2026-10-08 - City Council Work Session

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18:17>> Now, where's [music] my chief? Chief,

18:19let me out of that that box that you got

18:22over there. I'll deal with it. All

18:24right. Uh, we're about ready to start at

18:27this time. Thank you. I always like it

18:29when I hear a nice rumble in the

18:31audience. So, thank you all for showing

18:33and being here with us at this time. Uh

18:36Chenet, do we have any citizen comments

18:39listed on this agenda?

18:42>> Yes, sir, we do. We have a couple of

18:45people. Uh citizen comments provide the

18:48opportunity for citizens to address the

18:50council on items that are listed on the

18:53agenda. Each speaker will be limited to

18:56three minutes and I will let you know

18:57when one minute is left. Please state

18:59your name and address prior to your

19:00comments. A professional presentation is

19:03requested. First speaker is

19:07Ann Faul

19:09Berg Falenberg and the second speaker is

19:13K. Hickox. Ann, if you want to go ahead

19:16and approach the dis.

19:21Hi, my name is Anne Falenberg and I own

19:24property at 220 West Sterling Boulevard.

19:26First, I'd like to say thank you to the

19:29administrator, Mr. Hillman, and the

19:31police for helping with the homeless

19:34situation. Um, we've had a lot of

19:36problems at our building on Irving

19:38Boulevard. It has gotten better in the

19:40last 30 days, and I'm interested to hear

19:42what you have to say about agenda item

19:44number eight. Thank you.

19:46>> Our next speaker is

19:49K. Hickox.

19:54>> My name is Kay Hickox and I live at 3401

19:57Bella Court Nurving. And as president of

19:59the Friends of the Irving Library, I

20:02want to welcome Glenise Robinson as the

20:05interim director of the library system.

20:08Her many years of successful public

20:10service, most especially as the director

20:12of the Fort Worth Public Library, has

20:15prepared her to step into this vital

20:17role. Her leadership should remind us to

20:21respect the appropriateness of this

20:24position.

20:26We appreciate the diligence demonstrated

20:29by the city manager's office in pursuing

20:31such a well-qualified candidate. This

20:34lengthy process demonstrates an

20:37understanding of the importance of this

20:39critical position and its impact on

20:42library operations.

20:44Our hope is the current approach of the

20:47city council indicates a recognition of

20:51the need of a professional and

20:53reasonable style of library operation

20:56that will attract equally well-qualified

20:59permanent candidates for the director's

21:02position.

21:03Any qualified director will expect

21:07sustainable policies based on

21:09professional standards rather than

21:12reactionary demands.

21:14We look forward to a demonstration of

21:17renewed interest in maintaining viable

21:20library service for all of Irving's

21:23residents.

21:29Okay, that concludes u at this time,

21:33city manager, it'll be city operations

21:35of date, but I understand uh we have a

21:38presentation from our director of

21:40communications, April, ICTN, and then

21:43there'll be two proclamations that I'll

21:45present.

21:46>> Very good. Thank you, Mayor. April, I

21:48think we're having some audio

21:49difficulties, so we may not have IC last

21:52month on ICTM, but you do have some

21:54other announcements.

21:55>> Yes, that's correct, Chris. We're going

21:56to go ahead and push last month to next

21:58month. So, you'll have two last months

22:00on ICTN. Um, however, I do want to share

22:03some accolades for the team. We

22:05recently, as of yesterday, surpassed

22:0816,000 YouTube subscribers. So, that's

22:10about a thousand additional subscribers

22:13over the last year. So, great job to

22:15ICTN and the communications department

22:17for their awesome work. And I also

22:19wanted to share they recently won 45

22:22awards. That's both state and national

22:24awards for the ICTN team. So, if y'all

22:27don't mind, let's give that team a round

22:28of applause. [applause] Exceptional work

22:34>> and I'll see you next month, mayor, with

22:36last month.

22:37>> Great. Thank you very much. At this

22:39time, we're going to move into u

22:42presenting two proclamations. Uh the

22:44first one will be [clears throat] a

22:47proclamation uh that our police

22:51department was really the ones behind

22:53the development and the continuation of

22:56the support for the domestic violence

22:58awareness and we're going to be

23:00supporting the domestic violence

23:02awareness month and at the same time

23:06we'll have a second proclamation that'll

23:09be for our customer service week. So at

23:11this time

23:32>> Heather,

23:34>> yes,

23:34>> there you are. Okay. Good to see you.

23:36>> Good to see you.

23:37>> Hi. Welcome.

23:38>> Thank you.

23:39>> Welcome, guys.

23:40Good to see you. Welcome.

23:42Welcome.

23:46>> Come on. I'm waiting for you.

23:47>> Okay. Sorry.

23:48>> Okay. Good to see you. Good.

23:51Good to see you guys. Thank you for what

23:53you do. Okay. Okay.

23:58Get me a a real honor, but more

24:01importantly, what they do is so

24:04important for our community. And Chief,

24:07you got a great group here. Thank you

24:09for what the department did to make this

24:11happen.

24:13Got it.

24:18City of Irving, office of the mayor

24:20proclamation.

24:22Whereas domestic violence is a pattern

24:24of abusive behavior in intimate

24:27relationships used by one partner to

24:30exert power, gain control over the other

24:34and can include physical, sexual,

24:37emotional, financial or psychological

24:40threats or actions. And whereas

24:44nationwide, one in three women and one

24:47in four men will experience domestic

24:50violence during their lifetime. And

24:53whereas almost one in 10 American

24:55children have witnessed one family

24:58member assault another family member and

25:01growing up in a home with violence can

25:04negatively impact a child's development.

25:08And whereas the Irving Family Advocacy

25:10Center seeks to provide compassionate

25:13support and healing to victims of

25:16domestic violence by providing a

25:18coordinated community response that

25:21includes a comprehensive criminal

25:23investigation, a crisis intervention,

25:26information and referrals, safety

25:29planning, education on the criminal

25:31justice process, linkage with community

25:34resources and confidential counseling

25:37services. And whereas domestic violence

25:40ame awareness month provides a excellent

25:43opportunity for citizens to learn more

25:45about the preventing domestic violence

25:49and to show support for the various

25:51organizations and individuals who

25:54provide critical assistance to victims.

25:57I note therefore Al Zapont, mayor of the

25:59city of Irving and the city council of

26:02Irving, do hereby proclaim the month of

26:04October 2026 as domestic violence

26:08awareness month in Irving, Texas and

26:12urge all residents to work together to

26:15end domestic violence in our

26:17communities. Thank you very much.

26:21[applause]

26:26Well, here you go, Chief. Go ahead.

26:31>> I thought you were going to lock me up.

26:32>> No, I wanted to come over there. I want

26:34to say something.

26:36>> Please. [clears throat]

26:37>> Thank you so much, mayor and city

26:39council. We couldn't do the critical

26:41work that we are doing at the advocacy

26:44center without your support. I do want

26:46to recognize we have several of our

26:48amazing investigators that are standing

26:51up here today uh doing incredible work

26:53to keep our citizens safe by arresting

26:56those who are most dangerous to our

26:59adults and our children and our

27:00community. So the critical work that

27:02happens here doesn't happen uh in a

27:05vacuum. We need all of our community

27:07resources and supporters to come

27:09alongside us in order to support victims

27:12of domestic violence. It's a tremendous

27:14undertaking when a victim's life is

27:16completely imploded and they have to

27:19figure out what their next steps are and

27:21what options are available to them. And

27:23so, uh, we have several of our victim

27:26services staff standing up here today

27:27that help them ren their lives and

27:30figure out how they can take the steps

27:32towards safety, hope, and healing. So,

27:34we thank you so much for today. I do

27:36want to mention that we have partnered

27:38with the Irving Independent School

27:40District to bring an art exhibit at the

27:43Huffman Archives and uh it's a wonderful

27:46art exhibit that's available the entire

27:48month of October done by high school

27:51students across Irving ISD. It's a

27:53really great opportunity to see how our

27:55youth view domestic violence in our

27:58community. We have information and

28:00resources available there as well for

28:02individuals to learn what are indicators

28:04of domestic violence and what are the

28:06resources to help uh support victims.

28:09And we'll be having a community

28:11reception this coming Tuesday at 6 PM.

28:14We have an octet from Irving High School

28:17that will be playing an orchestra set

28:19during the viewing. And so we do invite

28:21all of you to come and meet the artists

28:24and to listen to our um octet and enjoy

28:28uh getting to learn more and how you can

28:30help someone if they find themselves in

28:32that situation as well. Chief,

28:34>> no, I'm good.

28:36>> I did it all.

28:39>> Well,

28:43first of all, thank you, Heather. And

28:45thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Uh, I

28:48want you to know how much you appreciate

28:51us appreciating back to you because you

28:54do the hard work. You do it every day

28:56and you do what people need help and

28:59care. So, thank you very very much and

29:01chief, thank you for your leadership and

29:04our guys and ladies that are there at

29:06the police department. It it just it

29:08warms my heart to have the caliber of

29:10people that we have in this city. So,

29:12thank you very much. Shall we take a

29:14photo together?

29:19>> Y'all can kind of squeeze in two rows.

29:21[laughter] Get

29:22>> two rows. Parker, get next to get next

29:24to the mayor.

29:26>> Get next to the mayor.

29:28>> All right, I can get y'all there.

29:34>> Uh, I can't see right behind you,

29:35Heather.

29:37>> There we go.

29:41All

29:44right, here we go. One, two, three. One

29:47more. One, two, three. Got it.

29:51[applause]

30:02>> Do whatever you want, sir.

30:13Elizabeth, where are you? I need you.

30:18>> She's on her way, mayor.

30:22>> Well, I think I better wait.

30:30Let me uh take a moment and maybe do a

30:32not an adlib, but there's going to be a

30:36uh a group that is supporting the

30:39advocacy center. [clears throat] It'll

30:41be at the Via Realel on Sunday uh from

30:466:00 p.m. on. So, any of you would like

30:48to be there and be part of that, I think

30:50it'd be something they'd appreciate.

30:53So,

30:56Come on up here,

30:59>> Elizabeth.

30:59>> Yes.

31:00>> Good. I'm Al. How are you?

31:02>> Nice to meet you.

31:02>> Please come on in. Whoa.

31:05>> Okay, let's kind of just keep going.

31:08>> Hi. How are you?

31:10>> Good to see you.

31:10>> Good to see you.

31:11>> Hi. Nice to see you.

31:12>> Nice seeing you.

31:18>> Good seeing you.

31:21>> Good. Good seeing you.

31:25Good.

31:27Good to see you. Thank you,

31:29man.

31:32Keep coming.

31:34>> Keep coming.

31:36>> Good to see you.

31:37>> Good to see you, sir.

31:38>> Good to see you. Keep keep going.

31:41>> Good to see you again.

31:42>> Yeah, good to see you guy. We are not

31:44bumping in each other.

31:45>> Yeah, exactly. All right. Good to see

31:46you.

31:46>> I probably need to be in the bathroom.

31:49>> Thanks, C.

31:51>> There we go. Go ahead. right over here.

31:54Huh? That's okay. Just go right. Come on

31:57in. Hello.

31:59>> Good to see you again.

32:04>> Good to see you.

32:04>> Good to see you, too.

32:06>> Okay.

32:08>> Hi.

32:08>> Good to see you.

32:13>> Okay. Come on over here, Elizabeth. Come

32:15on. On this side.

32:18>> Well,

32:20Chris, who do you have left? [laughter]

32:26All right. Well, this is the first team.

32:28Okay. Got it. Uh, I will now read the

32:33city of Irving's office of the mayor

32:35proclamation.

32:37Whereas customer service is the

32:39essential component of maintaining a

32:41thriving and prosperous community. And

32:44the city of Avering is dedicated to

32:47providing exceptional service to all its

32:50residents, businesses, and visitors

32:53through its serving Irving with pride

32:56customer service program. And whereas

32:59the city of Irving employees and

33:01customer service representatives

33:04exemplify excellence through their

33:07commitment, dedication, and

33:09professionalism, ensuring that the needs

33:11of the community are met with courtesy,

33:14respect, and efficiency. And whereas

33:17customer service week is a national

33:19celebration held annually during the

33:22first full week of October that

33:24recognizes the people who serve and

33:27support customers daily.

33:29And whereas the recognition provides the

33:32opportunity for all of us to acknowledge

33:35the hard work, dedication, and positive

33:38impact of our customer service

33:40professionals who play a pivotal role in

33:43making Irving great place to live. great

33:46place to work and a great place to

33:48visit. Now, therefore, I, Albert Cesont,

33:51mayor of the city of Irving, and the

33:53Irving City Council, do hereby proclaim

33:56October 5-9, 2026 as customer service

34:01week in Irving, Texas, and encourage all

34:05residents to join me in recognizing and

34:07celebrating the outstanding efforts of

34:10our customer service professionals.

34:12Signed, Albert Cesont. Thank you. Would

34:15[applause]

34:17you like to take a second?

34:22>> Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. My

34:24name is Elizabeth Nighton. I'm the

34:25internal communications supervisor for

34:27the communications department. We are so

34:30glad to be here today with

34:32representatives from departments across

34:34the organization who help serve our

34:36residents every day. The employees

34:39joining us here today represent the city

34:41manager's office, communications, human

34:44resources, finance, inspections,

34:48planning, police, purchasing, traffic

34:51and transportation, and water customer

34:53service. While they represent different

34:55departments and different roles, they

34:58have something important in common. They

35:00are often the first people our residents

35:02turn to when they need help, have a

35:04question, or are simply someone who can

35:07listen.

35:08We are incredibly grateful for the

35:10professionalism, dedication, and care

35:12they bring to that responsibility.

35:15And while we're proud to recognize the

35:17teams represented here today, we also

35:20know they represent the many other

35:21departments and employees

35:24across the city who serve our residents

35:26every day. We also want to thank mayor

35:29and council and our city leadership for

35:31your continued support and your

35:33recognizing of how important excellent

35:35customer services to our community. On

35:38behalf of the Serving Irving with Pride

35:40customer service program, thank you for

35:43helping us recognize and celebrate our

35:45frontline teams during customer service

35:47week. And most importantly, thank you to

35:49all of the employees who serve Irving

35:52with pride every day.

35:53>> Thank you.

35:54>> Thank you. [applause]

35:56You and I.

36:03>> All right.

36:05I'm lucky

36:07[laughter]

36:09guys out here.

36:24>> Great. Thank you guys. Enjoy the day.

36:29>> One more time. Hang on team.

36:32>> Do it again.

36:33>> One more time.

36:35>> Yes, Chris.

36:36>> Okay.

36:45[applause]

36:52>> Everybody

36:55That's yours.

36:56>> It's fine. Thank you.

37:20there and in here. But I don't see it.

37:32>> Chris, you don't have a citizen update.

37:34We're good.

37:35>> Okay, good. Uh we do have a item number

37:40four is Irving connector update.

37:44>> We have number three sir to the domestic

37:46violence shelter operator request for

37:48proposal

37:48>> excuse meate.

37:49>> Yeah I got caught up doing the the

37:52actual proclamation. So number three

37:54domestic violence shelter operator

37:56request for proposal update. Thank you.

37:59Thank you Chris.

38:01>> Good afternoon mayor and council. Alda

38:03spec with community and economic

38:04development. So today we're here to

38:06provide an update on our recent uh

38:09request for proposals for a domestic

38:11violence shelter operator. We'll review

38:13how we got here. We'll review uh the

38:16response we received as well as next

38:18steps going forward.

38:21So as a reminder um the journey that

38:24we've been on over this uh past several

38:25years getting to this point. Um as a

38:28reminder back in late 23 we learned of

38:30Brighter Tomorrows uh closing its doors.

38:33It was the only domestic violence

38:35shelter here in Irving. Um, and with

38:37that uh occurrence, uh, in 24 in the mid

38:42springtime, council directed, uh, staff

38:45to dedicate or allocate the home art

38:48funding of $2 million for non-

38:50congregate shelter to limit it to just

38:52the domestic violence population. And

38:54that started the process of undergoing a

38:57feasibility study to help provide what a

39:00probable cost would be. um also

39:03determining a needs assessment to feed

39:06into facility size and type. Um and we

39:09presented those findings back in

39:11February of 25. At that time there was

39:14some unknown in regards to the uh

39:18federal landscape in regards to funding

39:19that we had previously received. So we

39:22were at pause to see what would happen

39:24of any future federal allocation of

39:26funding. We came back in September and

39:29provided an update on that. And at that

39:31point, council directed us to go ahead

39:33and go forward and see if there is even

39:34any interest from an operator standpoint

39:37to um partner with the city and operate

39:40a future domestic violence shelter. We

39:42then released an RFI and presented a

39:45request for information uh in January

39:47and presented those findings in March of

39:5026 this earlier this year. We had two

39:53respondents. when the with the

39:55information received from that um we use

39:58that to then go out and do a request for

40:00a proposal and so we're going to provide

40:02those findings today and seek direction

40:04if we want to move forward with an

40:06operator agreement.

40:08Um reminder of the project overall. So

40:12um the project would be that the city

40:13would build and own a shelter. um we

40:17would partner with an operator, enter

40:19into an operator agreement in which they

40:21would help provide design input as we go

40:23through the design process. At the same

40:26time, they would be responsible for

40:27raising all of their operating funds and

40:30they would run be able to run the

40:32shelter um rentree for 15 years, which

40:35is the 15-year compliance period that we

40:37have for the home art funds that would

40:39be used towards the construction of the

40:41facility. At the end of the 15 years, um

40:45they would be able to take ownership as

40:47long as they were in compliance with all

40:49um the requirements within their

40:51operator agreement and then would

40:52operate that uh shelter use in

40:55perpetuity with um in perpetuity. In our

40:59uh feasibility that we did back in

41:02February of 25, we estimated an

41:04operating cost of around 2.6 million. So

41:07again, an operator is going to be

41:09responsible for being able to pro raise

41:11the funds to be able to operate a

41:12facility of that size. And um over to

41:16the right is a table just to show the

41:17funding that we have secured to date to

41:20go towards this project. Um we have $15

41:23million secured from city general fund.

41:26We received 5.85 million in the federal

41:29community project funds and we again

41:32have the 2 million in the home ARP.

41:34Again, this can only be used towards

41:36construction. Before we go forward with

41:39construction, we will need to do a plan

41:41amendment that shows that we're limiting

41:42the non- congregate shelter to the DV

41:44population. Um, we'll talk later on

41:47timeline on that, but we're waiting on

41:48that until we have the go of

41:50constructing of constructing that

41:52facility. So overall, we have an uh just

41:55over two $22 million to go towards this

41:59project um and the construction of a

42:01facility.

42:03As part of this selection process,

42:05again, we went through the request for

42:07information um to help shape uh what we

42:10would request in an RFP. During that

42:13time, we received two responses, one

42:15from Mosaic Family Services and the

42:17Archway. Um, when we opened up the RFP,

42:21a uh entity did not have to have

42:23submitted into the RFI, but did have to

42:26at least attend one of our pre-proposal

42:29meetings. Um, the only attendees were

42:31Mosaic and the Archway, and then

42:33ultimately only the archway submitted a

42:35proposal.

42:37Um and then the just to reiterate the

42:40reason that we went through the RFP

42:42process is part of our underwriting um

42:45requirements for the home art funds is

42:47we have to do our due diligence

42:48underwrite the potential operator and

42:51the best what we felt as staff the best

42:53way to do that um would be an RFP

42:55process to be transparent in in the

42:57process.

43:00So, as I mentioned, we received one

43:01proposal. Um, it was from the Archway.

43:04Um, they formerly went by the name Safe

43:06Haven of Tarant County. They are the

43:08only state designated family violence

43:10center in Tarant County currently

43:12operating two shelters there. One in

43:14Fort Worth with 92 beds and one in

43:17Arlington with 72 beds. Um, in their

43:21fiscal year 26, they had an operating

43:24budget of just over 11.3 million. um

43:27with about four million of that raised

43:29privately and another 4.6 million um

43:33provided with federal federal awards.

43:36During that same time and of 25 they

43:39were able to serve just around 1300

43:42clients through those two facilities. Um

43:4475% of those clients were able to exit

43:47into permanent housing as well. What we

43:50note is that um with the their long

43:52tenure since 1976, they also have had a

43:56long tenure of uh of receiving and

43:59complying with federal funds um through

44:02HUD, DOJ, and HHS. And um they also have

44:07statewide leadership currently here in

44:09Texas um with the CEO serving on the

44:12governor's DB task force. and they also

44:15have uh their existing HHSC license can

44:18also extend to a potential Irving

44:20location.

44:23So within the um proposal received we

44:26asked for a proposed program model and

44:29in that they are proposing a shelter

44:30with up to 40 beds um where they would

44:33would it be dedicated to women and

44:36children. It would be emergency shelter

44:38only no transitional housing.

44:41They would [clears throat] have a staff

44:42of 18 that would include a shelter

44:44director and with an annual operating

44:47budget of just over 1.78 million a year.

44:51We also asked them to um select which of

44:55the options from the feasibility study

44:57of which shelter type from size um as

45:00well as buildout back from the again the

45:02FAS feasibility study in 2025 and they

45:06selected option D which is one of the

45:09least expensive and smaller buildout of

45:11the options presented in that

45:13feasibility study and part of that was

45:17um going with a smaller facility to um

45:20be able to request seed money for

45:22operations for when they first open up.

45:25Not that they would need the full

45:26remainder of what we have allocated

45:28towards the project uh and the 17.2

45:31million, but that a portion of any

45:33funding not spent towards construction

45:35could be um go towards their operator

45:39operation seed money.

45:42As part of the evaluation process, we

45:44also did a site visit on September 18th

45:46to help address any of the questions or

45:49concerns that we had in in the initial

45:51proposal. Um, things that we found is

45:53they have again they've been operating

45:56since 1976. They have a long uh standing

45:59experience with uh operating shelters.

46:02The facility that we visited was their

46:04Arlington location which was a build to

46:06suit um model and they've been operating

46:09that for 20 plus years. So it shows that

46:12they know how to um design and build a a

46:16building as well as manage and maintain

46:18that over a long period of time as well.

46:22Um their second location which we did

46:24not um have a chance to visit before

46:27today um in Fort Worth. That building is

46:30one that was an existing building which

46:32they rehabbed and have continued to add

46:34on to expand which then also showcases

46:37their ability to take an existing

46:39building and um being able to go through

46:41a rehab process and manage it as well or

46:44excuse me maintain it as well. Um in

46:48addition they have a long stable tenure

46:50team in their facilities team as well as

46:52their staffing who support the 247 model

46:56and um with their tenorship in being

46:58able to maintain buildings. They know

47:00how to plan for capital repairs um

47:03mainly with Hbacks and roof systems

47:05which is important for us to know as the

47:07eventual structure um of this uh

47:10agreement would be that they would take

47:11over the building at the 15-year mark.

47:14And then in location having their um two

47:17current facilities both in Arlington and

47:20Fort Worth. An additional location here

47:22in Irving would be in close proximity

47:24which would help with um supporting any

47:27overflow needs from clients here to

47:29other shelters as well as overflow needs

47:31from staff support in supporting the

47:33program.

47:36Um in addition to the things that we've

47:38noted that were strong um aspects of of

47:41the proposal, we did there were there

47:43are some issues that we are going to

47:45need to address as we continue

47:46conversations. And the main central

47:48issue which was not a surprise is is

47:50around the long-term operating funding.

47:54Um a requirement of the proposal was

47:56that they needed to provide a 15-year

47:58funding plan. And um the we did not get

48:02one in the proposal, but um at our site

48:05visit, it was that they just did not

48:06feel that they could responsibly provide

48:08a 15-year funding model um given the

48:11current landscape. They did provide us a

48:13one-year uh budget and what that would

48:15look like and and a list of potential

48:17funders um and are willing to go through

48:20the exercise of creating that 15-year

48:22model, but did note that they just felt

48:24that responsibly they could not just put

48:26one together just to um check that as a

48:29requirement for the proposal. Um but do

48:32note that we will need them to go

48:33through that as part of our underwriting

48:35um process and due diligence if if we

48:38are to go forward with an operating

48:39agreement.

48:41Um, additionally, their budget, their

48:42operating budget was 17, was that 1 78

48:46million versus the 2.6 that we

48:48estimated, which is, you know, a little

48:50less than a million dollar difference.

48:53Um, while it's nice to see a smaller

48:55operating budget, um, as we were

48:56conservative in our feasibility study,

48:59it also is something that we need noted

49:01and want to further validate. uh at our

49:04site visit, they they shared that that

49:06number was built upon their Arlington

49:08shelter location and that they used

49:10which is close to the same um size in

49:14regards to square footage that would

49:15potentially be here in Irving. Use that

49:18data of their budget and extrapolated

49:20that to what could be a budget here. We

49:22just need to further validate that to

49:24make sure that we aren't um at risk of

49:26under of an underfunded operating budget

49:29and that could lead to a future request

49:31from the city in regards to gap

49:32financing.

49:34Um again um the request for the

49:37operational um seed money um that's

49:40going to be a policy decision from

49:41council to decide if that's something

49:43that they would like to do with any

49:45capital funding that is left over from

49:47construction. And as a reminder, home

49:50ARP cannot be used towards operation. So

49:52this would be uh meaning using the $15

49:54million of the city's general funds that

49:57has been set aside.

49:59Another note was um at this time they

50:01were at a tighter cash position. Um

50:03their fiscal year 25 their cash fell

50:05from the 3.15 million to just um a

50:09little over 1 million with an 800

50:11$800,000 line of credit. Um, not to say

50:14that that's a bad thing with the

50:16landscape that we are in with federal

50:18funds and grants that we've seen with a

50:20lot of our nonprofits, but it is

50:21something to note and just continue as

50:24um when we go back to evaluate and do

50:27our underwriting is to make sure um what

50:29that looks like in the future. Um they

50:31have updated uh did share that they've

50:34already paid off that $800 uh $800,000

50:37line of credit. the way that they

50:39operate and the way the board um likes

50:42to um has directed staff is to take the

50:46line of credit versus dipping into their

50:48reserves um as the first line of when

50:50they're in need of cash. And again,

50:52they've they've paid that off as of um

50:54here recently.

50:56One that is um could be a not

51:00necessarily a a negative, but just

51:02something to note, it could be a

51:03positive in regards to opportunity is

51:05they will be new to Dallas County. So,

51:07they're going to have to build on their

51:09relationships with the philanthropy uh

51:11philanthropic community. Um there's

51:13opportunity there. Um but just to know

51:15that that's a relationship that they're

51:17going to have to have to build out. And

51:20then lastly, um state funding um is

51:23cyclical for the uh uh shelter

51:26operators. So, they don't they aren't

51:27able to apply every year. And the next

51:29funding cycle and where they would be

51:31able to apply for this shelter to get

51:33funding through the state wouldn't be

51:35any earlier than 2031. So that would be

51:38after the shelter has to be open. So

51:40we're looking at two to three years of

51:42operations before any state funding

51:44comes in to help with operations of the

51:47shelter. Um meaning they'd lean into any

51:50private dollars that they are able to

51:51raise.

51:54So, um, if at the end of today's

51:56discussion we, um, you do direct us to

51:58continue to proceed with negotiations,

52:00these are the steps that we are going to

52:02have to look at. We do have to go

52:04through a full underwriting process as

52:06part of the home ARP um, funding. Um, we

52:10will be requesting the 15-year operating

52:12projection, go back and validate the um,

52:15their proposed budget for operating at

52:17that 1.7 million against what we found

52:19in our feasibility study. um and then go

52:22back and review again their cash

52:24position and reserves. Some items that

52:26will need to be negotiated are funding

52:28uh fundraising milestones. These are

52:31tied to some go and no-go dates that

52:33we'll get to here in a moment. Um where

52:35we'll come back to the council and say

52:37this is where we're at. Do we want to

52:39proceed forward? And the funding

52:40milestones will be tied to their

52:42development of a of a more refined

52:45fundraising plan and their ability to

52:47start implementing it.

52:49Um, additionally, um, things to be

52:51decided again is that policy decision on

52:54any funds going to any, um, startup seed

52:57funding.

53:01Uh, in um, connection with this RFP, I

53:04did want to provide where we are at with

53:06the RFQ, request for qualifications for

53:09a an architect to help with the design

53:11of the uh, facility. As a reminder, um,

53:14as part of this, when we, uh, updated

53:16you back in March, we wanted to have a

53:18dual track where we bring on an

53:20architect to help do a feas further

53:23refined feasibility study on if we are

53:26going to build a new uh, facility, new

53:29construction, or look at a city-owned

53:31building and renovating it. And so, we

53:34have um, gone through that process. Um,

53:37submitts were due back in July. they

53:40have uh went and we had 13 um firms that

53:43submitted application or excuse me RFQS

53:46and three were interviewed. The top firm

53:48is currently in negotiations and we'll

53:50be bringing forward an agreement for

53:51your consideration at a future council

53:54date um this quarter.

53:58So in regards to timelines and next

54:00steps um uh what you'll see next will be

54:05again the council award for the RFQ.

54:08This is for the design firm again to

54:10start that feasibility

54:12design feasibility process where they're

54:15going to help um uh design whether we do

54:19a new construction rehab and the

54:21probable costs associated with that.

54:23Bring that back to make a decision.

54:25That's estimated to be about six to

54:27seven months. Um and awarding that here

54:30in the next uh awarding that here in Q4

54:32of 2026. Um after today's discussion, if

54:36it's to go forward with an operator, we

54:38would immediately start um refining and

54:40negotiating with the operator to uh

54:43bring back an operator agreement with

54:45the goal of Q4 of this year. We want to

54:48bring them on as soon as possible

54:50because we want that operator to again

54:52be part of the design input from the

54:54very beginning. Um once we get to um and

54:58then during that time, they'll also be

55:00with the design, they'll also be

55:01refining their implementation plan. So,

55:04when we get to July of 27, we'll we'll

55:07hit our first go no-go date um where

55:10we'll decide this is the cost of the

55:13type development type of new

55:14construction or um rehab and decide

55:17which path to go forward or not move

55:20forward at all. We'll also see if the

55:22operator has put forward a refined uh

55:26fundraising plan and has started to

55:28implement that. Um if it was a go at

55:31that point, the design firm will then

55:33start designing whichever facility uh

55:36option is chosen and the operator will

55:38be implementing further implementing

55:40their fundraising plan. That design

55:43phase will take about another six to

55:45seven months. So we're looking at

55:46January of 28. That will be the final go

55:50no-go date where we now have a design

55:53that's ready for whichever building. And

55:54then we will also be checking with the

55:56operator on their ability to implement

55:59their fundraising plan. And if we feel

56:01comfortable that they have succeeded at

56:03that, then we will go forward with

56:05construction. And then from construction

56:07should be about 18 months um from

56:10January 28 to June 29 to which we would

56:13then hand off to the operator. They

56:15would have a ramp up period and looking

56:17at opening in November of 2029.

56:20This hits our uh with this timeline,

56:22it'll hit our deadline of having the

56:24facility open and ex and and receiving

56:26its first clients by September 30th of

56:282030 and also gives us two more key

56:32points to be able to make decisions of

56:34if this is the path we want to continue

56:36to go down given the various concerns

56:38that we have noted along the way in

56:40regards to operating funding and cost of

56:42building a facility. So with that, we

56:46are looking for um direction. if you are

56:49supportive of moving forward with any

56:50negotiations with Archway as a for an

56:53operator agreement.

56:55>> Chris, thank you mayor and thank you

56:57Mela. Could you please go back to that

56:59last slide?

57:00Thank you. Just as a again a final point

57:03of reference, mayor and council, you see

57:04the the two go no-go dates. Those are

57:07going to be pivotal for us to determine

57:09if with this operator if we can move

57:11forward. However, and Alda did not in

57:15order to get to those go no-go dates, we

57:18will have to make some investments in

57:20the design, the engineering, and some uh

57:23studies relative to the feasibility of

57:25which type of facility we need to build.

57:27And if for some reason it ends up being

57:28a no-go, those dollars would then have

57:31been invested. But just wanted to make

57:32sure that you as a council know and

57:33understand that there's going to be some

57:35expenditures up front that if there's a

57:37no-go at the end, we would have worked

57:39as aggressively as we could towards

57:40this. we would have worked and as much

57:42as we can, but if it doesn't work out,

57:44but we would just know and understand

57:46that those investments were made.

57:52>> Yeah, Mark.

57:53>> Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Amlda. Um

57:56the um only one proposal. Do you have

57:59any idea for why there was only one

58:01proposal? Um, so only Mosaic and the

58:04Archway could submit because they were

58:06the only ones that attended our

58:07pre-proposal meetings. And from what

58:10we've gathered from Mosaic is they've

58:12also had some transition from leadership

58:14and they just did not feel it was the

58:16right time to go forward with this new

58:18endeavor. Um, and also just they

58:21typically do not um they don't receive

58:23any federal funds and knowing that there

58:25are strings attached to the federal

58:26funds that are attached to this project.

58:28There was some concern there. Are there

58:31were you surprised? Were you expecting

58:32other operators to make proposals?

58:34>> We were expecting at least those two. I

58:36didn't I didn't expect another

58:38>> I guess I what I'm trying to get is that

58:40was there something about um you know

58:43where we are that was causing other

58:44potential operators not to not to bid.

58:47Um, I think the landscape of um, we were

58:50asking for 15-year fund um, op funding

58:54operation um, that many could not

58:56produce, especially given the landscape

58:59in federal funds that usually support

59:01the domestic violence shelters. A lot of

59:03that has either gone away or been

59:05greatly reduced. And so government

59:08funding is tighter, nonprofit funding is

59:11tighter. and um having to make a

59:13commitment for 15 years, not with this

59:16unknown. You would have to be an

59:18organization that feels very strong in

59:20where you are at position-wise to say,

59:23"Yes, I'm going to um be able to put my

59:25hat in the ring for something that's

59:27going to increase my budget, you know,

59:2916 to 20% than where we're at today."

59:32>> Did you actually hear that from some

59:33potential candidates that uh because

59:35they didn't feel comfortable doing a

59:3715-year that they weren't going to

59:38submit a proposal?

59:39>> That was part of the dialogue. Yes, I

59:41wouldn't say they necessarily worded it

59:43that way, but that was the part of the

59:44conversation.

59:45>> And then um then Archway's not even

59:47doing a 15-year. They just went ahead

59:49and decided to do the proposal and say

59:51that we can't do the 15-year. I think in

59:54our interview they really shared why

59:56they just did not feel it was

59:57responsible to put a 15-year together a

1:00:0015-year budget together because a lot of

1:00:02that is so subjective and so many

1:00:05assumptions have to go into that that to

1:00:08give a they felt it was stronger and

1:00:10more appropriate to show you this is a

1:00:12one-year budget and this is what we

1:00:14would see potentially over the 15 years.

1:00:16But there's just so much unknown in the

1:00:19industry, if you will, of where they're

1:00:21at to be able to responsibly provide a

1:00:2315-year

1:00:24>> the um with the with them being in Taran

1:00:27County. Did for the one-year um plan

1:00:29that they presented, did you get did you

1:00:31get see get to see who their donors are?

1:00:34>> Um I have a list of their some of their

1:00:36donors. Yes, I can.

1:00:37>> Yeah. Who are they?

1:00:54there.

1:00:57Apologies. Give me one second.

1:01:01Um,

1:01:08um, I'll search for that if you have

1:01:10another question. Just didn't want to

1:01:11hold you up.

1:01:11>> Oh, sure. Yeah. And the the what you're

1:01:14looking at, the reason why I ask is

1:01:15because, you know, I've seen with other

1:01:17organizations, charities that that um

1:01:20that are in Tarant County and they they

1:01:21they draw from the Bass Foundation,

1:01:24Walton, some foundations that donors,

1:01:27philanthropists that are only interested

1:01:29in Tarant County and they have zero

1:01:31interest in Dallas County. They actually

1:01:32they're hostile to Dallas County.

1:01:34>> And then in in Dallas County itself, the

1:01:36philanthropists tend to be interested

1:01:37only in the city of Dallas. So to to

1:01:40think that um because that they're going

1:01:41to be able to like use those same donors

1:01:43for something in Irving may be a flawed

1:01:46premise.

1:01:48>> I I think so to know that's your

1:01:50question. We did talk about that. So and

1:01:52they noted that's where they're seeing

1:01:53the opportunity is many of they do have

1:01:56some funders in Dallas County, but

1:01:58they're the Dallas County funders that

1:02:00provide statewide funding. And so the

1:02:02opportunity is they will now have a

1:02:04shelter in Dallas County and can go

1:02:06after the Dallas County only funders.

1:02:09Um, some of those that they had listed

1:02:12were like Caterpillar, Exon Mobile,

1:02:15Floor, Mark Cuban Foundation, many of

1:02:17these that do provide statewide as well

1:02:20as um some more lo higher dollars that

1:02:23are local to to Dallas County. they have

1:02:26a new um development [clears throat]

1:02:28director who has been in the Dallas

1:02:31County fundraising landscape and so has

1:02:34some um relationships already built

1:02:37there that they're looking to then uh

1:02:40grow for this specific uh project.

1:02:44>> The uh and what why are we thinking get

1:02:47deeding the property to them after 15

1:02:48years? Is that that's an essential

1:02:50component of the proposal? I don't

1:02:52understand why that is. We we don't want

1:02:54to continue to be landlords. Um we want

1:02:57to build it, have it. It would as part

1:02:59of the transfer in ownership, there

1:03:02would be a deed restriction or covenant

1:03:05that would have to remain a shelter for

1:03:08perpetuity. But

1:03:09>> I think of the one that that we had, you

1:03:10know, it was a once um whichever group

1:03:13was running it left.

1:03:15>> Brighter tomorrow.

1:03:15>> Brighter. Thank you. Um we saw the

1:03:17building and it was in bad shape.

1:03:18>> It was horrible.

1:03:19>> And we just tore it down.

1:03:20>> Yep.

1:03:20>> Um we had the ability because we owned

1:03:21it. we could do whatever we want and

1:03:23then you we face that situation a lot

1:03:25with the ownership. It's like well you

1:03:27know we can't do make them do anything

1:03:28because we don't own it. It's like I

1:03:30wish we owned it so we could actually

1:03:31make that decision and then but here

1:03:33we're talking about actually deeding it

1:03:34away and they do they even want that?

1:03:38>> Yes. that ha owning um when we've done

1:03:41other shelter tours when it comes back

1:03:42from just a general population non-

1:03:45congregate shelter the what helps a

1:03:48nonprofit is if either one they have a

1:03:50very long-term agreement versus one year

1:03:53two-year so that way they can raise the

1:03:55funds and um the philan phil

1:03:58philanthropic dollars to be able to pay

1:04:00for all the capital expenses that come

1:04:01with it when they own it they're able to

1:04:04have that asset that as collateral to be

1:04:06able to get the money to then again

1:04:08manage and maintain the building for all

1:04:10the major capital expenses that right

1:04:12now the city is putting on the operator

1:04:15to be responsible for. We are not going

1:04:18to be responsible for the major capital

1:04:21um expenses. So we don't want to

1:04:23continue to own that asset.

