S NOT THE WHOLE PICTURE.
SO TO KIND OF, TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A, A STATUS REPORT AS A WHOLE, THROUGH THIS REPORT, UH, WE'RE PROJECTING THAT THE, UM, TOTAL GENERAL FUND REVENUE WOULD BE ABOUT $560,000 BELOW, UM, SOME OF THE STRENGTH THAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE AMBULANCE REVENUE AND INTER INSURANCE OR INTEREST, UH, REVENUE, AS WELL AS, UM, SOME OF THE BUILDING PERMIT REVENUE AND SOME OF THE, WE'VE HAD SOME, SOME ONETIME REVENUES COME IN THAT'S KIND OF HELPING TO DAMPEN SOME OF THAT.
NOW WE KNOW THAT THAT'S ONLY HALF THE STORY.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE STRATEGIC ON OUR HIRING PROCESS OR, OR HIRING, UH, UH, POSITIONS MINDFUL OF SOME OF THE, UM, UH, PROGRESS WE'VE MADE IN RECENT YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF.
UH, WE DON'T WANNA STIFLE THAT, BUT OUR, OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS HAVE BEEN TASKED WITH CONTINUING TO MONITOR THEIR OPERATING BUDGET TO IDENTIFY THINGS, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, CONTRACTS OR OTHER DISCRETIONARY SPENDING THAT CAN HELP OFFSET THIS, THIS REVENUE SHORTFALL.
UM, SO RIGHT CURRENTLY, YOU KNOW, YEAH, THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO MONITOR, BUT WE, WE FEEL THAT, UH, THE GENERAL FUND IS STILL IN, IN FAIRLY GOOD.
UH, HEALTH RIGHT NOW, THE WATER FUND, UH, THROUGH THE FIRST SIX MONTHS, 51.5 MILLION COMPARED TO 45.3 MILLION LAST YEAR.
UH, UH, WATER AND SEWER REVENUE MAKE UP ABOUT 98% OF THE, UH, IN REVENUE IN THE FUND.
SO THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE GONNA SEE MOST OF THE INCREASE TOTAL WATER SALES.
UM, YOU'LL SEE, UH, OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER, UH, WERE UP.
OCTOBER WAS IMPACTED BY, UH, IRRIGATION.
UH, NOVEMBER SAW AN INCREASE IN SOME MANUFACTURING, UH, USAGE.
UH, BUT THE REMAINING MONTHS ARE FAIRLY TRACKING AS WE ANTICIPATED.
UH, HOW DOES THAT TRANSLATE INTO REVENUE? UH, THROUGH THE FIRST SIX MONTHS, WE'RE ABOUT $1.6 MILLION ABOVE OUR TARGET, UH, WITH MOST OF THAT COMING IN THE FIRST TWO MONTHS.
UH, THE REMAINING MONTHS, THE LAST FOUR MONTHS HAVE BEEN TRACKING FAIRLY CONSISTENT WHERE WE ANTICIPATED IT BEING.
UH, SEWER REVENUE IS, IS TRACKING AS ANTICIPATED ABOUT $371,000 UP, UH, IN THAT, UH, CATEGORY THERE.
UH, INTEREST EARNINGS, OTHER REVENUE, AND LATE CHARGES ARE ALL, UH, OUTPACING OUR EXPECTATIONS.
THE OTHER REVENUE CATEGORY IS BEING IMPACTED BY ABOUT $574,000, UH, FUND BALANCE TRUE UP BY OUR, THE WATER DISTRICT THROUGH OUR NEW CONTRACT, UH, EVERY COUPLE YEARS THEY EVALUATE THEIR, THEIR FINANCIAL POSITIONS, AND THEN THEY REBATE, UH, ANY EXCESS FUND BALANCE BACK TO THE CITIES.
UH, IN, IN THIS CASE, UH, THAT'S 574,000.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE EVER PLANNED FOR OR KNOW ABOUT UNTIL IT HAPPENS.
UM, BUT, UH, THAT'S OBVIOUSLY GOOD NEWS FOR THE FUND.
UH, SERVICE FEES ARE CURRENTLY UP.
UH, IT WAS RELATED TO A $339,000, UH, REIMBURSEMENT FOR SOME HAZMAT CLEANUP AT, UH, METER INSTALLATIONS, THOUGH ARE TRACKING SLIGHTLY BELOW OUR EXPECTATIONS THROUGH THE FIRST SIX MONTHS.
