[Senior Affairs Commission on February 27, 2023.]
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UM, FIRST THING, IT'S A ROLL CALL.
UH, I HAVE LOOKED IN THE SCREEN AND LOOKED AT THE PEOPLE AROUND THE TABLE, AND EVERYONE IS PRESENT EXCEPT FOR, UM, DEBBIE AUSTIN AND RENEE CARR.
I THINK, UH, NEITHER OF THEM HAVE COME ONLINE AND THEY'RE NOT HERE.
SO A, AS OF THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING, THERE ARE TWO ABSENTEES AND EVERYONE ELSE IS HERE.
IS THERE ANYONE FROM THE PUBLIC, UH, WHO IS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK TODAY? HE'S COMING.
AT THE LAST MEETING, EVERYONE RECEIVED A COPY OF THE MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 30TH MEETING.
HOW'D WE DO? SO, MOVE THAT SECOND.
CARMEN, DID YOU SAY SOMETHING? I'M SORRY.
I'M JUST GONNA TALK TO SOMEBODY LATER.
UM, ANY, ANY COMMENTS OR, UH, CORRECTIONS TO THE MINUTES BEFORE WE VOTE? EVERYONE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE JANUARY MINUTES? PLEASE WAIVE OR SAY AYE.
UH, RENEE PARK JUST ARRIVED, SO SHE IS NOW PRESENT IN THE MEETING.
FOR THOSE OF, UH, YOU WHO ARE ATTENDING VIRTUALLY, UH, I JUST REMIND EVERYBODY THAT TO BE CONSIDERED PRESENT, YOU MUST BE BOTH VISIBLE AND AUDIBLY, UH, AVAILABLE, UH, THROUGHOUT THE MEETING IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED THE MEETING.
THE NEXT ITEM IS, UH, AN UPDATE OF THE SENIOR DATA PROJECT.
UH, NOTHING NEW HAS HAPPENED, UH, SINCE OUR LAST MEETING, OTHER THAN HAVE HAD, HAVE HAD A MEETING TO TALK ABOUT A COUPLE OF ELEMENTS OF THE, UH, OF THE PROJECT.
NOW, EVERYONE RECEIVED THESE, UH, A COUPLE OF MEETINGS AGO AND HOPEFULLY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THEM AND DISCUSS THEM WITH YOUR COUNCILPERSON.
AND IF YOU HAVEN'T, I ASK THAT YOU DO.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS PRETTY CLEAR TO ME IS THAT THESE LOOK NICE AND THEY HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION IN 'EM, BUT IT'S DIFFICULT TO TRANSLATE THESE CHARTS INTO EASY TALKING POINTS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT ARE THE, WHAT ARE THE HOT TOPICS OR THE, WHAT SHOULD THE HOT TOPICS BE, UH, IN HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH A COUNCIL PERSON OR HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC, OR IF YOU'RE INVITED TO SPEAK TO A NEIGHBORHOOD OR ANY OF THOSE THINGS.
SO, UH, WE'RE WORKING ON A ONE PIECE OF PAPER, UH, THAT THAT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, MY GRAPH OF THIS AT THIS POINT SHOWS IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT DALLAS SENIORS, AND IT'S TAKING THE INFORMATION THAT'S IN THESE CHARTS ON A CITYWIDE BASIS AND KIND OF PULLING OUT THE, KIND OF THE PERTINENT POINTS AS, AS TALKING POINTS THAT YOU CAN USE MORE.
I, I THINK THE MORE EASILY, IN TERMS OF HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS, I'M PROBABLY ABOUT 80% FINISHED WITH IT.
I'M WAITING ON DATA REGARDING THE HOMELESS POPULATION AND, UH, A COUPLE OF OTHER AREAS THAT WE'D LIKE TO COVER ON HERE.
BUT, UH, WE'LL HAVE THIS AVAILABLE, I WOULD SAY, WITHIN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS TO AS A, AS A FIRST STEP.
UH, ANOTHER ELEMENT THAT, UH, WILL BE COMING UP WILL BE AT LEAST TRYING TO DO A ONE-PAGER ON THE MAJOR ISSUES THAT ARE FACING SENIORS IN THE DALLAS, IN DALLAS, IN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
AND, UH, THAT ONE'S GONNA HAVE NECESSARILY WON'T HAVE INITIALLY AT LEAST A LOT OF DATA SUPPORTING IT AS MUCH AS MORE, YEAH, I GUESS PEOPLE'S OPINIONS WILL ALL ENTER INTO
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THIS, BUT JUST KIND OF GATHERING THE, THE FIVE I, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE HAVE FIVE SIGNIFICANT ISSUES THAT SENIORS ARE CONFRONTED WITH, UH, IN DALLAS.AND JUST HAVE THEM ITEMIZED SO THAT IT IS, AGAIN, TALKING POINTS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE SOMETHING SUCCINCT TO PRESENT FROM.
AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET THAT DONE SHORTLY.
THE, ALL OF THE MAPPING PIECES OF THIS, I'VE, I'VE ASKED THE, UH, DATA GROUP TO ASSEMBLE SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
ONE, ONE WOULD BE, I'D, I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THE VOTER TURNOUT IS IN THE MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS IN EACH OF THE DISTRICTS AND WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE TURNOUT IS REPRESENTED BY PEOPLE OVER THE AGE OF 65 OR 65 AND OLDER.
AND I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE SIGNIFICANT INFORMATION, PARTICULARLY IN TALKING TO OUR COUNCIL PEOPLE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW SIGNIFICANT THIS, UH, POPULATION IS.
UH, WE ALSO ARE TRYING TO GET, UH, ONE OF THE MAPS ADDED TO SHOW WHERE ALL OF, IN EVERY DISTRICT HAVE, UH, THE LOCATION OF GROCERY STORES OF LEGITIMATE REAL GROCERY STORES THROUGHOUT.
CUZ IN SOME DISTRICTS THERE ARE VERY, VERY FEW, AND WE KNOW THAT.
BUT BEING ABLE TO SEE THAT GRAPHICALLY WOULD BE HELPFUL.
AND WE MAY COME UP WITH SOME ADDITIONAL THINGS, BUT ONCE WE HAVE A FEW MORE MAPS IN PLACE, UH, WE, WE WILL HAVE THAT MODEL MADE AVAILABLE SO THAT ANYBODY COULD ACCESS IT AND PLAY WITH IT.
THAT, AND, AND LOOK AT THE, THE MAPPING, IT'S A LITTLE CUMBERSOME TO USE RIGHT NOW, I THINK.
UH, AND SO IT'S, IT'S REALLY GOING TO BE FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO GET INTO THE WEEDS AND LOOK AT IT, UH, IN A LOT OF DETAIL.
BUT I THINK IT'LL BE A HELPFUL TOOL TO, NOT ONLY TO US, BUT ALSO TO ALL OF THE NONPROFITS THAT ARE OUT THERE WHO ARE TRYING TO SERVICE THE, UM, SENIOR POPULATION.
AND THEN THE FINAL THING IS, UH, WE HAVE A DEADLINE OF JUNE FOR, UH, HAVE BEEN AGREED TO, TO UPDATE ALL OF THESE CHARTS TO THE COMMUNITY, AMERICAN COMMUNITY SERVICE SURVEY FOR 2021, WHICH WILL UPDATE ALL OF THE DATA, UH, BY TWO YEARS, WHICH I THINK WILL BE VERY WORTHWHILE.
AND ALSO TO REVISE IT SO THAT THE NEW COUNCIL DISTRICTS ARE, SO IT FITS THE NEW COUNCIL DISTRICT, SO IT'S GONNA REQUIRE SOME WORK ON THE PART OF THE, OF THE, UH, DATA ANALYTICS PEOPLE TO REDEFINE THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS AND THEN PUT THE NEW DATA IN.
BUT THEY ASSURED ME THAT WE SHOULD HAVE THAT BY THE END OF JUNE, HOPEFULLY THE BEGINNING OF JUNE.
BUT, UH, SOMETIME IN JUNE, I THINK WE CAN EXPECT TO SEE AN UPDATED VERSION OF THIS THAT IS CURRENT WITH THE NEW COUNCIL DISTRICT.
UH, THE NEXT THING I HAD ON MY LIST WAS, UH, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE NOTE OF, UH, BILL GARS, UH, PASSING.
UH, HE, UH, PASSED AWAY ON FEBRUARY 12TH, AND I KNOW MANY OF THE PEOPLE AROUND THE TABLE HAD A LOT OF DEALINGS WITH BILL.
HE WAS ON THE COMMISSION FOR I BELIEVE, NINE YEARS.
AND HE, HE DEFIED TERM LIMITS JUST FOR THE RECORD
UM, BUT HE WAS A SPECIAL, REALLY SPECIAL PERSON WHO COULDN'T HAVE CARED MORE ABOUT THE SENIOR POPULATION THAN HE DID.
AND HE WAS VERY, VERY HELPFUL TO ME.
AND I KNOW HE WAS HELPFUL TO A NUMBER OF OTHER PEOPLE, BUT HE WAS KIND OF THE ROLE MODEL FOR WHAT A COMMISSIONER COULD BE OR SHOULD BE.
UH, AND I JUST WANTED TO MAKE MENTION OF HOW FORTUNATE THE CITY OF DALLAS WAS TO HAVE HIM REPRESENT PEOPLE OVER THIS TIME PERIOD.
AND, UH, THERE WAS PROBABLY NO ONE PERSON INVOLVED IN THE COMMISSION THAT KNEW MORE ABOUT HOUSING AND, AND THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT AND WHAT SOME OF THE GOOD THINGS AND THE BAD THINGS AND EVERYTHING ELSE, BUT HE HAD RELATIONSHIPS THAT, UH, WERE IMPORTANT.
SO I, I DID WANT THAT THE, UH, EVERYONE RECEIVED A COPY OF FE'S NOTES.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU MIND COMMENTING ON THAT, BUT, UM, FROM THE STATE LEGISLATIVE FORUM THAT WAS HELD AT SENIOR SOURCE.
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YOU.AND I THINK THAT, UH, KIND OF TRYING TO STAY ON TOP OF SOME OF THOSE THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT AND, AND, UH, MAKE MENTION OF THAT, THAT LET'S MOVE ON TO NEXT AGENDA ITEM.
UH, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF THE, WELL, I JUST WONDERED IF THERE'S, AT SOME POINT WE WANT TO, IF THERE'S ANY OF THESE LEGISLATIVE, UH, INITIATIVES WE WANT TO IDENTIFY THAT MEAN, IS IT EVEN APPROPRIATE FOR US AS A COMMISSION TO RESPOND ANYTHING? OR DO WE SAY INDIVIDUALLY? I DON'T THINK THAT, I, I DON'T, I I THINK THAT I WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYONE AS CITIZENS TO WRITE TO YOUR LEGISLATOR AS A CITIZEN, UH, AS OPPOSED TO OUR, I I'M NOT SURE HOW MUCH WEIGHT AND RESOLUTION FROM THIS BODY IS GONNA HAVE, UH, ON THE ONGOING TYPE THINGS, BUT IF, IF YOU'RE CONTACTING YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS.
UH, I THINK THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE, AND OUR, YEAH.
AND, AND JUST RAISING AND ULTIMATELY HAVING, UH, THIS IS OUR, OUR STATISTICS AND FACT SHEET WILL BE ABOVE DOWN DALLAS, BUT THE SAME KIND OF THING REALLY APPLIES AROUND THE STATE.
SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL, UH, MAKE SOME PROGRESS.
UM, PETER, CAN I ADD ONTO THAT? IF YOU WANNA FOLLOW THEM, GO TO LUCAN, L E G I S C A N.COM AND THEY WILL TR AND THEN THEY ASK YOU WHAT YOU WANNA BE NOTIFIED ABOUT.
AND IF YOU PUT IN SENIORS, YOU WILL GET WEEKLY A MEMORANDUM FROM THEM WHAT'S BEEN FILED.
I MEAN, NOTHING MATTERS UNTIL IT COMES OUT OF COMMITTEE, BUT WE, BUT I, I USE LEDGES CAN.
DID YOU JUST COME ON, I HAVEN'T BEEN WATCHING THE SCREEN CARD.
I LOGGED ON AT 1206 AND I NOTIFIED MACKAY AND, UH, LYNN AND ANNA BY TEXT.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY, WHY WEREN'T WE NOTIFIED EARLIER ABOUT BILL'S PASSING? I THINK THIS IS KIND OF, UM, COLD TO HEAR ABOUT IT IN A MEETING, CUZ SOME OF US HAVE WORKED WITH BILL FOR A LONG TIME.
IN FACT, BILL AND I HAD JUST TEXT EACH OTHER, UH, BACK IN JANUARY, MAYBE FEBRUARY.
CUZ WE, WE HAD BEEN KEEPING IN TOUCH BY TEXT CUZ WE WORKED TOGETHER ON SOME PROJECTS OUTSIDE OF THE COMMISSION.
I'M REALLY DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE I THINK MAYBE THE, SOME OF US FROM THE COMMISSION MIGHT HAVE ATTENDED A SERVICE OR SOMETHING FOR HIM.
UH, WE WILL DISTRIBUTE THE, THE, UH, OBITUARY, THE SERVICES WERE ACTUALLY HELD IN DENVER, UH, WHERE BILL WAS FROM.
AND SO, I I, I DON'T DISAGREE WITH YOU, I APOLOGIZE.
I KNOW THAT THE, THERE WERE SOME EMAILS WENT AROUND WITH SOME OF THE MEMBERS THAT HAD BEEN MORE CLOSELY, UH, THAT WE KNEW WERE INVOLVED WITH BILL DIRECTLY, BUT POINT WELL MADE AND WE'LL, UH, CERTAINLY TRY TO DO A BETTER JOB OF THAT IN THE FUTURE.
WELL, MAYBE SOME OF US YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT, BUT BILL AND I TEXT ON A REGULAR BASIS YEAH.
I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW HE WAS ILL.
HE WAS, YOU KNOW, I WOULD TALK TO HIM, BUT OFF AND ON.
HIS WIFE WAS REALLY THE ONE WHO WAS SICK ACTUALLY.
UM, THOUGH LAST, SHE WAS THE ONE LAST, YOU KNOW, HE HAD BEEN FRAIL AND HE TOOK KAREN NOTHING OUT FOR LUNCH.
UM, JUST SO THAT WE WOULD GET, UH, KNOW ONE ANOTHER.
AND I KNEW HIS FAMILY FROM DENVER ACTUALLY.
MARK, I HAD GOTTEN A CALL FROM HIM MAYBE ABOUT TWO WEEKS PRIOR, I GUESS, SAYING HE'D WANTED TO GO TO LUNCH AND CALL ME AGAIN.
UM, ARE THERE ANY DISTRICT, UH, UPDATES FROM MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION AND THINGS GOING ON IN YOUR DISTRICT? I, I DO.
UM, SO, UH, THERE'S GONNA BE A SENIOR EXPO AT THE JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER ON MARCH 14TH.
AND IF YOU GUYS WANT, I WILL SHARE THE, UM, ALL THE WHO'S THE VENDORS ARE, WHAT THE PROGRAMS ARE.
I NOW HAVE A COPY OF THAT SO I CAN SEND IT TO YOU ALL.
IT'S AT THE J CCC MARCH 14TH AND IT'S AT, IT'S PLANNED FOR OUTDOORS AND, UH, AND THEY HAVE A RAIN DATE, BUT, BUT YOU CAN ALSO DO IT VIRTUALLY.
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EVERYBODY THE INFORMATION.I'M PETE, UM, THIS WEEKEND, THE WEST DALLAS AREA HEALTH, A HEART HEALTH FAIR THAT SINCE IT WAS AROUND MY BACKYARD, I WENT TO IT.
I DIDN'T STAY FOR MORE THAN ABOUT 45 MINUTES.
THEN I THINK EVERYONE ELSE THAT WAS OUTSIDE WAS HOPING THEY COULD DO THE SAME THING.
BUT I THINK THE ATTENDANCE WAS A LITTLE DOWNPLAYED BECAUSE OF THAT.
