OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Arlington City Council Special Meeting - September 3, 2024

City Council — Tuesday, September 3, 2024
BodyArlington, Texas
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, September 3, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
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0:00

And boy, it grew and grew and grew, and it's a what a mighty oak now.

0:05

Let's look around.

0:13

One word to describe Tom Vandergo.

0:18

I think I would say visionary.

0:20

Visionary.

0:21

Optimistic.

0:22

Driven.

0:23

He was far seeing.

0:25

A true leader.

0:26

I would say hero.

0:28

I think he was a hero to a lot of people, and and certainly to me.

0:31

Everything optimism.

0:35

We can do it.

0:36

You know, that.

0:37

And it was always we.

0:38

We can do it.

0:39

That was that was who he was.

0:41

He never saw things as they were today.

0:47

He saw things as he thought they ought to be.

0:52

And could be.

0:53

Nothing was impossible to him.

0:56

He was driven with the thought, I want to make Arlington great.

1:03

And he did it.

1:06

Leaders, true leaders only come around about once over four or five generations.

1:14

True leaders, and he was one of those those kinds of pretty people.

1:19

Tom Vandegriff, that's like a hero of mine.

1:22

And to so many people.

1:24

And not just because of baseball.

1:28

Yeah, that that certainly had something to do with it.

1:31

But just because the kind of human being that he was, and that never changed.

1:36

That never changed through it all.

1:40

He didn't talk about himself.

1:41

He didn't take credit for anything.

1:44

He just did things for the common good, uh, certainly for the city and for the people that he cared about and loved, but never asked for anything in return.

1:52

I mean, he he just gave so much of himself time and time again for until the day he died.

1:59

And I mean I think I think that's how people remember, and that's certainly how I remember him.

2:27

When the Rangers beat the hated Yankees.

2:30

When they beat them in 2010, my dad was here.

2:33

He was in the city suite as a guest.

2:36

My son Parker and I were there.

2:38

The confetti starts raining.

2:40

We're going to the World Series.

2:41

I remember seeing World Series flash up there, and you know, he's sitting with us.

2:45

And that was just a it was just a powerful moment to you know to see that, you know, here he's um kind of a shell of himself of what he was, but when we were finally getting World Series baseball here, and unfortunately he never got to see the World Series because that night, that very night, he went to where he was.

3:04

We had assisted living and somebody taking care of him.

3:07

He went to the bathroom, he could get around on his own, he slipped and fell and broke his hip.

3:12

But I went to the hospital when I was there with him.

3:15

He he liked to do a fist pump.

3:17

That's what he always did.

3:19

And he fist pumped, and he said, the Rangers won.

3:23

That was the most special moment of my time watching the Rangers for 50 years.

3:27

The Rangers won.

3:34

I'll never forget this stadium though.

3:36

It'll disappear from the scene physically, but I'll always be able to see it.

4:29

Welcome back to Arlington Eat some Jeremy Thomas with my Arlington TV.

4:34

On this episode, we bring you to Bay 34th Street, where you can experience a fast, casual, New York style diner with a modern urban twist.

4:45

Bay 34th Street is my address in Brooklyn in Benson Earth.

4:50

I had a choice to open anywhere in Dallas, Fort Worth, Texas.

4:54

And Arlington reminds me of Brooklyn.

4:57

With all the mixed ethnicities here.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural██████████████████████████████████████████42%
Economic Development████████████████████20%
Public Engagement███████7%
Transportation Safety█████5%
Community Engagement████4%
Public Safety████4%
Technology and Innovation███3%
Downtown Development███3%
Budget Equity Analysis███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Arlington City Council Special Meeting - September 3, 2024

The Arlington City Council convened in a special meeting on September 3, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. The meeting included an executive session for real property and economic development negotiations, followed by an open session with presentations on the Comprehensive Plan Element: Economic Development Strategic Plan, a University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) update, and discussion of informal staff reports on traffic safety, regional mobility, the CAPER report, the FY2025 budget, and future agenda items. No votes were taken; all items were for discussion only.

