[1. Call to Order]
[00:00:03]
GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE.UH, IT IS 6:00 PM AND I WANT TO CALL THE SPECIAL MEETING THE WORK SESSION OF THE DESOTO CITY COUNCIL TO ORDER.
AT THIS TIME, I'M GONNA ASK OUR CITY SECRETARY IF SHE WOULD CONDUCT A ROLL CALL.
COUNCIL MEMBER NICOLE RAPHAEL.
COUNCIL MEMBER CRYSTAL CHISHOLM HERE.
THANK YOU, MADAM CITY SECRETARY.
[2. Presentation and discussion regarding the creation of green space requirements for residential and commercial developments in the City of DeSoto]
HAVE THE FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA.FIRST WE HAVE PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION REGARDING THE CREATION OF GREEN SPACE REQUIREMENTS FOR RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CITY OF DESOTO.
MAKING THAT PRESENTATION IS BESTER, ZI PLANNING AND ZONING MANAGER.
AND THE MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL.
SO TONIGHT WE ARE GOING TO, UH, GET BACK TO THE TOPIC THAT WE, UH, STARTED TALKING ABOUT ON JULY 17TH, 2023 WHEN WE HAD THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION, AS WELL AS THE CITY COUNCIL TOGETHER DISCUSSING ON GREEN SPACE AND GREEN SPACE.
AS WE ALL KNOW, IT'S ONE OF THE STRATEGIC PLANNING, UH, GOAL FOR 2023 BUSINESS PLAN AND SPECIFIC GOAL NUMBER 10.
AND THE REASON FOR TWO DAYS PRESENTATION IS TO PROVIDE FOLLOW UP INFORMATION TO THE COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE ON THE EIGHTH JULY 17 MEETING.
WE WANT TO ALSO ESTABLISH A FRAMEWORK FOR GREEN SPACE ORDINANCE AND IDENTIFY NEXT STEPS IN THE PROCESS OF RE CREATING THAT ORDINANCE.
AT THE JULY 17 MEETING, WE, WE, WE HAD DEFINITIONS.
WE TALKED ABOUT DEFINITIONS OF GREEN SPACE.
WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE BENEFITS OF GREEN SPACE, WHICH INCLUDED ENVIRONMENTAL, MENTAL, SOCIAL, AND PHYSICAL BENEFITS.
WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT THE CURRENT GREEN SPACE REQUIREMENTS THAT, UH, THE CITY OF
HOWEVER, THAT POINT WE DIDN'T, UM, I DIDN'T MAKE MENTION OF THE GREEN SPACE REQUIREMENTS THAT WE DO HAVE WITHIN OUR MIXED USE.
UM, MIXED USE ONE, MIXED USE TWO AS WELL AS MIXED USE RESIDENTIAL, BUT I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT THEM TODAY.
WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT THE BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES THAT ARE IMPLEMENTED BY OTHER CITIES.
AND WE HAD A, A DISCUSSION AND FEEDBACK FROM YOU ALL AND SOME OF THE, UM, FEEDBACK THAT WE, WE GOT FROM THAT SE JULY 17 MEETING WAS, UH, ISSUES AS ACREAGE VERSUS, UM, UNITS.
WHAT IS THE BEST PRACTICE IN TERMS OF IF WE ARE GOING TO REQUIRE GREEN SPACE, ARE WE GOING TO GO WITH ACREAGE OR ARE WE GOING TO GO WITH A NUMBER OF UNITS? WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT, UH, THAT WHEN WE ARE GOING TO DEFINE, UH, GREEN SPACE, WE HAVE TO INCLUDE THE REASON WHY AND THE BENEFITS OF GREEN SPACE.
WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT, UM, THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GOT WAS, UH, WE, WHEN WE COME BACK TO THIS DISCUSSION, AGAIN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DEFINE WHAT IS USABLE.
WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE FACT THAT WE NEED TO GO OUT THERE AND BE ABLE TO GET INPUT FROM DEVELOPERS AS WELL AS, UH, TO CHECK WITH THE CITY ATTORNEYS TO MAKE SURE THAT WHATEVER WE ARE GOING TO DO IS NOT GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT IS HIDDEN, THAT IS NOT LEGAL.
AS WELL AS, UH, THERE WAS A QUESTION AND ISSUE ABOUT, UH, RETENTION PONDS.
CAN THOSE BE USED TO MEET THE GREEN SPACE REQUIREMENTS? THEY SAW THERE WAS ALSO ISSUES ABOUT THE SIZE OF DEVELOPMENT.
SHOULD WE REQUIRE DEVELOPMENT, UM, ON EVERY DEVELOPMENT OR CERTAIN DEVELOPMENTS? SO LIKE, SHOULD WE REQUIRE, SAY FOR A LITTLE RESTAURANT THAT IS COMING INTO TOWN, SHOULD WE REQUIRE GREEN SPACE OR SHOULD THIS BE ONLY APPLIED TO BIG, UH, SUBDIVISION OR THINGS OF THAT NATURE? SO WE WERE ALSO ENCOURAGED TO GO AND, UM, RESEARCH OTHER CITIES, BOTH WITHIN TEXAS AS WELL AS OUTSIDE OF TEXAS.
AND ALSO THERE WAS A QUESTION ABOUT, UM, THE VACANT LAND THAT IS AVAILABLE, UH, TO SEE WHETHER THIS IS EVEN NECESSARY DEPENDING ON THE, THE SIZE AND THE, UM, AMOUNT OF LAND THAT IS STILL VACANT.
WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT THE, UH, THERE WAS ALSO AN ISSUE ABOUT, UH, UH, OTHER CITIES GIVING ANY INCENTIVES TO DEVELOPERS FOR THEM TO PROVIDE OPEN SPACES OR GREEN SPACES.
[00:05:01]
ABOUT OUR VACANT SPACES, WE, WE, UM, ASKED OUR GIS SPECIALISTS TO GIVE US A MAP, AND I WANT THE ONE, THE ONE, THE ON THE SCREEN IS THE MAP THAT IS SHOWING THE CURRENT VACANT SPACES THAT WE HAVE IN THE CITY.AND ACCORDING TO THE NUMBERS THAT WE HAVE, WE CURRENTLY HAVE, UH, 20% OF, UH, THE LAND IN, IN, IN
AND TODAY THE AIM IS FOR US, WE ARE AIMING TO AT LEAST PROPOSE AN ORDINANCE FRAMEWORK.
AND THIS ORDINANCE WILL BE BASED ON THIS FRAMEWORK WILL BE TO SATISFY THE STRATEGIC PLAN GOAL NUMBER 10.
IT IS ALSO GOING TO BE BASED ON THE BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FROM OTHER CITIES THAT WE HAVE RESEARCHED.
IT'LL ALSO BE BASED ON THE INFORMATION THAT WE GOT FROM YOU ALL ON THE EIGHTH JULY 17 MEETING.
AND, UH, IT'LL ALSO BE BASED ON FURTHER RESEARCH THAT WE DID, WHICH INCLUDED CITIES OF FRISCO, PLANO, ARLINGTON, OVERLAND PARK IN KANSAS, BORDER CITY IN COLORADO, AS WELL AS GRAND PRAIRIE AND LANCASTER, INCLUDING RED OAK.
SO IF WE ARE GOING TO HAVE AN ORDINANCE, WE OUGHT TO HAVE THE INTENT.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE? ARE WE JUST GOING TO HAVE IT FOR THE SAKE OF HAVING IT? WHAT, WHAT ARE THE REASONS WHY WE OUGHT TO HAVE, UH, GREEN SPACER ORDINANCE? AND WHAT OF THE REASONS WILL BE FOR, FOR US TO OFFER TO OFFER PUBLIC CONGREGATION AND RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES? IT'LL BE, THE PURPOSE WILL BE FOR, FOR USE AND ENJOYMENT OF RESIDENTS, EMPLOYEES, AND USERS.
IT'LL ALSO FOR, FOR, FOR THE USE OF SOCIAL, MENTAL AND PHYSICAL BENEFITS.
IT'LL ALSO BE FOR, TO, TO PRESERVE THE NATURAL AREAS AND RESOURCES TO REDUCE HEAT ISLAND EFFECTS, AS WELL AS ENHANCING STORM AND AIR QUALITY AS WELL AS, UH, FLOOD MITIGATION.
SO THAT WILL BE THE REASONS OR THE PURPOSES WHY WE NEED TO ESTABLISH A, A GREEN SPACE ORDINANCE.
IF WE ARE GOING TO ESTABLISH ONE, AND THIS WILL BE THE GENERAL DESIGN OR GENERAL GUIDELINES THAT WILL GUIDE DEVELOPERS, IF WE GO FORWARD WITH ESTABLISHING THIS ORDINANCE, THIS WILL BE THE DESIGN GUIDELINES, WHICH WILL INCLUDE, UH, THE FACT THAT THESE ARE GREEN SPACES.
THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE AN AFTERTHOUGHT.
UH, WHEN SOMEONE IS DESIGNING, SAY, A, A SUBDIVISION, THEY'LL JUST THROW IT AT THE END OF THE SUBDIVISION BECAUSE THEY CANNOT REALLY, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE NOT THINKING THROUGH IT OR MAKING IT PART OF THEIR, THEIR, THEIR DESIGN.
SO IT HAS TO BE VITAL, UH, PART OF THE DEVELOPMENT.
THESE GREEN SPACES OUGHT TO BE COMPLIMENT, OUGHT TO COMPLIMENT, AS WELL AS CONNECT TO OTHER GREEN SPACES.
THEY OUGHT TO BE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL SITES WITHIN THE DEVELOPMENT.
WE DON'T WANT A SITUATION WHEREBY, UH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE, MAYBE THE FAR END OF THE SUBDIVISIONS ARE THE ONES WHO ARE BENEFITING BECAUSE THERE'S JUST THAT ONLY GREEN SPACE THAT WAS PROVIDED RIGHT AT THE END OF A DEVELOPMENT.
WE WANT IT TO BE IDEALLY IN THE CENTRAL LOCATION WHERE EVERYBODY CAN BE ABLE TO GO WITHIN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME.
AND, UM, I'VE NOTED HERE THAT IT CAN BE, WE CAN MAKE A REQUIREMENT THAT IT HAS TO BE WITHIN 0.3 MILES, OR WE CAN SAY WE WANT IT TO BE WITHIN FIVE MINUTES WALK.
AND THESE AREAS, WE ALSO WANT THEM TO BE COMPACT AND CONTIGUOUS, AND WE ARE NOT GOING TO JUST SAVE THEM, YOU KNOW, GIVE US A LITTLE TRIANGLE, RECTANGLE, WHATEVER, BUT IT HAS TO BE A MINIMUM OF 15,000 SQUARE FEET.
AND THESE AREAS, THESE GREEN SPACES, THEY HAVE TO BE CLEARLY DEFINED AND SEPARATED, SEPARATED FROM TRAFFIC, UH, FROM VEHICULAR TRAFFIC.
THIS IS FOR, FOR SAFETY REASONS, WITH ONE SITUATIONS WHEREBY THEY SAY GREEN SPACE THAT HAS BEEN PROVIDED, BUT THERE'S A BUSY ROAD IN BETWEEN.
SO MUCH SO THAT PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY KIDS, THEY CANNOT FREELY JUST WALK TO THE OTHER SIDE OR GO TO THE GREEN SPACE TOO, TO MAKE USE OF IT.
WE WANT THIS GREEN SPACES TO BE CONNECTED TO.
WALKWAY IS DESIGNED TO CREATE COMFORTABLE, CONVENIENT, AND SAFE WALKING ENVIRONMENT.
WE ALSO WANT THESE GREEN SPACES TO, TO, TO BE WIDE ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE TREES, PEDESTRIAN LIGHTING, STREETS, FURNITURE AND OTHER FURNISHINGS.
IT IS, THEY HAVE TO BE DESIGNED IN SUCH A WAY THAT THEY CAN CONNECT TO FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS.
SO MUCH SO THAT IF, IF A DEVELOPMENT IS GONNA COME AND THEY HAVE LEARNED THAT IS NOT DEVELOPED, THAT IS CONTIGUOUS TO THAT, UH, DEVELOPMENT, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IF THEY ARE GOING TO PROVIDE GREEN SPACES, THEY WILL SOMEWHAT SOME CONNECTION MAYBE THROUGH A TRAIL, THROUGH A SIDEWALK.
SO THAT THAT WAY THEY ARE, THEY'RE ALL CONNECTED.
WE WANT TO ALSO MAKE SURE THAT THESE GREEN SPACES ARE CONNECTED TO EXISTING PLANNED
[00:10:01]
TRAILS, PARKS, AND NEIGHBORHOODS.AND TO GO INTO MORE SPECIFICS, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, IF IT IS SINGLE FAMILY UNITS, WE WANT TO BE THE, WE WANT THEM TO BE WITHIN CERTAIN DISTANCE FROM GREEN SPACE.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE CAN SAY 80% OF THE RESIDENTIAL UNITS, WE WANT THEM TO BE WITHIN 800 FEET, AND THAT 800 FEET WILL BE, UH, CONNECTING SOMEONE TO A, AT LEAST A MINIMUM OF 15,000, 1500 SQUARE FEET, GREEN SPACE.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE NECESSARILY LIKE THAT.
AND ALSO WITHIN, WITHIN THIS GREEN, GREEN SPACES, WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE ACCEPTABLE AMENITIES.
THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS, UH, WE TALKED ABOUT IT AT LENGTH UP MEETING WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS AS WELL AS PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSIONERS SAYING THAT, UH, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT AT LEAST IT'S USABLE.
IT'S NOT JUST A GREEN SPACE WITH JUST LAWN AND THAT'S IT.
IT'S IN THAT CASE, IT'S JUST AN, A GREEN SPACE THAT HAS JUST BEEN OPENED.
BUT IN, IN THIS, UH, IF WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A GREEN SPACE ORDINANCE, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE GREEN SPACES THEY ARE BEING, UM, WE ARE REQUIRING THAT THEY BE ACCEPTABLE AMENITIES.
AND I'M GOING TO MAKE MENTION OF THOSE AMEN AMENITIES, UM, IN THE NEXT SLIDES.
AND, UH, FOR, FOR THE, UM, TOWN HOMES AS WELL AS MULTIFAMILY, UH, IN
AND THIS IS THE PART THAT WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT LAST TIME, WHERE WE, WE DO HAVE, UH, REQUIREMENTS FOR MIXED USES FOR THESE MIXED USES.
WE DO REQUIRE THAT, UH, THEY PROVIDE 10% OF NET LAND AREA.
AND WHEN WE ARE TALKING ABOUT LAND NET LAND AREA, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WHEN THEY HAVE ALREADY TAKEN THE ROLES, THEY HAVE ALREADY TAKEN WHATEVER EASEMENTS THAT MAY BE REQUIRED FOR THAT PROPERTY.
THE NET LAND AREA IS WHERE WE, AS THIS, OUR CURRENT ORDINANCE SAYS THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE 10% OF THE, THE, THE NET L AREA OF DATA DEVELOPMENT IN A MIXED USE RESIDENTIAL AND MIXED USE RESIDENTIAL FOR YOU THAT SOME OF YOU THAT MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH IT IS, UH, THIS IS, UH, WHERE WE HAVE, UM, UH, USES LIKE TOWN HOMES MIXED WITH, UH, MAYBE, UM, UM, APARTMENTS.
AND THIS IS WHERE WE HAVE A MIXTURE OF, UH, DIFFERENT, UH, RESIDENTIAL USES.
AND WE DO HAVE THAT IN OUR, IN OUR ORDINANCE.
AND WITH THAT, UM, MULTIM, UM, MIXED USE RESIDENTIAL, WE REQUIRE 20% OF THE NET LAND AREA.
SO THESE ARE THE CURRENT RESIDENTIAL, UM, UH, GREEN SPACE REQUIREMENTS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR MIXED USES, UH, ZONING DISTRICTS.
HOWEVER, WE ARE SAYING WITHIN THIS, SINCE WE ALREADY HAVE THEM, WHAT WE JUST NEED TO, WE, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE IS THAT WHENEVER A DEVELOPMENT COMES, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS 10% ARE NET AREA, 20% NET AREAS.
THEY DO HAVE WHAT WE WERE GOING TO CALL OUR ACCEPTABLE AMENITIES.
MR. SO TO JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, UM, NET LAND AREAS, JUST SIMPLY THE AREA THAT'S NOT BEING BUILT ON, IS THAT? YES.
AND, AND ALSO IT IS AREA THAT WHEN YOU HAVE TAKEN THINGS LIKE EVEN ROADWAYS AND ALL THAT.
THESE ARE THE USE OF GREEN SPACE FOR NON RESIDENTIAL AREA, BECAUSE OUR, THE GOAL WAS TO LOOK AT BOTH RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
AND, UH, THIS ONE, WE DON'T HAVE IT AS YET IN OUR ORDINANCE.
SO IF WE ARE GOING TO HAVE AN, UM, AN ORDINANCE, WE COULD, OTHER CITIES ARE REQUIRING THAT, UH, FOR 10, 10,000 TO 50,000 SQUARE FEET, UH, THERE HAS TO BE PROVISION OF 3% OF THAT GROWTH SITE IS GREEN SPACE.
AND, UH, FOR AREAS OF NON RESIDENTIAL USES, COMMERCIAL USES THAT HAVE MORE THAN 50,000 SQUARE FEET THERE A REQUIREMENT FOR 5% OF THE GROWTH AREA.
AND, UM, I'M SORRY, I THINK WE USE THE, THE, UM, POWERPOINT.
BUT ANYWAY, I, I HAVE, I HAD GIVEN SOME EXAMPLES OF HOW WE CAN BE ABLE TO HAVE THE 3%, THE 10% USING OTHER PICTURES FROM OTHER CITIES.
