HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-12-19 - City Council - Special Called - MinutesCITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2025
Present:
Mayor Mattie Parker
Mayor Pro tem Carlos Flores, District 2
Council Member Michael D. Crain, District 3
Council Member Charlie Lauersdorf, District 4
Council Member Deborah Peoples, District 5
Council Member Dr. Mia Hall, District 6
Council Member Macy Hill, District 7
Council Member Chris Nettles, District 8
Council Member Elizabeth Beck, District 9
Council Member Alan Blaylock, District 10
Council Member Jeanette Martinez, District 11
Staff Present:
Jesus "Jay" Chapa, City Manager
Leann Guzman, City Attorney
Katherine Cenicola, Assistant City Secretary
1. CALL TO ORDER
With a quorum of the City Council Members present, Mayor Parker called the Special
Called City Council Retreat of the Fort Worth City Council to order 9:18 a.m. on Friday,
December 19, 2025, in the Rockwood Park Golf Course, Banquet Room, 1851
Jacksboro Highway, Fort Worth, Texas.
2. Welcome - Mayor Mattie Parker
Mayor Parker provided opening remarks.
3. The Main Ingredients: Building Unified, Impact -Driven Teams - Dr. D.L.
Wallace, STI
Dr. D.L. Wallace opened the retreat by discussing building unified, impact -driven teams.
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4. Team Dynamics - Hilary Shine, SGR
Hilary Shine, Vice President for Leadership Development at Strategic Government
Resources, discussed the team dynamics by reviewing the Input -Output Processing
Template assessment.
Mayor Parker suggested this assessment should be done with city management staff.
Mayor Parker requested city management to look at how there can be more transparency
in communicating with Council Members to help support the body better as the Council
continues to adjust to two additional members.
City Manger Chapa suggested a solution would be to incorporate more Work Session
meetings throughout the year, as that is the way staff communicates with both the Council
and the public.
5. Review of Strategic Priorities - Hilary Shine, SGR and Christianne Simmons,
Chief Transformation Officer
Christianne Simmons, Chief Transformation Officer, presented and reviewed the City
Council Strategic Priorities.
Mayor Parker requested that staff look at projects that are council district specific for
each goal and ask each Council Member what success looks like to them in their districts.
Council Member Peoples agreed with that request and would like to see how the goals are
impacting each council district.
City Manger Chapa added that staff can also revisit the targeted areas for each goal in
each council district.
Council Member Peoples recommended the Council review and/or update strategic
priories and goals every three years as part of the Council retreat. The rest of the Council
concurred.
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6. What is Holding Housing Back in the US? - Jennifer Hernandez, Partner
Holland & Knight Land Use & Environmental Law, West Coast Chair
Jennifer Hernandez, Partner Holland & Knight Land Use & Environmental Law, West
Coast Chair presented to the Council about housing policies.
7. Good Governance — Foundation of Success - Ron Holifield, SGR
Ron Holifield, founder of Strategic Government Resources, presented to the Council
about foundations for good governance.
Mayor Parker posed a question to Council about how to more effectively communicate
with staff.
Council Member Hall asked how we enact good governance expectations.
Council Member Martinez asked City Manager Chapa what he and his staff were doing.
City Manager Chapa suggested having a framework for governance and pushing for more
committee meetings and more transparency with all of Council about what is being
discussed at the committee meetings.
Council Member Blaylock agreed about having a governance framework and requested
work session briefing materials come more than a few hours before the meeting.
Council Member Nettles brought up an issue that staff presents a project or policy
question in executive session that needs a vote during the next Council meeting and he
requested more open discussions before a decision needs to be made.
Council Member Hall asked about how go about changing the meeting schedule to allow
staff to communicate more with Council.
Council Member Hill supported the idea of more work session meetings and discussed
Council and staff working on their relationships.
Council Member Beck noted that the quantity of information seems to have decreased,
the committees aren't meeting and requested a more formalized information package.
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City Manager Chapa stated more items will start going to committee meetings with the
entire Council being informed about what is on those agendas.
Council Member Peoples requested better communication from staff.
City Manger Chapa agreed that staff will start communicating better.
Mayor Parker agreed there was inconsistent communication and that staff needs to build a
system of communicating that works for each Council Member.
Council Member Crain concurred with the notion of communication needing to improve.
Mayor Pro Tern Flores requested staff review their informing processes.
Council Member Hill requested to be trained on how to run a meeting and provide tools
to bring more civility and better governance to meetings.
City Manager Chapa asked Council if they would be open to another retreat in February
to discuss good governance policies further and Council agreed.
Council Member Martinez mentioned she liked the summaries idea with items on the
committee meetings.
8. Financial Health - City Manager Jay Chapa
City Manager Jay Chapa presented to the Council about fiscal health.
Council Member Beck requested the chart and information regarding Multifamily vs
Single Family be communicated out to the public.
9. Closing Remarks - Ron Holifield, SGR
Ron Holifield provided closing remarks.
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10. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Mayor Parker adjourned the meeting at 3:23 p.m.
These minutes were approved by the Fort Worth City Council on the 6th day of January 2026.
Attest: Ap v
Jette S. Goodall Mattie Parker
Secretary Mayor
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