[1. Call To Order] [00:00:04] >> GOOD EVENING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. IT'S TUESDAY APRIL 28TH 2020 AT 6:30 AND WE ARE HOLDING OUR COUNCIL MEETING VIA ZOOM AUTHORIZED BY THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE THE MEETING MAY BE CONVENED EXECUTIVE SESSION. THE CITY OF ROWLETT RESERVES THE RIGHT TO RECONVENE OR CALL TO EXECUTIVE SESSION ORDER TO BUSINESS ANY TIME PRIOR TO ADJOURNMENT. DUE TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY AND CONFORM WITH SOCIAL DISTANCING REQUIREMENT, THE CITY COUNCIL'S MEETING WILL BE HELD VIA TELE CONFERENCING AND THE PUBLIC CAN VIEW ON THE WEBSITE OR LISTEN TO THE MEETING LIVE CALLING 877-853-5247 AND ENTERING MEETING NUMBER 615411540. MAY RECEIVE PUBLIC INPUT ON ANY FOLLOWING ITEMS. TO PROVIDE COMMENT FOR THE MEETING SEND AN E-MAIL TO CITIZENINPUT@ROWLETT.COM BY 330 P.M. WE DO NOT HAVE ANY CITIZEN INPUT TONIGHT SO WE DO NOT HAVE ANY TO LISTEN TO. I CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER. THE FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS IS ITEM TWO. REGARD UPDATE TO CITY COUNCIL REGARDING -- WAIT A MINUTE. DO WE WANT -- IS JUDGE WINTON ON THE MEETING? >> I'M HERE. >> HE JUST GOT HERE. >> IS IT OKAY IF WE CHANGE THE ORDER OF THIS? IS IT OKAY TO CHANGE THE ORDER OF THIS? [3. Discuss and take possible action based on recommendation by Court Governance Committee for appointment of an Associate Judge. (15 minutes)] >> YES, MA'AM. >> ALL RIGHT. WE'RE GOING TO SKIP TO ITEM THREE AND TALK ABOUT THE ONLY PERSON IN A SUIT THIS MEETING. >> HALF OF A SUIT. >> GOOD EVENING, I'M MAYOR DANA. ITEM THREE, RECOMMENDATION AND -- DISCUSS AND TAKE POSSIBLE ACTION BASED ON COURT GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE. >> I WANT TO THANK JUDGE CALLOWAY AND WLINSTEN ON THE CAL TONIGHT. LET THE COURT COMMITTEE KNOW, THAT I HAVE SHARED, THAT THERE HAVE BEEN SOME CHANGES IN THE SCHEDULING AND THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF SOME OF THE ASSOCIATE JUDGES THAT WE CURRENTLY EMPLOY, AND SO BECAUSE OF THAT, IT CREATED A NEED FOR US TO -- TO LOOK AT HIRING AN ADDITIONAL ASSOCIATE JUDGE. SHE RECOMMENDED THAT THE COURT GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE WHICH IS COMPRISED OF MYSELF AND COUNCILMEMBERS MATT AND WHITNEY LANING, THAT WE INTERVIEW JUDGE FOR THAT POSITION WHICH WE DID. COUNCIL HAS BEEN PROVIDED WITH HIS RESUME AND INTERVIEW NOTES THAT MYSELF AND MATT AND WHITNEY CREATED AS A RESULT OF THAT INTERVIEW. WE ARE HAPPY TO RECOMMEND THE HIRING OF JUDGE CALLOWAY TO THE FULL COUNCIL SINCE THAT'S ONE OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES THAT OUR COUNCIL HAS, IS TO HIRE OUR JUDGES. AND SO, AGAIN, THANK YOU JUDGE LIST AND JUDGE COLLOWAY FOR BEING WITH US TONIGHT. I THOUGHT WHAT I WOULD DO IS TURN IT OVER TO JUDGE LIST AND THEN TO JUDGE CALLOWAY AND LET HIM SPEAK FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES AND THEN OPEN IT UP TO THE COUNCIL FOR ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE. JUDGE LIST? >> THANK YOU. I MET JUDGE CALLOWAY TO TALK ABOUT PREEMPTION WHICH I FIND AN INTERESTING FACT GIVEN THIS DAY AND TIME, COMPETING ORDERS AND DIFFERENT LEVELS AT DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE GOVERNMENT TO DECIPHER. SO WE TAUGHT PREEMPTION TOGETHER AND THAT'S HOW I GOT TO LEARN ABOUT HIM, HOW SHARP HE IS. HOW KNOWLEDGEABLE HE IS. HE IS A REALLY GREAT TEACHER, TOO. HE IS ENGAGING. FROM THAT POINT ON, WE DEVELOPED A MUTUAL RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER AND STARTED COLLABORATING ON DIFFERENT EVOLUTIONS IN THE LAW AND DEVELOPMENT AND TALKING THROUGH THINGS. HE WOULD CALL ME TO BOUNCE SOME IDEAS OFF. I [00:05:04] WOULD CALL HIM. SO WE WERE ABLE TO REALLY CREATE SOME VERY GOOD OUTCOMES FOR OUR COURTS, DUE IN SOME PART, THE WORK THAT WE DID TOGETHER AND THE COLLABORATION THAT WE DID. SO WHEN I STARTED HAVING SOME DIFFICULTY MEETING ALL OF THE SCHEDULING NEEDS OF THE COURT BASED ON WHEN ASSOCIATED JUDGE'S PRACTICE PICKED UP AND ASSOCIATE JUDGE WAS LESS AVAILABLE, ONE OF THE ASSOCIATE JUDGES IS RUNNING FOR DISTRICT COURT SEAT AND UP UNTIL COVID, WAS STRETCHED REALLY THIN WITH HER CAMPAIGNING TYPE OF EVENTS. AND IF SHE DOES WIN THAT SEAT, THEN I WANT TO BE ALSO READY TO BE SEAMLESS FILLING IN. SO THE ADDITION OF JUDGE CALLOWAY IS GOING TO GIVE US THE DEPTH THAT WE NEED AND ALSO THE EXPERTISE THAT WE NEED SO I RECOMMEND HIM TO BE APPOINTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL. JUDGE CALLOWAY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING? >> OTHER THAN I'M VERY EXCITED EVEN BEING CONSIDERED FOR THE OPPORTUNITY, I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT YOU GUYS HAVE A GOOD THING GOING. A LOT OF TIMES WHEN YOU ENTER A MUNICIPAL COURT, A LOT OF IT REFORMED BASED AND YOU HAVE TO FIX THINGS. YOU GUYS HAVE A COURT WHERE I'M GOING TO GO IN. EVERYTHING WORKS. AND IT WORKS WELL AND THAT'S GOING TO BE A BREATH OF FRESH AIR. THAT'S DUE TO JUDGE LISTEN. SHE KIND OF UNDER STATED OUR FRIENDSHIP IN THE BEGINNING BUT WHEN YOU HAVE BEEN TEACHING FOR MANY YEARS LIKE JUDGE LISTEN HAS, THEY NORMALLY LET YOU HAVE FREE REIGN. WHEN I GOT THERE, I NEVER TALKED BEFORE AND THE GENTLEMAN WHO RUNS THE WHOLE PROGRAM, MADE HER PAIR UP WITH ME AND ESSENTIALLY FORCED HER TO MAKE ME -- TEACHING ADULTS IS DIFFICULT BUT TEACHING JUDGES WHO THINK THEY KNOW EVERYTHING IS VERY DIFFICULT. THEY BROUGHT HER. I REMEMBER THAT MOMENT, JUDGE CALLOWAY, YOU'RE GOING TO BE WITH JUDGE LISTEN. OH, GOD. THAT WAS THREE YEARS AGO. THROUGH THAT PROCESS I LEARNED A TON. AND BY THE END OF THE YEAR OF TEACHING, I ENJOYED IT. SHE JUST BECAME A MENTOR AFTER THAT. WHENEVER I HAD QUESTIONS IN MY COURTS OR I HAD ISSUES IN THE JAIL, WITH THE PERSON IN JAIL, I WOULD CALL HER AND SHE WOULD BE RESPONSIVE TO ME AND IMMEDIATELY GIVE ME AN ANSWER. A LOT OF TIMES WE INTERFACE ON ISSUES THAT ARE KIND OF NERD ISSUES FOR MUNICIPAL COURTS THAT COURTS SHOULD BE DOING AND SHE COMMONLY AGREES WITH ME ON THOSE ISSUES. IF WE DON'T AGREE, WE CAN ARTICULATE THEM. COMING TO YA'LL'S COURT, IF I AM CHOSEN TO DO SO, I WOULD LOVE IT BECAUSE JUDGE LISTEN IS THERE. AND TODAY WE DID SOME WORK ON ZOOM DOCKETING WITH HER STAFF. I GOT TO MEET A LOT OF THE STAFF AND THEY ARE ALSO VERY WONDERFUL, TOO. I REALLY LIKED GETTING TO KNOW THEM. IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME, I'M OPEN TO QUESTIONS. >> SO COUNCIL, TAMMY, MAYBE YOU CAN MANAGE THAT SINCE YOU HAVE THE RAISED HAND? >> COUNCIL, ANY QUESTIONS FOR ANY OF THE TWO JUDGES OR FOR ANY OF THE COURT GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE? MATT, YOU HAD YOUR HAND? >> YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO ADD, ME, WHITNEY, MARTHA AND I AND JUDGE LISTEN HAD ABOUT A TWO HOUR CALL WITH JUDGE CALLOWAY. IT'S NICE TO VISUALLY MEET WITH YOU NOW. BUT WE HAD A VERY, VERY GREAT PHONE CALL WITH HIM AND REALLY GOT INTO SOME DETAIL ABOUT THE FORMER WORK HE HAS DONE. I THINK HE IS GOING TO BE A FANTASTIC FIT WITHIN THE COURT. HE HAS GOT THE RIGHT PERSONALITY, RIGHT TEMPERAMENT. I THINK HIS EXPERIENCE IS REALLY GOING TO BE A GOOD ADDITION TO THE COURT. YOU HAVE MY FULL APPROVAL AND AGAIN, PRAY TO MEET YOU IN PERSON AND THAT YOU PUT ON A SUIT FOR THIS. THAT'S EVEN BETTER. >> HE HAS THE MANNERISMS OF TOM >> YES. >> WE SENT A LITTLE ZOOM BOX. >> THAT'S THE FIRST THING I THINK. >> JUDGE CALLOWAY, THAT'S A VERY GOOD THING. >> I DIDN'T KNOW IF I WAS BEING MADE FUN OF OR NOT. >> NO. NOT AT ALL. >> WERE YOU DONE, MATT? OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COUNCIL? ALL RIGHT. I HAVE THREE QUESTIONS. SORRY. ONE IS, AND I TALKED TO JUDGE LISTEN ABOUT THIS, AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE IT A PUBLIC ANSWER, JUDGE CALLOWAY, [00:10:03] YOU'RE A DEFENSE ATTORNEY IN DALLAS COUNTY AND ROCK WALL COUNTY, TOO. I WANT THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND HOW THAT WORKS WHEN YOU'RE AN ASSOCIATED JUDGE IN THE SAME COUNTY WHICH YOU MIGHT PERFORM DEFENSE FUNCTIONS. JUDGE LISTON, DO YOU WANT TO GO OVER THAT? >> SURE. YOU CAN'T BE THE SAME AS MAGISTRATE. JUDGE CALLOWAY KNOWS THOSE RULES AND WOULD NOT EVER BREECH THAT. I'M COMPLETELY COMFORTABLE WITH HIM BEING APPOINTED IN THIS POSITION. I KNOW THAT JUDGE CALLOWAY AND I DISCUSSED THIS IN THE PAST AS HE DID WITH THE COURT GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE. GO AHEAD, JUDGE CALLOWAY. >> TWO THINGS. NUMBER ONE, JUDGE LISTON LISTED THE LAW IF I MAGISTRATE SOMEBODY AND TALK WITH THEM OR DID A SEARCH WARRANT RELATED TO THEIR CASE, I COULD NOT DEFEND THEM. I ACTUALLY GO FURTHER. I DO NOT TAKE CASES AT ALL THAT ARE IN ANY MUNICIPALITY THAT I SERVE. I MAKE IT A BLANKET NO. I WOULD NEVER REPRESENT SOMEBODY IN A COURT IN ROCK WALL OR IN DALLAS COUNTY THAT CAME FROM ANY CASE THAT STEMMED FROM THE ROWLETT POLICE DEPARTMENT AT ALL. I JUST MAKE IT A STRAIGHT PROHIBITION. I WILL ALSO SAY, TOO, THAT I JUST RECENTLY AP APPLIED FOR THIS POSITION, AS WELL AS ANOTHER ONE AND IT'S VERY POSSIBLE THAT I WILL IN THE NEXT FIVE OR SIX MONTHS, RAMP DOWN MY CRIMINAL PRACTICE AND I WILL BE ABLE TO FOCUS AND DO ALL OF THAT. SO I'M AT A PLACE NOW WITH MY BUSINESS WHERE THOSE CONFLICTS WILL NOT BE AN ISSUE NOW WHERE I RAMP DOWN MY DEFENSE PRACTICE. >> JUDGE CALLOWAY WAS APPOINTED THE PROVIDED JUDGE OF MERCY. >> THANK YOU JUDGE CALLOWAY. I WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU DIDN'T HAVE AN ISSUE FROM A PRACTICAL SIDE. >> GOOD QUESTION. GREAT QUESTION. >> JUDGE LISTON, HISTORICALLY WHEN I STARTED THIS, HOWEVER MANY YEARS AGO. WE USED TO TALK ABOUT HOW IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE SOMEBODY LOCAL BECAUSE OF THE DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES REQUIRED. WE'RE PAST THAT, RIGHT? >> WE ARE. WE ARE PAST THAT NOW. YES. >> SO WE HAVE NO CONCERNS ABOUT LOCATION, RESIDENCE LOCATION OF THE ASSOCIATE JUDGES? >> I WOULDN'T SAY WE HAVE NO CONCERNS BECAUSE WE HAVE SOMETHING CALLED A JUVENILE MAGISTRATION THAT HAS TO BE DONE. SO IT'S NOT THAT WE HAVE NO CONCERNS ABOUT THAT ANYMORE BUT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE WORK NOW CAN ALL BE DONE ELECTRONICALLY. BUT I UNDERSTAND JUDGE CALLOWAY IS STILL WITHIN THE 30 MINUTE ABLE TO BE HERE CRITERIA THAT WE HAVE ALREADY ESTABLISHED. AND FOR EXAMPLE HE WAS JUST IN MURPHY TODAY. HE DROVE RIGHT THROUGH HERE MOST LIKELY SO I THINK HE STILL FITS THE BILL OF WHAT WE WANT AND THE PARAMETERS THAT WE HAD. AND IT'S ALMOST ENTIRELY TRUE THAT EVERYTHING IS ELECTRONIC NOW AND CAN BE DONE ELECTRONICALLY. >> THANK YOU. >> YOU'RE WELCOME. >> AND MY LAST QUESTION IS COST WISE. THIS IS A NEUTRAL MOVE, IS THAT CORRECT? >> THAT'S CORRECT. >> WHY IS THAT, JUST FOR THE PUBLIC TO KNOW? >> THE NUMBER OF HOURS DOESN'T CHANGE DEPENDING ON WHO PERFORMS THE SERVICES. THE NUMBER OF HOURS IS THE SAME. JUDGE CALLOWAY, BEING A JUDGE IN OTHER MUNICIPALITIES WON'T CAUSE ANY EXPENSE TO THE TRAINING BUDGET AT ALL EITHER. AND ALSO TALKED TO MARTHA -- MARTHA ASK THAT I TALK TO RICHARD JONES ABOUT THE COST OF ONBOARDING. RICHARD JONES SAYS THERE IS NO ADDITIONAL COST BECAUSE THEY HAVE ALREADY BUDGETED FOR HIRES AND FALLS WITHIN THE BUDGET THEY ESTABLISHED SO THERE IS NO EXTRA EXPENSE ASSOCIATED WITH ADDING THE JUDGE. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH. >> YOU'RE WELCOME. >> COUNCIL, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT. SO I GUESS I'LL TAKE A MOTION. >> I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION THAT WE HIRE JUDGE CALLOWAY FOR THE CITY OF ROWLETT MUNICIPAL COURT. >> SECOND. >> SECOND. >> ALL THOSE IN FAVOR RAISE [00:15:02] YOUR HAND. AND THAT PASSES 7-0. WE'RE SO HAPPY TO HAVE YOU ON BOARD. THANK YOU SO MUCH. >> YOU'RE WELCOME. >> LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU. >> THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH. THANK YOU TO PAM LISTON. >> THANK YOU JUDGE CALLOWAY. >> MAYOR, DO YOU MIND IF I STAY ON THE REST OF THE MEETING OR CAN I HOP OFF? >> THERE IS NO PROBLEM WITH YOU STAYING ON. NOPE. HAPPY TO HAVE YOU. >> ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU JUDGE [2. Provide update to City Council regarding the April 17th Public Utilities Commission Hearing regarding the water rate case with the North Texas Municipal Water District. (20 minutes)] CALLOWAY. >> THANK YOU. >> THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS ITEM TWO. PROVIDE UPDATE TO CITY COUNCIL FROM THE APRIL 17TH PUMC WATER RATE CASE. AND I THINK BETWEEN BRIAN AND I HAVE THAT DISCUSSION BUT BRIAN YOU WILL PROBABLY START US OFF. >> YES, MA'AM. THANK YOU, MAYOR. COUNCIL, AS YOU KNOW, CITY OF ROWLETT JOINED OTHER DISTRICTS TESTING WATER RATES THROUGH THE NORTH TEXAS WATER DISTRICT. FEBRUARY 28TH TEXAS PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION, HELD A HEARING TO ADDRESS A PETITION. THE HEARING WAS SCHEDULED BY THE MAYOR AND MANAGER AND PUC RULED THAT THE RATES WERE ADVERSED TO PUBLIC INTEREST. WE CONSIDER THAT A HUGE WIN AT THE TIME AND SOMETHING WE FELT WAS A LONG TIME IN SOMETHING. SINCE THAT TIME, MAYOR AND CITY AND STAFF HAS WORKED WITH OTHER NON-MEMBER CUSTOMER ENTITIES AND FORM A COALITION TO CONSIDER INTERVENING IN THE UPCOMING HEARING ON TWO ISSUES. ONE, THE BY CENT PREMIUM UPCHARGE, WHOLESALE WATER ENTITIES LIKE CITY AND THE TAKE OR PAY CLAUSE. TO HELP WITH INTERVENTIONS, ROWLETT JOINED WITH OTHER CITIES TO HIRE LEGAL REPRESENTATION TO SUPPORT OUR EFFORTS. FAST FORWARD TO TODAY, ON APRIL 17TH, PUC HELD A HEARING TO FINALIZE ITS ORDER FROM THE FEBRUARY 28TH MEETING TO CONDUCT A RATE REVIEW AND TO DELIBERATE PETITIONS FROM ROWLETT AND OTHER NON-MEMBER CUSTOMER ENTITY. DURING THE HEARING PUC ORDERED THE PARTY TO HIRE A THIRD-PARTY MEDIATOR AND ENTER INTO LEGAL MEDIATION. THIS ORDER WAS DISAPPOINTING AND SURPRISING GIVEN THAT PUC HAD JUST RULED THAT THE WATER RATES WERE ADVERSE TO THE PUBLIC INTEREST. THIS IS THE SAME ISSUE THAT INVOLVES THE GRASSROOTS EFFORT IN ROWLETT, LEADING TO PETITION SIGNED BY 3 THOUSAND ROWLETT RESIDENTS. OUR RESIDENTS WANT RELIEF ON THE WATER BILL NOW AND THE INACTION TAKEN BY THE PUC IS VERY DISAPPOINTING. GAVE UNTIL THE FIRST MEETING IN MAY, TO AGREE ON A MEDIATOR OR THAT PUC WILL APPOINT SUCH A MEDIATOR. THE GOAL WILL BE TO COME TO AN AGREEMENT BY JANUARY 21ST, 2021 OR FACE THE POSSIBILITY OF THE STATE LEGISLATURE ACTING. THE PUC DID NOT ALLOW ANY PARTIES TO COMMENT, NOR DID THEY ACT ON ANY INTERVENTION PETITIONS FILED BY THE CITY OF ROWLETT OR OTHER NON-MEMBER CUSTOMER COALITION ENTITY. OUR POSITION REGARDING THE UNFAIR WATER RATES AND PRACTICE OF THE DOCTOR -- DISTRICT HAVE NOT CHANGED. ISTR NOT CHANGED. I KNOW THE MAYOR HAS GOT SOME COMMENTS AS WELL. JUST THE BOTTOM LINE IS WE REALLY FELT STRONGLY THAT THE PUC PUT IT. EVEN THOUGH THIS WAS LED TO THE ACTUAL ORDER THAT WAS DISCUSSED AT THE FEBRUARY MEETING AND INS INSTEAD, THEY PLANTED THE BALL. MAYOR? >> WELL, I WASN'T SURE YOU WERE GOING TO USE THAT WORD. IF YOU WEREN'T, I WAS GOING TO. WELL, THANK YOU. CERTAINLY UNBELIEVABLY DISAPPOINTING. THEIR INACTION AND THEIR CHANGE OF COURSE IN THEIR LAST MEETING. TO ORDER MEDIATION AT THIS POINT, WE HAVE COME SO FAR IN ALL OF THIS OVER WHAT TWO -- TWO AND A HALF YEARS, THREE YEARS OR EVEN LONGER. I MEAN, THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN IN MEDIATION WITHIN THE 13 CUSTOMER CITIES FOR -- 13 MEMBER CITIES FOR A LONG, LONG TIME AND NO RESOLUTION HAS COME FORWARD BECAUSE IT IS JUST AN ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION TO HAVE A RESOLUTION. ANY TIME WHEN YOU HAVE TO REQUIRE A UNANIMOUS VOTE FOR A CHANGE, AND THAT VOTE IS GOING TO MAKE CERTAIN OF THOSE MEMBER CITY'S POSITION WORSE, THAT'S A [00:20:06] SITUATION THAT DOESN'T HAVE A RESOLUTION AND THAT HAS BEEN PROVEN OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. SO VERY, VERY DISAPPOINTED THAT PUC DECIDED TO TAKE THIS COURSE OF ACTION. IF YOU WATCH THE PUC HEARING THERE WAS A HUGE AMOUNT OF WEIGHT PUT ON THIS DECISION BY TWO LETTERS SENT TO THE CHAIR AND TO THE PUC COMMISSION FROM ELECTED OFFICIALS, AND YOU KNOW, QUITE FRANKLY, THERE WAS NOTHING IN THOSE LETTERS THAT NEGATED THE FINDING BY THE PUC THAT THE RATES WERE ADVERSE TO THE PUBLIC'S INTEREST. VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THAT CHANGE OF COURSE. VERY CONCERNED THAT MEDIATION IS NOT GOING TO HAVE A RESOLUTION, AND THAT THIS WILL END UP WITH THE LEGISLATURE, AND THAT, AT A MINIMUM, IS ANOTHER YEAR DELAY FROM THIS POINT IN TIME, WITH NO GUARANTEE ON WHAT THE OUTCOME WOULD BE, FAVORABLE OR UNFAVORABLE FOR OUR RESIDENTS AND OUR CITY. THE BIGGEST CONCERN RIGHT NOW IS HOW DO WE INSERT OURSELVES INTO THIS PROCESS? DO WE HAVE A RIGHT TO INSERT OURSELVES INTO THE MEDIATION PROCESS? AND IF WE DO, HOW DO WE DO THAT? IF WE DON'T, WHAT HAPPENS, YOU KNOW, TO THE CUSTOMER CITIES AS A RESULT OF ANY POTENTIAL RESOLUTION THROUGH MEDIATION PROCESS? SO BRIAN AND I HAVE A MEETING TOMORROW WITH A CUSTOMER COALITION AND THE ATTORNEY REPRESENTING US. ONE OF THE TWO ISSUES. AND WE WILL CERTAINLY HAVE A MEETING WITH THE OTHER FIRM REPRESENTING US ON THE OTHER ISSUE SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND THE FULL BREADTH OF WHAT OUR RIGHTS MIGHT BE, TO CONTINUE TO BE A POTENTIAL PART OF THE SOLUTION TO OUR TWO ISSUES. DAVID, DO YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING THERE? >> NO. THE KNEE JERK REACTION THAT I HAD, IF WE DON'T PARTICIPATE IN THE MEDIATION, THE FEAR IS THAT THE EXISTING PARTIES CAN ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAPPEN BUT THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THEY COULD AGREE TO SOMETHING THAT REALLY PUTS US OUT IN THE -- OUT IN THE COLD. BUT I GOT TO SAY, FULL BLOWN PARTICIPATION BY TWO DIFFERENT LAW FIRMS IS NOT GOING TO BE CHEAP, EVEN THOUGH THE COSTS ARE BEING SPLIT AMONG A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PARTICIPATING CITIES AND DISTRICTS OR SUPPLIERS. IT'S STILL GOING TO BE EXPENSIVE. FIRST CONVERSATION I HAD WITH JACKSON WALKER, THE LAWYERS THAT REPRESENT US, THE COALITION. HE WAS READY TO GO FULL GUNS. HIRING EXPERT WITNESSES AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. WE HAVE FILES. MOTION TO INTERVENE. THERE HAS BEEN NO RULING ON THOSE INTERVENTIONS AND SO YOU KNOW WE'RE NOT REALLY -- I'M NOT REALLY SURE THAT WE'RE ACTIVELY A PARTY ANYWAY SO LONG AS NO ONE CONTESTS OUR PARTICIPATION, THEN IN FACT WE ARE. BUT FOR THE TIME BEING, I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE TALKED ABOUT LIKE TAMMY SAID, WITH THE COALITION AND FIGURE OUT WHERE TO GO WITH IT. IT'S AN UNUSUAL AND AN UNCOMFORTABLE SITUATION AND I THINK THE SOLUTION, WHETHER THEY AGREE TO SOMETHING IN MEDIATION OR NOT, IS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH THE LEGISLATURE. THE LEGISLATURE, AS WE ALL KNOW IS NOT REALLY ON OUR SIDE. SO THAT SOLUTION, THAT ULTIMATE RESOLUTION IS NOT SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO. THE QUESTION IS SHOULD WE SPEND MONEY ON LAWYERS TO MEDIATE THIS CASE, OR LOBBYISTS TO PUT OUR CASE FORWARD IN THE LEGISLATURE WHEN THEY CONVENE. >> AND CERTAINLY I HAVE A LARGE CONCERN, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A PATH WE WERE GOING DOWN. ONE WAS THE ENTIRE CUSTOMER COALITION TO TALK ABOUT THE UPCHARGE AND ANOTHER PATH WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE SMALLER SUBSET TO MAKE SURE WE CAN INTERVENE, TAKE OR PAY. WE HAVE TO MANAGE BOTH OF THE LAW FIRMS VERY CLOSELY. WE WOULD BE SHARING THOSE COSTS AND THERE WAS A REASON WE HAD TO DO THE TWO LAW FIRMS BECAUSE THE TWO ISSUES CAN BE IN CONFLICT WITH EACH OTHER AND NOW THAT WE'RE IN THIS MEDIATION, POTENTIAL STEP AND YOU KNOW, MAYBE THAT DOESN'T EVEN WORK IN THE LEGISLATIVE MATTER, I AM VERY, VERY CONCERNED ABOUT NUMBER ONE, HAVING TWO