UH, TOTAL EXPENDITURES OF 41.3 MILLION, ABOUT 48% IS TRACKING ROUGHLY ABOUT THE SAME AS IT DID LAST YEAR.
HAD SOME, UH, ISSUES, NOT ISSUES, BUT SOME DELAYS AND SOME PAYMENTS ON, UH, OUR, UH, WATER CONTRACTS.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT ON HISTORICAL BASIS, WE'RE, WE'RE PER, UH, TRACKING ABOUT WHERE WE ANTICIPATED THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CATEGORY IS BEING IMPACTED BY, UH, SOME FY 23 ENC CONFERENCES THAT ROLLED INTO 24, BUT ARE PAID OUT OF A, A RESERVE OF FUND BALANCE.
SO WE'RE NOT SEEING ANY ADVERSE IMPACT THERE.
UH, THE REMAINING CATEGORIES ARE TRACKING AS ANTICIPATED THROUGH THE FIRST SIX MONTHS SOLID WASTE.
UH, THIS FUND IS TRACKING, UH, BOTH REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE, EXACTLY HOW WE ANTICIPATED THROUGH THE FIRST SIX MONTHS, ROUGHLY 50% OF REVENUE.
AND THAT'S, UH, TRADITIONALLY WHAT WE SEE THROUGH THE FIRST SIX MONTHS.
UH, TOTAL EXPENDITURES, UH, 50.6% COMPARED TO 52% LAST YEAR.
AND, AND THAT'S SLIGHTLY BELOW OUR, OUR TYPICAL, UM, UH, TREND.
WE, WE ARE SEEING SOME, UM, SAVINGS ON THE, THE VACANCY SIDE.
UM, BUT AS A WHOLE, THE FUND IS PERFORMING, UH, ABOUT, AS WE ANTICIPATED A LITTLE BIT LESS OR A LITTLE BIT BELOW OUR ANTICIPATION.
UM, GOLF FUND CONTINUES TO, UH, BE A GOOD STORY THERE.
UH, $1.2 MILLION OR $1.3 MILLION COMPARED TO 1.2 MILLION LAST YEAR, UH, GOLF COURSE REVENUE.
THE, THE GREEN FEES IN THAT ARE PERFORMING, UH, VERY WELL, DESPITE THE FACT HAVING ONLY ONE COURSE OPEN.
UM, THE OTHER REVENUE CATEGORIES BEING IMPACTED BY ABOUT $122,000.
ONE-TIME, RECOVERY OF PRIOR YEAR EXPENSES, ROUNDS PLAYED.
REMEMBER WE ANTICIPATED, UH, COURSE TWO BEING CLOSED.
SO ROUNDS WERE, WERE DAMPENED, UH, WE'RE, UH, 35,262 ROUNDS THROUGH THE END OF MARCH COMPARED TO 38,049 LAST YEAR.
UM, THIS IS, UH, OUR TARGET THROUGH THE FIRST SIX MONTHS WAS ONLY ABOUT 26, 20
[00:35:01]
7,000.UM, YOU'LL SEE THERE THAT, UH, EVEN WITH COURSE ONE OR COURSE TWO CLOSED TO CONTINUE TO SEE STRONG PLAY OUT THERE.
RONNIE'S GROUP IS DOING A GREAT JOB.
AND WE'RE, AND WE'RE SEEING THAT, UM, IT HAS IN THE REVENUE, UH, TOTAL EXPENDITURES TRACKING, UH, ACTUALLY A LITTLE BIT, UH, BELOW WHERE WE ANTICIPATED IT BEING, UH, 1.2 MILLION COMPARED TO 1.2 MILLION LAST YEAR.
UH, AGAIN, UH, PERFORMING HAS ANTICIPATED THERE WERE SOME TIMING ISSUES ON SOME MAINTENANCE WHEN YOU COMPARE YEAR TO YEAR.
BUT OVERALL PERFORMING HAS ANTICIPATED HOTEL FUND, UH, 3.9, ALMOST $4 MILLION OF REVENUE, 44.8% COMPARED TO 3.4 MILLION LAST YEAR, OR 44.1%.
SO ROUGHLY THE SAME PACE AS LAST YEAR.
UH, HOTEL TAXES CONTINUE TO OUTPACE OUR EXPECTATIONS.
