[00:00:05]
[1. Call the meeting to order.]
EVERYONE.TODAY IS TUESDAY, AUGUST 11TH, 2026.
THIS IS THE REGULAR SCHEDULED MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL BRIEFING SESSION.
WE DO HAVE A FULL QUORUM OF CITY COUNCIL PRESENT.
I WANNA OFFICIALLY CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
I HAVE 6:00 PM AND NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA
[2. City Manager Reports: City Council Calendar/Upcoming Events City Operations Conduct a briefing to discuss items for the 7:00 p.m. regular meeting]
IS THE CITY MANAGER REPORT.GOOD EVENING, MADAM CITY MANAGER.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
IT IS AN HONOR TO BE HERE AND TO SERVE THIS BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITY TODAY.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FOR THE RECEPTION FOR OUR NEW POLICE CHIEF STAGNER.
UM, REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING PRESENT AND WITNESSING HIS SWEARING IN TO THE COMMUNITY OF CEDAR HILL.
UM, I DO HAVE A BRIEF THING I WANNA READ ABOUT HIM.
UM, WE DID A NATIONWIDE SEARCH, AS THE COUNCIL KNOWS, AND WE HAD INTERVIEW, WE HAD CANDIDATES THAT, THAT FROM ALL OVER THE US, FROM NEW YORK, FROM MINNESOTA, UH, MILWAUKEE, CHICAGO, UM, MANSFIELD, AND SOME OF OUR OTHER NEIGHBORING CITIES.
AND, UH, REALLY HONORED THAT STAGNER STOOD OUT.
AND WE DID A COMPREHENSIVE PANEL WITH NOT JUST ADMINISTRATION, BUT UM, AND COLLABORATIVE AS WE ARE.
WE DID A, A PANEL WITH DIRECTORS AND WE ALSO DID A PANEL INTERVIEW WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND I WANNA READ A STATEMENT, SOME THINGS THAT THEY SAID.
IT WASN'T WHAT I SAID ABOUT HIM.
I WANNA READ TO YOU SOMETHING THAT THEY SAID ABOUT HIM.
S STOCKER'S INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTED A LEADERSHIP STYLE CENTERED ON ACCOUNTABILITY, DIRECT COMMUNICATION, EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT, OFFICER WELLNESS, AND STRUCTURED ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE.
HE PRESENTED A CLEAR DESIRE TO SUPPORT PERSONNEL INTERNALLY WHILE MAINTAINING STRONG EXTERNAL COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND PURSUING LARGER REGIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR CEDAR HILL AND THE REGION.
STAGNER ENTERED THE ROOM AND MADE A POINT TO WALK AROUND AND SHAKE EACH PANEL MEMBER'S HAND BEFORE TAKING HIS SEAT, DEMONSTRATING PROFESSIONALISM AND STRONG INTERPERSONAL AWARENESS.
DURING THE INTERVIEW HE REFERENCED HITTING THE STREETS, FILLING IN AND RIDING OUT.
I WANNA PUT A POINT PIN ON THAT 'CAUSE I'LL COME BACK, WHICH REINFORCED THAT HE REMAINS ACTIVELY CONNECTED TO PATROL OPERATIONS AS AND HAS NOT LOST TOUCH WITH FRONTLINE REALITIES.
OVERALL, HE PRESENTED A STRONG, CONFIDENT AND SELF-ASSURED PRESENCE CONVEYING THE PRESENCE AND DEMEANOR EXPECTED OF AN EFFECTIVE LEADER.
THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT AS YOUR NEW POLICE CHIEF, AND THAT'S WHAT THE CITY OF CEDAR HILL IS GETTING.
I WILL SAY IN HIS FIRST WEEK, HE'S BEEN HERE A WEEK AND TWO DAYS, AND I'VE ALREADY HEARD FROM OFFICERS HOW AMAZING THE IMPACT HE'S MAKING.
SEVERAL OF THEM REPORTED TO ME THAT THEY HEARD HIM ON THE RADIO WORKING THE PATROL.
THIS IS OUR POLICE CHIEF AND HE IS WITH THEM.
HE'S IN THE, IN, IN THE STREETS IN THE COMMUNITY OF CEDAR HILL WITH HIM.
AND I'M VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD AND HONORED TO WORK ALONGSIDE HIM.
LOOKING FORWARD TO HIS SWEARING IN THIS EVENING.
SO COUNSEL, UM, WE HAVE TWO REALLY GREAT PRESENTATIONS.
I DEFINITELY AM IN THE WAY OF A WHOLE BUNCH OF AMAZINGNESS.
UH, THE COMMUNICATIONS TEAM HAS REALLY DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB AT PUTTING TOGETHER ONE YEAR RECAP OF ALL THE WORK THAT THEY HAVE DONE UNDER THIS COMPREHENSIVE STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATION AND THE UMBRELLA OF COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION AND ADMINISTRATION.
REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO HIGHLIGHTING AND EXPRESSING TO THE COMMUNITY ALL THE WORK THAT, UM, ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'VE IMPROVED IN DOING THAT.
SO I'M VERY MUCH PROUD OF THIS TEAM.
LOOKING FORWARD TO YOU HEARING THE RESULTS OF THEIR HARD WORK.
AND THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER UPDATE ON THE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AND PHILLIPS PROPERTY ACT ACTIVATION.
YOU'RE REALLY GONNA BE EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
I'VE INCLUDED A LOT OF UPDATES IN MY CITY MANAGER'S REPORT, BUT WE HAVE A BIG EVENT COMING UP ON AUGUST 22ND.
AND THE COUNCIL AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION HAS GIVEN US DIRECTION TO ACTIVATE THAT PROPERTY.
AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE AN UNVEILING THAT'S REALLY CENTERED ON THE FUTURE AND WHAT IS TO COME.
UH, THE ACTIVATION OF THE PROPERTY IS TEMPORARY AND IT'S NOT FOREVER GOING TO BE A PARK.
WE NEED IT TO BE A PARK WITH DEVELOPMENT WITH A DEVELOPMENT PARTNER.
AND SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO HIGHLIGHTING THE PROPERTY TO DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY AND THE COMMUNITY OF CEDAR AND WHAT THE POTENTIAL CAN BE.
BEFORE WE GET TO THOSE TWO THINGS, I WANT TO GO OVER THE COUNCIL CALENDAR, IF THAT'S OKAY.
THIS FRIDAY IS THE NEXT BEST SOUTHWEST PARTNERSHIP, TGIF LIT BREAKFAST SERIES.
THAT'S AT, UH, 7:30 AM AT METHODIST SOUTHWEST MEDICAL CENTER ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19TH.
NEXT TUESDAY, WE DO NOT HAVE A COUNCIL MEETING.
IT WAS ORIGINALLY PLANNED FOR THE ED TOOLS WORKSHOP AND HAS SINCE BEEN CANCELED.
[00:05:01]
UM, TO THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8TH.SO, UM, WE WILL SEND OUT THAT CALENDAR INVITE IN, UH, THE NEXT FEW DAYS ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19TH IS THE SENIOR INFORMATION AND WELLNESS EXPO FROM 10 TO NOON.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 22ND IS THE PHILLIPS PROPERTY CELEBRATION.
HISTORIC DOWNTOWN FROM NINE TO 11.
UH, MEETING AT 1 0 4 SOUTH BROAD STREET ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 25TH IS OUR NEXT COUNCIL MEETING HERE IN THE KENNEDY ROOM AT 6:00 PM TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1ST IS THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING ON BUDGET.
THAT IS AT 5:00 PM AND, UH, WE WILL HAVE A SHORT MEETING ON THE BUDGET.
AND THEN AFTER THAT, AT GRADY LAND BUILDING IS THE 6:00 PM NATIONAL LIGHT KICKOUT KICKOFF EVENT.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7TH WHEN I REMIND COUNCIL THAT THE CITY OFFICES ARE CLOSED DUE TO LABOR DAY HOLIDAY.
AND TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8TH IS OUR FOLLOWING CITY COUNCIL MEETING.
UH, FIRST CITY COUNCIL MEETING IN SEPTEMBER.
UM, THE ONLY OTHER MEETING I WANNA MENTION IS ON SEPTEMBER 15TH IS A SPECIAL JOINT CITY COUNCIL AND C-H-I-S-D BOARD MEETING.
AND THAT IS IN THE THIRD FLOOR TRAINING ROOM ON, ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH.
ANYTHING TO ADD OR QUESTIONS ON THE CALENDAR? MAYOR? YES.
UM, THE NATIONAL NIGHT OUT, UH, NIGHT OUT KICKOFF.
WHAT, WHAT LOCATION IS THAT? GRADY LAMB.
SO WE'LL HAVE THE 5:00 PM MEETING HERE.
IT SHOULD BE SHORT, LESS THAN 30 MINUTES PROBABLY.
AND THEN WE'LL HEAD ON OVER TO GRADY LAMB.
NO, I'LL JUST, IT LOOKS LIKE SPRINGFIELD IS ON THERE AS WELL FOR THE CRIME WATCH.
UH, BUT MAYBE THEY'RE AWARE AND POSTPONE THE MEETING.
I GUESS I DID TELL THEM THAT SPRINGFIELD, THEY'RE AWARE.
AND THEY'RE LOOKING FOR AN ALTERNATIVE DATE.
UM, ON THE COUNCIL CALENDAR TONIGHT, YOU HAVE JUST A SMALL, UH, AGENDA OF COURSE, STARTING WITH THE SWEARING IN AND BADGE PINNING CEREMONY FOR POLICE CHIEF MATT STAGNER.
UH, OTHER PRESENTATIONS INCLUDE CEDAR HILL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AS A RECIPIENT OF THE ANNUAL ECONOMIC EXCELLENCE RECOGNITION PROGRAM FOR ITS ACHIEVEMENTS IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN 2025.
THE THIRD PRESENTATION IS A PROCLAMATION DESIGNATING AUGUST 19TH, 2026 AS NATIONAL SENIOR CITIZENS DAY IN THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, 2026, THE SENIOR CENTER MONTH IN CEDAR HILL.
THEN WE HAVE CITIZENS FORM AND WE GET INTO OUR FIRST ACTION ON OF COUNSEL ON BUDGET AND TAX MATTERS.
UH, THE FIRST ITEM IS ACCEPTING THE CERTIFIED APPRAISAL RULES FOR TAX YEAR 26, AS SUBMITTED BY DALLAS AND ELLIS CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICTS.
AND THEN ITEM B IS TO DISCUSS AND CONSIDER A PROPOSED PROPERTY TAX RATE.
AS WE DISCUSSED LAST FRIDAY DURING THE BUDGET WORKSHOP, SET THE PUBLIC HEARING DATES FOR THE BUDGET AND TAX RATE AND SET A DATE FOR ADOPTION.
CONSENTED AGENDA INCLUDES MINUTES AND A QUARTERLY INVESTMENT REPORT FOR THE QUARTER ENDING JUNE 30TH, 2026.
COUNSEL, IF YOU LOOK IN THAT REPORT, UH, WE'LL, UH, WANNA MAKE A MENTION.
UM, TWO YEARS AGO, UM, THIS SEASON WE HAD RECRUITED AN AMAZING FINANCE DIRECTOR, CHUCK FOX.
