--------- What a shame. >> Wow. I see. Are you Okay, good afternoon. Welcome to your Fort City Council work session and happy new year. I will call us to order and I believe hand the meeting immediately
over to assistant city manager William Johnson. Thank you, William. >> Thank you, Mayor. We're going to start with a couple of uh updates. First, I want to call up um Matt Carter, Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo
president, general manager to announce the 2026 Works Stock Show and Rodeo. Matt, thank you, Mr. Johnson. Thank you, Mayor and Council, for having us here today. Uh we will be brief, uh but we just wanted to come today and talk a little
bit about the 2026 Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. will be the 129th edition of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. Uh we are very excited this year. Uh we get to debut uh the renovation project of the Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum. Uh we cannot express our gratitude to you all
enough for putting your trust in the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo and how proud we are to be partners with with the city of Fort Worth in this. I'd like to just give a little bit of a of a compliments to the public events staff, uh Allison McNamera, Chuck out at Will Rogers. They've done a tremendous job
and have been a tremendous partner as we've gone through this process. Uh Mike Crum who I believe is here and and Keith Chisum have also been amazing to work with along with Jess McCurin. Uh we we really just have taken this partnership to the next level and and I hope that you all will be pleased with uh with the
product. I I really do believe that you will. Uh it's been nine months and 20 days since we got started. Uh and I really don't I think that you won't be able to believe the transformation that has taken place there. Uh as you know, this is the first of many phases uh with the hope to have the Will Rogers
Coliseum completely transformed by the time it turns 100 in 2036. So uh we'll look forward to continuing the partnership and we are just very very proud of the long-standing partnership that we've had with the city of Fort Worth. Uh beyond that, I'd like to introduce uh with us here today Jessica
Burge. She's our administrative director. Uh Lauren Murray, she's our executive vice president. And then I'll I'll introduce Philip Williamson, our chairman here in a moment. Um, thank you for all that you do for our city. Uh, thank you for walking the line every day, uh, bringing us together and navigating the waters that that you all
have to navigate. Thank you for the long nights and, uh, and all the hard work. We sincerely sincerely appreciate it and we couldn't be more proud to be part of uh, part a partner with the city. Our show dates this year will be Friday, January 16th through Saturday, February 7th. And we hope to see you out there.
And now I'll turn it over to my colleague, Chairman Philip Williamson. Ouch. So, city council members, mayor, we are delighted to be here and and um um on behalf of the Fort Worth Stock Show and
Rodeo, there are some uh badges in front of you, our stock show badges, which which we're we're wearing here. And we uh want you to wear those with pride and proudly. and hopefully we'll be able to see some of you if not all of you on
horseback for the uh grand entry. But we do really appreciate our long long relationship with the with our partnership and and so many great things have happened because of that and and uh as we've traveled to some of the other cities uh with to view some of their
rodeos, I think people are envious of the relationship that we have here in Fort Worth with the with the city council members and and the mayor and and the stock show. So something to very very proud of and we again appreciate the partnership. So look forward to seeing you all at the at the stock show.
Thank you very much. >> All right. Next we have Brian Doerty uh for the naming of the North Animal Shelter C Animal Campus in honor of Henry. Is Brian here?
>> Here he comes. Okay, I think we got this in position. Um, yes. Uh, the resolution that you guys saw on there was uh sadly we had uh Henry passed away who was the Fort Worth Animal Care Control, you know, mascot for about 10 years. Um, greatly contributed to animal awareness as well
as, you know, responsible pet ownership in addition to assisting to raise over $5 million that helped uh for the medical treatment ward at the Silox facility. And um there's also going to there is going to be an event that we plan where you know everybody's invited and we have a uh I think we're working
on like a plaque not only a plaque but a a silhouette with a bench and whatnot but it will be an additional event. Um everyone will be invited. It'll be on everyone's calendar. Um and so we're uh honored to be able to you know give him his flowers. So that was that's where
we're at with it. Uh it's it's just a the least we could do for considering everything that uh Henry did for the the city of Fort Worth. So that's all I got. >> Thank you. Brian, you said you don't
have a date yet. >> No, no, no. We're still working on logistics and ordering what we need to get prepared and everything. >> Okay, that sounds great. Thank you. >> All right. And finally, we'll have Dana Bergdoll to recognize United Way
Department coordinators. Dana. >> All right. Thank you, Mayor and Council. Dana Bergdoff, assistant city manager. I'm honored to get to be the champion for our annual employee united way uh campaign for um for the Tarant County. And so I'd like to recognize um Andrew
McGee who's here with us today, corporate relations manager with United Way of Tarant County. Andrew, howdy to Andrew. Thank you for being here. So um we wrapped up our our campaign right before Thanksgiving and um our second annual event uh was
was a huge success. This is our spooktacular which we held on Thursday right before Halloween and it's a great opportunity for us to bring together all of the city departments into into city hall. We had booths inside outside. A lot of fun was had. Um I'll point out for the benefit of Janette Goodall. We
did have our M andC collaboration wizard um costume which is which is fun for all employees who get to work on M andC's. Um, but I want to thank the uh the department coordinators who put in so much effort to to make this happen and
um and some of us got to enjoy the the dunking booth and um it anyway it was at least warmer than last year. So um what I'd like I'd like to point out is uh recognize the top five fundraising departments overall. Development services, city manager office, park and
recreation, water and law. So they did an outstanding job uh re you know exceeded their goals that they had that they had set for themselves this year. So kudos kudos to those departments and those coordinators also then top uh departments for employee participation. Economic development knocked it out of
the park with half of their um employees participating in one way or another contributing to the campaign followed by the city attorney's office and human resources. And then lastly the highest average for each donation per employee. So, city secretary's office, city manager's office, and and again, economic
development. So, I would like to give a special recognition to Monnique Orwinsky in HR. She's the the power behind all of the accounting and tracking and helping all the coordinators. So, thank you to Mon'nique. She couldn't be here this morning, but hopefully she's watching and and knows that knows how much we
appreciate her. Um, and then also want to recognize Allison Rich with uh communications and public engagement. She helped get the silent auction going and um did a worked with the communications with Alana Earl for employees to know about the event and and to and to contribute. So without
further ado, I would like to let us let you know that we raised almost $100,000 this year, far exceeding uh what we raised last year. So if you if you don't mind, I'd like to recognize the department coordinators. Some of them are here today. If I could ask them to at least stand and and be recognized.
We've got some out there. There they are. Thank you all. So, we appreciate appreciate your support. Appreciated um support from the council offices as well during this campaign. But thank you so much.
All right. We have a number of informal reports. Um 25362 uh debt plan bond pricing results and Reggie Zeno is available if there are any questions.
No. All right. 25363 Texas comproller transparency stars Reggie Zeno is available. There are any questions? >> Council member Hill. >> Reggie, do you mind just giving us a
quick overview? And I know we're we're in process of two of the stars and kind of what that process looks like. Yes, the um the Texas controller has established a transparency stars program. Uh it's been in place uh for a period of time. I don't know exactly uh
when it started, but uh we've been able to accomplish several of the stars, five of the four of the six stars. Um and those are you know um illustrated uh in the IR uh there are several categories there are six
categories traditional financing finances uh and there are very specific data that's required to be posted online uh for each of these uh debt obligation uh transparency star public pension
transparency star open gov and compliance uh transparency Uh and then the last one uh within finance would be the contracts and procurement transparency star for each of the four uh the finances debt
obligation p public pensions and open gov uh the city has actually accomplished the star uh through the state uh controllers's office. Uh we just recently submitted data uh for the purchasing uh star and we should be
getting uh some notification of that uh relatively soon. It's approximately three to four four week uh notification period and then hopefully the only outstanding star would be uh related to economic development. So we're really proud of having achieved those over the
past several months. We were actually waiting to present the star information with the year-end close in the annual audit, but we're real really excited to present this to council today. >> Council Flores, did you have a question or comment?
>> No. Macy's got a cover there. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. Thank you, Reggie. Next, we'll have an African-American museum funding update and Casey Thomas is available if there are any questions. Any
questions from from council? No. I do want to acknowledge Dr. Bernett here in the audience. Um, thank you so much for being here and for your tenacity for this project. We are incredibly thankful. Council peoples. >> No, I was just going to ask Casey, can you give us a quick funding update and
then again, I do want to thank Dr. John Barnett for being here and for his persistence and amazing resilience in getting this done. >> Yes, certainly. So, Casey Thomas, a neighborhood services director, happy new year to you all. And the funding
update is um as it relates to the money that the city of Fort Worth allocated for the museum. Back in 2022, we allocated $40,000 which was going to be used to help fund their economic and feasibility study. At the time, the group was looking at several different
location potential locations for the museum and wanted to use the study to determine which location was the best. Since that time, they have actually been able to one um form themselves as an official 501c3 organization and then
they have also selected a SLI site, purchase a site across from Texas Wesleyan University. And so the need for the FES feasibility study went away. And so the museum has requested that they be able to use the $40,000 that was allocated towards their construction
cost for the museum. And so we are recommending um because the funds that were used are capital dollars and so we think that the the requested use is in line with the funds and so we are requesting that we be able to change the use of the funds and also to be able to
pay the museum directly now that they're a 501c3 organization. Before we were going to go through the North Texas um community foundation. >> Thank you. >> All right. Stay there Casey. We have property tax exemption requests
for existing affordable housing properties and Casey Thomas is available if there any questions. >> Council Rebeck. Yeah, I just I want to clarify the um the apartments that are eligible today. Are they currently are eligible
to request this? Are they currently what we would consider affordable today or does this allow them to move into the affordability category? So, the four that we have received so far are all affordable um multif family
developments. Now, they're either 60% um area median income or lower. So, they are all currently affordable housing projects. >> Okay. And if we were um and I read your recommendation, given the tax shortfall, you recommend we not do that, but in the future um maybe if we have better, you
know, better years and we're looking at it, does this allow this tax exemption? Is there a requirement that the um the affordability rates be adjusted within the apartment complex that's already affordable? As it relates to the tax
code, it does not have any requirements specific to what the rents look like. Um it's just providing the tax exemption. Um so yeah, so that's what I would say. So there's no econom there's no financial requirement. And I will say one of the
um multif family developments they are also looking to get housing tax credits and so by if they are able to get the housing tax credits they are required by the state to maintain a certain level of affordability. >> Okay. But these others like we're not
moving from a 60% AMI to a 30% AMI because we're allowing the tax exemption. >> Not that I'm aware of. No. >> All right. Thank you. >> Any other questions for Casey? Thanks, Casey. >> All right. Next, we have the appointment of substitute hearing officer and
William Rmuli is available if there are any questions. >> No questions. >> Okay. All right. We have the city of Kennedale interlocal agreement to support Salt Road repair project and Jim Kazelle is
available. There are any questions? All right. guidelines on panhandling and responsible giving. Monica Martin is available if there are any questions. >> Yes, Council Peoples. >> No, but I do want to thank Deputy Chief
Martin and her team for the work that they've done around the panhandling initiative. Uh I had a huge problem on the east side of East Chase and uh had complaints from many neighborhoods there. uh Monica Martin, Deputy Chief
Martin and her team put together a detail and I went through there the last two weeks of the year and it was absolutely clear and this has nothing to do with people in need not getting money but I just wanted to make sure that uh
residents weren't being disturbed by this. All right. Next, we'll have installation of panic alarms in local YMCA's and Buck Wheeler available. There any questions? Council member Nettles. >> Thank you. Um I do have a few questions.
I kind of wanted if you can give us a brief overview. I did read the IR to entirety, but um there was a couple of installations that happened at a couple of uh daycarees already. And then I think the IR also talks about there are a few more that's going to be completed
within this 26th year. >> Yes, sir. So, uh, just to kind of give a a real brief overview, the, um, panic alarms that were installed in some of the local child care facilities stemmed from something that occurred back in 23 that led us to identify a gap where we
can improve the safety. And, uh, we partnered with child care associates uh, to come up with a plan to use CCPD funding for those uh, those uh, daycare facilities. And at the time, I think there's about 270 throughout Fort Worth. U, but we identified quite a few. I
think 11 is where where we're sitting at right now uh as far as installs that have been completed. And part of that also I think it's important to point out is not only are we identifying those child care facilities that may need a panic alarm, but also it's an
opportunity to create uh some community police engagement. We bring their the NPO out or community engagement unit, do a site safety check um and then just come back for some routine visits, explain them when to use a panic alarm. But yes, we have two more that we have
uh planned to be installed uh within the next few months and probably several more later this year. Do you know what the cost is for the installation? Cuz I think in your IR you recommended that um we shouldn't use the CCPD funding uh to
install it at the YMCA. Do do you know what the cost is? And is there also a cost to the monitoring? >> Yes, sir. Uh so two things. Uh the the cost for the panic alarm install is right around $500 just give or take depending on what the security install
company runs into. Uh as far as monitoring it, whether it be YMCA or a child care facility, yes, they will be responsible for having a security company monitor that.
>> Okay. Um, I guess just your recommendation of not doing the YMCA, I think you talked about the funding. I talked to specifically the McDonald YMCA. Um, and I think the executive is the executive of McDonald
as well as East Side. And so, um, the the the funding or the grant funding that you articulated in here, I don't know if the maybe the YMCA as a whole get that, but not individual YMCA. And I know each one of them have their own fundraising uh mechanism they have to
do. My question to you is it feasible for us to look at areas where there's high crime or hot zones that these areas may be included in using CCPD funding for the panic alarm. >> The short answer is yes sir. It would be
feasible if we have areas like that. >> All right. Well, I guess I'll work with you offline to see if we can look at that in the future to uh help support uh the YMCA's on the east side. >> Any other questions? >> Thank you. >> You're welcome.
>> Thank you, Buck. >> All right. Next, we'll have insurance procurement cost savings achieved and Donette Murphy is available if there are any questions. >> Any questions? No.
All right. You have an IR on the naming on naming the North Animal Shelter in honor of Henry, which you just talked about a little bit, but Brian Dory is available if there are any questions. Okay.
um a November 25 report on the release of areas from the ETJ by petition of land owner or resident and Landre Stringfellow is available if
there are any questions. All right, we have an update on proposed zoning amendments to alleviate the proliferation of certain businesses, business uses, liquor and package stores, retail, smoke shops, and credit
access businesses. Unless Landre is available if there are any questions. Andre, yeah, Jessica, come on up. Jessica, >> clearly missed something. I'm not She is here today, so I'm not sure if there's something happening, but I will do my best to answer your question. >> There's always something happening in
this building, so it's >> never >> all good. Um, my main question was about the the smoke shops and cos. Um, our zoning commissioner actually found that quite a few were opened. Uh they they got their CO through I think it's general merchandise general
merchandising and it wasn't they were not declared a smoke shop whenever they opened. Um and so is there a process that we can go through to go back and verify that they're legitimately operating right now or >> Yes. Dana Bergdoff who is my zoning expert still that I rely heavily on. She
is nodding her head and she's going to come up to help me answer this one. No. >> Yeah. >> Then it just goes into the whole proliferation of all these businesses. Thank you, Dana. >> Yes. So, um yes, so development services um can go out and check to see working
perhaps with environmental services when it when it's a commercial business for commercial zoning enforcement to see if the use that is actually operating is consistent with the CO um and consistent with the zoning requirements. So, we can do that at any time and if there's a violation, we can work with work with
that owner to either change the use or if they need to seek a zoning change or a change to their CO that they have that due process. >> Yeah. >> All right. Thank you. >> All right. Next, we have the proposed
nomination of the former power plant at 411 North Main Street for highly significant endangered landmark designation. And Laura Lee Willlet is available if there are any questions.
Uh I don't have any specific questions, but I would like Lauraai to uh give council an overview of what discussions of late we've been having in regards to the power plant and the uh implications when it comes to historic preservation and how that ties in with
development. >> Yes, absolutely. Good afternoon everybody. So, the um council has the ability to pass a resolution which is on your agenda next week for designating a
property. Um for this particular property, it has been uh vacant as you know for over two decades. Um it's a very iconic building and the designation of a highly significant endangered landmark um is very similar to
designating um just a regular landmark. Um the implications are that any future um exterior changes like changing out windows or doing addition or doing a demolition, anything like that would need to be reviewed by um either my office or the historic and cultural
landmarks commission. Um and then also the benefit of having the HSE designation is the um property owner whoever wants to develop um can apply for the historic site tax exemption um which is our local site tax exemption
for historic properties um and have that exemption for up to 15 years as opposed to 10 years. Okay. Um, I want to add to a little further uh clarity. Uh, back in December, uh, city manager,
myself and, uh, Dan Beman with TRWD, I had an initial meeting, uh, with, uh, Chancellor Leblanc to talk about, uh, historic designation of the property and, uh, perhaps uh, uh, you know, uh,
discussions on what they want to do with the property when it comes to selling the property potentially. So all this ties in together and uh not not to belabor the point but just to simply say that the preservation of the property as is
uh would be of benefit to the future development of the area. Why? because a lot of that land around the the uh power plant is owned by TRWD and as partners as TCC is a partner as
TRWD is a partner with the city and the county uh on development of the island it affects us all. So having uh some clarity having some consistency and how we approach redevelopment of that area is important and preserving our history
here locally is also vital. you only get one shot at it. So, this is why uh we have our historic preservation folks bringing this to us right now, presenting it to you all so that you have a clear picture of what it is that we're trying to accomplish.
>> Thank you, Carlos. >> Um and William, I think we missed one. IR the lease amendment for 350 West Belnap Street jail facility. >> Yep. Uh Tad McAfee is available. Is there any questions? Okay, looks like we can keep rolling.
Thank you. First up, council, any questions regarding changes in memberships or boards of commissions upcoming for January 13th? Questions regarding zoning cases for January 13th or the MNC log. Okay, then we'll move straight to first presentation, which is Madori Clark, our
library director, presentation on library and community center gallery space. >> Of course you may. Yeah, Council Member Hall. >> I apologize. I did have a couple questions about the jail lease just to to better understand. I know in reading the MC that it's going to um expand the
ability to have more video magistration. I was just kind of trying to infer the capacity and how that impacts us as a as a city um from our perspective as opposed to Taran County's perspective if you will.
>> Yeah, absolutely. Uh Chad Mafy, I'm the DC over the jail. So to kind of not get too deep into the numbers, but we average right now for about the last 100 days, we've averaged about 40 arrests a day. So that's about 1,200 bookings
going into our city facility. Of that currently, three times a day, we do video magistrations. Uh the potential is 30 a day. Currently, the reality is somewhere from 20 to 25
per day depending on the day. Of those that get magistrated, three to four out of 10 are released before they ever hit Tarant County due to making bond. This will greatly increase the potential of our daily
magistrations um as well as allow for better workflow within the current city holding facility. And and the other question would be the proposal here is I think $40,000. Is there a reason why it's not more? I
mean, as far as to increase, I guess, the potential or the capacity to do even more based on just the numbers as is. >> Correct. Not everyone, not everyone who is arrested is eligible for the video magistration. The most serious of our
crimes actually are a face-to-face magistration which happen after county transfer. So as far as the potential of who can be magistrated, we feel at this time that this will help us hit that mark. Uh more necessarily won't get us
more daily magistrations, but we feel that this is a good fit for right now. >> Thank you so much. And there's also some space restrictions on how much it could the the area could actually be expanded. So, um, we worked probably year and a
half, two years with the county to try to get to this point. So, we're very excited that that we're finally here. >> Do you have a a ETA on the completion of the project or the expansion? >> We do not at this time. >> Yeah, the county is actually going to execute it. We're just they're going to
do the actual expansion. We're just funding the upfront capital for it. >> But we know that they're going to do their due diligence to expedite it. >> They've already approved the agreement and they are going to be expediting getting it done because it's in their
interest, too. >> Yeah. They've been eager to do that. >> Yeah. What happens is the run out of capacity uh to continue to accept prisoners. So, we end up holding prisoners. So, >> correct. like that bottleneck that there that's going to be opened up with this,
right? >> Yes, sir. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Okay, Madori is up now. Thank you. Good afternoon, mayor and council. I'm Madori Clark, the director of library, and I'm very excited today to present
this preliminary look for all of you. Some of you might know um previously before I came to the city of Fort Worth, I was the director of library and cultural services. So, arts and culture is very near and dear to my heart personally and it's also been very
rewarding professionally. So, just a quick overview. Um, some of you might recall that the community art center at 1300 Gendi did close uh at the end of 2025 and that resulted in less
space to exhibit community art. Sorry, it actually closed earlier in 2025. The city does have libraries and several different community centers that have existing gallery space and also potential to add more. Um, and we could
be programming this space for a variety of different kinds of community art exhibits. We um have identified a position within the library department that we think could um coordinate these citywide um community art exhibits. And so that is
very exciting because if you have the space but you don't have the person that can program it, um it's pretty useless. So, um, what is exciting about this proposed plan is that it will help address two-dimensional art exhibit
needs that we currently have throughout the city. But just keeping in mind, it does not address all of our arts and culture needs. Um, for instance, like community theater with with the closing of um the Scott Theater at at 1300
Gandhi. Also, things like music, ceramics, etc. I would love to work with all of you to find more solutions for that. Um, also the library is exploring a residence program for a variety of artists across um all of the different
arts. We would like to incorporate this into the programming of our downtown library. Um, and what's really exciting about the the downtown library space is that we um anticipate having room for a very uh nice gallery there. Um, and then
we also have an excellent ballroom space on the second floor. Have any of y'all been to that building? Yes, I see a lot of heads nodding. A really elegant and beautiful uh performance hall where we could go back to having music concerts um some theater limited theater um
programs, etc. So, we did a quick review of our libraries and you can see we've uh located we have eight locations that we feel um could expand or currently have exhibition space. Um they are located
throughout the city and we've come to a total of 453 linear feet that have been identified. Linear feet is just literally like how much hanging space like uh feet across a wall where you could hang two-dimensional visual art.
I want to uh thank Dave and Lewis and all of our uh partners at Park and Recreation. They worked um to look through all of the different community centers to identify some additional space for community centers. We asked them to identify locations that had um
15 feet of free space. And then we also added um free wall space. And then we also added 40 ft which would be um for open space where we could add movable
art display walls. We think it's going to be maybe like um four panels that are five feet each. So you would have 20 feet in the front and 20 feet in the back or 20 feet on each side for a total of 40 linear feet. So that's what this represents here. And you can see with
our community center um our estimate is about 780 linear feet. And that brings us to a grand total of about 1,233 linear feet that would be made available
for um community art exhibits. And I just I what I'm so excited about with this is I I heard from um Wesley Gentle yesterday because I started to get curious like what what was the um amount of capacity that the former community
art center had and he shared with me that they had um their art center galleries totaled 830 830 linear feet. So again, this is not a replacement for the community arts center in any way, shape, or form, but I
hope that this will be a really awesome opportunity to partner with the visual arts community to create a really cool program where they will have um some space to show their work. And then just a quick bonus, um several of the
community centers also have display cases. So that could be some potential opportunity to display additional kind of art, not just two-dimensional, but other kinds of like ceramics or other other kinds of art. Does that make
sense? Okay. Um, so in addition to having more than the previous community center, I just also have the little note here that in my research, this is equivalent to about four large gallery spaces.
And then finally, I I just started to get kind of curious about what the city, the capital city of Fort Worth was spending on arts. And so, um, did a little bit of a dive into FY25 spending
just to kind of see, um, it's a little tricky here because we don't have it all under one umbrella like an office of arts or a department of arts, but just kind of working with um, our library finance folks and of course PARD's
excellent team. Um, you can see our arts for Worth contract is really the top art spending that we do at the city of Fort Worth. Um that was to the tune of just over $1.6 million last year. Um and then you can see we have a couple of different library things that we spend
money on that go directly toward um arts and culture. I love um did y'all know that we had a music librarian at Fort Worth Public Library? Is that just the coolest sounding job? Who wants to be the music librarian? I do. Sign me up
for that. And then um you can see also we've got community center art spending. They teach a lot of classes at the community center. So that's um included in the total there. Um do y'all know about the pallet program? It is the uh
mural program down at Trinity Park. So that's included there. Um and then also just our wonderful log cabin village and then our nature center. So our grand total for spending in FY25, at least from what I could find, um was just
almost $2.6 million. And I think that is my last slide. >> Thank you, Madori, very much council. Um, this presentation could not have been more timely for me because I actually had um listed on um my list of
IRS future agenda items to talk about arts and culture specifically. Um I first want to say thank you so much um because you have done a lot with what we have given you which is absolutely nothing. So, thank you for that. Um,
which leads to my IR. Um, I would like and thank you for providing this spending on on arts. Um, what I would like to see is a a future agenda item um on our peer cities in Texas and across the nation as to um what their arts and
culture department at their city looks like, how much they're spending on that particular program, um, and where that funding comes from. For example, um I learned San Antonio's arts and culture office, which is an office within the
city, not just um an extra duty task to the library department. Um and that's paid through hot um the hotel occupancy tax. So I think uh if we want to be a world-class city, we've got to do worldass things and a robust art scene is one of them. So, um, thank you for
doing this and I look forward to working with you on how we continue to support our budding and local art scene in the community, not just our major museums. >> Thank you, Council Hill. And then, Council Member Martinez, thank you for this. I think it's a lot of work went into calculating the linear
feet and I think you're utilizing a lot of underutilized space and highlighting our local artist. My request is um as you're going through programming and trying to figure out what that looks like, would you please include our local artist community and whether that's a committee or helping do artist selections, but I really think their voice needs to be heard in this
conversation and this is a great opportunity to do that. >> Councilor Martinez. >> Yes, thank you Madori for this great presentation. Um I'd like us to consider adding city hall to that list though. We have a lot of wall space and a lot of you know free space for freestanding
pieces or installations. And so just wanted uh you to take that into consideration. >> Um I don't I don't know if it's appropriate, but I just wanted to share with you that um we the city does own a lot of portable works as part of its
public art collection. And so I am really excited. Um we haven't put anything up yet, but plans are underway to install some of those pieces from the city's portable public art collection.