UH, WE FINISHED THE SECOND QUARTER, UH, 20,500 ABOVE LAST YEAR, AND 147,000 ABOVE OUR TARGET THROUGH THE FIRST SIX MONTHS.
UH, INTEREST EARNINGS, AGAIN, OUTPACING ALL OF OUR EXPECTATIONS, UH, PARKING, GARAGE REVENUE, AND OTHER REVENUE CATEGORIES ARE PERFORMING AS ANTICIPATED.
WE ARE SEEING A SLIGHT DECLINE IN THE EISMAN CENTER.
AND EISMAN CENTER PRESENTS REVENUE THROUGH THE FIRST SIX MONTHS TOTAL EXPENDITURES OF 3.7 MILLION, UH, ROUGHLY WHERE WE ANTICIPATED IT BEING.
SOME OF THAT IS IMPACTED BY THE TIMING OF WHEN THEIR EVENTS HAPPENED, BUT WE'RE NOT SEEING ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY.
UM, THERE WAS SOME, UM, SAVINGS EARLY PART OF THE YEAR FROM VACANCIES, BUT AT THE TIME OF THIS REPORT, HEISMAN CENTER IS COM, UH, FULLY STAFFED.
SO WE ANTICIPATE THAT, THAT CATEGORY EVEN AND OUT THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE YEAR.
BUT, UM, AT THAT POINT, IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? MR. CORCORAN? UH, THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR.
BOB, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I MEAN, I THINK IT'S REALLY INTERESTING.
I FEEL LIKE PRESENTATIONS LIKE THIS PUT DURES ANY SORT OF ARGUMENTS THAT CITIES CAN RELY ON SALES TAX ONLY AS A REALLY, LIKE STEADY SOURCE OF INCOME, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE HAVE TO HAVE THAT PROPERTY TAX BACKBONE.
UM, WHAT'S, WHAT'S INTERESTING, I GUESS I SAW THAT IT, YOU KNOW, SEWER REVENUES ARE OUTPACING THE FORECAST, LIKE YOU SAID, BY $371,000, AND WE HAVE THAT UNANTICIPATED REVENUE OF 57 OR $570,000.
UH, AND THAT PROJECTED GENERAL FUND BUDGET SHORTFALL IS PROJECTED AROUND THAT AMOUNT.
I MEAN, IS THERE ANY SORT OF WAY THAT THE FUNDS CAN COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER TO OFFSET THAT OR THINGS THAT WE CAN DO IN ONE FUND THAT OFFSET THE OTHER? I MEAN, HOW DOES, I DON'T KNOW.
I'M JUST KIND OF WONDERING IF Y'ALL ARE THINKING OF ANYTHING LIKE THAT OR HOW THEY WORK.
I MEAN, FOR THE MOST PART, THEY, THEY DO OPERATE SEPARATE, YOU KNOW, RIGHT.
THERE, THERE ARE SOME, WE WILL SEE SOME BENEFIT FROM THE INCREASED REVENUE MM-HMM.
UH, BUT TRADITIONALLY THE REVENUE THAT COMES IN THE WATER FUND YEAH.
NOW, THERE, THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT THE WATER FUND COULD POSSIBLY HELP OUT WITH.
THAT'S TYPICALLY ON THE CAPITAL PROJECT SIDE.
SO, UH, A SHORT ANSWER'S KIND OF, NO, NOT REALLY THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE KIND OF SEPARATE, BUT YEAH.
UH, BUT WE, WE ARE MINDFUL OF, OF WHAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE CONDITION OF ALL OF OUR FUNDS ARE AND WHETHER OR NOT WHAT'S THE APPROPRIATE PLACE TO FUND SOME OF THOSE ITEMS. BUT THAT'D BE SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD CONTINUE TO, TO KEEP AN EYE ON.
SO WHAT HAPPENS TO THE, I MEAN, NOT JUST FOLLOWING UP TO OUTTA CURIOSITY, WHAT HAPPENS TO THAT EXCESS REVENUE OR, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE, WELL, THE, THE LAST COUPLE YEARS WE, WE'VE, WE'VE USED THAT TO BUY DOWN, UH, THE DEBT WE'VE NEEDED.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE SOME VERY AGGRESSIVE CAPITAL PROJECTS PLANNED.
