12/17/07
You better not drive,
You better just think,
"Please let me survive!"
A Police Dept Press Release:
Holiday DWI Patrols
Garland Police officers will be working overtime during the upcoming holidays to catch and remove D.W.I. (Driving Under the Influence) drivers from Garland roadways. The project will begin December 21 and runs through January 1.
Garland Police Officers will be driving marked and unmarked squad cars for the added enforcement. The special project is funded by TxDOT’s Driver Mobilization Grant, which is also aimed at removing minors from the roadways who are D.W.I.
2007 D.W.I. arrest totals for Garland so far have been:
- 502 D.W.I. arrests
- 29 of those arrests were minors
In addition for 2007 there have been:
- 4 Intoxication Assault cases filed
- 1 Intoxication Manslaughter case filed, all stemming from car crashes
Current TxDOT statistics show someone is either hurt or killed an average every 19 minutes by drunk drivers on Texas roadways and five people are killed everyday by drunk drivers on Texas roadways.
DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE!
IF YOU DO DRINK, HAVE A DESIGNATED DRIVER.
12/11/07
GP&L Heading North to Assist Powerless Oklahoma Town -
Categories: Public Safety, Utilities -
Douglas
@ 09:08:13 pm
We had a very wet day. I couldn't help but think of our northerly neighbors in Oklahoma that were seeing that same precipitation but as ice. My wife's brother and sister live in Tulsa and both have been without power for two days.
Lives are in the balance and it is impossible for the power crews in Oklahoma to meet the demand they are suddenly facing. Garland is a dependable friend to communities in times of crisis, whether it is power crews as in this case, or police or fire or other emergency crews, we are regularly welcomed for our capabilities. As is so often the case, helping others can mean helping yourself. The proficiencies that our emergency personnel keep honed pays us huge dividends when we have emergencies at home.
A GP&L News Release:
GP&L volunteers load tools and other equipment for their trip to Skiatook, Oklahoma, where the entire town of 6000 is without power.
Garland Power & Light Sends a Crew
to Assist in Oklahoma Power RestorationGarland, Texas — December 11, 2007 — Garland Power & Light (GP&L) has sent a crew of volunteer personnel to assist public power utilities in restoring power in northeastern Oklahoma where winter ice storms have resulted in downed electric lines and loss of power to thousands of homes and businesses.
A GP&L crew consisting of five linemen left Garland around noon on Tuesday with two bucket trucks, a line truck for pole setting and, and two pickups. Accompanying the crew is Transmission & Distribution Coordinator Sonie Jackson.
"We hope the roads are in good shape as we get into Oklahoma and go north of Tulsa to Skiatook, which is our destination," said Jackson. "Once there, our contact will tell us exactly where they need the crew to work."
The assistance to Oklahoma is a team effort of GP&L's entire Transmission & Distribution Division. Not only is this crew heading up north, but other linemen and staff helped to outfit the trucks with all the equipment and supplies they will need. The crews remaining in Garland will be making extra efforts to ensure our customers are well taken care of while the other crew is gone.
"We're happy to assist other public power utilities recover from this major storm," said Ray Schwertner, Director of Electric Utilities. "Electric service is crucial, and our crews will do all they can to help restore it quickly."
The Council's Public Safety Committee met Monday afternoon to discuss a subject I had placed on the agenda: railroad quiet zones. Other cities now have ordinances that prohibit or control the horn blasts from locomotives approaching railroad crossings and maybe it is time for Garland to join them.
For me, and I think everyone, the first concern must be safety. Not very many years ago, several deaths at crossings along Lavon Hwy were from car-train wrecks. It would make sense that quieting the horns would be more dangerous. Federal law until not long ago pre-empted a community's ability to legislate any control. Meanwhile, other federal laws required that the horns be louder, by ten decibels. Then I read that quiet zones could be safer. I was a skeptic but I asked to the Council to review such zones and how other cities with such ordinances were faring.
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Robert Wunderlich, Managing Director of Transportation, presented a recap of the work his department has been doing for quite some time, much longer than my request. There are very strict guidelines that a city must follow to make crossings safe before it would be allowed to quiet the horns, but it is possible. And better news: safety upgrades in the last few years have pushed Garland well along that track.
A number of methods can be used, but crossings must have lights, gates, and other safety devices in place. Crossing safety can be increased for one-way streets (gates block the whole intersection and cannot be easily manuevered around). Adding medians can also restrict driving around the gates. There are other methods and devices to increase safety but the requirement for increased safety remains paramount.
A whole route through Garland could be quietened or just sections. The transporation department will continue to study the issue and has hired a consulting firm that was involved with the draft of the federal regulations to give us guidance. The elements of each crossing, safety features, number of cars, train and car traffic times, and other data will need to be collected. That part of the process may take another six months.
Then we'll review what we have learned, see if we've reached or can reach the safety levels required, and then we'll learn if things are going to be quieter in Garland.
12/10/07
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What will they come up with next?
I heard on the radio of a site sponsored by Office Max called "elfyourself." Then I saw another reference on television tonight.
You can basically build your own electronic Christmas card and send to whomever you want. And it's easy. It may just be the beginning of another short-lived fad … but a fun one.
So here is the quick version of the Athas Family Elves and our holiday greeting to you!
If you like it, you can do one for your family and friends.
A little holiday cheer and fun! |
12/09/07
Huh. Not long after posting below on three of the new on-line services at the library, I noticed on article in today's Metro section of the Dallas Morning News on libraries that was very much related: "In digital age, libraries turn a page on services they offer."
The article quotes Claire Bausch, Library Director, Kathleen Cisek, Central Library manager, and Bettye Haynes, Library Advisory Board member, and features a photograph of Katie Mills, electronic resource librarian. The article also includes quotes from librarians from other nearby cities.
The move by libraries to embrace the digital age was not always a given. A decade ago, many communities forecasted a budget dividend as books and research moved to the Internet. Cities such as Chicago drastically cut funds to libraries. Even with some on-line book services, it's easy to see that the Internet has not supplanted libraries. As in the article, libraries have become a digital-age resource. Libraries have even become the portal to the Internet for many citizens without a computer or on-line access.
I read a couple years ago that Chicago made a drastic course correction at the end of the 90's, pumping many more dollars toward libraries to both save them and to expand them. New libraries were constructed. The library became the focal point in many communities, offering meeting rooms and other local programs. In one library that straddled two economic zones, affluent to the east and challenged to the west, poor elementary students studied after school at the library and were tutored by volunteers that came mostly from the wealthier side—a community working together.
To learn more about how libraries are addressing the digital age in our area, be sure to catch the article in today's DMN or online:
In digital age, libraries turn a page on services they offer
Many using every trick in the book to expand selections for computer-savvy patrons
12:00 AM CST on Sunday, December 9, 2007
By FRANK TREJO / The Dallas Morning News
ftrejo@dallasnews.com
As libraries turn increasingly digital, they aren't just for reading anymore.
A growing number are offering audiobooks, certain movies and television shows, online homework help and other specialized programs, as well as readable "e-books," to anyone with a library card and an Internet connection.
Because such services don't require patrons to even step foot inside the door, some may wonder whether the digital trend will mean the eventual demise of brick-and-mortar libraries.
Area librarians answer with an emphatic no.
"Libraries are very different now, with more online services and people being so busy, but books and libraries are not going away anytime soon," said Claire Bausch, director of Garland's Nicholson Memorial Library System. "If anything, automation and technology have actually increased demand for information, including books. Just about every morning, we have patrons waiting for our doors to open."
As Ms. Bausch and others see it, librarians are trained to provide access to information, regardless of the format.
Loriene Roy, president of the American Library Association, noted that 10 years ago, only about 25 percent of public libraries provided public access to computers. Today, it is close to 99 percent.
- Classic movies and television programs
- Language learning
- Audiobooks
- E-books, which can be read on computer screens
- Live homework help
- Library catalogs
- Newspaper and magazine databases
- Genealogy resources
- Health resources, such as Eldercare, which provides information about long-term care facilities
- Many libraries also provide on-site computers, and some offer wireless access so patrons can access services via their own laptops—even in the parking lot.
Source: Dallas Morning News
"The transition to digital has changed not only the physical configuration of the library, but in many cases policies have had to change to keep up with the times," Dr. Roy said. "Libraries are social institutions; they respond to need."
She knows of one library that lends out a CPR doll and another with a cake pan collection that patrons can check out.
Dr. Roy, a professor in the School of Information at the University of Texas in Austin, said the new technology is prompting public libraries to consider new uses of their space, from comfortable reading lounges to video game areas to coffee shops that let them compete with bookstores.
"This is really an exciting time to be working in libraries because of the options," she said.
Earlier this fall, the Garland library system launched MyLibraryDV, a digital video service that allows patrons to download classic and independent movies, as well as certain cooking, travel, home improvement, health and many other types of programs. The service can be reached from any computer with Internet access as long as the patron has a library card.
Up to 10 programs can be "checked out" at a time, and when the loan period expires, the program returns itself, so late fees are avoided.
Also this fall, the Garland library system began offering online audio access to Rosetta Stone language learning software.
The improvements came about a year and a half after the Garland library began offering downloadable audiobooks and e-books, which patrons can read on their computer screens.
Even patrons who previously had no interest in electronic gadgets have become hooked.
Bettye Haynes, a longtime Garland resident who sits on the library advisory board, feels right at home with her MP3 player. She uses it not for music but instead to hold up to 10 audiobooks – usually mysteries – that she's checked out from the library.
"I think it's just fantastic that you can put several books on this little bitty thing," she said. "I use it all the time, when I'm jogging or when I'm on a plane."
Providing information options is the library's goal, said Kathleen Cisek, manager of Garland's Central Library.
307,000
Patrons who used public access computers last year
25,418
Patrons who used electronic resources
79,122
Electronic searches conducted through library online services
1,098
Patrons who took practice tests online
4,877
Students tutored through Live Homework Help
12,318
Patrons who read or listened to books online
DMN Sources: Garland's Nicholson Memorial Library System; Dallas Morning News research
That sentiment was echoed by Marcine McCulley, reference librarian at the Rockwall County Library, which offers a variety of databases, as well as audiobooks, movies and other services online.
"We still think that the actual book collection is very important," Ms. McCulley said. "We have about 50,000 volumes in our collection. But some patrons want the convenience of digital information."
She noted that Rockwall's current library is "stuffed to the gills," which is why the county is building a new $11.5 million, 52,000-square-foot facility.
"There will always be a need for physical buildings," Ms. McCulley said. "The focus may change, and we may have new technology, but they will always be there. Especially for leisure reading, you can't compare curling up with a good book, as opposed to an electronic device."
Julie Torstad, acquisitions librarian for the Plano Public Library, said patrons there download an average of 250 audiobooks per month. The Plano library began offering that service in 2006.
"Online services are just becoming a big thing for some patrons, something they want," Ms. Torstad said. "For us, it helps eliminate the damage and need to replace things like books or CDs. And many more patrons can view or listen to something at the same time."
The Dallas Public Library, which logs 3.6 million patron visits each year, also is expanding its online services, said Miriam Rodriguez, assistant director. It offers live homework help for students, as well as access to databases including test preparation, investment information, automobile repair and even a digitized collection of documents and photographs from the Texas/Dallas History Division.
Lyle Vance, manager of adult services at the Irving Public Library, said it offers some databases and online access to its entire catalog. Irving also is preparing to expand its services soon. Among the additions will be downloadable audiobooks.
But Mr. Vance said he also believes the library building will remain a "cultural experience" that people will continue to want.
"America is very much involved in experience, whether it's Six Flags or football games or a movie," Mr. Vance said. "A library is still an experience."
Garland library card holders can now access three new services over the Internet: Rosetta Stone, MyLibraryDV, and Eldercare. The three services allow members to learn another language, and download videos, and review care facilities and services for elders.
From the library website:
Rosetta Stone:
Learning a new language has never been easier! Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method is designed to teach you a new language the way you learned your first language: by directly associating words – written and spoken – with objects, actions and ideas that convey meaning. NMLS card holders will now be able to learn English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese courtesy of their library!
MyLibraryDV:
On-Demand video 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. Once you install the MLDV Download Manager, you will have access to hundreds of hours of DVD-quality programming. And it’s not just movies either! You will see television shows such as Rick Steves’ Europe, Antiques Roadshow, America’s Test Kitchen and Today’s Homeowner. There are also author interviews and educational programs for kids.
Eldercare:
This resource is designed to help the process of choosing long-term care for yourself or a loved one. A Care Evaluator assists in determining where you are in the care cycle and will allow you to see if home health or hospice care may be appropriate or if a nursing home setting is needed. There are also links to caregiver tips, FAQs, coping with Alzheimer’s, as well as state resources.
The true strength of this product is in the Provider Search. You can search by county, city, zip code (with proximity limiters) and/or facility name. There is also a Smart Match search strategy that allows you to truly customize your search results. You can search by facility size, Alzheimer’s population, dietary services and many other criteria. The report returned is the most comprehensive you will find. The report is approximately 10 pages and includes quality care ratings, trends, resident population profiles as well as inspection violations (if any were found).
Stop by any library branch for a card. A new key-fob is available so if you can find your keys, you've found your card. [I can't help but wonder how long it will be until we carry card-fobs that happen to have a few keys.] Information on the services above and literally dozens of other on-line services is available at the Nicholson Memorial Library System website.
12/07/07
Foreclosure Woes Gaining Notice -
Categories: News, Neighborhoods, Taxes & Budget -
Douglas
@ 11:15:35 pm
In today's Business section of the Dallas Morning News, Steve Brown reports "Suburbs are home of foreclosure woes." The headline is true only in the sense that there are more people and houses in the suburbs. Other than that, as the DMN data below shows, foreclosures are well distributed. Garland is listed as having the fourth highest number, behind Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington. Since Garland is the fifth largest city in the Metroplex, that's not too unexpected. Of the top 10, Garland, Mesquite, and Arlington have seen increases of 5% over 2006, the lowest except Cedar Hill, which had a 2% increase.
The Council attended a Financial Retreat last Monday, Dec 3, along with senior staff and department heads. A review of Residential Housing Trends presented by Bryan Bradford, Managing Director of Budget and Research, included information on local foreclosures. Data shows that there are 813 houses in foreclosure, or 1.4% of our total. While District 1 has 94 houses in foreclosure, 1.1% of our stock, the areas with the highest foreclosures are central and south Garland. District 6 in west Garland had the least, less than one percent (0.93%).
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Mr Bradford's projections showed that the numbers are expected to rise through Mar, and then the foreclosures will drop over 90% through 2008. These projections are subject to numerous interuptions, which may be beneficial or not, and were made before the federal agreements announced yesterday.
The foreclosure presentation led other data on housing values and sales tax dollars that was bearish. The staff projects a dip in the tax revenues to the city through 2008 and beyond. The Council's and staff's restraints on spending probably puts Garland in a better position than other Metroplex cities, but further belt-tightening will be required.
12/06/07
Building a Comprehensive Plan -
Categories: Opinions, Neighborhoods, Transportation, Development -
Douglas
@ 05:26:57 pm
All Texas home-rule cities (most of the cities except the smaller ones) have a Comprehensive Plan. It is used to map the community's vision for itself, serving as a guide to development and sizing infrastructure needs. As an example, Dallas recently completed substantial revisions to their Comp Plan, which took well over a year and was widely reported.
Garland will soon start a similar process to revise our current Comp Plan that is now approaching 20-years-old. In the past, Garland had a relatively unique process of Plan development that was administered in five sectors: East, South, West, North, and Central. Virtually all of the vision and standards that we now know as the SH-190 Development Standards were drafted by the North Area Plan Implementation Committee. I've always felt our sector planning process stimulated involvement by a much wider group of citizens and delivered an earlier consensus than what most cities have experienced. Many Garland leaders started their community service on those committees.
The Planning staff has been laying the framework for this new Comp Plan. Here are their work plans for a process that will start in early 2008 and will take about 18 months to complete:
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City of Garland
C O M P R E H E N S I V E P L A N Project Overview |
What is a comprehensive plan?
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Sector Planning
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Modern Challenges to Sector Planning
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Regional Changes
* Source: NCTCOG, growth between 2000 and 2030
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A New Comprehensive Plan
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Next Steps
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| For more information ... Project Managers: Angela Calvin, AICP (972/205-2450) Daniel Krzyanowski, AICP (972/205-2460) |
There is a lot of key information here. One the economic side, we have strong retail and commercial growth continuing on SH-190, strong industrial development and expansion, and a revitalized downtown breaking ground. There will be strong periods and weak periods but by 2030 the Metroplex will add 50% more people than live here now. They can move to Frisco or Anna or even further but doing so means more expense and time spent commuting and shopping and playing. Fewer and fewer people are willing to make that sacrifice; they want to live closer to where they work and play.
As a first-ring suburb, that describes opportunity for Garland. To take advantage, we must plan for our success. The Comprehensive Plan will lay the foundation upon which we will build, literally. We will also be "rebuilding" our zoning ordinances to allow Garland to grow past build-out, in ways that promote quality of life and will sustain the city.
I'm very pleased that we are developing a path to the future of which we can all be proud, and in a manner that is inclusive of the citizens.
12/05/07
Code Dept Has Been Retooled -
Categories: Opinions, Neighborhoods, Code Compliance -
Douglas
@ 11:08:21 pm
After being elected to the Council last year, my exposure to the Code Compliance Dept increased dramatically. I heard complaints from some residents that the department was too strict and from others how the inspectors were overlooking violations. Some previous Council members preferred that Code only respond to complaints—I guess on the theory that there wasn't an actual problem unless a case was so egregious as to be reported—and other members appeared to want the department to be their personal enforcers. I think we can do much better than solely look at the complaints and I vehemently disagree with any Council member trying to direct any department for their personal wishes.
Because of resource constraints, and because several inspectors were inspecting only rental properties, personnel could just keep up with the complaints. If someone reported his neighbor for high grass, the house two doors down with even higher grass might not receive any notice.
My feelings have been that all residences in the city need to maintain minimum housing standards. Anything less leads to unsafe living conditions, illnesses, greater ambulance and emergency personnel costs, decreased property values in the area, and the list goes on. Minimum should be a threshold that is truly a minimum that doesn't create unnecessary burdens on residents. It should apply to everyone, not just certain classes or certain types of residential or only certain areas.
Finally, I feel that a major part of code compliance should be education. Let people know what the minimums are and why. Try to address whole neighborhoods rather than individual residences. Let people know you're coming—it doesn't have to be: "gotcha." If residents know and take the initiative to correct problems, then neighborhood inspections will go much faster and easier.
Code Compliance has moved that direction under Rick Barker, Neighborhood Standards Manager, Steve Killen, Director of Code Compliance, and Richard Briley, Managing Director of the Health and Code Departments. It is probably fair to term the new strategy as "more carrots" and "less sticks." I support their initiative.
Presented during the Dec 3 Council work session:
NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES DIVISION
Rick Barker, Neighborhood Standards Manager
Code Districts
Click for larger version 
Neighborhood Standards 2007 Productivity
- 20,610 citizen-generated responses by staff
- 19,065 staff-initiated inspections
- 1572 citations issued for non-compliance
- 76% of citations accepted by Municipal Court
- 1591 cases were abated by city contractor (Cost: $196,000; Lien Revenue: $201,546)
Reorganization of Staff
- 6 Service Request (Complaint) Inspectors
- 6 Proactive Inspectors
- 2 Specialists
- 2 "Sweepers"
Objectives
- Continue to provide prompt and courteous responses to all service requests (24-48 hours)
- Reduce reactionary responses via proactive inspections across the city; targeting obvious, abatable nuisance violations
- Minimize delays associated with nuisance abatements by observing the violation before a service request is initiated
- Improve neighborhood vitality
Previous Strategy
- Primary objective was to improve customer service
- Ten inspectors were to perform a complete inspection at each property in response to a complaint.
- Response to complaints was to be within 24 hours and considered the top priority of the department.
- The volume of complaints received across an inspector's area coupled with the demand of a prompt service response created an inefficient inspection process.
- This approach resulted in a reactive response mentality. Statistically, the goals of the department were being met, but, realistically, the neighborhood appearance was unaffected.
New Strategy
- Improved utilization of resources via modification of inspection tactics
- Incorporate three new positions into the Neighborhood Standards Division.
- Complaint responses will remain a priority and responses should still be within 24-48 hours.
- A proactive component was added. These routed inspections will target nuisance violations, street-by-street and alley-by-alley, assuring a systematic process and thereby improving efficiency.
- The desired result will be an aesthetic improvement in the neighborhoods.
- Redistricting to allow systematic approach inspecting the City
- Previously, the focus on quick responses to Service Requests resulted in a random enforcement process
- Now, Service Request (Complaint) Inspectors will free Proactive Inspectors to perform more thorough evaluations of the neighborhood and will not be required to cease proactive surveys to respond to Service Requests. Consequently, Proactive Inspectors will evaluate each street within a sub-area via inspection routes.
Methodology
- Goal: each property will be evaluated 3 times per year
- The City has been redistricted to include six proactive inspection areas, each with four sub-areas.
- One month will be devoted to each sub-area to perform initial and follow-up inspections. Prior to entering a sub-area to begin inspections, signs will be placed to inform residents of inspectors in the area.
- At the completion of the month, each street within the sub-area will have been surveyed targeting properties with obvious violations.
- At the completion of the fourth month, all properties within the six inspector districts will have been evaluated at least once.
- The two "sweepers" will be used when proactive inspectors report heavy concentrations of violations that would impede the completion of the respective sub-area within the specified month.
- The two specialist positions will be utilized as before, with emphasis focusing on thoroughfares and vacant parcels.
- Annual Notice utilization will be enhanced to allow timelier abatements of recurring nuisances.
Program Implementation
- The Proactive Program began October 15
- Citizenry and staff have been receptive to the change in methods
- Approximately 8000 Notices of Violations were issued in the first month (violations that may not have been observed without a service request under the previous method).
- Completion of sub-area within the specified time appears achievable.
ANNUAL COMPARISON
FY 2005-2006 / 2006-2007Complaints Inspections Citations
EARLY INDICATORS
Four-Week Comparison (Oct 15–Nov 15)
Program
ProgramNotices Work Orders
Challenges
- Inspector office time will increase due to data entry requirements and software limitations, the volume of notices, and related phone calls.
- Peak season (high grass/water restrictions) may require shifting staff to address complaint responses in a timely fashion.
- Work order abatements and associated costs are anticipated to increase.
- Compliance responses have overwhelmed Environmental Waste Services.
Performance Evaluation of the Program
- A quantifiable decrease in complaints received from the citizenry will justify the continuance of the proactive program
- A successful decrease in the number of violations per residence via departmental audits
- Desire to survey Neighborhood Associations as to the success/failure of the program on perceived results
Obviously from the data, the revised program is more effective addressing violations with the same number of personnel. It is too early to know how most citizens will view the results.