So hopefully soon you will see um some amazing p you some amazing art in this building it but kind of back to my point without someone who's like coordinating this for the city we've been trying to kind of pick it up here and there with little bits and pieces but I'm really
excited about that too. So stay tuned council publes. >> So Madori two questions. Yes. So the first is you said you'd identified a person on staff who could do this work now. So, we're just going to move them over. No increase to salary or anything.
So, that's first thing. >> Well, we're we're actually this whole to to Councilwoman Beck's point, I think the timing of all of this has just coalesed beautifully. So, it's actually a position that is coming online. So um
so for your question that they will this this position is not hired yet and so we hope that the position will be correct when we when we um open it up for people to apply. Does that make sense? >> That makes sense. So that was the first question. Now the second question I have
been trying in my mind I was here when you did the presentation on the new regional library downtown and I know we're moving to a much smaller space and we talked about not having the funding to do everything. What does using that
second floor ballroom do? Does it take away space from the library from our mission to provide library services? Because I know what that space looks like and I know that's um we're dealing with a much smaller space and I just
want to make sure that that second floor doesn't take away from our ultimate mission to be a library. >> I really I appreciate that question. Um, so we were actually very excited about that space. Most of our regional,
actually all of our regional libraries and most of our, um, smaller neighborhood libraries do have some sort of program space. So, um, it can frequently be used as like a storytime room or a meeting room or that kind of
thing. With this location in downtown, we're really lucky because it's much larger and it also has a fabulous stage. So, it actually gives us even increased opportunity to do the kind of programming that we really enjoy doing
at the library. And I was not here, but I have heard many stories about the incredible concerts that used to take place at the old central library. And um we hope to be able to bring some of that kind of programming back. >> Yeah. Council member Laur,
>> thank you. I I agree. It's great timing. Um it sounds to me like we have a lot of amazing local artists, right, that really have amazing work. I know personally my art never made it past my mom's fridge. So I can't say why I I know what it feels like to have my art publicly displayed. However, as we're
talking about this too, I'd like for for staff to however we can reexamine how we do our selection for all of our public arts pieces because I'm assuming they're not getting paid for their work being on the walls. Is that correct? It's that great job. And yet we have out of state,
out of city artists coming in, you know, with three, four, $500,000 pieces of art while we have potholes and other needs. And so, um, I'd love to see some of these artists become more involved in the process of being on that selection,
uh, I guess in the selection process to get access to some of these, uh, really expensive art projects so we can take care of our own because we should be able to at this point. >> Thank you, Council Member Flores. >> Madori, I'm not speaking for uh, Artist
Elar Rosa and their, you know, capacity, right? But you may want to approach them. I mean, they reside, you know, they lease out a city-owned facility. They have gallery space. Can't speak for, you know, what they have going on, but that could be a potential, you know, space for you to look at. And then just
one clarification, you're also talking about exterior space at these facilities, or is it all just interior? >> It's all interior. >> Okay. Thank you. Mador, you may have looked at this when you did an evaluation of each facility, but do you have underutilized office
space or areas that could be converted for artisan residents at any of these facilities? And did y'all look at that as well? >> We did not look at that. >> I just have heard anecdotally and to council member Hill's point bringing the artists to the table that are here as part of the forest community understand
what they believe their needs are. that that had been something in the past had been brought up as a need for them to be able to even on a rotational basis share space um as an art studio and also make it educational. So maybe as I know you've got a lot on your plate and as as you bring this additional individual in
um maybe that would be of benefit to depending on the location and obviously you don't want to overwhelm a library or community center if they if they're already at constraint but the ones I've been in occasionally maybe you could repurpose an area. So yes, I've heard the same feedback and there, you know, there's an incredible amount of
potential. Thank you, Madori. Any other questions, council? Okay, we'll keep rolling. Next is fiscal year 2025 unudited general fund performance. Christian Simmons, our chief transformation officer, and Regginal Zeno. They're going to make this really exciting. I just know it.
>> We are a dynamic duo. >> We are partners in crime or not committing crime. >> Yeah. Right. in lab science, right? Is that >> Yeah. Right. Uh good afternoon. Happy new year. I like being in the middle actually. Weird. Um okay. So, yes, we're
here. Christine Simmons with the Fort Worth Lab here with Reggie from finance. We're going to tag team a performance on a performance a presentation on year-end performance. It could be a performance of the general fund for fiscal year 25. Um, and we will be making
recommendations for use of fund balance in advance of the closing M andC that will come to you in a few weeks. So, wanted to give you a chance to see some of those uh items. So, I'll kick us off here. Um, just as a reminder, the financial cycle just never
ends. Um, it's really year round and it's very uh symbiotic relationship, if you will, between budget and finance. Uh so for me in the lab in the budget team, our process kind of kicks off at the bottom of the chart with budgeting. We're about to kick off the fiscal year 27 budget process, which is hard to
believe. Um and of course, many departments have already started their pre-work on that. But once the budget is set and adopted, then we monitor and report on how it's going throughout the year, making adjustments as necessary in real time through budget adjustments and amendments, and also influencing the way
that we're budgeting for the next year just based on what we're seeing. Um, a lot of you know that when Jay returned last year as city manager, he reinstated monthly financial reporting and projections. And so, while we were still doing a lot of projecting and forecasting, um, we did two big forecasts twice a year before he got
back. Now, we're producing an actual monthly financial report which goes to the audit and finance committee of council. Um, and so that process has been more formal in the last year. We have a big focus organizationally on that kind of fiscal reporting. Um and it's also an important piece of what we provide to the rating agencies
as well. Um and then finally there's the future oriented action of modeling and forecasting. And so we look longterm at various scenarios. We model all kinds of growth assumptions for the city and its population and the tax base and just all all kinds of scenarios and analyses that help us with long-term planning and
decision-m. Um both budget and finance engage in that type of modeling year round. So this is the snapshot of the general fund. again unodudited financials. Um but we began fiscal year 25 with um a fund balance of 332 million uh in the
general fund. Uh from there you apply the unodudited revenues and expenditure actuals. So you'll see that we undercollected in revenue and then we also underspent in expenditures. So I guess if you're going to undercolct in revenue, you also want to underspend in expenditures. Uh so you'll see they
almost netted against one another. Um so where from a budget perspective we um plan to end the year with 303 million in fund balance. Uh we're expecting 301 million in fund balance using a little over 2 million to offset the rest of that under collection in revenue. So Reggie's going to go over some more
details about fund balance particularly unassigned fund balance and growth and recommendations there. But I want to just give you a couple of what are mostly reminders about the revenue and expenditure stuff that happened in fiscal year 25. I know this is a little small. I hope
you have it in front of you. Um, so this is the summary of fiscal year 25 revenues uh across the general fund as a whole. So we have an amended budget for revenue of 1.085 billion. Uh, and at month 11, which is August, we were
forecasting to collect just under 1.07 billion. And so then you'll see in the preliminary actuals column that we actually ended a little bit above what we thought, 1.071 billion. These are big numbers to say 1.071 billion. Um the undercollection is primarily due to
property tax and sales tax and I hope that we've done a good job of telegraphing that to you throughout the year and that you're not surprised by that. Um those are our two biggest revenue sources and they've both come in just just about under uh budget by 2% which doesn't sound like a lot on a percentage basis but obviously we're working on a large scale here with a $
1.1 billion budget. So let's talk first uh just as a reminder about property tax. So we've provided some history here for those interested in in that kind of thing. you can see the consistent growth in revenue from 2022 forward. Um, and we budgeted in fiscal year 25 for that
growth in collections to continue. Um, but you'll see that while we did grow, it was just the smallest revenue growth as a percentage that we've seen in recent years. So, our budget for property tax revenue was 613 million, we collected just about 602 million. Um and
of that 12, you know, 12-ish million dollar variance, um 9 million of that was in current collections and three was in delinquent collections. These are things we've hap that have happened before. It's just that they were happening on a larger scale in fiscal year 25. So, for example, in delinquent
collections, that's when we receive, you know, revenue from tax bills that are prior year. Um and we actually we expected to collect a positive amount in delinquent collections. Um but instead, we actually paid net refunds. That happens when someone's paying a tax bill for a property that's value is under
dispute and then it gets settled and then we owe them money because the value came in lower. Um and again those things have happened before. We just saw them happening a little more frequently in fiscal year 25. So for fiscal year 26 we expect again we're growing in property tax revenue. Um but that growth is just
a little reduced from what we've seen in some of the more recent years. Uh and that's primarily due to some of the activities and shifts going on with the Teran appraisal district. Uh same same format here for sales tax. So um you can see that we had some
double digit growth and and some of you were on council when that was happening. the growth has been slowing um and we know that in fiscal year 25 we we really did quite well for the first half of the year was about seven and a half% growth but we really saw that slow in the summer um to just about half a percent
average growth year-over-year in May through August and then we had like a happy surprise in September uh and so September came in strong but um but our growth was really more about 4% we have mirrored that growth for fiscal year 26's budget about 4% again we monitor
sales tax monthly. We actually engage with a professional economist um on sales tax and and even some of our other franchise fees and taxes. These it's just a little hard to predict and there's not really one driver here for sales tax. It seems to be just general economic uncertainty which I know probably doesn't surprise you. Um but
certainly watching this closely. Uh we did include a quick view of the other tax category that's kind of the third biggest. It's made up of a number of franchise fees like electric and gas and telecom. Um and then it also includes the state mixed beverage tax.
Uh so we didn't do as well as budgeted in electric for instance because of the mild summer. Do you guys remember that it was like a mild summer? I remember it was like July and I'm like what state am I in? Um so that does have an impact on revenue budget. Um, but on the flip side, we did better than we thought we'd
do for gas because if you also remember months before that, we had a pretty cold winter with a lot of like teen days. And so those kind of offset each other this year. Um, we use that same professional economist that I mentioned to help us with second opinion budgeting for these items too because they can kind of be
all over the place. And then you have some that are falling just as an industry like cable um and telecom. Um, so those are the major categories. There are a number of other revenue categories in the general fund. So, we have a SNAP here. The two biggest are permits and charges for service. Both of
those categories in fiscal year 25 were impacted by the development services fee increase, which you helped us do in fiscal year 25 in the budget. You might remember that. Um, so we benefited from that in the general fund. Those increases led to healthy collections. We also saw great activity with some of our
recreation programs which falls u in charges for service. Um we and had additional um fire inspection revenues. So there's just a couple of key things there. Um so that's revenue. And then a very high level view of expenditures. We um
had well we ended we ended the budget year at 1% under budget which again is like so close. But when you're talking again about 1.1 billion, it's about $12 million um in under spend, which is very helpful because of the um the revenue situation that we just talked about. So,
a lot of this saving was intentional. So, as we began forecasting throughout the year and certainly by midyear and we saw kind of the way the revenue was unfolding, we asked departments to curb discretionary spending. We did a hiring freeze as a city for discretionary type positions. So, not public safety, but
some of the other positions. Um, and you'll see that a lot of those activities and directives from the city manager's office really paid off. We were able to offset a lot of the revenue issue. Um, with some of those discretionary uh, spend activities and slowing. There were a couple of departments that
were overbudget by more than a million bucks. Police and fire, the ones with the biggest budget. So, that makes sense. As a function of their budget, they were less than 1% over budget, both of them. And both had to do with overtime. Uh so in police you know they have a number of vacancies right now and as a function of backfilling those
vacancies you know a lot of that happens on overtime particularly for patrol and some of the other key positions. Um so we did give them money in the windup and in August they still needed a bit more at the end of the year. Um so they're $2.5 million over budget due to overtime. I know the new chief is watching overtime and getting regular
reports on that. Um on the fire side again overtime theirs is a little different. not so much vacancy related as as much as uh police, but they do have disaster deployments. So, for example, you might remember the Kirk County flooding um fire was deployed on an overtime basis. Those eventually get
reimbursed. They just don't happen quickly. So, right now it contributes to their overage, but eventually those expenditures do get reimbursed through the the deployment reimbursement process. Any questions for me on revenue and expenditures in fiscal year 25 spend
before I turn it over to my best bud? Thank you. Um, this is in the weeds question, but when we do the transfers for capital and PIGO funds, is that when the project's awarded, project completion, is there a specific schedule for that, or does it happen at the end of the year?
