Arlington City Council Regular Meeting - October 8, 2024
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Arlington City Council Regular Meeting - October 8, 2024\n\nThe Arlington City Council met on October 8, 2024, at 6:30 PM in the City Hall Council Chamber. Mayor Pro Tempore Barbara Odom-Wesley presided in the absence of Mayor Jim Ross. The meeting included proclamations for Cybersecurity Awareness Month and Luraco Technologies Day, approval of an executive session consent agenda (with one item tabled), unanimous adoption of the consent agenda, and a public hearing and first reading approval of a zoning change. The meeting adjourned at 7:15 PM.\n\n### Consent Calendar\n- Minute Orders 8.1–8.15: Approved authorizing contracts for tree maintenance ($707,500), freeway mowing ($311,735), traffic control signs ($82,689.40), irrigation services ($218,000), fire department testing ($96,555), crowd management for Esports Stadium and Expo Center ($172,940), AVEVA-PI software ($115,072.32), library RFID software maintenance ($84,172), Polaris library system maintenance ($99,263), Texas Reads Grant ($10,000), Arlington Historical Society contract ($50,000), police tactical vehicles ($109,900), Flock Safety cameras ($118,500), engineering for Collins water tank rehabilitation ($322,000), and water utilities office improvements ($211,689).\n- Ordinances (Final Reading) 8.16–8.22: Adopted Youth Programs Standards of Care (Ordinance 24-055), Industrial Waste and Water Pollution Control amendment (24-056), right-of-way abandonment on South Elm Street (24-057), and zoning changes for properties at 100-200 E. Stephens St. (PD24-22, 24-058), 1601 E. Bardin Rd. (PD24-13, 24-059), 7700 S. Watson Rd. (PD24-15, 24-060), and 2760 E. Abram St. (PD24-18, 24-061). One individual registered support for PD24-22 but did not speak.\n- Resolutions 8.23–8.40: Approved emergency sewer repairs ($77,320), homeland security grants ($2,910,610.23), auto crimes task force agreement ($119,267 grant plus $28,497 match), TxDOT impaired driving grant ($50,000), interlocal agreements with Arlington ISD for a hometown recruiting officer ($141,271.33) and school resource officers ($3,449,922.57), substantial amendment to 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan and reprogramming of CDBG funds, micromobility license agreement with VeoRide, performance agreement with Mozee, Inc., settlement with King George Fleet Services, lease with Texas Facilities Commission, UAS detection sensor license with Hidden Level, assignment of water/electric easements to Trinity River Authority, Viridian development plan revision, Tarrant Appraisal District board nominations, logo licensing agreement with Dallas Lonestars Cricket Club, MOU amendment with Arlington Professional Fire Fighters Association, and amended renovation/parking agreement with Rangers entities. All consent items passed 8-0.\n\n### Public Comments & Testimony\n- Brantley Hinshaw (Arlington resident) raised concerns about water issues and requested a map from his home, but his comments were largely unclear.\n- Mary Owens (Arlington resident) urged the council to establish a homeless camp, stating that existing shelters are inadequate and that homeless individuals are forced to walk the streets; she argued that a designated camp would allow better resource delivery and reduce police time on homeless issues.\n- Saiyad Bill Kissai (Arlington resident, nominee for Tarrant Appraisal District Board of Directors) spoke on item 8.37, emphasizing that taxing entities and the appraisal board must follow the Texas Property Tax Code, and urged the council to vote for each candidate on the ballot to ensure accountability.\n- Rogelio Muheiro (community organizer, Sunrise Movement Tarrant County Hub) advocated for free VIA rides on election day, improved public transit connections (especially from UTA to CentrePort station), and ongoing support for regional transit planning.\n- Kendall Ruffin (organizer, Sunrise Movement) echoed transit concerns, stating that VIA’s on-demand system is unreliable and that fixed-route bus service is needed to serve Arlington’s nearly 400,000 residents effectively.\n\n### Discussion Items\n- Executive Session Items (6.1–6.5): Approved items 6.1 (sidewalk property acquisition at 300 W. Division St., Resolution 24-266), 6.3 (street right-of-way easement for intersection improvements, Resolution 24-267), 6.4 (cash purchase at 7000 E. Rosedale St., Resolution 24-268), and 6.5 (cash purchase at 6208 W. Pioneer Parkway and 6215 Lake Arlington Dr., Resolution 24-269). Item 6.2 (sidewalk property acquisition at 633 W. Division St.) was tabled on a motion by Councilmember Gonzalez (seconded by Councilmember Galante), passed 8-0.\n- Minutes (7.1): Approved minutes from September 17, 2024, afternoon and evening meetings (motion by Boxall, second by Pham, 8-0).\n- Public Hearing – Zoning Case ZA24-6 (11.1): The applicant, David Dowling, requested a zone change from Community Commercial (CC) to Flex Hybrid (FH) for approximately 3 acres at 2926 South Cooper Street. He explained the plan includes light manufacturing in the rear and retail/restaurant space in the front. No other speakers registered. The public hearing opened and closed, and the council approved first reading of the ordinance (motion by Piel, second by Gonzalez, 8-0).