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40,000 HOUSEHOLDS AROUND THE CITY.
[Town Hall on August 22, 2023.]
WE'LL HAVE EVERYONE ON THE LINE IN JUST A COUPLE MINUTES, SO HANG TIGHT WHILE I GET YOU UP TO SPEED ON WHAT WE'LL BE DISCUSSING AND HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE TONIGHT.WE'RE BROADCASTING LIVE RIGHT NOW FROM COUNCIL CHAMBERS AND WE HAVE MAYOR MONZ, ALONG WITH CITY MANAGER MARK ISRAELSON, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, JACK CARR, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, SAM GRE, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, SHELLY SEAMER, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, LASHAUN ROSS, DIRECTOR OF BUDGET.
KAREN RHODES WHITLEY, DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING, CALEB THOR, THORNHILL, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS, DAN PRENDERGAST AND DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION, RON SMITH.
THEY ARE HERE TO FIRST PROVIDE UPDATES AND THEN ANSWER QUESTIONS FROM THOSE OF YOU IN OUR LIVE AUDIENCE.
AS YOU'RE LISTENING TONIGHT, THINK ABOUT QUESTIONS YOU'D LIKE TO SUBMIT FOR THE LIVE Q AND A.
THAT WILL FOLLOW OUR BRIEF INTRO, AND IF YOU'RE JOINING US BY PHONE, YOU CAN PRESS ZERO TO SUBMIT A QUESTION TO AN OPERATOR FOR Q AND A.
THEN YOU CAN EITHER ASK YOUR QUESTION LIVE OR YOU CAN LET YOUR OPERATOR KNOW.
IF YOU PREFER TO HAVE THE MODERATOR READ YOUR QUESTION OVER THE AIR INSTEAD OF BRINGING YOU LIVE, WHATEVER'S MORE COMFORTABLE FOR YOU IS FINE WITH US.
AGAIN, JUST PRESS ZERO TO GET YOUR QUESTION TO AN OPERATOR AT ANY TIME DURING THIS FORUM.
IF YOU'RE WATCHING ON PLANO TV OR PLANO TV.ORG, YOU CAN SUBMIT QUESTIONS TO US VIA TWITTER USING THE HASHTAG PLANO TOWN HALL.
AGAIN, YOU CAN SUBMIT QUESTIONS VIA TWITTER USING THE HASHTAG PLANO TOWN HALL.
IF YOU'RE JOINING US VIA FACEBOOK OR YOUTUBE TONIGHT, YOU CAN SUBMIT QUESTIONS TO US IN THE COMMENTS OF THE VIDEO FEED.
WE'LL TAKE AS MANY QUESTIONS AS WE CAN IN THE HOUR THAT WE HAVE TONIGHT, AND TONIGHT'S CONVERSATION WILL FOCUS ON THE PROPOSED 20 23 20 24 CITY BUDGET AND COMMUNITY INVESTMENT PROGRAM.
SO IF YOU ALREADY HAVE A QUESTION OR COMMENT ON THE BUDGET AND COMMUNITY INVESTMENT PROGRAM, PRESS ZERO TO GET THAT QUESTION IN NOW, OR TYPE YOUR QUESTION INTO THE COMMENTS IF YOU'RE STREAMING TONIGHT'S FORUM OR AGAIN, YOU CAN SUBMIT VIA TWITTER USING THAT HASHTAG PLANO TOWN HALL.
IF YOU'RE JOINING US LIVE IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS AND YOU'D LIKE TO ASK A QUESTION DURING Q AND A, YOU CAN FLAG DOWN OUR DIRECTOR OF MEDIA RELATIONS, STEVE STOLLER, WHO WILL BRING YOU A MICROPHONE SO THAT OUR VIRTUAL AUDIENCES AND CITY LEADERS CAN HEAR YOUR QUESTION.
AGAIN, TONIGHT'S LIVE FORUM, WE'LL FOCUS ON THE PROPOSED 20 23, 20 24 PLANO CITY BUDGET AND COMMUNITY INVESTMENT PROGRAM.
ONE MORE THING BEFORE WE GET STARTED.
IF YOU'D LIKE TO GET OCCASIONAL EMAIL UPDATES FROM THE CITY OF PLANO ON THE ISSUES THAT AFFECT YOU AS A PLANO RESIDENT, PRESS SEVEN NOW.
SPEAK TO AN OPERATOR AND GIVE THEM THE BEST EMAIL ADDRESS TO GET UPDATES.
YOU CAN ALSO SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES@PLANO.GOV ON THAT WEBSITE, PLANO.GOV.
YOU CAN FIND DETAILS ON THE PROPOSED BUDGET BY NAVIGATING TO THE GOVERNMENT TAB UP TOP.
AGAIN, FOLKS, THIS IS A LIVE VIRTUAL FORUM.
WE'RE JUST ABOUT TO GET STARTED.
IF YOU'RE ON THE PHONE AND YOU HAVE A QUESTION, PRESS ZERO TO GET THAT TO AN OPERATOR.
WE'LL TAKE THOSE QUESTIONS LIVE IF YOU'RE COMFORTABLE GOING LIVE, IF YOU PREFER TO HAVE ME READ IT, JUST LET YOUR OPERATOR KNOW WHEN YOU SUBMIT THAT QUESTION THAT YOU WANT ME TO READ YOUR QUESTION INSTEAD, IF YOU'RE STREAM, IF YOU'RE UH, WATCHING THIS FORUM ON PLANO TV OR PLANO TV.ORG, REMEMBER THAT YOU CAN ALSO SUBMIT A QUESTION USED ON TWITTER USING THAT HASHTAG PLANO TOWN HALL.
AND THEN FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE ON FACEBOOK OR YOUTUBE TONIGHT, AGAIN, YOU CAN SUBMIT QUESTIONS IN THE COMMENTS OF THAT VIDEO FEED.
AGAIN, WELCOME TO THE FORUM FOLKS.
WE'RE FOCUSING ON THE 20 23 20 24 CITY BUDGET AND COMMUNITY INVESTMENT PROGRAM.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
FOR THAT, IT'S MY PLEASURE TO TURN IT OVER TO MAYOR JOHN MUS.
MAYOR MUS, PLEASE GO AHEAD AND GET US STARTED.
WELCOME TO TONIGHT'S PLANO TELEPHONE TOWN HALL.
I'M MAYOR JOHN MUS, AND I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME THOSE WHO ARE JOINING US HERE IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS FOR THIS TOWN HALL, OUR VIEWERS WHO ARE WATCHING THE LIVE STREAM@PLANOTV.ORG OR ON THE CITY OF PLANO, FACEBOOK OR YOUTUBE PAGE, AS WELL AS OUR GUESTS JOINING BY PHONE AND OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. TONIGHT, WE WILL TAKE COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT THE 2023 2024 BUDGET AND COMMUNITY INVESTMENT PROGRAM FROM CALLERS AND THOSE PARTICIPATING VIA VIA SOCIAL MEDIA.
JOINING US, WE HAVE CITY MANAGER MARK ISRAELSON, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, JACK CARR, DE DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, SAM GR, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, SHELLY SEAMER, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, LASAN LASHAWN ROSS, DIRECTOR OF BUDGET.
KAREN RHODES WHITLEY, DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING, CALEB THORNHILL, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS, DAN PRENDERGAST AND DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION, RON SMITH.
KAREN, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
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BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR ENCOMPASSES THE ORGANIZATIONAL AND COMMUNITY VALUES THAT HAVE MADE PLANO THE PREMIER CITY IN NORTH TEXAS.THE CITY HAS SPENT THE FIRST HALF OF THIS YEAR STUDYING THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGES OF MATURE CITIES AND COLLECTING FEEDBACK FROM RESIDENTS AND THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
THE CITY IS A SERVICE INDUSTRY AND WE ARE SUBJECT TO THE SAME ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AFFECTING THE REST OF THE COUNTRY.
THIS YEAR, THE CITY AND COMMUNITY HAVE SEEN SIGNIFICANT INFLATIONARY PRESSURES, SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION, LABOR SHORTAGES, WHICH ARE AFFECTING THE ORGANIZATION'S FINANCIAL CONDITION.
OVER THE PAST FOUR YEARS, THE CITY HAS PASSED THE TAX RATE AT OR NEAR THE NO NEW REVENUE TAX RATE, WHICH WAS AIDED BY THE PREVIOUSLY AUTHORIZED FEDERAL FUNDS FROM CARES AND ARPA.
THESE FUNDS ALLOWED US TO WEATHER THE COVID ECONOMIC ROLLERCOASTER WITHOUT IMPACTING SERVICE LEVELS.
THESE FUNDS THOUGH HAVE BEEN SINCE EXHAUSTED.
WE FEEL THE CITY OF PLANO IS THE BEST VALUE FOR ANY CITY IN THE D F W REGION.
DUE TO THE COMMITMENT TO THE GOALS WHICH HAVE MADE PLANO, THE CITY OF EXCELLENCE PLUS CONTINUES TO HAVE ONE OF THE LOWEST TAX RATES IN THE REGION AT 41.76 CENTS PER $100 OF ASSESSED PROPERTY EVALUATIONS.
THE RECOMMENDED BUDGET FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR, WHICH STARTS OCTOBER 1ST, TOTALS $729 MILLION AND REPRESENTS A 7.9% INCREASE OVER THIS YEAR'S ADOPTED BUDGET.
PUBLIC SAFETY AND WATER SEWER ARE THE PRIMARY EXPENDITURES INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET, TOTALING $386 MILLION OR 53% OF THE ANNUAL BUDGET.
NO NEW PROGRAMS OR SERVICES ARE INCLUDED IN THE RECOMMENDED BUDGET.
THE BUDGET FOCUS THIS YEAR IS TO MAINTAIN AND IMPROVE OUR $2.8 BILLION GROWING INFRASTRUCTURE BY ENSURING OUR CAPITAL MAINTENANCE FUND IS ADEQUATELY FUNDED TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE, PROVIDE ALL PROGRAMS AND SERVICES FOR OUR CITIZENS AND BUSINESSES TO ENSURE THAT ALL FINANCIAL POLICIES ARE MET AND WE RETAIN OUR AAA BOND RATING AND TO CONTINUE TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN OUR GREATEST ASSETS, OUR EMPLOYEES.