>> Well, budget transfers for PGO and capital. >> PIGO occurs at the beginning of the year to allow each department to begin spending those resources. >> Okay. uh transfers to capital will periodically occur during the year, but those would be based on any funds that
have been budgeted within the general fund or those that are have been assigned in the general fund fund balance. Those will sporadically occur during a year. >> Thank you, Reggie. >> Thank you, Reggie. That's why you're my best bud. You coming over here? I would like Yes, you can come over here or you want the clicker. I would like all of
you to know because he told me I could tell you this. Here you go. >> Said stop. I just heard him say stop it. Um, so finance and budget have we're we're really trying to increase our collaboration and the way that we work together all year long. So we had a joint Christmas party in December. It
was so fun. And I asked Reggie to sing a duet with me and he would not. So I would like for you as council to compel him in 2026 to sing. I gave him a number of options. I left it up to him. He would have a whole year to practice. I'm just just for your consideration. Thank you.
>> Only if he'll perform it in front of the council. >> I say I say you do that now. last meeting in December next year. I think it's a date. >> All right. Uh general fund uh fund balance. Uh we are uh >> get back to
>> uh schedule to end the year with approximately 22.06% in the fund balance or approximately 243 million. Uh this next slide depicts the growth of the unassigned fund balance. And as you
can see, we've hovered in the 21 to 22% range. We really haven't grown it over the past four years. Uh this is an area that rating agencies pay close attention to. Uh the goal uh within the unassigned
is 25% of the budget. So we are, you know, significantly short of that. It's approximately 43 million, but we're hopeful to help to potentially uh build that over time. Uh but we are short of the goal.
Uh as it relates to the total fund balance, um we're ending the year with approximately 30 um million in the ending fund balance. That's made up of several uh categories. is the non-expendable
uh category basically the inventory that we end the year with uh committed fund balance as well as the assigned fund balance and we'll we'll dive into those two amounts a bit. Uh within the committed fund balance uh we still have
remaining 15 million that's been set aside for the Junth Museum. uh we have a small amount uh being set aside in the committed fund balance for uh sales tax loans. Those are loans that the city entered into with the state controller
uh back in 2011 and 2021. Those were due to overpayments provided uh to the city uh within the assigned fund balance. We are uh carrying over the balance of the FY24
capital project assignments. uh approximately 23.1 million and those dollars would be used for underfunded capital projects that where those projects need additional dollars to accept contracts. Uh but we
will we have carried those dollars over probably over the last two years. Uh and currently we have 23.1 million uh in the fund balance. Uh we have set aside 2 million uh to renovate the 18th floor in
city hall. Uh we have several department rollovers. Those are being rolled over for basically contractual uh purposes. Uh we have several other assignments um 3.1 million uh to be transferred into
the group health fund and we'll dive into the group health fund in the next couple of slides. Uh we have 3 million being uh proposed uh for combination of activities. Net force uh program uh FIFA
any uh related to any expected expenses that may come up related to FIFA and then uh the Hazel Harvey Peace renovations and we've lumped all of those into that one category of 3 million. Uh and then finally, uh the
library community arts project. Uh you just heard from uh Madori. Uh and we've set aside a million dollars, uh for that project. So now we're going to delve into the government funds. This is a draft document. Uh we're still in the midst of
the audit. uh but uh as of today uh we're presenting uh the reserve requirements uh for all of the funds in addition to uh the general fund within the other government fund category. Uh all of the funds are within the reserve
requirement. There's a slight uh issue uh with the golf fund uh where they are short of their reserve requirement by approximately 700,000 and that's related to a combination of uh revenues that did not materialize uh during the year uh
and I think primarily related to the Metalbrook Golf Course uh and then some expenses incurred uh for design work relative to a bridge that needed to be repaired. um within the government funds uh the
EMS fund and we we've set up a separate slide on EMS uh their their ending fund balance is actually 302 million. There's a pending uh M andC I believe set for the January 13th meeting where uh $10
million of that fund balance is being set aside for specific uses. uh that will then bring the adjusted EMS fund balance uh down to 20.7 million and that actually represents a 23.6%
fund balance uh for the year which is uh quite impressive considering the major transition uh that we went through uh in starting uh the EMS operation within the fire department. Uh so basically the EMS fund is in
really good shape. um you know heading into fiscal 26 uh internal service fund um probably the major area as we close out the FY25 financials
uh would be the group health fund. We've previously discussed the fund at audit committee. Uh and as we end fiscal 25 uh we are approximately $16 million uh short of required uh reserve.
Uh that uh 16 uh million uh will be reduced somewhat by the 3.1 million being transferred from the general fund. And then additionally, there will be transfers from all of the other funds uh within the government operation
uh that uh will help to support the deficit within the help fund. And if you recall, the city allocated 3.1 million of its interest income several months ago. And so that total contribution from the general fund of 6.2 2 million will
then be matched by all of the other funds uh within uh the city government. That will those two transactions will reduce that deficit down to 9.5 million. Uh obviously still significant amount
that the city will have to deal with. I know HR is working on a plan. uh they've hired a consultant to assist uh in developing plans uh to resolve the deficit. Uh but at this point it's a pretty significant uh result uh for
fiscal 25. Uh the risk fund has in the past been problematic. I believe three or four years ago it's sat at a 1819 million deficit and it's uh come into close into
compliance. Uh but a lot of work has been done within the fund. Uh and uh we're really excited that we've been able to resolve some of the issues in the risk fund over the past several years. Uh the only other operation
that's in a deficits uh situation would be the uh IT internal service fund and currently it's sitting at a $7.7 million deficit. A lot of that's the result of it being an operation within the general
fund uh two years ago got moved into the internal service fund without a designated fund balance. And so that's an area that uh it will be working on uh to pres to provide to finance a three to
fiveyear uh restoration plan which will obviously call for some additional allocations uh from the general fund as well as uh all other funds to resolve uh that uh deficit within the reserve requirement.
But those funds each of these funds actually have cash. So it's not necessarily a cash deficit uh but it is one that we pay attention to because we see the importance of having a reserve established for each fund uh within city
government. Uh and in closing, next steps would be an MNC would be uh on the January 27th council agenda. And that MNC would amend final budgets as well as make final assignments and commitments in regards
to the FY25 uh operation. Uh so that and those efforts are needed and as we attempt to close out the annual financial report uh which is scheduled to be presented to the audit committee and then on to the uh council work
session on March 3rd and that's the end of the presentation. >> Questions? >> Questions from council? >> Great job Reggie. I look forward to your performance. I as well. >> Council, that is the last of our formal
presentations at this time. Are there any future agenda items or informal reports? Council Rebeck, >> I have one more other than the arts and culture office. Um about a year ago, I asked for um a door-to-d dooror um sales registration program to be established,
and I want to know where we are in that process. Any other IRS or future agenda items? Council. >> Yeah. >> Yes. Council Nettles. >> Uh I want an IR on the My Forward app. Hearing a couple of
complaints within the city about uh posting pictures, but the app is not doing anything with it. Uh and then my second one is an IR about the NPO hours. Any other questions or comments, council?
>> Nope. Okay. Meeting is adjourned. Part: 2
Council member Beck, can we do a video check real quick? Perfect. Thank you. Good evening and welcome to the City Council public comment meeting. Before Mayor Parker calls the meeting to order, we ask that you please be seated and silence all electronic devices. Council meetings are conducted for the official business of council and to receive input from residents. Members of the public attending meetings shall observe rules of decorum and shall not engage in conduct that interferes with the ability of those present to observe or to participate in the meeting without disruption or fear of intimidation, threats, or hostility.
An individual engaging in disruptive conduct may be removed from the chamber and could be arrested for disruption of a meeting. Speakers who engage in disruptive conduct could have their mic muted and be removed from the chamber and and arrested. Disruptive conduct includes yelling, screaming, clapping, or other noise creating act. Pursuant to the city council rules or procedure, if there are more than one hour of public comments, the time will be reduced.
Tonight, each speaker will have two minutes. For those of you who requested to speak, when your name is called, please come forward to the center podium. The countdown clock is displayed on the left monitor and will indicate how much time is remaining. A bell will sound when you have thirty seconds remaining. Before you begin your comments, please state your name. Thank you. Good evening. Welcome to your four city council public comment meeting. Our meeting is now called to order. Tonight's invitation will be given by pastor Philip Ross from Beth Jeshua congregate congregation.
Please rise for the invocation and remain standing for the pledges of allegiance. Good evening. I invite you to join me in prayer if you would like. And seek the peace of the city where you dwell and pray to the Lord for it. For in its peace, you will have peace. Gracious and loving god, thank you for the city you have given to us, for its inhabitants, for its businesses that exist to promote our welfare, for its institutions that serve to seek justice, peace, and enrichment to life. We ask your blessings upon our mayor, our city council members, their families, that you
would grant them wisdom, guidance, and understanding as they take on the task of leadership. You know the needs and the demands that face our city. Please grant us success as we endeavor to promote what makes for the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. Thank you for the many opportunities before us, but we know with each opportunity comes responsibility. Grant us wisdom to know how to make the most of our resources and skills that make our community a better place. At our time tonight as we gather peacefully and reason together, may we seek not only to be heard, but to understand each other, and with our many differences, bring
unity to our community for the common good. Be with our responders and all of their undertakings our first responders and all of their undertakings, undertakings, our police officers, firefighters, health care workers, and military members that serve our community, state, and country. Give them protection, wisdom, and may justice, peace, and safety always be the aim in everything they do. May our educators be filled with wisdom and knowledge, and may you grant safety and protection in all of our schools. Thank you for this opportunity to meet tonight. In your name, we pray. Amen. Council, our first item of business will be consideration and approval of minutes from the
December council meetings and the December 19 council retreat. Got a motion and a second council. Is there any other discussion? If not, please vote. Motion carries. Mayor, that concludes all of the items and gets us to public comment. Thank you, Jeanette. Our first speaker is Peter Irvin followed by Dolores Phillips. Hello. I'm a resident of Fort Worth, District 6. I have recently been informed of the 2026 bond program specifics. It is my opinion the bond overall focus lacks the wisdom of responsible fiscal conservatism.
I urge the council to come to its senses and abandon, its support for the car industry's 100 year old monopoly on, transportation and embrace public safety through true equality of movement. Fort Worth is on a Detroit style path to financial ruin if long term low maintenance transportation infrastructure is not built. A straightforward review of the figures by the Strong Towns organization indicates that cars are the most expensive method to move people to their destinations per passenger, per mile, per
lifetime. We, residents of Fort Worth, will struggle to service the debt bill snowballing our way if the city does not support car, non car movement choices with walkable neighborhoods and sensible infrastructure projects. In addition to their fiscal, inherent fiscal conservatism, non car transport options foster equality. Car centric transportation networks isolate and inconvenience people who are unable to drive. For example, if you cannot drive, you cannot get groceries in a timely manner. We as a society discover again and again that compassion is cost effective, yet hesitate
time after time to produce concrete action. I urge the council to choose action over inaction in this matter. The the city should also consider the car monopoly's relationship to public safety. How often do those with DUIs, road rage, and reckless driving convictions find themselves back on the road with nary a slap on the wrist. Judges and juries find themselves sympathetic to dangerous drivers because driving is the only viable, reliable way to get around town. Their thoughts center on the perpetrators' lives. Think of the family. Think of their career.
Anyways, this is bad. Thank you, Peter. Our next speaker is Dolores Phillips followed by Chris Wood. Dolores Phillips, thank you for allowing me to speak. You do have handouts. Mayor Parker, sometimes in life, it doesn't require you to speak about a matter or a problem or issue because it'll take care of itself. But then there are some things that require you to roar like a lion, and I'm roaring in humility. On the first page, the handout, it has handout one.
It shows Sugar Creek Apartments back in 2016. That was a retaliatory eviction that I actually went through. Keep we're on the same page. Second, it says the Avery Apartments versus Nicola Diggs and Dolores Phillips. Then it has a second case, Dolores Phillips against Avery Apartments. The Avery Apartments versus Dolores Phillips. Handwritten is JP0225E00159, which is not on your Tarrant County web page to be referenced,
but that's also an eviction. Now the reason that's important, we went through a retaliatory eviction. That was handout one. Please go to handout two. It says 2025005723Dash1. We were put out in the element. No monies owed. No no lease violations. No anything. They ran up in there and they took bonders like this. Everybody should be concerned. It's nothing to play with. It's nothing to toy with. They took bonders regarding my mom's and my dad's estate.