UM, PARKLAND WAS THERE, UM, A FOOD TRUCK FROM TEXAS A AND M WAS THERE.
UM, SO IT WAS BENEFICIAL FOR THE COMMUNITY.
I THINK THAT JUST KIND OF CAME AND WENT PRETTY CLOSELY.
IT WAS GREAT FE I WAS THERE FOR JUST A LITTLE BIT.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT WAS REALLY PRETTY AMAZING.
I COMMENTED TO ASHLEY THAT THEY DO SUCH A GREAT JOB DOWN THERE.
I, I DRAGGED MY HUSBAND WITH ME AND HE WAS, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE POLICE LIKE ALL OVER THE PLACE.
REMEMBER IT WAS THE SATURDAY EIGHT.
AND SO WE WOULD, ALL RIGHT, ARE WE SURE WE WANNA DO THIS? BUT THEY DID A GREAT JOB.
ALSO, UM, MAYOR PRO CARINE ARNOLD HAD A ICE SKATING EVENT AT KEITH'S PARK.
I HAD SUCH A TIGHT SCHEDULE, SO I DID NOT MAKE IT, BUT I HOLD MY SCHEDULE TO DO THAT.
BUT I HAD PROUD PLANS AND, UH, I WAS JUST HOPING THAT SOMEBODY PROBABLY KNEW ABOUT IT WHEN I HEARD ABOUT IT.
AND WHAT SHE'S DOING IS BRINGING A LOT OF THINGS TO, I'M GONNA CALL THE OLD CLIFF SECTOR, YOU KNOW, DISTRICT FOUR.
AND SHE EXPANDS IT TO ALL, YOU KNOW, ALL OVER PEOPLE CAN COME IN.
SO SHE HAD A ICE RINK, SO I HOPE I'M NOT JUMPING THE GUN.
AND THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE, IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BEEN THIS SATURDAY.
AND FOR THE COMMUNITY COME OUT JUST TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER AND TO, UM, JUST FELLOWSHIP, AIN'T YOU, BRANDON AWARD IS JUST THE COMMUNITY FOOD TRUCKS WAS THERE AND DIFFERENT VENDORS AS VERNON.
I'M WITH DISTRICT THREE AND WE HAVE A MONTHLY LEADERSHIP BREAKFAST.
AND IT WAS HELD THIS PASSED, UH, SATURDAY.
AND THE DIRECTOR OF HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION, UH, WAS THERE, I JUST REMEMBER HIS FIRST NAME.
BUT HE'S NEW TO OUR CITY AND HE WILL BE, UH, SHARING AT THE COUNCIL MEETING ON WEDNESDAY.
UH, THE NEW HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PLAN, UH, FOR THE CITY.
UH, EVERY THIRD WEDNESDAY, UH, WE HAVE A, UH, A SEMINAR, A MEETING THAT, UH, RELATES TO, UH, NOT NECESSARILY ISSUES, BUT CONCERNS AND INTEREST OF THE, UH, COMMUNITY.
AND THE ONE FOR THIS COMING WEEK, I WAS TRYING TO FIND THE NAME OF THE ONE FOR THIS COMING WEEK.
UH, BUT THE ONE FOR THE 15TH OF MARCH IS HOW TO GOVERN.
OUR COUNCIL PERSON WILL BE LEAVING, UM, OFFICE, UM, AT THE END OF THIS, UH, IN MAY, I THINK IT IS.
AND SO HE'S PREPARING US FOR NEW LEADERSHIP.
AND SO, UH, ON THE THIRD WEDNESDAY, THE NEXT ONE WOULD BE, UH, HOW TO SERVE CONSTITUENTS.
AT OUR APRIL BREAKFAST WE'LL HAVE JOHN SKI BUSINESS, PRESIDENT OF THE ECONOMIC, UH, DEVELOPMENT CORPS FOR THE, FOR THE WHILE I WAS CITY.
AND UH, OF COURSE WE'LL HAVE OUR, WE HAVE A DISTRICT AWARDS, UH, BANK WHERE THE COMMUNITY DECIDES THOSE PERSONS THAT THEY WANT TO RECOGNIZE.
BUT WE, UH, OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEERISM IN THE DISTRICT.
AND SO THAT WILL BE APRIL THE 22ND.
AND OF COURSE WE HAVE SOME THINGS FOLLOWING THAT, BUT I'LL STOP NOW.
BUT OUR CALENDAR IS FULL FOR THE REMAINDER OF THOSE
THAT'S EVERY WEEK YOU DO THIS? UH, EVERY, EACH MONTH.
ONCE, ONCE A, THE THIRD WEDNESDAY.
UH, MONTHLY WE HAVE THE BREAKFAST.
AND WHEN WE HAVE, UH, DEPENDING ON WHAT'S GOING ON AND WHAT THE PRIORITIES ARE, WE MAY HAVE OTHER MEETINGS IN THE INTERIM.
BUT THAT THIRD WEDNESDAY OF EACH MONTH IS, IS ALREADY SCHEDULED.
AND OUR AREA CROSS, WE'VE BEEN HAVING FINANCIAL LITERACY, UH, WORKSHOPS, UH, FOR THE COMMUNITY.
AND I'LL SEND THE, THE NEXT ONE THAT IT GONNA BE IN.
IT NOT ONLY COVERED FINANCIAL LITERACY, BUT IT ALSO COVERED COUPONING AND LOOKING AT THE ADS IN THE PAPER.
CIRCLES IN THE PAPER, HOW TO READ THEM, HOW TO NAVIGATE AND GET THE BEST TOOLS, UM, THAT WE HAD THAT LAST WEEK.
AND THEN WE ALSO WILL BE HAVING, UH, AND I'LL SEND THE, WE HAVE SOME HANDOUTS ON WHERE THE COUPONS ARE, HOW TO GET THEM.
AND I WILL SEND THEM TO AL AND
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WE, UH, WILL BE HAVING, THIS IS OVER AT JENNY TURNER RECREATION CENTER.PEOPLE LOVE, I DON'T KNOW HOW, WHAT KIND OF EGGS THEY GONNA HAVE, BUT THEY SO HIGH.
AND THEN ALSO I WILL SEND, UH, UH, THE FLYER ON THESE.
THEY HAVE RANDOM, NOT RANDOM I GUESS WOULD BE CALLED, UM, LOTTERY BLADDERS, COMPUTERS AND INTERNET FOR THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO WE'VE PARTICIPATED BEFORE AS A PARTNER.
AND WHAT HAPPENS IS YOU SEND YOUR NAME IN, THEY PUT IT IN THE LOTTERY, AND YOU GET A COMPUTER AND INTERNET AND IT DOESN'T COST ANYTHING.
SO A LOT OF LOTTERY THAT IT'S CALLED UH, TALK.
WOULD YOU MAKE SURE MCCONNELL HAS SO THAT YOU CAN DETERMINE THERE? I HAVE SOME MORE INFORMATION.
I FORGOT ABOUT ANYBODY ELSE BEFORE I GO, BECAUSE MY DISTRICT WAS DOING SOMETHING, I PROBABLY FELT ASLEEP.
BUT, UH, MAYOR PRO TIM, ON VALENTINE'S DAY, FEBRUARY 14TH, SHE HAD OVER 150 SENIORS AND IT WAS CALLED LUNCH AND LEARN.
AND WHAT IT WAS, SHE INVITED ALL THE SENIORS TO COME OUT AND IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DINNER THAT, UH, SHE, UH, HAD PREPARED, WHICH WAS SOUL FOOD COOKING.
AND WE HAD UMS UH, UH, HEALTHY KITCHEN CAME OUT AND GAVE AWAY BAGS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.
AND THEN SHE HAD TO INSURANCE PEOPLE TO COME OUT ON THAT.
AND SHE WAS, UH, JUST THEN THE SENIORS KNOW ABOUT DIFFERENT THINGS THAT THEY CAN, THEY MAY NOT BE AWARE OF.
AND AT OUR CENTER AT ELOISE LONDON, WHICH IS LOCATED, UH, DOWN AT THE BOTTOM OF REVEREND, THE CBT SMITH BOULEVARD IN DALLAS, TEXAS, WE, UH, ARE SO PROUD THAT WE HAVE A PERSON, AND I DON'T KNOW THEIR NAME CAUSE IT'S DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
THEY COME OUT AND HELP STUDENTS WITH THE APPLICATION FOR THE HOUSING.
AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS SO NICE.
WE'VE BEEN HAVING PEOPLE COME OUT TO FILL OUT THE APPLICATION.
SO THE WORD IS GETTING OUT IN THE BOTTOM AND I DON'T KNOW, UM, ONCE THEY FEEL THE APPLICATION NOW, THEN THE NEXT STEP.
BUT I CAN TELL YOU THE PROGRAM IS BEING IMPLEMENTED AND IS TRYING TO BE, YOU KNOW, WE TRYING TO GET IT TO WORK AND TRY TO HELP THOSE SENIORS FILL OUT THOSE APPLICATIONS CORRECTLY SO THEY'LL BE ABLE TO, UM, BENEFIT FROM SOME OF THE STUFF THAT'S GOING ON.
SO THAT'S ANOTHER THING WE'RE DOING AT I SEMINAR.
UH, WHEN YOU SAY THE BOTTOM, UH, STAFF IS KIND OF AS QUESTIONING, SO YOU MAY WANNA SAY WHERE THE BOTTOM, THE BOTTOM DISTRICT IS LOCATED AT DA DA DA REVEREND CBT
YOU FAMILIAR WITH TOWNVIEW IN OAK CLIFF, TEXAS TOWNVIEW MAGNET SCHOOL? YOU CAN GO RIGHT DOWN THAT HILL, WHICH IS DI DRIVE.
IT'S, I AM 69 AND I LIVED IN A PROJECTS WHICH WAS RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET.
THEN THE BOTTOM WAS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL WHERE, UH, WE, YOU KNOW, LIVED AND SWIM.
AND WE HAD A RECREATION CENTER.
AND I'M TRYING TO BRING THOSE GOOD TIMES BACK.
SO IT IS RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF TOWN.
IF YOU EVEN COME TO EIGHTH STREET, YOU CAN HIT IT.
UH, IF YOU, CAUSE IT'LL MAKE DIFFERENT, IF YOU EVER GO TO UM, METHODIST HOSPITAL, YOU MIGHT EVEN RUN INTO THE BOTTOM.
BUT THEY GOT THESE NICE SIGNS CALLED THE BOTTOM DISTRICT NOW.
AND MATTER OF FACT, I'M TAKE PICTURES HERE.
AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS TAKING THOSE OLD HOMES AND BUILDING THEM UP.
UM, TOWNVIEW WILL BE ABOUT THE BEST THING I CAN TELL YOU BECAUSE IT'S A DENLEY DRIVE.
IT'S FAR STREET BECOME, YOU PROBABLY SAY WHERE IN THE WORLD IT SAID BY BON VIEW, ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL, ALL OF THOSE.
N W HARDLEY WAS MY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
SO IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING BY EIGHTH STREET COMING UP THE FREEWAY, 35, GOING TO TOWN OR COMING FROM TOWN, YOU GONNA HIT THE BOTTOM
THOR CALLS IT THE 10TH STREET HISTORICAL DISTRICT.
ANY OTHER, UH, REPORTS FROM DISTRICTS? I GUESS DISTRICT 10 SHOULD SAY SOMETHING.
UM, WE DID HAVE A, A LOVELY GATHERING JUST BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS AND, UM, MASS IS TERM LIMITED AND THAT MEANS I'M TERM LIMITED AND NOT NECESSARILY
AND, UM, NORMALLY, UM, COUNCILMAN MAGU HAS A MEETING ON THE, UH, A THURSDAY, UM, EVERY MONTH TO UPDATE, UM, THE COMMUNITY.
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CALLED HIS OFFICE RECENTLY AND THEY ARE PLANNING SOME BIG, HUGE CELEBRATION IN HONOR OF COUNCIL MCGOO BECAUSE HE GOES OFF THE, THE COUNCIL AND, UM, I'M NOT REALLY SURE WHAT IS NEXT FOR HIM, BUT I HAVE A FEELING HE HAS A REAL HEART, A REAL HEART FOR THE HOMELESS.AND, UM, WE, MOST OF YOU PROBABLY READ ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE, DT GOT SOME DOWN PRESS ABOUT THAT ISSUE.
AND I THINK HE HAS CONNECTED WITH, UH, MAYBE SPEAKING OUTTA TURN, CUZ I DON'T KNOW THIS FOR SURE, BUT IT SOUNDS AS IF HE IS GOING TO CONTINUE DOING WONDERFUL THINGS IN, IN OUR COMMUNITY IN PREPARATION, UH, FOR THIS BIG WONDERFUL CELEBRATION IN HIS HONOR.
UM, THEY INVITED, HIS STAFF INVITED SEVERAL OF US AND I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET INVITATION TO MAKE, UM, A VIDEO.
UH, AND, AND THEY HAD THROUGH SECOND QUESTIONS THAT THEY HAD SET OUT THAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO ANSWER.
AND, UH, SO I, I WORKED ON IT BEFORE I WENT AND PREPARED, UM, SOME STATEMENTS AND, UH, I THINK THEY'RE GOING TO SHOW THAT OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN PARTICULARLY ACTIVE IN D 10 DURING, UM, MYS ADMINISTRATION.
UM, HE DOES HAVE THREE CHILDREN.
ONE'S A FRESHMAN AT JESUIT, ONE'S A SOPHOMORE AT JESUIT AND ELI WHEN HE GOT ELECTED WITH A BABY.
AND SO HE'S NOW ABOUT SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS OLD.
SO I THINK HE'S GOING TO BE DOING SOMETHING WITH HIS CHILDREN AS WELL.
OH, WARREN UNITED METHODIST CHURCH.
DURING THIS LAST COLD SNAP, UM, WARREN UNITED METHODIST CHURCHES, ONE OF THE SHELTERS, TWO CHURCHES IN DALLAS, UH, OAK LAWN AND WARREN, NOT A METHODIST SHELTERS.
SO WE HAD, WE SERVED OVER A HUNDRED, UM, NEIGHBORS THERE.
WE SPENT THE NIGHT FROM, UH, MONDAY TO FRIDAY.
UH, CAUSE NOBODY COULD GET TO US CAUSE IT WASN'T, WAS TOO BAD.
OTHER SERVING LEAVE DIDN'T GET TO US.
SO WE, WE STAYED AND WE SERVED BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER.
AND, UM, WE WORKED WITH PASTOR SIMMONS, UH, AT HIS CHURCH AND WE, YOU KNOW, WE GOT FOOD.
SO PEOPLE GOT CLOTHING, THEY GOT MEDICAL SERVICE, THEY GOT ALL THE THINGS THAT THEY NEED.
WE HAD GAMES, WE HAD MOVIES AND DIFFERENT THINGS FOR EVERYBODY.
SO I, I THINK IT WAS A SUCCESSFUL ALRIGHT.
I'D, I'D LIKE TO REPORT FROM DISTRICT AID AT, UH, OUR DISTRICT AID COMMUNITY OFFICE.
COUNCILMAN ATKINS HAS SET UP SOME MANY OFFICES, MANY CITY OFFICES ON WEDNESDAYS.
WE HAVE, UH, DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES WHERE PEOPLE CAN COME AND GET THEIR ANIMALS NEEDS TAKEN CARE OF, LIKE SPADING AND NEUTERING.
UM, SOME VACCINATIONS, WE HAVE CODE COMPLIANCE ON MONDAY, TUESDAY, AND FRIDAY.
YOU CAN GET QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
YOU CAN, UH, TALK TO THEM ABOUT CODE ISSUES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, ON MONDAY AND TUESDAYS FROM EIGHT TO FIVE, THERE'S A WIC OFFICE, A COMPLETE WIC OFFICE IN HIS OFFICE, AND YOU CAN RECEIVE SERVICES ON THOSE DAYS.
THERE'S A HOMELESS ACTION RESPONSE TEAM.
UM, WEDNESDAYS, THURSDAYS, FRIDAYS, AND SATURDAYS FROM EIGHT TO 7:00 PM AND THEN THERE'S A COMMUNITY COURT'S OFFICE.
