Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.
The North Richland Hills City Council met in work session on Monday, August 11, 2025, at 5:30 p.m., followed by a regular meeting at 7:00 p.m. in City Hall, 4301 City Point Drive. All eight council members were present. The council held an executive session from 6:04 to 6:45 p.m. and took no action as a result. All formal votes during the regular meeting passed 7-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:48 p.m.
Senior/Aging Board Research: City Secretary Alicia Richardson presented research requested by Mayor Pro Tem Deupree. The Economic Development Department estimates that 18.9% of North Richland Hills residents are adults aged 65 and older. Richardson reviewed existing city and county resources, including the NRH Senior Centre, NRH Centre, Neighborhood Initiative Program, Community Enrichment Center Senior Network, Social Transportation for Seniors, and Northeast Transportation Services (NETS). Staff surveyed 15 cities; seven have a senior/aging advisory board: Arlington, Austin, Bedford, Dallas, Grapevine, Keller, and Southlake. Typical boards have 7 to 15 resident members appointed by the council and meet monthly. Council consensus was to move forward with creating a senior advisory board. City Manager Paulette Hartman said staff would bring back a proposed ordinance outlining membership and charge, possibly including Senior Center staff and representatives of agencies providing senior resources. Council members also requested best-practice information from Grapevine and Southlake and suggested printed communication materials for older residents.
Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD) Certified Values and Tax Rate: Assistant City Manager Trudy Lewis reported that TAD notified the city on Thursday afternoon of an error in Line 10 of the Truth and Taxation worksheet. TAD also provided an updated amount of $27,095,738 for the city’s new absolute value. The updated information changed the no-new-revenue rate from $0.497841 to $0.498625 per $100 of valuation. The voter-approval rate remained $0.511490 per $100. Staff continued to propose a tax rate of $0.497841 per $100, which is below the updated no-new-revenue rate. Councilmember Rodriguez noted this would be the second consecutive year with a proposed rate below the no-new-revenue rate. Staff said TAD had not provided an explanation for the change.
Efficiency Audits: City Manager Hartman said preliminary reports for the permit and fleet efficiency studies were expected imminently. The regular agenda included items to ratify termination of the Cogent Infotech IT audit contract and to approve a new IT efficiency audit with Matrix Consulting Group. Hartman also said the first draft of the short-term rental ordinance would be presented at the August 25 work session after additional public input.
Future Agenda Items: No council member requested a future agenda item.
The council approved the consent agenda 7-0 on a motion by Councilmember Blake, seconded by Councilmember Rodriguez. Items included:
Public Comments (A.4): No citizens requested to speak.
Zoning Case C.1 (5301 Davis Boulevard): Shawna Stiles, 3908 Lochridge Court, said she was happy about the development but asked what prevents the applicant from selling the property later for profit. Economic Development Director Craig Hulse responded that the development agreement includes safeguards addressing closure or change in use.
Zoning Case C.2 and PID Hearing C.3: No audience members requested to speak.
Citizens Presentation: Mark Hindman, 7605 Acorn Drive, spoke on behalf of Christmas Providers, thanking the city for supporting 650 families in 2024, about 42% of whom were from North Richland Hills, and for participation by city staff and council. Karran Martin, 5614 Westchase Drive, raised concerns about inadequate parking at the NRH Centre when Grand Hall events occur, noting competition for handicapped and senior center spaces, and suggested additional parking or remote parking with shuttles.
ZC25-0137 / Ordinance No. 3916 (5301 Davis Boulevard): Approved 7-0. The request changes 4.411 acres from U (School, Church and Institutional) to NR-PD (Nonresidential Planned Development) for a two-restaurant restaurant park proposed by MAD Concepts Group, featuring Jakes (5,008 sq ft) and Tacos and Avocados (4,050 sq ft), with an outdoor yard area, 151 parking spaces, community garden cross-access, and a cross-parking agreement. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval 6-0 on July 17, 2025. The applicant agreed to a sidewalk along Greenwood Way, six community garden parking spaces, and landscape screening around the refuse enclosure, but did not agree to close the Greenwood Way driveway. Council discussion covered hours of operation, noise, speaker direction, shade structures, and landscaping. Motion by Rodriguez, seconded by Parks.
ZC25-0138 / Ordinance No. 3917 (8301 Sayers Lane): Approved 7-0. The request changes 0.461 acres from R-3 (Single-Family Residential) to RI-PD (Residential Infill Planned Development) for three single-family lots, each proposed at approximately 69.3 feet wide, 96.5 feet deep, and 6,690 square feet. Applicant Jerrod Goff of MJ 6 Enterprises said he and his wife bought the property to develop a residence and requested the PD because the lot does not meet depth requirements. A plat will be considered at a later date. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval 6-0 on July 17, 2025. Motion by Parks, seconded by Delaney.
Ordinance No. 3918 (City Point PID Annual Service Plan Update): Approved 7-0 after a public hearing. The ordinance approves the 2025 Annual Service Plan Update to the Service and Assessment Plan, including the assessment rolls for the City Point Public Improvement District (PID) Zones A and B. Director Craig Hulse reviewed City Point history and progress, including that as of July 31, 75% of single-family homes were occupied, the average market value was $356,000 compared with a PID-plan assumption of $300,000, and commercial construction was underway. He explained that PID assessments are paid by property owners within the district rather than by city taxpayers citywide. Motion by Roberts, seconded by Blake.
