Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Richland Hills City Council Regular Meeting - March 9, 2026

City Council — Monday, March 9, 2026

BodyRichland Hills, Texas

SessionCity Council

DateMonday, March 9, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

⇩ GET FROM SOURCE

STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

Transcript — Verbatim

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

5:38

Uh oh, we have a senior lunch bunch.

Speaker 2

6:10

Mics on everyone.

6:12

Nope.

6:15

Welcome everyone to the Richmond Hills City Council work session for March 9th, 2026.

6:23

First item will be senior lunch punch discussion.

6:29

Come forward and customers, please.

Speaker 3

6:39

All right.

6:41

Welcome back.

6:41

It's been a while.

6:42

Eric Valdez Parks Recreation Department here with the Senior Lunch Punch Council Work Session item.

6:49

Just a little bit of history on the Lunch Punch.

6:52

It started in two thousand seventeen as a community program that hosts seniors for lunch.

6:57

We do those once a

Unassigned speaker

6:59

month.

Speaker 3

6:59

We're able to do this with a partnership with Metroport Meals on Wheels.

7:04

Our average attendance is around ninety-five uh seniors per event, and uh 70% of those are non-residents.

7:12

We do not have a mandatory fee to participate, but we suggest a three dollar donation for uh non-members of the regional comparison.

7:22

Uh neighboring cities, Haltham City, Keller, Bedford, Hearst, and Collyville each uh charge about five to seven dollars per meal for the seniors.

Unassigned speaker

7:32

This

Speaker 3

7:33

next slide is the operational consideration and financial impact.

7:36

On the top left is our partnership with Metro Court.

7:40

So we allocate nine thousand dollars in the budget to support that program,

Unassigned speaker

7:44

and

Speaker 3

7:44

we're at a fifty fifty uh split with them on the cost of the program.

7:48

The original estimate was twenty thousand dollars annually, uh, but with uh with recent meetings uh with the staff at Metroport, they've identified that these costs are going up anywhere from twenty-two thousand dollars to twenty-four thousand dollars a

Speaker 4

8:01

year.

Speaker 3

8:01

And so in discussions with them, they are going to try to cover the gap with uh sponsorships that they already have, but in the future, uh, the parking record department may be requesting an additional funding uh to support that program.

8:14

Our uh top right corner is our cap capacity for the program.

Unassigned speaker

8:18

We're limited to 110 participants uh without a registration fee staff, which I have Andrew and Corey with me tonight, they often see um participants dropping out, so no call, no show, and that ranges anywhere from six to uh eight participants, and without knowing in advance, these guys these guys are unable to fill those spots uh with folks that want to participate.

Speaker 3

8:40

So moving forward uh in the upcoming budget process, we may be requesting some additional funding to support the lunch bunch program as well as the senior trips.

8:49

We want to definitely make sure that we balance the needs of seniors uh and our fiscal responsibility.

8:55

So beginning in April, we're proposing a fee structure that looks like this.

9:00

A three dollar per meal uh fee for Richland Hills residents or active linked members, and a five dollar per meal fee for non-residents without a linked membership.

9:12

On the bottom there, you'll see our comparison cities.

9:15

Uh and you can see that Keller

Unassigned speaker

9:17

and

Speaker 3

9:17

Collieville come in at seven dollars per meal, and the rest of the cities charge five.

Unassigned speaker

9:22

And we're one of two, I believe, that do not charge.

Speaker 3

9:24

I think Highland Village is the only one.

9:26

Yes,

Speaker 5

9:27

sir.

9:27

So down here at the comparison amongst other cities, is this for these prices that they're showing?

9:34

Is this for non-residents or they're residents?

Speaker 3

9:36

That's just a flat fee for them.

Unassigned speaker

9:38

Just

Speaker 5

9:38

a flat fee.

Speaker 3

9:38

Resident

Speaker 6

9:39

or non-residents, just okay.

9:40

Okay.

Speaker 3

9:41

Yes, sir.

9:41

Just uh for uh initial information.

9:44

Uh in 2025, we had 12 lunches.

