City Council - Regular Meeting

No, I do not. And with that, I will call to order our January 8th, 2026 city council meeting for the city of Long View. Happy New Year and welcome to everyone that is here in chambers with us tonight. Our invocation and pledge will be led by mentor Keley Rener and her mentee Ivy Puit, who is a third grader at in Hallsville. uh we will ask them to join us and uh later we'll have a presentation for partners in prevention because January is National Mentoring Month. So Key and Ivy come on up and if everyone will please rise for the prayer and pledge

first. I want the prayer. All right. 1 2 3 Dear God, thank you for this day and all that you have given to us. We thank you for giving your son as the ultimate sacrifice and for the grace that you have given to us.

We ask that you give us strength, knowledge, and wisdom in all that we do. Let us allow you to use us as you see fit. In your name we pray. Amen.

Amen. Now the pledge. I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you guys very much. [clears throat] Next on our agenda is citizen comment. I have a couple of speaker cards. Uh Raphael Vzy, you're up first. And just as a reminder, you no longer need to tell us your address, but if you'll state your name for us, please.

Thank you. All right. Good evening, everyone. My name is Raphael Vzy. Um, am I doing this right, sir? I'm trying to make sure I'm doing this right with the microphone so I can be Can you guys hear me? Okay.

Okay. I don't know if this is here cuz I really can't hear it. Is this better? Yes. Okay. Thank you very much. Um, so really I just wanted to uh come and speak tonight. Um, and just voice some things. Um, I wanted to address the uh the uh ordinance that addressed camping in the city limits. Um, how it was further used to affect homelessness. Um, how it affected one love view. And really, these are just some questions that I've had burning. um and some thoughts that I've had. So, I just want to talk about how I've seen it. Um to me, honestly, I believe the ordinance came about because uh some people in one city block felt unsafe. But it's been my opinion that if One Love Long View had served people just a few hundred yards in another direction, no one would have cared. As a matter of fact, one of the first calls when they moved to their location on Mac was from someone who said that they should just pack up and move on to the other side of Highway 80. I watched developmental services pressure one love Long View continually saying that they needed a permit for this or a permit for that when there were other organizations who were doing similar functions that didn't have to go through that. I was also a city worker who was unjustly fired from her job and all she did was perform her job legally. Later on, one love was forced out of another location um due to zoning restrictions that had never before uh been enforced. Um I've seen meetings uh moderated and held behind closed doors to where they were supposed to have solutions, but only thing was happens one love was being bashed. I saw a city council member stand on one side of the street with who he called a constituent trying to do all he could to force some other people out who had no place else to go. My question with that is if you're a city council member, how can you sit on one side of the street with one constituent against the other side?

It's uncomfortable for me to get up here and talk and say these things. U but it's real. I live with One Love. One Love is 24/7. They don't pick it up at 8 am. They don't drop it at 5. Personally, I've had to witness threats being made. I've had to witness stalking. And I wouldn't wish that for any of you. I wouldn't wish that for any of you. I just want to say as I'm running out of time to remember this. Proverbs 14:31 says, "Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him." Matthew 25:40 says, "When people show kindness and serve the least of these, my brothers and sisters, they are doing it directly to Jesus." Thank you.

Thank you, Raphael. The next speaker card I have is Mitchell Randall. Again, do not need to state your address, just your name, please. Good evening, mayor and council members. My name is Mitch Randall, and I recently completed a field practicum with Partners in Prevention as part of a social work degree program. And I would like to briefly share what I learned as well as why mentoring awareness month is so important to our community. Partners in Prevention addresses many of the barriers that impact families in Long View. Poverty, racial disparities, substance abuse, lack of resources, and the need for stronger community connections. Their work is rooted in collaboration, education, and prevention. Through programs like the Aspire mentoring program, the Coalition for Drug-Free Youth, Bridges Out of Poverty, the Unity and Diversity Committee, and Go with the Flow, they bring together people from every part of our city to build a stronger, healthier community. Now, during my practicum, I attended several meetings and events that showed just how deeply this agency is woven into the fabric of Long View. I observed the steering committee where coordinators discussed ongoing community efforts, needs, and cooperative efforts, and I participated um in a poverty simulation that gave local leaders a firsthand look at the impossible choices families living in poverty often face. I attended meetings with East Texas Pyanos to both explore ways to better support Hispanic students and promote and preserve culture and heritage, as well as with the Go With the Flow initiative to address menstrual inequality in our schools. so that young women don't fall behind academically simply because they lack basic resources. I also joined a community focus group on transportation and health where organizations come together to discuss how something as simple as a ride can affect a person's ability to get to work, buy food, and receive medical care. Finally, I completed Aspire mentor program recruitment and background check training. an experience that highlighted how seriously partners in prevention takes the safety, compatibility, and

