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[Quality of Life, Arts and Culture Committee on September 16, 2024.]
THIS IS 9:00 THE QUALITY OF LIFE COMMITTEE MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2024.ANY DISCUSSION OR CORRECTIONS? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS IS OUR HISTORIC PRESERVATION UPDATE.
SHE'S TIED UP DOWNSTAIRS IN ANOTHER MEETING.
THANK YOU. SO THIS MORNING, WE WANT TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON OUR CURRENT STAFFING AND HIGHLIGHT SOME OF OUR KEY RECENT PROGRAM SUCCESSES, ONGOING STUDIES THAT ARE HELPING SHAPE OUR PRESERVATION EFFORTS, AND A FEW KEY UPCOMING PROJECTS OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO OUR COMMUNITY.
THANK YOU. SO THIS THIS SLIDE HERE IS A SNAPSHOT OF THE URBAN DESIGN AND PRESERVATION.
ORG CHART SHOWING OUR CURRENT STAFFING STATUS IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION.
I'LL NOTE THAT WE RECENTLY HIRED OUR PLANNER, ONE POSITION THAT HAD BEEN OPEN, AND WE ARE CURRENTLY EXPECTING TO FILL OUR CHIEF PLANNER POSITION THAT WAS VACATED WHEN KATE SINGLETON RETIRED RECENTLY.
THAT SHOULD BE FILLED THIS OCTOBER EARLY OCTOBER.
SO THIS THIS SLIDE HERE WILL HIGHLIGHT SOME OF OUR KEY SUCCESSES IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS.
BUT ALSO THESE ARE SOME OF OUR MOST INTERESTING PROJECTS AND NOT NECESSARILY THE 90% OF THE WORK THAT WE DO, WHICH IS OUR DAY TO DAY, MONTH TO MONTH AND YEAR TO YEAR WORK. THAT INCLUDES MANAGING THE LANDMARK DESIGNATIONS PROCESS AND ADMINISTERING THE CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS PROCESS THAT UP TILL NOW, THIS YEAR HAS SEEN OVER 520 CASES COME THROUGH OUR BUILDING PERMIT REVIEW, OUR DEMOLITION DELAY, WHICH WE HAVE PROCESSED 13 CERTIFICATES OF DEMOLITION AND HAVE ALSO PROCESSED AND RELEASED 106 DEMO DELAY REQUESTS.
OUR TAX EXEMPTION PROJECT PROGRAM AND STAFFING AND RUNNING THE LANDMARK COMMISSION, ISSUING A CITATIONS FOR THOUSANDS OF STRUCTURES IN OUR 21 HISTORIC DISTRICTS AND OVER 130 INDIVIDUAL LANDMARK BUILDINGS.
SO I WANTED TO SOME OF THE KEY HIGHLIGHTS HERE, OBVIOUSLY, ARE THE 3000 SQUARE FOOT DEMO RULE, WHICH WAS TAKEN BACK IN THE CODE AMENDMENT BACK IN FEBRUARY.
THE WHITE ROCK CEMETERY GARDEN OF MEMORIES, WHICH WAS DESIGNATED IN MAY.
THE HISTORIC AND CULTURAL PRESERVATION STRATEGY ADOPTED BY COUNCIL IN APRIL OF THIS YEAR.
AND WE RECENTLY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEND TWO STAFF MEMBERS AND THREE LANDMARK COMMISSIONERS TO ATTEND OUR NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF PRESERVATION COMMISSIONS IN PALM BEACH. IT'S A CONFERENCE THAT FOCUSES ON ISSUES OF LOCAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, AND SOME OF THE KEY ITEMS THAT COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE NATION ARE FACING TODAY.
WE'VE ALSO INITIATED THE DESIGN PROCESS FOR SIX 600 WEST JEFFERSON, EL RANCHITO, OLD CITY PARK, REVERCHON PARK, QUEEN CITY, THE SHACK, AND HAVE RE-INITIATED THE BELMONT HOTEL DESIGNATION PROCESS AS WELL.
AND LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE JUST FILLED OUR PLANNER ONE POSITION IN AUGUST.
THESE ARE SOME OF THE NEW AND ONGOING STUDIES AND PROJECTS OF NOTE, THE HISTORIC RESOURCE STUDY OF WHEATLEY PLACE AND COLONIAL HILLS THROUGH A GRANT FROM THE THC KICKED OFF THIS JULY.
WE EXPECT THAT TO BE COMPLETED THIS TIME NEXT YEAR.
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OVER THE LIFE OF ITS OF THE PROGRAM ITSELF FROM 1973.AND WE'VE ALSO INITIATED CODE AMENDMENT PROCESS TO ALLOW ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW OF CERTAIN CAS.
AND THAT'S BEEN OUR IN OUR TASK FORCE FOR ABOUT A YEAR.
AND WE'RE HOPING TO GET THAT UP TO CPC SOON.
AND THEN THESE ARE SOME OF THE KEY PROJECTS OF INTEREST ON THE HORIZON.
WE WOULD LOVE TO COMPLETE OUR HISTORIC RESOURCES SURVEY FOR THE ENTIRE CITY.
WE'VE ALSO LIKE TO UPDATE OUR CITIES PRESERVATION PLAN.
AND WE ALSO WANT TO KIND OF PIVOT A LITTLE BIT AND BEGIN TO HAVE ANNUAL TRAININGS FOR THE ENTIRE LANDMARK COMMISSIONER, COMMISSION, AND NEIGHBORHOOD TASK FORCE MEMBERS EACH YEAR.
ONCE A YEAR. ALSO PUT ON BY THE NAPC.
SOMETHING THAT THEY CALL CAMP.
AND IT'S AN INTENSIVE ALL DAY TRAINING.
AND WE BEGIN TO EXPLORE DEVELOPING A DECONSTRUCTION PROGRAM.
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ONE THAT WE'RE AWARE OF IS IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO WE ARE TRYING TO LEARN FROM WHAT THEY'VE SHOWN US.
AND THEN ALSO THE AD HOC COMMITTEE OF THE LANDMARK COMMISSION HAS INITIATED A STUDY FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF ALLOWING ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEWS OF CERTAIN CODE AMENDMENTS, WHICH I MENTIONED EARLIER. AND THAT'S AN ONGOING THING THAT I THINK WOULD FREE UP SOME TIME DURING THE LANDMARK COMMISSION MEETINGS AND WILL JUST HELP OUR HELP US RUN OUR DAY-TO-DAY TASKS A LITTLE BETTER ADMINISTRATIVELY.
AND I THINK WITH THAT, THAT IS ALL WE HAVE FOR THE QUICK UPDATE FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROGRAM.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR STAFF? MISS SCHULTZ? THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. SO, ARTURO, AS WE EMAILED ABOUT EARLIER YOU KNOW, LOOKING ON THE SURFACE, YOU WOULD SAY, OKAY, WHY DO YOU NEED SIX PEOPLE FOR THIS WORK? COULD YOU ELABORATE ON SOME OF THE STUFF THAT IS NOT IN THE PRESENTATION THAT YOU SHARED WITH ME, THAT I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT THE PUBLIC UNDERSTAND? YEAH. OF COURSE.
THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. YES.
OUR STAFF OF CURRENTLY FIVE, BUT HOPING TO GET SIX WORKS ABOUT 90% OF THEIR TIME ON OUR DAY TO DAY AND LIKE I MENTIONED, MONTH TO MONTH AND YEAR TO YEAR TASKS THAT ALWAYS COME TO US THE MOST, THE MOST WE DO IS ADMINISTERING OUR CERTIFICATES OF [INAUDIBLE] PROGRAM. THESE PROGRAMS, THESE PROJECTS COME TO OUR LANDMARK COMMISSION MONTHLY.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE ALSO MANAGE OUR LANDMARK DESIGNATIONS COMMITTEE AS WELL.
THE BUILDING PERMIT REVIEW IS SOMETHING THAT KEEPS COMING TO US EVERY MONTH.
EVERY DAY. DEMOLITION DELAYS ARE A BIG THING FOR US.
SO WE DO SEE QUITE A BIT OF DEMO.
I GUESS DEMOS COME THROUGH OUR, OUR DESK.
AND LIKE I MENTIONED, AT 106 DEMO DELAY REQUESTS HAVE COME THIS YEAR ALONE.
THE WE ALSO ADMINISTER THE TAX EXEMPTION PROGRAM AND STAFF AND RUN THE LANDMARK COMMISSION AS WELL.
SO YOU SEE THAT NEW POSITIONS ARE PRIMARILY GOING TO BE WORKING ON THE ACTUAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STRATEGY THAT WE JUST ADOPTED FIVE MONTHS AGO.
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BECAUSE IT'S ACROSS ALL THE CITY DEPARTMENTS.AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES THIS PLAN SO UNIQUE.
CORRECT. YES. THAT WOULD BE THE FUTURE.
A FUTURE ASK TO IMPLEMENT THOSE FOUR ADDITIONAL POSITIONS.
AND THEN FOR JUST A LITTLE BIT OF FORESHADOWING, IF WE ARE ABLE TO PASS AMENDMENTS FOR THE CA PROCESS, THAT SHOULD REDUCE THE WORKLOAD SIGNIFICANTLY ON YOUR STAFF IN THIS, ALTHOUGH MAYBE NOT, BECAUSE THEN IT'S THEN IT'S MORE STAFF DRIVEN.
SO HOW DO YOU SEE THAT? IF I MAY, MR. CHAIR, JUST VERY QUICKLY, HOW DO YOU SEE THE IMPACT OF THIS UPCOMING AMENDMENT IMPACTING THE LABOR LOAD AND POTENTIALLY THE BUDGET. YEAH, I THINK IT WILL ALLOW US TO DO MORE PROACTIVE EVENTS, MORE EDUCATION EVENTS OUT THERE, PARTNERING NOT ONLY WITH PRESERVATION DALLAS ON EDUCATIONAL EVENTS AND, AND YEAH, AND ALSO WITH THE COMMUNITY GOING OUT MORE PROACTIVELY TO COMMUNITIES.
AND I THINK ONCE WE GET THIS ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY ALSO COMPLETED, THAT WILL GIVE US A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT WE CURRENTLY DON'T HAVE IN TERMS OF WHY WOULD SOMEBODY WANT TO DESIGNATE A BUILDING OR A DISTRICT? WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO THAT? AND WE DO BELIEVE THAT THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF BENEFITS.
WE KNOW WE'VE SEEN THAT IN REPORTS FOR OTHER CITIES AS WELL.
GREAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. YES.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AS WELL.
YEAH, THERE'S A NUMBER OF WAYS, I THINK, THROUGH WITH OUR PRESERVATION PARTNERS OUT THERE.
THERE THERE'S A BIG PRESERVATION COMMUNITY OUT THERE THAT WE PARTNER WITH ON DAY TO DAY.
EACH HISTORIC DISTRICT HAS A TASK FORCE THAT'S MADE UP OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT ADVISE ON CERTIFICATES OF APPROPRIATENESS BEFORE THEY COME TO THE LANDMARK COMMITTEE.
BUT EVEN RIGHT NOW WITH OUR STAFF A LITTLE SHORT STAFFED, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH COMMUNITIES LIKE QUEEN CITY IN THEIR IN THEIR RECENT DESIGNATION WORK.
THOSE ARE A FEW OF THE WAYS, I THINK RIGHT NOW THAT WE, WE TRY TO GIVE THEM MORE UP, NOT GIVE THEM BUT PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM TO COME TO PARTICIPATE.
SO I'D LOVE TO. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE OF IT IN DISTRICT FIVE IF POSSIBLE.
BUT THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESPONSES.
THANK YOU. I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.
COULD YOU CLARIFY THE NUMBER OF NEW POSITIONS YOU'RE REQUESTING IN THE NEW BUDGET? I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
EMILY LIU, DIRECTOR OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT.
AS YOU KNOW, WE ARE A NEWLY MERGED DEPARTMENT AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR ME IS REALLY TO LOOK AT THE EFFICIENCY OF EVERY TEAM, EVERY DIVISION IN THE DEPARTMENT.
THIS YEAR WE DID NOT REQUEST ANY NEW POSITIONS.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE SIX POSITIONS.
ONE IS THE CHIEF PLANNER, WHICH IS KIND OF SUPERVISE THE WHOLE TEAM.
THREE SENIOR PLANNERS, ONE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER AND JUST ADDED A NEW PLANNER, ONE TO THAT TEAM.
OUR GOAL IS TO USE EXISTING CAPACITY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, TRYING TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY.
AS ATUL MENTIONED, THAT 10% OF AEROBATIC CAPACITY IS GOING TO DO THIS PROACTIVE WORK.
BY THE WAY, I REALLY APPLAUD CITY OF DALLAS DOING THIS STRATEGIC PLAN FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION BECAUSE IT'S REALLY PROACTIVE WORK AND A LOT OF CITY PROBABLY STILL ARE BEHIND JUST DOING REACTIVE WORK.
SO THOSE SIX PARTICIPANTS ARE POSITIONED TO DO A LOT OF REACTIVE WORK.
PEOPLE SUBMITTED APPLICATION WILL REVIEW AND GIVE COA, BUT AT THE SAME TIME THERE IS ROOM FOR THE PLANNERS TO DO SOME PROACTIVE WORK AS WELL.
INCREASED EFFICIENCY WAS IN THE SIXTH, THE TEAM MEMBER TEAM, THE SECOND ONE IS A LOT OF THESE PROACTIVE WORK IN OTHER CITIES WE'VE DONE SOME BEST PRACTICES, INCLUDING CITY USED WORK.
THERE'S A TURIN I HAVE DISCUSSED.
TO APPLY FOR MORE GRANT, HAVE A CONSULTANT COME ON BOARD TO HELP US DOING HISTORIC PRESERVATION.
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KIND OF A SURVEY OF PROPERTIES IDENTIFY AREA WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT WORK.I FEEL THAT'S THE BEST WAY TO DO THIS WORK THROUGH SOME OUTSIDE HELP.
THERE'S A LOT OF GRANT AVAILABLE.
THE THIRD REASON IS THAT AS WE'RE TRYING TO ALIGN DIFFERENT DIVISIONS, I DO FIND THERE MIGHT BE SOME ADDITIONAL CAPACITY IN OTHER TEAMS THAT I CAN REALLOCATE THAT RESOURCES TO THIS TEAM.
SO THIS YEAR WE DID NOT ASK FOR ADDITIONAL PETITIONS JUST AS A FIRST YEAR TO SEE IF NEEDED.
BUT I THINK THIS YEAR WE REALLY FOCUS ON IMPROVING EFFICIENCY.
KIND OF GETTING SOME HELP FROM OUTSIDE THE GRANT.
SO, WE'LL SEE HOW THAT GOES ARTURO OUTLINE THE GOALS.
IT SEEMS LIKE WE ARE ON TRACK ON THAT, SO I WILL GIVE IT A TRY THIS YEAR.
