City Council Priorities

Improve Capital Project Planning and Communications (Council Priority - see above for more information)

Finalize Mobility Plan Update 
(Council Priority - see above for more information)

Develop City Hall West Plan

In July 2017, the City engaged the historical architectural firm, Architexas to assist with the proposed renovation of the 1927 City Hall known as City Hall West. The firm was charged with completing an assessment of the facility and to develop three preliminary conceptual designs with a cost analysis of each concept. The report produced detailed the building’s current condition and originally presented these options for the scope of work. Video of consultant's recommendations can be found here.
 
 City Hall West sustained significant water damage during Winter Storm Uri. Freezing temperatures caused a fire sprinkler line to leak and flood the entire building. Staff is coordinating water damage remediation with both Risk Management and Safety.
 
 Since that time, the windows in the building have been replaced, but no other construction has occurred. Staff will develop a full plan to renovate the building for Council consideration.
 
 Unfortunately, progress on City Hall West was delayed because of the winter storm damage to the building. Mitigation is expected to be completed in the in Fall 2021. Because of the current conditions, and potential design team members are unable to enter the building, which makes it more difficult to develop a submittal package. Staff expects to be able to advertise a request for information (RFI) once the mitigation is complete.

Manage City Facility Construction Projects

There are a number of facility construction projects underway or starting in 2021 requiring substantial coordination:

• Development Services Building – Staff moved into the new Development Services Building, located at the corner of Parkway and Elm, on schedule in January of 2021. The parking lot for the building was also renovated, and completed in June of 2021. 
• American Legion Hall Senior Center – The American Legion Hall Senior Center, located at 629 Lakey Street, is a busy recreational facility used for active senior adult programing such as sewing, educational seminars, exercise, table games, fellowship, and monthly socials. The project scope includes demolition of the south building, renovation of the 2,600 square foot north building as well as the construction of a 5,000 square foot addition. Project is estimated to conclude in October of 2021 – delays are due to an unforeseeable number of constructability issues from the original architect, Eikon, and supply chain issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• North Lakes Tennis Center – The new Tennis Center Project will be completed in two phases. In Phase I, the Pro Shop is substantially complete. The new Pro Shop includes new showers and restroom amenities, lounge area, office space, retail, meeting rooms, and storage. Phase II will include multiple new tennis courts and improvements to the grounds.
• Remodel of Police Department Headquarters - Renovation of the existing Police Headquarters at City Hall East to add and reconfigure workspaces for police operations, public safety dispatch operations, add dedicated locker rooms, restrooms, and parking. Construction on this remodel began January of 2021. Project is estimated to reach substantial completion summer of 2022.
• New Police Substation and Firing Range - Construction of New Police Substation adjacent to the existing Fire Station 7 on Vintage Boulevard to house patrol, neighborhood services, traffic enforcement, criminal investigation and other operations, staff, and administrative support. This same location will house an indoor firing range with 15-lanes for the use of police training and include indoor classroom space. The new facility would replace the current outdoor range located on Airport Road. Construction began January 2021 and is estimated to reach substantial completion summer of 2022.

Manage Bond Program Capital Projects

Staff is actively completing design and construction of the remaining segments from the 2012 and 2014 Street Reconstruction Bonds. Current projections are for substantial completion for remaining street reconstruction segments from the 2012 and 2014 Bond to be completed by quarter 4 of calendar year 2022. Staff continues to move forward on the implementation of projects funded by the 2019 Bond Program, with $154,000,000 approved for street improvements. Construction for the first two bid packages of the Street Reconstruction Bond began in July 2021. On June 22, 2021, the City Council approved a design amendment with Freese and Nichols, Inc. (FNI) to complete the design of the first phase of the Southeast Denton Street Reconstruction Project, which will reconstruct 22 street segments approved as part of the 2019 Street Reconstruction Bond. Staff anticipates the first phase of the Southeast Denton Street Reconstruction Project will begin construction in quarter 2 of calendar year 2022. The design amendment approved on June 22 with FNI also authorized eighteen months of Program Management services for the 2019 Street Reconstruction Bond. Program Management services provided by FNI include development of a comprehensive sequencing plan for all 2019 Street Reconstruction Bond segments, the development of dashboards and other key reporting features that can be shared internally and with the public regarding the status of project construction, preparation of cash flow models and individual project estimates, project execution process tracking, and providing general project implementation oversight. Staff will continue to keep the community updated on the status of the bond program and projects through the City’s website, Resident Update, bi-annual Construction Update mailer, quarterly CIP updates to the City Council and Bond Committee, and through social media.