AND THAT OFFICE IS RUN BY DIANE GIBSON.
THERE'S A REPRESENTATIVE IN HIS OFFICE ON TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS.
SO HIS OFFICE IS WHERE THE OLD HIGHLAND HILLS LIBRARY USED TO BE.
IT WAS CONVERTED INTO, UH, COMMUNITY OFFICE FOR DISTRICT EIGHT.
AND ALL OF THESE PLACES HAVE THEIR OWN SEPARATE OFFICE INSIDE HIS OFFICE AND THEY DO A FANTASTIC JOB.
MARYLAND DID, WERE YOU TRYING TO GET OUR ATTENTION? YES.
THIS IS COMMISSIONER DANIEL FROM DISTRICT SIX WEST DALLAS.
MARTHA PURPLE CENTER DECIDED WE WENT ON A TRIP TO THE BLACK.
WE HAD ABOUT 300 BLACK SENIORS TO COME TO THE, UH, MUSEUM OF BLACK ART, SO WE COULD SEE A SKETCH ON ALZHEIMER'S AND ASSOCIATION.
NOW I'M FROM DALLAS, I'M FROM THE COUNTY.
SO LIKE, WE HAD ABOUT 300 PEOPLES IN THERE AND THEY SERVED US.
AND THEN THE PLAY WAS GOOD ON ALZHEIMER'S.
IT TELLS US ABOUT HOW FAMILY GOES AND IGNORES HOW PEOPLE START GETTING ALZHEIMER'S.
AND FAMILY MEMBERS SAID THAT IT'S NOT SO, AND WE ALSO DID, UH, LAST WEEK WE HAD, UH, THE, UH, ALZHEIMER PEOPLES
[00:30:01]
TO COME AND TALK TO OUR PEOPLES AND WE INVITED SOME TO COME AND LISTEN.AND IT WAS STRANGE HOW THE PLAY WENT.
SOME PEOPLES DON'T WANNA BELIEVE THAT THEIR FAMILY IS NOT REMEMBERING THINGS AND NOT DOING THINGS, AND FAMILY MEMBERS DON'T.
AND SO THE PLAY WAS GOOD AND WE HAD 300 COUNTIES, UH, UH, SENIORS TO COME AND SEE THIS PLATE.
AND IT WAS AT THE BLACK ART THEATER AND THEY PROVIDED US BUSES.
THEY PROVIDED US FOOD TO EAT, AND THEN THEY MADE SURE WE WAS ABLE TO BE ABLE TO LEAVE.
AND FOR VALENTINE'S, THE DALLAS POLICEMANS CAME AND GAVE US VALENTINE CANDY.
SO AS MR. OMAR, HE HAD PASTS AND HE CAME AND SEEN US.
SO IN THAT FACILITY WE HAD A GOOD TIME TOO.
WE WENT TO THE BLACK ART THEATER, LEARNED MORE ABOUT ALZHEIMER'S, JUST TO SAY WE REALLY DON'T KNOW AND DON'T WANT ACCEPT.
WHEN OUR FAMILY STARTING NOT REMEMBERING, THE ATTITUDES CHANGED AND THE PLAY WAS MAGNIFICENT.
THE NAME OF THE PLAY WAS UNFORGETTABLE AND IT WAS A, AT THE BLACK ART, AND IT WAS ABOUT ALZHEIMER'S,
IT WAS AT THE BLACK ACADEMY OF ARTS ACADEMY LAST, LAST MONTH AT THE DAGS MEETING, KATHY SHOCKLEY MENTIONED THAT SHE HAD, UH, REACHED OUT TO MACKAY BECAUSE SHE WOULD LOVE TO COME AND TALK TO THE SAC COMMITTEE.
SHE HASN'T DONE A PRESENTATION IN A WHILE, SO I'M JUST MENTIONING THAT.
SHE'S ONE OF THE DIRECTORS OVER AT THE ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION.
WHAT'S THE LADY'S NAME? THAT'S JUST S WE TALKED ABOUT ALZHEIMER'S.
WHAT'S HER NAME? A ALZHEIMER'S.
I'M, UH, I'M THE COMMISSIONER FOR DISTRICT EIGHT COMMISSIONER, UM, AUSTON.
DO YOU THINK THEY HAVE A PLAY WELL, A PLAY RUN AGAIN? OR DID THEY SAY ANYTHING ABOUT DOING IT OVER? NO, YOU STILL WON'T.
YOU CAN, YOU CAN, YOU CAN CONTACT, UH, UH, AMELIA AGAR AT THE ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION.
UM, I'LL GIVE YOU MY NUMBER AND YOU CAN CALL ME AFTER THE MEETING.
DEBBIE, WOULD YOU PLEASE SHARE THAT WITH MAC AND HE CAN DISTRIBUTE IT TO EVERYBODY? SURE.
UH, THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATES.
UH, NEXT UP IS THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT.
I SEE THOR IS HERE, BUT I THINK HE'S JUST SUPERVISED ME.
ONE THING TO SHARE THE ONE
RAISE AND BE ON CAMERA WITH WHAT KALE SAID.
SO YOU CAN, AS LONG AS YOU'RE ON CAMERA.
YOU WANNA GO FIRST? THERE YOU GO.
MAKE SURE YOU GET HIS FEET IN THERE.
SO WHEN YOU TAP DANCERS, YOU CAN
SO, UM, JUST YEAH, THAT REALLY COULD BE TAKEN IN A VERY NEGATIVE WAY.
THAT'S BECAUSE HE'S NOT STEPPING FETCHING.
SO, UM, ONE, JUST GIVE AN UPDATE FOR EVERYONE IN REGARDS TO THE SENIOR HOME REPAIR.
SO, UM, AGAIN, THANKS FOR HAVING ME BACK.
EVERYONE'S BEEN AWARE OF THE PROCESSES WE'VE BEEN TAKING, UM, TO GET THE APPLICATIONS OUT.
UM, SO AS YOU KNOW, APPLICATIONS, UM, CLOSED THIS FRIDAY ON MARCH 3RD.
APPLICATIONS CAN BE RECEIVED HERE ON THE SECOND FLOOR AT CITY HALL.
ANY LIBRARY OR ANY RECORD CENTER.
UM, IF YOU'VE SEEN, WE'VE BEEN PUTTING OUT A LOT OF MARKETING.
UM, WE'VE STOPPED THE LAST WEEK BECAUSE WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF APPLICATIONS COMING IN.
SO, UH, WE DIDN'T FLYER THROUGH THE PRESS RELEASE.
UH, THOR AND I DID A SEGMENT ON CBS 11, AND ALSO WE WERE ON GOOD MORNING TEXAS AS WELL.
SO WE'VE DEFINITELY BEEN GETTING WORD OUT, UM, TO DATE.
UH, WE'VE RECEIVED OVER 200 APPLICATIONS.
UM, SO WE EXPECT TO GET MORE SINCE WE CLOSE ON FRIDAY.
UM, JUST SO YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT WE TALKED ABOUT DATA AND HOW WE LOG THAT AS, YOU KNOW, DOOR'S REALLY BIG ON MAKING SURE WE DO THAT.
SO AS APPLICATIONS COME IN, WE'RE TRYING TO LOG IN APPROPRIATELY AND THEN HAVE THE MINIMUM AMOUNT OF APPLICATIONS UPLOAD ONCE EVERYTHING CLOSED SO THAT WE CAN HIT A TARGET OF MID-MARCH OF DOING THE LOTTERY.
SO THROUGH THE LOTTERY, WE'LL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHO WE APPROVED FOR THE PROGRAM, NOT BE APPROVED.
AND OUR GOAL IS TO BE ABLE TO UPDATE PEOPLE APPROPRIATELY THE END OF MARCH, START OF APRIL, SO WE CAN HAVE A FAIR TIMELINE AND THEN BE ABLE TO GIVE THEM AMPLE, UH, UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S REQUIRED FOR REASON.
WHY THAT'S KEY IS BECAUSE ALL WE'VE BEEN ASKING FOR IS THE APPLICATION COPY OF THE
[00:35:01]
ID AND PROOF THAT THEY OWN THE PROPERTY.WE STILL HAVE TO GIVE INCOME DOCUMENTATION, OTHER INFORMATION TO VERIFY THAT.
NOT THAT THEY OWN THE PROPERTY, BUT THAT THEY QUALIFY.
CAUSE ONE OF THE MAIN STIPULATIONS THAT PUT IN THERE, THAT THEY'RE 80% AND BELOW OF THE AIRBNB INCOME, WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE STARTING THE RIGHT ADVANCED FEE.
THAT'S GONNA BE A UNIQUE PERIOD BECAUSE EVERYONE HAS A DIFFERENT VERSION OF HOW THEY VIEW INCOME AND WHAT THAT IS.
THEY MAY HAVE ISSUE, DISABILITY, INCOME, SOCIAL SECURITY, THEY MAY HAVE RETIREMENT, A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT MIXED IN THERE.
SO WE UNDERSTAND AND FULLY AWARE THAT WE'RE HAVE TO WORK WITH OUR SENIORS WHO ARE SELECTED, BUT THAT'S WHY THAT THAT GAP IS IN THERE.
WE HAVE TO WORK WITH THEM TO, TO DO THAT.
THE OTHER COMPONENT OF THAT IS, IS WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON GETTING IN MORE CONTRACTORS SO THAT WHEN WE ARE READY TO LAUNCH AND DO FAIR BIDS, WE'RE ABLE TO GO AHEAD AND ASSIGN THOSE.
IT'S NOT GONNA MOVE AS FAST AS WHAT EVERYONE WOULD'VE LIKED.
UH, BUT WE DEFINITELY WILL BE MOVING AND WE'RE TAKING STEPS TO ADHERE TODAY.
THE LAST THING THAT I'LL ADD ON TO THERE IS THAT WE CONSTANTLY QUESTIONS OF WHAT REPAIRS QUALIFY.
WHAT WE TELL PEOPLE CONSISTENTLY IS OUR EXPECT WILL COME OUT IN SUCH THE ENTIRE PRODUCT.
AND THEN WE WILL IDENTIFY OUR PRIORITY BASED ON WHAT THOSE NEEDS ARE.
EVERYONE HASS DIFFERENT OPINION OF WHAT THAT IS.
THAT'S WHY WE DON'T GET INTO ANY QUESTIONS.
AND SO THE MOST COMMON THING THAT I BRING UP IS THE FACT THAT YOU NEED HOT WATER.
THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO DO NOT HAVE HOT WATER AND WE'RE HAVING TO CHOOSE ON CERTAIN THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, SOME PEOPLE HAVE TOLD US BEFORE THAT THEY WANT THEIR BATHROOM READ UP.
YOU CLEARLY SEE A HOLE IN THE ROOF.
SO THERE'S DIFFERENT PRIORITIES THAT WE HAVE TO WORK THROUGH APPROPRIATELY, AND WE HANDLE THOSE CASE BY CASE SCENARIOS AND WE DON'T SHARE THAT WITH THEM.
UM, I THINK THAT IS IT ACTUALLY.
SO AGAIN, OUR GOAL IS TO CLOSE UP THIS FRIDAY.
PEOPLE HAVE APPLICATIONS AND STUFF FROM DIFFERENT LIBRARIES AND LOCATIONS AND TO HAVE OTHER PEOPLE AT THE END OF MARCH, UH, WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF REACHING OUT.
SO THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO'S HELP GET THE WORD OUT.
ONE IS, CAN HOW MANY DO YOU, HOW MANY APPLICATIONS DO YOU EXPECT TO GET IN BY THE DEADLINE? AND CAN YOU COMMENT ON WHERE IN THE CITY THESE APPLICATIONS ARE COMING FROM? ARE, ARE THERE DISTRICTS THAT YOU'VE GOT NOTHING FROM AND DISTRICTS WHERE ARE HEAVILY WEIGHTED? GOTCHA.
SO, UM, SIR, YOUR FIRST QUESTION.
HOW MANY, HOW MANY? YOU GOT TWO.
WHAT DO YOU, YOU'RE, YOU'RE OVER CHIN NOW, RIGHT? YEAH, THAT'S CORRECT.
UM, AND THEN WE DON'T HAVE THE EXACT LOCATION FROM DISTRICTS, UH, JUST YET AS WE'RE LOGGING THAT IN.
UH, WE ARE GETTING CALLS FROM MULTIPLE LIBRARIES ACROSS THE DISTRICT.
UM, AND THE REASON WHY IT'S A LITTLE SPOTTY IS BECAUSE SOME OF THE LIBRARIES HAVE BEEN MUTING THEIR, OUR OFFICE NOW AND THEY'VE BEEN SENDING THEM TO THE CENTRAL LIBRARY, SO TRYING TO SKIP UP.
SO WE JUST HAVE TO GO AWAY AND BASE, UH, THE APPLICATION AND INPUT.
UM, ANOTHER ONE THAT I'LL SAY IS, UM, KNOW IF ANYONE HAS A DIRECT REPRESENTATIVE IN HAMILTON PARK, BUT THERE HAS BEEN SENIOR YEAH.
SO I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHO THE PERSON IS.
BASICALLY VICTORY PARK AS SOMEONE THEY'RE SAYING SOMEONE IS CHAMPIONING, HELPING ALL THE RESIDENTS DOWN THERE SO THEY CAN GO TO THAT LOCATION, WHICH IS WHAT WE WANT.
UM, IF I CAN, IF NOT, I MEAN, I DON'T WANNA GOLF IT DIVORCE WAY WE GO WAY BACK.
BUT, UM, YEAH, IF YOU HAVE A CARD AND I WILL DEFINITELY GET ON THAT.
BUT, UM, I WAS GONNA SAY THANK YOU.
THAT'S REALLY WHAT IT COMES TO.
MORRIS GREEN IS OUR NEWEST, OUR NEWEST BRANCH OF MORRIS.
BUT YOU, YOU NEED, AND TELL ME ONE MORE TIME WHAT, I'M JUST CURIOUS WHO THE PERSON IS BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A LOT OF APPLICATIONS FROM THAT LOCATION AND WE'VE BEEN TOLD BY THE LIBRARY STAFF HE'S GONE OUT OF HIS WAY TO HELP OUT THOSE.
IF YOU'LL GIVE HIM YOUR CARD, WE'LL TALK ACTUALLY AS A FOLLOW UP AND THEN IF YOU FIND OUT HOW IT'S HAPPENED, IF YOU'RE GETTING A LOT OF APPLICATIONS FROM THERE, THAT WOULD BE REALLY IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR US TO SHARE WITH THE OTHER DISTRICTS TO TRY TO GET THE SAME KIND OF ACTIVITY GOING HERE.
YES, THERE IS SOME REALLY ACTIVE CHURCHES IN THAT AREA, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, MISUNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS AND HAD TO HANDLE THE APPLICATION.
I'M NOT REALLY SURE, BUT WE'LL GET IT STRAIGHT.
I COMMISSIONERS ONLINE IN PERSON I FLOOR ERICSON, ASSISTANT DIRECT HOUSING.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF I'VE SHARED WITH REK THE DATA REPORT THAT IN THE PAST WE'VE DELIVERED TO YOU ALL.
WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT GETS UPDATED FOR THE NEXT SENIOR AFFAIRS COMMISSION MEETING AND WE'LL ADD THE SENIOR HOME REPAIR PROGRAM WITH THE PERCENT BREAKDOWN IN COUNCIL DISTRICTS
[00:40:01]
FOR Y'ALL.SO WE'LL TREAT IT THE SAME WAY WE DO OTHER PROGRAMS. UH, WE ONLY HAVE THAT DATA WHEN WE TAKE THEIR PAPER APPLICATION AND WE ENTER IT INTO OUR LABOR RELEASE SYSTEM.
SO IT DOES TAKE ABOUT A MONTH BEHIND SOME THINGS TO GIVE YOU THOSE, THOSE UPDATED.
BUT WE'LL MAKE SURE YOU'RE ALL, UH, BRIEF AND UPDATED ON THAT DATA AND THEN, UH, NEXT MONTH.