AND AT THAT TIME HE WENT THROUGH OUR INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO AND TOOK A LOT OF THE OPPORTUNITY TO INVEST A LOT OF MONEY.
AS YOU CAN SEE IN THAT REPORT, SEVERAL OF THOSE ARE EXPIRING 'CAUSE IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS.
AND THE FRUIT OF ITS LABOR IS ACTUALLY THE CITY'S MONEY MAKING MONEY.
AND SO, JUST WANTED TO SAY CONGRATULATIONS TO CHUCK FOX ON HIS TWO YEARS, BUT ALSO THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY AND HELPING OUR INVEST OUR MONEY WISELY.
UM, ITEM C IS A RESOLUTION ADOPTING RULES FOR THE ELECTRONIC RECEIPT OF BIDS OR PROPOSALS, POLICY OF THE CITY OF CEDAR HILL IN ACCORDANCE WITH CHAPTER 2 52 OF THE TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE AND OUR PURCHASING POLICY.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THE COUNCIL AGENDA FOR TONIGHT? UM, IS OUR, UM, PROCUREMENT DIRECTOR HERE? SHE'S NOT HERE.
HAVE, HAVE YOU PRESENTED HER IN FRONT OF THE COUNCIL BEFORE? I DON'T THINK SHE, SHE DID COME BEFORE COUNCIL.
I, I THINK I MIGHT HAVE MISSED THAT MEETING COUNCIL, SO, APOLOGIES.
UM, I, I DID HAVE A A A FEW QUESTIONS ON THIS, BUT MAYBE I CAN ASK.
IT'S REAL, REAL LIGHT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF QUESTIONS.
UH, JUST KIND OF WANT TO GET SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS.
UH, I DO LIKE THE FACT THAT IT'S GONNA BE ELECTRONIC.
I JUST HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS, BUT OKAY.
WE CAN, WOULD YOU LIKE TO DELAY THE AGENDA ITEM AND ACCEPTANCE OF IT, OR YOU JUST NO, NO, NO.
I JUST SAYING I MAY JUST PULL FROM CONSENT DURING THE COUNCIL MEETING.
SO WE GO AHEAD AND GO THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.
YOU, UM, COUNSELOR, ARE THERE ANY OTHER ITEMS ON CONSENT TO BE PULLED? OKAY, THANK YOU.
[3. Presentation regarding Communications and Marketing efforts and initiatives.]
THE AGENDA IS PRESENTATION REGARDING COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING[00:10:01]
EFFORTS AND INITIATIVE.GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
HOW ARE YOU ALL DOING THIS EVENING? IT IS GREAT DAY TODAY.
WELL, AS ALWAYS, IT'S SUCH AN HONOR TO BE HERE IN FRONT OF YOU TONIGHT, AND I'M ESPECIALLY EXCITED BECAUSE YOUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM IS HERE TO PRESENT A RECAP OF OUR FIRST YEAR OF SERVICE AS A CENTRALIZED TEAM FOR THE CITY OF CEDAR HILL.
SO THE CENTRALIZED TEAM OFFICIALLY BEGAN WORK ON JULY 1ST, 2025.
SO OUR HIGHLIGHTS SEEN TONIGHT WILL BEGIN AT THAT DATE AND GO UNTIL JULY 1ST, 2026.
AND THEN ONE OTHER QUICK NOTE, YOU'LL SEE SOME PERCENTAGES NEXT TO SOME OF THE STATS SHARED TONIGHT.
WHAT THAT REPRESENTS IS YEAR OVER YEAR DATA.
SO GIVING CONTEXT TO THE NUMBERS FROM THIS YEAR TO SHOW GROWTH AS COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS PERIOD.
SO THIS IS THE FOUNDATION OF EVERYTHING, COUNCIL'S, PREMIER STATEMENTS, VISION, MISSION, AND VALUES.
WHETHER WE'RE INTERACTING WITH OUR COMMUNITY OR SERVING OUR INTERNAL CITY DEPARTMENTS, THIS IS OUR NORTH STAR AND WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL TO THE COUNCIL FOR THE DIRECTION TO CENTRALIZE THE COMMUNICATIONS TEAM.
AS YOU KNOW, BEFORE COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING WAS DECENTRALIZED ACROSS DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
AND WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL TO YOU ALL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO CENTRALIZE, COLLABORATE MORE, USE OUR RESOURCES MORE EFFICIENTLY, AND ULTIMATELY BETTER SERVE OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THIS LEADS US TO COUNCIL'S STRATEGIC PLAN.
SO OBVIOUSLY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT FOCUSES FOR OUR TEAM.
BUT AS YOU'LL SEE THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION TONIGHT, WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE TO GET TO TOUCH ALL FIVE OF THESE ITEMS. AND BEFORE WE BEGIN, I KIND OF WANNA FRAME OUT HOW WE VIEW OUR WORK AND GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE.
SO AS YOU KNOW, CEDAR HILL IS NOW THE NATURAL HEART OF THE METROPLEX.
AND WHILE THAT IS SO MUCH ABOUT OUR BEAUTIFUL NATURAL LANDSCAPE, IT'S ALSO REALLY ABOUT OUR PEOPLE.
AND AS THE COMMUNICATIONS TEAM, A LOT OF THE WORK WE GET TO WORK ON IS ALREADY BROUGHT TO US AND PREPARED BY OUR COUNCIL, THE DEPARTMENTS WE SERVE OUR COMMUNITY.
SO WE WANNA GIVE CREDIT TO THE PEOPLE ALSO WORKING ON THESE IDEAS AND INITIATIVES.
WITH THAT, I'M EXCITED TO INTRODUCE YOU TO THE COMMUNICATIONS TEAM IF YOU GUYS WANNA STAND UP.
SO I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING UNDER OUR WONDERFUL ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, ALLISON REEM AS THE COMMUNICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT MANAGER.
AND I WORK WITH THREE VERY TALENTED COMMUNICATION SPECIALISTS.
WE HAVE ZARIA DAVIS, WHO IS OUR SENIOR COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST AND DOES MARKETING FOR ADMIN AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
WE HAVE ALEXIS SMALL WHO DOES LIBRARY, NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES MARKETING.
AND CASEY MARTIN WHO DOES MARKETING FOR PARKS AND REC AND TOURISM.
AND ONE THING WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF IS THAT SINCE CENTRALIZING OUR TEAM, WE ACTUALLY HAVE NOT CREATED ANY NEW POSITIONS IN THE CITY.
WE RESTRUCTURED AND UNIFIED THE MARKETING ROLES THAT WERE ALREADY HERE IN A NEW WAY TO BETTER SERVE OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THEN YOU'LL SEE DOWN IN THIS PHOTO ON THE SCREEN, THERE'S AN EXTRA PERSON IN THAT GROUP PHOTO.
WE ALSO HAD THE PLEASURE OF HAVING A SUMMER INTERN THIS YEAR WHO IN EXCHANGE FOR SOME PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN COLLEGE CREDIT, WE GOT TO HAVE ANOTHER HELPING HAND FOR, AGAIN, NO ADDITIONAL MONETARY RESOURCES FROM THE CITY.
SO ONE THING THAT REALLY FRAMED OUT A LOT OF OUR WORK THIS YEAR WAS THE VERY EXCITING TRANSITION OF CEDAR HILL TO THE NATURAL HEART OF THE METROPLEX, TO HAVE THAT AS OUR CITY TAGLINE.
AND THAT, AGAIN, WAS DIRECTED BY COUNCIL.
SO OUR TEAM TOOK THAT DIRECTION AND SAW AN OPPOR OPPORTUNITY, EXCUSE ME, TO REALLY MAKE A MARKETING MOMENT OUT OF THAT.
SO BASED ON THAT DIRECTION, WE STARTED WITH A FOUR WEEK TEASER SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN, WHICH ORGANICALLY REACHED OVER 70,000 VIEWERS AND GENERATED EXCITEMENT AND CURIOSITY AROUND WHAT THE SPECIAL UPDATE MIGHT BE.
AND AS YOU'LL SEE OF THAT SCREENSHOT OF THAT COMMENT, SOMEONE ACTUALLY GOT PRETTY DARN CLOSE TO GUESSING IT BY THE LAST 10.
SO WE THOUGHT THAT WAS, THAT WAS PRETTY COOL.
AND THEN MAYOR AT THE STATE OF THE CITY, YOU UNVEILED THE TAGLINE, WHICH GENERATED MEDIA COVERAGE AND INTEREST AMONG THOSE, INCLUDING NBC FIVE, WHICH IS ONE OF DFWS TOP BROADCAST STATIONS.
AND ACROSS ALL OF THE MEDIA PLATFORMS THAT HIGHLIGHTED OUR NEW BRANDING UPDATE, WE ESTIMATED THAT THE VIEWERSHIP IS 8 MILLION FOR ALL THOSE THAT SHARED THIS INCREDIBLE STORY.
AFTER THAT, THE COMMUNICATIONS TEAM DID A REPORT ON APPROXIMATELY HOW MUCH MONEY WE HAD SAVED THE CITY BY DOING THE VAST MAJORITY OF THIS IN-HOUSE, IN-HOUSE, FROM LOGO DESIGN, UPDATE TO ANNOUNCEMENT VIDEO, SOCIAL MEDIA, CAMPAIGN, MEDIA OUTREACH, ET CETERA.
AND WE ESTIMATE THAT WE SAVED OVER $50,000 BY NOT HAVING TO USE AN OUTSIDE AGENCY BECAUSE OF OUR INTERNAL COMMUNICATION STRUCTURE AND COLLABORATION THAT WE'RE ABLE TO HAVE.
AND WE WERE ESPECIALLY EXCITED THAT THIS YEAR, THIS NEW LOGO IN BRANDING EARNED THE AWARD OF HONOR AT THE 2026 TAMO CONFERENCE FOR GOVERNMENT ENTITIES ACROSS THE STATE.
[00:15:01]
LOVE TO BRING UP ZARIA DAVIS, WHO'S GONNA SHARE SOME DEPARTMENTAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM THOSE THAT SHE SERVES.HI, UM, MY NAME IS ZARIA DAVIS, SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST.
UM, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING ABLE TO DO A LITTLE HUMBLE BRAG ON OUR DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND THE FIRST DEPARTMENT THAT I'LL TALK ABOUT IS GONNA BE OUR ADMINISTRATION.
SO WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO NOT ONLY STRENGTHEN THE WAY THAT WE CONNECT WITH OUR COMMUNITY, BUT THIS IS ALSO THE BEST PLATFORM THAT WE CONNECT WITH OUR EMPLOYEES.
WE CONNECT WITH, UM, OUR BUSINESSES WITHIN THE CITY AS WELL.
SO STARTING OUT, UM, ONE OF OUR MOST IMPORTANT TOOLS IS GONNA BE OUR WEBSITE, CEDAR HILL TX.COM.
COMPARED WITH THE PREVIOUS YEAR, WE HAVE HAD OUR USERS INCREASE BY ALMOST 67%.
UM, AND THEN OUR UNIQUE USERS INCREASE BY 50%.
SO IF YOU'RE WONDERING WHAT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THOSE TWO, UH, USERS ARE JUST, UH, REGULAR ATTENDEES THAT HAVE TOUCHED BASE WITH OUR SITE ON PREVIOUS, UM, INTERACTIONS.
