Good evening, everybody.

Welcome to the Arlington City Council meeting.

Today is February the 24th, 2026.

Hope everybody had a great weekend.

We're going to go ahead and call the evening session to order, and I'm going to ask Dr.

Renee Hornbuckle from Triumph Worship Center to please come forward and lead us in an invocation.

Please stand if you can.

Good evening, everyone.

It's a blessing to be here.

I want to be specifically led by Jeremiah 29 7 tonight, which calls us to seek the peace and well-being of the city.

And so I invite each of us to simply just pause together so that we really can lift up our beautiful city of Arlington in prayer.

Will you bow with me?

Gracious God, we come before you grateful for this city we call home Arlington, a city of vision, diversity, opportunity, and promise.

Your word calls us to seek out the peace continually and be concerned about the well-being of the city.

And so tonight we lift up Arlington before you.

And so we ask a special prayer for covering for the residents of this great city.

Cover them with peace, stability, and hope.

Honor the Texas flag.

I believe that we can see the Texas one state.

One and individual.

Speakers may not use music, videos, other forms of media, signs, or props.

During public hearings for zoning cases, the applicant will be asked to speak first and will be given five minutes to make a presentation.

Speakers in support or opposition of the item will be given three minutes each to make their statements.

Speakers will be given three minutes to speak.

If multiple speakers plan to provide the same or similar comments, those speakers may, if they so desire, designate one or more individuals to provide public comment on behalf of the group.

In consideration of other speakers, please conclude your comments promptly when you hear the bell.

We ask that you address your comments to the mayor and council.

Thank you, Mr.

Buskin.

Do we have any appointments to boards or commissions this evening?

Thank you, Mayor.

We have two appointments to boards and commissions to the Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau Board.

Kevin Lasher, place 10 to the Zoning Board of Adjustment, Mark Boyer, place eight.

Thank you, sir.

Do we have uh any speakers on these two items?

No, sir, we do not.

Thank you.

I have a motion from Councilmember Odom Wesley, a second from Councilmember Peel, please cast your vote.

The motion passes.

Mr.

Buskin, consideration of items from the executive session, please.

Thank you, Mayor.

We have six items for consideration from executive session.

6.1, a resolution determining the necessity of acquiring water main easements for the public use of constructing, reconstructing, maintaining, and using water main improvements for the West Pressure Plain 16-inch water main improvements project.

62 through 66 resolutions authorizing the settlement of negotiations for fee simple ownership of approximately 1,421 square feet, being a portion of lot 1 block 36 of the original town of Arlington, otherwise known as 301 West Division Street, of 1,358 square feet, being a portion of lot 1 block 33 of the original town of Arlington, otherwise known as 107 West Division Street, of 1,281 square feet, being a portion of Lot 1 Block 28 of the original town of Arlington, otherwise known as 300 North Elm Street, of 699 square feet being a portion of lots 46R and 42R, Solomon Davis Subdivision, in addition to the City of Arlington, otherwise known as 712 and 714 East Division Street, and of 517 square feet being a portion of the Solomon Davis Survey, Abstract Number 425, City of Arlington, otherwise known as 510 West Division Street, Arlington, Texas, for the public use of sidewalks and landscaping improvements for the Division Street Text out Sidewalk, Cooper Street to Collins Street project.

Thank you, Mayor.

That concludes the items for consideration from executive session.

Thank you, Mr.

Buskin.

Do we have any speakers on any of those items?

Yes, sir.

We had one individual register to speak in support of items 6.2 through 6.6.

Uh Donald Turner.

Mr.

Turner.

Hi.

This is Donald Turner, and I support the uh Division Street projects because thou make the area walkable and bring uh more businesses to the area.

Thank you, Mr.

Turner.

It will also be uh more comfortable to walk to and less dangerous.

Because I uh it needs uh its integral for Arlington's form based code could bring more restaurants, more stores, maybe a grocery store.

Very thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Turner.

I appreciate you.

Any other speakers, Mr.

Buskin?

No, sir, no additional speakers.

Thank you, sir.

I have a motion from Councilmember Gonzalez and a second from Councilmember Galante, please cast your vote.

And the motion passes.

Consideration of minutes, Mr.

Buskin.

Thank you, Mayor.

Minutes for consideration this evening or the afternoon and evening meetings from February 10th, 2026.

Thank you, sir.

Council, do y'all have any corrections or additions?

Seeing none, Mr.

Buskin.

Are there any speakers on any of these items?

No, sir.

No speakers on these items.

Thank you.

I have a motion from Councilmember Hogg and a second from Councilmember Peel, please cast your vote.

And the motion passes.

Consideration of consent agenda, Mr.

Buskin.

Thank you, Mayor.

The consent agenda this evening contains 17 minute orders, three ordinances, and 18 resolutions.

The minute orders seek to authorize one annual sole source contract for the software support and maintenance for the enforcement mobile Brazos e-citation handheld devices.

Two through four annual requirements contracts for the purchase and delivery of hopper loads of gasoline and diesel fuel for the purchase and delivery of transport loads of gasoline and diesel fuel and for traffic signal heads and components.

Five through eleven renewal of annual requirements contracts for the testing of construction materials and geotechnical services for irrigation repairs and system expansion for fire hydrants for the purchase and delivery of caustic soda for the purchase and delivery of anhydrous ammonia and chemicals for Arlington and the city of Kennendale for the purchase and delivery of flocculent polymer and for the purchase and delivery of hydrofluoro silicic acid.

12 renewal of a of contract for a remittant remittance processing hardware and software solution for the water utilities department.

13 purchase of 15 vehicles for various city departments.

14 six-month requirements contract for light emitting diode roadway fixtures and highway high mass lighting.

15 and 16 construction contracts for improvements and repairs to the 101 center parking garage and for improvements to the Ot Crib's Public Safety Center.

17 six-year contract for the purchase, maintenance, and support of unmanned aircrafts for a law enforcement takeoff program.

The ordinances seek to authorize 18 zoning case SUP 25-09-1012 Gay Lane.

19 zoning case SUP 25-08-3409 Shorewood Court.

20 anti-discrimination chapter.

The resolution seek to authorize 21.

Authorize the competitive seal proposal, otherwise known as request for proposal procurement method for fleet maintenance services.

22, purchase and sale agreement, constellation Hanley Power, LLC 6201, Lake Arlington Drive.

23 Main Street Cooper to Davis Water and Sanitary Sewer Improvements Settlement with 1111 West Abram FLP, 1111 West Abram Street, 24 A and B professional Services Contracts for Survey of Asbestus containing materials located at 1403, 1409, 1421, 1211, 1213, 1219, and 1505 Altman Drive, 1310 and 1402 North Center Street in support of the Center Street Gateway Project.

25A through C 2026, Housing Tax Credit Proposals, Resolutions of Support.

26 and 27, Texas Department of Transportation, FY2026, Selective Traffic Enforcement Program Step Clicker Ticket Grant and Operations Slowdown.

28 and 29 continued participation in the Atmos City's steering committee and payment of the participation fee and in the Encore City Steering Committee and Payment of the Participation Fee.

30 interlocal agreement with Arlington Independent School District for student rides on the Arlington on Demand Service.

31, Arlington Entertainment Area Management District Board Appointments.

32, resolution authorizing limited use and licensing of the City of Arlington, 150th anniversary commemorative logo.

33, second amendment to downtown Arlington Management Corporation contract.