AND, AND WE'VE KIND OF, UM, EDGED A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN THAT, KNOWING THAT WE NEEDED THIS CAPITAL PROGRAM THAT WE WERE, UH, AIMING TO, TO KIND OF MINIMIZE THE AMOUNT OF DEBT WE'RE ISSUING ON THAT.
SO THE SALES, THE PART, UM, WHERE YOU DO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE HIGH LEVEL TRENDS WITH THE SALES TAX AND WHERE IT'S DOWN, IS THIS, ARE THESE INSIGHTS THAT WE JUST HAVE FROM, UH, THE COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE? OR ARE THESE THE RESULTS OF THAT CONSULTANT THAT WE HIRED TO LOOK DEEPER INTO THE DATA? UH, THESE ARE, UH, BOB, BOB AND, AND KENT AND OTHERS.
GOOD WORK, UM, AS, UH, BASED ON THE DATA THAT'S AVAILABLE, BUT WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK YET FROM THE ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS THAT WE'RE WE'RE CONDUCTING.
I WAS GONNA SAY, I HOPE YOU DIDN'T PAY FOR THAT.
I MEAN, IT WAS GREAT, GREAT WORK ON THE FRONT END.
BUT I, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I WOULD EXPECT SOMETHING WAY MORE SPECIFIC.
SO WE'RE, YEAH, WE, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE TRENDS HERE AND, AND KEEPING TRACK, BUT WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT WHAT ARE THEY IN, IN THE AREA AS WELL AS THE YEAH.
THE METRO OR THE, NOT ONLY THE METROPLEX, BUT THE STATE.
[00:40:01]
WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF THE SAME TRENDS, UH, IN OTHER AREAS.SO, UH, I APPRECIATE THAT SIDE, MATT, BOB, JUST GO BACK TO THE SLIDE THAT SHOWS THE 600 OR SO THOUSAND DOLLARS SHORTFALL IN REVENUE.
I JUST WANT YOU TO MAKE THE, JUST, JUST CLARIFY, UM, JOE, 'CAUSE I THINK YOUR QUESTION WAS, IF THAT SHORTFALL IN REVENUE EXISTS, YOU KNOW, WOULD WE TAKE SOME DOLLARS FROM WATER AND TRANSFER IT OVER, FOR INSTANCE? YEAH, MAN, YOU CAN.
BUT BOB MAKE THE POINT OF, UM, WE BELIEVE THAT EVEN WITH THE SHORTFALL IN REVENUE, THE SAVINGS WILL ACTUALLY, UM, MORE THAN MAKE UP FOR THAT AND WILL STILL HAVE, WILL STILL BE, UH, POSITIVE.
YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY SALES TAX IS BIG ONES OUR SECOND LARGEST, UH, REVENUE SOURCE.
SO, UM, ANY KIND OF DECLINE IN THAT IS, IS GONNA HURT.
AND, AND WE KNOW THAT, UH, BY LOOKING AT SOME OF THE OTHER TRENDS AND SOME OF THE OTHER AREAS, UH, THAT THERE IS SOME PARTIAL OFFSETS.
AGAIN, WE KNOW THAT THAT'S ONLY HALF THE EQUATION.
UM, SOME OF THESE ARE ONE TIME, SO WE WILL HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF, OF NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET.
UH, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE STRONG, UH, AMBULANCE REVENUE, UH, INTEREST RATES, WE ANTICIPATE CONTINUING THROUGH AND, AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE SEEING LICENSING PERMITS CONTINUE TO BE STRONG.
SO ALL OF THOSE ARE, ARE HELPING TO OFFSET THAT.
UH, IT'S KIND OF HARD, HARD TO OFFSET YOUR SECOND LARGEST REVENUE SOURCE CONSISTENTLY.
UM, BUT SO WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE KEEPING AN EYE ON THAT TO SEE IF THAT TURNS AROUND.
UM, BUT, BUT, BUT THIS IS JUST REVENUE.
I DON'T, I DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO HAVE, GET THE IMPRESSION THAT WE'RE SAYING WE'RE GONNA END UP $600,000 IN THE NEGATIVE AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
WE DON'T END UP IN THE NEGATIVE.
THAT'S NOT A THING THAT HAPPENS.
