WRONG? THAT WAS VERY WRONG ON THE LAST TOUR. ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING. WE'RE GOING TO CALL
[Workshop Session - 5:45 P.M.]
[00:00:10]
THIS MEETING OF THE WORKSHOP FOR THE LOUISVILLE CITY COUNCIL TO ORDER. WE DO HAVE A QUORUM.LET'S SEE, FIRST UP FOR THE SESSION, OF COURSE. WE GOT GREEN MICROPHONES. YOU CAN HEAR EVERYTHING. FIRST UP IS CONSENT AND REGULAR AGENDA ITEM REVIEW COUNCIL. IF YOU LOOK IN YOUR PACKETS. WE HAVE INVOCATION. DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM CADE AND MYSELF WITH THE FLAGS. WE HAVE A PRESENTATION WITH THE LIBRARY. ITEM D ONE PUBLIC HEARING AMENDING VOLUME TWO OF THE CITY CODE UDC. THAT'S GOING TO MOVE ALL THE PLAT APPROVAL TO STAFF. SO, CLAIRE, THIS IS ONLY FOR PLAT APPROVAL WHERE THERE ARE NO VARIANCES. THAT'S RIGHT. SO THIS IS GOING TO GREATLY CUT DOWN ON AGENDAS, RIGHT. WELL, BUT THIS IS TO ALIGN WITH STATE LAW. YEAH. SO STATE LAW GIVES YOU THE AUTHORITY TO DO THIS. AND SO WE'RE DOING THAT MAINLY TO PROVIDE GREATER EFFICIENCY FOR OUR STAFF BUT ALSO TO INCREASE OUR TIMELINESS WITH REVIEWS. JUST REALIZE THAT WE STILL HAVE TO MEET OUR 30 DAY IS IT 30 DAY SHOT CLOCK. YES, 30 DAY SHOT CLOCK. IT ALSO ALLOWS THE DEVELOPER, IF THEY DON'T AGREE WITH STAFF, TO ALWAYS APPEAL THAT DECISION TO A BODY TO PNC.
RIGHT. CORRECT. AND SO I THINK IT REALLY COVERS ALL OUR BASES, BUT IT REALLY DOES PROVIDE GREATER EFFICIENCY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. ITEM F TWO MINUTES. ITEM F THREE RESOLUTION FOR THE JOINT ELECTION SERVICES. RIGHT NOW THAT'S ABOUT $20,000. ITEM FOR REGULAR HEARING. TWO ALTERNATIVE STANDARDS WITH OUTDOOR STORAGE FOR WING AND WALMART. I'VE BEEN TOLD HAS A SHORT PRESENTATION TO GIVE OUT. OKAY, GREAT. SO IS THIS ALSO GOING TO BE A TEMPORARY SITUATION? NO, THIS IS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE A PERMANENT, BUT IT IS ALIGNING WITH ALL OF THE REGULATIONS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE ALREADY TOLD US YOU WANTED US TO GO FORWARD WITH. SO IT'S REALLY JUST TO KEEP THEM KOSHER RIGHT NOW BEFORE THOSE CODES GET CHANGED. FIVE THIS IS THE STR CONVERSATION. IT'S SETTING PERMITS AT 130. I THOUGHT IT WAS ONLY AGAINST THE AGENDA. SORRY.
OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS ON THE STR? ITEM H REPORTS. AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE A CLOSED SESSION ITEM TONIGHT. ALL RIGHT. THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS. WE DO HAVE TWO PRESENTATIONS TODAY BEFORE OUR REGULAR SESSION AT 7 P.M. SO THE FIRST ONE WE HAVE UP IS MR. PAUL CHRISTINA, OUR CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF DC, TO PRESENT AN UPDATE ON OUR DENTON COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY.
ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. MAYOR, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL. AND THEN CLAIRE. GINA, COME BACK AROUND. CHAIR. GILMORE, BOARD MEMBER GREEN I'M JOINED ALSO THIS EVENING BY MR. AUSTIN FRITH, OUR VICE PRESIDENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT. IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE WITH YOU TO SHARE A GENERAL UPDATE ON WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE DENTON COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY. THE HEADLINE STARTS WITH WHERE WE ENDED LAST FISCAL YEAR 2024. DCTA BROKE AN ALL TIME RIDERSHIP RECORD, DELIVERING 3.2 MILLION TRIPS OVER ALL OF ITS SERVICES. YOU SEE THIS GRAPH HERE SHOWING RIDERSHIP AT DC SINCE 2011, WHEN THE A TRAIN STARTED. PEAKED IN 2016 AND THEN HIT THE PANDEMIC AND WAS REALLY HIT HARD, JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER TRANSIT AGENCY IN THE COUNTRY. BUT THE STORY IS THE TRIPLING OR NEAR TRIPLING OF RIDERSHIP COMING OUT OF THE PANDEMIC BECAUSE OUR MEMBER CITIES, OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS, UNDERSTOOD WHAT THEIR STAKEHOLDERS WANTED, MADE SIGNIFICANT TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGES IN SERVICE, IMPLEMENTED THE GOZONE OPERATION, WHICH ALLOWS PEOPLE TO RIDE WHERE THEY ARE TO WHERE THEY WANT TO GO. AND THAT REALLY IS THE DRIVER OF THAT RECOVERY. HOWEVER, YOU SEE LAST YEAR, A TRAIN RIDERSHIP UP DOUBLE DIGITS YEAR OVER YEAR.
YOU SEE WHERE GOZONE IS FLAT, BUT THAT'S A FIXED CAPACITY SERVICE. SO WE WOULD EXPECT THAT. AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS HERE IN A MINUTE. THE ATRIUM RIDERSHIP, LIKE I SAID, THREE CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF DOUBLE DIGIT RIDERSHIP GROWTH. AND NOW WE'RE IN OUR FOURTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR, THE A TRAIN, ACCORDING TO DATA FROM THE AMERICAN PUBLIC TRANSIT ASSOCIATION, IS ONE OF THE TOP PERFORMING COMMUTER RAILROADS IN THE COUNTRY. WITH REGARD TO RIDERSHIP GROWTH. AND WHAT'S CRAZY ABOUT THIS IS IF YOU LOOK AT WHO'S NORTH OF US, THOSE ARE DENSE METRO URBAN AREAS, AND WE ARE RIGHT HERE IN THE MIX. THIS IS A LOT TO BE PROUD OF. WHAT THIS TELLS US IS THAT THE TRAIN IS A VIABLE TRANSIT PRODUCT, AND THAT
[00:05:02]
PEOPLE, AS THEY FIND THEIR WAY STUCK IN TRAFFIC ON I-35. CERTAINLY, THE CONSTRUCTION ON I-35 HASN'T HELPED THE COMMUTER, AND THEY LOOK TO THEIR RIGHT, OR THEY LEFT AND THEY SEE THE TRAIN RUNNING BY. THEY SAY THAT FEELS LIKE A GOOD IDEA AND THEY FIND THEIR WAY OVER. AND SO WE'RE REALLY HAPPY FOR THAT AND LOOK FORWARD TO WHAT THE CHANGES THAT WE'RE PURSUING ARE GOING TO DRIVE MORE DATA ABOUT THE A TRAIN SPECIFICALLY AROUND OLD TOWN, HEBRON, OLD TOWN AND HEBRON STATIONS. THIS IS BOARDINGS AND ALIGHTINGS IN FISCAL 23 AND 24 AND THEN 25. IN ORANGE. ABORTING IS OBVIOUSLY GETTING ON THE TRAIN AND THE LIGHTING IS GETTING OFF THE TRAIN. AND YOU SEE ANYWHERE BETWEEN 10 AND 20% JUMP MONTH OVER MONTH OVER THE COURSE OF THIS YEAR. THIS GRAPH OVER HERE TELLS US THAT WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT BOARDINGS AND ALIGHTINGS BY STATION, WHEN YOU SEE THAT MOST OF THE BOARDINGS AND ALIGHTINGS HAPPEN AT THE BOOKENDS, THAT TELLS US THAT THE A TRAIN IS PRIMARILY STILL USED AS A COMMUTER RAILROAD. PEOPLE GETTING ON AND OFF AT THE AT THE BOOKENDS AND ARE MAKING THE FULL THE FULL TRIP. BUT YOU SEE WHERE OLD TOWN AND HEBRON LAND IN THERE. OUR CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY IS TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE THE A TRAIN EVEN BETTER. AND TO DO THAT, OUR BOARD GRABBED ON TO ARTICULATE A SIGNIFICANT VISION OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, CALLED THE A TRAIN ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM. WHAT WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO DO IS IMPROVE OUR RUN TIME ON THE EXISTING CORRIDOR BETWEEN DENTON AND TRINITY MILLS. WE WANT TO EXTEND THE A TRAIN FOR TWO MILES FROM TRINITY MILLS TO DOWNTOWN CARROLLTON. WE WANT TO IMPROVE OUR PEAK FREQUENCY TO 15 MINUTES. WHEN THE SCHEDULE IS RUNNING ON A 15 MINUTE FREQUENCY, IT MEANS YOU DON'T CARE WHAT THE SCHEDULE IS. IF YOU SHOW UP AT THE TRAIN PLATFORM, YOU KNOW THAT BEFORE YOU BREAK A SWEAT IN THE SUMMERTIME, YOU'RE GOING TO BE ON THE AIR CONDITIONED RIDE HEADED NORTH OR SOUTH. AND THEN WE'RE ALSO WORKING TO CONSIDER A NEW STATION AT CORINTH. WHY IS THAT TWO MILE EXTENSION SO IMPORTANT? WELL, IF YOU IF YOU HEARD THE NEWS ABOUT THE PROJECT BY DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT FOR THE SILVER LINE, IT'S GOING TO CONNECT. IT'S A COMMUTER RAILROAD THAT IS GOING TO CONNECT THE NORTH PART OF DFW AIRPORT OUT TO SHILOH ROAD IN PLANO WITH THAT TWO MILE EXTENSION. THAT MEANS THAT A PERSON COULD GET ON AT THE OLD TOWN STATION, THE HEBREW STATION, OR ANY OTHER STATION, AND FOR THE COST OF A REGIONAL PASS, LESS THAN $10 COULD BE AT THE FRONT DOOR OF DFW AIRPORT IN ABOUT AN HOUR. DON'T HAVE TO PAY TO PARK ABOUT AN HOUR. IF YOU'RE STARTING AT THE DOWNTOWN TRANSIT CENTER. LESS IF YOU'RE FURTHER SOUTH. DON'T HAVE TO PAY TO PARK $40 AT THE TERMINAL, OR PAY TO PARK $15 ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF DFW AND THEN RIDE A SHUTTLE IN. WE THINK THAT WILL BE A GAME CHANGER FOR THE TRAIN AND HOW PEOPLE USE IT. ANOTHER WAY THAT WE CAN REALLY ENHANCE THE VALUE OF THE TRAIN IS BY CREATING PLACES ALONG THE RAILROAD. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE, WE THINK THE TRAIN IS LACKING IS REALLY CONNECTIVITY AND TYING IN TO THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE, AND THE CITY OF LEWISVILLE IS LEADING THE WAY IN THIS REGARD WITH OUR CONVERSATION AROUND DEVELOPING THE OLD TOWN LEWISVILLE STATION, YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR THAT DCTA OWNS ABOUT 13 ACRES OF PROPERTY RIGHT NEXT TO THE OLD TOWN STATION. AND THIS IS YOUR DEVELOPMENT RIGHT NEXT DOOR. WHAT WE ENVISION HERE IS A MAIN BUILDING, ICONIC, THINK ICONIC SORT OF STRUCTURE, CLASS, A OFFICE SPACE, MIXED USE RETAIL, PUBLIC SPACE THAT WOULD INCLUDE A DCTA HEADQUARTERS FACILITY. THE POTENTIAL FOR A REGIONAL ATTRACTION LIKE A HOTEL CONFERENCE CENTER THING THAT WOULD THAT WOULD FIT INTO THAT SPACE. AND THEN REALLY, THE PALETTE FOR THE REST OF THIS IS SOMEWHAT OPEN, RECOGNIZING THAT WE WANT TO TRY TO DRIVE THINGS THAT WILL COMPLEMENT THE DEVELOPMENT THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE UNDERWAY RIGHT NEXT DOOR. SO WE'VE CHARTERED A WORKING GROUP WITH OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS, CHAIR GILMORE, BOARD MEMBER GREEN ARE MEMBERS OF THAT, AND WE'RE WORKING ALONG WITH JUDGE EADS AND OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR STAFF AND CONSULTANT TEAM, AND WE'RE WORKING TO REFINE THIS WORK, ALONG WITH YOUR GREAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TEAM, SO THAT WE CAN PUT OUT AN RFQ AND SEE WHAT THE MARKET MIGHT HAVE FOR THIS DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTAIN THE MOMENTUM THAT WE'VE GOTTEN OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST YEAR. AND WE APPRECIATE RICHARD AND ROCHELLE'S HELP IN PUTTING THIS ALL TOGETHER. SO NOW WE'LL TRANSITION TO THE GO ZONE SERVICE, OBVIOUSLY NEAR AND DEAR TO THE CITY OF LOUISVILLE'S HEART, BECAUSE YOU WERE IN THE FRONT END OF LEADING THE DECISION MAKING TO GO AWAY FROM FIXED ROUTE TO SOMETHING THAT WOULD BETTER SERVE YOUR CUSTOMERS. THE SHORT ANSWER, LIKE I SAID, AT THE FRONT END GO ZONE SERVICE SOMEWHAT FLAT YEAR OVER YEAR LAST YEAR, BUT WE DELIVERED 860,000 TRIPS ON GO ZONE. OVERALL, IT IS THE BIGGEST MICRO-TRANSIT OPERATION THAT VIA OPERATES IN NORTH AMERICA AMONGST THEIR 700 AND SOME ODD PROPERTIES ACROSS THE ENTIRE GLOBE. AND SO WE PUNCHES ITS WEIGHT CLASS AND A LOT OF WAYS, AND THAT'S ONE OF THOSE WAYS WE KNEW THAT WE HAD DUPLICATIVE[00:10:02]
SERVICE IN THE CITY OF DENTON. WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS WE HAD GO ZONE SERVICE OPERATING OVER THE FIXED ROUTE. AND WHEN THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHOSE TO MAINTAIN SERVICE TO CONNECT THREE, SIX AND SEVEN THAT YOU SEE THERE, WE HAD A SITUATION WHERE PEOPLE WERE SOMETIMES USING THE BUS OR THEY WOULD SAY, I LIKE GO ZONE BETTER, AND THEY WOULD USE GO ZONE. THAT'S PAYING FOR TWO SERVICES ON ONE GEOGRAPHY AND THAT'S NOT COST EFFICIENT. SO WE SAID WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE MADE IT SO THAT IF YOU'RE TRYING TO OPERATE INSIDE, YOU'RE TRYING TO TAKE A TRIP INSIDE THAT BOUNDARY. DURING THE HOURS OF 7 A.M. TO 9 P.M, THE DATA TOLD US THERE WAS A LOT OF TRIPS THAT WANTED TO BE HAD THERE. WHAT IF THE GO ZONE SERVICE TOLD YOU? HEY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR RIDE REQUEST, BUT YOU NEED TO GO TAKE THE BUS. AND SO WE IMPLEMENTED THAT. WE WORKED WITH OUR PARTNERS AT VIA. WE WORKED WITH OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS. WE COMMUNICATED TO THE PUBLIC AND WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A 20 MINUTE SCHEDULE THAT RUNS FROM 7 A.M. TO 9 P.M. MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IS THAT CONNECT RIDERSHIP IS UP 30% YEAR OVER YEAR. SO WHAT THAT TELLS US IS WHERE THE BUS IS ACCESSIBLE AND FEASIBLE. AND THERE'S THE DENSITY OF DEMAND.IT IS THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE MODE THAT WE CAN USE AND PEOPLE WILL USE IT. BUT THE REASON THAT'S IMPORTANT TO THE CITY OF LEWISVILLE IS BECAUSE BY TAKING THAT GO ZONE CAPACITY OUT OF THE CITY OF DENTON, WE WERE ABLE TO REDISTRIBUTE THOSE SERVICE HOURS TO THE CITIES OF LEWISVILLE AND HIGHLAND VILLAGE. SO WHAT YOU SEE HERE, AND AGAIN, THIS IS KIND OF BEHIND THE NUMBERS BECAUSE THIS IS NOW THIS YEAR, YEAR TO DATE, -2.7% GO ZONE RIDERSHIP. YOU MIGHT LOOK AT THAT AND SAY WAIT A MINUTE. THAT DOESN'T THAT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD. BUT IF YOU LOOK BEHIND THE NUMBERS YOU KIND OF DOUBLE CLICK INTO IT. WHAT YOU SEE IS THIS IS IN AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER DECEMBER. FISCAL YEAR 2023. FISCAL YEAR 2024. YEAR OVER YEAR RIDERSHIP ON GO ZONE IS DENTON. DENTON IS DOWN. BUT THEN LOOK AT THE GRAPHS FOR HIGHLAND VILLAGE AND LEWISVILLE.
YEAR OVER YEAR RIDERSHIP IN THOSE IN THOSE CITIES IS UP, REDUCING RIDERSHIP. 12% IN DENTON DROVE 14% RIDERSHIP GROWTH IN LEWISVILLE AND 25% RIDERSHIP IN HIGHLAND VILLAGE.
WE ARE NOW IN THE IN THE MODE OF OPTIMIZING OUR SERVICE. WE RAN IT FULL OUT FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS. WE BROKE THE ALL TIME RIDERSHIP RECORD, AND NOW WE'RE FIGURING OUT HOW TO BALANCE THE SCALE SO WE CAN MOVE AS MANY PEOPLE AS COST EFFECTIVELY AS POSSIBLE. AND THE GREAT NEWS IS, IS THE SYSTEM RESPONDS RATIONALLY. THE DATA TELLS US THINGS THAT WE THINK CAN HAPPEN.
