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I'm going to go ahead and call the meeting afternoon meeting of the Arlington City Council to order. First up on the agenda is item 2.1, World Cup 2026. Jennifer, you want to give us a little background on that, please. Thank you, Mayor Proto. Mayor Proto, I'm in council. We're going to begin your afternoon session with the discussion of the 2026 World Cup. This is something that it was announced back in 2018 that that particular World Cup would be hosted by cities in Mexico, the United States and Canada. And so that was awarded. That was very exciting. But at this point, we have not determined yet which U.S. cities, those games and other events are going to go to. So today, we wanted to start discussing that with you. And this also sort of kicks off a community awareness campaign that will be working on through our office of communications. So we've got some guests here with us that I'd like to introduce. The first one is Monica Paul, who's joined us. She's over there. She's the executive director of the Dallas Sports Commission and her team has really been spearheading the bid and making sure that our our area and our region is is putting its best foot forward in this. We also have some people from FC Dallas. FC Dallas is very involved because Dan Hunt, who is their team president, is also the host committee chairman. So he's been very involved, he's got a lot of background in this, and it's been very helpful. So also from FC Dallas, we have Jimmy Smith, who's their COO and CFO. He's here to my left. And then we actually have one of our neighbors, we have Matt Denney, who is the general manager of the North Texas Soccer Club, which is one of the new tenants out at Globe Life Park. So we're excited to have him here as well. So our presenter today is going to be Gina Miller. She works for FC Dallas. She's a vice president of communications and media. She's done a lot of work in the sports area. She's been consulting. She's been on the team, worked with team. She's been on the media side. And she's here to talk to you about soccer in North Texas, soccer in Arlington with our new addition here. And then also the World Cup. So Gina. Hi, thank you. Thank you. Thank you so glad that I could be here today and join each and every one of you. I know some of our council members have a few goodies from us. We'll get to that in just a moment. But this really is going to be a broad conversation that dives deep in a few areas about the soccer opportunity in North Texas because it is vast. We like to think we're a football town. We like to think we're a football town. FUTBOL. Josh Hamilton told me this was a football town during an angel spring training back in 2013. And he's right, football and football can coexist right here in Arlington and across North Texas. So we're going to talk about North Texas soccer club, the Dallas 2026 opportunity and FC Dallas because you really cannot tell one story without touching on the other. A little bit about FC Dallas and North Texas FC, excuse me, FC Dallas started as the Dallas Burn back in 1996. We are a millennial franchise. We are celebrating our 25th celebratory season this year. The team played at the Cotton Bowl in East Dallas and you know, had a footprint there in Dallas for quite some time. It was a legal and franchise before the Hunt family. Yes, I get this question all the time and it's okay. The same Hunt family who owns the Super Bowl bound, Kansas City Chiefs, as well as Fun Fact, a portion of the Chicago Bulls purchased three MLS franchises from the League, the Kansas City Wiz, who rebranded a sporting Kansas City, the Hunts divested of the Wiz in 2010, and the Columbus crew, the Hunts divested of their interest in the crew in 2013, and focused on keeping the Dallas Burn franchise obviously because they live right here in North Texas. The Dallas Burn rebranded as FC Dallas in 2005. Anybody know what the FC stands for? Thank you. I get that question all the time. It stands for football club. Really is a nod to some of the more traditional soccer or football franchises across the sports landscape. This is big in 2005, later that year, FC Dallas opened Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas at Cotton Gin, at that Cotton Gin and Main Street exit off the tollway. At the time, it was just the third soccer-specific stadium in the United States. That's big, as we're seeing more of these facilities being onboarded throughout the country. This is also big. 2018, November 2nd, the National Soccer Hall of Fame reopens at Toyota Stadium. It was in Oneon to New York in its first iteration. No offense, but nobody visits Oneon to New York. This is your Canton and Cooperstown right here in North Texas. In 2018, December 16th of that year, Luchiganzalas became the 7th head coach in FC North Texas. In 2018, December 16th of that year, Luchiganzala became the seventh head coach in FC Dallas history. Why this is important? Because Luchiganzala represents the FC Dallas model. He came up through the Academy system like many of our players. We have signed a league high, 28 homegrown players, meaning they themselves have come up through the Academy system. Luchiganzala served as our Academy director. He was elevated to head coach, really saying true to our ethos. And that's so important because he believes in playing our homegrown players, which is good for soccer in this country. We truly believe that the national teams of the future, the national team that could be competing in Tokyo at the Olympics later this year, the national team that could be competing in 2022 in Qatar, and the national team that it can be competing. Right here in Arlington, we hope, in 2026, we'll be comprised of young men who grew up right here and played on these fields in Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, Frisco, Bedford, all over North Texas. And it's because of people like Luchiganzalas who believe in playing your young men. We currently have three FC Dallas players training with the U.S. men's national team right now. Is there getting ready to play a friendly against Costa Rica on Saturday? Jesus Ferreira from Frisco, Texas, Brandon, Svervenia calls Frisco, Texas home, both home groans. And Tarrant County's own Reggie Cannon from Great Vine, Texas. All three FC Dallas homegrown players have a chance to compete and be national team players at the Olympics later this year. 2018-2019 North Texas Soccer Club launches and wins the USL League One title in its first season. We'll dive deeper into them in just a moment. And then as I alluded to earlier, this season, FC Dallas celebrates its 25th season in MLS and North Texas Soccer Club will bring professional football, football, soccer to Arlington later this year. A little bit about FC Dallas very quickly here. We were one of the original 10 franchises in Major League Soccer, again, formally as the Dallas burn. A little bit about the 2020 roster, and this is what I think is so unique about soccer. We are comprised of global superstars. The 2020 roster currently, we know rosters are massaging throughout a regular season. The 2020 roster currently has nine countries represented. National team players from Switzerland, Honduras, the Czech Republic, the United States, we hope many, many other countries there representing their national teams. Our players serve as global ambassadors for this region. They are heroes in their home country. The Czech Republic's Zedena Kondrasik scored a game winning goal in an international friendly against England late last year. Changed his professional landscape. He plays for FC Dallas had a great second half of the 2019 regular season. Changed his professional trajectory in his home country became a check superstar because of what he did in an international competition. He is an ambassador for us right here in North Texas to his home country back in the checker public. Big opportunity to showcase this region thanks to what these international superstars are doing right here in our own backyards. A little bit about Major League Soccer here again, the League launched with 10 franchises in 96. We had 24 compete in 2019. The League is onboarding two more in 2020. Nashville and Miami to get us to 26. We'll have 20 in 2022. We will have 30 teams competing in Major League Soccer. Franchise fees are in excess of $300 million. The Charlotte franchise just sold for $325 million. Not bad when you consider the Toronto franchise. Toronto FC had an expansion fee, I stumble here when thinking about the math, had an expansion fee in 2007 of just $10 million. Anyone would take that kind of growth in terms of your investment there. A little bit more about MLS fans as you think about who they are and who are engaging with this sport at the elite professional level in this country. They're young, they're diverse, many times bilingual polyglots, we are a team of polyglots, trilingual, multilingual players and staff members comprising both FC Dallas and North Texas FC. They're affluent, they're all digital natives. I think we all know this, and they're loyal, which is great for businesses and brands trying to connect with that fan base. We're delivering a key audience on broadcasts. We have the youngest average age of TV viewers across the entire professional sports landscape among the major sports. And you can see this proven right here. A little bit about North Texas soccer club and I'm going to pause because I have to bring out some hardware. Oh this is heavier than I thought. Well I apologize here. Oh well. This is the trophy North Texas Soccer Club 1 and it's inaugural season in USL League 1 competition. It launched in 2019 with the rest of the league. It competes in USL League 1. Think of this as FC Dallas's version of the Frisco Rough Riders. North Texas Soccer Club is to FC Dallas as the Frisco Rough Riders are to the Texas Rangers. Sort of a third division team, a double-a team, if you will, that really serves as a pathway for these players to get to the major league level. It won the USL League 1 Championship on October 19th, 2019 at Toyota Stadium. This trophy right here, and it will play at Glowblife Park, starting on May 3rd, 2020 against Union Omaha. Yes, the same Glowblife Park that we see just right up the road, overlooking the freeway on I-30. And again, I want to underscore this international opportunity that this club brings to Arlington, Texas. The 2019 team had eight countries represented national team players from Haiti. The 2020 roster is still currently being built. Training camp opens on February 10th. And as we know how rosters evolve over the course of a season, we know that number will change. The young man you see there on the left, our tour Rodriguez. He was the USL League 1 MVP last year from San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The tall young man you see on the right. Breck Evans, our team captain in 2019 from California. So we're really bringing together young professional athletes and staffs from around the world, two North Texas, Arlington, Texas, thanks to this soccer club. Just a little bit about the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Again, opened in 2018, November 2nd, 2018, part of a public-private partnership between the Hunt family, City of Frisco, Frisco ISD, and the Frisco Economic Development Corporation concerts, Hall of Fame programming really do highlight what it is that we do there, along with STEAMFC, which is a STEAM program that we have produced in conjunction with Frisco ISD. All six grade students have a field trip to the National Soccer Hall of Fame to learn about STEAM principles, science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics through soccer. They all come through there. They all experience it, and we've had great feedback as this is our first year in doing so. And we use facial recognition technology to deliver a customized experience for every guest through the Hall of Fame. This is probably the coolest thing, though. I'm bearing the lead. The National Soccer Hall of Fame is home to all four. FIFA Women's World Cup trophies at the U.S. Women's National Team has won. There has only been eight FIFA Women's World Cup competitions. The U.S. women have won half of them. All four of those trophies live in one place, right here in North Texas. We're pretty proud of that. So this is what we're here to really focus on today, the 2026 opportunity. And to say it is massive would be a massive understatement because it is huge. In 2018, as Jennifer mentioned, the United 2026 Joint Bid Committee won the right to host World Cup matches in Mexico, Canada and the United States. It's the first time matches will be played in these three countries, or in three countries overall, I should say. First time that you see this sort of joint bid with multiple countries involved. It's also the first World Cup that will feature a 48-team, I should say, field. 80 matches will be played. 60 of those matches will be played right here in the United States across 10 host cities. And then 10 matches a piece will be played in Canada and Mexico across three host cities in each of those respective countries. What's exciting here is that every match from the quarter finals on the big ones will be played in the United States. We are calling this the Dallas 2026. Dallas 2026. Let's bring the 2026 World Cup two dollars. You can go online. You can follow the hashtag Dallas 2026. Of course, Dallas hosted World Cup matches in 1994, which to date remains the most successful World Cup in history in the history to date remains the most successful world cup in history, in the history of the competition in terms of attendance. Back in 1994, and these are $94, the economic impact of the World Cup in Dallas, Fort Worth alone was $304 million. The total number of spectators for the entire World Cup across the country was 3.6 billion representing a 96 percent sellout rate, which is absolutely enormous. The cotton bowl, as we know, hosted six matches, including the quarter-final match between Brazil and the Netherlands, considered one of the greatest World Cup matches in the history of the competition. Fair Park served as the International Broadcast Center for the 94 World Cup. Huge opportunity there. Why? Because media camp out for about six months learning about the region, building sets, telling stories of the unique personalities, leaders, and athletes who make our region, the absolute best region that it is in the entire country. It hosted about 10,000 members of the media in 1994. Given how the media landscape has changed, we expect that number to be even greater. If you look at some forecasts in terms of economic impact for 2026, in terms of host city anticipated economic impact, some could argue these are low. They're forecasting a $400 million impact for Dallas Fort Worth and estimated 3,000 jobs, 9 million in local tax revenue. Should fair part, the cotton bowl, get the International Broadcast Center again, that would add an estimated $100 million in economic impact, again, 10,000 plus media in market from January to July, additional heads in beds and estimated 1, again, 10,000-plus media in market from January to July, additional heads in beds, an estimated 1,000 extra jobs, and an estimated 4.5 million in additional local tax revenue to the North Texas region, Chidallas Fort Worth, the Cotton Bowl Fair Park area, get the international broadcast center. Our ambition is big here. And this is where the competitive landscape stands right now. Like among the three countries, there are certain cities who are bidding to host these World Cup matches. In Canada, there are three key cities. Vancouver has sort of re-entered the conversation, but it's Edmonton Montréal in Toronto, Mexico, Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterey. In the U.S., it gets a little more interesting. 17 cities with 18 venues, 17 cities vying to be among the 10 host cities to host those matches. New York, New Jersey area, Met Life Stadium, Los Angeles area. It is both the Rose Bowl, which hosted matches in 94 and also hosted the 99 Women's World Cup Final, the Brandy Chastain moment that we all remember, that is memorialized and that is celebrated in the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco. As well as the new NFL stadium that's being built in California, those are two venues in Los Angeles that are vying to host World Cup matches. Also San Francisco Bay Area, Levi Stadium, Atlanta Atlanta that Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosts is the home of Atlanta United the MLS team that won MLS Cup in 2018 They average about 55,000 fans per match well suited there, but we feel at AT&T Stadium just right down the road It is perfectly suited to host a final or a semi final matchinal match. The facility, as we all know in here, is absolutely gorgeous. The grass is good in there, and we feel like we're gonna be in a perfect position to host some of those marquee matches in 2026. Economic impact. This is from the most recent World Cup in Russia, and the data from FIFA is not yet out, so I had to go to the Moscow Times. So I just present this as it is. Between 2013 and 2018, there was significant economic impact to the Russian economy, more than $14 billion, as they worked on getting Russia ready for the 2018 World Cup. In the five-year run-up to the World Cup, where the 300,000 jobs were created. Small businesses also saw profits spike, and tourism development brought in an estimated $3 billion into the economy. Interestingly, Russia was – the country of Russia had the most tickets issued for the 2018 World Cup. But the country to which the second highest number of tickets were issued for the 2018 World Cup was the United States, speaking to the soccer appetite for this sport in this country. I think it is pretty, pretty massive. So what are the next steps in the U.S. bid process? It's ramping up pretty fast and furious. There's been a bit of a lull since things were announced in 2018, but this is the year in which U.S. soccer, the governing body for soccer in our country, is going to get the ball rolling, if you will. U.S. soccer will have visits to host cities in March and November of this year. Former U.S. soccer president Dan Flynn, with whom we worked to bring the National Soccer Hall of Fame to Frisco, is really tasked with leading this process. He retired at the end of last year as the president, the business operations president of U.S. soccer. U.S. host cities expect to be announced late 2020 or early 2021. And this is where the sense of urgency now begins, because it is up to each of the individuals in this room, individuals across North Texas from a government standpoint, from a community standpoint, from a soccer, sports, and business leader standpoint to work together collaboratively to help bring what is truly the greatest sporting event in the world back to North Texas. It has been said, and I think this is a fact, that 1994 and the World Cup competition that we saw in this country was the most important soccer event in the history of our country. We've been building on this for the past quarter of a century. It helped launch Major League Soccer in 1996. I think we have another huge opportunity in 2026, but really, and truly, that opportunity for us all starts right now. So if you have any questions, I'm more than happy to answer whatever you may have. Any questions? Mr. Field. I've had a lot of constituents excited about the club team for FC Dallas playing in Arlington, but I've had several questions about women's professional soccer and the possibility that might come to Arlington. I mean, I've gotten a lot of emails and questions on that, believe it or not. And is there any prospect for women's professional soccer to play in Arlington someday? It's a unique situation with the women's professional game right now. We have been looking at that from an FC Dallas standpoint, how to execute on that, how to formulate a team, and what that team could actually look like. It's something that we've been examining since I've been with FC Dallas, we started in late 2017, and we're open to that discussion. I wouldn't erase the possibility, I wouldn't say it's something that's in the works right now, but piggybacking on the success of North Texas Soccer Club in Arlington, I think that could look like something that could be viable, but it would be way too premature for us to make any sort of commitment at that time. But it's something we're always examining because our girls academy system is just like the boys academy system, one of the most robust across the country and it's one that is very competitive in a healthy way. So it's not something that's out of the question, but it's not something that we could commit to at this point at this time. Well, I can tell you, Arlington is excited to have you. Okay, well, thank you. We're thrilled to be there. We're thrilled to be here, I should say, yeah. Dr. Ferrar-Mars. Thank you Mayor Pro Tem. I'm certainly excited about this because I've been a football player all my life. So it's good to have you. I'm just I'm curious you said down the two visits to the cities. Is there anything in particular that we as a city should be attentive to during those visits and what kinds of things are they looking for so that we as leaders can be prepared and our constituents can be prepared for those visits? I think it's important to showcase North Texas as a region that is excited about soccer. And we have an opportunity to do that in Arlington and March, for example, with the Mexican national team hosting Greece in an international friendly. Mexico is having, basically, their spring training here for the next three seasons, starting last year and this year, 21 and 22. They'll be training here. It's a four-year commitment that the Mexican national team has. and starting last year and this year, 21 and 22, they'll be training here. It's a four-year commitment that the Mexican national team has. I think anything that we can do to showcase this community across all cities can support soccer at a very high level. I think that's critical for us. One asset that we have is we have, arguably, the most beautiful facility in the world when it comes to a stadium. We have a great airport. We have great hospitality venues, food and beverage, staff and people who are excited to work and contribute to the sports conversation because sports is what we do here in North Texas. We make careers out of it. We make lives out of it as a Dallas native in North Texas and I'm a testament to that. But I think it's up to this entire community to really get behind the idea of being a part of the 2026 World Cup. We need to work with you to indicate what those opportunities are, whether it's community clinics, whether it's being there at the Mexico match at a big level to show that we can fill these buildings and support the best national teams in the world. I think support now is kind of where we are. Thanks. Any other questions? All right, none are indicated. Exciting news and looking forward to working with you all. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for the time. We need some help for Matt. Matt, take care of that. All right, next up we have item 2.2, local sales and use tax election discussion as you may have noticed mayor Williams is not here at the moment and he's asked that we move this to the bottom of the agenda to give him time to get here because he definitely wanted to participate in that discussion. And he will be here later this afternoon, and we'll take it up at that time. Next up then would be put technology to work update, Ms. Wickman. Thank you, Mayor Prattam. I'm going to speak to you today about the second quarter update for the put technology to work priority. So there are just a few of the stories I would like to highlight. The first one is on the front page. It is the city bot tool which we're using. It's a new social media tool that also will help people report, ask questions of the city and also report issues with something that may see a pod hole or if they have a question about how to get pet license, those all can be accomplished through city bot. And what city bot is, it's a text chatting tool and residents who are interested in taking part in that, they can text the word hello to 817-409-4110. And that will begin in conversation that any time they have an issue with the city, they can open that back up and just text a note about a stray dog or a pothole or asking about hours of operation, all of that is going to be in there. So we're very excited about that. It launched in early January. So we've had good success with it so far, but we'd really like to have more people use it. So we're hoping that people who are watching this and then other folks who hear about on social media will take part. So that's one story to highlight. On the second page, I believe we have a profile of our new Chief Technology Officer, Enrique Martinez. Maybe the third page, sorry. So he has just started with us back in September. He came to us from El Paso, but Enrique also has – he's got city experience. He also has – was some experience in the military. He's got some experience in the private sector. He's really taking some time now to take stock, look around, see what we have going on in the IT department. And then he's getting a lot of input, not only from his own team, but from the rest of the organization. He's been having a lot of meetings to figure out and taking, putting out some surveys, to figure out where, where the needs are, and then he's working on a strategic plan that will really direct our IT department as they move forward with their work for the city. So we're excited to have Enrique with us and excited to see what he's going to do with our IT department. And then finally, on the back page, there's a story about, we have mentioned to you all the innovation zone that we got this funding from the state that's going to be a part of our the East Library and Recreation Center. So we're one of the elements that's going into that innovation zone are going to be some outdoor learning pods and we've have on your last council agenda the council approved a partnership with UTA where we're going to have UTA students that are a part of a class this this semester that's going on now that will work to design these pods. They're sort of going to be outside, they're going to be tech connected, they're going to have hopefully some heating and cooling to help with our temperatures here. But it's students, it's a – there are going to be students of Michael Zoretski, who's a professor in their college, I believe, of engineering, and then also Brad Bell, who's with their architecture group there. And it's a – they're going to come out. There's a big element of the philosophy that they use, which is called seed, sort of like lead, but seed is sustainable economic environmental design. There's a lot of input from the public. So there's going to be some listening sessions, looking to some prototypes with the people who live in East Arlington, really figuring out what would work best out there. And then the idea is that they get designed over this semester, manufactured over the summer, and then installed in October when it's time for that location to open. So we're very excited about that. With that, again, another partnership with UTA, where we're bringing their students and their enthusiasm and their knowledge to bear on something that's super important to a community in Arlington. And at that point, that's the end of the summary I wanted to give you. But just to remind you that this is an opportunity for you, well this is your priority, put technology to work. We want to make sure we're on the right track. So I'm trying to bring you stories that tell you not only what we've been doing, but what we're going with it. But this is an opportunity. If you have any interests or direction for us related to that priority, we're certainly happy to hear that now. And we can then direct our work in that area. As you know, our budget has all the different things that were funded in addition to our performance measures that track this as well. So you have that opportunity to see it. Any questions from Ms. Whitman? Mr. Sutton? Yes, on the city box. Is that used to supplement the ass-hulling to an app or are we gonna eventually move away from ass-hulling to an app to go to a full text engagement? It's two different ways to interact. That right now the city box really relies on some of the mechanisms within the app, ask our only to not do that. But at this point, we haven't determined that we're going with one or the other, but we're having them run together. We think they're both going to be useful tools for the public. Thank you. Dr. Frommars. Thank you, Deputy Mayor. Along the same lines, have we seen in terms of, I know we need to get the information out about the city bot, but is it more standardized questions? The reason I'm asking is because there's, you know, in the past we've added certain categories to our Ask Arlington app to make it a little bit more feasible to utilize. Is this more, because I'm hearing some feedback from the constituents that have been trying the city bot? And again, it's a very small sample of people who have tried it so far, but really kind of rootonized kinds of questions more so. Does it have an AI technology, artificial intelligence technology for it to learn as it's being asked questions to do different things? I'm just curious because I'm trying to direct my constituents to use the proper venue for, so if you have a better sense of that, that would be helpful. Yeah, so it's not strictly AI, it's not going to be learning, but we've taken the top questions that we have and allowed it to search for crawler website, find information, and then also make reports on that. If you do have anyone who has feedback, we would really love to hear that though, so we can help mold it into a way that's gonna be much more responsive. But it is not, I'm gonna look to Jada confirmed, but it is not learning as we ask questions. Yeah, that's great. Yeah, not doing that. Thank you. Mr. Not doing that. Thank you. Mr. Sutton. That's one more question. Fallup. As far as Spanish and Vietnamese languages are they able to communicate as well on this platform? We are working on that. That was something that when we put that forward and the city funded that, we wanted the developer to incorporate that. I believe Spanish is currently workable and we are working on Vietnamese, which has not been done yet. But yes, we're moving in that direction. And that was a suggestion that came from Arlington that actually helped the developer, because this is a new product molded in a different way. So that's something that you all could certainly should take credit for helping to mold this product to be more inclusive and expand its ability to communicate with different groups of people All right any additional questions Miss Wichman, thank you for the for the presentation and and thank you for the Lead certification data on the last page We had a committee meeting earlier today and the question came up about What the city was doing and certainly it's more than this, but it's nice to see What city has been doing in reducing energy consumption. So thank you for that. Thank you. All right that'll lead us up to 3.3 Rendle Mill, softball, Sunday league, this floor is Stafford. Or Lemuel? Oh, I missed 3.2, I'm sorry. I can't count today. All right, let's do 3.2 instead. 2019-2020 volunteer income tax assistant, Mr. Wade. Good afternoon, Mayor Pro Tem and Council, Darwin Wade, Grant Supervisor Office of Strategic Initiatives. The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the volunteer income tax assistance program here in Arlington. This is a free tax assistance program provided by RRS certified volunteers. The services have already started here in Arlington just to give you some updates on Monday shadow book apartments located at 2020 South Cooper Street that they began their hours on Monday on today Houston Smith Recreation Center, 815 New York Avenue starts today and Tarant County Southeast campus 21 Southeast Parkway will start on tomorrow. We partnered with the foundation community United Leaves Harant County and R.S. to provide these services to Arlington residents. The word is going out about this great tax assistance program. We have flyers at your disposal and we will push this information out throughout marketing and through 2-1-1 in social media. I'll be happy to entertain any questions if there are any. Any questions from Mr. Wade? Mr. Sutton. I would require I to be a certified prepare under this particular program. There is a training that is provided by R.S. So if there's any volunteers that are interested, we can certainly put you in contact with those agencies and partners. Thanks. Mr. White, thank you. This has been a great program for many, many years, and I know it's well received and well utilized by the residents. Thank you. Can we go to 3.3 now? OK. Go to 3.3 Randall Mill Park, Sunday softball league. There's Forest Stafford. Good afternoon, Mayor Pratton. Members of the City Council, in your packets, you will see some information regarding the consolidation of the Sunday softball leagues at Harold Patterson Sports Center. Do you have any questions? Any questions? I think you all remember we had a citizen come up at our last council meeting and raised this issue. Anybody have any questions, Ms. Moise? So, and trying to read this, is softball field used down by adults all over the city, or is it just Randall Mill Park? No, it's actually from what we gather, it's all over the metropolis that softball uses down. But definitely for us. Looking at it, it's all over the Metroplex that softball uses down, but definitely for us. Looking at it, it goes both ways, Randall Mill and Harold Patterson, so it makes sense to kind of collaborate and consolidate those two programs. So, of course, I have the North District and I have a residence who are unhappy because now they've been playing close to home and they're required on Sunday night to go to South Arlington. What is the cost to the city to keep both programs open? Well, the issue becomes because of the decline in the numbers. We're spending operational funds to switch over because right now, Harold Patterson's it's idle half the day. And we don't have actually anything on those fields until five o'clock when the softball starts. At Randall Mill, we have tournament play in the day, and then we have to turn it over to play adult softball in the evening, which necessitates operations to come out and move those hills, the pitching mountains and whatnot to turn it over to adult softball. That's about a $10,200 expense that we would be saving and then we would be able to monetize the softball, the excess of the tournament. So right now they use us as a kind of overflow because they know they can't use the Sunday evenings to finish the tournaments. So we just get overflow play for tournaments. You talk about adults or other tournaments. No, that's the youth. That's the youth. So then once that opens up and we can solidate over at Harold Patterson and let that field be used from two to nine, then we'll have the opportunity to use youth sports over at tournament at the mill complex from two to nine. So you're basically shifting youth tournament time to one location and then adult time to one location. Correct. So we're still using both locations. Yes, ma'am. You see any other way to solve this for the players up north other than just to force them to go south? Well, we are letting them play. We're not getting rid of Sunday's softball for the winter. They'll still play there. And that's kind of the strategy that we used so back before I got here they we decided to consolidate the Harold Patterson Randall Mill at Randall Mill so they play all their games in the winter at Randall Mill Park and that will not go away. Okay but summer, and fall will be at Patterson. At Patterson, correct. So it's a participation in winter as heavy as it is in the other season. So is it? It definitely goes down and it made sense for us to consolidate into one to one complex, which is the same thing we're doing now, consolidating to one complex. And it really was a coin flip to figure out whether or not we should do it because it's pretty evenly split right now with Mill and Harold Patterson. So I feel like we would have gotten pushed back regardless of which field we would have chosen. But the opportunity to monetize the tournament play as well, really kind of solidified it for us. Okay so in addition to the 10,000 and savings for labor you have additional income from the overflow of the tournament play. Correct. So there's really two components to so the total impact of the city is how much? About 55,000 in the spring. Okay just the spring alone. And about 40, 34,000 in the spring. Okay, just the spring alone. And about 40, 34, 5 in the summer and 32 in the fall. Okay, and that's how much you will make in addition by consolidating the adult play to one area. Correct. Okay. Now, and that's with us thinking that the people will not go north or south Thinking that I'll lose all those as the worst scenario Okay All right, thank you. You're welcome Dr. Farrah Mars Thank you, Jeppie DeMayer for Tim just one follow-up question because because the gentleman who appeared before us and sent us some emails did have a question regarding whether or not there would be adequate enough room for all the teams. If they were to be consolidated, I just want to follow up on that one piece because Ms. Moe used to be a good job on the other questions I had. So can you kind of address that? Is there, are you assuming there's going to be some drop off or would, if, say, for example, all goes well, all teams from there move to Harold Patterson, do we have adequate facilities for that? Yes, we do. That was the plan. Thank you, ma'am. So, Dr. Nunez. So, just to be more specific. So, you're, I want to make sure that I can answer this question in my constituents. So So all of the teams that play Sunday night at Randall Mill, you will have room for them at Harold Patterson on Sunday nights. Well, we'll extend the league, meaning it'll go from two to nine. Two o'clock in the afternoon on Sundays till nine o'clock. So you'll add more. I think that's a good idea. I think that's a good idea. I think that's a good idea. I think that's a good idea. I think that's a good idea. I think that's a good idea. I think that's a good idea. I think that's a good idea. I think that's a good idea. I think that's a good idea. I think that's a good idea. I think that's a good idea. I think that's a good idea I didn't know and what was not in the email was the information you just shared. And I had heard from some of my constituents and to be perfectly transparent, I played softball Friday nights at Randall Mill and I had a lot of phone calls about this. And they told me before today that they had also heard that part of this decision was economic that it would allow the city to monetize the tournament ball that occurred up there. My response to my constituents has also been the following. And I think it's worth repeating here. You know with the city and municipalities across the state of Texas now sort of hamstrung with this 3.5% a cap on what we're able to raise. The message from our city staff has been pretty clear. We have to be creative in finding other sources of income to make up for some of the things that we might not be able to do going forward in time. And so I think the message went out to the entire city, be creative, look at other things, try and improve the income that comes into the city. Well, I think that the course that the Parks Department has taken is exactly the message that they receive from our city staff leadership. And I think it's the right answer. As much as I hate to see Sunday afternoon football go away at that location, I looked at the numbers and I can't escape the conclusion that there's been a significant drop off on Sunday, a softball at Randall Mill, and I think it's the right thing to do. If it were me on a team on Sunday, Iball at Randall Mill, and I think it's the right thing to do. If it were me on a team on Sunday, I would not be happy. But knowing what I know, it's important for our constituents to understand there is an economic reason for why this took place. So thank you. Thank you, Dr. Nunez. Any other questions? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right, next up we've got discussion of committee meetings, Finance and Audit, Ms. K. Park. Thank you Mayor Potomac, Mr. Shiver. Today the Finance and Audit Committee met, I'll be members of the President, and we had our outside auditor grant Thornton Inn. They just went over with us. There are current situation with us, meaning their in-house. They've kind of completed their audits. And now they're going back and doing some review of some other technical information. So I've asked for the audit plan to be distributed to each of you, particularly for those of you who have not gone through this process with us before. So you kind of get a situation and a sense of what the responsibilities of the auditor are, the responsibilities of city management is, the responsibilities of what the elected body is. So it's informational only, there's no action today in our part. It was just an update by the outside auditor and any questions the committee had. So they'll be meeting back with us with more findings in March. That's my report, Mr. Mayor Pratton. Thank you, Miss Capehart, for any questions. All right, very good. We'll move now to community and neighborhood development, Ms. Moise. Thank you. We met this morning with all of our committee present. We revisited three areas that we talked about earlier this month, the first being the matching grant for neighborhoods. We came away with a discussion of some of the issues that were left on the table last time and settled all those finally awarding for seven neighborhoods matching grants of just over 100,000 and that matching grant proposal will be on the consent agenda at the February 11th meeting. Housing tax credits was the second item we discussed. We reviewed the four family developments. We reviewed the senior development set in earlier meeting in that interim time between the first and second meeting two applications were withdrawn so we still have four remaining family program plans or development plans. So after we reviewed the family developments, the staff went over with us. Some of the tentative scoring and tools that will be used to set final scores so that we can give weight to some of these projects as we deal with them. One of the things that was specifically pointed out is that we can't award a project that is within two miles of another project. So there's going to have to be a natural elimination of some projects which will take up in the next meeting. So at that next meeting on February 11th we will be identifying which developments C&D will finally recommend to the council. Then we had another meeting on the HUD Consolidated Plan. And second updated briefing on the 2020 to 24 plan. And there's a lot of steps to this plan. I'm glad staff is happy. I'm sure staff is happy they only have to deal with this about every five years. But where we are right now is that we reviewed this time, the plans for the 2015 to 19 plan and had a very thorough overview of where we met the goals of that plan. And I was very interested in some. We greatly exceeded but I think if I read it correctly we met all our goals in the 15 and 19 plan which I think was incredibly important and really greatly exceeded some of them. We did request that staff before our next meeting reach out to more broad and diverse constituents so that we hear from more broad and diverse constituents so that we hear from more of our constituents at the next meeting and have them represent it. It's it for today. Thank you. Any questions? Thank you, Ms. Moise. Any questions for Ms. Moise. Very good. None are indicated. Next up, transportation and municipal infrastructure, Dr. Nunez. Thank you. Chairman, I was asked to chair the Transportation and Municipal Infrastructure Committee that met today. Temper early is one of our council members is recoup writing. And the topic was floodplain program for public information update. The, as a way of background, 10 members of both city staff and external community members formed in April of 2019 and met monthly for the remainder of 2019 to evaluate the current floodplain outreach program and provide recommendations in how to improve the program. Flooding analysis and the watershed program, this was done all throughout 2019 and in 2020, it's down to us now to prioritize projects and activities that are going to be put into place via this program. And this will be an action item and there will be an item on our agenda tonight that we will need to approve. So now it's the time for us to vote on this public information committee's achievements. The committee reviewed today all current floodplain messages and identified goals and priorities for our staff to implement to improve flood insurance coverage across the city. What I found really surprising was that in the flood plain as it existed today, three quarters of the structures, single-family homes and businesses, three out of four structures are not covered by a flood insurance. We evaluated pre and a post flood response, public information, and education to identify additional projects and or to change the outreach approach. We're going to target additional audiences including all of the independent school districts, UTA, Tarant County, and the list just goes on because we want to get this information out to the public so that they will be prepared in case of an event that occurs in our city. This committee also developed the floodplain program for public information and a coverage improvement plan to be adopted by the council. So our next steps are on this evening's council agenda where you need to authorize the adoption of the flood plain program for public information and coverage improvement plan. The plan will be affected from 2020 through 2025. Upon adoption of this plan the committee will meet two times a year to evaluate the progress of the outreach projects. The city staff will provide an annual update to the city council on the progress of the implementation of the plan being in November. And that's my report. Are there any questions? I'm going to thank you for the opportunity to be here. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for all that you've done. Let me point out, Amy, are you here? I was going to recognize her. Amy has been recognized. Mr. Parijon spoke high praise of Amy and I agree her knowledge base is far superior to most of the people in the Dallas for the Metroplex regarding she is an expert in this and we are very fortunate to have her. For those watching at home we're talking about Amy Cannon and the public transportation department. All right thank you if there's no questions We're talking about Amy Cannon and the Public Works and Transportation Department. All right, thank you. If there's no questions on that, we'll move on to economic development. I was the chair of that. All members, I'm sorry, three members were present. One member was absent today and all matters were taken up in executive session. And I'll move us to 3.8 environmental task force update, Miss K Partt? Environmental task force update. Thank you Mayor Potem. Environmental task force met today for our second time. And to this is our first time back before Council to be able to kind of update you on kind of the structure of the task force. So what we hope to do is be able to have deliverables back to the Council that will include some specifics on some of the topics that the committee will take on. And then also be able to deliver to you an outline or recommendation a strategic plan. I don't know exactly what we'll call it yet, depending upon how we populated, but with some go forward issues that we will not have the time to take a deep dive into. So I've asked each of the committee members, there are four of us, to come up with a topic they would like us to explore, but the number one topic we are taking the deepest dive into no unintended stormwater management. And so that will be an ongoing discussion and we have had two meetings on that topic and I'm going to ask staff to give you guys a copy of what we covered today with stormwater management so you can keep abreast of where we are in this process. And then if you have some questions that you don't see relevant to the presentation that we are going through, reach out to me and let us add those to our discussion. Secondly, the other topic that one of the committee members wanted us to address was single-stream trash collection, dealing with everything from recyclables to the topic that we are kind of avoiding, if you will, is about going back to, or going using carts for trash collection, like we use carts for recycle. Sometimes, sometime ago, I should say, we tackled that issue with recyclables. It was a very heated topic. The city was divided on the topic. We did it, but now some of those self-same people who are very much in opposition to it are now saying, why don't you collect our trash in the containers for the non-recyclables? So we're not going to tackle that issue, but we want you to know that that has been brought to us. So that's one. The other one has to do with energy and to the committee members. We're very interested in this and it has everything to do with maybe converting our fleet or trying to convert our fleet more to electric vehicles, to solar panels for residential developments and maybe solar farms and it's a very broad, broad issue. So that's another topic and then the other topic has to do with, they called it wildlife protection but I don't think of it that way. It has to do with sustainability, it has to do with habitat loss, it has to do with light pollution which also contributes to air pollution. So it's not wildlife protection so so I'm not sure what we're gonna call that. But that's the other topic. So at the end of this, we're gonna be meeting at least once a week and maybe more. And we're gonna try to have something tangible to deliver to the council mid-April to the first part of May. So that is our goal. So we've had very interesting discussions and the more we discuss, particularly where stormwater management is concerned, the more we know we don't know. So it's a multifaceted issue and there's not going to be a silver bullet solve this problem. Even if we had what was projected to be 90 million about 15 years ago to solve it across the city, which I'm sure is well above that now. Anyone, any questions of me or any of the committee members? That's my report, Mayor Potem. All right. Thank you very much, Ms. K. Park. That brings us to appointments, boards and commissions, Mr. Buskin. Thank you, Mayor Potem. We have two appointments to boards and commissions this evening. All right very good any Comment on evening agenda items We is I don't see gents see there she is Boy you have great timing Do we know we continue the request for the variance on the alcohol distance? Is that applicant going to be here this evening? Yes Mayor Pro Tem, Jensi Thopel, Director for Planning and Development Services. The last meeting also the applicant was here had gone outside to take a phone call is what we understood. So this time, yes, he is going to be here. Very good. All right. Thank you very much. Any other questions or comments about evening agenda items? All right. That will bring us to item number next. Which I can get over there issues relative to city and text.projects. I did see I didn't get a chance to look at the video, but in our update from Jay's team about marketing and Facebook and all of that stuff. There was a video posted about a business on Abram Street, I think, and in fact, I think there's a new business that's opened on Abram Street in the think, kind of the, and in fact, I think there's a new business that's opened on Abram Street in the midst of all that construction. So good job to staff for managing that in a way that's been least impactful on the businesses. I know there was a lot of time and effort put in to scheduling prior to the commencement of construction and best I could tell most of the concerns of the business owners along that area were addressed as much they could be. Obviously, they're still going to be some inconvenience when you tear up the street in front of somebody's business. But that's off to staff for all that you've done to minimize the impact of that. And we all look forward to being completed. Mr. Peale. At our last meeting, we had some discussion about the 360i30 interchange. And it's opening time. And there was some talk of the delays that they've encountered. I saw Michael Morris at the North Texas Council Government exec board meeting last Thursday. I asked him if he had information regarding the phased opening of elements of that interchange. He said he did that there were going to be portions that opened way ahead of the completion date. And he said he was going to send that information over to the city. So I don't know if it's been received yet or not, but hopefully we'll get that in, though. We'll have staff Mindy or Jim, if one of you would, I think we can do that. We're scheduled to do that for you next Tuesday, and we do have the data that's being referred to as far as the phasing on that. So we're just gonna bring it to you next Tuesday's work session. Fantastic. Any other comments on city or tech stop projects? All right. Next is future agenda items. Miss K-Part. Thank you Mayor Potem. I'd like a future agenda item on the multi-family inspection ordinance. We implemented that, I don't know, two, three years ago. We had some criteria in place. And I like to have a discussion about how that is being implemented, if it's being effective. And if we need to go back and revisit any updates to that ordinance. I think on that too, since you brought that up, updates to that ordinance. I think on that too, since you brought that up, I guess the so-called purpose-built student housing is covered by that ordinance, but I'd be interested to know. Yeah, because I know we adopted it kind of just prior, it feels like we adopted it just prior to kind of the influx of student housing. So as so-called student. Thank you for bringing that up. I should have mentioned that as well. But along with that, I'm assuming, maybe I'm wrong, but I'm assuming the multifamily student housing that it's on UTA property we do not inspect. Correct? Okay. Thank you. All right. Any other questions? All right. Well I didn't beat my previous record so ran a little longer than I hoped but at this time we will recess until 315 either take up item 2.2. If the mayor has returned, we'll do that in an open session. If the mayor has not returned and we will reconvene in executive session at 315 and we will take up item 2.2 when we conclude our executive session. So for now we're just going to recess and reconvene at 315. Thank you everybody. I'm still Thank you. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. 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Arlington City Council back to order and we'll move to the item 22 local sales and use tax election discussion. Call upon Ms. Trey over to our city manager. Thank you Mayor, members of the council wanted to continue our discussion from last meeting. I've prepared a little more additional information based on some of the questions that I received, as well as if we need to, I can pull up the discussion that we had last time to look at any charts or graphs that are referenced there, but I wanted to just kind of facilitate a little more dialogue about the opportunity to talk about the various options in the areas that we're talking about on sales and use tax and how that might work So I think mr. Peel had asked a little bit about the competitive situation and kind of How that works and what some of our limitations are so Generally speaking To me the best way to articulate this is we work through large corporate leads out of the governor's office We work through large corporate leads out of the governor's office. Typically speaking, we will get somewhere between 40 and 50 leads from Austin. They are dispersed geographically and so they come in our region, they come to the Dallas Regional Chamber. They are the ones that vet the activities for the whole Dallas Fort Worth area and they make us aware of those opportunities. We have to be making sure that we're connected to the right location, the various site characteristics that someone's looking for. Oftentimes we don't know who it is, they just know we know jobs, we know kind of generally the type of business and what some of their parameters are but we don't know the corporation until we get to a chance to discuss. So usually we're only able to compete in about 25, 20 to 30% of these opportunities. And it comes down to a handful of issues. One of those issues is, do you have a development corporation that can assist the project? If you check the box, you stay in. If you don't check the box, you stay in. If you don't check the box, you're out. Do you have 50 acres or 100 acres of land to facilitate this project? You either check the box or you don't check the box, you're in or you're out. And so those kinds of very objective criteria come to us from Austin. And if we're able to check enough boxes to stay in the conversation, it continues. If we are not, then we're out. Because of the limitations that our situation has largely based on redevelopment challenges by not having the larger swaths of new investment or by not having just simply the right characteristic of what a corporate entity might be looking for. So as a few examples, these were some that happened in the last year that we were not able to satisfy the criteria on based on the limitation that was just talking about. So Project One, looking for a 35-acre build-as-soot biotech and pharmaceutical manufacturing company. Miss business opportunity because of us not being able to have the right tools there. Item two, again, a governor's office lead 100 to 150 acres, biofuel plant with some existing warehouse manufacturing infrastructure, 100 jobs first two years. So the first one is a little bit more of the first these two are both land issues as far as size. So some of the tools that we're talking about to create redevelopment opportunity sites to create the capture zone for projects like this that are coming is an opportunity that hopefully would not be missed in the future if we were able to move forward in some format. Project Item 3, $4 billion platform-based company connects services with brands related to industries, needed 150,000 square foot office as well with an average wage of around 49,000 five. And then Project Lead IV of Financial Services firm looking for 100,000 square foot office space, again, not able to click the right boxes to capture that. So those are four examples where competitively, everyone in the state of Texas is giving these opportunities because the company has identified Texas as a good place to do business. The state of Texas has identified for us tools to be able to use to create the development and redevelopment and revitalization opportunities for our community. And then we have to be able to tick off the stuff so that we're connected to that opportunity. And we're not way it works is Austin gets the leads, they distribute them geographically, we present our material, and then we are told whether or not we'll get an opportunity to do a site visit or have further discussion with the company, and then we're told whether or not we're not able to do that and why the reasons are not. And they're generally limited to the land assemblage and the lack of a dedicated corporate entity that consists in the redevelopment of some of the areas that we're trying to deal with. I've also heard questions as it relates to tax relief of a development corporation activity. And I know you all have heard this for me, but just as a little bit of a reminder, the way the business of city government works is if you're not growing in your straight line across, let's just say 250 million to 250 million over multiple years, you know we have a challenge then because our cost for inflationary adjustments are cost for wage adjustments, and those kinds of things are challenged. So without a growing base, the way we address that is by reducing services. And so we've been in times when we've done that. Back in 2008 and 2009, when the economy went down, we adjusted. We didn't ask our residents for higher tax rate. We said we're gonna go lay off 100, 150 positions. We're gonna make this cut, this cut, this cut. And kind of whether the storm, just like all the families in Arlington did, they all had to cinch our belts up and we did. And it's really been almost a decade just this past year where we finally got back to where we were a decade ago. So with a growing economy, the choices for the public are much more flexible. And we need to grow at least at that 2 1 1 2% rate just to keep up with inflation. That's the buoyancy, right? That small kind of growth. So that's healthy. But you all know, and our public knows that often when we go out to town hall meetings, there's questions about service expectations, more police, more 9-1-1 operators, better pothole repair, better street light repair, whatever the situation may be, and or handing my tax rate lower. And so as we grow faster than that baseline that we need to sustain our business operations, then you're provided with those choices to give consideration to tax relief from a rate reduction perspective or what type of targeted investments you wanna make investments in because it's a high priority for the public to have. And those are the kinds of things that we take up in the budgetary process each year. How much goes to tax relief, how much goes to service enhancement, in a growing economy. So that's what the whole diversification, redevelopment and development of our economy is about, is by making sure we have a growing business model so that it actually provides tax relief. The more your businesses grow, the pressure is off of the ad valorum, conversely, back in 0809. When the economy is going down, it puts pressure on the rate to go up to sustain services. So what we try to do is not have to raise the rate in bad times and we cut. In good times we don't raise the rate and we lowered it at a rate that can be absorbed to keep moving the momentum around rate relief and service enhancement that you all are interested in based on behalf of the public. So as we approach tax relief and as we look at this type of tool, let me give you a few examples that are beyond some of the examples that I showed you in the previous presentation. It's also a unique challenge for Arlington because unlike some of the perimeter cities that are around us, Mansfield particularly to the south, Frisco, Plano, Allen, and such to the north, they have a unique situation, or our situation is a little more unique because a lot of the green field lands that they have to develop, the barriers to development there are low from a just utilization of land. Here they're higher and the mayor likes to talk about how we have to create land to continue building the base and then that's true because we're landlocked in our perimeter. So we have to go back and look at opportunity sites like that to redevelop so what the next generation is going to be. Now, in this case, some of you may be very familiar with the site, Six Flags Mall. Some of you may be very familiar with the whole life cycle of this product. You know, it was very, one of the first regional malls. I can remember going there in the 70s, going ice skating and doing all that. Very vibrant. As a competition occurred throughout the region, it became one that was not as competitive. And over time, during my time in neighborhood services in particular, it became a challenge for us from a public safety and a code compliance perspective. So not only was it not producing revenue to the city, it was actually costing the city money to send code compliance officers and police officers out to the site to board it up so that we didn't have kids out there urban exploring or homeless people trying to shelter themselves or whatever the situation was, it was unscrupulous. We also had a couple of fires out there, you might remember, I think twice before this went away, there was actually fires at the property. So again, a service cost to taxpayers. So when you approach a project like this on a redevelopment for a city that doesn't have the development corporation armed to assist, we would typically in a green field area, you would work with the tool that's commonly known as tax abatement because it's a revenue share of incremental revenue that was really low that became added value and you split that over a five, 10 year period of time, whatever it may be, a simple tax abatement. In a site like this, a simple tax abatement doesn't work because the base-year value is already so much more expensive. It's not just 80 acres of green dirt that you can pay two or three dollars a square foot for. You have to assemble 18 parcels of land, 82 acres, people very proud, going concern investments of their property, and have to have patient capital who can make every single one of those work. So you take that, in this situation we did, fortunately have a patient developer who was willing to work with us over a couple of years to make this happen by securing the 18 properties so that a dying mall that was a revenue loser to the city and expenditure add to the city with no employment activity here whatsoever to turn it into the Arlington Logistics Center that supports the General Motors plant that imported jobs back from Mexico, back from Canada, back from Luxembourg. I think about 1,500 jobs, manufacturing jobs, on a redeveloped parcel that now is producing revenue for the city and is not costing the city an expenditure. So being able to get over the hurdle of not being able to bait the incentive, you actually have to have a mechanism to be able to put cash towards an incentive. That's our competitive disadvantage. So it makes us look at other alternative revenue sources such as some of the gas money that we've been able to be fortunate to have with some of our other utility resources, impact fees and other cash sources to put revenue together to satisfy the need to get over that