1:04:25>> And a lot of times as as a landlord as a

1:04:28city we we can be somewhat just clunky

1:04:30given our processes and procedures.

1:04:32being able to respond and having the

1:04:35groups eventually have their own

1:04:36building would be a good goal.

1:04:39>> All right. Well, um it seems to me like

1:04:41they seem like a very good operator and

1:04:43um but they um there's some questions as

1:04:45far as like their funding model which

1:04:46could leave us on the hook and um it

1:04:49seems like maybe there's other operators

1:04:50that we did not consider because they

1:04:52felt excluded from the very beginning

1:04:53because they weren't going to do the

1:04:5515-year and then the archway is not even

1:04:57giving 15 years. So is I I guess I

1:05:00question you know should we reopen it to

1:05:02consider other proposals to other other

1:05:04groups that may give us something that

1:05:05is doesn't have that 15-year estimate

1:05:08funding model to it.

1:05:10>> Um I from a timing perspective if we

1:05:13were to go that route I would say we

1:05:16need to pull the homear dollars and this

1:05:18now needs to pick up project that the

1:05:19homear dollars does not go towards.

1:05:21>> Okay

1:05:22>> that aside.

1:05:23>> Okay. Um, I also do not believe that we

1:05:25are going to get additional operators

1:05:27that are going to submit because that

1:05:3015-year compliance, I mean, goes is

1:05:33because of the home ARP dollars. So, if

1:05:35you remove that maybe, but I also think

1:05:37the landscape again that we're in from

1:05:40where a lot of these operators utilize

1:05:43funding, government sources, it's just

1:05:45it's unknown right now. So, I I do not

1:05:48think that we're going to get um

1:05:50additional additional responses. We did

1:05:54our due diligence in ensuring that a a

1:05:57large group of um operators throughout

1:06:01the state received this uh proposal. So,

1:06:04they all were aware of the RFI. They

1:06:06were all aware of the RFP. We made it

1:06:08known that you did not have to respond

1:06:10to the RFI in order to respond to the

1:06:12RFP. You just had to attend the meeting.

1:06:14and we still only had two operators

1:06:16attend attend those meetings. We didn't

1:06:19receive anything like oh I didn't know

1:06:22um there was just no interest and I so I

1:06:24I don't think we're going to get any um

1:06:26additional responses.

1:06:28>> Okay. Well [clears throat] uh the

1:06:30council as a whole um is still very

1:06:33supportive of having the domestic

1:06:35violence shelter for women and and

1:06:37making that happen. And so considering

1:06:39all those factors, yeah, I think this is

1:06:40a a great proposal and I I support it.

1:06:44>> If I may, just as a followup, we

1:06:46actually, you may recall, worked with

1:06:48another uh provider for the last two or

1:06:51three years to work through just the the

1:06:54space needs, design, just some elements

1:06:56of what we would be looking at relative

1:06:58to what would be needed in a facility.

1:07:00And that entity did not submit either.

1:07:04It was a very good qualified entity, but

1:07:05given the same reasons that Emldda had

1:07:08identified, the funding is very limited

1:07:11right now and their ability to expand is

1:07:14very restricted.

1:07:20>> Thank you, mayor. Um I share some of the

1:07:23concerns of Mark on just having one

1:07:27company bidding on it but I understand

1:07:29the constraint but nevertheless that

1:07:32that makes me uneasy. Um second thing is

1:07:35I'd like to understand

1:07:38what authority or what say so we have

1:07:40while they're operating if they're not

1:07:43doing what they're supposed to be doing.

1:07:46um do we have anything that we can come

1:07:49in and say, "Guys, you guys are not

1:07:50performing the way you're supposed to

1:07:52be. Either we're taking over or we're

1:07:54giving it to somebody else." And then

1:07:56just to pile on to that, the 15-year

1:08:00turning over, I think I'm not against it

1:08:02just given the some of the things you

1:08:04talked about, but that should be

1:08:05performance-based. Um we could give an

1:08:08intent that we intend to do it given

1:08:11some of these things are met. So, sorry,

1:08:12two full questions there.

1:08:15Um, in regards to remedies, if they are

1:08:18in breach of their operator agreement,

1:08:20we had multiple and one of them does

1:08:23include city coming in and and taking

1:08:26over the shelter. Um, we can if or or

1:08:29bring someone else in and we can there's

1:08:31a number of remedies that we've included

1:08:33if they are not performing to the

1:08:35operator agreement. So, that's in the

1:08:38draft agreement right now

1:08:39>> in relative to the turning over to the

1:08:41facility. Absolutely. There will be

1:08:42performance measurements that if they

1:08:44don't fulfill those, if any operator

1:08:46does not fulfill those, we would not be

1:08:47looking to turn over the facility.

1:08:48>> It's not by default that by us entering

1:08:51into this agreement for 15 days.

1:08:53>> Um they have to again part of it's the

1:08:56compliance period. A lot of it's driven

1:08:57by the home ARP dollars and what they're

1:08:59supposed to do. That's that compliance

1:09:02is driving a lot of the compliance that

1:09:03will be in the operator agreement. but

1:09:06we can have other terms in there um that

1:09:09they would have to fulfill in order to

1:09:11be able to um have the option to take

1:09:13over.

1:09:14>> And just to clarify, what's our

1:09:16investment in this? How much are we

1:09:17investing?

1:09:19>> Um 15 million

1:09:20>> of general fund money.

1:09:22>> How much?

1:09:22>> 15 million city's general fund money.

1:09:24[clears throat]

1:09:24>> Okay.

1:09:25>> That's what we've been able to pull

1:09:26together.

1:09:27>> You have multiple different options,

1:09:29right? Option A, B

1:09:31>> in regards to funding.

1:09:33>> Yeah. the facil we had from the original

1:09:37feasibility we had um about five options

1:09:40of what the facility size could be. Yes.

1:09:43Um but this is what we've secured in

1:09:45funding. So um that 15 because there's

1:09:49limitations on the home AARP that's goes

1:09:51through construction

1:09:53>> as well as the 5.85 85, but we have the

1:09:55other 15 million of city funds secured

1:09:57to go into this. And I would anticipate

1:10:00that 22 million being used, the majority

1:10:03of that all towards construction, unless

1:10:05again there's a policy direction to

1:10:06provide any other type of reserve or

1:10:09seed funding.

1:10:10>> So what's that 5.6 million for the the

1:10:12rest of it? Because you've got option D

1:10:1517.2 million. That was the option D was

1:10:19what out of the there was a range of 17

1:10:22to $22 million um construction costs for

1:10:26a facility and that was based on square

1:10:29footage the number of floors that were

1:10:31built out. There was a threef flooror

1:10:33option a fourfloor option two floors

1:10:37being built out all of it. And so there

1:10:39was a range there. they just selected

1:10:41option D um

1:10:43>> more so for the size as well as to go

1:10:47with their request of any leftover

1:10:49capital

1:10:50>> funds to be used towards seed operating

1:10:53dollars.

1:10:54>> So this could be an 1819 million and

1:10:57only you know 2 millions left for

1:11:00potential seed funding. That's what

1:11:01they're requesting. They did not include

1:11:03a specific amount. They're just m they

1:11:06had noted the request for startup funds.

1:11:09I would say there's there's two

1:11:10components there. One is just that

1:11:12whatever is remaining is what from an

1:11:15establishment grant or seed money is

1:11:16what we'd be looking for. Also, the

1:11:19estimates for the facility are just

1:11:20that. They're estimates

1:11:21>> and they were done a year and a half ago

1:11:24>> and 24

1:11:25>> y two years ago now. So that could

1:11:28easily go up just in terms of cost. So I

1:11:30see those two components being that

1:11:31differential of what we've already been

1:11:33able to put aside versus what the

1:11:36initial estimate was of the 17.8

1:11:38million. And and to add on that, those

1:11:40estimates are also on a new

1:11:41construction. Reminder, we're looking at

1:11:43a potential rehab of a building that we

1:11:45currently own. So that's where that's

1:11:47what this design phase one feasibility

1:11:50that we're look uh engaging an architect

1:11:52for to be able to complete over the next

1:11:54six to seven months to say these are

1:11:57your two development type options. These

1:11:59are the costs associated with that based

1:12:01on design input that we have from the

1:12:04architect and the operator.

1:12:07what do we want to go with? And so we

1:12:09don't know what that cost is right now.

1:12:10>> I appreciate it. I I'm very supportive.

1:12:14Um and I think you're probably already

1:12:15working towards it, but I would love to

1:12:17have good guard rails around it to make

1:12:19sure the facility is wellrun and they're

1:12:21they're held accountable to what they're

1:12:23signing up for.

1:12:24>> Okay, David, and then Dennis.

1:12:27>> Yeah, thank you, Mayor. the uh archway.

1:12:29You know, one of the reasons I

1:12:30[clears throat] do like them is with the

1:12:31other shelters in Fort Worth uh where we

1:12:35can send our people and I I I saw the

1:12:38presentation I think was about a year

1:12:40ago now uh on the operators. So, it's a

1:12:43good model. It's a good company. The

1:12:45question is, as we're moving down this

1:12:48path, are we going to be able to use

1:12:50their facilities in Fort Worth at the

1:12:52same time instead of having to wait till

1:12:54November

1:12:552029 to start really utilizing our

1:12:58domestic violence service.

1:13:00>> Individuals that are calling are calling

1:13:02the hotlines now are able to access

1:13:05their facilities now. Yes, there's a

1:13:07network that if you call in and you're

1:13:09needing a shelter, they they can accept

1:13:11you now. They have they have um

1:13:14individuals from Irving in their

1:13:16Arlington shelter now and it's all about

1:13:19where is that person at in in their

1:13:22situation um depending on which location

1:13:24they go. I mean and as well as the

1:13:26Dallas County operation uh operators um

1:13:30um and Irving individuals that are

1:13:33fleeing domestic violence are able to

1:13:35access shelters now.

1:13:37>> All right. Good. Yes. Thank you.

1:13:38>> Okay, Dennis.

1:13:40Yeah, I got [clears throat] several

1:13:41questions. Um,

1:13:45so right now if a person, like you said,

1:13:48they call into the hotline, they can

1:13:51they can use these other shelters. So

1:13:53we've been without a domestic violence

1:13:55shelter now for what, a couple years.

1:13:57And so in this two years, we've been

1:14:00sending our domestic violence cases to

1:14:02these other

1:14:04um organizations, right?

1:14:07>> I I mean, I I don't run the hotline. I

1:14:09can't speak to that if if anyone

1:14:11>> Well, and I'm not asking you to tell me

1:14:13exactly where they're going, but I mean,

1:14:15are we sending them somewhere or are we

1:14:16just not servicing them?

1:14:19>> Uh, let me interject. I'm going to have

1:14:21to step out for about 1 hour. I've asked

1:14:23the deputy mayor Kanowat to take over at

1:14:25this point. Thank you.

1:14:29>> In response to your question, we offer

1:14:32those as options. The challenge for many

1:14:34of our Irving clients is the long

1:14:36commute to return to their work, keeping

1:14:39their kids in school, and those kinds of

1:14:41options. For some of our victims, the

1:14:43safest option for them is to flee the

1:14:44city, but for many of our victims, that

1:14:47is something that is um

1:14:51more of a burden and more of a challenge

1:14:53for them. So, it's really up to the

1:14:55client's decision, but we're in

1:14:56situations where we have to send a

1:14:59client to Fort Worth or Denton County or

1:15:02something like that, and it's a major

1:15:04challenge for them to be able to

1:15:05continue working and keeping their kids

1:15:07in school and doing those kinds of

1:15:09things. So, they do have the opportunity

1:15:10to go to those shelters, but often they

1:15:13uh they choose not to due to the

1:15:15distance.

1:15:15>> So, hypothetically, if we never build a

1:15:17if we never build a domestic violence

1:15:19shelter, we still will have a place to

1:15:20send them.

1:15:22Well, one of the challenges for us is

1:15:24that many times the shelters are full

1:15:26and so even if they're calling to try to

1:15:29get to a shelter bed, they can't get in,

1:15:32>> which has been my experience with some

1:15:33of these domestic violent cases.

1:15:36>> Well, our officers complain often that

1:15:38they just call and call and call and

1:15:39they're getting denial, denial, denial,

1:15:41and so there's nowhere to take them if

1:15:44they need to go somewhere.

1:15:45>> Right. Yeah. That's and I've had several

1:15:49tell us

1:15:51that that's their situation. They can't

1:15:52find anywhere to go. They can't just

1:15:54they they can't get any help. Um I got a

1:15:57lot of concerns about this. U I've

1:16:00expressed them before. Um as we talk

1:16:02about when we had that presentation the

1:16:06last time it was there will be no

1:16:08government funding

1:16:10as part of this. I remember that very

1:16:13vividly. And now I keep hearing not only

1:16:17today, but before we've got to set aside

1:16:19operating money just in case. I'm

1:16:22hearing they can't guarantee us a

1:16:2415-year

1:16:25funding plan. Can they guarantee us a

1:16:285-year funding plan? Cuz I have a

1:16:30problem when I don't know how much this

1:16:33going to cost and all this seem to be

1:16:36new territory in a whole lot of areas

1:16:38other than I understand that this

1:16:39operator has been operating, but they

1:16:41haven't been operating in Dallas County.

1:16:42What percentage of their funding is

1:16:43government funding? I heard you mention

1:16:45it, but I can't remember what it was.

1:16:46>> It was

1:16:47>> I mean, not government, private private,

1:16:49excuse me, private funding.

1:16:50Non-government funding.

1:16:51>> It was about um a little over a third.

1:16:54>> Okay. So, a third of their funding.

1:16:56>> Sorry.

1:16:57>> A third of their funding is private

1:16:59funding.

1:16:59>> 50%'s private. Sorry.

1:17:01>> Okay. So, 50 50% is private funding. 50%

1:17:04is going to be government funding.

1:17:06>> And we're like you said, we're in a time

1:17:08now where a lot of that government

1:17:09funding is being cut off. So, at the end

1:17:11of the day, what I see in my crystal

1:17:13ball is that the city of Irvan is going

1:17:14to start putting a lot of money in this

1:17:16just to keep it open.

1:17:18One other thing is I heard you answer

1:17:22for Haj's question that if they get in,

1:17:24start operating and they don't comply,

1:17:27we can take it over, we can run it, we

1:17:30can get another operator.

1:17:32But you got one respondent in this RFQ,

1:17:36RFP, whatever now, which means that

1:17:37there's not a lot of operators that you

1:17:39can just take it over and put another

1:17:40operator in it. So, we're putting all of

1:17:43our eggs and our financial funding in

1:17:47one basket and it's going to eventually

1:17:49at some point the city is going to have

1:17:52to fund most of this.

1:17:54Have we again, and I asked this

1:17:56question, looked at instead of trying to

1:17:58build a new facility, and you alluded to

1:18:00it, building a new facility, find one

1:18:04and rehab it and do it less than $22

1:18:08million. Where are we on that? Because I

1:18:11asked that question a while back.

1:18:13>> Yes, that's part of the feasibility

1:18:14study is what we have. What we're going

1:18:16to start next per the council's

1:18:17direction is looking at that particular

1:18:21question build new or we do have a

1:18:24facility that we have identified that we

1:18:26would look to rehab and what is that

1:18:29price difference based upon what the

1:18:31needs of the facility would be and how

1:18:32the one would be remodeled versus the

1:18:34one that would be built. So that's

1:18:35exactly what we'd be doing for the next

1:18:37six months. So and then that goes to the

1:18:38the first no go no-go. If for some

1:18:42reason that doesn't work, then we we

1:18:43know we stop. And that was in six

1:18:44months, I believe.

1:18:45>> So, let me ask you this question. Can we

1:18:47not in-house get some type of estimate

1:18:49of what it would cost to rehab this

1:18:51current facility we have without having

1:18:53to get a consultant to come in and tell

1:18:54us

1:18:57I mean you somewhere in the ballpark. I

1:18:59mean, I'm not asking you to get within,

1:19:01you know, $1,000 of it, but I mean, get

1:19:04within 2 million and tell me how much is

1:19:06it going to cost to rehab this facility

1:19:08we already own to meet the requirements

1:19:10of this domestic violence shelter.

1:19:12Somebody ought to be able to give me

1:19:13that number without a consultant doing

1:19:15it.

1:19:15>> Councilman Webb, it's it's hard to do

1:19:17because right now we have to get with

1:19:18the the operator to see exactly what

1:19:20they need in that building without

1:19:22knowing the scope of what they want in

1:19:24there, what services, it's hard for us

1:19:25to go out there and do an estimate. If

1:19:27we're going to say they're going to do

1:19:28eight rooms, bathrooms, whatever the

1:19:30case, maybe we could give you a rough

1:19:32estimate on that. But not knowing the

1:19:34final scope for the work, it's hard to

1:19:36go out there and determine the final

1:19:37analysis. I'm not sure if uh Trevor has

1:19:40any more advice, but that's basically

1:19:42it's hard to go out there until we find

1:19:43out exactly what's entailed with the

1:19:45work we're going to perform in the

1:19:47remodel.

1:19:48>> So, this one, the proposal is 40 beds,

1:19:50right?

1:19:52>> Yes.

1:19:53>> I mean, I'm just I'm just struggling.

1:19:55I've been in construction a long time.

1:19:57Okay. And I understand that you're not

1:19:59going to give me the number. Take their

1:20:02model, take their take their facility

1:20:05and then match that somewhat square

1:20:07footage up with another facility that we

1:20:09own and give me some kind of idea how

1:20:13much that's going to cost me. I mean

1:20:15this to me and I'm not an engineer. I'm

1:20:18not all this. This is not that hard to

1:20:20come up with some kind of ballpark

1:20:22figure. Is it 20 million? Is it 22

1:20:24million? Is it 15 million? Somebody need

1:20:26to tell me that because I'm very

1:20:27uncomfortable, you know, with this route

1:20:30we're going. I'll say this, too, and

1:20:33I've been saying it. We keep talking

1:20:35about the timeline. The timeline, the

1:20:37timeline is based on the art funding. Am

1:20:40I correct? This we got to get it get

1:20:43this done by September 30th or else so

1:20:46we can make sure that we meet the

1:20:48homearch deadline for the $2 million,

1:20:51right?

1:20:51>> Yes.

1:20:52>> Okay. My suggestion again for the 15th

1:20:55time is that we need to take the $2

1:20:57million out of this process and then you

1:21:00do away with your timeline. You don't

1:21:02have that pressure and take that $2

1:21:04million and put it back where it was

1:21:06originally scheduled to be put by the

1:21:08previous council. Um I will not support

1:21:11this because I don't think that we're

1:21:14going to end up getting what we're

1:21:15asking. And I have a problem because if

1:21:18we get to 2027 with a nogo, we got a

1:21:21little over two and a half, three years

1:21:23to get rid of $2 million.

1:21:26And that's that's where I stand. So I

1:21:28won't support it until we can come up

1:21:30with some numbers as to kind of what

1:21:32it's going to cost building versus

1:21:35taking a rehab piece of property. Uh and

1:21:37then find out for sure how much this

1:21:39actually going to cost us for the last

1:21:41next 5 years. And and we would have that

1:21:43number in six months between existing

1:21:45versus a new build.

1:21:47>> Yeah. Well, come back to me in six

1:21:48months.

1:21:49>> Okay.

1:21:52>> Questions?

1:21:54>> Abdul

1:21:57[clears throat]

1:21:58the the question I have is I have seen

1:22:01these two numbers here. The operating

1:22:04cost in one place it says 2.6 6 million

1:22:08and in the other place it says 1.78

1:22:11million. So what is exactly the

1:22:13operating cost? Approximately

1:22:15>> the 2.6 million is referring to uh the

1:22:19February 2025 feasibility study of the

1:22:22the team that got together for that

1:22:24estimated the operating cost would be

1:22:26about 2.6 million. The 1.78 million was

1:22:31the operating budget that Archway um

1:22:34included in their proposal and that's

1:22:35based on their current operations at

1:22:39their Arlington location and

1:22:41extrapolating that data and how that

1:22:43would apply to uh that same model here

1:22:45in Irving based on square footage and

1:22:47size potential square footage and size

1:22:50um of the option D that they looked at.

1:22:53>> Okay.

1:22:53>> So that was their response versus what

1:22:55we estimated.

1:22:57>> Okay.

1:22:59My second question is whatever that

1:23:01operating cost is is it self- sustained

1:23:05or we still have to inject the operating

1:23:09cost or participate in the operating

1:23:11cost?

1:23:13>> Um

1:23:15>> where is that operating cost is coming

1:23:16from for next 15 20 years.

1:23:20>> Well that's their staffing. That's what

1:23:21it takes to run the shelter. Are you

1:23:23saying what's funding that? It would be

1:23:25um that's where they're looking at their

1:23:28um government grants, their private

1:23:30dollars for the first couple of years

1:23:33because um government funding wouldn't

1:23:35be available. The main source of

1:23:37government funding wouldn't be available

1:23:38to apply for until 2031. They're going

1:23:41to have to rely on private funding for

1:23:44the first two to three years of

1:23:46operations to be able to support that.

1:23:49And so with that request um or with that

1:23:52that's why they are requesting

1:23:54um a discussion and um of a potential

1:23:57operating seed funding from the city for

1:24:00any leftover capital funds of our 22

1:24:03million that we've set aside. They did

1:24:06not say you know the full amount. They

1:24:08said maybe a certain amount the first

1:24:10year and tearing it down because again

1:24:13reminders part of our timeline here they

1:24:16have to put together and and the

1:24:17requirements they have to put together

1:24:19their fundraising plan um that's um more

1:24:22detailed and then start implementing it.

1:24:24So they are responsible for raising the

1:24:26capital funds to sustain the project

1:24:28throughout throughout the 15 years. It's

1:24:31just there's usually sometimes it's hard

1:24:33to do that at the very beginning. And so

1:24:35that's why they wanted to submit a

1:24:37request up front to discuss if there's a

1:24:41possibility to include seed funding as

1:24:44part of our funds that are going towards

1:24:46the project.

1:24:48>> So that takes me back to what Dennis was

1:24:51saying that if we don't have the

1:24:53operating budget, it would come back to

1:24:56the city to maintain and operate it,

1:24:59right?

1:25:00At this point in this timeline, if we're

1:25:03not seeing movement on getting funding

1:25:06commitments, we have two dates here that

1:25:08we can pull out and not construct the

1:25:11building.

1:25:14>> Okay.

1:25:18But it's still I'm not clear whether we

1:25:21have the operating funding available by

1:25:25any means for next 15 years.

1:25:28that's going to be their responsibility

1:25:30to put that together. That's part of one

1:25:32of their things they have to do.

1:25:34>> Thank you, Chris.

1:25:35>> Just to maybe help provide some thoughts

1:25:39and background even here in the city, um

1:25:42could I put together a 15-year budget

1:25:45knowing understanding what, for example,

1:25:47the state may or may not do to us on on

1:25:49property taxes? It would be a difficult

1:25:52thing. Do I even when we started this

1:25:55process, did I anticipate that there

1:25:56would likely be a need for any operator,

1:25:59whoever that would be to probably need

1:26:01an establishment grant or some seed

1:26:03money? Yes, I would anticipate that. To

1:26:07what value, I think we're still going to

1:26:09determine and decide. Again, that's

1:26:11going to be dependent upon uh further

1:26:14research, finalizing their funding

1:26:16plans, seeing what our capital costs are

1:26:18going to be. So, as a council, if we

1:26:20want to move forward, do I would I

1:26:22recommend that we set dollars aside for

1:26:25an establishment grant? Yes, we're we're

1:26:27going to need to do that. And we can set

1:26:29up the parameters around what that

1:26:32establishment grants would be used for,

1:26:34how it would be used, when it would be

1:26:36used, etc. There's going to be

1:26:39performance requirements that the

1:26:41operator is going to have to fulfill in

1:26:44order for us to ensure that the services

1:26:46are being provided and that they can

1:26:48continue to operate the facility.

1:26:50There's always a chance with this

1:26:53operator and I would anticipate with any

1:26:55operator that three or four years from

1:26:58now or three or four years once the the

1:27:00facility is opened they run into an even

1:27:04more dire maybe federal funding

1:27:07situation than even what we see now

1:27:09depending on what happens. Could some of

1:27:11their funding disappear? Yes, it could.

1:27:14I think that would be the same for any

1:27:16operator. I think as I understand the

1:27:18industry

1:27:20for these types of services, a good

1:27:24majority of the funding does come from

1:27:27either the federal or the state

1:27:28government. That's just where they focus

1:27:31in a lot of their their efforts. There

1:27:33are private funding opportunities

1:27:36through foundations, corporations,

1:27:38individuals,

1:27:40but in the end there will always be some

1:27:42sort of government money. Our goal is to

1:27:44as a city to have an operator that in a

1:27:47combination of private funding and the

1:27:49federal and the state funding be able to

1:27:50operate it without any operational

1:27:53assistance from the city. That would be

1:27:55my goal and I hope that whether it's the

1:27:58archway or any other group that would

1:28:00come in that they'd be able to do that.

1:28:02So that is a risk. Dennis is very

1:28:04correct. There is a risk here. There is

1:28:06definitely a risk and that is going to

1:28:09be the balance. We're going to try and

1:28:10mitigate that risk as best we can. And

1:28:12as I know the operator would, they are

1:28:14going to try and mitigate as best they

1:28:15can as well. But yep, there's definitely

1:28:16going to be a risk. And that's going to

1:28:18be the balance of moving forward and

1:28:20trying to provide the service that we

1:28:22feel is important and necessary. As you

1:28:23heard from Heather, there just aren't

1:28:25enough beds out there. And when we lost

1:28:27Brighter tomorrows, we lost beds that

1:28:30were being used for our residents and

1:28:31being part of that network of shelters.

1:28:35So, our goal, and I think it's a very

1:28:36prudent, reasonable, and uh responsible

1:28:39goal, is to try and provide some more

1:28:41beds out there. And if we can continue

1:28:45to move forward, my recommendation is to

1:28:47let's look at these next steps. Dennis,

1:28:48you're asking very good, very important

1:28:50questions. Let's get those final numbers

1:28:52and we can get to those go no-go

1:28:53opportunities. And our question for

1:28:56council is going to be, do you want a

1:28:58student that take these next steps to

1:28:59move towards those next go no-go

1:29:01opportunities? and for some reason it

1:29:03doesn't work, then we can reposition and

1:29:06restrategize. So again, all very good

1:29:08questions. I have concerns. I don't want

1:29:11to be operating a shelter. We're not

1:29:13good at that. We don't have the

1:29:14expertise to do that. You have

1:29:16unbelievably call qualified people in

1:29:18the archway and many organizations

1:29:20around the state that are very good at

1:29:22what they do and we would look to them

1:29:24to do that. And I also don't like being

1:29:26a landlord. Uh as I mentioned before,

1:29:28the city we're clunky as a landlord. We

1:29:31try and get out of those landlord

1:29:32opportunities as quickly as we can, but

1:29:34at times you need to do that in order to

1:29:36move some of these important services

1:29:37forward. So, just some of my quick

1:29:39thoughts. Thank you,

1:29:40>> Adam.

1:29:41>> Yeah, thank you. Um, and that's actually

1:29:44uh where I was going as well. Um, yeah.

1:29:47Yeah, just right. First of all, I'm

1:29:49supportive of moving ahead and and

1:29:51getting the U going in this direction.

1:29:54Um, yeah. So on the key issues to

1:29:57address slide, there's the the tighter

1:29:59cash position. Um so you know my

1:30:02question was I guess my question is do

1:30:04we do we know why their cash reserves

1:30:07fell uh in the last I guess this is over

1:30:10two million in the last year. Um and

1:30:13then my comment on that what how why for

1:30:15whatever reason it their cash reserves

1:30:17fell. Am I understanding that correctly

1:30:19first of all? Yeah.

1:30:20>> Uh no they didn't go into their

1:30:21reserves. That's why they did the um

1:30:23line of credit was to avoid going into

1:30:25their reserve. So their cash to be able

1:30:28their liquid cash to use. It's my

1:30:29understanding that they uh some

1:30:31reduction in grants happened.

1:30:33>> Yeah.

1:30:34>> Um so they had to go into more of their

1:30:37cash on hand. Um but I that's part of

1:30:40what we need to further evaluate as far

1:30:42as the next steps um to be able to

1:30:45answer it better.

1:30:46>> Yeah. My assumption was that their

1:30:48funding fell through, you know, either

1:30:50state or federal or wherever. um or

1:30:52philanthropy, but either way um

1:30:56this to me or that signals that we're

1:30:58getting into a partnership in this deal

1:31:00were we to move ahead with all this. So

1:31:02they may have other years where they,

1:31:05you know, where their their cash goes

1:31:07down and we're going to have to decide

1:31:08what to do at that point. But um uh but

1:31:12that's

1:31:14nevertheless we need to move this

1:31:16project forward. So, I I support the

1:31:18direction and I'm expecting future

1:31:21conversations

1:31:22around this like partnering with Archway

1:31:25and I do like them as an operator. So,

1:31:27um so yeah, this all sounds good to me.

1:31:30>> Thank you,

1:31:30>> John.

1:31:32Thank you, Mayor Prom. Um thank you for

1:31:34the presentation. I won't belabor the

1:31:36point. I agree with all of the uh points

1:31:39about, you know, we want to be careful.

1:31:42Um but I'm also I just want to express

1:31:44I'm in favor of moving forward with the

1:31:46process. Thank you.

1:31:48>> All right. Anybody else?

1:31:51Lewis.

1:31:51>> Thank you, Mark. Um Chris, I think you

1:31:53make a lot of sense and I agree with um

1:31:56John and Adam as well.

1:31:59>> I have a FA.

1:32:01>> All right. Anybody else? Yeah, there's

1:32:05there's a clear consensus, I think, to

1:32:06move forward. Dennis, I think, is uh is

1:32:09in the minority on that. Anybody else?

1:32:12>> No. No, he can move forward. I ain't got

1:32:14a problem with moving forward. I make

1:32:16sure you understand that. I'm not trying

1:32:17to hold this up, but I do have a whole

1:32:19lot of concerns uh in moving forward

1:32:22with it. I mean, not [clears throat]

1:32:23moving forward with the domestic

1:32:24violence shelter, but as we move

1:32:26forward, I got a lot of questions I'm

1:32:28going to keep asking um and about. So,

1:32:31>> okay.

1:32:32>> All right.

1:32:32>> Thank you.

1:32:32>> All right. Thanks, mother. You got your

1:32:33consensus to move forward. Thank you so

1:32:35much. All right. We'll go on to um item

1:32:38number number four which is the Irving

1:32:40conductor update.

1:32:44>> Mayor Prom. Uh first of all before

1:32:47before we give the presentation I just

1:32:48want to acknowledge the great

1:32:49partnership we have with VIA. As you

1:32:52recall like in May we were sooner than

1:32:54that we were thrown into the thick of

1:32:55going into the uh transportation that we

1:32:58were never doing before in the past and

1:33:00we're hoping to give it back to Dart

1:33:01once they get reestablished as soon as

1:33:03possible. but they've been fantastic to

1:33:05partner to work with and get this thing

1:33:07up and running in such a short period of

1:33:08time. I want to thank them for that and

1:33:11also the data that they're providing

1:33:12from you is really critical and it makes

1:33:14us let us make really good decisions on

1:33:17how we want to move forward. Uh data

1:33:19that we were not receiving from uh our

1:33:22from DART before they're providing for

1:33:24us and even more information if we need.

1:33:26So it's a fantastic uh partnership. So

1:33:28I'll turn it over to Melissa.

1:33:29>> Thank you Orlando. Uh good afternoon

1:33:31Melissa Baker Public Works. pleased to

1:33:34be here with you. And just to echo um

1:33:36Orlando's point now, we do have some

1:33:38data analytics that we're proud to have

1:33:40that we did not have previously. Um we

1:33:43launched this in the June July time

1:33:45frame. So we are here to give you an up

1:33:47a fourmonth update um on where we're at

1:33:49and I will kick it over to Sherish who

1:33:51is the vice president of partnerships.

1:33:56>> Thank you very much uh Melissa and thank

1:33:57you much uh very much Orlando. Um we've

1:33:59really appreciated the opportunity

1:34:00council to be operating the Irving

1:34:02connector service. Uh we think it's been

1:34:03a tremendous success so far and we're um

1:34:05as Melissa and Orlando have said here to

1:34:07provide an update on writership and some

1:34:08of the data that we've gathered. Um to

1:34:11to quickly recap uh the Irving connector

1:34:13to um you know level set for for you all

1:34:16and and kind of why we're here today and

1:34:17why we operate the service. There were

1:34:19two routes the the 225 and the 255 that

1:34:21were operated by Dart historically.

1:34:23these two routes were discontinued and

1:34:25the the the city, you know, rightfully

1:34:26understood that these were two routes

1:34:28that were providing an essential service

1:34:30for the community, allowing folks to

1:34:31connect to jobs, to commute, to get to

1:34:33school, um at their educational

1:34:35opportunities. And as um the the funding

1:34:37became available, it became a priority

1:34:38very quickly to replace these two routes

1:34:40that were discontinued by DART. Um,

1:34:42additionally, uh, there is a new route

1:34:43that was created, the Los Cleaner

1:34:45Circulator, which is, uh, has become a

1:34:47really exciting opportunity for the Lake

1:34:48Carolyn Business District to allow, uh,

1:34:50folks again that are commuting to be

1:34:51able to, um, access these, uh, these

1:34:54areas with better and, uh, more enhanced

1:34:56transit. Uh, one of the things that, um,

1:34:58Orlando had mentioned, Melissa had

1:34:59mentioned too, is that one of the things

1:35:01we're very proud to provide to the city

1:35:03is a level of data that, um, you know,

1:35:05frankly was not available to the city

1:35:06prior to uh, prior to this operation. Um

1:35:09we spent a lot of time really

1:35:10understanding what are the writership

1:35:11patterns um who is using the service why

1:35:13they're using the service and we're

1:35:14excited to present this update about

1:35:16four months after the launch of the

1:35:17service in June. So one thing that we

1:35:19want to highlight here that we're quite

1:35:21excited about is that the wrership of

1:35:22this service uh the folks that are

1:35:24riding these buses um uh the vehicles

1:35:26are um have adopted the service quite uh

1:35:29quickly u many times as via as as the

1:35:31operator here we've uh operated fixture

1:35:33out services around the country. It

1:35:34typically takes a little bit of time for

1:35:36writers to get acclimated to a new

1:35:38service, start to become familiar with

1:35:40the timetables. What we saw here in

1:35:41Irving is that there was again a very

1:35:43quick adoption of all three of these

1:35:44lines and we're very proud to see this

1:35:46uh this happen. Um one thing you'll

1:35:48notice here too is that even after a

1:35:50fair free period that we had in June

1:35:51after we launched uh we we kind of use

1:35:53this as a promotional period to get

1:35:55again riders used to the service um how

1:35:57people are um you know just get used to

1:35:59the service and how people are

1:36:00commuting. Even after that fair-free

1:36:02period, the writership did not decline.

1:36:04Uh we still see we still saw consistent

1:36:05writership and and uh folks continuing

1:36:07to use the service to again commute and

1:36:08get to school and um other uh you know

1:36:10employment opportunities.

1:36:12So currently what we're doing um in

1:36:14terms of operations is we're running

1:36:15four vehicles uh two vehicles on the

1:36:17225, two vehicles on the 255 and a

1:36:19single vehicle on the loss clean and

1:36:20circulator. And again one thing we

1:36:22wanted to start to share is more

1:36:23specific data not just on a writership

1:36:25level basis but also on a stop level

1:36:27basis so we have a good idea of where

1:36:28people are getting on and off. I want to

1:36:29pass it over to Erin to talk a little

1:36:30bit more about how people are using the

1:36:32two routes.

1:36:33>> Yeah, good afternoon council. Aaron

1:36:34Gilb, our director of operations for

1:36:36VIA. Uh, as we were just looking at, we

1:36:38see, you know, writership by week. Um,

1:36:40one of the other great things we have in

1:36:41terms of the data is ridership by stop.

1:36:43Um, so as you can see the, uh, sort of

1:36:45where the routes originate, particularly

1:36:47on the southern end, the downtown Irving

1:36:48Heritage Crossing station, by far our

1:36:50most popular stop, almost 25% of all of

1:36:52our boardings on both the 225 and 255

1:36:55are in that location. Um then the other

1:36:57popular stops really are kind of on the

1:36:59other ends of the route. Uh obviously

1:37:01for 225 that ends over at the University

1:37:03of Dallas station uh 255 ending there

1:37:06near the Dallas College North Lake

1:37:07campus and the uh train station that's

1:37:10uh near that location. So we see a lot

1:37:12of connectivity between the TR the

1:37:14orange line other bus lines that Dart

1:37:17runs uh as well. So we just wanted to

1:37:19again highlight some of the the key uh

1:37:21usage points that we're seeing uh strong

1:37:23ridership from. Uh we also took a look

1:37:26um based on some questions u from from

1:37:28staff and council at what are actually

1:37:29the lowest uh usage stops and is there

1:37:32potentially opportunity for some

1:37:33optimization

1:37:35by uh potentially removing some stops.

1:37:37Um so here you see that the lowest usage

1:37:39stops. I will note that all of these are

1:37:41like intermediate stops between the end

1:37:44points of the route. And so these in

1:37:46these cases the vehicles are still going

1:37:48to be driving past these locations. And

1:37:50so at this current time, we don't see uh

1:37:52much, you know, a large optimization

1:37:54opportunity based on just purely

1:37:56removing stops um just because we're

1:37:58going through those locations anyways

1:38:00and the vehicles are only stopping when

1:38:02riders are there, need to be picked up

1:38:04or dropped off.

1:38:08>> Great. Um thank you Erin. And and to

1:38:10continue some of the uh the data that

1:38:12we've seen, um we we showed writership

1:38:14on an aggregate level. We showed stop

1:38:16level writership as well. I think some

1:38:18interesting other patterns have started

1:38:19to emerge on both routes as well. So

1:38:20again, we're going to focus here on the

1:38:21225 and the 255. Um what you see here is

1:38:24a a day-by-day average of you hour by

1:38:28hour who's writing at what times. And

1:38:30what we start to see again is um some

1:38:32significant uh trends and data patterns

1:38:34that I think we we want to react to

1:38:35here. So number one, if if you kind of

1:38:37look at this graph, we we have a

1:38:39benchmark here, the the yellow dotted

1:38:40line of three trips per hour. Um, if you

1:38:43look at the 25 uh the 225 first, the the

1:38:45yellow lines that you see on top of the

1:38:47graph, we're very consistently seeing a

1:38:49peak demand uh period in the morning and

1:38:51a peak demand period in the afternoon,

1:38:52which is very representative of typical

1:38:54commute hours. So for the 225, you'll

1:38:56see kind of around the 6:00 a.m. to the

1:38:5810 a.m. mark, you'll see a peak there.