AND WHEN WE MAKE THOSE DECISIONS, THE RIGHT OUTCOMES RESULT. AND A LOT OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND IN THE REGION ARE TALKING ABOUT USING FIXED USING GO ZONE MICRO TRANSIT DATA TO PLAN FIXED ROUTES. THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT IT IN THEORY. WE'RE DOING IT IN PRACTICE, AND IT'S BEEN REALLY GREAT TO SEE WE ARE ABLE TO ACTIVELY MANAGE THE CAPACITY AND MONITOR THE PERFORMANCE OF GO ZONE ON A ON A DAILY BASIS. AND EVERY WEEK WE PRODUCE MORE DATA THAT GOES INTO THIS IS A SNAPSHOT VIEW OF OUR DASHBOARD. WHAT WE SEE IS WE'VE GOT A TARGET DEPLOYMENT OF SERVICE HOURS IN LEWISVILLE. AND THEN WHICH IS 1650 HOURS A WEEK, WE HAVE OUR SEAT ON AVAILABILITY SET AT 17.5%. WE WANT TO BE LESS THAN THAT. AND THEN WE HAVE OUR WAIT TIME SET AT 24 MINUTES, AND WE WANT TO BE LESS THAN THAT. AND WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS WE LAUNCH THE ISP HERE IN AUGUST. IF I WAS TO GO BACKWARDS, YOU'D SEE THESE BARS BE A LITTLE BIT SHORTER, BUT YOU SEE SOME A BUMPY, A LITTLE BIT OF A BUMPY START AS THE ALGORITHM FOR V WANTS TO SEND THOSE CARS TO DENTON. WE SAID, NO, NO, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE IN LEWISVILLE.
LET'S BRING LET'S BRING THEM BACK DOWN. AND NOW WE'VE BEEN MAINTAINING A PRETTY CONSISTENT CADENCE. NOW THERE'S TIMES WHEN DRIVERS CALL OFF BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT AVAILABLE OR WHATEVER. BUT WE'VE MAINTAINED THE HOURLY DEPLOYMENT WE WERE AFTER. AND YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'VE CONTINUED TO MEET THE KPIS. SO AGAIN, THE SYSTEM PERFORMS RATIONALLY AND IT PERFORMS EXCEPTIONALLY WELL.
SO WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN IN TERMS OF RIDERSHIP AND SERVICE TO THE CITY OF LEWISVILLE? I SHOWED YOU THE A VERSION OF THIS GRAPH LAST YEAR AND A TABULAR VIEW IN 2019. YOU ONLY HAD FIXED ROUTE RUNNING. YOU HAD BETTER TRANSIT AND THE TRAIN. BUT IN TERMS OF THIS SERVICE, YOU HAD FIXED ROUTE 122,000 TRIPS, FIXED ROUTE TRANSITIONED OUT IN 2022. YOU WENT STRAIGHT TO GO. YOU WENT TO ONLY GO ZONE. AND THIS YEAR, IF YOU FOUR MONTHS THROUGH THE YEAR, IF YOU MULTIPLY THAT TIMES THREE, YOU'LL BE PUSHING 300,000 TRIPS ON GO ZONE FOR THE YEAR. SO EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE PROVING THAT THE GO ZONE SERVICE HAS BEEN THE RIGHT SERVICE FOR THE CITY OF LOUISVILLE AND GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY, FRANKLY. NOW, AS WE LOOK AT WHAT OUR LONG RANGE PLAN IS, WE CAN START TO SEE WHERE THE HOT SPOTS IN DEMAND THAT MIGHT BENEFIT FROM A FIXED ROUTE AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE. BUT IF WE MAKE THAT, IF THE BOARD MAKES THAT DECISION, IT WILL BE BASED ON DATA. WE COMPLETED THIS ANALYSIS JUST TO BECAUSE WE'VE DONE SOMETHING SIMILAR WITH THE CITY OF HIGHLAND VILLAGE. LOTS OF GO ZONE CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN THE CITY OF LEWISVILLE AND THE CITY
[00:15:02]
OF HIGHLAND VILLAGE. PEOPLE TRAVELING FROM THE DATA SHOWS US PEOPLE TRAVELING FROM ALL OVER LOUISVILLE TO GET TO THE 407 CORRIDOR IN HIGHLAND VILLAGE. WE THINK IT'S LIKELY TO GO TO WORK.AT LEAST IT'S TO GO SHOPPING. SIMILAR SORT OF ACTIVITY HAPPENING IN CASTLE HILLS AS WE WORK TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT CAPACITY AVAILABLE FOR ALL SIDES. IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE THE, THE SPREAD OF ORIGINS AND DESTINATIONS, BUT HOW THEY CONCENTRATE IN CASTLE HILLS RIGHT ALONG THE 121 CORRIDOR. AGAIN, WHEN WE LOOK FOR THINGS THAT SHOW US, THAT TELL US IS TRANSIT DRIVING ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, I THINK THIS IS A GOOD INDICATOR THAT IT IS. SWITCHING GEARS A LITTLE BIT TO OUR PARATRANSIT SERVICE. THIS IS FISCAL 2020, AND THEN WE'VE GOT 23, 24 AND 25. WE'VE STAYED CONSISTENT OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS WITH REGARD TO PARATRANSIT SERVICE. AND THAT'S OKAY, BECAUSE PARATRANSIT IS ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE MODES THAT WE OPERATE. AND IF GOZONE CAN PROVIDE PEOPLE A LEVEL OF INDEPENDENCE THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE DEPENDENT UPON PARATRANSIT, THEN WE WANT TO MOVE THOSE PEOPLE BY GO ZONE.
AND SO THE SERVICE REMAINS VIABLE. BUT IT'S NOT GROWING. BUT BUT IT'S OKAY FOR ALL THE REASONS THAT I JUST SAID. AND THEN WHERE ARE THOSE PEOPLE GOING? PRIMARILY MEDICAL, EDUCATIONAL, EMPLOYMENT, SPECIAL ABILITIES IN NORTH TEXAS, DAVITA DIALYSIS AND THE BLUFFS AT VISTA RIDGE AND SO FORTH. SO MOVING. OUR MOST VULNERABLE POPULATION IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO US. AND WE'RE DOING THAT IN THIS WAY. AND THEN FINALLY, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE TRIP PROGRAM. SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE TRIP PROGRAM, IT STARTED IN FISCAL 20. FOR FISCAL 21, YOU'VE HAD $19.2 MILLION AVAILABLE TO YOU, AND YOU'VE OBLIGATED 14.7 MILLION ON THESE GREAT TRANSIT AND TRANSPORTATION SUPPORTIVE PROJECTS. YOU HAVE THIS YEAR, $7.7 MILLION AVAILABLE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2025 CALL FOR PROJECTS. AND OUR STAFFS ARE ALREADY WORKING TOGETHER TO IDENTIFY WHAT THOSE PROJECTS ARE SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THEM AWARDED AND OBLIGATED BY OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS. THE BOARD. RECENTLY, A DCTA VOTED TO EXTEND THE TRIP PROGRAM INTO PERPETUITY. AND SO EVERY YEAR FOLLOWING FISCAL 25, THEY'LL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY IN THE BUDGET CYCLE TO LOOK AT WHAT MONEYS MIGHT BE AVAILABLE AND HOW THOSE MONEYS MIGHT BE ALLOCATED TO THE TRIP PROGRAM. AND THEN LASTLY, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT OUR BOARD HAS REALLY BEEN FOCUSED ON IS FIGURING OUT HOW WE CAN CAUSE MORE CITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SERVICES THAT DCTA PROVIDES, NOT JUST FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE CITIES, BUT ALSO SO THAT OUR DCTA MEMBER CITIES CAN GET TO MORE PLACES AND THE RESIDENTS THERE CAN GET TO MORE PLACES.
WE'VE WORKED ON THIS THING CALLED THE NEW MEMBER CITY AND CONTRACTED SERVICES PROGRAM, AND WHEN WE SET A POLICY LIKE THIS, WE WANT TO ASK THE QUESTION, WHAT IS THE WHAT IS THE REASON THAT WE DO IT? WE WANT TO GENERATE A FUNDING SOURCE THAT HAS VALUE THAT IS GREATER THAN THE COST OF SERVICE. WE WANT TO INCREASE ACCESS TO RESIDENTS OF DENTON COUNTY AND OUR MEMBER CITIES, AND WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT RESOURCES ARE REQUIRED IN ORDER TO DELIVER THAT SERVICE. AND SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT MEMBERSHIP, WE THINK ABOUT DEDICATED FUNDING SOURCE OVER THE LONG TERM. BUT WE CAN REWORK OUR CONTRACTED SERVICES APPROACH TO REALLY BE CLEAR AT THE OUTSET, WHEN WE GO INTO AN ENGAGEMENT WITH A NEW CITY, THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO THIS FOR SOME TIME UNDER CONTRACTED SERVICES ARRANGEMENT, SO THAT WE CAN BOTH FIGURE OUT WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU AND WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US. BUT ULTIMATELY, WE ARE LOOKING FOR THIS TO BE SOME LONG TERM ENGAGEMENT THAT'S BENEFICIAL NOT FOR JUST FOR THAT CITY, BUT FOR THE CITY AND SO, SO MUCH INTO DCTA TO SEE IT'S SUCCESSFUL. SO WITH THAT, I WILL JUST CONCLUDE BY SAYING WE APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT THAT WE'VE GOTTEN FROM OBVIOUSLY, THE CITY OF LEWISVILLE, OUR CHAIR, ALL THE MEMBERS OF OUR BOARD. WE'VE WORKED REALLY HARD AS A TEAM, STAFF, BOARD STAKEHOLDERS, EVERYBODY TO DELIVER THESE KINDS OF RESULTS IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO WHAT'S COMING NEXT, SPECIFICALLY ON THE CORRIDOR. AND NOW THIS OPTIMIZATION OF OUR SERVICE. SO ANY QUESTIONS? COMMENTS. YES I HAVE QUESTIONS. SO GOING TO GOES ON. SO I USE GOES ON A BIT. AND I'VE NOTICED LIKE THE LAST TIME I USED THIS ABOUT TEN IN THE MORNING AND USUALLY BEFORE IT'S BEEN LIKE I GUESS PRIME TIME WHEN PEOPLE ARE MOVING. AND I THINK THIS SPOT WAS WITH MAX MACHINES IS LIKE, I COULD NOT GET A RIDE, SO I HAD TO WALK TO THE STATION. MORE STEPS. NOT A BIG DEAL. THE THING THAT WAS WEIRD TO ME THOUGH, IS THAT WAS I HAD A PICKUP AT THE A TRAIN STATION AT THE OLD TOWN STATION, AND I HAD TO WALK LIKE AROUND TO CHURCH TO ACTUALLY FOR THE PICKUP SPOT, WHICH WAS STRANGE. YOU KNOW, I'M LIKE, I UNDERSTAND YOU DON'T PICK UP IN FRONT OF A HOUSE, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THAT THAT WOULD BE AN OPTIMAL SPOT FOR PICKUP. YEAH, I AGREE, SO THERE'S A UNIVERSE OF VIRTUAL STOPS INSIDE THE GO ZONE APP. SO LET US TAKE A MOMENT TO LOOK AT
[00:20:04]
THE VIRTUAL STOPS AROUND THE OLD TOWN STATION TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE ACTIVE AND VIABLE, BECAUSE I WAS LIKE, WHERE AM I GOING? BUT NO, THAT'S A GOOD THAT'S A GOOD FEEDBACK. AND WE'VE GOTTEN OTHER FEEDBACK THAT SAYS IT WANTS ME TO WALK SOMEPLACE THAT DOESN'T FEEL SAFE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. ONE OF THE THINGS WE NEED TO DO IN OUR LONG RANGE SERVICE PLAN IS KIND OF EVALUATE THE ENTIRETY OF THE ALL THE VIRTUAL STOPS, AND FIGURE IF WE CAN SET SOME PARAMETERS AROUND WHAT, WHAT ARE WHAT ARE THE THINGS WE'RE WILLING TO ACCEPT AND WHAT ARE THINGS WE'RE NOT WILLING TO ACCEPT. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT NOTE. I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION ABOUT SLIDE 12. YOU. SO I'M STRUCK BY THIS. SO THE DARK LINE AT THE TOP, YOU START OFF AT THE DROP DOWN FOR FISCAL YEAR 20. IS THAT A COVID. YES. SO THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN THE COVID YEAR FISCAL 20. ANY THOUGHTS ON WHY THE OTHER METRICS SEEM TO BE GOING UP AND RECOVERING FROM COVID? BUT THIS THIS SEEMS TO BE STAYING FLAT. WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS IN AUSTIN. AS A MATTER OF FACT, I THINK WITH REGARD TO THE SENIOR POPULATION, THERE MAY BE A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO WERE USING THE SERVICE HERE THAT NO LONGER NEED THE SERVICES. WE HAVE WORKED TO GIVE THEM OPPORTUNITIES TO USE THEM WHERE THEY'RE WHERE THEY'RE ALLOWED. BUT YOU'RE RIGHT, WE IN HIGHLAND VILLAGE, FOR INSTANCE, THE LINE IS BEGINNING TO CREEP UP AS WE AS WE GET MORE PHONE CALLS AND GET PEOPLE ENGAGED. BUT I DON'T HAVE A GOOD ANSWER FOR YOU. I'M JUST CURIOUS. I DON'T KNOW IF ANYTHING COULD OR COULDN'T DO, BUT OTHER PLACES THAT SEEM TO RECOVER THIS DEMOGRAPHIC SEEMS TO HAVE NOT EMBRACED RECOVERY. I THINK THERE'S TWO DRIVERS THERE, JUST MY MINDSET. ONE IS THIS IS A VERY HEALTH COMPROMISED POPULATION, BOTH SENIORS AND DISABLED. AND SO WHEN COVID, COVID IS STILL AROUND AND STILL IMPACTS THOSE, THOSE FOLKS, SO MANY HAVE CHOSEN NOT TO COME BACK OUT INTO SOCIETY BECAUSE OF THE RISK FACTORS. THE OTHER IS PAUL SAID IT VERY EUPHEMISTICALLY. THEY NO LONGER HAVE A NEED FOR THE SERVICE BECAUSE. YEAH, SO THAT THAT MAY BE ANOTHER DRIVER. NOW, AGAIN, THAT'S ANECDOTAL, BUT I THINK THAT MATCHES A LOT OF THE DATA SETS THAT WE DEAL WITH. OKAY. WHAT'S THE VIABILITY OF SUNDAY SERVICE ON WHICH CHURCH A TRAIN. SO I THINK IF WE WHAT IS THE OPERATING BUDGET ON SUNDAY SERVICE. THAT'S CERTAINLY IS THAT CERTAINLY IS AN OPTION. WE CURRENTLY USE SUNDAYS TO DO MOST OF OUR TRACK MAINTENANCE AND SIGNAL MAINTENANCE AND ALL THAT SORT OF STUFF. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'LL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO IN THE IN THE TRAIN ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM IS TO LOOK AT WHAT IS THE COST OF RUNNING THE TRAIN EVEN MORE FREQUENTLY, BECAUSE EVERY EVERY ADDITIONAL TRAIN THAT YOU RUN DOWN THE CORRIDOR COSTS MORE MONEY. AND SO THE BOARD NEEDS THE ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND, OKAY, WELL, WHAT DOES IT COST? WHAT DOES 15 MINUTE FREQUENCY COST? IF I DID IT DURING THE PEAK HOURS, WHAT IF IT COSTS IF I DO IT ALL DAY, WHAT DOES IT COST IF I IMPROVE SATURDAY SERVICE TO 30 MINUTES INSTEAD OF AN HOUR? WHAT IF IT WHAT DOES IT COST? IF WE PUT ONE HOUR SERVICE ON SUNDAYS INSTEAD OF WHAT WE HAVE TODAY IS NOTHING. SO IT'S VERY FEASIBLE.IT'S JUST A MATTER OF BUDGET. AND THAT'S PART OF THE CONVERSATION WE'LL BE HAVING THROUGH THE ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM, AS WELL AS LATE OPERATING HOURS. SO IF YOU'RE GOING TO MEET THE TRAIN, IF YOU'RE GOING TO MEET THE LAST TRAIN OUT OF DFW AIRPORT ON THE SILVER LINE, WHICH IS GOING TO BE 1:00 IN THE MORNING, THEN THAT MEANS THE LAST TRAIN OUT OF DOWNTOWN CARROLLTON ON THE A TRAIN NEEDS TO BE LEAVING AT ABOUT 145. YOU KNOW THAT WE DON'T RUN THAT LATE TODAY. IN ORDER FOR US TO RUN THAT LATE, WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT A DIFFERENT POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL SOLUTION, BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN THE DALLAS GARLAND AND NORTHERN IS SWITCHING FREIGHT.
