Good afternoon. It's 12:35 and I'm going to call our infrastructure and growth committee meeting to order. First item is approval of the March 10th meeting minutes. >> Thank you. All right. All in favor? >> Great. Motion passes. Uh we have three briefings. We're going to start with the
update on text dot master plan and Kelly Porter is here and John Corde. >> Good afternoon everyone. Not quite evening yet. I have John Corderi here with the texttop for Worth District to provide y'all an update on the Fort District master plan. And just correct me if I'm wrong, I believe the mayor is
the chair of the stakeholder, one of the big stakeholder groups, correct? >> The steering committee. And so, uh, TPW's also been serving his staff on this process over the last about 18 months or so. So, I have John here to talk about those efforts and then I'll blend in some things from our master transportation plan, too.
>> Thank you, Kelly. >> Good afternoon. Again, I'm John Cordy, the deputy district engineer for the Tex Fort Worth District. Thank you for the invitation to come speak to you today. As Kelly said, give you an update on our transportation master plan. So, first just a little bit about uh Textop Fort
Worth District. We cover the nine counties in 91 cities on kind of the western side of the metroplex, if you will. Uh we're the third largest metro uh district in the state. Uh we have about 9% of the daily miles traveled uh in the state.
uh about 90 a little under 9,200 miles of uh onsystem roadways they were responsible for and a little over 4,000 bridges in those nine counties. So why a master plan for transportation in in the Fort Worth district? We are
all experiencing growth um and the pressures that it puts on our transportation system with u that growth just projected to continue over the foreseeable future. So we really needed a strategy of how are we going to invest in that transportation system to uh
provide the best reliability, connectivity and the safe transportation system. So we have started what is the first in the state um a district doing a master plan on that district. Uh you may have seen other corridors statewide 35,
US 287, US 377. Those are all statewide corridors. This is a plan just for the nine county for district. So we wanted it to be very data driven. Um so we have done a lot of data analysis and
collection um from demographics to freight to safety um economic development. Um we have gathered as much data in any type of subject that we could think of to help guide those decisions. Here's just some examples of uh that data that we've
collected. And I'm not going to go into the details of the slides uh but just looking at the population increase uh projections uh the employment here in the district median household income usually that's a direct correlation to a higher income means more cars more cars
on the roadway puts more pressure on that transportation system gross domestic product. What are the industries that are driving um our economy in this Fort Worth district? done a lot of analysis on freight. What What are those big trucks doing? Are
they just passing through? Are they going from uh manufacturing here in the metroplex to the other side of the metroplex? What are those uh again pressures that freight is putting on our transportation system? We've done a lot of analysis on origin destination. Um
where are folks coming in the mornings, where are they going to work, and what's happening during the day. Here's just an example of um the increase from 2019 to 2023. You can see the the colors are starting to get darker um in that interior core, but what you can really
notice too is how it is spreading out west and north and south. Those people in the outer counties are all coming in to Tarant County for whatever reason, employment um and and putting pressures on those systems um in the in in Tarant
County. So we've done a lot of predictive analysis as well. So we've taken that data and we've done a lot of whatif scenarios. So here's just an example of one of those whatif scenarios. Right now we we say we have about 700 miles of congested roadways in
the district. And if we don't do anything, what does that look like in 2050? That increases the almost 4,000 miles of congested roadways. So that's again another reason why we need an investment um strategy of where we're
going to work on our transportation system. So what are we doing right now? We currently have about 207 projects under construction worth about $3 billion. And then our current unified transportation program, which is a
10-year program, we have 26 fully funded projects that are the major mobility type projects. This is not every single construction project, but really the big mobility projects. And also in that 10-year plan, and this is where the challenge comes in, we have another 22
projects that are partially funded with about $1.8 billion, but leaving a gap of another almost another billion dollars. You can see these these needs are growing um for what we need to invest in our transportation system for safety and
reliability and mobility. And then the bigger um challenge in front of us is we are working right now on another 50 plus projects in the district and that funding gap is approaching $18 billion at current cost. Um so we've got a very
big challenge about how do we prioritize which of those uh improvements need to go in what order and what are the scope of those projects. So, we started the master transportation plan. And again, as Kelly mentioned, we were very honored
to have Mayor Parker chair that committee of nine county judges um and other um stakeholders that are taking this data and making decisions and helping us prioritize those strategies. And that steering committee
has the help of two working committee committees. One is just looking at the five urban counties and then another working committee is looking at the four rural counties. We have a very mix here in the district. We go from Tarant
County and if we go all the way out to Jack a very rural different type of nature but and different type of needs but it is within the district that we need to account for their needs as well. So those working groups and that steering committee have been working
very hard um to take this data um and try to prioritize corridors that we're not getting granular about well this roadway needs a right turn lane or or this signal needs to be adjusted. It's really looking at the corridors
that are needed um for mobility and safety. We've done in-person meetings. We've done virtual meetings. We've even had focus groups. We've met with just the city managers within the district and gotten their input. We worked with economic development. We worked with the
universities and educational systems. Where are they growing? Where do they see the growth? And we worked with uh the medical industry as well. I think one of the um interesting facts is we heard is that uh just about all the hospitals have major expansion plans
which is going to put pressure on 30 and 35 and we were not aware of those plans that the from the medical industry were not really engaged with but that was an example of good input that we got from having a wide variety of stakeholders to
understand not just um needs and an increase of traffic but what's coming in the future that we don't know about. And we also did a public survey and we got almost 3,000 comments of of from the public through our website um and where to go and what they are seeing and
experiencing as well. So where where are we at? Uh we've been at this for about a year. Um we've done the existing and future conditions um data gathering that I mentioned. We've done the needs analysis and we're just now finishing up the prioritization of the corridors. The
working groups and the steering committees are doing their final decisions and we've started on the final draft. So we are working on that final draft of that plan this summer and hope to release it here in the fall. So that's a quick summary of our master
transportation plan and we are very excited about this to help us guide our decision making and how we are going to improve our transportation system. So, thank you again for your invitation. Be happy to answer any questions. >> Thank you, John. Anyone have questions?