long-term success of mentor mentee relationships. Now, I don't plan to become a social worker. This practicum has strengthened my commitment to public service. I currently work for the district attorney's office and my long-term goal is to pursue political science and law so that I can advocate for policy solutions that address the very challenges that I've seen through partners in prevention. Strong mentoring relationships are one of the most effective tools we have for changing the trajectory of a young person's life. They build confidence, improve academic outcomes, and help students to imagine futures they may never have thought possible. As we recognize mentoring awareness month, I want to thank partners in prevention and all of the mentors in our community for the life-changing work that they do. Investing in young people through mentorship strengthens families, reduces barriers, and ultimately creates a better Long View for everyone. Thank you. Thank you, Mitch. Uh, and great timing. Next on our agenda with presentations is a presentation of a proclamation recognizing January 8th, 2026 as Aspire mentoring day here in the city of Long View. So, I will ask all mentors, mentees, and anybody with Aspire, volunteer, or staff to come on up, please, and join me up here.

[snorts] all the way. Great job.

Thank you guys. Well, with January as National Mentoring Month, we just wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate the mentors and mentees and the program that Aspire runs uh through partners in prevention through many of our local schools. This is important work. Um for each child, one caring adult will change the direction of their life. And so, thank you for our adults that volunteer and our amazing staff that puts the program together. Um, it is my honor to recognize January as National Mentoring Month here in the city of Long View where we recognize the contributions of volunteer mentors in partners and preventions Aspire mentoring program and those that serve on the mentoring advisory council. Those volunteers give of their time and energy to make a positive impact on the growth and success of our local youth. 87 mentors serving 96 mentees in our city spending one-on-one time together encouraging positive choices, promoting self-esteem, supporting academic achievement, and introducing young people to new ideas and experiences. Uh, mentoring is an innovative evidence-based practice and both a prevention and intervention strategy that can support young people from all backgrounds to make our community stronger by encouraging positive youth development. 2026 also marks the 31st anniversary of the city's partners in prevention Aspire mentoring program. It is now my privilege as mayor of the city of Long View to declare the day of January 8th, 2026 as Aspire mentoring day here in the city of Long View. Congratulations. And if you are listening and have time to invest in a youth in our community, this is a great way to be involved. So, please contact partners in prevention. But thank you guys for everything that you do.

[applause] have come in. Uh, next is a presentation recognizing the Fleet Service Division for being awarded the Blue Seal of Excellence by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence. Come on up, Fleet Services. Thanks,

[laughter] What's up, Kimbo? Thanks for coming. Hey, thank you guys so much for being here tonight. Uh it is my honor to recognize and celebrate the great work that you do. Um every single job that the city has is very important because without your jobs, nobody else can do their jobs and uh we're grateful for the professionalism and the commitment that you put in every day and we don't want you to feel that you are unnoticed. So thank you for coming out here so we can uh recognize you. Tonight I'd like to shine a spotlight on the professionals in this division. It is my honor to announce that our city fleet services department has been awarded the prestigious blue seal of excellence from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence. This is not a participation trophy. In the automotive industry, the blue seal is the gold standard. And to earn this, a shop must show at least 75% of its technicians are ASE certified professionals and there must be a certified expert covering every single area of service that we offer. By achieving this, our fleet services team has placed themselves among an elite class of repair facilities nationwide. And we as a city and city residents should be proud of your commitment and dedication. So, thank you and congratulations. [applause] Mayor, I'd like to personally ask Mr. Arch and all the [clears throat] and all y'all. Um, how many vehicles do y'all keep running every day?

Over 500. Excellent. Just just really excellent. We appreciate it. Good job. Congratulations, guys. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Congratulations. Thank you for coming. Sorry. [laughter] Thank you.

Okay. Uh, next on our agenda is the consent agenda. Are there items that council would like to pull off for further discussion or questions? Derek, L. F. Okay. Oh, you said L. L. You say L. L.

