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Record of Proceedings

North Richland Hills City Council Work Session & Regular Meeting - March 24, 2025

City Council & Boards — Monday, March 24, 2025
BodyNorth Richland Hills, Texas
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateMonday, March 24, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:40:38

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.

Unassigned speaker

0:18

Okay,

Speaker 1

0:18

I'll get caught back up again.

Unassigned speaker

0:21

Let

Speaker 2

0:21

me see what I'm at.

0:22

I have 30 seconds here.

0:27

I was gonna stop at 100.

Speaker 3

0:30

Yeah, using your credits you can take us

Unassigned speaker

0:32

all out.

Speaker 1

0:35

That's gonna be great.

Speaker 2

0:36

I'm at 90.

0:38

I was gonna stop at 100.

0:39

I have I have more than that.

0:40

I have more than $10 pending.

0:41

So I accidentally uh posted one twice, and I don't know how to get the other one off.

Unassigned speaker

0:50

I

Speaker 2

0:50

was very dis I'm very disappointed.

0:52

Huh?

0:53

I I put two of them, I put one on two times.

0:57

I gotta get that off there.

Unassigned speaker

1:02

Good

Speaker 2

1:02

evening.

1:03

Welcome to Northwestern Hill City Council work session.

1:05

It's 5 30, and I'm calling the Monday, March 24, 2025.

1:08

City Council work session to order.

1:10

A quorum of the city council is present, and the meeting has been duly posted in accordance with Texas Open Meetings Act of the Texas Government Code.

1:16

Items listed for discussion in the work session agenda provide an opportunity for the city council to discuss the items and receive information from the staff.

1:23

City council will not take any action on the items listed for discussion during the work session.

1:29

Any members of the public wishing to address the council regarding the items listed on the work session agenda?

1:34

May do so during the public comments portion of the regular meeting.

1:41

First item is to give council the opportunity to ask questions on the on the items on the regular agenda that the council uh has not given clarification on at this

Unassigned speaker

1:51

time.

Speaker 2

1:51

Does anybody have anything?

Speaker 4

1:54

I do.

Unassigned speaker

1:55

Okay.

Speaker 4

1:55

Just clarification.

1:56

Uh um section B B3.

Unassigned speaker

2:01

Is

Speaker 4

2:02

that coming out of a grant?

Speaker 3

2:08

No, I don't think so.

2:09

What the buy board, it's a cooperative purchasing group that we we can go through, and those things have already been competitively bid and we can sign on to those contracts.

2:19

Okay.

Speaker 5

2:20

So

Speaker 4

2:20

that we'll be purchasing outright for the city.

Speaker 3

2:24

That's correct.

2:24

Okay.

Speaker 4

2:25

Thank you.

Speaker 2

2:26

Anyone else?

2:28

Okay.

2:29

Moving to the first item review and discuss the results of flash vote survey regarding carports and receive direction from the city council related to the carport regulations, Paulette Hartman.

Speaker 3

2:48

All right, thank you, Mayor.

2:50

So in January, uh the staff presented to y'all just kind of an overview of our carport regulations.

2:57

And uh we were directed at that point to it um conduct a survey through Flash Vote, which we did.

3:04

So tonight I'm gonna just present to you the results of the flash vote survey, and um and then ask for direction from the council with how to proceed.

3:16

So the survey was conducted March 3rd through 5th by by flash vote or through flash vote.

Unassigned speaker

3:25

Uh

Speaker 3

3:25

850 survey panel members were invited to participate.

3:29

I believe that's just the number of folks that have signed up to participate in the flash vote surveys.

3:34

Five hundred and fifty-six um people participated and responded to the survey, and it had a margin of error of plus or minus five percent.

3:43

The survey respondents were asked if they currently have a garage or carport.

3:48

You can see the majority um said they had a garage, a seventeen percent said they had no garage or car port, three percent car port, two percent garage and carport.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Carport Regulations██████████████████18%
Planning And Zoning██████████████14%
Procedural█████████████13%
Public Engagement█████████████13%
Technology and Innovation████████8%
Legislative Engagement████████8%
Property Rights███████7%
Zoning Regulations███3%
Community Engagement███3%
Summary of Proceedings

North Richland Hills City Council Work Session & Regular Meeting - March 24, 2025

The North Richland Hills City Council convened for a Work Session at 5:30 PM and a Regular Meeting at 7:15 PM on Monday, March 24, 2025 (captured data timestamp: 2025-03-24 11:30:00+00:00). The Work Session featured reviews of results from a FlashVote survey on carport regulations, discussions on allowing digital media during citizens presentations, and an analysis of the Special Use Permit (SUP) process. The Regular Meeting included a public hearing on a capital budget amendment, citizen comments, and a recap of the National League of Cities (NLC) Congressional City Conference.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the minutes from the February 24 and March 3, 2025 City Council meetings.
  • Authorized the purchase of two police-equipped motorcycles from Longhorn Harley-Davidson for a combined total of $105,432.94 through the cooperative BuyBoard Contract #724-23. Councilmember Tito Rodriguez confirmed the purchase is a direct city expenditure, not grant-funded.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Sean Nutt (6448 Ironhorse Blvd, Apt 5L) spoke during Public Comments, critiquing the council's consensus system and advocating for formalized rules allowing digital media during citizens presentations.
  • Olivia Bryant (6889 Hightower Dr, Apt 1622) spoke during Citizens Presentation about noise and nuisance issues at 7120 Rufe Snow. Mayor McCarty directed her to discuss the matter with the Chief of Police after the meeting.
  • Bill Finstad (7701 Terry Dr) spoke during Citizens Presentation requesting a traffic volume study for North College Circle, citing a doubling of traffic since 2017 and public safety concerns.