Ordinance No. 3919 (Wall Signs): Approved 7-0. Amends Section 106-13(b)(1) to remove restrictions limiting wall signs to building faces with street frontage or public entrances. Planning Director Cori Reaume said the change responds to common-sense sign locations and supports business-friendliness. Motion by Parks, seconded by Roberts.
F.1 / F.2 (Tarrant County PID Assessment and Collection Contracts): Approved 7-0 separately. The council authorized three-year agreements (Tax Years 2025, 2026, and 2027) with the Tarrant County Tax Assessor/Collector and Tarrant County for collection of special assessments for City Point PID Improvement Zone A and Zone B. The proposed fee increases from $0.98 to $2.00 per account; staff said the county’s economies of scale still make the service a good value. Motions by Blake/Rodriguez and Rodriguez/Blake.
F.3 (Proposed Tax Rate and Hearing Dates): Approved 7-0. Set the proposed tax rate at $0.497841 per $100 of valuation; set August 25, 2025, and September 8, 2025, as public hearing dates; and placed adoption of the tax rate on the September 8, 2025, City Council agenda. The proposed rate is below the updated no-new-revenue rate of $0.498625 and the voter-approval rate of $0.511490. Motion by Roberts, seconded by Rodriguez.
F.4 (FY 2026 Budget Hearing Dates): Approved 7-0. Set August 25, 2025, and September 8, 2025, as public hearing dates on the proposed FY 2025/2026 budget and placed adoption of the budget on the September 8, 2025, agenda. The proposed budget is available online, at the library, or through the City Secretary’s office. Motion by Parks, seconded by Delaney.
F.5 (Ratification of Cogent Infotech Termination): Approved 7-0. The council ratified the termination, effective June 30, 2025, of the professional services contract with Cogent Infotech Corporation for RFP 25-014, an Information Technology Operational Efficiency Audit, for non-performance. Assistant City Manager Trudy Lewis said no payments were made and one invoice was disputed. Motion by Blake, seconded by Mitchell.
F.6 (Matrix Consulting Group IT Audit Agreement): Approved 7-0. Approved a professional services agreement with Matrix Consulting Group Ltd. for the IT Operational Efficiency Audit in an amount not to exceed $69,080 and authorized the City Manager to execute it. The project is expected to take five months, starting in August and concluding on January 25, 2026. Note: the approved amount per the agenda, minutes, and motion is $69,080; the transcript at one point says $69,008. Motion by Mitchell, seconded by Roberts.
F.7 / Resolution No. 2025-036 (Board Appointments): Approved 7-0. The resolution appointed and reappointed members to the Civil Service Commission, Construction Code Appeals Board, Library Board, Parks and Recreation Board, Planning and Zoning Commission/Capital Improvements Advisory Committee, and Zoning Board of Adjustment. Motion by Blake, seconded by Rodriguez.
The council convened at 6:01 p.m., entered executive session at 6:04 p.m., and returned at 6:45 p.m. The session was held under Texas Government Code Section 551.071 to consult with the City Attorney about pending or contemplated litigation, including the two Manuel cases, Jessie Goodfellow v. City of North Richland Hills, and termination of the Cogent Infotech contract. No action was taken as a result of executive session.
Good evening, welcome to the North Richard Hill City Council work session. It is 5 30, and I will call the Monday, August 11th, 2025, City Council work session to order. Quorum of the city council is present. The meeting has duly hosted in accordance with Texas Meetings Act of the Texas Government Code. Items listed for discussion on the work session agenda provide an opportunity for the city council to discuss the items and receive information from staff. The city council will not take action on any of the items listed in the discussion. Excuse me, 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. Our first items to give the council an opportunity to ask any questions on items of the regular agenda that the council has not had clarification on at this time. No, no. Seeing none. Moving on to senior and aging people. Um Alicia. Richardson. Thanks, Mayor and Council. Um, we are here this evening. I'm sorry I've got my fan, so let me know if it comes across on them on the mic. Mayor Pro Tend Depree asked us at the meeting in May, asked us to um place an item on a future work session for discussion and consideration by the city council to um bring back research regarding the senior population. He wanted to um his goal was being to enhance the quality of life and to prioritize the well-being of our community senior population. So staff did some research. Rainey in the office did excellent research. So that's the memorandum that you've got that's in your agenda packet, and then I'm going to provide just a brief PowerPoint going over the information that's provided in the memorandum for you. So let's begin with our economic development department. They estimates that 18.9%. Let's move forward. That 18.9% of the North Richland Hills population is 65 or plus. And City Council um give me just a minute. My notes got messed up. Sorry. So 18.9% of the NRH population is age 65 or plus. North Richland Hills and Tarrant County. They both offer programs and resources, which I'm going to provide to you tonight for our senior senior and aging um residents in North Richland Hills. We also provided some research that's in the agenda packet from local municipalities, in addition to information from Austin and Dallas, just so you can see what type of information that they had associated with their senior age senior boards or advisories. So as you can see on the slide in front of you, the NRH Center, which is really good. It's it represents that they take care of NRH residents, are 55 plus. So I just realized that I can become a member of the NRH Senior Center in my research. Yes. So it's for uh residents that are age 55 plus, and we have approximately a thousand registered members at the NRH Center, and that member is of um as of June 2025. I spoke with Antonio, and Antonio said that that's um equates to 72 percent are NRH residents and 28 percent are non-residents that um that partake and participate in our senior center. I know it's a good thing personally because my mom and dad were avid NRH senior center members before they passed away. So they really really enjoyed at the senior center. Um center also provides discounted memberships as you can see on the slide in front of you. And if they have if we've got residents that have insurance program partnerships like your silver sneakers and the active life.