Aug 24, 2021 City Council Regular Meeting

WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND START WHILE THEY WORK ON THAT IF THAT'S OKAY.

[INVOCATION: Parker Bowen, Assistant Music Director, First Baptist Church ]

[NATIONAL ANTHEM: Kathryn Bowen ]

[00:01:43]

WE HAVE TWO GUESTS WITH US TODAY.

I WILL GO AHEAD AND CALL OUR MEETING TO ORDER.

I NOTICED THAT WE DO HAVE A QUORUM HERE I TURNED THEM OFF.

THANK YOU, BOTH.

IT'S WONDERFUL TO HAVE PEOPLE THAT WERE RAISED IN OUR COMMUNITY GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL, WENT OFF TO COLLEGE AND NOW ARE BACK.

SO THANK Y'ALL.

YOU ALL BLESSED TODAY BOTH OF YOU.

APPRECIATE YOUR BEING HERE TODAY.

OH, GREAT MICROPHONES, OK, BEFORE EVERYBODY SITS DOWN UP HERE AT THE HEAD TABLE.

OH, WE HAVE A PROCLAMATION TO READ THAT I'VE ASKED THE MAYOR PRO TEM FREDA POWELL

[PROCLAMATION: Older Americans Month ]

YEAH, OK.

THANKS, RICH.

OK.

DO WE HAVE ANYONE HERE THAT'S ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SORRY ABOUT THAT.

THANK YOU, JAMES, I APPRECIATE THAT.

ALL RIGHT, IF NOT SO, I GUESS THAT JUST LEAVES MYSELF AN COUNCIL MEMBER HOWARD SMITH FOR THIS PROCLAMATION.

SO I JUST WANT TO START OUT BY SAYING THANK YOU TO LISA HANCOCK FOR INVITING ME TO THEIR CONFERENCE.

IT WAS GREAT TO BE ABLE TO CELEBRATE OUR OLDER AMERICANS, ESPECIALLY HERE IN AMARILLO AND ALSO THE NURSING HOMES AND THE ASSISTANT LIVING CENTERS AS WELL.

SO HERE GOES THE PROCLAMATION, WHEREAS OUR CITY INCLUDES A GROWING NUMBER OF OLDER AMERICANS WHO HAVE BUILT RESILIENCE AND STRENGTH OVER THEIR LIVES THROUGH SUCCESSES AND DIFFICULTIES.

AND WHEREAS AMARILLO BENEFITS, WHEN PEOPLE OF ALL AGES, ABILITIES AND BACKGROUNDS ARE INCLUDED AND ENCOURAGED TO SHARE THEIR SUCCESSES AND STORIES OF RESILIENCE.

AND WHEREAS WE RECOGNIZE OUR NEED TO NURTURE OURSELVES, REINFORCE OUR STRENGTH, AND CONTINUE TO STRIVE IN TIMES OF BOTH JOY AND DIFFICULTY.

AND WHEREAS, OUR CITY CAN FOSTER COMMUNITIES OF STRENGTH BY CREATING OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE STORIES AND LEARN FROM EACH OTHER.

ENGAGING OLDER ADULTS THROUGH EDUCATION, RECREATION AND SERVICE AND ENCOURAGING PEOPLE OF ALL AGES TO CELEBRATE CONNECTIONS AND RESILIENCE.

NOW, THEREFORE, WE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS DO HEREBY FORMALLY PROCLAIM MAY 2021 TO BE OLDER AMERICANS MONTH.

BUT THIS IS BEING OBSERVED AND CELEBRATED ON AUGUST 13TH, 2021 IN AMARILLO, TEXAS.

WE URGE EVERY RESIDENTS TO RECOGNIZE OLDER ADULTS AND THE PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT THEM AS ESSENTIAL CONTRIBUTORS TO THE STRENGTH OF OUR COMMUNITY.

GIVEN UNDER OUR HANDS AND SEAL OF OFFICE THIS 10TH DAY OF AUGUST 2021, THE HONORABLE

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EDDY SAUER AND HOWARD SMITH.

AND AGAIN, I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

OK.

THAT'S IT.

[PUBLIC ADDRESS ]

THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING IN TODAY'S CITY COUNCIL MEETING.

YOUR INPUT AND YOUR OPINIONS ARE IMPORTANT TO US AND WE ARE GLAD YOU'RE HERE TO SHARE THEM.

AT EACH POSTED MEETING, WE INVITE OUR FELLOW COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO ADDRESS THE CITY COUNCIL REGARDING POSTED AGENDA ITEMS. BASED ON THE NUMBER OF SPEAKERS TODAY, WE WILL LIMIT COMMENTS TO TWO MINUTES.

AT THE END OF ONE AND A HALF MINUTES A WARNING BEEP WILL SOUND FROM THE DAIS TO ALERT THAT YOU HAVE 30 SECONDS LEFT TO WRAP UP YOUR THOUGHTS.

WE ASKED THAT YOU STAY WITHIN THE TWO MINUTES ALLOTTED.

IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT AND STATE LAW SPEAKERS ARE ASKED TO LIMIT THEIR COMMENTS TO ITEMS POSTED ON THE AGENDA.

DOING SO WILL ENSURE WE ARE FOLLOWING THE GUIDELINES AND ARE ABLE TO HAVE AN EFFECTIVE MEETING FOR ALL.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION FOR THIS PROCESS AND FOR YOUR VALUABLE INPUT.

WHEN YOU COME TO THE MICROPHONE, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME.

AND IF YOU LIVE IN THE AMARILLO CITY LIMITS.

OUR FIRST SPEAKER TODAY WILL BE CRAIG GALTIER SPEAKING ON ITEM 3 D AND FOLLOWING MR. GALTIER WILL BE GINA CRAVEY SPEAKING ON ITEM 1 B.

IS MR. GALTIER HERE TODAY.

OK, WE WILL GIVE HIM AN OPPORTUNITY IF HE ARRIVES.

FIRST UP, WILL HAVE MS. GINA CRAVEY, IS SHE HERE TODAY? HI THERE.

SURE? I THINK YOU JUST.

OK, WE CAN SHARE.

WE ARE HAPPY TO SHARE.

HELLO.

OK, NOW WE HEAR YA.

SO BEFORE MY TIME BEGINS, I WANT TO STATE MY DISCLAIMER BEING HERE TODAY, I'M NOT REPRESENTING MY EMPLOYER.

MY THOUGHTS AND CONCERNS HERE TODAY ARE MY OWN.

THERE HAVE BEEN AND NOW MANY SAR2 POSITIVE PEOPLE OVER THE AGE OF 12.

AND EVEN THOSE EXPOSED TO A SAR'S POSITIVE PATIENT MAY RECEIVE PROPHYLAXIS TREATMENT.

LAST WEEK, I SENT A LETTER ASKING THE CITY PUBLIC HEALTH WHY THERE IS ZERO INFORMATION ON THE WEBSITE OR SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS REGARDING THE USE OF THESE MKA'S.

WHILE OUR CITY'S HOSPITALIZATIONS AND POSITIVITY RATES HAVE BEEN RISING, THERE HAS BEEN LITTLE TO ZERO DISCUSSION REGARDING WHO MEETS THE CRITERIA FOR THESE AND WHERE TO GET THEM.

THESE TREATMENTS OR WAYS TO KEEP PEOPLE OUT OF OUR HOSPITAL AND ARE AVAILABLE AT NO COST TO THE PATIENT WITH PHYSICIAN'S REFERRAL.

HOWEVER, IT IS LIKE A CITYWIDE EASTER EGG HUNT TRYING TO FIND THIS INFORMATION AND GET IT SHARED WITH OUR COMMUNITY.

LAST WEEK ARE FULLY VACCINATED GOVERNOR OF TEXAS TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID AND HE RECEIVED REGENERON.

I'M THANKFUL HE WAS ABLE TO RECEIVE THAT.

BUT AND HE KNEW ABOUT IT.

BUT DO YOU KNOW WHO DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT IT? MOST OF THE POPULATION HERE IN AMARILLO DOES NOT KNOW WHERE TO GET THIS, DOES NOT KNOW IF THEY QUALIFY FOR IT OR WHERE TO FIND IT.

SO LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT DISPARITIES.

AND THE LARGEST PERCENTAGE OF COVID INFECTIONS AND DEATHS IN TEXAS OCCUR IN HISPANICS.

IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE UNDERSERVED, GET THIS INFORMATION OUT TO THEM WHO ARE AT MOST RISK TO SHOW UP IN OUR HOSPITALS WHILE ALSO MAKING IT AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE IN THIS COMMUNITY.

THERE SHOULD BE NO MYSTERY HERE.

TWO WEEKS AGO, MY 75 YEAR OLD AUNT WITH HYPERTENSION, CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE AND STATUS POST HER SECOND BYPASS SURGERY IN MARCH CONTRACTED COVID.

WE FOUND A PHYSICIAN HERE THAT WOULD TREAT HER EARLY.

AND I ASKED ABOUT THE MKA'S.

I FOUND AN INFUSION SITE.

WE GOT HER INFUSED.

SHE WAS DANCING AT PAMPA FEST LAST WEEK.

BOTH OF MY PARENTS, AGED 77 AND 79, SEVERAL COMORBIDITIES, ASTHMA, OBESITY, CAD CONTRACTED COVID.

THANK GOD WE DIDN'T LISTEN TO THE ADVICE AT THE TIME OF THE NIH TO WAIT UNTIL THEY TURN BLUE TO SHOW UP TO THE HOSPITAL.

WE FOUND EARLY TREATMENT AND THEY ARE HERE AND ALIVE.

GIVE THE PUBLIC INFORMATION REGARDING THE VACCINATIONS, BUT ALSO PROVIDE THEM INFORMATION ABOUT LIFESAVING THERAPIES THAT COULD DECREASE HOSPITAL UTILIZATION AND REMOVE SOME OF THE BURDEN ON THE PHYSICIANS, NURSES AND OTHER MEDICAL STAFF.

WE APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS.

WWW.TEXMED.ORG HAS THIS GREAT INFORMATION.

AND I MEAN, WE COULD GET THAT TO OUR COMMUNITY.

THANK YOU MS. CRAVEY.

NEXT UP, WE HAVE AMY RUSSELL SPEAKING ON ITEM 1 B AND FOLLOWING MS.

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WE HAVE RYAN BRIGHTBILL SPEAKING ON 3 D.

I THOUGHT I HAD THREE MINUTES, SO.

I'M ONLY HERE TODAY BECAUSE THE LORD HAS SET MY FEET ON THIS PATH AND I AM BEING OBEDIENT.

I AM A MOTHER, WIFE, NURSE, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, A BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN.

I SPEAK ON BEHALF OF MYSELF AND SO MANY OTHERS IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT SHARE MY CONCERN, FRUSTRATION AND PASSION FOR THE INJUSTICE THAT WE ARE ENDURING ON A NATIONAL AND LOCAL LEVEL.

IT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT GIVES ME THE STRENGTH AND BOLDNESS TO SPEAK TO YOU.

BUT I SPEAK IN LOVE, WHICH IS TRUTH, AS I'M COMMANDED TO DO SO.

SO IF I SAY ANYTHING TODAY THAT OFFENDS YOU, THEN PERHAPS CONSIDER THAT THE LORD IS BRINGING CONVICTION TO YOUR HEART.

AND I PRAY HE DOES.

AFTER ATTENDING MY FIRST CITY COUNCIL MEETING A FEW WEEKS AGO, I WAS DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED IN SOME OF MY LEADERS LACK OF COMPASSION AND PASSIVITY FOR THE PEOPLE FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIVES.

ALMOST EVERY RESPONSE WITH CDC THIS AND THAT.

HAVE YOU NEGLECTED TO DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH? IT SEEMS THE MAJORITY OF YOU ACKNOWLEDGE WHEN YOUR RESPONSES CENTER AROUND FOLLOW CDC GUIDELINES AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

OBVIOUSLY, THE CDC INSTRUCTIONS ARE NOT WORKING ON A NATIONAL OR LOCAL LEVEL.

LOOK AROUND AT THE CHAOS.

I HAVE ONLY TWO MINUTES.

THEREFORE, I AM UNABLE TO PRESENT THE PROOF AND DATA SOME OF MY NEXT STATEMENTS.

BUT WHAT GOOD WILL THAT DO IF YOU DON'T HAVE A CHANGE OF HEART FIRST.

THIS COVID VACCINE IS NOT SAFE.

SINCE VAERS WAS ADDRESSED AT THE LAST MEETING, THERE HAS BEEN INCREASING NUMBERS OF DEATHS, WHICH IS ABOVE 13000 NOW.

ALSO FROM THE VACCINE ARE MORE THAN 54000 HOSPITALIZATIONS, ALMOST TWELVE HUNDRED MISCARRIAGES AND MORE THAN 17000 PERMANENT DISABILITIES.

NOTING THAT THE VAERS IS WIDELY UNDERREPORTED, EVEN THESE NUMBERS ARE NOT WORTH THE RISK PEOPLE NEED AND ARE ENTITLED TO TRUE INFORMED CONSENT, WHICH INCLUDES THAT THEY COULD DIE OR FACE LIFELONG PHYSICAL AND NEUROLOGICAL DISABILITIES.

I'D ALSO LIKE TO STRESS THE DISCRIMINATION OF THE UNVACCINATED THAT GROWS DAILY.

WE WILL GO INTO A FURTHER NURSING SHORTAGE IF PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE WHETHER OR NOT TO RECEIVE THIS, AND THEY ARE FORCED TO DO SO TO KEEP THEIR JOBS.

IVERMECTIN WORKS.

IT IS THE GOLD STANDARD FOR TREATMENT FOR COVID.

VACCINES ARE NOT TREATMENTS.

HAD IVERMECTIN NOT BEEN DISCREDITED FALSELY AT THE FIRST OF ALL THIS, THERE WOULD HAVE NOT BEEN EUA AUTHORIZATION FOR THE VACCINE.

5G TOWERS IN OUR COMMUNITY ARE DANGEROUS.

THEY'RE CAUSING CANCER AND THEY'RE BEING PUT UP IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE WE LIVE AND BY OUR SCHOOLS.

THEY'RE ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS TO OUR CHILDREN'S BRAINS.

WHERE IS YOUR INTEGRITY, DISCERNMENT AND WISDOM AS CHRISTIANS YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT AND JUST.

I DON'T THINK 5G IS ON THE AGENDA.

IT'S NOT ON OUR AGENDA ITEM TODAY.

THANK YOU THOUGH.

IT'S NOT TOO LATE.

PLEASE DON'T FAIL US AS OUR LEADERS, PLEASE LAY ASIDE YOUR PRIDE AND OR YOUR FEAR IF YOU CARE ABOUT SAVING THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO HELP PROTECT.

THANK YOU, MS. RUSSELL.

NEXT, WE HAVE RYAN BRIGHTBILL SPEAKING ON ITEM 3 D.

FOLLOWING HIM, WE HAVE MR. JESSE FREMER SPEAKING ON ITEM 1 B.

JUST BEFORE MY TIME STARTS, I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW I'VE PROVIDED EACH OF YOU A COPY OF MY COMMENTS.

BUT MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO YOU ON NONCONSENT ITEM D LISTED ON THE MEETING AGENDA.

FIRST, I WANT TO THANK COUNCILOR COLE STANLEY FOR HIS NO VOTE ON A PROPERTY TAX RATE INCREASE.

THE CITY IS LOOKING TO INCREASE REVENUE FOR PROJECTS SUCH AS REMODELING OR BUILDING A BRAND NEW MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT COMPLEX.

HOWEVER, A PROPERTY TAX RATE INCREASE IS NOT THE ANSWER TO ACCOMPLISH IN THE INCREASE IN REVENUE NEEDED.

CURRENTLY, I MEAN, THE POTTER RANDALL COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICT, HAS AN ARBITRARY AND FLAWED PROPERTY EVALUATION SYSTEM WITH PROTESTING THE PROPERTY VALUATION OF 1924 CEDAR STREET IN 2020 AND 2021 I HAVE FOUND THE PROPOSED VALUE OF THE PROPERTY TO BE TOO HIGH, AND THE PROPERTY IS VALUED UNEQUALLY COMPARED TO OTHER PROPERTY IN PRIDE.

IT IS MY BELIEF THAT THE PERCENTAGE OF INCREASE OR DECREASE IN PROPERTY VALUATIONS FROM YEAR TO YEAR WITHIN PRIDE SHOULD BE RELATIVELY CONSISTENT, COMPARABLE, ACCURATE AND EQUITABLE.

TO ILLUSTRATE, PLEASE TURN YOUR ATTENTION TO THE SUPPLEMENT PROVIDED.

HERE ARE SOME ITEMS THAT I WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT OF PROPERTY VALUATIONS FROM 2020 TO 2021 IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD OF AVANDALE, WHERE THE PROPERTIES ARE VALUED AT LESS THAN A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.

MY NEIGHBOR SAW A CONSISTENT 9 PERCENT SPIKE.

THE PROPERTY OWNED BY COUNCILOR FREDA POWELL, WHOSE PROPERTY IS VALUED AT APPROXIMATELY [INAUDIBLE] FIVE THOUSAND, SAW A SEVEN POINT FOUR PERCENT SPIKE.

COUNCILOR EDDY SAUER AND COUNCILOR HOWARD SMITH AND DEPUTY CITY MANAGER KEVIN STARBUCK, WHOSE PROPERTY VALUES ARE GREATER THAN ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY EIGHT THOUSAND

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MAYOR GINGER NELSON, WHOSE PROPERTY IS VALUED AT OVER A HALF A MILLION, SAW ONLY AN INCREASE OF FOUR PERCENT.

THE PRAD CHIEF APPRAISER, JEFFREY DAGLEY, WHOSE PROPERTY IS VALUED AT TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS SAW A MEASLY ONE POINT FIVE PERCENT.

FROM MY THOROUGH RESEARCH IT APPEARS.

OH, SORRY.

YOUR TWO MINUTES IS UP.

SORRY.

THAT'S FINE.

THANK YOU.

NEXT UP, WE HAVE MR. JESSE FREMER SPEAKING ON ITEM 1 B FOLLOWING MR. FREMER WE HAVE LONDON KULP SPEAKING ON ALL ITEMS. HE GETS THE SHORT PIECE I DIDN'T GIVE HIM AS MUCH AS I DID Y'ALL.

CITY MANAGER.

OH, GOT IT OKAY.

JARED SORTED I'M SORRY, JARED.

THAT'S ALL RIGHT.

OKAY.

YEAH, IT'S GOT YOUR NAME ON THERE, CITY MANAGER, RIGHT.

OH YEAH.

I'M JESSE FREMER 5723 SOUTH [INAUDIBLE] DISCUSSING THE COVID SITUATION.

I WENT TO THE DASHBOARD THIS MORNING AND I PULLED UP NUMBERS THAT YOU SEE BEFORE YOU ON THE PIE THAT I MADE THERE.

I'VE HIGHLIGHTED THE SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE RATES THAT ARE CURIOUS TO ME.

WE DO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE 80 PLUS.

I'M EIGHTY ONE AND A HALF.

SO I'M IN THAT DEATH RATE PROBLEM OF ELEVEN POINT EIGHT PERCENT OF OUR POPULATION, THAT'S GOING TO OUR HOSPITAL.

SO I RAISE THESE QUESTIONS ACCORDING TO THE NUMBERS POSTED YESTERDAY.

WHY ARE WE WEARING MASK? OBSERVED THE BORDERED ITALICIZED NUMBERS.

AND THE AGE GROUPS, HAVE YOU RAISED THE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EARLY STAGE USE OF HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE PLUS ZINC.

IVERMECTIN WHICH THE YOUNG LADY MENTIONED EARLIER THAT THAT DRUG HAS BEEN SATISFIED BY THE INDIANS? THEY HAD 340 MILLION PEOPLE IN THEIR STATE AND THEIR DEATH RATES DIMINISHED WHEN THEY STARTED USING THAT DRUG AS A TREATMENT RATHER THAN TRYING TO USE THE VACCINE.

SO I'M WITH THAT YOUNG LADY'S COMMENTS ABOUT THAT DRUG.

AND YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL WHEN YOU USE THAT DRUG.

SO WE COULD CUT DOWN OUR HOSPITAL CONCERNS IF WE WOULD JUST USE PROPER MEDICATION AND QUIT USING THE VACCINE.

I APOLOGIZE FOR THE SPELLING OF THE DRUGS, BECAUSE I'M NOT A VERY GOOD DRUGGIST I DON'T KNOW THESE WORDS VERY WELL.

SO YOU'LL PARDON ME FOR THOSE WORDS, THE SPELLING.

MY NEXT QUESTION IS WHY IS THE DASHBOARD FORMAT CHANGED FROM THAT POSTED ON 8/20.

IF YOU'LL NOTICE, THE DASHBOARD WAS A CHART.

IT WAS ALSO A SHOWED A GRAPH THAT YOU COULD SEE FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS.

A VERY GOOD DESCRIPTION IT ALSO SHOWS SOME OTHER INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE FACT THAT THE DEATH RATE FOR PEOPLE USING THE VACCINE WAS FIVE AND A HALF PERCENT OF THOSE 10 IN THE HOSPITAL.

NOW, THAT MAKES 94.5 PERCENT SURVIVED THAT HAD THE VACCINE, BUT STILL FIVE POINT FIVE PERCENT IS A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT NUMBER.

I'M SORRY.

THAT WENT FAST.

YES.

THANK Y'ALL.

THANK YOU, MR. FREMER.

NEXT UP, WE HAVE LONDON KULP FOLLOWING LONDON KULP WE HAVE LARRY HALSEY.

THANK YOU, GUYS, FOR LETTING ME ADDRESS YOU TODAY.

I THINK IT'S KIND OF IMPORTANT THAT WE COME TOGETHER AND HAVE A COME TO JESUS MEETING.

AT THIS POINT.

I THINK THE LINE IS PRETTY SET IN THE SAND.

WHO'S GOING TO GET VACCINATED? WHO'S NOT GOING TO GET VACCINATED? SO MAYBE WE NEED TO COME TO A REALIZATION THAT WE NEED TO BE A PROPONENT OF EARLY TREATMENT.

I HAVE SEVERAL FRIENDS THEY'RE UNVACCINATED.

AND, YOU KNOW, AT THE POINT WHERE THEY GOT SICK, IT WAS TOO LATE TO GET VACCINATED.

THEN THEY GO TO THE DOCTOR AND THEY'RE SAYING, COME BACK, YOU'RE NOT SICK ENOUGH.

WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING FOR YOU.

YOU'RE NOT SICK ENOUGH.

AND THIS IS SEVERAL OCCASIONS.

THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED EVENT.

I KNOW YOU GUYS DON'T HAVE ANY CONTROLS OVER WHAT THE CLINICS DO HERE, THE DOCTORS DO HERE.

BUT IF OUR PUBLIC HEALTH CAN GET WITH OUR DOCTORS AND SHARE THIS INFORMATION, I'M FRIENDS WITH DOCTORS.

THEY ARE GETTING THE INFORMATION ABOUT HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE AND IVERMECTIN.

THESE ARE NOT MYSTERIES THAT THE DOCTORS ARE NOT RECEIVING.

THEY'RE GETTING THIS INFORMATION.

WHY ARE WE TELLING PATIENTS, YOU'RE NOT SICK ENOUGH, COME BACK WHEN YOU'RE SICK ENOUGH THAT WE CAN DO SOMETHING FOR YOU? THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.

IN JUST TO THE POINT THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE CARE OF PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY'RE UNVACCINATED.

DR.

SAUER, DO YOU TURN PEOPLE AWAY BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T BRUSH THEIR TEETH? IT'S THE SAME CONCEPT.

WE NEED TO TAKE CARE OF OUR COMMUNITY AND WE NEED TO BE CREATIVE.

AND PARDON MY FRENCH, BUT SCREW THE CDC.

I'M NOT SURE THAT WHAT THEY'RE DOING HAS BEEN VERY EFFECTIVE ANYWHERE, THAT THE

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SO WE DON'T EVEN REALLY KNOW WHAT OUR BREAKTHROUGH CASES LOOK LIKE.

WE CAN GET A GLIMPSE AHEAD OF THAT AS TO WHAT'S GOING ON IN ISRAEL AND THE UK, AND MAYBE WE NEED TO START PAYING ATTENTION TO THAT AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, BEING A HARDER FIGHTER FOR EARLY TREATMENTS.

AND I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IF WE COULD USE OUR ADVERTISING DOLLARS TO JUST NOT BE PROPONENTS OF THE VACCINE, BUT ALSO BE ENCOURAGING THAT EARLY TREATMENT IS KEY.

GET TO YOUR DOCTOR.

DON'T WAIT TOO LATE AND PLEASE GET THESE DOCTORS TO GET PEOPLE MEDICATION.

THANK YOU.

I APPRECIATE IT.

I PRAY FOR YOU ALL.

AND I THANK YOU GUYS FOR LETTING ME TALK TODAY.

THANK YOU, MS. KULP.

UP NEXT, WE HAVE LARRY HALSEY, FOLLOWED BY BARBARA KROMER.

HEY THERE.

HOPE YOU ALL ARE DOING GREAT.

APPRECIATE YOU GUYS AND YOUR SERVICE.

I KNOW THIS IS PROBABLY A VERY THANKLESS JOB AND MAYBE MORE THAN THAT.

BUT ANYWAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

SO MY WIFE AND I, HEATHER, WE'RE BUSINESS OWNERS AND PROPERTY OWNERS HERE IN AMARILLO.

WE HAVE FOUR KIDS.

WE LOVE WHAT THIS AREA OF THE COUNTRY REPRESENTS.

WE'RE FROM ABILENE ORIGINALLY.

BUT WE'VE BEEN HERE ABOUT 12 YEARS.

AND THOSE VALUES, AMERICAN VALUES, TEXAS VALUES LIKE FAITH, TRUTH, MORALITY, FREEDOM, MOST OF ALL, FREEDOM.

I GOT TO SAY, WE KNOW THERE'S AN ASSAULT ON FREEDOM IN OUR COUNTRY, EVEN IN THIS AREA, AND ESPECIALLY IN THE AREA OF MEDICAL FREEDOM.

I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED WHEN THE COUNCIL VOTED LAST YEAR OR EARLIER THIS YEAR, WHENEVER THAT WAS, TO FINE BUSINESS OWNERS FOR NOT FORCING THEIR CUSTOMERS TO WEAR MASKS.

I THOUGHT THAT WAS JUST LIKE MEDICAL TERROR.

THAT WAS JUST TYRANNY.

AND I KNOW THAT YOU GUYS ALL HAVE YOUR HEART IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

I'M SURE YOU'RE LOOKING TO PROTECT PEOPLE, BUT I BELIEVE IT WAS A VIOLATION OF OUR FREEDOMS. I THANK GOD THAT OUR GOVERNOR HAS OVERTURNED THE MASK MANDATE THAT ALLOWED THIS ATTEMPT TO CONTROL THE LIVES OF THE FREE CITIZENS OF THIS GREAT STATE.

BECAUSE OF THE HISTORY OF THIS VOTE IS WHY I'M HERE.

AND I WANT TO URGE YOU GUYS TO PLEASE STAND AGAINST ANY FURTHER MEDICAL TYRANNY IN OUR COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY IN THE AREA OF VACCINE MANDATES OR PASSPORTS.

I WOULD ASK THAT YOU GUYS BAN PASS AN ORDINANCE TO BAN ALL SUCH ITEMS, ALL VACCINE PASSPORTS, ALL VACCINE MANDATES, ANYTHING OF THE SORT.

I WOULD ASK THAT YOU GUYS WOULD PLEASE BAN THOSE ITEMS. DUE TO THE APPROVAL QUOTE UNQUOTE THE EXPERIMENTAL PFIZER JAB YESTERDAY, I FEAR THAT THIS COUNCIL COULD BE PRESSURED TO USE THIS APPROVAL AS A LICENSE TO FURTHER ERODE OUR FREEDOMS. WE ALL KNOW THIS WAS A RUSHED SLOPPY APPROVAL DRIVEN BY GREED.

AND WE HEARD THE YOU KNOW, THE VAERS DATA WE KNOW WE ALL KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT.

TONS OF ADVERSE EVENTS, TONS OF DEATHS.

SO THE SCIENCE SHOWS THAT THE PFIZER JAB NEITHER PREVENTS DISEASE NOR TRANSMISSION AND DOES NOT IMPROVE MORTALITY.

IT'S HALSEY WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENT.

OKAY GREAT.

THANK YOU.

UP NEXT, WE HAVE BARBARA KROMER SPEAKING ON ITEM 1 B FOLLOWED BY MICHAEL FORD.

OK, I AM BARBARA KROMER AND I DO LIVE IN THE CITY OF AMARILLO.

MS. KROMER.

WILL YOU PUSH THAT MICROPHONE DOWN TOWARDS YOUR.

THERE YOU ARE.

IS THAT BETTER IS THIS BETTER.

OK, THANK YOU.

ANYWAY.

I WAS VERY EXCITED TO HEAR FREDA TALK ABOUT THE OLDER AMERICAN MONTH AND THAT WE NEED TO NURTURE THE SENIOR POPULATION AND SERVE THEM.

AND THIS IS SOMETHING I'VE SPOKEN ON MANY TIMES.

I DO APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO THE LEADERS OF AMARILLO.

AND I KNOW YOU HAVE A LOT OF IMPORTANT DECISIONS, BUT I'M HERE TO REPRESENT THE SENIOR POPULATION OF AMARILLO.

AND, OF COURSE, ESPECIALLY THE SENIOR CITIZENS ASSOCIATION, WE SENIORS ARE THE FOUNDATION OF AMARILLO.

WE'RE THE ONES WHO HELPED AMARILLO BECOME THE CITY IT IS TODAY.

WE'VE BEEN WORKING HERE AND SHOPPING HERE LONG BEFORE SOME OF Y'ALL WERE EVEN BORN.

SO ANYWAY, WE ALSO PAY OUR TAXES HERE, AND I THINK YOU SHOULD CARE THAT WE VOTE HERE.

AND SO I WANT TO REMIND YOU AGAIN THAT YOU PROMISED TO SERVE ALL THE CITIZENS OF AMARILLO, NOT JUST THE YOUNG PEOPLE AND THE BUSINESS PEOPLE, BUT THE SENIOR POPULATION THAT HAS BUILT AMARILLO.

