Welcome to this meeting of the Denton City Council.

The time is 4 p.m.

We have a quorum, so I'll call this meeting to order.

First item on the agenda is citizen comments on consent agenda items.

Do we have any comments?

Seeing none, we'll move on to item number two requests for clarification on agenda items listed on the agenda for public hearing and individual consideration.

We do have item E will be pulled for a separate vote on the consent agenda.

Any other questions or seeing none?

We'll move on to work session reports number three, item A, ID 25-2294.

Receive a report, hold the discussion, and give staff direction regarding the use and potential disposal of real property tracts owned by the City of Denton.

Good afternoon.

Deanna Cody, Deputy Director for Real Estate.

I'm lucky to be the only one, I guess, is first to provide the council with information on the city's property inventory, the criteria that staff use to identify unneeded or underutilized properties that could potentially be deemed surplus, and the methods of sale that are available to the city to dispose of any surplus real property.

Secondly, staff will be requesting direction from the council on implementing the criteria to identify surplus property going forward and moving forward with the bid sale of the identified surplus properties.

There is a closed meeting placeholder if desired for further property discussions later.

So city the city has approximately 650 acres or tracts of land on 4700 acres in the city inventory.

But also they include city facilities like City Hall, the Development Services Center, Parks and Recreation.

And those are reflected by ownership in the charts.

So last year staff received a consultant recommendation to incorporate a process to evaluate the city's real property assets to identify opportunities for either reuse, repurpose, or to sell some of the properties as surplus.

Additionally, there was an opportunity that was this was an opportunity that was identified by the 2025 budget task force.

Once implemented, it's it will be essential to continue a collaborative review with each operating department, and those efforts will be time to coincide with the city's annual budget process.

The overall goal is to prevent long-term inactive or unprogrammed assets.

And when a property no longer supports those initiatives, it's to develop or determine potential reuse opportunities.

There we go.

Staff has developed criteria to identify surplus property, including considering the physical characteristics of the properties, and whether or not these properties were previously listed for sale and did not sell, and if they were no longer needed for the project for which they were originally acquired.

Staff then collaborated with the operating departments to gain their input on their current or identified future uses that may have been noted or not in a master plan.

And we consulted with the finance department to identify any potential revenue restrictions based on the funding that was used to procure the properties.

So once we've identified the properties, there are two methods that are available to the city to dispose of the surplus properties.

The first is by sealed bid, which is an auction process, and second is by direct sale.

For sealed bid sales or bid sales, the process includes advertising the properties for at least two consecutive weeks in the local newspaper.

Bidders would submit a packet and move through the typical procurement process.

And at closing of the bid, those bids would be compiled and presented to the council to either accept or reject the bid offers.

For direct sales, the process may also include a public notice by advertising in the local paper.

Now that we've looked at the proposed criteria to identify surplus property and the methods of sale that are available to the city to dispose of them.

Here's a list of seven properties in the likely order of sale.

You'll notice there's a star by the first property on the list, and that denotes that staff has received a license application to potentially use the property, but it is going through an evaluation process through staff, and that license would likely require a specific use permit and other board and commission approvals.

Those if the city decided to move in that direction for the license, which they can do, and still move forward with the sale, the timing of the sale could potentially be impacted.

And a close-up of the seven properties, which you each have also received a handout in the legal status report last week.

And so again, I'll say if there were specific questions regarding any of the property, there is a closed meeting option that's available to us.

So moving to staff recommendations, we recommend that we move forward with the stated criteria that's been identified to identify and sell surplus property, that we sell the currently identified surplus property by a sealed bid auction, potentially setting a minimum bid or reserve price, and provide the council.

We will provide the council with uh periodic milestone updates as we move closer to a potential sale, and we will do that through either an informal staff report or through a legal status report.

Ultimately, the staff will bring the result of the bids forward to the city council for consideration, and we anticipate doing that in about four to six months.

If all of the properties were to sell based on staff's estimation, and that's if all of the properties were to sell, the sealed bid could result in between one and two million dollars in revenue.

So finally, again, noting the staff's request for direction, it's direction to accept staff recommendations and proceed with the the process and criteria used to identify surplus property, and secondly, is to sell the properties that we have identified as surplus by the sealed bid process.

And that is the end of the presentation.

Thank you so much.

Questions for staff, Councilmember Beck.

Thank you, Mayor Pratim.

Um if I understand the process correctly, you want direction now, or you want direction in closed.

No, the direction would be given in open in open session.

Okay.

So if we have questions about any particular property, you want us to bring that up and closed.

Specific questions should be addressed in in close.

Okay.

I I do have questions about one of the properties.

Okay.

Councilmember Holland.

Thank you.

open an open session okay so if we have questions about any particular property you want us to bring that up and closed specific questions should be uh addressed and and closed okay i i do have questions about one one of the properties okay council member holland thank you come on there you go um i think advertising the stuff in the newspaper is an antiquated notion um i i think if we were to do that and only do that the world would come down on us and say i didn't have any idea you were gonna sell that property i would have liked to have bid on it i think a big honking sign on the property uh this property available for sale or something to that effect because the people that are driving up and down the road are the are the guys that are most likely going to be interested in that thank you i'm I'm gonna I'm gonna take your nod as a as agreeing with me yes the newspaper is just a the statutory requirement I understand that I understand we do have other uh marketing options available to you we could we could tack it up on the saloon post as well you know there's a lot of ways we could do that um the bid process are are you presuming we do this um so we we take bids and it it's my understanding that when the bids come in and that's a that's a date certain uh four months you said that's gonna be roughly June July that's when we anticipate advertising the properties for sale advertising yes okay there's a packet that each bidder would be expected to complete and they would submit that packet of information and you will have a uh a floor price that you will accept I presume we can we can establish that um a minimum bid price or a reserve we could certainly do that okay but assuming that that bids that come in on this date certain we have to proceed with that at that point right the the council would not be obligated to accept any bids just like any of the other bids um throughout the procurement process if the council was not satisfied with the bid they could reject that bid any of those bids even if it met the criteria of the of the bid is that right yes okay um how does the um c a d price of uh the appraisal uh on the at the c ad affect the the the asking price on this property on these properties it it doesn't necessarily affect the asking price the the central appraisal district value is the value that they use for taxation purposes it could potentially be used as a floor um generally speaking DCAD values are lower than market value so that's what I keep telling okay generally speaking that is what we found to be true okay okay thank you thank you for this uh thank you mayor for Tim uh I would like to go with the staff's recommendation thank you all right thank you any questions I'd like to go with the staff recommendation simply to come back if this is the time for us to get started one time coming council member just yes thank you um uh I also agree with staff's recommendation uh moving forward thank you all right thank you I'll add myself to that as well council member beck would you like to give direction now or wait uh I I I will let's find out if if I can if I can take staff's recommendation on all but one do you you want me to how do you want me to give that I'm I'm just trying to follow process like do you want me to say everything but number I believe that's your can I do that that way option okay then then I I I um agree with staff's recommendation and I just have a question on number two before I can give direction okay all right thanks everybody thank you so much appreciate it uh and with that uh we will go uh with the city council will now at 415 p.m convene in a closed meeting to deliberate the closed meeting item set forth in the agenda which includes the following we're gonna go a little out of order um we're gonna start with number three ID 26-0314 consultation with attorneys under Texas government code section 551.071 followed by number one ID 26-0261 dash deliberations regarding real property under Texas government code section 551072 the time is 630 we have a quorum so I'll call this meeting back to order first thing on the agenda is the pledge of allegiance to the U.S.

Honor the Texas flag.

I pledge allegiance to be Texas, one state, under God, one and indivisible.

Next item on the agenda is presentations from the public.

Speakers will have four minutes to give a scheduled report and four minutes to give an open mic report.

A bell will ring when time has expired.

If the remarks are not concluded by that time, the speaker will be asked to stop speaking.

If the speaker does not cease and a second request is made, the mayor may request to have the speaker removed from the chamber.

Speakers should not approach the dais.

If a speaker has materials for the council, please notify the city secretary in advance.

For scheduled reports, the council may initiate discussion or ask questions.

For non-scheduled open mic reports.

The council may listen.

However, because no notice of the subject of the open mic report has been provided to the public in advance.

The Texas Open Meetings Act prohibits discussion or decision by the council on non-scheduled items.

As a result, the council may only proceed as follows on non-scheduled items.

Propose to place the item on a future agenda.

Make a statement of factual policy or a recitation of existing policy.

Speakers are asked to direct all remarks and questions to the council as a whole and not to any individual member.

Please refrain from making abusive, personal, impertinent, profane, or slanderous remarks.

Anyone who violates the council rules of procedure may be immediately removed from the chamber.

Thank you in advance.

Copies of the rules of procedure are available from the city secretary.

At all.

I started doing that because ODB refuses to give supplies.

They do whatever they want, and you allow them to.

When you ignore the audit report that says they are doing wrong, that just gives them more leeway to abuse people.

There are 690.

The last pit count, which was brought up last night.

690 homeless people counted last.

How are you gonna create a shelter situation that helps a hundred and twenty people at a time?

Like 690 minus 120.

That's nothing.

And the services are not helpful.

They steal donations.

They treat people like crap.

They kick people out for given another individual at Tylenol.

And um I have also learned that um a lot of people aren't aware of this, but I want everybody within the sound of my voice to know that during the freeze and the snow, our daily bread shelter was putting people out that Saturday morning at 7 o'clock in the snow.