In the criteria, reference is made more than once to aesthetics. As a general principle, I do not believe it is government's role to determine and regulate aesthetics. Many people do want to live where aesthetics can be regulated and they often choose to live in a homeowners association where residents can determine their common expectations. But I don't believe the use in the document above is intended to be a statement for regulating aesthetics. Rather, if health and safety issues are addressed—if grass is cut low enough to not be a home to rodents and other pests, if roofs are kept in repair to not leak and cause structural and safety problems, if structures are painted to prevent decay and pest encroachment, if personal property is kept from the public right of way, if pools are kept clean to not become breeding areas for mosquitoes and diseases—there will invariably be a perceived quality in the neighborhood that can be aesthetically measured. Aesthetics may be a result while not have been the goal.
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You can watch the total presentation on Garland's on-line CGTV web casts. There are two parts and both together are over an hour. The presentation reviews all of the Health and Code departments, not just the information above.
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12/04/07
At Monday's Council work session, we had a thorough briefing from Richard Briley, Managing Director of the Health and Code Departments, on department activities and advancements over the last year. I've joked (but with a degree of seriousness) that having lunch with Richard means eating at a restaurant that scored at least 90 on its most recent food service inspection.
As we were learning that the recent average food service inspection score was about 80%, I couldn't help but think of a new feature in The Garland News: Garland Restaurant Scores. The News will publish scores that are below 60 as gathered from the scores for all restaurants, day care facilities, schools, fast food restaurants, and more, posted on the Health Services Restaurant Inspection Scores page at the City of Garland website. This week's article listed 24 businesses that failed to achieve that threshhold. Only two were below the 50 range. Incredibly, one restaurant downtown on N Garland Ave, Grandy's, scored only 35. I trust this is a score before new management took control of the property and started their improvements. I've heard numerous comments complimenting the change.
Very few restaurants in District 1 made the News' naughty list and I sincerely hope the incidents were single-time anomalies that were quickly corrected. From District 1:
| Restaurant | Address | Score |
| CiCi's Pizza | 2936 Lavon |
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| Spring Creek Barbeque | 335 N George Bush Tollway |
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| Outback Steakhouse | 4902 N Hwy 190 |
58
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Although not in District 1, I was also distressed to see listed the new Texas Land & Cattle Restaurant near Bass Pro and the Target Deli & Bakery on N Garland Ave.
In the opposite direction, it is especially comforting to see who has been judged among the cleanest: Oak Park Day School (99 87), Luna Elementary (98 100), Lister Elementary (96), Oak Hill Day School (95 97), Garland High School (100 86) [not in District 1 but many District 1 students attend GHS], CVS Pharmacy/Lavon (97 94), to name just a few and in no particular order. That so many of the GISD schools score among the highest in the city is great!
I suggest not taking any of these scores as a final judgment but allow that we have a strong inspection department and any of these businesses can have a "bad day." Just as important would be to ask why they received a low score and let them know you care enough to be aware of their scores. We all benefit then and they have an opportunity to improve. Take time to check the Health Department's postings as scores are likely to change 3-4 times per year.
For a quick evaluation of any food facility without having to check the website, just ask Richard to lunch and check his reaction.
UPDATE: (12/4) I received this additional information from Jay Jones, owner and publisher of The Garland News:
Next week, we will be posting the restaurants that averaged less than 60 for the health department's fiscal year ending Sept. 30. We'll also post the restaurants whose scores were in the top 5% for fiscal year ending Sept. 30. Each month, we'll post those restaurants with scores less than 60. thanks. jay
UPDATE 2: (12/5) Mr Briley supplied additional information for my post that is important to know:
Thanks for mentioning that often times a low score can be a "bad day". It doesn't excuse it, but it explains the score. Another important point is that all of the food service establishments are rechecked by the Health Specialist until they come into full compliance; they are just not given a score on these follow-up inspections. If they are open, I would be confident eating there. [Emphasis added.]
UPDATE 3: (12/5) Checking online, many of the scores have changed. I've updated those businesses that I referenced to their latest scores. It is obvious that scores fluctuate between inspections. Not noted above because their score was not given, the Target Deli & Bakery on N Garland Ave now has a score of 76. I've updated all scores as of today, but I won't be updating the scores in this post after today.
12/03/07
I initially did not post this news release because it was not that near District 1. However, because the man pictured may have robbed other area stores and banks, someone from the district may have information to identify the robber.
Police Dept News Release:
POLICE NEED HELP IDENTIFYING ROBBERY SUSPECT
On Friday, November 23, the man in pictured below robbed the Chevron Station located in the 6400-block of Jupiter Road, Garland. Police believe the same man is responsible for robberies of convenience stores, fast food restaurants, retail stores, and banks across the Metroplex. If anyone recognizes the man pictured below they are asked to call the Garland Crime Stopper Tip Line, 972-272-8477.
Garland Jupiter Rd Chevron Station 
Richardson Robbery 
Dallas Robbery #1 
Dallas Robbery #2 
Unknown to virtually everyone, certain blog writers were on strike along with the Hollywood writers. While I have confirmed it was not in solidarity, they nonetheless used the excuse to slow posting on this site. The good news is that they will resume their obligations to this site even though the writers in Hollywood remain … well, "out there."
I'm trusting this will mean more postings regularly. I have to keep my fingers crossed because they never did have a contract.
[Please don't take this post too seriously.]
11/20/07
Sex Offenders Closely Monitored -
Categories: Opinions, Police Department, Neighborhoods -
Douglas
@ 07:38:04 am
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Most North Texas cities verify the residence and other information of registered sex offenders only once per year, while a few do so twice per year. Police Chief Mitch Bates presented information on Garland's unique program of monitoring registered sex offenders at Monday's Council work session. Garland verifies such information much more often, at least four times per year. The effort is led by a special task force composed primarily of department detectives but are assisted by the Neighborhood Police Officers on the actual verifications.
Integrating the NPO's strikes me as a particularly effective move because they are the most familiar with individual neighborhoods in their district and have the greatest opportunity to monitor specific situations even more frequently when appropriate. While cities cannot ban sex offenders, with Garland's program and the additional review by probation officers, offenders living locally are much more closely monitored.
A recent article in the Dallas Morning News presented updated information to an earlier series on registered sex offenders. The article dispelled several misconceptions about the public's exposure to registered sex offenders. An important consideration understanding the risk from a sex offender is the vast majority of sex offenders were known by the victim or the victim's family prior to the incident, ninety percent or more. Jackielynn Floyd offers additional information and observations.
Chief Bates reported that incidents in Garland are on par with area cities. There had been a slow increase in the number of incidents per year but Garland saw a decrease when the four-times-per-year program was instituted.
Garland does not have the "safe zones" that some cities have created. Some feel that is a mistake but, as the article mentioned above states, there is no data that shows such zones to be effective. If there were such data, I would be a proponent but I fear such zones can create more problems than they attempt to solve.
Garland's current distribution is presumably similar to a lawn evenly covered by leaves. If we start to rake a zone around the house, trees, fences, and other "protected" objects, we are inadvertently concentrating leaves in piles in the remaining areas. If you happen to live in one of the clear zones, it might bring some sense of protection. If your child is in one of the areas where offenders have been concentrated, your feelings are going to be radically different. Nothing shows the zones to be effective and they may well create inequitable situations that put some children at much greater risk of incidence. The best protection for all children is to be aware of where your children are and who they are with.
As previously posted, residents can evaluate their risk by consulting the Police Department's map that shows where all registered sex offenders in Garland live. Offenders are ranked as high-, medium-, and low-risk. Chief Bates reports the ratio in Garland is 16-51-33, respectively. Other information provided includes a photo, address, age, race, gender, and offense.
There are currently 16 sex offenders registered in District 1.
Additionally, residents can register their phone numbers with Garland's CodeRED program that can issue an alert to phones registered to a certain geographic area, including personal mobile numbers.
Garland's method of monitoring registered sex offenders currently appears more effective than methods used in other area cities and it is more equitable to all children. At the same time, it is important to constantly review the data as it is generated to make sure we are doing as much as we can to continue protecting our children and other residents.
Chief Bate's presentation and the Council's questions and comments can be viewed here (covered in two clips).
I posted last year on the Council's previous discussion of sex offenders.
UPDATE: Based on some recent public comments, some seem to be under the impression that the Council can create a “safe” zone around parks and schools and other areas that would prohibit registered sex offenders from ever being in that zone. We cannot. We could follow the route some area cities have taken to create zones that restrict how close a registered sex offenders can live to such areas, be we can't forbid them from being in the city, nor can we prohibit them from ever being within the “safe” zone. Those cities that have adopted residency restrictions are now being challenged on the validity of those ordinances because “banishment” as such was outlawed with the adoption of most state constitutions. |
11/16/07
District 1 Crime Stats Released for October -
Categories: Police Department, Neighborhoods -
Douglas
@ 06:55:41 am
Crime statistics released by the Police Dept for October reflect the second best month since I've been on the Council and reporting those numbers, but the month relected an unhealthy jump from September, our best month.
A murder and two sexual assaults are incidents we don't see commonly. The murder was widely reported in the media and most residents are probably aware of it.
Much of the jump was from burglaries of vehicles and homes. The home burglaries were across the district. Several vehicle burglaries were along SH-190 and all occurred in one day.
Please remember to lock car doors and close garage doors. Watch your neighbor's home as you would your own. Let them know if their garage is open or strangers are watching their property. Report suspicious activities to 9-1-1. It helps our Police Dept know where incidents are occurring and even when the information does not help at that moment it can often point officers in the right direction later.
Download the complete report if you wish address-by-address information that includes your neighborhood.
|
Offense
|
||||||
| Murder |
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
| Sexual Assault |
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
2
|
| Robbery |
2
|
1
|
3
|
–
|
1
|
1
|
| Aggravated Assault |
2
|
2
|
–
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
| Burglary Habitation |
7
|
5
|
13
|
8
|
6
|
12
|
| Burglary Building |
3
|
5
|
4
|
8
|
6
|
5
|
| Burglary Vehicle |
31
|
19
|
25
|
17
|
6
|
19
|
| Burglary Coin Operated Machine |
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
| Theft |
41
|
29
|
29
|
36
|
26
|
20
|
| Unauthorized Use Motor Vehicle |
2
|
4
|
4
|
1
|
3
|
2
|
| Injury to Child–Bodily Injury |
–
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
–
|
|
District Totals
|
88
|
65
|
79
|
72
|
43
|
63
|
11/14/07
The City has planned a greatly expanded Christmas on the Square celebration this year.
It will be somewhat nostalgic as much of the Downtown lit this year will have changed by this time next year. Construction on the new Trammell Crow mixed-use facility across from the Performing Arts Center will start in a couple months, the square will begin the process of a redesign, and the community college campus construction will be nearly finished by next Christmas.
I for one will be trying to capture the memory of our last Christmas in old Downtown and I very much look forward to the wonder of a Parade of Lights in the new Downtown next year.
This year's Christmas on the Square is going to be very special in very many ways. See you there!
Santa Claus is Coming to Garland!
Garland, Texas — Downtown Garland is donning its holiday glitter as the City’s annual Christmas on the Square celebration approaches. Christmas on the Square 2007 is set for Thursday, November 29, 2007, from 5:30-9:30 p.m., and will feature the City’s annual Parade of Lights, musical entertainment, holiday crafts and even snow!
“The holidays in Garland just wouldn’t be the same without Christmas on the Square,” said Mayor Ron Jones. “This year will be no exception, and I look forward to seeing everyone down on the square to enjoy this wonderful event.”
The Parade of Lights will feature lighted floats and walking units representing scout groups, antique car clubs, dance groups, area businesses, civic organizations, school organizations, and more. Santa Claus will have his own special float, greeting children along the parade route. The parade will begin at Tenth and Main Streets and travel east to Fifth Street. It will continue north on Fifth to State Street and turn east on State to Museum Plaza Drive. It will proceed north on Museum Plaza Drive to Austin Street. The parade will then travel west on Austin to Glenbrook Drive where it will end. [Map of parade route]
At the conclusion of the parade, Santa will invite everyone to help light up the square. This year’s tree lighting ceremony will pay a special tribute to our nation’s servicemen past and present. Witness the magic as thousands of twinkling lights come to life on command. You won’t want to miss this spectacular event complete with confetti, snow and fireworks!
Then Santa will settle in at his Downtown Garland workshop for Christmas wishes and free photo buttons.
A new feature this year will be a snow covered tubing hill … yes, that’s a real snow hill in Downtown Garland! Children of all ages can slide down a 12 foot hill and glide across 100 feet of fresh snow. This new feature will be located in the north parking lot of City Hall.
Christmas on the Square also features Garland Power & Light’s “Avenue of Lights” that can be enjoyed aboard horse-drawn carriages. “Each year, the area around City Hall becomes more beautiful due to the trees growing taller and fuller,” said Bonny Patrick, coordinator of the event. “GP&L, Facilities and the Parks and Recreation department do a spectacular job in decorating this area. Along with the Christmas music and sleigh rides, it’s just a wonderful experience. And, it’s free!”
Garland Independent School District bands and choirs contribute most of the music for the event each year. Elementary choirs, high school jazz bands and marching bands can be heard performing their wonderful renditions throughout the event.
And what would a holiday festival be without delicious treats? Patrons can enjoy such goodies as hand-dipped corn dogs, popcorn, caramel apples and hot chocolate as they stroll through the Christmas Bazaar surrounding the downtown square filled with invitation-only artisans.
Parking will be available at the DART parking lot at Fifth and Walnut. Christmas on the Square is co-sponsored by the City of Garland, Garland Power & Light, Baylor Medical Center at Garland and Ahern Rentals.
In case of ice or heavy rains, a “bad weather” date has been scheduled for December 6.
For more information about Christmas on the Square, go to www.christmasonthesquare.com or call 972-205-2749.
10/31/07
The old saying, "No news is good news," could be amended to, "No helicopters is good news." First the stranded golfers and then the victim discovered under a slab both brought news 'copters to north Garland.
Another incident almost a week ago caught the attention of a lot of residents in the Firewheel Pkwy/Pleasant Valley neighborhoods.
Here's how the Police Department's Deputy Chief Charles Rene described it:
This was a road rage incident that started at Lavon Hwy and Castle Dr involving a vehicle occupied by three individuals. One pointed a gun and fired a shot. A Patrol car spotted the suspect vehicle on Country Club Rd and Pleasant Valley. They followed the car and conducted a Felony Stop in the parking lot of the Mobil Station at Firewheel Parkway and Pleasant Valley. One of the subjects fled on foot. K-9 Units and the Department of Public Safety Air 101 searched for the suspect who had fled into the Villages of Valley Creek neighborhood. Although they searched for a long time, that individual got away; however, his identity is known. Criminal Investigation Division was called and responded. The other two individuals went to Jail for warrants, public intoxication, and investigation of Aggravated Assault.
I don't have an update on the third individual.
10/30/07
|
I have not been blogging as much this month because my browser kept crashing. I'd compile a post and some time before I'd save it to the website, it would crash. The frustration was maddenning. Other apps would also work irratically, but, interestingly, all were Microsoft. |
10/21/07
Why We Must Be Good Neighbors -
Categories: Police Department, Neighborhoods -
Douglas
@ 11:29:52 pm
A day after the story broke of a north Garland man's disappearance and apparent discovery under a slab in his own backyard, the story broadens a bit in an article in today's Dallas Morning News. Reporter Michael Grabell brings new details forward by talking to neighbors.
I don't know many details about Mr Giles but it does appear he was friendly with his neighbors and was known to them. While it didn't save him from his fate, being a part of a community and knowing his neighbors does seem to have contributed to the information that led to his discovery. An incident reported a year ago by his neighbors helped establish the suspicion that served to focus the disparate details of his disappearance and led to an immediate arrest.
Many times such willingness to be good neighbors saves us from a burglary or worse. Looking out the window when an alarm sounds, reporting strangers and suspicious activities, calling neighbors that have left their garage door open, picking up a newspaper and moving it to the porch, or collecting mail when someone is out of town can increase our safety more than doubling or tripling the police force.
Unfortunately, being caring and watchful didn't help Mr Giles and it is sad that none of us were at the right place at the right time to prevent this tragedy.
I offer my condolences and prayers to the Giles family for their loss. I pray for justice and I pray that we all take just the few moments to watch and help our neighbors.
Slab cemented mystery of Garland man's disappearance
Garland: Its arrival sparked questions that led police to body
12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, October 21, 2007
By MICHAEL GRABELL / The Dallas Morning News
mgrabell@dallasnews.com
GARLAND – The tan brick home on Wood Creek Lane looked as if someone was still living there. The white caladiums and delphiniums out front thrived next to an unrolled garden hose as if they had just been watered. A new carpet-cleaning ad and a Chinese restaurant menu hung on the door handle.
But neighbors in this middle-class neighborhood near Firewheel Town Center hadn't seen the home's last owner in more than a year.
Had Michael Giles moved out without telling anyone? they wondered. Had the military retiree grown reclusive? And just what was underneath the narrow concrete slab that some learned had been poured after he was gone?
On Friday, Garland police and the FBI dug up the slab and found what they believe to be Mr. Giles' remains, wrapped in what could be a carpet.
Police arrested Kwaneta Harris, a licensed nurse with unknown Dallas ties, in Detroit on suspicion of murder. Garland detectives were interviewing her Saturday with plans to extradite her on Monday.
Mr. Giles' family last saw him in June 2006. But until February, they had been receiving e-mails that were purportedly from him. They didn't report him missing until several weeks ago.
After he vanished, the house was foreclosed on and leased to someone else. And one day, the new residents came home to find the concrete slab – about three feet wide and 12 to 15 feet long – behind their house.
"We just couldn't figure out why it was poured," Garland police spokesman Joe Harn said. "It wasn't an extension of a patio. It wasn't big enough for someone to sit out on."
Police released few new details Saturday about what they suspect happened to Mr. Giles, who was 46 when he disappeared, or what led them to Ms. Harris.
"We're still working on exactly what their relationship was," Officer Harn said. "We're not sure why she was here. Was it just to see him? And how did they meet?"
He did confirm that Garland detectives were following up on a police call last year about a woman and several men seen moving furniture out of the house.
"We checked and everything seemed to be legitimate at the time," Officer Harn said.
Adding to the aura of mystery for neighbors was the coincidence that the man next door to Mr. Giles had shot himself in his back yard a few months ago, and that last year a neighbor down the street had been found in his house weeks after dying from a heart attack.
"It's kind of strange because normally it's just as quiet as can be," said Booker Horton, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years. "It's – I wouldn't say scary – just shocking a little bit."
The neighborhood seems peaceful. The streets have bucolic names such as Deer Brook and Turtle Cove. The one-story brick houses that line them are next to an elementary school and back up to Firewheel Golf Park.
Neighbors said they knew Mr. Giles by his first name but rarely said more than a few words to him as they mowed their lawns or checked their mail.
"I don't try to be the nosy neighbor guy, but maybe I should," said Marvin Wess, who lives across the street. "Maybe it wouldn't have happened to him."
Mr. Wess and his wife said Mr. Giles had built a tall wooden fence and put French doors on his home just before he disappeared.
"It was sad to see that something like that could happen across the street and nobody know anything about it," Sylvia Wess said.
Hal Steinman, who lives next to the Wesses, said that he and his wife had often wondered what had happened to Mr. Giles, and that knowing about the concrete slab only added to their speculation.
"She saw the FBI and all the cars pulling up on the street," he said. "My wife went up to them and asked, 'Are y'all looking for a dead body in the back yard?' "
Mr. Steinman said he recognized the woman whom police arrested and thinks he had seen her coming and going a few times.
Little was known about Ms. Harris, 35, who police said didn't appear to have a criminal record.
Public records show her living in the Detroit area, with scant mention of Dallas ties. She had been a licensed practical nurse since 1998, according to records from the Michigan Department of Community Health. But it's unclear whether she was practicing.
Officer Harn said it wasn't a tip – just a good hunch – that led authorities to get the current owner's permission and dig under the concrete. But once police found something, they stopped digging and secured a search warrant.
"Nobody had said, 'Hey, Michael's buried back there,' " he said. "The more we heard, if nothing else, the curiosity killed the cat, and that's why we went out and did it."
10/20/07
Story Sounds Like a Movie Script -
Categories: Announcements, Police Department -
Douglas
@ 08:17:07 am
Police Chief Mitch Bates told me that it was like a story from Hollywood but it was unfolding in north Garland. Police Dept had been working a case about a disappearance that had developed into a lot more.
Many people noticed the television helicopters over north Garland for the second time this week. This story didn't turn out as well.
The story is in today's Dallas Morning News.
Police say they've unearthed remains of missing Garland man
Body found under slab in victim's back yard; woman held in slaying
11:11 PM CDT on Friday, October 19, 2007
By TANYA EISERER / The Dallas Morning News
teiserer@dallasnews.com
About three feet down, underneath a small concrete slab, authorities on Friday found what they believe to be the remains of a Garland man who disappeared mysteriously more than a year ago.
Michael Giles 
Shortly after the discovery of what is thought to be the body of Michael Giles, police obtained an arrest warrant for murder for Kwaneta Harris, 35. She was taken into custody in Detroit.
But the discovery of the body and Ms. Harris' arrest leave more questions than answers. Police were saying little Friday about what led them to dig in the back yard of what had been Mr. Giles' one-story home in the 5200 block of Wood Creek Lane in north Garland.
Police also were not saying why they believe Ms. Harris killed Mr. Giles, who was retired from the military, or whether Ms. Harris might have had accomplices. The connection between Ms. Harris and Mr. Giles, who was 46 at the time he disappeared, also was unclear.
"We're trying to figure out why did she do it?" Garland police spokesman Joe Harn said. "Why is he buried in the back yard? We just now discovered for sure that he is dead."
The strange events surrounding the disappearance and apparent death of Mr. Giles began in July 2006 when his sister went by his house in north Garland to check on him. She had not seen him since the month before.
"The furniture was gone," Officer Harn said. "A sign was on the front door that the house was for lease."
The sister tried to call his cellphone. He didn't answer. Later, she received a text message from someone purporting to be him, stating that he was OK and just needed some time away. For several months after that, the family received e-mails that they believed were from him, police said.
Cheryl Evans, a sister of Mr. Giles, told WFAA-TV (Channel 8) that the e-mails family members received were short, with comments that seemed uncharacteristic of Mr. Giles. The last e-mail a family member received was in February, she said.
Police say that shortly after his disappearance, the ownership of his car changed hands in Michigan. It was not clear whether the car has been found.
Also, Mr. Giles' house was leased out – but not by him. Ms. Evans also said the person who had leased the home had "said he never met my brother, that he rented the house from a female."
Suspect:
Kwaneta Harris
The people who leased the house also became suspicious when they came home one day and a soft spot in the back yard had been covered over with a concrete pad. Police said the pad was about 3 feet wide and 12 to 15 feet long.