hump. And if you can't get over the hump to help the developer who's assembling land, fit the hole in his pro forma, then this doesn't happen. This particular project required $6 million of city investment on the front end of the investment in order to make the conversion that I just showed you happen. I don't think it's difficult to see the difference in the before and after as far as the production of that real estate today versus what it was just say three or four years ago. Another example, more of a neighborhood redevelopment type project. For those of you who have been here with us many, many years, you know, we have long tried to redevelop parts of the North Arlington housing density as it relates to the Lamar and Washington Lincoln area of apartments. One on the left is kind of what it used to be like. There were four apartment complexes along Lamar, near the Texas Health Resources headquarters, which I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you that over the years I've had people from the executive offices of that entity ask me about what's going on in the neighborhood, what's the city's plans to redevelop around us so that we can feel comfortable about keeping our corporate presidents here in Arlington. And so again, working with patient capital, someone who went way out of their way to nurture relationships with property owners, cultural property owners, where you're going to the person's wedding, you're buying gifts and having tea, you're, I mean, just all the social aspects of building a relationship before someone's willing to sell their property to you. And then having to acquire properties that are profitable, going concerns, properties that are old that have asbestos in them, that have lead-based paint in them, that have to be abated before they can be demolished, once they're abated, then demolished, then you have to go over the hurdles of your pro forma to determine how you go from left to right. This particular project for for properties between Cooper and what is it Center Street on Lamar that's required an 11 million dollar investment on the front end of the city to facilitate that gap investment to help neighborhood renewal occur in this North Arlington Lamar area. Without that, it's a non-starter topic. And we're still visiting with property owners running apartments like on the left side of this page, where we have challenging code compliance issues, challenging calls for service from the police department, and such like that. So here we're able to renew a recollection. Bruce may need to correct me, but the three apartment complexes that have been acquired and demolished as part of this transaction. By the way, there was a ton of community input on this. I mean, if you remember, we had a a huge town hall meeting at the convention there had to be 500 people there that were craving the city to do something about this and we found a plan on how to work it. The tax values of those three complexes were probably about 10 million in value on the city's roles. As we sit here today, one has been replaced, two are still vacant and property number one came on at. Came in initially at 63 million that they already did down with the whole thing. Okay, but what is it? Thirty-seven. So, property one is thirty-seven. So, property one of the multi-year deal is already almost four times the value of all of it together. So, we gave people not only living here, but in the adjacent neighborhood, a safer, cleaner, more a miniatized area to their neighborhood, and able to build our future tax base, just on property one, fourfold. And if you can do that on property two and three, and that becomes eightfold, 12fold, shows the return on investment back to tax payers to do the neighborhood revitalization and renewal of areas that are stressed. So that's another example. Another example that's challenging, but yet in a different way, Arlington has some greenfield sites that are still available. And the DR Horton headquarters, it was one of those along I-30. What's challenging about this, and you might be able to see it in the image, but right through here, there's a pretty significant stormwater drainage issue That's why that property is still available or was still available for development So we're fortunate that Mr. Horton came you know wanted to come back to town Had acquired the site wanted to develop the site was willing to make the investments To fix this site and to put his headquarters here with another four or five hundred jobs. And turn the Greenfield site with a drainage problem into his headquarters. Since he's come, he's expanded three times, really without argue of fourth, where he's bought another company, and they've relocated to small company about 20 but they've located down on Abrams or Lamar down in Eastside of Lamar and then hugely worked with us on the sales tax Arrangement that we were able to do with them a couple of years ago and almost singularly Helped fund the expansion of our via service to the southern part of our city based on that transaction. So that's where I go between tax relief and service enhancement without our transaction with the Arhorton. We're not expanding via to the south. I can't afford to do it. So we have to continue to build that momentum and that base so that we can give back to taxpayers and or make the targeted investments that our residents would like us to see. So that's just a little bit more to add to the discussion that we had last time. And based on the discussion we had last time from a calendaring perspective, what we have situated is our continued discussion today, which is probably, I think at our either third time, we've talked about it last week, last week, and then at our fall planning discussion. We need to work on being in a position to call or consider an election on the February the 4th and February 11th. With our deadline being February 14th. But if we were able to do it on our next two kind of regular council meetings, then I think that would be kind of the best way for us to proceed assuming this is an area that you want to proceed in. So let me pause there and take whatever discussions you all want to talk about relative to the topic, whether it's this information or the information I presented last time or anything else that we haven't talked about that we wanna try to provide clarity on. Mr. Shepherd. Thank you, Mayor and Chair, thank you. And not that anything needs to be added to your presentation, but I would add that oftentimes the city's investment has been an infrastructure, which is not only made the target property available, but also added capacity for additional development around that project. So, just true. If I could just elaborate on that a little bit for people who are watching out there, when we talk about infrastructure, that's usually going to be things like turn lanes, diesel lanes, and water and sewer lines. And what isn't always seen, it's kind of the silent cost killer, if you will, for developments. But when you look at certain products and you have old lines or undersized lines that are there, they weren't great today for the current existing older development, but when a new development comes along with more activity and more pressure, those lines that are four inches need to become six or eight. And so that means the old lines come out, the new lines go in. So trying to make our investment upgrade the services that are required to serve the property is exactly what we try to to, I will say limit, but target our investments towards. upgrade the services that are required to serve the property is exactly what we try to to I will say limit but target our investments towards Mr. Peale this has been something that I've kind of struggled with a bit and just the other dad I was talking to my dad and he was telling me so son You're gonna raise my taxes, so I pay less taxes So, son, you're going to raise my taxes, so I pay less taxes. And I said, Dad, it's a little bit more complex than that. And as I've talked to people around town, including my father, I hear a constant discussion regarding, Arlington looks kind of rundown. I wish some of those rundown things would go away and be replaced with newer things. That seems to be a common discussion and meetings I've gone to and people I've talked to. Plus, I think I've told you all my sister grew up in Arlington with me, lived in Arlington for many years. And a few years ago, she said, you know, Arlington's getting kind of run down. I don't really like it. I'm moving to grapevine because they have things I like. So we lost a life the long time resident and I didn't, my mother and father don't get to see their nephews as much anymore. It broke their heart. So anyway, I went and I looked up the city of grapevine. And online they have a document called grapevine development and sent to agreements. So I started going down this because this is where my sister moved. And things here like grapevine mills mall, bass pro shops, gay lord Texan, grape wolf lodge, silver lake addition, redevelopment of neighborhoods, Lego land, redevelopment of housing neighborhoods. All of these things were facilitated by an economic development tool. And the one thing I wish the world was perfect and no city could get an edge on another city by competing in a marketplace between cities, it would be nice if that wasn't the case. But the bottom line is, is that we have people in Arlington that want this city to look nicer. We have people in Arlington who are moving away to other cities because of amenities that those cities obtained utilize and economic development tools that we don't have. And if there's one thing I don't want Arlington ever to be is at a disadvantage as it competes with any other city in this country or this state because this is one of the greatest cities in the world and we deserve to take every single weapon we have to the fight to preserve this city's greatness and make it a good place to live for the residents. So when we go back to the graph that you had at the last presentation showing the increasing reliance of the city's financial streams on property taxes for homes and you showed how the commercial development tax line was going down and the housing tax line was going up. I think that, yeah, dad, you may pay a little bit more in taxes. Most of it will be paid by visitors to the city, but in the long run, we're gonna keep the taxes on your home lower because we're gonna track economic development to the city that makes people wanna live here because it'll look nicer and better. And we're also going to create a commercial tax base that takes more of the burden off your house. And for that reason, that's why I'm gonna support this. Even though I hate raising taxes on people, I don't enjoy that. But I do enjoy watching the city of Arlington Prosper for the sake of the people that live here. And I think that that's why I'm going to thank the staff for their support and support for the people that live here. I think that that's why I'm going to support this initiative. Others? Mr. Sutton? Thank you, Mayor. I can support this well, Trey. I'll live close to Grand Prairie and Mansfield as well. We pay the full tax rate on a lot of the service. So most of our additional court of sent sales tax goes to infrastructure, please, and far. On our side, when their citizens come over and make purchases, they get a discount and they still get to enjoy the same level of service that we have in the city, which is unfortunate, so I can support it. I think my only concern was, and I expressed in last meeting, is the timing of the election itself. We have an early voting period that starts for the March primary, that starts on the 18th of February. So if we're having a secondary and on 11th, I don't know if it's enough time adequately to push the information out because people are still busy with a primary election, whether it being bombarded with advertisement. So are we able to get our message out? And so we can articulate what we're trying to do or is it going to be lost with all the other campaign and that would be my concern but yes I can support it. Others miss Moeys? Yeah I'll speak to this for a minute. We are in a very competitive arena and we're competing with cities like Dallas, Fort Worth, Addison, grapevine, Frisco. And I believe most of those cities have economic development corporations. You know when we talk about the quarter of a cent sales tax, one of the things that comes to my mind is for me as a senior, when I go to the grocery store, I'm not paying a sales tax anyway. When I go to the doctor, I'm not. When I go shopping, I go to North East Mall. If I'm over in Dallas or my son lives, I'm going to North Park. I do sometimes go to the Highlands, but I'm sending my money for shopping out of the city and using the services that we don't charge a sales tax on in the city. So it speaks to the point that we have a lot of visitors, we have a lot of people that come into town to spend money and let's let them help us pay for economic development number one. The other thing I hear over and over from people, and as I've started campaigning, I hear it a lot. We have the largest university in the state now, I believe, head of even UT Austin. But we're not competing with these other cities. And what we, they tell us, I want more jobs, but better jobs with emphasis on better. So if we're gonna do more DR Horton type developments where we bring really good jobs to Arlington, we've gotta get into a competitive zone where we can reach these companies. And I mean, we have the land, if we really talk hard about it, we've got land to build office, but we're not building single tenant office buildings. I see about a dozen of them going up when I drive to North Dallas, but we're not getting that. And we're not getting it because we can't compete because we haven't set ourselves up to be competitive. So I know that there's a lot of concern about how the money will be used because I've already had that expressed to me and I think we can hash that out and make sure that we satisfy the residents of this great city that we're going to use it prudently and that we're going to use it to bring opportunity and jobs even maybe for some small companies to Arlington. I think we can address that, but we should not continue to leave this money on the table and not utilize it or take advantage of our right to use it. And I think now more than ever we need it. So I'm supportive of this and I hope we can convince our citizens that this is a new era and we need to take part in it. Well, in wrapping up, I just want to say I've been inundated with citizens asking me to do this because we are leaving money on the table. Nobody is shopping in Arlington. Mr. Sutton said it. They're not shopping here because they're getting a discount. They don't even know what our sales tax rate is. And yet we need this money for revitalization of our city. You know, I love the illustration of Six Flags Mall. There we had money just going down the hole. It used to be a very vibrant, money-making deal, but it had deteriorated. And we're sending police force over there. We're sending firefighters. We're half of the building was empty or more. And then now we've turned that into jobs and opportunities. It's a very revilization project. And then here's what I really love is that it helps small businesses along the way too because guess there's some upwards of two dozen small businesses that are supported by general motors. And here when we brought in manufacturing there, there benefited a lot of small businesses through that. And then yet you look up up and down the streets, we have deteriorating buildings that are empty, and we've got to go in and create green-filled sites that then can become vibrant parts of our city that once were. And in fact, it's when you talk with some of the people that have lived here all their lives, they talk about what that used to be. It used to be a hardware store, or it used to be a warehouse. It used to be a school. or it used to be a warehouse. It used to be a school. Now it's boarded up. Well, don't let anybody say in Arlington, Texas, that we are out of land. But yet we will be if we don't continue to work and demolish, get rid of some of the older stuff that's deteriorating, that is costing us money, and come back with new schools and new stores and new businesses and new housing here that is going to make us productive there in it and we've seen we've got a lot of projects on the ground that are great illustrations of that but yet here we've got a chance to move forward and and make a big dent in this and really get us rolling here on re-voluzation. So with that there, I think it's a consensus that, that Mr. Yovrton, if we could move forward and work on this and bring it forward on February the 4th, really appreciate it. Thank you very much. Okay, Mr. Shepherd, we are finished with all the work session items. Is that correct? That's correct mayor. Now be good time to go into the executive set. Okay. So with that The City Council will now go into closed session at 3.50 p.m. On January the 28th 2020 in accordance with the following sections of VTCA government code chapter 551.071 consultation with attorney 0.072 deliberation regarding real property. And then 0.074 deliberation regarding personnel matters, 0.087 deliberation regarding economic development negotiations. Thank you. you you I think I could apply the colors and the forms into architecture. Everything sounds little. I wanted to be an interior designer. So that's also one of my dreams. So I think this class would help me with that. So this is our greenhouse, and our photo culture classes are in charge of it. In the fall, our big priority is our point set of sale in December. In the spring, we switch our efforts over to our spring plant sell. My big push to them is this doesn't have to be your mangle, but in whatever dream you're trying to aspire or try to build towards, this can help you get there because you can always do this on the side. Building dreams, one flower out of time. Welcome to another Ask Arlington I'm Jay Warren. You know as the American Dream City continues to grow, we're making things even easier for our business owners, builders and developers. Our planning and development services director, Jinsi Thopel, is here to talk to us about our new E plan review system. Describe to us what that is. This sounds like some great technology. So E plan review stands for Electronic Plan Review. Since the development of the one-starth center in 2006, the planning and development services department has always been at the cutting edge of the One Start Center in 2006. The Planning and Development Services Department has always been of the cutting edge in the other cities. Look at us as a model city and a model planning department. So this year we are embarking upon a most cutting edge technology that is the E-Plan Review. So with the E-Plan review, it's really stream lines are permitting process. So people can just apply online, submit their plans electronically. We've reviewed staff reviews, the plans electronically, send them comments as markups, electronically, permit issued, everything done online. So a whole new way of doing business for our builders and our developers here in town. That is correct. That's gonna make their life much easier. Oh yes, oh yes, comfort. Yeah, comfort is really cool. Alright, so it walk us through how they submit their plans. So there's a website that we have currently called as ArlingtonParmids.com. That's the same website that they will be using. So this is for the design professionals, the architects, engineers, or the contractors. They will apply electronically through ap.com and submit their plans electronically to, right now they can submit through ap.com, but they cannot submit their plans. So right, that this, they are able to upload their plans electronically. And once they upload their plans electronically, staff is able to receive it instantly and start reviewing. And start reviewing, meaning there are several different staff members who review it. And they can all review at the same time. So previously, when they used to bring two sets of plans and then we have to rotate between different reviewers that's not the case. So it's simpler and faster. That is correct. That's great. That's what we call customer service, right? Good customer service. So thinking from a developer's perspective do they need to have special software to do this? No, they don't need any special software. Nowadays everybody has PDF capabilities, right? So they just have to get their plans in PDF format and upload it. So that's the easiest thing. So PDF is all they need. And then we review it through the same PDF and reply back with the PDF. So when you talk about good customer service, faster, simpler, then the next question comes, is this cost me more? Is there an expense for this? Good question. This is the best part of it, I think. Because there's no additional fees that we charge for the service. Plus, the customers will be saving more Wow because each plan set today would cost them $200 to $500 poor plan set and they're required to Submit two plan sets so it comes to about $1,000 or even more and And if they have out of pocket expenses, and they have to, whenever they have a resubmital, they have to again bring those plants sets. So they are saving a couple of thousand dollars. Plus the whole effort and the hard work of carrying it, fighting through traffic and construction, coming to city hall, and then waiting in line to submit all that just goes away they can do it from the comfort of the Rock. So this is this is the triple whamming. That's right. It's simpler and it's efficient. Yeah. I guess our last question would be this is all submitted online. Applications and everything. So there's no okay great. Yeah they don't have to come to City Hall at all. Yeah, that is fantastic. Well thanks so much to you and to your team and all the other folks here at City that are working to make this success and provide this service. I wanted to also add to help our customers understand the process. We are also setting up some training workshops. Okay. Also on ap.com which is the website that they will