* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          [00:00:01]
          GOOD EVENING. 
          I CALL THIS MEETING OF THE RICHARDSON CITY COUNCIL TO ORDER AT 6:00 PM AT THIS TIME, I'D REFER TO CHAIR VARMA TO CALL THE CIEC TO ORDER, PLEASE. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR DUWE. 
          I CALLED THE COMMUNITY INCLUSION ENGAGEMENT COMMISSION TO ORDER, AND WE ARE NOW IN SESSION. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          [1. REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE COMMUNITY INCLUSION AND ENGAGEMENT COMMISSION STRATEGIC PLAN.]
ITEM NUMBER ONE ON THE AGENDA IS TO REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE COMMUNITY INCLUSION AND ENGAGEMENT COMMISSION STRATEGIC PLAN. 
          MR. MAGNER. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          MAYOR AND COUNCIL LEE ARE VERY EXCITED TONIGHT TO HAVE, UH, YOUR COMMISSION, UH, IN ATTENDANCE WITH US. 
          UH, ALSO IN ATTENDANCE IS, UH, RICK RAMSEY, A VERY, I'M SORRY, RICK ROBINSON FROM RAMSEY CONSULTING, A VERY FAMILIAR FACE, UM, UM, UH, HAS, UH, BEEN VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN HELPING YOU SET, UH, YOUR GOALS OF THE PAST, UH, SEVERAL TERMS, UH, ALSO WITH HIS IS OUR, UH, STAFF LIAISON TO THE COMMISSION, UH, GREG. 
          SO JUST AS A REMINDER, UH, IT WAS PART OF YOUR, UH, GOAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, UH, IN THAT SUMMER OF 2023, WHERE YOU, UH, MADE, UH, EVALUATING, ESTABLISHING SUCH A COMMISSION, A, A TACTIC THAT WAS DONE. 
          UH, AND IN NOVEMBER OF 2023, UH, YOU CREATED THE COMMISSION WHEN ABOUT, UH, THAT SPRING, THE IMPORTANT WORK OF APPOINTING, UH, THE FIRST MEMBERS OF THAT COMMISSION. 
          AND THEN GREG AND RICK AND THE WHOLE, UH, COMMISSION HAVE BEEN HARD AT WORK SINCE THEN, UH, DEVELOPING, UH, THE PLAN THAT YOU'LL BE PRESENTED TONIGHT. 
          AND SO WHAT WE'D LOVE TO DO IS, UH, SUBSEQUENT TO, UH, RICK'S PRESENTATION, I'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM THE COMMISSION AND THE COUNCIL AND HAVE A, ANY DIALOGUE, UH, THAT, THAT, UH, YOU FIND, UH, APPROPRIATE AS, UH, THE COMMISSION NOW EMBARKS ON THE IMPORTANT WORK OF IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN, UM, AND IN TERMS OF THE, THE NEXT STEPS FOR, UH, FOR THEIR WORK PLAN. 
          SO, GREG, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE DONE, UH, TO GET US TO THIS POINT. 
          I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU FOR FURTHER BRIEFING. 
          WELL, THANK YOU, SIR. 
          AND GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. 
          UH, WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE IS THE CULMINATION OF MANY MONTHS OF WORK THAT THE, UH, TEAM HAS, UH, GONE THROUGH TO PUT TOGETHER A, UH, PLAN FOR, UH, FOR THE WORK THAT THEY ARE GOING TO BE PROGRESSING ON. 
          OF COURSE, ALL THIS COINCIDES WITH YOUR COUNCIL GOALS, STRATEGIES, AND TACTICS. 
          AND IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, IT'S TO HAVE RESIDENTS UNDER THE GOAL, TO HAVE RESIDENTS AND STAKEHOLDERS CHOOSE. 
          RICHARDSON IS THE BEST PLACE TO LOCATE, CONTRIBUTE, AND ENGAGE. 
          AND SPECIFICALLY, THE TACTIC WAS TO EXPLORE THE CREATION OF A BOARD TO CELEBRATE AND PROMOTE DIVERSITY, INCLUSION, ACCEL ACCESSIBILITY, UH, ET CETERA. 
          SO AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS PROCESS, WE HAD THESE KEY PRIMARY PATH THAT THAT WAS, UH, SET UPON, IF YOU RECALL, AND THAT IS TO ESTABLISH THE COMMISSION, UH, WITH SOME CLEAR, A CLEAR PURPOSE IN CHARGE. 
          UH, RECRUIT THE DIVERSE MEMBERS THAT WE HAVE TODAY, PROVIDE TRAINING AND SUPPORT FOR THEM SO THAT THEY CAN SUCCEED IN IMPLEMENTING A PLAN. 
          AND THEY NEEDED, OF COURSE, TO DEVELOP THEIR STRATEGIC PLAN. 
          SO, AS WE LOOK AT A TIMELINE OF HOW WE GOT TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY, UH, OF COURSE, AUGUST 23RD, UH, SORRY, AUGUST OF 2023, UH, YOU CAME THROUGH WITH YOUR GOALS, YOUR STRATEGIES AND TACTICS, REALLY SETTING IN MOTION THE CREATION OF THIS COMMISSION. 
          IN OCTOBER OF 23, A DRAFT OF WHAT THIS COMMISSION COULD LOOK LIKE WAS BROUGHT BEFORE YOU. 
          AND WE TOOK YOUR FEEDBACK, UH, WHICH ESTABLISHED THE, THE PARAMETERS, THE GOALPOST OF WHAT THE WORK OF THIS GROUP WOULD DO. 
          AND THEN IN NOVEMBER, UH, AFTER TAKING YOUR FEEDBACK, UH, WE, WE IMPLEMENTED, OR SORRY, WE BROUGHT BEFORE YOU A FINAL PLAN TO APPROVE, TO SET FORWARD IN MOTION. 
          WHAT BRINGS US HERE TODAY. 
          UH, AND SO REALLY FROM NOVEMBER THROUGH MAY, AND, AND THAT'S ALSO THE TIME THAT THE NAME OF THE GROUP CAME TOGETHER. 
          AND SO FROM NOVEMBER TO MAY OF, UH, OF, UH, NOVEMBER 20TH, 2023 TO MAY OF 24 WAS THE TIME FOR RECRUITING YOUR MEMBERS. 
          AND SO THE CALL FOR APPLICATIONS WAS PUT OUT TO THE COMMUNITY. 
          YOU GUYS WENT THROUGH YOUR INTERVIEW PROCESS, AND MEMBERS WERE APPOINTED. 
          AND IN MAY, THEY WERE SWORN INTO THE POSITIONS THAT THEY HAVE TO, THEN IT WAS A PROCESS OF PROVIDING THAT TRAINING AND SUPPORT TO REALLY PROVIDE, UH, UH, A BASELINE OF WHAT IT IS THAT THEY, THAT THEY ARE LOOKING AT. 
          UH, SO WE BROUGHT IN JUNE, UH, THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES GROUP BROUGHT KIND OF A COMMUNITY PROFILE, GOING OVER A LOT OF DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION FOR THE, UH, OF THE COMMUNITY TO BRING BEFORE THEM AND TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT AREAS, UH, UH, AND GROUPS OF PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE. 
          UH, THEN IN JULY, WE FOLLOWED THAT UP WITH A, A, UH, CONSULTANT THAT WAS BROUGHT IN TO DO INCLUSIVITY TRAINING, BECAUSE WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE WORK OF THIS GROUP, IT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE MAY THINK IT'S JUST CULTURAL OR SOMETHING BASED LIKE THAT, BUT IT'S SO MUCH MORE. 
          IT COULD BE ACCESSIBILITY. 
          IT COULD BE THINGS THAT YOU WOULD NOT SEE, UH, THAT ARE NOT READILY AVAILABLE. 
          AND SO THIS IS THE TRAINING THAT THEY'VE GONE THROUGH SO THAT THEY COULD HAVE THIS LENS AS THEY LOOK TOWARDS MOVING FORWARD ON THE WORK THAT THEY WILL BE DOING. 
          AND THAT REALLY CONTINUED IN THROUGH AUGUST BECAUSE WE HAD THOSE TRAININGS. 
          BUT THEN THERE'S THE TRAINING THAT REALLY KIND OF HAPPENED WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN. 
          AND PART OF THAT IS SETTING, WELL, WHAT IS THAT PROCESS? BECAUSE THERE ARE NINE MEMBERS ON THE COMMISSION, EACH COMES WITH THEIR OWN BACKGROUNDS, THEIR OWN, 
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UH, UH, VIEWS. 
          AND SO IT'S PULLING THAT TEAM TOGETHER TO CREATE A STRATEGIC STRATEGIC PLAN MUCH LIKE YOU'RE ACCUSTOMED TO, UH, SO THAT THEY CAN MOVE FORWARD AGAIN ON THE WORK THAT THEY HAVE AHEAD. 
          AND SO TO HELP WITH THAT, WE PULLED IN RAMSEY CONSULTING GROUP. 
          THEY SPECIALIZE IN STRATEGIC PLANNING, LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, MEETING FACILITATION, PUBLIC SECTOR SERVICES. 
          AGAIN, ALL AREAS THAT THIS COMMISSION WILL BE INTERFACING WITH. 
          AND PART OF THAT IS RICK ROBINSON, UH, WHO HAS BEEN WORKING WITH THEM SINCE, SINCE AUGUST TO HELP THEM CREATE THEIR MISSION, THEIR VISION, TO FIND THEIR ROLE, COME UP WITH THEIR GOALS, AND OF COURSE, COME UP WITH THEIR STRATEGIES. 
          AGAIN, A PROCESS THAT'S, UH, I KNOW THAT RICK WORKING WITH YOU, UH, THAT YOU ARE VERY, VERY FAMILIAR WITH. 
          SO WITH THAT, WOULD LIKE TO HAVE RICK COME UP NOW AND TAKE YOU THROUGH THEIR PROCESS AND HELP, UH, BRING OUT, UH, WHAT, WHAT THEY'VE, THE WORK THAT THEY'VE ALIGNED FOR THEMSELVES AHEAD. 
          THANK YOU, GREG. 
          UH, AND I'D LIKE TO THANK GREG AND DON FOR INCLUDING ME IN THIS PROCESS AND FOR THE, UH, CONTINUED RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY OF RICHARDSON AND THE COUNCIL. 
          IT'S RARE THAT I GET TO TAKE ONE OF THE IDEAS THAT COMES FROM YOU GUYS, UH, WORKING WITH YOU GUYS, AND THEN SEE IT THROUGH TO THE NEXT LEVEL. 
          SO THIS IS PRETTY EXCITING FOR ME. 
          UH, THIS PRESENTATION IS GONNA FOLLOW THE FOLLOWING STRUCTURE. 
          UH, I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CONTEXT FIRST, ABOUT WHY THIS IS SO IMPORTANT. 
          MOST OF YOU WILL HAVE SEEN THESE SLIDES BEFORE, BUT IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO GET IN THE RIGHT MINDSET OF LOOKING AT WHY IS, WHY DOES, WHY DOES THIS WORK MATTER? WHY DOES STRATEGIC PLANNING MATTER? UH, FROM CONTEXT, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT THE PROCESS WE FOLLOW, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT BECAUSE IT'S NEW, UH, AND IT'S STARTING FROM SCRATCH. 
          MOST OF THE TIME YOU HAVE SOME HISTORY TO DEAL WITH, UH, YOU GOT A PLACE TO START FROM, AND WE DID NOT. 
          SO WE HAD TO CREATE THAT. 
          UH, THEN WE'LL LOOK AT THE ACTUAL CONTENT OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN, THE MISSION, VISION, GOALS AND STRATEGIES THAT WE DEVELOPED THROUGH THIS, UH, UH, AND THE ACTUAL WORK PRODUCT. 
          SO THAT IS BASICALLY THE AGENDA, THE CONTEXT THAT, UH, WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT. 
          NOW, EVERY ORGANIZATION COMES INTO EXISTENCE TO MEET A CERTAIN NEED TO FILL A NICHE. 
          UH, AND YOU HAVE THIS INITIAL SET OF GOALS THAT YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE, AND THAT'S THE RISE IN ONE SET OF GOALS. 
          UH, YOU WORK REALLY HARD AND YOU GET TO HORIZON ONE, BUT THEN YOU LOOK UP AND YOU SAY THERE IS, UH, THERE'S MORE THAT WE COULD GET. 
          THERE'S HORIZON TWO. 
          THIS HORIZON TWO SET OF GOALS AND LEADERSHIP IS WHAT'S GOING TO ENABLE US TO GET FROM HORIZON ONE TO HORIZON TWO. 
          IF YOU DON'T WANT TO GET BETTER RESULTS IN THE FUTURE, YOU DON'T NEED STRONG LEADERSHIP. 
          YOU JUST KEEP DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING. 
          YOU'LL KEEP GETTING WHAT YOU'RE GETTING. 
          AND WE BREAK IT DOWN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER. 
          UM, SO YOUR CURRENT PERFORMANCE IS THOSE, THE WAY YOU'RE PERFORMING TODAY, UH, YOUR CURRENT RESULTS ARE, UH, THOSE THINGS THAT ARE BEING DELIVERED. 
          SO RESULT SIDE OF THE EQUATION, THOSE THINGS ARE ALWAYS, UM, THE END OF PROCESS TYPE THINGS. 
          THOSE ARE THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE THINGS THAT SHOW UP ON A, UH, KPIS OR A DASHBOARD. 
          AND THOSE, THE THINGS ON THE PERFORMANCE SIDE OF THE EQUATION ARE YOUR PEACEFUL PROCESS, TECHNOLOGY, ET CETERA. 
          SO YOUR CURRENT PERFORMANCE IS DELIVERING YOUR CURRENT RESULTS. 
          AND IF YOU WANT BETTER RESULTS IN THE FUTURE, WHICH WE ALWAYS SEEM TO WANT, WE WANT MORE, UH, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO CHANGE SOMETHING ON THE PERFORMANCE SIDE OF THE EQUATION. 
          THIS MODEL EXPLAINS A LOT OF THINGS. 
          THIS MODEL EXPLAINS FOR ONE THING, EVERY SALE THAT'S EVER BEEN MADE, BECAUSE THERE'S PAIN ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGING YOUR, THE PERFORMANCE SIDE OF THE EQUATION. 
          THERE'S NO GROWTH WITHOUT A LITTLE BIT OF DISCOMFORT OR PAIN. 
          SO, UH, IN ORDER TO GO THROUGH THAT DISCOMFORT AND PAIN, YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT THE RESULTS YOU'RE GONNA GET IN THE FUTURE ARE GOOD ENOUGH AND WORTH THAT TRANSITION THAT YOU'RE GONNA GO THROUGH. 
          UM, SO TO TIE THIS BACK TO OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING, IN A VERY REAL SENSE, ALL STRATEGIC PLANNING WORK IS TO DETERMINE WHAT FUTURE RESULTS YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE. 
          SO THAT'S WHERE WE STARTED FROM, IS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHEN WE ARE SUCCESSFUL, WHEN THEY'RE SUCCESSFUL AS A COMMISSION, WHAT DOES THE WORLD LOOK LIKE? WHAT DOES THE CITY LOOK LIKE? WHAT HAS HAPPENED? THAT'S GONNA DETERMINE THAT THAT'S A RESULT. 
          AND THEN YOU CAN DETERMINE WHAT HAS TO CHANGE ON THE PERFORMANCE SIDE OF THE EQUATION IN ORDER TO GET THERE. 
          VERY SIMILAR TO THE PROCESS THAT WE TOOK YOU GUYS THROUGH AND HAVE TAKEN YOU GUYS THROUGH IN THE PAST. 
          TYPICALLY, OUR PROCESS STARTS WITH A SWOT ANALYSIS. 
          UH, BUT A SWOT ANALYSIS EVALUATES YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES. 
          AND AGAIN, AS I'VE 
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SHARED WITH YOU GUYS, STRENGTHS ARE ONLY STRENGTHS IF YOU CAN USE 'EM, WEEKS IS ONLY WEAKNESSES IF IT KEEPS YOU FROM GETTING WHERE YOU WANTED TO GO. 
          IT'S SINCE WE DIDN'T KNOW WHERE WE WANTED TO GO YET, IT'S KIND OF HARD TO DO AN EVALUATION OF WHAT THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OR WHAT THE OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS MIGHT BE. 
          UM, SO WE KIND OF DELAYED THE SWOT ANALYSIS UNTIL WE DETERMINED WHAT THE MISSION OF THE COMMISSION IS SINCE IT WAS COMPLETELY NEW. 
          SO WE STARTED THERE WITH THE MISSION AND VISION AND THE ROLE, WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THIS COMMISSION? UH, AND THEN WE WENT BACK AND DID THIS, UH, SWOT ANALYSIS TO TRY AND SEE WHAT STRENGTHS DO THEY HAVE TO LEVERAGE IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THAT VISION? WHAT ARE THE WEAKNESSES THAT NEED TO BE OVERCOME IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THE VISION AND ACCOMPLISH THE MISSION? WHAT OPPORTUNITIES, EXTERNAL OPPORTUNITIES ARE THERE THAT THEY CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF? AND WHAT ARE THE THREATS THAT ARE, UH, PRESENTED TO THEM? AND THEN FROM THAT MISSION AND VISION, THEN WE DEVELOPED A HIGH LEVEL BALLOT SCORECARD SET OF GOALS, WHICH IS, SHOULD BE VERY FAMILIAR TO YOU GUYS. 
          UH, AS GREG MENTIONED, THERE WAS A SERIES OF MEETINGS WE STARTED IN AUGUST, UH, ENDED IN DECEMBER. 
          UH, AND, UH, I WON'T GO THROUGH THE DETAIL OF EACH INDIVIDUAL MEETING, BUT EACH MEETING WE ACCOMPLISHED DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN. 
          SO THIS WILL BE THE LAST SLIDE WITH A LITTLE CONTEXT. 
          SO AS YOU, JUST TO KIND OF MAKE SURE WE'RE USING THE TERMINOLOGY ALL THE SAME WAY, WE HAVE AN ANALOGY OF A BUILDING. 
          UH, YOUR MISSION IS THE FOUNDATION. 
          IT'S THE REASON THAT YOU EXIST. 
          IT'S YOUR FUNDAMENTAL REASON FOR BEING. 
          SO THAT'S A MISSION STATEMENT. 
          A VISION IS AN ASPIRATIONAL STATEMENT OF WHAT YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH. 
          SO IT NEEDS TO BE AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE, WE WANT THESE THINGS TO BE TRUE. 
          AND BY DEFINITION, A MISSION IS GONNA BE KIND OF FUZZY. 
          WE FURTHER DEFINE THE VISION, UH, BY A SET OF BALANCED SCORECARD GOALS. 
          THIS GIVES IT A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL. 
          UH, TYPICALLY THERE'S A GOAL FOR YOUR FINANCES. 
          UH, A GOAL FOR YOUR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, A GOAL FOR YOUR INTERNAL PROCESSES, AND A GOAL FOR YOUR CULTURES OR YOUR EMPLOYEES. 
          SO THE ROOF OF THE BUILDING IS THE GOALS. 
          AND IF I WANT TO GET TO THE ROOF OF A BUILDING AND I'M ON THE GROUND FLOOR, I'M GONNA HAVE TO TAKE THE STAIRS. 
          THE STAIRWELL ARE BROAD AVENUES OF EFFORT. 
          THOSE ARE STRATEGIES EVERY, AND THEN YOU NEED TO REST AND CHECK YOUR PROGRESS. 
          THOSE ARE OBJECTIVES. 
          UM, OBJECTIVES IS WHERE MEASUREMENT COMES IN, AND THE INDIVIDUAL STEPS YOU TAKE TO ACHIEVE THE OBJECTIVES. 
          THOSE ARE TACTICS. 
          SO THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE I'VE SEEN ALL OF THESE TERMS USED INTERCHANGEABLY, AND THEY'RE NOT, EACH, EACH LITTLE ELEMENT HAS A DIFFERENT PURPOSE. 
          SO WE'RE GONNA START WITH THE MISSION AND THE VISION. 
          UH, AND BECAUSE THEY WERE NEW, WE HAD THEM DEFINE IN THEIR OWN WORLD WORDS WHAT THEIR ROLE IS. 
          SO THE, THE MISSION STATEMENT THAT WAS DEVELOPED, UH, THROUGH A SERIES OF EXERCISES WITH THE COMMISSION IS THIS. 
          THE MISSION OF THE CIEC IS TO CREATE A MORE INCLUSIVE AND ENGAGED COMMUNITY BY PROVIDING STRATEGIC ADVOCACY AND THOUGHTFUL RECOMMENDATIONS, FOCUSED ON ENHANCING STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, AMPLIFYING UNDERREPRESENTED VOICES, AND FOSTERING A STRONGER SENSE OF CONNECTION, BELONGING, AND TRUST IN CITY PROGRAMS, PROJECTS AND SERVICES, ENSURING EVERYONE FEELS VALUED AND INCLUDED. 
          AS A REMINDER, THIS IS WHAT THEY CONSIDERED IS THEIR FUNDAMENTAL REASON FOR BEING, THAT'S THEIR MISSION. 
          THIS IS THE FOUNDATION OF OUR BUILDING. 
          THE ASPIRATIONAL STATEMENT OF OUR VISION IS FOR RICHARDSON TO BE RECOGNIZED BY ALL STAKEHOLDERS AS A PLACE WHERE EVERYONE FEELS WELCOME, INCLUDED, VALUED AND EMPOWERED TO PARTICIPATE, CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL TO THRIVE AS MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY. 
          SO THAT'S THE ASPIRATIONAL, KIND OF IN THE CLOUDS. 
          AND THEN WE, UH, IN A MINUTE WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE, THE GOALS, WHICH FURTHER DEFINE THAT. 
          BUT IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US FOR THEM TO DEFINE WHAT THEIR ROLE WAS, UH, SO THAT THEY COULD ALL BE ON THE SAME PAGE. 
          SO THEY VIEW THEIR ROLE AS, AS AN ACTIVE ADVISORY BOARD. 
          THE CIEC PROVIDES DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES AND MEANINGFUL INPUT TO THE CITY COUNCIL ON INITIATIVES THAT PROMOTE INCLUSIVITY, STRENGTHEN COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS, AND ENHANCE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, WHILE ALSO FULFILLING ADDITIONAL DUTIES AS DIRECTED TO ENSURE EVERY VOICE IN OUR DIVERSE COMMUNITY IS VALUED AND HEARD. 
          SO THAT IS, UH, HOW THEY VIEWED THEIR ROLE. 
          I LIKE TO ALWAYS PUT IT ON THE SAME PAGE SO YOU CAN SEE THE MISSION, THE VISION, AND THE ROLE, WHICH IS REALLY KIND OF OVERALL THE PURPOSE OF THIS COMMISSION. 
          [00:15:02]
TO FURTHER DEFINE THE VISION, WE THEN ADD A BALANCED SCORECARD SET OF GOALS. 
          AS A REMINDER, THAT'S THE ROOFTOP OF THE BUILDING. 
          TYPICALLY, AS I MENTIONED, YOU HAVE A FINANCIAL, A CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, INTERNAL PROCESS, AND EMPLOYEE GOAL. 
          THOSE DIDN'T REALLY APPLY. 
          SO WE HAD TO FIRST DEVELOP OUR PER GOAL PERSPECTIVES. 
          SO INSTEAD OF FINANCIAL GOAL, WE HAD AN ECONOMIC IMPACT GOAL. 
          SO THESE ARE WHEN THE COMMISSION IS SUCCESSFUL, UH, THEY WILL HAVE ACHIEVED THESE GOALS. 
          INSTEAD OF A CUSTOMER GOAL. 
          THEY HAD A STAKEHOLDER EXPERIENCE GOAL. 
          INSTEAD OF AN IN, UH, INTERNAL BUSINESS PROCESS, THEY HAD AN INTERNAL CAPACITY SLASH ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT GOAL. 
          UH, AND INSTEAD OF AN EMPLOYEE OR ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE, THEY HAD A SOCIETAL CULTURE OR IMPACT GOAL. 
          THOSE GOALS ARE AS FOLLOW THE STAKEHOLDER EXPERIENCE. 
          GOAL IS FOR, UH, RICHARDSON TO BE A COMMUNITY WHERE ALL STAKEHOLDERS FEEL WELCOME, CONNECTED, AND EMPOWERED TO ENGAGE IN MEANINGFUL WAYS. 
          THE CULTURAL OR SOCIETAL IMPACT GOAL IS FOR RICHARDSON TO, TO CELEBRATE OUR DIVERSITY AND PROMOTE TRUST, CONNECTION, COLLABORATION, AND CROSS-CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING FOR ECONOMIC IMPACT. 
          THE GOAL IS FOR RICHARDSON TO MAINTAIN AND ENHANCE OUR REPUTATION AS AN ENGAGED AND INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY THAT ATTRACTS BUSINESSES, RESIDENTS, AND VISITORS WHO CONTRIBUTE TO A THRIVING LOCAL ECONOMY. 
          AND AS AN FOR AN INTERNAL CAPACITY ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT GOAL, UH, OUR GOAL IS TO ENSURE THE SUCCESS OF THE COMMISSION BY ENHANCING MEMBER SKILLS, ESTABLISHING COMMISSION STANDARD PROCESSES, AND FOSTERING COLLABORATION WITH CITY DEPARTMENTS AND OTHER PARTNERS. 
          YOU CAN SEE HOW THOSE THINGS ARE ALL SUB ELEMENTS OF THE VISION. 
          SO THESE GIVE MORE MEAT TO THE, UH, VISION STATEMENT THAT WE LOOKED AT BEFORE. 
          AND THEN WE BROKE DOWN EACH GOAL AND SAID, OKAY, WHAT ARE THE STRATEGIES NECESSARY TO ACCOMPLISH THE GOAL? AND WE STARTED WITH STAKEHOLDER EXPERIENCE. 
          SO THE GOAL IS FOR RICHARDSON TO BE A COMMUNITY, ALL STAKEHOLDERS FEEL WELCOME, CONNECTED, AND EMPOWERED TO ENGAGE IN MEANINGFUL WAYS. 
          THE STRATEGIES THEY DEVELOPED ARE, ONE, TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATIONS, MESSAGING AND CHANNELS. 
          TWO, TO FOSTER AN INCREASED SENSE OF COMMUNITY, AND THREE, TO BUILD KNOWLEDGE AND TRUST AND CITY SERVICES, AS YOU GUYS WELL KNOW. 
          AND AS YOU COULD PROBABLY RELATE TO, THE CHALLENGE HERE WAS TO NOT FOCUS ON TACTICS AND TO KEEP A HIGH LEVEL ON STRATEGIES. 
          THAT IS ALWAYS THE CHALLENGE. 
          UM, REST ASSURED, THERE ARE PAGES OF TACTICS THAT SUPPORT EACH ONE OF THESE STRATEGIES THAT WE HAD TO DEVELOP INTO THE HIGHER LEVELS. 
          THE CULTURAL OR SOCIETAL IMPACT GOAL WAS FOR RICHARDSON TO CELEBRATE OUR DIVERSITY AND PROMOTE TRUST, CONNECTION, COLLABORATION, AND CROSS CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING. 
          THE STRATEGY HERE WAS TO IDENTIFY AND OR CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SHARING, ENGAGING AND CONNECTING FOR THE GOAL OF RICHARDSON TO MAINTAIN AND ENHANCE OUR REPUTATION AS AN ENGAGED AND INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY THAT ATTRACTS BUSINESS S AND RESIDENTS AND VISITORS WHO COULD CONTRIBUTE TO, TO A THRIVING LOCAL ECONOMY. 
          THERE'S A REPEAT OF A STRATEGY, WHICH IS TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATIONS MESSAGING CHANNELS, BUT MORE MO FOCUSED ON A MARKETING PERSPECTIVE. 
