do I see Bishop Hayes in the audience I thought that might be you you can always tell clergy when you you see the lovely Council ladies look gorgeous council member Martinez and Beck you both look gorgeous thank you mayor proam absolutely now those guys I just don't no yeah not the same got a smile what was that okay for those of you who are not aware we lost a legend this week judge El Clifford Davis passed away at the age of 100 on uh Saturday so I'm sure we'll close next week's meeting in his honor to make it official see violence is very awkward for me did you watch sat night livees and I One e e e Dan how do you pronounce your last name okay gotta I'm always insecure when I have to read it perfect time to ask need eight that's why we have all these lawyers around they surrounded me earlier when I was trying to call a meeting to order with only seven you would have thought I had pushed some firebell or something so I now know for sure we need eight okay you can on in five minutes I can wa like five minutes C that's a real factor that is a real Factor oh look at Elizabeth puppy a we will soon reach Quorum I assure you for hey council member Williams can we do a uh sound check testing can you'all hear me yes we can thank you and with that I am calling to order the city council public comment meeting for February 18th first on the agenda we will have the invocation with Bishop Donald Hayes of gift Ministries Bishop Hayes please please stand and remain standing for the pledge let us pray gracious and almighty God we thank you for allowing us to be here tonight thank for holding back the weather that we can come and meet tonight we pray God you bless our mayor as she chairs this meeting tonight bless our God her as she lead this city to higher Heights and deeper depths pray God for every District that's represented here tonight and every Council man and Council woman that they will be able to work together with the May that make this Vision become a reality we pray for our Department of Public Safety police fire ands keep them safe as they continue to keep us safe pray for all our men and women in uniform that you watch over them and keep them safe pray for our public officials our governmental entities that you bless them God they lead us watch over them God and keep them safe we thank you for it we ask this precious blessing in your might name we pray amen amen I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible for liberty and justice for all thank you and now the first item consideration of minutes from meetings on February 4th it's been motioned and seconded all in favor if we can vote we'll see do I have to do that start the vote okay got it thank you and with that minutes from both meetings I'm not seeing all the votes stuck can we vote by hand want to start again okay there we are and with that motions are approved Madam Secretary our first speaker speaker tonight will be Dan Hayes before Dan speaks Janette could you read the policy concerning theorum sure um so Council meetings are conducted for the official business of city council to receive input from residents members of the public attending the city council meeting shall observe rules of decorum and shall not engage in disorderly conduct that interferes with the ability of others to observe or participate in the meeting without disruption or fear of intimidation for those of you who have requested to speak there are two podiums in the chamber each Podium has a countdown clock located to the speaker's right it will indicate how much time is remaining the Bell will sound when you have 30 seconds left before you begin your comments please state your name thank you good evening my name is Dan Hayes uh in the 1980s I spent a lot of time in this building as a vendor maintaining some of the city's uh Mainframe computer equipment uh in fact sometimes if nothing was needing my attention I would pop into the council chambers and watch part of a council meeting or a zoning hearing one day in 1986 I came to the building to service some equipment and saw a sign in a South foyer pointing downstairs it read CFW ribbs ribs what's that well it turned out that the city was using a rather inventive approach to fund the two-story parking garage serving the Will Rogers complex that sits next to Casa bana on University Drive they sold Revenue Improvement bonds or ribs directly to the public public after looking into this I bought two for $918 total which 9 years later I cashed in for $2,000 with the interest being tax-free I thought this was a great idea the public could directly participate in the funding of a city project while at the same time getting paid interest for loaning the city the money I have no idea if this concept is still legal or worth considering but I can tell you that I never drive past that parking garage without thinking about how I contributed in a small way to its construction I know we have Bond elections every four years or so but this may be another tool to get something specific accomplished sort of a focused effort outside of the bond election cycle so I actually have my 1986 book I found and I'd like to give to Jay choa and uh maybe it'll be some use to some folks thank you thank you call the next name our next speaker will be Chris W hi my name is Chris Wood and I from District 9 it was Super Bowl Sunday about an hour before kickoff I was at the Trinity Metro merkantil Center train station a man with