[0:23] moment.

[0:27] » Yeah.

[0:44] I'm still a little bit

[0:53] » f

[1:22] You don't get misqued. [laughter]

[1:27] [clears throat]

[1:29] » Oh, I haven't seen any fake news at all. I didn't see anything.

[1:44] » All right. Uh 6 o'clock we will call our workshop to order. Um believe it or not,

[1:50] we do have some things to do that are not about forecast. So let's knock those

[1:56] out [clears throat] and then we will go the other direction.

[2:00] Um first thing uh any anybody have any

[2:05] comments on the minutes from previous meeting at special meeting? All right.

[2:11] We are we have been given the grant for the US

[2:16] Department of Transportation Safe Streets

[2:20] and uh it's about a $12 million grant. We have five years to use the money. We

[2:27] have to pay 20% of it. Craig's gonna give us the big butts, nuts and bolts,

[2:31] but it's kind of been dialed back. I'll let him talk about that.

[2:35] » So, in about this time, two years ago, we were notified that we had been uh

[2:41] awarded safe streets for all or SS4A implementation grant. Um total amount of

[2:48] 12,91,730.

[2:54] The amount of the grant federal funding is 9,673

[2:58] 384. The city's match is up to 2 2,418,346.

[3:04] Typically the once the grant's awarded, there's agreements. There's back and

[3:08] forth looking at the application, you know, owning the scope of the grant and

[3:12] all that. That normally takes about 11 months. It took two years this time

[3:16] because we changed presidential administration. When the new

[3:19] administration came in, they basically hit the brakes on all grants and so they

[3:23] just stopped. Um, we'd already started the process. All the people we dealt

[3:28] with got sent away. They cut the Federal Highway Administration staffing by about

[3:34] 60%. It's my understanding. So, finally about the beginning of this year, things

[3:38] settled down. We started the process of working with them and Kimley Horn, who

[3:42] if you remember, we all were paying to assist us with that worked on it. Um,

[3:46] one of the things they did do in that is they narrowed down the scope of the

[3:50] grant somewhat. The original grant had four four basic components. One was

[3:55] street signs, another was street lighting. Another was highway

[3:59] delineation,

[4:04] rumble strips, speed the speed limit signs, interactive speed limit signs,

[4:08] things like that. And uh the final part was a safe routes to school pilot study

[4:15] which would look at the roads and pedestrian traffic and everything around

[4:19] all of the schools here. During the negotiations back and forth,

[4:24] the highway administration came back and basically on the street signs and the

[4:28] street lighting, they narrowed the focus down to the areas. Back up a little bit.

[4:33] When the grant was first applied for, there was a um

[4:39] a safety study that was completed by the MO that uh looked at traffic accidents

[4:46] on major thorough burst collectors and things in the city which kind of became

[4:49] the foundation for the grant and identified traffic accidents in

[4:52] different locations of the city. So that kind well during the negotiation they

[4:57] came back and says well we're not going to let you do street lights citywide or

[5:00] sign citywide. They're going to have to be focused on these traffic corridors.

[5:03] So they've narrowed it down those corridors based on that. I don't

[5:06] anticipate we we will expend the full grant amount. We're not required to

[5:10] expend it, but that will hone in and limit some of what we can spend it on,

[5:15] but the other the parts are still in there. It does basically limit

[5:21] any of the work. I'll get down to that. It's

[5:25] » what are those corridors that they're talking about?

[5:26] » That's what I was going to. So it's West Moonlight Drive from Shaper Road to

[5:30] Robinson to US77. Old Robinson Road from State Highway 6 to US77.

[5:42] Robinson Drive from State Highway 6 to Lux Drive, Peplo

[5:48] Drive from North Robinson Road to 77, and Tate Avenue from South Old Robinson

[5:53] Road to South Andrews Drive. And again, that was based on the traffic study and

[6:01] everything that was done by the NO where they were looking at traffic accident

[6:04] numbers and traffic numbers and everything over six, sevenyear period.

[6:09] And so that's what they honed it in on. So there is the there's a street

[6:14] inventory or street light inventory where basically

[6:20] people go out select an engineering firm. They'll come out, they'll study,

[6:23] see if we have adequate roads and make recommendations where we can improve

[6:27] that lightning. There'll be a citywide, it says citywide

[6:32] sign inventory, but it's really against to those make sure that the signs that

[6:36] are there are adequate that they have proper reflectivity and if not identify

[6:40] them. There is also a component there um to try to put the signs especially like

[6:46] on West Moonlight where you're going from 60 down to 50 to potentially put

[6:50] the interactive signs where it shows you

[6:53] your speed that you're going and things like that. And then uh the street light

[6:59] be the uh street light installation. So the lights located and identify where we

[7:05] need more lighting will include that same thing with the signage. And then

[7:08] the last thing as far as that part of it is the the sign upgrade, pavement

[7:12] delineation, rumble stripe and speed feedback signs.

[7:17] One of the things we have talked about is we have several intersections,

[7:20] Moonlight, Lindell, Peplo, where we have that center suicide lane when uh Newland

[7:26] 2, where we have the center suicide lane. And those of us that use those

[7:30] roads, once you're coming up to make a left turn and somebody's coming at you

[7:34] across the intersection head on because they're wanting to make a left turn on

[7:37] the other side. So, one of the things that we will look at and we'll have to

[7:40] work with Tesla on that is whether or not we could put raised medians in those

[7:43] areas to restrict so that people have to get past that lift turn lane before they

[7:48] can get into that center lane. There's not enough funding to do at the entire

[7:51] length, but we at least want to look at those those four intersections

[7:55] especially. We we tend to have issues there. And then of course the last

[7:58] component is the safe routes to school study and that will basically extends to

[8:04] half a mile around Robinson High, Robinson Junior High, Robinson

[8:07] Intermediate, Robinson Elementary, and Robinson Primary School. So this is the

[8:11] final step as far as the agreement. If you authorize me to sign it, I'll sign

[8:15] it. The 5-year clock will start running. I do have an RF Q that I got from the NO

[8:22] yesterday. I'll be updating to put it out for design engineers. design is

[8:26] included in this. So, but we do have to go out after the after the agreement is

[8:31] made, we have to then go out and select the engineering firm. So, we'll have to

[8:34] go through that process and we'll get the ball rolling on this.

[8:38] » Questions? >> So, on our 20% match

[8:42] passed our budget, so we're probably looking at 2728 for matching.

[8:48] I mean, we have to match as we go, but um so we can use we can use the budget,

[8:54] we can use fund balance, and we can also use street bond funds. When we did issue

[8:57] the street bonds, we did include wording in that to cover some of this,

[9:01] especially the delineation, some of things to improve roadway safety. So,

[9:07] you know, we have matching sources available, but I would expect that most

[9:11] of the first year is going to be inventory.

[9:14] I mean the RFQ process is probably going to take 60 to 90 days because we have to

[9:18] publish it for a certain period of time and then each engineering firm has to

[9:22] submit their credentials and we have to review it and interview them and make a

[9:26] selection and we have to negotiate with them and then bring them to you all for

[9:29] approval. So so that will take some time and then the inventories will have to

[9:33] happen before they can even start to do any kind of design and then there are

[9:36] some things they've got to coordinate. They have to do a

[9:39] [clears throat] there's requirements texttop requires that we're going to do

[9:42] any work there. Some of it's environmental, some of it's highway

[9:46] impact stuff. So all that will have to be coordinated, but that's all funded

[9:50] through the grant and text's aware that we have the grant

[9:54] start exchanging

[10:00] 77 on the current project, but you mentioned that this SF4A might be able

[10:05] to So the the 2023 SS4A grant that was put obtained by the NO had five or six

[10:14] demonstration projects. One of the demonstration projects is the

[10:18] intersection there at Highway 6, Loop 340 and 77. Not just for

[10:23] that turn lane, but one of the problems we have is people make that turn and

[10:27] then they immediately shoot four lanes, five lanes across the highway to San

[10:31] Bonito and things. And so we that's a serious

[10:36] That is >> and they wait until there's no traffic

[10:40] coming and they just shoot over straight >> and you know they do a stop.

[10:44] » Yeah. >> Basically they're not it stops traffic

[10:48] » measure. They're separate engineering firm and they're working on a proposal.

