[CALL TO ORDER]
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I CALL THIS MEETING OF THE RICHARDSON CITY COUNCIL TO ORDER AT 6:00 PM UH, ITEM A[A. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS AND VISITORS FORUM ]
ON OUR AGENDA IS PUBLIC COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS AND VISITORS FORM, MR. MAGNER.WE ARE NOT IN RECEIPT OF ANY CARDS IN ADVANCE OF THE 4:00 PM DEADLINE, AND I DO NOT THINK WE HAVE ANY SPEAKERS CURRENTLY SIGNED UP TO MAKE COMMENTS.
IS THERE ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE THAT CARES TO SPEAK TONIGHT? ALRIGHT, SEEING NONE, WE'LL MOVE ON TO
[B. REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP ]
ITEM B, WHICH IS TO REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP.MR. MAGNA, UH, THANK YOU MAYOR.
MAYOR, COUNSEL, EXCITED, UH, TONIGHT TO, UH, SHARE WITH YOU, UM, A PLAN THAT WE'VE, UH, PUT TOGETHER TO TRY TO LEVERAGE, UH, THE ACTIVITIES THAT'LL BE TAKING PLACE HERE IN NORTH TEXAS OVER THE SUMMER.
I WANNA, UH, THANK MCKAYLA DO OUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER FOR KIND OF COORDINATING, UM, MANY DEPARTMENTS HERE IN THE CITY WHO WILL HAVE A ROLE AS, UH, YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE AS SHE SHARE SHARES THE, UH, PLANE WITH YOU.
I ALSO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, JEFF WRIGHT, OUR CVB DIRECTOR, UH, AND, UH, MCKAYLA AND, AND, UH, CHIEF, UH, TITTLE ACTUALLY GONNA KIND OF TAG TEAM THIS, UM, PRESENTATION.
I THINK THE, UH, FIRST PART HERE IS GONNA BE VERY INTERESTING, UH, IN TERMS OF HOW WE CAN MARKET RICHARDSON AND HELP OUR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, UH, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS EVENT.
BUT THEN I'D REALLY LIKE CHIEF TITTLE TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE SECURITY, UM, AND REGIONAL, UM, COLLABORATION AND PARTICIPATION THAT WILL BE TAKING PART IN, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS A, A REALLY SUCCESSFUL EXPERIENCE FOR ALL OF NORTH TEXAS.
AND, UH, SO MIKAYLA, LET ME TURN IT OVER TO YOU FOR THE FIRST PART AND THEN YOU CAN HAND IT OFF TO GARY AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME.
SO, OF COURSE, TONIGHT'S PRESENTATION FALLS UNDER THE CITY COUNCIL TACTIC TO LEVERAGE THE 2026 WORLD CUP TO POSITION RICHARDSON AS A PREMIER INTERNATIONAL DESTINATION.
TONIGHT, I'LL GO OVER SEVERAL FACTORS OF OUR 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP RESPONSE WITH YOU.
AND AS, UM, CITY MANAGER, MAGNER MENTIONED, THERE ARE SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE COMPONENTS OF THIS.
SO THIS IS A SUMMARY OF, OF WHAT THE, THE CITY ORGANIZATION AS A WHOLE IS PUTTING TOGETHER.
SO FIFA IS EXPECTED TO BRING MILLIONS OF VISITORS TO NORTH TEXAS.
SOME ESTIMATES ARE AS HIGH AS 5 MILLION OVER THE SPAN OF THE MONTH LONG, UM, MATCHES THAT WILL BE OCCURRING AT AT AND T STADIUM IN ARLINGTON.
WE'VE HAD FOUR TEAMS THAT ARE ANNOUNCED THAT ARE PLAYING STAGE MATCHES HERE IN, UM, DFW.
AND THEN OF COURSE, OTHER ACTIVITIES WILL BE HELD AT, AT FFAST AT FAIR PARK.
AND THEN THE INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST CENTER AT KAY BAILEY HUTCHINSON.
THERE ARE POSSIBLE BASE CAMP, UM, AND TRAINING SITES THAT HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED, AND THOSE WILL BE ANNOUNCED, UH, IN THE SPRING AND FINALIZED.
THEN HOTELS ARE, ARE FORECASTING TO, UM, OCCUPY ABOUT 70 TO 80% OF THEIR ROOMS. THIS AVERAGES ABOUT 10% HIGHER THAN WHAT WE WOULD TYPICALLY SEE FOR THIS TIME OF THE YEAR, AND WE ARE REALLY SEEING IT TO STILL BE A MIX OF OUR NORMAL BUSINESS PLUS SOME FIFA BUSINESS THAT HAS ALREADY STARTED BOOKING, BUT WE REALLY EXPECT IT TO TAKE OFF IN MID-MAY ONCE THOSE CENTRAL LOCATIONS CLOSE TO THE EVENTS THEMSELVES START FILLING OUT AND SPILLING INTO RICHARDSON.
UM, SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT THE CITY HAS, UM, ORGANIZED THAT HAVE BEEN, UM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FIFA WORLD CUP ORGANIZING COMMITTEE ARE THE UPCOMING 2026 NORTH TEXAS COMMUNITY CLEANUP CHALLENGE.
SO THIS IS SPONSORED BY KEEP TEXAS BEAUTIFUL IN THE, UM, NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COG, AND IT TRACKS THE CITY'S LITTER COLLECTION FROM MARCH 1ST THROUGH MAY 31ST.
SO ALL OF THAT EVENT, ALONG WITH THE OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT ARE PARTICIPATING, WILL BE PART OF THE, THE FIFA ORGANIZING COMMITTEE CELEBRATIONS.
WE ALSO HAVE THE RICHARDSON BIO BLITZ, WHICH IS SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY, APRIL 25TH AT BRECKENRIDGE PARK.
AND THEN YOU PROBABLY RECALL THE, UM, TEXAS ARBOR DAY TREE PLANTING THAT OCCURRED THIS PAST NOVEMBER IN BRECKENRIDGE PARK AS WELL FOR OUR MARKETING STRATEGY.
WITH THIS BEING SUCH A UNIQUE EVENT AND NOT SOMETHING WE DO EVERY YEAR, WE WORKED WITH AN OUTSIDE CONSULTANT TO REALLY FINE TUNE OUR APPROACH, OUR MESSAGING, AND OUR, UM, OUR COMMUNICATIONS AROUND THE EVENT ITSELF.
WE PARTNERED WITH CONSULTANT CATHERINE CHOLER, WHO HAS A BACKGROUND IN MARKETING AND BRAND DEVELOPMENT, AND PREVIOUSLY WORKED WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS.
SHE WAS AN INTEGRAL PART IN CITY SECURING FIFA TO DFW AND DEVELOPED MANY OF THE CITY PROTOCOLS THAT THE CITY OF DALLAS WILL BE USING DURING THE EVENT.
UM, AND SHE ALSO SERVED ON SEVERAL PLANNING COMMITTEES AROUND EVENT SECURITY, MARKETING AND LOGISTICS.
SO EVERYTHING THAT WE PUT TOGETHER FROM A MARKETING STRATEGY WAS REVIEWED BY CATHERINE AND, UM, STAMPED AND GIVEN FEEDBACK.
THE RICHARDSON, UM, CVB MARKETING STRATEGY REALLY LOOKS TO NOT ONLY INCREASE HOTEL STAYS IN THE CITY, BUT ALSO, UM, DRIVE ADDITIONAL SPENDING WITH
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OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES AND ENHANCE THE VISITOR, UM, EXPERIENCE WHILE THEY'RE IN THE COMMUNITY.WE DID THIS BY LOOKING AT OUR EXISTING FUNDS THROUGH OUR CVB PROGRAM AND REALLOCATING AND LEVERAGING SOME OF THOSE EXISTING DOLLARS TO BEST MAXIMIZE, UM, FOR, UH, THE FIFA RELATED EVENTS.
FIRST IS THE WEBSITE THAT, UM, WAS DEVELOPED WITH OUR CB, ALONG WITH THE CONSULTANT AND OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM.
THIS IS A CUSTOM LANDING PAGE ON VISIT RICHARDSON.COM THAT HIGHLIGHTS THINGS TO DO IN OUR REGIONAL ATTRACTIONS, PLACES TO STAY, TRANSPORTATION ROUTES, DINING OPTIONS, AND EMERGENCY AND MEDICAL INFORMATION.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, THIS IS AN HTML BASED LANDING PAGE.
SO ANYONE THAT'S TRAVELING FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY IS USING A MOBILE DEVICE AND THEIR DEVICE IS AUTOMATICALLY TRANSLATING WEB PAGES.
ALL OF THE INFORMATION WILL BE TRANSLATED AND THEY'LL BE ABLE TO EASILY READ IT IT, UM, AND FIND THE THE ITEMS THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR.
WE'LL ALSO HAVE A SERIES OF SPONSORED AND ROTATING ADS ON, UM, META THAT WILL HIGHLIGHT NOT ONLY OUR ATTRACTIONS, BUT OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES, THINGS TO DO, UM, OUR CENTRAL LOCATION AND ALL OF OUR INTERNATIONAL CUISINES AND LOCAL ATTRACTIONS.
THESE WILL DRIVE, UM, CUSTOMERS TO OUR LANDING PAGE.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE SPEND WITH DIGITAL ADS IS GREAT BECAUSE IT CAN BE MONITORED AND ADJUSTED AS THE EVENT GOES ON.
AND THEN WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT OUR A NEW DIGITAL PASSPORT PROGRAM.
SO USING, UTILIZING, UM, A PLATFORM CALLED BANDO, WE'RE GOING TO BE PUTTING TOGETHER THESE DIGITAL PASSPORTS, WHICH WILL, UH, ALLOW LOCAL BUSINESSES TO OPT IN TO THE PASSPORT.
AND THEN, UM, OUR VISITORS CAN TAKE THAT PASSPORT THROUGH A QR CODE THAT THEY RECEIVE A CHECK IN TO THE HOTELS TO GO CHECK IN TO ANY OF THE LOCAL BUSINESSES AND RECEIVE A SPECIAL, MAYBE A FREE APPETIZER, 10% OFF THEIR MEAL OR A TICKET TO SOMETHING, UM, THAT WILL BE ABLE TO HIGHLIGHT THESE LOCAL BUSINESSES.
BUT THE VISITORS HAVE TO ACTUALLY CHECK IN AND OPT IN TO THE PASSPORT.
AND THESE WILL ALSO BE, UH, HIGHLIGHTED ON THE LANDING PAGE.
SO EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT STAYING AT A LOCAL HOTEL, YOU'RE ABLE TO STILL UTILIZE 'EM IF YOU'RE JUST VISITING THE AREA.
AND AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A WONDERFUL LIGHT POLE BANNER PROGRAM HERE IN RICHARDSON, AND IT'S ONE OF THE WAYS WE GET A LOT OF COMMUNICATIONS OUT TO OUR CITIZENS AND VISITORS.
SO WE WILL BE UTILIZING, UM, A SERIES OF LIGHT POLE BANNERS ACROSS THE COMMUNITY TO REALLY SHOW THAT WELCOMING, ENERGETIC ATMOSPHERE, UM, THAT RICHARDSON BRINGS.
THESE BANNERS ARE INCLUSIVE, THEY'RE NON-TEAM SPECIFIC, AND THEY'LL BE WELCOMING OUR INTERNATIONAL SOCCER FANS TO THE COMMUNITY, AND THEY'LL BE REFLECTIVE OF OUR LARGE, DIVERSE INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE THAT WE HOPE TO HAVE VISIT.
THESE ARE THE GRAPHICS FOR THE FOUR BANNERS, SO PLEASE KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THEM ACROSS THE COMMUNITY THIS SUMMER.
AND THEN FINALLY, IN OUR BUSINESS SUPPORT, UM, AS YOU PROBABLY HEARD, WE REALLY ARE LOOKING AT WAYS THAT ALL OF OUR PROGRAMMING CAN HELP DRIVE SUPPORT TO OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES.
SO OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES WILL BE HIGHLIGHTED IN OUR SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS, BUT THEY'LL ALSO BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DIGITAL PASSPORT PROGRAM.
UM, ALL OF THEIR RESTAURANTS AND ATTRACTIONS ARE HIGHLIGHTED ON THE WEBSITE.
THEY'RE LISTED UNDER OUR DINING OPTIONS AND ARE LINKED TO THOSE, THE, UM, INDIVIDUAL BUSINESS PAGES SO PEOPLE CAN GET ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, SEE MENUS, SEE ANY SPECIALS THAT THE BUSINESSES THEMSELVES ARE DOING.
AND WE HAVE AN EMAIL THAT WE'LL BE SENDING OUT TO OUR BUSINESSES THAT GIVES TIPS ON HOW TO ATTRACT VISITORS TO THEIR LOCATIONS, BUT ALSO WAYS TO REGISTER THROUGH THE NORTH TEXAS CONNECT PROGRAM TO BE A VENDOR WITH FIFA OR REGISTER, MAYBE A WATCH PARTY THAT THEY'RE LOOKING TO HAVE FOR THE EVENT.
AND NOW I'M GONNA HAND IT OVER TO CHIEF TITTLE TO TALK ABOUT THE PUBLIC SAFETY ASPECTS.
AND, UH, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.
SO AS YOU SEE ON THIS, UM, THIS CURRENT SLIDE, THERE IS A NEW BADGE THERE.
AND, UH, I WANT TO TOUCH ON THAT, THAT NEW BADGE.
I'M ACTUALLY WEARING IT FOR THE FIRST TIME FOR MYSELF TONIGHT, BUT, UM, IT'S CERTAINLY A WORLD CUP, UM, BADGE THAT, UM, WE'VE ALLOWED OFFICERS TO PURCHASE ON THEIR OWN.
UM, CERTAINLY HAS BEEN SANCTIONED BY THE DEPARTMENT, BUT ALSO BY FIFA.
UM, AND IT IS PERMITTED TO BE WORN, UM, ON OUR UNIFORMS UNTIL THE END OF JULY, AFTER WORLD CUP CONCLUDES.
UM, ALSO AS WE HAVE LOOKED FORWARD TO, UM, THE POTENTIAL OF WHAT WORLD CUP WILL BRING TO THE NORTH TEXAS REGION, UM, I, I DECIDED LATE FALL TO PUT A, UH,
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PROHIBITION ON DISCRETIONARY LEAVE FOR THIS PERIOD OF TIME, FROM JUNE 1ST UNTIL, UM, THE END OF THE TOURNAMENT.UM, JULY, UH, 19TH, UM, JUST LAST WEEK, I HAVE LIFTED, UM, UM, 12 DAYS ON THE BEGINNING OF JUNE.
UM, TRYING TO AFFORD EMPLOYEES TO TAKE AS MUCH TIME OFF DURING THOSE SUMMERS MONTHS AND RECOGNIZE AND APPRECIATE, UM, THAT RESPONSIBILITY.
UM, BUT BECAUSE TECHNICALLY THE GAMES DO NOT START UNTIL JULY 11TH, THE FIRST GAME HERE IN NORTH TEXAS IS JULY 14TH.
AND SO JUST RECOGNIZING AN APPRECIATION OF, UH, WHAT THE OFFICERS DO ON A DAILY BASIS AND, AND GIVING THEM AS MUCH SUMMERTIME AS AS POSSIBLE FOR DISCRETIONARY LEAVE CHIEF, I'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT PAST.
UM, JUNE 14TH THROUGH JULY 14TH.
UM, BUT I WILL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THIS AND MAKE, UM, LIFTS ON THAT LEAVE AVAILABILITY AS MUCH AS I CAN BASED ON WHAT THE NEEDS ARE, UM, RELATED TO, TO RICHARDSON.
SO WHAT, WHAT'S IT MEAN FOR RPD? UM, I WILL TELL YOU THIS, WE ABSOLUTELY STAND READY TO ASSIST IN ANY WAY, UM, AS NEEDED THROUGHOUT THE NORTH TEXAS REGION FROM A MUTUAL AID REQUEST.
UM, WHAT, WHAT MIGHT SOME OF THAT ASSISTANCE LOOK LIKE? I WILL FOCUS A LITTLE BIT ON SITE MANAGEMENT, THOSE, UH, BASE CAMPS THAT WE CONTINUE TO HEAR ABOUT, UM, MCKAYLA, UM, FOCUSED ON ON A FEW OF THEM.
UM, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THIS, BASE CAMPS HERE IN NORTH TEXAS HAVE NOT BEEN SELECTED BY ANY OF THE MEMBERS OF, UH, OF WORLD CUP AT THIS TIME.
UM, I WILL SHARE THAT WHAT I AM HEARING IS MANY TEAMS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE EXTREME HEAT IN NORTH TEXAS IN THE MIDDLE OF, UH, UM, THE SUMMER.
UM, I'M ALSO HEARING THAT LIKE ARGENTINA AND ENGLAND HAVE SELECTED, UH, KANSAS CITY HEARING, A LOT OF TEAMS HAVE SELECTED BOTH, UM, COAST, EAST AND WEST.
IRONICALLY, I'M HEARING THAT SAUDI ARABIA HAS, UM, SELECTED, UM, AUSTIN, AND WE GO, WHY WOULD THEY SELECT AUSTIN WHEN IT'S NOT EVEN A PLAYING VENUE? BUT THEY HAVE, UM, COMPETED IN A QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT THERE IN AUSTIN, AND BECAUSE OF THEIR FAMILIARITY, THEY HAVE PROBABLY MADE THAT SELECTION FOR CONSISTENCY SAKE AND THE TEAM.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S JUST MY PERSPECTIVE ONLY.
UM, BUT IF, IF WE WERE CALLED TO PROVIDE SOME SORT OF ASSISTANCE, UM, IT WOULD PROBABLY BE IN, UM, THE AREAS OF, UH, PRACTICE, LOCATIONS, HOTELS, THAT SORT OF THING, DIGNITARY PROTECTION AND MAJOR PUBLIC EVENTS.
UM, MY COLLEAGUES AROUND NORTH TEXAS ARE AWARE OF, UM, VARIOUS THINGS, AND THE ENTIRE NORTH TEXAS REGION IS OFFERING THAT ASSISTANCE SO THAT WE CAN COLLECTIVELY, UH, WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS SAFE FOR ALL OF US IN NORTH TEXAS.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE JUST DON'T KNOW SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DON'T KNOW YET.
AND SO THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF HURRY UP AND WAIT IN PREPARATION FOR SOME OF THE PUBLIC ORDER MANAGEMENT.
WE HAVE, UM, HAVE MANAGED THROUGH TRAINING AND A CHANGE IN PHILOSOPHY SPECIFICALLY WITH OUR, UM, COLLIN COUNTY PARTNERS AS IT RELATES TO OUR APPROACH TO, UM, PUBLIC, UH, ORDER.
AND WE HAVE MOVED FORWARD WITH NEW EQUIPMENT.
WE HAVE MOVED FORWARD WITH TRAINING, WITH A, UH, NEWER PHILOSOPHY THAT, UM, PROMOTES DEESCALATION AND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS AND VERBAL COMMANDS.
UH, AND AGAIN, WE'RE JUST, UM, MOVING FORWARD IN THAT PREPARATION, UH, AND RECOGNIZING THE POTENTIAL OF, OF MASS GROUPS IN WORLD CUP.
UM, INTELLIGENCE COMPONENT, THE JOINT OPERATIONS CENTER IS OPERATED THROUGH OUR FEDERAL PARTNERS, SPECIFICALLY THE FBI.
UM, THEY WILL STAND THAT JOINT OPERATIONS CENTER UP AT AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION.
WE WILL BE TIED INTO THAT JOINT OPERATIONS CENTER.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE WILL STAFF SOMEONE THERE, UM, CONSISTENTLY, BUT WE WILL CERTAINLY BE TIED INTO IT.
AND OUR OWN INTELLIGENCE TEAM WILL CERTAINLY BE TIED INTO IT.
UM, AS I HAVE ATTENDED VARIOUS MEETINGS, UM, MANY, MANY TALK ABOUT THAT THIS IS A ONCE IN A CAREER EVENT, AND, UH, I HAD TO BEG TO DIFFER WITH THEM BECAUSE, UH, I EXPERIENCED, UH, THE 1994, UH, WORLD CUP AS IT RELATES TO MY ROLE IN DALLAS, AND, UH, WAS PART OF AN EIGHT TEAM, OR EIGHT PERSON, UM, RESPONSE TEAM IN THE D IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
BUT ANYWAY, THAT EXPERIENCE HELPS, UH, SHAPE A LITTLE BIT OF MY PERSPECTIVE AS IT RELATES TO WHAT I'VE SEEN.
AND, UM, THE CROWDS AND I WILL SHARE THAT, UM, MOST ARE JUST HAPPY TO COME AND HAVE A GOOD TIME AND WATCH A LITTLE SOCCER AND ENGAGE IN,
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UH, SOME GOOD COMRADERY.UH, IN 2026, UM, RICHARDSON SPECIFIC, WE ARE CERTAINLY STAYING IN TOUCH WITH WHAT THOSE OCCUPANCY, UH, NUMBERS LOOK LIKE IN OUR HOTELS.
UM, WHAT IS MY CONCERN? I I REALLY WANT TO PROVIDE A STRONG FOCUS ON DART AND THE RAIL, RECOGNIZING THAT, UM, THAT'S CERTAINLY THE MASS TRANSIT FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE, AND THEY WILL HAVE THAT EXPECTATION IF I'M COMING FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY OR EVEN FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE, UH, UM, OUR COUNTRY.
UH, RECOGNIZING THAT WE WILL BE TIED INTO ADVERTISED EVENTS AND ANTICIPATING THE CROWDS THERE, BUT ALSO FROM OUR INTELLIGENCE STANDPOINT AND TYING IN WITH THE JOINT OPERATIONS CENTER THAT I REFERENCED EARLIER, MAKING SURE THAT, UM, SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS THAT WE'RE TRACKING AND FOLLOWING THAT WHERE ANY POPUP EVENTS MIGHT BE SO THAT WE CAN, UM, RESPOND TO THAT IN OUR CITY.
UM, I REMEMBER THIS WAS A HUGE THING IN 94, AND I ANTICIPATE THAT IT BEING AT LEAST A CONCERN IN, IN, UM, THIS UPCOMING SUMMER.
UM, HOOLIGANS ARE JUST A GROUP THAT WILL, OFTENTIMES, THEY WILL GET TO THE COUNTRY OF THE HOSTING, UH, UM, GAMES.
AND ULTIMATELY THEY WILL BEG, BORROW AND STEAL, UM, THEIR WAY TO MAINTAIN THEIR, THEIR TIME IN THAT COUNTRY AND, AND, UM, ENJOYING THEMSELVES THERE.
AND SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE IN TUNE WITH THAT TYPE OF BEHAVIOR.
AND AS I REFERENCED RIGHT THERE AT THE BOTTOM, CRIME FOLLOWS DENSITY.
AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS CROWDS AND PEOPLE WILL BE, UM, OPPORTUNITIES AND VULNERABILITIES.
AND SO I WANNA BE VERY COGNIZANT OF THAT AS WE DEPLOY RESOURCES AND, UM, AND BE STRATEGIC IN OUR, OUR EFFORTS.
SO THIS IS JUST A, A, UM, RATHER BUSY SLIDE, BUT IT SHOWS THE FIVE TEAMS THAT WE ARE EXPECTING IN THE, UH, FIVE STAGE GAMES.
AND THEN THERE WILL BE, UM, FOUR OTHER KNOCKOUT GAMES IN ARLINGTON THAT OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE OF THE, UH, THE PLAYOFF PROCESS, WE, WE DON'T KNOW WHO THEY WILL BE AT THIS TIME.
UM, THAT FIRST MATCH, UM, JUNE 14TH WILL BE NETHERLANDS.
I WON'T GO THROUGH EACH ONE OF THESE FOR YOU, BUT, UM, OBVIOUSLY, UH, ENGLAND WILL HAVE A DR.
BIG CROWD, UM, NETHERLANDS, JAPAN WILL HAVE A BIG CROWD.
ARGENTINA BEING RANKED NUMBER TWO IN THE WORLD.
BIG CROWD GOING BACK TO ENGLAND.
THEY'RE RANKED NUMBER FOUR IN THE NE IN THE WORLD, NETHERLANDS RANKED NUMBER EIGHT, UM, SEVEN IN THE WORLD.
UM, WITH, UH, WITH MESSI BEING THE PROBABLY MOST, UM, UH, FIRST OR SECOND, UM, MOST POPULAR, UM, PLAYER IN THE WORLD, UH, PLAYING FOR ARGENTINA, THEM BEING HERE TWICE.
UM, WE, WE WILL JUST WAIT AND SEE WHAT THAT, WHAT THAT BRINGS TO THE NORTH TEXAS REGION.
BUT, UM, A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, INFORMATION ABOUT EACH OF THOSE TEAMS AND WHAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE AWARE OF MOVING FORWARD AT AS IT RELATES TO BOTH FIRE DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS, UH, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, KIND OF A, A CUT AND PASTE ON WHAT THE PD IS EXPERIENCING.
WE'RE ALL CERTAINLY ATTENDING OUR RESPECTIVE, UM, MEETINGS AROUND THE, THE NORTH TEXAS REGION WITH OUR AREA PARTNERS, BUT ALSO WE ALL STAND READY TO SUPPORT WHEREVER WE CAN, UM, IF THAT NEED ARISES.
UM, C CERTAINLY, UM, AS, AS IT, UH, FLEX FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, THEY'VE NOT BEEN REQUESTED YET, NOR HAVE WE AS PD BEEN REQUESTED OR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, BUT WE'RE ALL THERE TO, UM, TO ASSIST AND OFFER OUR SERVICES IF THE NEED ARISES.
UM, WITH THAT BEING SAID, UM, I'LL CONCLUDE MY PORTION OF IT, AND I BELIEVE THAT CONCLUDES, UH, THE END OF THE PRESENTATION AT THIS TIME.
UH,
UM, I LIKE THE THOUGHT THAT'S BEEN PUT INTO IT IN THE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF IT.
UH, ANY THOUGHTS OR TALK ABOUT PA POSSIBLY ACTIVATING, UM, A DOWNTOWN AREA, MAYBE PLAYING A GAME OUTSIDE OR DOING SOMETHING WHERE WE CAN ACTIVATE THE DOWNTOWN AREA AROUND THE, ANY OF THESE GAMES? ANY OPPORTUNITY THERE? I THINK THE CHALLENGE THAT WE'VE SEEN WITH, UM, HAVING ANY FIFA, UM, OFFICIAL EVENTS IS HAVING TO PAY THE, THE FIFA ORGANIZATION TO REGISTER THOSE EVENTS.
UM, AND THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE DID CONSIDER.
SO THERE'S, THERE WOULD BE A COST ASSOCIATED WITH IT AND, AND LOOKING AT WHAT OUR CURRENT BUDGET ALLOWED AND, AND OUR CAPACITY, IT WASN'T SOMETHING WE WERE ABLE TO INCLUDE AT THE TIME.
DO YOU KNOW MORE OR LESS WHAT THAT WAS LIKE? WAS IT, IT DEPENDED ON THE NUMBER OF ATTENDEES WITH THE EVENT, BUT THE NUMBERS I SAW WERE UP TO ABOUT EIGHT TO 10,000, DEPENDING ON HOW MANY YOU PLAN TO
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HAVE.HOW DOES THIS WORK? HELP ME UNDERSTAND, UM, THESE ARE ALL PART, WHEN WE SEND OFFICERS TO HELP SUPPORT AN EVENT EITHER AT THE STADIUM OR ONE OF THE BASE CAMPS OR WHAT OTHER EVENT, EXTRA SECURITY, UM, THEY NEED EXTRA BODIES.
IS THAT PART OF THE, I KNOW THAT'S PART OF THE MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT.
DO WE, ARE WE ABLE TO CHARGE BACK FIFA FOR THE OVERTIME? HOW DOES THAT WORK AND HOW DOES THAT FIT INTO, LIKE, BUDGETED? UM, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE DISCUSSED, AND IT'S HIGHLY DOUBTFUL THAT WE WILL BE REIMBURSED FOR THOSE, UM, THOSE COSTS.
UM, I BELIEVE THE, THE FEDS, UM, APPROPRIATED ABOUT $660 MILLION FOR FIFA AND, UM, THE GOINGS ON ACROSS THE ENTIRE US.
UM, AND FOR IT TO GET BACK TO US ON A ONE OR TWO TIME, UM, ASSISTANCE, I DON'T THINK WE WILL BE ABLE TO RECOUP THAT.
UM, THAT'S NOT A FINAL ANSWER, BUT THAT'S WHAT I'M ANTICIPATING AT THIS TIME.
DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY BARRING AN EMERGENCY SITUATION THAT REQUIRES MASS RESPONSE, BARRING THOSE KINDS OF EVENTS THAT WE ALL PRE WILL NOT HAPPEN, UM, DO YOU HAVE SOME KIND OF IDEA AS FAR AS LIKE THE AMOUNT OF OFFICERS OR MAN HOURS THAT ARE GOING TOWARDS THAT? OR IS IT STILL ALL UP IN THE AIR AND PART OF THE PLANNING PROCESS? AND, AND I'M SORRY TO SAY IT'S STILL UP IN THE AIR BECAUSE SO MUCH IS WITH US NOT EVEN HAVING A TEAM IDENTIFIED WHO HAS SELECTED THE NORTH TEXAS REGION, WE DON'T KNOW WHO IT WOULD BE.
UM, FURTHERMORE, TO ELABORATE A LITTLE BIT ON THAT, UM, THERE ARE FOUR SPOTS LEFT.
OF THE 48 TEAMS. THERE IS A MINI PLAYOFF GOING ON TO, UM, UH, FOR, TO IDENTIFY THOSE FOUR REMAINING TEAMS. UH, IT, IT'S ANTICIPATED THAT ONE OF THOSE TEAMS MAY SELECT THE, THE NORTH TEXAS REGION, AND IF THEY DO, THEY'RE GOING TO BE A SMALL, UM, HOW DO I SAY THIS? A, A LESSER, UM, FOLLOWED TEAM THAN SUCH AS AN ENGLAND OR AN ARGENTINA.
THAT BEING SAID, THAT COULD PLAY VERY FAVORABLE AND TO US NOT BEING NEEDED IN ANY WAY.
UM, I, I, WE, WE ALL ARE OFFERING THAT ASSISTANCE KIND OF TO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, TO MAKE SURE THAT NOTHING GOES AWRY IN, IN NORTH TEXAS.
UM, BUT WE JUST DON'T KNOW AT THIS TIME DO, HOW DOES THAT PLAY BUDGET WISE? YEAH.
YOU KNOW, X AMOUNT OF DOLLARS, WHATEVER, WHETHER THAT'S A HUNDRED THOUSAND OR, YOU KNOW, 10,000 OR A MILLION, WHATEVER THE EXTRA, UH, HOW DOES THAT PLAY INTO WHAT'S ALREADY BUDGETED OR FUTURE BUDGETS? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT, BECAUSE OVER TIME IT'S KIND OF CONSIDERED AN EXCEPTION, OR IS THAT ADDED TO NO, WE, WE WILL CERTAINLY HAVE TO WORK OUT OF AN OVERTIME BUDGET ON THAT.
UM, RECOGNIZING THAT WE WILL HAVE TO WEIGH THE, THE BURDEN AND THE COST AT THE SAME TIME BASED ON THE NEEDS OF THE REQUESTING AGENCY.
UH, A LITTLE BIT TO WHAT YOU REFERENCED, IF IT'S A MAJOR EVENT THAT IS CHAOTIC, THAT IS NOT PLANNED, WE'RE GONNA GO.
UM, AND, AND I KNOW THAT'S THE EXPECTATION, THANK YOU FOR THAT.
BUT ON THE FLIP SIDE, WHEN WE RECEIVE, OR IF WE EVEN RECEIVE THOSE MUTUAL AID REQUESTS FOR A STATIC EVENT OR STATIC ASSIGNMENT, UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO WEIGH OUR ODDS OR NOT OUR ODDS, BUT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO WEIGH OUR RISK AND REWARDS ON SOMETHING LIKE THAT YEAH.
AND MAKE A DETERMINATION WHETHER OR NOT WE CHOOSE TO DO THAT.
CHIEF, I HAVE NO DOUBT YOU'LL, YOU'LL MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION FOR YOU AND THE TEAM, AND OF COURSE, THE CITY.
UM, THE, SO WHAT I HEARD WAS, AS FAR AS OVERTIME, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVE A OVERTIME BUDGET THAT'S PART OF YOUR BUDGET AND YOU MANAGE IT INTERNALLY AS, AS YOU SEE NEEDS, AS THE NEEDS ARISE.
AND IT'S PEOPLE ARE OUT SICK AND, YOU KNOW, THE NEEDS FOR THAT KIND OF STUFF.
SO IT'S SOMETHING YOU WOULD MANAGE WITHIN THAT BUDGET.
IT'S, WELL, LEMME TAKE, LET ME JUST INTERJECT HERE.
COUNCILMAN VARS IT, NOT NECESSARILY.
UM, IT'S, I DON'T THINK IT'S, IT'S NOT POSSIBLE FOR US TO PLAY A MEANINGFUL ROLE IN HELPING, UM, THE FIFA BE A SUCCESS HERE IN NORTH TEXAS, AND FOR THE CHIEF TO DO THAT WITHIN HIS BUDGET.
UM, WHEN WE BETTER UNDERSTAND THE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS AND THE BUDGETARY, UH, CONSIDERATIONS AROUND PARTICIPATING IN PROVIDING THAT REPORT.
IF IT'S OF A CONSEQUENTIAL NATURE, I'LL PROBABLY COME BACK TO YOU SO THAT WE CAN DISCUSS THAT AT THAT POINT.
BUT THE EXPECTATION IS NOT THAT THE CHIEF IS GONNA BE ABLE TO MANAGE THIS OUT OF HIS, HIS BUDGET, HIS BUDGET IS RIGHT SIZED FOR THE KINDS OF OVERTIME RESPONSES THAT OCCUR, UH, UH, THROUGH REGULAR, YOU KNOW, OPERATIONS AND, AND THE OCCASIONAL, UM, YOU KNOW, LARGER CASE THAT MIGHT TAKE SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES.
BUT THE, I THINK THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS, UH, IT'S, I CAN'T ANSWER IT.
IT'S PREMATURE FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER HOW WE'RE GONNA ADDRESS IT FINANCIALLY.