The family recently filed a missing persons report with police. Detectives soon found that the home, which Mr. Giles bought through a Veterans Affairs loan, had gone into foreclosure and been sold at an auction. Appraisal district records show he bought the home in 2003.
"He was not making payments," Officer Harn said. "His family said that was totally out of character for him because he takes care of his business."
Officer Harn said the Department of Veterans Affairs had helped police track financial records. He indicated that some "financial dealings" had helped lead police to Ms. Harris. He also said it was not any one thing that led police to dig in the back yard Friday. "There are a lot of little pieces to that puzzle," he said.
On Thursday, Officer Harn said, two detectives went to Detroit to try to find Ms. Harris. About 9 a.m. Friday, Garland police working with an FBI forensics team began digging in the back yard of the home on Wood Creek Lane.
Late Friday afternoon, investigators found a body wrapped in something, possibly a carpet, under the concrete slab.
"We've got to get statements from her, along with other people," Officer Harn said, referring to Ms. Harris. "By no means is this investigation wrapped up. There's still a lot of work to be done."
10/17/07
Firewheel Golfers Gain National Attention -
Categories: Fire Department, Parks & Recreation -
Douglas
@ 11:05:50 pm
|
|
Garland Fire Dept Rescue Team members ferry stranded golfers to safer ground. Photo source: WFAA-TV (wfaa.com)
Click for CNN Video link. |
Rain started falling Monday morning about 8 a.m. It delayed the start of a golf tournament at Firewheel Golf Park but the tournament was able to get into full swing when the rain stopped a couple hours later.
Well after skies had cleared and the rain had stopped, one tournament group suddenly found themselves literally surrounded by a water hazard. Rowlett Creek that runs through the course was rising rapidly and swallowing much of the course, making islands where there should not have been any. Extremely heavy rains north of Garland dumped large quantities of water over the area—water that caused the creek to swell to levels not seen even during the recent monsoon season.
The golfers used their phones to alert relatives and golf course management of their predicament. There appeared to be no panic as they used their time waiting to practice chipping and putting. It was reported that they did lose all their balls in the water.
The Garland Fire Department quickly arrived onsite with a rubber raft to ferry the men to higher and safer ground while news helicopters circled overhead.
Virtually all the local television stations carried the story, including Channels 5, 8, and 11. The story was rebroadcast in Austin and then on UPI. The story was reportedly seen on CNN, Good Morning, America, and the Weather Channel.
I don't know specifically how the ongoing training by the Fire Dept figured into this rescue but I do know the crews at Station 10 on Brand Rd, just across from Firewheel, have staged and planned many rescues from the golf course since moving to the new station. The focus I've heard has been getting to various holes as quickly as possible in the event of a heart attack or other emergency. Obviously flooding is on the list.
Many moments of a golf tournament can result in a lasting memory but even more lasting memories can come from not being able to finish the tournament.
10/16/07
District 1 Takes a Bite Out of Crime -
Categories: Announcements, Opinions, Police Department -
Douglas
@ 08:54:07 pm
September's dramatic, continuing drop of reported criminal incidents is staggering.
I'll double-check on some of the reasons and update this report later, but a sharp decline of incidents from the Town Center and along N Garland Ave account for much of the reduced numbers. Some of that, I expect, is the seasonal drop we usually see when school restarts. The rest of the drop must come from the increased security that I've noticed at both locales.
I believe another reason for the drop is the increasing awareness that has been growing across several District 1 neighborhoods. Neighbors have been joining together to watch their neighborhoods and to watch out for one another. While I know that is a growing trend, it cannot alone account for the recent changes. I am confident that if it continues, that it promises to have lasting impact.
Report suspicious activities to 9-1-1. It helps our Police Dept know where incidents are occurring and even when the information does not help at that moment it can often point officers in the right direction later.
Download the complete report if you wish address-by-address information that includes your neighborhood.
|
Offense
|
April
* |
|||||
| Sexual Assault |
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
| Robbery |
1
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
–
|
1
|
| Aggravated Assault |
2
|
2
|
2
|
–
|
1
|
1
|
| Burglary Habitation |
10
|
7
|
5
|
13
|
8
|
6
|
| Burglary Building |
5
|
3
|
5
|
4
|
8
|
6
|
| Burglary Vehicle |
28
|
31
|
19
|
25
|
17
|
6
|
| Burglary Coin Operated Machine |
–
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
–
|
| Theft |
59
|
41
|
29
|
29
|
36
|
26
|
| Unauthorized Use Motor Vehicle |
8
|
2
|
4
|
4
|
1
|
3
|
| Injury to Child–Bodily Injury |
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
|
District Totals
|
113
|
88
|
65
|
79
|
72
|
43
|
10/11/07
Unlike most cities, Garland's City Auditor works directly for the Council. The only other city positions that do so are the City Manager, City Attorney, and City Secretary. I'm glad of this and see it as a fundamental checks-and-balance that benefits the citizens.
I'm also pleased that we have a new City Auditor. Our previous auditor took a similar position in Denton and the opening gave us the opportunity to take some new looks with new perspective at city operations.
The Audit Committee, chaired by Council member Rick Williams, has met and has set its priorities. These are the audits that are currently planned:
|
|
Just because an area of city government is slated for audit doesn't mean anything is wrong or suspected as being wrong. The audit, of course, confirms proper operation but it also gives opportunity for suggesting better practices and it can identify departments that are performing especially well. Since the auditor works for the Council, the Council and citizens receive the benefit of an unvarnished appraisal.
It is my pleasure to introduce the City's new Auditor, Craig J. Hametner, who most recently worked for Irving. More information is available from this City press release:
Garland Names New City Auditor
Garland, Texas—October 10, 2007—The Garland City Council has named Craig J. Hametner to serve as City Auditor and oversee the functions of the City’s Internal Audit Department. The purpose of the department is to perform quality audits and related services which provide independent assessments of the reliability and effectiveness of the City’s operations and business practices in accordance with professional auditing standards.
“The City Auditor plays a vital role as a part of the checks and balances of City Government,” says Mayor Ronald Jones. “The City Council is pleased to appoint Mr. Hametner to this important position.”
Mr. Hametner has more than 20 years of experience in auditing and accounting, including government, retail, service, wholesale and manufacturing industries. He comes to Garland from Irving where he served three years as the Senior Internal Auditor and previously he served five years as an Auditor for the City of Dallas and six years as an Auditor with the State of Texas.
“My goal is to provide the users of our work products with an independent, objective assessment in a quality manner that will have a positive impact on the city,” says Mr. Hametner.
Mr. Hametner holds certifications as an Internal Auditor, Public Accountant, Fraud Examiner and Management Accountant. He is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the Institute of Management Accountants, the Institute of Internal Auditors and the Association of Local Government Auditors.
He holds Bachelor and Master Degrees in Business Administration with majors in Accounting and Finance.
He has served as an Adjunct Instructor with North Lake College since July 1996.
I receive a great deal of satisfaction being able to report the various areas and departments of Garland that set outstanding examples to others. Our utilities have been recognized many times over the years but the honors just keep coming. Of course, most of the credit goes to the professional management at those departments.
Please join me in congratulating the Water Department!
Garland Water Utilities Receives Project Excellence Award
Garland, Texas—October 9, 2007—The City of Garland Water Utilities Department has been notified that it is the winner of a Project Excellence Award from the Center for Digital Government.
The recognition, which will be presented at the 2007 Government Technology Center’s Best of Texas event, is for the Garland Water Utilities’ Work Management and Notification System. This system has strengthened the department’s ability to better manage its field resources, vehicle inventory and to electronically notify customers when work they have requested is completed. System components include automated dispatch, service order and vehicle tracking, and customer notification modules. To date, the system has benefited the utility by providing a quick and effective process for locating crews, assisting in leveling crew workloads, enhancing crew safety, focusing staff and managers to gain appropriate results, and is the primary factor in the department’s ability to reduce fuel consumption by 20%, or about $10,000 in the first year of operation. As an added benefit, the system automatically notifies more than 1200 customers annually as work requested by the customer is completed by field crews.
The Best of Texas Awards program was established to salute IT professionals in Texas state and local government organizations for their dedication, hard work and contributions. The annual event and awards program associated with it provide a unique opportunity to recognize and honor truly outstanding professional accomplishments within the public sector IT community. Award recipients will be recognized at a formal ceremony as part of the day-long Best of Texas event on October 23, 2007 in Austin, Texas.
For more information regarding the City of Garland Water Utilities, visit www.garlandwater.com.
10/09/07
While Garland faces many challenges, I've long been convinced the greatest is building community and preserving neighborhoods. It is the issue that prompted my involvement with city government a dozen years ago. Neighborhoods will either strengthen the city or drain our resources, either attract home buyers and investment or lead a decline, either fill the needs of employers or force them to move, either succor relationships or repel them, either promote health or drain it, either give us hope or bring disparity.
To face these challenges and to conquer them will not be from the efforts of the City Council or the city staff or city and neighborhood leaders, but from an army of involved citizens that take ownership of their own destiny. I know Garland is doing a number of things that show we as a community are moving in the right directions—that we lead most other cities—however, the best intentions of the city and all the available leadership are only catalysts toward the actual effort of transforming some neighborhoods and preserving others.
We Want You! Join your neighbors and start the process that makes your neighborhood the place you want to live and to protect your investment in your property and community. The upcoming Neighborhood Summit will be the best one yet, I guarantee it. I know because Jim Diers, a new friend from Seattle, will be there and I know it is impossible to be pessimistic about your neighborhood's future when you look at what other more-challenged neighborhoods have accomplished.
I don't mean to sell you on this conference but I believe we have got to work together for our community to affect positive change and this is the best time you'll have to get started. Several directors from Texas Neighborhoods Together will be assisting or observing…so the Eyes of Texas will literally be on Garland!
Registration Deadline Approaches for
Garland’s 2007 Neighborhood SummitGarland, Texas – The last day to register for Garland’s annual Neighborhood Summit is Friday, October 19, 2007. The theme for the October 27 event is “Built to Last.” As Garland nears buildout, ensuring the health and sustainability of neighborhoods is a high priority. What all healthy neighborhoods have in common are residents who connect through shared commitment and shared responsibility. Building social capital is as important as protecting the physical environment of neighborhoods.
“Last year, the Summit kicked off the City’s new Strategy for Vital Neighborhoods. This year we want to share what we’ve learned during this first year of the Strategy and offer Summit attendees the chance to dig deeper into some of those issues,” says Felisa Conner, the City’s Neighborhood Vitality Manager. “We hope to provide participants with insight and tools in building neighborhoods that last.”
The Summit will offer workshops on several topics including managing change in diverse neighborhoods, community policing as a neighborhood management tool, goal setting for neighborhoods and more. Noted neighborhood developer and advocate Jim Diers from Seattle, Washington, will present a workshop titled “Neighbor Power”. Diers will share real-life examples of how neighborhoods have worked together to develop community-driven plans and neighborhood self-help projects. He will offer practical applications and invaluable lessons for ordinary, caring neighbors who want to make a difference. It also provides government officials with inspiring stories and proven programs to help them embrace neighborhood activists as true partners.
“Mr. Diers has shared his experiences with audiences all over the world,” says Ms. Conner. “We’re very excited about the opportunity to share the lessons he has learned with Garland neighborhood leaders.”
The Neighborhood Summit will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Atrium at the Granville Arts Center, 300 N. Fifth Street in Downtown Garland. The Summit is open to the public. Registration is $20. The registration deadline is October 19, 2007.
To register or for more information, call 972-205-3864, log onto the City’s website at www.ci.garland.tx.us, or e-mail fconner@ci.garland.tx.us.
10/03/07
At Tuesday's Council meeting, Mayor Ron Jones presented a Proclamation to Ray Schwertner, Director of Garland Power & Light, recognizing GP&L and its employees for their service to the community and noting the upcoming Public Power Week. As part of the week's activities, GP&L will use the opportunity to spread word of some of its services that involve much more than assuring that the meter can turn.
Garland Power & Light Offers Low- and No-Cost Ways
to Protect the Environment and Save on Utility ExpensesGarland, Texas—October 3, 2007—Garland Power & Light is celebrating Public Power Week, October 7-13, along with more than 2,000 other community-owned electric utilities that collectively provide electricity on a not-for-profit basis to 44 million Americans. As part of Public Power Week, GP&L is reminding its customers of low- and no-cost opportunities to protect the environment and save on utility expenses by being energy efficient:
- Check your furnace or air conditioner filter each month, and clean or replace it as needed.
- Only heat or cool the rooms you need by closing vents and doors of unused rooms.
- Use compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs.
- Use glass fireplace doors to stop heat from being lost up your chimney.
- Look for the ENERGY STAR® label when buying new products such as televisions, refrigerators, and even cell phones.
More energy saving tips are available on GP&L’s website at www.garlandpower-light.org.
GP&L offers a variety of programs to help you use energy wisely and reduce your energy cost:
- Energy Depot for Homes and Energy Depot for Business are free, online services at www.garlandpower-light.org. Customers can create personalized energy audits, calculate savings, compare energy use, use an energy library, and contact a GP&L energy advisor.
- An in-home energy audit can be scheduled by calling 972-205-2671.
- Compact fluorescent light bulbs can still be purchased at a discount though a partnership with The Home Depot stores in Garland.
“Whether you are trying to save money on your monthly electric bill or doing your part to protect the environment, there are many good reasons to be energy efficient,” said Ray Schwertner, Electric Utility Director. “We’re looking forward to helping our customers save energy by offering even more energy efficiency programs in the future,” he added.
Public Power Week is being held in conjunction with the American Public Power Association (APPA) in Washington, D.C., the national service organization for not-for-profit, community- and state-owned electric utilities.
A few years ago when the city launched a complete redesign of its website, the change was dramatic and very welcome. In the time since, some weaknesses have become noticeable and the art of designing websites has moved forward.
For example:
- The search function doesn't work well,
- Some sections are rarely updated while others are almost to the minute, and
- Several other cities have sites that can be offered as good models.
There are many ways the site could be improved. These examples are offered to stimulate other observations that can be used to improve the site. Dorothy White, Garland's Public and Media Affairs Manager, is looking for such input and she is looking for some community members to serve in a focus group.
City Website Users Invited to Give Feedback
Garland, Texas—September 24, 2007—The City of Garland wants to hear from anyone who utilizes the City’s website. A survey is available on the City’s homepage at www.ci.garland.tx.us.
The survey results will be used to help the City make website improvements. City website managers want to hear from users about how they navigate the site, sections they use most often, features that would make the site easier to use, and more.
The survey also gives users the opportunity to volunteer to participate in a users focus group exercise. All information gathered for the survey will be used for internal purposes only and will not be shared with any outside sources.
Your participation and help would be greatly appreciated!
10/01/07
An article in the Sunday Dallas Morning News took a longer and more thorough look at the new Dallas County Community College satellite campus than other recent articles. I mentioned here that we would be seeing another article and I feel it does address many of the issues that the other two missed.
Job-training site a fit for Garland?
City has need for skilled workers, but residents wanted academic focus
12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, September 30, 2007
By FRANK TREJO / The Dallas Morning News
ftrejo@dallasnews.com
With likely courses such as workplace software skills, applied physics technology and computer-aided design, the soon-to-be-built Garland center of the Dallas County Community College District won't be confused with yesterday's vocational schools.
Though some residents have made clear that they would have preferred a more traditional academic campus, city and college district officials say the planned "workforce development" center will offer precisely the type of instruction that Garland's manufacturing-centered economy needs.
2004
January—Dallas County Community College District conducts community meetings in Garland, Duncanville and Dallas to seek ideas on the district's development plans.
March—The district announces a $450 million bond package for improvements, including five centers described as satellites of existing campuses.
May—Dallas County voters approve the bond package by more than 2-to-1.
2005
March—Garland is selected as the site for a northeast satellite center. College district officials say they will meet with community and business leaders in deciding curricula.
May—The college district board approves the purchase of about 20 acres in downtown Garland for nearly $2.4 million.
July—District officials conduct a meeting to hear Garland residents' thoughts about the campus.
2006
August—The college district switches oversight of the Garland center from Eastfield College to Richland College. Plans focus more on workforce development than broader general education.
2007
Sept. 18—Garland City Council approves rezoning of land for center.
Nov. 1—Scheduled groundbreaking.
2008
December—Building to be completed.
2009
Spring class session—Planned opening of Garland campus.And they say that the center, to be overseen by the district's nearby Richland College, is a prime example of the new direction taken by many of the nation's leading community colleges – working with cities, public schools, businesses and residents to meet the needs of an ever-changing economy.
"All of the large urban districts are being challenged to be innovative," said the Dallas County district's chancellor, Wright Lassiter.
He noted that two-year institutions used to be called "junior colleges," because they were intended to serve as entry points to four-year colleges and universities, but said: "As the value of the two-year college became more clear, 'junior' was excised and 'community' inserted with the clear implication and imperative that today's community colleges must be in a position to respond to the needs of the community."
New-era grad schools
During a recent presentation, one official of the college district noted that some in higher education are referring to community colleges as "the graduate schools of the 21st century" because of their focus on new skills and training, many times for people – often older and sometimes college-educated ones – who are already in the workforce.
Business and civic leaders say the needs are obvious in Garland. With more than 350 manufacturers, the city is the eighth-largest manufacturing center in Texas, the Garland Chamber of Commerce says, and finding skilled employees is vital.
Chamber president Paul Mayer said coordination among schools, college, businesses and the community will make the Garland campus different.
"This puts us all together on the same page trying to do the same thing," he said.
Although the Garland center received overwhelming support from the City Council this month, several residents spoke out against plans for the site, saying that it was not what had been promised to voters and that they expected a facility where college-credit courses would be taught.
A review of college district news releases and newspaper stories dating to early 2004 shows that five planned new centers were envisioned from the start as satellites of existing campuses. And in March 2005, when Garland was chosen as the site for one of the centers, college district officials said they planned to talk with community and business leaders before deciding on types of instruction.
Some residents may have assumed the campus would focus on college credit courses, however, because all of the district's existing campuses do so.
Focus on work skills
College district representatives have since said that some credit courses will be offered in Garland but that the school will emphasize work-skills development.
The five new community campuses were approved in May 2004 as part of a larger, $450 million bond package for community college improvements. The other four centers will be in Pleasant Grove, West Dallas, southern Irving and Coppell.
College district officials said each location would be geared specifically for its community. Although some workforce training and skills are taught at other college district locations, the Garland center is the only one where such training has been identified as the primary focus.
Groundbreaking for the Garland campus is set for Nov. 1, with the school scheduled to open in early 2009. The initial phase of the campus calls for a 32,000-square-foot building, which will stand on slightly less than eight acres near the corner of Walnut Street and North Glenbrook Drive. But the college district owns more than 24 acres at that site, and officials are already discussing a potential expansion, depending on resources and needs.
City Council member Larry Jeffus disagrees with those who criticize the focus of the campus. Part of the opposition, he said, comes from the negative image some still have of vocational or workforce training schools.
Mr. Jeffus also noted that the 2004 proposal included establishing a community college site in northeast Dallas County, not specifically in Garland. The city was selected only after the bond election, in part because of the availability of prime land and the potential to work with the community and businesses, Mr. Jeffus said.
Response to needs
"The No. 1 thing is that they [college district officials] have surveyed the community and the business community and they have looked at the needs," he said. Mr. Jeffus said Richland College, which will oversee the Garland campus, is known for its ability to adapt its programming to meet changing needs.
Ivan Charner, vice president and director of the Academy for Educational Development's National Institute for Work and Learning in Washington, D.C., said more community colleges are working with other education entities, business groups and residents.
"The good community colleges are working with all the stakeholders in the community," Mr. Charner said. "A good community college is very flexible and anticipatory, and the way to be anticipatory is to have your finger on the pulse to really feel what is happening."
One of those who looks forward to the potential employees who could soon be in the education and skills training pipeline is Travis Pranschke, maintenance manager at Plastipak Packaging Inc. in Garland, which makes plastic containers for numerous national companies.
Mr. Pranschke said that in the last year, his company has received about 7,500 resumes for skilled technical positions. Of that number, about 1,500 were interviewed, but only 65 were hired, leaving more than a dozen positions still open.
"It's difficult to find people with the skills sets needed," he said. "Our business continues to grow as our customers are being more and more aggressive about their business. Everybody continues to grow, and as they do, there's just not enough people trained for these types of positions."
Possible Course Offerings
The Dallas County Community College District hasn't set course offerings for its Garland campus, which is scheduled
to open in early 2009, but did including the following on a list of the types of classes that might be offered:
- Workplace Basic Skills
- Workplace Communication Skills
- Intercultural Competence
- Programmable Logistics Controllers
- Workplace Software Skills
- Management Software Skills
- Blueprint Reading
- Applied Physics Technology
- Statistical Processing Control
- Inventory Management System
- Process Chain Management
- Core Principles of Technology
- Applied Mathematics
- Chemical Processing
- Industrial Hazardous Materials
- Hydraulics
- Basic Mechanics
- Lean Manufacturing
- Computer Aided Design
- Continuous Quality Principles
- Workplace English Language Skills (tailored to various industries, businesses or organizations)
- Command Spanish (tailored to various organizational needs)
- Project Management
Hat tip to MP.
09/28/07
At a neighborhood meeting last night, I received some questions about DCCCD's and Richland College's plans for the Downtown Garland Campus. Questions and e-mails have not been infrequent. I noticed a link on the Richland College homepage that addresses some of those questions that might be helpful to some.
I recently posted information about some of the history behind the project. I felt compelled to do so for two reasons: first, much that had been stated as "fact" wasn't, and, second, the recent Dallas Morning News articles did not have sufficient depth to be helpful to readers. (Available here and here.)
I complained to the DMN that much of the articles were devoted to reporting gossip, that erroneous statements were repeated without challenge or confirmation, particularly when the DMN Archives held a much different story. I was told by Clay Morton, our local editor, that they would be writing an additional story that would explore deeper. I learned yesterday from several people that they had spoken to a reporter that was indeed writing that story. I look forward to reading it!
09/27/07
Garland Press Release:
Garland Teens Leading New Driver Safety Program
What: Teens in the Drivers Seat News Conference When: Thursday, October 4, 3:30 p.m. Where: Williams Stadium 510 Stadium Drive, 75040 (inside the Stadium in the North End Zone)
Background: October is statistically the deadliest month of the year for young drivers in Texas. To raise awareness of the dangers for those drivers, Garland teens are continuing their efforts to make the roads safer for their peers and all other drivers through the Teens in the Driver Seat® program.
Across America, car crashes kill more teenagers than any other cause. The Garland Youth Council and teams from all seven Garland ISD high schools joined forces in March to fight this national epidemic at the local level by launching the unique TDS peer-to-peer safety program.
With the new school year already in gear, the student leaders are hosting a news conference Thursday, October 4 at 3:30 p.m. to encourage other young drivers and the Garland community to drive safely.