34 A and B amendment to resolution number 20-153 and resolution number 21-031 to authorize the reprogramming of community development block grant COVID funds for lighting of city parks.

Thank you, Mayor.

This concludes the consent agenda for this evening.

Thank you, Mr.

Buskin.

I'm going to go ahead and pull 8.20 from the consent agenda for separate consideration, please.

Mr.

Buskin, on the remaining items of the consent agenda, do we have any speakers on any of those items?

Uh yes, sir.

On item 8.18, we had a non-speaker in support.

Um on item 8.25, we have a speaker in opposition, Richard Weber.

Mr.

Weber.

Richard Weber.

47 years ago this month, I became a citizen of Arlington.

Still am I oppose 8.25, which is three resolutions of support for low-income apartments.

Think about it.

How is this going to improve Arlington?

Is it the low-income part?

Uh you're going to lower the average income, and that's going to improve Arlington.

Or is it the apartments part?

Where over the years you've added close to a gazillion units.

If this was the answer, there'd be no one in our rear view mirror.

I have no idea why you would think this is good for Arlington.

One possible answer for wanting apartments like this, I've heard, is because there's a bunch of people coming into the area.

Arlington already has one of the highest densities in the North Central Texas region.

Of the 260 something cities and towns, Arlington is either one or two, I believe.

It is not our responsibility to take on these additional citizens.

Spread them out.

Anywhere else can go somewhere else.

Arlington's density is far above Dallas and Fort Worth.

It is not our responsibility.

Take on additional citizens.

So again, I asked for you to oppose this item.

It is not good for Arlington.

The apartments are not good for Arlington.

The low income, lowering the average income of Arlington citizens is not good for Arlington.

Let's do things that are good for Arlington.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Weber.

Any other speakers, Mr.

Buskin?

No, sir.

We just had one non-speaker in opposition to item 8.33.

Thank you, sir.

I have a motion from Councilmember Vellante and a second from Councilmember Gonzales.

Please cast your votes.

The motion passes.

We'll go back to 8.20.

Mr.

Buskin, how many speakers do we have on 8.20, sir?

Mayor, we currently have 15 speakers in opposition to item 8.20.

Thank you, sir.

We're going to have a two-minute time limit for the speakers on 8.20.

Folks, we have a lot of people speaking tonight, so you're going to have two minutes if you've signed up to speak to speak on 8.20.

I have one request and one request only from folks, and that's please treat everybody in this room with respect.

Whether you agree with them or not agree with them, let's be respectful to one another.

I want you to be able to exercise your First Amendment rights.

I want you to clap if you want to clap and cheer if you want to cheer.

But I do ask that you be respectful to everybody else in this room.

With that, Mr.

Buskin, can we have our first speaker, please?

Yes, sir.

Our first speaker is Leslie Rathburn.

Ms.

Raffron.

After Leslie Rathman is Tiffany Dragoon.

Good evening, Mayor Ross and Council.

My name is Leslie Rathbun, and I live in Arlington.

I'm not going to beg you to restore the anti-discrimination ordinance.

I want to tell you what you currently are proposing isn't worth the paper.

It will be written on.

At the last meeting, some of you suggested that referral to the federal government for discrimination complaints is sufficient.

It is not.

Do you remember the young girl who was here two months ago?

She stood here in tears, begging you to keep the prior ordinance so she could feel safe at school.

The Federal 988 hotline for suicides has eliminated all the counselors for LGBTQ teens.

The suicide rate for Texas teens who are LGBTQT plus is 11.6 deaths per 100,000.

If you haven't been paying attention, both the federal and the state, our state government are actively eliminating protections for those deemed other.

That word includes not only LGBTQ plus humans, but those of colors and of different faith.

Titles one, five, and seven are being actively dismantled by the federal government.

When the res the president posts racial slurs about a former president and his wife, do you really believe they're going to pay attention?

What this proposed resolution does is give permission to the bigots, homophobes, and homophobes and racists in Arlington to deny housing, employment, and health care to those who are deemed other.

My husband at his job has had racial slurs directed at him by customers.

If you pass this resolution that offers no respect, safety, redress, or support, then you are making a mockery of the words behind you on the wall.

Arlington will no longer be the dream city, but a city of nightmares for many of our citizens.

Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am.

Our next speaker is Tiffany Dragoon.

After Tiffany Dragoon is David Greble.

Good evening.

My name is Tiffany Dragan.

I'm an Arlington resident of more than 30 years.

With the removal of protections for Arlington citizens who are most at risk for facing discrimination.

A proposal to rebrand the city is needed as well.

Arlington will no longer represent the American dream for so many of its people.

So calling ourselves the American dream city becomes blatantly false.

Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am.

Our next speaker is David Greble.

After David Greble is Chris Hoffman.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak.

I'm David Grable, retired pastor, former member of the Arlington Community Relations Commission, and a resident of precinct two.

The original anti-discrimination ordinance that was turned aside last fall, although flawed in some ways, had meaningful protections for citizens of Arlington.

It was a hot resolution.

The attempt later in the fall to overturn it and to eliminate those protections was cold.

This ordinance that you're looking at this evening is what?

It's empty.

It has no meaning, it has no effect, it relies on enforcement from an unreliable government.

It is lukewarm.

Those of you who know your Bible know where I'm going.

Jesus said I would rather that you be hot or cold.

But you are lukewarm.

And I will spit you from my mouth.

My friends, do not adopt this ordinance.

Spit it out.

Because if we choose not to, I fear that there are many, including many of our young people, who will to use another biblical metaphor, shake the dust of the American dream city from their feet and take their gifts and their lives somewhere else.

Amen.

Our next speaker is Chris Hoffman.

After Chris Hoffman is Carl Childers.

Good evening, Mayor Ross and Council members.

My name is Chris Hoffman.

I'm a citizen of Lewisville.

I am here representing the Justice Network of Terrant County this evening.

I'm also here representing myself and my family, my disabled wife, my child who's on the spectrum, and many neurodivergents and many friends of mine who wouldn't be protected by the old ordinance.

I've heard that that's a concern of the old ordinance.

That's an administration that sold the public on the importance of sweeping tariffs, which have now been ruled unconstitutional.

That's the administration that took down panels discussing slavery, which has now been struck down by a federal judge and it's been ordered to return.

So I'm a little confused why we seem to be so concerned with, in my words, pandering to an administration that likes to overstep its bounds.

And let's work toward a better solution that protects people instead of this proposed ordinance.

Now I've heard some people on the council in past meetings talk about this as a difficult choice and compromise.

I don't think of this as a choice.

I think of the proposed ordinance as a test.

And the people of this city and the visitors who flock here and who spend our money here and who work here and live here and play here are all watching this city council to determine if you pass or fail that test.

On the one hand, we have concerned citizens and visitors to this fine city.

And on the other hand, we have outsiders who preach division from a bully pulpit and try and drive a wedge on anyone against anyone they disagree with.

We are all watching to see what your answer will be and what master will you serve.

Thank you very much for your time.

Our next speaker is Carl Childers.

After Carl Childers is Mark Clasby.

Good evening.

My name is Carl Childers.

I've been here in Arlington for over 30 years.

I'm a retired teacher, and I'm a little bit older, especially than a lot of the young kids here.

I remember growing up.

I did not know we didn't have LGBTQ, da-da-da.

There was an H word we use, and it wasn't even in the dictionary.

The problem I have a little bit is protection of the young kids that are here today.

If even one person is hurt by not having the protection that they need, then everybody is going to be hurt.

They deserve protection just like we've had in the past.