ARTURO, YOU MENTIONED THE CODE AMENDMENT PROCESS TO ALLOW ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW OF MORE CAS.
CAN YOU SUMMARIZE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN TERMS OF WHAT WOULD NOW JUST BE SUBMITTED FOR STAFF REVIEW, AS OPPOSED TO LANDMARK REVIEW? YEAH, WE'RE CURRENTLY LOOKING AT A NUMBER OF THINGS HIGHLIGHTING.
HIGHLIGHTING ITEMS THAT ARE MOSTLY OR TYPICALLY NOT SEEN FROM THE STREET.
THINGS BELOW A CERTAIN HEIGHT.
ALSO THINKING ABOUT WINDOWS, IF YOU'RE REPLACING A WINDOW THAT WITH THE SAME WINDOW, SAME COLOR, SAME SASHES, SAME EVERYTHING, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD ADMINISTRATIVELY REVIEW AS WELL.
SO IT'S ITEMS LIKE THAT TYPICALLY HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE LANDMARK COMMISSION COMMITTEE PROCESS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET OUT AND HAVE STAFF BE ABLE TO REVIEW.
SO YOU MENTIONED THAT THOSE WOULD BE PROCEEDING TO THE PLAN COMMISSION SOON.
HAVE THEY ALREADY GOTTEN THROUGH THE LANDMARK COMMITTEE LOOKING AT THAT? ACTUALLY NOT YET. YEAH.
AND WITH REGARD TO THE RFP FOR UPDATING THE CITY'S PRESERVATION PLAN, WHEN DO YOU ANTICIPATE THAT WORK ACTUALLY STARTING? THE WORK STARTING.
WELL, IDEALLY, WE'D LOVE TO HAVE THAT STARTED NEXT YEAR.
SO, YOU ANTICIPATE A CONTRACT COMING TO PLAN COMMISSION TO CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL THIS YEAR? I WOULD SAY BEST CASE SCENARIO, NEXT YEAR WE'RE WORKING WITH THE TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION TO FIND ADDITIONAL GRANT MONEY FOR THIS HISTORIC RESOURCE SURVEYS. AND OF COURSE, WE'D HAVE TO FIND A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY FOR THE FOR THE UPDATE TO THE HISTORIC PLAN AS WELL.
WASN'T MONEY ALLOCATED FOR THAT IN LAST YEAR'S BUDGET? FOR THE PRESERVATION PLAN? I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THAT, BUT I CAN CHECK ON THAT AND GET BACK WITH YOU LATER IF YOU WOULD.
I REMEMBER CITY MANAGER BROADNAX INCLUDING THAT IN A PREVIOUS BUDGET.
SO AND I BELIEVE IT WAS SEVEN FIGURES.
OKAY. WHAT SORT OF WORKSHOPS ARE YOU PLANNING TO COLLABORATE WITH PRESERVATION DALLAS ON? IS THAT ABOUT YOUR NEW CA PROCEDURES, OR IS IT MORE THE RESTORATION KIND OF PROCEDURES? A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH, IDEALLY.
THE RESTORATION PROCEDURES LIKE HOW TO REPLACE WINDOWS WITH WINDOWS THAT FIT WITHIN YOUR HISTORIC DISTRICT, HOW TO REFURBISH EXISTING WINDOWS AS WELL ARE THINGS THAT ARE EVERY CITY.
I THINK THAT HAS A HISTORIC PROGRAM, OR THOSE ARE SOME OF THEIR KEY PROGRAMS, AND THEN ASKING THE COMMUNITY REALLY WHAT WOULD BE MOST HELPFUL? I THINK AS WE GO FORWARD, WE'LL ALSO BE THINKING ABOUT HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP COMMUNITY MEMBERS FIND RESOURCES THROUGHOUT THE CITY THAT WOULD HELP THEM BETTER MAINTAIN THEIR HOMES IN A HISTORIC DISTRICT.
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INCENTIVES UNDER THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROGRAM.I THINK THAT'S AN AREA THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH.
AND I THINK IF THEY WERE, WE'D SEE MORE APPLICATIONS AND PERHAPS MORE RESTORATION WORK.
AND THEN FINALLY THE DECONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM.
WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THAT? YES. SO OUR MODEL CITY RIGHT NOW IS SAN ANTONIO.
THEY HAVE A REALLY ROBUST DECONSTRUCTION PROGRAM RIGHT NOW WHERE IT DOES A NUMBER OF THINGS.
FIRST OF ALL, IT TRAINS FOLKS ON HOW TO DECONSTRUCT A BUILDING, HOW TO ALLOW FOR MATERIAL THAT WOULD NORMALLY GO TO LANDFILL TO TO GO TO A NEW HOME OR REPAIR AN EXISTING HOME.
IT IS THE IDEA OF WHEN A BUILDING IS GOING TO BE DEMOLISHED FOR WHATEVER REASON.
AND THERE'S MATERIAL IN THERE LIKE DOORS, WINDOWS WOOD ANYTHING THAT COULD BE REUSED, BRICK TO DECONSTRUCT IT AND STORE IT IN A PLACE THAT THEN COULD BE USED BY SOMEBODY ELSE, EITHER AS A CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE TO BUY A NEW MATERIAL, AND ALSO AS A WAY TO, IN MANY CASES, USE MATERIAL THAT WAS BETTER SOURCED.
YOU KNOW, OUR WOOD TODAY IS FAST GROWING.
OUR WOOD BACK, YOU KNOW, 50, 60 YEARS AGO WAS VERY SOLID.
AND HAVING THE ABILITY TO REUSE WOOD ANY, ANY SORT OF MATERIAL FOR AN EXISTING HOME MIGHT HELP SOME OF OUR COMMUNITIES BETTER ADDRESS SOME OF THEIR HOME MAINTENANCE ISSUES.
SO IN A NUTSHELL, I THINK THAT THAT'S KIND OF LIKE THE BIG PICTURE.
THERE'S A LOT OF THERE'S A LOT OF BENEFITS, OBVIOUSLY, TO DOING IT.
BUT IT DOES REQUIRE A BIG ASK FROM THE PRESERVATION COMMUNITY AS WELL AS THE CITY IN TRYING TO GET A PROGRAM LIKE THIS ESTABLISHED. BUT LIKE I SAID, WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT SAN ANTONIO HAS DONE AND SEEING HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO START THAT HERE AS WELL.
IS SAN ANTONIO'S PROGRAM REVENUE GENERATING? THAT I DON'T KNOW AND I CAN FIND OUT.
OKAY. I'D BE INTERESTED IN THAT.
AND LET'S GO TO THE VIRTUAL WORLD.
ANY QUESTIONS? NO, I JUST TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO THANK YOU ALL FOR THE WORK THAT YOU ALL HAVE DONE WITH QUEEN CITY SPECIFICALLY AND TO PROVIDE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED CHANGES FOR THE COMMUNITY TO PROVIDE SOME PROTECTIONS.
AND OTHER THAN THAT, I APOLOGIZE FOR MY TARDINESS TODAY.
GREAT. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE ON THE COMMITTEE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? MR. WEST, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING? I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS A PRIORITY CHAIR, AND I'M GLAD TO HEAR THE UPDATE.
THE QUESTIONS WERE REALLY GOOD, AND I DON'T NEED TO REPEAT ANY OF THEM.
ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AND WE'LL PROCEED TO AGENDA ITEM B, THE SHORT TERM RENTALS UPDATE.
MR. CHRISTIAN AVAILABLE? YEAH. GOOD MORNING, CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, CHRIS CHRISTIAN, DIRECTOR OF CODE COMPLIANCE SERVICES.
I'M JOINED HERE BY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR ARIEL SUNDIATA AND CODE ADMINISTRATOR ARIEL GARCIA, AS WELL AS THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE DIRECTOR, SHERRI KOWALSKI. HI.
SHERI KOWALSKI, CITY CONTROLLER.
I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE LANCE SEAHORN, ASSISTANT CONTROLLER.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE.
PLEASE PROCEED WITH YOUR PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU CHAIR. WE'RE HERE TODAY TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON SHORT TERM RENTALS.
THIS IS OUR PRESENTATION OVERVIEW WHICH HIGHLIGHTS THE TOPICS WE WILL DISCUSS TODAY.
THE DIAGRAM DEPICTS STR SERVICE REQUESTS BY COUNCIL DISTRICT.
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D 14 HAS RECEIVED THE MOST, FOLLOWED BY D2 AND D1.WE ISSUE NOTICES OF VIOLATION FOR ANY ISSUES THAT FALL WITHIN OUR JURISDICTION.
PRESENTLY, THERE ARE 3512 ACTIVE PROPERTIES DETECTED BY COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE.
ANYONE OPERATING OR MANAGING A SHORT TERM RENTAL IN DALLAS IS REQUIRED TO COLLECT A 9% HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX, HOT FROM GUESTS, STAYS LONGER THAN 30 CONSECUTIVE NIGHTS, ARE EXEMPT FROM THIS TAX FROM JUNE 2023 TO JULY 2024.
STRS HAVE CONTRIBUTED $3.9 MILLION IN HOT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023.
THE TOTAL WAS 3.8 MILLION, AND SO FAR IN FISCAL YEAR 2024, WE'VE COLLECTED 2.65 MILLION.
WE'VE ALSO MAINTAINED A STRONG WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE, ENSURING REGULAR COMMUNICATION AND SHARING UPDATES BETWEEN BOTH TEAMS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
ZONING RESTRICTIONS AND PENALTIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.
THE TEAM IS AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR STAFF? MISS WILLIS? SURE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AND, MISS KOWALSKI, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
I THINK YOU'RE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THIS EQUATION.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SERVICE REQUESTS.
SO RIGHT NOW, THIS THIS REPORT DOESN'T INCLUDE ANYTHING FROM DPD.
I MEAN, HAVE YOU LIKE 911 CALLS? 311 CALLS. BECAUSE IF YOU RECALL BEFORE, WHEN THE RAW DATA KIND OF SUGGESTED THERE WAS AN OVER INDEXING OF SHORT TERM RENTALS HAVING CALLS, MORE CALLS TO 911 FOR A VARIETY OF ISSUES.
THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION, CM WILLIS.
NO, OUR DATA DOES NOT INCLUDE 911 CALL INFORMATION.
OKAY, SO, MISS KOWALSKI, AS I LOOK AT PAGE, I CAN'T TELL ON HERE WHAT PAGE THIS WOULD BE, BUT IT'S STR REGISTRATIONS, SO IT SAYS AS A RESULT, NO PROPERTIES HAVE BEEN LEGALLY REGISTERED.
WILL YOU JUST REMIND US? SO AS OF JUNE 14TH, 2023, IF YOU WERE ALREADY REGISTERED TO HAVE AN STR BECAUSE OF THE LEGAL INJUNCTION AND ALL OF THAT, YOU'RE ALLOWED TO KEEP OPERATING? YES.
OKAY. BUT IF YOU WERE NOT REGISTERED, YOU SHOULD NOT BE OPERATING.
WE'RE TAKING REGISTRATIONS ON NEW PROPERTIES FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND.
YEAH. SO YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'VE GOT SOME INFORMATION ON THIS.
SO WE ARE STILL REGISTERING PROPERTIES.
LANCE SEAHORN, ASSISTANT CITY COMPTROLLER.
YEAH. THERE'S NOTHING TO PROHIBIT US FROM REGISTERING.
THEY'RE JUST REGISTERING TO PAY TAXES, THAT'S ALL.
THEY'RE NOT REGISTERING TO OPERATE.
THEY'RE JUST GETTING SET UP IN OUR TAX SYSTEM SO THEY CAN FILE AND PAY TAX.
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YES. AND ONE MORE THING I WOULD ADD.WE ALSO, BECAUSE OF LOOKING AT OTHER TYPES OF THINGS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE, LIKE REAL ESTATE LISTINGS, WE HAVE FOUND PROPERTIES THAT ARE TALKING ABOUT HOW MUCH STR TAX THEY BROUGHT IN THAT ARE FOR SALE.
WE HAVE ONE OWNER THAT WE FOUND WITH ONE PROPERTY DOING THAT.
ONCE THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE GOT INVOLVED, THERE WERE TWO OTHER PROPERTIES.
WE FILED $125,000 IN LIENS AND ARE COLLECTING TAXES.
SO ONCE WE GET IT FROM GOV OS, WE DO ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING WE CAN.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THOSE AS WELL.
WE LOOK AT ALL OF THEM THAT THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO BE IN THOSE DISTRICTS.
SO I'M LOOKING AT WELL DON'T FORGET D 13 BECAUSE I THINK WE WERE NUMBER FOUR ON THE LIST.
WELL, WE'RE WORKING ON THE ONES YOU HAVE WITH THE ILLEGAL LAND USE.
RIGHT. AND SO ON THE PAGE THAT HAS THIS CHART, IT'S LABELED HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX.
AND WHAT'S REALLY DISTRESSING IS THAT FROM 2023, THE NUMBER OF POTENTIAL STRS HAS GONE UP, WHICH I'M ASSUMING IF THERE ARE POTENTIAL, THAT'S BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE DOCUMENTATION.
THAT'S CORRECT. AND THEN YOU SEND A MONTHLY NOTIFICATION, WE SEND THEM UP TO FOUR NOTIFICATIONS OF INCREASING VARIETIES OF, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO GET THEM TO PAY.
WE ALSO WHEN WE GET COMPLAINTS, WE WILL SEND CODE OVER TO WORK WITH THEM.
AND A LOT OF TIMES THAT WILL GET THEM TO REGISTER.
I KNOW I'VE HAD ONES IN DISTRICT AND A COUNCIL MEMBER SCHULTZ'S DISTRICT, WHERE WE'VE HAD TO DO THAT AND THEN THEY COMPLY ONCE WE SEND SOMEONE OVER. ONCE THERE'S BEEN COMPLAINTS.
YES WE DID. WE CHANGED THE LANGUAGE.
AND THAT WAS ABOUT A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO BECAUSE MISS RICH WAS STILL THE CFO.
OKAY. BECAUSE THEY WERE VERY FRIENDLY LETTERS CONSIDERING THE INFRACTION.
RIGHT. AND SO IT WAS TIME TO GET FIRM.
THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I'M REALLY STRUGGLING WITH BECAUSE THESE ARE LISTED.
I EVEN HAVE A VIDEO OF AN EVENT ON WALNUT HILL WHERE DPD WAS BLOCKING THE STREET FOR THE EVENT.
SO IT MAKES ME WONDER ABOUT HOW DPD AND ANYONE ELSE ARE COMMUNICATING ABOUT THIS.
SO WE'RE NOT AIDING AND ABETTING ILLEGAL LAND USE BY HAVING AN EVENT CENTER IN A HOME.
