Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Richland Hills City Council met on September 28, 2026, beginning with a 5:30 p.m. work session and reconvening for the regular session at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 3200 Diana Drive. The work session featured department reports from Parks and Recreation, Public Works, the Library, Fire, and Police. The regular session opened with an invocation by Doug Nolton and the Pledge of Allegiance, approved the consent agenda, cast the city's Texas Municipal League (TML) Region 8 Director vote, and adjourned at 6:39 p.m. There were no citizen comments, presentations, or public hearings.
Chief Sylvester recommended bringing department presentations, item 9A, to the work session; the presentations were informational and no action was taken.
Parks and Recreation Director Andrew Saxon reported 2,271 membership scans and 7,000 total visitors in August, and the department crossed 90,000 visitors the Friday before the meeting. Day-pass purchases were reported as '58 up to 712 for the year.' Volleyball passes are averaging about 50 per month at $12 per month, exceeding pickleball pass sales. Revenue is led by private rentals and child care. The Winstar senior trip, a strong performer, will be offered quarterly rather than twice a year. Membership totals are 512, with 41 private rentals and an after-school program average of 54. Creek Trail Park is officially open after passing its fall-zone inspection; the splash pad's UV issue is fixed but a DMX controller issue awaits parts from Canada; Cape Baker Park passed inspections with a grand reopening scheduled for October 17; Rosebud Park is set to start 180 days of construction on October 5; and landscaping repairs are underway at the Parks and Recreation building. Saxon noted that Pastor Frank DeLeo, a nine-year weekend rental tenant at the Link, is relocating to Halton City, and a councilmember described the rental as a significant revenue source for the Link.
Public Works Assistant Director Kelly Morris said the dry weather caused soil cracking and 11 water line breaks since May. The department uses repair clamps but is now replacing 20-40 foot sections with multiple clamps to save money. Tarrant County Precinct 3 wants to schedule full-depth reclaim and mill-and-overlay work in spring, prioritizing by PCI scores. He explained mill-and-overlay removes about two inches of asphalt, while full-depth reclaim restabilizes the subgrade, doubling road lifespan. Eight bids were received for the Cecil Drive replacement and came in substantially lower than estimates; a contract award is planned for the next meeting. Crews checked drainage channels and cleared blockages, and monthly checks of the lift station/pump house at the levy continue.
Library Director Chantel Hancock reported the 2026 summer reading program had 13 programs, down from 19, but attendance increased by about 300 people. Circulation increased 23%, especially in the children's department. Summer reading had 271 participants, up from 254 last summer; adult registration had the biggest jump, teen participation declined, and children's registration was 140, about 10 more than last year. The 'Splashdown' finale included giant water slides, a foam party, and Raising Cane's food. A councilmember noted the library door motion detector was not working, and Hancock said it may need a battery or a low-cost replacement.
Fire Chief Rhodes reported 1,165 calls for service through August, putting the department on pace for about 1,800 calls in 2026, roughly average over a five-year lookback. August had 146 emergency calls. About 50-60 percent of calls are EMS-related, lower than neighboring cities at 70-80 percent; citizens-assist calls are 16 percent, sometimes near 20 percent. Overall response time was 6 minutes 18 seconds, and turnout time was 1 minute 1 second; Fort Worth EMS averaged about 10 minutes from 911 call to scene. Training included joint training with Halton and Watauga, NEFTA Leadership Academy, career survival training, and fire inspections training. Staff completed 34 business inspections, pre-plans for target hazards, and two child seat installs. Both outdoor warning sirens passed a recent test after software-related issues; the sirens cover about a two-mile area and are meant for outdoor notification. Two probationary firefighters will be recognized October 8, Captain Mickey Haynes starts October 2, and 11 applicants are vying for a driver vacancy. Flood-detection cameras are on order for the Airline Drive flood area, and bids are being sought for an emergency access gate at Leslie and Norma. Chief Rhodes also marked his one-year anniversary in October.
