[1. Open Meeting.]
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2025 AND THE TIME IS NOW 6:03 P.M. AND THIS IS THE BRIEFING WORKSHOP OF THE LEANDER CITY COUNCIL. CITY SECRETARY CRABTREE, WILL YOU PLEASE CALL ROLL COUNCIL MEMBER STEPHEN CHANG, PRESENT COUNCIL MEMBER MICHAEL HERRERA HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER DAVID MCDONNELL HERE.
MAYOR PRO TEM NICOLE THOMPSON, PRESENT. COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW NORDEEN HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER BECKY ROSS HERE. QUORUM IS PRESENT AND THE CITY COUNCIL IS ELIGIBLE TO DO BUSINESS. ITEM
[3. Receive a presentation from the City of Leander's consulting team to provide an overview of the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) project W.42 for Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) to be installed, how it will function, and how it will benefit the City and its citizens; a status update on the current project efforts; next steps for the project; and what citizens can expect.]
THREE WILL RECEIVE A PRESENTATION FROM CONSULTANTS ADORA AND ATLAS ON WHAT IS AUTOMATED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE, AMI HOW IT WORKS, HOW IT WILL BENEFIT THE CITY AND ITS CITIZENS. A STATUS UPDATE ON THE CURRENT PROJECT EFFORTS, NEXT STEPS AND WHAT TO EXPECT. CIP PROGRAM MANAGER WILL INTRODUCE OUR CONSULTANTS. COME ON UP. I JUST STEPPED RIGHT UP. SORRY, WE DIDN'T MEAN TO GET YOU, MITCH. YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCIL GREATLY APPRECIATE.WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE OUR GUEST SPEAKER FROM ATLAS TOMMY MCCLELLAN. AND HE'S GOING TO GO AHEAD AND GIVE US THE LOWDOWN AND TEACH US ABOUT. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. WELCOME. THANK YOU.
COUNCIL MEMBERS. APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY. IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE'VE BEEN IN FRONT OF YOU. SO THIS IS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO GET YOU UPDATED AND WE'LL JUST STEP RIGHT INTO IT. FIRST AND FOREMOST, THIS IS THE AGENDA. I'VE GOT GREAT NEWS. WE'RE ABLE TO PARE DOWN ONLY TEN SLIDES PER TOPIC SO Y'ALL ARE READY TO GO. ANYHOW, IT'S VERY QUICK.
THIS WILL BE PRETTY QUICK, BUT THESE ARE THE TOPICS WE'LL COVER. WE'LL GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW. THE INTENT OF THIS REALLY I KNOW WE HAVE SOME NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS IS TO GET UP TO DATE ON WHAT EVEN AMI MIGHT MEAN, AND THEN TO TELL YOU WHERE WE'RE AT, BECAUSE THERE ARE VEHICLES, THERE'S WORKERS CANVASING THE NEIGHBORHOODS RIGHT NOW. AND IT'S IMPORTANT FOR EACH OF Y'ALL TO KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING, BECAUSE YOU MIGHT GET CALLED, YOU MIGHT BE ASKED, AND YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND. SO WE'LL COVER EACH ONE OF THESE. FIRST OF ALL, OUR PROJECT TEAM, YOU HEARD THE NAMES ADORA ATLAS. WELL, THIS IS A COMPREHENSIVE REFLECTION OF ALL THE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE INVOLVED. INVOLVED, OF COURSE, THE CITY OF LEANDER, ADORA ATLAS. OUR PARTNERSHIP IS THE CONSULTING GROUP REPRESENTING THE CITY.
AND THIS PROJECT WE HAVE CORE AND MAIN IS THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR FOR INSTALLATION.
THEY HAVE THEIR SUBS PLUS COMM AND OF COURSE NEPTUNE IS THE PRODUCT PROVIDER AND SO THEY ARE THE SYSTEM PROVIDER. BUT THIS IS YOUR GROUP YOUR COLLECTIVE THAT IS WORKING ON THIS PROJECT. NOW WHAT IS ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE? AMI THIS IS A VERY HIGH LEVEL PERSPECTIVE ON ALL THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS TO IT, FIVE VARIOUS LEVELS. I WOULD SUGGEST YOU'VE GOT THE METERING OR THE METROLOGY UP HERE IN THE UPPER LEFT HAND CORNER. LET ME GET MY LITTLE POINTER OUT HERE. THIS IS WHERE WE'RE AT NEPTUNE AMI METER ENDPOINTS. YOU'VE GOT 32,000 OF THESE GOING IN. THERE'S A TRANSMISSION. IT'S RF SIGNAL THAT'S TRANSMITTING THE DATA. THE DATA PACKETS FOR CONSUMPTION INFORMATION. IT'S RECEIVED BY THE CELLULAR OR THE RF FIXED NETWORK. AND WE'LL GO INTO PROPAGATION STUDY HERE IN A MINUTE TO SHOW YOU WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. BUT THE RF WHAT THERE'S ALSO SOME CHANGES HERE THAT WERE FROM THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL. THAT WAS VERY INTERESTING. WE'RE USING A LOT OF EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE, WHICH IS GOOD. YOUR DATA COLLECTORS. THIS SUGGESTS WHAT I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT. WE'VE GOT ONE MONOPOLE WHICH IS AN INDEPENDENT COMMUNICATION POLE GOING UP. THEN YOU'VE GOT EIGHT TOWERS AND FOUR ELEVATED STORAGE TANKS THAT ARE BEING USED. YOUR DATA MANAGEMENT PLATFORM IS CALLED NEPTUNE 360. AND THIS IS WHAT YOUR YOUR STAFF WILL BE USING TO ANALYZE CONSUMPTION OR FLAG ANY KIND OF EVENTS THAT MIGHT BE OCCURRING.
AND THEN OF COURSE, NEPTUNE. MY 360 IS THE CUSTOMER PORTAL WHICH WILL BE INSTALLED AND GIVE THE CUSTOMERS ACCESS TO THEIR CONSUMPTION INFORMATION. THIS IS THE NEPTUNE MY 360. AND HAVING BEEN WORKING WITH THE CITY SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THE PROJECT OR THE COMMISSIONING OF THE PROJECT, CONSERVATION IS ONE OF THE MORE. THE MAIN EMPHASIS OF WHY AM I IS BEING PUT INTO PLAY, AND THIS PORTAL WILL BE THE ACCESS FOR CUSTOMERS AND REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CITY TO INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER, TO HELP MANAGE BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS AND THAT TYPE OF THING. SO THIS IS ULTIMATELY ALL THE DIFFERENT FEATURES AND ADVANTAGES ARE UP HERE. BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING, I WANTED TO EMPHASIZE THE FACT THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE TOOLS THAT BILL AND HIS STAFF, THE CONSERVATION GROUP, WILL BE WORKING IN. THE REPRESENTATIVES BE WORKING TO ENGAGE FOLKS ACROSS THE COMMUNITY. THIS IS THE NETWORK COVERAGE. IF YOU HEARD ME MENTION A MOMENT AGO ABOUT THE MONOPOLE AND THE ELEVATED STORAGE TANKS,
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ETCETERA, THE BLUE BLOB REPRESENTS WHERE THERE IS FIXED NETWORK COVERAGE. THIS IS WHERE THERE'LL BE A COLLECTOR DEVICE SITTING ON A POLE OR AN ELEVATED, AN ELEVATED STORAGE TANK. THE GREEN BLOBS REPRESENT WHERE CELLULAR MODULES WILL GO IN. THIS IS LIKE TREVISO, WHERE YOU'VE GOT REAL HIGH CHANGES OR DEEP CHANGES IN ELEVATION. AND IT'S HARD TO TO PUT UP ENOUGH COLLECTORS TO GET THAT INFORMATION. SO. OOPS, OOPS. SO YOU END UP GOING TO CELLULAR BECAUSE THE COVERAGE FOR THE COMMERCIAL CARRIERS IS MUCH STRONGER AND MORE RELIABLE AT THAT POINT. THE ACTIVITIES TO DATE. THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A MISNOMER HERE. THESE ARE ACTIVITIES THAT ARE GOING ON RIGHT NOW WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS. THE SURVEY IS THE THE MAIN ONE. THERE'S REALLY TWO, THREE WORKSTREAMS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN PARALLEL WITH EACH OTHER. THE SURVEY, THE NETWORK INSTALLATION AND INTEGRATION OF THE DATA, THE INFORMATION THAT'S COMING INTO THE BILLING SYSTEM AND COMING INTO THE PORTAL, THE SURVEY, WE'RE ABOUT 95% COMPLETE AS YOU SEE THROUGH THIS, WHICH IS PART OF PART OF THE SURVEYS. THERE'S THEY'RE CAPTURING GPS, LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE OF ALL THE DIFFERENT METERS TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION ON THE SYSTEM. DOING A LEAD SERVICE LINE INVENTORY, WHICH WILL ADDRESS SOME OF THE FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS AROUND LEAD SERVICE LINES, AND THEN ALSO DOING THINGS LIKE CLEANING OUT THE BOX AND DOING THOSE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES SO THAT WHEN THE CONSTRUCTION COMES IN, WHEN THE IMPLEMENTATION OR THE INSTALLATION COMES IN, IT'S A CLEAN INSTALLATION. THE NETWORK, WE'LL SEE IN A MOMENT THAT IT IS A BIT DELAYED. PERMITTING HAS BEEN VERY THOROUGH, AS OUR CONTRACTOR LIKES TO SAY. SO THEY'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH BACK AND FORTH WITH IT, BUT WE'RE IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE. THERE WAS ONE MONOPOLE, AS I MENTIONED, GOING UP AT THE FIRE STATION, AND I FORGET WHICH FIRE STATION IT IS. IT'S NUMBER FOUR. THE FIRE STATION NUMBER FOUR IS GOING TO HAVE A MONOPOLE WOULD BE THE COMMUNICATION POLE THAT POLES OUT THERE AT THE MOMENT, THE ELEVATED STORAGE TANKS WE'RE WORKING THROUGH PERMITTING. AND OF COURSE THE SCADA TOWERS ARE THERE'S POWER.WE'VE DONE SOME SITE VISITS ON POWER, ETC. SO WE'RE WE JUST HAD REALLY ASSESSED IT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING'S READY TO GO. THE INTEGRATION NEPTUNE 360 WE MENTIONED A MOMENT AGO MY 360. MY 360 IS THE CUSTOMER PORTAL NEPTUNE 360 IS WHAT I CALL THE UTILITY PORTAL. SO IT'S UTILITY PORTAL, CUSTOMER PORTAL. SAME INFORMATION, JUST DIFFERENT ANALYTICAL CAPABILITIES. CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT. WE'RE GOING THROUGH THIS RIGHT NOW. ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT IS AND TONY, I APOLOGIZE, WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THAT EVENT THAT WE'RE COMING TO THE OLD TOWN CHRISTMAS WE'RE GOING TO SET UP, AND BILLY IS GOING TO BRING OUT ALL KINDS OF DANCING METERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT FOR THE COMMUNITY TO LOOK AT. SO THERE'LL BE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVERYONE TO GET A FEEL AND SENSE OF WHAT THESE SYSTEM, WHAT THESE ASSEMBLIES LOOK LIKE. AND OF COURSE, WE'LL ALL BE WE'LL HAVE PEOPLE THERE TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS THEN DEPLOYMENT. WE'RE AT THE POINT WHERE THE SURVEY IS COMING TO THE TAIL END. WE HAVE SOME ARMY READY METERS OUT THERE THAT REQUIRE ONLY AN ANTENNA. WE'LL START WITH THAT INSTALLATION TO BEGIN WITH. SO YOU'LL START SEEING ACCOUNTS COMING UP ON ARMY RELATIVELY QUICKLY ONCE THE NETWORK IS IN PLACE. AND THEN WE'LL MOVE INTO JUST THE FULL METERING ASSEMBLY. WHY THAT'S IMPORTANT IS THOSE ANTENNA ONLYS ARE LESS INTRUSIVE. IT'S THERE'S NOT A THERE'S NO CONCERN ABOUT CREATING LEAKS OR, YOU KNOW, DAMAGING LANDSCAPE, THAT TYPE OF THING. IT'S JUST TAKING OFF THE LID, EITHER DRILLING A HOLE IN THE LID OR JUST WHATEVER, DROPPING THE ANTENNA IN, ETC. IT'S A VERY SIMPLE PROCESS. THE CURRENT CHANGES TO THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL. WHEN WE FIRST STARTED THE THE EFFORT, THE DATA WAS FROM 2022 THAT WE WERE WORKING WITH. NOW WE'VE GOT UPDATED INFORMATION FROM 20 2425, ITS CURRENT INFORMATION, THE CITY, THE NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS HAD GROWN 5000 PLUS SINCE THAT POINT. SO THERE HAVE BEEN SOME CHANGES. ALSO, OUR SITE VISITS TO ALL OF THE DIFFERENT LOCATIONS FOR THE COLLECTOR DEVICES LED TO A CHANGE IN THE NUMBER OF COMMUNICATION POLES OR MONOPOLES. AS I MENTIONED A MOMENT AGO, YOU HAVE. YOU CAN SEE THE VARIANCES THAT HAVE OCCURRED ACROSS IN THE EXPLANATION FOR IT. BUT WHAT ALL THIS MEANS IS WE WERE VERY ADAMANT UPFRONT THAT WE WANTED THIS SURVEY FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS, BUT ONE OF IT WAS TO TRUE UP AND MAKE SURE WE UNDERSTOOD THE LABOR AND MATERIAL REQUIREMENT TO FINISH THE PROJECT. SO THERE'S NOT MULTIPLE CHANGE ORDERS. WE'LL HAVE ONE COME AT IT. HERE'S WHAT WE GOT. THIS IS WHAT WE'RE DOING, AND WE GET EVERYTHING PUT INTO PLACE. THIS IS THE PROJECT SCHEDULE. NEAR TERM INSTALLATION. WE'RE LOOKING AT. WE'RE RIGHT. HERE. AND YOU CAN
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SEE WE'RE MOVING INTO PHASE TWO OF THE IMPLEMENTATION, WHICH IS CONSTRUCTION. AND THIS IS AN IMPLEMENTATION INSTALLATION. THIS IS IMPORTANT. AND I TALKED TO THE TEAM ABOUT THIS ALL THE TIME. THIS IS WHERE THINGS START TRANSITIONING. THIS IS WHERE CHANGE MANAGEMENT STARTS TAKING EFFECT WITH THE STAFF. THEY HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO USE THIS DATA, HOW TO LOOK AT THIS DATA, HOW TO USE THE SYSTEMS THAT ARE IN PLACE, HOW TO WORK ON THE SYSTEM, HOW TO KEEP EVERYTHING OPERABLE, HOW TO HOW TO MANAGE WHAT THE INVESTMENT IS. AND SO AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THIS, WE HAVE RIGHT HERE A LOT OF ACTIVITIES. YOU'RE CLOSING OUT PHASE ONE.YOU'RE MOVING INTO PHASE TWO. AND THE INTENT HERE IS TO LITERALLY IT'S ALMOST LIKE AN ASSEMBLY LINE WHERE YOU HAVE YOU HAVE BULK STOCK WORKING STOCK WORKERS COMING OUT IN THE FIELD, AND THEY'RE GOING DOWN THESE CONTIGUOUS ROUTES AND THEY'RE PUTTING IN METERS AND IT'S BRINGING IT UP. AND THERE'S THIS SYSTEM IN PLACE, THESE PROCESSES IN PLACE TO BRING THE BILLS UP ON ARMY BILL READINGS FROM MANUAL METER READING. AND SO ALL THAT'S HAPPENING BEHIND THE SCENES, AND IT LEADS TO THIS EFFECT AS YOU'RE MOVING THROUGH THIS WHERE YOU START CLOSING OUT, IT'LL RAMP UP REAL QUICK. IT'LL ACTUALLY I GOTTA SLOW DOWN BECAUSE I TOLD THEM TODAY. RIGHT. BILL SAID, WE GOTTA GO SLOW TO BEGIN WITH. MAKE SURE WE DO ALL THE TESTING, MAKE SURE EVERYTHING'S WORKING AND IT'S GOING TO RAMP UP, CARRY OVER. IT'LL START DYING DOWN. AND THEN WE'LL GO INTO CLOSEOUT. AND BY THIS TIME, THE CITY STAFF WILL BE PREPARED TO MANAGE AND OPERATE THE SYSTEM AS IT WAS INVESTED IN. SUCCESS DRIVERS. WE JUST TALKED ABOUT INSTALLATION READINESS AND WORKFORCE PREPAREDNESS. EXACTLY.
