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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006/04/28-Minutes-City Council CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28—29, 2006 INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION CENTER 1001 JONES STREET FORT WORTH, TEXAS Friday,April 28, 2006 Present: Mayor Mike Moncrief Mayor Pro tem Chuck Silcox, District 3 (left at 2:15 p.m.) Council Member Salvador Espino, District 2 Council Member Becky Haskin, District 4 (arrived at 9:18 a.m.) Council Member Donavan Wheatfall, District 5 Council Member Jungus Jordan, District 6 Council Member Carter Burdette, District 7 Council Member Kathleen Hicks, District 8 Council Member Wendy R. Davis, District 9 (arrived at 8:50 a.m.) City staff: Charles Boswell, City Manager Libby Watson, Assistant City Manager Joe Paniagua, Assistant City Manager Marc Ott, Assistant City Manager Dale Fisseler, Assistant City Manager Richard Zavala, Acting Assistant City Manager David Yett, City Attorney Marty Hendrix, City Secretary Fernando Costa, Planning Director Guests: Mike Eastland, Executive Director, North Central Texas Council of Governments James S. Grauley, Senior Vice President, Bank of America Brian Roop, Senior Vice President, Bank of America Bill Thornton, President of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce Rosa Navejar, President of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Devoyd Jennings, President of the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce Russell Laughlin, Senior Vice President, Hillwood Development Corporation Michael Mallick, Vertex Asset Partners, LP. Other individuals in attendance included the Department Heads or Assistant Department Heads and certain City staff support. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 2 of 47 The Fort Worth City Council Spring Retreat was called to order by Mayor Moncrief at 8:35 a.m. on Friday, April 28, 2006, in the Meeting Room of the Intermodal Transportation Center, 1001 Jones Street, Fort Worth 76102. Council Members Davis and Haskin arrived later in the meeting. Mayor Moncrief provided opening remarks. He emphasized that it was important to be able to engage in this process. He stated it provided everyone the opportunity to listen to the City staff and the experts on the next steps to build the great City of Fort Worth. He pointed out that the Council would be talking about trends and hopefully find this information very useful. He stated that they would also hear of ways for dealing with and keeping up with the rapid growth and development and focusing on redevelopment in the City. He pointed out that the Council would hear about the needed infrastructure to sustain the City. Mayor Moncrief indicated the Council and staff would be discussing what the challenges are and how the public perceives what the Council is doing. He thanked the staff for their work in this important endeavor. Mayor Moncrief opened the floor for remarks from the City Council. Council Member Espino pointed out that it was no secret in the City that growth is affecting the infrastructure. He added that he is looking for funding strategies to address this issue. City Manager Boswell provided opening remarks. He stated that the genesis that put this retreat as a priority was the result of his evaluation with the City Council and Council Member Burdette's concern as to where the City is going and the long term strategies. He stated this retreat exercise is different than what the City has done in the past. He stated that the Council and staff are taking the big picture and looking at the trends and challenges of the growth in the outlying areas and redevelopment of the inner city. He stated that there will be a lot of outside expertise that will be given and healthy perspectives to be shared with the Council and there will be time to have some good dialogue. Mayor Moncrief requested that the Council listen to the City staff and the guest experts and he asked the Council to think globally and how the issues affect the entire City and not just the individual Council districts. He pointed out one issue in one district may affect another district. He also spoke about the need to look at things with a regional approach. He asked for the Council to hold questions until the presentations are completed. Local Growth and Development Trends By Fernando Costa, Planning Director Fernando Costa, Planning Director for the City of Fort Worth, spoke about the benefit of the recent bus tours of the various City Council Districts taken by the Council. He stated the tours showed the benefits of each district as well as the blight and poverty. He stated that the tours showed the concentration of apartments in certain areas that are in declining conditions. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 3 of 47 He mentioned all of the roof tops that were seen in the North Fort Worth area and spoke about the unprecedented demands placed upon the City from the fast pace growth and development. He pointed out that one of the issues the City faces is how does the City react to it. He emphasized the fact that the reaction mode is what the City is doing and he pointed out that is the reason everyone was here today to try and get ahead of the curve. He pointed out the areas of concern for city facilities, areas to annex and the question of what kind of city does the City of Fort Worth want to become. He pointed out how much it has changed in 20 years and that it is a different place. Mr. Costa pointed out that in 20 years from now, it will be even more different. He emphasized that the City is growing at an extraordinary rate. He clarified that it is going to happen; therefore, the City needs to determine how to preserve its identity and quality of life. He advised that there is the question of how does the City manage that growth and change — by reactionary measures or make a decision to set the tone for those decisions. He stated that these are some of the challenges for today. Mr. Costa reinforced the process for the presentations to be given and areas of discussion for the retreat and suggested ground rules, i.e., the Council and staff think about city-wide issues and before making district specific comments, comments must first be specific to another Council district or the City as a whole. Comments could also be made about the City's vision five (5) to 15 years from now. He emphasized the need to think city-wide, long range or term at this retreat. At this time, Mr. Costa introduced guest speaker, Mike Eastland, Executive Director of the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), who had arrived at the meeting. Using a PowerPoint Presentation, Mr. Costa presented a chart showing the population growth in Fort Worth from 1950 with a population under 300,000 to projected population in 2030 at over 800,000. He spoke about the growth being faster than projected by the NCTCOG. He advised that the estimated population is now 661,850. He presented the new slide showing the 2006 population of major cities and pointed out that Fort Worth was now the 18th largest city in the United States. He spoke about where this growth has been occurring throughout the City and the areas that are showing the most growth. At this time, Council Member Espino interjected that he does not agree with NCTCOG's estimate of the decrease in population in the Central City area. He stated that the US Census counts tend to undercount the Hispanic population. Mr. Costa presented a chart showing the population by color coded block groups for the years 1990 — 2000, with the heavy growth in the northern part of the City, the south and southwest areas. He then reviewed the slide showing the population growth projections for years 2005 — 2030 color coded by areas. The growing areas were shown to be the west and southwest portions of the City, with additional growth area pockets in the north. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 4 of 47 Mr. Costa continued his presentation with a review of a chart showing the areas that have been subject to approved preliminary plats and concept plans. The areas for preliminary plats were reflected to be in the north, west and south parts of the City and concept plans in the west part of Fort Worth and some in north part of the City. He reviewed the far north and far northwest as to the number of preliminary plats and concept plans that had been approved. He then reviewed a chart showing the new housing units for both duplex and single family from 2002 to 2005. He presented the charts showing the 2005 new housing starts (single-family permits and multi-family permits) for the entire city and then zoomed in on the far north and far northwest areas. He pointed out the areas that can become as large as the Cities of Plano or Irving in those areas. Mr. Costa provided a chart showing the value of building permits for new construction, additions and remodels for residential and non-residential. He then reviewed the chart showing the non-residential new construction and additions for commercial, medical, warehouse and miscellaneous categories. He presented charts showing the employment growth in Fort Worth by place of work for the years 1990 — 2030 by the number of employees and a color-coded chart of the work locations throughout the City. He reviewed the chart showing the unemployment rates for 1990—2005. He stated that Fort Worth has been sensitive to the economy's ups and downs. He advised of the City gaining national attention as a City that provides a high quality of life and is a highly livable City. He stated that Fort Worth has a vision for what Fort Worth wants to become, i.e., `By the year 2020, Fort Worth will be commonly recognized as the most livable city in Texas. He reviewed the vision for the future and the slides showing this information as follows: 1. Residents will be able to enjoy Fort Worth's friendly atmosphere and the opportunities that are associated with a growing economy and diverse community. 2. Fort Worth's public schools will produce well-rounded citizens and a skilled workforce to fill high-paying jobs in local businesses. 3. Fort Worth's environmental quality will also be superior, meeting the highest national standards. Mr. Costa spoke about the seven strategic goals that have been established by the City Council as follows: 1. Make Fort Worth the nation's safest major city. 2. Improve mobility and air quality. 3. Create and maintain a clean, attractive city. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 5 of 47 4. Strengthen the economic base, develop the future workforce, and create quality job opportunities. 5. Revitalize and redevelop the central city and other older areas. 6. Promote orderly development in growing areas. 7. Promote efficient, user-friendly government. He presented a chart showing the shifting paradigms to create a more livable city as follows: Issue From To Preferred development pattern Dispersed Multiple growth centers Commercial development Single-use corridors Mixed-use villages Multifamily development Scattered, isolated Targeted, mixed-use Transportation Highway emphasis Multi-modal Zoning Reactive Proactive, inclusive Annexation Reactive Proactive, inclusive Comprehensive Plan relevance Limited Broader Citizens Consumers Partners Mr. Costa pointed out the need for changes in the way the world is viewed around us. He challenged the Council to think about changing the pattern of growth and development to multiple growth centers and from single uses to mixed uses. He reviewed the referenced list and explained each topic and the reason for the change in their way of thinking on these topics. He emphasized to the Council that their decisions today will affect how the city changes for the future. He talked about the regional approach for growth and development as well. Mr. Costa spoke about "The Other Fort Worth", which will be presented by City Manager Boswell and that it represents other problems that the City has to address. Mr. Costa opened the session for discussion and/or questions from the Council Members. Council Member Espino pointed out the use of the City's Comprehensive Plan, which serves as guidelines on land use. He emphasized the need to have more teeth in that document or other City policy in order to address developers that come to the City and want to do something else. He questioned the City staff as to what can be done to address this dilemma. Council Member Espino also talked about the cumulative zoning issue particularly as it related to properties zoned Agricultural, Multi-family and Industrial and the issue that single family residences can be built in those zoned districts. His point was that this was an issue of placing single-family homes where they should not be placed. Council Member Espino then spoke about the issue he has with the "cookie cutter neighborhoods" that can be seen in District 2, Districts 6 and 7. He stated that these subdivisions all look alike and the homes are all very similar and that there is a CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 6 of 47 question of the quality of the construction of the homes and infrastructure of those neighborhoods. Mr. Costa advised that the City's Comprehensive Plan is not a legal statute for the development of the City. He indicated that is done by zoning of the properties. He spoke about the bad zoning that does exist in Fort Worth. He suggested placing high on the agenda the need to bring the City's zoning into compliance with the City's Comprehensive Plan. He gave as an example the Joint Reserve Base located in the City and the issue of promoting compatible land uses around the base that can operate with that installation at that location. He stated that this is a tough issue. He emphasized that being proactive and inclusive is the answer to the first question posed by Council Member Espino. Mr. Costa stated that cumulative zoning is a good thing; however, there is bad zoning in the city. He stated that commercial zoning and multi- family zoning does allow housing developments. He suggested that looking at areas to consider for more dense development. He stated that the Council can look at the zoning maps and this process is best done at a district level. Mr. Costa addressed the "cookie cutter neighborhoods" issue by pointing out that this topic was the subject taken from the Task Force or Focus Group on sustainable neighborhoods. He stated that they focused on the development of future neighborhoods that will sustain their values and promote quality construction. He advised that the upcoming zoning text amendments are the result of their work and they are a step in the right direction. He pointed out that the Council will consider three zoning text amendments to address residential design, setbacks, etc., on their agenda for Tuesday, May 2. Council Member Burdette pointed out that the rapid growth has directed the Council to this retreat. He stated he wanted to see two things addressed at the retreat: (1) Identify what problems the City has because of rapid growth, i.e., transportation, schools, infrastructure, city services and facilities, etc.; (2) What the City can do to address these problems, i.e., clarification as to what can and can't be done. He added that in his opinion the City has become more proactive in this regard. He stated that the City is trying to find tools to approach the problems, to identify the problems and determine what can be done about them. Council Member Burdette stated that the City staff and Council have talked about the growth and population inside the City of Fort Worth; however, the City is surrounded by other municipalities and their citizens use the City's assets. He stated that it is more people than the statistics show and the City's control over those areas are limited. Council Member Burdette stated that he is struck by the fact that Fort Worth has been identified as one of the "most livable cities." He added that by being such a wonderful city may be the reason Fort Worth is growing so fast. He stated that the City needs to be cautious about advertising that fact and what it is really bringing to the City. He emphasized the need to focus CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 7 of 47 on the problems and what can be done to negate some of them. He pointed out that the City has no control over issue of private