IN ADDITION, WE CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN A LOW TAX BURDEN FOR OUR CITIZENS AND BUSINESSES.
THE 2324 BUDGET INCLUDES THE SAME CURRENT YEAR TAX RATE OF 41.76 CENTS PER $100 OF ASSESSED PROPERTY VALUATION.
THE CITY COUNCIL IS SCHEDULED TO DISCUSS THE TAX RATE AT THE NEXT CITY COUNCIL MEETING SLATED FOR NEXT MONDAY, AUGUST 28TH AT 7:00 PM THESE CERTIFIED PROPERTY VALUES FROM BOTH COLIN AND DENTON CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT PROJECTS, THE CITY'S ASSESSED PROPERTY VALUES TO TOTAL $57.4 BILLION AND INCLUDES 734 MILLION IN NEW PROPERTY COMING ONLINE AND AN EXISTING PROPERTY VALUE INCREASE OF 4.7 BILLION.
THE TOTAL CHANGE OF THE TAX SPACE, IT'S PROJECTED AT 5.4 BILLION OR AN INCREASE OF 10.5%.
AS A RESULT, A ROBUST DEMAND IN THE RESIDENTIAL HOUSING MARKET.
THE COLLINS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT REPORTS THE VALUE OF THE AVERAGE MARKET, UH, VALUE FOR A HOME IS UP 14.2% FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR TO $564,112.
GIVEN THAT PLANO IS ONE OF THE HOTTEST HOUSING MARKETS IN THE NORTH TEXAS AREA AND THE REQUIREMENTS THAT THE CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICTS ARE UNDER TO APPRAISE AT MARKET VALUE, MOST PROPERTY OWNERS FIND THEMSELVES WITH INCREASED APPRAISED PROPERTY VALUES.
IF YOU HAVE A HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION, THE AVERAGE HOMESTEAD VALUE THIS YEAR IS PROJECTED AT $373,000.
EVEN KEEPING THE SAME TAX RATE, IT'S THIS YEAR AT 41.76 CENTS, THE AVERAGE HOMEOWNER MAY SEE AN INCREASE OF $144 FOR THE YEAR IN THEIR TAX BILL DUE TO THE INCREASE IN THE AVERAGE HOME VALUE.
THE STATE OF TAXES MANDATES THAT THE MARKET VALUE ON YOUR PROPERTY CAN INCREASE THE APPRAISAL AMOUNT YOU ACTUALLY PAY TAXES ON IS CAPPED AT 10% PER YEAR, PLUS ANY NEW IMPROVEMENTS.
IF YOUR PROPERTY IS HOMESTEADED, THE AVERAGE HOMESTEAD VALUE INCLUDES THIS 10% CAP.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT THE CITY OF PLANO IS ONE OF THE FEW CITIES IN TEXAS TO OFFER A 20% HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION.
THIS 20% IS EQUAL TO APPROXIMATELY $471 ANNUALLY IN SAVINGS FOR THE AVERAGE HOMEOWNER.
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OFFER A $40,000 EXEMPTION FOR INDIVIDUALS 65 AND OVER OR DISABLED PLUS A 65 AND OVER TAX FREEZE, WHICH WILL FREEZE THE AMOUNT OF TAXES OWED EACH YEAR.AT THAT LEVEL, NO CITIZEN WITH THE FREEZE WILL SEE ANY INCREASE IN THEIR TAX BILL FROM THE CITY WHILE THEIR FREEZE IS IN PLACE.
FORMS FOR ALL THESE EXEMPTIONS CAN BE FOUND ONLINE AT YOUR DESIGNATED CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT WEBSITE.
SALES TAX HAS RECOVERED QUITE NICELY IN THE CURRENT ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT AND WE ARE PROJECTING TO COLLECT $114 MILLION FROM THIS REVENUE SOURCE THIS YEAR.
INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR IS 110 MILLION BASED ON COUNCIL'S POLICY OF PROJECTING SALES TAX BASED ON A THREE YEAR AVERAGE, LESS ANY AUDIT ADJUSTMENTS PLUS AN INFLATIONARY RATE.
THE MAJORITY OF THE DISCUSSION HAS BEEN REGARDING THE C CITY'S GENERAL FUND, WHERE PROPERTY TAXES AND SALES TAXES ARE AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF REVENUE THIS YEAR.
WE NEED TO MAKE NOTE THAT OUR COSTS IN THE WATER AND SEWER FUND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES FUND HAVE INCREASED DUE TO OUR CONTRACTS WITH NORTH TEXAS MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT PLUS OTHER FACTORS UNDER THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CONDITIONS.
THESE ENTERPRISE FUNDS ARE EXPERIENCING SIMILAR ISSUES OF INFLATIONARY PRESSURES, SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES, LABOR ISSUES, INCREASED SERVICE DEMANDS, WHICH ARE DRIVING THEIR COSTS.
AS WE REPORTED TO COUNCIL DURING LAST WEEK'S BUDGET WORK SESSION, THE CITY MANAGERS RECOMMENDED BUDGET PASSES THROUGH THESE INCREASED COSTS INTO THE RATES OF OUR RESIDENTS AND CORPORATIONS THAT PAY FOR THE SERVICE.
THE 2324 RECOMMENDED BUDGET WAS PRESENTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL ON JULY 26.
WE ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BUDGET PROCESS BEGINNING THIS EVENING WITH THIS TOWN HALL MEETING AND NEXT MONDAY, AUGUST 28TH FOR A SCHEDULED PUBLIC HEARING ON THE RECOMMENDED BUDGET, THE COMMUNITY INVESTMENT PROGRAM AND THE TAX RATE.
THE CITY'S COUNCIL IS SCHEDULED TO ADOPT THE OPERATING BUDGET AND C I P AND SET THE TAX RATE ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11TH.
THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL WELCOME YOUR FEEDBACK REGARDING THE 2324 BUDGET AND PROPOSED COMMUNITY INVESTMENT PROGRAM.
PLEASE VISIT PLANO.GOV/BUDGET TO VIEW DETAILED INFORMATION.
IN ADDITION, ALL THIS INFORMATION IS LOCATED AT ALL YOUR LIBRARIES.
THANK YOU FOR THAT OVERVIEW, KAREN.
IAN, LET'S BEGIN TAKING QUESTIONS FROM OUR VIEWERS.
THANK YOU AGAIN, KAREN, AND THANKS TO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE JOINED US VIA PHONE OR STREAMING OR TV TONIGHT.
REMEMBER THAT IF YOU ARE ON THE PHONE WITH US, YOU CAN SUBMIT A QUESTION BY PRESSING ZERO.
YOU CAN ALSO GIVE US YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS FOR UPDATES BY PRESSING SEVEN.
IF YOU'RE STREAMING ON PLANO TV.ORG OR WATCHING ON PLANO TV, YOU CAN SUBMIT A QUESTION VIA TWITTER USING THE HASHTAG PLANO TOWN HALL.
IF YOU'RE JOINING US VIA FACEBOOK OR YOUTUBE, GO AHEAD AND SUBMIT QUESTION THE COMMENTS IN THAT VIDEO FEED.
WE'VE GOT OUR FIRST QUESTION COMING TO US FROM JAY IN SPRING RIDGE WHO ASKED ME TO READ HIS QUESTION AND HE SAYS, WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET THE FUNDING TO HAVE ALL PLANO ROADS TOP WITH ASPHALT? WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO DO THIS WHOLE PROCESS AND HOW CAN WE GET FUNDING FOR THAT? AND I THINK FOR THIS ANSWER, WE'RE GONNA GO TO DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS, DAN PRENDERGAST.
YEAH, THIS IS DAN PRENDERGAST, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS.
SO THE 2021 BOMB PROGRAM APPROVED A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS TO REPAIR AND OVERLAY OUR MAJOR STREETS, AND THAT DOES ABOUT 50 MILES OF OUR 200 MILE, UH, MAJOR ROADWAY NETWORK, SO ABOUT 25%.
UH, SO TO OVERLAY AND REPAIR ALL OF OUR MAJOR STREETS, YOU'D BE LOOKING TODAY'S DOLLARS ABOUT 400 TO $500 MILLION.
UM, WE CAN'T DO ALL THAT WORK IN ONE, TWO, OR EVEN THREE YEARS.
SO WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS ABOUT 10 MILES PER YEAR OVER OUR 20 YEAR PROGRAM, AND THAT WAY WE'RE ABLE TO REHAB THE ROADS AGAIN ON A SEQUENTIAL SCHEDULE AND NOT HAVE TOO MUCH GOING ON AT ONE POINT IN TIME.
THANKS FOR OUR FIRST QUESTION FROM JAY.
WE'RE GONNA GO TO OUR NEXT ONE FROM OUR TEETH AND HERITAGE RIDGE WHO'S ASKED ME TO READ IT AS WELL.
HE SAYS, HOW DO YOU APPLY FOR THE REDUCED PROPERTY TAXES SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR? UH, CAN WE GO TO CITY MANAGER MARK ISRAELSON FOR THIS ONE? SURE.
I'M THE CITY MANAGER FOR THE CITY OF PLANO, AND THE THE MOST RECENT LEGISLATIVE SESSION HAD AN INCREASE IN, UM, EXEMPTIONS FOR, UH, FOR PROPERTY TAX PAYERS.
ALL EXEMPTIONS ARE ACTUALLY APPLIED THROUGH THE CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT.
SO IF YOU'RE IN COLLIN COUNTY, YOU'LL GO TO THE COLLIN COUNTY CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT TO UH, MAKE APPLICATION FOR THOSE EXEMPTIONS AS WELL AS YOUR SENIOR TAX FREEZE.
AND IF YOU'RE ACTUALLY IN DENTON COUNTY, YOU'LL GO TO THE DENTON CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
UM, BUT THOSE EXEMPTIONS CAN BE APPLIED
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AND FOUND ON THEIR WEBSITES.AND IF YOU HAVE ANY ISSUES, FEEL FREE TO CALL THE CITY OF PLANO.
WE'LL BE HAPPY TO POINT YOU IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR THE WEBSITE TO MAKE SURE YOU GET THOSE APPLICATIONS IN.
THANK YOU AGAIN, MUCH APPRECIATED.