I've read a little bit about the ordinance, refers to the civil rights of 1964, I believe.

Things have come a long way since 1964.

And uh, you know, it was mentioned a little bit ago about the DEI, the grant that we were afraid to lose as part of what may have driven this.

I'm not in your meetings, you know, to discuss that or anything else.

But I would like to offer really, really consider that all the LGBTQI and all the different ones that I don't know anything about, and most of you don't, the non-binary kids that we have today.

Let's make sure they're protected here in the city of Arlington and be inclusive.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Mark Clasby.

After Mark Clasby is Noel Colbert.

Good evening, Mayor Ross, members of council.

My name is Mark Clasby.

My pronouns are he and him.

I'm a straight white, cisgendered Christian male.

I was born with just about every entitlement that you can have.

Um I'm a resident of Arlington.

I'm a family law attorney in the community.

Um the last meeting I heard enforcibility thrown around by y'all a lot.

Um I understand that sometimes accepting something that is less worse is necessary, but it should be an absolute last resort.

In the last two meetings, I've heard people wanting to know that this city, the American dream city, that they choose to live in, they want to know y'all care about them.

They said it time and time again.

Just care about us.

Tell us you care about us.

Um, God designed us with two ears and one mouth.

My challenge to you this evening is to think about that.

Everyone that has spoken has said, hear me, care about me.

Y'all are elected officials.

Voted into office by us, and hopefully, because you, like me, are servants.

Where customer service matters.

So please listen to us and show us you care about us.

Our next speaker is Noel Noelle Colbert.

After Noel Colbert is Keegan Dees.

Hello, my name is Noel Colbert of Arlington, Texas, and it's a pleasure to be speaking here again.

I'm in favor of sending this anti-discrimination ordinance back to the drawing board because this ordinance is as indefensible as the council claimed the previous was.

It claims defend but defers enforcement.

In the revised ordinance, it is stated that protected class means any category of individuals who are legally protected from discrimination under federal and state law.

Direct quote.

Throughout the ordinance reads, under federal or state law, under federal or state law, under federal or state law.

All cases of discrimination are deferred to powers beyond our city.

Accountability depends on the state and federal level being held to standard.

Instead of identifying protected classes explicitly, this ordinance avoids identifying victims of discrimination.

Some might think the submissiveness keeps Arlington safe, that it makes Arlington less of a political target.

But it all it does is show tolerance to unprovoked intolerance.

It shows weakness in the city at best, and at worst it's failed representation.

As residents, it feels as if we're being manipulated with an ordinance like this is composed, as if the council means to say, I see your concerns, I do, but please allow us to educate you on your rights while avoiding addressing those concerns as a representative entity.

And that's how this isn't an anti-discrimination discrimination ordinance.

It's a deferral of responsibility ordinance in PSA, where a city has consumes the people unaware of their rights, while it's a city who seems unaware that our rights are not always presented and protected fairly at the state and federal level.

The people of Arlington don't deserve to be gaslit into believing it's anything else.

We need real local protections in additional to state and federal protections.

Identify clo every class individually, directly citing federal and state law.

No more generalizing, be specific.

Say who the city of Arlington supports section 109 already protects against federal and state conflict.

If our city wants to defer authority to the state and federal so badly, they can at least outline and refer directly to phrasing it.

Each of the documents identify as establishing the generation of protection of protected classes.

Our next speaker is Keegan Bees.

After Keegan Dees is Kim Martinez.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council members.

My name is Keegan Dees.

I'm a born and raised Arlington resident.

As a transgender man, I'd like to know what the state's gonna do with me.

Um as you know, we have a bathroom bill, so if I were to write now have to use the restroom.

Fortunately, I would have to go to the women's restroom.

It's the law.

I don't want to break the law, so it's just something I have to do.

And I might make some ladies uncomfortable, and I I don't want to do that.

Um I'd also like to go over just you know, Ted Cruz, Greg Abbott.

You know, they've consistently had campaign ads where they're depicting me as a monster or people like me as monsters and dangerous to the public.

We're everyday normal people just like yourselves.

Um also like to go over Ken Paxton welcome the Brigle family, welcomed him into their home shortly after he wanted to criminalize parents of transgender children.

They just wanted to show him they were a normal family just like everyone else.

And then we have Tim O'Hare, who wants to ban drag shows on um college campuses, even though college students are adults, um, but does not have a word to say about turning point being forced in every school in our state.

So just think about that.

I can't trust them, so I really just need my city to trust, and I don't feel like I can do that at the moment.

So thank you for your time.

Thank you, Kiki.

Councilmember Gonzalez.

Uh yes, I just want to um uh personally apologize to this last speaker uh for he felt last time that I threatened him and or and I I didn't mean that, and I apologize to you personally, but I don't want to do that in public.

So thank you for allowing me to do that.

Thank you, Councilmember Gonzalez.

Hi, good evening.

Um, Mr.

Mayor and City Council.

My name is Kim Martinez.

I have lived in Arlington since 2005, and I'm here to speak tonight.

Really, I'm here more to ask the question like, what are you doing?

There was the original ordinance wasn't perfect, but there was no reason to take it away.

I really am just disgusted that you think you have to capitulate to the possibility of losing funding, which we've later figured out that that really wasn't even on the on the plate, so there was no reason to rescind it in the first place.

Um I don't understand why you think you have to do this.

This people deserve protections, they deserve specific specific protections, as everyone has said, we certainly can't trust our state government, and we sure can't trust the federal administration.

I mean, they're not about protecting anybody except themselves and their billionaire buddies.

So I beg you, don't rescind the old ordinance, put the old ordinance back in place and put this all to bed.

Look at all the time you've wasted on this.

How many times does this come up in meetings?

How many times have we come out here to talk about it?

How much time have you spent behind closed doors talking about it?

It's ridiculous.

You should have left it alone in the first place.

Thank you for your time.

Our next speaker is DJ Johanneson.

After DJ Johanneson is Melanie Campbell Carter.

Mayor, uh, members of the council, my name is DJ Johanneson.

I am the CEO of the Help Center for LGBDQ Health.

I oppose this ordinance and request that the ordinance be tabled because some very important issues remain unanswered.

179 days ago, I stood before this body and told the council that something monumental had just happened.

A fully inclusive anti-discrimination ordinance had passed unanimously, and not a single resident spoke in opposition.

That simply didn't happen.

And I told you then that it was something you should be proud of.

Now, 1,709 days later, another monumental moment is about to occur.

Arlington, Texas on the is on the verge of becoming the very first large city in our nation's history to strip local civil rights protections from its own residents.

This is not a proud moment.

Your actions tonight place the rights of every resident, visitor, and guest at the mercy of whoever happens to occupy the White House, whether three years from now or seven years from now.

You were inviting lost funding and a national backlash because you're failing the most basic test of leadership.

Some have said that federal protections are enough.

Federal laws set the bare minimum.

It's the legal floor that you are required to meet.

It's not an aspirational goal.

If the stated purpose of some of suspending the 2021 ordinance and adopting this ordinance was to protect the city from the potential loss of federal housing funds, this does not do that.

The council said approximately $55 million was at risk in federal funding.

Changing this ordinance does not change fair housing.

Thank you, sir.

Okay.

Councilmember Hunter.

Thank you.

Sure.

The uh ordinance that is being considered tonight replaces the anti-discrimination ordinance.

In 2021, two ordinances were passed the anti-discrimination ordinance and the fair housing ordinance.