YEAH, AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S A NEW PHENOMENON IN MR. CHRISTIAN CAN MAYBE REPLY MORE TO THAT, BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS IF THEY'RE SEEN AS A STR IN THE SURVEILLANCE SOFTWARE OPERATING PAY TAX, THIS WAS SOMETHING TOTALLY NEW THAT YOU MADE ME AWARE OF.
AND I KNOW MR. CHRISTIAN IS WORKING ON THAT.
THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION, CM WILLIS.
AND IN CHAPTER 42, B OF THE DALLAS CITY CODE, WE PUT SPECIFIC REGULATIONS IN THAT ORDINANCE TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS ALL OF THE NUISANCE TYPE BEHAVIORS THAT HAPPEN AT SHORT TERM RENTALS AND THESE TYPE OF PROPERTIES, WITH OUR INABILITY TO ENFORCE THAT ORDINANCE RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE TO RELY ON OUR EXISTING CODES, WHICH IS CHAPTER 27 MINIMUM PROPERTY STANDARDS, AND THEN CHAPTER 51 ILLEGAL LAND USE.
IT'S A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT TO PROVE EVENT SPACE USE FROM THOSE CODES.
WELL, I WOULD DEFINITELY, AND THAT MAY BE MORE TAME, JUST LOUD BUT TAME.
WHAT IS THE TIMING ON THE LEGAL INJUNCTION? DO WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THE NEXT STEP IS THERE? OH, HI, ANDREW SPANIEL.
DEPUTY CHIEF OF THE GENERAL LITIGATION SECTION AT THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
RIGHT NOW WE ARE APPEALING THE TEMPORARY INJUNCTION.
WE ARE AWAITING A SETTING FOR AN ORAL ARGUMENT ON THAT.
WE DO NOT KNOW WHEN IT WILL BE.
[00:35:03]
WELL, GIVEN THE DISRUPTION SOME OF OUR NEIGHBORS ARE EXPERIENCING, I CERTAINLY HOPE THAT'S THE CASE.I KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE CONTROL OVER THAT.
I'VE GOT ONE MORE QUESTION, BUT I WANT TO RESPECT OUR COLLEAGUES HERE.
SO IF SOMEONE IS NOT REGISTERED, HOW MANY NOTICES DO THEY GET? I MEAN, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU SAID THEY GET UP TO FOUR NOTICES.
THEN DOES IT GO TO COMMUNITY PROSECUTION? AND CAN WE ASK THEM FOR AN ACCOUNTING? AND IF THEY CHOOSE NOT TO BE TRUTHFUL, I MEAN, THAT SOUNDS LIKE A WHOLE NEW REALM OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.
I MEAN, WHAT DOES THAT SAY? I THINK THERE ARE NEIGHBORS WHO WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING TO GET AT THESE, WHO MIGHT BE DRAWING ON RESOURCES WITHOUT COMPENSATING THE CITY FOR THEM.
CURRENTLY WE JUST WE CONTINUE TO SEND THE NOTICES AND THAT THAT'S REALLY ALL THAT WE'RE DOING.
WE JUST THE FOURTH LETTER IS THE LAST LANGUAGE LETTER THAT IS SENT.
BUT WE CONTINUE TO SEND THAT FOURTH LETTER UNTIL THEY REGISTER.
BECAUSE THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THIS ISN'T COMPLYING.
I MEAN, THIS IS EVADING THE TAXES THAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO PAY.
AS IT AS IT STANDS FOR, FOR NOW.
WELL, AND THERE MAY BE SOMETHING I NEED TO WORK WITH MY COUNTERPARTS ON THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
AND I THOUGHT ABOUT THAT THIS MORNING IN PREPARATION FOR THIS MEETING, IF WE LOOK AT PERHAPS THEIR REVIEWS, THEIR LISTINGS, THE AVERAGE PRICE, AND START TRYING TO FILE A LIEN ON THE PROPERTY, THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER THING THAT WE COULD PURSUE.
AND I ACTUALLY THOUGHT ABOUT THAT TODAY.
I THOUGHT THAT MIGHT GET THEIR ATTENTION.
SO THAT'S THE NEXT THING BECAUSE WE'VE ACTUALLY AND I KNOW THIS ISN'T ON THE AGENDA, BUT IN THE LAST YEAR TILL JULY, WE'VE COLLECTED 4.5 MILLION IN DELINQUENCIES FROM HOTELS AND STRS.
SO WE'VE GOT TO PAY ATTENTION TO THAT.
SO IT'S BECOMING A DIFFERENT PROBLEM.
SO I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
WELL, I CAN SEND YOU SOME NEW DISTURBING VIDEOS.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MISS SCHULTZ.
I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR. IF WE PREVAIL IN THE LAW.
SO THIS MAY BE FOR THE ATTORNEY.
IS THAT CORRECT? SAM SCHULTZ, CAN YOU REPEAT THE QUESTION, PLEASE? MY QUESTION IS THIS IF WE PREVAIL IN THE LAWSUIT, THEN THIS WHOLE REVENUE STREAM JUST GOES AWAY BECAUSE ALL THIS WILL BE ILLEGAL AND WE WON'T BE COLLECTING ANYWAY BECAUSE THIS ISN'T SOMETHING ANYBODY CAN BE DOING.
WELL, IT WON'T BE ILLEGAL IF WE PREVAIL IN THE LAWSUIT, THEN CHAPTER 42 B OF THE REGISTRATION PROGRAM WOULD GO INTO EFFECT AND THE ALLOWABLE ZONES IN THE ZONING ORDINANCE AND UNDER CHAPTER 42 B REQUIREMENTS.
IF THOSE ARE MET, THEN STAFF WILL BE ABLE TO OPERATE.
THOSE WILL BE JUST NOT IN RESIDENTIAL ZONING.
THANK YOU. AND THEN FOR THOSE WHO ARE OPERATING IN ILLEGALLY, IF WE AGAIN IF WE PREVAIL, THOSE THAT ARE OPERATING ILLEGALLY, THEN IT'S AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT KIND OF ENFORCEMENT MECHANISM FOR THEM.
YES, MA'AM. WILL THEY BE TREATED JUST LIKE A BAD NEIGHBOR WHO'S DOING SOMETHING? THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
CHAPTER 27 MINIMUM PROPERTY STANDARDS.
FOLLOWING ALONG THOSE SAME QUESTIONS.
IF A PROPERTY THAT IS UNREGISTERED AND HAS REPEATED CALLS, HOW ARE THOSE PROPERTIES TREATED? JUST IN GENERAL.
THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION, GRACIE.
SO WE WOULD ESCALATE ENFORCEMENT AS NECESSARY.
[00:40:03]
ESCALATION TO THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.OKAY. AND THAT DOESN'T MATTER IF IT'S A IF IT'S A REPEAT.
A REPEAT OFFENDER, IF THEY'RE THERE WITHIN THE 30 DAYS, THEY'RE THERE TWO WEEKS.
AND YOU KNOW, THEY GET CALLED FIVE TIMES WITHIN THAT TWO WEEK PERIOD.
OR IT'S MULTIPLE GUESTS OVER 90 DAY PERIOD.
AND IT CONTINUES TO THE PROCESS STAYS THE SAME REGARDLESS.
IS THAT HOW I'M UNDERSTANDING IT? SO THERE'S A LOT OF DISCRETION INVOLVED IN CODE ENFORCEMENT WORK IN GENERAL.
IF WE SEE A REPEAT OFFENDER HABITUALLY VIOLATING DALLAS CITY CODE, THEN WE HAVE AN ESCALATED ENFORCEMENT PATH THAT WE CAN TAKE, AND WE TYPICALLY WILL DO SO WITH ESCALATED CITATIONS.
AND CURRENTLY, WE DON'T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE RIGHT NOW BETWEEN OUR UNREGISTERED REPEAT OFFENDERS.
I GUESS THOSE THOSE THAT ARE UNREGISTERED.
THE REPEAT OFFENDERS. REPEAT OFFENDERS THAT ARE UNREGISTERED.
WE DON'T EXACTLY KNOW WHAT THAT NUMBER IS IN THIS DATA REPORT ON SLIDE SEVEN.
NO, SIR. WE DON'T HAVE THAT NUMBER WITH US HERE TODAY.
AND SO WE RECEIVE YOUR COMPLAINTS AND THEN WE MONITOR THOSE PROPERTIES.
WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR THEIR BOOKINGS.
WHERE DID IT GO FOR? I'D LIKE TO SEE THIS ONE OVERLAID WITH DPD'S CALLS IF POSSIBLE.
IF WE COULD GET JUST AN OVERLAY OF WHAT THAT IS, I FEEL LIKE IT'D BE AN INCREASE IN CALLS AND NUMBERS, BUT JUST TO KIND OF GET THAT AND SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE ACROSS THE DISTRICTS AS WELL.
I'LL WORK WITH DAISY FAST AND SEE IF SHE CAN GET THAT DATA FOR US.
DO WE KNOW HOW MANY NEW REGISTERED STRS THIS YEAR AS A RESULT OF KIND OF THOSE REPEAT LETTERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT? DO WE KNOW ROUGHLY HOW MANY NEW ONES WE WERE? I BELIEVE IN IN LANCE CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG IN THE LAST ABOUT YEAR 367.
THIS IS SEPTEMBER 30TH OF 2020 AND 2021.
IT WAS 1457 AT THE END OF 23, IT WAS 1897.
AND THROUGH THE END OF AUGUST OF THIS YEAR, IT WAS 2024 TRENDING UPWARD.
I THINK THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR NOW.
MR. CHAIR, THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. GRACEY AND MISS BLACKMON.
THANK YOU. SO ON PAGE FOUR, WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT THE COMPLAINTS, CAN YOU DO AN APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON AND GET IT TO US? BECAUSE I THINK YOU SAID THAT THESE COMPLAINTS ARE ONLY CODE RELATED AND NOT NECESSARILY DPD RELATED.
AND I THINK OUR OTHER DATA SHOWED ALL OF IT ALL.
SO THAT WAY WE CAN LOOK AND SEE, ARE WE DOING ANY IS THIS? WHATEVER THIS IS THAT WE'RE DOING, IS IT WORKING OR NOT? ARE WE ARE WE BRINGING COMPLAINTS DOWN, ETC.? I HAVE NOT GOTTEN ANY, BUT AS YOU CAN SEE, I'M AT EIGHT, SO I'M SURE THERE'S AN EXTRAPOLATION THAT SHOWS I PROBABLY DON'T HAVE A LOT GOING ON.
HAPPY TO GET THAT INFORMATION FOR YOU.
WE'LL WORK WITH BRITA AND DAISY TO SEE WHAT WE CAN PUT TOGETHER FOR THIS.
WERE YOU ARE YOU GOING TO PLOT IT ON GEOGRAPHICALLY TOO, OR.
I GUESS YOU CAN DO IT BY DISTRICT.
IF IT'S THE WILL OF THE COMMITTEE.
YES, MA'AM. SO ON THE LEGAL ISSUES, I'M NOT GOING TO ASK.
I MEAN, ARE WE GOING TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE EVENTUALLY AS A WHOLE? I MEAN, I'M KIND OF LOOKING AT TIMELINES HERE.
I MEAN, WE'VE BEEN KIND OF A YEAR AND A HALF IN THIS HOLDING PATTERN.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT LEGAL WANTS TO DO AROUND THIS.
OR YOU CAN TALK TO ME OFFLINE, BUT I JUST.
I MEAN, WE'VE BEEN IN A YEAR AND A HALF.
IS IT COMING? ARE WE GETTING ANY CLOSER THAN WE WERE A YEAR AND A HALF AGO? WHATEVER. HOWEVER YOU WANT TO HANDLE IT.
AGAIN, THIS IS ANDREW SPANIEL.
[00:45:05]
EXECUTIVE SESSION, I'M CERTAIN WE COULD TALK TO TAMMY PALOMINO, WHO'S THE CITY ATTORNEY, ABOUT SETTING THAT UP, BECAUSE I THINK A TIMELINE JUST KIND OF UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE OF WHERE WE ARE LEGALLY.I THINK IT'S BEEN I THINK IT'S BEEN IN A COUPLE OF OUR UPDATES, BUT IF THERE'S ANYTHING NEW, I GUESS, I GUESS, LET'S PUT IT THAT WAY, IF ANYTHING NEW COMES ALONG AS TO WHERE THIS IS GOING, I'M SURE SHE WILL LET US KNOW.
I WOULD, I WOULD BE SURE SHE WOULD AS WELL.
SECONDLY, I'M LOOKING AT THE REVENUE.
I THINK THE LAST YOU HAD US ENDING IN JULY.
ARE WE GOING TO BE OF, YOU KNOW, SO THAT WAS LIKE STR DURING FY 2024, JULY 2.6.
ARE WE TRENDING IN THE SAME? I THINK WE'RE TRENDING DOWNWARD.
CORRECT? YES, THAT'S WHAT IT APPEARS.
OKAY. AND THEN SECONDLY, WHAT IS THE BUDGET FOR THIS OPERATION? BECAUSE I THINK YOU SAID YOU HAVE ENFORCEMENT THAT'S READY TO GO.
THAT WAS SOFTWARE, STAFFING, EQUIPMENT, TRUCKS, VEHICLES, EVERYTHING NEEDED THE ONGOING ANNUAL COST OF THAT PROGRAM FOLLOWING THE INITIAL INVESTMENT, REMOVING VEHICLES AND THINGS THAT ARE ONE TIME PURCHASES.
IT'S AROUND SIX AND A HALF 650,000 ANNUAL.
LET'S MOVE TO THE VIRTUAL WORLD, MR. BAZALDUA. ANY QUESTIONS? YES. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
MR. CHRISTIAN, COULD YOU JUST EXPLAIN IT? IT SOUNDS LIKE WE ARE.
WE'VE PUT OURSELVES. WE'VE PUT OUR CITY IN A WORSE PLACE THAN WHAT WE WERE BEFORE.
WE I KNOW THAT LITIGATION HAS HAMSTRUNG US TO ENFORCEMENT, BUT IF WE WERE NOT HAMSTRUNG, CAN YOU QUANTIFY Y'ALL'S ABILITY TO ADDRESS NOT JUST THE 160 CALLS THAT Y'ALL ARE SHOWING ON YOUR PRESENTATION OR EVEN BRINGING IN THE 911 CALLS AS REQUESTED, BECAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT DATA AS WELL.
BUT COULD YOU ALSO DISCUSS, I MEAN, IF WE HAD BEEN SUCCESSFUL WITH WHAT THE COUNCIL VOTED ON AND OR WE PREVAIL FROM THE LAWSUIT, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THERE'S A LOT BIGGER FEET THAT YOU HAVE THAN JUST THE CALLS.
IT WOULD BE A NONCOMPLIANCE OF MORE THAN 3000.
HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU THAT YOU ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE AT HAND WITH THIS PROHIBITION, IF YOU WILL, AND THE AMOUNT OF RESOURCES THAT ARE BEING ALLOCATED TO THE EFFORTS.
