Rich Aubin

Win a bike, see a WWII Exhibit, have a free snow cone, face painting, caricatures, balloon art, food truck, beer truck, etc. in Downtown Garland today until 3pm (Saturday, June 18th). Free family fun - Garland is the place to be this summer.

As part of the WWII exhibit at City Hall (which I highly recommend). The City is having a contest, with a bike from REI and some gift cards as the prize. So, stop by and celebrate the role of women in building the Arsenal of Democracy!

Rosie the Riveter Lookalike Contest PARTY Join the City of Garland and Dallasites101 for a Rosie the Riveter lookalike contest in celebration of Manufacturing Victory: The Arsenal Of Democracy.

Yesterday, my girls had the pleasure of their monthly Frocksy / Karin Wiseman Collection shopping trip - support our local businesses, y’all. Meanwhile, I had the joy of visiting with Trayc Claybrook. Trayc owns Frocksy, lives nearby on 11th street, and is running for the District Two position on the Garland City Council. She tells me that she has way more signatures than she needs and is ready to file. We may well have a three or four-way race in District Two!

Trayc has been deeply engaged with her neighborhood and with our downtown community, including the Garland Downtown Business Association (GDBA) and was appointed by Mayor Scott LeMay to the City’s Cultural Arts Commission last year.

It’s great to see our most engaged residents lean in to public service.

Gun Violence and Gun Crime in Garland

Folks, as many of you know, City Council policies preclude me from discussing ongoing criminal investigations. It’s a good and important policy for a lot of reasons and I hope you understand why I have been quiet regarding the horrific triple-homicide earlier this week. The Council has no role in the investigation and prosecution of these crimes; I have full faith in the men and women of the Garland Police Department to handle all of that and the communications side of it as well.

While our police department addresses what has happened, Council needs to focus on how we move forward as a community. It is far too easy in today’s society to throw up your hands at the state of things and claim that nothing can be done, offering only “thoughts and prayers.” While we cannot cure every ill or prevent every evil, there is much that we can and must do.

When I started on Council six years ago, gunfire was a problem - but it was almost universally “celebratory” gunfire. Over the years, and particularly in the last year, we have seen more and more gunfire in the forms of intimidation and directed violence. We have had multiple instances of persons shooting in the air from their cars in order to threaten people. We have had -two- triple homicides this year (no one I have spoken to can recall there -ever- being one in Garland). We have had multiple juvenile/youth-shooter homicides. We have had more than one shootout during broad daylight. Too many disputes in Garland are resolved with guns.

So, on Monday morning, with the second of Councilmember Ed Moore (D3), I asked the City Manager to bring forward an item for our coming work session on Monday, January 3rd at 6pm: Discuss crime in Garland and the actions (some immediate and some longer-term) the Council can take to address gun violence and gun crimes. I expect a wide-ranging conversation with broad support for action aligned with Chief Bryan’s recommendations.

First, we will hear that overall crime in Garland continues to trend down; by and large, we are considered a safe city for our size. As I mentioned a week or so ago, that really doesn’t make anyone feel any better when you have persistent issues with gunshots and a spate of homicides this year. It does, however, give us some specific direction in terms of where we need to deploy our limited resources.

Second, we will hear about the Police Department’s ongoing process of acquiring and implementing a gun shot detection (GSD), license-plate reader (LPR), and vehicle identification (VI) system. I support expediting this process; I’ve been trying to find and implement a GSD for pretty much all of my six years on Council. Chief Bryan has identified a candidate system that combines all of these functions.

A Council committee had been planning to work on some of the many policy issues associated with deploying such a system, prior to sending the question of acquisition to the full Council. We cannot wait on regular order. I will ask that the Council authorize the acquisition now and work on the underlying policy issues in parallel with getting the system acquired and on line.

These systems are capable of having a massive dampening effect on crime. However, there are -a lot- of civil liberties issues associated with these systems and I need you to watch the item and weigh in with your thoughts in the coming weeks.