SO, SO IN TERMS OF INCENTIVES, UH, THINGS THAT CAN BE USED, UH, TO INCENTIVIZE, UH, DEVELOPERS, UH, WE CAN, WE CAN GIVE THEM, UM, IF THEY ARE GIVE US AMENITIES AROUND DETENTION PONDS, THEN THAT POND CAN BE COUNTED TOWARDS THE, THE GREEN SPACE REQUIREMENT.
BUT THAT IS IF THEY HAVE PROVIDED SOME, SOME IMPROVEMENTS AS WE ARE GOING TO
[00:15:01]
SEE AROUND THOSE DETENTION PONDS, WE CAN ALSO GIVE, UM, CREDIT FOR, UM, DEVELOPERS WHO MAY CHOOSE, NOT ALL, NOT CHOOSE, BUT WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE REQUIRED GREEN SPACE WITHIN THEIR DEVELOPMENT.THEY CAN CHOOSE TO SAY, OKAY, WELL, I'M NOT ABLE TO DO IT ON MY SITE, BUT I CAN PAY FOR SOME PARK REQUIRE, I MEAN, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE NEEDED IN OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY.
SO THAT WAY THEY ARE GIVEN CREDIT.
WE ARE NOT JUST GOING TO LET THEM SAY, OKAY, THAT'S OKAY.
YOU CANNOT PROVIDE, NO, YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.
YOU CANNOT DO IT HERE, BUT MAYBE YOU CAN GIVE MONEY TOWARDS OTHER IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE NEEDED IN THE CITY.
SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE ACCEPTABLE, UM, AMENITIES.
THINGS LIKE LANDSCAPING, TREES, SIDEWALKS, BENCHES, TENNIS COURTS, GAZEBOS, PAVILIONS, WATER FEATURES, IF IT IS A DETENTION OR RETENTION POND, DOG PARK, ARTWORK, UH, A FINISHED PLAY AREA.
AND FOR OWNERSHIP, WE KNOW THAT THE CITY WOULD NOT WANT TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THAT WE REQUIRE.
HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION AS WELL AS PROPERTY OWNER ASSOCIATION.
PROPERTY OWNER ASSOCIATION IS NORMALLY, UH, ASSOCIATED WITH COMMERCIAL, UH, PROPERTIES.
AND THESE ARE SOME OF THE EXAMPLES THAT WE COULD PULL THAT ARE, THAT SHOWS, UH, UH, THE USABLE GREEN SPACES.
YOU CAN SEE THAT THIS GREEN SPACE HERE, THEY DO HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, LANDSCAPING.
THEY DO HAVE SIDEWALKS AS WELL AS THIS ONE.
THEY DO HAVE SOMEWHERE TO SIT.
THE PLAY AREAS FOR KIDS GREEN AREA, THIS IS ALSO ANOTHER GREEN AREA, AND THIS IS, WILL BE ASSOCIATED WITH COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES.
HERE IS, UH, THE ISSUE ABOUT DETENTION PONDS.
THEY CAN PUT A SIDEWALK, THEY CAN PUT SIDEWALKS LIKE THIS, AND A, A WATER FEATURE.
AND THIS ONE ACTUALLY SHOWS A GAZEBO AS WELL AS PLACES TO SIT AS WELL AS, UM, SIDEWALKS.
AND THE NEXT STEPS THAT WE HAVE ARE THAT ARE, WE ARE GOING TO SEEK, UM, UM, SOME INPUT FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY.
I'M SURE THE OTHERS, THEY HAVE OTHER CITIES THAT THEY WORK WITH THAT HAVE THESE, UH, DEVELOPMENTS THAT THEY CAN HELP US WITH SOME OF THAT INFORMATION.
AND WE'RE ALSO GOING TO REACH OUT TO OUR DEVELOPERS AND SEE HOW THEY FEEL AND WHAT THEY THINK.
AND OBVIOUSLY WE ARE NOT GOING TO, TO GET A LOT OF, UH, SUPPORT FROM THERE.
BUT, UH, WE'LL DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
AND THEN I'LL HAVE, THEN AFTER THAT DRAFT WITH YOUR, WITH YOUR, WITH YOUR, WITH YOU GIVING US QUIET, WE'LL THEN DRAFT A GREEN SPACE ORDINANCE THAT WILL THEN TAKE TO, UH, TO PLANNING AND ZONING, AS WELL AS BRING IT BEFORE YOU.
AND HOPEFULLY AT THE END OF, AT THE END OF IT ALL, WE'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE A GREEN SPACE ORDINANCE.
AND I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
I HAD SOME PICTURES THAT I HAD DONE, BUT, UM, I GUESS WE'LL STOP HERE.
UH, COUNSEL, WE HAVE, WE KNOW WE HAVE THREE ITEMS, UH, ON OUR AGENDA TONIGHT.
SO WE WANNA BE, UM, COGNIZANT OF OUR COMMENT TIME.
SO I'VE ASKED, UH, I'VE ASKED MR. FIER IF HE CAN GET THE, UM, THE TIMER READY TO DO ROUNDS FOR COUNCIL COMMENTS.
COUNSEL, FIRST OF ALL, LET ME ASK, ARE THERE ANY, YOU DO HAVE COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS, SO WE WANNA GET THAT READY SO THAT WE CAN, UM, STAY ON TIME AND GET TO ALL OF OUR ITEMS ON AN AGENDA AND GET OUT AT A DECENT HOUR.
UM, SO COUNCIL MEMBER PARKER, UH, THERE'LL BE TWO MINUTES ALLOT WELL THREE MINUTES ALLOTTED PER COUNCILPERSON, UH, FOR CO FOR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, AFTER READING THROUGH IT, I, I ONLY HAVE REALLY, MINE IS FOCUSED AROUND THE DETENTION AND RETENTION.
AND JUST FOR THE SAKE OF, UH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE COMMUNITY INFORMATION RETENTION PONDS ARE THE ONES WITH THE WATER FEATURE.
DETENTION PONDS ARE SUPPOSED TO MOVE WATER AWAY, SO YOU WOULDN'T ACTUALLY HAVE A WATER FEATURE ON THOSE.
AND IN MY, UH, OPINION,
SO I GUESS MY QUESTION WOULD BE, WHEN YOU WERE SAYING GIVE, YOU KNOW, YOU HAD IN THERE ABOUT, UH, GIVING AN INCENTIVE, UM, IT ACTUALLY IS NECESSARY.
SO I'M NOT CERTAIN I WOULD UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE PART OF INCENTIVIZING SOMETHING THAT'S REQUIRED FOR A DEVELOPER TO DO, BUT, SO, OKAY, GO AHEAD.
SO THEY'RE REQUIRED, BUT THEY'RE NOT REQUIRED TO AMENITIZE THEM.
SO WE ARE SAYING WE WILL GIVE THEM CREDIT IF THEY AMENITIZE, THEY GIVE US SOME SIDEWALKS, THEY GIVE US LANDSCAPE AND ALL THAT, THAT STUFF.
SO THE PERIMETER ITEMS ARE THE YES.
ARE THE PIECES THAT WOULD GIVE THE INCENTIVE? YES.
AND THEN AS FAR AS THE GREEN SPACE IS CONCERNED, UH, I KNOW WE DON'T HAVE THIS NECESSARILY IN DESOTO, BUT I DID SEE ON ONE OF THE PICTURES YOU HAVE WHAT YOU WOULD CALL LIKE A,
[00:20:01]
A GARDEN, UM, SOME TYPE OF GARDEN WATER GARDEN OR SOMETHING THAT YOU HAD IN THERE.ARE YOU, ARE YOU SAYING THAT WELL, IT'S OKAY.
I'LL, I'LL LEAVE IT RIGHT THERE.
I JUST THINK I NEED TO TALK MORE ABOUT THE DETENTION POND AND THE RETENTION POND.
I WON'T ASK ABOUT THE OTHER ITEMS. I'LL LET THE OTHER COUNCILS I YIELD BACK.
COUNCIL, ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? COUNCILMAN BUR? THANK YOU, MADAM MAYOR, I JUST HAD ONE QUESTION.
UH, WHEN WE, UM, CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION AND PROBABLY NOT NOW, CURRENTLY WITH THIS REQUIREMENT FOR THE GREEN SPACES, UH, HAVE WE MADE A, A DECISION OF WHETHER OR NOT WE WILL STILL REQUIRE THE DEVELOPER TO PAY THE $500 PER LOT FEE CURRENTLY? OR WILL THIS BE IN LIEU OF, OR WILL THIS BE IN ADDITION TO? IT'S IN ADDITION TO, AND I ALSO DOUBLE-CHECKED WITH OTHER CITIES.
IT'S, IT'S, IT DOESN'T EXEMPT ANYONE FROM, UH, PAYING, THIS IS FOR PUBLIC PARK, BUT THESE ARE USABLE OPEN SOURCE WITHIN THAT SU SUBJECT SUBDIVISION.
SO IT'S NOT AN EXEMPT TO NOT PAY FOR PARK'S, UH, DEDICATION OR LAND OR FEE IN LAW OF IT'S OFF AND ABOVE.
AND TO GO BACK TO, UH, COUNCILWOMAN, UH, PARKER'S, I, I BELIEVE THE LAST TIME WE HAD THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE DETENTION AND THE RETENTION POND, IF THEY MAKE IT A, THE POND WITH THE FOUNTAIN, THEN IT BECOMES AN AMENITY.
IF IT'S JUST A, A, A, A NECESSARY REQUIREMENT, THEN IT, IT, THERE'S NO CREDIT.
IS THAT, THAT'S, IF I REMEMBER THOSE CONVERSATIONS, THAT'S WHERE WE WERE AT OUR LAST CONVERSATION ABOUT IT.
IF INSTEAD OF HAVING SOMETHING JUST REQUIRED THERE, WHICH WOULD BE THE WATER TO RUN THROUGH, IF THEY PUT A FOUNTAIN IN AND MAKE IT AN AMENITY AND ADD THOSE AMENITIES AROUND, THEN IT BECOMES AN AMENITY, NOT JUST A NECESSARY, UH, ITEM.
COUNCIL, ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? MM-HMM.
IF WE COULD START THE TIMER OVER.
THANK YOU, MADAM MAYOR, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
JUST WANTED TO KNOW, SO RELATING TO, OKAY, IF THEY GO WITH, LET'S ADD A WATER FIX, LET'S ADD SOME AMENITIES AROUND A RETENTION POND.
UM, CURRENTLY WITH HOAS AND RETENTION AND DETENTION PONDS, WHAT IS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY AND WHAT IS THE CITY'S RESPONSIBILITY? WHAT'S THE SEPARATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES? I DO BELIEVE THAT IT'S A HUNDRED PERCENT ON, UH, HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION.
THE CITY IS KNOWN, BUT IN TERMS OF, UH, MAINTAINING, UH, THE DETENTION PONDS.
OR RETENTION PONDS? YES, MA'AM.
AND SO IT WOULD BE THE SAME MOVING FORWARD IF THEY ADDED THESE AMENITIES? YES.
COUNSEL, ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? OKAY.
HEARING NON CITY MANAGER, RIGHT, DID YOU WANT TO INTERJECT? VERY GOOD.
SO AFTER, UH, THE INPUT FROM THE FIRST MEETING AND, UH, SOME INPUT FROM, UH, THIS MEETING, I THINK IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK AS FAR AS TAKING, UH, THESE RECOMMENDATIONS FORWARD TO P AND Z IN THE FORM OF A DRAFT ORDINANCE, HAVING THEM REVIEW IT, MAKE SOME CHANGES TO IT, OBVIOUSLY THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
UM, THEN ULTIMATELY BRINGING THAT BACK TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION.
IF THERE'S ANY CONCERNS WITH THAT PROCESS, WE'RE, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE IT INTO THE P AND Z'S MODE, UM, AT THIS POINT, AND THEN BRING IT BACK TO CITY COUNCIL AFTER THEY'VE HAD A CHANCE TO CONSIDER IT.
SO COUNCIL, IS THERE A, UH, IS THERE A CONSENSUS? MAYOR PRO TE, AGREED.
COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, MARKS? YES.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER RAPHAEL? YES.
AT THIS TIME WE'LL HAVE THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA.
[3. Presentation and discussion of the results of the 2023 Fire Station Feasibility Study]
NEXT WE HAVE PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS OF THE 2023 FIRE STATION FEASIBILITY STUDY.MAKING THAT PRESENTATION IS BRIAN SUTHER FIRE CHIEF.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR COUNCIL, HOW ARE Y'ALL? I KNOW AS MUCH Y'ALL LOVE TO HEAR ME SET UP HERE AND TALK.
I'M GONNA BRING THE EXPERT UP HERE.
I'VE GOT ROBERT FINN WITH ME FROM MATRIX CONSULTING GROUP.
HE'S THE ONE WHO ACTUALLY, UH, DID THIS, UH, STUDY FOR US.
AND I'M GONNA LET HIM PRESENT YOU ON THEN I, WE'LL BOTH BE HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
AS CHIEF SAID, UM, I'M ROBERT FINN WITH MATRIX CONSULTING GROUP, AND WE WERE TASKED WITH DOING THE FIRE STATION LOCATION STUDY.
UH, GIMME YOUR LAST NAME AGAIN, I'M SORRY.
SO JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MATRIX.
WE'VE, UH, BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR 20 YEARS.
I'VE WORKED IN 42 STATES AND HAVE DONE OVER 400 FIRE AND EMS, UH, STUDIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
I'VE BEEN WITH THE FIRM FOR 11 YEARS, SINCE I RETIRED FROM THE CITY OF SOUTHLAKE.
SO JUST, JUST A LITTLE BIT NORTH OF HERE.
IN TERMS OF THE PROJECT APPROACH.
THE WAY, UH, WE STARTED THE PROJECT, WE INITIATED THE PROJECT, HAD THE FIRE DEPARTMENT COLLECTING DATA, THEN DID A NUMBER OF INTERVIEWS WITH BOTH FIRE DEPARTMENT AND, AND CITY STAFF
[00:25:01]
TO UNDERSTAND THE CURRENT CONDITIONS, WHAT'S GOING ON AND, AND, UH, WHAT ANY CONCERNS WERE IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE EFFECTIVE FIRE AND EMS SERVICE DELIVERY TO THE COMMUNITY.AFTER THE DATA WAS COLLECTED, WE DID A CURRENT STATE ASSESSMENT TO, TO DETERMINE WHERE, WHERE THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS TODAY, WERE THERE ANY GAPS OR OVERLAPS IN, IN THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE SERVICE.
AND THEN FROM THERE WE MOVED INTO GIS MAPPING TO LOOK AT, UH, WHAT THE PREDICTABLE, UH, EXPECTED PERFORMANCE OF, OF THE SYSTEM IS BASED ON THE EXISTING STATIONS, LOOKING AT BOTH DESOTO AS WELL AS YOUR AUTOMATIC AID PARTNERS SINCE, SINCE YOU HAVE A REGIONAL RESPONSE USING, UH, CLOSEST UNIT RESPONSE AND, AND BOUNDARY DROPS IN THIS REGION, WHICH IS AN INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICE THAT, THAT YOU GUYS SHOULD BE PROUD OF.
AFTER THAT, WE, WE MET WITH, UM, PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TO LEARN ABOUT, OKAY, WHAT ARE THE FUTURE DEMANDS? WHERE'S DEVELOPMENT GONNA CONTINUE TO OCCUR? WHAT TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT'S GONNA OCCUR? AND THEN DID FORECASTING OF WHAT THAT WOULD, UH, MEAN IN TERMS OF SERVICE SERVICES.
UM, THEN WE MOVED INTO THE DRAFT AND FINAL REPORTS MEETING WITH STAFF AND, AND, UH, REVIEWING INTERIM DELIVERABLES TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE FACTUAL AND TO, AND TO SEE IF THERE WAS ANY OTHER QUESTIONS THAT, THAT WE NEEDED TO ANSWER BEFORE THE PROJECT WAS FINALIZED.
EARLY ON, THERE WAS SOME ISSUES WITH THE DATA FROM THE SOUTHWEST REGIONAL EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION CENTER.
SO WHEN WE'RE ANALYZING YOUR CURRENT STATE PERFORMANCE, THERE'S THREE THINGS IN THE, IN THE FIRE SERVICE THAT, THAT YOU LOOK AT SPECIFICALLY.
THE FIRST IS, UH, CALL PROCESSING TIME.
SO THAT'S WHEN THE DISPATCHER ANSWERS THE PHONE TO WHEN THEY DISPATCH THE UNITS.
THE SECOND IS WHAT'S REFERRED TO AS TURNOUT TIME, AND THAT'S HOW QUICKLY DO THE PERSONNEL GET UP, UH, STAFF THEIR APPARATUS AND GET EN ROUTE TO THE, THE EMERGENCY INCIDENT.
AND THEN THE FINAL COMPONENT IS TRAVEL TIME.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE YOU FROM YOUR EXISTING LOCATIONS TO ACTUALLY REACH THE, UH, EMERGENCY SCENE? SO THE WAY THEIR DATA WAS REPORTED, ALL THE, UH, TIMESTAMPS WERE IN WHOLE MINUTES.
AND THE REASON THAT'S A PROBLEM IS NOW YOU'VE GOT A PLUS OR MINUS 59 SECONDS WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT.
IT COULD HAVE BEEN AT 5 0 1 OR IT COULD HAVE BEEN AT 5 59, BUT WE DON'T KNOW.
SO THE SECOND THING WAS ALL THE RESPONDING UNITS WERE GIVEN THE SAME TIMESTAMP.
SO, SO IF FIVE UNITS WERE RESPONDING TO THIS CALL, WE ONLY ASSUME THAT WE'RE SEEING THE PERFORMANCE OF, OF THE FIRST UNIT IN TERMS OF HOW QUICKLY THEY TURNED OUT, WHAT THE ARRIVAL TIME WAS.
AND THEN WE ASSUMED IT WAS THE LAST UNIT FOR WHEN ALL APPARATUS WERE CLEARED.