IT IS DIFFICULT WITH THE CURRENT CODES TO ENFORCE AGAINST SHORT TERM RENTALS JUST BECAUSE OF THE NIGHTTIME, THE AFTER HOURS, THE NUISANCE BEHAVIOR THAT OCCURS TYPICALLY WHEN CODE COMPLIANCE STAFF IS NOT WORKING IN RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS.
WHAT CHAPTER 42 B WOULD ALLOW US TO DO IS IT GIVES US A LOT OF TOOLS, A LOT OF TEETH ON THE NUISANCE BEHAVIORS THAT WE WERE EXPERIENCING, SUCH AS THE TRASH ACCUMULATIONS, THE PARKING VIOLATIONS.
THE CHAPTER 42 B REQUIRES ONLY TWO OFF STREET PARKING.
WILL A LIMITED NUMBER OF OFF STREET PARKING SPOTS AVAILABLE FOR EACH STR.
AS WELL AS THE NOISE, WE'VE GOT AUDIBLE BEYOND PROPERTY LINE FROM 10 P.M.
AT STRS THAT THAT PARTICULAR REQUIREMENT IS NOT IN OUR REGULAR CODE EITHER.
AND SO THE CHAPTER 42 B WOULD ALLOW US TO ISSUE CITATIONS TO BOTH THE PROPERTY OWNER AS WELL AS THE LOCAL RESPONSIBLE PARTY FOR THE NUISANCE BEHAVIORS AND THINGS THAT WE'RE SEEING, AND CODE COMPLIANCE WOULD HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO DO THAT ITSELF.
SO CHAPTER 42 B JUST GIVES US A LOT OF ENFORCEMENT CAPABILITIES, WHEREAS WITHOUT IT WE HAVE TO USE OUR CHAPTER 27 AND CHAPTER 51 CODES, WHICH ARE A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT TO PROVE UP.
SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT WE'RE SEEING.
[00:50:05]
ROUTE, WHICH IS, OF COURSE, AS YOU KNOW, WHAT I SUPPORT FOR US TO ACTUALLY PUT SOME TEETH TO IT, AS WAS MENTIONED BY COLLEAGUES AND WITH 160 CALLS, HOW MANY OF THOSE ARE REPEAT OFFENDERS FROM THE SAME PROPERTY? I'M NOT SURE, SAM.I'D HAVE TO GET THAT DATA AND FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ON THAT.
THAT RESPONSE I'M NOT SURE HOW MANY COME FROM THE SAME ADDRESS, BUT I CAN CHECK FOR YOU.
I ASKED BECAUSE I APPRECIATE THAT, AND I ASKED BECAUSE 160 OUT OF 3500 IS VERY MINUSCULE.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE, WHICH IS WHAT WE ALREADY KNEW.
YOU KNOW, THE ISSUE EXISTED FROM.
BUT I'M MORE CURIOUS TO SEE IF THERE ARE REPEAT OFFENDERS BECAUSE THE OTHER SIDE, IF WE WERE DOING REGULATION, WOULD, WOULD ALLOW FOR US TO REVOKE PERMITS FOR THOSE WHO WERE REPEAT OFFENDERS.
AND SO IF YOU COULD GET THAT DATA TO US, I'D LIKE TO SEE WHERE THE CITY WOULD ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO CEASE OPERATION AND GET RID OF THE ACTUAL PROBLEMS THAT EXIST AND THAT NOT IMPACT THE OTHER 3300 UNITS THAT ARE REGISTERED.
I WILL SAY YOU SAY THAT THAT WE'VE SEEN AN INCREASE? I GUESS FROM A LEGAL STANDPOINT, IF WE END UP HAVING TO PROVIDE FOR SETTLED RIGHTS ON, ON THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY BEEN IN OPERATION AND OBSERVED FROM OUR CITY AS A SHORT TERM RENTAL.
NOW WE HAVE ALLOWED FOR THAT NUMBER TO INCREASE BY ATTEMPTING TO DO A PROHIBITION.
IS THAT ACCURATE TO SAY? I'M NOT SURE IF I CAUGHT YOUR QUESTION.
COUNCIL MEMBER. COULD YOU REPEAT THE QUESTION? FROM US GOING THE ROUTE OF PROHIBITION OUTRIGHT.
SHERRY KOWALSKI, CITY CONTROLLER.
WELL, I WILL JUST SAY THIS DATA IS VERY HELPFUL.
I THINK THAT IT SHOULD BE EYE OPENING TO THE FACT THAT WE'RE NOT DOING ENOUGH.
IN FACT, IT'S NOT ONLY GOING TO DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACT THOSE WHO ARE GOOD ACTORS IN THE INDUSTRY, IT'S ALSO GOING TO MAKE IT VERY HARD FOR OUR CITY RESOURCES TO ACTUALLY ADDRESS THE ISSUE.
I THINK THAT THIS DATA AND THIS PRESENTATION SHOWS US HOW MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE OUR APPROACH COULD BE AS A CITY TO ADDRESSING THE ISSUES THAT RESIDENTS HAVE BROUGHT UP FROM SHORT TERM RENTALS, IF WE ACTUALLY HAD THE ABILITY TO REGULATE THEM.
AND RIGHT NOW WE DON'T BECAUSE OF LITIGATION.
HOWEVER, THE END RESULT IS GOING TO BE SIMILAR IN HOW MUCH WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO ADDRESS IT.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE US GET A BRIEFING IN EXECUTIVE SESSION ON AN UPDATE OF LITIGATION.
AND I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM THE BODY WITH NOT ONLY THIS INFORMATION THAT YOU ALL ARE PROVIDING ON THE PRESENTATION BUT BUT A SIMPLE CONVERSATION OF WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO GET TO A BETTER PLACE WITH THE LITIGATION.
I THINK THAT THERE COULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO EXPLORE ALLOWING FOR EXACTLY WHAT WE HAVE PROPOSED, BUT TO INCLUDE SETTLED RIGHTS FOR THOSE WHO ARE CURRENTLY OPERATING.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I AM STRONGLY SUPPORTIVE OF, BECAUSE I BELIEVE IT WILL ALLOW FOR US TO UTILIZE NECESSARY RESOURCES FROM AN ACTUAL PERMITTING PROCESS TO GIVE THE NECESSARY FUNDING FOR CODE COMPLIANCE TO ACTUALLY HAVE THAT TEETH.
AGAIN, THIS DATA IS VERY TELLING WITH REGARDLESS OF IF THIS DOESN'T INCLUDE DPD'S CALLS.
CODE IS ULTIMATELY WHO IS GOING TO ADDRESS THE NUISANCE ISSUES.
CRIMINAL ACTIVITY WILL ALWAYS BE ADDRESSED BY DPD.
AND SO IF WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT EXACTLY WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE CHANGE FROM THE SHORT TERM RENTAL COMPONENT, THIS IS THIS IS THE DATA THAT WE'RE THAT WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
[00:55:06]
WE CLEARLY HAVEN'T. THANK YOU.MISS WILLIS, DID YOU HAVE A FOLLOW UP? YEAH. JUST ONE MORE THING.
MR. CHRISTIAN, YOU BROUGHT UP A COUPLE OF WORDS THAT REALLY JUMPED OUT THAT ARE STILL AFFECTING US.
AND THAT IS NIGHTTIME AND AFTER HOURS.
SO THE SAD FACT IS, IS THAT SOME OF WHAT'S GOING ON IS NOT A PRIORITY.
SO THAT'S WHAT PUTS OUR NEIGHBORS IN SUCH FLUX WHEN THERE IS NOISE AND, YOU KNOW, OPEN DRUG USE AND WEAPONS AND PARKING VIOLATIONS GOING ON AND WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE AS THEIR PEACEFUL NEIGHBORHOOD, THEIR HOMES.
IT'S CONFIRMED. OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE COMPLYING.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US DEFINE SOME PARAMETERS.
I MEAN, THERE'S PROBABLY A SET IN THAT SWEEP WHERE YOU DO HAVE SOME VERIFIABLE INFORMATION.
AND SO I WOULD I THINK WE WORKED WITH THE DATA ANALYTICS DEPARTMENT ON THIS.
SAM WILLIS, THANK YOU FOR THOSE COMMENTS.
OKAY. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE? YEAH. MISTER WEST, DID YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? YES I DO. THANK YOU CHAIR.
AND THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY FOR BRINGING THIS UP.
MY NOTES ARE A LITTLE ALL OVER THE BOARD, SO I'M GOING TO BOUNCE AROUND.
I DO APPRECIATE WHAT COUNCILWOMAN BLACKMON ASKED FOR THAT.
AND I LISTENED CAREFULLY, BUT I DIDN'T HEAR ANYBODY ASK THE QUESTION OF HOW DO THE CALLS THAT ARE COMING IN THAT ARE ON THE SLIDE THAT'S UP RIGHT NOW COMPARE TO THE CALLS BEFORE SIX, 14, 23 WHEN WE PASSED THE ORDINANCE, IS IT PRETTY SIMILAR? IS IT TRENDING UP OR TRENDING DOWN? AND IF I MISS THAT ANSWER MY APOLOGIES.
DO YOU HAVE THAT INFO? COUNCIL MEMBER WEST, WE DO NOT HAVE THAT COMPARATIVE INFORMATION, BUT I WILL GET THAT FOR YOU AS WELL.
OKAY, GREAT. ALL RIGHT, SO LET'S GO TO SLIDE.
IT'S THE HOT PAGE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX PAGE.
WE'RE NOW 1.2 MILLION, A BIT LESS THAN THAT IN A REDUCTION IN HOT REVENUE OVER THE LAST YEAR.
WHAT DOES HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX SUPPORT? TOURISM AND THE ARTS.
TOURISM. IT SUPPORTS TOURISM AND ARTS.
SO WE'RE GIVING LESS MONEY TOWARDS OUR TOURISM EFFORTS AND OUR ARTS COMMUNITY THAN WE WERE.
YES. BECAUSE IT APPEARS THAT SOME OF THE PROPERTIES THAT WERE HIGH REVENUE PRODUCERS ARE THE ONES THAT HAVE DECIDED TO SELL THEIR PROPERTIES BASED ON THE NUMBER THAT WE HAVE AND THE REVENUE DECREASE.
GOT IT. WELL, WHAT INCENTIVE DO OPERATORS THAT ARE ONGOING HAVE TO TO REGISTER AT ALL OR PAY HIGH TAX? IS IT JUST THE THREAT OF GETTING ANOTHER LETTER? LIKE WHAT'S WHAT'S THEIR INCENTIVE? WELL, I THINK IT WOULD BE THE INCENTIVE.
WELL, FIRST TO COMPLY WITH THE LAW.
SECOND, THEY WILL GET OTHER LETTERS.
AND THIRD, YOU KNOW, WE ARE LOOKING AT IF THEY LIST THE PROPERTY FOR SALE, IF THEY TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH REVENUE THEY'VE HAD, WE ARE FILING LIENS AND WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT OTHER WAYS.
IF WE COULD FILE LIENS ON THE PROPERTY FOR ESTIMATED TAX, THAT'S A LITTLE BIT HARDER TO DO, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO GO TO REVIEWS AND TRY TO EXTRAPOLATE BASED ON, YOU KNOW, THE AVERAGE PRICE PER NIGHT.
HOW MANY NIGHTS WAS IT? THINGS LIKE THAT. THERE'S NOT A LOT WE CAN DO AT THIS TIME SINCE WE CANNOT FORCE THEM TO REGISTER.
SO WHILE THIS LITIGATION IS PENDING, WE'RE SORT OF IN LIMBO ON THAT ISSUE.
[01:00:02]
I CAN'T REMEMBER WHO ASKED IT ON THE ONGOING COST TO THE CITY OF FACILITATING THIS PROGRAM.I WROTE DOWN THAT IT WAS 1.3 MILLION TO SET IT UP, 650,000 ONGOING.
DID I MISS THAT? IS THAT IN THIS PRESENTATION WHAT'S BEEN COMING IN SEEING WAS THERE'S CURRENTLY NO THERE'S $0 IN REVENUE FROM REGISTRATIONS BECAUSE WE'RE NOT REGISTERING UNDER THE TEMPORARY INJUNCTION OF CHAPTER 42 B AND WHILE I WILL ADD IN CHAPTER 42 B, IT DOES REQUIRE FOR YOU TO REGISTER TO ALSO BE REGISTERED AND PAYING HOT.
BUT YOU DID MENTION WHEN COUNCILWOMAN WILLIS WAS ASKING QUESTIONS THAT THERE ARE SOME OPERATORS REGISTERING JUST TO PAY HOT TAX, WHICH THEY CAN DO WITHOUT US LEGALLY BEING TIED TO THEM BEING REGISTERED.
OKAY. AND THEN SO WHEN I OKAY, I'M GOING TO JUMP PAST THAT AND THEN I GUESS TO COUNCIL COUNCILMAN BAZALDUA QUESTION ON SETTLED.
I ALSO SUPPORT SETTLED RIGHTS.
IF WE WANTED AS A COUNCIL TO HAVE A PROCESS TO BRING THIS BACK UP AGAIN FOR DISCUSSION.
THIS IS FOR THE CITY ATTORNEY.
WHAT'S THE LEGAL MECHANISM TO DO THAT? WOULD WE HAVE TO SET THIS AS AN ACTION ITEM? IS A BRIEFING SUFFICIENT? WHAT DO YOU NEED FROM US? CASEY BURGESS, CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
SO THERE'S TWO PIECES TO TO THE STR REGULATIONS.
SO IN ORDER TO AMEND THAT, THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE AN AUTHORIZATION FOR A PUBLIC HEARING.
THAT WOULD GO THROUGH THE REGULAR PROCESS THROUGH CPC TO CITY COUNCIL.
AND THERE'S ALSO THE 42 PIECE.
ALL RIGHT. WELL, I'LL TALK WITH MY COLLEAGUES ABOUT THAT AND I'LL END ON THIS.
AND THANK YOU, CHAIR, FOR GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK.
YOU KNOW, WE DEFINITELY NEED THE ORDINANCE.
I'VE GOT THE, I THINK, THIRD MOST AMOUNT OF COMPLAINTS OF THE CITY.
IT'S THERE'S THEY'RE RUNNING RAMPANT IN MY NEIGHBORHOODS, AND WE GOT TO GET THEM UNDER CONTROL.
IT'S PUT SEVERAL SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS IN MY DISTRICT.
OUT OF BUSINESS, INCLUDING HOUSEKEEPERS AND FOLKS OF THAT NATURE.
AND THAT PIECE IS NEVER DISCUSSED.
WE JUST TALK ABOUT THE PROBLEMS. WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THE GOOD THINGS THAT CAME ALONG WITH THIS.
AND FRANKLY, AS WE SEE ON THIS SLIDE HERE, WHAT WE ARE DOING IS NOT WORKING.