Discussion Items

  • Comprehensive Plan Element: Economic Development Strategic Plan

    • Marty Wieder, Executive Director of Arlington Economic Development Corporation, and Gus Garcia, Director of the Office of Economic Development, presented the strategic plan. Key goals include maintaining competitive positioning, transformational redevelopment, and high-impact community development. Target industries include aerospace, automotive manufacturing, medical equipment, industrial machinery, and professional business services. The plan emphasizes leveraging UTA partnerships, expanding business retention and attraction tools, and supporting small and minority-owned businesses.
    • Councilmember Boxall raised concerns about balancing housing diversity with commercial development and asked how economic development can address housing needs. Wieder and Garcia noted that employers are asking about housing and schools, and that they are encouraging realtors to participate in the comprehensive plan committees.
    • Councilmember Peel asked about access to capital for development projects, noting conservative lending institutions. Wieder mentioned exploring PACE financing, new market tax credits, and an annual EDC report to share success stories with lenders. Garcia stressed that the city focuses on getting deals done efficiently.
    • Councilmember Gonzalez highlighted the rise of investor-owned homes (20% of single-family homes) as a concern. Wieder suggested exploring opportunity zones for residential redevelopment.

  • UTA Update

    • President Jennifer Cowley presented an update on UTA's strategic plan, new academic programs (hospitality, entrepreneurship, Mexican American Studies), microcredentials, and the RISE 100 initiative to hire 100 new faculty. She discussed the UTA West branch campus in Parker County, current construction projects (Maverick Hall, Life Science Building, Greek Life Center), and planned University Center redevelopment. She also mentioned potential redevelopment of the former social work building site near downtown.
    • Cowley addressed concerns about the announcement of UTA West, explaining it was a branch campus (not a new institution) and that the board supported UTA. She stated there is no imminent merger with UTD.
    • Councilmember Piel asked about the future of the Cooper and Abram corner partnership. Cowley said active conversations are ongoing but need a thoughtful, mutual-benefit approach.
    • Councilmember Odom-Wesley asked about UTA's collaboration with the Housing Channel to build homes for seniors. Cowley confirmed the program and expressed openness to similar projects for veterans.
    • Councilmember Hogg asked about student housing needs. Cowley noted the new Maverick Hall will help, but there are challenges for students with families and for renewal of aging apartment stock near campus.
    • Councilmember Gonzalez asked about the College Park District (Spaniolo) and the creek off Mitchell. Cowley said a barbecue restaurant is coming, and the campus master plan will address the creek corridor.

  • Traffic Safety in Arlington

    • Chief Al Jones presented an update on traffic safety. He noted a reduction in overall accidents and fatalities due to the Safe Roads Initiative, but pedestrian fatalities remain high (35% of fatal crashes). Traffic stops have increased, and the department is focusing on changing behavior through education and enforcement.
    • Councilmember Peel asked about the decline in traffic enforcement post-2020. Jones acknowledged national trends and said Arlington is moving back toward proactive policing, with a 17% reduction in violent crime last year.
    • Councilmember Galante shared state data showing a decline in traffic stops statewide while fatalities increased. He asked about the correlation and any changes in policing practice. Jones cited COVID and the George Floyd effect as factors, and emphasized using technology alongside traditional enforcement.
    • Councilmember Odom-Wesley asked about technology for traffic enforcement. Keith Brooks, Director of Public Works, explained that the upcoming intelligent transportation system upgrade will improve signal timing and detection, but is not a red-light camera system. It can provide data to police for hotspot enforcement.
    • Councilmember Boxall asked about pedestrian safety data sharing. Brooks confirmed the system can identify high-violation intersections.
    • Councilmember Galante asked about adding one second to yellow and all-red intervals. Brooks said they follow state and federal standards and do not plan to change them, as larger intersections already have longer clearance times.
    • Mayor Ross asked about the impact of increased calls for service and scrutiny on proactive policing. Jones agreed that these factors have reduced proactive stops, but Arlington is improving. He noted that citations are not the only measure; officer discretion is important, and the department receives positive feedback even from cited drivers.
    • Councilmember Pham confirmed the goal of reaching 278 officers and praised the professionalism of the department.

