Page 339 - Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council

BENBROOK HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

In February, Benbrook experienced significant snowfall when over ten inches of frozen precipitation briefly turned the
community into a winter wonderland. Benbrook employees were able to keep streets clear and services operational
during this brief period of inclement weather. Later in the spring, a tornado touched down in Benbrook but spared the
community of any damages to lives or to property. In 2010, Benbrook was certified as a “Storm Ready” Community.

The Tarrant Regional Water District partnered with the City of Benbrook to provide hike and bike trails along one of the
City’s main thoroughfares, Winscott Road.

In celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Benbrook Community Center/YMCA, Council authorized the spending of
funds from unappropriated General Fund reserves to complete an expansion project for this community facility.

The May 2010 City Council election was cancelled since only one candidate filed for each place. Benbrook is most
fortunate that incumbent City Council members, who are knowledgeable and committed, continue to provide their
dedicated and industrious service to the citizens of Benbrook.

Later in the spring of 2010, the City held a celebratory picnic to recognize employee longevity and to provide an
opportunity for employees, families, and the Council to get to know each other. The picnic was such a success that a
second employee picnic was held in 2011.

Council also approved the use of General Fund reserves to finance the construction of pedestrian bridges in Twilight
Park and in Timbercreek Park. Council also approved the use of reserves for the construction of sidewalks in Benbrook
parks. These projects include: (1) sidewalk extension from Rio Grande Drive to Memorial Oak Drive, (2) extension of
sidewalk in Timbercreek Park from the new pedestrian bridge to Park Drive, and (3) extension of the sidewalk in Twilight
Park from the new pedestrian bridge to Twilight Drive West. Staff was also authorized to apply for funds from the
Texas Parks and Wildlife Recreational Trails grant program to finance a portion of these projects.

In the summer of 2010, the City launched a new web-based program to facilitate and to improve the process for citizens
to view videos of regularly-scheduled videotaped Council meetings and work sessions, along with corresponding
meeting documents. The new program allows viewers to select specific meetings, choose the section they are most
interested in viewing, and view related agenda item documents. The new program allows citizens and other interested
people to bypass entire sections of on-line City meetings in order to view their topic of interest more quickly. Prior to
implementing this system, viewers were had to watch entire meetings to view the agenda item they wanted to see.
CITY OF BENBROOK 2018-19 ANNUAL BUDGET
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