We're halfway. All right. Council member Beck, can we do a video check real quick? >> Perfect. Thank you. Good evening and welcome to the city council public comment meeting. Before Mayor Parker calls the meeting to order, we ask that you please be seated and silence all electronic devices. Council meetings are conducted for the official business of council and to receive input from residents. Members of the public attending meeting shall observe rules of decorum and shall not engage in conduct that interferes with the ability of those present to observe or to participate in the meeting without disruption or fear of intimidation, threats or hostility. An individual engaging in disruptive conduct may be removed from the chamber and could be arrested for disruption of a meeting. Speakers who engage in disruptive conduct could have their mic muted and be removed from the chamber and and arrested. Disruptive conduct includes yelling, screaming, clapping, or other noisecreating act. Pursuant to the city council rules of procedure, if there are more than one hour of public comments, the time will be reduced. Tonight, each speaker will have two minutes. For those of you who requested to speak, when your name is called, please come forward to the center podium. The countdown clock is displayed on the left monitor and will indicate how much time is remaining. A bell will sound when you have 30 seconds remaining. Before you begin your comments, please state your name. Thank you. >> Good evening. Welcome to your for city council public comment meeting. Our meeting is now called to order. Tonight's invocation will be given by Pastor Philip Ross from Beth Jesua Congre congregation. Please rise for the invocation and remain standing for the pledges of allegiance. Good evening. I invite you to join me in prayer if you would like and seek the peace of the city where you dwell and pray to the Lord for it. For in his peace you will have peace. Gracious and loving God, thank you for the city you have given to us, for its inhabitants, for its businesses that exist to promote our welfare, for its institutions that serve to seek justice, peace, and enrichment to life. We ask your blessings upon our mayor, our city council members, their families, that you would grant them wisdom, guidance, and understanding as they take on the task of leadership. You know the needs and the demands that face our city. Please grant us success as we endeavor to promote what makes for the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. Thank you for the many opportunities before us. But we know with each opportunity comes responsibility. Grant us wisdom to know how to make the most of our resources and skills that make our community a better place. At our time tonight, as we gather peacefully and reason together, may we seek not only to be heard, but to understand each other, and with our many differences, bring unity to our community for the common good. Be with our responders and all of their undertakings, our first responders, and all of their undertakings, our police officers firefighters healthcare workers, and military members that serve our community, state, and country. Give them protection, wisdom, and may justice, peace, and safety always be the aim in everything they do. May our educators be filled with wisdom and knowledge and may you grant safety and protection in all of our schools. Thank you for this opportunity to meet tonight. In your name we pray. Amen. >> Oneice for all. Council, our first item of business will be consideration and approval of minutes from the December 2nd and 9th council meetings and the December 19th council retreat. Got a motion and a second. Council, is there any other discussion? If not, please vote. Motion carries. >> Mayor, that concludes all of the items and gets us to public comment. >> Thank you, Janette. Our first speaker is Peter Irvin, followed by Dolores Phillips. Hello, I'm a resident of Fort Worth uh District 6. I have recently been informed of the 2026 bond program specifics. It is my opinion the bond overall focus lacks the wisdom of responsible fiscal conservatism. I urge the council to come to its senses and abandon uh its support for the car industry's 100-year-old monopoly on uh transportation and embrace public safety through true equality of movement. Fort Worth is on a Detroit style path to financial ruin if long-term lowmaintenance transportation infrastructure is not built. A straightforward review of the figures by the Strong Towns organization indicates that cars are the most expensive method to move people to their destinations per passenger per mile per lifetime. We residents of Fort Worth will struggle to service the debt bill snowballing our way if the city does not support car uh non-car movement choices with walkable neighborhoods and sensible infrastructure projects. In addition to their fiscal uh inherent fiscal conservatism, non-car transport options foster equality. Car centric transportation networks isolate and inconvenience people who are unable to drive. For example, if you cannot drive, you cannot get groceries in a timely manner. Um we as a society discover again and again that compassion is costeffective yet hesitate time after time to produce concrete action. I urge the council to choose action over inaction in this matter. The the city should also consider the car monopoly's relationship to public safety. How often do those with DUIs, road rage, and reckless driving convictions find themselves back on the road with ner a slap on the wrist? Judges and juries find themselves sympathetic to dangerous drivers because driving is the only viable, reliable way to get around town. Their thoughts center on the perpetrator's lives. Think of the family. think of their career. Anyways, this is bad. >> Thank you, Peter. Our next speaker is Dolores Phillips, followed by Chris Wood. Dolores Phillips, thank you for allowing me to speak. You do have handouts. Mayor Parker, sometimes in life, it doesn't require you to speak about a matter or a problem or issue because it'll take care of itself. But then there are some things that require you to roar like a lion. And I'm roaring in humility. On the first page, the handout, it has handout one. It shows Sugar Creek Apartments back in 2016. That was a retaliatory eviction that I actually went through. Keep We're on the same page. Second, it says the Avery Apartments versus Nola Diggs and Dolores Phillips. Then it has a second case, Dolores Phillips against Avery Apartments. The Avery Apartments versus Dolores Phillips. handwritten is JP0225E00159 which is not on your Tarant County web page to be referenced but that's also an eviction. Now the reason that's important we went through a retaliatory eviction. That was handout one. Please go to handout two. It says 2025005723-1. We were put out in the elements. No money's owed, no no lease violations, no anything. They ran up in there and they took bonders like this. Everybody should be concerned. It's nothing to play with. It's nothing to toy with. They took bonders regarding my mom's and my dad's estate. And the reason, and I'm humbly speaking to you, Mayor Parker, they pushed them fabricated ledgers through your court. I don't know how they did it because their exhibits alone prove that their falsified ledgers. Now, Dallas County DF9211850 is being strongarmed and yours can too. And I'll be back at you next month with more important that the our next speaker is Miss Miss Chris Wood followed by Kendra Lacy. I'm Chris Wood. In Fort Worth, some middle school boys and girls are recruited by career criminals for illegal activities. Middle schoolers face unique challenges with developing brains, especially the preffrontal cortex, which affects impulse control and decision-making. Social pressures make them more prone to risky behaviors. The desire to fit in can lead them down dangerous paths, sometimes manipulated by harmful adults. Students have shared how loneliness push them towards the wrong crowd. One girl said, "I hang out with bad guys because I don't want to be alone." Her words remind us how powerful the need to belong can be. Another boy shared how hunger at home drove him to seek out peers who could give him food, even if it meant compromising values. Persistent hunger impairs decisionmaking and increases impulsivity. The city of Fort Worth uses the Pierce program to help participants learn and practice social skills and how to choose friends. However, we can go further. Let's teach our children that it's okay to be alone sometimes. Solitude can foster creativity, concentration, and personal growth. As someone who moved frequently in a military family, I learned to be content on my own, and it made me stronger. Also, if there are severe problems at home, such as a consistent lack of food, middle schoolers need to be taught to not feel ashamed and have the confidence to reach out for support. They need to know that seeking help is a sign of strength, not shame. Please implement changes to increase the resilience of Fort Worth Middle Schoolers. Thank you. Kendra Lacy will be followed by Bob Willoughby. Hello, I am Kendra Lacy and I was born and raised in Fort Worth, specifically in the stop six