Conduct Parks Planning

Parks staff will continue work on a number of Parks initiatives to plan for future anticipated growth. In 2021, Parks plans to finalize and adopt the Parks, Recreation & Trails System Master Plan as well as plans for Southwest Park, Bowling Green Park, Village of Carmel property, outdoor performance venues and the ADA Transition Plan. The department continues to implement a playground replacement plan, and replaced the playgrounds at Joe Skiles Park, Mack Park and McKenna Park.  Quakertown Park playground Phase II will begin in the fall.  PARD hopes to begin planning for an inclusive playground in the near future.  A number of parcels are being considered for acquisition through purchase, donation and via the parkland dedication and development process.

Enhance Focus on Traffic and Speed Safety

City staff is undertaking a citywide speed study as part of the Mobility Plan update to be consistent with the City's Vision Zero goals. A citywide speed study project entails review of existing speed limits and conducting engineering studies to maintain existing or recommend new speed limits along arterial and collector streets throughout the City. staff secured the funding for a study, but efforts were put on hold in 2020 due to altered traffic patterns caused by pandemic-related remote work and travel restrictions. Options for a citywide speed study were presented to the Traffic Safety Commission and City council during September and October of 2020. Currently, speed studies are conducted on an as-requested basis. As traffic patterns begin to normalize, staff plans to reinitiate efforts as part of the comprehensive strategy to finalize the update to the Mobility Plan. Staff will report results to the Mobility committee, Traffic Safety Commission along with providing information to the City Council via work sessions and the Friday Report. Potential results of the study could result in revisions to recommended speed limits for certain classifications of roadways in the community.

Update the City's Comprehensive Plan (Council Priority - see above for more information)

The City’s Comp Plan is the long-range plan for the City’s growth, development, and redevelopment. Because it is based on local conditions and trends, it is intended to be updated periodically to coordinate the efforts of many different aspects of a community, such as land use, transportation, community facilities, and natural resources. The City has hosted The City continues to make progress toward this comprehensive plan, and plans to present a draft plan during fall/winter 2021.

Develop an Affordable Housing Strategy (Council Priority - see above for more information)

Throughout 2020, the City engaged with consultants to perform an Affordable Housing Assessment to analyze the state of affordable housing in Denton. A presentation was given to the City Council on February 2, 2021 to present the findings, and included:

1. Project Overview
2. Key Findings
3. Affordable Housing Needs
4. Market Value Analysis
5. Looking Forward: Affordable Housing Tools
6. Initiated Phase 2 (expected FY 2020-21) to Develop an Affordable Housing Strategy and Toolkit. 

The project is underway and staff is engaging with key stakeholders and the community. Staff is also working with the consultant to undergo a private market analysis, and identifying priority strategy and tools. Staff is scheduled to present options to the City Council in September 2021.

Continue Implementing Economic Development Strategic Plan

The Economic Development Strategic Plan was adopted by City Council in February 2021. The plan is a roadmap for the next five years of economic development activities and building a sustainable economic future for Denton. Staff have initiated many activities and objectives identified in the plan and provide quarterly reports on status and outcomes. A key component of the plan was a proposed Economic Development Catalyst Fund. Staff presented an update to City Council in June and presented an additional update in July 2021. Staff have already initiated the research and development phase for the new policy and programs.

Implement Historic Preservation Plan

The creation of the Historic Preservation Plan included significant stakeholder input, including public meetings and online surveys, to create a shared vision related to the City’s historic resources. There are numerous short-, medium-, and long-term recommendations that staff will be working to implement. The City recently hired a new Historic Preservation Officer whose primary focus is to implement these recommendations. Periodic updates on the progress of these goals will be provided to City Council.

Review and Develop Denton Development Code (DDC) Amendments

Staff will continue to review and bring forward any necessary amendments to the 2019 DDC, making minor improvements following implementation. The Development Code Review Committee (DCRC) has been reinstated, which is made up of members of the City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission.  They will be reviewing and providing initial direction addressing ongoing improvements in the DDC. Staff has prepared a list of Code amendments that addresses nonconformities, aligns provisions with state law, codifies process improvements, and considers input from the general public, P&Z and City Council.  The Code amendments are grouped into the following types:

• Non-Substantive – (correcting typos and references, providing additional language to clarify intent, and deleting duplications)
• Criteria Manual – (transferring certain procedures from Criteria Manuals to the DDC)
• Substantive Changes – (necessary, substantive code amendments)
• Policy Direction – (necessary code amendments that require immediate consideration from the City Council)

Continue to Strengthen Homelessness Initiatives and Housing Crisis Response System (Council Priority - see above for more information) 

 The City is providing ongoing investment of City resources in Homelessness initiatives toward the community’s shared goal to Make Homelessness Rare, Brief & Nonrecurring. The ongoing work of staff in partnerships with others is to deploy those resources that sustain existing efforts and to identify strategies to further strengthen the Housing Crisis Response System. Current strategies fall into three core focus areas Funding, Data, and Partnerships and Collaborations.

