* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:03] EVERYONE, IT IS [1. CALL TO ORDER] OFFICIALLY 6:00 PM ON APRIL 8TH, 2025, TO THE REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING FOR THE CITY OF BURN TEXAS. UM, IT IS MY PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE AND, AND, UH, ASK TO COME FORWARD. MY SISTER IN CHRIST, REVEREND KIMBERLY BURKE FROM THE FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH FROM BERNIE, KIMBERLY, WOULD YOU LEAD US IN THE LIMITATION? ABSOLUTELY. THANKS, KIM. LET'S PRAY TOGETHER. GRACIOUS GOD, WE COME BEFORE YOU TONIGHT JUST SEEKING YOUR GUIDANCE AS WE GATHER TO ADDRESS BOTH THE CHALLENGES AND THE OPPORTUNITIES FACING OUR CITY. WE PRAY FOR YOUR WISDOM AND YOUR DISCERNMENT. WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR THOSE IN THIS ROOM WHO HAVE VOICE. AND TONIGHT WE THINK ABOUT THOSE WHO HAVE NO VOICE IN OUR COMMUNITY. WE PRAY, OH LORD, THAT WE MIGHT ACT WITH INTEGRITY AND FAIRNESS IN ALL OUR DELIBERATIONS. AND MAY OUR DISCUSSIONS BE MARKED WITH RESPECT AND UNDERSTANDING, AND MAY WE FIND COMMON GROUND IN OUR PURSUIT OF THE COMMON GOOD. WE'RE SO GRATEFUL FOR OUR CITY AND FOR ALL OF THE AMAZING POSSIBILITIES WE PRAY FOR THE WELLBEING OF EACH AND EVERY RESIDENT, THAT OUR CITY MAY BE A PLACE OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY AND JUSTICE IN YOUR NAME, AMEN. AMEN. THANK YOU. KIM. WOULD YOU JOIN ME IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND THEN TO THE TEXAS FLAG, IGI FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES AND TWO REPUBLIC, WHO, WHICH STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER, UNDER GOD, INVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FRAUD. HONOR THE TEXAS FLAG OF PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO BE TEXAS. ONE STATE UNDER GOD, ONE AN INDIVISIBLE. THANK YOU. YOU MAY BE SEATED. BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO ANY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, IT'S MY PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE, UH, MARIA GARCIA. SHE IS FILLING IN FOR OUR, OUR CITY ATTORNEY FOR M**K, WHO'S OUT TO SPEAK. WELCOME, MARIA. SO GLAD YOU COULD JOIN US. UM, COUNCIL [2. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST] MEMBERS, DO WE HAVE ANY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST ON THIS EVENING? OKAY, NO CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. MOVING ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER THREE. PUBLIC COMMENTS, UM, APPEARS, APPEARS TO ME THAT NOBODY HAS SIGNED UP, BUT IF SOMEONE HAS CAME IN LATE AND WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK BEFORE THE COUNCIL, YOU CAN COME TO THE PODIUM, STATE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, AND YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES TO TO SPEAK FOR THE COUNCIL. ALL RIGHT, NOTE TAKERS FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS. MOVING ON TO AGENDA [4. CONSENT AGENDA: All items listed below within the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine by the City Council and may be enacted with one motion. There will be no separate discussion of items unless a Council Member or citizen so requests, in which event the item may be moved to the general order of business and considered in its normal sequence.] ITEM NUMBER FOUR, CONSENT. UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS? AGENDA OR ON AGENDA ITEM CONSENT. AGENDA ITEMS FOUR A OR FOUR B. ALL RIGHT, NO QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS. I GOT A MOTION TO APPROVE FROM COUNCILMAN SCOTT. I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT WE APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED. SECOND FROM COUNCILMAN MACALUSO, PLEASE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. FIVE ZERO. THANK YOU EVERYONE. MOVING [A. CONSIDER RESOLUTION NO. 2025-R23; A RESOLUTION ADOPTING REVISIONS TO THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICY TO ALIGN WITH BEST PRACTICES, REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS, AND NEWLY ADOPTED PROCUREMENT POLICIES.] ON TO OUR REGULAR CITY AGENDA. ITEM FIVE A 2025 DASH 0 6 5. CONSIDER RESOLUTION NUMBER 2025 DASH R 23 A RESOLUTION ADOPTING REVISIONS TO THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICY TO ALIGN WITH BEST PRACTICES, REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS, AND NEWLY ADOPTED PROCUREMENT POLICIES. UH, PRESENTING SARAH BLUCER. YES, SIR. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. UM, YOU MAY REMEMBER LAST COUNSEL MEETING MARCH 25TH. WE BROUGHT FORWARD THE STANDALONE PROCUREMENT POLICIES AND PCARD POLICIES, AND I PROMISED IF THOSE POLICIES WERE ADOPTED, WE'D BRING FORWARD THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICY TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING WAS ALIGNED. AND THAT'S THE PURPOSE OF TONIGHT'S ITEM. OF COURSE, THIS ITEM ALIGNS WITH OUR STRATEGY MAP THROUGH FISCAL EXCELLENCE, FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP, COMMITTING TO STRATEGIC, RESPONSIBLE AND CONSERVATIVE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, AND PROVIDING STREAMLINED INEFFICIENT PROCESSES. SO, WE'LL AGAIN, START WITH THE SAME CONVERSATION WE HAD AT THE LAST COUNCIL MEETING, WHICH IS, OF COURSE, WHY ARE THESE POLICY UPDATES BEING RECOMMENDED AND WHAT EXACTLY IS CHANGING? FIRST, I WANTED TO START WITH A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE'RE ACCOMPLISHING BECAUSE IT, IT OCCURRED TO US THAT BRINGING FORWARD ALL THESE POLICIES, YOU MAY WONDER, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE KEEPING TRACK OF THEM? WHY DO UPDATES IN ONE POLICY REQUIRE AN UPDATE IN ANOTHER? SO THE, THE BIG PICTURE IS WE'RE CREATING AFOR UNIFIED FINANCIAL POLICY HANDBOOK. THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICY IS THE, THE MAIN POLICY. THAT'S WHERE EVERYTHING IS HOUSED. THAT'S WHERE EVERYTHING GETS REFERENCED BACK TO. THERE'S REASONS WHY YOU HAVE, UH, JUST A HANDFUL OF INDIVIDUAL STANDALONE POLICIES UNDERNEATH THAT POLICY. AND THAT'S BECAUSE FOR SOME REASON OR ANOTHER, WE NEED TO, THE ABILITY TO PULL THOSE POLICIES OUT. SO, FOR INSTANCE, THE THE FIRST ONE, THAT'S A STANDALONE POLICY. UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I BRING FORWARD TO YOU ANNUALLY THAT'S REQUIRED PER THE PUBLIC FUNDS INVESTMENT ACT, AND THAT'S THE INVESTMENT POLICY. I ALSO SOMETIMES HAVE TO PROVIDE THAT SEPARATELY TO INVESTORS SO IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO SEND THE WHOLE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICY TO OUR INVESTORS OR TO BRING THAT WHOLE POLICY TO YOU EVERY YEAR. IT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP IT SEPARATE FOR AUDIT PURPOSES. AND THEN THE TWO POLICIES THAT WE WENT OVER IN THE LAST COUNCIL MEETING, WE MADE THOSE STANDALONE. SO [00:05:01] WE COULD EASILY PULL THOSE OUT AND PROVIDE THOSE TWO EMPLOYEES TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND, UM, ACCEPT. WE WOULDN'T WANNA PROVIDE THE WHOLE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICY TO EMPLOYEES AND SAY, YOU HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND ACCEPT THE WHOLE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICY. WE JUST WANT THEM TO ZERO IN ON THE PROCUREMENT POLICY. THE LAST ONE IS, UM, WHAT'S NEXT IN LINE, WHICH IS OUR ERCOT RISK MANAGEMENT POLICY. THAT'S, UM, A POLICY THAT HASN'T CHANGED SINCE 2013. IT'S PROVIDED ANNUALLY TO ERCOT. IT HAS A VERY SPECIFIC PURPOSE. IT'S ONLY, UM, SO THAT WE REMAIN ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN ERCOT MARKETS. AND FOR US, THAT'S CONGESTION REVENUE RIGHTS. SO IT'S A VERY SPECIFIC LIMITED USE POLICY THAT DOESN'T NEED TO BE WITHIN OUR OVERALL FINANCIAL POLICY. SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE BIG PICTURE. SO THE REASONS THAT WE'RE BRINGING FORWARD POLICY REVISIONS ON THE OVERALL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICY THIS EVENING, OF COURSE, IS TO ALIGN WITH THOSE TWO POLICIES WE BROUGHT FORWARD LAST MONTH. UM, AT THE SAME TIME, WE WENT AHEAD AND DID A DEEP SCRUB. WHILE WE WERE IN THERE, WE MADE SURE THAT WAS THERE ANY VERBIAGE THAT NEEDED TO BE UPDATED FOR GASB, FOR HOME RULE CHARTER FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE, OR, UM, CONSISTENCY WITH OTHER POLICIES, AND JUST MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR POLICIES WERE STILL, UM, TIMELY FOR WHAT WE WERE DOING. AS, AS I HAD MENTIONED LAST MONTH, THE LAST TIME WE HAD DONE A DEEP DIVE SCRUB WAS ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO. SO THE FIRST, UM, THE FIRST PORTION OF OUR REVIEW WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICY ALIGNED WITH THOSE NEW PROCUREMENT AND PURCHASE CARD POLICIES. AND SO SECTION FIVE NOW REFERS TO THE STANDALONE POLICY SO THAT THERE'S NO CONFLICT BETWEEN THE TWO. THE SECOND WAS THE MORE COMPREHENSIVE. IF YOU HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO READ THE AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY, ALMOST EVERY SINGLE ITEM WAS REFERENCING A GSB OR THE HOME RULE CHARTER SECTION THAT WE WERE MAKING SURE THAT THE TERMINOLOGY WAS IN ALIGNMENT WITH. ARE THERE, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS AFTER YOU HAD A CHANCE TO READ THROUGH THE REVISIONS? COUNCIL MSO? JUST ONE. GREAT. YOU SAID WE SHARE AN ERCOT REVENUE CONGESTION PRICING. DO WE GET REVENUE FROM THEM? SOMETIMES WE DO. UM, WHEN WE ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE MARKET RIGHT NOW, WE'RE NOT. WE JUST HAVE THE ABILITY TO, IT'S ONE OF, IT'S ONE OF THE MANY FINANCIAL TOOLS THAT WE COULD USE IF WE WANTED TO PARTICIPATE IN IT. IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA BE BRINGING FORWARD AT A FUTURE COUNCIL MEETING TO DISCUSS THE BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATING IN THE CONGESTION REVENUE RIGHT MARKET VERSUS A HEDGE OR A SWAP. OKAY. ANY QUESTION FROM COUNSEL? NO. CAN I GET A MOTION MOTION FROM COUNCILOR WILLISTON? PLEASE GO AHEAD. MAYOR, MAKE A MOTION THAT WE APPROVE RESOLUTION NUMBER 2025 DASH R 23 A RESOLUTION, ADOPTING THE REVISIONS TO THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICY TO ALIGN WITH BEST PRACTICES, REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS IN THE NEWLY ADOPTED PROCUREMENT POLICIES. SECOND FROM COUNCILWOMAN WRIGHT, PLEASE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. FIVE ZERO. THANK YOU EVERYONE. THANK YOU, SARAH. DON'T GO NOWHERE. MOVING [B. CONSIDER RESOLUTION NO. 2025-R24; A RESOLUTION TO CREATE FIVE (5) NEW CITY FUNDS: DISPATCH FUND, UTILITY VEHICLE REPLACEMENT FUND, GOVERNMENT VEHICLE REPLACEMENT FUND, UTILITY EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT FUND AND GOVERNMENT EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT FUND.] ON TO AGENDA ITEM FIVE B 2025 DASH ONE 20. CONSIDER RESOLUTION NUMBER 2025 R 24 RESOLUTION TO CREATE FIVE NEW CITY FUNDS DISPATCH FUND, UTILITY VEHICLE REPLACEMENT FUND, GOVERNMENT VEHICLE REPLACEMENT FUND, UTILITY EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT FUND, AND GOVERNMENT EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT FUND PRESENTING. SARAH, AGAIN, YES. THIS IS ALSO RELATED TO THE REVIEW THAT WE DID OVER THE POLICY AS WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE FUNDS LISTING. UM, THERE WERE A COUPLE FUNDS THAT WE NOTICED THAT WE SHOULD LIST, AND THEN THERE WERE SOME OTHERS THAT, UM, THE POLICY FOR HOW TO MANAGE OUR VEHICLE REPLACEMENT FUND AND EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT FUND WERE WITHIN THE POLICY. BUT WE THOUGHT WE CAN PROBABLY DO THIS A BETTER WAY. SO RIGHT NOW, UM, I'LL START WITH THE VEHICLE REPLACEMENT AND EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT FUNDS. THOSE ARE CURRENTLY MANAGED WITHIN THE GENERAL FUNDS FUND BALANCE. WHAT WE WANNA DO IS CREATE FUNDS THAT SUPPORT THE POLICY THAT WAS ALREADY WRITTEN, UM, REGARDING HOW IF WE HAVE VEHICLES AND WE, UM, GO AND SELL THEM, THE PROCEEDS OF THOSE VEHICLES COULD GO INTO THE FUND TO FACILITATE THE PURCHASE OF NEW VEHICLES. WE ALSO, UM, ARE SCHEDULING OUT OUR EQUIPMENT, OUR LARGE SCALE EQUIPMENT, TO KNOW WHEN THOSE ARE GONNA BE RETIRE, RETIRED. AND SO THIS ENABLES US TO BUILD UP THE FUND BALANCE AND MAYBE CASH FUND SOME OF THOSE, UM, RETIREMENTS INSTEAD OF LEASING THEM OR HAVING TO INCUR INTEREST. IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST A BETTER PRACTICE OF MANAGING YOUR FLEET AND YOUR EQUIPMENT. UM, SO WE HAVE A GOVERNMENT AND A UTILITY FOR EACH ONE OF THOSE, WHICH MAKES IT FOUR FUNDS. THE FIFTH IS A DISPATCH FUND. SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE THAT OPERATING AS A DEPARTMENT WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND. AND WE HAVE ALREADY TALKED TO THE DISPATCH COMMITTEE ABOUT THIS, AND THEY'RE EXCITED ABOUT HAVING ANOTHER FUND. ESSENTIALLY WHAT IT'S GONNA DO IS IT'S GONNA JUST MAKE IT MORE TRANSPARENT, THE REVENUES THAT ARE COMING IN, BECAUSE OUR DISPATCH [00:10:01] CENTER IS A, UM, MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL, UM, CENTER THAT'S FUNDED BY KENDALL COUNTY, CITY OF FAIR OAKS RANCH, AND THE CITY OF BURNIE. ALL OF OUR REVENUES FUND FUNNEL IN TO, UH, SUPPORT THAT DEPARTMENTAL, UM, BUDGET RIGHT NOW. BUT WE WOULD GO AHEAD AND CARVE THAT OUT AS A SEPARATE FUND SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE STANDALONE BUDGET TO THE COMMITTEE AND BETTER TRANSPARENCY ABOUT YEAR OVER YEAR, WHAT HAPPENS WITH SURPLUSES. THAT'S THE PURPOSE OF THOSE FIVE FUNDS. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS, SARAH? UM, HOW COME IT, WE HAVEN'T DONE IT BEFORE, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST NOW IS THE RIGHT TIME. UM, IT'S, IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO SET UP AT FIRST. ARE YOU TALKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT ALL OF THEM, OR ONE IN PARTICULAR? ALL OF 'EM. IT SEEMS LIKE A GOOD IDEA AND YEAH. MAKES, I MEAN, THE WAY YOU EXPLAIN IT SEEMS TO MAKE PLENTY OF SENSE. I'M JUST CURIOUS. YOU KNOW, HERE WE ARE JUST TALKING ABOUT, NOW, I MIGHT ADD THAT WE DID HAVE SEPARATE LINE ITEMS SO YOU COULD SEE WHERE THOSE THINGS WERE, BUT TO HAVE ANOTHER FUND THAT HAS A GOOD BUDGETING PARAMETERS AROUND IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE. QUE QUESTION ABOUT THE, I'M ALWAYS LEERY OF FUNDS. UM, OH, OKAY. MY QUESTION IS THIS, IN THE CAPITAL BUDGET, WHERE THEY, THEY ORIGINALLY WERE JUST IN THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET, AS YOU SAID, THEY WERE LINE ITEMS. NOW THESE ARE DEDICATED FUNDS, MEANING THAT CAN THEY BE DRAWN BACK INTO THE GENERAL FUND FOR WHATEVER PURPOSE? ARE THEY DEDICATED TO EQUIPMENT, VEHICLES AND DISPATCH? SO IF COUNSEL ASSIGNS A FUND BALANCE TO FUND INTO THESE FUNDS, WE WOULD HAVE TO COME BACK TO COUNSEL AND ASK FOR IT TO BE USED FOR A DIFFERENT PURPOSE. SO THE ANSWER IS IT CANNOT BE UNILATERALLY WITHDRAWN BY STAFF OR CITY MANAGEMENT INTO THE GENERAL FUND. 'CAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF WHAT I'M GETTING AT. I UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT AND TO YOUR POINT, BUT WHEN YOU START HAVING FUNDS, YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT IF THERE'S A FUND, THEN THAT'S WHAT IT'S FOR. RIGHT? UM, AND YOU'LL STILL HAVE THE SAME LINE, LINE ITEM DOCUMENTATION. IT'LL JUST BE UNDER THE FUND BALANCE AS OPPOSED TO THE GENERAL FUND. ONE OTHER QUESTION ABOUT DISPATCH, UM, WE'RE PROVIDING HOW MUCH OF THAT BUDGET? A THIRD BASICALLY, OR IT'S ESSENTIALLY A THIRD. WE'RE, UH, KENDALL COUNTY'S THE HIGHEST, WE'RE THE SECOND HIGHEST, BUT IT'S JUST BY A COUPLE PERCENTAGE POINTS. RIGHT. AND, AND THE MONEY THAT WOULD GO TO THEM IS GONNA COME OUT OF THAT FUND, THE MONEY THAT GOES TO THEM. CAN YOU REPEAT THAT AGAIN? WAIT, WHAT? BA BASICALLY, WHEN YOU SAY DISPATCH FUND, THIS IS SORT OF OUR BOOKKEEPING OF THE MONEY THAT WE'RE GONNA PUT INTO THEIR FUND. IT'S, IT'S OUR FUND. IT'S OUR FUND, YES. SO THE MONEY COMES TO US, WE RUN THE DISPATCH CENTER, WE RUN THE BUDGET, AND SO THIS PROVIDES, OKAY, SO THEIR MONEY'S COMING INTO THIS FUND? YES. OKAY. AND THEY'RE OKAY WITH THIS? THEY'RE HAPPY. YES. WE'VE, IT'S BEEN OPERATING LIKE THIS FOR YEARS. IT'S JUST, IT'S BEEN OPERATING AS A DEPARTMENT WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND. SO WE MANAGE THAT FUND BALANCE ON A LINE ITEM. YOU CAN GO INTO OUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SEE THAT LINE ITEM, UM, ARTICULATED, AND I SAID IT'S A THIRD. IT'S NOT, IT'S BASED ON CALLS FOR SERVICE. MM-HMM . SO GENERALLY, UH, WHEN WE RUN THE NUMBERS FOR CALLS FOR SERVICE, US AND THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, WE'RE RIGHT AROUND THAT 40, 43%. AND THEN FAIR OAKS IS USUALLY AROUND THAT 18, 19%. SO BASED ON THAT, I DIDN'T WANNA BE QUOTED AS EXACTLY A THIRD BECAUSE , I KNEW IT WAS A LITTLE MORE NUANCED. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? CAN WE GET A MOTION MOTION FROM COUNCILMAN BUNKER? YEAH, I MOVE. WE APPROVE RESOLUTION NUMBER 2025 R 24, A RESOLUTION TO CREATE FIVE NEW CITY FUNDS DISPATCH FUND, UTILITY VEHICLE REPLACEMENT FUND, GOVERNMENT VEHICLE REPLACEMENT FUND, UTILITY EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT FUND, AND GOVERNMENT EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT FUND. SECOND FROM COUNCILMAN SCOTT, PLEASE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. FIVE ZERO. THANK YOU EVERYONE. THANK YOU, SARAH. THANK YOU. WE [C. CONSIDER RESOLUTION NO. 2025-R25; A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AND MANAGE AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF BOERNE AND KIMLEY-HORN AND ASSOCIATES, INC., FOR CONSULTING SERVICES FOR THE SAFE STREETS FOR ALL (SS4A) GRANT PROJECT FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $300,000.] KNOW TO AGENDA ITEM FIVE C 2025 DASH ONE 30, CONSIDER RESOLUTION NUMBER 2025 DASH R 25, A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AND MANAGE AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF BURN AND KIMLEY HORN AND ASSOCIATES INCORPORATED FOR CONSULTING SERVICES FOR THE SAFE STREETS FOR ALL SS FOUR, A GRANT PROJECT FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 300,000. PRESENTING. JEFF, CAROL, JEFF EVENING MARON COUNCIL. UM, SO THE SS FOUR A PROJECT, IT REALLY HOW THIS TIES TO OUR STRATEGY MAP. OBVIOUSLY, IT INVESTS AND MAINTAINS IN OUR HIGH QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS AND ASSETS, AND ALSO IT ADVANCES SOME MASTER PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS. UM, SO SOME QUICK HISTORY. THE SS FOUR A FUND GRANT PROGRAM IS SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN AROUND FOR SEVERAL, SEVERAL YEARS. WE ACTUALLY, BACK IN 2022, APPLIED FOR IMPLEMENTATION GRANT TO TRY TO DO SOME WORK. IF YOU GUYS RECALL IT, THE RIVER HERF INTERSECTION, WE WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN THAT GRANT. AND PART OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED IN THERE IS THEY, THEY REALLY WANT US TO DO THIS PLANNING STUDY PORTION AND THEN FOLLOW IT BY THE IMPLEMENTATION GRANT. UM, SO WHEN IT CAME TIME IN 24, EARLY 24 TO APPLY [00:15:01] FOR THE GRANT, AGAIN, WE DECIDED WE'RE GONNA DO WHAT THEY ASKED US AND DO THE PLANNING GRANT AND HOPEFULLY FOLLOW IT UP WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION GRANT. SO IN 2024, WE APPLIED FOR THIS GRANT. UM, WE HAD SOME HELP PUTTING IT TOGETHER. AND THEN IN LATE 2024, END OF NOVEMBER-ISH, WE RECEIVED EXCITING NEWS THAT WE GOT THE GRANT. UM, AND SO THIS GRANT WILL BE A REIMBURSEMENT GRANT WHERE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL GIVE US 80% BACK, UM, OF THE WORK THAT WE DO. AND SO WHAT WE PUT IN OUR GRANT APPLICATION IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO UPDATE THE CITY'S EXISTING SAFETY ACTION PLAN. SO BACK WHEN WE DID OUR MOBILITY MASTER PLAN, WE PUT TOGETHER A SAFETY ACTION PLAN FOR US TO BE USING FOR OURSELVES. AND WE GOT ABOUT 80% OF THE FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS, BUT WE DIDN'T DO EVERYTHING THAT WE REALLY NEEDED TO DO. AS WE CONTINUED TO DO GO AFTER THESE FEDERAL GRANTS, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO LOOK AT AND HAVE THAT COMPLETE SAFETY ACTION PLAN THAT MEETS ALL THE FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS. UM, ALSO IN THE GRANT APPLICATION, WE SAID WE'RE GONNA DO A DOWNTOWN PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ACTION PLAN. THAT'S SOMETHING BETWEEN MASTER PLAN MEETINGS AND MOBILITY MASTER PLAN MEETINGS. REALLY GETTING PEDESTRIAN SAFETY IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA IS SOMETHING THAT'S COME UP MANY TIMES BY OUR CITIZENS, EVEN IN THE RECENT CITIZEN SURVEY. AND THEN ALSO, WE'RE GONNA GO BACK AND LOOK AT SOME OF THE CERTAIN INTERSECTIONS AND DO KIND OF A SAFETY AUDIT AT THE INTERSECTIONS, GOING BACK AND LOOKING AT CRASH RECORDS AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO POTENTIALLY MAKE THOSE INTERSECTIONS SAFER. SO AGAIN, FEDERAL MONEY, WE HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING THE FEDERAL WAY. SO WE PUT TOGETHER A DETAILED REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS THAT MET ALL THE FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS. WE PUT THAT OUT IN, UM, DECEMBER, UH, WENT THROUGH JANUARY, AND WE RECEIVED THREE SUBMITTALS, AND WE REVIEWED ALL THREE SUBMITTALS, AND ALL THREE WERE EXCELLENT FIRMS, AND ALL THREE OF 'EM COULD HAVE DONE THE PROJECT. GREAT. UM, BUT OUR SELECTION COMMITTEE SELECTED KIMLEY HORN TO WORK WITH IT. AND KIMLEY HORN HAS A 10 PLUS YEAR RECORD OF DOING TRANSPORTATION AND SAFETY ISSUES FOR THE CITY OF BERNIE. THEY, THEY PUT TOGETHER OUR MOBILITY PLAN AND OUR CURRENT SAFETY ACTION PLAN. SO THEY HAVE A LOT OF HISTORY WITH THE CITY OF BERNIE. AND SO TONIGHT WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO APPROVE, TO LET US MANAGE THAT CONTRACT AND MOVE FORWARD WITH THE CONTRACT. ANY QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL COUNCILOR WILSON? UM, AT FEDERAL FUND WISE, OBVIOUSLY LOTS CHANGED AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL LEVEL. IS THERE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT NOT HAVING THE FUNDS REIMBURSED? YES. SO WE HAVE, WE'VE HAD LOTS OF CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR GRANT COORDINATOR AND WITH THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ON THIS. AND SO IF YOU RECALL, THE CITY'S ACTUALLY RECEIVED TWO GRANTS AT THE END OF LAST YEAR. THE SAFE STREETS FOR ALL GRANT IS MOVING FORWARD AS PLANNED. WE ACTUALLY HAVE OUR CONTRACT SIGNED WITH THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION AND IT'S MOVING FORWARD. OUR BIT BRIDGE INVESTMENT PROGRAM. HAD TO THINK OF THE ACRONYM, THE BRIDGE INVESTMENT PROGRAM. THAT ONE HAS STALLED AS THE FHA IS REVIEWING ALL OF THE EXECUTIVE ORDERS TO SEE WHAT COMPLIES AND WHAT DOESN'T COMPLY. SO THAT GRANT HAS ACTUALLY STALLED AT THIS POINT, AND WE'RE HOPING TO HEAR BACK FROM SOMETHING ON THAT. BUT SS FOUR A IS MOVING AHEAD. JUST WANNA MAKE SURE MY MIND, I GOT THIS. SO THE 300,000 IS FOR THEM TO ACTUALLY DO THE STUDY? CORRECT. WHICH WE'RE GONNA GET 80% PAID FOR BACK FROM THE GRANT. YES. SO IT'S GONNA COST US AT THE END JUST 20% OF THIS? CORRECT. OKAY. I'M JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE I'M CLARIFYING THAT. ANY QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL? I GET A MOTION FROM COUNCIL WILLISON. MAY I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE APPROVE RESOLUTION NUMBER 2025 DASH R 25 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AND MANAGE AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF BERNIE AND KIMLEY HORN AND ASSOCIATES, INCORPORATED FOR CONSULTING SERVICES FOR THE SAFE STREETS FOR ALL SS FOUR, A GRANT PROJECT FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 300,000. SECOND FOR COUNCILMAN BUNKER, PLEASE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. PAUSE. THANK YOU EVERYONE. THANK YOU, JEFF. MOVING ON TO [A. BOERNE LISTENS - A COMMUNITY SURVEY FOLLOW-UP ON GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT.] AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SIX, THE MANAGED REPORT. BEN? YES. MAYOR, MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL, I'M GONNA ASK DIRECTOR CRANE TO COME ON UP WHILE HE'S WALKING UP TO, UH, TO ELECT. I WANNA LET YOU KNOW THAT TONIGHT AS ANOTHER ONGOING PART OF OUR, UH, UH, FOCUS ON TRANSPARENCY AND RESPONSIVENESS, WE GOT ANOTHER CONVERSATION, A BERNIE LISTENS CONVERSATION AS A FOLLOW UP TO OUR COMMUNITY SURVEY THAT WE CONDUCTED LAST DECEMBER. SPECIFICALLY TONIGHT, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT AND, AND A LOT OF THE, THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GOT OUT OF THAT SURVEY, UH, YOU MIGHT RECALL THAT IN EARLY DECEMBER OF LAST YEAR, WE, WE, UH, CONDUCTED THE SURVEY, WHICH WAS THE THIRD, IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS, JUST UNDER 1600 RESPONSES WITH 75% OF THOSE BEING WITHIN THE CITY AS RESIDENTS IN THE CITY, AND ANOTHER 25% IN THE GREATER BERNIE AREA. WE ASK A BROAD RANGE OF QUESTIONS COVERING QUALITY OF LIFE, CITY SERVICES, INFRASTRUCTURE, SAFETY AND IMPORTANTLY DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH. AND THESE, THESE RESULTS OFFER US STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DATA THAT WILL HELP US GUIDE OUR EFFORTS AND BUDGET PLANNING EACH YEAR, OUR DEPARTMENT OF WORK PLANS AND SO FORTH. [00:20:01] NEXT, UM, WE ASK A LOT OF DIFFERENT QUESTIONS, UH, ABOUT DIFFERENT ISSUES. UM, AS I JUST, UH, UH, SHARED WITH YOU, HERE'S THE, THE QUESTIONS OR THE PERSPECTIVES ON GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT THAT YOU CAN SEE. AND, AND MANY OF THESE THAT THE ONES THAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ARE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN THE MOST IMPORTANT IN THE LAST COUPLE SURVEYS. SO NOTHING'S TOO DIFFERENT THERE, BUT WE DO, UH, YOU KNOW, WE DID ASK SOME DIFFERENT, UH, PERSPECTIVES THIS YEAR. WE WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT TREE PRESERVATION. WE WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HISTORICAL PRESERVATION, TOURISM GROWTH. THOSE WERE NEWER PERSPECTIVES THAT WE HAVEN'T ASKED IN PREVIOUS SURVEYS. AND SO YOU CAN SEE, UH, OUT OF THE 1600, NEARLY 1600 RESPONSES, WHAT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT, AND THEN WHERE WAS THAT SATISFACTION? AND THEN THUS, UH, A GAP IS CREATED. NEXT. ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WE ASK, UH, AT THE END IS, UH, OKAY, WHAT ELSE DO YOU HAVE TO SAY TO THE CITY LEADERSHIP? AND THERE'S ALL KINDS OF COMMENTS, AND YOU CAN SEE THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF THE QUALITATIVE COMMENTS THAT WE RECEIVED. AND YOU CAN BREAK THOSE DOWN BY COUNCIL DISTRICT, YOU CAN BREAK THOSE DOWN BY TENURE IN THE CITY AND SO FORTH, UH, THAT GENDER, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT FILTERS. AND SO, UH, IF YOU GO NEXT, CHAZ, YOU CAN SEE, AND ANOTHER ONE, YOU CAN SEE THE ACTUAL COMMENTS, UH, CATEGORIZED THAT HAVE TO DO WITH DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH. AND SO TO TONIGHT, RIGHT NOW, JUST LIKE WE DID LAST MONTH, I'M GONNA ASK EACH ONE OF YOU TO READ A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF A COMMENT THAT CAME FROM YOUR DISTRICT. AND AFTER WE HEAR THOSE, THEN DIRECTOR, UH, CRANE WILL ADDRESS US ON WHAT'S GOING ON, HOW IT WORKS, WHAT WE HEAR OFTEN, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT ARE WE'RE WORKING ON OR DEALING WITH. AND, AND JUST TO KIND OF EDUCATE US AS WELL AS THOSE WHO ARE WATCHING. SO, WE'LL START OFF, UH, MAYOR PROAM WILLISON, IF YOU'LL GIVE US A COMMENT FROM YOUR DISTRICT. YEAH, I THINK I KNOW WHO, WHO SAID THIS. UM, PUT A MORATORIUM ON BUILDING COUNCILWOMAN WRIGHT. PLEASE STOP ALLOWING HIGH DENSITY HOUSING TO BE BUILT. TOO MANY APARTMENT COMPLEXES AND HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS. BERNIE IS BEING OVERRUN. COUNCILMAN SCOTT, YOU SEEM TO BE GIVING PREFERENCE TO DEVELOPERS AND BUSINESSES WITHOUT TAKING INTO ACCOUNT IN THE ORDINARY CITIZENS AND THEIR CONCERNS. COUNCILMAN BUNKER. YOU HAVE MADE IT EXCEEDINGLY DIFFICULT FOR RESPONSIBLE PROPERTY OWNERS TO DEVELOP PROPERTY THROUGH EXCESSIVE REGULATIONS, DPZ, IMPERVIOUS COVER, ET CETERA, WHILE LARGE DEVELOPERS CONTINUE TO SCRAPE HUNDREDS OF ACRES FOR HIGH DENSITY, LOW QUALITY RESOURCE SUCKING DEVELOPMENTS. COUNCILMAN MACALUSO, THE TEAM AT THE PERMIT OFFICE ARE VERY NICE, BUT THE PERMIT PROCESS IN BERNIE IS QUITE INEFFICIENT. THIS DELAYS PROJECTS AND ADDS COSTS TO THE CITIZENS. PLEASE CONSIDER HOW THIS CAN BE IMPROVED. AND THEN, MAYOR, IF YOU'LL READ THE, UH, A COMMENT FROM THE GREATER BERNIE COMMUNITY, STOP SELLING OUT TO DEVELOPERS IN STUPID STATE GOVERNMENT RULES FOR DEVELOPMENTS. OKAY. WITH THAT, WE'LL HAVE DIRECTOR CRANE KIND OF GIVE US SOME INSIGHT. OKAY. SO I THINK WHAT I'D LIKE TO START WITH TONIGHT, UH, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU MAYOR MEMBERS OF COUNCIL IS, IS TO START WITH SOME CONTEXT. UM, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS, UH, THAT HAS BEEN MENTIONED BY THE COUNCIL QUITE A BIT, UH, AND OUR CITY LEADERSHIP IS UNDERSTANDING WHAT BERNIE IS AND THE GREATER BERNIE AREA. UH, I REMEMBER, UH, YEARS AGO, NOT YEARS, UH, I GUESS YEARS, IT DEPENDS ON YOUR AGE, BUT A COUPLE YEARS AGO, UH, WHEN WE WERE LOOKING, UH, AT THE POSSIBILITY OF RELOCATING, I ACTUALLY FOUND A YOUTUBE VIDEO VIDEO CALLED, HEY, LOOK AT FAKE BERNIE. AND THAT WAS THE AREAS OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS, UH, SOUTH FAIR OAKS, LEON SPRINGS, STUFF LIKE THAT. UM, AND IF YOU LOOK, UH, AT OUR TOTAL, UH, ZIP CODE AREA, UH, THAT YOU CAN ALMOST, UH, CONCLUDE THAT IT ALMOST APPEARS TO BE THE WILD, WILD WEST. I REMEMBER, I STILL REMEMBER, IT'S ONLY BEEN A COUPLE YEARS, AND I STILL REMEMBER BLANK SPACES ON THE WAY FROM SAN ANTONIO UP HERE. AND NOW THERE'S CAR DEALERSHIPS, APARTMENT COMPLEXES, STORAGE BUILDINGS, ET CETERA. SO ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT IS TO UNDERSTAND, UH, THE BERNIE CITY LIMITS, THE ETJ, AND THEN HOW THAT INTERACTS WITH EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON AT THE REGION. FOR THOSE THAT HAVE HAD A MULTI-LAYER JELLO, UH, YEARS AGO, MY WIFE MADE ONE, UH, WHEN MY KIDS WERE YOUNG, AND I TOLD HER NOT TO DO THAT AGAIN. IT TOOK ABOUT A WEEK TO DO IT, BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO MAKE EACH INDIVIDUAL LAYER. AND IF EACH INDIVIDUAL LAYER DOESN'T SET, THE NEXT LAYER DOESN'T WORK, AND SO FORTH AND SO ON. UH, THAT'S MUCH LIKE WHAT WE DEAL WITH, UH, IN OUR DEVELOPMENT. UH, CONSIDERATIONS FIRST IS WE HAVE FEDERAL AND STATE LAW. [00:25:01] UH, OBVIOUSLY WAS OBSERVANT TO THE STATE AND, AND THE FEDERAL LAW. AND WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE DO AND WHAT OUR POLICIES ARE CONSISTENT. UH, ONE FOR EXAMPLE, ONE, UH, POLICY THAT YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR OF, UH, WITH FEDERAL LAW IS, UH, SIGNAGE. SIGNAGE NEEDS TO BE CONTENT NEUTRAL. IT ONLY CAN FOCUS ON SIZE AND AREA, AND NOT CONTENT. IN OTHER WORDS, IF YOU HAVE TO SAY OR READ THE SIGN, UM, TO DETERMINE WHAT TYPE IT IS, THEN YOUR SIGN REGULATIONS PROBABLY NEED TWEAKING. UH, SECOND, WE HAVE OUR CITY CHARTER. WE HAVE OUR CODE OF ORDINANCES. UH, WE HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN THAT GUIDES FUTURE DEVELOPMENT. UH, WE HAVE A UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE. WE ALSO HAVE OTHER REGULATIONS. THAT'S OUR ENGINEERING DESIGN MANUALS AND SO FORTH. UH, BUT TWO, TWO, THE OTHER ONES IS WE HAVE DESIRES OF PROPERTY OWNERS AND WHAT THEY WANT TO DO, AND ALSO CITIZEN DESIRES AS THEY MOVE INTO THE AREA, OR IF AS THEY'VE BEEN HERE FOR, FOR A WHILE. AND SO THIS CREATES A CONTINUAL BALANCING ACT, UH, THAT THE COUNCIL GETS TO BALANCE. THEY GET TO BALANCE THE, UH, PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS WITH CITIZEN DESIRES. AND SOMETIMES THAT'S VERY HARD TO DO. UM, WE'LL GO THROUGH THE TOOLS AND THINGS, UH, THAT IMPACT THAT. UH, WE DO, WE DO NEED TO PAUSE AND, UH, TALK ABOUT WHAT'S OUR, UH, CURRENT STATE CLIMATE OR THE CLIMATE IN THE STATE AS IT RELATES TO DEVELOPMENT. UH, THERE'S A MYTH OR THERE'S A SAYING IS, HEY, CAN WE STOP GROWTH? LET'S JUST STOP GROWING AND DO WHAT WE'RE DOING. THAT'S MYTH. THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO. UH, STATEWIDE. TEXAS IS A VERY, UH, PRO PROPERTY, RIGHT? STATE PEOPLE HAVE, UM, THE RIGHT TO DEVELOP THEIR PROPERTY. AND THEN YOU ADD, UH, COUNTY AND LACK OF ZONING AND OTHER CONTROLS IN COUNTY. AND THEN YOU ADD PRIVATE WATER COMPANIES AND PRIVATE UTILITY COMPANIES. THAT MAKES IT COMPLEX. UH, THERE IS A BELIEF STATEWIDE THAT WE HAVE A, UH, HOUSING SHORTAGE, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO BE VERY ECONOMIC, UH, DEVELOPMENT FRIENDLY. THE, UH, STATE LEGISLATOR LEGISLATURE ALWAYS HAS AN IMPACT. IF YOU REMEMBER THE LAST ONE, THEY REDEFINED WHAT A SUBDIVISION WAS, AND THEY LIMITED WHAT CAN BE REVIEWED AS PART OF A SUBDIVISION REVIEW PROCESS. THIS YEAR, THERE'S 8,000 BILLS, SOMEWHAT BILLS, AND, AND MANY, MANY OF THEM, UH, INVOLVE LAND USE. SO IN SOME WAYS, IT'S A CONSTANTLY MOVING TARGET, AND WE HAVE TO ADJUST AS WE, UH, MOVE FORWARD. JUST A NOTE ON MORATORIUMS. THOSE ARE COVERED IN CHAPTER 12 OF THE TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE, AND THEY'RE BASED ON A SHORTAGE OF ESSENTIAL PUBLIC FACILITY. UH, I WAS ABLE TO DO SOME RESEARCH. I FOUND TWO, UH, FAIRLY QUICKLY. ONE IN CONROE AND ONE, DID I SAY THAT RIGHT? UH, OKAY, GOOD, BECAUSE I, I'LL PROBABLY SAY THIS NEXT ONE WRONG TOO. BUT, UH, GRANBERRY, UH, CONROE WAS, WAS, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, WAS A WATER SHORTAGE IN GRANBURY, WAS A SEWER STORAGE OR VICE VERSA. UH, BUT THEY ACTUALLY DID NOT HAVE CAPACITY TO SERVE NEW DEVELOPMENT. UH, IT'S IMPORTANT TO, OR NEW GROWTH. AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT, UH, MORATORIUMS DO NOT APPLY TO PROPERTY ALREADY APPROVED FOR DEVELOPMENT. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU TAKE WRENCHES AT CREEKSIDE, AND WE, AND WE COULD AND DID QUALIFY FOR A MORATORIUM THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO GO, UM, BECAUSE THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN APPROVED, IT WOULD ONLY APPLY TO NEW PROJECTS. MORATORIUMS, UH, ARE FOR 90 OR 120 DAYS BASED ON THE TYPE OF PROJECT THAT YOU DO. THERE IS EXTENSIONS, BUT YOU HAVE CERTAIN FINDINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO MEET TOO. CURRENTLY, UH, BERNIE HAS A UTILITY CAPACITY FOR ADDITIONAL GROWTH. YOU HEARD DIRECTOR MANN LAST TIME TALK ABOUT WATER, AND WE DON'T QUALIFY FOR A MORATORIUM. SO WE HAVE A TOOLBOX THAT WE USE TO TRY TO, UH, MANAGE GROWTH OR, OR GET THE BEST GROWTH THAT WE CAN FOR THE CITY. UM, WE HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN. UH, THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE, UH, WAS FIRST INITIALLY ADOPTED IN NOVEMBER OF 2020. THAT INCLUDES ZONING, UH, REGULATIONS. AND WHEN I SAY ZONING, I MEAN THINGS LIKE SETBACKS, USES, UH, AND SO FORTH. AND THEN YOU HAVE SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS, HOW YOU DIVIDE THE LAND, ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS, THINGS LIKE THAT. UH, ANNEXATION AND THROUGH OUR MUNICIPAL SERVICE PLANS WHERE WE'RE PLANNING ON DOING, UH, FUTURE UTILITIES, UH, DEVELOPMENT AND UTILITY AGREEMENTS, YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THOSE. AND I MENTIONED THE, UH, ENGINEERING DESIGN MANUALS. UH, WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE, THE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE SEEING TODAY, UH, THAT ARE GOING UP, UH, WERE FOR THE MOST PART, ALL APPROVED PRIOR TO, UH, THE UDC BEING ADOPTED. SO YOU'RE NOT SEEING THAT THOSE NEW STANDARDS IMPLEMENTED IN THE NEW DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE THEY WERE APPROVED PREVIOUSLY. OKAY. SO THIS MAP HERE SHOWS OUR, WHAT WE CALL OUR FUTURE LAND USE MAP. UH, IT DOES SHOW OUR CITY LIMITS [00:30:01] AND THE ETJ, UH, WE DO SHOW THE ETJ 'CAUSE AS WE DEAL WITH PROPERTY IN THERE THAT MAY OR MAY NOT COME INTO THE CITY, WE WANT TO KNOW, UH, WHAT, UH, FUTURE LAND USE DESIGNATION. AND THE IDEA WITH THIS IS THAT AS WE PLAN THESE, WE CAN TAKE NUMBERS AND RUN NUMBERS AND KNOW WHAT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS ARE GONNA BE, WHAT OUR STREETS ARE GONNA BE, WHAT OUR CAPACITY FOR WATER, SEWER AND SO FORTH. UH, IF YOU NOTICE, UH, ALMOST 81% IS IN, UH, RESIDENTIAL. UH, YOU HAVE RURAL RE RURAL ESTATE. THAT'S THE GREEN, UH, THE, UH, LIGHT YELLOW IS NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTIAL. AND THEN TRANSITIONAL RESIDENTIAL IS THE SEVEN, 7.4%. THAT'S THE DARKER YELLOW. ALL THE OTHER LAND USES REPRESENT 19.2% OF THE AREA SHOWN ON THE MAP. UH, TWO NOTES AS FAR AS IT RELATES TO, UH, MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENT IS IN THESE LAND USE CATEGORIES. LAND