a large cart full of clothes and bags approached me he desperately asked if I had a charging block for his phone I usually carry one but unfortunately not that day sorry no I replied he explained his phone had died his train pass was on his phone he told me he was homeless and it was hard for a homeless person to keep their phone charged he said he used to be able to charge his phone at this station this picture shows the missing Outlet he explained I need to make it to Fort Worth Central Station then take a bus to my friend's house for a warm meal and to wash my clothes in exchange for doing odd jobs I told him my train pass normally does not get checked right away so he could probably get on the train and he'll make it to Central Station he said the conductor does not check your pass because you look clean but it's different for someone like me the train arrived and we boarded shortly after the train started moving the conductor asked for our passes I saw the homeless man get off at the next stop he was not going to make it in time for the Super Bowl kickoff at his friend's house the next day I reported this issue through the Trinity Metro goass app on my phone I also called their customer service to describe the problem the customer service rep suggested the man should have charged his phone the night before when I explained that he was homeless she expressed concerned about his situation she noted my complaint however Trinity Metro never responded to this issue this is not just a problem for homeless people I have traveled long distances using Trinity Metro this means I have to use both the buses and the trains my phone has actually died because scheduled bus rides are unpredictable I have waited at bus stops for over 20 minutes decided to start walking because I wasn't sure if the bus was coming only to have the bus pass me which forced me to wait an hour at the next stop wait for the following bus Google Maps often CHS the bus but however sometimes it doesn't show it at all and it fails to track it accurately therefore I believe Trinity Metro should provide electric outlets at their train stations so customers can show their passes that they purchased on the Trinity Metro app this is a simple request that can mean so much to those in need thank you for your consideration our next speaker will be Gerald Banks senior see here I don't see Mr Banks name what about James Walker Christopher Johnson Wesley Kirk come on down hello uh I'm Wesley Kirk with support for Worth Art and I'm here today to talk about the importance of community engagement sadly city council and staff seem to think that Community engagement is just a box to check off to say that you did something but engagement opportunities are are often too few and far between with little information provided ahead of time especially when it comes to the format of Engagement and what information the city is hoping to gather this unfortunately leads to meetings where the few folks who even do know to attend show up angry both at the fact that making their voices heard can be so difficult and the very real feeling that their voices don't matter I urge you all to make Community engagement into what it actually is a vital part of government and democracy a good example of this is hiring Jay choa I hear good things about him and hope he does a better job than the previous city manager but what should have been a Victorious moment in his career was stained by the fact that there was not a single effort to engage the community with getting to know and trust the most powerful unelected person in the city of Fort Worth even though Community engagement was baked into the process from the start some of you did not prioritize this or understand the value that it has Community engagement is a two-way street of benefits both educating the public and building consensus on big issues but also in gathering needed feedback from folks outside of City staff who may be experts or those most impacted by the city's decisions take a look at what happened with the Community Arts Center by not prioritizing Community engagement from the start you set up the process for failure due to a lack of understanding who and what the building is for and therefore not setting up proposals for Success when the RFP went out in 2023 there were only three opportunities from the city for the public to speak on the future of of the building that is foundational to Fort Worth's Arts ecosystem in 2024 there weren't any opportunities at all in 2025 it is absolutely imperative that we Revitalize this important building as soon as possible and we must do it with Community engagement front and center trust is the currency of change without a genuine and meaningful effort by the city to inform and engage the public on crucial issues and sincerely seek our input this distrust and cynicism only grows harming Fort Worth and holding us back I ask you to hold tightly to this thought that Community engagement should be at the heart of every decision you make as Council that you prioritize it from the beginning and insist upon it throughout the entire process thank you thank you call the next name our next speaker is Homer blocker is Mr blocker here and we will return to all names missed at the end of the last speaker in case some show up later hi everybody doing today my name is Homer blocker and uh District Five District 8 district 6 74 all of them trust me I'll be everywhere