Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.
The North Richland Hills City Council convened for a work session at 5:31 PM and a regular meeting at 7:00 PM on September 14, 2026, at City Hall. The work session featured updates on the Destination Marketing Program and the city's strategic goals. The regular meeting included the unanimous adoption of the Fiscal Year 2027 Operating and Capital Budget and the Tax Year 2026 Tax Rate, which represents a 3.97% effective increase. The Council also approved a special development plan for a meadery, a zoning change for residential development, a water master plan contract, and an economic development incentive agreement. Council Member Matt Blake was absent; six members were present for all votes.
Fiscal Year 2027 Budget (Item C.3)
Citizens Presentation (Item F)
Destination Marketing Program Update (Work Session) Director of Economic Development Craig Hulse and Darren Drewitz of Flat Five Marketing provided an update on the new Destination Marketing Program. They shared that visitor analytics (Placer AI) identified three core personas: Hometown Loyalists, North Star Achievers (grandparents), and Young Families. An advisory committee developed the positioning statement "More to do, attraction for all ages" and the tagline "The Place You Never Outgrow." A new logo was unveiled, featuring a simple, teal and orange design distinct from other city tourism brands, intended to be memorable and multi-generational. The media strategy will primarily utilize digital channels (Facebook, Instagram, Google, OTT streaming) targeting audiences within a 15-minute to one-hour drive time to attract new visitors. The 3-year agreement with Flat Five requires annual council renewal.
Strategic Goals and Priorities Update (Work Session) City Manager Paulette Hartman reported that the city has completed 18 strategic objectives since December 2025, leaving 56 active objectives (95% in progress). Key achievements included receiving the 2026 Top Workplace in Culture Excellence and Top Woman-Led Workplace awards, earning three Texas Comptroller Transparency Stars, launching an in-person Citizen Civic Academy (19 residents), establishing a Legislative Task Force, creating an AI policy, and implementing an employee suggestion box. Staff identified over $458,000 in cost savings. The City Manager praised the council's leadership and the quality of the city's staff.
Water Master Plan (Item E.1) Public Works Operations Manager Kenneth Garvin presented a request to authorize an agreement with Kimley-Horn and Associates for a comprehensive Water Master Plan. The city operates a vast system of 379 miles of water mains, five booster stations, eight storage tanks (16.5 million-gallon capacity), five wells, and over 2,000 fire hydrants. The last plan was completed in 2009. The 12-month study will analyze hydraulic performance and develop a prioritized capital improvement plan. The agreement is for a fixed fee not to exceed $325,000.
There you go. She is mad. I'm rolling. You ready for me? Okay. Good evening. Welcome to the North Prince and Hill City Council Work Session. It is 5 31. And I will call the Monday, September 14, 2026 City Council work session to order. A quorum of the city council is present. The meeting has been duly posted in accordance with Texas Old Meetings Act of the Texas Government Code. Let the record reflect it. Council member Matt Blake is absent, and also uh Councilmember Billy Parks is also absent. Um he's planning on making it for the uh council meeting. It's the Richland Homecoming Parade. Um items listed for discussion of the work session agenda provide an opportunity for the city council to discuss items to receive information from the staff for the city council will not take action on any of the items listed for discussion during the work session on any members of the public wishing to address the council regarding the items listed in the work session agenda may do so during the public comments portion of the regular meeting. First item is uh for the city gives the council the opportunity to ask any questions on items on the regular agenda that council has not had clarification on at this time. Anything? Anything ready to roll. All right, destination marketing program update. Craig Holtz. Okay. Thank you, Mayor. Council. Thank you, sir. Yeah. Um good evening. And before we jump into the details of the program, just want to give a big a brief background for you guys as we're as a refresh in addition to our audience of how we got here today. Um 2025 was a landmark year for us with the openings of Peppa Pig uh theme park as well as Malibu Jacks. Um, when you add those two alongside NRH2O and Nitex, our annual visitor count doubled to almost two million just across those four attractions. To leverage this growth, uh council, you council had the foresight to direct staff in August of last year to explore using hotel occupancy tax reserve funds to support local tourism as well as capture additional tax revenue from out-of-town visitors, easing the burden on our residents. So after reviewing Pierce Cities and assessing sustainable hotel occupancy tax funding mechanisms, staff recommended to you guys a city-led destination marketing program of which you guys approved uh for a fiscal year 27 launch. Following a competitive RFP process where we receive 15 proposals, you council selected flat five marketing this past June, which leads the creative development, digital hosting, and media placement of the future program. This evening, we're going to uh do the following. Give you a progress report where we're at today. Uh, we'll walk you through the collaborative decision making process that this wasn't done in a in a vacuum or by one individual. We're gonna present to you phase one's creative and messaging, and then outline the program's next steps. This has been a really good team effort between not only staff but our tourism partners led by Elizabeth Copeland over there in the corner, alongside Darren Drewitz, founder of Flat Five Marketing. So without further ado, I'll turn over the floor to Darren and uh upon his presentation.