USE IS NOT ZONING, BUT IN THESE LAND USE CATEGORIES, UM, MULTIFAMILY AND HIGH DENSITY, UH, ARE LISTED AS TYPES OF DEVELOPMENT IN TRANSITIONAL, RESIDENTIAL AND DOWNTOWN. SO WHAT ARE OUR ACTIVE PER, UH, COMMERCIAL PROJECTS? UH, WE ACTUALLY HAVE, UH, ABOUT NINE. IF YOU LOOK ON OUR WHAT'S HAPPENING MAP, UH, BERNIE TOWN CENTER, THAT'S A BISO. THAT'S THE ONE, UH, THAT WE GOT A LOT OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT ALL THE TREES GOING DOWN. THEY'RE WHITE AND GRAY BUILDINGS GOING UP. UH, TODAY. UH, BUCKY'S, YOU KNOW, ABOUT, UH, HILL COUNTRY, UH, DAILY BREAD MINISTRIES. UH, THEY DID A NEW EVENT CENTER AT THEIR, UH, LOCATION. UH, WE HAD A CHANCE TO TOUR THAT, UH, GREAT FACILITY, UH, DOING REALLY GREAT WORK OUT THERE. ONE SEVEN BUSINESS PARK IS OUT BY, UH, COSTCO. NOT COSTCO, GEEZ. HOME DEPOT. ALMOST THE SAME, RIGHT? UH, HOME DEPOT, UH, HYUNDAI, UH, WHICH IS, UH, OPENING, THAT'S ACTUALLY IN THE COUNTY. UH, BUT THAT'S PART OF IT. COMMONS AT MANGER, UH, WHICH WHERE, UH, HEAR AND OLD SAN ANTONIO ROAD FROM MAIN STREET, FROM MAIN HERF ROAD FROM MAIN STREET TO OLD SAN ANTONIO ROAD IS COMMON AT MANGER SPRING. WORKING ON A COUPLE PROJECTS THERE. MORNINGSIDE MINISTRIES AT EXPANSION OF THEIR CAMPUS, TEXAS REGIONAL BANK, HONDA AND SYLO VISTA STORAGE. I ITALICIZE A FEW OF THOSE BECAUSE WE'RE IN THE ACTIVE PROCESS OF REVIEWING, UH, CONSTRUCTION PLANS, ALTHOUGH DIRT HASN'T BEEN TURNED YET. WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR ACTIVE SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL, UH, WE HAVE, UH, BIRCH OF SPENCER RANCH, WHICH YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH, UH, RANCHES AT CREEKSIDE REGENT PARK, SHORELINE, UH, CORLEY FARMS AND ESPERANZA. I WILL NOTE, NOTE THAT MOST OF OUR PERMITS, UH, THESE DAYS FOR NEW HOMES ARE FROM RANCHES AT CREEKSIDE AND ESPERANZA. WE DO HAVE SOME FROM REGENT PARK. UH, THEY DO HAVE SOME UTILITY CONSTRAINTS THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON, UH, FOR THEY, BEFORE THEY DO THEIR FINAL PHASE. UH, WE HAVE RECEIVED OUR FIRST BATCH OF PLANS FROM, UH, ES SPENCER RANCH. UH, BUT THEY HAVE NOT STARTED CONSTRUCTION YET. UH, NOTICE IN THE ETJ, WE ALSO HAVE CORLEY FARMS. IT'S QUITE A LARGE PRODUCT PROJECT. UH, WE DO, UH, UH, BECAUSE WE PROVIDE GAS TO THAT, UH, SUBDIVISION. WE DO DO GAS INSPECTIONS. THIS IS A SLIDE YOU'VE SEEN BEFORE. UH, THIS REPRESENTS OUR ACTIVE MULTI-FAMILY PROJECTS. WE HAVE FOUR, UH, ONE IS COLLECTION AT BERNIE. UH, ONE IS BLUFF VIEW, I SHOULD SAY, ACTIVE OR ENTITLED. ONE IS BLUFF VIEW. UH, THIS IS, UH, SLO VISTA OR ENDURA, UH, OAKS AT SLO. IT CHANGES ITS NAME ABOUT EVERY OTHER WEEK. UH, THIS ONE, UH, PLANS. OUR CONSTRUCTION PLANS ARE COMING IN. AND THIS IS, UH, ONE WE CALL LATIMORE HAS A OLD DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT ON IT. WE'VE HAD A COUPLE PEOPLE LOOK AT IT, UH, BUT THEY HAVEN'T BEEN MADE, BE ABLE TO MAKE THE, UH, SITE WORK. UH, THE LAST TWO PROJECTS THAT WERE APPROVED, THIS WAS WAY, UH, VERY EARLY IN 2022, WAS COLLECTION AND BLUFF VIEW. UH, OKAY, SO WHEN WE HAVE U WHEN WE UPDATED UDC, UH, WE DID CREATE A LOT OF HIGHER STANDARDS, AS YOU KNOW. AND THOSE HIGHLER STANDARDS, UH, REQUIRE ADDITIONAL TIME, EFFORT, AND EXPENSE, UH, TO IMPLEMENT BOTH BY CITY AND BOTH BY, UH, STAFF. YOU'RE FAMILIAR THOUGH WITH THAT AS IT RELATES TO THE FIRE STATION AND NORTHSIDE PARK. UH, WE'RE LIVING THAT, AND IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE ALLOCATE OUR RESOURCES APPROPRIATELY IN ORDER TO HELP THOSE INDIVIDUALS, UH, THROUGH THE PROCESS, BECAUSE IT CAN BE COMPLICATED AND IT CAN, [00:35:01] UH, BE CONFUSING, ESPECIALLY FOR FOLKS THAT DON'T DO IT EVERY DAY. UM, YOU'LL NOTICE, UH, SOME CHANGES, UH, UH, AND THAT WE MADE IN, IN 2020. WE HAVE TREE PRESERVATION, UH, FLOODPLAIN, UH, WATER QUALITY, UH, SPECIAL USE PERMITS WAS A BIG ADD AT THAT POINT. UH, DOES REQUIRE QUITE A BIT OF EFFORT. UH, WE HAVE OVERLAY DISTRICTS, WHICH WAS NEW AND, AND DARK SKIES. WE, FOR THE LAST, UH, YEAR AND A HALF, TWO YEARS OR SO, I'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT, UH, OUR REGULATIONS AND THE, UH, CHALLENGE THAT THEY CAN PLACE. NOW, AS YOU GUYS KNOW, YOU CANNOT, UH, WRITE A REG. REGULATIONS ARE DESIGNED TO ADDRESS EVERYBODY GENERALLY, AND A LOT OF TIMES THEY DON'T. THEY DON'T ADDRESS VERY SPECIFIC OR UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES. ALSO, YOU REALLY DON'T KNOW THE IMPACT UNTIL YOU START IMPLEMENTING THEM. AND SO, HERE'S SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE, UH, TO TRY TO IMPROVE. UH, WHAT WE'VE DONE. UH, WE'VE ADDED, UH, DP COUNCIL HAS ADDED DPZ WAIVERS FOR LOTS PRIOR TO 2020. UH, WE SIMPLIFIED THE DRAINAGE STUDY REQUIREMENTS. IF YOU REMEMBER, ONE OF THE, UH, LARGE COMPLAINTS WAS WITH ACCESSORY BUILDINGS HAVING TO DO, DO TIER ONE OR TIER TWO DRAINAGE STUDIES. WE'VE SIMPLIFIED THAT. UH, WE FLOOD FLOODPLAIN, ALLOWING, UH, SINGLE FAMILY CONSTRUCTIONS AND, UH, ON EXISTING LOTS AND FLOODPLAINS AND HOW WE DO, UH, TREE UH, MEASUREMENTS. AND WITH THAT, WE'RE INSTITUTING, UH, FOR PROPERTY WHERE TREES WERE GONNA AGRICULTURAL USE. FOR EXAMPLE, THEY HAVE A PECAN ORCHARD OR A FRUIT TREE ORCHARD, OR WHATEVER IT IS. UH, WE HAVE A PROCESS FOR SOMEBODY TO COME THROUGH AND TALK TO US ABOUT THOSE. AND, AND PRESERVATION AND, AND REQUIREMENTS AS IT RELATES TO THOSE SPECIFICALLY, UH, RESIDENTIAL. WE'VE HAD QUITE A FEW PLAT EXEMPTIONS, UH, THAT MAKE IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO MOVE FORWARD. UH, WE HAVE, UH, STREET IMPROVEMENT IMPROVEMENTS PAY IN LIEU OF CONSTRUCTION, UH, THAT FOLKS CAN DO. UH, IN COMMERCIAL, WE MADE A NUMBER OF CHANGES TO MULTIFAMILY. WE PROHIBITED MULTIFAMILY IN, UH, COMMERCIAL, UH, WE INSTITUTED SITE DEVELOPMENT PERMITS, WHICH ALLOWS CONCURRENT CONSTRUCTION OF PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND ONSITE IMPROVEMENTS. AND WE ALSO, UH, CLARIFY THE NOISE ORDINANCE, WHICH I THINK IS IMPORTANT AS FAR AS IT RELATES TO COMMERCIAL. SO WHAT, SO HOW DO WE DO THIS? AND WHAT HAVE WE FOCUSED ON? WELL, OUR FOCUS IS BASED ON OUR STRATEGY MAP, AND WE WANT TO OFFER THAT QUALITY CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. AND SO, UH, WHEN WE, UH, HIRED NEW STAFF LAST, LAST YEAR, UH, ONE OF THE BIG THINGS THAT WE FOCUSED ON WAS THEIR ABILITY TO, UH, FOCUS AND OFFER A QUALITY CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. AND WE TALK ABOUT THAT QUITE REGULARLY. UH, WE ALSO OFFER CONCURRENT REVIEWS. ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO CONCURRENTLY, WE TRY TO DO, UM, WE END UP AT THE SAME RESULT, BUT WE TRY TO DO THINGS AT THE SAME TIME. UH, FOR EXAMPLE, WORKING WITH, UH, UH, O'REILLY AUTO PARTS THE OTHER DAY, UH, THEY WENT TO PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION, AND, AND THEY WERE ASKING, HEY, CAN WE SUBMIT YOUR PERMIT, YOU KNOW, FOR A REMODEL, UH, WHILE IT'S GOING THROUGH THE COUNCIL PROCESS? AND WE SAID, WELL, IT'S YOUR RISK. BUT YEAH, WE CAN DO THAT. AND IF COUNCIL DOESN'T APPROVE IT, THEN OBVIOUSLY THERE'S AN ISSUE. UH, BUT THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT WE CAN DO TO TRY TO HELP. UH, WE ARE WORKING ON, UH, REVIEWS TO CHAPTER TWO. WE CALL THAT OUR PROCESS SECTION. TRYING TO MAKE IT, UH, MORE CLEAR, UH, ELIMINATE, UH, REDUNDANCY AND, UH, MAKE A, A CLEAR AND EFFICIENT PROCESS. UH, WE'RE TRACKING OUR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, UH, MONTHLY, QUARTERLY, AND ANNUALLY. UH, JUST HAD AN EVEN WEEKLY IN OUR PERMITTING, UH, WITH OUR PERMITTING GROUP. UH, HAVE A PRETTY GOOD IDEA OF WHAT OUR INSPECTORS ARE DOING PER WEEK. I CAN LOOK FOR SPIKES, UH, IN PERMITS. I CAN LOOK FOR, UH, WHERE WE'RE, WHERE, UH, WHEN PERMITS COME IN, IF WE'RE NOT PROCESSING 'EM FAST ENOUGH, UH, WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO, HOW TO ADDRESS IT. UH, WE DID, UH, WE ALSO DID A, A REALLOCATION OF OUR RESOURCES. UH, I'VE ASKED THE PLANNERS TO BECOME PROJECT MANAGERS. AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS THAT WHEN THEY RECEIVE A PROJECT OR THEY START A PROJECT FROM, FROM THE, UH, PRE-APPLICATION MEETING, UH, AND IT GOES THROUGH A PLA, SUP, ALL THAT STUFF THAT WE HAVE ONE PROJECT MANAGER. SO WE HAVE CONSISTENCY IN THAT, UH, ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE BUILDING PERMIT. UH, IN THE PAST, WE'VE HAD, HEY, WE APPROVED SUP AND NOBODY, YOU KNOW, WOULD GO THROUGH THE BUILDING PERMIT PROCESS. AND, WELL, WHAT, WHAT'D THEY APPROVE? SO NOW WE HAVE THAT CONSISTENCY. 