Richardson City Council Work Session March 20th, 2023

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

One public comment is received regarding the lifeguard shortage. Staff states that the comments have been addressed adequately.

The first item is a presentation on the update to the comprehensive plan. Consultants from Kimley-Horn and Civic Brand present the strategies for the update. Since the last update to this plan in 2009, new trends have emerged. One of those trends is to use place types over land use. Land use typically identifies a singular best use for an area, whereas place type typically establishes the ideal use along with several other acceptable uses in certain contexts. The consulting firm also plans to continue the strategy of creating smaller districts of development that center around strategic assets. In other words, we might see some more areas get the Cityline approach in this update. Beyond just identifying the demographics of the community, the firm will also associate behaviors and desires of those demographics to create a psychographic analysis of the community. (JN: Psychographic seems to be a fancy word for simply listening to what people are asking for. If it leads to increased citizen engagement, I’m all for it.) The update will also increase the focus on a comprehensive mobility plan and a plan to address needs for attainable housing for the workforce. A fiscal plan that connects development decisions to a holistic fiscal policy will also be an area of focus. A focus on resilience will be applied to all sections of the plan and will focus on population growth, social equity, environmental quality, extreme weather impacts, aging infrastructure, and protection of historical assets. The consultant highlights the importance of hearing from all voices and providing a variety of methods for community input. This update will also include digitizing all plans and making them easily accessible on the city’s website.

Councilman Corcoran expresses support for the place type approach to future land use planning. Councilwoman Justice expresses support for the plan to digitize and connect this comprehensive plan with other master plans from different departments. She asks the applicant how forward looking the psychographic analysis will be. The consultant answers that the psychographics do consider how an individual’s preferences change as they age. Councilman Hutchenrider asks how the pandemic has impacted the planning models and psychographics. The consultant answers that models will be continuously updated as the effects of the pandemic become apparent. Mayor Voelker states that one of the benefits of this update will be the ability to collaborate with surrounding cities when it comes to planning decisions that affect the Richardson community. Councilman Shamsul expresses support for the overarching fiscal analysis. He states that it is important to identify new revenue sources to support aging infrastructure and encourages a holistic approach to future planning. Mayor Voelker emphasizes entertainment options as part of the holistic approach to creating districts like Cityline. He implies that entertainment sometimes isn’t considered a high priority, but it is an important part of creating enjoyable and livable communities. Head to envisionrichardson.com to sign up for notifications on the process.

Next up, Chief Tittle presents the police department’s annual review. The patrol and communications divisions have moved to 12-hr shifts. (JN: I’ll follow up with Chief Tittle on this, but I hope they are tracking how this shift is affecting capabilities. Maybe this schedule makes the most sense at current staffing levels. After reading about the subject, I think I’d prefer to see an overlapping 10-hr shift schedule. This might make more sense at higher staffing levels, but 10-hr shifts would allow more division cohesion and lower the risk of fatigue while still allowing officers enough time to rest and recover. I’d also be curious how this shift affects morale.) Though authorized staff levels have increased, actual staff levels haven’t increased much. Chief Tittle cites hiring bonuses and increased training opportunities for recruits as current strategies for addressing hiring difficulties. The number of applicants for sworn officer positions has decreased by approximately 50% since 2020. One of the listed retention strategies is community involvement. (JN: And I don’t think we should ignore that. The community can and should be involved in planning effective strategies for improving the police.) Total violent crime is down roughly 2%. While the city saw a reduction in homicides and aggravated assaults, a rise in sexual assaults canceled most of that out. The number of arrests for those violent crimes is down 20%, which is pretty concerning. We had a slight increase in property crime, mostly due to catalytic converter thefts. The number of arrests for property crimes is up a significant 25%. Chief Tittle references several bills introduced in the state legislature that aim to address catalytic converter theft. Chief Tittle also highlights the work of the Crisis Intervention Team and Homeless Engagement & Liaison Program as well as the community involvement in the Crime Watch and Volunteers in Policing programs. Enhancing the promotion process by adjusting civil service rules is highlighted as one of the tactics for 2023. (JN: Seems like a good time to remind everyone of the Civil Service Board. This is a five-member board whose duties include overseeing disciplinary actions regarding city employees, including police officers. They also make changes to any civil service rules. If you care at all about accountability, I highly suggest you learn more about this board and consider applying to serve on it.) Budget considerations this year include officer wellness and peer support programs, vehicle mounted license-plate scanning cameras, and a blocker vehicle to protect officers when they respond to emergencies on freeways and tollways. Council compliments the presented strategies and encourages the police department to continue to explore new strategies for recruitment and retention.

Next, Chief Information Officer Dan Steege presents an update on the IT, radio, and phone services projects. The city’s radio system is reaching its end of life; therefore the city plans to spend approximately $17 million on a new system. A new phone system is also needed but a price hasn’t been locked in for that yet. Councilman Corcoran asks about the projected lifecycle for the new radio system. Staff explains that, due to updates in technology, back-end systems typically require replacement every five years while the entire radio system typically requires replacement every ten years. Staff plans to implement a new strategy of spreading out replacements of radios on an annual basis while weighing the cost-benefit of doing so.

Council discusses various events that they attended throughout the week, and the meeting adjourns.