2^nd Quarter WGNA Meeting Summary 4/26/19 K.Agee

Our 2nd quarter WGNA meeting was held on 4/25/19 at the Hollabaugh Recreational Center, 3925 W. Walnut St. The meeting started at 7:04 p.m. and was chaired by WGNA President Ricardo Rocha.

Ricardo announced that he and his wife are expecting a second child and that he has taken a job with the City of Mesquite. The combination of these facts will restrict how much time & effort he can offer to the WGNA organization.

President Rocha introduced Patrick Abell who is up for election for our District 6 Garland City Council seat, along with the current Councilman Robert Vera who was also in attendance. Patrick introduced himself as a resident in the neighborhood (Princeton Dr.) for the past 20 years. He is a Realtor and is currently enrolled in Garland’s Citizens Police Academy.

President Rocha had to leave early, and appointed Councilman Vera acting President. Councilman Vera introduced Garland’s new Chief of Police, Jeff Bryan. Chief Bryan succeeds Chief Mitch Bates, who now has the title of Deputy City Manager of Garland. Chief Bryan has been with the Garland Police Dept. for over 22 years now, and has a fantastic record of both education and service. During an open discussion, he mentioned that he would like to improve 911 response-times by hiring more dispatchers. Dispatchers are not “sworn officers”, which should make hiring a little easier, but the job market is still tight…

Chief Bryan was followed by two speakers from the Garland Water Department: Wes Kucera (Managing Director), and Lorrie Reeves (Environmental Outreach Coordinator). Wes spoke first, giving an overview of the organization and mentioning that he is a native of the area and has been with the City for many years. Lorrie spoke longer, and explained that while she’s only been with the City for 2-1/2 years, she has been in the “water business” for over 20 years. Lorrie passed out copies of an overhead presentation that showed maps of the area’s watershed, regional water organizations, and other interesting facts (ex. Garland residents only consume half as much water as Texas residents as a group).

One fact that no one seemed to be aware of, was the fact that many toilet upgrades (to “low flow”) are eligible for credits on our utility bills. The payouts are $100 for the first toilet, $75 for the second, and $50 for the third. Some clothes washing machines are also eligible for credits based on the new unit’s efficiency rating. During the open discussions, it was mentioned that the City water-meters all have a handy feature for detecting leaks in a homeowner’s plumbing: There is a spinning indicator on each meter that should stop when all faucets, etc., are turned off. Also, we encouraged not to let lawn clippings get into the storm sewer (City’s drainage system).

Attendees of the meetings each received free keychains with a message reminding us that the only things that should go into a toilet are “pee, poo, and paper”. These keychains featured a built-in USB drive for the computer, so they are more than just a novelty.

After a short open discussion, Councilman Vera adjourned the meeting at 8:25 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for July 25^th at the Hollabaugh Rec Center, 3925 W. Walnut St, starting at 7 p.m. in the main meeting room. We were all reminded to VOTE IN THE LOCAL ELECTION ON SATURDAY 5/4.