SO WE NEED TO HAVE INTEROPERABILITY THERE. AND SO THERE'S SOME COMPLEXITIES TO THE EXTENDED HOURS AND COST AS WELL AS ON SUNDAY SERVICE. AND I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN ABOUT RUNNING LATER. RIGHT. ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. YEAH. IT IS. ANYTHING ELSE FOR PAUL? I'M INCREDIBLY PROUD OF WHAT THIS ORGANIZATION HAS BEEN ABLE TO DO. I MEAN, WE'RE HITTING THE BOXES AND NATIONAL LEVEL, NATIONAL LEVEL, WE'RE HITTING THE BOXES LOCALLY. ONE THING THAT PAUL DIDN'T BRAG ON, AND I'M GOING TO IS THAT THE METRICS THAT WE USE TO DETERMINE COST FOR EACH OF OUR MODALITIES, WHETHER THAT'S GO ZONE OR THE BUSSES, THAT WAS ACTUALLY PICKED UP BY A COUPLE OF NATIONAL TRANSIT STUDIES. AND THEY'RE TAKING THAT. WHAT WE DID IS A REALLY MANUAL SPREADSHEET, AND THEY'RE TURNING THAT INTO A PIECE OF SOFTWARE SO OTHER AGENCIES CAN COPY COMPUTE THEIR COSTS. AND I THINK THAT'S THAT'S AMAZING, YOU KNOW, THAT OUR LITTLE AGENCY HAS COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT THAT COULD, YOU KNOW, TAKE THE GUESSWORK OUT OF WHICH MODALITY MAKES THE MOST SENSE, WHERE. YES. SO SUPER POWERFUL STUFF THAT'S COMING OUT OF THIS, THIS DENTON COUNTY CREW. THERE'S NO OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS. PAUL, THANK YOU FOR THE TIME. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE IT. ALL RIGHT. Y'ALL HAVE A GREAT NIGHT. YOU TOO SIR. NEXT UP, DISCUSSION ON
[00:25:08]
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK TRENDS DEMOGRAPHICS AND BUDGET INSIGHTS. WE HAVE OUR DIRECTOR OF FINANCE MR. DAVE ERB, OUR BUDGET MANAGER ASHLEY CARLISLE. AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CHRISTINA WILLIAMS PRESENTING. AND THIS IS PICKING UP THE ITEM FROM OUR RETREAT THAT WE HAD TO POSTPONE. GREAT. THANK YOU. MAYOR AND COUNCIL. HAPPY TO BE HERE TO PRESENT THE MISSING PIECE OF THE RETREAT FROM A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. AND FORTUNATELY FOR THE DIRECTORS, THEY GET TO SEE WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO MISS A COUPLE WEEKS AGO. ORIGINALLY, THIS PRESENTATION WAS GOING TO BE PROVIDED AT THE RETREAT. IT WAS ACTUALLY 48 SLIDES, I BELIEVE, WHERE WE'VE NARROWED IT DOWN TO 30 JUST FOR THE SAKE OF TIME. SO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL IS PROVIDED IN THAT INFORMATION THAT WE HANDED OUT EARLIER. BUT I THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH IT A LITTLE BIT MORE CONCISE QUICKLY AND PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR QUESTIONS. SO WE DID PUT TOGETHER THIS ECONOMIC OUTLOOK TO PROVIDE SOME VARIOUS ECONOMIC INDICATORS, DEMOGRAPHICS AND BUDGETARY AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION TO HELP PUT SOME CONTEXT INTO THE UPCOMING BUDGET DISCUSSIONS. THIS IS MY PREFACE TO THE REST OF THE PRESENTATION. IF YOU'VE BEEN TUNED IN TO ANY OF THE NEWS NATIONALLY, YOU KNOW THAT THERE'S A FEW THINGS GOING ON. I LOOKED, AND UP TO NOW, THERE'S BEEN 76 EXECUTIVE ORDERS THAT WERE PUT IN PLACE SINCE.PRESIDENT TRUMP TOOK OVER HER PRESIDENCY. I'M NOT MAKING ANY POLITICAL STATEMENTS. I'M JUST SAYING THAT THERE'S A NUMBER OF POLICIES AND EXECUTIVE ORDERS THAT WENT IN PLACE WITH THE INTENTION TO SPUR THE ECONOMY, BUT THERE ARE SOME FEARS OUT THERE THAT THEY COULD CAUSE SOME INFLATION. SO AND WE'RE SEEING SOME INDICATORS OUT THERE THAT COULD BE CAUSING THAT. SO SOME OF THE EXECUTIVE ORDERS THAT HAVE BEEN PUT IN PLACE DEAL WITH REGULATORY CHANGES AFFECTING BUSINESSES. WE'VE GOT TAX POLICIES THAT ARE THERE AND ALSO TRADE AGREEMENTS AND TARIFFS THAT ARE GOING TO HAVE AN IMPACT. AND I THINK YOU'RE SEEING SOME ANECDOTAL AND PROBABLY SOME REAL INFORMATION DATA COMING BACK ON THOSE AS IT RELATES TO INFLATION IMPACTS AND THEN RESULTING INTEREST RATE IMPACTS FROM THE FEDERAL RESERVE. THERE'S A FUTURE EXPECTATION CHANGE FOR INFLATIO, WHERE AS AS LATE AS LAST SEPTEMBER WASN'T THERE. SO DEALING WITH THAT AND ALL THIS LEADS TO HOW IS IT GOING TO IMPACT THE CITY OF LEWISVILLE.
WE'VE GOT PRICE VOLATILITY DEALING WITH OR AS A RESULT OF THE TARIFFS AND THEN CONSUMER SENTIMENT WHERE THERE WAS SOME CONSUMER SENTIMENT RIGHT AFTER THE ELECTIONS INTO DECEMBER. AND THEN IT'S BEEN GOING DOWN SINCE THEN. THERE'S A LOT OF FEARS OUT THERE WITH INFLATION AND ALL.
AND THEN THE EMPLOYMENT MARKET TRENDS. THE CITY'S BEEN ABLE TO OVERCOME A LOT OF THOSE ISSUES WITH TIGHT MARKETS AND THE NUMBER OF JOBS THAT ARE AVAILABLE VERSUS THE FOLKS THAT ARE THERE TO FILL THEM. WE HAD THAT COMPREHENSIVE PAY STUDY THAT WAS DONE, AND ALL THOSE ELEMENTS THAT WERE IMPLEMENTED. WE ALSO HAVE A GAL PROGRAM THAT WE'RE USING TO INCREASE ENGAGEMENT FOR THE CITY. I THINK THE HR TEAM OVERALL IS JUST DOING A REAL NICE JOB AND BRINGING DOWN TURNOVER RATES AND JUST FILLING VACANCIES IN THE CITY. SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT KIND OF PREFACE THE REST OF OUR COMMENTS HERE. WHAT I DID IS I PUT DOWN SOME INTEREST RATES, INFLATION AND EMPLOYER INFORMATION AND WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE MARKET AND HOW IT'S IMPACTING THE CITY AND HOW WE'RE RESPONDING TO IT. SO AS FAR AS INTEREST RATES, AGAIN, AS OF LATE AS SEPTEMBER LAST YEAR, THE FED HAD CONSIDERED HAVING FOUR RATE CUTS OVER THE YEAR.
SINCE THAT TIME, THEY'VE REVISED THAT TO TWO RATES FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR. THERE ARE SOME FEARS THAT THERE'S SOME INFLATION THAT'S STILL THERE. AS OF LAST MONTH, IT WAS AT 3%. SO THAT'S STILL ABOVE THAT BENCHMARK 2% THAT THE FED WOULD LIKE TO SEE. SO HOW DOES THAT IMPACT THE CITY NOW WE DON'T DO A LOT OF BORROWING EXCEPT AS IT RELATES TO OUR BONDS. WE DO A BOND SALE FOR REVENUE AND BONDS EVERY YEAR. SO OBVIOUSLY IF THOSE RATES AREN'T GOING DOWN, WE'RE STILL GOING TO SEE SOME RATES THAT WE'VE TYPICALLY SEEN IN THE PAST. LAST YEAR'S ISSUES
[00:30:01]
WERE ABOUT 3.4% FOR BOTH THE GEO AND THE REVENUE BONDS. WE WERE HOPING THAT MAYBE THERE'D BE SOME SOME CUTS. SO THAT WOULD BRING THAT COST OF BORROWING DOWN. TALKING WITH JASON HUGHES FROM HILLTOP, WE'RE USING ABOUT 4% ESTIMATED COST OF BORROWING FOR THE UPCOMING SALE OF BONDS THIS YEAR. REGARDING INFLATION, IT'S INTERESTING. DID SOME ANALYSIS AND I THINK SOME OF THE CHARTS ARE IN THE ORIGINAL WHERE YOU'VE GOT THE DALLAS FORT WORTH AND THE NATIONAL TRENDS PRETTY MUCH FOLLOWING THE SAME TRACK. INFLATION IS A LITTLE BIT HIGHER AND YOU'LL SEE THAT FOR EMPLOYMENT AS WELL, BECAUSE OF THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND, OBVIOUSLY THE RATE THAT DFW AREA IS GROWING, SUPPLY OF OR THE AVAILABILITY OF MATERIALS IS CAUSING INFLATION TO GO A LITTLE BIT HIGHER, ESPECIALLY AS IT RELATES TO CONSTRUCTION INFLATION. YOU SAW FROM THE PRESENTATION THAT WAS DONE DURING THE RETREAT THAT TALKS ABOUT THE RESET OF THE COST FOR CERTAIN CONSTRUCTION ITEMS. SO WE'VE GOT THAT RESET THAT REALLY INCREASED THE COST OF SUPPLIES.AND THEN WE'VE GOT INFLATION MOVING FORWARD OF THOSE ABOUT 4 TO 5%. SO. SO WE HAD TWO THINGS.
WE HAD THE RESET IN THE RATES OR THE COST OF SUPPLIES. AND THEN WE'VE GOT INFLATION MOVING FORWARD. HOW DOES THAT IMPACT THE CITY. WELL WE'VE HAD TO BE CREATIVE WITH HOW WE'RE MANAGING OUR BUDGET, LOOKING FOR EFFICIENCY GAINS TO OUR OPERATING BUDGET. AND THEN ON THE CAPITAL SIDE, OBVIOUSLY WE'VE DONE THINGS TO THE WAY WE PURCHASE THE PROJECTS WHERE WE BID THEM OUT. AND WE ALSO HAVE PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS LIKE PPV THAT HELP US MANAGE THE BUDGET AND LOOK FOR COST SAVINGS WHEREVER WE CAN ON THAT. AND THEN ON THE EMPLOYMENT SIDE, JOB CREATION FOR TEXAS AND NATIONWIDE CONTINUES TO BE HIGHER THAN EXPECTED. IT IS TENDING TO SLOW DOWN RIGHT NOW, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY RELATED TO COMPANIES THAT HAVE RECENTLY ANNOUNCED LAYOFFS LIKE STARBUCKS, SOUTHWEST, MICROSOFT, SOME LARGER FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES. ALSO WITH UNCERTAINTY WITH THE FEDERAL LEVEL OF LAYOFFS THAT CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THAT. SO, YOU KNOW, I MENTIONED EARLIER SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THE CITY HAS DONE TO ADDRESS THE IMPACTS TO EITHER THE TIGHT LABOR MARKET, WHICH WE HAD BEEN UP TO THIS POINT, AND I'M NOT QUITE SURE WHERE THAT'S GOING, BUT I THINK WE'RE POSITIONED REAL WELL TO ADJUST THAT AREA OF OUR OPERATIONS. I'LL TURN IT OVER TO CHRISTINE TO HANDLE SOME OF THE TRENDS IN RETAIL, OFFICE AND SOME OTHER AREAS HERE. YES. SO JUST AS A REMINDER, WE PULLED THIS INFORMATION FROM COSTAR. WE USE COSTAR, WHICH IS A PLATFORM THAT WE CAN NOT ONLY TRACK WHAT THE VACANCIES AND AVAILABILITIES ARE FOR OUR BUILDINGS AND VACANT LAND IN LEWISVILLE, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE THESE REPORTS ON TRENDS AS FAR AS VACANCY RATES, OCCUPANCY RATES, CONSTRUCTION, DELIVERIES. JUST TO NOTE, THERE WASN'T TOO MUCH OF A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 2023 AND 2024, BUT JUST A COUPLE OF HIGHLIGHTS FROM MULTI-FAMILY OFFICE SPACE WITH MULTIFAMILY VACANCY IN LEWISVILLE STABILIZED OVER THE LAST YEAR. THROUGHOUT 2024, WE STILL SAW KIND OF THE EBB AND FLOW OF THE DAILY ASKING RENT PER SQUARE FOOT, THE RENT DECLINING TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR, AND THAT IS DUE JUST TO THE SHEER VOLUME OF THE UNITS DELIVERED IN THE MARKET. AND SO YOU KIND OF SEE THAT IMBALANCE A LITTLE BIT ACROSS DFW. OUR COSTAR WAS MENTIONING THAT THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF IMBALANCE AS FAR AS SUPPLY VERSUS DEMAND, BUT THEY ANTICIPATE THAT THE CONSTRUCTION LEVELS WILL PICK UP THROUGH MID 2025 AND INCREASING AGAIN IN 2026. FOR THE OFFICE SPACE, WE ADDED A LITTLE BIT MORE SQUARE FOOTAGE JUST FOR INVENTORY OF OFFICE SPACE. 2024 WAS CONSISTENT WITH 2023 AS FAR AS THE CONSTRUCTION AND THE OCCUPANCY RATE, THAT WAS AT 79.1% FOR 2024. AND WE SEE THAT SAME TREND AS WE GO INTO THE FUTURE YEARS. ANOTHER NOTE THAT OUR COSTAR REP HAD MENTIONED AS FAR AS OFFICE SPACE FOR THE FUNDING, IT WAS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FOR OFFICE DEVELOPERS.