area. And by the age of 18, I have lost four people in my life due to gun violence, two being under the age of 18. This is not something I'm speaking on from a distance, but something I've lived through. I graduated from Dumbar High School last year, and throughout my time growing up in stop six, gun violence has been deeply normalized. I've noticed a trend of repeated shootings, especially amongst our youth. Someone would get shot and killed and within the week, life moved on as as if it's expected. Children should not grow up believing that seeing someone gunned down in the street is normal. Access to firearms amongst teenagers has also become increasingly normalized, especially through social media. My peers see guns being displayed, glamorized, and treated as status symbols, which ultimately makes them view them the same way. I don't believe that the current efforts um our schools to for our schools are sufficient enough to address the violence within our community. High-risisk youth should be taken more seriously rather than just being given up on or disregarded. School staff and other members of the community should be required to recognize the signs before it becomes too late and intervene quickly by offering programs that include counseling and therapy. For example, as Chicago is one of the more extreme cases of gun violence, their efforts to help youth within their community includes a rapid employment and development program that provides an 18month subsidized job and cognitive behavioral therapy for men at a very high risk of becoming a perpetrator or victim of gun violence. The evaluation done on the effects of these programs showed that these young men were significantly less likely to be arrested for shootings or homicides. Programs like these should be pushed and funded for our schools and within um the stop six community. Genuine effort should be poured into these black and brown children who didn't have a chance because of what they looked like and where they grew up. This community deserve the same urgency, safety, and investment as any other neighborhood in Fort Worth. I'm requesting me I am requesting measures that include youth focused resources in schools that target this issue and coordinated action that implements a plan to improve gun violence. >> Thank you. Our next speaker is Bob Willoughby. Mr. Willoughby will be followed by Stephen Bryant. >> And play the video. It's talking about the uh you moving the time up to five. Go ahead and play. >> Can we hear it, >> Maddie? I don't think there's much more we could do. Moved it up to five o'clock. Might as well move it up to 8:30 a.m. What's the difference? So, uh I don't know what else you can do. You robbed us of everything we've got, of how many times we can speak, screwed up our agenda, you robbed us of our money, and you lied about a lot of things. What I really want to say is that you need to be removed from office. This is a golden opportunity right now for the citizens is to remove you from office. don't need people telling you we're gonna vote you out or wait till you step down because I got a feeling you may not run again this time. Uh you ran the first time because you had to protect uh Betsy Price from going to jail and you did that with our money and I said you wasn't going to run again after that because you did your job. They'll give you something else to move on up. Um, but actually you did and surprised me. And then when I found out they put $2 million in your campaign fund, I said, "Oh, that's it. That's why you ran again. There's the payoff. 2 million in your campaign fund." Important reason why you need to remove because if we remove you or drive you from that office, it puts the people back in charge. And as long as we let you sit there and you step down, it doesn't matter next election because the establishment will replace you. We won't get any change. Not a real mayor. The only way we're going to get a real mayor in this city is to remove you, us, the people. Remove you from that office. Get you out of here. And um that way the next person takes that office will have more respect for the citizens and will consider us. >> Ain't that the truth? >> Our next speaker is Steven Bryant followed by Barbara Brewer. >> Good evening. My name is Steven Bryant. I live in District 4. I will never forget who I am or what I represent. United States Marine Corps NCO Creed. I am a guardian of freedom in the American way of life. Soldiers creed. I am here to be the voice of District 4. Charles, you and I both know the courage and sacrifice in being a member of the armed services. We are leaders representing all of America. We are the embodiment of its values, making sure that everyone has a seat at the table with an equal say, no matter race, religion, creed, sex, or political ideology. You and I both have lost brothers and sisters in the stewarding of keeping America free and safe. So why have you voted against the diversity of people, equity for all, and the inclusion of those previously seen as less than? These very things are what make us so beautiful. We joined to defend the freedom of religion, not force Christianity down the throats of our people. We raised our right hand to defend everyone's rights, no matter who they are. You made a promise to ensure that everyone is equal footing and opportunity for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. So why have you chosen to be a mouthpiece for Christian nationalism and align yourself with the likes of Nate Gatsline who demonizes any other line of thought? You endorsed Lee Wans, a woman that has publicly and proudly says that she is quote unquote America first while in the same breath holding only one religion specifically above everyone else's. Someone who helped facilitate book bands in South Lake, making us a laughingtock. I must inform you some of the books that have been banned. And you tell me if that sounds like freedom to you. The Hunger Games, Fahrenheit 451, 1984, Animal Farm, Brave New World, The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, Charlotte's Web, The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. As a fellow brother in arms and resident of District 4, I am ashamed and incredibly sorrowful to see this behavior from you. District 4 is watching you. Currently, your grade as a representative for me is an F. Do better. >> Our next speaker is Barbara Brewer. Miss Brewer will be followed by Jessica Irvin. Hi, my name is Barbara Brewer. I'm a resident of North Fort Worth. I'm here about the property at 3553 Lic Lane. Uh, next slide. How do I click it? Do you guys Oh, thanks. Okay, so slide two. Um, actually this is out of order. Okay, so this is the permit that they just did for um September 30th. It shows that they applied for a auto repair facility and this is a certificate of occupancy. Um, next slide please. Uh, next slide. Yeah, these are not my slides actually. Um, yeah, these are not mine. Anyways, well, I'll just go on um since they have the wrong slides. Um, basically PD894 has a specific use which is approved for warehouse, outdoor storage, greenhouse, showroom, retail, office, but it does not include automotive repair. Um, there was a timeline slide I had. There it is. Okay, so there's the timeline and at any point of that time that we could have stopped this um owner from, you know, making the improvements that he has. Well, now it's almost complete. Um he has the signs up. If you can go to the next slide, please. Um you can see how close it is to residents. It's 28 feet from their backyard basically. Um and um it's it's not allowed. It violates the city ordinances. It shouldn't be there, period. And somehow it's there and we're having to deal with it. Next slide, please. Uh, next slide. Um, there you can see 94 parking spots that they are planning on putting in that could flood the yards. Next slide, please. That's a resident trying to sell their house. They are having trouble selling it. Next slide, please. That's not me. Thank you. Our next speaker is Jessica Irvin followed by Jacqueline Johnson. >> Good evening. My name is Jessica Irvin and I live in district 5. Um like many other community members here, I was just reflecting on the past year and just my disappointment um in how the majority of the council has just failed to listen to most of our our most marginalized population. um and instead has opted to side with extremist. Um, one thing I specifically like to touch on during this short time um are just my concerns as a local environmentalist. Um I've been extremely disappointed by leadership's hypocrisy when it comes to prioritizing um environmental justice in Fort Worth. On one hand, you're championing green spaces, and on the other hand, you're allowing large data centers to be built in our neighborhoods. As you know, green spaces are critical because they improve air quality, lower the heat index, manage storm water, and support community well-being. Data centers, however, contradict every single one of those things at a much larger scale and a more costly scale. Um, Fort Worth cannot claim to value environmental health in our natural spaces when one day they're approving the expansion of natural spaces like Tandy Hills, yet approved