\n\n### Key Outcomes\n- Executive session item 6.2 tabled (8-0) for separate future consideration.\n- Consent agenda approved unanimously (8-0) including 40 items.\n- Zoning case ZA24-6 (2926 South Cooper Street) approved on first reading (8-0), advancing to final reading.\n- Proclamations: October 2024 declared Cybersecurity Awareness Month; October 8, 2024, declared Luraco Technologies Day.\n- Announcements: Councilmember Hogg announced a town hall at UTA on October 17; Councilmember Piel announced the Western Citizens Action Network meeting on October 14; and a press release noted a Grand Prix event coming to Arlington in March 2026.\n- Next Steps: The tabled item (6.2) and the final reading of ZA24-6 will be addressed at a future meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Is it on? Oh, it's on now. Good evening, everyone. I'm Barbara Odom Wesley sitting in for Mayor Jim Ross. Welcome to the Arlington City Council meeting on Tuesday, October eighth. And I invite Greg Key from the Renewed Life Church to give us our invocation, and then we'll do the pledge. Please rise. Grant us uh these leaders tonight wisdom as they make the decisions, Father, for those as this thriving city is growing and moving. And I pray for the churches, Father, that we do our job well so that our fire and police are actually bored, and to help our families with the abuses and the things that they have from physical, mental, and chemical, that Father God, you help us to find ease in that and your healing. Help us never forget God that we desperately need you, and we humbly submit that to you tonight, and make your presence known in this city of Arlington today, in Jesus' name. Amen. Join us in the pledge. And to the Republicans, one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Texas one state under God, one and indivisible. Okay, we have a proclamation recognizing Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Who's joining me? Bryce Carter. Yes, and you're going to bring up the rest of the IT folks. IT and library, IT mixture. Okay, come up, mixture. Is this the right thing? Yes. From the office of the mayor, Arlington, Texas, proclamation. Whereas the City of Arlington recognizes its crucial role in identifying and safeguarding its community and staff from cyber threats that pose a substantial risk to our collective security and privacy. And whereas all critical sectors of city infrastructure, including, but not limited to education, financial services, energy, telecommunications, transportation, utilities, health care, and public safety systems are increasingly dependent on data and technology. And whereas in collaboration with educational and government partners, the city of Arlington embraces the principles of the U.S. cybersecurity and infrastructure security agencies, national secure our world campaign, by empowering residents with the knowledge and tools necessary to secure their digital lives, including multi-factor authentication, strong passwords, software updates, and recognizing fishing attempts. And whereas the city encourages the responsible use of artificial intelligence technologies, reminding residents and organizations to be cautious about what they share with AI systems, and stay alert as cyber criminals increasingly use AI to create fake media, copy voices or language and images, and spread false information. And whereas the security of technology and data is a shared responsibility in which everyone has a critical role and increased awareness of essential cyber cybersecurity hygiene will enhance the security of the city's information, infrastructure, and economy. And whereas October is officially recognized as Cybersecurity Awareness Month by CISA and the National Cybersecurity Alliance. On behalf of our mayor Jim Ross, we hereby proclaim October 2024 as Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Let's celebrate accordingly. Thank you. Are you talking? Okay. We just want to see if we could give you a mouthful. You know, cybersecurity is absolutely critical for everything we do as a city. From the water that flows to your home to the businesses that are in our city that help our economy run. There's no doubt that in every portion of our lives, there's a portion of cybersecurity. And it's it's not necessarily the thing that you know you see, you know, that you can touch. It's not tangible, but the effects of it are absolutely critical, right? And it's and it's not great. I mean, we have a lot of different uh threats to us as a as as a city, but I would say the most existential threat that we have is is cybersecurity. But with that, the the one of probably the best thing that we have as a city is our people and our community. And this is a great opportunity for us to show you as our community, um some of the great people that we put on the front lines to help defend some of the critical data that helps our city run. So with that, I want to thank you all and our library who did an awesome job creating a um a what was it called again? The cyber villainy video. If you haven't seen this, you must go watch it. It's fantastic. Um it's a very it's a silent film, but it kind of portrays um uh different cybersecurity tips and and things along those lines.
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