Police Captain Ronnie Miller reported Officers Bateo and Kuiper finished their 17-week field training; Officer Fall, a former Nevada state trooper, is in accelerated field training expected to finish October 8; recruits Hepner and Do graduate December 14 from NCTCOG; recruit Frazier graduates January 11 from Hill College. Officer Strong took the school resource officer position at Jack S. Binion, filling all SRO spots with Birdville ISD; Officer Russell returned part-time for traffic and court bailiff duties, with the traffic unit expected back in the second quarter of next year. Crime rates are currently down, but holiday-season increases in family violence, DWI, and theft are anticipated. Mental health-related calls have increased, including three serious crises and one officer-involved shooting; RHPD is coordinating with mental health coordinator Candace Hadnot and local providers. In a commercial burglary case on Boulevard 26, Flock LPR data and interagency cooperation led to burglary charges and four additional drug charges, including manufacturing/delivering controlled substances; $32,000 cash and a vehicle were seized, with 60 percent of forfeited cash going to the city and 40 percent to the DA's office. Texas Night Out on October 6 has seven confirmed block parties and one pending, with about 12 expected; council will receive the public party list the day before. The IT network refresh with Totovarde is nearly complete, with new switches, firewalls, servers, fiber-ring redundancy, and security features installed with minimal service impact.
The council approved the consent agenda by voice vote. It included:
During the reading, the dates for the minutes item and the absence item were misstated and corrected. The agenda lists the minutes item as August 14 and the absence excuse as September 14; the council's discussion indicated those agenda dates were the intended ones.
No citizen comments were received, and no public testimony was presented. No public hearings were scheduled.
The council considered the city's vote for the Texas Municipal League Region 8 Director. The mayor pro tem recommended the incumbent, Mary Sarver. A motion and second were made, and the council approved the recommendation by voice vote with no opposition stated.
Council comments included upcoming community events: Texas Night Out on October 6, with block-party registration at RichlandHills.com/TNO or 817-616-3783; the Kate Baker Park grand opening on October 17 at 10 a.m.; the Link after-school program; Senior Lunch Bunch and Bingo on the second Thursday of each month; Trail Tale at the library on the second Tuesday; Library Lab on September 29 from 5 to 6 p.m.; and a senior trip to the National Soccer Hall of Fame for $15 per person.
Good evening. I'll call the work session of the Richland Hills City Council to order. The time is 5:30 on the dot. Item 1A is a discussion of tonight's agenda. No action will be taken during this work session. Chief Sylvester, is there anything you would like to add, though? Yes, Mayor Pro Tem. For tonight's work session, since we don't have any action items or other discussions to take, can you we I would recommend bringing uh department presentations 9A to workshop and having the department heads do their presentations for council. Okay. So I would like to start with uh Parks and Rec. That will be Andrew Saxon. Good evening, Council. Um just have a few slides for you from the Parks and Recreation Department. Make sure this is on. Um, some statistics to share with you guys. Uh in the month of August, we had 2,271 uh membership scans. Uh we had 7,000 total visitors. Um we might not have a chance to present next month, but just wanted to let you know uh we crossed 90,000 visitors um this past Friday, and so super excited about that. This is the first full year that we're actually tracking uh visits uh through the recreation center. So hopefully that number is just higher for next year. But as of right now, we've crossed 90,000. Um we've had some day pass purchases, 58 up to 712 for the year. And then believe it or not, I'm thinking of rolling looking at you for pickleball. Volleyball's really or volleyball is taking over uh pickleball as far as the number of passes that we're selling on a monthly basis. And so we need to get you back in there and start recruit back on pickleball. Yeah, volleyball is more popular in pickleball. Yeah. Wow. So we're averaging about 50 um volleyball passes per month, and so that's just a 12 monthly membership pass that you don't have to become a member for the year, you just sign up and then you come as much as you want for volleyball during those times. So yep. Very good. Uh, our total revenue, uh, you can see those numbers there. Our private rentals and child care are well north of anything else that we actually do at the link at the moment. Uh looking at adding some new programs and other opportunities to generate some revenue for the upcoming fiscal year. And then just pointing out our senior trip that always does well is Winstar, and so we're looking at doing that quarterly versus uh bi-annually. So we'll look to add a couple more visits uh up to Windstar up north in Oklahoma. Our membership totals are um at 512, and then we had 41 private rentals and 54 are averaging in after school program. Uh taking a look on the park side and facility side. Uh if you guys will follow with me, we had the engineered wood fiber installed last month, and so Creek Trail Park is officially open. We had our inspection and passed uh