IT WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE STALLED IF THE OFFICE OF ALBERT DID NOT HAVE A TENANT LINED UP. SO THAT WAS KIND OF SOMETHING THAT WE'LL WATCH FOR AS WE KIND OF GO THROUGH THE TREND FOR OFFICE SPACE. INDUSTRIAL SPACE STILL SEEMS TO BE ONE OF OUR STRONGER SUBMARKETS THE FIRST HALF OF
[00:35:03]
2024, WHERE WE SEE STRONG TENANT DEMAND AND ALSO JUST SHOWING OUR VACANCY RATE, STAYING BELOW THE MARKET AVERAGE AT 6.5%, THAT THE OCCUPANCY RATE IN 2024 WAS 95.5%. AND WE STILL SEE THAT KIND OF CONSISTENT OCCUPANCY RATE THROUGH 2026 AND BEYOND. THE CHART ON THE ON THE SIDE HERE IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE ALSO PUT IN LAST YEAR, JUST TO KIND OF SHOW WHERE WE ARE IN LINE WITH THE SURROUNDING CITIES. WE'RE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE AS FAR AS OUR TOTAL SQUARE FOOTAGE OF INDUSTRIAL SPACE AND WHAT THAT PERCENTAGE IS OF THE TOTAL LAND AREA USED FOR INDUSTRIAL. SO LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR, WE DID RANK NINE OUT OF THE 18 CITIES THAT WE SHOWED.AND THEN RETAIL TRENDS. THIS IS ALSO ANOTHER SUBMARKET WHERE WE SHOW THAT CONSISTENCY YEAR TO YEAR. WE SHOWED THAT THE OCCUPANCY RATE REMAINING AT 93% AND THEN ALSO STILL SEE THAT FOR THE COMING YEARS. LAST YEAR, WE SAW THAT 63,000 SQUARE FOOT SQUARE FEET OF SPACE WAS DELIVERED FOR THE RETAIL INDUSTRY. AND THIS IS KIND OF JUST A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT THAT SUBMARKET LOOKS LIKE. NOT ONLY DOES IT INCLUDE LEWISVILLE, BUT ALSO SOME OF THE SURROUNDING CITIES. THAT'S JUST HOW COSTAR KIND OF PUTS THEIR SUBMARKETS. AND MOVING ON TO SOME DEMOGRAPHICS, WE KIND OF TOOK SOME SNAPSHOTS OF WHAT WE USE IN OUR DEPARTMENT. IS ESRI ARCGIS BUSINESS ANALYSIS ANALYST, WHICH PULLS DATA FROM THE US CENSUS BUREAU AS WELL AS THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY. SO WE SEE AN INCREASE IN THE MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME, THE PER CAPITA INCOME AND MEDIAN NET WORTH FROM LAST YEAR. BUT WE DO STILL SEE THAT THE ANNUAL SPENDING PER HOUSEHOLD, THE TOP TWO ARE THE HEALTH CARE AND THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES. AND THEN YOU CAN KIND OF SEE THE POPULATION AND DAYTIME POPULATION HERE, WHICH WE DID ASK THE POPULATION FROM JAMES, AND HE GOT THAT FROM THE COLLEGE. THE COG IS SHOWING A LITTLE BIT HIGHER AT 137,315 FOR OUR OVERALL POPULATION, BUT FOR OUR DAYTIME POPULATION THAT WE STILL PULL FROM ESRI, THAT IS ABOUT 6400 IS AN INCREASE FROM LAST TIME OR LAST YEAR THAT WE'VE SEEN IT. SO JUST TO KIND OF GIVE A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR OUR DAYTIME POPULATION AND THEN OF COURSE THE TRANSPORTATION TO WORK, THE MAJORITY OF IT BEING BY CAR CARPOOL AND THEN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. AND THEN JUST TO SHOW WHAT OUR EMPLOYMENT LOOKS LIKE FOR LEWISVILLE, WE ARE PRIMARILY WHITE COLLAR EMPLOYMENT AREA WITH THE TOP THREE LABOR FORCE CATEGORIES AS MANAGEMENT, OFFICE AND SALES. SO THAT JUST KIND OF COINCIDES WITH BOTH OF THESE CHARTS HERE. HERE. THANK YOU. SO THE NEXT FEW SLIDES ARE JUST GOING TO COVER OUR PROPERTY TAX VALUES TOTAL ASSESSED VALUE AND SINGLE FAMILY VALUES. SOME OF THIS INFORMATION YOU'VE ALREADY SEEN PREVIOUSLY. LAST YEAR WHEN WE DID RETREAT, IT WAS A LITTLE BIT LATER IN THE YEAR AND WE WERE ABLE TO GET SOME PRELIMINARY NUMBERS FROM THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT. WE HAD THE RETREAT A LITTLE BIT EARLIER, SO WE DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION, BUT I JUST WANT TO KIND OF POINT OUT A FEW THINGS HERE ON THE TABLE. ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE SHOWS THE TAX YEAR 2000 OR 20 20 TO 2024, AND IT SHOWS THE GROWTH IN THE TAXABLE ASSESSED VALUE. AND YOU CAN SEE WE STARTED IN 2020 WITH $11.7 BILLION. AND BY THE TIME 2024 CAME WE'RE AT 19.4 BILLION. THAT IS A 65% INCREASE OVER THAT FIVE YEAR PERIOD. OF COURSE, A LOT OF THAT IS DUE TO THE CASTLE HILLS ANNEXATION. PRIOR TO THAT, WE HAD A SLOW DOWN, A LITTLE BIT OF THE 5% IN 2020 AND THAT 3% IN 2021. AGAIN, COVID, THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT WAS VERY MINDFUL ABOUT MAKING ANY CHANGES. A LOT OF SLOWDOWN IN THE ECONOMY AND THE HOUSING THERE BEFORE THAT. AND THEN RIGHT AFTER THE ANNEXATION THAT FIRST YEAR, THE ASSESSED VALUE GROWTH ALONG 0.5%, A LOT OF THAT WAS BEING DRIVEN BY THE INCREASED PROPERTY VALUES. WE HAD THAT BIG SURGE IN 2023, IN 2024, WHEN WE SAW SOME GROWTH, A LITTLE BIT MORE MODEST 2.5%. WE DID HAVE OR WE DID SEE THE SAME STRONG GROWTH IN THE SINGLE FAMILY VALUES, BUT IT WAS TEMPERED A LITTLE BIT BY SLOWER GROWTH IN COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS. PERSONAL PROPERTY. THE THREE YEARS PRIOR TO 2020, THE CITY AVERAGED ABOUT 9% GROWTH YEAR OVER YEAR, AND GOING BACK TO 2018, THE CITY'S ASSESSED
[00:40:03]
VALUE DOUBLED. THAT'S PRETTY REMARKABLE FOR A COMMUNITY OF ANY SIZE TO HAVE DOUBLE THE ASSESSED VALUE AND TO BE AT JUST ABOUT 20 BILLION, AND I EXPECT THAT TO GROW EVEN FURTHER FOR 20 OR 25. THE TABLE ON THE RIGHT IS, IS SOME OF THAT DRIVING THAT GROWTH? IS THAT'S THE NEW VALUE THAT'S HITTING THE GROUND THAT HADN'T BEEN THERE PREVIOUSLY THE LAST TWO YEARS. YOU CAN SEE IT SPIKED 720 MILLION AND $780 MILLION. PRIOR TO THAT, WE AVERAGED ABOUT $250 MILLION A YEAR. AND THEN CHRISTINA IS GOING TO GO OVER SOME SLIDES IN A COUPLE HERE THAT SHOW ALL THE DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY EITHER COMPLETED OR BEING GROUND OR IN PROGRESS, THAT ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO ADD TO THAT NEW GROWTH THAT WE HAVE YEAR OVER YEAR. NOW. LAST YEAR, WHEN I MADE SOME STATEMENTS ABOUT NEW GROWTH, THAT WAS BEFORE WE GOT THE $780 MILLION. I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO COME IN SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT LESS BECAUSE I WASN'T AS OPTIMISTIC. I'M HESITANT TO KIND OF MAKE ANY CALLS THIS YEAR BECAUSE WITH WHAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS DOING, IT'S PRETTY REMARKABLE. PLUS, ONCE THEY GO THROUGH ALL THE PROJECTS, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE COULD SEE SOME SIGNIFICANT GROWTH AGAIN IN 25 AND IN FUTURE YEARS JUST BY WHAT WE'VE GOT PLANNED. SO WE ALSO WANTED TO SHOW SINGLE FAMILY ASSESSED VALUE GROWTH. SINGLE FAMILY ACCOUNTS FOR ABOUT 46% OF THE TOTAL ASSESSED VALUE. SO THE LARGEST SHARE. AND JUST WANTED TO SHOW HOW SINGLE FAMILY VALUES GROW. SO DO THE TOTAL VALUES OF THE CITY. THIS TABLE, WHICH WE MODIFIED THIS YEAR TO INCLUDE MEDIAN VALUES. IN THE PAST, WE WOULD JUST SHOW AVERAGE VALUE GROWTH, WHICH TENDS TO SKEW THE TOTAL. WHEN YOU INCLUDE SOME OUTLIERS AND SOME OF THE LARGER VALUE PROPERTIES THAT ARE NOW PART OF THE CITY WITH CASTLE HILLS. SO. COUNCILMAN KELLY TALKED ABOUT MEDIAN. WE'RE VERY AWARE OF THAT. AND YOU CAN SEE JUST THE DIFFERENCES IN GROWTH FROM YEAR OVER YEAR. THE AVERAGE GROWTH FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR WAS 11 OR, EXCUSE ME, 10.11%, WHILE THE MEDIAN VALUE ONLY GREW 5.63. SO THAT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE APPROPRIATE TO WHAT WE'RE SEEING OVERALL THROUGHOUT THE CITY. AS WE GET MORE OUT OF BUILT INTO THIS TABLE, WE'LL INCLUDE THAT IN IN THE CHART AS WELL. BUT JUST A COUPLE THINGS.YOU KNOW OUR OUR FEELINGS FOR GROWTH IS WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO SEE GROWTH THROUGH ESCALATOR VALUES. I THINK HOME VALUES ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO GROW, ALTHOUGH AT A SLOWER VALUE PLUS THE ASSESSED VALUES, WHICH SHOWS THE TAXABLE VALUE. THEY'RE STILL PLAYING CATCH UP WITH THE MARKET VALUES. SO WHERE FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN THE VALUE OF A HOME GO UP 30% IN A SINGLE YEAR. THE ASSESSED VALUE IS ONLY ALLOWED TO GO UP THROUGH 10%. SO YOU CAN SEE WE'RE STILL TRYING TO PLAY CATCH UP WITH THAT. LONG TERM, THOUGH, WE EXPECT THE ASSESSED, THE ASSESSED VALUE INCREASES FOR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES TO BE ABOUT 4 TO 6%. CHRISTINA'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE'VE GOT GOING ON. SO I'M SURE YOU ALL ARE ALL FAMILIAR WITH ALL OF OUR PROJECTS HERE. BUT THIS IS KIND OF JUST A SUMMARY OF SOME OF THE ONES THAT HAVE JUST RECENTLY COMPLETED AND THEN THOSE THAT ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION. SO WHAT I'VE KIND OF DONE IS JUST SHOW THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT, THE MINIMUM CAPITAL INVESTMENT FOR EACH OF THE PROJECTS. SO JUST FOR ALL OF THESE FIVE PROJECTS ON HERE, THE TOTAL ANTICIPATED INVESTMENT IS OVER 254 MILLION, WITH THE NUMBER OF UNITS AT 1000 AND 161. SO A LOT OF INVESTMENT, A LOT OF UNITS THAT ARE COMING INTO OLD TOWN AND JUST ABLE TO SEE THAT. AND THEN AS WE KIND OF CONTINUE WITH DEVELOPMENT TO ADD MORE INVESTMENT TO THAT AS WELL, AND THEN SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT ARE JUST ACROSS LEWISVILLE, HERITAGE TRAILS AND TOWERS UP IN OUR LAKE DISTRICT, NORTHERN GATEWAY, AS WELL AS LAKESIDE CROSSING, A COUPLE OF OUR COMMERCIAL PROJECTS IN WEST FARGO, AND THEN OF COURSE, CROWN CENTER. WITH ALL OF JUST THESE SIX RIGHT HERE ANTICIPATED OVER 693 MILLION IN INVESTMENT. SO DEFINITELY A GOOD SNAPSHOT OF WHAT WE CAN KIND OF SEE OVER THE YEAR AND IN THE COMING YEARS AND SEE THAT INVESTMENT PLAY OUT. I THINK ALSO ON THAT IS THE SHOCKING NUMBER ON WELLS FARGO OF HOW MUCH THAT CAPITAL INVESTMENT IS IN A DATA CENTER COMPARED TO THE OTHERS. YES, DEFINITELY. ONE OF OUR LARGER PROJECTS, FOR SURE. YOU. OKAY, ONE LAST SLIDE FROM ME BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO ASHLEY. JUST TO RECAP OF OUR BOND RATINGS, WE'RE MOST RECENTLY RATED FROM STANDARD POOR'S AND FITCH. IN AUGUST OF 2024, THE COMMUNITY
[00:45:02]
OUR SIZE THAT ISSUES THE AMOUNT OF DEBT THAT WE DO TYPICALLY WILL REQUIRE HAVING TWO DIFFERENT RATING AGENCIES OPINE ON YOUR FINANCES. SO WE DO THAT. WE'VE HAD S&P AND FITCH FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW. REVENUE BONDS BY S&P AND FITCH WERE RATED TRIPLE-A. WHILE ON THE GENERAL OBLIGATION SIDE, S&P RATED THE CITY, WHILE FITCH HAD DOUBLE A PLUS. NOW THAT REFLECTS A DOWNGRADE. AND I JUST WANT TO CAUTION YOU THAT IT'S NOTHING THAT WE'VE DONE TO MAKE THAT CHANGE. AND THE VERY FIRST LINE OF THEIR REPORT, THEY SAY THAT THE RATINGS CHANGE WAS SOLELY DUE TO THE CHANGES IN CRITERIA THAT THEY'RE USING TO EVALUATE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS. SO I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS INTERESTING THAT THEY WERE ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THEY WERE LOWERING OUR RATING RIGHT UP FRONT, AND NO AMOUNT OF CONVINCING WOULD TAKE THEM OFF OF THAT. I MEAN, I THOUGHT IT WAS REAL INTERESTING. AN EARLIER SLIDE THAT CHRISTINA TALKED ABOUT WAS THE TYPES OF JOBS THAT WE HAVE IN THE CITY AND HOW PREDOMINANTLY THEY ARE WHITE COLLAR. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE GOT DINGED ON FROM OUR RATING AGENCY, FITCH, WAS BECAUSE OF OUR EDUCATION LEVEL.WELL, I MEAN, WE TRIED TO GET THEM TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THAT OUR DAYTIME POPULATION AND THE PEOPLE THAT WERE BRINGING IN AND THE TYPES OF JOBS THAT WE HAD, BUT TO NO AVAIL. SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO POUND THAT EVERY TIME WE HAVE THAT UNFORTUNATE THAT THAT HAPPENED. BUT AGAIN, IT WAS NOTHING THAT WE'RE DOING DIFFERENTLY. WE'RE STRONG. STRONG FINANCIALLY AS EVER. SOME OF THE DRIVERS, SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT S&P HAD FOR US, REFLECTING THE AA IS SOLID FINANCES AND MAINTENANCE OF SOLID RESERVES. YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S PREACHED REGULARLY FROM GINA AND THE BUDGET TEAM IS JUST THE LEVEL OF RESERVES AND HOW MUCH WE HAVE IN EXCESS OF THAT 20% LEVEL AND HOW WE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DO ONE TIME FUNDINGS AND THOSE KIND OF THINGS LIKE YOU'RE CONSIDERING WITH THE OPEB WE HAVE THAT JUST BECAUSE OF THE WAY THAT THE FINANCES ARE MANAGED. AND WE ALSO HAVE STRONG FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT POLICIES, WHICH PRETTY MUCH GUIDES EVERYTHING THAT GETS DONE AT THAT LEVEL. FITCH ALSO HAD SOME KIND THINGS TO SAY TO US ABOUT. WE'VE GOT HIGH REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE CONTROL. THAT JUST MEANS THE BUDGET DOES A REAL NICE JOB OF MANAGING THE REVENUES AND PROJECTING THOSE AND ENDING THE EXPENDITURE SIDE. DEPARTMENTS ARE CONSISTENTLY UNDER BUDGET WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR ANNUAL BUDGET. THEY'RE NOT RACING TO SPEND IT AT THE END OF THE YEAR. SO THE RECOGNIZING THAT AND THEN BASICALLY STRONG POPULATION TREND WITH THE GROWTH THAT WE HAVE WITH THAT. AND I THINK WE'RE GOING TO SEE MORE OF THAT WITH ALL THE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE GOING IN AND THE SIZE OF OUR COMMUNITY NOW IS ABLE TO GENERATE JUST ONGOING GROWTH. THESE RATINGS ARE KEY IN DETERMINING WHAT THAT COST OF BORROWING IS. I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT FROM 2024, THE RATES THAT WE HAD ON THE GEO AND THE REVENUE BONDS WERE ABOUT 3.4%. WE'RE PROJECTING 4% FOR THIS YEAR'S ISSUES. KNOWING JASON AND HOW HE FEELS FOR THE MARKET, I'M SURE IT'S GOING TO PROBABLY COME IN SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN THAT. SO I'M GOING TO TURN THE REST OF THE PRESENTATION OVER TO ASHLEY. THANKS. SO JUST TO TACK ON TO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT DAVE WAS SAYING RIGHT THERE ABOUT THAT INTEREST RATE. WITH OUR BLUE RIBBON PROJECT, WE USED A HIGHER INFLATION RATE. I WANT TO SAY IT WAS AROUND 9% FOR THOSE PROJECTS. AND THEN WE ANTICIPATED THE YEARS THAT THEY WERE GOING TO HIT. SO WE DID ANTICIPATE THAT OCCURRING. THIS IS JUST A SUMMARY OF THOSE BOND PROJECTS. WE PRESENTED THIS TO YOU LAST YEAR. THERE WAS A BOND ELECTION IN MAY 2024, A TOTAL FOUR PROPOSITIONS FOR 263.4 MILLION. ALL OF THOSE PROPOSITIONS PASSED WITH OVERWHELMING SUPPORT. WE HAVE ALREADY ISSUED BASICALLY OUR YEAR ONE PROJECTS IN FISCAL YEAR 2024. THAT WAS A LITTLE OVER 25 MILLION. JUST GOT A SHORT SUMMARY FOR YOU HERE. I WILL SAY THE TOTALS ABOUT NINE PROJECTS, I BELIEVE, OUT OF A TOTAL OF 24 OR SO THAT WE'VE ALREADY ISSUED FUNDING FOR, THE LARGEST ONE BEING THE ANIMAL SHELTER EXPANSION. WHICH COUNCIL? YOU JUST SAW THAT ON AN AGENDA RECENTLY WHERE YOU APPROVED TWO AGREEMENTS FOR THAT. THAT WAS ABOUT 9.9 MILLION OF THAT 25.5. SO AGAIN, A VARIETY OF PROJECTS.
WE HAVE STREETS, WE HAVE LAND ACQUISITION FOR FIRE STATION, FOR TRAIL DEVELOPMENT AND THEN DISPERSED IN BETWEEN. SOME OF THOSE PROJECTS IS FUNDING FOR PUBLIC ART AS WELL. SO NOW WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT SOME BUDGETARY INSIGHTS. NORMALLY WHEN I PRESENT THIS INFORMATION TO YOU, WE'RE LOOKING AT MORE REVENUES THAN WHAT I'M GOING TO PRESENT TODAY. BUT JUST IN THE
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INTEREST OF TIME AND WHAT YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW WHEN IT COMES TIME TO DETERMINING OUR BUDGET CALENDAR, WE'RE JUST GOING TO TALK ABOUT GENERAL FUND REVENUES FOR THE MOST PART. SO WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS OUR SALES TAX IN THE GENERAL FUND. NORMALLY WHEN I SHOW YOU THIS SLIDE I'M JUST SHOWING YOU THE PAST FIVE YEARS OR SO. BUT I WANTED TO EXTEND THIS OUT THIS TIME BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS WHILE WE ARE SEEING INCREASES YEAR OVER YEAR, WE SAW A LARGE JUMP IN FY 2021 CORRELATED WITH CASTLE HILLS. WE ARE STARTING TO SEE SOMEWHAT OF A FLATTENING OF THAT TREND. WE ARE STILL SEEING AN INCREASE YEAR AFTER YEAR, BUT I JUST WANTED TO POINT THIS OUT.IF YOU LOOK AT THIS CHART IN THE BOTTOM CORNER HERE AND I APOLOGIZE, I KNOW IT'S SMALL, BUT I WANT TO POINT OUT HERE IS THAT'S OUR PERCENTAGE CHANGE FROM YEAR OVER YEAR. SO IF WE LOOK BACK IN FISCAL YEAR 2015, WE'RE IN THE FIVE, SIX, 7% SOMEWHERE AROUND THAT RANGE.
THEN WE SEE THAT HUGE SPIKE THAT'S RELATED TO CASTLE HILLS. AND SINCE THEN WE'RE SEEING THAT DROP OFF. SO NOW WE'RE IN THE 1% A LITTLE LESS THAN 1% RANGE. SO JUST WANT TO KEEP THAT IN MIND GOING INTO BUDGET SEASON. SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE SEEING, IF WE'RE COMPARING FISCAL YEAR 24 TO PREVIOUS YEARS, AGAIN, WE DID SEE THAT INCREASE. WE CAME IN ABOUT $435,000 MORE THAN THE PRIOR YEAR OF. ONE THING THAT WE ALSO KEEP AWARE OF IS WE HAVE A SALES TAX CONSULTANT, HDL, THAT WE WORK WITH FREQUENTLY, AND SO WE'RE AWARE OF ANY CORRECTIVE ACTION CASES THAT THEY MIGHT BE WORKING ON WITH THE TEXAS COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE THAT COULD ESSENTIALLY BE AUDITED AND COULD POTENTIALLY BRING IN MORE REVENUE TO THE CITY. AND I'M NOT GOING TO GO OVER ALL THE DETAIL IN THIS SLIDE. YOU HAVE SEEN THIS INFORMATION MULTIPLE TIMES RELATED TO A PROPOSED RULE CHANGE BY THE TEXAS COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE. ESSENTIALLY, THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT I WANTED TO POINT OUT HERE, AND THIS IS RELATED TO THE RECENT LITIGATION. WHEN WE LAST TALKED ABOUT THIS, THIS WAS IN AUGUST OF 2024. THERE WAS A TRIAL DATE FOR OCTOBER 2024.