THANK YOU FOR THE ANSWER, MARK, AND WE'LL GO TO OUR NEXT ONE FROM WALLACE IN LOS RIOS, WHO I BELIEVE IS HAPPY TO JOIN US LIVE ON THE LINE.
HEY WALLACE, WELCOME TO THE CALL.
WHAT'S YOUR QUESTION? UH, IT'S VERY SIMPLE.
I'VE LIVED IN PLANO SINCE 1974 AND I'M VERY CURIOUS TO KNOW THAT REASON FOR WIDENING SHILOH ROAD BETWEEN 5 44 AND PARKER.
AGAIN, I'VE LIVED IN THE AREA OF 40 YEARS.
I NEVER EXPERIENCED ANY TRAFFIC ISSUES AT ALL ON THAT ROAD.
I NEVER SAW MUCH TRAFFIC EVER.
AND I'M JUST CURIOUS TO KNOW IF WHAT STUDY WAS DONE TO SUGGEST THAT THAT MASSIVE UNDERTAKING NEEDED TO BE DONE? HELLO? ALRIGHT.
AND FOR THIS ANSWER, I THINK YOU WALLACE, FOR THIS ANSWER, I THINK WE'RE GONNA GO TO DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING CALEB THORNHILL.
YEAH, THANKS IAN AND THANK YOU WALLACE FOR THAT QUESTION.
UH, THE SHILOH ROAD HAS ALWAYS BEEN ON THE CITY'S THOROUGHFARE PLAN AS A DIVIDED, UH, A FOUR LANE DIVIDED ROADWAY.
UH, WHAT WE HAVE SEEN WITH TRAFFIC STUDIES TRAFFIC COUNTS IS THE AREA CONTINUES TO GROW, THE TRAFFIC VOLUMES CONTINUE TO GROW.
AND SO BASED ON OUR RESULTS, WE FELT LIKE IT WAS APPROPRIATE TO WIDEN THAT.
NOW, UH, THAT'S ALSO IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE DARK SILVER LINE THAT WILL BE EXTENDING JUST SOUTH OF THERE.
SO WE FELT LIKE IT WAS THE MOST APPROPRIATE TIME TO WIDEN THAT ROADWAY.
AND LET'S GET TO OUR NEXT QUESTION.
THANKS WALLACE, FOR YOUR QUESTION.
WE'VE GOT ONE COMING TO US FROM ANATO ON NEXTDOOR.
UH, HE'S ASKING, HOW ARE YOU SPENDING FUNDS TO MAINTAIN QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE? WE SEEM TO HAVE A LOT OF NEEDS, UH, WHO CAN TAKE THIS QUESTION ON FROM ANATOLY JOINING US? UH, WHO SUBMITTED THIS QUESTION, UH, IN ADVANCE OF THE FORUM ON NEXTDOOR? YEAH, THIS IS DAN PRENDER, GAS DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS.
I THINK BOTH CALEB AND I ARE GONNA HANDLE THIS QUESTION.
UM, WE ARE SPENDING A LOT MORE MONEY NOW THAN WE USED TO, ESPECIALLY ON STREET FUNDING.
I KNOW MY DEPARTMENTAL BUDGET WAS ABOUT 30 TO $35 MILLION JUST FOUR YEARS AGO, AND OUR BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR IS $87.4 MILLION FOR ROADWAYS.
UH, WE'VE ALSO HAD AN UPTICK IN OUR WATER INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING AND OUR SEWER SPENDING.
UH, MY PORTION OF THE BUDGET IS ABOUT $6 MILLION AND CA AND MY PORTION OF THE WASTEWATER BUDGET IS ABOUT $5.4 MILLION.
SO WE HAVE GROWN INTO A VERY LARGE C I P NOW BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF NEEDS FOR OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND YOU'RE SEEING THAT ON THE FUNDING SIDE AND I THINK YOU'RE STARTING TO SEE IT ON THE CONSTRUCTION CONE SIDE TOO.
YEAH, THIS IS CALEB THORNHILL, DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING.
UH, BASICALLY THE SAME EXACT ANSWER.
AS DAN, WE HAVE INCREASED OUR BUDGET SUBSTANTIALLY OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS.
UM, THE MAJORITY OF PLANOS INFRASTRUCTURE WAS BUILT IN THE LATE 1980S AND EARLY 1990S, AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS IT'S ALL APPROACHING THAT 30 TO 40 YEAR DESIGN LIFE AND REACHING THE END OF IT.
SO WE ARE WORKING WITH PUBLIC WORKS AND THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY TO, UH, DO OUR BEST TO KEEP UP WITH THAT AGING INFRASTRUCTURE AND TO REPLACE IT WHEN IT'S WARRANTED.
IAN, THIS IS RON SMITH, DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION.
I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ECHO WHAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SAID AS FAR AS THE ANSWER FOR OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND HOW TO ADDRESS THAT GROWING NEED IN THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET THAT WE HAVE SUBMITTED FOR COUNCIL'S CONSIDERATION TOTALS OVER 40, UH, $84 MILLION IN INFRASTRUCTURE AND SOME NEW DEVELOPMENT, BUT THE MAJORITY OF THAT 84 MILLION IS TO ADDRESS, UH, AGING PARK INFRASTRUCTURE, PLAYGROUNDS, PAVILIONS, UM, TRAILS.
ALL OF THESE THINGS THAT ARE COMING OF AGE, JUST LIKE OUR STREETS, SIDEWALKS, AND ALLEYWAYS, WE IN PARKS AND RECREATION ARE TACKLING THEM THE SAME WAY, WHICH IS INCREASING OUR BUDGET SO THAT WE CAN KEEP PLANO FRESH AND NEW.
APPRECIATE THE ANSWERS AND UH, GREAT QUESTIONS FOLKS.
REMEMBER, UH, YOU CAN SUBMIT QUESTIONS ALL THROUGHOUT THIS FORUM AND IF YOU'D LIKE TO GET EMAIL UPDATES FROM THE CITY AND YOU'RE ON THE PHONE WITH US, PRESS SEVEN.
REMEMBER, YOU CAN ALSO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BUDGET AT PLANO.GOV/BUDGET.
WE'RE GONNA GO LIVE TO, UH, PAT NEXT.
LOOKS LIKE, UH, WE'VE GOT PAT IN STONY HOLLOW AS ESTATES.
WHAT'S YOUR QUESTION? UH, FIRE HYDRANT AT CLOUD CREST AND SLICK ROCK HAS BEEN RED TAG FOR APPROXIMATELY THREE TO PLUS MONTHS.
WE'RE TRYING TO FIND OUT WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO TRY TO GET IT FIXED.
PAT, UH, WHO CAN TAKE THIS QUESTION ON FROM PAT AGAIN? UH, THE FIRE HYDRANT, SLICK ROCK AND PLOWED CREST HAS BEEN RED TAGGED.
HI PAT, THIS IS DAN PRENDER, GAS DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS.
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HYDRANT MAINTENANCE PROGRAM THAT GOES AROUND THE CITY AND TESTS OUR FIRE HYDRANT AND WE HAVE SEVERAL THAT NEED TO BE REPAIRED.UH, LIKE A LOT OF THINGS RIGHT NOW.
WE ARE SHORT SUPPLY OF A LOT OF PARTS AND PART OF THOSE ARE FIRE HYDRANT PARTS AS WELL.
SO WE HAVE SOME THAT ARE A BIT BACKED UP.
IF YOU CAN CALL OUR MAIN NUMBER AT (972) 769-4140, WE CAN GET YOU AN ACTUAL QUOTE ON WHEN THAT WILL BE DONE.
UH, WERE YOU ABLE TO GET THAT PHONE NUMBER, PAT? YES, UH, I'VE ALREADY DONE THAT ONCE.
UH, ANY, ANY OTHER, UH, UH, ADVICE ON HOW PAT CAN REPORT THAT? YES, THIS IS MARCUS WILSON.
UH, WE HAVE A, A RECORD PAT OF THE, THE LOCATION AND SO LONG AS, UH, I THINK WE HAVE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION ALSO THROUGH, UH, THROUGH THIS SERVICE, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO REACH OUT TO YOU AND WE'LL MAKE SURE WE GET YOU AN UPDATE THIS WEEK.
YEAH, PATTON, WE'VE GOT YOUR PHONE NUMBER, UH, SO WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT THAT GETS TO THE CORRECT DEPARTMENT SO SOMEBODY FOLLOWS UP WITH YOU.
ALRIGHT, LET'S GO TO, UH, OUR NEXT ONE.
THIS ONE COMES TO US FROM VIOLETTA ON LINKEDIN ASKING WHEN ARE THE PROPOSED UPDATES TO THE FORMER LOS RIOS GOLF COURSE.
GOING TO BEGIN, WHEN WILL WE, UH, ACTUALLY GET OUR PARK THAT WE KEEP FUNDING AGAIN, THAT'S FROM VIOLETTA.
SHE SUBMITTED THAT VIA LINKEDIN.
IAN, I CAN TAKE THAT QUESTION.
THIS IS RON SMITH, DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION.
THE CITY HAS OWNED THE FORMER LOS REELS GOLF COURSE FOR A HANDFUL OF YEARS AND WE HAVE INITIATED THE FIRST PHASE OF THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THAT GOLF COURSE INTO A PUBLIC PARK.
THE OLD GOLF COURSE INFRASTRUCTURE HAS BEEN REMOVED AND, UH, IN THIS YEAR'S CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET, WE ARE RECOMMENDING FUNDING FOR THE INITIAL PHASE OF TRAIL CONSTRUCTION AT THE LOS RIOS PARK.
THAT TRAIL, WHEN CONSTRUCTED, IT WILL CONNECT SOUTH BOB WOODRUFF PARK WITH THE COTTONWOOD CREEK TRAIL ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE GOLF COURSE.
SO, UH, A PERSON ON A BIKE OR JOGGING OR ON THEIR ROLLER BLADES WILL BE ABLE TO GO FROM BOB WOODRUFF PARK ALL THE WAY THROUGH LOS RIOS, UP TO THE COTTONWOOD GREEN BELT, AND THEN ALL THE WAY UP TO CHAPARRAL ROAD TO THE BORDER OF ALLEN IF THEY SO CHOOSE THROUGH OAK POINT PARK.