UM, BUT WE'LL HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AS SOON AS, UM, SOME
[00:25:01]
OF THE, UM, REIMBURSEMENT, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, OPPORTUNITIES FOR BEING REIMBURSED OR NOT BEING REIMBURSED, UM, ARE ARE BETTER KNOWN.THERE MAY, THERE MAY MAY BE A SCENARIO WHERE, UH, FOR BUDGET REASONS WE CAN'T BE AS SIGNIFICANT A PLAYER, UM, REGIONALLY AS WE WOULD OTHERWISE, YOU KNOW, LIKE TO BE SO, UM, I THINK, I THINK IT'S JUST TO BE DETERMINED.
THANK YOU CHIEF COUNCIL MEMBER ARPIN.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS IMPORTANT ISSUE THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN VERY SOON.
UH, AND I WAS GONNA ASK YOU THIS QUESTION LAST, BUT I'LL ASK YOU THIS, THE QUESTION FIRST.
UH, TICKETS, ANY IDEA WHERE OUR RESIDENTS CAN, OR BUSINESS CAN BUY TICKETS, TICKETS TO ATTEND ONE OF THE MATCHES? UHHUH
UM, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY OFFICIAL SITES THAT, THAT WE'RE UTILIZING.
I MEAN, EVEN THE GUY WHO IS COORDINATING THE WHOLE WORK, HE DOESN'T HAVE A TICKET FOR HIS FAMILY.
SO I'M JUST, I KNOW THIS QUESTION IS GONNA BE THERE.
UH, YOU KNOW, UH, THE THING THAT, YOU KNOW, I SEE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE, THEY'RE GONNA LEAVE IN OUR CITY.
I SEE THAT OUR NUMBER HAS GONE UP, UH, ABOUT 10 TO 15%, UH, OCCUPANCY.
SO, AND HOW THEY'RE GONNA COMMUTE FROM RECHARGE ON TO OUR LINKEDIN, UH, EVEN IF WE TAKE DART ANY IDEA, ANY, DID THEY GIVE YOU, DID, UH, DID YOU HEAR FROM, UH, ANYONE FROM DALLAS THAT HOW THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN, ORGANIZER THAT, HOW THEY'RE GONNA, BECAUSE DART, I DON'T THINK THAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO GO, YOU KNOW, ONE RIDE.
SO, SO, UH, LET ME, SO THE RTC, THE REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE FOR THE COG IS STILL VERY MUCH WORKING ON, UM, THAT PROBLEM.
UM, MICHAEL MORRIS AND HIS WHOLE TEAM WORKING IN CONJUNCTION WITH DART, BUT ALSO WITH TRINITY METRO TO SOME EXTENT, BECAUSE EVERYBODY WON'T, YOU KNOW, WE ASSUME EVERYBODY'S GONNA STAY ON THE EAST SIDE OF ARLINGTON, BUT THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY TRUE.
UM, AND SO I, IT'S, IT'S GONNA BE A REGIONAL SOLUTION THAT IS STILL VERY MUCH IN THE WORKS.
I KNOW, UM, THE MAYOR SERVES ON RTC AND, UH, COUNCIL, UH, WOMEN JUSTICE ON THE COG, UH, BOARD.
SO THEY MAY HAVE TO BE ABLE TO ADD TO IT FROM A, UM, OF A TIMING STANDPOINT WHEN THOSE DECISIONS WILL, OR THOSE PLANS WILL BE RELEASED.
BUT, UH, COUNCILMAN, I REALLY THINK THAT THAT'S STILL TO BE DETERMINED.
UH, A LOT OF THE UNCERTAINTY AROUND WHAT WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH WITH DART RECENTLY, WITH HOPEFULLY, UM, US RESOLVING SOME, SOME OF THOSE IMPORTANT ISSUES OVER THE NEXT 10 TO 14 DAYS THAT'LL ALLOW ATTENTION TO BE TURNED BACK ONTO THE, THE FIFA, UH, MISSION OF MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE CAN, OBVIOUSLY THE TRAINS ARE GONNA BE IMPORTANT, UH, BUT IT'S GONNA BE THOSE KIND OF LAST MILE PROBLEMS THAT NEED TO BE SOLVED THROUGH THIS, UM, THIS WORK THAT THE COG AND THE RTC IS DOING.
SO I THINK, I THINK THE, UM, EXPECTATION IS THAT THE MOBILITY NETWORKS THAT ARE IN PLACE THROUGH DART AND, AND, UM, TRINITY METRO AND EVEN DCTA TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, I THINK THOSE WILL BE THE FOUNDATIONS, BUT THERE'S STILL PIECES TO THAT PUZZLE TO BE SOLVED.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, ARLINGTON IS NOT PART OF ANY OF THOSE THREE AGENCIES THAT I JUST DESCRIBED, RIGHT? MM-HMM
AND SO IT'S REALLY MUCH MORE THAN A LAST MILE.
UM, IT'S WHEN, YOU KNOW, YOU GET OFF THE TRAIN AT DFW, HOW DO YOU COM FOR INSTANCE, THE SILVER LINE AT DFW, HOW DO YOU COMPLETE THAT, UH, THAT TRIP TO ARLINGTON? BUT MUCH MORE TO COME ON THAT.
UM, I DON'T KNOW, MAYOR IF, UH, AS RTC OR, OR COUNCILMAN JUSTICE, IF YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING TO THAT COUNCILMAN JUSTICE? YEAH, I MEAN, WE'VE HAD, I AGREE.
I THINK IT'S STILL IN THE WORKS.
WE'VE HAD SOME DISCUSSION AND WE, THE RTC IS SENT UP AND THE COG BOARD HAS, HAS, UM, UH, VOTED AS FIDUCIARY AGENT TO, UM, ALLOW, UM, HIRING OF SOME ADDITIONAL BUSES AND THOSE SORTS OF THINGS TO GO FROM THE TRE TO THE STADIUM AREA.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S STILL WORKING OUT, BUT THAT, THAT HAS BEEN FUNDED AND IS PART OF THE PLAN.
AND SO IT IS THAT SORT OF THE LAST MILE THAT MR. MAGNER WAS TALKING ABOUT, SO THAT THAT IS IN THE, THE WORKS.
THE SUGGESTION WILL BE THAT WHATEVER THOSE PLANS ARE, THAT THEY'LL BE, UH, KIND OF A GUIDEBOOK IF YOU'RE COMING FROM, LET'S SAY PLANO OR RICHARDSON, THESE ARE THE TRAINS YOU WOULD TAKE.
THIS IS WHERE YOU MIGHT MAKE YOUR FINAL CONNECTION AND THAT SORT OF THING.
SO, UH, I'M ANTICIPATING THAT TO NOT ONLY BE DISTRIBUTED ONLINE, BUT ALSO TO A NUMBER OF THE HOTELS AND PLACES LIKE THAT, THAT, UH, OBVIOUSLY WOULD HAVE GUESTS THAT WOULD BE CURIOUS ABOUT HOW THE HECK THEY GET THERE.
I JUST, YOU KNOW, WE HAD SOME DISCUSSION AT OUR DRM MEETING A FEW WEEKS AGO, AND, UH, STILL I KNOW I, I, YOU KNOW, THE IDEA WAS STILL UNDER LIKE CONCEPT PLAN.
SO THERE IS ONE THOUGHT EVEN THAT, THAT THEY WOULD BE LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN TAKE IT, TAKE THE DART, GO TO FAIR PARK, AND FROM THERE THEY WILL HAVE CHARTER BUS MAYBE MM-HMM
[00:30:01]
DROP THEM OFF AND THEY'LL BRING BACK SIMILAR WAY.SO, UH, SO STILL I, THAT'S UNDER DEVELOPMENT.
UH, NOW WITH THAT, YOU KNOW, SINCE, UH, I THINK UTD HAS PROBABLY, UH, SOME WATCH PARTY THAT WAS IN THE DISCUSSION, I DID NOT SEE THAT IN ANY OF THE SLIDE HERE TODAY.
SO, UH, IF WE HAVE ANYTHING PROBABLY THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE PROBABLY HUGE CROWD AT UTD THAT'S GONNA BE OFFICIAL CROWD.
BUT BESIDES THOSE OFFICIAL CROWD, WE'RE GONNA SEE SOME OF THE POP-UP EVENTS, UH, IN OUR LOCAL RESTAURANTS.
THOSE ARE GONNA BE NOT OFFICIAL MEANS THROUGH FIFA.
SO IF WE CAN HELP THOSE BUSINESSES TO CONDUCT, YOU KNOW, BUSINESS ATTRACT, YOU KNOW, GIVE THEM SOME PLATFORM TO ADVERTISEMENT WITHOUT CROSSING THE BORDER WITH FIFA, I KNOW THERE IS SOME, UH, THING THAT WE NEED TO DISCUSS HOW TO, NOT TO CROSS THEIR LINE BUT STILL SUPPORT OUR BUSINESS.
THAT WOULD BE GREAT BECAUSE I KNOW BASED ON OUR LAST GAME THAT I HAVE, MY OBSERVATION IS THAT THEY KNOW HOW TO ARRANGE THOSE POP-UP EVENTS AND THEY KNOW HOW TO BRING THOSE CROWD.
BUT IF, IF WE CAN GIVE THEM SOME LITTLE MORE SUPPORT, I THINK THERE WOULD BE MORE THAN ONE OR TWO RESTAURANT CAN ORGANIZE THOSE KIND OF THINGS AND MAKE THIS CITY REALLY VERY ATTRACTIVE.
I MEAN, WE CAN, PEOPLE WOULD BE DRIVING FROM ARLINGTON TO DALLAS TO DENTON, UH, DEPEND ON HOW THE BASE CAM REALLY WORK OUT.
YOU KNOW, IF IT IS OPEN TO PUBLIC MM-HMM
YOU'RE GONNA SEE MORE PEOPLE GOING TO THOSE PRACTICE GAME.
BUT IF THE TEAM DECIDES NOT TO LET PUBLIC COMING, THEN THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO GO.
UH, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, THOSE PRACTICE GAME IS TOTALLY UP TO THE TEAM, WHETHER THAT'S GONNA BE PUBLIC OR NOT, THEY DECIDE IT'S NOT FIFA RULE, IT'S ULTIMATELY THAT TEAM WILL DECIDE IF THEIR PRACTICE WOULD BE PUBLIC PRACTICE OR CLOSED DOOR PRACTICE.
SO WE NEED TO PROBABLY STILL GET THOSE INFORMATION AND SEE HOW TO BRING THEM TO EAT DINNER OR LUNCH IN RICHARDSON BECAUSE THEY CAN'T REALLY FIND BETTER FOOD ANYWHERE.
I MEAN, I CAN TELL THEM THAT, YOU KNOW, ARLINGTON, DALLAS OR FOR YOU CAN'T REALLY FIND THE FOOD QUALITY FOOD.
SO, AND I KNOW THAT THAT NETHERLAND, I HEARD FROM DRMC THAT THEY BOUGHT ONE TICKET AND THAT ONE TICKET IS NOT REALLY ONE TICKET TICKET, IT'S A 10,000 PEOPLE ONE TICKET.
SO THEY MOVE 10,000 NUMBER AT A TIME TOGETHER.
SO IF WE CAN BRING THEM, I DON'T THINK WE CAN MANAGE, MANAGE 10,000 PEOPLE WEARING THE SAME T-SHIRT, BUT IF WE CAN BRING FEW OF THEM HERE TO EAT LUNCH OR DINNER, I THINK WE ARE GOOD FOR ONE MONTH.
SO NETHERLAND, I THINK WE CAN WORK TO ATTRACT THEM.
SO ANYWAYS, SOME OF THE THINGS, YOU KNOW, UH, TO WATCH NEXT, UH, FROM JUNE AND JULY, AND I HOPE WE CAN ATTRACT LOTS OF THEM.
YES, WE HAVE REACHED OUT TO UTD AND ARE GETTING THE DETAILS FOR THEIR EVENTS.
SO ONCE WE HAVE THOSE, THOSE WILL GO ON THE WEBSITE AND WE'LL CONTINUOUSLY BE UPDATING IT WITH MORE INFORMATION ABOUT TRANSPORTATION PLACES TO WATCH THE GAME.
UM, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, IF IT'S A FACILITY THAT WOULD TYPICALLY BE SHOWING SPORTS ANYWAY, LIKE A SPORTS BAR, THEY DON'T HAVE TO PAY TO SHOW THE GAME.
SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO HIGHLIGHT THOSE IN OUR DIGITAL PASSPORT PROGRAM.
AND THEY'RE LISTED ON THE WEBSITE AS WELL.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE A BUNCH OF RESTAURANTS.
THEY HAVE DONE THAT IN THE PAST.
UH, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN REACH OUT TO THEM, UH, THAT WE REALLY HELPFUL.
OTHERWISE, OUR SMALL BUSINESS, THEY DON'T KNOW THEY CAN REACH OUT TO THE CITY AND GET HELP FROM THE CITY.
SO I THINK IT'S PROBABLY US TO DO THIS THING, YOU KNOW, PROACTIVELY.
CHIEF, I HAVE A QUESTION ON, I KNOW YOU COVERED A LITTLE BIT ON THE EMERGENCY AND MEDICAL INFORMATION.
I SEE THAT'S GONNA BE ON THE NEW WEBSITE IS I'M SURE ALL THE HOSPITALS AND LOCAL, UH, UH, ESTABLISHMENTS WILL BE ON ALERT AND 'CAUSE THERE'S MOST LIKELY GOING TO BE A LOT OF EMERGENCY ISSUES THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO RUSH TO THE HOSPITAL FOR WHATEVER ARE, ARE THEY SETTING UP ANYTHING, UH, ON SITE AT WHERE THE GAMES ARE BEING HELD? IS THERE GONNA BE A LOCAL ON SITE LIKE MEDIC MEDICAL, UH, POPUP, OR, OR IS IT JUST STRICTLY GONNA BE 9 1 1 AND WE HAVE AN INCIDENT YOU'RE PICKING THEM UP AT, OR WELL, WELL, WE POTENTIALLY COULD OR DALLAS OR ARLINGTON AND TAKING THEM TO THE LOCAL HOSPITAL? NO, FROM A PUBLIC SAFETY STANDPOINT, THERE WILL ABSOLUTELY BE, UM, EMS FIRE, UH, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AS WELL AS POLICE ON, ON SITE, UH, FOR, FOR MAJOR, UM, TRAUMA, UH, EVENTS
[00:35:01]
IF, IF SOMETHING WERE, WERE TO HAPPEN LIKE THAT.SO, NO, THIS IS, UM, UH, UH, A TOP LEVEL, UM, C ONE STYLE FROM THE FBI I'S STANDPOINT.
UM, UM, WELL, THERE'D BE LIKE A LITTLE BUILDING, A LITTLE POPUP BUILDING SET UP SOMEWHERE.
I, I DON'T WANT TO GET TOO DETAILED ON WHAT IT IS.
UH, YEAH, IT MAY BE INSIDE THE STADIUM.
IT MAY BE OUTSIDE THE STADIUM.
I JUST WANTED TO, WELL, I WON'T SAY I HAVE IT COVERED, BUT
UM, JUST A COUPLE QUESTIONS ON MY END.
UH, I, I WAS A LITTLE SURPRISED TO SEE THE 70 TO 80% OCCUPANCY EXPECTATION.
NOW I'D LOVE TO DIG A LITTLE BIT DEEPER ON THAT.
UH, WITH THE NORMAL BEING WHAT I THINK YOU SAID, 62%, UM, WHY SUCH A LOW LIFT OR, OR IS THAT A HUGE LIFT AND I JUST, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT RECOGNIZING IT FOR THE BIG NUMBER THAT IT IS.
I'LL LET JEFF ANSWER THAT ONE.
HE'S BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE HOTELS AND CAN HAVE BETTER DETAILS.
UM, SO THE HOTELS, UM, ARE ARE NOT GONNA, YOU KNOW, ESTIMATE A FULL OCCUPANCY, RIGHT? BECAUSE IF THEY ESTIMATE A FULL OCCUPANCY THAT IMPACTS THEIR ENTIRE YEAR.
SO THEY'RE ESTIMATING WHAT THEY THINK THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO GET AND PROBABLY EXCEED.
UM, IF YOU GO BACK TO 2011, WHEN WE HAD SUPER BOWL 45, UM, PICKUP FOR US DIDN'T TAKE PLACE UNTIL, UM, MID-DECEMBER.
UH, AND THEN IT RAMPED UP TO A HUNDRED PERCENT.
AND THEN OF COURSE WE HAVE THE WINTER WEATHER, UM, AND IT DROPPED BACK DOWN TO ABOUT 65%.
SO THAT'S WHY THEY'RE ESTIMATING 80% AND OPENING TO, TO PASS THAT.
SO IT'S ABOUT 30 TO 45 DAYS BEFORE YOU REALLY SEE THAT RAMP UP TO A HYPOTHETICAL A HUNDRED OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, IF THAT'S THE CASE, CORRECT.
AND IF ARLINGTON AND SURROUNDING AREAS, UM, SELL OUT FASTER, THEN THAT'LL PUSH FASTER, SO, YEP.
UM, THIS, THE, THE WHOLE OFFICIAL UNOFFICIAL, UH, FIRST OF ALL IS THAT OFFICIAL TERMINOLOGY, UH, THAT WE SHOULD BE USING FOR THESE, UH, DIFFERENT TYPES OF EVENTS.
'CAUSE I KNOW YOU HAD MENTIONED, OBVIOUSLY THERE WILL BE EVERY SPORTS BAR, EVERY PLACE THAT HAS A TV WILL FIND A WAY TO HAVE, I IMAGINE, FIFA GAMES ON.
SO, UH, THE OFFICIAL UNOFFICIAL IS THAT, HELP ME UNDERSTAND THAT PIECE A LITTLE BIT MORE.
SO IN ORDER TO USE THE TERM FIFA, I GUESS OUTSIDE OF THE PRESENTATION TONIGHT, BUT IN OUR MATERIALS, WE WOULD HAVE TO HAVE A LICENSE, UM, TO USE IT AND WE'D HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT LICENSE.
SO ON ALL OF OUR MATERIALS, EVERYTHING FROM THE WEBSITE TO THE BANNERS, WE'LL BE WELCOMING INTERNATIONAL SOCCER VANS COOL TO THE COMMUNITY AND BUSINESSES THEMSELVES HAVE TO FOLLOW THE SAME, UM, PROTOCOL.
NOW IF IT'S, LIKE I SAID, A BUSINESS THAT WOULD TYPICALLY HAVE SPORTS ON ANYWAY, THEN THEY KIND OF FALL UNDER THAT UMBRELLA.
OTHERWISE, IF IT WERE, ONE OF THE IDEAS WE TOSSED AROUND WAS MAYBE OPENING UP THE BANK OF AMERICA THEATER AND SELLING TICKETS FOR A WATCH PARTY.
IF WE WERE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WE WOULD HAVE TO REGISTER THAT EVENT, ADVERTISE IT AS A FIFA EVENT, AND HAVE A LICENSE TO USE THEIR LOGO AND NAME, AND ALSO A LICENSE TO STREAM THE, UM, MATCH ITSELF.
AND THAT'S, AND THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S NOT A NORMAL VENUE WHERE WE SHOW THESE KINDS OF EXACTLY.
THAT, THAT'S SUPER, SUPER HELPFUL.
UM, CHIEF ON ON YOUR SIDE, I'M, I'M JUST WANTING TO DIG A LITTLE BIT ON, OBVIOUSLY THESE GAMES HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD, UH, OVER THE YEARS, AND, UM, I KNOW THERE'S A NUMBER OF KIND OF KNOWN CONCERNS.
YOU MENTIONED, UH, A NUMBER OF THEM.
DO YOU, ARE WE SEEING IN THOSE OTHER INSTANCES WHERE PLACES, LET'S SAY LIKE A RICHARDSON, UH, THAT REALLY AREN'T INVOLVED WITH ANY OF THE LIKELY, UH, PRACTICING OR ANY OF THE OFFICIAL EVENTS, UH, THAT THOSE ATTRACT MUCH OF THE KIND OF HEAVY OR HEAVIER CRIME THAT'S RELATED TO WORLD CUPS? WE, WE ARE NOT SEEING THAT HISTORICALLY.
UM, I JUST, DOESN'T MEAN IT DOESN'T HAPPEN.
I JUST, I JUST WANT TO YES, SIR.
DIRECTIONALLY THOUGH THERE'S A CERTAIN COMFORT LEVEL HYPOTHETICALLY THAT BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THAT, WE MAY ACTUALLY BE FAR ENOUGH AWAY FROM SOME OF THAT OR, OR NOT.
NO, I, I, I THINK THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT.
BUT I, FROM THAT DENSITY AND CRIME, THAT'S MY BIGGEST CONCERN AS IT RELATES TO, UM, WHAT YOU'RE REFERENCING BECAUSE WITH PEOPLE COMES CRIME OPPORTUNITIES.
AND SO IT COULD BE SOMEONE COMPLETELY UNRELATED TO THE WORLD CUP, BUT THEY SEE THAT, UM, DENSITY OF PEOPLE AS, AS OPPORTUNITY AND, AND OUR, OUR VISITORS FROM OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY, UH, BECOME VICTIMS. AND SO, SO THERE'S NO GAMES OR ANYTHING, LET'S SAY, GOING ON IN DEEP ELEM, BUT IF DEEP ELEM BRINGS LARGE CROWDS TO IT BECAUSE OF ITS NATURE, THEN THAT MIGHT ATTRACT PRECISE
[00:40:01]
HYPOTHETICALLY, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE NOT ANYWHERE NEAR A GAME.I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER LIGHTS ON, SO I THINK, UH, JOB WELL DONE.
[C. REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE OVER 65 AND DISABLED PERSONS EXEMPTION ]
MOVE ON TO ITEM C, UH, WHICH IS TO REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE OVER 65 AND DISABLED PERSONS EXEMPTION.THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ANNUAL BRIEFING WE DO EACH YEAR AT ABOUT THIS TIME.
UH, IT'S ONE OF THE, UH, KEY, UM, UH, STUDY ITEMS WE HAVE IN ADVANCE OF OUR, UH, BUDGET PROCESS, UH, UH, GETTING STARTED HERE IN JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS.
AND SO, UH, TODD, GEOFF, OUR DIRECTOR OF UH, FINANCE, IS GONNA LEAD YOU THROUGH THIS DISCUSSION.
AND, UH, IN THE END, HE'LL MAKE A RECOMMENDATION WITH RESPECT TO, UH, THE, THE COMING YEAR.
THANK YOU, MR. MAGNER, MAYOR, COUNCIL MEMBERS APPRECIATE YOUR TIME THIS EVENING.
AS DON MENTIONED, THIS IS A PART OF OUR ANNUAL REVIEW, WHICH IS IN ALIGNMENT WITH ONE OF YOUR TAX TACTICS TO ANNUALLY REVIEW PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES.
AND TO THAT END, QUICK REFRESHER FOR THOSE, UH, WATCHING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MARKET VALUE AND TAXABLE VALUE.
'CAUSE THAT'S IMPORTANT AS IT RELATES TO, UH, HOW WE TALK ABOUT THE EXEMPTION.
SO MARKET VALUE, IF THERE'S NO, UH, IF UNDER PREVAILING MARKET CONDITIONS, NO, UH, PRESSURE TO SELL OR BUY, UH, WHAT WOULD THE VALUE THE HOME BE? TAXABLE VALUE WOULD BE THAT MARKET VALUE MYAS ANY EXEMPTIONS ON THE PROPERTY.
AND THEN THE LEVY WOULD BE OF COURSE THAT TAXABLE VALUE TIMES OUR TAX RATE.
THE EXAMPLE I PROVIDED THERE IS THE AVERAGE SENIOR HOME BASED ON CERTIFIED VALUES FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR.
SO LAST JULY WHEN WE GOT CERTIFIED VALUES, THE AVERAGE SENIOR HOME WAS, UH, A LITTLE OVER 485,000 IN MARKET VALUE.
THE CURRENT EXEMPTION THAT WAS PUT IN PLACE BY THE COUNCIL LAST YEAR IS $160,000 OF EXEMPT VALUE FOR A SENIOR DISABLED PERSON.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE WHAT THE AVERAGE LEVY WOULD BE FOR A, A SENIOR, UH, OR DISABLED PERSON HERE WITHIN RICHARDSON.
SO AGAIN, AS MENTIONED, UH, WHAT WE'RE DOING TONIGHT IS IN ACCORDANCE WITH OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES.
WE WANNA REVIEW THIS ANNUALLY.
THE FINANCIAL POLICIES SPECIFY A TARGET TO HAVE THE MARKET VALUE OF A SENIOR'S HOME BE EXEMPT THROUGH THIS EXEMPTION AT APPROXIMATELY 30% OF THE, UH, MARKET VALUE OF THE HOME.
UH, LAST YEAR THE COUNCIL, UH, RAISED THE EXEMPTION FROM 145,000 UP TO 160.
AND THAT'S WHAT'S IN PLACE TODAY AFTER RECEIVING CERTIFIED VALUES THIS LAST JULY, THAT $160,000 EXEMPTION AND AMOUNTED TO JUST SHY OF 33% OF THE AVERAGE MARKET VALUE OF A SENIOR'S HOME.
SO, UH, JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOVE THAT, THAT GOAL WITHIN THE FINANCIAL POLICY, LOOKING AT THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS, UM, ONE THIRD, UH, INTERESTINGLY, THAT'S ALMOST EXACTLY ONE THIRD OF OUR RESIDENTIAL ACCOUNTS.
ON LAST YEAR'S CERTIFIED ROLE, UH, RECEIVED, UH, THE EXEMPTION.
AND IN LOOKING AT THAT, IT WAS ACTUALLY A DECREASE FROM THE PRIOR YEAR.
HOWEVER, TAKING A FIVE YEAR LOOK, UH, WE AVERAGED JUST SHY OF 1% GROWTH IN THE NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS PER YEAR AT OUR CURRENT TAX RATE.
THE EXEMPTION THAT'S IN PLACE TODAY, UH, SAVES SENIORS, UH, AND DISABLED PERSONS WHO RECEIVE THE EXEMPTION $867 OFF OF THEIR, UH, CITY RICHARDSON TAX BILL.
ANY $5,000 INCREMENT THAT THE EXEMPTION WOULD BE INCREASED, UH, CHANGES, UH, THAT SAVINGS UP BY ROUGHLY ABOUT $27 IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.
THE AMOUNT THAT WAS EXEMPTED AMOUNTED TO MORE THAN $7.4 MILLION IN EXEMPT CITY TAXES.
UH, BASED ON, UH, ASSUMPTION OF 1% GROWTH IN THE NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS.
IF WE DON'T CHANGE THE EXEMPTION, UH, THAT WOULD INCREASE TO A LITTLE OVER 7.6 MILLION IN EXEMPT CITY TAXES FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
THIS SLIDE HERE IS LOOKING AT A PROJECTED IMPACT, UM, ON OF THE CURRENT EXEMPTION, AS WELL AS AN INCREASE TO THE EXEMPTION.
UH, SO ONCE AGAIN, AVERAGE MARKET VALUE, A LITTLE OVER $485,000 FOR AN AVERAGE SENIOR.
UM, AT OUR CURRENT 30% GOAL WITHIN OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES, THAT WOULD REQUIRE AN EXEMPTION OF JUST OVER 145,000.
SO WE'RE ALREADY WELL ABOVE THAT.
UM, THE AVERAGE MARKET VALUE, UH, FROM YEAR OVER YEAR, FROM LAST JULY TO THIS COMING JULY, UH, WOULD HAVE TO INCREASE, UH, NEARLY 10% FOR OUR CURRENT EXEMPTION AMOUNT TO NOT STILL BE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THAT 30% TARGET WITHIN OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES.
AND THE TABLE THERE JUST SHOWS THAT EVEN WITH 5% VALUE GROWTH AND THEN 1% INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS, OUR CURRENT EXEMPTION WOULD AMOUNT TO A LITTLE OVER 31% IN EXEMPT VALUE.
IF YOU WERE TO INCREASE AT $5,000, THAT WOULD JUMP UP AN ADDITIONAL PERCENT TO A LITTLE OVER 32% EXEMPT VALUE.
AND THAT COST, UH, DIFFERENTIAL TO, TO THE CITY'S BUDGET IF YOU WERE TO INCREASE THE EXEMPTION BASED ON THESE ASSUMPTIONS, WOULD BE A COST OF ABOUT $239,000 MORE IN A A FOREGONE
[00:45:01]
TAX REVENUE BASED ON THAT.UM, UH, THE RECOMMENDATION, UH, SINCE THE CURRENT EXEMPTION AMOUNT IS ESTIMATED TO STILL BE ABOVE THAT 30% TARGET WITHIN OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES, OUR RECOMMENDATION IS TO MAINTAIN THE CURRENT EXEMPTION THIS YEAR.
IF YOU'RE TO DO THAT, NO, NO FURTHER ACTION IS NEEDED 'CAUSE IT'S ALREADY IN PLACE.
AGAIN, REITERATING THE SAVINGS FOR AN AVERAGE SENIOR, A HOME WOULD BE $867 OFF THEIR CITY BILL.
AND AGAIN, CITYWIDE TAXES ESTIMATED TO BE EXEMPT AT A LITTLE OVER $7.6 MILLION.
WE'LL, OF COURSE, MONITOR AS VALUES COME IN.
PRELIMINARY VALUES THIS SPRING CERTIFIED VALUES THIS JULY, AND BRIEF THE COUNTS ON ANY UPDATES AS NEEDED, UH, DURING THE ANNUAL BUDGET PROCESS.
AND WITH THAT, I ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
UM, ON SLIDE FIVE, YOU SAID 33.33% OF ALL RESIDENTIAL ACCOUNTS, UH, ARE OVER THE AGE OF 65.
IS THAT, UM, IS THAT STATE STEADY? HAS THAT, IT SEEMS LIKE LOT.
SO, UH, OVER 65 OR DISABLED PERSONS OKAY.
SO, UM, OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, THAT'S INCREASED A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN ONE, UH, PERCENT PER YEAR.
IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT THESE ARE AT A POINT IN TIME AT CERTIFICATION WHEN WE'RE COMPARING YEAR OVER YEAR.
AND SO DEPENDING UPON THE EXEMPTIONS COME ON AND OFF AS PROPERTY CHANGES HANDS, IF A PROPERTY IS UNDER DISPUTE AND NOT ACTIVELY IN, UH, THE CERTIFIED ROLE, UH, THE NUMBERS COULD FLUCTUATE SLIGHTLY.
SO WE'RE ALWAYS GONNA SEE A LITTLE BIT OF A VARIATION YEAR, YEAR OVER YEAR.
BUT OVER A FIVE YEAR LOOK, WE'VE SEEN ROUGHLY A 1% INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS RECEIVING THIS EXEMPTION PER YEAR.
IF I'M OVER THE AGE OF 65 AND I OWN MULTIPLE HOMES, IS THERE A MECHANISM, MECHANISM IN PLACE TO CAPTURE ANYTHING OVER ONE? IS IT, AS LONG AS I'M OVER 65 AND I CAN OWN IN MANY HOMES, LIKE IF I'M AN INVESTOR, I GUESS IS WHAT I'M ASKING.
SO YOU NEED TO BE LIVING IN THAT PROPERTY.
IF YOU'RE AN INVESTOR AND YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES, YOU CAN ONLY RECEIVE THIS EXEMPTION ON THE ONE YOU RESIDE IN.
I APPRECIATE, UH, STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION AND ALL THE WORK YOU PUT INTO THIS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, UH, TODD, YOU MENTIONED, UH, ROUGHLY 1% PER YEAR.
SO 2021, WE WERE SITTING PERHAPS SOMEWHERE AROUND 29%, I GUESS, OF THE ACCOUNTS.
UM, WAS THAT ALSO ON THE RISE AT THAT TIME OR, OR HAD IT BEEN, HAS THIS BEEN AN ONGOING 1% YEAR OVER YEAR? AT SOME POINT I IMAGINE IT MAXES OUT AND THEN IT STARTS TO DROP OFF POTENTIALLY, BUT AS HOMES TURN OVER AND THAT SORT OF THING.
SO, UM, DO WE HAVE A SENSE FOR HOW MUCH HIGHER THIS CAN GO OR WHAT WE LOOK LIKE RELATIVE TO OTHER CITIES? UH, IN TERMS OF THE PERCENTAGE OF HOMES IN THIS CATEGORY, I'D HAVE TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF RESEARCH TO SEE HOW WE COMPARE IT TO SOME OF THE OTHER CITIES.
BUT I CAN TELL YOU, I, I DO HAVE THE YEAR OVER YEAR CHANGES AND SOME YEARS IT GOES UP 4%, THEN IT GOES DOWN 2%, THEN IT GOES UP A PERCENT.
SO AGAIN, IT JUST REALLY FLUCTUATES AS PEOPLE MOVE IN OR OUT OR CHANGE WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE, UM, ABLE TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR IT IF THEY DECIDE TO, TO CHANGE THEIR HOME.
IS IS THE 33.3 A NEAR HIGH FOR US? UH, LAST YEAR? UH, WE WERE, WE WERE AT, I WANT TO SAY IT WAS 31 OR 32%.
SO THIS IS THE HIGH THAT I RECALL IN THE LAST FEW YEARS.
IN RECENT, I COULD CERTAINLY VERIFY IF THAT'S CHANGED, BUT I BELIEVE THIS IS THE HIGHEST WE'VE HAD IN TERMS OF THE RATIO OF ALL OUR RESIDENTIAL HOMES.
JUST FOR A FUTURE MEETING, I'D BE CURIOUS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO WE, WHAT DO WE PROJECT THIS TO BE ABLE TO GET TO? CAN THIS HYPOTHETICALLY GET TO 50%? CAN THIS, IS THIS ABOUT AS HIGH AS ANYONE REALLY GETS AND, UH, BEFORE THEY START SEEING A, A TAPER AND JUST ANY OF THAT SORT OF, YOU KNOW, UH, IDEA THAT CAN HELP US UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE SIGNING ONTO AND WHAT THE IMPLICATIONS MAY BE OVER THE YEARS.
BUT THIS IS SUPER HELPFUL AND UH, I DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH YOUR RECOMMENDATION, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER JUSTICE.