THAT TRIAL DID OCCUR IN OCTOBER. AND THEN WE FOUND OUT IN DECEMBER 2024 THAT A DECISION WAS ISSUED, AND ESSENTIALLY IT RULED IN FAVOR OF THE CASTLE GROUP, MEANING THAT THE COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE IS PERMANENTLY ENJOINED FROM ENFORCING THOSE POTENTIAL RULE CHANGES. ONE THING THAT WE FOUND OUT IS THAT THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF AMBIGUITY IN THAT RULING, AND SO BOTH THE TEXAS COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE AND THE CASTLE GROUP HAVE ISSUED A REQUEST FOR CLARIFICATION THROUGH WHAT'S CALLED A MOTION TO MODIFY. AND AT THE TIME, WE EXPECTED TO HAVE AN ANSWER BY THE END OF LAST CALENDAR YEAR. WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY INFORMATION ON THAT YET. SO WE WANTED TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A BRIEF UPDATE HERE. BUT AS I THINK IT WAS GINA THAT MENTIONED DURING THE RETREAT, THIS IS NOT AS MUCH OF A CONCERN FOR US ANYMORE. WE'VE STOPPED TAKING IT INTO CONSIDERATION WITH OUR BUDGET. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PUTTING THOSE FUNDS TO GOOD USE. THERE'S NO LEGISLATION RIGHT NOW THAT I'M AWARE OF THAT THAT SEEMS TO BE TAKING US BACK TO THE LEGISLATIVE SIDE. RIGHT. WE ARE NOT AWARE OF IT. AND BRANDY'S ON TOP OF THAT. ABSOLUTELY. SO THE NEXT STEP IS BUILDING PERMITS HERE. BUILDING PERMIT REVENUE IS BASED ON ACTUAL PROJECTS THAT WE'RE AWARE OF THAT ARE OCCURRING. SO NOT NECESSARILY TREND BASED. A COUPLE OF THINGS I WANTED TO POINT OUT HERE, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT FISCAL YEAR 2024, IS WE ENDED THE YEAR AT ABOUT $119,000 LESS THAN THE PRIOR YEAR. YOU MAY RECALL LAST YEAR WHEN WE GAVE OUR MID-YEAR REPORT, WE DID LOWER THOSE PROJECTIONS. WE THOUGHT THERE MIGHT BE A COUPLE OF BIG PROJECTS THAT WEREN'T GOING TO HIT. WE ENDED UP COMING IN ABOVE THAT BUDGET. AND THEN IF YOU LOOK AT OUR FISCAL YEAR, 25 YEAR TO DATE, WE'RE ALREADY CLOSE TO 800,000 IN REVENUE. WE HAD ONE LARGE PROJECT THAT HIT THAT CONSISTS OF ABOUT HALF OF THAT. AND WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OTHER LARGE PROJECTS, IN PARTICULAR LAKESIDE CROSSING, MULTI-FAMILY AND TOWNHOMES THAT WE'RE MONITORING TO SEE IF THAT WILL OCCUR THIS YEAR. AND THEN VALLEY PARKWAY BUSINESS PARK, THAT WAS THE BIG PROJECT THAT HAS ALREADY HIT OUR REVENUES. AND THEN, YES, LIKE I MENTIONED, AS OF LATE FEBRUARY, WE'RE ALREADY CLOSE TO OUR BUDGET, WHICH IS 1 MILLION. MOVING ON TO HOTEL TAX REVENUE. SO THIS IS THE ONE SECTION THAT IS NOT GENERAL FUND RELATED. BUT I DID JUST WANT TO MENTION IT HERE. WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE IS THAT LAST YEAR'S ACTUALS CAME IN JUST BARELY UNDER THE PRIOR YEAR. SO WE DIDN'T REALLY SEE A MAJOR CHANGE THERE, BUT WE ARE SEEING SOMEWHAT OF A DROP IN OUR OCCUPANCY RATES. AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN JUST A SECOND. ONE THING I ALSO WANTED TO MENTION HERE IS THAT LATE LAST FISCAL YEAR, WE STARTED COLLECTING THIS TAX ON OUR SHORT TERM RENTALS. WE ONLY HAD A COUPLE OF MONTHS IN FISCAL YEAR 24. IT WAS A LITTLE LESS THAN $8,000 COLLECTED, BUT AS OF LATE FEBRUARY THIS YEAR, WE'VE COLLECTED ABOUT $40,000 IN THAT REVENUE THAT WE WERE NOT COLLECTING PREVIOUSLY. THANK YOU. SO LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOTEL OCCUPANCY RATES.
YOU'VE SEEN THIS CHART MANY, MANY TIMES. I ALWAYS LIKE TO POINT OUT, OKAY, HERE'S OUR DROP WITH COVID RIGHT. WE BOUNCE BACK UP. WE WERE PRETTY STABLE. HOWEVER, IN CALENDAR YEAR 2024, WE STARTED TO SEE SOMEWHAT OF A DECREASE. WE SAW IT MONTH AFTER MONTH AND WHEN WE DUG INTO THE DETAILS, WE FOUND OUT THAT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ROOM NIGHTS INCREASED. AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THERE'S ONLY A CERTAIN NUMBER OF ROOMS AVAILABLE AT EVERY HOTEL. RIGHT? BUT AS MORE HOTELS
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COME ONLINE, FOR EXAMPLE TRU BY HILTON, IT INCREASES THOSE TOTAL NUMBER OF ROOM NIGHTS. SO WE DID SEE THAT HAPPEN. WE SAW ABOUT 11,000 MORE ROOM NIGHTS LAST YEAR. WE ALSO SAW A DECREASE IN OUR DEMAND. SO ABOUT 23,000 ROOM NIGHTS WERE NOT BOOKED LAST YEAR COMPARED TO THE PRIOR YEAR. SO THOSE TWO FACTORS WHEN YOU PUT THEM TOGETHER, THAT'S WHY WE'RE SEEING THIS DECREASE IN OUR OCCUPANCY RATES HERE IN JAMES IS BEING PUSHED OUT TO THE HOTEL INDUSTRY, REACHED OUT TO SOME OF OUR OTHER NEIGHBORING CITIES AS WELL. WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES SEEING THIS DECREASE IN DEMAND.WE'RE SEEING LESS LEISURE TRAVEL, LESS CONFERENCE BOOKINGS. SOME THINGS ALONG THOSE LINES, PEOPLE ARE LESS LIKELY TO SPEND THAT EXTRA MONEY THAT THEY HAVE IN THEIR POCKET.
SO THIS IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE KEEPING AN EYE ON. BUT AS I MENTIONED ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, OUR REVENUES DIDN'T REALLY TAKE A HUGE HIT. AND THAT'S BECAUSE THERE'S OTHER FACTORS THAT GO INTO THAT AS WELL. SO THE NEXT FEW SLIDES ARE GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT FEDERAL FUNDING. AND I'M NOT NECESSARILY GOING TO GO THROUGH EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE LINE BY LINE. BUT AS DAVE ALLUDED TO AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PRESENTATION, YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD SOME THINGS IN THE NEWS. WE JUST WANT TO RELAY THAT. WE ARE AWARE OF ALL OF THIS. WE HAVE PLANS IN THE BACKGROUND. WE DID WANT TO PRESENT COUNCIL WITH ALL OF OUR FEDERALLY FUNDED PROJECTS THAT ARE REIMBURSEMENT PROJECTS. SO WHAT THIS MEANS IS IF WE GOT MONEY ON THE FRONT END, YOU'RE NOT SEEING IT HERE. FOR EXAMPLE, ARPA, THAT WAS $19.5 MILLION. WE GOT THAT MONEY UP FRONT. IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT HERE. BUT WHAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE IS THE MOSTLY FEDERAL GRANTS OR POTENTIAL STATE PROJECTS THAT ARE PASSED THROUGH PROJECTS AND THEN SOME OTHER FEDERALLY FUNDED PROJECTS AS WELL. BEFORE I GO THROUGH ALL OF THESE, I WANTED TO MENTION THAT AS OF THE END OF FEBRUARY, WE HAVE HEARD ABOUT ONE GRANT AGREEMENT THAT WAS OUR SAFE STREETS FOR ALL GRANT THAT HAS BEEN SUSPENDED. COUNCIL, YOU HAD NOT YET SEEN THAT EXECUTIVE I'M SORRY, EXECUTED AGREEMENT. WE WERE STILL IN THE WORKS OF GETTING THAT PUT TOGETHER. AND THEN WE'VE ALSO HEARD ON TWO COMMUNITY FORESTRY GRANTS AS WELL. WORK HAD ALREADY STARTED ON THOSE GRANTS. SO WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE SHIFTING CAPITAL DOLLARS. WE'RE GOING TO FINISH THOSE PROJECTS OUT. THEY WERE SMALLER PROJECTS, BUT WE ALSO HEARD THAT THOSE GRANTS HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED AS WELL. JUST IF YOU STAFF COULD KEEP A RUNNING TALLY OF THAT, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO TELL OUR LEGISLATORS THAT THIS IS THE DOLLAR IMPACTS TO OUR CITIES OF THIS WHATEVER NONSENSE GOING ON. ABSOLUTELY. SO WHAT YOU SEE HERE, JUST ON THIS FIRST SLIDE HERE, WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF ENGINEERING PROJECTS, MOSTLY INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. OBVIOUSLY OUR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS ARE INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. SO WE HAVE OPTIONS THERE IF WE NEED TO POTENTIALLY LOOK AT SOME OF THESE PROJECTS IN A FUTURE YEAR THROUGH AN ACTION STEP, OR IF WE CAN SHIFT CAPITAL DOLLARS, WE HAVE BOND FUNDING AS WELL THAT WE CAN SHIFT. WE HAVE OPTIONS FOR THESE PROJECTS. THEN YOU SEE A FIRE GRANT DOWN AT THE BOTTOM FAR OUTDOOR WARNING SIRENS. THAT IS THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. AND THEN ON THIS SLIDE, YOU SEE, IT'S THIS GRANT AGREEMENT ACTUALLY JUST CAME TO COUNCIL IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS AS WELL. THAT WAS FOR A NETWORK ACCESS CONTROL PROJECT THAT WE HAVE YET TO SPEND FUNDING ON. AND AGAIN, ALL OF THESE ARE REIMBURSEMENT GRANTS, MEANING THAT WE SPEND THE MONEY FIRST AND THEN WE ASK FOR THAT REIMBURSEMENT AFTERWARDS. AND THEN THE LARGE BULK OF THIS SLIDE IS OUR CDBG PROGRAMS IN OUR HOME PROGRAM. I WANTED TO MENTION HOME SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE YOU HEARD ABOUT IT AT COUNCIL. THERE WAS A PRESENTATION ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING. AND SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE AWARE OF. AND AGAIN, WE'RE ALWAYS CONSIDERING OUR OPTIONS. BUT WE DO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE AWARE OF THIS IN CASE WE END UP HEARING ANYTHING ON THIS PROGRAM, WE MIGHT NEED TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL AND TALK ABOUT WHAT WE WANT TO DO WITH THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING HERE. THEN ACTUALLY, ONE THING I ALSO WANTED TO MENTION HERE IS THAT I WAS ON A CALL EARLIER TODAY WITH THE GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION, AND THEY ASKED ALL OF THE CITIES THAT WERE ON THE CALL IF ANYONE HAD HAD ANY IMPACTS TO THEIR CDBG REIMBURSEMENTS AS OF YET. AND THE ANSWER WAS NO, INCLUDING US. WE JUST RECENTLY PUT IN A REIMBURSEMENT REQUEST AND HAD NO ISSUES WITH THAT UP TO THIS POINT. AND THEN WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF PARKS PROJECTS AS WELL UP HERE AT THE TOP. THAT'S THE COMMUNITY FORESTRY GRANTS. THOSE ARE THOSE TWO GRANTS THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER, AND I THINK STACY ALLUDED TO THEM IN HER PRESENTATION AT RETREAT AS WELL. SO AGAIN, WE HAVE ALREADY STARTED THAT WORK. WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE IT, AND WE WILL JUST FUND IT WITH CAPITAL DOLLARS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE. THOSE ARE SMALL GRANTS, NOT AS BIG OF AN IMPACT TO US. SO WE'LL CONTINUE MOVING FORWARD. AND THEN WE HAVE A FEW POLICE GRANTS AS WELL. TWO JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANTS. AND I BELIEVE MAYBE ANOTHER ONE IS COMING THROUGH SOON AS WELL. AND THEN THE COPS HIRING PROGRAM. SO WHAT THIS ONE IS, IS BASICALLY WE RECEIVE $125,000 A YEAR TO HELP FUND THE SALARIES AND BENEFITS FOR THREE POLICE OFFICERS. IT DOESN'T COVER EVERYTHING. WE DID BUDGET THIS IN YOUR BASE BUDGET AS WELL. THIS JUST PROVIDES THOSE EXTRA SAVINGS. SO OVER THE COURSE OF THOSE THREE YEARS YOU'RE LOOKING AT 325,000. AND THEN LASTLY WE HAVE AN ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION BLOCK GRANT THAT'S BEING MANAGED THROUGH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE. THIS IS FOR OUR FLEET.