THE COURTS AGREE WITH US OR AGREE WITH THAT FACT.
AND AS THE STARS INCREASE, OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX GOES DOWN.
SO IT'S NOT WORKING. WE NEED TO RECONSIDER IT.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION.
CEDILLO-PEREIRA, COULD YOU SHARE WITH US IN A MEMO OR WHATEVER WHAT THE PLAN IS FOR THE ONGOING REDUCTION TO THE ARTS AS A RESULT OF THIS? HOW WILL THAT, HOW WILL THEY BE ENGAGED AND UNDERSTANDING THAT WE HAVE LESS MONEY TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THEM? SURE. WE CEDILLO-PEREIRA WE WILL CERTAINLY SPEAK WITH THE RELEVANT DEPARTMENTS AND SHARE THAT INFORMATION BACK WITH YOU ALL.
REFERRING TO PAGE SEVEN, THE HOT PAGE, YOU INDICATE THAT THE HOT COLLECTED DURING FISCAL YEAR 23 WAS 3.8 MILLION AND COLLECTED IN FISCAL YEAR 24 THROUGH JULY ONLY AS 2.65 MILLION.
SO THAT'S NOT AN APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON, IS IT? WELL, YOU COULD IT'S TEN MONTHS.
SO IF YOU WERE TO TAKE THE JULY NUMBER AND DIVIDE BY TEN, THAT'S 265,000 TWICE.
SO YOU WOULD GET AROUND 3.3 MILLION.
OKAY. SO THE DECLINE ISN'T 1.2 MILLION.
IT'S MORE LIKE HALF A MILLION.
IT'S PROBABLY MORE LIKE A HALF A MILLION.
OKAY. THANK YOU. IF YOU EXTRAPOLATE IT OUT.
[01:05:09]
PASSED? YOU'VE MENTIONED THAT SOME OF THEM HAVE SOLD AND THEREFORE STOPPED PAYING HOT TAX.DO YOU HAVE ANY COUNT ON THAT? WE CAN GET THAT INFORMATION FOR YOU.
THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION AND WE'LL GET THAT INFORMATION.
GOING BACK TO THE GRAPH OF SERVICE REQUESTS.
THOSE ARE JUST FOR REGISTERED PROPERTIES RIGHT.
THAT'S NOT FOR THOSE THAT ARE SUSPECTED.
SAM WILLIS. NO, THEY'RE NOT JUST FOR REGISTERED PROPERTIES FOR THE HOT PROGRAM.
THESE CASES WERE DETERMINED BY SEARCHING OUR DATABASE OF CODE, CONCERNED SERVICE REQUESTS AND ENTERING FILTERS RELATED TO AIRBNB, SHORT TERM RENTALS, VRBO BOOKINGS, PUTTING ALL THOSE DESCRIPTORS OF SHORT TERM RENTALS IN THE FILTERS.
AND THIS IS THE DATA SET THAT CAME BACK.
OKAY, SO THIS WOULD THEORETICALLY GET THEM.
MAYBE NOT ALL OF THEM, BUT AS MANY AS YOU COULD GRAB UNDER THAT.
THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW. AND IT'S REALLY EXCITING TO THINK ABOUT HOW DALLAS HAS LED THE COUNTRY IN 185 HOTEL PROJECTS, RESULTING IN 21,900 ROOMS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2024.
SO I DON'T THINK OUR ARTS ORGANIZATIONS ARE GOING TO SUFFER TOO MUCH.
THANKS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU CHAIR. ON TO ITEM C, THE UPDATE ON THE DALLAS THEATER CENTER.
GOOD MORNING. WE HAVE DIRECTOR MARTIN ELISE PHILIPPE JOINING US AT THE TABLE.
WELCOME. MISS PHILIPPE, PLEASE PROCEED WITH YOUR PRESENTATION.
GOOD MORNING. IT IS A BRIEFING MEMORANDUM.
AND SO I BELIEVE WE SHOULD BE TAKING QUESTIONS IF THERE ARE ANY.
SURE. ANY QUESTIONS ON THE COMMITTEE ABOUT THE UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF THE DALLAS THEATER CENTER MASTER PLAN? YES, MR. CHAIR.
MISS SCHULTZ, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
MISS PHILIPPE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AND THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTION.
COULD YOU JUST SHARE A LITTLE BIT WHAT I ASKED YOU WAS WHETHER THE MASTER PLAN WAS UPDATED AND ADOPTED, BECAUSE IF WE AS A CITY ARE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH ALL OF OUR FACILITIES, IT SHOULD BE ACCORDING TO THE PLAN.
BUT I WASN'T CLEAR THAT THERE WAS ACTUALLY EVER A PLAN THAT WAS ADOPTED BY COUNCIL.
SURE. THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
AND BEFORE I ANSWER, I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT MR. KEVIN MORIARTY IS HERE IN THE CROWD JOINING US TO UNDERSCORE THE COLLABORATION IT TAKES TO RESPOND TO YOUR QUESTIONS.
SO LAST FISCAL YEAR, AND LET ME REFERENCE THE QUESTION.
COUNCILWOMAN SCHULTZ ASKED US IF THE MASTER PLAN WAS EVER UPDATED AND ADOPTED.
AND DALLAS THEATER CENTER DETERMINED THAT THE PLAN CAN BE BUILT IN THREE PHASES, IF DESIRED.
AND WE ARE STANDING BY OAC AND PGR TOGETHER TO SUPPORT A PHASED PLAN IF IT'S PRESENTED.
SO IF YOU ALL STILL DESIRE FOR THAT PLAN TO BE REVISED OR REDUCED IN SIZE OR SCOPE, OR OTHERWISE ALTERED BASED ON SPECIFIC CRITERIA, THE THEATER CENTER IS EAGER TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT TYPE OF CONVERSATION, BUT SPECIFICALLY, KNOW THAT YOU'RE WAITING FOR THIS GROUP TO DIRECT YOU IN TERMS OF THE FUTURE OF THE KALITA, IS THAT CORRECT? AS IT IN REGARD TO THE MASTER PLAN FEEDBACK, I THINK THE THEATER CENTER WOULD LIKE SPECIFIC CRITERIA IN ORDER TO PHASE THAT PLAN THAT WAS ORIGINALLY PRESENTED.
SO I WASN'T ON THIS COMMITTEE, SO I APOLOGIZE.
I DON'T HAVE THE PAST MINUTES OF WHAT ACTUALLY THAT CRITERIA COULD EVEN LOOK LIKE.
BUT IT SEEMS TO ME, YOU KNOW, WE PUT MONEY IN THE BOND FOR THIS.
BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR PLAN WHATEVER WE DO WITH IT, THAT IT'S DONE IN A PLANFUL WAY.
SO I NEED I PERSONALLY MAYBE, MR.
[01:10:02]
CHAIR, YOU CAN DO THIS IN FUTURE.EITHER THOSE OF YOU WHO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS COULD HELP ME BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT THE GO FORWARD, THEN, IS FOR THE THIS BUILDING, AS WELL AS OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DALLAS THEATER CENTER.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR STAFF? SURE. MISS WILLIS? SURE. SO? SO THIS MEMO SAYS THE PLAN WAS NOT ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL IN 2019.
AND SO I THINK IT CAME FORTH AS A REALLY MASSIVE PLAN, AND IT WAS A LOT TO TAKE IN.
SO IT'S NOT SO OVERWHELMING BECAUSE IT IS A TREASURE.
I MEAN, THE ONLY FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT DESIGNED THEATER IN THE COUNTRY.
IT'S OUR BABY. GUGGENHEIM IS WHAT I CALL IT.
SO SO THE CITY ASKED THE DTC TO RAISE $2 MILLION TO DO THIS MASTER PLAN.
SO THIS ORGANIZATION RAISED THAT MONEY AND DID THE ORIGINAL MASTER PLAN, AND NOW IT'S JUST SORT OF LANGUISHING RIGHT NOW AS AS WE FIGURE OUT HOW TO GO ABOUT IT.
SO THERE WAS A STEERING COMMITTEE AS WELL THAT THAT WORKED ON THIS PROJECT.
AND IT HAD A MAJORITY OF CITY REPRESENTATION.
I MEAN, I THINK THERE ARE MULTIPLE CITY DEPARTMENTS ON IT.
IS THAT YOUR UNDERSTANDING? YES, MA'AM. OKAY, GREAT.
WELL, IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS IS HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
I MEAN, I THINK 300 MILLION WAS THE LAST I HAD HEARD.
AND EVEN IF IT'S PHASED, IT'S GOING TO TAKE QUITE AN ENDEAVOR TO BE ABLE TO RAISE THAT.
I MEAN, THEY WOULD HAVE TO DRIVE IT.
I'M NOT SURE, MR. MORIARTY, IF THAT'S ACCURATE, IF THE DTC WOULD KIND OF LEAD THAT.
BUT I DEFINITELY WOULD SEE THIS MOVE FORWARD BECAUSE AS I LOOKED AT WHAT YOU'RE OUTLINING ABOUT WHAT NEEDS TO BE REVISITED BETWEEN NOW AND HONESTLY, TEN MONTHS FROM NOW, IT JUST DIDN'T HAVE THAT MASSIVE FUNDRAISING EFFORT DETAILED.
MAYBE IT'S IN HERE WHEN IT TALKS ABOUT EFFECTIVE MODELS FOR FACILITY MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR.
BUT I MEAN, THERE'S RESTORATION THERE.
SO I JUST IF IT'S NOT CLEAR IN HERE, I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT BE PART OF THIS, BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO NEED A PARTNER WITH AN AMAZING CALIBER OF EXPERTISE AND ABILITY TO GET PATRONS TO OPEN THEIR WALLETS TO HELP PRESERVE THIS.
SO IF YOU'D INCLUDE THAT, I'D APPRECIATE IT.
YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
MISS BLACKMON, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YES. AND IT'S KIND OF GOING ALONG THE SAME.
LIKE, WHAT IS OUR PLAN? I MEAN, IT SEEMS LIKE WE HAVE A SHORT TERM AND A LONG TERM PLAN, AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO'S CORRALLING IT AND WHO IS.
SO WHAT YOU'VE GIVEN US, THIS IS YOUR IMMEDIATE NEED.
I SAY, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WANT TO DIRECTION, THEN IF WE HAVE A PARTNER WHO'S WILLING TO MAINTAIN OUR PART OF THE PARTNERSHIP, THEN WE NEED TO KEEP THAT PARTNERSHIP. BUT I THINK ALSO TOO IS AND I THINK WE HAD THIS CONVERSATION A YEAR AGO, MAYBE EVEN TWO.
WHAT ARE WE DOING WITH THIS TREASURE? I MEAN, LIKE I SAID, WE GOING TO BE THE CITY THAT TEARS IT DOWN BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO FALL DOWN IF WE DON'T DO ANYTHING.
SO MY SUGGESTION IS TO GET A GROUP TOGETHER AND FORMULATE A PLAN, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU EAT AN ELEPHANT? ONE BITE AT A TIME.
AND THAT'S WHAT THIS NEEDS TO HAPPEN.
SO THAT'S THE THING IS, WHO'S IN CHARGE? WHO IS THE CHAMPION? WE ASKED THE PUBLIC TO DO THIS.
WE ASKED THEM TO BE A GOOD PARTNER.
AND THEN WE BASICALLY SAID AND WE TOLD THEM, THROW EVERYTHING IN THE KITCHEN SINK IN YOUR PLAN.
WELL, THE THING ABOUT IT IS NOW YOU HAVE EVERYTHING IN THE KITCHEN SINK.
SO BASICALLY, NOW DECIDE, DO WE WANT AN AIR FRYER OR DO WE WANT AN OVEN.
YOU KNOW, SO I MEAN THAT'S KIND OF WHERE YOU NEED TO GO.
SO YOU HAVE THIS HIGH END THING.
NOW YOU START SCALING IT DOWN.
[01:15:02]
DO SOME VALUE ENGINEERING, UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO.WE WANT TO MAINTAIN A THEATER.
THEN WHAT ARE THOSE ELEMENTS LOOK LIKE.
AND I THINK THERE'S A SMART ENOUGH PEOPLE AROUND THE TABLE TO START DOWN THIS PATH.
AND THEY'VE GOT A LITTLE BIT OF SEED MONEY AND WE HAVE A PARTNER.
I JUST THINK SOMEBODY NEEDS TO OWN IT.
SO ANY COMMENTS? SO FOR MY UNDERSTANDING, YOU'RE SUGGESTING A NEW STEERING COMMITTEE? NOT ONE OF THE PAST.
I MEAN, YOU COULD USE EITHER STEERING THAT ONE IF IT'S READY TO GO OR AUGMENT IT.
PEOPLE MAY HAVE DECIDED THEY DON'T WANT TO BE ON IT ANYMORE.
YOU'VE GOT THE BONES OF SOMETHING.
AND SO I WOULDN'T REINVENT THE WHEEL.
I WOULD TRY TO GET THIS TRAIN MOVING.
NOTED. SO FOR US, FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE RIGHT NOW, WE DO HAVE AN IMMEDIATE PRIORITY, WHICH IS TO ADDRESS THE LEASE EXTENSION TERMS AND ALSO TO BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT HOW THE BOND PROJECT WORKED IS GOING TO IMPACT THE THEATER.
SO IF WE, FOR EXAMPLE, ENTERTAINED A TWO YEAR LEASE EXTENSION, THAT TERM WOULD END RIGHT AROUND THE TIME THE BOND PROJECT WORK WILL BEGIN. AND ALL OF THAT BOND PROJECT WORK NOTED BY COUNCILWOMAN SCHULTZ IS DEFERRED MAINTENANCE, OBVIOUSLY, AND A FEW ADA IMPROVEMENTS.
SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO WORK A BIT CLOSELY WITH THE BOND OFFICE ON WHAT TO EXPECT, SO THAT WE CAN PLAN ACCORDINGLY WITH OUR PARTNERS THAT USE THAT SPACE, AND HOW THAT MIGHT EVEN IMPACT THEIR TIME THERE OUTSIDE OF THE BOUNDS OF THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
THERE WAS A STEERING COMMITTEE AND A TASK FORCE SEPARATELY, AND TRYING TO ASCERTAIN WHICH MEMBERS OF THOSE GROUPS ARE STILL WILLING TO SERVE OR WILLING TO SHARE THEIR VOICES, DEPENDING ON THE NATURE OF THE RELATIONSHIP THEY NOW HAVE WITH THE CITY, AND ALSO WHAT IT MIGHT.
YOU KNOW WHAT WHAT THE GOAL TRULY IS.
AS NOTED, WE HAVE THIS LARGE MASTER PLAN THAT IS CURRENTLY ON THE SHELF.
AND OF COURSE WE HAVE FOLKS WHO HAVE COMPETING, COMPETING.
COMPETING. OPINIONS OF THE FUTURE OF THE THEATER.