          AS, AS WE'VE DISCOVERED IN OUR WORK TOGETHER, UH, GOOD STRATEGIES WILL IMPACT MORE THAN ONE GOAL. 
          UH, AND FINALLY, THE GOAL OF THE INTERNAL CAPACITY, UH, TO ENSURE THE SUCCESS OF THE COMMISSION BY ENHANCING MEMBER SKILLS, ESTABLISHING COMMISSION STANDARD PROCESSES, AND FOSTERING COLLABORATION. 
          UH, THE, UH, STRATEGY WAS TO ESTABLISH COMMISSION STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES AND SUCCESS METRICS. 
          HERE IS A SUMMARY OF THE STRATEGIES. 
          ONE THING I COMMEND THEM ON IS, UH, THERE ARE SIX OF THEM. 
          AND THAT'S ALWAYS A CHALLENGE. 
          IF YOU TRY TO DO 20 THINGS, THE ODDS ARE YOU'RE GONNA DO NOTHING. 
          IF YOU TRY TO DO SIX THINGS, THE ODDS ARE YOU'RE GONNA GET SOME GOOD TRACTION IN SOME OF THESE AREAS. 
          SO I RAN THROUGH THAT PRETTY QUICKLY, UM, BUT I WANTED TO NOW GIVE YOU GUYS A CHANCE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS. 
          I CAN GO BACK AND REVIEW ANY SLIDES. 
          UH, IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS FOR ME OR FOR THE COMMISSION MEMBERS. 
          RICK, THAT'S A GREAT PRESENTATION. 
          UM, HOW ABOUT IF WE LET CHAIR, WILMAN VARMA MAKE SOME COMMENTS TO ADD ON TO WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY SAID AND CALL ON ANY OF YOUR COMMISSION THAT WOULD LIKE TO MAKE SOME COMMENTS OR STATEMENTS AT THIS TIME. 
          THEN AFTER THAT, WE'LL LET THE COUNCIL ASK THEM OR ACKNOWLEDGE IF THAT'S OKAY WITH YOU. 
          THAT'S FINE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WELL, THANK YOU, RICK. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          UM, AS A CHAIR OF THIS COMMISSION, IT IS ACTUALLY A BIG HONOR TO BE PART 
          [00:20:01]
OF THIS AND TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH RICK AND RAMSEY AND, UH, GREG TO, TO, TO ACTUALLY ACCEPT, UH, THE, THE DIFFICULT PART WAS TO SEE WHAT'S MISSING TODAY. 
          UH, THE CITY OF RICHARDSON ITSELF IS VERY INCLUSIVE ALREADY. 
          UM, I HAVE BEEN A RESIDENT HERE FOR ABOUT 25 YEARS. 
          THE ONLY REASON I STAY HERE IS BECAUSE OF THE, UH, THE AMENITIES, THE SERVICES. 
          YOU KNOW, THE, THE FEEL OF THE CITY IS, IT'S A, IT'S A BIG CITY, BUT IT FEELS LIKE YOU'RE IN A SMALL CITY BECAUSE, UH, YOU GET TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS, YOU GET TO KNOW ALL THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, YOU GET TO KNOW PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING IN THE CITY, THE PARKS AND RECREATIONS. 
          SO IT WAS REALLY HARD FOR US TO KIND OF FIRST COME TO THE ACCEPTANCE, LIKE, WHAT IS, IS REALLY MISSING. 
          AND I THINK THAT WAS QUITE, UM, UH, EYE-OPENING, UH, EXERCISE FOR US. 
          BUT WORKING WITH THE REST OF THE COMMISSION HERE, UH, EACH ONE OF THEM CAME WITH A DIVERSE, UH, BACKGROUND. 
          AND I WOULD ACTUALLY, UM, WELCOME, UM, THE VICE CHAIR, KRISTEN, UH, TO TALK ABOUT IT, FOLLOWED BY SOME OTHER MEMBERS WHO WOULD LIKE TO, UH, COMMENT, MAKE SOME COMMENTS SURPASSING ON. 
          KRISTEN, GO AHEAD. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I SECOND EVERYTHING, UH, RASHMI SAID, I THINK THAT I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS PROCESS. 
          WHAT WE WERE TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT EARLIER IS HOW MUCH THIS PANEL I THINK REPRESENTS THE CITY AS A WHOLE, UM, AND HOW GREAT THIS PROCESS WAS TO GO THROUGH, THANKS TO GREG AND TO RICK, UM, FOR GUIDING US THROUGH ALL OF IT. 
          BUT I, I REALLY, I THINK RASHMI SAID EVERYTHING. 
          I PROBABLY WOULD'VE SAID THAT FINDING THE GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE, UM, WAS DEFINITELY A TRICKY PROCESS. 
          BUT WE LOOK FORWARD TO WHAT'S NEXT. 
          SO I'M JUST GONNA ADD SOMETHING OVER HERE, IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVING LIVED IN RICHARDSON FOR 25 YEARS, I MEAN, THIS WAS REALLY WONDERFUL. 
          I THINK THE PART THAT I ENJOYED THE MOST OVER HERE WAS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE CAME FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS. 
          AND THE FEAR THAT I HAD TO START OUT WITH WAS THAT WE'LL BE HA WE'LL BE HAVING CLASHES, RIGHT? EVERYONE'S GONNA THINK FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. 
          AND THIS MAY NOT ACTUALLY WORK OUT, BUT I WAS REALLY SURPRISED AT HOW WHEN WE GOT TO THE CORE OF IT, WE KIND OF SAW THROUGH IT AND WE WERE ACTUALLY ABLE TO WORK THROUGH IT. 
          AND WE STARTED WRITING THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER SET OF FOLKS WOULD WRITE THEM, AND THEN WE WOULD WRITE THEM AND WE'D BE SURPRISED HOW MUCH THEY GEL TOGETHER. 
          SO, AMAZING TEAM, AND FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF JUST WORKING TOGETHER, REALLY, REALLY, UH, APPRECIATE, WELL, I'M JUST GONNA AGREE TO EVERYTHING THAT EVERYONE ALREADY SAID, , RIGHT? UM, BUT I WILL ADD THAT, UM, THAT I APPRECIATE THE PROCESS BECAUSE OF THE DIVERSITY, BUT IT ALSO WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO HAVE DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS, UM, ABOUT IDENTIFYING THE GAPS THAT WE HAVE HERE IN THE CITY OF RICHARDSON AND HOW WE IMPROVE, UM, THE CONNECTION AND THE BELONGING. 
          UM, AND SO TO KIND OF DIVE INTO THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO, UM, HAD DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS AND LIVED EXPERIENCES, BUT ALSO HAD THE MOTIVATION TO COME INTO THIS SPACE, VULNERABLE SPACE, REALLY, UM, WAS, WAS, UH, A, A GOOD WAY OF, OF HAVING OPTIMISM FOR WHAT'S TO COME. 
          SO I THINK THAT'S ALL I'M GONNA SAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          JUST KIDDING. 
          I MEAN, UM, I JUST HAVE ONE MORE COMMENT TO MAKE, AND IT WAS, I APPRECIATE THE COUNCIL COMING UP WITH THE COMMISSION. 
          UM, IT WAS, WE, WE GOT A CHANCE TO LOOK UNDERNEATH THE TENT A LITTLE BIT AND SEE THE LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CITY AND THE, THE RESIDENTS. 
          AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE DATA, YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE COME A LONG WAY. 
          WE HAVE A LOT OF AMENITIES, BUT THERE'S, THERE'S KIND OF A DISTANCE TO GO WHEN YOU SEE WHO'S ACTUALLY ENGAGING WITH, LIKE THE LIBRARY OR WITH THE OTHER PROGRAMS. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN FIGURE OUT THAT SECRET SAUCE OR WHATEVER, I THINK IT COULD ONLY, IT COULD ONLY ENHANCE THE CITY. 
          WE HAVE SO MANY TALENTED PEOPLE. 
          I MEAN, THE BOARD IS JUST WONDERFUL. 
          AND, UM, I THINK WE CAN, YOU KNOW, WORKING TOGETHER IN A POSITIVE WAY, WE CAN REALLY MAKE SOME, SOME IMPACTING CHANGES THAT KEEPS RICHARDSON, YOU KNOW, AS ONE OF THE SHINING CITIES IN TEXAS. 
          CAN I JUST ADD SOMETHING ELSE? BECAUSE YOU REALLY BROUGHT UP A GOOD POINT THAT I THINK WE NEED TO LIKE, PUT OUT THERE AS WELL. 
          IT WASN'T JUST OUR LIVED EXPERIENCES, BUT WE HAD A LOT OF DATA POINTS. 
          UM, AND I THINK THAT WAS A REALLY GOOD BALANCE TO HOW WE APPROACHED THE STRATEGIC PLAN. 
          UH, BECAUSE IT WASN'T JUST OUR LIVED EXPERIENCES, IT WASN'T THE, IT WAS A BALANCE BETWEEN THE EMOTIONAL, THE HUMANITY, BUT ALSO THE DATA THAT WAS BROUGHT TO US, UH, TO BE ABLE TO GIVE US A CLEAR PICTURE OF HOW TO APPROACH IT. 
          AND SO, YEAH. 
          I'M GONNA STOP AND, AND LOOK, I FIGURED IT OUT. 
          [00:25:01]
ANYBODY ELSE? LET ME ADD REAL QUICKLY. 
          UM, I, AGAIN, AM ECHOING, UH, EVERYTHING THAT HAS BEEN SAID HERE ALREADY. 
          UM, BUT THERE WERE A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I WAS INSPIRED BY OR THAT I, UM, I GUESS THAT EXCITE ME ABOUT THIS NEXT CHAPTER. 
          AND FIRST IS THAT WE APPRECIATED THE PROCESS OF GOING THROUGH THE STRATEGIC AND SETTING THE STRATEGIC, UM, VISION FOR THIS GROUP. 
          UM, I THINK THAT WE GET MORE EXCITED ABOUT GETTING IN AND DOING THE WORK AND THE HARD CONVERSATIONS. 
          I HOPE I'M SPEAKING FOR ALL OF YOU CORRECTLY. 
          SO, UM, I LIKE WHEN YOU HAVE STARTED WITH A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO YOU MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN SUPER WELL. 
          UM, AND THEN YOU MOVE FORWARD AND THEN YOU LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO WORK, DO THAT WORK TOGETHER. 
          AND SO I THINK THAT THAT IS STRONG, AND I THINK THAT THAT'S A TESTAMENT TO WHOM MIGHT COME AFTER US IN SERVING ON A COMMISSION OR, AND TO INCLUDE THESE GOALS. 
          UM, THE OTHER THING THAT I WOULD SAY IS, EXCUSE ME. 
          HAVING LIVED IN THE CITY OF RICHARDSON FOR A LONG TIME, UM, THE PROGRAMS AND EVENTS AND EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE HERE, THERE ARE CERTAIN LENSES THROUGH WHICH, UM, YOU WILL SEE ALL OF THESE THINGS. 
          SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF OUR, IF OUR FINANCE CREW WERE HERE TONIGHT, THERE ISN'T A PROGRAM OR EVENT THAT TAKES PLACE THAT DOESN'T HAVE A FINANCIAL LENS TO IT, RIGHT? OR, AND VICE VERSA. 
          WE CAN NAME A HUNDRED DIFFERENT THINGS. 
          AND I THINK THAT ONE OF THE BEAUTIES IS AS WE HAVE INTERTWINED OUR STRATEGIC VISION, UM, WE HAVE CONTINUED TO, UM, KIND OF PUT FORWARD THAT WE'RE RESPONSIBLE, ONE OF THE ARMS RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT WE ARE LOOKING THROUGH THESE PROGRAMS, EVENTS, UM, THROUGH THE LENS OF INCLUSIVITY AND WHAT HAVE YOU, FOR THE, SO AGAIN, I THINK THAT THERE'S MULTIPLE LENSES THAT GO TOWARDS PROGRAMS AND EVENTS. 
          THIS IS JUST ONE OF 'EM. 
          AND I, AGAIN, SPEAK FOR, I THINK ALL OF YOU, WHEN I SAY WE'RE SO PLEASED AND HONORED TO BE ABLE TO SIT THERE AND USE THAT LENS. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          ANY, AND IF I MAY, SORRY, CHIME IN. 
          ONE MORE THING ABOUT THE PROCESS. 
          SO THIS BEING A NEW COMMISSION, ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS SHARING WITH RICK EARLIER, THE APPROACH COULD HAVE BEEN, LET US GIVE YOU A FRAMEWORK OF WHAT OTHER COMMISSIONS AND BOARDS HAVE DONE. 
          HERE'S THEIR GOALS, HERE'S THEIR STRATEGIES. 
          AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS INTENTIONAL, BUT THEY DIDN'T DO THAT. 
          THEY GAVE US AN OPEN RUNWAY. 
          AND I THINK WHAT I LOVED ABOUT THAT IS, EVEN THOUGH IT MADE FOR SOME LONG NIGHTS, WHICH WE ALL BONDED VERY WELL OVER, UM, BUT I THINK THE BEAUTY OF THAT IS THAT WE ALL WALKED AWAY KIND OF KNOWING EACH OTHER'S VISIONS AND LENSES A LITTLE BIT BETTER. 
          AND I THINK RICK WAS ABLE TO WALK AWAY WITH, YOU KNOW, TACTICS LIKE HE MENTIONED PAGES AND PAGES, BECAUSE HE DIDN'T GIVE US AS MUCH OF A, OF A GUIDING STARTING POINT AS MAYBE HE COULD HAVE. 
          SO AS YOU GUYS THINK ABOUT NEW COMMISSIONS, NEW BOARDS IN THE FUTURE, UM, I JUST THOUGHT THAT WAS A REALLY IMPACTFUL WAY TO GO BECAUSE I THINK IT ALLOWED US TO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF BE AS, BE AS OPEN AS WE WANT IT TO BE. 
          AND THEN HE REALLY HELPED US HONE THAT BACK DOWN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WELL, THANK YOU, KRISTEN. 
          UH, I, I'D JUST LIKE TO ADD HERE AND THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP. 
          AND, UM, MAINLY I WANT TO THANK THE, ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION. 
          'CAUSE WE'VE HAD SOME REALLY LONG MEETINGS. 
          WE WOULD START OFF AT SIX 30 IN THE EVENING, AND WE WOULD GO UP UNTIL 10, 10 30 IN THE NIGHT. 
          BUT EVERYBODY HAS BROUGHT THEIR TRUE AUTHENTIC SELVES TO THIS. 
          NOT JUST THAT THEY HAVE BROUGHT THE, UM, SACRIFICE OF TIME AND FAMILY TIME, AND SOMETIMES IT WAS DURING CHRISTMAS AND OTHER HOLIDAYS, BUT THEY HAVE COME IN AND, AND SERVED ON THE BOARD. 
          UM, I, I'M REALLY AMAZED AND I'M VERY, VERY, VERY THANKFUL FOR ALL MEMBERS FOR BRINGING THEIR WHOLE SELVES FORWARD TO THIS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WELL, COUNSEL, I THINK MR. DORIAN HAD HIS LIGHT ON FIRST. 
          WE'LL LET HIM SPEAK HIS PEACE. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR RICK, THANKS FOR THIS PART OF THE PRESENTATION. 
          AND, AND THANKS COMMISSIONERS FOR, UM, BEING SO ENGAGED. 
          UM, ONE OF YOU SAID, CHAIR, UH, THAT YOU FEEL LIKE YOU LIVE IN A VERY INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT, AND RICHARDSON HAS SO MANY THINGS TO OFFER, AND YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE HERE. 
          AND I HAVE TO SAY, AND YOU, YOU MENTIONED THAT IT'S HARD TO FIND A PLACE TO START, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS COMMISSION? YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT DO, WHAT, WHAT STEPS DO I TAKE AND, AND WHAT DO I ADD VALUE TO? AND I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT IT, IT PROBABLY WAS A VERY DIFFICULT THING TO GET THIS THING STARTED, AND IT'S NOT OVER, BUT TO GET IT STARTED, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE TACTICS, UH, WHAT ARE THE GOALS? I THINK THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE YOU CAN ALWAYS INCREASE AND BETTER ALL OF THOSE AMENITIES. 
          I DO AGREE THAT, UH, WITH ALL OF YOU, THAT, UH, RICHARDSON IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSIFIED AND ACCEPTING CITIES THAT I KNOW. 
          AND IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO BE AND FEEL ACCEPTED IN ALL COMMUNITIES, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH CHURCH OR THROUGH STATE. 
          SO I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THE TIME THAT Y'ALL PUT INTO THIS, AND I KNOW THAT THERE'S SO MUCH MORE WORK TO BE DONE, BUT THIS IS A GREAT START, A GOOD KICKOFF. 
          SO THANK YOU, MR. JUSTICE. 
          UH, THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          UM, I LIKE WHAT I HEARD BOTH FROM RICK AND FROM ALL OF YOUR COMMENTS AS WELL. 
          UM, I THINK THAT THE STRATEGIES REALLY HIT THE MARK OF WHAT I THINK AS A COUNCIL WE WERE THINKING, BUT TO COMMISSIONER EK'S 
          [00:30:01]
POINT, WE DIDN'T WANNA BE PRESCRIPTIVE ABOUT WHAT YOU WOULD COME UP WITH. 
          AND SO I FEEL, UH, VERY ENCOURAGED THAT YOU ALL CAME UP WITH, I THINK, AT LEAST FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, WAS WHAT WE WOULD HOPE THAT YOU WOULD WANT TO, YOU KNOW, IMPROVE OR, UH, ATTACH TACTICS TO SO THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, UH, IMPROVE OUR COMMUNICATION TO COMMISSIONER SITE'S POINT. 
          WE, WE ARE MISSING A BIG POPULATION, AND THAT'S PART OF WHY WE CREATED THIS. 
          YOU ALL GO INTO THE COMMUNITIES THAT YOU REFLECT HERE, UM, AND HAVE A BETTER VOICE THERE. 
          UM, SO YOU CAN TELL US HOW WE CAN DO THAT BETTER. 
          AND SO I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT THAT WAS A CENTRAL FOCUS OF WHAT, WHAT YOU, UM, SORT OF DOVE INTO AS PART OF YOUR PROCESS WAS HOW DO WE REACH THE PEOPLE WE'RE MISSING? BECAUSE WE, WE CAN TALK ABOUT HOW DIVERSE WE ARE. 
          WE DO ALL OF THIS PROGRAMMING, BUT WE ACKNOWLEDGE THERE ARE FOLKS THAT WE ARE MISSING. 
          AND SO I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT THAT WAS A CENTRAL FOCUS OF, OF YOUR PLAN AND, AND WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING GOING FORWARD. 
          UM, I REALLY LIKED THE, UM, ALL OF THE STRATEGIES ARE GREAT. 
          YOU KNOW, UM, WE TALK ABOUT DATA. 
          YOU ALL TALKED ABOUT DATA. 
          I THINK IT'S GREAT THAT YOU WERE FOCUSING ON SOPS AND, YOU KNOW, SUCCESS METRICS, THAT'S REALLY, REALLY GREAT SO THAT WE CAN MEASURE SORT OF THE AMAZING WORK THAT YOU'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO FOR OUR COMMUNITY. 
          SO I'M REALLY ENCOURAGED, UM, BY THE WORK THAT YOU DID, AND THANK YOU FOR THE LONG NIGHTS AND ALL OF THE , YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE GREAT BONDING THAT YOU GOT TO DO. 
          UM, I REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE IT, AND I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE, UM, WHERE YOU ARE AT THIS POINT AND, AND LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT COMES NEXT. 
          THANK YOU, MR. HUTCHEN. 
          ROGER. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          UM, FIRST OFF, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME. 
          THANK YOU FOR TAKING EFFORT. 
          UM, I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL FOR SIX YEARS AND THERE'S PROBABLY, I'M PROUD OF A LOT OF THINGS, BUT THE TWO THINGS I'M MOST PROUD OF IS, NUMBER ONE, UM, BEING PART OF THE COUNCIL. 
          THEY GOT THE AMBULANCE AT FIRE STATION NUMBER SIX, AND NUMBER TWO IS THE, AND IT'S NOT IN, IT'S MORE OF A ONE, A ONE B, IF YOU WILL. 
          SO CASE ANYBODY WANTS TO COME BACK, I'M JUST PUTTING OUT THE TWO THINGS. 
          UM, IS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THIS COMMISSION. 
          UM, IT WAS SOMETHING I FELT VERY STRONG ABOUT. 
          I WAS, UM, I'LL JUST SAY IT. 
          I WAS DISCOURAGED WHEN THERE WAS AN ATTEMPT AT PUTTING TOGETHER, I THINK IT WAS CALLED A BLUE RIBBON PANEL, THAT WE AS COUNSEL WEREN'T REALLY A PART OF. 
          UM, AND I THOUGHT IT WAS NOT WHAT WE NEEDED, AND I FELT VERY STRONGLY THAT WE NEEDED THIS COMMISSION TO BE ABLE TO HELP US. 
          UM, AND I JUST WANT TO VERY, VERY MUCH WANT TO, TO CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE Y'ALL. 
          ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE BIGGEST OPPORTUNITIES I THINK WE HAVE IS, AND AND PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, 'CAUSE WE TRY TO FIGURE IT OUT ALL THE TIME. 
          AND I'M NOT SAYING WE GET IT PERFECT BY ANY STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION, IS, YOU KNOW, AS YOU COME UP AS PART OF YOUR TACTICS OR AS YOU PUT YOUR TACTIC TACTICS TOGETHER, FIGURING OUT HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE WHAT WE'RE DOING OUT TO OUR CITIZENS? UM, I'M, I, I'M, I'M ALWAYS AMAZED, I'M ALWAYS AMAZED WE'LL HAVE AN EVENT COMING UP AND I WILL TALK TO SOMEONE WHO I WOULD THINK, WOW, THEY SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS EVENT THAT'S COMING UP. 
          THEY'RE GONNA BE THERE, I'M GONNA RUN RIGHT INTO 'EM. 
          AND THEY'RE LIKE, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? AND YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T, I, WE TALK ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME. 
          I, I THINK, I THINK WHAT IS IT WE COMMUNICATE SEVEN DIFFERENT WAYS, I THINK IS WHAT WE'VE, WE'VE SAID ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION. 
          AND SO, PLEASE, UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, IF, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE'S DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION CHANNELS, THERE'S DIFFERENT WAYS. 
          IF Y'ALL, IF Y'ALL THINK OF WAYS, PLEASE DON'T BE SHY ABOUT TELLING US, YOU KNOW, NEW AND DIFFERENT AND INNOVATIVE AND, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN AFFORD A PLANE WITH A BIG BANNER FLYING OVER THE CITY, BUT HEY, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU COME UP WITH, WE MIGHT  YOU THINK, OKAY? UM, IF, IF YOU THINK THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO DO, THEN, YOU KNOW, BUT WE JUST, UH, WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, THAT, THAT THIS IS A VERY, VERY, VERY ACTIVE COMMISSION. 
          UM, I'M SO EXCITED. 
          I'VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD FOR, SINCE DON TOLD US THAT Y'ALL WERE COMING, UM, TO DO THIS PRESENTATION. 
          I WAS SO EXCITED TO HEAR AND SEE WHAT YOU HAVE HAD TO BRING TO US TONIGHT AND VERY, VERY PROUD OF, OF WHAT Y'ALL ARE, WHAT Y'ALL HAVE BROUGHT AND CAN'T WAIT FOR, FOR OUR NEXT BRIEFING IN ALL HONESTY. 
          SO, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. 
          I WANT, SOMETIMES WE JUST DON'T SAY THANK YOU ENOUGH IN THIS WORLD. 
          AND I WANNA MAKE SURE Y'ALL HEAR IT. 
          I THINK I'VE SAID IT SEVEN TIMES. 
          I'LL SAY IT ONE MORE TIME. 
          THANK YOU FOR, FOR VOLUNTEERING, BEING ON THIS COMMISSION AND FOR THE HARD WORK AND GREAT WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING. 
          YOU'RE GOOD. 
          YOU'RE MAKING US A BETTER CITY BY, BY DOING THIS. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, KEN MAYOR, PRO TEM. 
          THANK YOU, MR. MEBO. 
          WELL, THANK YOU CHAIRMAN ZI AND ALL THE BOARD, UH, COMMISSION MEMBER FOR JOINING THIS ONE, YOU KNOW, MUCH NEEDED COMMISSION. 
          UH, AND, UH, WE ALL APPRECIATE THAT. 
          AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT. 
          I DON'T KNOW IF WE ALL AGREE ALL THE TIME THAT DIVERSITY, UH, YOU KNOW, EXPEDITE INNOVATION, SO IT'S GOOD FOR THE COMMUNITY, AND THE DIVERSITY COULD BE AS SIMPLE 
          [00:35:01]
AS TWO PEOPLE THINKING, TWO DIFFERENT WAY. 
          IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ANY OTHER THING. 
          JUST SIMPLE. 
          THIS, YOU KNOW, EVEN IN OUR HOME, JUST TWO PERSON THINKING TWO DIFFERENT WAY BRINGS LOTS OF IDEAS AS LONG AS WE LISTEN FROM EACH OTHER. 
          UH, AND ABSOLUTELY CITI IS VERY INCLUSIVE. 
          UH, BUT IF WE LOOK AT THE DATA AS MEMBER, UH, HAMS MENTIONED THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE IS SOME, UH, THING THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT IT. 
          AND YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS, THERE ARE SOME GAPS. 
          UH, SO, BUT THE CHALLENGE IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM SOMETIMES ONCE YOU IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM. 
          FIRST, YOU HAVE TO AGREE THAT THERE IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO IDENTIFY. 
          IF YOU DON'T AGREE, IF WE DON'T AGREE, WE'RE NOT GONNA FIND ANYTHING. 
          AND WE'RE GONNA SAY EVERYTHING IS GREAT. 
          SO FIRST TO ME, I ALWAYS THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, I HAVE TO AGREE THAT THERE IS A ISSUE, THERE IS A PROBLEM. 
          UH, THEN WE NEED TO IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM AND THEN WE CAN SEE WHY, YOU KNOW, HOW WE CAN, THAT'S AFTER THAT IS SIMPLE THINGS. 
          IT CAN, IT CAN COME UP WITH A SOLUTION. 
          UH, SO, YOU KNOW, ABSOLUTELY, I WOULD ALWAYS SAY IT IS VERY INCLUSIVE, BUT THERE IS SOMETHING MISSING. 
          UH, PARTICIPATION FROM ALL LEVELS ARE NOT THERE. 
          UH, IT'S NOT JUST THE COMMUNITY. 
          YOU ALWAYS TYPICALLY SAID THE DIVERSE COMMUNITY IS NOT ONLY THAT COMMUNITY, EVEN IF YOU LOOK AT SOME OTHER COMMUNITY, LIKE, UH, BIG PORTION, MISS MISSING. 
          UH, SO WE HAVE TO BE OPEN-MINDED. 
          IF YOU LOOK AT THE NAME IS COMMUNITY INCLUSION AND ENGAGEMENT, IT'S VERY BROAD. 
          UH, IF WE LOOK AT THAT, I THINK THAT WILL, YOU KNOW, I HOPE AND, UH, THAT NOT JUST HOPE, I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL IDENTIFY THE ACTUAL ISSUE. 
          AND, UH, IT MIGHT TAKE SOME TIME, BUT WE WILL GET THERE AND, UH, UH, BRING EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, MORE, MORE PARTICIPATION. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE ONCE A YEAR, UH, CULTURAL, EVEN AT THE DOWNTOWN. 
          AND AT THE CORE, WE SAY CORE, BUT I CALL THAT DOWNTOWN . 
          UH, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT GET SATISFACTION SET SATISFACTORY FEELINGS THAT YEAH, WE HAVE TWO, 3000 PEOPLE THERE, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THERE ARE EVEN MUCH BIGGER CROWD AND NOT JUST ONCE A YEAR, UH, MORE FREQUENTLY. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THAT'S THE INDICATION OF MORE PARTICIPATION. 