Statewide surveys have shown that young drivers and their parents are largely unaware of the main risks for young drivers, and a survey of Garland area students last spring reflected the same lack of awareness.
09/25/07
Public Safety Committee Reviews Gun Range -
Categories: Opinions, Public Safety -
Douglas
@ 11:43:13 pm
After hearing a number of concerns over the last year from various sources related to the gun range on Pleasant Valley Rd, I asked the Council to review those concerns. My initial request was to direct it to the Board of Adjustment where politics would be much less a factor; however, Mayor Jones, based on input from other Council members, assigned the review to the new Public Safety Committee, of which he had just made me chairman.
The committee had its first meeting today and the first item for discussion was the range. I had sent a number of items to staff to review and report on. Representatives from various departments were at today's meeting.
Reports from the departments demonstrated that there were no apparent violations to any city ordinances. The number of reports over the last few years to the Police Department did not reflect negatively on the operation or safety of the range. The Health Department reported there was no lead concern. Their monitoring tests showed lead content in the creek that runs next to the range about 100 times below the level of concern. As to noise, their measurements indicate the range does not violate state or city ordinances (the city being more restrictive than the state). The Planning Department reported that the range would not be allowed under current zoning but that it was a legal, non-conforming use because it was there when the land was annexed to the city. And finally, the city attorney relayed information on state laws that offer additional protection to gun ranges.
Based on the reports from the staff, the committee will recommend to the Council that there is no basis for continued review.
It was a simple process and a simple review. I can confidently report to those that raised concerns that they need not fear.
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What wasn't simple were attacks against my motives by numerous Garland residents. Appreciatively, the feedback I received from District 1 residents was in the form of questions and discussion, not accusations.
After the Council meeting when the item was assigned to committee, I heard from people all over the state asking that we not close the gun range. I sent each a message explaining that we were looking at reported concerns but I didn't foresee any action to close the range. They understood. I talked to the president of a large gun club and afterwards he sent a kind message to their members suggesting allowing the process to work.
Many Garland residents were less rational.
I was accused of being in bed with developers who wanted to get the land cheap so they could develop it. Never mind that the range is in the floodway and basically can't be developed.
I was accused of trying to get the land for SH-190. Never mind that it's not in the path of 190 and the state would condemn it if they needed it.
Mayor Jones and I were accused of backroom deals. Okaaaay, then how is it that everything the Council did was always public?
The committee met today at 3:30 p.m. so we were accused of trying to meet without public review. Committee meetings are for the members and the staff to meet to discuss items. The public is always welcome but the meetings aren't hearings where testimony will be taken. Today's meeting was at a time that staff could be there without having to work overtime and immediately before another meeting that I had to attend.
At the end of the meeting, the three items being considered by the committee will be reported to the Council as not needing further action. The committee system allows a portion of the Council to review and develop items so the whole Council doesn't have to wade through everything.
I think the system works very well and was glad when Mayor Day reinstituted the committees at the beginning of his term in 2002. The committees allow more detailed consideration of an issue than the whole Council could ever afford to give. Something might be "chewed over" in committee for six months before it is brought to the Council, if it ever is. The Council as a whole sometimes would give such an item six minutes. I think it's simple: careful, considered review or hasty, half-baked review?
I mention these irrational conspiracies (and there were more) because those that want to have a positive influence on their city government, at least through me, gain credibility by asking questions and forming opinions based on fact. I am content to work with people like that all day long even if they don't agree with me. However, for those that prefer to construct conspiracies and don't bother to do any fact checking before swearing their conjectures are real, I will give only the consideration they've earned: nothing. The rest of us are too busy and have work too important to waste time trying to untangle their ramblings.
The process of open government is incredibly important to me and I have fought constantly for it, whether at the Plan Commission, or in court, or at the Council. Those that wish to subvert the process for their own goals are trying to deny the rest of us our rights under an open government. That process may not always be exactly what I would like but I will defend it, or I will work to openly revise it, but I won't work to subvert it.
One item that was reported by staff could gain improper traction if reported inaccurately. The city attorney reported that replacement of the Pleasant Valley Rd bridge would require elevating the roadway and bridge out of the floodplain. That is accurate. Raising the roadway would probably require taking a significant portion of the parking area for the range. While this is a likely scenario, it is not one we should expect to see for a long time. There are no plans or monies to replace the bridge (although it definitely needs it). Pleasant Valley Rd should be widened in about 2010 but there are no funds for a new bridge.
It was in the paper Monday morning and on all the morning news programs. A carjacker in Dallas had shot a Garland Police Officer as he tried to escape Dallas Police.
Here are reports on Officer Jesse Chittimai's experience and her condition taken from Police Department news releases yesterday and today:
OFFICER WOUNDED DURING CAR CHASE
This morning around 4:00 a.m., Dallas Police advised Garland Police they had officers chasing a carjacking suspect and they were headed north into Garland on Garland Road. One of Garland’s officers blocked in a north-bound lane of Garland Road just north of Miller Road and prepared to throw stop-sticks in an effort to flatten the tires of the fleeing suspect vehicle.
As the car approached the officer’s location at a very high rate of speed, Officer Jesse Chittamai deployed the stop-sticks. As the suspect vehicle drove over the stop-sticks she heard a pop and immediately felt pain in her right thigh. Her first thought was one of the sticks had come loose and hit her leg. She retrieved the stop-sticks from the roadway, got into her squad car and drove to the police station.
When Officer Chittamai arrived at the station she could see there was a hole in her uniform pants and she was bleeding. Once inside, with help of other officers, she checked her leg. She had apparently been shot by the fleeing suspect as he drove passed her.
She was transported by ambulance to Parkland Hospital of Dallas with a gun shot wound to the leg. Officer Chittamai has been with the Garland Police Department for two years and has almost eight years of military experience.
Dallas Officers continued their pursuit of the suspect who crossed back into Dallas. The fleeing vehicle stopped with flat tires on Central Expressway at Park Lane. It was reported the man turned a gun on himself and died at the scene of a self inflicted gun shot wound.
WOUNDED OFFICER’S CONDITION UPGRADED
The Garland Officer who was wounded yesterday as she threw out stop-sticks trying to end a chase from Dallas continues to improve. Doctors have continued testing on her wounded leg where she was shot by the carjacking suspect. The officer, Jessica Chittamai, still remains in Parkland Hospital of Dallas and doctors are saying when she is released she will need several weeks of healing time but eventually should be able to return to full duty.
The Garland Police Department family is very appreciative of the calls of support and concern over the past 24 hours for Officer Chittamai.
I know everyone joins me in thanking Officer Jesse Chittamai for her service to the citizens of Garland and wish her a speedy and full recovery!
09/23/07
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Posados Cafe's application to open a restaurant on SH-190 near the future Hyatt Place Hotel and close to the GISD Special Events Center was approved by the Council at our last meeting. At the same general location, there should also be Two Rows and IHOP restaurants soon.
The restaurant will be over 6000 square-feet and will have an outdoor dining area. The outside will have stone, brick, stucco, and wood, which took special approvals from the Plan Commission because the number of materials exceeded the number normally allowed under the SH-190 Development Standards.
Posados has other locations in the Metroplex, including Plano, Frisco, and Mesquite, but there also locations in Tyler (the corporate headquarters), Shreveport, Bossier City, Austin, and elsewhere.
The menu features a wide variety of Mexican dishes, including steak, fajitas, chicken, ribs, seafood, and quail.
That seems to be enough to keep people coming back over and over.
Hat tip to Scott Roberts for the enhanced graphic.
09/21/07
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I didn't hear a lot about the pending case until it was presented to the Plan Commission—where it was recommended for approval with a vote of 7-2. Then the volume started rising.
I was never involved with the selection of the site or had any involvement in the process, until it was presented this week to the Council. I make that distinction because I feel everything I knew and have learned about the project was been learned in the public domain, like most everyone else. I have been close to the public statements and presentations, beginning with the first announcement of the pending college district bond package in 2004, to Chamber and Economic Development Steering Committee meetings, and to other public presentations.
I was heavily involved with the selection of RTKL and Paris Rutherford, the consultants that prepared the revitalization plan for Downtown that has led to the Trammell Crow mixed-use project, but I was not involved with any of the RTKL work product or negotiations with Trammell Crow. I have had periodic updates on the progress, several of those in executive session. In any of the RTKL presentations, when the area involving the college property was mentioned, it was always prefaced that what was presented was conceptual, that it was not based on discussions with the college district.
Obviously there are others that do not see it that way at all and have expressed either discontent with the college district's proposal or the communication over the period we have known about the satellite campus.
From my perspective, I do not feel there was a bait-and-switch; what was presented from the beginning was more or less what was presented at the end. I don't split hairs and then claim that something said in general, conceptual terms was later not strictly and precisely delivered. Nobody can do that. Property development starts as an idea that is always transformed when slapped with the big 2x4 of reality.
So how did we get so many people so hot and bothered? For answers, I started doing research.
I started with the Dallas Morning News, shelling out good bucks to read online archives (Note to DMN: longtime subscribers should have more open access than someone in Timbuktu that will never subscribe). I checked the DCCCD site. I ran online searches. So what do we learn?
- In 2004, the college district presented a bond package for $450 million, to be used on 8 campuses and to build five satellite campuses. One satellite campus was to be in the "Northeast" quadrant of the county. It could have been Garland but it could have been Rowlett or Richardson as easily.
- The bond election was approved with 70% of the vote.
- Ten months after the election, Garland was chosen for the site. No one could have "voted" for the site because it had not been determined.
- Over a year after the election, the college district starts a process to learn what types of classes would be supported by the community.
- In July, 2005, the City and College District approach DART with a concept plan to open Sixth St to Walnut and to move the DART station.
- By 2006, the College District is referring to the campus as a "Workforce Training Center."
- In August, 2006, Trustees hire Chancellor Lassiter, who confirms that curriculum has changed to more emphasis on workforce training and less on general education classes.
- And so it remains today.
Nothing supports claims that we were told the $450 million would be spent only on the five satellite campuses, $90 million each, but there is plenty to disprove it.
The closest I can find to support claims that the campus was to be a two-year academic college are references to "basic classes," "able to earn up to 48 credit hours," "have a computer lab," and this statement from the new Chancellor: "Our plans include focusing on educational needs for workforce development instead of a broad-based array of classes for general education programs – a change in our original plan, but one that I believe will best serve the needs of Garland."
Those few references show a range was considered for the curriculum. On the other side, there are multitudes of references to workforce training, consulting with businesses and the Chamber, and similar expressions. Nothing approaches a promise of a full two-year academic campus and everything points to workforce training as the primary emphasis.
I'm sure we would all have liked a full academic campus from the beginning but I can find nowhere even the remote suggestion that we were to receive one.
However, it should be remembered that the college district said the first buildings are only Phase 1. They showed future buildings across most of the 25-acre site. In March, 2005, Jerry Prater, Garland resident and DCCCD Board Chair, said, "Within a decade, we feel we could serve as many as 5,000 students at one time." There is obviously a higher goal.
Also, Dr. Lassiter said last year that all the DCCCD campuses would be encouraged to offer classes at the facility because of its easy accessibility by DART.
So what got so many people so hot? My guess is that descriptons of the satellite campus got briefer and briefer over time, assuming everyone understood what was being said. The campus was tied by Garland officials, not DCCCD, to Downtown revitalization. As people became aware of the changes coming to Downtown, the late arrivals did not have the context necessary to understand that "community college" did not mean a new, full-scale academic campus, that it could never be a full-scale campus, which takes eight times more land, at a minimum, according to Dr. Mittelstet, President of Richland College. Even a recent Dallas Morning News article on Downtown uses the shorthand reference: "And a community college campus is coming on Walnut Street, just across the DART tracks." Anyone knowing the historical context would understand immediately. It also demonstrates the hazards of believing your own assumptions and the constant requirement to be curious and to ask questions.
Maybe the good news is that more and more people have started to pay attention to the pending changes Downtown than any of us had suspected. That actually bodes well. And maybe we all need to be better communicators.
The more germane documents that I reviewed are listed below in chronological order, links to the documents are under the date, and some of the more pertinent portions are quoted. Go forth and study! There might be a quiz.
Date |
Source |
Bullets |
Details from Media |
DCCCD |
Feedback sessions scheduled in four quadrants of county | DCCCD Seeks Ideas and Feedback from Community about Future Plans *** DCCCD will hold several conversations with community members throughout the four quadrants of Dallas County *** Jan. 21, 2004 - 6 to 7:30 p.m., Garland Center for the Performing Arts, 300 N. Fifth St., in Garland | |
DCCCD |
Chancellor shares vision of college district for jobs training | Conversation with the Community *** Higher level skills/training needed for today’s and tomorrow’s jobs; Emerging/evolving technology requires on-going training and skill enhancement; Displaced workers need training and/or retraining; Labor force shortage in health occupations, education, information technology, and health/safety “first responders”; All are areas within the DCCCD’s expertise and continued role as a partner in regional economic and workforce development *** Eastfield College: Northeast Education Center | |
DMN |
Article announces details of $450 million bond package: 8 campuses and 5 new satellites | …big plans for campuses *** $450 million bond proposal on May 15 *** $33 million the district hopes to use in land acquisition for five centers that would serve as satellites to full-fledged campuses *** centers will enable DCCCD to create additional points of access for under-served and growing populations in our communities *** workplace demands have changed as well, and the college is trying to adjust to those needs *** jobs of the future will be more technical | |
DMN |
Announcement of bond package | Voters will decide in May whether [DCCCD] should sell $450 million in bonds for additions, renovations and parking on its eight campuses *** Eastfield: $59.4 million to update health, human services, technology, workforce and fine arts facilities, parking and two satellite education centers | |
DMN |
Editorial supports bond package | That's why Chancellor Jesus Carreon and the district's board believe a May 15 bond election is necessary. So do we. The election campaign kicked off this week | |
Dallas Chamber |
Vote Yes! campaign literature | Vote Yes! | |
DMN |
Synopsis of items on ballot | …$450 million bond package will allow the district to add facilities, upgrade existing ones and improve nursing and other health-related training | |
DMN |
Election results: bonds approved by over 70% of voters | Bond Election-Passed *** Voters approved a $450 million bond package that will expand or update aging buildings on Dallas County Community College District's seven campuses. The largest chunk of the package–$33 million–will pay for an additional five satellite centers. | |
DCCCD |
College District's reaction to bond approval | Approximately 70 percent of the persons who voted on May 15 cast their ballot in favor of DCCCD's bond program. "That's more than 2 to 1 in favor of a better future in Dallas County for higher education and workforce development," said Carreon. *** The chancellor also sent a special "thank you" to members of the citizens advocacy committee - "Vote yes! Education = Jobs" - who raised funds, awareness and votes for the bond package. The group was led by Phil Ritter of Texas Instruments, campaign chair, plus Emilita de la Rosa, Hector Escamilla and Sheron Patterson, who served as co-chairs. Robert L. Thornton III served as honorary chairman. | |
DCCCD |
College District seeking land for satellite campuses | The district engaged realtors to identify properties that may be suitable for education centers in the northeast and northwest corners of Dallas County, as well as west Dallas, Pleasant Grove and south Irving neighborhoods. Our goal is to complete and open those locations within three years. | |
DMN |
Garland selected as site of "Northeast" campus | Garland will receive a satellite education center from Dallas County Community College District sometime next year, officials confirmed this week *** In Garland, Mr. Prater said, the center will cost $10 million to $11 million. He said it will include at least 50,000 square feet of floor space *** "We will be conducting a variety of meetings with the [Garland] school district, with important people in the community, with church groups and others to assess the needs," Mr. Prater said. "We'll build the curricula around that." *** Industry leaders and chamber officials in the areas where the five education centers will be located will be consulted, Dr. Carreon said. *** "They [the five centers] are all going to have the basics. We'll probably have a computer lab at each one of them. I think that's crucial." *** Mr. Prater said the Garland center will include accommodations for students with limited English proficiency. *** "I hope they put this center on a bus line or a rail line. That would be a big help. Then, students wouldn't need a car to attend classes." *** Curtis Culwell, superintendent of the Garland school district, said inclusion of a technical trades component at the center would be important to many Garland-area students. "Anything to help train or re-train people for the workforce would be critical," Dr. Culwell said. *** Such details are still being worked out, Dr. Carreon said. | |
DCCCD |
Trustees approve Garland land purchase | Trustees approved the purchase of land for both the Eastfield College-North Campus in Garland and the North Lake College-North Campus in Coppell. | |
DCCCD |
Details of Garland land purchase | DCCC Trustees Approve Purchase of Land for Garland Education Center *** DCCC bought the property from Jay W. Jones at a cost of $2,357,403; the land is not encumbered with existing buildings or improvements. Jim Whitten, who works for CB Richard Ellis, was the system's realtor for this transaction. | |
DMN |
College District to gather community input on curriculum | Garland-area residents have an opportunity next week to affect development of a downtown college campus near the DART rail and bus centers on Walnut Street. Officials of the Dallas County Community College District, or DCCCD, will meet at 6:30 p.m. July 7 in the Atrium at Granville Arts Center, 300 N. Fifth St., to discuss plans for the campus. *** Dr. Carreon said district officials are eager to share their vision for the new campus. But, he added, officials also want to hear from area residents as to what courses and programs should be offered. *** "The fundamental building block of economic development is the workforce," said Paul Mayer, Garland Chamber of Commerce president. "This facility is so incredibly critical to that fundamental building block." | |
DMN |
DCCCD and Garland approach DART for changes | With a community college campus coming downtown, city officials said it might be a good idea to make a few changes, such as moving the light-rail station west, closer to the campus site at Glenbrook Drive and Walnut Street. | |
DCCCD |
"Workforce Training Center" | Garland Workforce Training Center *** Richland College's new Workforce Development Center, with a project budget of $7,152,750, is planned to be 32,000 square feet in size. The facility will be home to Richland College's Continuing Education, Workforce Development, and other programs and will include new classrooms, computer labs, required staff office and support spaces, and other functions needed to support those programs. | |
DCCCD |
Change in Chancellors and some change in expected curriculum | Change in Administration for Garland Center *** Dr. Wright Lassiter, chancellor of the Dallas County Community College District, announced to Garland-area leaders today that responsibility for the development and oversight of the district's new community education campus in Garland will be assumed by Richland College; that move will enable Eastfield College officials to focus on another community education center planned in Pleasant Grove. *** Richland College has suggested some changes in direction, tailored specifically to the Garland campus. Some of those ideas include: A clear program focus on addressing the workforce development training needs of Garland by offering specific corporate and contract training; Flexible scheduling and configuration for training needs; Courses offered by several DCCCD institutions at one location, which is accessible by DART bus and light rail routes; A new Business Innovations Center, where principles of performance, excellence and prototype product and systems development can be offered; An environmentally friendly campus facility; and Offices for appropriate mission-related job opportunity/chamber/career development agency partners who can enhance on-site training and employment needs. |
[Return to Website]
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Just a few days ago, I reported that Betsy Willis, a District 1 resident, was one of those installed as a new member of the Garland Youth Council. Today, I see in the Dallas Morning News F!D Section that Betsy is one of twelve models competing in the 2007 Fashion!Dallas/Kim Dawson Model Search.
Also in the Search from Garland is Ashley Kim. Both attend Garland High School.
Garland residents can support one of Garland's own by voting here. Only one vote per computer, though. Read the online instructions to learn how to cast additional votes. The two receiving the most votes will receive $500 to spend at NorthPark. |
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The Council recently honored former mayor Bob Day for his appointment to the North Texas Turnpike Agency Board. Director Day is well-versed in transportation issues, having represented the city on the Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition and the Regional Transportation Council during his years on the City Council.
Transportation is one of the highest challanges facing the Metroplex and surrounding counties over the next few decades as the region continues to grow at a demanding pace. Critical for continued growth in the north Garland area is the extension of SH-190 to IH-30 in the next few years. It is an opportune time for Dr. Day to be appointed by the Dallas County Commissioners. Garland is fortunate to have good, solid representation in all the critical areas: Mike Cantrell, County Commissioners Court; Angie Chen Button, DART Board, and Mayor Ron Jones, Regional Transportation Council. I serve on the Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition, as do Commissioner Cantrell and Director Button.
An article in Thursday's Dallas Morning News gives the details of Dr. Day's appointment:
3 new members join NTTA's expanded board of directors
Added seats allow each founding county to have 2 representatives
12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, September 20, 2007
By MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER / The Dallas Morning News
Three new members joined the North Texas Tollway Authority board of directors Wednesday.
Legislation passed this year expanded the NTTA's governing board from seven members to nine. The authority is a public agency established 10 years ago to build and maintain toll roads in the Dallas area.
The two new seats were filled by county commissioners in Dallas and Tarrant counties.
The board also welcomed a third new member, appointed by Denton County to replace NTTA vice chairman Jack Miller.
By expanding the board's membership to nine, the new law ensures that each of the NTTA's founding counties – Dallas, Collin, Denton and Tarrant – will be represented by two members.
The governor appoints the ninth member.
Dallas County chose former Garland Mayor Robert E. Day Jr. to fill a new two-year term. Tarrant County selected lawyer Victor Vandergriff, son of former Tarrant County Judge Tom Vandergriff, for a one-year term.
Former Lewisville City Council member Michael Nowels replaces Mr. Miller for a one-year term. Mr. Nowels is a former member of the Regional Transportation Council.
"On behalf of the board of directors, I welcome our three new colleagues to the NTTA board," said NTTA Chairman Paul N. Wageman.
Mr. Wageman's two-year term, his fourth, expires in 2008.
Three members of the board were reappointed Wednesday: David R. Denison, William W. Meadows and Robert K. Shepard—the governor's pick—will each serve another two-year term.
The game of musical chairs comes at a pivotal time for the NTTA. It is emerging from a successful but bruising battle with Spanish toll road builder Cintra to build the 26-mile State Highway 121 toll road in Denton and Collin counties.
In addition, NTTA is set to raise its toll rates later this month, is phasing in an all-electronic toll policy and is slated to build the Trinity River Parkway, unless Dallas voters kill that project in a Nov. 6 referendum.
09/20/07
Who Ya Gonna Call? -
Categories: Public Safety, Neighborhoods, Transportation, Parks & Recreation, Libraries, Code Compliance, Utilities, Health -
Douglas
@ 11:48:13 pm
|
Who do you call when a street light is out or someone has sprayed graffiti on your fence?
Cities offer many services: police, fire, sanitation, water, and the list keeps going. It is what we expect of cities; otherwise, why would we bother creating them or living in one? Garland's range of services equals any large city and exceeds many of them.
When we suddenly find ourselves needing to contact someone about any of those services, we must explore a labyrinth of departments and numbers to get to the individual that can actually help us. Garland simplifies that process to a very large degree by having a main number that can generally get us exactly where we need to be: (972) 205-2000.
