Richardson City Council Meeting May 6th, 2024

OPENING

All councilmembers are present as well as City Manager Don Magner and City Secretary Aimee Nemer.

Councilman Corcoran leads a prayer and the pledges of allegiance.

Minutes of the previous meeting are approved unanimously.

One written public comment is received from a McKinney resident regarding arrests at the recent UTD protest. Two speakers are also present. The first speaks positively about his experience in Richardson’s Citizen’s Fire Academy. The second speaker expresses disagreement with the law enforcement response to the UTD protest.

Next, winners of the city’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Contest and Black History Month Art Contest are recognized. This year’s essay prompt asked students in grades 4-12 what role youth can play in advancing Dr. King’s ideals and positive social change. Three winners are chosen for the essay contest. Winning essays will be published in Richardson Today and on social media. This year’s art contest had the same prompt for students grades 1-12. Four winners are chosen for the art contest. The winners are announced and presented their awards.

NEW COMMISSIONS & APPOINTMENTS

Now, Council announces their inaugural appointments to the city’s two newest commissions. 

Your nine Community Inclusion & Engagement Commissioners are: Chair Varma Rashmi, Vice-Chair Raul Hinojosa, Audrey Oatis-Newsome, Kristen Ceaser, Kristen Schascheck, Siraj Akhtar, Grace McClure, Jessica Rivera-Lucas, and Hisham Syed. 

Your five Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Commissioners are: Chair Bill Chance, Vice-Chair Brenda Hard-Wilson, Diane Litke, Matthew Martin, and Richard Wezensky. Keith Kockler from the Richardson Police Department and Mark Nelson from the Transportation & Mobility Department will also serve as representatives. 

For the City Plan Commission, Gary Beach is promoted from alternate to regular member. Rebecca Poynter is appointed as an alternate. It’s not immediately clear to me who is being replaced on this commission. The website now shows eight regular members and two alternates and that is one member too many for this commission. 

New members are also appointed to the Library Board, Zoning Board/Building Standards Commission, and Eisemann Center Foundation Board.

EISEMANN CENTER PRESENTS 2024-25 SEASON

Next, Eisemann Center Director Ally Haynes-Hamblen presents the 2024-25 season. Ally explains that several lessons were learned during her first season of programming. This year’s fall season performances will not be scheduled on Fridays to avoid conflicts with school football games. Revenues and expenses from this next season are projected to break even. Now, the season’s lineup. Highlights that stood out to me include a Dia de los Muertos musical, a conversation with Ina Garten, an Encanto sing-along concert, a Bollywood performance, renowned Sitarist Anoushka Shankar (Yes, *that* Shankar. I’m most excited for this one), Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, a Swingle Singers holiday concert, a hip-hop orchestra experience, comedian Paula Poundstone, David Payne in Christmas with C.S. Lewis, and a conversation with Mandy Patinkin & Kathryn Grody, and those are just my personal highlights. Council praises Ally’s programming and improvements upon last year’s performances. 

AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEEDS

The only true discussion item is on housing grants at the state and federal levels. This discussion is responsive to an adopted Council tactic last September. Asst. City Manager Dannette Garcia presents. She presents a series of definitions to start. 

‘Affordability’ refers to the federal standard that no more than 30% of gross household income should be spent on rent and utilities. Area Median Income is calculated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). ‘Very Low Income’ refers to household income that is less than 50% of the Area Median Income. ‘Extremely Low Income’ refers to household incomes below 30% of the Area Median Income or federal poverty guideline. ‘Housing Strategy’ refers to a Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy as defined by federal code. ‘Approved’ refers to approval from HUD. ‘Fair Market Rent’ refers to a number determined by HUD. (I went to the HUD website to see the methodology for calculating fair market rent and I could not make any sense of the numbers. If anyone can make sense of it, please share your wisdom.) ‘Housing Wage’ refers to the estimated full-time hourly wage that must be earned to afford a rental home at Fair Market Rent while meeting the federal standard for Affordability.

Richardson’s median income is $94,360. Richardson’s average monthly rent is $1,673. The maximum monthly cost for rent and utilities to be considered Affordable at this median income is $2,359. The Affordable monthly rent and utility maximum for Very Low Income households is $1,378. Dannette also presents data showing that the maximum loan someone could typically get at Richardson’s median income still falls $185K short of the average sale price of Richardson homes. Dannette states that it is currently too costly for developers to develop housing options at lower price points. 

Dannette states that other metroplex cities’ experiences have shown that a Housing Needs Assessment is necessary for the development of a successful housing plan. This assessment would identify what specific problems we should aim to solve. It would identify gaps in the rental and for-sale housing market. It would guide the formal housing policy and prioritize needs. Dannette provides several examples of programs, strategies, and initiatives that are available for cities to utilize. She then explains that a logical next step would be conducting a Housing Needs Assessment as part of the FY25 budget cycle. The assessment would cost roughly $130K and take six months to complete. Council is asked for their feedback.

Councilwoman Justice asks if the Housing Needs Assessment will provide further details on specific programs. Dannette answers that it would. Councilwoman Justice supports conducting the assessment. Mayor Pro Tem Shamsul states that Richardson has many future needs that need to be carefully balanced. He alludes to a future discussion where he will apparently elaborate more. I think he supports conducting the assessment but his comments did not make that clear to me.

Councilman Barrios asks which five metroplex cities were studied for potential strategies. Dannette answers that she spoke with Plano, Lewisville, Denton, Fort Worth, and she asked a fellow staff member about Frisco. Councilman Barrios also supports conducting the needs assessment. Councilman Corcoran supports conducting a housing needs assessment. He asks staff not to withhold or delay any opportunities between now and the completion of the assessment. Dannette notes that this assessment is a requirement for some entitlement programs. 

Councilman Hutchenrider asks if the needs assessment will simultaneously address needs for new development and needs of existing residents. He suggests we may need a separate study for potential assistance programs for existing residents. Dannette answers that the assessment would determine if preservation (supporting existing housing and residents) should be prioritized because of potential displacement. She confirms that both aspects can be covered by the same assessment. Councilman Hutchenrider supports conducting the assessment. He wants to prioritize preservation over any other strategy. 

Councilman Dorian is hesitant to support the needs assessment at this time due to the cost. City Manager Don Magner notes that this will be a decision for Council to consider in the budget development sessions in July. Councilman Barrios agrees with prioritizing preservation but thinks that it doesn’t need its own separate study.

CONSENT AGENDA & CLOSING

The consent agenda is approved unanimously. It includes the new Tree Ordinance. It also includes five bid awards: $1.7M to Muniz Construction for alley projects, $205K to Stoic Civil Construction for erosion control at Breckenridge Park, $500K to Custard Construction to demolish city hall by September,  $390K to Falkenberg Construction Co. to construct restrooms at Sherrill Park Golf Course, and $230K to Rush Truck Center for two fire department and two police department trucks.

Council discusses the opening of Jay Dalehite Park, National Day of Prayer, Cottonwood Art Festival, a Richardson ISD Foundation fundraiser, and supporting rights to peaceful protest, and the meeting adjourns.