  • FY2024 City Council Priority - Enhance Regional Mobility

    • Deputy City Manager Lemuel Randolph and Ann Foss, Planning Manager, presented the quarterly newsletter highlighting progress on streets, drone delivery, safe routes to school, and safe streets initiatives.
    • Councilmember Odom-Wesley asked about the Connect Arlington plan from 2017. Foss noted that on-demand ride share and autonomous vehicle pilots were implemented, and other recommendations (high-speed rail, high-intensity bus) are being pursued regionally.
    • Councilmember Boxall emphasized the connection between land use and transportation policy, citing a recent regional meeting. Foss confirmed that the thoroughfare development plan now uses a context-sensitive approach, and the comprehensive plan will further integrate land use and transportation.

  • Community and Neighborhood Development - Program Year 2023 CAPER

    • Councilmember Boxall, Chair of the committee, reported that the committee met and reviewed the PY2023 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report. Public service programs with CDBG funds served approximately 26,000 persons in 2023, including day habilitation, food pantries, housing navigation, job training, child care, senior meals, tutoring, and dental health. The council will vote on this report at the next meeting.

  • Fiscal Year 2025 Budget

    • City Manager Trey Yelverton provided an update on the budget. He noted that the North Police Station renovation is underway with a building permit issued, and the contractor bid will be on the agenda soon. The request for $39,000 in janitorial services was not included because the station won't be occupied until FY2026.
    • Councilmember Gonzalez asked about the elimination of the Code Enforcement Director position. Yelverton explained that the position was vacant, and he is reorganizing code and animal services under Nora Coronado, who will also lead the clean team effort. He emphasized that code compliance remains a priority, and the reorganization aims to reduce costs and improve spans of control.
    • Councilmember Hunter voiced initial concern but said she trusts the process, and Yelverton assured that course corrections will be made if needed.
    • Councilmember Odom-Wesley thanked Yelverton for the budget process and transparency.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes or decisions were taken during the meeting; all items were for discussion only.
  • Councilmember Hogg requested a future agenda item on potential charter amendments to be included with the upcoming bond election.
  • Mayor Ross requested a future agenda item on possible updates or changes to the sign standards ordinance.
  • The meeting adjourned at 4:51 p.m.

Meeting Transcript

And boy, it grew and grew and grew, and it's a what a mighty oak now. Let's look around. One word to describe Tom Vandergo. I think I would say visionary. Visionary. Optimistic. Driven. He was far seeing. A true leader. I would say hero. I think he was a hero to a lot of people, and and certainly to me. Everything optimism. We can do it. You know, that. And it was always we. We can do it. That was that was who he was. He never saw things as they were today. He saw things as he thought they ought to be. And could be. Nothing was impossible to him. He was driven with the thought, I want to make Arlington great. And he did it. Leaders, true leaders only come around about once over four or five generations. True leaders, and he was one of those those kinds of pretty people. Tom Vandegriff, that's like a hero of mine. And to so many people. And not just because of baseball. Yeah, that that certainly had something to do with it. But just because the kind of human being that he was, and that never changed. That never changed through it all. He didn't talk about himself. He didn't take credit for anything. He just did things for the common good, uh, certainly for the city and for the people that he cared about and loved, but never asked for anything in return. I mean, he he just gave so much of himself time and time again for until the day he died. And I mean I think I think that's how people remember, and that's certainly how I remember him. When the Rangers beat the hated Yankees. When they beat them in 2010, my dad was here. He was in the city suite as a guest. My son Parker and I were there. The confetti starts raining. We're going to the World Series. I remember seeing World Series flash up there, and you know, he's sitting with us. And that was just a it was just a powerful moment to you know to see that, you know, here he's um kind of a shell of himself of what he was, but when we were finally getting World Series baseball here, and unfortunately he never got to see the World Series because that night, that very night, he went to where he was. We had assisted living and somebody taking care of him. He went to the bathroom, he could get around on his own, he slipped and fell and broke his hip. But I went to the hospital when I was there with him. He he liked to do a fist pump. That's what he always did. And he fist pumped, and he said, the Rangers won.

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