UM, ANOTHER QUESTION, REESE, I GOT THIS IN MY WATER BILL THE OTHER DAY.
MINOR PLUMBING REPAIR PROGRAM.
IS THAT PART OF THE SENIORS HOME REPAIR OR ANY OTHER PROGRAM YOU'VE TALKED TO US ABOUT? OR IS THIS A STANDALONE THING? A STANDALONE WITH GAS, WATER, UTILITIES.
SO THAT IS A SEPARATE PROGRAM THAT I'M BUILDING.
IT'S NOT, OKAY, SO LOOK AT IT SAYS, UH, OKAY, IT SAYS CONTACT THE CITY OF DALLAS WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT.
SO, SO, UM, THE ALMOST PROBABLY CLOSE TO 300, IS THAT THE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS? YES.
AND THAT, THAT PIE IS JUST FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT? YES.
UM, UH, THANKS TO COUNCIL MEMBER RIDLEY.
UM, AND THANKS TO, UH, BILL GARS ADVOCACY.
AND ON THE HOUSING COMMITTEE, UM, A SENIOR HOME REPAIR PROGRAM WAS CREATED, UH, AS A PILOT PROGRAM TO FOCUS ON THE NEEDS OF SENIORS SPECIFICALLY.
WHILE ALL OF OUR HOME REPAIR PROGRAMS HAVE HISTORICALLY SERVED SENIORS, THIS NEW PROGRAM ALLOWS US TO DO THAT MORE DIRECTLY.
UM, AND BASED ON YOUR FEEDBACK ALLOWED US TO DO SOME BREAKS IN THE DIFFERENT COHORTS.
SO THE OLDER, THE SENIOR, THERE'S MORE NEEDS.
SO WE THANK YOU FOR THAT ADVICE.
ANOTHER PROGRAM THAT THE DEPARTMENT HAS IS CALLED OUR FEE AND LOO PROGRAM.
WHEN A DEVELOPER WANTS TO GET A BONUS TO EITHER BUILD HIGHER OR TO PRODUCE SOME PARKING REDUCTIONS, THEY HAVE TWO OPTIONS THEY CAN APPLY TO GET THOSE BONUSES AND PRODUCE ONSITE AFFORDABLE UNITS.
OR THEY CAN PAY A FEE AND NOT HAVE TO PRODUCE ANY ONSITE AFFORDABLE UNITS.
STARTING IN OCTOBER, DEVELOPERS HAVE STARTED PAYING US A FEE FOR THAT.
AND TO DATE, WE'VE GENERATED ABOUT 4.4 MILLION IN FUNDING.
LAST WEEK WE HELD A MEETING WITH OUR HOUSING POLICY TASK FORCE TO LOOK AT THE DATA THAT WE'VE DONE NATIONALLY.
WE'VE LOOKED AT 44 CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND WE'VE SURVEYED ADVOCATES ON THE BEST USE OF THAT FUNDING.
AND TWO PRIMARY THINGS THAT HAVE COME UP.
ONE IS INVESTING IN DEVELOPMENT OF AFFORDABLE HOMES CAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE FUND IS INTENDED TO DO.
AND THEN PRESERVING AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS.
SO OUR RECOMMENDATION THAT WE'RE GOING TO SHARE ON MARCH 21ST, THE HOUSING HOMELESSNESS SOLUTIONS COMMITTEE IS TO TAKE A MILLION OF THAT AND CONTINUE TO FUND SENIOR HOME.
SO, UH, BARRING ANYBODY WHO JUST DISAGREES WITH THAT, UH, NEXT MONTH IN TERMS OF US PUTTING A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION, THAT WHAT WE'LL DO IS, UM, YOU KNOW, GIVEN REESE'S COMMENTARY ON RECRUITING MORE CONTRACTORS AND THE ABILITY TO PROCESS IT, WE'LL HOLD A FEW LOTTERY CYCLES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WITH THE POOL FROM THIS APPLICANT.
CAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS, WHAT WE DID IN THIS PROGRAM, I SAID WHEN THEY APPLIED THIS MONTH, THEIR APPLICATIONS ARE GOOD FOR THE NEXT YEAR.
CUZ WE HAVEN'T ACCEPTED INCOME DOCUMENTS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
SO WE'LL RUN A FEW LOTTERIES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR SO WE CAN MANAGEMENT MANAGE THEM INCREMENTALLY OVER THE YEAR TO NOT OVERPROMISE AND UNDER PRODUCE, BUT TO REALLY MANAGE THAT AND THEN BE ABLE TO SPEND DOWN THAT FUND, THE HUNDRED THOUSANDS ON A TIME CLOCK.
WE GOTTA SPEND THAT BY THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
BUT THE MILLION ALLOWS US TO, TO CARRY THIS OVER AND THEN, AND, AND WORK ON GROWING OUR, OUR CAPACITY TO GROW THIS PROGRAM RIGHT AWAY.
UH, WHICH AS YOU KNOW, WE AT THE OUTSET, WE DESIGNED A PROGRAM CAN MANAGE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
SO HAVING MORE MONEY, WE WILL NEED MORE TIME TO GROW THAT OVER THE YEAR.
BUT THAT'S OUR, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE PUTTING.
SO, UH, WILL, WILL THE ADDITIONAL LOTTERIES BE FROM THE SAME POOL THAT SIGNED UP ORIGINALLY? YES.
OR WILL YOU HAVE NEW SIGNUPS, ADDITIONAL PEOPLE? ORIGINAL? IT'LL BE FROM THIS ORIGINAL BATCH.
WE'RE ALL SAYING I NEED HELP RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE WANNA WORK THROUGH AS MANY OF THOSE AS WE CAN BEFORE WE DO A NEW APPLICATION PERIOD.
SO WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU IN A COUPLE MONTHS TO LET YOU KNOW HOW THAT'S GOING AND THEN, UH, SEEK YOUR, UM, YOUR ADVICE AS WE CONTINUE TO ROLL OFF THE PROGRAM AND, AND LOOK AT WHAT WE CAN DO TO, UH, TO IMPLEMENT IT.
SO WHEN YOU, I KNOW YOU'RE LOOKING AT FUNDING NINE OR 10 DOSES AT THIS POINT.
BUT WILL YOU, WILL YOU BE SELECTING MORE THAN THAT NUMBER THE LOTTERY, JUST TO HAVE SOME IN RESERVE IF SOME OF THESE PEOPLE DON'T MEET THE CRITERIA? SO, UM, YEAH.
SO OUR LOTTERY WILL PULL A FEW EXTRA FOLKS.
UM, SO THAT WAY IN CASE SOMEONE DOESN'T MEET BASE ELIGIBILITY, THEN THEY'RE INVOLVED THERE.
AND THEN PART OF WHAT REESE WAS SAYING IN TERMS OF UPDATING FOLKS, WE WANNA LET THEM KNOW THAT THEY WEREN'T CHOSEN IN THE FIRST LOTTERY, BUT THEIR APPLICATIONS ARE STILL VALID.
[00:45:01]
WE'LL ADVERTISE WHEN THE NEXT LOTTERY WILL BE HELD AND WE'LL MAKE SURE WE HAVE THAT COMMUNICATION, UH, EVERY TIME WE DO THAT.OR, UH, IS A WAY OR DISTRIBUTING, UM, THE RESOURCES AMONG THOSE 10, UH, THAT WILL NOT ALLOW FOR ALL 10 TO BE IN THE SAME DISTRICT.
UM, RIGHT NOW WE'RE PRODUCING THE LOTTERY BASED ON THREE CRITERIA.
ONE BEING AT LEAST 65 DOWN OF THE LOTTERY.
TWO, YOU GET A SECOND BONUS POINT IF YOU'RE 75 OR OLDER.
AND THREE, IF YOU SELECTED ACCESSIBILITY REPAIRS, YOU COULD HAVE A THIRD CHANCE IN THE LOTTERY.
SO THE WAY IT WAS STRUCTURED BASED ON FEEDBACK WAS BASED ON PRIORITY AND AGE RATHER THAN GEOGRAPHICAL, UH, DISBURSEMENT.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WILL LOOK INTO ON THE FIRST LOTTERY IS MAKING SURE THAT WE INADVERTENTLY FUND EVERYTHING IN LIKE ONE POCKET ACCOUNT, UM, SO THAT THE NEXT LOTTERY CAN ADD SOME ADDITIONAL CRITERIA TO IT.
UM, WE RAN MANY SAMPLE LOTTERIES TO MAKE SURE THAT THE WAYING WORKED.
WE DIDN'T SEE, UM, UM, AND I, UH, DISTRIBUTION CLUSTERED IN ONE AREA BECAUSE THERE IS ESTIMATED TO BE MANY MORE APPLICANTS ACROSS A WIDER REGION OF THE CITY.
BUT WE'LL KNOW MORE ONCE WE SEE WHO'S APPLIED AND, UH, WHERE THAT DATE IS ALSO SKEWED.
CUZ WHAT WE WANNA SEE IS IF WE HAD MORE APPLICANTS SAY IN DISTRICT THREE, BUT NO ONE WAS SELECTED, YOU KNOW, HOW DOES THAT WORK AS WELL? AND LOOKING AT A LOT OF COURSE ALONG SELECTING 10 PEOPLE, UM, WE WON'T HAVE ALL THE RESULTS THAT YOU WOULD WANT TO SEE IN THAT SAMPLES EYES, BUT WE'LL BE ABLE TO REPORT OUT ON WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THAT PAGE.
SO I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE IF THIS IS A, AN IGNORANT QUESTION.
SO, UM, CAUSE IT COULD BE, SO WHEN, UM, WHEN YOU GO AND ASK FOR THAT MILLION, I MEAN, YOU GUYS HAVE ALL THE STATISTICS RIGHT, ABOUT AGING IN PLACE AND HOW COST EFFECTIVE IT IS AND HOW MUCH MONEY THE CITY WILL REALLY SAVE IN THE LONG RUN.
OUR, OUR ASK, UM, IS A BRIEFING TO COMMITTEE, OUR HOUSING COMMITTEE SAYING THIS IS WHAT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE BASED UPON ALL OF OUR RESEARCH AND DATA.
UM, WE'RE NOT SEEKING A VOTE OR AUTHORIZATION BECAUSE IT'S A FUND THAT WE'VE GENERATED FOR THIS PURPOSE.
WHAT WE'RE SHARING IS OUR FIRST RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW TO START SPENDING THAT MONEY RIGHT NOW BASED UPON OUR IMMEDIATE NEEDS.
AND SO, UM, IF THERE'S MORE CONVERSATIONS THAT NEEDS TO BE, UH, HOW WE'LL BRING UP LOT.
I JUST WANNA SAY, I WAS LISTENING TO THE HOUSING TASK FORCE COMMITTEE, THE BRIEFING THIS MORNING.
I DID HEAR COUNCILMAN MAD HONOR, UH, UH, MORENO TALK VERY SPECIFICALLY, WE HAVE GOT TO PRESERVE OUR AFFORDABLE, OUR, OUR ESTABLISHED HOUSING AND CONSERVATIVE.
SO I THINK YOU'LL HAVE STRONG SUPPORT AND I THINK DISTRICT 14 ALSO HAS THAT SAME PHILOSOPHY.
NEXT UP, UH, TO GIVE US THE SENIOR, UH, SERVICE.
WHAT'S YOUR LAST NAME? ALL RIGHT.
UM, I'M GONNA DO, UM, A BRIEFING OF WHAT WE'VE DONE THIS MONTH.
UM, WE'VE BEEN VERY, VERY ACTIVE IN THE COMMUNITY AND WE, UM, LOOKING AHEAD WILL BE EVEN EXTRA BUSIER, EXTRA BUSY.
UM,
UM, SO WE ARE REALLY, REALLY EXCITED BECAUSE WE'VE DONE A LOT OF PARTNERSHIPS, UM, RECENTLY.
AND WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING WITH THAT, UH, LOOKING FORWARD MOSTLY IN MARCH AND APRIL.
WE PARTNERED WITH THE ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN HOPE FOR TOMORROW CONFERENCE.
UM, THAT'S GONNA BE MARCH 4TH.
WE PARTNERED WITH A R P BECAUSE WE ARE STILL FOLLOWING THE H FRIENDLY DALLAS PLAN, UM, FOR THE H FRIENDLY COMMUNITIES.
AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE THREE EVENTS.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE TWO WEBINARS AND ONE IN-PERSON EVENT.
THE IN-PERSON EVENT IS GONNA TAKE PLACE AT THE WEST DALLAS MULTIPURPOSE CENTER IN MAY.
THE TRANSPORTATION WEBINAR WILL BE IN MARCH 30TH, AND THE HOUSING WEBINAR WILL BE JULY 20TH.
AND WE WILL CERTAINLY STAND OUT INFORMATION ABOUT THAT.
WE HAVE ALSO PARTNERED WITH THE LIBRARIES IN APRIL.
WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE TRYING TO ORGANIZE AN EVENT BECAUSE THEY REQUESTED SOME
[00:50:01]
INFORMATION ON HOARDING.SO WE ARE WORKING ON THAT AS WELL.
WE ARE GONNA BE PART ONCE AGAIN OF THE PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR THE SENIOR HUNGER SUMMIT.
THAT'S GONNA TAKE PLACE IN MAY.
AND I JUST AS RECENT AS I WANNA SAY FRIDAY, UM, WE GOT THE INVITATION AGAIN TO PARTNER WITH DART AND OTHER OTHER COMMUNITY PARTNERS FOR THEIR BIG ANNUAL DART OLDER AMERICANS HEALTH AND INFORMATION FAIR.
THAT'S GONNA BE AT FAIR PARK CENTENNIAL BUILDING.
AND IT IS TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED FOR MAY 25TH.
SO, UM, ON TOP OF ALL OF THAT, WE CONTINUE TO PARTNER AND ATTEND, UM, COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND EVENTS.
LIKE WE WILL BE AT THE BEFORE MENTIONED, UM, J C C SENIOR EXPO.
UM, WE WERE AT THE DALLAS COMMUNITY, UH, COLLEGE RESOURCE FAIR IN FEBRUARY AND SO ON.
WE ARE, WE'VE BEEN REALLY, REALLY ACTIVE AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GONNA BE, UM, REALLY ACTIVE FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR.
THAT'S IN REGARDS TO OUTREACH FOR OUR REFERRAL AND INFORMATION SERVICES.
WE HAVE HAD FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY, 154 SENIORS SERVED.
THE MAJORITY OF THE CALLS HAVE BEEN FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND FOR HOME REPAIR.
UM, YEAR TO DATE IN JANUARY, WE'VE SERVED 549 SENIORS AND WE HAVE BEEN, WE DID 20 OUTREACH EVENTS THAT'S HERE TO DATE IN JANUARY FOR THE DART RIDES RIDER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
WE SERVE FOR JANUARY A TOTAL OF 447 USERS FOR A TOTAL OF 637 ONE-WAY TRIPS.
N V H THE ACHIEVED CEDAR EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM.
THEY SERVED 146 SENIORS AND FOR THE TEXAS A AND M DENTAL PROGRAM, THEY SERVED 563 ON DUPLICATED SENIORS, AND THEY DID A TOTAL OF 1,961 PROCEDURES.
LASTLY, FOR THE SENIOR OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM, THEY VISITED 222, UH, NURSING HOME AND ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES, AND THEY SERVE 2,592 UNDUPLICATED RESIDENTS.
AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, YOU, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, THIS IS JERRY BAKER, UH, D 10.
UM, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT ALL THESE VARIOUS ACTIVITIES YOU'RE DOING AND WE HAVE HAD A HORRIBLE THING THAT HAS HAPPENED IN D 10.
UM, BOURBON SMITH HAS RETIRED AND UM, UH, HE WAS THE ONE WHO ALWAYS DID THE GREAT BIG, HUGE THING FOR THE LAKE HIGHLANDS COMMUNITY.
AND IS SOMEBODY FROM YOUR OFFICE GOING TO FIND HIS EVENT WAS ALWAYS IN JUNE AND, UH, HE WAS, UH, HE'S CON HE WAS CONNECTED WITH THE, UM, NORTHEAST, UM, POLICE DISTRICT.