LAW FIRMS AND NUMBER TWO, GOING FULL GUNS BLAZING HERE WHEN WE DON'T EVEN KNOW, IF WE HAVE RIGHTS TO BE PART OF THIS MEDIATION SO I'LL [00:25:01] PAUSE THERE AND OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM COUNCIL. >> DO WE NEED TO TEE THIS UP FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION AT NEXT WEEK'S MEETING AFTER YOU HAVE COALITION MEETING TOMORROW TO HAVE MORE OF A GIST OF WHAT'S GOING ON? >> YEAH, BUT WE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT IT NOW BECAUSE NUMBER ONE, IT JUST HAPPENED AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE UPDATING YOU AND THE PUBLIC OF WHAT'S GOING ON. NUMBER TWO, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE GAVE YA'LL A CHANCE TO EXPRESS OPINIONS AND CONCERNS BEFORE WE HAD THOSE MEETINGS. BRIAN, WE HAVE ONE OF THE MEETINGS SET UP TOMORROW. I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE THE OTHER MEETING SET UP YET. DO YOU? >> MAYOR IT'S NOT SET UP YET BUT I REACHED OUT TO THE CITY MANAGER AND WE SHOULD SET THAT UP LATE THIS WEEK. SHOULD HAVE THAT IN TIME FOR NEXT TUESDAY NIGHT. >> YES, WHITNEY IT WILL BE ON ANOTHER AGENDA SHORTLY. NEXT WEEK OR ANOTHER AGENDA. >> THE OTHER COMMENT I HAVE IS IF WE'RE THINKING ABOUT A LEGISLATIVE TYPE OF SOLUTION, WHETHER BE GOOD OR BAD, WE SHOULD START WORKING ON THAT NOW WITH THE LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATIVES. WE DON'T NEED TO WAIT UNTIL LAST MINUTE. >> NO. AND WE HAVE BEEN VERY -- THEY HAVE BEEN VERY INVOLVED IN THIS ISSUE WITH US AND VERY SUPPORTIVE AND INFLUENTIAL AND THEY'RE ALL -- WELL THE ONES WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH ARE VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE SO WE WILL DEFINITELY GO DOWN THAT PATH VERY QUICKLY IF WE END UP NEEDING TO GO. BUT MEDIATION IS GOING TO HAPPEN BECAUSE IF THE PARTIES DON'T DECIDE ON A MEDIATOR, THE PUC IS GOING TO APPOINT THE MEDIATOR FOR THEM. SO THE FIRST STEP IS TO FIGURE OUT IF WE'RE A PLAYER IN MEDIATION AND HOW WE'RE A PLAYER IN MEDIATION, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE SIGNIFICANT DOUBTS THAT MEDIATION WILL RESULT IN A RESOLUTION. I DON'T THINK WE CAN AFFORD TO GO DOWN THAT PATH TO FIGURE THAT OUT. >> ABSOLUTELY. >> OKAY. MATT? >> YEAH, YOU KIND OF BOTH JUST SAID WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY IS WE KIND OF NEED TO ATTACK THIS FROM TWO FRONTS. WE NEED TO KEEP MAKING NOISE. WE HAVE BEEN MAKING NOISE. HAVE TO CONTINUE TO MAKE NOISE, BE A THORN IN EVERYBODY'S SIDE. IT WAS POLITICAL BEFORE. BUT THIS MOVE, IN MY OPINION, FROM SOURCES THAT I TALKED ABOUT THAT I'M NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT HERE THEY FEEL THAT PUC AND PEOPLE APPOA POINTED TO PUC, GETTING HUGE PRESSURE FROM OTHER UTILITY COM DISTRICT THAT THIS WAS GOING TO SET. EVERY UTILITY DISTRICT IS DOING THE SAME THING BUT THIS ONE WOULD MAKE THE NEWS AND HAVE A SNOWBALL EFFECT IF IT HAPPENS. IT'S GOING TO COME TO LOBBYING, LOCAL PRESSURE, COME TO MORE CITIZENS WRITING PETITIONS. THIS IS NOW A POLITICAL ISSUE AND WE HAVE TO BE INVOLVED WITH MEDIATION. WE JUST KEEP STICKING OUR NOSE IN, IN THE WAYS THAT WE CAN'T LEGALLY, AND ALSO HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO HELP STRENGTHEN AND BUILD A COALITION THAT TAMMY HAS SO PUT TOGETHER AND BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, THAT WE CAN SHARE TO GET MORE PEOPLE ON BOARD THAT ARE BEHIND THIS. BECAUSE THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE BEHIND THIS ISSUE THAT AREN'T CUSTOMER CITIES WITHIN THE NORTH MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT, FIGHTING THE SAME BATTLES IN OTHER AREAS THAT WOULD LOVE TO JUMP ON TO THIS AND NOW THAT IT HAS GOTTEN TO THIS POINT. I THINK IF YOU CONTINUE TO BUILD THIS FIRE, IT'S GOING TO GROW OVER TIME AND TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, THAT BECAUSE OF THEM DOWN THE ROAD, I AGREE IT PROBABLY WON'T WORK ITSELF OUT IN MEDIATION, THIS GIVES US EXTRA TIME TO DO THAT, BE A LEADER IN THAT AND BUILD THAT COALITION. I THINK MORE PEOPLE WILL JOIN IT AS IT COMES. PEOPLE I TALKED TO THAT ARE NOT CUSTOMER CITIES OR MEMBER CITIES, THEY ARE CUSTOMER AND MEMBER CITIES OF OTHER DISTRICTS HAVE THE SAME BEEF. THEY WERE WAITING TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS HERE. THERE ARE PEOPLE READY TO JUMP ON IF SOMEONE WILL GIVE THEM AN AVENUE AND ABILITY TO DO IT. THAT'S MY COMMENT ON IT. >> THOSE ARE GREAT POINTS, MATT. REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. CERTAINLY WE WOULDN'T HAVE GONE DOWN THAT PATH IF THERE WAS A PUC RATE HEARING. CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND THERE IS A LOT OF UTILITY COMPANIES OUT THERE THAT AE WATCHING THIS VERY CLOSELY. I WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY ON THIS CALL, IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THOSE TWO LETTERS TO PLEASE PULL [00:30:08] THAT UP. THEY ARE VERY TELLING OF THE SITUATION THAT IS OCCURRING. MAYBE, BRIAN TO MAKE THAT EASY ON EVERYBODY, YOU CAN IN YOUR INFINITE SPARE TIME, PULL THAT OUT TO COUNCIL. >> I'LL DO THAT MAYOR. >> BLAKE? >> I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE NEXT DISCUSSION WE HAVE ON THIS CAN BE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION BECAUSE I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE NOW BUT I'M NOT COMFORTABLE WITH ASKING IN AN OPEN MEETING. SO I JUST ASK THAT. >> WELL, I THINK THERE WILL BE VALIDITY TO THAT BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO BE OBTAINING LEGAL ADVICE FROM OUTSIDE COUNSEL THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO SHARE WITH OUTSIDE LEGAL COUNSEL THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO SHARE WITH CITY COUNCIL AND ASK FOR ADVICE FROM OUR CITY ATTORNEYS. >> YEAH, YEAH, MY QUESTIONS ARE LEGAL ADVICE SO I'LL WAIT THEN. >> AND RIGHT NOW OUR LEGAL ADVICE IS TO GET LEGAL ADVICE. ALL RIGHT. WAS THAT IT, BLAKE? OKAY. MARTHA? >> YEAH, SO OBVIOUSLY THIS IS GOING TO BE A PRETTY LONG DRAWN-OUT PROCESS, AND OUR CHALLENGE WILL BE TO KEEP THIS ON THE RADAR FOR OUR COMMUNITY, BUT IT DEFINITELY HAS ALL OF THE AIR MARKS OF HAVING SOME REALLY GREAT GRASS ROOT SUPPORT AS WE SAW WITH THE PETITION THAT ONE OF OUR CITIZENS BEGAN CIRCULATING ITSELF AND HAD A LOT OF PARTICIPATION IN THAT AND SO YOU KNOW, WE'RE KIND OF IN THIS FOR THE LONG RUN. DEFINITELY NOT A SPRINT. OUR CHALLENGE WILL BE JUST TO EVALUATE THIS AT EVERY STAGE OF THIS PROCESS. PART OF THAT IS MEETING WITH THE COALITION AND SEEING WHICH DIRECTION THE CUSTOMER GROUP WANTS TO GO IN AND ACTUALLY TWO DIFFERENT CUSTOMER GROUPS, TWO DIFFERENT ISSUES THAT WE HAVE, BUT IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT THE CONSENSUS IS THERE IN WHERE WE SPEND OUR EFFORTS AND RESOURCES WHETHER IT'S ON LOBBYING WHEN WE GET DOWN TO THE LEGISLATIVE PART OF THIS, BUT I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT HAS BEEN SAID SO FAR. LET'S DO OUR PART TO KEEP IT TO THE PUBLIC AND DO EVERYTHING WE NEED BECAUSE I KNOW OUR LEGISLATORS DO LISTEN TO THEIR CONSTITUENTS. >> ONE OF THE THINGS, WHEN THIS HAPPENED, I THINK IT WAS LAST -- A WEEK AGO FRIDAY NOW IS WHEN THE PUC HEARING WAS. WHEN THIS HAPPENED, I WAS GOING TO COME OUT GUNS BLAZING AND MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. ITS BEEN DIFFICULT BECAUSE OF COVID-19 HAS TAKEN SO MANY HEADLINES AND TAKEN SO MANY RESOURCES. WHAT WE FOUND INTERESTING, AT MY REQUEST, I HAD DENISE DO SOME SEARCHING ON WHAT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED ABOUT THIS PUC HEARING BY THE FOUR MEMBER CITIES ABOUT THE FOUR WHO BROUGHT THE LAWSUIT. THERE IS NOTHING BEING DISCUSSED. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S A FUNCTION OF COVID-19 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I DON'T KNOW IF IMMEDIATELY GOING TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT ALL OF THIS, I WANTED TO SPEND SOME TIME IN CONSULTATION WITH CUSTOMER COALITION AND THE ATTORNEY FIRMS WHO WE HAVE HIRED, TO SEE WHAT THAT KIND OF DIRECTION IS, AND MAKE A PUBLIC STATEMENT THAT IS MEANINGFUL TO OUR RESIDENTS. >> IN JULY WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO MAKE THAT STATEMENT, MAYOR. THE OTHER THING I WAS GOING TO SAY IS THE UNKNOWN HERE AND I KNOW WE DON'T KNOW BUT WOULD BE CURIOUS AND I HOPE SOMEBODY IS KIND OF DOING THEIR BEST TO KEEP THE EAR TO THE GRIND STONE, WHO WILL BE THE NEW PD FOR THE TEXAS ORDER DISTRICT. THAT'S GOING TO BE A BIG PLAYER IN THIS. >> YEP, GOOD POINT. AND JUST SO I DON'T KNOW IF ALL OF COUNCIL KNOWS THAT, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HAS RETIRED AND THEY ARE DOING A SEARCH FOR [00:35:05] AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. ALL RIGHT. MARTHA YOU STILL HAVE YOUR HAND RAISED. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE. OKAY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS BY ANYONE REGARDING THIS SUBJECT MATTER? ALL RIGHT. TO BE CONTINUED. [4. Discuss the COVID-19 event and take any necessary action.] ALL RIGHT. THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS ITEM FOUR. DISCUSS THE COVID-19 EVENT AND TAKE ANY NECESSARY ACTION. I THINK BRIAN HAS A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION WE'RE GOING TO TALK FROM FIRST. >> I DO, MAYOR. THANK YOU. >> LAURA WILL PULL THAT UP FOR US. THERE IT IS. THANK YOU, LAURA. LAURA, IS THAT GOING TO BE FULL SCREEN? THERE WE GO. COUNCIL, THANK YOU. LET'S SEE. LAURA, GO TO SLIDE TWO. SO MONDAY, APRIL 27TH, THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF TEXAS ISSUED A SERIES OF NEW EXECUTIVE ORDERS. SPECIFICALLY GA 18, 19 AND 20. THE ONE WE'RE GOING TO SPEND MOST OF OUR ATTENTION TO TONIGHT IS GA-18. IT ALSO CAME WITH A HANDBOOK FOR THE GOVERNOR'S REPORT TO OPEN TEXAS. A 64 PAGE HANDBOOK FOR GUIDELINES AND REQUIREMENTS TO OPEN TEXAS BUSINESSES. ONE THING THAT WE HAVE BEEN KIND OF CONCERNED ABOUT OVER THE -- WELL, REALLY SIX WEEKS OR SO, IS MAKING SURE THERE IS ENOUGH DETAILS IN OUR ORDERS, THAT WE CAN PROPERLY ENGAGE AND EDUCATE THE PUBLIC AND OUR BUSINESSES, OUR FAITH-BASED COMMUNITY AND EVERYBODY. SO THIS HANDBOOK IS VERY SPECIFIC AS TO, YOU KNOW, FIRST OFF, WHICH BUSINESSES CAN OPEN NOW AT THIS JUNCTURE, AND WHAT CONDITIONS THEY MUST MEET IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO OPEN UP. ESSENTIALLY THE ORDERS ALLOW TEXAS BUSINESSES TO OPEN AT 25% CAPACITY. THIS DOES EXCLUDE PERSONAL SERVICES SUCH AS BARBERSHOPS, SALONS, ET CETERA, AT THIS TIME. AND THE GOAL IS TO INCREASE 50% BY MAY 18TH IF THE METRICS THAT ARE BEING MONITORED FOR COVID-19 CONTINUE TO IMPROVE. LAURA, NEXT SLIDE. SO FIRST OFF, THE GOVERNOR HAS SPLIT THIS INTO WHAT HE BELIEVES WILL BE A SERIES OF PHASES. THIS WILL BE PHASE ONE. AND ESSENTIALLY, WE'LL HAVE SEVERAL DIFFERENT THINGS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO MONITOR. ONE IS THE NUMBER OF NEW CASES ON BOARD. THE GOVERNOR STATED, WANTED TO SEE THOSE CONTINUE TO DECLINE. DID MENTION ON THE CALL YESTERDAY THAT THEY HAVE DECLINED IN TEXAS OVERALL FOR 19 STRAIGHT DAYS. THAT MAY NOT BE TRUE FOR EVERY COUNTY SPECIFICALLY OR EVERY CITY, BUT TEXAS AS A WHOLE HAS SEEN THE DECLINE YESTERDAY FOR 19 STRAIGHT DAYS. THE SECOND THING IS TO MAKE SURE THERE IS ADEQUATE TESTING. SO WE WILL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT TESTING HERE IN ANOTHER SLIDE. ED VALDEREZ WILL TALK ABOUT THAT. IT'S IMPORTANT. PROTECTING THE MOST VULNERABLE IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. SO ONE THING IS THAT NOT EVERY BUSINESS WILL BE ABLE TO OPEN AT THIS TIME. AND SECONDLY, THERE IS BOTH REQUIRED AND STRONGLY URGED MEASURES FOR -- FOR INDIVIDUALS OVER 65 AND THOSE THAT ARE -- THAT HAVE CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS, TO AVOID GOING OUT IN PUBLIC AND DOING THINGS OTHER THAN THOSE THINGS THAT ARE ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL. SO THERE IS ALSO -- WE KIND OF EXPECTED MAYBE EVEN REQUIREMENT FOR FACE MASK OR FACE COVERINGS. BUT AT THIS POINT, THE GOVERNOR IS STRONGLY ENCOURAGING THAT WHEN PEOPLE ARE OUT IN PUBLIC. IT CONTINUES TO BE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED. BOTH THE CDC AS WELL AS THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE HAS REALLY TOUTED THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL DISTANCING, SHELTERING AT HOME, AND WHEN YOU DO GO OUT, WEARING FACE COVERINGS BECAUSE THEY DO HELP REDUCE THE SPREAD OF COVID-19. NEXT SLIDE. SO I WANT TO COVER JUST A FEW OF THE SPECIFICS JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY HAS HAD A CHANCE TO UNDERSTAND THE GOVERNOR'S ORDER. FIRST OFF, IN STORE RETAIL SERVICES AND DINE IN RESTAURANTS WILL BE ABLE TO OPERATE AT 25% OCCUPANCY. THEY ARE GOING TO PROHIBIT VALET [00:40:05] SERVICES EXCEPT FOR VEHICLES WITH PLAQUES OR PLATES FOR DISABLED PARKING. MOVIE THEATERS CAN HAVE 25% OF OCCUPATION. SHOPPING MALLS, 25% OF OCCUPANCY FOR THE SHOPPING MALL PROVIDED HOWEVER, THAT FOOD COURTS, DINING AREAS, PLAY AREAS AND INTERACIVE SETTINGS REMAIN CLOSED. ANY COMPONENTS OF MUSEUMS OR LIBRARIES THAT HAVE INTERACTIVE FUNCTIONS OR EXHIBITS INCLUDING CHILD PLAY AREAS, MUST REMAIN CLOSED. MEDICAL DENTAL PROVIDERS CAN BE OPEN. WORKING ALONE CAN BE OPEN. GOLF COURSE OPERATIONS WITH LIMITATIONS, FOR EXAMPLE, A GROUP THAT WANTS TO PLAY, CAN'T PLAY TOGETHER. HAS TO BE STILL LIMITED. LOCAL GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS HAS BEEN LEFT TO THE DECISIONS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT BUT SPECIFICALLY THE GOVERNOR IS INCLUDING COUNTY GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS RELATING TO PERMITTING, DOCUMENT FILING SERVICES AND THOSE KIND OF THINGS. THE GOVERNOR IS STILL RECOMMENDING THAT RELIGIOUS SERVICES BE CONDUCTED. SO THAT IS STILL PROVIDING VERY DETAILED GUIDELINES ON HOW CHURCHES CAN OPERATE SAFELY IN THIS ENVIRONMENT. AND AS WE ALLUDED TO A MINUTE AGO, THE ORDER DOES NOT SPECIFICALLY PERMIT BARS, GYMS, PUBLIC SWIMMING AREAS, AMUSEMENT VENUES SUCH AS BOWL ALLEYS, VIDEO ARCADES, TATTOO STUDIOS, PIERCING STUDIOS OR COSMETOLOGY TO OPEN. THE USE OF DRIVE THROUGH, PICK UP OR DELIVERY OPTIONS FOR SOME OF THOSE BUSINESSES STILL REMAIN ALLOWED AND HEAVILY ENCOURAGED BUT NOT ABLE TO PHYSICALLY OPEN FOR THAT PURPOSE. SCHOOLS REMAIN CLOSED, AND WE HAVE ALSO TALKED TO OUR LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT. THEY ARE LOOKING FOR PARTICULARLY THIS SUMMER, FOR SOME OF THEIR SUMMER PROGRAMS TO BE DONE VIRTUALLY. THIS IS HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. ALL LEVELS OF THIS ORDER SPECIFICALLY IN AREAS WHERE THEY ARE SPECIFICALLY EXCLUDED. PR VISITORS ARE STILL EXCLUDED FROM MEDICAL FACILITIES. IF YOU'RE A WORKER, THAT'S FINE BUT VISITORS ARE NOT ABLE TO VISIT LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES TO PROTECT THE MOST VULNERABLE POPULATION. NEXT SLIDE? >> BEFORE YOU GO THERE I WANT TO MAKE A COUPLE OF STATEMENTS ABOUT THE GOVERNOR'S ORDERS. PLEASE, BRIAN. SO JUST TO EXPAND ON ONE THING YOU SAID, RELIGIOUS SERVICES, THE JOINT GUIDANCE ISSUED BY THE GOVERNOR AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IS UPDATED YESTERDAY. SO IT'S THE THIRD VERSION SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE IF THERE IS ANYBODY LISTENING, THAT THERE IS AN UPDATED JOINT GUIDANCE DOCUMENT OUT THERE. AND I HAVE PROVIDED THAT TO OUR PASTOR IN TOWN HERE SO WE'RE MAKING SURE WE'RE KEEPING THEM VERY UP TO DATE ON WHAT'S GOING ON. THE ONE THING I WANT TO REALLY, REALLY EMPHASIZE HERE IS REGARDLESS OF HOW IT WAS EXPRESSED IN THE PRESS CONFERENCE, AND REGARDLESS OF HOW THE ACTUAL PRESS HAS REPORTED ON THIS CHANGE, THE BOTTOM LINE IS, IS THIS STILL A SHELTER IN PLACE ORDER. AND I KNOW THAT THERE'S PEOPLE THAT DON'T WANT TO CALL IT THAT AND I KNOW THE GOVERNOR DOESN'T WANT TO CALL IT THAT, BUT YOU HAVE TO REALLY BE CAREFUL AND LOOK AT THE LANGUAGE OF THIS. AND I'M JUST GOING TO READ A COUPLE OF THINGS. TEXANS SHOULD MINIMIZE SOCIAL GATHERINGS AND MINIMIZE IN PERSON CONTACT WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT IN THE SAME HOUSEHOLD. THE HIGHLIGHTED LANGUAGE MEANS THAT TEXANS SHOULD STAY HOME AND STAY AWAY FROM WORK, UNLESS ACCESSING ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES. THE WHOLE ESSENTIAL BUSINESS TERMINOLOGY AND RULES DID NOT CHANGE. SO TEXANS SHOULD STAY HOME UNLESS THEY'RE ACCESSING ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES, UNLESS THEY'RE ACCESSING REOPENED SERVICES, UNLESS THEY ARE ATTENDING [00:45:02] RELIGIOUS SERVICES AND UNLESS THEY ARE PARTICIPATING IN ESSENTIAL DAILY ACTIVITIES SUCH AS GOING TO THE GROCERY STORE, GAS STATION OR VISITING PARKS OR HUNTING, FISHING, ENGAGING IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. SO REALLY THE STAY AT HOME PORTION OF THIS ORDER DID NOT CHANGE. AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS THAT BECAUSE IT'S BEING COUCHED IN THE PUBLIC THAT THE STAY HOME ORDER IS -- THAT THE GOVERNOR IS ALLOWING THE STAY HOME ORDER TO EXPIRE. AND HE IS ALLOWING HIS PREVIOUS STAY HOME ORDER TO EXPIRE, BUT HIS NEW ORDERS HAVE SIMILAR LANGUAGE IN REGARDS TO THE OVERRIDING PRINCIPLE TO STAY HOME WHEN YOU CAN AND INCLUDING WORKING REMOTELY WHEN POSSIBLE. I WANT TO MAKE THAT POINT. >> MAYOR, THANK YOU. GOOD POINT TO MENTION THAT THE NEW ORDERS GO INTO EFFECT MAY 1ST SO FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS, FALL UNDER THE SAME ORDERS. YOU'RE RIGHT, GA 18, 19 AND 20 ARE NEW ORDERS THAT WILL GO INTO EFFECT AFTER THE NEW ORDERS EXPIRE. AND YOU'RE ACTUALLY RIGHT, MAYOR. THIS IS AGAIN, AS THE GOVERNOR HAS EXPRESSED, AND EVEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS SUGGESTED WAYS IN WHICH THE COUNTRY CAN REOPEN IS DONE IN PHASES. IT'S A TRANSITION THAT YOU MAKE SURE WHATEVER JUNCTURE YOU'RE DOING IT SAFELY. WE'RE READY FOR THE NEXT STEP. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED QUITE A BIT IS MAKING SURE THAT OUR HOSPITALS ARE NOT OVERLY TAXED AND THAT THERE IS CAPACITY. PART OF HIS ORDER ALSO REQUIRES MEDICAL FACILITIES TO RESERVE 15% OF THEIR CAPACITY IN CASE THERE IS A NEW SURGE WITH COVID-19. AND I THINK THAT'S A VERY GOOD THING TO DO AND TO MAKE SURE THAT IF THERE ARE AREAS WHERE YOU MIGHT SEE A RESURGE OF THIS OR AN OUT BREAK, WE SHOULD BE PREPARED. OTHERWISE WE SHOULDN'T BE DOING ANY OF IT. WE HAVE TO PREPARE FOR ALL JUNCTURES THERE. GOOD POINT. NEXT SLIDE, LAURA. SO THE TASK FORCE FOR REOPEN ROWLETT RESPONSIBLY IS EVALUATING THE GOVERNOR'S ORDERS. WE MET YESTERDAY AND DISCUSSED THOSE. WE WILL HAVE A VIDEO THAT GOES OUT TONIGHT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PUBLIC AND THE BUSINESSES COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE NEXT STEP AND NEXT PHASE IS FOR OUR COMMUNITY. AND THEN ALSO WORKING WITH INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES TO MAKE SURE THERE ARE TIPS AND STRATEGIES SO TO SPEAK FOR BUSINESSES TO REOPEN. ONE THING WE HAVE SEEN IN AT LEAST ONE OTHER CITY THAT DID THIS PREEMPTIVELY, THERE WERE PEOPLE GOING TO RESTAURANTS AND WAITING THREE HOURS OR LONGER TO GET A SEAT IN THE RESTAURANT, SOME OF THAT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED BY DOING RESERVATION. MANY DIFFERENT TOOLS OUT THERE AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE SEEKING THAT INPUT FROM OUR INDUSTRY EXPERTS AND REPRESENTATIVES SO WE CAN PROVIDE SOME GUIDANCE AND HELP WITH THAT WITH OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES. NEXT SLIDE. AND THEN OF COURSE OUR ROWLETT COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ACTIVE DISASTER IS STILL ACTIVE AND SO WHITNEY, WOULD YOU MIND GIVING US AN UPDATE ON THIS GROUP? >> SURE. THANKS, BRIAN. I'M HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE WILL BE MAKING ROUND TWO CALLS TO SENIORS IN ROWLETT. WE WILL BE STARTING OVER 3 