And if any of you say no they weren't, I'll bring back the screenshots of you of my people confirming it through y'all.

This is ridiculous.

13 times, and y'all won't talk to me.

I get glared at a lot, though.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Next up we have Jennifer Lane.

Approach the mic, uh, state your name, and you'll have four minutes.

Sure.

Uh my name is Jennifer Lane.

Please excuse uh Laryngitis that I have.

Good thing there's a mic, usually I don't need one.

Anyway, I woke yesterday um to Christian McFaith's article about uh committees, and I was really surprised to see so much of it for one thing, uh, you know, first of all negative, and second of all, um focused on the public art committee.

I happen to be that committee's chair.

Uh there was no outreach to me.

I wondered if I asked, I wrote to ask him if anybody had suggested that he um speak to the committee chair.

I don't know if he did have that suggestion or not.

Maybe he will later.

And I would say that the committee does good work and its members are dedicated.

I personally have missed no meetings.

Um I know quorum was an issue, and I personally have missed no meetings apart from the last one, and the committee had quorum anyway.

I'm on sabbatical this semester for the first time in 30 years of teaching, and I'm back for a week and a half relative to UNT.

I know the state has required in-person quorum, but allows others to attend via Zoom.

Those are the state ordinances.

The city has unfortunately taken this a step further and voted for three against allowing Zoom at all.

And I would ask that this decision be reconsidered.

It will help lots of the committees and otherwise.

I do not think the communication with the committees are as good as it could be.

As an example, I'm also chair of the ZBA, the zoning board of adjustment.

And after several conversations back and forth around whether I could attend the ZBA meeting last Monday, which I could, um, I was here for that, and in which we discussed the order of the meeting agenda.

I came to the meeting and saw that no one was there.

Thinking I'd perhaps not seen a venue changed, I looked up the agenda and saw the meeting had been cancelled.

Surprisingly, after all of that telephone conversation back and forth, no one had contacted me to alert me, even after all of that.

And apparently staff who spoke with Mr.

McFate expressed the opinion that PAC members, the art committee, suggested things outside of the city's budget.

First of all, um, that's not such a terrible thing in and of itself.

It's a creative brainstorming thing.

Um it's fine.

Um, but also given the budget for 31 days of Halloween and other dedicated funding for public art.

People are usually speaking within those parameters.

Um, a few things it has puzzled me that a few things have not come to the public art committee.

Jazz Fest, which is a legacy of Denton.

When you think about it, people who make miss the Jazz Fest giving give any given year will say, Oh, I miss Jazz Fest.

I've got to go to Denton for something else.

X, Y, or Z.

It's so deeply entrenched in Denton's culture that even if you miss it, you still want to go to Denton for something, having to do particularly with music.

And then also, uh, another example might be the marketplace, which is the city funds to a certain degree.

That probably should have also comes at some point somewhere to the public art committee for discussion, if not a vote on anything, but just for input.

And so um they don't.

These things don't.

And some of the members of the committee have expressed a concern about feeling like they're there to rubber stamp things.

Let's hope that they're not.

Let's hope that at least the um if it does feel that way and it shouldn't, that could the communication can be improved so people understand what they can and cannot uh deliberate on.

Um sometimes that's the problem.

But in any case, the committees that you have are worth keeping for the most part, and uh the public definitely wants to have input through them and transparency through them.

And so I'm here to speak to that, and I hope that you will not um certainly not uh denigrate uh or cut the public art committee, it's a good committee.

I know there's been some controversy about the statues on Carroll Avenue that was voted on before I joined, but I like them.

So had I been there, I probably would have proved them.

Um they're colorful and nice.

And I I was on the committee when we did the one on Bonnie Bray, the traffic circle.

Those kinds of things and lots and lots of others that are happening, the fireman, fire station, you know, some of all the all of that.

But the public art committee is not just visual artists.

Music also needs to be presented to us.

Thanks.

Thank you so much, appreciate it.

Next up, we have Dana Zoltner.

State your name, and you'll have four minutes.

Dana Zoltner.

Councilmember Beck graciously took his time last week to explain why no one seems to be especially receptive to my pleas for more oversight in the ADU ordinance.

I now understand and appreciate the goal to help individual homeowners make building an ADU in their yard as affordable as possible.

He did tell me that he would look into cost effectiveness of adding three criteria rather than just two to the ordinance.

I'm here tonight because he reminded me the council will have drastically changed in May, and government moves exceedingly slow.

While I under while I understand none of us think there's going to be a big ADU building frenzy any time soon, you have already seen what can happen, and changes need to be made before the fact, not after.

I have no interest in starting over with new members who will care even less than those of you who have had to listen to me for the past few meetings.

Rather than take precious time to study the options that you have already agreed on, I would propose that you make one of the criteria, same architectural design or detail as a must, and leave the other three for them to choose from.

The same architectural design will negate sheds under apartments.

A cute shed from Lowe's or Home Depot is a lot less expensive than the warehouses that have been constructed in backyards.

So I know that won't price an individual out of having an ADU in their yard.

At least require that owners make the backyard unit blend with the area.

They can still create two stories by attaching it to an existing home in a manner that blends by adding it over a garage or having it look like an addition to the house if they so choose.

This will keep two-story warehouses out of one story established communities in Denton.

And this isn't a threat, but I saved all these speeches.

So if there are new people up here, I'm coming back and I don't have to rewrite anymore.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

And Ms.

Zoltner, um you can sit down, but um, if if you're able to email us the specific ask that you had tonight, I would I would appreciate that.

If you're able to.

Yes, you had some sort of some specific um ask in terms of design and that kind of thing.

All right, next speaker is Manuel Villarreal.

So approach the mic, state your name, and you'll have four minutes.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

My name is Manuel Vularilleal, and um I've been in this community now for about three and a half years.

I have lived in an apartment complex that's uh run by a company called the Martino Group.

As you see, I don't need notes because I publicly speak, so I remember the stuff.

And so uh it's very common practice with this company that's uh established here in in Danton to send me notices about amounts that they allege I owe.

So uh considering my background, uh I'm more than just an average consumer.

So um I send them back a reply, and I'm like, well, appreciate you letting me know.

Please provide me the dates of service, the amounts of the charges, and a detailed description of what these charges are about, so I can review them and respond.

Well, their response is as follows.

If each person on this board were to be in the same situation, they would send all of you a copy of all the charges and payments made on your lease since its inception.

And their philosophy is I've got to go through it.

I gotta find what the discrepancy is, and I have to prove it to them.

Now, in my mind, there's three elements that pop up.

One is bad faith.

In any contract between a landlord and a tenant, the state of Texas gives the individuals the disposition of dealing with each other in a responsible and reasonable manner, mostly the second.

I it is my view that people who own properties and lease them, whether it's businesses or the general public, um, have a duty to provide information that I've requested, and it is reasonable and it is not burdensome.

Even if it was burdensome, it would be a something they would have to establish with a court.

It would not be, I mean, it's their opinion, but obviously there's nothing that's obscene about my request for the information to support what each of you is just to say in this fictitious situation would have received.

So I find this an issue of bad faith.

I also find it to be in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which Texas has adopted, uh, which of course is to protect individuals from uh being told that they owe something, but have no rights to defend or protect their interest in the matter.

I find this to be a violation of that state uh law, which is of course a codification of the federal law, which was passed in 1980 or 79, one of the other.

So on top of that, um I think that this is poor business for our community.

I think that it needs to be clear, and I asked this council to consider an ordinance that requires all individuals who lease or rent space to a business or a person to provide in their contract that they will provide the information of charges, dates of service, and a detailed explanation for charges on any alleged debt, which the uh property owner or manager is assessing against a tenant.

I I think this is um something that is good business, it's smart business, and I think it's good business and smart business for Denton to show that we care and take care of the people that live here and part of this community.

So I thank you very much for your time.

Thank you, sir.

Appreciate it.

Can we ask a question?

I because it's open mic, we can do statements of fact.

But we can't ask questions.

For for open mic, if it's on the agenda, we can because it's posted, but we can't on we can make an exception in this room, case.

Um but we would would you be willing to we have his email address?

Yes, I will get your email address and and ask some clarifying questions so I can understand uh more fully what the problem is and who it's between and see what we can do.

Absolutely.

Um would you how would I provide this information to you?

Uh yes, it's on there.

Okay.

Thank you.

Well, thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, for your time.

I certainly look forward to the opportunity to seeing you and our magnificent council at work in the future.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Have a good day.

Next up on the agenda is consent agenda item E has been pulled for a separate vote.

So we'll go ahead and um take a motion for consent agenda accepting item E.

Uh, Councilmember Beck.

I move approval the consent agenda accepting item B E.

E isn't Edward.

Councilmember Jester.

I second.

All right, any discussion?

All right, we'll vote on the screen.

Congratulations, Cassie Ogden, if she is in the room.

Her contract was on there.

Uh Cassie will be our interim city manager starting April 1st.

So next up is item E.

I need to recuse myself from this item.

It's involving my employer.

So council member Holland, are you willing to facilitate this vote?

Yes, I am.

I've been waiting for this for a long time.

All right, I'll step out of the room.

I'll be back.

Taking over.

The next item is uh on the consent agenda is is item ID 260189?