When you strip everything out of this, when this was if it passes, it does not affect the fair housing ordinance that we have in place, which includes sexual orientation and gender identity.

It requires the fair housing officer to conduct investigations to do all the things that this one is saying you can't do.

What it's going to end up happening is you're going to have a separate system of how the city reacts to discrimination.

If it's in housing matters, the city will investigate it and assumes an active enforcement role.

If it's in employment or public accommodations, the individuals are simply referred somewhere else and there's no investigation.

So this does not stop the requirement and the responsibility of the city to do investigations to come to conclusions to do that if you're in housing.

But if the premise for this was you're going to lose $55 million in housing funds.

Why is only the anti-discrimination ordinance addressed, which is not what puts you at risk for losing the $55 million in HUD funding?

Because you still have sexual orientation and gender identity under that Fair Housing Act.

So for the last six months, you've still been at risk for losing that money if that was the reason for the actual premise for making this change.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you so much.

Our next speaker is Melanie Campbell Carter.

After Melanie Campbell Carter is Donna Mack.

Good evening.

I'm a member I'm Melanie Campbell Carter.

I live in Arlington, and I'm a member of the League of Women Voters.

I'm here to present a statement for the League of Women Voters written by our President Janet Mattern.

To the Honorable Mayor and City Council members of the City of Arlington, we oppose the weakened anti-discrimination ordinance.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization committed to supporting DEI in both principle and practice.

We believe constitutional and human rights must be protected for everyone.

We advocate for equal access to employment, housing, business opportunities, and safety without discrimination.

The proposed anti-discrimination ordinance is inadequate.

It lacks provisions for investigating and enforcing against discrimination and fails to bar discriminatory organizations from city contracts.

Local enforcement is crucial to safeguard marginalized groups when state or federal law may not apply.

This ordinance weakens protections and sets a poor example, as no other large cities have reduced their anti-discrimination measures.

Arlington deserves leaders who will fully protect all residents from discrimination.

We urge reconsideration of this ordinance and to please guarantee strong local protections.

Voters recognize the importance of local elections in May.

Sincerely, Janet Mattern, President League of Women Voters of Terrant County.

Our next speaker is Donna Mack.

After Donna Mack is Michelle Napeson, thank you, Mayor Ross and members of council.

My name is Donna Mack.

I'm a native of Arlington, but I actually live in Pantiago.

And I chair the nonprofit Arlington Mayor's Committee on People with Disabilities, so I'm here to represent the disability community.

Currently, one in four Americans has some form of disability.

A disability is a condition that prevents you from fully engaging in one or more major life activities.

Not all disabilities are obvious.

And in my work of more than three decades in cross-disability advocacy and education.

And it's just that's really scary.

This is the American Dream City.

As chair of the Arlington Mayor's Committee on People with Disabilities, I was approached in 2021 by Jennifer Whitman to write a letter of support to the FIFA board on behalf of Arlington ATT Stadium because I had been on the accessibility committee for that venue.

And I was asked to be part of the Dallas World Cup 2026 Human Rights Planning Committee.

Thank you, ma'am.

Okay.

Where are we going to leave our visitors?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Michelle Napes.

Dr.

Michelle Napes is JP Canoe.

Good evening, Council and Mayor.

My name is Michelle Mapes.

I have been a resident of Arlington for 47 years.

I have children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

And they all live in this town.

I have heard so many wonderful things from these people who are saying what I believe to be true.

This anti-discrimination ordinance is as weak as the courage of the council.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is JP Cano.

After JP Cano is Nathan Smith.

Good evening, Mayor and Council members.

My name is JP Gano, and I serve as the director from the Help Center.

But I I'm here because I believe our city must protect our residents.

And when I say all, I mean it's clearly, explicitly, and obviously without ambiguity.

The ordinance before you is framed as the replacement untide discrimination measure.

But when meaningful predictions are removed, that is not progress.

Without enforceable protections for the LGBTQ community and other vulnerable communities, which I serve every day.

Arlington is a diverse environment city.

I have noticed it's from all the years that I have worked here, or either I passed by, or as now I'm in my new job when I was in school.

They deserve policies that reflect the value and make clear that discrimination has no place here.

This vote is more than procedural.

It defines what kind of city we choose to live in.

I urged you to reject this ordinance and work toward one that provides real enforceable protections for everyone.

Thank you for your time and your service.

Our next speaker is Nathan Smith.

After Nathan Smith is Rojo Mehuero.

Hello, I'm Nathan Smith from Mansfield.

I've been a close observer on this ADO journey.

Today I decided to do an exercise where I reflected back on all the reasons members of this council have stated as to why Arlington's 2021 ADO needed to be rescinded and replaced with this one, and compare that to reality.

Here's what I came up with.

Justification one.

We had to do this to preserve funding.

Reality one.

No other large city in the nation out of hundreds with ADOs preemptively canceled their ADOs to preserve funding.

None seem to have lost that funding.

Justification two.

These protections are already offered at the federal and state level.

The 2021 ADO was unnecessary.

Reality two.

There are no federal or state protections for certain classes in cases of public accommodation.

Arlington has made we don't serve your kind here legal and city limits.

Justification three.

That shows it was useless.

Reality three.

The city spent zero dollars informing people of discrimination protections.

We're explaining the complaint process.

In that context, low reporting numbers were inevitable.

And finally, my personal favorite justification from last meeting.

The 2021 ADO had no enforcement procedures.

This new toothless ADO is no change.

We might as well pass this as a compromise.

This ignores how other cities do have clearly defined enforcement mechanisms for their ADOs.

In fact, at least one of those cities is right here in North Texas.

This clearly shows that developing and passing an enforcement mechanism mechanism is a totally achievable policy goal.

This council failed to do that for four years.

Now some members appear to be using that as justification for passing a completely toothless replacement ordinance.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Rojo Mehuero.

Buenas noches, good evening, Rogelio Miquero, 3704 Astoria Drive, proudly, District 4.

Hey, man, uh quick and easy.

Uh we being canvassing the neighborhoods a lot.

I like giving a report back.

I decided to let my name towards the end because I believe I know how the vote is going to go.

And all of you do as well.

However, it is important for me to give a bit of the report back that I heard during the past weekend.

Uh the main comments came from uh community member, Will Ventura.

He mentioned to me on the street that uh, you know, he's like, I'm I'm a little afraid because it's not like I can butcher it up whenever I get to Arlington.

And for those of you who don't have not heard that term is we can't just put our identity, our sexual orientation, a sexual preference, at the corner of Arlington whenever we walk in and then put it back on whenever we woke up.

I think ultimately this are people that are simply asking for dignity and respect.

Having things back and forth reminds me a lot to when I started translating for my aunt for my grandmother, uh, all this paperwork in English, I had to learn as a young person how to navigate the world with all these terms, uh specifically uh lawyer terms.

That I was like, what does this mean?

How do I translate it?

But I did pretty good.

I did fairly good at the time.

Uh what this is reminding me of is a little bit of that moment.

The uncertainty of am I doing this right?

Is this correct?

What is an ordinance?

What is a resolution?

I believe it is our job to make the life of the residents better.

Whether you are a public servant or whether you're a community organizer like myself.

But ultimately, what I'm understanding here is that we're making their life confusing.

We're taking away a little bit of that trust that they had on us, and sadly, because we're not telling them a straight up what this is doing for them and how we're making their life better, they are filling in the gaps with misinformation and fear.

I hope that we can strive to meet not just the American Dream City, but a greater American dream city.

