[0:04] Good evening, everyone. Wow. At this time, I'd like to call the regular schedule meeting of the Lake Worth City Council to order on Tuesday, March 18th at 6.30 p.m. This time, I would ask if you would please rise for the invocation given by Mayor Pro Tempsdurd and remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. Y'all look good tonight. Let's pray.

[0:32] Father, thank you for each blessing that you give us. You've been so good to us.

[0:36] You oversee us in so many ways, it's not even funny.

[0:40] We just appreciate the fact that we know that your hand is upon us.

[0:44] Your hand is upon this city.

[0:46] Your hand is upon our family and friends with all the different things that's gone around

[0:49] the last week or so with tornadoes and storms.

[0:54] We just pray for the children to continue to do that and uplift us in each and everything

[0:58] we do.

[0:59] We pray for the tonight that you'll be with each of our first responders.

[1:02] It would be fire, whether it be police, whether it be public works, or admin folks, it was

[1:08] probably that you'd be with the entire city.

[1:10] That you'll lead God and direct them, that you'll give them grace, that you'll give them

[1:15] understanding of how to do their job to the best of the ability and give us the best of

[1:19] the best of our ability to thank them for each and everything that they do.

[1:25] We pray for this time on the City Council.

[1:28] We have some significant business to do tonight.

[1:30] We pray, Father, that you'll guide us as we go through each one of these steps that we understand everything that we're doing.

[1:37] We pray, Father, that you'll bless each thing that we do tonight. We ask it in Jesus' name, Amen.

[2:15] This time, we'll let the record reflect the following council members present, council member Smith, council member White, council member

[2:24] Wenger, council member Watkins, council member Steward, council member Cox, absent, council member

[2:32] Pendington. Our next agenda item is under item D. This is a special presentation and recognition.

[2:39] Just time I would ask the Chief of Police, JT Monashagan, if he would step forward with his presentations.

[2:45] Thank you Mayor and Council. Tonight it's an honor to be with you and recognize the outstanding work

[2:53] of several of our department's employees, including members of the Northwest Emergency

[2:59] communications center where I would like to begin.

[3:01] So at this time, I'd like to invite up

[3:03] ECC Operator Rosales and Operator Chisholm Police.

[3:16] Okay, I'm gonna begin by telling you just a little bit

[3:18] about why these employees are being recognized.

[3:23] So on January 30th, 2025, at about 417,

[3:29] both of these operators were on their consoles.

[3:33] When a lake worth K9 unit initiated a traffic stop

[3:36] in the 5700 block of ASL Avenue.

[3:40] At 424, the driver evaded officers in a pursuit began.

[3:45] The suspect then crashed into a backyard, fired several rounds at officers,

[3:50] and proceeded to his residence, where he held his mother hostage,

[3:53] before eventually releasing her to the police.

[3:56] Throughout this highly dangerous and dynamic event,

[4:00] operators Rosalice and Chisholm worked in unison,

[4:03] ensuring the appropriate resources were contacted swiftly and efficiently.

[4:08] They maintained constant communication with command, relaying critical information to all responding units.

[4:14] As a pursuit unfolded, they were quick to close the channel and reroute units accordingly.

[4:19] They expertly documented all radio traffic in the call sheet and managed phone lines to continue providing a high level of service to both officers and citizens.

[4:28] operations. Both operators maintained an impressive level of calm and composure throughout

[4:33] the entirety of the event, showcasing their professionalism and capability in handling

[4:38] such intense circumstances with minimal supervision. Operators Rosales and Chism should be highly

[4:44] commended, not just for their performance during this specific event, but for the consistent

[4:50] excellence they demonstrate in their daily duties. They have distinguished themselves time

[4:54] time and time again to be capable of managing major incidents and handling them with expertise

[4:59] and confidence.

[5:01] For their extraordinary professionalism and outstanding performance, they are being

[5:05] issued certificates of merit.

[5:55] Next on I'd like to invite up Sergeant Hewitt.

[6:05] During the same incident, Sergeant Hewitt was off duty in traveling through the city, monitoring

[6:11] his department radio, when he heard the event that we just discussed unfold.

[6:17] He immediately responded to the scene without being asked to do so and began

[6:23] immediately providing assistance. I was there and it was like he came out of

[6:29] nowhere in his personal vehicle. He remained on scene for an extended period of

[6:35] time during the course of the investigation when he didn't have to and his

[6:41] service and unwavering commitment embodies the characteristics of leadership

[6:46] that we expect in the Lakeworth Police Department,

[6:49] and because of his conduct, while off duty,

[6:52] he's being issued a police letter of commendation,

[6:55] which has already been placed in his file,

[6:57] and I would like to specifically recognize him

[7:00] with a chief's coin of excellence.

[7:25] Okay, at this time, I would like to invite a Detective Carly

[7:28] page, an officer, Chris, to get it.

[7:36] So I'll read a slightly different version of the events,

[7:40] a little more geared towards the officer's point of view,

[7:43] and then read the citations of their awards for you.

[7:47] So on Thursday, January 20th, 2025,

[7:49] at approximately 417, Officer Segata initiated a traffic stop

[7:54] in the 6,000 block of Hazel Avenue.

[7:56] As a precaution, she requested a backup unit

[7:59] and Detective Carly Page arrived a short time later.

[8:03] The driver of the vehicle ultimately fled

[8:05] and Officer Segata and Detective Page immediately pursued

[8:09] the suspect.

[8:09] The suspect drove recklessly, endangering himself and others, eventually crashing through a fence

[8:16] and stopping in the backyard of a residence in the 5200 block of Buchanan Street.

[8:23] As the officers arrived at the scene, the suspect exited the vehicle, pointed a gun at Officer

[8:28] Sagada in Detective Page, and fired multiple rounds in their direction, one of which struck

[8:34] Detective Page's vehicle.

[8:36] Fortunately, none of the rounds struck the officers.

