Wichita Falls city council members left consideration of lawsuits against several major entertainment companies off the agenda when they held a meeting Tuesday, but they are allocating federal funds and using local money to start the fiscal year. It was started.
The Board of Trustees is considering hiring attorneys to join 25 other Texas cities in lawsuits against Netflix, Disney and Hulu over nonpayment of certain fees for streaming entertainment programs to consumers. was The topic was moved to a closed session for discussion and no action was taken.
The city council has allocated nearly $2 million to three projects of the $29 million the city received in federal COVID-19 relief funds. The largest share, $1,500,000, will go towards grants to local non-profits, and a task force will create a list of which groups will share the money. An additional $250,000 was donated to the arts community through the Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and Culture. The Wichita Falls City and County Health District received $173,800 to remodel two of his 1960s bathrooms at a district facility.
The city will pay more than planned for some heavy equipment. The cost of new garbage compactors for landfills and new street sweepers has risen significantly since Congress passed the fiscal year’s budget last month. Councilors allocated him an additional $365,000 to pay for the purchase.
In other projects, trustees:
- Spent approximately $1,736,000 on the annual purchase of new garbage trucks
- Grants American Medical Response and Tran Star Continuing Ambulance Service Franchise
- Received a $421,136 grant for a portable radio for firefighters
- Opposed Oncor Electric’s proposed rate hike of about $6 per month for residential users.
- Authorized Wichita County Water Improvement District No. 2 for $376,463 in expenditures related to the operation of river gages, Kemp and diversion lakes, and the canal system.
City council members also heard a plea for funding from Jessica Dean of Wichita Falls Sober Living, a support organization for people battling addiction. Dean has asked the council for financial assistance to acquire Narcan, a drug that can reverse the effects of opioids like fentanyl, in Wichita in 2022, when at least 18 of her deaths occurred in the Falls. The cause was attributed to an overdose of fentanyl. The mayor, Darron Leiker, suggested that Dean apply for a portion of the funds the city has allocated to nonprofits.