A few questions were recently sent to all Garland City Council members to stay in touch and get their responses on how things are going in their districts and throughout the city.
Responses were received from Anita Goebel-District 2, Stephen Stanley-District 3, B.J. Williams-District 4 and Scott LeMay-District 7.
The council members agree that economic development is one most important issues the city is currently facing and they are excited to be a part of the current efforts and plans for the future.
“Garland is on the verge of unprecedented economic growth and positive change,” Williams said. “Stay tuned!”
Stanley sees the emphasis on economic development as Garland’s chance to become more prominent in the North Texas area.
“Garland can become more of a leader with the other local communities in not just North Texas but Texas as a whole,” he said.
A concern for council members and their constituents is infrastructure – streets, sidewalks and alleys.
“By far the most complaints I hear are about our failing sidewalks and streets. We are working to dedicate more funding to that,” Lemay said. “Unfortunately we had to reduce street funding for several years. We as a council have made reestablishing and increasing that funding a priority. It will take time but we should start to see a difference this fiscal year.”
Stanley echoed Lemay’s concern about infrastructure.
“Condition of our streets by far is the greatest complaint by citizens throughout the city. Many have felt all but betrayed by the city,” he said. “In a non-binding referendum election a couple of years ago there was an item for Garland residents to let us know how they felt about roads. It asked if they would support an increase of two cents in their local ad valorem tax rate if the city spent it only on upgrades or new roads in Garland. It was overwhelmingly supported by 68 percent for to 32 percent against the measure.”
Stanley said that it was unfortunate that this item was not passed even with the support and recommendation of the Citizens Committee that had been assembled to make recommendations to council.
“But, we still were able to implement the recommended amounts,” he said. “With that being said at least the first year we were able to budget an amount almost equal to what would have been the tax increase but we still have a long way to go to meet all of our transportation needs in the subsequent years.”
Neighborhood vitality is also an important issue to the council members and their constituents.
“Neighborhoods are the base of any city. Strong neighborhoods will push any city forward,” Lemay said. “I would like to see more neighborhoods make use of our neighborhood vitality grant funds. The projects don’t have to be large to make an impact.”
Goebel agrees that neighborhoods are the foundation of the city. She has seen several new neighborhood associations established in District 2.
“I want to get citizens involved in their city and neighborhoods and have more active neighborhood associations established in District 2,” she said.
The council members mentioned numerous positive items about Garland that they hear from constituents. All said that residents in their districts complimented the city services including the utilities, waste services, code compliance, Fire Department and Police Department. Additionally, residents compliment Garland for being a large city with the usual amenities and conveniences while maintaining a small-town feel.
“Some places try to manufacture the small town feel, but it comes to us naturally,” Lemay said.
Stanley agrees.
“Even though we are the 12th largest city in the state, we still have a sense of community and neighbor helping neighbor,” he said.
Residents also praise the arts programs in Garland as well as the city’s nonprofits that exist to help others. Downtown growth and redevelopment and historic preservation were also mentioned as positives.
These four council members’ years in Garland totals more than 130 and each is dedicated to the city and the district they represent. Williams called serving on council an “opportunity and blessing of a lifetime to serve others.”
Lemay said that he likes being active, engaged and involved and that serving on the council provides an opportunity to achieve that.
Stanley said that we are granted freedoms by our United States and Texas Constitutions and serving on the council is the way he has chosen to pay back his state and nation for these freedoms.
Goebel likes serving the citizens and working with city staff to make Garland a better place to live and is happy with accomplishments that she has been involved in. A few of those are: the banning of phones in school zones; with the help of Home Depot and the Garland Fire Department, getting ramps built for elderly and disabled citizens in District 2; installation of lock boxes for elderly and disabled citizens; foundation repair at the Carver Center; and the formation of new neighborhood associations.
All are happy to take citizens’ calls and are committed to help Garland’s residents however they can.
Contact information:
B.J. Williams: council4@garlandtx.gov or 972-898-7672
Scott Lemay: slemay@garlandtx.gov or 214-794-8904
Stephen Stanley: council3@garlandtx.gov or 214-870-6266
Anita Goebel: council2@garlandtx.gov or 972-272-7725