Work Session Notes - June 3, 2024
Signs Signs Everywhere there's signs
Even while we are in the middle of recovering from the recent storms, the business of the Council must continue. Soon we will be posting a list of resources if you cannot afford to have your trees cut and removed, or need an electrician to repair your electric meter.
In my church this morning, a collection was taken up to support Catholic Charities and the work they are doing to help repair our community. I encourage you to reach out to them at ccdallas.org or 866-223-7500 if you need assistance.
As usual, my comments are in bold italics. Please share my Substack with a friend!
CITY OF GARLAND
WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
PUBLIC COMMENTS ON WORK SESSION ITEMS
CONSIDER THE CONSENT AGENDA
WRITTEN BRIEFINGS
Council may ask for discussion, further information, or give direction to staff on an item posted as a written briefing.
Ordinance amending the Master Fee Schedule of Chapter 10 of the Code of Ordinances
Council is requested to consider an Ordinance Amending the Master Fee Schedule of Chapter 10, Section 10.85 of the Code of Ordinances.
This item provides fines for parking offenses involving oversized vehicles, with escalating fees for repeated violations. Previously, oversized vehicles would pay the same rate as standard-sized vehicles for parking violations.
We found out that offenders would pay the fee as a cost of doing business rather than comply with our parking ordinance. Now these increased fees for oversized vehicles ($75 for the first offense, $100 for the second offense, and $150 for the third offense) will help drive compliance as it becomes more expensive for the offender.
Abandonment of Utility Easement and Portion of Drainage and Detention Easement in Campbell Ferris Addition
Council is requested to consider the abandonment of the Utility Easement and a portion of the Drainage and Detention Easement in the Campbell Ferris Addition subdivision to the current property owner, Victron Stores, L.P.
The site at 6530 N. President George Bush Highway was encumbered with easements in 2001 to develop the site as a convenience store. After two years of operation, the store closed.
Now, the existing easements are hindering redevelopment of the site, which coincidentally enough, will also be as a convenience store with gas pumps and a new site layout. The developer will dedicate new easements at different locations as required for the new site.
(The pipe bollards guarding the old fuel pump locations are still visible in this Google Streetview image.)
VERBAL BRIEFINGS
Council may ask for discussion, further information, or give direction to staff on an item posted as a verbal briefing.
Staff Update on Storm Recovery and Power Restoration Efforts
Staff from various responding departments will update City Council regarding ongoing storm recovery efforts.
Given the events of the past week, this discussion will be highly anticipated. I expect staff from GP&L, the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), Facilities, Transportation, Streets, Sanitation, Parks, and perhaps even the Animal Shelter will be available to provide information and answer Council questions. One unexpected result of the wind damage is that pets get loose when fences are blown down which results in a large number of displaced animals.
There will be many future discussions analyzing the storm response and how we can be better prepared to respond in the future, and this will start those conversations. I encourage all affected and concerned Garland residents to come to the Work Session to provide their commentary and to listen to the discussion. If you cannot make it to City Hall on Monday at 6:00 PM, you can watch live at https://garlandtx.new.swagit.com/views/213 and click on the “Watch Live” tab at the top.
Interview for Appointment to the North Texas Municipal Water District Board
Information was posted on the City's website for 21 days in order to provide an opportunity for citizens to apply for the North Texas Municipal Water District Board position. At the close of the notice period on Friday, May 31, 2024, three applicants, Jack May, Mustafa Haque and Ryan Timmons responded. Council is scheduled to formally appoint a representative to the North Texas Municipal Water District Board at the June 4, 2024, Regular Meeting.
Three applicants have applied to be one of Garland’s appointees to the North Texas Municipal Water District Board. Jack May is our current appointee who has applied for another term. Mustafa Haque is a current SMU student in Civil Engineering projected to graduate in 2027. Ryan Timmons is a Water Resources Engineer with a Master’s Degree from Texas Tech and five years experience in water resources engineering. I’m looking forward to hearing from all of the candidates Monday.
Garland Senior Activity Center Project Update
Staff will give an update on the Garland Senior Activity Center project.
The new Senior Center is one step closer to being a reality as Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture will present renderings of the new facility. I’m especially excited to see the interior renderings and the options for the exterior building materials.