be using to submit, we will have how-to videos to make it easier for them to understand how the process works. But it's a really simple process. That is fantastic. Well, again, thank you to you and to your staff and the rest of the team here at the city that are making this happen. It's A plus on customer service. Thank you, Jay. Thank you, Jensy. And thank you for tuning into this edition of Ask Arlington. Tune in next time here on Myarlington TV. you I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Welcome back. I'm Andrew Tnilian with MyRlington TV and this episode of Arlington Eats brings us to Four Cahunas Teaky Lounge where you can enjoy Hawaiian drinks and a few others with a twist. The neat thing about teaky is all you need to be an expert as is knowing how to relax. Exactly with owner JP Hunter wants you to do. I wanted to bring something to Arlington that was unique and different. The decor is meant to honor Tiki's Polynesian roots. I'd like to say that it's a faux-tiki getaway in the middle of Texas. And with that drink menu that reads like the back of your favorite novel, like this, the jet pilot that's as much show as it is something to be savored, they've really thought this through. And that's kind of what it's about, is your own adventure. And on this one, Brad Bowdenins our taste buds tour guide through taste. Out of the 28 or so drinks here, he's making us these three. And yeah, that's a dolphin. Brad comes to us highly recommended from this teaky culture. He's got a lot of experience in the bar industry. Here's how to make the headhunter. It's basically an alcoholic banana smoothie for all intents of purposes. We got banana bread, a rum chata, a done-cue Puerto Rican room, the crystal. One whole banana, the three quarters of the banana didn't use to make the garnish. Spin it. And there we go. How about this, the chief, a lapuapo Lapo? I just put in cash and fruit, and then I put in vanilla. Here I've got our housemaid's lernum, and here I have orange juice, fresh, fresh pineapple, dark Jamaican rum, 151, over for peonies. And finally, the one served in the skull appropriately named the zombie. Pound from pound the most alcoholic drink on the menu here at Fort Grona's. Got a Hamilton's 151 proof guinea, El Dorado 5-year, fresh pineapple, grapefruit, angustura bitters, quick hands, a couple of rids of absent. Passion fruit. With lernum. Little granite. This is just some of the creativity you'll find. What they love to do here in Arlington. Because to JP Hunter, it really is. The American Dream City. I love Arlington in the direction that's going. I like the people connection with this. And this is something that is really fun. Being able to connect with people and visit with folks is a lot of fun. Hey everybody, it's Jay Wong with another On the Clock, and today we're taking a look at what the teams and public works and transportation are doing to keep our streams and ponds flowing and healthy. Here's Steve Manager, Trey Yolverton. Thanks Jay. Today it's a beautiful day in Arlington and we're at Gateway Park in South Arlington, here with Zachary Holmer, who is one of our engineers in the stormwater group. And here at Gateway Park we've got some significant work going on at the headwaters to Johnson Creek with this pond. So thanks for hosting us and tell us a little bit about what's going on here. So here this is our dredging operation. They're very important for the the health of the streams because over time what happens is you have sediment flowing through the water and then when it gets into a pond it spreads out and slows down and all that settlement and trash kind of settles down to the bottom. So dredging operation is really good because it cleans up the ponds and it keeps the water flowing through the creek's system very well. So Zachary, how deep should this pond be in a perfect situation? Should be about eight feet deep at the center. Okay, how deep was the water now? So this section of the pond was actually worse than some of the other sections, but along the edges, the sediment was all the way up to only about a foot below the surface. So how long will this project take to complete? It takes about six weeks, six days we will see that. And it depends on the size of the pond. Right, right. OK, well then why don't we take a look at the equipment and see it in action. All right. MUSIC Now I'm here with Steve LeBlanc, who's the contract manager for Rinden Environmental. And we're going gonna start the process of doing more dredge work here. So what's our first step? Well, the first step we have to have is we've got to have a proper PPE on to go out on the dredge and then go over to an overview and point out some of the aspects of how the dredge works and runs. So Steve, now we're on the dredge and so talk to me about this machine and kind of how it works. Which, yeah, here's the initial start up pulling the slurry, which is our cutter head, which will rotate at any speed, as I mentioned before, rotating the held grass and how thick you want the material. It's turning it all up, holding it here in the pumps. So I can do it here. So this eight-inch hose, which travels underneath the dredge, through the back to the discharge. You go ahead and do this. I'll just guide you under your shoulder. Okay. Hey, David Tray, it's going to start dredging, run this tank, and top it up, and then we'll head to the shore. Okay? Go ahead and engage your other head. Let's go and bump your RPM up to around 850 and 900 around there. You see it turned black and see all the bubbles right? You're eating sludge, you're not going to blow it in that. Okay, this is the speed that you're normally doing it about. Yeah, I'm actually I'm gonna have to pay after this. Yeah, I'm gonna just get up and travel just a little bit. That means you. Thank you. Talk to that. So on this one step up down there, just slam your fist down on it. Cool. When we've read, this is when our material hits land, this is the first stop. This is where we move large debris and stuff that we don't want in our final product. This is the second stop, so what is this? Well this is the second stop of the top of the material and also the second stop, so what is this? Well, this is the second stop of the material, and also the final stop. So this is after we've treated it with polymers, the form of flocculations, to drain the water, squeeze the water out, and return it clean through the pond to continue use. This is our final product. And with this pond and the nature of this material, I have no problem telling you touching it with my hands. This is essentially like top soil. That's your final product. Exactly. You would see just on behalf of all of our residents at the city, particularly these folks here in the neighborhood who are getting a fresh pond with less silt in it or no silt in it. We just want to thank you for all your hard work and making this neighborhood a great place to live. We'll appreciate it. Great, thank you. We appreciate the opportunity. Thanks, Tray, and thanks to your hope for watching. Tune in next time for another on the clock. Hello everybody and welcome to another nation of Atta Park with Chuck. And today I'm a globe life field and I'm here with Jason Pate. Jason, what's your responsibility with man hat construction? I'm a superintendent in charge of the concrete structure. And how we doing on the concrete out here, how much is left? Well, currently we have completed the main structural decks and now we're doing the Sloboam Metal decks which will be going on for the next three to four months. How many cranes are out here? Say right now we play out 15 to 20 various sizes and shapes. And I think that one that's one of the world's largest is going to is going to raise the roof here. That is correct. What about working on a major league ballpark? It's going to be a special deal for you. Oh this is pretty amazing. I've worked on some pretty large projects but this is definitely the biggest. On any given day how many guys do we have out here working on this project? So right now, we're running about working 22 hours a day give or take in different shifts and overall we're looking about 1200 people. And from everything that you've seen and everything that I've heard, this is going to be a pretty good place to watch your fall game. It's going to be amazing. Jason, thank you very much. Thank you very much. That's Jason Pady's with Manhattan Construction. This has been another edition of At The Park with Chuck. Hey, don't forget, it's always baseball time in Arlington, Texas. Welcome to another Meet the Neighbors. Everybody I'm Ryan Hunt with Myerlington TV. The Bridge in Arlington's Oak Lake neighborhood does more than just connect homes. It's the heart of the community. So when it started showing its age, neighbors came up with a plan to replace it. the city. The city is a place where the city is a place where the city is a place where the city is a place where the city is a place where the city is a place where the city is a place where the city is a place where the city is a place where the city is a place where the city is a place where the city is a place where the city is a place where the city is a place where the city is a place where the city with a replacement for this. The Wood Bridge, it seemed better dates. And if residents didn't act soon, the neighborhood they loved so much would be disconnected. It means that this side of the neighborhood can actually come over for events by just walking across the bridge instead of getting in a car driving all the way around. But they quickly learned the project came with a price tag. We always knew this was going to be a very expensive endeavor and we never liked doing that, but it had to be done. As they were trying to figure out where to find the money, they learned about Harlington's neighborhood matching grant program. We went ahead and discussed the options with them. It said, are we even eligible for something like that? Because it's a very large project. So she said, go ahead and put the grant in and we'll see what happens. The city contributed $21,000, covering more than a fourth of the bill. We have found with Arlington that we have had that kind of response where someone is always available and they are willing to help you out in any way that they can. And they are also very excited about making Arlington fantastic. Earlier this month, neighbors christen the new aluminum bridge with a bottle of bubbly. The moment gives you just a small glimpse at what makes the neighborhood so special. Previous neighborhoods that we lived in before, you knew your neighbors and that was it. Over here, when we leave town or whatever, we have 110 families that live here. And so we all look out after each other. These residents had a dream for their neighborhood. And through the neighborhood matching grant program, the city was able to make it a reality. We couldn't have done it without the city of Oregon. I thrive on instructing. I love teaching students, new things, watching the light bulb go off when they understand a concept. Who brings people together, that's what I love about the most, and that's a powerful quality that not a lot of other things have. The CCC Culinary Program is designed to train students who like to be professionals in each service industry. Many of our students pursue their dream here in the culinary arts by coming for a second career choice. I think freedom is the ultimate one-word summary of the American dream. To freedom to pursue your dreams, an opportunity to start again. The TCC's South-based colonel program has helped me become the best version of myself, and ultimately that is my dream. We help by training all the skills that they're going to need to be successful in the industry. They have great stuff, they have great talents and great avenue to pursue career skills. The culinary arts program is accredited by the American culinary federation. When these students graduate, they automatically certified culinary and believe that the opportunity that's found in auditing and it's just amazing for anyone who comes to me with programs. I think why worldwide park agencies are stadiums, all of them are entertainment neck-up that's grown so much in the FW area. They help me plan a job with worldwide park in Arlington and ultimately being high here at TCC was an honor. They gave me a chance to work side by side with me and for that admire. And that's good important because I'm still taking classes here. You see the success of our students is really what makes me come to work every day. I'm Aaron McBandes. I'm sick to see no one and I'm alive with an American dream. So we've got five leagues here. We've got the minors, the majors, the seniors, and intermediate and a competitive league, where kids as young as four and as old as 40 can fulfill their dream of playing baseball. The Miracle League is a nonprofit that gives kids with disabilities the opportunity to fulfill their dream of playing baseball. It is a dream job. In this park alone there's a handicap field to play baseball, a handicap accessible pavilion, but then also right down the sidewalk is an all accessible handicap playground. We're able to give these parents an opportunity to sit back and enjoy the game of baseball. To watch their kids' dreams come true. My son has cerebral palsy in autism. He's wanting to play sports here in the miracle league. The experience has been a dream come true letting him enjoy the game not being judged by others. Well we had a mom. The son hit a ball and excitedly ran to first base and the mom followed him when they got to First Base. She just broke down and cried. I mean, it was just the most moving thing wherever a part of it, and I was fortunate to witness that. I think our intents of close city, not just people and neighbors, but also civic groups. And we could not run this organization without the city of Wellington. Whenever there is a need, you've mentioned that need to so many organizations in our community that come to help. We fulfill about 800 plus volunteer spots as scenes. Through a caring community like Earl Antons, all of our spots are always filled, and that says a lot for the city. That is a dream. I'm just so thankful every day, and because of who I'm around and what I do. I am Mandy Kent. I'm Grace Wehtston with the Miracle League, and I'm alive with the American Dream. Hello everybody from Inside Globe by Field. Welcome to another edition of Apta Park with Chuck and I'm here today with Cameron Darwin. Cameron we're on the sweet level lower con course and one thing I've noticed if you get one of these you better pay attention because you're pretty close to the field. Yes sir you've got a very good view right here you know this is only the second level up from the from the field so you've got a real good view from these suites here. Cameron you're with man hat construction and you're a superintendent and your main responsibility lower concourse in this suite level. Yes sir lower concourse in all these suites we've got some suites we've got some concessions we've got some concessions, we've got some high end bars. And you were telling me earlier that you grew up in Louisiana, but around the early 2000s, you attended a few Ranger games. Yes, sir. So we used to come over here and visit family and come to Ranger's games. So I think it's pretty cool to be able to come back and build something, you know, a new stadium that's comfortable and be able to enjoy that with my friends and family. That's Cameron Derwin. He's from Louisiana working on Globe Life Field and this has been another edition of At the Park for Chuck and don't forget it's always baseball time in Arlington, Texas. Welcome to another edition of Bond Track or show dedicated to keeping you informed about the voter approved bond projects happening all throughout the city of Arlington. And today we have a big one. We are celebrating the completion of the Richard Simpson Lake House out at Lake Arlington, which opened the public in February. The $3.5 million lake house features an 1800 square foot community room with an adjoining covered patio that overlooking Lake Arlington, making the venue a great space for private event, rentals, business meetings, and corporate outings. But that's not all. The space also features new restrooms, a lounge and rental room, a warming kitchen, and a reconfigured parking lot with direct sidewalk access to the boat dock. The opening of the lake house is also a great reflection of the city council's priority to champion great neighborhoods. And don't forget the city offers residents and interactive bond tracker website, filtered map, updated stories, and videos on construction projects, all of that. At ArlingtonTX.gov slash bond tracker. I don't see a way. What are those animals called that don't have bones? We provide programming for all ages. We have nature school that's for preschoolers during the school year. We have after school and homeschool programs. We also offer awesome week long summer camps. You want to tell mom and Hayden by? All right, Maddie. You can tip toe across the pond and don't get your feet wet or you can splash in the water. This is our arrival time. They come in and find an activity that they would like to do. One, five. It's enriching and engaging and educational. Does it fit up there? No. Look at that. Awesome. We have a small class size. We have a beautiful building here. Beautiful woods nature to go out in and take a walk every day. Good morning, Emma. Good morning, Mason. I'm glad you're here today. Currently we're studying the pond habitat. Oh, oh, Miss Cindy, we did find the damsel fly. Our teaching style is discovery learning, Oh, oh, oh, Miss Cindy, we did find the damselfly. Our teaching style is discovery learning, so we go with what they're interested in and try to just build on those strengths of their natural curiosities. This was such a free environment for her. She's really thriving here. The teachers relate back. They just let the kids be themselves. That's what I really love. It's an enrichment program that you just can't find anywhere because we're able to use the greatest classroom of all, which is outside. Our key in issued is to educate the next generation of environmental stewards. We're going to get out of your exoskeleton! Taking them outside and building on the natural curiosity and giving them a life-long love of learning. When you use their unique sense of learning and give them those experiences, then the world opens up and that gives them those hopes and dreams. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the you you I think we have found the largest Bobblehead collection, not only at HKS, but this may be the largest collection of Ranger Bobbleheads I've ever seen. And it belongs to Margarita Gary, who works down here at HKS, and tell us about your Bobbleheads. Well, they've been a collection clearly for a while now. I work at the ballpark, so it's neat to see all of the fans come in every day and getting anything and I have my own collection here right at my desk. Hey, tell everybody what you do right now at Glowblight Park. Glowblight Park, I'm a customer service rep, so I'm an Usher on the Lexus Club level. So I'm at Section 209. You may be like me. I'm looking forward to Sunday afternoons where it's a little cooler and we don't have to worry about big-oath thunderstorms, but this new one coming in, you get a chance to work on the new one. Yes, and it's better than a dream come true if Thamming said, I wouldn't have imagined 2013 when I first became a nuncher there and getting to see what you're talking about. Ring Delay, Texas Heat, getting to be there and then five years later I'm working on the project. It's better than a dream and getting to where both hats is truly special. How about that right there? The biggest ever Bobbillhead collection. She's working on the ballpark, been a big fan and works at the ballpark and I bet she's looking forward to working at Globe Life Field. Thanks everybody. it's been another edition of At The Park with Chuck. Hey, don't forget, it's always baseball time in Arlington, Texas. The electronics and the Texas Rangers have a relationship that goes back over 25 years We put some of the initial displays in Globe Life Park across the street Throughout the 25 year lifespan of that facility we've done multiple display upgrades, video boards, driven displays, scoring systems, so it was a natural fit that we worked with the Rangers on this new ballpark. It'll be a main video display in right field that will be about 8,700 square feet. We'll have an auxiliary video display in left field about 4,400 square feet. There'll be a center field board that will have out of town scores and then various ribbon displays throughout the seating bowl. Then we're also going to do the IPTV system which is about 1,400 TVs throughout the entire stadium. The exciting thing about a new ballpark is you really get to work with a blank palette. We work with the design team on how the layout of the board should be, what information they're going to put on different displays. So it's an exciting opportunity to kind of start from the ground up and really work with them on what are their goals, what are they trying to give to their fans as far as an experience standpoint, and then supplement that with our technology and our software. I think just the overall wild factor that's going to be in the stadium. Like I mentioned, the displays are going to be considerably larger than what's over across the street. With all the additional ribbon displays, the IPTV system, there's really going to be an opportunity for the ranger staff to engage those fans, do whatever sort of means they want to. So it's exciting to be able to not just show replays on a board. There's going to be fan interactions, there's going to be they're going to be able to tweet things that will go up on their boards. So just the overall encompassing that with the fan experience is what we're most excited about. I'm Jeremy Span. Welcome to Old School Pizza Tavern. Welcome to Old School Pizza Tavern. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ Hey, Arlington. We are just now hitting eight years in business because of the great support from the community. University of Texas at Arlington, and the families that love just great pizza. I know you got a lot of great choices for pizza in Arlington, but here we make our own dough, we make our own sauce, we got special toppings, we got sandwiches, salads, wings, 20 beers on tap and a full bar. We love bringing not only that college environment, but we also love bringing the family environment. We love being a part of this community after eight years and love supporting the UTA Mavericks. Old-school pizza taverns open for business here in downtown Arlington. Come by and check us out. Want to make a positive impact every day? Want to avoid being wasteful, reduce, reuse, recycle, and know what to throw. No batteries or cell phones, grocery bags or propane tanks, those go back to the store. No hoses, hordes or stream lights. If they're in good condition, they can be donated. No food that goes in your compost pile or trash. Recycling the right way makes it more efficient, safe and more successful. Do your part and know what to throw. The I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful Welcome back. I'm Andrew Tignullian with My Arlington TV and this episode of Arlington Eats, we're going back to school. Grill school with a grill master who's going to make sure that you get the most out of yours. Just take the onion, throw it on there. That's grill master Wayne Stover, who's been cooking since he was six years old. Wow. We all want flavor and everything we do. He managed kitchens as a kid and now Hall's petroleum for a living. The same kind you'd use to make it out here to the farmer's market who hear each mushroom. On the occasions he gets to do what he really loves. Teach. Pork is the mushroom of the beef world. Because he says it'll easily take on any flavor you give it. It is the most versatile meat there is when it comes to adding flavor to anything. It's tips like these, including ones about safety. You get those two things right? Everybody is going to be happy. And of course, style. Oh, wrapping the wood. They captivate his audience. The love of seeing people smile when they take a bite of food, and it transports them, it brings them memory, and makes them happy. I've been doing it for as long as I can get into the kitchen. And that's why when he teaches, he makes sure to touch on several ways to cook. Of course, he'll give you timing temp, and the knowledge he shares goes deeper than that. Grab your last bone, cut it off, take for example these ribs. If you've got a smoker like he does, they'll take you 90 minutes on a traditional grill, four hours on a gas one, two hours. The worst mistake that every rookie makes is they want to open it every five minutes. He wants you to be able to cook with what you have. That right there, if you look at the rib, you're going to see that nice smoke ring almost all the way to the bone. That's what you want to see. And also be able to make your own spice blends like he does. I can see the happiness in the family, and that makes it worth doing it. Because he knows if you're taking the time to cook. It's probably for someone else. I know matter if it's poor, or brisket, or ribs. He knows what you're making is building community. One of the many reasons that makes Arlington the American Dream City. That makes me almost want to break down and tears enjoy because I know that they're going to pass it on to their friends, their family, they're gonna share that information and instead of that knowledge being lost, it's passed down and I can't ask for anything better. Thank you very much for attending. We're gonna get this stuff cut up. Y'all were excellent. Welcome to another Ask Arlington I'm Jay Warren. Springtime brings more than warm wet weather to North Texas. It also kicks off the start of Mosquito season and the city is working to help residents and visitors be Mosquito-free. Health Services Manager Amy Rockhill Carpenter is here to tell us about how you can help us keep the Mosquito population down here in Arlington. Amy, thanks for joining us. My pleasure. And thanks for all the hard work you do in this effort. I know it is a lot every year. And before we get to some of our resident questions and we got some really good ones today, I thought you might kind of walk us through our mosquito prevention program that we have here in Arlington. Sure. So in Arlington, we follow an integrated mosquito management plan, which means that this is a year-long inter-departmental collaboration, where we proactively look to Larvicide for any areas that might be breeding mosquitoes. We look to reduce, again, those habitats where mosquitoes may breed. And then if we do have an incident where we have a positive mosquito trap, we will respond according to the CDC's protocol for preventing disease. And all of that has had a big impact on our mosquito population here in Arlington. We've seen the cases of West Nile go down over the past few years, right? Tell us about some of that success. Yes, that's correct. So as you know, nature is not controllable by any means. And so any given year we have to stay alert and proactive to make sure that we don't have a big outbreak of West Malibiris. So what we've seen over the past few years with including other departments in this effort is a reduction of human cases and also kind of a stabilization of positive traps in our region. Yeah, very good. All right, well, as I mentioned, we've got some really good questions. I want to get to some of those from our residents. Our first one comes to us from Christie. She writes, we have a pond in our neighborhood. Will they be spraying here? I really hope so, especially for our children's sake. So if you've got a pond in your neighborhood, how does that handle that? So if you have a pond in your neighborhood, the first thing that I would recommend doing is getting a group together with your neighbors. So it might be a homeowners association. It might just be a group of concerned neighbors that want to get together to make sure that there is an alliter issue in the pond. You can also with an HOA contract for lake services or pond services to make sure that you keep a healthy body of water there. The other thing I would recommend is having an aerator in the pond so that there is constantly movement in the water. So what we don't want is kind of a stagnating body of water, but as long as there is an air asian or a movement of that water and there are natural predators in that body of water, we're not really going to see a lot of mosquito breeding taking place there. By natural predators I'm referring to things like dragonflies, frogs, turtles, fish. Those actually eat mosquito larvae and can definitely cut down on your mosquito population. All right, very good. It's good like having it found at home if it's kind of bubbling the water through. You don't have to worry about that as much as if it's just standing. Correct. Yeah. Well, the next question comes to us from Christine. Why don't we spray and deplete the heavy mosquito population here in Arlington? There's a West Nile habitat way too close to those of us in South Arlington. So this is sort of similar to the previous question asking why we don't spray, or if we're going to spray. Our integrated mosquito management plan is specifically targeted towards protecting public health. We don't spray for nuisance mosquitoes. And the reason that we don't do that is because we don't want to create a population of mosquitoes that's resistant to pesticide. So a lot of people hear about in the news this misuse or overuse of antibiotics. Something similar happens when you overuse or misuse pesticides with insects. So by limiting the amount of targeted ground spring that we conduct to only addressing public health issues rather than nuisance mosquitoes, we're able to ensure that when we do deploy targeted ground spring we get the most bang for our buck that way. And you've been doing that with success these past few years for sure. Our next one comes to us from June. June writes, do you use a schedule of when spring will occur? For example, notifying Arlington residents three days or five days before spring in a particular area. Do I find the notifications on the next door app or will they pay you posted somewhere else? Yeah, yeah. Multi-part question there. Yes, yeah. So we set traps every week. And the trap results come back to us from the Tarrant County Public Health Lab. As soon as we find out those results on Wednesday, we immediately go into our action plan if we have a positive trap. So what that means is we get the results early on a Wednesday before noon usually. And that evening is when we conduct that targeted ground spray. The reason there's such a fast turnaround time on that is because we want to make sure that we are very proactive in addressing that public health issue. The places where you can find notification about any targeted ground spray being conducted in any neighborhood in Arlington would be the website and also social media. So this would be the city's website and the city's Facebook, Twitter, next door, all those top-page ads. Yeah exactly and the city does a fantastic job of pushing that information out just as soon as it's finalized with our plan for approaching that positive trap. The only time when we would not spray on a Wednesday, Thursday night, because we do it back to back in the second of nights, would be if there's some type of a holiday event where we want to kind of hold off and not have targeted ground spraying occurring when there's a large outdoor event planned. But typically that's not gonna be on a Wednesday, Thursday, so that's why we chose those days to specifically use for targeted ground spring. And the weather can also impact it. If you're having heavy rain, let's say Wednesday night, you're not likely to spray that night, right? Yes. So high winds, any type of precipitation, we're not able to do targeted ground spring. Also temperatures in the low 60s or below, we will not do targeted ground spring because mosquitoes aren't out on the wing during those temperatures. It's important to note though that if we waited three or five days that would be three or five days longer with the potential of a West Nile problem in a neighborhood which we could address quickly if we turn that around in just a few hours. Exactly. The other thing that we try to do or we do do is deploy static signs through the neighborhood. So every target ground spray area is going to have 10 to 12 static signs placed in strategic areas of kind of high traffic in and out of the neighborhoods. You may also see or your citizens may also see these message boards, digital message boards, but I would not necessarily look for those specifically. I would look for the small static signs and of course checking the city's website and social media. Very good. Our last question comes to us from Jackie. Why doesn't the city start testing and spraying early? She writes, do not feel that the city is proactive, only reactive. We actually have started testing though, now several weeks before this taping of this show, right? Correct, so every year we start our trapping and testing in early March. And we continue to do that, usually mid-November, first or second week of November, so that we're able to capture any potential West Nile positive that could occur during that period of time. So we definitely don't see a lot of early positives in this area, but we do proactively trap and test early, early in the season. Very good. Well, Amy, thanks again to you and the team for all the work you're doing in this effort. We really do appreciate it. Thank you so much. And thank you at home for sending in those questions. A lot of great questions again this time. That will wrap it up for this edition of Ascarling to tune in next time. We will answer more of your questions. This year we've gotten four competitions and we've won four trophies. Our robot did the best in state, basically for its autonomous program. Lamar Robotics has existed here for six years. This year we finished second in the state. I am the lead programmer. That means I'm in charge of the code. I am the 3D designer of the robotics team. It has been a builder. We read the instruction and like think about a way of building a robot from scratch. There are team members who have no experience with engineering and we bring together great minds to solve problems. My role is outreach. Outreach is where we reach out to sponsorships and we also introduce people into robot. There's a lot of communication needed to get every job done because everyone's doing their own tasks. We are loosening the motor mounts. It takes different aspects of looking at things, thinking outside the box and coming up with different ideas for designs. The teamwork and communication skills with these kids gain will impact them throughout the rest of their life. When I freshman year I took a computer science class and I really love programming but I was like I want a more practical application for this. So I decided to join the robotics team. Robotics has essentially allowed me to figure out what my dream is. Little Mar Robotics team program has given the opportunity for students to build their dreams and be successful. Maybe something they didn't aspire to originally, but this gives them the opportunity to grow. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a to the next video. I'm going to go back to the next video. I'm going to go back to the next video. I'm going to go back to the next video. I'm going to go back to the next video. I'm going to go back to the next video. I'm going to go back to the next video. I'm going to go back to the next video. I'm going to go back to the next video. I'm going to go back you I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the Hello everybody and welcome to another edition of Atta Park with Chuck and we're a glow black park and we're in the Rangers dugout what a great place to be and just so I don't have to go up and pinch it for somebody the Rangers are okay. I'm here with Arlington Police Officer Eddie Green and Eddie you've been around Rangers baseball for a long time. Yes you're quite a while, quite a while. You worked at Old Larlington Stadium. Spring 83 was my first season with the Rangers. Spring 83 working off duty with the Rangers. You know what's funny about that? That was my first year with the Rangers. We were rookies together, weren't we? I know you worked in the old outfield out there. There were a lot of fun times in those aluminum bleachers. Yesor, yes our limited bleachers we had a lot of fun out there and stayed busy and got to see no one's seventh no hitter out there That was a lot of fun. I got to ask you watching the Rangers for so long who's your all-time favorite Ranger? Well, I would have to go with no one right kind of the time with no one right and Michael Young. I really appreciate Michael Young What about the new ballpark? What have you heard about the Globe Lightfield? I know one thing for guys like you and me that that work at the ballpark it's going to be nice to have some cool nights and cool afternoons over there. Yes sir, I don't believe we'll have a rain out with them, well also that's American conditioning so that'll be nice in Texas to have their condition. You know Eddie, all of it's the Rangers and myself we want to thank you for a and all the citizens of Arlington what you do for Arlington and helping folks out and you've been so done. So great service here at the ballpark. Thanks sir. Appreciate you. Thank you very much. That's Arlington Police Officer Eddie Green. That's another addition of Atte Park with Chuck and don't forget it is always baseball time in Arlington, Texas. Hello, everybody, and welcome to another edition of At The Park with Chuck. I'm outside the center field gate at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Let's go inside Globe Life Park and see what's going on. Checkbook and Globe Life Park. You know it's always great to be here. So anybody that comes through the center field gate, they run into you, is that right? My self-regained yes special memories for you at Globe Live Park of course everybody remembers the world series of course and Mr. Beltra is three thousand hit that was awesome but every day is a lesson around here wonderful opportunity a wonderful organization and I just feel blessed this is my second home. What about a special memory about the gate out here? Anything in particular that's happened that strikes a memory for you? It's just not any particular thing. It's just, every day it's just such a great opportunity and I just appreciate the opportunity to do this. We're looking forward to moving over to Glowbly Field. Your thoughts about the move to a place that's going to have a retractable roof. Oh, that's going to be such a wonderful opportunity. It's a beautiful, beautiful stadium and I can probably wait to get over there. Globe Life Park is a great place to watch the ball game because they're great people like Marty Alvison. Hey, this has been another edition of At the Park with Chuck. Hey, don't forget, it's always baseball time in Arlington, Texas. Hey, Arlington, Larry Richardson here. Welcome to the Flying Fish. We have a number of the offerings for you here. Welcome to the Flying Fish. We have a number of offerings for you here. Different options for you at the Flying Fish. You can have your favorite fried foods. You can also have a number of different healthy options with grilled plates, grilled belays, vegetables, salads, just about anything you want to stay on a healthy diet. We have a number of specials that go on during the week. We have an all you can eat catfish on Wednesdays. We have a preacher special on the Sunday's, which are our oyster specials. And we also have the opportunity to join our loyalty program, which is our grub club. Flying fish is open in downtown Arlington. Come see us and thank you for the nine years of support you've given our business. Welcome back. I'm Andrew Chneliang with MyRlington TV and this episode of Arlington Eats for Rings Us to Texas Coffee School, where you're going to learn everything you need to know about your favorite morning beverage. A lot of people think that the more important piece of equipment is the coffee maker itself. It's actually not. It's the grinder. Owner Tom Vincent would know he's personally taught thousands of students in this very room. 650 square feet about the size of an average apartment. Just like how strawberries are a seasonal crop, coffee is a seasonal crop. Some of what you'll learn in this small space, blind taste test of difference here, where hundreds have found significant success. Going on to open thriving specialty coffee shops around the world. This is so much bigger than coffee. Coffee is the catalyst, but helping people find their entrepreneurial freedom through coffee, through what we're passionate about. I call it being a coffeepreneur. They all did it by taking his three-day course, teaching them how, everything from how to make specialty coffee to making sense of the mechanics of running the business. There's nothing as detailed as it anywhere on the planet that I've seen. What you're watching is a class on cupping, which is how most people discover their distinguishing taste in coffee and is in fact, how Vincent did. Show of hand if you only get to vote for one, which one's your favorite? Only one vote. He was an advertising and one day in an elevator with a major roaster from the East Coast when he was randomly invited to one. Fast forward 14 years as they cool, it reveals more and more. And he's now the Maestro of how so many start their mornings. One element is obviously the tasting where slurping is strongly encouraged, just fully committed. This table is actually, I consider my most prized possession because of what's happened The tasting, where slurping is strongly encouraged, just fully commit. This table is actually, I consider my most prized possession because of what's happened as a result of people sitting around this table. And after 10 years of running this school, it's seeing his students success and how it's changed their families, it's most meaningful. All stories started right here in Arlington, the American Dream City. All these independent coffee shops being opened all around the world of people learning this mindset and this ecosystem that positively impacts people's daily lives, every single day, how people start their day. I truly believe here in our little classroom in Arlington, Texas that we actually are making the world just a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful Everybody is Jay Warren with another on the clock. We are thankful 90% of our residents participated in our recycling program. But do you know how it all works or where it goes? Well, here's City Manager, Trey Yellverton with the Answers. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ Thanks, Jay. Today I'm in Arlington Neighborhoods helping with public services do recycling in Arlington. And I'm here today with Jennifer Shaver, who's our recycling program administrator. And I want to learn a little bit more about Arlington recycling. So first, I know we've been doing this for a long time, but tell me a little bit about why it's important to recycling Arlington and how it's saving our landfill. It is very important, obviously, to recycle because we want to be environmental stewards. It's a sustainable thing to do. It also extends the life of our landfill. Right now we have about 50 years of life left on our Arlington landfill. Recycling and diverting some of that waste and actually just reusing it and sending it off to be processed really extends the life of our landfill and also reuses a valuable commodity and makes it into new products that we can use then again and again. What can we put in our recycle bins and what are we not supposed to put in our recycle bins? Basically, a good rule for them if you don't know anything else is plastic, paper, cardboard, your soda cans, your aluminum, your steel cans, like your steel food cans. We always try to stress empty, clean and dry day away from things like styrofoam, food waste. We get a lot of leftover food materials in our cards and that can create quite the waste and the contamination at our recycling facility. What's the amount of material that we're diverting from our landfill if you can help me just kind of envision what the offset really is? Last year we did over 23,000 tons of recycling just from our residential waste stream. I'm Mike Trey-Jolton. I'm Mike Tray-Yelveson. Hi, Mike Trumbas and public services. I hear you've been with Republic for a little while here serving our community. Yeah, by 38 years. 