AND AS YOU KNOW, THE SENIOR CITIZEN ASSOCIATION HAS PROVIDED ACTIVITIES, FELLOWSHIP, NUTRITIOUS MEALS AND SOCIALIZATION SINCE 1973.

THE CITY OF AMARILLO HAS NOT HAD TO SUPPORT US AT ALL FOR 48 YEARS, NOT ONE RED PENNY.

AND I'M NOT EVEN ASKING YOU TO SUPPORT US NOW.

I'M ASKING THAT YOU AWARD US TWO MILLION DOLLARS OF THE 40 PLUS MILLION DOLLARS OF ARP MONEY THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO NONPROFITS IN AMARILLO.

AND WE ARE A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF AMARILLO WITHOUT ASK THAT THE SENIOR POPULATION OF AMARILLO, THROUGH NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN, HAVE HAD THEIR SOCIALIZATION, MEALS, ACTIVITIES, AND ALL OF THAT PULLED OUT FROM UNDER THEM WHEN WE LOST OUR LOCATION ON POLK STREET, AT

[00:25:01]

AND THOSE MEALS THAT WE SERVED TO THEM WERE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO THEM, KEEPING THEM OUT OF THE HOSPITALS, THE DEPRESSION OUT OF THE HOSPITALS, BECAUSE THEY HAD SOCIALIZATION.

AND RECENTLY HERFORD HAD BIG NEWS.

MS. KROMER, WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENT.

LET ME FINISH THIS ONE LAST THING, BECAUSE HERFORD, A LITTLE BITTY TOWN, HAS JUST HAD A HUGE THING ON THE NEWS AND ON THE NEWSPAPER, WHAT THEY ARE DOING FOR THEIR SENIOR CITIZEN ASSOCIATION.

AND AMARILLO HASN'T DONE ONE THING FOR US.

SO THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO WANT TO BE AVAILABLE FOR YOU WHEN YOU ARE A SENIOR CITIZEN.

THANK YOU, MS. KROMER.

NEXT, WE HAVE MICHAEL FORD, FOLLOWED BY ORVILLE WILLIAMS SPEAKING ON ITEM 3 A.

WE'RE AT TWO MINUTES TODAY WE ARE ONLY THREE MINUTES AND THERE'S A WHOLE ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE IS THERE A REASON WHY WE'RE AT TWO MINUTES AND NOT THREE MINUTES LIKE WE NORMALLY DO.

I MEAN, IS IT JUST LIKE DUE TO THE AMOUNT OF SPEAKERS WE HAVE.

IT'S A TERRIBLE IMPEDIMENT TO ACTUALLY ASK TO LISTEN TO THREE PEOPLE FOR ONE MORE MINUTE THAN WHAT YOU.

WOULD YOU START HIS TIMER.

IT'S NOT PART OF MY COMMENTS.

BECAUSE PEOPLE PREPARE FOR THESE THINGS.

AND THEN WE SHOW UP AND ONE THIRD OF OUR SPEAKING TIME IS GONE.

SO IN LIGHT OF THAT ITEM 3 A, YOU'VE GOT AN ITEM HERE THAT WAS TABLED IN THE LAST MEETING, IT MAGICALLY APPEARS, ON THIS AGENDA.

YOU HAVE MY FULL COMMENTS HERE SO YOU CAN READ THOSE AT YOUR LEISURE.

BUT IT MAGICALLY APPEARS ON THIS AGENDA IN ORDER TO REMOVE AN ITEM FROM THE TABLE.

YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO HAVE A MOTION, A SECOND AND A MAJORITY VOTE.

IT JUST DOESN'T GET TO APPEAR ON YOUR AGENDA.

SO THE GROUP, THE TEAM VOTED TO TAKE IT OFF, PUT IT LATE ON THE TABLE AND RECONSIDER IT AT SOME POINT IN TIME.

THAT ITEM 3A, HAS NOT BEEN PROPERLY.

IT'S NOT THE SAME ITEM THAT WAS LAID ON THE TABLE.

IT WAS A PUBLIC HEARING AND A FIRST READING.

NOW IT'S JUST A FIRST READING THAT'S IMPROPER AND IT'S ILLEGAL.

AND YOU VIOLATED THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT.

OVER A MONTH AGO, THE CITY MANAGER ITEM 3D INFORMED THE MEDIA THAT A DECISION ON THE CO PETITION WILL BE RENDERED WITHIN 21 DAYS.

DEADLINE.

IT'S OVER A MONTH AND WE HAVE NO WORD FROM THE CITY.

IN RESPONSE TO THE VACUUM OF INFORMATION COMING FROM THE CITY.

I HAVE THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.

HAS THE CITY REACHED A DECISION AS TO WHETHER A VALID PETITION HAS BEEN SUBMITTED.

IF YES, THEN WHAT IS THE CITY'S DECISION? WHO HAS MADE THE DECISION REGARDING THE PETITIONS OF VIABILITY? THE CITY SECRETARY, THE CITY MANAGER OR THE CITY ATTORNEY OR SOMEONE ELSE? IF THE CITY HAS DETERMINED THAT THE PETITION IS INVALID, A, HAVE THE INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL BEEN BRIEFED AS TO THE BASIS FOR THIS DETERMINATION.

IF NOT, WHY NOT? HAS THE CITY EXPLAINED THE REASON THE PETITION IS INVALID TO THE ORGANIZER CRAIG GALTIER? IF NOT, WHY NOT? IS IT THE CITY'S POSITION THAT IT NEED NOT EXPLAIN TO ANYONE, INCLUDING THE RESIDENTS OF AMARILLO WHY IT HAS MADE THIS DETERMINATION? AND D IS IT THE CITY'S POSITION? THE CITY COUNCIL HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO SAY AS TO WHETHER THE PETITION IS VALID.

QUESTION FIVE.

DOES THE PETITIONS EXISTENCE HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS AGENDA ITEM ITEM 3 D TO CONSIDER REPEAL OF THIS NOTICE THE INTENT TO ISSUE CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION.

THE AMARILLO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THE RESIDENTS OF AMARILLO DESERVE ANSWERS.

MR. FORD, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.

YEAH.

UP NEXT, WE HAVE ORVILLE WILLIAMS SPEAKING ON ITEM 3 A FOLLOWED BY ALAN ABRAHAM SPEAKING ON ITEM 3 A.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

MY NAME IS ORVILLE WILLIAMS. I LIVE AT 1313 NORTHEAST THIRD.

MY WIFE AND I OWN TWO PROPERTIES THAT ARE SUBJECT TO THE REZONING INITIATIVE OF THE NORTH HEIGHTS ADDITION.

PROPERTIES WE'VE OWNED FOR 13 YEARS AND 16 YEARS INDIVIDUALLY.

WE BOUGHT THOSE PROPERTIES, WE IMPROVED THEM, WE'VE OCCUPIED THEM.

WE'VE PAID TAXES IN FULL COMPLIANCE WITH THE ZONING LAWS THAT EXIST.

ALONG COMES THIS INITIATIVE FILED BY SOMEBODY THAT WE DON'T KNOW.

AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE, OTHER THAN NEFARIOUS REASONS IN GENERALITIES.

NOBODY HAS APPLIED TO REZONE ANY PROPERTY IN ANY PORTION OF THIS 816 ACRES.

IT'S AN ISSUE IN THE WHOLE SUBDIVISION.

NOBODY'S APPLIED, WHICH MEANS NOBODY'S PAID THE FEES, EXCEPT AND UNLESS IT'S THE CITY OF AMARILLO.

YOU'VE ADVOCATED FOR THIS CHANGE IN ZONING LAWS.

FOR WHAT REASON? I THINK YOU CAN ALL AGREE THAT THE ZONING LAWS, WHEN YOU CHANGED THE ZONING, IT'S GOING TO AFFECT THE VALUE EITHER UPWARDLY OR DOWNWARDLY, ONE OR THE

[00:30:05]

THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT SHOULD BE ABLE TO REQUEST A CHANGE IN ZONING WOULD BE THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY, SOMEONE WITH WHOM HE'S IN CONTRACT WITH, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT HAS A VESTED INTEREST IN IT, SUBJECT TO REZONING RULING, OR THIRDLY, A GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY WHO'S DOING IT FOR THE BENEFIT OF EVERYBODY.

YOU'RE NOT DOING IT FOR THE BENEFIT OF EVERYBODY.

YOU'RE TAKING VALUES FROM OUR PROPERTY AND GIVING THEM TO SOMEBODY ELSE.

THE WORST PART OF THIS WHOLE DEAL IS EVERY PROPERTY THAT CHANGES ZONING IS SUBJECT TO BEING BRANDED NONCONFORMING.

NONCONFORMING IS A VICIOUS THING.

AND IT'S PREDICATED BY A LOT OF FACTORS AND TRIGGERED BY A LOT OF FACTORS.

A LOT OF THINGS COME INTO CONTROL.

AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY ONE OF YOU UP HERE THAT WANTS ONE OF YOUR PROPERTIES BRANDED NONCONFORMING.

MR. WILLIAMS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.

NEXT UP, WE HAVE ALAN ABRAHAM, FOLLOWED BY MR. JAMES SCHANKE.

ABRAHAM AMARILLO RESIDENT, I WANT TO FOCUS ON QUALITY DEVELOPMENT IN THE NORTH HEIGHTS, THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY OF DOING THE SAME THING AND EXPECTING A DIFFERENT RESULT HAS APPLICATION TO THE DECISIONS YOU'RE BEING ASKED TO MAKE TODAY ABOUT NORTH HEIGHTS.

KEEP THE STATUS QUO AND HOPE FOR A DIFFERENT OUTCOME, A BETTER FUTURE.

THAT'S NOT BEING RATIONAL.

WHAT YOU SEE ON THE GROUND RIGHT NOW, DEVELOPMENT WISE, IS THE LONG STANDING RESULTS OF AN OUTCOME FROM CURRENT ZONING.

SO HONESTLY, IS ANYBODY HERE INTERESTED IN SEEING NEW COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT ALONG AMARILLO BOULEVARD FROM POLK TO MCCALISTER? WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE ST.

ANTHONY'S CARCASS COME ALIVE WITH SENIOR HOUSING, ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY? ARE YOU TRYING TO FIND SOME NEW VACANT PARCELS OF LAND CLOSE TO DOWNTOWN FOR INFILL IN AMARILLO.

WOULD THIS CITY COUNCIL LIKE TO HAVE A DURABLE JUSTIFICATION FOR INVESTING NEW TAX DOLLARS IN NORTH HEIGHTS INFRASTRUCTURE? WHAT ABOUT UPGRADING CITY SERVICES TO REDUCE COMMUNITY DETERIORATION BORN OF MUNICIPAL NEGLECT.

ZONING RULES DO NOT THEY CANNOT GUARANTEE QUALITY DEVELOPMENT.

I KNOW THAT.

BUT I ALSO RECOGNIZE THE INSANITY OF DOING NOTHING AND EXPECTING A DIFFERENT RESULT.

I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING MORE FUNDAMENTAL YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW TO INFLUENCE A STRONGER FUTURE FOR NORTH HEIGHTS THAN REZONING.

AND NORTH HEIGHTS IS ASKING YOU FOR YOUR HELP.

AND THEY'RE DOING IT THROUGH A PROCESS YOU INITIATED AND APPROVED IN 2017.

THE DISSIDENT VOICES ARE REPRESENTING THEMSELVES.

THEY ARE NOT SPEAKING OR REPRESENTATIVE OF THAT PROCESS.

SO LET'S INAUGURATE A FRESH START, PLEASE.

THANK YOU, MR. ABRAHAM.

UP NEXT, WE HAVE MR. JAMES SCHANKE, FOLLOWED BY RUPERT BROSHEARS.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

I CAN'T BELIEVE WE WENT TO TWO MINUTES BECAUSE THAT'S ANOTHER POINT THAT I WAS GOING TO BE MAKING ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH OUR PUBLIC COMMENTS AND RESTRICTING IS EVEN GETTING WORSE.

AND ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE MINUTES THAT WE'RE KEEPING NOW, WE'RE RELEGATED TO JUST OUR NAME AND OUR ADDRESS IN REFERENCE TO WHEN WE'RE MAKING A COMMENT.

THERE'S NO INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT WE SPOKE ON IN THE MINUTES.

MAYBE YOU'D HAVE TO GO BACK TO BEING ONLINE.

BUT BACK WHEN FRANCIS WAS RUNNING IT, NOT TO GET IT.

THERE WAS A COMMENT ABOUT WHAT EACH INDIVIDUAL TALKED ABOUT.

OK.

THE BUDGET REPORT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WOULD LIKE TO.

I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE AN UPDATE ON THE RESERVES REGULARLY THAT ARE KEPT IN THE RESERVES.

UPDATE ON TAXES LOST, LIKE YOU SAY, WITH SENIOR CITIZENS GETTING FROZEN ON TAXES.

WHAT ABOUT TAX ABATEMENTS? HOW MUCH MONEY ARE WE GIVING AWAY IN TAX ABATEMENTS? AND WE BRAG ABOUT OUR LOWEST TAXES.

ACCORDING TO THE RESERVES FORMULA.

FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, MAYBE YOU CAN SPEAK TO THIS.

IT APPEARS THAT IF THE THIRTY ONE MILLION DOLLARS, THAT WE JUST INCREASE IN THE BUDGET, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SWEEP SEVEN POINT SEVEN FIVE MILLION OVER INTO RESERVES.

I DON'T THINK ANY CITIZEN, INCLUDING MYSELF, WHO'S FOLLOWED THIS FOR A LONG TIME,

[00:35:01]

AND WHEN YOU HAVE IN EXCESS OF 100 MILLION DOLLARS, THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS GOING TO BE ASKED ABOUT HOW YOUR FIDUCIARY LOSING THE MONEY.

IT MAY BE A NICE THING, BUT IT'S NOT FOR THE CITIZENS.

AND THEN THE WASTE OF MONEY THAT'S GOING ON WITH 3 D IN REFERENCE TO GOING AFTER THE 35 MILLION DOLLAR THING.

I'M GLAD FOR CRAIG.

AND I GET INTERESTING HOW IT SEEMS THAT COS ARE A WAY OF CIRCUMVENTING THE THREE AND A HALF PERCENT TOP BY CITIZENS, BY CITIES.

I'M SORRY.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, MR. SCHANKE.

UP NEXT, WE HAVE.

UP NEXT, WE HAVE RUPERT BROSHEARS, FOLLOWED BY MISS MILDRED DARTON.

GOD BLESS YOU, MS. MAYOR.

PEACE BE WITH YOU ALL AND PROSPERITY WITHIN YOUR PALACE.

I WANT TO TALK ABOUT.

DOUBLE 07.

I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT JAMES BOND.

I'M TALKING ABOUT THE THREE NUMBERS TO YOUR BAR NUMBER 007 NINE FOUR THREE SIX ZERO, REMEMBER THEM REAL WELL WITH THE GREATEST RESPECT, BECAUSE YOU MIGHT LOSE THEM.

THANK YOU, MA'AM.

THANK YOU, MR. BROSHEARS.

NEXT, WE HAVE MILDRED DARTON SPEAKING ON ITEM 3 A.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

MILDRED DARTON, 2005, NORTH WEST 14TH AVENUE, 79107.

I SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE NORTH HEIGHTS ADVISORY ASSOCIATION AND THE NORTH HEIGHTS COMMUNITY.

OUR REZONING.

WE'RE NOT OUT TO HURT ANYONE.

WE ONLY WANT TO DO WHAT IS BEST FOR THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITY.

FOR MANY YEARS, WE HAVE STRUGGLED.

WE FINALLY GOT BOOTS, THE NORTH HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN.

SO WE'RE ASKING YOU ALL TO GIVE US THE STRAPS TO PULL OURSELVES UP.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, MS. DARTON.

AT THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO GIVE MR. GALTIER ONE LAST CHANCE TO COME IF HE IS HERE TODAY.

ALL RIGHT, AT THIS TIME, WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS.

PUBLIC ADDRESS IS CLOSED.

THANK YOU.

[Additional Item ]

ALL RIGHT, MAYOR, I'M REALLY EXCITED TO TOUCH BASE.

AND WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF PERSONNEL CHANGES HERE RECENTLY.

OF COURSE, WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT OUR CITY SECRETARY POSITION, HOW WE FILLED THAT WITH STEPHANIE COGGINS.

AND SHE'S SITTING IN THE CHAIR FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY.

YESTERDAY WAS HER FIRST DAY IN THAT POST OFFICIALLY, ALTHOUGH SHE'S BEEN SIDE SADDLING FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS NOW.

WE ALSO WANT TO INTRODUCE ANDREW FREEMAN, WHO USED TO BE THE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPED I'M SORRY, PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

ANDREW, STAND UP.

COME ON UP HERE.

HE IS NOW OUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER.

WE HAD A VACANCY IN THE ASSISTANT CORPS WHEN OUR FORMER DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, KEVIN STARBUCK, LEFT.

I'M NOT MAKING A DEPUTY DESIGNATION AT THIS TIME.

HOWEVER, ANDREW IS GOING TO TAKE THAT THIRD SLOT WITH THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER'S ROLE, JOINING LAURA STORRS AND FLOYD HARTMAN.

ANDREW HAS A LOT OF EXPERIENCE.

HAS THREE AND A HALF YEARS OF CITY MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE, BUT ALSO HAS A LOT OF TIME IN PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND A LOT OF OTHER THINGS.

BEEN WORKING WITH CITIES FOR ALMOST 14 YEARS, I BELIEVE.

IS THAT RIGHT? SO STARTED AT A REALLY YOUNG AGE, WAS IN SAN MARCOS FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, WAS IN [INAUDIBLE] CITY MANAGER WAS IN PLAINVIEW AS ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER AND WAS HERE AS DIRECTOR OF PLANNING AND I'M SORRY, DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, THEN MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND NOW ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER ALL OF THOSE SAME DEPARTMENTS, PLUS A FEW MORE OF KEVIN'S DEPARTMENTS.

I PUT A ORGANIZATIONAL CHART IN FRONT OF YOU.

AND ANDREW, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANTED TO SAY? NO I'M JUST LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS NEW ROLE AND BEING A PART OF THE SAME MANAGEMENT TEAM.

WE'RE GLAD TO HAVE YOU ON BOARD.

THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT, THANKS, ANDREW.

AND I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT MY TEAM OUR TEAM.

ANOTHER PART OF THAT ANNOUNCEMENT I WANTED TO GET RICH GAGNON TO STAND UP.

COME OVER HERE.

RICH HAS CURRENTLY PREVIOUSLY BEEN OUR DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND HAS BROUGHT A TON OF PRIVATE SECTOR EXPERIENCE AS.

RICH GIVE US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND, BECAUSE IT'S SORT OF IT'S

[00:40:01]

I WAS DIRECTOR OF INFRASTRUCTURE GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR GAMESTOP, GLOBAL VICE PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING FOR DATA CENTER, A COMPANY CALLED F FIVE NETWORKS.

SO I HAD ABOUT 680 ENGINEERS AROUND THE GLOBE, 36 DIRECTORS AND A NUMBER OF MANAGERS.

AND THEN I RAN THE AMERICAS ENGINEERING TEAM FOR PALO ALTO NETWORKS.

I WANTED TO COME HOME.

SO HERE I AM.

AND PALO ALTO IS A PRETTY BIG TIME COMPANY THAT CONTRACTS WITH THE U.S.

GOVERNMENT, DOES A LOT OF DOD STUFF.

HE'S WORKED ON SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE WORKED ON.

SO HE'S GOT A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE.

AND WE REALLY HAVE NO RIGHT TO CLAIM SOMEONE WITH THIS TYPE OF PRIVATE SECTOR EXPERIENCE.

HE IS COMMITTED TO AMARILLO.

HE'S GOT FAMILY IN AMARILLO.

SO I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT RICH'S ADDITION AS A MANAGING DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.

SO IN ADDITION TO BEING THE DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, HE'S GOING IN AND CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER.

HE WILL ALSO BE OVER THE PUBLIC LIBRARY, BROADBAND, NASCENT AREAS OF BROADBAND AND 311 ALONG WITH THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND, OF COURSE, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.

SO I FEEL LIKE WE HAVE A VERY STABLE LEADERSHIP TEAM THAT IS IS COMMITTED TO OUR TOWN AND TO OUR AREA FOR A LONG TIME.

THIS IS A RESILIENT TEAM THAT WILL BE ABLE TO HANDLE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES, WHATEVER OPPORTUNITIES COUNCIL PUSHES OUR WAY.

SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT.

THANKS, RICH.

IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR RICH HE WILL BE GLAD TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.

I AM ONE IF THAT HELPS.

THAT'S WHERE I STARTED, I STARTED WITH AN ENGINEERING BACKGROUND, SO I KIND OF KNOW HOW THEIR BRAIN WORKS.

YOU JUST HAVE TO LEARN TO BRIDGE THAT FROM ENGINEERING TO BUSINESS.

RIGHT.

THAT'S REALLY THE KEY.

I'M VERY PATIENT.

I WILL JUST SAY THAT I'VE SEEN BOTH ANDREW AND RICH TAKE A VERY YES AND CUSTOMER SERVICE APPROACH, BOTH IN WORKING INTERNALLY AND YOUR TEAMS, BUT ALSO IN DEALING WITH CITIZENS IN THE ISSUES THAT THEY BRING TO STAFF.

SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE CONTINUING TO GROW INSIDE CITY STAFF.

JARED AND UNDER YOUR LEADERSHIP, IS THE IDEA THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO PARTNER WITH CITIZENS.

WE'RE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO SAY YES RATHER THAN JUST I THINK THE BUREAUCRATIC ANSWER IS NO THAT'S NOT HOW WE DO IT.

SORRY.

AND WE'RE REALLY TRYING HARD TO HAVE A DIFFERENT STANCE.

AND I THINK IT'S MORE CUSTOMER FRIENDLY.

SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT YOUR NEW ROLE.

ME AS WELL.

THANK YOU.

THAT'S ALL I GOT.

THAT'S ALL I HAVE.

[1.A. Review agenda items for regular meeting and attachments; ]

WELL, LET'S GO RIGHT IN THEN TO I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A GREAT MEETING TODAY.

AGENDA ITEM 1 A ANYTHING COUNCIL IN YOUR PACKETS THAT YOU HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT YOU WANTED A CHANCE RIGHT UP FRONT TO ADDRESS.

OK, WE'LL GO TO 1 B A CORONAVIRUS UPDATE, MR.

[1.B. Coronavirus update; ]

ALL RIGHT MAYOR.

GOT A LOT TO TALK ABOUT TODAY.

THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF MOVEMENT RECENTLY IN THIS AREA, SO HERE TO WALK US THROUGH THE UPDATE IS DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH CASIE STOUGHTON.

CASIE WELCOME.

IT'S ALWAYS NICE WHEN SOMEONE'S SHORT GAVE THE COMMENT LAST.

SO AS OF YESTERDAY, THERE WERE A TOTAL OF THIRTY NINE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY FOUR CASES OF COVID 19 REPORTED IN POTTER AND RANDALL COUNTIES.

WE HAVE THIRTY THREE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTY EIGHT ACTIVE CASES, AND WE'RE UP TO EIGHT HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN DEATHS HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY.

SO WE'VE CERTAINLY SEEN A LOT OF NEW ACTIVE CASES, AND UNFORTUNATELY, WE'VE SEEN SEVERAL DEATHS HERE LATELY.

THE FIVE DAY NEW CASE AVERAGE IS AT TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN NEW CASES PER DAY.

WE WILL REMAIN IN LEVEL RED FOR ANOTHER TWO WEEKS AS THREE OF THE FOUR METRICS DO REMAIN IN LEVEL RED.

YESTERDAY, OUR GA 34 HOSPITALIZATION PERCENTAGE WAS A 17.19 PERCENT SINCE WE'VE BEEN OVER 15 PERCENT IN THAT METRIC THAT THE GOVERNOR SET FOR US.

WE FOR MORE THAN SEVEN CONSECUTIVE DAYS, THEN NOT ONLY ARE WE AN AREA OF HIGH TRANSMISSION AS DEFINED AS BY THE CDC, BUT WE'RE ALSO AN AREA OF HIGH HOSPITALIZATION AS DEFINED BY DSHS.

COVID TESTING IS STILL AVAILABLE.

AGAIN, OUR PHONE NUMBER IS 378-6300, YOU PROBABLY HAVE THAT MEMORIZED BY NOW WE CAN SCREEN AND DIRECT PEOPLE TO TESTING.

WE'VE SEEN AN INCREASE IN TESTING AS WELL.

THE ROLLING SEVEN DAY POSITIVITY RATE IS AT 14 PERCENT.

THE POSITIVITY RATE AT THE DRIVE THRU IS ABOUT 46 PERCENT.

AND SO THAT'S ALMOST HALF OF THE TESTS THAT WE'RE SEEING AT THE DRIVE THRU WERE COMING BACK POSITIVE.

SO LOTS AGAIN, LOTS OF POSITIVITY, LOTS OF NEW CASES THERE.

MONDAY, THE FDA DID APPROVE THE PFIZER'S COVID VACCINE, AND THAT IS NOW MARKED AS

[00:45:05]

THE VACCINE CONTINUES TO BE AVAILABLE UNDER EUA FOR PEOPLE 12 TO 15.

AND SO PFIZER IS WORKING THROUGH A WHAT THEY CALL A ROLLING APPROVAL PROCESS THROUGH THE FDA.

AND SO THAT'S CERTAINLY GREAT NEWS ON THE VACCINE FRONT.

DO WANT TO TAKE A MINUTE TO TALK ABOUT WE'VE HAD, YOU KNOW, LOTS OF QUESTIONS, LOTS OF CONCERN ABOUT WHY WE HAVE SO MUCH EMPHASIS ON VACCINE.

YOU KNOW, WE CERTAINLY SUPPORT EARLY TREATMENT, ESPECIALLY REGENERON, FOR THOSE WHO MEET THAT HIGH RISK CRITERIA.

SO THE EUA IS SPECIFIC IN WHO CAN RECEIVE REGENERON? IT IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT ONLY POSITIVE, BUT PEOPLE WHO ARE EXPOSED TO COVID 19.

AGAIN, YOU HAVE TO BE IN THOSE HIGH RISK CATEGORIES.

WE DO TALK ABOUT THIS INFORMATION WITH OUR PATIENTS THROUGH THE PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO TALK TO THEIR DOCTORS ABOUT THIS TREATMENT.

HOWEVER, IN THIS PANDEMIC, THE SAYING AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE COULD NOT RING TRUER.

VACCINES ARE SAFE, EFFECTIVE AND CAN BE ADMINISTERED ON LARGE SCALES IN THE BROADEST OF PLACES.

THE GOAL OF VACCINES ARE TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM NEEDING THAT EARLY TREATMENT OR A HIGHER LEVEL OF CARE AT HOSPITALS.

THERE SIMPLY AREN'T ENOUGH DOSES OF REGENERON OR HOSPITAL BEDS TO STOP EMPHASIZING VACCINE.

AND THAT'S WHY WE PUT SO MUCH EMPHASIS ON VACCINE.

I THINK, YOU KNOW, OUR HOSPITALS HAVE A VERY LIMITED SUPPLY OF THOSE DOSES FOR THAT EARLY TREATMENT.

AND WE HAVE THOUSANDS OF DOSES OF VACCINE.

SO ANY COVID INFECTION THAT CAN BE PREVENTED IS ONE THAT DOESN'T HAVE TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL OR TO SEEK THAT EARLY TREATMENT.

SO PREVENTION IS JUST SO KEY IN THIS FIGHT AGAINST COVID RIGHT NOW.

SO HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.

COUNCIL MEMBER STANLEY, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YES, MA'AM.

THANK YOU.

CASIE, I LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR JOB AND EVERYTHING YOU DO LIKE EVERY COUPLE OF WEEKS.

AND SO A LOT OF US DON'T REALIZE MAYBE HOW BROAD A JOB YOU FULFILL.

AND I KNOW YOU TAKE ON SOME OTHER THINGS AS AN OVERALL HEALTH AND WELLNESS TO OUR COMMUNITY.

SO I APPRECIATE THAT.

AND I THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO.

I'M CURIOUS ABOUT A FEW THINGS.

I DO GET TO SEE DR.

EDDY SAUER OVER HERE TO MY LEFT, AND I LOVE THE ANALOGY EARLIER OF, YOU KNOW, BRUSHING OUR TEETH.

SO.

BRUSHING OUR TEETH HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE EFFECTIVE, TO HAVE A GOOD SET OF HEALTHY TEETH.

SO HAS FLOSSING.

RIGHT.

AND SO LIKE I DON'T KNOW THAT DR.

EDDY SAUER WOULD EVER TELL US, LIKE JUST BRUSH YOUR TEETH.

THAT'S ALL WE WANT YOU TO DO.

EVERYBODY BRUSH YOUR TEETH.

I WANT EVERYBODY WHO WANTS TO BRUSH THEIR TEETH TO GO GET YOUR TEETH BRUSHED.

BUT I ALSO WANT PEOPLE TO FLOSS.

AND I THINK YOU WOULD, TOO.

AND SO IN THIS ANALOGY, THESE ARE THESE EARLY TREATMENTS.

WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO HELP MAKE THESE THINGS MORE AVAILABLE? WHY WOULD WE SIT BACK RIGHT NOW AND KNOW WE HAVE JUST ONE ANGLE AT THIS? IT'S SO IMPORTANT.

AND I'M A PERSON THAT TAKES THIS SERIOUS.

THIS IS VERY SERIOUS.

THIS CAN BECOME A VERY SERIOUS ILLNESS.

AND I DON'T WANT TO HAVE ANY MORE FRIENDS LAYING IN THAT HOSPITAL BED THAT THEY'RE HAVING TO PRONATE AND THAT THEY HAVE INTUBATED.

AND SO BECAUSE OF THIS, I DON'T WANT TO PUT EVERYTHING IN, YOU KNOW, MY HOPE AND MY FAITH IN A VACCINE.

I ALSO DON'T WANT TO BE FEARFUL AND OVERREACT AGAINST PERSONAL FREEDOMS. AND I KNOW THAT WE CAN BALANCE PERSONAL FREEDOM WITH PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.