          IT'S NOT THE PROGRAM ITSELF. 
          IT'S JUST LIKE, IF YOU HAVE, IF YOU ARE HAPPY, THEN YOU SEE YOUR SMILES COMING OUT. 
          SO SMILE IS IMPORTANT, BUT IT'S COMING OUT FOR SOMETHING ELSE. 
          YOUR EYE SMILES BECAUSE YOU'RE TRULY A SMILE. 
          SO THESE ARE THE THINGS INDICATION THAT THAT WILL BRING. 
          AND, UH, AND I REALLY TRULY APPRECIATE THAT, UH, YOUR TIME AND EFFORT THAT YOU'RE PUTTING LIKE NINE, 10 O'CLOCK. 
          BUT, UH, I'M SURE THAT ONCE YOU SEE SOMETHING HAPPEN, AND, AND, UH, THE RESULT IS GONNA BE TOMORROW, AND IT'LL, IT'LL MAKE FEEL YOU FEEL BETTER THAT OKAY, LOOK WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING. 
          SO ANYTHING, ANY SUPPORT THAT YOU LIKE, UH, DEFINITELY I'LL BE THERE TO SUPPORT YOU. 
          AND I CANNOT SPEAK FOR OTHER COUNCIL, BUT I KNOW AS MUCH I I KNOW THEM. 
          THEY, THEY'LL ALSO BE GIVING YOU ALL THE SUPPORT. 
          SO AGAIN, THANK YOU. 
          AND I'M REALLY HAPPY TO SEE YOU THAT MANY OF YOU ARE SMILING THROUGH YOUR EYE AND WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR PRO. 
          TIM, MR. BARRIOS. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR, UH, GREG, MADAM CHAIRWOMAN, UH, COMMISSIONERS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR WORK. 
          UM, THIS ISN'T JUST WORK THAT'S WANTED, BUT IT'S NEEDED, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          THE AMOUNT OF TIME, THE PASSION YOU GUYS PUT IN. 
          UM, COMMISSIONER KRISTEN, I, I BELIEVE YOU MENTIONED THE LENSES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I WAS HAVING COFFEE WITH SOME, WITH A MEMBER OF OUR COMMUNITY ON SATURDAY OVER AT STAYCATION. 
          AND THEY MENTIONED, UM, SOMETHING THAT WAS OF INTEREST TO THEM. 
          AND I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A POINT. 
          BUT I NEVER WOULD'VE THOUGHT OF THAT BECAUSE WHEN I'M LOOKING AT NOTES, THAT'S NOT THE KIND OF STUFF THAT POPS OUT TO ME. 
          THAT'S THE EXAMPLE OF THAT LENS, BECAUSE WE COULD EACH SEE SOMETHING. 
          WE BRING OUR LIFE EXPERIENCE OR PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE. 
          SOME OF YOU CAME FROM OTHER COMMISSIONERS, SOME OF YOU HAVE DONE THIS KIND OF WORK FOR A LIVING. 
          UM, ALL OF YOU'RE PASSIONATE, INTELLIGENT PEOPLE, OBVIOUSLY. 
          IT WAS VERY INTENTIONAL THE WAY, UM, WE INTERVIEWED SOME OF YOU AND, UM, AND PUTTING TOGETHER THIS GROUP BELIEVED THERE WAS A COMMENT WHEN WE WERE, WE WERE APPOINTING AND DISCUSSING AS, AS WE DO, UM, THE APPOINTMENT OF THE COMMISSIONERS. 
          THERE WAS 
          [00:40:01]
A COMMENT SAY, WELL, THIS IS A VERY, I THINK THE TERM WAS, IT'S A GROUP OF STALLIONS, I THINK. 
          AND I KIND OF GOT TAKEN BACK AND I, AND, UH, I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO TAKE THAT COMMENT WHEN IT WAS SAT AT THE TABLE, . 
          I WENT BACK AND IT WAS SOMETHING I CHEWED ON FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS, RIGHT? AND IT, AND, AND IT CAME TO THE REALIZATION IT WASN'T NECESSARILY A BAD THING. 
          'CAUSE IT WAS EXPLAINED TONIGHT, YOU HAVE THIS GROUP OF PASSIONATE, INTELLIGENT PEOPLE THAT HA ALL WANTED TO JOIN US FOR VARIOUS REASONS, AND YOU HAVE TO START WORKING IN THE SAME DIRECTION. 
          AND IT GAVE YOU, I FORGET, I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER SAYED SAID, UM, GAVE YOU KIND OF THE, A PEAK UNDER THE TENT, RIGHT? IN THAT PROCESS. 
          AND THAT'S ONE THING. 
          NOW AS I'M COMING TO THE END OF MY, UH, HOPEFULLY WHAT WILL BE MY FIRST TERM, NOT NECESSARILY MY LAST, BUT AS I COME TO THE END OF THIS FIRST TERM, I THINK, OKAY, WHAT'S THE THING THAT STOOD OUT MOST ABOUT THIS EXPERIENCE OF BEING ON THE COUNCIL? AND THAT IS THE PROCESS OF DEMOCRACY. 
          AND AS AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY AND SOMEBODY WHO'S BELIEVED IN THE PROCESS FOR A LONG TIME, IT GIVES ME A NEW PERSPECTIVE OF THE PROCESS. 
          AND THIS WEEK, AGAIN, I WAS TALKING TO SOMEBODY AND THEY ASKED ME, WELL, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE ASKING ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS AND, UM, SOMETHING WITH ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE ON THE COUNCIL. 
          I SAID, LOOK, I SAID, HERE'S THE THING. 
          IT'S THAT PROCESS I MADE DISAGREE WITH SOMEBODY AND WE'RE GONNA DISAGREE. 
          AND SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, WE WILL HAVE DISAGREEMENTS. 
          THAT'S THE BEAUTY OF THE PROCESS. 
          UM, BECAUSE, WELL, I MAY AGREE WITH JOE ON THIS ONE. 
          THE NEXT, NEXT ONE, IT MAY BE KEN AND I. 
          UM, AND THAT'S JUST THE BEAUTY OF THE PROCESS, IS WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS THAT COMMON GOAL, RIGHT? AND I'M, I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR BEING A PART OF THAT PROCESS. 
          'CAUSE THE WORK YOU DID OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS AND THE WORK YOU WILL CONTINUE TO DO THROUGHOUT YOUR APPOINTMENT IS WORK THAT'LL HOPEFULLY CONTINUE ON AND MAKE THE LASTING IMPACT IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          'CAUSE WE ARE A GREAT DIVERSE COMMUNITY, AND THERE'S A REASON WE ALL CHOSE THOSE OF US WHO WERE NOT RAISED HERE. 
          WE HAD THE CHOICE OF WHERE WE WANNA CREATE OUR FAMILY OR RAISE OUR FAMILY. 
          MY WIFE AND I, WERE NOT RAISED HERE, BUT WE GLADLY, UM, MADE RICH OUR HOME. 
          AND IT IS THAT RICHARDSON HAS A GREAT SENSE AND WE'RE DOING MOST THINGS RIGHT. 
          AND I THINK WITH WHAT THE WORK Y'ALL ARE DOING IS GONNA BRING US THAT MUCH CLOSER, UH, TO BEING THAT INCLUSIVE AND ENGAGED COMMUNITY SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE SAME, YOU KNOW, 50 PEOPLE AT EVERYTHING AND THE SAME 50 PEOPLE SHOWING UP TO THIS OR THAT WE HAVE A TRUE REPRESENTATION OF WHO OUR CITY IS. 
          AND NOT JUST IN A CULTURAL SENSE, BUT IN A, UM, LIFE EXPERIENCE SENSE AND A SENSE OF WHO WE, AND WHEN I LOOK AT THIS ROOM, I'M SEEING RICHARDSON. 
          AND THIS IS THE BEAUTY, RICHARD. 
          SO THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR THE WORK, FOR THE LONG NIGHTS, FOR THE FRUSTRATIONS THAT YOU WENT THROUGH. 
          AND NONE OF YOU, UM, YOU'RE ALL STILL HERE, SO THANK YOU. 
          MM-HMM . 
          BECAUSE I KNOW, I KNOW THAT THAT COULD, THAT'S OFTENTIMES THE DIFFICULT PART, RIGHT? IT'S LIKE, OH, WHY AM I HERE? WHY AM I DOING THIS? WHO THE HECK PUT ME SIGN, SIGN ME UP FOR THIS. 
          WELL, WHAT WAS I THINKING? BUT, UM, THANK YOU. 
          THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THE AMAZING THINGS TO DO. 
          AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. 
          COUNCILMAN CORMAN. 
          I THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. 
          I THINK THE, THE OTHER THING TO REMEMBER HERE IS THAT WE KNOW WE DON'T CREATE NEW BOARDS OFTEN. 
          SO IT'S NOT LIKE CITY COUNCIL HAD SOME MAGIC BLUEPRINT OR TEMPLATE THAT WE ROLL OUT, RIGHT? AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT MAKES SO MUCH MORE SENSE FOR THIS SPECIFIC BOARD, FOR THE ACTUAL BOARD MEMBERS TO REALLY DECIDE WHAT THEY WANT TO DO WITH THE POWER THEY'VE BEEN GIVEN. 
          UM, AND YOU KNOW, HONESTLY, HEARING Y'ALL TALK, I MEAN, IT'S SO HARD FOR, FOR ME, UM, HAVING, HAVING, I MEAN, WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS EVERY TWO YEARS, RIGHT? AND, UH, IT'S SO HARD NOT TO WANT TO SEE ALL YOUR DOCUMENTS THAT YOU DID, ALL THE SWOT ANALYSIS, THE WHOLE TROVE OF TACTICS. 
          BUT, YOU KNOW, I KNOW 'CAUSE WE, AGAIN, WE'VE BEEN THROUGH A SIMILAR PROCESS. 
          IT'S ALL PART OF THE PLANNING AND IT'S NOT REALLY ALWAYS MEANT FOR BROADER CONSUMPTION. 
          UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, I GUESS THAT SAID, UM, IT'S STILL, IT'S STILL HEARING YOU GUYS EXCITED. 
          MAKES ME EXCITED FOR ALL THE FUTURE WORK YOU'RE GONNA DO. 
          AND I KNOW THAT REALLY WHATEVER STRATEGIES Y'ALL CHOOSE TO IMPLEMENT FIRST, KINDA WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THAT NEXT CHAPTER IS, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF IT'S ANY ONE OF THESE SIX STRATEGIES, IT'S GONNA BE SOMETHING THAT WE ALL NEED AND WE ALL WANT TO HEAR. 
          AND I'M, I'M REALLY EXCITED FOR THAT. 
          AND I KNOW, YOU KNOW, THE LAST PART I'LL, I'LL SAY ON THAT IS, GOVERNING A CITY THIS DIVERSE IS REALLY, REALLY DIFFICULT FROM THIS END. 
          UM, AND I'M REALLY GRATEFUL TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN FROM Y'ALL OVER THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS, UM, FROM THIS WONDERFUL TEAM THAT WE HAVE HERE. 
          AND, UH, REALLY IT'S GONNA BE REALLY EXCITING FOR EVERYONE REALLY AT THIS TABLE TO COME TOGETHER AS A GIANT TEAM AND MAKE REALLY GOOD PROGRESS, UH, FOR OUR CITY. 
          SO I'M EXCITED FOR THAT. 
          UM, I'M EXCITED TO WORK WITH ALL Y'ALL IN THE FUTURE AND I CAN'T WAIT TO LEARN FROM YOU. 
          I WILL ASK ONE, ONE QUESTION THOUGH, UH, JUST BECAUSE, UM, I HAVE SO MANY, BUT I'LL WHITTLE IT DOWN TO THIS ONE. 
          WHAT 
          [00:45:01]
IS, JUST SOMEONE JUST TELL ME LIKE OF ALL THE DATA POINTS THAT YOU WERE GIVEN, JUST GIVE ME SOMETHING THAT WAS INTERESTING OR NEW OR EXCITING, LIKE SOMETHING TO, YOU KNOW, JUST TO CHEW ON. 
          BUT JUST ONE  PUT ON THE SPOT THERE. 
          I JUST WANT TO, I IMAGINE WE WILL PROBABLY ALL CHIME IN HERE. 
          I WAS COMPLETELY BLOWN AWAY BY THAT DATA PRESENTATION AND I CAN'T REMEMBER WHO MENTIONED IT, BUT THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR PUTTING THAT TOGETHER FOR US, IT WAS VERY EYE-OPENING. 
          UM, STATISTICS ON THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS THAT WE HAVE, THE PERCENTAGE OF SENIORS THAT WE HAVE, UM, STATISTICS WE SAW ON HOUSING AND KIND OF THE CHANGING FROM, YOU KNOW, HOME OWNERSHIP TO RENTAL TO SOME OF THAT, UM, MIDDLE LEVEL HOUSING PEOPLE. 
          IT WAS, THERE WAS JUST SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS THAT I WAS KIND OF BLOWN AWAY BY. 
          UM, BUT I THINK FOR ME IT WAS THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF STUDENTS VERSUS SENIORS AND KIND OF THAT CHANGING DEMOGRAPHIC IN THE MIDDLE. 
          THAT'S A REALLY, I MEAN, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD ONE. 
          THAT'S ONE THAT WE, I'LL SAY, I MEAN THAT'S ONE WE CONSIDER HERE ALL THE TIME. 
          SO IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE ALL PRETTY ALIGNED THERE ON, YOU KNOW, JUST WHAT'S, WHAT'S INTERESTING, WHAT'S HAPPENING. 
          YEAH. 
          AND I WOULD, I WOULD ALSO SAY, I MEAN WE HAD THE DATA PRESENTATIONS, BUT WE ALSO HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS ON, YOU KNOW, UH, WE HAD THE DATA ON THE MEDIAN INCOME IN THE, IN THE CITY. 
          AND THOSE WERE SOME EYEOPENING DATA POINTS, BY THE WAY. 
          'CAUSE WE ALWAYS LOOK FROM A LENS OF THE KIND OF JOBS WE DO. 
          AND I'VE LIVED AND WORKED RIGHT HERE IN RICHARDSON FOR THE LAST 25 YEARS. 
          I'VE NEVER GONE ANYWHERE TO WORK OR LIVE, BUT, UM, BUT I HAVE MOVED FROM EAST RICHARDSON TO WEST RICHARDSON WHEN IT WAS TIME TO MOVE, DIDN'T GO TOO FAR. 
          UM, BUT WE ALSO SAW THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE DIFFERENCE IN THE LIFESTYLE ON EAST, ON THE EAST SIDE OF RICHARDSON. 
          THAT WAS A PERSONAL LIVED EXPERIENCE THAT I BROUGHT TO IT MM-HMM . 
          UH, AND THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE DIVERSITY HERE ON THE WEST SIDE AND THAT THERE IS SOME DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE EAST AND THE WEST RICHARDSON. 
          SO, SO THOSE KIND OF DATA, BRINGING THAT INFORMATION TO THE TEAM, I THINK SOME OF THEM ALSO, UM, KIND OF WERE SURPRISED BY LOOKING AT THE DISPARITY BETWEEN THE EAST AND THE WEST. 
          SO, SO, SO WE KIND OF TRIED TO NOT JUST BRING THE, SO LOOK, LOOKED AT THE DATA, YOU KNOW, WITH THE INCOME LEVELS, BUT WE THEN WE BROUGHT, WE, WE KIND OF, UM, LAID OVER OUR LIVED EXPERIENCES HERE AND SAID, OKAY, NOW THIS IS WHY IT MAKES SENSE. 
          SO JUST TO ADD TO THAT, ACTUALLY, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT KINDA WAS INTERESTING IS HOW RICHARDSON HAS CHANGED. 
          I MEAN, IF YOU GO BACK TO, YOU KNOW, 25 YEARS AGO OR SO, WHAT KIND OF COMMUNITY RICHARDSON WAS VERSUS WHAT IT IS TODAY, IT'S VERY DIFFERENT. 
          MM-HMM . 
          I MEAN, IN 25 YEARS IS RELATIVELY A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME IF YOU THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW OLD A CITY IS. 
          BUT IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, OUR COMMUNITY HAS CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY. 
          AND I BET YOU THAT IN THE NEXT 25 YEARS TO COME, UM, IF WE'RE ALIVE, I THINK WE'LL SEE A LOT MORE CHANGES GOING ON. 
          YEAH. 
          AND SO THAT REALLY FOR ME WAS JUST AN EYE-OPENING THING THAT YOU CAN'T JUST OPERATE THE SAME WAY. 
          WE CAN'T JUST OPERATE THE SAME WAY WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, SOME THINGS HAVE TO CHANGE. 
          AND THAT'S WHERE, YOU KNOW, UH, WHEN RICK ALWAYS COMES UP WITH HIS PRESENTATION, WHICH HE DOES, BY THE WAY, EVERY TIME WE HAD A MEETING, THE FIRST PRESENTATION HE GAVE US WAS THE OPENING THAT HE GAVE US OVER HERE. 
          MM-HMM . 
          BUT I KNOW WHY HE DOES IT, BECAUSE IT ACTUALLY ENFORCES A POINT IN MY MIND IS THAT SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE AND THAT CHANGES ACTUALLY UNCOMFORTABLE. 
          AND I CAN IMAGINE THAT, YOU KNOW, I WENT BACK AND SAW SOME OF THE VIDEOS ON HOW THIS COMMISSION STARTED AND IT WAS CLEAR THAT FROM THE DISCUSSION THAT WAS TAKING PLACE, IT WAS UNCOMFORTABLE. 
          I MEAN, THERE WAS, IT SEEMED LIKE THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF TENSION GOING ON, YOU KNOW, AND, AND AFTER I HEARD RICK TALKING ABOUT THE UNCOMFORTABLENESS, I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THAT, IS THAT WE SEE THINGS ARE CHANGING. 
          IF WE JUST PROCEED THE WAY WE ARE, I GUARANTEE YOU THAT 25 YEARS FROM NOW, WE'LL JUST LOOK BACK AND SAY, OH MY GOODNESS, WE MISSED THIS OPPORTUNITY. 
          SO THINGS ARE CHANGING AND THAT'S WHERE THESE DEMOGRAPHICS ARE REALLY. 
          SO I EYE POPPING REALLY. 
          UH, ONE, ONE OF THE UM, BOARDS THAT WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO WAS THE LIBRARY BOARD AND THEY BROUGHT SOME STATISTIC TO, TO US AND TO SEE WHO'S USING THE LIBRARY, WHY YOU MAY NOT THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE MAY NOT HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO USE, UM, YOU KNOW, TECHNOLOGY UNLESS IT'S AT THE LIBRARY. 
          THE OTHER THING IS THAT EVEN TALKING TO OTHER BOARDS, THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE GAIN AS A COMMISSION IS OTHER INFORMATION THAT WE CAN SHARE WITH OTHERS. 
          AND UM, AND WE CAN ALSO GIVE INPUT. 
          I THINK EVEN WHEN WE TALK TO THE LIBRARY BOARD, WE GAVE SOME INPUT ON STATISTICS THAT MAY BE NEEDED, THINGS THAT THEY MAY DO A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. 
          UM, BUT UM, ANYBODY WHO WAS IN FOUR H, I KNOW MAYBE I'M THE ONLY ONE IN HERE THAT WAS IN FOUR H, BUT THEY HAD A MOTTO TO MAKE THE BEST BETTER. 
          SO THAT'S KINDA WHERE I SEE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, SOME OF THE THINGS WE WILL BE, UH, LOOKING AT FROM GROUND UP, BUT SOME OF THE THINGS WILL BE, WE'LL BE JUST MAKING THE BEST BETTER. 
          [00:50:02]
ONE THING I WANTED TO SHARE SPECIFICALLY WITH REGARDS TO THE DATA POINTS AND WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT FROM KEITH'S, UM, PRESENTATIONS AND THOSE TYPES OF KEITH CRIME'S PRESENTATIONS AND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS IS BECAUSE YOU HAVE INTENTIONALLY CHOSEN SUCH A DIVERSE, UM, COMMISSION. 
          IT WAS ONE OF THE RARE INSTANCES THAT I'VE HAD WHERE I'M ABLE TO SIT IN A ROOM AND LOOK AT THE QUANTITATIVE DATA AND THEN WITH JUST A GROUP OF NINE PEOPLE HAVE THE QUALITATIVE STORIES THAT WENT WITH IT. 
          UM, AND I WISH THAT THAT WAS, UM, MORE OF WHAT MY LIFE LOOKED LIKE, BUT IS, YOU KNOW, IT DOES SOME CASES, BUT I THINK THAT IS WHAT LED TO SOME OF THE RICHNESS OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE ENDED UP HAVING. 
          SO IT WAS THOSE DATA POINTS AND THEN THE QUALITATIVE STORIES THAT CAME ALONG WITH THEM. 
          OKAY. 
          JUST, JUST TO ECHO, I'M SORRY. 
          UM, YEAH, JUST TO ECHO WHAT AUDREY SAID AND THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS, UM, THERE ARE STARK, UM, INFORMATION FROM THE DATA POINTS LIKE FROM THE LIBRARY. 
          UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DELICATELY PUT THIS, BUT NOT A LOT OF MINORITIES ARE IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAMS THERE. 
          AND THEY'RE EXCELLENT PROGRAMS. AND THE, THE LIBRARY BOARD IS VERY OPEN TO ATTRACTING PEOPLE. 
          I MEAN, IT'S LIKE, I MEAN, IT'S NOT 90 TO ONE, BUT IT'S LIKE REALLY STARK HOW LESS ENGAGED A LOT OF THE COMMUNITY IS WITH SOME EXTREMELY GOOD CITY, UM, OPPORTUNITIES. 
          UH, THERE'S ALSO SOME DIGITAL EQUITY ISSUES OUT THERE. 
          WE HAVE DISPARITIES IN WHERE A LOT OF PEOPLE GET ACCESS TO, UM, UH, STUFF THAT'LL MAKE THEIR LIFE BETTER. 
          I MEAN, BEING A TECH CITY, IT'S KIND OF, IT WAS KIND OF JARRING TO SEE THAT. 
          AND THAT WAS ON DAY ONE. 
          I MEAN, UH, SO MAYBE THERE'S SOME, SOME WAY TO LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE ISSUES. 
          UM, THERE'S A MOTTO OUT THERE, I DIDN'T MAKE IT UP, BUT YOU'RE ONLY AS STRONG AS YOUR WEAKEST LINK. 
          I MEAN, THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT SORT OF HELPS US NAVIGATE SOME OF THESE, UM, UH, SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT COME UP THAT WE CAN SEE BECAUSE THAT'S THE LENS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. 
          I MEAN, YOU KNOW, JUST KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON AND RUNNING THE WATER AND STUFF IS, IS WORKING ENOUGH, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS THING MIGHT, MIGHT ENHANCE WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE WANT TO GO. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ANY OTHER COMMENTS? WELL, IN CLOSING, LET ME JUST SAY THIS REAL QUICK. 
          UM, I LIKE ANALOGIES AND I LOOK AT THIS AND I HEARD RICK SAY THE MOST DIFFICULT POINT IS TO START 'CAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START. 
          AND USING AN ATHLETIC BACKGROUND A LITTLE BIT, I LOOK AT THIS AS A RACE, A RELAY RACE, AND THE HARDEST POSITION ON A RELAY RACE IS THAT FIRST ONE COMING OUT OF THE BLOCKS TO GET AHEAD OF THAT OTHER PERSON AND THEN TO BE ABLE TO EXECUTE AND HAND THAT BATON OFF FIRST WITHOUT FUMBLING, STUMBLING, OR MISSING THE HAND, IT'S NOT REAL EASY. 
          SO THE CHALLENGE REALLY IS, 'CAUSE Y'ALL ARE THAT FIRST PERSON COMING OUT OF THE BLOCKS. 
          YOU HAVE HAD, YOU HAVE THE HARDEST TASK, BUT NOW WE'RE ASKING YOU TO PASS THAT BATON ONTO THE COMMUNITY AND TO YOUR FRIENDS AND TO OTHER LIKE PEOPLE THAT WE CAN GET INTO IT. 
          PART OF OUR CHALLENGE THAT WE REALLY IDENTIFIED AS A COUNCIL WAS WE HAVE THE 4TH OF JULY CELEBRATION, WE HAVE THE WILDFLOWER CELEBRATION, WE HAVE THE COTTONWOOD ART FESTIVAL, WE HAVE THE RSO, WE HAVE THE EISMAN CENTER. 
          YOU, YOU GO ON AND ON OF THESE CULTURE IN THE CORE. 
          YOU HAVE ALL THESE THINGS THAT WE ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT BECAUSE WE WANT THE CITY TO PUT THAT SHINY FACE OUT THERE AND SAY, COME JOIN US. 
          BUT WE DON'T GET THAT MANY PEOPLE. 
          IT SEEMS LIKE INVARIABLY IT'S THE SAME PEOPLE IN THE RACE. 
          WE NEED TO PASS THAT BATON, KEEP PASSING IT ON, AND LET'S MAKE IT A MARATHON TO WHERE WE ARE HANDING THE BATON AROUND SLOWER WITH FEWER MISTAKES INSTEAD OF JUST THAT ONE SPRINT. 
          AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE OUR VISION IS TO BRING EVERYBODY INTO THIS TOGETHER AND INTO THE LOOP. 
          AND I LOVE YOUR ENERGY, I LOVE YOUR PASSION, AND THERE'S NO DOUBT WE PICKED THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO START THIS RACE. 
          SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          I SEE A HAND IN THE BACK AND WE NORMALLY THIS DON'T ASK THE AUDIENCE TO PARTICIPATE. 
          IS THAT ALL RIGHT IF WE LET SOMEONE TALK ON THIS ONE? WELL, WE'LL MAYOR, WE'LL HAVE A VISITOR SECTION AT THE START OF THE NEXT MEETING. 
          YEAH. 
          DID YOU NOT ASK AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS PRESENTATION? ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? WAS THAT ONLY FOR THE COUNCIL MEMBERS OR NOT? YES MA'AM. 
          WE'LL, YES MA'AM. 
          IT IS, IT IS, UH, THE DISCUSSION AND THE JOINT MEETING IS BETWEEN THE COMMISSIONERS AND THE COUNCIL. 
          WE'RE GONNA ADJOURN HERE, UH, BRIEFLY. 
          THE COUNCIL WILL OPEN ANOTHER, UH, 
          [00:55:01]
MEETING AND THERE'LL BE A VISITOR SECTION AT THE START OF THAT MEETING, SO ANYWHERE. 
          OKAY. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY, MAYOR, BEFORE YOU, BEFORE YOU TURN IT OVER TO, UM, COMMISSIONER VARMA TO, UM, TO ADJOURN THEIR PORTION OF THE MEETING, I, I JUST WANT TO, UH, ACKNOWLEDGE GREG SOLE, UM, GREG, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S 1100 PEOPLE THAT WORK IN THIS CITY, AND, UH, GREG WAS REALLY MY FIRST AND ONLY CHOICE TO, TO LEAD THIS EFFORT. 
          IT'S, I KNOW IT'S PERSONALLY VERY MEANINGFUL TO GREG, UH, THE WORK THAT HE'S ABLE TO, TO DO WITH YOU. 
          AND SO GREG, I JUST WANTED TO RECOGNIZE YOU AND, AND THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE DONE, RICK. 
          YOU AS WELL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          WITH NO FURTHER COMMENTS, RICK, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          THANK YOU, RASHEEM. 
          I AM GOING TO RECESS THE COUNCIL MEETING AND I WOULD CALL ON, UM, COUNCILWOMAN RASHEEN TO, UM, CLOSE HER MEETING, PLEASE. 
          WELL, THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          WHAT? WHAT? CHAIRMAN? CHAIRMAN, WHAT DID I SAY? COUNCIL, WELL, YOU DESERVE THAT TOO. 
          ALRIGHT, . 