Councilman Crane Hill. Hey, John. Thanks for being here. Appreciate it. Worked a lot together over the years. I want to refer back to slide eight. Y'all could flip back. Just the growth that you see there in four years and some of the parts of Fort
Worth. I'll speak specifically to district three, the portion that's just outside 820 between 20 and 30. Um, and I think staff knows where I'm going with this already. The 2871 corridor where we expect a lot of growth. There's a data center that's going on that corner, a
Walmart distribution center, there are railroad tracks. Ventana is starting phase 8, nine, and 10 of their development, and then that will bleed over into the veil ranch full development. there are some other um infrastru uh uh major investments possibly happening in
that area. So, there's a lot of of uh tension in that area. Um Kelly's getting me numbers on what we the gap is of that 2871 expansion and then a bridge over the railroad tracks. But I just want to put it on your radar because I don't think with the growth you saw in four
years here, we talk about maybe trying to make up some of that in a 2030 bond means no shovels turning till 2032 2033 that uh that the growth that we already see there is going to be able to be handled at this point. So I want to put it back on your radar because I think
we've got to figure out a creative solution in the funding of what that looks like just with all that growth in that corridor. >> Yeah, absolutely. And it is absolutely on our radar. In fact, we are considering um possibly applying for some of the federal grants for the railroad uh bridge crossing to see if we
can be competitive on the national level for that. Trying to break out a specific project and take it in in bites. >> Yeah, sure. And and we did that to a certain extent with that project. It went all the way from 30 down to 377. We split that into two projects. So, it's
now 20 to uh 377, which is really the crux of where that growth is going to happen in that corridor over the next number of years. But anything we can do to get creative, grants, other things, um, we need to be doing. >> Yeah. And the thing that helps too is that we do have that schematically and environmentally approved. So, we're
we're ready to go to to buy right away and >> just need the money. >> Just need the money. >> Yeah. Thank you, >> Councilman Bllelock. >> Thank you for being here today in this presentation. Uh, I just want to highlight or emphasize the northwest
corner of Tarant County, um, where we've been, uh, had plans for a long time on 287 and 156. Um, just want to see those plans driven to completion and those roads get done.
We're already massively red and growth is continuing. It's just going to get worse until it gets better. >> Yes, sir. I can tell you that yeah, 287 that northwest corridor is absolutely at the top of our list. In fact, um we are working on the construction plans right
now. I think there's about $230 million up in that corridor to finish off the frontage road system from 35 up to Aenddale Hazlet. So, we're working on that that corridor now. >> Any additional questions for John? >> Okay. Thank you so much.