AND SO WHAT CAN WE DO TO BRING THESE MKA'S INTO OUR COMMUNITY? WE'RE ONLY A COMMUNITY OF 200 PLUS THOUSAND PEOPLE.

THIS CAN'T BE THAT DIFFICULT.

SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SUBMITTED A REQUEST TO THE STATE TO HAVE ANOTHER ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR AN INFUSION SITE.

AND SO THAT'S ONE OPPORTUNITY.

AND RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, NORTHWEST HAS AN OPTION FOR THAT, AND BSA HAS AN OPTION FOR THAT.

BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT IT'S DONE BY INFUSION.

SO IT'S CERTAINLY A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT.

THERE IS ANOTHER METHOD, BUT CERTAINLY FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EARLY TREATMENT, THAT IS DONE BY INFUSION.

SO IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE JUST, YOU KNOW, IN A MASS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF PROCESS.

LIKE WE WORKED WITH VACCINES, THE CIVIC CENTER.

[00:50:01]

SO WE'RE WORKING WITH THE STATE ON THAT TO TRY TO BRING MORE RESOURCES HERE TO OUR COMMUNITY.

BUT PREVENTION IS SO CRITICAL.

SO WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PROPHYLACTIC, IVERMECTIN, HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE, SOME OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT.

WHAT'S AVAILABLE WITH OUR DOCTORS? SO, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED TO DR.

BELL AND TO DR.

WEISS AND DR. [INAUDIBLE], AND THOSE TREATMENTS JUST AREN'T APPROVED FOR THE TREATMENT OF COVID 19.

THEY'RE JUST.

SO IVERMECTIN IS NOT ABLE TO BE PRESCRIBED BY A DOCTOR OR HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE.

THEY'RE NOT APPROVED FOR THE TREATMENT OF COVID 19.

THERE MAY BE SOME DOCTORS THAT PRESCRIBE THEM, BUT DR.

BELL, DR. WEISS AND DR.

[INAUDIBLE] THEY'RE NOT APPROVED FOR THOSE THINGS.

OK, SO I GET WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM MAY BE ABLE TO BE PRESCRIBED BY YOUR DOCTOR, BUT NOT NECESSARILY STATED FROM THE CDC OR FDA THAT WAY.

THERE HAS NOT BEEN THEY'RE NOT STATED IN LIKE HIGH QUALITY STUDIES OR BY PHYSICIANS.

YOU KNOW, SO I KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT THAT AND A LOT OF CONCERN ABOUT THAT.

BUT ACCORDING TO OUR TEAM HERE, THERE'S JUST IT'S JUST NOT AN OPTION.

WELL, AND I THINK IF WE SEPARATE THOSE FEELINGS AND THOSE FEARS FROM THIS VACCINE INITIATIVE, I'M NOT SAYING DON'T GO GET VACCINATED IF YOU CHOOSE TO.

I'M SAYING EVEN IF YOU'RE VACCINATED, YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING AT THESE SECONDARY LINES OF DEFENSE.

AND SO HOW DO WE GET THIS MESSAGE OUT? HOW DO WE INFORM THE PUBLIC? HOW DO WE PROTECT OURSELVES? SOME OF US UP HERE HAVE TAKEN IVERMECTIN, HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE WHEN WE GOT SICK.

SO WE MAY HAVE SOME PERSONAL TESTIMONIALS.

SO THROUGH THE PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT, WE CAN'T.

SO OUR HEALTH AUTHORITY, THAT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE WILL DO BECAUSE IT'S NOT AN APPROVED RESOURCE FOR US.

SO WE THROUGH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT WILL NOT.

PATIENTS ARE WELCOME TO TALK TO THEIR PHYSICIAN ABOUT THAT.

AND IF IT'S SOMETHING THROUGH THAT PATIENT PHYSICIAN RELATIONSHIP THAT THEIR DOCTOR CHOOSES TO DO, BUT THROUGH THE PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT, WE CANNOT.

VERY WELL SAID.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

YES, SIR.

OK.

SO HERE'S WHAT I WOULD TELL YOU ALSO.

I'VE BEEN FOLLOWING THOSE VERY CLOSELY, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.

AND ONE OF THEM BEING IVERMECTIN AND IVERMECTIN HAS HAD SEVERAL STUDIES THAT CAME OUT THAT WERE REALLY GOOD.

BUT THE PROBLEM WITH IVERMECTIN IS THERE'S BEEN SOME STUDIES THAT HAVE PROVEN THAT IT HAS NO EFFECT AT ALL.

AND THEN THE MOST QUOTED IVERMECTIN STUDY THAT IS OUT THERE, THEY HAD TO PULL THE STUDY BECAUSE THEY HAD DOCTORED THEIR FINDINGS.

AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, THEIR ARTICLE WAS COMPLETELY PLAGIARIZED AND ALL OF THAT BASICALLY PULLED AND IT WAS THE BIGGEST STUDY IT WAS OVER 400 PEOPLE.

SO WHEN YOU PULLED THAT STUDY OUT AND THEN YOU BECAUSE YOU CAN'T USE THE RESULTS BECAUSE THE RESULTS NOW BECOME UNVERIFIABLE, NOW, THEN THAT LEAVES THAT THERE IS NOT A BODY OF EVIDENCE THAT CATEGORICALLY SAYS THAT IVERMECTIN ACTUALLY WORKS AGAINST THAT VIRUS.

BECAUSE OF THAT, IN THE POSITION THAT PUBLIC HEALTH WOULD BE OR IN THE POSITION THAT I WOULD BE, WHENEVER I'M TALKING TO MY PATIENTS AND THEY'RE ASKING ME QUESTIONS, I CAN'T SAY THAT'S AN OK THING TO DO, BECAUSE THERE'S NO EVIDENCE.

THERE'S NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE OUT THERE.

AND THAT'S THE ONE THING THAT WE'RE WATCHING THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY EXPERIENCING THAT'S SO DIFFERENT THAN HAS EVER BEEN BEFORE IS THE FACT THAT WE'VE GOT WE ARE LIVING THROUGH A PANDEMIC AND WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO TREAT IT INSTEAD OF LIKE ALL OF THESE OTHER DISEASES THAT HAVE COME ALONG, THAT HAVE BEEN DEALT WITH, WITH 10, 15 YEARS WORTH OF STUDIES.

WE'RE WATCHING THIS DEVELOP AND THINGS CHANGE AS THEY GO.

AND FOR A PERIOD OF TIME, IVERMECTIN WAS CONSIDERED TO BE POTENTIALLY A GOLD STANDARD.

AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THESE THINGS CROP UP AND THEN YOU FIND OUT THAT.

PEOPLE, INDIVIDUALS DOCTORED THEIR STUDIES TO MAKE THEM LOOK ONE WAY, AND THEY'RE NOT ACTUALLY THAT WAY.

AND SO IT LEAVES SOMEBODY LIKE CASIE OR IF YOU'RE THE HEAD OF THE HOSPITAL, YOU'RE THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR.

IT LEAVES YOU AT SIGNIFICANT RISK IF YOU SAY, YEAH, THIS IS A GREAT THING TO DO.

AND THEN SOMEBODY COMES AROUND AND THEN BECAUSE THERE IS A STUDY THAT ACTUALLY SHOWS THAT IVERMECTIN DOES KEEP MORE PEOPLE OUT OF THE HOSPITAL, BUT THOSE THAT GO TO THE HOSPITAL ACTUALLY VENT QUICKER THAN THOSE WITHOUT IVERMECTIN.

I'M REALLY GLAD TO BE THERE'S ALL OF THIS GOING ON.

SO THAT'S THE REASON SHE'S IN THE POSITION THAT SHE'S IN.

[00:55:01]

YOU DON'T PRESCRIBE ANY MEDICINES AT PUBLIC HEALTH.

AND YOU JUST YOU DO WHAT DR.

BELL AUTHORIZES BECAUSE HE IS THE CLINICIAN AT THE TOP OF YOUR AUTHORITY CHAIN.

SO I JUST PULLING THIS BACK TO WHAT PUBLIC HEALTH PROMOTES COMES FROM THE CDC COMES FROM DR. BELL AND DR.

BELL'S OPINION IN INTERPRETING THE STUDIES THAT ARE CURRENTLY OUT THERE.

IF I'M UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY, IS THAT'S NOT A TREATMENT AUTHORIZED BY THE FDA.

CORRECT.

OK, SO BACK INTO WHAT OUR PUBLIC HEALTH IS, ITS ROLE AND ITS AUTHORITY IS.

CORRECT.

OK.

YEAH.

THANK YOU.

EDDY.

I VALUE YOUR OPINION AND AS A DOCTOR, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT YOU DO YOUR OWN STUDY, YOU KNOW, AND YOU'RE NOT JUST TAKING IT AT FACE VALUE.

AT ONE TIME, I HAD HEARD OVER 800 PEER REVIEWED ARTICLES THAT WERE IN FAVOR OF IVERMECTIN.

AND SO ONCE AGAIN, I JUST WANT LIKE THEIRS.

I JUST WANT THE DATA TO BE OUT THERE.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, IF WE DO HAVE OVER 13,000 ADVERSE REACTION DEATHS FROM VACCINES, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PROCESS AND PIECE OF FACTUAL INFORMATION THAT I WANT TO TAKE IN IF I'M DECIDING WHETHER OR NOT TO TAKE A VACCINE OR ONE OF THEM.

YEAH ONE OTHER QUESTION.

SO WE CAN MOVE ON DOWN OUR AGENDA, I THINK.

YES, MA'AM.

OK, THE TOTAL COUNTS.

I'M JUST CURIOUS WHY WE CONTINUE THE COUNT, WHY WE DIDN'T START OVER AT THE YEAR LIKE WE DO WITH FLU OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

WE'RE REPORTING TOTAL CASES.

YES, MA'AM.

OK.

ON OUR REPORT, IS THERE A REASON FOR THAT OR IS THAT JUST WHERE WE'RE AT? BECAUSE IT'S A PANDEMIC, AND WE? I THINK THAT'S YOU KNOW, THAT'S CERTAINLY KIND OF BEEN SHOWN TO BE THE BEST PRACTICE WHAT WE'RE DOING AS A SOCIETY.

THE U.S.

IS COUNTING TOTAL CASES.

IT'S LIKE WE HAVEN'T WE HAVEN'T WITH FLU.

WE TYPICALLY HAVE A BREAK IN THE SUMMER.

AND SO THERE'S A KIND OF A DEFINED SEASON.

WITH THIS WE HAVEN'T HAD A DEFINED BREAK.

AND SO WE'VE YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST STRETCHED OUT ALMOST 18 MONTHS.

AND SO IT'S I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE KNOW HOW MANY WE'VE HAD OVER THAT TIME.

WHEREAS WITH FLU, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THAT SEASON OF LIKE OCTOBER THROUGH MARCH ISH IS KIND OF THAT TYPICAL.

WELL, THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME ASK THOSE QUESTIONS.

I APPRECIATE IT.

VERY HELPFUL.

YEAH.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR CASIE? OK, MR. CITY MANAGER.

ANYTHING ELSE ON COVID? NO MA'AM.

THANK YOU CASIE .

DO WE HAVE DOES LAURA HAVE A REPORT ON COVID? I THOUGHT LAURA WAS GOING TO.

YEAH, ACTUALLY, LAURA DOES HAVE JASON.

CHIEF.

I SAID, NO, MA'AM, I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO REPORT.

THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME.

YEAH.

IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE OTHER WAY I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO HEAR ABOUT.

LAURA STORRS IS GOING TO GIVE US A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF WE HAVE ALL OF THE GUIDANCE WE'RE GOING TO GET, WE THINK, ON ARP.

SO SHE'S GOING TO GIVE US A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF ALL OF THE ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.

ALSO DISCUSS KIND OF RECAP EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TO DATE AS FAR WITH COUNCIL, AS FAR AS PROJECTS THAT FIT THAT WE HAVE IN THE CAN, AND THEN TAKE ANY GUIDANCE FROM COUNCIL THAT YOU WANT TO GIVE.

WE'LL ALSO BE SEEKING AND SOLICITING INPUT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OR OVER THE NEXT FOUR OR FIVE WEEKS AND PLAN TO HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU IN OCTOBER A SYNOPSIS OF ALL OF THAT AND RECOMMENDED WAY FORWARD WHERE YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO APPROVE THE WORK PLAN FOR THE ARP FUNDS AS WE UNDERSTAND THEM FOR THE CITY OF AMARILLO.

AND OBVIOUSLY, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO MODIFY THAT OR ASK FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND ADDITIONAL THINGS TO BE ADDED OR SUBTRACTED.

AND WE CAN PUSH BACK TO ANOTHER MEETING IF WE NEED TO.

BUT OUR GOAL WILL BE TO HAVE COUNCIL PROVIDE FINAL GUIDANCE BETWEEN NOW AND OCTOBER.

AND WE'LL PUT THAT ON HOPEFULLY THE FIRST MEETING IN OCTOBER TO HAVE COUNCIL CONSIDER A GUIDANCE THAT WILL DIRECT HOW THOSE FUNDS AND PROJECTS ARE GOING TO BE BROUGHT TO COUNCIL GOING FORWARD OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.

OK, AND COUNCIL, I HAVE PROVIDED SOME DETAILED INFORMATION TO YOU ALL SEPARATELY FROM THIS.

SO WE'RE GOING TO KIND OF LOOK AT AN OVERVIEW OF THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN.

HERE, JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT PROVIDES A VERY UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO MAKE STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS IN LONG LIVED ASSETS, TO REBUILD RESERVES, TO ENHANCE FINANCIAL STABILITY, AND TO COVER TEMPORARY OPERATING SHORTFALLS UNTIL ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND OPERATIONS NORMALIZE.

WITH THAT SAID, WE ARE ONE OF THE LARGER CITIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.

AND SO WE RECEIVED OUR ALLOCATION DIRECTLY FROM THE U.S.

[01:00:02]

SMALLER CITIES AND COUNTIES ACTUALLY ARE RECEIVING THEIR ALLOCATIONS THROUGH THE STATE.

AND TDEM IS ASSISTING IN THAT PROCESS.

SO OUR TOTAL ALLOCATION CAME IN AT JUST UNDER THIRTY NINE POINT SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS, AND THAT WAS A DIRECT DISTRIBUTION THAT WILL BE MADE IN TWO INSTALLMENTS.

THE FIRST HALF OF THAT WAS RECEIVED BACK IN MAY FOR JUST UNDER 20 MILLION, NINETEEN POINT EIGHT MILLION DOLLARS.

AND THE SECOND HALF WILL BE RECEIVED NO EARLIER THAN 12 MONTHS AFTER THE FIRST DISTRIBUTION.

SO AT THE EARLIEST, THAT WOULD BE MAY OF 2022.

AS JARED MENTIONED, THERE IS AN INTERIM FINAL RULE THAT WAS ISSUED BACK IN MAY OF 2021, AND IT HAD A LOT OF OUTLINES ON THE ELIGIBILITY OF THE USES.

AS FAR AS THAT'S CONCERNED, THEY DID OPEN IT UP.

THE TREASURY OPENED IT UP TO TAKE COMMENTS THROUGH THE END OF JULY.

AND I HAVE HERE WE SHOW THAT THERE WAS ALMOST 1600 COMMENTS RECEIVED BY THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT, AND THEY ARE STILL WORKING ON THOSE.

SO THEY ARE ACTIVELY PUTTING NEW FAQS OUT AND TRYING TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS AS THEY GO.

AND YES, WE HAVE ACTUALLY SUBMITTED A QUESTION OR TWO AND HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANYTHING BACK YET.

WITH THAT, WE ARE EXPECTING THERE TO BE A FINAL RULING AT SOME POINT.

WE DON'T KNOW WHEN THAT IS, BUT THEY'RE STILL COLLECTING ALL OF THAT INFORMATION FROM THE COMMENTS, PROVIDING ANSWERS ON IT.

AND THEN EVERYTHING WE'RE HEARING AT THIS POINT IS THERE SHOULD BE SOME SORT OF A FINAL RULE AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE.

WE DO HAVE REPORTING THAT BEGINS.

IT IS DUE BY AUGUST 31ST TO THE END OF THIS MONTH, AND IT'S FOR SPENDING THAT WAS MADE THROUGH JULY 31ST 2021.

NOW, WE HAVE NOT EXPENDED ANY OF THESE FUNDS YET.

SO IT WILL BE A VERY SHORT REPORT FOR US.

AND AGAIN, A REMINDER, THESE FUNDS MUST BE SPENT BY DECEMBER 31ST OF 2024.

THERE ARE FOUR MAJOR FUNDING OBJECTIVES THAT HAVE BEEN OUTLINED THROUGH THE ACT.

SO THEY ARE TO SUPPORT THE URGENT COVID 19 RESPONSE EFFORTS TO CONTINUE TO DECREASE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS AND BRING THE PANDEMIC UNDER CONTROL TO REPLACE LOST REVENUE FOR ELIGIBLE STATE, LOCAL AND TERRITORIAL AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS, TO STRENGTHEN SUPPORT FOR VITAL PUBLIC SERVICES AND HELP RETAIN JOBS, SUPPORT IMMEDIATE ECONOMIC STABILIZATION FOR HOUSEHOLDS AND BUSINESSES, AND TO ADDRESS SYSTEMATIC PUBLIC HEALTH AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGES THAT HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE INEQUAL IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC.

SO PER THE INTERIM FINAL RULE THAT WAS ISSUED BACK IN MAY, THERE WERE FOUR ELIGIBLE AND FOUR MAIN CATEGORIES ON THE ELIGIBLE USE.

THE FIRST ONE WAS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS.

THE SECOND WAS FOR PREMIUM PAY.

THE THIRD WAS FOR REVENUE LOSS.

AND THE FOURTH WAS INVESTMENTS IN INFRASTRUCTURE.

SO WHAT WE HAVE DONE IS WE HAVE WE HAVE COMBED THROUGH THE INTERIM FINAL RULE, IT'S A VERY LARGE DOCUMENT.

WE'VE ALSO BEEN WATCHING THE FAQS AS THEY ARE UPDATED PRETTY REGULARLY AND TRYING TO TRACK BASED WHAT WE HAVE HEARD FROM COUNCIL, ALSO FROM THE COMMUNITY.

AND WE'VE TRIED TO KIND OF PUT TOGETHER SOME BROAD CATEGORIES THAT WE FEEL WOULD BE GOOD RECOMMENDATIONS FOR USE OF THESE FUNDS.

SO THE FIRST CATEGORY HERE ON THE INVESTMENTS IN INFRASTRUCTURE, WE ARE LOOKING AT A PROJECT FOR BROADBAND, AS WE'VE DISCUSSED IN COUNCIL BEFORE.

AND THERE'S AN ELIGIBLE USE WITHIN THIS ACT FOR THOSE AREAS.

AND THEN ALSO WATER AND SEWER COULD BE A POSSIBLE INFRASTRUCTURE ELIGIBLE USE THAT WE COULD USE SOME OF THESE ARP FUNDS FOR REVENUE LOSS.

THERE IS AN ACTUAL CALCULATION THAT THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT PUT FORWARD FOR REVENUE RECOVERY FOR CITY SERVICES.

AND SO WE WOULD RECOMMEND MOVING FORWARD WITH CAPTURING THE REVENUE LOSS FOR THE CITY OF AMARILLO.

ALSO, UNDER THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS AREA, THERE ARE SOME AREAS RELATED TO TOURISM THAT COULD BE ELIGIBLE IN THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN.

THERE'S ALSO AND THIS CAME OUT IN ONE OF THE RECENT FAQS PARKS IS ACTUALLY AN AREA THAT COULD, PARTS OF IT COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR USE WITHIN THE ACT, BUT IT WOULD BE ONLY IN CERTAIN DEFINED AREAS.

SO THINK MORE ABOUT THE CDBG COVERED AREAS, THE HUD COVERED AREAS OF THE COMMUNITY, THERE COULD BE SOME DOLLARS THAT COULD BE SPENT ON SOME PARKS OR SOME PARK IMPROVEMENTS THERE.

HOMELESSNESS IS DISCUSSED A LOT THROUGH THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN, AND THERE ARE

[01:05:02]

AND THEN UTILITY ASSISTANCE IS ANOTHER ONE THAT IS OUTLINED IN THE ACT AS A POSSIBLE ELIGIBLE USE.

THAT, AGAIN, WOULD ONLY BE CERTAIN CITIZENS WOULD BE ELIGIBLE.

THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE DONE THROUGH A DEFINED PROCESS.

WE WOULD IF WE MOVE FORWARD WITH SOMETHING LIKE THAT, IT WOULD HAVE TO PROBABLY BE THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT WHO PARTNERS WITH A LOCAL ORGANIZATION THAT WORKS THROUGH ALL THAT ELIGIBILITY ALREADY.

SO THAT COULD BE SOME ASSISTANCE THAT COULD BE PROVIDED IN THAT AREA.

SO WITH THAT, IT'S A VERY HIGH LEVEL, AS JARED MENTIONED.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE LOOKING THROUGH THE FAQS AS THEY GET UPDATED.

WE WILL BE LOOKING FOR SOME FEEDBACK FROM COUNCIL.

AND OUR GOAL WOULD BE TO BRING BACK SOME RECOMMENDED DOLLAR AMOUNTS FOR SOME OF THESE ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.

PROBABLY THE FIRST MEETING IN OCTOBER.

SO I THINK THAT'S AROUND OCTOBER 12TH.

AND IN THE INFORMATION THAT WAS SENT OUT TO EACH ONE OF YOU, THERE WAS A LINK INCLUDED TO THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT'S WEBSITE.

THERE IS A LOT OF INFORMATION OUT THERE.

IF YOU HAVE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS OR PROJECTS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE US TO RESEARCH, IF YOU WILL, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

AND WE CAN CERTAINLY TRY TO FIND IF THERE'S AN AREA IN THE ACT THAT IS COVERED BY IT.

AND I THINK MOST OF THE QUESTION PERIOD HAS BEEN CLOSED AT THIS POINT.

BUT IF WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO SUBMIT ANOTHER QUESTION TO THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT, WE CAN DO THAT FOR SURE AS WELL.

ARE THERE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.

COUNCIL DO Y'ALL HAVE QUESTIONS FOR LAURA.

PASSING THE HAND OUT TO YOU.

HERE'S EXTRAS JARED.

LET ME ASK A QUESTION IS THERE WHETHER ANY MONEY COULD GO TO HELP THE SENIOR CITIZENS OR THE STRUCTURE, HAVE YOU GOTTEN AN ANSWER ON THAT.

WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED AS AN ANSWER ON THAT.

BASED ON OUR RESEARCH IN THE INTERIM FINAL RULE, BASED ON THE WAY THE REQUEST HAS BEEN WRITTEN, WE ARE NOT ABLE TO FIND A WAY THAT IT'S ELIGIBLE THROUGH THE ACT.

BUT AS I MENTIONED, WE DID GO AHEAD.

THAT WAS ONE WE SUBMITTED TO THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT, AND WE HAVE NOT HEARD BACK YET.

BUT YOU CAN SEE THEY HAVE BEEN INUNDATED WITH QUITE A FEW QUESTIONS.

AND SO IT MAY JUST TAKE SOME TIME TO HEAR BACK.

AND WE'D BE MORE THAN.

AND WE WILL PASS THAT INFORMATION ALONG TO YOU GUYS JUST AS SOON AS WE RECEIVE THAT BACK.

AND WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR IS THAT IT SAYS THAT ARP FUNDS CANNOT BE USED FOR FACILITIES.

WE'VE ASKED A CLARIFICATION FOR A SPECIFIC USE LIKE THIS CAN WE MAKE IT ELIGIBLE? CAN THEY GIVE A CLARIFICATION OR SOME GUIDANCE THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO USE IT FOR THAT? YES.

AND AS FAR AS FACILITIES ARE CONCERNED, THE ONLY ELIGIBLE USE THAT WE CAN FIND IS IF IT WAS SPECIFICALLY MAYBE A PUBLIC HEALTH FACILITY THAT IS ACTIVELY WORKING THROUGH COVID 19 SERVICES.

RESEARCH THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM HAVE BEEN DOING, AND THANK YOU FOR BRINGING MORE DETAILED INFORMATION TO US.

APPRECIATE IT.

OK, THANK YOU, LAURA.

OK, ITEM [INAUDIBLE] C IS A PUBLIC SAFETY REPORT JARED.

[1.C. Public Safety Report; ]

SO WE'RE GOING TO START WITH FIRE CHIEF JASON MAYS.

CHIEF.

ALL RIGHT.

SET A STOPWATCH MAKE SURE I DON'T GO OVER, GET TOO EXCITED TALKING ABOUT ALL OF THIS.

OK, WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE FOR OUR CITIZENS HERE, CITIZENS THAT ARE WATCHING AND THE COUNCIL MAYOR, OUR CITY MANAGEMENT TEAM AND COWORKERS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.

THIS UPDATE TODAY FOR OUR PART OF PUBLIC SAFETY WILL BE MATERIAL TAKEN IN STATUS AND DATA TAKEN FROM JANUARY 1ST TO JULY 31ST.

THAT IS THE MOST RECENT DATA THAT WE HAD TO COMBINE INTO THIS PRESENTATION.

SO IN THIS MY AIM HERE IS TO JUST RE-REVIEW SOME OF THE PART OF OUR DEPARTMENT OR THE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE.

I'M GOING TO COVER SOME VERY BASIC DATA RESPONSE FROM THE TIME RANGE THAT I MENTIONED.

AND I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF OUR ONGOING PROJECTS, RECENTLY COMPLETED PROJECTS, AS WELL AS SOME GOALS.

SO A FEW FACTS.

WE WERE ESTABLISHED IN 1897 IN JANUARY 1897, WE HAD 279 UNIFORMED MEMBERS THAT SERVE

[01:10:06]

WE WORK IN 24 HOUR SHIFTS, A, B AND C, AND WE RESPOND FROM 13 FIRE STATIONS STRATEGICALLY LOCATED AROUND TOWN.

OF THOSE 13 FIRE STATIONS, FOUR OF THOSE HAVE TWO COMPANY STATIONS, WHICH MEANS THAT THAT STATION HAS TWO TRUCKS.

AND ON EACH ONE OF OUR TRUCKS, WE HAVE FOUR FIREFIGHTERS ASSIGNED TO EACH.

WE DO HAVE 17 FRONT LINE TRUCKS FOUR LADDERS.

THE REST ARE ENGINES.

AND EACH SHIFT HAS TWO SHIFT CHIEFS ASSIGNED.

AND BASICALLY, THEY'RE THE INCIDENT COMMANDER FOR FIRST ALARM AND ABOVE CALLS.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

THIS MAP'S A LITTLE BIT BUSY FOR A SLIDE HERE, BUT WE HAVE SOME GOOD INFORMATION ON HERE, THIS MAP SHOWS OUR STATION AND DISTRICT LOCATIONS AND OUR AVERAGE RESPONSE TIMES WITHIN EACH DISTRICT.

THE RED NUMBERS ARE THE DISTRICT THE BRIGHT COLORED JIGSAW PIECES ARE THE BOUNDARIES OF EACH DISTRICT.

THE BUILDING ICON SHOWS THE PHYSICAL LOCATION OF EACH FIRE STATION.

THE UNDERLINED NUMBERS IN RED FOR THOSE THAT ARE UNDERLINED ARE OUR TWO COMPANY STATIONS.

THE PARAMEDIC ICON SHOWS THE LOCATIONS OF OUR THREE PARAMEDIC ENGINES.

THE COMMAND UNIT ICON SHOWS THE LOCATION OF THE TWO SHIFT CHIEFS ON DUTY.

THE BLACK NUMBERS IN EACH DISTRICT SHOW THE AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME, AND THIS IS THE DRIVE TIME FROM THE MOMENT THEY LEAVE THE STATION, HOW LONG IT TAKES THEM TO GET TO AVERAGE OF OUR EACH CALL WITHIN THEIR DISTRICT.

AND OUR RESPONSE TIME, AS YOU'LL SEE SO FAR FOR THIS YEAR, IS FOUR MINUTES AND FORTY NINE SECONDS.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE VARIOUS SERVICES AND THE PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE TO CARE FOR THE PUBLIC.

THERE ARE ALWAYS SURPRISED EVERY TIME WE MEET IN FRONT OF THE PUBLIC AND DISCUSS WHAT WE DO.

THERE ARE ALWAYS SURPRISES IN SOME OF WHAT OUR ROLES ARE AND HOW WE MEET THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY.

WE RESPOND TO ALL SORTS OF MEDICAL CALLS, HAZARDOUS MATERIAL EMERGENCIES, VEHICLE ACCIDENTS, INCLUDING AIRCRAFT.

WE HAVE CREWS STATIONED AT THE AIRPORT TO TAKE CARE OF ANY NEEDS THERE.

WE HAVE A HEAVY AND TECHNICAL RESCUE AND WE RESPOND TO THOSE INCIDENTS.

WE HAVE A PUBLIC EDUCATION COMPONENT AND WE PARTICIPATE IN AS MANY EVENTS AS WE CAN, EVEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PANDEMIC.

AND YES, WE STILL FIGHT FIRES AND THOSE BEING IN BUILDINGS OF ALL TYPES, VEHICLES AND OF THE WILD LAND VARIETY.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

THIS GRAPHIC JUST SHOWS DOWN OUR CALL BREAKDOWN.

AND THIS IS ACCORDING TO NOT SO MUCH HOW THE CALL COMES IN WHEN WE'RE TONED OUT OF A STATION, BUT MORE HOW THE REPORT IS COMPLETED.

AND I'LL HAVE A FEW EXAMPLES OF THE BREAKDOWN, BECAUSE IT'S KIND OF VAGUE GOING THROUGH THERE WHERE EVEN I HAD TO GO THROUGH AND REMIND MYSELF IS WHAT IN EACH CATEGORY.

SO THEN THE RESCUE, THOSE ARE OBVIOUSLY RESCUE AND EMS FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES, VEHICLE ACCIDENTS, INCLUDING EXTRICATIONS.

THEN GOOD INTENT COLUMN.

THAT'S WHEN WE'RE DISPATCHED AND CANCELED IN ROUTE OR IF WE ARE SENT TO THE WRONG LOCATION OR IF WE HAVE A SMOKE SCARE OR A STEAM OR FOG BARBECUE CHIMNEY PIT FIRES, WE GET KIND OF SENT TO ALL KINDS OF THINGS TO INVESTIGATE.