ONCE THAT, UH, TRAIL EXTENSION IS COMPLETED, WHICH WILL HAPPEN SOMETIME, UH, ASSUMING THAT THE BUDGET IS APPROVED, CONSTRUCTION WILL START SOMETIME IN 2024 FOR THAT TRAIL AND THEN THE REST OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THAT PARK WOULD BE, UH, PHASED IN AS FUNDING IS AVAILABLE AND THE NEXT TRANCHE OF FUNDING FOR THAT PARK SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR THE VOTERS TO SELECT AND CHOOSE IN 2025.
THANKS AGAIN FOR THE QUESTION.
UH, THANKS FOR ALL OF, UH, THE QUESTIONS THAT HAVE COME IN.
WE'VE STILL GOT A FEW LEFT HERE, SO, UH, ABOUT PLENTY OF TIME TO TAKE 'EM, UH, MORE THAN A HALF HOUR.
SO IF YOU'VE GOT A QUESTION, GO AHEAD AND SUBMIT IT NOW WE'RE GOING LIVE TO SHERRY.
HEY SHERRY, WELCOME TO THE CALL.
WHAT'S YOUR QUESTION FOR US? SHERRY, CAN YOU HEAR US OKAY? UH, SHERRY, I THOUGHT SOMEONE WAS GOING TAKE MY INFORMATION AND RELAY IT.
LET ME, UH, SEE IF I CAN GET THIS.
UM, I CAN READ IT IF THAT'S YOUR PREFERENCE.
UH, THAT IS MY PREFERENCE, YES.
UH, SO SHERRY WANTS TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO THE CITIZENS PORTION OF THE BONDS ONCE THEY'RE PAID OFF? IS MONEY GOING TO BE GOING TO A RETIRED BOND ONCE IT'S PAID OFF? UH, GOOD QUESTION.
WE'LL TAKE THIS ONE TO OUR DIRECTOR OF BUDGET.
YES, THAT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION.
THE, WE HAVE TO, AT THE CITY, WE PAY OUR DEBT FIRST OUT OF THE TAX RATE.
UH, THE TAX RATE HAS TWO PARTS.
YOU HAVE AN O AND M PORTION AND THE DEBT SIDE, WHICH THIS YEAR IS 11.50 CENTS.
ANYWAY, EVERY YEAR WE PUT TOGETHER OUR BOND SALES, WE PUT TOGETHER WHAT THE PRINCIPAL AND INTERESTS THAT ANY LEFTOVER BONDS ARE.
WE GO AND WE PUT THAT TOWARDS ALL OF THAT, IF THERE'S ANY AMOUNT REMAINING THAT CAN GO OVER TO PAY FOR YOUR O AND M SIDE.
SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, YES, THEORETICALLY IT IS GOING TO PAY OFF OTHER BONDS AS WE EXPEND THAT MONEY.
THANK YOU KAREN, AND, UH, APPRECIATE YOUR QUESTION.
WE'RE GONNA GO TO CARMELA ON GL UH, IT, UH, IT'S 7 5 0 7 4 ZIP CODE.
NEXT CARMELA, WHAT'S YOUR QUESTION FOR US? YES, UH, GOOD EVENING TO EVERYBODY.
[00:25:01]
I LIVE AT 38 20 GLOVER DRIVE IN PLANO.AND MY QUESTION IS, UH, THE STREETS ON GLOVER DRIVE AND ST.
PATRICK, UH, HERE IN PLANO NEED A LOT OF REPAIR.
AND, UH, WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO HAVE THOSE, UH, SIDEWALKS, UH, FIXED? SOME OF THEM WERE, UH, ABOUT MAYBE THREE TO FOOT TO THREE INCHES, UH, OFF LEVEL AND WHAT DOES, UH, C NEED TO DO TO HAVE THEM FIXED? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU SO MUCH CARMELLA FOR THAT TO HAVE THEM FIXED.
WE'LL GO, UH, WITH YOUR QUESTION TO DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS, DAN PRENDERGAST.
YEAH, THIS IS DAN PRENDERGAST, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS.
UH, SO CARMELA, WE HAVE A SIDEWALK PROGRAM WHERE OUR RESIDENTS WILL CALL IN TRIP HAZARDS OR AREAS OF THE SIDEWALK THAT ARE DAMAGED AND THEY GO INTO OUR CARDIOGRAPH ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
WE LOG THOSE AREAS AND THEN WE, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL CREATE PROJECTS TO GO IN AND FIX THEM ALL AT ONE TIME OR SOMETIMES ONE AT A TIME IF, IF IT'S VERY SEVERE.
UM, SO IF SOMEONE'S ALREADY CALLED THAT IN, WE WOULD HAVE THAT REQUEST NUMBER.
UM, IF YOU WANNA CALL THAT IN, YOU CAN CALL THAT INTO OUR MAIN NUMBER AT 9 7 2 7 6 9 4 1 4 0.
BUT WE'LL ALSO SEND OUR INSPECTORS OUT THERE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND SEE IF IT WARRANTS HAVING A FULL REPLACEMENT.
APPRECIATE IT AND THANK YOU CARMELA.
AND IF ANYBODY MISSED THAT MAIN LINE PHONE NUMBER, OR IF YOU NEED THAT WEBSITE FOR THE BUDGET, REMEMBER YOU CAN ALWAYS PRESS SEVEN OR ZERO TO SPEAK TO AN OPERATOR.
YOU CAN STILL SIT IN THE QUESTIONS BY PRESSING ZERO.
YOU CAN GIVE US YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS FOR UPDATES, UH, BY PRESSING SEVEN ON YOUR PHONE.
LET'S GET TO OUR NEXT QUESTION COMING TO US FROM JERRY IN LOS RIOS.
JERRY, WHAT'S YOUR QUESTION FOR US? UH, HI.
UH, I WAS JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, UH, THE RATIONALE BEHIND, UH, WELL, SOME OF THE ROADWORK.
'CAUSE IT APPEARS THAT THERE'S PERFECTLY GOOD SECTIONS OF ROAD THAT ARE BEING TORN UP AND REPLACED.
AND JUST AS CARMELA POINTED OUT, I REPORTED MY SIDEWALK A YEAR AGO AND IT'S, THEY CAME OUT AND PAINTED SOME GREEN PAINT AROUND, UH, THE SIDEWALK AND, AND THAT WAS THE END OF IT.
THE GUY SAID IT WAS WAY BEHIND AND HE HAD NO IDEA WHEN, WHEN ON EARTH THEY WOULD EVER GET OUT HERE.
SO I WAS KINDA WONDERING IF, IF IT COULD SHOW THAT MAYBE CHA FUNNEL SOME OF THOSE RESOURCES FROM TEARING UP WHAT APPEARS TO BE PERFECTLY GOOD ROAD AND LEAVE THAT ALONE AND FIX SOME OF THE BROKEN SIDEWALKS.
UH, IS THERE ANY PLAN TO MAYBE DO SOME OF THAT? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU JERRY.
APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION FOR THE ANSWER.
WE'RE GONNA START OUT, I BELIEVE WITH, UH, DAN PRENDERGAST, OUR DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS, AND I THINK, UH, WE'LL GET A WORD FROM CALEB THORNHILL AS WELL.
YEAH, THIS IS DAN PRENDERGAST, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS.
UM, SO WE, UH, DO NOT REMOVE CONCRETE THAT'S NOT DAMAGED OR DOES NOT NEED TO BE REMOVED.
THERE ARE TIMES WHERE IT SEEMS LIKE WE ARE REMOVING CONCRETE THAT ISN'T DAMAGED, BUT IT'S USUALLY BECAUSE OF A DRAINAGE ISSUE OR A SUB-GRADE ISSUE OR A JOINT ISSUE THAT YOU WON'T SEE WHEN YOU'RE DRIVING ACROSS THE STREET.
ALSO, IN OTHER PROJECTS, SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO UPDATE THE BARRIER FREE RAMPS BECAUSE THEY DON'T MEET FEDERAL STANDARDS.
SO A PERFECTLY GOOD RAMP CAN LOOK LIKE IT'S BEING RIPPED OUT, BUT WE HAVE TO DO THAT BASED ON WHAT THE REGULATIONS ARE AS WELL.
UM, SO AS FAR AS THE SIDEWALK PROGRAM GOES, WE DO HAVE ABOUT 700 SIDEWALK REQUESTS IN OUR SYSTEM AND WE ARE ADDING MORE SIDEWALK PROJECTS TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE THAT AS WELL.
UM, BUT IT WILL TAKE TIME TO GET THROUGH THEM ALL, UM, BECAUSE WE JUST UNFORTUNATELY CAN'T FIX EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE.
SO WE HAVE TO SYSTEMATICALLY GO THROUGH, UM, AND LOOK AT THE SEVERITY OF THE ISSUE AND ALSO WHERE WE CAN GET MULTIPLE ISSUES AT THE SAME LOCATION TO REDUCE THE COST INSTEAD OF GOING ALL OVER THE TOWN AS WELL.
SO THAT'S REALLY THE GIST OF, OF THE PAVEMENT REMOVAL PROCESS FOR PUBLIC WORKS.
AND CALEB TELLS ME HE DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD TO THAT ANSWER, SO THANK YOU DAN.
THANK YOU TO JERRY FOR THE QUESTION.
WE'LL GO TO FACEBOOK FOR OUR NEXT ONE.
LUKE'S ON FACEBOOK WITH THIS ONE.
HE ASKS, WHAT RAISES ARE THE EMPLOYEES WHO KEEP THE CITY RUNNING, WATER, SEWER STREETS, ENVIRONMENTAL WASTE, DRAINAGE, ET CETERA, GETTING WITH THE RISE IN THE COST OF LIVING IN PLANO.
AGAIN, THAT'S FROM LUKE ON FACEBOOK, AND I THINK WE'RE GONNA GO TO CITY MANAGER MARK ISRAEL SUN FOR THIS ONE.
THIS IS MARK ISRAELSON, THE CITY MANAGER FOR THE CITY OF PLANO.
UH, THE CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED BUDGET HAD A 3% ACROSS THE BOARD RAISE FOR EMPLOYEES.