9:47

We had a 1,059 participants.

9:50

Of the 1,059 participants, 33% of those were residents, and 67 were non-residents of the 1,059 participants,

Unassigned speaker

9:59

Speaker 3

9:59

was a 50-50 uh split between members of the link and non-members of the link.

10:04

And then finally, of the 526 members of the lake, uh 239 of those were residents and 287 were non-residents that were participating in the program.

10:17

So we got it again back to the original slide.

10:20

70% of our participants are non-residents that utilize our program, and so uh we definitely enjoy that.

10:27

Uh, but we don't what our main focus is to try to alleviate the no-shows to the program and making sure the folks that uh need to come for the meal or want to show up for the meal that they have a seat at the table.

Summary of Proceedings

Richland Hills City Council Meeting Summary - March 9, 2026

The Richland Hills City Council convened for a Work Session and Regular Meeting on March 9, 2026. The Work Session featured substantial discussions on proposed fee changes for the Senior Lunch Bunch program, a review of errors in the recently passed Water/Wastewater rate ordinance, and changes to the future meeting agenda format. The Regular Session included department reports and the approval of the consent agenda.

Consent Calendar

The City Council unanimously approved the Consent Agenda, which included:
- Approval of minutes from the February 9, 2026 Regular Meeting.
- Approval of minutes from the February 14, 2026 Strategic Visioning and Budget Workshop.
- A resolution establishing a formal pathway for written public information requests via the city website.
- Resolution 638-26, authorizing the City Manager to accept, decline, modify, or cancel a 100% fully funded grant for the purchase of rifle-resistant body armor.

Public Comments & Testimony

No members of the public presented comments during the Citizen Appearances portion of the meeting.

Discussion Items

Senior Lunch Bunch Fee Structure (Work Session): Eric Valdez of Parks and Recreation presented a proposal to address operational and financial challenges in the Senior Lunch Bunch program. The program averages 95 seniors per event, with 70% being non-residents. The current program is free (with a suggested $3 donation), but only $560 was donated in all of 2025 against rising costs. The city allocates $9,000 toward the program through a partnership with Metroport Meals on Wheels, but total program costs are projected to rise from $20,000 to $22,000-$24,000 annually. A key issue is the 6-8 attendance no-shows per event that block waitlisted seniors from attending. Council members expressed strong support for implementing registration fees, with several noting the program is part of a regional circuit where seniors are used to paying. The proposed fee is $3 for residents or LINK members, and $5 for non-residents. The Council directed staff to implement the fee structure starting in April 2026.
Water/Wastewater Rate Study Review & Revision (Work Session): Consultant Jason Gray (Willdan) and the City Manager reviewed the water/wastewater rate ordinance adopted on February 9, 2026. Staff identified several technical drafting errors (Scrivener errors) in the ordinance, including incorrect pricing units (per gallon vs. per thousand gallons) and discrepancies in meter charges and pass-through rates. Council Member Bledsoe raised several concerns: the lack of itemized pass-through costs on resident bills, the impact of high base charges on fixed-income residents, the structure of commercial wastewater charges, and a request to review the drainage fee structure. The Council directed staff to 1) Prepare the repeal of the flawed ordinance, 2) Validate key assumptions from the 2024 rate study (CIP progress, actual debt issuance, operating costs) against current realities, and 3) Bring back a corrected ordinance for consideration at the second meeting in April.
Future Agenda Format (Work Session): The Mayor proposed changes to the meeting agenda format to improve efficiency and clarity. The council agreed to a standardized 5:30 PM start for the Work Session (instead of 6:00 PM) to better balance the schedules of staff, council members, and the public. The council also approved a new agenda layout dividing items into Public Hearings, New Business (contracts and resolutions), and Old Business.
January Department Reports:
- Library: The library reported increased visits and circulation. Highlights included an AARP Tax Preparation program open to all ages and a Galantines self-care program attended by 25 people.
- Police: Chief Sylvester reported that Part 1 offenses were down significantly year-over-year (simple assaults, auto thefts, burglaries). Traffic stops were down 40% (390 to 231) due to the frozen traffic unit caused by staffing vacancies. The department recently hired two new officers to address vacancies. A discussion on retention ensued, with Chief Sylvester explaining the highly competitive market, salary gaps, and the impact of the 6.75% Social Security tax. Council acknowledged that retention is a major challenge and a compensation market study is planned for the year.