1:39:00And in the afternoon, again, kind of

1:39:02around the 3M mark all the way to the 6

1:39:03p.m. mark. So there are two very

1:39:05distinct peaks uh of writership and

1:39:06peaks of demand for the 225. Uh then

1:39:09conversely, if you look at the 255,

1:39:11there's actually a midday peak, which is

1:39:13interesting. So throughout the morning,

1:39:14the the demand is there. There are still

1:39:16riders. Um but there is a significant

1:39:18uptick in riders that happens around

1:39:19that uh kind of 11:00 a.m. mark to the

1:39:21uh the 2 p.m. mark. Um the other really

1:39:24interesting data point here is that

1:39:25right around 7 p.m. we see a a pretty

1:39:28drastic fall off in writership. Um that

1:39:30happens on a daily basis. So, right

1:39:31around 7 p.m. if you see the blue hor uh

1:39:33vertical line rather, um you'll see that

1:39:35the the ridership tends to decline quite

1:39:37significantly uh around that time. So,

1:39:39if we think about this from a numbers

1:39:40perspective, about 89% of rides are

1:39:42happening before 7 p.m. 11% of rides

1:39:44then are happening post uh 7 p.m. Um but

1:39:48when you think about this in terms of

1:39:49service hours, right? So, the number of

1:39:50hours that are um that the vehicles the

1:39:52the vans are running, 26% of the service

1:39:55hours are happening after 7 p.m., but

1:39:57that is only serving 11% of the riders.

1:40:01Now, flipping over to the weekends, um

1:40:02we see a slightly different pattern

1:40:04across both routes. Um typical with any

1:40:06sort of weekend uh kind of commute

1:40:08pattern there. There is a a kind of a

1:40:10lack of peaks that we see in the morning

1:40:11and evenings. There's a midday peak that

1:40:13typically happens with most bus routes

1:40:14on the weekends. And we're seeing the

1:40:15same thing here. So, uh you can imagine

1:40:18that folks, they're not necessarily

1:40:19waking up as early going to work. Um

1:40:21people may start their days a little bit

1:40:22later and they're starting to get on

1:40:23these buses a little bit um more more

1:40:25towards the afternoon. And we see that

1:40:26midday peak that happens kind of in the

1:40:2811:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. range for both the

1:40:30225 and the 255. Um, again, here you

1:40:33start to see a little bit of a fall-off

1:40:34after 7 p.m. It's not quite as drastic

1:40:36as it is during the weekdays, but there

1:40:37is uh clearly some evidence that says

1:40:39after 7 p.m. there there is less demand

1:40:41that happens on both of these routes. So

1:40:43looking at the same types of statistics

1:40:44we showed on the last slide, about 84%

1:40:47of boardings happen before 7 pm. 16% of

1:40:50boardings happen after 7 p.m. But again,

1:40:52the same 26% of service hours are being

1:40:54allocated towards those last um uh 16%

1:40:57of boardings.

1:40:59So uh what we're here today to discuss

1:41:01is um what what we want to do with the

1:41:04service going forward. As VIA came uh to

1:41:06to be your partner and your vendor for

1:41:08this service, we came in with the

1:41:09assumption that we would eventually

1:41:10transition this service to an enddriven

1:41:12model. Um and we do this very frequently

1:41:14across all the fixed routes that we

1:41:15operate. So the idea being that we would

1:41:17run all four vehicles like we are now

1:41:19for a certain period of time typically

1:41:20between 3 to six months and we would

1:41:22gather a lot of data as we have and then

1:41:24based on that data we would then come

1:41:25and adjust the service hours or the

1:41:27frequencies to better align supply and

1:41:29demand. So the idea being that we want

1:41:31to have all of the vans available when

1:41:32there's the most demand and we don't

1:41:34want to be running empty vans when there

1:41:35is not as much demand. Now what we have

1:41:39discovered in conversations with the

1:41:40city is that this may not have been

1:41:42aligned with the expectations from the

1:41:43city and and potentially council as well

1:41:45in the sense that the idea might have

1:41:47been that we continue to run all four

1:41:48vehicles um throughout the life of the

1:41:50first year of the contract. So today

1:41:52what we want to do is uh discuss some

1:41:53alternatives that we wanted to present

1:41:55to council and get feedback on to to

1:41:56present uh opportunities to um move

1:41:58forward and kind of create a better

1:42:00demand driven system.

1:42:03So just to kind of quantify this u this

1:42:05gap that we have. So if we were to

1:42:06continue to run the existing service as

1:42:08is with the four vehicles running at all

1:42:10times uh and again this is not taking

1:42:11into account the loss cleaners loop uh

1:42:13the 1.5 million that was budgeted for

1:42:15this service would run through January

1:42:17of 2027. If we were to run the full

1:42:20service um for uh the uh the entirety of

1:42:23the contract, which again is through

1:42:24June, the full budget would need to be

1:42:26$2.2 million. So the gap here that we're

1:42:28looking at is about $730,000.

1:42:31And one thing to highlight here too, in

1:42:32the original contract, there is a

1:42:34contingency that was built in a 10%

1:42:35contingency on budget. So these numbers

1:42:37assume that that contingency is

1:42:38activated.

1:42:40Now, our our purpose here again today is

1:42:43to discuss that gap and different ways

1:42:44to resolve it. Again, we we we have a

1:42:46few different options we wanted to

1:42:47present to council to discuss. One of

1:42:49those being specifically option B, which

1:42:50is that demand-driven service model that

1:42:52um as we had come in to uh to operate

1:42:54the service had assumed would happen and

1:42:56we wanted to continue to discuss a

1:42:57couple of other options as well. So, we

1:42:59have three options here that we're we're

1:43:00going to present on and we would love

1:43:02the the feedback from the council.

1:43:03Option A, of course, is leave the

1:43:05service as it is. Um we would continue

1:43:06to run the same hours, the same time of

1:43:08day. Um we would run those four vehicles

1:43:10consistently throughout the days. Um and

1:43:12and effectively what this means is that

1:43:13there would be again no change to the

1:43:15service at all. Um to highlight again

1:43:17the cost for doing this above the

1:43:19current budget in the contract the 1.5

1:43:21million is about 730,000.

1:43:23Option B is to transition to this

1:43:25demand-driven service model which we'll

1:43:26elaborate on more. Um the idea would be

1:43:28then that we would run peak and off-

1:43:30peak service. This is very similar to

1:43:32what DART um many large transit agencies

1:43:34do across the the nation when um they

1:43:36they do see commuting peaks that happen

1:43:38typically in the morning and the evening

1:43:39and they align their service hours to uh

1:43:41to align with those peaks. And then we

1:43:43have option C which is a a slightly

1:43:45different model that we wanted to put in

1:43:46front of council as an idea. Um this

1:43:48would incorporate what we call a flex

1:43:49route into the service. So the flex

1:43:50route being operated after 7 p.m. when

1:43:52we typically see that large drop in

1:43:53writership. So, as we go through these

1:43:56options, um we'll we'll kind of

1:43:57elaborate on exactly what each of these

1:43:58means and and provide some context on on

1:44:00what the decision um and and the pros

1:44:01and the the cons would be of each.

1:44:04So, starting with option A, uh again,

1:44:06just to visualize this more, um and you

1:44:08see you saw this graph earlier, the 225

1:44:10and the 255 have two separate peaks. Um

1:44:13225 again has a morning peak and an

1:44:15afternoon peak. The 255 is a midday

1:44:16peak. Right now, as we're currently

1:44:18running it, all four vans are running at

1:44:20all hours of all day. um including late

1:44:22at night which uh which after 7 p.m. um

1:44:24the the writership does uh decline quite

1:44:26a bit. So the vehicle frequency would

1:44:28continue to remain what it as it is

1:44:30today which is about 30 to 40 minutes uh

1:44:31of of headway between between stops. The

1:44:34the benefit of this obviously is that

1:44:36there is no change to uh for writers. Uh

1:44:38the frequency remains the same. The

1:44:39folks that are using the service today

1:44:41continue to use it exactly the same way

1:44:42that they were using previously. And so

1:44:44there is no public engagement or really

1:44:46uh change in marketing that we would

1:44:48need to do. Um the challenges of course

1:44:50is that this would require the largest

1:44:51amount of investment to support the

1:44:52ongoing operations. It's the full

1:44:54730,000 gap that we we outlined

1:44:56previously. Um one of the challenges too

1:44:59is that as we've observed this option is

1:45:02least aligned with the actual demand

1:45:03patterns that we're observing. So we

1:45:04would continue to see buses running um

1:45:06at full frequency especially in hours uh

1:45:09including in ours rather that uh there

1:45:10are not there is not as much demand

1:45:12available for the rides.

1:45:16Option B as we move on to the next one

1:45:17is kind of creating this more

1:45:18demand-driven service model. So again,

1:45:20taking into account that that the data

1:45:22shows that there is a clear peak in the

1:45:24morning and the evening uh on the 225

1:45:26and a clear midday peak on the 255, what

1:45:28we would do is actually run only three

1:45:30vans throughout the day instead of the

1:45:32four. Van number one would run

1:45:34consistently on route 225. Uh would

1:45:36continue to maintain that loop. Van

1:45:38number two would run the 255, continue

1:45:40to provide service during those uh those

1:45:41hours, the full uh service span during

1:45:44um those days. And then finally, the

1:45:46third van would actually swap between

1:45:48the two routes to create better peak

1:45:50level service. So if you look at van

1:45:52number three, it would run the 225 in

1:45:54addition to the van number one during

1:45:56that morning commute to allow for better

1:45:57frequency and more capacity for riders.

1:45:59And then it would swap over to run the

1:46:01255 route during the middle of the day

1:46:03when we see the midday peak for the 255.

1:46:06And then finally, it would again it

1:46:07would move to the 225 route to absorb

1:46:09the the peak that we see in the

1:46:11afternoon. So again, increasing the

1:46:12frequency and increasing the capacity of

1:46:14those routes during the time that it's

1:46:15needed most.

1:46:18And then on the weekends um in this

1:46:19demand driven model again on the

1:46:21weekends given that we don't see as much

1:46:22demand as we do on the weekdays, we

1:46:24would run a fully off- peak service. So

1:46:25only running two vans, one van on each

1:46:27one of the uh the two lines.

1:46:31Now the benefits here is that we we do

1:46:33align the actual budget of the program

1:46:34with the actual observed data of when

1:46:37passengers are boarding and lighting on

1:46:39these on these routes. Um the other

1:46:41benefit here is that there is really no

1:46:43change to the actual experience of the

1:46:44riders. They still continue to go to the

1:46:46same stops. They're still continue to be

1:46:47picked up at those stops. Though the

1:46:49frequencies change is the experience of

1:46:50riding the uh the vans and the buses do

1:46:52not change. Um and the obvious advantage

1:46:54here is that this is the lowest gap that

1:46:56we would see in terms of budget. So the

1:46:58730,000 gap in the budget reduces to a

1:47:01$215,000 gap, making this the lowest

1:47:03cost option. Now the challenges of

1:47:05course are that the frequencies would

1:47:07decline. Now that you have less vehicles

1:47:08in each one of the two routes, you would

1:47:10have lower frequencies during those off-

1:47:11peak times. Now, just to highlight here,

1:47:13the published frequencies that we have

1:47:15um on the on the website are between 30

1:47:17and 60 minutes. So, nothing would change

1:47:19in that respect, but there are a certain

1:47:20amount of travelers that may have been

1:47:22traveling on um let's say the 30-inut

1:47:24basis that would need to either shift

1:47:25their schedules 30 minutes earlier or 30

1:47:27minutes later to be able to u

1:47:28accommodate their ride. Um and again

1:47:31just to highlight on the far right hand

1:47:32side of the slide that the current uh

1:47:34the the remaining gap uh if we were to

1:47:36go to an off peak and peak model would

1:47:38be $215,000.

1:47:41And then finally option C would be to

1:47:43introduce this concept of a flex route

1:47:44and and Aaron will talk a little bit

1:47:45more about what a flex route is. But

1:47:47ultimately this idea marries both the

1:47:49traditional fixed routes that we have

1:47:51currently in place with a more flexible

1:47:53demand model late at night when we see

1:47:55demand um be much lower and which could

1:47:57offer frankly a better quality of

1:47:58service. So with this uh model during

1:48:01the weekdays we would continue to run

1:48:03the service exactly as it is today with

1:48:04all four vehicles running across uh both

1:48:07lines um on on a consistent basis. And

1:48:09then after 7 p.m. when we see that

1:48:10significant drop off in in ridership we

1:48:12would transition to this flex route

1:48:14model.

1:48:15And then on the weekends uh similarly

1:48:17when there's much less demand throughout

1:48:19the day of the weekends we would

1:48:20actually operate flex routes throughout

1:48:21the entire weekend period. So there

1:48:22would be no fixed routes remaining. It

1:48:24would all be operated as a flex route.

1:48:26And I'm going to pass it over to Erin to

1:48:27talk a little bit more about what a flex

1:48:28route would look like.

1:48:29>> Yeah, absolutely. Thank you, Sar. Um, so

1:48:31one of the key concepts that we have as

1:48:34an option here for a flex route is that

1:48:36we would continue to serve all the same

1:48:38stops that we do today, no more or no

1:48:40less. Uh, the primary difference from a

1:48:42dispatching standpoint is that we would

1:48:44route the vehicles to where they need to

1:48:47be based on requests from riders. Um, so

1:48:50the booking method would be a little bit

1:48:51different for riders. This could either

1:48:52be booked on an app or by a rider

1:48:55calling in. And um again, this is after

1:48:57that 7:00 p.m. time or on the weekends.

1:49:00Once a ride request is received by us in

1:49:03our system, we would dispatch one of the

1:49:05the same vehicles we use today to one of

1:49:07these stops and then take a rider to one

1:49:10of the other stops. Um again, same

1:49:12stops, no more, no less. This would not

1:49:14be like a zonebased concept. We're not

1:49:16serving everywhere in between these

1:49:18areas. only kind of where you see the

1:49:19the blue dots which are the the current

1:49:21stops as well. It would just be more of

1:49:23a dynamic routing methodology that would

1:49:26allow us to best serve the demand that

1:49:29we have at that specific time. Uh we do

1:49:32think this would um based on similar

1:49:33type services we operate. This would

1:49:35actually be a better rider experience

1:49:36and lower the the wait times for in

1:49:39these specific times of the day down in

1:49:40the 20 to 30 minute range. would also

1:49:43allow um as you kind of see the arrows

1:49:44going back and forth across. We do have

1:49:46some riders that transfer between the

1:49:47two routes and this would allow for a

1:49:50one seat ride for them instead of

1:49:51currently a two-seat ride and they

1:49:53wouldn't have to go all the way across

1:49:54during the flex route um timing uh again

1:49:57after 7 p.m. and on the weekend. So, um

1:49:59again, just wanted to explain this as as

1:50:01an option here. Some of the benefits of

1:50:05this is it preserves the uh fixed route

1:50:08portion, the four vehicles running

1:50:10during the uh key portion of the

1:50:12weekdays, the 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. And

1:50:14then in the evening times, it would

1:50:16offer shorter weight times for riders.

1:50:18Um as well as um you know, uh in times

1:50:21when it's dark, riders could get maybe

1:50:23picked up a little bit more easily, not

1:50:24have to transfer. Um and they would be

1:50:27able to um track their ride uh track the

1:50:29vehicle on on the app as well. Um we

1:50:31also may attract new type of writers

1:50:33that may be for more familiar with an on

1:50:34demand type of service. Some of the

1:50:36challenges here would just be around um

1:50:38writer education and writer marketing as

1:50:40this would introduce a different type of

1:50:42service model um while still serving the

1:50:44same areas and the same service hours

1:50:46and then potential risk that it could

1:50:48grow faster than we have modeled uh

1:50:51impacting the the overall funding over

1:50:53time. And then um as Sars mentioned

1:50:55earlier, this uh from a budget

1:50:57standpoint is kind of a a middle ground

1:50:58option here where currently would be

1:51:00about 544K uh above the budget. And I'll

1:51:04turn it back over to SARS now.

1:51:06>> Great. Um our uh proposed timeline to

1:51:09make these changes is obviously today

1:51:11we're having this discussion at the uh

1:51:12at the at this work session. Um we hear

1:51:14from the city team that it probably does

1:51:16not make sense to make a change in the

1:51:17middle of the state fair. So we would

1:51:18have the uh the state fair um you know

1:51:21kind of run consistent service

1:51:22throughout that period and we believe uh

1:51:24I think I think we know that the state

1:51:25fair ends around October 18th. So the

1:51:27transition timeline would then be early

1:51:29November to whatever uh method that we

1:51:30decide to change to and um finally the

1:51:33way I wanted to wrap up is um look via's

1:51:36very excited about the uh the future of

1:51:38the service. We think it's going to be a

1:51:39long-term service that continues to

1:51:40provide tremendous benefit to the

1:51:42community. Um we understand that there's

1:51:44a gap here uh particularly even relative

1:51:46to this peak and off- peak uh model that

1:51:48we had assumed going in. There's

1:51:50actually more writership than we

1:51:51expected which is actually very exciting

1:51:52for us. And so we we want to come to the

1:51:54table and invest more in the service

1:51:56ourselves um um to kind of help fill

1:51:58this gap. So um we've we've committed to

1:52:00supporting this uh this initiative with

1:52:01another $200,000 of operating budget

1:52:03which would go directly to serving uh

1:52:05the the service hours that would be on

1:52:06the road. Um so with that $200,000

1:52:09investment, if we looked at option A,

1:52:10leave the service as is. Um the city uh

1:52:13investment at that point would be

1:52:14$530,000. Uh for option B, we would

1:52:17effectively um you know remove any sort

1:52:19of investment from the city by absorbing

1:52:20the majority of the $215,000 um leaving

1:52:23only $15,000 for the city to invest. And

1:52:25then finally for option C, if we were to

1:52:27consider these fixed routes or rather

1:52:28the flex routes, uh we would again

1:52:30invest $200,000 and the remaining amount

1:52:32would be 344,000.

1:52:34Um and a notice in again here in options

1:52:36BNC where there is a level of service

1:52:38change we would commit obviously to uh

1:52:39helping with the marketing team and and

1:52:41community engagement to uh inform the

1:52:42community of the change.

1:52:46>> So we'll open it up for questions.

1:52:49>> Abdul

1:52:51thank you Mr. Mayor. Um

1:52:55do we have a

1:52:58I think we have a operating agreement

1:53:00with them and that is for first year as

1:53:04a as a

1:53:07what do you call um trial trial time

1:53:10>> pilot program. Yes sir.

1:53:11>> Okay. And then there is a room for so I

1:53:14think there are a couple questions.

1:53:17Number one, um, what does VIA do to

1:53:21increase the ridership in in these

1:53:24routes? Do do you do any promotions,

1:53:27marketing? What kind of steps you take

1:53:29to to increase the ridership

1:53:32>> number?

1:53:34So, yeah, we're we're very excited to

1:53:36partner with the city with Melissa and

1:53:37her team to be able to do uh a variety

1:53:39of types of promotions. We do a

1:53:41combination of flying, um, digital

1:53:42media. Um, Melissa, I don't know if you

1:53:44wanted to mention any more.

1:53:46>> Yes, council member. Thank you and thank

1:53:47you Sheresh. Um actually we do a lot of

1:53:49Facebook marketing. We work with

1:53:50communications team. On top of that we

1:53:52also have a partnership um with the toy

1:53:56Toyota music factory and Mara's team at

1:53:58the ICVB. We have been partnering with

1:54:00them on incentives and even entering um

1:54:03them into the slots. There's a flyer

1:54:04with a QR code um that people can scan

1:54:06in there and get discounts at

1:54:07restaurants and such. So we've been

1:54:09actively um working with partnerships to

1:54:12get the ridership up and I think the

1:54:14numbers show that they that has been

1:54:16working.

1:54:19>> These numbers which I see it here is

1:54:21mostly for 225 and 255.

1:54:24>> Yes,

1:54:25>> I don't see any ridership uh data for

1:54:29the circulator.

1:54:30>> Yes, we do have ridership data that we

1:54:32can get you uh for the loop but the

1:54:34focus of this presentation was a 225 and

1:54:36the 255. But yes sir, we can get you

1:54:37those numbers. We have them.

1:54:39>> So since we have collected almost more

1:54:42than half a year of data.

1:54:45>> There we go.

1:54:45>> Um

1:54:47>> thank you.

1:54:47>> Looking at these I think um you know if

1:54:51there is no need to run all the four

1:54:54vehicles on those routes all the time.

1:54:58>> We could we could have a option to go

1:55:01for the peak hours and non- peak hours.

1:55:04Right.

1:55:05>> Absolutely. And council member, I think

1:55:06that's a great point. And if you want to

1:55:07just we just pulled this up, Erin,

1:55:09pulled this up for me. So you can see

1:55:10that the loop is in yellow. Um, but to

1:55:12that point, the transit agencies in the

1:55:14region, including the T DART and and

1:55:17DCTA, do operate on an off peak on peak

1:55:19schedule. So we would be transitioning,

1:55:22for example, if you were to choose, it

1:55:23was if it's the direction of option B,

1:55:25um, you would be choosing to mirror the

1:55:28other transit agencies and what they do.

1:55:30So absolutely.

1:55:31>> Okay.

1:55:32Um,

1:55:36yeah. Okay. Thank you,

1:55:38>> David.

1:55:40>> Thank you, Chairman. [clears throat]

1:55:42Thank you, uh, Sh and Aaron, uh, for

1:55:44being here again. I've heard, uh,

1:55:46nothing but great things about the

1:55:47service so far from the residents. So,

1:55:49really appreciate the good work you're

1:55:51doing. I have a question on uh how we

1:55:55missed our

1:55:58by 50% it looks like uh the initial cost

1:56:02proposal. Uh

1:56:05>> yeah, I can take that. Um

1:56:08>> this is from our standpoint. This is

1:56:10something that we typically do with all

1:56:12new fixed route launches. We expect to

1:56:13be running a service at full frequency

1:56:16um to be able to gather the maximum

1:56:17amount of data that we possibly can and

1:56:19then use that data to then inform how we

1:56:21move forward and and adjust the

1:56:22timetables to be able to better match

1:56:24supply and demand. Um we think there was

1:56:26a miscommunication and we we could have

1:56:28frankly communicated that better in

1:56:29terms of how we budgeted for this. Um so

1:56:31I I think we discovered this quite

1:56:32quickly and started moving on what a

1:56:34solution would be. Um, I think we we

1:56:36could have done a better job in

1:56:37communicating exactly what our typical

1:56:38process is and not just assume that this

1:56:40was a typical process across all

1:56:42agencies.

1:56:43>> Great. And uh I'm for option B. You

1:56:46know, one of the things of working with

1:56:48DART and looking at the the cost per

1:56:50rider, which I'd like for that your next

1:56:52presentation to give us cost per ride.

1:56:56uh you know, we're trying to get the the

1:56:57best transportation system for the the

1:57:00lowest cost to to residents because we

1:57:02are paying a fortune to DART every year

1:57:04and it's uh it's frustrating to see

1:57:07numbers in the 30 35 $40 per ride uh

1:57:11going forward and that's one of the

1:57:13reasons I was excited about y'all coming

1:57:15in is just for this reason is to show us

1:57:18the data. Let's optimize these things

1:57:20and look at off- peak and uh take take

1:57:23the best transportation models out there

1:57:25so we can give you know a good benefit

1:57:27to the citizens who who use public

1:57:30transportation at the best price to the

1:57:32taxpayers. So, uh I think you're on the

1:57:35right track. that that would be my

1:57:36preference would be option B and for us

1:57:39to keep optimizing this and I'd love to

1:57:41see Dart do a similar presentation for

1:57:43us uh at some point on on their routes

1:57:47but I'm not asking you to do that but

1:57:49thank you

1:57:51>> oh Chris thank you again thank you for

1:57:54the presentation and I really appreciate

1:57:56you working with staff thank you Melissa

1:57:58and Orlando and Dan and Nate I know

1:57:59they've been very involved as well in

1:58:01working through this um the overall

1:58:03quick thoughts and this The comments

1:58:05here are not in any way meant to

1:58:07discredit what VI is doing all doing a

1:58:10great job. But what we have, if I can

1:58:13just provide this broad context, we are

1:58:15paying $122 million a year for mass

1:58:19transit services to an entity that is

1:58:23not providing the services that we would

1:58:25hope for and to expect.

1:58:28And

1:58:30as we use DART's GMP dollars, which

1:58:33these are the dollars that we have

1:58:34coming back to us, those are going to be

1:58:36increasing. We're using those dollars to

1:58:38help pay for VIA's good service.

1:58:41What we don't and what we should not

1:58:43expect and what we don't I think I don't

1:58:46think we should have is we should not

1:58:48have two transportation systems in the

1:58:50city. We're paying $122 million this

1:58:52year to have one.

1:58:54My goal is to and I hear and understand

1:58:57we'd love a long-term relationship with

1:58:58you. Honestly, if we could, you know,

1:59:00have Dart turn into VIA, I think that'd

1:59:02be a very interesting conversation

1:59:04because we're getting data, we're

1:59:05getting numbers, we're getting instant

1:59:06feedback, we can make instant decisions,

1:59:08which is an incredible opportunity,

1:59:12but in the end, it's Dart's

1:59:13responsibility to do this service. And

1:59:16we're paying again hundreds of millions

1:59:18of dollars for them to do that.

1:59:21I hope, and again, this is with all due

1:59:23respect to me, I hope it's not a long

1:59:25term because I expect DART to pick these

1:59:27routes back up and to add them back in

1:59:29and to even make more robust their

1:59:32transportation solutions and options,

1:59:34not only for us in Irving, but for all

1:59:35the member cities. So, as we look to

1:59:38make these changes and to adjust, at

1:59:41some point in time as a city, we're

1:59:43going to have to make the decision, do

1:59:46we want to have two transportation

1:59:47systems in this city? And my

1:59:49recommendation is no, we don't. We need

1:59:51to have one that is cohesive and

1:59:55efficient and thorough in its service in

2:00:00providing its service. So with these

2:00:02adjustments, I agree David, my

2:00:04recommendation is to go to B. That way

2:00:06we can make these immediate adjustments.

2:00:09There might be some time changes to the

2:00:11the travelers. It might be another 30

2:00:12minutes here uh front or back uh

2:00:15especially in the evening hours, but I

2:00:17think we can work with that. And I would

2:00:20not look to enhance the service because

2:00:22the more that you enhance or increase

2:00:25the service, the more of an expectation

2:00:27is that you then keep it and then we're

2:00:30potentially stuck with providing

2:00:32transportation services from two

2:00:34different entities and that's not our

2:00:35goal. Our goal is to have one entity

2:00:37being able to trans provide our

2:00:38transportation services. So just some

2:00:40quick thoughts and thank you Mr. Mayor

2:00:41Promp Dennis.

2:00:44>> Yeah. So are you willing to on the cost

2:00:47per rider? Are you want wanting the

2:00:49subsidy per rider?

2:00:51>> That that would be part of the any cost

2:00:54per rider is going to have the subsidy

2:00:55plus what the rider you know just a

2:00:56complete picture of the cost per ride.

2:00:58Yeah, because I didn't know whether you

2:00:59was actually talking about the subsidy

2:01:01because uh I I if I want to definitely

2:01:05see the subsidy per rider because that's

2:01:07what DART

2:01:08>> based a lot of their uh data on about

2:01:11how much each one of these routes were

2:01:13costing you know DART you know per rider

2:01:15the subsidy you know uh so so if you can

2:01:18include that uh in it because I'd be

2:01:20interesting to compare the two subsidy

2:01:23costs uh I agree with Chris love you

2:01:26guys but we don't want y'all hanging

2:01:27around here ever this need to go back to

2:01:30DART and uh basically and it's my

2:01:33understanding DART actually contracts

2:01:35with some uh other uh you know transit

2:01:39providers. So you know my idea would be

2:01:41at some point you know our contract go

2:01:45away and you contract with DART to do

2:01:47the basically the same thing you're

2:01:48doing now because you've proven you know

2:01:50the wrership the data etc. Um and um so

2:01:55one uh and I agree uh with David and

2:01:57Chris uh I think option B is uh my

2:02:00choice also. Will we be giving the

2:02:04writers uh some type of pamphlet between

2:02:08now and the time these changes so that

2:02:10they will actually know you know these

2:02:13changes are coming so they can adjust

2:02:14their time to should you know be at the

2:02:16stops. Yes, council member. And just

2:02:17shout out to April and her

2:02:18communications crew because they have an

2:02:20entire communications plan um just for

2:02:23this project. And so they have been

2:02:25diligently working with us and they have

2:02:27that plan and we will tweak that plan

2:02:28and notify them and we plan to have a

2:02:30very robust communication outreach on

2:02:33this effort if it is the council's

2:02:35direction uh to go with option B.

2:02:38>> Okay. And I would definitely would like

2:02:40something that when they get on that

2:02:42van, you put it in their hands. Yes,

2:02:44sir. and said here's the changes that's

2:02:46coming on this date.

2:02:48>> Understood. Can do.

2:02:49>> David.

2:02:50>> Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, one

2:02:52other question. Um, and in our our read

2:02:55file you sent last Friday, we had the

2:02:57federal letter that was sent to DART on

2:03:00safety which was very eye opening to say

2:03:03the least uh, and disconcerning. How is

2:03:06our safety record on VIA and have you

2:03:09seen any issues uh, that we need to be

2:03:11aware about? I'll definitely let Aaron

2:03:13take over that because we do meet on a

2:03:14weekly basis and safety is one of our

2:03:16top priorities.

2:03:19>> Yes, absolutely. There's been um a

2:03:21handful like less than five um issues

2:03:23we've had with riders uh in involved.

2:03:26So, overall I think our safety has been

2:03:28uh very very good. I think only um yeah,

2:03:30so overall has been very strong. Um and

2:03:33we've contact actually this past weekend

2:03:34we had uh the Irving Police and Fire

2:03:36Department helped it uh with an

2:03:38individual who needs some medical

2:03:39attention um prior to boarding the

2:03:41vehicle. So, we have a close

2:03:42collaboration with those groups as well.

2:03:44>> And and I did have one question on

2:03:48on the VIA when they're writing. Do you

2:03:50you know the writers names? You uh

2:03:52requiring any ID or is it uh do we know

2:03:55if they're Irving residents? Do we know

2:03:56if it's it's city uh countywide or or

2:04:00how are we tracking people?

2:04:01>> Yeah, not currently in a fixed route

2:04:03setup. Um so it would be similar to

2:04:06other fixed route modes such as a a

2:04:08public bus or a train. Um so it's just

2:04:11riders that are who'sever whatever

2:04:12public member of the public that's there

2:04:14is getting on. Um if we were to

2:04:16transition to a different service model

2:04:18for example um we operate you know what

2:04:20we call microtransit services or the the

2:04:22flex route type services. We could

2:04:24potentially um capture more data if you

2:04:26wanted to make a service change at some

2:04:27future time.

2:04:28>> Yeah.

2:04:29>> One thing that we're also doing is um

2:04:30we're going to start surveying the

2:04:31writers more directly. Um having kind of

2:04:34a survey and a QR code inside of the

2:04:35vehicles to get some better feedback on

2:04:36on who who are the riders, why they're

2:04:38using the service. um what alternative

2:04:40effectively they would use if the

2:04:41service didn't exist. Just just getting

2:04:42some pretty standard feedback. Um

2:04:44council member, if uh if one of those

2:04:46questions needs to be are you an Irving

2:04:47resident or not, if we think that's an

2:04:48important one, we're happy to include

2:04:49that in the survey as well.

2:04:50>> Thank you.

2:04:53>> Ed,

2:04:54>> quick question. Uh I think um we were in

2:04:59in talks about did we start accepting

2:05:01the Dart passes at the VIA service?

2:05:08at this point. No, it is a separate

2:05:10service. Um, so to answer your question,

2:05:13no, you have to get a ticket from here.

2:05:16>> Probably that would if we do consider to

2:05:20accept probably that would increase some

2:05:22wrership. I would say

2:05:26>> potentially sir

2:05:27>> consideration or no not I

2:05:30>> at this point we're not doing that.

2:05:32>> I don't disagree with you. I would just

2:05:33want to make sure it's reciprocal that

2:05:35DART would accept our passes and we've

2:05:38heard from them that they may not be

2:05:40interested in doing that.

2:05:41>> At this point, that's not happening and

2:05:43we want that reciprocity.

2:05:45>> Thank

2:05:46>> Yes.

2:05:49>> Anybody else? Dennis again.

2:05:51>> Yeah. And with that and with what you're

2:05:52saying, you know, and I know there the

2:05:54negotiations and the conversation has

2:05:56been had and I think this is a

2:05:58conversation that we need to have with

2:05:59Randall uh about this because one of the

2:06:02complaints that I got from people was

2:06:05it's costing them more now to ride than

2:06:10it did before we started Villa because

2:06:12you're not for instance if they take a

2:06:15trip from here say Heritage and go up to

2:06:21Los Cleaners, get on the Orange Line, go

2:06:22downtown Dallas. They got to pay for

2:06:24both separate tickets. And so we was

2:06:26hoping that we could get some kind of

2:06:28integration there whereby, you know, a

2:06:31ride that used to cost them six bucks is

2:06:33now cost them $9. So, so hopefully we

2:06:36can continue those conversations. I'll

2:06:38be happy to have a conversation with

2:06:40Randall, too. You know, uh, and Rick,

2:06:42you know, our representative say, "Look,

2:06:44somehow they need to help us out on

2:06:47that." At a minimum, just my opinion,

2:06:50but at a minimum for the 122 million

2:06:52that we pay,

2:06:55DART should accept the passes of the VIA

2:06:59riders onto their system. There's no

2:07:02reason for

2:07:04our riders to be charged extra for our

2:07:06city to be charged extra just because

2:07:10they're writing a separate system. There

2:07:11shouldn't even be two systems.

2:07:12>> I agree. And so at a minimum they should

2:07:16be accepting ours alone us accepting

2:07:18theirs but they should be accepting

2:07:20ours.

2:07:22>> Thank you Mark. Well I appreciate all

2:07:24the information the presentation um you

2:07:27know this is this is a great thing

2:07:29obviously you know to a large extent I

2:07:31agree with you Chris and you know I

2:07:34think it's great to have the contrast of

2:07:35the level of information that we used to

2:07:37get from Dart which was not great and

2:07:40then what we're getting now. So that's

2:07:42that's phenomenal. Um I I do agree that

2:07:45option B is the one that makes the most

2:07:47sense at this moment in time and then

2:07:49we'll locate into it. So

2:07:53>> all right then. Anybody else wanting to

2:07:56advocate for um A or [snorts] C?

2:07:59Hearing none, then it looks like the

2:08:01consensus is to move forward with option

2:08:03B. And then uh and yeah, and we're

2:08:06looking forward to hearing about

2:08:07information about the writership for the

2:08:08uh the circulator and the urban center.

2:08:11I I would like to, you know, hear how

2:08:12what the patrons are saying, whether the

2:08:14business what the businesses are saying,

2:08:16>> uh, the employers are saying as far as

2:08:18like whether employees are aware of it

2:08:19or they're using it. Um, and and and the

2:08:22the bus model itself, I mean, I

2:08:23understand that works well for the the

2:08:26two old bus routes, but then is do you

2:08:28have another like vehicle that like

2:08:29maybe you could that you use like in an

2:08:31urban center environment like like more

2:08:32of a shuttle where people just hop on,

2:08:34hop hop off?

2:08:36>> We we have seen that in different areas.

2:08:38So, for example, in um in Frisco, we

2:08:39have a a different type of circulator, a

2:08:41different type of vehicle. But what I

2:08:42would almost say is that um it's less

2:08:44about the vehicle type and maybe about

2:08:45the service delivery mode. In a lot of

2:08:47cases, uh with uh with these kind of

2:08:49smaller density area or smaller

2:08:51geographical areas that have some

2:08:53density, an on demand style of transit,

2:08:55this uh kind of this flex route that

2:08:56we've been talking about may be

2:08:57interesting to explore as well. So,

2:08:59allowing people to go from exactly where

2:09:00they are to exactly where they needed to

2:09:01go without having to necessarily take

2:09:03the loop. Um so, something that we can

2:09:04continue to explore um if if council is

2:09:06interested.

2:09:06>> Okay. When are you when are you

2:09:08expecting to come back for that? Do we

2:09:09have anything scheduled for that

2:09:11particular update? Chris,

2:09:13>> we'll get a schedule.

2:09:14>> Okay.

2:09:15All right. Anybody else?

2:09:18And I I noticed that the yellow's

2:09:19increased there. So, the wrership in the

2:09:21urban center has increased as well. So,

2:09:22I appreciate that. So, all right. Um,

2:09:24thank you all very much.

2:09:25>> Thank you.

2:09:26>> Item five, the regular agenda. Review of

2:09:28the regular agenda.

2:09:34But this counts one to five minute break

2:09:35to

2:09:36>> Okay, we'll take a Well, all right.

2:09:38We'll take a 10-15 minute break. Okay.

2:09:40>> All right. Five minutes isn't really

2:09:42five minutes.

2:09:55[applause]

2:09:55>> It's all about showing results. At

2:09:58district 6 council member Fahad Ahmed's

2:10:00first town hall meeting, the more than

2:10:02three dozen residents there are seeing

2:10:05upgrade plans for the Simron Park

2:10:07aquatic facility and animation of what

2:10:09the future Mustang Park

2:10:11multigenerational facility will look

2:10:13like when it's finished.

2:10:15>> We're doing such great work at the city.

2:10:17The staff is doing amazing work. It

2:10:19doesn't always make it to the public and

2:10:22that's when they start asking question

2:10:24like, "Hey, where's my money going?"

2:10:25when they see this Simron Park updates

2:10:28going on, Mustang Park updates going on,

2:10:30makes us feel good, makes us feel

2:10:31informed, and today was just that. The

2:10:34town hall also addressing property crime

2:10:36and how residents can protect themselves

2:10:39even when it comes to the security

2:10:40latches on their doors.

2:10:42>> Most of the time there's little bitty

2:10:44screws that come with them about this

2:10:45long, and that's not long enough. I'm

2:10:47not a large person. I can kick your door

2:10:50in if you have this on your front door,

2:10:51even if you have a dead bolt in it. This

2:10:53is what you want. You want a three to

2:10:54four inch screw because this is going to

2:10:56go not only through the door frame, it's

2:10:58going to go actually into the framing of

2:11:00your home.

2:11:01>> And there's plenty of time for questions

2:11:03from residents.

2:11:04>> What if I if I fall in my house and I'm

2:11:07able to call 911? How are they going to

2:11:09get in the police? How would they get in

2:11:12the house?

2:11:12>> If you're calling 911 and we know that

2:11:14you're inside, we have breaching tools,

2:11:17specialized tools that we can get

2:11:18through any of those doors. We are

2:11:20having them talk directly to the folks

2:11:22that are actually doing the work and

2:11:24they want that. They really like it.

2:11:26>> Council member Ahmed calls the town hall

2:11:28a success and promises more to come. A

2:11:31sentiment echoed by Irving state

2:11:33representatives in attendance.