          ALRIGHT. 
          SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE. 
          YES, . 
          WELL, UH, THANK YOU MAYOR AND COUNCIL FOR YOUR VISION IN THE CREATION OF THIS, UH, COMMUNITY INCLUSION AND ENGAGEMENT COMMISSION AND FOR YOUR GUIDANCE THAT LED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STRATEGIC PLAN. 
          UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO SERVING YOU AND THE COMMUNITY AND BRINGING THIS WORK TO FRUITION 
          [2. ADJOURNMENT OF COMMUNITY INCLUSION AND ENGAGEMENT COMMISSION PORTION OF THE JOINT MEETING ]
AND THIS MEETING OF THE COMMUNITY, UH, INCLUSION AND ENGAGEMENT COMMISSION IS NOW AURED. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          IT 
          [3. RECESS ]
IS NOW 6 56. 
          WE'RE GONNA RECESS AND WE WILL START UP BACK THE COUNCIL MEETING AT 7 0 5. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          OKAY. 
          GOOD EVENING 
          [CALL TO ORDER]
AGAIN. 
          IT IS 7 0 5. 
          WE'RE GOING TO RECONVENE THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING. 
          FIRST ON OUR AGENDA. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER CURTIS DORIAN WILL LEAD US WITH THE PLEDGE AND THE CONVOCATION. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          PLEASE JOIN ME IN PRAYER, IF YOU WILL, AS WE GATHER HERE TONIGHT. 
          WE THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING AN OPEN MIND AS WE CELEBRATE THE MONTH OF DIVERSITY AND PRIDE. 
          LORD, BEFORE WE GO INTO THIS MEETING, PLEASE GUIDE OUR HEARTS AS WE MAKE OUR DECISIONS. 
          HELP US LISTEN AND ALWAYS BE MINDFUL OF OUR BUSINESSES, OUR STAKEHOLDERS, OUR CITY STAFF, AND THEIR SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY. 
          WE ASK FOR THE PRAYERS FOR THE ONGOING STRUGGLES IN OUR FOREIGN LANDS, AND THAT THEIR SOULS WILL CATCH YOUR SPIRIT AND PROVIDE SAFETY AND GUIDANCE FOR ALL. 
          WE ASK THAT YOU WILL HELP STRENGTHEN US AND INSPIRE US WITH YOUR LOVE AS WE JOURNEY ONWARD TONIGHT. 
          AMEN. 
          AND JOIN THE IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. 
          I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL TEXAS. 
          FLAG, HONOR THE TEXAS FLAG. 
          I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE TEXAS ONE STATE UNDER GOD, ONE AN INDIVISIBLE. 
          THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN DORIAN. 
          AT THIS TIME, 
          [6. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS AND VISITORS FORUM ]
WE'RE GOING TO GO TO OUR PUBLIC COMMENTS AND AGENDA ITEMS AND THE VISITORS FORUM. 
          MR. MAGNER. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          MAYOR AND COUNSEL. 
          WE DID RECEIVE THREE CARDS IN ADVANCE OF THE 5:00 PM DEADLINE. 
          SO LET ME ACKNOWLEDGE THOSE AND THEN I WILL READ, UH, INSTRUCTIONS, UH, FOR, UH, GUESTS TONIGHT. 
          UH, FIRST CARD WAS FROM PATRICIA GRIFFIN OF 4 4 1 VALLEY GLEN. 
          UM, THE TOPIC WAS RESPECT FOR IMMIGRANT RIGHTS. 
          THE SECOND CARD WAS FROM JENNY LOUGHLIN, 8 0 4 FIRESTONE. 
          THE TOPIC WAS IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY IN RICHARDSON, AND THE FINAL CARD WAS FROM MEADOW PEN PENA OF 2,800 WATERVIEW. 
          AND THE TOPIC WAS COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND RESOURCES FOR DOCUMENTED AND UNDOCUMENTED PEOPLE. 
          AND THEN FINALLY, I DID WANNA ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE AN EMAIL FROM, UH, KATHY MURPHY OF NINE 11 BEACHWOOD, AND A TOPIC WITHSTANDING WITH OUR IMMIGRANT NEIGHBORS, EXCUSE ME. 
          PARDON ME. 
          UM, FOR THOSE HERE TO SPEAK TONIGHT, I'LL GO AHEAD AND READ, UH, SOME INSTRUCTIONS AND, UH, EXPLANATION OF, UH, HOW THE, UH, VISITORS SECTION WORKS. 
          UH, DURING THIS PORTION OF THE COUNCIL MEETING, 30 MINUTES IS ALLOCATED FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO PROVIDE COMMENTS TO THE CITY COUNCIL ON AGENDA ITEMS. UH, WE DO HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING. 
          UM, IF YOU'RE HERE FOR THAT PUBLIC HEARING. 
          UM, UH, PLEASE WAIT UNTIL THAT HEARING IS OPENED. 
          UH, IF THERE'S TIME LEFT DURING THE INITIAL 30 MINUTES ALLOCATED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING, THE REMAINING TIME WILL BE PROVIDED AS A VISITOR'S FORUM. 
          ANYONE OPEN, UH, ANY, ANY, UH, OPEN FOR ANYONE WISHING TO ADDRESS THE CITY COUNCIL ON ANY TOPIC IN WHICH THE SUBJECT MATTER IS WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE CITY? IF THE FULL 30 MINUTES ALLOCATED FOR THE PUBLIC COMMENT IS REACHED, THEN SPEAKERS WHO HAVE SUBMITTED A PUBLIC COMMENT 
          [01:00:01]
CARD MAY SPEAK AT THE VISITOR'S FORUM SCHEDULED AT THE END OF THE MEETING. 
          ALL SPEAKERS, UH, SHOULD HAVE COMPLETED A PUBLIC COMMENT CARD AND SUBMITTED IT TO THE CITY SECRETARY BEFORE THE MEETING BEGAN. 
          SPEAKERS WILL BE CALLED IN AN ORDER THAT THEY ARE RECEIVED. 
          THE CARDS ARE RECEIVED. 
          WHEN YOUR NAME IS CALLED, PLEASE STEP TO THE PODIUM. 
          STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD. 
          ALL SPEAKERS WILL BE LIMITED TO A MAXIMUM OF FIVE MINUTES AS INDICATED BY THE TIMERS. 
          WHEN THE TIMER BEEPS, THE SPEAKERS SHOULD CONCLUDE THEIR COMMENTS PROMPTLY. 
          SPEAKERS MUST NOT PHYSICALLY APPROACH MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL OR STAFF AND SHOULD REMAIN AT THE PODIUM DURING THEIR COMMENTS. 
          SPEAKERS WITH HANDOUTS MUST PROVIDE THOSE TO THE CITY SECRETARY FOR DISTRIBUTION SPEAKERS. 
          SUBMITTING COMMENTS ON THE SAME TOPIC ARE ENCOURAGED TO REDUCE REPETITIVE REMARKS BY INDICATING THEIR COMMENTS HAVE ALREADY BEEN ADDRESSED. 
          OR BY SELECTING A REPRESENTATIVE SPEAKER. 
          THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT PROHIBITS THE CITY COUNCIL FROM DISCUSSING OR TAKING ACTION ON ITEMS THAT ARE NOT POSTED ON THE AGENDA. 
          UH, CITY COUNCIL AND STAFF WILL NOT AFFIRM OR OPPOSE ANY SPEAKER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS. 
          THE MAYOR OR CITY MANAGER MAY RESPOND WITH FACTS OF POLICY OR, OR DIRECT CITY STAFF TO RESPOND TO THE SPEAKER. 
          AFTER THE MEETING, THE AUDIENCE IS ASKED TO REFRAIN FROM APPLAUDING OR OTHER EXPRESSIONS OF SUPPORT OR OPPOSITION, A COPY OF THE COUNCIL RULES OF ORDER AND PROCEDURE. 
          AND THESE GUIDELINES MAY BE FOUND ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE. 
          AT THIS TIME, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO REMIND EVERYONE TO SILENCE, UH, THEIR CELL PHONE DURING THE, FOR THE DURATION OF THE MEETING. 
          MAYOR, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO CITY SECRETARY ER TO CALL THE SPEAKERS. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          I HAVE FIVE CARDS WHO'VE INDICATED THEY WANT TO SPEAK. 
          THE FIRST ONE IS JENNY LAUGHLIN. 
          JENNY, WELCOME. 
          PLEASE REMEMBER TO GIVE US YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD. 
          THANK YOU. 
          HI, MY NAME IS JENNY LAUGHLIN, AND I AM AT 8 0 4 FIRESTONE LANE IN RICHARDSON. 
          UM, I'M HERE TODAY AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF RICHARDSON AREA DEMOCRATS. 
          I REP. 
          I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO THE CITY COUNCIL PUBLICLY. 
          I KNOW MANY OF YOU PERSONALLY, AND I APPRECIATE THE LEADERSHIP IN OUR CITY. 
          YOU'VE BEEN ACCESSIBLE AND INTERESTED IN HEARING OUR CONCERNS. 
          SO THIS IS IN NO WAY MEANT TO SUGGEST THAT WE HAD TO TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL BECAUSE WE WEREN'T BEING HEARD. 
          WE COME HERE TODAY TO PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE UNCERTAINTY AROUND THE NEW ADMINISTRATION'S VERY PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THEY INTEND TO DETAIN OR DEPORT 20 MILLION IMMIGRANTS. 
          OUR CONCERN IS HOW WILL RICHARDSON, A CITY OF INCREDIBLE, BEAUTIFUL, INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL DIVERSITY, ONE OF THE MOST IMMIGRANT RICH CITIES IN TEXAS, WITH SCORES OF LANGUAGES BEING SPOKEN, HANDLE THESE EFFORTS, WHICH WILL UNDOUBTEDLY COME ALREADY. 
          THERE ARE STORIES OF KIDS NOT SHOWING UP FOR SCHOOL AND FOLKS NOT REPORTING TO WORK. 
          WE CAN EXTRAPOLATE FROM THERE THAT OUR IMMIGRANT NEIGHBORS MAY NOT FEEL SAFE TO CALL THE POLICE IF THEY'RE VICTIMS OF CRIMES OR SEEK MEDICAL CARE IF THEY NEED IT. 
          THIS MAKES OUR WHOLE COMMUNITY LESS SAFE. 
          MOST PEOPLE LOOK AT ME, SEE A MIDDLE-AGED WHITE WOMAN AND WONDER WHY I'M SPEAKING OUT ON THIS. 
          FIRST, IT'S IMPORTANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE REACHED OUT TO SEVERAL CITIZENS WHO IMMIGRATED FROM OTHER COUNTRIES, AND MANY FELT UNABLE FOR VARIOUS REASONS TO STAND UP HERE AND SPEAK. 
          THAT MADE IT CLEARER TO ME THAT SOMEONE NEEDED TO SPEAK UP. 
          AND I'M NOT JUST A MIDDLE-AGED WHITE WOMAN. 
          I HAVE LIVED EXPERIENCE. 
          THIS SITUATION HAS SPARKED MEMORIES. 
          MY MOTHER MARRIED AN UNDOCUMENTED MA'AM WHEN I WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD. 
          I WAS THE OLDEST OF SIX. 
          SO I CARRIED A BURDEN OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE NEXT EIGHT OR NINE YEARS OF WORRY, FEAR, CONCERN THAT HE WOULD BE DEPORTED. 
          AND HE WAS. 
          MANY TIMES WHEN HE WAS TAKEN TO MEXICO, WE'D LOSE OUR HOUSING. 
          WE WERE FOOD INSECURE AND WOULD HAVE TO LEAVE OUR SCHOOLS AND FRIENDS. 
          WE WERE SIX AMERICAN KIDS WHO SUFFERED. 
          I WENT TO 15 SCHOOLS IN 12 YEARS. 
          WE'D GET PULLED OUT OF SCHOOL AND GO TO MEXICO TO LIVE UNTIL WE COULD GET HIM BACK INTO THE UNITED STATES. 
          IT LEFT A LOT OF EMOTIONAL SCARS. 
          THE IMAGE OF CHILDREN COMING HOME TO AN EMPTY PLACE AT THE TABLE IS NOT JUST SOMETHING I IMAGINE. 
          I REMEMBER IT. 
          THE WORRY THAT ACCOMPANIES THAT LIFE IS CRUEL. 
          RICHARDSON IS HOME TO IMMIGRANTS OF EVERY STATUS FROM REFUGEES TO UNDOCUMENTED, FROM STUDENT OR WORK VISAS TO LEGAL RESIDENT TO AMERICAN CITIZEN AND FIRST GENERATION BORN CITIZENS AMERICANS. 
          BUT HOW DO THE AUTHORITIES DIFFERENTIATE? YOU CANNOT KNOW SOMEONE'S LEGAL STATUS BY LOOKING AT THEM. 
          SO HOW ARE PEOPLE BEING DETAINED? THE LACK OF CERTAINTY AND CLARITY THAT CREATES 
          [01:05:01]
ON THAT CREATES FEAR AND CHAOS. 
          THAT MAY BE THE INTENT AT SOME LEVEL, BUT THAT'S NOT THE RICHARDSON WAY. 
          SO WE ARE ASKING FOR CLARIFICATION AND CLEAR COMMUNICATION OF LOCAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. 
          WE ARE ASKING THAT OUR IMMIGRANT NEIGHBORS BE TREATED WITH DIGNITY, TRANSPARENCY, AND DUE PROCESS. 
          WE ARE ASKING THAT RICHARDSON CITY AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT REACH OUT TO THESE COMMUNITIES OF IMMIGRANTS AND PROVIDE RESOURCES AND INFORMATION. 
          THE FACT THAT OUR NEW 2024 COMMUNITY INCLUSION AND ENGAGEMENT COMMISSION HAPPENED TO BE HERE TONIGHT IS EVIDENCE THAT WE HAVE THE WILL AND INTENTION TO ENGAGE IN OUR COMMUNITIES IN A MEANINGFUL WAY. 
          THANK YOU FOR BEING A WELCOMING AND INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT, AND THANK YOU FOR GIVING US A PLATFORM TO SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT OUR CONCERNS. 
          WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR RESPONSE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          HI, THANK Y'ALL. 
          UM, MY ADDRESS IS 2 8 0 0 WATERVIEW PARKWAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TODAY. 
          I UNDERSTAND THAT STOPPING ICE OPERATIONS IN THE CITY IS BEYOND YOUR AUTHORITY. 
          HOWEVER, AS OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, YOU HAVE RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT ALL MEMBERS ARE A COMMUNITY REGARDLESS OF IMMIGRATION STATUS, ARE TREATED WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT, NO MATTER OF PEOPLE'S STATUS. 
          WE ALL HUMAN BEINGS. 
          I HAVE LIVED IN RICHARDSON FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS. 
          I ATTENDED COLLEGE HERE, AND I HAVE WORKED AS A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER IN THE LOCAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS HERE. 
          NO STUDENT SHOULD LIVE IN FEAR OF GOING TO SCHOOL WHILE ICE OPERATIONS ARE AGAIN BEYOND YOUR CITY CONTROL. 
          HOW OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT RESPONDS IS NOT, WE NOT, WE URGE YOU TO USE, UH, YOUR PLATFORM TO ADVOCATE FOR HUMAN TREAT HUMANE TREATMENT, ENSURING THAT FAMILIES ARE NOT SUBJECT TO UNNECESSARY FEAR, HARASSMENT OR RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. 
          PUBLICLY REAFF REFORMING THAT OUR CITY VALUES ALL ITS RESIDENTS SINCE AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE THAT THIS COMMUNITY RESPECTS EVERYONE. 
          ICE OPERATIONS CREATE UNCERTAINTY OR UNCERTAINTY. 
          FEAR. 
          I HAVE HEARD THE FEAR IN MY PEERS IN THIS COMMUNITY. 
          THEY FEAR GOING TO WORK, GOING TO SCHOOL, GOING TO A PLACE OF WORSHIP LIKE CHURCH AND GROCERY STORES. 
          I LIVE IN FEAR. 
          AND WHILE BEING A DOCUMENTED CITIZEN, WE ASK THE CITY OFFICIALS TO ENGAGE DIRECTLY WITH AFFECTED COMMUNITIES, FAITH AND FAITH GROUPS AND ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS TO UNDERSTAND THEIR NEEDS. 
          ADDITIONALLY, WE NEED AS MUCH AS, SORRY, WE NEED AS MUCH AS TRANSPARENCY AS POSSIBLE. 
          REGULAR UPDATES OF WHAT THE CITY KNOWS ABOUT WHAT ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS ARE HAPPENING WITHOUT COMPROMISING SAFETY, OF COURSE, CAN PREVENT MISINFORMATION AND PANIC. 
          WHILE YOU MAY NOT CONTROL ICE OPERATION, THE CITY CAN PROVIDE RESOURCES FOR THOSE WHO MAY BE UNAWARE OF THE ILLEGAL RIGHTS. 
          SPECIFICALLY, WE ASK THE CITY TO PARTNER WITH LOCAL LEGAL AIDS ORGANIZATIONS TO OFFER INFORMATION SESSIONS IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES. 
          THESE SESSIONS SHOULD EDUCATE INDIVIDUALS ON THEIR RIGHTS, HOW TO, TO PREPARE FOR EMERGENCIES AND WHERE TO ACCESS LEGAL AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT IF THEY ARE AFFECTED. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND TIME. 
          THANK YOU REGINA FERRY. 
          REGINA FERRY HERE. 
          BUT I WANTED TO SPEAK ON AN AGENDA. 
          OH, NO. 
          OKAY, MA'AM, THIS IS THE TIME TO DO THAT. 
          I AM REGINA FURRY. 
          MY ADDRESS IS 2 0 5. 
          BETTY, I'VE BEEN A RICHARDSON RESIDENT FOR 36 YEARS. 
          I APOLOGIZE ABOUT NOT KNOWING HOW TO COME UP. 
          I AM A RESIDENT IN THE HIGHLAND TERRACE NEIGHBORHOOD, AND I'VE BEEN A RESIDENT THERE FOR 36 YEARS. 
          I HAVE A CONCERN ABOUT THE TOWNHOUSES THAT HAVE BEEN PRESENTED TO BE BUILT AT BELTLINE AND GROVE. 
          I SPOKE TO OUR COUNCIL PERSON EARLIER TODAY. 
          MY CONCERN IS THE DENSITY. 
          I KNOW THAT'S A PRIME PIECE OF PROPERTY, AND I WOULD BE PRETTY IGNORANT TO THINK THAT NOTHING WOULD BE BUILT THERE. 
          I KNOW SOMETHING WILL BE THE DENSITY. 
          I JUST CANNOT IMAGINE HOW THEY'RE GETTING THAT MANY TOWN HOMES INTO THAT AREA. 
          I DON'T THINK THE CITY DID DUE DILIGENCE WHEN THEY LOOKED AT THE TRAFFIC STUDY. 
          SOME DAYS, GROVE GOING SOUTHBOUND IS BACKED UP PAST THE STOP SIGN AT SPRING VALLEY, 
          [01:10:01]
AND I CAN ONLY PRESUME PEOPLE THAT ARE LIVING THERE MIGHT POSSIBLY BE TAKING THAT ROUTE IN THE MORNING AND IN THE AFTERNOONS. 
          UM, I ALSO, I HAVE WORKED IN THE HOA MANAGEMENT BUSINESS FOR THE LAST 15 YEARS. 
          SO WHEN I TELL THAT TO PEOPLE, YOU ALWAYS RESPOND, OH, I HATE YOU GUYS. 
          AND YOU HAVE TO REALIZE WE'RE JUST ENFORCING THE RULES. 
          WE DO NOT MAKE THEM. 
          BUT ONE OF THE RULES A LOT OF HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS ARE MAKING NOW IS LIMITING THE NUMBER OF RENTAL PROPERTIES IN IT. 
          THIS IS A TOWNHOUSE COMMUNITY, SO THERE ISN'T THAT MUCH MAINTENANCE, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE CITY OF RICHARDSON REQUESTS THIS NOW AND GOING FORWARD. 
          AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS THEY'RE PUTTING A RULE THAT ONLY SIX TO 7% OF THE RESIDENTS CAN BE RENTAL PROPERTIES. 
          THE PROPERTY HAS TO BE OWNER OCCUPIED FOR THE FIRST YEAR, AND THEN AFTER THAT, THEY CAN PUT IT UP FOR RENTAL. 
          TOLL TOWN HOMES, I THINK WOULD RENT A LOT EASIER THAN SINGLE FAMILY HOME. 
          I DON'T WANNA SEE THIS TURN INTO MORE OR LESS APARTMENTS THAT INDIVIDUALS OWN. 
          I ALSO AM CONCERNED ABOUT WHERE DO WE GO. 
          SO IF THIS GOES FORWARD, THE HOA GOES IN THE CITY REQUESTED THAT THEY DO LANDSCAPING SCREENING, WHICH I AM AGREEMENT WITH. 
          MASONRY SCREENING IS TERRIBLE. 
          IT WILL GET DARK FROM THE DARK TRA UH, DARK BUSES GOING UP AND EXHAUST MASONRY SCREENING IS NOT THEIR BEST OPTION. 
          BUT WHAT DO WE DO? AND HOW DOES THE CITY, YOU KNOW, APPROACH SOMEONE IF THEY'RE NOT MAINTAINING THE SCREEN SCREENING OR IF SOMEONE HAD AN ACCIDENT AND KNOCKED DOWN STUFF AND IT'S NOT BEING PREPARED AND FIXED WITH YOUR INDIVIDUAL HOME. 
          OF COURSE, CODE ENFORCEMENT WOULD COME KNOCKING AT YOUR DOOR. 
          WHO, WHO DOES THE CITY CONTACT IN THIS CASE IS WHEN IT'S MANAGED BY AN HOA. 
          SO I'M HOPING THAT YOU ALL TAKE A LOOK AT THIS. 
          PLEASE DO NOT VOTE FOR IT TO GO IN WITH THIS NUMBER OF TOWN HOMES. 
          AGAIN, THE CITY HAS NOT DONE THEIR DUE DILIGENCE ON THE TRAFFIC COUNTS AROUND THERE. 
          PLEASE LOOK AT THAT AND THEN MAYBE COME BACK WITH IT. 
          AND AGAIN, I AM AWARE SOMETHING'S PROBABLY GOING TO GO IN THERE. 
          I DO FEEL FOR PEOPLE WHO BOUGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM A CHURCH, WHOEVER IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD THINK THAT A CHURCH WILL SELL AND MOVE ON. 
          BUT IT HAPPENED, AND I WANT THE BEST FOR NEIGHBORHOOD AROUND THERE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU MA'AM. 
          STEVEN BUTLER. 
          I AM DR. STEVEN BUTLER. 
          I LIVE AT 1114 PACIFIC DRIVE ON THIS I OF RICHARDSON. 
          UM, BEFORE I SAY WHAT I CAME HERE TO SAY, I JUST WANT TO COMMENT ON SOMETHING, UH, REAL QUICK. 
          I'M REALLY HAPPY TO HEAR ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF THIS COMMISSION, THIS COMMUNITY INCLUSION COMMISSION. 
          AND AS A HISTORIAN, I CAN TELL YOU THAT A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, SUCH A COMMISSION WOULD'VE BEEN UNIMAGINABLE IN RICHARDSON. 
          SO I THINK IT'S A, A REAL GOOD THING, A REAL GOOD INDICATOR OF HOW FAR RICHARDSON HAS PROGRESSED. 
          UH, SINCE, UH, 1925, WHICH IS WHAT I CAME HERE TO TALK ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO. 
          I ASKED THE CITY'S HISTORIAN, STACEY DAVIS, IF THERE WERE ANY OFFICIAL PLANS BY THE CITY OF RICHARDSON TO COMMEMORATE THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF INCORPORATION. 
          WHEN STACEY INFORMED ME THERE WERE, THAT THERE WERE NO PLANS OF ANY KIND, I WAS VERY SURPRISED IN LIGHT OF THE FACT THAT NO, NONE OF US WOULD BE SITTING OR STANDING IN THIS ROOM TODAY IF INCORPORATION HAD NOT OCCURRED. 
          NOR IS IT LIKELY THAT RICHARDSON WOULD HAVE GROWN INTO THE DYNAMIC CITY THAT IT IS TODAY. 
          IT SEEMS TO ME THAT A FAILURE TO CELEBRATE, OR AT THE VERY LEAST, COMMEMORATE THE CENTENNIAL OF THAT SEMINAL EVENT IN OUR CITY, CITY CITY'S HISTORY WOULD BE VERY MUCH AMIS AS THE CITY'S UNOFFICIAL HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR OF THE MOST THOROUGHLY RESEARCHED AND COMPLETE HISTORY OF RICHARDSON THAT'S EVER BEEN PUBLISHED, I IMPLORE YOU AT THE VERY LEAST TO ERECT OR PLACE A PLAQUE OR SIGN MADE OF SOME DURABLE MATERIAL, PREFERABLY BRONZE ON OR NEAR THE BUILDING WHERE THE VOTE FOR INCORPORATION TOOK PLACE ON JUNE 22ND, 1925, 
          [01:15:03]
AND TO FORMALLY DEDICATED ON JUNE 22ND, 2025, THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ELECTION. 
          AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE MY LETTER IN FRONT OF YOU, I DID PUT 1925 TWICE. 
          THAT WAS SECOND ONE WAS A MISTAKE THAT SHOULD SAY 2025. 
          INCLUDED WITH THIS LETTER IS A PHOTO OF THE BUILDING IN QUESTION. 
          IT'S THE BUILDING AT 100 EAST MAIN STREET AT THE CORNER OF, UH, EAST MAIN AND TEXAS STREET, WHERE THE A TO Z UH, PRINTING COMPANY IS LOCATED. 
          AND I ALSO INCLUDED A REPRESENTATION OF WHAT SUCH A PLAQUE COULD LOOK LIKE, AND I'LL READ IT TO YOU IN THIS BUILDING. 
          ON JUNE 22ND, 1925, THE CITY OF RICHARDSON WAS BORN WHEN ELIGIBLE RESIDENTS VOTED 112 TO 10. 
          THAT JUST SHOWS YOU HOW WE'VE GROWN IN POPULATION TO INCORPORATE THEIR COMMUNITY AND ELECT TOM MCCAMEY, ITS FIRST MAYOR WITH EARL E HUFFINES AND TA BERRYMAN COMMISSIONERS. 
          AND THEN UNDERNEATH IT, UH, IT WOULD SAY, PLACED HERE JUNE 22ND, 2025, BOB DUBBY MAYOR, AND THEN THE NAMES OF ALL THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THE CITY MANAGER'S NAME. 
          I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT THE CITY UNDERTAKE TO ERECT SMALL SIGNS OR PLAQUES ON ALL THE PRE INCORPORATION BUILDINGS IN THE 100 BLOCK OF EAST MAIN STREET, TELLING THEIR YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION AND THE ORIGINAL NAME OF THE BUSINESS THAT OPERATED THEREIN, ALONG WITH ANY OTHER PERTINENT HISTORICAL INFORMATION. 
          I RECENTLY VISITED PARIS, TEXAS WHERE SUCH A THING HAS BEEN DONE, AND I WAS VERY IMPRESSED BY HOW DEARLY THE CITY AND PEOPLE OF PARIS VALUE THEIR HISTORY. 
          SURELY WE CAN DO THE SAME HERE IN RICHARDSON WITH FAR FEWER EXTANT HISTORIC STRUCTURES. 
          IN CLOSING, I WOULD LIKE TO FURTHER SUGGEST THAT THE CITY OF RICHARDSON CONSIDER HOSTING OR CO-HOSTING A CELEBRATION OF SOME KIND TO MARK THE CENTENNIAL OF INCORPORATION, SIMILAR PERHAPS TO THE WONDERFUL SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION WE HAD IN 2023. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THE LAST CARD I HAVE MAYOR IS ELAINE HOOPER. 
          ELAINE COOPER. 