[8:38] officers. Officer Cigada in Detective Page quickly took cover and observed the suspect

[8:43] aiming the firearm at his head. In a moment of extreme risk, Officer Cigada in Detective

[8:50] Page exercised remarkable restraint and chosen not to use deadly force. Instead, they attempted

[8:57] to de-escalate the situation by pleading with the armed suspect to surrender peacefully,

[9:02] offering him help and resources. The suspect ultimately barricaded himself and after an extended

[9:08] unsuccessful negotiation, SWOT was called in and deadly force had to be used.

[9:13] In recognition of their extraordinary professionalism, exemplary restraint and

[9:18] unwavering commitment to public safety, they were recommended for the

[9:22] Maritorious Conduct Award for their outstanding response during this critical incident.

[9:27] I reviewed that recommendation and agreed and tonight we'll be issuing them the

[9:32] Maritorious Conduct Award, which I will read.

[9:35] It is hereby awarded by the Lakeworth Police Department that the Maritories Conduct Award

[9:41] for Exceptional Maritories Conduct that occurred in the line of duty on January 30, 2025

[9:46] be awarded to Officer Christopher Cigada and Detective Carly Page.

[9:51] Despite being fired upon, they distinguished themselves by displaying exemplary courage, extraordinary

[9:56] restraint, and unwavering commitment to public safety, where it not for their exceptional

[10:01] conduct innocent lives would have undoubtedly been at greater risk from an armed and dangerous

[10:06] suspect. This award given under our hands at the Lakeworth Police Department on the 18th

[10:11] day of March 2025, son Mayor Walter Bowen, city manager Stacey Almond and me.

[12:26] Chief Monashegan,

[12:27] I'd like to, if I may echo Councilman Mayor Pro Tempsdourds in his prayer, we are blessed to have

[12:34] of the employees we have in the city.

[12:39] Thanks is not enough, it's not enough to say thank you,

[12:42] but we appreciate everything you folks do.

[12:45] Thank you so much.

[12:50] Our next agenda item is item E.

[12:53] At this time, I would ask that there's anyone in the audience

[12:55] that would like to speak at this time.

[13:03] Seeing none, at this time, we will now move to item F.

[13:07] Any items council members would like to ever move

[13:10] from the consent agenda as presented.

[13:11] in. Hearing none, we'll move to item G consideration approval consent agenda. This time we'll entertain

[13:19] a motion regarding the consent agenda as presented. Smith moves to approve the consent agenda

[13:26] as presented. Mr. Smith second by Mr. Stewart if you would council please vote now.

[13:36] All members voting

[13:37] for motion approved. This time under our agenda, the item J1 is being moved up to up on

[13:47] the agenda for this consideration. At this time, item J1 is discussing, consider the acceptance

[13:53] of the 2023-24 annual audit. Debbie, would you introduce them please?

[14:01] Yes, thank you, Mayor and Council. You have all been provided with a printed copy of

[14:05] the audit that was completed last week, I believe.

[14:09] Reba Long with Snowgare Williams is here

[14:11] to go over the highlights of that audit with you.

[14:14] And we will, any of us, happy to answer questions

[14:17] if you have something.

[14:23] I'm Reba Long.

[14:24] I'm an audit senior manager at Snowgare Williams.

[14:27] That's a tough presentation to follow,

[14:30] especially talking about numbers.

[14:32] But please, I'll echo Debbie.

[14:35] Stop me at any time.

[14:36] I'd be happy to answer any questions.

[14:37] This can get a little boring if you just listen to me talk for the next five minutes, but I'll just try to hit some high points of our audit report.

[14:45] You should have a copy in front of you.

[14:48] We're just going to start on page four, which is our opinion.

[14:51] It says independent auditors were for at the top.

[14:54] And in the first two paragraphs that says we have audited the financial statements of the City of Lake Worth.

[15:03] In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly in all material respects, the financial position of the city of Lake Worth, as of September 30th, 2024, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. So, that is the clean or unmodified opinion that you're looking for. So, if there's one takeaway from my presentation today, that is it.

[15:27] So if we'll move forward now to page seven, that is management's discussion and analysis.

[15:35] I always like to point this out because it's a really good overview of the current year's

[15:40] activities with comparisons to the prior year in more of a narrative format.

[15:45] So if you're not as much of a numbers person, this can be a really good place to read through

[15:51] to familiarize yourself a little more with the financial statements and the results of

[15:55] this year's operations.

[15:57] I'm not going to go through that in any more detail,

[16:00] but I did want to point that out.

[16:02] Moving forward now to page 21, that

[16:06] is the balance sheet of the governmental funds.

[16:10] So the general fund is obviously the main operating fund

[16:13] of the city, and then we have the capital projects fund,

[16:16] and then the smaller funds of the city are presented

[16:19] in that other governmental funds.

[16:21] call them the third one over.

[16:24] At the September 30th, 2024, we had total assets of about $37.6 million.

[16:32] This was mostly investments.

[16:35] This number is way higher than we usually see it, but it's because

[16:37] you all issued about $22, $23 million certificate of obligation this year for

[16:44] the new fire station.

[16:46] And so the unspent portion of that is just still sending an investment

[16:49] as it's spent down over the next year.

[16:52] Moving down, we have total liabilities of about 2.3 million,

[16:56] it's mostly AP and payroll,

[16:58] and then we have deferred inflows of resources,

[17:01] which is just a fancy way to say revenue

[17:03] that you're going to recognize in future years of about 60,000.

[17:08] And then moving all the way almost to the bottom,

[17:11] total fund balance of about 35 million.

[17:14] This is like the equity of this city.

[17:17] about 8 million of this is unassigned fund balance so that is money that is

[17:24] available to fund the future operations of the city. That's about 23% of your

[17:28] fund balance. Then about another 3 million is committed or assigned so those

[17:33] are things that either council or management have kind of dog-eared for specific

[17:38] purposes and then about 24 million is restricted for specific purposes and the

[17:44] The biggest part of that is in capital projects fund and it's that money that was issued

[17:49] to build the new fire station that's just waiting to be spent.

[17:54] We'll go now to the next page page 22 is the statement of revenues expenditures and changes

[18:00] and fund balance for those governmental funds.

[18:03] Excuse me.

[18:03] Can you get a little closer to the microphone?

[18:06] Yes.