THOUSAND CALLS NEXT WEEK. AND ASKING THE SAME SERIES OF QUESTIONS THAT WE DID THE FIRST TIME. BASICALLY ASKING WHETHER THE RESIDENTS OF THAT HOUSEHOLD ARE DOING WELL. WHETHER THERE IS SOMEBODY CHECKING ON THEM. AND IF THERE IS ANYTHING ELSE WE CAN DO FOR THEM. THE SECOND POINT IS THAT THE COMMITTEE REVIEWING THE GRANTS IS FINISHING UP THEIR WORK AND WE EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THOSE GRANT AWARD NOTIFICATIONS BEGINNING THIS FRIDAY WITH NOTIFICATIONS AND PROBABLY FUNDING THOSE EARLY NEXT WEEK. AND THEN THE THIRD POINT I WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT IS WE HAVE THE THIRD DISTRIBUTION OF FREE DISINFECTANT THURSDAY NIGHT FROM [00:50:01] 5:00 TO 7:00 P.M. SAME LOCATION WHICH IS THE PARKING LOT NEXT TO CHAMBER BUILDING AT 4418 MAIN STREET AND THIS TIME I BELIEVE WE WILL BE ABLE TO RUN A LOT MORE FOLKS THROUGH THE SYSTEM BECAUSE WE WILL HAVE TWO STATIONS INSTEAD OF ONE. THIS PAST SATURDAY WE HAD SOME INCREDIBLE NUMBERS COME THROUGH AND THE WAIT TIMES WERE ALMOST AN HOUR TO AN HOUR AND A HALF AT TIMES AND WE HAD GONE BACK AND LOOKED AT SOME OF THE PROCESSES, TRIED TO MAKE IT MORE EFFICIENT, AND WE BELIEVE WE WILL BE ABLE TO DO THAT THIS COMING THURSDAY AND ENCOURAGED TO COME OUT AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT OPPORTUNITY. >> EXCELLENT. ONE THING I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ADD AND IF I AM SPEAKING OUT OF TURN, PLEASE TELL ME. THE COAD IS STILL HELPING WITH HOUSEHOLDS IN THE COMMUNITY IMPACTED BY COVID-19, BY SUPPLYING RESOURCES AND SUPPLIES TO THOSE HOUSEHOLDS. YOU DON'T TALK ABOUT IT MUCH BUT THERE IS DIRECT ASSISTANCE GOING ON THROUGH THE EMERGENCY SERVICES AND GARLAND HEALTH AUTHORITY. >> THAT IS TRUE. I SHOULD SAY IF THERE IS ANYONE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT DOES NEED THAT ASSISTANCE, THEY CAN CALL THE ACTION CENTER THROUGH THE CITY AT 972-412-6100 AND THEY WILL BE HAPPY TO TAKE THAT INFORMATION AND FORWARD IT ON TO THE COAD REPRESENTATIVES AND TAKE CARE OF THAT FOR YOU. >> THANK YOU. >> YOU'RE WELCOME. >> LAURA, NEXT SLIDE. SO CASES CONTINUE TO CLIMB. JUST ONE SECOND, COUNCIL. SO CASES DO CONTINUE TO CLIMB IN DALLAS COUNTY. AS OF APRIL 28TH TODAY, THERE WERE 135 NEW CASES BRINGING THE TOTAL TO 3240. I DO WANT TO SAY THIS, THAT THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT THE AVERAGES IS STARTING TO PEAK. SOME EVIDENCE THAT INDICATE WE MAY BE STARTING TO PEAK HERE IN DALLAS COUNTY. TODAY'S NUMBER IS STILL NOT GOOD BUT NOT AS ALARMING AS IT COULD HAVE BEEN. SOME OF THESE TESTING FACILITIES ARE SOMETIMES CLOSED ON THE WEEKENDS, SO IT'S NOT UNUSUAL FOR TUESDAY TO HAVE A LARGER NUMBER THAN MONDAY BECAUSE PART OF THIS IS TRYING TO GET THE TEST DONE AND GET THE RESULTS POSTED. SOMETIMES THERE IS A BIT OF A DELAY THERE. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I SAY THAT. THE CASE IS REQUIRING HOSPITALIZATION, OVER 60 YEARS OF AGE OR THOSE WHO HAVE AT LEAST ONE KNOWN CHRONIC ILLNESS. DIABETES HAS BEEN AN UNDER LYING HEALTH CONDITION REPORTED IN ABOUT A THIRD OF ALL HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS WITH COVID-19. SO AGAIN, JUST WANT TO REENFORCE WITH THE PUBLIC TO STAY TUNED INTO THAT AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO PROTECT THE MOST VULNERABLE OF OUR POPULATION AND GENERALLY THAT'S GOING TO BE THOSE OVER 65 AND THOSE WITH AT LEAST ONE CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITION. >> FOR THE FIRST TIME, JUDGE JENKINS DISCUSSED THIS, THE CASES REQUIRING HOSPITALIZATION WHO REPORTED EMPLOYMENT. ABOUT 79% OF THOSE HAVE COME FROM CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE WORKERS INCLUDING HEALTHCARE, PUBLIC HEALTH, FOOD AND PUBLIC WORKS AND OTHER FUNCTIONS. IT'S JUST AN INTERESTING DATA POINT. BUT AGAIN THAT'S ONLY OF THE CASES REQUIRING HOSPITALIZATION THAT DID REPORT EMPLOYMENT SO IT'S -- TAKE IT WITH WHAT IT IS. CERTAINLY THE PEOPLE THAT ARE OUT IN THE PUBLIC. >> NEXT SLIDE. THIS IS AN INTERESTING CHART. AND THIS IS WHERE OUR TEAM DOES GET A LOT OF INFORMATION. PUBLISHED BY THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AND IT'S INTERACTIVE SO IF YOU GO TO THEIR SITE, YOU'RE ABLE TO CLICK ON YOUR COUNTY AND GET A LOT OF DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT EVERY COUNTY AND THE EFFECTS THERE. THE ONE THING THAT I FOUND INTERESTING ON THIS, AND AGAIN, ED WILL TALK A LITTLE MORE IN DETAIL HERE IN A MINUTE, WE HAVE -- THERE HAS BEEN 300 THOUSAND TESTS CONDUCTED IN TEXAS, AND ABOUT 289 THOUSAND OF THOSE HAVE BEEN FROM PRIVATE LABS SO IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT THESE [00:55:05] PRIVATE LABS ARE THERE DOING THIS LEVEL OF TESTING, AND THEN THE OTHER NUMBER IS A BIG NUMBER ON HERE. BUT THE CASES THAT WE HAVE HAD IN TEXAS, ALMOST 12 THOUSAND HAVE RECOVERED AT THIS POINT. AND THERE IS COMING A TIME WHEN, ON OUR CHART, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE CASES RECOVERED THAT ARE GOING TO EXCEED NEW CASES AND THAT'S GOING TO BE VERY GOOD, VERY GOOD OUTCOME AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT DATE. NEXT SLIDE. SO IN ROWLETT, WE NOW HAVE 48 CASES WITH TWO DEATHS. THERE ARE 65 PEOPLE IN 23 HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE NOW QUARANTINED. MOST OBVIOUSLY FAMILY MEMBERS. AND WE DO HAVE 21 INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE COUNTED AS RECOVERED IN ROWLETT. JUST TO KIND OF ADD A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE, RIGHT AROUND THE BUBBLE OF ROWLETT, GARLAND HAS 334 CASES WITH TEN DEATHS AND ROCKWALL COUNTY HAS 72 CASES WITH ONE DEATH. WE'RE FORTUNATE AT THIS POINT NO ROWLETT EMPLOYEES HAVE CONTRACTED THE CORONAVIRUS AT THIS TIME. WE CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT. WE HAVE HAD A FEW THAT HAVE BEEN TESTED EITHER BECAUSE OF A FAMILY MEMBER THAT MAY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED, OR THEMSELVES, AND SO FAR WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE THAT NO EMPLOYEE HAS GOTTEN IT. >> I HAVE BEEN ASKED SEVERAL TIMES, BY LOTS OF SOURCES OF, YOU KNOW, HOW DOES THE ROWLETT RATE COMPARE TO OUR SURROUNDING AREA? AND CERTAINLY WE'RE LOWER THAN DALLAS COUNTY AND THE CITY OF GARLAND. WHAT I WANT THE PUBLIC TO KNOW, BASED ON OUR POPULATION RIGHT NOW WE'RE AT .75 CASES PER 1 THOUSAND RESIDENTS. SO THE CITY OF GARLAND WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY JUST WEST OF US IS A HOT SPOT WITHIN DALLAS COUNTY, AND THEY'RE AT 1.25 CASES PER 1 THOUSAND RESIDENTS. SO IT IS SURROUNDING US AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE UNDERSTAND THAT. IT'S NOT JUST IN OUR COMMUNITY. IT'S ALSO IN OUR SURROUNDING AREAS. >> MAYOR, CAN I ASK A QUICK QUESTION? ED, YOU CAN HELP ME MAYBE, IS THE TIMELINE ON THE TESTING GETTING SHORTER BECAUSE OF THE NEW TESTS THAT ARE COMING ON? OR ARE YOU STILL SEEING A LAG TIME OF AS MUCH AS A WEEK? >> HEY MATT, IF YOU DON'T MIND. LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. IT'S ALL ABOUT TESTING AND ED IS GOING TO UPDATE US ON THAT. NEXT SLIDE, LAURA. AT THIS POINT I'LL TURN IT OVER TO OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR, ED VALDAREZ. YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT TESTING? >> SURE. FIRST TO ANSWER MATT'S QUESTION, TESTING CAPACITY HAS IMPROVED GREATLY, NOT ONLY IN THE TYPE OF TESTING BUT THE AVAILABILITY OF THE TESTING. YOU CAN SEE IN THAT MAP THAT BRIAN BROUGHT UP BEFORE, A LOT OF THE TESTING IS BEING DONE AT PRIVATE LABS AND THAT PERCENTAGE HAS INCREASED QUITE A BIT, CLOSER TO 95% OF THOSE TESTS ARE BEING DONE FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR VERSUS THE PUBLIC SECTOR. WHICH AS FAR AS AN EFFICIENCY STANDPOINT THAT IS DEFINITELY THE WAY WE SHOULD GO. IT WILL MAKE THINGS A LOT QUICKER FOR US, ESPECIALLY FOR SURVEILLANCE AND DETERMINING WHAT ACTIONS WE NEED TO TAKE IN BOTH REOPENING AND IF WE DO SEE ANY REINFECTION REBOUNDS, WHAT ACTIONS WE NEED TO TAKE. SO WE HAVE SOME INFORMATION ON TESTING ON OUR WEBSITE AND WE CONTINUE TO UPDATE THAT INFORMATION REGARDING WHERE YOU CAN GET TESTED AND WHAT TYPE OF TESTS ARE OUT THERE AND SOME CONCERNS OR SOME THINGS YOU NEED TO WATCH OUT FOR TO PREVENT YOURSELF FROM BEING SCAMMED, OR YOU KNOW, FALLING VICTIM TO ANY SORT OF FRAUDULENT TESTING THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING HERE IN DFW. GENERALLY SPEAKING THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF TESTS. YOU HAVE THE DIAGNOSTIC TESTS MEANT TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOU ARE CURRENTLY INFECTED WITH THE DISEASE. INITIALLY THAT WAS THE TEST WE REALLY NEEDED TO GET TO DETERMINE WHAT TYPES OF CONTROL MEASURES NEEDED TO BE TAKEN. THE AVAILABILITY OF THAT TEST NOW, YOU CAN GET A 15 MINUTE RESULT NOW FAIRLY QUICKLY IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT PLACES. OVER 300 TEST SITES ACROSS THE STATE. WE HAVE A MAP LINKED ON OUR WEBSITE TO IDENTIFY DRIVE THROUGH TESTING AND IN PERSON TESTING. THE SECOND TYPE OF TEST A LOT OF PEOPLE NOW WANT TO GET, BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK THEY MAY HAVE HAD COVID-19 MONTHS AGO AND WANT TO KNOW IF THEY HAVE ANY IMMUNOLOGICAL RESISTANCE AGAINST THE VIRUS, THOSE ARE ANTIBODY TESTS. THOSE ARE A LITTLE LESS WIDESPREAD. THERE ARE ONLY SEVEN TESTS THAT HAVE THE AUTHORIZATION FROM THE [01:00:03] FDA RIGHT NOW. THREE TESTS WERE ADDED SINCE LAST TIME WE UPDATED THE NUMBERS. THERE IS MORE AVAILABILITY ON THIS QUICK ANTIBODY TESTING THAN THERE WAS EVEN A WEEK AGO. THOUGH HOWEVER, THE SCIENCE AND RESEARCH HAS NOT CAUGHT UP WHETHER OR NOT THAT IS A VALUABLE TEST TO HAVE. BOTH IN DETERMINING IN THE ANTIBODIES YOUR BODY HAS DEVELOPED, IF YOU DO COME UP POSITIVE, WILL BE EFFECTIVE IN PREVENTING REINFECTION, OR FOR HOW LONG THAT EFFECTIVENESS WOULD LAST. SO IT CAN BE USEFUL FOR BOTH SURVEILLANCE AND RESEARCH. RIGHT NOW THE ANTIBODY TESTING IS NOT SOMETHING