City Manager's Office 215 E. Mckinney St., Denton, TX 76201
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
City Manager’s Office 215 E. McKinney St., Denton, TX 76201 (940) 349-8307 MEMORANDUM DATE: May 8, 2020 TO: The Honorable Mayor Watts and Council Members FROM: Todd Hileman, City Manager SUBJECT: Friday Staff Report I. Council Schedule A. Meetings 1. Public Utilities Board Meeting on Monday, May 11, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. via video/teleconference – City Council Work Session Room. 2. Cancelled – Historic Landmark Commission on Monday, May 13, 2020 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Work Session Room. 3. City Council Meeting on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. Closed Meeting begins at 8:00 a.m. followed by a Work Session at 1:00 p.m. via video/teleconference – City Council Work Session Room. 4. Cancelled – Mobility Committee Meeting on Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. in the City Council Work Session Room. 5. Cancelled – Economic Development Partnership Board on Wednesday, May 13, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. in the City Council Work Session Room. 6. Hotel Occupancy Tax and Sponsorship Committee on Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. via video/teleconference – City Council Work Session Room. II. General Information & Status Update A. Update on Federal Business Assistance Programs – The second round of funding for the Paycheck Protection Program added $310 billion in funding for the PPP. The SBA resumed accepting applications on April 27. To date, more than 2.2 million loans have been processed nationwide, totaling more than $175 billion. A breakdown of PPP approvals from April 27 to May 1 is attached and a joint press release from Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza regarding the PPP progress is available here. Staff contact: Jessica Rogers, Economic Development OUR CORE VALUES Integrity Fiscal Responsibility Transparency Outstanding Customer Service B. CARES Act and Funding Opportunities Update – City staff, elected officials, and local non-profit organizations continually seek funding opportunities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mayor Watts recently joined a Texas Municipal League initiative for mayors across the state requesting the ability to receive CARES Act funding through the State of Texas. Mayor Watts similarly submitted a request to Representative Michael Burgess requesting his support of the FLEX Act, a bill proposing amendments to the CARES Act. This bill would potentially allow state and local government entities to share disbursed funds through the CARES Act in order to offset lost revenue due to COVID-19. City staff also looked into eligibility requirements to receive grants made available through the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) for CARES Act funds. While the City of Denton does not meet the requirements to receive NEA funds, staff learned that the Denton Fire Department may be eligible for funds through the Department of Health and Human Services. Another potential source of funding is through the federal Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program. Various local non-profit agencies have either been directly provided funding in support of persons either experiencing or are at risk of homelessness, or have consulted other local agencies on the application process. Community Development staff submitted a Letter of Intent to apply for funds through this grant. More details on these funding opportunities, their eligibility requirements, and next steps may be found in Informal Staff Report 2020-049 attached. Staff contact: Stuart Birdseye, City Manager’s Office C. Online Police Reports – As of Thursday, May 7, residents can file police reports online at www.cityofdenton.com/policereport for non-emergency incidents. The online police reporting system was temporarily disabled in November when a new computer automated dispatch and records management system (CAD/RMS) was implemented. Since then, Police and Technology Services staff have worked extensively with vendors to troubleshoot issues and reconfigure the system to allow reports to be filed online again. Residents can still call the non-emergency line at (940) 349-8181 to file a report over the phone. Please call 911 for emergencies. Staff contact: Frank Dixon, Police D. Weekly Unemployment Update – Staff is working to assemble, review, and analyze unemployment and labor data each week. Staff will provide ongoing updates throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as data is made available. U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) o DOL released its weekly unemployment report on Thursday, May 7. The full report is available here. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) o BLS released its April 2020 Employment Situation report on Friday, May 8. The full report is available here. Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) o TWC has created a UI Claimant Dashboard to provide updated graphical representations of data and datasets for download. The dashboard is available here. 2 o April local unemployment data will be made available on the Texas Labor Market Information (www.texasLMI.com) system on May 22. o TWC also provides data on weekly unemployment claims filed and how the claim was received. The chart with data as of May 7 is below. Staff contact: Jessica Rogers, Economic Development E. Outdoor Warning Sirens – On May 6, Council Member Briggs requested information about the outdoor warning sirens and a constituent’s concern about not being able to hear the siren inside of her house during the monthly testing. Outdoor Warning Sirens (OWS) are designed to alert people engaged in outdoor activities to seek shelter indoors during severe weather or other emergencies, and are not designed to be heard indoors. Once inside, the citizen may use the CodeRED Emergency Notification System or the free CASA Alerts App. Residents may also purchase a NOAA Weather Radio from most discount and home improvement stores. A Severe Weather Resources guide is attached. Also Attached is a map showing all 22 locations of the OWS in Denton. Based on the City’s GIS mapping, the City is at 84% coverage by OWS. At this time, and based on the coverage by the current OWS, no further expansion of sirens is expected until further population growth on the outer fringes of the City. Staff contact: Kenneth Hedges, Fire F. COVID-19 Testing in Wastewater – On May 5, Council Member Briggs requested information on the potential of testing COVID-19 in wastewater, as has been reported in other areas by various news outlets. The City of Denton is currently participating in a study that will monitor SARS CoV-2 in wastewater with a Professor of Environmental Science and Biomedical Studies at Baylor University. After initial discussions, an experimental design was developed by the City and university, and sampling began for both Denton and the City of Waco last week, as samples were collected in Denton and taken to the university. This research is expected to continue weekly for the next month and half, and staff hopes to have some initial results within a month. If the study stays on tack, all sampling efforts and initial data analyses should 3 be completed by late summer. Previously, the City of Denton and Baylor University have partnered on a number of research projects. Staff contact: Kenneth Banks, Utilities Administration G. UWDC COVID-19 Relief Fund Update – Please see below for an update of the United Way of Denton County’s COVID-19 Relief Fund Eviction Prevention program as of Thursday, May 7 at noon. As a reminder, if funds restricted for Denton or Lewisville residents are expended, unrestricted funds may be used to assist Denton and Lewisville residents. Staff contact: Sarah Kuechler, Public Affairs H. Take Me Home Program – The Denton Police Department will soon launch the Take Me Home Program, a free service to help community members who may have difficulty communicating with first responders. The program is particularly designed for individuals with Autism, Down Syndrome, Alzheimer’s, Dementia, or any developmental or intellectual disability. Residents will be able to submit an online form with details about their loved one, including but not limited to a physical description, emergency contact information, and a recent photo. If first responders encounter an individual who is unable to properly identify themselves, public safety personnel will search the secure Take Me Home database to quickly retrieve critical information and help them safely return home. This program can also help if a loved one goes missing. Police and Public Safety Communications staff are finalizing the program details, outreach materials, and translations. With many community members potentially benefiting from this program, we look forward to announcing a launch date soon. Staff contact: Frank Dixon, Police I. Potential Lake Lewisville Oil and Gas Lease – On May 6, Council Member Briggs forwarded concerns about a potential oil and gas lease that would be located under Lake Lewisville. Previously in 2016, the City of Denton coordinated with the City of Dallas, as co-owners of the lake’s water rights, to issue a protest related to the competitive lease sale. This protest was specifically completed pursuant to 43CFR 3120.1-3, which controls the lease sale. The email that was sent to Council Member Briggs this week was sent by the Sierra Club and is related to the Environmental Assessment, which was submitted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) of New Mexico and is currently in draft form and available for public comment. An Environmental Assessment is usually a requirement 4 of a lease sale. BLM State offices conduct lease sales quarterly, and the Lewisville property is on the list for the week of August 24. The BLM publishes a notice of competitive lease sale around 45 days before the auction (June 22 in this case), and there is a specific 10-day protest period under this process (June 22 to July 1) as seen in the attached notice. After analysis, staff believes that the comment period that the City should pursue, if Council directs them to, is June 22 to July 1.