Published on November 04, 2021 by fortworthtexas.gove

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11 is now available from Tarrant County Public Health in addition to a City of Fort Worth drive-thru clinic, private pediatricians and pharmacies.

“The more than 204,000 5- to 11-year-olds in Tarrant County will now be able to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and help reduce the spread across our community,” said Tarrant County Public Health Director Vinny Taneja. “The fastest and easiest way to get a vaccine will be through the family pediatrician or at the local pharmacy. Tarrant County Public Health will offer the vaccine at each of its clinics across the county for those who need it.”

Find a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Tarrant County. 

COVID-19 vaccines are free to recipients, whether they are insured or uninsured.

Wilkerson-Greines clinic

The City of Fort Worth and the Fort Worth ISD are offering COVID vaccinations to children who are 5-11 years old at the Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center, 5201 C. A. Robertson Blvd. The site recently expanded hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays to provide parents with more options:

• Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Tuesday and Thursday 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The clinic is open to everyone and no health insurance information is required. No appointment is needed and you may stay in your car the entire time. Younger patients may have to temporarily exit the vehicle with a parent or guardian to receive the dose.

To learn more, call 817-392-8478 or email the hotline. 

The Fort Worth Public Art program seeks emerging and established public artists working in a variety of visual media and artistic approaches, offering regional artists the opportunity to highlight their previous work in public spaces, including murals, digital, cultural and studio-based media for the 2022 Pre-Qualified Artist List.

Applications are free and open until Feb. 11, 2022.

The purpose of the Pre-Qualified Artist List is to provide a streamlined application and selection process for artists interested in being commissioned for public art projects throughout Fort Worth. Possible artwork opportunities include parks, libraries, fire stations, community centers and others.

Artists will be selected based on artistic merit of past work and willingness to work collaboratively with other professionals and accept input from the community.

A selection panel will convene to review all eligible applications. The panel will then recommend artists for approval to the Fort Worth Public Art Commission. Once approved, artists will remain eligible for projects associated with the upcoming 2022 bond election.

Log Cabin Village is again hosting in-person special events, and there are two fun activities planned over the next two months.

Dutch Oven Cooking. Nov. 13, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. View a Dutch oven cooking demonstration by the Prairie Dog and Chisholm Trail Chaparral chapters of the Lone Star Dutch Oven Society. Cost is regular Village admission. No reservations are required.

Holidays at the Hearth. Dec. 4, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Celebrate historic traditions with visits and photos with Santa, holiday ornament crafting and hands-on games for the whole family. Cost includes admission and all activities: $8 for ages 18 and up; $7 for ages 4-17 and 60 and up; and $6 per person for groups of 10 or more. Ages 3 and under are free. No reservations are required.

The attraction is at 2100 Log Cabin Village Lane. Call 817-392-5881.

Fort Worth begins a new City Council meeting schedule in November. The first slate of meetings to fall under the new schedule will occur on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

Changes include scheduling the Council work sessions and Council agenda meetings on different weeks and setting scheduled dedicated public presentation meetings for the sole purpose of hearing comments and concerns from the public.

• First and third Tuesdays: City Council work session at 1 p.m.
  • City Council public presentation meeting at 6 p.m.
• Second Tuesday: City Council agenda meeting (including zoning cases) at 6 p.m.
• Fourth Tuesday: City Council agenda meeting at 10 a.m.

The order of the meetings for Tuesday, Nov. 2:

• 11 a.m. Joint meeting with the City Council and Redistricting Task Force; Fort Worth Convention Center, 1201 Houston St., Room 200.
• Noon. Executive session; City Hall, Room 2020.
• 12:55 p.m. Special called meeting to cast votes for the board of directors of the Tarrant Appraisal District; City Hall, Room 2020.
• 1 p.m. Special called meeting to discuss and draw redistricting maps; City Hall, Room 2020.
• Immediately following the special called meeting at 1 p.m. City Council Work Session; City Hall, Room 2020.
• 6 p.m. City Council public comment meeting; City Hall, City Council Chamber, second floor.

Watch the meetings live on Fort Worth TV, either online or on TV You can also watch the meeting via the Fort Worth TV video library. 

Looking for inspiration on how you can become healthier? Attend a Blue Zones Project, North Texas Healthy Communities presentation from noon-1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4.

Join the Fort Worth Municipal Court on the fourth floor of the A.D. Marshall Public Safety and Courts Building, 1000 Throckmorton St., to hear what the longest-lived people were eating on a daily basis, along with healthy tips and tricks to stay lighter during the holiday season.

Can’t attend in person? Join the presentation on Webex. The meeting number is 2554 562 2880; the meeting password is 12345. The phone-in number is 469-210-7159.

Trinity Metro President and CEO Bob Baulsir, who has led the agency since April 2019, is retiring as of Oct. 31 because of ongoing health issues. Baulsir joined Trinity Metro in November 2014 and was instrumental in constructing and launching TEXRail, the commuter rail line between Fort Worth and DFW Airport’s Terminal B.

During Baulsir’s tenure, the agency also started The Dash, the battery-electric bus route, plus ZIPZONE services in Mercantile, Southside and South Tarrant. In addition, A Better Connection was implemented in September to provide a new, more efficient bus network. Plans are underway for a TEXRail extension to the Fort Worth Medical District.