L. L. L. But you're saying L. No, he's saying L. He didn't say F. Oh, thank you. You got it. I'd like E and F. E. All right. E and F. All right. H. H. Got it. Count it together. H.

A. We already got H. Yes. I. Yes. Okay. What? All right. What about M? Just going to pull everything. N O.

Okay, I've got A, E, F, H, I, L, M, O. All right, we'll start at A. Uh, consider a resolution approving the 14 cities for future pay plan studies as recommended. That's under Miss Bonnie Huard.

Hello. Hello. Um, I am rep uh proposing that we enact the 14 proposed cities from Matt Weatherly that were addressed in his previous pres presentations. I just want to make a make a comment. I guess it's on. All right. That it looks I went over this afternoon. You've got a very good cross-section of cities I think that represent similar uh activities and services that we have here in Long View. And I think the uh study will u give us some good information and some good comparisons. Yes. Thank you.

Perfect. Thank you, Mr. Allen. Moving on to item E that is consider an ordinance to revise the city of Long View Unified Development Code. Mr. Shirley. Thank you, Mayor. Um item E is to amend the UDC. And this is the there's two sections that we're asking to amend. Uh and this is based on TCQ requirements. one for on-site sewer facilities and one for uh our lead pipe uh requirements.

So I was just asking I just wanted to see and clarify that it's a TCQ requirement reason. Correct. Both of those were based on TCQ audits that they saw that um on the OSSF requirements. We had more stringent requirements where we required if you were a homeowner uh and you were going to be maintaining your own on-site sewer facility, you had to go through a um registration program and be certified. Uh and we're removing that. So be less you will be in line with uh state minimums. We we had put that in previously to align with county uh requirements, but in order to get that approved, TCQ has to approve it. We went through that process and it fell through their cracks. And so, we're just trying to clarify and go backwards and be simpler and asking for that revision. And then the other part was dealing with the um uh threshold for the the lead pipe and fittings.

That's F or just you're still on E. Okay. Sorry. Yeah. Any other questions on E? No. Thank you, Michael. Okay. Move on to F. And so F is dealing with establishing fees. Uh, and this is a section that previously those fees were included in the ordinance that we had adopted and I think this was prior to 2020, early 2020. um those were removed based on TCQ requirements. Um unfortunately, they were not included in the fee resolution during that normal budgetary process. So, we're just bringing it back since we're talking about um all of that now and doing a UDC amendment uh that's related to that to uh update the fee resolution and then also um adjust some of those fees that were had been previously established to be a little lower.

Thank you. Mhm. Perfect. Okay. Uh, moving on to H, which is consider an ordinance amending the budget for this year to allocate the fund balance for the repairs of Paul Martin Jones pool. Uh, Mr. Albertson, I do not remember who asked for that one. I'm sorry. I think Okay.

H will allow for us to amend the budget for the Paul Martin Jones gutter system repairs on the pool there. Um, and then I is awarding the contract uh for $417,000 uh to the lowest bidder, Sunb Belt Pools out of Dallas, Texas. All right. And and how many bids we have come in total, John? Do you know right off hand?

In its peak season back prior to COVID, we were average averaging anywhere from 25 to 50 a day. Okay. Through that facility, through the pool specifically, that is. All right. And I think there was some questions in regards to what our what our bid was $417,000 and what was our second lowest bid. Do you know Rob?

The second lowest was $417,300 and it was by precision pools by Okay. And so I I had a question in regards to I know we have spec bids and we have uh best value that we're looking at. Uh, and this is something that I think I I had a discussion a little bit earlier with and I want to make sure that I'm I'm understanding this correctly. Uh, when we hit a cap of anything over $100,000, we're required by the state to do a spec bid and not uh best value. Is that what I'm understanding?

Right. When it comes to uh construction services, um we we can't use the best value language when we get over $100,000. Um and we also cannot use our local preference um that we can use in some circumstances um when it's construction is involved at all and it's over $100,000.

All right. And I I guess the question I've got, of course, I've been in the school system for about 35 years, and you know, I know the state allows, it seems like uh when you're talking about school districts, the state's allowance for what they're allowed to do with bids that come in uh maybe taking the best quality versus the lowest bid to get the right job is all right, but it seems like they're really handcuffing the municipalities in this. Is that safe to say? or is there

I think it's safe to say that the state is u particularly with cities is more particular about uh construction services especially um and they really want us um for the most part to either go through a bid process or um uh they have some alternative uh purchasing processes that are very very involved that you that you could go through as well. But none of them uh those processes do not allow for a local preference of any sort.