Third, I expect Chief Bryan to tell us what -immediate- force strength and disposition changes he believes are necessary to stem this tide. In late 2017, I advocated for the re-starting of our Gang Unit in response to issues that were starting to pop up. The unit has been busy; we continue to see youth gangs ramp up their violence and broaden the where/when they are engaging in it. We need to match that energy. If Chief Bryan believes the immediate addition of several officer positions to be assigned to our Gang Unit is warranted; I am prepared to fully support it.

Fourth, I will ask that Staff study and come back with a longer term list of needs and the beginnings of a strategic plan for public safety in the City. I believe that this should take place in the form of an independent study regarding force strength, deployment and disposition - similar to what we do to ensure adequate Fire/EMS coverage. Our police department has done a remarkable job of staying ahead of the curve on modern policing, I want to make sure we continue that practice.

Fifth, I want to ensure that the strategic plan for public safety in Garland, looks across all departments for non-enforcement solutions to the underlying issues we are seeing. We already do a lot of this - in 2017 we established a homeless liaison officer position and have consistently expanded that into a program with three officers and (new this year) a Licensed Master Social Worker; we have an extensive, community-focused Neighborhood Policing program; we have long had a Police Boxing program that does an incredible amount of at-risk interventions. What can we do to expand upon these ideas? With the coming skate park and futsal courts, do we have an opportunity to build additional social structures that can help keep kids out of gangs?

The discussion will, of course, be broader than this. I am sure that other councilmembers have been thinking through these similar issues. I look forward to hearing their ideas and approaches. I also want to hear your input.

There are few things as humbling to me as being in the presence of a group of veterans, particularly on Veteran’s Day, as I was today at Garland’s Senior Center.

These men and women, from all walks of life and circumstance, from all armed services and major conflicts of the last century, were each committed, if need be, to giving their last full measure of devotion in service of the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness by others.

Our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines sign over essentially all of their “personal” freedoms to protect our freedom. Freedom is not, and has never been, free.

It is the challenge of every generation to be worthy of the sacrifices made by our veterans; to live up to the words we have inscribed on paper, our Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

I shudder to think of what this Nation would have become if every potential sacrifice, however great or small, had been met with an assertion of “personal liberty.” Candidly, we have not, these past two years proven ourselves particularly worthy of the sacrifices and commitments of our forebears and those pictured here. I hope that on this day of reflection, our national resolve will be reinvigorated.

I am so thankful to each of you who has served, and am particularly mindful of the service of my Grandfathers, Arthur and Johnny, my father, Dick, my Uncles Arthur, Eddie, Leo, Johnny and Jimmy, and my Aunt Katherine. May God bless you all and may God bless these United States.

I have been reticent to post anything on this, but in recent days the spreading news has diverged a bit from the facts, so . . . Ten days ago, John Willis, former Garland City Councilmember for District Five, suffered a significant stroke.

Many of you, who appreciate John’s outstanding work for District Five and the City as a City Councilmember, 2019 Bond Study Committee Member, and resident, have reached out to me about his condition.

John’s speech and his mobility on the right side have been affected. At this time, John recovering is in the Intensive Care Unit at a local hospital. The expectation is that he will soon move from the ICU and begin intensive speech and occupational therapy.

If you know John, then you know that he is determined and relentless. I have no doubt that John will maximize his recovery.

As his family focuses on John’s recovery, please refrain from reaching out to them. If you would like to send a get well card or note, please send it to me (John Willis c/o Rich Aubin, Garland City Hall, 200 N. Fifth St., Garland, TX 75040) and I will get them to the family.

At this time the family would ask for only your prayers. When the time comes (and it will) that the family has additional needs, the word will go out and I know that Garland’s people will respond as they reliably do, with all their hearts.

Two words for you: Frida Kahlo

I’ve been working on this for a few months and have been a dying to share this good news with you:

Popping up -today- in Downtown Garland at 506 Art on Main is a Dallas Museum of Art, Frida Kahlo Pop-Up Exhibit! 506 Art is an open air space, so the exhibit is free and accessible any time you’d like to come see it.

Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, Frida will be here until June 25th. The hope is that this will be the beginning of a partnership with the DMA to bring pop-up exhibits to Garland.

It’s Election Day, friends. Elections matter and this is particularly true for municipal elections - these are the officials who ensure consistent delivery of services, who bend the arc of a city’s progress, who are closest to the you and the issues that matter to you, and who should represent you on a non-partisan, no special-interests basis - because we need a government that gets things done.

I’ve endorsed Ed Moore for Council District 3, in what I see as a critical race for the future of our City. We need Ed on the City Council.

I’m also going to ask that you vote for Scott LeMay for Mayor. Scott doesn’t need this endorsement - this race shouldn’t be close (with all due respect to his opponent). But, the most “Scott” thing about Scott is that he thinks he does need the endorsement.

Scott has kept our Bond Program and our City humming along, gracefully, through this terrible pandemic - always responsive, thoughtful and glad to serve. I’ve been honored to serve with him. Let’s get him way over the top with a big turnout in the Mayor’s race and let him know he is loved by this City.

However you roll and whomever you prefer, please get out and vote today.

CURRENT ELECTION DAY VOTE CENTERS Current election day vote locations utilized by Dallas County Elections. Locations are subject to change without notice.

I AM RECOMMENDING ED MOORE FOR GARLAND DISTRICT 3

Garland Friends and Neighbors,

Although I represent District 5 on the Garland City Council, I spent a lot of time working for Garland District 3 during the recent winter storms and power outages, helping residents. Service is so important to who I am; it's why I wanted to be a Garland City Councilmember. Today, I am proud to recommend Ed Moore to be your new Councilmember for District 3 because he, too, is committed to public service.

I usually do not endorse candidates, but this one is so important, and I am joining a list of trusted leaders who are backing Ed Moore, including Former Mayor Ron Jones, Former Councilmembers Preston Edwards and David Gibbons, the Garland Police Association, and the Garland Fire Fighters Association.

Ed Moore really gets it. He loves his neighborhood, his district, and Garland. He is an avid community servant, including serving as president of his neighborhood association, getting involved in numerous city boards and commissions, and graduating from the Garland Citizens Police Academy.

This campaign is not about partisan politics for Ed - it is about Garland and what a Councilmember can do to make our city better. I believe Ed Moore genuinely cares about Garland and you. He will focus on the things that matter to you, like strong public safety, basics like street repairs, quality of life issues like enhancing and adding green spaces, and also making sure that we develop our economy and add jobs in a way that maintains the integrity of neighborhoods and protects homeowners. Ed has also made a pledge to have the city be better prepared for disasters like the winter storms, and I join him in this initiative.

Of all the candidates in the District 3 contest, I have no doubt that Ed Moore is the best choice. He has demonstrated his desire to be involved in our community. He has the business and personal skills to add real value to the council and engage with district residents, and he understands how our city works. Garland will be stronger with Ed Moore on the council.

PLEASE GO VOTE!

Please go vote for Ed Moore today. Early voting continues on Monday and Tuesday, April 26 and 27, from 7am to 7pm. Election Day is Saturday, May 1, 7am-7pm.

You can vote at Richland College-Garland Campus Main Lobby, 675 West Walnut Street, Garland, or at South Garland Library, 4845 Broadway Boulevard, Garland.

You may also use any Dallas County voting location during early voting or on Election Day. Here is a link to more information: https://edmooreforgarland.com/voting-info


Sincerely,

Rich Aubin

LET'S GET THINGS DONE FOR GARLAND! Invest in Ed Moore's campaign to bring solid, pragmatic leadership to our city council.

Well, the below text message from my colleague to the City Manager was also produced as part of the public information release and throws rocks at both my initial post regarding Montclair Estates - see it here: https://aubin.com/3872c100ac69 as well as the City’s actions there. The message is inaccurate in every respect. Again, as it specifically references me, I must set the record straight.