OUR, OUR, OUR DEPARTMENTS ARE DOING A GOOD JOB OF MONITORING THEIR PRIVILEGE THAT WE HAVE OUR, OUR BIWEEKLY, UH, STAFF MEETINGS AND, AND THEY'RE VERY AWARE THAT, UH, REVENUE COULD BE TIGHT.
UH, AND, AND THEY'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, CHARGED WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE THEY'VE ALWAYS DONE.
I MEAN, THEY, OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS HAVE ALWAYS YEAH.
BEEN VERY GOOD STEWARDS AND THEY WILL CONTINUE TO, TO DO SO.
UM, BUT BEING MINDFUL ON SERVICE DELIVERY AND THAT KIND OF STUFF, UH, BUT THEY, THEY'VE BEEN ASKED TO, TO REVIEW THEIR, THEIR OPERATING BUDGETS.
DON, JUST SO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT I'M, I AM CLEAR THAT IT'S UNDER SURE.
IT'S JUST UNDER BUDGET, NOT THAT WE'RE GONNA END THE YEAR.
I JUST WANTED TO, IF IF SOMEONE'S LOOKING AT THAT NUMBER AND YOU, YOU DON'T KNOW THE CONTEXT, IT'S EASY TO JUST THINK WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE SAYING WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE END THE YEAR, RIGHT? YEAH.
MY MY LAST QUESTION ACTUALLY FOLLOWS UP RIGHT ON THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, ANTICIPATING, UH, THOSE YOU'VE MENTIONED HERE, LIKE YOU'RE ANTICIPATING SOME UNFILLED ROLES TO GIVE US SAVINGS AS WELL.
I MEAN, ARE WE ALTERING A HIRE ANY SORT OF HIRING STRATEGIES, YOU KNOW, GOING FORWARD FOR THE REST OF YOU? YEAH, SO WHAT I'VE DIRECTED, WHAT, WHAT I'VE ASKED THE, THE, UM, DEPARTMENT HEADS TO DO IS, UM, THERE'S SOME, THERE'S SOME POSITIONS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED.
PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, WATER, SEWER, UH, FRONTLINE STREETS, UM, MECHANICS IN, YOU KNOW, FLEET TECHNICIANS, UH, CUSTODIAN, YOU KNOW, THINGS OF THAT NATURE THAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO POST.
AND WE'RE GONNA HIRE JUST LIKE WE'VE BEEN DOING MM-HMM,
AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW.
WE HAVEN'T CHANGED ANY OF OUR, I WOULD SAY WE HAVEN'T CHANGED ANY OF OUR HIRING PRACTICES AND PUBLIC SAFETY ARE THE HARD TO FILL POSITIONS.
WE'RE GONNA KEEP OUR FOOT ON THE GAS ON THOSE.
THEY'RE JUST SOME OTHER POSITIONS THAT, UM, WE FEEL LIKE WE CAN AT LEAST EVALUATE AND DECIDE WHETHER THEY NEED TO, FOR INSTANCE, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY TURNS IN, YOU KNOW, THEIR LAST DAY'S FRIDAY AND WE'RE POSTING ON MONDAY ALREADY, OR ARE THERE SOME, SOME TIME, SOME, SOME TIME THAT WE CAN TAKE, UH, WITHOUT IMPACTING OUR OPERATIONS OR OUR PROGRAMS AND SERVICES.
I JUST WANNA ECHO THE REMARKS ON, ON SALES TEXT.
I THINK YOU'VE ALWAYS DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB IN BUILDING THE BUDGET ABOUT BEING VERY CONSERVATIVE IN THAT AREA AND NOT, UH, REALLY MAKING OUR BUDGET RELIANT ON IT.
AND THIS IS THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF WHY WE DON'T DO THAT.
SO AS YOU'RE BUILDING THE BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR, I JUST WANNA ENCOURAGE THE GREAT WORK YOU'VE DONE IN THE PAST AND CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
AND MAYBE A SCOTIA MORE CONSERVATIVE THAN WE, WE NORMALLY WORK.
'CAUSE YOU, YOU NEVER KNOW IT'S GONNA HAPPEN HERE.
BUT, UH, I JUST WANTED TO COMMEND THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE.
UH, IT'S ALLOWED US TO NOT HAVE A MUCH WORSE STORY THAN WE HAVE HERE TODAY.
UM, AND IT'S, IT'S NOT A BAD STORY, IT JUST IS, YOU KNOW, JUST POINTED OUT.