reszoning for large-scale data centers next door to other beloved outdoor spaces like Western Gardens. Um, we know without a doubt that these kinds of developments continue to or directly impact the most vulnerable populations in our community. um they increase health risk like heart related illnesses, asthma, stress, etc. Um we also know that they place an additional strain on our local natural resources which is already something that is a challenge with our growing population. Um allowing data centers and developments like the Echo Heights um FedEx hub into our neighborhoods only prioritize corporate interests. It does not prioritize um our communities and environmental interests. So, I urge the council to protect to protect our natural resources, green spaces, um, and to pri prioritize the health of the community um, and the planet. Our next speaker is Jacqueline Johnson, followed by Chanel Johnson. My name is Jacqueline Johnson. I'm the mother of Anthony Johnson Jr. who was murdered in the Taran Karen jail on April 21st, 24. I live in district 2 represented by council member Carlos Flores. I want to begin by saying something no mother should ever have to say. I'm apologizing to my son for only now standing in front of this city council. My family has been at commissioner court again and again. But I forgot something. We also have a city councilman. A councilman who has never reached out, never acknowledged our loss, and never shown concern for what happened to a resident of his own district. Councilman Flores. My family has lived in the same home since 2004. We are not invisible. We are not hard to find. So, I'm asking you directly, why have we never heard from you? Why have you lifted not lifted a finger for my son or for the dozens of Fort Worth residents who have died in that jail? My son lived with schizophrenia while serving in the United States Marine Corps. On April 19th, I took him to Wellbridge because I saw his psychosis escalating. Wellbridge turned him away. If they had kept him even 24 hours, he might still be alive. Later that evening, Sagenol police picked him up. Intake at Tarant County Jail evaluated him and wrote on April 20th, 2024, not notify supervisor, magistrate, and mental health immediately. That was the moment someone could have intervened and no one did. Sheriff Wayborn released a heavily edited TV version of the video while our family watched the raw, unredacted version in the DA's office. We gave full permission for it to be released. Instead, he ran to Attorney General Ken Paxton to block it. Almost two years later, the unredacted film estee is still being withheld. My son begged for his life. He said he couldn't breathe twice. He foamed out the mouth as he took his last breath. If that were your child, could you live with that? Could you stay asleep knowing your city stays silent? >> Our next speaker is Chanel Johnson, followed by Anthony Johnson, Senior. >> My name is Chanel Johnson and I am the sister of Anthony Johnson Jr. who was m murdered in the Tarant County Jail on April 21st, 2024. I'm also a constituent of council me for us district 2 and I'm speaking directly to this council because my family deserves answers and the city deserves an accountability. My first question is very simple. How can we stay silent while the people of Fort Worth are being murdered in the jail down the street? But you guys expect our votes. My second question is, have you or anyone on this council watched the unredacted video of my brother's death? The one that shows my brother begging for his life, the one that shows countless of people around him, at least 15 people, watch him die and did nothing to help, but dragged him across the jail floor like he was and still in their eyes a convict, even though he never went in front of a judge. In 2024, the DA told us that this case would go on child. By the end of that year, it's still not. Now, we're being told to fall 2026. These delays are just not painful, but they're also alarming. And when a homicide case with the video evidence is pushed back years, the public deserves to know why. So, I'm asking respectfully, does any of this have to deal with the upcoming elections? Meanwhile, the two dailers indicted from my brother's death have been home since 2024. How does a man accused of murder get leniency when my brother didn't? Because of where we stand, this council has shown zero urgency, zero empathy, not only from my brother, but for the 70 plus people who have died under Sheriff Wayburn's control. And yet, you again expect us to blindly vote when nothing has been changed. So, let's just be clear. With the elections coming in 2026, we will still continue to tell our story and the public record will reflect who ignored us and who still chose silence over accountability. Our next speaker is Anthony Johnson, Senior, followed by Tracy Welterlin. My name is Anthony Johnson Senior, father of Anthony Johnson Jr. whose life was taken inside the Taran County jail. My family is living in nightmare right now. And yet this city, the largest and most powerful city in this county, has chosen silence. Council member Carlos Flores, you were endorsed by the Fort Worth Police Officers Association. You voted against the Citizens Oversight Committee. You voted for the resolution challenging racial gerrymandering. We even stepped in to defeat or to defend the Caesar Chavez holiday and contacted Jerry Man contacted Commissioner Manny Ramirez directly. I'm asking you right now when or why have you contacted Commissioner Manny Ramirez about my son in two years? Let me be clear about who failed my son. Sagenar police department, Fort Worth the police department, Taran County jailers who beat him while in handcuffs, peppers him in the mouth and ignored his cries twice and he couldn't breathe. Bill Worn under whose leadership more than 60 people have died. DA Bill Sors who has not delivered justice two years. Imagine this being your family member, your son, your daughter. Just imagine. Just imagine. Our next speaker is Tracy Walterland, followed by Joshua Friend. >> Good evening. I'm Tracy Welterlin. I live in District 9. Uh my purpose this evening is to talk about flock cameras. Block cameras are a public facing camera like a CCTV camera or um traffic cameras, but the difference is in the back end of that system, uh there's processing that's done to recognize license plates. So, they're known as license plate reader cameras and Flock is a multi-billion dollar company that um dominates the industry. Um I'd just like to thank Elizabeth Beck's office for reaching out to me and providing a few statistics. Uh the key one that I want to mention is that there are 280 cameras in the city of Fort Worth. Um a few points I'd like to make about privacy and legality. Uh seeing the headlines in my um feeds have shown me that there are a number of cities who are pushing back and the citizens are asking for the removal of these cameras. block system may be a violation of the fourth amendment protection against unreasonable search because it happens automatically to everyone every day and without a warrant. There's a very interesting ACLU document on this if you can Google that. Second point is IT security. Data is valuable. Data is powerful. Companies want it. Bad guys want it. Block has experienced a number of minor quote unquote security breaches over the years. And uh I work in software development and I've spoken with a police officer who is also a developer who's seen demos from the flock company and has personally observed security breaches in that system. Finally, there's a potential for abuse. Uh Johnson County Sheriff Adam King as an example. ICE has been requesting data from uh cities for for this information. And today's date, January 6th, should give us pause about the kind of people who might control such a system in the future. Seems we're building a surveillance system with our own uh tax dollars. It's powerful technology, and I would at least like us to engage in public comment about it. Thank you. >> Our next speaker is Joshua Friend, followed by Andrew Tori. >> Good evening. My name is Joshua Friend. I'm the president of the greater Metobrook Alliance in our east side in district 11. We wanted to start 26 with a message of thanks. There have been several city departments and individual employees in the last eight months who have really stepped forward with intense collaboration for the greater Mebrook area and our inaugural priorities of green space for families, nuisance abatement and community. Cody Wittenberg, Brian Doerty, and Dave Lewis, plus their teams in particular have been working very hard for solutions for families. Our new neighborhood police officer, Carlos Almarez, is a credit to the police force, and our east side commander Williams is a tireless champion. Naturally, there are many others we could thank, but we are proud of the early results of our allied efforts. Mayor Parker, to reference your green space initiative, central Metobrook and Southeast Mebrook have zero green space or park space for families, while Eastern Hills has a patch smaller than this chamber. The new school after hours usage agreement, which I've now studied, does not touch our areas. There