2:11:35>> I wanted to be here during session. I'm

2:11:37going to be taking a lot of what we

2:11:38heard here at this town hall with me and

2:11:41being able to explain that to my

2:11:43colleagues and letting them know that we

2:11:45really need to take a closer look. One

2:11:47of the biggest goal I had for today was

2:11:49for neighbors to connect. I'm trying to

2:11:51create a vibe in the neighborhood where

2:11:53everybody gets to know each other and

2:11:55that goal was met today.

2:11:56>> For City Source, I'm Nick L.

2:11:58>> If you guys have any questions, please

2:11:59feel free to come. Thank you.

2:12:02>> The State Fair of Texas is a Texas

2:12:04tradition.

2:12:05>> Howdy, folks.

2:12:07>> For thousands of visitors, the food is a

2:12:09big part of that experience, and there's

2:12:11an Irving connection helping bring some

2:12:13of that food to life.

2:12:14>> Hi.

2:12:15>> Hello, Chef. Oh, I'm digging that hat.

2:12:17>> I came all the way from Copenhagen,

2:12:19Denmark.

2:12:19>> Oh my goodness. Welcome. Our first demo

2:12:22is the red, white, and blueberry [music]

2:12:25swim biscuit. These biscuits today are

2:12:28designed to commemorate the 250 year

2:12:31anniversary of our [music] country. And

2:12:34swim biscuits meaning that they actually

2:12:36cooked in butter. They're swimming in

2:12:38butter. They're they're delicious.

2:12:40Swimming in butter, baby. For the past 3

2:12:43years, Chef Pete has served as the

2:12:45fair's resident chef, [music] cooking up

2:12:47three different demonstrations a day

2:12:49throughout the fair's 24-day run.

2:12:52>> 11:30 is biscuits, [music] 1:30 is

2:12:54shrimp, and 3:30 is beef. There's a

2:12:57quick turnaround. It's fast-paced, but

2:12:59it's tons of fun. Hi, how you doing

2:13:01today?

2:13:01>> Good. How are you?

2:13:02>> Great. Look at that smile. Thank you for

2:13:04being here today. I hope you have fun.

2:13:06While the recipe may be the star of this

2:13:08demonstration, for Pete Nolasco, [music]

2:13:10cooking has always been about something

2:13:12more personal.

2:13:13>> For me, uh, not only the the part about

2:13:16putting it together, but the joy in

2:13:20people's faces when they [music] eat the

2:13:22food, if it's delicious and if you've

2:13:23done it right, when they take that first

2:13:26bite and their face light up, I'd love

2:13:29to [music] bring joy to people's lives.

2:13:32Y'all have fun today at the State Fair

2:13:33of Texas.

2:13:34>> Thank you.

2:13:34>> You're welcome. The joy he finds in

2:13:36cooking can be traced back to his

2:13:38childhood and [music] the woman who

2:13:40first taught him his way around the

2:13:41kitchen.

2:13:42>> My mother was my first culinary teacher.

2:13:45>> It's part of what keeps him passionate

2:13:47[music] about cooking.

2:13:48>> Who here is lazy lazy in the kitchen?

2:13:52Great. This biscuit is for you.

2:13:54>> While [music] also proudly representing

2:13:55the city of Irving.

2:13:57>> I grew up there. went to school in at

2:13:59Barton Elementary and then Crockett

2:14:02Junior High and then graduated from

2:14:04Irving High School, home of the Tigers,

2:14:07Honor Black [music] and Gold.

2:14:08>> How you doing, sir?

2:14:09>> Great. Thank you.

2:14:11>> While the State Fair of Texas may be

2:14:13known for its fried food and iconic

2:14:15rides, Chef Pete is serving up [music]

2:14:17something more. A love of cooking, a

2:14:20connection to family, and a whole lot of

2:14:22community pride.

2:14:24>> I am so honored to represent Irving

2:14:25here. growing up and and seeing the

2:14:27State Fair of Texas, [music] how big it

2:14:29is, and to be able to showcase what I

2:14:31love here, it's a dream come true.

2:14:33>> So long, folks.

2:14:36[music]

2:14:38Your ICTN team produced 35 videos in the

2:14:41month of September. [music]

2:14:45Means a lot to the Irving guys. We take

2:14:47it to heart. It's real special to us.

2:14:48I'm I'm glad that we can be involved in

2:14:49it.

2:14:53We're [music] hoping to spark

2:14:54conversation, connections, make new

2:14:56friends, learn something together.

2:14:58Really hoping to have a shared

2:15:00experience.

2:15:03We [music] can produce things together.

2:15:06The goods, the services,

2:15:09the creative energy that you can have

2:15:12[music] by drawing on all these partners

2:15:14who see the value once they're here.

2:15:20It's a really fun, [music] laid-back

2:15:23movie night with kid activities. It's

2:15:26just a great familyfriendly event.

2:15:31>> We're all about using music for comfort,

2:15:33joy, and healing.

2:15:34>> They have so many different songs that

2:15:35they grew up with and so we hope to

2:15:37bring that memory back to them.

2:15:38>> I think that's why it's really special

2:15:40to be able to bring it to places like

2:15:41this.

2:15:47We have weavers, [music] knitts,

2:15:49crocheters, tatters, punch needle, and

2:15:52you can come [music] here to the Irving

2:15:54Convention Center and you can see it

2:15:55with your hands.

2:15:58[music]

2:15:59With this expansion, Fleet has grown

2:16:01from 14 vehicle bays to 29, which fleet

2:16:05managers say will make a big difference

2:16:07in operations.

2:16:10And I love it when you can be one-on-one

2:16:12with people, talk to them and say, "Hey,

2:16:15I need to know more about housing,

2:16:18medical. I mean, there's so much in the

2:16:20community to offer."

2:16:25>> After collecting input from residents

2:16:26and stakeholders, Irving City Council is

2:16:29about to reach the final level, adopting

2:16:32[music] the proposed structurally

2:16:34balanced budget.

2:16:38>> [music]

2:16:38>> Anthony Martinez

2:16:40up the middle to the five to the four

2:16:43and to the end zone.

2:16:48Stay up tod date by subscribing to our

2:16:50YouTube channel at youtube.com/the

2:16:54city of Irving.

2:16:59[music]

2:17:05We're here for [music] the Dragons Love

2:17:06Tacos event.

2:17:10The kids can [music] make three

2:17:12different crafts. They can make a taco.

2:17:17They can make a dragon [music] puppet.

2:17:19>> Oh, wow.

2:17:20>> And they can make a dragon card.

2:17:23They [music] have games that they can

2:17:25play. Pin the taco on the dragon.

2:17:28>> Oh my god. go

2:17:29>> a Plinko game and earn some taco prizes.

2:17:35>> And we're also going to have a visit

2:17:36from [music] the taco dragon.

2:17:40>> Why I like dragons love tacos is because

2:17:43it's funny and it tells us what the

2:17:46dragons like. And if you want to be a

2:17:49friend with a dragon, you [music] the

2:17:50key is to get a taco. We like that book

2:17:53because the dragons really don't like

2:17:56spicy food, but we like spicy food,

2:17:59[music] right?

2:18:00>> I don't like it.

2:18:02>> You don't like spicy food? But who does?

2:18:04>> Mama.

2:18:05>> Mama loves spicy [music] food. And we

2:18:07always laugh at the dragons.

2:18:09>> You can only imagine what happens when a

2:18:11dragon eats spicy salsa.

2:18:14>> My favorite part [music] was um

2:18:16decorating this dragon puppet. Do you

2:18:18want to show them? They look at mine.

2:18:20>> And the circulation. [music]

2:18:21That was our favorite part.

2:18:23>> I think I like the wheel to spin where

2:18:25you put a coin and you [music] get it

2:18:27gift. I got all the gifts.

2:18:31>> It means [music] everything. Um like

2:18:33free events on a weekend when we can get

2:18:35out and out of the house and [music] go

2:18:38play. We just have a new baby at home

2:18:40and so getting some time with just my

2:18:43daughter is awesome. And so we get a

2:18:45little mommy daughter play date. [music]

2:18:46I just like to see the kids have fun and

2:18:49hopefully check out a bunch of books to

2:18:51take home and read.

2:18:54>> Good job. We are here every week for

2:18:57[music] story time. So, we love the

2:18:59programming. I think they do such a good

2:19:01job. Everything is really intentional. I

2:19:03guess it's fun. She loves to dance and

2:19:04sing. It's just a good [music] safe

2:19:06place in the community. So, I'm so

2:19:08grateful for the Irving Library here.

2:19:13>> From Troy and Ralph Ellis Stadium. It's

2:19:16the ICTN game of the week

2:19:19to the 10 to the end zone. Wide open

2:19:22call. Touchdown.

2:19:25Touchdown.

2:19:27It is six for the Vikings. [music]

2:19:35And that will do it. [music]

2:19:48Let's go.

2:19:49>> Hundreds coming from all around Irving,

2:19:53braving the high grass to keep Irving

2:19:56beautiful.

2:19:56>> How much trash you going to pick up

2:19:57today?

2:19:57>> Well, you know, a couple years back, we

2:19:59found like a tire and all kinds of

2:20:00different stuff. And so, I'm hoping to

2:20:02match that kind of effort.

2:20:04>> More than 300 volunteers getting out to

2:20:06keep Irving beautiful during the 35th

2:20:09annual trash bash. Altogether, they're

2:20:11putting in nearly a thousand hours of

2:20:14community service, cleaning up the

2:20:16Northern Campion Trail.

2:20:17>> Yeah, we've been doing this for a long

2:20:19time, and it just keeps getting better

2:20:20every year. A lot of people use the

2:20:22trails here, but when they see us with a

2:20:24big event like this, they see what's

2:20:26going on, they'll come over and ask us

2:20:27what's happening, what's going on.

2:20:28>> Then you

2:20:30will go for miles and miles and miles. I

2:20:33promise you, you will not run out of

2:20:34places to go.

2:20:36>> It's a long trail to cover.

2:20:37>> Yeah. So, that's how long it's been down

2:20:38here. The grass has grown over it.

2:20:41>> And there's no small amount of litter to

2:20:43find.

2:20:44>> As a seed, a seed decided that was a

2:20:46good spot to grow.

2:20:49>> It's in the hundreds of pounds of trash

2:20:51and recycle. Sometimes we get up into

2:20:53the tons.

2:20:53>> All right, Nim. It's 3 2 1.

2:20:55>> Truly a community banding together with

2:20:58volunteers coming from schools and

2:21:00clubs, even down to just families with

2:21:03bags.

2:21:03>> I'm rocking the Irving Ambassadors

2:21:05jersey, but I'm I'm working with my

2:21:07church group. And then I see my

2:21:08employers are here as well as some

2:21:10volunteers. So all kinds of different

2:21:11community organizations are here.

2:21:13>> And for some volunteers, doing their

2:21:15part for Irving means doing their part

2:21:17for the world.

2:21:18>> I'm from Nepal and last month only

2:21:21nearly 2,000 people died because of the

2:21:24disaster. So environment is very

2:21:26important and we have to do it and that

2:21:28is the reason we are here to support the

2:21:31city of Arbin. Keep our beautiful

2:21:32program.

2:21:34>> With every trash and recycling bag

2:21:36hitting the dumpsters, Irvingites are

2:21:39keeping the city beautiful for another

2:21:42year. It

2:21:42>> sends a message that you care about what

2:21:44your street looks like, what your

2:21:45neighborhood looks like,

2:21:46>> but it's our community and it doesn't

2:21:48matter if you're North Irving or South

2:21:49Irving. You know, we all come out and

2:21:50take care of each other.

2:21:51>> For City Source, I'm Nick Lton.

2:22:00A longtime Irving favorite is starting a

2:22:03new chapter, Argentina Bakery recently

2:22:06moved into a brand new location just a

2:22:08mile from its former spot. Still in

2:22:10Irving on the north side of Highway 183

2:22:13and the Beltline [music] Road exit, the

2:22:15bakery became a local gathering spot

2:22:17during this year's FIFA World [music]

2:22:19Cup with fans packing the restaurant to

2:22:21watch Argentina and other matches. The

2:22:24larger space is built for moments like

2:22:26those with plenty of comfortable

2:22:28seating, [music] an extensive bar,

2:22:31TVs for games, and an expanded menu.

2:22:34Since 2003, Argentina [music] Bakery has

2:22:37been making traditional Argentine

2:22:38breads, pastries, baked empanadas, and

2:22:41more from scratch.

2:22:44After more than two decades in the

2:22:46community, Argentina Bakery's goal

2:22:48remains the same, honoring its culture

2:22:50and sharing those flavors with everyone

2:22:52who walks through the door.

2:22:54>> Enjoy free [music] admission for the

2:22:56month of October to the Irving Archives

2:22:57and Museum, thanks to Visit Irving.

2:23:00History on the House showcases how

2:23:01visitors [music] to Irving help make

2:23:03community amenities like the museum

2:23:04possible. Visit Irving is also donating

2:23:07a piece of the Irving Convention [music]

2:23:08Center's copper exterior to the museum

2:23:10for a future exhibit. Learn more at the

2:23:12reception on October 8th at 6 p.m. This

2:23:16container will be transformed into a

2:23:17Main Street Plaza pop-up shop this fall.

2:23:20Each week, discover a small business

2:23:21featuring [music] seasonal treats,

2:23:23gifts, or locally made products. The

2:23:25Friday evening pop-ups run from October

2:23:27[music] 9th through December 11th,

2:23:28starting at 5:00 p.m. Enjoy an afternoon

2:23:31exploring the people, places, and

2:23:33stories that shape one of Dallas

2:23:34County's oldest African-American

2:23:36communities at [music] Bear Creek

2:23:37Community Day. While you're here, stop

2:23:39by the Irving Public Library popup for a

2:23:42free copy of 1776 by David McCulla, part

2:23:45of the NEA Big Reed. Follow the history

2:23:47on Saturday, October 10th [music] at 1

2:23:49p.m. at Jackie Townale Bear Creek

2:23:52Heritage Center.

2:23:54>> I knew this day would come and you would

2:23:57[music] find your way.

2:24:00At last, my dream comes true. I knew. I

2:24:03knew. I knew

2:24:06it would be.

2:24:13This musical is basically about how

2:24:15Shrek is trying to find his place cuz

2:24:18he's like always been like overlooked

2:24:21cuz everybody thinks he's a mean ogre.

2:24:23>> Whenever an angry [music] mob came to

2:24:25burn him along with the steak, he knew

2:24:26exactly what to do.

2:24:30[laughter]

2:24:32and a [music] princess who was locked in

2:24:34a tower because she was also outcasted

2:24:37for a curse that was set on her.

2:24:39>> One fateful day, her parents sat her

2:24:42down and told her it was time for her to

2:24:43be locked in a desolate tower guarded by

2:24:45a fireb breathing dragon as so many

2:24:48prisons had for hundreds of years

2:24:49before.

2:24:50>> They come together and they find their

2:24:51place together with a bunch of fairy

2:24:53tale characters.

2:24:54>> Listen here, poker. We don't want to be

2:24:56here any more than you want us here. But

2:24:59you're the only one tough enough to

2:25:00stand up to that Flimmer Flammer

2:25:02Farquad.

2:25:03>> Tough enough? You don't even know me.

2:25:05>> Young Fiona, this is her first year

2:25:08being locked in a tower and she's just

2:25:10waiting for her prince to come and save

2:25:13her.

2:25:14>> Darling, don't be sad. A tower's not so

2:25:17bad.

2:25:18>> Just keep waiting.

2:25:20>> Just keep waiting. [singing]

2:25:22and someday

2:25:24your prince will come.

2:25:26>> I love being part of Irving Youth

2:25:28Theater because of how many friendships

2:25:31I've made and how everybody in this

2:25:33whole like cast like is so kind.

2:25:36>> The people and the bonds I've built with

2:25:38them have really helped and it's kind of

2:25:42drawn me out of my comfort zone and made

2:25:44me do things that otherwise I would

2:25:47never done, never would have never left

2:25:49my house. But thanks to them, I'm more

2:25:51outgoing, more talkative, and it's just

2:25:54kind of like a joy to be around them.

2:25:56>> Oh, it's you. Run, run, run as fast as

2:25:59you can. You can't catch me. I'm that

2:26:01gingerbread man.

2:26:02>> Look what you've [laughter] done to my

2:26:04legs.

2:26:04>> Having people who were very community-

2:26:07based and very like supportive of one

2:26:10another was such a great experience.

2:26:12>> [music]

2:26:12>> He [singing] likes a big big girl.

2:26:15>> I think theater is beneficial because it

2:26:18like helps people find relationships and

2:26:22be more outgoing. Wake up.

2:26:26>> You get to express yourself and you

2:26:27don't just have to be yourself. You can

2:26:29be you're not yourself on stage. You're

2:26:31these characters and you get to be many

2:26:34different things.

2:26:35>> It builds your character and it builds

2:26:36who you are as a person. It kind of sets

2:26:38you up for success later in life.

2:26:47>> [cheering]

2:26:51>> Are you ready for some marching bands

2:26:54this season? In addition to five nights

2:26:57of Irving High School football, ICTN is

2:27:00live streaming homecoming festivities.

2:27:02>> Let's give one final round of applause

2:27:04for the 2026

2:27:06Homecoming Court Royalty King and Queen.

2:27:10plus band and drill team performances.

2:27:13Head to YouTube at the city of Irving

2:27:15for every game to see the halftime

2:27:17action.

2:27:21[applause] It's all about showing

2:27:22results at District 6 council member

2:27:25Fahad Ahmed's first town hall meeting.

2:27:28The more than three dozen residents

2:27:29there are seeing upgrade plans for the

2:27:32Simon Park aquatic facility and

2:27:34animation of what the future Mustang

2:27:37Park multigenerational facility will

2:27:39look like when it's finished.

2:27:41>> We're doing such great work at the city.

2:27:43The staff is doing amazing work. It

2:27:45doesn't always make it to the public and

2:27:48that's when they start asking question

2:27:50like hey where's my money going? But

2:27:51when they see this Simron Park updates

2:27:53going on, Mustang Park updates going on

2:27:56makes us feel good. makes us feel

2:27:57informed and today was just that.

2:28:00>> The town hall also addressing property

2:28:02crime and how residents can protect

2:28:04themselves even when it comes to the

2:28:06security latches on their doors.

2:28:08>> Most of the time there's little bitty

2:28:09screws that come with them about this

2:28:11long and that's not long enough. I'm not

2:28:13a large person. I can kick your door in

2:28:15if you have this on your front door,

2:28:17even if you have a deadbolt in it. This

2:28:19is what you want. You want a 3 to 4 inch

2:28:20screw because this is going to go not

2:28:22only through the door frame, it's going

2:28:24to go actually into the framing of your

2:28:26home.

2:28:26>> And there's plenty of time for questions

2:28:28from residents.

2:28:30>> What if I if I fall in my house and I'm

2:28:33able to call 911? How are they going to

2:28:35get in the police? How would they get

2:28:37in?

2:28:38>> If you're calling 911 and we know that

2:28:40you're inside, we have breaching tools,

2:28:42specialized tools that we can get

2:28:44through any of those doors. We are

2:28:46having them talk directly to the folks

2:28:48that are actually doing the work and

2:28:50they want that. They really like it.

2:28:51>> Council member Ahmed calls the town hall

2:28:54a success and promises more to come. A

2:28:57sentiment echoed by Irving state

2:28:59representatives in attendance.

2:29:00>> I wanted to be here during session. I'm

2:29:02going to be taking a lot of what we

2:29:04heard here at this town hall with me and

2:29:06being able to explain that to my

2:29:09colleagues and letting them know that we

2:29:11really need to take a closer look. One

2:29:12of the biggest goal I had for today was

2:29:14for neighbors to connect. I'm trying to

2:29:17create a vibe in the neighborhood where

2:29:18everybody gets to know each other and

2:29:20that goal was met today.

2:29:21>> For City Source, I'm Nick L.

2:29:24>> If you guys have any questions, please

2:29:25feel free to call. Thank you.

2:29:28>> The State Fair of [music] Texas is a

2:29:30Texas tradition.

2:29:31>> Howdy, folks.

2:29:32>> For thousands of visitors, the food is a

2:29:34big part of that experience, [music] and

2:29:36there's an Irving connection helping

2:29:38bring some of that food to life.

2:29:41>> Hello, Chef. Oh, I'm digging that hat.

2:29:43>> I came all the way from Copenhagen,

2:29:44Denmark.

2:29:45>> Oh my goodness. Welcome. Our first demo

2:29:48is the red, white, [music] and blueberry

2:29:51swim biscuit. These biscuits today are

2:29:54designed to commemorate the 250 year

2:29:57anniversary of our country. And swim

2:30:00biscuits meaning that they actually

2:30:01cooked in butter. They're swimming in

2:30:04butter. They're They're delicious.

2:30:06>> Swimming in butter, baby. For the past

2:30:08three years, [music] Chef Pete has

2:30:10served as the fair's resident chef,

2:30:12cooking up three different

2:30:14demonstrations a day throughout the

2:30:15fair's [music] 24-day run.

2:30:17>> 11:30 is biscuits, 1:30 is shrimp, and

2:30:213:30 is [music] beef. There's a quick

2:30:23turnaround. It's fast-paced, but it's

2:30:25tons of fun. Hi, how you doing today?

2:30:27>> Good. How are you?

2:30:28>> Great. Look at that. 02611328

2:30:32providing budget adjustments uh one to

2:30:37the 20126-27

2:30:39fiscal year budget.

2:30:43Item five,

2:30:45resolution

2:30:47reimbursing the city of Irving for

2:30:49capital expenditures for projects in

2:30:51advance of the fiscal year 2026-27

2:30:55general obligation bond sale and water

2:30:58and sewer revenue bond sale in the

2:31:01amount not to exceed $65 million535,000.

2:31:08Item six, resolution, accepting award of

2:31:12the fiscal year 2025 staffing for

2:31:15adequate fire and emergency response

2:31:18safer grant from the federal emergency

2:31:22management agency, FEMA, and designating

2:31:24the city manager as the city's

2:31:27authorized official for the grant.

2:31:30>> Got a question?

2:31:31>> Yes.

2:31:33So, uh, Chris, when will

2:31:37we when we when will we start hiring,

2:31:40uh, these

2:31:42>> new firefighters?

2:31:43>> Uh, the grant requires that they be

2:31:44hired within six months of the award,

2:31:46>> right?

2:31:47>> I mean, like, so are we going to

2:31:49>> chief?

2:31:50>> Yeah. Start now, start two months from

2:31:52now or what?

2:31:53>> Chris McGuire, assistant fire chief.

2:32:03>> [laughter]

2:32:04>> You're okay once I explain

2:32:07>> Chris McGuire, assistant fire chief. So,

2:32:09we gave our entrance exam on Labor Day.

2:32:11We are still in the process of running

2:32:13our applicants through our physical

2:32:14agility test. Once we got the safer, we

2:32:18added two more weekends to that. So, we

2:32:20have five total Saturdays that we're

2:32:21running all our applicants through. From

2:32:23there, we send them to Polygraph. We

2:32:25start background checks. We start

2:32:27interviews on Monday and we have seven

2:32:30weeks of interviews scheduled. So for

2:32:32the 10 that are already in the CBA that

2:32:35the city's obligated to staff in the

2:32:37budget, those and the six vacancies will

2:32:39be hired in December to get them in

2:32:41January fire academy. The rest of the

2:32:4427, since we can't get them in a fire

2:32:46academy around that time, we're looking

2:32:48to hire them February, March to get them

2:32:51in an EMT school, get them done with

2:32:53EMT, and get them in the May fire

2:32:55school. So the availability to get them

2:32:57in a fire academy is that kind of drives

2:32:59our hiring. So that's our plan as of

2:33:02right now.

2:33:02>> Okay. All right. Thank you. I'm just

2:33:04curious.

2:33:05>> Okay. Great. Thank you.

2:33:09>> Item seven, resolution approving event

2:33:12support agreement with USA Judo in the

2:33:16amount of $7,174

2:33:21for the 2026 USA Judo President's Cup.

2:33:27Item number eight, resolution

2:33:29authorizing the Irving Convention and

2:33:31Visitors Bureau to purchase advertising

2:33:34space in the media in the amount not to

2:33:38exceed $500,000

2:33:41for the fiscal and calendar year

2:33:442026-2027.

2:33:51Number nine, resolution authorizing an

2:33:55expenditure with Air Conditioning

2:33:57Innovative Solutions Inc. ACIS ASUS in

2:34:02the amount of 482,724.40

2:34:08for the Hackberry pump station

2:34:11replacement of outdoor units and chill

2:34:14water HHU

2:34:16project JOC.

2:34:21Item number 10, resolution approving

2:34:25the professional services agreement

2:34:27between the city of Irving and Tnull and

2:34:31Perkins, Inc. in the amount of

2:34:33686,960,000

2:34:37for engineering design services for the

2:34:3920in water pipeline along State Highway

2:34:43183 section at Esther's Road.

2:34:48Item number 11, resolution authorizing

2:34:52the city manager to sign the Texas Parks

2:34:55and Wildlife

2:34:58Grant

2:34:59uh agreement for the Campion Trails Elm

2:35:03Fork Extension phase number two project.

2:35:08Item 12, resolution approving and

2:35:12accepting the contract with Sedalco Inc.

2:35:16for the construction manage manager at

2:35:19risk

2:35:21pro quote CM unquote for the renovation

2:35:26of the joint public safety facility and

2:35:29authorizing $30,000400

2:35:32$30,400

2:35:34for the preconstruction phase services.

2:35:38Item number 13 resolution awarding

2:35:42contract to some Sunb Belt Pools Inc. in

2:35:46the amount of $328,000

2:35:49for the Simmeron Park aquatic facility

2:35:51park unit renovations.

2:35:54Item number 14, resolution awarding a

2:35:58contract to Western Municipal

2:35:59Construction of Texas LLC in the amount

2:36:04of 6,651,681

2:36:09for the Hillburn Court Irving Heights

2:36:12and Shady Grove Road Water and

2:36:15Wastewater Improvement Project.

2:36:19Item number 13, resolution approving the

2:36:22second amendment uh to office lease

2:36:25agreement for the temporary re

2:36:27relocation and housing of the city of

2:36:29Irving Police Department's family

2:36:32advocacy center at the property located

2:36:35at 500 East John Carpenter Freeway Suite

2:36:38250

2:36:40owned by 500 EJC Office owner LLC.

2:36:45Item number 16, resolution approving the

2:36:49interlocal agreement between the city of

2:36:52Irving and the Trinity River Authority

2:36:55in the estimated annual amount of

2:36:57$337,000

2:36:59to provide water, wastewater, and storm

2:37:02water laboratory analysis services.

2:37:0617 resolution supporting an application

2:37:11for municipal uh setting designation and

2:37:15the filling of the restrictive covenant

2:37:18by the city of Farmers Branch for the

2:37:21property at 1349 Valley View Lane in

2:37:25Farmers Branch, Texas.

2:37:28Item number 18, resolution approving the

2:37:32statement of work and authorizing

2:37:34expenditure with Norstan Communications

2:37:38Inc. DBA Blackbox Network Services in

2:37:42the total estimated amount of

2:37:441,589,45469

2:37:51for phone system maintenance on-site

2:37:54technician, phone equipment, software

2:37:57enhancements, and installation services.

2:38:00Item number 19, resolution approving as

2:38:04needed expenditures and Safeware Inc. in

2:38:08the total estimated amount of $475,000

2:38:12for specialized duty gear and related

2:38:15public safety equipment.

2:38:18And that begins the bids and purchases

2:38:20which are going to be items 19 through

2:38:2324.

2:38:24>> Item 20. Yes, sir.

2:38:26>> Sorry.

2:38:26>> So on number 18.

2:38:28>> Yep. Um, I think in the in the contract

2:38:32we're asking for 20 hours per week on

2:38:34the on-site technician for the phone

2:38:36service, but in the long agenda,

2:38:41um, it lists about 26 hours per week

2:38:44versus 20 hours per week.

2:38:48That was probably just a typo. It is

2:38:50it's 20 hours a week and he and the

2:38:52technicians on site four out of the five

2:38:54days a week.

2:38:57>> Okay. So in the contract it says 1325

2:39:00hours a year.

2:39:02>> Yeah, it it does get flexed. I mean

2:39:04that's the set schedule, but we we have

2:39:06capacity for if there's ever um a need

2:39:10to have additional on hour

2:39:14additional on-site hours. So do we need

2:39:16to fix what we're approving?

2:39:20Um, okay. It was cuz this says 20 hours

2:39:24per week is what we're approving, but

2:39:26that doesn't add up with the contract.

2:39:33>> We'll go ahead and look at that and

2:39:34we'll follow up with you before the

2:39:35meeting tonight.

2:39:36>> Thank you.

2:39:36>> Thank you.

2:39:37>> So, do you want to pull it to the end of

2:39:39the the session or

2:39:41>> Let's do some final.

2:39:42>> Okay, we're good.

2:39:44>> Yeah. Thanks.

2:39:45>> Okay. Item number 20.

2:39:47Um 20 resolution authorizing additional

2:39:51as needed expenditures with facility

2:39:54solutions group inc total estimated

2:39:57amount of $100,000 for the electrical

2:40:00repairs and upgrades.

2:40:03Item number 21, resolution approving the

2:40:06engineering services agreement between

2:40:08City of Irving and Lee Engineering LLC

2:40:11in the total estimated amount of

2:40:13$200,000 for the professional services

2:40:17for annual indefinite delivery/definite

2:40:21quantity Idiq traffic engineering.

2:40:26Item number 22, resolution approving the

2:40:30engineering services agreement between

2:40:33the city of Irving and Kimley- Horn and

2:40:36Associates, Inc. in the total estimated

2:40:39amount of $200,000 for professional

2:40:41services for annual indefinite delivery

2:40:46slashdefinite quantity IDIQ traffic

2:40:49engineering.

2:40:50Item number 23, resolution authorizing

2:40:54as needed expenditures

2:40:56and Cidians M. Martin Emergency Group

2:41:01LLC in the total estimated amount of

2:41:04$750,000

2:41:06for parts and services for Pierce Fire

2:41:09Apparatus.

2:41:11Item 24, resolution

2:41:15authorizing as needed expenditures with

2:41:18Imagen Net Consulting LLC in the total

2:41:22estimated amount of $950,000

2:41:26for AV equipment supplies and services.

2:41:30That ends bids. At this point, we're

2:41:34going to be moving into item number 25,

2:41:38ordinance amending ordinance number

2:41:412026-11340

2:41:45by approving a schedule of classified

2:41:48personnel for the fire department.

2:41:52Item number 25.

2:41:53>> Mayor,

2:41:54>> yes.

2:41:54>> On that one, uh Chris, what what's kind

2:41:56of the plan right now for I know we're

2:41:58going to four person trucks. Is this

2:42:01part of the hiring process for that?

2:42:03>> Yep. This will be providing the

2:42:04personnel for the fourperson staffing on

2:42:06the trucks.

2:42:07>> Okay, thank you.

2:42:08>> Okay, we good.

2:42:10>> Okay. Item number 26, ordinance amending

2:42:13section 8B-29

2:42:16of the city of Irving Land Development

2:42:18Code to revise the qualifications for

2:42:22members of the construction board of

2:42:24appeals.

2:42:25And that ends that part. And we're going

2:42:28into now our zoning cases and companion

2:42:31items.

2:42:33>> Jocelyn.

2:42:34>> All right. Good afternoon, Mayor.

2:42:35>> How are you?

2:42:36>> Good. Uh see council. Um Jocelyn Murphy,

2:42:39director of planning. We just have four

2:42:41cases tonight. We tried to loosen or

2:42:43lessen your load a little bit. Uh the

2:42:45first case is actually it's a 1451 East

2:42:47Northgate. This is a an existing uh

2:42:50T-Mobile cell tower on the Highland

2:42:52School property. Um I won't go into too

2:42:54much detail because the applicant did uh

2:42:56request to withdraw or they did withdraw

2:42:59this case yesterday. Um they have about

2:43:0274% of opposition because the property

2:43:05owner which is Rosoto who who owns and

2:43:08operates the Highland School uh did

2:43:10withdraw. So um once I'm sorry did

2:43:13oppose. And so once the applicant

2:43:16realized that the property owner wasn't

2:43:18in support, um I can get into more

2:43:20detail if y'all want any background of

2:43:23the monocross, um you have a lot of the

2:43:26information in the letters provided from

2:43:28both the owner and the school. Um but it

2:43:31was a negotiated cross that they wanted

2:43:33to keep. So this case is not up for your

2:43:35consideration anymore and they have

2:43:37withdrawn the case.

2:43:40>> Okay.

2:43:43Uh the next case is the first of two

2:43:46short-term rentals uh at 620 Cox Drive.

2:43:49Um this is a request for conditional use

2:43:51permit for the short-term rental at this

2:43:53property. Staff's recommendation is if

2:43:56the council chooses to approve to

2:43:58include three conditions, which we'll

2:43:59talk about here in a minute. Um we do

2:44:01have it was it's been um kind of a

2:44:04snowstorm of opposition letters the last

2:44:07few weeks. U we have 65 in opposition. A

2:44:11lot of those were duplicates um from the

2:44:12same address, but that did equal to

2:44:15almost 50% of the opposition with the

2:44:17200 feet, which does cross that

2:44:19threshold of 20% per state law, and that

2:44:22triggers a super majority vote for your

2:44:25approval. So, if you choose to approve

2:44:27it tonight, you would need seven votes

2:44:28for approval. PNZ's recommendation was

2:44:32denial by 920.

2:44:35Here's the property. uh is just to the

2:44:37east of MacArthur High School on Cox

2:44:39Drive at the near the end of the

2:44:41culde-sac.

2:44:43Um future land use. This is notification

2:44:46area. And here is your opposition

2:44:49boundary. All of the properties in pink

2:44:51are the ones uh that did submit letters

2:44:54in opposition. So those did did count

2:44:56toward that almost 50% um within the

2:44:59200t area.

2:45:02This is the site plan. So, some of the

2:45:04notes that staff recommends again if you

2:45:07did approve it that the conditional use

2:45:09permit is tied to the owner. Typically,

2:45:11a conditional use permit is tied to the

2:45:13use, but for a short-term rental, we

2:45:15wanted to tie it to the owner. So, if it

2:45:17was sold, then it would cause a

2:45:19re-registration and a new conditional

2:45:20use permit. Uh, we also the conditional

2:45:23use permit allows you to set a time

2:45:25limit. So, staff recommends two years.

2:45:27We kind of went back and forth between

2:45:29two and three years, but as a as a

2:45:31firsttime uh short-term rental, two

2:45:33years gives a chance for it to operate,

2:45:35see how it's going to operate, and then

2:45:37come back and after a couple years see

2:45:39if it's something that needs to

2:45:40continue. And then, of course, the

2:45:42condition use permit is only valid as

2:45:44long as the city registration is

2:45:46current. All of these other notes, we

2:45:48did them a little bit smaller. Those are

2:45:49just our standard conditional use permit

2:45:51notes. So, I won't go through those in

2:45:52detail, but we did want to make sure

2:45:54those were on the the conditional use

2:45:56permit document.

2:45:59Here's a picture that we found um that

2:46:01was online. They are not posted any

2:46:04longer, but this was uh something that

2:46:06code found when they were doing their

2:46:07investigation. So, just a few pictures

2:46:09of the home. Uh the owner did recently

2:46:11purchase it.

2:46:14A map um from the code compliance staff

2:46:17of the condition use permits in the

2:46:18area. So, the ones in kind of the orange

2:46:21are short-term or the registered

2:46:23short-term rentals. They got in before

2:46:25the uh condition use permit requirement.

2:46:28And of course, this is subject property

2:46:29over here in pink.

2:46:31And just some pictures of subject

2:46:33property neighborhood. And I'll be happy

2:46:36to answer any questions,

2:46:40>> comments, questions. Yeah, Adam.

2:46:43>> Uh, thank you, mayor. Can can you I

2:46:45missed what you said about the P&Z vote.

2:46:47Did you say 9 to zero?

2:46:48>> Denial. 9 to zero. Mhm.

2:46:50>> Okay. All right. Thank you.

2:46:52>> Okay.

2:46:53>> Okay.

2:46:54The next case is 1413 South Story Road.

2:46:57Y'all know this is Bronms. Um they're

2:47:00currently zoned SP1 for neighborhood

2:47:02commercial. Um and for some reason they

2:47:04have a height restriction of 17 ft.

2:47:06They're wanting to do some remodel to

2:47:08the front of the building to the facade

2:47:10and they want to go above that 17 feet.

2:47:12Uh so this will give them uh if they go

2:47:15straight neighborhood commercial that

2:47:16will give them that additional height

2:47:17that they need to do their improvements.

2:47:20Staff recommends approval. PNZ uh was

2:47:22approval 9 to zero and no letters in

2:47:24opposition or support.

2:47:26Here's the site here just south of Shady

2:47:29Grove.

2:47:32Uh so this is the current Brahms. Um

2:47:35again kind of older older design, older

2:47:37style. And so the top is what is there

2:47:40today and the bottom is their drawing of

2:47:43what they intend to do. So they just

2:47:44want to redo mainly the entry and that

2:47:47will get them above the 17 ft that are

2:47:50limit they are limited to today.

2:47:53And just some more exhibits of their

2:47:56um investment that they're going to do

2:47:58for the property. Some pictures of the

2:48:00prop the surrounding uses there. There

2:48:03are some duplexes um just to the south.

2:48:06um they there is a wall there is a

2:48:07barrier between them as well and I'll be

2:48:10happy to answer any questions.

2:48:13>> Any questions?

2:48:15>> Okay.

2:48:15>> Okay. And the last case is the second

2:48:17short-term rental. It's at 910 Sam Hill

2:48:19Street. Uh as the other one, it's the

2:48:22conditional use permit for the

2:48:23short-term rental of the home. Staff

2:48:25would recommend the same three

2:48:27conditions. Uh this one has an

2:48:29opposition. We had one in support and

2:48:31eight in opposition uh at almost 10%

2:48:349.72% within 200 ft. This does not

2:48:38trigger the supermajority requirement.

2:48:39So this would be five votes for approval

2:48:42if you choose to proceed or choose to

2:48:43approve. PNZ recommended approval as

2:48:46well or I'm sorry denial of this one as

2:48:48well.

2:48:50So this the property it's just around

2:48:51the corner from Cox. So here the high

2:48:53school is just to the south.

2:48:56Future land use notification.

2:48:58Uh so these are the again in the pink

2:49:01where we received the opposition.

2:49:04The site plan again with those three

2:49:07notes that would tie the conditional use

2:49:09permit to the owner uh would set a

2:49:12maximum of two years. Um and they would

2:49:15uh the C only be valid if the city

2:49:17registration is current.

2:49:20Again we found some uh pictures of the

2:49:24listing. This is a current listing. code

2:49:26compliance, I believe, found it through

2:49:27the service that they use. Shane's not

2:49:30here yet, but I believe that they the

2:49:32pro the uh contractor that they have

2:49:35kind of scouring the listings, I think,

2:49:36is the way this one was found. So, he

2:49:38does have current listings. I believe

2:49:39he's booked through December if I'm

2:49:41correct.