          ELAINE COOPER LEFT COOPER. 
          OKAY. 
          SHE'S GONE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          SEE NO ONE ELSE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK. 
          WE WILL GO TO MAYOR. 
          YES, MR. MAGDALEN WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK. 
          WELL, THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          UM, UM, YOU KNOW, I I I THINK, UM, AS, AS I I READ EARLIER IN THE INSTRUCTIONS, I, I, UH, I I THINK I'D LIKE TO JUST MAKE A COUPLE OF, UM, COMMENTS JUST IN, IN GENERAL TONIGHT IN RESPONSE TO THE SPEAKERS. 
          UH, FIRST I, I'D LIKE TO REALLY, UH, WANT TO START, UH, WITH BIG, UH, EXPRESSING OUR SINCERE GRATITUDE TO EVERY SPEAKER TONIGHT THAT, THAT HAS COME OUT AND SHARED YOUR THOUGHTS. 
          UM, THE, I CAN, I KNOW I CAN SPEAK FOR THE COUNCIL AND OUR CITY STAFF THAT WE REALLY VALUE YOUR INPUT AND, UM, AND SHARE YOUR COMMITMENT TO MAKING RICHARDSON THE BEST PLACE AND, AND THE BEST COMMUNITY IT CAN BE. 
          UM, I FEEL, I FEEL COMPELLED TO MAYBE JUST, UH, I, I THINK, UH, THE FIRST SPEAKER, THE CONCLUDING REMARK WAS CLARITY AND THE SECOND SPEAKER AS WELL, CLARITY ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW AND WHAT, UM, THE COMMUNITY CAN EXPECT. 
          AND SO I'D LIKE TO, I'D LIKE TO SHARE JUST A FEW, A FEW FACTS ALONG THAT WAY. 
          UM, START WITH WHAT I THINK IS WIDELY KNOWN, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, THE CITY COUNCIL HERE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SETTING THE VISION AND THE GOALS FOR OUR CITY. 
          UM, AS CITY MANAGER, I FEEL LIKE I'VE RECEIVED CLEAR DIRECTION FROM THE COUNCIL TO ENSURE THAT EVERY PERSON WE INTERACT WITH, UM, IS TREATED WITH RESPECT, DIGNITY, AND COMPASSION, AND THAT OUR COMMUNITY REMAINS A SAFE AND SECURE PLACE FOR ALL AS A HIGH PRIORITY FOR THIS COUNCIL. 
          UH, AND FOR THIS CITY STAFF. 
          UM, I FEEL LIKE THIS WAS FIRST COMMUNICATED, UM, BACK IN 2020, IN THE SUMMER OF 2020 WHEN WE FIRST ISSUED OUR STATEMENT ON EQUALITY AND, AND MUNICIPAL STANDARD OF SERVICE, WHICH AFFIRMS AND I I QUOTE THAT EVERY MEMBER OF OUR CITY STAFF IS EXPECTED 
          [01:20:01]
TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE, RELIABILITY, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AND COMPASSION IN EVERY INTERACTION WE HAVE, UM, WITH THE PEOPLE THAT WE SERVE. 
          AND THERE'S NO DISTINGUISH, THERE'S NO DISTINCTION IN THE PEOPLE. 
          UM, IT FURTHER STATES THAT IN RICHARDSON, WE STAND TOGETHER IN OUR COMMITMENT TO JUSTICE, PEACE, KINDNESS, AND UNDERSTANDING IN ORDER TO BE THE BEST POSSIBLE CIVIL SERVANTS WE CAN BE. 
          AND THAT'S EVERY SINGLE EMPLOYEE IN THIS CITY, IN EVERY SINGLE DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, WE ALSO HOLD DEAR THE BELIEF THAT OUR MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT HERE IS HERE TO SERVE EVERYONE NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE. 
          THAT'S RIGHT. 
          FROM OUR STATEMENT REGARDING THE RICHARDSON POLICE DEPARTMENT, I WANTED TO SHARE THAT RPD DOES NOT HAVE FEDERAL AUTHORITY TO ENFORCE THE IMMIGRATION LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES. 
          AND IT IS NOT SEEKING THAT AUTHORITY. 
          RPD WILL REMAIN FOCUSED ON ENFORCING THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THE ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF RICHARDSON. 
          AND WE WILL, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO SAFEGUARD DUE PROCESS AND, AND THE ADHERENCE TO THE RULE OF LAW. 
          THAT'S THEIR PRIORITY. 
          THE MEN AND WOMEN OF RPD ARE FOCUSED ON KEEPING OUR CITY SAFE AND POSITIVELY ENGAGING WITH EVERYONE IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          AND THAT'S NOT DIFFERENT TODAY. 
          AND IT WASN'T THAN THAN IT THAN IT EVER HAS BEEN. 
          FOR THOSE OF YOU HERE TONIGHT, OR THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE WATCHING THAT, THAT ARE WATCHING THE MEDIA. 
          AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT IN RICHARDSON, WE FIRMLY BELIEVE IN THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS, THE SECURITY AND THE DIGNITY OF EVERY INDIVIDUAL THAT WE ENCOUNTER. 
          THE CITY COUNCIL CLEARLY EXPECTS STAFF TO UPHOLD THESE VALUES IN EVERY INTERACTION WE HAVE WITHIN THIS COMMUNITY AND WITH OUR COMMUNITY. 
          AND AS CITY MANAGER, I'M COMMITTED TO ENSURING THAT WE DO EXACTLY THAT. 
          AND SO, MAYOR, UM, I KNOW THAT, UH, YOU AND THE COUNCIL, UH, AREN'T ALLOWED TO DIALOGUE ABOUT THIS, BUT I FEEL THE PASSION AND THE CONCERN FROM THE COMMUNITY, AND I WANTED TO, UH, JUST SHARE THOSE FULL, THOSE THOSE FEW THINGS THAT I BELIEVE TO BE TRUE, UM, OF, UH, THIS ORGANIZATION AND OF RPD. 
          AND I KNOW UNDER CHIEF TITTLES, UH, LEADERSHIP, HE IS HIGHLY ALIGNED WITH EVERY ONE OF THOSE STATEMENTS. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THAT. 
          THANK YOU, MR. MAGNER. 
          AND YOU SAID IT VERY WELL, AND I THINK EVERYONE ON THE COUNCIL WOULD AGREE WITH THAT. 
          [7. REVIEW AND DISCUSS DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT STATUS REPORT ]
SO AT THIS TIME, WE'RE GONNA GO TO ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, REVIEW AND DISCUSS DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT STATUS REPORT. 
          MR. MAGNER. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          UM, UM, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO HAVE, UH, GARY SLAGEL, UH, SLAGEL, WHO OF COURSE IS, UH, OUR REPRESENTATIVE TO, UH, THE DART BOARD AND REPRESENTS A NUMBER OF OTHER CITIES, UH, AND IS ALSO THE BOARD CHAIR CURRENTLY, AS WELL AS MARK ENOCH, WHO IS, UH, REPRESENTS THE CITIES OF GARLAND, GLEN HEIGHTS AND ROULETTE. 
          AND KAY SHELTON, WHO IS, UH, CHIEF OF STAFF, UH, FOR DART. 
          UM, UH, YOU, YOU, UH, WE'VE TALKED MANY TIMES, UH, ABOUT, UH, DART AND, UH, SEVERAL IMPORTANT INITIATIVES THAT, UH, DART'S, UH, BOARD AND LEADERSHIP HAVE BEEN WORKING ON. 
          UM, OF COURSE, WE'RE, UH, HIGHLY CONNECTED WITH DART AND SUPPORTIVE OF THEIR EFFORTS. 
          AND, UM, THERE WAS SOME IMPORTANT DECISIONS THAT WERE MADE RECENTLY AT THE BOARD MEETING AND CHAIR SLAGEL REACHED OUT AND SAID THAT THEY WOULD REALLY LIKE TO COME PROVIDE YOU WITH A PERSONAL UPDATE AND THEN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE REGARDING THOSE IMPORTANT, UM, UM, UH, DECISIONS THAT WERE MADE AND, AND, UH, THE INITIATIVES THAT'LL, UH, RESULT AS, AS, AS, UM, AND THAT ARE RELATED TO THOSE. 
          AND SO, UH, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER, UH, TO GARY AND I THINK GARY KAY AND MARK ARE ALL GONNA HAVE A, A ROLE IN PRESENTING A COUPLE OF THESE. 
          AND THEN MAYOR, WE'D LOVE FOR YOU AND THE COUNCIL TO HAVE DIALOGUE WITH, UH, OUR REPRESENTATIVE AND WITH, UH, MARKING. 
          KAY. 
          SO THANKS TO ALL THREE OF YOU FOR BEING HERE. 
          AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU. 
          YOU, THANK YOU, BILL. 
          THANK YOU, MR. GARY. 
          TAKE IT AWAY. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          FIRST LET ME START BY THANKING, UH, YOU THE MAYOR, MAYOR DUBBY AND THE COUNCIL FOR, AND, AND KEN HUTCHIN RIDER, WHO WAS A COUNCILMAN THAT PRESENTED DART AT STATE OF THE CITY . 
          WE REALLY APPRECIATED A VERY NICE PRESENTATION AND THE, UH, WORDS THAT, UH, KEN HUTCHIN RIDER, UH, DESCRIBED, UH, THE WAY HE DESCRIBED DART TO THE AUDIENCE. 
          THAT WAS VERY MUCH APPRECIATED. 
          IT'S ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY. 
          DART HAS BEEN AN IMPORTANT PART OF THIS CITY FOR A LONG TIME. 
          A LOT HAS CHANGED, AND THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE, HAVE GONE ON THAT MOST OF YOU KNOW ABOUT, WHICH IS THERE'S A CONCERN ABOUT POTENTIAL LEGISLATION, UH, IN THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION TO REDUCE THE SALES TAX FOR DART BE. 
          AND, AND THAT'S DRIVEN BY A COUPLE OF THINGS. 
          IT'S DRIVEN PRIMARILY BY THE FACT THAT THE, UH, FOUR A FOUR B CITIES ARE VERY COMPETITIVE AND HAVE MONEY TO DEAL WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT, UH, THAT THE CITY OF RICHARDSON AND, AND, UH, 14 OTHER CITIES USE TO SUPPORT DART. 
          SO IT'S, WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF AN ISSUE THERE THAT THAT NEEDS TO BE WORKED THROUGH, BUT THAT'S PART OF WHAT STARTED IT. 
          THE OTHER THING THAT STARTED IT IS THAT OUR LEGISLATURE HAS REDUCED THE AMOUNT OF GROWTH IN YOUR REVENUE SO THAT IT PUTS BUDGETS FOR THE CITY UNDER A LOT OF PRESSURE. 
          SO WITH THAT AS A BACKDROP, 
          [01:25:01]
WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH OUR MEMBER CITIES, ALL 15 OF THEM FOR A NUMBER OF MONTHS OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, REALLY, ON HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD? AND, AND, AND THERE WAS A REQUEST MADE TO THE STATE LEGISLATURE, UH, TWO YEARS AGO, WHICH, AND ACTUALLY FOUR YEARS AGO, IT STARTED, UH, BY THE CITY OF PLANO ASKING FOR DARK TO EXPLAIN HOW MUCH WE'RE SPENDING IN THE CITIES, AND THEN HOW MUCH THE CITIES ARE GETTING OUT OF THAT IN TERMS OF THE VALUE OF WHAT WE SPENT. 
          AND THEN THEY'RE COMPARING THAT TO THE SALES TAX THEY PUT INTO IT. 
          SO WE JUST, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE BID BACK AND FORTH FOR SOME TIME ON HOW TO HANDLE THAT. 
          AND WE CONTRACTED S AND YOUNG TO DO A STUDY A OVER A YEAR AGO, UH, ON THAT, BUT ASKED THE CITIES, IT WAS, WE PAID FOR IT. 
          IT WAS A, IT WAS A CITY, UH, STUDY THE CITY, IT'S ALL AGREED ON WHAT THAT WOULD, YOU KNOW, HOW THAT WOULD COME TOGETHER. 
          AND, UH, LAST, UH, LAST FALL, IT WAS FINALLY RELEASED. 
          THE RESULTS OF THAT STUDY WERE RELEASED. 
          EVEN THOUGH THAT STUDY WAS ONGOING, SOME OF THE CITIES BECAME IMPATIENT WITH THE WHOLE PROCESS. 
          AND SIX CITIES DID A RESOLUTION ON REDUCING OUR SALES TAX BY A QUARTER. 
          AND SEVEN CITIES SAID WE LIKE IT, DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING REALLY. 
          AND SO  AND THAT WAS NICE. 
          THE CITY OF RICHARDSON AND SEVERAL OTHERS DID NOT TAKE ANY ACTION. 
          BUT WE'RE, WE'RE WHERE WE ARE NOW BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN ASKED BY THE RTC AND, AND BY SOME OF THE LEADERS IN AUSTIN TO WORK THIS OUT, ANY ISSUES OUT LOCALLY, AS OPPOSED TO HAVING THEM TAKE CHARGE OF IT IN AUSTIN. 
          AND WE'D LIKE TO SEE THAT HAPPEN. 
          SO MARK EEK, MYSELF, NADINE LEE, AND THEN KAY, FROM TIME TO TIME AND OTHER, UH, DELE, UH, WILL, WOULD GO TO THE CITIES. 
          AND IN, UH, IN NOVEMBER WE STARTED VISITING EACH OF THE CITIES, BUT WE VISITED THE MAYOR AND THE CITY MANAGER VISITED RICHARDSON. 
          WE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, TALKED ABOUT THE SITUATION, THE ISSUES THAT WERE THERE TO TRY TO LEARN AS MUCH AS WE COULD ABOUT IT. 
          AND THAT, THAT SORT OF WAS MADE EASIER BECAUSE NADINE HAD STARTED A STRATEGIC PLAN AT LEAST A YEAR IN ADVANCE OF THAT, WHERE VISITS WERE BEING MADE. 
          SO IT WAS, THIS HAS SORT OF BEEN A CONTINUATION OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH WE PASSED LAST SUMMER. 
          BUT SO, SO THROUGH THOSE DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CITIES, WE FOUND OUT A COUPLE OF THINGS. 
          FIRST, WE, YOU KNOW, WE LEARNED MORE ABOUT WHY THERE'S A SHORTAGE OF REVENUE COMING INTO THE CITIES. 
          WE ALSO LEARNED THAT SOME OF THE CITIES FELT VERY MUCH, UH, THAT THERE NEEDED TO BE A CHANGE IN GOVERNANCE OF DART. 
          AND I'LL, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE CHANGE IN GOVERNANCE, BUT WHILE WE WERE TALKING TO THE CITIES ABOUT BOTH THAT HAD DONE RESOLUTIONS AND THOSE WHO HAD NOT DONE RESOLUTIONS, THERE WAS ALWAYS A DISCUSSION ABOUT, DO WE, DO YOU WANT MORE DOLLARS COMING INTO YOUR CITY FROM DART? OR WOULD YOU LIKE MORE SERVICES? AND SO NOW WE HAVE PRESENTATION HERE, WHICH I WILL ACTUALLY GET INTO AND GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THE BOARD HAD DEVELOPED, HAS DEVELOPED A, A CONSENSUS, SO TO SPEAK. 
          WE DIDN'T PUT THIS ON AN AGENDA YET TO, TO VOTE ON IT, BUT WHAT WE TRIED TO DO IS WE TRIED TO GET SOME FEEDBACK FROM THE BOARD AND SEE WHERE THEIR HEAD WAS REPORTED TO THEM, WHAT WE HEARD ON THE FIRST ROUND OF MEETINGS WITH ALL THE CITIES. 
          SO BASICALLY, INSTEAD OF RETURNING DOLLARS TO THE CITY, THE BOARD REALLY FELT COMFORTABLE THAT WE NEEDED TO PROVIDE SERVICES. 
          THAT'S WHAT WE'RE IN BUSINESS FOR. 
          THAT'S WHY WE WERE FORMED. 
          WE'RE WE'RE HERE TO PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION SERVICES TO THE REGION. 
          SO THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT, THAT WAS VERY IMPORTANT. 
          UH, SO WE, WE HAVE IN OUR SECOND ROUND OF MEETINGS, WHICH WE DID IN, UH, DECEMBER, WE ENDED IN JANUARY RATHER, WE TOLD THE CITIES THAT THE BOARD DIDN'T FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH RETURNING MONEY, BUT WHAT, WHAT OTHER SERVICES DO YOU NEED? WELL, THROUGH THOSE TWO ROUNDS OF MEETINGS, WE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT WHAT THAT WAS. 
          AND IN THE FIRST SUB-BULLET UP THERE IS A CIRCULATOR SYSTEM IN SOME AREAS. 
          SO, FOR INSTANCE, UH, SOME OF THE CITIES HAVE BUSINESSES AND RETAIL AND THAT, AND IT'S DIFFICULT FOR THE COMMUNITY TO GET BACK WITH THE WORKERS WORKFORCE TO GET BACK AND FORTH TO THOSE. 
          SO THAT'S WHAT A CIRCULATOR ASSISTED MEANS. 
          WE HAVE THAT IN, IN, UH, IN SOME PARTS 
          [01:30:01]
OF THE SERVICE AREA. 
          WE HAVE THAT IN RICHARDSON. 
          BUT THE SECOND ONE IS THAT THERE, THERE'S AN INTEREST IN EXPANDING GOLINK. 
          GOLINK IS, IS REALLY A MICRO TRANSIT SERVICE LIKE UBER OR LYFT. 
          IT PICKS YOU UP WHERE YOU ARE, TAKES YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO GO. 
          AND WE, WE HAVE THAT SERVICE IN OUR REGION CURRENTLY, BUT THE EXPANSION OF THAT SERVICE IS VERY INTERESTING TO A LOT OF THE, TO THE CITIES SO THAT IT GIVES MORE COVERAGE, MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO MOVE FROM LOCATION TO LOCATION WITHIN THEIR CITY. 
          SOME WOULD LIKE IT EVEN OUTSIDE OF THE CITY WHERE THEY MAY WANT TO GO TO AN ATTRACTION SOMEWHERE THAT A LOT OF THEIR CITIZENS GO TO. 
          SO THOSE WERE THE TWO THINGS WE LEARNED. 
          UM, WE ALSO LEARNED THAT WE NEEDED TO WORK WITH OUR CITIES AND OUR CORPORATIONS TO DO A BETTER JOB OF INFORMING THEM OF WHAT WE DO AND GETTING IMPROVING RIDERSHIP, BECAUSE WE HAVE, WE HAD A FALL OFF IN RIDERSHIP DURING COVID WHEN PEOPLE WERE WORKING FROM HOME THAT'S PICKED UP. 
          WE'RE, WE'RE ABOUT 80% OF WHAT WE WERE PRE COVID TIME. 
          BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF COMPANIES THAT, THAT WE THINK WE SHOULD BE WORKING WITH AND APARTMENT UNITS TO SAY, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO WE, WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM YOUR EXPERIENCES? WHY ARE YOU NOT TAKING IT? OR WHY DO YOU TAKE IT? SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT, THAT REALLY WE NEED TO DO TO MAKE, MAKE DART A BETTER SERVICE. 
          SECONDLY, THERE WAS A CONCERN BY SEVERAL OF THE CITIES ON THIS GOVERNANCE QUESTION. 
          AND IF YOU GO BACK TO THE SLIDE BEFORE, THERE WERE, THERE WERE TWO THINGS WE HEARD. 
          CITIES FELT THEY DIDN'T HAVE A VOICE, DIDN'T HAVE A PLACE AT THE TABLE, AND THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT. 
          AND YOU CAN SEE THAT SMALLER COMMUNITIES ARE LIKE THAT. 
          THE OTHER ONE IS, THERE WAS A PERCEPTION, THOUGH WE DON'T, HAVEN'T WITNESSED THAT A GREAT DEAL, BUT THERE WAS A PERCEPTION THAT PERHAPS THERE WAS ONE CITY THAT CITY OF DALLAS THAT HAD, COULD DRIVE THE AGENDA BECAUSE THEY HAD EIGHT BOARD MEMBERS AND THE, UH, SUBURBS HAD SEVEN. 
          AND SO, EVEN THOUGH WE PROBABLY, I THINK AS MARCUS SAID, WE'VE, HE'S SEEN THAT FIVE TIMES SINCE HE'S BEEN ON THE BOARD AND HE'S BEEN ON THIS BOARD FOR QUITE A WHILE, UM, THAT THERE IS STILL THAT SENSITIVITY. 
          SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE, WE WANTED TO FIGURE OUT OR CON CONCLUDE ON HOW WE, HOW WE HANDLE IT. 
          SO WE, WE GOT THE CONSENSUS, WE RECEIVED THE CONSENSUS FROM THE BOARD THAT, UH, BOTH OF THOSE SHOULD BE, SHOULD BE ATTACKED, AND WE NEEDED TO FIND A WAY TO DO THAT. 
          AND WE WENT BACK OUT TO THE CITIES AND REPORTED THAT. 
          AND SINCE THAT POINT IN TIME, UH, ON THE GOVERNANCE PART OF THAT, A COUPLE OF THINGS, A FEW THINGS HAVE HAPPENED HERE. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE FEEL THAT THE WAY, THE WAY OUR CHARTER'S WRITTEN 4 52, IT'S BASED ON, YOU KNOW, BOARD MEMBERS ARE BASED ON THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN YOUR COMMUNITY, OR IT'S BASED ON POPULATION. 
          AND THAT'S THE WAY WE ELECT OUR STATE REPRESENTATIVES AND OUR, AND OUR NATIONAL OR FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES IN INDIAN ELECTION. 
          SO THAT'S THE WAY DART WAS SET UP. 
          AND, AND OUR CONCLUSION IS THAT'S A PRETTY GOOD WAY TO DO IT. 
          WE ALSO, UH, WE, WE HAVE TO WORK WITH OUR POPULATION NUMBERS EVERY FIVE YEARS. 
          AND IN 2025, IT IS TIME TO DO THAT AGAIN. 
          AND THE LAST TIME WE WENT THROUGH THIS, THERE'S A GROUP AT TEXAS, A M CALLED TEXAS TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE THAT PUT TOGETHER GROUPINGS OF CITIES THAT MIGHT FIT TOGETHER. 
          THE THING THAT I HEARD MOST PROMINENTLY IS WITH THE VOICE, I DON'T HAVE A VOICE, IS I'LL USE MY EXPERIENCE AS A GREAT EXAMPLE. 
          I REPRESENT FOUR CITIES. 
          I REPRESENT RICHARDSON, ADDISON, HIGHLAND PARK, AND UNIVERSITY PARK. 
          ADDISON DOESN'T HAVE ANY CONCERN ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP, UNIVERSITY PARK AND HIGHLAND PARK, BECAUSE THEY'RE DOWN CLOSE TO DALLAS QUESTION, MY LOYALTY TO MAYBE WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE. 
          AND, AND THEY HAVEN'T BEEN THAT BLUNT ABOUT IT. 
          IT'S BEEN A PRETTY GOOD CONVERSATION. 
          BUT THE REALITY OF IT IS, I REPRESENT TWO CITIES THAT ARE IN NORTH PART, NORTHERN PART OF THE AREA. 
          AND, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK THIS IS A LARGE PROBLEM, BUT I THINK IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ADDRESS WHEN WE LOOK AT THE POPULATION NUMBERS. 
          WE'VE TALKED TO TTI, WE SAID, LOOK AT BETTER, YOU KNOW, IS THERE A BETTER WAY TO GROUP THESE CITIES AND THEN TAKE, LET'S TAKE THOSE TO THE CITIES AND LET THEM DECIDE WHO THEY WOULD LIKE TO TEAM WITH, AND THAT THAT SHOULD WORK. 
          AND SO, WE'LL, WE'LL GIVE IT A 
          [01:35:01]
SHOT. 
          UM, AND, AND I, I THINK, UH, A GOOD EXAMPLE THOUGH, THE WAY IT SHOULD WORK IS MARK, HE IS, UH, FORMER MAYOR OF, UH, ROLLETTE. 
          HE IS GROUPED WITH AS, AS, UH, THE MAYOR SAID, OR DON SAID, UH, HE WAS GROUPED WITH, UH, GARLAND AND WITH ALSO, UH, GLEN HEIGHTS. 
          WHEN THAT GROUPING WAS PUT TOGETHER, THEY CHOSE MARK BECAUSE THEY WANTED HIM ON THE BOARD, EVEN THOUGH HE REPRESENTED A MUCH SMALLER CITY. 
          SO GARLAND COULD HAVE TAKEN TWO PLACES. 
          GARLAND COULD HAVE TAKEN THEIR, THEIR SEAT AND THE SECOND SEAT, BUT THEY DIDN'T DO THAT. 
          THEY PICKED, THEY DECIDED TO SHARE IT. 
          SO WHAT I HOPE THAT WE CAN DO IS CONTINUE THAT PROCESS. 
          UH, IRVING DID THE SAME THING WITH CARROLLTON. 
          THEY HAVE A BOARD MEMBER THAT IS AN IRVING BOARD MEMBER AND A BOARD MEMBER FROM CARROLLTON, AND IT KINDA SPREADS IT OUT. 
          IN THE CASE OF, UH, PLANO WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. 
          THEY HAVE TWO BOARD MEMBERS. 
          ONE COULD BE FROM FARMER'S BRANCH, BUT IT'S FROM, FROM PLANO. 
          AT ONE POINT IN TIME THEY DID FARMER'S BRANCH HAD A MEMBER, BUT, BUT THAT, UH, LASTED FOR A TERM. 
          AND THEN, THEN PLANO HAD TO, SO ALL I'D LIKE TO DO IS ENCOURAGE AS WE WALK THROUGH THIS PROCESS, MAYBE THEY, THE CITIES GET TOGETHER AND THEY MAYBE COME UP WITH A ROTATION FOR MEMBERS LIKE WE DO WITH THE RTC. 
          IT'S REALLY UP TO THE BOARD OR THE, THE, THE CITIES, NOT THE BOARD ON HOW THAT SHOULD WORK. 
          SO I, THAT'S ANOTHER THING WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO DO. 
          AND I WILL. 
          AND THE FINAL THING THAT, UH, THAT ADDRESSES GOVERNANCE AND THE CHANGE THAT WE MADE LAST WEEK IN THE BOARD MEETING ON JANUARY 28TH, AS WE, WE HAD A UNANIMOUS VOTE TO REQUIRE A SUPER MAJORITY FOR ADDING SERVICE. 
          AND WE'D DONE THAT BEFORE FOR REDUCING SERVICE BECAUSE SOME OF THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD WERE CONCERNED THAT DALLAS, AS AN EXAMPLE, COULD COME IN AND SAY, WE'RE GONNA TAKE SERVICE AWAY FROM YOU. 
          THE SUBURB, BECAUSE THEY HAD EIGHT VOTES, SUBURB HAD SEVEN, WHAT A SUPER MAJORITY WOULD REQUIRE ON ADDING SERVICE OR REMOVING SERVICE. 
          AND WE DO HAVE A SUPER MAJORITY FOR OTHER THINGS ON THE, ON THAT GOVERN OUR BOARD, BY THE WAY. 
          BUT, BUT THIS ONE'S VERY SENSITIVE. 
          MARK AND MYSELF AND, UH, PAUL WEGMAN TRIED TO PUSH THE SUPER MAJORITY FOR ADDING SERVICE THROUGH TWO MORE, AT LEAST TWO OR THREE ATTEMPTS. 
          BUT WE HAD A SUPER, WE HAD A, A, UH, UNANIMOUS DECISION LAST WEEK TO DO THAT. 
          WHAT THAT SAYS IS WE WON'T HAVE THE ISSUE OF PLANO DRIVING, OR RICHARDSON RATHER, I'M, START THAT AGAIN. 
          DALLAS DRIVING THE AGENDA AND WHAT WE, WHAT WE, HOW THE SYSTEM IS BUILT, BECAUSE WE SHOULD ALL BE ON THAT BOARD AS A REGIONAL PLAYER AND NOT AS A PLAYER DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE CITY THEY REPRESENT. 