is not budget for our neighborhoods in the east side. We have met with the parks department and identified the green spaces that you could acquire, but sadly there is not money to do so. So, we would welcome yours and Councilwoman Martinez's wisdom to help us acquire green space for families. Our diverse and hardworking families have bright futures ahead, but there is a lot to do and we welcome all of your innovation. We hope you have a good and hardworking year ahead. I yield my time. >> Our next speaker is Andrew Tori, followed by EJ Kerrion. Good evening. My name is Andrew Tory and I'm a resident of Council District 5. So last month, uh, my manager gave me a performance evaluation at my job. So I figured I'd come down here today as a voter and as a concerned citizen and give you all a performance evaluation. How about that? So specifically, I'd like to evaluate you all on the issue of public comments, an issue that I have really become very concerned about. It really activated me. And so to get right into it, uh, for my councilwoman Deborah Peoples, I gave her the I give her an A or excuse me, wh that is the wrong one. I gave her an A for her vote last month against the reduction in public comments along with the three other uh council members uh to reduce the public comments to 10 this year. However, for uh Mayor Parker and for the rest of the council members, I give you all an F, a failing grade to uphold one of the most fundamental constitutional rights that our country was founded upon. and that's the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. It is in our first amendment and it seems to always be the one that gets forgotten about. And you know I have I have come here I have repeatedly watched my fellow citizens speak freely and petition their local government regarding issues affecting them personally or affecting their families, affecting their neighborhoods or affecting their neighbors and offering resolutions. And obviously I'm not going to agree with everything that every single one of my fellow citizens have to say, but I will come down here and I will speak on behalf of public comments and make sure that everybody has the opportunity to speak freely and petition their government for a redress of grievances. I yield my time. Thank you. >> EJ Kerrion will be followed by George Charles. Staying on theme, um, looking at 2026, we're grading you guys for 2025. We give you an F. Uh, 2025 mayor could be the worst mayorship in Fort Worth history. I mean, let's just take it down. Uh, you didn't vote for the racial gerrymander proclamation, uh, allowing Fort Worth black and brown voters get packed into one precinct so that our voice matters less at the county. Um, we can continue with the DEI vote where you allowed to eliminate DEI. Uh, you continue with public comments, reducing public comments. You instigated the Charlie Kirk rally. Um, you know, when you got the copy letter for Elizabeth Beck and you did that. You you activated and threatened Patrice Jones and activists. Then, you know, full circle because in December of 2024, you allowed Mercy Culture to create their exploitation center. You asked them to come to city council to protect you from the people of Fort Worth. So you just and it's not an F for fabulous. This is this is bad. And I also going to give an F to the rest of the city hall cuz every single one of you need to do more. For you six on this council, you need to quit looking like you've been get out and you need to get up. All right. Every single one of you. And so for my county, uh, for my district, uh, Janette Martinez, I also give you an F, uh, mainly because your seat is here because of DEI. It's a Hispanic opportunity district. And for you to not be able to stand up, public comments, that's a simple one. A simple one. Um, so what I'm going to finish talking about here is today we are not allowed to clap. We're not allowed to cheer. I'm even getting signs from the police because I'm holding my sign up. I'm even getting that. And you have a Johnson family here with real issues and you're going to cut them for two minutes cuz you don't want to be here for an hour. Guys, when are we going to wake up? >> Our next speaker is George Charles followed by Sabrina Ball. house I live in worth. Well, I apologize to all the people that stood fast on the two minutes. I've had it. I'm through. I can no longer keep that light glowing. There comes a time when you just realize that it's just beyond repair. It's beyond restoration. The only hope we have is when we vote. I think you know how I'm going to vote. Sabrina Ball will be followed by Nancy Estrada. I'm giving this F to the three chambers of commerce who tooured Houston ISD and have endorsed the takeover. and the folks on this council who agree. The TEA came here to answer our questions and all we got were deflections and gaslighting. If the Houston takeover was so great, why did 8,300 students flee the district this year and over 8,000 teachers were forced out since the takeover? Did you talk to any of them? Did you sit in classrooms with the uncertified teachers who took their place? We've talked a lot about gains and dyslexia services here. Dyslexia is a disability. In Houston, kids don't receive their disability accommodations and English language learners don't receive their legally required services. Can you guarantee our students with disabilities will be served? That language will be supported. Did you ask who is the brilliant scholar who determined that the answer to a literacy crisis is to stop reading books? Books are not allowed in Houston. My daughter is in AP classes. Thankfully, she's still required to read books. Anything under AP? No books. She read Killers of the Flower Moon. Sh. Clearly, the Texas GOP hasn't read that book. When I asked her what she thought of it, she said she wanted to know more about the women. She wanted to know more. That's what reading an entire book does for you. It makes you want to know more about the world. But maybe that's the point. Y'all may not have read Killers of the Flower Moon, but I bet several of you have read The Diary of Anne Frank. If you only read an AI scripted lesson from her diary, would you understand that she was just like my daughter with dreams and aspirations, curious about the world, a girl who was very scared and rightfully so? Would you wonder what happened to her and her family, to the people she was hiding with, to the people who helped her hide? Would your heart break for her father? Or would you just think, here's another dirty, illegal immigrant breaking the law of the country who brought her to justice? I know that's a heavy thing to put on you, but there's some heavy things happening brought to us by the government in the name of the law. >> So when the government >> is Nancy Estrada, followed by Caroline James, >> Miss Estrada, thank you, Miss Ball. Appreciate you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Nancy Estrada >> by Caroline James. Nancy Estrada. Is Miss Estrada present? Nope. Caroline James will be followed by car Karen Matthany. Good evening, Mayor Parker and council members. My name is Caroline James and I'm here to give you an update on results from the city's literacy roundup screenings at six community centers last summer. In June and July of 2025, the literacy roundup team screened over 400 students. 150 of these students were identified as at risk for dyslexia. For those 150 students to receive services, they have to be formally evaluated by their school district. This can be an arduous process, and that's where advocacy becomes so important. Literacy Roundup team and its advocates are connecting with school psychologists and teachers, reviewing testing, attending school meetings, and ensuring that families have the support they need to get services in their schools. On December 11th, Dr. Mia Hall joined us at the Komo Community Center to hear from families about how the literacy roundup initiative was serving children. Parents Andrea Cano and Kim Medford led the meeting and there were 25 of us present. I want to thank Dr. Hall for joining us that evening. It was right before the holidays in a very busy time, but Dr. Hall and her staff generously gave us their time that evening and listened to our stories and asked great questions. What I love about this picture is that it represents a journey. Among those pictured are Larry and Kim Medford, two parents in the Komo Community Center who were concerned about their son, and they reached out to a trusted community member, Clara Kirby, who runs the Komo Community Center. Clara called on Literacy Roundup and the team screened Noah. Ken Cool, Noah's advocate, took the test results and attended multiple meetings, fielded countless emails on behalf of Noah's parents at his school, and Noah is finally receiving services for his dyslexia. The literacy roundup team is looking forward to expanding the screening to more community centers next summer and serving more of our kids. Thank you, Dr. Hall. Our next speaker is Karen Matthany, followed by a group led by Wesley Kirk. My name is Karen Matheni and I live in District 4. Mayor Parker, on October 17, 2025, you said on your Facebook page, "A great city