2:49:43Um, again, the map of other short-term

2:49:46rental registrations on the area and

2:49:49some pictures of the home

2:49:51and the neighborhood. Be happy to answer

2:49:53any questions.

2:49:55Okay, comments.

2:49:58All right, thank you, Jos. We'll see you

2:50:00tonight.

2:50:00>> Yep.

2:50:03>> That concludes [clears throat] our our

2:50:06zoning. And so, at this point, uh we're

2:50:08going to move on to item number six,

2:50:10library operations update. I think

2:50:12Rachel, you're on. Am I correct?

2:50:22>> Good afternoon, Mayor and Council.

2:50:24Rachel Wood, assistant city manager. And

2:50:26I know this is the agenda item we've all

2:50:28been waiting for today, the library

2:50:31policy discussion. Actually, before we

2:50:34reconvened at break, I was discussing

2:50:36with Councilman Kabir. Uh it's my

2:50:38understanding this discussion has been

2:50:40underway for roughly the last seven

2:50:41years here in Irving. And I'm confident

2:50:44that in the next hour, we are going to

2:50:46make some key policy decisions that will

2:50:48have a lasting positive impact on our

2:50:51Irving public library system. Before I

2:50:54get into the presentation, I did want to

2:50:56recognize we've got really impressive

2:50:58representation from library leadership

2:51:00today. So, first want to recognize our

2:51:02library staff who are here today. Thank

2:51:04you. The library team has been

2:51:06instrumental in um and very patient with

2:51:08me as I have had to be the interim

2:51:10library director for a brief period of

2:51:12time and also helping prepare the

2:51:13materials for today. We've also got four

2:51:16library board members with us today. So,

2:51:18library board members, if you'd stand,

2:51:20thank you for joining us today.

2:51:22Thanks for your service.

2:51:25And then we also have really impressive

2:51:27representation from our friends of the

2:51:29library board. I know you heard from Kay

2:51:31Hickox earlier today, but would also

2:51:32like to recognize our friends of the

2:51:34library board who are here.

2:51:35>> Yay.

2:51:40>> Okay. So today's presentation is

2:51:43segmented into what I'll call three

2:51:45chapters. Chapter one is the collection

2:51:48development policy. We do have some

2:51:50considerations where we will be seeking

2:51:52feedback from you. We'll then go into a

2:51:55review of the reconsideration of

2:51:57materials policy where we'll be focusing

2:51:59primarily on the appeals process. And

2:52:02last, we've got an overview of several

2:52:04strategic considerations. And the final

2:52:07discussion point we'll have as we go

2:52:09through those updates is discussing how

2:52:11frequently you all want us to bring back

2:52:13policy revisions for future

2:52:15consideration to the city council.

2:52:18So heading into the collection

2:52:20development policy and actually before I

2:52:22launch into this I did want to note that

2:52:25we are recommending that we go into an

2:52:27executive session on this item. So I'm

2:52:31happy to answer questions as we go but

2:52:33our recommendation is that let's get

2:52:35through the slide content go into

2:52:37executive session and then reconvene for

2:52:40the items where we are seeking council

2:52:42consensus. Does that work for everybody

2:52:44today? Yes.

2:52:45>> Okay.

2:52:48So, as a quick reminder, I know we've

2:52:50got one new council member and it has

2:52:52been about 10 months since we last

2:52:53talked about the collection development

2:52:55policy. Most public libraries have a

2:52:58collection development policy and the

2:53:00intent behind these policies really is

2:53:03to provide transparency and consistency

2:53:05in how we acquire materials and how we

2:53:08maintain those materials in our

2:53:10collection. Irving has had a collection

2:53:12development policy for over 20 years. In

2:53:152019, we had significant policy

2:53:18revisions that established our current

2:53:20policy format that our more recent

2:53:22revisions have been based on. Most

2:53:24recently, the policy was updated in

2:53:27January of this year at the community

2:53:29services and public safety committee

2:53:31meeting. Uh during that meeting, we

2:53:33focused primarily on the juvenile,

2:53:35children, and young adult portion of the

2:53:37policy where we refined the definition

2:53:39of mature content as well as the

2:53:41physical location of YA plus materials.

2:53:45For a quick reminder, in the children,

2:53:47juvenile, and young adult collections,

2:53:49the age ranges for children are up to

2:53:52third grade. The juvenile section is

2:53:55grades 3 through 8. Young adult is

2:53:58considered grades 9 through 12. And then

2:54:00YA plus or young adult plus is a

2:54:03shelving location that's generally

2:54:04intended for an audience that's 18 and

2:54:06above. As I mentioned previously, we

2:54:09really focused in on the definition of

2:54:11mature content during the revisions that

2:54:14you all endorsed at your January 14th

2:54:16meeting, as well as the location of the

2:54:18YA plus materials. The the current

2:54:21policy, as it is published on our

2:54:23website, states that the YA plus

2:54:25collection will be located behind a

2:54:27resource desk of each library to ensure

2:54:30that miners may only access these

2:54:32materials through an employee of the

2:54:34Irving Public Library. upon

2:54:36demonstrating that such minor has been

2:54:38provided permission to access material

2:54:40in the YA plus collection. The revisions

2:54:43also provided provisions that if it's

2:54:45logistically challenging to have the uh

2:54:47re the materials located as close as

2:54:50possible to a resource desk.

2:54:53You all may recall that at the March

2:54:55community services and public safety

2:54:57meeting, uh, we discussed potentially

2:55:00relocating and recategorizing our

2:55:03current YA plus materials to the adult

2:55:06collection. Immediately following the

2:55:09January consensus that we got from

2:55:11council, the library team physically

2:55:14relocated the YA plus shelves closer to

2:55:16the reference desks as a first phase and

2:55:19wanting to make sure we were as

2:55:20compliant as pol possible with the

2:55:22policy. The pictures you see on the

2:55:25slide are the current locations of the

2:55:28YA plus materials. I'll note that at

2:55:30South Branch, the YA plus materials are

2:55:33actually on the second floor where young

2:55:35adult is on the first floor and are

2:55:37located directly adjacent to the adult

2:55:39collection. The second phase that we've

2:55:42been working on with the CIP department

2:55:44is determining what physical

2:55:45improvements are necessary at the

2:55:47resource desks so that we can ensure

2:55:50compliance with the policy. The

2:55:52estimates we've gotten from the CIP team

2:55:54is that it would cost roughly $26,000

2:55:57to relocate and and make the necessary

2:56:00physical improvements to the resource

2:56:02desk so that we could have YA plus fully

2:56:05compliant with the current language

2:56:06that's in the policy.

2:56:09>> [clears throat]

2:56:09>> Uh throughout this spring, we've had

2:56:11discussion with members of the public,

2:56:13with members of the library board, as

2:56:15well as staff on what we should do and

2:56:18how best to approach the location of the

2:56:21YA plus materials. We've confirmed that

2:56:24all three branches have adequate shelf

2:56:26space to relocate YA plus materials to

2:56:30adult. again mentioning that $26,000

2:56:33capital investment that would be

2:56:35required to um to ensure full compliance

2:56:38with the policy as it stands. And

2:56:41staff's recommendation is that we would

2:56:43relocate as well as recategorize all of

2:56:46our YA plus materials to the adult

2:56:48collection.

2:56:50As I previously mentioned, we did

2:56:52discuss this at the March 26 community

2:56:54services and public safety committee

2:56:56meeting. And at that meeting, this topic

2:56:58was referred to full council for work

2:57:00session discussion, which is why we have

2:57:02this discussion on today's work session

2:57:04agenda.

2:57:06So, next steps would be if council

2:57:08approves the staff recommendation, staff

2:57:10will then revise the collection

2:57:12development policy accordingly and

2:57:14recategorize those YA plus materials.

2:57:20Um, also wanted to mention that on April

2:57:236th of this year, the library board

2:57:25approved their list of proposed

2:57:27revisions to the collection development

2:57:29policy, uh, with the exception of

2:57:31removing the reference to YA plus and

2:57:34recategorizing those material. Staff

2:57:37does recommend maintaining the current

2:57:39version of the collection development

2:57:40policy where council consensus was

2:57:43established on January 14th of this

2:57:45year.

2:57:50So heading into the reconsider if if

2:57:53there are no questions on the collection

2:57:54development policy I'm now going to head

2:57:56into chapter 2. Are there any questions

2:57:58on chapter 1?

2:58:01Okay. So chapter 2 is our

2:58:04reconsideration of materials appeals

2:58:06process. And again, since it has been

2:58:09some time since we've discussed this

2:58:11policy, I'm going to give you a brief

2:58:13overview of what our current policy

2:58:15entails. And then the focus of today's

2:58:17discussion is really going to be on the

2:58:19appeals process. So, our reconsideration

2:58:22of materials policy allows current card

2:58:25holders the opportunity to question

2:58:27existing materials that we have in our

2:58:29library collection. It starts with a a

2:58:32request. The requester is required to

2:58:34submit a form either in writing or

2:58:36online to the library director. Once

2:58:39that request is received, then the

2:58:41library services manager uh forms a

2:58:44staff committee of specialized

2:58:46collection librarians to review the

2:58:49material. That staff committee considers

2:58:52consistency with the collection

2:58:53development policy, cultural and/or

2:58:56literary significance and quality, the

2:58:59intended audience, circulation history,

2:59:01and customer requests for this material,

2:59:04as well as professional reviews and

2:59:06rewards. The staff committee then makes

2:59:09a determination that they send to the

2:59:11library services manager. The library

2:59:13services manager then um confirms and

2:59:17they make the final decision on if the

2:59:19material should remain in the collection

2:59:21and can either adopt, modify or reject

2:59:24the staff committee recommendation. Once

2:59:27that final decision has been made by the

2:59:29library services manager, they then

2:59:31notify the requesttor in writing.

2:59:34Um the committee has the option to

2:59:37remove recommend removing the material

2:59:39from the collection, relabeling or

2:59:41reclassifying the material, placing

2:59:44other restrictions on the material or

2:59:46taking no action. But again, want to

2:59:48note that the library services manager

2:59:50makes the final decision. Um I already

2:59:53thank the library team but the library

2:59:55team did extensive research especially

2:59:57across the metroplex on what practices

3:00:00are and our practice for the first

3:00:03review of materials when a request for

3:00:05reconsideration comes in is pretty

3:00:07consistent across the board. So what we

3:00:10currently have is the industry standard

3:00:12at least in the Metroplex. Uh where

3:00:14things start to get different is with

3:00:16the appeals process. So, our current

3:00:18appeals process, if the requesttor

3:00:20disagrees with the determination of the

3:00:22staff committee as well as the library

3:00:24services manager, that requesttor has 30

3:00:27days to submit an appeal in writing. And

3:00:30that right now does not require a form.

3:00:32It's just an email that the requesttor

3:00:34can submit to the library director. The

3:00:37library director in our current polic uh

3:00:39current policy and process is then

3:00:42responsible for making the final

3:00:43determination and they have 10 days to

3:00:46make that final determination.

3:00:50Some stats on our request for

3:00:52reconsideration that we've had over the

3:00:54last five years. Uh we have had a few

3:00:57requests for reconsideration. We average

3:00:59one to two a year. We've had five over

3:01:02the course of the last five years. Um,

3:01:05in these requests, we have had a a few

3:01:08instances where the material has been

3:01:10moved to another collection. Um, and we

3:01:13have had two appeals over the course of

3:01:15the last five years. Uh, compared to our

3:01:19peer cities, we've actually had fewer

3:01:20requests for reconsideration.

3:01:23We've we've moved items more frequently

3:01:25as a result of these requests. We do

3:01:28have a a slightly higher volume of

3:01:30appeals. And compared to the industry

3:01:33average, the appeals um have not changed

3:01:35the original decision. While that has

3:01:38happened in a few instances across the

3:01:40metroplex,

3:01:42you all may recall that on January 14th,

3:01:45in addition to discussing the collection

3:01:47development policy, we had a pretty

3:01:49detailed discussion on the appeals

3:01:51process with you. At that meeting, a

3:01:54council working group consisting of

3:01:57Councilman Block, Mayor Prom Croninw,

3:02:00and Mayor Zapont was formed. And that

3:02:03group met with staff several times

3:02:05throughout this spring to vet and

3:02:07discuss appeal consideration options and

3:02:11prepare for today's work session.

3:02:14Part of those discussions is we looked

3:02:16at really four options that I'm going to

3:02:18go through with you today. Okay. The

3:02:20first option for the appeals process is

3:02:23what we're going to call the Arlington

3:02:25model. Under the Arlington model, there

3:02:28are two randomly selected library board

3:02:31members and the library director who

3:02:34serve as the appellet committee. Uh the

3:02:37same process that I previously described

3:02:40it would be followed. The appeal

3:02:42committee reviews the full material

3:02:43against the collection development

3:02:45policy within 30 days. The appeal

3:02:48committee's decision is final. After

3:02:51that decision, the library director

3:02:52submits uh the the final determination

3:02:55in writing. And under the Arlington

3:02:57model, a title may only be reviewed once

3:03:00every two years.

3:03:02So considerations with this model, of

3:03:04course, our current library board

3:03:06members volunteered for service before

3:03:08the appelllet responsibilities were

3:03:10contemplated. We've also had extensive

3:03:13internal discussion that uh an amendment

3:03:16to the library board bylaws as well as

3:03:18chapter 38-54 of the code of ordinances

3:03:21would be necessary to incorporate the

3:03:24expanded appellet responsibilities of

3:03:26the board members.

3:03:29The second model that we've contemplated

3:03:31is what we're calling the Bedford model.

3:03:33And the Bedford model is essentially the

3:03:35full library board would serve as a

3:03:37pellet review. Um, in Bedford, the way

3:03:40they implement this model is there's no

3:03:43set timeline for the library board to

3:03:45review the material. My understanding is

3:03:47they try to be as expeditious as

3:03:49possible. And after the final decision

3:03:51is rendered, the library director then

3:03:54informs the requester in writing.

3:03:56Another note on the Bedford model is in

3:03:59Bedford, a title may only be reviewed

3:04:01once every three years in the request

3:04:03for reconsideration process.

3:04:06So, a few potential impacts with the

3:04:09Bedford model. Again, our library board

3:04:11members volunteered for their service

3:04:13before this additional appellet

3:04:15responsibility was contemplated. Just

3:04:17like in the Arlington model, staff would

3:04:19also be recommending library board

3:04:21bylaws as well as chapter 38-54

3:04:24revisions. There are also logistical

3:04:27challenges associated with coord

3:04:28coordinating an additional meeting for

3:04:31the nine individuals on the library

3:04:32board. And depending on the age of the

3:04:35material, there could be challenges with

3:04:37sourcing nine copies of the material uh

3:04:40that is in question.

3:04:43Also, because this would be the full

3:04:44library board, it would be subject the

3:04:47meetings would be subject to the Texas

3:04:48Open Meetings Act. So, additional

3:04:51administrative responsibilities

3:04:53associated with that.

3:04:56The third process that we've discussed

3:04:58is what we're calling the library board

3:05:00appeal committee. And where this is

3:05:02different from what we've previously

3:05:04discussed is it would be a standing

3:05:05committee elected by the library board

3:05:08of three library board members who would

3:05:11serve for a one-year term and review all

3:05:14appeals that come in over the course of

3:05:16a year. Under this model that we've

3:05:19discussed, a title would only be

3:05:20reviewed once every three years. and the

3:05:23appeal committee would be responsible

3:05:25for making the final decision. Their

3:05:27final decision would then be turned over

3:05:29to the library director who would inform

3:05:31the requesttor of that appeal

3:05:33committee's decision.

3:05:36The last and oh, let me go through the u

3:05:38potential considerations here. Again,

3:05:41they're the same as what I've mentioned

3:05:42before. Library board members

3:05:44volunteered for service before appelllet

3:05:46responsibilities were contemplated and

3:05:49the library board bylaws as well as

3:05:50chapter 38-54 would need to be res

3:05:54revised.

3:05:56The last and final model that we've

3:05:57discussed is um what we're calling our

3:06:00staff recommendation. And so under this

3:06:02model, the appeal committee would

3:06:04consist of really library leadership

3:06:06from across our community. So the

3:06:08library board chair, the chair of the

3:06:11friends of the library board as well as

3:06:13the library director would serve as a

3:06:15three-person committee who would then

3:06:17have 30 business days to review the

3:06:19appealed material and make their final

3:06:21decision. After that decision is made,

3:06:24the library director would be

3:06:26responsible for um informing the

3:06:28requester in writing of that final

3:06:30decision. And then the title would only

3:06:32be uh available for review or go through

3:06:35the request for reconsideration process

3:06:37once every two years.

3:06:42So considerations on this one of course

3:06:44the library board chair as all library

3:06:46board members volunteered for service

3:06:48before appellet responsibilities were

3:06:50contemplated. The friends of the Irving

3:06:53Public Library board chair also

3:06:54volunteered before these appelllet

3:06:56responsibilities were contemplated and

3:06:58that friends board would need to agree

3:07:00to support this role. And then again, we

3:07:03would need to amend the library board

3:07:04bylaws and chapter 38-54 of the code of

3:07:07ordinances to incorporate the expanded

3:07:10appellet responsibilities.

3:07:12One additional note here and can't thank

3:07:14Glenise Robinson enough for the great

3:07:16job she's already doing here in Irving

3:07:18as our interim public library director,

3:07:20but my understanding is she has had

3:07:22conversations with Kay Hickox about

3:07:24potentially serving in this capacity if

3:07:27this is the direction that council

3:07:29chooses today. And it does sound like

3:07:31there is an openness from the friends of

3:07:32the library board to serve in this

3:07:34capacity.

3:07:38So now we'll move into those strategic

3:07:40considerations. Again, this is a series

3:07:42of updates uh exciting progress that

3:07:45we're making on the library team. First

3:07:48is the strategic plan. So, we have

3:07:50officially gone under contract with a

3:07:53serious firm that has a funny name,

3:07:55Orange Boy Incorporated.

3:07:58Orange Boy does extensive library work.

3:08:00They specialize in library strategic

3:08:02planning and master planning. We have

3:08:05our internal kickoff meeting scheduled

3:08:07with them on October 14th. and strategic

3:08:10planning starting with community

3:08:12engagement will begin in earnest later

3:08:14this fall.

3:08:16Work is also underway to revise the

3:08:19library board bylaws. We received um

3:08:23preliminary recommendations from an

3:08:25outside consultant called plan on August

3:08:2831st. Those revisions are currently

3:08:31under staff review and the library team

3:08:33has been refining and editing the bylaws

3:08:35based on their observations as well as

3:08:37what they receive from plan. Those

3:08:39[snorts] revisions ultimately will

3:08:41reflect council's appeal process

3:08:43decision. whatever decision you all make

3:08:45today. And then once we get to a place

3:08:48where we've got a solid draft that's

3:08:49been fully vetted internally, we will

3:08:52then bring the draft bylaw revisions to

3:08:54the library board for their review,

3:08:56followed by city council.

3:08:59Uh, next update is on library board

3:09:01engagement. And again, kudos to the

3:09:03library team. They've done a lot of

3:09:05great work in concert with our fantastic

3:09:07library board members to find ways to

3:09:09have our library board members more

3:09:11engaged in the services we provide to

3:09:13the community. One of the topics we've

3:09:15discussed with the library board is

3:09:17having them serve as ambassadors or

3:09:19liaison to each of our three branches.

3:09:21And we've been testing that model and

3:09:23are working on refining that as we go.

3:09:25And so far we've gotten really positive

3:09:27feedback. It's just a way for our

3:09:29library board members to to have a

3:09:31little bit more tangible interaction

3:09:34with staff and the programming that

3:09:35happens at each of the three branches.

3:09:38We've also discussed having more formal

3:09:41board training for the library board

3:09:43once the bylaws are finalized. And one

3:09:45of the things Glenise and I have

3:09:46discussed is having potentially a

3:09:49weekend retreat with the library board,

3:09:51with library staff where we work with

3:09:54them uh going through their bylaws,

3:09:56training them on meeting procedures, and

3:09:59also using that as an opportunity to

3:10:01develop an annual library board work

3:10:03plan.

3:10:05Last, and this is more of a decision

3:10:07point for council, is as we've been

3:10:09looking at models and the library team

3:10:11has been doing a lot of research across

3:10:13the metroplex, what we found is there is

3:10:16more of a cadence and a structured

3:10:18process for reviewing library policies.

3:10:21And so based on what we've seen across

3:10:23the metroplex, our recommendation is

3:10:25that we get into a cadence of reviewing

3:10:27library policies every 3 years. And the

3:10:30reason for that three years is it will

3:10:32give us time to operationalize the

3:10:34policy, have lessons learned, of course,

3:10:36as we get feedback as we go. We will

3:10:39document that, but then to only open up

3:10:41the policy for revision every three

3:10:43years in concert with you, the city city

3:10:46council as well as the library board.

3:10:50So that concludes the content that we

3:10:52have for today. And again, our

3:10:54recommendation once we answer your

3:10:56question is that we go into executive

3:10:59session and then we'll come back out to

3:11:01get consensus from you all on the the

3:11:04three main items where we are needing

3:11:05your feedback,

3:11:10>> questions, comments.

3:11:15>> Abdul,

3:11:16>> just a quick comment. Thank you very

3:11:18much Rachel. It's a very nice

3:11:19presentation.

3:11:21We have gone a long way to get where we

3:11:23are today. You know when I was telling

3:11:26uh Rachel that the first meeting I

3:11:28attended four years ago almost

3:11:32was having a laboratory discussion and

3:11:35not a single meeting go by without its

3:11:38discussion. So we are getting to where

3:11:42we want to be and I look forward to uh

3:11:45to have these uh discussions

3:11:48uh and policies adopted to move forward

3:11:51with our next steps. Thank you.

3:11:57>> Anybody else would like to make a

3:11:59comment before we go ahead and move into

3:12:02executive session?

3:12:05Okay. I think Thank you, Rachel. We'll

3:12:07look forward to get into more uh

3:12:10discussion. I think at this point KO,

3:12:13are you prepared to read us in?

3:12:15>> Yes, sir. I'm happy to do that. The time

3:12:17is 3:57. The Irving City Council will

3:12:19convene into a closed executive session

3:12:22uh to receive legal advice pursuant to

3:12:24section 551.071.

3:12:27And mayor, with your permission, there

3:12:29were some questions regarding a couple

3:12:31of the zoning items relating to items 28

3:12:34and 30. Those are the STR cases that if

3:12:37we could read in on those, I can we can

3:12:40address those as well.

3:12:41>> Great. Okay.

3:12:42>> Thank you, sir.

3:12:42>> So be it.

3:12:45[music]

3:12:50>> It's all about showing results at

3:12:52District 6 Council member Fahad Ahmed's

3:12:55first town hall meeting. The more than

3:12:57three dozen residents there are seeing

3:12:59upgrade plans for the Simon Park aquatic

3:13:02facility and animation of what the

3:13:04future Mustang Park multigenerational

3:13:07facility will look like when it's

3:13:09finished.

3:13:10>> We're doing such great work at the city.

3:13:12The staff is doing amazing work. It

3:13:14doesn't always make it to the public and

3:13:17that's when they start asking question

3:13:19like hey where's my money going? When

3:13:20they see this Simron Park updates going

3:13:23on, Mustang Park updates going on makes

3:13:25us feel good. makes us feel informed and

3:13:27today was just that.

3:13:29>> The town hall also addressing property

3:13:31crime and how residents can protect

3:13:33themselves even when it comes to the

3:13:35security latches on their doors.

3:13:37>> Most of the time there's little bitty

3:13:38screws that come with them about this

3:13:40long and that's not long enough. I'm not

3:13:42a large person. I can kick your door in

3:13:44if you have this on your front door,

3:13:46even if you have a deadbolt in it. This

3:13:48is what you want. You want a 3 to 4 inch

3:13:49screw because this is going to go not

3:13:52only through the door frame, it's going

3:13:53to go actually into the framing of your

3:13:55home.

3:13:55>> And there's plenty of time for questions

3:13:58from residents.

3:13:59>> What if I if I fall in my house and I'm

3:14:02able to call 911? How are they going to

3:14:04get in the police? How would they get in

3:14:07house?

3:14:07>> If you're calling 911 and we know that

3:14:09you're inside, we have breaching tools,

3:14:11specialized tools that we can get

3:14:13through any of those doors. We are

3:14:15having them talk directly to the folks

3:14:17that are actually doing the work and

3:14:19they want that. They really like it.

3:14:21>> Council member Ahmed calls the town hall

3:14:23a success and promises more to come. A

3:14:26sentiment echoed by Irving state

3:14:28representatives in attendance.

3:14:29>> I wanted to be here during session. I'm

3:14:32going to be taking a lot of what we

3:14:33heard here at this town hall with me and

3:14:36being able to explain that to my

3:14:38colleagues and letting them know that we

3:14:40really need to take a closer look. One

3:14:42of the biggest goal I had for today was

3:14:44for neighbors to connect. I'm trying to

3:14:46create a vibe in the neighborhood where

3:14:47everybody gets to know each other and

3:14:49that goal was met today.

3:14:51>> For City Source, I'm Nick Love.

3:14:53>> If you guys have any questions, please

3:14:54feel free to call. Thank you.

3:14:57>> The State Fair of Texas is a Texas

3:14:59tradition.

3:15:00>> Howdy, folks.

3:15:01>> For thousands of visitors, the food is a

3:15:04big part of that experience, and there's

3:15:06an Irving connection helping bring some

3:15:08of that food to life.

3:15:10>> Hello, Chef. Oh, I'm digging that hat.

3:15:12>> I came all the way from Copenhagen,

3:15:13Denmark.

3:15:14>> Oh my goodness. Welcome. Our first demo

3:15:17is the red, white, and blueberry swim

3:15:20[music] biscuit. These biscuits today

3:15:22are designed to commemorate the 250 year

3:15:26anniversary of our country. And [music]

3:15:28swim biscuits meaning that they actually

3:15:30cooked in butter. They're swimming in

3:15:33butter. They're They're delicious.

3:15:35>> Swimming in butter, baby. For the past 3

3:15:38years, [music] Chef Pete has served as

3:15:40the fair's resident chef, cooking up

3:15:42three different demonstrations a day

3:15:44throughout the fair's [music] 24-day

3:15:46run.

3:15:46>> 11:30 is biscuits, 1:30 is shrimp, and

3:15:503:30 is beef. There's a quick

3:15:52turnaround. It's fast-paced, but [music]

3:15:54it's tons of fun. Hi, how you doing

3:15:56today?

3:15:56>> Good. How are you?

3:15:57>> Great. Look at that smile. Thank you for

3:15:59being here today. I hope you have fun.

3:16:01While the recipe may be the star of this

3:16:03demonstration, for Pete [music] Nelasco,

3:16:05cooking has always been about something

3:16:07more personal.

3:16:08>> For me, uh, not only the the part about

3:16:11putting it together, but the joy in

3:16:14people's faces when they [music] eat the

3:16:16food, if it's delicious and if you've

3:16:18done it right, when they take that first

3:16:21bite and their face light up, I'd love

3:16:24to bring [music] joy to people's lives.

3:16:26Y'all have fun today at the State Fair,

3:16:28Texas.

3:16:28>> Thank you.

3:16:29>> You're welcome. The joy he finds in

3:16:31cooking can be traced back to his

3:16:33childhood and the woman who first taught

3:16:35him his way around [music] the kitchen.

3:16:37>> My mother was my first culinary teacher.

3:16:40>> It's part of what keeps him passionate

3:16:42about cooking.

3:16:43>> Who here is lazy lazy in the kitchen?

3:16:47Great. This biscuit is for you. [music]

3:16:48>> While also proudly representing the city

3:16:51of Irving.

3:16:51>> I grew up there. uh went to school in at

3:16:54Barton Elementary and then Crockett

3:16:56Junior High and then graduated from

3:16:59Irving High School, home of the Tigers,

3:17:01honor black [music] and gold.

3:17:03>> How you doing, sir?

3:17:04>> Great, thank you.

3:17:06>> While the State Fair of Texas may be

3:17:08known for its fried food and iconic

3:17:10rides, Chef Pete is serving up [music]

3:17:12something more. A love of cooking, a

3:17:14connection to family, and a whole lot of

3:17:17community pride.

3:17:18>> I am so honored to represent Irving

3:17:20here. growing up and and seeing the

3:17:22State Fair of Texas, how big it [music]

3:17:23is, and to be able to showcase what I

3:17:26love here, it's a dream come true.

3:17:28>> So long, Bolts.

3:17:31[music]

3:17:33Your ICTN team produced 35 videos in the

3:17:36month of September. [music]

3:17:40Means a lot to the Irving guys. We take

3:17:41it to heart. It's real special to us.

3:17:43I'm glad that we can be involved in it.

3:17:47We're hoping [music] to spark

3:17:48conversation, connections, make new

3:17:51friends, learn something together.

3:17:53Really hoping to have a shared

3:17:55experience.

3:17:58We [music] can produce things together.

3:18:01The goods, the services,

3:18:04the creative energy that you can have

3:18:07[music] by drawing on all these partners

3:18:09who see the value once they're here.

3:18:15It's a really fun, [music] laid-back

3:18:18movie night with kid activities. It's

3:18:21just a great familyfriendly event.

3:18:26>> We're all about using music for comfort,

3:18:28joy, and healing.

3:18:28>> They have so many different songs that

3:18:30they grew up with, and so we hope to

3:18:32bring that memory back to them.

3:18:33>> I think that's why it's really special

3:18:34to be able to bring it to places like

3:18:36this.

3:18:42We have weavers [music] knitts,

3:18:44crocheters, tatters, punch needle, and

3:18:47you can come [music] here to the Irving

3:18:48Convention Center and you can see it

3:18:50with your hands.

3:18:53[music]

3:18:54>> With this expansion, fleet has grown

3:18:56from 14 vehicle bays to 29, which fleet

3:18:59managers say will make a big difference

3:19:01in operations.

3:19:05And I love it when you can be one-on-one

3:19:07with people, talk to them, and say,

3:19:09"Hey, I need to know more about housing,

3:19:13medical." I mean, there's so much in the

3:19:15community to offer.

3:19:19>> After collecting input from residents

3:19:21and stakeholders, Irving City Council is

3:19:24about to reach the final level, adopting

3:19:27the proposed structurally balanced

3:19:29budget. [music]

3:19:33Anthony Martinez

3:19:35off the middle to the five to the four

3:19:38and to the end zone.

3:19:43Stay up tod date by subscribing to our

3:19:45YouTube channel at youtube.com/the

3:19:49city of Irving.

3:19:55>> [music]

3:19:59>> We're here for the Dragons Love [music]

3:20:01Tacos event.

3:20:05The kids can [music] make three

3:20:06different crafts. They can make a taco.

3:20:12>> They can make a dragon [music] puppet.

3:20:14[crying]

3:20:14>> Oh, wow.

3:20:15>> They can make a dragon card.

3:20:18They have games that they can play.

3:20:20[music] Pin the taco on the dragon. Oh

3:20:22my god. Go

3:20:24>> a Plinko game and earn some taco prizes.

3:20:30>> And we're also going to have a visit

3:20:31from the taco dragon.

3:20:35>> Why I like dragons love tacos is because

3:20:38it's funny and it tells us what the

3:20:41dragons like and if you want to be a

3:20:43friend with a dragon, you the [music]

3:20:45key is to get a taco. We like that book

3:20:48because the dragons really don't like

3:20:51spicy food, but we like spicy [music]

3:20:53food. Right.

3:20:55>> I don't like it.

3:20:56>> You don't like spicy food? But who does?

3:20:59>> Mama.

3:21:00>> Mama loves spicy food. And we always

3:21:02laugh at the dragons.

3:21:04>> You can only imagine what happens when

3:21:05[music] a dragon eats spicy salsa.

3:21:08>> My favorite part was um decorating this

3:21:11dragon puppet. Do you want to show them?

3:21:13Say, look at mine. the kiosk and the

3:21:15circulation. [music]

3:21:16>> That was our favorite part.

3:21:17>> I think I like the wheel to spin where

3:21:19you put a coin and you get a gift. I got

3:21:23all the gifts. [music]

3:21:26>> It means everything. Um like free events

3:21:28on a weekend when we can get out and out

3:21:31of the house and [music] go play. We

3:21:33just have a new baby at home and so

3:21:36getting some time with just my [music]

3:21:38daughter is awesome. And so we get a

3:21:39little mommy daughter play date. I just

3:21:41like to see the kids have fun and

3:21:44hopefully check out a bunch of books to

3:21:46take home and [music] read. [applause]

3:21:49>> Good job. We are here every week for

3:21:52story time. So, we love the programming.

3:21:54I think they do such [music] a good job.

3:21:56Everything is really intentional. I

3:21:57guess it's fun. She loves to dance and

3:21:59sing. It's just a good [music] safe

3:22:01place in the community. So, I'm so

3:22:03grateful for the Irving Library here.

3:22:08from Troy and Ralph Ellis Stadium. It's

3:22:10the ICTN game of the week [music] to the

3:22:1410 [cheering] to the end zone. Wide open

3:22:17call. Touchdown.

3:22:20Touchdown.

3:22:21It is six for the Vikings.

3:22:27[music]

3:22:30And that will do it. [music]

3:22:43Let's go.

3:22:44>> Hundreds coming from all around Irving,

3:22:48braving the high grass to keep Irving

3:22:50beautiful.

3:22:51>> How much trash you going to pick up

3:22:52today?

3:22:52>> Well, you know, a couple years back, we

3:22:54found like a tire and all kinds of

3:22:55different stuff. And so, I'm hoping to

3:22:56match that kind of effort.

3:22:58More than 300 volunteers getting out to

3:23:01keep Irving beautiful during the 35th

3:23:03annual trash bash. Altogether, they're

3:23:06putting in nearly a thousand hours of

3:23:09community service, cleaning up the

3:23:11Northern Campion Trail.

3:23:12>> Yeah, we've been doing this for a long

3:23:14time and it just keeps getting better

3:23:15every year. A lot of people use the

3:23:17trails here, but when they see us with a

3:23:19big event like this, they see what's

3:23:21going on. They'll come over and ask us

3:23:22what's happening, what's going on.

3:23:23>> Then you snap. It will go for miles and

3:23:26miles and miles. I promise you, you will

3:23:28not run out of places to go.

3:23:30>> It's a long trail to cover.

3:23:32>> So, that's how long it's been down here.

3:23:34The grass has grown over it.

3:23:36>> And there's no small amount of litter to

3:23:38find.

3:23:39>> That's a seed as seed decided that was a

3:23:41good spot to grow.

3:23:44>> It's in the hundreds of pounds of trash

3:23:46and recycle. Sometimes we get up into

3:23:48the tons.

3:23:48>> All right. N 2. truly a community

3:23:52banding together with volunteers coming

3:23:54from schools and clubs even down to just

3:23:57families with bags.

3:23:58>> I'm rocking the Irving Ambassadors

3:24:00jersey, but I'm I'm working with my

3:24:02church group. And then I see my

3:24:03employers are here as well with some

3:24:04volunteers. So, all kinds of different

3:24:06community organizations are here.

3:24:08>> And for some volunteers, doing their

3:24:10part for Irving means doing their part

3:24:12for the world.

3:24:13>> I'm from Nepal and last month only

3:24:16nearly 2,000 people died because of the

3:24:19disaster. So environment is very

3:24:21important and we have to do it and that

3:24:23is the reason we are here to support the

3:24:25city of Urban Keep Urban Beautiful

3:24:27program.

3:24:29>> With every trash and recycling bag

3:24:31hitting the dumpsters, Irvingites are

3:24:34keeping the city beautiful for another

3:24:36year. It

3:24:37>> sends a message that you care about what

3:24:38your street looks like, what your

3:24:40neighborhood looks like.

3:24:40>> But it's our community and it doesn't

3:24:42matter if you're north Irving or South

3:24:44Irving. You know, we all come out and

3:24:45take care of each other.

3:24:46>> For City Source, I'm Nick Lton.

3:24:55A longtime Irving favorite is starting a

3:24:58new chapter. Argentina Bakery recently

3:25:01moved into a brand new location just a

3:25:03mile from its former [music] spot. Still

3:25:05in Irving on the north side of Highway

3:25:07183 and the Beltline Road exit. The

3:25:10bakery became a local [music] gathering

3:25:12spot during this year's FIFA World Cup

3:25:14with fans packing the restaurant to

3:25:16watch Argentina and other matches. The

3:25:19larger space is built for moments like

3:25:21those with plenty of comfortable

3:25:22seating, an extensive bar,

3:25:26TVs for games, and an expanded menu.

3:25:29Since 2003, Argentina Bakery has been

3:25:32making traditional Argentine breads,

3:25:34pastries, [music]

3:25:35baked empanadas, and more from scratch.

3:25:39After more than two decades in the

3:25:40community, Argentina Bakery's goal

3:25:42remains the same, honoring its culture

3:25:45and sharing those flavors with everyone

3:25:47who walks through the door. [music]

3:25:49>> Enjoy free admission for the month of

3:25:51October to the Irving Archives and

3:25:52Museum, thanks to Visit Irving. History

3:25:55on the House showcases how visitors to

3:25:56Irving help make community amenities

3:25:58like the museum [music] possible. Visit

3:26:00Irving is also donating a piece of the

3:26:02Irving Convention Center's copper

3:26:04exterior to the museum for a future

3:26:05exhibit. Learn more at the reception on

3:26:08October 8th at 6 [music] p.m. This

3:26:10container will be transformed into a

3:26:12Main Street Plaza pop-up shop this

3:26:14[music] fall. Each week, discover a

3:26:16small business featuring seasonal

3:26:17treats, gifts, or locally made products.

3:26:20The Friday evening pop-ups run from

3:26:21October 9th through December 11th,

3:26:23[music] starting at 5:00 p.m. Enjoy an

3:26:26afternoon exploring the people, places,

3:26:28and stories that shape one of Dallas

3:26:29County's oldest African-American

3:26:31communities at Bear Creek Community

3:26:32[music] Day. While you're here, stop by

3:26:34the Irving Public Library. popup for a

3:26:37free copy of 1776 by David McCulla, part

3:26:40of the NEA Big Reed. Follow the history

3:26:42on Saturday, October 10th [music] at 1

3:26:44p.m. at Jackie Townale Bear Creek

3:26:46Heritage Center.

3:26:48>> I knew this day would come and you would

3:26:52find your way. [singing]

3:26:54At last, my dream comes true. I knew. I

3:26:58knew. I knew

3:27:01it would be.

3:27:08This musical is basically about how

3:27:10Shrek is trying to find his place cuz

3:27:13he's like always been like overlooked

3:27:16cuz everybody thinks he's a mean ogre.

3:27:18>> Whenever an angry [music] mob came to

3:27:19burn him along at the steak, he knew

3:27:21exactly what to do.

3:27:25[laughter]

3:27:27and a [music] princess who's locked in

3:27:28the tower because she was also outcasted

3:27:31for a curse that was set on her.