BUT, UM, THAT, THAT'S JUST KUDOS TO YOU AND TO KENT AND TO DON FOR, FOR ALWAYS BEING CONSERVATIVE IN THE WAY THAT YOU GO ABOUT THIS, THIS VARIABLE IN OUR BUDGET.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
AND YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT CITY OF CHARON, YOU GUYS MONITORED THE SALES TAX VERY CLOSELY, AND ALSO WE KNOW THAT THE SALES TAX HAS BEEN GOING UP LAST FEW YEARS.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THIS NUMBER MIGHT, YOU KNOW,
[00:45:01]
I'M NOT, UH, ECONOMIST, BUT I THINK THIS NUMBER MIGHT BE A GOOD SIGN, UH, IN A SENSE THAT I, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT LOOKING AT MUCH DETAIL, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE THOSE DETAILED INFORMATION, WHETHER THE DEFLATION IS HAPPENING, PRICE IS GOING DOWN ON PRODUCT, SOMETHING, UH, AND, UH, BECAUSE WE CAN, YOU KNOW, FOR LONG TERM, WE CAN'T REALLY SUSTAIN THIS, UH, PRICE GOING UP EVERY MONTH LIKE THAT INFLATION.SO WHAT DO YOU THINK? IS THAT SOMETHING THE PRICE GOING DOWN OR SOME OF THE STABILIZING, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, KEEP AN EYE ON.
I MEAN, HONESTLY, I, I HAVEN'T SEEN ENOUGH THAT SAYS THE PRICES ARE COMING DOWN.
UM, BUT THE BANKING INDUSTRY, UM, I'M NOT REALLY SEEING PRICES INVOLVED IN THAT.
I THINK IT'S, IT'S JUST, UM, KIND OF A, A REDUCTION IN, IN BUSINESS OVERALL FOR NOW.
UH, NOW COULD THAT BE, THERE COULD BE A LOT OF THINGS, THE ELECTION COMING UP, UH, INTEREST RATES, HOLDING OFF PURCHASING DECISIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, SO WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT WHOLESALE.
UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, A LOT OF THAT, ABOUT HALF OF IT WAS AN AUDIT ADJUSTMENT, BUT THERE ARE SOME REDUCTIONS ON THE, THE, UH, WHOLESALE, AGAIN RELATED TO SOME HIGH TECH EQUIPMENT.
UH, BUT THAT, AGAIN, BASED ON WHAT WE'RE SEEING, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S IT'S PRICE RELATED IT VERSUS JUST COMPANIES HOLDING OFF ON, ON WHAT THEY'RE PURCHASING FOR.
IF, IF YOU LOOK AT THE CATEGORY THAT BOB MENTIONED, THAT'S 2.4 MILLION DOWN, IT'S HIGHLY CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN OFFICE OCCUPANCY.
I MEAN, WE'VE BEEN, I'VE BEEN TALKING, YOU KNOW, KIND OF NONSTOP ABOUT OUR OFFICE, THE STATE OF OUR OFFICE, UM, UM, REAL ESTATE MARKET.
AND IF THE, UM, RENTALS, UH, FOR THINGS THAT PEOPLE UTILIZE WHEN THEY'RE IN AN OFFICE, UM, HAVE DRIED UP, IT'S NO SURPRISE BECAUSE OCCUPANCY IS DRIED UP.
AND SO I THINK IT'S, I THINK THAT'S A BIG DRIVER ON THIS.
IT'S REALLY JUST ANOTHER CONSEQUENCE ASSOCIATED WITH, UM, EITHER A HYBRID WORK SETTING OR COMPLETELY REMOTE WORK SETTING THAT I THINK IT'S, SO IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, THE, THE OFFICE MARKET AND THE ISSUES WE'RE HAVING THERE KIND OF REARING ITS HEAD IN ANOTHER WAY, UM, IN, IN TERMS OF SALES TAX.
AND SO I THINK THIS ADDITIONAL WORK THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE DONE, HOPEFULLY WILL VERIFY THAT FOR US.
UM, AND, UM, BUT YEAH, I AGREE WITH BOB.
UH, YOU KNOW, SPEAKING FOR, UH, THE CITY, WE HAVE DEFINITELY NOT SEEN PRICES COOL DOWN
AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, FOR THE COST OF MONEY IS STILL VERY HIGH FOR BUSINESS, WHICH COULD BE, UM, REALLY HAVING THEM, UH, DELAY OR EITHER, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF, UH, SLOW AT LEAST, UH, THE, THE PURCHASE THAT THEY'RE DOING, UM, FOR, FOR THEIR, UM, THEIR OPERATIONS.