is not just built on roads, bridges, and buildings, but on the stories of its people." The Fort Worth Community Arts Center, also known as 1300 Gendi, plays a vital role in the stories of your people. And let me tell you mine. I owe my entire career trajectory to the Fort Worth Community Arts Center. I first visited in 2006 as a theater student at TCU. 2007 we brought a production to the Scott Theater and in 2008 I started working with Amphibian Stage who held offices in the building and performed in the Sanders Theater. Stolen Shakespeare Guild also used the Sanders Theater and I started working with them in 2011 as an actor and now I serve on their board. Across the hall from Amphibian's offices was the American Association of Community Theater. In 2012, I stepped in as a summer intern for them, and to this day, I serve as their membership director. There are countless artists in Fort Worth who owe their success, careers, and livelihood to the Fort Worth Community Arts Center because of the vital community support that space provides. We cannot be the city of cowboys and culture if we only support the cowboys and ignore the culture. Having a community arts space where you can visit galleries, theaters, artist studios, classrooms, and offices all in one place and in the cultural district is so incredibly necessary for the health of the arts culture in Fort Worth. The inability to utilize the space in 2025 left a huge void in Fort Worth arts community. And for a city that is the 11th largest in the United States and aims to be a world-class city, this is simply unacceptable. Artists by their nature are collaborative. We are excellent problem solvers. We adapt quickly to challenges and we are used to hard work. By not keeping an open line of communication with the artists of Fort Worth, you are denying yourselves access to your biggest allies in solving challenges the arts center may present. I am asking you to bring the artists of your city into the room and into conversations that surround the future of the building. And I look forward to hearing from you, Mayor Parker, on how we can work together to make the Fort Worth Community Arts Center open to the public again and a vibrant hub for the arts once more. Wesley Kirk on behalf of a group community like the Fort Worth Community Arts Center play a vital role in our city acting as the foundation of a vibrant arts ecosystem. A perfect example is the art show that Arts Fort Worth and Support Fort Worth Art collaborated on called Together We Make Art Happen. There were three days where anyone could drop off their artwork, pay a small fee, and their art would immediately be installed in the biggest gallery in the building. It was open to all ages, all skill levels, and all mediums. It was one of the largest and most inclusive shows there's ever been at the Community Arts Center. The walls were filled with works from 288 visual artists from Fort Worth, North Texas, and all around the state. For many of these artists, it was not only their first time showing work at the Community Art Center, but it was also their first time showing their art anywhere. We saw art that showcased our talent, our creativity, our humor, our anger, our sadness, and our joy. We saw art that honored our culture, our community, our heroes, and those that we've lost. We held panel discussions about the benefits of art in health and education, about the influence of art in shaping our city and communities, and about how art creates value that contributes to thriving cities. We even held an open mic for performing artists. The show's last day was Spring Gallery Night, one of the most exciting art events of the year, where hundreds and hundreds of people came to experience the show. Community art spaces like the Fort Worth Community Art Center provide us a space together, where we can build community, where art can be made accessible. It is a place of enrichment, of expression, and most of all, it is a place of opportunity. for these reasons and countless others. That's why it's important that we not only maintain and preserve the Fort Worth Community Arts Center, but also we should look towards expanding with more community art spaces throughout the city so that everyone can reap the benefits, so that everyone can have access, so that everyone can have these kinds of opportunities. Your voice, your power, and your passion will make all the difference. Together, we can ensure the future of Fort Worth's art community. Together, we can support Fort Worth art because together, we make art happen. A video is from a show I co-curated in March of 2024, and it is a perfect example of of why the Community Art Center is so important and the kind of work that is only possible there on the scale and grandeur needed to reflect the variety and vibrancy of artists who have found a home here. We had artists as young as six, as old as 92, professionals, beginners, families from every city council district who were able to show their work together. We even had a guy drive all the way up from Houston to display his art because he couldn't find opportunities like this anywhere else. Yet now the building sits empty and it has been well over a year since we've gotten any real update on the future of the building. At today's work session, you all got a presentation about how the city can bring art into libraries and community centers, which is a wonderful step in the right direction. But I want to be clear that it should not be the only step. It is urgently important that we restore the community arts center. It is 77,000 square feet with nine galleries and two theaters. It is historic by any metric. It is truly unlike any building in Fort Worth or even Texas. This city is full of worldclass artists and our city deserves a world-class building for the arts. The longer we wait to restore the community arts center, the more expensive it will be to repair and the longer it will take to fix the damage to the to the arts community. Now is a pivotal time to heal the arts in Fort Worth. We are here to urge you to act with haste, to work with us to make this restoration a success and to help Fort Worth thrive through the arts. We must bring back the community arts center. We must support Fort Worth art. Thank you. Our next speaker is Eric Wilhight followed by William Bertnick. Is Eric present? No. William Bernick. Mr. Bernick will be followed by Steven Carlton. >> Good evening and thank you. My name is William Bernick. I am the co-owner of a small familyrun automotive business. We are when I was young, my dad used to say, "Seek first to understand and then be understood." So, we are looking forward to the opportunity to better understand the concerns of the homeowners, the concerns of planning and zoning, and hopefully one day in the fairly near future, we'll have a chance to stand before you and answer any concerns or questions you might have of the application we've submitted through the city of Fort Worth. I'm going to give you some time back. Thank you. >> Thank you. Our next speaker is Stephen Carlton. Mr. Carlton will be followed by Anthony Michael Moore. Thank you. Uh those comments were surprising since home owners have reached out and we haven't heard anything back from them for the past month. My name is Stephen Carlton. I'm a resident of district 10 and I'm here for myself and several several homeowners to share a frustrating tale of zoning department's handling of the property at Ladic Lane on which I can see from my front yard. In short, a business owner is trying to open up an auto repair shop directly in the middle of residential homes. Next slide. On September 30th, Fifth Gear Automotive applied for a CO. The proper boxes were checked. Next slide, please. And you can see here the only listed use on the application was general auto repair. This is obviously not an approved use of PD894 and this should have been an easy rejection four months ago. However, the change of use was granted along with signage permits. Uh, next slide. Next. Next. Next. Here we go. On se on November 17th, auto repair signs go up and concerned homeowners begin contacting the city, rightfully so. Now, not all neighborhoods are blessed to have a certified planner like Eric Wilhight living amongst them, but we are. He was the first to raise concerns about the approved use of PD894 and the direct violations of code 541 CND. After two weeks of silence, next slide. A new site plan on December 4th was uploaded now showing 10 automotive lists and some fuzzy math that says there's really only 34% of an auto repair business. And someone hoped that the zoning department would see this and think twice. But instead, they doubled down and told Eric that this is an accessory use and resoning is really not required. Next slide. And after weeks of pressure, December 16th, we finally decided that reszoning was required. I would appreciate your support and of your offices and help us bring. >> Thank you. Our next speaker is Anthony Michael Moore followed by Martesa James. Father God, I moved by your spirit. Hi, city council mayor Parker, District 9, Nettles. My name is Anthony Moore. I'm coming with a heartfelt message. Last year talked a lot about mental health, my