And the reason and I'm humbly speaking to you, mayor Parker. They pushed them fabricated ledgers through your court. I don't know how they did it because their exhibits alone prove that they're falsified ledgers. Now, Dallas County D F 9211850 is being strong armed Thank you. And yours can too. Thank you. And I'll be back at you next month Thank you. With more. Important that the Our our next speaker is miss miss Chris Wood followed by Kendra
Lacey. I'm Chris Wood. In Fort Worth some middle school boys and girls are recruited by career criminals for illegal activities. Middle schoolers face unique challenges with developing brains, especially the prefrontal cortex, which affects impulse control and decision making. Social pressures make them more prone to risky behaviors. The desire to fit in can lead them down dangerous paths, sometimes manipulated by harmful adults. Students have shared how loneliness pushed them towards the wrong crowd.
One girl said, I hang out with bad guys because I don't wanna be alone. Her words remind us how powerful the need to belong can be. Another boy shared how hunger at home drove him to seek out peers who could give him food, even if it meant compromising values. Persistent hunger impairs decision making and increases impulsivity. The city of Fort Worth uses the PEERS program to help participants learn and practice social skills and how to choose friends. However, we can go further. Let's teach our children that it's okay to be alone sometimes.
Solitude can foster creativity, concentration, and personal growth. As someone who moved frequently in a military family, I learned to be content on my own, and it made me stronger. Also, if there are severe problems at home, such as a consistent lack of food, middle schoolers need to be taught to not feel ashamed and have the confidence to reach out for support. They need to know that seeking help is a sign of strength, not shame. Please implement changes to increase the resilience of Fort Worth Middle Schoolers. Thank you.
Kendra Lacey will be followed by Bob Willoughby. Hello. I am Kendra Lacey, and I was born and raised in Fort Worth, specifically in the Stopsix area. And by the age of 18, I have lost four people in my life due to gun violence, two being under the age of 18. This is not something I'm speaking on from a distance, but something I live through. I graduated from Dunbar High School last year, and throughout my time growing up in gun violence has been deeply normalized. I've noticed a trend in repeated shootings, especially amongst our youth. Someone would get shot and killed, and within the week, life moved on as it's as if it's expected. Children should not grow up believing that seeing someone gunned down in the street is
normal. Access to firearms amongst teenagers has also become increasingly normalized, especially through social media. My peers see guns as being displayed, glamorized, and treated as status symbols, which ultimately makes them view them the same way. I don't believe that the current efforts, our schools for our schools are sufficient enough to address the violence within our community. High risk youth should be taken more seriously rather than just being given up on or disregarded. School staff and other members of the community should be required to recognize the signs before it becomes too late and intervene quickly by offering programs that include counseling and
therapy. For example, as Chicago is one of the more extreme cases of gun violence, their efforts to help youth within their community includes a rapid employment and development program that provides an eighteen month subsidized job in cognitive behavioral therapy for men at a very high risk of becoming a perpetrator or victim of gun violence. The evaluation done on the effects of these programs showed that these young men were significantly less likely to be arrested for shootings or homicides. Programs like these should be pushed and funded for our schools and within, the stop six community. Genuine effort should be poured into these black and brown children who didn't have a
chance because of what they look like and where they grew up. This community deserves the same urgency, safety, and investment as any other neighborhood in Fort Worth. I'm requesting met I'm requesting measures that include youth focused resources in schools that target this issue in coordinated action that implements a plan to improve gun violence. Thank you. Our next speaker is Bob Willoughby. Mister Willoughby will be followed by Steven Bryant. I didn't play the video. Just talking about the, you moving the time up to five? Go ahead and play. Can we hear it? Maddie, I don't think there's much more we could do.
Moved it up to 05:00. Might as well move it up to 08:30AM. What's the difference? So, I don't know what else you can do. You robbed us of everything we've got, of how many times we can speak, screwed up our agenda. You robbed us of our money, and you lied about a lot of things. What I really wanna say is that you need to be removed from office. This is a golden opportunity right now for the citizens is to remove you from office. Don't need people telling you we're gonna vote you out or wait till you step
down because I got a feeling you may not run again this time. You ran the first time because you had to protect, Betsy Price from going to jail, and you did that with our money. And I said you weren't gonna run again after that because you did your job, and they'll give you something else to move on up. But actually you did, and you surprised me. And then when I found they put $2,000,000 in your campaign funds. I said, oh, that's it. That's why you ran again. There's the payoff. 2,000,000 in your campaign funds.
Important reason why you need to remove because if we remove you or drive you from that office, it puts the people back in charge. And as long as we let you sit there and you step down, it doesn't matter next election because the establishment will replace you. We won't get any change. We might get not a real mayor. The only way we're gonna get a real mayor in this city is to remove you, us, the people, remove you from that office. Get you out of here. And, that way, the next person who takes that office will have more respect for
the citizens and will consider us. Ain't that the truth? Our next speaker is Steven Bryant followed by Barbara Brewer. Good evening. My name is Steven Bryant. I live in District 4. I will never forget who I am or what I represent, United States Marine Corps NCO creed. I am a guardian of freedom in the American way of life, soldiers' creed. I am here to be the voice of District 4. Charles, you and I both know the courage and sacrifice in being a member of the armed services. We are leaders representing all of America. We are the embodiment of its values, making sure that everyone has a seat at
the table with an equal say, no matter race, religion, creed, sex, or political ideology. You and I both have lost brothers and sisters in the stewarding of keeping America free and safe. So why have you voted against the diversity of people, equity for all, and the inclusion of those previously seen as less than? These very things are what make us so beautiful. We joined to defend the freedom of religion, not force Christianity down the throats of our people. We raised our right hand to defend everyone's rights no matter who they are. We made a promise to ensure that everyone is equal footing and opportunity for life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. So why have you chosen to be a mouthpiece for Christian nationalism and align yourself with the likes of Nate Scott's line who demonizes any other line of thought? You endorsed Lee Wamsgans, a woman that has publicly and proudly says that she is, quote, unquote, America first while in the same breath holding only one religion specifically above everyone else's, someone who helped facilitate book bans in Southlake, making us a laughing stock. I must inform you some of the books that have been banned, and you tell me if that sounds like freedom to you. The Hunger Games, Fahrenheit four fifty one, nineteen eighty four, Animal Farm, Brave New World,
The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, Charlotte's Web, The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. As a fellow brother in arms and resident of District 4, I am ashamed and incredibly sorrowful to see this behavior from you. District 4 is watching you. Currently, your grade as a representative for me is an f. Do better. Our next speaker is Barbara Brewer. Miss Brewer will be followed by Jessica Irvin. Hi. My name is Barbara Brewer. I'm a resident of North Fort Worth. I'm here about the property at 3553 Lautic Lane.
Next slide. How do I click it? Do you got oh, thanks. Okay. So slide two. Actually, this is out of order. Okay. So this is the permit that they just did for September 30. It shows that they applied for a auto repair facility, and this is a certificate of occupancy. Next slide, please. Next slide. Yeah. These are not my slides, actually. Yeah. These are not mine. Anyways, well, I'll just go on, since they have the wrong slides. Basically, PD eight nine four has a specific use, which is approved for warehouse, outdoor
storage, greenhouse, showroom, retail, office, but it does not include automotive repair. There was a timeline slide I had there it is. Okay. So there's the timeline. And at any point of that time, the we could have stopped this, owner from, you know, making the improvements that he has. Well, now it's almost complete. He has the signs up. If you can go to the next slide, please. You can see how close it is to residents. It's 28 feet from their backyard, basically. And it's not allowed.
It violates the city ordinances. It shouldn't be there, period. And somehow it's there, and we're having to deal with it. Next slide, please. Next slide. There you can see 94 parking spots that they are planning on putting in that could flood the yards. Next slide, please. That's a resident trying to sell their house. They are having trouble selling it. Next slide, please. That's not me. Thank you. Our next speaker is Jessica Irvin followed by Jacqueline Johnson. Good evening. My name is Jessica Irvin, and I live in District 5. Like many other community members here, I was just reflecting on the past year and
just my disappointment, in how the majority of the council has just failed to listen to most of our our most marginalized population, and instead has opted to side with extremists. One thing I specifically like to touch on during this short time, are just my concerns as a local environmentalist. I've been extremely disappointed by leadership's hypocrisy when it comes to prioritizing, environmental justice in Fort Worth. On one hand, you're championing green spaces, and on the other hand, you're allowing large
data centers to be built in our neighborhoods. As you know, green spaces are critical because they improve air quality, lower the heat index, manage stormwater, and support community well-being. Data centers, however, contradict every single one of those things at a much larger scale and a more costly scale. Fort Worth cannot claim to value environmental health in our natural spaces when one day they're approving the expansion of natural spaces like Tandy Hills, yet approve rezoning for large scale data centers next door to other beloved outdoor spaces like Weston Gardens.
We know without a doubt that these kinds of developments continue to or directly impact the most vulnerable populations in our community. They increase health risk like heart related illnesses, asthma, stress, etcetera. We also know that they place an additional strain on our local natural FedEx hub into our neighborhoods only prioritize corporate interests. It does not prioritize our communities and environmental interests.
So I urge the council to protect to protect our natural resources, green spaces, and to prioritize the health of the community, and the play. Next speaker is Jacqueline Johnson followed by Chanel Johnson. My name is Jacqueline Johnson. I'm the mother of Anthony Johnson junior who was murdered in the Taryn Caron Jail on 04/21/2024. I live in District 2 represented by council member Carlos Flores. I want to begin by saying something no mother should ever have to say. I'm apologizing to my son for only now standing in front of this city council.
My family has been a commissioner court again and again, but I forgot something. We also have a city councilman, a councilman who has never reached out, never acknowledged our loss, and never shown concern for what happened to a resident of his own district. Councilman Flores, my family has lived in the same home since 2004. We are not invisible. We are not hard to find. So I'm asking you directly, why have we never heard from you? Why have you lifted not lifted a finger from my son or for the dozens of Fort Worth residents who have died in that jail?
My son lived with schizophrenia while serving in the United States Marine Corps. On April 19, I took him to Wellbridge because I saw his psychosis escalating. Wellbridge turned him away. If they had kept him even twenty four hours, he might still be alive. Later that evening, Saginaw police picked him up. Intake at Tarrant County Jail evaluated him and wrote on 04/20/2024, noted notify supervisor, magistrate, and mental health immediately. That was the moment someone could have intervened, and no one did. Sheriff Waybourn released a heavily edited TV version of the video while our family watched
the raw unredacted version in the DA's office. We gave full permission for it to be released. Instead, he ran to attorney general Ken Paxton to block it. Almost two years later, the unredacted film is deemed is still being withheld. My son begged for his life. He said he couldn't breathe twice. He foamed at the mouth as he took his last breath. If that were your child, could you live with that? Could you stay asleep knowing your city stays silent? Our next speaker is Chanel Johnson followed by Anthony Johnson senior.
Hi. My name is Chanel Johnson, and I am the sister of Anthony Johnson junior who was murdered in the Tamer County Jail on 04/21/2024. I'm also a constituent in council member for Us District 2. And I'm speaking directly to this council because my family deserves answers and the city deserves an accountability. My first question is very simple. How can we stay silent while the people of Fort Worth are being murdered in the jail down the street, but you guys expect our votes?
My second question is, have you or anyone on this council watched the unredacted video of my brother's death? The one that shows my brother begging for his life, the one that shows countless of people around him, at least 15 people, watch him die and did nothing to help, but dragged him across the jail floor like he was and still, in their eyes, a convict, even though he never went in front of a judge. In 2024, the DA told us that this case would go on trial.
By the end of that year, it's still not. Now we're being told to fall 2026. These delays are just not painful, but they're also alarming. And when a homicide case with the video evidence is pushed back years, the public deserves to know why. So I'm asking respectfully, does any of this have to deal with the upcoming elections? Meanwhile, the two dealers indicted from my brother's death have been home since 2024. How does a man accused of murder get leniency when my brother didn't? Because of where we stand, this council has shown zero urgency, zero empathy, not only
for my brother, but for the 70 plus people who have died under Sheriff Wayburn's control. And yet you again expect us to finally vote when nothing has been changed. So let's just be clear, with the elections coming in 2026 we will still continue to tell our story and the public record will reflect who ignored us and he still chose silence over accountability. Our next speaker is Anthony Johnson senior followed by Tracy Walterlin. My name is Anthony Johnson senior, father of Anthony Johnson junior, whose life was taken
inside the Tarrant County Jail. My family is living in nightmare right now, and yet this city, the largest and most powerful city in this county, has chosen silence. Council member Carlos Flores, you were endorsed by the Fort Worth Police Officers Association. You voted against a citizen's oversight committee. You voted for the resolution challenging racial gerrymandering. You even stepped in to defeat, to defend the Cesar Chavez holiday and contacted gerrymand
count contacted commissioner Manny Ramirez directly. I'm asking you right now. When or why haven't you contacted the mister Manny Ramirez about my son in two years? Let me be clear about who failed my son. Saginaw Police Department, Fort Worth Police Department, Tarrant County jailers who beat him while in handcuffs, pepper sprayed him in the mouth, and ignored his thrice twice. And he couldn't breathe. Bill Webborn, under whose leadership more than 60 people have died.