38 years. Yes, sir. And now you're a swing driver with Republic serving our neighborhoods here in Arlington. Yes, sir. I am. We appreciate your service for all that you've done for our community. Hopefully we're gonna be able to show our residents a little bit today about what you guys do every day on our streets here in Arlington. Okay, fine. First level is to retract and bring it in and extend it out. Off the truck, back to the truck. Exactly. And then the second one is when you grab the claw. Exactly. Okay. It might end there. It sounds like you've been doing this. Okay. Not 37 when you grab the claw exactly okay it might even do it it sound like you've been doing this not 37-38 years I'm gonna try to figure it out okay then alright let's get started alright help me out here alright my being right checkin' stand stand stand stand little bit more, little bit more, little bit more the stand stand stand That's a heavy machinery kind of getting cleaned ground. It's 1000 times a day. Yeah. My up-a-half of all of our almost 400,000 residents were you and all the hardware that your team members do at Republic. We see you guys working hard in our neighborhoods every day and our residents are so appreciative and I just want to say thank you on their behalf. Now that we're done collecting recycling in the Arlington neighborhood, residents are so appreciative and I just want to say thank you on their behalf. Now that we're done collecting recycling in Arlington neighborhoods, the trucks have come here to materials recycling facility, the Swarmbubbery Public Services and I'm here with Operations Manager of this plant, Tony Broadvents, to learn a little bit more about what's been brought here. So thank you for taking time with us this afternoon and tell me a little bit about this facility, what you do here with the recycling that comes from Arlington? The recycling that comes in, we actually take in about 150 times a day on average from the city of Arlington. We run it through our sorting system, pulling out any material that's not recyclable. The system separates it. Comes out to these balers, which is where we bail it. So how many different lines come out of this? We actually have, well we have an HDP line, which is our milk jugs and the colored plastic that usually normally are long due to detergent. We have a PET, which are your water bottles, your sports drinks and stuff like that, and we have aluminum. We also have 10 cans that get separated out, and that's all sorted by the machinery. We have three different paper lines lines and it's three different grades that get sorted through there and then of course a cardboard. Well just on behalf of all of our residents as far as people who really are passionate about their recycling and they're committed to helping environmental management and we appreciate what you and your team here are doing to reuse these products so that we minimize our footprint on things here as we continue. So I'm about for our residents. Thank you very much. Well, thank you very much. Appreciate partnership. Thank you. Thanks, Trey, and thanks to you at home for recycling and keeping Arlington beautiful. [? RULEI ?] I really didn't figure out that I wanted to write until later on in life. It was like well into college. I actually went to school for political science and I didn't think that writing was something that would ever be a good fit for me. I basically explored every creative option I possibly could before I landed on writing. I guess it all started in 2014. My debut novel came out and that was called Side Effects Me Very. And then after that, my second novel is really the one I'm most well known for. That came out in 2015. It's called Dumplin. And Dumplin is most well known because it was turned into a movie, which is now on Netflix. Getting to show the movie at the love it in such an Arlington way was just a really cool experience. I think it's a really exciting thing when your work becomes bigger than anything you could have done on your own. My family moved here to Texas at a pretty young age. I began taking classes at Peter Arlington when I was in seventh grade. And really that's kind of how I first got ingrained into Arlington. I think Arlington is growing in really big ways right now, and I think really what that comes down to is people who are passionate about Arlington and people who grew up in Arlington. They want to sew that seed back into the community. I actually tried out a couple of different working spaces here before I settled on renting my own private office, and it's really been incredible. I've already written my first book here at Union Works and that was a really exciting day when I could walk on my office and tell all these people that I work with here that oh my gosh I just finally drafted an entire book and I drafted this whole book at Union Works. I think the American dream is something different for everyone. For me the American dream is diverse groups of people coming together for one common good and I think that I really find that in Arlington. I'm Julie Murphy and I'm alive with the American Dream. Good afternoon Arlington. I'm Tony Ritigliano and welcome to Urban Alchemy. Hey Arlington, welcome to your living room. Urban Alchemy has operated in downtown Arlington since February of last year and we're so grateful for your support and we look forward to seeing you again to come and enjoy coffee, wine, beer, and some really great menu items for food. Also, we'd love to host you for your special event. Come and see us whether you're celebrating a birthday or an anniversary or you just want to have a good time with friends. We want to be Arlington's living room and we're grateful to be in downtown. Urban Alchemy is open for business in downtown Arlington and we look forward to be in downtown. Urban Alchemy is open for business in downtown Arlington and we look forward to seeing you soon. [♪ Music playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, playing in background, Welcome back. I'm Adjute Nguyen with Myarlington TV and this episode of Arlington Eats brings us to Storm Farms where when you meet the owner you're going to realize this is far more than produce. It's also about passion. Hi, how are you? To know Johanna Storm. That's the biggest you got. That is the biggest I have, yeah. Is to be reassured that when you're a passion impacts others. Thank you, sir. Watch out, game in there. You're welcome. Welcome from all over to see you. So is this good for allergy even if you live in Ducumbil? It is. It's very encouraging to see that other people value the same things that you have. It's that enthusiasm that fuel storm farms, a six and a half acre organic oasis, if you will, that sits just north of West Mayfield in South Bowen. Yeah, there's not another farm kind of within the Arlington city limits. I like here because it's just it gives access to a lot of people who don't necessarily have access to like fresh of people who don't necessarily have access to like fresh local organic food. How much is the peppers? $4 of asking. Storm is out here 80 hours a week harvesting what's in season, which is everything you see here and selling it on the weekends and sometimes weekdays. It'd be 1850 when somebody comes out and eats something and they're like, oh man, that was the best that I had. That's really cool. It's very rewarding to feed people good food. Storm would also like to offer classes, teaching others. I know that there are people who really struggle and I want to have gardens when I grow their own food and just don't know what they don't know and to be able to provide that kind of resource would be great. It's that continuing, renewing opportunity that for storm makes Arlington the American Dream City. Thank you for coming out. It's gratifying in that not only am I providing a service to the community that the community appreciated once, but it's also gratifying that like there's a place for this year, you know what I mean? It's great. It's really very rewarding I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm out here today with one of those great fellows that works for the Texas Rangers. We got a lot of people that care about a fans experience out here and this guy is definitely one of those Fred Cox. Fred, how long have you been with the Rangers? Next box will begin by a 19 season. A lot of memories out here for you. Yes, a bunch. You got one in particular? That's got to be 2010 and 2011. Watching the police knock out, hey Rob, and then go to World Series. Now your responsibility out here is to take care of the fans, make sure they don't get in with any baseballs or anything, but sometimes you've got to dodge some balls out here around Green's Hill. Quite a few times yet. Is there one of the particular you remember? I was here at the rail about three years ago and a ball getting my group fan. I got right in the back of the head. Brent, what have you heard about the new Globe Life Field? I'm ready for no more rain outs, no more 100 and 90 redays, anything like that. And you plan on being a part of the Rangers over Globe Life Field? How do you? How about Fred Cox? He's one of those great people that worked with the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park. We'll see him over Glowblife Field. Hey, this has been another edition of At The Park with Chuck. Don't forget, it's always baseball time in Arlington, Texas. I'm going to be a little bit more creative. I'm going to be a little bit more creative. I'm going to be a little bit more creative. I'm going to be a little bit more creative. I'm going to be a little bit more creative. I'm going to be a little bit more creative. I'm going to be a little bit more creative. I'm going to be a little bit more creative. I'm going to be a little bit more creative. I'm going to be a little bit more creative Better place got to make it change For years I've always wanted to have something that was was absent of much output. It has been unreal getting to work with Grammy winning producers and artists and her Franklin himself has been a dream come true. has been a dream come true. Just be hopeful, hopeful, and then make a way. I know it isn't bad. That's OK. When you think about the load of flower, it's a flower that blooms and the Mr. Muddy. I'm pretty situations. And so I want to look at kids that may not always come from the best situations to be able to give them a chance to let music free their soul. I was really nervous. I'm more on the countryside of music and this is you know and he's more like gospel hip-hop you know R&B. It shows that music can unify people and bring us together from all the different backgrounds. Are you ready? I'm going to introduce the stage. I'm Kevin Settler. Give it up. Music or creativity gives you a place. And everybody wants to be seen. Everybody wants to be heard. Everybody wants to feel value. As far as the dreams I'm building, Kirk and everybody here, all the guests that he's brought out to really help us have really shaped me. It's just pushing me harder, pushing my dream harder, making me go harder for what I would like. I've really learned that, you know, I'm not the star. It's not about everything that I do. It's about the music that I make. The main thing about Camp Lotus is that it brought in many different people from different backgrounds. You all come together, put your differences aside, and you make good music for people to hear. A lot of times dreams, they get lost on the pillow. And so what we're doing is we're taking all the dreams that were left on the pillow, and we're making them come into full form, you can't blow to us. I've been approached by several people who've asked the question, why Arlington? Why do you want Metro Sports to grow in Arlington? And it's because one, it's where I started. And two, it's where I want to make the biggest difference. Metro Sports Fieldhouse is a program that provides enrichment of the brain and body through sports, giving the kids hope and belief that when you put your mind to it and you work through things and you plan, you can truly live the American dream. I wanted to truly have an impact on kids that may not have had the resources, or may not have had the knowledge of some of the educational topics that I'm passionate about and that I've had the opportunity to have exposure to a bill. Went to UTA and I just met a lot of great people, loved the city, loved kind of like the hometown, but city feel. When you meet people here in Arlington, especially if you're making an impact in the community and trying to do positive things for the community from a social and economic standpoint, people will bend over backwards to help you. There's a lot of places that need what we offer, and there's a lot of people that look like me that need to see that you can do it. You can do it, and Arlington is the place that gives people like myself an opportunity to put that out there and to demonstrate that. My biggest dream for Metro Sports is to truly incorporate the American Dream City philosophy into what we're doing. The American Dream to me starts with my kids and my wife. You think about the American Dream, it's usually starting a family, raising kids, having a nice job, doing something you love. I am doing all of those things here in Arlington. I'm Larry Curry, and I'm alive with the American Dream. you you Welcome to another Ask Arlington I'm Jay Warren. There are many pets out there with special needs like Alta who's joining us today Our special guest that may be blind or deaf or maybe heart-worn positive And it's often something that prevents our large dogs from being adopted at the Arlington animal shelter Dr. Lee Richter is an Arlington veterinarian and joins me now for more on this topic and before we jump into that I thought you might tell us a little bit more about the work you do here in Arlington and why this issue is so important. Sure, I'm a veterinarian here in Arlington. I have a practice in Southwest, Arlington. We've been here for almost 15 years. And obviously pets are near and dear to my heart. Not only what I do, but my pets at home. Been doing some work with Arlington animal Services the last couple years in the work that they do is tremendous and just love the work that they're doing there. Well we appreciate you being here with us today to answer a few questions. Ulta is special needs, she has what's called water on the brain right? That's correct. Which kind of impacts her in what way? So yeah hydracephalus is a condition where, you know, essentially dogs develop water on the brain. It's usually a congenital issue that they're born with and can affect them neurologically in a number of different ways. I have a blind dog at home and it strikes me that people don't understand how great these pets can be. Look how smart Alta is and she's been so sweet while she's been here today. They really can be a great addition to a family. No question, no question. And special needs pets as well. Needs some special care, but the love that they give back is really special as well. Well what advice would you give to someone who's thinking about adopting a special needs animal? You know, I think more than anything, just doing your research. Talking to the caretakers, the people that have been responsible for the care of that pet, Arlington Animal Services, in her case, fosters, the veterinarians who have been responsible for the care of that pet, and getting as much information as you can. And you know, through an educated decision, find out if that's a, you know, a dog that you can appropriately care for. Well, Arlington Animal Services has a partnership with Best Friends Animal Society to assist families with treatment of heartworm positive dogs. Explain a little bit more about, you know, we all think about giving the pill to our dogs to prevent heartworms, but describe to us a little bit more about heartworm positive pets. Yeah, so, you know, heartworm disease, first disease first and foremost is a it's a blood-borne parasite transmitted by mosquitoes. I think that's really important to know that's how it's transmitted not from dog to dog or dog to cat strictly through the bite of a mosquito. It can cause obviously heart issues but even more notably lung issues as well. So cardiovascular respiratory issues untreated certainly can be fatal in some cases. It is treatable. There is a process through heartworm treatment and getting rid of those adult worms. Fortunately, it's very easy to prevent. Like you mentioned, a monthly pill. There's an injectable heartworm preventative that can be given every six months, so prevention certainly is key there. We've got lots of mosquitoes here. Absolutely. So in Texas, in particular, you've got to be careful about that for sure. Yeah, yeah. Well, we have one more question here. Arlington Animal Services is having a responsible pet ownership event that's scheduled on Saturday, August 17th. And as a veterinarian, could you describe some of the important elements of being a responsible pet owner. There's a, you're taking on a commitment here that could be more than a decade long and if you're lucky, right? Yeah, you bet, you bet. So what kind of things would you recommend? Yeah, I think, you know, a responsible pet owner is somebody that's willing to undertake the care of that pet for that pet's life. Whether it be a species that lives one to two years, five to 10 years, fifteen to twenty years. There's different ranges of life expectancy, and it's somebody that's willing to take on the care of that pet for the duration of that pet's life. And there's a couple of things really that come to mind that are imperative and one is time. Time is tough and everybody's busy, schedules are busy, kids' activities. So making sure before you commit to that you've got the time to put into that pet and then certainly financially as well making sure that you're financially responsible for that pet, veterinary care, food, water and those things are going to be really, really important as well. Well, it's all very important to be a good pet owner but also to adopt your animals and we would love for you to adopt them from the Arlington Animal Shelter. Whether they're just regular dog or they might have some special needs like Ulta who's been an awesome guest today. She likes to sit on feet as you can tell, so she's been propped online periodically. Thank you so much Dr. Director, we appreciate you being here with us today. Ulta, thank you for joining us and being a good guest. And that will do it for this special edition of Ask Garling 2. We'll see you back here next time. The Sport statement Arlington is the largest dedicated esports facility in North America. At about 100,000 square feet, we feature all types of amenities for eSports. We have a production facility that I'll allow us to create a live broadcast reviewer worldwide as well as create an in-house experience. We have our team areas which is really generally the hospitality zone. We even have the gaming center which is more so focused on the day-to-day gaming, local tournaments, it's the local community, right? That's where we really grow and build the community. We're allowing individuals such as parents to be introduced to eSports by having a natural hub and community for the kids to go to. Then we have the stadium here. This is where 2,500 people will pack the house for some of our biggest e-sports event. We have the ECS season 8 finals coming back in November as well as the Collision Rock and League national finals which will be also happening in November. And to top it off in November we also have the e-sports awards which is one of the most globally recognized award shows for e-sports. Some of the biggest e-sports influencers, team managers, players, as well as content creators and streamers, will all be in Arlington for one glorious night. You're going to have groups with millions and hundreds of thousands of followers all tweeting about eSports awards and obviously eSports stadium Arlington. When we go grocery shopping, I think most of us have the same goal in mind. Let's get everything we need for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and all the essentials at the best possible value. In your way, making your shopping list and filling your cart is a lot like building the city budget. Let me explain. Okay, so we have our bread and eggs when we can't forget the milk and the average cost for a gallon of milk is about $3. That's what the average Arlington household contributes to our libraries through their property tax bill, which is based on the value of their property. For that $3 investment, you're getting seven library buildings, including the new state of the art downtown library, as well as story time events, movies, and many other activities throughout the year for residents of all ages to enjoy. So, let's cross that one off our list. We can't forget about our fruits and vegetables. Let's start by picking up some apples and bananas. Have some onions and broccoli. All that combined is about $5. And for just $2 more, each household gets all of the programs and facilities provided by our Gold medal award-winning parts department. That's more than 90 parts, six recreation centers, and more than 4,000 acres of park land. Another one off our list. Public safety represents the meat and potatoes. Now let's pick up a few pounds of salmon and beef for some family sit-down meals, and that weighs our total about $40. For about the same amount you've covered your monthly tax bill for police services. For just $20 more you get fire services as well and that's a value when you consider both departments are nationally accredited and lead the nation in innovative programs to benefit the community. And just like checking