3:27:34>> One fateful day, her parents sat her

3:27:36down and told her it was time for her to

3:27:38be locked in a desolate tower guarded by

3:27:40a fireb breathing dragon as so many

3:27:42prisons had for hundreds of years

3:27:44before.

3:27:45>> They come together and they find their

3:27:46place together with a bunch of fairy

3:27:48tale characters.

3:27:49>> Listen here, poker. We don't want to be

3:27:51here any more than you want us here. But

3:27:54you're the only one tough enough to

3:27:55stand up to that Flimmer Flammer

3:27:57Farquad.

3:27:58>> Tough enough? You don't even know me.

3:28:00>> Young Fiona, this is her first year

3:28:02being locked in a tower and she's just

3:28:05waiting for her prince to come and save

3:28:08her.

3:28:09>> Darling, don't be sad. A tower's not so

3:28:12bad.

3:28:13>> Just keep waiting.

3:28:14>> Just keep waiting. [singing]

3:28:17and someday

3:28:19your prince will come.

3:28:21>> I love being part of Irving Youth

3:28:23Theater because of how many friendships

3:28:25I've made and how everybody in this

3:28:28whole like cast like is so kind.

3:28:31>> The people and the bonds I've built with

3:28:33them have really helped and it's kind of

3:28:37drawn me out of my comfort zone and made

3:28:39me do things that otherwise I would

3:28:41never done, never would have never left

3:28:43my house. But thanks to them, I'm more

3:28:46outgoing, more talkative, and it's just

3:28:49kind of like a joy to be around them.

3:28:51>> Oh, it's you. Run, run, run as fast as

3:28:54you can. You can't catch me. I'm the

3:28:56gingerbread man.

3:28:57>> Look what you've [laughter] done to my

3:28:58legs.

3:28:59>> Having people who were very community-

3:29:02based and very like supportive of one

3:29:04another was such a great experience.

3:29:07>> [music]

3:29:07>> He [singing] likes a big big girl.

3:29:10>> I think theater is beneficial because it

3:29:13like helps people find relationships and

3:29:17be more outgoing.

3:29:19>> Wake [screaming] up.

3:29:20>> You get to express yourself and you

3:29:22don't just have to be yourself. You can

3:29:24be you're not yourself on stage. You're

3:29:26these characters and you get to be many

3:29:29different things.

3:29:30>> It builds your character and it builds

3:29:31who you are as a person. It kind of sets

3:29:33you up for success later in life.

3:29:42>> [cheering]

3:29:45>> Are [music] you ready for some marching

3:29:48bands

3:29:49this season? In addition to five nights

3:29:51of Irving High School football, ICTN is

3:29:54live streaming homecoming festivities.

3:29:57>> Let's give one final round of applause

3:29:59for the 2026

3:30:01Homecoming Court Royalty King and Queen.

3:30:05band and drill team performances. Head

3:30:08to YouTube at the city of Irving for

3:30:10every game to see the halftime action.

3:30:16[applause] It's all about showing

3:30:17results at District 6 council member

3:30:19Fahad Ahmed's first town hall meeting.

3:30:22The more than three dozen residents

3:30:24there are seeing upgrade plans for the

3:30:26Simon Park aquatic facility and

3:30:29animation of what the future Mustang

3:30:32Park multigenerational facility will

3:30:34look like when it's finished.

3:30:36>> We're doing such great work at the city.

3:30:37The staff is doing amazing work. It

3:30:40doesn't always make it to the public and

3:30:43that's when they start asking question

3:30:44like hey where's my money going? But

3:30:46when they see this Simron Park updates

3:30:48going on, Mustang Park updates going on

3:30:50makes us feel good. makes us feel

3:30:52informed and today was just that.

3:30:54>> The town hall also addressing property

3:30:57crime and how residents can protect

3:30:58themselves even when it comes to the

3:31:00security latches on their doors.

3:31:03>> Most of the time there's little bitty

3:31:04screws that come with them about this

3:31:06long and that's not long enough. I'm not

3:31:08a large person. I can kick your door in

3:31:10if you have this on your front door,

3:31:12even if you have a deadbolt in it. This

3:31:13is what you want. You want a 3 to 4 in

3:31:15screw because this is going to go not

3:31:17only through the door frame, it's going

3:31:19to go actually into the framing of your

3:31:21home.

3:31:21>> And there's plenty of time for questions

3:31:23from residents.

3:31:25>> What if I if I fall in my house and I'm

3:31:27able to call 911? How are they going to

3:31:30get in the police? How would they get

3:31:32in?

3:31:33>> If you're calling 911 and we know that

3:31:35you're inside, we have breaching tools,

3:31:37specialized tools that we can get

3:31:39through any of those doors. We are

3:31:41having them talk directly to the folks

3:31:43that are actually doing the work and

3:31:45they want that. They really like it.

3:31:46>> Council member Ahmed calls the town hall

3:31:49a success and promises more to come. A

3:31:52sentiment echoed by Irving state

3:31:54representatives in attendance.

3:31:55>> I wanted to be here during session. I'm

3:31:57going to be taking a lot of what we

3:31:59heard here at this town hall with me and

3:32:01being able to explain that to my

3:32:04colleagues and letting them know that we

3:32:06really need to take a closer look. One

3:32:07of the biggest goal I had for today was

3:32:09for neighbors to connect. I'm trying to

3:32:11create a vibe in the neighborhood where

3:32:13everybody gets to know each other and

3:32:15that goal was met today.

3:32:16>> For City Source, I'm Nick L.

3:32:18>> If you guys have any questions, please

3:32:20feel free to call. Thank you.

3:32:23>> The State Fair of Texas is a Texas

3:32:25tradition.

3:32:26>> Howdy, folks.

3:32:27>> For thousands of visitors, the food is a

3:32:29big part of that experience, [music] and

3:32:31there's an Irving connection helping

3:32:33bring some of that food to life.

3:32:36>> Hello, Chef. Oh, I'm digging that hat.

3:32:38>> I came all the way from Copenhagen,

3:32:39Denmark.

3:32:40>> Oh my goodness. Welcome. Our first demo

3:32:43is the red, white, [music] and blueberry

3:32:46swim biscuit. These biscuits today are

3:32:48designed to commemorate the 250 year

3:32:52anniversary of our country. And swim

3:32:54biscuits meaning that they actually

3:32:56cooked in butter. They're swimming in

3:32:59butter. They're They're delicious.

3:33:01>> Swimming in butter, baby. For the past 3

3:33:04years, Chef Pete has served as the

3:33:05fair's resident chef, cooking up three

3:33:08[music] different demonstrations a day

3:33:10throughout the fair's 24-day run.

3:33:12>> 11:30 is biscuits, [music] 1:30 is

3:33:15shrimp, and 3:30 is beef. There's a

3:33:17quick turnaround. It's fast-paced, but

3:33:19it's tons of fun. Hi, how you doing

3:33:21today?

3:33:22>> Good. How are you?

3:33:23>> Great. Look at that smile. Thank you for

3:33:25being here today. I hope you have fun.

3:33:26While the recipe may be the star of this

3:33:29demonstration, for Pete Nelasco, [music]

3:33:31cooking has always been about something

3:33:33more personal.

3:33:34>> For me, uh, not only the the part about

3:33:37putting it together, but the joy in

3:33:40people's faces [music] when they eat the

3:33:42food, if it's delicious and if you've

3:33:44done it right, when they take that first

3:33:47bite [music] and their face light up,

3:33:49I'd love to bring joy to people's lives.

3:33:52Y'all have fun today at the State Fair,

3:33:54Texas.

3:33:54>> Thank you.

3:33:54>> You're welcome. The joy he finds in

3:33:57cooking can be traced [music] back to

3:33:58his childhood and the woman who first

3:34:00taught him his way around the kitchen.

3:34:02>> My mother was my first culinary teacher.

3:34:06>> It's part of what keeps him passionate

3:34:08about [music] cooking.

3:34:09>> Who here is lazy lazy in the kitchen?

3:34:12Great. This biscuit is for you.

3:34:14>> While also proudly representing the city

3:34:16of Irving.

3:34:17>> I grew up there. [music] uh went to

3:34:19school in at Barton Elementary and then

3:34:22Crockett Junior High and then graduated

3:34:24from Irving [music] High School, home of

3:34:26the Tigers, honored black and gold.

3:34:29>> How you doing, sir?

3:34:30>> Great. Thank you.

3:34:31>> While the State Fair of Texas may be

3:34:33known for its fried food and iconic

3:34:35rides, Chef Pete is serving up something

3:34:38more. A love of cooking, a connection to

3:34:41family, and a whole lot of community

3:34:43pride.

3:34:44>> I am so honored to represent Irving

3:34:46here. growing up and and seeing the

3:34:48State Fair of Texas, how big it is, and

3:34:50to be able to showcase what I love here,

3:34:52it's a dream [music] come true.

3:34:53>> So long, folks.

3:34:58[music]

3:34:58Your ICTN team produced 35 videos in the

3:35:02month of September. [music]

3:35:05Means a lot to the Irving guys. We take

3:35:07it to heart. It's real special to us.

3:35:08[music] I'm I'm glad that we can be

3:35:10involved in it.

3:35:13We're hoping to spark conversation,

3:35:14[music]

3:35:15connections, make new friends, learn

3:35:18something together. Really hoping to

3:35:20have a shared [music] experience.

3:35:24We can produce things together. The

3:35:27goods, the services,

3:35:30the creative energy that you can have by

3:35:33drawing on all these partners who see

3:35:36the value once they're here.

3:35:41It's a really fun, laid-back [music]

3:35:44movie night with kid activities. It's

3:35:46just a great familyfriendly event.

3:35:51>> We're all about using music for comfort,

3:35:53joy, and healing.

3:35:54>> They have so many different songs that

3:35:56they grew up with and so we hope to

3:35:57bring that memory back to them.

3:35:59>> I think that's why it's really special

3:36:00to be able to bring it to places like

3:36:02this. [music]

3:36:08We have weavers, knitts, crocheters,

3:36:10tatters, [music]

3:36:11punch needle, and you can come here to

3:36:14the Irving Convention Center and you can

3:36:15see it with [music] your hands.

3:36:19With this expansion, fleet has grown

3:36:22from 14 vehicle bays to 29, which fleet

3:36:25managers say will make a big difference

3:36:27in operations. [music]

3:36:31And I love it when you can be one-on-one

3:36:33with people, talk to them, and say,

3:36:35"Hey, I need to know more about housing,

3:36:38medical." I mean, there's so much in the

3:36:41community to offer.

3:36:45>> After collecting input from residents

3:36:47and stakeholders, Irving City Council is

3:36:50about to reach the final level, adopting

3:36:53the proposed structurally balanced

3:36:55budget.

3:36:59Anthony Martinez

3:37:01up the middle to the five to the four

3:37:04and to the end zone.

3:37:09Stay up tod date by subscribing to our

3:37:11YouTube channel at youtube.com/the

3:37:12[music]

3:37:14city of Irving.

3:37:19[music]

3:37:25>> [music]

3:37:25>> We're here for the Dragons Love Tacos

3:37:27event.

3:37:31[music] The kids can make three

3:37:32different crafts. They can make a taco.

3:37:37>> They can make a dragon puppet.

3:37:40>> Oh, wow.

3:37:41>> They can make a dragon card. [music]

3:37:44They have games that they can play. Pin

3:37:46the taco on the dragon.

3:37:48>> Oh my god. go

3:37:50>> a Plinko game and earn some taco prizes.

3:37:55>> And we're also going to have a visit

3:37:57from the taco dragon.

3:38:01>> Why I like dragons love tacos is because

3:38:03it's funny and it tells us what the

3:38:07dragons like and if you want to be a

3:38:09friend with a dragon, [music] you the

3:38:11key is to get a taco. We like that book

3:38:14because the dragons really don't [music]

3:38:16like spicy food, but we like spicy food.

3:38:20Right.

3:38:21>> I don't like it.

3:38:22>> You don't like spicy food? But who does?

3:38:25>> Mama.

3:38:26>> Mama loves spicy food. And we always

3:38:28laugh at the dragons. [music]

3:38:30>> You can only imagine what happens when a

3:38:31dragon eats spicy salsa.

3:38:34>> My favorite part was um [music]

3:38:36decorating this dragon puppet. Do you

3:38:38want to show them? Say, look at mine.

3:38:40the kiosk and the circulation.

3:38:42>> That was our favorite part.

3:38:43>> I [music] think I like the wheel to spin

3:38:45where you put a coin and you get a gift.

3:38:48I got all the gifts. [music]

3:38:52>> It means everything. Um like free events

3:38:54on a weekend when we can get out and out

3:38:57of the house and go [music] play. We

3:38:59just have a new baby at home and so

3:39:01getting some time with just my daughter

3:39:04is awesome. And so we get a little mommy

3:39:06daughter play date. I just like to

3:39:07[music] see the kids have fun and

3:39:10hopefully check out a bunch of books to

3:39:11take home and read.

3:39:15>> Good job. We are here every week [music]

3:39:17for story time. So, we love the

3:39:20programming. I think they do such a good

3:39:21job. Everything is really intentional. I

3:39:23guess it's fun. She loves to dance

3:39:24[music] and sing. It's just a good safe

3:39:27place in the community. So, I'm so

3:39:28grateful for the Irving Library here

3:39:34from Troy and Ralph Ellis Stadium. And

3:39:36it's the ICTN game of the week. [music]

3:39:40To the 10 to the end zone. Wide open

3:39:43call. Touchdown.

3:39:46Touchdown.

3:39:47It is six for the Vikings.

3:39:50[music]

3:39:55And that will do it.

3:39:59[music]

3:40:08Let's go.

3:40:10>> Hundreds coming from all around Irving,

3:40:13braving the high grass to keep Irving

3:40:16beautiful.

3:40:17>> How much trash you going to pick up

3:40:18today?

3:40:18>> Well, you know, a couple years back, we

3:40:19found like a tire and all kinds of

3:40:21different stuff. And so, I'm hoping to

3:40:22match that kind of effort.

3:40:24>> More than 300 volunteers getting out to

3:40:26keep Irving beautiful during the 35th

3:40:29annual trash bash. Altogether, they're

3:40:32putting in nearly a thousand hours of

3:40:34community service, cleaning up the

3:40:36Northern Campion Trail.

3:40:38>> Yeah, we've been doing this for a long

3:40:39time, and it just keeps getting better

3:40:41every year. A lot of people use the

3:40:43trails here, but when they see us with a

3:40:44big event like this, they see what's

3:40:46going on. They'll come over and ask us

3:40:48what's happening, what's going on.

3:40:49>> Then you stop.

3:40:51>> It will go for miles and miles and

3:40:53miles. I promise you, you will not run

3:40:55out of places to go.

3:40:56>> It's a long trail to cover.

3:40:58>> Yeah. So, that's how long it's been down

3:40:59here. The grass has grown over it.

3:41:01>> And there's no small amount of litter to

3:41:04find.

3:41:04>> That's a seed. A seed decided that was a

3:41:07good spot to grow.

3:41:09>> It's in the hundreds of pounds of trash

3:41:11and recycle. Sometimes we get up into

3:41:13the tons.

3:41:14>> All right. N 3 2 1.

3:41:16>> Truly a community banding together with

3:41:19volunteers coming from schools and

3:41:21clubs, even down to just families with

3:41:23bags.

3:41:24>> I'm rocking the Irving Ambassadors

3:41:25jersey, but I'm I'm working with my

3:41:27church group. And then I see my

3:41:29employers are here as well with some

3:41:30volunteers. So all kinds of different

3:41:32community organizations are here.

3:41:33>> And for some volunteers, doing their

3:41:35part for Irving means doing their part

3:41:38for the world.

3:41:39>> I'm from Nepal and last month only

3:41:42nearly 2,000 people died because of the

3:41:44disaster. So environment is very

3:41:46important and we have to do it and that

3:41:49is the reason we are here to support the

3:41:51city of Urban Keep Urban Beautiful

3:41:53program.

3:41:55>> With every trash and recycling bag

3:41:57hitting the dumpsters, Irvingites are

3:42:00keeping the city beautiful for another

3:42:02year. It

3:42:03>> sends a message that you care about what

3:42:04your street looks like, what your

3:42:05neighborhood looks like,

3:42:06>> but it's our community and it doesn't

3:42:08matter if you're North Irving or South

3:42:09Irving. You know, we all come out and

3:42:11take care of each other.

3:42:12>> For City Source, I'm Nick Lton.

3:42:16>> [music]

3:42:21>> A longtime Irving favorite is starting a

3:42:23new chapter. Argentina Bakery recently

3:42:26moved into a brand new location just a

3:42:29[music] mile from its former spot. Still

3:42:31in Irving on the north side of Highway

3:42:33183 and the Beltline Road exit. The

3:42:36bakery became a local gathering spot

3:42:38during this year's FIFA World Cup

3:42:40[music] with fans packing the restaurant

3:42:42to watch Argentina and other matches.

3:42:44The larger space is built [music] for

3:42:46moments like those with plenty of

3:42:48comfortable seating, an extensive bar,

3:42:52TVs for games, and [music] an expanded

3:42:54menu. Since 2003, Argentina Bakery has

3:42:57been making traditional Argentine

3:42:59breads, [music] pastries, baked

3:43:01empanadas, and more from scratch.

3:43:04After more than two decades in the

3:43:06community, Argentina Bakery's goal

3:43:08remains the same, honoring its culture

3:43:10[music] and sharing those flavors with

3:43:12everyone who walks through the door.

3:43:15Enjoy free admission for the month of

3:43:17October to the Irving Archives and

3:43:18Museum, [music] thanks to Visit Irving.

3:43:20History on the House showcases how

3:43:22visitors to Irving help make community

3:43:24amenities like the museum possible.

3:43:25[music]

3:43:26Visit Irving is also donating a piece of

3:43:28the Irving Convention Center's copper

3:43:29exterior to the museum for a future

3:43:31exhibit. Learn more at the reception on

3:43:33October 8th at 6 p.m. This container

3:43:37will be transformed [music] into a Main

3:43:38Street Plaza pop-up shop this fall. Each

3:43:41week, discover a small business

3:43:42featuring seasonal treats, gifts, or

3:43:44locally made products. [music] The

3:43:46Friday evening pop-ups run from October

3:43:489th through December 11th, starting at

3:43:505:00 p.m. Enjoy an afternoon [music]

3:43:52exploring the people, places, and

3:43:54stories that shape one of Dallas

3:43:55County's oldest African-American

3:43:57communities at Bear Creek Community Day.

3:43:59While you're here, stop by the Irving

3:44:01Public Library. popup [music] for a free

3:44:02copy of 1776 by David McCulla, part of

3:44:05the NEA Big Reed. Follow the history on

3:44:08Saturday, [music] October 10th at 1 p.m.

3:44:10at Jackie Townale, Bear Creek Heritage

3:44:13Center.

3:44:14>> I knew this day would come and you would

3:44:18find your way.

3:44:20At last, my dream comes true. I knew I

3:44:24knew

3:44:26it would be.

3:44:33This musical is basically about how

3:44:36Shrek is trying to find his place cuz

3:44:39he's like always been like overlooked

3:44:41cuz everybody thinks he's a mean ogre.

3:44:44>> Whenever an angry mob came to burn him

3:44:46along to the steak, he knew exactly what

3:44:48to do.

3:44:51[laughter]

3:44:52and a princess who's locked in a tower

3:44:55because she was also outcasted for a

3:44:58curse that was set on her.

3:45:00>> One fateful day, her parents sat her

3:45:02down and told her it was time for her to

3:45:04be locked in a desolate tower guarded by

3:45:06a fireb breathing dragon as so many

3:45:08prisons had for hundreds of years

3:45:10before.

3:45:10>> They come together and they find their

3:45:12place together with a bunch of fairy

3:45:13tale characters.

3:45:14>> Listen here, poker. We don't want to be

3:45:17here any more than you want us here. But

3:45:19you're the only one tough enough to

3:45:21stand up to that flimmer flammer farad.

3:45:23>> Tough enough? You don't even know me.

3:45:26>> Young Fiona, this is her first year

3:45:28being locked in a tower and she's just

3:45:31waiting for her prince to come and save

3:45:34her.

3:45:34>> Darling, don't be sad. [singing] A

3:45:36tower's not so bad.

3:45:38>> Just keep waiting.

3:45:40>> Just keep waiting. [singing]

3:45:42and someday

3:45:45your prince will come.

3:45:47>> I love being part of Irving Youth

3:45:48Theater because of how many friendships

3:45:51I've made and how everybody in this

3:45:54whole like cast like is so kind.

3:45:57>> The people and the bonds I've built with

3:45:59them have really helped and it's kind of

3:46:03drawn me out of my comfort zone and made

3:46:05me do things that otherwise I would

3:46:07never done, never would have never left

3:46:09my house. But thanks to them, I'm more

3:46:12outgoing, more talkative, and it's just

3:46:14kind of like a joy to be around them.

3:46:17>> Oh, it's you. Run, run, run as fast as

3:46:19you can. You can't catch me. I'm that

3:46:22gingerbread man.

3:46:23>> Look what you've done to my legs.

3:46:25>> Having people who were very community-

3:46:28based and very like supportive of one

3:46:30another was such a great experience.

3:46:32[music] He [singing] likes a big big

3:46:35girl.

3:46:36>> I think theater is beneficial because it

3:46:38like helps people find relationships and

3:46:43be more outgoing.

3:46:45[screaming]

3:46:46>> You get to express yourself and you

3:46:48don't just have to be yourself. You can

3:46:50be you're not yourself on stage. You're

3:46:52these characters and you get to be many

3:46:54different things.

3:46:55>> It builds your character and it builds

3:46:57who you are as a person. It kind of sets

3:46:59you up for success later in life.

3:47:08>> [cheering]

3:47:11>> Are you ready for some marching bands

3:47:15>> this season? In addition to five nights

3:47:17of Irving High School football, ICTN is

3:47:20live streaming homecoming festivities.

3:47:22>> Let's give one final round of applause

3:47:25for the 2026

3:47:27Homecoming Court Royalty King and Queen.

3:47:31plus band and drill team performances.

3:47:33Head to YouTube at the city of Irving

3:47:36for every game to see the halftime

3:47:38action.

3:47:41[applause] It's all about showing

3:47:43results at District 6 Council member

3:47:45Fahad Ahmed's first town hall meeting.

3:47:48The more than three dozen residents

3:47:50there are seeing upgrade plans for the

3:47:52Simmeron Park aquatic facility and

3:47:54animation of what the future Mustang

3:47:57Park multigenerational facility will

3:47:59look like when it's finished.

3:48:01>> We're doing such great work at the city.

3:48:03The staff is doing amazing work. It

3:48:06doesn't always make it to the public and

3:48:09that's when they start asking question

3:48:10like hey where's my money going? When

3:48:12they see this Simron Park updates going

3:48:14on, Mustang Park updates going on makes

3:48:16us feel good. makes us feel informed and

3:48:19today was just that.

3:48:20>> The town hall also addressing property

3:48:22crime and how residents can protect

3:48:24themselves even when it comes to the

3:48:26security latches on their doors.

3:48:28>> Most of the time there's little bitty

3:48:30screws that come with them about this

3:48:31long and that's not long enough. I'm not

3:48:34a large person. I can kick your door in

3:48:36if you have this on your front door,

3:48:37even if you have a deadbolt in it. This

3:48:39is what you want. You want a three to

3:48:40four inch screw because this is going to

3:48:43go not only through the door frame, it's

3:48:45going to go actually into the framing of

3:48:46your home.

3:48:47>> And there's plenty of time for questions

3:48:49from residents.

3:48:50>> What if I if I fall in my house and I'm

3:48:53able to call 911? How are they going to

3:48:56get in the police? How would they get

3:48:58in?

3:48:59>> If you're calling 911 and we know that

3:49:01you're inside, we have breaching tools,

3:49:03specialized tools that we can get

3:49:05through any of those doors. We are

3:49:06having them talk directly to the folks

3:49:09that are actually doing the work and

3:49:10they want that. They really like it.

3:49:12>> Council member Ahmed calls the town hall

3:49:14a success and promises more to come. A

3:49:17sentiment echoed by Irving state

3:49:19representatives in attendance.

3:49:21>> I wanted to be here during session. I'm

3:49:23going to be taking a lot of what we

3:49:24heard here at this town hall with me and

3:49:27being able to explain that to my

3:49:29colleagues and letting them know that we

3:49:31really need to take a closer look. One

3:49:33of the biggest goal I had for today was

3:49:35for neighbors to connect. I'm trying to

3:49:37create a vibe in the neighborhood where

3:49:39everybody gets to know each other and

3:49:41that goal was met today.

3:49:42>> For City Source, I'm Nick Law.

3:49:44>> If you guys have any questions, please

3:49:46feel free to tell. Thank you.

3:49:48>> The State Fair of Texas is a Texas

3:49:51tradition.

3:49:51>> Howdy folks.

3:49:53>> For thousands of visitors, the food is a

3:49:55big part of that experience. And there's

3:49:57an Irving connection helping bring some

3:49:59of that food to life.

3:50:01>> Hi.

3:50:01>> Hello, Chef. Oh, I'm digging that hat.

3:50:03>> I came all the way from Copenhagen,

3:50:05Denmark.

3:50:06>> Oh my goodness. Welcome. Our first demo

3:50:09is the red, white, and blueberry swim

3:50:12[music] biscuit. These biscuits today

3:50:14are designed to commemorate the 250 year

3:50:18anniversary of our country. And swim

3:50:20biscuits meaning that they actually

3:50:22cooked in butter. They're swimming in

3:50:25butter. They're They're delicious.

3:50:27Swimming in butter, baby. For the

3:50:29[music] past three years, Chef Pete has

3:50:31served as the fair's resident chef,

3:50:33cooking up three different

3:50:34demonstrations a day [music] throughout

3:50:36the fair's 24-day run.

3:50:38>> 11:30 is biscuits, 1:30 is shrimp, and

3:50:413:30 is beef. [music] There's a quick

3:50:43turnaround. It's fast-paced, but it's

3:50:45tons of fun. Hi, how you doing today?

3:50:48>> Good. How are you?

3:50:49>> Great. Look at that smile. Thank you for

3:50:50being here today. I hope you have fun.

3:50:52While the recipe may be the star of this

3:50:54demonstration, for Pete Nelasco, cooking

3:50:57has always been about something more

3:50:59[music] personal.

3:51:00>> For me, uh, not only the the part about

3:51:03putting it together, but the joy in

3:51:06people's faces when they [music] eat the

3:51:08food, if it's delicious and if you've

3:51:10done it right, when they take that first

3:51:12bite and [music] their face light up,

3:51:15I'd love to bring joy to people's lives.

3:51:18Y'all have fun today at the State Fair

3:51:19of Texas.

3:51:20>> Thank you.

3:51:20>> You're welcome. The [music] joy he finds

3:51:22in cooking can be traced back to his

3:51:24childhood and the woman who first taught

3:51:26him his way around the kitchen.

3:51:28>> My mother was my first culinary teacher.

3:51:32>> It's part of what keeps him [music]

3:51:33passionate about cooking.

3:51:35>> Who here is lazy lazy in the kitchen?

3:51:38Great. This biscuit is for you.

3:51:40>> While also proudly representing the city

3:51:42of Irving. [music]

3:51:43>> I grew up there. went to school in at

3:51:46Barton Elementary and then Crockett

3:51:48Junior High and then graduated from

3:51:50Irving High School, home of the Tigers,

3:51:53honored [music] black and gold.

3:51:55>> How you doing, sir?

3:51:55>> Great, thank you.

3:51:57>> While the State Fair of Texas may be

3:51:59known for its fried [music] food and

3:52:01iconic rides, Chef Pete is serving up

3:52:03something more. A love of cooking, a

3:52:06connection to [music] family, and a

3:52:08whole lot of community pride.

3:52:10>> I am so honored to represent Irving

3:52:11here. growing up and and seeing the

3:52:13State Fair of Texas, [music] how big it

3:52:15is, and to be able to showcase what I

3:52:17love here, it's a dream come true.

3:52:19>> So, all

3:52:23[music]

3:52:24your ICTN team produced 35 videos in the

3:52:27month of September. [music]

3:52:31Means a lot to the Irving guys. We take

3:52:33it to heart. It's real special to us.

3:52:34I'm I'm glad that we can be involved in

3:52:36it.

3:52:39We're hoping to spark [music]

3:52:40conversation, connections, make new

3:52:42friends, learn something together.

3:52:45Really hoping to have a [music] shared

3:52:46experience.

3:52:50We can produce things together. [music]

3:52:52The goods, the services,

3:52:55the creative energy that you can have by

3:52:59drawing on all these partners who see

3:53:01the value once they're here.

3:53:07It's a really fun, laid-back movie night

3:53:10with kid activities. It's just a [music]

3:53:13great familyfriendly event.

3:53:17>> We're all about using music for comfort,

3:53:19joy, and healing.

3:53:20>> They have so many different songs that

3:53:21they grew up with, and so we hope to

3:53:23bring that memory back to them.

3:53:25>> I think that's why it's really special

3:53:26to be able to bring it to places like

3:53:27this. [music]

3:53:33We have weavers, [music] knitts,

3:53:35crocheters, tatters, punch needle, and

3:53:38you can come here to the Irving

3:53:40Convention Center and you can see it

3:53:42with your hands.

3:53:45With this expansion, fleet has grown

3:53:47from 14 vehicle bays to 29, which fleet

3:53:51managers say will make a big difference

3:53:53in operations.

3:53:57And I love it when you can be one-on-one

3:53:59with people, talk to them, and say,

3:54:01"Hey, I need to know more about housing,

3:54:04medical." I mean, there's so much in the

3:54:07community to offer.

3:54:11>> After collecting input from residents

3:54:13and stakeholders, Irving City Council is

3:54:16about to reach the [music] final level,

3:54:18adopting the proposed structurally

3:54:20balanced budget.

3:54:24Anthony Martinez

3:54:26off the middle to the five to the four

3:54:29and to the end zone.

3:54:34Stay up tod date by subscribing [music]

3:54:36to our YouTube channel at

3:54:38youtube.com/the

3:54:40city of Irving.

3:54:44[music]

3:54:51>> [music]

3:54:51>> We're here for the Dragons Love Tacos

3:54:53event.

3:54:56[music]

3:54:56The kids can make three different

3:54:58crafts. They can make a taco.

3:55:03>> They can make a dragon [music] puppet.

3:55:05>> Oh, wow.

3:55:06>> They can make a dragon card.

3:55:10They [music] have games that they can

3:55:11play. Pin the taco on the dragon. Oh my

3:55:14god. Go

3:55:16>> a Plinko game and earn some taco prizes.

3:55:21>> And we're also going to have a visit

3:55:23from the taco dragon.

3:55:26>> Why I like dragons love tacos is because

3:55:29it's funny and it tells us what the

3:55:33dragons like and if you want to be

3:55:35[music] a friend with a dragon, you the

3:55:37key is to get a taco. We like that book

3:55:40because the dragons really don't like

3:55:43spicy food, [music] but we like spicy

3:55:45food, right?

3:55:47>> I don't like it.

3:55:48>> You don't like spicy food? But who does?

3:55:51>> Mama.

3:55:51>> Mama loves spicy food. And we always

3:55:54[music] laugh at the dragons.

3:55:55>> You can only imagine what happens when a

3:55:57dragon eats spicy salsa.

3:56:00>> My favorite part was um decorating

3:56:02[music] this dragon puppet. Do you want

3:56:04to show them? Say, look at mine. the

3:56:06kiosk and the circulation.

3:56:08>> That was our favorite part.

3:56:09>> I think I like the wheel to spin where

3:56:11you put a coin [music] and you get a

3:56:13gift. I got all the gifts.

3:56:18>> It means everything. Um like free events

3:56:20on a weekend [music] when we can get out

3:56:22and out of the house and go play. We

3:56:25just have a new baby at home and so

3:56:27getting some [music] time with just my

3:56:29daughter is awesome. And so we get a

3:56:31little mommy daughter play date. I just

3:56:33like to see the kids have fun and

3:56:35hopefully [music] check out a bunch of

3:56:37books to take home and read.

3:56:40>> Good job. We are here every week for

3:56:43story time. [music] So, we love the

3:56:45programming. I think they do such a good

3:56:47job. Everything is really intentional. I

3:56:49guess it's fun. She loves to dance and

3:56:51sing. It's just a good [music] safe

3:56:52place in the community. So, I'm so

3:56:54grateful for the Irving Library here.

3:57:00>> From Troy and Ralph Ellis Stadium. It's

3:57:02the ICTN game of the week. [music] To

3:57:06the 10 to the end zone. Wide open call.

3:57:09Touchdown.

3:57:11Touchdown.

3:57:13It is six for the Vikings. [music]

3:57:21And that will do it. [music]

3:57:34Let's go.

3:57:36>> Hundreds coming from all around Irving,

3:57:39braving the high grass to keep Irving

3:57:42beautiful.

3:57:42>> How much trash you going to pick up

3:57:44today?

3:57:44>> Well, you know, a couple years back, we

3:57:45found like a tire and all kinds of

3:57:46different stuff. And so, I'm hoping to

3:57:48match that kind of effort.

3:57:50>> More than 300 volunteers getting out to

3:57:52keep Irving beautiful during the 35th

3:57:55annual trash bash. Altogether, they're

3:57:58putting in nearly a thousand hours of

3:58:00community service, cleaning up the

3:58:02Northern Campion Trail.

3:58:04>> Yeah, we've been doing this for a long

3:58:05time, and it just keeps getting better

3:58:07every year. A lot of people use the

3:58:09trails here, but when they see us with a

3:58:10big event like this, they see what's

3:58:12going on, they'll come over and ask us

3:58:13what's happening, what's going on.

3:58:15>> Then you snap.

3:58:17>> It will go for miles and miles and

3:58:19miles. I promise you, you will not run

3:58:20out of places to go. It's a long trail

3:58:23to cover.

3:58:23>> Yeah. So, that's how long it's been down

3:58:25here. The grass has grown over it.

3:58:27>> And there's no small amount of litter to

3:58:30find.

3:58:30>> That's a seed. A seed decided that was a

3:58:32good spot to grow.

3:58:35>> It's in the hundreds of pounds of trash

3:58:37and recycle. Sometimes we get up into

3:58:39the tons.

3:58:40>> All right, Nims. 3 2 1.

3:58:42>> Truly a community banding together with

3:58:45volunteers coming from schools and

3:58:47clubs, even down to just families with

3:58:49bags.

3:58:50>> I'm rocking the Irving Ambassadors

3:58:51jersey, but I'm I'm working with my

3:58:53church group. And then I see my

3:58:55employees are here as well with some

3:58:56volunteers. So all kinds of different

3:58:58community organizations are here.

3:58:59>> And for some volunteers doing their part

3:59:01for Irving means doing their part for

3:59:04the world.

3:59:05>> I'm from Nepal and last month only

3:59:08nearly 2,000 people died because of the

3:59:10disaster. So environment is very

3:59:12important and we have to do it and that

3:59:14is the reason we are here to support the

3:59:17city of Urban Keep Urban Beautiful

3:59:19program.

3:59:21>> With every trash and recycling bag

3:59:23hitting the dumpsters, Irvingites are

3:59:25keeping the city beautiful for another

3:59:28year. It

3:59:28>> sends a message that you care about what

3:59:30your street looks like, what your

3:59:31neighborhood looks like.

3:59:32>> But it's our community and it doesn't

3:59:34matter if you're North Irving or South

3:59:35Irving. You know, we all come out and

3:59:37take care of each other.

3:59:38>> For City Source, I'm Nick Lton.

3:59:45>> [music]

3:59:47>> A longtime Irving favorite is starting a

3:59:49new chapter. Argentina Bakery recently

3:59:52moved into a brand new location just a

3:59:54mile from [music] its former spot. Still

3:59:56in Irving on the north side of Highway

3:59:59183 and the Beltline Road exit. The

4:00:02bakery became a local [music] gathering

4:00:03spot during this year's FIFA World Cup

4:00:06with fans packing the restaurant to

4:00:08watch Argentina and other matches. The

4:00:10larger space is built for moments

4:00:12[music] like those with plenty of

4:00:13comfortable seating, an extensive bar,

4:00:17TVs for games, and an [music] expanded

4:00:20menu. Since 2003, Argentina Bakery has

4:00:23been making traditional Argentine

4:00:24breads, pastries, baked empanadas, and

4:00:27[music] more from scratch.

4:00:30After more than two decades in the

4:00:32community, Argentina Bakery's goal

4:00:34remains the same, honoring its culture

4:00:36and [music] sharing those flavors with

4:00:38everyone who walks through the door.

4:00:41>> Enjoy free admission for the month of

4:00:42October to the Irving Archives and

4:00:44Museum, thanks to Visit Irving. History

4:00:46on the House showcases how visitors to

4:00:48Irving help make community amenities

4:00:50like the museum possible. Visit Irving

4:00:52is also donating a piece of the Irving

4:00:54Convention Center's copper [music]

4:00:55exterior to the museum for a future

4:00:57exhibit. Learn more at the reception on

4:00:59October 8th at 6 [music] p.m. This

4:01:02container will be transformed into a

4:01:04Main Street Plaza pop-up shop this fall.

4:01:06[music] Each week, discover a small

4:01:07business featuring seasonal treats,

4:01:09gifts, or locally made products. The

4:01:11Friday evening pop-ups run [music] from

4:01:13October 9th through December 11th,

4:01:15starting at 5:00 p.m. Enjoy an afternoon

4:01:18exploring [music] the people, places,

4:01:19and stories that shape one of Dallas

4:01:21County's oldest African-American

4:01:22communities at [music] Bear Creek

4:01:24Community Day. While you're here, stop

4:01:26by the Irving Public Library. popup for

4:01:28a free copy of 1776 by David McCulla,

4:01:31part of the NEA [music] Big Reed. Follow

4:01:33the history on Saturday, October 10th at

4:01:351 p.m. at Jackie Townale, Bear Creek

4:01:38Heritage Center.

4:01:40>> I knew this day would come and you would

4:01:44find your way.

4:01:46At last, my dream comes true. I knew. I

4:01:50knew. I knew

4:01:52it would be.

4:01:54[screaming]

4:01:59This musical is basically about how

4:02:02Shrek is trying to find his place cuz

4:02:04he's like always been like overlooked

4:02:07cuz everybody thinks he's a mean ogre.

4:02:10[music]

4:02:10>> Whenever an angry mob came to burn him

4:02:11along to the steak, he knew exactly what

4:02:13to do.

4:02:16[laughter]

4:02:18and a princess who was locked in a tower

4:02:20because she was also outcasted for a

4:02:24curse that was set on her.

4:02:26>> One fateful day, her parents sat her

4:02:28down and told her it was time for her to

4:02:30be locked in a desolate tower guarded by

4:02:31a fireb breathing dragon as so many

4:02:34prisons had for hundreds of years

4:02:35before.

4:02:36>> They come together and they find their

4:02:38place together with a bunch of fairy

4:02:39tale characters.

4:02:40>> Listen here, poker. We don't want to be

4:02:42here anymore than you want us here. But

4:02:45you're the only one tough enough to

4:02:46stand up to that flimmer flammer farad.