INCOMPLETES RETURN TO UTILITY. THIS IS A TECHNICAL TERM IN A WAY. THIS IS WHERE ISSUES HAVE OCCURRED, LIKE WE CAN'T GET ACCESS TO IT, SOMETHING'S HAPPENED, A CAR IS PARKED OVER IT. AS AN EXAMPLE. THERE'S MULTIPLE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT CAN OCCUR, BUT THERE'S A PROCESS BEING WORKED ON RIGHT NOW SO THAT THAT SMOOTHED OUT AND MITIGATED AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE THE DATA AND SYSTEMS. IS IS ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT POINT, BECAUSE WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE END USER TESTING OF THE INFORMATION, WHAT'S AVAILABLE. THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT NUANCES THAT CHANGE THE BEHAVIOR OR THE OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE STAFF, AND THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON THERE. BETWEEN THOSE THREE PLANNING AND SITE READINESS. THIS IS REALLY ABOUT THE SURVEY. THE GUYS HAVE DONE A GOOD JOB. THE TEAM THAT YOU ALL BROUGHT ON BOARD HAS REALLY DONE AN OUTSTANDING JOB. I'VE BEEN VERY HAPPY WITH THEIR THEIR PERFORMANCE, PERMITTING AND REGULATORY. WE TALKED ABOUT THAT EARLIER AND THEN CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT. I THINK WE'VE GOT A I THINK UP HERE WAS ON THE PREVIOUS SCHEDULE WHERE MAY 26TH IS THE TARGET FOR THE CUSTOMER PORTAL TO COME COME UP. WHAT TO EXPECT SURVEY AND INSTALL CREWS ACTIVELY WORKING THROUGHOUT THE CITY. IN THE EVENT THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE DANCING METERS. WE'RE ALSO GOING TO HAVE THINGS LIKE THE CARB MAGNETS AND SUCH PPE THAT THE CONSTRUCTION THE INSTALLERS WILL BE WEARING. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THE COMMUNITY IS WHERE AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON. TY AND HIS TEAM HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH US ON MESSAGING. WE'VE BEEN WORKING VERY HARD TO GET IN FRONT OF THIS AND MAKE SURE EVERYBODY'S AWARE. THAT'S WHAT THIS DISCUSSION TONIGHT IS ABOUT IS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL ARE AWARE. THAT'S THE PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS, THE GATEWAY INSTALLATIONS. THIS IS BRINGING THE NETWORK UP. REMEMBER THOSE THREE WORK STREAMS IN THAT PHASE ONE? IT'S THE IT'S THE SURVEY, THE NETWORK AND DATA. WE GET ALL THAT WORKING. THEN WE START INSTALLING CUSTOMER PORTAL. GO LIVE MAY AS I MENTIONED AND CUSTOMER NOTIFICATION, THE CUSTOMERS WILL BE NOTIFIED BEFORE THEIR ROUTE IN BILLING CYCLE AND ROUTE ARE INSTALLED.
ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS AND THEN WE'LL GO DOWN THE LINE AND SEE WHAT EVERYBODY ELSE HAS. AS FAR AS FEEDBACK ON THE PAGE WHERE YOU TALKED ABOUT THE CUSTOMER PORTAL, CAN YOU JUST DESCRIBE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW THAT CUSTOMER INFORMATION IS GOING TO BE SAFEGUARDED AND PROTECTED? THAT'S IN THAT PORTAL. DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ACCESS TO IT? IS THERE ANY THIRD PARTY THAT COULD GET ACCESS TO IT? SINCE YOU ALL HAVE EMAILS AND YOU'LL HAVE INFORMATION FOR THE CUSTOMER THERE? NO, MA'AM.
THERE'S SINGLE SIGN ON THAT IS BEING IMPLEMENTED. AND STEWART, THE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER OF THE CITY, HAS BEEN ACTIVELY INVOLVED FROM THE BEGINNING IN IN DESIGN SECURITY REQUIREMENTS.
WE'RE VERY, VERY DEEP, VERY EXHAUSTIVE. IN FACT, ONE OF THE THINGS IN THE ARCHITECTURE OF IT, AND THIS IS KIND OF GOING A LITTLE DEEPER THAN YOUR QUESTION IS WE DIDN'T WANT TO INTEGRATE TO THE BILLING SYSTEM THROUGH AN API WHERE IT'S AUTOMATED. SO THERE'S IT'S
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GOING TO BE A MANUAL TRANSFER OF A FLAT FILE, A BILLING FILE, IN ORDER TO PROTECT SOME OF THE SECURITY REQUIREMENTS OR SECURITY THOUGHTS AROUND PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION THAT'S IN THE ERP. SO THERE'S THAT. AND THEN THE TYPICAL ENCRYPTION IS AS 256 I THINK IT IS ON THE NEPTUNE. IT'S EITHER 128 OR 256. 128 IS USUALLY THE MINIMUM. AND THE DATA AT REST IS, IS IS TYPICALLY THAT'S ALSO PART OF THE ENCRYPTION AND THE STANDARDS THAT ARE ADHERED TO IN THIS THE THE INDUSTRY. SO THAT'S ALL COMPLIANT. EXCELLENT.AND THEN ON THE PAGE WHERE YOU TALKED ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES FOR THE CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT, I KNOW YOU SAY YOU'RE DOING THE OLD TOWN CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL AND YOU WERE ONLY AT 20% COMPLETE. SO WHAT OTHER WAYS ARE YOU DOING ENGAGEMENT? ARE THERE OTHER FESTIVALS THAT ARE 20% COMPLETE, MA'AM? YEAH, I BELIEVE IT'S AT 20%. GO BACK. YEP. AND THIS SLIDE HERE. NO, IT'S A LITTLE BACK A LITTLE FURTHER. OH YEAH. I'M SORRY. YOU KNOW KEEP GOING. THE NEXT SLIDE HERE I'LL PULL IT UP TODAY. THANK YOU. ACTIVITIES TO DATE OKAY I DON'T SEE THE REFERENCE TO 20%. BUT WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO IN TERMS OF COMMUNICATING TO THE CUSTOMERS. RIGHT. WITH THE NEPTUNE 360 THAT'S PLANNED TO ROLL OUT IN MAY AND THAT'LL GO LIVE. AND SO BEFORE THAT THERE'LL BE ACTIVE COMMUNICATION AND SIGN UP, YOU KNOW, WHETHER YOU IT'LL BE AN OPT IN. I'M PRETTY SURE MOST CITIES ACCEPT OR TAKE IT ON AS AN OPT IN WHERE YOU OPT IN TO IT. AND THEY'LL THAT'LL REQUIRE SOME MARKETING, SOME EDUCATION, TEACHING THE COMMUNITY ABOUT HERE IT COMES. SO TY AND HIS STAFF WILL BE AN ACTIVE PART OF THIS. AT THE OLD TOWN CELEBRATION, WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT WHAT ITS FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITIES ARE AND HOW IT'S COMING, BECAUSE IT'S NOT READY. AND THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS WE TALK ABOUT. AND AGAIN, I'M GOING A LITTLE DEEPER THAN YOUR QUESTION IS YOU COULD STAND UP A PORTAL ALMOST AT ANY TIME. BUT FOR PURPOSES OF THE CITY AND THE BENEFIT WE'RE TRYING TO RECEIVE FROM IT, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE AMI DATA TO BE AVAILABLE FOR USE BY THE CUSTOMER, AND THAT WILL BRING REAL VALUE FROM THE PORTAL. THANK YOU. AND THE LAST ONE. UNDER THE SUCCESS DRIVERS ON THAT PAGE, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE PEOPLE YOU WANT TO MEET OR REACH OUT TO BY SOCIAL MEDIA AND YOU'RE USING NEXT DOOR. WHAT IS THE HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU'VE REACHED SUCCESS? LIKE HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU PLAN TO REACH VIA THOSE MODES? LIKE WHAT IS THAT NUMBER LOOK LIKE? WELL, AND I ONLY ASK BECAUSE WE'VE HAD SOME OTHER ENGAGEMENT AND SOME PEOPLE ARE SAYING, OH, IF WE GET 500 PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE, THAT'S SUCCESS. IF WE GET 1000 PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE, THAT'S SUCCESS. SO WHAT DOES THAT NUMBER LOOK LIKE? WELL, ACROSS THE INDUSTRY, TYPICALLY ADOPTION OF OF THE ENGAGEMENT, THE CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT IS RELATIVELY LOW.