[10:52] I think they're waiting for this project that's currently undergoing the pavement

[10:55] replacement before they move forward. And again it's a demonstration. It's not

[10:59] meant to be permanent, but I think that's kind of

[11:04] is this a potential solution that can then be installed? And if it is, then

[11:07] that's something we may be able to do with this funding if unless Texot's

[11:10] willing to do it. >> Is this one that 23 also include clover

[11:15] leaves onto? >> No, no. The the the clover leaves are in

[11:22] the MTP, the 2050 MTP. So you got 24 years to go

[11:30] » takes out plans 25 years in advance. >> So but the problem is for years Robinson

[11:36] was not involved with the no. So none of our projects were on the now have about

[11:41] five different projects on I was I was on the MTP steering committee this last

[11:47] year. So we got four or five Robinson projects on which also includes

[11:51] converting 77 from a uh rural highway section to an urban where

[11:58] it would turn everything from the north city limit down to moonlight

[12:03] would become a curb and gutter median and center sidewalks the whole

[12:08] thing

[12:17] » they originally planned a date they rescheduled with you on the no

[12:22] presentation on the business 77 corridor they're going to come make a

[12:27] presentation and change their date they reached out to you the NPL

[12:35] so they haven't chated >> I know there was they [clears throat]

[12:38] had had a tenative date and then they reached out and said we want to change

[12:41] that date

[12:45] » David Herold is actually on that group that's working on that

[12:50] but that that's a whole separate thing that's

[12:54] something here that's more driving development future along the

[12:59] highway. >> So you anticipate that this grant will

[13:02] help us on the current street plans that we have going forward. Could that save

[13:08] us some money using >> I'm going to say it's the whole thing is

[13:11] designed to improve safety in these areas identified in

[13:14] » and we're rebuilding some roads. So would this help us in the rebuilding of

[13:18] these roads too? We're not re Well, I mean, we're

[13:21] » or or the reconstruction we're doing or >> Yeah. So, we're not rec we're reclaiming

[13:26] or repaving some of these roads, but this is more designed to the the safety

[13:31] side of it. So, it's not really going to save us any money on our projects.

[13:34] » As far as lighting is concerned, there's a lot of unlit areas.

[13:38] » Well, and again, the lighting will only pertain to the areas. So everything

[13:42] there's an attachment a in the grant that's there and it lists each component

[13:47] and which area is that component and like I said the original grant was

[13:50] intended to cover a much larger scope but

[13:55] administrations changed and the new administration really tightened down. In

[13:58] fact there was a a period of time we really expected we were going to lose

[14:01] it. They were just going to pull it all back but they ended up not doing that.

[14:05] They did pull a lot of various grants that had already been awarded back, but

[14:08] they did not pull back the SS. >> But this is something you you really

[14:13] think our city needs. >> Yeah. I mean, these are areas where we

[14:16] we see significant highway issues in there. And thing is some of them are

[14:21] text roadways, but text is not spend the funds to do it.

[14:25] » We're the ones our police department are the ones are out there working accidents

[14:29] and our residents and our people coming to business here are the ones that are

[14:32] having those accidents. Any other questions?

[14:37] » Everybody in agreement because we're going to put this on the consent.

[14:40] » Yes. >> Okay. Uh next we have a change order for

[14:46] the water treatment plant yard piping. Uh you want that or is that Greg and the

[14:53] engineers? >> I can start on it. It's all Greg's

[14:55] fault. >> Not this Greg.

[15:00] » Hobs. Greg Hobs fault. >> Yeah. We we we briefed you all earlier

[15:03] in the year about our algae issue in reservoir 1A and it's not gotten any

[15:09] better and it's created challenges with the project and so we've run into having

[15:13] to make some changes. We've also lost a pump and even though

[15:17] we have new pumps going, they're months away. We're having to rent a temporary

[15:21] pump to have backup and things. So all these adjustments we're having to make

[15:26] to work around and reorder the project is is pushing some costs up. So that's

[15:31] why this It is pushing it above the original.

[15:34] Greg is here. Get into the weeds.

[15:40] » Does anybody want to get in the weeds or into the algae?

[15:44] » Yeah. >> I mean, just so one of the compon one of

[15:47] the components is actually separate. We'll talk about that next. But um we

[15:51] had to make some alterations to the intake structure. Part of that was we're

[15:55] going to change the backwash system. They came up, I think, with a more

[15:58] efficient way to do it. But we had to make some changes in there so we could

[16:02] drain water back during down times, but also if we need to hook this temporary

[16:07] pump up that we're rent to have on site in case we lose our current because we

[16:12] lose our current pump, we're in a lot of trouble because we're right now drawn

[16:15] straight into the river to treat. And then there's a lot of cost being

[16:20] driven by the algae just we've had to resequence the project and do some of

[16:23] those things. So that's what it's there. But they're

[16:27] all here if you have any questions. >> Anybody at the table we got any

[16:32] questions? >> Everybody good with the change order?

[16:37] Okay. Then uh like you said, there's a second component of this of funding two

[16:43] of these sonic pure pulsar ultra sonic systems. So let me tell you, let him

[16:50] tell you what they are. You want to kind of describe what?

[16:55] » Sure. >> What the Sonic Pure stuff is?

[16:57] » Yeah. We went into an agreement to rent a couple of them for six months to give

[17:01] them trial and see how they work out for us.

[17:03] » But they float on top the reservoir and they have a solar panel that keeps them

[17:07] generating. They send out a high frequency pulse into the water and it's

[17:11] supposed to kill the algae. So, we're in such desperate need at the time. We were

[17:17] trying anything to just to get the ball rolling, try to get the algae cleaned

[17:20] out. But we're hoping it may be a long-term solution to prevent future

[17:24] algae blooms from occurring. >> But right now, we're doing it on a trial

[17:28] basis. You're saying >> it's a rented deal for six months. At

[17:31] the end of the six months, you can return them or you can purchase them.

[17:34] » I noticed you get 50% of your rental fee >> the rental fee back.

[17:40] » So, we don't know enough about it to make a decision. Be nice to save $8,000.

[17:45] You know what I'm saying? if we're going to buy them anyway because we're only

[17:48] gonna get half of that. So, it' be about $7,650 is what I saw. So, should we

[17:55] consider buying them rather than renting them? You know,

[17:59] » the rental agreement was for six months. You would have had to gone into it from

[18:02] the start with purchasing, but we signed a six months rental agreement. All

[18:06] right. >> How long you been?

[18:09] » Probably three months in, I'd say. >> What do you What's your pro con? Still

[18:13] don't know. What do you think? Well, I've I've had some conversations with

[18:17] some outside people who usually they're opposed to that kind of stuff. They want

[18:21] to make a living with their own application, but they've heard good

[18:24] things about it. So, they're even >> I mean, what are you?

[18:29] » Well, we the algae itself seems to be reducing because it's not clogging our

[18:32] clarifiers anymore. >> Okay.

[18:35] » Yeah. [clears throat]

[18:39] » Do we have to purchase more for additional reservoir

[18:42] » if it works out? We're going to need to look into putting two on the oneb. Yes.

[18:49] » We've also even talked about potentially putting fountains on each one

[18:53] » to keep

[18:57] control. So >> be a mega

[19:03] » typically you just put it around your intake. Try to keep that area out as

[19:07] free as possible.

[19:12] » Thank you. Great. Any other questions? >> Thank you.

[19:15] » All right. Once again, everybody Okay. >> Y.

[19:20] » Okay. So, that will make uh life easier. All of those things will be on the

[19:26] consent agenda and the only thing for our regular agenda will be the slot

[19:31] cameras. Um, we got about five minutes before we need

[19:39] to adjourn and for everybody to turn in their cards and let everybody else come

[19:44] in before we start a regular meeting. So, in that five minutes um

[19:51] today there was confirmation that there is no more

[19:58] » license plate readers. license plate readers per yeah the term is license

[20:02] plate readers >> okay let's talk college

[20:05] » I understand that's any license plate readers right

[20:07] » yeah so not just flock any brand it cannot be used for license plate readers

[20:10] no more >> that conference call today finally came

[20:15] because we when he and I met this afternoon we still hadn't there was a

[20:20] statement made but there wasn't anything official yet so that has become official

[20:26] um does anybody have anything they want to say here at the table

[20:32] about this before we adjourn and go up. Everybody will have an opportunity to

[20:37] speak. I'm I'm going let everybody out here that came they took the time to

[20:40] come. We're going to love speak and then when it comes time before we vote

[20:44] everybody all of y'all will have the chance to speak as well if you would

[20:47] like. But is there anything you'd like to five minutes I got sitting here?

[20:54] » Up to you. >> I'm five minutes more. So I'll be

[20:58] Me too. >> You You can defer. It's okay.

[21:03] » Okay. Anybody else at the table? >> Okay.

[21:06] » I just I just did like a I contacted probably over 200 something people and

[21:10] did like my own little procon list. So, I was going to go over that when we have

[21:14] our meeting. >> That's fine. You'll have you will have

[21:17] time just like the the public will have time.