          SO THAT'S THE GOVERNANCE PORTION OF THAT. 
          UM, SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO NOW, WE'VE, SO WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT, THE MAJOR POLITICAL ISSUES, WHICH ARE BOTH GOVERNANCE AND WHAT SHOULD THE SERVICE LOOK LIKE? SHOULD IT BE SERVICE OR SHOULD IT BE DOLLARS? SO, WE'LL, WE'LL BE SERVICE AS WE SEE IT TODAY. 
          AND GOVERNANCE. 
          WE THINK WE HAVE A STRATEGY FOR HANDLING. 
          BUT I WANNA ALSO HAVE K BRING YOU UP TO SPEED ON WHAT WE'RE DOING, WHAT DART'S DOING FOR THE CITY OF RICHARDSON, SPECIFICALLY BASED ON THE MEETINGS WE'VE HAD WITH ALL THE CITIES. 
          WE HAVE A SIMILAR LIST FOR EACH OF THE CITIES. 
          THEY'RE ALL UNIQUE TO THE CITY, BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT THE CITIES WOULD LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN. 
          AND, AND THE REASON WE'RE MEETING WITH THE FULL COUNCIL IS TO LET EVERYBODY KNOW WHAT WE'RE THINK, WHAT WE'RE THINKING OF DOING, AND HOW WE'RE MOVING FORWARD. 
          SO I'LL TURN THIS OVER TO KAY. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU, GARY. 
          THESE CAME OUT OF DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN BOB AND DON, JUST MM-HMM . 
          WHERE THE TOPICS CAME FROM. 
          YEAH, GOOD EVENING. 
          SO JUST A, A BRIEF UPDATE ON SOME OF THE KEY EFFORTS AND RICHARDSON, AS GARY MENTIONED, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HEARD THAT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE CITY IS THE AESTHETIC ARCH ELEMENT OF THE SILVER LINE BRIDGE OVER S 75. 
          AND THERE'S HAD TO BE SOME REDESIGN ON THAT EFFORT. 
          UM, WE JUST GOT FINAL COMMENTS BACK FROM TXDOT, UM, ON THE REDESIGN OF THAT AND ARE WORKING WITH THE CITY RIGHT NOW ON AMENDING THE ILA FOR THAT. 
          WE ALSO HAVE REQUESTED THAT COG HELP PARTICIPATE IN SOME OF THE FUNDING FOR THE EXTRA DOLLARS THAT THAT REDESIGN AND THAT CONSTRUCTION WOULD TAKE. 
          AND WE SHOULD KNOW THIS WEEK ACTUALLY, IF COG IS GONNA HELP PARTICIPATE IN THAT FUNDING, WHICH WOULD HELP REDUCE THE AMOUNT FOR ALL OF US INVOLVED AND BE A WIN-WIN FOR THAT. 
          SO, UM, STAFF IS WORKING DELE, IT'S WORKING REALLY CLOSELY WITH COG AND WITH RICHARDSON STAFF TO GET THAT ILA DRAFTED AND TO, UM, TAKE THAT PLUS A CONTRACT MODIFICATION TO THE DART BOARD IN MARCH. 
          AND THAT WILL ALLOW US TO START PROCEEDING WITH, UH, CONSTRUCTION, UM, IN THE SPRING 
          [01:40:01]
SOMETIME. 
          'CAUSE THAT WILL BE A LONG LEAD ITEM TO BUILD THE FOUNDATIONS AND THE SUPPORTS FOR THAT, THAT ARCH ELEMENT OF THE BRIDGE. 
          SO THAT'S MOVING FORWARD. 
          UM, THE SECOND ITEM THAT YOU SEE UP THERE RE RELATED TO FANTASTIC SPACES, THAT'S ONE OF THE GOALS THAT NADINE MENTIONED WHEN SHE BRIEFED YOU, UM, SEVERAL MONTHS AGO ON OUR STRATEGIC PLAN. 
          SO WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH OUR CITIES ON THAT. 
          UM, AS PART OF HER BRIEFING THEN SHE HIGHLIGHTED SOME OF THE GREAT THINGS THAT RICHARDSON IS DOING TO LEVERAGE SOME OF OUR UNDERUTILIZED RIGHT OF WAY, UM, WITH THE LINEAR PARK IN DOWNTOWN, FOR EXAMPLE, LOTS OF TRAILS. 
          UM, AND WE, UM, ARE ACTUALLY WORKING ON UPDATING OUR TOD POLICY AND PROCEDURES AND SOME OF OUR REAL ESTATE PROCEDURES TO BE ACTUALLY BE A LITTLE MORE NIMBLER AND RESPONSIVE TO BE ABLE TO DO THESE THINGS A LITTLE BIT FASTER WITH OUR CITIES. 
          UM, BUT BIG, UH, SHOUT OUT TO RICHARDSON FOR BEING A GREAT EXAMPLE FOR A LOT OF OUR OTHER CITIES, UM, IN OUR SERVICE AREA. 
          UM, ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT, UM, ELEMENT WAS, UM, SUPPORTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, HAVING DART PARTICIPATE IN, UM, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES THROUGH TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONES. 
          UM, SO WHAT WE'VE DONE WITH THIS IS ESTABLISHED A CITY MANAGER WORKING GROUP, AND WE HAVE SIX CITIES THAT WERE INTERESTED IN THIS. 
          UM, SO DON MAGNER WILL BE PARTICIPATING IN THIS WORKING GROUP. 
          UM, AND THAT WORKING GROUP WILL BE MEETING FEBRUARY 24TH AND MAYBE EVERY TWO WEEKS AFTER THAT. 
          THE GOAL IS TO WORK WITH OUR STAFF DIRECTLY TO DEVELOP A POLICY AND SOME PARAMETERS AROUND HOW DART MIGHT PARTICIPATE IN THIS WITH SALES TAX INCREMENT TO HELP SUPPORT CITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES AND HOPEFULLY COME BACK TO OUR BOARD WITH A PROPOSAL IN THE MAY TIMEFRAME. 
          SO THAT WORK IS, UM, GETTING UNDERWAY LATER THIS MONTH. 
          UM, AREA PLAN, UM, WORKSHOPS ARE ALSO ONGOING. 
          UM, THERE'S ACTUALLY BEEN TWO WORKSHOPS WITH RICHARDSON'S UH, STAFF, ONE IN JULY AND ONE IN DECEMBER. 
          SO THERE'S, UM, A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES RELATED TO SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS, SHELTER IMPROVEMENTS, UM, WORKING WITH UTD ON TRAIL CONNECTIONS AND SUPPORTING THEM IN SOME ADDITIONAL GRANT OPPORTUNITIES. 
          UM, ROUTE 2 41 IS ONE OF THE, THE IDEAS THAT CAME OUT OF THIS AS A, AS A ROUTE THAT'S PERFORMING REALLY WELL ALONG SPRING PORTIONS OF SPRING VALLEY AND COY ROAD, UM, TO IMPROVE THE FREQUENCY ON THAT, THAT'LL BE A PROPOSAL FOR NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET TO IMPROVE THE FREQUENCY ON THAT FROM I THINK 30 MINUTES IN THE PEAK TIMES TO 15 MINUTES IN THE PEAK TIME. 
          SO THAT WILL BE A BIG BENEFIT, UH, FOR THE CITY OF RICHARDSON. 
          UM, AND THEN I THINK LASTLY, AND GARY MENTIONED THIS EARLIER, IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO BE MORE INTENTIONAL ABOUT IS ACTUALLY REACHING OUT TO YOUR KEY STAKEHOLDERS, WHETHER IT'S CORPORATIONS OR NEW DEVELOPMENTS OR MULTIFAMILY, UM, COMMUNITIES, TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN WORK WITH THEM MORE CLOSELY ON, WHETHER IT'S MARKETING OR EDUCATING THEM ON WHAT'S AVAILABLE SO THAT WE CAN HELP DRIVE, UM, CONTINUED RIDERSHIP GROWTH WITHIN THE SYSTEM. 
          SO THAT'S JUST A QUICK SNAPSHOT OF SOME OF THE, UM, ITEMS THAT WE HAVE GOING ON, AND THAT WILL BE TAKING PLACE OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. 
          SO I WOULD LIKE TO ASK MARK HERE TO, TO, TO DO THE ASK PART, SO TO SPEAK. 
          SO YOUR ANSWER, AND LET ME TELL YOU MARK, MARK MARK'S MADE ALL THESE MEETINGS AND HE'S BEEN, UH, PAST CHAIR AND HAS BEEN ON THE BOARD FOR HOW LONG? 27 YEARS. 
          27 YEARS. 
          SO HE KNOWS MORE ABOUT DART THAN ANY OF US. 
          SO HE'S THE PERFECT GUY TO BE TALKING IN, IN THE VARIOUS MEETINGS WE'VE HAD. 
          SO, GO AHEAD. 
          WELL, LEMME TELL YOU WHY I'M HERE. 
          I'M HERE BECAUSE I FIRMLY, WHEN I WAS MAYOR, I LEFT THE BENCH BECAUSE, UH, I WAS TERM LIMITED AT THE TIME. 
          AND THE THEN COMING MAYOR SAID, HEY, WE'VE GOT A SPACE AVAILABLE ON DARTBOARD, WOULD YOU TAKE IT? I SAID, YES, NOT BECAUSE I WAS A FAN OF TRANSPORTATION. 
          I WASN'T. 
          I JUST, MY MAYOR ASKED ME TO DO SOMETHING. 
          AND YOU SAY YES WHEN YOUR MAYOR ASKS YOU TO DO SOMETHING. 
          AND THE 27 YEARS SINCE THEN, I'VE BECOME VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT, UH, TRANSPORTATION. 
          I REALIZE THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I CAN LEAVE MY KIDS AND GRANDKIDS THAT REALLY MATTERS IN THE WORLD. 
          HOW YOU ALL MAKE THOSE DECISIONS EVERY DAY. 
          HOW CAN WE TAKE CARE OF THE FOLKS ON A STRAIGHT A STREET NOW, CALLIE, IN 20 YEARS FROM NOW, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO WITH THAT STREET? HOW ARE WE GONNA HANDLE THE, THE PLUMBING, THE SEWER, THE ALLEYS? HOW, WHAT ARE WE GONNA LEAVE FOR OUR KIDS AND THEIR KIDS' KIDS? YOU DEAL WITH THAT EVERY DAY. 
          THAT'S WHAT WE DEAL WITH AT DART. 
          DART IS NOT DONE BUILDING. 
          WE HAVE SOME RAIL LINES NOW THAT SERVE CERTAIN PEOPLE. 
          I'D LIKE DART TO SERVE MORE PEOPLE. 
          I'D LIKE US TO MAKE MORE MEMBERSHIPS AND HAVE AVAILABLE FUNDS FOR US TO DO GREATER THINGS. 
          BUT FOR RIGHT NOW, WE ARE FACING A PRETTY IMPORTANT MOMENT. 
          MAYOR, WHEN I CAME AND, AND SPOKE WITH YOU, GARY EARLIER, I, I MENTIONED OF COURSE, THE RESOLUTIONS THAT SIX OF OUR CITIES HAVE PASSED, UH, TO TAKE AWAY 25% OF OUR SALES TAX. 
          NOW, I IMAGINE IF SOMEONE CAME BEFORE YOU AT A SERIOUS PROPOSAL THAT YOU NEED TO SHAVE BY 25% YOUR BUDGET, IT WOULD CAUSE SOME CONSTERNATION BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE SOME REAL THINGS THAT YOU WOULD HAVE TO CONSIDER TAKING AWAY THAT IT'S A VALUE TO A LOT OF YOUR FOLKS. 
          NO DIFFERENT FOR US. 
          THAT PENNY THAT 
          [01:45:01]
WE HAVE, WE INTEND TO INVEST IT WISELY AND WE INTEND TO DO A GOOD JOB WITH THAT. 
          AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE BEEN DOING IS TALKING WITH NOT ONLY THOSE SIX CITIES, BUT THE OTHER SEVEN CITIES AS WELL, TO DETERMINE WHAT WE CAN DO BETTER. 
          JUST BECAUSE WE DID IT A CERTAIN WAY LAST YEAR DOESN'T MEAN WE NEED TO DO IT THAT CERTAIN WAY THIS YEAR. 
          MICRO TRANSIT IS ONE OF THE THINGS UNDER 2.0. 
          AND COG, AS YOU KNOW, THEY'RE DOING A LOT OF STUDIES ON THAT. 
          AND THAT WILL GATHER, IF WE START MORE MICRO MARKET TRANSIT, WE CAN GATHER, GATHER DATA TO HELP US BE MORE EFFICIENT, MOVING PEOPLE WHERE THEY NEED TO BE FROM WHERE THEY ARE. 
          BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP. 
          WE'RE GONNA GO TO AUSTIN AND THERE, THERE MAY BE A, A A, AN AGENDA ITEM. 
          THERE MIGHT BE A BILL DOWN THERE TO TAKE AWAY OUR 25%, AND I SAY OUR 25%, IT'S NOT OUR 25%, IT'S THE, IT'S THE VOTERS OF RICHARDSON AND THE VOTERS OF ETTE WHO TWICE IN THE LAST 40 YEARS HAVE SAID, YES, WE WANT TO DEDICATE OUR PENNY. 
          WE DID IT IN 1983 AND WE DID IT IN 2000 WHEN WE, WHEN WE PLACED OUR SALES TAX FOR BONDS TO BUILD THE, THE SYSTEM OUT. 
          SO IF THAT HAPPENS, WE ARE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO DO THESE THINGS FOR YOU ALL. 
          IT'S JUST THAT SIMPLE. 
          AND WE NEED YOUR HELP. 
          AS, AS WE GO TO AUSTIN AND WE TALK TO THE FOLKS DOWN THERE AND WE SAY, YEAH, THERE'S ONLY SIX RESOLUTIONS OUT THERE. 
          THE OTHER CITIES HAVE NOT PASSED RESOLUTIONS, THAT'S GREAT. 
          BUT ANYBODY WHO'S BEEN TO AUSTIN BEFORE, IF YOU CAN SHOW 'EM A PIECE OF PAPER AND A RESOLUTION FROM ONE OF YOUR CITIES, THAT'S A LOT BETTER THAN SAYING, OH, BY THE WAY, WHY DON'T YOU CALL THE MAYOR AND THE CITY MANAGER? THEY'RE ON OUR SITE TOO. 
          WE'D LOVE FOR YOU TO PASS A RESOLUTION. 
          CITY OF DALLAS HAS DONE IT. 
          CITY OF GLEN HEIGHTS HAS DONE IT. 
          I'M ASKING THE CITIES I REPRESENT TO PASS RESOLUTIONS. 
          WE WOULD LOVE A RESOLUTION FROM YOUR CITY SUPPORTING THE FULL PENNY MEMBERSHIP. 
          AND AND THE REASON THAT'S IMPORTANT TO US IS BECAUSE THERE'S GONNA BE OTHER FOLKS DOWN THERE SAYING, LOOK AT THESE RESOLUTIONS. 
          THE CITY, THE, THE FOLKS BACK IN DALLAS REALLY SUPPORT ONLY 75 CENTS GOING TO DART INSTEAD OF ONE PENNY. 
          SO WE'D LIKE YOU TO CONSIDER A RESOLUTION WHERE YOU JUST SAY, DART IS DOING WHAT WE ASK THEM TO DO IN THE PAST AND IN THE FUTURE. 
          WE BELIEVE THEY'RE GONNA DO IT, AND WE WANNA SUPPORT THE FULL PENNY AS THE CITY, AS THE CITY'S NOW PLEDGE TO DARK. 
          WE ASK YOU TO DO THAT. 
          THAT'S WHY I'M HERE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM ANY OF YOU, MR. CORCORAN FOR THAT? WE'LL LET YOU GO FIRST. 
          WELL, THANK YOU MR. MAYOR. 
          THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING AND, UH, KINDA SHOWING US SOME OF YOUR PLANS TO ADDRESS THE CONCERNS THAT OTHER CITIES, UH, NOT RICHARDSON, BUT OTHER CITIES HAVE HAD. 
          AND, UM, MAYOR SLA, OR SORRY, CHAIRMAN SLAGEL, I'M SURE YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M SURE YOU KNOW, RICHARDSON HAS, HAS STOOD BEHIND DART THROUGH SORT OF ALL THIS ULT, UH, VERY PUBLICLY. 
          AND SO I, UM, I DON'T THINK ANYTHING HAS CHANGED. 
          UH, AT LEAST FROM MY END, NOTHING HAS CHANGED. 
          AND SO, AND I GUESS MY, MY QUESTION FOR Y'ALL THOUGH, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, OUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES, UH, PRETTY CLEARLY, I FEEL LIKE, AND DON CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, I THINK THEY PRETTY CLEARLY STATE THAT WE SUPPORT, UM, FULLY FUNDING DART. 
          RIGHT? UM, AND SO HOW, CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN TO ME LIKE HOW IS THAT MAYBE IS HOW ARE OUR VERY PUBLIC PUBLISHED LEG LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES NOT, NOT REALLY THE SAME AS A RESOLUTION? I MEAN, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE IN EFFECT THERE? UH, IN 2006, 2007, I WAS THE CHAIR OF DART. 
          AND DURING THAT LEGISLATIVE SESSION, WE TOOK RESOLUTIONS DOWN TO AUSTIN. 
          AT THAT TIME IT WAS LAU AT LOCAL OPTION TAX. 
          SO THE FOUR A FOUR B CITIES COULD RAISE THEIR TAXES, SALES TAX, IF THEY WANTED JOIN TRANSIT, TRANSIT COULD DO FOUR A, FOUR B. 
          I FOUND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HAVING A LEG. 
          OKAY, WHAT'S YOUR NAME? I, I, I FOUND HAVING A LEGISLATIVE AGENDA, WHICH EVERYBODY DID HAVE, IT'S NOT AVAILABLE WHEN YOU WALK INTO THE SENATOR'S OFFICE OR YOU WALK INTO THE, THE, THE MM-HMM. 
          THE LEGISLATOR'S OFFICE. 
          IT WAS MUCH MORE VALUABLE AT THAT TIME. 
          WE HAD 212, UH, RESOLUTIONS FROM COUNCIL'S MM-HMM . 
          UH, UH, COUNTIES, ET CETERA. 
          I FOUND THAT A VERY, VERY POWERFUL ARGUMENT. 
          A PICTURE'S WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS. 
          AND, AND THAT WOULD BE MY ANSWER TO YOU. 
          I THINK IT WOULD BE, I APPRECIATE THE LEGISLATIVE, BUT IF WE HAD THE RESOLUTION AND RESOLUTIONS FOR MORE THAN ONE CITY, I THINK IT WOULD BE VERY POWERFUL AND HELPFUL. 
          I APPRECIATE THE CONTEXT THERE. 
          UM, AND SO I THINK MY, MY OTHER QUESTION, UH, JUST OUT OF, I HAVE TWO OTHER, TWO OTHER QUESTIONS. 
          ONE, I JUST DIDN'T REALLY CATCH FROM THE GOVERNANCE PORTION. 
          UM, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, YOU, UM, MR LIKE YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW HOW SOME CITIES WILL VOLUNTARILY ALREADY GIVE UP THEIR REPRESENTATIVES TO ANOTHER CITY AND KIND OF DO THESE SHARING AGREEMENTS AND MAYBE, MAYBE Y'ALL CAN HELP ME TOO. 
          I DON'T KNOW WHAT I MISSED. 
          IT SEEMS LIKE THE PROPOSED GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE IS ALMOST IDENTICAL TO THE CURRENT ONE. 
          WHAT'S, WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT IT? THE, THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE CITIES IN THE PROCESS. 
          THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY IT, UH, ENCOURAGING 
          [01:50:01]
THE CITIES TO WORK TOGETHER. 
          SO THAT, AND, AND YOU KNOW, I'VE, IN THE 13 YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD, I HAVE TRIED VERY HARD TO, TO CONTINUE TO ROTATE AROUND MY CITIES AND TALK TO 'EM. 
          AND, BUT BOY, YOU KNOW, COUNCILS CHANGE. 
          YEAH. 
          MANAGERS CHANGE. 
          AND SO YOU, YOU HAVE TO REBUILD ALL THAT, WHICH IS FINE. 
          BUT IN THIS PROCESS THAT HAPPENED IN, IN, AND I DON'T HAVE REALLY AN ISSUE WITH EITHER OF THE CITIES DOWN SOUTH OF US, HIGHLAND PARK OR UNIVERSITY PARK, BUT CIRCUMSTANTIALLY, THE CITY MANAGER AND THE MAYOR FOR HIGHLAND PARK CHANGED AT THE SAME TIME MM-HMM . 
          AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S ON A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE THE SMALLEST CITY IN THE ORGANIZATION AND FEEL THEY NEED A SEAT AT THE TABLE. 
          AND IT'S A HARD THING TO DO. 
          IT'S A VERY DIFFICULT THING TO DO. 
          SO WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS, GUYS, DON'T LET A CITY LIKE RICHARDSON JUST DECIDE WHO YOUR PERSON IS, WORK TOGETHER, AND MAYBE COME UP WITH A WAY TO MAKE THAT BE A LITTLE EASIER FOR YOU OR MORE INCLUSIVE, IF YOU WANNA CALL IT THAT. 
          SO IT'S A CRITICISM OF MYSELF MORE THAN ANYTHING. 
          MM-HMM . 
          AND BY THE WAY, I, LET ME SAY I, I UNDERSTAND THE, THE, YOU GUYS WORK WITH OTHER CITIES, YOU WORK CLOSELY WITH GARLAND AND ADDISON AND PLANO, AND IT'S HARD TO TAKE A POSITION, BUT IN THIS ENVIRONMENT, WE'D LIKE TO SEE THAT HAPPEN JUST BECAUSE WE NEED HELP. 
          AND IF YOU'RE SILENT, EVEN THOUGH IT'S IN YOUR, AND I APPRECIATE THAT IT IS IN YOUR LEGISLATIVE AGENDA, BUT, BUT IF YOU'RE SILENT, IT'S BEING, IT'S, IT'S NOT BEING THERE, SO TO SPEAK. 
          SO, SO I, IT IT'S YOUR DECISION, NOT OURS. 
          WE'RE JUST ASKING FOR YOU TO CONSIDER IT. 
          THAT'S ALL. 
          COUNCILMAN CORCORAN, JUST AS I, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A A POINT OF CLARIFICATION. 
          I THINK WHEN WE WERE DEVELOPING THE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA, THERE WAS STILL A LOT OF DEBATE AND DISCUSSION AROUND WHAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE, UH, UM, UM, FILED IN AUSTIN OR, OR EVEN THE RESOLUTIONS AT THAT TIME. 
          WERE STILL, I THINK, A LITTLE BIT IN FLUX. 
          SO WHAT OUR LEGISLATIVE AGENDA SAYS IS TO SUPPORT LEGISLATION THAT ALLOWS REGIONAL MOBILITY AUTHORITIES TO FUND AND MANAGE THEIR SYSTEMS IN A MANNER THAT BEST SERVES THEIR RIDER'S NEEDS. 
          AND SO WE DIDN'T SPECIFICALLY MENTION, UM, THE FUNDING. 
          THE FUNDING, YES, SIR. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          NO, THAT'S, I THINK THAT WAS HELPFUL AND I THINK THAT WAS CONSISTENT WITH OTHER, UM, AGENDAS LIKE THE NORTH TEXAS COMMISSION FOR INSTANCE. 
          AND SO I THINK IT WAS A BYPRODUCT OF THE TIME WE WERE DEVELOPING THIS AND WHAT ELSE WAS HAPPENING KIND OF IN NORTH TEXAS AT THAT TIME. 
          AND SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT, A BIT MORE GENERIC THAN, THAN THIS, I THINK THE, THE REQUEST. 
          IT'S A VERY HELPFUL REMINDER. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          AND WE ARE TRYING TO GET, WE ARE TRYING TO GET SOME CITIES THAT SIGN THAT RESOLUTION TO BACK OFF OF THAT. 
          WE'LL SEE IF THAT WORKS. 
          BUT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO TOO. 
          WE'RE ASKING THEM TO DO THAT. 
          WELL, GOOD LUCK. 
          I HOPE SO,  AND, UH, UH, I GUESS MY, MY LAST QUESTION, JUST WHAT ARE THE CITIES THAT ARE CURRENTLY, UM, PART OF THE CITY MANAGER'S WORKING GROUP FOR THE, UH, THE INVESTMENT ZONES THAT YOU CAN ANSWER THAT? YEAH, I CAN ANSWER THAT. 
          I BROUGHT, I, I BROUGHT THE LIST OF WHO WOULD BE ON THAT WORK GROUP. 
          UM, SO, AND WHAT WE TRIED TO DO WAS BALANCE THE WORK GROUP WITH CITIES THAT HAVE PASSED RESOLUTIONS. 
          UM OH, GOOD. 
          OKAY. 
          VERSUS ONES THAT HAVEN'T, LIKE RICHARDSON, SO, UM, IRVING RELIC CARROLLTON ALONG WITH RICHARDSON, GLEN HEIGHTS IN DALLAS. 
          OH, SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD GROUP. 
          PART OF THAT. 
          SO IT'LL BE A GOOD BALANCED GROUP, I THINK, FOR THE DISCUSSION. 
          GREAT. 
          THANK YOU GUYS. 
          MM-HMM . 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, JOE. 
          MS. JUSTICE. 
          UH, THANK YOU MAYOR. 
          UM, MR. YI, I APPRECIATE YOUR PASSION. 
          UM, LAST TIME THIS CAME BEFORE THE COUNCIL, UM, WE WEREN'T DISCUSSING A RESOLUTION AT THAT TIME, BUT WE RESOLUTELY SAID WE WOULD NOT BE PASSING A RESOLUTION, UM, TO ASK FOR THE DECREE. 
          WELL, SOMEONE LISTED MM-HMM . 
          UH, COUNCILMAN CORCORAN AND I ARE PARTICULARLY, I THINK, IMPASSIONED ABOUT THIS ISSUE, UM, THAT WE WOULDN'T PASS A RESOLUTION SEEKING TO DECREASE FUNDING. 
          UM, I, YOU KNOW, I, I STAND BY THAT POSITION TODAY, UM, FOR, FOR SOME OF THE REASONS THAT THE BYPRODUCT OF OUR LEGISLATIVE AGENDA AND THE ENVIRONMENT AT THE TIME THAT WE CAME UP WITH IT. 
          UM, PART OF THE COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE TONIGHT IS THAT THIS IS WAY TOO PREMATURE. 
          UM, THERE ARE STUFF, THERE ARE THINGS HAPPENING AT THE, UM, UH, REGIONAL LEVEL THAT, THAT FOLKS JUST NEED TO SORT OF WAIT, UH, TO DEVELOP. 
          WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF MONEY AS A REGION TO DO TRANSIT 2.0 AND LOOK AT, AT HOW WE CAN MAKE OUR REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION STATE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS WORK TOGETHER. 
          UM, AND, AND WE ARE NOT ALLOWING ANY OF THAT TO PLAY OUT OR ANY OF THAT TO DEVELOP BY RUNNING TO THE LEGISLATOR LEGISLATURE AND ASKING THEM TO CHANGE SOMETHING. 
          NOW, PARTICULARLY FUNDING RELATED TO DART, YOU KNOW, PART OF THAT, UM, THE TRANSIT 2.0 RELATES TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 
          PART OF WHAT WE DISCUSSED TONIGHT. 
          THERE ARE REALLY GREAT COMPONENTS TO THAT STUDY THAT NEED TO PLAY OUT. 
          UM, WE NEED TO BE PATIENT AND ALLOW THAT TO HAPPEN AND NOT RUN TO AUSTIN, UM, AND POUND OUR FIST ON THE TABLE. 