“Feb 21 at 12:43
Rich is presenting it something heroic was done. Ugh. The fact is, the special dietary situation Teria found was the only help we brought. They didn’t need water, and the onsite manager was anything BUT awol. I hope Michael doesn’t quit over this.”

Let’s break it down:

“Rich is presenting it something heroic was done. Ugh.”

Let me first say that there was no shortage of heroism in the City that week: firemen rescuing people from burning buildings with no water cover because of frozen valves, linemen working in dangerous weather conditions on high-voltage switches, police officers and power plant staff sleeping in City facilities to ensure continuous operations while their families were home without power or water. And of course, untold acts of heroism by our residents in service to their neighbors. In the heart of the storm on Sunday night, Patrick was driving nurses to McKinney for their shifts (the roads were unstable, but Patrick was rock solid reliable).

The Montclair Estates response, however, was not about heroism by City staff. It was about the caring, professionalism and dedication from the top of the City (the Mayor, City Manager, Fire Chief) all the way down the organization for one of our most marginalized groups of people. There’s no “heroism” in showing up in, by then, mild conditions to open 120 doors and do welfare checks and apartment condition checks.

So, perhaps my original post was unclear. The point of my post was not that something heroic occurred, but that something exemplary, caring and attentive was done - as a matter of almost routine, without question. As I put in my original post, “please know that if [your elderly relatives] are in here in Garland, you have a support system that is looking out for their welfare; they are not forgotten.” That’s the point, not us - you. You’re ok; your elderly relatives are ok; we’ve got your back with good people who genuinely care.

“The fact is, the special dietary situation Teria [the City Manager’s wife] found was the only help we brought.”

When I arrived, there were some residents who were terribly upset, worried, and scared - not just for themselves but for their neighbors and friends. In Abilene, the fired department found a man froze to death in his recliner, with his wife barely clinging to life by his side. What if AFD had arrived an hour or a day later, would she have died as well? Garland’s immediate response was necessary and of great help.

The fact that we didn’t find anybody dead or injured in a darkened or non-responsive apartment doesn’t mean that the City did nothing. That’s an insult to the firefighters and code inspectors who checked every unit in the complex to ensure safety - something we do routinely around the City, thousands and thousands of times a year. They are all owed a sincere apology.

Moreover, as I put it in my original post: “If nothing else, these people who often feel that they exist on the edge of a forgotten world were shown that they were not forgotten and that people care about them and their welfare very deeply and personally, from the Mayor, to the City Manager, to the Fire Chief, and all the way down to our everyday residents.”

“They didn’t need water, and the onsite manager was anything BUT awol.”

People on the ground at Montclair thought otherwise on both counts; my colleague was never there. Mrs. Benson has posted on Facebook that they were very concerned about water by Saturday night and that her husband considered breaking a window so that residents could get access to water that was being stored inside the office area. The onsite manager was indeed AWOL, having appeared only briefly that week. The Activity Coordinator (to whom my colleague was most likely referring) had told residents and the Mayor that he had left the property and refused to return.

“I hope Michael doesn’t quit over this.”

I do not understand the focus of my colleague’s concern for Michael’s feelings. I suppose that from across town, without checking around, a one-sided account from Michael sounds very different than from a multi-sourced perspective at the scene. He seemed like an overwhelmed, but caring, guy who was thrust into a situation he was not qualified or trained for - and lives were put at risk as a result.

The actions of the City in response to the issues at Montclair Estates were, perhaps not heroic, clearly exemplary and worthy of praise. I’m proud of my City and my neighbors.

Rich

Was Garland's Montclair Estates Response a Huge Waste of Your Money and Resources? [NO]

Allan McDonald said "Regret for things we did is tempered by time . . . but regret for things we did not do is inconsolable." He was the Morton Thiokol engineer who tried to stop the launch of the Challenger space shuttle who died this past weekend (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/09/us/allan-mcdonald-dead.html).