WE GET IT UPGRADED AND THEN WE GO AND REDO IT, AND THEN WE RIP OUT WHAT WE JUST PUT IN.
AND SO MAKE SURE THAT IT IS VERY WELL PLANNED.
MR. BAZALDUA, DID YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? YES. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION AND UPDATE.
DO YOU MIND MUTING THE MICS? I THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE AND THE FEEDBACK.
I'LL JUST ECHO THE SENTIMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN MENTIONED ON THE NEED TO PRIORITIZE RESTORING THE STRUCTURE. I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S REALLY CLEAR BEFORE I SAY WHAT I'M GOING TO SAY NEXT.
AND THAT'S THAT, YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY WHAT HAS BEEN PRESENTED TO US AND WHAT I'VE HAD A BAD TASTE IN MY MOUTH FROM IS THAT IT'S THE SCOPE OF THE PLANS, MUCH MORE OF A WISH LIST THAT THAT GOES BEYOND TAKING CARE OF THE STRUCTURE AND AN OUTRAGEOUS PRICE TAG FOR WISH LISTS LIKE BELOW GRADE PARKING OR ENHANCEMENTS THAT ARE CROSS UTILIZING THE FACILITY TO BE A HYBRID PARK FACILITY.
MORE THAN AN ARTS AND CULTURE FACILITY.
I MEAN, I'LL GO BACK TO MISS BLACKMON'S QUESTION IS, WHAT IS IT THAT WE'RE SOLVING FOR? BECAUSE THE INITIAL TASK TO BRING US BACK A MASTER PLAN WAS IN MUCH MORE OF A SCALED DOWN SCOPE THAN WHAT WAS PRESENTED TO US.
[01:20:02]
I'VE ALSO MET WITH TENANTS AT THE FACILITY WHO ARE ALSO NOT IN AGREEMENT WITH THE DIRECTION THAT THE MASTER PLAN WAS PROPOSING FOR IT TO GO.SO I AM JUST AS I WAS AS THE CHAIR OF THIS COMMITTEE, I'M CONCERNED WITH THE AMOUNT OF FEEDBACK THAT HAS ACTUALLY BEEN INCORPORATED TO GET TO THIS POINT FROM THOSE WHO ARE DIRECTLY IMPACTED ON EVERY.
DAY AT THESE FACILITIES WHO HAVE PAID SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT IN RENT OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.
SO I'M I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF EXACTLY WHAT IT IS AND THE DIRECTION THAT WE ARE GOING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT METRICS WE ARE GOING TO BE PROVIDING OVERSIGHT FOR.
BUT ULTIMATELY, AS FAR AS THE CITY'S PRIORITY, I BELIEVE THE STRUCTURE ITSELF IS GOT GREAT SIGNIFICANCE AND GREAT HISTORY TO THE ARCHITECTURAL VALUE BUT ALSO TO THE ARTS COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.
AND THAT'S WHAT THE FOCUS NEEDS TO BE ON THE DOLLARS THAT WE PUT INTO OR CONSIDER BEING PUT INTO BUT THE PLAN AS PRESENTED GOES WAY BEYOND THAT SCOPE, AND I'M JUST NOT SOLD ON THAT BEING SOMETHING TO DRAIN RESOURCES SPECIFICALLY FOR THE PRICE TAG AND THE DIFFERENCE PER SPACE OF BELOW GRADE PARKING VERSUS THAT OF ANY OTHER OPTION.
MR. CHAIR. THANK YOU, MR. BAZALDUA. MISS SCHULTZ, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
WHAT'S CLEAR, I THINK, IS WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR IS THIS.
AND THAT IS VERY CLEAR, LEADERSHIP FROM YOUR DEPARTMENT AND TO SERVE AS THE CHAMPION FOR THE FUTURE VISION FOR THIS, WHETHER IT'S THE ELABORATE MASTER PLAN THAT GETS PRESENTED BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT A PARTNER THAT CAN GO RAISE THE MILLION TENS OF HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OR THE RESTORATION PLAN AND THEN ONGOING FUNCTION.
WHAT YOU SHOULD WHAT I WOULD LIKE VERY MUCH WOULD BE TO HAVE YOUR DEPARTMENT LEAD US THROUGH THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS AFTER YOU HAVE DONE ON THE SIDE, WHATEVER COMMITTEES, WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU NEED TO DO.
BUT THIS HAS BEEN LANGUISHING FOR LONG.
AND SO USING THAT AS YOUR MARCHING ORDERS, THAT THOSE FACTORS, THEN I THINK WE NEED VERY CLEAR DIRECTION FROM YOU. AND WHAT I'VE SEEN THROUGHOUT THE CITY IS THAT SOMEONE ON COUNCIL NEEDS TO TAKE THIS ON AS THE CHAMPION, BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN PROJECTS HAPPEN, THAT'S WHEN THINGS CHANGE.
SO MAYBE THERE'S SOMEBODY ON COUNCIL THAT WANTS TO MAKE THIS THEIR POLITICAL CHAMPIONSHIP.
BUT THAT NEEDS TO GO HAND IN HAND WITH THE WORK THAT YOU ALL ARE DOING.
BUT I THINK HAVING YOU ALL DO THE BASIC WORK OF THAT WILL MAKE IT EASIER TO IDENTIFY YOUR CHAMPION, AND THAT PERSON MAY STEP FORWARD IF THEY DON'T FEEL LIKE THEY'RE STEPPING INTO AN ABYSS.
RIGHT. SO ARE THERE QUESTIONS ABOUT LIKE BACK TO US IN TERMS OF THAT DIRECTION.
CHAIR AND COUNCIL MEMBER SCHULTZ, MAY I ALSO PROVIDE SOME COMMENTS HERE? I THINK THE REASON FOR ARTS AND CULTURE BEING HERE TODAY IS TO RECENTER THIS, OF COURSE, BECAUSE AS YOU'RE GIVING US FEEDBACK, IT IT HAS GONE ON AND WE NEED TO TAKE STEPS TO ADDRESS THOSE MATTERS.
OAC WAS VERY DELIBERATE AND INTENTIONAL IN WORKING WITH OUR STAKEHOLDER PARTNERS TO ENSURE THAT THE UPGRADES, THE MAINTENANCE, THE OPERATIONAL ISSUES WERE ADDRESSED IN THE BOND WITH WITH COUNCIL'S APPROVAL, OF COURSE.
AND SO THAT WAS STEP ONE, IF YOU WILL.
AND NOW STEP TWO IS LOOKING TO SEE ABOUT THIS LEASE EXTENSION.
RIGHT. BECAUSE WE KNOW THERE'S AN EXPIRATION DATE IN AROUND TEN MONTHS.
THREE IS WHERE YOU'RE VERY MUCH INVOLVED.
AND WHERE WE DO WE ARE SEEKING YOUR INPUT IS AT WHAT SCALE.
AND SO THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OUTSIDE TO YOUR POINT OF WHAT OAC HAS THE CAPACITY BANDWIDTH TO DO.
AND NO, WE NEED TO DISCUSS FURTHER NUMBER THREE, THEN THAT WOULD BE MOST USEFUL FOR US.
I THINK THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE HEARING.
BUT MAYBE I MISUNDERSTOOD MY COLLEAGUES.
THANK YOU. SO I THINK THE STEERING COMMITTEE ACCOMPLISHED WHAT THEY NEEDED TO ACCOMPLISH.
AND THEN THE FUNDS WERE RAISED.
THE MASTER PLAN WAS DONE, AND THEN IT'S JUST THAT'S WHERE IT'S KIND OF BEEN SITTING.
[01:25:05]
SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAD CHAMPIONS AT THE CITY BEFORE.I MEAN, AND IT WAS OAC AND PARKS BECAUSE THIS IS KIND OF A JOINT PROPERTY.
THE BUILDING AND THE INSIDE OF THE BUILDING ARE OAC.
AND THEN THE THE PARK IS THE EXTERIOR.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK REVISITING THAT, I MEAN, WE'VE LET YOU GET ON BOARD NOW.
SO, YOU KNOW, YOU WERE BRAND NEW WHEN YOU WALKED INTO THIS.
BUT I KNOW IN OUR FIRST MEETING I SAID, YOU KNOW, THIS IS GOING TO NEED A CHAMPION.
AND I WOULD EXPECT IT TO BE LED BY THIS DEPARTMENT.
BUT ONE THING THAT I HEARD THAT CONCERN ME WAS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT A TWO YEAR EXTENSION ON A CONTRACT, I MEAN, THAT MAY BE FINE TO GET US OVER A BUBBLE, BUT IF DONORS ARE GOING TO GIVE AND AS WE AS WE DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, THE 8.9 MILLION IS A BAND AID, YOU KNOW, LET'S FACE IT.
SO IT'S GOING TO HELP. JUST LIKE WE LOOKED AT ALL OF OUR ARTS FACILITIES.
AND IT'S LIKE, WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO KEEP THEM OPERATING? BUT IT'S REALLY TO MEET SOME BASIC MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR.
IF THEY KNOW THAT THAT CONTRACT COULD BE UP IN TWO YEARS AND GO INTO FLUX.
AND THE THE FUNDRAISING PART OF THIS AND UNDERSTANDING GETTING TO WHO THAT PARTNER IS, IS EVERY BIT OF AS IMPORTANT IN THIS PROCESS AS THE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR COMPONENT.
SO I JUST I'D LIKE US TO START THINKING BIGGER AND LONGER TERM AS WE LOOK AT THIS SO THAT WE CAN NOT SCARE PEOPLE AWAY, BUT RATHER INVITE THEM IN, YOU KNOW, ARTS PATRONS IN THIS CITY, THEY'VE GOT A LOT OF CHOICES.
AND WE ASK THEM FOR A LOT OF CITY FACILITIES TO MAKE DONATIONS.
AND JUST AS MUCH AS WE WOULD TALK TO CURRENT TENANTS, I THINK THAT'S THE OTHER THING, IS UNDERSTANDING THE VISION OF SOME OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN LONG TERM SUPPORTERS OF THIS THEATER, BUT ALSO OF THE ARTS COMMUNITY IN DALLAS BECAUSE SOMETIMES THEY UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE PIE BETTER AND HOW THE PIECES OF IT FIT TOGETHER.
AND SO I WANT TO BE SURE WE'RE ASKING ALL THE RIGHT FOLKS.
BUT STEERING COMMITTEE, I THINK THAT WOULD BE GOING BACKWARD.
AND I'M CONCERNED THAT THESE TALKS HAVE BEEN LANGUISHING AND TAKING A LONG TIME OR TEN MONTHS AWAY FROM THE EXPIRATION OF THE LEASE AGREEMENT. AND WE'RE DEALING WITH ARTS ORGANIZATIONS THAT NEED TO PLAN THEIR SEASON, THEIR UPCOMING SEASON.
BUT THEY'RE LEFT IN LIMBO WITHOUT KNOWING WHETHER THE LEASE WILL BE EXTENDED.
SO WHAT CAN WE DO TO PROVIDE THEM THE ASSURANCE THAT THE LEASE WILL BE EXTENDED SO THAT THEY CAN PLAN FOR THE NEW SEASON. WHEN CAN WE WRAP UP THOSE NEGOTIATIONS? SO OUR INTENT IS TO WRAP UP THE CONVERSATION AROUND THOSE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS WHO WOULD BE IMPACTED BY THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR, SO THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH CAO.
AND AT YOUR PLEASURE AFTER THE TURN OF THE NEW YEAR.
WELL, THAT'S ANOTHER THREE AND A HALF MONTHS.
CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THE BARRIERS ARE THAT ARE GOING TO TAKE THAT LONG TO IRON ONE OUT? SURE. ONE OF THE POINTS OF DISCUSSION THAT WE NEED TO GET SOME CLARITY ON HAS TO DO WITH THE EQUITABLE ACCESS PLAN THAT IMPACTS THE OTHER TENANTS, UPTOWN PLAYERS.
AND SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE RECEIVED SUGGESTS DIFFERENTLY.
AND SO WE DO NEED TO EMBARK ON A DISCUSSION WITH DALLAS THEATER CENTER AND THOSE TWO GROUPS TO SEE IF, WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF THIS REVISION, WE CAN ADDRESS THAT PLAN AS WELL.
SO IS IT ABOUT THE LEASE, THE SUBLEASE RATES THAT THOSE OTHER ARTS GROUPS ARE BEING CHARGED? CORRECT. OKAY.
IT SEEMS TO ME THAT WITH SOME CONCENTRATED NEGOTIATION THAT COULD BE CONCLUDED VERY SOON WITH THE INTEREST IN PRESERVING THE NEXT SEASON PLANNING FOR ALL THREE OF THESE ARTS ORGANIZATIONS.
[01:30:04]
WITH REGARD TO SECOND THOUGHT THEATER, WHICH IS BASED IN THE HEALTH BUILDING.WILL ANY OF THE BOND IMPROVEMENT FUNDS GO TOWARD THE HEALTH BUILDING OR JUST THE KALITA? SO THE BOND PROGRAM INCLUDES ROUGHLY $8.9 MILLION FOR UPGRADES AND REPAIRS TO HVAC SYSTEMS, FIRE ALARM UPGRADES, SOME ADA NEEDS, AND ON AND ON.
ET CETERA. ET CETERA. AND I AM NOT CLEAR AT THIS POINT, AND I'LL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU IF THE HEALTH BUILDING IS ALSO UNDER THAT UMBRELLA, OR IF THERE'S A SEPARATE. OKAY.
PLEASE DO. AND WITH REGARD TO THE LONGER TERM, THE MASTER PLAN WHEN IT WAS PRESENTED TO THE COMMUNITY BECAME A VERY CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE, TO PUT IT MILDLY.
AND I BELIEVE THAT STEMMED FROM THE SCOPE OF THE MASTER PLAN, THE LACK OF PHASING, THE REALITY OF BEING ABLE TO RAISE THE COST FOR THE ULTIMATE BUILDOUT.
I THINK THAT WAS WIDELY RECOGNIZED AS A CITY JEWEL THAT MUST BE PRESERVED AND RENOVATED.
AND SO I WOULD SUGGEST TO YOU THAT OUR FIRST PRIORITY SHOULD BE PLANNING FOR THE RENOVATION OF THE EXISTING BUILDING, BECAUSE I THINK THAT WILL HAVE COMMUNITY SUPPORT, AND I THINK THAT WILL BE TRANSLATED INTO PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORT, WHICH WILL BE NEEDED TO FINANCE THE COST OF THAT.
AND THROUGH THAT PROCESS, PERHAPS SOME CONSENSUS CAN BE REACHED ABOUT WHETHER ANCILLARY BUILDINGS TO SUPPORT THE COLLIDER ARE NECESSARY AND SUPPORTABLE.
BUT I THINK WE HAVE TO START WITH FIRST STEPS AND NOT TRY TO SWALLOW THE WHOLE ELEPHANT AT ONCE.