That works during normal business hours. Othertimes it is necessary or more convenient if we can simply call the department we need directly. To assist that effort, we've updated my website by adding a list of commonly-needed phone numbers for different city departments and services under the Contacts tab. Look there anytime you can't remember or can't find the number for a particular issue or department. While the list should cover the majority of issues, numbers for help with other questions or problems are often listed on the various departments' individual webpages at the City of Garland website.
The list was compiled by Dorothy White, Public and Media Affairs Manager, with updates by Felisa Conner, Neighborhood Vitality Manager. |
Naaman School Rd Information Meeting Well Attended -
Categories: Neighborhoods, Transportation, Parks & Recreation -
Douglas
@ 10:28:20 pm
|
Representatives from Garland's Transportation, Engineering, and Parks Depts presented plans for the improvement of Naaman School Rd, between Lavon Hwy and Pleasant Valley Rd, tonight to about 30-35 people from the adjoining neighborhoods. I appreciated that so many people came to review the plans and to ask questions, and I appreciated that so many city staff members once again worked all evening after putting in a full day.
I sensed that everyone, presenter and presentee, gained some insights for the dynamics of the project and its affects.
I hope this meeting is the impetus to have more such meetings much earlier for future project. The chance to learn of opportunities for improvement greatly increases and it is possible to learn that neighbors are less concerned about other parts than originally imagined. The end result is a project better sculpted to its location and everyone happier with the result. Next time.
If this was a meeting that you should have attended, I talked to various people that were taking notes either for neighborhood newsletters or for future association meetings.
Some of the highlights that I heard:
- The work now underway was initially planned in 1986
- Work started on the eastern end in June and work is estimated to be completed by June, 2008
- The improved street will have much higher capacity afterwards, and is being increased from two lanes to a four-lane, divided roadway
- The new street will have landscaping on the center medians and along the southern edge
- Landscaping will be varied, from crepe myrtles on the median to multiple species along the edge, depending on the width of the planting area
- The school crossing at Mars will be closed when a large hole is excavated for utility work; school district officials have said they will use buses to carry children from the south side to Lister Elementary
- Periodic updates will be posted on the Transportation Dept webpage and bi-weekly on Time Warner Cable channel 96 and Verizon Fios TV channel 38.
I was also impressed to see Daniel Krzyzanowski from the Planning Dept there. Daniel was an observer rather than a presenter but Daniel has been working with several of the neighborhoods on the south side of Naaman School Rd as part of the Vital Neighborhoods program. He led the city's efforts on that program for the Carriage House neighborhood this last year and will now move to the next phase: implementing some of the initiatives identified in that process.
UPDATE: Del Newberry was one of those residents at the meeting taking notes. He has forwarded an e-mail that he shared with his Carriage House neighbors. I'm posting much of it because, frankly, his information is more comprehensive than what I posted.
It was a very informative meeting and the city staff was patient with all residents, staying as long as it took to answer individual questions.
The city was represented by John Baker, Robert Wunderlich, Ann McGinnes, Donna Manhart, Mike Meade, and Jean Redfern.
John Baker started by giving a history of the project, which goes back to a 2004 bond referendum. The money was available in 2005 to begin the design and planning phase of the project. Actual work on the road started in June and is expected to be complete by June, 2008. It is a $6.85 million project and is the first of the projects on that referendum that will actually add capacity to a street. Tri-Con is the contractor and the city has used them before with great results, always meeting deadlines.
Naaman School Road will consist of a 4-lane divided street (two lanes in each direction). From Crist to 78, there will be a center turn lane, from Crist to Pleasant Valley it will have a median with 'street-scaping', landscaping to include crepe myrtles, grasses, shrubs, etc. Ann McGinnes had posters of some of the varieties of plants that would be used. There will be sidewalks on both sides—also more plants to 'screen' the street from the alleys and to make the project more visually appealing.
I forgot the term, but there will also be 'patterned' concrete, that is made to look like brick, for some of the median and turn lanes. From the pictures we saw of the design concept, it looks very nice and we should be proud to have this kind of attention to detail beside our neighborhood.
The alley from Mars to Paris (don't quote me on this, I think that is the section) will be re-paved, as well as the corner section of the alley at Crist and Naaman, where water collects now.
Jean Redfern said GISD agreed to provide buses to transport children when the crossing at Mars and Naaman is closed to pedestrian traffic. More details will be coming home with the children at Lister when the plan is solidified and the dates of closure are determined. This is for the safety of the children, as there will be a giant hole at that intersection for a period of time.
Engineering Departement will let affected citizens know when their respective alleys will need to be closed for work, and we will be instructed to park in front of our homes for a brief period of time.
As I find out anything new, I will pass it along in an e-mail or post it to our website (www.CarriagehouseNeighbors.org).
09/19/07
District 1 Youth Council Reps Take Leadership Roles -
Categories: Announcements -
Douglas
@ 12:27:55 pm
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The Garland Youth Council had it's first official meeting and installation of new members Tuesday evening. Following installation, the new Council moved to elect officers.
District 1 representative Molly Davis was elected as Chairperson and District 1 resident Betsy Willis was elected Secretary.
I think it reflects well on our district to have two young leaders emerging in roles to help our community and youth in particular. If you have an opportunity, I hope you will take the opportunity to let Molly and Betsy know that we are proud of their service and their willingness to accept responsibilities that will benefit our city and community! One way you can do so is by leaving a comment below.
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09/14/07
August's crime statistics show a decrease from the previous month. The trend indicates a continuing drop overall.
In the past, we've seen regular incidents at the Town Center. I visited with Town Center management today and learned that the arrest of certain individuals had greatly reduced the incidents.
A category we have not seen before, Injury to a Child, is a concern and one I hope we never see again. I don't have any details and won't be receiving any beyond what is in the downloadable report.
Download the complete report if you wish address-by-address information that includes your neighborhood.
|
Offense
|
March
* |
April
* |
||||
| Sexual Assault |
1
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
| Robbery |
2
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
–
|
| Aggravated Assault |
5
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
–
|
1
|
| Burglary Habitation |
15
|
10
|
7
|
5
|
13
|
8
|
| Burglary Building |
6
|
5
|
3
|
5
|
4
|
8
|
| Burglary Vehicle |
23
|
28
|
31
|
19
|
25
|
17
|
| Burglary Coin Operated Machine |
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
–
|
| Theft |
51
|
59
|
41
|
29
|
29
|
36
|
| Unauthorized Use Motor Vehicle |
1
|
8
|
2
|
4
|
4
|
1
|
| Injury to Child–Bodily Injury |
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
|
District Totals
|
104
|
113
|
88
|
65
|
79
|
72
|
09/13/07
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One of my surprises taking office last year was how few Boards, Commissions, and Committees had anyone from District 1 serving. About half did not have anyone from District 1, particularly some of the more active panels. One of my goals in office has been to increase the number of residents serving from the district. I felt, first, there were many, many individuals with incredible experience in professional careers that could help the city and, second, it was important to always be building the leadership the district and city will need as we move forward.
Now every permanent board, commission, and committee has at least one person from District 1 and many have more.
Not all the appointments are mine. Mayor Jones and other Council members have also tapped District 1 residents to serve, for which I am very thankful.
Also serving over the last year were:
Additional District 1 residents are serving the city on external boards or other governmental bodies, including:
District 1 is also fortunate to have people that served on special-purpose committees over the last year:
While this is an impressive list, I'm sure I've forgotten to mention others that I will be embarrassed to have missed. My apologies now.
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It is always exciting to see a new restaurant or store or hotel (soon) or housing development open in north Garland. The growth we have learned to almost take for granted is the result of many years of hard work by a long list of people, starting with setting aside the land for SH-190, the development of the Firewheel Golf Park, through to the construction of Firewheel Town Center.
The Town Center would not have been developed without the easy access provided by SH-190 from Central Expy and other points west.
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While the development around the Town Center is still far from plateauing, there will be a point that it will slow because it will have reached equilibrium, where supply equals demand. At that point, demand will rise more slowly, following residential development as it continues in the area, including Wylie, Lavon, Rowlett, and even Rockwall.
However, the next big push to demand will come in about 2012 when access from the east and IH-30 become realities and more people can easily reach north Garland by way of the eastern extension of SH-190.
The easterly extension has long been planned but funds were not immediately available to start. The extension had recently been held in limbo with no precise start date known. Mike Cantrell, County Commissioner and Garland resident, recently called all the respective parties together that could make the decisions to proceed, including Mayor Ron Jones, City Manager Bill Dollar, and Garland's Transportation Managing Director Robert Wunderlich, together with representatives from the North Texas Tollway Authority, Texas Department of Transportation, and the Regional Transportation Council (on which Commissioner Cantrell and Mayor Jones both serve). The resulting plan was taken to the RTC for approval.
Here is the announcement from Local Motion, a publication of the RTC and the North Central Texas Council of Governments Transportation Dept:
RTC loans $80 million for Bush Turnpike
The Regional Transportation Council in August loaned the Texas Department of Transportation $80 million for the eastern extension of the President George Bush Turnpike [SH-190], which currently runs from State Highway 161 to SH-78 [Lavon Hwy]. The new segment will extend the toll road east to Interstate Highway 30. The money the RTC loaned TxDOT is expected to come from the allotment received from the North Texas Tollway Authority for the right to build State Highway 121 through Collin and Denton Counties. As a condition of the arrangement, NTTA will pay the region 20 percent of the proceeds from the PGBT extension. NTTA recently won the right to build the SH-121 extension after promising the region $4 billion, including $3.3 billion in upfront payments. The money will be used to help North Texas continue expanding its network of roads to meet the demands of a surging population.
09/12/07
Re-examining Live/Work Spaces -
Categories: Neighborhoods, Development, Guest Bloggers -
Douglas
@ 12:59:46 pm
The article below illustrates one well-received live/work project debuting in the Metroplex. I've written of Capella Park several times. This article expands the multiple concepts in the developer's design that enhance community, urbanism, and are friendlier to the environment.
The concept will soon not be foreign even for Garland. Though only a few such units are planned, the Trammell Crow mixed-use project that will break ground Downtown in January features some live/work units.
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By SCOTT ROBERTS |
Live in Luxury, Work in Comfort
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“What's old is new and what's new is old.” Living over the store is an old concept being revived and built at Capella Park. Developers and Architects are revitalizing the faded tradition of Living Over the Workplace. Shopkeepers, artisans, and professionals have been living over the workplace for hundreds of years.
Live/Work homes allow small business owners to combine their housing and work spaces into one building and one mortgage. The combination of these required spaces present lower total occupancy expense and ease of identifying work space for tax deductibility. The Live/Work homes in Phase I of Capella Park are tailored to businesses which have no more than two outside employees and occasional drive-up clientele.
In days gone by, people lived over the workplace partially because transportation was difficult. Today, because of congested roads, transportation is again difficult. With the Internet and other modern marvels it is time for the old to be new again. Living Over the Workplace has many benefits. It's convenient, more comfortable, more economical, environmentally friendly and promotes community interaction. By living where one works there is no commuting, less air pollution, less energy usage, and cars will last longer. A win-win all around.
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Cappella Park is unique New Urbanism concept in Southwest Dallas where the Living Over the Workplace concept is a vital component. The first phase of the Living Over the Workplace project is comprised of three six-unit town homes, 18 homes total. These 2,600 square foot town homes are two story with the Shop on the ground level and the Living space on the second level. The Architect for this project, in a juxtaposition, has been living under the workplace for eleven years and brings his insight and experience to the design.
The ground level has an over-sized, two-car garage off the alley. The size of the garage allows for storage and a work bench. The front is a large workspace that can be customized to the needs of the owner. The 10-foot ceilings and multiple French doors with transoms make the space bright and spacious. There is also an interior courtyard which allows more light and is perfect for breaks or a lunch outside.
The use of street-facing French doors not only bring in light, letting the outside in, but also allows window shopping, allowing the community and workspace to interact visually. This design adds to the pedestrian aspect of the New Urbanism concept.
The lower level also has a full bath, storage, and two sets of stairs leading to the second level. One stair is off the garage while the other comes down into the workplace. The upper level living area is a 1,600 square foot two bedroom home. As you get to the top of the stairs you are greeted by the openness and the view of the upper courtyard. The dining room overlooks the upper courtyard and receives abundant light from the courtyard. The kitchen is full featured with a full appliance package, pantry, and a raised bar at where your friends can congregate. The sink area faces the living room and beyond to the outside.
The living room is at the front of the unit and has plenty of windows looking down to the street and across Capella Park. At almost 24-feet-wide the space can accommodate the home owner's needs. There are two full furniture/TV walls to make furniture placement easy.
Toward the back of the unit, past the dining area and the upper courtyard, is the hall to the utility room, guest bedroom, bathroom, and master suite. The utility room has space for the new larger washers and dryers, together with some storage space and a storage closet. The guest bath is not the standard guest bath but is over 6½ feet wide—so it feels and is more spacious. There is a linen closet immediately across from the guest bath. The master suite includes a private bath and walk-in closet.
These Living Over the Workplace homes are unique even to Capella Park's New Urbanism design; however, the concept is starting to thrive and expand throughout the Metroplex.
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09/11/07
Naaman School Rd Information Meeting Set -
Categories: Announcements, Transportation -
Douglas
@ 11:49:31 pm
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City of Garland News Release:
DCCCD Presents Garland Campus Update
Garland, Texas – September 11, 2007 — Garland’s strong industrial base is a key component in the City’s economy and requires a well-trained workforce. The soon-to-be-constructed downtown Garland satellite Dallas County Community College campus will focus its mission on preparing that workforce.
That was the thrust of the message delivered Tuesday, as leaders from the Dallas County Community College District presented a briefing to a joint meeting of the Garland City Council, the Board of Trustees of the Garland Independent School District and the Board of Directors of the Garland Chamber of Commerce. The downtown Garland campus project is one of several satellite campuses funded by the DCCCD Bond Program approved by voters in 2004. The Garland campus will be under the oversight of Richland College.
Richland College President Dr. Steve Mittelstet explained how the focus of the Garland campus mission began taking shape, as well as the timeline for construction. Dr. Mittelstet said that Richland College conducted focus groups with various community representatives to determine priorities for the Garland campus. Since Garland is home to the eighth largest industrial base in Texas, business and industry leaders were also brought into the discussion.
“Unfortunately, there are many in Garland—young and old—who do not see that their local community colleges can assist them with their life goals, which include relevant, satisfying jobs and life skills,” said Dr. Mittelstet. “This Garland campus location will be used to help these individuals learn more about the opportunities our colleges have for them. This is especially true for a growing percentage of our population who come from fine families with no college tradition.
“In addition, well-educated adults in formerly successful careers find it difficult to keep their skills current and relevant to the rapidly changing needs of today’s and tomorrow’s work force,” he continued. “This centrally-located campus will provide an opportunity to learn that our community colleges can serve them now and throughout their lives, helping them build confidence through early success in relevant education and training. And throughout their experiences, we will be telling them of all the wonderful opportunities for continuing their education at our nearly comprehensive community colleges, Eastfield, Richland and the other five DCCCD campuses.”
Dr. Mittelstet said Richland College is excited to be a part of the redevelopment of downtown Garland and continuing to work with the Garland Economic Development Partnership to achieve their goals related to a solid economic tax base, a well-educated and diverse community, and sustainable quality development and redevelopment.
Garland Mayor Ron Jones expressed his thanks to Richland College for its partnership in developing a workforce that will be essential to Garland’s ongoing economic health.
“Since becoming mayor, I have visited with a wide range of citizens to learn more about their priorities for our City,” said Mayor Jones. “Among those citizens have been many leaders from our commercial and industrial sector. The need most frequently expressed was for a well-trained, accessible workforce. These industries and business are vital members of our community. They provide good jobs for our residents. Their tax base is a valuable resource in maintaining the City’s infrastructure and services.”
Mayor Jones asked District 4 Councilman Larry Jeffus for insights he has gathered as an appointee to the Governor’s Committee of the Texas Workforce Investment Council. Councilman Jeffus spoke to the importance of solid career and technology training to the state’s economy.
“Career and technology training is important to our young people preparing to be in the workforce and to the employers searching for skilled workers,” said Councilman Jeffus.
Councilman Jeffus cited a study that illustrated how many students in the United States are dropping out of the education pipeline. For every 100 students who start the ninth grade, only 67 will graduate from high school on time. Thirty-eight will enter postsecondary education and training immediately. Approximately 26 will still be enrolled in college for their sophomore year and only 18 will graduate with a bachelor’s degree within six years or an associate degree within three years.
“Access to quality CTE programs provides a successful transition from secondary to postsecondary education,” said Mr. Jeffus. “Research shows students who combine CTE with a rigorous academic core are more likely to pursue postsecondary education, have a higher grade point average in college and are less likely to drop out in the first year.”
Councilman Jeffus also provided a list of jobs that are in increasingly high demand, which require postsecondary CTE credentials, but not a baccalaureate degree.
Groundbreaking for the Garland campus is scheduled for November 1, 2007. Construction is expected to be complete by December 2008 with classes to begin in Spring 2009. Construction of the campus will cost about $12.3 million. The 2004 Bond Program covers $10.2 million and Richland is assuming $2.1 million of the cost.
The full content of the meeting is available on the City of Garland website, www.ci.garland.tx.us. Click on the “CGTV Video Streaming” icon and then on the “City Council” link.
The referenced Video Streaming icon doesn't display on my computer the latest version of Internet Explorer, but if you'll follow the link in this sentence, you'll get to the proper page.
Some have questioned how the new campus affects the pending Trammell Crow mixed-use development. Trammell Crow executives have said the campus augments their development but if the campus was not being developed, it would not affect their plans—they would develop their project in any case.
The campus is planned for a downtown parcel that was zoned for "Transit Oriented Development" a few years ago. The College District's plans have been recommended for approval by the staff and the Plan Commission but the Council has not formally considered the plans. The District is scheduled to present their case to the Council next week, Sept 18.
09/07/07
District 1 criminal incidents were up in July from June. Looking at trends, June was probably the anomaly, perhaps due to the constant rain, and July more typical. We have generally seen more incidents during the summer and then a generous drop when school starts. (Reminds me: Do you know where your children are?)
Technical problems have delayed generation of this report. Download the complete report if you wish address-by-address information that includes your neighborhood. August figures should be available in just a few days.
|
Offense
|
February
* |
March
* |
April
* |
|||
| Sexual Assault |
–
|
1
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
| Robbery |
–
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
| Aggravated Assault |
3
|
5
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
–
|
| Burglary Habitation |
7
|
15
|
10
|
7
|
5
|
13
|
| Burglary Building |
9
|
6
|
5
|
3
|
5
|
4
|
| Burglary Vehicle |
21
|
23
|
28
|
31
|
19
|
25
|
| Burglary Coin Operated Machine |
2
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
1
|
| Theft |
33
|
51
|
59
|
41
|
29
|
29
|
| Unauthorized Use Motor Vehicle |
1
|
1
|
8
|
2
|
4
|
4
|
|
District Totals
|
76
|
104
|
113
|
88
|
65
|
79
|
Residents from neighborhoods all over the district regularly report their appreciation for the Neighborhood Police Officers. The budget approved Tuesday included one additional NPO. Frankly, I doubt District 1 will see much affect since our district generally has less incidents than the citywide average.
While neighborhoods note the NPO program, it is also important to recognize the other functions that provide the foundation for the success of the NPO's, such as the School Resource Officers, the patrol division, the detectives, and other divisions.
09/05/07
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You may have seen reports in the media or parts of Council meetings and have been aware of the rapidly declining apartments on Miller Rd that, from what I've been able to tell, were essentially abandoned by the owners, except collecting rent. The apartments were all-expenses-paid but the owners/property managers had stopped paying for their utilities, which quickly raised red flags for the Garland city staff.
City Inspectors found the apartments to be suffering from inadequate maintenance and the unsafe and unhealthy conditions were documented.
When compliance with city ordinances were not met, the case was forwarded to the Housing Standards Board. After a long meeting, the HSB ordered the apartments vacated.
Below is a quick update Council members received after the vacate order was enforced last weekend. Staff from multiple departments coordinated the relocation of the residents to other, safer facilities. Departments made it as easy as possible for residents to quickly establish accounts for utilities and to settle into their new homes.
My appreciation to staff members for their professionalism and compassion. Reading between the lines, you get a good sense of the personal efforts and sacrifices many city employees gave to assist the residents.
From Richard Briley, Managing Director of Health:
I want to give a special thanks to Steve Killen and Jose Alvarado and their staffs for the very successful relocation effort. Customer Service also spent most of the weekend with the Code and Fair Housing staff. Parks was also of great service to us. As always, the City staff came together to pull off a huge undertaking in a short amount of time with a very minimal amount of complaints. Thanks to all who helped!
Executive Summary from Steve Killen: Pursuant to the order of the Housing Standards Board, City staff successfully met the vacate order of September 1, 2007. The majority of the Miller Garden occupants are now in newly acquired apartments. Occupants of five units experienced delays due to the need for minor repairs prior to occupying their new homes. Consequently, arrangements were made to provide hotel stays during the interim with the final placements scheduled for tomorrow.
- The relocation effort was lead by Fair Housing and Code Compliance with Customer Service and PARDS serving in supportive roles.
- 93 persons were relocated which occupied a total of 34 units at the condemned facility.
- 32 of the 34 units were relocated via City assistance (only two units vacated without assistance).
- All families with school aged children were provided alternative housing within the immediate vicinity and consequently, no special arrangements were necessary or requested of GISD.
- 90% of the persons displaced found housing in the immediate area, minimizing the impacts on their jobs, families, etc.
- Utility deposits were waived by Customer Service for displaced residents.
- Metroplex movers, a Garland business, was secured for moving assistance and provided service to 25 of the 34 units (74%). Moving expenses: approximately $15,000
This was an enormous task that was accomplished through the teamwork of several departments. Fair Housing was very efficient in providing the residents assistance in locating their new homes. Code Compliance staff coordinated the actual moving process and verified that all persons had housing before leaving the complex at 10 p.m. on September 1. Although we do not have a comprehensive list of all persons involved, certain staff members made personal sacrifices to meet this charge and minimize the negative impacts to the residents of Miller Garden.
Several stories on the deteriating conditions and "moving day" are online at The Garland News. It is worth taking a moment to review those stories and the photographs.
09/04/07
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Tonight the City Council approved the City Manager's budget with only a slight amendment. The budget calls for a 1¢/$100 valuation tax increase, from 67.86¢ to 68.86¢. The vote was unanimous.
I'll post more of the details later.
The increase is on the debt service side of the budget, which finances the capitol improvement projects, such as streets and parks and library books.
The operational side was held constant, to the same level for three years.
City Manager Bill Dollar is to be complimented for holding his side of the budget in line, to the point of actually reducing his budget and absorbing the recent approval for a higher homestead exemption. He prepared his budget very much in line with the advice given by various Council members over the last year.
There were ways that we could have avoided the increase, by reducing the operations side of the budget, but in many cases the medicine was worse than the illness.