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SO LOOKING TO PURCHASE HYBRID OR ELECTRIC VEHICLES I DID HEAR ON THIS ONE EARLIER TODAY. NOT SPECIFICALLY FOR THE CITY OF LOUISVILLE, BUT OTHER ENTITIES ARE SEEING ADDITIONAL REVIEWS ON THEIR REIMBURSEMENT REQUESTS FOR THAT PARTICULAR GRANT. SO THEN MOVING INTO THE FINAL PART OF TODAY'S PRESENTATION, WE ALWAYS BRING THE BUDGET CALENDAR DISCUSSION TO COUNCIL, AND WE PRESENT TO YOU WITH TWO OPTIONS. THE REASON THAT WE DO THIS IS BECAUSE THE BUDGET CALENDAR IS BASED ON STATE LAW. SO THERE ARE A LOT OF DEADLINES THAT WE HAVE TO MEET IN A VERY SHORT TIME FRAME. AND ALSO, IF COUNCIL DECIDES TO PURSUE A PROPERTY TAX THAT IS ABOVE WHAT'S CALLED THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE, THERE HAS TO BE AN ELECTION CALLED. SO WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS THE OPTION FOR NO ELECTION. THIS IS ESSENTIALLY ALMOST THE EXACT SAME CALENDAR WE USED LAST YEAR, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF MAYBE A DAY OR TWO DIFFERENCE. SO ALL THROUGHOUT JULY, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AND FINANCE WERE PREPARING THAT PRELIMINARY BUDGET. WE RECEIVED CERTIFIED TAX ROLLS ON JULY 25TH. NO MATTER WHICH OPTION, THAT'S GOING TO BE THE DATE WE GET THOSE. THEN ON AUGUST 4TH, THAT'S OUR REGULAR SESSION FOR CITY COUNCIL. WE'LL PROVIDE YOU WITH THAT BUDGET. THEN WE'LL HAVE OUR TYPICAL ONE ON ONE MEETINGS LEADING UP TO BUDGET WORKSHOP, WHICH WOULD BE SATURDAY, AUGUST 9TH. THAT'S USUALLY ALWAYS A SPECIAL SESSION. SO THAT'S GOING TO BE ON A SATURDAY. THEN TOWARDS THE END OF AUGUST WE'LL PUBLISH OUR NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING. AND THEN MOVING INTO SEPTEMBER, WE HAVE TWO REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETINGS ON SEPTEMBER 8TH AND SEPTEMBER 15TH. ON THAT SEPTEMBER 8TH MEETING, THAT'S WHERE WE WILL HAVE THE PUBLIC HEARING AND THE VOTE ON THE BUDGET. AND THEN SEPTEMBER 15TH WILL BE THE PUBLIC HEARING AND THE VOTE ON THE TAX RATE. ONE THING I WANT TO MENTION HERE IS THAT STATE LAW SAYS THAT WE CANNOT HAVE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THE BUDGET ON THE SAME DAY AS THE VOTE ON THE TAX RATE. SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE US SPLIT IT UP LIKE THAT. AND THEN THIS IS THE OPTION IF WE WERE TO PURSUE AN ELECTION. SO AS YOU CAN SEE, EVERYTHING SHIFTS UP THIS WAY ON JULY 14TH. THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING WHERE WE WOULD HAVE TO CALL A SPECIAL SESSION IN ORDER TO PRESENT YOU WITH THAT PRELIMINARY BUDGET. THAT WOULD BE BEFORE WE GET OUR CERTIFIED TAX RULES ON JULY 25TH. SO A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY AROUND THERE, ALTHOUGH WE DO RECEIVE PRELIMINARY INFORMATION FROM THE APPRAISAL DISTRICTS THAT WE WOULD TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHEN WE WOULD HAVE OUR ONE ON ONE MEETINGS WITH CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, BUDGET WORKSHOP WOULD SHIFT UP A WEEK. SO IT WOULD STILL BE A SPECIAL SESSION, BUT IT WOULD BE ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 2ND INSTEAD. AND THEN THAT SAME WEEKEND THAT WE HAVE WORKSHOP, WE WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE TO CONTACT THE PAPER IN ORDER TO START THAT PROCESS FOR OUR PUBLIC HEARINGS AS WELL. SO WE WOULD BE DOING THAT THE SAME WEEKEND, MOVING INTO AUGUST 13TH, WE PUBLISH OFFICIALLY THE NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON THE TAX RATE. AUGUST 15TH, WE WOULD HAVE A SPECIAL SESSION FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING AND VOTE ON THE BUDGET. AND AGAIN, WE CAN'T HOLD THAT PUBLIC HEARING ON THE SAME DAY AS THE VOTE ON THE TAX RATE. SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THAT DIFFERENCE THERE. AND THEN THAT AUGUST 18TH DATE, I WANTED TO MENTION FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS. SO THIS IS WHEN WE HAVE THE PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULED AND THE VOTE ON THE TAX RATE. THIS IS THE LAST DAY LEGALLY THAT WE CAN VOTE ON THIS. AND ALSO, IF COUNCIL WERE TO CALL FOR AN ELECTION, THIS IS THE LAST DAY THAT YOU CAN DO THAT AS WELL. SO IT'S IMPORTANT FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS THERE. SO TO JUST SUM IT UP, THIS IS OUR RECOMMENDATION. AS DAVE MENTIONED EARLIER, WE ARE EXPECTING TO SEE A CONTINUED INCREASE IN OUR PROPERTY TAX REVENUE. WE'RE ALSO EXPECTING MOST OF OUR OTHER MAJOR REVENUE SOURCES TO INCREASE AS WELL. WITH THAT CAVEAT ON SALES TAX, WE'RE SEEING SOMEWHAT OF A SLOWING THERE. BUT STILL, YEAR OVER YEAR, WE EXPECT THAT TO INCREASE. AND THEN JUST LIKE USUAL, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO MONITOR MONITOR THOSE INFLATION RATES, OUR INTEREST RATES. SEE HOW THAT IMPACTS OUR BORROWING POWER. WE'LL KEEP TRACKING BUILDING PERMITS, SALES TAX, THOSE OCCUPANCY RATES AS WELL AS ANY CHANGES IN FEDERAL PLANNING, WHICH IS IT'S SOMETHING CHANGES EVERY WEEK RIGHT NOW. SO IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE'LL BE KEEPING A TALLY ON. AND THEN WE DO THIS EVERY YEAR. WE WANTED TO MENTION IT HERE, BUT WE ALWAYS REVIEW OUR FEES AND OUR CHARGES FOR SERVICES. WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE RECOVERING THE COST THAT IT TAKES TO PROVIDE THAT SERVICE. EXCUSE ME TO PROVIDE THAT SERVICE. SO THIS IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO PLACE AN EMPHASIS ON THIS YEAR AS WELL.SO BASED ON EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE SEEN IN THIS PRESENTATION, STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION IS TO PROCEED WITHOUT THE OPTION OF AN ELECTION FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026. THANK YOU, THANK YOU COUNCIL. WE GOT ABOUT FOUR MINUTES AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWER. CAN WE JUMP BACK TO SLIDE SEVEN REAL QUICK? I'LL TAKE ONE OF THOSE. THANKS. THIS IS BY FAR MY FAVORITE SLIDE. EVERY TIME I SEE THIS I GET EXCITED BECAUSE YOU KNOW, TO HEAR SOME SOME FOLKS TALK. WE ARE THE WAREHOUSE CAPITAL. I'VE HEARD THAT SAID A COUPLE OF TIMES WE'RE RIGHT IN THE SWEET SPOT. WE'RE RIGHT WHERE WE SHOULD BE. SO I'M EXCITED TO SEE THIS SLIDE. AND THEN THE OTHER THING I HEAR A LOT ABOUT IS ALL THESE WAREHOUSES THAT ARE BOARDED UP. AND NOBODY'S JUST SAY WE HAVE A 95% OCCUPANCY RATE. YEAH. SO AGAIN, I LOVE SOME PORTION OF THIS KIND OF SLIDE OUT QUITE A BIT WHEN I TALK TO FOLKS ABOUT IT, BUT I JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT UP TO EVERYBODY'S ATTENTION
[01:05:01]
BECAUSE LISTENING, I THINK WE'RE RIGHT WHERE WE SHOULD BE FOR WAREHOUSES RIGHT NOW. AND CHRISTINA, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT WE WERE ALMOST IN THE EXACT SAME POSITION LAST YEAR, RIGHT? YES. OKAY. THANK YOU. PATRICK, I HAD A SIMILAR THOUGHT ABOUT OUR RETAIL SPACE AS WELL BECAUSE I DID WANT TO I HAVE HEARD SOME CHATTER ABOUT PEOPLE SAYING THAT OUR RETAIL IS EMPTY AS WELL. AND WHERE IS IT? WE HAVE OUR OUR RETAIL OCCUPANCY IS AT 93%. THAT'S VERY STRONG.YEAH, THAT'S VERY STRONG. YEAH. I PULLED SEVERAL OF THESE DATA POINTS OUT WHEN I MENTIONED THE STATE OF THE CITIES. SO I APPRECIATE STAFF'S INPUT ON THAT. AND YEAH, IT'S JUST FACTUALLY WRONG. SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT YOU SEE ON THE INTERNET SHOPPING. YEAH I BELIEVE HARD TO BELIEVE. SO YOU KNOW, THE GREAT THING IS WE HAVE THEM RIGHT HERE AND I APPRECIATE THAT. SO ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS. ALL RIGHT FOLKS WE ARE GOING TO GO INTO RECESS AND WE'LL RESUME BACK IN REGULAR SESSION JUST I JUST WAVED. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SAY. YOU CAN DO THAT. WOW. YOU. FROM FALLS. GOOD EVENING. WE'RE GOING TO CALL THIS REGULAR
[A. Invocation - Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Ronni Cade]
SESSION OF THE LOUISVILLE CITY COUNCIL TO ORDER. IT IS 7 P.M. AND WE DO HAVE A QUORUM. FIRST UP ON TONIGHT'S AGENDA, WE HAVE THE INVOCATION WITH OUR DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM RONNIE CADE. AND.FATHERS, WE COME TOGETHER TONIGHT AS ONE BODY. PLEASE GIVE US A DISCERNMENT OVER THE ITEMS BEFORE US. I ASK YOU TO BRING FORTH A RENEWED SENSE OF COMMUNITY FOR OUR CITY, IN THE HEDGE OF PROTECTION OVER OUR CITIZENS AND STAFF. IN YOUR NAME I PRAY, AMEN. AMEN. PLEASE JOIN
[B. Pledge to the American and Texas Flags - Mayor TJ Gilmore]
ME IN THE PLEDGE TO OUR FLAGS. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. HONOR THE TEXAS FLAG. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THEE. TEXAS. ONE STATE UNDER GOD, ONE AND INDIVISIBLE. WHILE. ALL RIGHT, FIRST UP ON TONIGHT'S AGENDA IS[C. Presentation]
A PRESENTATION. AND IF I COULD HAVE THE LIBRARY TEAM PLEASE COME FORWARD FOR THIS PRESENTATION OF THE 2024 ACHIEVEMENT OF EXCELLENCE IN LIBRARIES AWARD FROM THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL LIBRARY DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION. FOR YOU ALL. SOME BACKGROUND TO QUALIFY FOR THE ACHIEVEMENT OF EXCELLENCE IN LIBRARIES, THE LEWISVILLE LIBRARY DEMONSTRATED EXCELLENCE IN ALL TEN REQUIRED CATEGORIES. MANY THANKS TO MY LIBRARY TEAM, OUR LIBRARY TEAM MEMBERS WHO ARE INNOVATIVE AND THEIR SERVICE MAKE OUR LIBRARY POSSIBLE. IT IS AN AMAZING SPACE. THANK YOU SO MUCH MAYOR, COUNCIL, AND THANK YOU ALL OF YOU FOR THE SUPPORT OF LIBRARIES. WE'RE HERE TODAY TO GIVE YOU THE ACHIEVEMENT OF EXCELLENCE IN LIBRARIES AWARD, WHICH TEN CATEGORIES ARE REQUIRED FOR THE APPLICATION? I WANTED TO SHARE A FEW OF THOSE EXAMPLES WITH YOU OF EXCELLENCE AT THE LIBRARY. THE FIRST CATEGORY UNDER NEW AND ENHANCED SERVICES WAS OUR ONLINE LIBRARY CARD APPLICATION PROCESS, AND THE LIBRARY STAFF WORKED DILIGENTLY TO PREPARE AND LAUNCH THAT PROGRAM. IN THE SIX MONTHS SINCE THE LAUNCH, THERE HAVE BEEN 809 LIBRARY CARDS MADE ONLINE, WHICH CONSTITUTES ABOUT 31% OF LIBRARY CARDS MADE DURING THAT TIME PERIOD. SECOND CATEGORY IS IN COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS. THE LIBRARY COLLABORATED WITH IT'S THE MUNICIPAL COURT AND SOME JAIL STAFF TO WORK ON MAPS OF THE LIBRARY AND THE MUNICIPAL ANNEX TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR OUR RESIDENTS AND LIBRARY PATRONS TO NAVIGATE OUR COMPLEX. SO WE HAVE KIOSKS OUT IN THE LIBRARY AND AROUND THE ANNEX FOR PEOPLE TO USE THOSE MAPS. AND THEY'RE ALSO ON OUR WEBSITE. THE FINAL EXAMPLE OF EXCELLENCE IS IN MARKETING, AND THE LIBRARY CHANGED AND REBRANDED OUR DESTINATION OR SORRY FROM SUMMER READING PROGRAM TO DESTINATION SUMMER THIS LAST SUMMER. SO THIS NEW BRAND NEW LOGO, RECOGNIZABLE NAME FOR THE PROGRAM ARE GOING TO BE OUR CONSISTENT THEME. WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT WHAT THAT'S GOING TO DO FOR THE RECOGNITION OF OUR PATRONS AND LIBRARY PROGRAMING IS EXCELLENT. WE'RE A GREAT PLACE TO COME AND LEARN. WE'RE AND EXCITING AND FUN PROGRAMS MORE THAN JUST BOOKS AND READING. SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT DESTINATION SUMMER THEME. SO THANK YOU FOR CELEBRATING THE ACHIEVEMENT OF EXCELLENCE IN LIBRARIES AWARD WITH US. AND I SHARED THIS WITH THE WHOLE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE KELLY BROUILLARD, OUR LIBRARY SERVICES MANAGER, AND KARISSA STEWART, OUR TECHNICAL SERVICES SUPERVISOR, WHO ARE BOTH INSTRUMENTAL IN THE APPLICATION AND IN RUNNING AND PREPARING FOR MANY OF THESE PROGRAMS. AWESOME. AND IF YOU IF[01:10:01]
YOU DIDN'T GET A CHANCE, THE PERSON PRESENTING WAS CAROLYN BOOKER, OF COURSE, OUR DIRECTOR OF THE LIBRARY. THERE WAS A WONDERFUL QUICK ARTICLE DONE, I THINK, IN THE LOUISVILLE LEADER HERE ABOUT A WEEK AND A HALF AGO. SO IF YOU GET A CHANCE, YOU WANT TO READ A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE LIBRARY. CHECK THAT ONE OUT. IT'S AMAZING. I HAVE MY NEW[D. Public Hearing]
PURPLE CARD, BY THE WAY. I'M VERY EXCITED. ALL RIGHT. NEXT UP PUBLIC HEARING. PUBLIC HEARING ITEM D ONE CONSIDERATION AN ORDINANCE AMENDING VOLUME TWO OF THE LOUISVILLE CITY CODE, KNOWN AS THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE, BY AMENDING ARTICLE THREE DEVELOPMENT AND ZONING PROCEDURES. CHAPTER FIVE PLATS. BY GRANTING THE PLANNING DIRECTOR THE AUTHORITY TO APPROVE, APPROVE, APPROVE WITH CONDITIONS, OR DISAPPROVE PLATS. THIS AMENDMENT MOVES ALL PLAT APPROVAL AUTHORITY TO STAFF IN THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE. PLAT DECISIONS BY STAFF MAY BE APPEALED TO THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AND ULTIMATELY TO THE CITY COUNCIL. THIS AMENDMENT IS EXPECTED TO RESULT IN EFFICIENCIES FOR BOTH DEVELOPERS AND CITY STAFF. THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION RECOMMENDED UNANIMOUS APPROVAL SIX TO NOTHING ON FEBRUARY 4TH, 2025, AND IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVE THE ORDINANCE AS SET FORTH IN THE CAPTION ABOVE. I DO HAVE MR. RICHARD LUDTKE, OUR PLANNING DIRECTOR, AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS AND THE PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW OPEN. COUNCIL. I DON'T HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FOR THIS ONE, SO IF THERE ARE NO COMMENTS FROM COUNCIL, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION MOVE TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. SECOND, I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING COUNCIL, IF YOU PLEASE, VOTE. MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY SIX TO NOTHING. COUNCIL. I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION ON THE ORDINANCE. MOVE TO APPROVE THE ORDINANCE AS SET FORTH IN THE CAPTION. SECOND, I HAVE A MOTION AND SECOND, CITY ATTORNEY. THIS IS AN ORDINANCE OF THE LOUISVILLE CITY COUNCIL AMENDING ARTICLE THREE DEVELOPMENT AND ZONING PROCEDURES OF VOLUME TWO OF THE LOUISVILLE CITY CODE, KNOWN AS UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE, BY AMENDING CHAPTER 3.1 REVIEW AND DECISION MAKING BODIES, AND CHAPTER 3.5 PLATS TO DELEGATE TO THE PLANNING DIRECTOR THE AUTHORITY TO APPROVE, APPROVE WITH CONDITIONS OR DISAPPROVE PLATS TO SET FORTH A PROCESS TO APPEAL THE DISAPPROVAL OF A PLAT AND TO CLARIFY CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS OF THE PLANNING PROCESS. PROVIDING FOR SAVINGS FOR SEVERABILITY, A PENALTY AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. DECLARING AN EMERGENCY COUNCIL IF YOU PLEASE VOTE. MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. ITEM E VISITORS FORUM SPEAKERS MUST ADDRESS THEIR COMMENTS TO THE MAYOR, RATHER THAN TO INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL MEMBERS OR STAFF. SPEAKERS SHOULD SPEAK CLEARLY AND STATE THEIR NAME AND ADDRESS PRIOR TO BEGINNING THEIR REMARKS. SPEAKERS WILL BE ALLOWED FIVE MINUTES FOR TESTIMONY. SPEAKERS MAKING PERSONAL, IMPERTINENT, PROFANE, OR SLANDEROUS REMARKS MAY BE REMOVED FROM THE MEETING.UNAUTHORIZED REMARKS FROM THE AUDIENCE, STAMPING OF FEET, WHISTLES, YELLS, CLAPPING, AND SIMILAR DEMONSTRATIONS WILL NOT BE PERMITTED. IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT, THE CITY COUNCIL IS RESTRICTED FROM DISCUSSING OR TAKING ACTION ON ITEMS NOT LISTED ON THE AGENDA.