SO THAT WOULD BE MY RECOMMENDATION IS TO LOOK AT PLANS TO RENOVATE THE EXISTING BUILDING AND HOW WE CAN GENERATE SUPPORT FOR THAT IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO SEEING NO OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, I THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENCE HERE TODAY TO ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS AND WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM, D, WHICH IS THE COMMUNITY CARE THEIR UPCOMING AGENDA ITEM TO AUTHORIZE AN AMENDMENT TO THE SERVICE CONTRACT WITH SENIOR CITIZENS OF GREATER DALLAS FOR THE SENIOR SERVICES OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM.
IS MISS GALUSHA AVAILABLE? YES. WE HAVE JESSICA GALUSHA JOINING US AT THE TABLE.
CHAIR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, MISS GALUSHA.
COULD YOU JUST DESCRIBE WHY THIS AMENDMENT IS NECESSARY? GOOD MORNING, AND THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLAIN THAT TODAY.
JESSICA GALUSHA, DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY CARE.
SO THIS AMENDMENT IS EFFECTIVELY CORRECTING AN ERROR IN A PREVIOUS REAUTHORIZATION.
68 FOR EACH OF THOSE THREE YEARS WHEN WE INITIALLY ORIGINATED THE CONTRACT AUTHORIZATION THROUGH CITY COUNCIL, WE MADE AN ERROR IN THE RESOLUTION THAT WE DID NOT IDENTIFY UNTIL IT WAS TIME TO DO THE INITIAL RENEWAL FOR THE FIRST YEAR, WHICH WAS ABOUT EIGHT MONTHS AGO.
SO WHEN WE WENT TO DO THE FIRST RENEWAL, WE ATTEMPTED TO RENEW, AS WE TYPICALLY DO THROUGH AN ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION, AND WE WEREN'T ABLE TO FULLY DO THAT TO THE AMOUNT OF THE CONTRACT LEVEL BECAUSE THERE HAD BEEN A MISTAKE IN THAT RESOLUTION.
AND SO WE WENT FORWARD WITH WHAT WE COULD DO AT THAT TIME AND COMMITTED TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL SO THAT WE COULD CORRECT THAT RENEWAL TO THE FULL AMOUNT OF THE CONTRACT, WHICH IS WHY YOU'RE SEEING WHAT APPEARS TO BE AN INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF $50,000, BECAUSE THAT IS ALLOWING US TO INCREASE FROM THE INITIAL RENEWAL AMOUNT WE WERE ABLE TO DO TO THE FULL AMOUNT, WHICH WE ARE REALLY OWED TO THE VENDOR AS THE ANNUAL BUDGET.
SO IS THIS ADDITIONAL 50,000 ALREADY FACTORED INTO THE NEXT YEAR'S FISCAL BUDGET?
[01:35:03]
YES, IT'S FACTORED INTO THIS AND NEXT YEAR'S FISCAL BUDGET.NEXT YEAR'S FISCAL BUDGET WILL REPRESENT EFFECTIVELY THE THIRD YEAR.
OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS FOR MISS GALLISHAW? MISS SCHULTZ, FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANT TO CONGRATULATE.
WELL, I WANT TO CONGRATULATE THE SENIOR SOURCE.
CERTAINLY OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM ON THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENT IN TERMS OF THE VOLUNTEERS THAT THEY HAVE, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN HELPED THROUGHOUT THIS.
AND I KNOW OUR SENIOR AFFAIRS COMMISSION IS REALLY DOING A DEEP DIVE INTO THIS COMMUNITY.
SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THIS, AND I THINK YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO BE COMING BACK.
AND THEN WHAT ARE HOW MANY OF THOSE ARE THE LOW INCOME? BECAUSE I KNOW THERE'S MANY.
WE HAVE MANY LOW INCOME SENIORS LIVING INDEPENDENTLY, BUT THESE ARE JUST IN NURSING HOME FACILITIES.
SO THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. GRACEY. DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YES. THANK YOU. AND ALONG THOSE SAME LINES AGAIN, I JUST WOULD, YOU KNOW, SELFISHLY WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT JUST TO CELEBRATE.
AND IT WAS UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF MISS VERNA MITCHELL, OUR SENIOR AFFAIRS COMMISSION, AND JUST DID A REALLY OUTSTANDING JOB LEADING THE DISCUSSIONS IN TERMS OF WHAT SOME OF THOSE SENIOR NEEDS ARE, AND I'M HAPPY TO SEE THIS TYPE OF DATA THERE.
RECRUIT AND PLACE VOLUNTEERS WITHIN THE 34 CONTRACTED NURSING HOMES AND ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES.
I JUST KIND OF WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? AND THERE'S MAYBE 1 OR 2.
I JUST KIND OF WANT TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE TYPE OF WORK THAT'S BEING DONE.
IN DOING THAT, THEY HAVE OMBUDSMAN STAFF THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY TRAINED AND HAVE THIS KIND OF RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITY WHEN IT COMES OUT TO A CERTAIN NUMBER OF VISITS AND OBSERVATIONS. HOWEVER, BY PARTNERING WITH THE SENIOR SOURCE, WE'RE ABLE TO INCREASE AND EXTEND THE VISIBILITY WITHIN THOSE SITES BY HAVING THEM ADD ADDITIONAL STAFF SUPPORT AND VOLUNTEER SUPPORT TO MAKE MORE AND ADDITIONAL VISITS, WHICH PUTS MORE EYES IN THOSE NURSING HOMES ON A REGULAR BASIS.
UNFORTUNATELY, THAT IS EXCEEDINGLY COMMON.
AND IT'S THINGS FROM, YOU KNOW, POTENTIAL NEGLECT, POTENTIAL ABUSE YOU KNOW, ALL OF THOSE ISSUES WHEN THEY HAVE NO ONE TO TALK TO, NO ONE THAT THEY CONNECT WITH, NO ONE TO WORK WITH.
AND THEY'RE REALLY RELYING ON THESE CARETAKERS.
THEY TRAIN PEOPLE ON, YOU KNOW WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR.
AND IN DOING SO, IT HELPS TO CREATE A SAFER ENVIRONMENT AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, MORE MENTALLY STIMULATING AND POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT JUST BY HAVING VISITORS TO SOME OF THESE RESIDENTS. GREAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT.
SO AND I GUESS WHERE IS WHERE ARE SOME OF THE FINDINGS.
WHERE IS WHERE IS THAT INFORMATION BEING COLLECTED.
AND THEN HOW IS IT BEING UTILIZED.
BUT NOW WE START LOOKING AT THE CARE FOR OUR SENIORS.
AND THOSE THINGS THAT WE NEED, NEED TO BE MADE AWARE OF, WHERE IS THAT TYPE OF INFORMATION OR FINDINGS BEING PRESENTED OR REPORTED, AND WOULD IT BE COMING THROUGH THIS COMMITTEE SO THAT WE COULD LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT WE NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT THE SURVEY? RIGHT. SO WE DO RECEIVE SOME OF THE DATA THAT WE'VE OUTLINED HERE ON A MONTHLY BASIS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO TRACK AND LOOK AGAINST, AND THERE MAY EVEN BE SOME ADDITIONAL METRICS THAT
[01:40:09]
WE GET ON A MONTHLY BASIS.YEAH. SO THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT THEY CAN ADDRESS MIGHT BE NEGLECT, SUCH AS BED SORES BEING VISIBLE, DIETARY NEEDS, SO SOME SENIORS MAY HAVE A SPECIFIC DIETARY NEED.
AND THEY MAY COMPLAIN THAT THE CENTER IS NOT MEETING THEIR NEEDS.
OR MAYBE IF THEY'RE DIABETIC AND THEY NEED A CERTAIN MEAL PLAN.
AND THEN DISCHARGES, I THINK, IS ONE OF THE MAYBE MORE COMMON ISSUES THAT YOU MIGHT HEAR SENIORS THAT ARE BEING DISCHARGED, THAT'S BASICALLY BEING EVICTED, EFFECTIVELY. BUT DISCHARGED.
THESE OMBUDSMEN CAN HELP THEM TO SUPPORT THEM THROUGH AN APPEALS PROCESS.
IN FACT, I FOLLOWED UP WITH A SENIOR SOURCE ABOUT THAT EARLIER.
AND THEY SAY THAT THAT'S ACTUALLY ONE OF THE AREAS THAT THEY HAVE A LOT OF SUCCESS IN.
SO TYPICALLY THOSE VISITS, WHEN THEY'RE MEETING THE NEEDS, THEY'RE EVALUATING THAT ON THE BASIS OF SATISFYING THE COMPLAINANT OR THE RESIDENT THAT BROUGHT THE CONCERN FORWARD.
SO THAT'S FOR THE BROAD NATURE OF NEEDS.
HEY, THEY WEREN'T MEETING YOUR DIETARY NEED ARE THEY NOW.
HOWEVER, FOR CERTAIN ISSUES OR FOR CERTAIN CONCERNS, THEY MAY TAKE THOSE ALL THE WAY UP TO THE STATE AGENCY THAT HAS THE AUTHORITY TO REGULATE AND PUT THOSE CITATIONS OUT, WHICH IS SOMETHING THOSE OMBUDSMAN'S ARE TRAINED AND KIND OF OBLIGATED TO DO.
THEY MAY FOLLOW THROUGH ON APPEALS RELATED TO EVICTIONS.
THEY ALSO OR EXCUSE ME, DISCHARGES.
AND THEY ALSO CAN SUPPORT THE RESIDENTS WHO NEED TO APPEAL ON THE BASIS OF BEING DENIED MEDICAID.
BUT AS FAR AS THE DATA OR THE DETAILS ON THOSE, THEY DO REPORT ON THAT.
THEY DO COLLECT IT, THEY REPORT IT TO THE STATE AGENCY.
AND WE COULD ASK FOR A MORE COMPREHENSIVE REPORT ON THAT.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE GET MONTHLY, BUT WE COULD REQUEST THAT.
AND I KNOW THAT THEY WOULD BE GLAD TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION.
SO I THINK THAT THERE COULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET MORE INFORMATION OUT OF THEM.
THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THAT. AND, MR. CHAIR, I'M, I GUESS FORMALLY ASKING THAT BE BRIEFED AND AGAIN PERIODICALLY JUST SO WE CAN KNOW AND SEE THE SUCCESS AND UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. GRACEY. AND YES, I WOULD MAKE THAT SAME REQUEST THAT WE GET A REPORT ON SOME OF THE METRICS OF WHAT THE SENIOR OMBUDSMAN PROGRAM IS ACCOMPLISHING. I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL TO, IF THAT'S AN ALREADY PREPARED REPORT, IF YOU COULD JUST PROVIDE THAT TO THE COMMITTEE. IF SOME COMMENTARY NEEDS TO GO ALONG WITH THAT, PLEASE PLAN ON DOING THAT AT A FUTURE COMMITTEE MEETING.
YES, SIR. I CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT.
THANK YOU. WERE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I'M SORRY, MR. BAZALDUA. NO.
DID ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS? I DO. OKAY.
MISS GUIDICE AND MR. RESENDEZ. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR, AND THANK YOU FOR THE MEMO AS WELL.
I HAVE QUITE A FEW QUESTIONS, THOUGH I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW, HAS THE NEED FOR DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY IN DALLAS DIMINISHED? NO, SIR.
OKAY. CURRENTLY, 1800 RESIDENTS ACTIVELY RELY ON THE HOTSPOTS PROGRAM FOR INTERNET ACCESS.
I CAN'T TELL YOU IF IT'S AT EACH ONE IS DONE BY AN INDIVIDUAL RESIDENT.
SOMETIMES IT'S MULTIPLE THE SAME RESIDENT USING IT MULTIPLE TIMES.
OKAY. HAS THERE BEEN ANY DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS RELATED TO RACE, INCOME, AGE, ZIP CODE, ETC.
TO SHOW WHICH COMMUNITIES ARE USING THE PROGRAM THE MOST? NO. SO THE LIBRARY DOESN'T COLLECT A LOT OF THAT DATA, AND ONCE YOU CHECK IT OUT ON YOUR CARD AND RETURN IT, ALL OF OUR DATA IS ERASED BECAUSE WE DON'T TRACK WHAT YOU CHECK OUT FOR YOUR PRIVACY.
SO WE THE ONLY THING WE COULD GET AT THIS TIME, AND WE'VE DONE IT.
AND WE HAVE SOME OF THAT DATA, BUT MOST OF THEM ARE BEEN RETURNED OR ARE COMING BACK NOW.
SO WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF DATA TO SHARE ON THAT.
[01:45:01]
I COULD GIVE YOU AND IT'S NOT COMPREHENSIVE, BUT I CAN GET YOU SOME DATA ON THAT.OKAY. IS THERE A PLAN IN PLACE TO MITIGATE THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF DIGITAL EQUITY IF WE ELIMINATE THIS PROGRAM? WELL, RIGHT NOW WE'RE REALLY ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO COME AND USE THE LIBRARY.
IT IS GOING TO BE UPGRADED WITH OUR E-RATE WITH IT IN THE NEXT YEAR.
AND THEN WE HAVE PROFESSIONALS IN THE LIBRARY THAT CAN HELP THEM.
SO WE REALLY ARE ENCOURAGING FOLKS TO COME AND USE THE LIBRARY FOR ACCESS.
HAVE WE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT THE FACT THAT TRANSPORTATION ISSUES ARE OBVIOUSLY PROBLEMATIC IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF OUR CITY? YES, SIR. OKAY.
MAY I ADD TO THAT RESPONSE AS WELL? SO THE LIBRARY IS ONE KEY COMPONENT OF OUR DIGITAL EQUITY STRATEGY.
AND WE'RE ALSO WORKING CROSS-DEPARTMENTALLY UNDERSTANDING THAT WE HAVE TO PIVOT IN THIS NEW YEAR.
Y TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS IS INVOLVED WITH MORE LARGELY THE, THE IDEA OF LAYING FIBER CONDUIT WHERE WE HAVE TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS THAT ARE ONGOING. THAT'S A NEW COMPONENT.
TO WE ARE LOOKING AT WE HAVE A DIGITAL EQUITY COORDINATOR WITHIN THE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY CARE, AND THAT DIGITAL EQUITY COORDINATOR, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF JESSICA GALLISHAW, IS WORKING WITH PRIVATE PARTNERS WHO ARE WORKING IN THIS SPACE TO PROVIDE HOTSPOTS, LAPTOPS, ETC.
AND WE'RE CURRENTLY APPLYING FOR A FEDERAL GRANT IN THAT RESPECT.
ONE, WE'RE SEEKING FEDERAL GRANTS OR STATE GRANTS OR PRIVATE GRANTS WHERE WE CAN REALIZING THAT WE DO HAVE TO TAKE SOME OF THE PRESSURES OFF OF OUR GENERAL FUND FOR THIS PURPOSE AND IN THIS NEW PHASE.