I have no regrets.

Patrick Abell and Carissa Dutton, I am so sorry that you were specifically targeted and smeared in the email from my colleague. It was wrong. I am sorry that you have not received what I would consider an actual apology. I do not know any greater servants of the people of Garland than each of you and I am proud to count you as my neighbors.

As for the residents of Montclair Estates and their families, people can forgive and forget a lot of things in life, but no one forgets how they felt when the people they counted on most refused to help them in their hour of need; no one.

Rich

Long-winded detail (but actually, abridged a bit):

[For context, you should probably read:
My earlier post on the City's actions at Montclair Estates Senior Apartments (https://aubin.com/garland-is-a-city-whose-people-care-deeply-about-other-people-3872c100ac69)
My colleague's email to the Mayor (reproduced below)
My colleague's "apology" post on Facebook (reproduced below)]

I hate to have to address this, but there's an email from one of my council colleagues to the Mayor that has become public and known to me due to an Open Records request. The email states, among other things, that the City's efforts at Montclair Estates were a "huge waste of [City] resources." The email also alleges that the Mayor, through me, "threatened" Michael (the activity coordinator - think Julie the Cruise Director from Love Boat - who was inaccurately identified in my colleague's email as the facility's manager) in order to gain his cooperation.

My general take on emails like this is "if you weren't there, I don't care." There were numerous people with boots on the ground at Montclair, including myself and the Mayor. As I understand, my colleague was never there, before, during, or after the events on Saturday, February 20, 2021. Per the messages posted by Janine Barta, my colleague was asked to assist and refused. Nonetheless, if a council member is going to impugn me and suggest that the Mayor and I wasted City resources and also threatened this fellow, I must respond.

If you read my original post about Montclair and saw the few pictures I posted, you may think I had no involvement at all; that post is written entirely in the third person with no references to, or pictures of, me. My mother always taught me that if you have to claim credit about how you helped someone, then maybe you were really just helping yourself all along.

So, as Paul Harvey would say, let me give you the "rest of the story" from having been at Montclair Estates as this all happened:

Was the response a "raid" or in violation of "Red Cross Crisis Management" protocols?

Candidly, I couldn't care less about the Red Cross' procedures about how this situation should have been managed. Though I would imagine that Procedure #1 would be to be on scene, or at least get a full and complete report, before offering your own judgments. My understanding is that the Red Cross refused to aid these people. The fact that we are dealing with our most vulnerable population here, the elderly, should heighten everyone's concerns.

That said, what my colleague claims was done, could not be further from the truth.

- Mayor and I receive a message requesting help and residents seeking direct contact with Mayor and a Councilmember
- The Mayor and I concur in heading to Montclair
- I contact the City Manager and Battalion Chief Van Buskirk regarding flooded apartments and availability of fans and vacuums.
- I arrive and hear residents' concerns and get additional information on the number of apartments affected by flooding from broken pipes (22).
- I update City Manager
- Mayor arrives shortly thereafter
- Mayor and I confer at the time of his arrival, and notice that much of the property is completely dark. Mayor comments that he finds that ominous.
-Residents tell us that management has been absent and do not believe that anyone knows which, if any, the darkened apartments are occupied
-I contact Battalion Chief Van Buskirk and update the situation. He begins to put things in motion at the Fire Department.
-I update City Manager, who informs me that he is en route to Montclair and that Fire Chief, Mark Lee is headed there as well.
-EMS-1 Battalion Chief arrives on scene. I brief him quickly on the facts and concerns.
-Two EMS ambulances arrive.
-EMS-1 Battalion Chief asks about apartment access and goes to talk with his team.
-Chief Lee arrives along several other Battalion Chiefs and is briefed and introduced to Michael, the Activity Coordinator.
-City Manager arrives.
-Chief Lee sets up Incident Command inside the complex office.
-Additional apparatus arrives with additional firefighters.
-Firefighters begin a door to door welfare check of every apartment in the complex.

In other words, the Mayor and I arrived on scene and made an assessment of grave concern regarding the darkened apartments. That concern was particularly heightened because on-site staff, Michael, had no roster or listing of apartments and welfare confirmations. Having made that very bare assessment, we passed the information on to professionals who made the determinations about next steps and properly escalated and addressed the situation. It was, at that point, out of our hands. Neither the Mayor nor I showed up on a "raid" with a massive show of force; we made no decisions.

I know that our Fire Department took my report in the same way it would have from -any- concerned citizen and responded as it would to any concern for welfare. The Garland Fire Department handles thousands of "concern for welfare" calls every year, making contact with residents, breaking down doors when necessary, and sometimes finding that someone was just off at a doctor's appointment. We get calls about smoke that are just steam coming off of equipment. We don't classify any of these runs as a "waste of resources" - our Fire Department responds to emergencies and potential emergencies - that's what you pay them for.

Questioning the decision of our Fire Chief to conduct that search is completely ridiculous and offensive to professional staff. They deserve an apology too.

Thank GOD there was no one found injured or dead in those darkened apartments. The fact that there was not does not make the verification by firefighters a failure or "misfire" in any way. This should be the end of the story. Period.

Was Michael bullied or threatened?

When the Mayor called Michael to ask him to come back and get the master keys, Michael told him to "F #@& off" and that he would not return to property. Scott, as he does, remained undisturbed by this. But, "nobody puts baby in a corner" (https://youtu.be/ypKSbnYOrwE) and, on my own initiative, I called Michael and paid him the compliment of speaking to him directly. I explained the situation and Michael started to yell at me about how the Mayor had not paid him enough respect and that he didn't care if he was the President. I yelled back, there were blue streaks in both directions. I am fairly certain that I told him that his job on Monday would become "Door Replacement Coordinator" on Monday if he didn't come back with the keys.

Eventually, I talked him down and explained that I understood the stress he was under and how alone he probably felt over the last few days. I told him we were there to help him take care of these people for whom he cared deeply. He then acquiesced. He had never left the complex and came out of his room to talk further and participate in the search process.

I can't speak to whether someone "bullied" him with regard to opening up the office area. Residents needed water and Chief Lee needed an incident command. I understand that Michael was concerned about not having enough water for the following day (apartment complexes "rationing" the water we delivered was a major problem, so he was not alone in this regard).
I should also note that Michael is referred to in my colleague's email as the "Manager" and the property as being "his property." Let's be clear, Michael was the "Activity Coordinator" for the property. He was not the manager, nor was he the maintenance supervisor, and the property was not "his". It was immediately apparent that he was wholly unqualified for the position into which he had been thrust. Michael had no lists, ideas, or confirmations about which apartments were occupied, vacant, or abandoned.

Moreover, the facility unnecessarily went four days without heat. Power came back to Montclair on Monday evening. Residents complained about having electric for lights but not for stoves or heat. Michael discouraged people from calling GP&L, claiming that the City was sending reduced power because of the power shortage. Michael did not understand that the City doesn't send a reduced amount of electricity and that a transformer had blown out one of the 120-volt phases (thus making the bonding of two 120-volt phases to make 240 for heat, impossible). When the daughter of a resident got fed up and called GP&L, the blown transformer was identified, replaced quickly, and the heat came back on. It's not clear when the pipes froze, but four days without heat did not help that situation either.
None of this is to knock Michael; he was not trained to be the apartment manager or the maintenance supervisor and was unquestionably overwhelmed. The onus here is on upper management that failed to have the right, trained people on the premises to the detriment of their residents and their facilities. Nonetheless, Michael's actions and failures to act put lives and property at risk.

Was nothing accomplished?