AND THEN THAT'S HOW IT'S CODED IN OUR REPORT.

FOR OUR FALSE CALLS SOMETIMES THESE ARE INTENTIONAL OR MISCHIEVOUS.

PROTECTION.

IF WE HAVE A PROTECTION SYSTEM WITHIN A BUILDING, IF THERE'S A MALFUNCTION, LIKE AN ACT OF SPRINKLER SMOKE DETECTOR ACTIVATION, WHETHER IF THERE'S NOT A FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS, WHEN WE HAVE TO GO OUT AND INVESTIGATE, THAT'S WHAT THAT CALL THE FALSE CALLS SUBJECT IS.

HAZARDOUS CONDITION.

THIS IS SPILLS AND LEAKS OF ANY TYPE OF CHEMICALS, CARBON MONOXIDE INCIDENTS, ELECTRICAL SHORTS, OVERHEATED MOTOR HVAC SYSTEMS DOWN POWER LINES, ARCHING LINES.

WE GET CALLED TO A VARIETY OF THOSE CALLS, OUR SERVICE CALLS, OR IF SOMEBODY IS LOCKED OUT OF A VEHICLE, LOCKED OUT OF THEIR HOME, WE CAN HELP WITH THAT.

WE EVEN GET CALLED TO FOR JEWELRY REMOVAL, LEAKING AND OPEN HYDRANTS, SMOKE REMOVAL, ANIMAL RESCUE.

WE HAVE ANIMALS THAT CAN GET THEMSELVES IN ALL KINDS OF SITUATIONS [INAUDIBLE] PD AND OTHER AGENCIES OR LIFT ASSIST.

IF AMS NEEDS SOME HELP ON A CALL THEN WE CAN HELP WITH THAT.

AND FOR THE REST OF THIS YEAR, WE'RE PROJECTING TO BE JUST UNDER TWENTY TWO THOUSAND BEFORE YEAR END.

AS FAR AS OUR RESPONSES.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

IN THIS TRADITIONALLY WE'VE ALWAYS REPORTED AND WE TYPICALLY SEE THINGS OR REPORT, ANY TIME THERE'S A FIRE OR DAMAGE TO A STRUCTURE OR TO ANY TYPE OF BUILDING WELL WE KIND OF TAKE A LESS THAN POSITIVE APPROACH ON HOW WE REPORT THAT INFORMATION.

AND WE'RE TRYING TO TRANSITION, AND WE'VE DONE THIS WITH OUR ANNUAL REPORT, AND WE'RE LOOKING TO INTEGRATE THIS IN OUR PRESS RELEASES BY FOCUSING SOME NOT JUST ON THE DOLLARS LOST ON THAT PARTICULAR EVENT OR THAT INCIDENT, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO PROVIDE IN OUR ANNUAL REPORT POSITIVE OUTCOMES, OR MAYBE IT'S NOT GOOD NEWS IF THERE WAS A FIRE, BUT MAYBE BETTER NEWS IN THE PROPERTY THAT WE WERE ABLE TO SAVE.

IN THIS, WHERE WE HAVE GOTTEN THIS NUMBER, AS WE TAKE THE [INAUDIBLE] ASSESSMENT, THE PRAD VALUES OFF THE WEBSITE, MINUS THE ESTIMATES FROM THE CREWS THAT ARE INVESTIGATING

[01:15:05]

AND THEN WE REPORT AS THE TOTAL SAVED.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

NOW WE'RE GETTING TO THE FIRST SLIDE OF FIVE PROJECTS THAT I'VE DECIDED TO INCLUDE IN THIS ACCREDITATION, WE HAD A REPORT THAT WE PRESENTED TO COUNCIL AND MAYOR LAST MONTH.

ACCREDITATION IS A NEVER ENDING PROCESS.

IT'S JUST A CONTINUAL LOOK AT WHO YOU ARE, WHAT YOU DO AND HOW YOU DO IT.

AND FINDING MORE EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT WAYS TO DO THAT.

ANY TIME WE DO THIS AND WE'RE UP TO LOOK AT DOING THIS NEXT YEAR AS WE PREPARE TO RE-UP TO DECIDE WHETHER WE MAINTAIN OUR ACCREDITATION STATUS, WE TAKE DIRECT COMMUNITY INPUT AND WE TRY TO GET THAT IN-PERSON TO FEED THE CITIZENS THAT SHOW UP TO THIS LUNCH.

AND WE TRY TO GET SURVEYS FROM THEM.

AND FROM THAT INPUT THAT WE GET THAT INFORMATION, WE TAKE THAT AND WE PRESENT THAT TO A CREW THAT WE SELECT OF COMMITTEE WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT FROM ALL DIFFERENT RANGES, ALL DIFFERENT RANKS, LOCATIONS AND PROGRAMS ACROSS TOWN, ALL YEARS OF SERVICE.

AND WE TRY TO ASSEMBLE A GROUP OF FOLKS THAT WILL TAKE THAT COMMUNITY INPUT.

AND THAT'S WHERE WE GET OUR STRATEGIC GOALS, IS WHICH WE UPDATE COUNCIL AND UPDATE OUR LEADERS ONCE A YEAR ON THAT.

I USE THIS FREQUENTLY WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO SET THE DIRECTION FOR OUR DEPARTMENT.

AND OF THOSE GOALS JUST REAL QUICK, WE WANT TO IMPROVE INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, THAT'S A CHALLENGE FOR ANY RELATIONSHIP, WORKING OR PERSONAL, IMPROVE OUR TRAINING PROGRAM IN ACCORDANCE TO OUR MISSION.

WE WANT TO IMPROVE OUR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES, INCREASE HOW WE ENGAGE WITH OUR PUBLIC, BE MORE EFFICIENT MANAGING OUR RESOURCES.

WE WANT TO IMPROVE OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT TO BEST PROTECT THE CITY OF AMARILLO.

WE WANT TO MAINTAIN AN EFFECTIVE WORKFORCE TO SUPPORT OUR MISSION, OUR VISION AND OUR VALUES, AND LAST, ACHIEVE AND MAINTAIN ACCREDITATION.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

SOME OF OUR RECENT PROJECTS ALSO INCLUDE AT THE END OF PROP 2, AS YOU SEE, THAT WAS VOTER APPROVED IN 2016.

OUT OF THIS PROJECT, AND I HAVE I WROTE 150 ON THERE.

IT'S ACTUALLY WE WERE ABLE TO PURCHASE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FIVE SELF-CONTAINED BREATHING APPARATUS, THE PACKS THAT WE WEAR WHEN WE GO INTO A HAZARDOUS STRUCTURE OR A HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENT.

WE WERE ABLE TO BUY 45 THERMAL IMAGING CAMERAS, AND THAT ALLOWS US TO GO AND SEE IN THE DARK AND SMOKE ENVIRONMENT.

AND WE'RE ABLE NOW TO EQUIP EACH ONE OF OUR FIRE TRUCKS WITH TWO OF THESE CAMERAS IF THAT CREW HAS TO BREAK APART TO SEARCH VARIOUS LOCATIONS OF STRUCTURE.

WE HAD THREE FIRE STATION REBUILDS.

THE LAST WAS COMPLETED OF MARCH OF THIS YEAR.

AND OUR FINAL PROJECT THAT WE'RE IN THE PROGRESS OF GETTING DONE IS WE WERE ABLE TO ACQUIRE THE OLD A TO Z BUILDING.

AND RATHER THAN THAT SIT UNABANDONED FOR SALE, WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE THAT GET INTO THAT BUILDING.

AND WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF REMODELING AND GETTING THAT READY FOR OUR FLEET MAINTENANCE TEAM TO MOVE IN.

AND THIS TEAM.

THEY'RE THE ONES THAT TAKE CARE AND SERVICE OUR FIRE TRUCKS WHEN, YOU KNOW, TO KEEP THEM ON THE ROAD AND US ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF OUR MISSION.

WE'RE VERY EXTREMELY GRATEFUL FOR THE PUBLIC'S SUPPORT IN THAT AREA.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

COVID ITS IMPACT ON US AND THE WORLD.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE SEE WITH FAR TOO OFTEN EVERY MEETING, IT SEEMS TO BE SHOW HOW DAUNTING IT IS.

IT'S NEVER ENDING.

AND MEANWHILE, IT'S JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE IN THIS WORLD.

WE HAVE A MISSION AND WE'VE ADJUSTED IT THE BEST WE CAN, AS IS THE WORLD.

SINCE BECOMING A REALITY I'VE BEEN PROUD IN SEEING HOW OUR FOLKS WITH AFD AND THROUGH OTHER TEAMS THAT WE'VE BEEN A PART OF WITHIN THE CITY AND SEEING HOW WE'VE ALL STEPPED UP TO MEET THE PANDEMIC.

WE WERE ABLE TO SEND TEAMS AND PERSONNEL FROM AFD INTO THE PLANNING EFFORTS AND THE INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM.

WE WERE ABLE TO ASSIST THE NURSING HOME TESTING FOR IN THE STATE AND REGIONAL AREAS.

WE WERE ABLE TO AND THAT WAS FOR WE WERE ABLE TO TEST RESIDENTS AND CARE PROVIDERS.

WE PARTICIPATED WITH CITY SPONSORED EVENTS FOR FOOD PANTRIES, DRIVE UP MOBILE TESTING, MOBILE VACCINATION OUTREACH, THE SUCCESSFUL TEAM AT THE CIVIC CENTER ON THEIR VACCINATION TEAM.

AND I WAS GOING TO TRY TO PRONOUNCE THE BAM LAB, THAT WHOLE WORD THERE, THE MONOCLONALS INFUSION CENTER.

BUT I'LL JUST LEAVE THAT ONE.

BUT WE WERE ABLE TO HELP OUT WITH THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME.

AND WE JOINED SO MANY IN PRAYING THAT WE SOON OVERCOME COVID.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

THIS IS A VERY RECENT PROGRAM THAT OR A PROJECT WE WERE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH.

OUR WILD LAND TEAM IN THE MIDST OF COVID AND EVERYTHING ELSE, LIFE GOES ON AND WE'VE BEEN BLESSED RECENTLY WITH RAIN.

AND WE KNOW THAT THE WILD LAND THREAT IS ALWAYS AROUND THE CORNER.

AS A RESPONSE TO THAT AND TRYING TO BE PROACTIVE WE WERE ABLE TO RECEIVE A TWENTY THREE THOUSAND DOLLAR GRANT FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION AND FOR A MITIGATION PROJECT.

AND ON THIS OFF OF KNOX STREET, WHERE WE HAD A MEDICAL FACILITY, THAT WE WERE ABLE TO SEND OUR GUYS IN THERE TO LIMB UP SOME TREES AND JUST DO SOME CLEAN UP AND REMOVE SOME

[01:20:01]

SO IF A FIRE EVER COMES TO THAT AREA, IT WOULD BE LESS OF A THREAT TO THAT FACILITY.

AND IN THIS, NOT ONLY WERE WE ABLE TO HELP THAT SPECIFIC AREA.

ANYONE THAT WAS ABLE TO SHOW UP AND TOOK INTEREST IN THAT, AND ESPECIALLY ON THE EDGES OF TOWN WHERE WILD LAND IS MORE OF, THOSE FIRES ARE MORE OF A THREAT, THEY WERE ABLE TO GET SOME TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE A LITTLE MORE FIREPROOF THEIR PROPERTY AND PROTECT THEIR HOME.

THIS PROJECT TOOK OVER 400 PERSON HOURS.

AND IF YOU COMBINE THE EDUCATIONAL AND ACTUAL CLEAN UP PROJECT AND THEY FINISHED THIS LAST SATURDAY, WE'RE IN PROGRESS OF WORKING ON A PRESS RELEASE.

THAT'LL BE OUT SOON.

AND JUST A FEW SECONDS TO BRAG ON OUR WILD LAND TEAM.

THAT'S A VERY ENERGETIC AND MOTIVATED GROUP.

AND IT SEEMS LIKE THE HEART OF THE WORK AND THE BIGGER THE CHALLENGE, THE HAPPIER THOSE GUYS ARE.

SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THEM.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

OUR LAST OF OUR PROJECTS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY IS OUR PARAMEDIC ENGINES.

WE WERE ABLE TO ADD ONE IN JUNE.

WE HAVE THREE TOTAL RIGHT NOW AND THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS IS WHEN WE SHOW UP AND WHEN WE WORK ON THIS EXISTING TEAM WORK WITH AMS, OUR AMBULANCE TRANSPORT AGENCY, IS WE CAN WORK WITH THOSE PROFESSIONALS AND WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH A PIT CREW OF ALS.

SO WHEN WE SHOW UP, WE'VE GOT HIGHLY TRAINED MEDICAL PERSONNEL, EACH DOING A CRUCIAL ROLE WHEN WE SHOW UP FOR ONE OF THOSE EVENTS, THAT'S LIFE ALTERING FOR THE FOLKS THAT CALLED US.

OUR GOAL IS WHETHER IT'S TAKING CARE OF MY FAMILY, YOUR FAMILY, WE'RE TAKING CARE OF AND RESPONDING TO TAKE CARE OF SOMEBODY'S FAMILY.

AND ON THAT, BEFORE I MOVE ON, WE DO HAVE WE AVERAGE 15000 EMS CALLS EVERY YEAR.

SO OUR AREA OF FOCUS, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE AN AMBULANCE AGENCY IN TOWN, IS YOU WANT TO LOOK AT WHAT YOU MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR CALLS.

MOST OF OUR CALLS ARE EMS OF THAT NATURE.

SO LET'S GET REALLY GOOD AT MAKING OF WHAT WE DO THERE.

WE DON'T WANT TO NEGLECT FIRE AND OBVIOUS AREAS WHILE WE'RE IN BUSINESS, BUT WE WANT TO BE VERY GOOD ON THOSE CALLS.

A QUARTER OF OUR EMS CALLS ARE WHAT WOULD REQUIRE AN ALS INTERVENTION, AND THAT'S MAYBE IF THEY NEED AN I.V., IF THEY NEEDED SOME CARDIAC MONITORING OR SOME ADVANCED DRUGS, AND 10 PERCENT OF OUR MEDICAL CALLS ARE LIFE THREATENING IF WE'RE THERE AND WE'VE GOT THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN PLACE WITH THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT, THE RIGHT TRAINING, WE CAN TRULY MAKE OR BREAK A DIRE SITUATION.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

OUR GOALS, THOUGH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO.

AND AGAIN, IT COULDN'T HAVE BEEN AT A WORSE TIME WITH THE PANDEMIC, BUT WE'RE LOOKING FOR NEW WAYS TO ENGAGE OUR COMMUNITY.

WE HAVE THE KIDS SAFETY TOWN, WHICH IS A SPRING AND A FALL EVENT, AND WE'VE GOT OUR FINGERS CROSSED THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO CONDUCT THAT THIS FALL.

WE'RE LOOKING FOR GROUP PRESENTATIONS IF ANY GROUP THAT EVER WANTS US TO SHOW UP AND TALK ABOUT WHAT WE DO SO THAT YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT VALUE WE'RE TRYING TO ADD TO THE CITIZENS IN EXCHANGE FOR YOUR TAX DOLLARS.

WE'LL SHOW UP TO ANY OF THOSE GROUPS AND BE GLAD TO TALK AS LONG AS YOU CAN TOLERATE IT.

WE HAVE A CITIZEN'S FIRE ACADEMY THAT'S IN THE PLAN.

WE REALLY WANTED TO TAKE AND WE'VE NEVER TO MY KNOWLEDGE, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'VE EVER HAD ONE THROUGH AFD AND WE'RE WANTING TO SET THAT UP.

SO WE'LL BE LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS FOR THAT.

WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO RAISE OUR EMS STANDARDS THROUGH ALS CARE.

AND TO DO THAT JUST REALLY BRIEFLY, WE JUST CERTIFY MORE PARAMEDICS.

WE ADD EQUIPMENT THAT LEADS TO MORE PARAMEDIC ENGINES.

EVERY TIME WE DO THAT AND WE PUT ONE OF THOSE CARDIAC MONITORS ON OUR TRUCKS, THAT IS A GAME CHANGER THAT TRULY IT CAN TRULY HELP THE TEAM WORK ALONG WITH THE EMS. AND WE DO A REALLY GOOD JOB TAKING CARE OF FOLKS IN THE FORTUNATE EVENT IF THEY EVER NEED US.

WE'RE LOOKING TO MAINTAIN THE SYSTEM TO MAINTAIN A DIVERSE WORKFORCE.

AND WE'RE ALSO HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE STARTING THIS THURSDAY, THE FIRST DAY, WE'RE HIRING 10 NEW RECRUITS, ONE OF WHICH IS A WOMAN.

SO WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE A WOMAN FIREFIGHTER BACK IN OUR DEPARTMENT, AND WE WISH HER LUCK ALONG WITH THE OTHER NINE FOLKS THAT ARE JOINING IN OUR FAMILY.

WE WILL CONTINUE TO USE THE ACCREDITATION AND SOME OF THE SKILLS THAT WE'VE LEARNED TO MAINTAIN OUR ACCREDITATION.

WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THOSE SAME DATA GATHERING SKILLS TO LOOK AT ISO AND FOR IF WE CAN BECOME AN ISO, WHICH IS A TOP RATED DEPARTMENT, ISO ONE OUR RETURN ON INVESTMENT WOULD BE A BENEFIT TO ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS AND BUSINESS OWNERS.

NEXT AND FINAL SLIDE.

ANY QUESTIONS? WHAT'S THAT LOOK LIKE, CHIEF ISO ONE LIKE YOU GUYS MAP THAT OUT ON HOW FAR AWAY WE ARE FROM ACHIEVING THAT OR.

WE DO.

WE CREATED AS SOON AS I MOVED TO THE CORNER OFFICE, AS I CALL IT, IS WE'VE KIND OF SHIFTED SOME OF OUR PROGRAMS AND OUR PROGRAMS ARE RAN BY DISTRICT CHIEF.

WE HAVE A COMPLIANCE PROGRAM WITHIN THAT THE TWO MAIN GOALS WERE ACCREDITATION AND ISO.

SO FOCUS FIRST ON MAINTAINING WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE WITH ACCREDITATION.

AND AS HE'S GETTING THE REST OF HIS MEMBERS UP TO SPEED.

ONE OF THE AREAS ASSIGNED WAS THE ISO, AND HE'S BEEN WORKING WITH COORDINATORS

[01:25:04]

AND THE LAST REPORT I HAD, WHICH WAS EARLIER THIS WEEK THAT WE'RE SITTING AT ABOUT AN EIGHTY FOUR, AND IT'S JUST LIKE IF WE CAN GET TO THAT 90, ALMOST LIKE AN A YOU THINK THAT'S WHERE YOU WANT TO BE WITH YOUR GRADE POINT.

AND SO WE'RE SIX POINTS AWAY FROM THAT.

AND WERE NEXT NOW THAT WE KNOW WHERE WE WANT TO GO AND HOW FAR WE ARE FROM THAT, AND IT'S JUST LOOKING AT WHAT CHANGES CAN WE MAKE ALREADY IF IT'S JUST SHIFTING WHERE WE HAVE APPARATUS LOCATED, SOMETIMES JUST MOVING THE LADDER FROM ONE LOCATION TO THE OTHER.

AND IT'S KIND OF ODD, BUT I MEAN, THERE'S A SCIENCE AND A METHOD TO IT, BUT WE THINK THAT'S ACHIEVABLE OR AT LEAST CHIEF [INAUDIBLE].

YEAH, I'M GOING TO PUT NO PRESSURE ON HIM.

BUT HE SEEMS VERY ENTHUSIASTIC AS WELL.

[LAUGHTER] I THOUGHT THIS SLIDE WAS PARTICULARLY HELPFUL.

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK THAT WENT INTO PUTTING THAT TOGETHER.

THANK YOU.

ANYBODY ELSE HAVE QUESTIONS FOR THE CHIEF? NO, OK.

THANK YOU CHIEF.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH, APPRECIATE YOU.

APPRECIATE ALL YOU GUYS DO FOR US AND GAL, RIGHT? YEAH.

NO CHIEF BIRKENFELD.

YEAH, YEAH.

GOT IT.

I ALSO WANT TO SAY WHAT A GREAT RELATIONSHIP WE HAVE WITH OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT.

YOU KNOW, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF JOKING THAT GOES AROUND ABOUT RIVALRY BETWEEN POLICE AND FIRE, AND WE DO RIB EACH OTHER FROM TIME TO TIME.

BUT OUR TROOPS REALLY DO WELL WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN, WHEN THEY NEED TO PERFORM AND THEY WORK TOGETHER FLAWLESSLY AND WE TRAIN TOGETHER, TOO.

SO THAT HELPS.

I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF KIND OF WHERE WE'RE AT YEAR TO DATE, MORE OR LESS, OR AT LEAST FOR THE FIRST SIX MONTHS.

BUT AS A PART OF THAT, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE THE STATUS OF OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT, OUR STAFFING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO GO AHEAD.

AND RIGHT NOW, WE'RE AUTHORIZED 372 POLICE OFFICER POSITIONS.

THAT INCLUDES EVERYBODY FROM ME ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE NEWEST OFFICER.

WE ALSO HAVE 79 CIVILIAN POSITIONS.

SOME OF THOSE ARE PART TIME.

MOST OF THEM ARE FULL TIME POSITIONS TO SUPPORT WHAT WE DO INTERNALLY.

ON THE NEXT SLIDE.

SO THIS IS A BREAKDOWN OF OUR CURRENT STAFFING.

WE HAVE 321 OFFICERS ON BOARD AND THAT'S OFFICERS WHO FUNCTION INDEPENDENTLY, BUT THAT INCLUDES EVERYBODY, AGAIN, FROM AN OFFICER CORPORAL ALL THE WAY UP THE RANKS TO OUR OFFICE.

WE HAVE 13 OFFICERS CURRENTLY IN FIELD TRAINING.

THEY ARE SCHEDULED TO COMPLETE THEIR TRAINING IN SEPTEMBER, AT WHICH POINT THEY WILL BE ADDED TO THAT 321.

AND SO THAT'LL BRING OUR NUMBERS UP TO ABOUT 334 AS FAR AS ACTUAL OFFICERS IN THE FIELD DOING INDEPENDENT WORK.

WE ALSO HAVE 16 POLICE OFFICERS TO BE IN OUR TRAINING ACADEMY.

THEY'RE SCHEDULED TO GRADUATE NOVEMBER 19TH.

AFTER THEY GRADUATE, THEY'LL HAVE ANOTHER FOUR MONTHS OF TRAINING AND THEN THEY SHOULD BE OUT ON THEIR OWN AS WELL.

WE HAVE CURRENTLY 22 VACANT POLICE OFFICER POSITIONS, AND THAT'S FROM ATTRITION, FROM RETIREMENTS AND SOME UNPLANNED PERSONS THAT JUST FOUND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES AND LEFT OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS.

AGAIN, I THINK I'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE, BUT WE DON'T HIRE ONE AT A TIME.

WE HIRE IN GROUPS.

AND SO WE'RE ALWAYS GOING TO HAVE SOMEWHAT OF A SHORTAGE.

THIS IS A LITTLE HIGHER THAN WE'D LIKE TO SEE IT.

BUT AGAIN, WE'VE GOT AN ACADEMY STARTING IN DECEMBER.

AND WE EXPECT TO FILL THOSE 22 POSITIONS THEN.

AND IF WE'RE ABLE TO OVER HIRE, WE'LL DO THAT AS WELL.

WE HAVE HAD A DROP IN APPLICANTS OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, AND THAT'S SEEMS TO BE A STATEWIDE, NATIONWIDE TREND, TALKING WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF OTHER POLICE DEPARTMENTS.

BUT WE ARE STILL GETTING APPLICANTS, AND THAT'S A GOOD SIGN.

SO WE'RE NOT GOING TO CHANGE OUR STANDARDS ANY TO GET MORE PEOPLE.

WE'RE STILL KEEPING VERY STRICT STANDARDS.

SO WE HAVE THE BEST POLICE OFFICERS THAT WE CAN GET.

AND IF THAT MEANS WE DON'T GET ALL 22, THEN SO BE IT.

AND WE'LL TAKE APPLICATIONS AGAIN.

SO OUR DEPARTMENT'S BROKE UP INTO SEVERAL DIVISIONS.

THE MAIN THE LARGEST DIVISION IS THE PATROL DIVISION, WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR NORMAL FIRST RESPONSE.

IN OTHER WORDS, WHEN YOU CALL 911, IT'S A MEMBER OF THE PATROL DIVISION THAT'S GOING TO RESPOND TO THAT.

WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY 185 OFFICERS IN THAT DIVISION.

THAT'S A LITTLE OVER HALF OF THE DEPARTMENT ASSIGNED AS FIRST RESPONDERS.

THEY WORK IN THREE OVERLAPPING SHIFTS.

EACH SHIFT IS 10 HOURS AND THEY HAVE SET DAYS OFF.

SO WE HAVE CONTINUOUS COVERAGE.

AND THEN WE PUT THOSE OVERLAPS AT OUR BUSIER TIMES, PARTICULARLY IN THE LATE AFTERNOON AND ALSO BETWEEN 10:00 P.M.

AND 1 A.M.

IN THE MORNING.

THIS IS A BREAKDOWN OF OUR CALLS FOR SERVICE, AND THIS SAYS YEAR TO DATE, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY THROUGH JUNE 30TH.

IT'S SOMETIMES OUR DATA NEEDS A LITTLE BIT OF TIME FOR CORRECTION.

SO THIS IS GOOD DATA THROUGH JUNE 30TH, AND WE COMPARED THAT TO THE SAME TIME FRAME FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS.

AND YOU CAN SEE THERE'S A BIG DROP IN 2020, AND THAT IS BECAUSE OF APRIL 2020, WHEN THE FIRST LOCK DOWN OCCURRED.

WE SAW MUCH LESS TRAFFIC ON THE ROADS AND A SIGNIFICANT ABOUT A 20 PERCENT DECREASE IN OUR CALLS FOR SERVICE DURING THE MONTH OF APRIL OF 2020.

IT STARTED PICKING BACK UP TOWARDS THE END OF THAT MONTH, AND IT KIND OF RESUMED A NORMAL LEVEL.

BUT THAT'S THE PRIMARY REASON FOR THAT DROP IN CALLS FOR SERVICE IN 2020

[01:30:02]

THERE'S A SLIGHT CHANGE IN OUR PRIORITY SYSTEM.

WE'VE GOT SOME NEW SOFTWARE IN AECC, WHICH IS OUR COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH.

AND THE SOFTWARE CHANGE REQUIRED US TO REPRIORITIZE A LOT OF EVENTS.

AND SO YOU'LL SEE A CHANGE.

THERE'S FEWER PRIORITIES.

AND THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THAT SOFTWARE CHANGE.

BUT THAT'S ONLY PART OF THE EQUATION.

WE'RE A LITTLE BIT DOWN ON CALLS THIS YEAR, WHICH IS GOOD BECAUSE THAT HELPS US WITH OUR CAPACITY.

UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAVE THOSE 22 VACANT POSITIONS, WHICH IS A LITTLE HIGHER THAN IT NORMALLY IS AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR.

THIS IS OUR RESPONSE TIMES FOUR PRIORITY CALLS AND AGAIN, COMPARING IT BACK TO THE LAST FOUR YEARS, WE HOVER RIGHT AROUND EIGHT MINUTES FOR A RESPONSE TIME, AND THAT'S FROM THE TIME THE 911 CALL IS FIRST PICKED UP IN AECC.

THAT'S THE DARK BLUE PORTION.

THEY'RE GENERALLY UNDER TWO MINUTES CONSISTENTLY BY THE TIME AN OFFICER GETS DISPATCHED.

SO THEY PICK UP THE CALL, THE CALL TAKER PUTS IN THE INFORMATION, THE DISPATCHER SENDS AN OFFICER.

ALL THAT OCCURS WITHIN TWO MINUTES OR LESS.

AND THEN IT'S GENERALLY FAIRLY CONSISTENT.

SIX TO SEVEN MINUTES DRIVE TIME TO MOST OF OUR CALLS.

AND AGAIN, IT DEPENDS A LOT ON THE TIME OF DAY.

IF IT'S IN THE LATE AFTERNOON WHEN EVERYBODY'S OUT, THERE'S A LOT OF TRAFFIC.

IT'S A MUCH SLOWER RESPONSE.

IF IT'S EARLY IN THE MORNING WHEN THERE'S VERY LITTLE TRAFFIC, LIKE AT 5:00 A.M., IT COULD BE A TWO OR THREE MINUTE RESPONSE TIME.

SO THAT VARIES.

BUT THAT'S JUST AN AVERAGE OVER ALL THE SHIFTS AND ALL THE DAYS OF THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THE YEAR.

THIS IS OUR NON PRIORITY RESPONSE.

THESE ARE OUR CALLS THAT ARE NOT EMERGENT, BUT NONETHELESS REQUIRE POLICE OFFICER TO RESPOND.

AND AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE THAT BIG DROP IN 2020, AND OUR RESPONSE TIMES WAS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE LOWER VOLUME OF CALLS.

AND SO THERE WERE FEWER CALLS THAT WERE PENDING.

THE BLUE PART ON THIS IS A LOT BIGGER BECAUSE THE AECC DISPATCHERS HAVE TO PRIORITIZE THOSE CALLS AS WELL.

AND SO A CRIME IN PROGRESS IS GOING TO TAKE PRECEDENT OVER A REPORT WHERE THE SUSPECT HAS ALREADY LEFT.

AND THAT'S THAT LONGER WAIT TIME IN DISPATCH.

CHIEF ON ALL THESE THAT HAVE THE GREAT YEAR OVER YEAR DATA.

ARE WE COMPARING THROUGH END OF JUNE FOR ALL FOUR OF THOSE YEARS PRESENTED? YES, MA'AM.

OK.

WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT THE SAME TIME FRAME JUST SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'RE AT.

PART OF OUR PATROL BUSINESS IS ALSO THE NEIGHBORHOOD POLICE OFFICERS, AND WE HAVE SEVEN OFFICES, WE HAVE NORTH HEIGHTS, HAMLET, THE BARRIO NEIGHBORHOOD, SOUTH LAWN, SAN JACINTO, EASTRIDGE AND OUR DOWNTOWN AREA.