I DON'T KNOW IF JOE WOULD CONCUR.
AND THEN I KNOW WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO COME TO OUR LIBRARIES MORE REGULARLY.
THAT'S GREAT. BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT NOT EVERYBODY CAN.
I KNOW WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL AND I WORKED AT NIGHT A LOT, YOU KNOW, PAST MIDNIGHT.
AND SO I KNOW OUR LIBRARIES AREN'T OPEN 24 SEVEN.
I DON'T THINK THAT THAT'S THE ACCURATE COMPARISON TO MAKE.
SO DO WE HAVE ANY DATA OR ANALYSIS TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THIS COST OUTWEIGHS THE BENEFITS TO THE COMMUNITY? I'M NOT QUITE SURE HOW I WOULD JUDGE THAT, BUT.
BUT YOU DO AGREE? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
I AGREE IT'S NECESSARY AND NEEDED, BUT WE WERE TASKED WITH DIFFICULT DECISIONS THIS YEAR.
I UNDERSTAND THAT, YEAH, WE ALL HAVE DIFFICULT DECISIONS TO MAKE.
DO YOU AGREE THAT THE COMPARISON IS NOT A I DON'T THINK IT'S A GOOD COMPARISON TO SAY THAT THIS PROGRAM COSTS MORE THAN OTHER SERVICES, BECAUSE SOMETHING CAN COST MORE THAN ANOTHER SERVICES, ANOTHER SERVICE.
BUT WE GAIN A MUCH HIGHER BENEFIT.
YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A FAIR QUESTION.
AND CAN YOU ALLOW US SOME TIME? WE'RE COMPILING ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT WE NEED TO FOLLOW UP ON TO SEE IF OUR PARTNERS AT, SAY, THE DIGITAL INNOVATIVE ALLIANCE HAS THAT TYPE OF DATA.
WE'D BE PLEASED TO SHARE IF IT'S AVAILABLE TO US.
YEAH, ABSOLUTELY, I APPRECIATE THAT.
AND SO WERE THERE ANY OTHER COST SAVING MEASURES CONSIDERED, FOR EXAMPLE, REDUCING THE NUMBER OF HOTSPOTS AVAILABLE RATHER THAN COMPLETELY ELIMINATING THE PROGRAM? WE LOOK WE SCRUBBED OUR BUDGET TOP TO BOTTOM TO FIND THE AMOUNTS THAT WE NEEDED TO REDUCE THIS YEAR.
AND WE WERE REALLY LOOKING AT SERVING THE MOST RESIDENTS POSSIBLE.
HOWEVER, RIGHT NOW I RESPECTFULLY OPPOSE THE PROPOSAL AS IS FOR SEVERAL REASONS.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT THAT THE PROGRAM DIDN'T ORIGINATE AS A RESPONSE TO COVID 19.
[01:50:06]
FOR MANY RESIDENTS, ACCESS TO THE INTERNET IS STILL A BARRIER, AND THIS PROGRAM PROVIDED A LIFELINE FOR THOSE UNABLE TO AFFORD CONSISTENT SERVICE, PARTICULARLY IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES. AS WE ALL KNOW, LIMITED INTERNET ACCESS DEEPENS INEQUALITIES, PREVENTING CERTAIN GROUPS FROM PARTICIPATING FULLY IN TODAY'S ECONOMY.I BELIEVE WE CAN BETTER SUPPORT STAFF WHILE ENSURING THAT THE PROGRAM OPERATES MORE EFFICIENTLY.
NOT EVERYONE HAS THE ABILITY TO VISIT BRANCHES CONSISTENTLY.
AND AS I MENTIONED, OUR LIBRARIES AREN'T OPEN 24 HOURS A DAY.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. MAY I UPDATE? ONE THING IS, WHEN WE DID ROLL THIS OUT IN 2019, IT WAS OUR OBJECTIVE TO LOAN THE HOTSPOTS TO FOLKS THAT WERE IN OUR GED AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING CLASSES TO PROMOTE LEARNING, AND WE ONLY OPENED IT UP TO THE FULL POPULATION AS A RESULT OF COVID.
SO IT WAS GOING TO BE A MUCH MORE FOCUSED PROGRAM.
WHEREAS TODAY WE DON'T ASK WHY YOU'RE CHECKING IT OUT AND WE DON'T BLOCK ANY USAGE OF IT.
SO THE FOCUS DID CHANGE A LITTLE BIT WITH COVID.
I APPRECIATE THAT. ONE OTHER THING I'LL POINT OUT THEN AT THE TIME WHEN WE WERE EXPANDING, WHEN WE WERE INITIATING THIS PROGRAM IN 2019, THE GOAL OBVIOUSLY WAS TO DO WHAT YOU JUST MENTIONED, BUT WE STILL WEREN'T DOING IT CORRECTLY BECAUSE I REMEMBER I WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THAT.
AND WHEN WE LOOK AT THE STATISTICS, FOR EXAMPLE, SOUTHEAST DALLAS IS HAS BEEN ONE OF THE AREAS OR HAD BEEN ONE OF THE AREAS THAT HAD THE HIGHEST LACK OF INTERNET ACCESS FOR, FOR HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN.
SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BEING THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THIS.
THANK YOU. VICE CHAIRMAN SCHULTZ.
THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. I COMPLETELY SUPPORT WHAT MY COLLEAGUE JUST SHARED ON THIS, AND IT'S WORTH ANOTHER LOOK AT HOW WE DO IT THROUGH THE LENS OF THE RACIAL EQUITY PLAN, I THINK IS THE WAY TO DO IT, BECAUSE IT DOES INCLUDE NOT JUST PEOPLE WHO ARE WHO ARE STUDYING ENGLISH OR GEDS.
IT COULD ALSO INCLUDE FAMILIES.
ALSO, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IF WE COULD POSSIBLY GET A BRIEFING ON WHERE WE ARE WITH EVERYTHING, BECAUSE YOU ALL KNOW THAT THERE'S OTHER RESOURCES THAT WE MAY NOT BE AWARE OF, AND ESPECIALLY THROUGH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OR DALLAS COLLEGE, THEY MAY BE DOING SOME OF THESE SAME THINGS WITH HOTSPOTS.
SO IF WE COULD GET A CITY WIDE APPROACH TO HOW WE'RE DEALING WITH THESE DIGITAL INEQUITIES, PARTICULARLY WITH THE ACP ENDING, I HAVEN'T HEARD THAT IT'S BEING RENEWED YET.
AND SO UNTIL THAT TIME, THERE'S GOING TO BE THOUSANDS MORE FAMILIES WHO'VE BECOME DEPENDENT ON THAT COST REDUCTION THAT ARE NOW GOING TO BE ARE GOING TO BE EXITING, I THINK, INTERNET ACCESS INTO THEIR HOMES.
AND SO HOW ARE WE ADDRESSING THAT HOLISTICALLY? THAT WOULD BE THE BRIEFING THAT I THINK ALL OF COUNCIL WOULD WANT TO BENEFIT FROM, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I BELIEVE WE JUST SUPPORTED OUR INTERIM CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION NOT TO INVEST IN THAT QUOTE UNQUOTE, MIDDLE MILE.
SO, THE WHOLE PICTURE NEEDS TO BE PRESENTED TO US.
HOW LONG IS THE CHECKOUT FOR THESE 30 DAYS.
SO YOU HAVE TO RE-UP EVERY 30 DAYS.
YOU HAVE TO RETURN IT, AND MOST LIKELY IT'LL GO TO ANOTHER PERSON.
AND THEN YOU GET BACK ON THE LIST.
OKAY, SO REALLY, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, LIKE, A 30 DAY USAGE AND THEN BEFORE.
OKAY. AND THEN YOU MAY WAIT 2 OR 3 MONTHS TO CHECK IT OUT AGAIN.
ONE THING THAT CONCERNED ME ON HERE WAS IT SAYS THAT SOMETIMES CHECKING MATERIALS BACK IN BECAUSE THERE MIGHT BE PIECES MISSING, IT CAUSES CONFLICTS WITH THE PUBLIC FOR LIBRARY PERSONNEL. IS THIS A SAFETY ISSUE OR IS IT JUST, YOU KNOW, IT IS A CONFLICT ISSUE SO PEOPLE CAN BECOME SOMEWHAT AGGRESSIVE WITH US WHEN WE'RE CHARGING THEM FOR A PART THAT'S MISSING, WHETHER IT'S THE CHARGING CORD OR VARIOUS OTHER ELEMENTS THAT GO OUT IN THIS PACKET.
SO IT'S JUST A CUMBERSOME PROCESS.
[01:55:05]
WELL, WHEN WE HAVE WE HAVE SPARE PARTS FOR THEM BECAUSE THEY DO HAVE MULTIPLE PARTS.RIGHT. AND WHEN SOME DON'T EVER COME BACK AND WE CAN TURN THEM OFF REMOTELY, SO THEY NO LONGER HAVE THE ACCESS TO THE HOTSPOT. IT JUST BECOMES A PIECE OF PLASTIC AT THAT POINT.
THEN THAT ONE IS OUT OF COMMISSION FOR US.
HOW MANY MORE WOULD YOU SAY? 3000. 3000.
SO NOW WE'RE DOWN TO 1800? YES, MA'AM. OKAY, WELL, THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW TOO.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT DATA TOO, BECAUSE IT MAY BE THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN AREAS THAT RELY ON THIS MORE AND THAT MAYBE WE TAKE A MID STEP AND NOT JUST CUT THAT OFF, BUT ALSO UNDERSTANDING THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME OTHER FACTORS AROUND THE MAINTENANCE AND THE DEALING WITH THE PERSONNEL.
AND THEN ALSO ABOUT ALMOST HALF NOW NOT COMING BACK.
AND THEN SOMETHING THAT WAS TOUCHED ON ABOUT TRANSPORTATION, WHICH IS CRITICAL.
I MEAN, NOT EVERYBODY CAN JUST HOP IN A CAR AND GO TO THE LIBRARY.
I HAVE THAT INFORMATION ALREADY.
I CAN SEND IT TO YOU. OH, WONDERFUL.
OKAY. AND THEN AND THERE IS EXTERNAL AVAILABILITY OF WI-FI AROUND LIBRARIES.
I MEAN, IF YOU WERE ABLE TO GET TO THE LOCATION AND IT WASN'T OPEN.
YOU HAVE TO GET WITHIN ABOUT TEN, 20FT OF THE BUILDING IN MOST LOCATIONS.
BUT WE DO HAVE FIVE LOCATIONS WHERE WE EXTENDED THE WI-FI WELL BEYOND THE PARKING LOT DURING COVID.
AND WE HAVE PLANS FOR DOING THAT IN THE FUTURE.
BUT WE DO HAVE FIVE LOCATIONS NOW WHERE IT'S EXPANDED INTO THE PARKING LOT.
AND STILL THOSE AREN'T THE BEST CONDITIONS, BUT AT LEAST THERE'S AVAILABILITY.
WE'RE STILL BRIDGING OUT OF THIS.
AND BUT I THINK THERE'S ALSO A DOWNSIDE TO IT.
SO WE JUST THIS IS SOMETHING WE JUST NEED TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT I THINK.
I JUST WANT TO JUST ECHO THE SENTIMENTS OF BOTH COUNCIL MEMBER RESENDEZ AND COUNCILWOMAN SCHULTZ IN THAT IF YOU IF YOU'RE JUST LOOKING AT IT AT THIS POINT, IT FEELS LIKE WE ARE.
I'LL SPEAK FROM THE INTENTIONS OF FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE PEOPLE FIRST, IT FEELS LIKE WE'RE TRYING TO CUT THE MOST VULNERABLE OFF BASED ON THE DECISIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN MAKING.
NOT THAT WE'RE DOING THAT, BUT WITHOUT TAKING THAT COLLECTIVE LOOK.
AND I THINK YOU SAID IT IN THE WORD YOU WERE MISSING WAS EFFICIENTLY, EFFECTIVELY AND COLLECTIVELY TO TAKE A STEP BACK TO SEE ARE THERE OTHER PROGRAMS IN PLACE? AND IF THEY'RE NOT, THEN I CAN'T SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, GETTING RID OF THIS BECAUSE YOU SAID IT YOURSELF.
THE WAITLIST IS A THREE MONTH WAITLIST.
AND IF PEOPLE ARE RECYCLING THEMSELVES BACK INTO THIS.
SO THERE SHOWS THAT THERE'S A DEMAND AND THERE'S A NEED.
AND I THINK IN TERMS OF LIBRARY SERVICES, WHILE THIS ISN'T A PRIMARY SERVICE OF THE LIBRARY, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT AND SEE, OKAY, WHAT IS THE REAL IMPACT FROM A PERSONAL IMPACT, BUT ALSO FROM AN ECONOMIC.
DOES THAT MEAN ARE THEY USING THESE TO GET JOBS AND ALL THAT? I KNOW WE'RE NOT TRACKING THAT, BUT THAT'S THE IMMEASURABLE IMPACT THAT I THINK WE'RE MAYBE OVERLOOKING WITHOUT TAKING THAT COLLECTIVE LOOK OF WHAT THE IMPACT IS.
BUT SO AGAIN, I CAN'T SUPPORT THIS ITEM.
AND THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER RESENDEZ FOR THAT.
THAT WAS VERY ELOQUENT. THANK YOU.
ANYONE ELSE? FINAL COMMENTS? QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, MISS GUIDICE, FOR YOUR PRESENCE HERE TODAY.
THAT LEAVES US WITH THE FORECAST.
WERE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FORECAST? YES, MISS WILLIS, THANK YOU.
AND SO I WOULD ASK THAT WHEN THAT REPORT IS FINAL, WHICH I THINK IT'S CLOSE TO THAT, THAT GO ON AND BE ISSUED AS A MEMO, SINCE IT'S A WORK PRODUCT OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL, SO THAT WE CAN, COUNCIL CAN GET IT, NOT JUST THIS COMMITTEE.
[02:00:07]
ANY DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE.IS THAT POSSIBLE? I WANT TO DEFER TO CASEY BURGESS ON THE MEMO TIMING ITSELF.
AND THEN I CAN SPEAK TO THE OTHER ISSUE THAT YOU FLAGGED.
YEAH, I CAN DEFINITELY PASS IT ALONG TO THE IAG SO YOU CAN GET THAT OUT EARLY FOR YOU GUYS.
YEAH, I THINK IT'S A CITY ATTORNEY CALL.
AND THEN I'M SORRY YOU HAD A FOLLOW ON THAT.
CERTAINLY, BASED ON THE FINDINGS AND THE INFORMATION THAT WE RECEIVE WILL BE EVALUATED TO SEE IF THAT IS A FACTOR AND, AND MAKE APPROPRIATE ACTIONS OR RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON WHAT WE LEARN. THANK YOU.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR BUSINESS FOR TODAY.
AND THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT 11:01 A.M..
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.