[18:08] So we have total revenues of just under $20 million. Most of these about 74% are taxes

[18:17] and of those, most of them, about 77% are sales taxes. So you guys are very heavily funded

[18:23] on sales tax. Your property taxes are only about 19% of that tax number. So that's something

[18:29] a little bit unique about the city of Lake Worth. Total expenditures were about $27 million.

[18:34] dollars. These were up quite a bit from the year before, but again, that's due to spending

[18:39] in the capital outlay line item for the new fire station. Moving down, we have total

[18:45] other financing sources or uses of $26 million. Again, I'm going to mention the bond.

[18:51] There's certificate of obligation. The $25 million in proceeds is in those line items.

[18:57] And that brings us to total changes in fund balances, which is kind of like the net income

[19:01] for the governmental funds of about 19.6 million dollars. It looks like it's a huge profit. Again,

[19:10] it's those bond proceeds and as those gets met next year, we'll have big losses in that fund,

[19:15] so it'll all leave an out over the long term. So I would just mainly pay attention to that general

[19:20] fund number of change in fund balance of $464,000.

[19:28] Now we can move to page 24. So just really quickly,

[19:32] I'm going to cover the financial statements of the water and sewer funds.

[19:36] So this is the statement I'm not positioned or the balance sheet.

[19:39] At September 30th, 2024, there were total assets of about $24 million.

[19:44] Most of this was in capital assets, obviously, water and sewer systems are very capital asset

[19:48] heavy.

[19:49] Then we have total liabilities of about $1.1 million, and that brings us to a total not position

[19:55] of $23 million.

[19:56] dollars of this about $7.3 million is unrestricted so that's again available to fund future operations

[20:03] of the water and sewer system. And then on the next page this is the statement of revenues,

[20:10] expenses, and changes in that position so it's like the income statement of the water and sewer

[20:14] funds. For the year ended September 30th, 2024 there were total operating revenues of about

[20:20] about $4.5 million, total operating expenses of just under $3 million to give us operating

[20:26] income of about $1.5 million. Then we have some non-operating revenues and expenses.

[20:32] Most of this is interest income of $400,000 and then some transfers and grant revenue to

[20:40] get a total change in that position or the net income of these funds of about $2.3 million.

[20:45] dollars. So now it's really quick overview of a lot of information, but if you'll have

[20:51] any questions, be happy to answer that. If not, there was one more letter I was going

[20:57] to go over. So it's all the way at the back. It's page 72. This is our auditor's report on

[21:04] internal control over financial reporting. So we look at as part of our audit to make sure

[21:09] that there's proper controls over the financial reporting process, that everything has checks

[21:15] some balances and our last paragraph on there says that we didn't identify anything that

[21:20] we considered to be material weaknesses and we also didn't identify any significant

[21:25] efficiencies. We also didn't identify anything that we felt like we would just need to communicate

[21:31] to management as like a smaller issue with internal control. So that's very rare. It usually

[21:39] takes me quite a while to go over this letter with some of our small cities but Debbie obviously

[21:45] does an awesome job out here and has everything in great shape. So I just wanted to point that out

[21:52] and that's really all I had planned to cover. Can you say that last part one more time?

[21:57] Debbie does an awesome job. We're in great shape. Did I hear you actually say that?

[22:02] Yes, yes. Okay, so with our position with the amount of debt that we're carrying right now as opposed to the amount of revenue that we're generating.

[22:12] Are we in a solid position as far as you folks are concerned? Absolutely. Yes, I have no concerns about that.

[22:24] Thank you guys so much and thank you to Debbie and Stacy. You'll be so missed.

[22:29] You know, this is Debbie's last audit.

[22:38] We're here to help if you need anything that we can do to convince her to stay a little

[22:43] longer.

[22:43] Thank you.

[22:44] Yes, thank you.

[22:45] That's probably going to be impossible to do, right, Debbie?

[22:49] To let you stay around a little longer.

[22:53] I didn't think so.

[23:00] Debbie's been here quite a while and has done certainly an excellent job with all this.

[23:07] We know this time you can't tell me to solve.

[23:12] We appreciate Debbie everything you've done in the finance department, so thank you.

[23:27] Our next agenda item is under item H, under item H1.

[23:33] This is a public hearing.

[23:35] This public hearing is a continuum, so they're public hearing that we, oh, we need a motion

[23:42] right?

[23:42] We have to accept it.

[23:43] Sorry.

[23:44] I got tied up here.

[23:47] This time I'll entertain a motion regarding the audit as presented.

[23:50] Steward moves to approve and accept the fiscal year 2023-2024 annual audit and financial

[23:57] statements as prepared and presented by snow-girt Williams certified public accountants.

[24:03] I want Watkins is very happy to second that motion.

[24:08] Motion by Mr. Steward.

[24:10] I think Mr. White beats you okay second by council member why can sorry Mr. White

[24:19] I have a motion a second if you would council. Please vote now

[24:28] all members voting for motion approved

[24:32] Now the item H1 as I say this is a open public hearing this hearing was opened at our council meeting on

[24:40] February the 18 so this is a continuance

[24:44] All of that probably carrying Ms. Mason?

[24:47] Yes, Mayor and Council this is a continuation for a final plat approval for 7,000 Apache

[24:55] trail.

[24:56] The property is owned by Rubin Martinez and his wife and they're seeking a replat of

[25:02] multiple lots into one large light, a lot to construct a new home.

[25:08] The property does fall within the city of Lake Worth and the city of Fort Worth limit.

[25:12] city limits and as per Fort Worth's request Lake Worth will provide the water and sewer

[25:17] for the property. The city of Fort Worth has reviewed and approved the final plat so

[25:23] now it just needs Lake Worth's final approval. The plat does conform to all the city's requirements.

[25:32] Staff meld out 19 letters of notice to those within 200 foot and also published in the

[25:37] the Tri-County reporter, a staff that received no public comment forms back on the February

[25:45] 11, 2025 PNZ meeting they did recommend approval by five to zero vote. Due to the fact that

[25:53] this was continued from the prior council meeting, Mr. Martinez has been in contact with

[26:00] Mr. Lomerson, who had concerns about the property boundaries and Mr. Martinez had a survey

[26:07] We are double check those boundaries and they are correct.