AND THEN UNIQUE USERS ARE THOSE WHO ARE TOUCHING AND LANDING ON OUR SITE FOR THE FIRST TIME.
OUR AVERAGE, UM, SESSION TIME HAS ALSO INCREASED UP TO 10 MINUTES, 33 SECONDS.
THIS MEANS THAT PEOPLE ARE NOT JUST DROPPING IN, UM, FOR A SECOND OR TWO AND THEN HEADING OUT.
UM, THAT INCREASE IN USAGE IS TELLING US THAT THEY ARE FINDING WHAT THEY NEED ON OUR WEBSITE, AND THEY ARE STAYING THERE AND THEY'RE USING IT TO THE MAX CAPABILITY WHEN IT COMES TO OUR SOCIAL MEDIA.
SO ACROSS FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM, OUR CITY CONTENT GENERATED MORE THAN 4.3 MILLION VIEWS OVER THE PAST YEAR.
UM, BUT THE NUMBER THAT I'M MOST EXCITED ABOUT SHARING IS OUR ENGAGEMENT, UM, WHICH INCREASED BY 112% YEAR OVER YEAR.
THAT BREAKDOWN IS GONNA BE 48,000, OVER 48,000 REACTIONS.
SO THESE ARE LIKES ANY TYPE OF, UM, EMOTION THAT THEY CLICK ON, COMMENTS ARE OVER 5,000.
AND THEN OUR SHARES ARE OVER 5,000 AS WELL, YEAR OVER YEAR.
UM, ENGAGEMENT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT TELLS US THAT PEOPLE AREN'T SIMPLY SCROLLING PAST OUR CONTENT.
THEY'RE STOPPING, THEY'RE REACTING, THEY'RE COMMENTING, THEY'RE SHARING IT WITH THE COMMUNITY, AND THEY'RE HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH US AS WELL.
ALL OF THAT IS ALSO LEADING TO HOW WE'VE GROWN, UM, BY MORE THAN 17,000 FOLLOWERS IN THIS PAST YEAR.
UM, THAT'S UP 27% FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
SO NOT ONLY ARE WE REACHING PEOPLE, WE'RE BUILDING ON OUR AUDIENCE, UM, AND THOSE WHO ARE CHOOSING TO STAY CONNECTED WITH THE CITY, I WANTED TO CALL OUT SOME OF OUR STANDOUT POSTS.
UM, THE FIRST ONE BEING A PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO WITH BUILDING, UM, KINGDOM COMMUNITY CHURCH WITH PASTOR VIC AND HIS TEAM.
THEY PARTNERED WITH C-H-I-S-C, UM, THEIR SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS, UM, IN ORDER TO CREATE A GARDEN RIGHT HERE IN THE CITY OF CEDAR HILL.
UM, AND JUST FURTHER ENHANCING THE WAY THAT WE ARE CALLING OURSELVES THE NATURAL HEART OF THE METROPLEX.
THAT POST ALONE GENERATED OVER A HUNDRED LIKES AND COMMENTS.
THE SECOND POST WAS PRETTY RECENT.
UM, ABOUT 30 DAYS AGO, WE HAD THE CHANCE TO GO OUT AND MEET MISS VIVIAN RIDDLE IN THE MIDDLE.
SHE TURNED A HUNDRED IN THE MONTH OF JULY, UH, AT THE CEDAR HILL RECREATION CENTER.
WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTNER WITH THEM FOR OUR BIRTHDAY PARTY, UH, THAT THEY PUT ON.
AND THEN WHEN WE SHARED THIS WITH THE COMMUNITY THAT ALSO ENGAGED, UM, OVER A HUNDRED LIGHTS AND CHAIRS.
AND THEN LASTLY, IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THIS POST, I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND GOING TO CHECK IT OUT.
UM, BUT THE MONKEY PUNCH WAS TRENDING FOR A WHILE.
UH, SO NOT ONLY IS OUR CONTENT ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY, ENGAGING WITH OUR EMPLOYEES, UM, BUT WHEN WE HOP ON, UH, THE TRENDS THAT ARE HAPPENING THROUGHOUT OTHER STATES, THROUGHOUT THE NATIONS EVEN, IT ALLOWS FOR OUR CONTENT TO REACH
[00:20:01]
EVEN FURTHER THAN JUST OUR HOME HERE IN CEDAR HILL.AND SO THAT POST ALONE, I THINK THE VIEWS WERE IN THE THOUSANDS.
UM, BUT AGAIN, GO CHECK IT OUT AND THEN I'LL LEAVE A FEW SECONDS SO YOU CAN CHECK OUT SOME OF THE COMMENTS AS WELL.
THE, THE RAISE PART THAT JUST HAPPENED TO BE INCLUDED,
UM, SO OUR CAMPAIGNS, THESE MAY BE FAMILIAR TO SOME OF YOU, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE UP ON THE PODIUM RIGHT NOW.
UM, WE HAD OUR BLACK HISTORY MONTH CAMPAIGN THIS YEAR.
WE ALSO HAD OUR, SHE BECAME WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH AS WELL.
UM, THESE CAMPAIGNS REALLY PLAY ON TO THE FACT THAT, UM, YOU GUYS PUTTING INTO PLACE THAT INITIATIVE FOR A UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT.
UM, IN PREVIOUS TIMES WE HAD DIFFERENT PLATFORMS THAT WERE DOING THEIR OWN INITIATIVES WITH BLACK HISTORY MONTH.
WITH WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH, THIS YEAR WAS THE FIRST YEAR THAT WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO UNIFY THOSE CAMPAIGNS ACROSS MY DE ACROSS OUR DEPARTMENTS WITH MY COLLEAGUES, UM, IN PARKS AND REC WITHIN VISIT WITHIN, UM, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AS WELL AS THE LIBRARY TOO.
BETWEEN BOTH OF THESE CAMPAIGNS, THEY GARNERED OVER A THOUSAND, UM, REACTIONS FOR, UH, THE CULMINATION OF EACH OF THE POSTS THAT WENT OUT FOR THE WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH AND BLACK HISTORY MONTH.
UM, NEXT, OUR NEXT INITIATIVE, UM, WHICH WAS LED BY OUR LOVELY CITY MANAGER, MELISSA VALEZ, AS WELL AS HER ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER, COLBY COLLINS, WAS BROUGHT TO US IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
UM, IT STARTED ACTUALLY IN THE MONTH OF APRIL WHEN IT KICKED OFF.
IT WAS A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT FOR US TO BE ABLE TO, UM, PROVIDE A SPACE FOR ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE CITY TO SHARE ANY INFO THAT THEY HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SPOTLIGHT EMPLOYEES.
UM, WE HAVE DELIVERED TO OVER 400 EMPLOYEES ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
AND AS OF DATE, WE HAVE 16 EDITIONS OF THE NEWSLETTER THAT WENT OUT.
UM, THAT BRANDING, THE LOGO AND THE NAMING WAS ALL A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ADMINISTRATION TEAM UNDERNEATH MELISSA.
AND NOW SHIFT OVER TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
AND WE'LL START WITH GROSS CEDAR HILL.COM.
SO THIS DATA MAY LOOK A BIT DIFFERENT FROM THE DATA THAT YOU'LL SEE LATER ON BECAUSE IT IS NOT YEAR OVER YEAR.
UM, WITH OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PAGE, IT WAS ACTUALLY LAUNCHED CLOSER TOWARDS DECEMBER OF LAST YEAR.
BUT SINCE THAT TIME WE'VE HAD OVER 9,000 VISITS AND OVER 15,000 VIEWS ON OUR PAGE.
UM, OUR WEBSITE TRAFFIC HAS GROWN.
WE'VE TAKEN EVERY OPPORTUNITY AND OUR POSTINGS TO BE ABLE TO DIRECT OUR AUDIENCE, OUR FOLLOWERS ON FACEBOOK, ON LINKEDIN TOWARDS GOING TO VISIT THIS WEBSITE.
SO I THINK THAT HAS CONTRIBUTED QUITE A BIT TO THE LINK CLICKS THAT YOU SEE, UM, WHICH HIT OVER 182% ON OUR SOCIAL PLATFORMS. FACEBOOK FOR FACEBOOK, UM, FACEBOOK HAS BEEN ONE OF OUR STRONGEST AREAS OF GROWTH FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
GROW, CEDAR HILL HAS GENERATED MORE THAN HALF A MILLION VIEWS.
UM, ENGAGEMENT HAS INCREASED BY 76%, AND THEN OUR FOLLOWING GREW BY 194% ON THAT PLATFORM.
PART OF THAT GROWTH, I THINK, UM, COINCIDED WITH US TRANSITIONING FROM OUR PAGE BEING CALLED CEDAR HILL, EDC, TO THEM BEING CALLED GROW CEDAR HILL.
AGAIN, PLAYING ON, UH, THE INITIATIVE FOR OUR BRANDING, THE NATURAL HEART OF THE METROPLEX, AND THE GROWTH THAT WE EXPECT TO SEE HERE IN OUR CITY.
OUR NEXT PLATFORM IS GONNA BE LINKEDIN.
SO LINKEDIN GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO REACH A DIFFERENT AUDIENCE, UM, ESPECIALLY OUR BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS, OUR DEVELOPERS, OUR OUR SITE COORDINATORS AND SELECTORS, AND THEN JUST REGIONAL PARTNERS THAT WE HAVE WITHIN THE METROPLEX.
OVER THE PAST YEAR, WE'VE ADDED 600 FOLLOWERS,
[00:25:01]
BRINGING OUR TOTAL FOLLOWING COUNT TO OVER 2000, AS WELL AS 2,800 PAGE VIEWS ALONE.CEDAR HILL INSIDER IS A WEEK, A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER.
UM, THIS INITIATIVE WAS BROUGHT FORTH BY OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, UH, HENRY HAM.
UM, WE WORK ALONGSIDE HIM FOR THE PRODUCTION, THE, UH, SENDING OUT AS WELL AS THE BRANDING.
AS OF NOW, WE HAVE 814 SUBSCRIBERS AND OUR OPEN RATE IS AT 39.3%, WHICH IS 9% HIGHER THAN THE AVERAGE.
UM, AS OF NOW WE HAVE 38 NEWSLETTERS, AND IF YOU ARE NOT SIGNED UP, YOU CAN VISIT GROW CEDAR HILL.COM.
WE ALSO HAVE OUR FAMILIARIZATION TOURS.
UM, WITHIN THE PAST YEAR, WE TRANSITIONED TO HOLDING THOSE IN-HOUSE.
WE'VE COVERED FOUR IN-HOUSE TOURS BETWEEN THE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
AND WE'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE 93 RSVPS, UM, SINCE THE, SINCE THE START OF THAT, UH, THESE ARE STAKEHOLDERS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
THESE ARE BUSINESS OWNERS, THESE ARE DEVELOPERS.
UM, AND SO IT'S JUST ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO REALLY HIT THAT TARGET POINT FOR OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
WHEN IT COMES TO OUR ADS, THESE ARE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH K STRATEGIES.
UM, AS OF NOW WE HAVE THREE ADS THAT HAVE GONE OUT DIGITALLY.