HOWEVER, AFTER WE SUBMITTED THAT BUDGET, UH, THE STAFF CONTINUED TO DO ADDITIONAL SURVEY WORK OF RAISES, UM, FROM OUR CITIES THAT SURROUND PLANO AND THAT WE COMPETE WITH FOR TALENT.
AND WE RECOGNIZE THAT THE RAISES BEING GIVEN AT SOME OF THE OTHER CITIES WAS HIGHER THAN WHERE WE WERE IN PLANO.
SO WE'VE TAKEN THAT TO THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE CITY COUNCIL WILL BE CONSIDERING A 4.5% RAISE, UH, AT THEIR MEETING ON THE 28TH AND THEN ULTIMATELY WITHIN THE BUDGET.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE QUESTION.
THANK YOU TO LUKE FOR THE, UH, QUESTION AND LET'S GO TO OUR NEXT LIVE ONE.
LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT WENDY ON THE LINE.
WHAT'S YOUR QUESTION FOR US? HOLD ON ONE SECOND.
UH, WOULD LIKE TO ASK, UM, I WAS LISTENING
[00:30:01]
EARLIER AND THEY SAID THAT THERE WAS $200 MILLION IN THE BUDGET THAT I'M GUESSING THAT COULD BE, UH, UH, PUT TOWARDS, UM, ASPHALTING THE ROADS, UH, HERE IN PLANO.UM, AND IF THAT IS THE CASE, THEN WHAT I'M WONDERING IS WELL, YOU KNOW, CAN, CAN IT NOT THAT, CAN THAT, YOU KNOW, JUST, JUST START ON IT AND I'M SURE WE'VE GOT A LOT OF ROADS THAT CAN BE DONE, BUT WHY NOT UTILIZE IT? THANKS FOR THAT QUESTION, WENDY.
UH, WHO CAN TAKE THIS ONE ON FROM WENDY? YEAH, THIS IS DAN PRINTER GAS DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS.
UM, I THINK THERE'S SOME CONFUSION ON WHAT THE BUDGET NUMBER WAS.
WE HAVE ABOUT 28.5 MILLION IN NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET FOR CONCRETE REPAIR AND OVERLAY.
AND THE WAY THESE PROJECTS WORK, LIKE ON PARKER ROAD, IF YOU LOOK AT THE WEST SIDE, WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH AND REPAIR ALL OF THE DAMAGED CONCRETE FIRST, OTHERWISE THE OVERLAY WON'T LAST.
WE GO THROUGH AND DO THAT WORK, THEN WE PUT THE OVERLAY DOWN AS WE FINISH ABOUT ONE TO TWO MILE SECTIONS AND JUST WORK OUR WAY ACROSS.
SO ON PARKER ROAD RIGHT NOW, UH, YOU'VE GOT CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION GOING ON EAST OF PARKWOOD BOULEVARD, BUT LAST YEAR IT WAS GOING ON WEST OF PARKWOOD BOULEVARD ISSUE.
WE'RE INSTALLING THE OVERLAY FROM THE WEST CITY LIMITS ALL THE WAY TO PARKWOOD BOULEVARD, AND THAT'LL KEEP INCHING EASTWARD UNTIL WE HIT THE SECTION THAT'S ALREADY BEEN OVERLAY AT PRESTON ROAD.
UM, SO THE BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR, AGAIN IS $28.5 MILLION FOR THE CONCRETE REPAIR AND OVERLAY THE BOND PROGRAM OVER A FOUR YEAR, UH, TIMEFRAME WAS $100 MILLION FOR CONCRETE REPAIR AND OVERLAY.
SO, UM, THOSE PROJECTS DO TAKE TIME.
LIKE I SAID, PARKER ROAD, THAT SECTION I TALKED ABOUT IS GONNA BE ABOUT A TWO YEAR PROJECT TOTAL BECAUSE IT TAKES TIME FOR THE CONTRACTORS TO MOVE ACROSS THERE.
WE HAVE DONE SOME THINGS TO HELP SPEED THE CONCRETE UP THOUGH, AND ON INDEPENDENCE PARKWAY NOW FROM PARKER ROAD UP TO 1 21, WE SPLIT THAT PROJECT INTO TWO PROJECTS.
WE'VE GOT TWO CONTRACTORS WORKING AWAY FROM EACH OTHER TO HOPEFULLY GET THAT PROJECT DONE IN TWICE THE TIME.
UM, SO WE ARE TRYING TO RAMP UP AS MUCH AS WE CAN DO TO GET THESE ROADS FIXED, UM, SO OUR RESIDENTS HAVE A A, A BETTER DRIVING EXPERIENCE.
THANK YOU AGAIN, APPRECIATE THAT ANSWER.
AND UH, THANKS TO WENDY FOR THE QUESTION.
WE'LL GO BACK TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR THIS NEXT ONE.
THE QUESTION IS, AS FAR AS HOMESTEAD IS CONCERNED, YOU MENTIONED 20%.
FOR THOSE WHO OWN A HOME, DO YOU NEED TO RESIDE IN IT OR NOT? ARE THERE SOME INELIGIBILITY SITUATIONS AND THANK YOU WHO CAN TAKE THIS QUESTION ON FROM SOCIAL MEDIA AS FAR AS, UH, HOMESTEAD IS CONCERNED? YES, THIS IS KAREN RHODES WHITLEY.
YES, FOR HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION, YOU'RE ONLY ALLOWED ONE AND NORMALLY IT IS THE HOME THAT YOU ARE RESIDING IN.
NOW, SEVERAL PEOPLE IN THE CITY OF PLANO, THEY OWN SEVERAL DIFFERENT HOMES.
YOU CAN ONLY SELECT ONE TO HAVE THAT, UH, APPROVED AND IT DOES GO THROUGH THE, UH, CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT.
THEY HAVE ALL THE FORMS. THANK YOU, I APPRECIATE THAT ANSWER AS WELL.
ALRIGHT, WE'VE GOT, UH, OUR NEXT ONE, SORRY, ONE SECOND.
OUR NEXT ONE COMING FROM JERRY, WHO'S LIVE ON THE PHONE WITH US.
JERRY, THANKS FOR JOINING FROM EAST PLANO.
WHAT'S YOUR QUESTION? UH, YES, MY, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF, UH, ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND I GUESS, UH, DRAINAGE CONSTRUCTION ON PLANO PARKWAY FOR APPROXIMATELY TWO YEARS.
UM, THEY STILL HAVE TO GO BACK AND FIX A LOT OF THE ROAD THAT THEY TORE UP AND IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S A NEVER ENDING PROJECT.
I'VE READ THAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO END SOMETIME THIS YEAR, BUT IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT WILL.
DO YOU HAVE ANY ESTIMATES AND ANY FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE, NOT ONLY THE ROAD, BUT ALSO THAT DRAINAGE OR WATER SUPPLY? YEAH.
I BELIEVE WE'LL GO BACK TO OUR DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING, CALEB THORNHILL FOR THIS ONE.
JERRY? YEAH, JERRY, THIS IS CALEB THORNHILL, UH, DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING.
THAT PROJECT YOU'RE REFERENCING IS ACTUALLY A NORTH TEXAS MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT PROJECT.
UH, THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS PROCESS OF INSTALLING A WASTEWATER PIPE, UH, THROUGHOUT THE MEDIAN OF PLANO PARKWAY.
UH, UNFORTUNATELY THE DISTRICT, LIKE SEVERAL ENTITIES AROUND HERE, THE DISTRICT'S CONTRACTOR, UM, HAS DEFAULTED.
THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS OF PUTTING, PUTTING TOGETHER AN EMERGENCY CONTRACT TO REPAIR THAT ROAD.
UM, THAT'S ONE THAT OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN PATIENTLY WAITING, UH, TO, UH, FINISH SO THEY CAN GO OUT AND REPLACE AND REPAIR THAT ROAD.
SO, UH, WE ARE WORKING WITH THE DISTRICT, WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM OVER THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS.
THEY ARE, UH, GETTING A CONTRACTOR IN PLACE TO REPAIR THE ROAD AND THEN ALSO FINISH THAT PROJECT.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
ALRIGHT, THANK YOU FOR THE ANSWER.
WE'RE GONNA GO TO OUR NEXT ONE.
[00:35:01]
TO JAMES HERE.JAMES, WE'VE GOT YOU LIVE AND WELCOME TO THE CALL.
LOOKS LIKE YOU GOT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR US.
I LIVE IN THE ROYAL OAK SUBDIVISION RIGHT NEAR WHERE BOB WOODWORTH PARK IS.
AND EARLIER YOU WERE TALKING TO SOME PEOPLE ABOUT EXTENSIONS TO THAT, WHETHER IT USED TO BE A GOLF COURSE.
I LIKE GOING WALKING IN THE PARK, BUT THERE ARE SOME MAINTENANCE ISSUES.
A NUMBER OF THE TRAILS HAVE LIKE WOODEN ELEVATED DECKING THAT, YOU KNOW, KEEPS YOU OUT OF THE FLOODPLAIN AND NOT, AND THAT'S GREAT EXCEPT THAT SOME OF THOSE WOODEN BOARDS, WOODEN DECKING, AGES ROTS IS DAMAGED.
AND THERE ARE BOARDS THAT ARE WARPED TRIP HAZARDS.
THERE ARE BOARDS THAT ARE ROTTEN KNOCKED OUTTA PLACE ON A COUPLE OF THE SMALLER TRAILS.
AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO REPORT, HEY, COME OUT TO THIS PART OF THIS TRAIL, GET A CARPENTER OUT HERE WITH A COUPLE OF BOARDS AND FIX IT.
THE SECOND ISSUE, THE SAME PARK ABOUT A YEAR AGO I WAS OUT THERE, YOU'VE GOT SIGNS IN DIFFERENT PLACES THAT SAY, HEY, YOUR EMERGENCY LOCATION IS 23 OR 47.
SOMEBODY HAD DROPPED A CELL PHONE, I PICKED IT UP, LOOKED ON MY PHONE, CALLED PLANO PDS NON-EMERGENCY NUMBER, TOLD THEM, HEY, I FOUND THIS PHONE BY THIS SIGN THAT SAYS THE EMERGENCY LOCATION IS THIS PLANO PD.
HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT.
YOU GOT THESE EMERGENCY LOCATION SIGNS, BUT YOUR EMERGENCY RESPONDERS DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE WHEN SOMEBODY CALLS IN.