SO WITH THIS BEING, I, I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THIS IS APPROVED APPROPRIATE AND, BUT, BUT SOMEONE FROM YOUR OFFICE BE CHECKING IN WITH THE NORTHEAST TO SEE WHO'S GOING TO BE HANDLING THAT EVENT.
IT HAD SENIORS FROM ALL OVER THE CITY WOULD COME TO THIS.
BOURBON WAS REALLY ACTIVE DOING THAT.
UM, I DON'T KNOW RIGHT NOW, BUT I CAN REACH OUT TO SOMEONE AT D P D AND SEE AND SEE IF THEY'RE DOING ANYTHING AND WHO'S DOING IT AND ALL THAT.
AND WE CAN CERTAINLY KEEP YOU POSTED ON THAT.
BECAUSE HE, HE WAS JUST THE BEST AND WE'RE VERY PLEASED AND HAPPY FOR HIM, HIS RETIREMENT.
BUT WE ARE VERY SAD IN D 10 THAT WE, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TO THE EVENT AND IT WAS SUCH AN IMPORTANT EVENT FOR OUR DISTRICT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, GRANT? THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.
WHEN WE GET A SCHEDULE OF ALL THESE UPCOMING EVENTS SO THAT WE CAN REGISTER OR SIGN IN OR ATTEND OR WHATEVER, OF COURSE AS SOON AS WE GET THEM, WE CAN FORWARD THEM TO Y'ALL.
UH, NEXT AGENDA ITEM IS THE, UM, REESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMITTEE STRUCTURE.
AND, UH, I'VE TALKED TO MOST EVERYBODY ON THE PHONE ABOUT KIND OF COMMITTEE PREFERENCES AND STARTED PUTTING TOGETHER THAT IN TERMS OF LEADERSHIP, UH, MIKE NURI HAS AGREED SHARE THE TRANSPORTATION, UH, IN OUTDOOR SPACES SUBCOMMITTEE DEBBIE AUSTIN IS GOING TO CONTINUE ON AS CHAIR OF THE SOCIAL CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND ISOLATION SUBCOMMITTEE.
[00:55:01]
HAS AGREED TO CHAIR THE SAFETY, HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT COMMITTEE.UH, KAREN ROBERTS HAS AGREED TO CHAIR THE, UH, UM, HOUSING AND COMMUNICATION SUBCOMMITTEE AND POLICE.
JARVIS HAS AGREED TO CHAIR THE AD HOC COMMITTEE ON FUNDING PRIORITIES.
UM, I'VE STARTED PUTTING TOGETHER COMMITTEE COMPOSITIONS BASED ON WHAT PEOPLE HAVE ASKED FOR, AND FOR THE MOST PART IT WORKS OUT PRETTY WELL.
THE ONE COMMITTEE THAT I WOULD LIKE TO GET SOME VOLUNTEERS TO JOIN, UH, AT LEAST ONE OR TWO ADDITIONAL PEOPLE IS THE, UH, IS VER, UH, COMMITTEE, WHICH I, I THINK IS AN IMPORTANT COMMITTEE.
AND RIGHT NOW WE ONLY HAVE A COUPLE PEOPLE WHO HAVE INDICATED INTEREST.
IS THERE, ARE THERE ANY VOLUNTEERS WHO WOULD BE WILLING TO TAKE ON ONE MORE COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENT BEFORE I JUST ASSIGN SOMEBODY WHAT'S, SAY WHAT IT WAS? WHAT'S FOR OUR COMMITTEE? I'M SORRY.
PORSCHE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE MUTED.
YEAH, I'D LIKE TO VOLUNTEER FOR THAT COMMITTEE.
UM, COULD YOU ALSO TUCK YOUR COLLAR IN AND, YEP.
CAN YOU HEAR, DID SOMEBODY HAVE THE, WHO'S TALKING? IT'S, IT'S THE SCREEN PHONE MUTE.
I NEED ONE MORE VOLUNTEER FOR THAT COMMITTEE.
ANYBODY I'LL, I'LL THROW SOMEBODY'S NAME OUT OF THE HAT, LET YOU KNOW.
BUT YOU ARE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE ON IT ON TAPE.
UH, WE WILL BE, WE, WE MISSED THE SCHEDULE ORIGINALLY.
I HOPE TO DO THIS A MONTH AGO, BUT I, UH, LOST JANUARY
UH, AND WE'LL HOLD TO THAT, BUT I BELIEVE WE WILL TRY TO, UH, ESTABLISH ONE MEETING BEFORE MAY, JUST TO GET THINGS ROLLING IN EACH COMMITTEE.
UH, YOU KNOW, AND WE WILL ADVISE YOU WHEN THOSE DATES ARE.
THE LAST AGENDA ITEM TODAY IS THE, YES.
SORRY TO INTERRUPT, COMMISSIONER.
SO, FOR MAKING, CAN YOU LET ME KNOW? CAUSE I GOTTA TRY TO FIND ROOM RESERVATIONS FOR THIS AREA BE WEBEX.
SO I NEED TO KNOW TO GET, UH, DATE.
I CAN TRY TO SEE IF THEY HAVE A ROOM AVAILABLE.
WE'LL, WE'LL, WE WILL COME UP WITH THAT IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SOMETHING.
UH, THE, UH, NEXT THING, WE'VE GOT HALF HOUR LEFT HERE.
I DON'T HAVE A NAME FOR WHO IS PRESENTING ON BEHALF OF DART.
I'M, I'M HERE WITH DALLAS AREA RAPID TRANSIT.
UM, THERE'S ACTUALLY SEVERAL OF US ON THE CALL TODAY.
UH, WE WERE ASKED TO DISCUSS THREE TOPICS, AND SO WE'VE GOT THREE, UH, SHORT PRESENTATIONS THAT WE'RE GONNA DO FOR YOU.
UM, THE, THE FIRST ONE IS GONNA BE OVER, UH, THE WRITER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. THEN WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT, UM, DART'S PARATRANSIT SERVICES, AND THEN, UH, BRIEFLY SPEAK ON THE, UM, RECENT CHANGES TO OUR FIXED ROUTE SERVICES.
UM, SO IT LOOKS LIKE NOW, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO SHARE MY SCREEN OR DID YOU WANNA SHARE THE PRESENTATION ON YOUR SCREEN? YOU CAN SHARE IT.
YOU WANT THEM TO SHARE WITH YOU
GO AHEAD AND SHARE YOUR SCREEN PLEASE.
I AM NOT SO PROFICIENT IN WEBEX, SO LET'S SEE IF I CAN DO THIS PRETTY WELL.
HOW ARE WE LOOKING? CAN YOU SEE MY PRESENTATION? OKAY? NO, NO, NO, NOT YET.
[01:00:01]
WELL, CAN YOU SEE MY POWERPOINT AT ALL? CAN YOU SEE MY SCREEN AT ALL? NOPE.WELL, HOW ABOUT THAT,
IT WOULD EASIER TO SEE PRESENTATION MODE.
OKAY, SO WE SHOULD BE IN BUSINESS NOW.
MY PRESENTATION'S ALL SHOULD BE OKAY,
I'M THE MANAGER OF, UH, UM, BUSINESS AND PLANNING FOR MOBILITY MANAGEMENT SERVICES.
UM, WE, I'M GONNA SPEAK BRIEFLY ON THE DART WRIGHTS PROGRAM, WHICH IS A PART OF DART'S WRITER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. UM, HAPPY TO BE HERE WITH ALL OF YOU TODAY.
SO, UM, THE, THE THREE OF US THAT ARE ON THIS CALL FROM MY TEAM INCLUDE MYSELF, TRACY JOHNSON AND JILL ANDERSON.
UM, TRACY AND JILL ARE PLANNERS ON THE MOBILITY MANAGEMENT SERVICES TEAM, AND THEY, THEY ASSIST WITH THE, UH, ELIGIBILITY AND THEY SPEAK WITH CUSTOMERS AND ANSWER QUESTIONS AND, AND, AND HELP TO MANAGE THESE PROGRAMS WITH ME.
UM, SO ALL THREE OF US WILL BE HERE, AND WE'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AFTER THIS PRESENTATION.
SO WHAT IS THE DART RIGHTS PROGRAM? IT'S A, UH, RIDER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM WHERE ELIGIBLE WRITERS CAN ARRANGE FOR TRIPS WITHIN THE DARTS SERVICE AREA, SO THAT THAT IS, THAT THEY CAN GET PICKED UP AND DROPPED OFF ANYWHERE WITHIN ANY OF THE 13 MEMBER CITIES THAT MAKE UP DART.
THE WAY THAT IT WORKS IS DART, UH, UH, COVERS 75% OF THE COST OF THE TRIPS, AND THE RIDER PAY 25% OF THE COST OUT OF THEIR POCKET.
UH, THIS ALLOWS CUSTOMERS TO TAKE TRIPS THAT THEY MAY NOT ABLE TO TAKE, UH, MAY NOT BE ABLE TO TAKE USING THE DART BUS, UH, OR TRAIN SYSTEM.
THIS, UH, PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE NOW.
PEOPLE CAN APPLY AND, AND, UH, AND GO THROUGH THE ELIGIBILITY PROCESS, UH, AT THIS TIME IF THEY'D LIKE.
AND THEN WE, WE JUST GOT A BULLET HERE THAT, UM, ITERATES FOR YOU THAT THIS PROGRAM IS COMPLETELY SEPARATE FROM OUR GOAL GOALING SERVICE, OUR PARATRANSIT, OUR BUS AND TRAIN SERVICE.
IT'S ITS OWN INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM.
SO, UM, THIS PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE TO RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF DALLAS.
WE ALSO HAVE, WE HAVE OTHER, UH, RIDER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR RESIDENTS OF OTHER CITIES.
BUT WE, WE DECIDED JUST TO SPEAK TO YOU ON THE, UH, THE DALLAS PROGRAM TODAY.
UM, WE DO HANDLE DART HANDLES, ALL OF THE, UH, THE ENROLLMENT AND THE OVERSIGHT FOR THE SERVICE.
UH, TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANIES, TNCS, SUCH AS UBER AND LYFT, ARE USED FOR RIDERS THAT DO NOT REQUIRE WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE VEHICLES.
SO, WHO'S ELIGIBLE? SO, UM, YOU MUST BE A RESIDENT OF DALLAS, AND THEN YOU CAN BE A SENIOR 65 AND OVER, OR A PERSON WITH A QUALIFYING DISABILITY.
SO THE DISABILITIES THAT MAY QUALIFY YOU WOULD BE IF YOU ARE CERTIFIED AS LEGALLY BLIND, CERTIFIED AS DEATH OR, UH, DEAF OR PROFOUND HEART OF HEARING, CERTIFIED TO BE NON AMBULATORY USING A WHEELCHAIR OR SCOOTER CERTIFIED TO BE SEMI AMBULATORY, USING A WALKER OR CRUTCHES CERTIFIED AS HAVING A PHYSICAL DISABILITY CERTIFIED FOR AT LEAST 50% DISABILITY ALLOWANCE THROUGH THE VA CERTIFIED FOR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY INCOME CERTIFIED AS HAVING AN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY, HAVING A CAESAR DISORDER, OR AS HAVING A MENTAL ILLNESS.
SO FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN THE PROGRAM AND WOULD LIKE TO APPLY, UM, WE WILL ACCEPT, WE ACCEPT APPLICATIONS ONLINE THROUGH THE MAIL, AND WE CAN ALSO FILL THEM OUT OVER THE PHONE.
UM, FOR ANYONE WHO'S INTERESTED IN CALLING US THERE, THE PHONE NUMBER IS ON MY PRESENTATION HERE.
UH, THERE'S A WEBSITE WHERE THEY CAN GO TO APPLY, WHICH IS DART.ORG/RIDES.
AND THEN WE'VE GOT AN ADDRESS AS WELL FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO PRINT OUT AN APPLICATION AND, AND, AND SEND THAT TO US IN THE MAIL.
UM, THE ELIGIBILITY DOCUMENTS WILL BE REVIEWED BY OUR TEAM IN ORDER TO DETERMINE, UM, WHETHER THAT PERSON WILL BE CERTIFIED OR DENIED FOR SERVICE.
SO, UH, ONCE CUSTOMERS ARE CERTIFIED, UH, IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO SCHEDULE A TRIP, THEY HAVEN'T, THEY CAN CALL IN, UH, AND, UH, SCHEDULE A RIDE WITH US, BOOK A RIDE WITH US.
THEY'LL JUST PROVIDE THEIR FIRST NAME, LAST NAME, AND THEIR PHONE NUMBER IN ORDER TO DO SO.
UM, TRIPS CAN BE SCHEDULED UP TO SEVEN DAYS IN ADVANCE, OR AT A MINIMUM OF ONE HOUR BEFORE THE REQUESTED PICKUP TIME.
UM, IF THE, IF AN INDIVIDUAL KNOWS, UM, THEIR, UH, THEIR TRIP IS COMING, IT HELPS US IF THEY'LL SCHEDULE IN ADVANCE, PARTICULARLY
[01:05:01]
IF THEY NEED A WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE VEHICLE SO THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE CAPACITY FOR THEM.UM, AMBULATORY CUSTOMERS WHO, UH, DO NOT USE A WHEELCHAIR, I SAID THIS A MOMENT AGO, BUT THEY MAY BE BOOKED ON EITHER UBER OR LYFT.
UM, THIS ISN'T A FURTHER SLIDE, BUT AT THE TOP HERE IT SAYS THAT YOU HAVE TO CALL IN.
YOU CAN ALSO NOW, UM, JUST AS OF THE END OF OCTOBER, OUR WRITERS ARE ABLE TO BOOK THEIR TRIPS ONLINE OR THROUGH A, UM, MOBILE APPLICATION IF THEY'RE INTERESTED IN DOING THAT.
SO PAYING FOR RIDES, THERE'S, THERE'S TWO WAYS THEY CAN DO IT.
IF THEY, UM, PREFER, UM, TO MAIL A CHECK OR A MONEY ORDER TO US, THEY ARE ABLE TO DO THAT AS LONG AS THEY'LL, UH, ALLOW US A FEW DAYS, UM, TO RECEIVE THAT THROUGH THE MAIL AND PROCESS IT.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE THE ABILITY TO ACCEPT CREDIT AND DEBIT CARD INFORMATION.
WE HAVE A SECURE PHONE LINE, UH, WHICH WILL ALL CUSTOMERS, AND THEY'LL BE ABLE TO ENTER IN AND SAVE THEIR, UH, CREDIT CARD INFORMATION.
THEY CAN ALSO, UM, SAVE THEIR CREDIT AND DEBIT CARD INFORMATION ONLINE OR THROUGH THE APPLICATION THAT I MENTIONED.
SO I, I JUST SAID THAT, UM, THEY CAN SAVE THEIR DEBIT CARD.
AND THEN THE WAY THAT THE ACTUAL FEE STRUCTURE WORKS, IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO, UH, A TAXI FEE STRUCTURE.
YOU'VE GOT A DROP FEE, A MILEAGE FEE, AND A FEE PER MINUTE.
UH, OUR, OUR RESERVATION STAFF CAN GIVE THE TOTAL FOR WHAT IT'S GOING TO COST BEFORE THE TRIP ACTUALLY OCCURS.
UM, FOR, FOR ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO BRING AN ADDITIONAL PASSENGER WITH THEM, THEY CAN BRING TWO ADDITIONAL PASSENGERS FOR $2 EACH.
AND THEN, UM, I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SUBSIDY AND THE WAY THAT, UM, THE CITY OF DALLAS HELPS TO ASSIST WITH PAYING FOR THE PROGRAM.
SO, UH, THE WAY THAT IT WORKS IS THE WRITERS WILL PAY FOR 25% OF THE SERVICE UNTIL THEY HAVE SPENT A TOTAL OF $50, AT WHICH POINT THEY WILL THEN SWITCH TO AN UN UNSUBSIDIZED TRIP AND THEY'LL TRIP AND PAY FOR 100% OF THAT COST.