BUT WE DON'T KNOW IF UNITS WERE CANCELED EN ROUTE.
WE DON'T KNOW IF SOME UNITS CLEARED THE SCENE SOONER THAN OTHERS OR, OR LATER THAN OTHERS.
WE DON'T KNOW THE ARRIVAL TIME.
SO, SO IT MADE WORKING WITH THE DATA DIFFICULT TO, UM, GET A, GET AN EXACT SYSTEM PERFORMANCE.
'CAUSE NORMALLY WE WOULD LOOK AT EACH UNIT INDIVIDUALLY.
UM, BUT THAT WASN'T POSSIBLE THE WAY THE DATA WAS PRESENTED.
WHEN WE LOOKED AT YOUR CURRENT STATION SITUATION AND, AND THE CALL DEMAND, YOU CAN SEE THAT, UM, FAR NORTH AT THE HOSPITAL DISTRICT, THERE'S, THERE'S A, A CLUSTER OF, OF HIGH CALL DEMAND AS WELL AS MORE TO THE CENTRAL REGION, UH, OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN AS YOU GET, UM, TO THE OUTLYING AREAS FURTHER SOUTH, THERE'S, THERE'S A, A LIGHTER CALL DEMAND OVER THE THREE YEARS THAT WE LOOKED AT THE DATA.
AND WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PERFORMANCE, SO THERE'S THREE ORGANIZATIONS THAT PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY USES TO BENCHMARK YOUR PERFORMANCE.
AGAIN, THE FIRST IS THE NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION, NFPA.
AND THEY'VE GOT A STANDARD NUMBER 1710 FOR CAREER FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
THAT'S, UH, BASICALLY A ONE SIZE FITS ALL.
SO IT, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU'RE ARLINGTON, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU'RE DESOTO, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU'RE SOUTH LAKE, IT'S FOUR MINUTES 90% OF THE TIME.
UM, FOR, FOR THE TRAVEL TIME COMPONENT, UM, THE INSURANCE SERVICES ORGANIZATION LOOKS AT YOUR ROAD NETWORK AND, AND HOW MANY MILES A ROAD NETWORK COMPARED TO WHERE YOUR FIRE STATIONS ARE TO DETERMINE HOW THEY RATE THE FIRE DEPARTMENT'S CAPABILITIES.
AND THEN THE LAST ORGANIZATION IS THE CENTER FOR PUBLIC SAFETY EXCELLENCE.
AND THEY, THEY LOOK AT IT AS STEP ONE, LOOK AT THE CURRENT CONDITIONS, WHAT'S THE SYSTEM CAPABLE OF DOING? AND THEN THAT BECOMES YOUR BASELINE PERFORMANCE.
AND THEN THE COMMUNITY ADOPTS STANDARDS FOR WHAT'S AN ACCEPTABLE TRAVEL TIME.
SO DESOTO WOULD PROBABLY NEVER BE A FOUR MINUTE, 90% OF THE TIME COMMUNITY AS MOST COMMUNITIES ARE NOT BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT MORE BUILT UPON AREAS AND THEN YOU'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, SUBURBAN AND A AND A LITTLE MORE RURAL AREAS MIXED, MIXED THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
SO A FOUR MINUTE ONE SIZE FITS ALL STANDARD IS PROBABLY NOT APPROPRIATE FOR THE COMMUNITY.
[00:30:01]
WE, WE LOOK AT EACH OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS AND THEN HAVE DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CHIEF ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES GOOD LOOK HERE LOOK LIKE HERE? HAS THE COUNCIL FORMALLY ADOPTED ANY PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR TRAVEL TIME? 'CAUSE WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT CALL PROCESSING AND TURNOUT TIMES, THOSE ARE CONTROLLABLE BY MEASURING AND REPORTING.YOU KNOW, IF, IF THE COMMUNICATION CENTER UNDERSTANDS THAT IT'S A ONE MINUTE, 90% OF THE TIME STANDARD AND YOU'RE MEASURING AND REPORTING, THEY'LL, THEY'LL GET TO THE POINT WHERE THEY CAN BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
SAME WITH YOUR TURNOUT TIMES, YOU SET THE STANDARD AND FIREFIGHTERS ARE COMPETITIVE, SO THEY'RE GONNA WANT TO MEET THAT PERFORMANCE STANDARD.
THE TRAVEL TIME COMPONENT, NOT AS CONTROLLABLE.
IT'S EITHER IMPROVEMENTS TO THE ROAD NETWORK OR YOU'RE BUILDING MORE STATIONS, BOTH OF WHICH ARE, ARE, UH, EXPENSIVE ENDEAVORS FOR THE, FOR THE CITY.
SO YOU HAVE TO TAKE THOSE THINGS ACCORDINGLY.
SO AGAIN, WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE TRAVEL TIME, YOU CAN SEE FROM 2020 THROUGH 2022, YOUR, YOUR TRAVEL TIME WENT UP, UH, ONE MINUTE.
NOW WE DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S A REALLY A FULL MINUTE OR NOT, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE AN INCREMENTAL IN THERE SOMEWHERE, BUT, BUT USING THE WHOLE MINUTES THAT WE WERE GIVEN.
SO THEN WE BALANCED THAT WITH THE GIS MAPPING FOR HOW QUICKLY BASED ON THIS REGIONAL RESPONSE.
SO THAT'S GOT CEDAR HILL, DESOTO AND, AND DUNCANVILLE UNITS, UM, MAPPED TO SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO.
AND YOU CAN SEE AT THE FAR NORTH AREA WHERE THAT, UH, LARGE CLUSTER OF, OF HIGH CALL VOLUME OCCURRED, YOU'RE UNABLE TO GET A UNIT, UH, IN THAT AREA WITHIN FIVE MINUTES AND 30 SECONDS.
AND THEN WHEN YOU GET DOWN TO THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE COMMUNITY, THE FAR RIGHT IS, IS NOT AS IMPORTANT.
IT'S, IT'S UNDEVELOPED LAND AND THERE'S VERY LITTLE ROAD NETWORK IN THERE.
SO, SO THE GIS MAPPING DOESN'T, DOESN'T SHOW THE ABILITY TO GET TO THAT PORTION, BUT YOU CAN SEE THE, THE MAJORITY OF YOUR FURTHER AREA DOWN SOUTH, UM, HAS GOT FIRST DUE RESPONSE ISSUES BECAUSE IT TAKES LONGER THAN FIVE MINUTES AND 30 SECONDS FOR A UNIT TO ARRIVE.
THE SECOND COMPONENT AFTER, AFTER WE LOOK AT THE FIRST UNIT IS, IS HOW WELL CAN YOU GET AN EFFECTIVE RESPONSE FORCE? SO 15 PERSONNEL ON A NORMAL RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURE FIRE IS THE, IS THE INDUSTRY STANDARD.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE MAJORITY OF OF YOUR CONSTRUCTION THAT WOULD FIT INTO THAT, YOU WANNA BE ABLE TO GET 15 PEOPLE ON SCENE.
UH, AND AGAIN, THOSE STANDARDS RANGE FROM FROM EIGHT TO 10 MINUTES, DEPENDING ON THE DENSITY OF THE, OF THE POPULATION IN THE AREAS.
SO YOU CAN SEE IN YOUR CONCENTRATION, AGAIN, DOWN SOUTH, YOU'RE ABLE TO GET BETWEEN THREE AND 10 PERSONNEL WITHIN EIGHT MINUTES.
AND THEN, UM, YOU CAN GET 11 TO 15 WITHIN 10 MINUTES, UH, TO, TO THE MAJORITY OF THE AREA EXCEPT WHEN YOU GET TO THE FAR SOUTH, EAST AND SOUTHWEST CORNERS OF, OF THE CITY.
SO, SO THAT TELLS YOU THERE'S TWO ISSUES.
ONE IS FIRST ARRIVING UNITS, YOU GOT DIFFICULTY GETTING SOMEONE THERE IN, IN A TIMELY FASHION TO BEGIN TO MITIGATE THE EMERGENCY.
AND THEN NUMBER TWO IS, UH, THERE'S A LARGE COURSE OF TOWN WHERE YOU CAN'T GET ENOUGH PEOPLE THERE QUICK ENOUGH TO, TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL MITIGATION OF THE EMERGENCIES.
SO THE FIRST AREA WE LOOKED AT WAS THAT HOSPITAL DISTRICT AREA WHERE THERE WAS A LARGE NUMBER OF CALLS.
UH, AND WE HAD RECENTLY COMPLETED A PROJECT FOR CEDAR HILL ON A STRATEGIC PLANNING, UH, STUDY.
AND WE FOUND A SIMILAR ISSUE HERE.
SO, SO WE LOOKED AT WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THOSE CALLS ARE MEDICAL CALLS AND, AND WHEN WERE THEY OCCURRING.
SO WHAT YOU HAVE IS A, A SYSTEM STRAIN IN DESOTO, DUNCANVILLE AND CEDAR HILL WHEN IT COMES TO DAYTIME, UH, ABOUT 12 HOUR WINDOW FROM 7:00 AM WHEN PEOPLE GET UP TO 7:00 PM WHEN THEY GET HOME WHERE, WHERE THEIR SYSTEM STRAIN ON THE, ON THE EMS SYSTEM, THERE'S MORE, MORE DEMAND FOR EMS UNITS THAN YOU HAVE, AND THAT CAUSES LONGER RESPONSE TIME.
SO CEDAR HILL HAD EXPRESSED A SIMILAR INTEREST AND WE FOUND THAT IN THE DATA, DUNCANVILLE HAD EXPRESSED A SIMILAR CONCERN, UH, AND PROVIDED US WITH DATA THAT CONFIRMED THAT.
AND THEN AGAIN, WE FOUND A SIMILAR ISSUE HERE.
SO, SO WE RECOMMENDED THE, THE FIRST STEP IN THIS WOULD BE TO LOOK AT THE IDEA OF A PEAK TIME EMS STATION.
SO YOU'RE NOT STAFFING IT 24 HOURS A DAY, IT CAN BE, YOU CAN WORK WITH YOUR REGIONAL PARTNERS, UM, ON SOME COST SHARING OPPORTUNITIES AND REVENUE SHARING OPPORTUNITIES SINCE, SINCE IT'S A SYSTEM REGIONAL ISSUE, UM, THERE WOULD BE OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK TO WORK WITH YOUR PARTNERS AND, AND FIX THAT AREA FIRST WITHOUT SPENDING THE MONEY.
THEN WE LOOKED AT THE DOWN SOUTH ISSUE.
THE, UH, THERE WAS THREE, UM, IDEAS POINTED OUT.
ONE WAS A STATION AT PARKVILLE AND WESTMORELAND ROAD IN YOUR COMMUNITY, AND THEN
[00:35:01]
A SECOND OPTION OF A STATION AT PARKVILLE ROAD IN SOUTH CROCKER HILL.AND THEN THE THIRD WAS, UH, PROPOSED BY CEDAR HILL OF, THEY HAD AN AREA WHERE THEY THOUGHT A STATION WOULD, WOULD WORK OUT.
WELL, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE STATION AT PARKVILLE AND, AND WESTMORELAND DOES A GREAT JOB OF COVERING THAT, THAT SOUTHERN AREA, UH, WITH GETTING, NOW YOU'RE ABLE TO GET RESOURCES TO THE MAJORITY OF THE SOUTHERN AREA IN, UH, IN FOUR MINUTES.
BUT IT DOES LITTLE FOR CEDAR HILL.
IT KIND OF STOPS RIGHT AT THE BORDER BECAUSE THERE'S A ROAD CONNECTIVITY ISSUE DOWN THERE WHERE YOU WIND UP HAVING TO GO UP AND AROUND TO GET FROM, FROM CEDAR HILL TO YOU GUYS AND, AND FROM, FROM YOU GUYS TO CEDAR HILL.
IS IT POSSIBLE YOU CAN USE YOUR POINTER? I HOPE SO.
SO, SO YOU CAN SEE THE, UH, THE CITY LIMITS HERE, UH, BECAUSE OF THAT ROAD CONNECTIVITY, THEN YOU GOTTA GO UP AND OVER TO, TO BE ABLE TO CROSS BETWEEN THE TWO CITIES.
SO, SO THAT ONE DOES A, A GOOD JOB FOR, FOR YOU GUYS, BUT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE IT A POTENTIAL JOINT STATION THAT WOULD WORK WELL FOR CEDAR HILL.
THE, UM, THE PARKVILLE AND, AND CROCKER HILL STATION, YOU CAN SEE IT, IT DOES A BETTER JOB OF, OF, AGAIN, IN THAT FOUR TO FIVE MINUTES AND 30 SECONDS HELPING, HELPING CEDAR HILL.
BUT STILL MOST OF WHAT IT'S DOING IS, IS SERVING YOUR COMMUNITY, BUT NOT AS WELL AS OPTION ONE.
UM, THE THIRD OPTION WAS THE, THE CEDAR HILL STATION PROPOSED HERE, AND YOU CAN SEE IT DOESN'T DO ANYTHING TO HELP HELP YOUR SITUATION.
SO IT'S ALL THAT WHITE AREA IS STILL UNCOVERED, NOT REACHED, INFORM, AND IT'S NOT REACHED IN IN FIVE MINUTES.
SO, SO OUR RECOMMENDATION FOR, FOR THE, THE BEST, UH, SERVICE OF THAT AREA WOULD BE THE PARKVILLE AND WESTMORELAND ROAD.
AND IF THERE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO A SHARED STATION WITH CEDAR HILL, THEN THE, THE PARK WEST PARKVILLE AND, AND SOUTH CROCKER HILL SITE WOULD SERVE YOUR COMMUNITY AND ALSO HELP THEM.
AND WHEN THAT, UH, CONNECTIVITY ISSUE WAS FIXED, IT, IT WOULD, UH, THEN BE ABLE TO PROVIDE EXCELLENT SERVICE TO THEM.
THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS NEEDED TODAY, AS YOU SAW, THERE WAS LOWER CALL DEMAND, BUT IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU GUYS WANNA START PLANNING FOR.
AND AS THE DEVELOPMENT OCCURS AND THE POPULATION CHANGES, YOU KNOW, ACQUIRE THE LAND, GET THE PLANNING FOR THE STATION, AND THEN YOU GOT THE CONSTRUCTION TIME.
SO, BUT YOU'RE PROBABLY WITHIN FIVE YEARS OF, OF WANTING TO GET THIS STATION UP AND RUNNING TO, TO EFFECTIVELY SERVE THAT SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE COMMUNITY.
WHEN IT CAME TO THE FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS, DEPENDING ON THE STATION SIZE, YOU'RE LOOKING BETWEEN FIVE AND, AND $7.3 MILLION IN TODAY'S DOLLARS, OBVIOUSLY, UH, DEPENDING ON WHAT HAPPENS WITH CONSTRUCTION COSTS AND, AND THOSE MATERIALS, THOSE, THOSE NUMBERS COULD CHANGE AS WE'VE SEEN OVER, OVER THE YEARS.
AND IT'D BE AROUND A LITTLE OVER 2 MILLION TO STAFF THE STATION COUNTING SALARIES AND BENEFITS.
UM, IN TERMS OF THE EMS PEAK TIME STAFFING, UH, YOU ARE LOOKING AROUND 416,000 A YEAR, BUT AGAIN, THERE'S COULD BE OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE THOSE COSTS WITH, WITH CEDAR HILL AND DUNCANVILLE SINCE THEY'RE EXPERIENCING THE SAME SYSTEM STRAIN THAT YOU GUYS ARE DURING THE, THE PEAK TIME HOURS.
SO IN TERMS OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, LIKE I SAID, UH, THE FIRST FIRST STEP WOULD BE THE EMS STATION AND WORKING WITH DUNCANVILLE AND CEDAR HILL TO SEE HOW THAT COULD WORK.
UM, THE, THE NEXT LONGER TERM WOULD BE TO DETERMINE WHERE, UH, COUNCIL DIRECT STAFF TO, TO SEEK LAND AND, AND CONSTRUCT THAT STATION TO SERVE THE, THE SOUTH AREA OF THE TOWN, BEGIN THE BUDGETING FOR THOSE, FOR THOSE CAPITAL COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT AND THE, AND THE PLANNING FOR ADDING STAFF.
AND TYPICALLY, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T WANT TO BRING A FULL FIRE STATION ON ALL AT ONCE, YOU KIND OF PHASE 'EM IN AND GET SOME OF THEM TRAINED IN UP AND RUNNING SO THAT IT'S NOT A, NOT A, A FULL GROUP OF, OF 12 OR 15 FOLKS COMING ON THAT, THAT ARE ALL ROOKIES AND, AND, UH, NOT HAVING THE, THE FULL EXPERIENCE AND THE, AND THE TIME TO GET ON.
SO I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR HAVE DISCUSSION AND CHIEF'S HERE AS WELL.
UM, THAT PRESENTATION, I DO HAVE JUST A, UM, A FEW CLARIFYING QUESTIONS TO YOUR PRESENTATION, IF THAT'S OKAY.
UM, YOU WERE SAYING FOR, AND CAN WE PUT, PUT THE SLIDES BACK UP FOR THIS, UM, THE BENCHMARK FOR THE AREA THAT IS OF, I GUESS THE MOST IMMEDIATE CONCERN IS THAT BOLTON BOONE AREA THERE.
UM, AND SO YOU WERE SAYING THAT THE, UM, THE BENCHMARK IS FOUR MINUTES, HOWEVER, WE'RE RUNNING ABOUT EIGHT MINUTES.
IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE SAYING? YOU'RE ABOUT SEVEN, SEVEN OR EIGHT MINUTES.