AND EACH OF THOSE OFFICES, ONE OR TWO OFFICERS ARE ASSIGNED TO PATROL THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS.

AND WE GIVE THEM PROBABLY THE WIDEST VARIETY OF JOBS POSSIBLE BECAUSE THEIR JOB IS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS. AND SOME OF THOSE PROBLEMS ARE CRIME PROBLEMS, AND SOME OF THEM ARE QUALITY OF LIFE PROBLEMS. AND SO WE ASK THEM JUST TO BE FLEXIBLE WITH THEIR HOURS AND BE FLEXIBLE WITH THEIR DAYS.

THEY WORK A LOT OF WEEKENDS AND GOING TO COMMUNITY EVENTS AND TRYING TO LISTEN AND FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS THERE.

AND SO WE HAVE OFFICERS DEDICATED JUST TO THAT.

AND SOMETIMES THEY'RE RESPONDING TO CALLS FOR SERVICE OVER THE RADIO.

A LOT OF TIMES THEY'RE RESPONDING TO INDIVIDUAL COMPLAINTS FROM CITIZENS WHO HAVE THEIR NUMBERS WITH THEM OR WHO THEY TALK TO AT MEETINGS OR VARIOUS OTHER EVENTS THAT THEY ATTEND.

OUR SPECIALIZED OPERATIONS DIVISION, THIS TAKES UP APPROXIMATELY 80 OFFICERS AS WELL, AND THAT INCLUDES OUR SWAT OUR NARCOTICS, OUR PACE UNIT, WHICH IS OUR PRO ACTIVE CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT.

THOSE OFFICERS ARE ASSIGNED TO SOLVE PROBLEMS AND GO AFTER DANGEROUS FUGITIVES.

WE ALSO HAVE OUR MOTORCYCLE UNIT, OUR SCHOOL OFFICERS, PARKING ENFORCEMENT AND OUR BOMB TEAM, ALL A PART OF THAT DIVISION.

EACH OF THOSE JOBS HAS AN IMPORTANT TASK.

AND SO WE SEGMENTED THOSE OUT FROM PATROL.

THEY GENERALLY ARE NOT RESPONDING TO 911 CALLS, BUT THEY CAN BE AVAILABLE FOR THAT.

BUT THEY'RE CERTAINLY ON CALL 24/7 GENERALLY FOR OTHER MAJOR EVENTS, AS WE'VE UNFORTUNATELY SEEN IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS.

OUR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DIVISION, THAT'S WHERE A CASE GOES.

ONCE AN OFFICER MAKES A REPORT OR ARREST, THEN THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR IS RESPONSIBLE FOR COMPLETING THAT CASE.

AND THEY SEND THAT OVER TO THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICES FOR THE FILING OF CHARGES OR THEY CLOSE THE CASE IF THERE'S NOTHING ELSE TO BE DONE WITH THAT.

AND WE ARRANGE THOSE UNITS BY THE TYPE OF CRIME THAT THEY INVESTIGATE.

AND AGAIN, APPROXIMATELY 80 OFFICERS ARE ASSIGNED TO THAT DIVISION AS WELL.

CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION? YES, SIR.

SO, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE 22 OFFICERS SHORT.

YES.

SO DOES THAT COME OUT ALL ACROSS THE BOARD OR ARE THEY PREDOMINANTLY IN YOUR PATROL DIVISION? I MEAN, LIKE YOUR SPECIAL OPERATIONS, ARE THEY FULLY STAFFED? IS YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD POLICE OFFICERS? ARE THEY FULLY STAFFED? I MEAN.

IT'S SPREAD OUT.

IT'S SPREAD OUT SOMEWHAT.

WE'RE CARRYING A SHORTAGE IN THE SPECIALIZED OPERATIONS DIVISION.

JUST A LITTLE BIT IN EACH UNIT TO KIND OF SPREAD THAT OUT.

SOME OF IT IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD POLICE OFFICERS, WE'D REALLY LIKE TO HAVE TWO OFFICERS IN EACH OF THOSE OFFICES.

BUT WE DON'T WANT TO LEAVE ANY OF THEM UNFILLED.

SO THERE'S AT LEAST ONE IN SOME AND TWO AND OTHERS.

AND THEN SOME OF THOSE SHORTAGES ARE IN THE PATROL DIVISION.

SO THEY'RE NOT JUST.

SO WE LEFT OUT OF THE PATROL DIVISION.

[01:35:01]

IT'S ALL ACROSS OK.

AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE RECORD SERVICES ARE STAFFED ENTIRELY BY OUR CIVILIAN STAFF, AND IT'S A BIG JOB AND THEY DO DATA ENTRY, WHICH IS PUTTING IN REPORTS.

THEY DO OUR VALIDATION OF STOLEN ARTICLES.

CUSTOMER SERVICE, WHICH IS ONLINE REPORTS OR ON OVER THE PHONE REPORTS.

THEY TAKE OVER A THOUSAND REPORTS A YEAR JUST OVER THE PHONE AND ONLINE.

AND THEN ALSO OPEN RECORDS REQUEST, WHICH IS A MAJOR TASK BECAUSE WE GET A DAILY SEVERAL REQUESTS FOR RECORDS AND THOSE HAVE TO BE SORTED THROUGH AND DEALT WITH IN A VERY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME BY LAW.

TRAINING AND PERSONNEL HANDLES THE TRAINING OF INTERNAL OFFICERS AND CIVILIANS, AS WELL AS OUR POLICE ACADEMIES.

AND THEY ALSO HANDLE OUR COMPLIANCE WITH OUR BEST PRACTICES STANDARDS.

WE JUST WENT THROUGH OUR INSPECTION LAST WEEK, AND WE EXPECT TO BE RE ACCREDITED HERE IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.

THE INSPECTORS FOUND OUT ABOUT 170 SOMETHING STANDARDS THAT WE HAVE TO FOLLOW.

THERE WERE TWO ISSUES THAT WE WERE ABLE TO IMMEDIATELY CORRECT.

SO WE DID VERY WELL IN THAT BUT THAT'S HANDLED THROUGH A TRAINING DIVISION.

AND THEN THEY ALSO MANAGE AND STAFF THE AMARILLO SHOOTING COMPLEX, WHICH IS THE PUBLIC SHOOTING COMPLEX FOR THE CITY OF AMARILLO.

AND FINALLY, OUR ADMINISTRATION DIVISION, WHICH IS WHERE MY OFFICE IS.

WE ALSO HAVE INTERNAL AFFAIRS THAT REPORTS DIRECTLY TO OUR OFFICE SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THE ABILITY TO GET INFORMATION QUICK ON INTERNAL PROBLEMS THAT WE MIGHT BE HAVING.

ALSO, OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICERS IN OUR OFFICE OF FLEET AND TECHNOLOGY.

SO THAT JUST KIND OF GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF WHY WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, 372 POSITIONS, BUT THAT'S NOT THE EXACT NUMBER THAT'S OUT ON THE STREETS.

SO OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS, OF THE SAME TIME PERIOD, AGAIN, THIS IS DATA THROUGH THE END OF JUNE.

WE CAN SEE WHAT OUR CRIME IS DOING.

AND THESE ARE REPORTED CRIMES.

SO ONE OF THE ALARMING THINGS THAT WE SEE RIGHT AWAY IS OUR HOMICIDES ARE UP.

IN THE PREVIOUS YEARS, WE HAD FIVE OR SIX HOMICIDES THROUGH JUNE.

THIS YEAR WE'VE HAD 13 AND WE HAD MORE SINCE THEN.

SO THERE'S DEFINITELY AN ISSUE GOING ON WITH VIOLENT CRIME.

AND WE SEE THAT OUR RAPES AND REMEMBER, RAPES IN THIS CATEGORY INCLUDES SEXUAL ASSAULTS OF MINORS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR RAPE CASES ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE KNOWN.

THE VICTIM KNOWS WHO THE OFFENDER IS.

WE DON'T HAVE HARDLY ANY STRANGER RAPES, WHICH IS A GOOD THING.

BUT IT'S STILL BAD THAT WE HAVE THIS NUMBER OF SEXUAL ASSAULTS THAT OCCUR WELL AMONG PEOPLE THAT KNOW WHO THE OFFENDER IS.

THAT NUMBER IS SLOWLY DOWN, BUT THAT'S ALSO A VERY SMALL SAMPLE SIZE.

AND SO WE JUST KIND OF HAVE TO KEEP WATCHING ON THAT.

BUT WE HAVE A VERY GOOD SYSTEM IN PLACE IN AMARILLO FOR NOT ONLY REPORTING SEXUAL ASSAULT, BUT ALSO PROSECUTION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT.

THE ROBBERIES HAVE STAYED FAIRLY STEADY, BUT WE'VE SEEN A DECREASE THIS YEAR SO FAR.

ALONG WITH THAT, THE AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS ARE STAYING STEADY.

AND THAT'S A NUMBER THAT WE HAVE NOT SEEN A DROP IN.

AND THERE'S A GREATER NUMBER OF THOSE AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS THAN THERE WERE LAST YEAR THIS TIME.

AND THERE'S ALSO A GREATER NUMBER OF THOSE THAT ARE ACTUAL SHOOTINGS AS WELL.

AND SO WE CAN SEE OUR VIOLENT CRIME TOTAL REALLY HAS GONE DOWN ONLY SLIGHTLY.

AND IT'S GONE UP IN HOMICIDES AND IN AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS.

THEN WE DROP DOWN TO THE PROPERTY CRIMES, WHICH ARE BURGLARY, LARCENY, THEFT.

THOSE TWO CATEGORIES, WE'VE SEEN SIGNIFICANT DROPS IN.

AND THAT'S A STEADY TREND WE'VE SEEN OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, ACTUALLY.

AND THERE'S A LOT OF THEORIES ON WHY THAT'S HAPPENING.

ONE IS THAT WE DID CHANGE THE WAY WE'RE DOING SOME OF THE INVESTIGATIONS INTERNALLY.

WE'VE ASSIGNED DIFFERENT OFFICERS IN THOSE UNITS BEFORE WE HAD SERGEANTS.

NOW WE HAVE OFFICERS.

AND WE PROBABLY HAVE A LITTLE BETTER SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING THOSE.

BUT PROBABLY A BIGGER FACTOR IN OUR PROPERTY CRIMES HAS TO DO WITH TECHNOLOGY.

EVERYTHING FROM RING CAMERAS, NEST CAMERAS, JUST THE PREVALENCE OF VIDEO TECHNOLOGY IS REALLY MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN OUR OPINION, BECAUSE WE CAN'T REALLY EXPLAIN ANY OTHER REASON FOR BURGLARIES TO BE DOWN THAT SIGNIFICANT OF A NUMBER.

BUT WE DO SEE A LOT OF CASES THAT COME IN WHERE WE DO HAVE GOOD VIDEO FROM EITHER THE NEIGHBORS CAMERA OR THE PERSON WHO GOT BURGLARIZED THEIR CAMERA.

AND WE'RE ABLE TO MAKE A CASE WITH THAT.

SO THE TECHNOLOGY IS DEFINITELY PLAYING A ROLE IN THAT.

AND I'LL TALK MORE ABOUT TECHNOLOGY IN A BIT.

WHERE WE'RE NOT SEEING DECREASE IS IN STOLEN VEHICLES.

AND THIS IS PRIMARILY BECAUSE WE KEEP LEAVING KEYS IN CARS AND KEY FOBS IN CARS.

MOST CARS MANUFACTURED WITHIN THE LAST 10 YEARS, YOU JUST CAN'T START IT WITHOUT THE KEY OR THE KEY FOB BECAUSE OF THE ELECTRONIC DEVICES THAT ARE USED TO PREVENT THAT FROM HAPPENING.

SO WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL AND NOT GET CARELESS AND LEAVE OUR KEYS IN OUR CARS AND CERTAINLY NOT LEAVE THEM RUNNING WHEN WE'RE RUNNING INTO THE STORE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, BECAUSE THIEVES KNOW THAT THAT HAPPENS AND THEY'RE WAITING FOR THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.

WE DON'T HAVE A COMPLICATED CAR THEFT RINGS OPERATING IN AMARILLO.

IT'S JUST SIMPLY PEOPLE WHO ARE TAKING CARS TO USE FOR A DRUG TRADE OR JUST JOYRIDES.

AND SO THAT'S STILL A BIG PROBLEM.

BUT IT'S PROBABLY ONE OF OUR MOST PREVENTABLE CRIMES THAT'S OCCURRING IN AMARILLO.

AND THEN FINALLY, ARSONS.

WE HAVE A SMALL NUMBER OF THOSE, EVEN THOUGH THOSE ARE INVESTIGATED, FILED BY THE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE.

WE REPORT THAT DATA OUT OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.

[01:40:03]

SAME THING WITH HOMICIDES.

ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE THE PROPERTY CRIMES.

I'M SORRY, I FORGOT ABOUT THE MAP THERE.

GOING BACK TO THE MAP, THIS IS ONE OF THE TOOLS WE USE AND WE'RE WORKING TO IMPROVE OUR TECHNOLOGY IN THIS AREA.

BUT THIS HELPS US UNDERSTAND WHERE OUR VIOLENT CRIME IS OCCURRING.

AND ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE QUALIFIED FOR PROJECT SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS, WHICH BECAUSE OF THIS DATA, ARE SHOWING THAT WE DEFINITELY HAVE SOME HOTSPOTS FOR VIOLENT CRIME.

AND THIS IS PROBABLY NOT THE GREATEST ILLUSTRATION.

IF WE WERE ON THE ACTUAL PROGRAM, WE COULD DRILL DOWN A LITTLE FARTHER AND LOOK AT THOSE HOTSPOTS IN MORE DETAIL.

BUT YOU CAN SEE THERE'S SOME DEFINITE AREAS OF TOWN WHERE A GREATER CONCENTRATION OF VIOLENT CRIME IS OCCURRING.

AND SO THAT'S HOW WE ORGANIZE OUR DEPLOYMENT, ESPECIALLY IN OUR SPECIALIZED OPERATIONS DIVISION, WHERE WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO SEND OFFICERS WITHOUT THEM BEING TIED TO THE RADIO, AND THEY CAN WORK ON PROJECTS TO HELP REDUCE VIOLENT CRIME IN THOSE AREAS.

THAT'S OUR PROPERTY CRIMES AGAIN.

YOU CAN SEE A FAIRLY STEADY DECLINE IN BOTH LARCENY, THEFT AND BURGLARY CASES AND THE STOLEN VEHICLES JUST DON'T SEEM TO BE GOING ANYWHERE.

SO SOME OF OUR INITIATIVES, OBVIOUSLY VIOLENT CRIME IS A PROBLEM.

SO WE CONTINUE WORKING ON THAT.

ABOUT A YEAR AGO, WE IMPLEMENTED A SHOOTING RESPONSE TEAM MODEL AND THAT ADDED CAPACITY TO OUR INVESTIGATORS.

SO IF A IF A SHOOTING INVOLVES MULTIPLE WITNESSES OR MULTIPLE OFFENDERS, WE CAN ADD TO THAT ON AN AD HOC BASIS.

SO 24/7, THERE ARE SEVERAL INVESTIGATORS WHO ARE ON CALL.

IF OFFICERS RESPOND TO A SHOOTING, THE INVESTIGATORS ARE CALLED AND THEY DETERMINE HOW MUCH MORE HELP THEY NEED.

AND WE'VE GIVEN THEM THE ABILITY TO ADD, IF THEY NEED 20 OFFICERS TO HELP THEM INVESTIGATE THIS RIGHT AWAY, THEN WE'LL CALL THEM OUT.

IF THEY JUST NEED TWO OR THREE, THEN WE DO THAT.

BUT WE WANT THEM TO HAVE MORE OR LESS THE UNLIMITED ABILITY TO START INVESTIGATING THESE SHOOTINGS AS SOON AS THEY OCCUR.

AND THAT'S PROVEN TO HELP US SOLVE MORE OF THESE CRIMES AND BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE OFFENDERS BEFORE PEOPLE SCATTER AND DECIDE THEY DON'T WANT TO TALK TO US.

AN IMPORTANT PART OF THAT IS COMMUNITY OUTREACH.

AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THAT OUR NEIGHBORHOOD POLICE OFFICERS HAVE DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB THIS SUMMER IN SEVERAL COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS.

ONE WAS AT THE HAMLET PARK ON JULY 4TH OUR OFFICERS ORGANIZED THAT.

THEY ENDED UP FEEDING OVER 500 PEOPLE.

AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE GOT TO TALK TO A LOT OF PEOPLE, A LOT OF FOLKS WHO LIVE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD WHO DON'T APPRECIATE THE AMOUNT OF VIOLENT CRIME THAT'S GOING ON.

AND THEY GAVE US A LOT OF INFORMATION, LOTS OF IDEAS ON WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP REDUCE THAT.

AND SO WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE COMMUNITY OUTREACH BECAUSE IT'S ABSOLUTELY A PART OF OUR STRATEGY TO REDUCE VIOLENT CRIME.

WE HAVE A PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERSHIP WITH THE THROUGH THE BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE.

THEY PROVIDED MOSTLY TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO US TO HELP US BUILD OUR CAPACITY FOR INVESTIGATION AND FOR CRIME ANALYSIS.

AND WE'VE GOT ANOTHER YEAR LEFT IN THAT PARTNERSHIP, AND THEY'LL BE LOOKING AT OUR PROCESSES.

THEY'VE ALREADY EVALUATED OUR INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS AND OUR CRIME ANALYSIS AND GIVEN US SOME IDEAS.

SO I'LL TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH CRIME ANALYSIS HERE IN JUST A MINUTE.

ALSO, WE'RE PART OF PROJECT SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS, WHICH IS MORE OR LESS SPONSORED BY THE FEDERAL THAN THE U.S.

ATTORNEY'S OFFICE HERE IN AMARILLO.

THE U.S.

ATTORNEY HERE IN AMARILLO IS VERY AGGRESSIVE IN HELPING US FIGHT VIOLENT CRIME, HELPING US HOLD OFFENDERS ACCOUNTABLE WHO ARE POSSESSING FIREARMS WHEN THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BY LAW OR WHEN THEY'RE USING THEM TO COMMIT A CRIME.

TALK FOR A MINUTE ABOUT OUR TRAFFIC CRASHES, BECAUSE THAT'S ANOTHER MAJOR ISSUE FOR AMARILLO.

THIS IS THE OVERALL CRASHES IN AMARILLO.

AND AGAIN, YOU SEE THAT BIG 2020 DROP.

AND THAT WAS DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED TO APRIL, WHERE WE JUST SAW VERY LITTLE TRAFFIC ON THE STREETS DURING SOMETIMES THE DAY THAT WE NORMALLY HAVE A LOT OF CRASHES.

BUT AGAIN, OUR CRASHES ARE BACK UP ALMOST TO 3000 AS OF JUNE 30TH.

WE FEEL LIKE WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT.

WE COMMIT OUR MOTORCYCLE PATROLS TO WORKING AREAS, THAT OUR DATA SHOWS MORE CRASHES OCCUR.

AND SO YOU SOMETIMES SEE THEM IN THE SAME AREAS OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

BUT THOSE ARE GENERALLY OUR HIGH CRASH AREAS.

THEY ALSO ARE RESPONSIVE WHEN A PERSON CALLS IN AND REPORTS THAT THEIR STREET HAS SPEEDERS ON IT OR OTHER TRAFFIC PROBLEMS. THEY GO THERE AND THEY CHECK ON THOSE PROBLEMS AND THEN EVALUATE IF THEY NEED TO COME BACK OR IF ONE TIME IS A FIX.

ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE OUR DWI CRASHES.

AND THIS SLIDE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT BECAUSE OF THE WAY WE HAD TO PULL THE DATA THE FIRST FOUR YEARS ARE THE FULL YEAR OF DATA.

AND THEN THE LAST SLIDE IS 2021 YEAR TO DATE.

SO YOU CAN SEE IF OUR DWI CRASHES CONTINUE AT THE SAME RATE WILL BE ALMOST TO 300 CRASHES BY THE END OF THE YEAR.

SO WE'RE STILL HAVING A BIG ISSUE WITH PEOPLE DRINKING AND DRIVING AND CAUSING CRASHES.

AND AGAIN, THIS IS SEPARATE FROM THE ARRESTS THAT WE MAKE OF PEOPLE THAT WE FIND INDEPENDENTLY DRINKING AND DRIVING.

THE NEXT SLIDE TALKS ABOUT OUR FATAL CRASHES.

AGAIN, IT'S THE SAME FORMAT.

THE FIRST FOUR YEARS ARE THE FULL YEAR OF DATA.

AND THE LAST ONE IS YEAR TO DATE AS OF JUNE 30TH.

AGAIN, I'M SORRY, YEAR TO DATE AS OF NOW ON THIS ONE.

[01:45:02]

THERE'S THREE BIG FACTORS ON OUR FATAL CRASHES.

ONE IS DRINKING AND DRIVING.

ONE IS NOT WEARING SEATBELTS AND ONE IS SPEED.

AND WHEN YOU GET A LOT OF THOSE OVERLAPPING FACTORS, IT'S A DEADLY COMBINATION.

A LOT OF THESE OCCUR AT NIGHT.

SOME OF THEM OCCUR DURING THE DAY.

BUT IT'S A BIG PROBLEM FOR US.

SO WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON DRINKING AND DRIVING.

SOME OF THESE INITIATIVES INCLUDE ALSO LOOKING AT UNDERAGE DRINKING.

WE FORMED A PARTNERSHIP, ACTUALLY, IT'S BEEN IN PLACE FOR A WHILE, BUT WITH TXDOT TO HELP PROVIDE MORE DATA ABOUT OUR CRASHES AND ALSO GIVE US SUPPORT FOR SOME OF THE GRANTS THAT WE USE TO SUPPLEMENT OUR TRAFFIC PATROLS.

WE ALSO PARTNER WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS.

ONE GROUP THAT'S VERY STRONG RIGHT NOW IS ANDREA'S PROJECT.

AND THEIR ONE OF THEIR GOALS IS PUBLIC EDUCATION, WHICH IS ALSO ONE OF OUR GOALS TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE TRUE DANGERS OF DRINKING AND DRIVING AND WHY THAT'S A DEADLY COMBINATION.

WE ALSO HAVE ENFORCEMENT TEAMS FOR DWI UNDER A GRANT, AND WE ALSO HAVE UNDERAGE DRINKING TEAMS THAT GO OUT.

AND THESE ARE VOLUNTEERS FROM OUR JUVENILE INVESTIGATION UNIT THEY GO OUT DURING THE NIGHTTIME WHEN THEY KNOW PARTIES ARE OCCURRING.

AND THEY'RE LISTENING FOR THOSE CALLS.

DISPATCH IS LISTENING.

AND THEY'LL SEND THOSE OFFICERS AND THEY ALSO DO SOME SOCIAL MEDIA MINING AND TALK TO THE KIDS AT THEIR SCHOOLS AND FIND OUT WHERE THESE PARTIES MIGHT BE OCCURRING AND THEY GO AND CHECK ON THEM.

WE MADE SEVERAL LARGE EVENTS WHEN THIS FIRST STARTED, AND WE JUST HAVEN'T SEEN QUITE AS MANY.

SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S A FACTOR OF SOMETHING ELSE OR IF WE'RE MAKING A DENT IN IT, BUT WE'RE COMMITTED TO CONTINUING THIS PROGRAM TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR KIDS ALSO UNDERSTAND THE DANGERS OF DRINKING WHEN THEY'RE UNDERAGE, DRINKING AT PARTIES AND ALL THE ASSOCIATED PROBLEMS THAT GO WITH THAT.

AND IF YOU REMEMBER, LAST YEAR, COUNCIL ALSO APPROVED THE SOCIAL HOST ORDINANCE TO HOLD PROPERTY OWNERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR ALLOWING THESE TYPES OF PARTIES TO OCCUR ON THEIR PROPERTY.

I'LL TALK ABOUT TWO MORE ISSUES HERE.

ONE IS TRESPASSING IN VACANT BUILDINGS, AND THAT'S COME UP QUITE A BIT LATELY.

AMARILLO IS GOING THROUGH SOME TRANSITIONS IN SOME AREAS, AND THAT CAUSES, FOR EXAMPLE, A BUSINESS TO BECOME VACANT.

AND UNFORTUNATELY, PEOPLE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT.

THEY BEGAN TRESPASSING.

SOME PEOPLE TRY TO SET UP TEMPORARY HOMES INSIDE THESE OTHERS ARE JUST OR SIMPLY IN THERE TO STEAL STUFF, TO STEAL A COPPER AND OTHER FIXTURES OUT OF THESE BUILDINGS.

AND SO IT BECOMES A HAVEN FOR CRIME.

AND SO WE'RE WORKING DIRECTLY WITH BUILDING OFFICIALS.

NOW, WE HAD A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT MEETINGS WHERE WE'VE WORKED OUT A PROCESS TO COMMUNICATE DIRECTLY BACK AND FORTH.

WHENEVER THERE'S A PROBLEM AND TRY TO KEEP THESE BUILDINGS FROM BECOMING HAVENS FOR EITHER DRUG USE OR CRIME, AND ALSO TO KEEP THE BUILDINGS FROM BEING TORN UP BECAUSE THEY LOSE A GREAT DEAL OF VALUE WHEN ALL THE COPPER STRIPPED OUT OR ALL THE APPLIANCES ARE GONE OR THERE'S JUST GENERAL DAMAGE AND TRASH.

SO WE'RE WORKING WITH THAT.

BUT WE DO NEED BUILDING OWNERS.

IF YOU OWN A BUILDING THAT IS VACANT OR IT BECOMES VACANT.

YOU HAVE TO DO A GOOD JOB OF SECURING THAT SO PEOPLE CANNOT BREAK IN.

WE ALSO NEED YOU TO PUT NO TRESPASSING SIGNS UP, BECAUSE THAT MAKES IT PRETTY CLEAR AND IT MAKES A LITTLE EASIER CASE FOR AN OFFICER WHO GOES OUT TO SAY, LOOK, THE SIGN SAYS NO TRESPASSING.

IT DOESN'T MATTER THAT THE DOOR'S BROKE, YOU CAN'T BE IN HERE, AND THEN WE CAN KEEP PEOPLE FROM GOING IN THERE.

AND WE ALSO NEED BUILDING OWNERS TO PROVIDE US THAT CONTACT INFORMATION SO THAT WE CAN CALL THEM WHENEVER WE FIND A PROBLEM.

AND THAT CAN BE DONE BY POSTING IT ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING AND ALSO CONTACTING THE POLICE DEPARTMENT DIRECTLY.

AND WE'LL ENTER THAT INFORMATION INTO OUR COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH SO THAT IF OFFICERS GO OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, THE DISPATCHER CAN PULL THAT UP AND CONTACT THE OWNER DIRECTLY.

THE OTHER ISSUE WE GET A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT IS LOUD NOISE.

AND THIS IS VERY SUBJECTIVE, BUT WE DO HAVE A STATE LAW IN PLACE THAT PROHIBITS UNREASONABLE NOISE AND UNREASONABLE IS A VERY SUBJECTIVE STANDARD.

BUT IT'S NOT HARD TO FIGURE OUT.

FOR EXAMPLE, MOST OF US CAN UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S REASONABLE FOR A PERSON TO RUN THEIR LAWNMOWER AT TWO O'CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON TO MOW THEIR YARD.

THE PROBLEM IS MAYBE I'M NEXT DOOR AND I WORK DURING THE NIGHT AND SLEEP DURING THE DAY.

IT'S GOING TO BE A PROBLEM FOR ME.

BUT IT MAY STILL NOT BE UNREASONABLE BECAUSE WE REALIZE THAT, YOU KNOW, AT SOME POINT YOU HAVE TO MOW YOUR YARD.

IT'S A LOT HARDER TO DO IT AT NIGHT.

NOW, IF I'M DOING MY YARD AT 2:00 A.M.

IN THE MORNING, THERE'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE A LOT MORE UNREASONABLENESS TO THAT.

MOST NEIGHBORS ARE GOING TO BE SAYING, HEY, THAT'S KEEPING ME AWAKE, IT'S KEEPING MY KIDS AWAKE.

AND SO, AGAIN, WE HAVE TO GO OUT ON EACH OF THESE CALLS AND WEIGH THE REASONABLENESS STANDARD AND DECIDE, OK, IS THIS REASONABLE, WHAT THE PERSON IS DOING? AND THE LAWN MOWER IS JUST KIND OF A SIMPLE EXPLANATION.

MOST OF THE TIME.

IT'S LOUD NOISE FROM MUSIC OR PARTIES OR THINGS LIKE THAT.

AND AGAIN, OUR GOAL IS TO GET COMPLIANCE.

SO WE GENERALLY, YOU KNOW, LISTEN TO IT FIRST AND FIGURE OUT IS THIS REASONABLE OR IS IT UNREASONABLE? THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SIMPLY BEING ABLE TO HEAR MUSIC VERSUS MUSIC BEING LOUD.

AND SO IF YOU'RE IN YOUR HOUSE AND YOU TURN OFF ALL YOUR APPLIANCES AND YOU SIT THERE AND BE AS QUIET AS YOU CAN AND YOU CAN HEAR MUSIC COMING FROM DOWN THE STREET, THAT'S PROBABLY NOT AN UNREASONABLE AMOUNT OF MUSIC.

BUT IF YOU'RE HAVING DINNER WITH YOUR FAMILY AND YOU CAN STILL HEAR THE MUSIC RATTLING YOUR WINDOWS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THEN IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE UNREASONABLE.

AND AGAIN, IT'S TOUGH BECAUSE THE OFFICER HAS TO GO OUT AND MAKE THOSE DECISIONS AND DO THAT.

[01:50:01]

WE DID A STUDY A WHILE BACK THAT FOUND THAT THAT AMBIENT NOISE FROM ROADWAYS SOMETIMES CONTRIBUTES AS MUCH NOISE AS A BUSINESS, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT'S PLAYING MUSIC.

AND WE MEASURED SOUNDS FROM BOTH THE DOORWAY OF THE BUSINESS, THE PROPERTY LINE AND FROM ADJACENT PROPERTY LINES, AND FOUND THAT THE STATE STANDARD FOR 85 DECIBELS IS REALLY HARD TO MEET.

AND THE MUSIC COULD STILL BE UNREASONABLY LOUD, BUT BE BELOW THE 85 DECIBELS WHICH THE STATE PUTS IN THERE AS A PRESUMPTION OF UNREASONABLENESS.