Develop 909 N. Loop 288 Building for 24/7 Center

In 2020, the City purchased a facility to provide a co-located center for day and overnight services for people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness. An architect was hired in fall 2020 and a final conceptual design with proposed next steps and timeline for construction was presented to Council in April 2021. Staff also negotiated an agreement with Our Daily Bread, a non-profit agency, to provide services at the facility and the agreement was approved by City Council in June 2021. In April 2021, the City opened the bidding process with an RFQ for Construction Manager at Risk for the Loop 288 Project. That process is wrapping up with a contract expected before Council in August 2021. Construction is expected to begin in Fall 2021 and continue through Fall 2022.

This project will be a major focus in 2021 and will require substantial staff resources for implementation and coordination.

Manage and Coordinate COVID-19 Federal & State Funds and Programs

The City has been able to apply and leverage additional federal and state funding sources to help residents with eviction prevention and support housing stability in the community, provide for continued alternative emergency shelter arrangement, and assist non-profit agencies providing critical services. This will be a major focus area for staff in 2021 as there are numerous requirements for the implementation and reporting of these federal and state grants and requires close coordination with the awarded agencies.

Consider a Non-Discrimination Ordinance

Continue COVID-19 Response (Council Priority - see above for more information)

Staff continues to respond and address the ongoing challenges and changes due to COVID-19. The response to COVID-19 is anticipated to continue to be a major area where time will be spent across all departments, including, but not limited to, continuing to monitor public health information and coordination of information from federal/state/county sources, communicating news and resources to the community, addressing changes and continuing to adapt City facilities/programs/services, managing safety standards and modified shifts/operations, and managing COVID-19 employee procedures and contact tracing across the organization.

Continue Development of Police Department Mental Health Unit Team

The Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) and the Crisis Intervention Response Team (CIRT) compose the Mental Health Division and aim to serve our most vulnerable community members with compassion and steadfastness. CIRT is a co-responder program that partners sworn plain-clothed police officers with licensed clinicians; since May, these pairs have responded to mental health-related calls and conducted limited follow-ups.

Continue Updating Police Department Policies and Training

The Denton Police Department began a comprehensive effort to update all General Orders (policies) in late 2018, shortly after Chief Dixon joined the department. The department has issued more than 115 policies since then, which Council Members and the public can view at www.dentonpolice.com. Denton PD continues to offer wide-ranging training opportunities for all personnel, including Fair and Impartial Policing (FIP) and Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE).

Implement Police chief Advisory Board

In the summer of 2020, City Council created an ad hoc use-of-force committee of community members to review Denton PD’s response-to-resistance policies (Use of Force) and engage in dialogue with the community. The committee concluded its months-long work with a recommendation to create an advisory board to the Chief of Police. The advisory board, which is composed of 11 voting members and five ex-officio members, has held three training-oriented meetings since June.

Complete Public Safety Facilities from Bond Program

Remodel of Police Department Headquarters - Renovation of the existing Police Headquarters at City Hall East to add and reconfigure workspaces for police operations, public safety dispatch operations, add dedicated locker rooms, restrooms, and parking. Construction on this remodel began January of 2021. Project is estimated to reach substantial completion summer of 2022.

New Police Substation and Firing Range - Construction of New Police Substation adjacent to the existing Fire Station 7 on Vintage Boulevard to house patrol, neighborhood services, traffic enforcement, criminal investigation and other operations, staff, and administrative support. This same location will house an indoor firing range with 15-lanes for the use of police training and include indoor classroom space. The new facility would replace the current outdoor range located on Airport Road. Construction began January 2021 and is estimated to reach substantial completion summer of 2022.

Pursue Fire Department Accreditation

A strategic initiative and goal for the Denton Fire Department is obtaining accreditation status through the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE). Accreditation is a comprehensive self-assessment and evaluation model that enables organizations to examine past, current, and future service levels and internal performance and compare them to industry best practices. Currently only 284 fire agencies have been awarded the CPSE accreditation which equates to only 11% of the U.S. population protected by an accredited agency.