PLEASE DO SOMETHING TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH PD AND, AND OTHERS IN CASE SOMEBODY GETS HURT OR HAS AN EMERGENCY OUT THERE.
AND, UH, WE'LL GO FOR YOUR FIRST QUESTION.
WE'RE GONNA GO TO DAVE ANGELUS, OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF PARKS.
YES, DAVE ANGELS, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF PARKS.
UM, I'LL ADDRESS THE EMERGENCY SIGN LOCATIONS FIRST.
UM, WE DID PARTNER WITH, UM, EMERGENCY SERVICES ON PLACING THOSE SO WE CAN DEFINITELY REACH OUT AND MAKE SURE WE, UM, WE JUST GET ON THE SAME PAGE AND MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THE GENERAL POLICE, UH, NON-EMERGENCY LINE IS ALSO FAMILIAR WITH.
UM, THOSE ARE JUST AS FAMILIAR AS OUR NINE ONE ONE UM, CALL TAKERS, UH, SPECIFIC TO THE TRAIL SECTIONS AT BOB WOODRUFF.
UM, THERE, THERE ARE A COUPLE OPTIONS.
ONE OPTION COULD BE JUST TO CALL OUR OFFICE, UM, AND LET OUR PARK OPERATIONS COORDINATOR KNOW AND WORK WITH HIM ON IDENTIFYING THOSE LOCATIONS.
UH, THAT NUMBER IS 9 7 2 9 4 1 7 2 6 3.
UH, ANOTHER OPTION IS WE ACTUALLY HAVE A, UH, FIX-IT PLANO APP THAT YOU COULD DOWNLOAD ON YOUR PHONE AND YOU COULD ACTUALLY GO TO THOSE LO THAT LOCATION.
AND IF YOU HAVE A LOCATION SERVICE ACTIVE ON YOUR CELL PHONE, YOU COULD ACTUALLY DROP A PIN AND TAKE A PHOTO AND THAT WOULD GO DIRECTLY INTO OUR SYSTEM, UM, WITH THE GEOTAG AND IT GOES TO OUR STAFF AND WE CAN COMMUNICATE, UM, VIA THAT APPLICATION IF YOU DESIRE OR, UM, UH, WE COULD FOLLOW UP, UH, VIA PHONE OR EMAIL BASED ON WHAT YOUR RECOMMENDATION OR REQUEST IS, UM, UH, AS YOU SUBMIT.
BUT THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION.
AND WE'RE GONNA GO TO OUR NEXT QUESTION.
UH, IT'S COMING TO US FROM FRED WHO'S ASKED ME TO READ IT.
FRED ASKS, UH, IS IT IN THE BUDGET TO ASPHALT PARKER ROAD, WEST OF PRESTON ROAD AND WE'LL GO TO DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORK STAND ERGAS FOR THIS ONE AS WELL.
UH, IT IS IN THE BUDGET TO ASPHALT, UH, PARKER ROAD, WEST OF PRESTON ROAD, UM, FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR, WE ARE GOING TO PUT THE OVERLAY DOWN ON PARKER ROAD FROM THE WEST CITY LIMIT ALL THE WAY TO PARKWOOD BOULEVARD.
UM, OUR CONTRACTOR THAT DOES THE CONCRETE WORK IS CURRENTLY WORKING, UH, EAST OF PARKWOOD BOULEVARD AND THAT SHOULD FINISH UP HERE IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS OR SO.
AND THEN WHEN THAT'S COMPLETE, WE WILL OVERLAY PARKER ROAD ALL THE WAY TO WHERE THE OVERLAY SECTION IS AT PRESTON ROAD RIGHT NOW TO THE EAST, ON THE EAST SIDE OF PARKER ROAD.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO OVERLAY FROM THE EAST LIMITS TO SPRING CREEK PARKWAY THIS FISCAL YEAR.
THAT SHOULD START HERE IN THE NEXT MONTH OR SO.
UM, AND WE'RE DOING CONCRETE REPAIRS FURTHER WEST OF THAT AND SO THAT THAT PROJECT WILL MOVE WEST AS WELL.
AS WE FINISH CONCRETE REPAIRS, WE'LL DO OVERLAY SECTIONS IN ABOUT A ONE TO TWO MILE UH, LENGTH THERE.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE ANSWER.
ALRIGHT, PLENTY OF QUESTIONS LEFT.
REMEMBER FOLKS, IF YOU WANT EMAIL UPDATES FROM THE CITY, PRESS SEVEN OR VISIT PLANO.GOV.
WE'RE GONNA GO TO OUR NEXT ONE HERE FROM TOM IN STONY HOLLOW.
WHAT'S YOUR QUESTION FOR US? HI, YEAH, THIS IS TOM HERRING.
I LIVE IN, UH, STONY HOLLOW OF LOS RIOS.
[00:40:01]
I'M GOT A DEGREE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE.I'M HOOKED UP WITH CARNEGIE MELLON.
THIS IS KIND OF AN IMPROVEMENT QUESTION AND IT'S FOR EVERYBODY.
I TRAVEL PARKER AND YOU, YOU ALL PROBABLY DO TOO, AND, AND DIFFERENT ROADS.
UM, CARNEGIE MELLON HAS AN AI APP THAT SPEEDS TRAFFIC FLOW, YOU KNOW, AND I KNOW WE'VE GOT CAMERAS AND JUST, IT, IT'S, IT'S UH, IT'S AN IMPROVEMENT THAT I THINK, UM, MIGHT HELP EVERYBODY GET HOME FROM, YOU KNOW, WORK OR TO THE STORE WHEN EVERYBODY ELSE IS GOING TO WORK.
AND I JUST WANTED TO ADD, AND I HAVE TO BE IMPRESSED WITH, I HAVE TO SAY, YOU GUYS GOT A LOT OF BALLS IN THE AIR HERE, SO THIS IS JUST A, ARE WE DOING THE BEST WE CAN WITH TRAFFIC ENGINEERING? THAT'S THE QUESTION.
ALRIGHT, APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION, TOM.
UH, LET'S SEE, I THINK WE'RE GONNA GO TO, UH, CALEB THORNHILL FOR THIS ONE.
UH, CALEB THORNHILL, DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING.
UM, I'VE GOT GOOD NEWS AND BETTER NEWS FOR YOU.
UH, WE DO HAVE A STATE-OF-THE-ART TRAFFIC ENGINEERING PROGRAM.
OUR CURRENT CITY TRAFFIC ENGINEER HAS OVER 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE AND, UH, WE HAVE RECENTLY COMPLETED A TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT CENTER HERE AT THE CITY HALL WITH THE STATE-OF-THE-ART EQUIPMENT, WHICH ENABLES US TO, UH, VIEW, UH, SEVERAL OF OUR INTERSECTIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
THE BETTER NEWS IS WE HAVE ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT GOING IN.
UH, PART OF THAT IS A NEW FIBER, UH, PROGRAM THAT WILL BE, UH, REACHING OUT TO OUR TRAFFIC SIGNALS AND ALLOWING US TO GET THOSE VIDEO FEEDS BACK QUICKER, MORE CLEARLY OR CLEARLY AND ALLOWING US TO, UH, DO ANY INCIDENT MANAGEMENT THAT'S NEEDED.
WE ARE ALSO IN THE PROCESS OF UPDATING CAMERAS AND ADDING CAMERAS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, AND THAT AGAIN, WILL ALLOW US TO, UH, DO INCIDENT MANAGEMENT THROUGHOUT THE CITY AS WELL.
IT'LL ALSO, UM, ALLOW US TO, UH, UPDATE, UH, OR I'M SORRY, WE'RE ALSO GONNA BE UPDATING THE TRAFFIC CONTROL CABINETS, THE TRAFFIC CONTROL SOFTWARE.
AND SO WE DO HAVE A LOT OF, UH, IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PIPELINE.
AND SO, UH, AGAIN, APPRECIATE YOUR, UH, QUESTION.
AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE ANSWER.
LET'S GO RIGHT TO OUR NEXT ONE.
WE'VE GOT ALAN ON THE LINE NEXT.
YES, UH, WE'RE RELATIVELY NEW TO PLANO.
WE'VE BEEN HERE A LITTLE OVER THREE YEARS AND WE LOVE LIVING HERE, PARTICULARLY IN THE PARKS.
HOWEVER, THE, THE ROADS IN, IN THE CITY, UH, UH, AS BEEN DISCUSSED BY PREVIOUS CALLERS, UH, HAVE PLENTY OF ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENTS.
AND, UH, I, MY QUESTION REALLY IS, UH, HAS THE CITY LOOKED AT ADDITIONAL REVENUE SOURCES TO PERHAPS ACCELERATE THE TIMELINE FOR, UH, ROAD RECONDITIONING, PARTICULARLY THE ASPHALT OVERLAYS? HAVE YOU LOOKED AT PERHAPS, UH, ANOTHER BOND MEASURE OR PERHAPS, UH, SEEKING, UH, FEDERAL INFRASTRUCTURE MONEY? I BELIEVE THE STATE HAS RECEIVED A, UH, A, A LARGE SUM OF MONEY, UH, FROM THAT SOURCE, BUT I'M NOT SURE WHETHER CITIES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THAT FOR, UH, FOR SUCH PROJECTS.
UH, ALAN, I THINK WE'RE GONNA GO TO, UH, DAN PRENDERGAST FOR THIS ONE.
YEAH, THIS IS DAN PRENDER, GAS DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS.
UH, WE HAVE USED ALTERNATE FUNDING FOR OUR ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS.
WE'VE USED COLLIN COUNTY BOND FUNDING IN THE PAST.
UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY USING DART FUNDING THAT WE'VE GOTTEN, UH, FROM, UH, DART SALES TAX, I BELIEVE.
UM, SO I THINK THAT'S $28 MILLION THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IN DART FUNDING TO PAY FOR STREET IMPROVEMENTS.
SO WE DO LOOK AT ALTERNATIVE FUNDING SOURCES.
I CAN TELL YOU FROM A PROGRAM PERSPECTIVE RIGHT NOW WE'RE NOT REALLY LIMITED ON FUNDING AS MUCH AS WE ARE JUST ON, ON SPACE AND OTHER PROJECTS.
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS GOING ON.