[26:11] And Mr. Martinez did let Mr. Lumberston know that his ability to access that property would not change.

[26:20] While he owns it still, Mr. Martinez, he would still, Mr. Lumberston would still have access to the property.

[26:27] And I believe he's here if you have any specific questions for him.

[26:32] Would you like to address the council?

[26:35] Yes,

[26:43] yes, there it is.

[26:45] I remember this time.

[26:47] Mr. Mayor, City Council members, Miss Alman,

[26:51] I want to say thank you very much for grant me additional time

[26:54] for research and situation, and I've been in contact

[26:57] with Mr. Martinez.

[26:59] And we've come to an understanding of the situation

[27:02] so I'm happy.

[27:04] Thank you all very much.

[27:05] Appreciate it.

[27:06] Thank you, sir.

[27:07] Any questions or comments from council or staff hearing none then we'll close the public hearing and council will consider action at this time.

[27:21] I move to approve planning is only in case number pz 2025-01 has presented.

[27:27] Seconds the motion motion by Ms. Winger for approval second by Mr. White if you would council please vote now.

[27:34] All

[27:38] members voting for motion approved.

[27:40] Our next agenda item is under item H2.

[27:43] This is a public hearing.

[27:45] At this time, I will open this public hearing to consider planning and zoning case number

[27:49] PZ 205, 2025-06, Ms. Meeson.

[27:56] Yes, Mayor and Council, this is a proposed preliminary plaque for the property located at 7,0007 Clark and 4517 Williams Springs Road.

[28:06] those are multiple tracks that have never been plated.

[28:10] So this is the first stage of plating,

[28:12] which is the preliminary plat,

[28:14] the current property owner, Karen Radell,

[28:16] is seeking approval of this,

[28:18] so that residents can be built on each of those lots.

[28:22] Staff has reviewed that preliminary platt

[28:25] and it does conform to all the city's requirements for plating.

[28:29] Staff meld out 24 notices of public hearing

[28:32] to those within 200 foot

[28:34] it and received four public comment forms back from owners within that 200 foot that were

[28:42] in favor of the request. The RCC did send back comments and while this property falls

[28:48] within the APC to accident potential zone two and the 70 DV noise contour, they concur with

[28:56] staff that sound to tissue attenuation measures will be used during construction to help mitigate

[29:04] that 70 decibel level there. PNZ did a recommend approval at their March 11 meeting by 5-0 vote.

[29:16] It is public hearing. This time I would ask if there's anyone in the audience who would like to

[29:21] ask any questions or have any comments regarding this item.

[29:28] Council have any questions or comments.

[29:32] anything else, Ms. Mason?

[29:34] This time, we'll close the public hearing.

[29:36] Council now consider action regarding this item.

[29:42] Motion to approve planning and zoning case,

[29:46] PZ-20205-6, as presented.

[29:51] Mr. Seconds.

[29:52] Motion by Mr. Cox for approval.

[29:54] Seconded by Mr. Stewart.

[29:56] If you would, Council, please vote now.

[30:01] All members voting for motion approved. Our next item is under item H3. This is the next public hearing. This test time will open this public hearing to consider planning in zoning case number pz2025-07. Ms. Mieson. Yes, mayor and council. This is the request for the final plat. For that same two pieces of property. Again, the homeowner or property owner would like to build two homes of one on

[30:31] each lot. The city has reviewed the final plat and it does conform to all the city's requirements

[30:36] for plating. This is the final stage once the final plat has been approved it will be filed with

[30:41] tiernt county records and then the homeowner will be able to pull permits for construction at that

[30:47] time. Again staff meld out those 24 notices did receive for public comment forms back from property

[30:55] the owners in favor and the PNZ did here on March 11th and recommended approval of that

[31:02] from for a five to zero vote as well.

[31:07] Again, this is a public hearing and I would ask if there's anyone in the audience have

[31:11] any questions or comments regarding this item as presented.

[31:18] Council have any questions or comments.

[31:21] Hearing none at this time, we will close this public hearing council now, consider action

[31:26] regarding this item.

[31:27] I move to approve planning and zoning case number PC 2025-07 as presented.

[31:34] White seconds motion.

[31:36] Motion by Ms. Winger for approval, second by Mr. White.

[31:39] If you would, council, please vote now.

[31:43] All members voting for motion approve.

[31:46] Our next agenda item is under item 1.

[31:50] Discuss and consider approval of the marine illustration and generator final plans.

[31:56] Mr. Christianson.

[32:03] Thank you mayor council.

[32:06] On the list station we have Kimlee Horn here tonight.

[32:09] It will give us a y'all a presentation over that project.

[32:14] Austin.

[32:15] Right.

[32:22] I'll do the update for the marina lift station and then Austin will handle the next item on

[32:28] the agenda to give it overview about the Indian notes project.

[32:33] For the Marina Lift Station, we're looking at upgrading the lift station completely.

[32:39] The original lift station was designed and constructed back in 1960.

[32:43] So if you can imagine there hasn't been a lot of upgrades since and with the growth

[32:47] and just the wear and tear that you would kind of experience with a kind of a sewage type

[32:51] facility, it's a need for an upgrade.

[32:55] So as part of this kind of overall improvement package, the Marina Lift Station will be upgraded

[33:00] in, it will handle the capacity that it needs to handle. And it's going to be a little

[33:06] bit more energy efficient since the 1960s. We're installing what they call variable frequency

[33:12] drives on the pumps, what's it allows the pumps to run at variable speeds instead of

[33:17] just a, you know, turn on and turn off. It's got the latest kind of technologies, if you

[33:22] will, odor control. Everything that the public work staff's going to need to be able to operate

[33:28] maintain it probably for the rest of its life so that's what we're looking at for

[33:35] the marine all of station I'll entertain any questions for right now I would

[33:39] show you a picture but it's not very exciting questions council comments I

[33:46] have a question variable speed can you explain back to me why you need variable

[33:53] speed I mean I don't know screwdriver from a hammer so you know so and if you

[33:59] can imagine like a car going 0 to 60 if that was your only option same thing

[34:03] with the lift station when the sewage starts entering the plant the pumps turn

[34:07] on they'll run and then they'll shut off so there's a lot of on and off

[34:11] cycling and that kind of causes somewhere in tarot and the pumps right just

[34:15] that's the only option on and off. The variable speed allows it to ramp up as the

[34:20] inflow comes in and adjust itself as the flow comes in and out and it's a

[34:25] little less wear and tear on the pumps long-term. It's also a little bit better

[34:28] on the energy efficiency side as well.