4:02:49>> Tough enough? You don't even know me.

4:02:52>> Young Fiona, this is her first year

4:02:54being locked in a tower and she's just

4:02:56waiting for her prince to come and save

4:03:00her.

4:03:00>> Darling, don't be sad. [singing] A

4:03:02tower's not so bad.

4:03:04>> Just keep waiting. Just keep waiting

4:03:07[music and singing]

4:03:08and someday

4:03:10your prince will come.

4:03:12>> I love being part of Irvine Theater

4:03:15because of how many friendships I've

4:03:17made and how everybody in this whole

4:03:20like cast like is so kind. The people

4:03:23and the bonds I've built with them have

4:03:27really helped and it's kind of drawn me

4:03:29out of my comfort zone and made me do

4:03:31things that otherwise I would never

4:03:33done. Never would have never left my

4:03:35house. But thanks to them, I'm more

4:03:37outgoing, more talkative, and it's just

4:03:40kind of like a joy to be around them.

4:03:42>> Oh, it's you. Run, run, run as fast as

4:03:45you can. You can't catch me. I'm the

4:03:48gingerbread man.

4:03:49>> Look what you've done to my legs. Having

4:03:51people who were very community- based

4:03:54and very like supportive of one another

4:03:57was such a great experience.

4:03:59[music and singing]

4:04:01>> I think DJ is beneficial because it like

4:04:04helps people find relationships and be

4:04:09more outgoing.

4:04:12>> You get to express yourself and you

4:04:14don't just have to be yourself. You can

4:04:15be you're not yourself on stage. You're

4:04:18these characters and you get to be many

4:04:20different things.

4:04:21>> It builds your character and it builds

4:04:23who you are as a person. It kind of sets

4:04:24you up for successful later in life.

4:04:33[cheering]

4:04:37Are you ready for some marching bands?

4:04:41This season, in addition to five nights

4:04:43of Irving High School football, ICTN is

4:04:46live streaming homecoming festivities.

4:04:48>> Let's give one final round of applause

4:04:50for the 2026

4:04:52Homecoming Court Royalty King and Queen,

4:04:56>> plus band and drill team performances.

4:04:59Head to YouTube at the city of Irving

4:05:01for every game to see the halftime

4:05:04action.

4:05:07>> [applause]

4:05:07>> It's all about showing results at

4:05:10District 6 Council member Fahad Ahmed's

4:05:12first town hall meeting. The more than

4:05:14three dozen residents there are seeing

4:05:17upgrade plans for the Simmeron Park

4:05:19aquatic facility and animation of what

4:05:21the future Mustang Park

4:05:23multigenerational facility will look

4:05:25like when it's finished.

4:05:27>> We're doing such great work at the city.

4:05:29The staff is doing amazing work. it

4:05:31doesn't always make it to the public and

4:05:34that's when they start asking question

4:05:36like hey where's my money going or when

4:05:37they see this Simron Park updates going

4:05:40on Mustang Park updates going on makes

4:05:42us feel good makes us feel informed and

4:05:44today was just that

4:05:46>> the town hall also addressing property

4:05:48crime and how residents can protect

4:05:50themselves even when it comes to the

4:05:52security latches on their doors.

4:05:54>> Most of the time there's little bitty

4:05:56screws that come with them about this

4:05:57long and that's not long enough. I'm not

4:05:59a large person. I can kick your door in

4:06:02if you have this on your front door,

4:06:03even if you have a dead bolt in it. This

4:06:05is what you want. You want a three to

4:06:06four inch screw because this is going to

4:06:08go not only through the door frame, it's

4:06:10going to go actually into the framing of

4:06:12your home.

4:06:13>> And there's plenty of time for questions

4:06:15from residents.

4:06:16>> What if I if I fall in my house and I'm

4:06:19able to call 911? How are they going to

4:06:21get in the police? How would they get in

4:06:24the house? If you're calling 911 and we

4:06:26know that you're inside, we have

4:06:28breaching tools, specialized tools that

4:06:30we can get through any of those doors.

4:06:32>> We are having them talk directly to the

4:06:34folks that are actually doing the work

4:06:36and they want that. They really like it.

4:06:38>> Council member Ahmed calls the town hall

4:06:40a success and promises more to come. A

4:06:43sentiment echoed by Irving state

4:06:45representatives in attendance.

4:06:47>> I wanted to be here during session. I'm

4:06:49going to be taking a lot of what we

4:06:50heard here at this town hall with me and

4:06:53being able to explain that to my

4:06:55colleagues and letting them know that we

4:06:57really need to take a closer look.

4:06:59>> One of the biggest goal I had for today

4:07:00was for neighbors to connect. I'm trying

4:07:03to create a vibe in the neighborhood

4:07:04where everybody gets to know each other

4:07:06and that goal was met today.

4:07:08>> For City Source, I'm Nick Love.

4:07:10>> If you guys have any questions, please

4:07:11feel free to call. Thank you.

4:07:14>> The State Fair of Texas is a Texas

4:07:16tradition. Howdy, folks.

4:07:19>> For thousands of visitors, the food is a

4:07:21big part of that experience. And there's

4:07:23an Irving connection [music] helping

4:07:24bring some of that food to life.

4:07:26>> Hi.

4:07:27>> Hello, Chef.

4:07:28>> Oh, I'm digging that hat.

4:07:29>> I came all the way from Copenhagen,

4:07:31Denmark.

4:07:31>> Oh my goodness. Welcome. Our first demo

4:07:35is the red, white, and blueberry swim

4:07:38biscuit. [music]

4:07:38These biscuits today are designed to

4:07:41commemorate the 250 year anniversary of

4:07:44our country. and swim biscuits, meaning

4:07:47that they actually cooked in butter.

4:07:49They're swimming in butter. They're

4:07:51They're delicious.

4:07:53>> Swimming in butter, baby.

4:07:54>> For the past 3 years, Chef Pete has

4:07:56served as the fair's resident chef.

4:07:59Cooking up three different

4:08:00demonstrations a day throughout the

4:08:02fair's 24-day run. [music]

4:08:04>> 11:30 is biscuits, 1:30 is shrimp, and

4:08:073:30 is beef. There's a quick

4:08:09turnaround. It's fast-paced, but it's

4:08:11tons of fun. Hi, how you doing today?

4:08:13>> Good. How are you?

4:08:14>> Great. Look at that smile. Thank you for

4:08:16being here today. I hope you have fun.

4:08:18>> While the recipe may be the star of this

4:08:20demonstration, for Pete Nelasco, cooking

4:08:22[music] has always been about something

4:08:24more personal.

4:08:25>> For me, uh not only the the part about

4:08:28putting it together, but the joy in

4:08:32people's faces when [music] they eat the

4:08:34food, if it's delicious and if you've

4:08:35done it right, when they take that first

4:08:38bite and their face light up. I'd love

4:08:41to bring joy to people's lives. Y'all

4:08:44have fun today at the State Fair, Texas.

4:08:46>> Thank you.

4:08:46>> You're welcome.

4:08:47>> The joy he finds in cooking can be

4:08:49traced back to his childhood and the

4:08:51woman who first [music] taught him his

4:08:53way around the kitchen.

4:08:54>> My mother was my first culinary teacher.

4:08:57>> It's part of what keeps him passionate

4:08:59about cooking.

4:09:00>> Who here is lazy? Lazy in the kitchen.

4:09:04Great. This biscuit is for you.

4:09:06>> While also proudly representing the city

4:09:08of Irving.

4:09:09>> I grew up there. went to school in at

4:09:11Barton Elementary and then Crockett

4:09:14Junior High and then graduated from

4:09:16Irving High School, home of the Tigers,

4:09:19Honor Black and Gold.

4:09:20>> How you doing, sir?

4:09:21>> Great. Thank you.

4:09:23>> While the State Fair [music] of Texas

4:09:24may be known for its fried food and

4:09:26iconic rides, Chef Pete is serving up

4:09:29something more. A love of cooking, a

4:09:32connection to family, and a whole lot of

4:09:34community pride.

4:09:36>> I am so honored to represent Irving

4:09:37here. growing up and and seeing the

4:09:39State Fair of Texas, how big it is, and

4:09:41to be able to showcase what I love here,

4:09:44it's a dream come true.

4:09:45>> So long, folks.

4:09:48[music]

4:09:50Your ICTN team produced 35 videos in the

4:09:53month of September.

4:09:57Means a lot to the Irving guys. We take

4:09:59it to heart. It's [music] real special

4:10:00to us. I'm glad that we can be involved

4:10:01in it.

4:10:05We're hoping to spark conversation,

4:10:07connections, [music]

4:10:08make new friends, learn something

4:10:10together. Really hoping to have a shared

4:10:12experience.

4:10:14[music]

4:10:15We can produce things together. The

4:10:18goods, the services,

4:10:21the creative energy that you can [music]

4:10:23have by drawing on all these partners

4:10:26who see the value once they're here.

4:10:32It's a really fun, laid-back movie night

4:10:36with kid activities. It's just a great

4:10:38familyfriendly event.

4:10:43>> We're all about using music for comfort,

4:10:45joy, and healing.

4:10:46>> They have so many different songs that

4:10:47they grew up with, and so we hope to

4:10:49bring that memory back to them.

4:10:50>> I think that's why it's really special

4:10:52to be able to bring it to places like

4:10:53this.

4:10:59We have [music] weavers, knitts,

4:11:01crocheters, tatters, punch needle, and

4:11:04you can come here [music] to the Irving

4:11:06Convention Center and you can see it

4:11:07with your hands.

4:11:11With this expansion, fleet has grown

4:11:13from 14 vehicle bays to 29, which fleet

4:11:17managers say will make a big difference

4:11:19in operations.

4:11:22And I love it when you can be one-on-one

4:11:24with people, talk to them, and say,

4:11:26"Hey, I need to know more about housing,

4:11:30medical." I mean, there's so much in the

4:11:32community to offer.

4:11:37>> After collecting input from residents

4:11:38and stakeholders, Irving City Council is

4:11:41about to reach the final level, adopting

4:11:44the proposed structurally balanced

4:11:46budget.

4:11:50Anthony Martinez

4:11:52up the middle to the five to the four

4:11:55and to the end zone.

4:12:00Stay up tod date by subscribing to our

4:12:02YouTube channel at youtube.com/the

4:12:06city of irring.

4:12:13>> [music]

4:12:17>> We're here for the Dragons Love Tacos

4:12:18event. [music]

4:12:22The kids can make three different

4:12:24crafts. They can make a taco.

4:12:29>> They can make a dragon puppet. [music]

4:12:31>> Oh, wow.

4:12:32>> And they can make a dragon card.

4:12:35They have [music] games that they can

4:12:37play. Pin the taco on the dragon.

4:12:40>> Oh my god. go

4:12:42>> a Plinko game and earn some taco prizes.

4:12:47>> And we're also going to have a visit

4:12:48from the taco dragon.

4:12:52>> Why I like dragons love tacos is because

4:12:55it's funny and it tells us what the

4:12:58dragons like and if [music] you want to

4:13:00be a friend with a dragon, you the key

4:13:03is to get a taco. We like that book

4:13:05because the dragons really don't [music]

4:13:08like spicy food, but we like spicy food,

4:13:11right?

4:13:12>> I don't like it.

4:13:14>> You don't like spicy food? But who does?

4:13:16>> Mama.

4:13:17>> Mama loves spicy food. [music] And we

4:13:19always laugh at the dragons.

4:13:21>> You can only imagine what happens when a

4:13:23dragon eats spicy salsa.

4:13:26>> My favorite part was [music]

4:13:27um decorating this dragon puppet. Do you

4:13:30want to show them? Hey, look at mine.

4:13:32kiosk and the circulation.

4:13:33>> That was our favorite part. [music]

4:13:35>> I think I like the wheel, the spin where

4:13:37you put a coin and you get it gift. I

4:13:40got all the gifts. [music]

4:13:43>> Yeah,

4:13:43>> it means everything. Um like free events

4:13:46on a weekend when we can get out and out

4:13:48of the house and go [music] play. We

4:13:51just have a new baby at home and so

4:13:53getting some time with just my daughter

4:13:55is awesome. And so we get a little mommy

4:13:57daughter play date. I [music] just like

4:13:59to see the kids have fun and hopefully

4:14:02check out a bunch of books to take home

4:14:03and read.

4:14:06>> Good job.

4:14:07>> We are here every week for story [music]

4:14:10time. So, we love the programming. I

4:14:12think they do such a good job.

4:14:13Everything is really intentional. I

4:14:15guess it's fun. She [music] loves to

4:14:16dance and sing. It's just a good safe

4:14:18place in the community. So, I'm so

4:14:20grateful for the [music] Irving Library

4:14:21here

4:14:25from Troy and Ralph Ellis Stadium. It's

4:14:28the ICTN game of the week. [music]

4:14:31To the 10 to the end zone. Wide open

4:14:34call. Touchdown.

4:14:37Touchdown.

4:14:39It is six for the Vikings.

4:14:45[music]

4:14:47And that will do it.

4:14:51[music]

4:15:00Let's go.

4:15:01>> Hundreds coming from all around Irving,

4:15:05braving the high grass to keep Irving

4:15:08beautiful.

4:15:08>> How much trash you going to pick up

4:15:09today?

4:15:10>> Well, you know, a couple years back, we

4:15:11found like a tire and all kinds of

4:15:12different stuff. And so, I'm hoping to

4:15:14match that kind of effort.

4:15:16>> More than 300 volunteers getting out to

4:15:18keep Irving beautiful during the 35th

4:15:21annual trash bash. Altogether, they're

4:15:23putting in nearly a thousand hours of

4:15:26community service, cleaning up the

4:15:28Northern Campion Trail.

4:15:29>> Yeah, we've been doing this for a long

4:15:31time, and it just keeps getting better

4:15:32every year. A lot of people use the

4:15:34trails here, but when they see us with a

4:15:36big event like this, they see what's

4:15:38going on, they'll come over and ask us

4:15:39what's happening, what's going on.

4:15:40>> Then you stop.

4:15:42>> They will go for miles and miles and

4:15:44miles. I promise you, you will not run

4:15:46out of places to go. It's a long trail

4:15:49to cover.

4:15:49>> Yes. So, that's how long it's been down

4:15:50here. The grass has grown over it

4:15:53>> and there's no small amount of litter to

4:15:55find

4:15:56>> at the seed a seed decided that was a

4:15:58good spot to grow.

4:16:01>> It's in the hundreds of pounds of trash

4:16:03and recycle. Sometimes we get up into

4:16:05the tons.

4:16:06>> All right, Nim, it's 3 2 1.

4:16:07>> Truly a community banding together with

4:16:10volunteers coming from schools and

4:16:12clubs, even down to just families with

4:16:15bags. I'm rocking the Irving Ambassadors

4:16:17jersey, but I'm I'm working with my

4:16:19church group and then I see my employees

4:16:21are here as well with some volunteers.

4:16:22So, all kinds of different community

4:16:24organizations are here.

4:16:25>> And for some volunteers, doing their

4:16:27part for Irving means doing their part

4:16:29for the world.

4:16:30>> I'm from Nepal and last month only

4:16:33nearly 2,000 people died because of the

4:16:36disaster. So environment is very

4:16:38important and we have to do it and that

4:16:40is the reason we are here to support the

4:16:43city of Urban Keep Urban Beautiful

4:16:45program.

4:16:46>> With every trash and recycling bag

4:16:48hitting the dumpsters, Irvingites are

4:16:51keeping the city beautiful for another

4:16:54year. It

4:16:54>> sends a message that you care about what

4:16:56your street looks like, what your

4:16:57neighborhood looks like.

4:16:58>> But it's our community and it doesn't

4:17:00matter if you're North Irving or South

4:17:01Irving. You know, we all come out and

4:17:02take care of each other.

4:17:03>> For City Source, I'm Nick Lton.

4:17:09>> [music]

4:17:12>> A longtime Irving favorite is starting a

4:17:15new chapter. Argentina Bakery recently

4:17:18moved into a brand new location [music]

4:17:20just a mile from its former spot. Still

4:17:22in Irving on the north side of Highway

4:17:24183 and the Beltline Road exit. The

4:17:27bakery became [music] a local gathering

4:17:29spot during this year's FIFA World Cup

4:17:31with fans packing the restaurant to

4:17:33watch Argentina and other matches. The

4:17:36larger space is built for moments like

4:17:38those [music] with plenty of comfortable

4:17:40seating, an extensive bar,

4:17:43TVs [music] for games, and an expanded

4:17:45menu. Since 2003, Argentina Bakery has

4:17:49been making [music] traditional

4:17:50Argentine breads, pastries, baked

4:17:52empanadas, and more from scratch.

4:17:56After more than two decades in [music]

4:17:58the community, Argentina Bakery's goal

4:18:00remains the same, honoring its culture

4:18:02and sharing those flavors with everyone

4:18:04who walks through the door. [music]

4:18:06Enjoy free admission for the month of

4:18:08October to the Irving Archives and

4:18:10Museum, thanks to Visit Irving. History

4:18:12on the House showcases how visitors to

4:18:14Irving [music] help make community

4:18:15amenities like the museum possible.

4:18:17Visit Irving is also donating a piece of

4:18:19the Irving Convention Center's [music]

4:18:20copper exterior to the museum for a

4:18:22future exhibit. Learn more at the

4:18:24reception on October 8th at 6 p.m. This

4:18:28container will [music] be transformed

4:18:29into a Main Street Plaza pop-up shop

4:18:31this fall. Each week, discover a small

4:18:33business featuring seasonal treats,

4:18:35gifts, or locally made products. The

4:18:37Friday [music] evening pop-ups run from

4:18:39October 9th through December 11th,

4:18:40starting at 5:00 p.m. Enjoy an afternoon

4:18:43exploring the [music] people, places,

4:18:45and stories that shape one of Dallas

4:18:46County's oldest African-American

4:18:48communities at Bear [music] Creek

4:18:50Community Day. While you're here, stop

4:18:51by the Irving Public Library. popup for

4:18:54a free copy of 1776 by David McCulla,

4:18:56[music] part of the NEA Big Reed. Follow

4:18:59the history on Saturday, October 10th at

4:19:011 p.m. at Jackie Townale, Bear Creek

4:19:04Heritage Center.

4:19:06>> I knew this day would come and you would

4:19:09find your way. At last, my dream comes

4:19:14true. [music] I knew. I knew. I knew

4:19:18it would be.

4:19:25This musical is basically about how

4:19:27Shrek is trying to find his place cuz

4:19:30he's like always been like overlooked

4:19:33cuz everybody thinks he's a mean ogre.

4:19:35>> Whenever an angry mob came to burn him

4:19:37along with the steak, he knew exactly

4:19:39what to do.

4:19:42[laughter]

4:19:44and a princess who was locked in a tower

4:19:46because she was also outcasted for a

4:19:50curse that was set on her.

4:19:51>> One fateful day, her parents sat her

4:19:54down and told her it was time for her to

4:19:55be locked in a desolate tower guarded by

4:19:57a fire breathing dragon as so many

4:20:00prisons had for hundreds of years

4:20:01before.

4:20:02>> They come together and they find their

4:20:03place together with a bunch of fairy

4:20:05tale characters.

4:20:06>> Listen here, poker. We don't want to be

4:20:08here any more than you want us here. But

4:20:11you're the only one tough enough to

4:20:12stand up to that flimmer flammer farad.

4:20:15>> Tough enough? You don't even know me.

4:20:17>> Young Fiona, this is her first year

4:20:20being locked in a tower and she's just

4:20:22waiting for her prince to come and save

4:20:25her.

4:20:26>> Darling, don't be sad. [singing] A

4:20:28tower's not so bad.

4:20:30>> Just keep waiting.

4:20:32>> Just keep waiting. [singing] and someday

4:20:36your prince will come.

4:20:38>> I love being part of Irving Youth

4:20:40Theater because of how many friendships

4:20:43I've made and how everybody in this

4:20:45whole like cast like is so kind.

4:20:48>> The people and the bonds I've built with

4:20:50them have really helped and it's kind of

4:20:54drawn me out of my comfort zone and made

4:20:56me do things that otherwise I would

4:20:59never done, never would have never left

4:21:01my house. But thanks to them, I'm more

4:21:03outgoing, more talkative, and it's just

4:21:06kind of like a joy to be around them.

4:21:08>> Oh, it's you. Run, run, run as fast as

4:21:11you can. You can't catch me. I'm that

4:21:13gingerbread man.

4:21:14>> Look what you've done to my legs.

4:21:16>> Having people who were very community-

4:21:19based and very like supportive of one

4:21:22another was such a great experience. He

4:21:25likes [singing]

4:21:26a big big girl.

4:21:27>> I think theater is beneficial because it

4:21:30like helps people find relationships and

4:21:34be more outgoing. Wake up. [screaming]

4:21:38>> You get to express yourself and you

4:21:39don't just have to be yourself. You can

4:21:41be you're not yourself on stage. You're

4:21:43these characters and you get to be many

4:21:46different things.

4:21:47>> It builds your character and it builds

4:21:48who you are as a person. It kind of sets

4:21:50you up for success later in life.

4:21:53H.

4:22:01[cheering]

4:22:03>> Are you ready for some marching bands

4:22:07this season? In addition to five nights

4:22:09of Irving High School football, ICTN is

4:22:12live streaming homecoming festivities.

4:22:14>> Let's give one final round of applause

4:22:16for the 2026

4:22:18Homecoming Court Royalty King and Queen.

4:22:22plus band and drill team performances.

4:22:25Head to YouTube at the city of Irving

4:22:27for every game to see the halftime

4:22:29action.

4:22:32[applause]

4:22:33It's all about showing results at

4:22:35District 6 Council member Fahad Ahmed's

4:22:38first town hall meeting. The more than

4:22:40three dozen residents there are seeing

4:22:42upgrade plans for the Simron Park

4:22:44aquatic facility and animation of what

4:22:47the future Mustang Park

4:22:49multigenerational facility will look

4:22:51like when it's finished.

4:22:53>> We're doing such great work at the city.

4:22:55The staff is doing amazing work. It

4:22:57doesn't always make it to the public and

4:23:00that's when they start asking question

4:23:02like hey where's my money going? When

4:23:03they see this Simron Park updates going

4:23:06on, Mustang Park updates going on makes

4:23:08us feel good. makes us feel informed and

4:23:10today was just that.

4:23:12>> The town hall also addressing property

4:23:14crime and how residents can protect

4:23:16themselves even when it comes to the

4:23:18security latches on their doors.

4:23:20>> Most of the time there's little bitty

4:23:21screws that come with them about this

4:23:23long and that's not long enough. I'm not

4:23:25a large person. I can kick your door in

4:23:28if you have this on your front door,

4:23:29even if you have a deadbolt in it. This

4:23:31is what you want. You want a 3 to 4 inch

4:23:32screw because this is going to go not

4:23:35only through the door frame, it's going

4:23:36to go actually into the framing of your

4:23:38home.

4:23:38>> And there's plenty of time for questions

4:23:41from residents.

4:23:42>> What if I if I fall in my house and I'm

4:23:45able to call 911? How are they going to

4:23:47get in the police? How would they get

4:23:49in?

4:23:50>> If you're calling 911 and we know that

4:23:52you're inside, we have breaching tools,

4:23:54specialized tools that we can get

4:23:56through any of those doors. We are

4:23:58having them talk directly to the folks

4:24:00that are actually doing the work and

4:24:02they want that. They really like it.

4:24:04>> Council member Ahmed calls the town hall

4:24:06a success and promises more to come. A

4:24:09sentiment echoed by Irving state

4:24:11representatives in attendance.

4:24:12>> I wanted to be here during session. I'm

4:24:15going to be taking a lot of what we

4:24:16heard here at this town hall with me and

4:24:19being able to explain that to my

4:24:21colleagues and letting them know that we

4:24:23really need to take a closer look. One

4:24:25of the biggest goal I had for today was

4:24:27for neighbors to connect. I'm trying to

4:24:29create a vibe in the neighborhood where

4:24:30everybody gets to know each other and

4:24:32that goal was met today.

4:24:34>> For City Source, I'm Nick L.

4:24:36>> If you guys have any questions, please

4:24:37feel free to call. Thank you.

4:24:40>> The State Fair of [music] Texas is a

4:24:42Texas tradition.

4:24:43>> Howdy, folks.

4:24:44>> For thousands of visitors, the food is a

4:24:47big part of that experience. [music]

4:24:48And there's an Irving connection helping

4:24:50bring some of that food to life.

4:24:53>> Hello, Chef. Oh, I'm digging that hat.

4:24:55>> I came all the way from Copenhagen,

4:24:56Denmark.

4:24:57>> Oh my goodness. Welcome. Our first demo

4:25:00is the red, white, and blueberry [music]

4:25:03swim biscuit. These biscuits today are

4:25:06designed to commemorate the 250 year

4:25:09anniversary of our [music] country. And

4:25:11swim biscuits meaning that they actually

4:25:13cooked in butter. They're swimming in

4:25:16butter. They're They're delicious.

4:25:18Swimming in butter, baby. For the past

4:25:21three years, Chef Pete has served as the

4:25:23fair's resident [music] chef, cooking up

4:25:25three different

4:25:59Heat. Heat. N.

4:26:09Heat. Heat.

4:26:37Heat. Heat.

4:26:59Heat. Heat.

4:27:06Heat. Heat.

4:28:04>> [music]

4:28:22>> Heat. Hey, Heat.

4:28:56Heat. Heat.

4:29:20Heat. Heat.

4:29:54Heat. Heat.

4:30:51Heat. Heat.

4:30:55[music]

4:31:00Heat.

4:31:15Heat.

4:31:27>> [music]

4:31:33>> It's too close right now.

4:31:58Okay.

4:31:59>> All right.

4:32:18There she is.

4:32:29>> Okay, let's see if we can get started.

4:32:31Is our We're on the air, so we're good

4:32:34to go.

4:32:36Rachel.

4:32:37>> Yes, sir. Mayor, so we are still on item

4:32:40six. And now we're to the point where we

4:32:42are requesting consensus from council on

4:32:45three key items. First being the

4:32:47placement of the YA plus collection.

4:32:50Does it stay as is written in the

4:32:52current policy or move to the adult

4:32:54collection? Second point is what what is

4:32:57your decision on the appeals process for

4:32:59the reconsideration of materials policy?

4:33:01And then the third point is how

4:33:03frequently do you want us to have policy

4:33:05review? Our staff recommendation is

4:33:07every three years, but we want council

4:33:10consensus on how you want us to proceed

4:33:11with future revisions to library policy.

4:33:17>> Gentlemen, it's open. Yeah, Dennis.

4:33:20>> Well, [clears throat] basically on both

4:33:22of those uh staff recommendations, I

4:33:26support both the staff recommendations.

4:33:28the removal of the YA designation uh and

4:33:32then the uh staff's recommendation on

4:33:35the appeal committee of the library

4:33:38board chair, the friends of the library

4:33:40board chair and the library director.

4:33:46>> Maybe it's better to do one at a time.

4:33:48>> Okay, let me go to Adam. Oh, I was just

4:33:52going to say on the first one, I support

4:33:54the uh

4:33:57not putting the staff recommendation of

4:33:58putting them in the adult section.

4:33:59>> Okay, good.

4:34:01>> John,

4:34:03uh so [clears throat] yeah, the uh the

4:34:05I'm fine with the staff recommendation

4:34:07of putting the

4:34:09putting the uh what's currently in the

4:34:11YA plus into the adult section. I'm I'm

4:34:15definitely um

4:34:20uh partial to Councilman Croninw's

4:34:23uh point that uh you know there's a

4:34:28recognition from our part in having them

4:34:32separate um in you know of of the fact

4:34:36that you know these are these are not

4:34:38simply books with mature content. These

4:34:40are books that are marketed towards

4:34:44children but with mature content. So I'm

4:34:46I'm you know I'm I'm uh I do agree with

4:34:50him that that's that makes them kind of

4:34:53uh

4:34:56somewhat somewhat of a of a unique case.

4:34:58But uh I think the

4:35:05[sighs]

4:35:10the practical considerations of having

4:35:13having shelving behind the uh the

4:35:15collections desk. Um

4:35:18it's difficult to work with. So I'm fine

4:35:20I'm fine with putting them into the

4:35:21adult section. Um

4:35:24the uh with the request for

4:35:27reconsideration. I like the um

4:35:31so one of the things that uh the mayor

4:35:33in our uh in our working group uh that

4:35:35we

4:35:37um that we had that the mayor talked

4:35:41about a lot is you know he wants to find

4:35:44you know we talked about uh the this

4:35:45model this city's model that city's

4:35:47model uh we want to find the Irving

4:35:49model well one [snorts] of the models

4:35:51that was uh given to us um you know was

4:35:57actually put forward by someone on our

4:36:00uh on our, you know, in our city with

4:36:04experience in our community and with uh

4:36:07with experience on this board. You know,

4:36:10I would consider the the uh

4:36:16the option of having

4:36:18three library board members elected by

4:36:20the library board.

4:36:23You know, that's to me that's the that's

4:36:25the Irving model. You know, that's us

4:36:28looking at what other people doing,

4:36:29getting some inspiration, putting our

4:36:31own putting our own uh

4:36:36our own flare on it. So, that's that's

4:36:38where my

4:36:40uh where I'm leaning with the uh with

4:36:43the appeals process is that uh three

4:36:46three board members elected by the

4:36:48board. Um, I especially do like that

4:36:52there are uh there's a protection

4:36:55against or not protection but there's a

4:36:58requirement that you don't serve two

4:36:59consecutive years. So, it keeps it

4:37:01rotating, keeps it fresh. I do like

4:37:04that. Um, on the last one, the uh

4:37:09reviewing the the policy um I like

4:37:12trienal. It gives us a good cadence. it

4:37:15gives us good, you know, a good

4:37:17predictable um

4:37:20sense of when that happens. Um

4:37:24the

4:37:25I do want to say that, you know, when

4:37:27the library board took it upon

4:37:28themselves to review the collection

4:37:31development policy and

4:37:34uh and make recommendations to us and to

4:37:36staff as to what some improvements to

4:37:38the policy could be. Um, I really

4:37:42appreciate when a board decides they

4:37:45want to be proactive and come up with

4:37:47recommendations for us and and take the

4:37:50initiative on that. Um,

4:37:53I think it caused a lot of

4:38:00commotion

4:38:02uh the way that it was done. I would

4:38:04like to see a more collabor

4:38:06collaborative process. Um, so as we as

4:38:10we get to the end of that trienal period

4:38:13and we start to look at we're going to

4:38:15be reviewing it, I would like the

4:38:17beginning of that process to be

4:38:20uh the library board, the city council

4:38:24and the library staff and and obviously

4:38:27senior staff as well um working

4:38:30collaboratively

4:38:33to bring together bring forward you know

4:38:35these are our priorities, these are are

4:38:38areas that we want to focus on. I I

4:38:40definitely want, you know, when the

4:38:41library board wants to be more active,

4:38:43when they want to be more proactive,

4:38:45take more initiative, I want to support

4:38:46that because we have too many boards uh

4:38:49historically

4:38:50uh and uh the library board was one of

4:38:53them that are not they don't take

4:38:56initiative. They're not active. Um, and

4:39:00we'd like to see we'd like to see active

4:39:02boards, but we want them to be working

4:39:05within a

4:39:09within a framework where their

4:39:11initiative is

4:39:14um, you know, something that we're all

4:39:16on the same page about what what's going

4:39:18on and who's who's doing what, where are

4:39:20you looking, where are you focusing. We

4:39:22want to we want to have that be a more

4:39:24collaborative process, I think. So,

4:39:26thank you.

4:39:30David.

4:39:31>> Thank you, Mayor. I'm uh in supportive

4:39:33of the staff recommendations on uh all

4:39:35the items with the uh caveat that they

4:39:39understand the legal requirements uh of

4:39:42what they're signing up for.

4:39:45>> Thank you, Abdul.

4:39:48>> Thank you, Mayor. Um

4:39:51I am also in view of uh removal of YA

4:39:55plus uh section and move the material to

4:40:00um to adult section. So I'm fine with

4:40:03it. And as far as the um the staff

4:40:07recommendations are concerned about the

4:40:09um

4:40:11um u

4:40:15about the um the appeal process. Um I

4:40:20think if it is viable to to get the

4:40:24legal advice and if uh if you could find

4:40:28the neutral body to represent in in in

4:40:32in that committee I think I I would be

4:40:34fine with it.

4:40:38>> Thank you.

4:40:40>> Okay. Mark are you on?

4:40:44>> The term of the committee review would

4:40:46be two years I would say. I agree

4:40:49>> there. This recommendation is three once

4:40:51every three years for the policy

4:40:53considerations every three years.

4:40:55>> The the title may be reviewed. It's once

4:40:57every two years.

4:40:59>> That's what it is.

4:41:02>> The staff recommendation is two years.

4:41:05>> What? I got a question cuz I'm confused

4:41:07about your So, so you say you're for the

4:41:10staff's recommendation.

4:41:13>> Are you for the staff recommendation as

4:41:15presented?

4:41:17>> As presented. if it is legally doable,

4:41:21meaning that if there is no legal

4:41:22restrictions on their representation,

4:41:25the neutral body.

4:41:26>> Okay. Good. All right. I just want to

4:41:27make sure it was the flatout

4:41:29recommendation

4:41:31>> and and mayor, if I may, just to clarify

4:41:33and thank you, uh, Councilman Kabir, our

4:41:35staff recommendation is for for a

4:41:37three-year, a trienal review.

4:41:41>> I think I think Abdul's thinking about

4:41:43the appeal process.

4:41:45>> Okay, for the appeal process. I

4:41:46apologize.

4:41:49Okay, my turn.

4:41:51>> Yeah. So, first, um, right, I I've

4:41:55always, um, um, believed that, um, these

4:41:58books that that are that are, um,

4:42:00targeted to to children with the

4:42:02sexually explicit material and, um, and

4:42:04also violent material should not be in

4:42:06the children's section and um, and

4:42:08should be removed from there. Um I I

4:42:12certainly um have advocated for parents

4:42:14and guardians being the ones to make the

4:42:15decisions if kids should have access to

4:42:17those books that we should not be the

4:42:18ones acting as the as the in local

4:42:21parents making the decision to give

4:42:23those readily to kids. Um but um we've

4:42:26heard the practical considerations about

4:42:28um having those books behind the

4:42:29resource desk and um and that um

4:42:33there's there's merit to having those

4:42:34the the books identified and then put in

4:42:37the adult stacks and so I'm okay with

4:42:39that.

4:42:40Um,

4:42:43as far as um the appeal process, I like

4:42:47the the our the Irving model is the

4:42:49Councilman Block is is calling it that

4:42:52um we you know we we pick our library

4:42:54board um the members of the community.

4:42:56they they know our standards and

4:42:58community standards basically is what is

4:43:00being applied and determining whether or

4:43:01not um books and books should be um in

4:43:05our in our stacks of course with other

4:43:07um specifications that we're giving to

4:43:08them for the review process. And so um I

4:43:13think it makes sense for us to have our

4:43:14library board members being the ones to

4:43:16make that decision and um uh that they

4:43:20rotate out on a one-year basis. So I

4:43:22agree with that. And then for the uh

4:43:24review of library policy um right every

4:43:27three years it makes sense to have a

4:43:29regular timetable for that. I do want to

4:43:31I do want to take up the recommendations

4:43:33from the library board that were made

4:43:35recently. I think there's a lot of merit

4:43:37to those and so um so I'm I'm

4:43:40considering that that'll be like a year

4:43:42one when we do that and then we'll have

4:43:43three years after that. But um yeah

4:43:46triannual is good with me.

4:43:48>> Okay. Adam.

4:43:52Thank you, mayor. Um, yeah, so on the

4:43:55first one, um, or yeah, the first one, I

4:43:58go with the staff recommendation. Um, I

4:44:01like I I think it makes sense to put

4:44:03them in the adults section. Um, on the

4:44:07appeals board, I like the number the

4:44:08third scenario that we presented. I I

4:44:10think that gives I think the reason this

4:44:12is coming up is you know the origin of

4:44:15this is that the residents didn't feel

4:44:16like their voice was being represented

4:44:19in uh you know in the appeals process.

4:44:21So I think that that solves for that by

4:44:24us doing the Irving John Block

4:44:27Councilman Cronut model. Um I guess

4:44:30that's what we're calling it now. I

4:44:31don't know the the block model. Yeah,

4:44:32the Irving model. Okay. And then uh

4:44:34yeah, I'm fine with every three years on

4:44:36the um on the the the reexamination of

4:44:39policy.

4:44:45>> Yes.

4:44:46>> Thank you, mayor. Um on the collection

4:44:49development, I'm okay with staff

4:44:51recommendation on keeping it in the

4:44:53adult section. Um I'm impartial to

4:44:56whether we want to designate it or not.

4:44:58Ya. Um, I don't really have a uh

4:45:02preference on that, but it should be in

4:45:04general adult area. As far as the uh

4:45:08appeal process goes, I like the option

4:45:10of having

4:45:13the the board library board chair, the

4:45:16friends of library board chair and our

4:45:19library director. Um and then on the

4:45:23strategic consideration on the policy

4:45:26would you mind touching on why are we

4:45:28saying try three-year library policy

4:45:31review?

4:45:32>> Sure. So the main reason behind that is

4:45:34we want to have opportunity to

4:45:35operationalize that. One of the

4:45:37challenges I repeatedly hear from the

4:45:39library team is because essentially our

4:45:41library policies have been written in

4:45:43pencil. It's really hard to make

4:45:45operational changes and then have

4:45:47lessons learned and understand the

4:45:49impact of those changes before they're

4:45:50then changed again. And so this would

4:45:53give us enough time to see what that

4:45:54impact is. Of course, document the

4:45:56lessons learned, but then at the end of

4:45:58the three years, we would have enough

4:46:00information to then make informed

4:46:01decisions to your point, Councilman

4:46:03Block, collaboratively with the library

4:46:05board as well as with the city council

4:46:07on on what revisions might need to be

4:46:09considered.

4:46:10>> Okay. So, I'm okay with all three being

4:46:12the staff recommendation then. Thank

4:46:14you.

4:46:17>> Okay, Luis.

4:46:19>> Well, I appreciate Mark's intro into the

4:46:22the whole, you know, moving them to the

4:46:25adult section. Um, I mean, it sort of

4:46:29begs the question, some of these books

4:46:30seem to be te aimed at teenagers and

4:46:33they're very sexually explicit. Why do

4:46:36we, you know, that's why do we buy them

4:46:40in the first place, but um that will be

4:46:42a discussion for a later time. Um I

4:46:44support moving them. Um I think that's

4:46:46fine. When it comes to the

4:46:48reconsideration, I think it's good to

4:46:50balance it. I think what Adam said about

4:46:52having input from community members that

4:46:54have been selected based on their merits

4:46:56and based on what they know on the

4:46:58issue. Um I think I think that's the

4:47:00best way. And there also, you know, the

4:47:01library board is something that we can

4:47:03change. we can um it it allows us some

4:47:06flexibility that that some of the other

4:47:08models are a little bit more stiff. So

4:47:09we can also course correct more quickly

4:47:12and I and I will be supporting that.