YEAH, NO, I THINK YOU WERE LOOKING FOR A RECOMMENDATION.
I AGREE THAT I AGREE WITH YOUR RECOMMENDATION, PARTICULARLY GIVEN THE CONSTRAINTS ON THE BUDGET IN THE LAST YEAR AND WE'RE MAINTAINING THAT, THAT THIRD THAT WE SHOOT FOR.
SO, UH, I AGREE WITH STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION.
ANY, ANYBODY HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH THE RECOMMENDATION? ALRIGHT, FAIR ENOUGH.
[D. REVIEW AND DISCUSS SAFER STREETS RICHARDSON ]
TIME WE WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM D, WHICH IS TO REVIEW AND DISCUSS SAFER STREETS RICHARDSON.MR. MAGNER, UH, THANK YOU MAYOR.
UM, OUR TRANSPORTATION TEAM, UH,
[00:50:01]
IS HERE TONIGHT.UH, MARK NELSON, OUR DIRECTOR OF PRETE, IS OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND DANIEL HERRING, UH, IS GONNA LEAD THE BRIEFING TONIGHT.
UH, THIS IS A, UH, REALLY, UH, IMPORTANT ACTION ITEM COMING OUT OF THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN.
UH, DANIEL'S GONNA, UH, TELL, TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, UH, UH, FIRST PHASE THAT, UH, IS JUST WRAPPING UP HERE AND THEN, UM, GIVE YOU A PREVIEW OF WHERE WE'RE HEADED, UM, AS WE WORK TOWARDS ADOPTION.
SO, DANIEL, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
ALRIGHT, THANK YOU MR. MAGNER.
UH, SO YEAH, THIS IS WHAT SAFETY CEASE RICHARDSON, WHICH, UM, LIKE MR. MAGNER WAS MENTIONING, UH, REALLY COMES OUT OF, UH, SOME PREVIOUS MASTER PLAN WORK.
UM, AND THEN LOOKING AT REALLY A SAFETY PLAN THAT'S, UM, KIND OF A SAFETY PLAN, MASTER PLAN, I GUESS YOU CAN SAY FOR TRANSPORTATION.
UM, AND SO WE'LL WORK THROUGH, UH, THE SAFETY ACTION PLAN, KINDA WHAT IS THAT OVERVIEW, WHAT IS A SAFETY ACTION PLAN, UH, TALK ABOUT THAT PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, AND THEN KIND OF WHAT ARE OUR NEXT STEPS WITH THE PRO PROJECT, UH, LOOKING AT THE BACKGROUND.
SO I'LL, I'M GONNA HAVE A FEW DIFFERENT NAMES IN HERE.
SO WE'RE TALKING SAFETY ACTION PLAN, WHICH IS A TYPE OF PLAN, KIND OF LIKE A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
UH, RICHARDSON'S PLAN IS BRANDED THE SAFER STREETS RICHARDSON PLAN, UH, KINDA LIKE ENVISION RICHARDSON TOWARDS COMP, UH, THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
UM, THE CITY WENT AFTER FUNDING OUTTA THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN, RECOMMENDED THIS, UM, AS, AS AN INITIATIVE, UH, TO REALLY LOOK AT SAFETY OF ALL USERS ON OUR TRANSPORTATION NETWORK.
UH, AND SO WE RECEIVED FUNDING, UH, THROUGH A FEDERAL PROGRAM, THE SAFER STREETS AND ROADS FOR ALL, UM, UM, FEDERAL PROGRAM.
UH, AND THEN, UH, A LOT OF THAT FRAMEWORK, UH, IS BUILT ON A FEDERAL LEVEL, UH, WHERE AT A FEDERAL LEVEL, STATE LEVEL, UH, REGIONAL LEVEL, THERE'S A LOT, BEEN A LOT OF INITIATIVE TOWARDS SAFETY, UM, AND ESPECIALLY THIS KIND OF COLLABORATIVE DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH, UH, WHERE YOU'RE FOCUSED, UH, NOT ON EVERY KIND OF CRASH, UM, BUT REALLY FOCUSING ON THOSE SEVERE CRASHES.
SO YOUR FATAL, YOUR SERIOUS INJURY THAT REALLY IMPACT THE LIVES OF YOUR PEOPLE, UH, EVEN MORE THAN, UH, JUST KINDA YOUR EVERYDAY CRASHES AND REAR END CRASHES THAT ARE MORE, UM, UH, KIND OF COSTLY DAMAGE TO A VEHICLE OR SOMETHING.
UH, IT'S BASED ON THIS FEDERAL, THIS FHWA, SO FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, UH, SAFE STREETS APPROACH.
UH, AND THAT'S KINDA THAT GRAPHIC TO THE, TO THE RIGHT, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT HARD TO SEE.
BUT, UM, REALLY TRYING TO LOOK AT IT KIND OF HOLISTICALLY FROM A CRASH SENSE OF HOW DO YOU PREVENT FATAL AND SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES, UH, WHERE YOU'RE LOOKING AT ALL ELEMENTS OF LIKE, YEAH, WE NEED TO BUILD SAFE STREETS, BUT YOU ALSO NEED TO LOOK AT YOUR USERS.
HOW DO YOU ENTER, UH, LOOK AT YOUR DIFFERENT USERS? HOW DO YOU LOOK AT YOUR POST CRASH CARE, UM, OF HOW YOUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE AT YOUR HOSPITALS, HOW ARE THEY ALL WORKING TOGETHER THAT IF A CRASH DOES OCCUR, HOW DO WE SAVE THAT LIFE THAT A FATALITY CAN BE, UH, REDUCED IN THAT SEVERITY? UM, ALSO LOOKING AT SAFE SPEEDS AND THEN SAFE VEHICLES ALSO AND SAFE, UH, VEHICLES TIES LARGELY YOUR KIND OF FEDERAL LEVEL OF HOW DO YOU LOOK AT POLICIES AND INFLUENCE AUTOMAKERS TO CREATE SAFER VEHICLES.
AND, UH, WHAT KIND OF MECHANISMS DO YOU HAVE IN THAT? UH, REALLY KIND OF HOW DID WE GET HERE AND WHY DEVELOP THIS FOR RICHARDSON? UH, THIS WAS, UH, AN INITIATIVE THAT WAS RECOMMENDED OUT, UH, THE ACT OF TRANSPORTATION PLAN IN 2023, AS WELL AS, UH, ENVISION RICHARDSON, UH, AS A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, UH, TO LOOK AT THAT, UH, SPECIFIC FOCUS OF SAFETY, UH, WITHIN THE, UM, OUR TRANSPORTATION NETWORK.
UM, AND REALLY LOOK AT, AGAIN, THAT KINDA STRATEGIC USE OF, IF WE HAVE LIMITED FUNDS, UM, HOW DO WE FOCUS IN ON WHERE ARE THE MOST, UH, CRITICAL AREAS WITHIN OUR TRANSPORTATION NETWORK, UH, TO LOOK AT, UM, HAVING INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE SAFETY.
UM, LOOKING AT THE SYSTEMIC WHERE WE DO A LOT OF PROACTIVE SAFETY NOW, BUT HOW DO WE LOOK AT THAT SYSTEMICALLY? UM, AND WHAT ARE THE COMMON, COMMON THEMES AND TRENDS WE'RE SEEING ACROSS THE COMMUNITY, UH, THAT WE CAN, UH, TAKE THOSE PROACTIVE APPROACHES TO, UH, TO MAKE INTERVENTION INTERVENTIONS TO IMPROVE SAFETY, UH, THEN ALSO IMPROVE IMPROVING THAT TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
SO GOING TO THE PUBLIC, GETTING THEIR FEEDBACK ACROSS SAFETY, UH, ACROSS THE COMMUNITY, UM, AS WELL AS KIND OF PROVIDING THAT FRAMEWORK OF HOW DO WE COME TO DECISIONS OF WHERE WE, UH, ALLOCATE FUNDS, UH, TOWARDS SAFETY, AND WHY ARE THOSE AREAS THE ONES WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT, UM, AS WE START FUNDING, UH, FUTURE PROJECTS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, THIS DOES ALIGN, LIKE I MENTIONED WITH, UM, BROADER GOALS.
SO AT A FEDERAL LEVEL, STATE LEVEL, UM, AND EVEN REGIONAL PLANS THROUGH THE COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS, UH, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF INITIATIVES TOWARDS, UH, THIS COMMITMENT TO SAFETY, REDUCING FATAL AND SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES.
UH, AND SO THIS PLAN IS KIND OF LIKE RICHARDSON'S DOING OUR PART TO, UH, ADVANCE THAT SAFETY AND, UH, COMMITMENT TOWARDS, UH, REDUCING THOSE, UH, SERIOUS CRASHES.
UM, AND THEN, UH, HAVING THIS PLAN, UH, IS ALSO ONE THING.
ALIGNING WITH SOME OF THOSE FEDERAL AND STATE PROGRAMS, UH, DOES ALIGN US TO ADVANCE AND PURSUE ADDITIONAL, UM, GRANT FUNDING, UH, TO, TO ADVANCE PROJECTS THAT COME OUT OF A PLAN LIKE THIS.
RICHARDSON'S NOT THE ONLY ONE DEVELOPING A PLAN LIKE THIS.
UH, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF COMMUNITIES WITHIN NORTH TEXAS THAT HAVE ONE RIGHT NOW, BUT YOU CAN SEE DALLAS, ARLINGTON, FORT WORTH AND WEATHERFORD ARE THE ONES, UH, KIND OF ON THE EARLY END OF THAT.
THERE'S A HANDFUL, UM, WHO ARE DEVELOPING 'EM.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE ON THAT RIGHT SIDE, UH, THERE'S A LOT MORE THROUGH THE SAFE STREETS AND ROADS FOR ALL PROGRAM, UM, WHO, WHO ARE GOING AFTER THIS FUNDING HAVE BEEN AWARDED FUNDING AND ARE STARTING THE PLAN DEVELOPMENT NOW.
UH, LIKE MR. MAGNER MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE'RE
[00:55:01]
ON KIND OF THIS FIRST PHASE OF THE PLANNING.UM, AND SO WE'RE GONNA WALK THROUGH THAT TODAY.
UH, BUT KIND OF THREE ELEMENTS, UH, OF THE PLANNING, UH, PROGRESS WHERE WE'RE STARTING WITH ONE, KIND OF GETTING THAT UNDERSTANDING, GOING THROUGH THE ENGAGEMENT, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, COLLABORATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS, DEVELOPING THAT VISION STATEMENT, GOING THROUGH A LOT OF THE DATA-DRIVEN SAFETY APPROACH, UM, AND REALLY PRESENTING THAT TODAY TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK AS WE MOVE INTO, UH, TRYING TO DEVELOP SOME, YOU KNOW, WELL-INFORMED RECOMMENDATIONS OUTTA THE PLAN OF HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD, WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS, UH, AND THEN KIND OF THIRD MOVING INTO IMPLEMENTATION, UH, WHERE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR, IMPLEMENT OVER TIME, UM, LOOK AT DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS AS WELL AS, UH, LOOK AT HOW DO WE PURSUE, UM, PARTNER FUNDING, UM, AND START LEVERAGING THAT MORE IN THE FUTURE AS WELL.
SO WALKING THROUGH THAT PHASE ONE, YOU KNOW, STARTING WITH THAT ENGAGEMENT AND PUBLIC, UH, UH, COLLABORATION, STAKEHOLDER AND COLLABORATION, THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT ELEMENTS AND, UH, DIFFERENT GROUPS INVOLVED IN THIS.
MANAGE DEPARTMENTS OF TRANSPORTATION MOBILITY PURSUED THE GRANT FUNDING, WE'RE MANAGING THE PROJECT, UH, JUST AS WE, UH, DEAL WITH A LOT OF, UH, THE ANALYSIS ON OF THIS ON DAY TO DAY, UH, WORKING WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS.
SO, UM, EVERYONE HERE TODAY, UH, WE ALSO HAVE TWO STAKEHOLDER GROUPS.
SO WE HAVE AN INTERNAL STAKEHOLDER GROUP AND AN EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDER GROUP.
INTERNAL IS GONNA BE A LOT OF OUR DIFFERENT CITY DEPARTMENTS.
SO, YEAH, YOU KNOW, YOUR POLICE DEPARTMENT, FIRE DEPARTMENT, CAPITAL PROJECTS, UH, TRANSPORTATION, MOBILITY, A LOT OF, UH, ANYONE WHO WOULD BE INVOLVED, UH, IN THE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM IN SOME WAY.
THEN OUR EXTERNAL, EXTERNAL GROUP IS GONNA BE OUR MORE AGENCY PARTNERS.
UH, SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE OUR HOSPITALS, YOU KNOW, MET THOSE HOSPITALS INVOLVED IN THIS.
UM, AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, UT DALLAS, UM, OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS, UH, T DOT NORTH, UH, CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS.
UH, SO A LOT OF THOSE AGENCY PARTNERS AND COLLABORATORS, UM, THAT WE WORK WITH KIND OF DAY TO DAY.
UH, THEN RICHARDSON RESIDENTS, OF COURSE.
UM, AND THEN OUR CONSULTANT TEAM, FAIR AND PEERS WHO WE BROUGHT ON TO HELP LEAD THIS PROJECT, UH, BASED ON THEIR EXPERIENCE WHERE THEY'VE DONE, UH, YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS OF THESE ACROSS THE COUNTRY, STARTING WITH THOSE STAKEHOLDER GROUPS.
SO THIS IS KIND OF, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SEE WHO OUR, UH, INTERNAL GROUP STAKEHOLDER AND OUR, UH, EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS ARE, UH, ACROSS THOSE DEPARTMENTS.
WE'VE MET A FEW TIMES WITH EACH OF THESE GROUPS, UH, WHERE WE WALK THROUGH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DATA DEVELOPMENT, UH, GET THEIR INPUT, VISION STATEMENT, UM, GETTING, UH, HAVING THOSE KIND OF TALKS, UH, THROUGH THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, UH, TO MAKE SURE KIND OF EVERY STEP OF THE WAY WE'RE GETTING FEEDBACK, UH, TO, TO MOVE IT, UH, MOVE IT FORWARD FROM THE PUBLIC SIDE, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH RESIDENTS, UH, FROM AUGUST 1ST THROUGH OCTOBER 15TH, UH, WE HAD A PUBLIC SURVEY.
UM, SO THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, PUSH INTO THE PUBLIC OF, UH, GETTING THAT, UH, GETTING SURVEYS OUT THERE.
WE ALSO HAD A HARD COPY AVAILABLE AT SEVERAL SITES, UM, INCLUDING THE LIBRARY HERE AT CITY HALL, UM, OUR RECREATION CENTERS, UH, TO, TO MAKE THAT AVAILABLE AS WELL.
UH, WE PUSHED IT AT A FEW DIFFERENT MEETINGS.
UH, WE HAD A COMMUNITY MEETING, UH, IN AUGUST.
UH, WE WERE ALSO AT THE PUBLIC SAFETY EXPO IN SEPTEMBER.
CULTURE IN THE CORE, UH, WHICH IS KIND OF AFTER IT.
SO WE SHOWED, SHARED A LITTLE BIT MORE RESULTS AT CULTURE IN THE CORE, UM, BUT PUSHED IT THROUGH, YOU KNOW, CARE'S PRESENTATION AT THE BOARD, APPLICANT RECEPTION, KIND OF ANY, ANYWHERE.
WE HAD A CHANCE IN THAT OCTOBER OR AUGUST THROUGH OCTOBER TIMEFRAME, UH, WE LOOKED AT PUSHING THE SURVEY.
WE HAD SOME FLYERS WE WOULD HAND OUT.
UM, WE ALSO DID A LOT OF ADDITIONAL OUTREACH TO OTHER GROUPS, SO WHETHER IT WAS THE BICYCLE PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE, COMMUNITY INCLUSION ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE, UH, OR COMMISSION, UH, LOOKING AT PUSHING THAT SURVEY OUT, HELP HELPING THEM, UM, OR HAVING THEM HELP PUSH THAT OUT, UM, TO ANY OF THEIR CONTEXT AND THEIR COMMUNITY.
UM, AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL GROUPS, UH, TRYING TO HELP PUSH THAT SURVEY OUT AS MUCH AS WE COULD.
UH, WE ENDED UP WITH ABOUT 323 SURVEY RESPONSES.
UM, AND FROM THOSE, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A MAPPING EXERCISE.
THERE WAS A LOT OF QUESTIONS, BUT THERE WAS ALSO, UH, A MAPPING EXERCISE.
UH, SO YOU CAN SEE A BIT O OVER 600, UM, PINS RECEIVED OF JUST DIFFERENT SAFETY ISSUES WHERE PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THAT, UM, FROM 190 DIFFERENT SURVEY RESPONDENTS.
UH, AND A LOT OF THEMES YOU SAW WERE, YOU KNOW, SPEEDING, RECKLESS DRIVING, UH, YOU KNOW, STOP SIGN COMPLIANCE, RED LIGHT VIOLATIONS.
UH, THEN YOU GET INTO YOUR TRAFFIC CONGESTION SIGNAL TIMING.
UH, THEN YOU GET, UH, A LOT OF THE BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN, UM, KIND OF COMMUNITY ACTIVATES AND FILLS OUT THE SURVEYS.
AND SO A LOT OF FEEDBACK FROM, UH, FROM THAT GROUP OF DIFFERENT INFRASTRUCTURE SAFETY ISSUES THEY'RE SEEING.
UM, SIMILAR ON MAINTENANCE REPAIR, WHERE, UM, THAT MAY BE THINGS FROM, FROM THE BIKE COMMUNITY OF KIND OF STREET SWEEPING WHEN IT GOES TO THE BIKE LANES, UH, OR POTHOLES, UM, AS WELL AS O YOU KNOW, OTHER PAVEMENT MARKING SIGN KIND OF REPAIRS AS WELL.
ALL THAT KIND OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT COLLABORATION WITH THOSE STAKEHOLDERS, UH, REALLY FED INTO THAT THIS RECOMMENDED DRAFT VISION STATEMENT.
UM, SO WORKING WITH THOSE GROUPS, UM, ELEMENTS OF IT ALSO TYING BACK TO THAT FEDERAL KIND OF FRAMEWORK OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE GOAL? IT'S REALLY, UH, ELIMINATING THOSE FATAL AND CRC INJURY CRASHES.
UH, AND SO IT, IT LED TO THIS, UH, DRAFT VISION STATEMENT THAT RICHARDSON ENVISIONS A SAFE, ACCESSIBLE AND COMFORTABLE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK TO
[01:00:01]
MEET THE MOBILITY NEEDS OF THE CITY'S DIVERSE RESIDENTS AND STAKEHOLDERS.UH, WE ARE COMMITTED TO A GOAL OF ZERO DEATHS AND SERIOUS INJURIES ON OUR ROADWAYS.
RICHARDSON AND ITS PARTNERS STRIVE TO REACH THIS GOAL THROUGH PRINCIPLES OF URBAN PLANNING ENGINEERING IN THE SAFE SYSTEM OF ROACH, REDUCING ROADWAY DEATHS AND SERIOUS INJURIES BY 50% BY 2050.
AND SO IT'S PULLING, UH, SOME OF THE LANGUAGE FROM OTHER PLANS LIKE THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN, THE COMPLETE STREETS POLICY, UH, TRYING TO PULL IN SOME OF THAT LANGUAGE.
UM, ALSO TYING IN KIND OF THAT ASPIRATIONAL GOAL OF, YOU KNOW, ELIMINATING FATAL AND SERIOUS, UH, CRASHES, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, CREATING KIND OF A TANGIBLE GOAL, UH, OF WHAT IS THAT 50% REDUCTION BY 2050.
AND SO TRYING TO KIND OF BLEND THOSE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS TOGETHER, UH, TO, TO CREATE A, A KIND OF COMPREHENSIVE VISION STATEMENT, UH, FOR SAFETY WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, SUPPLEMENTING THAT VISION SEGMENT, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE GET THERE? UM, REALLY LED INTO KIND OF FOUR PILLARS OR, UH, GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THIS, UH, ONE BEING, YOU KNOW, FOSTER A CULTURE OF SAFETY AMONG CITY LEADERSHIP AND STAFF, UH, WHICH IS, UH, REALLY KIND OF OUR STAFF AND ORGANIZATION.
YOU KNOW, WE HAD THIS INTERNAL STAKEHOLDER GROUP.
UH, HOW DO WE CREATE SOMETHING LIKE THIS MOVING FORWARD, UH, TO CONTINUE THAT COLLABORATION AMONG DEPARTMENTS, UH, TO, TO IMPROVE SAFETY AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF TRAINING, UH, DOES STAFF NEED TO, UH, KNOW BEST PRACTICES WHEN IT COMES TO, TO, UH, IMPLEMENTING, UH, THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF SAFETY AND, UH, BUILDING SAFE ROADS AND, UH, ORGANIZATIONAL ELEMENTS.
SO THAT TOO, GOING INTO THE INSTITUTIONAL SAFETY AND DECISION MAKING, UH, THIS GOES BACK TO A LOT OF MORE YOUR, YOUR POLICIES, YOUR PLANS, YOU KNOW, YOUR STANDARDS.
HOW DO WE MAKE IT CLEAR AND CONCISE, UM, AND CONSISTENT ACROSS PROJECTS THAT WE'RE, UH, MAKING SAFETY, UH, JUST THE STANDARD ACROSS THE COMMUNITY, UM, IN EVERY PROJECT THAT WE BUILD.
UM, AND THEN THAT LEADS INTO THAT BUILDING SAFER STREETS AND ROADS FOR ALL WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE FUNDING PROJECTS, UM, IMPLEMENTING THOSE, YOU KNOW, DESIGN GUIDELINES, UH, DESIGN CRITERIA, UH, INTO EACH OF THE PROJECTS.
UM, AND THINGS LIKE, UH, THAT INFORM SOME OF THOSE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND, UM, UH, PROJECT IDEAS, UM, THAT GO INTO, UH, LIKE THE, UM, 2026 BOND, PROPOSED BOND PROGRAM AND THOSE PROJECTS.
AND THEN NUMBER FOUR IS COLLABORATING WITH PARTNERS TO PROMOTE SAFETY ON OUR STREETS.
UH, AGAIN, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, RICHARDSON'S DOING, UH, OUR PART TO LOOK AT SAFETY, BUT HOW DO WE WORK WITH OUR REGIONAL, STATE AND FEDERAL LEVELS? WHO, WHO HAVE THIS COMMON GOAL, UM, AND HOW DO WE WORK WITH THEM TO, TO FUND PROJECTS, UM, AND, AND FIND KIND OF COMMON GROUND ON, UH, HOW DO WE MOVE THESE FORWARD, GOING INTO THAT SAFETY, UH, APPROACH.
SO KIND OF THE DATA ANALYSIS PIECE, UH, WE'LL KIND OF WALK INTO THAT NOW.
SO KIND OF STARTING ON THE LEFT HERE, YOU KNOW, EVERY TIME THERE'S A CRASH, UM, POLICE COLLECTED A CRASH REPORT.
IT'S STANDARDIZED, UH, THROUGH TXDOT OF KIND OF WHAT'S THE INFORMATION THAT'S GATHERED, UM, AND, AND HOW THAT GETS REPORTED.
SO, TDOT UH, PUBLISHES IT, IT'S ALL ACTUALLY PUBLIC DATA.
UM, BUT ONE PIECE OF THIS PROJECT IS CREATING A DASHBOARD TO THE CITIES.
THE REPORT SLASH DASHBOARD AT THE BOTTOM THERE, UM, IS CREATING A DASHBOARD THAT MAKES IT EASIER AND MORE ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC THAT THEY CAN SEE WHERE CRASHES ARE, UM, PROVIDE THAT TRANSPARENCY OF, OF WHERE ARE THE ISSUES, UH, THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, UM, AND SOMETHING THAT WE CAN TRACK YEAR TO YEAR, UM, TO SEE WHAT IS THAT PROGRESS, UH, WITHIN RICHARDSON.
BUT USING THAT TECH STACK KIND OF CRASH DATABASE, YOU KNOW, WE MOVE INTO THAT PROCESS OF WHERE ARE THE CRASHES, WHO'S EVOLVING, UH, AND WHY.
AND SO WHERE ACROSS THE COMMUNITY IS IT KINDA THAT GEOGRAPHIC SIDE? UM, WHO COULD, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF USERS, IS IT, YOU KNOW, VEHICLES? IS IT MOTORCYCLES? IS IT BICYCLES, PEDESTRIANS, UH, WHAT TYPE OF USERS? AND, YOU KNOW, ARE THERE, UM, MORE, MORE PEOPLE, UM, PRONE TO THIS, UH, THAN OTHERS? AND THEN WHY, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF CRASHES ARE OCCURRING? ARE THEY HEAD-ON CRASHES? ARE THEY CRASHES AT INTERSECTIONS? UM, WHAT TYPE OF QUESTION, UH, TO TRY TO FIND KIND OF, WHAT ARE THOSE TRENDS ACROSS THE COMMUNITY THAT WE CAN REALLY FOCUS ON, UM, AND START FINDING COUNTERMEASURES FOR? SO WITHIN RICHARDSON, LOOKING AT THAT, SO LOOKING AT DATA, UH, FROM 2020 TO 2024.
SO THIS WAS, UH, WHEN WE STARTED THE, THE PLAN, UH, THIS WAS FIVE YEARS OF DATA WHERE WE HAD FULL FIVE YEARS OF DATA FOR EACH OF THOSE YEARS.
UM, KINDA AT THE TOP, THAT'S ALL CRASHES.
SO IN THAT FIVE YEAR TIMEFRAME, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS JUST SHY OF 6,300 TOTAL CRASHES WITHIN RICHARDSON.
UM, BUT AGAIN, WE'RE LOOKING AT FATAL AND SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES.
AND SO OF THAT 6,300, THAT'S 195 OVER FIVE YEARS.
UM, AND SO THAT'S KINDA WHAT THAT VISION IS, IS WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT TRYING TO ELIMINATE 6,300 CRASHES IN RICHARDSON.
WE'RE TRYING TO ELIMINATE 195 CRASHES OVER THAT FIVE YEAR PERIOD.
WHEN YOU START LOOKING AT IT BY USER, UM, THAT'S WHAT THOSE KIND OF BOTTOM FOUR ARE.
SO, VEHICLE CRASHES, PEDESTRIANS, MOTORCYCLES, AND BICYCLES.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THOSE KIND OF, THE COLOR BANDS KIND OF START LINING UP ON YOUR MORE VULNERABLE, VULNERABLE ROAD USERS.
SO YOUR PEDESTRIANS, MOTORCYCLES, UM, UH, AND, UH,
[01:05:01]
CYCLISTS WHERE JUST THAT PROPORTION OF CRASHES OF WHEN THEY GET IN A CRASH, IT'S MORE LIKELY IT'S GONNA BE A FATAL OR SERIOUS INJURY, UM, COMPARED TO VEHICLES.AND SO, UM, IT'S ONE OF THOSE BALANCING KINDA WHAT ARE THE COUNTERMEASURES TO TRY TO, TO OFFSET THAT AND REDUCE THE, THE SEVERITY OF THOSE CRASHES.
UM, AND KINDA WHERE DO WE FOCUS, I'LL MAKE ONE NOTE THERE ON THE RIGHT THAT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE'RE DOING ONE PART OF THIS, AND SO WE LOOKED AT RICHARDSON ROADS, THE ONES WE CAN CONTROL.
UM, WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT, UM, THE MAIN LANES OF 75 OR PGBT.
UM, WE'RE CONSIDERING THOSE KIND OF PART OF TEXT DOTS.
WE HAVE SOME INFLUENCE, BUT WE DON'T HAVE CONTROL OF THOSE.
UM, AND SO KIND OF DOING OUR PART, WE'RE WORKING WITH TEXT DOT, WHO HAS THAT SAME VISION, UM, UH, TO, TO FOCUS ON THOSE CRASHES.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT ALL THE CRASHES, YOU KNOW, HERE'S KINDA YOUR HEAT MAP.
UM, AND SO YOU MAY SEE THINGS THAT LOOK LIKE, OKAY, THAT MAKES ABOUT, THAT MAKES SENSE.
UM, YOU KNOW, SOME MAY LOOK A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, BUT, UH, YOU SEE A LOT OF OUR KINDA ARTERIALS YOUR MAJOR, HIGHER SPEED, HIGHER VOLUME, UH, ROADWAYS, UM, START COLORING AND GETTING THOSE KIND OF HOTTER, UH, COLORS ON THERE.
UM, BUT LOOKING AT ALL THESE CRASHES, THAT'S WHAT REALLY INFLUENCED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HIGH INJURY NETWORK.
UH, SO THE HIGH INJURY NETWORKS, WHEN YOU TAKE ALL THAT DATA, YOU KNOW, A SERIOUS OR FATAL INJURY, IT'S GONNA BE WEIGHTED HIGHER THAN OTHER CRASHES, UM, THAT MAYBE JUST BE A PROPERTY DAMAGE CRASH.
UM, ALL OF 'EM ARE CONSIDERED, BUT THEY'RE JUST WEIGHTED A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY, BUT REALLY FOCUSED ON THAT FATAL AND SERIOUS INJURY, UH, TO DEVELOP A HE INJURY NETWORK.
AND THIS IS ONE THING THAT'S, UH, FAIRLY COMMON ACROSS ALL COMMUNITIES IS THAT YOU GET A PRETTY SMALL PROPORTION OF YOUR ROAD NETWORK, UH, IS WHERE A LOT OF THOSE FATAL AND SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES ARE.
UH, SO IN RICHARDSON FOR KIND OF ALL MODES OF TRANSPORTATION, UM, IT CONTAINS ABOUT 6% OF OUR ROAD NETWORK.
UH, BUT THAT'S WHERE 63% OF ALL FATAL AND SERIES INJURY CRASHES HAPPEN.
UM, AND SO THOSE ARE THE BLUE LINES YOU'LL SEE OUTLINED ON THERE, AND YOU'LL SEE SOME OVERLAPPING THERE WITH THE ORANGE ONES.
UM, FOR BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN ONLY HIGH INJURY NETWORK, UM, IT'S ABOUT 3% OF THAT NETWORK THAT THOSE ARE THE ORANGE LINES UP THERE, WHICH COVER 62% OF ALL THOSE BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN, UH, FATAL AND SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES.
AND SO YOU'LL SEE ONE THING, YOU KNOW, KIND OF COMMENT OF, YOU SEE A LOT OF OUR ARTERIAL NETWORK AGAIN.
SO THOSE, UH, IN LARGE PART KIND OF SIX LANE, UM, MAYBE 40 MILE PER HOUR, UH, ROADWAYS.
UM, AND THOSE ARE WHERE WE HAVE HIGHER VOLUME.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S COMMON ACROSS ALL COMMUNITIES.
UM, IT'S NOT THAT WE'RE DOING BETTER OR WORSE, BUT THAT, UM, IT'S WHERE YOU KIND HAVE THE MOST EXPOSURE, UH, JUST 'CAUSE YOU HAVE SO MANY VEHICLE TRIPS ON THOSE CORRIDORS.
IT'S ALSO, YOU HAVE THE MOST RISK WHERE YOU HAVE THE HIGHER SPEEDS, UM, COMPARED TO A LOT OF YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD STREETS.
AND SO IT'S WHERE MORE LIKELY TO, UH, TO OCCUR.
UM, YOU ALSO SEE A LOT OF THOSE AREAS START POPPING UP WHERE YOU HAVE MORE KIND OF COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY.
YOU MAY HAVE MORE KIND OF FREIGHT TRAFFIC, KIND OF MORE TRUCKS TRAFFIC.
YOU MAY HAVE MORE BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENT, THEN KIND OF WEST SPRING VALLEY AREA, YOU GET MORE PEOPLE TRYING TO CROSS THE STREET.
YOU GET KIND OF PLANO, BELTLINE AREA, YOU GET A LOT OF ATTORNEY, ME, UH, ATTORNEY MOVEMENTS, A LOT OF COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY WITH THE RESTAURANTS AND BUSINESSES AROUND THAT AREA.
UM, AND SO, UH, THIS IS MORE, UH, JUST HERE ARE, ARE THE AREAS THAT ARE KIND OF THE HIGHEST RISK HIGHER, UH, EXPOSURE.
UM, AND THOSE AREAS TO FOCUS, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO SAFETY WITHIN THAT HIGH INJURY NETWORK, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE TRY TO START MOVING THAT TOWARDS KIND OF WHAT ARE YOUR KIND OF TOP 10 INTERSECTIONS, TOP 10 SEGMENTS, UH, TO REALLY BE FOCUSED ON TO HOW DO WE START DEVELOPING PROJECTS? UM, AND SO HOW DO WE PRIORITIZE THOSE? UM, THIS WAS THE FRAMEWORK THAT WE, UH, USED FOR THIS, WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT SAFETY.
UM, SO AGAIN, KIND OF USING SOME OF THAT WEIGHTING CRITERIA, IF YOUR, YOUR FATAL, YOUR SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES, WHAT ARE THOSE CRASH TYPES? AND KIND OF WHO ARE THE USERS WITHIN THAT? UM, ALSO LOOKING AT WHAT IS THAT PROXIMITY OF PUBLIC DESTINATIONS, UH, PUBLIC FACILITIES LIKE CITY HALL, THE LIBRARY REC CENTERS, UM, HOSPITALS, SCHOOLS, PARKS, TRAILS, TRANSIT.
UM, THEN LOOKING AT COMMUTER COMMUNITY VULNERABILITY.
UM, SO WHERE ARE THOSE LOWER INCOME? YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE KIND OF YOUR CENSUS TRACKS WITH, UH, A, A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF, UM, PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES OR YOUTH ELDERLY POPULATIONS, UM, WHO MAY BE MORE, MORE VULNERABLE WHEN THEY ARE MOVING AROUND THE COMMUNITY.
ALSO LOOKING AT PLAN PROJECTS.
UH, SO AGAIN, LOOKING AT THOSE MASTER PLANS LIKE THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN, WEAR SOME OVERLAP IN THOSE CORRIDORS, UH, WITH OTHER, UH, MASTER PLAN PROJECTS.
ALSO LOOKING AT REGIONAL PLANS.
UH, SO THE NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL GOVERNMENTS HAS A REGIONAL, UM, PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ACTION PLAN.