[F. Consent Agenda]
ACTION CAN ONLY BE TAKEN AT A FUTURE MEETING. I DO NOT HAVE ANY COMMENTS FOR THE VISITORS FORUM AT THIS TIME, SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO ITEM F, WHICH IS THE CONSENT AGENDA. ALL OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA ARE CONSIDERED TO BE SELF EXPLANATORY BY THE COUNCIL WILL BE ENACTED WITH ONE MOTION. THERE WILL BE NO SEPARATE DISCUSSION OF THESE ITEMS UNLESS THE COUNCIL MEMBER OR A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC. SO REQUESTS FOR A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC TO REQUEST REMOVAL OF AN ITEM, SPEAKER, CARD, OR COMMENT MUST BE FILLED OUT AND SUBMITTED TO THE CITY SECRETARY. I HAVE NO REQUESTS FOR PULLING ANYTHING FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA. SO COUNCIL, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION MOVE TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED. SECOND, I[G. Regular Hearing]
HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND COUNCIL. PLEASE VOTE. MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. ITEM G REGULAR HEARING FOR CONSIDERATION OF TWO ALTERNATIVE STANDARDS ASSOCIATED WITH OUTDOOR STORAGE STANDARDS AND SCREENING STANDARDS FOR WALMART ON 18.613 ACRES LOCATED AT 81 WEST MAIN STREET. LEGALLY DESCRIBED AS VALLEY RIDGE BUSINESS PARK WEST EDITION, LOT THREE R-1, A BLOCK C ZONED GENERAL BUSINESS DISTRICT, AS REQUESTED BY IRON BRIGHT OF WING, LLC ON BEHALF OF THE OWNER WALMART REAL ESTATE BUSINESS TRUST 24 DASH 1115 ALT STORY WING WAS ORIGINALLY GRANTED THE FOLLOWING TWO ALTERNATIVE STANDARDS FOR TEMPORARY DRONE DELIVERY SERVICE AT THIS LOCATION IN THE FALL OF 2023 A TO ALLOW OUTSIDE STORAGE TO BE LOCATED IN FRONT OF THE PRINCIPAL BUILDING, AND B TO ALLOW A BLACK GALVANIZED METAL FENCE IN LIEU OF THE REQUESTED REQUIRED MASONRY WALL OR TUBULAR STEEL FENCE. WING RE-APPLIED PRIOR TO THOSE ALTERNATIVE STANDARDS, EXPIRING WITH A DESIRE TO EXTEND THEM. IN ADDITION, WING HAS SINCE BEEN WORKING WITH STAFF ON SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS. STAFF EXPECTS TO BRING THE DRAFT LANGUAGE BEFORE THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AND CITY COUNCIL WITHIN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS. THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION RECOMMENDED UNANIMOUS APPROVAL FIVE TO NOTHING ON FEBRUARY 18TH, 2025, AND IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVE THE TWO ALTERNATIVE STANDARDS AS SET FORTH IN THE CAPTION ABOVE. RICHARD LUEDKE, OUR PLANNING DIRECTOR, IS AVAILABLE AND WE ALSO HAVE. RYAN TRIMBLE AND KATHRYN LOVETT AVAILABLE TO GIVE A BRIEF PRESENTATION, I BELIEVE.SO NOW'S YOUR CHANCE. COUNCIL MEMBER I LOVE IT. I AM WITH WING AVIATION. I'M THE LOCAL POLICY AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS MANAGER. I AM BASED IN DALLAS, TEXAS, SO NOT TOO FAR DOWN THE ROAD FROM YOU ALL. I'M HERE TODAY TO INTRODUCE YOU ALL OR REINTRODUCE YOU ALL TO WING AND ANSWER ANY
[01:15:07]
QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE. I ALSO HAVE. MAKE SURE WE CAN HEAR YOU. OH SORRY. AGAIN. KATHRYN LOVETT, LOCAL POLICY AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS MANAGER WITH WING. FOR THOSE THAT MAY NOT HAVE HEARD ME, I'M HERE TODAY TO TALK TO YOU ALL ABOUT WING AVIATION AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL HAVE. WE ALSO HAVE BERNICE HERE FROM KIMLEY-HORN. FOR ANY OF THE ENGINEERING RELATED OR SITE PLAN SPECIFIC QUESTIONS. AND THEN RYAN IS HERE TODAY REPRESENTING THE WALMART TEAM AS WELL. SO JUST TO DIVE IN AND AGAIN, KIND OF REFRESH ABOUT WALMART AND WING'S PARTNERSHIP. WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH WALMART HERE IN THE DFW METROPLEX, AS YOU KNOW, TO PARTNER ON THEIR INNOVATION HUB TO EXPAND DRONE DELIVERY TO ABOUT 75% OF THE RESIDENTS AROUND THE ENTIRE METROPLEX. SINCE OUR PARTNERSHIP LAUNCH WITH LEWISVILLE, WE'VE NOW EXPANDED TO 19 CITIES HERE IN THE DFW AREA. SO ALL THE WAY UP TO DENTON, DOWN TO SEAGOVILLE, MANSFIELD, LANCASTER, FORT WORTH, AND THE CITY OF DALLAS AS PART OF OUR OPERATIONS. AND WE'LL SHOW YOU OUR VIDEO. AS I'M TALKING, WE'VE BUILT OUT OUR OPERATIONS TO ALIGN WITH THE WALMART SUPPLY CHAIN AND WORKFLOWS WITHIN THE STORE LOCATIONS FOR THEIR SPECIFICALLY WALMART SUPER CENTERS FOR ALL OF OUR LOCATIONS. THE NEST SETUP HAS BEEN REALLY ESSENTIAL INTO ENSURING THAT WALMART'S CUSTOMERS ARE ABLE TO RECEIVE THEIR GOODS IN 30 MINUTES OR LESS. HERE IN THE DFW METROPLEX, WE WORKED VERY CLOSELY HAND IN HAND WITH WALMART TO ENSURE THAT THE SITE LOCATIONS AS WELL AS THE LOGISTICS FOR THE SETUP, ALIGNED NOT ONLY TO CITY ORDINANCES, BUT ALSO TO WALMART'S REQUIREMENTS TO SUPPORT THEIR DIGITAL COACHING OR DIGITAL TEAM FOR THE ORDERS THAT COME IN THROUGH THE APP. AS YOU SEE HERE IN THE VIDEO, WE MAKE SURE THAT OUR DRONES ARE KEPT SAFE TO ALL OF OUR SITE LOCATIONS. WITH THE FENCED IN AREA, OUR DRONES, WHETHER FROM STORE TO DOOR, ARE BUILT WITH A FULL END TO END SYSTEM FOR AUTONOMOUS DRONE DELIVERY. SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT ON THE BACK END, THERE IS NO ONE ACTUALLY FLYING THE DRONES. THE DRONES ARE ABLE TO USE GPS COORDINATES FOR RESIDENTS WHEN THEY PUT THEIR ORDER IN, AND THEN BUILD OUT ITS FLIGHT PLAN, OR WHAT WE CALL MISSION, TO AND FROM EACH CUSTOMER'S HOME. AS YOU SAW IN THE VIDEO, THE DRONES ALSO DO NOT LAND WHEN THEY ARRIVE AT THE CUSTOMERS HOMES. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IN RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES, WE'RE KEEPING CUSTOMERS AND OUR DRONES SAFE BY KEEPING THEM OFF OF THE GROUND. SO THAT DELIVERY PROCESS, AS YOU SAW, THE DRONES WILL HOVER AT ABOUT 20, 25FT IN THE AIR WHERE IT'S LOWERING THAT PACKAGE DOWN TO THEN BE ABLE TO DELIVER TO CUSTOMERS WHO'VE BEEN TRACKING THEIR ORDERS IN THE APP HERE IN THE DFW METROPLEX SINCE LAUNCHING BACK IN 2021, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SEE A DIVERSITY OF BENEFITS THAT RESIDENTS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ENJOY USING OUR SERVICE. THE BIG ONE THAT WE ALWAYS HEAR IS SAFETY AS WELL AS CONVENIENCE TRAFFIC. TODAY IN DFW, WHEN YOU'RE COMING UP 35 OR IF YOU'RE HEADING, YOU KNOW, TO OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY CAN BE VERY TERRIBLE, SOMETIMES TREACHEROUS. AND SO CUSTOMERS ARE ABLE TO USE OUR SERVICE TO GET THOSE SMALL PACKAGE ITEMS THAT THEY NEED QUICKLY AND SAFELY WITHOUT HAVING TO LEAVE THE COMFORT OF THEIR HOMES. I'VE MET COUPLES WHO ARE IN THEIR 60S HERE IN LEWISVILLE. I'VE MET RETIREES THAT ARE USING THIS SERVICE HERE IN LEWISVILLE FOR EVERYTHING FROM THEIR OVER-THE-COUNTER MEDICATION, WHEN THEY'RE SICK OR HAVING ALLERGY SYMPTOMS. THEY'RE ALSO USING IT FOR THOSE SMALL INGREDIENTS. I MET A FAMILY HERE IN LEWISVILLE BACK IN MARCH DURING MARCH MADNESS, AND THEY WERE MAKING GUACAMOLE, REALIZED THAT THEY WERE OUT OF AVOCADOS, AND WERE ABLE TO ORDER THOSE TO THEIR HOUSE. OUR NUMBER ONE ITEMS THAT WE SEE CUSTOMERS ORDERING FROM THE WALMART IS PRODUCE, AND THE SECOND IS OVER-THE-COUNTER MEDICATION. SO AGAIN, PROVIDING ACCESS AND MOBILITY TO RESIDENTS HERE IN DFW IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SEE ACROSS AGAIN, ALL OF THOSE 19 CITIES THAT WE OPERATE WITH WALMART. IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'VE ALSO BEEN ABLE TO LEAN IN WITH SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES HERE IN DFW. AS WE THINK ABOUT THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SIDE OF THE DRONE AVIATION INDUSTRY, WE'VE MET HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS IN HIGH SCHOOL, AS WELL AS IN COLLEGE, WHO ARE INTERESTED IN ENGINEERING, BECOMING DRONE PILOTS, WORKING IN OPERATIONS. MYSELF AND GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS STUDENTS ARE EVEN INTERESTED IN THAT BECAUSE THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM DOWN THE ROAD. AND SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GO OUT INTO SCHOOLS. WE'VE DONE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SITE VISITS AT THE LEWISVILLE STORE WITH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGE STUDENTS AS WELL, WHO ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNING ABOUT WALMART AS WELL AS WINGS OPERATIONS, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE VERY PROUD OF. AS YOU MAY KNOW, FOR THE DELIVERY PROCESS. AND AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, OUR SYSTEM IS FULLY AUTONOMOUS. SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT THERE AGAIN, THERE'S NO ONE FLYING THE DRONES ON THE BACK END USING A JOYSTICK. WHEN YOU PUT YOUR ADDRESS INTO THE APP, THE DRONE IS THEN ASSIGNED[01:20:02]
THE ORDER. BUT PRIOR TO THAT, CUSTOMERS ARE ABLE TO REVIEW A FULL CATALOG OF ITEMS THAT MEET THAT WEIGHT RESTRICTION OF TWO AND A HALF POUNDS, AND THEN THEY'RE ABLE TO ALSO SELECT THEIR DELIVERY SPOT AT THEIR HOME. SO FOR SOME PEOPLE WE FOUND HERE IN LEWISVILLE, THEY PREFER TO DO THE BACKYARD BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT PORCH PIRATES, THINGS LIKE THAT ARE A REAL ISSUE SOMETIMES. AND SO PEOPLE FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE BEING ABLE TO USE THIS FEATURE IN OUR APP TO SELECT WHERE THEIR DELIVERIES WILL GO. AND THEN AS I MENTIONED BEFORE AS WELL, WE HAVE A COUNTDOWN CLOCK AND A CUTE LITTLE TRACKER WITH THE DRONE THAT YOU SEE LEAVING FROM THE STORE THAT FLIES TO YOUR HOME. AND AGAIN HELPS TO SUPPORT THAT GOAL OF CONVENIENCE AND FAST DELIVERY FOR ALL OF THE CUSTOMERS WHO USE OUR SERVICE. THIS JUST AGAIN, KIND OF ORIENTATES YOU WITH WHAT THE DRONE ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE. OUR SYSTEM IS BUILT FOR SAFETY FROM END TO END. SO THE DRONES AS YOU SEE HERE, HAVE 12 PROPELLERS ON THE TOP THAT SUPPORT VERTICAL LANDING AND TAKEOFF. IF ONE PROPELLER WAS TO GO DOWN IN ONE QUADRANT, THE DRONE IS STILL ABLE TO STAY IN THE AIR. THE SAME APPLIES FOR THOSE FORWARD, FOR PROPELLERS, FOR FORWARD PROPULSION. AND LASTLY, THE TETHER THAT YOU SAW IN THE VIDEO THAT SUPPORTS THAT DELIVERY PROCESS AT CUSTOMERS HOMES. IF, LET'S SAY, MISS WILSON, THAT LIVES HERE IN LEWISVILLE, LEAVES HER DOG OUTSIDE DURING THE DELIVERY PROCESS, THE DOG RUNS OUT TO THE FRONT YARD AND TRIES TO GRAB THE TETHER ON THE DRONE. ANYTHING THAT PULLS ON THAT TETHER MORE THAN THREE TIMES THE TETHER WILL DETACH FROM THE DRONE. MISS WILSON WILL GET A NOTIFICATION SAYING THAT HER DOG HAS BEEN NAUGHTY, AND THEN THE DRONE ALSO SENDS AN ERROR MESSAGE BACK TO OUR PILOT TEAM TO LET THEM KNOW THAT THERE HAS BEEN AN ISSUE. AS PART OF THAT. MISS LOVETT, CAN I PAUSE YOU RIGHT THERE? SURE. THIS THIS COUNCIL IS PRETTY AWARE OF OKAY, WING AND ITS SYSTEMS AND EVERYTHING. SO YOU'RE KIND OF PREACHING TO THE CHOIR. THAT SOUNDS GREAT. I LOVE THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO GO AHEAD AND VOTE ON THIS POLICY. I COULD JUMP AHEAD. I KNOW THERE'S A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL. WOULD COULD WE I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER THIS PRESENTATION IS HAPPY TO JUMP AHEAD. AND I JUMPED AHEAD TO THE SITE PLAN. I KNOW THAT YOU ALL PROBABLY HAVE THAT IN YOUR PACKETS, BUT I CAN ALSO LET KIM KIMLEY-HORN COME UP IF THERE'S ANY SITE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, BUT HAPPY TO ANSWER ANYTHING THAT THE COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE. I HAVE A QUESTION. CAN YOU GO BACK? WHO'S DOING THE SLIDES? GO BACK TO SLIDE SEVEN. YEAH, THAT'S THE SLIDE I WANTED NUMBER ONE. YES. I'VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO GET PAST THAT ONE. PAST THE. SO IS THERE A PARTICULAR REASON THAT YOU CANNOT CROSS I-35. SO THAT'S A PART OF OUR FLIGHT OPERATIONS PROTOCOLS. SO WE SET UP WHAT WE CALL GEOFENCING OR SAFETY FEATURES WITHIN TO THE SYSTEM TO MAKE SURE THAT THE DRONES ARE FLYING SAFELY. THERE'S ALSO FAA RESTRICTIONS THAT DO COME INTO PLAY FOR HOW AND WHERE OUR DRONES OPERATE. SO SPECIFICALLY FOR I-35, I WOULD DEFINITELY NEED TO CHECK WITH OUR FLIGHT OPERATIONS TEAM TO CONFIRM THE EXACT RATIONALE FOR THAT.TYPICALLY, WE DON'T FLY OVER HIGHWAYS FOR MOST OF THE CITIES THAT WE OPERATE IN, BUT IF YOU WOULD LIKE A MORE DETAILED EXPLANATION. YEAH, I NEED A DETAILED EXPLANATION. I ASK ABOUT 4 OR 5 TIMES AND ABOUT 4 OR 5 DIFFERENT EMAILS. AND I SAW THAT WE WERE GOING LEWISVILLE RIGHT BY 35 ALL THE WAY TO FLOWER MOUND, BUT YET I COULDN'T GET IT JUST RIGHT ACROSS THE HIGHWAY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY. YEAH, I KIND OF HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A PROBLEM WITH THAT. UNDERSTOOD? YES. AND I'M HAPPY TO CHECK ON THAT WITH OUR FLIGHT OPERATIONS TEAM AND CIRCLE BACK TO YOU ALL. THANK YOU. YES, MA'AM. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR THE TEAM? SO I HAD THE SAME QUESTIO. RONNIE. YEAH, YEAH. SO WE EITHER NEED Y'ALL TO BUILD A WALMART ON THIS SIDE AND THEY'RE LAUGHING. BUT WE DO NEED A WALMART MARKET OR SOMETHING. OR WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN SERVICE ALL OF THE CITIZENS OF LEWISVILLE, NOT JUST THE WESTERN CITIZENS OF LEWISVILLE AND FLOWER MOUND. DEFINITELY. AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT OUR TEAM ON THE FLIGHT OPERATIONS SIDE DOES REGULARLY IS THEY WILL GO BACK IN AND ASSESS, AS YOU KNOW, THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY, AEROSPACE INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE IS CONTINUING TO EVOLVE DAY BY DAY, WEEK BY WEEK, YEAR BY YEAR. AND SO AS THE INDUSTRY CONTINUES TO GROW AND FAA PROTOCOLS AND REGULATIONS ALSO EVOLVE, THAT HELPS US TO GROW OUR RANGE FOR HOW WE GET TO HELP US ADVOCATE FOR YOU. BECAUSE I'M PRETTY SURE THAT'S GOING TO BE AN FAA ISSUE. WE WOULD LOVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO SOMEBODY SPECIFIC ABOUT THAT. DEFINITELY. AND I WOULD BE HAPPY TO FACILITATE THAT. OUR FLIGHT OPERATIONS TEAM, AS YOU KNOW, THEY'RE BASED IN COPPELL, TEXAS. SO DEFINITELY MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THAT CONNECTION. AND I WILL LITERALLY RIGHT BEFORE THE END OF THIS MEETING, MAKE SURE TO SEND THAT EMAIL TO THEM. SO LET ME ASK YOU THIS. 1171 IS ALSO A STATE ROAD, BUT IT'S NOT IT'S NOT AN INTERSTATE. IT'S NOT AN INTERSTATE, OKAY? IT'S A FREEWAY. OKAY. SO DO YOU HAVE
[01:25:03]
THE SAME STUFF AT THE WALMART IN THE COLONY? DO YOU HAVE A FLIGHT PATTERN AT THE WALMART IN A COLONY, YOU KNOW, COLONY, TEXAS. SO WE DON'T HAVE A SITE IN THE COLONY RIGHT NOW. SHE IS NOT MAKING FRIENDS WITH THEM. YEAH, THEY COME OUT OF IT. GET HER OUT OF IT. REAL, REAL RIGHT NOW.WELL, I CAN GIVE THIS ANSWER. IT'S A CLASS B AIRSPACE FOR DFW. IT'S NOT AUTHORIZED FOR THEIR TYPE OF FLIGHT OPERATION THAT CAME FROM OUR CHIEF. SO THAT PROBABLY IMPACTS OUR OUR DRONES AS WELL. I'M SURE SHE CAN CONFIRM THAT, BUT I THINK THERE'S. YEAH. SO AGAIN I DON'T I DON'T KNOW THE MAPS AND THE ROADWAYS OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. SO I WOULD DEFINITELY CAN CHECK THAT DURING THIS MEETING. BUT AS YOU CAN TELL, WE HAVE SOME FOLKS THAT ARE REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT DRONE DELIVERY AND ACCESSIBILITY FOR OUR RESIDENTS. SO WE ARE HAPPY TO BE A CHAMPION FOR YOU GUYS. DEFINITELY. AND AGAIN, I WOULD NEED TO ALLOW THEM TO ASSESS. BUT AS MENTIONED. SO WE DO NOT FLY IN CLASS B AND CLASS C AIRSPACE. SO FOR THE FREEWAY THAT YOU'RE MENTIONING, IF THAT DOES SIT IN THAT AIRSPACE, THAT WOULD BE PART OF THAT PROCESS. AND UNFORTUNATELY THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S OUT OF OUR CONTROL. THAT DOES COME INTO PART WITH THE FAA REGULATIONS THAT ARE IN PLACE. BUT AGAIN, AS THOSE REGULATIONS AND CERTIFICATION PROCESSES CONTINUE TO EVOLVE, WE WILL BE ABLE TO GROW WITH THAT AS WELL. AND SO IT'S NOT JUST THE CITY OF LEWISVILLE. WE HAVE GOTTEN THAT QUESTION FROM OTHER CITIES THAT DO SIT NEAR EITHER LOVE FIELD OR DFW AIRPORT, AS WELL AS, FOR EXAMPLE, FORT WORTH OR PARTS THAT ARE NEAR THE MILITARY BASE OUT THERE. SO WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS A NEED, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE DEFINITELY WORKING TO SEE HOW WE CONTINUE TO GROW. WELL, WE HAVE WE HAVE A LOT OF LAND. SO ON THE EAST SIDE, YES, MA'AM. AND WE ALSO HAVE A FANTASTIC GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS TEAM THAT SITS IN WASHINGTON DC. AND SO THEY DO A LOT OF THAT EDUCATION AND OUTREACH WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE FAA TO SUPPORT THAT GROWTH PROCESS. THE GOOD NEWS IS GIVE US A HUG. YEAH. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT. RIGHT. SO THAT'S THAT'S THE TAKEAWAY HERE IS WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT. WE'D LIKE TO SEE IT HAPPEN IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. DEFINITELY. AND I LOVE TO HEAR THAT. AND AGAIN, DEFINITELY WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT I CIRCLE BACK TO THE POWERS THAT BE TO CONTINUE THOSE CONVERSATIONS. ALSO, I ALSO HAVE TO JUST KIND OF GIVE SOME KUDOS HERE BECAUSE I'M SUPER EXCITED ABOUT WHENEVER I SEE SOMETHING INNOVATIVE LIKE THIS, AND IT'S SUCH A CREATIVE WAY TO COMPETE WITH ONLINE SHOPPING, AND I'M SURE THAT'S WHAT CAUSED THIS TO HAPPEN. YOU GET PRESSURE FROM THE ONLINE, THE AMAZONS OF THE WORLD, AND YOU FIND A WAY TO COMPETE WITH ONLINE SHOPPING IN WAYS THAT THAT'S REALLY, REALLY INTERESTING. I AM CURIOUS ABOUT.