Uh consider the adoption of an ordinance of the city of Denton authorizing the city manager to execute an educational experience agreement between the city of Denton and Texas Women's University to provide facilities and opportunities at the Denton Senior Citizen Denton Denton Senior Center to TWU students to support their acquisition of skills and knowledge related to their chosen field of study of occupation or occupation authorizing the city manager to perform all obligations of the city under the agreement and providing an effective date.

Do I hear a motion?

Councilmember Jester and a second by Dr.

Beck.

Uh any discussion.

We will vote on the screen then.

There it is.

Four to four to nothing.

With one recusing.

Don't let her come back.

She looks nice.

Thank you, Councilmember Holland.

Uh next up on the agenda, we have number four public hearings.

The first item is item A, DCC 52, or sorry, 25-0007.

Hold a public hearing and consider adoption of an ordinance of the city of Denton, Texas, regarding a request for a certificate of design consistency for a new two-story addition above the eastern portion of the structure facing South Austin Street, and including modifications to the western and northern facades of the third floor of the existing structure facing South Locust Street and East Hickory Street at 101 South Locust Street, which is within the Denton Square Overlay zoning district and legally described as parcels one and two, block eight of the original town of Denton and the city of Denton, Denton County, Texas, providing for a penalty of maximum amount of $2,000 violations thereof, providing for the severability and establishing an effective date.

Good evening, member.

I'm gonna take a direction.

This is for the property at 101 North Locust Street.

It's on that southeast corner of the square at Hickory and North Locust.

Um it is within that Denton Square District overlay.

The applicant is Jonathan King, and the construction dates of this particular building were um circuit 1962 and then circuit 1974.

So kind of just to take you through the history of what a one North Locust Street, as we know today is kind of the Wells Fargo building.

Um the first bank building, which uh opened in 1962, it was that three-story structure, and then by 1974, they added an additional five stories.

Um and as you can see, there were additional phases planned in the 1970s that were kind of highlighted there in red, um, but they were never came to fruition.

So the request here is to add a one-story with an upper mezzanine to the lower east side of that Wells Fargo tower.

Um there would be Ivy trellises added to the east, west, and south facades of that structure, and then a single row of windows would be added to the west and north building facades along Hickory and Locust.

So just to look through the elevation drawings, um, you see the proposed edition.

It has that existing aluminum clotting, kind of distinguishing it from the original existing building and the new addition.

Um, it'd be finished with that black matte steel accent and trim.

Um, there would be the artificial ivy trellises on both that east, west, and south facade as stated.

Um, and then there would also be the upper mezzanine within that um edition.

Um looking specifically along Hickory and Locust Streets, you have those matte black aluminum window framings that are going kind of around the curve, but they're following that existing pattern of those concrete panels and windows that currently exist.

So staff looked at section 10 uh 4107 within the uh Denton Development Codes, which specifically looks at the design standards of the Denton Square District, also known as DSD.

Um so staff applied here the building orientation setback frontage and height standards, and then also looked at the facade standards, which specifically talk about facade material as well as differentiation between stories.

So looking specifically at the height standards, the overall height um falls within that maximum height of 65 feet, fronting along the Mew Streets, which which is in this case South Austin Street, and then it also gives that kind of a visual appearance of a three-story facade consistent with our standards in terms of that existing structure.

It has on uh local or hickory street, it has the one just row of windows, and then it kind of gives that single base story.

Unless you go in the interior, you know, you're not really knowing what you're dealing with.

Um, and then in the addition of the one story in upper mezzanine appears as two stories.

Looking then at the facade standards itself, the proposed East Edition creates kind of that clear visual differentiation from the exterior between the existing and new floors.

Um, the addition of Ivy trellises and that retention of the awning kind of create that experience or appearance of a single story on the current um building itself.

And then the proposed black mat steel and aluminum are permitted accident and trim materials within our code.

Um looking additionally at the overall purpose and intent of the Denton Square district, um, it does allow for a lot of flexibility.

So it does encourage creativity and architectural diversity for um applicants.

It also supports building additions that kind of look at those existing patterns and rhythms in the exteriors so that it doesn't kind of stick out too much, and then supports the success of just new businesses and promotes reinvestment in our square.

Um staff also took uh looked at the standards for rehabilitation, um, even though this structure is a non-contributing structure to the current national register district on the square.

Uh staff did look at the standards for rehabilitation within the National Park Service just to make sure that affect contextually within the square, and you know, didn't kind of just pop out and didn't fit.

So looking at the proposed addition, it does maintain maintain those key characteristics of the underlying building undamaged.

So it is an addition, it's not demoing any existing struct um floors, it's not doing that, it's just plopping on the top and then taking out some windows.

But you can add those windows, say you know, a new applicant or a new property owner came in and they wanted to add the concrete paneling back along Hickory and Locus, they could do that if they wanted, and they could just remove that addition, and nothing would look different or unchanged.

Um, it also clearly differentiated from the existing building.

The Secretary of Interior Standards strongly encourages differentiation between new and old because they don't want to falsify development.

Um compatible, like I said, with the existing building, so it echoes kind of those um key design characteristics, those vertical and horizontal lines, and then as I stated, if it was removed in the future, it could be done so, and then the underlying building would be restored to what it looks like today.

So it does comply.

So staff is recommending approval of the certificate of design consistency, um, request for a new addition above the eastern portion and modifications to the facades along Hickory and Locust.

Um, as it does meet our Secretary of Interior Standards for rehabilitation, um, our section um within 210, 410, and 410, sorry, the Denton Development Code.

And I can say for any questions.

And the applicant is here if you do have any questions specifically for the applicant.

Sorry.

Any questions for Cameron while she's up here?

I see council member Beck.

Yes.

Thank you, Mayor Pratem.

Uh Cameron have a couple three questions.

Um is there a distinction for for the non-contributing between the the uh eight-story tower and the three-story tower, or are they treated as one building?

One building, one building, okay.

And then uh I as I understand these building, this building was built in 62 with the last modification, major modification 74.

So for historical tax credits, anything over 50 years, so this is 52 years old this year.

So how talk talk me through how that works for the city and the state level for for historic designation potential.

Of course.

So if the property owner was interested at the local level to be designated, they would go through that designation process.

And if they were to be designated, the property were to be designated, then they could then apply for the tax exemption.

So it would not be an automatic thing if they got that local designation.

At the state and federal, that's actually that nomination process is run through the county.

So I'm not involved in that process, but process if they put in a either individual landmark designation, nomination at the national register or state level, um, or want it to be a contributing property to the historic district itself that currently exists, they would go through that nomination process at the state.

The state would then send a letter to myself as the historic preservation officer to kind of go similar through the process that we did with the little chapel in the woods, it would go through Historic Landmark Commission and the property owner to make sure that they sign off that the HLC is in feels confident about it, then it would come to council.

You all would kind of talk about whether or not you want to nominate it to the national register or the state level, and then once they went through that process, then they would have to start the tax exemption process in terms of um because they'd be eligible now for those tax exemptions, then they would go through that tax exemption process.

And permit me, Cameron, if we make modifications, does that reset any of the clocks or or it's just the construction date of 74 that matters?

Like if we modify it today, does that change any of the timelines?

So if the applicant is wanting to look at state and federal, it could affect them if they were doing to if they were to do this addition and they wanted to pursue a historic um designation in the future at the state or federal level, it might affect that.

But who's to say, you know?

Um, but at the local level, there's 13 criteria of which they can be designated.

So they might want to choose a different criteria of approval to um go for the designation.

And and last question, I appreciate your your tolerance, Cameron.

Um doesn't our code say that it's three stories, and we have two stories already, so adding two stories is four stories.

Help help me understand what we're doing here.

Of course.

So, in terms of how we define stories, um, just to kind of break it down, is our definition of a story within the Denton Square District, it's specifically looking at floor to ceiling or floor to roof rafters.

So, because this is a one-story with a mezzanine level, we're technically looking at the floor to roof or to floor to roof rafters.

Okay.

Um, I may have more questions later.

Thank you, Cameron.

Of course.

Councilmember Holland.

Thank you.

Um follow up on that.

So the story begins at the at the Alston Street door and goes to the ceiling.

Is that correct?

That's one story.

Correct.

That's fine.

Okay, okay.

Right?

The floor or the roof rafters, depending on how you're looking at it.

I got it.

I got it.

Um I I've seen this building a zillion times.

Are you gonna are you gonna lose two stories of windows on the tower?

When they're covered up by the by the No, just the one story of windows would be taken out, and additional windows would be added.

Okay, so they're not gonna peek into the end of the facility.

Oh, correct.

Are you talking about on the edition?

I apologize.

Yes, so those windows on the interior that would be facing this new addition would be enclosed.

Okay.

Um is the property owner?

Scott Brown properties.

Okay, okay.

Um, will there be an elevator added to this?

I would have to direct your question to the applicate, and they do have a presentation.

I apologize, Mayor Pro Tem.

They do have a presentation.

I'd I'm I'd like I'd like to see that, and and and I'd like to retain my place in queue.

Alrighty.

I'd like to hear the presentation.

Thank you.

Any other questions for Cameron?

All right, thank you, Cameron.

Of course.

Um, I'm gonna go ahead and open up the public hearing, and then um, would Boris or Jonathan like to present?

Thank you, Cameron.

Are you Boris or Jonathan?

I'm Boris.

Uh good evening, uh, council and one second, Boris, just so you know you'll have 10 minutes.

Okay.

Um thank you for your time this evening.

Uh my name is Boris Munoz.

I'm the owner and architectural designer for innovative drafting design.

Um, I live here in Denton and I also run my business here.

Uh I'm representing um Willow Creek Homes, uh, Jonathan King as my client.

Um I'm here to share the vision and architectural renderings for this new development.

Uh the rooftop uh plan for the third level on the east side of the Walls Fargo building.

The main focal views of this project are from the Hickory Street and Austin Street.

Um Cameron made it pretty easy for me.

So she showed a lot of what I'm gonna go through.

And so let's see here.

All right, so the rooftop is an upscale restaurant built on what is currently the roof of the building's third level on the east side, transforming under view space into a destination.

It's designed to be a culinary and social anchor with memorable views and welcoming atmosphere and a strong architectural identity.

Uh like um Cameron show this is the top of the screen is north and the right side, the hatch, that's where the uh addition would be on the east side.

Our design aesthetic concept exteriors and enhancements.

Um we're aiming for a polished high-end experience compatible to well-executed concepts like 60 vines and plano and restoration hardware in Dallas and New York, where modern finishes and rustic warmth are thorough thoughtfully balanced.

As you can see here, these are some references of kind of where inspiration came from.

A restoration hardware in Dallas and restoration hardware in New York, as well as some uh high-end uh interiors for the 60 vines in Plano, the Legacy West.

The look draws from a rustic early 1900s, 1930s industrial palette, exposed iron beams, warm materials, and refined detailing visible from the exterior.

Our glass perimeters walls create expansive expansive views of overlooking the north, east, and south horizon, framing Denton's landscape and historic surroundings.

Our proposed north and west facing windows will have a focal point of the historical Denton Square, making it an ideal place for special gatherings.

These are just a couple of uh samples of uh um the existing building wrapped with um Fox ivy um material, and this is it without it.

These are just some of the different samples that we can go back through if you would like to.

This is the west facing um part of the building.

For the north and west facing windows, we'll have a focal point of the historical Denton Square, making it an ideal place for special gatherings.

Um, this is the east side.

This is the northeast side.

Um perspective use from farther away, getting some context of how it would look with the surrounding buildings.

This is looking over from the square.

Um, if you're uh looking north uh towards the building, northwest.

Oh, sorry, went the wrong way.

Here's a bird's eye view looking from again the square looking towards the north and west side of the building.

Our intent is to complement Den's historic fabric while enhancing the existing Walls Fargo structure with a thoughtful contemporary addition.

We're proposing a fox ivy wrap green wall element on the first and second floors to add texture and visual interest to the street edge.

The restaurant will have an open kitchen concept visible from the dining room and bar to guests from the dining room and bar, so guests can see how their food is prepared.

At the heart of the open kitchen, a traditional pizza oven serves as the focal point and an immediate cue of craftsmanship and authenticity visible from the dining room and bar areas.

These are some um technical exterior elevations that were already shown, uh showing the different materials with the legend.

This is the existing building, what it would look like without the addition, and this is with the addition.

This is a 3D floor plan of the interior of the existing third floor that's currently would be modified on the um northwest corner.

Uh we plan on creating a flexible conference and event hall for meetings, private gatherings, and special events.

This is a floor plan overlooking the new addition with the dining room and the mezzanine.

As you can see, the mezzanine is only covering a small percentage of the entire uh structure.

We believe that the new development will bring jobs across construction as well as ongoing operations with running an upscale restaurant and event hall.

This will increase foot traffic, benefiting the square, parks, and surrounding small businesses.

A unique destination that attracts residents and visitors and strengthens the evening and a weekend economy downtown.

The look and scale are meant to fit the district and elevate the block's overall character.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

I'd be happy to answer any questions on the design.

Yes.

Council Member Holland.

Good.

Um I I appreciate the photo, the drawing you had with head-in parking.

I hope we can get back to head-end parking on East Hickory Street.

May I repeat that?

I hope we can get back to head-end parking on East Jackery Street.

Um I got a couple of notes here.

Yes, sir.

Just between you and me.

I don't like the Ivy at all.

Yeah, the the renderings don't do it justice, but I think uh if we gave it a shot in real life, I think it'd look a lot better.

Well, it would have to look a lot better to please me.

I don't like that at all.

But I but I I like the concept.

Uh how long is this project gonna take once once you get started?

That's a good question.

Um that's more of a construction side, but I would say it'd take about six months to 12 months that right if we hit the ground running and had everything ready, which we kind of do.

Um I I think it's I think it's uh interesting to note the the people who were thinking ahead in what was it, 1962 when this building was built uh designed for expansion, both on the tower and the and the building that you're concerned with.

I think I think that really really uh gives a nod to our our predecessors and the guys that uh the the men and women who uh who made those decisions.

Heads up anyway, good luck with this.

Yeah, I agree as well.

These are just some two images that I forgot to mention, but just some no ivy, I like that.

Yeah, some proposals of how the uh restaurant would look from the inside.

Yeah.

Any other questions?

Councilmember Holland, are you?

You got all you okay.

Anyone else?

All right, thank you.

Was Jonathan gonna speak as well.

I I have a card for you.

You don't have to, but okay.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

State your name, you'll have up to 10 minutes if you want it.

I'm not gonna speak for 10 minutes.

Uh my name's Jonathan King.

Um I'm the creator and visionary for this uh rooftop restaurant, and I've had this in my mind in my dreams, I guess, since uh 2013 when I envisioned a rooftop restaurant on top of the opera house, actually, at that time.

Uh I I was I'm I've been a real estate broker for 16 years, and I I had the opera house for sale when it changed hands in 2013, and I was I have the privilege of going up on that rooftop on the on the um you know above the recycled bookstore and above the offices there, and just felt like this is before LSA existed and had a rooftop, and I I felt like Denton Square deserved a rooftop restaurant, and then LSA came in and took my idea and uh and then fast forward uh what is this now 13 years um worked worked hard in um both real estate and construction custom homes and um sold a few properties that um after a lot of blood, sweat and tears was able to make money to pull it together and some uh ducks lined up in a row for me to have a possibility at actually building a rooftop restaurant on this uh Wells Fargo building um east side building.

And um, yeah, so uh um Scott Brown reached out to me and said that there was an opportunity for that, and um I I pounced on it and I've uh ran with Boris to uh put together renderings and spend a lot of money and time to come to come up with I've I've been a Denton resident for 24 years, and I'm just really have wanted something nice uh like this.

And we have a few restaurants like this uh that are nice and attractive uh that we've had uh recently, like Union Bear and uh a few others that have come to Denton, and I just want to add to that and share my dream with with Denton and all the all the people.

Just have something that people can really be proud of and enjoy.

Uh there will be a uh elevator to your point and a question.

The elevator that currently goes up two floors to from the Wells Fargo building and the um the engineering firm on the second floor will be expanded to come straight up into the restaurant to where patrons can come straight in, go up the elevator and come right out into the restaurant where the where the hostess table is right there waiting to find find you a seat.

So that will be there, and there's also two south side elevator bank elevators that can be used and our wheelchairs accessible for um accessibility needs.

Uh and then there's also the uh the east side stairwell and then two other stairwells and an emergency exits as well.

So uh feel like the building is like you said, it's kind of um built for expansion and and um so hopefully um we can uh expand this and make everybody proud.

I think you've got some questions.

Councilmember Holland.

Thank you.

Um the east entrance, if I recall correctly, once one is inside the door, you're immediately faced with stairs to the left upward or stairs straight ahead downward, yeah?

That's correct.

Okay, so it'll be just any minute, I'll be in a wheelchair.

And uh I'll need to I'll need to get in.

How do I get to the elevator?

The elevator is down, down uh there's a fountain down there.

I hope not any minute you'll be in a wheelchair, Mr.

Holland.

But uh the south side elevators have a wheelchair ramp that go up on the south side of the building.

And so there's uh two elevators there on um that side of the building that wheeled wheelchair accessibility can use those elevators that come straight to the third floor, and then there's a hallway that brings you right to the restaurant from that end of the building.

So it'll be accessible with two elevators, two elevators.

I see.

Yes, sir.

And then the the one with the stairs that that one would not be able to be accessible because the stairwell is there.

Right.

Right.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

I appreciate that.

As far as the ivy, I I liked the ivy.

Um, reasonable minds can differ.

Okay, we have we have a few that like the ivy.

I I'm not fully attached to the Ivy, but I I would like I I like the Ivy just because the marble over the last 52 years has somewhat faded and yellowed, and it's not as beautiful, maybe as it once was.

There could be some restoration done, perhaps.

But the Ivy, I felt like just added a nice green, lush um landscape feature to an otherwise concrete jungle of downtown.

So it kind of, you know, adds a living feature.

I have a great story I want to share with you afterwards about the marble on that building.

Okay, yes, sir.

Sounds good.

You're gonna love it.

Okay, sounds okay.

Post it on social media so we can all see it.

Yeah.

Uh council member back.

Thank you, maybe for Tim.

Um Mr.

King, did um directly to to Counselor Holland's point where that that existing entrance where we're gonna go up, we're we're down, we're sort of got those two stories there, and then you're we're adding the two stories on top of it.

Um did you ever in these concept plans, and I I want to be real real gentle here.

Do you did you ever think about just putting the one story and how does that uh uh affect your business model?

Yeah, we've we've looked at a lot of different iterations for this.

Um the reason being is you have an elevator taking up right in the elevator comes right up in the middle of the restaurant, which takes up major real estate for for tables um and for seating.

And then uh if you only do one story, it uh it just drastically reduces your seating capacity and for the um uh amount of square footage and the amount of um of cost associated with building this, it it wasn't cost effective to do a single story.

So it just uh the numbers didn't work, and so uh that's why uh we came up with the idea to do a mezzanine, and also that mezzanine looks outward with the window, so in the evenings you can see the whole east skyline of of Denton, and you can see downtown um from the north side, and um plus we were gonna put a private bar uh on this on the mezzanine as well, uh, which I feel like would be uh just a nice uh plus this uh building actually has the exact same seamless foundation as the eight-story building.

So it is structurally uh built to to uh bear more weight than just the uh just the two stories that are there, and so it's it's uh we we had to we had to core drill the the um the actual uh pillars and columns to find out what the PSI of the concrete was.

We've um we've gone underneath, we've structurally engineered everything and found and there's huge rebar and uh every single truss is uh concrete encased.

So uh we we just felt like structurally it could support a mezzanine, and that's why we we did that for the financial aspect and for the structural aspect.

All right, I appreciate that.

Thank you, Mr.

King.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

We have a few speakers.

First up is James Sawyer.

He'll come up, state your name, you'll have four minutes.

Um James Sawyer, I live here in Denton uh since 1981.

Um I'm friends with Jonathan, and after he told me about the restaurant, I took a walk and walked around to see what it would look like.

And uh I really like it because you have a glass restaurant and it faces east.

So after three o'clock in the afternoon, the hot sun is not gonna be messing your environment up, and you have a nice place to look, and you're right there on the square, and you can walk to your stores and have a nice place to go eat.

I just I liked his idea, and I just thought I'd come up here and say that.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Next we have James Van Pelt.

Come up, state your name, and you'll have three uh four minutes.

Hi, how's it going?

I'm James Van Pelt.

Uh Jonathan came up here and he said he's been up here for 23 years or going on 24.

I think I've got him beat I'm up here for 27.

I remember whenever Denton used to have the old hamburger place up there made out of wood, old Denton Independent, and I remember the excitement that everyone felt when LSA was what was kind of taking its place.

I also remember whenever Queenies was the new up and coming kind of luxury restaurant that the square was going to see, and how reinvigorated everyone felt, knowing that we had some sort of new presence on the square.

And with a project like this and the ever growing space of Denton, we really need this.

Right now, with the amount of people that are coming here, the restaurants that are already existing are getting bogged down.

You're seeing wait times, you know, upwards of two hours on a Friday, Saturday night for the few restaurants that are up there, which makes people go elsewhere, which takes away from the local traffic that the other businesses get to see.

And that's why you're kind of seeing earlier closed times and things like that with a lot of the local business.

Restaurants like this kind of put a new face on the square and allow us to have a situation where people have somewhere to go.

Right now we're kind of seeing the growth with UNT and all the new housing developments.

Well, UNT kind of has a space with Fry Street and somewhere for the kids to party, and they're starting to be an emergence with like austerior muro, a uh presence of fine dining and things like that, which is drawing people in, as you can see on their Instagram all the time from all over.

So a restaurant like this is gonna have that same kind of capacity to bring people in, take people away, maybe from McKinney or Frisco or wherever else they're gonna go to try try to come back here and see a little bit of excitement and reinvigoration into the local square.

That building has been essentially dead the whole time I've lived here.

You know, when you you walk past, there's nothing, there's no interaction with it at all.

A lot of it is apartments or various other businesses.

This restaurant allows for kind of that diversion of traffic now to a more empty space, you know, with like Beth Marie's and the few places where they are, it crowds two sides of the square, leading to like higher traffic and all these other things.

Well, this building will kind of help switch that around.

And you know, it's it's the it's the kind of facelift that Denton really needs right now on our local square, and it could really help us bring some more foot traffic in terms of what other businesses see.

So I just wanted to say I'd love to see something like that happen for us.

So appreciate it.

Thank you so much.

Next, we have Grace Smith.

No, these are not fun.

Hi, um, greetings, y'all.

My name is Grace.

Um, I'm this is my 20th year living in Denton.

Um, so I'm a resident.

I love Denton, that's my home.

And I also work on the square, so I spend a lot of time over there.

And um, I just want to second what James was saying.

That you know, the square is so important to Denton culture.

It's important that the square is thriving, and especially with all the new traffic coming through Denton with the 31 days of Halloween, and we just want the square to be thriving.

We want it to be reinvigorated and to have spaces where you can be and that promote um socializing and lingering and good dining, and you know, we just need more of those spaces.

I think that um I'm it's really on board with this vision.

I know Jonathan personally, I've worked with him, and I'm for it.

I love this vision.

I think it's a beautiful um addition aesthetically, but also just the uh the culture, you know, to have a place.

I know that that's something that's in his vision too, is to just have a place where not only is the food good, but you can stay, you can be comfortable, you can meet your friends, bring your family.

And um I love it.

I think it'll be a great addition to the square, and I'm really excited to see it come to fruition.

So thank you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Next we have Bobby Baldwin.

If you'll come up, state your name, you'll have four minutes.

I'm Bobby Baldwin.

It's nice to meet all of you, and I appreciate the opportunity to comment on the proposed business at this location.

Um, my concerns for this business and this infrastructure proposal are not rooted in opposition by any way in economic development.

Um, but rather they're based on compatibility compatibility, cumulative impact, and the legal standards that govern the approval itself.

Um, the compatibility of the shared structure.

I'm concerned about the businesses operating within the building and shared structural systems.

As we have eight floors and we act as one building as it was stated, even though it is on the lower end, there's eight floors within the other structure that provide uh locations for businesses as well as residents.

Um, this architectural proposal prevents um some access to the windows, as that was stated, as well as covers up and is proposed to cover up some of the integrity that the building has had for ages, such as the marbling that I'm also a fan of.

Now, other concerns that I have come naturally for Denton downtown, which is the parking.

Our predecessors, as it was mentioned by Mr.

Joe Holland, um, thought very thoughtfully um and deliberately and diligently about a parking garage that was shown in one of the mock-ups that we saw on an earlier screen.

Uh we do not have that as much as I wish we did.

Um so what you're looking at right now, and what we all know to be true is we have lots of parking in downtown, but to bring a large infrastructure of a 300 capacity restaurant begs the question of do we have the parking to sustain that business as well as other businesses that are close by?

So as well as drawing in new businesses and newcomers and uh and lots of wonderful economic growth, we have to be able to sustain that with the ability for people to access that with parking.

Um speaking of accessibility, I am also concerned about the accessibility of patrons um for both the existing tenants of the building as well as the proposed restaurant location.

Um now we do have south side elevators as it was mentioned.

There are two of them, but in the renderings, they're labeled as service elevators, not as handicap access elevators.

So I am concerned at the elevators usage.

Will those be accepting deliveries?

Will they be uh taking trash to and fro from the restaurant?

Um if that's the case, those are the shared elevators that handicap and differently abled persons would be using.

I'm also wondering how the rest of the building, the eight floors that occupy currently would also be sharing those two elevators, as those two elevators are the only elevators that allow access to all eight floors.

There is the other elevator as mentioned on the east side that is delegated for just that um new construction.

Last but not least, again, this is not about preventing growth.

I'm all for growing Denton.

I'm a lover of Denton downtown, and I love all of the wonderful, thoughtful and innovative ideas that come here and thrive.

This is just to ensure that we are going with the city's comprehensive plan, that we're protecting existing investments and businesses, and as well as preserving fair and reasonable access to other downtown commerce.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

This is a public hearing.

So even if you did not fill out a card before this item was called, you can come up and speak and fill out a card afterwards.

Um I think we've got some 4-H guests in the room.

So if anybody with 4 H would like to just comment on this, you're welcome to come down.

I'll pause just for a second to let people think about it.

Sure.

State your name and you'll have four minutes.

Uh my name is Dylan Clark.

Uh I would just add I I go to the square a lot, I forget the square.

Uh, but there are a lot of times that I've either been on the square and left due to the fact there's not a lot of pizza places on the square, uh, outside of the tomato, uh, which is great.

Uh there's also been times where my wife and I go on date night, we only have so many times, and like we can only go to Komodo and Eastide so many times.

So eventually we start looking at maybe we were going to Grapevine, or maybe we were going to other places.

And most of my date nights are on the weekdays because that's when I can get child care.

So that's where parking wouldn't be an issue.

I do think there are a lot of people that go to the square and have to leave for various reasons where this could be an opportunity to stay.

That's that's what I'm excited for myself is have a night another date night spot or my wife and I don't have to leave to go to Lewisville or Great Vine.

We can keep it in Denton or have people meet us here where we could stay and get pizza, where a lot of times it's hard to decide.

There's Mexican oak, like a lot of kind of pricier stuff, but everyone likes pizza.

It's available, you have nice views.

So I think it opens up just a lot of opportunities like for date nights and and uh and like bigger gatherings that it's kind of being missed.

Uh and then even mentions the 31 days of Halloween, stuff like that.

Locals are often moved, like I'll go to 31 days of Halloween, and then I'm leaving downtown and maybe just going home to eat because the options can be limited with such high traffic.

So I do think having more options is great.

I think having more date night spit spots are great.