uh first of all for the elderly folks over there at Sarah Vista Apartments which is uh District 8 and uh I have spoken to your people and y'all jumped on the pretty quickly buddy trust me it done went up the line pretty fast uh a bunch of stuff they doing over there with the elderly it's been people passed away from over there that was in their apartment for a whole month and they didn't know about it uh I'll be over there a lot so I'm going to try to stay on their Nicks you know because they done flipped over management so many times and uh Gina Biv you're doing a good job baby I ain't got nothing to sell by stop six right now or Eastwood so uh I appreciate the park over there that you did over Al for bar and Edgewood uh so again I say uh we really do need to address a bunch of this gun violence though um I talked to some of the people you know there around in neighborhoods and stuff and you know I don't know like I say if the signs would help any you know as far as you know we would say you know like I said at the schools you know how y'all got uh you know gunfree Zone you know signs up and some of these public places that I'm going say a lot of my color hang out you know they get a little Rowdy and uh you know it'll be good if you know them signs could pop up and uh really help with the police department because you know when you on private property things change but if you put them signs up you know the police will have more action at doing what they need to do because uh it's too many of us you know just randomly getting shot and killed you know innocent bystanders so uh something had happened in stop 6 a while ago um she passed away now she used to be at uh Eastern Hills they called her Gangster Granny but uh miss brackens you know they did a drive byall on her house on patent drive and uh you know it was sad to say she did live through it but uh by the way like I say I'm here to help you know our communities you know uh at the end of the day I really would love to give out my number or take some numbers in and you know keep y'all updated on what's going on in forward so that's the end of that all right thank you call the next name our next speaker is Rosemary gono come on down good evening I am Rosemary galdiano and I reside in District 9 I'm here to advocate for reopening the Seminary South Branch library located in South Fort Worth in District 11 this Branch was closed in December of 2021 supposedly due to low census in 2020 as I recall didn't we live through a pandemic in 2020 in 2023 I was informed by one of your library staff that closing our Branch library was a mistake and indeed it was but more than that it was an injustice the truth is it was closed in preparation for the closure of the downtown library our library was moved to a small space in the Grand Plaza Mall the grand bibla is nothing more than a bookmobile without wheels while it successfully meets the needs of one tiny segment of our community it still falls short of providing services that only a full service Library can provide in the current climate the Latino Community is on edge fearful of calling law enforcement if needed fear fearful of sending children to school fearful of shopping experiencing fear in general I wonder how this climate has impacted utilization of the grand biblioteca at this crimer ridden Mall our community needs and deserves the reopening of our full service Branch Library all other districts in Fort Worth have one or more full service libraries in fact there are five full service libraries east of I35 and south of I30 if Fort Worth leaders are truly concerned about literacy rates then walk the talk and invest in our libraries and the future of our communities I urge each of you and our new city manager to open your eyes your mind and your budget to support reopening our Seminary South Library thank you thank you please call the next tonight our next speaker is Vicky Bargas good evening my name is Vicky Bargas and I live in District 11 and I stand before you today to discuss an issue that holds great significance for our community the reopening of our beloved library on the South Side the Seminary South Branch Library libraries are more than just buildings filled with books they are the heart and soul of community the Seminary South Branch library was a Cornerstone of our community for generations and its absent has been deeply felt by all of us libraries play a crucial role in our society they are just not just warehouses for books they provide access to a wealth of information resources and opportunities that are otherwise Out Of Reach for many libraries are places where children discover the joy of reading so necessary as we as a community and a city struggle with the issue of literacy reopening the Southside library is not just a matter of restoring a building it is about restoring hope opportunity and Community Spirit it is about acknowledging the needs of our residents and taking concrete steps to address them the Southside deserves to have a library that reflects its vibrancy diversity and resilience I urge you to support this initiative to allocate the necessary resources and to work with us to ensure that the Seminary South Branch Library once again becomes a thriving center of learning and Community together we can make this Vision a reality and a brighter future for the southide and for our entire city thank you thank you our next speaker is Payton Jackson Jim DeLong