[21:21] All right. Uh if nothing else, we're going to adjourn until 6:30. And those

[21:26] of you in the audience that want to speak and have it turned in the card or

[21:29] gotten the blue card, please do so and hand it to the lady back here in the

[21:33] corner.

[31:05] » [laughter] >> make me laugh. We get started. All

[31:08] right, it is 6:30. We will call our meeting to order. We have a quorum and

[31:14] [clears throat] we are very thankful to have our friend Jerry Freeman with us

[31:19] tonight. So, if everybody will stand, we're going to open the invocation.

[31:22] [clears throat]

[31:25] » Let's pray. Father, as we come to this place

[31:28] tonight, I know that there are things on our minds and our hearts. Father,

[31:33] sometimes those things are very personal. Uh friends who are ill,

[31:36] friends who are having surgery. Father, we ask that in those instances that you

[31:41] will be at work in those situations. Father, for those who are going through

[31:45] times of illness, times of surgery, times of recuperation, recovery, we ask,

[31:49] Father, your hand upon them. Father, we always have in mind our schools, our

[31:56] first responders, our teachers. We ask, Father, your continued blessing upon

[32:00] these. We pray, Father, that these who give so much of their lives, so much of

[32:04] themselves. We ask, Father, that you will especially pour out your blessing

[32:08] upon them, Father, for this city council. We pray for your wisdom. We ask

[32:14] father for you to to give guidance in a way that is best for the entire

[32:17] community. Not just for not just for personal uh personal whims or anything

[32:25] like that. Father, move them, direct them to look at what is best for you,

[32:30] best for this entire community, for all of us, Lord God. The issues, the

[32:34] struggles that we have, we lay before you. We ask father for you to be at work

[32:41] in our lives through our lives as we give ourselves fully and completely to

[32:46] you. Thank you for who you are for the work that you're doing in each of us

[32:50] even now in Jesus name. Amen.

[32:55] algiance

[32:59] to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it

[33:04] stands. One nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. You

[33:11] may be >> seated.

[33:15] Roll call. Present >> here.

[33:20] » Here

[33:27] » the city council invites citizens to address the council in any matter

[33:31] including items on the agenda except public hearings. We don't have any

[33:35] public hearings tonight, so I'm going to skip that.

[33:38] Uh you the council is not permitted to take any action or discuss any item that

[33:43] is not listed on our agenda. When you speak, please state your name and

[33:47] address before beginning your comments. Is there anybody here that has any

[33:54] comments not pertaining to the flock camera? Okay, we will move on. Um the

[34:01] consent agenda, we have three items on the consent agenda. We need to uh

[34:09] approve the minutes from July 29th, 2026 and August 18th, 2026. Approve the US

[34:17] Department of Transportation 2024 safe streets for all grants the SF4A.

[34:23] Authorize the city manager to sign an agreement.

[34:26] We need to approve the change order number two for the water treatment

[34:30] planty yard piping increasing the cost of the contract with bars from 6,109239

[34:36] to 6,352505 and 33 cents and approve the funding of

[34:42] two sonic pure pulsar ultrasonic ultrasonic systems.

[34:48] » I make a motion that we approve the consent agenda.

[34:52] » I second. All >> in favor?

[34:54] » Any oppose? None. Okay.

[35:01] We are here tonight to take action on authorizing the city manager to sign

[35:08] a 2627 motor vehicle crime prevention

[35:11] authority MVCA grant award letter entering into a one-year agreement with

[35:16] Flock Safety to continue the city's automated license plate reader. As I

[35:20] said in the beginning, there are no more grant flows. So,

[35:25] um, take that into consideration. Since everyone is here, I want everybody to

[35:31] have the opportunity to still speak. Okay? You took the time to come.

[35:36] Everybody up here is going to get the opportunity to say something. Y'all are

[35:39] all going to get the opportunity to say something. I'll be as lenient as

[35:42] possible on your three minutes, but let's respect the fact that we got a lot

[35:45] of people to talk and uh, and everybody's got families that want to

[35:49] get home and we want to move on to something else. So, um, be mindful.

[35:54] There are TV cameras in here. We've all seen what happens. So, um,

[36:00] be as be as, uh, personal and as as, uh, what what would I want to say

[36:08] there? >> Be as passionate as you want to be.

[36:11] Okay? >> Okay. Be as passionate as you want to

[36:13] be. You tell you tell what you want to say. We're all here to listen and we're

[36:17] all here to be respectful. Okay? Just like last time. All right. So, with

[36:22] that, I am going to uh I'm just going to pull I'm I know who's going last. So, um

[36:32] is this Brent McCain? >> Yes, sir.

[36:35] » You're You get to go first. >> I've got some papers.

[36:38] » Feel free. Yes, sir. >> Feel free.

[36:44] » All right.

[36:48] » All right. Good evening. My name is Brent McCain. I reside in Brusseli.

[36:53] [clears throat] Um, I'm here about the Flock camera. So, Flock cameras are not

[36:57] ordinary security cameras. They photograph every passing vehicle. They

[37:01] read the plate, store where your car has been, and a searchable database. No

[37:06] warrant, no suspicion required. Across the Waco area, more than 40 of

[37:12] these cameras have gone up since 2024. And this year, the state's plate reader

[37:18] network grew from about 120 agencies to more than 200 in just 6 months.

[37:26] That is a map of where you are, your family, and your neighbors go. It's

[37:31] built quietly and is kept. So, here's why that should worry us. The only thing

[37:36] standing between legitimate police work and personal stalking is a single text

[37:41] box where an officer types the reason. Nationwide, the Washington Post has

[37:48] documented at least 50 cases of officers caught using these cameras to track

[37:53] exartners and women they wanted to follow.

[37:57] And this is not far away in Temple. Recently, an officer was uh suspended

[38:03] and I I've heard he was fired and there's a a Texas Ranger investigation.

[38:10] The audit worked that time, but only after the search had already happened.

[38:16] Then there's the security. Independent researchers took control of a flock

[38:20] camera in about 30 seconds. Others found more than 60 flock cameras

[38:25] streaming live to the open internet with no password at all. including footage of

[38:31] children

[38:38] at a playground. A flock does not even require police to use basic two-step

[38:44] login or u authentication

[38:48] and stolen flock passwords have shown up for sale on foreign cyber crime forums.

[38:53] Two members of Congress have asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate.

[38:58] Now, and then Texas DPS found that Flock itself broke the law, operating in the

[39:04] state for years without the private license Texas requires, [clears throat]

[39:08] and the company was fined for it. Evidence gathered while they were

[39:13] unlicensed, may not even be held up in court.

[39:17] So, I'm asking this council to do the right thing. do not adopt or renew the

[39:23] flock contract. Require a warrant or a document

[39:28] documented case number for every single search with mandatory monthly audits and

[39:34] demand a short data retention limit with no sharing to federal or out of state

[39:39] agencies. Dozens of cities have already cancelled.

[39:44] We think uh we should think hard before we trust this system with our neighbors

[39:48] movements. Thank you very much.

[39:56] RJ.

[40:04] All right. [clears throat] Good evening. I'm R.J. Pace. I live at 3200 Sherco

[40:09] Road, which is in Waco. But let me make one thing clear. As a side hustle,

[40:14] because who doesn't have one these days in this economy? I do food deliveries.

[40:18] So, Robinson res residents love their food, too. So, I'm subject to drive in

[40:22] this town. Also, let's be clear. Some things you do as a council does not just

[40:27] magically affect Robinson residents only. It affects anyone who passes

[40:31] through, whether it's once or times, like in my case. If you recall, I spoke

[40:36] in front of you a few weeks ago. I know you remember, right? Of course. Here's a

[40:40] quick refresher since the meeting wasn't recorded. Correlation does not imply

[40:45] causation. Decrease in crime doesn't mean it was caused by the increase in

[40:51] camera usage. There was the article I pointed out about using cameras to cut

[40:55] catch trucks using roads that weren't supposed to they weren't supposed to be

[40:59] on aka the textbook definition of mission creep. You start with the

[41:04] intended purpose and then expand to what should be just regular police work.

[41:08] We've seen the abuse and like this gentleman before me said, it's already

[41:12] coming out of Temple with an officer resigning. It's getting closer and

[41:16] closer to this area. That's the slippery slope we must be careful to avoid. Spike

[41:21] Cohen said this on Facebook, and I agree. Almost everyone is against flock

[41:25] now. But if we don't abolish them soon, in a few years, most people won't care.