IT'S NOT JUST ROADS IN PLAIN ON, YOU'VE GOT SCREENING WALL IMPROVEMENTS, WE'VE GOT WATER MAIN REPAIRS THAT HAVE TO BE DONE.
WE'VE GOT SEWER MAIN REPAIRS THAT HAVE TO BE DONE.
THERE'S DRAINAGE ISSUES, THERE'S PARKS PROJECTS.
SO WE HAVE TO LOOK AT HOW THESE ARE, ARE PHASED AND TRY NOT TO HAVE TOO MUCH GOING ON IN ONE LOCATION.
UH, WE ALSO DON'T WANT TO HAVE TWO MAJOR PARALLEL STREETS UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT THE SAME TIME.
SO IF I'M WORKING ON PARKER ROAD, I DON'T WANNA BE WORKING ON PARK BOULEVARD OR ON, UH, SPRING CREEK, AND THEN AS WE FINISH ONE ROAD, THEN WE'LL MOVE ADJACENT TO THAT AS WELL.
SO JUST FROM A CONSTRUCTION TIMEFRAME, IT TAKES A, A WHILE TO GET THROUGH THESE PROJECTS.
UM, AND THAT'S MORE OF A LIMITING FACTOR RIGHT NOW, I THINK THAN, THAN THAN FUNDING IS WE'RE WE'RE FUNDED ADEQUATELY FROM, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE.
WE'VE GOT, UH, ANOTHER QUESTION COMING FROM SOCIAL MEDIA.
THEN WE'LL HAVE A COUPLE OF LIVE QUESTIONS FROM OUR AUDIENCE THERE AT CITY HALL.
THIS ONE FROM SOCIAL MEDIA IS HOW IS THE CITY BUDGETING TO MEET THE PICKLEBALL DEMAND? AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE, UH, SUSIE, OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF RECREATION
[00:45:01]
TO TAKE THIS ONE ON.GOOD EVENING AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION.
THIS IS SUSIE HERGAN RADER, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION.
WE RECOGNIZE THE GROWING DEMAND, LARGE DEMAND, NOT ONLY IN PLANO, TEXAS, BUT ACROSS THE NATION.
AND WE ARE ADDRESSING, UH, THE DEMAND FOR PICKLEBALL IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT WAYS, ACTUALLY.
UM, WE ARE PARTNERING WITH, WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH, UM, P S A PLANO SPORTS AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE SIX INDOOR COURTS FOR THE COMMUNITY FOR EITHER A MEMBER, UH, WITH A MEMBERSHIP, PLANO RECREATION MEMBERSHIP OR A DAILY FEE DROP IN THERE.
AND WE HAVE HELPED FACILITATE THAT CONSTRUCTION THERE.
WE'VE ALSO PARTNERED WITH PLANO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT.
UM, WE RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE TENNIS COURTS IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE CITY THAT ARE NOT BEING UTILIZED.
AND SO WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH THEM TO OVERLAY PICKLEBALL STRIPING ON THOSE COURTS AND ACTUALLY EVEN ADD WINDSCREENS TO MAKE THOSE ACCESSIBLE AFTER SCHOOL HOURS TO THE PUBLIC HIGH POINT TENNIS CENTER.
WE'VE ADDED EIGHT ADDITIONAL PICKLEBALL TO THE EIGHT EXISTING PICKLEBALL COURTS, UM, WITH OVERLAYS THERE.
UM, AND WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT ADDITIONAL, UH, PARK RENOVATIONS POTENTIALLY COMING UP THAT IN LOCATIONS THAT WE CAN ADD THEM.
SO OUR APPROACH HAS BEEN TO UTILIZE WHAT WE HAVE IN PLACE CURRENTLY UNTIL ADDITIONAL FUNDING CAN BECOME AVAILABLE FOR MORE OF A FACILITY TYPE SITUATION.
WE'VE ADDED ROUGHLY, I BELIEVE, 42 COURTS JUST BY THROUGH PARTNERSHIP, UM, IN THE CITY OF PLANO.
AND, UH, THANKS AGAIN FOR THAT QUESTION.
WE GOT IN FROM SOCIAL MEDIA, WE'RE GONNA GO TO SOME LIVE AUDIENCE QUESTIONS THERE IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS.
WHO DO WE HAVE? STEVE? HI, THIS IS BOB CARE.
I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE, UM, BOND LIFECYCLE.
WHERE ARE WE IN IT RIGHT NOW AND WHEN IS IT TIME TO HAVE A NEW BOND? YES, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
KAREN RHODES WHITLEY, BUDGET DIRECTOR, THE, WE ARE ON A FOUR YEAR PROGRAM AS FAR AS OUR BOND REFERENDUMS. THE LAST ONE WAS HELD, IT WAS $364 MILLION, UH, BACK IN 21.
WE ARE SCHEDULED FOR ANOTHER PROGRAM TO COME UP IN 2025.
SO BASICALLY WE'RE HALFWAY THROUGH THE CYCLE, BUT WE WILL BE STARTING THE NEW PROGRAM, UH, THE FIRST OF 2024.
YOU HAVE ANOTHER BUDGET RELATED QUESTION? YES, I DO.
THE QUESTION HAS TO, HOW HAS THE BUDGET CHANGED FOR TRAINING FOR OUR, UM, EMERGENCY SERVICES LIKE POLICE AND FIRE? UH, SAM GRAFF, UH, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, UH, FOR THE PUBLIC SAFETY GROUP.
UM, PUBLIC SAFETY FOR POLICE, FIRE EMERGENCY 9 1 1.
UH, ALL OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT SET ASIDE FOR TRAINING.
UH, I CAN TELL YOU THAT THROUGH OUR ACCREDITATION PROCESS FOR CLEA FOR THE POLICE, C F A I FOR THE FIRE, UH, PART OF BEING ABLE TO ATTAIN THOSE ACCREDITATIONS IS THAT YOU, UH, ARE WELL-TRAINED IN BEST PRACTICES AND THAT YOU'RE CONSTANTLY WORKING TOGETHER AS WELL AS, UH, OUR DRILLS THAT WE DO.
SO WE'RE, I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBERS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, BUT I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT IT IN ANY COMPARABLE THAT YOU WANT TO GO WITH, UH, WE, WE HAVE, UH, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FUNDING SET ASIDE FOR TRAINING AND WE CONTINUALLY TO DO THAT ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
AND BOB, I'D JUST ADD IN REAL QUICK, THIS IS MARCUS WILSON, CITY MANAGER.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE ADDED A, UH, A SIGNIFICANT P STAR TRAINING, UM, UH, TRAINING CATALOG WITH THE ADDITION OF THE NEW FIRE TRAINING CENTER.
UM, BUT WE'RE STILL IN REALLY THE FIRST YEAR, UH, OF THAT, OF UNDERSTANDING THAT TRAINING CENTER AND WHAT IT CAN DO FOR US.
AND SO I EXPECT THAT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS WE'LL CONTINUE TO ADD PROPS AND CONTINUE TO ADD TRAINING CURRICULUM TO, UM, TO THAT FIRE TRAINING CENTER TO ENSURE THAT OUR PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS HAVE THE BEST TRAINING AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THAT THEY GO HOME EVERY NIGHT SAFE AND SOUND.
UM, I'LL ALSO COMMIT TO YOU THAT IN THE PROCESS OF FACILITY STUDY AND TWO OF THE, UM, OR ONE OF THE, THE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS OUR POLICE TRAINING CENTER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT AND HAVE THE RIGHT FACILITY NEEDED TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, OUR POLICE OFFICERS HAVE THE TRAINING THAT THEY NEED AS WELL.
SO JUST LETTING YOU KNOW OF THOSE TWO THINGS AS WELL.
UH, I KNOW WE'VE GOT ANOTHER LIVE AUDIENCE QUESTION COMING IN A MOMENT, BUT WE'RE GONNA GO BACK TO THE PHONES FOR JIM WHO HAS BEEN PATIENTLY WAITING.
JIM, WHAT'S YOUR QUESTION FOR US? UH, YEAH, IT'S KIND OF GOING OFF.
WHAT, UH, TOM HINTED ABOUT ALTERNATE REVENUES.
UH, RECENTLY PLANO HAS BEEN IDENTIFI IN SEVERAL NEWS ARTICLES AS BEING ONE OF THE HIGHEST COSTS OF LIVING
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INCREASES FOR THIS YEAR.IN FACT, IT'S 22% ABOVE THE NATIONAL AVERAGE.
UH, COUPLED THAT WITH, YOU KNOW, 10% INCREASES WITH OUR PROPERTY, UH, APPRAISALS, WHAT IS PLANO DOING TO HELP THE RESIDENTS HERE THAT ACTUALLY OWN THE HOMES SUFFERING THE DOUBLE BURDEN, UM, AND DECREASING THE COST.
UM, I HEAR, AND I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE'S A LOT OF EXPENSES, UH, A LOT OF UPKEEP, A LOT OF ROAD WORK, UH, BUT WHAT CAN THIS, UH, THE CITY BUDGET MANAGER LET PLANO RESIDENTS LIKE ME KNOW WHERE DID THEY CUT COSTS THIS YEAR? WHAT CAN THEY TOUT AND SAY TO US, HEY, BUT THIS IS WHERE WE CUT.
WHERE ARE WE TRYING TO HELP THE PEOPLE OF PLANO AND NOT BE 22% ABOVE THE NATIONAL AVERAGE HERE? HI JIM, THIS IS MARCUS MUCH JIM.
THIS IS MARK WILSON, THE CITY MANAGER, AND, UM, APPRECIATE THE QUESTION AND, AND UNDERSTAND, UM, YOU KNOW, INFLATIONARY COSTS AND THE IMPACTS THAT, UH, THAT OUR CITIZENS HAVE UNDERGONE, ESPECIALLY OVER THE, THE LAST COUPLE YEARS REALLY SINCE C O.
UM, A COUPLE THINGS THAT I WOULD SHARE WITH YOU AS THE CITY HAS BEEN AT, UM, OR AROUND THE EFFECTIVE TAX RATE FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS, AND THAT MEANS FOR THE AVERAGE TAXPAYER, THEIR TAX BILL FROM THE CITY OF PLANO, UH, HAS BEEN FLAT FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS.
