OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings
Carrollton City Council Regular Worksession & Meeting - August 1, 2023
City Council — Tuesday, August 1, 2023
BodyCarrollton, Texas
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, August 1, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Transcript — Verbatim
Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.
Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Land Use22%
Budget Equity Analysis14%
Workforce Development10%
Procedural8%
Personnel Matters7%
Arts And Culture6%
Public Safety6%
Public Engagement4%
Community Engagement4%
Summary of Proceedings
Carrollton City Council Regular Worksession & Meeting - August 1, 2023
The Carrollton City Council met on August 1, 2023, for a Worksession and Regular Meeting. The agenda included briefings on mural updates for Pioneer Park, a review of the Fiscal Year 2024 Capital Improvements Plan Advisory Committee (CIPAC) recommendations, a comprehensive State of the Workforce presentation, and several public hearings and action items. The Council approved zoning changes to allow lighted athletic fields at three high schools, a special use permit for a dairy facility, and a child day care facility. They also set the proposed property tax rate for public hearings.
Consent Calendar
- Items 10 & 11: Resolutions appointing municipal court judges and authorizing an advanced funding agreement with TxDOT for the Frankford Road Bridge replacement were approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- High School Athletic Fields (Items 12-14): Several residents expressed concerns about lighting and noise. A resident opposed the Newman Smith lights citing inadequate notification. Another resident spoke against the Creekview field lights, arguing they would detract from the natural beauty. Multiple parents, coaches, and students advocated for the lights, emphasizing school spirit, student safety, and the need to compete with neighboring districts.
- Dodla Dairy (Item 15): No members of the public spoke on this item.
- New Song Day Care (Item 16): Owners and a teacher from a nearby daycare, MySprouts Academy, spoke in opposition, stating the church's daycare would directly compete for the same demographic and threaten their business. A church representative stated the daycare's purpose was to serve its members and provide a safe environment, not to compete.
- Public Forum: Speakers discussed public comment limits, a code enforcement issue involving a disabled resident, a request for the use of biodegradable bags in city cleanups, and general criticism of city operations.
Discussion Items
- Pioneer Park Mural Refreshment Program: Artist Rochelle Winters presented an enhanced mural design featuring Texas wildflowers to symbolize diversity and a "Keep Going, Keep Growing" quote. Staff noted the mural required sandblasting due to anti-graffiti coating. The project is fully funded. Council provided a consensus to proceed, incorporating a suggested gazebo silhouette.
- FY 2024 CIPAC Recommendations: Chairman Kareem Ali presented the committee's capital project priorities: 1) Residential Street Lights, 2) Alleys, 3) Sidewalks, and 4) Intersection Improvements, focusing on safety and neighborhood quality.
- State of the Workforce & Public Safety Budget Requests: Workforce Services Director Samantha Dean reported the city's vacancy rate was cut in half (from 12% to 6%). She recommended a 4.5% to 5% employee raise. A new public safety pay plan was proposed to shorten the time to top-out pay (e.g., from 15 to 8 years for officers) and improve parity between police and fire. Chief Arredondo noted 20 police vacancies. Chief Thompson noted a 3.4% fire vacancy rate. A $250,000 ATB for a memorial for fallen Officer Steven Nulton and a $500,000 ATB for a new purpose-built reserve fire apparatus were discussed.
Key Outcomes
- Votes & Decisions:
- Item 12 (Newman Smith HS Lights): Approved unanimously.
- Item 13 (Creekview HS Lights): Approved unanimously.
- Item 14 (RL Turner HS Lights): Approved unanimously.
- Item 15 (Dodla Dairy, SUP): Approved unanimously.
- Item 16 (New Song Day Care, SUP): Approved (6-1, Councilmember Palomo opposed).
- Item 17 (Tax Rate Setting): Approved unanimously to set the proposed property tax rate at 56.250 cents per $100 valuation and to set public hearings and final adoption for September 12, 2023.
- Next Steps:
- Council will deliberate on budget decision points (ATBs) at a future worksession (August 15, 2023).
- Public hearings on the budget and tax rate are scheduled for September 12, 2023.
- Staff will finalize the Pioneer Park Mural design based on Council feedback.
- Written answers to budget questions will be provided to Council before the next meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Uh we'll start with our consent agenda items go through that and then we'll come back to the work session. Uh council, any uh questions on item number 10 or item number 11. Okay, that completes our consent agenda items. Um with that, we will circle back to our the unless there's any technical questions on the uh public hearing items. We'll cover those out of the dye on item 17, which is the property tax rate. Just a reminder, tonight we we kind of call it at the highest level that it possibly would be, which is where we're at today. So it basically is a flat flat duty year is what we call tonight. Over the next uh this tonight and the next meeting and possibly the following meeting. We will I think we will ultimately adopt a tax rate and a budget that is at that right or lower um based on what we uh all discussed. So I expect in for nine straight years past, we've seen a tax rate reduction. I would I would expect um our council here to follow suit. So with that, um we'll go on to the uh work session items. Um I'm gonna start with is C Factory. Okay, so we we will not start with green, we will uh go and we not are we ready for firing a part? Yeah. Uh yeah, just give me two seconds. Please bear with me while I we're getting on doing a little setup here. Good evening, Mayor and Council. Uh Josh Giles, development program manager. Uh excited to be talking with you guys tonight about the Pioneer Park Neural Refreshment Program. Uh the Pioneer Park Murals have faded. Uh council's secured funding and uh artist contract was signed with uh Rochelle Winters. She's an RL Turner graduate and the creator of Created Art Co. So we're excited to have her uh dial in here tonight momentarily. Uh TOD has met on several occasions uh to discuss the current mural. Uh originally it was just a simple refresh, but it had anti-graffiti coating was discovered on the artwork, and so it actually needs to be sandblasted off and a new primer coat put on. And so with that challenge uh and the same pricing for a original refresh design or an enhanced design, TFD committee decided to entertain enhanced designs. So it still pays uh homage to the history of the tulips and engages with the sculpture of the tulips that are there in the history of the mural, but also expands on the possibilities. Uh some of those being the art uh being more 3D versus 2D, uh being more fun versus static, uh flexible and fluid as Rochelle calls it, a more of an Instagram moment. Um and so we'll we'll get her dialed in here uh momentarily. Uh the design that you'll see tonight was unanimously recommended for approval uh by the T committee uh with one added suggestion of a gazebo silhouette uh on the on the wall mural. So uh there is no budgetary discussion on this. This is uh already funded uh as part of last year's budget in terms of just a normal refresh. Um when you paint buildings, you gotta refresh them. This just happens to have some pretty pictures to go along with it, but no budgetary uh no budgetary ask tonight. This is more or less just thumbs up consensus on a on the design. Hello, ma'am. Can you hear us? Okay, Shell, how are y'all doing?
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