UM, THAT SUBSIDY IS GONNA RESTART EACH MONTH ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE CALENDAR MONTH.
AND I JUST WANNA GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE TO SORT OF HELP YOU VISUALIZE THE WAY THAT THAT FEE MIGHT WORK.
SO, UH, IN THIS EXAMPLE, IT'S A PERSON WHO'S TAKING A FIVE MILE TRIP FOR 10 MINUTES.
UM, THE FIVE MILES, THEY'LL PAY THE MILEAGE FEE, WHICH IF IT'S SUBSIDIZED, WILL COME OUT TO $2 AND 26 CENTS.
THE 10 MINUTES WOULD COME OUT TO 43 CENTS, AND THE DROP FEE WOULD BE 85 CENTS.
SO IN THIS CASE, A FIVE MILE TRIP FOR 10 MINUTES WOULD COST YOU $3 AND 54 CENTS AS A RIDER WHILE IT'S IN AN UN-SUBSIDIZED STATE.
SO YOU COULD TAKE IN A, IN A SINGLE MONTH, YOU COULD TAKE, YOU KNOW, ABOUT 15 OF THESE TRIPS AND GET THEM SUBSIDIZED AND ONLY PAY $3 AND 54 CENTS EACH WAY.
I DID MENTION, BUT THIS SLIDE IS, UH, SPECIFICALLY HAS TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT WE HAVE RECENTLY ADDED IN WEB BOOKING AND SMARTPHONE, UM, UH, UH, APPLICATION BOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN BOOKING THAT WAY.
WE'VE HAD SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE VERY EXCITED NOT TO HAVE TO CALL IN OVER THE PHONE.
THEY CAN FINALLY GO ONLINE AND BOOK FOR THEMSELVES.
UM, THOSE WHO NEED A WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE VEHICLE, WE ARE, WE ARE ASKING THAT THEY CONTINUE TO CALL ON THEIR RESERVATION.
THERE IS STILL A TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGE, UH, THAT IS PREVENTING US FROM HAVING A, UH, WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE VEHICLES ON THE ONLINE SYSTEM.
BUT WE'LL, OF COURSE, STILL BE HAPPY TO, TO ACCOMMODATE THOSE PEOPLE IF THEY WOULD CALL IN THEIR RESERVATIONS.
SO, UH, FOR ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED IN, UH, LEARNING MORE, WE WOULD PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOU TO GIVE US A CALL, SEND US AN EMAIL OR, UH, GO ONLINE AND, AND READ, UH, ON OUR WEBSITE AT DART.ORG/RIGHTS.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DART RIGHTS PROGRAM? I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR ABOUT THE, THE TWO, UH, OPENING CRITERIA IS MM-HMM.
SO YOU, IN ORDER TO, UM, GET CERTIFIED FOR THE PROGRAM, YOU MUST BE A RESIDENT OF DALLAS.
AND BE EITHER 65 OR OLDER, OR HAVE A DISABILITY.
SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE BOTH JUST ONE THE OTHER.
AND THEN YOU CAN ACTUALLY TRAVEL ANYWHERE WITHIN THE DART SERVICE AREA.
IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE SOMEWHERE WHERE THERE'S NOT A BUS OR A TRAIN.
UM, YOU CAN BE, YOU CAN TRAVEL ANYWHERE.
SO YOU CAN TRAVEL FROM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE A PARTICIPANT, UH, WHO WANTS TO GO FROM NORTH PLANO TO SOUTH GLEN HEIGHTS, YOU COULD DO THAT ON THIS SERVICE.
IT'S JUST GONNA BE MORE EXPENSIVE THE FURTHER YOU GO.
HOW DO YOU, UH, HOW DO YOU MAKE PEOPLE AWARE OF THIS PROGRAM? SO THE, SO ALL OF THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAM, YOU MEAN AS FAR
[01:10:01]
AS LIKE MARKETING GOES? YES.SO THERE'S NOT A LOT OF MARKETING PER SE THAT HAPPENS WITH THESE PROGRAMS. AND PART, PART OF THE REASON WITH THAT, FOR THAT QUITE FRANKLY, HAS TO DO WITH BUDGETING CONSTRAINTS.
IT'S SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE, UM, EXTREME BUDGET OVERRUNS SINCE THIS PROGRAM IS GREATLY SUBSIDIZED BY THE CITY OF DALLAS AND BY A GRANT THROUGH THE FTA.
UM, WE TRY TO BE, YOU KNOW, FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE THERE.
BUT THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAMS IS AVAILABLE ONLINE ON DART.ORG, UH, UH, ALONG WITH ALL OF DART'S OTHER SERVICES FOR, FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO WANNA GO OUT AND LEARN ABOUT IT.
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE HEAR ABOUT IT THROUGH WORD OF MOUTH CUZ THEY'RE ENJOYING THE PROGRAM.
BECAUSE IN THE MONTH OF JANUARY, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WERE 637 RIDES, 637 TRIPS AND THE MONTH OF JANUARY.
AND 90 UNIQUE INDIVIDUALS TOOK THOSE TRIPS.
AND, AND WE'VE GOT, UM, 140,000 SENIORS,
RIGHT? WELL, IT WOULD CERTAINLY BE A DESIRE FOR MYSELF.
I, I, I DON'T FEEL I COULD SPEAK ON BEHALF OF ALL OF DART, BUT IT'D CERTAINLY BE, UH, A DESIRE FOR MYSELF TO SEE MORE RIDERSHIP AND MORE INDIVIDUALS APPLY AND GET TO USE THESE SERVICES CUZ WE THINK THEY'RE GREAT SERVICES.
UM, SO HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT, UH, UH, UPCOMING FISCAL YEARS, WE CAN, YOU KNOW, RAISE THE AWARENESS AND GET MORE INDIVIDUALS TO PARTICIPATE WITH US.
DOES DART HAVE A COMMUNICATIONS PROCESS OR DEPARTMENT OR SOMEBODY WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR COMMUNICATING WHAT DART SERVICES, NOT JUST THIS ONE, BUT OTHERS THAT DART HAS, UH, DIRECTLY TO THE SENIOR COMMUNITY D DIRECTLY TO THE SENIOR COMMUNITY? I DON'T THINK WE HAVE A DESIGNATED INDIVIDUAL.
WE'VE GOT A COMMUNITY RELATIONS TEAM.
WE'VE GOT OUR, UH, SERVICE PLANNING TEAM, AND THEY DO A LOT OF OUTREACH.
THEY GO, UM, SPEAK AT AT MANY EVENTS AND WE, WE GO AND SPEAK AT EVENTS AS WELL.
WE'VE GOT OUR TEAM, UH, UH, WHO THE INDIVIDUAL WHO'S GONNA SPEAK NEXT ACTUALLY IS THE, UM, UH, UH, SUPERVISOR OF THE MOB, UH, MOBILITY AMBASSADOR PROGRAM.
UM, I JUST GOT A TIP FROM ONE OF MY COWORKERS WHO'S ON THE CALL THAT A, A GREAT POINT OF CONTACT WITH DART IS, UH, CARLOS HUERTA, WHO I BELIEVE IS IN COMMUNITY RELATIONS OR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS ON MICHAEL.
CARLOS HUERTA, I WANTED TO ASK, I WANTED TO ADD THAT I HEARD ABOUT YOUR PROGRAM IN THE LITTLE CATALOG THAT'S CALLED MY RIDE DALLAS.
A LITTLE GREEN AND WHITE BOOKLET THAT HAS ALL OF THE TRANSPORTATION SERVICES INSIDE DALLAS.
I THINK I PICKED IT UP AT THE DART FAIR A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO BEFORE COVID, AND THAT'S WHAT I USED TO REFER PEOPLE THAT ARE ASKING TRANSPORTATION.
YEAH, MY RIDE DALLAS IS A GREAT PROGRAM.
WE'VE ACTUALLY GOT, I THINK CLIFF RAVENS IS GONNA GIVE A PRESENTATION ON MY RIDE, UH, DALLAS IN A LITTLE WHILE.
UM, DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT, UM, UH, THE RIDER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS? SO, NOEL, I WAS LOOKING AT THE WEBSITE, UM, ONLINE MM-HMM.
IS THAT AVAILABLE IN SPANISH OR ANY OTHER LANGUAGE? YES.
AND THAT'S AVAILABLE ONLINE? YES, MA'AM.
AND ISN'T YOUR PROGRAM, LIKE WHEN YOU PAY IN ADVANCE, IF YOU DON'T USE ALL OF YOUR FUNDS THAT MONTH, THEY ROLL OVER TO THE NEXT MONTH, RIGHT? THEY DO NOT ROLL OVER.
THEY RESET AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH MONTH.
AND SO HOW LONG, IF, IF YOU APPLY EITHER ONLINE OR BY MAIL, HOW LONG DOES IT USUALLY TAKE TO GET APPROVAL? SO OUR, OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE ALL OF OUR APPLICATIONS HANDLED WITHIN 30 DAYS.
I CAN TELL YOU THOUGH, UM, IF YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION AND YOU'VE GOT YOUR DOCUMENTS IN ORDER, IT'S GONNA BE WITHIN A COUPLE OF DAYS WITHIN THE WEEK.
UH, WE'VE GOT TRACY AND J ARE ON THE CALL RIGHT NOW, AND THEY ARE ON TOP OF IT.
THEY CHECK EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR NEW APPLICATIONS AND THEY START PROCESSING THEM RIGHT AWAY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THANK YOU.
UH, WHO'S NEXT? SO WE'VE GOT RICK GARCIA NEXT.
RICK, ARE YOU READY TO PRESENT? UH, YES, I AM.
UM, I'M GONNA TRY TO DEAL THIS SCREEN
[01:15:01]
FROM YOU.UM, FIRST OF ALL, CAN EVERYBODY HEAR ME? AM I OKAY? YES.
UM, I'M GONNA STEAL, UH, NOAH'S CAVEAT THAT I'M ALSO NOT AS FAMILIAR WITH THIS, UH, THIS SHARING SERVICE, BUT I'M GONNA GIVE IT, UH, THE OLD COLLEGE TRY HERE AND, UH, PRESENTATION.
AND RICK, I MAY BE ALONE, BUT I ACTUALLY CANNOT HEAR YOU VERY WELL AT ALL.
I THINK YOU MIGHT BE ALONE THOUGH.
I THINK THAT MIGHT BE A PRODUCT OF MY HEADSET.
CAN YOU SEE MY PRESENTATION? NO, NO, NO.
IT'S, WE, WE CAN'T SEE ANYTHING IN THIS THING PRINTED HERE.
HANDOUTS FROM THE, NOW THE REST OF US CAN SEE IT.
WE GOT SOME PEOPLE WHO CAN'T SEE IT.
OH, SOME PEOPLE IN MINE CAN SEE IT.
I COULD TRY TO SHARE IT ON MY SCREEN AGAIN, RICK, TO SEE IF THAT WORKS.
UH, WHY DON'T WE DO THAT, SEE IF THAT WORKS.
NO, YOU'LL HAVE TO BE MY SLIDE VAN.
YEAH, I HAVE IT ON MY PHONE ORDER.
CAN NEVER, CAN EVERYONE ELSE SEE IT?
UH, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE, UH, WITH OUR TECHNOLOGICAL DIFFICULTIES THERE.
MY NAME IS RICK GARCIA AND I AM THE, UH, MOBILITY AMBASSADOR PROGRAM SUPERVISOR HERE AT DART.
UM, I'M, I'M SPEAKING TO YOU WITH REGARDS TO THE PARATRANSIT SERVICE.
UH, I'M SURE MANY OF YOU MIGHT BE FAMILIAR WITH IT.
THIS IS, UH, ESSENTIALLY WHAT I WOULD CALL DART MOBILITY MANAGEMENT SERVICES, THE DEPARTMENT THAT NOAH AND I ARE IN OUR, OUR, OUR BREAD AND BUTTER SERVICE AS IT, UH, AS IT WERE.
SO WE'RE NOT HEARING VERY WELL.
SO WE'RE ALL HERE SHAKING AND LOOKING AT ONE ANOTHER AT ALL.
LET ME SEE IF I CAN ADJUST IT AND IF NOT, WHAT I'LL DO IS I'LL JUMP ONTO MY PHONE AND SEE IF THAT HELPS.
LET ME PUT THE MICROPHONE IN YOUR MOUTH.
WE'LL TRY THAT NEXT COMMUNICATION TESTING.
DO YOU WANNA COME POP OVER TO MY OFFICE REAL QUICK? OH, YOU KNOW WHAT, THAT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA.
YOU KNOW WHAT, GIMME TWO SECONDS, LIKE TWO DOORS DOWN.
SO, HEY, UH, WHILE RICK'S GET HIS SITUATION ALL, UH, STRAIGHTENED OUT, WHICH IS, I, I KNOW THE WAY THAT HE LIKES IT, UH, LET ME JUST, UH, BUTT IN HERE AND MENTION THAT, UH, UH, I CAN DO MY PART WITHOUT A PRESENTATION.
WHAT IS, WHAT IS HIS PART? OKAY.
MY NAME IS HANS MICHAEL, AND I'M JUST HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT SOME CHANGES WE'VE MADE RECENTLY TO OUR SERVICE.
WE CHANGED, UH, SOME MAJOR THINGS, UH, TO DART SERVICE ON THE BUS SIDE AND ON THE GOLINK SIDE.
UH, WE DID THAT IN, ON JANUARY 23RD, 2023.
SO, LIKE, UM, 30 DAYS AGO-ISH, WHAT WE DID IS WE EQUALIZED ALL THE SERVICE HOURS FOR GOLINK AND THE ZONES THAT DART OPERATES.
AND GOLINK IS AN ON-DEMAND SERVICE THAT WE, UH, OPERATE IN 30 ZONES ACROSS OUR
[01:20:01]
SERVICE AREA.WE MADE ALL THE, THE SCHEDULES FOR ALL THOSE SERVICES THE SAME IN THE PAST, THEY WERE DIFFERENT BECAUSE, UH, DEMAND WAS DIFFERENT.
THE ZONE SIZES WERE DIFFERENT, BUT NOW THEY'RE ALL THE SAME, AND THEY ALL OPERATE SEVEN DAYS A WEEK FROM 5:00 AM TO MIDNIGHT.
NOW, THERE IS ONE ZONE THAT INCLUDES PARTS OF DALLAS OVER BY THE INLAND PORT THAT'S NOT ACTUALLY OPERATED BY DART, UH, THAT COVERS, UH, A LOT OF ELLIS COUNTY AND THE SOUTHERN REACHES OF DALLAS COUNTY.
UH, THAT ZONE DOES NOT OPERATE EXACTLY LIKE THE OTHER 30, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU GUYS MIGHT HAVE ABOUT THAT ZONE, MAYBE SEPARATELY AFTER THE PRESENTATION OR, UH, SORRY, DISCUSSION THAT WE'RE HAVING.
THE OTHER MAJOR CHANGE THAT WE MADE IS WE RETURNED FREQUENCY TO ALL OUR BUS ROUTES THAT LOST IT LAST YEAR.
WHEN I SAY RETURN FREQUENCY, WHAT I MEAN IS THAT THE SCHEDULE YOU SEE, UH, ON THE WEBSITE AND IN THE PRINTED TIMETABLES IS THE ONE THAT WE FOLLOW.
YOU MAY REMEMBER LAST YEAR FOR A PERIOD OF TIME THAT WE STOPPED SERVING OUR MOST FREQUENT ROUTES, UH, WITH AS MUCH AS MANY TRIPS THAT WAS DUE TO A, A CRIPPLING LABOR SHORTAGE THAT WE WERE SUFFERING THROUGH.
UH, UH, OUR, OUR H OUR OUR HR DEPARTMENT HAS HELPED US, UH, CREST THAT, UH, SUMMIT.
AND WE'RE BACK IN BUSINESS AS IT WERE, WITH FULL FREQUENCY ON OUR MOST FREQUENT ROUTES.
SO THERE WERE SOME ROUTES WHO WERE MISSING EIGHT TO 10 TRIPS PER DAY DUE TO OPERATOR SHORTAGES.
