Printed Agenda

Work Session Room at City Hall
Monday, March 17, 2025
6 p.m.

William E. Dollar Municipal Building
200 N. Fifth St.
Garland, Texas

CITY OF GARLAND
WORK SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL

The Garland City Council extends to all visitors a sincere welcome. We value your interest in our community and your participation in the meetings of this governing body. Visit GarlandTX.gov/Council for a full list of meeting dates.

The Council Chambers at Garland City Hall is wheelchair accessible, and ADA parking is available on State Street as well as in the public parking garage behind City Hall. Persons who may need assistive listening devices or interpretation/translation services are asked to contact the City Secretary's Office at 972-205-2404 as soon as possible prior to the meeting so that we may do all we can to provide appropriate arrangements.

Garland City Council meetings are livestreamed and available on-demand at GarlandTX.tv. They are also broadcast on Spectrum Channel 16, Frontier Channel 44 and AT&T Uverse Channel 99. Closed captioning is available for each in English and Spanish.

NOTICE: Pursuant to Section 551.127 of the Texas Government Code, one or more members of the City Council may attend this meeting by internet/video remote means. A quorum of the City Council, as well as the presiding officer, will be physically present at the above identified location. Members of the public that desire to make a public comment must attend the meeting in person.

PUBLIC COMMENTS ON WORK SESSION ITEMS
Members of the audience may address the City Council on any Work Session item at the beginning of the meeting. Speakers are allowed three minutes each, grouped by agenda item and called in the order of the agenda. Anyone wishing to speak must fill out a speaker card (located at the entrance to the Council Chambers and on the visitor's side of the Work Session Room) and give it to the City Secretary before the Mayor calls the meeting to order. Speakers are limited to addressing items on the Work Session agenda only. Items on a Regular Meeting agenda should be addressed at the respective Regular Meeting. Items not currently on an agenda may be addressed during the citizen comments portion of any Regular Meeting.

CONSIDER THE CONSENT AGENDA
Council may ask for discussion or further information on any item posted in the consent agenda of the next Regular Meeting. Council may also ask that an item on the consent agenda be pulled and considered for a vote separate from the consent agenda at the next Regular Meeting. All discussions or deliberations are limited to posted agenda items and may not include new or unposted subject matter.

WRITTEN BRIEFINGS
Council may ask for discussion, further information, or give direction to staff on an item posted as a written briefing.

FY 2024-25 Annual Operating Budget Amendment No. 1

Council is requested to consider approving changes to the FY 2024-25 Annual Operating Budget to appropriate available funds for: projects approved in last year's budget but not yet completed, the rollover of open purchase orders from the 2023-24 fiscal year, and expenditures not anticipated in the 2024-25 Adopted Operating Budget. Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the April 1, 2025 Regular Meeting.

Grant Disbursement Agreement - Garland Housing Finance Corporation

Council is requested to consider accepting a $540,000 grant from the Garland Housing Finance Corporation (GHFC) to continue the Garland Partnership Program with the City of Garland. Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the April 1, 2025 Regular Meeting.

GPS: Garland's Pathway to Success

Council is requested to consider approval of GPS: Garland's Pathway to Success, the City Manager's work plan for aligning City Council direction with the work of Team Garland. Council was briefed on this item at the November 18, 2024 Work Session. Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the March 18, 2025 Regular Meeting.

VERBAL BRIEFINGS
Council may ask for discussion, further information, or give direction to staff on an item posted as a verbal briefing.

Introduction of a New Director

Council will be introduced to Joe Ellis, the new Director of Emergency Management, by Mistie Gardner, Managing Director.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Update

Council will be updated on DART's services, activities, programs and projects within Garland.

519 State Street: Further Consideration of the Sales Agreement and Development Agreement, to Discuss Possible Amendments

This item was requested by Councilmember Beard and seconded by Councilmember Ott.

Annual Review of Homestead and Senior Tax Exemptions

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Margaret Lucht, Chair of the Administrative Services Committee, along with staff, will present options recommended at the February 27, 2025 Administrative Services Committee Meeting.

Legislative & Public Affairs Committee Report

Councilmember B.J. Williams, Chair of the Legislative & Public Affairs Committee, and staff will provide a committee report. Ariel Traub, Managing Director of Legislative & Public Affairs, will discuss the 89th legislative session thus far.

ANNOUNCE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
A Councilmember, with a second by another member or the Mayor alone, may ask that an item be placed on a future agenda of the City Council or of a committee of the City Council. No substantive discussion of that item will take place at this time.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Deliberate or discuss:

The City Council will adjourn into executive session pursuant to sections 551.071, 551.072, and 551.087 of the Texas Government Code to deliberate and discuss the following:

1. Certain commercial or financial information that the City has received from a business prospect that the City seeks to have locate, stay, or expand in the downtown district of the City and with which the City is conducting economic development negotiations (551.087), including the possibility of the conveyance of real property (551.072), and attorney/client discussions related to the same (551.071).
2. A potential offer by the City of financial and other incentives to a business prospect and the receipt of commercial or financial information that the City has received from that same business prospect, which the City seeks to have locate within the City in the area of I-H 635 and Shiloh Road, and in the area of President George Bush Turnpike and Holford Road, and with which the City is conducting economic development negotiations (551.087); and attorney/client communications related to the same (551.071).

ADJOURN
All Work Sessions of the Garland City Council are broadcast live on CGTV, Time Warner Cable Channel 16 and Frontier FIOS TV 44. Meetings are rebroadcast at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesdays - Sundays. Live streaming and on-demand videos of the meetings are also available online at GarlandTX.tv. Copies of the meetings can be purchased through the City Secretary's Office (audio CDs are $1 each and DVDs are $3 each).

NOTICE: The City Council may recess from the open session and convene in a closed executive session if the discussion of any of the listed agenda items concerns one or more of the following matters:

Pending/contemplated litigation, settlement offer(s), and matters concerning privileged and unprivileged client information deemed confidential by Rule 1.05 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. Sec. 551.071, Tex. Gov't Code.
The purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property, if the deliberation in an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the position of the City in negotiations with a third person. Sec. 551.072, Tex. Gov't Code.
A contract for a prospective gift or donation to the City, if the deliberation in an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the position of the City in negotiations with a third person. Sec. 551.073, Tex. Gov't Code.
Personnel matters involving the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline or dismissalof a public officer or employee or to hear a complaint against an officer or employee. Sec. 551.074, Tex. Gov't Code.
The deployment, or specific occasions for implementation of security personnel or devices. Sec. 551.076,Tex. Gov't Code.
Discussions or deliberations regarding commercial or financial information that the City has received from a business prospect that the City seeks to have to locate, stay, or expand in or near the territory of the City and with which the City is conducting economic development negotiations; or to deliberate the offer of a financial or other incentive to a business prospect of the sort described in this provision. Sec. 551.087, Tex. Gov't Code.
Discussions, deliberations, votes, or other final action on matters related to the City's competitive activity, including information that would, if disclosed, give advantage to competitors or prospective competitors and is reasonably related to one or more of the following categories of information:

generation unit specific and portfolio fixed and variable costs, including forecasts of those costs, capital improvement plans for generation units, and generation unit operating characteristics and outage scheduling;
bidding and pricing information for purchased power, generation, and fuel, and Electric Reliability Council of Texas bids, prices, offers, and related services and strategies;
effective fuel and purchased power agreements and fuel transportation arrangements and contracts;
risk management information, contracts, and strategies, including fuel hedging and storage;
plans, studies, proposals, and analyses for system improvements, additions, or sales, other than transmission and distribution system improvements inside the service area for which the public power utility is the sole certificated retail provider; and
customer billing, contract, and usage information, electric power pricing information, system load characteristics, and electric power marketing analyses and strategies. Sec. 551.086; Tex. Gov't Code; Sec. 552.133, Tex. Gov't Code]

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Each year, the City Council reviews and updates its goals for the Garland community and City operations. City management uses these goals to guide operational priorities, decision-making and resource allocation.