YOU KNOW, IN THAT'S GOING TO BE SOMETHING WE ADDRESS IN TERMS OF HOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE OUR TARGETS. BECAUSE WE'VE NOT WE'VE NOT EVEN WE'VE NOT DEVELOPED THAT YET AS WE GET READY FOR IT. BUT YOU WANT TO PREPARE YOURSELVES, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, ABOUT OPT IN, OPT OUT. IF YOU OPT IN, IT'S USUALLY A HARDER TREK TO GO DOWN BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT TO CONVINCE PEOPLE TO COME IN AND SIGN UP AND AND DO THIS. AND THE PORTAL ITSELF IS NOT GOING TO BE LINKED TO PAYMENTS RIGHT NOW. THIS IS ONE OF THE OTHER SECURITY ELEMENTS THAT WAS PART OF THE ORIGINAL DESIGN. SO THEY'LL STILL GO TO THE SAME PAYMENT PATH THAT'S CURRENTLY IN EXISTENCE. THIS PORTAL IS INTENT IS REALLY AROUND CONSUMPTION, BEHAVIORAL MODIFICATION FOR CONSUMPTION PATTERNS, COMMUNICATING TO THE COMMUNITY, GETTING THEM UP UP TO DATE ON HOW TO USE THIS. AND SO WE'LL HAVE TO WORK PRETTY HARD AT IT. NOW IF WE GO TO THE OPT OUT IT'LL BE A LITTLE BIT SIMPLER I DON'T THAT DECISION HAS NOT BEEN MADE YET, BUT IT'S PART OF THE PLANNING FOR HOW WE'RE GOING THROUGH THAT PROCESS. WE WE DID HAVE A CHANGE THAT HAS SLOWED IT DOWN A LITTLE BIT. AND YOU SAW THAT ON THE CHANGE SLIDE WHERE WE WENT FROM SPRY POINT, WHICH WAS THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL TO MY 360. THAT WAS REALLY IT WAS ALL ABOUT THE FACT THAT SPRY POINT WAS A PACKAGED PRODUCT IN WHAT THE CITY WANTED AS A REQUIREMENT WAS THINNER THAN THAT. AND SO THAT WOULD HAVE REQUIRED CUSTOM PROGRAMING. AND WE WE, WE DO NOT WANT TO PUT IN CUSTOM PROGRAMS. WE DON'T DO THAT. PROBABLY TAKE A LOT LONGER. SO YEAH. THANK YOU. PLUS ONE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. THIS QUESTION IS
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FOR OUR CITY MANAGER. YOU KNOW, RECENTLY I'VE SPOKEN TO SOME SOME NEIGHBORS WHO'VE SEEN THE ARMY MESSAGING FROM THE CITY AND, YOU KNOW, HAD SOME CONCERNS FROM SOME NEIGHBORS WHO'VE THOUGHT THAT MAYBE THE ARMY METERS CAN, CAN BE USED AND TIED TO CODE VIOLATIONS SUCH AS WATERING ON NON PERMITTED DAYS OR BEING USED TO SHUT OFF SERVICES FOR NONPAYMENT. CAN YOU KIND OF EXPAND ON ON THAT? YEAH. SO THE ARMY SYSTEMS ARE REALLY BUILT FOR UTILITY BILLING AND SERVICE DELIVERY. SO WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO INCREASE EFFICIENCIES IN AS YOU GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND ALSO TO INCREASE ACCURACY. SO BY HAVING A MECHANIZED SYSTEM OR DIGITAL SYSTEM WE CAN MORE ACCURATELY MONITOR. WE DON'T HAVE HUMAN ERROR, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS. BUT THEY'RE ALSO DESIGNED TO HELP AMPLIFY CERTAIN ELEMENTS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCH AS LEAK DETECTION. SO WE CAN SET IT WHERE WE SEE CERTAIN CONDITIONS. IF WATER HAS BEEN RUNNING FOR 24 HOURS, THEN THAT USUALLY CAN BE AN INDICATION THAT WOULD FLAG IT. AND WE CAN SEND A LEAK DETECTION LETTER TO THE CUSTOMER. IT CAN GIVE US AN INDICATION IF WE SEE OTHER THINGS, OF MORE OF A GENERAL NATURE ACROSS THE SYSTEM, THAT MAY WARRANT FURTHER INVESTIGATION. WE CAN SEE TRENDS OR THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT I THINK THE THING THAT'S MOST IMPORTANT TO NOTE IS THAT UTILITY INFORMATION, THERE'S A PRESUMPTION AND THERE'S A STATUTORY RIGHT OF PRIVACY TO THAT INFORMATION. AND SO WE CAN'T JUST SHARE IT. WE CAN'T JUST TAKE IT. HERE'S INFORMATION WE SAW AND GET IT TO ANOTHER DEPARTMENT AND LOOK AT IT. SO IT'S A TOOL THAT HELPS US IDENTIFY WHERE THINGS ARE THAT MAY JUSTIFY WHERE WE COULD WE MAY NEED TO DO FURTHER INVESTIGATION IN CERTAIN AREAS.BUT AS WE GO THROUGH AND WE BEGIN TO LOOK AT IMPLEMENTING THIS ON OUR LOGISTICAL SIDE, WE NEED TO CREATE POLICIES IN TERMS OF HOW THE DATA CAN BE USED AND WHEN AND WHEN IT SHOULD NOT BE SHARED WITH OTHERS. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. PLEASE DO SO. YOU DIDN'T ANSWER THE QUESTION ABOUT THE SHUT OFF. SO THE ARMY CAN'T BE USED TO SHUT OFF THE WATER RIGHT THERE? WELL, I'LL ANSWER IT FROM THIS PERSPECTIVE. THERE'S NO REMOTE SHUT OFFS BEING PUT INTO PLACE.
BUT WHAT TODD HAD MENTIONED IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE. IT'S SPOT ON. THE CITY WILL HAVE TO ADDRESS POLICIES GOING FORWARD. RIGHT. I THINK IT'S JUST TO BE CLEAR THAT THE NORMAL SHUT OFF PROCESS WILL STAY EXACTLY THE WAY IT IS NOW. WHERE THEY COME OUT TO YOUR HOUSE, THEY TURN IT OFF AND ALL THAT. IT'S NOT GOING TO BE LIKE ALL OF A SUDDEN, BANG, YOU'VE BEEN TURNED OFF, CORRECT? OKAY. SO THAT'S THE ONE QUESTION ON THE SOFTWARE ON THE PORTAL. DOES IT HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO HAVE DUAL AUTHENTICATION. CAN YOU USE OTHER YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU GO TO SIGN ON AUTHENTICATE THROUGH LIKE SOME OTHER TYPE TOOL, CAN THEY ADD THAT ONTO THEIR I KNOW I DON'T. THEY HAVE SINGLE SIGN ON SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO GO IN AND SIGN ON TO MULTIPLE DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS, BUT TO LINK IT TO ANOTHER APPLICATION. NO. SO WHEN YOU'RE SAYING SINGLE SIGN ON, YOU'RE KIND OF TALKING ABOUT LIKE THE CITY PEOPLE CAN LOG IN FROM THEIR APPLICATIONS IN THERE OR WHEN YOU I MEAN, BECAUSE IT'S ITS OWN APP, IT'S ITS OWN WEB PORTAL. SO YOU'RE GOING TO LOG INTO THAT. SO I'M GOING TO LOG INTO IT. AND SO I SO THE THING IS THAT MOST THINGS THESE DAYS THAT HAVE PRIVATE INFORMATION, THEY HAVE SOME FORM OF OKAY PASSWORDS, MULTIFACTOR MULTI-FACTOR SECURITY. IS THAT RIGHT? COUNCIL MEMBER I'M GOING TO HAVE TO CHECK ON THAT, AND I'M NOT SURE. BUT WE WILL FIND OUT THE ANSWER AND GET IT TO YOU. I DON'T I'VE NOT SEEN IN THE SPECS MULTI-FACTOR IDENTIFICATION OR MULTI-LAYERED SECURITY WHERE YOU TEXT THEM TO SAY, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE ASKING. NOW WE'LL FIND OUT THE ANSWER AND GET IT TO BACK TO THE CITY. OKAY? I'M SURE IT'S SOMETHING THEY'LL ADD ON OR IT'S BECOMING STANDARD. THE OTHER THING WAS YOU MENTIONED THE LEAD SURVEY. CAN YOU KIND OF DESCRIBE HOW THAT'S HAPPENING, LIKE HOW IT'S PART OF THE SURVEY. WHEN THEY GO OUT THEY CHECK WITHIN A SPHERE, A SPHERE OF INFLUENCE OF THE METER BOX TO SEE IF THEY SEE LEAD SERVICE LINES AND ACKNOWLEDGE OR IN IDENTIFYING IT WITHIN THE WORK ORDER. YES, SIR. OKAY. AND THEN. SO ON THE SPOTS, IT LOOKS LIKE IF YOU GO TO THE ONE SLIDE, I THINK YOU WENT FROM LIKE 1200 CELLULAR TO LIKE 9000 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT OR 8000. LET'S SEE, I THINK YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE CHANGES. YEAH. HERE. YEAH. YOU WENT FROM 2600 TO 8000 CELLULAR, WHICH MAKES SENSE. BUT I WAS KIND OF WONDERING WHAT KIND OF LOAD WOULD THAT PUT ON THOSE CELL SYSTEMS WITH THE COMMUNICATION, YOU KNOW, SO YOU KNOW, WE HAVE IT'S UNCLEAR WHETHER IT'S WE JUST DON'T HAVE ENOUGH BANDWIDTH OR WE'RE JUST SITTING IN THE WRONG SPOT IN THE CITY. UNDERSTOOD. THESE DATA PACKETS ARE MINUSCULE. THEY'RE VERY, VERY SMALL.
THERE'S NOT MUCH BANDWIDTH THAT'S UTILIZED, EVEN IF ON THE FIXED NETWORK. AND WHAT MY EXPERIENCE IS, I DON'T KNOW THE TECHNICAL SPEC OF HOW MUCH MEMORY IT TAKES TO DO IT. BUT
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IN ALL THE CASES WHERE WE'VE PUT AN INSTALLED CELLULAR, YOU DO NOT SEE A CONFLICT AT ALL IN TERMS OF OVERRIDING THE BANDWIDTH. OKAY. AND SO WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE ON, I GUESS THE PRICING GOING FROM LIKE NINE MONOPOLES TO THE CELLULAR THERE. THERE'S A CHANGE. WE'RE NOT PREPARED TO TALK ABOUT THAT TONIGHT. WE ARE WORKING THROUGH THAT WITH THE CITY, THE STAFF.WE ARE IN THE PROCESS. WE'RE VERY CLOSE TO HAVING A FULL EVALUATION OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. BUT THESE ARE JUST THE HIGHLIGHTS. THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE DIFFERENT CHANGES THAT HAVE OCCURRED AND IT'S BEEN TRACKED. IT'S NOT IN WHAT'S SCARY WHEN YOU SEE CHANGES YOU THINK INCREMENTALLY INCREASING. BUT IT'S NOT ALL INCREASING. THERE'S A LOT OF REDUCTION. THE MONOPOLE MOVEMENT WAS A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION. YEAH, I THOUGHT I FIGURED THAT WAS THE CASE. YES, SIR. AND THEN ON THE NEPHEW ON THE CITY SIDE WITH THE REPORTING TOOL. SO YOU KNOW, HOW HOW SOPHISTICATED IS THAT FOR THEM? I MEAN, DO THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO, TO DO DIFFERENT TYPES OF MODELING OR THINGS LIKE THAT WITH THAT DATA? OR IS IT JUST LIKE STANDARD OUTPUT REPORTS LIKE, YOU KNOW, SO AND SO USE THIS MUCH WATER. THIS WATER IS BEING USED IN THIS AREA. YEAH. SORRY IF I UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION. THE QUESTION IS HOW CAN THAT DATA BE USED FOR MODELING ETC. IT IT ACTS. IT'S THE LIMIT OF THE IMAGINATION. IN FACT, THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS TALKING WITH GINA ABOUT. WHERE WE HAVE WE'RE GOING THROUGH SOME ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TRAINING RIGHT NOW AS OUR AS A COMPANY, AND IT IS ENTIRELY FEASIBLE TO BUILD MODELS THAT CAN PROJECT. RIGHT NOW WITH AN ARMY SYSTEM, YOU CAN IMMEDIATELY ROLL THAT INFORMATION INTO YOUR HYDRAULIC MODEL TO START INFORMING IT AND IMPROVING IT, ENHANCING IT. AND THEN THERE'S OTHER OPPORTUNITIES, ESPECIALLY AS YOU START GETTING INTO THE NEXT ITERATION OF ARMY. YOU START LOOKING AT PUTTING IN PRESSURE.
AS AN EXAMPLE, YOU CAN START MONITORING PRESSURE FLUCTUATIONS, AND IT CAN START HELPING YOU LOOK AT WHERE LEAKS MIGHT BE OCCURRING, THAT TYPE OF THING. SO THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY. THE FOCUS FROM THE BEGINNING HERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN ON CONSERVATION OR WHAT'S REFERRED TO AS DEMAND SIDE MANAGEMENT. BUT YOU HAVE BOUGHT AND INVESTED IN A COMMUNICATION NETWORK AND SENSOR DEVICES THAT ARE NOW WITHIN YOUR YOUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM THAT YOU CAN LEVERAGE JUST BASED OFF YOUR OWN CREATIVITY AND IMAGINATION WITH HOW THAT DATA MIGHT BE USED. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. PLACE THREE. APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION TONIGHT. AND I KNOW YOU'VE HAD SIGNIFICANT QUESTIONS ALREADY. I REMEMBER WHEN YOU FOLKS CAME AND SHARED THIS INFORMATION ABOUT WHY WE SHOULD DO THIS. I DON'T KNOW, 2 OR 3 YEARS AGO, ARE WE GOING TO BE SHARING THOSE BENEFITS WITH OUR RESIDENTS AS WELL AT THESE, LIKE THE CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL WHEN YOU GUYS ARE OUT THERE, WHAT THE BENEFITS ARE THE CONSERVATION PART? YES, SIR.