UM, THEY HAVE HIT VIEWS IN THE MILLION.
UM, OUR CLICKS ARE ABOVE 4,000 AND OUR REACH IS OVER 300,000, WHICH IS THREE TO FIVE TIMES BEYOND THE INDUSTRY AVERAGE WHEN IT COMES TO PUBLICATIONS.
UM, WE'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTNER WITH DALLAS NEXT AND DALLAS REGIONAL CHAMBERS, UM, TO GET A WIDER AUDIENCE BEYOND CEDAR HILL.
UM, THIS INCLUDES THEIR REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE AS WELL AS THEIR NEWCOMER AND RELOCATION GUIDE.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL PASS IT ON TO MY COLLEAGUE, CASEY.
UM, MY NAME IS CASEY AND LIES SOPHIA SAID, I'M THE COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST FOR OUR PARKS AND RECREATION, AS WELL AS OUR TOURISM DEPARTMENT.
AND CENTRALIZED COMMUNICATIONS IN THE PAST YEAR HAS ALLOWED US TO BE MORE CREATIVE, CONSISTENT AND RECOGNIZABLE AMONG OUR COMMUNITY IN THE WAY THAT WE ADVERTISE EVENTS, PROGRAMS, AND PROVIDE NOTICES FOR OUR FACILITIES AND PARKS AS WELL.
UM, AND OUR GOAL THE PAST YEAR HAS BEEN FOCUSING ON INCREASING AWARENESS, PARTICIPATION AS WELL AS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OVERALL.
NOT JUST IN THE DIGITAL SENSE, BUT IN REAL LIFE AT OUR EVENTS AND OUR PROGRAMS. UM, AND YOU'LL, I, I'LL BE ABLE, I'M HAPPY TO SHARE THAT OUR RESULTS DEFINITELY DO SHOW THE STRONG GROWTH ACROSS NOT ONLY SOCIAL MEDIA AND OUR NEWSLETTERS, BUT AS I SAID, OUR PROGRAMS AND EVENTS AS WELL.
SO ON THE DIGITAL SIDE OF THINGS, UM, OUR SOCIAL MEDIA HAS INCREASED EXPONENTIALLY OVER THE PAST YEAR WITH 103% INCREASE, UM, IN OUR TOTAL INTERACTIONS.
AND OUR AUDIENCE HAS INCREASED ABOUT 22%.
AND OUR SOCIAL MEDIA IS ONE OF OUR MAIN PLATFORMS THAT WE USE TO EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY ON OUR EVENTS AND NOTICES AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT ARE IMPORTANT FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO KNOW.
AND WE'VE REACHED OVER 1.8 MILLION VIEWS, WHICH I WAS VERY HAPPY TO SEE THAT NUMBER.
A COUPLE STANDOUT POSTS THAT I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT, UM, MANY OF YOU MAY KNOW, BUT ONE OF OUR MOST LOOK FORWARD TO PROGRAMS IN OUR CITY IS A ZUMBA IN THE PARK PROMOTION.
AND ONE OF OUR POSTS ORGANICALLY EARNED US OVER 200,000 VIEWS.
AND THAT REALLY SHOWED IN REAL LIFE, THAT SHOWED THAT THAT EVENT WAS SUCCESSFUL AND RESIDENTS ASKED FOR IT AGAIN AND AGAIN AND WE'RE GONNA BE PROMOTING IT SOON.
SO I'M VERY EAGER TO GET THAT STARTED.
AND THEN ALSO I WANTED TO INCLUDE A POST THAT INVOLVED OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM.
UM, WE HAVE AN ANNUAL LAGOON SLIDE INSPECTION THAT WE, YOU KNOW, TRY AND DO IN A FUN WAY TO GET PEOPLE EXCITED FOR THE LAGOON COMING OUT.
AND THAT GENERATED AN ORGANIC OVER 43,000 VIEWS AS WELL.
AND I'M SURE YOU GUYS REMEMBER OUR GOATS
UM, SO WE HAD THIS REALLY BIG SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN, UM, FOR OUR GOATS BECAUSE OUR RESIDENTS WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THEM.
SO WE CREATED THIS, UM, THIS REEL THAT ORGANICALLY REACHED OVER 122,000 VIEWS COMPLETELY ORGANICALLY.
THAT MEANS NO PAID ADVERTISEMENTS OR WE DIDN'T SHARE IT IN ANY ADDITIONAL SPACES.
UM, AND THIS GARNERED MEDIA COVERAGE FROM DALLAS INNOVATES, WFAA AND RAMBLER TEXAS MEDIA WITH A COMBINED READERSHIP OF APPROXIMATELY 2 MILLION.
[00:30:01]
UM, SO THAT SHOWS US THAT OUR THINGS THAT WE'RE PUTTING OUT THERE ARE GOING WELL BEYOND WHERE WE'RE REPLACING THEM AND PEOPLE ARE LIKING AND SHARING AND INTERACTING WITH OUR POSTS.I ALSO WANTED TO SHARE THAT WE REALLY MAKE AN EFFORT TO HIGHLIGHT THE PEOPLE BEHIND PARKS AND RECREATION.
UM, YOU GUYS MIGHT REMEMBER, BUT YOU GUYS DID A PROCLAMATION A COUPLE MONTHS AGO FOR PARK PARKS AND RECREATION MONTH.
AND ONE OF OUR INITIATIVES THERE WAS TO HIGHLIGHT SOME, SOME OF OUR STANDOUT EMPLOYEES AND PEOPLE WHO MAYBE PEOPLE INTERACT WITH ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS, BUT MAYBE NOT KNOW WHAT THEY DO OR HOW LONG THEY'VE BEEN WITH THE CITY.
SO IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO US THAT WE KIND OF SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THEM.
AND ONE OF OUR CAMPAIGNS THAT WE BROUGHT BACK FROM PREVIOUS YEARS WAS THE LAGOON LIFEGUARD OF THE WEEK, UM, JUST HIGHLIGHTING MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY WHO HELP US ACROSS THE SUMMER PERIOD IN TERMS OF OUR NEWSLETTERS, WHICH IS ONE OF OUR WAYS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO ADDITIONALLY CONNECT WITH OUR AUDIENCE THROUGH A DIRECT MEAN MEANING IN PEOPLE'S INBOXES.
UM, WE LAUNCHED, WE LAUNCHED A MONTHLY PARKS AND RECREATION NEWSLETTER, AND WE ALSO REDESIGNED AND REESTABLISHED THE SENIOR NEWSLETTER.
AND THAT HAS GARNERED US A VERY USEFUL RESOURCE FOR US TO SEND OUT, UM, A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER, WHICH HAS ALL THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT PEOPLE MAY NEED, AS WELL AS LIKE EMERGENCY NOTICES IF A PARK IS CLOSED FOR A REASON OR IF YOU KNOW THERE'S SOME INFORMATION THAT MAYBE, HEY, SOMETHING'S GOING ON AT THE LAGOON, WE NEED TO KIND OF, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SAY, HEY, JUST PROVIDE NOTICES IN A MORE DIRECT WAY BESIDES SOCIAL MEDIA.
AND IN TERMS OF OUR EVENTS, THIS IS THE PART THAT I'M WAS REALLY EXCITED TO SEE BECAUSE I'M ABLE TO FORTUNATELY BE ABLE TO GO OUT TO A LOT OF OUR EVENTS AND SEE THE SUCCESS THAT WE'VE HAD ON SOCIAL MEDIA EQUATE INTO REAL LIFE.
AND OUR COMMUNICATIONS EFFORTS HAVE HELPED DRIVE PARTICIPATION ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT.
UM, BUT IN PARTICULARLY IN THE ALLEN E SIMS RECREATION CENTER, UM, OUR PROGRAM PARTICIPATION INCREASED ABOUT 91% REACHING APPROXIMATELY 750 PARTICIPANTS, WHICH LOVE TO SEE.
AND ONE OF OUR ICONIC AND SOUGHT AFTER EVENTS WAS OUR KID FISH TOURNAMENT THAT WE PROVIDE EVERY YEAR.
AND THAT SAW AN INCREASE WITH ABOUT 12.5, 12.6%, EXCUSE ME, WITH EVEN RAINY WEATHER.
AND THIS SHOWS US THAT STRATEGIC AND CONSISTENT COMMUNICATION IS A DRIVING, IS A DRIVING MEASURABLE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR US.
NOW, ON THE TOURISM SIDE OF THINGS, THIS IS THE PART THAT I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT BECAUSE IT SHOWS I'M ABLE TO SHOW PEOPLE WHAT MAKES CEDAR HILL SO GREAT.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, PEOPLE DON'T KNOW, SO I GOTTA TELL 'EM
UM, SO IN TERMS OF THE LAST YEAR, OUR EFFORTS IN REGARDS TO VISIT CEDAR HILL WERE FOCUSED ON REBUILDING AND REESTABLISHING THE VISIT CEDAR HILL BRAND AND EXPANDING TOURISM MARKETING EFFORTS.
AND OUR GOAL WAS TO POSITION CEDAR HILL AS A DESTINATION IN DFW FOR PEOPLE TO TAKE A WEEKEND TRIP OR A DAY TRIP AND COME SEE WHAT MAKES CEDAR HILL SO UNIQUE.
AND WE ALSO CONSISTENTLY PROMOTE CEDAR HILL'S UNIQUE ATTRACTIONS, EVENTS, DINING, OUTDOOR RECREATION, AND MORE FOR DFW FOR SOCIAL MEDIA.
WE REINITIATED CEDAR HILL SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS IN AUGUST OF 2025.
SO THESE NUMBERS WILL REFLECT FROM THAT DATE UNTIL THIS PAST SUMMER.
AND WE, AFTER HAVING BEEN DORMANT FOR A FEW YEARS ALONGSIDE CURRENT DESTINATION MANAGER MICHELLE EBANKS, WE HAVE FOLLOWED IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF FORMER TOURISM TEAM MEMBER PATTY BUSTARD TO CONTINUE PROMOTING THE TOURISM ASPECT OF CEDAR HILL.
SO WITH THAT, OUR SOCIAL MEDIA HAS BEEN ONE OF OUR MOST SUCCESSFUL AVENUES THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO COMMUNICATE THIS.
UM, WE'VE GROWN TO OVER 4,300 FOLLOWERS, INCLU, INCLUDING 4,000 BRAND NEW FOLLOWERS, UM, AND GENERATED OVER 30,000 ENGAGEMENTS.
THAT'S ACROSS BOTH OF OUR PLATFORMS, BOTH FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM.
AND WE'VE PRODUCED OVER 1 MILLION TOTAL VIEWS ACROSS BOTH OF OUR PLATFORMS ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM.
THIS TO US EXPANDED AWARENESS AMONG NOT ONLY OUR RESIDENTS, BUT TO VISITORS AND POTENTIAL INVESTORS AND BUSINESS OWNERS THROUGHOUT THE METROPLEX ABOUT CEDAR HILL.
AS FOR OUR WEBSITE, WHICH IS VISIT CEDAR HILL TX.COM, WE GENERATED NEARLY 25,000 WEBSITE VIEWS WHERE VISITORS SPENT AN AVERAGE OF JUST OVER TWO MINUTES ON THE SITE.