good evening I'm Jim dong district 7 uh it's been interesting to hear some people speak about the importance of libraries because that's what I wanted to talk about tonight is literacy I entitled my subject third grade and uh a while back during work sessions city council you all had a push in our city to get our students to read at a third grade level because if they could read at a third grade level they can have a chance in life statistics prove that if you don't can't read at a third grade level you can't fill out a job application correctly and your ability to earn a decent living is greatly hindered and I know I'm kind of speaking to the choir here here I should probably be speaking to a school board but there is a direct correlation between illiteracy and crime and crime is a very important factor in our city we'd all like to see crime go down and when crime goes down there's less people incarcerated of course I me that's kind of a dust statement but it's important if a School District can spend time on uh taking time with students to help them find out what sex they are but they can't teach a student how to read we've got a problem and uh again like I said you all are I'm speaking to the choir not to the school board but there are things that you can do to help lower a crime in one of them is to continue your efforts to bring greater lit literacy to our children thank you thank you next speaker is kolina Rodriguez Bob Willoughby this is terrible you got more people at home than you do here these people come he about the library they Brave the code and come out here they don't get paid these people are are hired to be down here and they're not here that's shameful anyway talking about schools and stuff I just came from this Fort Worth ISD meeting I didn't know if I could make it in time do both of these I signed up for both I went to the ISD meeting why aren't you over there that's where you need to be at over at the ISD meeting but you know what these people put them at the same time almost so you can't make both and they're both very important school's very important and this is very important but they put them at the same time and this used to be at 7:00 so what I'm really going to talk about is power back to the people it's been toen away since mdy Parker's been here I wish some people would go and see what it was like before Maddie Parker when we had four Council meetings a month you had free speech no one hitting their little buttons up there point of order and all this kind of crap I'll tell you you know what's ni you can speak tonight because there's nobody here you know so uh it's someone like speak to an empty room but the schedule has to be put back Free Speech needs to be put back this is not a council meeting this is a social meeting they make it look like a council meeting it's just to make you look like idiots we should be at Council meetings when they talk about those libraries we should be at the council meeting we used to have free speech there where you could talk about it difference between this and a council meeting a council meeting is where business is conducted this is on where you bu I mean you BS never mind but anyway that's all this is just a bunch of talk and and that but I come down here to stay away from the refrigerator and gives me something to do so but also I'll tell you what would help this city a lot is to go large now I bet these people don't know what it is they never been to a council meeting or a budget meeting none of that they get put up here without going those meetings at all never been to a council meeting but here they sit most of these people up here what it means when I say go large it means that we get to vote on the council members across the board but we're not going to be able to do that until we get together and hold these people accountable it doesn't matter who sits in that seat up there whether it's Maddie again or or not until the people hold them accountable it don't matter who we elect but we got the power if we hold them accountable first put back our free speech and put back in some people that do what we discover going large would be the best thing these council members have power over what we do they all get to vote on things that affect all us but we can't vote on all them when you go large you still have your districts except that we can vote on every council member and that way they can't sit protected if someone's running against them we don't like we all got a right to vote against them get them out and that's what the city needs big time is that it needs local voter education it needs people to start voting 95% is not voting that's why we got the bottom of the barrel that's why we got what we got in here you people are just you're disgusting you took away free speech you need to be there it is where's that point there he is there's my point of order that's po p o o p point of order police thank you Bob call the next name next speaker is Adrien Smith Adrien Smith district 6 I am one with the people and the people are the power for change for for for for for thank you call the next name our next speaker is Mariah Garcia good evening mayor city council and fellow Fort worthan my name is Mariah Garcia and I hold a master's degree in social work uh from UTA go wavs and I've been working with the refugee population in Fort Worth um until recently uh J January 24th actually when Refugee resettlement programs were