Council considers election delay, extension of city emergency declaration and grant application for firearms simulator Tuesday

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Tuesday March 24, 2020 at 5 PM the Kennedale City Council will meet via telephone conference to discuss the following three agenda items. {{more: continue …}}

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This is a special meeting of the City Council. It will be held via teleconference due to the current public health concerns related to Coronavirus (COVID-19).??Members of the public may join by dialing

1-877-568-4106 (Toll Free) and using access code 162-956-797.?

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Consider Resolution 570,?

• … supporting a grant application for a police firearms simulator system.? The police department is submitting a grant to the Criminal Justice Division of the Governor’s Office for a firearms simulator system.?

This is a state-of-the-art electronic system that trains officers for not only decision-making skills but also de-escalation techniques. See application?R570_Police Grant for Firearms Simulator #4013301

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Consider Resolution 571,?

• … postponing May 2, 2020 General Election, pursuant to authorization granted via a proclamation issued by Governor Greg Abbott on March 18, 2020.

?As the Council is aware, the May 2, 2020 General Election for the purposes of electing the Mayor and Councilmembers Places 2 and 4 was called via adoption of Resolution 564 (attached) on January 21, 2020.At this time the Governor?s proclamation seems to suggest that the only available options are to either keep May 2, 2020 as the date of the election or to move it to Tuesday, November 3, 2020.

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Tarrant County Elections has suggested that there might be a possibility of asking the Governor to allow for this election to be moved to Saturday, May 26, 2020, which is the date for the Texas Primary Runoffs.

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However, staff does not yet know if such a request would be met with approval by the Governor’s Office. See??Current Consideration: Resolution 571

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Consider Ordinance 695?

• … to renew the Mayor?s Local Disaster Declaration in relation to Coronavirus (COVID-19). Currently the City of Kennedale is covered by County Judge Glen Whitley’s declaration (as well as Governor Greg Abbott’s).?

The Mayor has, however, chosen to issue a disaster declaration in order to preserve our option to potentially seek reimbursement from FEMA for any expenses we incur related to the disaster.

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Mayor Johnson’s declaration mirrors the provisions of the state- and county-wide declarations, and was enacted on Friday, March 20, 2020.?

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A declaration made by the Chair of the governing body alone can only be for a maximum term of seven days. At this time, the Council could vote to renew it for an indefinite period, however.

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?See complete agenda with links @ Council

Agenda March 24, 2020

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