BUT NOW WE'VE MOSTLY GOT THAT IRONED OUT.
OUR MISTRI, OUR MISSED TRIPS RATIO IS BACK DOWN WHERE WE WON IT, WHICH IS VERY CLOSE TO ZERO.
UH, THAT'S NOT TO SAY, UH, EVERYTHING'S PERFECT.
I MYSELF RIDE THE SYSTEM EVERY DAY.
AND, UH, I HAD A, I HAD A HICCUP THE OTHER DAY THAT I'M, UH, I'M TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED STILL.
BUT WE'RE ABLE TO COMMIT TO RELIABLY PROVIDING THE TRIPS THAT ARE ON THE PUBLIC SCHEDULE AGAIN, AND THAT STARTED JANUARY 23RD.
IN THE CHAT TO THIS WEBEX MEETING, I'LL PUT THE WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN FIND A LOT MORE DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHANGES THAT I SPOKE ABOUT.
BUT, UH, UH, I'LL JUST CHECK IN WITH RICK TO SEE IF HE'S READY TO GO.
YOU WANNA GIVE IT A WHIRL? YES.
CAN EVERYBODY HEAR ME? IS THAT ANY BETTER? YES, MUCH BETTER.
UH, IF NOAH CAN GET THE SLIDE BACK UP.
IT LOOKS LIKE, UM, IT'S ALREADY SHARING.
THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT
SO, UH, LIKE I WAS SAYING, I'LL JUST REITERATE MYSELF.
UM, MY NAME IS RICK GARCIA AND I AM THE MOBILITY AMBASSADOR PROGRAM SUPERVISOR.
UH, IF WE COULD GO BACK TO THAT FIRST SLIDE JUST FOR TWO SECONDS.
OH, WE'RE, WE'RE FLIPPING THROUGH THERE.
UM, I AM GOING TO SPEAK TO YOU TODAY ABOUT THE PARATRANSIT SERVICE.
AND LIKE I HAD MENTIONED, THIS IS FOR US IN THE M M S DEPARTMENT, UH, PROBABLY OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR, OUR BREAD AND BUTTER SERVICE.
THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE THINK OF WHEN THEY THINK OF DART MOBILITY MANAGEMENT SERVICES.
UH, SO WHAT IS THE PARATRANSIT SERVICE? SO IF WE COULD SWITCH OVER TO THAT SECOND SLIDE, THAT'D BE SUPER COOL.
SO, THE PARATRANSIT SERVICE IS, UM, IS A SERVICE FOR PEOPLE WHO REALLY, U I WOULD SAY, CAN'T USE THE FI, COULDN'T USE THE FIXTURE OUT SERVICE, UH, EFFECTIVELY OR, UM, UH, SAFELY, UH, FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS.
UM, AND WE'LL TOUCH ON SOME OF THAT WHEN I REFERENCE ELIGIBILITY.
UM, BUT SOME OF THE KEY ATTRIBUTES OF THE SERVICE, UH, DIFFER GREATLY FROM SOME OF DART'S OTHER SERVICES, PARTICULARLY WHAT WE WOULD CALL THE FIX OUT BUS OR FIX OUT RAIL SERVICE.
SO, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCES IS THAT THIS SERVICE IS A DOOR-TO-DOOR SERVICE, UH, AS OPPOSED TO A CURB TO CURB SERVICE, WHICH, UH, ESSENTIALLY MEANS IF YOU THINK ABOUT CURB TO CURB AS A BUS, THAT'S GONNA STOP UP, STOP AT THE CURB AND PICK SOMEONE UP WHO'S WAITING AT THE CURB, DOOR TO DOOR WOULD MEAN, UH, ESSENTIALLY THE OPPOSITE.
THIS IS A VEHICLE THAT WILL COME
[01:25:01]
DIRECTLY TO, UH, SOMEONE'S HOME AND PICK THEM UP FROM THEIR HOME.THEY'LL KNOCK ON THE DOOR AND, UM, SAY, HEY, I'M SO-AND-SO DART.
I'M HERE TO PICK UP, UH, MR. AND MRS. SO-AND-SO, AND THEN, UH, THEY'LL GET THEM INTO THE VEHICLE, AND THEN THEY WILL TAKE THEM DIRECTLY TO WHEREVER IT IS THEY WERE TRYING TO GO.
UH, WHETHER THAT BE, UH, A MEDICAL TRIP, WE DO A LOT OF MEDICAL TRIPS OR A PERSONAL TRIP, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE'S GOING TO WALMART OR SOMEONE IS LOOKING TO VISIT A RELATIVE OR, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, SO THAT, THAT'S A LARGE PART OF, UH, A, A LARGE DIFFERENCE, I WOULD SAY.
UH, ANOTHER THING THAT, UM, THAT DIFFERS IS THIS IS A SERVICE THAT YOU SET UP IN ADVANCE.
SO AS OPPOSED TO GOING TO A PLACE AND WAITING FOR A BUS OR A TRAIN, YOU'RE GONNA EITHER CALL ON THE PHONE AND BOOK IN ADVANCE, OR YOU CAN EVEN BOOK ONLINE.
UM, SO WHEN YOU CALL IN ADVANCE, YOU ARE, UH, WANTING TO YOU, YOU ARE GONNA BE WANTING TO BOOK AT LEAST, LEAST A DAY IN ADVANCE.
YOU CAN BOOK AS EARLY AS 48 HOURS IN ADVANCE.
YOU DO HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE LEEWAY.
IF YOU BOOK ONLINE, YOU GET A COUPLE MORE DAYS TO BOOK IN ADVANCE.
UM, AND THEN, UH, THIS IS ALSO A SERVICE THAT WILL SERVE THE ENTIRE DART SERVICE AREA.
SO, DALLAS AND THE 12, UH, OTHER, UH, DART MEMBER CITIES.
THE SERVICE WILL OPERATE FROM 5:00 AM TO MIDNIGHT, JUST ABOUT EVERY DAY, UH, MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.
AND THERE'S A SLIGHT CHANGE ON SUNDAYS.
UM, AND THEN, UM, IF WE CAN GO, UH, IF WE CAN GO JUST TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHO'S ELIGIBLE.
ACTUALLY, I TELL YOU WHAT I WANT TO HIT ON ONE THING.
UM, RIGHT BEFORE WE GET INTO, UH, ELIGIBILITY, I WANTED TO HIT ON COST.
ONE THING THAT, UM, THAT COMES UP SOMETIMES IS THE COST.
SO WHEN YOU USE THE PARATRANSIT SERVICE, IT IS A FIXED COST SERVICE.
SO IT'S GONNA BE $3 A TRIP NO MATTER WHERE YOU'RE GOING, UH, ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
IF YOU'RE GOING FROM, UH, THE FURTHEST POINT NORTH PLANO TO THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE MOST SOUTHERN POINT IN GLEN HEIGHTS, IT'S GONNA BE $3.
IF YOU ARE GOING, UH, UP THE STREET TO, UH, YOU KNOW, TO AN EYE APPOINTMENT, IT'S GONNA BE $3 THERE AND THEN $3 BACK.
UM, SO SOMETHING TO NOTE THERE.
YOU WOULD PAY VIA CASH OR WITH A COUPON THAT COULD BE PURCHASED, UH, EITHER ONLINE AT THE DART STORE OR PHYSICALLY IN PERSON AT THE DART STORM.
SO LET, LET'S TALK ABOUT ELIGIBILITY.
SO DART FOLLOWS THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990 ELIGIBILITY STANDARDS FOR PARATRANSIT SERVICES.
ESSENTIALLY, UH, WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT THERE'S A BROAD, UM, VARIETY OF THINGS THAT WOULD MAKE SOMEONE OR CONSTITUTE SOMEONE'S ELIGIBILITY FOR THIS SERVICE.
UH, THE WAY THAT WE REACH THAT IS THROUGH ASSESSMENT.
UH, AND THAT REALLY HAS MORE TO DO WITH, UH, THE APPLICATION SERVICE, SO, OR THE APPLICATION PORTION.
SO, IF WE COULD GO OVER TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
SO, HOW DO YOU APPLY FOR THE PARATRANSIT SERVICE? LET'S SAY, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE SOMEONE, A LOVED ONE WHO'S INTERESTED, UH, THEY THINK THEY MIGHT, UH, BE A GOOD FIT FOR, UH, THIS PROGRAM.
YOU'RE GONNA FILL OUT AN APPLICATION.
THIS IS A PAPER APPLICATION, UM, THAT YOU COULD EITHER DROP OFF AT THE PARATRANSIT OFFICE, UH, HERE AT 1 0 1 NORTH PEAK STREET, OR YOU COULD HAVE MAILED OR FAXED TO US.
WE GET A LOT OF APPLICATIONS MAILED.
WE GET A LOT OF APPLICATIONS FAXED TO US.
THIS IS TYPICALLY FOR MOST PEOPLE, A TWO-PART APPLICATION.
THEY'LL DO THE ACTUAL GENERAL APPLICATION.
MY NAME IS THIS, HERE'S MY ADDRESS, UH, PHONE NUMBER, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
AND THEN, THEN A PHYSICIAN'S FORM THAT WILL BE FILLED OUT WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THEIR MEDICAL PROVIDER.
AND THEN YOU'LL SUBMIT THOSE THINGS, UH, TO THE PARATRANSIT TEAM HERE AT DART.
UH, THOSE THINGS WILL BE GATHERED UP.
AND THEN YOU'LL BE CALLED BY SOMEONE IN OUR CERTIFICATION TEAM WHO WILL, UH, BE LOOKING TO SET AN ASSESSMENT DATE FOR YOU.
UM, ONCE THEY HAVE THAT DATE, YOU'LL GO DOWN TO, UH, DART HEADQUARTERS AT 1401 PACIFIC AVENUE, AND, UH, YOU'LL MEET WITH AN ELIGIBILITY AND TRAINING SPECIALIST.
THEY'LL REVIEW YOUR APPLICATION, AND, UH, THEY WILL ASSESS, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, YOUR, ARE THE PERSON APPLYING ELIGIBILITY FOR THE SERVICE.
THEY WILL ASSESS THE INFORMATION GATHERED THAT DAY AND IN YOUR APPLICATION, AND THEN YOU WILL, UM, YOU'LL BE NOTIFIED ABOUT, UH, YOUR STATUS AFTER THAT POINT.
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF HOW LONG THIS TYPICALLY TAKES,
[01:30:02]
AT MOST, IT'S GENERALLY ABOUT A MONTH.SO LET'S SAY THAT YOU CALL IN OR YOU SUBMIT AN APPLICATION.
LET'S SAY, LET'S START WITH SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION.
SO YOU FILLED OUT AN APPLICATION, UM, AND YOU SUBMITTED IT TO THE PARA OFFICE.
YOU WILL HEAR BACK FROM, UH, CERTIFICATE, UH, CERTIFICATION ASSOCIATE OR SOMEONE ON THE CERTIFICATION TEAM, TYPICALLY WITHIN A DAY TO TWO DAYS ABOUT SETTING YOUR, UM, YOUR ASSESSMENT DATE.
GENERALLY ASSESSMENT DATES, UH, ARE WITHIN 15 DAYS, GIVE IT ABOUT TWO WEEKS, UH, FROM THE INITIAL CALL, THAT'S WHEN THEY'RE LOOKING TO SET THEM.
BUT THAT COULD CHANGE JUST SLIGHTLY.
UM, IF THERE'S A NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS THAT COME IN AND, UM, A LI YOU KNOW, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A LIMITED NUMBER OF, UH, UH, ASSESSMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
IT, THEY MIGHT POTENTIALLY PUSH YOU INTO A THIRD WEEK OR, OR SOMETHING, UH, TO THAT EFFECT.
SO WHEN YOU GET THAT APPLICATION, UH, SUBMITTED, AND THEN THEY CALL YOU AND THEY SUBMIT, THEY, THEY SAY, HERE IS YOUR ASSESSMENT DATE.
YOU GO DOWN THERE AND YOU GET ASSESSED.
UM, YOU TYPICALLY WILL HEAR BACK FROM THEM.
THEY, THEY ASK FOR AT LEAST 21 DAYS, BUT NORMALLY IT'S BEFORE THAT.
NORMALLY YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR BACK WITHIN, UM, YOU KNOW, A WEEK TO TWO WEEKS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU OR, UH, THE PERSON THAT YOU'RE HELPING APPLY HAS BEEN CERTIFIED TO UTILIZE THE, UH, THE SERVICE.
WHEN PEOPLE ARE CERTIFIED TO USE THE SERVICE, THEY RECEIVE A PACKET IN THE MAIL THAT, UH, GIVES THEM THINGS LIKE THEIR ID NUMBER, UM, UH, UH, I'LL, YOU KNOW, UH, INFORMATION ABOUT WHO TO CALL, HOW TO BOOK A RIDE, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
UM, AND THEN, UH, WHO TO REACH OUT TO IF THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS SERVICE.
UH, IF WE COULD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THAT'D BE GREAT.
SO WE ALSO OFFER OTHER SERVICES.
UM, SO WE OFFER SERVICES, UH, REGARDLESS OF CERTIFICATION STATUS, UH, RELATED TO TRAINING.
UM, IF YOU, FOR, YOU KNOW, YOU WERE, UH, THE APPLICANT IS US NOT, UH, CERTIFIED TO USE PARA TRANSIT SERVICE, THEY MIGHT SAY, YOU KNOW, WELL, WE COULD, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD, UH, WE, YOU KNOW, WE FEEL LIKE YOU COULD USE THE FIX AT SERVICE IF YOU HAD THE APPROPRIATE, UH, TRAINING.
SO YOU MIGHT HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT.
UH, YOU COULD DO THAT WITH AN ELIGIBILITY AND TRAINING, UH, SPECIALIST OR WITH A MOBILITY AMBASSADOR, SOMEONE, UH, APPROPRIATE FOR THE LEVEL OF TRAINING THAT YOU NEED.
UM, AND THEN, UH, WE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL TYPE OF TRAINING CALLED ORIENTATION AND MOBILITY TRAINING ON AND M UH, WHICH IS SPECIFIC TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE, UM, VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS.
UH, WHEN YOU ARE LOOKING FOR TRAINING, UH, AT THE POINT OF THE FIXED ROUTE SERVICE OR EVEN THE PARATRANSIT SERVICE, SAY YOU'RE CERTIFIED FOR THE PARA TRANSIT SERVICE, UM, THE, THAT IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO ANYONE WHO ASKS.
SO IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE CONTINGENT UPON THEM BEING CERTIFIED OR NOT CERTIFIED.
UM, IF YOU, IF, YOU KNOW, IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU CAN BENEFIT FROM IT, IT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, THAT WE WILL DO.
SO, UH, THAT REALLY CONSTITUTES KIND OF LIKE THE, YOU KNOW, IN A, IN A SECOND THERE, THE, I GUESS THE MEAT AND POTATOES OF THE SERVICE.
I'D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT KIND OF QUESTIONS YOU GUYS HAVE ABOUT THE PARATRANSIT SERVICE.
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE THERE THAT ARE QUALIFIED FOR THIS SERVICE? YOU KNOW, UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IT WAS ROUGHLY AROUND, UH, HALF A MILLION PEOPLE.
UH, NOAH, DO YOU HAVE A MORE DIRECT ANSWER ON THAT? SO I CAN TELL YOU, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS YOUR QUESTION, COMMISSIONER.
UH, UM, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE CURRENTLY CERTIFIED FOR PARATRANSIT SERVICES YEAH, IT'S, IT'S AROUND, UM, 10,700 THAT ARE CURRENTLY CERTIFIED CURRENT ACTIVE RIDERS FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY.
AND I JUST LOOKED AT THESE NUMBERS EARLIER, THAT'S WHY I KNOW THEM OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
IT'S, UH, ABOUT, UM, 4,300 INDIVIDUALS, UH, UNIQUE INDIVIDUALS RODE THE SERVICE LAST MONTH.
THAT IS VASTLY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT I SAID.
FORGIVE ME, I MUST HAVE BEEN GETTING THAT CONFUSED WITH THE NUMBER OF TRIPS THAT ARE OFFERED.