You know, and I know we sit up here as a as a council and we talk about, hey, buy local, shop local, support local, and it really hurts us, you know, and when it's so small. And John, there there's nothing, you know, against you or the pool because I'm going to tell you, even before I got on the council, the pool situation has been a nightmare. And I know we've had, is that an understatement? I don't know. But uh the pool situation it's really been tough and I know we utilize Paula Martin Jones for a lot of things and uh to have it balanced to give a a fair shake to local and where we're at because I think we went out first best value and then because of the cost we had to go to a spec bid. Uh it'd be awesome to be able to re see the bids and see what it would be, but it would put us so far behind the eightball for trying to get that pool open cuz I think we're talking several months for this job to be completed.

Yes, sir. I mean, we're anticipating within the next 6 months to have it operational. Uh but we're hopeful that it'll be sooner than that. And everybody knows we were short-handed on pools this year. And I I hate that for our constituents and the people that use it on a daily basis or even if it's just extracurricular activity for a family once a week. But uh that's just some questions that I had in regards to that is how we come to that. You know, uh cuz $300 when we're talking local versus outside, you know, who are we going to see every day? And I kind of look at it too, you know, uh they're going to try and slip the leave the liner back in, but I understand they're only coming down so far and just my dangerous amount of knowledge on pools. You take a liner down, you're going to be replacing it. Of course, I know I think some belt pools uh put our liner in to start with. So, they're probably gambling that their their job is going to last their 10 years. But my only concern with that is uh as we go forward, if it happens in 5 years, all of a sudden they have to replace the liner, how bad do they prorrate it on us? Cuz it's like a battery at Walmart, I kind of think. Um and that was just my concern. But everybody that's involved with the pool, um [clears throat] I'm not going to slow this down.

Mr. Allen, did you have a question or did they uh John is the pool is part of your responsibility in your in your department? Do you feel in your best judgment that this will give us a completed operation where our pool will be ready to go when this contract is finished?

Yes, sir. We uh we actually had our aquatics consultant that worked with us on the stamper pool. They actually have walked through the facility. They've looked at everything that we have recommended and they agreed that those were necessary repairs uh to make in order to get it back operational. So, yes, sir.

This should give us in other words, we're not going to turn around 6 months or a year from now. And I hope you're not up here asking for more money for something else. I hope I'm not as well. [laughter] Thank you. We appreciate you, John. Mr. Yeah, I was just going to follow up. I didn't know how much the how extensive the work was but what you said 6 months like so we we passed this tonight when when would be the start time and then when can we expect

this work so what we'll do as part of this the gutter system entails the entire circulation system of water coming in and going out of the pool. So all of that system around the edge of the pool will be cut out. The decking will be cut back so that we can get in, get that removed, install a new system. So we're talking about completely fabricating uh that gutter system. It'll be a custom build more than likely uh to be able to do that. So that's where the time frame comes. it will really be solely dependent on that manufacturer for that gutter system uh that's used as to what their time frame is depending on projects that they may have lined up already. Uh so really uh we'll find out more details uh as to time frame. We know that uh we're anticipating in the next 6 months though.

Yeah, I appreciate your efforts and I know there's a lot of our people that use that for exercise and recreation that need that. Yep. Excited to get it back in service. Thank you, John. Uh, moving on to L. Consider a resolution authorizing and direct directing the Long View Police Chief and Fire Chief to execute mutual aid agreements. Uh, I think that's Chief Boon and Chief Grimes.

Good evening, council. Uh, this is comes from House Bill 33 and it's it's basically a mandated item from that and it's a mutual aid agreement uh between DPS and each county. So, this goes out to the sheriff's office of each county. They identify all the law enforcement agencies and from there that's basically agreements on the type of training. This is basically the Uvaldi bill and it goes into all the training that's necessary uh for odd years, even years, partnerships, how mutual aid will be will be given and uh even before this even came out uh city of Long View, Long Beach Police Department, Long View Fire Department, partnership with Greg County Sheriff's Office, Tyler PD and Smith County Sheriff's Office, we've we've probably trained already 4,000 officers uh through the East Texas area. So, the partnerships and all this, this just solidifies things for some other places and and with your permission, we'll we'll get this signed as soon as possible. Uh, but it's it's really just everything that we're already doing.

