031618 Friday Staff Report[Icon]

City Manager’s Office 215 E. McKinney St., Denton, TX 76201 (940) 349-8307 MEMORANDUM DATE: March 16, 2018 TO: The Honorable Mayor Watts and Council Members FROM: Todd Hileman, City Manager SUBJECT: Friday Staff Report I. Council Schedule A. Meetings 1. Committee on the Environment Meeting on Monday, March 19, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. in the City Council Work Session Room. 2. Work Session of the City Council on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. in the City Council Work Session Room, followed by a Regular Meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. 3. Mobility Committee Meeting on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 at 11:30 a.m. in the City Council Work Session Room. 4. Agenda Committee Meeting on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 at 3:30 p.m. in the City Manager’s Conference Room. 5. Work Session of the Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday, March 21 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Work Session Room, followed by a Regular Meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. 6. Economic Development Partnership Board Meeting on Friday, March 23, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. in the City Council Work Session Room. B. Upcoming Events 1. Great American Cleanup, Saturday, March 24 at 9:00 a.m. at the Denton Civic Center. 2. Serve Denton Banquet, Saturday, April 14, 2018 at 6:30 p.m. at Embassy Suites by Hilton Denton Convention Center. OUR CORE VALUES Integrity Fiscal Responsibility Transparency Outstanding Customer Service II. General Information & Status Update A. Atmos Coordination – Over the past number of months, Atmos has committed additional work crews in Denton to clear their gas lines as the City continues to make aggressive progress in completing the Street Rehabilitation Program. Attached is a summarized report for the last three months of Atmos’ effort. This information will be reported on a monthly basis to keep City Council informed. Please note: At this time Atmos has re-assigned the work crews for the next number of weeks to the Dallas gas explosion. Staff contact: Mario Canizares B. Shady Oaks Drive at Woodrow Lane – On Monday, March 19, street construction will begin on Shady Oak Drive at S. Woodrow Lane. The scope of the project includes utility line locations to verify depth of utility lines, installation of a turn lane at the intersection of Shady Oaks Dr. and S. Woodrow Ln., and a new concrete sidewalk. Weather conditions and contractor scheduling may impact the schedule, but the project is scheduled for completion by April 19. This work will be performed at night between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. to alleviate traffic congestion. A notification letter regarding the project has been mailed to affected property owners ( attached). Staff contact: Robbin Webber C. DCTA Denton Update – DCTA President Jim Cline has provided a summary of activities and programs that DCTA is currently working on (attached). These items include special transit services for the Arts & Jazz Festival, passenger amenities at the bus shelters, community engagement efforts, and a business case for Transit conducted in the fall of 2017. The website link included in Mr. Cline’s summary is broken – here is the corrected link. Staff contact: Mario Canizares D. Opportunity Zones – The recent federal tax reform bill passed in late 2017 included legislation called the Investing in Opportunity Act. This legislation authorized the creation of “Opportunity Zones” with the goal of tapping a new source of investment dollars for economically disadvantaged areas by providing tax reductions to individuals and businesses who invest their capital gains for varying lengths of time in an Opportunity Zone. The Act tasked state governors to nominate up to 25% of the total number of qualifying census tracts in their state as an Opportunity Zone, within 90 days of passage of the legislation. Please see attached with additional background on the Act. Due to the quick turnaround, staff worked with the City’s state legislative consultant to contact the Governor’s office to learn how they would consider and determine which eligible census tracts to nominate. Staff was informed that there was no formal process, but input from interested parties could be submitted until March 21. As such, staff began to review census tracts in the City and put together some information. However, staff was notified earlier this week that the Governor’s office would no longer be receiving input and would determine based upon their own guidelines and priorities. Although the City will not have direct input, census tract(s) in the City of Denton could be nominated by the Governor. There are 13 eligible census tracts in the City based upon the criteria in the Act. Staff will provide any updates as more information is received. It should be noted that although opportunity zones could be valuable to attract investment and development, they are one tool among many to encourage economic