HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017/03/01-Minutes-City Council-Special Called CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
SPECIAL CALLED MEETING
MARCH 1, 2017
Present:
Mayor Betsy Price
Mayor Pro tem Dennis Shingleton, District 7
Council Member Salvador Espino, District 2
Council Member W.B. "Zim" Zimmerman, District 3
Council Member Cary Moon, District 4
Council Member Gyna Bivens, District 5
Council Member Jungus Jordan, District 6
Council Member Kelly Allen Gray, District 8
Absent:
Council Member Ann Zadeh, District 9
Staff Present:
City Manager David Cooke
Assistant City Manager Susan Alanis
Monica Hamilton, Mayor's Deputy Chief of Staff
TJ Patterson, Manager of Legislative Affairs
Legislative Consultants Present:
Brandon Aghamalion
Curtis L. Seidlits, Jr.
Billy Phenix
Angelo Zottarelli
Burt Solomon
Carsi Mitzner
David Parker
Lawrence Collins
Snapper Carr
Other:
Keith Graf, Director of Aerospace, Aviation, and Defense & Texas Military Preparedness
Commission
1.) Call to Order—Betsy Price, Honorable Mayor
With a quorum of the City Council Members present, Mayor Price called the Special Called
meeting of the Fort Worth City Council to order at 4:20 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1, 2017, at
the DoubleTree Hotel, 303 W 15th St, Meeting Room - Houston (Second Floor), Austin, Texas
78701.
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
SPECIAL CALLED MEETING
MARCH 1,2017
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2.) Introduction of Legislative Consultant Team — Thomas J. Patterson, Jr., Manager
of Legislative Affairs
Mr. Thomas J Patterson, Jr., Manager of Legislative Affairs, welcomed members and introduced
the Legislative Team
3.) Briefing and Discussion with Legislative Consultants Regarding Legislative Issues
and the 85th Legislative Session, including Items in the City Of Fort Worth's
Legislative Agenda—Snapper Carr, Focused Advocacy and City's Other Legislative
Consultants
a. Mr. Brandon Aghamalion addressed and welcomed group on behalf of Focused
Advocacy.
b. Mr. Aghamalian, Focused Advocacy Consultant, informed City Council of the last
day for bill filing, which is March 10th and that as of March 1St there are only 89 days
left of the legislative session.
c. Mr. Aghamalian, discussed specific talking points for City Council when speaking
with state officials.
The main issues included material on:
• Revenue Caps
• Annexation
• Pension
• Bonds
d. Mr. Agahmalian stressed the importance of preserving local control and the
appropriate use of Certificates of Obligations as well as Tax Notes for the City of Fort
Worth. He went on to elaborate on the specifics of why eliminating these options will
increase city costs and require more taxpayer dollars.
e. Mr. Snapper Carr, Focused Advocacy Consultant, explained small cell wireless
deployment. Companies are seeking access to ROW and Public facilities for
deployment of small wireless network infrastructure.
Mayor Price noted that she spoke with Senator Hancock on the issue and that he
thinks they will make internet faster and eliminate the need for hotspots.
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
SPECIAL CALLED MEETING
MARCH 1, 2017
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f. Mr. Carr discussed the following Fort Worth Issues:
• Business Assistance Center/TECH Fort Worth
o SB appropriations request(originally funded in 2005)
o $3M+ (city needs $1M)
o Two challenges for the city
■ Cuts to Higher Ed "special items" (Article 111) "Revenue Neutral"
■ "Contingency" structure of request, Comptroller Hegar
• Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant (DEEAG)
o Requesting:$60M (Senator Hinojosa, Rep. Rick Miller)
o House: $30M/Senate:$ 0
• Revenue Caps
o SB2 (Bettencourt) 4% rollback rate, plus automatic election
i. Mayor Price discussed S132 by Bettencourt and the reasons for our opposition. She
stated that it provides little tax relief and ultimately diverts attention away from the
core issue— school funding.
4.) Adjourn
There being no further business, Mayor Price adjourned the Special Called meeting at
5:21 p.m.
These minutes approved by the Fort Worth City Council on the 21" day of March, 2017.
Attest: Approve
Mary J. Kayser Betsy Pri
City Secretary