Great. Love working together. Chief Grimes, anything to add. It really just it identifies, [clears throat] excuse me, identifies and puts in on the paper what's actually been happening prior to and then identifies those responsibilities for who's going to share the resource, how you're going to reimburse and that and that that type of uh I guess it's the framework of that and so it'll it'll be more solidified and not just a handshake. So,

perfect. Is that yours? Yeah. I just want to say I appreciate Chief Grimes, Chief Boon, the explanation of this and the partnership keeping our kids safe and community safe. Thank you guys. Thank you. Good job. Thank you. Uh moving on to M. Consider a resolution authorizing and directing the city manager to execute documents for purchase of column lifts. Mr. Keith Bonds.

What was I'm not sure. Was that I don't know. Okay. I think it was. [laughter] Okay. Mond question. Now this this is out of total ignorance. What is a column lift? You know, they're the the giant lifts that pick the vehicles off the ground, the vehicles off the ground in the fleet maintenance area. You might remember we bought the facility that we had an option of putting in pits or have the giant lifts and so we have six of the lifts and now we're getting six more.

Okay. These are vehicle lifts so they can service. Yes. Pick up everything. Trash trucks, fire trucks. Pretty big then. Big. Yes, sir. All right. Okay. Moving on. Thank you, Keith. Uh, moving on to O. Consider a resolution accepting the 2025 overlay. That's you two, Mr. Bonds.

Yes, sir. Uh, first off, this company u out of Kansas, uh, has been doing this for several sever maybe 15, we go back 20 years or so. And and they do a wonderful job of recycling, repaving, and just redoing the streets. And I'm I'm glad to see that we're financially able to still keep them working here. On your list of streets though, I think did you leave Fairmont off? They did a wonderful job on the

off. Yes. The the we did five streets. Spring Hill Road from Gilmer Road to Spring Hill Parkway. Fairmont Street from HG Mosley to Macan. Try road uh from Eastman to Alpine. Macccan Road from Spring Hill Road to Bill Stout Parkway. an old man road from spur 63 to highway 80.

Well, no, I think it's a wonderful and I appreciate that we have financial ability that we can uh continue uh for them to do overlay on our streets. If you ever get an opportunity to watch this uh piece of equipment that they operate and do this, it's fascinating.

Very, very big. Yes, it is. That's it. Very good. All right. Thank you, Mr. Uh, thank you for the discussion, guys. I need a motion to approve the consent agenda. Motion to approve and a second. Second. All in favor, please say I. I. Any opposed? Consent agenda is approved. Moving on to action items. Action item A, consider an ordinance amending the budget for the city of Long View for fiscal year 2526 to allocate fund balance in the amount of 550,000 uh to the city hall remodel project. That's under Mr. Ran McI.

Yes. Thank you. Good evening, Mayor and Council. I I'd like to before I get into the details of this, at the last meeting, the mayor had asked that we provide a list of the improvements and the things that will result from this project, but I want to thank each of you for having conversations with me about this. And for those of you, I know you all walked through those areas and saw the improvements and and you notice that the amount is $550,000. that is accredited towards feedback that each of you gave me during those discussions. So this this remodel project is is going to be now $550,000 not not 700. We we took the plan back. We looked at it. We minimized demolition. So we would have to do as little as possible to demo. We are adding 15 new offices. We are adding 10 new workstations. And the workstations are different than the ones that you saw when you toured. They're actually seated stations where someone can get up and still have a plexiglass so they can communicate across and kind of create a bullpin effect for those information services employees to work together on problems that they may have. It'll improve communication for them. The the flooring replacement, as you know, when you remove lots of walls and add ones, you've got to do floor replacement. HVAC, electrical, and tech. When you start moving walls, you've got to add different different ventilation. You've got to add power drops where maybe they weren't some before. And then obviously, you've got to have a construction fees. You've got to have someone that postponed insurance, mobilization, and then the profit for those people overseeing all the subs that work. And then some incidentals and miscellaneous for 35,000 for the total of 550,000. uh the completion of the or the near completion I should say of the municipal

hall annex. They're still working through punch lists, but that's really enabled us to not have to have temporary spacing. And so we're going to be able to use some of those areas in the temporary so that we can maybe do this all at once and then come back in and it's a new facility at that time. So this is something that's been a long-term need. I believe Jody, when you came and and and wagged your finger at me and said that these are terrible conditions, I said, "Fantastic. That's great.