There was a lot accomplished as noted in my original post. Most importantly, we confirmed that there were no dire situations in the darkened apartments and inspectors were able to put eyes on every apartment. If we had found someone injured, or worse, in those apartments, then there would be no question that the call to search the apartments was wise. The fact that we did not find someone dead or injured does not make that search any less wise.

I don't know how anyone with a heart in their body could look at those darkened apartments and not be struck with concern and worry. To stand one hundred feet away from them and do nothing would have been cruel, heartless and potentially deadly.

Was this a waste of money/resources?

This suggestion is just ridiculous. Let's start with the fact that the fire apparatus are paid for and so is the time spent by our firefighters. The other employees who responded were all salaried employees. To my knowledge, no other incidents were impacted due to the unavailability of the personnel responding to Montclair Estates. The Garland Fire Department responds to thousands of concern for welfare calls every year.

Moreover, if you are someone who thinks it is a waste of money or resources to confirm the safety and welfare of our most vulnerable residents, when that welfare was reasonably in question, then I think you need to talk to a professional about whatever your deeper issues are that are driving your cold-hearted response.

Would you do this again and for every apartment complex?

Yes. Absolutely. The City went above and beyond at many complexes over those two weeks, this is just one example. Our number one job is to promote the general welfare - it is right in the preamble to the Constitution. If a Montclair Estates situation popped up again tonight, I would encourage the same response from our City.

Conclusion

I regret nothing. The Mayor and I took immediate, direct action to protect the lives of elderly residents. I would not want to live in a city that did not respond in the same way.

It seems that the gravamen of my colleague's complaint is that in the process of ensuring the welfare of the residents of the community, we hurt the feelings of the activity coordinator. That seems pretty petty to me, in the grand scheme of things. It's unfortunate that a story which I believe shows the best of Garland, has been sullied with this pettiness.

Also, it takes a heck of a lot of nerve to tell the Mayor how to do his job when you weren't even there.
- - - - - -
The email at issue:

From: Morris, Councilwoman Deborah
Sent: Sunday, February 21, 2021 9:43:16 AM
To: LeMay, Mayor Scott
Subject: Reflections

Scott,
I wanted to privately share my thoughts with you about what went on last night at Montclair. This is me to you.

Our city apartments with broken plumbing are under tremendous stress. Many managers, including Michael (who is largely loved by the residents) are sleeping little and working extraordinary hours to get resources and repairs completed. Michael *cried* on Friday when he heard we'd bring bottled water for his residents, and immediately sent out an email telling all of them it was coming, and when. He got almost all the first 12 cases into his residents' hands within hours.

So yesterday, when they thought they were good to turn on the water, then leaks and water heaters poured water everywhere, it was yet another gut-punch. Volunteers came in to help, including Patrick and Carissa.
Patrick and Carissa are two of the most generous-hearted volunteers we have in this city, but both are emotionally unstable. Surely you have seen that? Patrick got in Michael's face and tried telling him how to manage his property, then called me to basically "make" Michael obey him. Patrick was arrogant, accusatory and forceful enough that Michael finally told him basically to F-off.

I thanked Patrick for his generous help and service but asked him to please back off. I told him we as a City government have limited authority re: micro-managing private property management in the areas he was insisting on, like door to door to door water dispersal. He didn't like that, so I'm guessing he escalated to you and greatly exaggerated the issues.

An appropriate response would have been to call BJ and say, "Hey, I'm hearing some serious concerns about Montclair. Want to come with me to check it out?" Calling ahead to arrange a visit with Michael, enabling him to email his residents to come and visit with you, and to give you the tour to see the problems (since it would be clear that you were there to *help and support*) would have been both appropriate and gracious.

Showing up unannounced with buses, Code, Fire, etc. like a raid, and then *bullying* the manager to open the office (which had been open all day long and included some extra meal offerings), was beyond inappropriate.
Just what authority did you have to do that? You were on private property and had no warrant other than intimidation and threats. And the fact is, that's a well-run community with a caring manager who's doing his best in a nightmare situation. You cornered him and sounds like threatened him via Rich, and then expected sweet cooperation?