>> Okay. Next up, Kelly Porter, you're up again. their master transportation plan. >> Thank you. And today, not only do we have uh John from text, Jeff Neil, I invited him from COG to answer any other questions you might have on some of the bigger regional projects that we have
going on. All right. So, this is the city's first uh master transportation plan. Um we've had um plans we had plans before like a thoroughfare plan. We've had action plan. We're able to build off of that and really consolidate things into a uh
a a master document, a one-stop shop, shall we say. So, I think y'all seen the red maps and the green maps before um that show you um the the impact of congestion. We modeled out 25 years. We also did some interim modeling that gets us out 10 years. And you can see that um
as John pointed out, we have to do something um going forward. So, what's in the plan? um not only does it take uh the spirit of what was in that master thoroughfare plan and the actation plan, it brings that forward but also includes additional um analysis as John pointed
out with freight um also considering things that the comp plan team would be looking in with walkability and then we're also looking a lot at technology as part of it and um also breaks out this uh buildout network into an actual capital program and as you heard John
talk about uh readiness that's really what this plan is going to help TPW W and the city do as a whole is get projects ready. Um we've identified 72 uh roadway connections, new ones that were um we carried over the existing master thoroughfare plan, did some additional updates to it. Um included
another 72 priority connections in that. We've broken down into a 10-year investment cycle, which is really exciting. We've been able to get those uh projects or many of those projects forward into schematic design. And then um we also want to ensure that as part of this plan that we're aligning with our different partners so we can
leverage funding because that's becoming more and more precious as we go forward. And we've also tied projects and project readiness back to funding cycles the state and federal level. So we've been working on this for about uh two years now. Um we plan on bringing it for
adoption to council in June. Um on our website we currently have um a state of the system report, a state of safety report. Um this council adopted the safety action component of the plan in September of 2025. So um one thing we heard from the public was safety was
incredibly important. Um we've uh also uh plan on going to plan commission in uh May to get the final recommendation on the plan but it includes several elements in addition to looking at the gaps in the network and the existing data the safety action plan as well as the capital program. We did a lot of
stakeholder outreach. Um, we tried to piggyback on as many different efforts that were going on at the city as as possible, whether it was parks doing their their work or our capital team going out and doing some of their meetings or whatnot. But we ended up doing 33 public meetings. Um, we were in some of y'all's council districts at we
were in everybody's council district at least three times. Um, sometimes four or five times. I think district 10, we were out there at least five times. Um, and then we did a lot of got a lot of stakeholder comments and over 1100 survey responses. And so we've been able to share those with other departments as well as other entities in the region. We
also had uh technical committees that shaped the plan. So um that includes a technical advisory committee that was made up of uh Texot the airport. Uh Jeff Neil here from NCO was on there. Uh BNSF representing the railroads. Uh Trendy Metro and Hillwood and all sorts of
folks. We did a nine member uh community engagement committee that each council district appointed somebody to. And then we also had inter departmental committee that was pretty much made of every department. I like to throw out that even municipal municipal court was involved in the planning work because we had to talk about speeds and safe
speeds. So uh the plan has six goals. So safety is our number one goal that was vetted through the public. That's why you have a safety action plan that was adopted as part of the plan as the first step last September. People really wanted us to look at prioritizing maintaining our system as part of the
and recapitalization of the system. Um so fix it first was our second goal and then there's several other goals associated with the plan. Um from making sure the system is comfortable to use. Um we looked at economic development. That's where really a lot of our freight component came in. And then technology
is already being implemented but we looked at technology as a major way to be able to expand capacity through the system to better operate the existing network we have. It's lower cost high benefit and um there's a lot of good things that we're are going to start to be implementing. So before you know we had separate
planning documents um in transportation uh an active transportation plan and a master thoroughfare plan. What this does it unifies those documents into uh one centralized component and it also includes other elements such as freight
transit um technology deep dive into railroads and stuff. So it's a much more comprehensive one-stop shop for everyone. We also tied all the projects back to uh what we're calling fiscal constraint. And for those of you on the cog board, you know, we have to basically can't put anything in the plan that we can't demonstrate we can afford.
Everything's based on financial realities in this document. Um and TPW worked very closely, we work very closely with the lab and the budget office and the finance group to to get there. So, uh right now we're under M for the roadways. We're under a master thoroughfare plan. It has a street
typology system that's been used. Um it didn't include collectors. Um through some of our outreach, well a lot of our outreach and working with the development community um our other partners and even our internal staff that deliver the project, we've gone back to a functional classification system because it's much more common in
how folks talk about a roadway network, minor arterial, minor collector, minor arterial. Um and it also allows us to do our work. Everything that we do in our department, we have to end up doing equivalency back to functional class in some way. So, we went back to that, but we did include some of the spirit of land use in here, and I'll talk about that in a minute to make sure we didn't
lose some of those things from the last plan. We also went from 80 cross-sections down to 21, so it's simpler for folks to be able to use and going forward. And we were also able to do a deeper dive into um operations. >> So, how the plan's structured, how the network question on the classifications,
does that align with the terminology that we're using in the plan? Does that align with state and federal grants? more common language used across the board. >> Yes. Anything we do with speeds, anything we do with funding, it's type out of functional class. Our other cities around us and counties use
functional class. So, it's it's the standard. >> Thank you. >> So, how the network that I just showed you, our thoroughfare network or plan is now becoming the MRN in the master roadway network. So, everybody just say master roadway network with me. One,
two, three. Master roadway network. Okay, that's what we're going to that's divided into two different components. One is an overall component that TPW is going to use for our programming and working with text dot or whatnot. That's the big master roadway network for Jennifer Roberts and development services team and Canon. They're going
to use the master roadway CR which is just city roads. So, it's the things we can exact on the new impact fees on. And then we have a bunch of overlays that go along with those that help us build and design things. So, the overlays for land use context, it's pretty straightforward. There's a set of rules that will apply to areas that are
zoned for compact development, which allows for certain treatments with sidewalks and other things with that. And then for freight priority areas, it's the lanes may be wider in those industrial areas. They may actually have a our specs for the concrete's going to be deeper so they're more durable.