I couldn't leave Josh's office quickly." No, you [laughter] and and so that but identifying those problems and we had a solution ready to go that we worked through. So, I really appreciate council's consideration. This is long overdue. Perfect. Questions or discussion?

Make sure you get all the electrical outlets you need, Josh. I'm telling you. [laughter] and you're away from those cubicles and those guys sitting together. I I'm telling you this I'm I asked Josh, I said, "How do you all do it? It just don't fit." And I I walked out of his office and I walked straight to Raleigh and I just like there's got to be something. And uh so I'm I'm excited about this.

Get ready for Thanks for making it cost less. Thanks for the feedback. Any other questions or discussion? If not, I need a motion. Make a motion. Second. All in favor, please say I. I. Any opposed? Action item is approved. Thank you guys. Uh, moving on to item B. Consider an ordinance amending the budget for fiscal year 2526 to allocate fund balance in the amount of 125,000 to conduct a comprehensive resident study to obtain representative data to inform decision making. Miss Laura Hill, our director of grant and human services.

Thank you, Mary Shihara, members of council, and Mr. McI, the action before you tonight is to ask you to please approve the ordinance to allocate the $125,000 for a valid comprehensive resident survey. We are currently using data from the survey conducted in 2014 and a lot's happened in the world since then and we are asking that we be able to do this and we've got some of the Okay, first of all, did everybody pick up your notebooks? I gave you homework.

Yes, ma'am. Okay, very good. Uh [laughter] uh why we want a community survey? It will provide us with objective data. The surveys move beyond assumptions by transforming subjective opinions into objective data. We'll have the ability to do datadriven decision making. Uh we can look at future revenue enhancement opportunities, get ideas from our citizens uh through statistically valid and generaliz generalizable community data that is necessary for competitive grant requirements. That's my part. I really want that. Um it will balance community voices. Uh some groups we hear from frequently, others never. So, we'll be able to hear from them and then we'll be able to identify priorities and needs and we'll be able to uncover what services are lacking and where investment or improvement is needed. And then the benefits include informed planning for you and the budget team, for example. We'll be able to gauge community satisfaction. Uh we'll have greater trust from our community because they will actually have input on how we do our jobs. we can have significant project validation. And last but not least, we can benchmark performance. So, I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Any questions, comments, or discussion for Miss Hill? So, you said that we're using this uh the last time we did was 2014. Yes, ma'am. Okay. So, on here, the one in the book that you gave us for homework, [laughter] I'm looking at 2004. So, is that

99, 04, and 09? Unfortunately, I'm sorry I moved and I didn't find all my documents yet, [laughter] but the 2014 information is what created the comprehensive plan.

Okay. And so I'm just looking at the type of questions on there. Um, will these be the same like trash and litter, house, houses in my neighborhood need repair, stray stray animals in my neighborhood, weeds unmolded, grass in my neighborhood. um providing a safe community. Are these the same type of questions? Are you

We can ask those. We can ask others. You would be tremendously involved in developing the survey instrument. Uh we do want to guarantee that each one of your districts has equal representation. So, we want to know what's important to you to be measured. So we the consultant would come in and meet with the council probably one on- one to get your feedback on what's important to you. That's a base. That's an example of what was important at that time in our community. We've changed a lot since then.

And so the price of 125,000 is that just from one consultant or we that's a not to exceed amount. Um, I checked with like Mosquite and some other cities. That's their typical budget. Uh, it can it can go up or down based on what [clears throat] we want to do, but I think that would be a reasonable amount to get us a good survey that could last us hopefully at least 5 years.

And so, um, do we have a plan as to how we're going to reach the people that I mean because we get the same answers from the same people constantly. So, what's the plan on that? Uh, I can only tell you what we've done in the past. It's been so long since we've done one that I do not know exactly how they would achieve that. During one of our surveys, we actually sent out the survey instrument to every third water department customer to guarantee we were trying to reach a cross-section of our community. That methodology may have changed and updated thanks to technology, but we do want that randomness. We do want everybody to have an opportunity to participate in telling us how they want their city to be. So, will we hear from the consultant? Because it's hard for me to say, "Hey, yay. Let's go with this without actually hearing from the consultant in their plan because I I would want to make sure that this survey is actually accurate and it does get every district input instead of just the same." Mhm.