4:47:14When it comes to the the the strategic

4:47:17plan, I think you know I I think 3 years

4:47:20is a little bit too much. I would be

4:47:21surprised if we don't want to have

4:47:23discussions on this way sooner than

4:47:25that. Um especially based on what what

4:47:27I'm hearing. I think one year might be

4:47:30more than enough.

4:47:33Dennis.

4:47:36>> No, I called you.

4:47:40>> Okay. All right. He wants me to make the

4:47:42call. I'll make some calls. I support

4:47:45the um the staff recommendations

4:47:49with a few um I think considerations.

4:47:52Number one, Luis, I do agree with you. I

4:47:55don't think there should be three year.

4:47:56I think it should be a two-year. Why?

4:47:58I'm trying to line up our two years when

4:48:02we appoint people to these committees as

4:48:05well as boards and trying to line it up

4:48:07to where we are now understanding how we

4:48:09start filling. Okay. So that's three

4:48:12years I think is a little longer than

4:48:13you need from the administrative side

4:48:16and from the management side you can do

4:48:18your three years but I think from our

4:48:20standpoint we want to try to align

4:48:22ourselves a lot tighter. Okay. Uh the

4:48:25other is I like the idea and I think

4:48:27three on the board. I would say one

4:48:29thing. I really would not uh recommend

4:48:32the president of the

4:48:35uh what do you call it? Uh friends of

4:48:38the library. We have a sitting member of

4:48:41the the library board that is a member

4:48:44of the friends of the library

4:48:48and very well-known very wellrespected

4:48:51who runs a lot of things and supports

4:48:53along with the chair and along with the

4:48:59um uh librarian. So those are my three

4:49:04period. Okay. So there we are. And I

4:49:08think if I'm not mistaken, we're at a

4:49:1054.

4:49:11Are we good?

4:49:12>> It is, if I may ask, there just one

4:49:14clarification on uh as I'm understanding

4:49:17there's five of the council members that

4:49:20are looking to have

4:49:22>> uh the library director for the appeals

4:49:25process, the library director, the

4:49:27library board chair, and then there's a

4:49:29friends of the library representative.

4:49:33>> Four of the five had mentioned the

4:49:34library board chair. Mayor, you had

4:49:36mentioned the library board represent

4:49:38the friends of the library chair. You

4:49:40had mentioned the friends of the library

4:49:42board member, which may be different

4:49:44than the chair. So, if I can just ask

4:49:45for some clarification,

4:49:47>> I'll clarify it from my standpoint.

4:49:48Okay. Number one, we want somebody

4:49:51that's actually working on and working

4:49:54with that advisory committee and with

4:49:57the full-time person. So, that gives you

4:50:00that continuity. Uh the chair of the

4:50:03library of friends of library is going

4:50:06to be changing.

4:50:07>> Okay. So I'm looking for continuity

4:50:10looking for that think and we still have

4:50:12the three.

4:50:13>> Yeah. So for the other four members that

4:50:15were voicing that would

4:50:17>> Yeah. I'm okay with what mayor

4:50:19suggested.

4:50:19>> Good. We're good. Good.

4:50:21>> Done. We're done.

4:50:23>> Okay. Thank you guys. Appreciate it.

4:50:26Luis, thank you. Good inputs. Smile.

4:50:30>> [laughter]

4:50:32>> Okay. You got uh you got your marching

4:50:34orders, Rachel?

4:50:35>> Yes, sir.

4:50:35>> All right. Great. All right. Here we go.

4:50:38All right. We're going to be now moving

4:50:40on to the environmental career

4:50:43symposium.

4:50:44City manager, we ready for this?

4:50:46>> Yes, sir.

4:50:47>> Okay. Oh, Melissa,

4:50:51>> I'm here.

4:50:51>> All right.

4:50:53>> I'm back. Good evening, mayor, council,

4:50:56staff. I'm Melissa Baker, project

4:50:59manager, public works. I am pleased to

4:51:01be here and represent uh Stephanie

4:51:03Wagner, who leads this initiative for

4:51:05the city, um to present an update to you

4:51:08on the uh city of Irving and TXU

4:51:10environmental career symposium.

4:51:13We'll go over the background, the

4:51:15vendors, some of the professional

4:51:17services that were going on during the

4:51:19event, the panels, and then some of our

4:51:20feedback. This is our third

4:51:23environmental career symposium, so huge

4:51:25thank you to Vistra. um TXU for hosting

4:51:29us and for NCTCOG who also moderated and

4:51:33seed the event and provided panel

4:51:36speakers um and attendees and experts

4:51:39also there were several departments that

4:51:41played a hu huge role in this

4:51:42transportation being one of them water

4:51:44cip so we had a whole lot of help um the

4:51:49target audience for this is really high

4:51:51school students as in Irving as well as

4:51:54college students undergrads and then

4:51:57young professionals and professionals

4:51:58that want to switch careers into the

4:52:00areas of environmental and energy.

4:52:04[snorts]

4:52:05We had a variety of uh vendors at the

4:52:07event. Um over 80 attendees. You also

4:52:10see city of Capel, Denton. So we had

4:52:12other cities that also supported us in

4:52:14this endeavor. Several um se um people

4:52:17from the private sector as well as COG.

4:52:22We also provided tangible benefits at

4:52:25this uh event. We had professional head

4:52:27shot for attendees as well as um

4:52:31LinkedIn online coaching for people who

4:52:34have social media presence as well as

4:52:36resumeé building. So you could

4:52:37physically bring in your resume and we

4:52:40would have a professional there uh

4:52:42Cambria to look at that for you.

4:52:45We had two different panels. So the

4:52:47first one was how do you choose the

4:52:48right environmental career for you?

4:52:50moderated by uh Chris Claus from COG as

4:52:53well as a day in my life. So different

4:52:56um people that work in the environmental

4:52:58and energy sector and what do they

4:52:59actually do in their everyday.

4:53:03We had a lot of positable positive

4:53:05feedback. Um we had a lot of

4:53:08commentaries from Irving ISD as well as

4:53:09Uplift. Um just a whole lot of positiv

4:53:12comments on this and we really hope to

4:53:15uh work with Vistra and TXU next year

4:53:18and really grow this to even larger than

4:53:20it was this year. We'll take any

4:53:21questions.

4:53:24>> Gentlemen,

4:53:25>> good.

4:53:27>> Melissa, as always, thank you. Great

4:53:29job.

4:53:29>> Thank you, sir. I appreciate it.

4:53:31>> Okay, we're going to now move on to our

4:53:34final

4:53:37Let's see if I have this thing ready to

4:53:39go. Okay. Heritage District Clean and

4:53:43Safe Initiative.

4:53:48Is our Chief of Police going to handle

4:53:49this?

4:53:51>> I'm impressed.

4:53:53>> Good evening. Derek Miller, chief of

4:53:55police. How is everyone

4:53:57here to talk about um heritage district?

4:54:00Um before I get started, just for a

4:54:03matter of background, the police

4:54:04department, as you know, um over the

4:54:06last several years have received

4:54:09numerous numerous complaints

4:54:12um uh in in our heritage district or

4:54:15downtown area. Most of those complaints

4:54:17uh are of crime obviously the police

4:54:20department's feeling them fielding them

4:54:22are of a disorderly conduct in nature.

4:54:25Um

4:54:27um and so you know I've talked to you

4:54:29before how crime exists. There's it's

4:54:31like a triangle is is there's to exist

4:54:34it has to have a victim, an offender and

4:54:36a location. And so for the last several

4:54:38years we have been focused um on on the

4:54:42the offenders of these disorderly

4:54:44conduct crimes. Um we've made numerous

4:54:47contacts. We've spent uh inordinate

4:54:50amounts of overtime with police officers

4:54:52in the area. Um, and the problem still

4:54:55persists. Um, so I I told Mr. Hillman uh

4:54:59several weeks ago that unfortunately I

4:55:01don't it's my professional opinion that

4:55:02we're not going to be able to arrest our

4:55:04way out of this problem. So we needed to

4:55:07come we brought to him a a multi-ep

4:55:09department strategy to try to to try to

4:55:12uh solve some of the crime issues,

4:55:15assuage some of the concerns of the

4:55:17business owners in the in the area. um

4:55:19and while at the same time not not

4:55:22arresting large portions of our

4:55:24population who quite frankly um the

4:55:28criminal justice system is not the place

4:55:29for them. Um and so we're trying to come

4:55:32at this in a different way. So what

4:55:34we're coming to you with is a is a

4:55:36proposal for a new strategy, a

4:55:38multi-disiplinary strategy. Um it's a

4:55:41coordinated response. Uh like I said, we

4:55:44have recurring

4:55:46um nuisance and public order condition

4:55:47that affect access cleanliness and the

4:55:51experience of local businesses in the

4:55:53area. Um the issues we we face have to

4:55:57do with public access and keeping

4:55:59entrances in sidewalks open for lawful

4:56:02use, the site conditions of the area. uh

4:56:05we want to address waste and other

4:56:06unsafe and unsanitary conditions and we

4:56:09want to have consistent action

4:56:11wherein we exercise [clears throat] the

4:56:14city's authority with clear

4:56:15documentation and coordination. So it's

4:56:18a the strategy is a is a three-prong

4:56:20strategy. Um has three connected lines

4:56:22of work. Um the first one you see is the

4:56:27police department and and how we're

4:56:28going to address this multifaceted.

4:56:31Um we will address specific violations.

4:56:34Um, and those violations find themselves

4:56:36in this disorderly conduct. When I say

4:56:38disorderly conduct, I mean what we're

4:56:40seeing down there are things like

4:56:41indecent exposure, public ludess, public

4:56:44intoxication,

4:56:46um, fighting. We're seeing um, and most

4:56:49notably defecation of urination um, in

4:56:52the area. Um, we're also seeing um,

4:56:56criminal trespass, which is a higher

4:56:58offense um, in these areas. And so we're

4:57:02wanting to address and and how we how we

4:57:04enforce those things in a more

4:57:06consistent manner. And also we want to

4:57:09add um a new wrinkle. We want to have an

4:57:12intentional deterrence specific

4:57:14deterrence uh in the in in the district.

4:57:17We want to contract with um private

4:57:20security to add visibility and help us

4:57:23report concerns so we can be more

4:57:24responsive. And I'll unpack that a

4:57:26little bit more in a second. Our second

4:57:29line of business that we want to employ

4:57:31down there has to do specifically with

4:57:33code and cleanup. Code staff uh will

4:57:37help us identify conditions and arrange

4:57:39for targeted cleanup when authorized by

4:57:41owners to help help the city help help

4:57:44business owners um clean up some of the

4:57:46un unsanitary conditions in the area.

4:57:49And then the third prong to this is

4:57:51something that the city enacted several

4:57:54weeks ago or several months ago is there

4:57:57there's numerous um um u health

4:58:00compliance issues downtown around um

4:58:05some feedings that are going on down

4:58:07there. And we want to help with our

4:58:08inspectors provide guidance to those who

4:58:10are offering those services. um document

4:58:13any violations that may occur and then

4:58:15and then help provide corrections or

4:58:16require corrections to help facilitate

4:58:19those feedings um better.

4:58:22Prong one um disorderly conduct based

4:58:25police enforcement. Our current tools

4:58:26are um that we're dealing with is public

4:58:29camping, park park hours. I think you

4:58:31saw chapter 25 uh presentation earlier,

4:58:34public intoxication. Again, we're seeing

4:58:36obstruction of entrances and sidewalks,

4:58:38litter, um designated clear zones,

4:58:41public nuisances. Uh and then we have

4:58:43our partners down there at the DART

4:58:45parking um that are um have some

4:58:48responsibilities as well that we're

4:58:50having conversation with the DART police

4:58:52department who is on board with helping

4:58:54us. We just need to synchronize our

4:58:55enforcement efforts a little bit better.

4:58:57Um but we're in constant talks with them

4:58:59more so than we've been in the past.

4:59:02the enforcement standards. Again,

4:59:04remember what I said. I've always said

4:59:06this. I'm on record as saying this.

4:59:07Homelessness is which is some of the

4:59:09issues that we're having down down there

4:59:11is not against the law. Um and the

4:59:14police department is not the arm of

4:59:16government that needs to be solely

4:59:18dealing with homelessness. However, we

4:59:20there are what I would call um folks who

4:59:23are service resistant um who are who are

4:59:26causing some issues down there. And this

4:59:28is how we will go about our enforcement

4:59:30is along this track. We want to document

4:59:34the conduct and the location which we

4:59:35already have and we already know. We

4:59:37want to provide applicable warnings when

4:59:38possible and then when these things when

4:59:40behaviors don't change that I me the

4:59:42aforementioned behaviors and we will

4:59:44have to go into um in the enforcement

4:59:47action.

4:59:48There are some there are some ordinances

4:59:50or some some some tools that we would

4:59:52like to have in our toolbox. I know that

4:59:54many of you have received messages from

4:59:55many of you. Um, and as and as as we are

4:59:58in the process now of uh working with

5:00:01legal to to see about some of these some

5:00:04of these uh new ordinances that could be

5:00:06toolbox, but some of these things we

5:00:07have to be very careful. Some of them

5:00:09are overly broad. We have to make sure I

5:00:11have to make a case to legal about how

5:00:13we how we're able to employ those here.

5:00:15Just because there's ordinances in

5:00:16another part of the state or in the

5:00:18country, we need to make sure that they

5:00:19back to kind of the discussion that you

5:00:21just had about the library. we have to

5:00:22make sure that for the for Irving

5:00:24they're where they need to be. So, um we

5:00:27are we'll be submitting LSRs and some

5:00:29things to to to see if we can use some

5:00:32of those tools that will help us in this

5:00:34effort.

5:00:37Part of the part of the enforcement is

5:00:39to add private security. Now, that's

5:00:41that's new for us, right? And so, what

5:00:43we're finding is um and the whole theme

5:00:45of putting police putting badges where

5:00:47badges and enforcement needs to go. Um,

5:00:50I can't put police officers down here

5:00:53247, unfortunately. Um, but what we can

5:00:56do is we follow a model that Parks is

5:00:58already using. Parks hasn't has uh

5:01:00employees that have helped um patrol uh

5:01:04Heritage and Centennial with and and

5:01:06City Hall and City Hall parking lot with

5:01:08some success. Um, and that specific

5:01:11deterrence is what we're looking for

5:01:12here. And what we would be doing just

5:01:14quite simply is um employing um unarmed

5:01:19security um to be eyes and ears for us

5:01:22seven days a week um in marked security

5:01:25cars with with with flashing lights to

5:01:28patrol this area um to help us be eyes

5:01:31and ears and to be uh and to and if need

5:01:34to they can escalate incidents to the

5:01:35police department. We want to try this

5:01:38for a peri a short period of time. Um

5:01:40it's going to cost us just north of 40

5:01:43$41,000 to do that for a 30 for a 90-day

5:01:45period, we think. Um and then if we do a

5:01:48full year, it's going to cost us about

5:01:50$166,000.

5:01:52Um we're we're predicting um to align

5:01:55ourselves with a credible,

5:01:58capable security partner that can help

5:02:01us um try to change some of the

5:02:03behaviors and monitor some of the

5:02:04activity that are going on down there.

5:02:08In addition, we want to employ um some

5:02:11crime prevention uh strategies. There's

5:02:14a concept uh in policing called SEPTED.

5:02:17It's an acronym that stands for crime

5:02:18prevention through environmental design.

5:02:20We want to offer that to business owners

5:02:23um in the area to where um they can

5:02:26request us to come out and do an

5:02:27assessment of their property um and make

5:02:30improvement, suggest improvements or

5:02:32identify improvements that can help

5:02:33deter uh crime and improve safety. Um we

5:02:38can recommend and the recommendations

5:02:39may address landscaping, lighting,

5:02:41fencing, u visibility and access and and

5:02:45then also some many ex u exterior um

5:02:48improvements that they could qualify

5:02:50for. The city already has a grant-f

5:02:53funed program uh called the downtown

5:02:55property enhancement program that could

5:02:57help in this endeavor with regards to

5:02:59prevention wherein business owners can

5:03:02apply for this and be reimbursed up to

5:03:0580% now with a cap of about 50k um on

5:03:08it.

5:03:09Perhaps that would give business owners

5:03:10the ability to further harden the target

5:03:14with things like lighting and cameras

5:03:17and some other things that could help

5:03:18that could help us and help them. Prong

5:03:22two of the proposal will bring in um our

5:03:25partners with code enforcement and help

5:03:27with targeted cleanup. Um first we would

5:03:31identify reoccurring waste, debris and

5:03:33hazardous conditions in this in a

5:03:35designated area and I'll go over that in

5:03:36just a second. um that would be

5:03:38incumbent upon the business owner

5:03:39authorizing uh code to to to allow us to

5:03:43do that. And what we would do um would

5:03:46be to help remove some of that um

5:03:48hazardous material. Um we would define

5:03:51criteria.

5:03:53They are the code already has a

5:03:55contractor. We could use that. We could

5:03:56record the costs and locations um and

5:03:59then help help u the business owners in

5:04:03this area. Now, that's going to cost us

5:04:05about $8,500, we think, for biohazard

5:04:08and cleanup over the next three months.

5:04:11Um, and we have um a contractor's

5:04:14committed um response time of three

5:04:17hours. Um, and so the way that would

5:04:20work is with the increased police

5:04:22presence during the day with our with

5:04:24our partner security partners at night,

5:04:28hopefully we could change behavior. So,

5:04:30but that behavior if it did if it did

5:04:32present itself again, we would now have

5:04:34the capac the capability of of getting

5:04:37and having that stuff removed. This is

5:04:40simple concept. It's called broken

5:04:42windows concept. It's a concept in crime

5:04:44where if if if you if blight there's a

5:04:47correlation between blight and and and

5:04:50criminality a bit. You know, if no one's

5:04:52paying attention and things keep

5:04:55building up, then people are more apt to

5:04:57continue um to to cause crime and cause

5:05:00mayhem. And so our thoughts are with

5:05:03increased deterrence, if we do suffer um

5:05:07um some of these things, we could get it

5:05:08cleaned up. And what will happen over

5:05:10time is people understand that people

5:05:12care and are are watching the area and

5:05:15they won't hopefully do it anymore. Our

5:05:17third prong is to help our health

5:05:19inspections and help with the business

5:05:21compliance of the public feedings. Um

5:05:24and how that's that work's already

5:05:26begun. Uh we'd focus on food handling,

5:05:29sanitation, waste disposal, and any

5:05:30actual operational requirements.

5:05:33um we could help guide those uh those

5:05:36services and explain requirements and

5:05:38allow corrections within where the law

5:05:41uh permits. And then we would also um uh

5:05:44document uh continued violations and

5:05:47respond promptly um to any imminent

5:05:51imminent health or safety concerns.

5:05:55So we the defined scope of the um of the

5:05:59proposal is we will develop a service

5:06:02area. We're thinking our service area

5:06:03from east to west will be from Britain

5:06:05to sour, north to south, Rock Island to

5:06:07second. Um we would need to um get a

5:06:11security contract and develop uh SL

5:06:14service level agreements or reporting

5:06:15requirements. We would need to develop

5:06:17through our my partner directors. We

5:06:20would have to figure out cleanup

5:06:21criteria, have to gather owner

5:06:23authorizations. We'd have to understand

5:06:26health guidance and a referral process

5:06:28for that as well. We would track calls

5:06:30and document violations, clean up and uh

5:06:32we would identify where cleanups were

5:06:34occurring and identify repeat locations.

5:06:37Uh we would uh inspect uh corrections,

5:06:41contractor activity and total costs

5:06:42would be tracked and then we would make

5:06:44sure that we were working tightly where

5:06:47are we with business owners and

5:06:48community with feedback.

5:06:50And this initial

5:06:52push would be about a 90-day, we think a

5:06:54three-month um trial and then we would

5:06:58report back to you what we found. Um and

5:07:01so that's that's basically it's just us

5:07:03um trying to

5:07:06request direction on this this

5:07:09direction. Like I said, it's a

5:07:10multi-disiplinary here to four. It's

5:07:12kind of the police department acted in a

5:07:13vacuum with very limited tools to a very

5:07:16complicated problem. And so my partners

5:07:19uh the directors of these a other city

5:07:22departments have agreed to come on and

5:07:24let's use some of their expertise in

5:07:26some of the area because the goal is how

5:07:29do we facilitate things that are

5:07:31constitutionally um allowable but

5:07:34without um without some of the the

5:07:37criminality that we're seeing in the

5:07:38area. So that's that's the challenge for

5:07:40the police department and so we think

5:07:42some of our partners can help us in

5:07:43that.

5:07:45So that's that's the that's the ask.

5:07:47I'll ask answer any questions

5:07:53>> questions.

5:07:56Luis,

5:07:58>> well appreciate the work. Um, you know,

5:08:02I I feel like everything that is in

5:08:03there is obviously going in the right

5:08:05direction. It addresses like a lot of

5:08:07the things that we keep hearing from

5:08:08residents. So that's great stuff. Um now

5:08:12you you did a you um made a mention at

5:08:15the beginning of your presentation to

5:08:17other ordinances in other cities um

5:08:19enforcement additional enforcement tools

5:08:21but that you would need to document

5:08:22those um with with legal. What what does

5:08:25that process look like? What are your

5:08:27expectations and what is the expected

5:08:28timeline there?

5:08:29>> We're we're right now we're gathering um

5:08:33in specific the ordinance that you sent

5:08:35us no no sit no line in public

5:08:37sidewalks.

5:08:38>> Right. So, for for about the last six or

5:08:41seven months, we've been going around

5:08:42town taking photographs to of pictures

5:08:45of of to see if we could justify

5:08:48um bringing this proposal forward. Um

5:08:50there are some reporting challenges that

5:08:52we have um in our in our records

5:08:54management system. Um things aren't

5:08:57titled exactly the way um that they in

5:09:01align with the behavior that is

5:09:02observed. And so when it goes through

5:09:04from a research standpoint, it's hard to

5:09:06research to get a true picture. So,

5:09:08we're going to be we're going to be

5:09:09gathering um complaints, emails,

5:09:13citation uh pictures, citations,

5:09:16um everything we can to show that um

5:09:20this these issues exist. And then we'll

5:09:22put those together in a in a legal

5:09:24services request and uh submit that to

5:09:27to legal and then we'll work with them

5:09:29to to see if we can if we could bring an

5:09:32ordinance back to you.

5:09:33>> Right. And what would be the timeline of

5:09:35that?

5:09:35>> We're working on now. I've directed that

5:09:37the work be done. I I would hope that we

5:09:39would have that LSR submitted next week.

5:09:41>> Okay. Awesome. Um so if I'm

5:09:44understanding essentially a lot of calls

5:09:45for service, you know, the what is

5:09:48reported is not quite what what we would

5:09:50like to address or or or as the it looks

5:09:53in the record. Um how easy is it to

5:09:56retroactively, you know, look into

5:09:59those? Is that what you're doing or is

5:10:00that just

5:10:01>> It's very difficult. calls for service

5:10:02is difficult because the calls for ser

5:10:05um

5:10:06fast someone may call and say someone

5:10:09they may say it's a disturbance and it's

5:10:11not a disturbance when we the officer

5:10:13gets there um it's something else and

5:10:15that's what makes it so difficult just

5:10:16to do calls for service. We're having to

5:10:19there's been so much concern from the

5:10:21community. Um now we're now gathering

5:10:24emails and accounts and and things like

5:10:26that to try to put together to see if we

5:10:28can u um put those in an LSR to to get

5:10:32us across the [clears throat] finish

5:10:33line.

5:10:33>> That's great. I will of course fully

5:10:35support that. Um you know I I understand

5:10:37that that you need to work with other

5:10:39departments. That makes total sense. So

5:10:41I'll agree with that as well. Um and all

5:10:43the you know the private security

5:10:45full-time. I think that's going to be

5:10:47useful and and it is very important that

5:10:49the that you know business owners

5:10:51understand when we have additional tools

5:10:54you know what what they can expect if

5:10:57they call you know one department or

5:10:59another like that there's going to be a

5:11:00a very quick solution to whatever it is

5:11:03that is going on and the main thing

5:11:04behind that is is really protect

5:11:07protecting heritage which we're trying

5:11:09to revitalize and and you know uh ensure

5:11:12it grows and does great uh so I

5:11:14appreciate all these initiatives and I

5:11:15appreciate your work over the last many

5:11:17months, many years, frankly. You know,

5:11:19it's a big deal. So, um, you know, thank

5:11:22you very much for that. Looking forward

5:11:24to the next steps and this is great

5:11:26stuff.

5:11:28>> Okay, John.

5:11:31>> Thank you, Mayor, and thank you, chief,

5:11:32for the presentation. Really appreciate

5:11:33it. Um, I also am fully supportive of uh

5:11:37of these initiatives. I think um

5:11:40uh they make a lot of sense especially

5:11:42you know there's uh you you're you're

5:11:45combining deterrence with enforcement um

5:11:48so hopefully that sees some pretty rapid

5:11:50and pretty uh noticeable improvements

5:11:54uh in the situation downtown uh with the

5:11:56with the private security. I was uh just

5:11:58curious so the the plan then is to we're

5:12:01going to we're going to give it a try

5:12:03for you said a 90-day period.

5:12:06>> That's our aim. Yes, sir. Um, and we

5:12:09have the money available in the in the

5:12:12police fund for that.

5:12:15[laughter]

5:12:17>> Yes. Okay.

5:12:20>> Um,

5:12:20>> I'll work with the chief. We'll find the

5:12:22number.

5:12:22>> The number the number that you had up

5:12:24there is is within Chris's

5:12:27uh limit. So, so I imagine you'll you'll

5:12:31look for the money. If you find it,

5:12:32you'll spend it. If not, come back to

5:12:34us. Okay. in the $110 million police

5:12:36budget. We'll we'll figure out a way to

5:12:37all right get there.

5:12:38>> Um and so how how soon do you anticipate

5:12:40that that uh that program is going to

5:12:42begin?

5:12:43>> We need to unpack that that right. I

5:12:44don't know. You know, I may have to do a

5:12:46RF QI. I don't know. We we need I'll

5:12:50need to you know, I will tell you um

5:12:52this can be risky. I'm not you know, I'm

5:12:55going to be hiring private security.

5:12:58They're going to have to have standards.

5:12:59I'm not going to just hire anybody in a

5:13:00pickup truck with a security shirt. So,

5:13:03um I need to make sure that there's

5:13:04standards. Um I don't think we need

5:13:07armed security. That opens us up to a

5:13:09So, I don't know. But we will work with

5:13:12all um

5:13:15due speed as we can to make sure we get

5:13:17the right partner um and we make sure

5:13:20that we set out the right the right the

5:13:22what I'm calling the service level

5:13:24agreement. What I want out of out of

5:13:25them and what the clear expectations

5:13:28are.

5:13:28>> Okay.

5:13:30Um

5:13:31yeah, uh definitely an expeditious

5:13:34process getting getting that program off

5:13:37the ground. Uh I would I would uh push

5:13:41for um is there anything we can do in

5:13:44the meantime

5:13:46to

5:13:49I mean I know you were saying like it's

5:13:51not something you have the additional

5:13:53resources to just throw at right now.

5:13:55Um, is there is there anything else that

5:13:58we're looking at that we can do in the

5:13:59meantime

5:14:01>> to kind of

5:14:03>> give some additional relief?

5:14:04>> Yeah. No, my first answer is to say that

5:14:06what you could do for us is to continue

5:14:07to support us the way you all do and we

5:14:09appreciate that. And remember, we are

5:14:11still in an elevated uh mode right now.

5:14:14I have we've moved hot um hours to the

5:14:18to the early mornings. We've we we are

5:14:21still having patrol officers out. Um

5:14:24we've we've had some issues. I I've got

5:14:26a was told today by

5:14:29a deep nights officer that um there's a

5:14:32new night of the week that's causing us

5:14:34a little there's the activity is higher

5:14:36on because some feedings have changed.

5:14:38So we're trying to respond to that. Um

5:14:41just know there these these complaints

5:14:42are still coming in. Council member uh

5:14:45Ahmed and I just got an email two hours

5:14:48ago about um some issues with sleeping

5:14:52um along one of the canals. So, it's

5:14:54it's it's

5:14:56we're we're trying to get our hands

5:14:58wrapped around it, but the message the

5:15:00message is is it's going to take a

5:15:03multi-ep department response to to try

5:15:06to to try to solve some of it because I

5:15:08just I can't continue to put people in

5:15:11jail, especially for class B offenses.

5:15:13I'm really concerned about putting uh

5:15:15the main tool we've had here before has

5:15:16been criminal trespassing. Criminal

5:15:18trespassing is causing issues in other

5:15:21parts, putting pressure on other parts

5:15:23of the the criminal justice system that

5:15:25we need to be careful of. So, it's it's

5:15:27a delicate balance. So, to answer your

5:15:28question, I think we have what we need.

5:15:30We'll work to get what we can to to

5:15:33enhance our responses and and we'll

5:15:35report back and if we can identify any

5:15:37more needs in that process, I'll let you

5:15:39know.

5:15:40>> All right. Thank you.

5:15:43Yes, thank you Rod.

5:15:45>> Love this plan. There's this little

5:15:48thing blinking in my peripheral vision

5:15:50thinking that this might be slippery

5:15:52slope if other parts of the city say,

5:15:54"Well, can we have them too?"

5:15:55>> Yep.

5:15:56>> If you know, Valley Ranch comes and say

5:15:58like, "We want patrol going up and down

5:15:59the canal, Lascolina, stuff like that."

5:16:02So, that's just something to keep in

5:16:04mind. I'm I'm sure you've thought about

5:16:06it. Um, the other question I had was the

5:16:09amount of effort it will take you to do

5:16:10RFQ and stuff. Um, would it be

5:16:14beneficial that we hire our own safety

5:16:16officers that we were thinking about? I

5:16:18know we ran into some challenges with

5:16:20that.

5:16:22We we we thought about that. Um, I don't

5:16:24think that's completely off the table.

5:16:25That's why I'm calling the parks model.

5:16:27Joe uh Joe's done that. Um, but we have

5:16:31to we have to figure we have to figure

5:16:32out costbenefit analysis of of that.

5:16:36then is it an FTE managing an FTE versus

5:16:39managing a contract that we can counsel

5:16:42if we need to. So we need to we need to

5:16:45think about that. We need to that's why

5:16:46we need to be kind of gingerly in how we

5:16:49proceed um to figure out what's the best

5:16:52response as as in regards to your first

5:16:55uh comment. We're going to have to be

5:16:58honest with business owners and and

5:17:00folks as well this because I've had

5:17:02experience here. you'll start an

5:17:03initiative, it seems to work, but we

5:17:05can't sustain it for a long period of

5:17:07time, and then when it goes away,

5:17:09business owners or districts are like,

5:17:10"Hey, where did my ex go?" And so, we're

5:17:13hopefully through other programs, we're

5:17:15going to work with the with the

5:17:16community and and everyone involved and

5:17:18and try to establish a long-term

5:17:20strategy. I don't This is not a

5:17:21long-term strategy. This is this is a

5:17:26this is another strategy to try to help

5:17:27a symptom.

5:17:34Okay, Chief. Oh, Mark.

5:17:36>> Yeah, I appreciate [clears throat] all

5:17:37the creativity and the thought that you

5:17:39put into this, Chief. And it's u um mo

5:17:42addressing the uh the issue is is

5:17:43multiaceted. There's lots of things that

5:17:45we we can look at. You know, I I I think

5:17:48we should be looking at too is like

5:17:50seeing what we can do to partner with

5:17:51this Salvation Army at the facility

5:17:53they're building at Regal Row and I35. I

5:17:56mean there it's going to be a tremendous

5:17:58facility with um wraparound services.

5:18:00Everybody talks about that and uh as and

5:18:03then also people like talk about the San

5:18:05Antonio model being very effective as

5:18:07far as like providing that assistance to

5:18:09the people that need it and also but

5:18:11also taking some of that pressure off of

5:18:12the downtown area in San Antonio which

5:18:14was um um the businesses were struggling

5:18:16because of u the prevalence of the

5:18:18homeless there. And um if if we could um

5:18:21help if we could partner with them and

5:18:23help provide those services, that's

5:18:24another um part of the solution, I

5:18:27suppose,

5:18:28>> as far as like um helping the people

5:18:30that need it, but then also, you know,

5:18:33we we got to protect our home our

5:18:34homeowners and business owners in the

5:18:36heritage district and throughout the

5:18:37city.

5:18:38>> Absolutely.

5:18:39>> Good. Thank you. Anybody else? Chief,

5:18:43thank you. You're always leading the

5:18:45way. Appreciate it.

5:18:46>> Thank you.

5:18:47Okay, I've got two quick items and we

5:18:50can go to dinner. By the way, it looks

5:18:51like it's really good Italian food. Um,

5:18:55you received a u

5:18:58entertainment center ticket and use

5:19:01guidelines acknowledgement from uh and

5:19:04it's dealing with the Toyota music

5:19:06factory from Philip Sanders. If you

5:19:09would please just make sure you get a

5:19:11chance to read it all. You need to sign

5:19:14this. We have to do it every year.

5:19:17So, if you've received it, please be

5:19:19sure you take care of that. Uh, the only

5:19:22comments I will make at this point, uh,

5:19:25as you know, you get a chance to pick

5:19:28out of the hat, so to speak, and pick

5:19:31which ones you would like to go to. But

5:19:34what you do have to understand is that

5:19:38it is not just for us on the city

5:19:40council.

5:19:42Uh, at the end of the day, if you look

5:19:45at what the full memo from Chris says,

5:19:50once you make your selections, now if

5:19:52you want mine, call me because usually I

5:19:55don't use mine. So, that's four. Um but

5:19:59the critical piece is we need to then

5:20:02let other people such as our

5:20:06oscalinus Irving convent not convention

5:20:09bureau but the chamber of commerce and

5:20:12it'll lay it all out as well as members

5:20:14of the city. And so this is a sharing

5:20:17thing, but there's another thing that I

5:20:19want you to think about, and I got

5:20:21briefed on it by uh both uh Jennifer

5:20:26Ramirez, who is the key play person that

5:20:28handles all of this, as well as with our

5:20:32our city

5:20:34attorney. Um and we talked as well as

5:20:37with Chris, what's the appropriate use?

5:20:41I will tell you there was and I don't

5:20:43know how long ago you might be able to

5:20:45remember you or Janet uh that we had an

5:20:48ORR plus we had an IRS

5:20:51uh request as to the use of city funds.

5:20:57So when you and I then go and we take

5:21:02one or two people with us depending upon

5:21:04the tickets that you have um it is not

5:21:08for your family. It is for your wife and

5:21:12or your choice on your child. Um I'm not

5:21:16going to go any further than that

5:21:18because I'm not here to be your

5:21:22reviewer on this because you've all

5:21:24earned it. You get the big bucks being

5:21:26on the council. So at least you can get

5:21:28some of this. But keep in mind that when

5:21:31you order the food and drinks there,

5:21:34that is city funds that is being

5:21:37cemented from our relationship in the

5:21:39contract. Please read it. It'll tell you

5:21:42exactly what happened to us in the past.

5:21:45KO, do you remember when that happened

5:21:46and we had to deal with that?

5:21:48>> It's been a number of years. How many

5:21:50>> 2019? Okay. But the whole thing was

5:21:54somebody saw misuse uh for whatever

5:21:58reason and none but nobody here except

5:22:01probably you and I Dennis were here in

5:22:0319 and and I didn't even I don't even

5:22:06recognize most of these police so I

5:22:08never go but anyway that's besides but

5:22:10read it um I'm not you know you're all

5:22:14very responsible individuals understand

5:22:17that keep a record if you're not taking

5:22:21your immediate wife and daughter or son.

5:22:26Uh if you're taking it's for us to

5:22:29promote the city and promote what we're

5:22:31doing. So reach out to your business

5:22:34contacts to nonprofits. Uh tickets will

5:22:37be gone that are not going to be used.

5:22:39They will be u u notice to the Irving

5:22:45Loscalinus Chamber of Commerce as well

5:22:48as our city employees. So think about

5:22:51that. You know, I don't want to bring it

5:22:53up again. You all understand what I'm

5:22:56saying to you. And so please read it,

5:22:59sign it, and get it to Jennifer Ramirez.

5:23:01Uh you have your latest one, which is

5:23:04November. U so go ahead and you'll make

5:23:07your picks on that. And there are two

5:23:10levels that you got to remember. They're

5:23:12the ones that we automatically get

5:23:16and then it's the others that are kind

5:23:18of part of that process. There are eight

5:23:20seats that are ours and that uh

5:23:25um box I guess I want to call it. And so

5:23:29keep that in mind. It is for your use to

5:23:33promote if you want to promote u uh not

5:23:37only private sector but also um but I

5:23:40you know that's the last thing I want to

5:23:42bring it up to you but please read the

5:23:43memo. Please read what the

5:23:48uh tenants of the legality of what we're

5:23:51doing and what and how we use it. Okay,

5:23:54that's the end of that one at this

5:23:55point. Um the other is there is going to

5:23:59be right now from 6 to 7 I think right

5:24:04next to us at the uh our u

5:24:08I guess I want to say that the huts

5:24:10building and it'll be a Irving visit

5:24:14Irving Texas uh with our boards and

5:24:17commissions meaning ICVB and uh uh the u

5:24:24uh IDAC

5:24:26Irving uh Department of Cultural and

5:24:31>> Arts and Culture

5:24:32>> and Arts and Culture. Okay, I got it.

5:24:34Okay. Uh those are the only two things I

5:24:36wanted to say to you. I want to thank

5:24:38you for working through this. We got a

5:24:41lot done today. The good news is that I

5:24:46think I might try to make it by 7:30

5:24:49tonight because we we can move pretty

5:24:51quick on this one. So, uh, I'm going to

5:24:54look at both Dennis and, uh, either you,

5:24:59David, or Mark to then go ahead and make

5:25:02the, uh, um, movement on our not only

5:25:07the boards, not the boards, but the, uh,

5:25:10um,

5:25:12I guess I want to say the u bids as well

5:25:17as the other action items throughout our

5:25:20process. So go ahead and decide which

5:25:21one you just if you haven't heard it

5:25:23from Chenise, she may already have it

5:25:26already laid out but at this point okay

5:25:28I'm done. Anybody like to say the good

5:25:31or the Yes.

5:25:32>> So I just want to give you a reminder we

5:25:34are having our state planning conference

5:25:36this week here at our convention center.

5:25:38So it'll be Wednesday through Friday. So

5:25:41if anybody's interested, you are still

5:25:43welcome to register if you want go for a

5:25:46day, if you want to go to the whole

5:25:47conference. Um, we'd love to have you

5:25:49all come and, you know, just learn a

5:25:52little bit more about the crazy stuff

5:25:53that we do. So, I wanted to make sure I

5:25:55mention that.

5:25:57>> Okay. Thank you. Enjoy dinner. We are

5:26:00ajourned.

5:26:03[music]

5:26:12[music]

5:26:14Heat. Heat.

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