ownership of land and private investment. (Council Member Haskin arrived at the meeting.) Mayor Pro tem Silcox pointed out that the Comprehensive Plan is just a guide. He added there are times that developers bring forth developments that do not fit the plan; however, he felt that they may be better than what the Comp Plan has designated. He referenced an area in his district where a developer wanted to make it industrial and another use as identified in the Comp Plan. He stated that this was a good development as the area is in the flight pattern of the Joint Reserve Base. He indicated that he does not necessary want to follow the Comp Plan exactly. Mayor Pro tem Silcox talked about the poor residential zoning on the west side of the City in his district and the situation where a developer purchased two 1 acre lots and was going to develop A5 single family homes, when the existing neighborhood has larger homes, with one home per acre or lot. He stated that the zoning was originally A-1 to the tiered level and now everything is zoned A-5. He emphasized that property owners need to know their zoning and have the correct zoning placed on their property. He pointed out the importance of the citizens to participate in this process. He suggested the City look at working with the citizens to check their zoning and get them the zoning that they want to be on their residential homes. Mayor Moncrief stated that Council Members are moving in that direction to do larger pieces of residential areas for rezoning instead of lots by lots. Mayor Pro tem Silcox stated that this needs to be a city-wide project. Council Member Wheatfall pointed out that the City's Plan Commission Members and Zoning Commission Members need to be here to see and hear this discussion. He stated that they are the front line of defense in this regard. He stated that Council does not always get to hear and see the great detail of zoning cases when they are brought forward as is done when the case is before those two commissions. Council Member Wheatfall stated he does a lot of business in Dallas and North Dallas. He stated that he felt there was a great similarity to what has happened in the Dallas area and as to what is now occurring in Fort Worth. He pointed out that they are a model, whether it is good or bad. He suggested the City of Fort Worth look to see how they grew up in order to avoid the pitfalls and problems they have now. He pointed out that they are surrounded by huge suburban municipalities that require and use their infrastructures. He stated that Forth Worth needs to plan for the land being annexed and how the growth and development trends evolved and get lessons learned. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 8 of 47 Council Member Jordan stated that the Mayor is right; he wants to look at trends. He pointed out what Fort Worth has inherited and talked about protecting the borders or city limits. He stated the first annexation was Nile City and the creation of jobs evolved from cattle, oil and gas to aviation. He talked about the economic development and the establishment of TCU, the bomber plant, etc. He stated by looking at trends, the City can see what needs to occur. He talked about what occurred in Fort Worth through the 50's, 60's and 70's. He stated that in the 70's students were getting out of college and leaving Fort Worth as there were no jobs to keep them here. He emphasized the need to see what jobs are being created to keep people here in Fort Worth. He pointed out the history of General Dynamics and American Airlines in Fort Worth. He felt the new jobs were now in construction and these jobs will not be sustainable. He added he wants to focus on this aspect from now on. Council Member Hicks talked about the focus on certain districts and the issue of poverty and blight that exist in the City. She stated the bus tour showed those areas. She added she wants to move beyond the "us and them" and think of"us" all of the time. Council Member Davis talked about the problems created through a concentration of too much of one kind of development in one area or one district. She pointed out as an example too much residential development in District 6 with not enough commercial and retail to support the residential units. She stated when the City is allowing a much higher portion of single family development than the other uses; the City is just encouraging the longer car trips for groceries and other needs and long trips to go to work. She stated these developments are making people have to get on the City's arterial roadways. She stated this raises issues with the theory of cumulative zoning. She stated the City needs good proactive zoning and the cumulative zoning is allowing this problem development to occur. She emphasized that she wants to see proactive zoning activated again so that the cumulation is balanced correctly. She stated the other issue is lot size. She indicated she wants to see some information on what has happened in the zoning to the category of lot sizes. She posed the questioned of what has been the proportion of zoning and has there been an increase in the larger lot size categories. She stated that if not, then what does the City want to look at to encourage this type of development. Mayor Moncrief stated that the presentation was outstanding and it tells him one more time that the City has a gifted planner on the team. He thanked Mr. Costa for the presentation. Regional Growth and Development Trends By Mike Eastland, Executive Director of NCTCOG Mr. Eastland stated that he is enjoying the discussion of the Council and hoped that all Councils would be doing this type of forward planning. He talked about working with the citizens for a win-win situation. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 9 of 47 Using a PowerPoint Presentation, Mr. Eastland reviewed the projected growth for the North Texas area from now to the year 2030. He stated that currently there are 1.9 million households, and an additional 1.5 million will be added to result in 3.4 million by the year 2030. He started that currently there are 3.1 million jobs and 2.3 million will be added, resulting in 5.4 million in 2030. He stated that there are 3.9 million people in the region and it will grow to 10 million people. He pointed out that the area will be growing five or six Fort Worths from this point forward. Mr. Eastland presented slides showing the projected growth and transportation issues. The maps showed the peak period of congestion and the moderate to severe congestion areas in the region currently up to the year 2030. He talked about the congestion on the freeways now in the Dallas area and the need for $45 billion for all modes of transportation, i.e., rail, HOV lanes, tollways, intelligent transportation systems, etc. He emphasized that the region cannot build its way out. He stated that there are just no more fees and no more taxes that can solve this problem and the region will have to do something different. Mr. Eastland emphasized the air quality problem. He presented a slide that stated that urbanized area of the region violates the 8-hour federal health standard for ground level ozone; transportation funding is dependent on air quality conformity; mobile sources are the leading cause of Nitrogen Oxide emissions; and TCEQ is in the process of developing an 8-hour ozone attainment demonstration State Implementation Plan. He spoke about the severe water problem that the region faces in the future. He stated that the region will have to build a lake or two in East Texas. He pointed out by 2050, Dallas — Fort Worth area will require 2.2 billion gallons per day. He stated that currently available resources can provide 1.6 billion gallons per day, representing a 32% shortfall. He emphasized that satisfying demand will require the development of a major lake in East Texas and/or purchase of developed water from Oklahoma or other Texas sources. Mr. Eastland also talked about the increased reuse of treated wastewater and the need for local conservation programs. Mr. Eastland presented a slide on the projected growth and the environment. He stated that each of the major rivers have sections that do not meet the state's designated water quality standards. He pointed out that storm water runoff from developed areas may cause flooding, stream bank erosion, and pollution of streams and lakes. Mr. Eastland stated that more than 100 local governments will soon be required in state-issued permits to address storm water pollution from new and redevelopment projects. He stated Fort Worth has embarked on the storm water management issue and adopted 90% of what is necessary. He emphasized that he wants other cities to do the same thing. He pointed out that it is a regional issue and other cities need to do it as well in order to be successful. Mr. Eastland emphasized the complex issues facing the region are: transportation, air quality, water supply, the environment and education. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 10 of 47 Mr. Eastland continued his presentation by talking about the Center of Development Excellence. He stated it was established in 2001. He stated that it was identified in the 1999- 2003 NCTCOG Strategic Plan to provide local governments and the private sector a forum to evaluate and form partnerships on regional growth issues. He stated that the Steering Committee is chaired by Fernando Costa, Fort Worth's Planning Director, and it is comprised of elected officials, City Managers, developers, architects, engineers, real estate finance professionals, planning and zoning members and others. He stated that this steering committee first developed a mission statement and "Ten Principles of Development Excellence." Mr. Eastland reviewed their mission statement as follows: The mission of the Center of Development Excellence is to promote quality growth in North Central Texas that enhances the built environment, reduces vehicle miles of travel, uses water and energy resources effectively and efficiently, and helps advance environmental stewardship in order to ensure continued economic vitality and provide the highest attainable quality of life for all residents. He advised of the 10 principles: 1. Development options 2. Efficient growth 3. Pedestrian Design 4. Housing Choice 5. Activity Centers 6. Environmental Stewardship 7. Quality Places 8. Transportation Efficiency 9. Resource efficiency 10. Implementation Mr. Eastland then emphasized that what they are doing now in this endeavor is education, education, education. He stated that the goal is to talk with as many people as possible. He advised of the Urban Land Institute — North Texas process. He advised of the first regional workshop session that was held on April 25, 2006. This was a public-private partnership held at the University of Texas at Arlington, with three lead sponsors. Mr. Eastland emphasized that what this process is not as follows: 1. Not a requirement 2. Not an effort to create a new level of regional government 3. Not a change toward regional decision-making 4. Not an overall land use or zoning plan for the Metroplex. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 11 of 47 Mr. Eastland stated that the session began with a morning Lego exercise with 15 tables with 10 participants each, plus facilitators and recorders. The challenge was if these individuals could create a more successful and sustainable region than the NCTCOG's forecasts. He showed photographs of the participants, with representatives from the City of Fort Worth, i.e., Mayor Moncrief and Assistant City Manager Libby Watson. He explained they modeled two regional scenarios in order to address the current problems. He explained that one scenario was the rail scenario and to provide for infill scenario with lower density. He pointed out that in the region the farther the development moves out, the larger it gets. He spoke about what has occurred in the City of Frisco in Collin County. He pointed out that this affects travel. He reviewed the scenarios showed better transportation results than NCTCOG's 2030 forecasts. He talked about the scenarios reducing vehicle miles, lane mile needs, financial needs, roadway pavement needs and a reduction in the air quality emissions. Mr. Eastland then reviewed the polycentric scenario hybrid generated from the workshop and explained that showed even better results. He stated that this scenario reflects the proper growth, with jobs and it is a livable city. Mr. Eastland reviewed the charts showing distribution of 1.5 million new households from 2000 to 2030 (4.1 million residents) and distribution of 2.3 million new jobs from 2000 to 2030. He then presented the top rankings for next steps as follows: 1. Education about regional choices a. Focused on public officials b. Focused on property owners and developers 2. Holding similar visioning workshops at a subregional level 3. Further study the costs and benefits of these regional growth patterns 4. Set regional investment priorities based on a preferred growth scenario (83% said"essential this year" or"important as resources become available") He reviewed the chart showing the Vision for North Texas in Phase 2. It contained the following points: 1. Second phase over two years through September 2007 2. Continues as a public-private partnership among NCTCOG, Urban Land Institute, UTA, others 3. Annual budget targeted at $300,000 with half from public sources, half from private sources 4. NCTCOG has assumed staff administrative responsibilities, engaged project manager CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 12 of 47 5. Work continues to be guided by a steering committee of public and private leaders. Mr. Eastland concluded his presentation and pointed out Fort Worth is going to be larger than Dallas. He challenged the Council as to what to do with the growth. He emphasized that bigger is not always better. Mayor Moncrief thanked him for the presentation. He stated he could not help but notice from the presentation, and that by looking to the future, that what occurs will have a great impact on the air quality and the time for travel. He stated that the impact of rail is significant here and he emphasized the need to focus on it and to work in a regional effort to augment what is here. He asked about the impact that it can have on the air quality. He stated that the region has been identified as having some of the worst air in the entire country. Mike Eastland stated that rail is certainly an important part of the long term requirement for the region. He added it will not solve everything. He emphasized the need to get people out of their cars and to create economic opportunities for the work force and ways to move the work force. He pointed out that unfortunately only 3% or 4% of the population will utilize the rail or mass transit; however, one rail line eliminates two lanes for traffic on the expressway. He stated that it is important for the region and to address the growth patterns that keep occurring further out. Mayor Moncrief stated that"yes", Fort Worth is going to grow and be larger than Dallas; however, it is the quality of life issue that needs to continue. He pointed out Council Member Burdette's comments about advertising the City as "most livable" and he is very proud of that designation and it does attract people to move to the City. The Other Fort Worth By City Manager Charles Boswell City Manager Charles Boswell stated that this presentation was put together for a recent presentation to the Rotary Club. He indicated that it was not just good things. He added he wanted to focus on other things existing in the City that are not acknowledged, i.e., problems and concerns, with the caveat that there is a movement towards the positive and hope for improvements. He began this PowerPoint Presentation by showing photographs of various corporate headquarters and upcoming projects, i.e., Pier One, Radio Shack and the Trinity Uptown project. He showed the population growth trends by the years 1970 and 1980 and the census population data. He pointed out that from the 1970's to the 1980, Fort Worth lost population. He pointed out the surrounding suburban cities and how small they were at the time. He stated that there were several things going on during this period of time, i.e., the opening of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which was an employment magnet for the area; the white flight out of Fort Worth Independent School District; and the increase in blight and higher crime rate in the City. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 13 of 47 He stated that these things put the City at a competitive disadvantage. He pointed out the 1980's population and the growth of the suburban cities and stated that this is what the City is competing with for economic development. He showed charts of the 1980's population growth and the 1990's population growth and how much the other suburban cities have grown during that period of time compared to the growth experienced by the City. Mr. Boswell continued his presentation with a review of the Nation Rankings for the City in 2005 as follows: • Fort Worth is the fastest growing large city since 2000. • Fort Worth's population ranked No. 19 in the national by the U. S. Census Bureau. • Fort Worth ranked No. 9 as one of America's safest cities by Morgan Quitno Press' City Crime Rankings 12`h Edition. He spoke about the time that Fort Worth was one of the most unsafe cities in the nation. Mr. Boswell highlighted the City of Fort Worth Fiscal Health as follows: • City property tax revenues have increased 62 percent since FY 1999-00. • From 1995 to 2005, the total value of all new construction increased from $0.5 billion to $1.4 billion. • In 2005, Fort Worth had an Aal bond rating from Moody's Investors Service and an AA+rating from Fitch and Standard and Poor's. Mr. Boswell spoke about the City's designation as one of the "Most Livable Communities" in 2004. He pointed out that the question was the most livable city in 2004 for whom really? He stated for all residents— and the answer is "no." He showed maps indicating the population growth by block group from 1990 to 2000 with color-coded areas of the city with the most growth done to areas with the least growth. He stated that the City's central city lost population. He reviewed the map showing the projected population growth for the years 2000 to 2030 from the NCTCOG. He pointed out that the growth is being created outside Loop 820. He showed pie charts on showing the breakdown downs on race/ethnicity from the years 1990, 2000, 2025. He pointed out that the African- Americans have stayed about the same, while the Hispanic population has grown. Mr. Boswell reviewed the pie chart showing the non-English speaking households for the years 1990 to 2000. He pointed out that one-fourth (25%) of all Fort Worth households speak a language other than English at home. He reviewed the minority population areas of the City shown in the maps which are largely African-American and Hispanic or collectively both. He CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 14 of 47 stated that these areas have an overlay with the greater challenges, beginning with unemployment rates in the year 2000 which were at 4.2 percent. Mr. Boswell reviewed the map showing the unemployment rates in 2000 and the areas with the largest unemployment statistics. He reviewed the median household income map for the year 2000 and advised that the citywide median household income was $37,074 and the poverty level for a family of four was $17,603. He pointed out the darker areas on the map where these individuals are living in the City. Mr. Boswell then reviewed the density map of violent crime. This map showed the activity from October 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005. He explained that the highest areas of crime are on the far west side and in two areas on east side of the City. He then presented a map showing the open substandard housing complaints. He showed several substandard streets and drainage in the Central City. He advised that 12% of the City's streets are in poor condition, with a much higher percentage of poor streets in the Central City. He reviewed a chart showing the percentage of adults (25+) with Bachelor's Degrees or higher for the years 1990 and 2000 in the City. He pointed out the important thing to see is that this has just not changed that much over this period of time. He indicated that Fort Worth is falling behind in the state, the region and nation regarding the higher education attainments. He pointed out the high drop rate in the school district. He added that a game plan needs to be created to address this issue and the City needs to partner with school systems to address this issue. Mr. Boswell showed a chart of the households without health insurance in Tarrant County. He stated that overall, 21% of households in Tarrant County are lacking health insurance for all members. He added that the percentages are much larger in the Hispanic and African-American communities. He pointed out that 52% is representative of the Black/African- American and Hispanic/Latino community. He reviewed infant mortality rate map for the year 2003. He pointed out that the citywide rate is 8.7%. He spoke about the health issue of prenatal care for mothers and postnatal care of infants of low income families is not adequate. City Manager Boswell stated this percentage has always been higher in Fort Worth than other cities that are benchmarked. City Manager Boswell reviewed the health issues in a chart showing the comparison of the Central City to Fort Worth citywide. The categories were household smoker, high blood pressure, heart problems and diabetes. The Central City area had higher incidents of health issues and he pointed out that this is the area where people do not have health insurance. City Manager Boswell reviewed a chart showing the prevalence of hunger with the following points: • Over 83,000 residents of Fort Worth are living at or below the poverty level, and are thus at risk of going hungry • Over 1/3 are children CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 15 of 47 Others at risk: • Senior citizens on fixed incomes • Single parents earning minimum wage • Chronically ill or severely disabled individuals • Unemployed workers • Homeless families and individuals • He reviewed the hungry issue He reviewed the homeless population trend in Tarrant County showing a chart of the people in emergency shelters. The chart showed the figures for the years 1997 to 2006 and going from 850 up to 1,635. Mr. Boswell stated that according to the January 26, 2006, homeless county, 4,134 people are homeless in Tarrant County. This includes people who are unsheltered, in emergency shelters, and in transitional and permanent supportive housing. City Manager Boswell reviewed the chart showing the comparison of City of Fort Worth and the Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) boundaries. He reviewed the chart showing the growth in assessed value for the years 1990 to 2005, particularly for the years 1998 values compared to 2005 values. The result is that the City has more growth and more growth in assessed value. He added another benefit is that the City is not land locked like FWISD. He continued his presentation with the question, "What are we doing?" He reviewed the City Council's strategic goals as follows: • Make Fort Worth the nation's safest major city; • Improve mobility and air quality; • Create and maintain a clean, attractive city; • Strengthen the economic base, develop the future workforce, and create quality job opportunities; • Revitalize and redevelop the central city and other older areas; • Promote orderly development in growing areas; • Promote efficient, user-friendly government. He pointed out the responses to crime using various types of programs, i.e., Crime Free Multi-family Housing, Citizens on Patrol (COP) and Rape Prevention Program. He advised of enforcement efforts, i.e., crime trends analysis, crime response teams, patrol officers, gang unit, and narcotics unit. He emphasized that through all of these efforts the City has made a big turnaround which has resulted in the 9th safest city in the country. Mr. Boswell spoke about the Central City Revitalization Principal Strategies as follows: CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 16 of 47 • Develop compact, pedestrian-oriented mixed-use growth centers • Revitalize distressed commercial corridors by developing mixed-use villages along those corridors • Develop market rate and mixed-income housing He reviewed a map showing the 16 urban villages and the Central City area. He then reviewed how the City is promoting the development of urban villages, as follows: • Constructing capital improvements to upgrade infrastructure and create high quality public spaces; • Applying economic incentives to make urban infill projects as profitable as suburban development; • Applying mixed-use zoning to permit higher-density, pedestrian-oriented development consistent with community vision. He highlighted a map showing the 15 designated neighborhood empowerment zones. He advised that the basic Neighborhood Empowerment Zone incentives are: municipal property tax abatement, development fee waivers, and the release of City liens. He reviewed a success story in the form of the Berry/Riverside Village, which was a rundown dilapidated apartment complex of 1,014 units. He pointed out that was torn down for the hope in the future in the Sierra Vista proj ect. He reviewed the two charts showing the stats on the proposed single-family development for Sierra Vista, with the private investment of $18,828,000 and the City's investment at$3,455,000. City Manager Boswell then presented the emergency repair program which has annual targets of 400 homes that receive emergency or weatherization repair. He added that 25 homes receive major repairs and 100 homes are painted through the Cowtown Brushup program. He showed photographs of a rehabbed house with before and after shots. Mr. Boswell continued his presentation with a review of the current annual street maintenance budget for 2005. He emphasized the total was $34.5 million, with $4.7 million in routine maintenance (operating funds) to preserve pavement; $17.0 million in major maintenance (operating funds) to resurface pavement; and total reconstruction (bond funds) to reconstruct the roadways. He advised that at least 90% of these funds will be spent within the Central City. He spoke about the substandard drainage responses. He advised of the 2004 bond program in drainage projects, with $10 million for 10 major projects (80% in Central City) and $2.7 million for 20 to 30 small projects (55% in Central City). He reviewed the high-water warning system, with 18 locations operating (50% in Central City). He advised of the watershed planning studies for $1.3 million (100% in Central City). He spoke about the storm water utility which will be used to fund capital improvements over long-term ($500 million+) at least 2/3 CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 17 of 47 within the Central City. He presented two photographs of drainage improvements at Butler- McClure Low Water Crossing (Sycamore Creek Tributary). City Manager Boswell talked about the promotion of economic development and the work of the Business Assistance Center and Women's Business Center. He reviewed the statistics provided for 2005 which indicated that they facilitated the creation of 1,444 jobs (valued at $2 million); contracts to clients of$48 million; loans to clients of$16 million, with a total economic impact of$66 million. Mr. Boswell highlighted the stay-in-school support through the programs of Early Childhood Matters program, afterschool programs, Fort Worth Public Library, Municipal Attendance Court, Comin' Up Program and other gang intervention programs and Stay-in- School Initiative. He talked about the stay in school support. He spoke about the public health physical activity programs, i.e., FitFuture partner and the Fort Worth Public Health Department Community Physical Activity Programs. City Manager Boswell highlighted the Mayor's Advisory Commission on Homelessness, which was recently developed. He advised of their vision and their work to develop a work plan for a ten-year plan to end homelessness. He advised of their participation in Tarrant County homeless count on January 26, 2006. City Manager Boswell concluded his presentation with two questions and their answers: Can we fix all of these issues? Not 100% Can we make a positive impact? Yes Just a 10%improvement in certain measures= 1,500 people who obtain jobs 1,500 families who get out of poverty 400 people who are no longer homeless Mayor Moncrief commended City Manager Boswell on his presentation and that it reflected the "good, bad and the ugly." He stated that the City can have an impact and the one thing that continues to be focused on is the drop out rate in schools. He added that he felt the City is moving in the right direction when dealing with the City's infrastructure needs. He added that when the City is dealing with the larger picture issues, the policy makers must raise awareness of the issue of the drop out rate. He added that this is disconcerting that there is a lack of formal education in the community and that the City is not keeping up with the similar size cities or other states in this regard. Mayor Moncrief also spoke about the infant mortality rate issue and that the City is not trending in the direction needed. He stated that the City needs to drill down deeper into this problem in order to determine a plan to have an effect. Mayor CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 18 of 47 Moncrief talked about the FitFuture Fort Worth program and that this program is making people aware of the need to address health concerns and that this program continues to grow. He suggested finding a way to fit it into the prenatal and postnatal care piece that needs to be addressed and raise its awareness. He stated that he also wants to focus on the homelessness issue. He indicated that he wants to have the goal of getting people back to work and give them hope. He stated that this message is certainly testimony that the City cares. Council Member Burdette spoke about the problems as presented and that he is struck about the concerns and approaches toward the problems. He expressed concern and support for the Council Members in whose districts most of the problems are occurring and he is interested in their approach to these problems. He stated that he hopes the City continues to attack these problems. Council Member Espino spoke about the high school drop out rate. He advised of an important educational conference that they are working to bring to Fort Worth next year. He spoke about the need to create a task force to address this issue and for the City staff to work with the school district officials to get them to report the actual numbers. Council Member Espino indicated that he felt the drop out rate in FWISD was more like 50%. He emphasized the City is in crisis in this regard. He added he felt the time was right with the new superintendent and board members to worked together to address this important issue. Council Member Espino then talked about discussions with Congressman Dr. Michael Burgess regarding the obtaining of federal funds to address the infant mortality rate problem. Council Member Espino addressed the challenge of non-English speaking households in the City. He advised of the difficulty in learning the English language as an adult. He emphasized the need for adult language classes at the area colleges. He emphasized the importance of the early childhood learning classes and stressed that the City could be loosing the federal funding that supports this program. Council Member Espino talked about the Council's action to adopt standards for quality affordable housing in residential developments. He spoke about the housing repair and rehab programs and the positive effect they can have. He emphasized the need for a long term solution for education in the City and added that he wants to see those numbers change for the better. Council Member Wheatfall spoke about his trip to Indianapolis to learn about their success stories. He stated that one of their messages was that ultimately the City has the responsibility to educate the population. He stated their officials went to their state and requested to create charter schools. He stated through their efforts, the Mayor of Indianapolis can create charter schools when the school districts are not meeting their educational requirements. He stated that this issue has an impact on the City. He added that he agreed with comments made earlier by Council Member Burdette that the City needs to have an ear to the ground and began seeing a shift of philosophy and a more pro active role in the revitalization of CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 19 of 47 the Central City. He stated that it cannot be piece-meal. There is a need for a concentrated effort at one time and one big effort. He felt it was a challenge to each district and the City needs to make use of the bond elections and deal with systemic problems and projects for a long period of time and in strategic areas in each district. He felt this would jump start the engines in the City and in each district. Council Member Jordan stated that in his opinion there are two issues and one is education. He concurs that the City needs a task force to work with FWISD and the other districts in the area. He talked about seeing families come to live in the downtown area and that the education must be there. He emphasized that work has to be done to get students out of high school and create the right kinds of jobs for them. He talked about the affordable housing issue and areas that needed to be addressed. He added that he has personally seen inconsistencies in the scoring and grading of housing projects and programs. He suggested that a small task force be created to address these inconsistencies and to see how to improvement the affordable housing process and provide notification at the state and federal level how this can be improved. Council Member Jordan talked about a Housing Authority apartment complex here in the City that has requested certain funding in a certain program and they scored lower on their rehab project than a new facility that needs to be built. He added he wants to look at where the competition is in the City for this type of funding. Council Member Hicks spoke about Congressman Burgess's interest to obtain federal funding to address the infant mortality rate issue in Tarrant County and advised of a special birthing program that is working to address this challenge. She then spoke about the issue of developing in the blighted or less desirable areas of the City. She stated that the Council needs to realize a developer is not just going to come to these areas and do good. She stated it goes back to the issue of code enforcement, the community support and the lower crime rates. She stated that everyone has to be on the same page. She added that the community has to also be engaged. She stated that it is an issue of people working with the police and Code Blue to make the area safe and ready for new development. Council Member Haskin pointed out that when some of these development projects take such a long time to come about, for example this project in District 8 and others throughout the City, there may be no community left in the area to help out. She suggested to the Council that the City needs to move forward with rehabbing an area sooner before it gets to the point of total blight. She emphasized that the City has been given the Woodhaven Study. She talked about the poverty rate, the infant mortality rate, and other challenges in that area. She emphasized to the Council not to wait until is it an abandoned shell to do anything about it. She also talked about the other areas of the City were there is a large number of apartment complexes, i.e., along Hulen and Bryan Irvin and her concern for what will happen to these areas in the future. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 20 of 47 Mayor Moncrief pointed out that while he was not here when the Berry/Riverside apartments were developed, he does not want to see that happen again or the Woodhaven situation. He stated that he has seen the consequences of concentration of multi-family developments that has occurred. He stated that it is an issue of pay now or dearly later. Mayor Pro tem Silcox stated he felt the City needed to concentrate on the idea of rehabbing existing properties. He talked about the use of existing buildings or structures rather than building new ones. He stated that there are areas that are salvageable and they just need paint or grass. He pointed out an area in District 6 that is 100% affordable housing. He added that it just needs to be upgraded. He talked about the issue of applying for state funding through the Department of Housing and Community Affairs and the point system that is used to rank the applications. He stated that the points for a rehab request may not score as high as a request for a new building. He talked about trying to get the funding. Mayor Pro tem Silcox spoke about the Bryan Irvin area and the density issue as it relates to apartments. He pointed out that the density has changed and now apartment complexes have more green spaces and they are not crammed together. He stated that he has four acres for multi-family development left in his district. Mayor Pro tem Silcox indicated that he had reviewed the areas left zoned for multi-family in his District 3 and they will not develop under that type of zoning. He reiterated his comments about the need for rehabbing structures rather than building new structures and obtaining the funding from the state for this purpose. He added that by rehabbing older units, it will affect the quality of life for the people in the complex in a positive way. Mayor Moncrief commended Mr. Boswell on his presentation. Mayor Moncrief recessed the meeting at 10:50 a.m. for a break. The meeting was reconvened at 11:05 a.m. Core and Complementary Functions By Richard Zavala, Acting Assistant City Manager Council Member Jordan spoke about his military background and exercises he had to go through for adding new personnel positions and the justification for associated responsibilities or functions. He spoke about the exercise of having to go through and prove whether the staffing position was required as a core function or could be contracted out to the private sector. He stated that when the City is looking at all personnel costs, it is for ownership of employees for the rest of their lives. He added he wanted to see the City's core functions and what can be better done for the long term. He pointed out the need to go through this exercise particularly if the City goes through bad economic times and is faced with situations of eliminating personnel costs. He stated he is recommending looking at core functions as they relate to new positions. He pointed out that once the basic core functions are identified then the City knows what it has to CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 21 of 47 have to perform as city government. He emphasized that it is during the good times that this look should be taken in order to respond during the bad times. At this time, Acting Assistant City Manager Richard Zavala indicated that he was just putting the things on the table for discussion. He reviewed the purpose of this presentation was to obtain City Council consensus on criteria that should be utilized for determining core and complementary programs and services. He then gave background as traditionally departments develop programs and services priority rankings to meet target for proposed budget through reduction, improvement and exception decision packages. He added that generally criteria utilized and considerations made to determine rankings, and thus core and complementary programs and services include: Department Mission, Five-year Vision, Council's Strategic Goals, and Organizational Priorities. Mr. Zavala gave the results which are the reductions or elimination of: • Administrative Support Services: finance, accounting, procurement, etc. • Quality of Life Programs: Library and Community Center hours, arts programs, etc. • Infrastructure Maintenance: street lights, buildings, equipment maintenance, etc. • Operational Support Services: fleet replacement, technology improvements, staff development, etc. He reviewed the Core Services Level I: • Police $134,000,000 • Fire $84,000,000 • Transportation $45,000,000 And Public Works (streets) services, whether direct or indirect, are held harmless from reductions Debt Service $45,000,000 These departments represent 67% of the General Fund budget Mr. Zavala presented the Core Services Level 11: Retention of regulatory and revenue generating services provided by: Code Compliance $7,990,000 Development $8,300,000 Environment Management $1,200,000 Courts $11,000,000 CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 22 of 47 Public Health $7,500,000 These core functions with the Level I functions represent 74% of the General Fund Budget. Acting Assistant City Manager Zavala reviewed the Level III, which are the governance, management, fiscal and personnel services, utilities and contract obligations are mostly held constant: City Council $1,000,000 City Manager $4,600,000 City Secretary $600,000 City Attorney $4,000,000 City Auditor $1,000,000 Zoo $4,800,000 Non departmental $25,000,000+/- Budget $1,100,000 Finance $4,500,000 Human Resources $4,000,000 These functions added with the Level I and II functions now represent 84% of the General Fund Budget. Mr. Zavala reviewed the category of"What's Left". Those departments were: PACS $24,300,000 Library $15,600,000 Community Relations $900,000 Economic Development $2,000,000 Planning $1,700,000 Public Events $9,300,000 These functions represent 16% of the General Fund Budget. Mr. Zavala added that historically, reductions have been piecemeal, reducing program service levels, but retaining programs. Mr. Zavala stated that the core criteria is: Legally mandated: state and local ordinance; charter, contractual Health& Safety: enforcement, intervention Infrastructure: investment protection Policy (directed by strategic goals and annual adopted budget) CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 23 of 47 Revenue Generation Regulatory fees Entitlement grants Fees by choice He then advised that the complementary criteria is: Nice to have Not mandated No affect on health and safety No affect on infrastructure Policy mandates can be amended/repealed Ramp-up costs minimal Elimination of revenues (fees, grants, etc.)would not result in gap financing He then posed the questions for policy discussion as follows: Should the criteria listed be utilized to determine core and complementary? Are there other criteria which should be considered? Should there be a higher level of emphasis on some criteria? Mayor Moncrief pointed out that there were representatives from all departments present if the Council has questions. Council Member Jordan spoke about the identification of core functions and explained this exercise was not to leave an impression that everyone's job outside of the core functions is not important -- as everything that the employees do is important to the operation of the City's programs and services. He pointed out that the City does have core functions and there are core areas inside each function. He further explained that this exercise is to look at the City's incremental positions and how is the best way to approach their significance. Council Member Jordan used the Development Department as an example. He stated that during their peak time of growth and development in the City, the permit processing is critical and staff is necessary to effectively meet the demands. He compared that in bad times, the department still needs a core group of employees for this function but not as many permit inspectors and processing of the permits is not as much of a high priority for the Development Department. He indicated that the life cycle of employees needs to be looked at as part of this core evaluation process. Council Member Jordan suggested looking at adding a new requirement in the budget process when requesting new positions and that is to consider what will happen in the future with these positions. He recommended that the directors consider whether new positions are a revenue generating function or do they need to look into the enterprise fund to fund those new positions or contract out the new positions to provide the same service and resources and to address the CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 24 of 47 new increase in workload. He stated that every time a person is added everyone needs to consider what does it cost the City in the long term. He stated that he is not saying the person is any less important and how portable can we make the person. He stated that another important question about the new position should be the question of whether the job will go away by a demised scope of the City's services and if the job is going away then how will it be dealt with. Council Member Wheatfall stated it appears to him that the City consumes all revenue that is brought in the City. He pointed out that as the City's growth increases and there are difficult challenges more money is spent. He gave as an example the Crime Control and Prevention District. He put the question to the Council of how much more can the City spend or put into that effort to see how it will significantly affect the crime issues more than it has already done. He questioned how much of the money is reserved or does the City spend the money because it is there. He felt the City needed to ask the tough question, i.e., what can we do without the funding. He felt the City is not doing enough of this. He stated he wanted to look at the need for policy issues. He stated he wanted to create policies so directors will know who to hire and fire. He stated that the City needs to make a critical decision and store for future budget shortfalls to keep from consuming all that comes into the City. He stated the question is does the City have enough to sustain these new programs and services. Mayor Pro tem Silcox stated that this presentation is the best argument for a zero base budget. He stated that in that way there has to be a justification for everything that is going to be spent. He stated he felt the Council needed to look at this approach. He stated that it is an issue of putting all of the dollars on the table and then looking for the most important things that the City has to do and the things that the City has to do legally. He stated it was a matter of setting a line of priority services and when they run out of dollars then services or programs area cut or the City is forced to raise taxes. He stated this is the closest thing to get to a zero base budget. Council Member Espino stated that he is concerned about the quality of life issues and where they will fall in connection with police and fire services. He stated the City needs to look at other revenue streams to address infrastructure needs. He suggested the City look at other revenue alternatives, i.e, special districts such as road utility districts, water districts, etc. He added that he feels the cuts need to be done in a fair way across the board city-wide when necessary. He added that he agreed with the core functions as presented; however, the citizens want a balance of services. He stated they have a level of expectations for what they want the City to provide. He added he wants to have a balance of services and the City needs to be very careful in this regard. Council Member Davis interjected that she was in agreement with Council Member Espino. She stated that there has to be another layer. She explained that certain core functions can be impacted if the lower level functions are taken away. She stated that if the core functions are rated as I, H, HI, and IV then Level I will be impacted by cutting Levels II, III and IV. She CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 25 of 47 stated that if code compliance is cut there will be an increased need for police services. She added that to cut or not fund less important functions will impact the City's policy function. She stated the Level H, HI, and "what's left" need to be laid over the maps showing poverty, unemployment, health problems, etc., and she emphasized that all of those levels have as much to turn the tide on those issues as the Level I functions. She stated that there needs to be a look into the core functions of the departments for various issues. She felt this was the appropriate way to look for what are the City's core functions. She stated that departments are required to look into their departments and the functions for budget cuts. City Manager Boswell explained to the Council that the challenge for the FY 2006/2007 budget is a mandated 5.8% less to each department in order to balance for the shortfalls. He stated for example the Police Department and the only way for them to save is to cut people and this applies to the Fire Department as well. He stated that they cannot do that and provide their level of services, thus the percentage cut for the other departments have to be more. He talked about the Level I core function departments looking into their departments to their various duties and responsibilities. He pointed out that the prevention programs can provide the most benefit to the City. He stated over the years the departments have done the typical belt tightening things like reduction in training and travel and operational supplies. He suggested that the City may have to look at larger programs, for example look at not having swimming pools any longer. He talked about the frustrations the city staff has with the issue of mandated reductions. Council Member Davis explained she does not like to look at just the core functions. She emphasized that the City needs to run like a private business and that is to look that the functions that generate revenue. She pointed out the more generated revenue; the more there will be to spend. She stated that it is an issue of"build it and they will come". She pointed out this is what the surrounding successful suburban cities have done. She stated that her biggest worry is focusing on being the "safest city" and she added that she does not want this to be the only focus. She posed the question of what is the City building. Is it the safest city? She stated or should it be more like a business that is generating revenues to be the "safest city". Council Member Davis stated that the City is focusing on this issue because the City is drawn by the media to perform certain core functions. She stated that like the competitor cities, the City's functions should be funded on the revenue that is generated. She stated that it can be the excellent housing stock or the high performing school districts. She stated that people will come because of something that the City did to draw them. She stated that the question is what is the City building to draw people --it is not just the basics. Council Member Burdette stated he is pleased to see the analysis. He stated that the Council's biggest task is making choices. He stated that in his opinion it is not intended to negate any one department's function; however, debt service has to rank above libraries. He stated that Level II functions are basically maintaining law and order beyond the police function. He stated Level III functions are making the city function property, the wheels and gears. He CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 26 of 47 stated the City just cannot take what citizens say in their opinions are the most important things in the City. He stated that these types of criteria should be used by the departments. Council Burdette stated that he would love to put certain functions aside; however, it is tough to do and citizens will eventually ask for certain programs and/or services and it will to be used as their pet project until it is accomplished. He advised that there are days when the City is not going to be doing well and the City needs to look at the growth and what functions are core or do not contribute to that growth. He hoped the growth would continue in order for the City to collect more taxes. Council Member Burdette indicated the increase tax collection is nice, but not increasing the tax rate. He pointed out that citizens are still seeing them go up due to the increased property valuations. Mayor Pro tem Silcox stated that it is a prioritization process, a balance so to speak. He stated he wanted to fund the emergency services. He spoke about the various requests put before the Council for more police officers or another swimming pool. He stated then the Council is faced with determining what the priority is and where does the Council need to put the dollars. He added that the tax payer still gets the bill and their taxes are going up. He pointed out that there is still only "X" number of dollars to spend. He stated the Council either has to cut programs and/or services or raise taxes. He stated it is balancing act by areas and the City as a whole. Mayor Moncrief stated that everyone needs to plan for a rainy day when the sun is shining. He stated that Fort Worth is blessed with the growth and the find of the natural resources (gas) brings challenges and the advantages out weigh the challenges. He felt if and when the City is faced with a rainy day, the City has to have this exercise and have a planning process and have a game plan. He stated the City will probably need to look at contracting out services in certain situations and he added it may not be in the City's direct control to add resources. Mayor Moncrief stated he wants to look at zero base budgeting to see what those choices can be. He stated that this process was done when he was in the Texas Senate and it was not a pleasant experience. He stated it created debates in committees and on the floor. He stated one thing he is encouraged about that there has not been mention about reducing the quality of life in the City. He spoke about the number of years the Council has not raised the taxes. He added there is a cost to the quality of life how long this trend can continue will need to be looked at. He expressed he wished he could dial down the degree of growth and still not kill the engine. He stated that he would like to stay in first gear as opposed to the passing gear. He added it is a benefit to go through these exercises and make the tough choices now and not later. He also added that it is a balance and there are some outstanding aspects. He spoke about the benefit of the Crime Control District and what it has brought to the City. He thanked Council Member Jordan for suggesting this presentation. In further discussion, Council Member Wheatfall asked Mr. Fernando Costa, Planning Director, if A-5 is the smallest single family resident lot size and whether it is legally mandated CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 27 of 47 by the state. Council Member Wheatfall posed the question to the Council and staff just how large does the City of Fort Worth want to be. He talked about a conversation he had with the Justice Department recently regarding the amount of land being annexed by the City. This conversation was a result of a submission for the upcoming Charter Amendment Election. Council Member Wheatfall indicated that the representative questioned him as to whether his civil rights are being violated with the annexation of property left and right and how does it affect the voting population. Council Member Wheatfall suggested that the City go to larger lot sizes thus creating less population. He spoke about how the City through policy choices can determine how fast and at what pace the City's growth will be. He stated with the larger lot sizes there will be larger appraised values and it will place regulations on the growth in the City. Mayor Moncrief indicated that the lot size is a difficult topic. Mayor Pro tem Silcox advised of notification that the City of Fort Worth recently received from the North Central Texas Council of Governments and that the City is getting a pat on the back for the closer working relationships that have evolved between the City staff and elected officials from Dallas and Fort Worth. He spoke about the City's ability to work with the neighbors to the east. Mayor Moncrief provided the example of the discussions by both cities on the Wright Amendment. At 12:01 p.m. on Friday, April 28, 2006, Mayor recessed for lunch. Mayor reconvened the meeting at 1:10 p.m. (Council Member Hicks was not present.) City Manager Boswell advised that during this session of the meeting several department heads were going to be called upon to tell how they are going to move their departments forward. City Manager requested Acting Assistant City Manager Zavala provide a summary of what was captured during the early discussion. He reviewed the charts of discussion points that had been made by the City Council. Council Member Espino emphasized that the early intervention programs should be considered as part of the core functions because when the City spends dollars on the front end for intervention this will result in less problems in the future. He gave as an example the early childhood schooling program. He stated children can success by the success of this program reaching and teaching them and preparing them for school. He stated this type of intervention program is a core function in his mind. He stated that the City should never forget this approach. City Manager Boswell requested Randle Harwood, Acting Director of the Parks and Community Services Department to come forward since his department's function were listed in the "what's left" category of the City's core functions. Mr. Harwood emphasized that the growth CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 28 of 47 factor greatly impacts his department's functions. He stated that with the growth are the needs for new community centers with operating funds and staffing positions, new athletic fields, i.e., soccer fields and costs for maintaining those fields. He talked about the mowing issues as the City grows and more areas to cover. He pointed out the budget reduction in his department may mean that the results are the City is less clean and perhaps less safe. Mr. Harwood discussed how he cut his budget in the 5.8% amount. He advised that health and safety functions are the top priorities and how or does their infrastructure suffer? He stated that they have to look at their basic infrastructure that has to be maintained and then determine what programs and services will have to be cut. Mayor Pro tem Silcox stated that he understands what Mr. Harwood is stating about the impact the growth has on enlarging the City. He added that growth is enlarging the tax base and while the City is getting the new tax base, perhaps more than the previous year, the determination has to be made about where the additional revenue is going to go. City Manager Boswell stated it is a timing issue and balancing issue. Acting Assistant City Manager Zavala stated that the Council Chamber will be packed with citizens that want a new summer pool. He added that no one comes to the City Council to say save the employees'jobs. Council Member Wheatfall posed the question of how does Mr. Harwood's department measure productivity and is this part of the budget review process. Council Member Wheatfall indicated that in many cases there are some divisions that are not productive as such and could be draining other functions of the department. Mr. Harwood answered that their performance measures come back to the issue of sustainability and there are measures for success, i.e., money spent per acre for mowing and the costs for the contract rate and labor rates. He added that they do a semi-annual needs assessment to see if they are doing certain functions in order for customer service delivery. Council Member Jordan stated part of the process is to find way to do things better. He stated that part of what the Parks Department does should be looking at creative ways in providing the services. He added that it should be looking for new ways to do things so that the costs of services are not the same. Mr. Harwood advised of the Department's recent joint effort with the YMCA so that they run and operate a new community center. He stated that this example could develop into a positive business model for the City. He stated that the City will have no operating costs and just provide a small amount of seed money. He stated that this is a new approach. He also advised of the joint working relationship with the Crowley Independent School District for a natatorium. He indicated that they are still working on the details. He indicated that they are continually looking for public/private partnerships. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 29 of 47 Code Compliance Department Head Carl Smart came forward to talk about his department. His department was shown as a Level II function. He stated that the issue of growth to him is a larger customer base to address, i.e., more properties, occupied and vacant. He stated that the City can see the growth in the six (6) branch offices that have to be located across the City. He stated on the north side of the City they are behind the growth curve and need to add another branch office in that location. He stated their core function is code enforcement and this means having people in the field doing their jobs. He stated that it really takes a more comprehensive approach which includes abatement prevention. He stated that it is getting the citizens involved with the City in the Code Blue program. He stated as to the question of productivity. He stated the employees or officers have to measure their productivity and keep records of their work in the field, i.e., number of inspections, re-inspections, etc. He advised of the improvements of the technology for their department and its benefit to increasing the efficiency. Council Member Jordan posed the question of what would happen to this function in a bad economy. He stated that there would probably be more houses that start to deteriorate and more people falling on economic hardship. He stated this department would probably need more staff to take care of the bad times. Council Member Espino stated that while this function was shown as a Level II, he felt it was a level I issue. He pointed out that people want their city to be "safe, clean and green." He added he wants the Council to look at adding an "environment court". He pointed out that this had been considered last year but there was not sufficient funding to support adding it. He stated code compliance is not just about issuing citations. He stated that there are issues of education and the preventative side. He stated that the citizens learn about these things at neighborhood meetings, however, not a lot of people can attend those meeting. He cautioned the Council on the labels placed on Levels I and II. Mayor Moncrief stated that while things have improved in the City, he is still hearing complaints. He stated that the Council needed to look closely at the dollars and what the City will get back from having an environmental court. Council Member Wheatfall indicated that the issue of code compliance has an impact on the economic development of the City. He pointed out when particular businesses are operating within the code there is a positive impact on property value and their neighbors. He gave examples of how their impact can affect the City's appearance. He stated it cannot necessarily be a dollar for dollar issue; however, the City needs to look at the economic development factor. He stated that it is also an issue of being an asset management tool, i.e., code compliance. He pointed out that the City's housing stock of brick and mortar is an asset and if it is not protected, the City deteriorates and loses value. He added that the Code Compliance Department protects the brick and mortar assets. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 30 of 47 Mayor Moncrief stated that it is an issue of keeping the properties clean and not being a part of the problem. He added the City also has to look at continuing the process of the drop off stations and where they are located. City Manager Boswell called upon Director of Development Bob Riley, who spoke about his department and the affects of the City's the growth for his department. He advised that in looking at the past 5 years for the growth trends and the number of lots available for development, his department has been conservative in their estimates and it has been exceeded every year. He advised of the percentage of growth experiences by the City since 2000. He pointed out that there is still a lot of undeveloped property located in the City and there has been reinvestment in the Central City. He pointed out that while annexation is an important tool for the City, there is a substantial growth occurring within the existing city limits. He spoke about the plan review aspect of the department and that while some people may think of it as a complementary program, errors in this function may cause redos of projects. He spoke about budget reductions and how they are accomplished in his department. He stated he looks at putting up the reduction of the overtime added in order to try to meet the customer needs. He pointed out that the normal business hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. is not going to meet the needs of what the customers want. He spoke about the looks of the zoning docket that goes before the Council and that the department spends approximately $30,000 in color copies for the Council packet. He questioned whether this practice was essential. Council Member Burdette spoke about how the Council can make decisions on allocating the City's money. He stated he has seen the City's mission. He added that want he wants to see come out of this meeting is a comprehensive list of growth and the problems it is causing. He stated is it an issue of new parks, additional mowing, more maintenance and other issues with the inter city. He then referenced what he calls the "leap frog" development, i.e., where developers are leaping to the exterior of the city limits to build the "cookie cutter" subdivisions. He stated that this is creating a great problem as the developments are not providing the infrastructure to carrying the transportation, there is no quality development, etc. He pointed out the discussion about providing public transportation in high density areas; however, these are low density developments. He talked about the population per square mile and that the police and fire services have to be stretched to these outlying areas. He pointed out that these new areas are lacking commercial and industrial development so there are no close services to these homes and just more cars on roads causing more pollution in the air. He stated that the City is experiencing permit delays due to the growth factor. He stated these are some of the problems that have been identified. He added that once the City identifies these then the question is what tools will be used to address these problems. He stated that the city is reacting to these issues and not being proactive. Council Member Burdette posed the question of whether the City can develop policies so that the developments are not going to occur unless there is infrastructure to handle the traffic. He added he wants to address these issues lawfully and legally and not take away the property owners rights. He felt the growth will be more sustainable if handled in this manner. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 31 of 47 He stated that he liked to hear that the growth was in the inner city and he wants to encourage this first as the services and infrastructure are there. He added that he did not personally know what it will take to address these issues. Council Member Burdette pointed out the rapid growth is here and the City has to react and he is concerned the City will not be able to get this under control. Mayor Moncrief added it will take the vision and guts to slow it down. Council Member Burdette stated he is anxious to hear from the private sector. Council Member Wheatfall interjected that the City needed to look at how Fort Worth is growing so that the City can control the development. He added that the City does not want areas that are located in the City's ETJ with roads that are substandard. He pointed out that once the City is married by annexation to those areas, the City will have to deal with the problems. He stated that this what Council Member Burdette is pointing out. He then referenced the "leap frogging" effect and developments located in the further most part of the City's ETJ. He stated that this is a hold back to Dallas and what Fort Worth will see is a similar story here. He referenced areas north of IH-635 in Dallas and the small enclaves that were created. He stated that Dallas did not have to provide services and those cities had to handle their own growth. He pointed out the areas north of Loop 820 in Fort Worth and questioned how to handle the municipal services out there when the services are located in the Central City. He pointed out that some of those areas have postal addresses that indicate that they are in adjacent cities (Keller) and the citizens think they are out of the City of Fort Worth or they associate themselves with the school district that they are in and this totally disconnects them and the City is left with how to provide service. He recommended the City look at these issues and whether these areas should be annexed or not and look at the tools for limited purpose annexations and the creation of Municipal Utility Districts (MUD). He added that he felt the City is just not seeing the true implications of what it is doing and what it is going to do to the core and having to administer municipal government from downtown. Council Member Davis talked about being proactive with what the City has been doing to address the growth factor. She added that there is no quick fix and nothing is going to work over night. She stated that the City needed to drive development back into the Central City and she named various projects that have made a commitment to come back into the Central City. She stated the City is doing some great things in this regard and these changes are being done to address development on a long term base. She talked about sustainable development standards, the tree ordinance, the sign ordinance and now the City's need to look at the landscape ordinance. Council Member Davis stated that in regulating growth development there has already been a great model of how to do that and what not to do. She pointed out that it was through a MUD. She stated that when these are created the parties agree that the development has to be a certain standard and it will come into the City of Fort Worth with the same tax base and fully developed. She stated more of this needs to be done. She indicated she is more for the creation of MUD's than straight annexations. She indicated she does not want to see low quality development come into the City. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 32 of 47 In further discussion, Bob Riley, recommended the Council look at its two level of competitors. He stated the first level are cities to the north and second level are cities to the west area. He talked about Burleson, Crowley, Haslet, and Aledo. He pointed out that the areas to the east are already done. Council Member Jordan stated that development is the function where the growth is the most demonstrable. He stated the City has done a lot and the City is just trying to do a more refined job. He stated the City is just evolving and doing a lot of good things with sustainable neighborhoods, etc. He added he wants to see sustainable city services and functions during the budget process. Council Member Haskin posed the question of which comes first, i.e., development or the development standard. She stated that unfortunately the development standard gets put on the back burner and development continues and the City is trying to play catch up. She added she is concerned about the various ordinances that take too much time to complete and put into action. She stated that when this occurs then there is two years of less than quality development happening and the plats are being processed. Council Member Haskin stated the focus needs to look at creation of a development staff that strictly looks at standards and focuses on that and then hopefully the City will not lose two to three years of time. She talked about the 1,000 of permits that are processed and the need for a development staff to work on the tools. Council Member Espino spoke about the third party issue to fulfill the City's functions and the fluctuation of the use of third parties and the need to still have the staff available. Mr. Riley pointed out that if the City did not utilize the third party resources the Council would see a development staff be twice the size it has now. He advised of the percentage of work that is completed by the third party contracts for plan review and for inspections. He added that a good partnership has developed utilizing third party contractors in this endeavor. Assistant City Manager Dale Fisseler indicated that he wanted to follow up on the comments made thus far regarding dealing with the growth and the associated problems with the focus to get permits out and the impetus to change the standards and how does the City focus on getting the permits out and changing the rules at the same time. He stated that the City has got to figure out a way to better manage this process. Council Member Wheatfall indicated he agrees with comments made by Council Member Haskin on accomplishing the ordinance changes. He indicated that the City has an all or nothing philosophy. He stated that in some cases the Council is not going to agree on all of the changes recommended and it will take time to move through the process. He suggested that the Council agree to incrementally pass certain aspects of an ordinance when all of the Council is in agreement and then bring back any future amendments that need to be worked out. He stated CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 33 of 47 that the Council needs to get some of this work out of the door to have some type of safety net while these permits continue to be processed. Council Member Haskin indicated that she hoped she would see some mid-year adjustments in order to get the sign ordinance and tree ordinance accomplished. She posed the question to the City staff if the process for these items can speeded up with the help of additional staff. She pointed out that this process has taken way too long to accomplish. City Manager Charles Boswell identified the next department for a presentation would be Equipment Services. He pointed out that this is largely a department that is invisible to the Council and to the public. Acting Director Wayne Corum spoke about the fleet maintenance process. He stated that the growth factor affects this department's function in that due to the annexations and development on the outer city limit it results in more travel distance, more fuel, more vehicles, and more maintenance. He stated it could have also impacted the decision on where to place the service center. It has been moved further south and the problem is the City is growing further north. He stated the placement of the City facilities impact the department. He pointed out that they are an internal service fund and the departments are charged for this department's services. He talked about the benchmarking of the department and the need to monitor the costs to keep the costs down. There was discussion on how vehicles or equipment are replaced. Mayor Moncrief asked about the new service center location and operation. Mr. Corum pointed out quality of the employees at the service center and the certification of the employees that do the work. City Manager Boswell requested the Assistant Director of Transportation and Public Works present some of their challenges. Mr. George Behmanesh spoke before the Council on the growth and how it affects their street inventory. He talked about the number of street miles needed to address the traffic and the amount of funding needed to address the maintenance of existing streets in order to add to their life. City Manager Boswell pointed out that over the last several years there has been a reduction in street lighting. He asked Mr. Behmanesh how the department prioritizes the street lighting or street maintenance. Mr. Behmanesh spoke about the productivity measures. There was also discussion on the overlaying of street versus delaying of the overlay and having to reconstruct the entire street. Mr. Behmanesh explained that the process for overlaying, the amount of time that adds to the street's usefulness and when it is time for an entire reconstruction. City Manager Boswell requested Fire Chief Charles Gaines speak before the Council on the public safety aspect of the Fire Department. Chief Gaines advised of the impact of growth to the Fire Department with the addition of a land mass of roof tops in the far north side of the City. He presented their functions of fire prevention, fire suppression, and education. He pointed out CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 34 of 47 how the distance affects their calls for service and the location of their facilities to service the community. He talked about their response times. Council Member Jordan asked about fire fighting as a core function and identified training as a part of the safety process. He discussed with Chief Gaines the possibility of using the City's training academy to train other cities and bring in revenue in that regard. Chief Gaines clarified that Fort Worth has been involved in this practice but now Tarrant County Community College is in this business as well and they offer Certification I and 11. He stated that it is a function of capacity regarding the training classes and Forth Worth has done this in the past. Mayor Moncrief requested clarification on the turnover rate for the Fire Department staff. Chief Gaines indicated that he did not have that exact figure. City Manager Boswell stated that it was 1%to 2%, not a large amount. City Manager Boswell requested Water Department Director Frank Crumb speak before the Council on the City's Water Enterprise Fund. Mr. Crumb advised the Council of the impact of the growth for his department. He spoke about the satellite plants and treatment locations. He pointed out that his department is impacted by the growth side, redevelopment side, replacements or renewals. He stated that their efficiency is impacted by the travel times. He spoke about the many miles of lines to provide service and the amount of customer calls for service and the need for customer service staff to handle the service. He indicated that when preparing their budgets, they do look at their business plan and they have created matrixes to measure productivity. He talked about the importance of the water supply and advised that the drought is still here in Texas and this adds additional stress to the system. He added that if the growth pace continues there will a water shortage by 2050. He indicated that there will be a demand to find more water resources. Mr. Crumb spoke about the use of MUD'S in certain areas and the growth experienced inside the City. He stated that his department struggles with both aspects and they look at the total grow issue, both inside and outside the City. Council Member Espino asked about the far northwest area of the City and the long term strategy to provide water. He spoke about another water service provider in that area, Agua Texas. Mr. Crumb advised of the various CCN holders on the north side and south side in Johnson County. He explained the associate problems with sending lines too far out. Mr. Crumb stated in certain situations the property owners need to be served by another CCN holder who can provide all the necessary services. Council Member Espino then talked about the sewer lines and requested Mr. Crumb to talk about these challenges. Mr. Crumb responded to Council Member Espino questions. Mayor Moncrief advised of meeting with a vendor regarding a new technology and the use of waste water for the fracking in the drilling of gas wells. He requested a status report on this process and the proposed pilot program. Mr. Crumb provided an update on the status and CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 35 of 47 that the vendor was still working on the process and a pilot program had not yet been determined. Mayor Moncrief added that he felt it would have impact city wide. Council Member Wheatfall stated that from what he has heard about the departmental challenges and on internal transportation to the outlaying areas that it appears there is a need for decentralizing city hall and creating a government center to the north or northwest part of the City. He advised that it could house offices for Code Compliance, Water Department, Development, etc. He pointed out that the Fire and Police Departments already have locations in those areas. He felt it was needed in the outlaying areas and that it will affect the City's fleet and operating costs. He pointed out that this is one of the opportunities the City needs to look at, i.e., how to decentralize city hall and to make this a part of the master facilities plan. Council Member Jordan thanked the City Manager for the exercise. He reiterated that it was not to diminish one function over another function. He stated the purpose was only to identify the levels of hierarchy in a down economy. Mayor Moncrief recessed the meeting at 2:31 p.m. He reconvened the meeting at 2:35 p.m. (Council Member Hicks returned at 2:45 p.m.) A Private-Sector Perspective By James S. Grauley and Brian Roop, Senior Vice Presidents with Bank of America Planning Director Fernando Costa presented the speakers: James S. Grauley and Brian Roop, Senior Vice Presidents with Bank of America, from Atlanta and Dallas respectively. He stated that he is not aware of any other company that has been so involved in the Central City revitalization process than Bank of America. He stated that these gentlemen will make a presentation on the private sector perspective. Mr. Roop stated that they were going to talk about Bank of America and the Redevelopment of Cities. He stated that their presentation was going to cover: Why it matters to us Our commitment and resources Lessons learned Principles of success Mr. Roop stated that Bank of America is interested in the revitalization of cities because: 1. Strong cities and neighborhoods are vital to their business CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 36 of 47 a. Bank of America's fortunes are closely tied to health of cities and all neighborhoods within a city (including low-income) b. Their associate quality of life is tied to healthy cities 2. Bank of America's Community Development Commitment is its $750 billion commitment to investment in low to moderate income communities. 3. Bank of America's Environmental Commitment is as a leading corporate sponsor, investor in environmental initiatives and Smart Growth 4. Redevelopment, revitalization and Smart Growth as a growing business opportunity. He reviewed the wide array of resources that help cities: 1. Community Development Banking 2. Bank of America Environmental Initiatives 3. Workforce and workforce location/facilities 4. Minority Business Development 5. Bank of America Charitable Foundation 6. Commercial Real Estate 7. Public Finance Expertise, Capacity 8. Commercial and Government Banking 9. Mortgage Lending Mr. Roop reviewed a United States map showing 10-year $750 billion commitment to community lending and investment in the states marked in the color red. He reviewed the community development banking resources as follows: 1. Affordable housing lending (>$2.5 billion/year 2. Equity investment in affordable housing and community development (>$lbillion/year) 3. Direct real estate development (>28,000 housing units developed, neighborhood transformation) 4. Grants, program-related investment, intermediary investments promoting community development 5. Affordable and specialized mortgage initiatives for home ownership 6. Leveraging Broader Initiatives/Resources of Bank America He reviewed photographs of the following projects: Baltimore—Westside; Centerpointe; Hippodrome Theatre Orlando— Cityview at Hughes Square CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 37 of 47 San Francisco—Ferry Building Marketplace Charlotte—First Ward Place/GardenDistrict Providence—Rising Sun Mills Mr. Roop stated that in their real estate development practice—they do three things; Affordable and mixed-income housing development Catalyst for revitalized communities Direct, focused community investment He spoke about the multi-family rental development—workforce housing Acquisition/redevelopment of housing Adaptive re-use conversion to housing Infill new construction He spoke about the master development—urban mixed-use sites Step 1 —land development Step 2 —create product/development sites He then advised of their projects and staffing locations in 2006 throughout the United States. He turned the presentation over to James S. Grauley for his portion of the presentation. He stated that he was going to talk about the principles for success: "What they have learned." Mr. Grauley stated that successful cities embrace their role as catalyst in encouraging private investment. He added that cities do things that only cities can do (zoning, land use, infrastructure, transit). Public-private partnerships that are created allow for redevelopment. Mayors, Council lead with active vision for design, redevelopment. He added that cities with this mindset attract private investment. He reviewed a project in Orlando, Florida at Cityview at Hughes Square in Orlando, Florida. He stated that it was a mixed use campus in downtown Orlando. The project included 266 units of mixed-income housing, 26,000 sq. ft. retail, parking facility and corporate headquarters camps for Hughes Supply, Inc. (Fortune 500 Company) He stated that it was the first major redevelopment west of IH4 in 40 years. He stated that it was important to recognize and build on neighborhood strengths as follows: Built(structures and neighborhood fabric)incl. historic architecture, grid Natural features (water, green space, trails, parks) CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 38 of 47 Transit and infrastructure Economic and institutional drivers (schools, universities, hospitals) Neighborhood identity He added that it was also important to align with public sector resource focus and initiatives. He then identified a project called Parkside Redevelopment in Washington, D. C. He advised this project was a 14-acre site in northeast Washington adjoining IH295, Metro Station and Anacostia River. The site is being redeveloped into over 1,500 units of housing and commercial and retail in a comprehensive transit-oriented development, representing the largest redevelopment in northeast Washington in the past 40 years. He added that the existing assets include Metro Station, improved IH295 access, gateway to riverfront park, strong neighborhood organization and identity. Mr. Grauley spoke about the scale is important — for visible impact and sustained revitalization activity as follows: Substantial enough redevelopment to change place, mindset Scale needed to create a market Initial projects in contest of a larger master plan vision (first people in need to see the broader change envisioned) Requires concentration of resources to create "critical mass" for revitalization He presented a project in Centerpointe —Westside Revitalization in Baltimore, Maryland, that was completed in 2005. He described the project as a whole block mixed-used redevelopment including 392 housing units, 35,000 square feet of retail/restaurants, and interior block structured parking. He spoke about predictable regulatory and economic incentive framework is necessary to support private sector involvement as follows: Zoning and planning framework is important as template for redevelopment Clearly identify economic development incentives to attract investment He presented a project in downtown Tampa, Florida, Central Park Redevelopment. He described this projet as a redevelopment of 60 acres comprised of distressed public housing and other land to a new urban community connecting downtown Tampa and the Ybor City district. He spoke about involving the community in the planning process as follows: Don't forget residents, existing stakeholders Community input yields better outcomes Community planning process creates momentum CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 39 of 47 He spoke about design matters. He stated good design attracts investment, acts as a catalyst for additional investment; and provides a template for success. He added that good design raises vision for urban neighborhoods; good design exceeds expectation and good design creates value and community. He reviewed the project for the First Ward Plan & The Garden District, Charlotte, North Carolina. He stated that the project was completed in 2004 and that it was a comprehensive redevelopment of a distressed public housing site and adjoining neightborhood that has transformed an entire War of the city. He added that it was affordable, with mixed income and market rate housing and community services. He stated a 3-way partnership is required for success: Public sector (city, county, region) leadership and investment; community input and support, and private investment and capacity. He spoke about the macro trends factors driving change in cities as follows: Population growth and household formation trends Migration trends (both domestic and immigration) Transportation and housing costs (growing impact of transportation cost on affordability and housing choice) Growing desirability of urban communities He reviewed the new models required for the 21st century cities — your help requested — partnering for new solutions. Redeveloping via smart growth and higher density Older 1st and 2nd ring suburbs—revitalization strategies Immigrant portal neighborhoods New creativity on public-private partnerships. This concluded Mr. Grauley's presentation. Mr. Bryan Roop spoke about what attracts us to cities and redevelopment opportunities — their experience. A clearly articulated and supported plan for redevelopment City out front with resources, investment (i.e. land, infrastructure, economic incentives) Willingness for public dollars to leverage private investment Willingness to prioritize resources for impact Accelerated timeline (a realistic ability to move quickly) Streamlined contact at the City for approvals. He talked about what are the derailers to successful partnership (their experience) CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 40 of 47 Shifting/rapidly changing priorities, focus (redevelopment is long-term business) Inability to obtain land/site assembly in a reasonable timeframe Lack of partnership mindset(need a win-win viewpoint) A disconnect between planning and execution Overburdened projects (trying to have one project solve all the community ills) This concluded Mr. Roop's presentation. Council Member Haskin questioned if their list of projects were all TIF related. Mr. Roop responded that "no" they were not. He spoke about the important tools that cities have and the TIF is one of them. He stated that some states do no allow for this type of district. He stated that Charlotte, South Carolina and Orlando, Florida do have this same tool. He stated that Washington D. C. does not. He pointed out that in their projects all of the cities came to the table with some type of incentive packages. Council Member Haskin then asked about the risk to the bank or whether any bank can do what they are doing in these development projects. He stated that their risk is building a project in an unproven market. He stated that most banks would rather lend to developers to do these. Council Member Haskin asked about the number of these projects. Mr. Grauley stated that nationally they are only doing a hand full of these projects. He stated that what is different about Bank of America is that they are doing it as part of their corporate commitment and as a part of their doing business. Council Member Espino pointed out that they provided a lot of good points. He stated that he did not see any single family homes in the presentation. He advised of his district where there are beautiful streets and trees; however, the housing stock is deteriorating. He spoke about obtaining model block grant funding to address this and added that Bank of America is not doing mortgage lending in this area. He stated his concern is there is no plan for serving neighborhoods and telling the property owners how to revitalize the single family housing stock. He spoke about the issue of contract for deeds and the City movement to become urban villages in some areas and also preserve the historic quality of the neighborhoods, for example the Linwood area. He stated there needs to be a strong interest in these neighborhoods and single family home ownership. He stated that rehabbing of the older housing stock is an issue. Mayor Moncrief commended the speakers on their presentation. He stated that he was taken by the issue that in certain areas people are paying more for transportation than housing. He also thanked them for their community partnership and Bank of America's ongoing sponsorship of the Colonial Golf Tournament. He stated that the gentlemen have given the City Council and staff a vision at 30,000 feet nationally. He thanked them for their presentations. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 41 of 47 Panel of Private— Sector Leaders At the time, Mayor Moncrief advised that the following panel of community leaders consisting of three Chamber of Commerce executives and two area developers will respond to the remarks from Bank of America representatives by presenting a local perspective on Central City revitalization and orderly growth. The discussion was lead by Mr. Brian Roop: Bill Thornton, President of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce Rosa Navejar, President of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Devoyd Jennings, President of the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber Russell Laughlin, Senior Vice President Hillwood Development Corporation Michael Mallick, Vertex Asset Partners, L. P. (Mayor Pro tem Silcox left the meeting.) Devoyd Jennings, President of the Fort Worth Black Chamber of Commerce spoke about the issue of"The Other Fort Worth", the issue of unemployment rate at 4% to 10%in the Central City, which then leads to high crime. He spoke about the challenges in the Central City and attracting new growth and development in this area. Michael Mallick, Vertex Asset Partners, L. P., spoke about his experiences as a developer. He talked about the City's need for bank rolling demolition funding or bond money to have demolition funds available to take down dilapidated structures for redevelopment. He suggested a fund of$50,000,000 and to use a small portion of it for this purpose. He stated that in this way the property owners understand that the City is serious about rehabilitation of structures and the property owners know that they will have to fix their buildings or the buildings will be torn down. Mr. Mallick talked about other businesses existing in the Central City area that are detriments to redevelopment, i.e., convenience stores. He talked about the drug paraphernalia that they sell and the high markup on their staple goods of milk, bread, etc., that the people are forced to buy as they are not close to other grocery stores. He pointed out two motels close to the area he is going to develop and their negative impact for the area and the fact that those motels are not needed in this area of the City. He asked that the City keep a watch on these businesses. He added that a Police presence was needed and hopefully the negative activity will go away and/or dwindle. He spoke about the support to the green field areas and the City has to have transportation to the green fields and back and it has to be cost effective. Mayor Moncrief expressed appreciation to him for his vision. He pointed out that he is taking a risk and it has taken a vision to bring development to the area in District 8. He added that he is very excited about the project. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 42 of 47 Russell Laughlin, Senior Vice President of Hillwood Development Corporation spoke before the Council on infill and green field development. He stated that growth management, transportation and public/private partnerships are needed. He talked about the Alliance Airport development. He talked about the need for development that creates jobs and provides for job growth. He emphasized that transportation drives economic development. He stated that the City has to have leadership at the highest level in order to obtain the transportation incentives. He talked about the Regional Transportation Council and the City Council Members that are represented on that Council, i.e., Council Members Davis, Silcox and Hicks. He spoke about the transit corridor that will allow for goods distribution and that this transit corridor has to happen in order to get rid of freight rail. He recommended that the City create a position for a transportation person that focuses just on these transportation issues. He suggested that the development community pay for this position. He stated that this person needs to think about transportation issues for the long term, i.e., rail, roads, etc. Mr. Laughlin spoke about the need for quality growth management, particularly quality growth for residential development. He pointed out that the uncontrolled housing growth that the City is experiencing is a "yellow light" of caution. He pointed out that green field development and the associated density development is hard to do. He talked about the needs of the developer when they want to do these projects. He spoke about recruitment of another large employer for the City. He stated that there needs to be a prioritization of initiatives. He added that cost benefit analysis for those projects also needs to be done. Mayor Moncrief recognized Rosa Navejar, President of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She spoke about the transportation issue. She stated the inner city needs a lot of development. She spoke about the north Fort Worth area and the need for redevelopment. Bill Thorton, President of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, spoke before the Council. He felt the City staff and Council should be commended for the work done in the last five years. He stated that the officials know how to build consensus. He spoke about the business retention piece is a must to take a look. He suggested that the City find other Michael Mallicks that are willing to tackle some of the tough issues. He advised of an article in US World Today that forecasted a bad economy for this area (Fort Worth/Arlington) after the September 11, 2002 incident. Council Member Hicks talked about the project in District 8. She stated that Rosedale was a 16-year plan and it is now finally coming. She hopes that what the Mallicks of the world are doing will continue. She added that she hopes that what he does in this area will grow to see other development and people reengage in the forgotten areas. Council Member Jordan spoke about the Council working together and about the issues that had been presented. He spoke about the world for his children and grandchildren. He spoke CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 43 of 47 about transportation and while it may not be accomplished for us now that it will be there for them. He added that it was an honor to work with the panel members. Council Member Wheatfall stated that it was a good panel that spoke to all of the issues. He stated that the City cannot take for granted that it is doing well. He added that the City has to take a strong look at the transportation paradigm. He stated that the challenge is to make sure economic development is a part of it. He pointed out also that the City has to have the transportation to get out to the outer limits of the city. He stated the City needs mass transit. He stated the City needs to get higher paying jobs. He stated that he felt there was 30 to 40 years of neglect. He talked about the development in southeast Fort Worth. He stated that Congressman Michael Burgess summed it up the best by stating that it looked like someone just sneezed it out. He stated that there are roads that go nowhere. Roads that dead end, etc. He emphasized that it is a balancing act. He stated the Council must be multi-tasked and put on their multi-hats. He suggested that the City needed to concentrate on one special area do it and move on to the next one. Council Member Burdette stated that he has heard about redevelopment in the inner city area. He spoke about the comments provided by the representatives from Bank of America, the developers and the need for redevelopment from Devoyd Jennings. He stated that it is obvious the City's problems are not going to be solved just from jobs. He added he is very encouraged about the things presented. He stated that there are problems generated by the growth, with transportation being one and the need for quality development being the other. He spoke about the non-quality development coming to town. He felt the presentation was encouraging and enlightening. He stated that he felt the Council is passionate about the problems. Council Member Haskin stated that she appreciated the statements on what the City can do and the presenters did not state the obvious. She posed questions to Mr. Mallick and emphasized that she is always challenging the developer. She asked Mr. Mallick how the City helped him to correct his vision. She talked about the vision created at Alliance Airport and that Hillwood's developments far exceed the City's standards. She then asked Mr. Laughlin how the City can get Hillwood to take a risk and go to the green fields and provide for quality development and come into the Central City with development. She then spoke about the TransTexas Corridor and how it will be addressed when there is so much grid lock. She challenged the Chambers to get out in front of this issue. Michael Mallick responded to Council Member Haskin's questions about his interest to do the Sierra Vista project in District 8. He talked about the demolition of the apartment complex and that the City had brought $4 million to the project. Council Member Haskin clarified that the City had to step up to the plate and the neighborhood had to want it. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 44 of 47 Mr. Laughlin talked about the vision in 1994 for Alliance Airport and corridor. He stated there is still 7,000 acres left for development in the 15 year period. He stated that they are transitioning and looking at other opportunities. He talked about the need to have good mid-line developers. He spoke about them finishing their green-field development first. Bill Thornton talked about the TransTexas Corridor and that a task force has been put into place to address this issue. He stated that two of the members are former Mayor Kenneth Barr and Tarrant County Commissioner Glen Whitley. He advised that they got wind that the corridor was not going to take a western approach. He stated that it is not an over statement to say if they are not successful within the next 6 months, the long term effect will be a crippling move for this area. He stated they are trying very hard to be heard in this regard. He advised of other Council Members on the front lines and that there has to be more transportation needs addressed in this region. He stated that transportation issues need as many resources thrown at it as possible. He reiterated it needs a long hard look and the City needs to have resources where necessary. Council Member Davis talked about Mr. Mallick's development and the statement of needing the area to be "clean, green and safe" and that it can't be over emphasized. She spoke about the PID in place for the economic development in that area. She stated the police support is needed in his area or he won't get the commercial development that is also necessary. She also supported the comments about demolition dollars and she agrees with that concept also. She stated that this is the clean part of the "clean, green and safe." She talked about efficiency and that it is never easy. She stated that the economic development staff has to do more with less and she pointed out what is accomplished. She added that they get over worked and things are done at a slower pace as there are not more resources. She stated that she does not want to loose the department partners. She emphasized that the Department of Community and Economic Development is one of the departments in the category of "what's left over" chart. She also talked about the permitting aspect in the Development Department as well as the work on the ordinance updates. She indicated the department does not have the resources to make this happen in a more affective manner. Council Member Davis talked about Mr. Laughlin's point on transportation and that it has to take a front seat in the City and in the region. She spoke about the regional transportation plan and the funding for it. She stated that it has to be a pubic/private partnership as there is no state or federal level funding. She stated that the City has gone to them and begged for this funding and she added that they are not hearing the City. She stated that they are not doing what they need to and she is asking for the panel members help in this endeavor. She requested that they put pressure on them as well and explained to them what a priority it is for the City. She spoke about the need for transit and transportation alternatives in the shorter term in order to address the air quality, mobility and economic development aspects of the City. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 45 of 47 Council Member Davis requested Mr. Laughlin address what is happening on the IH35E corridor and what he would suggest that the City to do regarding the "yellow light" situation he described about the development occurring in that area. Mr. Laughlin stated in his opinion the number one thing the City needs to address is the transit issues and the TransTexas Corridor alignment and mobility for the east/west corridor. He stated that when he says focus on transportation, he means every waking minute. He added that transportation funding is about timing and he stated that the City has to be there. He suggested again having a person to run this plan and to provide the back stop for this issue. He added that he felt the private sector would be willing to fund this position. He talked about the situation that existed with the IH35W corridor and that the City should not let the same thing happen here in Fort Worth. He stated that from Meacham Blvd to the Texas Motor Speedway to Downtown Denton all along IH35E he did not want to see the trashing look of developments that resulted on IH35W. He added that it is already starting and he added that Fort Worth will have to put controls in and the private sector will abide by those controls. He added that the City needs to bring together resources for the TransTexas Corridor issue. Mr. Laughlin talked about the "yellow light" development issue. He stated that the sales pitch all of the time to the developers is do not come to the City and build and then leave. He pointed out that the good developers should not be punished for the bad developments that are occurring. He stated that the City should show developers 20 measurements for quality growth. He added that the City has to have quality growth. He stated the City needs more standards. He indicated that everyone needs to be on the same footing at the end of the day and all can benefit. Council Member Espino stated that he gets asked this question all of the time and that is why the City can't call a "moratorium" or a time out to address the fast pace non-quality development that is occurring. He added that if it is a "yellow light", then it sounds like there needs to be a time out and a red light put in place. He spoke to the building community, developers, Chamber reps on the panel and emphasized that the City does have a crisis on its hands. He spoke about all of the cookie cutter subdivisions that are popping up and they are adding more and more congestion. He posed the question of what can be done about it. He talked about after the construction of Southwest Parkway and then IH35W north must be addressed. He stated that the current neighborhood residents are concerned about these new neighborhoods. He emphasized that he wants reinvestment in the existing neighborhoods. Council Member Espino added that the City does need a transportation official in the job. He stated that while the Council does a great job, IH35E is a high priority for construction and design and the City should be working hard on moving this project to the front of the list. There was further discussion about the condition of Keller Hicks Road and that it is a two lane county road which is serving 3,000 to 4,000 homes. He spoke about the roads developed by Hillwood are adequate but not by other developers. CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28- 29, 2006 (FRIDAY) Page 46 of 47 Council Member Espino stated that the rest of Fort Worth does not have the immigration community that he has in his district. He stated that the number one growing developments are the small Hispanic businesses. He talked about the problems associated with the language barrier for Hispanics that do not speak English. He suggested the need to look at the Women's Business Assistance Center for providing an office at the Hispanic Chamber in order to deal with this language barrier issue. Council Member Espino requested Rosa Navejar, President of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce speak about the business development for Hispanics. Ms. Navejar spoke about the number of new start-up businesses by Hispanics and that they do not use the Business Assistance Center due to language barrier issues. She spoke about what they did to address this issue and that the interest for assistance has really increased. She spoke about having classes. She stated that they are inundated with requests and they do not have room for all the people that need help. She stated that these new business owners do not know about buying property, getting permits and they are not familiar with zoning and its requirements. She added that they do not realize that they cannot just open a new restaurant anywhere in the City. She added that she covers all of this process. She stated they need education, education, education. She spoke about the Chamber's grant to teach business English. Mayor Moncrief advised of the great things going on in the City and he spoke about the work of the Council Members. Mayor Moncrief spoke about the demographic changes and that it can be seen in the diversity in the City. He stated that the City faces the challenge of education, with increased drop out rates; he submits that they are as important as transportation. He congratulated Ms. Navejar on her work at the Hispanic Chamber. He spoke to Mr. Laughlin and stated that he hears him loud and clear on his frustration with the transportation issues. He spoke about the Council's efforts in this regard and his work. He spoke about the residential development. He spoke about the lack of east/west arterial streets. He stated the City does not have these. He spoke about the Alliance Airport and its success. He spoke about Hillwood's developments and their quality. He pointed out that not everyone has the money to put into the development like they do. He stated that he felt the standards are doing a better job in that regard. Mayor Moncrief spoke to Devoyd Jennings, with the Metropolitan Black Chamber. He spoke about seeing things finally coming to southeast Fort Worth. He added that they have seen tremendous challenges and now there are opportunities. He added he wants to encourage the opportunities and look at other TIF's in the area. Mayor Moncrief spoke to Mr. Thornton and advised that he had worked with him on numerous projects, of particular interest is the Wright Amendment. He expressed appreciation for his energy and focus. He spoke about the TransTexas Corridor and what it will do and how that alignment was done. He added that the City will have to continue to push and push hard for this City and this region on that alignment. Mayor Moncrief spoke to Mr. Mallick and stated that he was a very special person and it takes a lot of guts to do what his company is going to do and CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT APRIL 28-29,2006 (FRIDAY) Page 47 of 47 it does have its challenges. He added that he agrees with statements made by Council Member Davis that the City has to address the issue of public safety as developers do want to come and people need to be able to frequent locations in the day and night. He added that it is the City's job to work with them. He pointed out that the City is stepping up to help with this project and that it will be a good investment. Mayor Moncrief expressed appreciation to Brian Roop and James Grauley, with Bank of America for their presentation. With no further presentation or discussion, Mayor Moncrief adjourned the City Council Spring Retreat at 5:35 p.m. on Friday, April 28, 2006. These minutes approved by the Fort Worth City Council on the 91h day of May, 2006. APPROVED: — ;44*L Michael J`Motkrief, Mayo ATTEST: Marty Hendrix, di6 Secretary