One where we're accepting everybody and we're providing dignity and respect to every single resident of this great city.

Thank you so much.

Mayor, that concludes our speakers on this item.

We also had eight yeah, excuse me, 21 individuals register as non-speakers in opposition.

Thank you, Mr.

Buskin.

I um I can't say I disagree with anybody completely.

Uh this hasn't been any fun whatsoever.

And I'm not gonna try to sit up here and say, here's how we got here.

The old ordinance did this, and this ordinance does this, and doing nothing does this.

I'm not gonna try to pretend like the ordinance that's before us today is perfect.

I don't believe it is.

I would love to reinstate the old ordinance.

But as we talked about last time, we don't have the votes to do that.

And you've all heard the old saying about the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.

And I know that there's a lot of the speakers that spoke today who will argue why can't Congress either federally or statewide just get together and do something.

One of the biggest complaints people get people who see what things differently don't work together.

But we didn't do that in Arlington.

We didn't do it because no action whatsoever, we would have stagnation.

We would be paralyzed without anything in place whatsoever.

So I'm not going to try to say that this ordinance is beautiful and perfect, and just trust me, it's okay.

What I will tell you is that me and these eight other men and women up here worked our tails off to come with something that could be passed.

Not perfection, not ideal.

Forget about how we got here, why we got here, or anything like that.

I'm proud of that process.

But I sure as hell am proud of these people.

I don't expect you to be fully happy with it either.

I hope that we can look at how we can improve things even more in the future.

But right now, we're at a position where we work together and move this city in a direction whether you believe it's the right direction or not, or rather we stay here and be paralyzed with stagnation and do nothing at all.

And then for certain, we would be the one big city in the country that wiped everything out.

The last thing I'm gonna say, it's okay to disagree with one another, but it's not okay to misrepresent your disagreement.

It's not okay to put the wrong information out there.

This doesn't wipe out all of your rights.

This doesn't do what the literature has been telling you it does, the mailers and the commercials.

It doesn't do that, and to represent this body as some type of uncaring creature simply isn't right.

And those of you who have been here for a while know that I'm speaking the truth.

With that, I have a motion from Councilmember Galante.

I get a second, please.

And a second from Councilmember Gonzalez.

Please cast your vote.

The motion passes.

We're gonna move on down to 11.1.

Mr.

Elverton, are you doing this one?

Oh Andy told me you were doing all.

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

Lindsay Mitchell, Director of Strategic Initiatives.

Before you tonight is a resolution to create the Anthem Public Improvement District in 2022.

The city entered into a master development agreement with trademark for the acquisition and redevelopment of Lincoln Square, now rebranded as Anthem.

As part of this redevelopment, Trademark is requesting a 28-year public improvement district to fund maintenance, beautification, marketing, security, and communications.

The proposed PID includes five parcels totaling about 45 acres.

The assessment will not exceed 80 cents per 100 of appraised value with the first three years set at zero per 100 of appraised value.

This PID will help ensure Anthem remains vibrant and economically viable through consistent maintenance and upkeep.

I'm happy to take any questions.

Thank you, ma'am.

Mr.

Buskin, do we have any speakers on this item?

Yes, sir.

We have one speaker in support and one speaker in opposition.

Our speaker in support is Monica Lera.

Monica.

Okay.

And then we have one speaker in opposition, Richard Weber.

Mr.

Weber.

Richard Weber, Arlington, Texas.

My understanding from the staff report is same people own all five tracks.

So why is the city getting involved?

Do we have one a paid for maintenance for Parks Mall?

I I don't like where this is going.

This isn't going in a normal direction, and I don't like where it's heading.

It's putting the city in the middle of something it shouldn't be in the middle of.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Weber.

Anyone else, Mr.

Boscan?

No, sir.

Thank you, sir.

I'm going to close the public hearing.

I have a motion from Councilmember Galante, a second from Councilmember Pham.

Please cast your vote.

The motion passes.

11.2.

Is this one new?

Am I going to get these right yet?

You're the third one.

Okay.

Yes.

Come on.

I'm just gonna give them all to you, Lindsay, if that's okay.

Mayor and Council.

This item is the first reading of an ordinance to adopt the service and assessment plan for fiscal year 26 and levy assessments within the Anthem PID.

The service and assessment plan, which must be updated annually, outlines services funded by future assessments, including maintenance and beautification of public spaces, marketing and business engagement, seasonal events, and security.

These efforts will help create a sense of place and support economic vitality for Anthem.

And I'm happy to take any questions.

Mr.

Buskin, do we have any other speakers on this?

No, sir.

No speakers on this item.

We have one non-speaker in support and one non-speaker in opposition.

Thank you, sir.

I'm gonna close the public hearing.

I have a motion from Councilmember Galante.

A second from Councilmember Hogg.

Please cast your vote.

The motion passes 11.3, Ms.

Thoppel.

Thank you, Mayor.

Item 11.3 zoning case, SUP25-11 is a request to allow for a tattoo parlor or a piercing studio on a property-zoned community commercial C C on 0.22 acres located at 536 Randall Mill Road, generally located south of West Randall Mill and east of North Cooper Street.

The site is part of the Town North Shopping Center, a well-established retail center with multiple personal service and retail uses.

The site recently underwent a facelift and upgraded landscaping.

The tattoo parlor will occupy two spaces totaling 330 square feet within a 55-space salon suite.

The SUP will be granted specifically to this applicant, and it shall be non-transferable.

This evening we have Kedar Nikutkar of DANO's Ventures LLC who will be presenting the case for us.

Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor and Council members.

Next slide.

Oh, sorry.

Okay.

So as mentioned, uh the town North Shopping Center is at the intersection of Cooper and Randall Mill.

It's an existing shopping center that is currently zoned, CC Community Commercial.

Uh and then within that shopping center on the right hand side, uh you can see the existing uh tenant suite uh that's marked with red uh hash lines, uh which is uh occupying about uh 9,500 square feet, uh which is also an existing uh salon suite.

This is a picture from outside.

Uh so nothing uh is proposed to change externally or internally.

Uh the request is simply for two of the 55 uh suites inside to be permitted to be used by uh tattoo artist.

Sorry.

So this is a snapshot of the facility.

Um as mentioned, there's 55 salon suites, basically you enter, there's a lobby, uh, and there's two hallways and a connecting hallway, and on the back right, there's restrooms and uh uh laundry room, basically common utilities, 55 individual studios, 9,500 square feet.

Uh every studio has uh what hot and cold water uh and so there's no uh no proposal to change or uh build out or alter anything either externally or internally.

Uh so request at a glance, as mentioned, two tattoo studios within existing uh tenant suite of 55 studios uh to be requested to be used.

Uh all studios are functionally identical, every studio has hot and cold sink, uh no exterior site changes proposed, no structural work, no interior work, no change in center and sent in intensity.

The tattoo studios will be licensed uh and and comply with uh Texas DSHs.

Uh no adverse impact is expected.

Uh just to quickly go through this.

Uh so as mentioned before, no exterior signage changes, uh no adverse parking impact, uh similar visit profile.

Uh it's mostly appointment based, so the way salon studios work is the the salon professionals is inside, accept uh clients on appointments and do the work inside the private uh studio rooms, uh professional conduct, so same standards as existing personal services.

There is policy handbook that requires professional conduct that the uh licensees have to uh read and sign.

Uh violations are enforceable.

Uh strong alignment of interest.