SO I GET NOT BEING ABLE TO FLY OVER 35, BUT WE DO HAVE A WALMART. TO YOUR POINT, COUNCILWOMAN CADE IN IN THE COLONY. I'D RATHER KEEP THAT IN LEWISVILLE, BUT BARRING THAT IS A REASON WHY WE CAN'T. IS IT ONLY FOR SUPERSTORES? ONLY FOR STORES OF A CERTAIN SIZE? DO WE KNOW WHY IT CAN'T BE DONE IN THE COLONY? SO AS OF NOW, WE DON'T HAVE A SITE OR A NEST LOCATION IN THE COLONY, TEXAS. THAT IS A TWO PART PROCESS. SO WE DO WORK HAND IN HAND WITH WALMART ON THE SITE SELECTION. THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT DICTATES WALMART DOES A VERY CLOSE ASSESSMENT, AND LOOKING AT THE SITES THAT WOULD BE IDEAL FOR DRONE DELIVERY. BUT I DON'T KNOW IF RYAN, YOU WANT TO SPEAK. HE WANTS TO GET UP HERE. YEAH. AND RYAN, IF YOU NEED TO TALK TO THE MAYOR OF THE COLONY, I CAN I CAN MAKE A PHONE CALL. I WILL TAKE ALL THE HELP I CAN GET. THANK YOU. RYAN TRIMBLE, A912 LOCK HAVEN DRIVE, DALLAS, TEXAS. THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING ME TONIGHT. IT'S REALLY AN EXCLUSIVE OPPORTUNITY. I SAY THIS TO OTHER CITIES, BUT TRULY, YOU ALL ARE ARE, YOU KNOW, PIONEERS IN THIS EFFORT WITH WALMART. AND WE'RE REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE PARTNERSHIP TO, YOU KNOW, WE ARE LOOKING AT EXPANDING OUR SERVICE IN LEWISVILLE. WE HAVE ANOTHER DRONE PARTNER AS WELL. ZIPLINE IS THE NAME OF THAT PARTNER. SO WE'RE LOOKING TO EXPAND. BUT I WILL NOTE THE, YOU KNOW, THE DESIRE FOR THE COLONY STORE, LIKE KATHRYN WAS SAYING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WE'RE ASSESSING NEW STORES. THIS IS A TARGET MARKET, A PILOT MARKET FOR WALMART. WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON THIS EFFORT HERE TO SEE HOW WE CAN SCALE UP AND AFFORD THIS OPPORTUNITY. NOW, LISTEN, WE LOVE THE BRAGGING RIGHTS. SO IF YOU CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT WITHOUT IT, THEN WHATEVER. WE'VE BROUGHT YOUR YOUR NEIGHBOR CITIES TO COME SEE YOUR SITE. SO YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU ALL ARE SHOWPONY. SO THERE YOU GO.
APPRECIATE IT. THANK ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR THE TEAM. MISS LOVETT, I WANT TO APPRECIATE YOU FOR YOUR FLEXIBILITY ON THIS ONE. I JUST. YEAH. NO, TOTALLY. WE LOVE WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING. AND WE'RE WE'RE HAPPY TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT WHAT'S GOING ON. I DO WANT TO SEE WHERE WE ARE AS FAR AS THIS VOTE GOES, BUT WE WILL CONTINUE TO HELP YOU GUYS IN ANY WAY THAT WE CAN. YOU'VE BEEN A GREAT ASSET. WE JUST LOVE TO SEE MORE COVERAGE IN OUR CITY. IT'S TOUGH BEING FIRST. I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND AND I AGAIN I WILL ONCE I SIT DOWN I'LL WORK ON THAT. YOU HAVE THREE MEMBERS ON COUNCIL AND THEIR FAMILIES AND THEIR FAMILIES, FAMILIES, FAMILIES AND FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS AND DOGS THAT DO NOT GET TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS. AND THERE'S A LOT ON THE EAST SIDE OF 35. YES, MA'AM. I'M ASSUMING WHEN IT DOES EXPAND THAT WE'LL
[01:30:05]
STILL GET OUR FREE COOKIE, BECAUSE THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO ME. THAT'S MAYBE NOT. WE'VE DONE A LOT OF DIFFERENT ONES. SO MAYBE LIKE A FREE PEPSI OR WE'VE DONE MINI PIES. BUT I'LL DEFINITELY AGAIN PUT IN THE GOOD WORK FOR SURE. OKAY. SOME SORT OF PASTRY WOULD BE GREAT. SO YES. OKAY. NICE. VERY NICE. ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. AWESOME. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. COUNCIL. BASED ON THAT CONVERSATION, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION MOTION TO APPROVE THE TWO ALTERNATIVE STANDARDS AS SET FORTH IN THE CAPTION. SECOND, I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND COUNCIL, IF YOU PLEASE, VOTE. MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. THANK YOU. TEAM ITEM FIVE CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE OF THE LOUISVILLE CITY COUNCIL AMENDING THE LOUISVILLE CITY CODE BY AMENDING DIVISION FOUR SHORT TERM RENTAL UNITS OF ARTICLE SIX, CHAPTER FOUR TO ADD SUBSECTION 4-201 PARENTHETICAL A-1 PROVIDING A MAXIMUM NUMBER OF SHORT TERM RENTAL UNIT PERMITS THAT MAY BE ACTIVE AT ANY GIVEN TIME. AND SUBSECTION 4-201 PARENTHETICAL B ONE PROVIDING CLOSURE OF THE STR UNIT PERMIT APPLICATION PROCESS AND PROPERTY AND PRIORITY OF APPLICATIONS AND AMEND SUBSECTION 4-201C PROVIDING FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SAID MAXIMUM NUMBER OF STR UNIT PERMITS, PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. STAFF IS PROPOSING NEW REGULATIONS ALIGN WITH THE 2025 VISION PLAN, AIMING TO PROTECT THE CHARACTER OF ESTABLISHED RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS WHILE ENSURING HEALTH AND SAFETY. THE PROPOSED REGULATIONS INCLUDE SETTING A MAXIMUM LIMIT ON ACTIVE SHORT TERM RENTAL UNIT PERMITS TO MAINTAIN A BALANCED GROWTH RATE AND PREVENT AN OVERSATURATION THAT COULD ALTER NEIGHBORHOOD IDENTITY. THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF ACTIVE STR PERMITS WOULD BE SET AT 130IN 2025, REPRESENTING APPROXIMATELY 0.5% OF ALL RESIDENTIAL PARCELS IN LOUISVILLE. IT'S RECOMMENDED THAT THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVE THE ORDINANCE AS SET FORTH IN THE CAPTION ABOVE. I DO HAVE TWO COMMENTS AVAILABLE ON THIS ONE FOR THE FIRST ONE IS FROM MISS AINSLEY STERLING. SHE APPRECIATES THE AGENDA ITEM AND IS IN FULL SUPPORT OF IT.HOWEVER, STAFF HAS MENTIONED THE CURRENT NUMBER OF PERMITS KEEPS THEM VERY BUSY. ONE CAN ONLY ASSUME THAT AN INCREASE OF ALLOWED PERMITS BY A GREATER THAN 50%, 130 VERSUS 77 COULD OVERTAX CURRENT STAFFING LEVELS FOR MONITORING, AUTHORIZING, AUDITING, AND CODE ENFORCEMENT.
I FEEL IT'S PRUDENT TO REDUCE THE CAP TO 100 IN ORDER TO BALANCE PERMIT DEMAND WITH STAFF WORKLOAD. THE OTHER COMMENT I HAVE WAS ACTUALLY FROM MR. BRANT MYERS. HE IS SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE GREATER LOUISVILLE ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS, AND THEY ARE IN OPPOSITION WITH THAT COUNCIL. THERE ARE NO COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS. I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION MOVE TO APPROVE THE ORDINANCE AS SET FORTH IN THE CAPTION. SECOND, I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND CITY ATTORNEY. THIS IS AN ORDINANCE OF THE LOUISVILLE CITY COUNCIL AMENDING THE LOUISVILLE CITY CODE BY AMENDING DIVISION FOUR SHORT TERM RENTAL UNITS OF ARTICLE SIX, CHAPTER FOUR TO ADD SUBSECTION 4-201A1, PROVIDING A MAXIMUM NUMBER OF SHORT TERM RENTAL STR UNIT PERMITS THAT MAY BE ACTIVE AT ANY GIVEN TIME. AND SECTION 4-2 HUNDRED 1B1 PROVIDING CLOSURE OF THE STR UNIT PERMIT APPLICATION PROCESS AND PRIORITY OF APPLICATIONS AND AMEND SUBSECTION 4-201C PROVIDING FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SAID MAXIMUM NUMBER OF STR UNIT PERMITS, PROVIDING A REPEALER SEVERABILITY AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY COUNCIL IF YOU PLEASE VOTE. MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. ITEM H REPORTS REPORTS ABOUT ITEMS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST
[H. Reports]
REGARDING WHICH NO ACTION WILL BE TAKEN. I'M GOING TO START ON THE FAR END WITH COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, IF THAT'S OKAY. THANK YOU MAYOR. SO I JUST BECAUSE OF THE TIMING OF THIS IS ACTUALLY GREAT. SO CAROLYN, I'M GLAD YOU'RE STILL HERE. SO I WENT OUT AND I GAVE I GAVE A LITTLE TALK ON SMALL BUSINESS AND HOW THE COMMUNITY SUPPORTS SMALL BUSINESS TO A GROUP CALLED LEAP, THE NETWORKING GROUP INSIDE THE COMMUNITY HERE. AND WHEN I HIT UPON ALL THE AWESOME THINGS THAT THEY CAN DO AT THE MAKERSPACE TO HELP SUPPORT THEIR BUSINESS, THE ROOM WAS ACTUALLY VERY EXCITED.SO THEY HADN'T HEARD ABOUT THIS. THEY HADN'T HEARD ABOUT THE AWESOME THINGS THAT DIE CUTS AND THE AND THE AND ALL THE MACHINERY THAT'S OUT THERE, THE 3D PRINTERS. SO I SUSPECT YOU'LL GET AN UPTICK HERE SHORTLY. BUT ANYWAY, IT PRESENTED VERY, VERY WELL. AND FOR ANYBODY LISTENING THAT DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT THE MAKERSPACE OUT THERE, YOU KNOW, HIVE OUT THERE IN THE LOUISVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY, WORTH A TRIP OUT THERE. IT'S FANTASTIC. AND THAT'S EVERYTHING I WANTED TO SAY. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER GREEN I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT WE DO HAVE SOME NASTY WEATHER ON ITS WAY. SO HOPE EVERYBODY HAS SAFE TRAVELS TONIGHT AND MAYBE BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES AT THE HOUSE. THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER JONES. NO REPORT SIR. COUNCIL MEMBER KATE.
YEAH, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY. KUDOS TO OUR STREET DEPARTMENT. WE HAVE NOTICED THE STRIPING AND IT IS SO WONDERFUL TO BE ABLE. I MEAN, IT LOOKS LIKE. WHAT A DIFFERENCE THE MAKEUP ON A STREET CAN MAKE. BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S IT IS NOTICED. GREAT JOB WELL DONE. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.
[01:35:02]
COUNCILMAN. YES, MAYOR. SOME LIBRARY ACTIVITIES FOR THE WEEK. ADULT TINY ART SHOW DROP OFF FOR ADULTS. MONDAY, MARCH 3RD TO THE 17TH. ART ON DISPLAY APRIL 7TH TO THE 28TH. TINY ART MAKER NIGHT FOR ADULTS. TUESDAY, MARCH 4TH, 6 TO 7:30 P.M. AT THE CRAWFORD MEETING ROOM. NO REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. ELEMENTARY EXPLORATIONS FOR CHILDREN AGES 6 TO 8. THURSDAY, MARCH 6TH, 430 TO 530. BENNETT PROGRAM ROOM A TICKET IS REQUIRED AND THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT. THANK YOU SIR. COUNCIL MEMBER. TORIA. YEAH. YES. I HAVE A NUMBER OF ITEMS FOR THE LOUISVILLE GRAND THEATER. FIRST OF ALL, PERFORMANCES, THE FEATURING RAGTIME SOCIETY ORCHESTRA SILENT FILM THE FRESHMAN WITH LIVE SCORE, SILENT FILM WITH A WITH MUSIC ACCOMPANYING IT, PRESENTED BY THE CITY OF LOUISVILLE. MARCH 7TH. AND I UNDERSTAND THIS IS ALMOST SOLD OUT, SO IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, GET ONLINE AND GET YOUR TICKETS. TAKING FLIGHT, PRESENTED BY THE METROPOLITAN WINDS, MARCH 8TH. AND AS ALWAYS, THE ACOUSTIC JAM SESSIONS EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT, PRESENTED BY THE VISUAL ARTS LEAGUE OF LOUISVILL. ACTIVITIES AND ART TALK. THE EVOLUTION OF FIBER ART. FIBER ARTIST PRESENTED BY THE VISUAL ART LEAGUE OF LOUISVILLE ON MARCH 11TH. AND THEN THERE ARE TWO EXHIBITIONS GOING ON RIGHT NOW. FIRST OF ALL, POWER OF THE FLOWER, PRESENTED BY THE VISUAL ART LEAGUE OF LOUISVILLE THROUGH MARCH 29TH AND 20 2425 ART SHOW MIDDLE SCHOOL PRESENTED BY THE LISD THROUGH MARCH 15TH. AND THAT IS ALL. THANK YOU SIR. SEE YOU. ATTORNEY SECRETARY'S OFFICE. KNOW ANYTHING? MARISHA? NOTHING. NOTHING? NOTHING. WE ARE HOLDING STRONG AT 92.5% FULL WITH THE LAKE, 520.41FT. ALL RIGHT. NOTHING. ANYTHING. CHIEF, TO EXPAND ON COUNCILWOMAN GREENE'S INFORMATION ABOUT THE STORM. SO THEY'RE EXPECTING THEM TO HIT OUR AREA RIGHT NOW ABOUT FIVE IN THE MORNING. DAMAGING WINDS ARE THE MAIN THREAT. THIS INCLUDES THE NORTH TEXAS, SO THE POSSIBILITY OF TORNADOES TO A LESSER DEGREE. HAIL. THIS IS EXPECTED TO IMPACT OUR MORNING COMMUTE TOMORROW MORNING. SO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WILL OPEN AT 3 A.M. THIS MORNING TO MONITOR THE WEATHER FOR US. AND WE'LL KEEP YOU UPDATED. IF ANYTHING NEEDS TO BE INFORMED. THANK YOU. CHIEF. CHIEF. CITY MANAGER? NO, SIR. ALL RIGHT. I[J. Closed Session]
HAVE NOTHING AS WELL. WE DO HAVE A MOTION FOR CLOSED SESSION TONIGHT. SO IN ACCORDANCE WITH TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE, SUBCHAPTER D, SECTION 551 .071. CONSULTATION WITH ATTORNEY, PENDING LITIGATION. CITY OF LEWISVILLE, TEXAS VERSUS MANSON, CASE NUMBER CV 2023 03139. CITY OF LEWISVILLE, TEXAS VERSUS MOTION R R E CASE NUMBER CV 2023 03136, IN CITY OF LEWISVILLE, TEXAS VERSUS CITY OF KNOWLEDGE AND MISSION, CASE NUMBER CV 2023 03138, ALL PROCEEDING IN EMINENT DOMAIN IN THE COUNTY COURT OF LAW NUMBER TWO OF DENTON COUNTY, TEXAS, SECTION 551 .072. REAL ESTATE PROPERTY ACQUISITION SECTION 551 .087 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DELIBERATION REGARDING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEGOTIATIONS. WE WILL GO AHEAD AND BREAK INTO[K. Reconvene]
ALL RIGHT. WE'RE GOING TO RECONVENE BACK INTO REGULAR SESSION. AND AS THERE IS NO FURTHER ACTION BE TAKEN ON TONIGHT'S* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.