SO THEY HAVE A PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ACTION PLAN, A BICYCLE SAFETY ACTION PLAN, AND A ROAD SAFETY ACTION PLAN.
UM, SO LOOKING AT EACH OF THOSE DIFFERENT, UM, MODE TYPES, UM, BUT LOOKING AT THOSE PLANS AND WHERE IS THAT OVERLAP WITHIN RICHARDSON, UM, WITH SOME OF OUR OWN HIGH INJURY NETWORK THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT.
UH, AND THEN ALSO MIXING WITH THAT COMMUNITY
[01:10:01]
INPUT, UH, WHERE THE COMMUNITY IDENTIFY THEIR ISSUES ON THAT MAP.UM, AND SO, UH, HOW DO WE PRIORITIZE THAT AND INCLUDE THAT WITHIN THE, THE PRIORITIZATION AS WELL.
SO THE WITHIN THE TOP 10, UH, SEGMENTS, UH, YOU CAN SEE THE LIST HERE, KIND OF ONE THROUGH 10.
UM, AND THEN THE MAP ON THE RIGHT, UH, WHERE KIND OF THE YELLOW ONES, UM, MARK OUT THOSE TOP 10.
AND SO A, A LOT OF THE THEME YOU SEE IS YOU, AGAIN, YOU SEE THE KIND OF PLANO, BELTLINE AREA, UM, KIND OF HIGHLIGHT ON THAT.
UH, YOU SEE KINDA THE SOUTHWEST CORNER WITH, UH, WEST SPRING VALLEY, PART OF WEST SPRING VALLEY, AS WELL AS, UM, COY NEAR, UH, SPRING VALLEY.
UM, AND THERE'S SOME WHERE WE DO HAVE PROJECTS THAT MAY BE ONGOING RIGHT NOW OR MAYBE FUNDED.
THINK YOU LIKE WEST SPRING VALLEY NEAR COY.
UH, WE HAVE A PROJECT UNDER CONSTRUCTION RIGHT NOW THAT, UH, IS LOOKING THROUGH THE DART, UH, PTI FUNDING, UM, IMPROVING SOME OF THOSE PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS TO IMPROVE SAFETY, UM, AND START ADDRESSING SOME OF THOSE, UH, SAFETY NEEDS.
AND, AND THAT ACTUALLY CAME OUT OF THE COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENT'S, UH, PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ACTION PLAN WHERE WEST SPRING VALLEY WAS IDENTIFIED.
AND, UH, THROUGH AN ADDITIONAL PLANNING PROCESS, UH, WE'RE ABLE TO DO SOME MORE, UH, MORE EVALUATION OF THAT, UM, WORK ON THAT FUNDING WITH DART, UM, TO REALLY LOOK AT IMPROVING THOSE PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS, IMPROVE SAFETY.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN KIND OF TRACK OVER TIME AND SEE BASED OFF THIS FIVE YEARS DATA, YOU KNOW, IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, ARE WE SEEING IMPROVEMENTS, UH, IN THAT AREA, UM, BASED OFF THOSE, UM, PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS FROM AN INTERSECTION PERSPECTIVE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE GONNA BE KIND OF SCATTERED ACROSS THE COMMUNITY, UH, BUT YOU'LL SEE A LITTLE BIT OF OVERLAP, UH, SIMILARLY WITH THOSE SEGMENTS.
SO YOU'LL SEE KIND OF THE, AGAIN, SOUTHWEST SIDE, YOU'LL SEE, YOU KNOW, COT, SPRING VALLEY COT, WATERFALL WAY, UH, BUT YOU'LL SEE, UM, A, A LOT OF TRENDS ON SOME OF THOSE MAJOR, YOU KNOW, HIGHER SPEED ROADWAYS LIKE JUPITER COT, UM, MOVING ALONG THERE.
NEXT STEPS FROM THOSE TOP 10, YOU KNOW, WE'LL TAKE A HANDFUL AND WORK WITH OUR CONSULTANT, UH, TO REALLY DO A LITTLE BIT MORE, KIND OF A DEEPER DIVE INTO CERTAIN, UM, SOME OF THOSE, UH, HIGH NETWORK PROJECTS, UH, TO LOOK AT THAT CRASH HISTORY, LOOK AT A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL, WHAT TYPES OF CRASHES ARE OCCURRING, REVISIT THAT COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK.
UM, LOOK AT IF IS ANYTHING FUNDED PLANNED IN THE AREA.
UM, AND THEN REALLY START ASSIGNING WHAT ARE SOME COUNTERMEASURES, UH, THAT COULD BE USED, UM, WITHIN THAT CORRIDOR.
AND THOSE MAY BE KIND OF SIMPLER ONES, LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, CHANGING SIGNAL TIMING, UH, DOING, UH, DIFFERENT KIND OF SIGNAL ADJUSTMENTS IN THAT SIGN.
YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT'S MINOR KIND OF SIGNS, PIPE PAVEMENT, MARKING MODIFICATIONS, UM, AS WELL AS IDENTIFYING LARGER THINGS, YOU KNOW, STREETLIGHT IMPROVEMENTS OR, UH, SOME KIND OF INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, BUT THAT'LL HELP US DEVELOP THAT COST ESTIMATE, KIND OF A BENEFIT COST RATIO, UH, TO POSITION US FOR FUTURE FUNDING, UH, WITH SOME OF THOSE HIGHEST PRIORITY PROJECTS.
UH, THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OUT OF, UH, ARLINGTON'S PLAN.
SO THIS IS SAFE STREET'S ARLINGTON PLAN, UM, WHERE, YEAH, YOU CAN SEE, UH, TWO OF THEIR EXAMPLES OF KIND OF THE MAPS THAT, UM, LIKE HOW THEY RESULT OUT OF THAT, WHERE YOU CAN LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, THE, ON THE LEFT, THEY'RE LOOKING AT KIND OF ADDITIONAL LIGHTING, WIDENING SIDEWALKS, UM, CONTROLLING SOME OF YOUR MEDIAN OPENINGS AND UPGRADING SOME OF YOUR PAVEMENT MARKINGS.
UM, AND SO THERE'S DIFFERENT, UH, THINGS BASED ON THE COUNTERMEASURES THAT ARE REALLY GONNA, UH, BE TAILORED TO THE COMMUNITY AND RICHARDSON OF HOW DO WE WANT TO IMPLEMENT PROJECTS? WHAT FITS WITH THAT HIGH INJURY NETWORK? UH, 'CAUSE SOMETHING LIKE, YOU KNOW, WEATHERFORD BEING ANOTHER EXAMPLE, UM, HAS A MORE RURAL FIELD.
THEY'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT DIFFERENT KIND OF ISSUES THAT RICHARDSON DOES.
AND SO HOW DO WE CREATE THAT COUNTER TOOLBOX, UM, THAT FITS WITHIN THE NEEDS OF OUR HIGH ENTRY NETWORK? UM, KIND OF MOVING THROUGH THAT COUNTERMEASURE TOOLBOX PROJECT PLANS, UH, THEN WE WILL BE DEVELOPING STRATEGIES BASED OFF THOSE FOUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES, UH, CREATING WHAT ARE THOSE KIND OF NEXT STEPS THAT, THAT MAY NOT BE PROJECT BASED, BUT MORE, UM, KIND OF PLANS, POLICIES, UM, UM, STRATEGIES AT THAT LEVEL.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER ROUND OF, UH, PUBLIC STAKEHOLDER, UH, INPUT AND ENGAGEMENT.
UH, AND BEFORE WE'LL DEVELOP THAT FULL DRAFT PLAN, UH, WHERE WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU AS COUNSEL, UH, WITH THAT FULL DOCUMENT, UM, KINDA DOCUMENTED PHASE ONE AS WELL AS IN THAT PHASE TWO, THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, AND THEN MOVE INTO IMPLEMENTATION, WHICH IS REALLY THE LAST PIECE THAT WE FUNDED, UH, ALONGSIDE THIS PLAN TO REALLY KIND OF KICKSTART THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS PROCESS, UM, WHERE WE'LL BE DOING, UH, PILOTING EMERGENCY SIGNAL PREEMPTION.
UM, SO A LOT OF OUR CURRENT SIGNALS IS BASED OFF OF A LIDAR BASE, SO IT'S KIND OF LINE OF SIGHT FOR THE VEHICLES.
IT'S HOW THEY, UH, TRIGGER THE SIGNALS TO, TO GIVE THEM PREEMPTION TO, TO MOVE ALONG THE CORRIDORS.
UM, BUT, UH, PILOTING IT ON A GPS BASE, SO OUR TRAFFIC SIGNALS WOULD'VE EQUIPMENT AND, UH, EACH OF THE EMERGENCY VEHICLES WOULD HAVE AN EQUIPMENT AND BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE TO REALLY PLAN, UM, PLAN THE ROUTE.
AND SO OUT OF FIRE STATION ONE, UH, WE'LL BE TESTING THAT ON THE VEHICLES AND SOME OF THE NEARBY SIGNALS.
UH, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT CAN WE IMPROVE EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIMES THROUGH THAT, UM, UH, PROCESS, UH, AS WELL AS, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE THING THAT KIND OF GETS OUTTA WHACK WHEN THE, UH, TRAFFIC SIGNAL GETS PREEMPTED BY EMERGENCY VEHICLES IS OUR SIGNAL TIMING AND PROGRESSION FOR VEHICLES.
[01:15:01]
UM, AND SO IS THERE A WAY WE CAN GET THOSE SIGNALS BACK INTO THE PROGRESSION, UH, TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC FLOW, UM, AT THE SAME TIME AS WE'RE IMPROVING EMERGENCY VEHICLE, UM, RESPONSE TIMES.UM, AND WITH THAT, WE'LL KIND OF ACCEPT ANY FEEDBACK ON THIS PHASE ONE, KINDA THE UNDERSTANDING PIECE.
UM, TAKE ANY QUESTIONS FROM YOU AND THEN, UH, YEAH, LATER THIS SPRING SUMMER, WE'LL BE, UH, ANTICIPATING TO HAVE THAT FULL DRAFT PLAN FOR YOU.
THANK YOU, MR. H, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CORCORAN.
HEY, DANIEL, THANK YOU FOR COMING TO US AND, UH, HAVING, YOU KNOW, FOR A BEGINNING, SORT OF A BEGINNING OF THE PROJECT, THIS ALREADY SEEMS LIKE A VERY COMPREHENSIVE, UM, YOU KNOW, PARTIALLY SCOPED OUT, SCOPED OUT PROJECT.
AND SO, I MEAN, I REALLY COMMEND YOU FOR ALL THE WORK, UM, THAT YOU'VE PUT INTO THIS.
I WAS JUST WONDERING, UH, JUST A, A COUPLE QUICK QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
UM, YOU KNOW, ONE, I MEAN, I DO WONDER IS THE SCOPE, IS THE SCOPE OF THIS WORK? I MEAN, IS THIS, IS IT JUST YOU WORKING ON THIS OR IS IT
THIS IS ONE THAT, YEAH, WE HAVE THE CONSULTANT TEAM ON BOARD.
UM, WHO, YEAH, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY, UH, A LOT OF THE DATA, THEY, THE DATA'S PROCESSING, UM, IS HEAVILY DONE BY THEM.
AND THEN, YEAH, WE ACTUALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UH, PRE-TIME DASH MOVE THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING OF JUST BICYCLE PEDESTRIAN.
WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL USERS AND THERE'S A LOT OF IMPACT IN OUR TRAFFIC SIGNALS.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, PRETERMS HEAVILY INVOLVED AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, IT'S CROSS DEPARTMENTS, AND SO YEAH, FROM A MANAGING DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE MULTIPLE PEOPLE INVOLVED.
UM, UH, BUT YEAH, WE HAVE THE CONSULTANT WHO'S REALLY DOING A LOT OF THAT TECHNICAL ANALYSIS FOR US.
UH, AND THEN, JUST TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND THE, THE BENEFITS OF DOING THIS, THE WAY I THINK I GOT FROM THE PRESENTATION IS THERE'S REALLY SORT OF THREE MAIN BENEFITS.
NUMBER ONE, YOU REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF, UH, INJURIES AND DEATHS IN THE LONG TERM.
THAT'S OBVIOUSLY THE BIGGEST BENEFIT.
BUT THEN THERE'S ALSO THE ABILITY JUST TO CREATE SORT OF A MORE PEDESTRIAN FRIENDLY, BIKE FRIENDLY AND DRIVER FRIENDLY.
EVERYTHING INTERACTS A LOT BETTER WHEN WE'RE DONE WITH THIS SAFER STREETS INITIATIVE.
AND THEN THE THIRD BENEFIT IS THIS, THIS UNLOCKS POTENTIAL FEDERAL GRANT FUNDING FOR OTHER PROJECTS.
DID I GET THAT RIGHT OR AM I MISSING ANYTHING? CORRECT, YES.
SO YEAH, IT HELPS US PRIORITIZE EVERYTHING.
UM, BUT THEN, YEAH, UH, KIND OF BY DOING THAT, HAVING THIS PROCESS IN PLACE WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF BUY-IN FROM THE COMMUNITY BY, YOU KNOW, ELECTED OFFICIALS MM-HMM
UM, THAT HELPS REALLY SET US UP FOR ADDITIONAL, UM, GRANT FUNDING IN THE FUTURE.
AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, I DON'T, DO YOU, DO Y'ALL ANTICIPATE THAT THIS SAFE STREETS INITIATIVE, I MEAN, SEEING SORT OF SOME OF THE EXAMPLES OF THINGS LIKE WIDENING SIDEWALKS AND IMPROVING INTERSECTIONS, UM, ARE YOU GUYS COORDINATING THIS WITH A LOT OF OUR OTHER WORK THAT WE HAVE WHERE MAYBE THERE'S, IF THERE'S A STREET THAT ALREADY HAS SOME REPAIRS THAT NEED TO HAPPEN, OR TUNEUPS THAT NEED TO HAPPEN, YOU PRIORITIZE IN THE LONG RUN, WE PRIORITIZE DIFFERENT INTERSECTION, UM, YOU KNOW, IMPROVEMENTS THAT WAY.
UM, AND SO IT WAS ONE THAT, YOU KNOW, THINKING OF THOSE KIND OF TOP 10 INTERSECTIONS MM-HMM
UM, ABOUT HALF OF THOSE WE HAVE SOME KIND OF FUNDING ON ALREADY.
UM, THEY MAY BE RECENTLY CONSTRUCTED, THEY MAY BE IN DESIGN, KIND OF NEARING CONSTRUCTION NOW.
UM, AND SO THERE IS SOME OVERLAP WITH WHERE, UH, CURRENT FUNDING.
AND SO, UH, SOMETHING LIKE THIS, KINDA THAT COUNTERMEASURE TOOLBOX MM-HMM
IS GONNA HELP INFORM HOW DO WE DESIGN THOSE, UM, HOW DO WE IMPLEMENT SOME OF THOSE, UH, IMPROVEMENTS WITH WITHIN THE PROJECT.
UM, SAME KIND OF REFERENCING THE 2026 BOND.
YOU KNOW, HAVING A PLAN LIKE THIS WILL HELP INFORM AS WE GO INTO THE DESIGN PROCESS ON ANY OF THOSE PROJECTS MM-HMM
UM, HOW DO WE INCORPORATE WHERE SOME OF THESE THINGS, UM, CAN BE KIND OF LOW COST MEASURES.
NOT EVERYTHING IS A MILLION DOLLAR, $10 MILLION PROJECT.
UM, THAT THERE'S A LOT OF KIND OF LOWER COST OR THINGS THAT ARE EASIER TO INCORPORATE, UH, WITHIN EXISTING PROJECTS, UH, AND, AND FIND THOSE OPPORTUNITIES TO, UH, TO NAVIGATE THOSE.
IT JUST SEEMS LIKE WITH OUR BOND PROGRAMMING, HAVING ALL THAT INFRASTRUCTURE FOCUS, THIS IS SORT OF THE PERFECT THING TO TACK ONTO A LOT OF THOSE PROJECTS AS THEY COME UP ANYWAY, INSTEAD OF JUST IMPROVING THE WHOLE INTERSECTION ON ITS OWN.
WELL, I'M GLAD AND HAPPY THAT YOU BROUGHT THESE THINGS AND YOU ARE WORKING ON IT.
UH, BECAUSE SOME OF THE DECISION THAT COMES FROM THE MASTER PLAN OR OTHER THINGS, THIS IS ONE OF THE VERY IMPORTANT ELEMENT, UH, TO MAKE, YOU KNOW, COME UP WITH A DECISION ON OTHER THINGS.
UH, EVEN I THINK THIS WILL HELP COUNCIL MAKE DECISION, ESPECIALLY ON THE SIDEWALKS INTERSECTION, NEW DEVELOPMENTS, UH, NOT JUST BE BECAUSE OF ARGUMENT OR PRESENTATION FROM THE DEVELOPER, BUT FROM SOME DATA DRIVEN INFORMATION.
ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE A SIDEWALK THAT
[01:20:01]
WAS PLANNED FOR 12 FEET AND THE DOUBLE LEVEL OR WHOEVER COMES THERE TO DO SOME BUSINESS, THE, THEIR ARGUMENT WOULD BE SAY, WE CAN'T EXPAND THIS SIDEWALK BECAUSE WE HAVE THIS LIMITATION.BUT WITH ALL THE DEVELOPMENT GOING ON IN THAT AREA, PEOPLE'S COMING IN IN THAT AREA, NARROW SIDEWALK TENDS TO CAUSE ACCIDENT MORE SO, SO IN INSTEAD OF COUNCIL MAKING UNINFORMED DECISION, THEN YOU WILL HAVE SOME DECISION INFORMATION DATA THAT WILL HELP MAKE THOSE DECISION.
SO, UH, I REALLY LIKE YOUR PRESENTATION AND, UH, AND THE PLAN AND, UH, UH, THIS GRID, I SEE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SOME AREA ALREADY IDENTIFIED, UH, AND YOU CAN GUESS THOSE AREA, WHY THOSE ARE HAPPENING, BUT NOW WE'RE GONNA KNOW EXACTLY WHY THOSE ARE HAPPENING, REALLY FROM THE DATA.
UH, AND, UH, BUT ONE THING PROBABLY YOU COULD LOOK ADDITIONALLY, JUST A SUGGESTION THAT SOME OF THE AREA IS REALLY WORKING GREAT.
I DON'T SEE MUCH ANY LINE WORK THERE.
NO GREEN LINE, NO YELLOW LINE, BUT THERE IS SOMETIMES USED HEAVILY BY PEDESTRIAN, YOU KNOW, WALKING.
UH, AND I DON'T SEE ANY ACCIDENT.
I DIDN'T SEE ANY ACCIDENT BEFORE.
SO SOMETHING IS REALLY WORKING GREAT ALSO.
SO IN OUR CITY, SO YOU COULD PROBABLY SEE SOME OF THE AREA THAT WHY WE DON'T HAVE MUCH ACCIDENT THERE OR ANY ACCIDENT THERE.
AND OF COURSE YOU CAN, YOU'RE GONNA LOOK THE AREA THAT HAS ACCIDENT, BUT I THINK IT'S PROBABLY GOOD IDEA TO LOOK AT THE AREA THAT DOES NOT HAVE ANY ACCIDENT BUT HEAVILY USED.
SO, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, I LIKE, I LIKE YOUR PLAN.
UH, AND, UH, THE FUNDING, I MEAN, ARE YOU GETTING, I KNOW THAT THE QUESTION WAS ASKED BY OUR COUNCIL MEMBER JOE CORAN, ABOUT THE FEDERAL OR OTHER FUNDING SOURCE.
ARE YOU GETTING ANY FUNDING FROM, UH, COUNTY OR STATE OR
SO IT'S ALL THROUGH THE US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
UM, IT IS ONE THAT, YEAH, AS WE LOOK AT FUTURE FUNDING, UM, YOU KNOW, IT IS ONE WORKING WITH PARTNERS BEYOND JUST THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND TXDOT.
UH, BUT YEAH, WORKING WITH OUR, UH, YOU KNOW, DALLAS COUNTY, COLLIN COUNTY, UM, ANY OF THOSE AND OTHER, UH, FUNDING PARTNERS THAT WE HAVE, UH, WHERE, UH, AGAIN, WE HAVE COMMON GOALS, UH, 'CAUSE IT IS ONE, YOU MAY HAVE SEEN IT ON THE LIST WHERE DALLAS COUNTY IS ALSO DOING THEIR OWN SAFETY ACTION PLAN AS A FULL COUNTY.
UM, AND SO THAT'S A, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE A COMMON GOAL IN THAT.
AND SO, UM, HOW DO WE KIND OF OVERLAP AND PARTNER TOGETHER TO, TO ADVANCE SAFETY PROJECTS THAT WHERE WE'RE IN ALIGNMENT, SO.
SO DALLAS COUNTY IS ALSO DOING STUDIES SIMILAR THIS, CORRECT? YEAH, I THINK THEIRS IS GETTING RUN THROUGH THEIR, UH, HEALTH HEALTH DEPARTMENT OR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.
UM, BUT YET THEY'RE, UM, WE'VE COLLABORATED WITH THEM A LITTLE BIT BIT ON IT, UM, IN THE APPLICATION JUST TO MAKE SURE WE DON'T KIND OF DUPLICATE EFFORTS ON IT.
NO, THAT'S, THAT'S GREAT BECAUSE SOME OF THE AREA, ESPECIALLY THE SPRING VALLEY, I SAW SOME HEAVY LINE LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE, WE HAVE, UH, THE LINE WORK AROUND THE CITY, UH, MOSTLY THE DALLAS AND AREA, AND THEN GARLAND AND CHURCH BOUNDARY AREA.
SO YEAH, I MEAN, IF YOU, UH, CAN SEE THEIR REPORT AS WE GO THROUGH DURING OUR STUDY, MAYBE THEY REVIEW OURS, HOPEFULLY.
AND HOPEFULLY I KNOW THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE REVIEWING THEIR STUFF.
UH, THAT WAY, YOU KNOW, THE STANDARD AND EVERYTHING, HOPEFULLY, UH, THERE WOULD BE NO, UH, MISCOMMUNICATION.
IT, IT'S VERY NATURAL THAT IT CAN HAPPEN.
I'VE SEEN THAT IN OTHER CITY, YOU KNOW, COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN HAPPENS SOMETIMES, BUT, UM, BUT I, I KNOW I HAVE FAITH THAT OUR CITY HAS MUCH BETTER ABILITY AND CAN DO MUCH BETTER JOB.
COUNCILMAN, I JUST, I JUST WANNA BUILD ON THAT, UH, DANIEL'S WAY TOO MODEST TO BRING THIS UP HIMSELF, BUT RECALL WHEN WE PRESENTED, UH, THE, THE TRANSPORTATION DEEP DIVE LAST YEAR, WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, ABOUT $93 MILLION WORTH OF PROJECTS UNDER MARK'S, UM, DEPARTMENT'S PURVIEW.
65% OF THE DOLLARS FOR THOSE PROJECTS WERE OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY.
UM, AND I JUST SHARED WITH YOU, AND I'LL SHARE WITH THE COMMUNITY TONIGHT, THAT, UM, JUST, UH, LAST THURSDAY, UH, COUNCILWOMAN JULIE JOHNSON, UH, CALLED ME TO INFORM ME THAT WE RECEIVED ANOTHER MILLION DOLLAR GRANT THROUGH THE COMMUNITY, UH, DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM OF, OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANS US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR THE CENTENNIAL AT BUCKINGHAM.
SO THIS DEPARTMENT EXCELS AT, UH, LEVERAGING GRANT OPPORTUNITIES, AND IT'S BECAUSE OF THEIR COMMUNICATIONS PLAN, THEIR ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN, SOON TO BE THEIR, THEIR SAFE, UH, STREETS PLAN.
AND SO, UH, I APPRECIATE THOSE COMMENTS 'CAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT ON.
THESE GUYS HAVE DONE JUST AN AMAZING JOB, UM, REALLY OVER THE PAST, UH, FOUR OR FIVE YEARS, LITERALLY PULLING IN HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, UM, TO, UM,
[01:25:01]
TO REALLY, UM, UM, JUST BE ABLE TO EXPONENTIALLY TAKE OUR DOLLARS AND MAKE 'EM MORE IMPACTFUL.KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK COUNCIL MEMBER BARRIOS.
UM, OF QUESTION, THE, SO THIS IS 50 BY 50.
WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU PRESENT TO THE FULL DRAFT PLAN, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S GONNA BE PRESENTED TO US AS IN KIND OF A WISHLIST TYPE PLAN.
THERE'S NO ACTUAL DATE WHERE IT'S LIKE, HEY, HERE'S OUR 10 YEAR PLAN, I'M ASSUMING BY 50, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, 2050 IS QUITE A WAYS AWAY.
IT'S, WHAT IS IT, 24 YEARS AWAY? UM, I'M GUESSING IT'LL BE A 10 TO 15 YEAR PLAN SO I CAN HAVE TIME TO KIND OF, IS THAT KIND OF THE THOUGHTS OR IS IT TOO EARLY TO KIND OF, OBVIOUSLY IT'S BASED ON, ON WHERE WE'RE AT FUNDING WISE.
I MEAN, WE'RE NOT, I'M NOT TRYING TO HOLD YOU TO ANYTHING HERE, DANIEL, JUST CAN YOU KINDA GIVE US A ROUGH IDEA OF WHAT THAT THOUGHT IS? YEAH, SO WE WOULD LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, UPDATES, UM, WHERE IT IS, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT KINDA OUR HIGH INJURY NETWORK NOW IS GONNA BE DIFFERENT PROBABLY FIVE YEARS FROM NOW, ESPECIALLY DEPENDING ON HOW WE INVEST, UM, FOR IMPROVEMENTS.
THINGS LIKE, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WEST SPRING VALLEY WHERE WE'RE MAKING IMPROVEMENTS AND PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE THAT HOPEFULLY THAT KIND OF SHIFTS, UM, SOME OF THAT KIND OF HOTSPOT, UH, AWAY FROM THAT AREA.
UM, WHERE I THINK SIMILAR TO OTHER MASTER PLANS, THIS COULD BE, UH, SOMEWHERE IN A FIVE TO 10 YEAR, UH, KIND OF UPDATE.
UM, BUT YEAH, WE'D BE LOOKING AT AGAIN WITH THAT DASHBOARD AND KIND OF THE TRANSPARENCY PIECE, TRYING TO DO ANNUAL UPDATES, UM, UH, WHETHER IT'S TO THE BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE OR OTHER, UM, YOU KNOW, SOURCES TO, UH, TO PROVIDE KINDA AN UPDATE OF KIND OF WHERE WE ARE, ARE WE MOVING IN, YOU KNOW, RIGHT DIRECTION, WRONG DIRECTION.
UM, BUT KIND OF THAT, UH, LOOKING AT THAT, YOU KNOW, 50% BY 2050, UM, YOU KNOW, WE FLUCTUATE YEAR TO YEAR WHERE, YOU KNOW, THIS DATA WENT THROUGH, UH, 2024.
UM, BUT LOOKING AT NOW THAT WE HAVE KIND OF 2025 DATA IN, YOU KNOW, 2025 WAS, UM, A LITTLE BIT LOWER THAN A LOT OF OUR, OUR TRENDING, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY FROM FATALITIES WE'VE HAD, WE HAD LESS IN 20, 25 THAN WE'VE HAD IN, YOU KNOW, PREVIOUS FIVE, SIX YEARS.
UM, AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF FLUCTUATION YEAR TO YEAR.
AND SO LOOKING AT THAT, WHAT IS 50%, UM, LOOKING AT THAT FIVE YEAR TOTAL, UM, I GUESS YOU CAN CALL IT A FIVE YEAR AVERAGE.
UM, AND TRYING TO KIND OF NORMALIZE, UM, KIND OF THOSE FLUCTUATIONS WHERE WE TRY TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, FOR THIS FIVE YEAR PERIOD, 2020 TO 2024, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT 195 CRASHES, UM, SO WHAT IS 50% OF THAT BY 2050? AND SO KIND OF KEEPING THAT ROLLING AVERAGE MOVING, UM, IS SOMETHING WE COULD KIND OF REPORT ON ON AN ANNUAL BASIS TO SEE KIND OF HOW ARE WE MOVING UP AND DOWN AND, UM, MAKING PROGRESS ON THIS PLAN, BUT THEN ULTIMATELY BEING ABLE TO REEVALUATE THIS LOOK AT THE HIGH NETWORK, WHERE IS IT CHANGING? WHERE DO WE NEED TO MAKE KIND OF FUTURE INVESTMENTS, UM, AS WE MAKE, UM, KIND OF INVESTMENTS BASED ON, YOU KNOW, THE PROPOSED BOND PROGRAM OR OTHER INVESTMENTS, UM, IN PROJECTS WE HAVE UNDERWAY RIGHT NOW.
I WAS LOOKING AT SLIDE 16 AT THE HEAT MAP AND THEN LOOKING AT THE OTHER SLIDES, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A AREA OF TOWN THERE THAT'S MY BACKYARD AND I DRIVE THAT MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY ON THE SOUTHWEST CORNER.
UM, AND I MEAN, HECK, THIS MORNING THERE WAS A HORRIBLE BAD ACCIDENT AT, UH, SPRING VALLEY IN HOYT THAT I WAS STUCK BEHIND.
UM, BUT WHEN, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS, AND I KNOW WE'RE LOOKING AT INTERSECTIONS AND I HEARD YOU TALK ABOUT, UH, WIDE AND SIDEWALKS AND UH, THOSE ARE GREAT.
IS THERE ACTUAL ROAD REPAIRS AS PART OF THAT, OR IS IT PURELY JUST FROM A SIDEWALK AND KIND OF, UH, CONNECTIVITY ASPECT VERSUS THE ACTUAL REPAIRS? AND THE REASON I ASK, I KNOW WE RECENTLY FIXED, I THINK IT WAS FROM STAGE QUOTES, NORTH AND SOUTH OF THERE, I'VE HAD A FEW NEIGHBORS WHO ENDED UP WITH HOUSES IN THEIR LIVING ROOM AND HOUSES IN THEIR, I MEAN, CARS IN THEIR LIVING ROOM AND CARS IN THEIR BACKYARDS.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE TWICE A YEAR SOME A CAR TAKES OUT THAT BUS STOP RIGHT THERE ALONG COT.
UM, I'M JUST KIND OF CURIOUS AS IF THERE WERE ANY PLANS TO FIX THAT SOUTHERN PART FROM ABOUT STAGECOACH DOWN IN SPRING VALLEY AT NORTHBOUND LANE, IF THAT, AND I'M SURE I'M NOT THE ONLY PART OF THE CITY WITH SIMILAR ISSUES WHERE THE RUTS AND THE ROAD KIND OF MAKE A HECK.
ABOUT A WEEK AND A HALF AGO, MY CAR ALMOST END UP ON THE SIDEWALK 'CAUSE OF THE RUTS AND I WAS GOING SPEED LIMIT.
IF I WOULD'VE BEEN GOING SPEEDING, I WOULD'VE BEEN ON THE SIDEWALK.
BUT, UM, IS THAT PART OF THE VIEW WHEN YOU LOOK AT IS THE ROAD OR IS IT PURELY JUST INTERSECTION? YEAH, SO THAT'D BE A PIECE IN THAT KIND OF CONCEPT PLANNING, UH, WHERE, UM, I THINK THE SECTION OF COY WAS IDENTIFIED ON THAT TOP 10, UM, WITHIN KIND OF THE, THE HIGH INJURY NETWORK.
UM, SO YEAH, SO YOU CAN SEE KIND OF THAT SOUTHERN PIECE OF COT IS IDENTIFIED IN THE TOP 10 AT KIND OF THE, OF THE HIGH INJURY NETWORK.
IT'S KIND OF A HIGHER PRIORITY WITHIN THAT OF A, OF A CERTAIN SECTION.
[01:30:01]
YEAH, WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT THE CONCEPT PLAN, YOU KNOW, YEAH, IT MAY JUST BE KIND OF MORE FROM A BASIC KIND OF ROAD MAINTENANCE PERSPECTIVE, UM, DOING THAT, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT THOSE CRASHES WHERE YEAH, IF PEOPLE ARE, YOU KNOW, CRASHING THROUGH FENCES INTO YARDS, UH, BEING ABLE TO LOOK AT THOSE CRASH REPORTS, GET A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION, WHAT'S GOING ON, AND, UM, AND IDENTIFYING WHAT ARE SOME POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS THAT, YEAH, THE SOLUTION MAY BE AS SIMPLE AS, YOU KNOW, FILL IN SOME POTHOLES, YOU KNOW, REPAVE IT.UM, BUT IT IS ALSO LOOKING AT ARE THERE WAYS TO HELP AVOID THOSE VEHICLES FROM EXITING THE ROADWAY? UM, AND LOOKING AT WHAT KIND OF COUNTERMEASURES MAY FIT FOR THAT SPECIFIC SCENARIO.
LAST QUESTION, WHEN YOU, UH, WHEN YOU WERE LOOKING AT THE INJURIES AND WRECKS, OBVIOUSLY THE MASS, VAST MAJORITY OF THOSE ARE, ARE WRECKS THAT DO NOT INCLUDE A FATALITY WHEN THEY DO ENC INCLUDE A FATALITY WHEN YOU'RE, I GUESS CREATING THE, UH, FIGURING OUT THE RANKING OF THESE, WERE THOSE CARRIED AT A HIGHER WEIGHT OR WERE THOSE WEIGHTED THE FATALITIES? CORRECT, YES.
SO THE FATALITIES ARE GONNA BE WEIGHTED THE HIGHEST, UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, SEE A SERIOUS INJURY NEXT.
AND THEN SOMETHING WHERE IT'S, YOU KNOW, JUST A FENDER BENDER KIND OF PROPERTY DAMAGE ONLY CRASH ARE GONNA BE THE WEIGHT OF THE LESS THEY'RE, THEY'RE INCLUDED WHERE YEAH, IF YOU'VE GOT A HUNDRED PROPERTY DAMAGE ONLY CRASHES, IT IS SOMETHING YOU SHOULD CONSIDER.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING GOING ON AND THAT CRASH COULD BE SOMETHING MORE SEVERE IF SOMETHING CHANGES.
UM, BUT IN LARGE PART, YEAH, SOMETHING WITH A HIGHER SEVERITY.
