October 16 Work Session Notes
Making my rounds all over town, Putting out old flames
District 7 October 16, 2023 Work Session Pre-meeting Notes
Very short agenda this week with only one week between meetings. I hope everyone enjoyed the Downtown Square’s Grand opening yesterday. Bringing that kind of life back to the square was the whole point of those millions of dollars invested.
For my notes, I’ll make my comments in bold italics for each of the items. Please email council7@garlandtx.gov with your input.
Public Comments on Work Session Items
Persons who desire to address the City Council on any item on the Work Session agenda are allowed three minutes to speak. Speakers are taken only at the beginning of the meeting, other than invited testimony.
Speakers are grouped by Work Session item and will be taken in the order of the Work Session agenda. Speakers must submit to the City Secretary a completed speaker’s card before the beginning of the meeting. Speaker cards will not be accepted after the Mayor calls the meeting to order. Speaker cards are available in the lobby, at the visitor’s side of the Work Session Room, and from members of staff.
Speakers are limited to addressing items on the Work Session agenda – any item relating to a Regular Session agenda item should be addressed at the Regular Session and any item not on an agenda may be addressed during the open microphone at the end of the Regular Session.
Consider the Consent Agenda
A member of the City Council may ask for discussion or further information on an item posted as a consent agenda item on the next Regular Meeting of the City Council. The Council Member may also ask that an item on the posted consent agenda be pulled from the consent agenda and considered for a vote separate from consent agenda items on the regular agenda. All discussions or deliberations on this portion of the work session agenda are limited to posted agenda items and may not include a new or unposted subject matter.
The highlight of the consent agenda this week is item 2b.Fire Station 7 Design Services. This item will award the contract to Martinez Architects for professional architectural design and engineering services for the new Fire Station 7, relocating from 2545 Naaman School Road to 1805 Pleasant Valley Road. They have done some very nice work on other fire stations around the Houston area and elsewhere in Texas. I think this is a good selection for our newest fire station as well.
(Photo from Martinez Architects. https://www.martinez-architects.com/projects/midland-fire-station-no-11/)
(Photo from Martinez Architects. https://www.martinez-architects.com/projects/montgomery-fire-station-no-55/)
Written Briefings:
Bottleneck Improvements Program - Agreements with Dallas County
Written staff presentation and recommendation regarding the Funding Agreement (FA) for the Project Specific Agreement (PSA) with Dallas County for four intersections: Broadway Boulevard at Interstate Highway 30 Service Road, Buckingham Road at Plano Road, Forest Lane at Jupiter Road, and Apollo / Spring Creek at Garland Avenue.
In the only briefing of the day, we will discuss a cost sharing agreements between Dallas County and the City of Garland on four of our Bottleneck Improvement Projects. The four intersections involved are 1) Broadway Boulevard at IH 30 Service Road, 2) Buckingham Road at Plano Road, 3) Forest Lane at Jupiter Road, and 4) Apollo / Spring Creek at Garland Avenue.
With these agreements, the $24,021,820.5 total project cost for these four intersections will be split 50/50 between Dallas County and the City of Garland.
The goal of these projects is to provide new turn lanes, increase storage lengths, improve traffic signal phasing, and/or sequencing and lane use modifications based on traffic flows.
4. Announce Future Agenda Items
A member of the City Council, with a second by another member, or the Mayor alone, may ask that an item be placed on a future agenda of the City Council or a committee of the City Council. No substantive discussion of that item will take place at this time.
5. Adjourn
No Executive Session today.
With approval of a new fire station on the Consent Agenda, here’s a good song to end it with: