Richardson City Council Meeting June 10th, 2024
OPENING
All councilmembers are present as well as City Manager Don Magner and City Secretary Aimee Nemer.
Councilman Dorian leads a prayer for hope and the pledges of allegiance.
Minutes of the previous meeting are approved unanimously.
One public written comment is acknowledged regarding fence repairs. No public speakers are present.
TRANSPORTATION & MOBILITY WORK PLAN (BUDGET PREP)
The first item is supposed to be a presentation from DART. DART’s representatives, however, are stuck in traffic. (A bit on the nose, isn’t it?) So, Asst. Transportation & Mobility Director Pritam Deshmukh presents the Transportation & Mobility Work Plan first. He provides an overview of department responsibilities within Transportation & Mobility. 22,000 traffic signs across the city are inspected annually and replaced every twelve years. 400 lane miles of roadway pavement markings are replaced every five years. 180 school zones have their pavement markings replaced every other year. 28 miles of bike lanes and 27 miles of bike routes have their pavement markings replaced every five years.
The city also maintains 134 traffic signals. 350 streetlights will be converted from high-pressure sodium streetlights to LED lights under the federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant. High mast streetlights will be installed along U.S. 75. The city has experienced 10% cost inflation for signs, markings, and signals. The requested Traffic Operations budget for the next fiscal year amounts to a 1% increase over the current fiscal year’s budget. The department will form a Communications Master Plan next fiscal year that will analyze how systems communicate data. The requested Traffic Technology Infrastructure budget has $1.25M transferred in from the General Fund and $259K transferred in from the Water & Sewer Fund. Proposed expenditures for this budget are $2.7M.
Four new traffic signal projects will be paid for using 2021 Bond program funds. Ten new traffic signal projects will be funded and managed by TxDOT using federal funds from the Highway Safety Improvement Program. City funds will be used for design costs on those projects, about 10-15% of the overall cost. Eight street/intersection projects will be cost-shared utilizing the Dallas County Master Capital Improvement Plan. Four intersection improvements in addition to an autonomous vehicle program and the Vision Zero Safety Action Plan will be cost-shared using federal funds through the North Central Texas Council of Governments nonprofit. One intersection improvement and one pedestrian safety improvement project will utilize DART allocation funding. Approximately 32% of funding for transportation & mobility projects comes from the city. The rest is leveraged funding from the aforementioned agencies. The Galatyn employment-based shuttle contract has been renegotiated for cost savings of roughly 18%. The city will also plan to develop a Safe Routes to School program.
Councilman Corcoran asks if the number of school zones will go down with the closing of some schools. Pritam answers that It may actually increase since they will need more resources to move the school zones.
DART UPDATE (BUDGET/TAX RATE PREP)
Now, DART CEO Nadine Lee presents an update from DART. Gary Slagel, Richardson’s appointee to the DART Board, is also introduced. Nadine explains that their adopted Strategic Vision is to become a regional asset. DFW is about to surpass Chicago as the third-largest metro area in the U.S. in the next decade. Nadine highlights security enhancements including CCTV, improved access controls, and employing over 150 security officers. She also highlights the new DART Cares Program which connects people with mental health services. Though DART is now completing over 99% of all bus and rail trips, Nadine reports that 24% of bus times are delayed. Ridership numbers are increasing. Paratransit and GoLink services now have higher than pre-pandemic ridership levels. All other categories have not gotten higher than 80% pre-pandemic levels.
Over the next five years, DART aims to replace 95 light rail vehicles and over 500 buses. DART is also planning to expand the bus network over the next 5 to 10 years. New shelters are currently being designed with solar panels and enhanced lighting and seating.
Nadine concludes with an update on the Silver Line. She reports that the aesthetic arch needs design revisions so that contract is being updated. The Silver Line will have service from 5 am – midnight. DART will hold public hearings in 2025 before the line opens for service. They plan to offer 30-minute and 60-minute service. Richardson’s segment will be tested in late summer this year. This testing will take up to a year.
Councilwoman Justice compliments the Cares program. She asks about plans for the 2026 World Cup. Nadine answers that it will be interesting with Arlington not in any public transit service area. They will consult with an organization that specializes in these types of events to be prepared. Councilman Barrios speaks on his own experience using DART to go to a Mavs game. He describes an unsafe environment with bottles being passed around and needles on the ground. He adds that one person jumped on the platform and twerked on the train. This was at the Downtown Dallas station. His son has begun riding DART to church. Since single dollar bills are needed when paying cash and all he had was a $5 bill, he was waved on without fare. Councilman Barrios encourages DART to find a way to collect fares when this happens.
Councilman Hutchenrider asks about a possible way to connect Dallas to Sherman for the new chip manufacturing plant planned there. Nadine says they can have those conversations, but it will cost money. Mayor Pro Tem Shamsul says we should encourage economic development in DFW, not outside of the metroplex.
IT WORK PLAN (BUDGET PREP)
CIO Dan Steege now presents the IT Work Plan. Dan provides an overview of departments and responsibilities within IT. They have 32 employees. This year’s budget request amounts to an approx. 9% increase over last year’s budget. Dan explains that inflation is affecting prices for software. Richardson is in a multi-year process of updating various systems. This next fiscal year, they will update the billing and building inspection systems. They will also incorporate GIS data into an updated 911 system.
Councilman Corcoran asks if we should expect a jump in expenses once the current software contracts expire. Dan says they are hoping prices will be more sensible in a couple years. If prices are too high with the current vendor, they will explore switching to a different product at that time.
CUSTER PROJECT & PUBLIC HEARING – WATERWOOD VILLAS
An update on the Custer Project was originally on tonight’s agenda, however, that presentation has been moved to a future meeting since this project has experienced delays. What was originally an 18-month project is now projected to take two years. More details will be presented in a few months.
Now, a public hearing on ZF 24-07, a multifamily planned development request (Waterwood Villas) at 2251 N. Glenville Dr. This was also covered at the May 21st CPC meeting where they recommended approval 6-1. Staff presents a background of the request. The applicant steps forward to make their presentation and answer questions. Councilman Dorian asks how long it will take to develop. They are still securing financing, so perhaps two years out. No public speakers are present for this hearing. Council unanimously approves the request.
CONSENT AGENDA & CLOSING
The consent agenda is also approved unanimously. It includes a pair of ordinances codifying the approvals of ZF 24-06 and ZF 24-10. It also includes an ordinance codifying the adoption of Bicycle Parking Standards. Two resolutions are included. The first reappoints Gary Slagel as representative to the DART Board of Directors until July 2026. The second resolution approves terms and conditions for an interlocal agreement with Dallas County for repairs to Maple St. from Abrams to Greenville. The city will pay Dallas County $67K for milling and an asphalt overlay. Finally, two bids are included. Southern Trenchless Solutions has been awarded the $900K Prairie Creek Manhole Rehab project. A&M Maintenance Services is awarded the $1.1M annual requirements contract for pavement marking materials.
Council discusses the Envision Richardson comprehensive plan open houses and the disaster recovery work ongoing, and the meeting adjourns.