SO A FAT FATALITY OR A SERIOUS INJURY, UH, IS GONNA BE WEIGHTED MUCH HIGHER, UM, WHICH IS WHAT KIND OF INFLUENCES WHAT GETS ON THIS HIGH INJURY NETWORK.
WELL, I, I APPRECIATE YOU CLARIFYING THAT.
I THINK THAT SPEAKS TOWARDS THE, THE KIND OF WORK AND THE DETAIL YOU ALL LOOK AT, SO THANK YOU.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, DEFINITELY HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.
UH, I KNOW WE OFTENTIMES WILL ASSUME THAT WE KNOW THAT A FOUR FOOT VERSUS A SIX FOOT VERSUS A 12 FOOT SIDEWALK IS SOMEHOW GONNA IMPROVE, UH, SAFETY CONSIDERABLY ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
BUT, UH, I ASSUME THIS IS ALSO SOMETHING THAT YOUR CONSULTANT WILL BE KIND OF HELPING US GET A SENSE FOR IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA.
WHAT, WHETHER OR NOT A WIDENING OF THE SIDEWALK OR SOMETHING ELSE WOULD, WOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE THERE? CORRECT.
YEAH, WE'D BE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, IS IS THERE TRUE BENEFIT OF IT, UH, WHERE IT IS KIND OF THE COST BENEFIT? A LOT OF THE COUNTERMEASURES ARE GONNA BE TIED TO THROUGH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
THEY HAVE A, UM, PROVEN SAFETY COUNTERMEASURES.
SO THERE'S SOME KIND OF RESEARCH BACKING, UH, TO SAY BASED OFF, YOU KNOW, THIS KIND OF CHANGE IN THE ROADWAY.
UM, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE INCREASED LIGHTING OR, YOU KNOW, ADVA, YOU KNOW, THINKING KINDA WEST SPRING VALLEY WHERE YOU'RE ADDING A, A FLASHING BEACON OR SOMETHING TO A CROSSING, UM, THERE IS SIGNIFICANTLY, YOU KNOW, SOME KIND OF SAFETY, PROVEN SAFETY, UM, UH, BENEFIT TO IT.
UM, AND SO THOSE ARE PROVEN SAFETY COUNTERMEASURES WHERE THERE'S SOME KIND OF RESEARCH BACKING BEHIND IT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S GONNA BE SOME DISCRETION WHEN IT COMES TO A FOUR FOOT, SIX FOOT, 12 FOOT SIDEWALK AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE, WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS? UM, AND THAT MAY KIND OF TIE BACK TO OTHER MASTER PLANS LIKE THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN OF, YOU KNOW, ARE THERE OVERLAPS BETWEEN THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN AND, YOU KNOW, THE SAFETY CORRIDORS HERE AND, AND HOW, UH, WE'RE EXPECTING USERS TO GO, UM, AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF DEVELOPMENTS ARE NEARBY, UM, THINKING, YOU KNOW, YOUR COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS VERSUS KIND OF A RESIDENTIAL AREA, YOU'RE GONNA THINK SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN YOUR COMMERCIAL AREAS.
UM, BUT DEFINITELY LOOKING AT THAT CONTEXT.
UM, ALTHOUGH IF YOU WOULD'VE ASKED ME WHERE MY ASSUMPTIONS WERE IN TERMS OF THE TOP PERCENTAGE OF THESE ACCIDENTS OR WHERE THEY'D BE LOCATED, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THESE WERE I GUESS PLACES THAT I WOULD'VE ASSUMED, I DON'T KNOW THAT I WOULD'VE ASSUMED THAT LIKE THE HEAT MAP ELEMENT WOULD'VE SHOWN EXACTLY THE INTENSITY OF, OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ONE INTERSECTION AND THE OTHER.
UM, SO I'M HAPPY TO SEE THAT THIS LEVEL OF DATA IS BEING USED.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT JUMPED OUT AT ME THAT WAS KIND OF INTERESTING WAS THE, IT IT LOOKED LIKE THE COLLINS OVERPASS WAS ONE OF THE PLACES WHERE THERE SEEMED TO BE A DECENT AMOUNT OF BICYCLE OR PEDESTRIAN ACTIVITY IN A NEGATIVE SENSE, UM, UH, RELATIVE TO YOUR REPORT HERE, UM, I WENT BACK AND VERIFIED, 'CAUSE I THOUGHT MY MEMORY HAD THAT WE HAD SOME SIDEWALK THERE.
AND IT, AND SURE ENOUGH, THERE IS A SIDEWALK ON BOTH SIDES, BUT, UM, CLEARLY IT BY ITSELF IS NOT MAKING ENOUGH OF A DIFFERENCE TO KEEP PEOPLE SAFE THERE.
AND, AND I GUESS THERE'S, THERE'S ALL SORTS OF OTHER MITIGATING THINGS LIKE A DIVIDER OR A RAIL OR SOMETHING THAT MIGHT HELP A PEDESTRIAN NOT ACCIDENTALLY WANDER OR POTENTIALLY ADD A LITTLE BIT MORE SAFETY BETWEEN THE CARS AND, AND THOSE, THOSE SIDEWALKS THAT ARE ON EITHER SIDE.
I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE WAS EVEN A QUESTION THERE, BUT
[01:35:01]
IT JUST KIND OF, IT, IT, IT, UH, THREW ME OFF.BUT IS IT CORRECT TO, UH, BASED ON WHAT I SAW ON THE THING THAT IT, IT ACTUALLY IS SOMEWHERE ALONG THAT OVERPASS, CORRECT? CORRECT.
SO IT'S IN, YEAH, IT'S COLLINS, YOU KNOW, ACROSS THE OVERPASS AND THEN YEAH, ALL THE WAY UP TO CAMPBELL ON THE WEST SIDE IS 75.
THE, THE LAST THING THAT, UH, COMES TO MIND, AND I WONDER A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW THIS IS GONNA AFFECT OUR ABILITY TO ACTUALLY ACHIEVE 50 BY 50.
UM, 'CAUSE IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THERE'S A PER CAPITA ELEMENT TO ANY OF THIS.
IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S A RAW NUMBER THING IS THAT, IS THAT RIGHT? CORRECT.
AND SO IF OUR GROWTH ESTIMATES BETWEEN NOW AND UH, 2050 ARE ACCURATE, UM, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A WHOLE LOT MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR THESE SORTS OF SCENARIOS, EVEN WHILE IT'S SAFER, IF IT BECOMES SAFER.
UM, THE OTHER THING THAT I'M REALLY CURIOUS ABOUT IS WHETHER OR NOT IN SOME WAYS WE'RE WORKING AGAINST THE 50 BY 50 WHEN WE ADD MORE BIKE LANES, WHEN WE ADD MORE WALKABILITY BECAUSE WE WANT PEOPLE TO WALK MORE, WE WANT PEOPLE TO CYCLE MORE.
UH, BUT THEN MORE BIKES ON THE STREETS COULD INHERENTLY MEAN POTENTIALLY MORE BICYCLE ACCIDENTS.
IS THAT FAIR? AND HOW, HOW ARE PEOPLE DISCUSSING THAT IN THE CONTEXT OF THIS? BECAUSE THE MORE, THE MORE, THE MORE BIKE PLANES WE PUT OUT THERE, I ASSUME MORE CYCLISTS WILL COME AND MORE CYCLISTS BEING ON THOSE ROADS WILL PERHAPS CREATE MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR THERE, THERE'S ALWAYS A MIX BECAUSE YEAH, YOU COULD, YOU COULD MOVE ONE WAY, YOU'RE HAVING MORE CRASHES.
THE OTHER IS YOU GET KIND OF THE, THE SAFETY IN NUMBERS WHERE IF DRIVERS START SEEING MORE CYCLISTS, OKAY, YOU, YOU KIND OF START LOOKING FOR CYCLISTS MORE.
YOU, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW YOU MAY TURN ACROSS A BIKE LANE, YOU DON'T REALLY LOOK VERSUS YOU START SEEING A LOT OF CYCLISTS IN IT, YOU'RE LIKE, I REALLY NEED TO LOOK EVERY TIME I TURN ACROSS THAT DRIVEWAY OR ACROSS THAT BIKE LANE, UH, INTO THE DRIVEWAY.
AND SO YOU START, YOU KNOW, ONCE YOU HIT KIND OF A CRITICAL MASS OF, UM, YOU KNOW, THINKING KIND OF THE CITY LINE AREA AS WELL, YOU KNOW, YOU EXPECT TO SEE A PEDESTRIAN, YOU EXPECT TO SEE SOMEONE THAT YOU KIND OF SLOW DOWN WHEN YOU GO THROUGH THAT AREA.
AND SO SIMILARLY IN THE BIKE LANES, YOU START EXPECTING TO SEE CYCLISTS MORE, UH, YOUR DRIVERS ARE GONNA BEHAVE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.
UM, YOU KNOW, WITH A LOT OF OUR HIGH INJURY NETWORK, SOME OF THESE ARE GONNA HAVE BIKE LANES.
A LOT OF THESE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE THINKING YOU'RE ARAPAHOS, JUPITER CO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GONNA GET BIKE LANES ON THOSE.
UM, AND, AND A LOT OF HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE IMPROVE SAFETY, UH, GOES BACK TO MORE HOW DO WE MANAGE SPEEDS.
UM, AND SOMETIMES IT'S TURNING MANEUVERS AS WELL.
SO YOU START LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE MODIFY, UH, MEDIANS? UH, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES MAYBE IT'S WHAT IS STREET LIGHTING? MAYBE IT'S A NIGHTTIME CONDITION THAT'S THE ISSUE, NOT KIND OF A DAYTIME.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU MANAGE SPEEDS WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE BALANCING, YEAH, WE NEED TO MOVE TRAFFIC, UM, ON THESE ARTERIALS, UM, AND WE WANT TO KEEP THAT FUNCTION OF ROADS LIKE COY AND JUPITER AND ARAPAHOE AND CAMPBELL.
UM, BUT HOW DO WE DO IT IN A SAFE WAY AND, AND MANAGE THE SPEEDS THAT PEOPLE AREN'T GOING 50, 60, 70 MILES AN HOUR ON THESE CORRIDORS OR, OR KIND OF, UH, BEHAVING IN A WAY THAT IS, UH, CREATING AN UNSAFE CONDITION.
UM, AND SO HOW DO WE LOOK AT DIFFERENT IMPLEMENTATION MEASURES THAT, UH, CAN HELP MANAGE THE SPEED? 'CAUSE BY MANAGING THE SPEED, KINDA REDUCING THE SPEEDS, YOU START, UH, REDUCING SOME OF THAT RISK FOR THE SEVERE INJURY WHERE YOU MAY HAVE CRASHES STILL, BUT AGAIN, THEY'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, LIFE THREATENING CRASHES.
APPRECIATE THE, UH, INSIGHT ON, UH, THE MORE YOU SEE, THE MORE YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY THINK ABOUT SLOWING DOWN AND, AND THAT SORT OF THING.
AND, UH, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT KIND OF SUGGESTIONS AND STUFF COME OUT OF, UH, THIS PROCESS.
UM, YOU KNOW, I SAY BRING 'EM, AND, AND AS I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER CORCORAN MENTIONED, IT'S, IT'S GOOD TO KNOW THAT WE'RE PUTTING AS MUCH MONEY INTO INFRASTRUCTURE AS WE ARE IN THE BOND.
AND SO DEFINITELY TO WHATEVER EXTENT SOME OF THAT CAN BE USED TO HELP WITH THE PIECES THAT YOU'RE PLAYING WITH HERE.
THAT WOULD BE REALLY FANTASTIC TO HEAR AS WELL.
SO, ALRIGHT, I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU MR. HARRICK, FOR YOUR, UH, PRESENTATION.
[E. REVIEW AND DISCUSS EISEMANN CENTER OPERATIONS ]
WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM E, WHICH IS TO REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE EISMAN CENTER OPERATIONS.MR. MAGNER, UH, THANK YOU MAYOR, UH, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
WE'RE EXCITED TO, UH, WELCOME ALLY HAYNES LIN TONIGHT, WHO'S THE, UH, OF COURSE THE DIRECTOR AT THE EISMAN CENTER.
E ALLY IS COMING OFF OF A VERY BUSY WEEKEND.
SHE HAD, UH, FRANK SINATRA, NOT THE FRANK SINATRA, BUT A FRANK FRANK SINATRA SHOW ON FRIDAY.
SHE HAD SIMON AND GARFUNKEL, NOT SIMON GARFUNKEL, BUT A GREAT SIMON AND GARFUNKEL SHOW ON SATURDAY, AND THEN THE COMMUNITY BAND ON SUNDAY.
AND SO ALLIE HAD A, UH, VERY, VERY, UH, UH, SUCCESSFUL WEEKEND AT THE EISMAN.
UH, IT WAS A REALLY WONDERFUL SHOW SATURDAY ALLY, SO CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU.
UM, YOU KNOW, I HAD MENTIONED TO YOU, UH, BACK IN DECEMBER, UH, THAT, UM, AS PART OF OUR, UH, APPROACH TO THE BUDGET THIS YEAR, WE WERE REALLY GOING TO, UM, UH, BE EVALUATING A LOT OF DIFFERENT, UH, SERVICES AND PROGRAMS AND,
[01:40:01]
UH, AND, AND EVEN A LOT OF OUR JUST OPERATIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, OUR APPROACH, UM, AND THE BUDGET, UM, ALLOCATION THAT WE'VE DEVOTED TO THESE, UH, ARE STILL ALIGNED WITH YOUR PRIORITIES AND, UM, THROUGH THIS EXERCISE, UH, AS YOU'LL SEE WITH ALLIE.BUT AS WE'RE ALREADY EXPERIENCING WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS, UM, WE'RE STARTING, UM, TO SEE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY, UH, MOVING FORWARD ON HOW WE CAN, UH, ONE, CONTAIN COSTS, BUT TWO, UM, UM, PARTICULARLY IN A, IN A SERVICE ORIENTED DEPARTMENT LIKE ALLIE'S, UM, UH, REALLY MAXIMIZE REVENUE.
UM, AND, UM, SO I'M REALLY EXCITED FOR ALLIE TO BE HERE TONIGHT.
WHAT I'VE ASKED HER TO DO IS, UH, TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES THAT SHE'S MADE AS SHE'S BECOME ON BOARD.
UH, WE'VE ALL SEEN THE VERY OUTWARD FACING, UH, POSITIVE CHANGES IN THE PROGRAMMING AT THE HEISMAN CENTER, BUT BEHIND THE SCENES THERE'S A AWFUL LOT OF GOOD STUFF GOING ON AS WELL.
UM, SO I'VE ASKED HER TO TALK ABOUT THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES THAT SHE'S MADE, SOME OF THE, UM, RESULTING EFFICIENCIES AND OPERATIONS THAT THAT'S HAD, AND THEN REALLY TAKE A DEEP DIVE INTO THE USAGE OF THE EISMAN, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, SOME OF OUR, UH, BIGGEST OPPORTUNITIES MOVING FORWARD, UH, TO CONTINUE TO OFFER GREAT PROGRAMMING, UM, REALLY PROGRAMMING THAT'S SECOND TO NONE HERE IN NORTH TEXAS, BUT, UH, WHILE, WHILE MAXIMIZING REVENUE SO THAT THIS CONTINUES TO BE AN ASSET THAT, UM, YOU WANNA SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY SUPPORTS AND UNDERSTANDS.
UM, AND, UM, SO ALLIE, THANKS FOR PUTTING THIS REALLY GOOD BRIEFING TOGETHER.
I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU AND COUNSEL, WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR INPUT AT THE END.
SO, UM, THIS, THE PRESENTATION TONIGHT IS REALLY, UH, WE'RE GONNA SHARE WITH YOU THAT THE, THIS IS THE EISMAN CENTER IN SUPPORT OF THE STRATEGIC GOAL TO CONTINUE TO EXPLORE UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN RESIDENTS IN ALL STAKEHOLDERS UTILIZING THE TACTIC OF EXPLORING STRATEGIES TO MAXIMIZE IMPACT OF OUR CENTERS, FACILITIES AND EVENTS.
UH, THE PURPOSE TONIGHT OF THIS PRESENTATION IS TO PRO SHARE WITH YOU SOME DATA ON THE EISMAN CENTER'S UTILIZATION AND REVENUES, UM, AND THEN INFORM A PROPOSED STRATEGY FOR BALANCED REVENUE AND ACTIVITY.
UM, OVER THE COURSE OF THIS PRESENTATION, I'LL REVIEW SOME BENCHMARK DATA, UH, SHARE THE MISSION OF THE EISMAN CENTER, TALK THROUGH THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHART AND SOME OF THE, UH, CHANGES THAT WE'VE MADE BEHIND THE SCENES AS, UH, CITY MANAGER MAGNER JUST MENTIONED.
UM, ALSO SHARE SOME OF THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'VE MADE OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS AND REALLY GET INTO THE DETAILS OF OUR FACILITY UTILIZATION.
AND THEN, UM, TALK ABOUT A PROPOSED LONG-TERM GROWTH STRATEGY AND WHAT THOSE NEXT STEPS MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
I WANNA START OUT WITH JUST SHOWING, UM, A COMPARISON OF BUSINESS MODELS FOR MUNICIPAL ART CENTERS, UH, BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT A MUNICIPAL ARTS CENTER CAN BE PUT TOGETHER BY A COMMUNITY.
UH, THERE IS A CITY OWNED, CITY OPERATED MODEL, WHICH IS WHAT THE EISMAN CENTER FALLS UNDER.
UM, THIS GENERALLY COMES WITH DEDICATED PUBLIC FUNDING, OH, OR A GENERAL FUND APPROPRIATION AS WELL.
UH, THE TYPICAL RESPONSIBILITIES ARE THAT THE CITY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THE FACILITY OPERATIONS, OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, AND PROGRAMMING.
UM, AND THEN I HAVE A SHORT LIST OF EXAMPLES OF OTHER VENUES AROUND THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING TEXAS THAT ARE, UM, THAT ARE RUN UNDER THIS BUSINESS MODEL, JUST LIKE THE EISMAN CENTER IS.
THERE'S ALSO A BUSINESS MODEL THAT'S CITY OWNED AND PRIVATELY OPERATED.
UM, THIS GENERALLY WILL BE PUBLIC FUNDING WITH SOME SORT OF A CONTRACTUAL OR LEASE BASED STRUCTURE WHERE THE CITY OWNS A FACILITY AND THEN A PRIVATE OPERATOR WILL MANAGE THE OPERATIONS AND OR THE PROGRAMMING UNDER A MANAGEMENT SERVICES AGREEMENT OR A LONG-TERM OPERATING LEASE.
THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT, UM, AGREEMENTS THAT CAN COME INTO PLAY TO THAT.
UM, AND THESE ARE A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES OF OTHER PERFORMING ARTS CENTERS THAT FALL UNDER THAT CATEGORY AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S ALSO A HYBRID PUBLIC PRIVATE MODEL THAT CAN BE ANY ONE OF A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT, UM, CALCULATIONS OF HOW THAT MODEL COMES TOGETHER.
GENERALLY, THIS, UH, THIS HYBRID MODEL IS A LOT MORE COMPLEX AND WILL INVOLVE OFTENTIMES THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, UM, AS PART OF THE OWNERSHIP OF THE FACILITY THAT'S OPERATED.
UM, AND THE WAY THAT THE FACILITY AND THE OPERATIONS ARE FUNDED COMES FROM A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SOURCES.
SO THAT TENDS TO BE A LOT MORE COMPLEX.
AND THESE EXAMPLES THAT I HAVE HERE, UM, FROM ARIZONA AND CALIFORNIA ARE ALL FOLLOW ALONG THOSE TYPES OF, UH, HYBRID MODELS THAT INVOLVE A SCHOOL DISTRICT, A MUNICIPALITY, AND A PRIVATE ENTITY.
SO JUST GOING THROUGH THE PROS AND CONS OF THESE DIFFERENT TYPES OF, UM, BUSINESS MODELS.
OF COURSE THERE'S PROS AND CONS TO BOTH OF THEM.
UM, THE CITY OWNS CITY OPERATED, UH, PROS ARE THAT THERE'S A STABLE REVENUE SUPPORT, WHICH ALLOWS FOR MORE STRATEGIC PROGRAM PLANNING.
A HUNDRED PERCENT OF REVENUES THAT ARE GENERATED BY THE OPERATIONS OF THAT FACILITY DO BENEFIT THE PUBLIC AGENCY.
UM, AND THEN PROPER MAINTENANCE REMAINS WITHIN THE CONTROL OF THE PUBLIC AGENCY.
SO YOU KNOW THAT THE, UH, REPAIR OF THE FACILITY WON'T FALL INTO, UM, FALL TO THE WAYSIDE.
UM, OF COURSE THE CONS ARE THAT RELIANCE ON PUBLIC FUNDING, UH, COMES INTO PLAY TO BRIDGE THE GAP DURING CHALLENGING FISCAL TIMES.
UM, LABOR COSTS TEND TO BE A LITTLE BIT HIGHER.
UM, GROWTH STRATEGIES CAN BE A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT TO IMPLEMENT QUICKLY AS OPPOSED TO
[01:45:01]
SOMEBODY IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR.UH, THE CITY OWNED PRIVATE, PRIVATELY OPERATED PROS ARE THAT THE CITY SUBSIDY OF FACILITY IS MORE STABLE OR PREDICTABLE.
UM, THE CONS FOR A CITY OWNED, PRIVATELY OPERATED FACILITY ARE THAT THE LIABILITY OF THAT FACILITY MANAGER MISUSING THE FUNDS OR MISUSING THE FACILITY CAN VARY NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE CITY.
UM, AND ALSO 0% OF THE REVENUES THAT ARE GENERATED BY THAT, UM, PRIVATE AGENCY WILL BENEFIT THE PUBLIC AGENCY.
UM, AND THEN SIMILARLY WITH A HYBRID PUBLIC PRIVATE MODEL, THE PUBLIC AGENCY DOES MAINTAIN SOME CONNECTION TO THE OPERATIONS OF THE FACILITY.
UH, AND FUNDING TOWARDS THE OPERATIONS, AGAIN, CAN REMAIN FAIRLY STABLE.
BUT ONCE AGAIN, ONE OF THE BIGGEST CONS IS THAT THAT LIABILITY OF HAVING A FACILITY MANAGER MISUSE THE FUNDS THAT ARE ALLOCATED TO THEM OR MISUSING THE FACILITY, UM, AND LETTING THE FACILITY FALL INTO REPAIR IS, UM, IS A VERY REAL LIABILITY THAT, UH, IS A VERY, IN MY OPINION, A VERY, UH, SIGNIFICANT CON.
UM, AND THEN ALSO DEPENDING ON THAT HYBRID MODEL, UM, ANYWHERE FROM ZERO TO 15% BASED ON MY RESEARCH, UH, ZERO TO 15% OF THE REVENUES GENERATED BENEFIT THE PUBLIC AGENCY.
SO IT'S MY ASSERTION THAT THE, UH, BUSINESS MODEL THAT THE EISMAN CENTER OPERATES UNDER REALLY IS THE BEST MODEL.
UM, THERE'S THE GREATEST CHANCE FOR UPSIDE, AND THEN WE ALSO RETAIN TOTAL CONTROL OVER MAINTAINING THAT FACILITY, WHICH IS PART OF WHY THE EISMAN CENTER IS AS BEAUTIFUL AND IN SUCH GOOD SHAPE AS IT IS TODAY.
THE MISSION OF THE EISMAN CENTER IS TO CREATE, FOSTER AND SUSTAIN AN ENVIRONMENT OF ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE, CULTURAL DIVERSITY, EDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT, AND FULFILLING EXPERIENCES TO MAKE LIFE BETTER FOR ALL WHO LIVE, WORK AND PLAY IN OUR COMMUNITY.
OUR STAFF REALLY TAKES IT SERIOUSLY THAT OUR MISSION IS ROOTED IN BOTH ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE AS WELL AS SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE MAKING LIFE BETTER FOR NOT JUST RICHARDSON, BUT ALL OF NORTH TEXAS.
AND THEN LOOKING AT THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHART FOR THE EISMAN CENTER, UM, AS CITY MANAGER MAGNER MENTIONED, UH, WE HAVE MADE A FEW CHANGES OVER THE PAST THREE AND A HALF YEARS, UM, REALLY WITH THE IDEA TO MORE CLOSELY ALIGN THE STAFF AND WHAT THEIR REPORTING STRUCTURE IS AND WHO THEY'RE WORKING SIDE BY SIDE WITH TO ALIGN WITH, UM, OUR GOALS FOR, UH, SUPERIOR CUSTOMER SERVICE, UM, AND A SUPERIOR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, AS WELL AS SUPERIOR FACILITY MANAGEMENT AND MAINTAINING, UM, THOSE REVENUE STREAMS SUCH AS OUR FACILITY RENTAL BOOKINGS AND OUR CURATORIAL.
UM, ONE BIG CHANGE IN PARTICULAR THAT WE MADE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WAS TO DEDICATE ONE OF OUR SENIOR MANAGERS FULL-TIME TO, UM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WORK.
UM, AND HE NOW GOES OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY.
HE CONNECTS WITH MANY, MANY, MANY STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY AND ENSURES THAT WE ARE BRINGING THE ARTS OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY TO OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
WE HAVE, UM, MASTERCLASS WORKSHOPS THAT HAPPEN IN THE COMMUNITY.
WE'LL HAVE COMMUNITY DIALOGUES WITH THE DIALOGUE INSTITUTE, UM, AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
HE ALSO WORKS REALLY HARD TO BRING, UM, SCHOOL GROUPS TO THE EISMAN CENTER FOR DAYTIME SCHOOL SHOWS, SO THAT STUDENTS FROM BOTH THE, UM, RICHARDSON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT AS WELL AS THE PLANO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, UM, AS WELL AS OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS FROM THE SURROUNDING REGIONS, HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME TO THE EISMAN CENTER AND EXPERIENCE A SHOW AT THE EISMAN CENTER.
JUST LIKE WE ALL GOT TO EXPERIENCE, UM, ON SATURDAY NIGHT OR SOMETIME THIS WEEKEND.
UM, WE'VE ALSO, UH, THE, ONE OF THE OTHER MAIN CHANGES THAT WE MADE, UM, UNDER THE PATRON SERVICES MANAGER, THAT POSITION WAS ELEVATED TO A SENIOR LEVEL MANAGER POSITION WHO REPORTS DIRECTLY TO ME, AND THEN WE ALIGNED ALL OF OUR EXTERNAL CUSTOMER FACING OPERATIONS UNDER THAT PERSON.
SO HE HAS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CUSTOMER.
PATRON EXPERIENCE IN TOTALITY STARTS WITH THE TICKET OFFICE.
WHEN A PATRON GOES TO OUR WEBSITE, PICKS UP THE PHONE OR COMES DOWN TO VISIT THE EISMAN CENTER TO ASK QUESTIONS, PURCHASE THEIR TICKETS, RENEW THEIR MEMBERSHIP, ANY ONE OF A NUMBER OF TRANSACTIONS, ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO WHEN PATRONS PULL UP TO PARK THE PARKING OPERATION NOW REPORTS UNDER HIM AS WELL.
THEY COME INTO THE LOBBY AND PURCHASE A BEVERAGE AT THE CONCESSION STAND.
THAT ALSO IS SOMETHING THAT FALLS UNDER HIS PURVIEW.
UM, AND THEN OUR FRONT OF HOUSE TEAM, WHICH ARE, UM, OUR HOUSE MANAGERS AND OUR WONDERFUL USHERS THAT GREET EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO WALK IN THE THEATER, TAKE THEIR TICKET, HELP 'EM FIND THEIR SEAT, ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FACILITY, AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
UM, SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE THAT WHOLE CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE REALLY ALIGNED IN ONE COLUMN, UM, TO STREAMLINE THAT AND REALLY WORK ON TAKING THE EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT WE'RE ALREADY GIVING AND KICK THAT UP A NOTCH AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SOLIDIFYING THE EISMAN CENTER'S PLACE AS THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE THAT YOU CAN HAVE IN NORTH TEXAS OR THE, THE NATION.
UM, AND THEN UNDER OUR TECHNICAL AND OPERATIONS, UM, BRANCH OF OUR ORGANIZATIONAL CHART, WE'VE MOVED OUR SECURITY OPERATIONS UNDER THAT OPERATION AS WELL, WHICH ALSO HAS OUR, UM, TECHNICAL STAFF AND OUR CUSTODIAL STAFF AND OUR OPERATIONS STAFF.
SO ALL OF THOSE, UM, INDIVIDUALS ARE WORKING MUCH MORE CLOSELY TOGETHER.
UM, AND HAVING THE SECURITY COMPONENT BE PART OF THAT, UH,
[01:50:01]
GROUPING AS WELL REALLY HELPS US TO STREAMLINE AND STRENGTHEN OUR SECURITY OPERATIONS, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN, UM, VERY, VERY LASER FOCUSED ON PRETTY MUCH SINCE THE DAY I ARRIVED, IS LOOKING AT ALL OF OUR SECURITY PROTOCOLS AND, UM, FACILITY SECURITY WITHIN THE FACILITY AND STRENGTHENING THAT AS MUCH AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.SO THAT'S BEEN, UM, A LOT OF WORK, BUT IT'S BEEN REALLY BENEFICIAL AND WE ARE ALREADY SEEING GREAT RESULTS FROM ALL OF THAT.
SO ALSO OVER THE PAST THREE AND A HALF YEARS, UM, AS I'VE BEEN OBSERVING THE EISMAN CENTER, HAVING STAFF WORKSHOPS INTERACTING WITH DIFFERENT STAFFS, UM, AND REALLY, UM, DIVING INTO THE OPERATIONAL, UH, PROCESSES THROUGHOUT THE EISMAN CENTER, UH, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE QUITE A FEW IMPROVEMENTS, UM, OVER THESE PAST THREE YEARS.
FOR THE CLIENT EXPERIENCES AND PROCESS IMPROVEMENT, WE HAVE STREAMLINED OUR RENTAL INQUIRIES TO IMPROVE RESPONSE TIME FROM SIX WEEKS TO SIX DAYS.
UM, AND WE'RE IMPROVING THE CLIENT EXPERIENCE.
SO OUR RENTAL CLIENTS GET MULTIPLE TOUCH POINTS OF PEOPLE THAT THEY CAN REACH OUT TO FOR MORE INFORMATION.
UH, WE LED STAFF PROCESS IMPROVEMENT WORKSHOPS, AND THROUGH THAT WE'RE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT A CODE OF CONDUCT AND A CLIENT CHECKLIST SO EVERYBODY, OURSELVES AND OUR CLIENTS INCLUDED, HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE EXPECTATIONS ARE FOR, UM, HOW OUR BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WILL CONTINUE.
UH, WE ALSO LAUNCHED A CONCIERGE TABLE, UM, THAT SITS IN THE LOBBY FOR EVERY EISMAN CENTER PRESENTS PERFORMANCE, AS WELL AS SOME OF OUR KEY RENTAL EVENTS SUCH AS THE RICHARDSON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, THE, UM, RICHARDSON COMMUNITY BAND, UH, CHAMBERLAIN BALLET, SEVERAL, UM, RENTAL GROUPS WILL ALL.
WE ALSO HAVE CONCIERGE TABLES THAT THOSE EVENTS AND THOSE CONCIERGE TABLES DRIVE TICKET SALES MEMBERSHIPS AND PROMOTE VOLUNTEERISM, AS WELL AS JUST GENERALLY PROVIDING GUIDANCE IN THE LOBBY FOR FOLKS WHO NEED A LITTLE BIT OF WAY FINDING IF IT'S THEIR FIRST TIME AT THE EISMAN CENTER FOR SAFETY AND ACCESSIBILITY.
AS I MENTIONED, WE'VE BEEN REALLY FOCUSED ON THIS, UM, SINCE DAY ONE.
WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED A PROACTIVE EVENT SECURITY MODEL.
WE HAVE RECENTLY EARNED THE SENSORY INCLUSIVE CERTIFIED VENUE DESIGNATION FROM CULTURE CITY, WHICH WE ARE EXTREMELY PROUD OF.
THE EISMAN CENTER HAS ALWAYS BEEN PHYSICALLY IN, UM, EXCEEDING THE ADA'S REQUIREMENTS FOR HOW MANY SEATS WE NEED TO HAVE IN THE THEATER, AND HOW MANY TRANSFER SEATS ARE AVAILABLE, AND, UH, THE DIFFERENT SERVICES THAT WE CAN PROVIDE.
NOW, WE'RE REALLY PROUD TO SAY THAT WE ARE ALSO, UM, SENSORY INCLUSIVE CERTIFIED, WHICH MEANS THAT WE HAVE, UM, BAGS THAT YOU CAN CHECK OUT FROM THE TICKET OFFICE THAT CAN HELP, UM, ALLEVIATE YOUR SENSES IF YOU'RE HAVING CENTRAL OVERLOAD.
WE ALSO HAVE DESIGNATED SPOTS THROUGHOUT THE LOBBY WHERE YOU CAN GO, UM, AND IT'S A LITTLE BIT QUIETER AND THERE'S A LITTLE BIT LESS TRAFFIC.
UM, IF YOU NEED JUST TO TAKE A MOMENT TO BE BY YOURSELF AND REFINE YOUR CENTER, AND THEN JOIN THE PERFORMANCE AGAIN.
WE'VE ALSO LAUNCHED OUR NONPROFIT RENTAL SUPPORT PROGRAM TO, UH, EXPAND COMMUNITY ACCESS THROUGH FEE WAIVERS FOR FOLKS THAT WANT TO RENT THE EISMAN CENTER AND ARE HAVING A HARD TIME AFFORDING OUR FEES.
UM, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS PROGRAM FOR FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND MARKET ALIGNMENT.
WE HAVE BEEN, WE'VE ALIGNED OUR RENTAL RATES WITH MARKET STANDARDS AND COST RECOVERY GOALS, AND WE'VE BEEN IMPLEMENTING THOSE OVER THE COURSE OF THREE YEARS SO THAT WE ARE REALLY EASING THOSE ADJUSTMENTS, UM, INTO THE RATE CARD SO THAT WE DON'T GET STICKER SHOCK WITH OUR LONG-TERM RENTAL CLIENTS THAT WE WANT TO MAINTAIN AND KEEP THEM AS OUR CLIENTS.