That's kind of the long and short of it. So the freight priority areas, it's really centered around those areas that are heavy in freight both on trips and things identified through the future land use or whatnot. Those areas are designated within the freight the freight zones, but this just gives you
an idea of where those are. Some of them are also providing auxiliary routes that freights are already using um like um north of the loop, a lot of freights using Beach Street or whatnot. And so, um, it's just acknowledging that we probably want to build that to a freight standard because it's going to supplement I35 to some degree. We rather
build it right the first time than later. Uh, we also, um, focus in on that freight network, um, where we want to prioritize grade separated railroad crossings, um, and and other other features along those. Um, this is the compact development area map that I kind of talked about there. That's where
through certain uh, codifying of the council, through zoning or through an urban village, there's certain rules that will apply to those areas. But we also want to make sure that um whatever we're going to build in those areas is going to be the appropriate thing to build and that it's not going to flip over to industrial. So we worked with the uh the zoning team and the planning
office to make sure we tighten that up. Um we had some issues with that where something may have been zoned as a neighborhood collector or uh shown as in the current plan as neighbor connector and end having industrial on it. We want to avoid stuff like that. So we've tightened that up. And then we're going
from an active transportation network to now what we're going to call the ATM. So you have a MR in and an ATN ATM now. And that's basically us taking what was in our existing active transportation plan, which is pedestrian, bicycle, sidewalks, and also wrapping in a bit more
technology into it because you're going to start having scooters and the little delivery robots using these facilities. And so we want to think a bit much more broadly in that sense. And then we've taken a lot from the last plan, done some gaps, and then turned those into actual priorities, which is what's shown
on the right. So as far as our roadway projects and all of our projects, they were kind of identified, but this is mainly roadway. It was this is how we rank them. Congestion, safety, we looked at cost per mile and a lot of the process that Tex uses, we're using the same some similar processes. Basically, what
you'll find in transportation planning, it's based on performance-based planning. And so we have to use that framework when TPW is doing this type of work. It's pretty specialized. And we've broken that out to a investment program, which gives us a four-year lookout window. You heard John talk about uh they have a STIP at the
state. COG has a TIP. Now we have our own version of the TIP. We'll try to make sure we don't use a whole lot of acronyms, but yes, now we have a four-year program of projects that are pretty much ready to go and then a 10-year uh uh window of projects that are um going to be in that pipeline as
we're getting those ready for delivery. And so, um, we've looked at just on the roadway side, 21 different corridors that are on your bond list, as well as projects that'll be in the 2030 bond that we've already taken through as a department through schematic design. We've tried to identify funding sources
that those would be good for. We've also developed financial plans for each of those and then um also developed schedules and other other scoping elements with it. So those projects are what we like to call shelf stable to where we didn't overdesign them to when the funding comes in a couple years we have to go and reevaluate them. They're
shelf stable and we can pull those off and then take those through the full 306090 process. And so that's essentially what my team does is make sure that whenever it goes to Patricia um and it's ready for the 306090, she knows her scope, she's ready to go. She might even have some of right away and
environmental clearance, but that's really what uh this plan really focused on was not only that long range planning, but also that project readiness, which we were able to accomplish. And then this is the fiscal forecast component. We basically looked at all of the reasonably expected sources of revenue that we've had in the
past as a city to fund transportation improvements, work with our finance team to basically take that out over 10 years to figure out what we be able to reasonably afford in this snapshot in time as of today or this period, what we'd be able to afford in the bond
cycles to come. And so we've not only got our been able to this is just the roadway segment from um some of these are 2026 bond projects. Some of these are also projects that are like um ones we're partnering with folks on. So I think a really good example since Jeff's here is for drive Cox's going to be
paying for that. Uh Witchah Street something the county is paying for and so we were able to include basically give folks a better understanding of all the investments that you all as council are putting into the city. Um so that's the 2026 2030 for roadways. A lot of these are just carryovers from 26 because we're
getting things ready in 26 like taking those through design and right away. And now in 2030 we're actually going to deliver and construct those. And then we're even looking out to 2034. So it's quite comprehensive. Oh, we'll still keep you around. Um but
we have to but that's that's how long that that's how long it does take to actually get these projects ready. That's what we're starting today. And so like number four, we've already started talking to Grand Prairie, Tarant County, and the airport about maybe taking taking some of these other uh corridors forward. But you can also see as it
looks right now, um you know, we get less for our money as we go forward. So that's why readiness is so important so we can bring in additional dollars because our bond is really going to be mostly leverage for these other sources from the county, from the from the federal government, from the state or whatnot.
And then this is just the long-term. We did look out long term. We'll update this plan every four years as the plan. But essentially, um, one thing we want to make sure is important, nobody's trapped to these lists. You're not necessarily, you don't have to stay on the go exactly from these lists that we just showed you. Those are going to be
the projects most ready, but if we get more funds and there can be other projects added and we have a whole menu of projects for the council to choose from um, in new bond cycles. So, we have a a data driven approach and going forward. We've also looked at railroad crossings as part of this and prioritized those. So, I'm working with
our legislative team to take some of those forward. Some of those are already in the hopper for grants. We still have a build grant up in district 10 on um Heritage Trace Parkway. Um the county is putting in Bonds Ranch Road um potentially. And then we got other
partnerships we're working on. But we've not only got the grade separations, we've also got quiet zones. What we've also established are critical rail crossings, which is where we're going to look to you'll see a Chrissy grant come through council, which is a federal program to allow us to use sensors at
different crossings. So, right now, as part of World Cup, we're going to do C two crossings with our own funds, but we're going to go after federal grant to see if we can expand that to some of these other crossings citywide. And then these are the other project categories that we have in the plan prioritized. And then we've got a bunch
of actions and policy recommendations that are part of the planning process like to keep the plan updated every four years and um to do the project readiness and um different things. And then going back to John, we've worked very closely with the textile
district to come up with kind of a top 10 list or um if you grew up watching Letterman, I don't know if they were really prioritized, but it's 10 projects that we think are pretty much priority. And so 287 um is on that top of that list. 2871 comes second. This aligns
with the district. Uh Jay had asked us to come up with like a work with the district on partnerships that would maybe help show that the district has more partners that are willing to do these projects. And so this is the proposed list and the years that we would be requesting those funds in if
possible. So um I can talk about that list later, but it pretty much aligns a lot of what you'll see in the text master transportation plan. And we do have one Dallas district project which is the 11435 interchange because we do go into Denton County. And then with Trinity Metro, we are basically trying to focus on 10 projects that we've
already got some degree of funding for that we want to be able to continue and get them done. So this this is a list of projects I worked on with Tara Crawford and Annette and others to really kind of figure out what are things we know that we either have ready or that have some
type of funding with them that we can go ahead and carry those things forward over the short to uh long term. And then there's a program at tax dod and this is the last slide that or the last two that also uh you've heard them called turnbacks in the past now it's called
surplus right ofway. Um the city is mainly focused, TPW is mainly focused on doing these types of uh uh basically taking certain things off system when it really really really really makes sense for both entities. So I don't know if Mr. Nettles knew camp part of campus
drive is actually on system. So we're looking to work to take that off system because we maintain it and um and it serves as a city road. There's some other roads that are like that or there's little gaps in district 5. There's like uh 303 designation actually
extends about a mile east west of 820. That little piece doesn't neessally have to be on system. And so it's little things like that, but long corridors in Fort Worth probably aren't going to be too many that come off system. Um like North Main Street or uh Texas 199, those
still function as major freight corridors. The amount of assets on those corridors would be very expensive for us to be able to um maintain those over time. And so those are things we're going to leave for the state and the different uh propositions that are through the directly through the state. We want to keep those eligible for those
cost. Um also another thing with Fort Worth is since we have so many enclaves like Westworth and uh Edglcliffe within the city, it makes it hard to find contiguous limits. So but we do have a list of um of uh of of cleanups that we want to do with the turnback or the
surplus rightway program. So we've got a whole website. You've heard moving.org or and that's still up and running. We wrapped up public comment on April 9th. We're going to be taking things to plan commission. We're making some really great changes to the plan. Some of this based on readability like Jess provided
lots a lot of really good comments on how to reorganize the plan. We've also taken things in from the public comment and um we'll be bringing this to council on June 9th. >> Well, thank you, Kelly. Um first of all, this is very thorough. Kudos to you and your team and the entire transportation and public works department. This was a
lot of work and you y'all have really done a great job. Thank you. >> Any questions? >> No, I just wanted to say I tease Mr. Porter a lot because uh I I want to make sure district five is included, but my hat is off to you. This is stellar,
stellar, stellar work and I am excited that I believe that we are probably one of the largest urban areas that took this on and I just think it is such a model for the future. It was so needed. And so, um, I probably will be dead,
Kelly, before a lot of this happens in district five, but not in the city of Fort Worth. So, I am extremely grateful to you and your team for the work you did. >> Thank you. >> You any other comments, questions? >> All right. Thank you, Kelly. >> I want to add one thing, and I'm really appreciative of the team, but I also
want to acknowledge that a lot of departments, as Kelly said, have weighed in on this and worked very tirelessly on this plan. Um, so also huge thanks to all of those departments, city attorney's office, development services extensively, I think you named some of the others, fourth lab. Um, and there's
still ongoing collaboration in trying to make sure that this aligns with our comp plan that's coming up for uh the the update and some other things. So, it's been a a huge undertaking and I'm really appreciative of everybody's efforts in getting this done. >> Thank you, Kelly. Thank you.
>> All right, Jennifer Dyke, you're up next with Storm Water Strategic Plan. Okay, you now hear me? Good afternoon. U, my name is Jennifer Dyke. I am the um assistant director of the um stormwater management program in the transportation public works department. So, I'm actually here with Matt Gigglio from
Frees Nichols. He'll be giving the second part of this presentation. um and he is with Free Free Nichols and they are helping us with the strategic planning efforts. Um so we're really wanting to meet with y'all today because we're about to move into the second phase of our strategic planning effort and so this is a great time to pause
really make sure y'all are on board with what we're looking at before we move forward with really more detailed work efforts. So today we're just going to go through um a brief kind of reminder of what our strategic planning purpose is. kind of give a very brief history about the program background and where we're
at today. Um then Matt will talk about the future program recommendations and next steps. And really that future program recommendations is really where we want the bulk of your feedback um today. So um what is the purpose of the storm water strategic plan? Why are we doing this? The storm water program's
been around for 20 years now. Um and so we're really trying to be strategic and think about those next 20 years. We want to make sure that our program continues to align with city council strategic goals, that we're representing the interests and the concerns of the public, that we're really optimizing how
we use our resources today, and that we're planning for the future and understanding what those future resource needs are based off of the public feedback that we're receiving. So, we really feel like that our program touches on all of council's strategic um object objectives here on the screen.
Um, so as you think about, as you hear the presentation today, be thinking about, you know, is the future program direction that Matt will talk about, is it in alignment with council's strategic direction. Um, look at the the proposed service levels, does it make sense with
what we're proposing, think about potential roadblocks, and then additional engagements that we might need to be having. So, just a reminder about our program. I know I go over I think every presentation we do um but our mission is to protect people and property from harmful storm water runoff and we do that that through um four core
functions of our program. So maintaining our existing infrastructure um mitigating hazards by building more infrastructure improving what we have and because we just don't have those resources to improve everything at once. Um our warning program is very instrumental. Uh we want to make sure
people understand what those storm water risks are. And then uh we want to make sure that we have good development criteria and that we're reviewing development for compliance with city standards. So we really do consider our program a public safety program. So we're really focused on risk to life and
then risk to property. So this uh slide just kind of provides a history of the stormwater program. Um it started in 2004. So if you look at the very bottom graph, you will see um that our storm water fee started pretty low.
Um and then it ramped up over a period of like five years or so to kind of gear up. So we started um doing maintenance, doing capital improvements. Um at the beginning we were a much more reactive program and now we are a much more proactive program. So we went though
then a long period of time with no fee increases. Then in 2020 we got one and then we've had some more regular fee increases over the last several years. that has really helped us um to get more done, but there's still so much that we need to do. So, our current program now, we really
do feel like that we're in a really good place with our program today. Um you know, we've got a uh more as again more proactive maintenance. We've got a good capital program, moderately sized. um we've got good prioritization, but there
is a lot of um there's several um emerging challenges that we're really thinking about as we move forward. Uh we want to make sure one is that there's a lot of flood mitigation needs across the city and I know it rained at the end of April and that came back out again is
there's a lot of needs across the city that we're really looking at addressing. The second one is um deteriorating infrastructure. So just more and more reports of deteriorating um engineered channels and storm drain systems. Um we know the older parts of Fort Worth are
are pretty old now and so we want to make sure that we are rehabilitating that infrastructure and it continues to function as it needs to. Um in addition to looking at how we can improve the infrastructure and add more. Um we're also trying to be really competitive with how can we go after grant funding
and partnership funding to supplement the funding that we have. Um let's see. And then two, like everyone else, we're just trying to keep up with inflation. So to date, um we've spent the last um year or so really laying the groundwork for our strategic plan moving forward.
So that includes documenting our current service levels, identifying challenges and external factors that could impact our program into the future. We performed an internal criticality assessment with our team, really delving into what we do today, um and then engaging with stakeholders
So this slide up here um just kind of summarizes the types of stakeholders that we've engag engaging with. So um definitely a lot of our internal departments, departments and staff that we coordinate with regularly um we we've met with them one-on-one um as well as
external stakeholders and the public. So um civic institutions, development community, um we've got um residents and insurance all within our stakeholder group. We really want everyone to have a voice in this plan and we're trying to
hear from everyone. So this um timeline here shows where we've gone um over the last year and a half. This um our effort kind of kicked off at the very fall end of 2024. So at the very top um kind of summarizes our external engagement and
the bottom more our inter um or the top is our internal engagement more and the bottom of is our external engagement. So, um, we did go to all of the bond public meetings last in the fall of 24 and then this past spring. We thought
that was a great way to talk with residents who were already engaged attending these meetings so they could just come to one place. Um, we had a table, we had popup boards, we had a survey. So, really trying to get the feedback from those residents that attended the meetings um and and talk to
them about this um connected effort. Um we met with the um mobility infrastructure and transportation committee. So what this group was called um back in 2024. So we had a kickoff there. We met with council members one-on-one and the mayor. Um we had our
department me meetings. We had um some peer community meetings. We met with five different cities both inside and outside of Texas really trying to understand what they do and what their challenges are and how we could learn from them as we looked forward for the future of our program. Um and then we've
been meeting with we've had our stakeholder group meeting two times um to date. So when we met with the peer communities, we really um felt like that they were experiencing the same issues that we are up in Fort Worth up in the screen. Um you know, we were receiving
more and more rainfall. It's more intense legal challenges. Everyone's dealing with aging infrastructure, growth and development. um and then the impact of other initiatives and um the economy on their programs. So these are
really things that we're taking into account and keeping in mind as we're looking for the next 20 years. We really need to make sure that we're keeping these upfront. Um so with that, I'm going to pass it to Matt and Matt's really going to talk about the future program and this is really where we want
your thoughts as we're moving forward. um before we start going into doing more detailed analysis to make sure we're really heading in the right direction. So, Matt. >> All right. So, as Jennifer showed, we've executed a comprehensive stakeholder engagement plan over the past year and a
half. This has not only given us feedback on the current program, but it also allows us to see what's important as we look into the future. Uh and so, we're going to start out pretty high level on these slides, and then each one will drill more uh into more detail as we go through. Um so as we evaluated that uh feedback from the stakeholders
and also staff work sessions there was a common theme that came out of that and that theme was mature stewardship. What that means is a desire to refine and enhance the program not try to recreate it with the strategic plan. Um, so that's really the responsible
management of provided resources, community well-being, safety, uh, property. And so as we think about mature stewardship and identify what are some key characteristics, what does that look like? Uh, if we have that as the backdrop with how we're looking forward
into the future. And so some of those items are expansion of core services. This is the improve review, warn maintain that Jennifer talked about earlier with the mission in enhanced funding reliability to steadily maintain the services that are being provided and
meet those community expectations. Um asset management maturity to better handle the aging and growing assets over time. Inter department collaboration to better complement one another, optimize resources across the departments. Um and
also uh yeah partner where it makes sense and that also includes optimiz optimizing within the stormwater department itself to identify where there's some processes in place that we can make more efficient to stretch the dollar further. And of course throughout the strategic plan and throughout the
20-year planning horizon of the strategic plan making sure community participation informs us at every step of the way. So now as we think about key characteristics, we have to think about how does that translate to the services that are being provided and the service
levels. And so I'll give you a quick example on those. So one service for example is storm drain inspection. So right now storm drains are inspected on a 16-year cycle, meaning we'll hit one pipe and we'll come back to it in 16 years. We'll have the whole system. Um currently and so that also equates to
currently 26% of the storm drain pipe conditions are known. Um, another example is hazardous roadway over topping sites where hazardous flooding over tops the road. There's flashers that go off at some of those locations. And so one service level with that
service is that at any given time 90% of those are operational at any given time and not down for maintenance or other needs. Um, so that's just to give you an idea of what what I mean when I say service and service levels. And so it's important that we identify all of those for the stormwater program. And as we
think about 20 years in the strategic plan down the road, whether that service should be maintained, slightly increased, moderately increased or more aggressively increased over that time period. And I also highlight that just to maintain a service level over that time
period may still call uh may still require greater investment as again Jennifer noted, cost rise, assets grow. Uh, one thing we haven't quite got to yet, but one thing I'll note that we will be doing is if you imagine a red dash line is this 200 utility fee for