'CAUSE THEY OWN, THEY [00:40:01] OWN AND THEY OWN AND ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE PROJECTS. UH, WE'VE CREATED, UH, WE'VE PROMOTED LISTS, WALLET TO OUR DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR POSITION. UH, SHE'S DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB MANAGING OUR COMMERCIAL PROJECTS AND TRACKING THOSE. UH, BUT ADDED TO HER RESPONSIBILITIES IS GOING TO BE WORKING WITH OUR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND, UH, OUR RESIDENTIAL, UH, FOLKS. UH, WORKLOAD, REDI, REDISTRIBUTION. UH, WE'VE LOOKED, UH, SPEAKING OF LIZ AND LOOKING AT HOLES IN OUR ORGANIZATION WHERE WE WERE FALLING SHORT. UH, LIZ WAS ORIGINALLY BROUGHT ON TO BE A PLANNING TECHNICIAN TO HELP WITH PLANNING. ACTUALLY MOVED HER, UH, TO HELP WITH PERMIT TECH, UH, HER PERMIT TECH RESPONSIBILITIES RELATED TO COMMERCIAL, UH, COMMERCIAL PLAN REVIEW. UH, WE ARE, UH, WORKING WITH, UH, TWO CONSULTANTS, UH, THAT HELP US OUT WITH THAT. AND WE DRASTICALLY REDUCE OUR REVIEW TIME. WE ALSO HAVE VERY, AND I'LL GIVE LIZ CREDIT ON THIS, WE ALSO HAVE VERY EFFECTIVE PROJECT TRACKING. WE CAN TELL YOU, UH, WHERE THE PROJECT'S AT. WHEN THE LAST COMMENTS WERE, WHEN THE LAST MEETING WE HAD. UH, WE PROVIDE A PRIVATE PROJECT TRACKING SHEET FOR APPLICANTS. UH, WE'VE DONE IT FOR ST. PETER'S, UH, FOR OTHERS, CREATING ONE FOR BUCKY'S, FOR OTHERS, UH, THAT THEY CAN MARK WHERE THEIR PERMITS ARE AND, AND WHERE THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS. UH, WE DO WEEKLY PROJECT REVIEW, MENTION THAT, AND THEN, UH, WE'RE TRYING TO LEVERAGE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, UH, WITH, UH, CONSULTANTS AND ALSO LOOKING AT STAFF EFFICIENCIES AND WHERE, UH, THINGS NEED TO BE, UH, ADJUSTED FOR THAT DISTRIBUTION OR WHERE ADDITIONAL EFFORT, UH, OR RESOURCES ARE NEEDED. SO, WHAT OUR RESULTS, WELL, IN THE LAST YEAR, WE'RE ABLE TO REVIEW, UH, MAJOR PLATS 84% FASTER. THAT MEANS FROM THE TIME THEY GET IN UNTIL, UH, THEY'RE READY TO GO AND DONE, UH, IN FRONT OF P AND Z, THAT'S 80, 84% FASTER THAN IT WAS. UH, THE TWO, THE MINOR AND THE AMENDED PLATS, YOU CAN SEE 90 AND 53%. THAT'S GONNA BE A LOT OF OUR SMALL BUSINESS AND, AND HOMEOWNERS, PARTICULARLY IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA. UH, WITH THOSE, UH, WE HAVE A NEW, UH, UDC PORTAL THAT ALLOWS ANYBODY TO HAVE ACCESS TO, UH, THE UDC IN A VERY SEARCHABLE, UH, FRIENDLY FORMAT. UH, THROUGH THE WEBSITE, WE'VE DONE A NUMBER OF ROUND TABLES AND SURVEYS, UH, ROUND TABLES. WE ASK THE, UH, DEVELOPERS TO COME IN, UM, OR BUILDERS TO COME IN, AND WE TALK TO 'EM AND SAY, WHAT ISSUES ARE YOU FACING? UH, AND HOW CAN WE HELP YOU? WE'VE INSTITUTED A COUPLE SURVEYS AND, UM, HAD SOME SUCCESS. NOT AS MUCH AS I'D HOPED ON THOSE, BUT WE DID GET SOME FEEDBACK. SOME OTHER THINGS WE'RE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH. UH, WITH THIS IS, UH, YOU, YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH OUR APACHE CORPORATION TREE GRANT. UH, OUR CITYWIDE TREE SURVEY, WHICH WILL BE A GOOD TOOL AND WATER CONSERVATION REBATES. RYAN WILL BE HERE, UH, IN THE NEAR FUTURE TO GO INTO MORE DETAIL ON THOSE. AS FAR AS OUR PERMITTING TEAM, UH, WE WERE A, OUR GOAL HAS BEEN TO REDUCE OUR PERMIT TIMES FOR THE, FROM THE FIRST REVIEW FROM 30 DAYS TO 20 DAYS. AND SO FAR WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT, UH, EVEN WITH A INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF PERMITS THAT WE HAVE. UH, A NEW RESIDENTIAL REVIEW TAKES US ABOUT 14 AND A HALF DAYS. THAT'S OUR DAYS TO PROCESS. THAT'S NOT NE NECESSARILY THE INCLUDING THE APPLICANT DAYS, BUT THAT'S THE DAYS WE HAVE THE PLANS IN OUR HANDS BEFORE THE PERMIT IS READY TO BE ISSUED. AND THAT'S DESPITE A INCREASE OF 125%, AND THE NUMBER OF NEW HOMES THAT WE HAD YEAR OVER YEAR COMMERCIAL WE NEED TO DO A LITTLE MORE WORK ON. UH, BUT IT'S AT 38 DAYS, UH, AND WE JUST SAW, WE SAW AN 89% INCREASE. WE'RE ALSO ABLE TO, EVEN WITH THAT 125% INCREASE AND THE INCREASE IN COMMERCIAL PERMITS OFFER 24 HOUR, UH, INSPECTIONS. AND, UM, THE NUMBER OF STOPS THAT WE DO HAVE INCREASED WITH THAT, WITH THE INCREASE IN PERMITS IS 31%. SO WE'VE DONE A LOT OF GOOD THINGS. UH, WE'VE GOT A WAYS TO GO AND WHERE DO WE WANT TO GO? UH, OUR GOAL IS TO TRY TO REDUCE ALL OUR PLAN REVIEW BY 50%. WE WANT TO MEASURE EVERYTHING THAT WE DO SO WE, WE KNOW WHERE WE ARE AND HOW WE'RE DOING IT. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK WOULD BE A GREAT BENEFIT, UH, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR RESIDENTS, IS IMPLEMENT WHAT I CALL A 24 HOUR PERMIT. THESE ARE PERMITS, YOU KNOW, WHEN I WAS, UH, JUST STARTING MY CAREER WHERE PEOPLE WOULD COME TO THE COUNTER AND SAY, I WANT A FENCE PERMIT. AND YOU'D HELP 'EM FILL IT OUT, AND YOU'D ISSUE IT RIGHT THERE. SO THE IDEA, THEY WOULD COME THROUGH THE PORTAL, UH, AND IN 24 HOURS, WE'D ISSUE THAT PERMIT AND GET IT OUT THE DOOR. OR WE, UH, UH, WERE [00:45:01] LOOKING AT TRYING TO PROVIDE SOME WAYS TO ADDRESS DOWNTOWN AND OLD TOWN BURNING. YOU HAVE A LOT OF, UH, INTERESTING AREAS IN THERE WHERE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE SOLD A PORTION OF THIS PROPERTY TO THIS PROPERTY AND, AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT PLAID EXEMPTIONS. WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT MAYBE A DEDICATED TEAM, UH, THAT'S EXPERT IN CERTAIN AREAS AND HAVE THEM TRAIN AS IT GO ON. BUT THERE'S, THERE'S AN EFFORT IN THERE TO, AND, AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT DOWNTOWN'S DIFFERENT FLATS IS DIFFERENT. UH, ALL THE AREAS ARE DIFFERENT, AND WE NEED TO APPROACH THOSE DIFFERENTLY. UH, OUR BIGGEST, UH, EFFORT RIGHT NOW IS MY GOVERNMENT ONLINE. UH, WE ARE, WE REALLY THINK THIS WILL IMPROVE OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE TO, TO, UM, EVERYBODY THAT USE IT. WE ARE GONNA HAVE REALLY CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS. WHAT YOU SEE ON THE RIGHT OR, UH, FOR YOU IS AN EXAMPLE. UH, THIS IS A OF A STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO USE THE SITE. SO SOMEBODY CAN PULL THIS UP, THEY CAN SAY, IT'LL SAY, WELL CLICK HERE FIRST, THEN CLICK HERE, THEN CLICK CLEAR, THEN CLICK SUBMIT. UH, THAT'LL BE HELPFUL FOR STAFF AND IT'LL ALSO BE HELPFUL FOR THEM. UH, WE HAVE, WE'RE PLANNING A VERY EXTENSIVE EXTERNAL, UH, INTERNAL, UH, CUSTOMER TRAINING WITH FOLKS WHERE WE'RE GONNA BRING THEM IN INTO THE, UH, TRAINING ROOM. NOW, MIKE'S MIGHT THROW SOMETHING AT ME IN A MINUTE HERE, BUT, UH, 'CAUSE I HAVE TO INVOLVE HIM. BUT ANYWAYS, WE'RE GONNA BRING 'EM IN AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE LAPTOPS OUT THAT CAN BRING THEIR OWN. UH, WE'RE GONNA WALK 'EM THROUGH THIS, HOW THEY REGISTER AS A CONTRACTOR. WE'RE GONNA REACH OUT TO OUR CONTRACTORS, BRING 'EM IN, MAYBE FEED 'EM LUNCH, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. UH, AND THEN WE HAVE SOME OTHER FOLKS THAT ARE, UH, CONSISTENT USERS THAT WE WANT TO BRING IN AND GET THEIR INPUT TO. UH, THE GOOD NEWS IS, UH, THIS THURSDAY IS THAT, UM, UM, MY GOVERNMENT ONLINE WILL BE DOING A LIVE DEMONSTRATION OF USING, OF OUR SYSTEM ON WHERE IT'S GOING. THEY HAVE ALL THE WORKFLOWS AND EVERYTHING IMPLEMENTED FOR PERMITTING. SO WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO SEE A LIVE DEMONSTRATION OF THAT. SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. ALRIGHT. THAT WAS A LOT. AND, UH, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS FOR YOU. NO QUESTIONS FROM COUNSEL. REALLY. YEAH. THAT'S A WHOLE LOT OF INFORMATION. AND THEY GOT NO QUESTIONS. I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU ALL. SO YOU HAD YOUR, YOU SAID YOU HAD, YOU BROUGHT IN DEVELOPERS FOR YOUR ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONS AND SURVEYS. YES, SIR. DID YOU ALSO HAVE THAT WITH LIKE, JUST COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND PROPERTY OWNERS THAT WERE NOT IN THE DEVELOPER ARENA? JUST I THE KINDA GET THEIR FEEDBACK ON WHAT THEY'RE EXPERIENCING ON JUST DOING HOME IMPROVEMENTS ON LOTS THEY ALREADY OWN, FOR INSTANCE? UH, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. IT'S A LITTLE HARDER 'CAUSE OUR DATA DOESN'T LIST IF IT, THAT SPECIFICALLY. IF THEY HAVE A CONTRACTOR, THAT'S WHO WE CONTACTED. UM, BUT WE ARE TRYING TO DO THAT AND INCORPORATE THOSE FOLKS INTO OUR TRAINING FOR THE, UH, MY ONLINE, I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE 24 HOUR PERMITTING, WHICH I LIKE. IS THAT GONNA BE LINKED TO THE ONLINE MGO PROCESS? MM-HMM . BECAUSE I WOULD IMAGINE, I, THERE'S SOME THINGS YOU WOULD WANT TO KNOW IF I WANNA PUT UP A FENCE CORRECT. OR DO THIS OR THAT. CORRECT. AND NOT JUST SAY, I'M PUTTING UP A FENCE AND YOU GIMME A PURPOSE. YES. CORRECT. THEY'LL HAVE TO SUBMIT THEIR SITE PLAN. THEY'LL HAVE TO SUBMIT, THEY'LL HAVE INSTRUCTIONS, AND THEY CAN DO ALL THAT ONLINE. THEY'LL DO IT ALL ONLINE. BY THE TIME THEY COME IN. IT SHOULD BE PRETTY WELL, THEY ONLY HAVE TO COME IN, WE'LL JUST SAY THE NEXT DAY BY THEN THE NEXT DAY OUR GOAL IS TO SAY IT'S APPROVED OR WE NEED YOU TO, OR THEY NEED TO DO WHATEVER. CLARIFY. OKAY. I JUST WANTED TO BE CLEAR ON THAT. YES, MA'AM. FOR THE, UM, HOMEOWNERS THAT ARE DOING PROJECTS EARLIER, I WANNA SAY LAST YEAR, UM, THERE WAS TALK ABOUT, UM, SMOOTHING THE PROCESS AND MAKING IT EASIER TO GET FROM STEP A TO STEP Z. UM, HOW, HOW HAS THAT BEEN GOING AS FAR AS HAVING A DEDICATED PERSON WALK THEM THROUGH THEIR PROCESS SO THAT THEY'RE NOT GETTING DIFFERENT ANSWERS AT EACH POINT OF THE PROJECT? UH, GOOD QUESTION. UH, IT'S GOING BETTER. I THINK THERE'S SOME IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE NEED TO DO. UH, YOU KNOW, AS STAFF, AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE CUSTOMER FOCUSED AND, AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN YOU HAVE HIGH STANDARDS AND YOU HAVE THAT, IT WOULD TAKE IT, IT TAKES RESOURCES TO HELP PEOPLE THROUGH THOSE. AND SO, UM, UH, WORKING WITH LIZ, WORKING, UH, WITH THE PLANNERS, UH, AND, AND EVEN OUR BUILDING FOLKS, WE TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE IDENTIFY THOSE UP FRONT AND, UH, MEET WITH THEM OFTEN, OFTEN, OR HAVE CONTACT WITH THEM OFTEN. UH, THERE'S SOME THINGS WE CAN DO TO IMPROVE. UM, BUT WE, THAT IS A FOCUS THAT WE'VE BEEN FOCUSING ON. AND I THINK SOME OF THE SPECIFIC COMPLAINTS I'VE HEARD IS THAT, OKAY, THEY GOT, THEY [00:50:01] WERE TOLD TO DO X, Y, Z, THEY WENT AND DID X, Y, Z, THEY BROUGHT IT BACK AND THEY GOT A DIFFERENT PERSON THAN THE FIRST PERSON THEY SPOKE TO. AND THEN THE NEXT PERSON HAD A DIFFERING OPINION OF WHETHER IT WAS DONE CORRECTLY OR NOT. LIKE, WAIT, I DID IT THE WAY THEY TOLD ME TO. AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE TRYING TO IMPLEMENT THE PROJECT MANAGERS SO THAT THEY SEE THAT, UH, RESUBMITTAL THROUGHOUT THAT ORIGINAL PROJECT RESUBMIT, AND THEY UNDERSTAND IT THROUGHOUT, UH, THE PROCESS. THAT HELPS QUITE A BIT BECAUSE THEN YOU DON'T HAVE THOSE, YOU KNOW, FOUR SETS, SIX SETS OF EYES LOOKING AT SOMETHING DIFFERENT, UH, WHICH CAN BE A CHALLENGE. AND OUR WEBSITE ARE WE, UM, GOING TO BE IMPROVING THAT FOR THINGS LIKE THE 24 HOUR PERMIT MM-HMM . UM, PROCESS. AND NOT JUST THAT, BUT IMPROVING OUR FAQ SECTION. UM, FOR INSTANCE, I, I HAD A FENCE THAT WAS FALLING DOWN WHEN I BOUGHT MY HOUSE AND I COULDN'T FIND AN ANSWER, UH, AS TO WHETHER OR NOT I COULD REPLACE THE SAME EXISTING FENCE WITHOUT A PERMIT OR NOT. AND, UM, MR. THATCHER WAS KIND ENOUGH TO WALK ME OVER TO THE RIGHT AREA, AND THE ANSWER WAS, IT WAS THE SAME EXACT FENCE AND NO, I DIDN'T. UM, BUT THINGS LIKE WATER HEATERS MM-HMM . I'M REPLACING A DILAPIDATED SHED WITH THE SAME EXACT SHED, STUFF LIKE THAT. YEAH. I HAVE STAFF WORKING ON THAT RIGHT NOW. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE MENTIONED IS AS PART OF MMGO ALSO IS, UH, WE ARE REFINING OUR PERMITS. UH, WE TOOK A VERY BROAD SCOPE WHEN SMART GOV WAS IMPLEMENTED, HEY, IF YOU'RE DOING THIS, YOU SUBMIT 45 DOCUMENTS OR WHATEVER IT WAS. WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE DOCUMENTS. AND WE'VE ALREADY STARTED DOING THAT AND WE'RE DOING THAT. LIZ DOES A GREAT JOB. AND, AND, UM, OUR PERMIT STAFF DOES A GREAT JOB OF SAYING, OKAY, THIS IS A PROJECT I DON'T NEED, I DON'T NEED, UH, THIS DOCUMENT. I DON'T NEED THIS DOCUMENT. REMOVING THEM SO THAT THEY CAN SUBMIT, BUT THAT WE'RE TRYING TO SIMPLIFY THOSE, UH, SOUNDS LIKE THE RIGHT DIRECTION. SO I THINK I KIND OF GOING OFF OF WHAT SHARON SAID THERE, UM, YOU KNOW, ON OUR BERNIE WEBSITE, DIRECTOR SHADROCK HAS PUT IN THE AI CHAT BOT THAT HAS HELPED, UH, A LOT OF PEOPLE FIND THE INFORMATION THEY NEED WITHOUT DIGGING. AND IT HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL. UM, HAVE WE CONSIDERED DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT ON THE PERMITTING SIDE, UM, FOR OUR RESIDENTS, LIKE, YOU KNOW, UH, COUNCILMAN SHARON, OUR COUNCILMAN WRIGHT OR MYSELF, WE ARE TRYING TO LOOK FOR THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT YOU COULD GO, GO ASK THE CHAT BOT AND IT WOULD PUT YOU IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION OR AT LEAST KIND OF TAKE THAT BURDEN OFF OF YOUR STAFF AND GET THOSE, I THINK LESS COMMON PEOPLE. I MEAN THE, THE, I THINK MOST OF THE DEVELOPERS KNOW THE WHO TO CONTACT THE CITY HALL, BUT RESIDENTS DON'T AND SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT WOULD YES. HELP. HAS THAT BEEN CONSIDERED OR LOOKED INTO? YES. SO, UH, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, OUR CHAT BOT'S SUPPOSED TO APPLY TO THE WHOLE WEBSITE. WE'LL SEE IF IT'S ACTUALLY ON OUR DEVELOPMENT PAGES. UH, BUT ONE OF OUR GOALS, UH, THIS YEAR IS ACTUALLY TO REDO OUR PERMITTING AND OUR PLANNING WEBPAGES TO MAKE IT MUCH MORE USER FRIENDLY THAT YOU CAN FIND THINGS, UH, INFORMATION LIKE WHEN I GO, I EVEN KNOW WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR AND IT TAKES ME FIVE CLICKS TO GET TO A MAP AND I'M LIKE, OKAY, WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO MAKE THAT A LITTLE BIT EASIER OR, OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE. SO WE REALLY, SO WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING ON THAT ALSO. SO I'LL, I'LL JUMP IN. AI HAS A LOT OF POSSIBILITIES FOR US IN THIS REGARD. AND IN FACT, PERSONALLY, I HAD SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT I COULD DO IN MY BACKYARD WITH A SHED. AND SO AS A, AS A TEST, I JUST UPLOADED OUR DEVELOPMENT CODE UDC INTO CHAT GBT AND SAID, THIS IS WHERE I LIVE. HOW WHAT? AND IT WAS ACTUALLY PRETTY PRECISE. I WAS AMAZED. AND SO I'VE GONE BACK TO STAFF. IN FACT, I'LL ASK CHRISTIE, UH, MAYBE TO JUMP IN. I'VE ASKED CHRISTIE AND NATHAN TO SEE IF THAT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO DO, A SEPARATE SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH AI CHAT BOT THAT SITS ON OUR DEVELOPMENT WEBPAGES THAT COULD BE EVEN MORE USEFUL. UM, AND I THINK WE'VE EVEN TALKED TO OUR SOFTWARE VENDORS TO SEE WHAT MIGHT BE THE ART OF THE POSSIBLE ON THE HORIZON. CHRISTIE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD? WELL, JUST A COUPLE THINGS. SO, UM, UH, TO COUNCILMAN BUNKER BUNKER'S QUESTION, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE ABLE TO, TO UPLOAD ANY NEW FAQS, ANYTHING THAT COMES THROUGH MY GOVERNMENT ONLINE, PUT THAT IN THE CHAT BOT SO THAT WHEN PEOPLE SEARCH, YOU KNOW, IT, IT GETS SMARTER AND SMARTER. THE MORE THINGS, THE MORE INFORMATION THAT WE LOAD IN IT. AND SO WE'LL DO THAT. UM, BUT WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH, UH, THE, THE DESIGNERS, THE, THE MAIN, THE FOLKS IN CHARGE OF MY GOVERNMENT ONLINE. AND THEY HAD ALREADY BEEN LOOKING AT HOW AI A PROGRAM, A SPECIFIC PROGRAMS, NOT JUST, NOT JUST CHAT GPT, LIKE THERE ARE SPECIFIC PROGRAMS OUT THERE THAT ARE FOCUSED ON, UH, PERMITTING PROCESSES. AND SO, UM, LOOKING AT HOW ONE OF THOSE MIGHT BE ABLE TO INTEGRATE WITH MY GOVERNMENT ONLINE SO THAT IT COULD, SO IF YOU, UH, SUBMIT A PERMIT FOR A POOL, UH, THE AI PROGRAM MIGHT BE ABLE TO GO THROUGH AND TELL YOU, OKAY, YOU SUBMITTED EVERYTHING EXCEPT THIS, [00:55:01] AND SO WE STILL NEED THIS PIECE OF, UH, LIKE YOU NEED TO, TO UPLOAD THIS, THIS, UH, INFORMATION. OR YOU CAN CALL THIS PERSON AND THEY CAN HELP YOU SO THAT IT WOULD ALMOST DO A REVIEW BEFORE IT EVEN GETS TO STAFF. AND SO THAT WOULD MAKE IT JUST THAT MUCH MORE EFFICIENT FOR SOMEONE GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS. SO THEY ARE WORKING ON THAT AND UH, WE HAVE ALREADY TOLD THEM THAT WE ARE YOUR FIRST TRY. SO WE, WE ARE EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO, TO WORK WITH THEM AND SEE WHAT UH, NEW AND INNOVATIVE THINGS WE CAN INCORPORATE. JUST A WORD OF CAUTION, MAKE SURE WE HAVE A DISCLAIMER THAT SAYS ANYTHING YOU GET FROM THE CHAT BOX OR AI IS NOT DEFINITIVE BECAUSE IT IS THERE. BECAUSE UNFORTUNATELY, ALTHOUGH YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AN INDEXING AI SYSTEM, WHICH IS A CHECKLIST, IF YOU ARE USING SOME OF THESE OTHER SYSTEMS, AS THEY GET MORE DATA THEY CAN CONFABULATE AND THEY ACTUALLY CAN THINK, I HATE TO SAY THAT, BUT THEY CAN AND THEY CAN COME UP WITH ANSWERS THAT ARE KIND OF STRANGE. UH, SO JUST MAKE SURE WE HAVE A DISCLAIMER. WELL, AND TO ADD, TO ADD TO THAT, NOTHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO PUT THROUGH THE SYSTEM IS NOT GOING TO BE A COLLABORATION NOT ONLY WITH MY GOVERNMENT ONLINE, BUT WITH OUR PHENOMENAL IT TEAM. UH, MIKE HAS DELVED INTO A LOT OF THESE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS AND SO WE'RE EXCITED TO SEE WHAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO, TO OFFER TO OUR, UH, CUSTOMERS. YEAH, WE WANT TO CALL THE, UH, AI FEATURE SKYNET DO THAT. IT COULD BE ALL OVER HER NOSE. WE GOTTA HAVE SOME KIND OF FUN, RIGHT? SOMETIMES HERE. GOTTA GO SOMEWHERE. MAYOR, CAN I JUST ADD, UH, JUST TO CONCLUDE WITH WHAT NATHAN'S GREAT PRESENTATION, APPRECIATE NATHAN, YOU'RE PUTTING THIS TOGETHER, WORKING WITH CHRISTIE, APPRECIATE YOUR TEAM AND STAFF AND, AND THE EFFORTS YOU GUYS HAVE MADE THE LAST YEAR IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE ENGINEERING MOBILITY DEPARTMENT AND THE UTILITIES DEPARTMENT. 