Some North Texas leaders are in Tampa, Fla., this week for a summit hosted by the National League of Cities.

Approximately 4,000 elected leaders from across the country gathered for City Summit 2024, which addresses topics including infrastructure, racial equity, public safety, immigration and mental health.

DeSoto City Council member Nicole Raphiel said she wants to make sure her city has a seat at the table. Raphiel, who has served on the city council since 2018, said one of his goals is to learn more about grant opportunities for his city, a growing suburb in southwest Dallas County that now has 56,000 inhabitants.

Although she said big grants aren’t DeSoto’s strong point, things are changing. DeSoto recently won one of its first major grants – this one under the bipartisan infrastructure law to fund the city’s Comprehensive Safety Action Plan.

Because the city of Tampa won a multimillion-dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation called Safe Streets for All, Raphiel took a tour to see how Tampa was putting its grants into practice. Speaking at the summit Wednesday, she said she learned how they made some of their boulevards and streets safer using inexpensive methods such as painting crosswalks and other things such as landscaping roundabouts and reducing the number of lanes to use the space for others. things like cycle paths or pedestrian islands.

“We’re currently in the planning stages for the city of DeSoto, and I just wanted to take a look to see what it looks like in a city like Tampa.,.” she said.

Raphiel said the conference helped her see things in a new light. She said the NLC gave them rubrics as well as the opportunity to connect with and learn from other city leaders. other.

“In the city of DeSoto, we have a lot of moving parts and we’re always trying to improve our systems,” she said.

Speaking to elected leaders across the country, Raphiel said many were still preparing for the election. She said some leaders want to “get to know the administration while continuing to make their case.”

“And when I heard that, you know, it put everything into perspective for me – but at the end of the day, it’s not about the party, it’s about the people. How can we serve people better.

Raphiel is part of the National Black Caucus of local elected leaders, who meet at the summit. She says NBC-LEO’s representation there is important.

“It’s about making sure we’re using the right language, sharing the culture and what that looks like in policy,” she said.

Priscilla Rice is KERA’s Communities Reporter. Do you have any advice? Send him an email to [email protected].

KERA News is made possible thanks to the generosity of our members. If you find these reports useful, consider make a tax-deductible donation today. THANKS.