NOTICE OF A SPECIAL MEETING
OF THE CITY COUNCIL
CITY OF GARLAND, TEXAS
CHAPTER 551, TEX. GOV'T CODE
Council Chambers
City Hall
200 N. Fifth St., Garland, Texas

NOTICE is hereby given that the City Council of the City of Garland, Texas will hold a special meeting at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 to deliberate the following:
 

Consider the adoption of a resolution authorizing the execution of a global compromise settlement agreement regarding certain litigation, administrative proceedings, and other disputes among and between the City of Bryan, Texas, the City of Denton, Texas, the City of Garland, Texas, the City of Greenville, Texas and the Texas Municipal Power Agency.

 

Most Garland resident's know that we own 47% of the Texas Municipal Power Agency, along with Bryan, Denton, and Greenville. It is the source of most of our power but we also own other generating facilities. For our power needs beyond those resources, we buy on the open power market.
 
The partnership has worked well for its member cities but there have been conflicts, especially with Bryan, which has sued us, the other member cities, and TMPA several times. At each decision point, the courts have almost always ruled against Bryan. We haven't lost on any points but we haven't been able to close all points either.
 
Representatives from the cities have been meeting to explore if there was common ground that would enable a settlement of the pending law suits and other issues related to the operation of TMPA. Progress has been reported but any settlement must receive approval from all the member cities, which means approval by the city councils in each of the cities.
 
The Council will receive an update tonight in a special meeting. I have no idea how the meeting tonight will go but it is encouraging that there has been some progress after so many years of just the opposite.
 
I expect the meeting will be broadcast and can be viewed live on CGTV (Cable channels 14 or 44, Time Warner and Verizon FIOS, respectively), during replays also on the cable stations, streaming at the city's website, or from the broadcast archives also at the city's website. Using older technology, anyone interested could also attend the meeting at City Hall!