Discussion Items

  • Carport Regulations (Work Session): City Manager Paulette Hartman presented a FlashVote survey (March 3-5, 2025; 556 respondents; ±5% margin of error). Results indicated 59% of respondents would not want a front-yard carport if allowed. Councilmember Blake Vaughn argued the survey questions were biased against property rights and omitted perspectives on limited government. A procedural dispute arose when Vaughn was ruled out of order by Mayor McCarty. The minutes record Vaughn left the meeting at 5:49 PM. There is a discrepancy between the minutes and transcript: the minutes list 13 approved, 14 withdrawn, and 7 denied carport applications since 2022 (summing to 34), while the transcript states 13 approved, 4 withdrawn, and 7 denied (summing to 24 applications). Council reached a consensus to maintain current regulations and improve communication about the variance process.
  • Citizens Presentations: Digital Media (Work Session): Assistant City Manager Trudy Lewis detailed cybersecurity risks, legal liability involving content moderation and copyright, and resource costs of allowing electronic presentations. Councilmembers Mitchell, Deupree, and Blake expressed strong opposition, citing litigation and security risks. The council reached consensus to maintain the policy prohibiting digital media.
  • Special Use Permits (Work Session): City Manager Hartman explained the SUP process, noting 208 uses currently requiring SUP approval in commercial districts. She advised against modifying SUP designations without a preceding comprehensive plan update. The council agreed to maintain the current process, prioritizing future work on the bond committee and strategic plan update.
  • National League of Cities Conference Recap (Regular Meeting): Councilmembers shared feedback on the NLC conference. Councilmember Matt Blake questioned the value and cost of continued NLC membership, suggesting the city has outgrown it. Others noted benefits of federal advocacy. No formal action was taken.

Public Hearings

  • C.1 Capital Budget Amendment (Ordinance 3900): A public hearing was held regarding an amendment to the FY 2024-2025 Capital Budget. Director Chase Fosse presented the amendment to address a $696,175 funding shortfall identified by TxDOT for the HSIP Intersection Improvements Project (Rufe Snow/Starns and Smithfield/Starns). The budget was increased by $196,175. No members of the public spoke. The ordinance was approved by a vote of 6-0.

Key Outcomes

  • Carport Regulations: The council terminated the discussion on changing regulations. Staff will improve website communication regarding the application and variance process.
  • Budget Amendment: Ordinance No. 3900 was approved 6-0, adding $196,175 to the Capital Budget for intersection safety improvements.
  • SUP Process: The council maintained the current Special Use Permit process, deferring any comprehensive changes until the future update of the strategic land use plan.
  • Digital Media: The policy prohibiting videos and slide decks during Citizens Presentations was confirmed by council consensus.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, I'll get caught back up again. Let me see what I'm at. I have 30 seconds here. I was gonna stop at 100. Yeah, using your credits you can take us all out. That's gonna be great. I'm at 90. I was gonna stop at 100. I have I have more than that. I have more than $10 pending. So I accidentally uh posted one twice, and I don't know how to get the other one off. I was very dis I'm very disappointed. Huh? I I put two of them, I put one on two times. I gotta get that off there. Good evening. Welcome to Northwestern Hill City Council work session. It's 5 30, and I'm calling the Monday, March 24, 2025. City Council work session to order. A quorum of the city council is present, and the meeting has been duly posted in accordance with Texas Open Meetings Act of the Texas Government Code. Items listed for discussion in the work session agenda provide an opportunity for the city council to discuss the items and receive information from the staff. City council will not take any action on the items listed for discussion during the work session. Any members of the public wishing to address the council regarding the items listed on the work session agenda? May do so during the public comments portion of the regular meeting. First item is to give council the opportunity to ask questions on the on the items on the regular agenda that the council uh has not given clarification on at this time. Does anybody have anything? I do. Okay. Just clarification. Uh um section B B3. Is that coming out of a grant? No, I don't think so. What the buy board, it's a cooperative purchasing group that we we can go through, and those things have already been competitively bid and we can sign on to those contracts. Okay. So that we'll be purchasing outright for the city. That's correct. Okay. Thank you. Anyone else? Okay. Moving to the first item review and discuss the results of flash vote survey regarding carports and receive direction from the city council related to the carport regulations, Paulette Hartman. All right, thank you, Mayor.

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