cut off from funding that was a federal decision so you might be wondering why I ask coming to the city I will get to that but also I'm looking for a job so you know if anyone has any leads uh in the weeks leading up to the change of presidential leadership Fort Worth received hundreds of refugees and their families just to be clear a refugee is a ferally approved uh immigrant who actually was invited to come here came with all their rights visas um and within weeks um of arriving they received their social security card as well as their employment card uh they were promised three months of housing assistance a few months the food assistance and assistant getting acclimated to their new home this includes required English classes School enrollment job Readiness training other items such as a cultural orientation to learn the norms and laws in our city and our country I'm really grateful for the Fort Worth PD that often sends one of their officers to those cultural orientations to help our new neighbors get acclimated um to the laws here when refugees were cut off from promise funding the implications for our city will not be seen at first but they are coming they will be profound and far-reaching first it places an immense strain on local resources and social services that are already stretched thin our schools healthc care facilities and housing systems face increased pressures without the necessary financial support this affects not just the refugees but every Fort Worth resident relying on these Services I fully understand you have no authority to fix a problem created by the federal government I'm only addressing this as a warning and a bit of an ask eviction notices are coming March 3rd is looming CPS cases are coming due to Children reporting there's no food or no lights in their homes these again are were invited immigrants landlords with year-long leases signed just last month will come knocking asking what your plan is what is our plan to address a new type of homeless problem we invited these folks to our country set them up with plane tickets that they will pay pay back 6 months after arrival and told them that they would each receive $1,600 to pay for their first 3 months here if you've paid rent recently in Fort Worth you know that's not very much to pay rent but it's something but even that we have been they have cut been cut off from this promised money by the federal government so who pays their living expenses it takes a few weeks and up to two months for them to receive their socials employment card so some of those that arrived last month still don't have those documents to even begin working as a city we must recognize that our strength lies in our diversity and our ability to support one another let us stand together and advocating for the resources needed to help all members of our community Thrive what will we do and now if you'll call names of those previously called I think we had two more guests come in Janette okay is Bishop Kirkland here kenel hadm and Kell made a bunch of decisions as if they were not trustees and he was real upset and I just really wanted to see him tonight to let him know it ain't no fun when the rabbit got the gun that when people in the back room making decisions that affect your life and you expect people to represent you and you made a mistake you've been here a long time Council onbot and and Mr Flores you've been here a long time sir I have never heard either of you say this is my seat if you want to vote you go and you run for office and then you win and you have a vote but right now this is my seat and I want to come back to let him know he's a bald-faced liar he does not have a seat that seat belongs to his constituency and when he votes he needs to vote taking their considerations in mind he he said that and I was floored by it and the next thing he did I really hate he's not here the next thing he did was he took apart the little speech I prepared and he started throwing shots I'm not Adrian I'm not Bob Willoughby I don't carry myself in a way I'm gonna follow y'all to y'all car when y'all leave I'm going to be taking pictures of you and all of that but if you attack me from sitting up there wherever I'm sitting we're going to enter into a dialogue because that's not going to happen whenever something positive happened in this chamber always recognize it as possible as positive I say when I think you're doing a good job say when I think you're doing a flippy job too but I'm going to say when I think you're doing a good job and I really hate the mayor's not here because something that's way past overdue was no one from my village ever apologize to the mayor for them putting that casket on her front lawn not for her sake because she's a public servant like all the feedback and the lashes you guys get you you take it with the job but her children her children did not deserve to wake up with a casket full of blood on their front lawn just like children uh right before I was born was waking up with crosses burning in their front yard the child don't deserve that so matter may I apologize for that don't come for me and I won't come for you thank you I think I saw another guest yeah I'll go through the list May per him is Mr Banks Gerald Banks what about James Walker Jane Walker Christopher Johnson Carolina Rodriguez May ptim those are all the names that were not here and with that the meeting is adjourned see you next time come