THAT HAS MUCH VALUE UNTIL THE RESEARCH CATCHES UP TO DETERMINE WHAT THAT VALUE IS. THERE ARE SOME CHANGING GUIDELINES REGARDING THE PRIORITY OF WHO WE TEST. SO THAT PRIORITY, YOU CAN SEE THAT TABLE THERE. CDC DID UPDATE THAT GUIDANCE YESTERDAY. THE PUBLIC DRIVE THROUGH SITES IN DALLAS NOW TESTING ASYMPTOMATIC PEOPLE INCLUDING ESSENTIAL EMPLOYERS, DRIVERS, GROCERY STORE WORKERS. ONE THING I REALLY WANT TO MAKE CLEAR, OUR RESIDENTS NEED TO BE VERY CAUTIOUS ABOUT WHERE THEY GO GET TESTED, DO THE RESEARCH. DO NOT SIMPLY JUMP TO GET A TEST BECAUSE YOU WANT TO KNOW IF YOU'RE PROTECTED. THE SCIENCE IS NOT THERE TO REALLY GIVE YOU A CLEAR ANSWER AND SOME OF THE TESTS COST QUITE A BIT OF MONEY. THAT'S ONE WORD OF CAUTION I WANT TO EMPHASIZE MOVING FORWARD. PLEASE DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE IN ENSURING YOU DON'T GET SCAMMED OUT OF MONEY. >> AND ED, WE WILL KEEP THE SITE UPATEH AUTHO TESTINORGANIZ >> YOU CUT OUT. >> I WANT THE PUBLIC TO KNOW THAT WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP OUR WEBSITE VERY UPDATED IN REGARDS TO DIFFERENT TESTS THAT RECEIVE FDA AUTHORIZATION. >> RIGHT. >> BUT ED, THE SECOND PART OF MY QUESTION IS: WHAT DOES THAT DELTA DOWN TO NOW? SEEING NEW DAILY CASES, BEFORE WE HAD TALKED THAT THERE WAS AS MUCH AS SIX OR SEVEN DAYS, NOW WE SEE DAILY CASES. IS THAT TRUE DAILY CASES THAT HAPPENED IN THAT DAY? >> THAT INFORMATION I DON'T HAVE. THAT LAG WILL BE THERE BETWEEN THE TEST RESULT AND THE NOTIFICATION OF THE PATIENT AND NOTIFICATION OF THE LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITY AND US. BECAUSE THE TESTS ARE ABLE TO COME IN WITH RESULTS IN A DAY OR TWO, EVEN ON THOSE THAT AREN'T POINT OF CARE TESTING, WHERE YOU HAVE TO SHIP IT OUT TO A LAB, THAT LAG IS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED. >> OKAY. I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AND I THINK YOU KNOW, JUDGE JENKINS WAS HARPING ON THAT A LOT TODAY BECAUSE THE NUMBER OF NEW CASES AND THE NUMBER OF DEATHS THAT CAME IN TODAY, COMPARED TO WHAT WAS TALKING ABOUT THE OTHER DAY. I WAS CURIOUS IF THOSE WERE TRULY NEW CASES THAT HAPPENED OVER THE WEEKEND OR WAS THAT NEW CASES FROM A WEEK AGO THAT ARE COMING IN? AS WE START TO REOPEN, THAT'S GOING TO BE REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT THAT THAT LAG IS ABSOLUTELY AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE. YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SEEING A SPIKE TWO WEEKS LATER FROM REOPENING AND NOW YOU'RE MAKING A DECISION TO CLOSE. THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT LAG IS WHEN WE SEE THE CASES TO MAKE A DECISION. >> THAT WAS THE FIRST QUESTION WHEN GOVERNOR'S NEW ORDERS CAME OUT. ARE YOU COMFORTABLE THAT BY THE 15TH OR 18TH OF MAY WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT CASE COUNTS THAT ARE APPLICABLE TO PERIODS AFTER THE SERVICES OPENED, SO ED'S ANSWER TO ME WAS YES, HE THINKS WE WILL BE IN THAT SITUATION. ED, PROBABLY RIGHT NOW YOU'RE LOOKING AT A THREE TO FIVE DAY DELAY BETWEEN THE TIME THE TEST WAS TAKEN AND WE'RE FINDING OUT PUBLIC HEALTH AUTHORITIES. IS THAT A FAIR GUESS? >> I WOULD SAY YES. SOME OF THE RECENT TESTS WE HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED OF, WE RECEIVED NOTIFICATION IN A DAY OR TWO. IT DEPENDS THE TYPE OF TEST, VARIETY OF OTHER FACTORS. WE'RE GOING TO SEE A LOT OF POTENTIAL FOR THERE TO BE A REBOUND SINCE WE START TO REOPEN AT THE END OF THE WEEK. I DO FEEL CONFIDENT WE WILL HAVE THAT TESTING AVAILABILITY AND THE ABILITY TO GET THE RESULTS A LOT QUICKER TO BE ABLE TO MAKE A DETERMINATION, COME MAY 15TH, WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE MOVING FORWARD THE WAY WE'RE PLANNING [01:05:02] TO OR IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SCALE BACK REOPENING MEASURES. SO I THINK THE TESTING DATA WILL BE THERE TO HELP DRIVE THE DECISIONS. >> GOOD NEWS. I'M GOING TO BRING THIS UP AT THE RISK OF NOT TELLING YOU. IF A RESIDENT GETS AN ANTIBODY TESTING AND THEY GET A POSITIVE, THAT WOULD INDICATE THEY HAD COVID AT SOME POINT, IF IT WASN'T A FALSE POSITIVE, YOU KNOW THAT'S A WHOLE OTHER ISSUE. BUT IN THOSE SITUATIONS, ISN'T IT PRETTY IMPORTANT THAT THAT RESIDENT ALSO GETS THE OTHER TEST TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE NOT A CURRENT CARRIER BECAUSE OF ASYMPTOMATIC INDIVIDUALS? >> THAT'S A TRICKY QUESTION. CURRENT GUIDANCE IS IF YOU'RE SYMPTOMATIC AND YOU GET AN ANTIBODY TEST, YOU MAY WANT TO HAVE A FOLLOW-UP TEST TO DETERMINE IF YOU'RE ACTIVELY SHEDDING THAT VIRUS. THERE IS ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE YOU MAY HAVE THE LONG TERM ANTIBODY, THE IGG THAT COMES UP POSITIVE ON A TEST, AND YOU MAY STILL BE ACTIVELY EFFECTIVE. IT'S HARD TO SAY. THE GUIDANCE COULD CHANGE. RIGHT NOW IF YOU'RE SHOWING LONGER TERM IGG ANTIBODY, YOU DON'T NECESSARILY NEED THAT PCR TEST. IF YOU'RE SYMPTOMATIC AND DO SHOW UP POSITIVE FOR THAT, WOULDN'T BE RECOMMENDED TO GET THE PCR TEST. >> OKAY. AND LIKE YOU SAID, THAT WILL CHANGE PROBABLY IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS. >> YES. >> WE'RE LEARNING MORE AND MORE ABOUT THIS VIRUS AS WE GO. >> NEXT SLIDE. >> SO AT THIS POINT COUNCIL, WE'RE STARTING TO ADD SOME ECONOMIC DATA. IT'S STILL TOO EARLY IN THE SENSE THAT, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY THE SHELTER IN MACE ST -- PLACE STARTED TO GO INTO EFFECTPLACE STARTED TO GO MID MARCH. THERE WERE AREAS THAT STARTED TO SEE CASES IN FEBRUARY. IN TERMS OF ECONOMIC IMPACT, MARCH IS ONLY GOING TO PARTIALLY TELL THE STORY BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY WHEN THE SHELTER IN PLACE STARTED TO OCCUR. APRIL WILL BE MUCH MORE INFORMATIVE THAN THAT. BUT AGAIN IT'S NO SURPRISE WHAT IT IS DOING TO THE COMMITTEE. PRICES. VALUE OF STOCKS. UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS HAVE SURGED EVEN TO HISTORIC NUMBERS. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DECREASED INTEREST RATES IN AN EFFORT TO BUFFER ECONOMY, NOT TO MENTION ALL THE STIMULUS PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED AS WELL. SO THE ONE THING I WANTED TO KIND OF POINT OUT WITH THIS, AND I APPRECIATE ED FOR GETTING US THIS INFORMATION EARLIER TODAY. YOU CAN SEE ON THE BOTTOM LEFT-HAND CORNER OF THIS CHART, IN DALLAS FOR EXAMPLE, THAT ON MARCH 7TH WE HAD 1300, UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS. AND THAT BY APRIL 11TH, WAS UP TO 21,400 SO AGAIN, EVEN IF YOU COMPARE THAT TO THE SAME PERIOD OF LAST YEAR, WE WOULD HAVE BEEN AROUND 1400 CLAIMS, SOMEWHERE IN THAT. IT'S A PRETTY DRAMATIC INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST THEIR JOBS TEMPORARILY OR PERMANENTLY. BASED ON THIS DISASTER. THIS EMERGENCY. ONE THING I REALLY LIKE WAS THESE LEADING INDICATOR INDEX. ONE THING I WOULD SAY AGAIN, A LOT OF TIMES WHEN WE HAVE CYCLICAL PATTERNS, LEADING INDICATORS MEAN A LOT BUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT HOW DRAMATIC THIS HAS CHANGED, ROUGHLY TWO AND A HALF PERCENT EMPLOYMENT, TO ROUGHLY 12 PERCENT OR HIGHER ALREADY IN SIX OR SEVEN WEEKS IS DRAMATIC. AGAIN THIS IS ONLY TELLING SOME OF THE STORY FOR MARCH. APRIL WILL BE A LOT MORE TELLING. NEXT SLIDE. THIS IS OUR FINANCIAL INDICATOR. WE'RE BEGINNING TO TRACK ROWLETT'S INDEX SO TO SPEAK. MARCH'S NUMBERS ARE NOT GOING TO TELL US [01:10:03] ALL OF THE STORIES JUST YET AND WE DON'T HAVE SALES TAX JUST YET. WE WILL NOT KNOW MARCH'S SALES TAX DATA UNTIL THE 7TH, 8TH, 9TH, IN THIS CASE, MAY, BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS A MONTH BEHIND. BUT WE ARE SEEING A FEW TRENDS. MEMBERSHIP REVENUES HAVE DECLINED. RECREATIONAL PROGRAM REVENUE. THIS IS A COMPARISON TO THE PREVIOUS YEAR. SO NUMBER OF RCC MEMBERSHIPS HAVE DROPPED. WE THINK WE WILL SEE MORE OF THAT IN APRIL. SALES TAX REVENUE, JUST TO MENTION, THIS IS FOR FEBRUARY. THIS NUMBER STILL HAS THE LOSS OF A MAJOR SALES TAXPAYER LAST YEAR. ONE THING THAT WE WILL DO IN OUR FUTURE WHEN WE REPORT THIS, WE WILL PULL THAT NUMBER OUT SO THAT WE HAVE MORE OF A TRUE APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON, AND WE'RE ALSO MONITORING VACANCIES RIGHT NOW. WE HAVE 19 VACANCIES AND AS COUNCIL KNOWS, THERE ARE SOME OF THOSE PARTICULARLY IN PUBLIC SAFETY DISPATCH, POLICE, THAT WE'RE TRYING TO FILL. AND OTHERS, BASED ON OUR STRATEGY, OUR FINANCIAL -- OUR BUDGET STRATEGY, WE'RE HOLDING OFF ON AND FROZEN THOSE POSITION UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR. COURT FINES HAVE BEEN INCREASING. THIS HAPPENED BUT AGAIN, WE HAVE SUSPENDED THE DOCKETS, AND I BELIEVE THAT I UNDERSTOOD EARLIER TODAY AND IF JUDGE LISTON IS STILL ON, SHE COULD HELP WITH THAT. TEXAS SUPREME COURT HAS RULED TO HOLD THOSE OR DEFER THOSE TO THE END OF MAY. IS JUDGE LISTON STILL ON? >> I AM. CAN YOU HEAR ME? >> YES. I CAN HEAR YOU. >> YES, THAT'S CORRECT. >> I KNOW JUDGE LISTON, HER TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING ON HAVING VIRTUAL COURT, AND SOME COURTS HAVE STARTED TO DO THAT BUT AT THIS POINT, AT LEAST WE WILL NOT HAVE ANY DOCKETS UNTIL JUNE 1ST AT A MINIMUM. WATER REVENUES ARE PRETTY MUCH FLAT. WATER USAGE IS ACTUALLY UP A LITTLE BIT IN TERMS OF THOUSANDS PER GALLONS. THAT'S FEBRUARY NUMBER. THAT ALL GOES BACK TO OCTOBER. OCTOBER WAS A REALLY STRONG MONTH IN TERMS OF WATER SALES, WATER USAGE AND SINCE THAT TIME, HAS BEEN RELATIVELY FLAT, INCREMENTALLY UP OR DOWN. ONE NUMBER WE'RE GOING TO BE TRACKING IS UTILITY FUND, ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE. WANTING TO MONITOR THAT AS THE SUMMER MONTHS PARTICULARLY OCCUR, WE START TO SEE AN INCREASE IN PEOPLE NOT BEING ABLE TO PAY THEIR UTILITY BILL BECAUSE THEY'RE UNEMPLOYED. WE'RE GOING TO BE MONITORING THOSE NUMBERS AS WELL. A COUPLE OF NUMBERS THAT ARE NOT IN THIS DASHBOARD YET AT THIS POINT BUT WILL BE THE NEXT TIME IS BUILDING PERMIT REVENUES. COUNCIL, YOU MAY REMEMBER THAT WHEN WE SAW THE LAST FINANCIAL