[34:33] Other questions, comments from council?

[34:35] What kind of power plan are you going to put in this thing? A power plan we're

[34:39] going to have a backup generator to serve it just you know lessons learned over

[34:43] the years as y'all are doing with y'all's other sites the diggeries are an

[34:47] an important element, especially with cold weather and different emergency events.

[34:51] So I assume that you're going to put a backup generator, kind of like the generator that's

[34:56] right over here.

[34:56] It's going to be consistent with the rest of the generators and the city's installing.

[35:00] Did you charge us by the sheet since you've got 45 sheets for this drawing package?

[35:05] No, but interesting enough, your generator is a Rolls Royce brand.

[35:09] Okay.

[35:14] Any other questions or comments from Council?

[35:19] Okay, we're ready for the other one.

[35:24] We need a motion on this one to go out for a bid, sir, yes.

[35:28] There's no further questions.

[35:29] We'll entertain a motion at this time.

[35:31] I'd like to make a motion to accept I-1 as presented.

[35:43] Motion by Mrs. Watkins for approval.

[35:45] Second by Mr. Cox, if you would, council, please vote now.

[35:57] Somebody's didn't get it.

[36:03] She said he did vote, but it just didn't capture on the screen, so it's 6-0.

[36:07] I'm sorry.

[36:09] It didn't register on that screen, but his vote registered, so it was passed.

[36:13] Okay, so it's a unanimous vote, it's 6-0.

[36:17] Okay, all members voting for motion approved.

[36:28] Okay, next item is under item 2, sorry.

[36:33] Mike, you're going to let him do this one?

[36:36] Yes, sir.

[36:37] Okay.

[36:43] Good afternoon Mayor, City Council and City staff. My name is Austin Cradi and I'm with

[36:50] Kim Lee Horn. I've been working alongside City staff on the Indian Oaks Improvement Project,

[36:57] and today I'm going to provide you all a project overview and answer any questions at the end.

[37:03] So this project is divided into two sites. The first site being telephone wrote. The plan is to

[37:09] construct the extension of Telephone Road to Marina Drive

[37:13] and construct Caribou Trail and Ranch Road

[37:17] to provide connectivity from Foster Drive

[37:19] to Telephone Road.

[37:21] The other site is Long Shawnee Trail.

[37:24] The plan is to reconstruct Shawnee Trail

[37:26] from Navajo Trail to Charbonneau Road.

[37:31] The construction of Telephone Road, Caribou Trail and Ranch Road

[37:35] will include new concrete roadways with carbon gutter

[37:39] Each road will have a 31-foot wide from back-acurb road that will service two

[37:49] undivided lanes. There will be a sidewalk on the north side of Telephone Road

[37:54] and there will be pedestrian crossings at the major intersections.

[38:00] Regarding the storm improvements, we have identified two main drainage paths,

[38:05] Each of which are undersized and cannot convey the existing flows going to those areas today.

[38:14] The proposed improvements for line A will include storm inlets, storm drain, a concrete line channel, and an adequate covert outfall.

[38:25] The proposed improvements for line B will include all of the same items apart from the channel being earthen.

[38:33] The

[38:36] waterline improvements include abandoning the existing caribou trail waterline and installing

[38:42] new waterlines beneath all paving improvements.

[38:46] Those can be seen in red.

[38:51] The sewerline improvements include abandoning the existing caribou trail, wrench road, and

[38:57] pueblo trail sewerlines and installing new sewerlines beneath all paving related improvements.

[39:03] The sewer improvements for this project also include a new force main that will connect

[39:10] the previously mentioned marine lift station to the existing force main line at the intersection

[39:17] of Shawnee Trail and Charbonneau Road.

[39:22] This concludes the limits of construction for telephone.

[39:27] The reconstruction of Shawnee Trail will consist of a new concrete roadway with

[39:34] carbon gutter. There will be two lanes undivided and similar road section with

[39:41] 31 foot from back of curb to back of curb. There will be a sidewalk on the east

[39:46] side of Shawnee Trail in pedestrian crossings at the major intersections.

[39:53] The

[39:53] waterline improvements include abandoning all the existing water lines along

[39:58] Shawnee Trail and installing new water lines along all under all of the proposed

[40:05] paving improvements.

[40:10] The sewer improvements include abandoning all the

[40:14] existing sanitary sewer lines under Shawnee Trail and installing new sanitary

[40:19] sewer lines under all paving improvements. This includes the limits of

[40:27] construction for the Shawnee Trail project.

[40:32] We've recently submitted, for a few months back,

[40:35] we submitted our 60% construction plans to the city.

[40:38] In this month, we plan to submit our 90% construction plans.

[40:43] We've been actively coordinating

[40:46] with the various franchise utility companies in the area

[40:50] to make sure that their relocations are accounted for

[40:53] and that this project stays on schedule and construction.

[40:56] We anticipate this project going to bid in the spring of 2025 and estimate that it will last about 12 months.

[41:06] Thank you for your time. Are there any questions?

[41:09] Questions, comments from council.

[41:11] So you don't anticipate construction until this time next year?

[41:17] Possibly.

[41:18] Spring this year, but it will last until next year.

[41:21] So yeah, we'll be bidding soon.

[41:24] is the plan. Hello, we'll take once you start construction.

[41:29] You'll take about a year's what we're estimating.

[41:40] The one thing that we've

[41:41] talked about with city staff is when we go and bid this project, we're going to

[41:45] try to have two contractors, two different contractors. I know I mentioned

[41:49] two sites, so I've one contractor working on telephone and then one contractor

[41:52] working on Shawnee. They won't be on top of each other so they can go.