The if you approve this, the process would be we would uh create a request for proposals and I would get with y'all and say, "What exactly are you looking for? What do you want?" I can tell you in the past one of the proposals we used, we made them guarantee we had at least 100 responses per council district, which gives us uh a confidence rating of plus or minus 5%. And if you want more, we can do that. But this is a document. Yes, I want it for grants, but it helps you. Uh, we actually published, I believe it was the 2004 survey in the city's budget document because it was so vital and it showed the citizens what their neighbors were saying was important to them. So, that's where we learned that trails were the number one parks focus at that time. So um the RFP would be and RFP is based on the quality of the information you want, the amount of information. Do you want every department looked at? Do you only want to focus on others? So um it's been so long since we did one, it would almost be like we're starting from scratch.

Yep. Go ahead. I think um grants is a very vital part to our city's budget. Um it supplements a lot of areas of our city budget that we fall a little deficient with. Um this survey offers you a lot of tools that you feel like allows you to continue that grant process. Um I think everyone up here on the dis appreciates the work that you do and have done. Um, so I in favor of this survey just so that we can make sure we're able to continue to move forward and also explore other grants and opportunities that are out there and that makes us viable for those.

Thank you. So, thank you, Michelle. Yeah. Will the uh RFP come back before council? [clears throat] I mean, yes, we have the main. It's not it's not a question if we want the u want the survey. We want the survey of course, but I want to make sure that it actually reflects all citizens of Long View. So, we'll see it before Yes. you write them a check. I think is

this just establishes a budget for us to move forward with. That's that's what I want to make clear. That's correct. Yes. And and Laura, when you go about it, I know seeing how we've been 12 years since we've done this and there's some cities out there, municipalities that they've done it in the last few years and probably some of them's had great success in how they got responses back. Will you uh kind of check on that and be able to bring that back to us and say, "Hey, here's what Mosquite did. Here's what Brian did. Th this is what Lufkin did, and this is how their responses come back." You know, what's the best way to attack it? Because I'd hate to see it to where we got 150 coming out of this district, 500 out of this one, 75 here, 25 from John. I'm going to walk door to door with the help of some people from Spring Hill. We get 300. Sydney, I don't know. uh teach. [laughter] But anyway, I just want to make sure that it's a good balanced thing when we come out and what's the best way to attack people who normally don't respond to these surveys.

Absolutely. So, okay. Okay. [snorts] I move to approve. Okay. Do I have a second? Second. All in favor, please say I. I. Any opposed? Item is approved. Laura, we look forward to seeing you back when we have more information on our person. Uh items of community interest is next. We'll start with Mr. Connley.

Did we do the B? That's we just did it. Oh. Oh, okay. Thank you. [laughter] Yes, sir. Uh let's see. Got um Pine Tree. I guess it's been maybe four years now we've had this uh education foundation at Pine Tree has a has an event called Pirate of the Pines and and it's a uh the money raised at that event helps uh a lot of our students of need goes directly to them and helping in maybe a student that has uh opportunities for scholar scholarship or grant money to go to college but not the the resources to help them be successful. and some of that money goes towards them. Uh, this is a really good event. It is happening on Saturday, February 7th, and it'll be at the Infin Infinity Center. Um, anybody that wants to come, I have resources to contact, and uh, let's see, one of them is is uh, Jody Barry Hill and Carrie Dahberg. And, uh, you can contact them at the at at Pineree ISD and they will be happy to give you any information about that. And then also upcoming, and I'll give more information later, we have uh February 20th, uh let make sure I got this date right. I didn't have this print out here, but February 20th, we will have um what we call or I'm sorry, February 12th at 6:00. And I have more on this next time, expedition. Um the mayor and Mr. City Management Meritt Rent last year, great event. It shows every It's like an open house about Pine Tree and everybody's in one building. It'll be um it'll be at the um atm Cobb February 12th to 6:00 and any questions you have or just to highlight kids and performances. It's a great event and shows all the great things happening at Pine Tree and happy new year guys.

All right. Thank you, Miss Martin. Yes, we are having the Martin Luther King Day Martin Luther King Jr. day kickoff and it will start off at January 15th at the Grove at the Regrill Plaza and this will be a dedication a ceremony to commemorate this location where freed slaves were once once worshiped and we would love you to come out and attend. It is at 6:00 p.m. 500 North Green Street.