So I uh want to spend a little uh minute on this because uh the the one person that opposed this in the planning and zone zoning felt that the uh the tattoo artist would uh would have disruptive behavior.

Uh so I will have 53 tenants that are non-tattoo, uh and it's my five you know, strong uh incentive and interest to make sure that uh they are happy and that they are not uh being disturbed by uh the presence of uh tattoo artist.

And then I have the ability to uh to make changes if that is not the case.

So the the occupancy is a revocable commercial license, it doesn't it's very different from a residential tenancy.

Uh the the contract states very clearly that for whatever any reason or no reason either party may terminate the agreement with 30 days written notice.

So in the event uh if if the uh bringing in a tattoo artist creates uh environment that is not acceptable, um not only is it in my interest to uh address that situation, but I have the the legal right to quickly remove the uh the tattoo artist.

Um in terms of medical waste, the the studio operator uh is responsible for the waste.

Uh they will be licensed by DSHS as mentioned, but the lease and moving requirements uh will make sure uh that they uh they comply.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

It comes up on you quick, does it?

It does.

Yeah.

Okay, thank you, sir.

Mr.

Buskin, any other speakers on this one?

No, sir.

No additional speakers on this item.

Thank you.

Uh Councilmember Gonzalez just saw you pop up here.

Sorry.

Uh thank you for you know bringing this to the city and everything else.

So I just have two questions.

So uh the streets that are currently available.

How are they open 24 hours or do they can they only access them a certain time?

And I guess with regards to the tattoo, is there set hour for the tattoo shop?

So the the doors are open from 8 a.m.

to 8 p.m.

Uh the the uh studio artists do have an app where they can access the the facility outside of those hours uh right now uh but uh it they would have to uh so it's not open for public.

They would have to have the app downloaded uh in order to to access it outside of those hours.

So would the tattoo shop be open after hours and so somebody calls and say I'm outside, will they let them come in?

Is that is that will their business be done during during after hours?

It could be.

Um I again I I control that, so if if that is feedback, uh you know, I can I can through the license agreement set it says that uh they can only operate between certain hours the the week currently it is set up, uh and I have about 40 of those 55 studios that are rented.

Uh so those people typically are able to so I I'm not restricting their hours at the moment.

Okay.

Yeah, that's my only concern because I you know there's tattoo shops everywhere and they're they're great, but some of them are open, they don't get business till 10 o'clock after 11, 12.

So, no, and I I am very receptive to to any sort of guidance there, and like I said, uh I can uh actually control uh you know who has access uh and and between what hours.

Thank you.

Okay, sir, thank you.

I'm gonna close the public hearing.

I have a motion from Councilmember Galante and a second from Council Member Pham.

Please cast your vote.

The motion passes.

Congratulations, sir.

Thank you.

Okay.

12.1, Mr.

Elverton.

Thanks, Mayor.

Members of the council.

I'm here to provide a quick update from some activity that we had with our economic development corporation here last week and to provide an uh update on the overall anthem development agreement.

As you all know, for many years we've been working to solve a problem in North Arlington to uh fix uh uh functionally obsolete uh broken center that has negatively impacted the North Arlington retail trade zone uh has impacted adjacent um entertainment district activities for having the kind of the lack of kind of other other things to do.

As we've gone through this process with um from Blackstone to putting out uh competitive process with six uh vendors coming in to then uh working with um uh trademark on this whole process and extra zoning efforts, et cetera.

What we've learned is how difficult it is to reposition and do redevelopment in area that's uh older age, got multiple um leases with a lot of exclusives and a lot of uh uh just uh uh contrasting uh interests that have to had to disentangle.

But just for a quick update on this, uh you all remember this was uh beautiful property back in 1983.

It's not so much that way in today's uh situation, but it's this is a mall.

It's not just a shopping center, but the square footage size of 472,000 square feet on 46 acres.

It's a mall and it has been historically a retail hub for North Arlington uh that we need to get re-established.

You mall blast to the past.

We talked about 150 years earlier, but back 40 uh some odd years ago, these were the stores you would find there, Highland Suppliance, Triplin Cox Container Store, the Lowe's Theaters, um uh yes, connected very much to the Lowe's hotels types of things.

What's broken uh is uh uh a situation where between uh decisions that were made by past operators and kind of that retail trader, you see Lincoln Square is the bottom line that over the last decade has lost 30 percent in value, which is a function of leasehold um, you know, uh tenancy loss, while at the same time the surrounding area has grown uh at five times that cost, five times that uh growth.

What we need to do is make sure Lincoln Square is not dragging the neighborhood down, and that we uh don't let that become uh some kind of problem for us in the future, but that we lift everything in that area up.

It's very much consistent with all of our comprehensive planning efforts, specifically.

We talk about rejuvenating and transforming economic centers into vibrant destinations, and that's what Lincoln Square Redevelopment Plan is all about, promoting redevelopment that meets economic development priorities, which are about maintaining higher income purchasers in town, having tourist adjacent activities, and having a North Arlington retail trade zone re-established.

Our economic development plan talks about transformational redevelopment, repositioning uh economic centers into vibrant uh destinations and such.

So the effort here that we've been under for the last few years is very much on point with past adopted comprehensive plans and economic development strategies.

You all recall the master agreement several years back.

The city participated in the initial acquisition after that competitive process that I alluded to that Blackstone went through.

We had a chance to meet all six of the potential parties that were coming in and uh were certainly uh not impressed with most.

Um found one or two that were interesting, and ultimately we really liked the trademark portfolio and the fact that they were local, that they were just down the street and were gonna believe in the neighborhood and and and make things uh happen in a really positive way.

We've been working over the last three or four years, learning, uh going through zoning processes, talking about incentives and trying to figure out exactly how all this would put together.

And at the end, the project will include uh a downsizing of retail space, which raises rents and the remaining spaces, still include over 285,000 square feet of updated restaurant retail open space and amenities.

There's a minimum capital investment required of 100 million dollars, including the acquisition and EDC funding.

Uh expect that budget to be higher, but kind of for agreement purposes, the minimum is is there.

And I'm going to talk about here in a second the uh public infrastructure uh requests that we're talking about, and then in order to facilitate mixed use, which was part of the dream as we looked at the various zoning activities here from eventual housing down the road and office environments as let alone the retail restaurant.

Um we have uh kind of a pad site uh uh earmarked for future EDC acquisition to uh create the mixed use environment that they're interested in.

From a cost perspective, there's required public infrastructure elements of just over 10 million dollars, site franchise utilities, D cell lanes that work around the uh the location, um some off-site detention type work, etc.

There's also some um uh enhanced public infrastructure.

These are some areas where we had kind of honest conversations about do we want to reduce some of this because in the overall scope of things, do we want to, for example, make a decision not to bury the encore power lines on site.

We talk about that a lot in the city.

It's expensive.

That's the reason why it doesn't get done a lot.

But at 2.3 million, all those power lines that are coming across the road on the east side of the property will go underground.

Um we'll have enhanced landscape through the property, public art and district signage, uh, various kind of enhancements that are there that you won't see in that today.

Um so overall it's uh it's 24.5 million, and it is on a reimbursement basis only.

Um this is not a flat number, it's a this is your budget.

If it's less, it could be less, it won't be more, but it has to be substantiated and validated with contracts and verifications of payment.

Um of the overall terms I talked a little bit about the budget, minimum budget of 100 million.

The actual project budget is 121 when you include all the various carrying and leasing costs.

Um the master agreement, which we had originally had uh contribution on land acquisition.