[41:57] I'm not wondering at 12 months fan I was wondering if there's help coming.

[42:01] Yeah, other questions, comments from council anything else sir that's all

[42:09] thank you guys. There's no further questions or comments from staff questions

[42:16] we'll entertain a motion at this time. I move to approve the Indian Oaks Improvement

[42:20] Project final plans and authorize Kim Linhorn and associates to solicit formal

[42:25] bids for the construction of the project. White second set motion.

[42:32] Motion by Ms. Winger, second by Mr. White.

[42:35] If you would council, please vote now.

[42:39] All voting for motion approved.

[42:42] Our next agenda item was that we move J1 up.

[42:46] So this next agenda item is item J2,

[42:49] discuss and accept the Lakeworth Police Department's

[42:53] 2024 annual report, Chief Monashagan.

[42:57] Thank you, Mayor and council.

[42:59] Great job, by the way.

[43:04] Tonight, it's my privilege to present our annual report to you.

[43:10] Before we begin, I would just like to thank all of our police department staff for their fantastic work in 2024.

[43:21] Everything in this report is a reflection of their hard work and dedication and it's truly an honor to be able to present it on their behalf.

[43:29] and I'd also be remiss if I didn't think the leaders who were here with me

[43:34] tonight and those that weren't able to make it were it not for them and their

[43:38] work gathering all of this information and getting it to me. We wouldn't have

[43:42] an annual report and it takes a lot of energy and effort to do that and probably

[43:47] some stress so I appreciate that. We'll begin with the end and that is that

[43:53] crime was down four and a half percent last year. So we're really proud of that and got a lot of

[44:00] great things to talk to you about. We'll begin with law enforcement workload. We took a little

[44:06] over 21,000 calls for service last year that comes out to about 60 per day, 30 per shift. We took more

[44:15] more than 2,000 reports and file almost 600 cases with the DA's office.

[44:25] Now it's hard to know how significant that is until you hold it side-by-side to some

[44:30] of our peers.

[44:32] So I'd like to point out a few that I believe are notable.

[44:36] The first is Wattaga, which is twice our size and has four times the population file to

[44:42] 100 less cases than we did.

[44:45] South Lake which I'm sorry let's move over to Benbrook which is four times our

[44:51] size has four times the population also filed less cases than we did and then

[44:56] we'll end with South Lake which is five times our population in eight

[45:00] Times our size filed less cases than we did. And that is a testament to the work. And perhaps

[45:07] more importantly, the efficiency with which our staff does their job. It is significant

[45:14] and meaningful, and they do it so well.

[45:19] This is just a snapshot of overall crime. These

[45:22] are the major crime categories that we look at. Nothing really stands out that's much different

[45:28] from years past, theft continues to be our number one leading crime category, and that's

[45:35] attributable to our retail areas. As our auditors mentioned earlier, we are a sales tax driven

[45:44] community, so it would make sense that that crime is proportional to our community. The good news

[45:53] is that we're really good at clearing those cases,

[45:57] which means either making an arrest or solving the case

[46:00] by another exceptional means.

[46:02] And we do that at three times the national average

[46:04] for theft, another notable category is burglary.

[46:07] While we don't have that many, we are very good

[46:10] at solving those crimes as well.

[46:12] A testament to our detectives and patrol officers

[46:14] that's twice the national average.

[46:16] Motor vehicle theft did increase this year by,

[46:21] I'm just going to do rough math about seven additional vehicles stolen in 24 then in 2023.

[46:30] However, our clearance rate went through to roof with more than half of those vehicles being recovered.

[46:37] So we saw seven or we're clearing those cases at seven times the national average.

[46:43] We historically do not have many robberies, sexual offenses or other violent crimes.

[46:49] but when we do have them we direct all of our resources towards them and get

[46:54] them solved. We're clearing those at a hundred percent. A couple things I wanted

[46:58] to point out almost all the thefts are retail-related and then of the

[47:04] assaults the majority of those are simple or misdemeanor level assaults. We have

[47:10] very few felony level violent crimes that fall into that category.

[47:19] Any

[47:19] questions there before I move on? Okay. As you know, we have about 400,000 vehicles that pass

[47:27] through the city every day. So traffic enforcement is really important to maintaining clear roadways

[47:34] and ensuring that the people who live in our community and pass through our community have

[47:39] efficient commutes. So we have placed a particular emphasis on traffic enforcement and will continue

[47:47] to do so. But looking back at 2024, we saw a 90, almost a 91% increase in traffic stops.

[47:57] And we are focusing more on hazardous violations, those violations which put lives at risk,

[48:05] running stoplights, stop signs, speeding, et cetera. And then you can see a breakdown there,

[48:12] kind of where those offenses fell. We do that to get to this slide. And this is the

[48:20] one that is among my most proud, a 10-year low in traffic crashes. We have been working

[48:28] really hard over many years to get to this level. And to see our total traffic crashes

[48:35] fall below 400 is really something to celebrate. With that many cars passing through 146 million

[48:42] cars estimated per year to have less than 400 reportable traffic crashes is

[48:49] really really significant. The overall goal of that of course is to keep our

[48:56] roadways open get everybody where they need to be on time but most importantly

[49:00] it's to prevent deaths. Most traffic related deaths if not all traffic related

[49:05] deaths are preventable and so we do not want any unnecessary loss of life in our

[49:12] community. We did have one traffic fatality in 2024, which was an auto pedestrian crash on

[49:18] boat club road. So we saw a 13% reduction in crashes from 23 to 24 and a 42% reduction since

[49:30] 2015. So really, really proud of that. Now, this is another area that we're really proud of.

[49:38] we've got a couple years' worth of data that we can look at now, but if you'll remember,

[49:44] we, not too long ago, began surveying citizens both quantitatively and qualitatively to

[49:52] get an idea of any blind spots that we may have as a police department.

[49:56] It's one thing to think that you're doing a good job.

[49:59] It's one thing for your council to tell you you're doing a good job.

[50:02] But what about the 146 million people who passed through or the 8,000, almost 9,000 that

[50:09] had an interaction with one of our officers?