YES, SIR. THAT'S THE INTENT. THAT'S PART OF THE MESSAGING. AND TIE IS GOING TO HELP US GET THAT WORD OUT. OKAY? YES, SIR. APPRECIATE THAT. THAT'S ALL I GOT. PLEASE. FIVE. OKAY. YOU PROBABLY THOUGHT YOU WERE DONE WITH PRESENTATION A LONG TIME AGO, RIGHT? SO I DID NOT THINK I WAS DONE. I'M. I'M HERE FOR YOU. YOU'RE ALWAYS SO FUN. RIGHT? OKAY. SO THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION AND THE OVERVIEW. VERY. INFORMATIONALLY LOADED. BUT IT DOES START TO BRING UP A FEW QUESTIONS. RIGHT. SO I'LL START WITH THE LINK TO THE PAYMENTS THROUGH THE PORTALS THEMSELVES. JUST A QUESTION. WAS THAT A DECISION THAT WAS MADE PRIOR TO INSTALLATION PRIOR TO THIS PROJECT STARTING THAT HEY, WE'RE NOT GOING TO TIE THIS BACK TO PAYMENTS, OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE'VE DECIDED TO MAYBE HOLD OFF ON AND AND POTENTIALLY, COULD WE DO THAT LONG TERM? OH YES. DEFINITELY. POTENTIALLY COULD DO IT LONG TERM. IT WAS A DECISION AS PART OF THE UPFRONT DESIGN OKAY. AND IT WAS TO GET THE CITY THE INVESTMENT IN PLACE. START REALLY TRAINING THE OPERATION, TRAINING THE COMMUNITY. AND THEN ULTIMATELY YOU'LL WANT TO MOVE TO IT. THERE'S A DEEPER DISCUSSION I'M NOT PREPARED TO TALK ABOUT. I DON'T THINK THEY THE CITY STAFF WANTS ME TO TALK ABOUT. RIGHT. THAT IS INVOLVING THE ERP SYSTEM. THAT IS PART OF THE REASON WHY WE KEPT EVERYTHING SIMPLE. SO IT REALLY IS A TEMPORARY BRIDGE TO A LONG TERM. YES, PERHAPS. ABSOLUTELY. PERFECT. PERFECT. GOOD TO KNOW SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE DECREASE IN THE MONOPOLE DEPLOYMENT. JUST FROM A LONG TERM GROWTH PERSPECTIVE. AGAIN, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE LARGER DEPLOYMENT INITIALLY, THERE'S LESS INVESTMENT LONG TERM TO PUT UP ADDITIONAL POLES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. ANY COMMENT ON ADDITIONAL OPERATING COSTS LONG TERM? HAS THAT BEEN TALKED ABOUT? DO YOU HAVE ANY EXAMPLES OF WHERE THAT'S BEEN DONE THAT WAY AND WHAT THAT LOOKED LIKE? ABSOLUTELY. WHEN WE FIRST DESIGNED THIS AND MADE THE SELECTION, THESE ARE GOOD QUESTIONS. WE ACTUALLY DID IT OFF A 20 YEAR PROFORMA. AND SO WE DID IT ACROSS 20 YEARS. AND REPLACEMENT COST AND SERVICE COST. AND THEN IT DID AN NPV ON A 4% DISCOUNT RATE TO COMPARE THAT WAY WE LEVELIZED IT ACROSS
[00:30:03]
SO THAT SO IN AN EXAMPLE ONE OF THE VENDORS HAD A VERY HIGH UPFRONT CAPITAL INVESTMENT. AND ANOTHER VENDOR HAD A VERY LOW UPFRONT CAPITAL INVESTMENT FOR A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT REASONS.BUT OVER TIME THEY BALANCED OUT. AND THEN THAT WAS UTILIZED WITHIN THEIR TECHNICAL SCORE.
SO WE ABSOLUTELY LOOKED AT IT. WE ALSO LOOK AT CAPABILITY IN THAT DESIGN. YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE CAPABILITY OF THE CITY AND THE DESIRES OF THE CITY. AND AT THAT TIME, THE INTENT WAS WHEN YOU PUT UP THAT MANY VERTICAL ASSETS, YOU YOU CREATE, YOU CREATE LONG TERM OVERHEAD. AND SO THE TO THE POINT ON THE PAYMENT SYSTEM. ONE OF THE SIMPLER WAYS TO DO THIS IS USE IT AS MUCH EXISTING ASSETS AS YOU CAN. BUT LONG TERM AS YOU GROW, IT'S ALWAYS YOU'RE ALWAYS CAPABLE OF COMING IN AND ADDING MORE MONOPOLES. BUT THERE IS A TREND IN THE INDUSTRY RIGHT NOW TOWARDS CELLULAR, AND THAT IS ONE OF THE REASONS. AND THE REASONS WHY IS BECAUSE OF THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH MAINTAINING VERTICAL ASSETS. AND SOME OF THE FALLOUT FROM COMMUNITIES WITH WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE, LOOK LIKE ON THE HORIZON. ALTHOUGH I'M SAYING THAT AND WE CAN DRIVE DOWN THE STREET ANYTIME AND SEE TOWERS EVERYWHERE. RIGHT. BUT ALL THAT WAS CONSIDERED UPFRONT IN IN THE DESIGN WHEN WE WENT THROUGH IT AND WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE SITE VISITS WERE MADE FOR WHERE THE MONOPOLES WERE GOING TO GO, THERE WAS A TREND OF THE DIPOLES BEING AVAILABLE, AND SO WE WENT BACK AND RERAN THE PROP STUDY AND CAME BACK TO THE CITY AND SAID, OKAY, HERE'S WHAT THE OPTIONS ARE. AND IT WAS DECIDED TO GO DOWN THIS PATH RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF JUST AN OVERSIMPLIFICATION OF THE THE DECISION POINT, IT WAS BECAUSE THIS IS A NICE LOW ENTRY POINT TO GET INTO IT. OKAY, OKAY.
THANK YOU. ON THE INFORMATIONAL, INSTRUCTIONAL, YOU KNOW, PROCESS OF HELPING OUR CITIZENS UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS IS, WHAT IT DOES, HOW IT CAN WORK FOR THEM. OBVIOUSLY, YOU'VE STATED A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT THINGS THERE. DO YOU HAVE ANY PUSH MESSAGING INVOLVED WITH THAT AS WELL? NOT ONLY PRIOR TO DEPLOYMENT, BUT ONCE IT'S DEPLOYED, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF YOUR YOUR LATEST WATER READING IS AVAILABLE. YOU KNOW, TAKE A LOOK HERE RIGHT TO TO ENCOURAGE THE USAGE. RIGHT. BECAUSE ADOPTION IS YOUR BIGGEST HURDLE INITIALLY. ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. SO YOU HAVE TO GET THAT THAT INITIAL STICKINESS. AND THEN WE COULD POTENTIALLY ADDRESS THE BILLING ISSUE DOWN THE ROAD. BECAUSE MY CONCERN THERE IS THAT YOU GET THAT INITIAL STICKINESS AND THEN YOU GET THE COMPLAINTS ABOUT, OH, I HAVE TO GO TO TWO DIFFERENT PLACES. I LOOK AT MY WATER METER AND THEN I HAVE TO GO OVER HERE TO PAY IT. SO MY THINKING IS THAT LONG TERM, AS LONG AS WE HAVE THAT ROUTE, IT MAKES SENSE. RIGHT? ABSOLUTELY. BUT AGAIN, GETTING PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S THERE AND HELPING THEM KNOW TO GO LOOK, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE COMPONENTS ONCE IT'S IN PLACE, NOT PRIOR TO ITS DEPLOYMENT, BUT ONCE IT'S IN PLACE. HOW ARE YOU LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THAT IT'S THERE EVEN IF THEY HAVEN'T OPTED IN? OH, I THINK IT IT'S A GAMUT OF OPPORTUNITIES FROM THE REPRESENTATIVES, THE PHONE REPRESENTATIVES OR THE CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES YOU PUT INTO THEIR SCRIPT, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF WHEN THEY'RE HELPING SOMEBODY OR ARE YOU ON THE PORTAL AND YOU TALK TO THEM ABOUT GETTING ON THE PORTAL? AND MY 360 DOES HAVE A MOBILE APP, RIGHT? OKAY. THERE IS A MOBILE APP THAT WILL BE THERE. SO PUSH NOTIFICATIONS AND ALL THAT CAN BE CAN BE COMPLETED AND PUT INTO PLACE WITH THAT PARTICULAR SOFTWARE. SO EVERYTHING YOU'RE SAYING IT IS ALL ABOUT COMMUNICATION. THIS GOES BACK TO THAT CHANGE MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION I HAD EARLIER. PART OF THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROGRAM IS GETTING THE STAFF TO UNDERSTAND THIS IS A NEW SYSTEM. WE'VE GOT NEW OPTIONS, NEW BENEFITS. WE HAVE TO COMMUNICATE THAT. SO OUR SCRIPTING, OUR ENGAGEMENT, ALL OF THAT HAPPENS FROM THE FIELD PERSONNEL TO THE OFFICE PERSONNEL. AND ONE LAST QUESTION IS THIS SOLELY RESIDENTIAL? IS THIS ALSO COMMERCIAL? COMMERCIAL AS WELL? OKAY. THANK YOU. GREAT. SIX I THINK EVERYTHING'S PRETTY MUCH BEEN COVERED, BUT I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE IN SEVERAL OF MY FELLOWS UP HERE HAVE ALREADY DONE IT, BUT THE COMMUNICATION IS JUST WHAT'S KEY. I THINK YOU ALL HAVE DONE THE WORK. AND SO AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT, BECAUSE I KNOW A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT HAS BEEN GONE ON THERE. BUT COMMUNICATION TO OUR CUSTOMERS AND ALSO THE EDUCATIONAL PIECE WITH OUR STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SAYING THE RIGHT THINGS WHEN SOMEBODY DOES CALL. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. OH WELL, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, AND I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU ALL TODAY AND LOOK FORWARD TO BRINGING HIGH PERFORMING SYSTEM FOR YOU GUYS.
ALL RIGHT. WELL, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND WITH THAT THE TIME IS 637. AND WE WILL
[4. Open Meeting, Invocation and Pledges of Allegiance.]
ALL RIGHT. TODAY IS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH, 2025. AND THE TIME IS NOW 7 P.M. AND THIS IS THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE LEANDER CITY COUNCIL. PASTOR WENDELL HOLMES OF NEW BIRTH[00:35:04]
COMMUNITY BAPTIST CHURCH WILL PROVIDE OUR INVOCATION. PLEASE REMAIN STANDING AFTER THE INVOCATION FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. WELCOME, PASTOR. GOOD EVENING TO ALL TODAY.HOW'S EVERYBODY DOING? ALRIGHT, Y'ALL LOOKING GOOD, MAN. LOOKING GOOD. LEANDER. HEY, TAKE EVERY DAY WE CAN GET RIGHT. AMEN. CONSIDERING ALL THAT'S GOING ON IN THE WORLD, THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH NOW. FAITH THAT'S FOUND IN THE LIFE AND THE DEATH. RESURRECTION AND SOON. RETURN OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS. HE IS THE CHRIST. LET US PRAY. THE LORD GOD, WE THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN FOR ALLOWING US TO ARISE AND SEE THE BEAUTIFUL ARRAY OF SUN RAYS THIS MORNING. AS THE RAYS PEEP THROUGH THE TREES AND THE HOUSES AND THE BUILDINGS, WE MARVEL AT YOUR MAGNIFICENCE AND YOUR GRANDEUR OF WHO YOU ARE, ALLOWING US TO HEAR THE BIRDS AND BREATHE THE COOL AIR AND EXPERIENCE LIFE ON THIS PLANET. WE ARE THANKFUL ONCE AGAIN FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE. AND WE ASK, OH GOD, THAT YOU WOULD GRANT WISDOM TO THESE WHO ARE PRESENT ON CITY COUNCIL. THE HONORABLE COUNCIL MEMBERS, DEPARTMENTS, FIRE, POLICE AND EMS. ALL OF THE BOARDS THAT PARTICIPATE IN THE COOPERATIVE EFFORT TO MAKE THIS CITY GO.
YOU SAID IN YOUR WORD THAT WHERE THERE IS NO VISION, THE PEOPLE PERISH AND HAPPY IS HE THAT KEEPETH THE LAW. WE'RE BLESSED, DEAR LORD, THAT WE ARE ABLE TO HAVE A CITY COUNCIL AND DEPARTMENTS TO HONOR YOU BY ALLOWING US TO COME AND PARTICIPATE IN ASKING FOR WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF POLICIES AND LAWS, THOSE THAT HAVE COME TODAY, WE ASK THAT YOU WOULD PROTECT THEM AS THEY GO TO AND FRO AND IN AND OUT. THOSE FRIENDS AND FAMILIES, BOTH NEAR AND FAR, PRAY THAT THERE ARE NO INCIDENTS. NO ACCIDENTS. WE PRAY, OH GOD, THAT YOU WOULD PRESERVE THE MINDS FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THIS CITY. GRANT THAT UNTO US. PLEASE FORGIVE US, DEAR LORD, FOR WE ARE SINNERS, BUT WE STAND IN YOUR GRACE AND ASKING YOU TO HELP US BE THE PEOPLE THAT YOU CALL IN JESUS NAME. WE DO ASK AND PRAY. AMEN.
ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. HONOR THE TEXAS FLAG. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THEE. TEXAS. ONE STATE UNDER GOD, ONE AND INDIVISIBLE. THANK YOU, PASTOR HOLMES. ALL RIGHT. WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM FIVE. CITY SECRETARY CRABTREE, WILL YOU
[5. Roll Call.]
PLEASE CALL ROLL? COUNCIL MEMBER STEVEN CHANG, PRESENT COUNCIL MEMBER MICHAEL HERRERA HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER DAVID MCDONNELL HERE. MAYOR PRO TEM NICOLE THOMPSON, PRESENT.COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW NORDEEN HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER BECKY ROSS HERE. ALL RIGHT. THE CITY
[6. Recognition of Special Guests and Visitors.]
COUNCIL IS ELIGIBLE TO DO BUSINESS AS WE HAVE A QUORUM. AND WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM SIX, WHICH IS SOMETHING NEW ON OUR AGENDA. BUT AT THIS TIME, IF WE HAVE ANY FORMER OR CURRENT ELECTED OFFICIALS, ACTIVE OR RETIRED MILITARY FIRST RESPONDERS OR TEACHERS, IF YOU WOULD PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND OR STAND TO BE RECOGNIZED AT THIS TIME. EXCELLENT. THANK YOU ALL.WE WANTED TO JUST SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. AND THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US HERE TONIGHT.
ALL RIGHT. ITEM SEVEN HAS BEEN PULLED. WE WILL POSTPONE THAT TO A LATER MEETING IN DECEMBER.
AND NUMBER SEVEN WAS THE RECOGNITION OF DAVID MCDONALD FOR ALL OF HIS SERVICE ON COUNCIL, AS HE'S GOING TO BE LEAVING US SOON. BUT THAT WILL BE, I GUESS, POSTED. AND WE'LL
[8. Public comments on items not listed in the agenda.
Public comments on items listed in the agenda will be heard at the time each item is discussed.
[All comments are limited to no more than 3 minutes (6 minutes if translation is needed) per individual.]]
INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE SUBMITTED COMMENTS VIA THE WEBSITE WILL ONLY HAVE THEIR POSITIONS READ INTO THE RECORD, AND ANY WRITTEN COMMENTS HAVE ALREADY BEEN SHARED WITH COUNCIL AND
[00:40:04]
WILL BE MADE A PART OF THE OFFICIAL RECORD. I HAVE TWO PEOPLE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK TONIGHT. IF CARSON HURWITT HURWITT WOULD COME FORWARD. OH ALL RIGHT. AND THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO MARK BOFFERDING. ALL RIGHT, COME ON. I WAS I CLOSED, I TRIED COME ON. FORWARD. SAY YOUR NAME AND YOUR ADDRESS AND YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES. NAME IS MARK BOFFERDING. THANK YOU.2601 SADDLE BLANKET PLACE HERE IN LEANDER. AND THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY. WITH THE RECENT PASSAGE OF THE PROPOSITIONS DEALING WITH PROPERTY TAX RELIEF THAT GOT INVOKED INTO THE CONSTITUTION, I THOUGHT IT WAS TIMELY TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE CITY OF LEANDER AND THEIR EXEMPTIONS, THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION OF $5,000 WAS FIRST INTRODUCED IN 2021, SO IT'S BEEN IN PLACE AT THE SAME VALUE FOR FIVE APPRAISAL YEARS. IN THOSE FIVE YEARS, MY HOME'S APPRAISAL VALUE HAS RISEN 26.7% TO APPROXIMATE THE SAME RELATIVE TAX RELIEF. THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION SHOULD GO TO ABOUT $6,000. THE OVER 65 AND DISABLED EXEMPTION OF $10,000 WAS FIRST INTRODUCED BACK IN 2016, SO THAT HAS BEEN IN PLACE AT THE SAME VALUE FOR TEN APPRAISAL YEARS. AND THOSE TEN YEARS, MY HOME'S VALUE HAS ALMOST DOUBLED 98.5% TO APPROXIMATE THE SAME RELATIVE TAX RELIEF. THE OVER 65 AND DISABLED EXEMPTION SHOULD BE RAISED TO AROUND $19,000.
TOGETHER, THE COMBINATION WOULD TOTAL $25,000, WHICH IS A NICE ROUND NUMBER. THAT'D BE UP $10,000 FROM THE CURRENT 15,000. HOPEFULLY, YOU WILL AGREE THAT THESE EXEMPTIONS NEED TO BE PERIODICALLY REVIEWED, AND ADDRESSING THAT NOW WOULD BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY WE'RE LOOKING FOR. YOU'RE GOING TO BE DEALING WITH THIS NEXT YEAR ANYWAY, RIGHT. BUT NOW IS, I THINK, A TIMELY THING TO GET IT IN YOUR MIND. THINK ABOUT IT, PUT IT ON YOUR LONG TERM AGENDA AND THINK ABOUT RAISING THOSE THINGS SO THAT IT KEEPS UP WITH THE HOME APPRAISALS. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM NINE WHICH IS OUR
[9. Recognitions/Proclamations.
]
AND THEN AFTERWARDS WE HAVE ONE FOR ROAD SAFETY PROGRAM. PLAQUE AND RISK MANAGER FUENTES WILL COME FORWARD FOR THAT. THANK YOU. COUNCIL MEMBERS, MICHAEL CHUDNOFSKY FROM THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT. SO THE CITY OF LEANDER HAS BEEN AWARDED THE GOLD SCENIC CITY CERTIFICATION BY THE SCENIC CITY STANDARDS AND REVIEW COMMISSION. THE SCENIC CITY PROGRAM SUPPORTS AND RECOGNIZES CITIES FOR THEIR COMMITMENT TO HIGH QUALITY SCENIC STANDARDS, STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC ROADWAYS, PUBLIC SPACES, AND IN TEXAS, 110 CITIES HAVE RECEIVED THE SCENIC CITY CERTIFICATION OF EITHER RECOGNIZED BRONZE, SILVER, GOLD, OR PLATINUM. LEANDER IS ONE OF 38 CITIES IN TEXAS THAT HAVE EARNED THE GOLD SCENIC CITY CERTIFICATION. FANTASTIC. THANK YOU. CONGRATULATIONS. THAT'S AMAZING. AND WHERE YOU SAID ONE OF 38 IN ALL OF TEXAS. THAT'S PRETTY AWESOME. AND THEN WE HAVE THE ROAD SAFETY PROGRAM PLAQUE BY RISK MANAGER FUENTES, WHO HAS THAT ONE. THANKS. OKAY. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. I'M DARRYL OLIVER WITH THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE INTERGOVERNMENTAL RISK POOL. AND. WE WE HAVE A PLAQUE THAT WE'RE AWARDING THE CITY FOR RECOGNITION OF ACHIEVING ALL FIVE BADGES IN THE ROAD READY PROGRAM. WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK TOGETHER, AND THE CITY HAS UTILIZED RESTFUL PROGRAMS AND DONE INTERNAL SAFETY EFFORTS AS WELL. AND I HAVE A LETTER THAT I WANT TO READ AND GET IT ON RECORD. SO HERE WE GO. TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN. WE ARE THRILLED TO EXTEND OUR HEARTFELT CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CITY OF LEANDER FOR SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING ALL FIVE DIGITAL BADGES OF THE ROAD READY PROGRAM. THIS NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENT IS A TESTAMENT TO THE COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS AND DEDICATION OF YOUR TEAM WORKING ON OR NEAR ROADWAYS CREATES THE POTENTIAL FOR CATASTROPHIC ENCOUNTERS WITH OTHER VEHICLES WERE THE EXTENT OF DAMAGE OR
[00:45:01]
ENERGY. I'M SORRY, INJURY IS NOT NECESSARILY RELATED TO FAULT. THE ROAD READY INITIATIVE WAS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO ENSURE ALL STAFF ARE AWARE OF THESE POTENTIAL HAZARDS AND EXPOSURES. THE THE LEANDER CRYSTAL FALLS GOLF CLUB, HUMAN RESOURCES, PARKS AND RECREATION, AND PUBLIC WORKS STREET SIGNS DEPARTMENTS HAVE EXEMPLIFIED A PROACTIVE APPROACH, SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING MAJOR ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THE ROAD READY PROCESS. THE ENCLOSED CERTIFICATE RECOGNIZES THE ORGANIZATION'S COMPLETION OF THE FIVE ROAD READY BADGES AND THE DEDICATION OF ALL STAFF TO PROVIDE A SAFE AND HEALTHY WORKPLACE. THIS EFFORT EFFORT IS PARAMOUNT TO THE PARTNERSHIP. THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE INTERGOVERNMENTAL RISK POOL SEEKS TO CREATE WITH ITS MEMBERS. WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUED PARTNERSHIP AND LOSS PREVENTION AND RISK MANAGEMENT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT AND CONGRATULATIONS ONCE AGAIN ON THIS REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT. AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY A COUPLE OF WORDS ABOUT WHAT I READ AND REFERENCED IN THAT THAT LETTER YOU'LL SEE ON THE PLAQUE WHEN Y'ALL LOOK AT IT AT SOME POINT, THAT THIS ALL STARTED WITH THE CONSULTATION THAT WE DID, TALKING ABOUT THE ROAD READY PROGRAM. THE ROAD READY PROGRAM WAS DEVELOPED BECAUSE THE RISK POOL STARTED LOOKING AT INCIDENTS THAT OCCURRED WHERE WE SAW CAREER ALTERING INJURIES OR FATALITIES TAKE PLACE ACROSS THE STATE TO EMPLOYEES THAT WERE JUST DOING THEIR JOBS RIGHT OF WAY, MAINTENANCE, DOING METER WORK, UNLOADING BACKHOES, WHATEVER IT IS THAT THEY'RE DOING. BUT THOSE ACTIVITIES THAT THEY DO OUTSIDE OF THEIR VEHICLES PUT THEM AT GREAT DANGER BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF TRAFFIC. WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE LOOKING AT CELL PHONES, A LOT OF DISTRACTION, A LOT OF AGGRESSIVE DRIVING AND ALL OF THAT. SO AFTER THE CONSULTATION, WE DID THE RISK POOL, DID SOME TRAINING PROGRAMS THAT RANGE FROM SIGNIFICANT WORKER'S COMP INCIDENTS ALL THE WAY TO LOADING AND TRAILERING BACKHOE AND EQUIPMENT. AND WE TALKED ABOUT A HAZARD SURVEY. WE SAT TOGETHER AND TALKED ABOUT THAT.AND ALSO THERE WERE INTERNAL EFFORTS THAT YOUR STAFF TOOK PLACE, GOOD PARTICIPATION IN THE TRAINING PROGRAMS WE DID. YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF YOUR EMPLOYEES THAT ATTENDED THOSE.
THEY WERE WERE VERY ENGAGED. AND REALLY, YOU KNOW, PUT ON A GOOD SHOW FOR THE CITY AS FAR AS THEIR RESPECT AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE PROGRAM GOES. AND THE MAIN THING IS, IS A LOT OF AWARENESS GOT CREATED SO THAT EMPLOYEES ARE ALWAYS AWARE OF THOSE ROADWAY HAZARDS WHEN THEY'RE OUT OF THEIR VEHICLES WORKING. SO WE HAVE A PLAQUE THAT WE'RE GOING TO AT THIS TIME. WE'VE GOT THE CITY MANAGER, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, AND EVERYBODY FROM HR, PARKS AND REC, PUBLIC WORKS, AND EVERYBODY ELSE THAT PARTICIPATED TO EARN THIS AWARD.
PLEASE COME FORWARD. YES. WHAT'S UP? JUST TO MENTION THAT WE ARE THE 11TH CITY OUT OF THE WHOLE STATE OF TEXAS TO EARN THIS AWARD. I DON'T WANT TO GET. YEAH, COUNCIL WILL COME DOWN AND JOIN YOU. LET ME GRAB THAT BACK. OH, OKAY. THANK YOU. SO FOR ALL. YOU.
GOOD. THANK YOU. I MEAN THAT. LIKE I WORK SO HARD. YOU GUYS. THANK YOU.
[00:50:03]
THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. THAT'S AN AMAZING AWARD. AND IT'S EXCELLENT TO HEAR ALL THE GOOD STUFF THAT'S HAPPENING WITH STAFFING IN OUR CITY. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR[ CONSENT AGENDA: ACTION]
HARD WORK ON THAT. WE WILL MOVE INTO OUR CONSENT AGENDA. COUNCIL WILL CONSIDER CONSENT ITEMS TEN THROUGH 25. AND THIS IS ACTION ITEM MOTION TO APPROVE. I SECOND. ALL RIGHT.WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. ANY OPPOSED REALLY. OKAY. THE
[26. Conduct a Public Hearing regarding Zoning Case Z-25-0192 to amend the Journey Bible Church Planned Unit Development (PUD) with base zoning of LO-2-A (Local Office) to include a base zoning district of LC-2-A (Local Commercial) on two (2) parcels of land approximately 3.0 acres in size, more particularly described by Williamson Central Appraisal District Parcels R668974 and R668975; and generally located approximately 300 feet east of the intersection of Bull Nettle Drive and Journey Parkway, Leander, Williamson County, Texas.
]
RIGHT. SO IT OPENS IT UP FOR LOCAL COMMERCIAL USES. SO RESTAURANT, RETAIL, OFFICE, SOME OF THE NEWER USES WOULD BE A VAPE SHOP. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WAS CHANGED ABOUT OUR CODE, BUT IT STILL HAS THOSE DISTANCE LIMITS FROM SCHOOLS. HOW ABOUT A BAR? BARS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN LOCAL COMMERCIAL. AND THEY SENT OUT ALL THAT INFORMATION AND THEY DIDN'T GET ANY FEEDBACK FROM ANYBODY THAT HAD QUESTIONS OR WANTED THEM TO LIMIT WHAT COULD BE IN THAT ZONING. SO I THINK IT'S PROBABLY OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. AND THIS IS ACTION ITEM. I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE. I'LL SECOND. ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. AND THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO OUR
[27. Discuss and consider action on the Second Reading of an Ordinance regarding Special Use Case Z-25-0161 for a Special Use Permit to allow for outdoor sporting activities such as soccer, cricket, football, and other similar sports on two (2) parcels of land approximately 0.603 acres in size, more particularly described by Williamson Central Appraisal District Parcels R036045 and R036046; and commonly known as 302 and 304 Brushy Street, Leander, Williamson County, Texas.]
REGULAR AGENDA. ITEM 27. WE'LL DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION ON THE SECOND READING OF AN ORDINANCE REGARDING A SPECIAL USE CASE. Z DASH 25 0161 FOR SPECIAL USE PERMIT TO ALLOW FOR OUTDOOR SPORTING ACTIVITIES SUCH AS SOCCER, CRICKET, FOOTBALL AND OTHER SIMILAR SPORTS ON TWO PARCELS OF LAND APPROXIMATELY 0.60 ACRES IN SIZE, AS STATED ON THE POSTED AGENDA. AGAIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES. GRIFFIN, THIS IS YOU.GOOD EVENING. SO THIS IS THE SECOND READING OF THE ORDINANCE FOR THE SPECIAL USE PERMIT. IT WAS NOT ON CONSENT BECAUSE WE DID NOT HAVE A UNANIMOUS VOTE AT THE LAST MEETING. SO I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. COUNCIL, I KNOW IT WASN'T UNANIMOUS LAST TIME. DO Y'ALL HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS TO ADD? YEAH, I STILL HAVE SOME TREPIDATION ABOUT USING THE SPECIAL USE PERMITS TO FIX THINGS THAT WE PROBABLY NEED TO HAVE A MORE COHESIVE APPROACH TO, TO THESE AREAS. I THAT'S OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING THAT I HAVE SOME CONCERNS IN OLD TOWN, BUT I THINK JUST BY PRECEDENT, YOU CREATE SITUATIONS THAT JUST LONG TERM WE NEED TO TO BETTER ADDRESS THIS. SO I'M NOT OPPOSED TO IT FROM THAT
[00:55:03]
PERSPECTIVE. IT'S JUST MORE ABOUT HOW WE'RE DOING THIS RIGHT NOW. SO JUST AGAIN, FOR THE RECORD. GOTCHA. THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE? ALL RIGHT. I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE SECOND.ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? OH. ALL RIGHT, WELL, THAT
[28. Discuss and consider action on a Resolution supporting a feasibility study for rail grade separation at Crystal Falls Parkway and US 183 in addition to pursuing an application submission to the Texas Department of Transportation's 2025 Off-System Rail Grade Separation State Fund Program Call for Projects; establishing an effective date; and authorize the City Manager to execute any and all necessary documents.]