WELL, THA THANK YOU FOR THIS CLARIFICATION.
I THINK THAT, UH, HELPS ME AT LEAST UNDERSTAND A LITTLE MORE TODAY.
BUT WITH THIS LESS EXPENDITURE, I THINK THIS WILL COOL DOWN THE PRICE EVENTUALLY, BECAUSE IF YOU TIGHTEN THE MONEY, UH, I THINK THAT'S, UH, HOPEFULLY THEN END OF THE YEAR PROBABLY WE'LL SEE, UH, INTEREST RATE CUT DOWN A LITTLE BIT MORE, RIGHT? SO, SO IT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, HOPEFULLY THIS IS JUST A TEMPORARY, MAYBE END OF THE YEAR THIS WILL PICK UP AGAIN.
UH, BUT WITH THAT, I'M NOT TOO CONCERNED ABOUT JUST THIS, YOU KNOW, 500,000, $600,000, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU ARE CONSERVATIVE ON THE OVERALL BUDGET ANYWAY.
UH, BUT AGAIN, I CAN SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS SO IMPORTANT.
THAT'S WHY THAT TO MONITOR THIS THING VERY CLOSELY AND, UH, BE CONSERVATIVE ON THE BUDGETS AND THAT WAY WE CAN PROTECT OURSELF.
ALRIGHT, BOB, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
[E. REPORT ON ITEMS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST ]
WE'RE GONNA GO TO ITEM E REPORT ON ITEMS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST COUNSEL.ANYONE LIKE TO COMMENT ON THEIR WEEK? MR. BARRIOS? THANK YOU, MAYOR.
ON SATURDAY, UH, MAYOR, YOU AND I HAD THE, UH, HONOR OF RIDING, UM, IN THE JJ PIERCE SENIOR PARADE.
SOMETHING STARTED OVER COVID AND THEY'VE STARTED, I GUESS, A NEW TRADITION OVER AT PIERCE HIGH SCHOOL.
UH, SO IT WAS GREAT TO BE OUT THERE WITH ALL THE SENIORS AND SEEING ALL THE PRIDE IN THE SCHOOLS THEY'LL BE GOING TO.
SO I'M SURE, UM, WE CAN SHARE THE SENTIMENT ON BEHALF OF MAYOR AND EVERYBODY JUST WISHING ALL THOSE GRADUATING SENIORS, NOT JUST AT PIERCE, BUT ELSEWHERE, UH, GREAT GRADUATION COMING WEEKS AND, UH, GOOD LUCK IN THE FUTURE.
ONE THING I WANTED TO SHARE THAT CAME TO MY ATTENTION BY A, UH, CONSTITUENT, UM, AND AND NEIGHBOR WAS THE RECENT PASSING OF DR. MARILYN RICE, WHO WAS A 43 YEAR EDUCATOR WITH RISD AND SERVED UNDER ZBA FOR 12 YEARS HERE AT RICHARDSON, THE CITY OF RICHARDSON.
UH, SO WHILE I PERSONALLY DID NOT KNOW HER, I DO KNOW THAT, UH, SHE, WHAT I HEAR, SHE ALSO HELPED START THE RICHARDSON HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, AND FROM RIGHT HERE, SHE'S WELL LOVED AND RESPECTED IN THE
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COMMUNITY.AND SO, UM, SO JUST WANTED TO KIND OF LET THE NAME THE CITY KNOW ANYBODY WHO MAY BE WATCHING AT HOME.
ALSO, UM, MANY THANKS TO HER FOR HER SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, WE GOT A LITTLE PREVIEW LAST MONDAY, BUT WE GOT A REALLY GREAT SHOW ON THURSDAY NIGHT FOR THE EISMAN CENTER PRESENTS 24 25 SERIES.
SO I JUST WANNA SHOUT OUT TO ALLY AND EVERYONE OVER AT THE EISMAN THAT PUT THAT TOGETHER, WHO HAS FANTASTIC.
AND TICKETS ARE ON SALE, SO, UM, LET'S SELL 'EM ALL OUT.