[50:12] How did they feel about the interaction they had with our officers?

[50:16] So looking at the quantitative data, this is done using a Lycred scale where we just asked

[50:21] them on a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate your satisfaction with the service you received

[50:28] from our officers or dispatchers and 940 said that they were satisfied or very satisfied

[50:35] giving us a citizen's positive satisfaction score of about 98 percent.

[50:42] I keep saying I'm really happy with that I'm really impressed with that and I don't feel

[50:47] like those words do it justice but to operate in police and today's environment and have

[50:54] 98% of the people say that you did a good job that they were satisfied with the

[50:59] service that you provided is a testament to the type of people that we have

[51:03] working in our police department and makes me really proud. Looking at the

[51:08] qualitative side, this is where they actually write out their sentiment and use

[51:13] their own words to describe how they're feeling. In this looking at this

[51:19] particular data set. We saw that 85% of people provided positive feedback which

[51:25] was more than 700. The neutral is a bit misleading because a lot of times we

[51:31] will get respondents who will provide a five rating for example on their

[51:39] satisfaction with service and then when they're asked to type out a qualitative

[51:45] remark they'll put in a or none or you know something like that so it does

[51:52] skew the numbers a bit because we don't exclude those but I look at them and

[51:58] review them pretty often and almost all of our neutrals are falling into that

[52:03] category where somebody did provide feedback but it was just kind of like in a

[52:09] Any time we do receive a mixed or negative feedback, it immediately sent to our supervisors

[52:17] to review sometimes there are legitimate things that we need to look at but not very often.

[52:26] A lot of times if someone is dissatisfied it's something that has to do with something

[52:31] outside of our control like the record took too long to get there or the officer didn't

[52:37] arrest the other person for you know whatever it was well if they didn't meet the elements of the

[52:42] offense of course we're not going to do that but nevertheless sometimes that leaves people

[52:47] feeling dissatisfied and we don't want to discount that we we want to give them an avenue to express it

[52:54] and so that's what falls into the negative or mixed category. Social media is a great tool for

[52:59] amplifying our voice and so we continue to engage in that way. We saw almost a 3000

[53:07] person or 3000 follower increase over on Facebook and then we have abnormally high engagement

[53:16] on Twitter. That's where we do a lot of our breaking news, things that need to be reported

[53:22] in real time and get out to the news media. We do over on X and so we're seeing engagement

[53:28] over there that's 22 times higher than the average account, which is, you know, really cool.

[53:37] Okay, moving into the mandatory reporting sections, we do this in compliance with our accreditation.

[53:44] The first of those reports that we look at is vehicle pursuits.

[53:48] We engaged in 17 vehicle pursuits last year.

[53:51] One of those resulted in an injury being sustained by a civilian driver,

[53:58] three resulted in property damage, a power pole, a fire hydrant, and a private vehicle.

[54:05] But it's important to know that vehicle pursuits are very, very rare.

[54:10] Only 0.19% of our traffic stops resulted in a vehicle pursuit.

[54:15] And of those, more than a third were aborted by the officer or the supervisor due to safety concerns as the chief that's important to me because that represents good decision making under a lot of pressure.

[54:30] So I'm really happy to see that when the circumstance is not favorable that officers and supervisors feel comfortable making the decision to abort.

[54:39] of those that continue. So, two-thirds that continued in half of those cases the suspects voluntarily surrendered.

[54:50] So, when I look at overall risk and liability, it's already low at 0.19% of traffic stops, but when I look at our leader's ability to make decisions to abort and the suspects willingness to give up those numbers are really low and with an acceptance within exception.

[55:09] exceptional, acceptable boundaries for me.

[55:15] Then we move to use a force.

[55:17] High level, show a force incidents are down 49%

[55:22] and use a force incidents are down 56%.

[55:27] All of our show a force incidents were within policy.

[55:32] We had a couple that were out of policy

[55:34] over on the use of force side, which

[55:38] were handled and discipline was issued. A breakdown of the different types of

[55:46] force that were used in 2024, soft weaponless control. That's going to be

[55:51] joint manipulations, pressure points, things like that. Hard weaponless

[55:55] control are going to be different types of strikes, knee strikes, punches, things

[56:01] like that. We had three tasers that were discharged and then six takedowns. That's not even necessarily

[56:09] a hard takedown. That's just placing somebody on the ground and we document all of those.

[56:17] So all of those were reviewed. The things that were out of bounds were dealt with and discipline

[56:23] was issued and CNO flaws in policy or practice there.

[56:31] Moving on to injuries. We had nine injuries

[56:34] that occurred or were sustained by on-duty officers in 24, one of which required hospitalization.

[56:42] That was as a result of a traffic crash where the officer was not at fault. He was hospitalized

[56:48] for a few hours and then ultimately cleared everybody recovered 100% no

[56:54] lasting complications from those nine injuries and none of them were due

[56:59] to negligence on the officer's part.

[57:04] We had 10 crashes involving PD vehicles in

[57:09] 24.

[57:12] That makes me sweat a little bit but when you consider how many vehicles

[57:17] pass through the city. The fact that people are going to bump into us or we're

[57:22] going to bump into them is almost inevitable. I have come to accept that a

[57:28] little bit more because of the wisdom of Mike Christianson who told me when I

[57:32] was a very young chief that it's just going to happen, you need to just accept it.

[57:38] So thank you Chief for that. Half of those were our fault. Half of those were not

[57:44] our fault of course any time something was our fault we're going to look at that discipline was

[57:50] issued in every one of those cases where we did something wrong where we could have prevented

[57:55] that crash. One of those crashes did result in an injury but the officer was not at fault in

[58:03] that crash. And then finally the greatest challenge that we face in public safety is hiring recruitment

[58:10] and retention. In 24, we brought on eight new officers, two of which went to the police academy and six were hired already certified.

[58:21] We are in probably the most competitive market for police officers in the entire country.

[58:29] Fourth is the fastest growing city in the country. The Metroplex is full of really high and highly capable law enforcement agencies.

