Hey there! I wanted to share a quick, behind-the-scenes look at my morning at Denton City Hall for the January 26, 2026 Public Utilities Board meeting. I’ll walk you through exactly what was on the docket, the vibe of the day, and how the city handled things behind the scenes.
I pulled up to 215 E. McKinney Street right around 9:00 a.m., ready to settle into the Council Work Session Room and catch the board’s regular session. But before I even stepped through the doors, I noticed the big notice that had been posted back on January 23: the meeting was officially cancelled and wouldn’t be taking place. The room was completely quiet, the chairs were still neatly arranged, and instead of a full board session, it was just the usual morning hum of the building and the soft glow of the agenda posted on the city’s website since January 20.
Even though the gavel never came down, I took a few minutes to flip through the agenda that was supposed to guide the day, and it was packed with some heavy utility lifting. The consent agenda was lined up with two major contracts ready for a single motion: first, a deal with Clean Harbors Environmental Services to handle household hazardous waste disposal for the Solid Waste and Recycling Department, capped at a not-to-exceed $400,000 over a potential five-year stretch. Second, a contract with Carahsoft Technology Corporation for Procore project management software to help the Capital Projects Department stay organized, with a five-year not-to-exceed ceiling of $1,849,300.05.
If things had proceeded as planned, the board would’ve moved straight into individual consideration. That meant approving the minutes from the January 12 meeting, followed by management reports. One report caught my eye right away: an incident summary covering a fire at the Pecan Creek Water Reclamation Facility. The agenda also reserved space for future agenda items, new business action items, and the standard concluding segment where the board typically handles public inquiries under the Texas Open Meetings Act and shares community updates like holiday schedules or public recognitions. After that, they’d have shifted into a work session to dig into updates for the Cross Connection Control and Backflow Ordinance, with a solid 45 minutes blocked out for discussion.
Since the room stayed empty, I double-checked how the city kept the public process moving. The guidelines were pretty straightforward: citizens could still weigh in through the eComment module on the city’s website. Those comments would’ve gone straight to the board members and been recorded by the Secretary into the official minutes, so the channel for public input was still open even without an in-person crowd.
So, that was my morning at City Hall—no deliberations or roll calls, just a quiet reminder of how municipal scheduling works and a chance to review exactly what the Public Utilities Board had lined up for the day. Thanks for riding along with me through the agenda, and I’ll catch you at the next one!