[41:30] Generation later, they'll think we'd have total chaos without them. So, the

[41:33] time to end them is now. Tonight, you have a very important decision to make

[41:37] that that affects ah you have an important decision to make that affects

[41:42] Robinson residents and those of us in the greater Waco area who traverse your

[41:47] roads. I believe you see the right way to move about this. To those of you who

[41:51] are here that are our Robinson residents, more importantly voters,

[41:55] watch their vote tonight. I strongly encourage that if any of you decide to

[42:00] uh continue infringing on our privacy rights, get your name on the ballot and

[42:04] challenge them because at the end of the day, the council doesn't work for

[42:08] police, city manager, or any staff. They work for the people.

[42:12] » You said to be respectful. I already had this typed up. [laughter]

[42:16] » I end by saying this. >> You go whatever you want. If you decide

[42:21] to move forward with this contract, you should hang your heads in shame with

[42:25] your tails tucked between your legs. Remember who you represent. Think of

[42:29] them and outsiders like me. Thank you. God bless.

[42:32] » Thank you. >> Uh next is uh Amanda Murphy.

[42:41] » Hello. My name is Amanda Murphy. I live at 1220

[42:46] Ker Park. And I'm not here to convince you guys today anything about Flock. Um

[42:51] I've already emailed you each individually. I'm here to talk to the

[42:55] people of our town that are interested in getting rid of Flock. Um we have

[42:59] created a petition, a group of citizens and myself. If you are interested in

[43:03] creating an ordinance to get Flock and other ALPRs because other ones are

[43:07] coming up behind them like Axen, I'm sure you guys all heard of them. Let's

[43:11] stop it now in its tracks. We need 800 signatures. You have friends that want

[43:15] to sign. We want that signature. That's it.

[43:19] » Thank you,

[43:25] » Ben. I'm not gonna try your last name. [laughter]

[43:31] » Everyone, I'm I'm Ben Dembbach. I live at 222 Catler Drive. Um, some of you may

[43:37] have seen the email I sent earlier. Um, so I just wanted to put that on the

[43:41] record. Um, and so at the last meeting, um, a couple members of the council had

[43:46] some um said something to the effect that, you know, I have nothing to hide.

[43:50] Um and I wanted to point out that um privacy is not about what you have to

[43:54] hide. It's about the information that other people can use for and against

[43:58] you. Um everyone creates valuable information based on where they go, who

[44:02] they're with, their lifestyle, health choices, political, religious

[44:06] affiliation, and countless other topics every day. Um, every piece of

[44:10] information uh in isolation may seem harmless, but modern technology can

[44:14] process thousands of data points and then build a profile to allow outside

[44:18] forces to try and influence and control your life for their own gain. Um,

[44:23] of course, there are many devices we use every day that uh probably infringe on

[44:26] our lights on our rights a lot more than you would would get with these license

[44:31] plate reading cameras. Um, and those are bad, but just because one thing is bad

[44:35] doesn't mean we should allow another abuse to pile on top of that. Um, I

[44:39] appreciate the information that was provided last week by the the local

[44:42] police force and how trustworthy they trustworthy they have been in

[44:46] [clears throat] using the system so far and it doesn't seem like we've had any

[44:49] abuses like have been in reported in other places. But I worry that it's just

[44:54] a matter of time before there is a breach. Um, even the most morally

[44:57] upstanding person can have a bad day, make mistakes, and give into temptation.

[45:02] Uh the flack system is materially different from an officer with probable

[45:05] cause and a warrant. Um you know following a suspect and documenting

[45:09] their activities. It's active 247 365 watching everyone indiscriminately.

[45:15] Uh in our system we treat everyone as innocent until proven guilty. But this

[45:19] system uh effectively treats us all as guilty and it's just a matter of finding

[45:23] the right keyword to to prove that someone has made a violation about

[45:26] something. Uh, I want to remind everyone that laws

[45:30] are constantly changing and what is lawful today could always change

[45:33] tomorrow and the trustworthy people we have with access to these tools today

[45:36] may not be the same ones that have access tomorrow. And for these reasons,

[45:40] I believe that it is uh not in our best interest to continue using the system.

[45:44] Um, and I hope you'll take that in consideration. Thank you.

[45:47] » Thank you.

[45:51] » Brent Dodie.

[45:56] » [clears throat] >> OD my home is a 620 PTO Park.

[46:01] Um the use of automated license plate readers needs to end at some point.

[46:06] We've got to respect the privacy of the law-abiding citizen.

[46:10] Government surveillance has to have limits. Now I realize some may say that

[46:15] on occasion use of the system may help apprehend a criminal,

[46:21] but quite frankly that's inadequate justification.

[46:24] If we're going to use that as justification,

[46:27] we'll have to take it a step further. Why not just put a tracking device in

[46:32] every vehicle, monitor everybody 247? That would be even better for

[46:37] apprehending criminals. Even better, tracking device in every

[46:42] person. That'd really be good for some are going to say, "Oh, that's

[46:48] ridiculous. That that's too far out. That won't

[46:52] happen." Well, folks, I'm here to tell you, it wasn't that long ago

[46:56] that the use of an AOPR was considered outlandish

[47:02] and would never happen. We're on a slippery slope.

[47:07] We need to respect people's privacy and we need to do the right thing,

[47:13] follow Governor Abbott's lead, and turn back. So, and if I could, Greg, I'd like

[47:19] to break with standard protocol for just a second. Sure.

[47:22] » I'd like to offer up a compliment instead of a complaint. Um I intended to

[47:27] to do this at the budget last budget meeting. I had to leave after the

[47:31] workshop. Couldn't do it. Craig, I thought you did a fine job with budget.

[47:35] » Thank you. >> It's well done. So, thank you for your

[47:38] time. >> Thank you.

[47:41] [clears throat] >> Uh

[47:45] thank you. I put the card in. I sure will be here.

[47:50] Yes, ma'am. before you leave.

[47:54] » Fill that out. >> Got it.

[47:56] » So, she does it until I get the stop. I need to stay on her good side.

[47:59] [laughter] >> She's over there checking

[48:01] [clears throat] all the boxes. >> I got you. Uh, my name is Cody Filler. I

[48:04] live at 1688 West Tate. Um, I'm involved in cyber security. That's what I do.

[48:10] It's what I study. It's what I care about. Uh, and while I'm aware that, and

[48:14] forgive me because I only found out about this meeting about 15 minutes ago,

[48:17] so I'm really not that prepared. Uh while I'm aware that most people don't

[48:21] have uh much of an in-depth knowledge of cyber security, it's something that

[48:25] affects all of us. Um flot cameras are something that really infringe not only

[48:31] on our privacy but our ability to stay safe. I have a daughter that's about to

[48:34] turn 15 and here in a few months she'll be driving. And I'm worried that when

[48:39] she gets on the road, [clears throat] as many problems as we we've had with

[48:44] officers all across the state abusing these cameras, I'm not going to feel

[48:47] safe getting her a license, getting her a car, letting her drive around.

[48:51] [clears throat] Aside from that, Benjamin Franklin said

[48:56] those that would trade liberty for safety deserve neither.

[49:03] Now, Sha Tree versus United States, the court determined that even short-term

[49:07] surveillance counts as a search, violating our rights to uh warrantless

[49:14] searches and seizures. Meaning that even brief flock inquiries

[49:20] should legally require a warrant. However, as we all know right now, any

[49:23] officer can enter anything into a query with any justification, even if it's a

[49:28] comma or a period, and get back any number of results. Carpenter v. United

[49:34] States says the police cannot bypass warrant requirements simply by pulling

[49:38] historical data from third-party corporate databases. In this case,

[49:44] that's Flock. as a thirdparty corporate database that even if we discontinue the

[49:49] use of flock today, they are still giving our personal

[49:52] information to thirdparty organizations such as insurance companies, HOAs,

[49:57] outofstate organizations, and police departments. We saw this happen in

[50:00] Flugerville. 1.6 million queries in I believe it was a 30-day period.

[50:08] » Griswall v. Connecticut establishes that the Ninth Amendment grants us the right

[50:13] to privacy. That's been something a lot of people have argued about lately

[50:16] because nowhere in the Constitution of the Bill of Rights does it use the word

[50:20] privacy.

[50:23] However, this court case established that we do have the right to privacy

[50:28] even though it is not specifically enumerated in the other constitutional

[50:31] amendments.

[50:34] Flock kind of violates that right, doesn't it?