own journey. And when I turned on the TV in January, as we like flipped the happy New Year's, there's a lot of kids that are not here with us because of gun violence. It's something that hit me home when I came back. Unfortunately, I'm from James Buoie High School, Arlington. When I first came in to the whole even mental health space, my friend that was being he was 14 and he was here in Aazil. He shot himself in the face and it was one of the roughest funerals. I'm a pastor of course, minister, evangelist, all that stuff. But it's still as a person that hurt my friend that's over here I'm trying to get connected to. Um he's over there in Forny, you know, in Dallas County. He works with second graders and third graders that have suicide ideation. They're already thinking about this at like two. I got my my nephews are Jackson and Jacob, uh Jackson, Anthony, Michael Moore, and then I'm sorry, and my brother's kids, they're 11. They just turned 11. I can't even imagine. I know at 14 how they hit me. I'm just all I'm saying is presented. I kind of asked the Lord start the new year with a message that could be inspiring. I turn on the TV. I was like, we're still at Coline. All this stuff happened when I was in Buoie, UTA. I don't believe went over to US, I'm sorry, Australia for marriage. But it's the same issue. Mental health advocate, mental illness, and then mental health. As a pastor, as an ordained minister, evangelist, apostle, however you want to put titles, I like that I take care of my medicine. I take what God has helped me with my parents, and I try to do that, too. It's a heavy issue. I know from President Trump, Bush, Clinton, all the other people, even Barack and then also our honorable President Trump until Texas and then we get in surrender to God and try to put the children first, we have to do something about gun violence. Thank you. >> Our next speaker is Martesia James. Miss James will be followed by Rob Espik. Hello and happy new year. I'm coming to speak on district 11. Um when it comes to our infrastructure within our community itself is piss poor for lack of a better word. Um our streets are still damaged. Our um tires are still being damaged. Um we have people intentionally driving on the wrong side of the road just so they can avoid the potholes. Our greenery is blocking the sidewalks that we did just get put in. The street lights, thank you for those. However, we need more lights. One street light isn't going to be sufficient enough for just our streets. And a lot of our lights are black where are blue, which means that the light bulbs need to be changed out. Um, if we could put some pep in our step on that because I've been coming to city council about that. I want to say since 2021 and here it is 2026. Um, something else that I would like to mention when it comes to the infrastructure being fixed within our neighborhood, um, mentioning Miller to be exact, there's never any signs to let us know that work is going to be done on the roads, one lane is going to be used, one lane is not going to be used. And we have to find out by being stuck in traffic. Some people make it late to work. And this causes more headaches than any problem being solved. Another thing is when it comes to our speed limits when it comes to the school the school zones, we cannot find any other signs that let us know when the school zone is ending because we have trees brushes that are blocking it. If we could do a better job this year, city council, when it comes to beautifying our areas and fixing with the things that we've been coming to you guys for years now about, thank you. Our next speaker is Rob Eshbick followed by Ann Zeta. Is Rob present? And Zeta will be followed by Yolanda Smith. My name is Anne Zeta and I live in District 9. While many today have signed up to provide feedback on the performance of the council over the last year, I have a longer time frame I would like to address. Community engagement has long been important to me. Having been raised in a Quaker community where we got written evaluations, not letter grades, but also where decisions were made through coming to consensus, an engaged community where all voices were heard and considered. As some of you may know, it has led to me having a career quote unquote, much of which has been in service to this community from neighborhood level to the entire city. Part of that work has been serving on various boards and commissions task forces and also on city council where you all are all serving today. After leaving the council, I was asked to serve on the Gindy task force. I saw this as an opportunity to continue to champion the arts. I was also asked to serve on the urban rail committee. Many of you know my long record of championing future with connected region multimodal transportation options and safe streets for all. I have participated in home Fort Worth, which is advocating for housing accessibility and affordability in a multitude of ways, including the 2026 bond that you all are deciding upon later this month. And finally, I have been deeply engaged in the 2050 comprehensive plan, serving on the technical committee, and elevating opportunities for engagement across the broader community. What I have come here to share with you all today is a bit of frustration at the lack of communication, feedback loops, and forward momentum for all of this engagement. While I have seen es and flows of improvement as well as regression, overall it could be better. I have long recognized, we have all long recognized the need to measure the resources delivered to the community by the city with equity in mind and not follow the squeaky wheel gets the grease method of delivery. Unfortunately, with few exceptions, we seem to fall back on this method. Finally, these public comment opportunities are important and should be viewed in a positive light. Believe me, I have listened to many public comments for hours and hours, long before time was limited, access to meetings was reduced, and hundreds of speakers showed up. I always think of the woman Diana in my first years of service who came to meeting after meeting. I'm pretty sure she rode the bus and brought her own threeinut timer. And I'm out of time because we've been >> Our next speaker is Yolanda Smith, followed by Emanuel Mada. >> Good evening. My name is Yolanda Smith from um District 7. I'm an advocate for the for the literacy roundup program and I'm here to thank you um Mayor Parker and council members for supporting this program. This program is essential to our community. And I would like to educate our um guests here that because of your uh support for this program, families are getting helped. I'm here to tell you today about Ka uh Kai Sanchez. is a fourth grader that is not reading at a fourth grader level. Because of your support, in April of 2025, the literacy roundups the literacy roundup screen Kai and identified him at risk for dyslexia. In May of 2025, his parents confidently confident his parents were confident they could work directly with the school, so they declined advocacy support. Since May of 2025, K's parents, Kais parents have been uh requesting an evaluation from the school. Unfortunately, despite multiple attempts, the school was not responding to the request until August of 2025 when the family reached out again. This time by copying, this time by email and copying the literacy roundup advocates. Only then the school replied. And today I'm here to tell you on behalf of the Sanchez family that today on January 6th, 2026 after eight months they had the RD ARD meeting today and Kai is getting some help for for his dyslexia. So I'm here to thank you um on behalf of the Sanchez family. Thank you and I give you a great A. >> Thank you. Our next speaker is Emanuel Mada followed by Annual Excuse me Alan Loba. My name is Manuel Mata and I live in Carlos's district. And uh I had brought something up to you, Carlos, about a officer in my neighborhood, right? And you told me to let them investigate it. They investigated themselves and found no wrongdoing. So I'm going to help you out. His name is Christopher Ramirez. He's a sergeant and this whole sheet is for him, right? Sleeping on duty. Judicious use of time. Supply service equipment. Failed to make report. Neglect of duty. Justified unfavorable crit criticism. Intoxicated off duty. Ultimately failed to submit or make a report. Neglect of duty. Position descriptions. Unauthorized leave of assigned beat. Make false uh report. Unauthorized whatever. And this is what's aggravating. Untrrufulness, official oppression, violation of standard operational procedures, neglect of duty, and again, untruthfulness, tactical violations, unnecessary force. William Martin, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. That's a officer that y'all just fired. Nathaniel Johnson was charged and arrested for evading arrest. In August 2024, Ruben Gastelone was caught with 22 pounds of meth, a key of cocaine, and pounds of weed. He tested positive for cocaine after a hell sample. His gun and his uniform was caught inside of the supposed area where all the drugs were. Hugo Baron just recently got his job back after the fourth time of shooting a innocent person in