PASSES. THANK YOU. WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM 28. WE'LL DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION ON A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING A FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR RAIL GRADE SEPARATION AT CRYSTAL FALLS PARKWAY AND US 183. IN ADDITION TO PURSUING AN APPLICATION SUBMISSION TO THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION'S 2025 OFF SYSTEM RAIL GRADE SEPARATION STATE FUND PROGRAM CALL FOR PROJECTS ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE DATE, AND AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ANY AND ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS. CITY MANAGER BARTON, THIS IS YOUR THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SO THIS ITEM IS A RESOLUTION WHICH IS REALLY ESTABLISHING THIS AS A PRIORITY PROJECT FOR THE CITY COUNCIL, PARTICULARLY AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE PRELIMINARY AND REALLY KIND OF MORE DETAILED FORMAL APPLICATION PROCESSES. SHOULD WE MAKE IT INTO THAT NEXT STEP? RIGHT NOW WE ARE IN THE PRELIMINARY APPLICATION PROCESS FOR THE RAIL SEPARATION GRANT. THIS GRANT WAS CREATED BY THIS LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION. AND WE BELIEVE IT'S IT'S INTENDED TO REALLY BE A RECURRING GRANT KIND OF RECORDED FOR FUTURE YEARS. FOR THIS FIRST SECTION, THERE'S $230 MILLION THAT WAS ALLOCATED STATEWIDE FOR GRADE SEPARATIONS AT RAIL CROSSINGS.THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE BEHIND THE GRANT IS REALLY TO ELIMINATE CONFLICTS, EITHER FOR PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS OR TO ELIMINATE CONFLICTS BETWEEN RAIL AND VEHICLE TRANSPORTATION.
WHEN WE DID OUR 180 THREE QUARTER STUDY, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE LOOKED AT WAS SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS CONFLICTS THAT WE HAVE BETWEEN RAIL AND TRAFFIC THAT WAS THERE. IT DID RECOMMEND THAT WE CONSIDER GRADE SEPARATED CROSSINGS AT THREE MAJOR INTERSECTIONS.
CRYSTAL FALLS 2043 HERE, AWAY AND SAN GABRIEL. SO THOSE IN THAT PLAN WERE REALLY CONSIDERED TO BE ELEVATED ROADWAY SECTIONS VERSUS ELEVATED BRIDGE SECTIONS, RAIL BRIDGE SECTIONS. WHAT WE'RE CONTEMPLATING WITH THIS PARTICULAR APPLICATION WOULD REALLY BE ELEVATING THE TRACK OVER CRYSTAL FALLS AT THIS LOCATION. IF THIS RESOLUTION WERE PASSED AND WE PROCEED INTO THAT PROCESS, WE WOULD REALLY BE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION. THIS ISN'T FULL ENGINEERING. THIS IS JUST LOOKING AT IT TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE FUNCTIONAL OPTIONS TO CREATE RAIL SEPARATIONS THAT WERE THERE. WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING ELEVATED TRACK HERE DUE TO THE CONSTRICTED SPACE THAT WE HAVE.
IF WE WERE TO TRY TO DO FLYOVERS WITH ROADS OR BRIDGES, WE HAVE TO DO CLOVERLEAFS OR PARTIAL CLOVERS. IT'S GOING TO REQUIRE MORE RIGHT OF WAY, POTENTIALLY IMPACTING EXISTING COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES AT THOSE LOCATIONS. SO ELEVATING THE RAIL IN LIEU OF THAT LOOKS LIKE IT COULD OPERATE WITHIN THE EXISTING RIGHT OF WAY THAT WE HAVE TODAY. SO WE WOULD ELIMINATE THOSE PARTICULAR CONFLICTS. SO BY PASSING THIS RESOLUTION AGAIN, IT'S JUST WE'RE SAYING THAT THIS IS OFFICIAL CITY SUPPORT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR PRELIMINARY APPLICATIONS. SHOULD THE PRELIMINARY EVALUATION BE DEEMED APPROPRIATE. AND WE DO HAVE A QUALIFIED PROJECT, THEN WE WOULD MOVE FORWARD WITH THE APPROPRIATE STEPS TO PUT A MORE FORMAL TECHNICAL APPLICATION TOGETHER. THE GRANT FUNDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE, FUND PLANNING ALL THE WAY THROUGH CONSTRUCTION SO IT CAN BE PLANNING, PREPARING CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS AND THEN ULTIMATE CONSTRUCTION. THERE IS A 10% MATCH FOR THIS EFFORT. SO IF WE WERE SUCCESSFUL IN OUR GRANT APPLICATIONS, WE WOULD HAVE A 10% COMPONENT TO THAT.
WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH CAPMETRO TO LOOK AT PRELIMINARY FEASIBILITY OF THIS. ALSO TO GET A FEEL FOR WHAT WE THINK THE PRELIMINARY CONSTRUCTION NUMBERS WOULD LOOK LIKE. BASED ON THOSE CONVERSATIONS, WE WE HAVE ABOUT A 61 TO $62 MILLION CONSTRUCTION PROJECT. SO PRESUMABLY IF WE MOVE TO CONSTRUCTION, WE WOULD HAVE ABOUT A $6 MILLION CONTRIBUTION WOULD MAKE TOWARDS THAT PROJECT. SO WE HAVE BEEN, AS I SAID, COORDINATING WITH CAPMETRO.
THEIR TEAMS HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH US AND ARE STILL ENGAGED WITH US AS WE PROCEED FORWARD TO OUR PRELIMINARY APPLICATION PROCESS. SO WITH THAT STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE TO SUPPORT THIS RESOLUTION AND AUTHORIZE US TO MAKE THAT PRELIMINARY APPLICATION PROCESS PRELIMINARY, PRELIMINARY APPLICATION TIMELINES OPENED THIS WEEK ON NOVEMBER THE 3RD AND IS GOING THROUGH NOVEMBER THE 14TH. KENT, IN HIS CONVERSATIONS WITH TEX-DOT, HAS
[01:00:04]
HAD A POSITIVE READ FROM THEM THAT THEY FELT LIKE WE DID HAVE A PROJECT THAT WOULD QUALIFY, AT LEAST OUT OF THE PRELIMINARY APPLICATION PROCESS. SO WITH THAT MAYOR PRO TEM, I TURN IT BACK TO COUNCIL FOR ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS. WELL, I DID HAVE A KENT AND I WERE AT THAT TXDOT MEETING WHEN THEY ANNOUNCED THAT THIS WAS A PROGRAM THAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO, AND IT WOULD IT SEEMED LIKE IT WAS SOMETHING NEW AND THEY WERE VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT. SO WE DID GET A CHANCE TO TALK TO THEM AT THAT TIME, AND IT SEEMED LIKE LEANDER WAS A GREAT CANDIDATE FOR IT. I GUESS MY QUESTION IS ABOUT WE'RE IN A PRELIMINARY APPLICATION RIGHT NOW THAT'S DUE ON THE 14TH, BUT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TONIGHT IS A RESOLUTION AND A FEASIBILITY STUDY. SO THAT'S WITH THE RESULTS OF THE FEASIBILITY STUDY. COME BACK IN TIME FOR THIS APPLICATION BECAUSE I KNOW IT'S JUST A PRELIMINARY RIGHT NOW. AND ON THE PAPERWORK, THEY DON'T HAVE A DATE FOR WHEN THE ACTUAL APPLICATION WOULD BE DUE. BUT WOULDN'T THAT TAKE SIX MONTHS OR LONGER? WOULD WE ACTUALLY HAVE INFORMATION FROM THAT TO USE FOR THE APPLICATION? WE SHOULD NOTE. SO THE THE PRELIMINARY APPLICATION PROCESS, THAT APPLICATION DEADLINE IS NOVEMBER THE 14TH. SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH CAPMETRO TO PUT TOGETHER OUR SUBMISSION FOR THAT. SO WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE ALL THE DETAILED INFORMATION YET. SO IF WE DO GET PRE-QUALIFIED THEN WE WOULD MOVE INTO THE FEASIBILITY STUDY PART OF THAT. SO THAT'S WHERE WE BEGIN LOOKING AT THOSE TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS AND LOOKING AT WHETHER WE HAVE A PROJECT THAT CAN PHYSICALLY WORK. WE WOULD EVALUATE ALSO IN THIS PROCESS WHAT THE BEST OPTIONS WOULD BE IS THE RAISED RAIL THE BEST OPTION OR IS THE ELEVATED ROADWAY SECTION THE BEST OPTION. SO WE'D STILL NEED TO JUST VERIFY AND EVALUATE THOSE AS POTENTIALS. AND WE THINK WE WOULD HAVE AN ANSWER IN TIME TO SUBMIT THOSE. YES. REAL APPLICATION OKAY. SO WE'RE JUST LOOKING NOW DO WE DO WE PRE-QUALIFY. DO WE HAVE A PROJECT CONCEPT THAT IS GOING TO MEET THEIR CRITERIA AND THAT THEY THINK IS A VIABLE CONCEPT? IF THE ANSWER IS YES, THEN WE'RE THEN PREAPPROVED TO APPLY. SO THEN WE'LL PUT TOGETHER OUR PRELIMINARY DESIGN CONCEPTS AND GET THAT SUBMITTED TO MOVE INTO THAT NEXT STAGE. OKAY. THANK YOU. PLACE ONE JOHN, I THINK THIS IS GREAT AND I APPRECIATE YOU AND THE CITY WORKING ON THIS. I WAS WONDERING, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT CRYSTAL FALLS PARKWAY AND US 183. AND WE'VE GOT OTHER MAJOR THRUWAYS THAT ARE ALSO CONNECTED TO RAIL. ARE WE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT HERO WAY OR ANY OF THESE OTHER MAJOR ROAD INTERSECTIONS IN THE FUTURE? THAT IS PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION THAT'S THERE. THE CHALLENGE WITH THOSE ROADWAY SECTIONS IS GOING TO BE THE SAME THING THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH HERE. WITH REGARD TO THE IMPACT ON LAND AS WE DO SOME OF THOSE BRIDGE CROSSINGS, WHEN WE GET UP TOWARDS THE HERO WAY CROSSING. AND REALLY IN BETWEEN HERO, WE HAVE THE METRO STOP. I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE DIFFICULT TO TRY TO GET ELEVATED BRIDGE SECTIONS THERE, ELEVATED RAIL, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO COME DOWN AND MEET THE THE GRADE WHERE THAT RAIL STOP IS. SO THOSE OTHER AREAS, IF WE WERE TO DO GRADE SEPARATION, ARE PROBABLY GOING TO REQUIRE ROAD BRIDGES THAT ARE ELEVATED OVER THE TRACKS AT THOSE LOCATIONS. AND SO THOSE ARE GOING TO BE MUCH DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROJECTS THAN WHAT WE POTENTIALLY ARE LOOKING AT DOING AT THIS LOCATION. THANK YOU. PLEASE DO SO. LOOKING AT THE THE CRITERIA WEIGHTS, IT SEEMS LIKE WE HAVE A PRETTY GOOD HANDLE ON THERE ON MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS. AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS WHEN I WAS READING THROUGH THE DOCUMENT, IT TALKS A LOT ABOUT HAVING THE RAIL PARTICIPATING WITH THE RAIL COMPANY YOU'RE WORKING WITH, PARTICIPATING IN IT, AND IT SEEMS LIKE WE HAVE THAT. AND THEN THE OTHER THING WAS, CAPMETRO HAS ALL THE RIGHT OF WAY ALONG THERE IN ORDER TO DO THIS. SO THERE'S REALLY NO, NO NEED TO GRAB MORE RIGHT AWAY WITHIN IT. AND SO IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S A REALLY GOOD OPPORTUNITY THERE FOR THIS TO GO. AND SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT IT. I'M GLAD TO SEE I SUPPORT ANYTHING THAT'S GOING TO BRING RELIEF TO OUR RESIDENTS. I THINK THIS DEFINITELY WOULD. SO THANK YOU. PLAYS FIVE I AGREE, I THINK THIS IS A AS AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS SOME OF THAT RELIEF FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS AND OUR CITIZENS.THAT THAT CRYSTAL FALLS IS A IS A BUGABOO. SO I THINK THAT'S THIS IS JUST A GREAT OPPORTUNITY. I THINK WE NEED TO JUMP ON IT. GIVEN MY MATH, THERE SHOULD BE MAYBE 2 OR 3 PROJECTS THAT ARE APPROVED GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT THEY HAVE. SO LET'S NOT DILLY DALLY AND LET'S MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS, PLEASE. SIX THIS IS JUST A TRUE NO BRAINER. SO IF IT'S OKAY WITH YOU, I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE. I'LL SECOND. ALRIGHT. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? ALL RIGHT. PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. THANK YOU. WE'LL
[29. Discuss and consider providing direction to staff on amending Article 12.08 Roadway Impact Fees (RIF).]