UM, JUST WANTED TO GIVE A QUICK PLUG FOR, UH, A SERIES OF EVENTS THAT SOME RESIDENTS HAVE REACHED OUT TO ME THROUGH HOSTING.
IT'S CALLED RICHARDSON, PICKUP AND PINES COMMUNITY CLEANUP.
IT ACTUALLY HAPPENS ON MONDAY NIGHTS AT FIVE 30, SO NONE OF US WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE, BUT, UM, BUT IT, IT DOES SEEM LIKE A REALLY GOOD GROUP THAT GOES AND CLEANS UP THE SPRING CREEK NATURE CENTER.
THEY MEET AT WHOLE FOOD, SO THEY CLEAN UP FOR, UH, TWO HOURS AND THEY COME BACK AND HAVE SOME BEERS.
SO, UH, IT'S, IT'S A PUBLIC GROUP ON FACEBOOK.
RICHARDSON, PICKUP AND PINTS COMMUNITY CLEANUP.
COUNSEL, ANY MORE COMMENTS, THOUGHTS, SHARING? ALRIGHT, WELL, I CAN'T HANG UP ON THE PHONE WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT THE DEMOLISHING OF THE CITY HALL AND THE PULLING IT DOWN, YOU KNOW, AND I, I WILL HAVE TO DO A LITTLE SHOUT OUT TO THE COUNCIL BECAUSE WE ARE A TEAM AND TOGETHER, I THINK WE COULD HAVE PULLED IT DOWN ON THE FIRST TRY HAD WE HAD ALL OF US THERE, SO I'M NOT THROWING ANYONE UNDER THE BUS.
HOWEVER, IN THIS CASE IT WAS A BULLDOZER.
SO WE, UM, BUT WE DID PULL IT DOWN AND IT WAS A GREAT EVENT AND WE CELEBRATED THE YEARS AND YEARS OF, UM, PEOPLE WORKING TOGETHER AS A FAMILY AND ACCOMPLISHING SO MUCH FOR THE CITY.
DON DID AN AMAZING JOB OF PRESENTING, AND I THINK THE PEOPLE THAT WERE THERE ENJOYED IT.
AND THEY'RE GONNA GET A LITTLE BRICK, A COMMEMORATIVE BRICK IN THE NEAR FUTURE THAT THEY COULD USE AS, YOU KNOW, THEIR MEMOIRS AS FAR AS WHAT TOOK PLACE THERE.
SO THAT WAS A LOT OF FUN, AND I THINK IT WAS A GREAT DAY.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
MR. SHAUL, I JUST WANTED TO ADD ONE THING HERE.
UH, BUT SINCE YOU MENTIONED ABOUT THE PULLING THE THINGS, MY MUSCLE REALLY WORKED GOOD THAT DAY.
BUT, UH, THE THING THAT I WANTED TO ADD ON THIS IS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE PRODUCT WOULD BE RECYCLED.
SO DEMOLITION PROCESS WILL GO A LITTLE SLOWER THAN YOU MIGHT THINK THAT BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA PICK UP EVERY PIECE POSSIBLE FOR RECYCLING.
SO, UH, WITH THOSE BRICK, I, I DON'T THINK WE CAN BUILD OUR HOUSE, BUT WE CAN PUT THAT, UH, IN ONE CORNER FOR THE MEMORY.
AND WE'LL GIVE US A LITTLE SHOUT OUT TO, UH, MR. KEFLER.
BILL KEFLER IS ONE OF OUR GUEST SPEAKERS, AND MR. CHUCK EMAN, THEY BOTH DID A WONDERFUL JOB OF PULLING THE THINGS TOGETHER AND IT WAS JUST A GREAT COMMUNITY EVENT.
WE'RE GONNA NOW GO TO THE VISITORS FORUM CONTINUED.
MS. EMER, DO WE HAVE ANYONE STILL IN THE AUDIENCE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK? NO SPEAKERS, MAYOR.
[EXECUTIVE SESSION]
THE CITY COUNCIL WILL NOW CONVENE INTO CLOSE EXECUTIVE SESSION IN COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 5 5, 1 0.0 8, 7 1, AND TWO OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE TO DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING DELIBERATION REGARDING ECONOMIC, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, NEGOTIATIONS, COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT, RENTER ROAD AND CUSTER ROAD AREA.AND WE WILL RECONVENE COUNSEL, LET'S SAY 7 0 5.