their backs. Taylor Stevens, Daniel Pritzer, Christopher Goldman, Miller, they were all fired for the death of Christopher Low and they were given their job back. So y'all don't punish bad cops. >> Speaker is Alan Loba followed by Joan Verier. I'm >> keep going. My name is Alan Loba. My home is at 3628 Kimberly Lane in District 9. I came to talk to you about affordable housing, but I feel the need to talk to you about this continued process of public comments limited to two minutes each that seems to not be working by the sheer number of people who are here to speak to you and the variety of topics they have. I would be honored to be on a task force to figure out a different way to do this so that we can truly have a combination, a a collaboration of ideas and and a better way to move forward to do it the Fort Worth way. I'm here to speak to you about affordable housing. I'll do it quickly. Uh while you're scrolling on your devices, you can look up Fort Worth Housing Solutions. On the very first page, you'll find that they have weight lists, which right there should tell us that we're not doing enough because there's weight lists. And if you notice that the last time those weight lists were opened, to even get to add your name to the bottom of the weight list was in July of 25. We're not doing enough. In April of 2025, Pathways for Removing Obstacles grant proposal. You listed several goals. I hope that you'll have them back to give you a report, at least a yearly report of how we're doing on that. But I fear that the proposal isn't making a dent in the homeless population. So, I have a proposal for you. In November in the city of Santa Fe, an appeals court sided with the city of Santa Fe to allow a 3% tax on homes sold for over a million dollars. The city uses that revenue for affordable housing. Nobody likes to be more taxed, but I think that if you talked with those people who are buying million dollar million dollar homes, they would prefer to give that 3% tax rather than have those people those people face to face on their block begging. >> Our next speaker is Joan Vermeier followed by Chris Tacket. Mayor Parker, council members, and community family. My name is Joan Vermeier. I live in district 3, and I'm here because of the literacy roundup. Last summer, I was uh read about literacy roundup, which is uh was sponsored by the city council and the Sid Richardson um foundation. Their efforts to help kids and families who have problems, the families with kids who have problems with dyslexia has been an effort to um encourage these families to find services for their kids. Um the services that are provided are very helpful, but it takes it's a long effort to get through the process. As an advocate, my role has been to work with families and the school district and the schools where they're involved. I live as I live near the Komo neighborhood. So, I really wanted to find families in that neighborhood and I can say now that I have we have f I have been an advocate for four different families. two of which kids are already getting their special education services and uh another one is now in the testing process to find out what kinds of services are needed and a fourth one is just now beginning to um in beginning in the process in December our um literacy roundup um members um some families that were involved met at Ko Community Center and Dr. Mia Hall was there with us um to hear their their stories and what was going on. Um I think we've had real success with that. Um Dr. Hall said at the end um literacy isn't a family problem, it's a community responsibility. When we come together to support our learners, our schools, and our entire city, >> they thrive. >> Our next speaker is Chris Tacket, followed by David Martinez. So 2025 had a lot of not so good things happen, but I wanted to recognize a really good thing. For a lot of folks, 2025 was that first moment where we realized that we can raise our voices for change at the city and county level. In May and June, a lot of us started showing up uh to raise our voices and add them to those who had been showing up regularly for years. And thank you for those who do this regularly. The noise there brought back some advocates who had been here in the past who may have burned out a little bit and the noise we were making reit their flames and it was incredible and is incredible to see. It's been amazing to be a part of then seeing even more new voices come and show up in places like this on nights like tonight. It's a diverse coalition from all parts of the city. We have friends everywhere and we are gaining more every single day. Mayor Parker, you told Mindy and I that what we were doing wouldn't work, that our approach, which is standing firm on our values and not catering to this mythical middle, uh it would fail. I'd say we're already making a difference and people are paying attention. And I would say that some even see what we're doing as a threat to the Fort Worth. I mean, why else would we see a thank you parade of public comments to close out 2025 from these groups that are doing good work, but they're having to come kiss the ring, and that's frankly pretty ick. Um, Council Person Beck, for the grades, um, I gave you a B for the year. Um, you're doing good things. I just want more. Mayor Parker, it's an F. Council overall, it's a it's a D. But 2026, we can do better. We're going to be here raising our voices throughout. And if it doesn't get better, well, 2027's right around the corner. We'll make sure we get some new faces. Thanks. >> Our next speaker is David Martinez, followed by Jim Dong. Good evening. Just want to let everybody know that this next Saturday at uh Pasco High School 2026, Panther City Benefit Powow benefiting the Fourth ISD Native American Education Program. Uh please show up. Uh we need volunteers and u uh vendors. contact Terry Hunter 682-4748784. Um, all right. U, that's going to be like a all day event. Um, please attend. Uh, if you support Native Americans, please show up and show your support. Um, also I want to bring up that u, it's funny that I see people that come over here and they're saying, "Well, you're you're counseling books, you're doing this and that." But it's it's funny. These same people who talk about the book of Ant Frank um these are the same people who are protesting Israel and all Jews. These are the same people that I've been next door to and then they turn around and attack Jewish people that the these are these people right here. It's it's it's amazing. These are the same people who want Maduro back out. Let me tell you something. In Carter Park, a lot of kids died in fentanyl. There are a lot of people out there right now, American citizens in Carter Park right now that are addicted to fentanyl. And so, yeah, good, good that he's locked up. Obie burns in hell. And I want to tell you something. A lot of times we come up here and a lot of people complain, but I'm going to tell you something. I appreciate everything that's being done, especially for the federal law enforcement that's going on right now in Fort Worth. We have seen a lot of terrorist attacks. A lot of people are planning on terrorist attacks in Fort Worth. A lot needs to be done. I'm glad it's it's being done under the sea. You don't see it, but I see it. I I appreciate it all. Thank you. God bless. >> Our next speaker is Jim Dong, followed by Reed Bills. Good evening. I'm Jim Dong. United we stand, divided we fall. We can hear a lot of division in this room. There's a lot of there is some division just on the dis. We can have differences of opinion but united we stand divided we fall. I remember 911 I was doing consulting in Amarillo and a number of times a month I'd drive between two cities and I would see uh uh fences and on farmers land they' put these cups and it would say united we stand. There was a time when there was an attack on our nation and we came together in spite of our ideology. We put some things aside to stand together. And I've been coming to these meetings for a number of years. And boy, sometimes it gets just hot and heavy and really ugly in here. United we stand, divided we fall. We can have differences of opinion. But when there's anger and strife and retribution and hate spewing out of people and their hearts divided we fall. United we can stand. We're a great city. We've got a great future. There's a lot of problems that we need to work through. But united we stand. Divided we fall. And as a people of this city, I speak out. Let's stand united despite our differences. There are some things we can agree on because united we stand, divided we fall. >> Reed Bills followed by Cleo Capavic. Is Miss Bills here? Seen her. Cleo Capavic. Cleo will be followed by Patrice Jones. >> Hi, my name is Cleo Capik. Um, I come from district 2 of, you know, Fort Worth and, um, I'm here to talk about the 2026 bond. I feel that, you know, with other cities investing several million, hundreds of millions of dollars into affordable housing measures such as Dallas, Arlington, Houston, and others. I think it should be notable that with the growth that Fort Worth has had and uh the fact that we're the large 11th largest city in the United States, there should be