'CAUSE THEY HAVE DEVELOPMENT FUNCTIONS AS WELL. UH, YOU GUYS GET EMAILS FREQUENTLY FROM YOUR CONSTITUENTS ABOUT THE PROCESS, ABOUT, UH, SIMILAR COMMENTS TO WHAT YOU JUST READ, THOSE THAT ARE MORE PRO PRO-GROWTH VERSUS ANTI-GROWTH OR STOP GROWTH, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, AS NATHAN ALLUDED TO, WE'RE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, WHICH IS A VERY PRO PROPERTY RIGHTS STATE, VERY PRO PROPERTY RIGHTS. SO THEY, THEY ARE PROUD TO BE, I THINK, THE EIGHTH LARGEST ECONOMY IN THE WORLD. THAT'S ALL GROWTH GENERATED, RIGHT. UM, THEY, UH, IF YOU LOOK IN THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION TODAY AND YOU SEE OUR UPDATES, SEE THE UPDATES, CHRISTIE GIVES, THERE'S A LOT OF LAND USE RELATED BILLS. UM, WE HAD TO ALTER AND CHANGE OUR CODE A YEAR AGO BECAUSE OF THE LAST PRIOR LEGISLATIVE SESSION. WE ANTICIPATE NEEDING TO DO THAT AGAIN. IN FACT, UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT NATHAN TALKED ABOUT, WHAT WE DID WITH MULTI-FAMILY AND WHERE WE RESTRICTED, WHERE THAT COULD BE, MIGHT BE TAKEN AWAY BASED ON SOME OF THE BILLS. THERE'S, UH, THERE'S ALL KINDS OF THINGS THAT, UH, THAT IMPACT US. WE HAVE TO ALIGN TO 'EM BECAUSE WE ARE A CREATURE OF THE STATE AND WE HAVE TO FOLLOW STATE LAW REGARDLESS OF WHAT OUR RESIDENTS MIGHT THINK WE HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO DO. UM, THERE'S LEGISLATIVE POTENTIAL BILLS THAT WOULD MAKE BUILDING MORATORIUMS EVEN HARDER TO BRING ABOUT AND WITH LE FEWER OPTIONS ON HOW TO DO THAT. UM, SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'RE IN THIS BALANCE, RIGHT? UH, PEOPLE WANT A GOOD EXPERIENCE. THEY WANNA DEVELOP THE PROPERTY. WE WANNA SUPPORT THE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AS WELL AS THOSE WHO ARE COMING IN WHO WANT TO COM COMPLY WITH OUR CODE. AND, AND, AND THEY HAVE A HARD JOB. AND WE'RE TRYING TO FIND THE RIGHT BALANCE TO DO THAT. I, I THINK I'M PROUD OF WHERE WE'VE COME. I THINK WE HAVE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY AND WE, WE WERE HEADED IN THE RIGHT WAY. ABSOLUTELY. YEAH. I JUST WANNA REITERATE WHAT BEN WAS SAYING. I MEAN, IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, THE AMOUNT OF EMAILS THAT I'VE RECEIVED SAYING, MAN, OUR PROCESS IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. WE NEED TO FIX IT, HAS REALLY GONE DOWN OVER THE LAST SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR. IN FACT, I'VE GOTTEN SEVERAL EMAILS WHERE THE PROCESS WAS SMOOTH, UM, AND WAS NOT COMPLICATED AT ALL. AND SO, UH, I JUST WANNA COMMEND YOUR TEAM AND, AND YOUR REFERENCE FROM THE PLANNING AND ZONING BECAUSE THAT, THAT IS A REAL THING FOR THIS JOB BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE AREN'T HAPPY WHEN THEY'RE HAVING TO DO SOMETHING ON THEIR OWN PROPERTY, RIGHT? SO, UM, THAT'S ONE. THANK YOU GUYS. YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB. AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. I CAN SEE IMPROVEMENT, YOU KNOW, EVERY MONTH. UM, AND SECOND, I THINK ONE OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS THAT YOU STARTED AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS THING WAS WE'RE, WE'RE LISTENING, RIGHT? AND SO, AS YOU STATED, MOST OF THE DEVELOPMENTS THAT YOU'RE SEEING ARE PRIOR TO THE UDC, RIGHT? AND IF I'M THINKING CORRECTLY, I DON'T THINK OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS THAT WE'VE EVEN APPROVED ONE NEW SUBDIVISION, ONE NEW DEVELOPMENT OR ANYTHING OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS. AND SO, UH, WE ARE LISTENING TO THE COMMUNITY. WE UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, GROWTH IS IMPORTANT AND WE ARE TRYING TO DO OUR BEST TO, TO, TO DO THAT SMARTLY. AND SO, UM, YOUR TEAM IS DOING A GREAT JOB WITH THAT ALSO. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. THAT'S IT, MAYOR. THAT'S IT. THAT'S IT FOR, OKAY. UH, ITEM [7. COMMENTS FROM COUNCIL – No discussion or action may take place.] AGENDA NUMBER SEVEN, COMMENTS FROM COUNCIL SPORTS UPDATE. WHAT I WAS NO SPORTS. OH, SPORTS UPDATE. JUST HAD A COUPLE SPORTS UPDATE, NOT SPORTS. NO. UM, MAY I, YEAH. UM, FIRST I, USING MY AM O CONNECTIONS, OBVIOUSLY AM O TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE MADE UP OF LOTS OF DIFFERENT ELECTED OFFICIALS, SOME NON-ELECTED, UM, I DECIDED TO START REACHING OUT TO SOME OF THEM. OBVIOUSLY THERE'S QUORUM [01:00:01] ISSUES JUST LIKE WE HAVE. BUT, UM, REACHED OUT TO COMMISSIONER WEBB, KAMAL COUNTY, UM, COMMISSIONER MOODY AND BEAR COUNTY, AND THEN COUNCILWOMAN CAVEO VARDA. AND JUST STARTED THE CONVERSATION OF LIKE HOW WE CAN BE BETTER PARTNERS. AND COOL THING WAS ALL OF THEM WERE LIKE, THIS IS THINGS I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT WANTING TO DO AND JUST NEVER DID IT. BUT I THINK AS WATER TRANSPORTATION INEVITABLY BECOME MORE OF A REGIONAL ISSUE, WE NEED TO MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS. THEY ALL AGREED. I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK DEFINITELY PART OF WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IN THE NEXT YEAR IS TRY TO SET UP SOME SORT OF, UM, I DON'T KNOW, BIANNUAL, QUARTERLY, WHATEVER IT ENDS UP, BUT SOME SORT OF MEETING WHERE WE COME TOGETHER WITH SOME OF OUR OTHER REGIONAL OFFICIALS TO JUST HAVE A CONVERSATION. DEFINITELY SAN ANTONIO, WE HAVE A CITY OF 2 MILLION AND THINGS THEY DO IMPACT US. YOU KNOW, WE'RE UM, WE HAVE A COMMUTER, UM, COMMUNITY THAT GOES INTO SAN ANTONIO EVERY DAY TO WORK. WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT COME OUT HERE TO SPEND THEIR MONEY ON THE WEEKENDS AND THAT RELATIONSHIP IS SO IMPORTANT, UM, SO ONGOING, BUT FIGURED I'D SHARE THAT WITH Y'ALL. ALL REALLY GOOD CONVERSATIONS. UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO INTRODUCING, UH, JEFF AND BEN, CHRISSY, ET CETERA, TO THESE PEOPLE WHENEVER I CAN. 'CAUSE IT WAS JUST REALLY, YEAH, IT WAS GOOD. IT WAS NICE. THEY ALL LOVE BERNIE AND WANNA WORK WITH US. UM, SO THAT'S ONE THING. AND THEN OTHER THING IS, UM, IN THE LAST MONTH IT'S BEEN A LOT OF GOSSIP ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP, UM, WITH STAFF AND LIKE STAFF NOT GIVING US INTEL. AND JUST WANTED TO SAY PERSONALLY THAT'S NOT THE TRUTH. I'M, ANYTIME I'VE EVER HAD A QUESTION, ANYONE ON STAFF, OBVIOUSLY GENERALLY THROUGH THE CITY MANAGER, EVERYONE'S ALWAYS OPEN. SO IF, IF THAT, IF THEY FEEL LIKE WE'RE NOT GETTING THE INFORMATION, I THINK THAT'S ON ME. 'CAUSE I'VE NEVER FELT LIKE THAT. I THINK YOU GUYS ALWAYS DO A GREAT JOB OF BEING OPEN. UM, AND SINCE I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL THROUGH TWO CITY MANAGERS, I THINK THAT IT'S ONLY GOTTEN BETTER. NOT THAT IT WAS BAD BEFORE, BUT I, I THINK IT'S THAT MUCH MORE EFFICIENT AND COMMEND BEN FOR DOING THAT. I THINK A LOT COMES FROM, YOU KNOW, THERE CAN BE A LACK OF DEBATE AND DISCUSSIONS SOMETIMES IN COUNCIL. SO I THINK PEOPLE HAVE THIS INTERPRETATION THAT THAT'S BECAUSE WE'RE NOT GETTING INTEL. WELL, MOST OF US DO OUR DUE DILIGENCE TO GET THAT BEFORE SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE A, YOU KNOW, SIX HOUR MEETING WHERE WE'RE THROWING PENCILS AT EACH OTHER. SO, UM, AGAIN, I, I, I JUST, I GET THAT THAT'S A, PROBABLY A SMALL BRACKET OF PEOPLE'S RUMORS, BUT I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS WORTH NOTING THAT, UM, IN MY EXPERIENCE, I THINK WE'RE DOING A GREAT JOB. STAFF'S DOING A GREAT JOB. UM, COUNCIL DOES A GOOD JOB OF COMING ALREADY DOING, HAVE DONE THEIR HOMEWORK AND READY TO PASS POLICY OR DISCUSS IF WE NEED TO. SO, UH, WHAT MAY I FOLLOW UP ON THAT PLEASE? BECAUSE IT BEEN IN MY CRAWL A LITTLE BIT TOO. UH, THERE HAVE BEEN COMMENTS MADE IN THE PAST. IT'S NOT NEW ABOUT HOW MANY FIVE OH VOTES THERE ARE OR HOW MANY UNANIMOUS VOTES THERE ARE. AND THE SUGGESTION BEING THAT WE JUST RUBBER STAMP EVERYTHING AND DON'T PAY ATTENTION. AND THAT'S NOTHING BUT ABSOLUTE NONSENSE. UH, I KNOW FOR MYSELF, AND I THINK THE REST OF THE COUNCIL, I MEAN, AND THIS IS A TRIBUTE TO BEN AND THE STAFF. I MEAN, I HAVE QUESTIONS. I CALL, I SAY, I WANNA KNOW WHAT THIS IS. I WANNA KNOW WHY WE'RE SPENDING THIS MONEY. WHERE IS THIS GOING? WHERE IS THIS COMING FROM? SO IF THERE'S INTENSE DEBATE QUESTIONS, USUALLY THEY'RE ANSWERED, UH, VERY CLEARLY WITH INFORMATION AND FACTS BEFORE, SO THAT WHEN WE GET HERE, EVEN IF WE HAD A RESERVATION ABOUT SOMETHING, IT'S ALREADY BEEN CLEARED UP. SO UNLESS IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE FEEL IT'S PROFOUND, THAT NEEDS TO BE AIRED PUBLICLY. SO THE PUBLIC'S AWARE OF IT. THERE'S REALLY NO POINT IN DEBATING SOMETHING WE ALREADY KNOW THE ANSWER TO. UM, IT'S NOT A QUESTION OF THAT WE'RE ALL IN AGREEMENT ON EVERYTHING. IT'S THAT WE'RE AGREEING ON WHAT THE SITUATION IS WITH THAT CERTAIN ITEM. AND THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS, AND YOU'VE ALLUDED TO STATE LAW, FEDERAL LAW, THAT COUNTERMAN WHAT WE WANT TO DO. I MEAN, I'M CONSTANTLY BARRAGE. I MEAN, YOU LOOKED AT THAT LIST OF PROJECTS, COMMERCIAL PROJECTS. I DUNNO IF YOU NOTICE WHERE MOST OF 'EM ARE. THERE'RE MY DISTRICT 'CAUSE IT'S I 10. AND THE FACT IS, I GET THESE COMMENTS ALL THE TIME ABOUT TREES AND I GO BACK TO THE TREE, MY TREE SERMON, YOU KNOW, PRESERVE, MITIGATE, UH, REPLACE OR PAY FEE IN LIEU OF IT'S TEXAS LAW. SO EVERYTHING WE DO AT THE END OF THE DAY IS ABOUT FOLLOWING THE LAW, NUMBER ONE FROM THE FEDERAL AND THE STATE GOVERNMENT, AND THEN AS BEST WE CAN WITHIN OUR OWN ORDINANCES. SO I THINK PEOPLE SHOULDN'T THINK THAT THERE'S ANY RUBBER STAMP GOING ON HERE. 'CAUSE THERE'S NOT ANY QUESTION, COUNSEL. NOW I'M IN AGREEMENT WITH, UM, WHAT WAS SAID. UH, THERE ARE TIMES, IT HASN'T HAPPENED VERY OFTEN, BUT THERE ARE TIMES WHERE IT'S AGREED THAT, UM, MAYBE THERE WASN'T ENOUGH INFORMATION TO PRESENT TO COUNSEL AND ITEMS ARE PULLED FROM THE AGENDA. SURE. UH, UNTIL, UH, MORE INFORMATION IS GATHERED AND THEN IT'S RE IT'S PUT BACK ON THE AGENDA TO WITH, WITH BETTER ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS. BECAUSE SOMETIMES NOT, YOU KNOW, NOT EVERYBODY ALWAYS KNOWS ALL THE ANSWERS. UM, SO I, I HAVE, I'M VERY THANKFUL THAT WE DO HAVE AN OUTSTANDING STAFF THAT PREPARES US VERY WELL FOR THE INFORMATION. SO [01:05:01] THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. I'M JUST GONNA ATE WHAT EVERYBODY SAID. HAVE A GREAT REST OF YOUR WEEK. AND WE ARE OFFICIALLY ADJOURNED AT 7:05 PM HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.