[50:42] On to vulnerabilities. This year, Flock was found to have five

[50:49] of the OWASP top 10 critical vulnerabilities. For those of you that

[50:53] don't know, I'm assuming as most of you, OWASP is the world's authority on the

[50:58] most critical vulnerabilities in cyber security that we have right now. And

[51:02] Flot cameras found to have five of them among 50 other critical security

[51:06] vulnerabilities. These include hard-coded Java keycore

[51:10] passwords, devices that ship without secure boot

[51:14] mode, DIP switches that enter device in a

[51:17] local diagnostic mode which is not password protected,

[51:22] diagnostic mode that provides root access to back-end servers where anybody

[51:28] with the knowhow and about five minutes and $20 worth of hardware can get access

[51:32] to any data that Fog has on those servers.

[51:38] Custom firmware can be easily installed through open USB 3.0 ports in the back

[51:44] of the hardware. And you can see those if you look close enough just driving

[51:48] down tape.

[51:52] Devices that are running outdated nonupdated Linux kernels.

[51:57] PECAP catchers that are unencrypted. This is wireless traffic going through

[52:01] the air that is captured and it's unencrypted.

[52:05] Anybody [clears throat] can remote can uh execute remote code or

[52:10] DOS attacks on any of these devices. Um and most of these devices have been

[52:17] found to be included in specialized IoT search engines. Uh these are search

[52:21] engines that specifically look for devices such as your cell phone, uh your

[52:25] fridge if you have a smart fridge. Uh that can be found on search engines and

[52:30] uh in some cases such as the Flock cameras, you can actually view that live

[52:33] feed even though Flock tells us that it's still images only. Um multiple

[52:40] whistleblowers at Flock have came forward and said, "Nope, that's not

[52:44] true. We have live feeds. We can access them. Uh other people can access them."

[52:49] So, we know every bit of this is open on the

[52:53] internet. Anybody can get a hold of it, not just the police department. And I

[52:57] I'd like to say that the police department is least of our worries, but

[53:00] I doubt it. [clears throat] I would hope that with all the

[53:06] information and as much public push back as the council has gotten on this topic,

[53:10] [clears throat] um

[53:13] that the council would vote to end the contract, not not renew the contract

[53:17] with Flock. Uh that is best case scenario. Um if that's not what happens,

[53:24] like Miss Murphy said, there's a couple of us walking around with these blue

[53:27] folders and we're willing to take signatures and we're still going to

[53:30] regardless of how you vote. So that's all I've got to say.

[53:39] » Okay. Is there anybody in the room? Is there anybody in the room that did not

[53:43] fill out a card that decided they want to speak before I called on the last

[53:47] person? [clears throat] >> All right, Rick here.

[53:52] My name is Rick Ming. I live at 61 Lux Drive here in Robinson.

[53:57] Gentlemen, y'all know my position on this. Okay, I'm not we're not going to

[54:01] reiterate what we talked about the other day. The only thing I do want I do want

[54:05] to make known is that I think an ordinance

[54:10] concerning LPR or any kind of data tracking um needs to have an ordinance

[54:16] put in place here in Robinson before we go with another LPR or any kind of any

[54:23] kind of of community data that's that's picked up here. So that's all I got.

[54:30] Okay. I'm looking out for what's best for Robinson. I don't care about it. I

[54:33] don't care about Temple. I don't care about about Waco. Okay. They're our

[54:37] neighbors. They need to they need to tend to their own fence.

[54:40] » Thank you. >> Okay. Um

[54:45] at this time, I'm going to give all the council members a opportunity to speak.

[54:50] And uh since I have the gavl, I'm going to go last. And uh for no other reason

[54:56] than there's only two of y'all and there's a bunch of them, I'm gonna start

[54:59] left >> and we're go that way. Okay. So, Finn,

[55:03] you're up. >> I'm gonna stand up. Conserve leadership.

[55:06] Okay. Hello, my name is Donnie Finn, play six. Uh, you know that the home

[55:10] plate readers are a big concern and you know was a big concern. We have ALC,

[55:15] Bernie Sanders, Ron Sades, Desantes, and Abbott all on the same side. They all

[55:20] agree on it. So, you know, that's a big thing. I decided to do some

[55:24] collaborative work on my own concerning this topic of my vote coming of using a

[55:28] tool I've used when making decisions that affect [clears throat] my

[55:31] constituents and stakeholders of our fine town.

[55:36] I I use this a lot when I was a high school principal and assistant

[55:39] superintendent and I made a procon list. So I called over 200 some people and I

[55:43] gave them the questions. I did procon list. I asked several Robinson residents

[55:48] about their opinion of the license plate readers. I asked, "Do you want Robson to

[55:53] keep these license plate readers?" Two, give me a reasoning for this choice. And

[55:57] three, share a real life personal example of how it affected you or

[56:01] someone you know. So you can all the stuff you read online, you know, there's

[56:07] first I'm going to do the cons first. First, the cons. Almost everyone

[56:11] mentioned evasion of privacy. There are zero examples of how it personally

[56:15] affected them or someone they know. Every example is from a news feed or

[56:19] hairsafe from places like Atlanta, Ohio, Flugerville, Florida, New Jersey, and

[56:24] Arizona. The topic AI and license plate readers are flaw cameras was even a

[56:30] front page story on the USA Today, Dallas Morning News, Austin American

[56:34] Statesmen yesterday, and today the front page of the Waco Trib, and even this

[56:39] morning on today's show on NBC. My wife watches that every morning. They had a

[56:43] thing on there about flockers. Some people have concerns that the

[56:48] police department would misuse those cameras and so information to others

[56:52] that was agreed to when the cameras and agreements were signed. I feel these

[56:56] views are based on new fees and what is happening other places across the

[56:59] country. First, I want to say I have a 100% confidence in our chief of police

[57:05] Adams and uh Lieutenant Chief Graves that the entire police department and

[57:11] believe this nonsense. this it's a no issue and shame on those that would even

[57:15] try to compare our department with anybody else in this country. So that's

[57:20] that's that kind of got me riled up a little bit. Now the pros most people did

[57:24] not care that they were they were there and basically said it was just a sign of

[57:29] the times and we're being watched everywhere we go anyway. Some mention

[57:33] whatever Robson can do to make our town safer and that catching the bad guys is

[57:38] good. I received some personal experiences for pros. I had three people

[57:42] that had actual experiences how these help. One person mentioned that someone

[57:47] took out a row of mailboxes on a busy highway and the Robinson Police

[57:51] Department used these license plate readers to track down the person, gave

[57:55] them a ticket, and they made resolution for the damage, restitution for the

[57:58] damage. Another said that these cameras here help track down a relative with a

[58:04] silver alert distinction. In addition, one person said their spouse works in a

[58:09] law enforcement near our town and that the cameras here locate a person trying

[58:13] to evade arrest from a crime that was committed out of town. So, that was my

[58:17] thing I was going to do last week. I got to add something. Now, another twist was

[58:22] presented this week with Governor Abbott when he stopped all grant funding for

[58:26] these campus. And that I that doesn't mean I'm going

[58:29] to do yay or nay anyway, but this is surely a game changer and I'm sure for

[58:34] all towns across the state. So if you look across the state, everybody's I

[58:38] think Woodway did yesterday, right? I think Woodway did yesterday. And so that

[58:43] is a very uh slippery slope like you said and I agree and we'll see uh what

[58:50] happens on the vote. Thank you so much and have a great day.

[58:56] » All right. I'd like to thank everybody for coming and uh voicing your opinion.

[59:01] It's always good uh to have our citizens uh input. Um my position from a week ago

[59:10] hasn't really changed. Um I was not in favor of these last week and I'm not in

[59:18] favor of them now. This has been a issue that has been discussed in many circles

[59:24] that I'm a part of for a considerable amount of time. As a matter of fact,

[59:28] when I was at the Republican state convention, it ended up being the number

[59:33] 10 legislative priority. So, we're not unique in this uh area to being um

[59:40] concerned about these issues. One of the things I mean

[59:45] uh I'd also like to reiterate I do think if uh if the if you were going to have

[59:51] these things and trust a particular uh police department with them, our police

[59:58] department would be the one to do that. I think uh the chief runs a very tight

[1:00:02] ship. I think we're small enough that that those things uh we can avoid and a

[1:00:09] lot of the issues that we've seen elsewhere. Uh but that doesn't mean we

[1:00:13] should do it. Um it is a very useful tool. You have to

[1:00:19] admit that for law enforcement, but freedom's hard and it cost you

[1:00:25] things and it's going to cost us a little bit of safety to have the freedom

[1:00:31] of not having these things tracking our every movement. And so for me, I vote

[1:00:37] for freedom. [clears throat]

[1:00:43] So, I'm probably not going to be as elaborate as as these two down here. And

[1:00:47] I know Jim's got something prepared, too. So, I'm going to be the the easy

[1:00:51] guy here. Listen, a year ago, we we had the opportunity to utilize a grant,

[1:00:57] right? So, what that means for us is City of Robinson, not much money coming

[1:01:00] out of our pockets. The whole purpose and the intent was to help our police

[1:01:04] department and help watch our citizens and keep them safe and protective.

