Richardson City Council Meeting May 20th, 2024
OPENING
Six of the seven councilmembers are present as well as City Manager Don Magner. Records and Information Management Coordinator Crystal Brown sits in for Secretary Nemer. Councilwoman Justice joins via telecast.
Councilman Hutchenrider leads a Christian prayer and the pledges of allegiance.
Minutes of previous meetings are approved unanimously.
One speaker is present. He requests that the city remove the memorial to three confederate war (or the war between states as the memorial currently reads) veterans at Memorial Park. He also notes one mistaken name that should be removed from the Vietnam War memorial and one additional name that should be added to the Korean War memorial.
Next, a proclamation is presented to Oncor Area Manager Barry Young. The wording of the proclamation is not included in the agenda documents but can be heard 15 minutes into the meeting footage. It seems that this proclamation is being read to recognize his retirement. Council humorously takes a picture with Councilwoman Justice’s telecast screen (and one without) to honor the occasion.
Public Services Director Eric Robison then presents on National Public Services Week. Eric highlights the departments within Public Services and their work. This year’s theme is Advancing the Quality of Life for All. The city will host events to celebrate employees throughout the week. City Manager Don Magner notes that the city is hiring for this department. Council thanks Eric and his staff for their dedication.
STATE OF THE ARTS & CULTURAL ARTS MASTER PLAN
Next, Cultural Arts Commission Chair Sandy Palisch presents the 2024 State of the Arts and Cultural Arts Master Plan. The Cultural Arts Commission is present and holds a joint meeting with Council for this portion. Commissioner Todora is absent from the Cultural Arts Commission. Richardson is now back to pre-pandemic art grant funding levels. $375K was given in grants this year. Over 75,000 people attended over 1,100 performances this past season. The city has hosted several coffee events and workshops for grant applicants to attend. Chair Palisch notes that this year has seen the greatest number of public art projects since this commission’s inception. Next year’s traffic signal box art contest theme will be Butterflies. The 2026 theme will be Community. The commission’s website is ArtsinRichardson . com. (FB will not let me use links without flagging as spam so eliminate the spaces in the website.) Events for participating arts organizations are listed on this website. The Cultural Arts Master Plan will take a year to develop. Accounting and consulting firm BerryDunn is chosen to develop the plan.
Council thanks the commission for their work. Councilman Corcoran asks what the last master plan resulted in. Chair Palisch and Councilman Dorian note that the website and social media strategy were the biggest items to come out of the last master plan conducted 12 years ago. City Manager Don Magner adds that the last plan formalized many informal practices.
Representatives from BerryDunn present on the Cultural Arts Master Plan. The consultants compliment Richardson’s prioritization of arts and culture. The master planning process will include a public engagement period. Neumann states that this public engagement will include an online survey. The results of this plan will be an assessment of current assets and needs and the development of maintenance standards.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE
Next, Mark Bowers (Kimley-Horn) presents on the Comprehensive Plan Update and this summer’s public engagement events. This summer’s round of community feedback will relate specifically to five elements of the Comprehensive Plan: Future Land Use, Mobility/Transportation, Neighborhoods & Housing, Natural Environment, and Enhancement/Reinvestment Areas. An online survey will be available from June 7th – July 7th. Richardson City Hall will host a public workshop on June 11th at 6:30 pm. Heights Rec Center will host a public workshop on June 22nd at 10 am. The Ambassador/Meeting-in-a-Box program is also available to groups to provide feedback that way. Council will be presented the results of this feedback on August 12th. Mayor Pro Tem Shamsul is concerned about how future land use will affect the public school system and infrastructure. Councilman Hutchenrider asks what percentage of Richardson’s population has participated in this process. Mark answers that they will calculate that number after this next engagement period.
COMPLETE STREETS POLICY & CLOSING
Mobility & Special Projects manager Daniel Herrig presents the Complete Streets Policy and an update on applying for a Silver Level Bicycle Friendly Community designation. Daniel highlights educational events that the city has hosted for residents. He also highlights the development of a Complete Streets Policy. This policy will aim to ensure safe access to streets for all pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders. Councilwoman Justice ends her virtual attendance at this time to travel for work. Daniel resumes and explains that this policy will establish design standards for roadways to be more inclusive of all users. Daniel uses the recent Custer Rd. project as an example of the goals of this policy, using lane sizes and other methods for traffic calming and adding safety for cyclists and pedestrians. A recent Spring Valley Rd. project is highlighted as an example of pavement rehab and ADA improvement. The policy can be found beginning on page 13 of the handouts for this meeting. The newly formed Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee has unanimously recommended adopting the policy. The deadline to apply for a Bicycle Friendly Designation is June 25th.
Councilman Dorian asks if they could add different colors and design elements to bicycle lane markings. Daniel answers that there are national standards for these since they are for safety. They will explore making symbols inclusive but cannot compromise safety. Mayor Pro Tem Shamsul asks about using different surfaces for bike lanes when roads are constructed or resurfaced. Daniel answers that this would still incur higher maintenance costs. Councilman Hutchenrider expresses concern about cycling club groups riding during high traffic times. He asks if this policy addresses this issue. City Manager Don Magner responds that the newly formed BPAC could be used to raise awareness about safety. He states that we cannot keep cyclists off the road. Addressing this will not be a part of the Complete Streets Policy.
The consent agenda is passed unanimously. It includes only one item, a $100K annual requirements contract for traffic sign materials to Newman Signs, Vulcan Signs, and Centerline Supply.
Council discusses backing the blue, the Wildflower Festival, and Leadership North Texas, and the meeting adjourns.