AND THAT'S, OH, YEAH, THAT'S, THAT IS A LOT CLOSER FOR A YEAR.
SO, UM, OBVIOUSLY THAT'S, THAT DOES NOT ANSWER THE QUESTION OF HOW MANY PEOPLE IN THE SERVICE AREA QUALIFY FOR THE SERVICES.
THAT COULD BE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT NUMBER, BUT THIS IS A, A RIGHT FOR ANYBODY.
AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A RESIDENT IN ONE OF DARTS MEMBER CITIES TO QUALIFY FOR THE SERVICE.
ANYBODY, UM, IN THE UNITED STATES CAN APPLY TO USE DARTH PARATRANSIT SERVICES WHILE THEY'RE HERE.
AND THESE NUMBERS ARE, ARE SYSTEM WIDE, NOT JUST CITY OF DALLAS, RIGHT? SYSTEM WIDE.
[01:35:02]
THANKS.NO, JUST THIS, THIS IS, UM, MY UNDERSTANDING, THIS IS A NEWER VERSION OF THE, WHAT USED TO BE THE HANDY RIDE PROGRAM, CORRECT? THAT'S RIGHT.
IT USED TO BE CALLED HANDY RIDES, UM, AND THE, THE NAME CHANGED, UM, AND THE TWO THOUSANDS TO PARATRANSIT SERVICES.
AND DO WE HAVE SOMEONE WHO IS GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT MY RIDE? THAT'S, YES.
OKAY, YOUR HONOR, CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME OKAY?
AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH MM-HMM.
SO, AGAIN, MY NAME IS CLIFF CRAVINS.
I AM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR HERE AT MYRIDE DALLAS.
UM, AND MYRA DALLAS IS A, UH, SERVICE THAT ASSISTS SENIORS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN FINDING TRANSPORTATION.
SO WE DON'T PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION, WE HELP PEOPLE FIND IT.
SO WE CONNECT THEM TO SERVICES LIKE DAR PARATRANSIT OR A A R P RIDE AT 50 PLUS PROGRAM.
ALL OF THOSE SERVICES, UM, WE CONNECT THEM TO THOSE SERVICES CUZ AS WE KNOW, UH, AND AS WE JUST WITNESSED, SOMETIMES THERE ARE SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE THAT SENIORS DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT THEY HAVE ACCESS TO.
UH, AND BECAUSE OF THAT, THEY CAN'T GET TO THEIR DOCTORAL APPOINTMENTS, THEY CAN'T GET TO A GROCERY STORE, THEY CAN'T GET TO A SENIOR CENTER, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
SO THAT'S WHY, UM, MYRA DALLAS IS, IS IN OPERATION.
SO, UH, WE HAVE BEEN AROUND SINCE 2011.
WE WERE FORMERLY THE COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION NETWORK IN, UH, 2013.
THE NAME CHANGED TO MYRA DALLAS.
AND, UM, UM, AND WE HAVE BEEN IN OPERATION FOR THAT LONG.
SO WE ARE A FREE SOURCE FOR PERSONALIZED HELP.
UH, WE OFFER THAT HELP IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH, AND WE DO IN IN DEPTH, UH, TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE.
UH, WE WILL REFER PEOPLE TO ALL KINDS OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE, AND WE ARE ADVOCATES FOR TRANSPORTATION AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE AS WELL.
WE WERE FORMALLY A PART OF THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL OF GREATER DALLAS AND THE, UM, DALLAS AREA AGENCY ON AGING.
UH, HOWEVER, UM, AROUND SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR, WE, UM, OUR, OUR GRANT PERIOD ENDED AND THERE WAS NO WAY FOR THE COMMUNITY COUNSELOR OR DALLAS AREA AGENCY TO SUSTAIN IT.
SO, UM, WE HAD TO PART WAYS WITH THE, WITH THE, UH, WITH THAT AGENCY.
HOWEVER, THEY, THEY STILL HAVE A TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM WITH, UH, AT THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL, BUT THEY, THEY'RE TAKING IT ANOTHER DIRECTION.
THEY'RE FOCUSING MORE ON GETTING PEOPLE TO AND FROM WORK.
AND, UH, YOUNGER AGES WHERE WE FOCUS MORE ON SENIORS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, THEY'RE GOING THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.
BUT, UH, WE HAVE SINCE NOW CONNECTED TO A, UH, NONPROFIT TECH FIRM CALLED RESPECT TO TECH, AND THEY BASICALLY ASSIST SENIORS WITH, UM, HELPING THEM TO BECOME MORE COMPUTER LITERATE AND ALSO, UM, MAJ BASIC TECH SUPPORT AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
SO, UM, WE ARE NOW CONNECTED THROUGH THEM.
SO, UM, MY RIDE IS WORKING REMOTELY.
UM, WE AS OF NOW DON'T HAVE, UH, OFFICE SPACES TO WORK FROM.
SO, UH, WE'RE WORKING FROM, FROM HOME REMOTELY.
UM, WE ARE CURRENTLY ALSO LOOKING FOR DONATIONS AND, UM, APPLYING FOR OTHER GRANTS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE FOR THE PURPOSES OF, OF SALARIES, UM, UH, RE REPRINTS FOR OUR GIDE GUIDES AND JUST BASIC, UM, UH, WORKS OF THAT, OF THAT NATURE AND THINGS OF THAT.
SO WHEN PEOPLE CONTACT MY RIDE DALLAS, WHAT HAPPENS IS THEY WOULD CONTACT, UH, ONE OF OUR, THEY WOULD GET ONE OF OUR NAVIGATORS, AND AT THAT POINT IT WOULD BE
UM, AND I, UPON SPEAKING TO THEM, I WOULD ASK THEM A, A SERIES OF QUESTIONS SUCH AS, UM, UH, WHERE DO THEY LIVE THEIR AGE, UH, IF THEY USE ANY TYPE OF MOBILITY AIDS, LIKE A WALKER CANE, WHEELCHAIR.
AND WE ASK THESE QUESTIONS BECAUSE, UH, CERTAIN PROGRAMS THAT WE REFER THEM TO HAVE CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS, SUCH AS THEY HAVE TO BE 60 OR OVER, THEY HAVE TO LIVE IN, UM, D THE CITY
[01:40:01]
OF DALLAS OR IN THE DALLAS COUNTY, OR, UH, THEY HAVE TO, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, IT, IT, THEY HAVE THE SERVICES HAS CERTAIN MOBILITY ASPECTS SUCH AS LIKE THE DARPA TRANSIT, UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.SOME OF THEM HAVE INCOME REQUIREMENTS.
SO, UH, ALL OF THOSE QUESTIONS WE ASK WILL HELP US TO GIVE THEM, UH, THE BEST TYPE OF OF SERVICES.
SO EVEN IF, UH, WE HAVE TO ASK, YOU KNOW, THAT HELPS US FIGURE OUT IF THEY NEED A DOOR-TO-DOOR SERVICE, UH, DOOR THROUGH DOOR SERVICE, UH, CURB TO CURB, SUCH AS WHAT, UM, RICK WAS SPEAKING OF, UH, EARLIER.
UH, SO ALL THAT INFORMATION WE GATHER BEFORE WE GIVE THEM THAT INFORMATION.
AND WHEN WE GIVE THEM THAT INFORMATION, IT LETS THEM KNOW, UH, THE TYPE OF SERVICE THAT, UH, THE, THE BUSINESS IS, UM, THEIR REQUIREMENTS.
IF THERE'S AN APPLICATION PROCESS, UM, UH, IT GIVES THEM A ROUNDABOUT FIGURE OF HOW MUCH THE SERVICE WILL CHARGE IF THERE'S A FEE.
UM, UH, IT'LL ALSO LET THEM KNOW IF AIRS, UH, USUALLY, UH, TIME TO WHERE, HOW, HOW FAR IN ADVANCE THEY COULD SCHEDULE THOSE RIDES.
SO WE GIVE THEM ALL THAT DETAILED INFORMATION THAT THEY COULD HAVE, UM, IN ADVANCE, AND THEN THEY WOULD, IT'S UP TO THEM TO CONTACT THE SERVICES AND TO BOOK THOSE SCHEDULES.
UH, WE JUST GIVE THEM THE INFORMATION AND THEN IT'S UP TO THEM TO FOLLOW THROUGH.
UH, USUALLY AFTER 30 DAYS, WE WILL CONTACT THEM AS A FOLLOW UP JUST TO SEE IF THEY, UM, UTILIZE THOSE SERVICES.
UH, AND IF THEY DIDN'T, WHY THEY DIDN'T, OR, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WE TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ARE THE GAPS, UH, AND SERVICES AND CONNECTING THEM AND GETTING THEM WHERE THEY NEEDED TO, TO GO.
IT'S RARE THAT WE HAVE TO DO THAT, BUT WE, UH, WILL ASSIST THEM IN FILLING OUT APPLICATIONS, UH, FOR CERTAIN PROGRAMS SUCH AS DART PARATRANSIT OR THE DALLAS AREA AGENCY ON AGING, UH, HAS A TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM AS WELL.
SO WE WILL CONNECT THEM TO THOSE SERVICES, AND IF THEY HAVE A PROBLEM FILLING OUT THOSE APPLICATIONS, WE WILL FILL THOSE OUT.
AND USUALLY WE WILL PUT THE, PUT THE FORM IN A, UH, ADDRESSED ENVELOPE AND SEND IT BACK TO THE INDIVIDUAL WITH ANOTHER ENVELOPE THAT THEY COULD, UM, FILL OUT AND SEND TO THEIR DOCTOR TO GET IT COMPLETED.
UM, SO ALONG WITH THE, THE, THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE, WE NOT ONLY DO INFORMATION FOR DALLAS COUNTY, WE ALSO SERVE, UH, HAVE INFORMATION FOR, UH, 16 COUNTIES.
UM, AND THESE ARE THE 16 COUNTIES THAT WE WILL PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION AND RESOURCES FOR.
UH, THIS IS A GUIDE THAT WE PRODUCE CALLED THE GIDE GUIDE.
AND WE HAVE THE GIDE GUIDE, UM, FOR DALLAS COUNTY.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE A REGIONAL GIDE GUIDE THAT HAS ALL THE OTHER 16 COUNTIES, UH, INCLUDED IN THAT.
AND THAT'S THE ONE THAT THE, UM, THAT THE YOUNG LADY WAS SPEAKING OF
SO WE, IN OUR GITA RIDE GUIDES, WE HAVE ALL THOSE RESOURCES, UM, THAT WE WOULD REFER PEOPLE TO WITHIN DALLAS COUNTY, UH, SPECIFICALLY.
SO WE HAVE SERVICES LIKE DAR PARATRANSIT, WE HAVE THE A A R P RIDER, 50 PLUS.
WE HAVE MEDICAID, MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION, WE HAVE, UM, ALL THOSE SERVICES INCLUDED IN THE BOOKLET.
AND THERE ARE SERVICES THAT WE REFER, UH, THAT WE WILL PUT IN THE BOOKLET.
WE DON'T PUT JUST ANYBODY IN THE BOOK.
UH, WE GET THEIR INFORMATION AND WE SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC FOR ABOUT SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR.
UH, AND AS I STATED, WE DO THOSE FOLLOW UPS.
SO WHEN WE DO THE FOLLOW UP, WE GET THAT INFORMATION AND THAT FEEDBACK FROM THE CLIENTS TO LET US KNOW HOW THAT PARTICULAR SERVICE OR AGENCY IS PERFORMING.
AND BASED UPON THAT, WE'LL DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT WE PUT THEM IN THE GETA RIDE GUIDE, AND THEN WE PUT THEM IN THE GETA RIDE GUIDE.
AND THIS IS, UH, YOU CAN ACCESS THE GET A RIDE GUIDE.
WE WOULD MAIL COPIES TO INDIVIDUALS OR DELIVER THEM, UH, DEPENDING ON HOW MANY THEY NEED.
UH, THE, ARE, THEY'RE ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE IN PDF FORMAT ON OUR WEBSITE.
SO YOU COULD GO ON OUR WEBSITE AND GO TO, THERE'S A TAB THAT SAYS GET A RIDE GUIDE, AND YOU COULD PRINT THOSE OUT, UM, IN PDF FORMAT.
YOU CAN ALSO, UH, IT'S INTERACTIVE, SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY ACT LIKE YOU'RE CHANGING THE PAGES AND READING IT AS YOU GO ALONG ON OUR, ON OUR WEBSITE.
[01:45:03]
UH, AND AS FAR AS OUTREACH, WE GO, UH, TO A LOT OF EVENTS, UH, WE WILL BE PARTICIPATING IN THE, UM, A A R P, UM, UH, VIRTUAL EVENT COMING UP.SO WE'LL BE PARTICIPATING IN THAT.
WE WILL BE AT THE EVENT, UM, THAT SHE, UH, TALKED ABOUT WITH DART AND THE OLDER AMERICANS A MONTH MEETING.
WE WERE PARTNERS IN THAT FOR A LONG, LONG TIME, SO WE STILL PARTICIPATING IN THAT.
UM, THE, UH, FAMILY FIT FEST, WE WILL BE PARTICIPATING IN THAT AT THE FAIR PARK ALSO IN APRIL.
UH, WE HAVE AN EVENT THIS SATURDAY IN CEDAR HILL FOR THEIR, UM, NATIONAL BLOCK PARTY.
SO WE DO THAT, ALL THOSE TYPE OF EVENTS.
WE HAVE A MOBILITY 1 0 1 SESSION THAT WE WILL COME THROUGH ANY, UH, AGENCY OR SENIOR CENTER, AND WE'LL INFORM THEM OF ALL THE SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM.
WE USUALLY PARTNER WITH DART AND OTHER TRANSPORTATION SERVICES WHO WE WILL BRING TO THE MOBILITY 1 0 1, UM, UH, PRESENTATION SO THEY COULD PRESENT THEMSELVES AND JUST LET THE GENERAL PUBLIC KNOW, HEY, THESE SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE TO YOU, UM, EVEN THOUGH YOU MAY NOT KNOW THAT, AND THIS IS HOW YOU UTILIZE THESE SERVICES IF YOU EVER HAVE NEED OF THEM.
AND THAT IS MY CONTACT INFORMATION.
UH, AGAIN, UM, DISREGARD THE DIAL AREA AGENCY ON THE AGENCY
WE'RE NO LONGER A PART OF THEM, BUT THAT IS OUR CONTACT NUMBER.
YOU CAN REACH ME THERE EVERY SINGLE DAY, WELL, MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, UM, FROM EIGHT 30 TO FIVE.
AND OUR WEBSITE IS MY RIDE DALLAS.ORG.
ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? LOOK, THANK YOU FOR, UH, PRESENTING THIS.
UH, IT, IT CERTAINLY SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD RESOURCE FOR ANYBODY TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO NAVIGATE THE SYSTEM.
AND, UH, WE, UH, WE, WE WILL KEEP IN TOUCH.
ANY QUESTIONS, PETER? I WANTED TO SAY, AND I WANTED TO PLUG THE DART FAIR THAT'S COMING UP IN OLDER AMERICANS MONTH, UH, FOR THE NEWER COMMISSIONERS.
UM, IT IS NOT JUST DART, IT OFFERS SO MANY RESOURCES FOR SENIORS ALL OVER THE CITY OF DALLAS, LIKE BLOOD PRESSURE CHECKS AND, OH, JUST EVERYTHING.
AND THEY COULD TELL YOU BETTER WHAT THEY'RE OFFERING THAN I CAN.
BUT FOR THE, IT'S AN OUTREACH SOURCE FOR SENIORS FOR HEALTH, WELFARE, EVERYTHING.
I THINK THAT ALL THE COMMISSIONERS SHOULD TRY TO ATTEND OR AT LEAST CHECK IT OUT FOR A SECOND OR TWO.
AND, AND DO YOU HAVE THE DATE FOR WHEN THAT IS? DAR CAN TELL YOU BETTER THAN ME.
WE'RE, UH, PAST, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE PAST DUE HERE.
SO I WOULD UH, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION.