Good afternoon.

Welcome to this meeting of Denton City Council.

Today May 12th, 2026.

It is 101 p.m.

We do have a quorum, so I'll call a meeting order first thing on the agenda.

Pledges to the United States and Texas flag.

Please stand with me if you're able.

And for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Honor the Texas flag.

One state one and individual.

All right.

And then first proclamation is to Dr.

Brian Beck.

If you can meet me at the podium, please.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Let's start with uh check check.

Okay.

Yeah.

So I'll give you an opportunity to I have a proclamation, I'll read it, but anything, anything you want to share, the mic is yours.

Oh no, that's dangerous.

It is.

Uh we all know that I am prone to to go on and on.

Yes.

Did I mention on?

Yeah.

Okay.

Well, thank you very much.

No, I want I'll I will keep it brief because as I I just told Jell, um I'm all in my fields right now.

I'm all in compartmentalized about the different aspects of where this leads because we're sort of in a in a holding pattern as we see how things go.

Um, but what I am immensely grateful for is all the people on the stage that I've got to share time with our five years together, Vicky and our five years together, um, we sort of all started this at the same time.

I said this last meeting, uh, and and it has changed me, made me grow as a person.

It has shown me that this community I came to 20 years ago.

Um is it's so important, and it and it really reinforced me giving back over and over and over again.

So I hope that I have the opportunity to continue to give back to the community further, and I I promise you, regardless of what happens in the next uh few weeks, uh I will continue to give back to the community that I love that I've stayed here, that is my home.

But I have immensely enjoyed every aspect of this so much to the point that I actually left UT to just focus on the community.

Um professors normally die in their office, and I chose to focus on the community instead.

So I appreciate every single person up here.

I don't know if I say it um well enough or often enough, but thank you.

Thank you all.

Thank you.

Excellent.

Thank you.

And before I read the proclamation, I'll say just a bit more about that because I've I've done all the things.

I've run for election and lost, I've run for election and won, winning's better.

Uh and then I have also been in a runoff situation.

So if you don't know, it is like you leave council.

I had to turn in everything as though I wasn't coming back.

And that that's a difficult thing, right?

It is just a challenge.

You know, it's the first time in a long time that if uh it was like four years, and so if if I forgot my charger in City Hall, I'd just come grab it.

But after that day, and you gotta wait till 8 o'clock on Monday, uh, and it's just a different experience.

So I appreciate uh I have the similar experience and understand what you're doing and appreciate it.

And so we have a proclamation to read, and it reads a proclamation by the mayor of the city of Denton, Texas, to all whom these presents shall come, greetings.

Whereas Dr.

Brian Beck has served as a council member for District 2 of the city of Denton City Council from May 1st, 2021 to May 12th, 2026, and whereas among this his many contributions to the community, Dr.

Brian Beck has also served as a mayor pro tem and of the city council chair to the committee on environment, vice chair to the mobility committee, and member of the community Partnership committee and development code review committee.

And whereas Dr.

Brian Beck has served with dedication, consistently going above and beyond in contributions to the well-being of the city and earning the respect of his colleagues and the community.

Now, therefore, our Gerard Hudson with mayor of the city of Denton, Texas, formally convey the community's appreciation of Dr.

Brian Beck in permanent manner by reading this proclamation into the official minutes of the city of Denton, and be it further resolved that the city of Denton does hereby officially extend thanks to Dr.

Brian Beck for his successful career as a city council member and city of Denton.

If we can give a hand, all right.

Thank you so much.

Thank you very much.

And I'd be remiss if you are an elected official or representing elected official in the here in the audience.

If you could stand, let us give you, let us recognize you real quick.

Thank you very much.

Appreciate y'all.

Yeah.

We are here almost every other Tuesday, so y'all come back and see us now, you hear?

I love it.

Uh, okay.

Uh Councilman Bird.

Okay.

Yes, it is.

All right.

Well, the mic is yours.

Oh, thank you.

Thank you.

Well, I have my speech already prepared, so I know that when I go off the top of my head, I just go all over the place, so I'm gonna be structured here.

Uh, I did write a letter to the city, and I said, Dear City of Denton, I write with deep gratitude and an unwavering commitment to the community that has shaped my professional journey in my own personal purpose.

Serving Didden has been an honor, and I remain dedicated to advocating and advancing a city where quality of life, strong families, and sustainable economic development are not competing priorities but shared outcomes.

Throughout my work, I've consistently placed safety first, recognizing that a secure community is a foundation upon which all progress is built, and alongside this, I've championed thoughtful economic development that not only attracts opportunity, but ensures that it's accessible, and it's responsible, and it's beneficial to all the residents here who call Denton home.

My administrative experiences have reinforced the importance of accountability and collaboration.

I love that, and results-driven leadership, and it has values that I'm gonna continue to uphold.

I extend my sincere appreciation to my family, which by the way is not here, they're working and out of town and out of state, whose support has been my anchor, and to my supporters, thank you for your trust and your encouragement and your belief in the work that I do.

And I offer a special thanks to Jordan Villariel and Scott Brown, whose support both financially and personally has helped me, and they've been both very instrumental in helping me move my vision forward.

And to my peers on the dais, Joe.

It's been a privilege to serve alongside you, and your dedication and your leadership have contributed to the strength of the city.

I also extend my best wishes to all new and prospective members stepping into service.

Your role is vital, and your impact is going to shape Denton's future in meaningful ways.

It's coming, guys.

It is really coming very quick and very hard.

Be prepared.

And as we look ahead, I remain committed to advocating for a healthy balance between those who have and those who are still striving.

And thriving Denton must be one where opportunity is inclusive, where growth does not lead people behind, and where every family has the ability to succeed.

My next chapter of service is going to focus on expanding access to child care through the nonprofit area.

It's an essential investment that both all of our families, all of our families, and our workforce needs that.

Supporting working families in this way is not just a compassionate policy.

It's smart and it's forward-thinking, and it's all community building.

And it's always been a place in my heart.

It's a place of resilience, and it's a place of possibilities.

I mean, it really, really is.

If we work together, I'm proud to continue to contribute to that legacy of ours.

And with gratitude and best wishes, thank you, Denton.

Appreciate it.

All right.

Well, thank you very much.

I appreciate your service as well and your commitment to the to the city, and so I have a proclamation.

The proclamation by the mayor of the city of Denton, Texas, to all whom these presents shall come.

Greetings.

Whereas Vicky Bird has served city council for district one and city city of Denton City Council from May 1st, 2021 to May 12th, 2026.

And whereas alongside her service on council, Vicky Byrd has also served as chair to the mobility committee, vice chair to the community partnership committee, and a member of the Development Code Review Committee and Economic Development Partnership Board.

And whereas Vicky Bird has served with dedication, providing meaningful contributions to the city and earning the respect of her colleagues and the community.

Now, therefore, our Gerard Hudson with Mayor of the City of Denton, Texas, recognize the community's appreciation for Vicky Bird in a permanent manner by reading this proclamation into the official minutes of the city of Denton, and be it further resolved that the city of Denton does hereby officially extend thanks to Vicky Bird for her successful career as a council member of the city of Denton.

If we give her a hand.

Okay.

And before we get to the rest of the gym, I do want to take chairs privilege again.

If you're a first responder, served in the military veteran, all those things.

If you could stand, let us give you a hand, please.

First responder if you serve.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Zach.

I intended to do that.

All right.

Um so now we have uh items for individual consideration.

Uh again, before getting there, I want to recognize a dear friend.

This is great.

Uh so if you've seen the mural on uh Oak Street, Tim, raise your hand.

Tim provided that Denton mirror on the side of the building.

He's an outstanding young man.

If you don't know him, uh you should know him.

He's he's a really good guy, doing a lot of good stuff here in town.

Thank you.

We appreciate you.

So that takes us to item uh 3A, ID 260580.

Consider adoption of ordinance of the city of Denton, canvassing the returns and declaring the results of the general uh municipal election to elect city council members to place five, place six, and mayor to place seven and the special municipal election for the purpose of filling the vacant vacancy in District 1 and District 2 for the unexpired terms ending in May 2027, held on May 2nd, 2026, declaring that no candidate received the majority of votes cast for place five and seven, which is the mayor in the general general municipal election, and that a runoff election is ordered to be held on Saturday, June 13, 2026, authorizing runoff election day, polling locations, and providing an effective date.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council.

Ingrid Rex, City Secretary, here to go over the canvassing of the May 2nd general and special elections.

Both the May the 2nd general and special elections were ordered on January the 13th by ordinance 25-2298.

The purpose of the general election was to elect members for the city council for places five, six, and seven for full terms.

In place five at large, we had three candidates, George Michael Ferry Jr., Erica Garland and Caleb Meese.

In place six at large, we had one candidate, Jill Jester.

In place seven at large for the mayor's seat, we had four candidates, Angela Brewer, Shannon Childs, Chris Watts, and Brian Beck.

The purpose of the special election was to elect members for the city council to fill vacancies for unexpired terms ending May 2027 for districts one and two.

In District 1, we had three candidates, Chris Cox, Michael Heron, and Jordan E.

Villarreal.

In District 2, we had two candidates, Robert J.

Archer III and Nick Stevens.

The City Charter, Article 2, Section 3.04 provides that the candidates receiving the majority of the votes cast for each place shall be declared elected.

The City Council needs to accept the official results of the election as submitted to the city by Denton County Elections Administration, which are as follows.

For the general election in place five, no candidate received 50% of the votes cast, and therefore a runoff election is required between the top two candidates, Erica Garland and George Michael Ferry Jr.

for place five.

In place six, candidate Jill Jester received 100% of the votes cast.

And therefore, no runoff election is required.

And Jill Jester is declared elected.

In place seven for mayor, no candidate received 50% of the votes cast, and therefore a runoff election is required between the top two candidates, Chris Watts and Brian Beck for place seven for mayor.

For the special election in District 1, candidate Jordan E.

Villarreal received 55.39% of the votes cast.

So no runoff election is required.

And Jordan E.

Villarreal is declared elected.

In District 2, candidate Nick Stevens received 82.81% of the votes cast.

So no runoff election is required.

And Nick Stevens is declared elected.

Polling locations for the runoff election is for at-large seats, place five and place seven for mayor, and staff is suggesting seven polling locations that demonstrate the demonstrated the highest voter participation across all districts in the May 2nd election.

Obviously, residents can vote at any early voting location throughout Denton County during the early voting period.

And Denton County Elections Administrator will be providing the list of all Denton County polling locations once all participating jurisdictions are known.

On election day, June the 13th, the City of Denton residents will vote according to their precinct.

Denton County will provide the elections administration office as an early voting location at no cost to the city.

The remaining six locations will serve as both early voting and election day polling locations and will incur standard election costs.

However, as the city will not be cost sharing with any other jurisdictions for this runoff election, the overall costs are anticipated to be higher than those incurred for the May 2nd election.

The estimated cost for each early voting location is between 12 and 15,000 and 3 and 5,000 for each election day location.

So the overall anticipated cost for six early voting and six election day locations is estimated to range between ninety and a hundred and twenty thousand.

Staff is presenting the following polling locations for the runoff election as shown on your screen.

Staff's recommendation is before you to adopt the draft ordinance two six-0580, canvassing the general and special elections and declaring the winners, ordering the runoff election with the polling locations as presented.

And with that, I'll stand for any questions.

Thank you.

Any questions for staff?

Seeing none, representative from District Five.

Motion for approval.

Mayor Purton.

We have a motion and a second for staff's uh presentation and recommendations.

Uh any questions?

Any further discussion?

Uh seeing none, let's vote on the screen.

That passes 7-0.

And before we go to our last item, I do want to.

Well, I guess I could do it in concluding items, right?

We have that right.

So I can do it.

Okay, I'll do that.

Okay, item B.

Uh ID two six zero five eight one.

Issue the following newly elected council members.

Uh, certificate of election, statement of office, officer, and oaths of office.

And it's that.

This is to elect to um sorry, to elect the newly elected council members.

Um, please, my presentation.

Um, the presentation will be made by the mayor to the elected council members.

Council member Jill Jester in place six, council member Jordan Villarreal in District One, and Councilmember Nick Stevens in district two.

Okay.

And uh okay.

Okay, first we'll go in.

We will go in uh number order.

So first is District One, Mr.

Jordan Villarreal.

If you can come down, please.

Right here.

Fantastic.

And you can say what you want to say first.

Say it again.

You can share if you want to share.

Absolutely.

Well, first I want to ask any of my supporters and friends to come on down, my family.

Please join me for the swearing in and pictures, please.

And I'm gonna give a little speech.

Too many.

Mayor, council members, friends, family, and fellow Dentonites.

It is the honor of my lifetime to serve the city I love as your district one city councilman.

I cannot thank you enough for the incredible support.

Whether you gave your time, treasure, talent, prayer, or vote.

Please know that I cannot express my appreciation enough.

Thank you to my mom, pop, and family for their love and support throughout this.

Thank you to my entire team, especially my core advisors, Will Bass, Peter and Bailey Munjiguera, and Leslie and Billy Melina Poor, for all their hard work getting us here.

Thank you to my mentors and fellow city council members who gave me guidance during this election and for the past decade.

Folks like Paul Meltzer, Alison McGuire, Dr.

Jim Alexander, Curtis Cornelius, Dr.

Rudy Rodriguez, Ira Bershad, Marianne McDuff, and of course our outgoing city councilwoman and my rotary president, Vicky Byrd.

Please give her another hand, please.

With y'all's help, we have made history here in District One, and we will continue to have leadership that listens and fights for District One priorities.

The people of District One have made it clear with this mandate.

It's time for us to get council back on track.

It's time for us to focus on street and sidewalk repair, smart growth that takes neighborhoods into consideration, taking care of the public safety personnel who take care of us, pushing for economic development and partnerships, protecting our environment, and ensuring Denton remains an open and welcoming place for all.

Happy days are here again.

Let's get to work.

Thank you so much.

We'll now do your statements of office.

Fantastic.

Do you solemnly swear?

Do you solemnly swear that I have not directly or indirectly or indirectly paid, paid, offered, offered, promised to pay, promised to pay, contributed, contributed, or promised to contribute, promise to contribute.

Any money or thing of value.

Any money or thing of value, or promised any public office, or promised any public office, or employment, or employment, for the giving, for the giving, or withholding of a vote, or withholding of a vote at the election.

At the election.

At which I was elected.

At which I was elected.

City of Denton.

City of Denton.

Council Member, Council Member, District 1.

District 1.

Or as a reward.

Or as a reward to secure my appointment.

To secure my appointment.

Or confirmation.

Or confirmation.

Whichever the case may be.

Whichever the case may be.

So help me God.

So help me God.

And now we will do the office oath of office for the state.

I state your name.

I Jordan E.

Villarreal.

Do you solemnly swear?

Do you solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute that I will faithfully execute the duties of the office?

The duties of the office of the City of Denton.

Council Member District 1.

Councilman District 1.

Of the state of Texas.

Of the state of Texas.

And will to the best of my ability.

And will to the best of my ability.

Preserve, protect, and defend.

Preserve, protect, and defend.

The Constitution and Laws of the United States.

The Constitution and Laws of the United States.

And of this state.

And of this state.

So help me God.

So help me God.

And then we will do the city's oath of office.

I state your name.

I Jordan E.

Villariel.

Do you solemnly swear?

Do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute.

That I will faithfully execute the duties of the office.

The duties of the office of the city of Denton.

Of the city of Denton.

Council Member District One.

Council Member District One.

Of the city of Denton, Texas.

Of the city of Denton, Texas.

And will to the best of my ability.

And will to the best of my ability.

Preserve, protect and defend.

Preserve, protect, and defend.

The city charter.

The city charter.

And the code of ordinances and resolutions.

And the code of ordinances and resolutions.

Of the city.

Of the city.

Thank you.

So help me God.

So help me God.

All good?

Now we have to get you this on.

And that's it.

There we go.

All right.

You are now elected.

Thank you.

Fantastic.

Now I left it.

That was easy.

Yeah, let's do a let's do a group picture.

Yeah.

Some of us come up right over here.

Jordan, if you can take your place at the dais, Councilmember Villarreal.

Okay.

You make a way around, you can you can shake hands and then take your seat there.

And um, okay, and next is uh Nick Stevens, if you come up, please, and thank you.

Okay.

No worries.

Well, congratulations.

Yeah.

After.

And and then uh the mic is yours, and then you'll swing around the side and your perfect.

And I apologize, Mayor.

I'm gonna ask my friends and and supporters to come back up here.

If you were up here, or if you're new, come back up here and and right now, if you'd like.

Anyone that had supported me in this campaign, whether you're in District Two or not.

Um.

And I'll start, I'll start, and I guess we'll all have to get that way.

Okay.

Let's go.

And uh, I'll talk while everyone's coming down, and uh mom and and stepdad will stand right behind me when I swear in.

So leave room for them right there.

So um to be completely honest uh with y'all, uh uh city council was like always plan F in my life.

Uh plan A was to uh become a priest.

I went to seminary to become a minister.

I think a lot of people heard me say that over the past few months and were shocked by that.

And so if you're ever upset by a vote that I take, uh call Pope Leo and tell him to change the rules uh so that people that want to be married can become priests, um, but my mom can vouch for this because when I was a little kid, I was like six years old.

My grandmother would bring me to the Catholic store and pick up the communion wafers, and I'd go into my bedroom by myself and I'd line up all of my stuffed animals, and I'd hold up the wafer, and I'd say, Lamb of God, you've taken away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

Blessed are those who are called to the supper of the Lamb, and I'd give my communion to every single stuffed animal.

That was my deep desire.

Uh that deep desire still impacts me today.

Uh it's my faith that that drives me to uh want to serve others.

Uh it's that gospel message of of uh you, you know, you're hungry and you fed me, you're tired, you give me a place to sleep.

Whatever you do for the least of those among you, you've done it for me.

Jesus is talking in that uh uh position of the divinity of every single person, and that is the kind of heart that I want to uh bring uh to the seat.

I want to thank so many different people that are all up here, people that I've known for uh 25 years, people I've known for six months that have all helped me uh uh as well as my my this is my mom and my stepdad, uh my my dad who's watching on TV, my stepmom, Manga, Seema, everyone who's watching on TV as well who could not be here.

I'm very grateful for this opportunity, and so the only thing left I want to say is to the city council.

I'm really looking forward to working with all of you to to the community.

I'm really looking forward to uh working with all of you.

I want to remind you that even though I'm taking that seat, it is not my seat, it is the community's seat.

It is my job to represent the will of the community, and so I promise to you and to the city council that I will work in good faith, that I won't play games, that I'll always be honest, and I expect you to hold me to that.

I don't have thin skin, I'm not defensive, I won't get upset, I won't not talk to you if you didn't support me in this election.

Uh I want to work with everyone, and so I'm deeply deeply grateful for this opportunity.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

And and uh I think we're we're ready.

Is this work?

Hello?

Is this work?

We'll do the statement of Officer First.

I state your name.

I, Nick Stevens.

Do you solemnly swear?

Do solemnly swear that I have not directly or indirectly.

That I have not directly or indirectly, paid, offered, offered, promised to pay, promise to pay, contributed, contributed, or promise to contribute, promise to contribute.

Any money or thing of value, any money or thing of value, or promised any public office, or promised any public office, or employment, or employment for the giving or withholding of a vote?

For the giving or withholding of the vote at the election.

At the election.

At which I was elected.

At which I was elected.

Council member district two.

Council member district two.

Or as a reward.

Or as a reward.

To secure my appointment.

To secure my appointment.

Or confirmation.

Or confirmation.

Whichever the case may be.

Whichever the case may be.

So help me God.

So help me God.

Next we will do the state oath of office.

I state your name.

I, Nick Stevens.

Do you solemnly swear?

Do solemnly swear.

That I will faithfully execute.

Thou I will faithfully execute.

The duties of the office.

The duties of the office.

Of the city of Denton.

Of the city of Denton.

Council Member District Two.

Council Member District Two.

Of the state of Texas.

Of the state of Texas.

And will to the best of my ability.

And will to the best of my ability.

Preserve, protect, and defend.

Preserve, defect, uh protect and defend.

Defect.

The Constitution and Laws.

The Constitution and Laws.

Of the United States.

Of the United States.

And of this state.

And of this state.

So help me God.

So help me God.

And finally, we will do the city's oath of office.

I state your name.

I Nick Stevens.

Do you solemnly swear?

Do solemnly swear.

That I will faithfully execute.

That I will faithfully execute.

The duties of the office.

The duties of the office of the city of Denton.

Of the city of Denton.

Council Member District Two.

Council Member District Two.

Of the city of Denton, Texas.

Of the city of Denton, Texas.

And will to the best of my ability.

And will to the best of my ability.

Preserve, protect, and defend.

Preserve, protect, and defend.

The city charter.

The city charter.

And the code of ordinances and resolutions.

And the code of ordinances and resolutions.

Of this city.

Of this city.

So help me God.

Thank you, Nick.

Thank you.

All right.

If I knew everyone would line up around me, we're gonna try and fit.

And I'm gonna stop crying.

We can all wrap around for the pictures.

Yes, sir.

Oh, you're fine.

So one, two, three, two, three, all right, thank you all.

Congratulations.

Congratulations, Nick.

And then you can go around the front and shake hands and then swing around back.

No, we did not.

Make sure you guys.

Yes, sir.

Okay.

And our last recognition, Jill Jester, if you can come down, please.

Council Member Jessica.

All right.

Well, congratulations on the election.

Yes.

There you go.

And uh the mic is yours.

Yes.

Hi, this is.

Is this on.

Is this on?

Okay, this is my first time with a mic, so I'm really nervous.

Uh just kidding.

Um, I'm going to be uh short.

Um I can't tell uh you how much this means to me, how much I love this city.

I was a flow baby.

I grew up here when we were about 30,000.

Uh moved away for a number of years but came back.

But this city is um a very special place where everyone can be themselves and everyone should feel like they fit in.

Uh I'm grateful to be in this position and want to continue to serve and do the absolute best I can, but I can't do that without you letting me know your input because I can't see everything from every side.

Um, last of all, I want to uh thank those that are rolling off.

Um Brian Beck, Vicky Byrd, uh it's been a real pleasure.

Uh I want to welcome the new council members, uh, Virial, Stevens, and then to my current uh council members, how much I appreciate you staff.

I want to recognize that it is our city secretary Ingrid's uh last day today.

It's been uh a pleasure uh getting to work with you and getting to know you uh but we very much appreciate you and wish you all the best uh in your new adventures.

Uh and then before I give up this mic, I want to thank my family.

Uh thank you so much for being here today.

I couldn't do this without my husband, uh Chris Rasmussen, I have my brother Shannon, my sister Alison, uh, my mother Barbara Ball and Carolyn, who I can't live without, and then um my favorite babysitter growing up, Barbara Etter Thomas is also here.

Um I want to thank my law partner Chris Henry, uh my other partner in life, as well as uh my best friends and work colleagues that are here that put up with an awful lot uh in order to support me trying to serve the community.

Uh so I thank uh each and every one of you.

It means a lot to have you here.

The support means a lot.

Um not only the elected officials that are here, the judges that I work with and my legal field, uh, but I'm just very appreciative, and um I'm just gonna try to be like the other cool kids.

If you are um uh a supporter, uh if you are a friend, if you are a colleague, uh I would very much appreciate it if we could take the time to come down with me uh so I can show that I have a couple of friends as well.

I was getting really jealous.

Like, how do I borrow them?

Can we empty out development services and get everyone over here?

I literally asked about AI a couple of minutes ago to our um interim city secretary.

Uh apparently that's not possible right now.

Uh I suggested some photographs with some faces just to make it look like more people.

That didn't go over either.

So if you will just be so kind, so generous as to come over and stand with me, and if my family could stand right with me, I would very much appreciate it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for being here.

I appreciate you all so much.

Thank you, thank you.

That means so much to me that you all are here.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you, thank you.

Thank you, thank you.

Thank you, thank you so much.

You stand right here with me, okay?

Okay, I wanted to.

Let's see where we go back to the songs.

Okay, I need to come back.

So I think Ingrid will need to come this way.

Our city secretary will need to be a part of this if we could find her.

We've got a city secretary down, we've got a city secretary down.

Can anyone find the city secretary?

Can we ask if you can move to the side?

She's not official yet.

And then we'll take the picture.

Yeah, if we could go that side, that'll be great.

I can't go.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah, where's Chris?

Right there.

Okay, okay.

Yes, right here.

Right here.

I just have to stand on the mark.

Okay, okay.

Okay.

I state your name.

I, Jill Elizabeth, Jester.

Do you solemnly swear?

Do solemnly swear.

That I have not directly or indirectly.

That I have not directly or indirectly paid, paid, offered, offered.

Promised to pay.

Promised to pay, contributed, contributed, or promised to contribute, or promised to contribute.

Any money or thing of value.

Any money or thing of value or promised any public office?

Or employment or employment for the giving or withholding of a vote for the giving or withholding of a vote.

At the election.

And the election.

At which I was elected.

In which I was elected.

City of Denton.

City of Denton.

Council member place six.

Council member place six.

Or as a reward.

Or as a reward to secure my appointment.

To secure my employment.

Or confirmation.

Or confirmation.

Whichever the case may be.

Whichever the case may be.

So help me God.

So help me God.

And now the oath of office for the state.

I state your name.

I Jill Elizabeth Jester.

Do you solemnly swear?

Do you solemnly swear?

That I will faithfully execute.

That I will faithfully execute.

The duties of the office.

Of the state of Texas.

And will to the best of my ability.

Preserve, protect and defend.

And of this state.

And of this state.

So help me God.

So help me God.

And now the city's oath of office.

I state your name.

I Jill Elizabeth Jester.

Do you solemnly swear?

Do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute.

That I will faithfully execute the duties of the office.

Of the city of Denton.

Council Member Place Six.

And will to the best of my ability.

And will to the best of my ability preserve, preserve, protect and defend.

The city charter.

And the code of ordinances and resolutions of this city.

Of this city.

Thank you too.

All right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay.

I want to do it.

I say your idea.

I want to be sure that it's a good idea.

I don't want to put anybody.

Yeah, I don't want to give anybody out.

I know, but you need to be able to do it.

No, no, no.

Yeah.

I don't know.

I'm sorry.

Okay.

Well, thank you all.

That we do have uh s we're now two concluding items.

If anyone has any concluding items, we do have a reception uh afterwards.

It's just down the hall to the right.

I used to be able to say it was the sign that said silence your pagers, but uh Christy took it down.

So now it's it's it's modernized and it says silence your phones or something like that, but we used to kick it old school.

Uh and so uh mayor pro tem you have the floor.

To my outgoing colleagues, uh, it was really fun working with y'all, all the best to you in the future.

Welcome to my two new colleagues.

I am very excited to work with you, and thank you so much to our outgoing city secretary, Ingrid.

We're gonna miss you around here as well.

Uh Councilmember Holland.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh to my outgoing colleagues, thank you.

We we had a great time.

I loved I loved our our dinners together.

To my new colleagues, welcome.

Uh this is this is quite a ride.

You're going to sometimes you'll enjoy it, sometimes you won't.

Uh it's it's a great adventure one way or another.

Uh while I've got all these nice people in the room, I want to remind everybody.

Well, a couple of weeks ago, uh a member of Byrd and uh Beck and I went to the animal shelter, and I had occasion to go look at the dogs.

If you're if you're thinking about a dog or a cat, uh, or you know somebody that's thinking about a dog or a cat, consider the animal shelter first.

It's spotlessly clean, the animals uh are are happy.

The only thing that's missing is for you to come pick one of them up and take them home forever.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you.

Um Councilman McGee.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um to my colleagues, thank you very much.

Um I appreciate both of you.

Lifelong friends.

I look forward to staying in contact and supporting you both, no matter where you go, no matter what you do in our community.

I I'm a better council member because of both of you.

Miss Bird, your conscience up here, show them through and everything that you did and said.

Forgive me, Dr.

Beck.

Um, the way that you parse through par complicated issues.

Um the way that when needed, you can hold staff accountable, the way that you can hold us accountable, the way that you show up.

I appreciate both of you.

I'm thankful that you all are in my life.

God bless y'all both.

Okay.

And Cthulhu.

Okay.

Well, and uh yes, so excited for the future and to staff, I say thank you very much for uh all you had to do to pull us together.

Ingrid, thank you very much for uh all you did to keep us uh on the straight and narrow and most best of luck there.

Tell uh Mayor James I said hello.

Uh when you see him, he's awesome.

That's a great community.

The though they're uh truly uh blessed by having you and so uh and to the team that's here, thank y'all very much, and Christy, thank you for stepping up.

Uh and Ms.

City Manager, thank you for for what you do to those that have served before.

I appreciate it.

Uh and um, you know, a lot of a lot of uh important decisions made, a lot of this important decisions to be made for the city that continues to grow.

Uh and so looking forward to getting to work um straight away to continue those efforts.

To everyone that's here, thank you again.

I can't say enough.

It is critically important that we have uh more engagement and to Nick alluded to folks that are watching online, those sort of things.

It's just crit critically important uh that people know what we're doing here and and doing with their tax dollars so that we can uh make the best decision possible.

So, with that, uh I think that's everything, man.

Ms.

City Manager, anything back, anything on your end?

Okay.

So then that that's it.

Uh it is again, we'll we'll conclude at 155.

But reception down the hall, it's the glass door on your right-hand side there.

Someone will direct you, but please stay and say hello, take lots of pictures.

Thank you very much.