SO THAT'S A, SO A, A TYPICAL BENCHMARK
[00:40:01]
FOR A COMMUNITY LIKE YOURS, UM, IS IF YOU'VE GOT AN URBANIZED AREA WHERE IT'S, IT'S DENSELY POPULATED OR THERE'S HISTORIC OR CRITICAL RISKS IN TERMS OF LARGE ASSEMBLY PROPERTIES, UH, SO, SO SERIOUS RISK TO, TO THE ECONOMIC HEALTH OF THE CITY, SERIOUS RISK TO, TO LIFE AND PROPERTY, THEN THAT'S USUALLY WHERE COMMUNITIES LIKE YOU WOULD ADOPT THAT FOUR MINUTE STANDARD AND SAY, WE, WE'VE GOTTA GET, WE'VE GOTTA ENSURE THAT THE SYSTEM GET HERE TO GET TO THE FORM MARK.AND THEN WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT MORE SUBURBAN AND, AND WHERE THINGS ARE SPREAD OUT, UM, FIVE MINUTES AND 30 SECONDS TO TO SIX MINUTES IS, IS MORE COMMON.
SO, SO YOU, SO YOU, YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU WOULD ADOPT A VARIED RESPONSE TIME STANDARD BASED ON THE, BASED ON THE RISKS AND THE POPULATION DENSITY ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
SO BASED ON THAT, I ASSUME, OR PARTIALLY BASED ON WHAT YOU JUST SHARED IT, WE ARE, YOU'RE ONLY RECOMMENDING EMS FIRST TO SET UP KIND OF A STATION.
SO WHEN I HEAR STATION, I THINK OF A PHYSICAL LOCATION.
SO HOW IS LOGISTICALLY, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE TO SET UP EMS ONLY? SO, UM, AND I KNOW CHIEF HAD SOME DISCUSSIONS WITH THE FOLKS IN THE HOSPITAL AREA, SO THERE IS SOME INTEREST FROM THEM TO BE ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY SERVE THAT AREA.
SO THERE MAY BE OPPORTUNITIES TO LEASE SOME SPACE OR, 'CAUSE THIS DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A 24 HOUR STATION WHERE YOU'RE BUILDING LIVING QUARTERS, SLEEPING QUARTERS, AND ALL AMENITIES.
THAT WOULD BE IN A NORMAL, UH, FULL-TIME FIRE STATION.
SO IT'D BE MORE OF MORE OF A, A PLACE TO RESPOND OUT OF.
AND THEN IN THE EVENINGS THE AMBULANCE IS SECURED AND, AND THOSE CREWS GO HOME.
AND SO THAT AREA, THAT BOLTON BOONE AREA, I WAS KIND OF SEEING WHAT MAY HAVE BEEN DRIVING THE, THE NEED IN THAT AREA.
THAT AREA IS REALLY ESSENTIALLY WHERE A LOT OF OUR SENIOR LIVING IS LOCATED.
CHIEF IS THAT, CAN YOU COME, UM, IS WHERE A LOT OF OUR SENIOR LIVING FACILITIES LIKE ALONG THAT WINTERGREEN, BOLTON BOONE, IS THAT, WOULD THAT ATTRIBUTE TO THIS AREA KIND OF NEEDED MORE SERVICE AT THIS TIME OR? ABSOLUTELY.
IF YOU GOT YOUR, YOU KNOW, YOUR 2400, 2600 BONE BOONE, ALL SENIOR LIVING NURSING HOMES, THEY'RE ON YORK.
WE'VE GOT BIG NURSE HOMES, WE'VE GOT AN APARTMENT COMPLEX.
YOU GOT ALL YOUR MEDICAL FACILITIES, YOU KNOW, THE HOSPITALS DALLAS, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE AROUND IT'S US.
SO ALL THE, UH, DOCTOR OFFICES AND MEDICAL FACILITIES AND ALL THAT IS US AND THAT'S WHAT DRIVES OUR CALL VOLUME IN THAT BOLTON BOONE CORRIDOR.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? COUNCIL MEMBER CHISHOLM? UM, I JUST WANNA ASK A CLARIFYING QUESTION.
SO ESSENTIALLY, ARE WE ALL, NOT ONLY ARE WE PAYING, WILL WE BE PAYING FOR A, A NEW FACILITY? RIGHT? BUT BUT ALSO YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS IS TO ADD MORE STAFF AS WELL? YEAH, CORRECT.
SO WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU ADD THE FIRE STATION, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WERE TO TAKE A CURRENT ENGINE COMPANY OUTTA SERVICE AND, AND MOVE IT THE WAY YOUR CURRENT SYSTEM IS, IS ALIGNED NOW YOU'D JUST BE RELOCATING THE PROBLEM.
SO ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU'D HAVE A GAP BECAUSE YOU'RE RELOCATING THAT.
SO YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE SYSTEM DEPTH TO BE ABLE TO NOT CONSTRUCT A, A 24 HOUR FACILITY TO SERVE THAT SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN JUST FOR, UH, MY UNDERSTANDING, THE, THE AVERAGE TIME THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE TRACKING, UM, THE SEVEN MINUTES, IS THAT FOR BOTH FIRE AND EMS OR ARE THEY, YOU, YOU COMBINE? SO LIKE I SAID, THE WAY THE DATA WAS, WE COULD, I COULDN'T TELL YOU WHICH UNIT WAS ON FIRST.
I CAN ONLY TELL YOU SOME, SOME UNIT GOT THERE AND YOUR CURRENT PERFORMANCE FOR THE FIRST DUE UNIT, WHETHER IT WAS A FIRE UNIT OR AN AMBULANCE, WAS, WAS SEVEN MINUTES AT THE 90TH PERCENTILE.
SO FIRE, THE, THE FIRE SERVICE STOPPED USING AVERAGES SEVERAL YEARS AGO AND MOVED TO HOW WELL CAN WE DO 90% OF THE TIME.
AND THEN YOU, AND THEN YOU LOOK AT, LOOK AT THAT AS THE STANDARD.
AND DOES THAT ALSO ACCOUNT FOR WHEN WE'RE HELPING OTHER CITIES AS WELL IN THE RESPONSE TIME? SO FOR, FOR YOUR SPECIFIC, THAT RESPONSE TIME ANALYSIS, IT WAS ONLY CALLS WITHIN THE CITY OF DESOTO WHEN WE DID THE, THE HEAT MAPPING.
THAT WAS TO SHOW YOU, YOU KNOW, YOUR RESPONDING TO MORE THAN JUST DESOTO CALLS BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT THIS, UH, BOUNDARY DROP.
SO THERE'S TO SHOW YOU THE, THE IMPACT ON, ON YOUR SYSTEM WHEN THEY'RE RESPONDING IN AND OUT OF THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, I WANTED TO, UH, I GUESS MAYBE ASK THE QUESTION ABOUT RESPONSE TIME AND SINCE IT WAS MENTIONED AND HOW WE CAPTURE THAT DATA, UM, BECAUSE IT KIND OF SKEWED OR, OR IT, IT, IT DIDN'T HELP TO INFORM WHAT WAS PRESENTED TODAY.
SO WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE MOVING FORWARD IN TERMS OF WHAT'S BEST PRACTICE IN THAT? I KNOW THAT'S NOT A PART OF IT, BUT THE RESPONSE TIME THAT WE'RE BEING PRESENTED VERSUS WHAT IT REALLY IS.
SO WHEN, WHEN WE DID THE, THE CEDAR HILL STUDY, WE WERE ALREADY AWARE OF THE ISSUE BECAUSE WE HAD SEEN IT AND THERE HAS BEEN A PUSH TO UPGRADE THE COMPUTERATED DISPATCH SYSTEM, WHICH WAS SOMETHING WE RECOMMENDED IN THE, IN THE CEDAR HILL REPORT TO, TO LOOK AT REGIONALLY HOW, HOW YOU CAN IMPROVE THE COMMUNICATION CENTER TO BE ABLE TO ACCURATELY, UH, IM IMPROVE THEIR, THEIR CALL
[00:45:01]
TIME RECORDING.SO TO THAT, WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A RFP FOR A NEW CAD SYSTEM.
SO CEDAR HILL EXPERIENCED THIS ISSUE, WE'VE EXPERIENCED IT WITH THE CAD SYSTEM, WE JUST CAN'T GET THE DATA OUT TO ACCURATELY DO, UH, AND SEE HOW, HOW OUR TIMES ARE.
AND THEN, UM, NEXT QUESTION RELATED TO, LET'S SEE, YOU TALKED ABOUT RESPONSE TIME.
SO THE PERSONNEL RECOMMENDED WILL COVER IF WE DO THIS AS A COLLABORATIVE, YOU KNOW, WITH THE PARTNER, THE, THE BORDERING CITIES, IS THAT ENOUGH TO COVER, UM, YOU KNOW, THE AREA THAT THIS WILL RESPOND TO? YEAH, SO THE FIRST ISSUE IS THE EMS AREA.
AND THE WAY THE, THE CHIEFS HAD, HAD LOOKED AT THAT WAS POTENTIALLY STAFFING WITH, WITH OVERTIME OR BRINGING IN SOME EMS ONLY TRAINED PERSONNEL TO STAFF THE AMBULANCES IN THE DAYTIME.
SO, SO THE, THE CHIEFS WERE, WERE PLANNING ON WORKING TOGETHER ON THAT FOR THE STATION.
IF, IF YOU WERE TO OBVIOUSLY STAFF A STATION YOURSELF, THAT'S THE FULL LOAD.
IF YOU WERE TO, TO CHOOSE THE SITE WORKING WITH, WITH CEDAR HILL, WHAT WE WOULD RECOMMEND, 'CAUSE IT'S IN YOUR CITY, WOULD CONSTRUCT THE STATION, FIGURE OUT THE COST SHARING AND THEN DO THE ANALYSIS FOR WHAT, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE CALL VOLUME FOR THAT STATION LOOKS LIKE IT'S GONNA BE IN ONE CITY VERSUS THE OTHER.
WHEN, WHEN YOU DO SOME GIS ANALYSIS OF THE CALL DEMAND AND THEN DO A COST SHARING BASED ON THAT WITH THEN A THREE YEAR KIND OF SMOOTHING AVERAGE AS, AS THE, AS IT GOES ON.
SO, SO IF 30% WAS GONNA BE IN CEDAR HILL AND 70% WAS GONNA BE, UH, IN DESOTO, YOU WOULD LOOK AT, UH, PAYING 70% OF THE OPERATIONAL COSTS OF STAFFING AND OPERATING THE STATION AND THEY WOULD, THEY WOULD DO 30% AND THEN EACH YEAR AND THEN QUICKLY GOING, RIGHT.
I'M SORRY, GOING BACK TO THE DATA.
UM, JUST IN THINKING ABOUT, UM, SINCE WE COULDN'T BREAK IT DOWN, THE DATA THAT WAS PRESENTED, FOR SURE EMS WAS A PART OF THAT ALONG WITH WHOEVER ELSE, WHETHER IT WAS FIRE SPECIFIC, I MEAN, UH, FIRETRUCK OR UH, POLICE, POLICE WAS NOT PART OF THE DATA.
COUNCILMAN RAPHAEL, UH, COUNCILMAN BYRD.
I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE SOUTHERN, UM, PROPOSED, UH, FIREHOUSE.
WE KNOW THAT LOOP NINE IS COMING THROUGH.
DID YOU GUYS TAKE IN CONSIDERATION WHAT THAT WOULD DO? I KNOW THAT THE SOUTHERN SECTOR IS OUR GROWTH AREA AND WILL BE OUR GROWTH GROWTH AREA.
AND I KNOW THAT WE TALKED ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP WITH CEDAR HILL, BUT IS THERE A PARTNERSHIP POSSIBILITY WITH THE OTHER SURROUNDING CITIES WITH THE, WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF LOOP NINE? DID WE EVEN CONSIDER THAT? SO IT WAS CONSIDERED AND, AND WE OBSERVED THAT IT WOULD, IT WOULD IMPROVE IT, BUT RIGHT NOW THERE WASN'T JS BASE LAYERS AVAILABLE FOR US TO DROP THAT ROADWAY IN TO KNOW EXACTLY WHERE IT'S GONNA BE.
SO, SO WE WEREN'T ABLE TO DO PREDICTIVE ANALYSIS ON, ON THE EXACT IMPACT OF THAT ROADWAY.
YEAH, I THINK AS YOU LOOK AT THE, THE MAP AND THE REALLY THE RESPONSE TIMES THAT SOUTHERN SECTOR, IT'S LIMITED RIGHT NOW SIGNIFICANTLY BECAUSE OF A LACK OF ROADWAY, RIGHT? THE IDEA IS THAT AS THAT AREA WOULD BUILD OUT, WE NEED TO KINDA KEEP IT IN OUR MINDS, CONNECTING THE ROADWAY IMPROVES OUR CHANCES OF BEING ABLE TO PARTNER WITH OTHER CITIES WITH THIS JOINT RESPONSE MECHANISM THAT WE HAVE, UH, WITH THAT.
SO JUST KIND OF KEEP THAT IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND.
SO WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT DEVELOPMENT, UH, IN THAT SOUTHERN, THAT SOUTHWEST SECTION OF THE CITY.
THE BETTER WE CONNECT THE ROADWAYS BETWEEN OUR CITY AND OTHER CITIES, THE MORE OPPORTUNITY THERE IS FOR, UM, FOR IMPROVING COVERAGE IN THAT AREA SIGNIFICANTLY FOR, FOR, FOR THIS REGION.
I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, UM, TO TAG ONTO WHAT THEY'VE JUST SAID ABOUT THE OPTIONS FOR US WORKING WITH OUR SISTER CITIES, UH, IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT ABOUT BEAR CREEK, UH, BECAUSE RIGHT THERE AT BEAR CREEK, THERE ARE ABOUT 500 NEW HOMES GOING IN AS WE SPEAK THERE AT BEAR CREEK AND, UH, RAE HILL.
SO THAT WOULD BE A GREAT, YOU KNOW, PARTNERSHIP RIGHT IN THERE SOMEWHERE.
SO JUST, UH, TO SERVE THAT SECTION.
UH, MR. COUNCIL, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UM, I BELIEVE COUNCILWOMAN MAY PRO TIM OR COUNCIL MEMBER PARKER, CITY MANAGER.
RIGHT? WHAT WOULD YOU ALL LIKE FROM US ON THIS ITEM? THERE REALLY IS NO DIRECTION, UM, THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR THIS EVENING, REALLY.
UH, TONIGHT'S, UH, THE PURPOSE OF THIS, OF THIS STUDY AND THE THE PRESENTATION TONIGHT WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL OPERATING FROM THE SAME SHEET OF MUSIC.
YOU CAN'T BEGIN TO ADDRESS FUTURE ISSUES IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE ISSUES ARE AND MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE'S ON THE SAME PAGE AS FAR AS UNDERSTANDING THOSE.
SO I WANNA THANK OUR FIRE DEPARTMENTS, UH, MATRIX FOR COMING OUT AND FOR HELPING US UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES ARE FOR US TO ADDRESS AS WE CONTINUE TO LOOK FORWARD TO THE BUILD OUT OF OUR COMMUNITY AND HOW IT IS WE, UH, MAINTAIN, UH, EXCELLENT FIRE AND AMBULANCE RESPONSE SYSTEMS. THANK YOU MR. CITY MANAGER AT THIS TIME.
IS THE INTENT TO HAVE THAT TO GO BEFORE THE VOTERS,
[00:50:01]
UH, TO VOTE ON DECISION? SHOULD WE MOVE FORWARD WITH SOMETHING LIKE THAT? SO YEAH, GI GIVEN THE LIMITATIONS OF TAX RATE RIGHT OVER TIME, THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD, UM, LIKELY, YOU KNOW, SHOWING THOSE NUMBERS OF ABOUT $2 MILLION ROUGHLY FOR THE OPERATING SIDE OF THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE A QUESTION FOR VOTERS IN THE FUTURE.UM, AS WE WOULD LOOK AT STAFFING A NEW FIRE STATION PART OF IT, UH, THE, THE AMBULANCE ONE IS PROBABLY MORE, UH, WITHIN THE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO BE ABLE TO, TO DEAL WITHOUT AN ELECTION.
UH, BUT THE, THE ONE OF BUILDING A NEW FIRE STATION FOR SURE WOULD PROBABLY NEED, UH, TO BE A QUESTION OF VOTERS AND THAT'S, WE'RE LOOKING NOT NEXT YEAR.
WE'D BE LOOKING AT A COUPLE OF YEARS DOWN THE LINE, UH, FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND JUST COUNCIL KEEP IN MIND TO, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
COUNCILMAN ISHM, UH, FIRE STATION TWO, OUR NEWEST FIRE STATION WAS ALSO A BOND IN 2014, SO IT DEFINITELY WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD WE HAVE TO GO BEFORE THE VOTERS.
UM, MR. BAUER, I'LL HAVE OUR, EXCUSE ME, OUR NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA.
[4. Presentation and discussion of the creation of a potential traffic calming policy]
WE HAVE PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE CREATION OF A POTENTIAL TRAFFIC CALMING POLICY.MAKING THAT PRESENTATION IS CHRISTOPHE BAUER, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, EVENING MAYOR AND COUNCIL, UH, EXCITED TO BE HERE TO TALK ABOUT, UH, SPEED BUMPS TONIGHT.
SO I'VE GOT A PRESENTATION FOR YOU.
WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND, UH, YOU KNOW, HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE POLICY FRAMEWORK, UH, AROUND THIS.
AND THEN, UH, AND THEN WE'LL LOOK FOR SOME OPPORTUNITY FOR, UH, COUNSEL TO GIVE US SOME FEEDBACK ON THE SPECIFIC ELEMENTS OF A POTENTIAL POLICY.
I'M SORRY, COULD YOU REPEAT THAT? SO? SURE, SURE.
SO WE'RE GOING TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BACKGROUND FIRST, UH, SEE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS GENERALLY ABOUT THE PROGRAM.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH STEP BY STEP AND SEE IF YOU HAVE SOME SPECIFIC DIRECTION ON SPECIFIC POLICY ELEMENTS THAT COULD MAKE UP A POLICY OF THIS KIND.
