* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          [00:00:10]
          WELCOME TO THE BIG EVENT. 
          WOO. 
          THAT'S RIGHT. 
          THE BIG EVENT IS BACK FOR ITS EIGHTH YEAR IN GRAND PRAIRIE, COMING TO THE RESCUE FOR THOSE IN NEED OF SOME BIG HELP. 
          THE BIG EVENT IS A MASSIVE ONE DAY SPRING CLEANING INITIATIVE THAT BRINGS OUT HUNDREDS OF VOLUNTEERS FROM SEVERAL CITY DEPARTMENTS, LOCAL BUSINESSES, CIVIC GROUPS, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS, SPREAD OUT AT SCORES OF DIFFERENT LOCATIONS FROM NORTH TO SOUTH AND EAST TO WEST, TAKING ON ANY NUMBER OF CHORES LIKE YARD WORK AND GARDENING, RAKING LEAVES AND PULLING WEEDS. 
          BASICALLY ANYTHING TO HELP NEIGHBORS WHO AREN'T ABLE TO DO IT FOR THEMSELVES, LIKE LONGTIME GRAND PRAIRIE RESIDENT, BETTY HASTY WHO SAYS SHE'S NOT SURE WHAT SHE WOULD DO WITHOUT IT. 
          IT'S SO WONDERFUL WHEN YOU CAN'T TAKE CARE OF YOUR YARD AND IT GETS IN THIS CONDITION. 
          I'M EMBARRASSED REALLY FOR MY COMMUNITY FROM THE WAY MY YARD LOOKS, AND I JUST APPRECIATE THESE PLOT, NICE PEOPLE COMING OUT AND HELPING ME. 
          IT MEANS A LOT TO BE ABLE TO GO OUT AND HELP OUR COMMUNITY, UH, TO BE ABLE TO GO OUT AND HELP THOSE WHO NEED HELP AND WHO ARE OF COURSE REQUESTING IT. 
          AND I, I REALLY ENJOY, I'M REALLY THANKFUL THAT THE, THE CITY IS ABLE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS, THAT WE CAN BE INVOLVED IN. 
          GRAND PRAIRIE BECAME THE FIRST MUNICIPALITY IN THE NATION TO ADOPT THE BIG EVENT BROUGHT TO THE CITY BY MAYOR PRO TEM GEORGIA CLEMSON, WHO GOT THE IDEA FROM HER GRANDSON, A STUDENT AT TEXAS A AND M, WHERE IT GOT ITS START IN 1982, NOW BOEING, AND GOING FOR NEARLY A DECADE IN GP. 
          THE IDEA BEHIND IT REMAINS THE SAME. 
          NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS, SOMETHING THAT BOTH CITY LEADERS AND VOLUNTEERS ARE THRILLED TO SEE BEING PASSED ON TO A WHOLE NEW GENERATION. 
          THERE YOU GO, REBECCA AND I JUST CAME FROM TRUMAN ELEMENTARY, WHERE THERE'S PROBABLY 10 KIDS, MIDDLE SCHOOL KIDS, SEVENTH, EIGHTH, AND NINTH GRADERS CLEANING UP. 
          SO YES, WE'RE BRINGING UP A WHOLE NEW GROUP OF KIDS, ADULTS, UH, COLLEGE STUDENTS THAT WANT TO GET INVOLVED AND IS SO IMPORTANT. 
          IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE OUR YOUNG PEOPLE INVOLVED BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY, AND I LOVE TO SEE THEM WORKING AS WELL BECAUSE IT SHOWS THE SUPPORT ACROSS THE GENERATIONS AND, UH, THAT'S WHAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITIES. 
          THERE AREN'T REALLY WORDS TO EXPRESS THAT IT'S SO FULFILLING AND SO EXCITING, AND TO KNOW THAT YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE NOT ONLY TODAY, BUT IN THE FUTURE AS WELL, AND HAVING THE KIDS OUT THERE THAT JUST MADE MY HEART SING. 
          THIS YEAR'S BIG EVENT, SENT OVER 1500 VOLUNTEERS TO MORE THAN A HUNDRED DIFFERENT GRAND PRAIRIE LOCATIONS. 
          THE FUTURE IS REPLACING SOME HISTORY ON MAIN STREET IN DOWNTOWN GRAND PRAIRIE. 
          THE OLD CITY HALL ANNEX AND FINANCE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING ARE BEING DEMOLISHED AS PART OF A PLAN TO REDEVELOP SEVERAL PROPERTIES NEAR CITY HALL. 
          THE CONCEPT APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL INCLUDES NEW HOUSING, RETAIL, AND ENTERTAINMENT OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE INTENDED TO REVITALIZE THE DOWNTOWN AREA. 
          UNFORTUNATELY, OFFICIALS SAY IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE TO REPURPOSE THE OLD ANNEX AND FINANCE BUILDINGS. 
          EVERYBODY LOVES SAVING HISTORY, BUT I AND MY FELLOW COUNCIL MEMBERS, ALONG WITH THE STAFF OF COMING UP WITH A VISION FOR THIS THAT COULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT REMOVING THEM. 
          IN ADDITION, THEY ARE SO OLD, THEY HAVE ASBESTOS IN THEM. 
          THE COST OF RECONSTRUCTION OR REMODELING, IT WAS JUST PRETTY ASTRONOMICAL. 
          THE NEXT PHASE OF DEMOLITION WILL REMOVE THE OLD CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH BUILDINGS AND THE SONNET, WHICH IS RELOCATING SEVERAL BLOCKS TO THE WEST. 
          OFFICIALS SAY THE PROJECT WILL TAKE SEVERAL YEARS TO COMPLETE.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.