• The CPSE program will provide an excellent review process for the Denton Fire Department, allowing citizens and city council transparency during ongoing budget decisions.
• Most importantly, being an accredited fire agency enhances our quality improvement processes and provides the highest level of fire and rescue services to the City of Denton and the community. Benefits of accreditation and self-assessment include:
• Creating a mechanism for developing concurrent documents to include strategic and program action plans
• Creating methods or systems for addressing deficiencies while building organizational success
• Encouraging professional growth in addition to its personnel involved in the self-assessment process
• Encouraging quality improvement through a continuous self-assessment process
• Fostering national recognition for the Denton Fire Department by its colleagues and the public
• Identifying areas of strength and weakness within the department
• Improve the quality of life in our community
• Promoting excellence within the Fire Department and improving our abilities to recognize and better understand potential risks and hazards
• Providing a detailed evaluation of the department, detailing the services it provides to the community
• Providing a forum for the communication of organizational priorities

Planning and Design for Fire Station 9

Future Fire Station 9 will be located at the entrance of Denton Enterprise Airport in the western portion of the city.  Data has revealed response times west of the I 35 corridors being outside the recommendations of National Fire Protection Association 1710, Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments.

Fire District number 5 which covers the Razyor Ranch development out west to city limits near FM 156 has become one of the busiest districts in the city in the past two years.  The addition of the new Denton High School and the residential development associated with this school will continue to create additional calls for service for this area.  

Future station 9 will primarily serve the airport, industrial area, western 380 and be a backup into district 5 to help reduce response times therefore allowing the fire department to arrive quickly at emergencies.

An architect will be chosen for this project in the early part of 2022 pending City Council approval and design should take up to 10 months. Construction should commence in 2023 with the station going on line in spring of 2024.

Complete the Solid Waste Comprehensive Management Strategy (Council Priority - see above for more information)

In October 2020, the City entered into a contract with Burns and McDonnell to complete a Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Strategy (CSWMS) for the City of Denton. The purpose of a CSWMS is to consider the external factors that impact recycling and diversion in North Texas, and evaluate opportunities to manage residential, multifamily, and commercial waste in a more environmentally and fiscally efficient manner.

The City of Denton is undertaking the development of a comprehensive solid waste management strategy that will provide the vision and framework to guide future activities related to:

• Landfill disposal reduction and/or elimination, zero waste philosophies, and waste material diversion
• The promotion of ingenuity in reuse and recycling opportunities
• The alignment of federal and state regulations with local solid waste reduction goals and practices
• The composition of residential and commercial waste streams
• The creation of a robust construction, building, and operational environments/markets that support solid waste reduction goals (innovation)
• Other waste management activities assigned to local government

The development of the CSWMS will be completed in several phases. The first step of the process will be a community waste characterization, which will help us to fully understand what we are throwing away and what we are separating for recycling and/or diversion. 

In the next phase of the process, we will be asking Denton residents, business owners and managers, and other local, interested persons for their opinions on garbage, recycling, diversion, composting, and other solid waste management processes. To help provide project focus, a community “Focus Group/Think Tank” will be established in March to discuss the results of the survey and consider the findings of our previous waste characterization activities. Those who completed the initial online survey will have the opportunity to apply for participation in the community Think Tank. 

Finally, the Think Tank results will be discussed among City leaders to help lay the groundwork for our solid waste program going forward. We anticipate that the CSWMS will be completed by late 2021.  We will work through the remainder of FY2022 preparing an implementation plan to be funded as part of the FY2022-2023 budget cycle.

Progress the 2020 Simply Sustainable Framework and Advisory Committee

Sustainability will continue to work on implementation of the recently adopted Sustainability Framework.  The City Council-appointed Sustainability Advisory Committee began meeting in May 2021.  The committee’s role is to advise council on implementation priorities and strategies. Staff continue annual reporting requirements for and identify opportunities to establish virtual community engagement to promote sustainability, conservation and resiliency.

Expand Bike/Pedestrian Network

The Capital Projects - Engineering Department recognizes the importance of delivering projects that improve travel on foot or by bike, and we are thrilled to continue our work with the input of our newly hired Sr. Planner: Bicycle, Pedestrian and ADA coordinator, Nathan George. Expanding the bicycle and pedestrian network will result from two key actions: outlining a plan of the proposed network, and then constructing the network through project delivery. Over the coming months, Nathan will collaborate with staff from the Capital Projects - Engineering, Streets, Development Services and Parks Departments as we finalize and adopt the City's Mobility Plan, Comprehensive Plan and Parks, and Recreation Trails Master Plan, building on recommendations of the 2012 Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan. During that time, our Department continues to deliver projects ranging from street improvements, trails, pathways and sidewalks, and Nathan will advise our Project Managers and work hand in hand with our Engineering design team of pedestrian, bicycle and ADA considerations with their designs to ensure that our projects deliver the bicycle and pedestrian network, and address the needs of the residents, businesses and visitors of the City of Denton.

Evaluate a Strategy or Preferred Pattern of Preservation

Staff from Development Services and Environmental Services will continue to work together to identify best practices in the preservation of Denton's environment as the city continues to develop. This includes identifying future parks and green space that is included in the 2019 bond, updating the City's Comprehensive Plan and ensuring that developments are adhering to the City's Tree Preservation Plan.