SO SPEED BUMPS, YOU'VE SEEN THESE, UH, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, THE TRADITIONAL SPEED BUMP.
UM, THESE ARE MOSTLY IN PARKING LOTS AT THIS LEVEL.
UH, YOU KNOW, THE LITTLE SPEED BUMPS 'CAUSE YOU CAN REALLY GO ABOUT 10 MILES AN HOUR.
YOU GO MUCH MORE THAN 10 MILES AN HOUR OVER ONE OF THESE AND YOU'RE GONNA DAMAGE YOUR VEHICLE.
SO YOU DON'T SEE A LOT OF THESE ANYMORE BECAUSE THEY HAVE DAMAGED VEHICLES AND THEY CREATE SOME LIABILITY.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES, REALLY TALKING ABOUT EITHER A SPEED HUMP, SOMETHING LIKE THIS, WHICH IS, UH, MORE AROUND 25 TO 30 MILES AN HOUR IS A SAFE OPERATION OR, OR A SPEED CUSHION, WHICH I'LL SHOW YOU IN A SECOND.
BUT ONE THING I WANTED TO POINT OUT IN THIS PICTURE REAL QUICK IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE RELUCTANT TO PUT THESE OUT IN THE STREETS BECAUSE THEY ARE ROAD HAZARD.
AND IF YOU GO TOO FAST, YOU CAN SEE OVER HERE ON THIS PICTURE, SEE THIS SKID MARKS HERE, WHERE PEOPLE CAN AND DO LOSE CONTROL IF THEY GO OVER THESE DEVICES.
SO YOU GOTTA BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT WHERE YOU PUT THESE AND HOW YOU PLACE THEM IN YOUR COMMUNITY.
SPEED CUSHIONS IS THIS OTHER ALTERNATIVE HERE.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THERE'S BRAKES IN BETWEEN HERE FROM A REGULAR PASSENGER VEHICLE PERSPECTIVE.
THEY OPERATE THE EXACT SAME WAY.
BUT THE DIFFERENCE IS, IS THAT, UH, FOR A LARGER FIRETRUCK, YOU CAN ACTUALLY AVOID MOST OF IT.
SO IT GIVES YOU A LITTLE MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR EMS TO RESPOND WITHOUT A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN TIME.
SO I'LL USE TALKING MOSTLY ABOUT SPEED CUSHIONS, UH, IN THE EXAMPLES THAT I PROVIDE RATHER THAN A SPEED BUMP OR A SPEED HUMP.
SO, UH, WHY THEY AREN'T RECOMMENDED NORMALLY OR WHY YOU'RE BEING CAREFUL ABOUT HOW YOU RECOMMEND THEM IS REALLY BECAUSE THEY ARE A ROAD HAZARD.
IF SOMEONE EXCEEDS THE SPEED, THERE IS A POTENTIAL TO MAKE, COULD DAMAGE TO THEIR VEHICLE OR LOSE CONTROL AND EVEN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.
SO IT'S A REALLY CAREFUL BALANCING ABOUT, OF COURSE SPEEDING IS DANGEROUS AS WELL.
SO YOU GOTTA TRY AND BALANCE THE IMPACTS OF THE SPEEDING IN THE SITUATION AND THE REMEDY AND THE DANGERS OF THAT REMEDY.
AND THAT'S WHY THESE POLICIES ARE PROBABLY MORE COMPLEX THAN YOU MAY IMAGINE WE WENT THROUGH.
AND THE EXAMPLES I'M GONNA GIVE YOU, WE'VE PULLED POLICIES FROM ALL OF THESE COMMUNITIES.
UH, WE COULD HAVE GONE OUT AND FOUND 10 MORE, UH, BECAUSE THIS IS NOT AN UNUSUAL CASE.
UH, BACK IN NORTH CAROLINA, THE COMMUNITY I LAST WORKED IN HAD A, A POLICY THAT ACTUALLY MIRRORED A LOT OF THE THINGS WE SEE HERE IN TEXAS.
SO THE INDUSTRY STANDARD HERE IS FAIRLY, UH, CONSISTENT WHAT THE POLICY, UH, FOCUSES ON, OH, DIFFERENT KINDS OF POLICIES.
THERE ARE TRAFFIC CALMING POLICIES.
I'M GONNA TALK TO YOU MOSTLY ABOUT A SPEED HUMP SPEED CUSHION POLICY.
TRAFFIC CALMING POLICIES CAN BE FAIRLY COMPLEX.
EVERYTHING FROM RUMBLE STRIPS TO VISUAL NARROWING TO ROAD CLOSURES, YOU KNOW, BUT THAT'S REALLY SOMETHING THAT MOST VERY LARGER COMMUNITIES HAVE IN A VERY COMPLEX SITUATION.
COMMUNITIES OF OUR SIDE, USUALLY MORE FOCUSED ON, UH, RESPONDING TO THE REQUESTS FROM THE NEIGHBORHOODS FOR TRAFFIC CALMING AT SPEED HUMP SORT OF LEVEL.
SO A LOT OF THE EXAMPLES WE HAVE HERE REALLY ARE SPEED, HUMP SPEED CUSHION POLICIES, NOT THE REAL BROAD TRAFFIC CALMING DEVICES.
SO THIS IS THE SPEED CUSHION, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE KIND OF RECOMMENDING THAT WE TALK ABOUT MORE SPECIFICALLY, IF COUNCIL WANTS TO FOCUS IN THIS AREA, UH,
[00:55:01]
YOU CAN SEE THAT FOR A A REGULAR PASSENGER VEHICLE, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY MAY BE ABLE TO GET ONE WHEEL OFF OF IT, BUT THEY'RE NOT GONNA GET TWO WHEELS OFF OF IT.IT'S REALLY WHERE IT, UH, MAKES A DIFFERENCES FOR OUR LARGER VEHICLES.
NOW THESE ARE NOT ALL WHEEL ALL POSITIVE.
THIS IS ACTUALLY FROM THE CITY OF ARLINGTON WHERE THEY WENT THROUGH AND KIND OF WARNED PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN THIS.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE POTENTIAL NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF HAVING ONE OF THESE INSTALLED IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD? YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES YOU PUT UP, UH, A SPEED HUMP TO ADDRESS A PROBLEM IN ONE STREET AND IT JUST PUSHES THAT PROBLEM TO THE NEIGHBORING STREET AND YOU HAVE ANOTHER PROBLEM THERE.
UH, THEY CAN CREATE DRAINAGE PROBLEMS, BUT YOU CAN DESIGN AROUND THAT.
SOME PEOPLE DON'T LIKE THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE UNATTRACTIVE IN THEIR COMMUNITY.
YOU, YOU GUYS HAVE PROBABLY HEARD THIS BEFORE, THAT MOST OF THE SPEEDERS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ARE ACTUALLY PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO ONE OF THE KEY ISSUES OF THESE POLICIES IS TO TRY TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS STRONG CONSENSUS OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THAT AREA, THAT THIS IS, UH, A, A SOLUTION THEY WANT TO PURSUE.
SO WHAT IS ADDRESSED IN THE POLICY FROM THE COUNCIL PERSPECTIVE, REALLY TALKING ABOUT THE APPLICATION PROCESS AND THE APPROVAL PROCESS AND CRITERIA.
THOSE ARE AREAS WHERE THERE ARE SOME DIFFERENCES THAT DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES APPROACH A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY.
AND REALLY THE COST SHARE FROM THE ENGINEERING DESIGN, THERE'S A LOT OF CONSISTENCY THERE WHERE YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE IF YOU'RE PUTTING ONE OF THESE IN, YOU PUT IT IN A WAY THAT IS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE.
SO WHAT STREETS ARE ELIGIBLE, YOU KNOW, WHERE IT'S LOCATED, HOW IT'S DESIGNED.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT HAS A LOT OF CONSISTENCY ACROSS COMMUNITIES.
'CAUSE YOU REALLY ARE FOLLOWING ENGINEERING PRACTICE STANDARDS.
SO ELIGIBLE STREETS, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT MAJOR ARTERIALS.
WE'RE ONLY TALKING ABOUT STREETS WHERE THE SPEED LIMIT IS LESS THAN OR EQUAL TO 30 MILES PER HOUR.
AGAIN, IF YOU TRY TO PUT THESE IN A STREET WHERE THAT SPEED LIMIT IS ANY HIGHER, YOU REALLY RUN INTO A SAFETY PROBLEM.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, STANDARD NEIGHBORHOOD STREETS.
SO TRAFFIC ONE WAY IN EACH DIRECTION.
AND ALSO MOST OF THE COMMUNITIES, UM, GO THROUGH THE PROCESS.
THE ONE WHICH IS LIKELY WE DO WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OF NOT PUTTING THIS IN ON A STREET THAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT REALLY NEEDS IN ORDER TO GET TO AN EMERGENCY, UH, LOCATION.
SO THEY DO LOOK AT CRITICAL ROUTES AND TAKE THOSE STREETS OFF THE MAP FOR SPEED.
HUMP CONSIDERATION, TRAFFIC VOLUME VARIES A LITTLE BIT.
YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T NECESSARILY WANNA PUT THESE ON A STREET WHERE THERE ISN'T A PROBLEM BECAUSE THERE AREN'T REALLY THAT MANY CARS.
YOU ALSO DON'T WANNA PUT IT ON A STREET WHERE THERE'S TOO MANY CARS BECAUSE THEN IT CREATES OTHER TRAFFIC IMPACTS.
SO SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 500, 3000 IS PRETTY CONSISTENT.
AND THEN THE STREET CONDITION, STREET EDGE IS IMPORTANT.
WE DON'T HAVE TOO MUCH PROBLEM HERE.
WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF ON EDGE STREETS, BUT IF YOU HAVE A STREET THAT DOESN'T HAVE A CURB EDGE, PEOPLE CAN TRY TO POTENTIALLY GO INTO PEOPLE'S YARDS, TRY AND GO AROUND IT AND CREATE AN UNSAFE CONDITION.
SO THIS IS A PRETTY CONSISTENT, YOU'RE GONNA SEE THESE KINDS OF LIMITATIONS IN ALMOST EVERY POLICY YOU LOOK AT IN OTHER COMMUNITIES.
UM, FROM A LOCATION PERSPECTIVE, YOU DON'T WANT TO INTERFERE WITH DRAINAGE, NOT TOO CLOSE TO AN INTERSECTION, NOT TOO CLOSE TOGETHER, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
AND THEN FROM A DESIGN PERSPECTIVE, YOU CAN SEE THE SPECIFICATIONS THERE.
SO IT'S PRETTY, UH, EASY TO FOLLOW THAT DESIGN SPECIFICATION FOR A SPEED CUSHION SITUATION, APPLICATION PROCESS.
AND THIS IS WHERE, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, FLEXIBILITY IS EXERCISED BY, UH, COUNCILS ON HOW THESE IDEAS COME FORWARD FROM THE COMMUNITIES, WHETHER YOU CHARGE A FEE.
UM, THE ONLY EXAMPLE WE FOUND IN THIS SORT OF THE COMMUNITY WE LOOKED AT WHERE PEOPLE WERE CHARGING A, A FEE FOR SOMEBODY TO PUT FORWARD AN APPLICATION WAS IN ONE OF THE TRAFFIC CALMING MORE COMPLEX ANALYSIS.
SO WHEN IN RESPONSE TO THAT APPLICATION, THAT WAS GONNA REQUIRE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF STUDY.
UH, AND THE OTHER PIECE WAS ON THE PETITION SIDE.
THEY DIDN'T REQUIRE A PETITION, SO THEY SAID, OKAY, WE'RE NOT GONNA REQUIRE A PETITION, BUT YOU ARE GONNA COVER OUR COSTS TO DO THE STUDY.
AND THAT WAS, UH, JUST ONE COMMUNITY DID THAT.
MOST COMMUNITIES DON'T CHARGE A FEE, BUT THEY DO REQUIRE SOME KIND OF PETITION, SOME KIND OF EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THEY DO WANT TO BE LOOKED AT SERIOUSLY.
ON THE APPROVAL SIDE, UH, AGAIN, YOU TAKE A LOOK AT WHETHER THE, IT MEETS ALL THE ENGINEERING STANDARDS.
FIRST YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE SPEED.
SO 85TH PERCENTILE SPEED STUDY, THEY WANT TO SEE THAT SPEED EXCEEDS THE SPEED LIMIT.
SO THERE REALLY IS A SPEED LIMIT PROBLEM.
UH, AND THEN THE QUESTION IS WHETHER YOU DO A PETITION OR A SURVEY OR WHAT OTHER SORT OF, UH, CON CONVERSATION YOU HAVE WITH THE COMMUNITY TO REALLY VERIFY THAT THERE IS STRONG CONSENSUS AND SUPPORT FOR THE INSTALLATION OF THE SPEED BUMP.
YOU DON'T WANNA GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF INSTALLING ONE AND THEN FIND OUT THAT THE COMMUNITY DOESN'T WANT IT THERE AND HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE
[01:00:01]
PROCESS OF LOOKING AT REMOVING IT.SO THOSE ARE THE KIND OF DIFFERENT AREAS AND WE'LL GET MORE SPECIFIC ABOUT THAT AS WE, UH, TALK ABOUT THIS IN A SECOND.
SO THE APPLICATION PROCESS FOLLOWED BY STAFF ELIGIBILITY ANALYSIS.
SO YOU GO IN THERE AND YOU TAKE A LOOK AT IT, YOU DO YOUR STUDY, AND THEN THERE'S AN ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION THAT BASICALLY SAYS FROM AN ENGINEERING PERSPECTIVE, IS THIS ELIGIBLE? UH, AND DOES IT, UH, HAVE THE RIGHT LENGTH? IS THERE, UH, A SPEEDING PROBLEM? UH, IS THERE A LOCATION WE CAN PUT IT IN? UH, IF NO, THEN MOST OF THESE SAY, OKAY, LET'S, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T PUT IT THERE SAFELY.
UM, IF YES, THEN YOU MOVE ON TO A COST TESTIMATE PROCESS, AND THEN YOU MOVE ON TO THAT SECONDARY PETITION OR SURVEY METHOD TO REALLY VERIFY THE COMMUNITY CONSENSUS AROUND INSTALLATION.
SO PETITION VERSUS SURVEY, UM, THIS IS KIND OF, SOME PEOPLE, UH, REQUIRE THE APPLICANT TO GO OUT AND ACTUALLY DO A PETITION.
YOU KNOW, GO ACTUALLY GET SIGNATURES FROM EACH HOUSEHOLD.
UH, OTHERS DO IT IN A SURVEY WHERE THEY SEND OUT NOTIFICATIONS AND LOOK FOR PEOPLE TO OBJECT.
THOSE ARE THE TWO MAIN, UH, DIFFERENT WAYS TO DO IT.
UM, IN USUALLY THE CASE, YOU KNOW, THE PETITION IS PERFORMED BY THE APPLICANT, WHICH PUTS A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A BURDEN ON THE PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN DOING IT AND BUILDING CONSENSUS.
UH, ON THE OTHER ONE, UH, IT'S MORE OF A COST TO THE CITY.
UH, I ALWAYS SORT OF CAUTION PEOPLE ABOUT SURVEYS.
WE'VE HAD OUR EXPERIENCE WITH SURVEYS WHERE YOU SEND OUT THE NOTE CARDS AND WHAT HAVE YOU, AND PEOPLE JUST DON'T, THEY YELL IT.
AND THAT CREATES THE RISK THAT AGAIN, IF YOU PUT IT IN AND SUDDENLY THEY BECOME AWARE OF IT, UH, THEN THEY WONDER, WELL, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US
UM, BUT CERTAINLY THERE ARE COMMUNITIES WHO USE THE SURVEY METHOD, THE AFFECTED AREA.
THERE'S, UM, PRETTY GOOD CONSENSUS ABOUT THAT TOO.
IT'S USUALLY, UH, AN ADJACENT STREET OR HOMES WITHIN 500 FEET OF THE STREET IMPACTED SO THAT IF THERE IS A CONCERN ABOUT, YOU KNOW, MOVING A TRAFFIC PROBLEM FROM ONE STREET TO ANOTHER STREET, THAT THOSE INDIVIDUALS HAVE AN INTEREST IN HAVING, BEING PART OF THE CONVERSATION AS WELL.
COST SHARE, A SPEED CUSHION COST ANYWHERE FROM 3000, $6,000 PER UH, INSTALLATION.
UH, MOST CITIES REQUIRE SOME COST SHARE FROM THE APPLICANT.
I HAVE THAT IN QUOTES BECAUSE THE APPLICANT DOESN'T MEAN THAT'S AN INDIVIDUAL.
IT COULD BE AN HOA, IT COULD BE A NEIGHBORHOOD, IT COULD BE A COLLECTION OF INDIVIDUALS.
UM, UH, SOME OF 'EM IT'S KIND OF UP IN THE AIR.
UH, MOST OF THE CITIES ACTUALLY HAVE A, A GRADIENT OF COST SHARE BASED ON THE KIND OF TRAFFIC PROBLEM.
SO THE MORE, MORE, MOST MORE EXTREME THE, UH, SPEEDING PROBLEM BASED ON THE SPEEDING STUDY, THEN THE MORE THE COMMUNITY KICKS IN TO TRY AND ADDRESS THAT PROBLEM.
UH, THERE IS ONE CITY THAT WAS COVERED THE COSTS COMPLETELY, BUT THEY DID THAT BASED ON A PRIORITIZATION.
SO THEY ALLOCATED A NUMBER OF DOLLARS EVERY YEAR, AND THEN THEY SPENT THOSE DOLLARS BASED ON THE, THE VOLUME OF SPEEDING IN THE, IN THE AREA.
AND THEN WHEN I RAN OUTTA MONEY, THEY RAN OUTTA MONEY.
SO BEFORE IN EVERYTHING IS INSTALLED, OF COURSE, YOU GO THROUGH THAT, ALL REQUIRED ARE MET.