Key Outcomes

Senior Lunch Bunch Fee Change Directed: The Council directed staff to implement a $3 fee for residents/LINK members and a $5 fee for non-residents, starting in April 2026, to manage costs and ensure registered seniors get a seat.
Water/Wastewater Rate Ordinance to be Repealed and Replaced: The February 9, 2026 ordinance will be repealed. Staff will work with the consultant to correct errors and validate rate assumptions, with a revised ordinance expected at the second meeting in April.
New Meeting Format and Agenda Structure Adopted: The Work Session will start at 5:30 PM, and the agenda will be reorganized into Public Hearings, New Business, and Old Business.
Animal Shelter Advisory Board Appointment: Kim Bachner was unanimously approved as an alternate member of the board.
Consent Agenda Approved: Routine items, including the fully-funded body armor grant and formalized public information request process, were approved.

Meeting Transcript

Uh oh, we have a senior lunch bunch. Mics on everyone. Nope. Welcome everyone to the Richmond Hills City Council work session for March 9th, 2026. First item will be senior lunch punch discussion. Come forward and customers, please. All right. Welcome back. It's been a while. Eric Valdez Parks Recreation Department here with the Senior Lunch Punch Council Work Session item. Just a little bit of history on the Lunch Punch. It started in two thousand seventeen as a community program that hosts seniors for lunch. We do those once a month. We're able to do this with a partnership with Metroport Meals on Wheels. Our average attendance is around ninety-five uh seniors per event, and uh 70% of those are non-residents. We do not have a mandatory fee to participate, but we suggest a three dollar donation for uh non-members of the regional comparison. Uh neighboring cities, Haltham City, Keller, Bedford, Hearst, and Collyville each uh charge about five to seven dollars per meal for the seniors. This next slide is the operational consideration and financial impact. On the top left is our partnership with Metro Court. So we allocate nine thousand dollars in the budget to support that program, and we're at a fifty fifty uh split with them on the cost of the program. The original estimate was twenty thousand dollars annually, uh, but with uh with recent meetings uh with the staff at Metroport, they've identified that these costs are going up anywhere from twenty-two thousand dollars to twenty-four thousand dollars a year. And so in discussions with them, they are going to try to cover the gap with uh sponsorships that they already have, but in the future, uh, the parking record department may be requesting an additional funding uh to support that program. Our uh top right corner is our cap capacity for the program. We're limited to 110 participants uh without a registration fee staff, which I have Andrew and Corey with me tonight, they often see um participants dropping out, so no call, no show, and that ranges anywhere from six to uh eight participants, and without knowing in advance, these guys these guys are unable to fill those spots uh with folks that want to participate. So moving forward uh in the upcoming budget process, we may be requesting some additional funding to support the lunch bunch program as well as the senior trips. We want to definitely make sure that we balance the needs of seniors uh and our fiscal responsibility. So beginning in April, we're proposing a fee structure that looks like this. A three dollar per meal uh fee for Richland Hills residents or active linked members, and a five dollar per meal fee for non-residents without a linked membership. On the bottom there, you'll see our comparison cities. Uh and you can see that Keller and Collieville come in at seven dollars per meal, and the rest of the cities charge five. And we're one of two, I believe, that do not charge. I think Highland Village is the only one. Yes, sir. So down here at the comparison amongst other cities, is this for these prices that they're showing? Is this for non-residents or they're residents? That's just a flat fee for them. Just a flat fee. Resident or non-residents, just okay. Okay. Yes, sir.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com

Richland Hills City Council Meeting Summary - March 9, 2026

Consent Calendar

The City Council unanimously approved the Consent Agenda, which included:

Approval of minutes from the February 9, 2026 Regular Meeting.
Approval of minutes from the February 14, 2026 Strategic Visioning and Budget Workshop.
A resolution establishing a formal pathway for written public information requests via the city website.
Resolution 638-26, authorizing the City Manager to accept, decline, modify, or cancel a 100% fully funded grant for the purchase of rifle-resistant body armor.