AT THE EISMAN CENTER, WE'VE ALSO CREATED A CORPORATE RENTAL MARKETING STRATEGY TO GENERATE NEW BUSINESS THAT LAUNCHED IN MAY, 2025, AND IT'S ALREADY PAYING OFF IN HUGE DIVIDENDS.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE ACHIEVED CONSISTENT YEAR OVER YEAR GROWTH IN RENTALS, ATTENDANCE, AND ANCILLARY REVENUE SINCE FY 23, WHICH I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT.
AND I FEEL LIKE THAT SHOWS THAT WE'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK, THE CHANGES THAT WE'RE MAKING.
AND THEN FOR AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WE INTRODUCED FIRST FRIDAYS TO ELEVATE THE GALLERY VISIBILITY, AND WE HAVE EXPANDED AND DIVERSIFIED OUR, UM, PERFORMANCE AUDIENCES, WHICH WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT.
UM, IT'S JUST AWESOME TO SEE THE CHANGE IN, UM, THE FACES THAT COME THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR OF THE EISMAN CENTER.
SO I ALSO WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU THIS CHART.
UM, THIS IS A, UH, JUST A LINE CHART SHOWING THE EISMAN CENTER'S TOTAL REVENUES FROM THE FIRST YEAR THAT THE EISMAN CENTER OPENED ALL THE WAY THROUGH, UH, THE CONCLUSION OF FY 25.
OBVIOUSLY THERE WAS A BIG DIP DURING COVID, THAT'S AN ANOMALY.
UM, BUT IN GENERAL, I'M REALLY PLEASED TO SEE THAT OVERALL THE EISMAN CENTER'S REVENUES HAVE BEEN ON THE RISE AND THEY KEEP GROWING EVERY SINGLE YEAR, WHICH AGAIN, REALLY UNDERSCORES THAT THESE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'RE MAKING AND THE STRATEGIES THAT WE'RE EMPLOYING FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND REVENUE GENERATION ARE WORKING.
ALRIGHT, NOW GETTING INTO SOME OF THE STATISTICS ABOUT FACILITY UTILIZATION.
THIS IS HOW OUR FACILITY UTILIZATION BROKE DOWN FOR FY 25.
UM, IT'S FAIRLY TYPICAL PERCENTAGE WISE, UM, BUT WE HAD, UM, THESE BREAKS DOWN OUR USAGE DAYS.
SO WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT VARIABLES THAT WE TRACK ON FACILITY UTILIZATION.
ONE IS THE NUMBER OF EVENTS THAT TAKE PLACE, AND THE SECOND IS THE NUMBER OF DAYS THAT ARE USED IN THE FACILITIES.
THE USAGE DAYS NUMBER IS HIGHER BECAUSE THAT ALSO
[01:55:01]
INCLUDES PREP TIME, RESTORE TIME, UM, THAT'S DEVOTED TO PREPARING FOR AN EVENT OR RESTORING THE THEATER AFTER AN EVENT HAS TAKEN PLACE.SO IN FY 25, WE HAD A TOTAL USAGE DAYS COUNT OF 507.
IT'S BECAUSE WE HAVE THREE DIFFERENT VENUES.
SO ONE USAGE IN ONE VENUE COUNTS AS ONE DAY, AND THE USAGE IN ANOTHER VENUE ON THE SAME DAY COUNTS AS A SEPARATE DAY.
THAT'S HOW YOU CAN END UP WITH MORE THAN 365
UM, AND OUT OF THIS 70 OR 309 OF THESE USAGE DAYS WERE FOUR RENTAL EVENTS.
122 OF THESE USAGE DAYS WERE FOR EISMAN CENTER PRESENTS EVENT, AND 76 OF THE USAGE DAYS WERE FOR CITY OF RICHARDSON EVENTS.
UM, THAT NUMBER FOR CITY OF RICHARDSON EVENTS DOES INCLUDE THE WILDFLOWER MUSIC FESTIVAL, WHICH TAKES APPROXIMATELY 27 TO 30 USAGE DAYS OF THE YEAR BECAUSE OF ALL THE VENUES THAT IT OCCUPIES FOR A WEEK AND A HALF.
UM, AND SO THEN WE ALSO, I ALSO WANTED TO BREAK DOWN WITHIN THE RENTAL CATEGORY WITH THE RED OUTLINE.
THAT'S HOW THE INDIVIDUAL RENTALS BREAK DOWN.
WE HAVE FOR-PROFIT RENTAL CLIENTS, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE RENTAL CLIENTS THAT ARE CLASSIFIED AS NON-PROFIT.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE A VERY SPECIAL CATEGORY OF RENTAL CLIENT THAT'S CALLED THE CORE FIVE.
THE CORE FIVE ARE A GROUP OF FIVE ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN RENTAL CLIENTS AT THE EISMAN CENTER SINCE THE VERY FIRST YEAR IT WAS OPEN.
THEY RECEIVED A GRANT FROM THE RICHARDSON ARTS COMMISSION THAT YEAR, AND THEY USED THAT GRANT MONEY TO RENT OUT THE EISMAN CENTER AND START DOING THEIR PERFORMANCES THERE.
AND THEY HAVE DONE THAT CONSISTENTLY EVERY SINGLE YEAR EXCEPT FOR OUR COVID YEAR WHEN WE WERE CLOSE TO EVERYTHING EVER SINCE THEN.
SO THEY'RE BROKEN OUT INTO A SEPARATE CATEGORY BECAUSE THEY GET VERY, VERY SPECIAL RATES.
THEY GET RATES THAT WERE ASSIGNED TO THEM BACK IN 2002, AND WE'VE NEVER CHANGED THOSE RATES THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THEIR EXISTENCE WITH THE EISMAN CENTER, UM, BECAUSE WE'RE SO GRATEFUL FOR THEIR ONGOING, UH, RELATIONSHIP WITH US.
SO FOR EISMAN CENTER PRESENTS REVENUE DIVING INTO THE REVENUE SIDE OF THINGS, UM, YOU, AS YOU CAN SEE, THE FY 23 FISCAL YEAR, THAT SEASON WAS BASICALLY SET WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE EISMAN CENTER IN THE FALL OF 2022, I ADDED A COUPLE OF EVENTS, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, WE HAD A SMALL SEASON BOOKED THAT YEAR.
THE FIRST FULL SEASON THAT I BOOKED UPON ARRIVAL WAS FOR FY 24.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS WAS EXACTLY PART OF OUR PLAN.
WE BOOKED A WHOLE BUNCH OF EVENTS, UM, ALL KINDS OF NEW THINGS THAT THE EISMAN CENTER HAD NEVER HAD BEFORE, REACHING OUT TO AUDIENCES THAT WE HAD NEVER DIRECTLY PROGRAMMED TO, UM, ATTRACT TO THE EISMAN CENTER BEFORE.
AND WE REALLY JUST FILLED UP THE CALENDAR WITH AS MUCH AS WE POSSIBLY COULD.
UM, WE LEARNED A LOT OF GREAT LESSONS FROM THAT YEAR, EVEN THOUGH YOU CAN SEE OUR REVENUE WENT UP SIGNIFICANTLY THAT YEAR, WHICH WAS NICE.
WE STILL LEARNED A LOT OF GREAT LESSONS ABOUT WHAT WORKED, WHAT DIDN'T WORK, WHAT WAS PROMISING, WHAT LOOKED LIKE MAYBE WE SHOULD PROBABLY NEVER TRY THAT AGAIN.
UM, AND THEN FOR FY 25, WE TOOK THOSE LESSONS AND APPLIED THEM TO THE SEASON THAT WE BOOKED FOR FY 25, WHICH YOU CAN SEE IS SIGNIFICANTLY SMALLER AS FAR AS NUMBER OF PERFORMANCES, BUT SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER AS FAR AS REVENUE THAT WAS GENERATED FROM THAT.
SO WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO LEARN EVERY SINGLE YEAR MORE AND MORE AND MORE ABOUT THE MARKET AND THE WAY THAT THIS MARKET BEHAVES, BUT ALSO ABOUT OUR AUDIENCE AND THE WAY THIS AUDIENCE BEHAVES.
WHAT KIND OF SHOWS DO THEY WANNA BUY TICKETS TO? WHAT KIND OF TICKET INCENTIVES WILL THEY UTILIZE TO PURCHASE TICKETS TO COME TO THE EISMAN CENTER? AND SO WE CONTINUE TO REFINE OUR, UM, CURATORIAL APPROACH TO THE EISMAN CENTER PRESENTS SERIES SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO INCREASE THE REVENUES THAT COME FROM THAT WHILE, UM, NOT OVERLOADING THE CALENDAR WITH, UM, A BUNCH OF EVENTS THAT SOMETIMES THE AUDIENCE WANTS.
SOMETIMES THE AUDIENCE IS NOT SO HOT ON.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE FOR FY 26, WE HAVE ANOTHER SLIGHTLY SMALLER SEASON, BUT STILL APPROXIMATELY THE SAME AMOUNT OF REVENUE EXPECTED FOR THAT FOR THIS SEASON.
ALRIGHT, NOW JUMPING INTO RENTALS FOR, UM, THIS IS A BREAKDOWN FOR THE HILL PERFORMANCE HALL RENTAL REVENUE GENERATION.
UM, WHAT WE DID WAS WE LOOKED AT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF RENTAL EVENTS THAT WE HAVE.
NOT THE NON-PROFIT FOR-PROFIT TYPES, BUT WHAT KIND OF EVENT IS IT? IS IT A CORPORATE MEETING? IS IT A DANCE RECITAL? IS IT A MUSIC CONCERT? AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
AND THEN WE LOOKED AT WHAT THOSE AVERAGE RENTAL INVOICES ARE FOR EACH OF THOSE EVENTS.
THAT IS THE BLUE PORTION OF THAT BAR, THAT IS THE AVERAGE RENTAL INVOICE FOR THAT TYPE OF EVENT.
THEN WE LOOKED AT THOSE TYPES OF EVENTS.
WHAT KIND OF ANCILLARY REVENUE ARE THEY? ARE THEY ALSO CREATING? HOW MUCH WERE WE GETTING IN PARKING REVENUE? HOW MUCH DID WE GET AT THE CONCESSION STAND? HOW MUCH ARE WE EARNING FROM MERCHANDISE SALES OR CATERING FEES? AND WE ADDED THAT ON TOP OF THAT TO REALLY SEE EVENT TYPE BY EVENT TYPE.
WHAT IS THE VALUE THAT THESE DIFFERENT EVENTS BRING TO THE EISMAN CENTER, UM, AND BRING TO OUR RENTALS PROGRAM.
UM, I FOUND THESE RESULTS EXTREMELY FASCINATING.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, THE HIGHEST RENTAL INVOICE IS THE CORPORATE MEETING, BUT DEFINITELY THE HIGHEST, UM, REVENUE GENERATING EVENT IS THE DANCE RECITAL.
[02:00:01]
UH, FOLLOWS CLOSE BEHIND AS WELL AS THEATER EVENT.UM, SO I FOUND THIS SUPER INTERESTING AND REALLY IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS, THE ANCILLARY REVENUE.
IT CAN SEEM LIKE IT'S A LITTLE BIT HERE, A LITTLE BIT THERE, BUT IN ACTUALITY, THIS ANCILLARY REVENUE ADDS UP TO WELL OVER A MILLION DOLLARS IN OUR BUDGET.
SO IT'S DEFINITELY, UM, SOMETHING TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO.
AND THEN WE LOOKED AT THE EXACT SAME, UM, TYPE OF INFORMATION FOR EVENTS IN OUR BANK OF AMERICA THEATER.
UM, SAME IDEA, INVOICE AMOUNT IN BLUE, ANCILLARY REVENUE IN GREEN.
THIS ONE REALLY BLEW ME AWAY BECAUSE FIRST OF ALL, WE CAN SEE THAT DANCE RECITALS IN BOTH THE HILL PERFORMANCE HALL AND THE BANK OF AMERICA THEATER ARE DEFINITELY THE MOST VALUABLE AS FAR AS REVENUE GENERATION, WHICH EXPLAINS A LITTLE BIT WHY WE HAVE BILLIONS OF DANCE RECITALS AT THE EISMAN CENTER EVERY YEAR,
UM, BUT I ALSO WAS REALLY, UM, TAKEN TO SEE THAT PAGEANTS, UM, MOVED ALL THE WAY UP TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE.
AND, UM, AND THEN CULTURAL EVENTS ALSO RANKED PRETTY HIGH.
CULTURAL EVENTS ARE LIKE AARON GRES VARIOUS HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS, THAT SORT OF THING.
UM, AND THEN NEXT IN LINE WE SEE THEATER EVENTS AND MUSIC CONCERTS ALSO FOLLOW CLOSE BEHIND IN THE BANK OF AMERICA THEATER.
CORPORATE MEETINGS IN THE BANK OF AMERICA THEATER HAVE A PRETTY DECENT INVOICE, BUT THEY DON'T GENERATE A LOT OF ANCILLARY REVENUE.
SO THIS IS ALL INFORMATION THAT OUR TEAM IS REALLY TAKING TO HEART AND LOOKING AT, OKAY, WHEN WE ARE DOING OUTBOUND, UH, INQUIRIES TRYING TO GENERATE MORE BUSINESS FOR THE EISMAN CENTER, THESE ARE THE TYPES OF EVENTS THAT WE REALLY WANT TO TARGET.
ALRIGHTY DOWN, LOOKING AT THE OVERALL, UM, EISMAN CENTER RENTAL AND OPERATIONS REVENUE PICTURE.
YOU CAN SEE WE HAD ABOUT 395 EVENTS FOR 561 USAGE DAYS.
UM, AND THE REVENUE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT WAS JUST OVER $2 MILLION.
AS THE YEARS HAVE GROWN FROM FY 24 TO FY 25, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE NUMBER OF EVENTS AND THE NUMBER OF USAGE DAYS FAIRLY STABLE.
IT'S HARD TO PREDICT HOW MANY USAGE DAYS ARE GOING TO CORRELATE TO EVENT DAYS BECAUSE IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE EVENT.
SOME EVENTS TAKE A LOT OF TIME TO SET UP AND SOME EVENTS GO UP AND DOWN IN ONE DAY.
UM, BUT OVERALL, THE NUMBERS OF EVENTS AND THE NUMBER OF USAGE DAYS HAVE REMAINED PRETTY STABLE.
WHILE YOU CAN SEE THE REVENUE GENERATED BY THOSE HAS BEEN STEADILY GROWING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
A BIG PART OF THIS IS, UM, THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE TO RIGHTSIZE OUR RENTAL CARD.
UM, ANOTHER BIG PART OF THIS IS THE WORK THAT WE'VE REALLY DONE TO ENHANCE OUR ANCILLARY REVENUE SOURCES, UM, LIKE PARKING AND CONCESSIONS AND MAKE THOSE A LOT MORE, UM, DESIRABLE FOR OUR PATRONS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF.
AND THEN JUMPING INTO THE $64 MILLION QUESTION, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE JUST LOOKED EVERY SINGLE DAY THAT'S AVAILABLE IN THE EISMAN CENTER CALENDAR AND WENT NUTS AND SAID, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST, WE'RE NOT GONNA LIMIT IT TO ANYTHING.
WE'RE JUST GONNA BOOK AS MANY DAYS AS WE POSSIBLY CAN AND FILL OUT THE ENTIRE CALENDAR.
IF WE DID THAT, WE WOULD MAX OUT APPROXIMATELY FACILITY USAGE AT 907 DAYS OF FACILITY USE AND ABOUT 685 EVENTS.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE OUR REVENUE GOES WAY UP TO, UM, JUST SHY OF FIVE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
UM, HOWEVER, IN ORDER TO SERVICE THOSE EVENTS THE SAME WAY THAT WE'RE SERVICING EVENTS NOW, WHICH IS GIVING THEM SUPERIOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND MAKING SURE THAT EVERYTHING HAPPENS THE WAY THAT THE CLIENT WANTS AND THAT THIS THE EVENT IS SUCCESSFUL WOULD REQUIRE ALMOST DOUBLING OUR STAFF AS WELL AS INCREASING OUR COSTS IN THE COST THAT IT TAKES TO SUPPORT THE RENTALS, THE COST THAT IT TAKES TO SUPPORT OUR TICKET OFFICE AND OUR PARKING OPERATION.
BECAUSE THE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE AND THE NUMBERS OF EVENTS HAVE GROWN SO DRAMATICALLY.
UM, SO THE REALITY IS THAT YOU HIT THAT LAW OF DIMINISHING RETURNS RIGHT AROUND 4,000,004 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
AND, UM, OUR PROFITS START TO GO DOWN EVEN THOUGH WE'RE GENERATING MORE REVENUE.
SO AT THE MAXIMUM USAGE, WE WOULD HAVE A LOSS OF ALMOST $750,000.
THE OTHER THING TO CONSIDER THAT IS JUST AS IMPORTANT IS THE USE OF THE FACILITY AND THE WEAR AND TEAR THAT BOOKING EVERY SINGLE DAY ON THE CALENDAR WOULD DO TO THE FACILITY.
UM, OUR FULLY BOOKING THAT FACILITY, IT CREATES A LOT OF BUDGET PRESSURE AND IT ACCELERATES WEAR AND TEAR ON OUR BACK OF HOUSE SYSTEMS AND THE TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT.
UM, OUR BEST PRACTICES FROM THE INDUSTRY TELL US THAT WE NEED TO HAVE RECOVERY TIME BETWEEN EVENTS.
IT PROTECTS THE BUILDING, PROTECTS THE EQUIPMENT, AND IT PROTECTS THE STAFF EVEN AT DOUBLE THE STAFF.
THE STAFF STILL NEED A BREAK IN BETWEEN EVENTS.
UM, OUR INDUSTRY BENCHMARK FOR MUNICIPAL PERFORMING ARTS CENTERS IS TO, UH, UTILIZE THE SPACE ABOUT 60 TO 75% OF THE TIME, LEAVE THE REST OF THE TIME AVAILABLE FOR THAT DOWNTIME, MAINTENANCE, REPAIR AND RESTORATION.
THE EISMAN CENTER'S CURRENT UTILIZATION IS HOVERING RIGHT AROUND 72%.
SO WE'RE PRETTY CLOSE TO WHERE WE WANNA MAX OUT AS FAR AS FACILITY UTILIZATION BEFORE WE START GETTING TO A PLACE WHERE WE COULD BE DOING HARM TO THE FACILITY.
[02:05:01]
DOWNTIME FOR INSPECTIONS, REFINISHING REPAIRS AND EQUIPMENT TESTING, ONE DARK DAY A WEEK, UM, AND TWO TO FOUR WEEKS ANNUALLY.WE DO CURRENTLY SCHEDULE THREE WEEKS ANNUALLY OF SUMMER MAINTENANCE, BUT WE, UM, ARE STRUGGLING A LITTLE BIT TO GET ONE DARK DAY A WEEK.
UH, WE'RE DOING THAT MORE IN PERIODS THROUGHOUT THE CALENDAR.
LIKE JANUARY TENDS TO BE A LITTLE BIT QUIETER.
JULY TENDS TO BE A LITTLE BIT QUIETER, SO WE'LL MAKE UP FOR SOME OF THAT TIME, UM, AT THOSE TIMES.
THAT'S REALLY THE RECOMMENDATION TO MAINTAIN A HEALTHY FACILITY.
UM, IT PROTECTS THE ASSET AND IT SUPPORTS SAFETY, SAFETY STANDARDS.
AND THE FACT THAT THE EISMAN CENTER HAS FOR THE MOST PART BEEN FOLLOWING THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ALL THIS TIME IS A TESTAMENT TO WHY A NEARLY 25-YEAR-OLD FACILITY LOOKS LIKE IT JUST HAD THE RIBBON CUT MAYBE FIVE TO 10 YEARS AGO.
UM, YOU WOULD BE AMAZED AS I HAVE BEEN AMAZED TO LEARN HOW MANY FINISHINGS AT THE EISMAN CENTER ARE ORIGINAL TO THE BUILDING AND ARE STILL GLEAMING AND STILL LOOK LIKE THEY WERE JUST PUT IN NOT TOO LONG AGO.
SO WITH ALL OF THIS INFORMATION, OUR RECOMMENDATION FOR THE EISMAN CENTER MOVING FORWARD IS TO REALLY SEIZE THIS GREATEST OPPORTUNITY OF, UM, INCREASING REVENUE FROM EVENTS THAT ARE ALREADY ON THE CALENDAR AND FOCUSING ON FILLING THOSE SEATS THROUGH ENHANCED MARKETING SPONSORSHIP AND TICKET SALES.
UM, WE BELIEVE THAT WITH SOME STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS AND MARKETING SUPPORT TO DRIVE REPEAT EVENT RENTAL AND MEETING SALES AND TICKETS AND SELL TICKETS ACROSS ALL PROGRAMS, EISMAN CENTER PRESENTS RENTAL EVENTS AND CO-PROMOTION, AS WELL AS INVESTING IN OUR SPONSORSHIP DEVELOPMENT TO ENHANCE AND EXPAND COMMUNITY AND CORPORATE SUPPORT FOR OUR PROGRAMS AND OUR PERFORMANCES ACROSS THE BOARD, AS WELL AS ENHANCING OUR TICKET OFFICE SUPPORT, UM, WHERE WE CAN FULLY LEVERAGE THE MOST INCREDIBLE TOOL THAT EXISTS ON THE MARKET, WHICH IS TESSITURA.
IT'S NOT JUST A TICKET SALES PLATFORM, BUT IT'S A COMPLETE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT TOOL THAT IS VERY, VERY POWERFUL.
AND IF WE, UM, COULD MAKE A COUPLE OF STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS IN, UM, HAVING STAFF THAT REALLY KNOW HOW TO DRIVE THAT LIKE THE FERRARI THAT IT IS, IT WOULD MAKE IT A HUGE INVE HUGE DIFFERENCE IN, UM, OUR RESULTS AT THE EISMAN CENTER.
AND WE RECOMMEND DOING THIS AS A PHASED APPROACH, ADDING THESE POSITIONS AND MAKING THESE INVESTMENTS INCREMENTALLY AS REVENUE GROWTH SUPPORTS THOSE EXPANSIONS.
AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR, UH, TO OUR STRATEGIC NEXT STEPS TO REALLY FOCUS ON THESE BULLET POINTS.
UM, CONTINUED GROWING EARNED AND CONTRIBUTED REVENUE TO REDUCE THE RE PARDON ME, TO REDUCE THE RELIANCE ON CITY FUNDING.
UH, WE WANNA ACHIEVE COST RECOVERY AND PARKING AND CONCESSIONS WHILE STRENGTHENING THOSE OPERATIONS.
WE WANNA EXPAND MEMBERSHIPS, SPONSORSHIPS, AND REPEAT RENTALS TO STABILIZE REVENUE, ALIGN OUR STAFFING SERVICE LEVELS, AND MARKETING WITH DEMAND AND REVENUE GROWTH.
AND, UM, WE WANNA START USING A MULTI-YEAR FORECASTING AND ANNUAL FEE REVIEWS TO ENSURE LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY.
AND IF YOU WERE THERE ON FRIDAY, YOU MIGHT RECOGNIZE THE SCENE OF THE EISMAN CENTER FULLY ACTIVATED AND ROCKING AND ROLLING.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR YOU'RE WELCOME.
A GREAT PRESENTATION AND, UH, YOU GOT A WHOLE LOT OF LIGHTS SLID UP, UH, AND I DIDN'T WATCH WHAT ORDER THEY CAME IN ON, SO I'M JUST GONNA, OH, EVERY LIGHT IS LIT UP.
SO WE'LL JUST START ON THIS END AND WORK OUR WAY DOWN.
UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, YOU, YOU SPEAK TO THE FACT THAT WE SUBSIDIZE APPROXIMATELY HOW MUCH ARE WE SUBSIDIZING IN TOTAL RIGHT NOW, DOLLAR WISE? WOULD YOU GET, WOULD YOU ESTIMATE FOR THE, THE THE RENTAL EVENTS YOU MEAN, OR THE OPERATION AS A WHOLE? FOR THE OPERATION AS A WHOLE? MM-HMM
RIGHT NOW WE'RE AT, UM, ABOUT $3 MILLION OF SUBSIDY A YEAR.
SO, SO IN THEORY, WHAT YOU, IF I READ ALL YOUR NUMBERS, IF WE HIT THE SWEET SPOT, WE COULD POSSIBLY DROP THAT BY ABOUT $2 MILLION.
AM I, AM I, DID I READ YOUR NUMBERS CORRECTLY? ROUGHLY? I DON'T KNOW.
THAT'S FOR WHAT I THINK THE IDEAL SWEET SPOT FOR US WOULD BE TO HAVE THAT HOVERING RIGHT AT $2 MILLION.
SO WE WOULD, WE COULD DROP THAT BY ABOUT ANOTHER MILLION TO A MILLION AND A QUARTER.
UM, AND THEN WE JUST HAVE THAT STABLE $2 MILLION IN THE HOTEL MOTEL FUND EVERY YEAR.
THE REST OF THE EISMAN CENTER BUDGET WOULD BE GENERATED THROUGH, UH, THIS ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY ESSENTIALLY.
SO WHAT, SO IN ESSENCE, THAT WOULD GET US TO A BREAK EVEN PROPOSITION.
'CAUSE BECAUSE MY CONCERN IS, AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LOT, UM, IS WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO US AS A CITY FROM A LEGISLATIVE STANDPOINT.
SO I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE GOTTA START THINKING ABOUT IS, YOU KNOW, CAN WE GET NOT JUST THE EISMAN A LOT, PROBABLY A LOT OF, A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE NEED TO DISCUSS OVER TIME TO A BREAK EVEN PROPOSITION, BECAUSE I'M NOT SURE THAT WHERE WE'VE BEEN OVER THE LAST, HOW MANY OVER YEARS TO WHERE WE'RE GOING IS GOING TO BE AT LEAST BASED ON THE ROAD THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY SEEING.
[02:10:01]
CHANGE CERTAINLY, BUT SO I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU LOOKING AT IT FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE AND TRYING TO LOOK AND SEE, BECAUSE AGAIN, TO TO, TO DON'S POINT, I MEAN, TWO OUTSTANDING SHOWS JUST RECENTLY HAVE BEEN NEIL BERGS AND, UM, AND THE, THE SIMON AND GARFUNKEL.SO I WOULD HOPE THOSE WOULD BE ONES THAT ARE, THAT ARE, WOULD DO WELL FOR US.
AND I, AND I GUESS, I GUESS THAT WOULD BE THE QUESTION IS, IS ALSO THAT I HAVE IS I RECOGNIZE THAT IN SOME CASES YOU, YOU'VE TRIED SOME, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANNA CALL IT, SO INNOVATIVE YEAH.
AND SO I GUESS YOU, YOU'RE ALWAYS LOOKING AT THOSE AND IF, IF THE COMMUNITY DOES NOT TURN OUT FOR THEM, THEN YOU'RE SAYING, OKAY, WE GAVE IT A TRY SO NOBODY CAN SAY WE DIDN'T GIVE IT A TRY, AND THEN WE STEP AWAY FROM THOSE.
AND WE, UM, WE LOOK REALLY CLOSELY AT THAT.
WE ALSO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, THE SPONSOR ABILITY OF SOMETHING.
SO IF THERE'S A SHOW THAT, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY, UH, HAS SPOKEN TO US THAT THEY REALLY LOVE AND THEY REALLY WANT, WE LOOK AT LIKE, OKAY, THE TICKET SALES ARE PROBABLY NOT GONNA SUPPORT THE COST OF THIS SHOW.
IF THERE'S A COMMUNITY ENTITY OR TWO THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPONSOR THE SHOW TO MAKE UP THAT GAP, WE'LL ABSOLUTELY LOOK AT DOING THAT.
NO, UH, MAYOR PROAM, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE.
SO I, I THINK I HEARD SOMETHING.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL CALIBRATED ON THE SAME PAGE HERE.
SO I I WANNA MAKE SURE YOU GO BACK TO THE WORD BREAK EVEN.
SO BREAK EVEN IS NOT, YOU'RE GONNA TAKE IN THE EXACT AMOUNT OF REVENUE THAT YOU'RE GONNA EXPEND BREAK EVEN IS ASSUMING THAT THE HOTEL MOTEN HOTEL MOTEL FUND WILL CONTRIBUTE UNDER THE IDEAL CONDITIONS THAT ALLIE DESCRIBED, WHERE WE WOULD LEVERAGE THESE THREE ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES, APPROXIMATELY $2 MILLION A YEAR TO, TO BALANCE.
AND SO THAT IS THE VALUE PROPOSITION BEFORE THE COUNCIL IS, THAT'S, THAT'S JUST UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATING THAT.
SO ALLY, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE GOT THE IMPRESSION WHEN, WHEN YOU USE THE WORD BREAK EVEN, THAT IT WAS THE SAME NUMBER OF DOLLARS ARE COMING IN THAT ARE GOING OUT.
YEAH, NO, AND, AND I GUESS FROM WHAT WE'VE SEEN, WE'VE NOT SEEN THAT HOTEL MO HO AH, SORRY, HOTEL MOTEL TAX.
AT LEAST WE HAVEN'T HEARD THAT IT'S POTENTIALLY ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK FROM THE LEGISLATURE.
SO THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO ENVISION IS IF, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE, IF WE'RE MY WORDS BREAK EVEN WITH THE 2 MILLION FROM HOTEL MOTEL TAX, THEN WE'RE IN GOOD SHAPE IN MY MIND BECAUSE THEN WE'RE NOT, AGAIN, HAVING TO SUBSIDIZE, GIVEN THE FACT THAT WE KEEP SEEING, YOU KNOW, THE THREE POINT A HALF PERCENT EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE ALL THESE CHOPS THAT ARE COMING TO US.
'CAUSE I, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE, ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, THE EISMAN CENTER IS AN INCREDIBLE ASSET.
IT'S A CON, INCREDIBLE JEWEL TO OUR CITY.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IF IT COMES DOWN TO IT OF DO WE MAINTAIN A SEWER SYSTEM, DO WE MAINTAIN THE EMAN, IF IT EVER GOT TO THAT POINT, I JUST WANT TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, THAT WE'RE AT A POINT WHERE WE'RE SAYING IT'S A BREAK EVEN WITH 2 MILLION COMING FROM HOTEL MOTEL TAX.
SO THAT, THAT'S WHERE I WAS GOING.
SO I, I, I THINK, AND I APPRECIATE THE, THE CLARIFICATION ON THAT.
UM, JUST TO, TO PUT IT OUT THERE, BECAUSE I KNOW WE GOT SOME FEEDBACK FROM, FROM A, FROM A, UM, HOW DO I WANNA SAY THIS FROM A, FROM A, UM, BOOKING PERSPECTIVE, I KNOW WHEN IT'S A PURE RENTAL, AS LONG I KNOW WE HAVE A POLICY AND A GUIDELINE AS TO IF IT'S A PURE RENTAL, NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE MY WORDS SUP SUPPORTING, WE'RE JUST SIMPLY SAYING, IF YOU WANT TO COME AND YOU WANNA RENT THE EISMAN CENTER, YOU CAN, CAN YOU, CAN YOU JUST TALK THROUGH FOR JUST 30 SECONDS AS TO WHAT THAT POLICY IS? 'CAUSE I KNOW WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF, I'M GONNA SAY EVENTS COME TO THE EISMAN CENTER THAT SOME PEOPLE FOUND TO BE MY WORDS QUESTIONABLE.
UM, BUT I I THINK IT SHOULD BE GREAT IF WE GOT THAT OUT SO THE PUBLIC CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT OUR, WHAT OUR STANCE IS WHEN IT COMES TO JUST A PURE RENTAL.
SO, UM, AS A PUBLICLY OWNED BUILDING, UH, WE DO HAVE A FEW GUIDELINES FOR WHAT TYPES OF EVENTS CAN HAPPEN AT THE EISMAN CENTER.
UM, BUT THERE, IT'S NOT TERRIBLY ROBUST.
WE, UM, WORK REALLY HARD TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S NOTHING OFFENSIVE, THERE'S NOTHING THAT INCITES VIOLENCE.
THERE'S NOTHING THAT, UM, WOULD PUT THE FACILITY OR THE PEOPLE INSIDE OF IT IN ANY HARM OR DA OR ANY DANGER.
UM, BUT OUTSIDE OF THAT, IF YOU CAN SIGN A CONTRACT AND WE HAVE THE DATE AVAILABLE, WE'LL RENT YOU THE EISMAN CENTER.
UM, BUT WE'RE VERY, VERY CAREFUL AND VERY CLEAR.
UM, AND YOU'LL, YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED ON OUR WEBSITE THAT WE HAVE STARTED LISTING EVERY SINGLE EVENT AND WHO IT'S PRESENTED BY.
TO MAKE IT SUPER CLEAR THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THESE ARE EISMAN
[02:15:01]
CENTER PRESENTS EVENTS, AND SOME OF THESE ARE PRESENTED BY SUCH AND SUCH ENTITY.UM, ESPECIALLY EVENTS THAT, WELL, I MEAN, WE DO THAT FOR ALL EVENTS NOW, BUT IN PARTICULAR, IT WAS SORT OF GEN, UH, CATALYZED, IF YOU WILL, UM, BY SOME OF OUR EVENTS THAT ARE OF A POLITICAL, NA POLITICAL NATURE, OR SOME EVENTS THAT FEATURE, UH, PERFORMERS WHO HAVE MADE CONTROVERSIAL STATEMENTS IN, UM, THEIR HOME COUNTRY OVERSEAS RIGHT.
THAT NOW ARE PERFORMING AT THE EISMAN CENTER.
AND MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY AREN'T HAPPY ABOUT THAT.
UM, WE'VE ALSO DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB WITH OUR STAFF OF MAKING SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS FULLY TRAINED ON ALL OF THEIR SAFETY PROTOCOLS AND HOW TO INTERACT WITH PROTESTORS OR PEOPLE WHO CALL, UH, EXPRESSING DISPLEASURE AT A SHOW THAT'S HAPPENING.
UM, AND WE EXPLAINED VERY CLEARLY, UM, THAT THE EISMAN CENTER IS AVAILABLE TO ANYBODY TO USE, AND IT'S NOT A REFLECTION OF THE CITY'S STATEMENT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
UM, BUT OUR STAFF HAVE DONE A REALLY EXCEPTIONAL JOB AT MANAGING THOSE AND AMELIORATING ANY FLARE UPS, IF YOU WILL, WITH ANY PROTESTERS.