This was a massive blunder. While it can't be undone, I will offer unsolicited advice for the future: before you believe fire-starters' reports (Patrick's among them), go quietly or send a staff member or council member to assess the situation on the ground. That's one of the first rules of disaster management: verify and assess. Showing up with mass firepower is not only inappropriate in these circumstances, it's a huge waste of resources.

I know your intentions were good and sprang from pure concern and caring for people, but this was a misfire. I would hope in the future - and we have a LOT of other apartments in the same or worse situations - that we can act with more dignity.

You're doing a good job in hard circumstances. Please take these comments in the spirit in which I'm offering them.
- - - - - -
The Facebook Statement:

A Statement & An Apology.

Several weeks ago, after exaggerated reports of dangerous post-storm conditions at a senior living community in South Garland triggered alarm at City Hall, a large emergency response was hastily mounted. It turned out to be a false alarm. The residents were found eating dinner, walking their dogs, watching TV, and going about their lives, albeit without running water due to broken pipes. Although they were all comforted and encouraged by the personal visit by the mayor and staff, not one resident needed city intervention.

My concern, privately expressed to the mayor afterward but now made public due to a records request, was about how we came to mount such a disproportionate and resource-intensive response without first verifying and assessing the scope of the emergency - the first step in any disaster response - and also without including the councilman for that district in any of the planning and decision-making.

To be sure, the motivation behind the response was pure concern. Both council and staff had spent many long days and sleepless nights during the power outages and freeze, working and praying to see all our residents emerge safe at the end. And there will always be an extra level of concern for our most vulnerable.

At the same time, we need to act responsibly - and that means neither overreacting nor under-reacting, but reacting appropriately to the circumstances. Perhaps because I served for years as a volunteer disaster team leader with the Red Cross, that sequence - first assess, then react - has become second nature for me.

At this site, I'd actually been in contact with the onsite manager/director and one of the affected residents for days prior to this event (I was coordinating the delivery of water bottles to impacted apartment complexes, including this one) and heard the same story that I was hearing from apartments all across the city: frozen pipes that broke and were repaired, then sprang new leaks when the water was turned back on; units that flooded and required emergency water cleanup; electrical and HVAC glitches that appeared once power was restored.

Just to be safe, since seniors were involved, I had asked Code to follow up with some residents there to ensure that appropriate steps were being taken by management regarding needed repairs. Code reported back that they were. When I asked several residents, "Do you want to leave?" the answer was, "No".

Uncomfortable conditions following a major disaster, certainly, but no life/safety emergency that called for intervention. We should have looked before we leaped.

My other concern was how the onsite manager/director was treated.

Blindsided by the unannounced after-hours arrival of the large city entourage (inspectors, managers, engineers, fire marshals, police, even two DART buses), this gentleman, who actually lives on the property and, unlike the corporate management, is widely loved by the residents, was initially treated more like we were conducting a raid than offering city services. That upset me.

Thankfully, the mayor cares more about all of us learning from our mistakes than defending them. His response to my concerns about our failure to verify the reports before acting on them was, "Verify and assess. Yes 100%. Lesson learned."

As for me, I have been rightfully criticized for misdirecting my frustration toward several volunteers whom I unfairly (and inaccurately) presumed were responsible for the exaggerated reports. My private "venting" email to the mayor, while warranted in calling out our own internal shortcomings in this, should never have spilled over into criticizing them, whom I accurately named as "two of the most generous-hearted volunteers we have in this city".

The volunteers involved did their parts selflessly and well. The failures were entirely on our end.

As a Christ-follower, I'm especially grieved that my words, which I've spent years trying to use publicly to help people, took such a destructive turn in a moment of anger. My charge is to "speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people." (Titus 3:2) Words matter, even when they're spoken in private. I'm sorry that mine ended up wounding good people.

I beg your forbearance as I continue to do my job, however imperfectly. I will echo the mayor in saying, "Lesson learned."