development and revitalization, and they are very similar to the New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) program that has existed since 2000. Staff contact: Sarah Kuechler / Caroline Booth E. Input on American Legion Hall Rebuild – Architects are in the early stages of designing a new American Legion Hall building and are seeking feedback and input through a community meeting. The community meeting will be held on Monday, March 19 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at MLK Jr. Recreation Center, 1300 Wilson Street. Stakeholders have been invited and the meeting is open to the general public. Staff contact: Mario Canizares F. Sustainability Plan Update Community Meetings – The City plans to update the Simply Sustainable Plan and is giving residents an additional opportunity for input at public meetings on Wednesday, March 21 at 6:30 p.m. at Denia Recreation Center and on Thursday, March 22 at 6 p.m. at MLK, Jr. Recreation Center. Simply Sustainable was originally adopted in 2012 as a citywide action plan focused on improving quality of life, protecting Denton’s environment, and creating economic opportunities for citizens. It is meant to be a fluid document that is updated every five years to ensure that it represents the current wants and needs of the community. These public meetings follow online surveys and internal stakeholder meetings that were completed during the fall to gather input. Staff contact: Katherine Barnett G. TAAF State Youth Basketball Tournament – Denton and The Colony Parks and Recreation Departments have partnered to host this weekend’s Texas Amateur Athletic Federation (TAAF) State Youth Basketball Tournament. Games will be played at the University of North Texas, March 16-18. A total of 129 teams from across the State are registered in the tournament with 99 confirmed bookings for overnight accommodations. The partnership to competitively bid and host this tournament began last fall via a campaign through the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation. Staff contact: Laura Behrens H. Inclusive Playground – In response to a Council Member’s question related to an inclusive playground, the Denton Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) currently has two park playgrounds with inclusive features. An inclusive playground provides play opportunities for people of all ages and abilities and focuses on five elements of play: social / emotional, physical, sensory, cognitive, and communication. A “pour-in-place” rubber surface and engineered wood surface were installed during the Eureka 2 project in 2016. The surface provides access routes to an inclusive merry-go-round and swings. The Spc. Ernest W. Dallas Jr. Veterans Memorial Park on Sun Ray Dr. also features an accessible swing. The swing was installed in the summer of 2017. The Parks Foundation identified an inclusive playground as their next fundraising project. McKenna Park was discussed as a possible site. Outside of their fundraising efforts, PARD currently has no funding specifically allocated for an inclusive park. PARD does plan to include an evaluation of need, feasibility, and site for an inclusive park during the master plan update. Staff contact: Laura Behrens I. Developer and Builder Luncheon – Staff has scheduled a luncheon on March 28 for developers, builders, and stormwater contractors to provide information and improve communications for construction site stormwater inspections. Invitations for the luncheon were sent to all ProjectDox applicants and all permittees of active construction sites (206) via email. Staff has received 59 confirmations from people interested in attending. Prior to this meeting, staff implemented a series of initiatives to better inform stormwater permittees about responsibilities and resources. Updated brochures about construction stormwater compliance and the City erosion and sediment control enforcement response plan were mailed to 159 construction site permittees. Hard copies of the brochures are now available at the Building Inspections front counter, and electronic copies of the brochures are now being sent as part of all initial permittee requests for construction stormwater inspections. A website dedicated to businesses watershed protection, including stormwater compliance, information about City and State regulations, and many useful links has been launched and may be viewed at www.cityofdenton.com/watershed. Staff will follow up after the meeting to report the meeting attendance and outcome. Staff contact: Deborah Viera III. Community Events A. Great American Cleanup – Denton’s 30th annual Great American Cleanup (GAC) event will begin at 9 a.m. on Sat., March 24 with volunteers working to clean up litter at locations around the city. The event will be followed by a volunteer appreciation party from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Denton Civic Center. Volunteers are encouraged to register online at www.kdb.org or by phone at (940) 349-8737. Registration ends on Mon., March 12 at 5 p.m.

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