ALI, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THAT POLICY IS DRIVEN BY LAW.
THAT, I MEAN, THE, THE, IT'S NOT OUR DECISION, SO RIGHT.
IT'S NOT OUR DECISION, YOU KNOW, TO DRAFT A POLICY THAT JUST SAYS, YOU KNOW, ANYONE REGARDLESS OF WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY, YOU KNOW, AND HOW THEY'RE GONNA SAY IT, IT, IT'S A PUBLIC BUILDING.
AND JUST LIKE THEY COULD RENT THE OLD CITY HALL RICHARDSON ROOM OR THE GRAND HALL, OR THEY COULD RENT THE SENIOR CENTER.
THEY CAN, THEY CAN RENT THE EISMAN CENTER AND WE ARE NOT IN THE POSITION TO BE ABLE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, PICK AND CHOOSE WINNERS AND LOSERS ON, ON, YOU KNOW, WHERE THEY'RE FROM OR WHAT, WHAT THEIR AGENDA IS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
BUT YOUR POLICY IS DRIVEN BY, BY THE, THE LAW AND THE GUIDANCE OF OUR, OUR LEGAL TEAM.
AND, AND I WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE GOT THAT OUT TONIGHT, BECAUSE I DON'T AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, I DON'T WANT YOU TO TAKE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WILL,
AND I, I SO DON, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR CLARIFYING THAT.
'CAUSE I WAS JUST TRYING TO GET THAT OUT THERE SO THAT EVERYBODY UNDERSTOOD THAT.
BUT AGAIN, I THINK, I THINK YOU'VE HANDLED EVERY ONE OF THOSE SITUATIONS EXTREMELY WELL AND COULD NOT BE MORE PROUD OF THE EISMAN CENTER AND THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
THANK YOU, MAYOR ALLIE, WELL DONE.
AS, AS ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, I CERTAINLY SUPPORT THE IDEAS THAT YOU HAVE AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, TO, UH, PRO TIM HUTCHIN WRITER.
I, HE ASKED ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU IN, IN A DIFFERENT WAY, SO I'M NOT GONNA RECAP ON THAT.
BUT, UM, I DO LIKE A LOT OF THE LINEUP, UM, THIS YEAR, AND I'M HOPING THAT WITH MOMENTUM, THAT WE CAN POTENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, STATE, YOU KNOW, ON AN UPWARD, UH, TRAJECTORY, ESPECIALLY KNOWING THAT THE, UH, PAGEANT IS GETTING NUMBER 1 BILLION AT THE MOMENT.
UM, ONE THING I WANTED TO ADD TO, UH, AND BRING UP FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE LISTENING, YOU KNOW, FIVE OF THOSE NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT THE CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION FUNDS, IT'S NICE TO KNOW THAT THAT MONEY'S COMING BACK TO RICHARDSON AND COMING BACK TO THE EMAN, I WANNA, I WANNA VALIDATE HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS, AND IN THE EVENT THAT, WELL, DEPENDING ON WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FUTURE, IF OUR HOTEL MOTEL TAX INCREASES AND WE DO HAVE, UH, MORE TRAFFIC WITH WHETHER, YOU KNOW, FIT OUR, UH, THE, UH, SPORTS ARENAS OR ANY TYPE OF TRAVEL, UH, CORPORATE TRAVEL, UH, POTENTIALLY THAT COULD EVEN, YOU KNOW, CREATE SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING AND IF POTENTIALLY, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS BOOTS ON GROUND THAT I NOTICE, UM, AND OBVIOUSLY WE'RE AT THE EMAN QUITE OFTEN, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE NOTICED, UH, OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS IS THE CONCIERGE STATION THAT YOU'VE SET UP IN THE LOBBY.
UM, I'VE NOTICED A LOT OF ACTIVITY, A LOT OF PEOPLE GOING OVER THERE TO GET HELP ONE-ON-ONE, ASK QUESTIONS, UM, PICK UP, YOU KNOW, MATERIAL.
AND I THINK IT MAKES PEOPLE FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE, IT MAKES THE EXPERIENCE BETTER.
IT FEELS LIKE A LITTLE MORE, I WANNA SAY DOWN HOISH, BUT A LITTLE MORE ELEVATED.
IT CERTAINLY ELEVATES IT AND, AND PUTS A LITTLE BIT OF FRESHNESS TO, UH, YOU KNOW, COMING TO RICHARDSON TO EXPERIENCE THE, THE THINGS AT THE EISMAN.
UM, OTHER THAN THAT, I THINK, UH, I THINK YOU'RE DOING A REALLY GOOD JOB.
THE EISMAN LOOKS BEAUTIFUL, BY THE WAY.
AND TO YOUR POINT, IT DOES LOOK LIKE IT JUST OPENED FIVE YEARS AGO.
SO, UH, JUST KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE HERE TO, YOU KNOW, HELP IN ANY WAY.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, ALLIE.
UM, I'M PARTICULARLY GRATEFUL FOR ALL THE DATA THAT YOU PUT IN FRONT OF US TONIGHT, AND I KNOW THAT'S BEEN, UH, A MAJOR FOCUS OF YOURS, AND IT REALLY SHOWS, UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF ANYBODY'S QUESTIONING WELL, THERE, THERE IT IS.
AND I ALSO WANNA SAY THAT I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR APPROACH TO, TO BRINGING NEW THINGS TO THE ICEMAN.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, ALTHOUGH WE'RE HONING THE PROGRAM, I WOULD STILL SORT OF SAY, I WOULD LOVE FOR THERE TO BE ONE STRETCH PROGRAM
[02:20:01]
AT LEAST EVERY YEAR, RIGHT? SO WE'RE, WE'RE STILL, THERE'S STILL AUDIENCES WE WANNA BRING TO THE EMAN.SO I WANT TO GIVE YOU THAT ENCOURAGEMENT THAT, THAT EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING OVER THE PAST THREE SEASONS HAS BEEN REALLY, UM, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY GREAT.
UM, SOMETIMES WE DIDN'T HAVE THE AUDIENCES WE WANTED, BUT THEY WERE STILL AMAZING SHOWS, AND I SAW THINGS THAT I WOULDN'T OTHERWISE HAVE SEEN IF YOU HADN'T BROUGHT THEM TO THE EMAN.
AND THAT'S TRUE FOR EVERYONE WHO ATTENDED THOSE PROGRAMS. SO I, I WOULD STILL ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO THAT AND, AND, YOU KNOW, GOOD ON YOU.
I'M GLAD TO, TO KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, THE FUND IS, IS DOING WELL, AND THAT WE HAVE A PLAN TO TRY AND, AND BRING THAT DOWN.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK COUNCILMAN HUT RE'S POINT KNOW ABOUT THE TRANSFERS IN AND THE TRANSFERS OUT.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE DO WHAT WE HAVE TO DO THERE, BUT I THINK YOU HAVE A GOOD TRAJECTORY TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT DOESN'T NEED TO HAPPEN.
UM, AND THAT IT'S SELF-CONTAINED IN THE HOTEL MOTEL FUND.
SO THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE DOING, UM, AND FOR, FOR THE REALLY IMPORTANT DATA THAT YOU PRESENTED TONIGHT.
COUNCILMAN JUSTICE SAID EVERY TIME I INTERACT WITH YOU FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, YOU JUST ARE THE HIGHEST OF THE PROFESSIONALS.
AND I, I CAN'T SAY NICE THINGS ABOUT YOU.
I LOVE THE FACT THAT YOU'VE, UH, TESTED THE WATERS ON VARIOUS DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. YOU ARE FIGURING OUT WHAT WORKS, WHAT MAYBE WORKS, BUT WE COULD DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
AND THEN OBVIOUSLY THERE'S SOME CLEAR WINNERS IN THAT PROCESS TOO, AND YOU CONTINUE THOSE.
I THINK THAT'S BROUGHT, UM, INCREASED, UM, INCREASED, I GUESS, UH, DIFFERENT TYPES OF SHOWS TO OUR COMMUNITY, AND THAT'S ALWAYS GREAT FOR THE ARTS.
UH, I SUPPORT YOUR PLAN A HUNDRED PERCENT.
WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO KIND OF SPEAK TOWARDS, YOU KNOW, WHAT I MENTIONED EARLIER ABOUT JUST MY, EVERY INTERACTION WITH YOU.
I THINK WE WERE THERE FOR STATE OF THE UNION, AND I QUICKLY ASKED ALLY, I WAS LIKE, HEY, HOW DID THAT, WHAT HAPPENED WITH THAT SHOW THAT WAS CANCELED DURING THE ICE WEEK? RIGHT? YEAH.
AND I SAYS, IS THAT GONNA BE RESCHEDULED? OR, I WAS MORE CURIOUS ABOUT JUST KIND OF THE OPERATIONAL, LIKE, HOW THAT WORKS, BECAUSE THAT'S A WORLD I, I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT.
AND IMMEDIATELY SHE SAID, WELL, YES.
BUT ON TOP OF THAT, WE WERE ABLE TO CATCH HER BEFORE THE ARTIST ACTUALLY TRAVELED, AND WE WERE ABLE TO SAVE SOME MONEY.
WE WERE ABLE TO, AND JUST THE LEVEL OF EXPERTISE THAT YOU BRING TO THIS IS JUST CONTINUES TO, UM, IMPRESS ME.
AND I APPRECIATE JUST THE WAY YOU STAY ON TOP OF THINGS, THE TEAM YOU'RE CREATING, THE, THE, UH, EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING AT THE EISMAN.
AND I KNOW I'VE HEARD FROM OTHER PEOPLE THAT YOU, NOT JUST WITH WHAT YOU'RE DOING AT THE EISMAN, BUT I KNOW YOU'VE HELPED WITH OTHER PROJECTS AROUND THE CITY AS WELL AS AS NEEDED AND AS YOUR EXPERTISE ALLOWS.
SO THANK YOU FOR CON YOUR CONTINUED WORK.
WONDERFULLY EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATION, AND IT'S JUST A, A WHOLE SIDE OF THE EISMAN CENTER THAT I, I FEEL LIKE I LEARNED SO MUCH, SO THANK YOU.
UM, YOU KNOW, I JUST, ON THAT, THAT REVENUE GRAPH, THAT WAS A LINE GRAPH THAT I THINK IT SHOWED 3 MILLION AT THE END, RIGHT? DOES THAT NUMBER, THAT INCLUDES THINGS LIKE INTERNAL TICKET SALES WHERE SAY LIKE INTERNAL TICKET SALES WITH, WITH US OR THE CITY BOOKING EVENTS, THINGS LIKE THAT, RIGHT? MM-HMM
THAT'S ALL REVENUES, UH, REVENUES FROM ALL SOURCES THAT COME INTO THE EISMAN CENTER.
SO PARKING REVENUE, UM, OUR TICKET SALES FOR EISMAN CENTER PRESENTS FOR, UH, TICKET FEES THAT WE GET FOR RENTAL EVENTS.
AND, AND YOU OBVIOUSLY, EXCUSE ME, I, WITH MY IPAD AT HOME ON ACCIDENT, BUT THE, UM, THE CITY, THE CITY PORTION OF WHAT WE SPEND INTERNALLY THOUGH, THAT HASN'T RISEN, HAS THAT RISEN SIGNIFICANTLY COMPARED TO THAT GRAPH? OR, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, WHAT I'M TRYING TO ASK IS, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH OF THAT INCREASE HAS BEEN MADE UP BY AN INCREASE IN INTERNAL CITY SPENDING VERSUS EXTERNAL SPENDING? WELL, THE, UM, THE FUNDING THAT WE GET TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN MM-HMM
THE REVENUE THAT WE RAISE AND THE EXPENSES THAT WE HAVE, UM, COMES FROM THE HOTEL MOTEL FUND.
SO I CAN SAY, YOU KNOW, THAT FIRST YEAR WHEN I PROGRAMMED A TON OF SHOWS MM-HMM
UM, UH, THE DRAW THAT WE NEEDED FROM THE HOTEL MOTEL FUND TO MAKE UP GAP MM-HMM
WAS HIGHER THAN, UM, THE, THAN THE PREVIOUS YEARS.
BUT IT HAS GRADUALLY GONE DOWN AS OUR REVENUES HAVE INCREASED, SO THAT THAT LINE GRAPH INCLUDED FUNDING FROM THE HOTEL MOTEL FUND AS WELL.
THAT LINE GRAPH WAS JUST, UH, REVENUE GENERATED BY THE IT.
SO, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THIS KIND OF LEADS INTO MY NEXT QUESTION.
YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE THE, THE HOTEL MOTEL FUND, I MEAN, IT EXISTS TO FUND ENTITIES LIKE THE HEISMAN CENTER, SO WE SPEND 2 MILLION OF IT AND WE DON'T GET IT BACK.
I MEAN, THAT'S THE WHOLE REASON WE COLLECT THE TAX IN THE FIRST PLACE.
SO IT DOESN'T REALLY EISMAN BOTHER ME TRANSFER OUT, BUT RIGHT.
AND THAT MAKES, THAT MAKES SENSE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, AND I UNDERSTAND.
YEAH, I, I UNDERSTAND THAT THAT TOO, YOU KNOW, WHICH, WHICH LEADS TO, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS OUR CITYWIDE PHILOSOPHY ON THE EISMAN CENTER, I MEAN, IS OUR CITYWIDE PHILOSOPHY THAT HOTEL MOTEL TAX ASIDE, THAT THE EISMAN CENTER SHOULD ATTEMPT TO MAKE LIKE A MODEST PROFIT OR BREAK EVEN? OR ARE WE SORT OF OKAY WITH IT INCURRING SORT OF A SMALL, A SMALL LOSS OR DEFICIT, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTANDING
[02:25:01]
LIKE THE PUBLIC SERVICE IT PROVIDES, YOU KNOW, WHERE'S, WHERE'S SORT OF OUR, I GUESS WHERE'S OUR END GOAL? LIKE WHERE ARE ALL THESE POINTS IN SERVICE OF A CERTAIN GOAL FOR THE EISMAN CENTER? SURE.SO THE EISMAN CENTER HAS NEVER BROKEN, EVEN IN THE SENSE THAT IT'S TAKEN IN THE AMOUNT OF REVENUE THAT IT'S BEEN.
SO THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN A SUBSIDY SINCE DAY ONE.
SOME YEARS IT'S BEEN LARGER THAN OTHERS THE LAST FEW YEARS.
UM, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, REALLY POST COVID, UM, PROBABLY THE DELTA WAS, IS HAS BEEN A LITTLE BIT LARGER.
UM, YOU'VE, EACH OF, EACH OF OUR, YOU KNOW, FOURTH QUARTER BUDGET REPORTS, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE, UM, UH, THE SHORTCOMING IN REVENUE RIGHT.
AND, AND SO, UM, THAT'S REALLY YOUR, THAT'S KIND OF WHY WE'RE DOING WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, I'M GONNA ASK YOU THE SAME QUESTION ON THE WALLFLOWER FESTIVAL.
I'M GONNA ASK YOU THE SAME QUESTION ON THE COTTONWOOD FESTIVAL.
I'M GONNA ASK YOU THAT SAME QUESTION ON CERTAIN PROGRAMS AND SERVICES.
IS, IS, DOES THIS FEEL RIGHT TO YOU IN THIS DAY AND AGE? IF IT DOES, THAT'S ABSOLUTELY GREAT.
WE, WE'VE GOT OUR MARCHING ORDERS, THAT'S MM-HMM.
UM, THERE HAS BEEN, EACH OF THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS THERE HAS, UH, BEEN A BUILT IN SUBSIDY, AND THEN WE HAVE NOT, WE HAVE NOT, UM, MET OUR REVENUE PROJECTIONS.
AND SO SUBSIDY HAS BEEN MORE THAN WE ANTICIPATED.
UM, THIS YEAR THAT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THAT'S GONNA BE THE CASE.
THE NUMBERS THAT ARE PROJECTED NOW, THAT WON'T BE TRUE.
SO, I MEAN, I, I THINK THE, THE, THE QUE THE DIRECTION THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, UH, FOR, UM, IS, UM, IS EXACTLY THE QUESTION YOU JUST ASKED.
IF YOU'RE CONFIRMING THAT WE'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK, THEN WE'RE ABSOLUTELY, WE GET IT.
THAT'S, THAT'S THE CONFIRMATION WE NEEDED.
AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO TWO THINGS.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO WATCH THE EXPENDITURES.
UH, I, I THOUGHT THE QUESTION YOU WERE ASKING, AND MAYBE ALLIE ANSWERED IT, AND MAYBE I WAS HEARING IT WRONG, I THOUGHT YOU WERE ASKING, UM, AS THE REVENUES HAVE INCREASED, RIGHT? MM-HMM
BUT HAVE THE EXPENSES ALSO INCREASED? RIGHT.
BECAUSE WE DIDN'T REALLY TALK ABOUT THE EXPENDITURES, THE COST OF SALARIES, THE COST OF TECHNICAL, RIGHT.
UM, BECAUSE REALLY THAT'S HOW YOU GET THE, THAT'S HOW YOU GET TO THE BOTTOM LINE, RIGHT? MM-HMM
I MEAN, WE CAN TALK ABOUT REVENUE INCREASING, BUT IF, IF COSTS ARE INCREASING RIGHT AT THE SAME RATE OR MORE THAN IT'S, IT'S A DIFFERENT DISCUSSION.
I FEEL LIKE ELLIE GOT THAT PRETTY WELL WHEN SHE SAID THAT THERE IS, THERE'S SORT OF A, AT SOME POINT, A DIMINISHING RETURN, YOU KNOW, WITH THE AMOUNT OF REVENUES THAT GO UP.
SO I UNDERSTAND THE PROJECTION, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT THERE IS THAT SWEET SPOT, RIGHT? WAS THE NUMBER 3 MILLION WAS THE SWEET SPOT? 4 MILLION.
AND I ESTIMATE THE SWEET SPOT FOR EISMAN CENTER GENERATED REVENUE AROUND FOUR TO FOUR AND A HALF MILLION.
BEFORE WE START GENERATING MORE EXPENSES THAN WE ARE GENERATING REVENUE.
I MEAN, SO, SO, SO AGAIN, LOOKING FOR THE CONFIRMATION, I THINK I'M HEARING SO FAR THE CONFIRMATION IS MM-HMM
WE GET THE NUMBERS, WE UNDERSTAND THE VALUE PROPOSITION, AND WE'RE GOOD WITH THAT, UM, AT THE, AT THE LEVEL THAT IT IS TODAY.
I'M, I'M RIGHT THERE WITH YOU.
I MEAN, I THINK THE REASON I WAS ASKING THE QUESTION WAS I WANTED TO BE DEFERENTIAL TO, YOU KNOW, WHAT SORT OF, WHAT STAFF'S MORE LONGSTANDING VISION IS MM-HMM
BUT, BUT I MEAN, BUT MY PHILOSOPHY FOR WHATEVER IT'S WORTH, MY PREFERENCE IS THAT, HEY, I'M, I'M OKAY WITH US NOT ALWAYS BREAKING EVEN ON THE EISMAN CENTER BECAUSE IT'S A PUBLIC SERVICE.
AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, HOT TAX ASIDE, EVEN WITH CITY SUBSIDY OUTSIDE OF THAT, AS THAT HAPPENS, YOU KNOW, AS LONG AS THAT DELTA JUST ISN'T, ISN'T TOO GREAT.
I MEAN, THAT, IT JUST, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, THAT'S A VERY SUBJECTIVE TERM.
BUT AS LONG AS IT'S NOT TOO GREAT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T HAVE LIKE, WITH LIKE, WITH ANYTHING WE PROVIDE, PARKS, FACILITIES, WHATEVER, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S THE SAME VEIN AS THAT.
SO AT, AT THE END OF THE DAY, RIGHT.
UH, I THINK AS, AS, UM, OUR CITY MANAGER POINTED OUT, WE'RE THE ONES THAT CHOOSE WHETHER OR NOT THIS IS OR ISN'T.
DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT, IS ABOUT THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF CONTRIBUTION ISN'T, UH, AT THE END OF THE DAY, UH, SOME OF US, UH, MAYOR PRO TEM, I THINK HUTCH AND RY MENTIONED, OBVIOUSLY WE ALL KNOW WHAT THE PRESSURES ARE.
WE ALL KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE STATE LEVEL.
AND SO WE HAVE TO CONTEXTUALIZE THAT WITH WHAT WE'RE HEARING AND, AND HOW WE WANT TO USE THESE REVENUES.
AND SO THE PEOPLE WHO GET TO CHOOSE WHETHER OR NOT THIS IS ON TRACK OR NOT ARE SEVEN OF US.
SO, UH, AND, AND SOUNDED LIKE YOU VERY MUCH WERE FEELING COMFORTABLE WITH THAT, AND I AM NO, I APPRECIATE THAT.
YOU KNOW, I THINK JUST AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE HERE FOR UP TO 12 YEARS AT A TIME INDIVIDUALLY.
AND SO MY OPINIONS, IF THEY HAPPEN TO BE DIFFERENT THAN CITY STAFF, YEAH.
HISTORICALLY, THIS HAS BEEN A, A, A TREND THAT I THINK MOST COUNCILS HAVE BEEN COMFORTABLE WITH.
IT DOESN'T MEAN THIS COUNCIL HAS TO CONTINUE TO BE COMFORTABLE WITH IT.
BUT THUS FAR, IT SOUNDS LIKE MOST PEOPLE FEEL FAIRLY COMFORTABLE.
IS THAT, YEAH, MAYOR, I, I THINK YOU SAID THAT EX EXACTLY RIGHT.
HISTORICALLY, BUT WE ARE IN A NEW DAY AND THAT'S, IT'S A DIFFERENT HISTORY.
IT'S, AND THAT'S THE ONLY REASON I'M POSING THIS
[02:30:01]
QUESTION, AND I'M GONNA POSE SEVERAL OTHER QUESTIONS TO YOU BECAUSE I THINK THAT I NEED THAT CONFIRMATION GOING INTO THIS BUDGET THAT IF WE HAVE TO MAKE REALLY DIFFICULT DECISIONS, UM, THAT I HAVE THE CONTEXT OF WHERE YOUR PRIORITIES ARE ON SOME OF THESE REALLY LARGE PROGRAMS, UM, THAT ARE TAKING UP, YOU KNOW, A, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF RESOURCES.AND, AND, UM, SO SOME OF THE OTHERS I MENTIONED ARE MENTIONED ARE, ARE TO COME L LET'S LET, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER INE SPEAK, AND THEN I'M GONNA COME UP TO THE NEXT SLIDES.
AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE QUESTION YOU GUYS HAD, AND THANK YOU ALI, FOR BRINGING THIS, YOU KNOW, PRESENTATION.
I THINK THIS IS DEFINITELY, WE NEED TO HAVE THIS DISCUSSION EVERY YEAR, AND WE DO, UH, AND JUST REMINDING MYSELF THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED, THIS THING, THIS, THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT DIFFERENTIATE US FROM OTHER CITIES, AND THIS BRINGS OTHER BUSINESSES.
SO, UH, WHICH SOMETIMES WE CAN'T, UH, SEE DIRECTLY, BUT THIS BRINGS DEFINITELY THE HOTEL MOTEL TAX MORE.
UH, AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE OTHER BUSINESSES RELOCATE, UM, TO RECHARGE ON, THEY CONSIDER THIS, THAT TAKE THIS THING AS PART OF THEIR CONSIDERATION.
SO, UH, NOW WITH THAT, I THINK I'M ALSO HAPPY THAT, YOU KNOW, THE PLACE HAS BEEN USED CREATIVELY WITH DIFFERENT WAYS.
SO THAT ALSO HELPED THE HOTEL NEARBY.
SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN THESE TWO BRINGS OTHER PEOPLE IN OTHER PROGRAMS, IT HELPS THE OTHER, IN OTHER, OTHER BUSINESSES.
THE HOTELS, YOU KNOW, GET FULL PRETTY, PRETTY QUICK.
UH, YOU KNOW, THE PLACE LOOKS GREAT.
YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS SAID THAT THIS IS, I'M NOT SAYING ANYTHING NEW.
UH, AND, UH, I UNDERSTAND WE ARE KEEPING UP WITH THE REGULAR MAINTENANCE WORK EVERY YEAR.
UH, AND BECAUSE OF THE AGE OF THE BUILDING, UH, WE KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT NEW BUILDING, EVEN THOUGH IT CAN CONFUSE US.
UH, IS THERE ANY PLAN TO HAVE LIKE MORE, UM, COMPREHENSIVE STRUCTURAL INSPECTION OF THE BUILDING? BECAUSE WHEN YOU HAVE LIKE, YOU KNOW, 20 YEARS PLUS BUILDING, IT MAY LOOK LIKE ALL GOOD.
LIKE, I LOOK GREAT, BUT MY BONES SOMETIMES MIGHT BE BREAKING DOWN BECAUSE OF THE AGE
SO IT MAY SOUND, YOU KNOW, UH, DIFFERENT.
DO YOU HAVE ANY PLAN TO, I MEAN, OR IS THERE ANY NEED TO HAVE THOSE INSPECTION? SO, UM, KEN MAY WANNA WEIGH IN HERE AS WELL, BUT OUR FACILITIES DEPARTMENT, UM, DOES, UM, AND THE FREQUENCY YOU'LL HAVE TO REMIND ME OF, BUT DOES, UM, FULL FACILITY, UH, ASSESSMENTS.
AND SO STRUCTURAL IS PART OF THAT.
AND SO, UM, WHAT IS IT ON ROUTINE NOW? HOW MANY YEARS? EVERY, EVERY YEAR THE FACILITY ASSESSMENTS? WE JUST HAD ONE.
SO WE JUST DID, WE JUST DID ONE THIS PAST YEAR.
SO, UM, I WOULD SAY THAT THE, FROM A STRUCTURAL STANDPOINT, UM, IT'S, IT'S BEING EVALUATED LIKE ALL OF OUR OTHER ASSETS.
UM, NOW THAT'S SEPARATE FROM WHAT ALLIE DOES FROM A, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKING CARE OF ALL THE INTERNAL, UM, ASSETS, ALL THE, UM, DEEP CLEANING, THE, THE REFRESHING, ALL, ALL THAT, THAT GOES ON IN AUGUST EACH YEAR.
BUT SO THE, THE, THE STRUCTURE ITSELF IS GONNA BE PART OF OUR FACILITIES ASSESSMENT WHERE ALI IS GONNA TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING ESSENTIALLY ON THE INSIDE.
I MEAN, SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, THE PERSON WHO NOTICE THINGS MOST IS THE PERSON WHO USED THE KITCHEN MOST.
UH, FOR ME, WALKING IN THE BUILDING IN THE HOUSE, I'M NOT GONNA PROBABLY SEE ALL THE PROBLEM, BUT SOMEONE WHO USED THE FACILITY MOST, THEY'RE GONNA SEE SOME UNUSUAL THINGS HAPPENING.
AND SOMETIMES SOMETHING MIGHT, SEEMS VERY SIMPLE.
I'M NOT SAYING SUGGESTING ANYTHING WITH THIS BUILDING IN GENERAL, THAT MIGHT TRIGGER SOMETHING MUCH BIGGER.
SO HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE ARE WATCHING ALL THOSE AND NOT, YOU KNOW, ONE LAST THING.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT IF WE HAVE ANY MAJOR REPAIR COMING UP MM-HMM
SURPRISE WAY, I KNOW IF WE KNOW SOMETHING COMING UP, I KNOW THAT WE CAN, CAN PLAN.
BUT IF THIS IS SURPRISE, UH, PREPARED, THAT'S WHEN WE MAKE, THAT'S WHAT MAKES ME NERVOUS.
YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT REMINDS ME OF THE ROOF THAT WE REDID A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
I MEAN, THAT WAS ON OUR RADAR FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
YOU MIGHT RECALL, WE PUT MONEY ASIDE OUT OF YEAR END SAVINGS, UM, I THINK FOR TWO OR THREE YEARS TO BUILD UP THE BALANCE THAT WE NEEDED TO DO THE ROOF.
AND SO, UM, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH WAYNE, UH, NOW, NOW LEADING OUR FACILITY OPERATIONS, I THINK WE'VE, WE'VE GOT A GOOD PLAN.
UM, A LOT OF THAT WE SHARED WITH YOU.
I MEAN, IF YOU REMEMBER BACK TO THE FOURTH QUARTER BUDGET REPORT JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO, ALMOST EVERYTHING THAT HAS SUGGESTED, UM, WITH, UH, THE YEAR END SAVINGS WAS, UH, FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR FOR MODERATE TO, TO TO ON, YOU KNOW, SMALLER, UH, LARGE,
[02:35:01]
UM, UM, FACILITY PROJECTS.AND SO I THINK WE'RE BEING VERY AGGRESSIVE.
UM, YOU KNOW, ON THE FACILITY SIDE, THE, THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE STREET ALLEY WATER WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DE DEDICATED SO MUCH OF THAT TO GET THROUGH OUR PAYGO STRATEGIES.
WE HAVEN'T DONE THAT ON FACILITIES.
I MEAN, WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE VALUE OF THE, THE NUMBER, THE NUMBER AND THE VALUE OF THE FACILITIES THAT WE HAVE, OUR PAYGO STRATEGY FOR, THAT'S STILL ONLY ABOUT A HALF A MILLION OR 600 OR SO THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR.
SO MAGNITUDE WISE, IT'S NOT WHAT, WHAT IT IS FOR OTHER ASSETS.
BUT WITH YOUR SUPPORT, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO KIND OF BACKSTOP THAT AT, AT AFTER WE, UH, TRUE UP, UH, IN FOURTH QUARTER BUDGET REPORTS AND FUNNEL MORE DOLLARS THAT WAY.
SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A, OF A CONSERVATIVE APPROACH IN THE SENSE THAT WE'RE NOT ALLOCATING THOSE, YOU KNOW, RIGHT OUT THE RIGHT AT THE START OF A BUDGET.
BUT WE'RE KEEPING THAT AT THE FOREFRONT OF OUR, OUR THOUGHT.
AND WHEN WE COME BACK, WE, WE HAVE SOME COMPONENT OF THAT AS OUR, AS OUR YEAREND STRATEGY.
NO, I FEEL COMFORTABLE BECAUSE I'M, I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE WATCHING THOSE, AND I THINK WHOEVER LISTENING WILL FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT WE'RE NOT MISSING ANYTHING.
UH, THAT'S, THAT'S WHY I ASKED THAT QUESTION, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE ARE WATCHING, LOOKING ALL OTHER THINGS THAT WE CAN SEE FROM OUTSIDE.
THANK YOU FOR THAT, FOR REASSURING THAT.
UM, JUST A FEW QUESTIONS AND MAYBE A COUPLE COMMENTS, AND WE'LL GO TO ANOTHER ROUND OF THIS, BUT, UH, CORE, UH, THE CORE FIVE, UH, CAN YOU REMIND ME WHO THOSE FIVE WERE OR ARE, OR, AND I APOLOGIZE IF I'M QUIZ QUIZZING YOU AT THE, IN THE
I IMAGINE MAYBE THE SYMPHONY, I DON'T KNOW, BUT SO THE RICHARDSON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA.
UH, DALLAS REPERTOIRE BALLET, UH, RICHARDSON CIVIC ART SOCIETY, UH, THE DALLAS ASIAN AMERICAN YOUTH ORCHESTRA.
I I, I WOULDN'T HAVE GUESSED A COUPLE OF THOSE, SO THAT'S GREAT.
UM, I WANNA SAY KUDOS ON THE SENSORY ELEMENT THAT YOU HAD MENTIONED.
UH, I LOVE THE SIGNAGE FOR IT.
I THINK IT'S, IT'S, IT'S REALLY A, A, A GREAT TOUCH TO SOMETHING THAT WE'VE DONE, UH, NEW.
AND, UH, I REALLY APPRECIATE, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, SEEING THAT AND THE FACT THAT IT'S, IT'S BEING, BEING UTILIZED.
UM, I THINK, THINK YOU HAD A LOT OF AMAZING DATA.
I DEFINITELY DON'T HAVE SUPER SPECIFIC QUESTIONS FOR THIS PARTICULAR PRESENTATION.
UM, BUT I WOULD LOVE, PROBABLY IN THE FUTURE TO HAVE, 'CAUSE YOU, YOU MENTIONED A COUPLE NEW ELEMENTS THAT WERE BEING UTILIZED THAT WE THINK WE'RE SEEING SOME UPSIDE ON.
I'D LOVE TO GET A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ON WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE SPENT ANOTHER $50,000 ON MARKETING, BUT WE'RE SEEING X IN, IN TERMS OF A RETURN, UH, JUST, JUST BECAUSE IT'LL HELP UNDERSTAND THE MAGNITUDE OF, OF SOME OF THESE THINGS AND, AND, AND WHAT THAT GROWTH LOOKS LIKE.
UM, THE, THE LAST THING I'M GONNA SAY, AND IT'S JUST TO A LITTLE BIT DOUBLE DOWN ON THIS CONVERSATION OF, UH, YOU KNOW, LOSSES AND, AND, AND WHAT OUR COMFORT LEVEL IS AND, AND THAT SORT OF THING.
AND, AND HOPEFULLY, UM, UH, UH, MR. MAGNER, YOU'LL BE OKAY WITH, WITH KIND OF TALKING IN THIS WAY, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, A MILLION DOLLARS HERE, $2 MILLION THERE, AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, YOU GOT REAL MONEY.
UH, AND SO THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE DO ACROSS OUR CITY THAT DON'T HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, A BREAK EVEN OR A PAYBACK IN, IN THE KIND OF WAY THAT WE'D EXPECT.
AND SOMETIMES AS WE LOOK AT ONE AT A TIME, UH, IT'S REAL EASY TO GO.
WELL, YEAH, I'M TOTALLY COMFORTABLE WITH THAT.
AND NOT SAYING THAT ANYONE ON THIS DAY IS, IS DOING THAT.
UH, I, I'M DEFINITELY NOT ONE OF THEM.
AND I AM COMFORTABLE WITH IT AS IT STANDS.
UH, BUT THERE WILL COME A DAY WHERE WE'VE GOTTA REALLY DECIDE, AND THE DAY MAY BE THIS NEXT BUDGET WHERE WE HAVE TO MAKE DECISIONS AS TO HOW MUCH OF THESE LOSSES ARE WE REALLY WILLING TO TAKE.