I was fully committed to not allowing a tax increase but I couldn't find a way to do it. I'll explain my efforts and reasoning in that future post (or posts). |
08/29/07
Garland Power & Light has had among the lowest electric rates in the Metroplex for a couple years. Currently, a number of plans have dropped below GP&L but these are volatile, month-by-month plans that are sometimes lower but have been generally higher.
Some have suggested that the comparison falls short, that the comparison should be widened beyond investor-owned utilities (IOUs) such as TXU, to other municipally-owned utilities in the state. Against a number of the other MOI's, GP&L is higher. However, just comparing the rates will seldom do anything to explain the why's.
San Antonio's City Public Services is doing so well that they are dominating their market and it has been suggested that they might soon expand their reach, challenging IOU's even more. Comparing GP&L to CPS is a hard comparison because of the extreme differences between the two utilities. CPS serves a much, much larger market, well beyond its city limits, which GP&L does not, and has made some very good investments over the years, many of which have not been available to GP&L, such as nuclear. Even the use of coal, San Antonio pays less, having the advantage of multiple available rail lines to compete for delivery.
Councilman Larry Jeffus recently asked for a written comparison of some of the major differences. Ray Schwertner, GP&L's new director, obliged. Mr Schwertner has extensive knowledge of the Texas power market, has worked on the IOU and the Co-Op sides of the power grid. He brings an extremely high level of experience and capability to GP&L.
Here are some of the major differences between GP&L and CPS:
The major reasons for the disparity between GP&L electric rates and the rates charged by CPS San Antonio are debt service and fuel diversity.
1) CPS San Antonio's generation assets, coal-fired units (1950's/60's/70's) and shares of the South Texas Nuclear Project (STP) (1988) built several years ago have much lower debt service obligations. The debt associated with those units has been either retired completely or paid down significantly. Conversely, GP&L still retains a substantial debt associated with the construction, conversion and operation of the Gibbons Creek Plant. CPS San Antonio is currently constructing a new 500 MW coal-fired plant and contemplating the addition of 2 additional nuclear units at the STP location in Matagorda County.
2) While GP&L enjoys a fuel mix of approximately 70% coal and 30% natural gas, CPS has a fuel mix even less dependent on natural gas including a high percentage of nuclear fuel (CPS owns 40% of STP). CPS San Antonio's mix, depicted below, is directly related to lower rates for electric service.
3) CPS enjoys a significant load growth scenario. Greater San Antonio load is steadily increasing at about 3 percent per year, as CPS Energy adds approximately 1,000 customers per month. Significant growth in the customer base increases the efficiency of the generation operations and accelerates the payment for new emergency technologies. CPS is currently building its last coal unit and plans to increase its current ownership in the South Texas Nuclear Facility.
4) CPS invested in a high voltage loop transmission system several years ago that has improved reliability while lowering system energy losses. GP&L is in the process of completing our 138kV loop system over the next ten years.
This comparison does not explain all the nuances between GP&L's costs and those of CPS or any of the other MOU's but it does illustrate some of the reasons that a quick comparison of rates is no more accurate when comparing utilities than the proverbial comparison of apples and oranges.
More needs to be done to explain GP&L's position in the market and to demonstrate that GP&L is competently operated for the benefit of Garland rate- and taxpayers. I'm confident that having a new director, a new and committed Council, and a professional administrative staff will make great strides this year to deliver on that obligation.
Number of Red Light Cameras Shrinking -
Categories: Opinions, Public Safety, Transportation -
Douglas
@ 12:24:47 pm
When Garland forceably led the state and installed the first red light cameras, we only installed four (three initially). The fines generated from those installations quickly dazzled some that looked at the dollars and promptly forgot the intended purpose of the cameras. Suddenly pet projects could be financed without regard to tax increases and voter outcry (as long as sound economic management could be ignored).
A majority on the Council almost two years ago decided to purchase and operate a helicopter with the money from the red light cameras. Never mind that the money stream was very volatile and uncertain. Never mind that the four cameras were not enough to pay for the program even with the fines that were pouring in. Their answer: ignore the first and raise the number of the second.
The Council to which I was elected last year cancelled the helicopter and approved only one-time uses for the funds. I warned during the election campaign that the legislature was very likely to kill the cameras or take part of the money. Those with dollars signs in their eyes were quick to say I was wrong.
During the last legislative session, several bills were introduced to kill the cameras. The Legislature chose instead to take half the money.
Part of the budget considerations now underway is setting a budget for the cameras. As I've reported, fines paid have dropped dramatically. (Which is good—it means you are far less likely to be t-boned by someone running a red light.) Forecasts project that we will soon be unable to even cover expenses. To avoid subsidizing the program, we will soon decommission five cameras, leaving those that have the highest infraction rates.
Ironically, other cities have followed Garland's lead by installing cameras but most don't seem to have paid attention to what happens when they actually accomplish the job for which they were intended. The Dallas Morning News carries a story today that summarizes well where the program started and the point to which it has progressed.
As red-light camera trend picks up, law set to change
Cities say violations down, but revenue too; now state to get a cut
09:08 AM CDT on Wednesday, August 29, 2007
By THEODORE KIM / The Dallas Morning News
tkim@dallasnews.com
Dallas-area motorists may be among the most photographed in the nation as local cities over the last 18 months have installed nearly 150 cameras designed to catch red-light runners.
In the four years since Garland became the first Texas city to use the cameras, nearly 20 local communities have followed suit with the aim of making intersections safer. At least seven more, including Fort Worth, plan to set up cameras soon. So by early next year, there will be more than 200 cameras watching North Texas intersections – double the number in New York City. Dallas, with 60 cameras, has nearly twice as many as Los Angeles.
JIM MAHONEY/DMNA red light camera has been placed on the southeast corner of the Jupiter Road and Forest Lane intersection in Garland.But as the push for red-light cameras continues, area cities are bracing for significant changes in Texas law starting Saturday that will divert to the state some of the fees collected from violators. Other alterations to the law, local officials say, could hinder municipalities from penalizing motorists who fail to pay their fines.
"If you're going to give cities the ability to make laws, you've got to give them the authority to enforce the law," said state Rep. Jim Jackson, R-Carrollton, who was one of seven House members to vote against the changes. "We'll have to see how it plays out. But I think we did go too far in restricting the cities."
Some cities also are finding that the technology comes with financial downsides, a reality at odds with the perception that the cameras mean a government windfall.
Randall Dunning, a former member of the Garland City Council who strongly opposes red-light cameras, said he predicted years ago that Garland would eventually have to shrink or subsidize its program as revenues fell short of expectations.
"I think it's a warning for all these other jurisdictions," Mr. Dunning said. "Great is going to be the fall of this thing."
They work, cities say
Law enforcement officials and local policymakers from Dallas to Denton cite a battery of statistics as evidence that the cameras – and the $75 civil fines for violations – are working.
Denton, which put six cameras at four intersections, has reported a 68 percent drop in red-light violations at those locations. Farmers Branch saw a 34 percent decline in accidents at intersections equipped with cameras. Frisco reports a 27 percent reduction.
Some studies and opposition groups have questioned the effectiveness of the cameras. And a Federal Highway Administration study found that while the number of severe broadside collisions fell, rear-end crashes increased by 15 percent.
But of the more than 200 municipalities in 23 states and the District of Columbia that have installed some form of the technology, most have charted significant drops in violations and serious accidents, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and interviews with other traffic experts.
"There's no question that drivers become much more law-abiding," said Richard A. Retting, a senior transportation engineer at the Insurance Institute. "People don't like to get tickets. That's what it comes down to."
As red-light cameras progress from grand experiment to mainstream technology, officials have intensified their scrutiny of the penalties involved, as well as where the revenue goes.
Texas legislators were poised to ban the cameras outright after hearing complaints from constituents peeved over privacy.
Yet rather than eliminate cameras, lawmakers required that cities split any profits from the cameras with the state, which has earmarked that money for trauma care. Cities can face stiff fines if they don't comply.
A new state law governing red-light cameras takes effect Saturday. The law:
- Caps civil fines for red-light camera violations at $75.
- Allows cities to use red-light camera revenue to purchase, install and operate cameras but requires that any leftover profits be split 50/50 with the state.
- Allows cities to spend profits only on public safety and traffic programs, while the state's profits go to trauma care in the region where the money was collected.
- Prohibits cities with newly established red-light camera programs from reporting unpaid violations to credit bureaus. Instead, those cities can work with state and county officials to block car registrations for people who don't pay their tickets. *
- Requires studies before and after installation of red-light cameras to gauge whether cameras are necessary and effective.
* Cities that signed contracts for their red-light camera programs before Saturday can continue to report unpaid tickets to credit bureaus.
Source: Senate Bill 1119, www.capitol.state.tx.usThe point is to ensure that cities use red-light cameras as a public safety tool and not a cash cow, said Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee Chairman John Carona, R-Dallas.
"If we believe motorists are being abused, I would have no hesitation to re-enter this debate," he said. "No one wants to see an abusive Big Brother. If motorists are ticketed in an overly aggressive fashion, no doubt we'll revisit this."
The new law also changes the powers that cities have to pursue delinquent payments.
Now, cities can report overdue fines to credit bureaus. Beginning Saturday, the state will prohibit cities that sign new red-light camera contracts from doing so.
As an alternative, the law will allow municipalities, with the help of the county and state, to block vehicle registrations.
State and local officials, however, have yet to figure out a system to block registrations, and appear far from doing so.
While Texas transportation officials say they stand ready to flag offenders' registration records, officials in Dallas and Collin counties said they have talked little with the state about how the bureaucracy will work.
"I doubt that we're going to be doing anything by Sept. 1," said David Childs, Dallas County's tax assessor-collector. "I have yet to hear from any city contacting us about trying to help them enforce it."
The new law allows cities that have already signed red-light contracts to continue reporting delinquent citations to credit bureaus, said Shelley Franklin, administrator for Garland's red-light camera program. So Garland will continue to report unpaid tickets to credit bureaus, at least for now.
Blocking registrations eventually could be a more effective way to collect fines, Ms. Franklin said. But making that happen will take time, she said.
In Plano, police Lt. Jeff Wise said the city will stop reporting people to credit bureaus but will continue to refer unpaid tickets to collection agencies.
Lt. Wise said about 85 percent of Plano's red-light camera citations are paid on time. Those determined not to pay, he said, will find their car registrations blocked someday, if not immediately.
"Eventually, it'll catch up to them," Lt. Wise said.
The changes in state law will make it more difficult for municipalities to maintain red-light cameras, each of which can cost between $3,800 and $8,000 a month to maintain.
Costs are an issue in Garland, which generated more than $1 million in fines when the cameras were introduced.
Officials say the initiative there is a victim of its own success: As violations have fallen because of the cameras, so, too, have the revenues used to sustain the cameras.
The city generated about $1.3 million in 2004, the program's first full year of operation. Last year, Garland collected $546,599 in fines – barely enough to pay the vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., its fee and cover staff costs.
Cutting back to stay afloat
Garland plans to decommission five of its 12 cameras, move three others to busier intersections and eliminate its program manager to keep the expensive program afloat.
"We are at the break-even point now," Ms. Franklin, who holds the position being eliminated.
When the program was flush with cash, city officials had contemplated using the extra money to buy a police helicopter. Officials are now glad the city held back.
"Clearly, we would be in a big budget shortfall," said council member Laura Perkins Cox. She said she would be open to scrapping the program altogether if the cameras start losing money.
University Park, which began collecting red-light camera fines in February, anticipated a slew of citations when it installed cameras at two of its busiest intersections along Lovers Lane: at Preston Road and at Dickens Avenue.
Through July, the two intersections combined have averaged about 50 citations per month, far short of expectations. And the program, according to University Park police Capt. Leon Holman, had run up a $39,000 deficit.
Russ Rader, an Insurance Institute spokesman, said the plummeting red-light revenue in places like Garland and University Park is a sign that drivers are finding the brakes.
He urged cities to continue their programs regardless of the cost.
"Communities use tax dollars to fund all kinds of safety systems like traffic lights and guardrails on highways," Mr. Rader said. "Those are not expected to generate revenue. Why should red-light camera programs? If it's an important safety program, then the cities should be happy to fund them."
Capt. Holman says of University Park, "The city did not go into the project to make money, but I think they didn't intend on losing any money either."
Staff writers Richard Abshire, Jake Batsell and Wendy Hundley contributed to this report.
08/28/07
I know there is still some concern about the condition of bridges after the failure in Minnesota. I posted earlier that Texas bridges were considered safe but I also noted that we as a region are not budgeting enough money to address expected future rehabilitation.
State Senator John Carona represents about half of District 1. He gives us an update on the bridge situation:
Earlier this month we were all saddened by the tragic events in Minneapolis involving the collapse of a portion of the Interstate 35 bridge over the Mississippi River. As a result of inquiries by me and Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has released data on deficient bridges within our own state. The data, while alarming at first due to the number of deficient bridges, shows that Texas is aware of the condition of its bridges and is working hard to make certain that a tragedy of the magnitude experienced in Minnesota will never happen within our borders.
Statewide, there are over 2,000 bridges that are in need of some form of maintenance or repair. Dallas County is home to over 30 of these bridges. You may have seen the recent coverage by the Dallas Morning News of deficient bridges in our region. The Dallas Morning News was utilizing the most recent data available to them at the time of publication, which was from February of 2007. In the short span of time between February and today, I am pleased to report that TxDOT has been working diligently and has replaced or repaired nearly a dozen of the bridges listed in the Dallas Morning News database.
I and my colleagues in the Legislature plan to continue working with TxDOT to ensure that they have adequate funding to keep our Texas bridges and roads maintained and Texans safe. For more information on Texas bridges, click here.
08/26/07
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Planning for a Change ...,
Or What 8,000 Years of Cities Can Teach
A good plan makes all the difference. Urban planning is no exception. A good plan for an urban area can create a space that will be a destination for people for generations. A bad plan stifles opportunities for growth, development, and diversification.
On a recent trip to France and Spain, I had the opportunity to look at urban developments that spanned over 2,000 years of history. Everything from Roman design to the most modern skyscrapers. Over and over, the areas that had the most foot traffic and seemed the most interesting were areas that were developed with human scales in mind.
In a paper published in March, 2005, The Brookings Institution notes that in the US, downtown areas are rediscovering lessons first learned with the rise of cities, millennia ago.
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During our vacation, we walked. A lot. Yes, we had a car available, but it was used only to get us close to our destination. Once there, we walked. Sometimes for hours. In the various hamlets, villages, towns, and cities we visited there were streets lined with shops. Oftentimes above these shops were living quarters for the shop owners. And they were used. This includes bakeries, artist’s galleries, secondhand shops, and others. In densely developed areas, the height of the buildings rarely exceeded a handful of floors. And the sidewalks were full of people.
With regard to Urban Planning, our vacation pointed out one thing: We need to learn the lessons history can teach. Some areas are indeed best developed as what is sometimes described as “Sprawl”. In other cases, we should develop, and redevelop, according to a more human scale. Create spaces people want to visit, and once there, stay as long as they can because of the interesting things they can see and do.
In such a trip, it is difficult to pick out a most remarkable area. One of the highlights was to a medieval walled city, Carcassonne. While most of the city of Carcassonne is a modern industrial city, in the nineteenth century the walled medieval fortified town was restored. Since then it has become famous as the template for most any walled city pictured in movies, and in fact good portions of the Kevin Costner movie Robin Hood was filmed there.
All that aside, this area of Carcassonne is indeed a destination in and of itself. There are a myriad of shops, hotels, and restaurants. Admittedly we unintentionally visited on one of the busiest days the year for this area, but there were countless tourists, both native and foreign. While few cities are featured on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, and won’t have those kind of unique features that seem to draw people to them, it is possible to create a unique destination for people that will stand the test of time.
After all, people have been doing just that for over 8,000 years. |
08/22/07
The previous post featured the architect behind Trammell Crow's new mixed-use development in Downtown. At Monday's work session, the Council reviewed the project when we received a detailed presentation from staff and the developer.
Watch the video for a thorough presentation—to see various elevations and to learn more about the additional development across Austin Street.
Some points I think represent good understanding and catches by the architects and will contribute to the success of the development:
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I try to report on new development in the district as I learn of it because it is the most common request I hear. However, I want to make sure residents know that great development is occurring across the city, and I'll report on several of those projects soon. An area that I've mentioned on this site and stressed many times publicly is Downtown. (Here is an earlier post.) It has been a passion of mine for ten years.
It is still hard to imagine but this New Year's Eve, when you hold a celebratory glass to your lips at midnight, take a second sip for Downtown, for at that moment you can look at the Old Downtown and know that it has passed, that a New Downtown will arrive with the New Year, exactly like the bearded old man making way for the new baby.
The city-sponsored project across from the Granville Performing Arts Center with High Street Residential, a division of Trammell Crow, should break ground in January. After that, the new Dowtown will have started. New Year's Eve is the perfect symbolic transition from the old to the new.
At the DART Citizens Advisory Committee meeting tonight that is held quarterly by Angie Chen Button, our DART Board representative and a District 1 resident, I learned that Downtown Garland was a featured story at the Reconnecting America website, a site that promotes Transit Oriented Development.
Turns out the story originated at the Dallas Morning News but I missed it and the link seems to be missing. Thankfully, Reconnecting America captured the article. Here is the story but I also encourage you to explore Reconnecting America's site to learn more about the concepts behind Transit Oriented Development:
Downtown Garland gets makeover
08:45 AM CDT on Friday, July 27, 2007
Garland was born out of a rivalry between two neighboring towns—created by competing railroads—that wanted to be the most important town in the area. Duck Creek and Embree finally gave up the fight in 1887 when the U.S. Congress moved the post office between the towns to a place it named Garland that had not existed before.
Now the 235,000-resident inner suburb of Dallas—one of the largest cities in Texas—is reinventing itself again, creating a concentration of people, shops, schools and businesses in a downtown adjacent to the Garland Dallas Area Rapid Transit station.
Garland has turned to Art Lomenick, one of the premier developers of transit-oriented developments. As the managing director of High Street Residential, a wholly owned subsidiary of Trammell Crow Co., Mr. Lomenick was one of the architects of Uptown, Addison Circle and Legacy Town Center—all projects that have created concentrations of people. High Street Residential is redesigning communities, mostly around new transit stations, in cities from Reno, Nev., to Washington, D.C.
"These communities are so much fun," Mr. Lomenick says. "They attract very creative people."
High Street and the city of Garland in a public-private partnership are turning 3 1/2 acres of an old surface parking lot into 15,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor of a new building across the street from the downtown DART station, which serves more than 2,000 riders a day.
Mr. Lomenick, who tends to see things as they will be, not as they are, predicts in about a year Garland DART riders will be able to buy a Starbucks' Frappuccino from one of the stores before boarding the train.
Above the retail stores will be 206 one- and two-bedroom apartments overlooking the Patty Granville Arts Center.
This is a catalyst for the Garland downtown makeover. Across Walnut Street at an extended Sixth Street will be a new community college campus. The city is renovating other parts of downtown to create places where people want to be. Houses in older neighborhoods near downtown are being renovated. And expectations are that developers will soon build new townhomes.
"It is our belief that people would like to live in downtown Garland," Mr. Lomenick says.
He praises Garland officials for their foresight in capitalizing on the change that DART is bringing to the area.
"Cities that are proactive about the impact transit brings will be the big winners," he says.
Mr. Lomenick should know. High Street is working in cities across the country and particularly in suburbs where transit is relatively new.
"The great frontier is the suburbs for redevelopment," Mr. Lomenick says, noting that about 80 percent of the country's population now lives in suburbs.
Mr. Lomenick, who grew up in such extremes as Fairbanks, Alaska, and Key Biscayne, Fla., started his career of redesigning communities working with real estate developers Robert Shaw and Roger Staubach to develop Uptown from "a blighted area to a thriving urban area of shops, residences, offices and engaging public spaces," Mr. Lomenick's biography states.
That experience, followed closely by the development of Addison Circle—where he chose to live—and Legacy Town Center, has made him a national expert on transit-oriented developments.
High Street is converting the historic Columbia Hospital for Women in Washington, D.C., to condominiums, building a mixed-use development as a gateway to Washington's Howard University, developing a mixed-use transit-oriented development on the west side of Atlanta and nurturing three transit-related projects in Denver. High Street is also converting a DeSoto shopping center to a mixed-use town center.
The challenges for Mr. Lomenick's brand of development are that most of these projects are on infill tracts, land that is largely under-utilized and have a variety of issues from environmental to zoning that make them difficult for other development.
High Street's projects are often ahead of their time. And they frequently need the participation of government agencies, including part-time city council members who may not be able to see—as Mr. Lomenick can—what the property could be.
As a result, High Street has to build consensus among a lot of diverse interests—a time-consuming effort. And these projects often require a great deal of risk.
"We don't really think about it; we have been doing it so long. It is part of our culture," Mr. Lomenick says.
But it helps, he concedes, that the 6-year-old High Street is part of the vast Trammell Crow family.
Stewart Lytle
E-mail: slytle@dallasnews.com
08/20/07
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On Aug 27, the Plan Commission is scheduled to hear two cases that could bring more development to District 1: Posados Cafe and RaceTrac.
Posados Cafe is seeking approval for a location close to the new Hyatt Place hotel along SH 190, near Naaman Forest High School and the GISD Special Events Center. The building would be over 6500 square feet. Next door will be Two Rows restaurant. IHOP is also seeking approval at the hotel site and that case will be heard by the Council tomorrow night (depiction here).
RaceTrac is proposing a new store design at SH 66 and Country Club that would debut in Garland if approved. (An artist's depiction is here.) |
UPDATE: Both cases were approved by the Plan Commission and sent to the Council for final review.
08/17/07
Police Dept News Release:
STEPPED-UP DWI ENFORCEMENT
Garland Police Officers will be stepping-up DWI enforcement for the next two weeks, covering three weekends.
The added enforcement, from August 17 through September 3, is aimed at stopping drinking and driving by both adults and minors as we go into the Labor Day holiday period.
Since the beginning of the year Garland officers have made 389 DWI arrests with an additional 22 arrests of minors for driving under the influence.
Stepped-up enforcement will be in the evening and early morning with officers driving both marked and unmarked police cars.
The DWI-IDM program (Driving While Intoxicated-Impaired Driver Mobility) is sponsored by TxDOT.
08/15/07
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With a lot less time to post right now, I've not been able to yet say as much about the budget process as I had hoped. One interesting aspect if you caught the broadcast from last Thursday's Special Work Session, are the numerous reports of recognition that Garland has received. Being capital poor has spawned a lot of innovation that is being recognized.
The following news release is just one more acknowledgment Garland has recently received:
Garland Power & Light Press Release:
New Garland Utility Bill Design Recognized by Industry Organization
Garland, Texas – August 15, 2007 – Garland Power & Light’s new utility bill design is featured in the August 2007 issue of Chartwell’s Best Practices for Utilities & Energy Companies newsletter, published by Chartwell, Inc., an independent information services company which provides best practices research and analysis to the utility and energy industry.