AND THEIR TOP PAGES I THOUGHT WAS REALLY INTERESTING TO SHARE THAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR THINGS TO DO TO KEEP THEM HERE.
SO FOOD AND DRINK EVENTS, PEOPLE WERE VERY INTERESTED IN LEARNING ABOUT THE LAGOON, UM, THIS PAST SUMMER.
AND AS ALSO OUR VISITORS GUIDE A COUPLE OF OUR STANDOUT POSTS, UM, WE ROUTINELY SHARE UPCOMING EVENTS, KIND OF ONE OFF, BUT THEN WE ALSO REALLY LIKE TO PROVIDE SOMEBODY, LIKE SOMEBODY WHO'S SCROLLING ON SOCIAL MEDIA, HEY, WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS ENTIRE MONTH, JUST SO IT'S EASIER FOR THEM TO HAVE IT IN A MORE COMPACT WAY.
AND THOSE HAVE BEEN PROVEN TO BE REALLY SUCCESSFUL.
THIS ONE POST ALONE ACROSS OUR PLATFORMS HAS GENERATED AN ORGANIC 33,000 VIEWS.
AND SOMETHING THAT OUR RESIDENTS REALLY LOVE TO SEE IS WHAT MAKES THEIR COMMUNITY UNIQUE, EVEN IF
[00:35:01]
THEY'VE LIVED HERE FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, IS TO SHOW THEM KIND OF WHAT THE LITTLE THINGS OF CEDAR HILL THAT THEY MAY NOT KNOW.SO WE HAD A THROWBACK THURSDAY AND HISTORIC DOWNTOWN POST THAT DID REALLY WELL AMONG OUR RESIDENTS, GARNERING OVER 8,000 VIEWS NOW FOR DESTINATION MARKETING.
IN TERMS OF ADVERTISING PLACEMENTS, UM, WE FOCUS HEAVILY ON INCREASING IN CEDAR HILL'S VISIBILITY THROUGHOUT DFW.
SO THIS INCLUDES A DIGITAL AD CAMPAIGN AS WELL AS A BILLBOARD AD CAMPAIGN.
OUR DIGITAL AD CAMPAIGNS GENERATED A MILLION OVER A MILLION AND IMPRESSIONS WITH A CLICK-THROUGH RATE OF THREE TO 5% ABOVE THE INDUSTRY AVERAGE.
UM, AND THESE WERE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH K STRATEGIES.
OUR BILLBOARD CAMPAIGNS GENERATED 13.5 MILLION IMPRESSIONS AS WELL ACROSS MULTIPLE INSTALLATIONS ACROSS THE METROPLEX.
AND THIS ALLOWED US TO SIGNIFICANTLY EXPAND AWARENESS OF CEDAR HILLS BRAND AND WHAT WE HAVE TO OFFER AND OUR TOURISM ASSETS TO A NEW AUDIENCE.
AND THIS ALLOWED US TO CREATE.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'VE ALSO BEEN ABLE TO PARTNER WITH A LOT OF MEDIA AND ALSO HAD ORGANIC MEDIA PLACEMENTS.
UM, WE'VE HAD ALL OF THESE NEWS AGENCIES COVER SOMETHING ABOUT CEDAR HILL, BUT A FEW STANDOUT ONES ARE DALLAS MORNING NEWS CULTURE MAP, CW 33 A OL, AND MICROSOFT NEWS NETWORK ACROSS DFW.
THIS EARNED MEDIA PROVIDE VALUABLE EXPOSURE WITHOUT ANY ADDITIONAL ADVERTISING COSTS TO US, UM, AND INTRODUCE CEDAR HILL TO AUDIENCES ACROSS NORTH TEXAS WHO MAY NOT HAVE OTHERWISE VISITED OR EVEN KNOWN ABOUT CEDAR HILL.
AND TODAY, CEDAR HILL IS REACHING MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE DFW METROPLEX ENTIRELY TO THIS DAY.
AND THROUGHOUT SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING, MEDIA PLACEMENTS AND DIGITAL CONTENT, WE ARE BUILDING CEDAR HILL'S REPUTATION AND CONTINUING CEDAR HILL'S REPUTATION AS THE NATURAL HEART OF THE METROPLEX.
AND WITH THAT, I'M GONNA PASS IT OVER TO ALEXIS.
UM, AS MENTIONED, I'M ALEXIS SMALL AND I HAVE THE HONOR OF SERVING AS THE COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST FOR THE TRAFFICKING HICKMAN LIBRARY ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES.
AND WHAT'S THE LAST ONE? NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES.
UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, HAVING FUN ISN'T HARD WHEN YOU HAVE A LIBRARY CARD.
SO WE'RE GONNA JUMP IN AND TALK ABOUT THE TRAFFICKING HICKMAN LIBRARY.
SO SINCE LAUNCHING OUR WEBSITE, WE HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE WITH USERS, UNIQUE USERS, AND THE SESSION TIME.
UM, WE HAVE 75,000 USERS AND WE'RE UP 25% AND WE HAVE 73,000 UNIQUE USERS AND WE ARE UP 21.7% SINCE LAST YEAR.
UM, AND I ALSO WANT TO MENTION THAT WITH THE NEW DESIGN WEBSITE, WE MADE IT, WE MADE SURE THAT IT WAS INCLUSIVE AND WE ALSO MADE SURE THAT IT WAS USER FRIENDLY.
OUR SOCIAL MEDIA, UM, HAS INCREASED SO MUCH.
WE HAVE, UM, 800,000 PAGE VIEWS AND ON, SORRY, EXCUSE ME.
WE HAVE EIGHT OVER 8,000 PAGE VIEWS AND OUR ENGAGEMENT IS UP ALMOST 30%.
SO ENGAGEMENT, LIKE ZARIA EXPLAINED IS, IS DIFFERENT COMMENTS, SHARES, AND REACTIONS.
OUR REACTIONS IS ALMOST AT 10,000.
PEOPLE ARE LIKING, THEY'RE SHARING AND THEY ARE ENJOYING THE TYPE OF CONTENT THAT WE'RE PUTTING OUT.
AND THAT'S ONE THING THAT WE WANT TO DO AT THE, AT THE LIBRARY.
MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE CONNECTING WITH US ONLINE AND IN THE ACTUAL BUILDING.
OUR FOLLOWERS HAVE INCREASED 13% AND WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
ALSO, WE STARTED A WEEKLY LINEUP SO PEOPLE CAN LOOK EVERY SUNDAY AND KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE LIBRARY SO THEY CAN, UM, PLAN THEIR LIBRARY TRIP AROUND THE DIFFERENT FREE PROGRAMS THAT WE PROVIDE.
I ALSO WANTED TO MENTION THAT WE ARE MAKING SURE THAT WE ATTEND DIFFERENT PROGRAMS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE PHOTOGRAPHY IN HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHY.
SO THERE'S DIFFERENT EVENTS THAT GO ON AND WE ARE TAKING PICTURES IN HOUSE AS WELL.
UM, I HAD THE PLEASURE OF WRITING A PRESS RELEASE FOR THE SOFT LAUNCH OF OUR DIGITAL MEDIA STUDIO WHERE, UM, SEAN, WHO IS THE JOURNALIST, CAME IN AND INTERVIEWED MAYOR MASON AND MIRANDA
[00:40:01]
AND THEY TALKED ABOUT THE FREE DIGITAL STUDIO AND HOW EXCITED THEY WERE NEWSLETTER.SO I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO REDESIGN OUR NEWSLETTER AND MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR AMAZING EVENTS AT THE LIBRARY ARE PROMOTED WITHIN OUR NEWSLETTER.
WE MADE SURE TO USE OUR BRANDING COLORS AND, UM, THE MONTHLY NEWS NEWSLETTER HAS A OPEN RATE OF 38% AND IS 8%, 8% AVERAGE ABOVE AVERAGE ACCORDING TO CONSTANT CONTACT.
AND THEN I CAME UP WITH THE IDEA THAT OUR WEB, OUR WEBSITE SHOULD HAVE A POPUP, UM, SECTION WHERE WE CAN GET MORE SUBSCRIBERS.
SO SINCE WE HAVE ADDED THAT WITHIN THE PAST 30 DAYS, WE HAVE GOTTEN, UH, 94 NEW SUBSCRIBERS WITHIN THE PAST MONTH.
AND THEN FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH, WE HAD, WELL, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTNER WITH ADULT SERVICES AND WE PUT ON THE STEP AND STROKE EVENT AND OUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, CHASTITY BENTON, BROUGHT IN OVER
AND I ALSO WANTED TO, UM, PARTNER WITH INFLUENCERS AND GET SOME INFLUENCER MARKETING.
SO I REACHED OUT TO, UM, MS. KAI MICHELLE, WHO HAS OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND FOLLOWERS.
AND SHE, HER RESPONSE WAS, I LOVE CEDAR HILL.
AND I WAS LIKE, YOU'RE THE PERFECT PERSON, WE NEED TO BRING HER IN.
SO, UM, THIS EVENT BROUGHT IN OVER 200 ATTENDEES, CALENDAR INNOVATION.
UM, SO WE HAVE A PRINTED CALENDAR AT THE LIBRARY AND WE WANTED TO MAKE IT MORE INNOVATIVE.
SO WE COLOR COORDINATED IT BY AGE GROUPS, SO DIFFERENT PEOPLE WOULD KNOW, HEY, THIS IS FOR YOUR AGE GROUP, THIS IS FOR YOUR AGE GROUP 'CAUSE WE ARE INCLUSIVE.
UM, WE ALSO, UM, MADE SURE THAT IT WAS IN SPANISH AS WELL.
AND THE PRINTED CALENDAR MIRRORS THE ONLINE CALENDAR.
AND A COOL THING THAT WE DID WITH THE ONLINE CALENDAR IS BECAUSE OUR PROGRAMS ARE SO POPULAR, UM, WE HAVE DIFFERENT REGISTRATION LINKS AND WE'VE AUTOMATED THEM, UM, TO GO LIVE AT A CERTAIN TIME ON A CERTAIN DAY WHENEVER THE PROGRAMMERS WANT THEIR, UM, EVENTS TO GO LIVE.
UM, THIS IS JUST, YOU KNOW, A COLLAGE OF THE DIFFERENT IN-HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHY THAT WE HAVE DONE AND TO SHOWCASE THE VIBE OF THE LIBRARY IN HOW WE LOVE OUR COMMUNITY.
OKAY, MOVING ON TO NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES.
SO WITH NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY OF WORKING ON SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, THE BLOCK PARTY FLYER NEIGHBORHOODS SEMINAR, ET CETERA.
UM, WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE GAVE IT A FRESH APPROACH WITH DIFFERENT MARKETING MATERIALS AND OUR NUMBERS HAVE INCREASED DRASTICALLY IN OUR, UM, DIFFERENT EVENTS AND SEMINARS.
WE ARE UP 20% IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AWARDS.
WE'VE HAD 60 PLUS REGISTRATIONS FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD SIM SEMINAR AND WE'VE INCREASED TO OVER 50 ATTENDEES FOR THE ANNUAL NEIGHBORHOOD SUMMIT ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES.
UM, THE NUMBERS HAVE DOUBLED FOR THE SUBMISSIONS OF OUR TRAFFIC BOXES.
YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN THEM DRIVING DOWN THE STREET.
UM, AND THEN OUR SHRED EVENTS, WE HAD TO BRING IN TWO TRUCKS INSTEAD OF ONE.
SO THE COMMUNITY REALLY APPRECIATES, UM, US SHREDDING THEIR IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS AND WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO REDESIGN THE GROWING GREEN LOGO.
THAT WAS REALLY EXCITING AND, UM, THE COMMUNITY REALLY LOVED THAT AS WELL.
AND NOW I WOULD LIKE TO BRING UP SOPHIA TO FINISH OUT OUR PRESENTATION.
OKAY, I'M GONNA KIND OF TRY AND FLY THROUGH THESE A LITTLE BIT 'CAUSE I KNOW WE HAVE ANOTHER PRESENTATION.
UM, SO JUST BECAUSE OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM HAS SPECIFIC PEOPLE ASSIGNED TO SPECIFIC DEPARTMENTS, THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE DON'T SUPPORT EVERY DEPARTMENT THROUGHOUT THE CITY, WHEREVER WE CAN.
SO A FEW HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DEPARTMENTS NOT EXPLICITLY MENTIONED TODAY POLICE, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HELP WITH EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY,
[00:45:01]
VISUAL CONTENT FOR THE ANNUAL REPORT FLYERS SUCH AS THE ONE YOU SEE ON THE SLIDE, THAT HELPED ACHIEVE OVER 250 APPLICATIONS DURING A RECRUITMENT SEASON FOR OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT.WE'VE SUPPORTED THEM THROUGH THE LAUNCH OF THE NEW COMMUNITY CONNECT PROGRAM WITH OTHER MARKETING MATERIALS.
AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE CURRENTLY HELPING THEM PRODUCE A COMMERCIAL TO PROMOTE THIS NEW INITIATIVE FOR OUR ANIMAL SHELTER.
WE'VE HOPPED ON A LOT OF TREND BASED REELS TO REACH NEW AUDIENCES IN A FUN, ENGAGING WAY AND PROMOTE ADOPTION INFORMATION FOR OUR MUNICIPAL COURT.
WE WERE ABLE TO COORDINATE WITH ALL OF THE DIFFERENT BEST SOUTHWEST CITIES ON A FUNNY AND HUMOROUS WARRANT ROUNDUP VIDEO, WHICH ULTIMATELY HELPED LEAD TO OVER 800 WARRANTS CLEARED AND OVER $186,000 COLLECTED.
AND FOR PLANNING, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HELP SUPPORT THE PROMOTION OF THEIR PUBLIC MEETINGS FROM HEART OF THE HILL TO THE WEST MIDTOWN MASTER PLAN, AND THE NEW UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE, WHICH ALL HAD ATTENDEES OF BETWEEN 60 TO 90, WHICH WERE RECORDS FOR PUBLIC MEETINGS.
AND THEN FINALLY, AS YOU'VE SEEN TONIGHT, A BIG PART OF OUR ROLE IS GETTING INFORMATION TO THE COMMUNITY, BUT WE ALSO WANNA PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE AND TAKE ACTION BASED ON THAT INFORMATION.
SO CITIZENS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY IS ONE EXAMPLE OF THIS.
WE HAD A RECORD NUMBER OF 30 PLUS APPLICANTS.
WE FOCUSED ON MAKING THE CLASS MORE INTERACTIVE AND ENGAGING.
UM, AND IN A ANONYMOUS POST-CLASS SURVEY, 100% OF ATTENDEES SAID THEY WERE INTERESTED IN CONTINUING INVOLVEMENT WITH THE CITY.
AND WE SAW THAT TURN INTO ACTION WITH FIVE NEW BOARDING COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS FOR THE 2026 SEASON FROM THE MOST RECENT CLA CLASS.
OUR C-H-I-S-D IS ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE PARTNERS FOR US HERE AT THE CITY.
AND SO THIS YEAR WE WERE EXCITED TO COLLABORATE BETWEEN OUR TWO COMMUNICATIONS TEAMS AND PARTNER ON MORE THINGS.
ONE EXAMPLE IS THE FIRST ANNUAL GIBSON SCHOLAR AWARD SUPPORTING LOCAL STUDENTS IN CEDAR HILL.
WE ALSO FEATURED C-H-I-S-D IN CLA FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS PAST YEAR.
AND OUR TEAM JOINED CD'S KEY COMMUNICATOR COMMITTEE TO AGAIN, JUST HAVE ANOTHER TOUCH POINT IN COLLABORATION.
OPPORTUNITY STATE OF THE CITY REMAINS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT WAYS WE CAN TELL OUR STORY.
AND THIS YEAR'S EVENT DROVE STRONG ENGAGEMENT WITH TICKETS FULLY BOOKED IN THREE DAYS.
AND IT ALSO EARNED SOME MEDIA COVERAGE FROM NBC FIVE FOR MAYOR'S ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE NEW TAGLINE IN BOARDS AND CO COMMISSION'S APPRECIATION.
WE ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING FRESH AND DIFFERENT WITH THAT.
THIS YEAR BASED ON MAYOR'S IDEA FOR A PARTY IN THE PARK STYLE EVENT, WE CELEBRATED THE NATURAL HEART OF THE METROPLEX OUTDOORS WITH A MORE RELAXED ATMOSPHERE, LIVE MUSIC, UM, THE YARD GAMES, AND JUST GAVE THE PEOPLE THAT GIVE THEIR TIME AND TALENTS TO CEDAR HILL A FRESH EXPERIENCE, WHICH WAS EXCITING.
AND FINALLY, THE ELEVATE EFFECT.
CEDAR HILL'S OFFICIAL PODCAST HOSTED BY MAYOR MASON, WHICH IS PRODUCED IN COLLABORATION WITH K STRATEGIES, ACHIEVED OVER 14,000 LISTENS FOR SEASON TWO, WHICH HAD, UM, THAT WENT ON THROUGH THE COURSE OF THIS PAST YEAR.
AND THOSE VIEWS ARE UP 7% FROM SEASON ONE.
AND WE WERE ALSO VERY INTENTIONAL WITH SELECTING GUESTS THAT TIED BACK TO SPECIFIC STRATEGIC, UM, ACTION ITEMS FROM COUNCIL'S PLAN.
GAMMEL WAS ONE OF OUR GUESTS FOR EPISODE ONE AND FOR THE FINALE WE HAD THE FOUNDER AND VP OF DEVELOPMENT FROM TOWN COMPANIES, THE DEVELOPMENT PARTNER HELPING US DO THE LUXURY MULTIFAMILY AND HILLSIDE VILLAGE.
SO WE HAD CONVERSATIONS THAT HIGHLIGHTED CEDAR HILL, BUT WERE ALSO INTERESTING FOR THE REGION TO INCREASE VIEWERSHIP.
AND THIS PODCAST ALSO WON AN AWARD OF HONOR FOR BEST PODCAST AT THE 2026 TAMO CONFERENCE THIS YEAR.
AND THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF OUR FIRST YEAR JOURNEY.
UM, IT'S SUCH AN HONOR FOR US TO HELP SHARE THE STORY OF THE NATURAL HEART OF THE METROPLEX.
WE APPRECIATE COUNCIL'S GUIDANCE AND DIRECTION TO BE ABLE TO BE A UNIFIED TEAM AND THE GUIDANCE OF OUR CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AND THE DEPARTMENTS WE SERVE.
UM, IT'S AWESOME THAT THIS HAS ALL JUST BEEN DONE IN ONE YEAR AND WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHERE WE TRAVEL TO FROM HERE.
SO WE'D NOW LOVE TO STAND FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE COUNCIL.
UM, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL? UH, COUNCILWOMAN
UM, I ESPECIALLY LOVE HEARING ABOUT THE, UM, UNIQUE VIEWERS.
UM, I KNOW THAT ONE THING THAT WE WANTED TO DO WAS TO, YOU KNOW, GET ENGAGEMENT.
IF THERE'S ONE THING THAT SHOWS THAT, UM, IS THAT THESE ARE NEW PEOPLE, UM, COMING AND BEING INTERESTED AND ENGAGED.
AND, UM, THE FACT THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED IN A YEAR IS VERY IMPRESSIVE.
UM, I ALSO WANNA GIVE KUDOS TO OUR CITY MANAGER, UM, EARLY JUST TO BE ABLE TO, UM, HAVE THE PRESENCE OF MIND TO KNOW THAT WE REALLY NEEDED THIS.
UM, COULD HAVE BEEN BECAUSE OF MY, YOU KNOW, SENTENCE OF OUR, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA SUCKS,
[00:50:01]
AND, UM, JUST VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THAT AND IT'S WORKING.
LASTLY, MAYOR, I WILL SAY THAT IT'S ALWAYS GRATIFYING, UM, WHEN THERE'S A COMMENT FROM, UM, OTHER CITIES, UM, IN PARTICULAR OTHER CITY COUNCILS ABOUT HOW WELL, UM, OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM IS.
AND SO THANK YOU ALL FOR THAT.
WE APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S LEADERSHIP, UH, PRO GLOVER.
UH, I BELIEVE COUNCILWOMAN NAZI STOLE THE MAJORITY OF MY THUNDER, BUT I WILL SAY CONGRATULATIONS.
A WELL DONE PRESENTATION AND I, I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE THE IMPACT OF A CONSOLIDATED MARKETING EFFORT UNDER ONE ROOF.
UH, IT'S THE NOVEL IDEA OF PUTTING ALL OF THE, UH, OUTWARD SOCIAL MEDIA UNDER ONE OFFICE AND CONTROL.
THERE'S A UNIFIED MESSAGE THAT GOES OUT UNDER EACH OF THE PLATFORMS, IN EACH OF THE DIVISIONS AND JUST A GREAT JOB.
UH, THERE WERE, YOU KEPT MENTIONING THROUGH EACH, PER EACH PERSON'S PRESENTATION, PRESENTATION, NBC FIVE AND OTHER NEWS MEDIA OUTLETS.
SO THAT SHOWS THE FRUIT OF YOUR LABOR THAT THE OUTSIDE MEDIA OUTLETS ARE RECOGNIZING WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
AND, YOU KNOW, I, I FEEL KIND OF, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE I'M AGAINST THE CLOCK TO GIVE A RESPONSE 'CAUSE I KNOW WE GOT ANOTHER PRESENTATION, BUT WHAT'S AMAZING IS WE'RE JUST HAVING FUN.
AND YOU'RE CAPTURING, YOU KNOW, THAT MOMENT, YOU'RE DOCUMENTING THAT THROUGH COMMUNICATIONS.
UM, I WOULD, I, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T CREATE A, A PODCAST TO, TO RECEIVE AN AWARD.
UM, BUT I'M SURROUNDED BY A GREAT TEAM AND, UM, ALL THE OTHER EVENTS THAT YOU'RE, UH, CAPTURING, YOU KNOW, THE EXACT SAME THING.
THE DEPARTMENTS ARE JUST DOING THEIR JOB.
HOPEFULLY THEY'RE HAVING FUN WHILE THEY'RE DOING IT AND YOU'RE JUST CAPTURING IT.
AND THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR LISTENERS, OUR FOLLOWERS, UH, ON DIFFERENT PLATFORMS. SO THANK YOU A GREAT JOB.