MOVE TO ITEM 29. DISCUSS AND CONSIDER PROVIDING DIRECTION TO STAFF ON AMENDING ARTICLE 12.08 ROADWAY IMPACT FEES. COUNCIL MEMBER MCDONALD, THIS IS YOUR ITEM. OH, AND WE HAVE DIRECTOR[01:05:07]
GRIFFIN. OKAY. YES, YES, I HAVE A QUICK PRESENTATION. SO OKAY. I THOUGHT REAL QUICK I WOULD JUST GO OVER SOME HIGHLIGHTS. I HAVE OUR TIMELINE OF THE ORDINANCE. SO IT TOOK EFFECT JANUARY 7TH, 2023. FEE COLLECTION STARTED IN 24. THE REASON WE WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS TO ADOPT ROADWAY IMPACT FEES WAS TO COME UP WITH A FUNDING MECHANISM, SO NEW DEVELOPMENT PAID FOR, PAID FOR THE THE NEW DEVELOPMENT. SO THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WAS NEEDED FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT. WE HAVE A STUDY THAT WENT WITH IT THAT ESTABLISHED DIFFERENT PROJECTS THAT WOULD BE FUNDED BY THESE FEES COLLECTED. SO THE ENGINEERS LOOKED AT THE CITY AND SAW AREAS WHERE WE NEEDED IMPROVEMENTS. AND THEN THOSE PROJECTS ARE PRESENTED IN THE STUDY AND THEY'RE FUNDED BY THOSE FEES. SO I THINK IT'S IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO THINK ABOUT WHY WE DID IT. AND AFTER OUR LAST FEW MEETINGS, IT'S KIND OF MADE ME REALIZE THAT WHEN WE'RE DOING THE CHANGE OF TENANT STEP, SOME OF THESE CASES, WE ARE APPLYING THE FEES WHERE IT'S NOT NECESSARILY NEW DEVELOPMENT. SO I JUST THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE IMPORTANT TO KIND OF THINK ABOUT THAT PART FOR A SECOND BEFORE WE GO FORWARD. THIS IS THE EXHIBIT THAT SHOWS OUR AREAS. SO THE DIFFERENT SERVICE AREAS FOR THE CITY. I'VE UPDATED OUR FEE COLLECTIONS SINCE WE STARTED. SO WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF AN INCREASE FROM LAST YEAR. AND THEN OUR TOTAL SUM HERE. I CAN SEND THIS OUT. SO Y'ALL JUST HAVE IT AS INFORMATION. SINCE 2024 WE'VE HAD 210 CHANGE OF TENANT APPLICATIONS, 16 PAID SETTLE UP FEES AND 11 PAID $2,000 OR LESS. WHEN I SAY SETTLE FEES, THAT'S WHEN THEY HAD ONE USE. THEY CHANGED AND WE CHARGED THEM THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO. SO WE CAME UP WITH SOME IDEAS TO IMPROVE THE PROCESS. SO WHAT WE'RE SUGGESTING IS FOR THE TENANT FINISH OUT REMODEL AND CEO. AND I'M SAYING THOSE THREE TYPES, THERE MIGHT BE A COUPLE OTHERS THAT ARE SIMILAR CONDITIONS THAT WILL INCLUDE AN ORDINANCE. BUT I WAS JUST DOING THAT JUST TO BE BROAD. WE'RE WE'RE SAYING THAT THEY WOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY THE SETTLE UP FEE IF THEY WERE PERMITTED BEFORE JANUARY 7TH, 2023, BECAUSE WE WOULD CONSIDER THAT TO BE AN OLDER PROJECT. SO THAT MEANS IF YOU'RE BUILDING WAS PERMITTED UNDER CONSTRUCTION, YOU'RE NOT PAYING THOSE THOSE FEES. SO IF IT GETS BUILT LIKE THE CENTER WHERE YOU'RE LOCATED, THAT CENTER, YOU WOULDN'T PAY A FEE BECAUSE THOSE BUILDINGS EXISTED BEFORE WE ESTABLISHED OUR FEES. SO IT'S NOT A NEW DEVELOPMENT. SO SO THAT MEANS THAT WHEN WE HAVE SOMEONE COME IN IN 24, THEY'RE BUILDING A NEW BUILDING. THEN WE WOULD ASSUME THEY WOULD BE PAYING THAT FEE BECAUSE IT'S STILL A NEW DEVELOPMENT. SO IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE DON'T THINK WE NEED TO BE COLLECTING THE FEES WHEN IT'S LESS THAN $2,000, BECAUSE IT'S JUST KIND OF ANNOYING TO THE CUSTOMER. AND IT'S NOT THAT BIG OF A DIFFERENCE IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS. AND WE ALSO THOUGHT WE SHOULD CONSIDER EXEMPTING SMALL BUSINESS. SO WE WENT THROUGH ALL OF THAT. OF THESE NUMBERS, ONLY TWO OF THE CHANGE OF TENANTS WOULD HAVE PAID THE FEES. SO WE DID COME UP WITH A DEFINITION THAT WE CAN KIND OF TALK THROUGH IN A MINUTE ABOUT SMALL BUSINESS. WE PULLED THIS FROM, I BELIEVE IT WAS FORT WORTH AND KIND OF MADE SOME SOME TWEAKS TO IT, BUT WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT IF I'LL CHOOSE TO, TO GO THROUGH ADDING SMALL BUSINESS TO A LIST. SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE'VE DONE IS WE'VE UPDATED OUR FORM TO MAKE IT MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD FOR CUSTOMERS. AND WE'RE ALSO UPDATING THE DEVELOPMENT HUB. SO IT'S GOING TO AUTOMATE THE CALCULATIONS SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH THOSE STEPS TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE FEE IS. SO THROUGH THAT AUTOMATION, IF IT DETERMINES IT HITS THE OTHER THRESHOLDS, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE CHARGED THE FEE.SOMETHING ELSE WE'RE SUGGESTING IS THAT WE DO A ROOF STUDY UPDATE, AND THAT WE TRY TO START IT THIS YEAR BECAUSE WE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING WHAT THE CITY COUNCIL WANTS US TO BE DOING WITH OUR ROOF COLLECTION AND HOW WE FUND THOSE TYPES OF PROJECTS. SO WITH THAT, I'M GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. HOW ARE WE DEFINING SMALL BUSINESSES? IS THAT OH, OKAY. YEAH. I'M SORRY. THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT BECAUSE IT'S HARD. I WAS WONDERING IF THERE WAS LIKE AN SBA PREDEFINED DEFINITION OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. THERE IS, BUT IT'S A BIG NUMBER. IT'S A BIG NUMBER. YEAH. IT'S NOT FAIR.
RIGHT. SO WHAT WERE Y'ALL SUGGESTING? WELL, THIS IS WHAT WE HAD PULLED WHEN I, WHEN I LOOKED AT IT, MOST SMALL BUSINESSES ARE NOT BUILDING A NEW BUILDING. IT'S MOST SMALL BUSINESSES ARE COMING IN AS A CHANGE OF TENANT. AND IF YOU'RE GOING INTO A UNIT WHERE IT'S A SHELL, SO IT'S A BOX, THEY COME INTO, THE CHANGES THEY WOULD BE MAKING WOULDN'T BE THAT MUCH OF
[01:10:03]
AN INCREASE. SO I DON'T THINK THEY'RE REALLY GOING TO BE CHARGED THE FEE. FRANKLY, THE ONES WE'VE SEEN THAT HAVE BEEN ARE IN SITUATIONS WHERE IT'S AN OLDER BUILDING THAT WAS LIKE INDUSTRIAL AND THEY'VE CHANGED IT TO SOMETHING WITH MORE TRIPS. SO I FEEL LIKE IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT'S LOWER RISK. AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBERS WITH THE 210 CHANGE OF TENANTS, I ONLY HAD TWO THAT WENT FROM OFFICE WAREHOUSE TO LIKE A SPORTS FACILITY, SOMETHING THAT CAUSED MORE TRIPS. SO IF WE WERE TO GO BACK AND DO IT AGAIN, WE WOULD HAVE ONLY CHARGED FOR TWO PEOPLE AND THEY WEREN'T SMALL BUSINESSES. I THINK I'M I'M OKAY WITH THESE DEFINITIONS THAT YOU HAVE FOR SMALL BUSINESS IN HERE. AGAIN, IT'S WE'LL HAVE TO TRY AND SEE.YEAH. IF WE NEED TO MAKE UPDATES OR CHANGES TO IT. BUT PLACE TWO I'M SORRY. SO I HAVE A QUESTION ON GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. SO UPDATED DEVELOPMENT HUB TO AUTO CALCULATE. SO SO WHEN THEY GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS ARE THEY GOING TO FILL OUT STUFF RELATED TO OR BASICALLY YOU'RE GOING TO ASK THEM QUESTIONS AND THEN IT'LL DECIDE WHETHER IT'S GOING TO SHOW IT OR NOT. CORRECT OKAY. YEAH I THINK THAT'S THE WAY IT SHOULD BE. RIGHT. SO LET ME SAY THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR WORK ON THIS. I KNOW WHEN WE PUT THIS IN PLACE A FEW YEARS AGO, WE HAD THE BEST INTENTIONS. BUT I FEEL LIKE THERE'S SOME UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES WE WEREN'T AWARE OF. SO AGAIN, JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR LOOKING AT THIS AGAIN. AND I'M GLAD THAT THIS ONE CASE CAME BEFORE US. WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS WITH WITH OUR ORDINANCE HERE. AND I JUST HAVE ONE OTHER ASK, CAN WE MAKE IT RETROACTIVE IF ANY CHANGES? I KNOW WE'RE NOT APPROVING SOMETHING TONIGHT, BUT CAN WE MAKE IT RETROACTIVE TO JANUARY 1ST OF THIS YEAR? I, I THINK IT'S YOUR CHOICE. I HAVE THE ABILITY TO REFUND MONEY. OKAY.
I'D LIKE TO MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION. DO WE KNOW HOW MANY THAT WOULD IMPACT FROM JUST THIS YEAR? I HAVE THOSE NUMBERS. SO IT WAS 27 APPLICANTS. OKAY OKAY. THAT'S FINE. YEAH. PLEASE. FIVE. SO JUST TO MAKE SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING THIS CORRECTLY, THE THE CONCERN IS PRIMARILY FOR SMALLER BUSINESSES WHO ARE EITHER RELOCATING THEIR BUSINESS TO AN EXISTING LOCATION THAT'S ALREADY BUILT PRE-BUILT, RIGHT WHERE THERE'S SOME CHANGES TAKING PLACE, BUT NOT SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES. RIGHT. YOU DEFINE TWO BUSINESSES THAT THAT WOULD THAT WOULD STILL BE HAVE THIS APPLIED TO THEM EVEN WITH THESE CHANGES. SO IS IT IS IT AN OVERSIMPLIFICATION TO SAY THAT IF A BUSINESS HAS A ANY BRICK AND MORTAR LIKE NEW CONSTRUCTION, THAT OBVIOUSLY THIS WILL APPLY, RIGHT. BUT IF THEY'RE RELOCATING OR IF IT'S A CHANGE A CEO RIGHT, THEN IT'S JUST DEPENDENT. THE DEPENDENT IS ON THE CHANGES THAT THEY NEED TO MAKE AND THE TYPE OF BUSINESS THAT IT IS. RIGHT? RIGHT. WHILE I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT WE'RE COMING BACK TO THIS, I THINK IT'S PRUDENT TO DO SO. I THINK THAT IF WE DON'T LOOK AT THIS AS A TOOL, THEN THAT WILL HAVE OTHER UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES IN THE LONG RUN, RIGHT? SO MY SUGGESTION WOULD BE THAT WE ADAPT SOME OF THESE, ADOPT SOME OF THESE THE DEFINITIONS, BUT NOT NECESSARILY DO AWAY WITH THE ACTUAL FEE STRUCTURE. RIGHT.