In the article, Chartwell states that the new bill format is more visual, with easy-to-find contact information, usage graphs and a highly readable breakdown of all of the utility services. The writer also explains the design process, which included obtaining input from customers and all of the City of Garland utility departments.
The new bill was selected as a best practice by the editor, who noted that she liked how much information is on the bill for the customers.
"We’re pleased that our new utility bill is recognized in this best practices newsletter," said Jeff Janke, Director of Retail Customer Services. "It is a reflection of the hard work put forth by everyone involved in the bill redesign process."
08/14/07
Garland Fall Neighborhood Summit Set for Neighborhood Leaders -
Categories: Neighborhoods -
Douglas
@ 12:18:31 pm
Garland's Office of Neighborhood Vitality has released information about its annual Leadership Conference. I believe this is the sixth year of the conference.
The guest speaker for the conference will be Jim Diers, who will also be in Dallas on Aug 25 for the Dallas Homeowners League Neighborhood Leader Boot Camp. This week's Garland Homeowners Coalition will be taking a group of Garland neighborhood leaders to the camp. If you see yourself as a neighborhood leader or someone interested in the vitality of your neighborhood, attend the GHC meeting and mark the camp and summit on your calendar! I recently posted information about the GHC meeting and the boot camp here.
City of Garland Press Release:
Garland Announces Plans for 2007 Neighborhood Summit
Garland, Texas – The City of Garland’s Office of Neighborhood Vitality will host its annual Neighborhood Summit on October 27, 2007. The theme for this year’s event is "Built to Last." As Garland nears buildout, ensuring the health and sustainability of neighborhoods is a high priority. What all healthy neighborhoods have in common are residents who connect through shared commitment and shared responsibility. Building social capital is as important as protecting the physical environment of neighborhoods.
"Last year, the Summit kicked off the City’s new Strategy for Vital Neighborhoods. This year we want to share what we’ve learned during this first year of the Strategy and offer Summit attendees the chance to dig deeper into some of those issues," says Felisa Conner, the City’s Neighborhood Vitality Manager. "We hope to provide participants with insight and tools in building neighborhoods that last."
The Summit will offer workshops on several topics including managing change in diverse neighborhoods, community policing as a neighborhood management tool, goal setting for neighborhoods and more. Noted neighborhood developer and advocate Jim Diers from Seattle, Washington, will present a workshop titled “Neighbor Power”. Diers will share real-life examples of how neighborhoods have worked together to develop community-driven plans and neighborhood self-help projects. He will offer practical applications and invaluable lessons for ordinary, caring neighbors who want to make a difference. It also provides government officials with inspiring stories and proven programs to help them embrace neighborhood activists as true partners.
"Mr. Diers has shared his experiences with audiences all over the world," says Ms. Conner. "We’re very excited about the opportunity to share the lessons he has learned with Garland neighborhood leaders."
The Neighborhood Summit will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Atrium at the Granville Arts Center, 300 N. Fifth Street in Downtown Garland. The Summit is open to the public. Early registration costs $15. After October 1, 2007, the cost increases to $20. The registration deadline is October 19, 2007.
To register or for more information, call 972-205-3864, log onto the City’s website at www.ci.garland.tx.us, or email fconner@ci.garland.tx.us.
08/09/07
Notice from Felisa Conner, Neighborhood Vitality Manager:
Garland Neighborhood Management Academy is pleased to announce that the Fall 2007/Spring 2008 registration is now open. We are offering these courses to all Garland residents, property owners, business, civic and community leaders. Space is limited so early registration is highly recommended.
Registration deadline is one week prior to the class date. You may go online to download the registration form and Course Catalog at www.GarlandVitalNeighborhoods.org. Mail the completed registration form back with the appropriate registration fee(s) to:
Office of Neighborhood Vitality
P.O. Box 469002
Garland, TX 75046-9002
Attn: Tracy Allmendinger
We look forward to your participation. Please contact Tracy Allmendinger if you have additional questions, 972-205-2108 or tallmend@ci.garland.tx.us.
The Garland Homeowners Coalition will meet Aug 16. If you care about your neighborhood and want to get involved, please read Lee Smith's notice below and the additional information I added.
To All,
Just a reminder about the GHC meeting on Thursday August 16th at the Garland Main Library at 7 PM.
We will elect officers and start our membership drive. We will also check to see how many would like attend the DHL boot camp at Dallas City hall on Aug 25th. Some great Workshops are being offerred. Pay your $25 dues and GHC will pay your way to the boot camp.
Hope to see you on Thursday.
I wanted to add a few words to Lee’s about joining GHC and attending the Dallas Boot Camp.
GHC has been the driving force in some of the best things that have helped turn Garland into a city much more focused on Neighborhoods. I’ll be the first to say that we have a long way to go but we are on the forefront of efforts across the nation. The Garland Neighborhood Vitality Grant Program resulted from over four years of lobbying by GHC; the Fall Leadership Conference that the city now handles was started by GHC; and we have seen four GHC members go on to serve on the Council, not counting the ones that served and then turned to work with GHC. And that’s the short list of accomplishments.
I hope you were able to attend the City Manager’s Quarterly Meeting tonight. That is an important resource for neighborhoods but GHC is different. GHC is peer-to-peer and GHC links to neighborhoods across the state.
As neighborhood leaders, we can’t wait for the city or GHC to come to us. We have to all work to find the best practices that will strengthen our neighborhoods and enhance the quality of life in our city. I can’t express how important it is for the future health of our city. Our neighborhoods, all averaged together, are declining in value. The city has started some exciting, innovative programs to challenge that trend but, at the end of the day, the city can do nothing. It is up to us. The city can only be a catalyst.
An easy first step is riding the train to downtown Dallas to the DHL Boot Camp on August 25 at Dallas City Hall. DHL, the Dallas Homeowners League, is a sister organization to GHC, and one of the founders of Texas Neighborhoods Together, of which Lee and I are directors.
The keynote speaker for the Boot Camp is Dallas’ Mayor Tom Leppert. Another very special guest and speaker will be Jim Diers, past director of Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods and author of Neighborhood Power, Building Community the Seattle Way. Jim will be in Garland in October for our annual Leadership Conference. Felisa Conner and I met Jim in Austin at the Austin Neighborhoods Council’s Neighborhood Planning Conference where Felisa led one of the workshops. ANC is also a TNT member.
Here is a quick list of the Workshops that will be presented, several by TNT directors:
- The Big Picture: Creating Visionary Grassroots Leaders; Susan Hill, TNT Leadership Academy
- The Art of the Meeting; Judge Martin Hoffman, past DHL president
- Neighborhood Matching Grant Program for Dallas Workshop; Jim Diers, Seattle
- Friendraising—the Fine Art of Finding and Recruiting Great Volunteers and Overcoming Apathy; Jude Wiggins, TNT Leadership Academy
- To Be or Not to Be? Organizing or Reorganizing a Neighborhood Group; Susan Hill, TNT Leadership Academy
- Strategy Session for Enacting Neighborhood Matching Grant Program in Dallas; Jim Diers, Seattle
I’ll be assisting with that last one. I’ve been asked to share a Councilman’s perspective on grant programs by a city that has done it. (See! Garland has been asked to give Dallas advice. Garland is a leader and we need to keep going.) More information on the Boot Camp is here: www.dallashomeownersleague.org, click the Boot Camp link.
Come to the GHC meeting Aug 16 and let’s get busy!
Warning: you might end up on the Council. It’s happened before.
Douglas Athas
08/08/07
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The Council traditionally elects its officers the first meeting after the Council summer budget retreat. Tonight was that first meeting.
I was elected Mayor Pro Tem and Jackie Feagin was re-elected Deputy Mayor Pro Tem. I will be succeeding Randall Dunning, who, because of term limits, was ineligible to run in the last election.
The office does come with serious duties: sitting for the Mayor whenever the Mayor is unable to serve.
I appreciate being chosen by the Council for this responsibility and will do my best to hold the office with honor.
I arrived at the Council Chambers this evening directly from the National Night Out party at the Valley Creek North neighborhood, north of Firewheel Pkwy and near Mars Dr. Although I had been asked if I would serve, I did not know that I would be nominated and I had no idea how the vote would go.
This Council has been working well together. There is a healthy range of views and strengths, which I consider to be strong positives. Strong personalities working as a team can be very productive. Diversity of opinion can foster an atmosphere where decisions are reasoned and crafted to the problems. I like working with these professionals.
A number of other items that the Council addressed yesterday and today need to be announced, in case you weren't watching the meetings. I will post them over the next few days as I get time—so check back soon.
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08/07/07
For those that missed it, there was a very positive article in Sunday's Dallas Morning News Metro section about the new Parkside at Firewheel apartments that already has residents. The timing made it a good follow to my post: Preparing to Move into Parkside. The strength of the Firewheel name is getting stronger and stronger.
Garland's Firewheel development mixes homes, stores, offices
Targeting young professionals, Firewheel development offers apartments, stores and offices
10:58 AM CDT on Monday, August 6, 2007
By ALLISON WISK / The Dallas Morning News
awisk@dallasnews.com
Some hard-core shoppers say they live at the mall.
It's not just shopaholics who are seeking out the more than 300 apartments and townhomes that eventually will accompany the retail offerings and offices at Firewheel Town Center.
Photos by REX C. CURRY/Special Contributor
Each unit at the Parkside at Firewheel features contemporary architecture and design. Outside, the development features a pool, fitness center and landscaping. Its location - close to stores and restaurants - is an added bonus for busy young professionals. With the July 26 opening of Parkside at Firewheel, Garland's mall is now a lifestyle choice.
"These units are more for the young professional," said Rod Vosper, vice president of new development with Simon Property Group, which manages the property. "We've been attracting people from all the surrounding communities – Rockwall, Rowlett, you name it."
On Saturday, Gary Pinson of Little Rock, Ark., was waiting patiently for his turn to talk to a leasing agent. He'll soon start at a job nearby and was driving around checking out the area when the apartments caught his eye.
"I tend to like very unique things," Mr. Pinson said. "I don't want the plain old cookie-cutter apartment."
Firewheel opened in October 2005 with the kinds of retail typically found in traditional malls. But officials left room for the site to grow, and plans call for diversifying the property's uses.
"We had pretty much a clean slate out here," Mr. Vosper said. "We're kind of at a strategic crossroad with the George Bush Turnpike project and [State Highway] 78. This site was destined to become more of a regional shopping destination."
But the north side of the shopping and office venue – the area farthest from the intersection of the highways – was left undeveloped.
"We had a parcel ground that was well-positioned for that use; we had to go back in and get the city to approve it," Mr. Vosper said.
The finished project will have 312 efficiencies, apartments and townhomes with a pool, fitness center and landscaping that will tie the units in with the surrounding shopping center. The leasing office and some units are open and ready for use. Other units are in the finishing stages of construction, with sections set to open this month and next.
Along with the contemporary feel one might expect for the interior of a new residential development, proximity to all kinds of stores is a big selling point – as evidenced by the activity in the leasing office on Saturday.
"Firewheel Town Center is a great environment to live in," Mr. Vosper said. "You've got access to all the retail and restaurants within the area, so the project itself is probably the biggest amenity to help sell the units."
In addition to the residences, new businesses continue to spring up around the mall. One of the most recent arrivals is furniture store Ethan Allen. Plans for several new restaurants also are in the works.
"I'm into location and convenience," Mr. Pinson said. "Right now in Little Rock, I live in a very walkable community. I walk to dinner and the grocery store. Here, I'd be in the same situation. I could pretty much do what I want to do without getting out of Firewheel."
08/04/07
Garland is responsible for 47% of the debt owed by the Texas Munipal Power Association (TMPA), which is owned by Garland, Denton, Greenville, and Bryan. The coal-fired plant near Bryan provides the majority of our electric power. Modifications to the plant accumulated debt of almost $2 billion by 2001. Garland's portion, because we take 47% of the power, was almost $1 billion. By the end of the year, our portion will have been paid down to $579,035,959.
The debt keeps rising over $2 million annually through 2008. Afterward, it remains relatively level, dropping some. Assuming no new major infrastructure changes to the Gibbons Creek Plant and no new debt, the debt will be paid by 2018. The table below is a few years old but should still be accurate.
There is no benefit or reason to paying the debt early. The interest remains fixed under the terms of the financing, so paying it off early would mean losing money. Dollars are constantly depreciating because of inflation so it's better to pay tomorrow with dollars that aren't worth as much as today's. Meanwhile, those dollars can be put to work or invested for a return.
Garland's portion of the debt is paid by GP&L ratepayers and is backed by the assets of the city.
The coincidence of the TMPA debt being paid by 2018 and the sales tax rebate incentives to the Town Center expectedly expiring the at same time makes 2018 a time to look forward to.
These are earlier posts on TMPA and GP&L: Chronology of TMPA & Garland and Council Chooses GP&L Will Not Opt-In to Deregulation.
|
Year
|
Principal
|
Interest
|
Annual Total
|
Garland's Portion (47%)
|
Annual Increase
|
|
2002
|
58,540,000.00
|
38,598,125.00
|
97,138,125.00
|
45,654,918.75
|
|
|
2003
|
59,689,555.60
|
42,052,071.90
|
101,741,627.50
|
47,818,564.93
|
2,163,646.18
|
|
2004
|
51,339,943.20
|
55,001,756.80
|
106,341,700.00
|
49,980,599.00
|
2,162,034.08
|
|
2005
|
57,156,603.75
|
53,779,756.25
|
110,936,360.00
|
52,140,089.20
|
2,159,490.20
|
|
2006
|
63,477,512.25
|
52,055,227.75
|
115,532,740.00
|
54,300,387.80
|
2,160,298.60
|
|
2007
|
70,157,046.25
|
49,983,723.75
|
120,140,770.00
|
56,466,161.90
|
2,165,774.10
|
|
2008
|
77,635,854.40
|
47,105,743.10
|
124,741,597.50
|
58,628,550.83
|
2,162,388.93
|
|
2009
|
79,916,318.75
|
44,081,448.75
|
123,997,767.50
|
58,278,950.73
|
-349,600.10
|
|
2010
|
81,633,277.10
|
40,880,347.90
|
122,513,625.00
|
57,581,403.75
|
-697,546.97
|
|
2011
|
85,081,709.60
|
37,441,377.90
|
122,523,087.50
|
57,585,851.13
|
4,447.38
|
|
2012
|
88,953,704.80
|
33,852,995.20
|
122,806,700.00
|
57,719,149.00
|
133,297.88
|
|
2013
|
48,491,069.40
|
74,264,055.60
|
122,755,125.00
|
57,694,908.75
|
-24,240.25
|
|
2014
|
39,668,931.10
|
83,084,568.90
|
122,753,500.00
|
57,694,145.00
|
-763.75
|
|
2015
|
32,186,232.00
|
91,113,768.00
|
123,300,000.00
|
57,951,000.00
|
256,855.00
|
|
2016
|
30,294,810.00
|
93,005,190.00
|
123,300,000.00
|
57,951,000.00
|
0.00
|
|
2017
|
28,514,358.00
|
94,785,642.00
|
123,300,000.00
|
57,951,000.00
|
0.00
|
|
2018
|
0.00
|
0.00
|
0.00
|
0.00
|
|
|
Total
|
$952,736,926.20
|
$931,085,798.80
|
$1,883,822,725.00
|
$885,396,680.75
|
08/03/07
Photo credit: Peter Matthews/Polaris
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After the bridge catastrophe this week in Minneapolis, I heard several people wonder aloud if the same could happen here. We don't know why that bridge collapsed but I heard today that TxDOT engineers are very confident it will not happen here. TxDOT's Dallas District Engineer Bill Hale told those of us at the Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition meeting today that we should not worry, that Texas bridges are in good shape. They are thoroughly inspected every two years. He also said that "structurally deficient" essentially meant that such a bridge would be designed and built differently today.
The situation is deteriorating though, according to Michael Morris of the North Central Texas Council of Governments and the Regional Transportation Council. Focusing on 2030, he said our greatest concern should be that we have unfunded needs of $32 billion for infrastructure rehabilitation. See table.
|
Metropolitan Transportation System
Components |
Funded Needs
(Billions/2006 $) |
Unfunded Needs
(Billions/2006 $) |
|
Operation & Maintenance
|
$16.7
|
|
|
Congestion Mitigation Strategies
|
$2.1
|
|
|
Bicycle & Pedestrian Facilities and Transportation Enhancements
|
$1.1
|
|
|
Rail and Bus Transit System
|
$11.0 1
|
|
|
HOV and Managed Facilities
|
$3.3
|
|
|
Freeway and Toll Road System
|
$26.4
|
$12.7 2
|
|
Regional Arterial and Local Thoroughfare System
|
$5.7
|
$6.0
|
|
Additional Cost to Purchas Right-of-Way
|
|
$1.1
|
|
Rehabilitation Costs
|
$2.6
|
$32.1
|
|
Goods Movement/Rail Freight Costs (Trans Tex Corridor)
|
|
$6.7
|
|
TOTAL ($129.5 Billion)
|
$70.9 (55%)
|
$58.6 (45%)
|
| 1 $3.4 billion obtained through Regional Transit Initiative |
| 2 Includes freeway-to-freeway interchanges |
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RaceTrac is proposing to bring their newest concept store to Garland and Distict 1 at SH 66 and Country Club. District 1 has benefited numerous times when nationwide restaurants or other retailers have brought their newest designs to the district—for example, Olive Garden and On the Border.
This new store would feature fresh sandwiches and other food, many varieties of coffees and drinks, and would be much more "high end" than anything they or most of their competitors have done before. You could still buy gas but the emphasis would be on products in the store.
The location they have selected is currently the northeast corner of the intersection. However, the city plans to reroute Country Club, at which time the road would lie on the east side of the store. The store would then be on the northwest corner of the intersection.
RaceTrac hopes to have the necessary approvals and permits early this fall.
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Dr Janet Mason has opened her dental practice in a beautiful Austin limestone building at the northeast corner of Campbell and N Garland Rds. The building has two suites; the second is available for lease.
Besides being a new professional office building in north Garland and another new business, this development is special in a number of unique ways. Steve Hodges developed the property. He worked closely with the adjoining neighborhood. Besides the compatible building design, he also paid special attention to the dumpster location and enclosure, and the masonry fence.
There were a number of challenges developing this site and I appreciate the persistence that was demonstrated and the good neighbor attitude. Welcome.
Garland Power & Light Press Release:
Garland Power & Light Partners with The Home Depot
for Energy Saving Lighting ProgramGarland, Texas—August 3, 2007—Garland Power & Light is partnering with The Home Depot to provide GP&L customers with a program encouraging the use of compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. Utility customers will have an opportunity to purchase CFLs at discounted prices at Home Depot for a limited period of time. To introduce the program, GP&L will host "Switch on the Savings" events featuring energy efficient lighting demonstrations at two Garland Home Depot locations.
Switch on the Savings events will be held Saturday, August 11 at the Home Depot at 3261 N. George Bush Hwy. and Sunday, August 12 at the Home Depot at 2140 Jupiter Road. Event hours are noon to 5:00 p.m. each day.
CFLs are a significant way that consumers can reduce their energy use. They use about a third of the electricity and last up to ten times as long as incandescent light bulbs. Typically CFLs are more expensive to purchase, but the savings in energy use more than offsets the initial costs. Special pricing at the Switch on the Savings events will make the purchase of CFLs even more appealing.
"We’re excited to bring energy efficient lighting options to our customers," said GP&L’s David Koliba. "CFLs can be used in most types of light fixtures. We encourage customers to see this for themselves at these events, and then take advantage of the discounted cost," said Koliba. The discounted bulbs will only be available while supplies last.
GP&L also offers online energy efficiency services for homes and businesses at www.garlandpower-light.org. By using GP&L’s Energy Depot services, customers can create personalized energy audits, calculate savings, compare energy use, use an energy library, and contact a GP&L energy advisor.
07/31/07
Last Year's Drought Makes This Year's Bloom Worse -
Categories: Utilities, Health -
Douglas
@ 12:54:11 pm
North Texas Municipal Water District News Release:
Algal Bloom, Natural Occurrence In Surface Water Supplies, Responsible For Taste and Odor Changes in Your Potable Water Supplied By North Texas Municipal Water District
Wylie, Texas (July 30, 2007) —
A yearly occurrence in all surface water supplies, the mid-summer event generates an “algal bloom” which is responsible for the taste and odor changes that is occurring in the water supply. As a result of the algal bloom, an earthy taste and/or odor are noticeable in the water supply.
"This event does not change the quality of the water supply,” said North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) Public Relations Coordinator Denise Hickey. “It is strictly a palatability issue."
The annual summer algal bloom usually occurs in late July and into August of each year when water temperatures consistently remain in the 80-85 degree range. With the decaying vegetation growth that was prevalent during the drought period, the nutrients present for an algal bloom to occur are in abundance.
NTMWD utilizes several steps to control the taste and odor produced by the algal blooms. Laboratory personnel, through daily analysis, perform algal counts and can determine the onset of an algal bloom. With the onset of an algal bloom, additional chemicals are added to the treatment process. Potassium permanganate is added as an oxidizing agent in reducing the odor levels. To reduce the unpleasant taste, activated carbon is used as an absorption media. Each of these chemicals is removed during the treatment process prior to delivery of the potable water supply. Chlorine, used as the disinfectant in the treatment process, also aids in odor reduction.
The water is safe for use, meeting the Safe Drinking Water Standards, while the taste and odor changes form a palatability issue. There are no health hazards created as a result of the taste and odor.
And filtering really does help!
07/30/07
An item I requested, a review of how we are dealing with the increase in vicious dog attacks, will be on the next Council work session agenda, Aug 6.
Garland had requested that some relief be given by the Legislature to deal with the dog attack problems that are rising, particularly from the pit bull-type breeds, but none was given. Years ago, most dog bites were by German Shepherds, Labs, Dobermans, Chows, or Mixed Breeds. The number of those bites has been buried by the number of dog attacks by the pit bull-types.
I would assume two things: the number is higher today than previously because more people own these dogs, and that some owners are intentionally using practices that make the dogs more vicious.
I don't blame the dogs and don't want to see the dogs suffer for the cruelties and negligences of their owners.
Years ago, I read Jelly Bean versus Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, by C. W. Meisterfeld. Jelly Bean was progressively becoming a vicious dog. Meisterfeld, really a dog psychoanalyst, recognized the canine behaviours that Jelly Bean had adapted to survive. Meisterfeld slowly worked with Jelly Bean to help the dog regain his confidence and natural personality. Meisterfeld discusses the basic dog personalities and relays a great deal of understanding of dogs besides his experience with Jelly Bean. (If memory of the details continues to serve after 15-plus years, the dog's name came from his like for the candy.) Meisterfeld also goes to some lengths to discuss fighting dogs and how they can be saved.