[58:38] and so we're in the salary war with each other so that drives demand for talk

[58:44] to your talent which makes the recruiting environment difficult but we have

[58:50] a great reputation which allows us to attract talent and then we're also very

[58:55] present in college campuses through our internship program attending job fairs and

[59:01] then advertising digitally on a variety of platforms. Retention is an area where

[59:06] I would really like to see us improve and it's an area that presented the most challenges

[59:12] in 24.

[59:14] We had three retirements, which are great.

[59:16] That's a wonderful attrition, it means that we're holding on to people and they're able

[59:21] to share that institutional knowledge with future generations.

[59:25] So we celebrate those.

[59:27] We had four leave to go to larger agencies, three decide to get out of law enforcement altogether,

[59:33] which is representative of a broader issue that we're facing across the

[59:37] country and then we had five leave for other reasons. We have been working with

[59:43] city management to make a lot of changes and improvements so that we can stay on

[59:49] the leading edge of the competitive market. One of those efforts last mid-year was

[59:57] to readjust our step play pan and move.

[1:00:00] This steps from 3% to 4% and reduced time to top out from 10 years to 7 years. And then we've also given additional 8 hours of PTO per employee. That was across the board for all city employees and those things are helping. We're also confident that what we're going to bring you at mid year will address some of these concerns as well. So we'll be happy for you to see that. And that's the end of my presentation. I know that there's a lot there.

[1:00:28] there. There's a copy that's been placed in front of you. It'll also be available on

[1:00:35] the city's website. Should you want to look at it later on or revisit it or share it.

[1:00:41] And then we have all the data to back this up if you would ever like to take a deeper

[1:00:45] dive or know more about one particular category. I'd be happy to address that with you, but

[1:00:51] otherwise open to any questions you might have.

[1:00:54] You have the cameras been useful?

[1:00:57] The flat cameras?

[1:00:58] Yes.

[1:00:58] Yes, sir.

[1:00:59] One of the challenges that we've had with the flat cameras is that people hit them.

[1:01:04] Eighteen wheelers specifically.

[1:01:06] And so we have not been able to have all six cameras up and running all year long.

[1:01:13] We've had one, there was one at Boat Club in Azul that was down for quite a while

[1:01:19] and then R1 at the 820 off ramp and 199 right in front of Walgreens has been down for quite a while.

[1:01:28] Then text dot pause the permitting process for the LPR camera so it's delayed the reinstallation of that camera.

[1:01:36] But overall, they are great. I think the criminal element is definitely catching on to this technology.

[1:01:42] and so it's been a great benefit for us. Our detectives use it constantly.

[1:01:51] Do you have flames that still aren't covered? Yes sir.

[1:01:56] The state of

[1:01:58] Texas approved funding to DPS for I want to say something like 5,000 cameras

[1:02:04] statewide because the Metroplex is so saturated with cameras nor Texas did

[1:02:12] not get very many however there is one slated or maybe even a group to be slated to be installed

[1:02:19] on 199 near Confederate. So that may capture traffic that's moving our direction. I don't know

[1:02:28] what side of the road or if it's going to capture both sides of the road. But as we get closer to

[1:02:34] implementation that will become a part of our network of cameras that we're able to look at. So

[1:02:39] So, they've been great, they're yielding good results for us and other departments across

[1:02:43] the Metroplace.

[1:02:45] Could you tell us what percentage of the accidents are occurring on 199?

[1:02:51] I could, but I can't tell you right now I would need to do a little bit of research on that.

[1:02:58] Off the cuff, I would say 60 to 70% occur on 199, is that, do you think that's fair?

[1:03:05] So have you got any definite numbers yet on from the school district on SROs, whether they're going to cut that program, and do we still have slots open for them here to shut down that program?

[1:03:20] So the school district has asked for us to provide them with numbers for two SROs, one sergeant, one officer, and we have provided that to them, but they have not voted on that.

[1:03:31] We're still waiting on that.

[1:03:33] We have positions that we are holding for every one of our SROs to ensure that should the

[1:03:39] program be dissolved, altered, reduced, we have a place for everyone to come back to.

[1:03:46] We felt like that was the only thing to do for our employees.

[1:03:51] However, that has had a significant impact on our operational functionality in patrol.

[1:03:58] Those are five positions or four positions including a supervisor position that have been held for quite some time now that we haven't been able to fill and that's at least one person per shift.

[1:04:13] So we are operating at or sometimes below minimum staffing until we get that addressed.

[1:04:22] Hopefully, once we get an answer and a commitment from them, it'll enable us to move forward.

[1:04:28] We do have folks in the pipeline, ECC operator, Rizolis, who was presented with a certificate

[1:04:34] of merit tonight, is slated to go to the police academy here in a few weeks and will be followed

[1:04:41] by, you know, possibly a couple other recruits.

[1:04:44] So we're working as hard as we can.

[1:04:48] We're unwilling to compromise our standards and expectations.

[1:04:54] But we feel like that we've got quality candidates with the mid-year adjustments that we're going to be bringing you.

[1:05:01] Plus knowing what the school would like us to do will enable us to really go out and recruit and try to get these spots filled.

[1:05:10] Well, each of you department heads, you've had to go through some difficult trying things

[1:05:17] within the last 12 months, retirements losing people to different reasonings, and I commend

[1:05:25] all of you for doing the kind of job that you do in providing the service, which is you've

[1:05:30] got the data right here, the people recognize that you guys do a good job, and you do a good

[1:05:35] job, and we appreciate that more than you can imagine.

[1:05:37] Any

[1:05:42] other questions or comments?

[1:05:47] I think it's fantastic report chief and again, like I agree with Gary that we're very

[1:05:53] blessed with the folks we have that do the job they do considering our location.

[1:06:00] Any other questions or comments?

[1:06:03] Hearing none, we'll entertain a motion at this time.

[1:06:06] Moved to accept the Lakeworth Police Department's 2024 annual report.

[1:06:12] I'll second that motion by Mr. Cox accepted second by Ms. Watkins if you would counsel please vote now.

[1:06:26] All members voting for motion approve anything else they see no sir thank you will join this meeting at 736 PM.

City Council

Agenda

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