DA, Bill Sores, who has not delivered justice for years. Imagine this being your family member, your son, your daughter. Just imagine. Just imagine. Our our next speaker is Tracy Welterlin followed by Joshua Friend. Good evening. I'm Tracy Welterlin. I live in District 9. My purpose this evening is to talk about flock cameras. Flock cameras are a a public facing camera like a CCTV camera or, traffic cameras.
But the difference is in the back end of that system, there's processing that's done to recognize license plates. So they're known as license plate reader cameras. And Flock is a multibillion dollar company that, dominates the industry. I'd just like to thank Elizabeth Beck's office for reaching out to me and providing a few statistics. The key one that I wanna mention is that there are 280 cameras in the city of Fort Worth. A few points I'd like to make about privacy and legality. Seeing the headlines in my, feeds have shown me that there are a number of
cities that are pushing back, and the citizens are asking for the removal of these cameras. Clock system may be a violation of the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search because it happens automatically to everyone every day and without a warrant. There's a very interesting ACLU document on this if you can Google that. Second point is IT security. Data's valuable. Data's powerful. Companies want it. Bad guys want it. Block has experienced a number of minor, quote, unquote, security breaches over the years. And, I I work in software development, and I've spoken with a police officer who
is also a developer who's seen demos from the Flock company and has personally observed security breaches in that system. Finally, there's a potential for abuse. Johnson County Sheriff Adam King is an example. ICE has been requesting data from, cities for for this information. And today's date, January 6, should give us pause about the kind of people who might control such a system in the future. Seems we're building a surveillance system with our own, tax dollars. It's powerful technology, and I would at least like us to engage in public comment
about it. Thank you. Our next speaker is Joshua Friend followed by Andrew Torrey. Good evening. My name is Joshua Friend. I'm the president of the Greater Meadowbrook Alliance in our East Side in District 11. We wanted to start '26 with a message of thanks. There have been several city departments and individual employees in the last eight months who have really stepped forward with intense collaboration for the greater Meadowbrook area and our inaugural priorities of green space for families, nuisance abatement, and community. Cody Wittenberg, Brian Doherty, and Dave Lewis, plus their teams in particular, have been working
very hard for solutions for families. Our new neighborhood police officer, Carlos Alvarez, is a credit to the police force, and our east side commander, Williams, is a tireless champion. Naturally, there are many others we could thank, but we are proud of the early results of our allied efforts. Mayor Parker, to reference your green space initiative, Central Meadowbrook and Southeast Meadowbrook have zero green space or park space for families, while Eastern Hills has a patch smaller than this chamber. The new school after hours usage agreement, which I've now studied, does not touch our areas. There is not budget for our neighborhoods in the East Side.
We have met with the parks department and identified the green spaces that you could acquire, but sadly, there is not money to do so. So we would welcome yours and councilwoman Martinez's wisdom to help us acquire green space for families. Our diverse and hardworking families have bright futures ahead, but there is a lot to do. And we welcome all of your innovation. We hope you have a good and hardworking year ahead. I yield my time. Our next speaker is Andrew Tory followed by EJ Carian. Good evening. My name is Andrew Tory, and I'm a resident of Council District 5.
So last month, my manager gave me a performance evaluation at my job. So I figured I'd come down here today as a voter and as a concerned citizen and give you all a performance evaluation. How about that? So, specifically, I'd like to evaluate you all on the issue of public comments, an issue that I have really become very concerned about, really activated me. And so to get right into it, for my councilwoman, Deborah Peoples, I gave her the I gave her an a or excuse me. Whoop.
That is a wrong one. I gave her an a for her vote last month against the reduction in public comments along with the three other, council members, to reduce the public comments to 10 this year. However, for, mayor Parker and for the rest of the council members, I give you all an f, a failing grade to uphold one of the most fundamental constitutional rights that our country was founded upon. And that's the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
It is in our first amendment and it seems to always be the one that gets forgotten about. And, you know, I have I have come here. I have repeatedly watched my fellow citizens speak freely and petition their local government regarding issues affecting them personally or affecting their families, affecting their neighborhoods or affecting their neighbors, and offering resolutions. And, obviously, I'm not gonna agree with everything that every single one of my fellow citizens have to say, but I will come down here and I will speak on behalf of public comments and make sure that everybody has the opportunity to speak freely
and petition their government for a redress of grievances. I yield my time. Thank you. EJ Carian will be followed by George Charles. Staying on theme, looking at 2026. We're grading you guys for 2025. We give you an f. 2025 mayor could be the worst mayorship in Fort Worth history. I mean, let's just take it down. You didn't vote for the racial gerrymander proclamation, allowing Fort Worth black and brown voters get packed into one precinct so that our voice matters less at the county.
We can continue with the DEI votes where you allowed to eliminate DEI. You continue with public comments, reducing public comments. You instigated the Charlie Kirk rally, you know, when you got the copy letter for Elizabeth Beck, and you did that. You you activated and threatened Patrice Jones and activists. Then, you know, full circle, because in December 2024, you allowed Mercy Culture to create their exploitation center. You asked them to come to city council to protect you from the people of Fort Worth. So you just and it's not an f for fabulous.
This is this is bad. And I also gonna give an f to the rest of the city hall because every single one of you need to do more. For you six on this council, you need to quit looking like you've been get out and you need to get up. Alright? Every single one of you. And so for my county, for my district, Jeanette Martinez, I also give you an f, mainly because your seat is here because of DEI. It's a Hispanic opportunity district. And for you to not be able to stand up, public comments, that's a simple
one. A simple one. So what I'm gonna finish talking about here is today, we are not allowed to clap. We're not allowed to cheer. I'm even getting signs from the police because I'm holding my sign up. I'm even getting that. And you have a Johnson family here with real issues, and you're gonna cut them for two minutes because you don't wanna be here for an hour. Guys, when are we gonna wake up? Our next speaker is George Trials followed by Sabrina Ball.
Hi, George. I live in Fort Worth. Well, I apologize to all the people that did fast on the two minutes. I've had it. I'm through. I can no longer keep that light glowing. There comes a time when you just realize that it's just beyond repair. It's beyond restoration. The only hope we have is when we vote. I think you know I'm gonna vote.
Sabrina Ball will be followed by Nancy Estrada. I'm giving this f to the three chambers of commerce who toured Houston ISD and have endorsed the takeover and the folks on this council who agree. The TEA came here to answer our questions, and all we got were deflections and gaslighting. If the Houston takeover was so great, why did 8,300 students flee the district this year and over 8,000 teachers were forced out since the takeover? Did you talk to any of them? Did you sit in classrooms with the uncertified teachers who took their place? We've talked a lot about gains in dyslexia services here.
Dyslexia is a disability. In Houston, kids don't receive their disability accommodations, and English language learners don't receive their legally required services. Can you guarantee our students with disabilities will be served, that language will be supported? Did you ask, who is the brilliant scholar who determined that the answer to a literacy crisis is to stop reading books? Books are not allowed in Houston. My daughter is in AP classes. Thankfully, she's still required to read books. Anything under AP, no books. She read Killers of the Flower Moon.
Clearly, the Texas GOP hasn't read that book. When I asked her what she thought of it, she said she wanted to know more about the women. She wanted to know more. That's what reading an entire book does for you. It makes you want to know more about the world. But maybe that's the point. Y'all may not have read Killers of the Flower Moon, but I bet several of you have read the diary of Anne Frank. If you only read an AI scripted lesson from her diary, would you understand that she was just like my daughter with dreams and aspirations, curious about the world? A girl who was very scared and rightfully so?
Would you wonder what happened to her and her family, to the people she was hiding with, to the people who helped her hide? Would your heart break for her father? Or would you just think, here's another dirty illegal immigrant breaking the law of the country who brought her to justice? I I know that's a heavy thing to put on you, but there's some heavy things happening brought to us by the government in the name of the law. So when the government comes Nancy Estrada followed by Caroline James, Miss Estrada. Thank you, miss Ball. Appreciate you. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Nancy Estrada by Caroline James. Nancy Estrada. Is miss Estrada present? Nope. Caroline James will be followed by care Karen Matheny. Good evening, Mayor Parker and council members. My name is Caroline James, and I'm here to give you an update on results from the city's literacy roundup screenings at six community centers last summer. In June and July 2025, the literacy roundup team screened over 400 students. One hundred and fifty of these students were identified as at risk for dyslexia.
For those 150 students to receive services, they have to be formally evaluated by their school district. This can be an arduous process, and that's where advocacy becomes so important. The Literacy Roundup team and its advocates are connecting with school psychologists and teachers, reviewing testing, attending school meetings, and ensuring that families have the support they need to get services in their schools. On December 11, Doctor. Mia Hall joined us at the Como Community Center to hear from families about how the Literacy Roundup Initiative was serving children. Parents Andrea Cano and Kim Medford led the meeting, and there were 25 of us
present. I want to thank Doctor. Hall for joining us that evening. It was right before the holidays in a very busy time, but Doctor. Hall and her staff generously gave us their time that evening and listened to our stories and asked great questions. What I love about this picture is that it represents a journey. Among those pictured are Larry and Kim Medford, two parents in the Como Community Center who were concerned about their son. And they reached out to a trusted community member, Clara Kirby, who runs the Como Community Center. Clara called on Literacy Roundup and the team screened Noah.
Ken Kool, Noah's advocate, took the test results and attended multiple meetings, fielded countless emails on behalf of Noah's parents at his school, and Noah is finally receiving services for his dyslexia. The literacy roundup team is looking forward to expanding the screening to more community centers next summer and serving more of our kids. Thank you, doctor Hall. Our next speaker is Karen Matheny, followed by a group led by Wesley Kirk. My name is Karen Matheny, and I live in District 4. Mayor Parker, on 10/17/2025, you said on your Facebook page, a great city is not
just built on roads, bridges, and buildings, but on the stories of its people. The Fort Worth Community Arts Center, also known as thirteen hundred Gendy, plays a vital role in the stories of your people. And let me tell you mine. I owe my entire career trajectory to the Fort Worth Community Arts Center. I first visited in 2006 as a theater student at TCU. 2007, we brought a production to the Scott Theatre. And in 2008, I started working with Amphibian Stage, who held offices in the building and performed in the Sanders Theatre. Stolen Shakespeare Guild also used the Sanders Theatre and I started working with them in
2011 as an actor and now I serve on their board. Across the hall from Amphibian's offices was the American Association of Community Theater. In 2012, I stepped in as a summer intern for them, and to this day, I serve as their membership director. There are countless artists in Fort Worth who owe their success, careers, and livelihood to the Fort Worth Community Arts Center because of the vital community support that space provides. We cannot be the city of cowboys and culture if we only support the cowboys and ignore the culture. Having a community art space where you can visit galleries, theaters, artist studios, classrooms, and
offices all in one place and in the cultural district is so incredibly necessary for the health of the arts culture in Fort Worth. The inability to utilize the space in 2025 left a huge void in Fort Worth arts community. And for a city that is the eleventh largest in The United States and aims to be a world class city, this is simply unacceptable. Artists by their nature are collaborative. We are excellent problem solvers, we adapt quickly to challenges, and we are used to hard work. By not keeping an open line of communication with the artists of Fort Worth, you are denying yourselves access to your biggest allies in solving challenges the Arts Center may
present. I am asking you to bring the artists of your city into the room and into conversations that surround the future of the building. And I look forward to hearing from you, Mayor Parker, on how we can work together to make the Fort Worth Community Arts Center open to the public again and a vibrant hub for the arts once more. Leslie Kirk on behalf of a group. Like the Fort Worth Community Art Center play a vital role in our city, acting as the foundation of a vibrant arts ecosystem. A perfect example is the art show that Arts Fort Worth and Support Fort Worth Art collaborated on called Together We Make Art Happen.
There were three days where anyone could drop off their artwork, pay a small fee, and their art would immediately be installed in the biggest gallery in the building. It was open to all ages, all skill levels, and all mediums. It was one of the largest and most inclusive shows there's ever been at the Community Arts Center. The walls were filled with works from 288 visual artists from Fort Worth, North Texas, and all around the state. For many of these artists, it was not only their first time showing work at the community art center, but it was also their first time showing their art anywhere.
We saw art that showcased our talent, our creativity, our humor, our anger, our sadness, and our joy. We saw art that honored our culture, our community, our heroes, and those we've lost. We held panel discussions about the benefits of art in health and education, about the influence of art in shaping our city and communities, and about how art creates value that contributes to thriving cities.