AND IS THE COST OF THAT LOSS, AND I JUST WANT TO SAY IT OUT LOUD, IS THE COST OF THAT LOSS A TAX HIKE, RIGHT? BECAUSE I'M ASSUMING NO ONE'S GONNA WANT TO GET RID OF POLICE OR FIRE AS WE TAKE A MILLION OR $2 MILLION HERE OR THERE.
NOT JUST THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE.
UM, I'M GONNA ONLY POINT AT, YOU KNOW, OUR NEIGHBORING CITY WHO IS PROBABLY KNOWN BY ONE EVENT MORE THAN ANY OTHER EVENT, WHICH IS THE TASTE OF ADDISON.
AND AFTER 30 YEARS, THEY MADE THE DECISION TO CUT IT OFF.
UH, I'M SURE THAT PROBABLY WAS A DIFFICULT DECISION TO MAKE, BUT THERE ARE TOUGH DECISIONS BEING MADE ALL AROUND THE REGION AND PROBABLY ALL AROUND THE STATE BECAUSE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING.
UM, AND WE JUST ALL NEED TO KIND OF KEEP THAT IN MIND, ESPECIALLY AS WE TRY AND LOOK AT OTHER, UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT WE DO THAT WE ALL CHERISH AND THINK ARE THE MOST AMAZING THING EVER.
WHEN THERE'S A NEGATIVE THERE, WE'VE GOTTA KIND OF FIGURE OUT HOW, HOW THAT'S GONNA BALANCE WITH EVERYTHING ELSE WE'RE TRYING TO DO.
OR IF WE DO, LIKE OUR OTHER NEIGHBOR PLANO DID RECENTLY, WHICH IS DO YOU RAISE TAXES TO BE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THESE DIFFERENCES, UH, SO THAT YOU CAN, UH, UH, BE ABLE TO MANAGE STILL KEEPING ALL
[02:40:01]
THESE AMENITIES THAT YOU WANNA KEEP? SO, UH, IS THAT YEP.NO, I APPRECIATE THAT, THAT COMMENT VERY MUCH.
I I, I, I WANTED TO ADDRESS ONE THING YOU SAID.
I, I WAS WAITING FOR SOMEBODY TO ASK THE QUESTION, UM, OF, UH, 'CAUSE ALI PRESENTED THREE, UH, ACTION ITEMS AT THE END THERE AND, AND TALKED ABOUT, UM, THE, EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID IS, IS KIND OF LIKE, WHAT IS THE RETURN ON THOSE? AND SO WE, WE'VE GOT A PLAN THAT I THINK WE'RE IN AGREEMENT ON.
UM, WE'VE GOT A BUDGET PROJECTION THIS YEAR OF ABOUT TWO POINT SEVENISH, 2.75 MILLION, RIGHT.
UH, WE WANT TO SEE THAT ACHIEVED.
UH, THIS WOULD BE THE FIRST YEAR IN SEVERAL YEARS THAT WE ACTUALLY HIT OUR REVENUE NUMBER.
AND I THINK ONCE WE STABILIZE, I FEEL LIKE ONCE WE STABILIZE AND WE, WE, WE, WE KIND OF PROVE UP THAT WE HIT THAT NUMBER OR EXCEEDED, HOPEFULLY, UM, THEN I THINK WE TURN OUR ATTENTION TO SAYING, NOW WE'RE GONNA GET A LITTLE BIT MORE BULLISH AND WE'RE GONNA PICK ONE OF THOSE THREE ACTION ITEMS. AND ALLIE ALREADY KNOWS WHICH ONE SHE WANTS TO DO FIRST.
BUT I, I DO, AGAIN, I DO, I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT.
EVERYTHING EVERYONE SAID TONIGHT IS VERY, VERY ON POINT WITH RESPECT TO THE HOW VALUABLE THE EISMAN CENTER IS.
UH, COUNCILMAN CHAMPS, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
IT'S A DIFFERENTIATOR ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FRONT, BUT THE REALITY OF THE DOLLARS AND CENTS HAVE TO MAKE, HAVE TO MAKE SENSE.
AND SO, MAYOR, TO YOUR, YOUR KIND OF QUESTION IS, WE'RE GONNA WAIT TO SEE, UM, HOW THIS, UH, CURRENT REVENUE PROJECTION PLAYS OUT.
WE WE'RE EARLY IN THIS YEAR, UH, YOU KNOW, NOT EVEN TO THE SIX MONTH MARK YET.
UM, AND, UM, IF WE CAN GET STABLE AND WE CAN HIT OUR MARK AND ACHIEVE OUR REVENUE, UH, PROJECTION, UH, SUCCESSFULLY, AND THEN, THEN I THINK THAT'S WHEN I'M GONNA BE, UM, UH, COMFORTABLE COMING BACK TO YOU AND SAYING, I THINK IT'S TURN, IT'S TIME TO TURN ONE OF THESE OTHER POSITIONS ON, BECAUSE NOW WE'RE, WE'RE, UH, THE, WE'RE TRENDING, RIGHT? THE MOMENTUM'S RIGHT.
AND IT'S TIME TO GROW, UH, OUR REVENUE, AND THEN WE GROW IT UP, YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY WE GROW UP TO THAT $4 MILLION MARK.
UH, WE'VE GOT A FEW OTHER LIGHTS ON, SO WE'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER JUSTICE.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE SORT OF TALKING APPLES TO APPLES AND BEING CLEAR ABOUT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT YOU SAID, MAYOR, WITH RESPECT TO THE PRESSURES AND ALL THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.
BUT ALSO, AS COUNCILMAN CORCORAN POINTED OUT, THIS PARTICULAR FUND CAN ONLY PAY FOR CERTAIN THINGS.
AND SO I THINK WE NEED TO MAKE CLEAR FOR THE PUBLIC WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY SAYING TONIGHT.
ARE WE SUBSIDIZING FROM THE GENERAL FUND THE OPERATION OF THE EISMAN, OR IS THE EMAN BEING FUNDED WHOLLY OUT OF THE, THE HOT TAX FUND? IT'S SIDE TAX.
SO I, I GUESS AGREE WITH EVERYTHING, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THOSE FUNDS CAN ONLY BE USED FOR VERY SPECIFIC CATEGORIES OF THINGS.
WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE THAT OUT TO PAY OUR POLICE, FOR EXAMPLE.
BUT THERE ARE THINGS IN THE GENERAL FUND THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR HOT TAX THAT ARE CURRENT, WE'RE CURRENTLY, UM, OBLIGATED TO PAY OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND BECAUSE THE HOT TAX CAPACITY, FOR INSTANCE, WALLFLOWER FESTIVAL, RIGHT.
UH, COTTONWOOD, OTHER THINGS OF THAT NATURE THAT ARE BURDENING, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, WELL, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE CURRENTLY ALLOCATED TO THE GENERAL FUND THAT COULD BE COMING OUT, THAT COULD BE COMING OUTTA THE HOT TAX FUND UNDERSTOOD.
I MEAN, I DON'T THINK WE'RE SAYING, WE'RE NOT SAYING THAT, UM, WE'RE NOT SAYING THAT THE, THE EISMAN IS, UM, IS, UM, BEING PAID FOR THE, THE HOTEL MO I MEAN THE, UH, GENERAL FUND.
BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT IF THAT $2 MILLION NUMBER WAS ONE, 1.5 THAT WE COULD PAY OUT OF THE HOTEL, HOTEL FUND, AND THEN FREE UP DOLLARS IN THE GENERAL FUND.
I MEAN, UNFORTUNATELY THE, THE SYSTEM THAT THE STATE HAS PUT ON PUT ON US IS, UM, WE ARE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, UM, MORE LIMITED THAN EVER IN THE, THE BUCKETS OF FUNDING THAT WE HAVE.
AND SO, UM, IT'S CREATING A, IT'S CREATING A, A PROCESS FOR US.
AND THAT'S WHAT TONIGHT IS THE FIRST TO MANY OF, UM, IS HAVING TO REALLY LOOK AT NOT ONLY, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE SPENDING AND ALLOCATED AND DOES THAT STILL ALIGN WITH YOUR PRIORITIES FOR WHAT WE GET FOR IT, BUT ALSO HOW WE FUND IT.
AND SO I THINK ALL OF EVERY, EVERYBODY IS ON SPOT TONIGHT WITH, WITH THE WAY WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS, BUT, UM, THERE, THERE ARE GENERAL FUND, THERE ARE GENERAL FUND IMPLICATIONS TO EVERY, TO EVERY OTHER FUND.
NO, I, I THINK THAT THAT'S HELPFUL.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT THAT'S SORT OF WHAT WE'RE MISSING IS, IS WE'RE SORT OF TALKING ABOUT THE EISMAN CENTER IN ISOLATION WITH RESPECT TO THIS FUND.
BUT, BUT THERE IS A BROADER DISCUSSION WHERE, YEAH, YOU KNOW, THE GENERAL FUND IS SUPPORTING THINGS THAT COULD BE SUPPORTED BY THIS FUND.
IT'S NOT, THE WAY WE'VE KIND OF TALKED ABOUT TO TONIGHT SUGGESTS THAT THE GENERAL FUND FUNDS ARE BEING TRANSFERRED IN TO, YOU KNOW, SORT OF SAVE THIS FUND.
IT'S SORT OF SELF-SUSTAINING FROM AN EISMAN STANDPOINT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL AS WE GET INTO BUDGET SEASON TO HAVE SORT OF A HOLISTIC CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT COULD WE HAVE IN THIS FUND IF WE WERE, YOU KNOW, THIS WOULD FREE UP THIS AMOUNT AND, YOU KNOW, UH, IN THE GENERAL FUND AND, AND, AND HAVE A, A, A MORE, UM, WHOLESOME CONVERSATION, FULLSOME CONVERSATION AROUND THIS PARTICULAR FUND AND WHAT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE AND WHAT WE COULD BE BUILDING TOWARDS AND THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.
BECAUSE AS IT WAS DISCUSSED TONIGHT, I THINK, YOU KNOW, POOR ALLIE UP THERE, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT REALLY ABOUT THE ICEMAN, BUT REALLY OTHER PRESSURES THAT, YOU KNOW, AND ALL THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.
SO I JUST, I WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE BEING CLEAR FOR THE PUBLIC WHAT THIS FUND CAN BE USED FOR.
WELL, AND LET ME JUST SAY, ALLIE, EVERYBODY SAYS A GREAT PROFESSIONAL.
[02:45:01]
THIS, THIS CONVERSATION IS, HAS BEING HAD IN EVERY SINGLE DEPARTMENT RIGHT THERE.I MEAN, I HAD A MEETING THIS MORNING ABOUT COMMUNITY SERVICES, THE SAME CONVERSATION, DIFFERENT CONTEXT, DIFFERENT TOPICS, BUT THE SAME CONVERSATION.
AND SO, UM, ALLIE JUST HAPPENS TO BE THE FIRST
UH, COUNCILMAN JUSTICE, I THINK YOU'RE SPOT ON.
'CAUSE SHE, ONE, I ONLY HAD ONE, BUT SHE TRIGGERED SOMETHING.
UM, HAVE WE LOOKED AT, AND I DON'T KNOW, UH, GRANT PROGRAMS FOR THE ARTS AND STUFF LIKE THAT, THAT MIGHT BE AN OPPORTUNITY.
ARE THERE A LOT OF THOSE GRANTS STILL OUT THERE? STILL? I, I DON'T KNOW.
I, AND THEN I THINK, 'CAUSE DANIEL EARLIER MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE LOOKING AT VARIOUS OPTIONS AND I KNOW IT'S SOMETHING AS A CITY WE'RE STARTING TO LOOK AT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
UM, JUST KIND OF WONDERING IF YOU'VE DIPPED YOUR TOE IN THAT OR YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
UM, GRANTS ARE DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE ARE ANXIOUS AND EAGER TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AND FILE APPLICATIONS FOR.
OUR CHALLENGE RIGHT NOW IS STAFF CAPACITY.
SO THAT IS DEFINITELY PART OF THAT SPONSORSHIP AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT ELEMENT OF, UM, THAT STRATEGY THAT WE NEED TO BRING IN SOME ADDITIONAL STAFF SUPPORT WHO HAVE THAT CAPACITY TO HELP WRITE GRANTS, UM, TO BRING MORE REVENUE INTO THE EISMAN CENTER.
UM, THAT'S, BUT YEAH, ABSOLUTELY, HONESTLY, ONE SOLID GRANT THAT WOULD MORE THAN PAY FOR THAT STAFFER.
I KNOW, AND I FEEL LIKE I'VE SAID THIS EITHER LAST YEAR OR THE YEAR BEFORE, SO YOU MAY ALREADY BE DOING THIS, SO EXCUSE ME, IF OKAY, IF, JUST REFRESH MY BRAIN PLEASE.
BUT I KNOW NOT ALL OUR SHOWS SELL OUT.
UM, DO WE DO LIKE STUDENT PRICING OR HAVE WE LOOKED AT LIKE DAY OF DISCOUNT TYPE SALES, YOU KNOW, DAY OF MAYBE YOU GET A 25% OR A 50% DISCOUNT, A BALCONY OR SOME, SOMETHING LIKE THAT SO THAT WE CAN LOOK AT INCREASING REVENUE, MAYBE NOT BY THE BUTS AND THE SEATS, BUT BY THE AUXILIARY SALES, SUCH AS THE BAR AND PARKING AS YOU STATED EARLIER.
WE, UM, WE ARE VERY STRATEGIC WITH OUR, UM, PROMOTIONS AND DISCOUNT OFFERS AND WHEN THEY'RE OFFERED AND HOW MUCH THEY ARE.
ALL OF THAT IS FACTORED INTO OUR BUDGET CALCULATION.
UM, AND THEN WE DO HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS, UM, STUDENT RUSH PROGRAMS THAT ARE AVAILABLE ON THE DAY OF, FOR MOST PERFORMANCES THAT ARE EISMAN CENTER PRESENTS, UH, CAN'T PROMISE FOR THE RENTAL EVENTS, BUT FOR EISMAN CENTER PRESENTS, MOST OF THEM DO HAVE A STUDENT RUSH TICKET.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO, UM, WE TRY TO NOT TRAIN OUR AUDIENCE TO WAIT UNTIL THE DAY OF TO BUY THEIR TICKET IF THEY KNOW LIKE, WELL, THERE'S GONNA BE A BIG DISCOUNT ON THE DAY OF, UM, SO WE KEEP THESE, UM, PROMOTIONS LIKE DEDICATED TO SPECIFIC GROUPS OF PEOPLE, LIKE A STUDENT DISCOUNT AND THAT SORT OF THING.
UM, WE ALSO UTILIZE, UH, A PROGRAM THAT'S NATIONWIDE THAT'S HERE IN, UH, DALLAS-FORT WORTH AREA AS WELL, CALLED VET TICKS, WHICH, UM, DISTRIBUTES COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS FOR PERFORMANCES THAT HAVE AVAILABLE CAPACITY TO ACTIVE DUTY AND RETIRED MILITARY PERSONNEL AND THEIR FAMILIES.
UM, AND THEY DO ALL OF THE, UH, CHECKS AND THAT BALANCES AND VETTING OF, YOU KNOW, THE LEGITIMACY OF THE VARIOUS INDIVIDUALS WHO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM.
AND THEY, UM, THEY HAVE A REALLY ROBUST PROGRAM, AND WE'VE BEEN REALLY SUCCESSFUL WITH SENDING THEM TICKETS THAT THEY CAN THEN DISTRIBUTE TO THEIR, UM, VETERANS AND FAMILIES TO FILL IN SOME OF THOSE SEATS.
UM, AND THEY GET THE CHANCE TO SEE THE SHOW, UM, COMPLIMENTARY.
AND IT'S GREAT BECAUSE IT'S NOT PUBLICLY KNOWN.
SO WE'RE, AGAIN, NOT TRAINING OUR AUDIENCE, LIKE, WELL JUST WAIT AND MAYBE YOU'LL GET A COMP TICKET.
UM, WE'RE VERY, WE'RE VERY CAREFUL AND DELIBERATE ABOUT THAT.
WELL, UH, LOOKS LIKE, UH, I FEEL LIKE, LOOKS LIKE THE, SOME OF THE TOUGH DISCUSSION, TOUGHER DISCUSSION IS GONNA COME, YOU KNOW, SOONER THAN RATHER, UH, LATER.
UH, NOW I DO HAVE SOME SUGGESTION THAT I DON'T KNOW, UH, IF SOMETHING THAT IN THE FUTURE PRESENTATION YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO INCLUDE, UH, IF WE CAN GET SOME DATA BASED ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THINGS HAPPENED BECAUSE OF, UH, THIS EISMAN CENTER, IF THERE WAS A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP, UH, THAT SOMEBODY WAS CONSIDERING, UH, RELOCATING THEIR HEADQUARTER IN REJECTION BECAUSE OF FEW IMPORTANT FACTORS.
UH, AND ALSO I KNOW THAT WE LIKE TO SEE CERTAIN TYPE OF PROGRAMMING AT THE PLACE AT THE CENTER.
UH, THERE MIGHT BE SOME OTHER PROGRAMMING THAT'S, UH, MUCH MORE, UH, ECONOMICALLY, YOU KNOW, PROFITABLE, UH, WHICH WILL, YOU KNOW, DEFINITELY IMPACT, UH, AT THE BOTTOM LINE.
AND ALSO IT'LL HELP THE HOTEL, OTHER HOTEL, NOT JUST THE TAX, YOU KNOW, THAT WILL HELP THEIR BUSINESS COULD BE LIKE, YOU KNOW, CONFERENCE SOME OTHER THINGS, UH, THAT CELEBRATION, UH, AT THE CENTER RENTAL.
UH, SO IF WE CAN, BUT AGAIN, IF
[02:50:01]
YOU HAVE THOSE PROGRAMMING THERE, THEN YOU'RE GONNA TAKE OUT SOME OF THE OTHER PROGRAMMING FROM THE CENTER.BUT IF WE CAN HAVE SOME KIND OF MODEL PROJECTION, AND AT LEAST ON THE PAPER, ON THE COMPUTER COULD BE MADE THAT IF WE DO CERTAIN PROGRAMMING THIS AND SOME OTHER PROGRAMMING THIS, THAT WILL MAKE THIS THING, YOU KNOW, MORE STABLE, UH, SUSTAINABLE.
YOU WANNA SAY THAT? SO IF WE CAN HAVE THOSE THING, AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN START THINKING ABOUT THAT EARLY, IF NOT ALREADY DONE, I THINK THAT WOULD BE PROBABLY HELPFUL.
THEN I DID NOT LIKE COIN THAT EDISON SHUT DOWN THEIR, YOU KNOW, PROGRAM THAT YOU JUST MAY OR JUST MENTIONED.
SO, BUT THAT COULD HAVE BEEN KEPT FEW, YOU KNOW, MORE YEARS IF THEY COULD DONE THIS THING WITH DIFFERENT MODEL SCENARIO.
UH, SO I THINK, I THINK THE, THE, I I WAS CLEAR OR SOMETHING THAT I NEED TO DID.
NO, NO, I, I, I THINK THAT'S, THAT THAT'S THE BALANCE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE CONSTANTLY TALKING ABOUT.
I MEAN, WE COULD HAVE, YOU KNOW, 500 WOULD YOU SAY, UM, DANCE RECITALS, IT'S THE MOST PROFITABLE, BUT IT'S A BALANCE.
THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, RIGHT? I MEAN, I GET IT.
IT'S, IT'S HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU CREATE A BALANCED PROGRAM THROUGHOUT THE YEAR THAT CAN ALSO HAVE, IT'S, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE BIG WINNERS AND YOU'RE GONNA HAVE SOME LOST LEADERS.
I JUST HEARD THAT FROM COUNCIL OF WOMEN JUSTICE.
IT'S THE QUALITY OF THE DIVERSITY IS STILL IMPORTANT.
AND SO THIS IS AN AMAZING BALANCING ACT THAT WE'RE ASKING ALLY TO DO, UH, TO CREATE THE PROGRAMMING THAT SATISFIES ALL THE CURIOSITIES OF THE COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO THAT IN THE END OF THE YEAR, 'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE TALK ABOUT, BALANCES
AND, UM, I THINK THAT WHAT ALLY'S LAID OUT FOR YOU TONIGHT HERE IS THAT HOPEFULLY WHAT WE'VE DEMONSTRATED IS THAT WE UNDERSTAND, UM, WE UNDERSTAND, UM, THAT HOW TO MAXIMIZE THE UTILIZATION OF THE EISMAN CENTER.
UH, WE UNDERSTAND THE TYPES OF PROGRAMMING THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE IS A PART OF OUR OVERALL, UH, OVERALL PROGRAM BECAUSE IT IS GOING TO RESULT IN THE HIGHEST RETURN REVENUE RETURNS AND THE AUXILIARY REVENUE IS GONNA BE, UM, UH, IS GONNA BE STRONG AS WELL.
BUT THEN TO AGAIN, TO, BECAUSE THIS IS ANOTHER MISSION OF YOURS, IS TO BALANCE THAT AND TO MAKE SURE THAT'S NOT ALL WE FOCUSED ON.
AND SO I THINK WE'RE, I THINK WE'RE TRENDING IN A VERY POSITIVE WAY.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WHEN I HIRED ALLY, WE TALKED ABOUT ORBITS AND YOU KNOW, THIS IS REALLY ONLY ALLY'S THIRD ORBIT, RIGHT.
AND YOU CAN ALREADY SEE HOW IT'S IMPROVED.
I MEAN, WE'RE AT 2.75 ESTIMATED VERSUS, UH, YOU KNOW, SINCE COVID NOTHING OVER ABOUT TWO TWO.
AND SO, UM, I FEEL LIKE, I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE WE'RE STARTING TO HIT, HIT OUR STRIDE.
UM, EVERYTHING THAT SHE SAID ABOUT THE ORG, THAT'S WHY I WANTED HER TO SPEND SOME TIME ON THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES, ON THE POLICY CHANGES ON RIGHT SIDING, THE FEES AND WHAT WE'RE CHARGING.
UM, THIS IS A LOT OF SCIENCE, BUT IN THE END, IT'S, IT TRULY IS ART.
IT'S AN ART TO, IT'S AN ART TO PUT A 365 DAY A YEAR PROGRAM TOGETHER.
AND SO I, I GET EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, AND IT'S, AND IT'S JUST BALANCING THAT WITH EVERYTHING ELSE I JUST DESCRIBED.
I THINK BECAUSE, BECAUSE OF AI, YOU THINK WE CAN IMPROVE.
WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR A THOROUGH AND, AND REALLY SOLID, UH, UH, PRESENTATION.
AND, AND THANK YOU FOR, FOR THE AMAZING PROGRESS.
THE, THE NUMBERS DO, UH, POINT OUT THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE MOVING IN A GREAT DIRECTION.
UH, I BELIEVE WE ARE MOVING ON TO ITEMS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST, WHICH IS ITEM F.
I FEEL LIKE MAYBE I SHOULD START WITH A HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND LET EVERY EVERYONE ELSE TAKE SOMETHING ELSE, SINCE Y'ALL WILL ALL STEAL ALL MY OTHER ONES.
BUT HAPPY BIRTHDAY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER DORIAN, UH, YOU ARE, YOU ARE STILL LOOKING SPRY FOR 35.
AND SO WAY TO WAY TO IT, WAY TO KEEP IT TOGETHER.
[F. REPORT ON ITEMS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST ]
MOVE ON TO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER.INE, WHY DON'T YOU GO AHEAD AND START WITH ITEMS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST.
I THINK STILL THE BIRTHDAY IS COMMUNITY INTEREST.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO, UH, COUNCILMAN IAN.
UH, BUT I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, LAST, I DON'T KNOW, THE LAST, UH, SUNDAY OUT OF, I DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING ELSE.
I JUST REMEMBER SUNDAY, UH, I THINK WE HAD SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, BUT SUNDAY I REMEMBER THE MOST.
WE CELEBRATED THE LUNAR NEW YEAR AND THE, OUR CHINA TOWN.
THE PROGRAM HAS GREW SO MUCH IN FRONT OF MY EYES.
[02:55:01]
THE, I THINK THEY HAVE MIXED OUT WITH THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE, UH, IN THE PARKING.SO, UH, AND THEY HAVE A ST STAGING, UH, AREA THAT PEOPLE CAN SIT AND WATCH THE DRAGON DANCE.
SO IT'S NOT THOSE SMALL PROGRAM ANYMORE.
I THINK WE ARE, WE, WE ARE VERY PROUD THAT WHAT, UH, THE CITY HAS ACHIEVED AND WHAT THEY HAVE DONE.
I THINK IF YOU GUYS, ANYONE MISSED THIS THING THIS YEAR, UH, SHOULD GO NEXT YEAR AT LEAST, UH, TO WATCH IT.
ON TUESDAY, THE PARKS COMMISSION HAD A GOOD MEETING.
YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, MAYOR WITH BUDGET CONSTRAINTS AND TOUGH DECISIONS, UM, WAS A BIG FOCUS OF THAT MEETING IS THEY PUT TOGETHER THEIR ANNUAL BUDGET LETTER AND RECOMMENDATION FOR US.
AND SO, UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE LETTER'S NOT FINISHED YET, BUT BASED ON WHAT I SAW, I THINK WE CAN ALL EXPECT A MUCH SHORTER LETTER THIS YEAR THAN WE HAVE IN THE PAST.
UM, SIMILARLY, THE ANIMAL SERVICES ADVISORY COMMISSION MET ON TUESDAY.
IT WAS THEIR FIRST MEETING, UM, BACK IN THE NEWLY RENOVATED ANIMAL SHELTER.
SO IT WAS GREAT TO BE ABLE TO BE THERE.
UM, AND REALLY GREAT REPORTS ABOUT THEIR PARTNERSHIP WITH FRIENDS OF RESCUE ANIMALS.
UM, WHEN I WAS THERE, THEY ONLY HAD FOUR CATS, UM, BECAUSE THAT ORGANIZATION IS HELPING SO MUCH.
UM, THEY'RE ALSO HELPING WITH, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE HAVE OVERCROWDING OF DOGS, UM, TRANSPORTING THEM.
AND SO THEY'RE DOING REALLY, REALLY GREAT THINGS, UM, AND JUST HUNDREDS OF VOLUNTEER HOURS THAT THAT ORGANIZATION IS PROVIDING FOR FREE.
SO JUST REALLY A FANTASTIC PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE WITH THEM.
UM, AND THEN, BECAUSE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE EISMAN CENTER, THERE'S A GREAT PROGRAM COMING UP ON SATURDAY.
YOU CAN BUY TICKETS TO SEE JESSICA FAU ON SATURDAY THE 21ST AT 8:00 PM AWESOME.
UH, IT WAS A VERY FULL WEEK, AND A LOT OF OUR, A LOT OF OUR MAYOR AND COUNCIL AND, AND OUR CITY MANAGER AND SOME STAFF ATTENDED SEVERAL OF THESE BEDS.
BUT SATURDAY WE ATTENDED THE ANNUAL ROTARY GALA.
WHICH WAS VERY NICE, UH, VERY WELL DONE.
UH, THEY HAD BEAUTIFUL DECORATIONS.
UM, WE ALSO HAD OUR FIRST CULTURAL ARTS COMMISSION MEETING ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT, AND THEN OF COURSE, WE, UH, WERE FOLLOWED BY THE, UH, RICHARDSON FIRE DEPARTMENT ON FRIDAY NIGHT.
WE HAD THE ANNUAL, UH, AWARDS BANQUET.
UH, SATURDAY NIGHT WE HAD SIMON AND GARFUNKEL, AND OF COURSE, ON SUNDAY TO REITERATE FROM, UH, FROM, UH, COUNCILMAN CHU, UM, WITH THE LUNAR NEW YEAR, THE YEAR OF THE HORSE WAS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.
THERE IS ONE VENDOR THERE THAT IT'S, I THINK IT'S CALLED BRISKET, UH, LEACHING.
ANYWAY, I, I BUY BRISKET FROM HIM EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
I MEAN, IT LITERALLY MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH IS DELICIOUS.
AND I BELIEVE HE'S OUT OF ALLEN, BUT IT'S LIKE, IT'S INCREDIBLE.
AND THEN OF COURSE, UH, SUNDAY AFTERNOON, UH, THERE WAS AN HOA, UH, MEETING AT FAIRWAYS OF CHERYL PARK.
AND, UM, THEY, I HAVE TO SAY, THEY RUN A REALLY GOOD ELEVATED, WE'LL CALL IT, AND PROFESSIONAL, UH, STYLE, UH, HOA MEETING.
SO THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THAT AS WELL.
IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY, YOU CAN CALL IT WHATEVER YOU LIKE.
AND THANK Y'ALL FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISHES.
MAYOR PRO TAM HUTCH RIDER, HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
UM, I JUST WANT TO TAG ON FOR A MOMENT.
THE RICHARDSON FIRE DEPARTMENT AWARDS, UM, HAD THE OPPORTUNITY THIS YEAR THE WAY THAT, UH, UM, OUR CITY MANAGER SET IT UP TO SIT WITH PEOPLE WHO HAD, WERE ACTUALLY, UM, SAVED BY OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT.
AND IT WAS INCREDIBLY, UM, AT LEAST THE, THE COUPLE THAT WERE AT OUR TABLE, UM, INCREDIBLY POWERFUL.
AND, UM, AND SO I JUST WANNA SAY CONGRATULATIONS TO, TO CHIEF VY AND THE ENTIRE STAFF OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, WHAT THEY, WITH, WHAT THEY DID.
AND THEN ALSO BACKING UP A LITTLE BIT ON TUESDAY EVENING, UM, A FEW OF US HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTERACT WITH THE RICHARDSON YOUTH LEADERSHIP PROGRAM.
AND IT WAS AN OUTSTANDING OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH THE, UM, I'LL SAY THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW.
UM, YOU KNOW, EVERY NOW AND AGAIN, PEOPLE ARE LIKE, WELL, WHAT'S OUR, WHAT'S OUR YOUTH LIKE AND HOW ARE THEY GONNA BE? UM, AND I WOULD TELL YOU IF, IF TUESDAY NIGHT WAS IN THE INDICATION, WE ARE IN VERY, VERY GOOD HANDS.
AND THEN I ALSO LEARNED HOW TO DO THE NEW COOL HEART.
SO I IMPRESSED MY DAUGHTER YEAH.
THIS WEEKEND BY SHOWING HER THAT.
SO I JUST, ONE TRIP TO TIME PAIN, YOU LEARN HOW TO MAKE A HEART.
I WAS GONNA SAY, A, IT WAS SO COOL TO LEARN FROM THOSE, FROM THE, FROM THE YOUTH.
SO ANYWAY, THEY DID A, IT WAS, IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE EVENING.
SO THANK YOU, UM, DON, FOR SETTING THAT ALL UP.
UH, A LOT OF, A LOT OF GREAT STUFF THERE.
I, I WILL, UM, THROW OUT THERE ON THE LUNAR NEW YEAR.
UM, IT'S NOT OFTEN THAT, UH, UH, UH, A COUNCIL MEMBER OR ELECTED OFFICIAL FROM ANOTHER CITY GETS NAMED, BUT, UH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER MARIA TOO, ACTUALLY, UH, ATTENDED OUR, UH, LUNAR NEW YEAR AND WAS REALLY BRAGGING ABOUT WHAT
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A GREAT JOB WE HAD DONE AND JUST HOW PROUD WE SHOULD BE OF, OF WHAT WE DID.UH, SHE HAD SOME COMMENTS ON MY MANDARIN AS WELL, AND I'LL JUST LEAVE THAT AS A PRIVATE CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE TWO OF US.
UM, THERE, UM, UH, GOSH, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF OTHER EVENTS.
I, I WILL SAY ON THE FIRE BANQUET, I THINK THE ASTOUNDING NUMBER THERE WAS 16 LIVES SAVED THIS YEAR.
UM, UH, AND THAT WAS, UH, A NUMBER THAT I WASN'T EXPECTING AND APPARENTLY WAS A RECORD NUMBER.
UH, INCREDIBLY EMOTIONAL EVENING, LISTENING TO SOME OF THOSE STORIES AND SPECIFICALLY, UM, THE THANK YOUS FROM THOSE FAMILIES.
AND BEAUTIFUL, UH, OPPORTUNITY TO SIT WITH, UH, SOME OF THOSE FAMILIES.
SO THANK YOU FOR SETTING THAT UP.
UM, UH, I DO WANNA HIT, UH, ONE OTHER ITEM, UH, WHICH I THINK MADE A LITTLE BIT OF REGIONAL NEWS, BUT, UM, UH, THE RTC THAT, UH, I GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, UH, TO ATTEND ON A SEMI-REGULAR BASIS.
UM, I KNOW, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER JUSTICE WAS THERE AND OUR CITY MANAGER WAS THERE.
IT WAS A REALLY IMPORTANT, UH, MEETING THIS PARTICULAR, UH, LAST WEEK.
AND, UM, UH, AND IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL AS IT RELATES TO DART, UH, RTC REALLY TOOK ON A, A MAJOR LIFT TO TRY AND BRIDGE SOME GAPS, BUT, UH, MASSIVE KUDOS TO, UM, UH, OUR CURRENT CHAIR OF DART AND ALL THE WORK THAT HE DID TO KIND OF CREATIVELY TRY AND BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER.
UM, AND, UH, AND TO CRTC STEP UP AND, AND HELP OUT, UM, UH, WITH THE FINAL ELEMENTS THAT PROBABLY WILL GET PLANO AND IRVING BACK, BACK OFF OF BEING, UH, IN AN ELECTION MODE, UH, IS A, IS A REAL FANTASTIC THING.
SO, UH, MAJOR THANK YOU THERE.
UH, I KNOW WE HAVE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION ON THE AGENDA, BUT, UH, MR. MAGNER, DO YOU HAVE SOME, UH, COMMENTS OR DO YOU WANT ME TO GO AHEAD? YEAH, NO, MAYOR, UM, I, UH, IF IT'S, UH, AGREEABLE WITH THE COUNCIL, I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND JUST, UH, PASS ON THAT TONIGHT AND WE WILL RESCHEDULE THAT WHEN WE'RE PREPARED TO BRIEF YOU.
I SUSPECT THE COUNCIL'S JUST FINE WITH THAT.
SO, UH, WITH NO FURTHER BUSINESS, THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT 9:02 PM.