SO WE GENERALLY HAVE TO USE OUR LISTENING AND OUR SUBJECTIVITY TO DETERMINE THAT.

OUR FIRST STEP IS TO WARN A PERSON, HEY, LOOK, YOUR MUSIC'S TOO LOUD.

THE NEIGHBORS HAVE COMPLAINED, PLEASE TURN IT DOWN.

MOST OF THE TIME WE GET COMPLIANCE THAT WAY.

VERY RARELY DO WE HAVE TO GO BACK.

IF WE DO GO BACK, MOST OFFICERS ARE OF THE OPINION THEY'LL WRITE A CITATION BECAUSE THE PERSON'S ALREADY BEEN WARNED AND THEY'VE JUST REFUSED TO COMPLY.

AND IN SOME CASES, WE HAVE TO MAKE AN ARREST, ESPECIALLY IF WE HAVE A LOUD PARTY AND PEOPLE ARE INTOXICATED AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

AND A CITATION IS JUST NOT GOING TO FIX THE ISSUE.

BUT THOSE DON'T HAPPEN TOO OFTEN.

SO WE'RE USING DATA DRIVEN SOLUTIONS.

WE'VE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR CRIME ANALYSIS AND OUR CRASH DATA ANALYSIS.

ONE OF MY GOALS IN THE NEXT TWO TO THREE YEARS IS TO BUILD A REAL TIME CRIME CENTER.

AND THAT SOUNDS HUGE, BUT IT'S REALLY A FAIRLY SMALL PROJECT IN SCOPE OF GEOGRAPHY.

BUT IT'S GOING TO REQUIRE A LOT OF TECHNOLOGY.

AND THE REAL TIME CRIME CENTER WILL HELP OFFICERS GET INFORMATION IN REAL TIME ON WHAT'S GOING ON.

FOR EXAMPLE, IF A PERSON ROBS A STORE.

THE REAL TIME CRIME CENTER WILL BEGIN RESEARCHING A NEARBY VIDEO OR VIDEO FROM THAT STORE WHERE WE HAVE DIRECT LINKS CONNECTED TO, AND WE START BEING ABLE TO LOOK FOR SUSPECT VEHICLES OR SUSPECTS THAT MIGHT BE INVOLVED IN THAT.

THEY CAN ALSO USE SOME OF THE AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READER INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE TO LOOK FOR SUSPECT VEHICLES AND VARIOUS OTHER TECHNOLOGIES OUT THERE THAT CAN BRING THAT IN SO WE CAN GET MORE INFORMATION OUT TO THE OFFICERS TO HELP THEM, ESPECIALLY ON VIOLENT CRIMES LIKE ROBBERIES AND SHOOTINGS.

SO WHAT DO WE NEED? WHAT WE NEED FROM COUNCIL AND WHAT WE NEED FROM THE PUBLIC IS SUPPORT FOR VIOLENCE, INTERVENTION WITH YOUTH.

THAT'S ONE OF THE PRIMARY THINGS THAT COMES TO MY MIND, IS TO HELP OUR YOUNG PEOPLE UNDERSTAND ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO RESOLVE CONFLICT WITHOUT GUNS.

AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE I PICTURE IN MY MIND A VIDEO I SAW RECENTLY OF TWO YOUNG PEOPLE IN A PARKING LOT OF A CONVENIENCE STORE AND CLEAR, VERY, VERY CLEAR SURVEILLANCE.

AND THESE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE CARRYING GUNS OPENLY WITH THE INTENT AND LATER DO COMMIT A SHOOTING THAT RESULTED IN TRAGIC CIRCUMSTANCES.

AND SO WE REALLY NEED TO ALL PULL TOGETHER AND HELP WITH OUR YOUTH AND DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO INTERVENE WITH OUR YOUTH, ESPECIALLY ONES WHO ARE GOING TO HAVE CHALLENGES TO BEGIN WITH AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO REDUCE OUR VIOLENT CRIME AT THAT LEVEL.

WE ALSO NEED SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITY BASED PROGRAMS THAT REDUCE DRINKING AND DRIVING.

THIS HAS TO BE A CULTURE CHANGE.

I THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT BEFORE.

IT CAN'T BE AN ENFORCEMENT ONLY THING.

WE HAVE TO CHANGE OUR CULTURE SO THAT WE ALL WHEN WE GO TO A PARTY, WE RECOGNIZE THAT SOMEBODY IS GOING TO HAVE TO DRIVE AND THEN WE MAKE THAT HAPPEN IN ADVANCE.

WE HELP OUR FRIENDS OUT AND WE MAKE IT WHERE IT'S NOT OK TO DRINK AND DRIVE.

WE ALSO NEED SUPPORT FOR MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES IN OUR COMMUNITY.

WE DO HAVE A LOT OF CONFLICT WITHIN THE COMMUNITY THAT OCCURS BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE ISSUES THAT THEY NEED HELP WITH THEIR SICK AND THEY'RE NOT CRIMINALS.

AND SO WE DON'T WANT TO TAKE THEM TO JAIL.

WE NEED TO TAKE THEM EITHER TO A HOSPITAL OR TO A TREATMENT FACILITY OR GET THEM IN TOUCH WITH RESOURCES THAT WILL HELP THEM HAVE A LONG TERM GOOD EFFECT.

AND WE'VE GOT SOME THINGS GOING, ESPECIALLY AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, WITH OUR CRISIS INTERVENTION TEAM AND THE MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS THAT RIDE ALONG WITH OUR CRISIS INTERVENTION TEAM.

BUT THAT'S JUST PART OF THE EQUATION.

WE'RE ALSO LOOKING FOR TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENT.

SO, AGAIN, WE'LL BE ASKING FOR IN THE FUTURE TO APPROVE GRANTS FOR TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS AND ALSO INCREMENTAL GROWTH, WHICH WE'VE ALREADY ASKED FOR WITHIN OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT TO KEEP UP WITH OUR CITY'S GROWTH IN PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT.

AND WITH THAT, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

QUESTIONS, COUNCIL.

CHIEF, I WONDERED IF ON THAT CRIME DATA GRAPH, ALL OF YOUR INFORMATION VERY INTERESTING AND VERY HELPFUL TO US TO HAVE AN OVERVIEW.

COULD WE ADD SHOOTINGS? I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CITIZENS ASK A LOT ABOUT AND ARE VERY CONCERNED.

I MEAN, THEY'RE CONCERNED ABOUT ALL CRIME, BUT SHOOTINGS IN PARTICULAR, I GUESS, BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS IN THE NEWS WHEN IT HAPPENS.

ABSOLUTELY.

WELL, THAT'S ONE OF OUR DATA CHALLENGES.

SHOOTINGS CAN FALL INTO SEVERAL CRIME CATEGORIES.

AND SO RIGHT NOW, IT TAKES A LITTLE BIT OF MANUAL SEARCHING TO PULL THAT OUT WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT A LARGE DATA SET.

BUT WE HAVE STARTED IN THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS TRACKING THOSE MANUALLY UNTIL WE CAN FIGURE OUT A BETTER SOLUTION, BECAUSE WE NEED TO KNOW THAT NOT ONLY WHEN AND WHERE THEY'RE HAPPENING, BUT WHERE AND SEE IF THERE'S A CONCENTRATION THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY.

SO APPRECIATE THAT SUGGESTION, BECAUSE THAT'S THAT'S DEFINITELY IN OUR RADAR.

YEAH.

OK.

THEN THE OTHER QUESTION I GET FROM CITIZENS AND HAVE HAD THIS ONE RECENTLY,

[01:55:02]

SO IT'S KIND OF THE OPPOSITE OF SHOOTING.

IT'S NOT VIOLENT CRIME, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT CITIZENS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT.

AND I DID HAVE A CITIZEN ASK ME, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S WHAT'S THE LAW IN AMARILLO ABOUT PANHANDLING? AND HE MENTIONED IT THAT HE HAD A LADY COME UP TO HIS CAR ASKING FOR MONEY.

SHE HAD A HAMMER IN HER HAND AND HE FELT THREATENED BY THE FACT THAT SHE HAD A HAMMER IN HER HAND.

SO JUST TALK TO US ABOUT THAT.

IT'S ILLEGAL FOR ANYONE TO STEP OUT INTO THE ROADWAY TO SOLICIT.

SO YOU CAN'T PASS OUT FLIERS.

YOU CAN'T ASK FOR MONEY.

IF YOU'RE STANDING IN THE ROADWAY, YOU'RE IMPEDING TRAFFIC.

NOW, THERE IS A PERMITTING PROCESS FOR SOME OF THAT, BUT EVEN THE PERMITTING PROCESS IS YOU CAN'T BLOCK TRAFFIC.

AND SO WE SEE THAT FROM TIME TO TIME.

AND WE'VE ACTUALLY HAD OFFICERS OUT IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS LOOKING SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT.

IF A PERSON IS JUST STANDING NEXT TO THE ROAD.

IT'S NOT, PER SE ILLEGAL.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE CAN ALL STAND NEXT TO THE ROAD FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER.

BUT IF THE PERSON STEPS OUT IN THE ROAD AND STARTS TAKING MONEY FROM CARS, THEN IT CREATES A HAZARD.

THE PERSON COULD GET HIT BY A CAR.

THERE COULD BE REAR END COLLISIONS, I SAW ONE THE OTHER DAY WHERE A PERSON STEPPED OUT AT A GREEN LIGHT AND THE CAR THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GOING WAS STOPPED.

AND SO OTHER CARS ARE SLOWING DOWN.

AND SO IT CAN CAUSE TRAFFIC PROBLEMS. SO THAT'S OUR MAIN CONCERN, IS THE SAFETY OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ARE PUTTING THEMSELVES IN JEOPARDY BY STANDING OUT IN THE STREET AND ALSO BY CREATING A TRAFFIC PROBLEM FOR OTHER CARS.

IT'S HARD TO IDENTIFY ONE PARTICULAR CAUSE, BUT I KNOW THAT MENTAL HEALTH PLAYS IN TO THIS AS WELL.

AND THAT'S, AGAIN, WHY WE WOULD SAY ANY RESOURCE THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN PROVIDE TO HELP PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH GET OFF THE STREETS AND BE ABLE TO FIND SAFETY SOMEWHERE.

WE'LL TAKE THAT ALL DAY LONG.

IN THE MEANTIME, OUR OFFICERS ARE TALKING TO PEOPLE WHO ARE STANDING NEAR THE ROADWAY AND OBVIOUSLY FOR THE PURPOSE OF SOLICITING.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS THEY DO, IN ADDITION TO WARNING THEM ABOUT THE LAW, IS THEY HAVE A RESOURCE CARD AND THEY'RE GIVEN THE PERSON THE RESOURCE CARD.

AND WHAT WE FIND IS THERE ARE FEW PEOPLE THAT THEY JUST SIMPLY DON'T WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THOSE RESOURCES, THEY THEY JUST FEEL LIKE THAT'S A MORE PRODUCTIVE USE OF THEIR TIME.

MY ARGUMENT WOULD BE A MORE PRODUCTIVE USE OF YOUR MONEY IS TO CONTRIBUTE TO LOCAL CHARITIES AND LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE HELPING PROVIDE THE VAST RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE IN AMARILLO TO HELP FOLKS WHO ARE IN A CRISIS.

AND I THINK THAT'S A BETTER USE OF OUR MONEY AS OPPOSED TO THE DANGER THAT YOU CREATE WHEN YOU STOP YOUR CAR AND YOUR HANDING MONEY OUT THE WINDOW AND YOU'RE NOT REALLY SURE WHERE IT'S GOING.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL? NO, MAYOR, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I JUST WANT TO SAY TO CHIEF BIRKENFELD THAT I APPRECIATE YOU LETTING US AS COUNCIL MEMBERS KNOW AND ALSO OUR CITIZENS KNOW WHAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT NEEDS ARE SO THAT WAY WE CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND AND TRY TO HELP.

BUT IT'S GREAT FOR OUR CITIZENS TO KNOW.

AND YOU DO THAT, YOU KNOW, ON A REGULAR BASIS.

SO I APPRECIATE THAT.

THANK YOU.

CHIEF, THANK YOU.

WE APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION.

WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT THE DEPARTMENT DOES FOR THE CITY.

THANK YOU, MA'AM.

[1.D. Receive Quarterly Budget update and Sales Tax update; ]

HERE WE'VE GOT DIRECTOR OF FINANCE DEBBIE REID HERE TO WALK US THROUGH IT DEBBIE.

GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.

SO TODAY WE'RE GOING TO COVER THE FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF THE FISCAL YEAR.

THAT'S OCTOBER THROUGH JUNE.

AND I BELIEVE [INAUDIBLE] I GUESS, JENNY, ARE YOU FLIPPING SLIDES, THERE WE GO.

OK, THE FIRST THE FIRST ONE THAT WE'LL LOOK AT IS THE GENERAL FUND.

SO AND WE'LL CLICK TO THE NEXT SLIDE THAT WILL SHOW YOU, FIRST OF ALL, THE GENERAL FUND REVENUES.

THIS IS BUDGETED REVENUES THROUGH JUNE.

YOU SEE ONE THIRTY EIGHT POINT TWO MILLION AND THEN ACTUAL IS ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY THREE POINT FIVE MILLION.

SO YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE A POSITIVE VARIANCE IN REVENUES THROUGH THE MONTH OF JUNE OF FIVE POINT THREE MILLION DOLLARS.

WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE VARIANCES ON THE NEXT SLIDE.

SO ON THIS SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE THE MAIN AREAS THAT ARE CREATING THE POSITIVE VARIANCES.

SALES TAX AT FOUR POINT EIGHT MILLION AND HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX AT ONE POINT SEVEN MILLION.

OH, OK.

SO WE CAN FOLLOW ON THE SCREENS, BUT MAYBE JENNY OR STEPHANIE, ONE OF YOU COULD PRINT THAT FOR US.

THANK YOU.

SORRY FOR THE INTERRUPTION.

OK.

ALL RIGHT.

SORRY ABOUT THAT.

THAT'S OK.

THEY'RE UP THERE.

SO, YEAH, THEY'RE UP THERE.

OK.

SO AND THIS IS A TYPICAL FORMAT THAT WE PRESENT TO YOU EACH QUARTER.

SO IF YOU FOLLOW ALONG ON THE SCREENS, THIS SHOWS YOU THE VARIANCES OF THE VARIOUS REVENUE CATEGORIES.

THE TWO MAIN AREAS, OF COURSE, ARE SALES TAX AND HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX.

AND WE REPORTED THE OTHER AREAS THERE FOR YOUR INFORMATION.

AND ONCE YOU HAVE THOSE COPIES, YOU'LL HAVE THAT FOR YOUR REFERENCE FOR LATER ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE'LL DIVE INTO SALES TAX.

SO SALES TAX IS REPORTED TO YOU MONTHLY.

AND SO THIS IS JUST A RECAP THROUGH THE MONTH OF JUNE, WHICH IS THE SALES TAX REVENUES THAT WE'VE RECEIVED THUS FAR.

[02:00:03]

SO THAT'S FOUR POINT SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS MORE IN SALES TAX THAN WE ANTICIPATED.

AND YOU'LL RECALL THAT WE BUDGETED VERY CONSERVATIVELY, NOT KNOWING THE RESULTS OF COVID AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR ESPECIALLY.

SO THE NEXT SLIDE WILL COVER HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX.

AGAIN, THIS IS ANOTHER NUMBER.

THIS SCREEN RIGHT HERE.

FIRST IS THE 10 YEAR HISTORY THAT'LL BE IN YOUR PACKET ONCE YOU GET THOSE FOR YOUR REFERENCE.

SO WE'LL FORWARD TO THE NEXT SLIDE TO SHOW YOU FOR THE CURRENT YEAR, THROUGH THE FIRST NINE MONTHS, HOTEL OCCUPANCY REVENUES ARE TRENDING VERY WELL THROUGH THE MONTH OF JUNE AT FORTY TWO POINT SEVEN, TWO PERCENT MORE THAN LAST YEAR, AND FORTY SIX POINT THREE EIGHT PERCENT MORE THAN THE BUDGET.

AGAIN, ANOTHER AREA WHERE WE BUDGETED CONSERVATIVELY.

WE'LL REPORT THESE TO YOU ON A MONTHLY BASIS AS WELL.

BUT THIS IS JUST A RECAP OF THAT AND YOU'LL HAVE THOSE DETAILS IN YOUR PACKETS.

THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS CHART IS PROVIDED FOR YOUR REFERENCE.

IT SHOWS THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX INFORMATION IN A GRAPHICAL FORM.

AND JUST YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS, THAT THE RESULTS ARE JUST REALLY GOOD FOR THE CITY OF AMARILLO RIGHT NOW IN HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX, THE OCCUPANCY RATE AND THE REVENUES COMING IN FROM THAT.

THE NEXT CATEGORY OF REVENUES IS THE GROSS RECEIPTS BUSINESS TAX.

THIS JUST LISTS FOR YOU, THE DIFFERENT TYPES THAT WE CHARGE FEES.

THESE ARE BUSINESSES THAT RUN THEIR LINES THROUGH OUR RIGHT OF WAY.

SO THIS IS JUST FOR YOUR REFERENCE.

AND ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE'LL SEE FOUR GROSS RECEIPTS TAX THE TAX REVENUES COLLECTED SO FAR THIS YEAR, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT WE ARE NINE HUNDRED AND FIFTY ONE THOUSAND AHEAD OF BUDGET OR SEVEN PERCENT.

AND GAS AND ELECTRIC ARE REALLY THE TWO AREAS THAT ARE TRENDING AHEAD OF BUDGET.

ON THE GENERAL FUND EXPENSE SIDE, YOU'LL SEE THAT BUDGET THROUGH THE MONTH OF JUNE IS ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY FOUR POINT SIX MILLION.

OUR ACTUAL SPENDING IS ONE FORTY FOUR POINT ONE MILLION.

SO WE ARE FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS UNDER BUDGET THROUGH THE MONTH OF JUNE.

AGAIN, THIS IS MORE IN RELATED TO STAFF VACANCIES, WHICH YOU'VE HEARD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THAT THROUGH THE BUDGET WORKSHOPS.

AND THEN EVEN JUST TODAY, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT STAFF VACANCIES AND THEN MINIMAL SPENDING OF STAFF AS WE CONTINUE THROUGH THE EFFECTS OF COVID, ESPECIALLY EARLIER IN THE YEAR.

SO WE'RE TRENDING VERY WELL IN THIS AREA.

SO THE NEXT SCREEN BRINGS THOSE TWO TOGETHER, REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES TO GIVE US A POSITIVE VARIANCE OF FIVE POINT EIGHT MILLION, FIVE POINT THREE MORE IN REVENUES THAN BUDGETED, AND THEN FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNDERSPENDING ACCORDING TO THE EXPENDITURE BUDGET.

WE ALWAYS LOOK AT UTILITY SALES.

AND THEN ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE THAT FOR THE CITY, WE HAVE UTILITY SALES IN THE GENERAL FUND WATER SEWER FUND AND THE DRAINAGE FUND.

THOSE ARE LISTED THERE.

AND ALL OF THOSE CATEGORIES ARE TRENDING VERY CLOSE TO BUDGET, WHICH WE WOULD EXPECT FOR UTILITY SALES.

THE NEXT SLIDE IS PROVIDED FOR YOUR REFERENCE.

THIS IS A WATER SEWER TRENDS OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS.

IT'S SALES VERSUS THE PRECIPITATION, WHICH, YOU KNOW, SALES, WATER SALES CAN BE AFFECTED BY RAIN, THE AMOUNT OF RAIN THAT WE GET.

SO THAT'S JUST A CHART FOR YOUR REFERENCE.

THE LAST AREA THAT WE'LL LOOK AT IS HEALTH INSURANCE.

THIS IS AN AREA WE ALWAYS WANT TO KEEP AN EYE ON IS OUR MEDICAL CLAIMS. AND YOU'LL SEE ON THE CHART THIS SHOWS MEDICAL CLAIMS, EXPENSE AND ADMINISTRATIVE FEES OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.

THE MAIN THING AT THE BOTTOM, YOU'LL NOTE THE NUMBERS AT THE BOTTOM, YOU'LL SEE THAT WE ARE TRENDING UNDER BUDGET BY EIGHT HUNDRED AND NINETY FOUR THOUSAND AT THIS POINT IN THE YEAR.

THAT'S VERY GOOD NEWS.

OUR HEALTH CLAIMS ARE TRENDING RIGHT ON TARGET WITH BUDGET AND MUCH BELOW, SO WE'RE IN GOOD SHAPE GOING INTO THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR.

SO OVERALL, THE YEAR IS TRENDING VERY WELL.

WE'VE KIND OF BEEN TRENDING THAT WAY ALL YEAR LONG, SO STILL LOOKING VERY GOOD.

WE HAVE WE'RE ALMOST TO THE END OF AUGUST, SO WE HAVE JUST ONE MORE MONTH IN THE FISCAL YEAR.

SO I WOULD ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.

OK.

GOOD NEWS.

ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU.

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

THANK YOU.

WE'VE ALSO GOT ANDREW FREEMAN TO GIVE A VERY BRIEF UPDATE ON SALES TAX PERFORMANCE.

ANDREW, SIR? ALL RIGHT.

SO I'VE JUST GOT ONE SLIDE TO SHARE WITH YOU ON SOME HIGH LEVEL PERFORMANCE DATA RELATED TO OUR SALES TAX INDUSTRIES.

THIS CHART ON THE SCREEN IS COVERING SIX OF OUR NINE INDUSTRIES.

SO THE ONES NOT ON THERE, THE MISCELLANEOUS AGRICULTURAL AND ACCOMMODATION, JUST BASED ON THE LOW COLLECTIONS THAT WE HAVE.

BUT YOU CAN SEE A THREE YEAR HISTORY YEAR TO DATE THROUGH AUGUST FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS.

RETAIL, OF COURSE, CONTINUES TO BE THE BIGGEST DRIVER OF COLLECTIONS.

THEY'RE SEEING A, SORRY, 17 PERCENT INCREASE.

FOOD IS UP ALMOST 19 PERCENT AND GENERAL SERVICES IS UP 12.44 PERCENT, MANUFACTURING 14.37.

SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM RETAIL GENERAL MERCHANDISE IS A LITTLE OVER 11 PERCENT NON STORE RETAILERS THOSE ONLINE SALES IS UP 29 PERCENT, CLOTHING ACCESSORY

[02:05:05]

SO WE'RE JUST SEEING STRONG GROWTH REALLY ACROSS THE BOARD IN THE RETAIL CATEGORIES, FOOD.

WE'VE SEEN RESTAURANTS UP A LITTLE OVER 18 PERCENT.

FULL SERVICE RESTAURANTS HAVE REALLY STARTED TO GROW COMPARED TO EARLY ON DURING COVID.

WHERE IS IT WAS MORE THE LIMITED SERVICES.

WE'VE SEEN FULL SERVICE NOW AT 26 PERCENT YEAR TO DATE GROWTH AND LIMITED SERVICES IS 12 .

29 PERCENT.

SO YOU'RE STARTING TO SEE MORE FOLKS AT THE SIT DOWN RESTAURANTS THAN IN THE LIMITED SERVICES.

AND THEN BRIEFLY, I WANT TO TOUCH ON OUR LABOR MARKET FOR THE MOST RECENT DATA OF JULY 21.

WE WERE SITTING AT A FOUR PERCENT UNEMPLOYMENT RATE, ADDED 3000 JOBS TO THE LABOR FORCE, AND THAT'S A DECREASE IN YEARLY CHANGE ON OUR EMPLOYMENT RATE OF ONE POINT SEVEN PERCENT.

WE STILL LEAD THE WAY IN THE STATE AS FAR AS OUR MSA AT NUMBER ONE, FOLLOWED BY AUSTIN -ROUND ROCK AT FOUR POINT TWO PERCENT, AND SHERMAN-DENISON AT FOUR POINT SIX PERCENT.

AND THEN THE MAIN CHANGES.

MANUFACTURING WAS UP ALMOST TWO PERCENT AT THREE POINT SIX YEARLY RETAIL TRADE, TRANSPORTATION UTILITIES ARE DOWN POINT EIGHT PERCENT, BUT UP TWO POINT EIGHT PERCENT YEARLY.

THE LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY, WHICH IS A LARGE MARKET FOR US, IS DOWN ONE POINT FOUR PERCENT, BUT UP ELEVEN POINT SIX PERCENT.

AND THEN GOVERNMENT FOR THE MONTH WAS DOWN FIVE POINT SEVEN, BUT UP ONE POINT FIVE FOR THE YEAR.

SO REALLY ACROSS THE BOARD, WE'RE SEEING GREAT GROWTH IN OUR JOB MARKET.

RETAIL SALES AND FOOD SALES JUST CONTINUE TO GROW AND THEN REALLY JUST COVER THE HIGH LEVEL HERE.

BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER INDUSTRIES THAT YOU'D LIKE ME TO SEND YOU DATA ON OR MEET ABOUT, I'M HAPPY TO SCHEDULE A MEETING WITH YOU TO DIVE MORE INTO THE DATA, SINCE THERE IS A LOT OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE FOR US.

ANY QUESTIONS FOR ANDREW? ANY COMMENTS ON THE DATA SLIDE, ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SEE CHANGED OR, PRESENTED DIFFERENTLY.

ALL RIGHT, ANDREW, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE INFORMATION.

OK.

NEXT IS ITEM 1D.

WELL, THAT WAS ITEM 1D.

NEXT IS ONE ITEM 1E CUSTOMER SERVICE PILLAR UPDATE.

[1.E. Customer Service Pillar update; ]

ERIN, THANKS.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW ME, MY NAME IS ERIN PALACIO AND I'M THE HR MANAGER HERE FOR THE CITY.

I ALSO SERVE ON THE CUSTOMER SERVICE PILLAR COMMITTEE.

AND I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU A VERY BRIEF UPDATE ON THAT TODAY.

WHAT WE HAVE COMPLETED SO FAR IS WE HAVE THE CUSTOMER LOGO THAT HAS BEEN APPROVED, SO IF YOU'VE SEEN THE NEIGHBOR SERVING NEIGHBORS LOGO AROUND TOWN, WE WORKED ON THAT.

WE ALSO CREATED BUMPER STICKERS.

SO ON SOME OF THE CITY VEHICLES AND THEN SOME OF THE CUSTOMER FACING AREAS, YOU'LL SEE THOSE LOGOS AND STICKERS AS WELL.

WE HAVE ALSO INCORPORATED CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING INTO OUR NEW HIRE PROCESS.

SO WHEN NEW HIRES COME ON TO THE CITY, THEY GO THROUGH A PIECE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE DURING ORIENTATION.

WE HAVE ALSO WORKED WITH UTILITY BILLING, AND THEY INTERACT WITH CUSTOMERS FREQUENTLY AND WE'VE WORKED WITH THEM.

AND WE'RE DOING A 12 MONTH TRAINING RIGHT NOW FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE, ACTIVE INITIATIVES THAT WE ARE TAKING.

WE HAVE IDENTIFIED DEPARTMENT CHAMPIONS THAT ARE GOING TO HELP US.

THEY'RE GOING TO BE THE LIAISON BETWEEN THE COMMITTEE AND THE DEPARTMENTS TO HELP DEVELOP THAT CUSTOMER SERVICE.

WE ARE ALSO AS A COMMITTEE WORKING THROUGH DISNEY CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING.

AND WHAT WE HOPE TO DO WITH THAT IS WE HOPE TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THAT KNOWLEDGE THAT WE GAIN FROM THAT AND DEVELOP SOMETHING FOR THE CITY.

WE ARE ALSO WORKING WITH DEPARTMENTS TO IDENTIFY ONBOARDING PROCESSES THAT INCORPORATE CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING.

AND WE RECENTLY PUT OUT SIGNAGE PROMOTING NEIGHBORS SERVING NEIGHBORS.

I HAVE ABOUT 15 DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE SIGNS THAT ARE WHITEBOARDS THAT HAVE THE CUSTOMER SERVICE LOGO ON THEM.

AND WHAT THEY CAN DO IS THEY CAN WRITE ON THOSE AND ERASE IT, DIFFERENT CUSTOMER SERVICE INITIATIVES OR SOMETHING GOOD THAT'S HAPPENED IN THAT DEPARTMENT.

AND WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT MOBILE SIGNAGE THAT WE CAN MOVE AROUND THE CITY AND WE HOPE TO HAVE THAT COMPLETED BY THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR.

WE ARE ALSO WORKING TO DEVELOP A CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY.

WE WANT TO SEND THIS OUT TO CUSTOMERS, CITIZENS AND ALSO EMPLOYEES.

AND THOSE WILL BE VERY BRIEF.

QUICK SURVEYS THAT DON'T TAKE BUT A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO FILL OUT.

NEXT STEPS THAT WE ARE WORKING ON IS AS A COMMITTEE, WE WILL COLLABORATE WITH DEPARTMENT CHAMPIONS TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES AND ENHANCE CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE.

AND WE WILL DEVELOP A CUSTOMIZED CUSTOMER SERVICE MODULE ESTABLISHING THE

[02:10:01]

AND WE ALSO HOPE TO LAUNCH AN EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION PROGRAM TO ACKNOWLEDGE EXCELLENCE AND CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT OUR EMPLOYEES DO FOR US ON A DAILY BASIS.

ANY QUESTIONS? FEEDBACK FOR ERIN AND THE COMMITTEE THAT'S BEEN WORKING ON THIS? IT LOOKS FANTASTIC, ERIN.

I MEAN, I KNOW WE WE'RE ALL THINKING IS THIS LOOKS FANTASTIC.

YEAH, WE'VE GOT A GREAT COMMITTEE.

HE'S BEEN WORKING PRETTY HARD ON THIS.

SO, YEAH, I'M WONDERING ABOUT THE CUSTOMER SURVEY AND IF IF THAT'S GOING TO INTERFACE WITH 311.

RICH, I DON'T KNOW IF RICH IS STILL IN THE ROOM OR NOT, BUT YEAH, IF THERE ARE 311 OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE CUSTOMER SURVEYS TO BE A CLICK HERE OR CLICK THERE ANY TIME SOMEBODY USES THE APP AND ALL OF THAT, THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT IDEA.

YEAH.