[1:01:09] Throughout the year, there's a lot of been a lot of uh things come up,

[1:01:12] especially here recently, even over just the last two weeks, just in the last

[1:01:17] week from when everyone came to speak to us before

[1:01:21] grant or funding has been pulled. Um more information coming out about rules,

[1:01:26] regulations, you know, how the industry is being regulated.

[1:01:30] So all of that's new information. So that that changes the whole atmosphere

[1:01:36] and perspective of not only the flock. I know we keep saying flock, but but we

[1:01:41] have to look at everything across the board. To your point, looking at

[1:01:44] ordinances, if we went with something other than flock, um it's still

[1:01:48] something we need to look at. But one comment I do want to make um last week

[1:01:53] and I can't say pervatum verbatim what was said or who said it.

[1:01:59] Um but there was a comment about why would we make things easier for our

[1:02:03] police force and I thought that was kind of silly. If you look at construction

[1:02:07] workers today we use uh nail guns instead of just hammers when

[1:02:12] appropriate. We use power tools when appropriate. Why for why force someone

[1:02:17] to use tools or outdated um equipment um if we have better means? And that's what

[1:02:24] we need for our police officers to continue uh to help continue uh making

[1:02:29] our community safe and watching our citizens. Um as these things come come

[1:02:34] available. Um it is our job and due diligence to ensure that we are

[1:02:39] respecting both police department and our citizens. Um so thank you for coming

[1:02:43] out voicing your opinion. We do sit up here and we do represent you as a

[1:02:46] community. That is our job. We have to per put personal beliefs aside. So, I

[1:02:52] appreciate it. >> Keep it short and sweet.

[1:02:55] » Thank you, Mr. M. >> I understand

[1:03:00] all of your feelings in this subject, but I haven't heard

[1:03:08] enough from the other side. This is what they call an implied consent. If you

[1:03:13] don't complain, you agree with what we have in place. That's what bothers me a

[1:03:18] little bit. We as a council are responsible to provide safety for

[1:03:24] the citizens, whether it be an upgraded and efficient fire department or an

[1:03:30] upgraded and efficient police department. And we are responsible for

[1:03:35] providing them the tools that they need to get the job done to protect you, all

[1:03:40] [clears throat] of you out there. A year ago, we were given the opportunity to

[1:03:45] purchase the flock system. At that point in time, the issues that are presented

[1:03:50] now weren't there. I understand the uproar nationwide of

[1:03:57] why this system isn't the best it could be, probably never will be. There may be

[1:04:03] systems out there that are better. That's down the line. At this point in

[1:04:08] time, I have issues with the flock system, and I understand where you're

[1:04:14] all coming from, but just let me be clear. There's a whole other group of

[1:04:19] people who haven't said a word. They may agree with having the flock system here.

[1:04:25] That implied consent means an awful lot to us. We have 50 people here, but

[1:04:30] there's how many out thousands out there that aren't coming here to save one way

[1:04:34] or the other. You may not like my opinion, but it's my opinion. And this

[1:04:39] is why I agree with them. I agree with you. My vote is probably against the

[1:04:45] flock system because it's not what we need, but we may need something better.

[1:04:51] Thank you. >> Ready or not, [clears throat] it's

[1:04:54] Charles. [laughter] >> Thank you for that vote of confidence,

[1:04:58] Greg. Very grateful. >> I do love you, man. You have two timers

[1:05:03] for Charlie. [clears throat] >> Just kidding.

[1:05:05] » I'm probably going to take the least time from anybody.

[1:05:08] » We love you, Charlie. >> Thank you as well. I I I love the

[1:05:12] chemistry that we have in this in this council. We have a bunch of people that

[1:05:17] love uh this city. They love each other. They want to see

[1:05:23] the best outcome for our city. None of us up here get paid. [clears throat] I

[1:05:27] don't know. There's this misconception that we're somehow going to make money

[1:05:30] by making decisions or whatever. This isn't big government, you know, just,

[1:05:34] you know, we are a democratic republic in that we don't vote on everything. We

[1:05:42] elect people to represent us. It's a representative government, right? I said

[1:05:47] that last time. I'll say it again. And so, your vote does count. How many times

[1:05:51] have you seen where 10 votes is all it took? Or one vote people were one thing

[1:05:56] passed or didn't for very few votes. So, whatever you do, please vote. Please

[1:06:01] show up. Thank you for showing up most of the time. And you've some people

[1:06:07] complain that we said it, but it's true. 99% of the time it's us and that's it.

[1:06:12] So, to see you guys come up, ladies and gentlemen, come up and be passionate

[1:06:16] about what you believe is a refreshing uh it's refreshing to me because that's

[1:06:23] what we need in our society. We have too much voter apathy, no voter turnout.

[1:06:28] Sometimes people are elected with 10 or 20% of the votes. So, please do your

[1:06:33] survey. And Donnie, you mentioned you did your own survey of 200 people. And I

[1:06:38] think what you said was that the majority of your the people you surveyed

[1:06:41] said they didn't have a problem with it. Is that right? And three actual people

[1:06:45] that did have outcomes which were better because of the fly cameras. Let me tell

[1:06:50] you, and I won't go into details. I did last week. You want to see it? By the

[1:06:53] way, somebody commented earlier. It wasn't recorded last time. It's recorded

[1:06:56] every time. You can see it on YouTube. You see this

[1:07:01] meeting on YouTube. Everything is recorded.

[1:07:04] Three more no more than three of us talk at a time or it's considered a quorum.

[1:07:08] So, we don't sit here and just, you know,

[1:07:14] try to come up to some kind of agreement about how we feel. seven individual

[1:07:19] people that have one vote. And our goal, my goal, and I'll say it again, my

[1:07:26] brother Ricky, 46 years, you know, I've been in this city. I have one goal and

[1:07:32] one reason for being here, and that's to help our city be better. So, with that

[1:07:35] said, let me say to you that we've had absolutely nothing but the best

[1:07:39] cooperation from our our police chief, assistant chief, and our policeman. In

[1:07:45] fact, I felt absolutely no pressure whatsoever when all this was introduced

[1:07:50] a year ago. It was introduced as a crimerevention uh tool. It was not sold

[1:07:55] by them, but sold by the people that were saying, "Hey, you can have this

[1:07:59] free crime prevention, you know, and it has if you if you live were here last

[1:08:05] week, if you weren't, just watch it." But Chief Adams gave statistics, real

[1:08:10] statistics for our area of how crime has gone down considerably. In my family, I

[1:08:16] had a situation where the person that was harassing one of my family members

[1:08:21] from out of town was actually caught because of the camera because swarming

[1:08:26] down they weren't doing it. These things were happening. They were caught

[1:08:29] primarily because of that and they were prosecuted because of it. So I per I

[1:08:34] have personal experience knowing that these things can can benefit us. But I

[1:08:38] share your concern. I read the book 1984 and 1972 in in high school. George

[1:08:45] Orwell I know all about that. I dread I dreaded this all my life. I don't like

[1:08:52] unnecessary intrusion into our lives. How do we balance this? I don't know.

[1:08:57] But I think at this point in time it's not balanced. We don't have enough uh

[1:09:02] accountability by the people that control the data that they're

[1:09:06] accumulating. We we're already seeing, you know, the results. So, as

[1:09:10] [clears throat] for me, I hope that there's a point in time that we can come

[1:09:16] uh to the place where these type tools can be utilized without uh invading our

[1:09:23] privacy. And that's what I have to say to you.