Review of Yard Sale Ordinance related to residential, institutions, and multifamily properties.
Rick Barker, Director of Code Compliance, will provide a verbal briefing on City Ordinances related to yard sales at residential institutions and multifamily properties. Council Member Williams, with a second from Council Member Lucht, requested a presentation on the yard sale ordinance.
Chapter 32 of our Code of Ordinances provides regulations regarding garage sales depending if the sale is on a single family, multifamily residence, or institutional site.
Single Family Residence Garage Sale
Permit required - No fee
Duration – Three (3) consecutive days, excluding holidays.
Number of sales allowed per calendar year – Three (3)
Multifamily Residence Garage Sale
Permit required – No fee
Duration – Three (3) consecutive days, excluding holidays
Number of sales allowed per calendar year – Five (5)
Merchandise location – not displayed with 50 ft. of public street.
Institutional Site Garage Sale
Permit Required – No fee
Notify COG of sale 48 hours prior to sale
Unlimited number
Provide name of person in charge of sale, permission from owner.
Proceeds to institution itself, non-profit, or combination thereof.
The following chart shows the number of garage sales per Council District:
(Note: 2024 totals are projections.)
I’m curious about your input on whether you believe we need additional regulations for garage sales.
Review the Community Involved I-Sign Program for Removing Illegally Placed Signs in Public Right of Ways, Parkways, and Medians
Rick Barker, Director of Code Compliance, will provide a verbal briefing and presentation to review the community involved I-Sign program for removing illegally placed signs in public right of ways, parkways, and medians. Council Member Hedrick, with a second from Council Member Lucht, requested a presentation on the I-Sign program.
Did you know that Garland has a program that will pay community organizations to remove illegally placed signs (think those “Buy your house for cash” signs you see on the street corner)?
Last year 1,192 signs were removed with the city paying a bounty of $0.50 per sign. The number of signs removed each year has been falling in recent years to about a third of those removed in 2020.
I would like your input on whether you think this program is still worthy of funding to remove the signs which clutter our roadways or should the roughly $1,000 funding the program each year be spent elsewhere.
NXL Paintball Tournament Recap
Staff will present the Council with a verbal update regarding the NXL Paintball Tournament at Audubon Park. Council Member Lucht, with a second from Council Member Williams, requested an update regarding the NXL Paintball Tournament.
The NXL Paintball Tournament was a great event for Garland to have hosted bringing in over 4,000 visitors to our city, booking 1,388 Garland hotel room nights, and proving $1,070,438 economic impact.
However, due to the heavy foot traffic and the rain, $40,000 worth of repairs had to be made to Audubon Park after the tents and trailers packed up and went home to regrade and reseed the park. Our Parks Department is looking into future contractural or process changes that they may utilize in the future to cover post-event expenses.
Here’s some video I took of the event here:
2024-2025 CDBG, HOME and ESG Federal Grant Allocation
The Community Development Department will provide a presentation concerning the distribution of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, HOME Infill Partnership Grant (HOME) funding, and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funding.
Based on the our feedback from our last Work Session, Council will finalize funding for our CDBG funding grants. We decided to eliminate the Dental Program which does not have local ties or did not show up to our public hearing to make a presentation. All of the remaining organizations are worthy of receiving our funds.
Transportation, Infrastructure and Mobility Committee Report
The Transportation Infrastructure and Mobility Committee will report the results of consideration of quiet zones on railroads in the City of Garland.
At the request of Councilwoman Dutton, we discussed railroad “quiet zones” through the city. We discussed adding additional quiet zones and the requirements to do so which include providing gates (including pedestrian gates for where a sidewalk crosses the rails), a median separating the opposing lanes, and no driveway within 100’ of the crossing.
For one route crossing Shiloh Road, the estimated cost of providing two medians and gates is $2.5 million. If this is something that citizens would like to see, it may be an item to include in a future bond program.
CONSIDER APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS
Terms are usually staggered whereby at least half of the membership has previous experience. Members are appointed based on qualifications.
Council Member Chris Ott
Robert Duckworth - Plan Commission
ANNOUNCE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
A Council member, 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 of a committee of the City Council. No substantive discussion of that item will take place at this time.
ADJOURN
With the discussion of the signs removal program, this was an easy choice for a song this week: “Signs” by Tesla.