example, uh, we'll also have to identify as we talk about these levels of service that's being provided over this 20-year history. What it takes to meet those desired levels of service in the future. So whether that's most effective to have a ramp up period in the beginning towards the end or just a fairly linear
approach that can be planned on and expected. So there's a lot on the slide so we can come back to this one. Um but we've broken the program up into approximately 28 services and service levels. And so we've taken the feedback from
stakeholder engagement plan that was executed plus staff work sessions and identified where there's general satisfaction with the services being provided and the service levels uh versus where there may be more opportunity for emphasis or increases in service levels as we look out over those
20 years. Um so what you'll see here is that there's a um well I guess I'll take one step back. There was no feedback that indicated we should drop a service or lower a service level. I want to make that note. So, as you'll see, there are several services though where there was general
satisfaction with the services that are being provided in things like response time to service requests and flood risk notices and permit reviews. And then there's also some where uh we may slightly increase service levels over the 20 years based on the feedback
and that includes for example like storm water standards and ensuring criteria don't make things worse. So there's also ones that are more moderate or most aggressively increasing and so th those are really related to
the improve and maintain infrastructure categories of the mission. So this is ensuring the infrastructure is in good condition and ensuring the drainage uh infrastructure gets appropriately assized or upsized over time to handle uh the storm water runoff. And that also
includes finding ways to increase partnerships for capital improvement projects to again leverage that funding and make it go further. So this is a very important step for us. That's why I wanted to emphasize this slide. This is extremely critical step
for us because the next step is going to be identifying the funding and resource strategies necessary to achieve this. And as we look at items that are more moderately or most aggressively uh increase in service level over that period based on the feedback, that's going to translate to greater financial
investment and potentially uh impact rate payers as well, which is also why we're trying to be extremely strategic on which items we place in these buckets. It's we know we can't just increase everything. So we want to be very intentional and very strategic about what's the most critical needs.
So right now for this calendar year, the first half of the calendar year, we've been identifying those feature levels of service and and metrics that go along with them uh based on that stakeholder engagement journey uh over the past year and a half. And then second half of this calendar year, we'll be focused on uh
identifying that resource strategy to achieve those needs. And again, this is long-term 20-year plan. uh and then next calendar year will be focused on ident creating an implementation roadmap to put this plan into action and then ultimately one that by the end of next
year will be adopted please. With that, we'll circle back and uh love to hear any feedback you'd have. >> Feedback, questions, comments. >> I have a couple actually. Jennifer, um I don't see communication on the plan. And
so I think that's part I think part of the role of storm water too is communicating to the public. And so where would that fit in? And I'm thinking more of >> Sorry, go ahead and finish. Go ahead. Apologize. Um, so I know it's up here and I think it's like a public
education. Where is it on here? Oh, it's green. Yes. So, it's under slight. Um, and it is the second one, public education. And that involves communication. So, we we always get feedback that we need to, you know, communicate better. We need to communicate differently, more often. Um,
you know, how do we reach people that aren't hearing the message? Uh, so definitely that is of importance. Um, but if if y'all think that we need to increase the importance of it, we can consider doing that as well. >> I I think we should increase it and especially after that April 25th event,
and I feel like a lot of my time and probably yours too spent talking to the public and helping them understand what storm water department does, what the inlets are supposed to do, how often the drains are cleaned out. I mean, I couldn't answer any of those questions. And so I think being able to articulate that um either to our offices that we
can push that message out to the our constituents or being able to communicate with the public directly I think would be helpful. >> That's great. That's a perfect type of feedback that we want to receive. Um because as Matt said we're going to be putting you know kind of cost to these and so we need to know do we put more
more costs into the future um you know maintain just as we grow or so forth. So thank you good feedback. Then my second one, um, and going back to the ordinance, and I don't remember when we changed it. You'll have to refresh my memory, on the one acre threshold for storm water review. Yes. I think we
should revisit that, especially as we continue to grow at such a fast rate and we have so much infill construction projects, even if they're not in the flood plane. A lot of these projects are impacting their neighbors and it's not intend, you know, intended to do so. But we have no idea until after the fact. And so I'd love to see Storm Water take
a second look at that. >> Okay. Definitely. So yeah, we can we can look at what we're doing right now. We've got a list of potential improvements to our development regulations. We know we've got gaps. Um and it it really just comes down to a matter of of our time as well as our stakeholders time. So we know that we
can only tackle a few of these uh with our stakeholders at one time. Um but it's good to know in terms of what is important to uh city council. Um, and that does fall under too under slight is storm water standards is is that's showing that we want to continue to work on improvements and really making sure
that our standards are what they should be for the city of Fort Worth and what is the best for our community and residents. So, >> agreed. Thank you. >> Any other comments, questions? >> Thank you guys so much. Appreciate it. >> Thank you. >> That is the last of our briefings and we
are adjourned.