Plano City Council Preliminary Meeting — May 11, 2026

The Plano City Council convened in open session on May 11, 2026, with all council members present, and recessed into a closed executive session in Training Room A under the Texas Open Meetings Act (Texas Government Code Chapter 551). After reconvening, the council unanimously approved a board reappointment and a line-of-duty leave extension, discussed Texas Municipal League (TML) and National League of Cities (NLC) engagement opportunities, and received a detailed overview of Public Works field operations and maintenance. The consent and regular agendas were approved without removals, and the council recessed to return at 7:00 PM. No written agenda or minutes were available; this summary is based on the meeting transcript.

Executive Session

• The council met in closed session under Section 551.071 (consult with the attorney to receive legal advice and discuss litigation), Section 551.087 (discuss economic development matters), and Section 551.074 (discuss personnel matters).

Consent Calendar

• The consent and regular agendas were approved with no items removed by any council member.

Discussion Items

• Reappointment to the North Texas Municipal Water District Board: The council unanimously (8-0) reappointed Ron Kelly to the North Texas Municipal Water District Board.
• Line-of-Duty Leave Extension: Jeff Mowerley, Assistant Chief with Plano Fire Rescue, requested a six-month extension of full pay and benefits for Captain Mike Waterstrat, who was injured in the line of duty just over a year ago and had reached the one-year limit on full pay and benefits. Mowerley noted the extension requires council approval. The council unanimously (8-0) approved the six-month extension.
• TML and NLC Nominations: Andrew Fortune, Director of Policy and Government Relations, reported that TML engagement is currently in a holding pattern; the TML annual conference this fall is the first opportunity for involvement, and the TML president will make standing committee appointments in January. Councilmember Quintania will represent the mayor at the TML policy summit in Austin this summer. For the National League of Cities, the council must name one sole representative for the NLC board and one for the NLC Federal Advocacy Committee. Fortune noted that TML released more information on the process that afternoon, and staff recommended interested council members submit their interest to his office, with an action item planned for the May 26 agenda.

Public Works Maintenance Operations Overview

Abby Owens, Public Works Director, presented a 45-minute overview of the field operations and maintenance division, which manages water, wastewater, streets, sidewalks, screening walls, traffic, and drainage. The previous month's presentation covered environmental waste services, fleet operations, and asset management.

• Asset management: The city tracks nearly 700,000 assets across its 72 square miles in OpenGov software, the same system used by Parks. Last year the city received just under 18,000 resident requests, which became about 11,000 tasks worked by public works staff.
• Streets: Over 50% of the city's streets are older than 30 years, and 99.999% of streets have a concrete base designed to last 30 to 45 years with proper maintenance. Preventative maintenance (joint sealing) costs about $125,000 per mile on arterial roads; concrete panel replacement costs about $2.1 million per mile, including overlay costs; full reconstruction of a six-lane road costs close to $14.4 million. The city's ultra-thin overlay is about three-quarters of an inch thick — coarser and different from the roughly two-inch asphalt used in other cities — and is intended to extend concrete street life, not downgrade maintenance. The first overlay, installed on Independence from 15th Street to Parker in 2017, was expected to last about 10 years; after being sealed this year at nine years old, the city expects closer to 15 years. The goal is to overlay all 136 miles of arterial roadway within 15 years (around 2036), then mill and reassess the concrete beneath.
• Summer 2026 street projects: Park Road from Midway to Preston; Parker from Independence to 75 (the first major arterial to be overlaid city limit to city limit); Independence between Spring Creek and Parker; and Legacy Drive.
• Street and alley repairs: Issues are temporarily patched with asphalt until permanent repair. Permanent options are in-house crews (about 75 staff who perform concrete panel and sidewalk replacements), contract crews for areas needing more than in-house capacity (minimum 300 square yards per work order), and residential zone projects covering whole neighborhoods approximately every 25 to 30 years. Street segments with subgrade issues, drainage problems, or significant deterioration are referred to engineering.
• Water system: The city purchases 100% of its water treated from the North Texas Municipal Water District, delivered to 11 ground storage tanks and 4 pump stations, with 10 elevated water towers providing system buffer. The system includes over 53,000 valves and over 17,000 hydrants, maintained in partnership with the fire department. Public Works is responsible for everything up to the meter; customer utility services handles billing and the AMI system. The SCADA system at Ridgeview controls pumps, motors, pressures, and flows, with tours available later this month. The city takes tens of thousands of water quality tests per year and holds a superior water system rating from TCEQ.
• Wastewater: Staff perform manhole inspections, CCTV inspections of sewer mains, routine jet cleaning to prevent blockages and overflows, rag removal from pumps (with education efforts coordinated with environmental health), and emergency response. Crews also maintain over 116 aerial sewer crossings across creeks, removing debris buildup.
• Traffic operations: The team maintains over 250 signalized intersections (traffic engineering manages timing), plus regulatory signage, street signs, lighted street signs, and pavement markings, including work related to the ATC cabinet change-out. Field tours of the Melissa Compost facility and Ridgeview pump station were offered for May 21.

Council Questions and Comments

• Deputy Mayor Pro Tem asked about cybersecurity protections for the SCADA system. Director Owens said security specifics should be addressed offline to avoid advertising the city's protections, and confirmed the system is secure.
• Mayor Pro Tem complimented the Public Works division and its employees, noting the Parker Road project drew criticism during its long closure but is now running smoothly, and that quiet operations reflect good work.
• Councilmember Levine asked about the water meter situation. Director Owens explained that a proactive meter change-out occurred around 2018–2020, while a more recent issue was a technology failure in which the AMI devices mounted on top of meters stopped sending automatic reads to the cloud. The meters themselves remained accurate and monthly reads continued. The vendor and a contractor replaced the devices, service was restored around January or February, and customers can now see their reads again.
• Owens introduced Tommy, Assistant Director over most of the operations presented, and Drew, who oversees the CIP program including arterial repairs and residential neighborhood zones.

Key Outcomes

• Approved 8-0 the reappointment of Ron Kelly to the North Texas Municipal Water District Board.
• Approved 8-0 a six-month extension of full pay and benefits for Captain Mike Waterstrat's line-of-duty leave.
• Staff will bring an action item for TML/NLC sole representative selections to the May 26 agenda; interested council members are to submit their interest to the Director of Policy and Government Relations.
• The consent and regular agendas were approved with no items removed; no council items were added to future agendas.
• The council recessed and will return at 7:00 PM.