          SO, UM, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE REALLY GREAT TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVES AND 
          [01:55:01]
STUDIES THAT ARE GOING ON RIGHT NOW, AND WE NEED TO ALLOW THOSE, UM, TO, TO COME TO FRUITION AND, AND NOT JUST THROW THEM IN THE BIN BEFORE WE EVER GET A CHANCE TO SEE WHAT COMES OF THEM. 
          SO, UH, I, I SUPPORT OUR, UM, AND I THINK THAT, THAT THEY SHOULD GET TO KEEP THEIR FUNDING. 
          THANK YOU. 
          LET ME JUST, IF I COULD, IF I JUST REACT TO THAT, WE HAVE, UM, AN RTC MEETING LATER THIS MONTH. 
          AND WHEN I WAS AT THE RTC MEETING IN OCTOBER, I WAS GIVEN UNTIL THE END OF THIS MONTH TO BRING THE CITIES TOGETHER AND, AND RESOLVE THIS OUT, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT GOING TO AUSTIN. 
          AND THE RT C'S GONNA VOTE ON THIS IN A COUPLE WEEKS. 
          AND IF THEY VOTE TO PROTECT THE SALES TAX, THAT'S GREAT. 
          IF THEY VOTE NOT TO PROTECT THE SALES TAX, THAT'S TERRIBLE. 
          SO THE REASON WE'RE HERE NOW AND ASKING FOR THIS NOW IS BECAUSE THIS IS THE TIME TO DO IT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I, I WAS TOLD TODAY BY ONE OF THE MAYORS, ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO GET OTHER PEOPLE TO EXPRESS THEIR OPINION, INSTEAD OF STANDING BACK, YOU HAVE A BETTER, MUCH BETTER SHOT. 
          SO WE HAVE MAYORS ON THAT, ON THE RTC WHO ARE GOING TO SAY WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO SAY, AND THERE'S SOME PRETTY POWERFUL PEOPLE ON THERE THAT DO THAT. 
          SO ANY HELP WE CAN GET IS IMPORTANT. 
          AND, AND IF I CAN JUST ADD ONE OTHER THING. 
          WE HAD, WE HAD, UH, MICHAEL MORRIS GIVE US A, WE HAD THREE SPECIAL NEEDS TO DISCUSS THIS IN LATE DECEMBER AND EARLY JANUARY. 
          AND MICHAEL MORRIS CAME AND SPOKE TO US, AND HE GAVE US THE, UH, PRESENTATION. 
          HE INTENDS, AND YOU PROBABLY KNOW THIS, INTENDS TO GIVE IT RTC. 
          SO RTC, HE HOPES VERY MUCH THAT WE'LL HAVE THE SUPPORT IN AUSTIN BECAUSE HE WANTS TO GET SOME THINGS DONE. 
          SO I JUST DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU KNEW THAT. 
          THERE WE GO. 
          UM, YEAH, I, I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          AND I, I WANNA SAY TOO, THAT I, I KNOW THAT, UM, BASED ON YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU'VE DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB OF LISTENING TO WHAT THE CITY'S CONCERNS ARE. 
          UM, AND AGAIN, I I WOULD IMPLORE THOSE OTHER CITIES, UH, AND THE RTC, QUITE FRANKLY, TO, UM, ALLOW DART AN OPPORTUNITY TO TRY AND, UH, IMPLEMENT SOME OF THE CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN REQUESTED. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S NOT AS IF DART HAS TURNED A BLIND EYE HERE TO, UM, WHAT THE REQUESTS ARE, WHAT THE CONCERNS ARE. 
          UM, IT'S EVIDENT FROM THE PRESENTATION THAT YOU'VE HEARD, UH, WHAT THOSE CONCERNS ARE AND THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO ADDRESS THEM. 
          UM, SO AGAIN, MY COMMENTS TO ANYONE AT THE RTC THAT WOULD BE LISTENING WOULD BE TO ALLOW DART THE OPPORTUNITY TO IMPLEMENT THESE CHANGES, UM, AND, AND, AND DO EXACTLY WHAT IT IS THAT THEY'VE ASKED YOU TO DO, UH, BEFORE, YOU KNOW, UM, TAKING A, A, A VOTE AT THE RTC THAT WOULD, WOULD SEND ANYTHING DOWN TO DOWN TO AUSTIN. 
          SO, UH, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I THINK IF I CAN TELL FROM THIS PRESENTATION THAT YOU'VE TAKEN IT SERIOUSLY AND THAT YOU'VE REALLY LOOKED AT A WAY THAT YOU CAN ADDRESS THE CONCERNS. 
          UM, SO THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS. 
          UM, THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, MR. TRU AND RUTTER. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          UM, I VERY MUCH SUPPORT DART AND I VERY MUCH WOULD LIKE TO SEE US PASS A RE RESOLUTION. 
          SO I'LL, I'LL GO ON THE RECORD TONIGHT AND SAY THAT I WANT TO SEE US PASS A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF FULLY FUNDING DART AT THE CURRENT 1 CENT SALES TAX LEVEL. 
          SO, UM, MR. MAYOR, I, I KNOW YOU SET THE AGENDA, BUT I WOULD ASK THAT WE, THAT WE CONSIDER DOING THAT AT OUR  NEXT POSSIBLE THAT WE CAN DO IT EARLIEST IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. 
          SAY THAT AGAIN. 
          AT OUR EARLIEST OPPORTUNITY. 
          AT OUR EARLIEST OPPORTUNITY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YES, VERY WELL SAID. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, THE ONLY THING I WOULD ASK IS, CAN YOU GO BACK FOR JUST ONE SECOND ON YOUR RICHARDSON, THE DART EFFORTS? FANTASTIC LIST. 
          CAN I ADD ONE? MM-HMM . 
          WOULD Y'ALL JOIN US IN A VOICE TO ASK TXDOT TO, UM, FUND THE STUDY TO LOOK AT THE, UM, PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH AT 75 SOUTHBOUND EXITS. 
          THEY TOOK CARE OF THE NORTH, THEY FORGOT ABOUT THE SOUTH. 
          I THINK IT'S LIKE AT LEAST THREE TO ONE TRAFFIC GOING SOUTH VERSUS NORTH. 
          UM, WE HAD THE, THE, I THINK SHE'S ENGINEERED FROM TXDOT AND THEY'RE GOING TO GET AROUND TO IT. 
          BUT IF YOU, I JUST THINK WHILE YOU'RE ASKING US, , IF I COULD ASK, IF I COULD ASK Y'ALL,  NOT TRYING TO DO A FAIR ENOUGH, YOU KNOW, AN ASK FOR AN ASK, BUT, UM, I'D JUST LOVE TO SEE IF, IF Y'ALL COULD BE ONE MORE VOICE ON THAT, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY Y'ALL ARE, Y'ALL ARE INVOLVED IN IT IN THAT THE SILVER LINE, UM, BRIDGE IS RIGHT THERE. 
          IT'S ALL KIND OF THERE. 
          YEAH. 
          AND I THINK, I THINK Y'ALL WOULD, Y'ALL WOULD WANT TO BE, AND YOU'D NEED TO BE A VOICE AT THAT TABLE. 
          SO IF YOU COULD ADD THAT, I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO SEE THAT HAPPEN AS WELL. 
          YEP, WILL DO. 
          SO, ALRIGHT. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          AND AGAIN, FULLY SUPPORT Y'ALL AND GOOD LUCK AND, UM, I'M FULLY IN SUPPORT OF THE, THE RESOLUTION. 
          THANK YOU MAYOR PRO TIM. 
          THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. 
          AND THANK YOU 
          [02:00:01]
CHAIRMAN GARY , UH, APPRECIATE YOUR, UH, YOU KNOW THAT EVERYTHING YOU DO FOR OUR CITY, NOT ONLY JUST THE CITY, THE WHOLE REGION, YOU KNOW, WINE LEADERSHIP CHANGE, SOMETIMES VISION GET CHANGE LOST. 
          AND WHEN WE BECOME, I, THAT BECOMES A PROBLEM. 
          AND SOMETIMES WE, YOU KNOW, WELL, IT'S A GOOD THING THAT, YOU KNOW, MOST OF US THINK ABOUT. 
          WE ONLY JUST ONE OR TWO THINK ABOUT I, AND, UH, WHEN IT BECOMES AN ISSUE LOCALLY, OUR OURSELF, THEN WE CAN SEE WHAT'S EYE BECOME A PROBLEM. 
          BUT GLOBAL LEVEL, SOMETIMES WE DON'T SEE THE EYE THAT IS REALLY EYE IS CAUSING PROBLEM. 
          BUT DART IS A GREAT, YOU KNOW, ONE EXAMPLE THAT IT, IT HAS, IT HAD, AND IT HAS A GREAT VISION. 
          IF IT WAS NOT DONE 20 YEARS AGO, WE COULD NOT DO IT TODAY. 
          AND, UH, THE BENEFIT IS GONNA COME EVEN IN THE FUTURE, MUCH, MUCH BETTER AND MUCH BIGGER BENEFIT. 
          AND, UH, I, I HOPE THE CITIES THAT OPPOSING THAT, THAT THEY WILL REALIZE SOON THAT HOW IMPORTANT THIS THING IS FOR THEM ALSO, BECAUSE YOU CAN'T REALLY HAVE ALL THE, EVERYONE LIVES IN YOUR CITY DO EVERYTHING LOCALLY RIGHT THERE. 
          YOU HAVE TO BRING THE WORKFORCE FROM OUTSIDE TO YOUR CITY, YOU KNOW, OTHERWISE BUSINESS IS NOT GOING TO MOVE IT TO THE AIR PLACE. 
          SO THERE WILL BE HUGE NEGATIVE IMPACT, YOU KNOW, FINANCIALLY, IF YOU GUYS TRY TO STOP IT, LIKE, WHEN THIS TRAIN HAS GONE MIDWAY, I THINK WE ARE, I DON'T KNOW, WHAT DO YOU THINK WE ARE? LIKE IF IT WAS A FULL GAME, ARE WE IN THE FIRST QUARTER, SECOND QUARTER, THIRD QUARTER? ANY, ANY, ANY THOUGHT ON THAT? HOW FAR WE ARE REGIONALLY OR AS A, AS A JUST AN AUTHORITY ON TOTAL? IS THAT WHAT YOU MEAN? OR DO YOU MEAN ON THIS ISSUE? NO, NO, NOT AS A WHOLE DARK VISION THAT, UH, I DON'T THINK YOU ARE LIKE, NO, WE'RE WITH THE GROWTH THAT'S PROJECTED TO HAPPEN IN THIS REGION. 
          YOU KNOW, WE'RE MAYBE AT THE HALF, MAYBE IT'S IN THE HALF, SO WE'RE TWO YEARS OLD OR SO, UH, WE'VE DONE A LOT, BUT THERE'S A WHOLE LOT MORE IN FRONT OF US AS, AS MARK SAID. 
          SO THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO TAKE A PAUSE AND NO, IT'S NOT RELAX. 
          I THINK THIS IS THE TIME THAT I THINK WE NEED TO INVEST MORE AND TRY TO EXPAND IT NOT JUST ONE WAY. 
          ALSO LIKE SIDE WAY. 
          I WAS HOPING THAT IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE ALL THIS ISSUE TODAY LIKE THIS, I WOULD HAVE ASKED, YOU KNOW, SAY, HOW CAN WE CONNECT OUR EAST WASTE, UH, MORE EASILY, BUILD MORE SYSTEM, UH, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY, YOU KNOW, WORRY ABOUT, UH, THAT OKAY, HOW THEY'RE GONNA REACH TO SOLVE THIS, THAT ISSUE LOCALLY, BUT MAYBE DART COULD STEP IN AND DO SOMETHING ELSE. 
          BUT I'M NOT GOING TO ASK YOU THAT THING TODAY. 
          YEAH, BECAUSE I THINK FIRST THING IS FIRST FOCUS ON THE ISSUE, UH, GET THAT THING DONE, UH, MOVE, FOCUS ON THE MAIN THING, NOT CREATING CHAOS. 
          UH, I'M IN FULL SUPPORT OF THAT ONE SENSE, THAT TEXT THAT WE WE DO TODAY. 
          UH, ABSOLUTELY I THINK THE OVERALL SENTIMENT OF THE COUNCIL, I DON'T THINK IT'S LIKE ONE OR TWO ARE REALLY CHAMPIONING THIS THING. 
          I THINK THE WHOLE COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR SUPPORTING THIS ALONG WITH OUR CITY STAFF AND I HEAR LOTS OF POSITIVE, LOTS OF THINGS FROM OUR RESIDENTS. 
          SO ONLY THING I SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, EXPAND THIS THING MORE, UH, AND UH, I THINK YOU GUYS ARE DOING GREAT JOB AND I LOVE THE PRESENTATION THAT YOU HAVE. 
          UH, HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, UH, TO KEEP UP WITH THAT VISION AND GOAL, UH, BECAUSE THE LEADERSHIP WILL CHANGE. 
          NEW COUNCILMAN WILL COME, MAYOR WILL CHANGE, CITY MANAGER WILL CHANGE. 
          NOT EVERYONE, YOU KNOW, REALLY, YOU KNOW, FOCUS ON THE MAIN THING ALL THE TIME. 
          SO IF WE HAVE A VISION, I KNOW, NO, ABSOLUTELY. 
          WE HAVE A VISION. 
          AND IF YOU CAN, UH, CREATE SOMETHING THAT WILL KEEP PEOPLE LIKE MOTIVATED ALL THE TIME, OKAY, THIS IS WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT. 
          THIS IS ONLY HALFWAY. 
          I THINK THAT WOULD PROBABLY HELP. 
          UH, BUT I THINK, I THINK OTHERWISE, I THINK DART IS A GREAT THING THAT HAPPENED IN THIS REGION. 
          UH, I ONLY SAY POSITIVE THINGS ABOUT IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, MR. BARRIOS. 
          THANK YOU MAYOR. 
          UH, THANK YOU MR. SLAGEL FOR, AND EVERYBODY ELSE FOR SPEAKING WITH US. 
          TRANSPORTATION, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, OBVIOUSLY IT'S A, IT'S A REGIONAL EFFORT. 
          IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SEE NOT JUST THE SHORT TERM, BUT LONG TERM EFFECTS WHEN WE THINK, THINK OF IT AND WHAT IT DOES FOR A COMMUNITY, WHAT IT BUILDS IN OUR COMMUNITY, THE SERVICES IT PROVIDES, THE, THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES THAT IT OFFERS. 
          UM, DART DOES, DOES, UH, A GREAT JOB, I BELIEVE, OF, UM, RESPONDING TO OUR QUESTIONS AND WORKING TOWARDS THOSE GOALS AND HAVING THAT ATTITUDE OF, HEY, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO WORK TOWARDS, UH, GETTING BETTER. 
          [02:05:01]
SO WITH THAT SAID, AND I THINK RICHARDSON HAS, UM, GREAT REPRESENTATION, OF COURSE, GARY WITH YOU THERE. 
          AND, UM, I WOULD 100% SUPPORT, UM, A RESOLUTION, UH, SUPPORTING DART AND KEEPING FUNDING WHERE IT IS. 
          I THINK WE AS A CITY WOULD BE FOOLISH TO SAY OTHERWISE. 
          UM, AND I SUPPORT, UM, COUNCILMAN HUTCHEN RIDER'S, UH, COMMENT TO THE MAYOR ABOUT GETTING IN, IN AS SOON AS WE CAN PUT THIS ON THE AGENDA. 
          UM, WITH ALL THAT SAID, PERFECT. 
          GREAT. 
          I'M A HUNDRED PERCENT, I DO HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS, BUT I DID WANNA MAKE A COMMENT. 
          I HAD A, AS FAR GOLDLINK SERVICES, I KNOW I HAD A FRIEND WHO, UM, COMMUNITY LEADER HERE IN RICHARDSON WHO WAS, UH, BATTLING CANCER A FEW YEARS AGO, AND SHE USED GOLDLINK AND AS SHE WAS RECOVERING TO GET AROUND TOWN TO RUN HER ERRANDS, AND IT MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE IN HER LIFE. 
          GOOD. 
          AND SO I WOULD ABSOLUTELY LOOK FORWARD TO HEAR WHAT GOLDLINK CONTINUES TO DO. 
          AND AS IT EXPANDS, I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S PROBABLY, I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE NUMBERS ARE, BUT I, BUT YOU KNOW, AS AN OUTSIDER, I WOULD GUESS IT SEEMS MORE EFFICIENT THAN A GIANT BUS THAT YOU HAVE TO PAY SOMEBODY TO, TO DRIVE. 
          IT'S DIFFERENT LICENSING. 
          IT'S, IT'S, IT'S DIFFERENT. 
          I WOULD THINK IT SAVES MONEY, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO DEFINITELY, I LOOK FORWARD TO THOSE CONVERSATIONS AS YOU LOOK TO EXPAND IT, IS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY. 
          UM, THE, AS Y'ALL, I DO WANNA COMMEND DART ON, UH, SOME OF THE EFFORTS THEY'VE MADE JUST IN THE SHORT TIME I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL, UH, TOWARDS CLEANLINESS AND TOWARDS, UH, MAKING THOSE CHANGES. 
          I KNOW IN THE SEATS AND SOME OF THE SAFETY, UM, SOME OF THE SAFETY PROGRESS THEY'VE MADE, I THINK IN THIS TERMS OF SAFETY, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY SOME, SOME MORE ROOM TO GROW, WHICH WE ALL HAVE THAT ROOM TO GROW. 
          UM, BUT I DO WANNA ENCOURAGE DART TO CONTINUE TO FIND WAYS AND MAKE THAT RIDE SPECIFICALLY AROUND A DART RAIL SAFER, UM, AS WE, YOU KNOW, GO AS A FAMILY DOWN TO WHETHER IT'S AMERICAN AIRLINE CENTER OR, OR THE CONVENTION CENTER OR ANYWHERE EVEN FURTHER SOUTH IN THAT, I THINK THERE'S, THERE'S OPPORTUNITY ALONG THOSE STOPS, UH, OUR DISTRICT, YOU KNOW, THAT, UH, CAN BE A LITTLE SKETCHY SOMETIMES. 
          SO, UH, I, I ENCOURAGE DAR TO, TO CONTINUE TO, UM, SUPPORT THOSE EFFORTS TOWARDS, UH, MAKING IT SAFER RIDE FOR ALL. 
          UH, BUT ABSOLUTELY, UH, KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK. 
          UM, THAT SLIDE. 
          AND I DON'T KNOW IF DON OR, UH, MR. SLAGEL, WHEN WE GET A CHANCE, I, I WAS UNCLEAR, UM, COUNCILMAN CORCORAN ASKED ABOUT THAT ONE SLIDE AND WHAT CHANGED. 
          I KIND OF HAD A SIMILAR QUESTION. 
          SO MAYBE AS THAT GOES, HOW ARE ANY OF THE, ARE YOU PROPOSING A CHANGE IN THE AMOUNT OF, UH, I GUESS THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OR WHAT, I'M KIND OF CONFUSED THAT KIND OF, THAT POINT KIND OF THREW ME OFF AND I'M CONFUSED HERE. 
          CAN I HELP A LITTLE BIT? UH, OUR LEGISLATURE AND OUR ENACTING LEGISLATION SAYS THAT A BOARD MEMBER, FOR EXAMPLE, MUST REPRESENT X NUMBER OF PEOPLE, RIGHT? AS THE PO POPULATION CHANGES, MY FIRST THREE CITIES WERE FARMERS, BRANCH, GARLAND, AND ETTE. 
          BUT BECAUSE POPULATION SHIFTED, WE CHOSE TO GO TO GLEN HEIGHTS, UH, ETTE AND GARLAND, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH BEEN AT THE BOARD LEVEL. 
          THE BOARD DECIDES, OKAY, WELL HERE'S THIS, WE CAN MATHEMATICALLY, WE CAN PUT THESE THREE, THREE CITIES UNDER A, A REPRESENTATIVE AND THESE FOUR UNDER ANOTHER ONE. 
          AND I THINK GARY'S SUGGESTION IS, INSTEAD OF JUST THE BOARD CONSIDERING THAT LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS AND MATHEMATICALLY DOING IT, MAYBE HE NEEDS TO GO TO UP AND HP AND SAY, IS THERE SOME OTHER CITY THAT YOU MIGHT BE WANTING TO JOIN WITH THAT MATHEMATICALLY STILL WORKS, BUT MAYBE YOU SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS. 
          I THINK THAT'S THE CHANGE YOU TALKED. 
          YEAH. 
          ALRIGHT, COOL. 
          YEAH. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE CLARIFICATION. 
          MR. CORCORAN, YOU HAVE ANOTHER, I JUST HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION, MR. MAYOR, SO JUST HELP ME SO I KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHO DO WE MAD AT? UH, GIVEN UNTIL THE, I I JUST DIDN'T KNOW THE RTC COMMENT CAUGHT MY EAR. 
          UH, SO I'M JUST REALLY CURIOUS. 
          I MEAN, YOU SAID THAT, UH, RTC OR SOMEONE THERE GAVE YOU UNTIL THE END OF THE MONTH TO BRING THE CITIES TOGETHER? RTC? YEAH. 
          AS A, AS A WHOLE, THE RT LIKE THE ENTIRE RT? YEAH, BECAUSE I WAS, BECAUSE I'M THE DART BOARD REPRESENTATIVE ON THE RTC, THEY GAVE ME THE ROLE AS THE ORDER TO HAVE DART SOLVE THE PROBLEM LOCALLY. 
          AND, AND THEY, AND THIS WAS BACK IN, IN OCTOBER, SO THEY GAVE ME UNTIL THE END OF, GAVE US TILL THE END OF FEBRUARY, THE FEBRUARY MEETING. 
          SO BECAUSE THE LEGISLATURE WAS WORKING AND PUTTING BILLS TOGETHER, IF WE'RE GONNA DO ANYTHING, WE NEED TO DO IT NOW. 
          I SEE. 
          AND SO IT'S, IT'S, THAT'S WHAT IT'S, THEY SAID IF YOU CAN GET EVERYONE TOGETHER, GREAT, BUT IF YOU CAN'T, THEY'LL 
          [02:10:01]
ALSO JOIN WITH THE SIX CITIES OR THEY JUST WON'T DO ANYTHING. 
          WHO'S THAT? NO, NO. 
          RTC, I'M SORRY, I'M CONFUSED. 
          THE RTC IS, AS I UNDERSTAND THE VOTE WAS TO SUPPORT THE ONE PENNY AS IT IS NOW THE CURRENT FUNDING OF THE THREE TRANSIT AGENCIES. 
          BUT THERE WAS AN AGREEMENT TO GET THAT VOTE THAT THEY WOULD REVISIT IT BY THE END OF FEBRUARY. 
          UNDERSTOOD. 
          SO, OKAY. 
          AND SO THE, THOSE FOLKS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE WHO ARE THE RESOLUTION PASTORS ARE THE ONES LEAST LIKELY TO WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN. 
          AND WHAT MICHAEL'S TRYING TO DO, AS WE ARE, ARE DOING, IS TRYING TO DESERVE, WHEN WE GET TO THAT MEETING IN FEBRUARY, PEOPLE TO SUPPORT THE ONE PENNY AND THE, THE CURRENT TRANSIT. 
          BUT WE WANT TO DESERVE THAT. 
          THAT'S WHY WE'VE BEEN WORKING SO HARD COMMUNICATING AND COMING BACK. 
          SO APPRECIATE THE CLARIFICATION, Y'ALL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YEAH. 
          COUNCILMAN DORIA. 
          THANK YOU MAYOR. 
          MR. SLAGEL, MARK AND KATIE, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT AND BRINGING THIS TO OUR ATTENTION. 
          YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVE A PASSION AND, UH, SOME DIRECTION HERE AND, AND HONESTLY, WE'RE VERY LUCKY TO HAVE YOU, UH, YOU KNOW, PRODUCE OR PRO OR PRODUCING AND OBVIOUSLY ADVOCATING FOR THIS. 
          UH, IT IS INEVITABLE THAT TRANSPORTATION IN THE FUTURE IS, UH, GONNA BE A, A, A SERIOUS REQUIREMENT WITH THE AMOUNT OF POPULATION INCREASING ANNUALLY. 
          AND IT'S INVALUABLE, UH, AN INVALUABLE RESOURCE FOR US TO HAVE THAT, WHETHER IT'S CONNECTING HERE LOCALLY OR THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE ARTERIES THROUGHOUT, UH, NORTH TEXAS. 
          SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, I DO SUPPORT THE, UH, ONE PENNY AND I ALSO SUPPORT THE RESOLUTION. 
          AND I WON'T REPEAT WHAT EVERYONE ELSE SAID TONIGHT, BUT I AGREE WITH EVERYONE ON THE, ON THE COUNCIL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, CURTIS. 
          OKAY. 
          SEEING NO OTHER COMMENTS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          KAY. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          THANK YOU, MARK, ANYTHING ELSE WE NEED TO COVER, DON? NO, SIR. 
          I, UH, THINK THAT WE'VE GOT OUR DIRECTION AND WE WILL, UH, WE'LL HAVE SOMETHING FOR THE COUNCIL TO CONSIDER NEXT WEEK. 
          SOUNDS LIKE A WINNER. 
          THANK YOU. 
          APPRECIATE IT. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          THANK Y'ALL. 
          THIS 
          [8. REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE OVER 65 AND DISABLED PERSONS EXEMPTION ]
TIME WE'LL GO TO ITEM EIGHT, REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE OVER 65 DISABLED PERSONS EXEMPTION. 
          THANK YOU MAYOR. 
          UH, ANITA CATHERINE, OUR DIRECTOR OF FINANCE, AND TODD, UH, GEOFF, OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR HERE, TODD'S GONNA LEAD THE BRIEFING. 
          UH, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ANNUAL BRIEFING, UH, EACH YEAR. 
          UH, THIS IS ALL ABOUT ENSURING THAT, UH, YOUR POLICY OF, UH, ACHIEVING A 30% PROTECTION FOR, UH, OUR SENIOR AND DISABLED RESIDENTS IN TERMS OF THEIR PROPERTY TAX, UH, IS ACHIEVED. 
          AND SO TODD TODD'S GONNA RUN THROUGH A FAMILIAR PRESENTATION, DIFFERENT NUMBERS, UM, BUT AT THE END WE'LL HAVE A RECOMMENDATION LIKE WE HAVE IN PAST YEARS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. 
          TODD, THANKS FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER. 
          I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU FOR A BRIEFING. 
          THANK YOU, MR. MAGNER. 
          THANK YOU MAYOR COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR YOUR TIME THIS EVENING. 
          UM, SO AS DON MENTIONED, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I'LL DIVE INTO HERE IS ONE OF OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES IS THAT WE REVIEW OUR, UH, EXEMPTION FOR SENIORS AND DISABLED PERSONS. 
          AND SO THAT'S WHAT I'M HERE TO DO TONIGHT. 
          GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THE ACTION YOU TOOK LAST YEAR AND WHETHER WE HIT THE MARK ON MEETING OUR FINANCIAL POLICY GOAL. 
          UH, AND THEN WE HAVE A RECOMMENDATION FOR YOU TONIGHT. 
          THIS IS ALIGNED WITH ONE OF THE CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND STRATEGIES AND TACTICS, UH, STRATEGY TO MAINTAIN STRONG FUND BALANCE AND BOND RATING, AND A TACTIC IN PARTICULAR TO ANNUALLY EVALUATE THE PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION IN CONJUNCTION WITH OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES. 
          BEFORE I DIVE INTO THE PRESENTATION FURTHER, I JUST WANT TO SET THE TABLE FOR A FEW TERMS. SO, MARKET VALUE VERSUS TAXABLE VALUE. 
          I KNOW THE COUNCIL, UH, WELL UNDERSTANDS THIS, BUT THIS IS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE WATCHING, UH, HERE THIS EVENING. 