WE'VE BEEN LOOK, THERE'S A WAY THAT CUSTOMER THAT 311 CAN CONTRIBUTE TO CUSTOMER SERVICE UNDERSTANDING'S AS FAR AS A FORMAL CUSTOMER SERVICE SURVEY.

WE WOULD PROBABLY CONTRACT WITH A BUSINESS TO DO THAT, AND IT WOULD BE SEPARATE FROM OUR 311.

BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE CAN'T TAKE 311 CUSTOMER SERVICE DATA AND COMPILE IT AND STILL ANALYZE IT SEPARATELY OR POTENTIALLY INCORPORATE IT INTO WHATEVER THE COMPANY HAS, ALTHOUGH IT MIGHT RENDER WHAT THEY'RE DOING NOT SOUND.

SO THEY MIGHT NEED TO KEEP DOING THEIRS SEPARATELY.

I'M THINKING OUT LOUD.

I AGREE.

I AGREE WITH THAT.

I THINK IT LOOKS GREAT ERIN, PLEASE TELL THE COMMITTEE HOW MUCH WE APPRECIATE WHAT THEY'RE WORKING ON AND ALL OF THE IDEAS.

AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING FUTURE REPORTS ON HOW THOSE GOOD IDEAS ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED.

ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU.

YEAH.

OK, ITEM 1F IS AN UPDATE ON THE POLK STREETSCAPE.

[1.F. Polk Streetscape update; ]

AND THIS IS GOING TO BE A RELATIVELY SHORT PRESENTATION, BUT THERE MIGHT BE QUESTIONS COUNCIL.

AS WE'VE GOT A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL AND ALSO CITIZENS.

WHAT'S THE STATUS ON IT.

SO WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE SHOWING EXACTLY WHERE WE'RE AT.

WE HAVE THE START OF THIS WAS A LITTLE BIT DELAYED IN THAT WE IMMEDIATELY UPON PASSAGE OF THE 2016 BOND, WE STARTED WORKING FOR, I WANT TO SAY, THREE OR FOUR YEARS SUBMITTING REPEATED TIGER GRANT APPLICATIONS, CONTINUALLY COMING VERY CLOSE TO BEING ABLE TO LEVERAGE THIS MONEY TO GET A SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER POT OF MONEY FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, TO DO A MUCH LARGER SCOPE OF PROJECT THAT WOULD HAVE EXTENDED NOT ONLY UP AND DOWN POLK STREET, BUT ALSO DOWN 6TH STREET.

KYLE'S GOING TO PROBABLY I'M PROBABLY STEALING A LOT OF YOUR CONTENT.

SO GO AHEAD.

BUT ABSOLUTELY.

I REALLY JUST WANTED TO GET SOME CONTEXT AS TO WHY WE'RE WE'RE JUST NOW IN THE DESIGN PHASE ON IT, BECAUSE WE'RE JUST NOW PAST THE FINAL DETERMINATION ON THE LAST APPLICATION.

ABSOLUTELY PERFECT.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THE BULK OF THAT IS THAT THAT YEAH.

AS FAR BACK AS 2014, THIS PROJECT WAS IDENTIFIED WITH DIFFERING SCOPES.

AND AND WE HAVE SOUGHT TO SEEK OR WE HAVE SOUGHT OUT MULTIPLE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES.

BUT EFFECTIVELY WHAT WE DID IS WE SET BACK FIVE POINT FIVE MILLION DOLLARS AS PART OF THE 2016 BOND.

AND THE INTENTION OF THOSE DOLLARS WAS TO BE OUR MATCHING FUNDS FOR A SUCCESSFUL GRANT APPLICATION.

AND EFFECTIVELY THAT HASN'T HAPPENED.

AND SO WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT CASH, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE BOND OBLIGATIONS TO SPEND THOSE DOLLARS.

AND IN LIEU OF NOT HAVING THE LARGER SUCCESSFUL GRANT APPLICATION, WE'VE BASICALLY GOT THOSE BOND DOLLARS TO SPEND IN THAT SAME TIME PERIOD.

I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THAT THERE HAS BEEN THINGS, YOU KNOW.

MAN, LET'S JUMP IN.

SORRY, THERE HAS.

TIME HAS NOT STOOD STILL IN THAT TIME PERIOD.

THERE'S IT'S HARD TO SEE ON MY MAP.

I APOLOGIZE.

SHOULD HAVE USED A DIFFERENT COLOR THAN YELLOW.

BUT WHAT I HAVE HIGHLIGHTED THERE ARE KIND OF THE BLOCKS THAT THERE HAVE BEEN PRIVATE AND SOME PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS THAT HAVE MOVED DEVELOPMENT ALONG POLK STREET FORWARD.

AND SO THE SCOPE OF WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS TO ACCENTUATE THOSE INVESTMENTS AND FURTHER THE THE THE OTHERS.

AND SO WE'RE CONSIDERING BASICALLY THE TYPICAL DUDS PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'RE BECOMING MORE FAMILIAR WITH THAT LAY OUT KIND OF THE THE FRONTAGE ZONE OF RIGHT UP NEXT TO THE TO THE BUSINESS AND THEN A PEDESTRIAN ZONE THAT ALLOWS FOR OUR ADA COMPLIANCE AND MOVEMENT, FREE MOVEMENT OF PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC AROUND THE DOWNTOWN AREA.

AND THEN THAT THAT FURNISHING ZONE, WHICH BECOMES KIND OF A DECORATIVE ZONE, BUT BUT ALSO PROVIDES FUNCTIONALITY IN TRASH RECEPTACLES OR PEDESTRIAN LIGHTING AND EVEN BIKE STATIONS AND VEGETATION AND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.

THE PROJECT FOCUS RIGHT NOW IS IDENTIFIED BASICALLY FROM 10TH STREET NORTH ALL THE

[02:15:06]

BUT BASICALLY WHAT WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS, IS START THERE WITH THIS POLK STREET AREA AND EXPAND THAT AS FAR AS WERE POSSIBLE TO TAKE AS POSSIBLE, WE CAN GO WITH THE MONEY THAT WE HAVE.

BEEN LOOKING AT A PROJECT CONSTRUCTION TIMELINE OF 2023, AND THAT MAY SEEM LIKE IT'S EXTENDED A LITTLE BIT.

BUT WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT WE DO ANTICIPATE HAVING A LOT OF INPUT TO THIS PROJECT AND A LOT OF INPUT TO THE DETAILS OF THIS PROJECT.

AND SO THERE WILL BE, IN MY OPINION, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE BUSINESS OWNERS AND THE PARTICIPANTS OF POLK STREET TO BE INVOLVED IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND DECISIONS.

AND THAT'S KIND OF WHY WE'RE SCOPING THAT OUT JUST A LITTLE FURTHER THAN MAYBE WHAT YOU WOULD NORMALLY EXPECT FOR THE SIZE AND SCOPE OF THE PROJECT.

AGAIN, THERE'S JUST SOME MORE EXAMPLES OF KIND OF THE TYPICAL DUDS IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'VE SEEN IN OTHER AREAS AND THAT WE'RE AIMING AT.

ANY QUESTIONS? QUESTIONS COUNCIL.

WHAT'S YOUR NEXT STEP KYLE? SO EFFECTIVELY TO SECURE A DESIGN CONSULTANT, WE'VE GOT AN RFQ THAT WILL THAT'S COMING OUT VERY, VERY RAPIDLY FOR WE ARE GOING TO SEEK A DESIGN PROFESSIONAL TO HELP US WITH THOSE DETAILS.

MORE THAN LIKELY, SEEKING AN ARCHITECTURAL INFLUENCE WHERE WE CAN MEET THOSE DUDS REQUIREMENTS, BUT ALSO BE RESPECTFUL AND ACCOUNTABLE TO THE ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS OF POLK STREET.

THOSE THINGS WE WANT TO ACCENTUATE AND AND AND, YOU KNOW, FURTHER IN A POSITIVE WAY.

WHEN'S THAT RFQ GOING OUT? WITHIN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS.

THEN HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR THAT RFQ TO GET BACK? A 90 DAY A 30 DAY, A 60 DAY? WELL, I MEAN, THE RFQ PROCESS GENERALLY IS ROUGHLY AROUND A 60 DAY.

WHILE WE HAVE A DESIGN PROFESSIONAL KICKING OFF, I WOULD I WOULD SAY YOU PROBABLY WON'T HEAR FROM THAT DESIGN PROFESSION UNTIL THAT 90 DAY TIME PERIOD.

BUT YEAH, THOSE ARE ACCURATE.

60 DAY TO 90 DAYS WE'LL BE BACK IN FRONT OF YOU ASKING YOU FOR APPROVAL OF THAT CONTRACT AND PROBABLY KICKING OFF MORE OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN PROPERTY OWNERS AND MAKING SURE WE FULLY UNDERSTAND THE EXPECTATIONS ALONG THAT CORRIDOR.

SO DO YOU.

SO DO YOU KIND OF HAVE.

CAN YOU KIND OF GIVE WHAT THAT TIMELINE LOOKS LIKE? SO WE GOT 90 DAYS FOR AN RFQ.

SO THEN THERE'S GOING TO BE COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AS THEY'RE DEVELOPING THEIR PLAN.

TYPICALLY, THERE'S THAT PLAN TO TAKE THEM SIX MONTHS TO DEVELOP THE PLAN.

THEN DOES IT HAVE TO GO OUT FOR BID FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME.

AND THEN YOU'VE GOT CONSTRUCTION PERIOD OF TIME.

YES, SIR.

I WOULD SAY I WOULD PROBABLY WITH THE AMOUNT OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT I FEEL LIKE WE WERE GOING TO NEED, I WOULD EXTEND THAT DESIGN TIME THAT YOU SAID SIX MONTHS, PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT FURTHER INTO THE 9 TO POSSIBLY 12.

AND THAT MAY NOT TAKE THAT AMOUNT OF TIME.

IF EVERYBODY HAS THE SAME VISION AND THAT MOVES VERY RAPIDLY, IT WON'T TAKE THAT KIND OF TIME.

BUT ALSO, THERE'S KEEP IN MIND, THERE ARE VERY THERE ARE VERY DETAIL ORIENTED THINGS THAT HAPPEN.

YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE LAST TIMES WE DID ONE OF THESE PROJECTS, WE FOUND A BASEMENT THAT NO ONE KNEW WAS THERE.

AND I THINK YOU GUYS HAVE HAD THOSE SAME KIND OF CONVERSATIONS, ARE AWARE OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS [INAUDIBLE] STRUGGLED WITH.

AND THERE ANYTIME WHEN YOU START EXCAVATING IN DOWNTOWN, IT'S A NEW AND NEAT ADVENTURE.

SO THERE ARE SOME COULD BE SOME HICCUPS IN THERE.

BUT OUR ANTICIPATION IS THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, FULLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION MID 2023 AND WE'RE COMPLETING THINGS 2024.

OK, SO IT'S A LITTLE LONGER THAN EVEN THE LAST THING I HEARD, WHICH WAS POSSIBLY EVEN GETTING STARTED NEXT YEAR AND BEING FINISHED IN 2023.

BUT REALISTICALLY, IT'S MORE LIKE 2023, 2024, BEFORE THIS FINALLY WILL COME TO FRUITION.

AND I'M YOU KNOW, ME, I'M PRETTY CONSERVATIVE.

AND SO I'M HEDGING MY BETS A LITTLE BIT AND MANAGING THOSE EXPECTATIONS.

BUT YES, SIR.

OK.

SO IN THIS REALITY, FIVE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS DOESN'T NECESSARILY GO A SIGNIFICANT DISTANCE.

SO WHAT KIND OF THINGS DO YOU ALL LOOK AT WHENEVER YOU'RE CONSIDERING THIS? YEAH.

[02:20:01]

WE HAVE A PRETTY GOOD UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, HAVING FOLLOWED THE BUCHANAN PROJECT JUST A FEW YEARS AGO AND THEN AND THEN INDIVIDUAL BLOCK FACES IN GENERAL, IT'S RUNNING ABOUT TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY TO THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND A BLOCK FACE.

EACH SIDE OF THE STREET IS A BLOCK FACE.

AND SO THAT IS A NO SURPRISE KIND OF NUMBER IF WE DO COME ACROSS SOMETHING THAT'S UNEXPECTED.

AGAIN, WE'VE DOWNTOWN WE'VE FOUND RAILROAD TRACKS THAT WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THERE AND OR BASEMENTS THAT WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THERE, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.

AND SO SOME OF THOSE CAN SURPRISE US.

BUT IN GENERAL TUNNELS, A COAL CHUTE WE HAD WE FOUND A COAL CHUTE INTO ONE OF THE ONE OF THE EXISTING BASEMENTS.

WE KNEW THE BASEMENT WAS THERE.

WE JUST DIDN'T KNOW THAT'S HOW THEY UNLOADED THEIR COAL AT DIFFERENT TIMES.

SO.

SO BARRING THAT, THAT KIND OF GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF HOW FAR WE THINK WE CAN GO WITH THOSE DOLLARS.

SO DOES IT CHANGE ALSO TRAFFIC FLOW? DOES IT.

IS THAT PART OF IT? I KNOW THERE'S BEEN QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW TRAFFIC FLOW WORKS ON POLK STREET AND IDEAS FOR WHAT THAT WANTS TO BE.

[INAUDIBLE] RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN THIS RUN OUT OF THIS PROJECT IS FOCUSING ON STREETSCAPE.

WE'RE NOT PROPOSING A MODIFICATION TO THE STREET WIDTH OR TO POLK STREET.

YES, SIR.

OK, SO FOCUSING ON STREETSCAPE.

OKAY.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OK, THANK YOU, KYLE.

THANK YOU.

ITEM 1F.

THAT WAS 1F, ITEM 1G IS REPORTS ON BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS THAT CITY

[1.G. Reports on Boards and Commissions that City Councilmembers serve on; ]

DO WE HAVE A REPORT ON ENVIRONMENTAL TASK FORCE? I DO.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL TASK FORCE MET THIS LAST WEEK, HAD A GOOD MEETING INTRODUCED DONNY HOOPER, INTRODUCED A NEW STAFF MEMBER, RICKY RIVERA.

HE'S THE NEW ASSISTANT SOLID WASTE SUPERINTENDENT FOR DISPOSAL OPERATIONS.

WE GOT A REPORT FROM A TRIAL PROGRAM THAT'S GOING ON.

COMPOSTING PROGRAM DOWN AT THE LANDFILL.

WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF SUPPORT [INAUDIBLE] FOODBANK HAS CONTRIBUTED THIRTY NINE AND A THIRD TONS OF MATERIAL FOR PICK UP.

WOW.

[INAUDIBLE] HAS CONTRIBUTED FORTY EIGHT TONS OF TEA LEAVES AND PROVIDED A DUMPSTER TO COLLECT GRASS CLIPPINGS IN THE GREENWAYS.

WE'LL HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT COMPOSTING PROGRAM LATER.

I DON'T KNOW IF DONNY HOOPER IS HERE.

HE'S GONNA, IS HE HERE? YOU'RE UP.

IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT SOME MORE.

I'M UP OK.

YOU WERE DOING FINE.

SOME OF THE PICTURES THAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN.

WE HAD A TOUR.

WE TOOK THE ENVIRONMENTAL TASK FORCE OUT A COUPLE OF MEETINGS AGO.

THIS IS JUST SOME PICTURES FROM THAT MEETING.

THAT'S US ON THE BUS GOING OUT THERE TO LOOK AT THE COMPOSTING OPERATIONS AND SEE WHEN WE GOT OUT THERE, WE HAD A LITTLE SAFETY MEETING JUST TO TALK ABOUT NOT ONLY WHAT WE'RE DOING OUT THERE AS FAR AS COMPOST, BUT ALSO BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF OUR LANDFILL AND WHAT WE DO AT THE LANDFILL, HOW MUCH TONNAGE WE TAKE IN, JUST A LOT OF GENERAL INFORMATION BACK ON THE BUS AND OUT TO THE COMPOST SITE AND GOT TO GO OUT THERE AND LOOK AT THE TEMPERATURE READINGS AND WATCH THEM DO A COMPOST PROCESS AND A [INAUDIBLE] AND SOME OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO IT WAS A VERY, VERY POSITIVE MEETING.

I FELT LIKE STEPHANIE SIDEWAYS IN THAT PICTURE.

I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT HAPPENED, BUT SHE WAS SHE WAS STRAIGHT UP WHEN WE WERE OUT THERE.

SO WE ALL HAD A GREAT TIME.

AND I THINK EVERYBODY LEARNED A LITTLE BIT, INCLUDING MYSELF.

AND I'VE BEEN AROUND THE COMPOSTING WORLD FOR QUITE A WHILE.

BUT THE WAY THAT WE DO IT OUT THERE IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN I'VE SEEN ANYWHERE ELSE, TAKING IN SOME OF THE FOOD WASTE AND COMBINING THAT WITH THE WOODCHIPS AND THE OTHER MATERIALS WE HAVE.

SO THE PROCESS IS STILL UNDERWAY WITH REFINING IT AND COMING UP WITH A PROCESS AND A PRODUCT THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIGURE OUT SOMETHING TO DO WITH AS FAR AS THE PUBLIC IS CONCERNED.

BUT I WILL SAY THIS.

WE HAD A FEW FRIENDLY WAGERS.

THERE WAS NO MONEY INVOLVED.

IT WAS JUST GUESSES.

AND HOWARD WON EVERY ONE OF THEM, LIKE WHEN WE WE HAD THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE IN THERE AND WE WERE GOING TO LEAVE AND BE GONE FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES.

AND WE SAID, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE TEMPERATURE IS GOING TO BE WHEN WE GET BACK? AND HE WAS SPOT ON.

SO WE WERE VERY IMPRESSED WITH HOWARD'S GUESSING ABILITIES.

I DON'T THINK THERE WAS ANY SKILL INVOLVED, BUT WE WERE STILL NEVERTHELESS IMPRESSED WITH THAT.

SO THEN THE OTHER ITEM THAT WE HAD, WE TALKED ABOUT SEVERAL THINGS.

WE HAD AN UPDATE ON THIS MEETING AS WELL, ABOUT OUR FRONT YARD COLLECTION PROGRAM.

WE GAVE THEM SOME DATA ON THAT.

[02:25:02]

THAT NUMBER EVERY YEAR HAS GONE UP INCREMENTALLY, JUST LIKE WE THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD.

AND THIS YEAR'S PROBABLY THE HIGHEST.

WELL, RIGHT NOW IS THE HIGHEST YEAR STATISTICALLY, AS FAR AS OUR FRONT YARD COLLECTIONS ARE CONCERNED.

SO FROM GOING FROM EIGHT HUNDRED TO HAVING CLOSE TO THREE THOUSAND IS HUGE TO US.

AND AND SO WE GAVE THEM NUMBERS.

AND I CAN'T REALLY I DIDN'T BRING MY GLASSES.

SO I'VE GOT THAT ON MY PHONE.

BUT YOU CAN SEE THIS SLIDE RIGHT HERE ACTUALLY IS THE MONTHLY TOTALS FOR THIS YEAR OF WHAT WE'VE DONE.

AND YOU SEE THAT WE WENT THROUGH THE ICE STORM.

THAT'S THE TWO MONTHS THAT EVERYTHING DROPPED DOWN TO THE BOTTOM.

AND THEN OUR BIGGEST MONTH, THAT WAS OUR RECORD SETTING MONTH THERE, THE ONE THAT'S THE HIGHEST ON THE CHART.

THAT'S THE MOST THAT WE'VE EVER TAKEN IN IN ONE MONTH EVER IN THE PROGRAM.

YOU CAN GO TO THAT NEXT SLIDE.

I THINK THAT THERE'S SOME MORE ON HERE.

THIS IS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE PROGRAM.

THIS IS BY THE YEAR.

AND YOU CAN SEE HOW MANY FRONT YARD COLLECTION REQUESTS THAT WE'VE HAD.

SO WE WANTED TO SHARE THAT DATA WITH THEM AND LET THEM KNOW THAT THIS PROGRAM IS WORKING.

WE KNOW THE MORE THAT WE GET OUT OF OUR ALLEYS, THE MORE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE IN THE FRONT YARD COLLECTION REQUEST.

AND THAT CERTAINLY HAS BEEN THE CASE.

WE STILL HAVE A MONTH AND A HALF TO GO ON THAT FINAL GRAPH PIECE OF THE GRAPH THERE.

SO WE KNOW THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE THE HIGHEST.

AND THIS WAS JUST A COMPARATIVE CHART, FUND CHART JUST SHOWING US WHAT WE DID MONTH BY MONTH, YEAR TO YEAR, AND HOW THIS YEAR HAS BEEN THE BEST YEAR THAT WE'VE HAD SO FAR WITH RUNNING OUR COLLECTION.

SO WE HAD SOME GREAT IDEAS THAT CAME FORWARD OUT OF THAT WITH WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN THE PROGRAM.

AND OF COURSE, WE'LL BE ANALYZING THIS DATA CLOSELY AS WE GO.

THE ONLY OTHER THING THAT WE HAD THAT WE TALKED ABOUT WAS OUR CLEAN UP PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE COMING UP ON THE 18TH OF SEPTEMBER.

WE HAVE A LARGE CLEANUP THAT'S SCHEDULED.

THEN WE'LL HAVE SOME MORE INFORMATION.

WE BRING IN THE COUNCIL ABOUT THAT AND WE GET CLOSER TO IT.

BUT WE HAVE ASSEMBLED A LARGE GROUP OF EQUIPMENT PERSONNEL TO DO A LARGE CLEANUP ON NATIONAL CLEANUP DAY IN CONJUNCTION WITH A LOT OF OTHER VOLUNTEER GROUPS THAT HAVE THEIR OWN CLEANUPS THAT THEY'RE SETTING UP AS WELL.

SO WE'RE GOING TO WORK TOGETHER AND TRY TO GET TO MAKE A BIG DENT IN CLEANUP AMARILLO.

GOOD JOB, IS THAT IS THAT GOOD ENOUGH? YES, SIR.

OK.

YES, THAT'S RIGHT.

THAT'S RIGHT.

AND OUR REQUESTS HAVE GONE UP BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO SEE THAT THERE IS A WAY TO GET THIS DONE AND WE RESPOND WITHIN 48 HOURS.

THAT'S BIG TO US TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE STAYING TO THAT THERE ARE SOME TIMES WHEN WE HAVE LIKE A STORM.

THIS WIND EVENT THIS WEEKEND IS GOING TO PUT US A LITTLE BIT BEHIND ON GETTING THOSE WITHIN 48 HOURS.

BUT WE'RE STILL GOING TO DO OUR BEST TO TRY TO DO THAT.

SO, YOU KNOW, EDUCATION PUT THE NUMBERS OUT, YOU KNOW, IN MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS A PROGRAM THAT WE'RE TRYING TO INCREASE IT AND DO BETTER WITH IT.

GET A QUICK, SHAMELESS PLUG FOR DONNY IF YOU'RE A [INAUDIBLE] OR IF YOU KNOW [INAUDIBLE], YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO TALK INTO LETTING YOU BE A GUEST AT THEIR MEETING ON FRIDAY AT LUNCH DONNY WILL BE MAKING A PRESENTATION THERE, DOES A GREAT PRESENTATION AND DOES A REALLY GOOD JOB OF ANSWERING QUESTIONS, ENGAGING WITH THE ATTENDEES.

SO IT'D BE A GREAT CHANCE FOR PEOPLE IF YOU'RE [INAUDIBLE] TO LEARN ABOUT THE WASTE AND STREETS AND EVERYTHING ELSE HE'S WORKING ON.

AND THIS ONE WAS A LITTLE AD LIB, SO I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT.

IT'LL BE MORE POLISHED ON FRIDAY.

BUT THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME COME UP.

THANK YOU, DONNY.

ANYTHING ELSE, HOWARD, ON THAT? NO GREAT REPORT.

DO YOU WANT TO TAKE THE REINS FOR THE LGC REPORT, TOO? I WILL, WE HAD A REPORT THIS MEETING, THIS LAST WEEK.

PRETTY SHORT MEETING.

[INAUDIBLE] REVIEWED FOR THE SECOND TIME ONE MONTH BEFORE [INAUDIBLE] POTENTIAL BUDGET ITEMS. AND SO SHE MODIFIED SOME THINGS AND WE ADOPTED A BUDGET.

WE HEARD A REPORT FROM MONICA PITT, WHO IS THE MANAGER OF EMBASSY SUITES, AND THEY'RE STILL WORKING ON THE FOUR DIAMOND ITEMS THAT NEED TO BE DONE AND AWAITING AN INSPECTION ON THAT, WHEN THAT'LL BE, WHO KNOWS? WE GOT A REPORT ON THE PARKING GARAGE FROM JERRY DANFORTH.

AND I THINK PARKING HAS BEEN PRETTY GOOD SINCE THE BALLGAME HAS BEEN GOING ON AND OTHER THINGS.

SO THAT WAS A PRETTY SHORT MEETING BUT THAT WAS IT.

ANYTHING TO ADD COUNCILMAN SAUER? I WASN'T THERE.

GOT IT.

HOWARD'S GOT THE BASES COVERED.

ANY QUESTIONS, COUNCIL, ON THOSE TWO REPORTS? OK, WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM 1H.

ANYTHING WITH REGARD TO FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS OR ANY REPORTS THAT YOU NEED COUNCIL? NO.

[2. CONSENT ITEMS ]

[02:30:01]

I MOVE TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED.

SECOND, IT'S BEEN MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER POWELL AND SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER SAUER TO APPROVE THE ITEMS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA.

ALL OF THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.

AYE.

ANY OPPOSED? THAT ITEM PASSES WITH A 5-0 VOTE.

LET'S TAKE A TEN MINUTE BREAK AND COME BACK AT 3:45.

AND WE WILL START AT ITEM 3A MR.

[3.A. FIRST READING TO CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE REZONING 432.90 ACRES OF LAND IN SECTIONS 168 AND 189. BLOCK 2. A.B.&M. SURVEY. POTTER COUNTY. TEXAS ]

ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU, MAYOR.

WE'VE GOT ANDREW FREEMAN TO PRESENT THE ITEM AND TO PRESENT THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION TO JUST PICK UP FROM WHERE WE LEFT OFF A COUPLE WEEKS AGO.

YES, SIR.

SO I'M GOING TO READ THE CAPTION AGAIN, THE LEGAL CAPTION JUST BRIEFLY AND MENTION THE CHANGES BETWEEN THE CAPTION AND THE NOTICE.

THIS IS FOR THE REZONING OF TWO HUNDRED NINETY FOUR POINT EIGHT EIGHT ACRES OF LAND OUT OF MILLER HEIGHTS, NORTH HEIGHTS, UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS AND EMERALD HEIGHTS ADDITIONS AND SWITCHING FROM REZONING FOR MANUFACTURED HOME DISTRICT MULTIPLE FAMILY DISTRICT ONE MULTIFAMILY DISTRICT ONE WITH AN SUP 106 AND LIGHT INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT TO RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT TWO THE ORIGINAL NOTICE TO INCLUDE FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY FOUR POINT EIGHT NINE ACRES, AS WELL AS THE WEBSTER HEIGHTS ADDITION IN SECTION 224.

IT'S ALSO A REZONING OF TWENTY TWO POINT EIGHT TWO ACRES OF LAND IN THE AMARILLO HEIGHTS, CHARLOTTE HEIGHTS, DOWNING-HIGHLANDS, UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS AND W.M.

MOORE'S ADDITION FROM RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT THREE MANUFACTURED HOME DISTRICT AND LIGHT INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT TO MULTIPLE FAMILY DISTRICT ONE.

THE ORIGINAL NOTICE INCLUDED THIRTY EIGHT POINT TWO SEVEN ACRES FROM THE WEST WEBSTER HEIGHTS ADDITION IN SECTION 224 REZONING OF SEVEN POINT ZERO FIVE ACRES CONSISTING OF LAND MILLER HEIGHTS ADDITION, PLUS ONE HALF OF ALL STREETS, ALLEYS AND PUBLIC WAYS FROM MULTI-FAMILY DISTRICT ONE AND MULTI-FAMILY DISTRICT ONE WITH AN SUP 100 TO GENERAL RETAIL DISTRICT.

THE ORIGINAL NOTICE INCLUDED AN ADDITIONAL FIFTY EIGHT POINT EIGHT FOUR ACRES FROM WILD HORSE, UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, GLIDDEN AND SANBORN, T&K AND GT DAVIS SUBDIVISION BLOCKS 109 THROUGH 112 OF THE GLIDDEN AND SANBORN ADDITIONS IN SECTIONS 169, 188 AND 189 REZONING OF SEVENTY EIGHT POINT NINE EIGHT ACRES CONSISTING LAND IN THE MATTHEW HOOKS RESUB DIVISION OF BLOCK 49 MILLER HEIGHTS, MILLER HEIGHTS, NORTH HEIGHTS, CLARENCE WATLEY'S SUBDIVISION OF WHEATLEY'S FIVE ACRE TRACT AND UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS ADDITIONS FROM MULTI-FAMILY DISTRICT ONE TO MODERATE DENSITY DISTRICT AND THE LAST REZONING IS OF TWENTY NINE POINT SEVENTEEN ACRES OF LAND IN MILLER HEIGHTS NORTH HEIGHTS AND UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS ADDITIONS PLUS FROM MULTIPLE FAMILY DISTRICT ONE WITH A SPECIFIC USE PERMIT 85 AND MULTIPLE FAMILY DISTRICT ONE TO NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICE DISTRICT.

JUST A BRIEF RECAP OF THE OVERVIEW.

THE INITIAL RECOMMENDATION WAS SIX HUNDRED AND FIFTY POINT ONE FIVE ACRES.

IT WAS TO ADDRESS INCOMPATIBILITIES AND TO CREATE A PREDICTABLE AND ORDERLY FUTURE DEVELOPMENT PATTERN PREDICT SINGLE FAMILY HOMES AND ENCOURAGE MORE SINGLE FAMILY HOME DEVELOPMENT BY REMOVING INDUSTRIAL ZONING AND MULTIPLE FAMILY ZONING FROM AREAS THAT ARE ALREADY RESIDENTIAL AND CHARACTER ENCOURAGING RETAIL AND BUSINESS USES THAT ARE MORE COMPATIBLE FOR NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND REDUCING MANUFACTURED HOME ZONING IN THE AREA.