AND WE COULD BASICALLY CHOOSE TO. NOT DO IT RIGHT. JUST THIS FEE WOULD APPLY. BUT WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO IT IN YOUR CASE BECAUSE YOU MEET THIS DEFINITION. THE FEE IS STILL THERE. AND THAT COULD, THAT WOULD THAT WOULD THAT WOULD I WOULD THINK SAVE US FROM HAVING TO COME BACK AND CHANGE THIS AGAIN SOMEWHERE DOWN THE ROAD. RIGHT. BECAUSE THE CONDITIONS WILL CHANGE. RIGHT NOW YOU'RE TRYING TO APPLY THIS TO SOME OLDER BUILDINGS WHERE, YOU KNOW, AND I CAN SEE THE REASON WHY IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE TO ME. RIGHT? I DON'T WANT TO SOUND LIKE I'M I'M OPPOSING THIS. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. BUT THEN THAT SAME SCENARIO APPLIED TO MORE RECENT CONSTRUCTION, YOU KNOW, THEN YOU HAVE SOMEONE MOVING INTO A BUILDING THAT'S THAT'S MORE MODERN OR HAS BEEN MORE BUILT MORE RECENTLY THAN YOU HAVE THE SAME ISSUE ON THE OTHER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT, RIGHT, THEY MAKE SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES OR THEY'RE DOING SOMETHING THERE. WE DON'T HAVE A WAY TO BE ABLE TO RECOVER THOSE. OR I THINK WITH THIS STRUCTURE, WE WOULD STILL HAVE A WAY TO RECOVER THAT SCENARIO. SO LET'S SAY YOU BUILD YOUR YOUR BUILDING AND IT'S LIKE A FABRICATION PLANT. RIGHT. AND YOU HAVE LESS TRIPS BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE CUSTOMERS AND A LOT OF EMPLOYEES. SO THEN LATER LET'S SAY IT CHANGES TO A BADMINTON FACILITY WHERE YOU HAVE MORE TRIPS. THEY WOULD HAVE TO TO PAY IT BECAUSE THE CHANGE THE WAY IT MEETS THOSE THRESHOLDS. SO IF IT'S OVER 2000 AND IT'S NOT A SMALL
[01:15:04]
BUSINESS, THEY WOULD BE PAYING THAT DIFFERENCE. SO YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE IN MAKING THESE CHANGES AT THE LONG TERM PROSPECT OF HAVING TO REVISIT IT IS COVERED. IS THAT A FAIR STATEMENT? WE'RE MAKING A GOAL TO START THE PROCESS, TO UPDATE THE ROOF IN THE NEXT YEAR. SO I FEEL LIKE THIS IS A GOOD BAND AID TO GET US TO THAT NEXT STEP WHERE WE CAN UPDATE OUR STUDY.OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. PLEASE. SIX YEAH I THINK THESE CHANGES ARE ARE GOOD. AND I THINK IT DOES SIMPLIFY IT A LOT. MY ONLY THOUGHT AND I THINK YOU'VE ACTUALLY REFERRED TO IT EARLIER, IS ON THE SMALL BUSINESS BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S THE ONLY PART THAT MAKES SENSE, BUT IS ALSO A LITTLE BIT FUZZY THAT WHETHER IT'S SIX MONTHS OR WE PUT IT ON THE CALENDAR FOR NEXT YEAR. BUT JUST TO MAKE SURE WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT TO SEE IF WE NEED TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS THERE. BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I'M FULL STEAM AHEAD. I DID HAVE ONE QUESTION. ON THE LAST BULLET POINT FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS DEFINITION, AND IT SAYS SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESSES, VAPE SHOPS AND GAME ROOMS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THIS DISCOUNT. DO WE HAVE SOMETHING ABOUT FOLKS THAT SERVE ALCOHOL TO LIKE, IS IT IN THAT CATEGORY OR JUST THAT WOULDN'T INCLUDE THAT? IT'S JUST THIS. I'M JUST WONDERING, RIGHT. YEAH, THAT WOULD INCLUDE ALCOHOL. OKAY.
THANK YOU. DO YOU HAVE A DIRECTION? I THINK Y'ALL ARE SAYING YOU'RE OKAY WITH THE CHANGES I PRESENTED. SO WE'LL START WORKING ON AN ORDINANCE TO BRING FORWARD. VERY GOOD.
THANK YOU. MA'AM. ALL RIGHT. ITEM 30 HAS BEEN PULLED FROM THE AGENDA AND WILL BE BROUGHT
[31. Discuss and consider action on moving the Thursday, February 5, 2026 regular council meeting to Tuesday, February 10, 2026, due to early voting for the February 7, 2026 Special Election taking place in Pat Bryson Municipal Hall, Council Chambers.]
BACK AT A FUTURE MEETING. WE'RE GOING TO MOVE TO ITEM 31 DISCUSSING. CONSIDER ACTION ON MOVING THE. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH, 2026 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING TO TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10TH, 2026 DUE TO EARLY VOTING FOR THE FEBRUARY 7TH, 2026 SPECIAL ELECTION TAKING PLACE IN PAT BRYSON MUNICIPAL HALL AND COUNCIL CHAMBERS. CITY SECRETARY CRABTREE, DUE TO THE ELECTION SO WE DON'T HAVE TO TAKE IT DOWN AND RESET THE ROOM AND RESET AND CALIBRATE ALL THE EVERYTHING. WE'RE ASKING IF WE COULD PLEASE NOT HOLD THE COUNCIL MEETING THAT NIGHT AND MOVE IT TO TUESDAY. YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANT TO JUST SPEND THE EXTRA TIME ON MUSCLE? NO.OKAY, I'LL MAKE A MOTION THAT WE APPROVE THIS REQUEST. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? ALL RIGHT. PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. THANK YOU, MAYOR PRO TEM, IF I CAN JUST SAY I WANT TO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT. BECAUSE WE HAVE CHAIRS STACKED DOWN. I KNOW, IN ALL THE MEETING ROOMS. AND SO THIS IS IN THE, THE, THE OTHER SIDE ROOM OVER THERE. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH, EDWIN. HAVE BEEN HELPING DEBORAH STEPHANIE. OKAY.
THANK THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OUR PLEASURE. OUR PLEASURE. ANYTIME. OKAY. WE'RE MOVING TO ITEM 32.
[32. Discuss and consider action on appointing up to three (3) councilmembers to a subcommittee to review the current boards, commissions, and committees composition and duties.]
DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION ON APPOINTING UP TO THREE COUNCIL MEMBERS TO A SUBCOMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE CURRENT BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES. COMPOSITION AND DUTIES. AND WE HAD THIS CONVERSATION LAST MEETING WHEN WE WERE TRYING TO DO ALL OF OUR APPOINTMENTS TO OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS FOR THIS SEASON, AND WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS UNDERSTAND WHAT THE THE GOAL OF THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ARE, AND THAT WE HAVE A CLEAR POLICY AND PROCESSES IN PLACE FOR IT. SO WE WANTED A SUBCOMMITTEE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS TO WORK ON IT, AND I'M GOING TO RECOMMEND COUNCIL MEMBER MIKE HERRERA AND COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW NADINE TO BE ON THAT SUBCOMMITTEE. IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE? WE DO HAVE ROOM FOR ONE MORE PERSON IF THERE'S SOMEBODY ELSE THAT WANTS TO BE ON IT, BUT OTHER THAN THAT. NO, SIR. YOU SAID YOU WANTED TO BE ON IT AND WE ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT.NO. GO AHEAD. THE ONE THING WOULD BE, IS CAN WE PUT SOME KIND OF COMPLETION DATE THAT WE WANT TO GET IT DONE BY? OKAY. WE ABSOLUTELY CAN. YEAH. IT REALLY IS Y'ALL'S SUBCOMMITTEE.
SO Y'ALL CAN TELL US WHAT YOU THINK IS APPROPRIATE. BUT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOMETHING IN THE NEXT 90 DAYS. YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I WAS. THAT'S LITERALLY WHAT I WAS GOING TO SUGGEST. 90 DAYS DO THAT BECAUSE WE NORMALLY HAVE MID-YEAR APPOINTMENTS IN APRIL. AND SO WE WANT SOMETHING IN PLACE LONG BEFORE WE GET TO APRIL, IF POSSIBLE. OKAY. WELL, I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE. COUNCIL MEMBER MIKE HERRERA AND COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW NADINE BEING ON THE SUBCOMMITTEE. SECOND, WITH THE REPORT DUE IN 90 DAYS. SECOND. ALL RIGHT, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? ALL RIGHT. PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. THANK YOU. AND NOW
[33. Council Member Closing Statements.]
WE WILL MOVE TO OUR COUNCIL MEMBER. CLOSING COMMENTS. GO AHEAD. PLACE ONE. THANKS AS ALWAYS, FOLKS, FOR COMING OUT. A FEW ANNOUNCEMENTS. THIS ACTUALLY TOMORROW, NOVEMBER 7TH, IS MY BROTHER'S 40TH BIRTHDAY. SO DAVID, I WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY. IT'S BEEN[01:20:04]
A LONG TIME COMING. I DON'T KNOW THAT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PUT HIS BUSINESS OUT THERE LIKE THAT. THAT'S ALL RIGHT. OKAY, I'D APPRECIATE IT. I ALSO WANT TO POINT OUT THAT TOMORROW, THE LEANDER PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION IS GOING TO HAVE A BENEFIT AT OBSIDIAN BREWERY. THEY'VE GOT A GREAT CUSTOM KOLSCH THAT'S SOLELY FOR THIS EVENT. ALSO T SHIRTS AND STICKERS. I DROPPED BY TODAY AND PICKED MINE UP BECAUSE I'M NOT ABLE TO MAKE IT TOMORROW. ALSO NEXT WEEK WILL BE OUR VETERANS DAY MEMORIAL CEREMONY. IF YOU CAN JOIN US ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH, THAT'LL BE AT 10 A.M. AT VETERANS PARK. AND LASTLY, AS WE HIT THE HOLIDAY SEASONS, LEANDER SANTA IS IN FULL SWING. SO IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW WOULD LIKE TO SIGN UP TO BE A RECIPIENT, OR IF YOU'D LIKE TO VOLUNTEER, PLEASE CHECK OUT THE CITY'S WEB PAGE. THANK YOU SO MUCH, FOLKS. GOOD NIGHT. THANK YOU. PLACE TO I JUST WANT TO RECOGNIZE ALL OUR VETERANS FOR FOR VETERANS DAY AND JUST THANK THEM FOR THEIR WORK AND THEIR SERVICE.AND AND IF YOU CAN'T ATTEND THE ONE IN OUR CITY, ATTEND 1 IN 1 CITY. BUT DEFINITELY TAKE A MOMENT TO THINK ABOUT THE SACRIFICES THAT THEY'VE MADE AND THOSE THAT HAVE COME BACK FROM SERVICE AND THOSE THAT HAVE DIED IN SERVICE. THANK YOU. THANK I ECHO THAT HAPPY VETERANS DAY. BUT DON'T FORGET MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH IS THE MARINE CORPS BIRTHDAY, 250 YEARS. SO YOU ALL TO ALL YOU MARINES OUT THERE AND GOOD NIGHT. ALL RIGHT PLEASE FIVE OKAY, SO JUST A LITTLE HISTORY HERE. IN 1860, ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS ELECTED THE 16TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. SO I THOUGHT THAT WAS AN INTERESTING DATE. THE ALSO IN 1975, IT WAS THE FIRST PERFORMANCE OF THE PUNK BAND THE SEX PISTOLS. SO THERE YOU GO. ALRIGHT, IN ALL SERIOUSNESS THOUGH, NOVEMBER IS LUNG CANCER AWARENESS MONTH. THAT WILL ACTUALLY HAS ALREADY BEEN OR WILL BE OBSERVED THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER. THIS IS A MONTH DEDICATED TO RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT LUNG CANCER, ITS RISK FACTORS, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF EARLY DETECTION. SO THERE ARE VARIOUS ACTIVITIES AND INITIATIVES TAKING PLACE THROUGHOUT THE MONTH. PLEASE BRING SOME AWARENESS TO THAT IN YOUR OWN LIFE. YOU CAN GO TO THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION FOR INFORMATION ABOUT LUNG CANCER AWARENESS, AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW WHAT THE SIGNS ARE AND AND WHAT THE RISKS ARE. SO WITH THAT, HAVE A VERY LOVELY EVENING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. PLAY SIX. GOOD NIGHT. OH THANK YOU. YOU'RE SO SHORT AND SWEET I LOVE IT. OKAY. WELL, TONIGHT DINNER WAS BROUGHT TO US BY WALKS TO YOU. SO WE APPRECIATE THAT. AND WE ALSO HAD A PROCLAMATION THAT WAS ISSUED FOR AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH. SO WE WERE HAPPY TO SEND THAT OUT. Y'ALL ALREADY TALKED ABOUT VETERANS DAY AND OUR CEREMONY NEXT WEEK AT 10 A.M. IS IT PARKS PEOPLE OKAY AT 10 A.M. BUT WE ALSO HAVE A DEVELOPER FORUM NEXT WEDNESDAY IT IS FROM 6 TO 8 AT THE LEANDER ACTIVITY CENTER. SO IF YOU HAVE INTEREST IN DEVELOPMENT IN THE CITY, PLEASE COME OUT TO THAT EVENT. AND
[34. Convene into Executive Session pursuant to:
]
SECTION 1.05 TEXAS DISCIPLINARY RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT IN SECTION 551.087 TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE TO DELIBERATE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL AND ADDENDUM TO THE CHAPTER 380 AGREEMENT BY IN BETWEEN CITY OF LEANDER AND TITAN LEANDER LAND INVESTORS, LLC, ALONG WITH CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON A CHAPTER 380 AGREEMENT. SECOND ADDENDUM THE TIME IS NOW 750 WEE RECONVENING BACK FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION AT 840 TO TAKE ACTION
[01:25:05]
AS DEEMED AS APPROPRIATE IN THE CITY COUNCIL'S DISCRETION REGARDING ONE PROPERTY FOR PUBLIC USE AND CHAPTER 80 AGREEMENT FOR PROJECT EDA. DASH 25008 COUNCIL MEMBER ROSS, DO YOU HAVE A MOTION? NO ACTION. PROJECT EDA DASH 25-009. COUNCIL MEMBER ROSS, DO YOU HAVE A MOTION? NO ACTION. PROJECT EDA DASH 25-010. COUNCIL MEMBER ROSS, DO YOU HAVE A MOTION? YES. TO APPROVE A CHAPTER 380 DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT WITH EAST GROUP PROPERTIES LP IS DISCUSSED IN EXECUTIVE SESSION AND AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT. ANY RELATED MATTERS? SECOND. ALL RIGHT, WE HAVE A MOTION. AND SECOND, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? ALL RIGHT. NONE OPPOSED. AND THEN ITEM TWO, CHAPTER 380 AGREEMENT. SECOND ADDENDUM WITH TITAN LEANDER LAND INVESTORS LLC. COUNCIL MEMBER ROSS, DO YOU HAVE A MOTION? NO ACTION. ALL RIGHT. THE TIME* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.