Public Comments & Testimony

No members of the public presented comments during the Citizen Appearances portion of the meeting.

Discussion Items

Senior Lunch Bunch Fee Structure (Work Session): Eric Valdez of Parks and Recreation presented a proposal to address operational and financial challenges in the Senior Lunch Bunch program. The program averages 95 seniors per event, with 70% being non-residents. The current program is free (with a suggested $3 donation), but only $560 was donated in all of 2025 against rising costs. The city allocates $9,000 toward the program through a partnership with Metroport Meals on Wheels, but total program costs are projected to rise from $20,000 to $22,000-$24,000 annually. A key issue is the 6-8 attendance no-shows per event that block waitlisted seniors from attending. Council members expressed strong support for implementing registration fees, with several noting the program is part of a regional circuit where seniors are used to paying. The proposed fee is $3 for residents or LINK members, and $5 for non-residents. The Council directed staff to implement the fee structure starting in April 2026.

Water/Wastewater Rate Study Review & Revision (Work Session): Consultant Jason Gray (Willdan) and the City Manager reviewed the water/wastewater rate ordinance adopted on February 9, 2026. Staff identified several technical drafting errors (Scrivener errors) in the ordinance, including incorrect pricing units (per gallon vs. per thousand gallons) and discrepancies in meter charges and pass-through rates. Council Member Bledsoe raised several concerns: the lack of itemized pass-through costs on resident bills, the impact of high base charges on fixed-income residents, the structure of commercial wastewater charges, and a request to review the drainage fee structure. The Council directed staff to 1) Prepare the repeal of the flawed ordinance, 2) Validate key assumptions from the 2024 rate study (CIP progress, actual debt issuance, operating costs) against current realities, and 3) Bring back a corrected ordinance for consideration at the second meeting in April.

Future Agenda Format (Work Session): The Mayor proposed changes to the meeting agenda format to improve efficiency and clarity. The council agreed to a standardized 5:30 PM start for the Work Session (instead of 6:00 PM) to better balance the schedules of staff, council members, and the public. The council also approved a new agenda layout dividing items into Public Hearings, New Business (contracts and resolutions), and Old Business.

January Department Reports:

Library: The library reported increased visits and circulation. Highlights included an AARP Tax Preparation program open to all ages and a Galantines self-care program attended by 25 people.
Police: Chief Sylvester reported that Part 1 offenses were down significantly year-over-year (simple assaults, auto thefts, burglaries). Traffic stops were down 40% (390 to 231) due to the frozen traffic unit caused by staffing vacancies. The department recently hired two new officers to address vacancies. A discussion on retention ensued, with Chief Sylvester explaining the highly competitive market, salary gaps, and the impact of the 6.75% Social Security tax. Council acknowledged that retention is a major challenge and a compensation market study is planned for the year.

Key Outcomes

Senior Lunch Bunch Fee Change Directed: The Council directed staff to implement a $3 fee for residents/LINK members and a $5 fee for non-residents, starting in April 2026, to manage costs and ensure registered seniors get a seat.

Water/Wastewater Rate Ordinance to be Repealed and Replaced: The February 9, 2026 ordinance will be repealed. Staff will work with the consultant to correct errors and validate rate assumptions, with a revised ordinance expected at the second meeting in April.

New Meeting Format and Agenda Structure Adopted: The Work Session will start at 5:30 PM, and the agenda will be reorganized into Public Hearings, New Business, and Old Business.

Animal Shelter Advisory Board Appointment: Kim Bachner was unanimously approved as an alternate member of the board.

Consent Agenda Approved: Routine items, including the fully-funded body armor grant and formalized public information request process, were approved.

Meeting Transcript