We even held an open mic for performing artists. The show's last day was spring gallery night, one of the most exciting art events of the year, where hundreds and hundreds of people came to experience the show. Community art spaces like the Fort Worth Community Art Center provide us a space to gather, where we can build community, where art can be made accessible. It is a place of enrichment, of expression, and most of all, it is a place of opportunity. For these reasons and countless others, that's why it's important that we not only maintain
and preserve the Fort Worth Community Arts Center, but also we should look towards expanding with more community art spaces throughout the city so that everyone can reap the benefits, so that everyone can have access, so that everyone can have these kinds of opportunities. Your voice, your power, and your passion will make all the difference. Together, we can ensure the future of Fort Worth's art community. Together, we can support Fort Worth art because together, we make art happen.
A video is from a show I co curated in March 2024, and it is a perfect example of why the community arts center is so important and the kind of work that is only possible there on the scale and grandeur needed to reflect the variety and vibrancy of artists who have found a home here. We had artists as young as six, as old as 92, professionals, beginners, families from every city council district who were able to show their work together. We even had a guy drive all the way up from Houston display his art because he couldn't find opportunities like this anywhere else. Yet now the building sits empty, and it has been well over a year since
we've gotten any real update on the future of the building. At today's work session, you all got a presentation about how the city can bring art into libraries and community centers, which is a wonderful step in the right direction, but I want to be clear that it should not be the only step. It is urgently important that we restore the community arts center. It is 77 Thousand square feet with nine galleries and two theaters. It is historic by any metric. It is truly unlike any building in Fort Worth or even Texas. The city is full of world class artists, and our city deserves a world class
building for the arts. The longer we wait to restore the community arts center, the more expensive it will be to repair and the longer it will take to fix the damage to the to the arts community. Now is a pivotal time to heal the arts in Fort Worth. We are here to urge you to act with haste, to work with us to make this restoration a success, and to help Fort Worth thrive through the arts. We must bring back the community arts center. We must support Fort Worth art. Thank you.
Our next speaker is Eric Wilhite followed by William Burtnick. Is Eric present? No? William Bernick? Mister Bernick will be followed by Steven Carlton. Good evening, and thank you. My name is William Bernick. I am the co owner of a small family run automotive business. We are when I was young, my dad used to say, seek first to understand and then be understood. So we are looking forward to the opportunity to better understand the concerns of the
homeowners, the concerns of planning and zoning, and hopefully, one day, in the fairly new future, we'll have a chance to stand before you and answer any concerns or questions you might have of the application we've submitted through the city of Fort Worth. I'm gonna give you some time back. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Steven Carlton. Mister Carlton will be followed by Anthony Michael Moore. Thank you. Those comments were surprising since someone has reached out, and we haven't heard anything back
from them for the past month. My name is Steven Carlton. I'm a resident of District 10, and I'm here for myself and several several homeowners to share a frustrating tale of zoning experiments handling of the property at Lotic Lane, which I can see from my front yard. In short, a business owner is trying to open up an auto repair shop directly in the middle of residential homes. Next slide. On September 30, fifth Gear Automotive applied for a CO. The proper boxes were checked. Next slide, please. And you can see here the only list of use on the application was general
auto repair. This is obviously not an approved use of PD eight ninety four and this should have been an easy rejection four months ago. However, the change of use was granted along with signage permits. Next slide. Next. Next. Next. Here we go. On September on November 17, auto repair signs go up and concerned homeowners begin contacting the city rightfully so. Now not all neighborhoods are blessed to have a certified planner like Eric Wilhite living amongst them, but we are. He was the first to raise concerns about the approved use of PD eight nine
four and the direct violations of code five four zero one c n d. After two weeks of silence, next slide, a new site plan on December 4 was uploaded, now showing 10 automotive lists and some fuzzy math that says there's really only 34% of an auto repair business. And someone hoped that the zoning department would see this and think twice, but instead they doubled down and told Eric that this is an accessory use and rezoning is really not required. Next slide. And after weeks of pressure, December 16, we finally decided that rezoning was required.
I would appreciate your support and of your offices and help us bring. Thank you. Our next speaker is Anthony Michael Moore followed by Martaysha James. Finally, I moved by your spirit. Hi, city council mayor Parker, District 9, Nettles. My name is Anthony Moore. I'm coming with a, heartfelt message. Last year, I talked a lot about mental health, my own journey. And when I turned on the TV in January as we, like, flipped the happy New Years, there's a lot of kids that are not here with this because of gun violence. It's something that hit me home when I came back.
Unfortunately, I'm from James Bowie High School, Arlington. When I first came in to the whole even mental health space, my friend that was me and he was 14, and he was here in a Azel. He shot himself in the face, and it was one of the roughest funerals. I'm a pastor, of course, minister, evangelist, all that stuff. But it's still as a person, that hurt. My friend that's over here, I'm trying to get connected to, he's over there in Forney, you know, he's in Dallas County. He works with second graders and third graders that have suicide ideation. They're already thinking about this at, like, two. I got my my nephews are Jackson and Jacob.
Jackson, Anthony Michael Moore, and then I'm sorry. And my brother's, kids, they're 11. They just turned 11. I can't even imagine. I know at 14 how they hit me. I just all I'm saying is presented. I kinda ask the Lord to start the New Year with a message that could be inspiring. I turned on the TV. I was like, we're still at Columbine. All this stuff happened when I was in Bowie, UCA. Automatically went over to US I mean, I'm sorry, Australia for my marriage. But it's the same issue. Mental health advocate, mental illness, and then mental health. As a pastor, as ordained minister, evangelist, apostle, however you wanna put titles, I like
that I take care of my medicine. I take what god has helped me with my parents, and I try to do that too. It's a heavy issue. I know from president Trump, Bush, Clinton, all the other people, even Barack, and then also our honorable president Trump. Until Texas and then we get in surrender to God and try to put the children first, we have to do something about gun violence. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Martaysha James. Miss James will be followed by Rob Espich. Hello, and happy New Year. I'm coming to speak on District 11. When it comes to our infrastructure within our community itself, it's piss poor, for lack
of better word. Our streets are still damaged. Our, tires are still being damaged. We have people intentionally driving on the wrong side of the road just so they can avoid the potholes. Our greenery is blocking the sidewalks that we did just get put in. The street lights, thank you for those. However, we need more lights. One street light isn't gonna be sufficient enough for just our streets, and a lot of our lights are black or are blue, which means that the light bulbs need to be changed out. If we could put some pep in our step on that because I've been coming
to city council about that. I wanna say since 2021, and here it is, 2026. Something else that I would like to mention, when it comes to the infrastructure being fixed within our neighborhood, mentioning Miller to be exact, there's never any signs to let us know that work is gonna be done on the roads, one lane is gonna be used, and one lane is not gonna be used. And we have to find out by being stuck in traffic. Some people make it late to work, and this cause more headaches than any problem
being solved. Another thing is when it comes to our speed limits, when it comes to the school the school zones, we cannot find any other signs that let us know when the school zone is ending because we have trees, brushes that are blocking it. If we could do a better job this year, city council, when it comes to beautifying our areas and fixing with the things that we've been coming to you guys for years now about. Thank you. Our next speaker is Rob Eschbick followed by Anne Zeta. Is Rob present?
Anne Zeta will be followed by Yolanda Smith. My name is Anne Zeta, and I live in District 9. While many today have signed up to provide feedback on the performance of the council over the last year, I have a longer time frame I would like to address. Community engagement has long been important to me, having been raised in a Quaker community where we got written evaluations, not letter grades, but also where decisions were made through coming to consensus, an engaged community where all voices were heard and considered. As some of you may know, it has led to me having a career, quote unquote, much of which has been in service to this community from neighborhood level to
the entire city. Part of that work has been serving on various boards and commissions, task forces, and also on city council where you are all serving today. After leaving the council, I was asked to serve on the Gindi Task Force. I saw this as an opportunity to continue to champion the arts. I was also asked to serve on the Urban Rail Committee. Many of you know my long record of championing future with connected region, multimodal transportation options, and safe streets for all. I have participated in HOME Fort Worth, which is advocating for housing accessibility and affordability in a multitude of ways, including the 2026 bond that you all are deciding upon
later this month. And finally, I have been deeply engaged in the 2050 comprehensive plan, serving on the technical committee and elevating opportunities for engagement across the broader community. What I have come here to share with you all today is a bit of frustration at the lack of communication, feedback loops, and forward momentum for all of this engagement. While I have seen ebbs and flows of improvement as well as regression, overall it could be better. I have long recognized we have all long recognized the need to measure the resources delivered to the community by the city with equity in mind and not follow the squeaky wheel gets the grease method of delivery.
Unfortunately, with few exceptions, we seem to fall back on this method. Finally, these public comment opportunities are important and should be viewed in a positive light. Believe me, I have listened to many public comments for hours and hours long before time was limited, access time because we've been Our time because we've been connected. Speaker is Yolanda Smith followed by Manuel Mata.
Good evening. My name is Yolanda Smith from, District 7. I'm an advocate for the for the literacy roundup program, and I'm here to thank you, mayor Parker and council members for supporting this program. This program is essential to our community, and I would like to educate our guest here that because of your, support for this program, families are getting helped. I'm here to tell you today about Kai Sanchez. He's a fourth grader that is not reading at a fourth grader level.
Because of your support, in April 2025, the literacy roundups the literacy roundups screened Kai and identified him at risk for dyslexia. In May 2025, his parents confidently confident His parents were confident they could work directly with the school, so they declined advocacy support. Since May 2025, Kei's parents Kei's parents have been, requesting an evaluation from the school. Unfortunately, despite multiple attempts, the school was not responding to the request until August 2025
when the family reached out again, this time by copying this time by email and copying the literacy round of advocates. Only then the score applied. And today, I'm here to tell you on behalf of the Sanchez family that today on 01/06/2026, after eight months, they had the ARD ARD meeting today. And Kai is getting some help for for his dyslexia. So I'm here to thank you, on behalf of the Sanchez family. Thank you. And I give you a great a. Thank you.
Our next speaker is Manuel Mata followed by annual excuse me, Alan Lobaugh. My name is Manuel Mata, and I live in Carlos's district. And, I had brought something up to you, Carlos, about a officer in my neighborhood. Right? And you told me to let them investigate it. They investigated themselves and found no wrongdoing. So I'm gonna help you out. His name is Christopher Ramirez. He's a sergeant, and this whole sheet is for him. Right? Sleeping on duty, judicious use of time, supply service equipment, failed to make report, neglect
of duty, justified unfavorable criticism, intoxicated off duty, ultimately failed to submit or make a report, neglect of duty, position descriptions, unauthorized leave of assigned beat, make false, report, unauthorized whatever. And this is what's aggravating. Untruthfulness, official oppression, violation of standard operational procedures, neglect of duty, and, again, untruthfulness, tactical
violations, unnecessary force. William Martin, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. That's a officer that y'all just fired. Nathaniel Johnson was charged and arrested for evading arrest. In August 2024, Ruben Gastelon was caught with 22 pounds of meth, a key of cocaine, and pounds of weed. He tested positive for cocaine after a hail sample. His gun and his uniform was caught inside of the supposed area where all the drugs were.
Hugo Baron just recently got his job back after the fourth time of shooting a innocent person in their backs. Taylor Stevens, Daniel Pritzer, Christopher Goldman, Miller, they were all fired for the death of Christopher Lowe, and they were given their job back. So y'all don't punish bad cops out of school. Is Alan Lobaugh followed by Joan Vermeer. I'm a keep going. My name is Alan Lobaugh. My home is at 3628 Kimberly Lane in District 9.
I came to talk to you about affordable housing, but I feel the need to talk to you about this continued process of public comments limited to two minutes each. That seems to not be working by the sheer number of people who are here to speak to you, and the variety of topics they have. I would be honored to be on a task force to figure out a different way to do this. So that we can truly have a combination, collaboration of ideas, and and a better
way to move forward to do it the Fort Worth way. I'm here to speak to you about affordable housing. I'll do it quickly. While you're scrolling in your devices, you could look up Fort Worth Housing Solutions. On the very first page, you'll find that they have wait lists, which right there should tell us that we're not doing enough because there's wait lists. And if you notice that the last time those wait lists were open, to even get to add your name to the bottom of the wait list was in July '25. We're not doing enough. In April 2025, Pathways for Removing Obstacles grant proposal, you listed several goals.