YOU DO THE PETITION ON YOUR SURVEY, YOU DO YOUR NOTICES TO THE COMMUNITY, YOU PUT UP SIGNAGE IN THE AREA, SORT OF WARN EVERYBODY THAT CHANGE IS COMING.
UH, AND THEN YOU GET YOUR APPLICANT SHARE PAID AND YOU GO OUT THERE AND ACTUALLY, UH, DO THE INSTALLATION.
QUESTIONS BEFORE I SORT OF RUN YOU THROUGH THOSE SPECIFIC AREAS TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOUR FEEDBACK MIGHT BE IN, IN THE POLICY AREAS THAT I'VE COVERED THROUGH, I, I DO HAVE A QUESTION JUST FOR CLARITY ON THE, THE COST.
SO YOU SAID 3000 TO 6,000 PER, IS THAT PER SET? 'CAUSE I KNOW SOME OF THEM, DEPENDING ON HOW LONG THE STREET IS, THEY MAY NEED.
I SEE THAT THERE'S LIKE USUALLY LIKE TWO TO THREE OF THE CUSHIONS PER AREA.
BUT THEN IS THAT THREE TO 6,000 JUST FOR THAT? OR IS IT FOR THE, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT IS THAT COST? IT'S THREE TO $6,000 PER ONE.
SO IF YOU'RE DOING TWO ON A STREET, IT'S SIX TO 12.
UH, AND MAYBE I SHOULD WAIT UNTIL THE END, BUT MY WONDERING WOULD BE, ALTHOUGH I AGREE OR SOME PEOPLE MIGHT AGREE WITH HAVING THE SPEED BUMPS OR CUSHIONS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT I DON'T WANT IT IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE.
UH, WE WANT IT, BUT WE DON'T WANT IT IN FRONT OF OUR HOUSE.
WHY? BECAUSE THAT MAKES PEOPLE SLOW DOWN.
THEY HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AROUND AND WE JUST DON'T WANT IT IN FRONT OF OUR HOUSE.
SO THAT WILL BE ANOTHER ISSUE THAT WE MIGHT NEED TO CONSIDER AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN OUR THOUGHT PROCESSES.
THANK YOU FOR ASKING THAT QUESTION.
[01:05:01]
IS A PIECE THAT IS, IS ADDRESSED IN ALL THE POLICIES.AND ALL OF THEM REQUIRE EITHER THE PEOPLE DIRECTLY ADJACENT OR WITHIN A HUNDRED FEET TO HAVE A HUNDRED PERCENT AGREEMENT THAT IT, THEY AGREE TO HAVE IT INSTALLED IN FRONT OF THEIR HOUSE.
IF IT'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE, IT MAY IMPACT YOUR ABILITY TO PARK.
IT MAY PUT YOUR, YOUR, IF YOU DO PARK ON THE STREET, PUT YOUR CAR AT RISK.
'CAUSE THERE'S PEOPLE SLAMMING ON THEIR BRAKES, HITTING THE BUMP AND THEN SPEEDING UP.
SO CERTAINLY THERE'S MORE IMPACT, UH, OF THOSE NEGATIVE IMPACTS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE DIRECTLY ADJACENT TO THE BUMP.
SO ALMOST ALL THE POLICIES REQUIRE A HUNDRED PERCENT APPROVAL OF THE PEOPLE DIRECTLY ADJACENT TO IT.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
UH, COUNCILMAN PARK, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, AS FAR AS THE ACTUAL VOTE IS CONCERNED, ARE YOU SAYING IN A SUBDIVISION, JUST LET'S SPEAK HYPOTHETICAL AND SAY YOU HAVE A 400 HOME SUBDIVISION.
ARE YOU SAYING THAT IN THAT SUBDIVISION YOU COULD HAVE TWO STREETS WITH BUMPS OR CUSHIONS AND THE REST? NO, THAT CERTAINLY COULD BE THE, THE, THE REQUEST OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO IT WOULD BE, NONE OF THE POLICIES REQUIRE IT BEING AN ENTIRE SUBDIVISION.
IT'S A REQUEST ON A PER STREET BASIS, AND IT'S ANALYZED ON A PER STREET BASIS.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT, I'LL GO BACK TO THIS MAP HERE.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT, THAT THAT'S AN ANALYSIS OF JUST ONE STREET WHERE THEY'VE ASKED FOR IT.
AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S RARE WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY FIND THE VOLUME OF SPEEDING THAT TRIGGERS THIS ON EVERY STREET IN A SUBDIVISION, RIGHT? THERE'S USUALLY, UH, IF YOU DO HAVE A PROBLEM, IT'S SOME SORT OF A CUT THROUGH PROBLEM OR IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S IT'S FOCUSED ON A SPECIFIC AREA.
AND SO WHO WOULD PAY FOR THAT $3,000? THOSE HOMEOWNERS? THAT WOULD BE THE COST SHARE.
UH, WHICH IS UP TO THE POLICY ESTABLISHED BY COUNCIL.
AND AGAIN, FOR MOST COMMUNITIES, IT IS A COST SHARE THAT, UH, IS BORN BY THE APPLICANT AND DEPENDS ON WHETHER THAT APPLICANT IS A INDIVIDUAL GROUP OF NEIGHBORS OR PEOPLE ON THE STREET IF THEY CHOOSE TO, OR AN HOA, DEPENDING ON WHO IS MAKING THE REQUEST.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
DID WE LOOK AT ANY OTHER, UM, TRAFFIC CALMING, UM, OPTIONS, UH, OTHER THAN SPEAK CUSHIONS? UM, WELL WE'VE, AS AN ORGANIZATION, WE'VE LOOKED AT A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
IN FACT, WE DID THE, THE WIGGLE
YOU KNOW, UH, THERE CERTAINLY ARE, THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS.
YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING FROM, AS I SAID BEFORE, RUMBLE STRIPS, VISUAL NARROWING, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME CITIES, LARGER CITIES, THE RICHLANDS, UH, RICHARDSON, SORRY, UH, IT HAS, AS PART OF THEIR POLICY STREET CLOSURES, YOU KNOW.
SO THERE CERTAINLY ARE OTHER WAYS YOU CAN ADDRESS, UH, TRAFFIC CALMING.
UH, WHAT WE HAVEN'T DONE, UH, IN FACT ALMOST EVERYONE REQUIRES THE FIRST THING YOU DO IS YOU GO OUT AND YOU DO SOME, UH, ENFORCEMENT, UH, THE SIGNS THAT WE'VE PUT UP, UH, THE RADAR SIGNS IS ANOTHER METHOD THAT'S USED COMMONLY FOR TRAFFIC CALMING.
SO WE CERTAINLY DID LOOK AT THOSE THINGS AND HAVE USED SOME OF THOSE THINGS.
I THINK THAT THE REQUEST THAT WAS COMMUNICATED TO ME WAS THAT THERE WAS A SPECIFIC INTEREST IN UNDERSTANDING SPEED HUMPS.
I, I, I KNOW, UM, THERE WAS ONE COMMUNICATION ABOUT SPEED HUMPS, BUT THEN ALSO A COMMUNICATION ABOUT TRAFFIC CALMING POLICY IN GENERAL.
UM, 'CAUSE I DO, I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO HAVE SOME THOUGHT AROUND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, PARTICULARLY FOR THE 20% OF, UH, LAND THAT'S DEVELOPABLE LAND THAT'S LEFT.
AND SO IF IT'S ALSO ENGINEERING AND DESIGN OF STREETS TO CALMING AND SLOWING TRAFFIC IN THOSE OTHER THAN SH CANES, UM, I THINK THAT SHOULD BE ALSO A PART OF THIS POLICY, YOU KNOW, IN, IN THE NEXT STEPS AS WELL AS, UM, YOU MENTIONED, UH, THE RUMBLE STRIPS, BUT DIDN'T SPEAK TO THE RUMBLE STRIPS, YOU KNOW, I RUMBLE STRIPS, YOU KNOW, SO JUST WOULD LOVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN A COMMUNITY AS WELL.
UM, AND, AND COUNCILWOMAN RAPHAEL, THIS WAS JUST KIND OF A LITTLE, JUST A LITTLE PAUSE IN HIS PRESENTATION.
HE STILL HAS MORE, BUT I THINK, AGAIN, TO KIND OF UNDERSCORE WHY THE FOCUS IS ON SPEED HUMPS, UM, IS BECAUSE TWO COUNCIL MEMBERS HAD A REQUEST.
ONE WAS MADE AT THE RETREAT FOR SPEED, SPECIFICALLY FOR SPEED BUMPS.
AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER CHISHOLM, UM, HAD MADE THE REQUEST PREVIOUSLY.
SO I THINK THAT'S WHY STAFF KIND OF NARROWED THEIR FOCUS FOR THE SAKE OF THE PRESENTATION FOR COUNCIL TO CONSIDER, UM, THOSE, BECAUSE THOSE WERE THE THINGS THAT WERE MORE PRESSING IN TERMS OF WHAT, UM, WHAT THE IMMEDIATE NEED HAD SEEMED TO HAVE BEEN.
UM, I DEFINITELY AGREE, UM, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT A COM MORE COMPREHENSIVE POLICY, UM, COULD BE BENEFICIAL TO US.
BUT I THINK IT WAS MORE SO FOCUSED, UH, FOR THE SAKE OF THIS PRESENTATION ON THAT IS BECAUSE THAT WAS WHAT ESSENTIALLY THE REQUEST WAS FOR THE SPEED HUMPS.
UM, YEAH, ONE MEMBER, ONE THING THAT I JUST MENTIONED, JUST THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO FOR
[01:10:01]
SPEEDING IN A COMMUNITY IS TO PUT A STRIPE DOWN THE NARROW DOWN THE MIDDLE OF A STREET.SO JUST, I MEAN, JUST PEOPLE THINK, OH, THAT'S GREAT.
LET'S PUT A STRIP DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET.
NO, THAT'S THE WORST THING YOU DO, SPEEDS PEOPLE UP RIGHT AWAY.
BEST THING YOU CAN DO TO SPEED ALL PEOPLE DOWN IS MAKE 'EM UNCOMFORTABLE.
THAT'S WHY A LOT OF OUR STREETS WHERE WE HAVE PARKING ON THE STREET AND NARROW STREET, GREAT SLOWS PEOPLE DOWN.
DUDE, THEY PEOPLE LIKE THAT ALL THE TIME.
THEY ACTUALLY HAVE, DURING THE NANCE FARM CONVERSATION, WE HAD THIS, ALL THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW THEY DIDN'T LIKE THE FACT THAT THEIR STREET WAS NARROW AND THAT TRAFFIC WAS LIMITED, BUT WHAT IT DOES DO IS IT SLOWS PEOPLE DOWN.
SO IT'S KIND OF THAT BALANCE BETWEEN, UH, WHAT YOU CAN DO TO, UH, SOLVE ONE PROBLEM THAT DOESN'T CREATE TOO MUCH OF ANOTHER PROBLEM.
UM, I, I ACTUALLY, UH, SENT THE REQUEST FOR THE TRAFFIC CALMING DEVICE POLICY A COUPLE OF WEEKS BEFORE THE RETREAT.
AND I DID NOT ACTUALLY ENVISION JUST SPEED HUMPS AND SPEED BUMPS.
I JUST WANNA MAKE THAT CLARIFIED FOR ME.
UM, I KNOW WHEN MAYOR PRO TIM SPOKE AT THE SUMMER RETREAT, SHE SPECIFICALLY CALLED OUT SPEED BUMPS, BUT THIS WAS ALREADY AN AGENDA ITEM THAT WAS GONNA COME SPECIFICALLY AROUND TRAFFIC CALMING DEVICES.
SO TO REITERATE WHAT MY COLLEAGUE DOWN AT THE OTHER END OF THE DAY HAS SAID, UM, MY, MY THOUGHT PROCESS IN DOING THIS AND JUST MY OWN RESEARCH IS THAT THERE ARE MULTIPLE MULTITUDE OF DIFFERENT OP OPPORTUNITIES AROUND, UM, SPEAK TRAFFIC CALMING AND NOT JUST THE HUMPS OR THE CUSHIONS.
AND THAT WOULD BE IDEAL TO SEE WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS FOR THOSE.
'CAUSE WHAT I DO NOTICE IS THAT MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS ARE NOT ALL THE SAME, RIGHT? AND SO IN KEEPING WITH THE DESIGN AND MAKEUP OF THESE COMMUNITIES, WHAT BEST FITS IN THOSE SPACES.
AND, UM, JUST 'CAUSE YOU ALSO SAID, UH, SOMETHING TOO ABOUT THE SOLAR SPEED LIMIT, UM, SIGNS, WHICH I THINK ARE A GREAT THING.
UM, BE NICE TO IF TO, TO GET CONSISTENT DATA ON IT.
BUT I THINK IT'S REALLY A REALLY NICE THING FOR THE RESIDENTS TO HAVE THAT PEACE OF MIND.
IT SOUNDS AS THOUGH THIS POLICY WILL BE AN ONE THAT OFFERS ESCALATING PROCEDURES OR ESCALATING PROCESS BASED ON WHAT YOU'VE SAID.
UM, BECAUSE YOU MENTIONED THAT THE, THE, THE, THE SIGN WOULD GO UP FIRST AND SO, OR THERE SHOULD BE A SIGN, UM, OF SOME SORT AND I'M ALL FOR A, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME TYPE OF A PROCESS, RIGHT? HOW DO WE GET THERE? BUT IN CONJUNCTION WITH THAT, CONSIDERING THAT, THAT THOSE, UM, SIGNS PROVIDE DATA AROUND SPEEDING, UM, HOW MANY CARS ARE ON THE ROAD AND THINGS LIKE THAT, IS THERE NECESSARILY A, A NEED TO HAVE A TRAFFIC STUDY OR COST? IF, IF YOU'RE ALREADY SAYING THAT IN SOME RESPECT, YOU'RE, YOU'RE GOING THROUGH AN ESCALATION PROCESS BEFORE WE GET TO, UH, THE TRAFFIC CALMING DEVICE.
UM, TWO DIFF, TWO DIFFERENT QUESTIONS, WHICH I'LL TRY TO ANSWER SEPARATELY, RIGHT? ONE IS THAT AS, AS WE LOOKED AT ALL THESE COMMUNITIES, ONLY TWO OF THEM HAD TRAFFIC CALMING POLICIES.
UH, RICHARDSON AND MCKINNEY, YOU KNOW, NEY THERE ARE SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER THAN US.
UM, GRAND PRAIRIE WAS ALSO ONE.
GRAND PRAIRIE HAS A, UH, IT FOCUSES MOSTLY ON SPEED HOMES, BUT I'LL TAKE A LOOK AT THAT ON ONE AGAIN.
BUT CERTAINLY THEY'RE HAVE WENT THROUGH ALL OF THESE.
BUT, AND I GUESS LIKE THE POINT I'M MAKING IS THAT CERTAINLY WE CAN'T DO THAT.
THAT ISN'T WHAT WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON TOO MUCH HERE.
CERTAINLY, UM, YOU ARE UTE TO STATED IT CORRECTLY, THAT IN ALL THOSE CASES IT GROWS TO THAT IT STARTS OFF WITH SOMETHING THAT'S LESS INVASIVE AND THEN GETS TO SOMETHING THAT'S MORE INVASIVE.
BUT THAT'S BASED ON THE STUDY ITSELF.
SO THEY START OFF WITH THE, UH, TRAFFIC SIGNS AND THE PATROLS IN ORDER TO GET THE DATA RELATED TO QUANTIFYING THE SPEEDING PROBLEM.
AND THEN BASED ON THAT INFORMATION, THEY GO IN AND DECIDE, OKAY, WHAT ARE OUR OPTIONS, UH, WITH THIS RANGE OF PROBLEM? IS THAT, LET'S TRY TO ADDRESS YOUR QUESTION.
SO YOU CERTAINLY, UH, THE TRAFFIC STUDY IS NEEDED BECAUSE YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER YOU'RE DEALING WITH A PROBLEM WHERE YOU HAVE, UH, AN OCCASIONAL SPEEDER.
SO MAYBE THERE'S ONE INDIVIDUAL IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT LIKES TO GO TOO FAST AND THAT CREATES THE PROBLEM.
OR WHETHER YOU HAVE SOMETHING WHERE YOU TRULY HAVE CUT THROUGH TRAFFIC THAT IS MORE SIGNIFICANT AND REQUIRES A MORE SIGNIFICANT INTERVENTION.
THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING CLARITY ON WHAT YOU MEANT.
I GUESS WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THEN IS THAT FOR COMMUNITIES THAT ALREADY HAVE, 'CAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF HOAS WHO'VE STARTED PURCHASING THOSE SOLAR SPEED LIMIT SIGNS THAT SOME OF THIS PROCESS THEN COULD BE BYPASSED FROM A, BECAUSE LIKE I GO BACK TO THE, THE, THE COMMUNITY THAT BRINGS ME TO MIND IS SILVER CREEK MEADOWS, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE THE SIGNAGE AND ACTUALLY IT WAS THE SIGNAGE THAT HELPED DRIVE, UH, A LOT OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT, THAT HAS HAPPENED TO CALM THE, THAT THE SILVER CREEK DRIVE, UM, JUST BY THE DATA RECEIVED FROM THOSE SOLAR SPEED LIMIT SIGNS.
[01:15:06]
SO I'M HEARING IS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S I GUESS THE ASSUMPTION I MADE THAT THERE WAS A STRONG INTEREST IN A SPEED HUMP POLICY OF SOME KIND.IF THERE ISN'T, THEN THAT'S, UH, THE COUNCIL.
UH, BUT I WANTED TO SORT OF RUN THROUGH AND GET SOME FEEDBACK ON SOME OF THOSE KEY POLICY AREAS.
IF WE WERE TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS AND TRY AND DRAFT ONE OF WHERE YOU WERE ON THESE, UH, KIND OF POLICY ELEMENTS THAT HAVE SOME DEVIATION AMONG COMMUNITIES.