On Monday, the Trinity Metro Board of Directors named Paul J. Ballard as the interim president and CEO. He preceded Baulsir in the role and retired in April 2019 after serving at the helm for five years.

“We are really sorry to see Bob leave the agency, and we are so very grateful for everything he has done for Trinity Metro and public transportation in North Texas,” said Trinity Metro Board Chairman Jeff Davis. “While we search for a permanent replacement, we are delighted that Paul has agreed to step in and fill the void.”

While Ballard serves as the interim president and CEO, the Board of Directors will be working with the executive search firm Krauthamer & Associates LLC to conduct a national search for a permanent replacement.

Under Ballard’s leadership, the agency rebranded to Trinity Metro, developed a transit master plan and implemented new services, including TEXRail, Alliance ZIPZONE, bus service north of I-820, and the EASYRIDE commuter program. In addition, he developed a partnership with Tarrant County College for Trinity Metro to provide service to all TCC locations and the college to pay the fares for student rides.

Shortly after leaving Trinity Metro, Ballard served as interim general manager and CEO for the Regional Transportation District in Denver.

The Fort Worth Botanic Garden | Botanical Research Institute of Texas launched a multi-stakeholder Master Planning Committee and selected Dallas-based landscape architecture firm Studio Outside to design a comprehensive master plan to inform the direction and priorities for the next 20 years of infrastructure and facility improvements across the 120-acre campus.

“Creating a long-term, inspiring guest experience is the main purpose of this long-term master plan," said Bob Byers, FWBG|BRIT executive vice president and co-chair of the Master Planning Committee. “This plan will connect horticulture, botanical science and the Fort Worth community, leading us toward our strategic vision of being renowned globally and treasured locally.”

The master planning committee led by former District 7 City Councilmember Dennis Shingleton includes members from throughout the community, representative of Fort Worth civil servants, local garden associations, Fort Worth ISD, FWBG|BRIT board and staff and other community advocates and developers.

“We made a conscious effort to ensure that members from the City, FWBG|BRIT staff, former task force and other longtime Garden supporters were represented on this committee,” Shingleton said. “We will also be reaching out to Fort Worth residents requesting their input throughout this process, so it will truly reflect the opinions of our broad, diverse community.”

After a national search, Studio Outside landscape architects were chosen to deliver the final master plan in a 12-month timeline. Studio Outside and its team of architects, civil engineers and landscape architects offer a collective competency in master planning and botanic garden design as demonstrated both in previous projects at the Garden and in similar projects across the nation, such as Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Clermont, Kentucky, and the Water Conservation Garden at Red Butte in Salt Lake City.

“The master plan, which will evolve over the next 12 months, promises to fortify the Garden campus as a premier horticultural institution in the nation,” said Tary Arterburn, Studio Outside principal in charge. “This site is very unique, not far from the banks of the Trinity River, offering a perfect transect of ecosystems that are riparian, escarpment and prairie all in one place.”

Estrus Tucker, president and CEO of DEI Consultants LLC, which will be involved in public engagement efforts for the master plan, said: “If we dare to design our strategies and engagements with diversity, equity and inclusion as our intentions, our natural environment expressed in our gardens becomes an inspiring model for sustainable human communities.”

A website has been created for the master planning effort. 

Jannette Goodall, who has served as Austin city clerk since 2013, was selected Fort Worth city secretary this week.  City Council will confirm her as the city’s new city secretary by resolution in November. 

“Jannette Goodall has vast experience in a large, progressive and innovative municipality, where she handled elections, campaign finance, council support, personnel management, budget and contracts,” City Manager David Cooke said. “Her many years of information governance experience will be a valuable asset as we strive to make all city operations more efficient, transparent and equitable.”

In Austin, Goodall supervised a department of 27 employees with a $5.5 million budget.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in government from Monmouth College in Monmouth, Ill. Goodall is a Master Municipal Clerk, Texas Registered Municipal Clerk, Certified Records Manager and a Texas Notary Public. She was named Texas Municipal Clerk of the Year in 2020.

Once confirmed, Goodall begins her employment in Fort Worth on Nov. 29. She replaces Mary Kayser, who retired in June.

The World Champions Rodeo Alliance and Professional Bull Riders announced that the largest payout event in the history of women’s rodeo, the Women’s Rodeo World Championship (WRWC), will move to Fort Worth starting in May 2022.

The permanent relocation and dates will go into effect immediately after the 2021 Women’s Rodeo World Championship in Las Vegas, Oct. 26-29.

The championship event will be split between Cowtown Coliseum and Dickies Arena. The first three rounds of competition will be at Cowtown Coliseum May 16-17, with the final two rounds at Dickies Arena in conjunction with PBR World Finals. 2022 Women’s Rodeo World Champions will now be crowned in the same arena as the PBR World Champion.

“We are ecstatic about this forever home for the WRWC in the heart of cowboy country as we continue to change the landscape of women’s rodeo, offering the world’s largest payout in the history of women’s rodeo and showcasing these athletes to the world in a dedicated one-hour CBS Network Telecast,” said WCRA President Bobby Mote.