a further attempt to address Fort Worthians. Um the other issues I have with the budget is just the large commitment of funds towards parks and their uh improvements that don't necess necessitate improvement at the current moment at least for other issues that should be addressed beforehand. Um needs such as expanding our public transportation infrastructure as tax rail has had an expansion on the books for six years. Um, but its final bit of funding could be attained from the bond. I've personally talked to Mrs. Beck about the plans for expansion and she has expressed great support for it and otherwise I just would love to see support from the rest of this council for issues like that. Um, all these kinds of things align with the city's 2050 agenda and just making sure that this city develops in a sustainable and transit oriented way. Otherwise, I hope that this council plans to act on their word instead of just saying things with empty promises. Um, but other than that, thank you for listening. >> Our next speaker is Patrice Jones followed by Malik Austin. Can you start my time over? I didn't start talking yet. >> What's the problem? >> I didn't start talking yet and the time was going. I thought it started when I started. >> You can start it at two. Go for it. >> Thank you so much. I gotta get every second. Two teenagers were recently killed by gun violence where I was born in stop six. One of them was my little cousin. I'm here tonight with hopes my words speak real change to prevent other families from having to bury their child before prom, high school graduation, college graduation, marriage, and kids. Fort Worth must stop defunding organizations that prevent violence. Programs like My Brother's Keeper, VIP, Survive and Thrive are doing what policing never will. Mentoring youth, interrupting cycles of harm, and saving lives before violence happens. These programs work because they are rooted in community and rehabilitation and not punishment. Instead of strengthening them, this city continues to pour more and more money into policing. Fort Worth has one of the largest police budgets in the country. spending close to $1 million every single day. And gun violence is not going down. No matter how the numbers are manipulated or spun, the reality is crystal clear. Decades of research show that adding more police do not reduce crime nor gun violence. What does work is prevention. What does work is stability. What does work is investing in people. This brings me to YAP, the youth advocate program. Since Tarant County eliminated YAP, Tarant County is now sending more youth to state prison than any other county in the entire state of Texas. That is not a coincidence. That is not an accident. That is very intentional. When prevention is removed, incarceration fills the gap. When support is defunded, defunded, cages become the solution. So yes, we must hold people accountable. That includes mayor, county judge, judge Kim. Leadership does not mean insulated from criticism. Let me skip down since I don't got much time. Fort Worth, do better. Our children are watching and some of them are dying. Malik Austin will be followed by James Smith. >> Evening council. Uh, happy new year, Mayor Parker. I'm here to speak on behalf of Holland Hills. The contaminants MSD bar holding this is like our third or fourth time visiting young man representative. You weren't even born at the time they started dumping behind there. You weren't even thought I lost a friend of mine behind that dump ground, that dump site. This is lethal. Candium, arsenic, lead, manganese. Manganesees. Enough manganesees make you kill your mama. You don't expose no soul to these type of contaminants. Address 5921 to uh 5933. Mayor, we we we had this conversation with y'all before. Holland Hills ain't weak. Mayor Bax, we come out of Holland Hills. Uh, Judge Sydney come out of Holland Hills. Me, uh, brother Jerry Thomas, ambassadors come out of Holland Hills. I'm from Holland Hills. My father's from Holland Hills. My aunt is from Holland Hills. My brothers still live in Holland Hills. If you think one inkling that you gone in our city council district 95 was there at the first meeting and told you TACQ is the one who shut the site down because of these type of contaminants. And you put the meeting at 11 o'clock when you know people going to be at work. Brother, mayor, take this MSD035 off the floor. This is lethal. You cannot guarantee the safety of the people of Holland Hills. This is uncalled for. I'm EPA certified. I will call my governor, my congress representative, my district uh representative. It don't matter. Attorney General, this is lethal. It ain't nothing to be playing with. I don't see nothing funny, brother. You playing with my family. >> James Smith will be followed by Joey Flores. Is Mr. Smith present tonight? Joey Flores followed by Adrienne Smith. Adrienne Smith, Edia Cardinz. >> Good evening, council members. Um, you know, you voted to we're we're reporting back on 2025. So, you voted to dismantle our DEI programs. You've continued to reduce opportunities for public comment. Uh, mayor, you still haven't apologized to Patrice. You voted for data centers. You leave the art community without their hub. And yes, you've also supported a really important and what sounds like an impactful literacy program. And I'm sure many other good things. And I think what I see in this public comment meeting always is that you all are viewing accountability as like an attack on you, right? And I think it's actually an invitation. So, what if you actually came into this room and felt like today I'm going to be invited to a lot of uncomfortable things because people have very serious issues like they've experienced issues with the police. They are experiencing contamination. Their families and loved ones are being shot. So, these are very real things that people are coming here to talk about. And I think it just seems to that you continuously view it as like we're trying to attack you, but it's actually us just being like, we care about our city and we want our leaders to be making good decisions on our behalf. And so what does it look like to actually I think you know this what this moment actually requires is leaders who can regulate their own nervous systems. I'm sure it's incredibly uncomfortable to sit up there and have people say all these things to you. But I invite you to like take a breath, take a beat and view it as an invitation and not as an attack because I think when you do then I think you're going to hear that people have really important things to say and that we could actually work together. I signed up for that committee too that Mr. Alan proposed about the public comments and how we might engage in dialogue and not just be talking at each other. So, if you need volunteers for that, you can count me in. Um, and I know the expectations are on your high. I know you should be compensated better for this work and I'll support any charter amendments for you to um, you know, get a living wage, but higher pay also comes with standards of engagement and accountability. And so just we're inviting you into this and I hope you receive our invitation in 2026 cuz local leadership is going to be more important than ever when we're seeing a federal government that continues to choose cruelty over any other thing. So, thank you >> Alexander Montalvo followed by Tina Hazel James down in 2026, I guess, is going to be the motto for the city council and you, Mayor Parker. We have our one of 10 public comment meetings and y'all automatically reduced. So my question is who is it here that isn't going to be able to stay to keep quum? I see Macy's is not here. I see Elizabeth Beck has left. What dinner plans, what evening plans did y'all commit to that you couldn't be here as long as needed for the public to talk to you? You have the family of Anthony Johnson Jr. come to talk to you, Carlos, and to talk to you, the city council, to you, mayor, about the murders and the deaths that are happening down the street. And what do you welcome them with? You can't even give them the full three minutes. You're going to cut them down to two. The amount of disrespect we continue to see from this council. How many times did I hear from Janette Goodall that we're going to get arrested for doing what? Coming to public comments to express our concerns to fight for our people, the community, and the city that we should be versus what all of you are doing. And you need to tell us multiple times we're going to get arrested. Last month, I had to get harassed by the marshals simply because asking a question. No, that's not what we're going to do. and whatever environment everyone is feeling in today, the iciness, the hesitation, I want everybody in Fort Worth to be ready every day this year all the way up to the election of 2026 and November and all the way up to May of 2027 because the leadership in this city and this county is going to change for the people and we are not going to stop until that reality happens. So if y'all want to double down, we'll triple down on the people's voice. >> Tina James is James. Is Tina here? No. Council, that's the conclusion of our speakers this evening. the church.