Photo courtesy city of Grapevine

"I want to try and create more excitement [in Grapevine] and continue to build on this uniqueness—the 'something special.'"

William D. Tate, Grapevine mayor

The 2014–15 Grapevine City Council also includes Shane Wilbanks, Sharron Spencer, Mike Lease, Darlene Freed, Chris Coy and Duff O'Dell.

City Council group photo was unavailable at this time.

Meetings

The City Council meets at 7:30 p.m. the first and third Tuesday of the month.Grapevine City Hall, 200 S. Main St., Grapevine 817-410-3000 www.grapevinetexas.gov

Terms and compensation

The mayor receives a stipend of $460.61 per month, and council members each receives a stipend of $212.75 per month.

TV Coverage

Video is streamed live during meetings and posted on the city website the following day at www.grapevinetexas.gov

Big decisions made in 2014

Digital meetings

  • Grapevine began live-streaming public meetings through Plano-based company Swagit in June. The city spent about $60,000 on equipment in order to stream the meetings. Previously, the city only posted audio recordings of the meetings to its website; a watchdog group called A Better Grapevine was previously recording the meetings and posting the video to YouTube every week.

Property tax reduction

  • Grapevine's residential property appraisal values increased by 5.4 percent in 2014, prompting the council to approve a budget that reduced property tax to the effective rate of $0.332439 per $100 of valuation. The fiscal year 2014–15 budget shows revenue is up 4.01 percent from last year's budget to $59,995,486.

Brewery permit structure

  • The council changed its brewery permit structure to allow for on premises consumption of beer at breweries. This change allowed for the city's first brewery, Grapevine Craft Brewery, to break ground on Nov. 12 in Downtown Grapevine.

Yard waste pickup

  • Beginning in March, Grapevine launched a new yard waste pickup program to divert biodegradeable yard waste away from the landfill. After city officials found that much of the weekly bulk pickup consisted of brush and yard waste, officials started a pilot program in 2013 which received favorable feedback. The council approved the new program in February. Dates of brush, yard waste and bulk pickup can be followed through the smartphone app "My Waste."

Top issues for 2015

FM 2499

  • The major reconstruction of FM 2499 will continue to cause delays for motorists throughout the year. The city will work closely with the contractor and the state to do as much as possible to alleviate problems.

Next big development

  • Grapevine hired HR&A Advisors to oversee a consulting and development effort aimed at driving sales tax revenue. The goal is to get the "next big attraction" for one of the last large-scale tracts of land in the city.
  • The 185-acres of land, north of Grapevine Mills and SH 121, was purchased from former Texas Rangers first baseman Rafael Palmeiro in 2013. The land was purchased by the city for $29.5 million; it is appraised at $43 million.

Grapevine Mills Renovation

  • The outlet mall will undergo a $40 million dollar renovation that includes added mall entrances, new floors, new lighting and group seating throughout the complex. The renovation will be its first since opening 17 years ago. Renovations are expected to be completed by October.

Public safety building

  • Grapevine has acquired a tract of land on Ira E. Woods Avenue west of the intersection at William D. Tate for the construction of a new public safety building. The site is a short distance from the current police station. The new building will house the police department, detention unit, fire department, administration, emergency operation center, municipal court and the information technology department. Construction is expected to begin in early 2015.