THE ORIGINAL STAFF ANALYSIS DID FIND THAT IT WAS CONSISTENT WITH THE VISION AND STRATEGIES IN THE NORTH HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, WHICH IS AN ADOPTED AMENDMENT TO THE 2010 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, FOUND THAT IT WAS CONSISTENT WITH ADOPTED FUTURE LAND USE MASS FOR THE AREA AND BELIEVE IT BETTER ALIGNED THE ZONING PATTERN IN NORTH HEIGHTS WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD UNIT CONCEPT FOUND IN THE AMARILLO COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.

I ALSO WANTED TO MENTION FROM SECTION 211.004 OF STATE LAW, WHEN IT COMES TO ZONING REGULATIONS AND COMPLIANCE WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN I MENTIONED, ZONING REGULATIONS MUST BE ADOPTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND MUST BE DESIGNED TO EITHER LESSEN CONGESTION IN THE STREETS, SECURE SAFETY FROM FIRE, PANIC AND OTHER DANGERS, PROMOTE HEALTH AND GENERAL WELFARE, PROVIDE ADEQUATE LIGHT AND AIR, PREVENT THE OVERCROWDING OF LAND, AVOID UNDUE CONCENTRATION OF POPULATION OR TO FACILITATE THE ADEQUATE PROVISION OF TRANSPORTATION, WATER, SEWERS, SCHOOLS, PARKS AND OTHER PUBLIC REQUIREMENTS.

THESE ARE ALL THINGS WE LOOK FOR WHEN WE'RE ANALYZING THESE ZONING CHANGES.

THIS IS JUST A RECAP OF THE CURRENT EXISTING ZONING THAT YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH.

THIS SLIDE HERE IS THE ORIGINAL RECOMMENDATION, ORIGINAL PROPOSAL OF SIX

[02:35:01]

AND I DID WANT TO MENTION, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE DIFFERENT PUBLIC COMMENTERS, THIS IS STILL JUST PART ONE OF THE NORTH HEIGHTS REZONING INITIATIVE, WHICH IS MAJORITY NORTH AMARILLO BOULEVARD.

AND IN A FUTURE TIME, WE WILL HAVE PART TWO, THAT MOSTLY SOUTHERN OF AMARILLO BOULEVARD.

THIS IS ANOTHER RECAP OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU'RE ALSO FAMILIAR WITH THAT MODIFIED IT AND REDUCE THE TOTAL ACREAGE TO FOUR HUNDRED THIRTY TWO POINT NINETY WITH A 5-2 VOTE AT THEIR JULY 19TH MEETING, ELIMINATING CERTAIN AREAS OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AREA THAT WAS INCLUDED, AND ALSO CHANGING REMOVING THE ZONING CHANGE ALONG AMARILLO BOULEVARD AND LEAVING INTO A LIGHT COMMERCIAL INSTEAD OF GENERAL RETAIL.

THIS IS JUST A MAP REFLECTING P&ZS RECOMMEND RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH FROM LAST MEETING AS WELL.

AND THEN THE LAST SLIDE WE WANTED TO SHARE, BASED ON THE FEEDBACK WE HEARD, PARTICULARLY AROUND THE NORTHWEST CORNER AND THE SOUTHWEST SIDE ACROSS THE TRACKS.

WE HAVE A PROPOSAL OF AN ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATION OF SIX ZERO TWO POINT EIGHT FIVE ACRES.

YOU'LL NOTICE IN THE NORTHWEST CORNER IT NOW HAS A MIXTURE OF RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT TWO MODERATE DENSITY, DISTRICT GENERAL, RETAIL DISTRICT AND OFFICE DISTRICT ONE.

THIS WAS JUST BASED ON THE FEEDBACK WE HEARD FROM THE COUNCIL MEETING AND STAFF TAKING ANOTHER LOOK.

AS FAR AS IF YOU WERE TRYING TO COME UP WITH A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD UNIT CONCEPT THAT WOULD MEET BEST PLANNING PRACTICES AND PROTECT THE CORE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD FROM RESIDENTIAL GOING OUTWARD TO MORE DENSE DEVELOPMENT.

THIS IS ONE ROUTE THAT COULD BE RECOMMENDED.

IT ALSO SHOWS THE SOUTHWEST CORNER ACROSS THE TRACKS REMOVED, BUT IT DOES LEAVE THE GENERAL RETAIL ALONG AMARILLO BOULEVARD FROM THE ORIGINAL STAFF RECOMMENDATION.

JUST KNOWING THAT THE MAJORITY OF THAT IS VACANT LAND AND HAS A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY TO BRING THE RETAIL SERVICES THAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN HAS CALLED FOR AS THAT AMENDMENT TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.

AND WITH THAT, I'M HAPPY TO, LOST MY SLIDES, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.

COUNCIL QUESTIONS? NO.

OK, MAYOR, I HAVE A QUESTION.

YES, SO ARE YOU PROPOSING FOR THE VOTE, THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE STAFF, OR ARE YOU PROPOSING FOR THE VOTE, THE RECOMMENDATION FOR P&Z? OR IS IT JUST UP FOR DISCUSSION? YEAH, I THINK.

DOES ANYBODY HAVE A MOTION? YES, MAY I HAVE A MOTION? I MOVE TO AMEND AND APPROVE THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATION WITH THE MODIFICATIONS SHOWN ON THE EXHIBIT LABELED ALTERNATE RECOMMENDATION AND EXCLUDING THE LANGUAGE RELATED TO DOWNTOWN.

EXCUSE ME, TO DOWN ZONING AND ALLOWABLE USES THAT TOTALS SIX HUNDRED AND TWO POINT EIGHTY FIVE ACRES OF LAND AND IS COMPRISED OF THE FOLLOWING, WHICH IS SIXTY NINE POINT ZERO FOUR ACRES OF LAND OF GENERAL RETAIL DISTRICT.

TEN POINT FIVE NINE ACRES OF LAND OF OFFICE DISTRICT ONE.

ONE HUNDRED AND THREE POINT NINETY NINE ACRES OF LAND OF MODERATE DENSITY, DISTRICT THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY SIX POINT THIRTEEN ACRES OF LAND OF RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT TWO TWENTY TWO POINT EIGHTY TWO ACRES OF LAND OF MULTIPLE FAMILY DISTRICT ONE AND THIRTY POINT TWENTY EIGHT ACRES OF LAND OF NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES DISTRICT.

OK, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER SAUER TO APPROVE.

I BELIEVE WHAT YOU DESCRIBED IN YOUR MOTION IS WHAT'S ON THE SCREEN RIGHT NOW, IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.

OK, SO WE HAVE A MOTION.

IT'S BEEN SECONDED.

ANY DISCUSSION ITEMS WE CAN START WITH YOU IF YOU WANT TO START AT THIS END OF THE TABLE.

GO AHEAD, COUNCIL MEMBER STANLEY.

DID, I DON'T KNOW IF THE LANGUAGE CHANGED.

P&Z RECOMMENDED 24 MONTHS, I BELIEVE, AND A GRANDFATHER CLAUSE.

WHAT DOES THIS PROPOSAL HAVE IN IT? PART OF HER MOTION WAS TO EXCLUDE THAT LANGUAGE, OF THE DOWN ZONING AND THE ALLOWABLE USES JUST BECAUSE IT WOULD BE PROBLEMATIC I THINK FROM A PLANNING AND LEGAL STANDPOINT, I'M GETTING THE NOD FROM BRYAN TO INCLUDE LANGUAGE LIKE THAT AS PART OF THIS ZONING.

BRYAN, DO YOU WANT TO WEIGH IN ON THAT REAL QUICK? CURRENTLY, OUR ORDINANCE, IT WOULDN'T EVEN COMPLY WITH OUR CURRENT ORDINANCE IN THE 12 MONTHS, 12 MONTHS AND 24 MONTHS TIME FRAME.

SO THOSE TWO THINGS DON'T COINCIDE WITH ONE ANOTHER.

AND REMEMBER, TOO, IT'S NOT THE SAME THEN FOR THE REST OF THE CITY.

[02:40:04]

SO THERE'S A CONCEPT THERE, TOO, THAT YOU WOULD BE BASICALLY WORKING AGAINST IF YOU ADOPTED THAT KIND OF THING.

YOU'D HAVE A DIFFERENT STANDARD FOR ONE NEIGHBORHOOD VERSUS THE REST OF THE CITY.

SO THE LANGUAGE IN THIS ONE WOULD BE 12 MONTHS.

AM I CORRECT IN UNDERSTANDING THAT OR IS IT 6? I'M UNFAMILIAR WITH WHAT THE LANGUAGES AND THE REST CURRENT CODE IS, 12 MONTHS.

THE ORIGINAL DISCUSSIONS WE HAVE WITH THE ZONING CODE UPDATE PROCESS WAS TO REDUCE THAT TO 6.

BUT BASED ON THE FEEDBACK WE'VE HEARD THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS, WE'RE NOT RECOMMENDING THAT ANY LONGER.

WE'D RECOMMEND STAYING AT THE 12 MONTHS WITH THE CODE REWRITE AND KEEP THAT LANGUAGE IN PLACE WITH SOME MINOR REVISIONS THAT CLEAN UP THAT SECTION OF THE CODE.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU'VE ALTERED FROM THE P&Z RECOMMENDATION OTHER THAN WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE AND THAT SPECIFIC LANGUAGE? I DON'T REMEMBER IF THERE WERE SOME OTHER LANGUAGE THAT THEY HAD PUT IN THERE AS A RECOMMENDATION.

SO THE SPECIFIC LANGUAGE THEY PROVIDED.

WAS ANY PROPERTY THAT WILL BE DOWN ZONED IN QUOTES BY THIS INITIATIVE SHALL BE ALLOWED TO BE USED FOR ANY USE THAT IS CURRENTLY ZONED FOR THE LIFE OF THE PROPERTY, THE LIFE OF THE PROPERTY SHALL BE DEFINED AS ANY PROPERTY THAT DOES NOT HAVE WATER, SEWER AND ELECTRICAL SERVICE FOR 24 CONSECUTIVE MONTHS.

SO THAT WAS THE MAIN CHANGE.

OTHER THAN EXCLUDING SOME OF THE OTHER AREAS ON THE NORTHWEST SOUTHWEST SIDE AND THEN THE GENERAL RETAIL ON AMARILLO BOULEVARD, THOSE ARE THE FOUR BULLET POINTS.

OK, THANK YOU.

SO NOW THAT'S GOING TO 12 MONTHS, THOUGH, IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, ANDREW HAS TO COMPLY WITH OUR ZONING ORDINANCE.

OUR CURRENT ZONING ORDINANCE IS 12 MONTHS.

YEAH.

YES.

OK.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ANY OTHER DISCUSSION, COUNCIL MEMBER SMITH.

HELP ME EXPLAIN HOW THIS MOTION DIFFERS FROM THE PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD.

ANDREW, YOU WANT TO GO ON THAT? SO IT MODIFIES IT SLIGHTLY IT BASICALLY ACCEPTS THE REMOVAL OF THE SOUTHWEST PORTION ACROSS THE TRACKS.

IT DOES NOT ACCEPT THE CHANGE OF REMOVING GENERAL RETAIL PROPOSED ALONG AMARILLO BOULEVARD, AND THEN IT WOULD MODIFY THEY WERE EXCLUDING THE NORTHWEST PORTION WITHIN THE BOUNDARY.

THIS WOULD MODIFY IT TO INSTEAD OF BEING ALL R2 AND HAVE A MIXTURE OF R2 MODERATE DENSITY OFFICE AND GENERAL RETAIL.

SO IT WOULD BE A MIXTURE OF USES THAT COULD BE ALLOWED IN THAT AREA OF THE ZONE.

THE CHAPMAN PROPERTY IS THE MAJORITY OF IT.

THE REQUEST FOR EXCLUSION WASN'T JUST TO NOT HAVE ZONING, IT WAS TO LEAVE THE LIGHT INDUSTRIAL ZONING ADJACENT TO THE RESIDENTIAL ZONING.

SO THAT WAS A CHALLENGE.

AND THAT'S WHY THEY WORKED TO HAVE A KIND OF A COMPROMISE THERE WHERE THERE'S MORE INTENSE USES INSIDE THERE.

BUT THERE'S ALSO A BRIDGE BETWEEN THE CURRENT RESIDENTIAL TO GET TO THE MD AND THE GENERAL RETAIL AND THE OFFICE.

YEAH.

DO WE KNOW WHAT GEORGE CHAPMAN THINKS ABOUT THAT PART? HE WAS AGAINST LAST TWO WEEKS AGO.

HE DOES HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE HERE THAT COULD COME [INAUDIBLE] YOU WANT TO COME AND SPEAK TO THAT TO SPEAK, WE APPRECIATE YOUR BEING HERE.

ABSOLUTELY.

YEAH, I TALKED TO GEORGE A LITTLE BIT EARLIER TODAY, AND AGAIN, HE'S WILLING TO WORK WITH SOME PLANS GOING FORWARD AND CHANGING ALL THAT STUFF.

BUT AT THIS POINT, SINCE THERE'S NOTHING CONCRETE ON THE GROUND AND NOBODY'S GOT ANY PLANS, IT ACTUALLY HAS BEEN PUT FORWARD TO SAY WE'RE CHANGING IT EXCEPT FOR THE ZONING.

IN OTHER WORDS, THERE'S NOBODY READY TO BUILD A COMMERCIAL IN THE CORNER AND OFFICE.

SO HE'S AGREEABLE IF THAT'S GOING TO MOVE FORWARD.

BUT IF WE'RE JUST CHANGING IT BECAUSE IT'S PART OF THE ZONING, HE WASN'T FAVOR OF THAT.

OK, SO HE FEELS THE SAME AS HE DID TWO WEEKS AGO.

CORRECT.

HE WAS IN FAVOR OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATION TO THE COMMISSION.

OKAY.

LEAVING IT AS LIGHT COMMERCIAL, IS THAT RIGHT? LIGHT INDUSTRIAL.

THANK YOU [INAUDIBLE].

OK.

YEAH.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS, JOE, OR ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR MR. SHANE? HOWARD.

MY PERSONAL OPINION IS I APPRECIATE WHAT THE PLANNING ZONING COMMISSION DID, THEY SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON IT.

THEY HAD A 5-2 VOTE, AND I'M IN FAVOR OF WHAT THEY DECIDED.

SO I'LL BE AGAINST THE MOTION.

[02:45:01]

THANK YOU, JOE.

THAT'S GOOD FEEDBACK, HOWARD.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT.

ANYBODY ELSE HAVE THOUGHTS THEY WANT TO SHARE? I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THOSE HARD THINGS.

I THINK IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE EVERYONE.

I THINK IT'S DEFINITELY BEEN THROUGH A LONG PROCESS.

I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU SAID, HOWARD, ABOUT THE PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD.

THEY'VE WORKED AS HARD ON THIS AS I'VE EVER SEEN THEM WORK ON ANY PROJECT IN FRONT OF THEM.

AND THOSE ARE VOLUNTEER HOURS SPENT AWAY FROM THEIR FAMILIES AND THEIR BUSINESSES WORKING TO FIND A CONSENSUS.

SO HOW MANY YEARS DID YOU SERVE ON P&Z HOWARD? EIGHT YEARS.

EIGHT YEARS.

SO I AGREE.

YOU HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE IN WATCHING THEM WALK THROUGH.

I WOULD SAY THOSE EIGHT YEARS, I WOULD GUESS 98, 99 PERCENT OF ZONING CHANGES WERE INITIATED BY THE OWNERS.

SO THAT'S THE PROBLEM I HAVE OF CHANGING THE ZONING THAT OWNERS, THEY EITHER HAD IT FOREVER OR THEY BOUGHT IT THAT WAY.

AND SO I DON'T LIKE GOVERNMENT CHANGING THE ZONING.

YEAH.

OK, THAT'S GOOD FEEDBACK.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS? I GUESS JUST TO I'LL SHARE MY PERSONAL ONE FIFTH VIEW ON THAT IS THE CHALLENGE HERE IS THAT THIS NEIGHBORHOOD WAS NEVER ZONED LIKE ALL THE OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS IN OUR CITY.

AND, YOU KNOW, IF WE HAD DONE THIS 60 OR 70 YEARS AGO, IT WOULD HAVE SOLVED THIS ISSUE AND IT'S NOT GOING TO GET EASIER THE LONGER WE WAIT.

AND IT'S.

IT'S A VERY I THINK IT'S ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT QUESTIONS WE'VE HAD IN FRONT OF US SINCE THE FOUR OF US HAVE SAT ON THE COUNCIL.

SO IT'S A CHALLENGING ONE FOR SURE.

COUNCIL MEMBER STANLEY.

SO MAYOR I SHARE IN HOWARD'S CONCERN IN REZONING ANYONE'S PRIVATE PROPERTY AGAINST THEIR THEIR WILL.

I HAD HOPED BECAUSE I SEE ALL THE WORK THAT'S GONE INTO THIS AND I DO SEE THE NEED TO REVITALIZE THAT OLDER NEIGHBORHOOD.

AND I KNOW THIS IS A PIECE AND IT'S A JUMPING OFF POINT, BUT IT REALLY DOESN'T PROVIDE THE SOLUTION.

THE SOLUTION STILL COMES FROM CREATING HOMEOWNERS, HELPING WITH FINANCING, CREATING HOUSING THAT'S AFFORDABLE AND ATTRACTING DEVELOPERS.

AND WHILE I DO AGREE THAT IF YOU COULD GET SOME BETTER ZONING STRUCTURE, IT MAY ENTICE SOMEBODY TO COME AND INVEST IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, EVEN IF YOU REZONE THIS.

IT DOESN'T SOLVE ANYTHING IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

YOU'RE TALKING 20, 30 YEARS POTENTIALLY BEFORE ANY OF THESE PROPERTIES ARE AGED OUT OR DO YOU KNOW, BECOME NONCOMPLIANT, NONCONFORMING.

SO I SHARE WITH WITH HOWARD AND HIS.

THERE'S SOME UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES HERE THAT WE CAN'T SEE.

AND THE CAUTION THERE.

IT'S A DIFFICULT ONE.

AND EVEN WHAT P&Z RECOMMENDS AFFECTS OWNERS WHO DIDN'T REQUEST THE CHANGE.

IT'S A COMPROMISE.

SO EVERY OPTION WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US IS A FORM OF A COMPROMISE TO WHAT'S BEING ASKED.

SO IT'S HARD.

IT IS.

AND EVEN IF WE DON'T GO WITH THE CHANGES, THE MOTION.

CHANGES CAN STILL BE MADE, PEOPLE CAN APPLY TO CHANGE ZONING, GO THROUGH THE ZONING COMMISSION, MAY NOT WANT IT AGAIN, BUT.

YEAH, RIGHT.

OK.

ANYTHING ELSE, ANY FURTHER COMMENTS? DISCUSSION WE'RE CALLING THE QUESTION.

OK.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION, PLEASE SAY AYE OR LET'S RAISE OUR HANDS.

I THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE A SPLIT VOTE, THREE FOR THE MOTION, THOSE OPPOSED TWO OPPOSED SO THAT PASSES WITH A THREE TWO VOTE.

I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S INPUT AND WILLINGNESS TO SHARE THEIR THINKING ON THAT.

[3.B. PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION REINVESTMENT ZONES FOR THE CITY OF AMARILLO ]

MR. CITY MANAGER.

ALL RIGHT MAYOR WE'VE GOT ANDREW FREEMAN, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, TO PRESENT THE ITEM NOW I NEED TO POINT OUT THAT ITEM 3B ON THE AGENDA.

IS A REAPPROVING REINVESTMENT ZONES CHAPTER 312, ITEM 3B ON THE THE WE GOT B AND C FLIP FLOPPED INSIDE THE PACKET.

SO IT IS NOT CACIQUE FOODS.

[02:50:03]

SO WE CAN JUST SKIP RIGHT PAST 3C AND GO STRAIGHT TO 3D AFTER 3B.

OK, SO ANDREW.

3B.

SO THIS IS A PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION.

THIS IS A STATE LAW REQUIREMENT THAT WE BRING THIS PARTICULAR GUIDELINE TO YOU EVERY TWO YEARS, OTHERWISE IT EXPIRES.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDELINE IS TO ALLOW THE CITY TO CONSIDER AND ENTER INTO TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENTS.

IT'S REQUIRED BY CHAPTER 312, AND IT PROVIDES FOR THE AVAILABILITY OF TAX BANDS FOR BOTH NEW FACILITIES AND STRUCTURES AND FOR THE EXPANSION OR MODERNIZATION OF EXISTING FACILITIES AND STRUCTURES.

IT WOULD BE EFFECTIVE FOR TWO YEARS FROM THE DAY ADOPTED DOESN'T REQUIRE YOU TO ENTER INTO ANY AGREEMENTS.

IT JUST BASICALLY ALLOWS YOU TO BECAUSE YOU HAVE THESE GUIDELINES IN PLACE.

SO IT DOES DOES REQUIRE A PUBLIC HEARING AND THE RESOLUTION.

THIS ISN'T TO BE THIS.

THIS WORKS IN COLLABORATION WITH THE OTHER INCENTIVE GUIDELINES THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE THAT WE PARTNER WITH ADC ON.

THAT'S A SEPARATE DOCUMENT THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE THE SAME EXPIRATION DATE.

SO THIS IS STRICTLY STATE LAW SAYING ADOPT THIS IN ORDER TO HAVE TAX ABATEMENTS AS AN ITEM THAT YOU CAN OFFER FOR INCENTIVES.

I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.

YEAH.

QUESTIONS FOR ANDREW COUNCIL? OK, THANK YOU, ANDREW.

DO WE HAVE A MOTION WITH REGARD TO ITEM 3B SORRY, PUBLIC HEARING.

OH, RIGHT, PUBLIC HEARING.

THANK Y'ALL ALWAYS KEEPING ME IN CHECK ON THAT.

AT THIS TIME, WE'LL OPEN A PUBLIC HEARING AND ANYONE PRESENT WHO WISHES TO SPEAK FOR, ON OR AGAINST ITEM 3B WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES AT THE PODIUM TO DO SO.

IS THERE ANYONE HERE WHO WISHES TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? SEEING NO ONE WE'LL CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AND NOW ENTERTAIN A MOTION, MAYOR, I MOVE TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION ADOPTING GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA FOR TAX ABATEMENT WITHIN REINVESTMENT ZONES FOR THE CITY OF AMARILLO.

SECOND, IT'S BEEN MOVED BY MAYOR PRO TEM POWELL AND SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER SMITH TO APPROVE ITEM 3B, WHICH IS RELATED TO TAX ABATEMENT TOOLS WITHIN REINVESTMENT ZONES INSIDE THE CITY.

ANY DISCUSSION OR QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM? HEARING NONE ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE, AYE ANY OPPOSED? THAT ITEM PASSES WITH THE 5-0 VOTE.

SKIPPING ITEM 3C AND MOVING ON TO ITEM 3D, WHICH IS CONSIDER REPEAL OF

[3.D. CONSIDER REPEAL OF RESOLUTION 06.08-21.1 WITHDRAWING AUTHORIZATION OF NOTICE OF INTENT TO ISSUE CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION]

THANK YOU MAYOR, MAYOR PROPOSED AND I CONCURRED AND THAT'S WHY IT'S ON THE AGENDA WITH WITHDRAWING THE NOTICE OF INTENT TO ISSUE COS THAT WOULD PROVIDE CITY COUNCIL WITH AN ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO REEVALUATE ALL THE ASPECTS, THE SCOPE, THE LOCATION, COST, ET CETERA, OF THE CITY HALL PROJECT.

IT JUST GIVES AN EXTRA LAYER OF DILIGENCE.

I KNOW THAT IT WAS REQUESTED EARLY ON IN THE PROCESS, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN STILL DO.

STILL AN URGENT PROJECT.

REPAIRS HAVE TO BE MADE OR A LARGER PROJECT HAS TO BE DONE.

SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE.

BUT WE'VE HEARD FROM CITIZENS BEST APPROACH IS JUST PAUSE AND JUST REVISIT THE OPTIONS.

WE CAN BRING THAT BACK TO COUNCIL IN A WORKMANLIKE WAY AND TAKE INPUT AND GUIDANCE FROM COUNCIL AS WE REFINE THOSE OPTIONS, THEN WE'LL HAVE TO CONTINUE TO REASSESS WHAT'S THE COST OF WHATEVER PROJECT COUNCIL WANTS TO MOVE TOWARD AND HOW WOULD WE PAY FOR IT.

SO THAT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS ALL OF THOSE QUESTIONS, READDRESS ALL THOSE QUESTIONS AND BRING FORTH THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE OPTION POSSIBLE.

BUT IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE A BALANCING ACT.

SO WITH THAT SAID, I'LL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS COUNCIL HAS.

ANY QUESTIONS, COUNCIL OR A MOTION? SO I HAVE A QUESTION IS, CAN I GET AN ANSWER ON WHETHER OR NOT THE PETITION IS VALID OR INVALID AND HOW WE ARRIVED AT THAT DECISION? BRYAN, DO YOU WANT TO TAKE THAT? IT WOULD BE COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE TO TAKE THAT ISSUE ON THAT HASN'T BEEN PLACED BEFORE CONSIDERATION OF THE CITY COUNCIL TODAY? IT'S NOT ON YOUR AGENDA.

COMPLETELY PREMATURE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION IN THIS BUSINESS MEETING.

SO MY QUESTION IS, IS.

HOW ARE WE TO TAKE ACTION ON A CO NOTICE THAT IS CURRENTLY IN LITIGATION? LIKE, WHY WOULD THIS NOT BE LEFT UP TO THE COURT TO DECIDE? NOT DOING THE CO IS NOT IN LITIGATION.

BUT PULLING THE PROJECT COULD HAVE OR BRYAN, I GUESS I SHOULD ASK YOU OR JARED DOES

[02:55:01]

WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS, IS THIS BODY HAS THE ABILITY TO CHANGE THEIR MINDS.

AND THAT'S WHAT THIS PARTICULAR ACTION ITEM IS FOR.

IT'S TO CHANGE YOUR MIND AND YOU ALWAYS HAVE THAT ABILITY AND IT DOESN'T MATTER WHETHER THERE'S A COURT CASE GOING ON OR NOT.

SO.

SO NO IMPACT LEGALLY ON AN ACTION ITEM THAT HAS TO DO WITH SOMETHING THAT'S CURRENTLY BEING LITIGATED.

BETTER WAY TO SAY IT WOULD BE REGARDLESS OF ANYTHING THAT'S GOING ON LEGALLY, THERE IS NO PROHIBITION AGAINST COUNCIL WITHDRAWING NOTICE CONTENT ISSUES RELATED TO OBLIGATION.

OK, AND THEN THE REASON THAT I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THE PETITION IS VALID OR INVALID IS BECAUSE IT'S IN LITIGATION.

AM I CORRECT? ONCE AGAIN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA TODAY AND WOULD HAVE TO BE POSSIBLY DECIDED BY A COURT.

I JUST THINK IT'S PREMATURE AND INAPPROPRIATE TO HAVE THAT DISCUSSION.

OK, I HEAR YOUR YOUR CONCERN AND APPRECIATE THAT.

SO.

I THINK THAT ANSWERS MY QUESTION.

OK.

OTHER QUESTIONS OR A MOTION? MAYOR, I MOVE TO I MOVE TO APPROVE THE REPEAL OF RESOLUTION, WHICH IS DATED JUNE 8TH, 2021-1 WITHDRAWING AUTHORIZATION OF NOTICE OF INTENT TO ISSUE CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION NOT TO EXCEED 35 MILLION DOLLARS.

SECOND.

IT'S BEEN MOVED BY MAYOR PRO TEM POWELL AND SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER SMITH TO APPROVE A REPEAL OF THE RESOLUTION ON JUNE 8TH OF 2021 THAT WOULD WITHDRAW THE AUTHORIZATION OF THE COUNCIL'S NOTICE OF INTENT TO ISSUE CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION WITH REGARD TO REPURPOSING A NEW BUILDING FOR A NEW CITY HALL.

ANY DISCUSSION OR QUESTIONS ON THE MOTION? SO THE ONLY THING I'D ASK IS BASICALLY WHAT'S HAPPENING IS WE'RE SAYING THAT WE'RE GOING BACK TO SQUARE ZERO AND STARTING OVER AT SOME POINT IN TIME, LOOKING AT CITY HALL, WHEREVER IT MIGHT BE, WHATEVER WE MIGHT DO, WHATEVER WE MIGHT DO WITH IT.

BASICALLY, WE'RE JUST SAYING WE'RE NOT ENDEAVORING TO ISSUE CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION TO DO A PROJECT AT THIS POINT IN TIME.

I WOULD SAY IT'S SQUARE ZERO WITH REGARD TO HOW YOU FINANCE OR FUND THE PROJECT, AS FAR AS THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT.

WHAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE WILL INFORM CONVERSATION IN THE STARTING POINT OF CONVERSATION GOING FORWARD, BUT WE'LL WORK TO REFINE IT AT STAFF LEVEL BASED ON THE INPUT WE'VE RECEIVED FROM THE ENTIRE SPECTRUM OF THE DIAS.

AND THEN WE'LL TAKE GUIDANCE AFTER THAT.

OR THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD PROPOSE.

OK, THANK YOU.

AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, I MEAN, THERE WERE ENOUGH CITIZENS WHO REACHED OUT TO SAY, I STILL HAVE QUESTIONS, THAT WE CAN TAKE TIME.

I DO THINK IT IS DILIGENT FOR US TO TAKE MORE TIME AND SPEND TIME ANSWERING THOSE QUESTIONS.

AND, YOU KNOW, I AGREE WITH WHAT JARED IS SAYING, THAT WE DON'T HAVE AN INDEFINITE AMOUNT OF TIME BECAUSE WE HAVE ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE REPAIRED.

BUT.

I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO LISTEN TO WHAT THE CITIZENS ARE TELLING US.

FIGURE OUT WHAT THE BEST APPROACH IS.

ANYTHING ELSE? OK, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND, LET'S CALL THE QUESTION, ALL OF THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION, PLEASE SAY AYE, AYE ANY OPPOSED? NAY.

OK, THAT PASSES WITH A 4-1 VOTE.

AND THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF OUR AGENDA.

THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE FOR OUR BUSINESS MEETING TODAY.

WE ARE ADJOURNED.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.