Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.
The North Richland Hills City Council met for a work session at 6:00 PM and a regular meeting at 7:00 PM on September 28, 2026, at City Hall. Mayor Jack McCarty was absent; Mayor Pro Tem Kelvin Deupree presided. The council unanimously approved all action items and discussed updates to the childcare ordinance, zoning amendments, infrastructure contracts, and public safety regulations.
Work Session – Childcare Ordinance Updates (Chapter 18, Article II): Managing Director Stefanie Martinez presented proposed revisions after a survey of 23 child care operators (9 responses). Key changes include removing universal tuberculosis testing, reducing city inspections from two to one per year (with additional inspections if needed), removing redundant language, while retaining annual oversight , local permitting, food safety enforcement, and Child Care Worker Card training. Council discussed state inspection frequency, licensed vs . unlicensed facilities, and a request from Jay Bruner to meet with providers. Council directed staff to send the proposed ordinance to operators for feedback before bringing it back for action.
Future Agenda Item: Council Member Goetz requested revisiting the city's ethics policy; no opposition was raised.
City Manager Report: Update on two efficiency audits (Utility Billing and Facilities) near completion. Utility Billing report to be presented at November 9 work session; Facilities report at December 14 work session. Also noted upcoming events and ribbon cuttings for Jake's Burgers, Tacos and Avocados, and Public Pita Market.
Executive Session: Council met in executive session from 6:23 PM to 6:41 PM to consult with the city attorney on pending litigation (Jessie Goodfellow v. City, Bank of the West v. G.Q. Enterprises, Amy Vore v. City), housing finance corporations, and data center regulations, and to deliberate on economic development proposals for four properties. No action was taken as a result.
Public Hearing TR26-05 (Ordinance No. 3978): Director of Planning Cori Reaume presented text amendments to Chapter 118 (Zoning) to comply with recent state laws: adding financial hardship criteria for Board of Adjustment variances, updating protest petition thresholds (increased from 20% to 60% for residential density increases, removing supermajority requirement), removing building material regulations (e.g., masonry requirements) except in planned development districts, and defining “no-impact home-based businesses” per state law. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval 5-0. The council approved unanimously 7-0.
Public Works (E.1): Public Works Operations Manager Kenneth Garvin presented a recommendation for non-exclusive contracts with Alderink Enterprises, Inc. and Apex Concrete Construction for citywide supplemental concrete services over five years, collective amount not to exceed $9,301,153. Seven bids were received; Cam Creek Contracting was not reachable. Council approved 7-0.
General Item G.1 (Ordinance No. 3979): Chief of Police Jeff Garner presented amendments to Chapter 50, Article IV on sex offender residency. Changes include expanding the residency buffer from 1,000 to 2,000 feet, establishing a defined term “Child Safety Zone,” adding a loitering restriction within 500 feet of such zones, and prohibiting sex offenders from performing Halloween activities (e.g., turning on outdoor lights as an invitation, handing out candy). The violation fine is $500 per day. Council approved 7-0.
Good evening and welcome to the North Richland Hills City Council session. It is six o'clock PM, and I will call the Monday, September 28th, 2026, City Council work session to order. Our quorum of the city council is present and the meeting has been duly posted in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act of the Texas Government Code. Let the record reflect that Mayor McCarty is absent. Items listed for discussion on the work session agenda provide opportunity for the city council to discuss the items and receive information from staff. The city council will not take any action on these items listed for discussion during the work session. Any member of the public wishing to address the council regarding items on the work session may do so during the public comments portion of the regular meeting. Any questions from anybody? Okay. So the first item we're going to ask uh Stephanie Martinez to talk about the proposed child care ordinances uh relate to chapter 18, Article 2. Thanks, Steph. Hello, good evening. So tonight we're going to talk about the proposed revisions for chapter 18, and that's of the child care ordinance. So staff recently completed a comprehensive review of the ordinance to identify our opportunities to modernize its language, improve organization, and reduce unnecessary duplication with standards that are already addressed through state regulations and other codes adopted by the city. Throughout this process, our goal was not to reduce the city's commitment to protecting children's health and safety, but instead, our focus uh was on clearly uh creating more efficient ordinance that is easier to understand, easier to administer, and maintains the city's public health protections. But we'll be discussing that as we go through this review. So why update the ordinance? Staff's approach to this was to review the three with three um guiding objectives. First, to modernize the ordinance by updating language, improving organization and removing outdated provisions. Second, to clarify the city's role by reducing unnecessary duplication and making the ordinance easier to understand and administer. And then finally, to protect the city's ongoing commitment to public health and safety. And in three instances, we referred concerns to the state licensing. Other inspections performed included a pool or splash pad inspections, child kitchen inspections, foster inspections, a change of ordinance or incidents. The items identified aren't necessarily administrative or paperwork issues issues. Our inspectors have identified things such as unsecured entrances and exits, unsafe playground equipment, sanitation concerns, unapproved food sources, broken glass, insects that sting, and facilities that were not being properly maintained. We've also encountered situations involving children left unsupervised. When we identify something that falls under the state's responsibility, we coordinate with state licensing. But when it's a local health, sanitation, or safety concern, our ordinance allows us for our staff to address those concerns. And that's really the distinction between the city and the state. And we're trying to make this that we're trying to make in this ordinance. We're not trying to duplicate the state's oversight. I want to make sure we're clear on that. We're trying to ensure the city remains focused on the conditions that really matter locally. So child care operations survey. When we were started looking at this, we decided we're going to send a survey out to our operators. So as part of the review, we wanted to hear directly from them. We sent out a survey to 23 operators, and from them, nine responded. One of the clearest findings that was was that all nine respondents indicated that one annual city inspection is sufficient. We also heard concerns about duplication between city and state requirements, with five of the nine respondents specifically identifying overlap as an issue.