WELL, UH, I THINK THAT CONCLUDES ALL THE QUESTIONS FOR RIGHT NOW.
SO LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING WHAT YOU GOT GOING ON BEYOND THE HORIZON.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH, WE APPRECIATE IT.
MADAM CITY MANAGER, IF YOU DON'T MIND, WE GO TO THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA.
[4. Update on Downtown Development and Phillips Property activation.]
OKAY, NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS UPDATE ON DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AND PHILLIPS PROPERTY ACTIVATION.I SEE OUR ED DIRECTOR HENRY, COMING UP.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, THERE'S A COMMON THEME THAT YOU'VE HEARD FROM EVERYTHING TODAY.
UH, FIRST OUR CITY MANAGER WAS TALKING ABOUT THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN ADMINISTRATION AND THE DIRECTORS DURING THE RECRUITMENT OF OUR POLICE CHIEF.
AND I KNOW THE DIRECTORS ALL APPRECIATE BEING ABLE TO BE PART OF THAT PROCESS WHEN OUR PEERS ARE SELECTED.
AND THEN I'VE GOTTA TELL YOU FROM A DIRECTOR'S PERSPECTIVE, THE IMPROVEMENT THAT WE'VE MADE IN OUR MARKETING STRUCTURE.
THE STAFFING STRUCTURE, THE WAY IT USED TO WORK WAS EVERY ONE OF US AS DIRECTORS, WE WOULD HAVE TO GO OUT AND RECRUIT AND SCREEN AND HIRE AND TRAIN AND MANAGE OUR OWN MARKETING PROFESSIONALS.
AND IF THEY LEFT, WE HAD TO START ALL THAT OVER.
AND SO NOT ONLY ARE WE WE SAVING MONEY 'CAUSE WE DON'T HAVE AS MANY STAFF ACROSS THE CITY AND MARKETING, NOW WE'RE GETTING A BETTER PRODUCT THAT YOU CAN SEE FROM THAT PRESENTATION.
AND SO THEY'VE BEEN DOING A FANTASTIC JOB AND, AND IT HAS CHANGED THE WAY WE ALL TELL OUR STORY.
SO NOW WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT OUR STORY FOR DOWNTOWN.
AND, UM, YOU TALK ABOUT A COLLABORATION, I THINK JUST ABOUT EVERY CITY DEPARTMENT IS INVOLVED IN THIS EFFORT, NOT JUST ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UM, BUT TOURISM AND PLANNING AND COMMUNICATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS AND FIRE AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA LEASE SOMEBODY OUT.
EVERYBODY HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS, IN THIS JOURNEY WITH THE PHILLIPS PROPERTY AND THE REST OF OUR DOWNTOWN PROPERTIES THAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT NOW.
AND SO IT'S THE PROTOTYPICAL CEDAR HILL EFFORT.
AND, AND YOU KNOW THAT BY, BY LOOKING AT YOUR MISSION B***H AND, AND VALUES THIS PROJECT PARTICULARLY FOCUSES ON PRESERVING AND PROMOTING OUR DISTINCTIVE CARE CHARACTER, UH, DIVERSIFYING OUR ECONOMY.
AND THE COMMUNITY HAS BEEN VERY ENGAGED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS.
AND SO LET'S THINK TO YOUR STRATEGIC PLANNING WORK.
AND WHEN YOU RECENTLY ADDED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AS ONE OF YOUR BIG ROCKS IN THIS STRATEGY, THERE WERE SOME ITEMS SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON DOWNTOWN THERE.
AND SO THANKS TO YOUR VISION, WE NOW HAVE A STRATEGIC GOAL OF MAKING ADVANCES IN DEVELOPMENT IN UPTOWN, MIDTOWN AND DOWNTOWN.
WE'VE GOT SEVERAL ITEMS SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON DOWNTOWN, INCLUDING HAVE A VIBRANT DOWNTOWN THAT REFLECTS OUR CITY'S DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER AND THEN SEEK A DEVELOPMENT PARTNER TO CREATE MIXED USE PROJECTS AND NOT JUST ON THE PHILLIPS PROPERTIES, BUT THROUGHOUT OUR DOWNTOWN.
AND SO WHERE WE'VE GOTTEN TO TODAY IS, HAS REALLY HAPPENED PRETTY QUICKLY, EVEN THOUGH IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S TAKEN FOREVER.
HERE'S A, A QUICK TIMELINE FOR YOU.
SO IT WAS LESS THAN TWO YEARS AGO WHEN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION REACQUIRED
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THE PHILLIPS PROPERTY.WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE THAT.
WE SAID, OKAY, WE JUST GOTTA START FRESH.
SOON AFTER THAT, YOU ADOPTED YOUR NEW STRATEGY WITH AN EMPHASIS ON DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT.
THREE MONTHS AFTER THAT, WE HAD OUR FIRST MEETING WITH OUR PARTNER MIN COLLABORATIVE TO, UH, TO DEVELOP A NEW DOWNTOWN ACTION PLAN.
AND THEN, UH, IT TOOK US ABOUT 10 MONTHS OF, OF STAFF AND VOLUNTEER AND CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT TO CREATE AND ADOPT THE HEART OF THE HILL DOWNTOWN ACTION PLAN.
THE NEXT DAY AFTER YOU ADOPTED IT, WE STARTED SHARING THAT WITH DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS WITH OUR PROSPECTS.
THE NEXT DAY, UH, A COUPLE DAYS LATER, SOPHIA AND HER TEAM STARTED COMMUNICATING THE PLAN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
COUPLE DAYS AFTER THAT, WE BEGAN DEMOLITION OF THE STRUCTURES ON THE PHILLIPS PROPERTY.
FAST FORWARD A FEW MONTHS DOWN THE ROAD, WE ARE ABOUT TO CELEBRATE, UH, A NEW PHASE OF THAT PROPERTY.
WE'RE SO EXCITED TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU.
SO THAT EFFORT FOR ABOUT 10 MONTHS WORKING WITH MEN'S COLLABORATIVE CREATED THIS DOWNTOWN ACTION PLAN.
IF YOU REMEMBER OUR PREVIOUS PLAN, WE OWNED A LOT OF PROPERTIES DOWNTOWN, BUT THE, THE SOLE PLAN FOUR OR FIVE YEARS AGO WAS DEVELOPING THE PHILLIPS PROPERTY.
AND THEN WE HAD A DEAL WITH THE DEVELOPER THAT SAID, IF YOU DO A GOOD JOB HERE, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT ANOTHER PROPERTY.
WELL, AS A RESULT, NONE OF OUR PROPERTIES MOVED AT ALL.
THIS ACTION PLAN HAS AN EMPHASIS ON ALL OF THEM.
AND SO NOW WITH SOME RECENT STRATEGIC ACQUISITION OF PROPERTIES, WE OWN OVER 18 ACRES DOWNTOWN.
AND THESE PROJECTS HAVE BEEN GROUPED INTO, THESE PROPERTIES HAVE BEEN GROUPED INTO FOUR DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT PROJECTS.
SO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE, THE PHILLIPS PROPERTY AT BROAD AND BELTLINE.
THERE'S PATS BARN AND A COUPLE OF OTHER SMALLER CITY OWNED PIECES NEARBY THAT HAVE A, UM, A DIFFERENT CALL OUT FOR WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR THERE.
THERE'S A PROPERTY FROM CEDAR THAT GOES SOUTH ALONG THE TRACKS THAT'S, THAT'S DESIGNATED FOR SOME RETAIL ACT, UH, RESIDENTIAL ACTIVITY.
AND THEN ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE TRACKS WE'VE GOT, UM, ABOUT, LET'S SEE, SIX AC SIX ACRES NOW THAT'S DEDICATED FOR SPORTS ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT USES.
AND SO WE ARE ACTIVELY, UH, RECRUITING DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS TO DEVELOP ALL OF THOSE PROPERTIES.
AND SO AS WE DO THAT, THE DOWNTOWN ACTION PLAN'S 126 PAGES.
SO WE CREATED A, A CONDENSED, A SUMMARY GUIDE TO SHARE WITH DEVELOPERS ALONG WITH THE LINK TO THE PLAN SO THEY COULD READ MORE IF THEY WANTED TO.
AND, UH, AND IT'S AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE@GROSSCEDARHILL.COM.
SO AS WE'VE BEEN MEETING WITH DEVELOPERS SINCE THIS INITIATIVE STARTED EARLIER THIS YEAR, WE'VE HAD CLOSE TO 60 MEETINGS WITH DEVELOPERS.
OVER HALF OF THEM ARE RESTAURANT RETAIL MIXED USE TYPE DEVELOPERS.
WE'VE CONDUCTED A COUPLE OF FAN TOURS THIS YEAR.
THAT'S A, WHEN WE DO A BUS TOUR AND CARRY DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONALS FROM ALL OVER DFW ALL OVER THE CITY TO SHOW THEM THE DIFFERENT SITES FOR, FOR UM, DEVELOPMENT THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES.
AND JUST THIS LAST FAM TOUR WE HAD A FEW WEEKS AGO, WE HAD, UH, 30 PEOPLE ATTEND AND IT WAS THE RIGHT PEOPLE TOO.
SO THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A RECENT SOCIAL MEDIA POST THAT SOPHIA AND ZARIA CREATED TO PROMOTE SPECIFICALLY PAT'S BARN AND THE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY THERE.
IT HAD, UH, TEXTS GOING ALONG WITH IT, TALKING ABOUT WHAT THE ACTION PLAN CALLS FOR THAT PROPERTY.
AND WE'VE GOT A PLAN TO HIGHLIGHT ALL OF THE PROPERTIES WE OWN DOWNTOWN THAT ARE PART OF THE ACTION PLAN.
THESE ARE SAMPLES OF SIGNS THAT ARE ABOUT TO GO UP AT OUR DOWNTOWN PROPERTY.
SO THE SIGN ON THE LEFT IS SPECIFICALLY FOR PATTON'S BARN.
YOU CAN SEE IT'S GOT BULLETS UNDERNEATH THE PROPERTY NAME THAT CALL OUT THE THINGS THAT WE WANT THERE THAT THE ACTION PLAN SAYS, ALONG WITH A COUPLE OF PICTURES THAT REPRESENT THOSE SORTS OF DEVELOPMENTS.
THE TWO EXAMPLES ON THE RIGHT ARE ABOUT TO GO UP AT THE PHILLIPS PROPERTY AS WELL.
ALRIGHT, SO WE'VE DONE ALL THAT AND REALLY JUST IN A MATTER OF A FEW MONTHS, LET'S TALK REAL QUICKLY ABOUT NEXT STEPS.
SO WE WILL CONTINUE SUPPORT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES DOWNTOWN.
YOU TOLD US YOU WANTED A, A GRANT PROGRAM TO HELP SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES THAT ARE DOWNTOWN.
WE HAVE FUNDED OVER 10 SMALL BUSINESS FACADE GRANTS SINCE YOU GAVE US THAT DIRECTION.
WE WILL INSTALL THE SIGNS THAT I JUST SHARED WITH YOU.
WE'LL HAVE ONE, AT LEAST ONE AT EACH OF OUR DOWNTOWN PROPERTIES, SPECIFICALLY CALLING OUT WHAT IT IS THAT WE WANT TO HAPPEN AT THAT PROPERTY.