NOW WE UNDERSTAND THAT YOU GET A CONSOLIDATED TAX BILL, SO YOU ACTUALLY GET A TAX ONE TAX BILL FOR ALL FOUR ENTITIES.
YOU GET IT FOR THE COLLEGE SEND, UH, EXCUSE ME, COLLIN COLLEGE, THE, UM, COUNTY.
SO COLLIN COUNTY, YOU GET IT FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT YOU BELONG TO AND THEN YOU GET IT FOR THE CITY OF PLANO.
BUT THE CITY OF PLANO ONLY CON, CON CONTROLS OUR PORTION OF THAT.
AND OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS, LIKE WE SAID, WE'VE HELD THAT, UH, FLAT FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS.
SO WE HAVE LOOKED AT WHERE WE CAN IMPACT, UH, THE COMMUNITY AND WE ALSO LOOK AT THE SERVICES AND HOW, UH, THOSE SERVICE DEMANDS ARE COMING IN FROM THE CITY.
SO WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR AREAS THAT WE CAN BE MORE EFFICIENT, WAYS THAT WE CAN DELIVER SERVICES THAT, UH, KEEP COSTS AT A MINIMUM, BUT WE RECOGNIZE ALSO WHEN THOSE SERVICE DEMANDS INCREASED, LIKE LAST YEAR WHEN WE ADDED TWO AMBULANCES BECAUSE OF INCREASED, UH, CALLS FOR SERVICE FOR OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT.
AND WE LOOK AT THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S, UH, CREATING A BACKLOG, UM, FOR WORK, FOR THE NUMBER OF STREETS THAT NEED TO BE IMPROVED.
SO WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE ALSO RESPOND TO THOSE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ADDING IN THE SERVICES, IN THE RESOURCES NEEDED TO RESPOND TO THOSE SERVICE NEEDS.
SO WE APPRECIATE THE THE QUESTION VERY MUCH AND HOPE THAT PROVIDES YOU WITH AN ANSWER.
THANK YOU SO MUCH AND I APPRECIATE YOU JIM.
THANKS FOR BEING, UH, WITH US ON THIS FORUM TODAY.
WE'RE GONNA GO BACK TO OUR LIVE AUDIENCE FOR THIS NEXT ONE.
HOW, HOW ARE YOU? UM, WE JUST, MY WIFE AND I, WE JUST MOVED HERE FROM ORLANDO, FLORIDA, AND SO WE'RE NOW BECOMING TEXANS.
UH, BUT UM, I WANTED TO ASK YOU A QUESTION.
ONE OF THE CALLERS WAS, WAS TALKING ABOUT, WHICH IS A CONCERN TO ME.
UH, IT'S A LOT DIFFERENT THAN HOW IT IS IN ORLANDO, BUT ONE THING I DID NOTICE IS THE ROAD I, AND FORGIVE ME IF I DON'T GET THE LOCATION CORRECTLY BECAUSE I'M STILL G P SING
BUT THE LIFT IS VERY UNEVEN AND WHEN YOU HIT IT, IT CAUSE IT CAN KNOCK YOUR, YOUR ALIGNMENT OUT, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE A LOWER PROFILE CAR.
AND I WAS WANTING TO KNOW WHOEVER ENGINEERED THAT.
I WAS WONDERING HOW YOU JUST WALK AWAY FOR SOMETHING THAT IS SO SEPARATE AND A MAJOR LIFT THAT IT WASN'T, UH, EVEN AT THE TIME OF WORK WHEN IT WAS DONE.
SO IF SOMEBODY CAN ANSWER THAT FOR ME, I APPRECIATE IT.
YEAH, CALEB THORNHILL, DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING.
AND BY THE WAY, YOU HAVE A GREAT VOICE, UM,
AND THE REASON I KNOW THAT SO WELL IS THAT QUESTION HAS COME IN SEVERAL TIMES.
PRESTON ROAD IS MAINTAINED BY THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
SO WE HAVE COORDINATED WITH THEM, WE HAVE MADE THEM AWARE OF THAT, UH, SEVERAL TIMES.
UH, AND I WILL FOLLOW UP AGAIN.
BUT THAT AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY UNFORTUNATELY IS TXDOT.
WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN WITHIN THE CITY OF PLANOS POWER TO ADDRESS THAT.
IT'S NOT ANYTHING THAT WAS DESIGNED LIKE THAT UNFORTUNATELY FOR WHATEVER REASON.
UH, AND THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE INVESTIGATING RIGHT NOW.
THE ROAD HAS SHIFTED AND CAUSED THAT SEPARATION, BUT I WILL FOLLOW UP WITH THEM AGAIN ON THAT.
APPRECIATE THE QUESTION AND THIS IS MARCUS WILSON.
I'D LIKE TO ADD ONE MORE THING SINCE YOU'RE NEW TO PLANO, WHICH BY THE WAY, WELCOME, GLAD TO HAVE YOU IN PLANO, UM, IN NORTH TEXAS.
YOU'RE GONNA FIND OUT THAT WE HAVE, WHAT, WHAT YOU MIGHT SEE IS SHIFTING SOILS.
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SO WHEN IT, WHEN SOILS GET WET VERSUS WHEN THEY DRY, THEY TEND TO SHIFT.SO THERE'S TENDS TO BE FOUNDATIONAL ISSUES AND THAT'S, THAT HAPPENS TO HOMES, IT HAPPENS TO ROADS, IT HAPPENS TO SIDEWALKS.
AND SO THE DRIER THE CONDITIONS GET, IT HAS AN IMPACT.
THE WETTER THE CONDITIONS GET, IT HAS AN IMPACT.
UM, AND THAT'S JUST KIND OF THE NATURE OF THE SOILS THAT WE HAVE, UH, IN NORTH TEXAS.
SO SINCE YOU'RE FROM ORLANDO, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU UNDERSTOOD THAT AS WELL AND KNEW WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR.
UM, BUT ANYTIME YOU, UH, EXPERIENCE THAT IN SOME OF THE ROADS IN IN PLANO, UM, SOMETIMES A LITTLE RAIN HELPS.
SOMETIMES DRYING OUT FROM SOME RAIN HELPS.
UM, BUT FOR THE MOST PART YOU'LL PROBABLY SEE THAT BOTH ON SIDEWALK STREETS AND IN SOME CASES FOUNDATIONS.
WE'VE GOT TIME FOR NADIA NEXT HERE.
AND THEN, UH, IF YOU STILL HAVE A QUESTION FOLKS AND YOU'RE ON THE PHONE, WE'LL GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEAVE A VOICEMAIL MESSAGE AT THE END AND WE'LL HAVE SOMEBODY FROM THE CITY FOLLOW UP WITH YOU AFTER THE FORUM TONIGHT.
UH, NADIA, THANK YOU FOR WAITING.
WHAT'S YOUR QUESTION FOR US? ALRIGHT, NADIA MIGHT BE MUTED.
LET ME GO AHEAD AND READ HER QUESTION.
SO SHE SAYS THERE'S BEEN A PARK THAT HAS BEEN IN THE PROCESS OF RENO RENOVATION SINCE COVID STARTED EVANS PARK, AND IT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR THREE YEARS.
IS THERE AN EXPECTED COMPLETION DATE? AND I THINK WE'LL GO TO DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND REC.
RON, THANK YOU IAN AND THANK YOU NADIA FOR YOUR QUESTION.
YES, EVANS PARK IS A PROJECT THAT WE'VE BEEN MONITORING VERY CLOSELY.
WE DID HAVE A CONTRACTOR OF RECORD THAT DEFAULTED AND LEFT THE PROJECT, AND SO WE WORKED DILIGENTLY WITH THE BONDING COMPANY, UH, WHO WAS THE SURETY FOR THAT CONTRACTOR TO GET ANOTHER CONTRACTOR TO COMPLETE THAT PROJECT.
IT WAS A LENGTHY PROCESS, BUT I AM HAPPY TO REPORT THAT WE HAVE A NEW CONTRACTOR, UH, WITH, UH, THE AGREED START DATE TO RE-ENGAGE IN THAT PROJECT THE WEEK AFTER LABOR DAY.
SO WE EXPECT THE FIRST WEEK OF SEPTEMBER FOR THAT NEW CONTRACTOR TO BE ON SITE.
AND I ANTICIPATE THAT PROJECT COMPLETING AND BEING OPEN TO THE PUBLIC BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR.
APPRECIATE YOU BEING WITH US TODAY, RON.
AND, UH, THAT IS THE LAST QUESTION.
UNFORTUNATELY WE HAD TIME FOR.
I'M GONNA GIVE, UH, THE LAST WORD TO MAYOR MUSS IN A MOMENT HERE.
BUT, UH, FOLKS, IF YOU ARE ON THE PHONE WITH US AND YOU DIDN'T GET YOUR QUESTION ANSWERED, I'M SEEING WE'VE GOT A 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 QUESTIONS STILL IN THE QUEUE.
IF YOU DIDN'T GET YOUR QUESTION ANSWERED, STAY ON THE LINE AS WE WRAP UP HERE.
THAT'LL TAKE YOU TO THE VOICEMAIL SYSTEM.
LEAVE A VOICEMAIL MESSAGE WITH YOUR NAME, YOUR PHONE NUMBER, AND GO AHEAD AND REITERATE YOUR QUESTION FOR US, AND WE'LL HAVE SOMEBODY FROM THE CITY FOLLOW UP WITH YOU IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS HERE.
SO, UH, THAT'S FOR ANYBODY WHO, UH, DIDN'T GET AN ANSWER TO THEIR QUESTION.
AND WITH THAT, LET'S TURN IT BACK OVER TO MAYOR MUN TO TAKE US TO THE CLOSE.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATING, UH, IN, IN THIS EVENING'S TOWN HALL.
WE APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.
IF THERE WERE ANY THAT WERE NOT ADDRESSED TONIGHT, PLEASE CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION WITH US BY SUBMITTING THEM ON FACEBOOK.COM/CITY OF PLANO, TEXAS CITY OF PLANO, TX.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE 20 23 20 24 RECOMMENDED BUDGET AND COMMUNITY INVESTMENT PROGRAM, YOU CAN VISIT PLANO.GOV/RECOMMENDED BUDGET.
THANKS AGAIN FOR JOINING US IN TONIGHT'S PLANO TOWN HALL.