It was intended to be a partial investment and a partial burn down.

There was some credit earned based on the level of investment of three million dollars of a nine million dollar number.

So, as part of this transaction, the remaining six is intended to stay with the project and roll into it and not be an incremental uh cost to the project.

Um, so those are released to go towards the project.

They have to come, they've already gone through all the zoning processes with you all, but they have to come back for a final design package to align to that so that we know we're getting exactly what you all have approved.

We'll review that uh later this summer, and site work would be expected to commence later in the fall.

Um, commitments to securing a minimum of 70,000 new grossable sales tax paying businesses and 325 positions, full-time equivalent staying on site.

There was a little bit of a discussion uh at the Economic Development Corporation about making sure that we that the that our original uh agreement did not allow them to move people in to the area from Arlington without specific written permission because it really just doesn't make sense to say move somebody out of downtown or move somebody out of Iridian where we've already made investments to secure those retail investments to then let the newest one kind of attract that, right?

That's really not what the interest is.

So there's a zone that's been uh identified as an exclusion zone in the two-mile radius around there and up to um the northern city limits.

There's been a little bit of discussion whether that's two or three.

Uh we started at three, we were talking about some other uh areas, and the EDC was a little more conservative on this at the meeting.

I I think it's likely something we'll need to revisit at a future time to as we see more of the project here in the months ahead.

But uh that's something that I think uh we'll need to uh talk about.

We did have a little bit of a um uh cost participation built in in the sense that the equity that's coming in and has internal rate of return hurdles.

Um we would be in a position to participate 15 percent of the proceeds above that privately agreed upon number.

And I say private, I mean private financing agreed, that's what the market demands, uh, minus a hundred basis points.

So there's some potential additional participation for the city to then lower our cost, and if that's not achieved uh and meaning that it didn't hit that, didn't exceed the performance, then there is an additional five hundred thousand dollars in amenities that are due to the property that are above and beyond the project budget.

To be clear, I want to make sure too here.

This goes back to the inception of the transaction, and I want to make clear that trademark has already made a very significant two hundred and fifty thousand dollar commitment into our community.

So if this was to hit, it would be an incremental two hundred and fifty thousand dollars uh towards that.

From an economic impact analysis perspective, over 30 years, we see an 8.9 uh year payback.

And the far right is really what's the key.

We've watched a property that uh used to have push in three million dollars in sales tax, over three million dollars.

Now it's sub-million, really.

And so that's two, two and a half million dollars that's evaporated out of our budget.

It's evaporated of our ability to provide services back to our citizens.

Same thing on the ad velorum reductions as incomes reduced to the property that passes through to the appraisal district.

So this is about the renewal and the resurgence then back of ad valorum and sales tax back, uh, which then uh puts the income back to work for our residents in the form of police and infrastructure and those kinds of things.

The PID we talked about a moment ago, so I won't hit that.

You've all already taken some steps there, and at the site plan, you can kind of see as far as where the change agents really are, and one of the complexities that we've learned is the the west side, for example, is the long-term leases there make it very expensive to make any kind of near-term improvement there.

Uh, that's functionally going to be there for probably 15 or 20 years in that window because of those longer-term leases.

But the other areas where we get some downsizing and we get some reconnection of pedestrian and vehicular traffic patterns that make more sense.

The salmon color is where there's more um uh flexibility and space to bring in new tenants, and then the purple site is the office mixed use component that I was talking about.

Um and then to the lower left, you see a little bit of some of the examples of what we're talking about as far as the type of uh uh vibe and change that they're making at the property, and just in a few other ways.

This is a refacing of the uh studio movie grill kind of main anchor in the main area there.

Um you can see how some of the uh paint and awnings are adjusted in the kind of more restaurant uh locations.

And then on the southern end, you can kind of see how the different type of roof textures, paint colors, store signs, et cetera, give a little bit of different uh look as well as the enhanced landscaping uh along the uh the corridor.

And then kind of a more blown-up picture of that kind of public art activity area that I was talking about, and then from an aerial perspective, kind of how the overall site kind of looks with the office looking back to the south on the properties to the south.

It's important for us that the 46 acres uh stay together in a in a look and feel perspective.

That's really what the public improvement district was all about, is making sure that's maintained contiguously, even as different owners come in over time, and that the public is able to see that.

The public is able to see that each one of these assets will be taken care of and maintained from a lighting security and landscape, and we won't make an investment today, only to then wonder five years from now, ten years from now why we didn't why we didn't think about that, right?

So that's uh that's where uh we're currently at.

There's a lot of significant work.

I want to appreciate uh all of our staff and finance and legal and uh Miss Mitchell and her team, our economic development team with Marty but um weeder uh and then of course the trademark team, who I'm sure will be uh able to come up and talk and say a few things too if you'd like.

But that's uh that's what we have teed up for your consideration tonight is a public investment on the public infrastructure and enhancements around there.

The private side investments are taken care of by trademark.

Councilmember Boxel.

Thank you.

Mr.

Yelberton, um can you uh back out the cost of the acquisition out of that hundred million and relate that to the overall percentage of the of the project?

Yeah, so the uh the land acquisition was a little over 14 million, 14 a quarter.

The uh public improvement is 24 and a half, so you're at 39 uh million towards the 100 million um minimum, but most likely the 121 budgeted amount.

So you're in this kind of one-thirds, two-thirds generally uh ratio that we're there.

It's uh not something that I think is uh is um you know what I'd love to see in that sense, and we'd love to see a smaller cost ratio, but at the same time, what we've seen is plenty of um evidence of what's required to renew an asset that needs it very badly in a trade area that's strong adjacent to the entertainment district and covering really all of North Arlington.

People now in that area are forced to go up to the glades or South Lake or go down to the Highlands and Park Small area.

And I would tell you that I think most go north uh because of concerns about traffic flow to the south.

It's easier to flow north, and so we lose that sales tax to competing areas that offer some of the renewal of the amenities that we're that we're trying to uh invest in and make here and in the collaboration with trademark.

Okay, so um do you feel confident that the 121 that you're estimating that what they will be able to do all that they have promised to do in this iteration of the design?

I do.

I think you'll see uh an overperformance in that area when we look at all of the the budging that comes in.

There's just a lot that's gonna go in here between the public infrastructure, the private infrastructure, and then the tenant upfits that come into this area.

Um so I think the number is very conservative.

Um they've been very worried about that, and they could speak to that, but they really want to not create a technical footfall.

They want to they really want to underpromise and overperform.

And so I'm confident they'll be able to do that here.

Thank you.

Mr.

Buskin, any other speakers on this?

No, sir.

We had one non-speaker in support and one non-speaker in opposition on this item.

Thank you.

I just want to say um the last five years I've had an opportunity to see a lot of developers come and go.

Um I've seen very few, if any, that have the stick with it of trademark.

Uh this has been anything but an easy project.

Uh we found a developer that I think matched our vision, our desire, and then the bottom fell out of everything.

And uh it's not easy for the city, it's not easy for trademark, but I for one am very appreciative for the effort y'all have put through on this project, and I'm excited about what this thing's gonna ultimately be.

So thank y'all.

I have a motion from Councilmember Galante and a second from Councilmember Peel.

Please cast your vote.

The motion passes.

Congratulations.

Okay.

Thank you.

12.2, Ms.

Mitchell.

Mayor and Council.

This item is a resolution authorizing the execution of an all-cash contract of sale with IHS real estate holdings LLC for approximately 20.4 acres of land located at 700 West Lamar Boulevard, 715 and 701 Ryan Plaza Drive, and 1610 North Collins Street in Arlington.