ON AUGUST 22ND, WE'LL UNVEIL THE NEW INTERIM PARK AT THE PHILLIPS PROPERTY AND SOPHIA WILL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT IN JUST A SECOND.
WE WILL CONTINUE OUR INDIVIDUAL OUTREACH TO DEVELOPERS
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AND IN FACT, WE'VE GOT A MEETING TOMORROW WITH CITY MANAGER, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, UH, MYSELF AND A DEVELOPER INTERESTED IN DOWNTOWN.IN OCTOBER, WE'RE GONNA HOST, UH, A GROUP OF PROBABLY ABOUT 150 DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONALS FROM ALL OVER THE FW AT THE LIBRARY, UH, WITH THE BIZNOW SOUTHERN DALLAS COUNTY FOCUSED EVENT.
IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THAT EVENT, WE'RE GONNA OFFER A FAM TOUR TO THE PEOPLE THAT ARE THERE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE DON'T GET THAT GROUP IN CEDAR HILL THAT OFTEN.
AND THEN ON NOVEMBER 5TH, WE'VE GOT ANOTHER FAM TOUR SCHEDULED AS ONE OF OUR, OUR NORMAL FAM FAM TOURS.
AND SO, UM, AS WE'VE CONTINUED TO BUILD OUT THIS PLAN AND NOW IMPLEMENT IT, UM, AN INTERESTING THING HAPPENED AS WE STARTED THINKING ABOUT HOW DO WE UTILIZE THIS SITE, UM, WHILE UH, GETTING READY FOR DEVELOPMENT.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW.
I'M ABOUT TO TURN IT OVER TO SOPHIA TO TAKE IT, TAKE IT FROM THERE.
BUT I'LL GO AHEAD AND SAY IF YOU'VE GOT ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT WHAT I'VE JUST SHARED, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THOSE OR WE CAN WAIT TILL THE END.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR HENRY? ALL RIGHT, WE CONTINUE.
OKAY, WELL NOW I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO SOPHIA WHO'S GONNA TALK ABOUT SPECIFICALLY THE PHILLIPS PROPERTY AND WHERE WE'RE HEADED FROM HERE.
ALRIGHT, SO OUR NORTH STAR FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PHILLIPS PROPERTY AND THE INTERIM SITE USE HAS BEEN THIS WONDERFUL MOOD BOARD THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BY COUNCIL.
THE VIBRANT COLORS, THE ARTISTIC ELEMENTS, THE GATHERING SPACE THAT YOU'LL SEE THROUGHOUT.
THIS PRESENT PRESENTATION REPRESENTS A REALLY UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE SOMETHING FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO ENJOY TODAY, WHILE ALSO LEAVING THIS PROPERTY TURNKEY TO INTRIGUE DEVELOPERS.
AND WHENEVER THEY'RE READY TO COME IN, THIS PROPERTY IS READY FOR THEM AS WELL.
SO A LOT OF REALLY EXCITING CHANGES HAVE ALREADY TAKEN SHAPE OVER AT THE PHILLIPS PROPERTY.
USING THE GENEROUS FUNDING FROM THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, OUR PARKS TEAM HAS INSTALLED THESE COLORFUL SHADE STRUCTURES, A NEW ASPHALTS AREA AND FRESH TURF.
AND THEN THIS PHOTO ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT WAS ACTUALLY JUST TAKEN TODAY.
WE HAD TIME TO SNEAK IT IN HERE BECAUSE CONTAINERIZED TREES AND PICNIC TABLES WERE DELIVERED AT THE PROPERTY.
UM, SO AGAIN, THIS MAKES THIS A WELCOMING GATHERING SPACE WHILE ALSO KEEPING IT FRESH AND INTRIGUING TO POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS.
ANOTHER WAY THAT WE'RE CONTINUING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE MOOD BOARD APPROVED BY COUNSEL IS A ASPHALT MURAL ON THE GROUND OF THE PHILLIPS PROPERTY.
SO AS YOU'LL SEE ON THE DESIGN ON THE LEFT, THIS IS A DIGITAL RENDERING THAT INCLUDES A LOT OF HEART SLEEVES, ORGANIC SHAPES, BRIGHT COLORS TO REFLECT THE MOOD BOARD AND CEDAR HILL'S IDENTITY AS THE NATURAL HEART OF THE METROPLEX.
AND ON THE RIGHT ARE JUST A COUPLE OF PHOTOS OF HOW THIS MURAL IS ALREADY TAKING SHAPE IN HISTORIC DOWNTOWN.
IT'S BEAUTIFUL, IT'S VIBRANT, UM, AND THE ARTIST IS ACTUALLY ALSO IMPLEMENTING SOME INTERACTIVE ELEMENTS AT OUR LOVELY CITY MANAGER'S DISCRETION, A HOPSCOTCH A FOUR SQUARE, A QUOTE ABOUT THE NATURAL HEART OF THE METROPLEX.
SO AGAIN, GIVING OUR COMMUNITY A SPACE TO ENJOY AND ALSO POSITIONING THIS TO BE PROMOTED FOR DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS BECAUSE THIS IS SUCH A UNIQUE WAY TO HIGHLIGHT A SITE AND IT REALLY REFLECTS CEDAR HILL'S CHARACTER.
NOW, WHILE THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THIS INTERIM PARK IS TO ATTRACT THE RIGHT LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT PARTNER, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO ADDRESS AND HONOR THE HISTORY OF THIS PROPERTY.
SO THIS IS A TEMPORARY FOUR BY FIVE FOOT SIGN.
IT'S GOING TO BE PLACED NEAR THE ENTRANCE OF THE PARK.
AND AS YOU'LL SEE, IT TALKS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE PHILLIPS PROPERTY.
IT CALLS OUT THE CURRENT DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY, HOW THE CITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION ARE SEEKING DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS NOW, AND ALSO LEADS PEOPLE TO VIEW THE HEART OF THE HILL ACTION PLAN TO AGAIN, TIE BACK TO OUR COMMUNITY DRIVEN BROADER PLAN FOR WHAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS TO SEE IN HISTORIC DOWNTOWN.
ANOTHER WAY THAT WE'RE BRINGING THIS MOOD BOARD TO LIFE, WHILE ALSO EMPHASIZING THE TEMPORARY NATURE OF THIS INTERIM SITE IS USING THE CONSTRUCTION BANNERS AS A TEMPORARY ART INSTALLATION.
SO UP ON THE RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THIS SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE FENCING HIGHLIGHTED IN YELLOW.
THAT IS THE SECTION THAT'S GOING TO REMAIN AT THE INTERIM PARK THROUGHOUT ITS TIME AS AN INTERIM SITE, ALL THE OTHER FENCING IS GOING TO BE REMOVED IN ORDER TO ALLOW THE SITE TO BE MORE ACCESSIBLE AND OPEN AND WELCOMING TO COMMUNITY AND DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO HONOR THE CULMINATION OF ALL THESE MILESTONES AND MORE AT THIS UPCOMING EVENT.
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THE HEART OF THE HILL.I KNOW CITY MANAGER, MELISSA ALREADY MENTIONED THIS TO YOU ALL, BUT COUNSEL, WE WANNA PERSONALLY INVITE YOU.
THE WHOLE COMMUNITY IS INVITED AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TEAM HAS ACTUALLY REACHED OUT PERSONALLY TO TARGETED DEVELOPMENT PRO PROFESSIONALS TO ALSO INVITE THEM SO THEY CAN SEE THE POTENTIAL OF THE SITE, WHAT IT IS TODAY, AND WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE TOMORROW.
SO AGAIN, IT'S ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 22ND FROM NINE TO 11:00 AM AND ATTENDEES CAN EXPECT LIVE MUSIC, BREAKFAST, COFFEE, MIMOSAS.
THE CEDAR HILL FARMERS MARKET IS DOING A SPECIAL ACTIVATION IN THE PHILLIPS PROPERTY TO REALLY BRING THE SITE TO LIFE FOR OUR DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS AND COMMUNITY.
AND IT'S GOING TO BE KICKED OFF WITH SOME REMARKS FROM CITY MANAGER MELISSA VALDEZ, MAYOR STEVEN MASON, AND OUR EDC PRESIDENT SEAN QUILTON FOLLOWED UP BY A COMMUNITY TOAST LED BY YOU MAYOR TO THE FUTURE OF THIS SITE,
AND ANOTHER REALLY WONDERFUL THING WE WANTED TO NOTE IS SINCE THIS INFORMATION HAS BEEN SHARED WITH OUR COMMUNITY, IT HAS RECEIVED NOTHING BUT POSITIVE SENTIMENT.
SO THERE'S RESIDENTS, LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS, EVEN COMMUNITY MEMBERS, TAGGING THEIR FRIENDS, ENCOURAGING THEM TO GO AND GET EXCITED ABOUT THIS UPCOMING EXCITING MOMENT FOR CEDAR HILL.
AND NOW I'LL GIVE IT TO HENRY TO CLOSE IT OUT, AND NOW I'LL CLOSE IT OUT.
WE, WE APPRECIATE THE CHANCE TO BE INVOLVED IN PROJECTS LIKE THIS AND THIS HAS BEEN A REALLY FUN ONE.
SO THANKS FOR GIVING US SOME TIME TO SHARE, UPDATE WITH YOU TONIGHT.
AND UM, YOU KNOW, I DO I HAVE TO PICK, WILL WE TOASTING? IS THAT, IS IT MY CHOICE? IT MIGHT BE.
UH, SE SERIOUSLY, I MEAN THE BACKGROUND IS, IS THIS JUST TO SHARE WITH EVERYONE.
COUNCIL MAY BE ALREADY BE AWARE, BUT, UM, THERE WAS A PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT PLAN, YOU KNOW, DID NOT, WAS NOT EXECUTED.
COUNCIL COULD HAVE JUST, YOU KNOW, UH, MADE A DECI, MADE A QUICK DECISION, GO AHEAD AND DEVELOP SOMETHING.
NOW WE PUSH THE RESET BUTTON, ALLOWING THE COMMUNITY TO BE INVOLVED.
AND HERE WE ARE, UH, HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COMMUNITY TO BE INVOLVED AND, AND, UH, BE A PART OF OUR TOAST IN ORDER FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER OF, OF DOWNTOWN.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M, UM, YOU KNOW, PROUD ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE DONE THUS FAR.
UH, THANKS FOR THE COLLABORATION AS HENRY JUST MENTIONED.
AND, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO DOING THE TOAST AND, UM, SEE WHAT DEVELOPERS, UH, PIQUE THEIR INTEREST FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO COME AND KEEP THE HEARTBEAT DOWNTOWN.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
ALRIGHT, COUNSEL, I HAVE 7 0 7, UM, SHALL WE, UH, ADJOURN, TAKE ABOUT FIVE MINUTES AND RECONVENE? IS THAT OKAY? MOTION TO ADJOURN? I DO HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN AND I DO HAVE A SECOND FROM PROTI.
IF FAVOR, RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND.
WE ARE ADJOURNED FOR THE BRIEFING SESSION.
WE'LL RECONVENE FOR THE REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING HERE IN ABOUT FIVE MINUTES.