Uh, I'd like to stay in Denton more and and go to other places less.

So this is I think a great opportunity for for that.

So thank you.

Appreciate it.

I forget who who gets him a card.

I forget how that works.

A card's coming to you.

Any other individuals want to speak?

Yeah, sure.

Thank you.

Uh my name's Clay Dodd.

I'm sorry for my tar.

I just got back from um a T-bowl practice.

I've actually known Jonathan and his family for three years.

Uh, me and my wife for high school sweethearts from Chrome.

We both graduated from North Texas.

My parents both uh graduated from North Texas and pretty consistent with what everybody else is saying.

I mean, we love to go to all the functions, all the parades uh in Denton.

I've got three kiddos, whose favorite foods actually pizza.

Um, and like they said, it does get congested, and we would go for those functions the day of the dead or what have you, jazz fest, and we're trying to get places to eat, and there's just nowhere to be found.

Uh just the economic growth of the foot traffic, love being outside my internship in college at North Texas was a pizza shop.

So I'm a little bit biased towards that, but uh I know Jonathan, and I know his vision, uh, I know the kind of person he is, the kind of family is.

Um me and my family have deep roots in Denton, and I I love the square.

I think this is a fantastic idea.

I love the ivory bud.

Like again, appreciate y'all's time.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

Anyone else?

Uh we got one.

Come on down, state your name.

You'll have four minutes.

Um hello, uh, my name is Christiana.

I am with the Denton County Forage program.

I am a county ambassador, and today I'm here with the TWU leadership program.

I did not know about the city council meetings, but I'm very glad to be able to be a part of one.

I fully support this idea.

Um, being a part of 4-H, we are a youth development program across the nation, and we heavily believe in community service.

If the owners would be willing, this would give us an opportunity to help serve and maybe clean up around the place or help out in the kitchen.

We do have a food and nutrition project that specializes in cooking.

Um, this would also provide more employment opportunities for the county.

Unemployment is sometimes an issue for college age students, and this would be a great opportunity for them.

Uh, really the design overall, it's modern, it's attractive, it will attract more people to the beautiful city that we have here that we do call home.

And in 4-H, we are all about development.

Developing this idea, I believe it's very well structured.

I think it's great, and I support this idea.

Thank you so much for speaking.

Any other speakers?

Last call.

Anyone wanting to speak?

All right, well, I'll close the public hearing.

Uh Councilmember Jester.

Uh thank you.

Um I I just want to say thank you to uh everyone's uh input, uh, whether it be uh positive or more uh you know, with the concerns, we certainly do appreciate hearing from everyone.

Um I just want to say as someone that uh I was not alive in 1962 and it was built, but pretty soon after I was born here uh at Flo Hospital, and I remember a day when the downtown square was just boarded up.

Uh there was nothing there.

Um and my stepfather was president of First State Bank when it was sold to Wells Fargo, and that building has changed in character, but one of the concerns has always been the natural light, and I don't know if everyone has been in the building, but uh that has been a deterrent, I think, to some of the uh to utilizing it in a productive way.

Uh so I've just been very impressed with the creativity taking something that already exists and then adding to it in a way that I think uh adds to the square and does not detract uh the way that they are uh putting in windows and changing it but still remaining consistent with the architecture and then you know, adding jobs, value to our tax rules, uh, and continuing to make Denton a destination spot.

Uh those types of tax dollars are helpful to the rest of our citizens as far as what kind of burden they are as far as services that they take, but then they do contribute to our bottom line, and we can add more services to our plates.

So and I I also just want to comment on uh how much I appreciate the heart behind it and and uh that kind of love of of Denton and uh that kind of dream uh is very inspiring, and so uh I I'm very happy to be on board uh uh with all of this, and uh I'm sure that the people involved have heard the concerns and hopefully those are being addressed.

Uh, but I think this is just a really great addition uh to our square, and uh as we continue to grow, I think it's gonna fit right in.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Beck.

Thank you.

Uh yeah, I I want to echo some of what uh Councilor Jester just said.

Um I really appreciate everyone coming here and and talking about uh you know both their aspirations for it and their concerns.

Um I think I know I I'll I'm honestly torn um because everyone's um aspirational and economic development patterns and and ideas are um excellent.

I mean I I I don't want to denigree the idea of this at all.

I that said it's it's hard for me to get past sort of we have our own rules that that talk about four stories and we have our own issues that Miss Baldwin brought up about access and and and um historical tax credits and things that I mentioned earlier.

And and I'm I'm trying to figure out like I I think I'm ultimately unfortunately gonna call come down on the side of no, but it's not the idea, it's not for the square.

It is or rather, it's not for the developer.

I think you could do this, and I'm going to, you know, I I don't know which way this is gonna go, but if it doesn't go your way, I encourage you to come back with a new idea for the square.

I appreciate everyone's passion.

I think the the thing I I run into is just some of the concerns that that I brought up, and Miss Baldwin brought up.

So I I don't want to be seen as you know, going against anything that Councillor Jester just said or any of the others.

I I think we're just sort of falling on just gently on the other side of the line on this one.

So I I encourage everyone to keep going uh root, whichever way this this happens, positive or negative.

Councilmember Byrd.

Yeah, I just want to uh add my little two cent to the to the uh conversation.

Um I remember that time uh of the time when uh the square was very very quiet.

And um knowing the effort um that's been taken to you know bring some life back to that square.

Uh I do understand the undertaking uh of all of that.

So I actually enjoy going to the square.

Uh I remember when they painted the the opera uh building purple.

That was a real big deal.

Everybody was freaking out.

Uh and so that was exciting.

But you know, just to bring some new freshness in.

Uh I've been finding myself that I've been seeing uh young folk.

So it's like, you know, what are the young folk think about that?

Uh and so now I'm kind of telling on myself, but I really do appreciate us uh as uh you know older um seasoned generational types that we're we are understanding that we can grow.

I mean, a lot of times there's some things, there's some odd times when people say no, you know, there's a lot of no's going on.

Um, but there is room for us to do new different updated things for the young folks and their families um that we uh want to have here.

They're graduating from the universities, they're staying, and they they like new fresh things too.

So I'm excited to be a part of uh you know that kind of growth like that, that good uh growth that we always talk about.

So, you know, I'm gonna do an early congratulations to this team.

I hope that they're getting all of their needs met, uh knowing that we're here to help in every kind of way um that we can, you know, just keep our city vibrant, keep it vibrant.

So thank you for the opportunity to speak.

Seeing no other uh calls to speak, I'll take a motion.

Councilmember Holland.

You know, I remember when there was a building on that site before the two-story building.

I've my my grandparents used to bank there and they took me in there.

So this is this will be my third generation uh uh shopping in that building.

So I'm I'm real excited about this.

Uh I I happily move uh approval of this of this item.

Thank you, Councilmember Holland.

Councilmember Jester.

Second.

We have a motion and a second.

Any further discussion?

Seeing none, let's vote on the screen.

That passes 4-1.

Moving on to the next uh agenda item is item B, S25-0014A.

Hold a public hearing and consider adoption of an ordinance of the city of Denton, Texas regarding our quest for a special use permit to allow for an outdoor storage use on approximately 4.95 acres of land, approximately located on the west side of Interstate Highway 35 West, 287 feet north of Metro Street, and legally described as block lot four block A Latimore Industrial Park in the city of Denton, Denton County, Texas, adopting an amendment to the city's official zoning map, providing a penalty to the maximum of $2,000 for violations thereof, providing for separability, and establishing an effective date.

The planning and zoning commission voted 7-0 to recommend approval.

Good evening, Mayor Potem, members of council, Bryce Van Arsdale, assistant planner.

This is S2514A related to Lattimore Industrial Park.

This is a specific use permit for an outdoor storage use on approximately 4.95 acres of land.

This is an existing use that is an accessory to a primary concrete batch plant.

The purpose of this request is just to separate the accessory outdoor storage use from the primary concrete batch plant.

This area is predominantly zoned light industrial and is developed with a variety of industrial uses.

Developed with a variety of light industrial and heavy industrial uses.

Typically, this will be located towards the airport and west of I-35 West.

This proposed use does conform to our future land use map.

This property wasn't or this project was noticed in accordance with state law.

We received no um letters of feedback and opposition neutral or in favor of the project.

The planning and zoning commission recommended um approval with these conditions 70 and and following staff also recommends approval with these standards um SUP conditions related to revision of the site plan that the plan will substantially um comply to the site plan today.

I'll happily stand for any questions.

Any questions for staff seeing none, I'll take a motion.

Oh, thank you.

Uh this is a public hearing, so I will open the public hearing.

Uh let me just double check that I I do have a card to speak, and that is Brett Bachman.

Oh, you're just here to answer questions.

All right.

Is he the applicant?

Oh, he's the applicant.

Did you does anybody have a question for the applicant?

Okay, no questions for the applicant.

This is a public hearing.

Even if you have not submitted a card, you can come up and speak if you would like.

Seeing none, I'll close the public hearing.

Uh Councilmember Beck.

Yeah, this is a compatible use in an industrial area.

Move approval with the conditions specified by staff.

Thank you.

Councilmember Byrd.

I'll second.

We have a motion and a second.

Any further discussion.

Seeing none, we'll vote on the screen.

Uh that passes, yeah, there's five of us today.

50.

Uh, next up we have items for individual consideration.

First up is item A.

HL25-004A.

Consider approval of a resolution of the city of Denton approving an application for a partial tax exemption of designated host historic sites in accordance in accordance with chapter 10, Article 6, sections 10-126 through 10-129 of the Denton Municipal Code of Ordinances for the historic landmark located at 3316 Roseland Drive.

Located on the northeast corner of the intersection of Roseland Drive and Roseland Circle, providing for severality and providing for an effective date.

The historic landmark commission recommends a favorable favorable determination 70.

Can you mayor pro tem council members Cameron Robertson, Historic Preservation Officer?

I say this is for a tax exemption of 3316 Roseland Drive.

It's located on that northeast corner of Rosalind Drive and Roseland Circle.

The owner is Leanne Todd.

And um the construction dates, it was a phase construction from the 1870s to 1960s.

Uh the property itself is a local historic landmark.

Um it was designated this past December, uh, December 2025.

So looking specifically at section 10-128, um, they are eligible for a partial tax exemption of the designated historic sites as they spent over a minimum of 10,000 for a new aerobic system, also known as a septic tank.

Um, so the historic landmark commission did recommend a favorable determination of 7.0.

So staff is recommending approval of this item.

And I can stand for any questions.

Thank you, Cameron.

Any questions for Cameron?

Seeing none.

Brian.

Councilmember Beck.

Yes.

Uh I I'm uh this area is uh is a long-standing area that has has been part of Denton for for a long, long time, and I'm I'm I'm glad to see it get the designation.

I happily move approval.

Councilmember Byrd.

I'll second.

We have a motion and a second.

Any further discussion?

Seeing none, let's vote on the screen.

That passes 5-0.

Next up we have item B, OPA 25-001.

Consider adoption of an ordinance of the city of Denton, a Texas Home Rule Municipal Corporation authorizing the city manager to execute an interlocal agreement with Ponder Farms Municipal Utility District of Denton County for the oversizing costs related to the design and construction of a 30-inch water line for Denton Water Utilities, providing for the expenditure of funds, therefore, in an not to amount amount not to exceed 2,261 202, and providing an effective date.

This item before you today is really continuation of the city's effort to be a regional service provider and conserve groundwater in the areas around the city.

We is uh executed a an agreement with the Ponder Farms MUD just uh east of the town of Ponder in November of 2024, and we've been working since that time with the town of Ponder and the MUD on this line that would go to be a future wholesale provision to the town of Ponder.

Um this is in alignment with the city's master plan.

Um so project 17 and a portion of project 20 in the city's master plan would go to be that wholesale connection point and the water master plan contemplated the city providing um this wholesale service uh within the next five years.

Um so really this item before you today um is looking at the city contributing uh 2.3 million dollars roughly to the overall project of extending this water line uh with the total project cost being 8.6 million.

Um we'd be funding this from the utility CIP budget and it would go to provide a wholesale connection point uh to the town of Ponder.

And we've been in discussions with the town of Ponder um since 2024 or late 2023 about this.

Um the original water line was a 20 inch and 24 inch water line to support the Ponder Farms MUD, and this is to increase that to a 30-inch line to serve the mud, also the town and future development in that area.

Um so with that uh staff's recommending approval of the oversizing participation agreement uh with the Ponder Farms Municipal Utility District, and I'll happily take any questions.

Thank you, Charlie.

Any questions for staff?

Councilmember Jester.

Uh once again, I appreciate the investment that we are making and keeping the city of Denton's water as excellent as it is.

And so I happily uh move approval as presented.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Beck.

Uh second.

We have a motion and a second.

Any further discussion.

Seeing none, let's vote on the screen.

That passes 5 0.

Next on the agenda is CID 26 0238.

Consider adoption of an ordinance of the city of Denton, a Texas Home Row Municipal Corporation authorizing the city manager to execute a construction manager at risk contract with Sunt Construction for construction phase services for the Bacon Creek Water Reclamation Plant Expansion Project for the Water Utilities Department, providing for the expenditure of funds therefore and providing an effective date.

Good evening, council.

I'm Kyle Pedigo, Planning and Engineering Division Manager for Water Utilities.

I'm here tonight to request approval of our construction manager at risk.

Construction phase guaranteed maximum price number one for the Pecan Creek Water Reclamation Plant Expansion.

The Pecan Creek Expansion Project involves construction of a new 30 million gallon per day water reclamation facility at the Pecan Creek site, which will utilize membrane bioreactor technology in the treatment process.

Other work includes uh improvement of the solids handling and disinfection processes, as well as construction of a new interceptor headwork structure and uh control operations building.

For the bidding process of GMP 1, the work was separated into four packages, which include testing and inspections, site surveying, earthworks and excavation, and site utility and yard piping.

These packages were publicly bid, and the selected bids were combined with the general conditions, bond and insurance costs, and estimated contingencies to create GMP number one for this project.

Here's a breakdown of the work packages, which includes the selected contractor as well as their winning bid.

Alliance Geotechnical Group was selected for testing and inspections.

Hannah Engineering and Surveying was selected for site surveying.

And sunk construction was selected for both the earthworks and excavation and site utility and yard piping package.

The construction total for GMP number one is 63 million twenty-five thousand four hundred and thirty-seven dollars and ten cents.

The design contract was approved in June of 2023, followed by the CMAR contract in February of 2024.

If approved tonight, the notice to proceed for GMP 1 will be issued April 1st, 2026.

And it has an estimated construction completion date in quarter four of 2031.

Staff recommends adoption of a contract between the city of Denton and Sun Construction and the not to exceed amount of 92,321,565.

This consists of the CMARS GMP of 89,261,424, as well as the owner's contingency of 3,060,141 dollars.

Questions for staff.

We've got council member Beck.

Thank you, Mr.

Pratin.

Kyle, um how uh how many people bid on the different phasings that we had and you know how how did we end up selecting these?

What was the what was the uh criteria for selecting these these particular three uh companies?

So we had 22 uh companies express interest in bidding.

Um had reached the process of preparing a bid, and we received eight total bids for all the work packages.

So for the testing, we received four bids for the surveying.

We only received one bid, and then for both the excavation and the yard piping items, we received two bids.

Two bids.

Yes.

And then the selection was a combination of my cheat sheet.

So it was a best value that was based on safety, past performance, uh, the XBE participation, so that's the MBE and WBE, as well as pricing.

And was was pricing the number one factor generally?

Pricing was a weighted factor.

I believe pricing was weighted at 40% of the 40% okay.

All right, thank you, Kyle.

Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Yes.

Any other questions?

Uh we'll entertain a motion.

Councilmember Beck?

Um, this is something that we really need to do as our city expands.

We really need to expand the capacity.

Uh, I appreciate the the staff being mindful and running out there and trying to get um this off the ground.

Um, I think we'll have a lot of opportunities uh to to take care of the infrastructure needs of our our citizens, so I happily move approval.

Thank you, Councilmember Jester.

Second.

We have a motion and approval, and I'll just sort of tack on to that that I really appreciate that that we're thinking ahead, planning ahead and moving forward that with this.

I know some city councils and other cities will keep kicking the can down the road until they can't anymore, and then it ends up being a financially a very bad thing, um, especially for taxpayers.

So I really appreciate that we're doing this now when we need it and not waiting until it's too late and and there's all these additional costs as well.

Thank you.

Um so I have a motion and I have a second.

Any further discussion?

All right, seeing none, we'll vote on the screen.

That passes five zero.

Final item is item D, ID 262430.

Consider adoption of an ordinance of the city of Denton approving a joint election agreement and contract for election services with Denton County for joint election services for the May 2nd, 2026 Denton General Municipal Election being held for the purpose of electing council members to place five, six, and electing a mayor to place seven, and a special election for the purpose of electing council members to fill a vacancy for the unexpired term ending in May 2027 in district one and district two and providing an effective date.

Good evening, Mayor Pro Tem and Council.

Christy Fogle, Chief of Staff.

I'm filling in for Ingrid this evening so she can stay at the computer.

Uh, here to present ordinance 262430 to approve the joint election agreement and contract with Denton County elections and finalize the polling locations ordering the general election and special election for May.

The City of Denton will hold a joint election in May for a general election council places five, six, and seven, which is the mayor, and a special election to fill vacancy uh for unexpired terms ending in May 2027 for districts one and two.

Approval of the joint election agreement and contract authorizes the city to hold the election jointly with jurisdictions that share common polling places and to contract with the county to conduct the city's May 2026 joint election and if necessary a runoff election on June 13th, 2026.

The list of entities contracting for election services and the cost estimate for the general election will be available after April 10th, once the Denton County Elections Administrator has determined the number of participating jurisdictions and finalized the polling locations.

Therefore, at this time, the contract does not include the final cost estimate, which the city secretary will provide to council following its receive from the county.

Staff published an ISR on February 13th with 11 proposed early voting and 10 election day polling locations.

Originally staff aimed to include at least two early voting locations and two election day locations in each site.

However, all locations must be approved by Denton County and as the elections administrator and the school district for cost sharing purposes.

The school district declined to support the CISC Center and District 2 as an early voting location, citing its proximity to the Denton County Elections Office and concerns about cost effectiveness.

In response to that ISR, Councilmember Beck requested staff explore adding the LDS church on Old North as an additional early voting site.

Staff looked into this, asked the county for a list of polling places in District 2 that were previously used by the county and state or federal elections.

The county provided a list that included the LDS church, served in the North Texas Fairgrounds, C.H.

Collins Athletic Complex, and Green Valley Baptist Church.

Of these five locations, only the Green Valley Baptist Church indicated that they were available to serve as an earling voting voting location, should council wish to consider that.

The cost for an additional polling location in district two would be funded solely by the city as the count as the Denton ISD has only agreed to cost share the polling locations included in that ISR on February 13th.

So for tonight's uh recommendations, uh staff recommends that we approve.

You approve the joint agreement and contract authorizing the Denton County Elections Administrator to conduct the May 2026 joint election.

You have two options, the proposed early voting and election day polling locations as presented in the ISR on February 13th.

Or additionally, you could elect to add an addition in district two.

And we have a couple of maps just to kind of show illustrate where these are.

These were the polling locations as presented in the ISR, the purple being early voting only and election day being green.

And then these are the additional district two locations that we looked into.

Right here, you can see the Green Valley Baptist Church is the only one in District 2 that is available, should council wish to include it.

And with that, I will stand for questions.

Thank you.

Questions for staff.

We've got council member Beck.

Thank you.

I know I appreciate staff taking the time to try to dig in to because I mean it it's glaringly obvious that my home district has one voting location.

And I I and I I know that staff worked really hard for the barriers.

Um I think the backup said it was mostly programmatic barriers of those institu uh those uh facilities and and a couple questions.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but they have to the facilities that we choose have to be ADA compliant and have a certain volume and size to s to be able to support parking and things like that, correct?

Yes, correct.

I don't have those specifics.

That would be something that we would run through county elections office.

They would be the ones to go out and physically vet any location for those requirements.

So thing things like city buildings, churches, schools were the typical kinds of things, and the the school district doesn't really let us use their schools anymore.

And I'm I'm I'm not picking on the school district, I understand why they did that.

Um I guess my question then is for some of the church locations that would all would have been compliant and have been used in the past.

What was it that we're just not getting to it?

Oh, if we had taken a stab at this, say for the November election in in the future or you know, next May's do you think they they that some of these locations would have been open to programming you know these elections in the future or and that this was just too soon, or what was the barrier to using some of these uh really?

Yeah, so the two churches that we specifically reached out to, the LDS church on Old North has previously been an election day location, but not an early voting location.

And in my conversation with um the state president at that location, he mentioned that they have daily programs in their buildings that would prevent that.

So one day, 7 a.m.

to 7 p.m.

is doable, but every day for a week and a half, two weeks is not.

Okay.

So we kind of got into a conversation where he said, well, we could do Tuesday, but not Wednesday, you know, that sort of thing.

So that was I think that is a big barrier for some of the churches who do daily programmatic stuff.

Um just doing it for two weeks, 7 a.m.

to 7 p.m.

doesn't allow them any flexibility if they don't have a large facility to accommodate multiple things happening at one point.

No, I no, I appreciate that.

Um I don't, I mean, we we are sort of limited by the facilities that are physically in the district, so I I appreciate uh staff working really hard.

I I I will say um uh no no offense to the to my constituents that live way out in Green Valley area, but I I think for the costs that that would that would bring to the city to host that out there.

Um it it's it's probably more convenient and time better served to go with with option one.

So that that's what I'll be supporting here when we go to a vote.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Um does anyone else have a comment before we take a motion.

All right, Councilmember Holland.

Uh I move the approval of this item and and I'm uh um in favor of option one.

All righty, councilmember Beck.

Uh I'm I'm glad he said that so that I could second that because I was already on the screen to second that.

Thank you, Councilor.

Uh so I move uh I second that.

We have a motion and a second for option one.

Any further discussion.

All right, seeing none, let's vote on the screen.

And that passes five zero.

Final item on the agenda is item six, concluding items.

Councilmember Beck.

Yeah, I I appreciate that.

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem.

I I appreciate the the meeting you ran today.

Um the I want to draw people's attention to some things that are coming up on Friday.

Uh She Rock starts on Friday.

Uh this is a local music festival.

On top of that, GDAC is doing their their video art night in in the Quakertown Park.

And later that night, uh the Wee Beasties are performing at rubber gloves.

So lots of things happening on Friday night.

So be sure and go try to get to as many of those as you can.

Um it's it's part of our music scene here in Denton.

Councilmember Byrd.

I'm just saying something um wanted to reiterate something that I always talk about, and I really do believe in that the community does have an opportunity to assist us here on the day is in terms of you all giving us information about what you um want us to consider.

Uh you all can be very helpful to us as we're uh making these particular decisions, and you can do that um by way of uh getting on those boards and commissions.

There's an article in the Dinner Record Chronicle here.

Um I guess it must have been today or yesterday, uh, in regards to uh boards and commissions.

Uh and I've said it time and time again that uh if you have time, if you're interested, be interested in what we're doing here.

Um there's a lot of decisions that are being made up here, and we have to depend on the whole community uh, you know, to put their voice in.

Um, and you know, that's just pretty much next to uh being here with us.

So we get phone calls, we get um emails, text messages uh about what people have an issue with, but when you start having those particular kind of issues, uh make sure you step it up a little notch uh and maybe have an opportunity to get on a board or a commission to correct help correct those issues.

Uh we don't know everything, and we have to depend on you all.

So with after reading that article um in the record chronicle about boards and commissions, is very easy to do.

Uh and we do try to make an effort for um you know for us to assign people.

When people are getting on boards to commissions, they go through it uh via where they live.

So each one of those areas in town can have someone that is uh representing their area.

So anybody that lives let's say in district one and we have a library opening, then if you're interested in being on the library board, fill out the application so we can give you a call and make sure you get on there the at the appropriate time.

So with that being said, I know I can go on and on.

Uh it is a pet project to find uh to you know just make sure that they're full 80, 80, 80 um people are working, there's all kinds of issues uh because for people that don't participate it, participate.

But there are many, many people that have the time uh to participate.

So I certainly would encourage those to do so.

So you all have a great week, and it's great to see everybody.

We haven't seen each other in a while.

Um, but it's great to see everybody here on the day.

So thank you.

Appreciate it.

Councilmember Holland.

Thank you.

Um yesterday was Texas Independence Day.

If my math is correct, 190 years.

Um some some brave, brave people went out to a foreign country called Texas and settled it, and here we are.

And uh, as the song says, God bless Texas.

Um I missed going to the dedication of the Lieutenant Colonel Fred Hill Elementary School today for the council meeting.

Um Lieutenant Colonel Hill was a uh a Korean veteran.

Uh he fought in Vietnam.

And he brought his talents to Denton, and uh he was a neighbor of mine and a friend of mine.

I've I've waived to uh to Fred Hill a million times as he drove by my house.

Um I'm I'm proud to I'm proud to call him a friend.

He was the first African American to serve on the Denton ISD school board.

Uh that was in in 1978, and rightly a school was named for Colonel Hill in Aubrey.

It's a big big school district, and it stretches all the way to Aubrey, and they are the dolphins.

So I missed the dedication today, but I told them that I would would give a shout out to uh Lieutenant Colonel Fred Hill elementary School Go Dolphins.

Thank you, Councilmember Jester.

Thank you.

I'll I'll try to go fast.

Thank you.

Uh first I just want to echo the statements of Councilmember Holland.

Uh Fred Hill has been a very was a very important person uh in the city of Denton, and uh his son Reggie Hill carries on his legacy uh very well in in his community involvement, and so uh and they were also uh friends of my my family for a very long time.

So I appreciate you saying that.

We're very happy to see him honored uh as well as his family.

Uh second, I just want to mention uh thank you very much to Texas Women's University and 4H for having your students here today.

We were very pleased to see them, and uh those that spoke did a fantastic job, knocked it out of the park.

So I can't wait to see them back here in my seat.

Not not now, not now, but at some point in time.

Um, and then last I I never do, I think this is the I I could be wrong.

I think this is the first time I've done this, but I'll take a personal privilege just to say happy birthday to my husband, who allows me to uh his uh our our relationship allows me to do a lot of what I do, and so uh I know he's watching right now, and I just wanted to say happy birthday, and I appreciate you and I appreciate all of you.

Thank you.

Happy birthday, Chris.

Thank you.

Um I just want to say a couple things.

I want to congratulate the Denton Public Library for winning the achievement of Library Excellence Award.

Not once, this is the eighth year in a row.

Uh this is from the Texas Municipal Directors Association.

It puts Denton in the top 20% of public libraries in the state.

Uh we got a former librarian over there.

Um, and then I also want to congratulate the Denton Economic Development Team for working so hard to attract Novartis, the eighth, I think eighth largest pharmaceutical company in the world to have a location here in Denton.

It's gonna bring us some good paying jobs, put a vacant property back on the tax roll, so we're you know getting some revenue on that.

But there's I think there's a lot of partnership opportunities with this as well.

So I'm really excited.

Welcome, Novartis.

Um, and then there's one event that's happening on Saturday, Denton Evening Rotaries having having their winter warmer event this weekend.

It raises funds for laptops for college-bound seniors from Ryan High School and Denton High School who are part of the UNT talent search program.

Um and the event will be this Saturday, March 7th, 12 to 4 p.m.

at Denton County Brewing Company.

There will be music, raffles, beers, pizza.

Um, come out and and and fundraise some laptops for for some students.

Uh and with that, at uh oh, I closed my laptop.

Hold on.

At 8 10 p.m., we'll conclude tonight's meeting.

Thank y'all.