REPORT, THAT PRETTY STRONG INFORMATION ABOUT MARCH AND WE EXPECT BUILDING PERMITS TO DECLINE THE REST OF THE YEAR. WE DID HAVE A PRETTY LARGE DEVELOPER PULL THEIR REVENUE A QUARTER MILLION DOLLARS. IT'S PRETTY HELPFUL. COMES AT A GOOD TIME. WE'RE PRETTY CONCERNED THAT ONE OF OUR FRANCHISES DECLARED BANKRUPTCY IN FEDERAL COURT. WE'RE GOING TO BE MONITORING THAT SITUATION AS WELL. THAT COULD ALSO HAVE AN IMPACT ON OUR CABLE FRANCHISE REVENUES AND YOU KNOW SOME OF THAT MAY STILL BE COLLECTED AT A POINT OR YOU WILL START TO PICK UP NEW REVENUE AS WE GO FORWARD, BUT MAY BE A WHILE BEFORE WE COLLECT THE SECOND QUARTER PAYMENT OR THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE CALENDAR YEAR. LET'S SEE. I BELIEVE THAT WAS MY LAST SLIDE, MAYOR. >> OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, BRIAN. SO COUNCIL, WE'RE GOING TO TALK A LITTLE ABOUT OUR DISASTER DECLARATION AND ORDERS THEREIN AND A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE GOVERNOR'S ORDER. KNOW THAT THAT TOPIC WE WILL COVER IN GREAT DETAIL HERE IN A MINUTE. BEFORE WE DO THAT, WHAT QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS WOULD YOU LIKE TO TALK ABOUT IN REGARDS TO THE COVID-19 UPDATE? [01:15:05] >> BROWNIE? >> WE HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT SAPPHIRE BAY. HAS COVID-19 HAD ANY EFFECT OUT THERE? >> I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP. THE PROJECT, FROM EVERYTHING WE KNOW AND SEE AND UNDERSTAND, SEEMS TO BE MOVING FORWARD. THERE WAS A COUPLE OF DELAYS THEY HAD. ONE OF WHICH SPECIFICALLY WAS DUE TO COVID, WHICH DELAYED THE DEVELOPER FROM GETTING CONSTRUCTION CREWS IN FOR THE BOARD BY I-30. IN ADDITION TO THAT WE KNOW THEY ARE EXCITED ABOUT ANNOUNCING THEIR FLAG SHIP FOR THE RESORT. THEY JUST WANT TO DO THAT HERE IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS. SO AT THIS POINT, THEY'RE FOCUSED ON GETTING THE BOARD DONE AND WE WILL FOCUS ON THE UTILITY AND ROADWAY INFRASTRUCTURE SOON. >> THANK YOU. WHITNEY ABOUT THE GRANTS. LAST WEEK WHEN WE TALKED, YOU SAID YOU HAD FAR MORE APPLICATIONS THAN THE FIRST 100 THOUSAND DOLLARS WOULD COVER. MORE FUNDS ALLOCATED TO CBDG CITY FUNDS. I WONDERED HOW THAT WAS GOING. >> THE ADDITIONAL FUNDS WE ALLOCATED LAST WEEK, STILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH APPROVAL AND PUBLIC HEARING PROCESS THROUGH HUD SO WE'RE WAITING FOR THOSE PROCESSES TO HAPPEN AND STILL WORKING OUT THE PROCEDURAL DETAILS ON WHETHER WE ARE ALLOWED TO USE THE SAME APPLICATION AND QUESTIONS AND PROCESS, OR WE NEED TO COME UP WITH A DIFFERENT PROCESS THAT WILL SATISFY THE HUD REQUIREMENTS SO I'M EXPECTING SOME MORE INFORMATION PROBABLY FROM MANAL AND CAN SPEAK TO IT IF SHE WANTS, BUT PROBABLY NEXT WEEK, WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT. THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, I THINK IT'S FAIR TO SAY IT WILL BE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME BEFORE WE CAN FIGURE THAT NEXT PIECE OUT. >> I HOPE THAT HAPPENS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. I KNOW THE BUSINESSES ARE WATCHING THAT VERY CLOSELY. >> AS WE ARE. >> TO SEE HOW THEY CAN GET SOME HELP. >> I DID HAVE ONE QUESTION FOR JUDGE LISTON BECAUSE I KNOW THE STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND TEXAS STATE SUPREME COURT ORDERS ARE DIFFERENT AS FAR AS COURT OPERATIONS GO AS OPPOSED TO THE GOVERNOR'S ORDERS. AND SO I THINK BRIAN, YOU HAD MENTIONED WE'RE WORKING ON VIRTUAL COURT. I DON'T BELIEVE THAT'S QUITE READY TO LAUNCH YET. IF JUDGE LISTON CAN GIVE US AN IDEA OF WHERE OUR CITIZENS MIGHT GO TO GET AN UPDATE ON THAT. >> THEY CAN CHECK ON THE ROWLETT MUNICIPAL COURT WEBSITE ALL THE TIME. WE HAVE DATES EVERY TIME THERE IS ONE AND THAT INFORMATION STAYS THERE, UNTIL THERE IS A NEW UPDATE. THAT'S ALWAYS CURRENT. I EXPECT VIRTUAL COURT TO BE ABLE TO START WITHIN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. >> GREAT. >> MAYBE EVEN AS SOON AS NEXT WEEK, BUT TODAY WE'RE WORKING THROUGH SOME FAIRLY DIFFICULT PROCEDURES TO ACCOMMODATE VIRTUALLY. AND WE'RE GOING TO GET THERE. WE'RE DOING WELL. LET'S SEE. WHAT ELSE DID YOU ASK? OH, AS FAR AS IS CATCHING UP, YOU KNOW, CITATIONS HAVE SLOWED DOWN SO I DON'T THINK THE CATCH UP IS GOING TO BE AS HARD. WE HAVE ALSO EXPANDED OUR ABILITIES FOR PEOPLE TO HANDLE THEIR CASES ONLINE. SO WE HAVE HAD INCREASE, SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF CASES THAT PEOPLE ARE RESOLVING ONLINE THAT WOULD HAVE COME INTO COURT TO HANDLE SO WE'RE REALLY NOT IN BAD SHAPE. THERE IS GOING TO BE A DIP, THOUGH, BECAUSE THE AMOUNT OF CASES THAT ARE BEING FILED HAS DECREASED SUBSTANTIALLY. SO THERE IS GOING TO BE A DIP AND I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG THAT DIP WILL LAST AND HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE IT TO GET BACK TO A NORMAL STANDARD THAT WILL BE PART OF THE REALITY OF THIS YEAR'S RESULTS, FINANCIAL [01:20:02] RESULTS, BUT WE ARE IN GOOD SHAPE. I DON'T THINK IT'S GOING TO TAKE US LONG TO GET BACK UP. AND I'M GOING TO BE HOLDING VIRTUAL COURT VERY SOON. >> THAT'S GREAT TO KNOW. I KNOW NOT KNOWING HOW TO ADDRESS THOSE THINGS CAN CAUSE ADDITIONAL STRESS AND ANGST FOR FOLKS WANTING TO TAKE CARE OF COURT-RELATED ISSUES. THANK YOU FOR THAT INFORMATION JUDGE LISTON. >> I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU JUST SAID. THAT'S TRUE. SOMETIMES NOT KNOWING, CAUSES A LOT OF ANXIETY. THE PUBLIC CAN KNOW THAT ALL OF THE COURT DEADLINES HAVE BEEN EXTENDED, BY A PREVIOUS ORDER OF THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT AND THE LAST ONE THAT CAME OUT YESTERDAY, EXTENDED THOSE DEADLINES EVEN FURTHER. PEOPLE THAT HAVE CASES PENDING IN COURT SHOULD NOT FEAR RIGHT NOW. THERE MAY BE A TENDENCY TO DO THAT. MAY BE AN INHERENT ANXIETY BUT EVERYONE SHOULD FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE THAT NOTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO PENDING CASES OR MISDEMEANOR CASES. EVERYTHING IS GOING TO WORK OUT VERY WELL. IT'S GOING TO TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME. IT WILL BE JUST FINE BY THE TIME THE FALL STARTS >> THAT'S GREAT TO KNOW. THANK YOU FOR ADDRESSING THAT. >> YES. >> OKAY. BLAKE? >> I HAVE QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE BEEN GETTING FROM SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS REGARDING THE ISSUES WITH THE CO PERMITS. CAN YOU SHARE WITH COUNCIL, BRIAN, WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THAT, AND HOW WE'RE ADDRESSING THOSE ISSUES? >> ACTUALLY I'LL LET MINEL ANSWER THAT. >> CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THE QUESTIONS YOU'RE GETTING AND I MIGHT BE ABLE TO ANSWER THAT. >> IT'S ABOUT THE OCCUPANCY NUMBER PERMIT. I HAD QUESTIONS TODAY FROM BUSINESS OWNERS TRYING TO DETERMINE THE OCCUPANCY AND THE 25% THEY'RE ALLOWED TO HAVE PEOPLE ACCESS THE BUILDING. >> SURE. SO IN THE PAST WITH PREVIOUS CO'S, WE DID NOT REFLECT THE OCCUPANCY CO ON THE CO PERMIT. MORE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS WE STARTED DEVELOPING THE OCCUPANCY LOAD. WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS TRYING TO BE PROACTIVE. WE'RE GOING TO ACTUALLY GO AND VISIT SITES AND PULL UP SITE PLANS TO REPRINT AND REFLECT THE OCCUPANCY LOADS ON THE CO'S AND PROVIDE THEM TO THE EXISTING RETAILERS AND BUSINESSES. WE STARTED THE TASK ALREADY. GOT A LIST THAT WE HAVE GOT GOING AND WILL BE BOOTS ON THE GROUND SO TO SPEAK TOMORROW. IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND FORWARDING THAT TO ME, I CAN ADDRESS THE CONCERN AND GET THE NECESSARY DATA UP TO A SYSTEM WITH PROGRAMMING. >> THANK YOU. WHEN DO YOU SUSPECT WE WILL BE ABLE TO GET TO THOSE BUSINESSES THAT NEED THE 25% OCCUPANCY? THAT SEEMS LIKE A DIFFICULT TASK TO DO QUICKLY. >> WE'RE CONFIDENT WITH INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE FOR INSTANCE WITH THE RESTAURANTS. WE HAVE ALREADY STARTED WORKING ON THAT. WE STARTED WORKING ON THAT TODAY. HOPEFUL TO CLOSE BUSINESS ON THAT TOMORROW AFTERNOON. IN TANDEM WILL START WORKING ON THE RETAIL SPACES AND O ALL THE RETAIL SHOPPING CENTERS. WE WILL HAVE SEVERAL PEOPLE WORKING ON THAT. THE GOAL IS TO BE DONE AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE BEFORE THE DEADLINE BUT MIGHT BE THE BETTER PART OF NEXT WEEK, EARLY PART OF NEXT WEEK. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR WORK. >> ALL RIGHT. COUNCIL, BEFORE I GET INTO THE ORDERS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I SEE NONE. WHAT I WANT TO GO TO NOW AND THIS IS REALLY THE LAST TOPIC IN REGARDS TO COVID-19. WE HAVE A DISASTER DECLARATION IN PLACE THAT EXPIRES ON THE 30TH AT 11 A.M. AND THAT WAS THE ORIGINAL DISASTER DECLARATION THAT I ISSUED FOR SEVEN DAYS AND YOU ALL EXTENDED IT UNTIL THE APRIL 30TH DEADLINE. SO WE ALL KNOW WHAT I THINK THE GOVERNOR ISSUED LAST NIGHT, AND HIS PROVISIONS UNDER HIS ORDERS ARE CURRENTLY THROUGH MAY 15TH. SO WHAT I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ALL ABOUT IS WHAT I WOULD PROPOSE, THAT WE EXTEND OUR [01:25:02] DISASTER DECLARATION TO BE IN CONCURRENCE WITH THE GOVERNOR'S MAY 15TH DATE AND WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO FURTHER PROPOSE FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES AND THIS WOULD BE MY RECOMMENDATION, WOULD BE THAT OUR DISASTER DECLARATION LANGUAGE IN REGARD TO ORDER AND RESTRICTION ARE UNDER THE G OF TEXAS. SO THAT'S WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS NOW. THAT'S WHAT I DRAFTED TODAY WITH THE ASSISTANCE FROM DAVID AND THAT IS WHAT WAS SENT TO YOU IN E-MAIL, AND IT MIRRORS THAT LANGUAGE THAT HAS BEEN PROVIDED, YOU KNOW, TO YOU ALL YESTERDAY AND TO THE PUBLIC IN REGARDS TO THE GOVERNOR'S ORDERS, EXECUTIVE ORDERS, GA 18, 19 AND 20. I WILL OPEN THAT UP FOR DISCUSSION AND COMMENTS, PLEASE. BLAKE? >> YES. IS THERE ANY WORD FROM DALLAS COUNTY ON WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO WITH THEIR ORDERS AND IF THEY ARE ALSO GOING TO MATCH THE GOVERNOR'S ORDERS AS WELL? >> SO IT IS A WORK IN PROGRESS RIGHT NOW. SEVERAL OF US TALKED TO DALLAS COUNTY MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY BUT RELATING TO THIS PART OF THE DISCUSSION, ATTORNEYS FOR DALLAS COUNTY ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON REVISIONS TO THEIR ORDER TO MAKE THEM IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE GOVERNOR'S ORDERS. MAKE IN COMPLIANCE CAN MEAN DIFFERENT THINGS. THE ORDER THAT I PRESENTED TO YOU ALL TODAY MERES THE LANGUAGE OF THE GOVERNOR'S ORDERS. I DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT THE DALLAS COUNTY ORDER AS REVISED WILL MIRROR THE GOVERNOR'S ORDERS BECAUSE THAT'S NOT WHAT THEY HAVE NECESSARILY DONE IN THE PAST. SO FROM PAST PRACTICE, I DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT HAPPENING. BUT I DO KNOW THE LAST REVISION TO THE DALLAS COUNTY ORDERS, WHEN THEY WERE REVISING IT FOR ANY SPECIFIC PROVISIONS, THEY DID MIRROR THE GOVERNOR'S LANGUAGE. SO I THINK IT'S STILL GOING TO BE PRETTY MUCH A HODGEPODGE OF INFORMATION BUT THE DALLAS COUNTY WILL DO THE BEST JOB THEY CAN DO TO NOT CONTRADICT WHAT'S IN THE GOVERNOR'S ORDERS. IF THAT MAKES SENSE. ED, DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER OPINION ON THAT BASED ON WHAT WE HEARD TODAY? NEIL? >> NO. >> NO, MA'AM, I DO NOT. >> I'M JUST KIND OF AT THE POINT WHERE I THINK THE GOVERNOR'S ORDERS SUPERSEDE ANY LOCAL, COUNTY AND CITY ORDERS. I THINK, YOU KNOW, THERE IS A LOT OF REASONS WE HAVE GOTTEN TO THE PLACE WE HAVE GOTTEN TO. AND INITIALLY THERE WAS NO STATEWIDE DIRECTIVE. THERE WERE NO STATEWIDE ORDERS, AND SOME OF THESE LOCAL JUDGES HAD TO PUT ORDERS IN PLACE BECAUSE THEY WERE EXPERIENCING, YOU KNOW, POSITIVE RESULTS AND POSITIVE CASES AND WANTED TO PUT SOME CONTROLS IN PLACE TO PROTECT THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. AND AS A RESULT, HAS EVOLVED IN THE LAST SIX WEEKS INTO A SITUATION THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY IN. AND I PERSONALLY FEEL THAT WE'RE AT A STAGE WHERE GOVERNOR'S ORDERS ARE SPECIFIC ENOUGH AND DETAILED ENOUGH THAT WE CAN BE GUIDED BY THOSE, AND MAKE LOCAL DECISIONS AND STILL BE FOLLOWING IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE GOVERNOR'S ORDERS BY UTILIZING THAT LANGUAGE SPECIFICALLY IN OUR ORDER. >> I THINK THE GOVERNOR MADE IT PRETTY CLEAR THAT WAS WHAT HE WAS ANTICIPATING AS WELL. >> RIGHT. I SAW THE COLLEAGUE DECIDED TO RESORT BACK TO GOVERNOR'S ORDERS AND OPEN BUSINESSES LAST WEEK. >> YEAH BUT THEY'RE NOT GOING TO DO THAT UNTIL FRIDAY. YEAH. MARTHA YOU HAD YOUR HAND RAISED? >> YEAH, I AGREE WITH YOU, MAYOR. YOU REALLY SAID IT VERY WELL. THE GOVERNOR'S ORDERS HAVE EVOLVED TO THE POINT THAT THE ORDERS ARE SPECIFIC ENOUGH AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THEY SUPERSEDE ANY CONFLICTING LOCAL ORDERS THAT MAY BE OUT THERE, AND SO IT JUST BRINGS SOME [01:30:09] CLARITY TO THE PUBLIC THAT THEY CAN LISTEN TO THE GOVERNOR'S ORDERS AND YA'LL DID A GREAT JOB SUMMARIZING. I AM IN FAVOR EXTENDING THE DEADLINE OF APRIL 30TH TO MAY 15TH AND HAVING YOUR ORDERS MIRROR THAT OF THE GOVERNORS. >> WHITNEY? >> JUST WANT TO ADD TWO THINGS. ONE IS THAT THE EXTENSION OF THE DISASTER DECLARATION WAS ALSO REIMBURSEMENT PURPOSES. THAT DOES NEED TO BE IN PLACE FOR THAT AND THE SECOND IS THAT IF DALLAS COUNTY IS DEEMED TO BE A HOT SPOT IN THE GOVERNOR'S NEW LANGUAGE, SHOULD HAVE THE ABILITY TO CHANGE ANY ORDERS THAT WE HAVE, BASED UPON THOSE DESIGNATIONS FROM THE HEALTH EXPERTS AND THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS, SO I AM COMFORTABLE WITH EXTENDING IT AND GOING WITH THE GOVERNOR'S ORDERS AS YOU MENTIONED. >> I'LL CLARIFY THAT JUST A LITTLE BIT WHITNEY. I BELIEVE THE LANGUAGE SAYS THE GOVERNOR HAS THE RIGHT TO SPECIFY. >> IT DOES. >> WE DON'T HAVE THAT RIGHT. >> CORRECT. THANK YOU. >> I'M NOT TRYING TO NITPICK BUT I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT. >> YES. >> ALL RIGHT. ANYONE ELSE, COMMENTS? MARTHA, YOU HAVE YOUR HAND RAISED STILL. I JUST KEEP HIGHLIGHTING THAT ISSUE. I'M SO SORRY. >> THAT'S FINE. I WILL LOWER MY HAND, AND READY TO MAKE A MOTION IF WE NEED TO MAKE ONE. >> ANY OTHER COMMENTS? OKAY. YEAH, I THINK WE DO NEED TO MAKE A MOTION. >> THEN I WOULD MAKE A MOTION THAT WE EXTEND OUR CURRENT ORDERS THAT EXPIRE ON APRIL 30TH TO MAY 15TH, AND THAT THEY MIRRORED THE GOVERNOR'S CURRENT ORDERS. >> SECOND. >> I'M SORRY. >> SECOND. >> SECOND BY MATT. WE HAVE A MOTION AND SECOND. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION, COUNCIL? I SEE NONE. CALL THE VOTE. RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU'RE A YES VOTE. AND THAT IS 7-0. THANK YOU SO MUCH. SO I JUST WANT TO MENTION ONE MORE THING, WELL THERE IS ANOTHER AGENDA ITEM, TOO. SO THE VIDEO WE DID TODAY WAS MYSELF AND MICHAEL GALLOPS. IT'S A VERY CLEAR AND CONCISE SYNOPSIS OF THE ORDER THAT IS CURRENTLY IN PLACE, AS WELL AS THE CHANGES THAT OCCUR STARTING MAY 1ST. AND I PURPOSELY WITHHELD RELEASING THAT VIDEO UNTIL WE HAD THAT DISCUSSION BECAUSE I WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE WERE ALL COMFORTABLE WITH RELEASING THOSE DETAILS OF THOSE ORDERS. AND IT'S NOT THAT THE VIDEO TALKS ABOUT THAT THIS IS THE ROWLETT ORDER BUT THIS IS THE GOVERNOR'S NEW ORDERS. I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAD THAT DISCUSSION. DREW WILL BE RELEASING THAT VIDEO TONIGHT. PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CONTACTS AND YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA, YOU KNOW, SHARE THAT IN YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA. IT'S HARD FOR RESIDENTS TO KEEP UP WITH WHAT'S GOING ON. IT'S HARD FOR US TO KEEP UP WITH WHAT'S GOING ON AND WE'RE LIVING IT MINUTE TO MINUTE AND DAY TO DAY. I FELT LIKE IT WAS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT WITH THIS SIGNIFICANT CHANGE THAT WE PUT ANOTHER VIDEO OUT THERE TO VERBALLY EXPRESS IT TO OUR PUBLIC. BECAUSE NOT EVERYBODY WANTS TO GO READ DOCUMENTS. NOT EVERYBODY WANTS TO GO READ EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OR EXECUTIVE ORDERS, SO IT'S JUST ANOTHER TOOL THAT WE CAN USE TO TRY TO COMMUNICATE WITH OUR PUBLIC. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE BEEN WRESTLING WITH AND YOU KNOW, THIS IS MINEL'S GROUP AND MYSELF AND DENISE, A PUBLIC RELATIONS PERSON. JUST THE MULTITUDE OF COMMENTS FROM RESIDENTS IN REGARDS TO I DIDN'T KNOW THAT CHANGED. I DIDN'T KNOW WE WERE NOT ALLOWED TO DO THAT. WE HAVE GOT TO CONTINUE TO PUSH THIS OUT TO OUR RESIDENTS AND HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THE CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS. PLEASE HELP DO YOUR PART OF THAT WITH GIVING OUTREACH TO OUR CITIZENS. ALL RIGHT. ANYTHING ELSE ON THAT TOPIC, ANYBODY? ALL RIGHT. THE [5. Recognition of COVID-related extraordinary contributions.] LAST THING ON THE AGENDA IS ITEM FIVE WHICH IS RECOGNITION OF [01:35:04] COVID-RELATED EXTRAORDINARY CONTRIBUTIONS. WE ARE PROBABLY WAY PAST TIME IN DOING THIS. I WANTED TO DO THIS IN EVERY MEETING FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE, MAKE SURE WE'RE RECOGNIZING A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS AND THIS WEEK I WANT TO RECOGNIZE HEALTHCARE WORKERS, AND HEALTH AUTHORITY AND OUR EMERGENCY SERVICES. SO NEIL AND ED, MAKE SURE YOU'RE SHOWING YOUR FACES AS I READ THIS BECAUSE YOU ARE THE FACE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES SO RECOGNITION OF HEALTHCARE WORKERS, PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL. WE ALL DEPEND ON THE RESILIENCE OF HEALTHCARE WORKERS. ABILITY TO DEAL WITH EVERYTHING BEING THROWN AT THEM AND STILL RETURN THE NEXT DAY OR NIGHT TO DO IT ALL OBVIOUS AGAIN. WE DEPEND ON THEIR CONVICTION NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES TO TREATISE EVERY DAY WITH THEIR CLINICAL EXCELLENCE, BUT ALSO DELIVER E DAY WITH THEIR CLINICAL EXCELLENCE, BU EVERY DAY WITH THEIR CLINICAL EXCELLENCE, BA EVERY DAY WITH THEIR CLINICAL EXCELLENCE, BUT ALSO DELIVER EV DAY WITH THEIR CLINICAL EXCELLENCE, BS EVERY DAY WITH THEIR CLINICAL EXCELLENCE, BUT ALSO DELIVER THAT CARE AND COMPASSION. EVEN DURING THE TIME OF SOCIAL DISTANCING, HEALTHCARE WORKERS ARE PROVIDING THE CARE THAT PATIENTS NEED IN ILLNESS AND PANDEMIC FEAR. WE OFTEN HEAR HOW HEALTHCARE WORKERS TAKE CARE OF THE REST OF US AND HOW GRATEFUL WE ARE FOR THEIR SKILL AND COMPASSION. THE REST OF US NEED TO BE TAKING CARE OF NURSES AND OTHER HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS. THE BEST THING WE CAN DO TO SUPPORT THEM IN OUR LIVES, IS TO FOLLOW THE CDC'S GUIDELINES TO MINIMIZE THE VIRUS'S SPREAD. WE ALSO THANK THE HEALTH OFFICIALS WHO GUIDE US DURING THIS TIME AND KEEP ABREAST OF THE INFORMATION AND EVER CHANGING NEED BY THOSE AFFECTED BY THIS CO CORONAVIRUS. THEY ARE NAVIGATING DIFFICULT WATERS STRIKING NOTION BETWEEN THE PUBLIC'S GOOD. LASTLY WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THE ONGOING DEDICATION BY THE EMERGENCY PERSONNEL WITH INNUMERABLE SOURCES TO KEEP US UP TO DATE SO WE AS COUNCIL CAN MAKE THE BEST DECISIONS FOR OUR RESIDENTS AND STAFF. THE COUNTLESS HOURS THEY HAVE WORKED HAVE HELPED ROWLETT STAY EQUIPPED WITH THE WORLD WIDE PANDEMIC EVENT. ON BEHALF OF THE COUNCIL AND THE RESIDENTS WE SERVE, THANK YOU. STAY SAFE AND TOGETHER WE WILL STAY STRONG. AND A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO LAURA HALLMARK FOR DRAFTING THIS RECOGNITION. SHE IS SO GOOD WITH WORDS, AND I SO APPRECIATE THAT YOU PUT ALL THIS INTO WORDS FOR US, LAURA. AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR MEETING FOR TONIGHT. I HAVE TWO HANDS RAISED. I THINK PEOPLE WANT TO COMMENT. WHITNEY? NO. MARTHA? THOSE ARE JUST ALL HANDS RAISED. ANYTHING ELSE, ANYBODY. ALL RIGHT. GOOD NIGHT. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.