The purchase price is 19 million dollars plus closing costs.

These properties are strategically positioned to support future redevelopment and align with long-term planning objectives for commercial mixed use and employment center opportunities within a 41-acre area near other major corporate offices.

This acquisition represents a significant step toward advancing redevelopment goals for this corridor.

I do want to note that you have an updated agreement and exhibit at your places reflecting a corrected legal description with meets and bounds that were received with the title commitment, and you'll be voting on that version.

I'm happy to take any questions.

Thank you, ma'am.

Mr.

Buskin, any speakers on this item?

No, sir.

No speakers on this item.

One non-speaker in opposition.

Thank you, sir.

I have a motion from Councilmember Odom Wesley.

A second from Councilmember Galante, please cast your vote.

The motion passes.

Good evening, Mayor and Council Jennifer Wickman, Deputy City Manager.

I'm here to present the item.

It's a resolution that you all can consider authorizing the execution of an event agreement with the North Texas FIFA World Cup organizing committee related to the 2026 FIFA World Cup and then nine matches that will be played here in Arlington at ATT Stadium.

Many departments went into putting together this plan, and this is the agreement that the city will have with the host committee to fund all those activities from public safety to code compliance.

I'm happy to answer any questions that the council may have.

Thank you, ma'am.

Mr.

Buskin, any speakers on this item?

No, sir.

No speakers on this item.

Thank you, sir.

I have a motion from Councilmember Galante and a second from Councilmember Gonzalez.

Please cast your vote.

The motion passes.

Citizen participation, Mr.

Buskin.

Thank you, Mayor.

Citizen participation gives the public an opportunity to make comments or address concerns regarding matters related to city business or affairs that are in the scope of the authority of the city council and which are not posted on the evening agenda.

However, please understand the mayor and council are not permitted by law to respond to, discuss, or address the comment at this time.

As these items are not included on the posted council agenda for this evening.

The mayor and council may only ask clarifying questions and or direct staff to take appropriate action.

Speakers who have pre-registered will be given two minutes to make their comments, except that if 26 or more speakers have pre-registered, each speaker will be given one minute to make their comments.

Mayor, we have four individuals who registered for citizen participation this evening.

Our first speaker is Vanessa Strength.

I don't see Ms.

Strength in here tonight.

Ms.

Strength.

Next speaker, Mr.

Buskin.

Our next speaker is Jimmy Burke.

Mr.

Burt.

Mr.

Burke.

Up there you are, sir.

You're fine.

Take your time.

We're not going anywhere.

Um thank you, Mr.

Mayor and Council.

Want to address some thoughts that I don't even try to get done in my time today.

I just intend to pick these things up over time.

On a deeper dive into solutions for homelessness, that does require the homeless person to take responsibility.

In my comments, my first time to speak before this council, and then build on over time, and then hopefully as the opportunity arises for other platforms and places, then great.

Um, because I only have about a minute left.

I want to take my time today as a sky view that I promise these philosophies really apply to the situation, especially over an intermediate period of time.

Story was told that uh former Texas Ranger Manager Bobby Valentine was interviewed after one of his managerial hires and asked, What do you intend to do, sir?

And he famously said, I plan to comfort the troubled and trouble the comforted.

Well, I think we need to all of us both realize that fortunately we're not at ground zero on this issue.

We've been working on things for a long time.

Although I'm new to this group here, but it's been a lot of years elsewhere.

But I also think that we need to hold ourselves to the fire because homelessness is getting worse and the system isn't working.

John Maxwell famously said as a leadership guru and author, good leaders ask great questions.

And it's worth the due diligence for us to ask the questions because homelessness really is the effect.

And Abraham Lincoln famously said, if you give me six hours to chop down a tree, I'll take the first four to sharpen.

Thank you.

Continue my thoughts next time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Peter Ricca.

Mr.

Ricca.

Good evening.

I'm here to address concerns about the 380 program.

All right, may or you may remember you came visited my uh um plant, recommended I look into it.

I have applied in various places across the country for training grants, government grants ten times.

I've been denied twice.

Once I acquired a company, was looking to expand it.

A gentleman that surprisingly looks like Mr.

Hogg, um, was the head of the city council.

And we went through, had studies about hey, these are the things that we can do.

Here's how moving money multiplies.

This was before you guys had software, okay.

And I met with him, he wanted to meet me after uh um the meeting.

Next day we had lunch, he scrolled into the booth across from me, and his words were we are not gonna give you and your goddamn Yankee Jew partner any money to expand that fucking gay courthouse whore house.

Okay, those were the exact words that he used.

Second time that I was denied, City of Arlington offered to uh Chase Bank to put in a nice service center down at New York in uh 20.

I said, I'd love to put in a nice office building.

They said, sorry, we just don't like your SIC code.

Okay, so twice.

The only times I've been uh denied was for support of gay issues and the city of Arlington.

Now the problem I have, my president, my head of marketing and sales, and my head of quality flying to Europe in two weeks.

Our largest customer has asked us to put in a plant in Europe and to work with the people in Europe to develop product.

If you guys know anything about international trade agreements, they have under the ISO quality standard 17025 and 1703, which we have, they have a DEI commitment.

I cannot expand in Arlington with the anti-DI ordinances.

Thank you, sir.

How do I get there with you guys?

Thank you.

You'll be getting an email.

I hope you talk to me.

Our next speaker is Richard Weber.

Sir, if you'll just call my office, I'll be happy to talk to you.

Thank you, sir.

Richard Weber.

As I mentioned earlier, this month, 47 years ago, I moved to Arlington, bought a house as a c recent college graduate, and it hasn't gone very well in recent years.

And I contribute a lot of that to apartments.

Y'all have approved close to a gazillion of them.

It hasn't set us in the right direction.

Today at the uh Arlington Housing Finance Corporation, I'm mentioning this for anyone that might be listening.

They approved the intent to issue 75 million million in bonds for more apartments.

You all are going in the wrong direction.

Apartments aren't helping.

We need to make Arlington better.

We need to improve Arlington.

Apartments is not the answer.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Weber.

Anyone else, Mr.

Buskin?

No, sir.

That's all our citizen participation speakers.

Thank you, sir.

Council, do you all have any announcements tonight?

Seeing none, Mr.

Buskin announcements, please.

Thank you, Mayor.

I'd like to remind our residents, Arlington City Council evening meetings are rebroadcast on Sundays at 6 p.m.

and on Wednesday and Saturday mornings at 6.30 a.m.

The council's afternoon work sessions are rebroadcast on Sundays at 1 p.m., Wednesdays at 1 30 p.m.

and on Saturdays at 6 p.m.

You can also watch the meetings online anytime at www.arlington tx.gov.

Thank you all for being out here tonight.

Please be safe getting home.

Council meetings adjourned.

They decided to open a second location, the Viridian community.

A couple of items in the menus are truly authentic street food, uh, like chicken mumos, those are dumplings that you can find pretty much every corner of the country in Nepal.

Chicken curry is something that represents the country's uh spices and aromas.

Chef Ship G Bista says their chicken tiki masala is also a customer favorite.

It is a boneless tandoori chicken breast simmered in a spice tomato cream sauce.

I want to try to hear in the Arlington City and I I always make my pool from my our homemade spices.

We are not using from like a ready-made spices.

People are I think like much better that kind of food.

With the bar outdoor seating and soon