[1:09:25] » Thank you, Mr. [clears throat] Rogers. >> All right. Well, since I'm going second

[1:09:29] to last, I won't need five minutes because I don't intend to re uh

[1:09:33] » you points that have already taken, you know, we already spoke. So, uh jumping

[1:09:37] in the deep end of the pool. I don't support this contract going forward. Um

[1:09:41] for some very, um obvious reasons that were spoken

[1:09:45] today, uh I want to first thank everybody for speaking today, last week,

[1:09:49] every phone call I got, every text, email, Facebook message, all of that

[1:09:55] goes into shaping decisions. I'm pro law enforcement, so I believe in tools that

[1:10:00] help us keep our communities safe. No doubt about it. Um, and I do believe

[1:10:04] that license plate reader cameras are beneficial. Um, I do not like what I've

[1:10:10] learned about Flock uh since probably the last month. Um, it's the data, what

[1:10:17] happens to the data after our department has used it, what's going on there, that

[1:10:21] concerns me greatly. If it were just our department using the data, I would fight

[1:10:25] much stronger for this technology. Um, but chief also uh in a conversation with

[1:10:31] him u stated to me that before last week's

[1:10:36] meeting, he was already in favor of stopping the contract. So, that made it

[1:10:40] really easy for me because, you know, I look to him for guidance on things that

[1:10:44] need uh for him to use in our community. Um, this is not a hill for the city to

[1:10:50] die on. I think that's pretty Uh but this conversation did kind of

[1:10:54] stir up a broader conversation whether flock has violated civil rights. Uh what

[1:11:01] is privacy mean? Mr. Snder made a wonderful point last week about the

[1:11:06] different varying degrees of privacy. We hear some of the most strictest

[1:11:10] versions of that that uh any surveillance tool camera is in violation

[1:11:15] of their the the right of privacy all the way down to the least. I think about

[1:11:21] the youth in our nation who will film every minute of their their life and

[1:11:25] post that on social media in a hurry. They're doing that for likes, comments,

[1:11:29] views, and when they don't get that, it kind of bums them out. It brings them

[1:11:34] down a little bit. Those people value privacy very low. So, we have this

[1:11:38] varying degree of privacy between each individual. If I asked everyone to write

[1:11:43] down what privacy meant to you, I promise you we'd have a whole bunch of

[1:11:46] different different versions of that. Then there's this interpretation of what

[1:11:50] our constitution says and I've heard a lot of people state what they believe

[1:11:55] the constitution says. Um I always look I believe in the constitution so I'm

[1:11:59] always going to look to what uh um it says but also what our supreme court has

[1:12:04] said about it and it's not favorable in terms of right to privacy and I've heard

[1:12:08] some a lot of good points. Um I think it's a shame that our constitution

[1:12:13] doesn't mention privacy. We can we can quibble over uh whether liberty or

[1:12:19] privacy what what those words really mean. But I do think it's a question

[1:12:22] that needs to be asked and answered. That's not for this body to do. It's not

[1:12:26] for the city council to do. Um I think that's uh something for Congress uh to

[1:12:32] enact the 28th amendment that really defines what privacy means. Set that bar

[1:12:37] real high. I'm okay with that. Uh talked about the differences levels in

[1:12:40] everybody's privacy. This conversation made me go back and think about what's

[1:12:44] my personal level of prophecy. I would have told you before is high. I would

[1:12:50] tell you my actions say something different. and and I got to thinking of

[1:12:54] all the different ways it's been brought up that the end user license agreements,

[1:12:58] terms of services that all of the smart devices you've ever had, including your

[1:13:02] TV, your thermostat control, your vehicle phones, all of those, Microsoft,

[1:13:08] Google, your Amazon account, eBay account, all of these things are

[1:13:12] collecting data about you. And I clicked the yes, I I I agree every time. And

[1:13:18] here's here's a really bad how low my view is of privacy

[1:13:24] because I don't even read the terms of service when they update it anymore. I

[1:13:28] just clicked that button and I would have told you I thought I had a really

[1:13:30] high view of privacy. So, uh, and I think a lot of us are in that boat. Had

[1:13:35] a lot of conversations this week. Uh, the issue of privacy isn't for the

[1:13:38] Robinson City Council to determine. Whether flock violated privacy rights

[1:13:43] isn't for Robinson City Council determined. I think Flock is uh do its

[1:13:47] due process. It needs its day in court to defend its action and what it's doing

[1:13:51] with data. Uh I think our Congress needs to act and create a 28th amendment that

[1:13:57] sets this bar for the the future technologies that are coming because

[1:14:01] this is Amanda. You I'm sorry, Amanda. Right. You said it. There's more than

[1:14:06] this coming, right? There's already other options out there. Some that don't

[1:14:10] share the data. I like that option better. But what's the next tool um for

[1:14:15] law enforcement? what's this digital world mean? And and and we got AI

[1:14:20] debates going. We got data center debates going. If we live in a new world

[1:14:24] and data is big, we need to clearly define that what privacy means. There

[1:14:29] are over 40 different acts that Congress has enacted that speak specifically to

[1:14:35] privacy. But every one of those are specific sectors, healthc care,

[1:14:40] communications, um, all kinds, but none of them address

[1:14:44] it in the broad scope that we've talked about tonight. Um, we see snippets of it

[1:14:50] in certain amendments, but we're still arguing about it. It's still not as

[1:14:54] clear. We're still having this conversation 250 years later. Actually,

[1:14:59] 235 years later, because the Bill of Rights

[1:15:03] didn't exist when the country was founded. So, long story short, this

[1:15:06] conversation needs to continue. Uh, this is not a city of Robinson

[1:15:12] issue. It's a nation issue. Uh, and it's not something this council can fix. I I

[1:15:18] just want to say thank you'all again for coming out speaking. If everybody that

[1:15:22] came here last week, I I hope y'all saw how government works in real time

[1:15:27] because this council listened. We've gone and had multiple conversations

[1:15:31] after uh everybody left. We reconvened to to now cast a vote on what we're

[1:15:36] going to do on this and your input mattered. Um,

[1:15:41] we talked about how there's some apathy and little disillusion. I get it. I've

[1:15:45] been there, too. Um, but I hope last week and this week and this conversation

[1:15:50] that we're having now restores a little bit of your trust in your government,

[1:15:54] your local government, but also this is how it's designed to work. you know, a

[1:15:57] decision to start uh an ordinance or or some other form of guard rails for this

[1:16:04] type of technology. That's that's government at its best. And it takes you

[1:16:08] that we the people is is you. It's it's all of us as individuals, but it's you.

[1:16:13] So, please continue exercising that. Don't let these rooms sit empty. I mean,

[1:16:18] everybody up here, as far as I can tell, wants to hear you. So,

[1:16:22] » be involved in every issue. We'll have a better city, a better government. Be

[1:16:27] involved. Don't be apathetic. >> I lied. I'm sorry. One last

[1:16:32] » I wouldn't be the longest. >> One one last thing. So So we have this,

[1:16:37] you know, I've heard quotes from from founding fathers. I've heard um statutes

[1:16:42] quoted, uh amendments quoted, Supreme Court rulings. Um and we have these

[1:16:48] misinterpretations. Our own understandings aren't as strong as they

[1:16:52] need to be. Uh so my recommendation there's a book series called the

[1:16:56] foundations of freedom. It's a collection of all the major uh writings

[1:17:00] u on how our government was founded. It should be in everybody's house. Reading

[1:17:05] the constitution the bill of rights should be something that we should be

[1:17:08] able to quote. We we speak and we defend for our rights. But can everybody in the

[1:17:12] room quote fourth amendment? Probably not. I'm guilty of a lot of that. So I'm

[1:17:16] preaching all right. So let's be educated on what the words and the

[1:17:22] documents actually say and you know let's let's have honest conversation

[1:17:27] about uh how it applies and if we want to change it if we want to set a higher

[1:17:31] standard there's a process let's follow it

[1:17:34] » civil political discourse that's what our country has to have

[1:17:39] civil political discourse and that's what this is what you did that's what

[1:17:44] we're doing we're just trying to come to a reasonable conclusion for That's the

[1:17:48] way government is supposed to work. But it's got to be civil. You don't You can

[1:17:53] be passionate without being angry and mad and mean and all that. You know what

[1:17:57] I'm saying? Know your facts and give them, but do it in love. Do it in the in

[1:18:03] the spirit of fairness.

[1:18:09] Thank you. And y'all do that. By the way, I'm not saying you don't do that.

[1:18:12] I'm just encouraging you to do to do that. civil political discourse.

[1:18:19] » Charlie walked Charlie walked right into that because he said you can be

[1:18:23] passionate without being mad. I was going to say not according to KWT.

[1:18:27] [laughter] >> Yeah, I kind of kind of did this last

[1:18:29] time about something that I was talking about and I was like somebody said I

[1:18:33] pounded the table. I was not angry. I'm just trying to make a point.

[1:18:39] » My turn. >> Your turn.

[1:18:40] » My turn. >> Your turn.

[1:18:42] » I gave everybody here plenty. Right. And I'm not I'm not going to take a long

[1:18:47] time, but I am going to say some things that uh

[1:18:51] need to be said. Um I have made sure for two meetings now

[1:18:56] for two weeks that I have given everyone more than the opportunity to speak their

[1:19:01] mind because that is what we want to run this city government. I did not take

[1:19:07] this position to get up here and give you my feelings

[1:19:13] at vote the way that that I want to vote. I'm I'm sitting up here to vote

[1:19:18] how the majority of our town wants to vote. Okay.