That's all I have. Okay, Mr. Wade. Uh nothing tonight, Mayor. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. New. Yes. Save the date. Partners of Prevention second 22nd annual Unity Honors lunchin is on Wednesday, February 25th, 11:30 to 1 at Mod Cobb. Uh so make sure to save the date for that and get ready. Uh we're expecting the news release and ticket sales to come on soon and so be looking for that and to uh honor and celebrate the individual who championed diversity, community, spirit, and unity. So thank you for that. That's all, mayor. Perfect. Thank you, Mr. Perry Hill.

And the thing I wanted to do is uh we got three great school systems here inside the city of Long View. And this is school board appreciation month. If you know a school board member out there, whether it's Long View, Spring Hill, or Pineree, hey, tell them how much you appreciate them. Uh that's not a highpaying job. They get a lot of questions and uh sometimes it's not questions, it's complaints, but they deal with it. And I think they do the best they can for our schools and the way they operate. Uh like I feel like we're doing up here as a council. So if you see a member of school board, even if you live outside of Long View, tell them thank you for their service.

Mr. Barry Hill, we have four. We well [laughter] we do have halls, but I'm talking inside limits. So [laughter] we like them too. We like them too. Anyway, I I've said you can appreciate every school board.

Absolutely. [laughter] Yes. Thank you. Good point. Uh Mr. Allen. Yes. Um well, I was This is a uh new year, 2026, and we're all getting started in the new year. And I was thinking the other evening, what do we do on the city council? What do we do? What What are we up here for? And this is a little straightforward, but very simply, we take your money and we spend it. Now, that may be a little crass, but that's what it, you know, whether it's property taxes, sales tax, fees, or all that. You're going to have to pay us some way or another. And I just hope I really hope that we're able to spend it. And that's what it amounts to. you know, we're able to spend it in a manner that's beneficial to all the people in the city of Long View. And uh we all take this job very seriously and uh we'll hope 2026 that we can spend that money on something that's beneficial to all of you. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Allen. All right. Anything from you? No, ma'am. Okay. I have a number of items. Um, I believe we have a calendar for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We have a full Thursday to Monday planned celebrations. Please join us for some of those events. They are fantastic. Uh, Miss Moore mentioned the Thursday night event. Friday is a jazz concert. Saturday is a parade and community festival at Brotten um and a nighttime humanitarian celebration. Sunday is a musical celebration at Park View Church Sunday night, which was incredible. And Monday is the March from Brotten um and then an interfaith service at Mount Olive. So, lots of opportunities for you to be involved. This is an important community event. We want you to be there and participate. Please, you can view all of the information at longtex.govmlk. The city offices will be closed on Monday in observance of the holiday. However, sanitation and recycling will have no changes. Um, thank you for your understanding and patience over the holiday as we figure out all of those schedules um and how that'll work with our changes. I appreciate you guys being patient with us and Mr. Archer for working through all of those things and for Richard for working out our communication to everybody on it. Um, homeless resource day is coming up and we are currently connect or collecting donations for that annual event. Um, importantly, we are also this year asking for volunteers to serve in the point in time count, which is happening January 22nd. If you go to the city of Long View website, you can see multiple times, mostly virtual. So, you have many, many options to attend from your office or home on how to be trained as a volunteer for that day. But, we do need trained volunteers to help with the point in time count on January 22nd. So, please check out and participate in with donations for homeless resource day and the point in time count coming up shortly. Next, Arts Long View has the Honors Gala. Arts Long View, um, which if you are not familiar, has made many

art improvements downtown, uh, including kicking off our murals, wayfinding, lots of fun things. Their honor celebration will be held on January 24th, which honors the Junior League of Long View for the organization's impact on our local arts community since 1940. Tickets are now available online. Um, and probably, well, we'll just say online. Uh, the Long View 5K is coming up. This is the first 5K that the city of Long View has ever hosted. Saturday, January 24th at 800 a.m. Uh, this will end the healthy view initiative. We'll give the $1,000 cash prize awards to our male and female winners. Um, but is a fun 5K that we want you to come participate in. Um, we want people to be outside enjoying our beautiful outdoor uh amenities. We have great trails, great parks. Get outside, be active, and enjoy them. So, thank you, John, and the team for putting that together. Um, you can register at longview.gov/parks. Um, those are all the announcements I have tonight. Welcome back. Happy New Year. We will adjourn into executive session to consider personnel matters under Texas government code section 551074 um to consider the annual performance evaluations for our city attorney and city secretary. We will not reconvene. See you guys next time.