3^rd Quarter WGNA Meeting Summary 7/26/19 K.Agee

Our 3rd quarter WGNA meeting was held on 7/25/19 at the Hollabaugh Recreational Center, 3925 W. Walnut St. The meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m. and was chaired by District 6 City Councilman Robert Vera who was acting in the absence of WGNA President Ricardo Rocha.

After leading a short prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, Councilman Vera introduced Assistant City Manager John Baker and Management Services Coordinator Elisa Morales.

Mr. Baker explained that all eight bond proposals passed on the May 4^th 2019 voting day (which also elected our new Mayor, Scott LeMay. Bonds normally operate on a 17-20 year cycle, and in this case there are still a few loose ends from the 2004 bond, such as the dog park which is now under construction and due to be completed by mid-2020.

As explained during the 2019 bond proposal phase, these new bonds will cause an increase in our property taxes, somewhere between 6.5 cents and 8.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. There are no guarantees that this increase will go away at the end of the 2019 bond cycle.

The 2019 Bond Proposition E was for funds for libraries, and one of the big-ticket items will be relocating the old Walnut Creek Library from its current location of 3319 Edgewood Dr (east of Jupiter, between Walnut & Forest) to a better/safer location. Mr. Baker says that the City is already in the process of identifying & buying new property for the building. Also, activity has begun on the new animal shelter which will be located close to the old one, on land already owned by the City.

During a discussion about street upgrades, Mr. Baker pointed out that aside from the new bond money being made available, the City Council has essentially doubled the amount of funds available for street repairs since the economy started recovering.

Also during this open discussion with Mr. Baker, questions were asked about the possibility of a Veterans Affairs (VA) facility being set up using the old Baylor Hospital grounds on Walnut Rd. He confirmed that there are talks between the Federal Government and related parties, but said it would be at least September before more solid information is available on the subject.

Neighborhood Patrol Officer David L. Wade was our next speaker. He says that crime in general is not all that bad right now. There was an in-depth discussion of incidents of bad behavior in the area of Purdue at Amherst, but apparently both the Garland Police and Councilman Vera have been working the issue for a few days now, and things are starting to improve. However, there was concern from the audience that they may clean it up for a while and have it return shortly thereafter. There were also concerns about illegal parking in several places, but specifically on Classic Dr just west of Jupiter (residents of apartments from other side of Jupiter parking cars in front of houses and sometimes even blocking driveways. Officer Wade explained that it is not against the law for vehicles to park in the public streets provided they obey certain restrictions. It is illegal to block a resident’s driveway however, and that offense should be reported through the Garland Police’s “non-emergency number” (972-485-4840).

Officer Wade was asked for general advice on avoiding crime, to which he replied that we should not leave vehicles unlocked in our driveways, in the streets, etc. Also he stressed that we should be VERY cautious with people claiming to be with the City, the gas company, GP&L, etc., who want access to your house. A legitimate worker should have no problem showing proof they are legitimate.

Councilman Vera (also WGNA Treasurer) led the meeting into a discussion about the need for new officers for the WGNA organization. All positons in the West Garland Neighborhood Association are voluntary, but we did have several attendees offer to serve. Among them were David for President, Bao and Maria for Vice-President, Irene for Secretary, and Henry for Sergeant at Arms. The election will take place at the next quarterly meeting (10/24/2019). It is possible that we will offer proposed changes to the WGNA bylaws. If that is the case, those details will be included in the next meeting reminder sent in the USPS mail, along with the full names of those running office.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:32 p.m.