[1:19:24] I wasn't given a chance by our local media last week to stay in the middle so

[1:19:31] that I could hear from everyone in our town. KWTX made sure that they

[1:19:38] sensationalized a clip out of a two-hour story so that it looked like you got a

[1:19:44] false positive where I stood and then I had to go and defend my family, my

[1:19:50] business. I was called a fascist. They talked about my granddaughter.

[1:19:57] I don't really You know what? I'm I have the thickest skin on the planet and

[1:20:02] people can say what they say. Uh I had a passionate conversation last

[1:20:08] week with a member of our community and it was a great back and forth.

[1:20:16] He even wrote an incredible piece that he put out there to let everybody know

[1:20:24] again that we had a local TV station that sensationalized and used yellow

[1:20:30] journalism to get clicks and try to turn our city into a circus.

[1:20:37] All the while we sit in this room and had the best meeting that I believe I've

[1:20:42] ever had since I have been on this dasis in this town.

[1:20:49] I appreciate everyone in this room tonight and everyone in the room last

[1:20:54] week.

[1:20:57] Yes, I am concerned about our rights being trampled.

[1:21:03] Uh along the way last week, mine were trampled on

[1:21:08] by a member of the state house who put a slanderous statement out,

[1:21:16] then deleted my comment

[1:21:22] where [clears throat] I was able to talk against what was put out there,

[1:21:26] then blocked me from his page,

[1:21:31] therefore taking away my first amendment, right? Because y'all know you

[1:21:35] can't you can't block somebody from from a public page if you're a public

[1:21:39] servant. By the way, I'm still blocked.

[1:21:45] So,

[1:21:48] yes, our rights are very important. And as I said up here, I will always

[1:21:53] remember where we're at when it comes to the Constitution and how we're taken

[1:21:58] care of. In fact, I care so much I'm going to Washington in a week and a half

[1:22:03] to learn even more about what's going on,

[1:22:07] about where we're headed in every direction of this world that we're

[1:22:12] living in. And let's let's face it, we are living in some times that that every

[1:22:17] week we really don't know how things are going to happen, but the technology that

[1:22:22] we have, there's no telling what's going to happen next week and what's going to

[1:22:26] come up and what company's going to come out with something that we're going to

[1:22:29] figure out that we didn't know how it was violating us.

[1:22:33] Um, my statement to you is is that I will sit in this chair until my time is

[1:22:39] done. And I will make sure that when I make a

[1:22:43] vote and a commitment at this table, it will be on behalf of the city of

[1:22:48] Robinson and the residents here and what the majority of the people in this town

[1:22:53] want to do. Please know that you sat here and saw

[1:22:58] the same kind of meetings tonight that you saw last week if you were here last

[1:23:01] week.

[1:23:04] We we want you to come. We want you to watch and let us know when you see

[1:23:10] things on this agenda that affect you. I don't think that after tonight's vote,

[1:23:17] we'll stop with the discussion on where these cameras go, any type of of

[1:23:23] readers, the license plate readers. I do want to make sure that I that there is a

[1:23:28] uh we have a u resident um Mr. Evie

[1:23:36] Baylor professor that put out a podcast that he asked me if I would uh talk

[1:23:41] about and I did. He put it out there. I'd welcome you to listen. There's going

[1:23:44] to be a part two. I'd welcome you to listen to that. But as I sit here and I

[1:23:49] finish, I want to make sure that unequivocably

[1:23:53] I tell our chief of police that you are an incredible officer. You run your

[1:23:59] department with the integrity that most other cities wish they had. And we

[1:24:05] appreciate you and your officers and your commander sitting next to you. And

[1:24:09] we have the utmost faith in the fact that with or without

[1:24:15] these, Robinson will be a safe community.

[1:24:18] » Second. >> All right, that's enough on my soap box.

[1:24:24] » Vote. Motion. >> I make a motion that we discontinue

[1:24:29] the use of lock technology, the cameras.

[1:24:38] Anything else I need to say? >> She's read.

[1:24:42] » Oh, >> she's going to get technical.

[1:24:50] » Well, help me out on this, Misty.

[1:24:55] [clears throat] >> So,

[1:24:57] » while they're doing this, we want to make sure we do it right. So, we only do

[1:25:00] once. >> I know what I want to say, but I think

[1:25:02] you got to be technical to be legal. So, here we go.

[1:25:06] The [clears throat] action that I make a motion on uh is to not authorize city

[1:25:11] manager Craig Lemen to sign by the way he's great city manager to sign the FY

[1:25:17] 202627 motor vehicle crime prevention authority

[1:25:21] NVCPA grant award letter and enter and not to

[1:25:26] enter into a one-year agreement with flock safety for fiscal year 2026

[1:25:32] through 2027 to continue and not to continue the city's automated license

[1:25:37] plate rear program. >> I'll second that.

[1:25:40] » All right. So, >> that clear.

[1:25:42] » Just to make sure that we don't have any any uh misinterpretations in here, I'm

[1:25:48] going to pull the council. Your vote is yes to discontinue.

[1:25:56] Right. Vote yes to discontinue or no if you disagree. All right. So, let's start

[1:26:02] at the end. Let's start with >> I yes

[1:26:06] » yes >> yes

[1:26:08] » yes >> yes

[1:26:09] » yes >> yes

[1:26:11] » all right motion is unanimous and carries flock cameras are discontinued

[1:26:17] in our city

[1:26:21] [applause]

[1:26:25] » again again uh thank you uh we appreciate you being here if we don't

[1:26:31] hear from you somebody said it last week. [snorts] I can say this because

[1:26:36] somebody said last week they said, "Well, if we don't show up, that means

[1:26:39] we think you're doing a good job." While I really appreciate that,

[1:26:44] [laughter]

[1:26:48] I would like I would like to make a pitch

[1:26:53] for all of us to go and follow our city Facebook page, City of Robinson's

[1:27:00] Facebook page. the young lady behind the computer over

[1:27:04] there and her department do a wonderful job of keeping our residents up date on

[1:27:09] everything. If if in two hours we find out a pipe burst or a gas man busted or

[1:27:16] somebody did something, it's on there in a heartbeat. The copy so that you don't

[1:27:21] have to go dig through. I'm telling you, I I want it to be easier to dig through

[1:27:25] the city website to find the council agenda so you can see. It's kind of a

[1:27:29] pain, but it's easy when they put it on there because they put the two pages on

[1:27:34] there and you can see the council meetings are every first Tuesday and

[1:27:38] third Tuesday of the month. If you just take the time to read it, hey, I don't

[1:27:43] need to see you if you don't if you're not going to disagree with me, okay? If

[1:27:47] you think we're all up here doing a good job and you don't want to come, that's

[1:27:50] fine. But look at that agenda. Look what's on there. Get an idea. And if you

[1:27:55] see something that might affect you or you think we might need to hear from

[1:27:58] you, please come see us. These meetings are not long. Even with I'm telling you,

[1:28:03] even with all this, we finish in an hour, okay? They don't take 20, 30

[1:28:07] minutes unusual. So, I understand we all have things to do, but but uh please

[1:28:14] give us your feedback. We want your feedback. We don't want to sit up here

[1:28:17] and do it for for and make a bad decision. All right. Everybody got it?

[1:28:20] Anybody got anything they want to put on a future agenda while we're sitting

[1:28:23] here? I've got two items. One is I want to revisit the lady at bunker and

[1:28:28] whatever just to report on what we what we found on that at some point.

[1:28:33] » And then uh second, I would suggest that we have some people here with a

[1:28:37] petition. They're concerned about a possible ordinance. I'd like to have a

[1:28:41] discussion about that. >> Well, that will actually be brought to

[1:28:43] you at the next council. >> Okay. That's already on it.

[1:28:46] » Okay. >> Yeah. It was just delivered to the city

[1:28:48] secretary yesterday. >> Already tonight's agenda. the the wheels

[1:28:52] are moving. >> We'll tell you what actions, you know,

[1:28:56] » happen. I mean, it's just it all that was brought to us so far is just that

[1:29:00] there are people starting not been an action.

[1:29:03] » Well, I I like a discussion about just a discussion about what a possible

[1:29:08] ordinance would look like or or what I mean because there's a lot of very

[1:29:12] educated people on that subject that I would love to hear their input on what

[1:29:16] an ordinance like that might look like. I don't know we need to take any action

[1:29:20] or anything of it at that point in time but I would like to if you know that

[1:29:23] makes sense. It doesn't it doesn't. >> So noted. Got it. Anything else?

[1:29:28] » Good. Once again thank you to all of you people out there sitting in the chairs.

[1:29:32] We appreciate you being here. And with that at 7:28 we're journ.

September 1, 2026 - City Council Workshop & Meeting

Transcript