UH, ONE OF THEM IS WHETHER YOU WANT TO DO A FEE OR WHETHER YOU WANT, WOULD, WOULD PREFER TO DO, UH, SOME KIND OF AN INITIAL PETITION.
UM, CERTAINLY YOU COULD DO A ALTERNATIVES THERE.
UM, BUT, UH, KIND OF SEEMS TO BE THE SWEET SPOT AMONG OUR PEERS IS THAT THEY DO A PETITION AND SOMEWHERE AROUND 60% OF THE REQUESTED STREET SEGMENT IS REQUIRED AS AN INITIAL PETITION.
THAT WOULD MEAN YOU WOULDN'T DO THE WHOLE AREA, JUST THE STREET SEGMENT AND SAY, DO WE HAVE A MAJORITY OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS IN THE STREET SEGMENT THAT ARE IN INTERESTED IN, UH, STUDYING SPEED HUMPS? THAT WOULD BE SORT OF THE INITIAL APPLICATION, UH, PROCESS WITHOUT A FEE.
UH, WHICH SEEMS TO BE MOST CONSISTENT WITH, UH, OUR NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES WHO CONSIDER THIS.
ANYBODY HAVE A FEELING ABOUT THAT ONE? I, I WOULD.
SO WE JUST HAD A REFERENDUM THAT WAS CHANGED, UM, DURING ELECTION.
UM, WHAT, 30% TO UNSEAT SOMEONE, UH, OR, OR TO RECALL ON ELECTION? YES.
WE SPENT CLOSE TO HOW MUCH CITY SECRETARY ON ELECTIONS, WHAT'S ROUGH NUMBER, $60,000 OR MORE.
AND SO WE, WE'LL LET 30% OF VOTERS, UH, DO A PETITION TO UNSEAT SOMEONE AND THEN CHARGE THE CITY 60 TO $70,000.
BUT WE WOULD SAY WE NEED A PETITION FOR 60,000 FOR 60% OF PEOPLE, UH, FOR SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA COST ROUGHLY BETWEEN THREE TO 6,000.
I THINK THAT THAT NUMBER OF PETITIONS SHOULD GO DOWN OR WE SHOULD FOLLOW THE METHOD.
'CAUSE IT ALSO SOUNDS LIKE THIS IS GONNA GO IN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES THAT THIS SHOULD BE EITHER, UH, THE SURVEY THAT GOES OUT AND MAYBE NOT A POSTCARD, BUT I FIND THAT THE PLANNING AND ZONING GREEN CARDS SEEM TO WORK REALLY WELL TO GET PEOPLE DOWN HERE IF THEY HAVE A DIS THEY DISLIKE IT OR SOMETHING OF THAT SORT.
BUT I WOULD SAY THAT'S A, THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT SCENARIO BECAUSE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MAYBE SOMETIMES ON A STREET 60 HOMES, MAYBE SOMETIMES VERSUS THOUSANDS OF VOTERS THAT WILL COME OUT TO VOTE IN ANY ELECTIONS.
SO I DON'T, I RESPECTFULLY, I DON'T NECESSARILY LIKEN THE TWO IN TERMS OF THE AMOUNT THAT'S NEEDED FOR THAT REQUEST VERSUS TALKING ABOUT A UNSEATING A COUNCIL PERSON.
'CAUSE YOU'RE NOT, YOU'RE DEALING WITH A SIGNIFICANTLY LESS AMOUNT OF FOLKS AND THIS IS DEALING WITH JUST THE SPECIFIC STREET, AM I CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.
IT WOULD JUST BE INTERSECTION.
SO IT WOULDN'T BE THE ENTIRE CITY COMING OUT TO VOTE ON SPEED HUMPS ON, YOU KNOW, MEADOW CREEK.
IT WOULD BE THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE ON THAT STREET.
AND IT WOULD NEED TO BE A HIGH, IN MY OPINION, I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE A HIGHER PERCENTAGE TO MAKE SURE THAT, AGAIN, WE DON'T HAVE THE ISSUES WITH, YOU KNOW, A SPEED BUMP GOING IN FRONT OF MY HOME AND I'M NOT IN AGREEMENT AN AGREEMENT WITH IT, AND 30% OF THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE ON MY STREET, YOU KNOW, THREE OUT OF 10 THAT LIVE ON THE STREET GET TO DETERMINE THAT AND SOMETHING COULD POSSIBLY GO IN FRONT OF MY HOME.
I ACTUALLY LIKE TO HIRE, JUST WANNA CLARIFY, THERE'S, THERE'S TWO STEPS.
SO THE INITIAL STEP IS JUST TO APPLY.
SO THAT'S TO GET THE CITY OUT THERE TO DO ALL THE ANALYSIS.
AND THE SECOND ONE IS FOR FINAL APPROVAL.
UH, AND IN, IN EVERY CASE THAT SECOND ONE FOR FINAL APPROVAL IS MUCH HIGHER AND IT'S A BROADER AREA THAN THE FIRST.
SO IF, YOU KNOW, IF, IF COUNSEL, THIS IS JUST REALLY ABOUT TRYING TO GET THAT INITIAL BLUSH OF SORT OF WHAT LEVEL OF INTEREST IS.
UM, THERE ARE SOME COMMUNITIES WHO ALLOW A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL TO DO IT.
SO I'M NOT, I WANT THIS, THERE'S AS MUCH CONSENSUS AROUND THIS AS IS ON THE SECOND PART.
UH, SO THERE CERTAINLY IS SOME FLEXIBILITY ON THIS ONE, BUT SOMEWHERE, I'M, I'M GIVING YOU A PLACE TO START
SO THE APPLICANT HAS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF GETTING, OF MEETING THIS THRESHOLD BEFORE THEY CAN EVEN GET OUR ATTENTION TO TAKE IT TO THE NEXT STEP.
AND IT CREATES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THEIR NEIGHBORS ABOUT WHETHER THIS IS A SOLUTION THAT THEY'RE INTERESTED IN EXPLORING.
AND, AND HOPEFULLY THAT THE GOAL OF THAT WILL BE TO TALK TO EVERY NEIGHBOR THAT LIVES ON THE STREET TO MAKE SURE THAT AGAIN, THAT IT GETS, UM, THAT AT LEAST AWARENESS IS DONE.
AND AGAIN, THAT RESPONSIBILITY IS ON THE PERSON MAKING THE APPLICATION.
UM, YES, MAYOR PRO TIM, THANK YOU MADAM MAYOR.
I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
IT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'VE ASKED FOR AND I'M GLAD TO SEE, YOU KNOW, THE COMPARISONS.
I LIKE THE CUSHION AND I KNOW THERE ARE SOME CITIZENS WHO WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS AS WELL.
SO THANK YOU FOR, YOU KNOW, THE RESEARCH AND, UH, GETTING THIS CONVERSATION GOING.
[01:20:02]
THANK YOU MAYOR PRO TIM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER RAPHAEL.UM, DURING OUR LAST, UM, REPORT OUT OF OUR DIFFERENT COMMITTEES, MINE IS SPEEDING.
AND SO, UM, THAT SAME WEEK I GOT HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND A COMMUNITY MEMBER, UH, MEETING IN DALLAS WHERE THE CITY OF DALLAS DID A PRESENTATION ON SPEED CUSHIONS FOR THE COMMUNITY AND HOW IT HAD THE SUPPORT OF THEIR POLICE CHIEF AND FIRE CHIEF BECAUSE OF, OF THE LENGTH OF IT.
IT DIDN'T TEAR UP THE AXLES ON THE, THE FIRE VEHICLES.
THAT WAS, THAT WAS, THAT WAS AN ISSUE.
UM, CITY OF DALLAS IS GOING THROUGH, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE PUTTING THIS, UM, IN AS PART OF THEIR BOND.
AND SO DURING THE TRAFFIC STUDIES IN THE DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES THAT REQUESTED, UM, BUT IT DOES HAVE TO HAVE THAT 60%.
UH, IT DOES HAVE A CERTAIN THRESHOLD, WHICH I BELIEVE IT IS 60%, 50 TO 60%, UM, OF THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO, UM, GET, UH, THE, THE, UM, SUPPORT, UH, FOR IT IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.
66, 60 6% FOR THE APPLICATION.
AND SO, UM, I DID REQUEST THIS AS, UH, TO BE PRESENTED.
UM, I DID NOT KNOW THAT MY COLLEAGUE ON THE OTHER END, UM, HAD THE TRAFFIC CALMING, UM, ON THERE, UM, AS PART OF HER, YOU KNOW, HER INITIATIVE THAT SHE WANTED TO PUSH FORWARD.
UM, AND SO FOR CERTAIN, AND, AND DEFINITELY DIDN'T KNOW MY OTHER COUNCIL COLLEAGUES.
SO, YOU KNOW, THE THEME OF, HEY, LET'S DO SOMETHING ABOUT SPEEDING, BASICALLY IS HERE.
AND SO I APPRECIATE THE, THE LANGUAGE.
I THINK THE TITLE OF THIS IS PROBABLY SKEWED JUST A LITTLE BIT, BUT IT'S GOING OFF OF WHAT WE DISCUSSED DURING THE SUMMER RETREAT.
BUT THE COMP, THE TOPIC OF THIS IS TRAFFIC CALMING, WHICH IS BROADER.
THE CUSHION IS A TOOL, IT'S ONE TO ONE TOOL.
AND SO I'M DEFINITELY IN AGREEMENT WITH HAVING, YOU KNOW, THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVING THE MAJORITY OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD, YOU KNOW, AGREE TO DOING THIS THING AND, AND REALLY FOR THEIR AWARENESS THAT PART'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
BUT ALSO THIS, THIS IS JUST ONE TOOL AND AS A CALM, CALM TRAFFIC CALMING POLICY, I DON'T WANT TO WANT US TO GET COUPLED WITH, OKAY, WE, WE JUST LOOKED AT CUSHIONS.
WE ALSO NEED TO LOOK AT WHETHER IT'S ENGINEERING ON OUR NEW STREETS, WHETHER IT'S USING OTHER TOOLS THAT ARE AVAILABLE IN OUT THERE FOR, FOR SPECIFIC USE IN DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES BECAUSE A CUSHION IN THIS COMMUNITY MAY WORK, BUT A, UH, THE RUMBLE STRIP MAY WORK BETTER IN A DIFFERENT AREA.
AND SO, UM, JUST WANNA MAKE CERTAIN THAT WE STAY ON THE BROAD PIECE.
SO YES, YOU DID FOCUS ON THE SCOPE IN TERMS OF WHAT WE DISCUSSED DURING THE RETREAT IN TERMS OF THE SPEED, UH, HAVING SOME TYPE OF SPEED BUMP HUMP OR WHATEVER.
UM, BUT JUST WANNA KEEP US FOCUSED ON ALSO THE BIGGER PICTURE, WHICH IS A BROADER POLICY.
I JUST WANNA OFFER, OFFER SOMETHING WHAT WE TALK ABOUT SPEEDING, DRIVER SPEEDING.
SO AS WE LOOK AT THE BEHAVIOR, PERHAPS THERE'S AN EDUCATIONAL PIECE THAT NEEDS TO TAKE PLACE.
AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE DURING OUR HOA MEETINGS, WORKSHOPS OR WHATEVER, OUR COMMUNITY MEETINGS OR WHATEVER, THOSE KINDS OF SESSIONS THAT WE HAVE, PERHAPS SOME OF THIS INFORMATION AS FAR AS THE DATA CAN BE GIVEN TO THAT PARTICULAR SUBDIVISION OR, AND BREAK IT DOWN BY STREET SO THAT PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY REALIZE HOW IT AFFECTS THAT PARTICULAR NEIGHBORHOOD.
BECAUSE ALL OF US HAVE DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS.
BUT AGAIN, I SEE THIS AS A BEHAVIORAL TYPE ISSUE.
REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU DO, IT, IT BOILS DOWN TO BEHAVIOR AND IT GOES INTO AN EDUCATIONAL PIECE.
DR. MARKS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER PARKER, I ACTUALLY, UH, HAVE TO SAY THAT I AGREE WITH, UH, WHAT DR. MARKS IS SAYING.
I GUESS MY ONLY THING THAT WOULD DETER ME FROM SOMETHING TO THI TO THIS NATURE IS WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE STREET SWEEPERS, I THINK YOU PUT IN THERE A NOTE THAT THE STREET SWEEPERS WON'T BE ABLE TO GO DOWN THESE STREETS.
AND THAT COULD BE HUGE IN THE FACT THAT JUST TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO GET THE CARS OFF THE STREET IN ORDER FOR THE STREET SWEEPERS TO EVEN DO THEIR JOB.
AND NOW YOU HAVE BUMPS OR HUMPS OR CUSHIONS OR RUMBLES OR, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW IF WE'VE EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT THE RUMBLES.
I'M NOT SURE I HEARD THAT PART.
I I DID HEAR ABOUT CUSHIONS AND BUMPS.
RIGHT, BUT YOU DIDN'T SAY RUMBLES.
NO, NO, I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T GIVE YOU THE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT.
BUT I WOULD BE INTERESTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE, UH, STREET SWEEPERS AND, AND, AND WHAT WOULD WORK WITH THE STREET SWEEPERS.
'CAUSE I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF KEEPING OUR STREETS CLEAN.
UM, AND COUNCILMAN BYRD, YOU PLEASE, YOU CAN HAVE YOUR COMMENTS AND THEN I WANNA GET US BACK ON TRACK WITH KIND OF GIVING HIM SOME DIRECTION FOR THE REST OF THE PRESENTATION.
I AM, UM, I, I DO THINK WHATEVER WE DO IT NEED TO GO BACK TO THE RESIDENTS IN THAT AREA.
[01:25:01]
I THINK THAT, UM, I WOULDN'T WANT, UH, THIS, THIS BODY MAKING A DECISION FOR MY NEIGHBORHOOD.I THINK IT NEED TO GO BACK TO THE RESIDENTS OF THAT AREA.
SO I LOVE THE IDEA OF A PETITION AND OR SURVEY.
I ALSO THOUGH WOULD LIKE THE BROADER CONVERSATION OF THE TRAFFIC CALMING DEVICES.
WE WERE OUT WALKING AT SIX 30, UM, WITH, UH, WITH SOME, UM, UH, SOME PEOPLE WITH SOME CITIZENS LAST WEEK AND ON SEVERAL OCCASION ALMOST GOT HIT.
BUT, AND, AND WHEN I HEAR YOUR, WHEN I HEAR YOUR, YOUR COMMENT ON WHICH STREETS WOULD, WOULD, WOULD, WOULD QUALIFY FOR IT, I DON'T THINK THAT THE STREET WE ALMOST GOT HIT ON WOULD QUALIFY BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S A MAJOR STREET INTO THAT NEIGHBORHOOD.
YOU SEE WHAT I'M SAYING? AND SO I REALLY, AND SO LOOKING AT TRAFFIC CALMING, UH, MECHANISMS, UH, EVEN FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS, UH, AS WELL AS LOOKING AT THESE CUSHIONS, I THINK WE NEED TO, TO ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION AND HAVE IT MORE BROADER.
AND, AND FOR THE RECORD, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL TAKE THE, I'LL TAKE THE HIT, UH, FOR THE TITLE OF THIS AGENDA ITEM BECAUSE IT ORIGINALLY WAS SPEED BUMPS POLICY.
AND I SAID, WHY DON'T WE EXPAND IT JUST FOR, JUST TO HELP US TO THINK BROADER ABOUT WHAT, WHAT WE'RE FACED WITH IN TERMS OF MAKING DECISIONS AROUND THIS TO TRAFFIC CALMING MECHANISMS SOMEWHAT, ALMOST FEELING LIKE IT WAS A MATTER OF SEMANTICS TO A DEGREE IT IS NOT.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE HEAR ME CLEARLY IT IS NOT.
HOWEVER, UM, SO I DO WELCOME AND I THINK ALL, I THINK WHAT I HEAR THE COUNCIL SAYING IS THAT WE, I THINK THIS IS A GOOD START.
HOWEVER, I THINK IT DOES NEED TO BE BROADER BECAUSE AS COUNCIL MEMBER RAPHAEL SAID, AND OTHERS HAVE SAID, EVEN WITH OUR NEW SUBDIVISIONS, ALBEIT YOU WOULD HAVE TO ALMOST ANTICIPATE THAT THERE MAY BE A PROBLEM THERE FOR SOME OF THESE MECHANISMS TO GO INTO PLACE.
BUT, UM, I THINK THAT THERE DOES NEED TO BE A BROADER DISCUSSION BECAUSE IT IS NOT A ONE SIZE FITS ALL.
AND I'VE SAID THAT MULTIPLE TIMES AS WELL IN TERMS OF JUST SPEED BUMPS, GENERALLY SPEAKING.
UM, BUT I WILL TAKE THE HIT FOR THE TITLE OF THE PRESENTATION, MR. BOWER.
SO IT WAS ME,
BUT, UM, FOR THIS, YOUR WANTING DIRECTION ON THIS PARTICULAR ONE, THIS SLIDE HERE WITH APPLICATION FEE, THE 60% OR WHAT, WHAT DIRECTION DO YOU NEED FROM US SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE WELL WITH PERMISSION, LET ME KIND OF JUST RUN THROUGH THE REST OF THIS.
'CAUSE I DO CERTAINLY HEAR SOME CONSENSUS GROWING THAT THIS IS NOT A CONVERSATION.
YOU'RE, YOU'RE READY TO, EVERYBODY GO, HEY, LET'S GO.
GIMME A POLICY TOMORROW AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT.
YOU WANT TO HAVE A BROADER CONVERSATION.
UH, THIS IS UNUSUALLY INTERESTING TO ME.
SO
BUT THE OTHER IDEAS IS SORT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU WANT THAT SPEED STUDY TO BE, UH, WHETHER YOU'RE GONNA HAVE AN APPEAL OR NOT.