your receipt, you should also check your property tax bill to see where your money is going. Property taxes for the other taxing entities, school districts, county, hospital, and college districts, are all included in your annual bill. And get this. The city's portion of that is only roughly a quarter of every dollar. Now, property taxes and other sources of revenue This, the city's portion of that is only roughly a quarter of every dollar. Now, property taxes and other sources of revenue, like sales taxes, become part of the general fund, which is about half of the total proposed operating budget, totaling $523 million. And let's not forget the coupons, a way to save a few dollars at the store. Did you know that you can do the same with your tax bill? Through exemptions, you can lower your bill by 20% or more. In fact, Arlington offers a maximum number of exemptions allowed by the state, more than many nearby communities. Now that we've checked off our shopping list, it's time to fill up the tank with gas. And a full tank, as you know, costs about $40. Arlington has more than 3,000 miles of streets and 21,000 streetlights. If you break it down each household pays around $14 a month for all of that as well as traffic lights, signs and other public work services. That's a third of the cost of a full take of gas. As you can see it turns out it's a good value to live here in the American Dream City, and you don't just have to take our award for it. Now let's take a look at some of the other key investments included in the proposed fiscal year 2020 operating budget. For public safety, the city will make significant investments to the Fire Department Academy, fire prevention, canine staffing, and investigative support officers for Arlington Police. Putting technology to work is another key council priority. And as you can see, we're doing just that with more than $1.5 million in improvements included in the proposed operating budget. Technology is also being utilized to improve transportation options for our residents and visitors. The successful VIA on-demand ride share program will see an investment of $1.9 million. And the city also plans to invest a little more than $600,000 for LED street light conversion. Investments to our National Award-winning Parks and Recreation Department, including the Southeast Recreation Center, parks contracted mowing, median ride-of-way maintenance and building maintenance are included in the budget as well. Through smart, fiscally responsible budgeting, we're able to provide a quality service for our residents and the value for their tax dollars. In fact, as you can see Arlington's tax rate is one of the lowest in the Metroplex. It comes back to smart budgeting and maximizing the value of your shopping cart. The foundation of a city budget works the same way. For just a portion of your property tax bill, the city is able to provide our residents with state-of-the-art library services, an award-winning park system, nice roads, safe neighborhoods, and much more. Hello everybody and welcome to another edition of At The Park with Chuck and I'm at the media elevator directly by home plate on the main concourse. You wouldn't believe how many times I've told people that's how you get up to see me. Right now we're going to get on the elevator to see what we can find out, what's going on here at Globe Life Park, and we'll go up to see what's happened. And he's here every day. I see him all the time. It's Fred Garcia. Fred is always here on the press elevator. Fred, how long have you worked with a Texas Rangers? This is my 25th year, sir. Now, you don't necessarily get to watch the game live. You've got a television in here, so you watch the ball game. But your responsibility is to get people to sweets and up to the press box. Sure it is. And those are great fans also. They make my job real easy. When that elevator opens, who has been the most famous guy to get on this art girl to get on this elevator? To my mind comes a dark noewitsky from the Mavericks and your biggest memory working with Texas Rangers. Going to the Big Dance, the World Series. That's everybody's. And what do you heard about the new Globe Live feel? You're looking forward to working over there. That's right. I'm looking forward to it because I'm not going to miss the hot suns out there on Sunday, on Sunday afternoon, that 105 when it's our condition. All right, Fred. I can see you pushed the button for Country Club. That is correct, sir. This is your office right here. Pressbox Country Club Level. That's right, number one. Thank you. Fred Garcia here at Globally Park in Arlington. Hey, that's been another addition to that, the park but Chuck, don't forget, it is always baseball time in Arlington, Texas. Thank you. you you Today, I'm going to show you a little bit of Keith Haring's work. We've seen the exhibit and they've got to experience how to use line, composition, and how to add spot color. Sometimes they put a pink and a blue together, it makes what shape. Purple. It was a key pairing inspired. Hot. What I've taught them is you be creative. Take what you've learned about key pairing, about his style, put a twist to it, add color, make it your t-shirt, something that you would be proud to wear. Drawing makes me feel imaginative. I just can create anything I want it to be. Art is an avenue for the students to feel confident about themselves. If he had made one wrong brushstroke and gotten the proportions a little bit wrong on something, he wouldn't have stopped. He would have worked it into the piece. I made it look like it was meant to be dripping down, like a foggy design. My dream is to be an interior designer. You have to know how to put together different colors and how to match things and put things together to make one final project. I tell my kids to dream. Dream of what you can be. I had that dream once upon a time, and I became an artist. I'm an art teacher. And maybe they'll be future art teachers, or future fashion designers, or graphic designers, or animators. The dreams they have now, and the people that inspire them now, could go on to inspire their later work. work. You know, there's so much going on here in Arlington. You can get anything to eat, anything to drink. And we looked around and we said, you know what? Nobody rubs coffee here. We decided why not us. We looked at each other and I said, we're doing this. And we're going to do it here in Arlington. It just seemed like a natural fit because we looked around and saw that there are a lot of other small businesses here. And the more we explored that, the more we saw that they really embrace you. We're 25 year residents, and the city has been very good to us. And now the businesses of Arlington, large and small, old and new, have all come to us and said, we love your product. And that, isn't that part of the American dream? You have an idea, you have a dream, you work hard, and you go for it. But then with the exciting things going on in the entertainment district, then we're very excited and very, you know, humbled and honored that our coffee will be served in Texas Live and the Life by Loves Hotel. What we love most about Arlington is the sense of community, from personal community to business community. There's a momentum growing. There's a synergy between everyone and all the different pockets of the city that everyone's noticing. It's powerful to be a part of that type of community of small businesses. And in Arlington, with all the other things going on, really and truly anything is possible here. You can live out your American dream and that is exactly what we are doing. I'm John Salter. I'm Cindy with Chuck and I'm here with Craig Marsh. Craig tell everybody what your role is here on this particular project. Well I am a general foreman over the ironworkers. I had in charge of the detailed work the boats all the miscellaneous iron. And this is not your first go around with a Rangers ballpark or a ballpark in Arlington. No I worked on the other ballpark the original one there. And you've also worked on AT&T stadium. Yes sir I was doing a form of there too. And you've been around ball parks and stadiums supposed to your life and you know, that roof is really going to make a difference and range your baseball and this is going to be a good place to watch your game. Oh yeah. Definitely. And this cool air conditioning. I'll be bringing my grandkids here to watch. I'm going to tell you, we're all going to be thinking guys like Craig Marsh for days like today when we'd have a day game but it'll make a difference in Ranger baseball. I so appreciate that. This has been another edition for Globe Life Field of At the Park with Chuck and don't forget it's always baseballes, Arlington. This is an urban oasis. This is a resort with 30,000 square feet and meeting space 300 guest rooms, many, many suites in the heart of Arlington, Texas. We are committed to creating the best in class sports anchor development in the United States. And we are committed to helping propel Arlington into one of the premier tourism and convention destinations in the country. We have one of the greatest places to come before and after events, but also a facility that's bringing people here seven days a week. Everybody is collaborated to ensure that the guests will be really impressed from the minute they walk in. There is a sense of purpose. There is a sense of being. There is a sense of design, which I think separates this property from any other hotel's resorts in the Metroplex. The roof at Glowbly Field will be the largest mechanized roof in North America. It covers about five and a half acres. When it's fully mechanized, the roof will take anywhere between 12 to 15 minutes to completely open or close. Some of that is dependent on wind speeds and the weather, but about 12 to 15 minutes. And the roof is fully retracted in its open position. It will open to the west towards AT&T Stadium and from the east fixed truss to the west fixed truss on the eastern and west side and then from the north box truss to the south box truss will all be completely open when the roof is in its open position. Probably the biggest thing the fans will really enjoy is air conditioning. But also the ETFE which is a plastic material that runs through the center of it will allow ambient lighting. So even on a Saturday afternoon game the roof might be closed, but ambient light will still be coming through the ETF material on the roof. So you'll get somewhat of an experience of being outside. It's a great experience. I've had the pleasure of working on AT&T Stadium also. So a lot of the people that we deal with on a daily basis with the city of Arlington are still with the city. So throughout the project, we meet with the city every Friday morning. Kind of update all the different departments of what's going on with the construction process. Just to give them a weekly update of what we're doing. And because we want to be a friendly neighbor to the community, we don't want to impact the community on anything. So we want the city's help in getting any messages out that we need to of road closures or anything like that. But it's been a great experience working with the city. Welcome back. I'm Andrew Tnullian with MyR LinkedIn TV and this episode of Our LinkedIn Eats brings us to UTA and the International Food Festival. Anybody who grew up with a specific type of culture that wants to share it with the entire university, we help them do that. That's Kela Zareen, along with other officers of the International Student Organization here at UTA. It puts on this food festival twice a year, once in the fall and again in the spring. From Indian to Sudanese, from German to Japanese, you can easily travel around the world just within this hall. It's fun to cook for people, it's fun to share a part of Japanese culture with the community. Cheyhon Soysa is a senior here and enjoys sharing Takoyaki, which is octopus grilled into a batter along with green onion, pickled ginger and crushed bonito flakes. And it's a good way to make friends and just gather around people with some food that you don't normally see. It's just a good way to remind everybody that this world isn't homogenous. There are many, many different people from many different walks of life. And the student organizations know that, which is why the ISO in particular makes it its mission to welcome all students, especially those who are making a second home right here in the American Dream City. that we want to make it all for every student that comes here and make them think about it. Something they've certainly accomplished because they alone represent six different countries. At the end of it you see that as humans we're all the same. We all want to eat good food, have a good time and love each other. Let's get started. Welcome back. I'm Andrew Tnullian with MyRlington TV and this episode of Arlington Itz brings us to Taste, Africa, where you'll experience the authentic Taste of Africa. It's so full, like it's very filling, it's different. Owner Lola Fajimirokun opened this restaurant in 2017. It specializes in Nigerian food, what she longed for when she moved here to America, and still longed for when she moved here to America and still longed for when she moved here to Arlington in 2008. So it's just a way to get a little piece of Africa like this, the spicy grilled chicken made with a custom African spice blend of curry, Camaroon and pepper served with some rice and plantains. We arrange the plate in such a way where an American can relate to it. So more meat, proportional rice, and then we put the plantain because plantain is just like a staple African food. The same goes for this grilled tilapia with special sauce that includes peppers and onions. Different food, different fill, and it's just the new experience for people. She's taken the time to study portion size in America and also takes into account both the lifestyle of her customers and food trends. We have a huge gym right across the corner. So a lot of them come in for like the protein heavy meals. She feels blessed to be in such a high traffic area by the park's mall. Because of our location and because we're in islanding, which is a very populated area, we get a lot of just drive-by like a lot of walk-ins and you know just brand new customers that did not get to us through our marketing. And there's more! We're getting calls from out of state like a new freezer than send it. One of them is Maryland and it's being able to share her culture to be a culinary concierge. For those who probably wouldn't have otherwise tried this food that makes our LinkedIn for her the American Dream City. It was my dream to have a restaurant like I just wanted you know and I would say to what's it everyone say to what's it and it just got to a point where the savings were big enough I thought you know what we should we should do it. It gives me so much joy and And when I say I want to make African food mainstream, it's a real passion. It's a real dream. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ First of all, you got to pass them and tell it to young man. I try to make sure that everybody comes here. No matter if it's one person or a thousand, I want to give you the best art tool in the world. I started in 1993. I was just gonna come watch the football games. I was always a fan. I decided I wanted to work for the Dallas Cowboys, but I didn't know how. They needed security. And I said, I don't know anything about security. I had came from the old state in which it's Texas state in when I got ready to come to AT&T stadium. The Jones family approached me. They say, if we have a new thing you're going to be doing. So first of all, you're not going to be doing security no more. I knew nothing about art, but I did it as I learned. I saw one of the galleries, museums everywhere. I said, this is pretty cool. Get it, you know. There's no set of rules in artwork that say, if you have to do one thing, you can do sculpture. You can do words. I found out each artist can't one thing in common. It's passion. Do what you love to do and you'll never work a day in your life. Don't make no difference with what you do. Somebody's doing like every event that has come here is for an allotment. We want allotment to be able to be a part of whatever we are doing. We do educational stuff, which is the art work. Kids, they can look at the art work and say, I don't like this, but I like that. There is no right or wrong way of looking at it. We want the kids to know that they already, I tell the kids, don't let anybody make you be something that you're not. American Dream means a person can be anything and go anywhere in this world and be themself. It is okay if you want to do something a little different. I'm filled with fear and I'm alive to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going't want to be a teacher. My mom is a teacher and when I was a kid I thought I want a more glamorous job, something more influential. And when I was a senior in college I was an English major and felt like I needed a job. So I decided to try teaching. Arlington College High School is an amazing place. Our goal is to take students who might not make it to four-year university and to give them the opportunity to earn high school diploma and an associate's degree in four years. Our LinkedIn was the first district where I got a job and when this opportunity started, I just knew I had to be a part of it. I was so excited for what our LinkedIn collegiate high school was trying to do. Back last October, Dr. Molin, our principal told us that we were gonna have a special assembly. We came over and it was a little bit of a bigger deal. Then I thought it would be, there were TV cameras here and then Jane Foley from the Milken Foundation got up and started talking about this award and what it meant and then they called my name and I was totally blown away. The Milk and Educator Award goes to Jennifer Farr! Wanting to help students be successful, wanting to help them achieve their dreams and get exactly where they want to in life. It's an amazing thing that the Milk and Foundation does. I am definitely living my dream job. I've always loved teaching. I've taught at several wonderful schools before here, but every single day I wake up excited to come to work, excited to get to see my students. I'm definitely living my dream here. I'm Jennifer Fuller and I'm alive with the American Dream. We are making a Rosie the Riveter Memorial Rose Garden. Honoring women from World War II who went to work on the home front. They did a lot of work in the factories. We're also doing a tribute mural at a sister location down the street. This is a Girl Scout Gold Award project and there are four girls working. My part of the project is the actual Rosie the Riveter Rose bed. The women of World War II, they really have that can-do attitude, which is something that we really want to encourage today. They inspired me that women can do anything. The women were farmers, and they were coal miners. They worked on the airplanes. They were all, they were in shipyards. I chose this piece, which shows two African-American girls veriting, because we need to show more appreciation to African Americans. The Rosie of the Riveter Memorial Rose Garden project is a national campaign initiative to create these gardens across the nation. It's all just a big team effort. I think that's a big part of the dream building is team building. You can that's a big part of the dream building is team building. You can do something as simple as a garden and they can teach everybody. I want them to see how Girl Scouts can improve and how we are actively trying to improve the community. By doing this I feel like I got a little bit of the candy spirit of the roses. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ Hello, everybody. From the new Globe-Lyre Field. This is another at the park with Chuck. Great to be with you and I've got a very interesting guy with me who's a project manager for Man Hat and Construction, John Heitmeier. What's special about it? You said you wanted to work on this project. What's special about the Globe Live Field? I wanted to be able to witness this project and work on this project along with the others that I'd had a privilege to work on. You know, in 2019 is a special year. And you were involved in working on the Apollo missions and then later on Skylab. Yes, when I first got out of college, I had an aerospace engineering degree and I was given the opportunity when I first got there to work on Apollo which then by then of course was well along the way but they needed some help in plotting some lunar orbital trajectories and doing some lunar rescue trajectories with the Command and Service Module. How about that? John Heidbier project manager for Manhead Construction here at Glow Life Field. This has been another edition of At the Park with Chuck. And remember, it is always baseball time in Arlington, Texas. I got a degree in pre-dental and actually took a little break at the end of my undergrad and I thought for a while that a different path was ahead for me and honestly I went and became a campus pastor completely out of dentistry. I saw that my real calling was really to come back and be an orthodontist here in my hometown. My wife and I started Ethiopia Smile to create an avenue for other friends really to join us in helping what was going on over there. And so since that time we've been able to take hundreds of people over with us, didn't us from around the country, but the main core of it has truly been people who live in Arlington. We were exposed to children in Africa that didn't have families. And honestly, my biological children were the first ones that were like, Mom, Dad, God, can we adopt a kid from Africa? And that's what really started open the door to like, you know, God just kind of took our family and opened to the idea of adopting and we did. We were hit with the reality of life in Ethiopia and came home with the desire to do something about that. You know, I had the great privilege of being honored with the American Association of Warthedonics, Humanitarian Award for 2019. This award just really represents all I think that it's