          SO, MARKET VALUE OF A HOME WOULD BE THE, UH, WHAT IT WOULD SELL UNDER FOR PREVAILING MARKET CONDITIONS. 
          TAXABLE VALUE WOULD BE THAT MARKET VALUE AND THEN TAKE AWAY ANY PARTICULAR EXEMPTIONS THAT APPLY TO THE PROPERTY. 
          AND THEN THE LEVY IS OUR TAXABLE VALUE TIMES THE ADOPTED TAX RATE. 
          THE EXAMPLE I SHOW ON THE SLIDE HERE IS LOOKING AT THE AVERAGE SENIORS HOME VALUE. 
          UM, BASED ON OUR CERTIFIED ROLE LAST SUMMER, UH, AVERAGE SENIOR'S HOME VALUE IS 400, JUST SHY OF $480,000. 
          THE CURRENT EXEMPTION IS $145,000. 
          SO THAT REDUCES THAT TO A, A REDUCED TAXABLE VALUE WHERE WE APPLY THE TAX RATE. 
          AND YOU CAN SEE, SO FOR THE AVERAGE SENIOR, UH, WITH THAT SENIOR EXEMPTION OR DISABLED PERSON'S EXEMPTION, THEIR TAX LEVY FROM THE CITY OF RICHARDSON'S LOW OVER $1,800. 
          OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES ARE TO REVIEW THIS ANNUALLY AND WITH A GOAL TO MAINTAIN A TAX BENEFIT TO OUR SENIORS, UH, OF 30% OF THE AVERAGE HOME VALUE. 
          UH, LAST YEAR WAS VERY PLEASED TO BE BEFORE YOU AND COUNCIL PASSED, UM, UH, TO INCREASE THE EXEMPTION FROM 130,000 TO 145,000. 
          UM, AND I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE HIT THE MARK PRETTY SPOT ON. 
          UH, LAST SUMMER, CERTIFIED VALUES WITH THE INCREASED IN THE AVERAGE SENIORS HOME 
          [02:15:01]
VALUE, THAT INCREASED EXEMPTION AMOUNT AMOUNTED TO 30, JUST OVER 30% OF THE, UH, MARKET VALUE OF A SENIOR'S HOME. 
          SO WE HIT THE MARK ON THAT, LOOKING AT THE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS. 
          SO THERE WERE 200 ADDITIONAL ACCOUNTS FROM THE PRIOR YEAR TO THIS LAST SUMMER CERTIFIED ROLE THAT WERE ADDED AND STARTED RECEIVING THE EXEMPTION. 
          UH, THAT AMOUNTS TO ABOUT 32% OF ALL RESIDENTIAL ACCOUNTS THAT ARE RECEIVING THIS EXEMPTION. 
          SO WE'RE GETTING CLOSE TO ALMOST A THIRD OF ALL RESIDENTIAL ACCOUNTS. 
          UM, AND WE HAD A 2.27% GROWTH OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS. 
          IT'S BEEN A LITTLE OVER 1.5% THAT WE'VE SEEN THE INCREASED NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS RECEIVING THIS EXEMPTION AT OUR CURRENT TAX RATE. 
          UH, THE EXEMPTION AMOUNTS TO A $786 REDUCTION IN, UH, IN THE, UH, TAXES, UH, LEVIED BY THE CITY. 
          ANY $5,000 INCREMENT THAT WE WERE TO, UH, OR THAT COUNCIL WOULD DECIDE TO INCREASE THE EXEMPTION WOULD BE ABOUT AN ADDITIONAL $27 IN REDUCED TAXES, UH, FOR THE AVERAGE SENIOR HOME IN FY 25. 
          SO THE, THE YEAR WE'RE IN, CURRENTLY, THE EXEMPTION AMOUNTED TO JUST SHY OF $7 MILLION IN EXEMPTED CITY TAXES. 
          IF WE DO NOT, IF, IF COUNCIL MAKES NO CHANGES TO THE EXEMPTION AMOUNT FOR THE COMING FISCAL YEAR, UH, WE'RE ESTIMATED BASED ON JUST HOME VALUE GROWTH AND, UH, AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS THAT THE EXEMPTED TAXES WILL INCREASE, UH, UP TO 7.15 MILLION AS YOU SEE ON THE SLIDE THERE. 
          HERE'S A LOOK AT, UM, IF WE WERE TO PROJECT OUT 5% HOME VALUE INCREASES AND AN ADDITIONAL 1% INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS RECEIVING THE EXEMPTION, UH, THE TABLE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE IS LOOKING AT OUR CURRENT EXEMPTION AMOUNT OF 145,000. 
          AND THEN IF WE WERE TO ADD $5,000 INCREMENTS, INCREMENTALLY, WHAT WE PROJECT THAT WOULD BE TO THE AVERAGE, UH, SENIORS HOME VALUE, ARE WE HITTING THAT 30% FINANCIAL POLICY TARGET? SO, UH, BASED ON THAT, IF WE WERE TO INCREASE ONLY TO 150,000, PROJECTING WE'RE NOT QUITE THERE, 155,000, WE'RE PROBABLY THERE 160,000, WE DO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A BUFFER. 
          UM, AND ON THE FAR RIGHT, YOU, IF YOU, IF YOU DON'T DIVE INTO THE INCREMENTAL COSTS, UH, BASICALLY IT DOES SHOW THE GENERAL FUND AND DEBT SERVICE IMPACTS ON THE FAR RIGHT. 
          YOU LOOK AT THE HOMEOWNER SAVINGS THAT BASICALLY IF WE MAKE NO CHANGES, THEY'RE RECEIVING A $786 BENEFIT FROM THE EXEMPTION. 
          AND THEN AS YOU INCREASE FROM THERE, YOU SEE THE ADDITIONAL $27 PER $5,000 INCREMENT. 
          THE RECOMMENDATION I'M HERE BEFORE YOU FOR TONIGHT TO DISCUSS IS THAT, UM, BECAUSE THE CURRENT EXEMPTION AMOUNT IS ESTIMATED TO GENERATE, UH, BELOW THAT THIR 30% FINANCIAL POLICY TARGET, UH, AND THEN FACTORING IN AN ASSUMPTION OF SOME HOME VALUE GROWTH, UH, EVEN THOUGH AS IT STANDS THIS MOMENT TODAY, WE ARE HITTING THE 30%, WE'RE ASSUMING THERE'S GONNA BE SOME HOME VALUE GROWTH, AND WE WANNA STILL HIT THAT TARGET. 
          OUR RECOMMENDATION IS TO INCREASE THE EXEMPTION TO 160,000. 
          SO LAST YEAR YOU INCREASED IT FROM ONE 30 TO 1 45, AGAIN COMING, RECOMMENDING ANOTHER $15,000 INCREASE, UH, WHICH WOULD PROVIDE AN ESTIMATED 31.75% TAX BENEFIT. 
          SO ABOVE THAT FINANCIAL TAR, UH, TARGET, AND, AND JUST FOR FRAME OF REFERENCE, IF OUR 5%, UH, ASSUMPTION OF HOME VALUE IS A LITTLE LIGHT AND IT COMES IN HIGHER BY GOING UP TO 160,000 HOME VALUES, WOULD'VE TO INCREASE ON AVERAGE MORE LIKE 11% TO SUDDENLY NOT STILL BE MEETING THAT 30% TARGET. 
          SO I THINK GOING UP TO ONE 60 HAS PROVIDED SOME BUFFER, MUCH LIKE WE TRIED TO DO LAST YEAR. 
          AND IF YOU WERE TO, UH, MAKE THE INCREASE UP TO 160,000, UH, BASED ON SOME OF THOSE ASSUMPTIONS I WENT OVER BEFORE, UH, CITY ESTIMATED TAXES ARE ESTIMATED TO BE, UH, JUST SHY OF 7.9 MILLION FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR. 
          SO NEXT STEPS, I'M HERE TO ACCEPT ANY FEEDBACK FROM THE COUNCIL AND, UH, DIRECTION ON WHETHER OR NOT TO, UH, BRING FORWARD AN ORDINANCE TO INCREASE THAT EXEMPTION FROM 1 45 TO 160,000. 
          UM, IT DOES NEED TO BE APPROVED BEFORE JULY 1ST, BUT UNLESS THERE'S, UM, ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION NEEDING TO DELAY IT, UH, THE PLAN WOULD BE TO BRING AN ORDINANCE IN FRONT OF THE COUNCIL, UH, AT THE END OF THE MONTH ON FEBRUARY 24TH. 
          AND THEN WE WILL CERTAINLY MONITOR, UH, THE IMPACT OF ANY DECISION YOU MAKE, UH, FOR BUDGETARY PURPOSES WHEN WE DISCUSS NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, UH, DURING THE SUMMER BUDGET WORKSHOP. 
          AND WITH THAT, ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER. 
          TODD. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH, ANITA. 
          KEN, THANK Y'ALL FOR YOUR TEAM OF PROVIDING NUMBERS THAT EVEN A NON-MATH PERSON CAN FIGURE OUT REALLY QUICK. 
          SO, UM, Y'ALL DO AN AMAZING JOB OF, IT'S A VERY PRECISE, VERY PROJECTED, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, PEOPLE 
          [02:20:01]
CAN LOOK AT AND TRULY UNDERSTAND. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR THE SIMPLIFIED EXPLANATION, BUT IT'S VERY THOROUGH AND GOES DEEP, AND YOUR EXTRA EFFORT REALLY MEANS A LOT TO OUR CITIZENS. 
          SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. BARRIOS. 
          YOU'VE GOT A COMMENT, PLEASE. 
          UM, YES, MAYOR, UH, TODD, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. 
          UH, WHEN I RAN LAST TIME, THIS WAS DEFINITELY A TOPIC I HEARD FROM MANY PEOPLE ON THE FRONT PORCH. 
          THERE'S A LOT OF SENIORS CONCERNED THEY'RE BEING, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE RETIRED, BEEN RETIRED DECADE OR TWO, AND PAYING TAXES. 
          ONE OF THEIR BIGGEST CONCERNS IS PAYING BILLS. 
          SO, UH, I APPRECIATE THAT STAFF CONTINUES TO BRING US AND KIND OF SAYS, HEY, WE HAVE ROOM HERE. 
          LET, IF WE CAN DO IT, LET'S DO IT. 
          SO I 100% SUPPORT THIS. 
          UH, SO GREAT JOB. 
          THANK YOU, UH, MAYOR PATILLO. 
          THANK YOU MR. MAYOR, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR LIKE, DETAILED MATH. 
          THESE ARE GOOD PRESENTATION WITH DATA. 
          I KNOW THAT MANY OF US WOULD LIKE, YOU KNOW, LIKE TO SEE THAT NUMBER. 
          BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH THE HOUSE PRICE GOING UP SO MUCH, UH, AND, AND WHEN I LOOK, I WAS LOOKING AT THE, SOME OF THE DATA TODAY, UH, BACK IN, WHEN I FIRST GOT ELECTED, BEFORE THAT TIME IT WAS $100,000 EXEMPTION, AND THEN NOW IT IS TODAY $145,000 DIRECTION. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S AMAZING. 
          I, I, YOU KNOW, I, I SEE THE COMMITMENT OF KEEPING IT WITHIN 30%, UH, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST THIS COUNCIL PREVIOUSLY ALSO LOOK LOOKING AT THOSE THINGS. 
          SO I'M TOTALLY IN SUPPORT OF THIS, KEEPING THAT 30% AND, UH, YOU KNOW, MAKING IT MORE AFFORDABLE FOR OUR CITY SENIOR AND VISIBLE HOMEOWNERS. 
          SO, AND I'M GLAD THAT WE ARE ABLE TO DO IT, AND, UH, I THINK THIS IS A GREAT THANKS AND LOOK FORWARD SEEING THESE THINGS SOON, AND WE'LL SEE HOW THE COUNCIL GOES. 
          BUT I HAVE MY, YOU HAVE MY FULL SUPPORT. 
          THANK YOU, MR. DORIAN. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          I, UH, I WANNA REITERATE AS WELL, I, I DO SUPPORT THIS. 
          I THINK ANYTIME THAT WE CAN HELP OUR SENIORS, UH, MONITOR A BUDGETARY, UH, PROCESS, UH, I THINK THAT'S, UH, SORT OF, SORT OF KEEPS SUSTAINABILITY HERE IN THE CITY, UH, ALLOWS PEOPLE TO STAY IN THEIR HOMES, UH, WHETHER THAN, UH, WHETHER TO DOWNSIZE OR CHOOSE ANOTHER OPTION. 
          SO I THINK ANYTIME THAT WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO INCREASE THIS, I, I CERTAINLY SUPPORT IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          I THINK EVERYBODY'S GOT A THUMBS UP. 
          BRING IT BACK TO US, . 
          OKAY. 
          SOUNDS GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          APPRECIATE IT, . 
          [9. CONTINUATION  OF  PUBLIC  HEARING,  ZONING  FILE  24-24,  A  REQUEST  TO  REZONE  APPROXIMATELY   4.08-ACRES LOCATED AT 601 E. MAIN STREET, NORTH OF E. MAIN STREET, EAST OF GROVE ROAD,   FROM  R-1500-M  RESIDENTIAL  TEMP  DISTRICT  TO  PD  PLANNED  DEVELOPMENT  DISTRICT  FOR  A   TOWNHOME DEVELOPMENT WITH 38-UNITS. ]
ALL RIGHTY. 
          THAT BRINGS US TO NUMBER NINE, CONTINUATION OF A PUBLIC HEARING ZONING FILE 24 24, A REQUEST TO REZONE APPROXIMATELY 4.08 ACRES, LOCATED AT 6 0 1 EAST MAIN STREET. 
          BE LOOKING FOR A MOTION TO CONTINUE THE PUBLIC HEARING. 
          MAYOR, UM, IF I, IF I COULD JUST MAKE A, A COMMENT, UM, WHEN, UH, THIS CASE WAS LAST CONSIDERED, UH, THE, UH, COUNSEL CONTINUED THE CASE AT THAT TIME TO TONIGHT SO THAT THE, UH, APPLICANT COULD WORK WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD. 
          UM, I'VE GOTTEN REPORTS FROM BOTH THE APPLICANT AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT THOSE DISCUSSIONS DID OCCUR, THAT THEY'RE ONGOING AND THAT THE PLAN IS EVOLVING. 
          AND, UH, SO THE APPLICANT COULDN'T BE HERE TONIGHT, BUT, UH, HE WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST, UH, ONE ADDITIONAL CONTINUATION, UH, TO THE SET FEBRUARY 17TH MEETING. 
          THAT'LL ALLOW HIM TO, UH, HOPEFULLY CONCLUDE HIS DISCUSSIONS WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THEN, UH, BRING BACK THAT REFINED PLAN. 
          SO, UM, I THINK WHAT YOU WOULD DO TONIGHT IS JUST MAKE THAT MOTI MOTION TO, UH, CONTINUE, UH, TO FEBRUARY 17TH. 
          OKAY, MR. CHU? THANK YOU, MR. YES. 
          I WOULD LOVE TO PUT THE MOTION TO CONTINUE THIS THING TO FEBRUARY 17TH, 2025. 
          YES. 
          UH, AND HOPEFULLY THIS WILL BRING, YOU KNOW, MUCH, MUCH MORE GREATER BEAUTIFUL PRODUCT TO CONSIDER. 
          OKAY, MR. HUTCHIN, WRITER SECOND. 
          GOT A MOTION A SECOND. 
          ALL IN FAVOR? SHOW OF HANDS PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THAT BRINGS US 
          [10. CONSENT AGENDA]
TO OUR CONSENT AGENDA. 
          ITEM NUMBER 10, LOOKING FOR MR. HUTCHER RE MAYOR. 
          MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS FILED MS. JUSTICE SECOND. 
          GOT A MOTION, A SECOND. 
          ALL IN FAVOR, SHOW OF HANDS PASSES UNANIMOUSLY BRINGS US TO ITEM NUMBER 
          [11. REPORT ON ITEMS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST ]
11, REPORT ON ITEMS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST. 
          MS. JUSTICE, UM, THE RICHARDSON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA HAD AN INCREDIBLE CONCERT ON SATURDAY, UH, PROBABLY BEEN MY FAVORITE THAT I'VE ATTENDED ALL TIME. 
          UH, SHE'S GOT SOUL WITH THEIA JENKINS. 
          UM, SHE SANG EVERYTHING FROM ADELE TO GLADYS KNIGHT 
          [02:25:01]
TO, I THINK THERE WAS SOME WHITNEY HOUSTON AND DOLLY PARTON WHO WROTE, UH, THE SONG, BUT, BUT, UH, MADE FAMOUS BY WHITNEY HOUSTON. 
          SO, ANYWAY, IT WAS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE, AND I THINK I SAID HERE ONE TIME, UH, I WOULD NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD HEAR, HEAR THE RICH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PLAY JAMES BROWN, WHICH THEY PLAYED AS PART OF A RECENT PROGRAM. 
          AND THEN THEY ACTUALLY PLAYED A, A MASHUP OF JAMES BROWN AGAIN AS PART OF THE CONCERT. 
          SO, UH, I REALLY ENJOYED SEEING CLAY UP THERE IN HIS WHITE JACKET, YOU KNOW, BOUNCING AROUND TO THE BEAD. 
          SO IT WAS A, A REALLY, REALLY AMAZING, UH, UH, CONCERT. 
          SO CONGRATULATIONS TO, TO LORI AND MAESTRO KERIO ON JUST LIKE I SAID, ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE CONCERTS. 
          SO THE RSO, THANK YOU, MAYOR PRO, TIM. 
          THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. 
          I'M SURE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS, THEY'RE GONNA BE SPEAKING ABOUT A FEW THINGS YOU'RE GONNA BE PROBABLY ALSO MENTIONING. 
          SO I'LL JUST SAY BRIEFLY, UH, THAT, UH, GREG AND HIS TEAM AND THE CITY DID, YOU KNOW, WONDERFUL JOB, UH, FOR STATE OF THE CITY A FEW DAYS AGO THAT WE HAD, UH, I KNOW THAT THEY HAD, OR THEY HAD MANY NIGHT, THEY DID NOT SLEEP TO, YOU KNOW, ORGANIZE THAT, UH, THINGS TO GO SMOOTHLY. 
          SO JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU TO THEM AND APPRECIATE THEIR SERVICE. 
          AND, UM, NOW SATURDAY, WE HAD, WE, WE, WE, WE, WE HAVE BEEN CELEBRATING LUNAR NEW YEAR FOR A FEW, YOU KNOW, FEW WEEKS. 
          AND LAST SATURDAY WE HAD AN EVENT, WE HAD SOME DRAGON DANCE AND OTHER THINGS THAT WAS INDOOR. 
          BUT THIS COMING SATURDAY, HOPE TO SEE, SEE YOU ALL, UH, AT THE CHINATOWN. 
          UH, THIS TIME IT'LL BE OUTDOOR PROGRAM. 
          I BELIEVE THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHAT WE DO EVERY YEAR. 
          UH, I'M SURE EVERYBODY WILL ENJOY AND THERE WILL BE SOME FOOD ALSO, UH, TO TRY OUT DIFFERENT THINGS. 
          I THINK THIS IS A GREAT PLACE TO BE THAT DAY. 
          SO HOPE TO SEE YOU SATURDAY MORNING. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, MR. DORIAN. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          I, I JUST WANT TO ALSO REITERATE, REITERATE, THE STATE OF THE CITY I THOUGHT WAS, UH, AMAZING. 
          UH, GREG SAW CITY STAFF, OUR CITY MANAGER. 
          EVERYBODY JUST DID A INCREDIBLE JOB AND PUT A LOT OF HOURS AND TIME INTO IT. 
          AND, AND THE COUNCIL DID AN INCREDIBLE JOB AS WELL. 
          I THINK, UH, I DEFINITELY WANT TO, UH, DO HAVE A BIG SHOUT OUT FOR MAYOR AND COUNCIL. 
          DOING A VERY GOOD JOB. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, SECOND, UH, THING I JUST WANTED TO SAY, WE, UH, SAY TO JOIN OUR MAYOR AND OUR MAYOR PRO TIM. 
          UM, THIS WEEK AT, UH, AT UTD, UH, WE WENT AND CELEBRATED THE COMETS LANDING, UH, E-GAMING, UH, NEW SPORTS THAT I GUESS IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN STUDENTS OR I GUESS ANYONE REALLY THAT WANTS TO SHARE AND, AND INTEGRATE, UM, COLLABORATION OF, OF, UH, EGAMES. 
          SO, UM, THAT WAS KIND OF INCREDIBLE AND HAD A REALLY NICE TIME THERE FOR THE RIBBON CADDY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, MR. TREASURER RUDDER. 
          THANK YOU. 
          TONIGHT, WE SPENT A LOT OF CONVERSATION ABOUT A VERY MAGICAL WORD, THE WORD INCLUSION. 
          AND I THINK SO MANY TIMES WE THINK OF INCLUSION IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT WAYS. 
          BUT I WANT TO THANK OUR MAYOR FOR THE INCLUSION OF ALL OF US, US IN THE STATE OF THE CITY. 
          I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL FOR SIX YEARS, AND THAT WASN'T ALWAYS THAT WAY DURING MY SIX YEARS. 
          OFTENTIMES WE AS CITY COUNCIL JUST SET OUT IN THE AUDIENCE WHILE THE STATE OF CITY WAS BASICALLY PRESENTED. 
          BUT MARY, YOU STEPPED UP TWO YEARS AGO, I GUESS, IF I SHOULD SAY, SAY THAT CORRECTLY. 
          UM, AND REALLY EMPOWERED AND ENVISIONED THE WORD INCLUSION AND ALLOWED ALL OF US TO BE A PART OF THE STATE OF THE CITY. 
          AND I WANNA THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT. 
          I WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THAT. 
          AND AGAIN, I WANNA ADD MY, UM, HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE. 
          UM, I THOUGHT EVERYBODY DID A GREAT JOB. 
          UM, I'VE RECEIVED SO MANY POSITIVE COMMENTS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THE STATE OF THE CITY, NOT ONLY THE PRESENTATION, BUT TRULY THE STATE OF OUR CITY AS TO HOW, AS TO THE SHAPE WE ARE IN. 
          AND I THINK THAT GOES TO THE PROFESSIONALISM OF THE CITY COUNCIL. 
          WE WORK VERY, VERY DILIGENTLY. 
          WE DON'T ALWAYS AGREE, BUT WE ALWAYS WALK AWAY AND WE ALWAYS, UM, DO WHAT IS IN OUR, WHAT WE BELIEVE IS IN OUR BEST INTEREST. 
          AND AS HAS BEEN SAID MANY TIMES, SAUSAGE MAKING CAN BE VERY, VERY UGLY. 
          BUT YOU DO GET SOME GREAT SAUSAGE AT THE END OF THE DAY. 
          AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE DO MOST, UH, MOST MONDAY NIGHTS. 
          AND DON TO YOU, TO GREG, TO THE ENTIRE TEAM THAT PUT ON THE STATE OF THE CITY FOR US. 
          THANK YOU. 
          CONGRATULATIONS TO Y'ALL. 
          IT WAS AN AMAZING EVENT. 
          I ALSO WANNA THANK EVERYBODY OUT IN THE COMMUNITY WHO CAME OUT TO THE STATE OF THE CITY AND ACTIVELY PARTICIPATED. 
          UM, IT ALWAYS MAKES ME FEEL SO GOOD WHEN I, WHEN I LOOK, LOOK OUT ON THE, THE ENTIRE CROWD AND 
          [02:30:01]
SEE EVERYONE THERE AND THE, AND ALL OF THE PEOPLE THERE. 
          SO AGAIN, THANK YOU AND MAYOR, THANK YOU FOR LEADING BY EXAMPLE. 
          APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH. 
          THANK YOU, MR. CORCORAN. 
          UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY, I'VE SEEN SEVERAL POSTS ON FACEBOOK, UH, THAT CONFIRMED DREAM CAFE, UH, HAD A GREAT SOFT OPENING AND IS OPEN NOW AND IT'S JUST A BIG WIN FOR OUR CITY AND FOR THE LOCKWOOD AREA. 
          SO, UM, CONGRATULATIONS TO THEM ON OPENING AND WELCOME TO RICHARDSON. 
          ALSO, I'D LIKE TO SAY, UH, I THREW A LITTLE BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR THELMA A COUPLE WEEKENDS AGO, AND OUR RICHARDSON BUSINESSES REALLY CAME THROUGH. 
          TOM THUMB MADE AN AWESOME CAKE, BARNES AND NOBLE, UH, ANOTHER NEW-ISH BUSINESS, GREAT SOURCE OF GIFTS, FUSION VIBES CAME THROUGH WITH SOME GOOD CATERING BEYOND THE BAR, CAME THROUGH WITH SOME GREAT NA OPTIONS AND A PARTY CITY, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE CLOSING. 
          UM, CAME IN WITH SOME REALLY, REALLY GOOD DEALS ON GIFT BAGS. 
          SO, GREAT JOB. 
          UH, RICHARDSON, YOU CAN FIND IT ALL HERE. 
          . 
          MR. , MR. BARRIOS. 
          I, I WILL THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, COUNCILMAN CORCORAN FOR MENTIONING WONDERFUL PLACE. 
          THREE BUSINESSES, UH, THAT WE, THAT WE LOVE. 
          UH, I DO WANNA SAY AT THE STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS THE CAST FOR THE RICHON ADULT LITERACY CENTERS. 
          UH, MURDER MYSTERY WAS ANNOUNCED AND THE POSTERS WENT UP. 
          AND I AM , OH, I'M SORRY. 
          I AM PROUD TO SAY THAT I WILL BE JOINING. 
          I HAVE THE SCRIPT IN HAND. 
          I WILL BE JOINING THE CAST THIS YEAR. 
          IT IS MY FIRST TIME AND IT'LL BE AN HONOR TO BE ON STAGE AND HELP RAISE SOME MONEY. 
          SO FOR ANYBODY WATCHING AT HOME OR ANYBODY IN THE ROOM, UH, TICKETS HAVE GONE ON SALE. 
          THEY'RE $85 EACH, AND THAT WILL BE TAKING PLACE AT, UM, THE STAGE. 
          WE STEP ON THE STAGE AT 7:30 PM ON APRIL 12TH. 
          SO IF, UM, YOU DO NOT HAVE A FULL CALENDAR, PLEASE JOIN US AND, UM, COME WATCH ME ACT THE FOOL. 
          'CAUSE I JUST READ THE, READ THE SCRIPT AND IT'S A GOOD ONE. 
          SO I LOOK FORWARD TO JOINING. 
          EVERYBODY ELSE DONE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          HMM. 
          YOU DONE? UH, WE DON'T KNOW. 
          WE DON'T GET TOLD THEY'RE SCARED. 
          WE'RE GONNA SPILL THE BEANS, SO WE DON'T GET TOLD WHO DONE IT UNTIL THE, I BELIEVE THE DAY OF, UH, RIGHT BEFORE THE SHOW. 
          SO, YEAH. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          THANK YOU TEAM AND I, AND THANK YOU FOR THE KIND COMMENTS AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. 
          UH, IT TRULY IS A TEAM EFFORT AND THAT'S WHAT I'M EXTREMELY PROUD OF IS THAT ALL OF Y'ALL STEP UP. 
          YOU'RE NOT BASHFUL AND, UH, I THINK WE ARE ACCOMPLISHING A LOT OF AWESOME THINGS. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          SO WITH THAT, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY MORE VISITORS, DO WE? MS. NEER? NO. 
          [EXECUTIVE SESSION ]
ALL RIGHTY THEN WE WILL GO ON IN COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 5 5, 1 0.0 8, 7 1, AND TWO OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE COUNSEL WILL CONVENE INTO A CLOSED EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING DELIBERATION REGARDING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEGOTIATIONS, COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT, US 75 MAIN STREET AREA. 
          THE TIME IS NOW 8 41. 
          WE WILL START BACK UP EIGHT 50. 
          HOW'S THAT AT? ARE YOU.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.