UH, MOST PEOPLE DON'T, YOU KNOW, ALLOW THE ENGINEERING PIECE OF THIS TO BE APPEALED.
THAT'S SHOULD BE QUANTITATIVE, NOT QUALITATIVE.
SO IT EITHER MEETS THE STANDARD OR IT DOESN'T.
UM, THIS IS THE, YOU'VE HAD A LOT MORE CONVERSATION.
THIS IS CERTAINLY ONE OF THOSE POLICY AREAS THAT, UH, WILL PROBABLY BE SOMETHING THAT YOU'LL NEED TO STRUGGLE WITH A LITTLE BIT, WHICH IS WHETHER YOU DO A SURVEY OR A PETITION CERTAIN, CERTAINLY I WOULD SAY THAT THE SURVEY IS GONNA MEAN THAT YOU'RE GONNA PUT IN MORE HUMPS.
UH, THE PETITION MEANS THAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE LESS LIKELY TO PUT IN A HUMP THAT THE COMMUNITY GETS UPSET ABOUT, UH, BECAUSE YOU WILL HAVE STRONGER CONSENSUS, UH, SORT OF HOW BROADLY GO YOU GO OUT.
UH, 500 FEET SEEMS TO BE A, A STANDARD THAT PEOPLE USE.
THEY ALSO USE, IN MOST CASES ADJACENT STREET AGAIN, 'CAUSE YOU, YOU DON'T WANNA SORT OF PUSH THE PROBLEM TO SOMEBODY ELSE WITHOUT INVOLVING THEM IN THE PROCESS.
COST SHARE, I ALREADY MENTIONED THAT THIS CAN BE ANYWHERE FROM SIERRA WITH LIMITED RESOURCES TO A SLIDING SCALE BASED ON THE MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM.
MOST COMMUNITIES DO DO A SLIDING SCALE BASED ON THE MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM.
SO IF THERE'S A BIGGER OR A MORE SIGNIFICANT SPEEDING PROBLEM, THEN THE PUBLIC INTEREST AND PUBLIC FUNDS SORT OF FOLLOW THAT TO A HIGHER DEGREE.
AND UM, ALSO ALL THESE ADDRESS REMOVAL BECAUSE THAT DOES HAPPEN.
AND THAT GOES BACK TO, YOU KNOW, YOUR DISCUSSION ABOUT UH, WHETHER YOU WANNA USE A PETITION OR A SURVEY.
I'D SAY YOUR RISK OF HAVING TO FACE A REMOVAL PROBABLY GETS A LITTLE HIGHER IF YOU USE A SURVEY METHOD RATHER THAN A PETITION METHOD.
'CAUSE YOU HAVE LESS CONSENSUS ABOUT IT.
UH, AND THAT'S ALSO HAS A COST TO IT GOING OUT THERE AND REMOVING THEM.
SORRY, I THINK YOU HAD A QUICK, THAT WAS JUST A QUICK RUN THROUGH, BUT I THINK THAT WHAT I'VE HEARD FROM YOU IS THAT YOU'D LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT MORE OPTIONS.
UM, AND WE CAN CERTAINLY DO SOME MORE RESEARCH ON THAT AND BRING THAT BACK TO YOU.
THANK YOU, UH, COUNSEL AND, AND I THANK YOU.
I THINK YOU'VE SUMMED UP OUR SENTIMENTS, UM, PERFECTLY.
HOWEVER, WHAT I DO WANT TO SEE IF WE COULD STAY FOCUSED ON FOR THE LAST PORTION OF THIS PRESENTATION IS GIVING CONSENSUS AROUND WHAT WE HAVE HEARD.
BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY SPEED HUMPS WILL BE ONE PORTION OF A POLICY, UM, THAT ENCOMPASSES TRAFFIC CALMING MECHANISMS IN GENERAL.
SO COUNSEL, IF WE COULD START, I'M GONNA START TO
[01:30:01]
MY, I'M ACTUALLY GONNA START ON THIS END.UM, I'M GONNA START ON THIS END
SO IT, IT WILL KIND OF GIVE HIM SOME DIRECTION AS THEY GO BACK TO BRING US SOMETHING BACK.
THEY WILL AT LEAST KNOW HOW WE FEEL ABOUT THIS PORTION THAT THEY PRESENTED TONIGHT.
WELL, JUST OVERALL I WOULD SAY THAT I, I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT OVERALL PICTURE OF WHAT'S THE OTHER OPTIONS.
I'M NOT IN A CONSENSUS WITH SPEED HUMPS PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF THE, UM, LIKE I SAID, THE, UM, THE STREET SWEEPER AND THE, THE, THE CLEANING OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS WITH UH, SPEED HUMPS AND UM, THE CARS.
I'M JUST PICTURING MORE CARS ON THE STREETS WITH THESE SPEED HUMPS.
IT JUST SEEMS LIKE A RECIPE FOR DISASTER FOR ME.
THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER RAPHAEL.
MY REQUEST WOULD BE, I'M IN AGREEMENT WITH, UH, MOVING FORWARD WITH GETTING ALL THE INFORMATION RE RELATED TO THE CUSHIONS, THE TOOL.
UM, BUT ALSO WOULD LIKE THE DATA ON HUMAN LIFE.
'CAUSE I THINK THE BOTTOM LINE ON, UM, THIS WHOLE DISCUSSION IS ABOUT HUMAN LIFE AND HOW IT'S IMPACTED WHETHER IT'S DEATHS.
SO, UM, HAVING THE INFORMATION IN TERMS OF, OF TRAFFIC, UM, NOT JUST THE SPEEDERS, NOT SPEEDERS, BUT, UM, DEATHS IN DESOTO, YOU KNOW, OVER THE PAST, UM, YEAR.
AND THE NUMBER OF, OF OF ACCIDENTS RELATED TO SPEEDING OVER THE PAST YEAR I THINK WILL BE HELPFUL IN DECISION MAKING BECAUSE IT'S LIFE OVER, YOU KNOW, CLEAN STREETS FOR ME.
AND TO ADD TO THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT GO BACK AT LEAST MAYBE LIKE THREE YEARS FOR SOME OF THESE STREETS THAT WE KNOW ARE, ARE KIND OF MORE PROBLEMATIC.
BUT THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER RAPHAEL.
AND ALSO KEEPING IN MIND MOST OF OUR, UH, MAJOR ACCIDENTS ARE, ARE AT LARGER INTERSECTIONS THAT WE HAVE IN THE CITY.
UM, AND ARE KIND OF, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SPEED BUMPS, RIGHT? OR OUTSIDE OF THE SCOPE OF THE STREETS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IN, IN GENERAL.
SO WOULD I, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND THE REQUEST, UH, ACCURATELY BECAUSE WE, WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TRAFFIC TESTS IN THE CITY, UM, WITH THAT.
SO ARE YOU LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ABOUT TRAFFIC JUST TEST IN GENERAL OR THOSE WHO ARE KIND OF MORE FOCUSED ON THESE TYPES OF STREETS? YES.
JUST SO THAT WE CAN KIND GET THAT ACCURATELY.
OH, UM, ME MAYORS THERE, BUT UH, I THINK IT, IT'S GOOD INFORMATION TO HAVE WITH THE SPEED, I'M SORRY, THE TRAFFIC CALMING POLICY ALTOGETHER.
WHETHER IT'S ER ROAD MAJOR ROAD OR RESIDENTIAL ROAD, HAVING THAT INFORMATION BECAUSE IT MAY NOT BE THE SPEED BUMP THAT'S NECESSARY, BUT POLICY CHANGES THAT HAPPEN.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, BEING THE CHAIR OF THE QUOTE SPEEDING, UM, COALITION THAT WOULD BE MY REQUEST IS UNDERSTANDING THE NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS RELATING TO SPEEDING, WHETHER IT'S ON ANY ONE OF THE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE VARIOUS DESCRIPTORS OR, UM, DESKS.
THANK OUR SPEEDING ARE HAS SPOKEN
YEAH, WE'VE HEARD FROM THE SPEED QUEEN.
UM, I, I DON'T THINK I REALLY UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION, BUT LET ME TRY TO, I DON'T FEEL THAT ONE SIZE FIT ALL.
SO I WANT TO GO, I WANT, I WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT IT, UH, LOOKING AT THE INDIVIDUALITY OF EACH COMMUNITY BECAUSE I, I BELIEVE SOMEONE SAID WHERE SPEED CUSHIONS MIGHT WORK IN ONE AREA.
AND SO, SO I'M, I'M, I'M READY FOR A BROADER CONVERSATION.
I'M, I'M NOT READY TO SAY YES.
WE NEED FEET SPEED BUMPS RIGHT NOW.
I I I WANT TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION.
I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR MORE INFORMATION AROUND COST SHARING.
UM, BECAUSE WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR INDIVIDUAL, UM, HOAS AND OR SUBDIVISIONS, SOME ARE LARGER THAN OTHERS.
AND THEN WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THAT, SOME HAVE DIFFICULTIES COLLECTING, YOU KNOW, THE MONIES THAT THEY OWE AS IT IS.
SO, UM, IF YOU JUST DIG A LITTLE BIT DEEPER INTO THAT PARTICULAR AREA, AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, ADDING THAT EDUCATIONAL PIECE, I'M BIG ON THAT ONE.
AND TO HER TO KIND OF AS A, AND AS AN ASIDE, I, I DID HAVE A QUESTION FROM EARLIER ABOUT THE ONES THAT DID 100% COST COVERAGE.
THE CITY COVERED IT 100% WAS CAN WHAT POTS OF MONEY ARE EVEN AVAILABLE TO YOU? SO I WAS THINKING LIKE, IS CDBG FUNDS, YOU KNOW, ABLE TO BE USED FOR SOME OR PROGRAM LIKE THAT? YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE, YOU SHAKING YOUR HEAD? NO, I GUESS NOT, BUT YEAH, NO.
LIKE WHAT TYPES OF MONEY COULD WE EVEN USE FOR THAT OTHER THAN GENERAL FUND MONIES FROM SOMEWHERE? IT'S, IT'S BASICALLY JUST STREET MAINTENANCE FUNDS.
IT'D BE BASICALLY LIKE STREET MAINTENANCE.
YEAH, SO ONCE YOU, THE OTHER PIECE HERE IS THAT THEY ALSO HAVE A STANDARD ABOUT THE CONDITION OF THE STREET.
'CAUSE YOU DON'T WANNA PUT ONE OF THESE, IF YOU PUT ONE OF THESE IN THE TOP OF, THEN YOU'VE GOT, YOU CAN'T, YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT OUT, RESURFACE THE STREET, PUT IT BACK IN PLACE.
SO IT'S A, IT CREATES AN EXPENSE DOWN THE ROAD AS WELL.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CHISHOLM, THANK YOU.
UM, I THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
[01:35:01]
MY COLLEAGUE, COUNCIL MEMBER NICOLE RAPHAEL FOR SECONDING THIS ITEM TO GO ON THE AGENDA FOR ME.UM, I, WHAT I WOULD SAY THAT I, I LIKE THE, I WANT THE I, WHICH WAS A TRAFFIC CALMING DEVICE POLICY.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT EXPOUNDED AS WELL.
I THINK WE'VE REITERATED THAT ENOUGH.
UM, I AGREE THAT NOT EVERY COMMUNITY IS GOING TO BE THE SAME.
UH, I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED WITH THE, THE, THE RESISTANCE AROUND THE, THE STREET SWEEPER BECAUSE I THINK THAT FROM WHAT YOU WERE SAYING ABOUT BIG TRUCKS AND HAVING THE CUSHIONS, UH, MANUFACTURED TO WHERE BIG TRUCKS COULD GO THROUGH THERE, THERE, THERE IS OPPORTUNITY THERE, BUT LOVE TO HEAR MORE ON HOW THE CITY THAT COULD WORK, RIGHT? UM, BECAUSE AGAIN, I DON'T THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE SAYING IS NOW GONNA HAPPEN ON EVERY MAJOR STREET.
THERE SHOULD BE CONSIDERATION FOR EMERGENCY, UH, STREETS WHERE IT, IT, IT FIRE DEPARTMENT CAN GET THROUGH EASIER.
THESE ARE SMALL COMMUN STREETS WHERE THERE IS AN INFLUX OF SPEEDING.
UM, AND THE RESIDENTS WANT IT CALM.
SO FOR THAT, AND, AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT BEHAVIORS, BUT IF, IF IT WAS JUST EDUCATION, WE WOULDN'T NEED THE POLICE TO STAND AROUND AND WATCH PEOPLE SPEEDING.
SO IT'S BIGGER THAN JUST, UM, BEHAVIORS.
IT'S ALSO WHAT CAN THE CITY DO FROM THE MULTITUDE OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE HIT US AND ASKED US ABOUT SPEEDING? WHAT ARE WE DOING TO DO SOMETHING ELSE AND PRESENT THIS OPTION TO EMPOWER RESIDENTS TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT DECISION MOVING FORWARD.
I'D ALSO LIKE TO KNOW LIKE FROM THE, NOT JUST THE THE SPEEDING ASPECT, BUT THE RADARS THAT WE HAVE IN THE SOLAR SPEED, LIGHT LIMITS, SIGNS.
WHAT'S THAT DATA LOOK LIKE? BECAUSE I UNDERSTOOD THAT IT COULD, UH, TRACK ALSO THE SPEED OF THE CARS AS WELL, OR THE AVERAGE SPEED OF THE CAR SO THAT WE'D HAVE A ALSO A EDUCATED, UH, LOOK AT THAT AS WELL.
AND THEN WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT THIS MUCH, BUT UM, I KNOW I'VE TALKED TO CHIEF COSTA ABOUT THIS.
UH, CHIEF SUTHER HASN'T SAID MUCH AROUND THE TOPIC OR I HAVEN'T ENGAGED HIM ABOUT IT, BUT IT'D INTERESTING TO KNOW ALSO THEIR FEEDBACK.
COUNCILWOMAN CHISHOLM, MAYOR TIM, THANK YOU MADAM MAYOR.
I, UM, LIKE THE IDEA, I'D LIKE MORE INFORMATION SO THAT WE CAN SEE HOW TO MOVE IT FORWARD.
AND I WILL CAP IT OFF AND, UM, GET READY FOR A, A MOTION TO ADJOURN, HOWEVER, UM, JUST TO CIRCLE BACK, UM, I THINK EVERYTHING THAT I, I AGREE WITH HAS ALREADY BEEN SAID, SO I WON'T, BUT I WILL UNDERSCORE WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER CHISHOLM SAID IN TERMS OF, AND, AND I BELIEVE COUNCIL MEMBER RAPHAEL BRING US THE DATA.
LIKE WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE WE, YOU KNOW, WHAT WHAT OR WHAT CONSTITUTES THE DATA THAT WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT, UM, AS WE CONSIDER THIS POLICY TO MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.
YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DATA DRIVEN SO WE CAN JUSTIFY IT.
AND THERE'S ONE LAST THING I WANT TO LEAVE YOU WITH, AND THAT IS THAT WE HAVE PERHAPS TWO DIFFERENT ISSUES.
SO IT MAY BE THAT WE HAVE NOT THE RIGHT PEDESTRIAN AMENITIES TO MAKE PEOPLE FEEL SAFE ON SOME OF OUR STREETS, AND THAT'S DIFFERENT FROM TRAFFIC CALMING.
SO WE'LL TRY TO ADDRESS SORT OF THOSE ISSUES THAT THOSE ISSUES KIND OF COME TOGETHER AT TIMES.
SAY THAT AGAIN, CHRISTOPHE WITH THE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY.
WELL IF, IF YOU'RE WALKING ON A STREET THAT THE SIDEWALK'S NARROW OR THE SIDEWALK, YOU KNOW, YOUR CURB ISN'T RIGHT OR YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH BUFFER, THEN THE, THE SPEED MAY FEEL MAKE YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE.
BUT THE SPEED MAY BE APPROPRIATE FOR THE STREET.
FOR THE STREET, IT'S THE PEDESTRIAN AMENITY THAT MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR THE STREET.
AH, SO LIKE KIND OF HOW WE HAD WITH CHATTY ROAD FOR YEARS, THERE WERE NO SIDEWALKS ON CHATTY ROAD, BUT WE HAD KIDS GOING TO SCHOOL UP AND DOWN THAT ROAD.
AND AGAIN, NOT NECESSARILY THAT IT WAS SPEEDING, BUT THE FACT THAT THERE WERE NO SIDEWALKS, UM, EX EXACTLY.
THERE JUST NO SIDEWALKS, NO CROSS SEX.
AND SO THAT WOULD ALSO, YOU'RE SAYING THAT'S ALSO SOMETHING TO BRING INTO THE CONVERSATION IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? CORRECT.
COUNCIL MEMBER PARKER ONE, YOU'LL BE OUR LAST COMMENT.
JUST ONE LAST, JUST ONE LAST COMMENT.
UM, UH, DR. MARKS ACTUALLY BROUGHT UP A GOOD POINT ABOUT THE HOAS.
HOAS HAVE, UH, VOTING IN PLACE AND WHILE THIS IS ONLY 60% OF A STREET, HOAS ARE 60 OR 70% OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD, BECAUSE THEY, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE, IF THERE'S AN EXPECTATION THAT HOAS ARE TO PAY THAT MONIES, THAT WOULD HAVE TO GO FOR A BIGGER VOTE THAN JUST A STREET.
SO THAT MAY NEED TO GO INTO SOME DOCUMENTATION SOMEWHERE AS WELL.
SO WE HAVE A LOTS OF THINGS TO TALK ABOUT.
ALL RIGHT, COUNSEL, AT THIS TIME, THAT WAS OUR LAST AND FINAL ITEM ON OUR AGENDA.
I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADJOURN.
NOT EVERYBODY AT ONCE,
AND THEN THE SECOND MAYOR PRO TEM HUGHES, SECOND THAT COUNCIL.
THAT MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY AT 7:39 PM WE ARE NOW ADJOURNED.