I hope that you'll have them back to give you a report, at least a yearly report of how we're doing on that. But I fear that the proposal isn't making a dent in the homeless population. So I have a proposal for you. In November, in the city of Santa Fe, an appeals court sided with the city of Santa Fe to allow a 3% tax on homes sold for over $1,000,000. The city uses that revenue for affordable housing. Nobody likes to be more taxed, but I think that if you talked with those
people who are buying million dollar million dollar homes, they would prefer to give that 3% tax rather than have those people those people face to face on their block banking. Our next speaker is Joan Vermaire followed by Chris Tackett. Mayor Parker, council members, and community family, my name is Joan Vermeer. I live in District 3, and I'm here because of the literacy roundup. Last summer, I was, read about Literacy Roundup, which is, was sponsored by the city
council and the Sid Richardson Foundation. Their efforts to help kids and families who have problems, families with kids who have problems with dyslexia, has been an effort to, encourage these families to find services for their kids. The services that are provided are very helpful, but it takes it's a long effort to get through the process. As an advocate, my role has been to work with families and the schools where
they're involved. I live near the Como neighborhood, so I really wanted to find families in that neighborhood. And I can say now that I have we have I have been an advocate for four different families, two of which kids are already getting their special education services, and, another one is now in the testing process to find out what kinds of services are needed, and a fourth one is just now beginning to, beginning in the process. In December, our literacy roundup members, some families that were involved, met at Como Community
Center, and Doctor. Mia Hall was there with us, to hear their stories and what was going on. I think we've had real success with that. Doctor. Hall said at the end, literacy isn't a family problem. It's a community responsibility. When we come together to support our learners, our schools, and our entire city, They thrive. Our next speaker is Chris Tackett followed by David Martinez. So 2025 had a lot of not so good things happen, but I wanted to
recognize a really good thing. For a lot of folks, 2025 was that first moment where we realized that we can raise our voices for change at the city and county level. In May and June, a lot of us started showing up, to raise our voices and add them to those who had been showing up regularly for years. And thank you for those who do this regularly. The noise there brought back some advocates who had been here in the past who may have burned out a little bit, and the noise we were making relit their flames, and it was incredible and is incredible to see.
It's been amazing to be a part of then seeing even more new voices come and show up in places like this on nights like tonight. It's a diverse coalition from all parts of the city. We have friends everywhere, and we are gaining more every single day. Mayor Parker, you told Mindy and I that what we were doing wouldn't work, that our approach, which is standing firm on our values and not catering to this mythical middle, it would fail. I'd say we're already making a difference and people are paying attention.
And I would say that some even see what we're doing as a threat to the Fort Worth way. I mean, why else would we see a thank you parade of public comments to close out twenty twenty five from these groups that are doing good work, but they're having to come kiss the ring, and that's frankly pretty ick. Councilperson Beck for the grades. I gave you a b for the year. You're doing good things. I just want more. Mayor Parker, it's an f. Council overall, it's a it's a d. But 2026, we can do better. We're gonna be here raising our voices throughout.
And if it doesn't get better, well, twenty twenty seven's right around the corner. We'll make sure we get some new faces. Thanks. Our next speaker is David Martinez followed by Jim DeLong. Good evening. I just wanna let everybody know that this next Saturday at, Pasco High School twenty twenty six, Panther City benefit powwow, benefiting the fourth ISD Native American education program. Please show up. We need volunteers and, vendors. Contact Terry Hunter. (682) 474-8784.
Alright. That's gonna be, like, a all day event. Please attend. If you support Native Americans, please show up and show your support. Also, I wanna bring up that, it's funny that I see people that come over here and they're saying, well, you're you're counseling books. You're doing this and that. But it's it's funny. These same people who talk about the book of Anne Frank, these are the same people who are protesting Israel and all Jews. These are the same people that have been next door to, and then they turn
around and attack Jewish people. That these are these people right here, it it's it's amazing. These are the same people who want Maduro back out. Let me tell you something. In Carter Park, a lot of kids died in fentanyl. There are a lot of people out there right now, American citizens in Carter Park. Right now, they're addicted to fentanyl. And so yeah. Good good that he's locked up. Obi burns in hell. And I wanna tell you something. A lot of times, we come up here and a lot of people complain. But I'm a tell you something.
I appreciate everything that's being done, especially for the federal law enforcement that's going on right now in Fort Worth. We have seen a lot of terrorist attacks. A lot of people are planning on terrorist attacks in Fort Worth, and a lot needs to be done. I'm glad it's it it's being done under the scene. You don't see it, but I see it. I I appreciate it all. Thank you. God bless. Our next speaker is Jim Delong followed by Reed Bills. Good evening. I'm Jim DeLong. United we stand, divided we fall. We can hear a lot of division in this room. There's a lot of there is some division just on the dias.
We can have differences of opinion. But united we stand, divided we fall. I remember 09/11, I was doing consulting in Amarillo, and a number of times a month I drive between two cities, and I would see, fences in on farmer's land. They'd put these cups and it would say united we stand. There was a time when there was an attack on our nation and we came
together in spite of our ideology. We put some things aside to stand together, and I've been coming to these meetings for a number of years, and boy, sometimes it gets just hot and heavy and really ugly in here. United we stand, divided we fall. We can have differences of opinion, but when there is anger and strife and retribution and hate spewing out of people and their hearts, divided we fall.
United we can stand. We're a great city. We've got a great future. There's a lot of problems that we need to work through, but united we stand, divided we fall. And as a people of this city, I speak out. Let's stand united despite our differences. There are some things we can agree on. As united we stand, divided we fall. Reed Bills followed by Cleo Kapovic. Is miss Bills here? I've seen her.
Cleo Kapovic. Cleo will be followed by Patrice Jones. Hi. My name is Cleo Capovic. I come from District 2 of, you know, Fort Worth, and, I'm here to talk about the 2026 bond. I feel that, you know, with other cities investing several million hundreds of millions of dollars into affordable housing measures such as Dallas, Arlington, Houston, and others, I think it should be notable that with the growth that Fort Worth has had and, the fact
that we're the large and eleventh largest city in The United States, there should be a further attempt to address Fort Worthians. Other issues I have with the budget is just the large commitment of funds towards parks and their, improvements that don't necessitate necessitate improvement at the current moment, at least for other issues that should be addressed beforehand. Needs such as expanding our public transportation infrastructure as TaxRail has had an expansion on the books for six years.
But its final bit of funding could be attained from the bond. I've personally talked to missus Beck about the plans for expansion, and she has expressed great support for it. And, otherwise, I just would love to see support from the rest of this council for issues like that. All these kinds of things align with the city's twenty fifty of agenda and just making sure that this city develops in a sustainable and transit oriented way.
Otherwise, I hope that this council plans to act on their word instead of just saying things with empty promises. But other than that, thank you for listening. Our next speaker is Patrice Jones followed by Malik Austin. Can you start my time over? I didn't start talking yet. What's the problem? I didn't start talking yet, and the time was going. I I thought it started when I started You can start it at two. Go for it. Thank you so much. I gotta get every second. Two teenagers were recently killed by gun violence where I was born and stopped six. One of them was my little cousin. I'm here tonight with hopes my words speak real change to prevent other families from
having to bury their child before prom, high school graduation, college graduation, marriage, and kids. Fort Worth must stop defunding organizations that prevent violence. Programs like My Brother's Keeper, VIP, Survive and Thrive, or doing what policing never will, mentoring youth, interrupting cycles of harm, and saving lives before violence happens. These programs work because they are rooted in community and rehabilitation and not punishment. Instead of strengthening them, this city continues to pour more and more money into policing.
Fort Worth has one of the largest police budgets in the country, spending close to $1,000,000 every single day, and gun violence is not going down. No matter how the numbers are manipulated or spun, the reality is crystal clear. Decades of research show that adding more police do not reduce crime nor gun violence. What does work is prevention. What does work is stability. What does work is investing in people. This brings me to YAP, the youth advocate program. Since Tarrant County eliminated YAP, Tarrant County is now sending more youth to state prison
than any other county in the entire state of Texas. That is not a coincidence. That is not an accident. That is very intentional. When prevention is removed, incarceration fills the gap. When support is defunding defunded, cages become the solution. So, yes, we must hold people accountable. That includes mayor, county judge, judge Kim. Leadership does not mean insulated from criticism. Let me skip down since I don't got much time. Fort Worth, do better. Our children are watching, and some of them are dying.
Malik Austin will be followed by James Smith. Evening Council. Happy New Year, Mayor Parker. I'm here to speak on behalf of Highland Hills. The contaminants, MSD barrel holding. This is like our third or fourth time visiting. Young man, representative, you weren't even born at the time they start dumping behind there. You wouldn't even thought. I lost a friend of mine behind that dump ground, that dump site. This is lethal. Candium, arsenic, lead, manganese manganese.
Enough manganese will make you kill your mama. You don't expose no soul to these type of contaminants. Address, 5921 to 5, 5933. Mayor, we we we we had this conversation with y'all before. Holland Hills ain't weak. Mayor Baxby come out of Holland Hills. Judge Sydney come out of Holland Hills. Me, brother Jerry Thomas, ambassadors come out of Highland Hills. I'm from Highland Hills. My father's from Highland Hills. My aunt is from Highland Hills. My brother still live in Highland Hills. If you think one inkling that you gone in our city council district ninety five
was there at the first meeting and told you, TECQ is the one who shut the site down because of these type of contaminants. And you put the meeting at 11:00 when you know people gonna be at work, brother? Mayor, take this MSD zero thirty five off the floor. This is lethal. You cannot guarantee the safety of the people of Holland Hills. This is uncalled for. I'm EPA certified. I will call my governor, my congress representative, my district, representative.
It don't matter. Attorney general. This is lethal. It ain't nothing to be playing with. I don't see nothing funny, brother. You're playing with my family. James Smith will be followed by Joey Flores. Is mister Smith present tonight? Joey Flores followed by Adrian Smith. Adrian Smith. Nadia Cardenas. Good evening, council members. You know, you voted to we're we're reporting back on 2025. So you you voted to dismantle our DEI programs. You've continued to reduce opportunities for public comment. Mayor, you still haven't apologized to Patrice. You voted for data centers. You leave the art community without their hub.
And, yes, you've also supported a really important and what sounds like an impactful literacy program, and I'm sure many other good things. And I think what I see in this public comment meeting always is that you all are viewing accountability as, like, an attack on you. Right? And I think it's actually an invitation. So what if you actually came into the show and felt like, today, I'm gonna be invited to a lot of uncomfortable things because people have very serious issues. Like, they've experienced issues with the police. They are experiencing contamination. Their families and loved ones are being shot. So these are very real things that people are coming here to talk about, and
I think it just seems to that you continuously view it as, like, we're trying to attack you. But it's actually us just being like, we care about our city, and we want our leaders to be making good decisions on our behalf. And so what does it look like to actually I think, you know, this what this moment actually requires is leaders who can regulate their own nervous systems. I'm sure it's incredibly uncomfortable to sit up there and have people say all these things to you, but I invite you to, like, take a breath, take a beat, and view it as an invitation and not as an attack. Because I think when you do, then I think you're gonna hear that people have really important things to say and that we could actually work together.
I signed up for that committee too that mister Allen proposed about the public comments and how we might engage in dialogue and not just be talking at each other. So if you need volunteers for that, you can count me in. And I know the expectations are are near high. I know you should be compensated better for this work, and I'll support any charter amendments for you to, you know, get a living wage. But higher pay also comes with standards of engagement and accountability. And so just we're inviting you into this, and I hope you receive our invitation in 2026 because local leadership is gonna be more important than ever when we're seeing
a federal government that continues to choose cruelty over any other thing. So thank you. Alexander Montalvo followed by Tina Hazel James. Doubling down in 2026, I guess, is gonna be the model for the city council and you, mayor Parker. We have our one of 10 public comment meetings, and y'all automatically reduce. So my question is, who is it here that isn't gonna be able to stay to keep quorum? I see Macy's not here. I see Elizabeth Beck has left. What dinner plans, what evening plans did y'all commit to that you can be here
as long as needed for the public to talk to you? You have the family of Anthony Johnson Junior come to talk to you, Carlos, and to talk to you, the city council, to you, mayor, about the murders and the deaths that are happening down the street. And what do you welcome them with? You can't even give them the full three minutes. You're gonna cut them down to two. The amount of disrespect we continue to see from this council. How many times did I hear from Jeanette Goodall that we're gonna get arrested for
doing what? Coming to public comments to express our concerns, to fight for our people, the community, and the city that we should be versus what all of you are doing? And you need to tell us multiple times they're gonna get arrested. Last month, I had to get harassed by the marshals simply because asking a question. No. That's not what we're gonna do. And whatever environment everyone is feeling in today, the iciness, the hesitation, I want everybody in Fort Worth to be ready every day this year, all the way up to
the election of twenty twenty six in November, and all the way up to May 2027. Because the leadership in this city and this county is going to change for the people, and we are not gonna stop until that reality happens. So if y'all wanna double down, we'll triple down on the people's voice. Let's go. Tina James. Is James? Is Tina here? No? Council, that's the conclusion of our speakers this evening. Meeting is adjourned.