I make distinction between a dog bite, which many of us have received, and a dog attack. Most dogs are capable under the right circumstances of snipping or more aggressively biting. An attack is much more: bites over and over, or bites meant to bring great harm by biting and holding, while trying to tear the victim's skin and muscles.
In one study, the highest number of deaths nationwide, from 1979 to 1998, came from pit bull-type dogs. If that national number has risen in proportion to the rise we've seen since in Garland, the current situation is very alarming.
I'm not trying to single out any particular breed. However, the statistics in this study and from Garland's Health Dept all show that pit bull-type dogs are most often identified as the source of the greatest number of problems.
State law was changed this session to increase penalties for owners of dogs that are identified as the problem dogs.
I made the request that the Council review state law and our current ordinances to ensure that we are using all the powers granted to the city to protect citizens and to hold irresponsible owners accountable. I will also ask what greater lengths are available to us. If we can go further, I will ask that the issue be forwarded to a Council committee for additional study and a recommendation to the Council.
Source: Garland Health Department |
07/29/07
Because of the disadvantages listed here, I have harbored an inclination that GP&L and the ratepayers might be better served by an independent board. I stated as much at the last Council work session and posted that opinion here. I want to stress that it is an inclination based on the information that I have and that I would not vote for such a board until I knew more facts, such as how it would be structured, the pros and cons, what other cities offer positive models and which offer negative, and, most importantly, what do the citizens want?
Should Garland decide to create an independent electric board, the move would need to be in steps. Look where we are now, look where we want to go, develop those steps necessary to move in that direction. Each step should be a system-check, are all systems go?
Understanding what the end might look like, the terminus of such a move, is an early hurdle. Here is more from the paper by Mark Zion that I introduced yesterday:
INDEPENDENT PUBLIC UTILITY BOARD
A municipal utility that is set up as an independent utility authority organizationally is often quite similar to a municipal utility department which was described above. The organizational structure can range from a structure in which all of the utility functions are included under the jurisdiction of the independent board to some of the services still being provided by the city government under the jurisdiction of the city council. For instance, even in the independent authority structure, support functions such as fleet maintenance, information systems, and personnel may continue to be provided by the government side of the city.
It should be noted that most larger municipal utilities are operated as independent boards. Typically independent utility authorities are stand-alone organizations with all of the functions necessary to plan, design, construct and operate the utility organization reporting to the independent board and its manager.
Independent utility boards generally have anywhere from four to eleven board members with five to seven being quite common. Board terms typically range from two to five years. Utility board members can either be elected or appointed. *** Often, elected utility boards are more political than having the city council serve as the policy making board.
Like city council governed utility systems, independent utility boards have both advantages and disadvantages. Some of the key advantages and disadvantages are listed below:
Advantages
- Appointed utility boards are typically less political and may, in the face of political pressure, be more likely to make decisions based on business and economic considerations. However, due to their role in setting rates, borrowing money and approving budgets, utility boards, nonetheless, remain powerful political forces in the communities in which they serve. The appointment of utility board members tends to be a fairly political process.
- Allows more focus by the policymaker on utility considerations.
- Allows more of a business culture to evolve due to the separation of the utility and city government functions.
- Allows explicit representation of various segments (i.e., outside city limits ratepayers, business community, etc.). It is not unusual for there to be implicit or explicit policies requiring the makeup of appointed utility boards. It is not, for instance, uncommon to require that members be appointed from outside the city limits to represent the utility's non-city ratepayers.
- Allows appointment of board members with appropriate technical/business backgrounds. Again, city councils often have either explicit or implicit criteria that have been set to determine the required capabilities of board appointees.
- Improved long range stability. It is not unusual in the appointed utility board setting to have board members serve for five to ten years. Consequently, there tends to be more stability and policy setting in the utility board environment.
- Creates better checks and balances in regard to transfer of funds from the utility to the city. Often transfer policies are clearly defined and are based on the profitability of the utility and consequentially its ability to transfer funds to the city. More importantly, it takes the city council, which is responsible for balancing the city's General Fund budget, out of the process in determining how much money should be transferred from the utility.
Disadvantages
- Appointed boards are not as accountable to the voters as elected policy makers. Utility boards, however, tend to be very responsive to a community's value system.
- Can result in inefficiencies by the creation of separate and duplicate city support functions.
- The city, as owner of the utility, loses a degree of control over its most significant asset.
- Significant start up costs associated with the creation of the utility authority. In many cases, the creation of the utility authority requires refinancing and defeasance of the utility's outstanding debt. In addition to the legal and advisory costs associated with this transaction, depending on the utility's overall debt structure, such a refinancing could result in increased debt service. Additionally, creating the authority may require legislative action at the state level to amend the city's charter and/or create the charter for the independent board. All of these steps carry with them significant time and cost considerations.
- Does not necessarily result in a lower cost of providing utility services.
As in a municipally-owned and operated utility department, independent public utility boards offer a wide range of rates from low to high. As is the case with municipally-owned and operated utility departments, rates are most significantly influenced by power supply and fuel arrangements. For instance, the Sebring Utility Commission (an independent utility board) had some of the highest electric rates in the nation. As a result, it sold its generating, transmission, and distribution facilities to IOUs [Investor-owned Utilities]. The high rates were singularly attributed to the construction of excess and high cost generating capacity. As in municipally-owned and operated utility departments, utility boards are often influenced by community values to make decisions which ultimately impact rates.
07/28/07
Exert from a paper created by Mark Zion, Executive Director, Texas Public Power Association, for Lubbock Power & Light in 2003:
MUNICIPALLY-OWNED AND OPERATED UTILITY DEPARTMENT
Typically in a municipally-owned and operated organizational structure, the utility manager reports to the city manager or sometimes to an assistant city manager. In some cases the utility manager is actually a charter officer of the city and reports, in parallel with the city manager, directly to the city council. A wide range of organizational structures exist within this type of configuration. At one end of the spectrum, all utility functions involved in the planning, design, construction and operation of the utility system are organizationally under the utility manager, including finance, treasury functions, cashiers, and all electric utility operations. In some cases, only electric utility operations report to the utility manager while other support functions such as finance and human resources are located elsewhere in the city government structure.
The city council functions as the primary policy setting board for the utility department. Is some cases city councils have created advisory boards as is the case with the Austin EUC. These advisory boards or commissions have a wide range of powers and responsibilities. At one end of the spectrum these boards are advisory only while in some cases they are given budget and rate setting authority on behalf of the city council.
There are a number of advantages and disadvantages to this type of organizational structure, some of the more significant ones are as follows:
Advantages
- With an elected city council sitting as the policy board, the utility is generally accountable to the city's taxpayers/ratepayers.
- Integration into the city government and policy setting by the city council leads to enhanced synergies between the city and utility departments.
- Increases the ability of the utility to reflect community values.
Disadvantages
- Typically the utility's ratepayers outside of the city do not feel represented.
- Due to increasing budget pressures on city governments, city councils often tap into the utility to balance city budgets. In Austin's case the transfers from the utility to the city has less to do with the profitability of the utility and more to the financial needs of the city.
- May introduce a higher level of politics into the planning and operations of the utility system which would otherwise be run like a business.
- The city council has too many other significant policy responsibilities such as police, fire, wastewater and streets to give proper consideration to utility policy issues.
- Since the city council is elected, they may not have the requisite technical or business skills necessary t set policy for the utility.
* * *
Like Garland, Lubbock owns its own electric utility. The situation in Lubbock got ugly in 2003. According to an article in The Daily Toreador, at least one person felt, "LP&L was a 'cash cow' for Lubbock, as the city began to take more money than LP&L was making, said John Zwiacher." Lubbock decided to look at other organizational structures and Zion was asked to prepare the report that is exerted above.
I often caution that there are two sides to every coin. I feel Zion's paper does an exemplary job of looking at both sides, listing the pros and cons of an advisory board and hints to the different levels of authority that might be given that board. Mayor Jones' Special Committee on the Utility Advisory Board (UAB) and Council's Utility Services Committee (USC) will be looking at such pros and cons as it works to develop a recommendation to the Council on the futures of both.
Garland is not Lubbock but the list of advantages and disadvantages apply to any municipally-owned utility (MOU). The Council has a responsibility to safeguard Garland's assets and future. We can't make a decision with a flip of a coin, but we can closely examine both sides before deciding.
P.S. The author, Mark Zion, and I were at UT at the same time. He was ahead of me and in a different school but we were both involved in student government. (I thought I had learned my lesson.)
07/27/07
Of significance considering any budget is how much money you expect to be dealing with. Every year, councils and staffs await information from the Dallas County Appraisal District as to the valuations and expected tax collections. Yesterday's Dallas Morning News reported that Dallas County tax rolls gained ten percent.
Gains reported for Garland and some nearby cities were:
|
City
|
Change
|
| Carrollton |
10.6%
|
| Dallas |
10.4%
|
| Farmers Branch |
8.9%
|
| Garland |
6.3%
|
| Mesquite |
5.0%
|
| Richardson |
5.3%
|
| Rowlett |
5.3%
|
| Sachse |
5.4%
|
Obviously, compared to the cities adjacent to Garland, we look a little better. However, the DMN does not take into consideration everything necessary to calculate our exact tax expectations. Bryan Bradford, Garland's budget director, shows Garland's 2007 Certified Tax Base as:
|
|
Residential
|
Commercial
|
Business Personal Property |
Total Base |
|
Total Base
|
6,541,502,166
|
3,061,424,618
|
1,386,093,877
|
10,989,020,661
|
|
Total Increase
|
72,770,252
|
456,348,600
|
57,176,859
|
586,295,711
|
|
New Construction 1
|
95,226,643
|
102,742,280
|
1,259,760
|
199,228,683
|
|
Increase
|
1.1%
|
17.5%
|
4.3%
|
5.6%
|
|
Change in Existing Base 2
|
(0.3%)
|
13.6%
|
4.2%
|
3.7%
|
|
Change in Existing Base (Excluding 1% HSE) 3 |
0.6%
|
|
|
|
1 Amount is included in "Total Increase"
2 Shows change in existing base without "New Construction" and with the increased Homestead Exemption
3 Shows change in existing base without "New Construction" and without the increased Homestead Exemption
New Construction and Commercial Property are the two primary driving components of our increasing tax base. The residential component is barely holding even, actually dipping some with the increased Homestead Exemption, and, as mentioned more than once, not keeping stride with inflation.
We must have a strategy to keep growing the base to and through build-out, a few imprecise years away. At build-out, we run out of land. New Construction hits a wall, Commercial values will probably continue to appreciate for a while, and Residential is already sinking. Compounding the sinking Residential is the Homestead Exemption that depletes the base and we aren't offsetting that decline except with good wishes. We haven't cut expenses, we haven't cut debt, we haven't discovered gas, and we haven't done anything else to generate additional income.
I'm not predicting doom and gloom—we can deal with these challenges but we must have a strategy. Business-as-usual must be adapted to the pending challenges.
07/26/07
I am currently reading Christopher Hitchens' biography Thomas Jefferson, Author of America. So, one more reference to books and I'll not bring them up again. For awhile.
It is a fine book and one that only a Christopher Hitchens could author. After all, Hitchens puts great store in the writings of the greatest minds and few equal the best of Thomas Jefferson. Although I vehemently disagree with Hitchens on some subjects, I would stand with him against any crowd on others. His ability to translate a silver-tipped tongue to a silver-tipped pen poised against paper is with few peers. I would rather wrestle an alligator than wrestle words with Hitchens.
During Jefferson's times, the Boston Tea Party sparked a revolution over—not tea—taxes. Battles fought. Declarations written. Countries born. On to the next tax revolution. Daniel Shays, a farmer and once a captain in George Washington's militia, felt he was being too taxed and launched an unsuccessful revolution.
I admire the principled person, the eccentric artist, the one listening to another drummer, that makes all of us more aware of our environs. Such people wake us to our passions, whether as friend or foe.
And so it was with Jefferson. He admired the anti-tax, anti-authoritarian spirit of 1776.
Jefferson in a letter to Abigail Adams, the wife of John Adams:
"The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it to always be kept alive. It will often be exercised when wrong, but better so than to not be exercised at all. I like a little rebellion now and then. It is like a storm in the atmosphere."
Yeah, what he said.
For good or bad, I do a lot of reading, and it does have duel consequences. Of course, reading is a journey, one that can only be taken in the mind.
I very seldom read science fiction any more but at twelve years old I read a lot and many times it was Robert A. Heinlein. To say that he was a great influence would be an understatement. I had no idea at the time that I was absorbing his suggestions of freedom and responsibility and travel, mostly space travel.
This month is the centennial of Heinlein's birth. Many people that were similarly influenced by his writings have been marking the occasion with their own writings. In today's Wall Street Journal, Taylor Dinerman celebrates Heinlein's contributions to science fiction and the modern age. Heinlein was a visionary. He wrote about future technologies as easily as some of his characters visited other time periods, as though they were bringing back inventions for him to use in stories.
When my father died, the comments others made in his praise made me realize that many of the characteristics that I took for granted, and too seldom adapted, were great influences on my thinking, values, and life. Similarly with Heinlein, his guidance went unnoticed at that young age but I did become aware of it more as I re-read some of his novels with a more mature mind. Now with the numerous recognitions of this anniversary, I am again learning after someone's passing the filaments that link me to them.
I was too young to be a hippie. Too far removed and protected to want to be one. Yet I read a story on the Kent State shootings and how some of the students lived in a communal house. On a table was a copy of Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein. It was a paradox for me—why would these college kids be reading Heinlein? I bought a paperback copy and soon realized why. The freedom and sexual openness and questioning of authority dripped from the pages. Yet those were not the parts of the book that had stuck with me.
Dinerman mentions that paradox in his article, how hippies could hold Heinlein's book in reverence at the same time the man was campaigning for Goldwater, the presidential candidate and conservative that greatly influenced Ronald Reagan, all years before Kent State.
Professor Bernardo de la Paz, in Heinlein's 1966 novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress:
"The power to tax, once conceded, has no limits; it contains until it destroys. I was not joking when I told them to dig into their own pouches. It may not be possible to do away with government—sometimes I think that it is an inescapable disease of human beings. But it may be possible to keep it small and starved and inoffensive—and can you think of a better way than by requiring the governors themselves to pay the costs of their antisocial hobby."
I often refer to books for reminders of principles that I've learned but may have gotten a bit soft on the particulars. I mix that with my experiences to sanity check one against the other. Remembering Heinlein today, it would seem I sometimes sanity check the textbook to the novel, too.
07/25/07
The new members of the Council had the first of two information sessions on the forthcoming budget tonight. A few Council members that weren't so new, such as myself, availed ourselves to the "refresher" course. Bryan Bradford, budget director, took us through the basics of governmental budgeting, explaining the different types of funds, types of debt, and limitations.
My greatest concerns since Day One have been adequate planning and a strategy to deal with the declining residential base and what happens when we reach build-out. The simple answers are to use new methods to reverse the residential decline, to expand current development and to establish new sources of growth, and to adopt new zoning philosophies and regulations that allow and encourage redevelopment. Simple answers but not simple tasks.
We could reach build-out in five to seven years. We should be operating from our strategy now. It takes time to implement such strategies and we have a short period to succeed. Our city is moving in the right direction; my concern is that we do it much more quickly.
The budget is key. We must be using our tax dollars to fund those departments and activities that will carry us successfully forward. We cannot keep raising the tax rate because that ultimately strangles growth and weakens every sector of the city, even the treasury.
I and other Council members have been pushing for a 2020 strategy, that would carry us through build-out, through the tightest years, past the incentives to the Town Center, TMPA debt, and other obligations, to a time when we have some major breathing room.
Will we use that breathing room to enhance the quality of life for our residents or will those new monies slowly disappear as we band-aid infrastructure repairs and save basic services?
The fun is about to begin and you are invited to watch and to offer suggestions into the budgeting process.
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[Return to Website]
07/23/07
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|
Business manager Greg LaMaster, standing, proudly displays one of
the brand-new model apartments at Parkside at Firewheel |
The leasing office at the Parkside at Firewheel apartments at Firewheel Town Center has been open for a couple weeks but no units are yet available. All that changes Friday when people start moving in. Greg LaMaster, business manager, says they are already about 20% leased.
The first units will be on the west end of the development, close to the park and Koi pond. By the end of August, all the units west of the parking garage will be available. Crews are in the halls painting and finishing apartments but they are on schedule. Many tenants that have leased have been able to see their apartment even though it was not complete.
Inner units face one of four courtyards. One will have a swimming pool and other amenities. Most of the inner units have balconies.
Units sizes start with two efficiency models and several floor plans increase up to three bedrooms, about 14 different choices. The townhouse units are three floors, about 1500 square feet, with a garage and entry room on the bottom. The middle floor is the living area and kitchen. The top floor is the bedrooms. The townhouse units will probably be the last completed.
The excitement of living near stores and restaurants is palatable and a steady stream of prospective tenants have been visiting to learn more.
|
|
Jamie Whitney, store manager, and Don Ashton, area manager, are very pleased
by the customer response at their new Firestone Store |
The new Firestone Store north of the Firewheel Town Center, at 5660 Lavon Hwy, near the intersection with Murphy and Bunker Hill Rds, is open for business. Store manager, Jamie Whitney, is proud of the store's appearance and its reception by customers. The Austin limestone exterior compliments the other businesses in the area and sets a high standard for future businesses.
Jamie is an area native and looks forward to working with the community. A formal grand opening will be soon, held through the Garland Chamber of Commerce. I visited the store today to welcome Jamie and area manager Don Ashton to Garland and to get a close-up look.
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The Garland Plan Commission is meeting tonight and one of the cases they will consider is an application from IHOP (International House of Pancakes) for a new restaurant to be built at the hotel site along SH 190, near the GISD Special Events Center.
Staff is recommending approval of the site plan. However, IHOP is asking for additional signage, greater than allowed under the SH 190 Development Standards. Staff is recommending against the extra signage. Approvals for such additional signage in the 190 Corridor are very rare.
Be sure to check this posting for updates on whether it was approved and more information on how the restaurant will look.
UPDATE from Scott Roberts, Dist 1 Plan Commissioner: The IHOP detail plan was approved at the Plan Commission's July 23 meeting. The variance for extra signage was denied. We welcome IHOP to the 190 Corridor.
The design complies with the 190 Standards with a stone and stucco exterior. It maintains a hint of their original "A" frame design and will complement the Hyatt Hotel and the Special Events Center.
UPDATE 2:
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On Sunday, the Corps of Engineers was releasing over 6000 cubic feet of water per second from Lake Lavon. The lake is about three feet lower than it was less than two weeks ago but it is still five feet above normal. Some lake parks are still closed. Others offer picnic tables on land and some in the water.
Fishermen were successfully testing their luck below the dam. My family and I saw one catfish hauled in while I was snapping this picture.
The river downstream was swollen well out its banks and marshy areas that have been dry for a couple years are now flooded.
I was beginning to hear some complaints about all the rain we were receiving. I expect we will all hear similar complaints when it gets hot. It all reminds me of a quote I once read (something like…): "There are always those among us for whom the sun a little too bright and the wind a little too strong."
07/22/07
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The Garland Homeowners Coalition will meet Wednesday, July 25, 7 p.m.,
The main topic will be Officer Elections for the forthcoming year.
GHC is the umbrella group of homeowner and neighborhood associations in Garland. Items of interest to neighborhood groups and speakers are a regular part of GHC meetings. GHC serves as the peer-to-peer resource for Garland associations. Questions about neighborhoods and association matters can often be answered on the spot.
GHC is the local member of Texas Neighborhoods Together. |
A Look Back for Homeowners at the Legislature -
Categories: Public Safety, Neighborhoods, Transportation, Code Compliance, Taxes & Budget -
Douglas
@ 11:54:54 pm
Texas Neighborhoods Together, a statewide organization of homeowner and neighborhood groups, has the unique role of representing homeowners every two years during the Legislative Session. I am the current president and feel fortunate that we were very succesful this year. But for the turn of a few events and the short clock always ticking at the Legislature, it could have ended much differently. I posted a couple times about being in Austin lobbying for TNT and on city government matters. Sometimes, like with red light cameras, there was overlap.
The following report by David Smith, TNT's Vice President Legislative Affairs, summarizes TNT's focus during this last session. You probably aren't overly familiar with TNT's Legislative Agenda this year, but, if you're interested, I hope this synopsis gives you an idea what was at stake and where we are now.
TEXAS NEIGHBORHOODS TOGETHER
FINAL LEGISLATIVE REPORT
80th Regular Session of the Texas State Legislature
July 2007
Texas Neighborhoods Together and its allies generally had a very successful legislative session. Virtually all of the bad bills that would have had a negative impact on neighborhoods statewide were blocked. A number of good bills passed. Other good bills made less progress, but we can build on that in the next session.
At a glance:
Municipal Authority
- ALL FIVE BAD ZONING BILLS FAILED.
- Four good code enforcement bills passed. Six others failed.
- One bad manufactured home bill passed.
- Red light cameras are explicitly authorized but regulated.
Mandatory Homeowner Associations
- ALL ELEVEN BAD STATE-WIDE BILLS FAILED.
- Four good bills passed. Two apply state-wide.
- One bad bill affecting only one association passed.
Deed Restrictions
- One bill helping some Houston area associations passed.
- Three other good bills failed.
Notification
- Four good bills failed.
Homeowners Insurance Reform – SMALL VICTORY
- Use of credit scoring still allowed, but insurance companies must now disclose this.
Recorded Votes – PARTIAL VICTORY
- A measure goes to the voters on November 6, 2007.
Burglary of Vehicles - VICTORY
- Third offenses will become state jail felonies.
County Land Use Authority
 p;- FOUR GOOD BILLS PASSED.
- Three other good bills failed.
Public Recording of Real Property Sales Prices
- All six good bills failed.
A summary by issue area follows. See the accompanying bill listing for more information about each individual bill.
Municipal Authority
TNT opposed bills that would potentially harm neighborhoods through limiting city zoning or code enforcement authority. We supported bills that would enhance the ability of cities to protect neighborhoods.
All five bills that would have broadly limited city zoning authority failed. Three of the five (HB 1732, HB 1736 and HB 3604) were introduced by Rep. Kuempel. He got two of them through the House Land and Resource Management Committee but no further. We are particularly thankful to the chair of that committee, Rep. Mowery, who withdrew her bill (HB 252) restricting rezoning following a meeting with the TNT legislative coordinator.
One narrowly crafted bill (HB 1460), applicable to existing manufactured homes, did pass and will become law on January 1, 2008. Despite any contrary city zoning, manufactured homes that are destroyed by calamity or simply removed by their owners may be replaced. Rep. Haggerty was the author of this bill.
Four of the thirteen bills affecting code enforcement have or will become law. These include two bills (SB 350 and SB 351) sponsored by Sen. Ellis and Rep. Noriega regarding junked or abandoned vehicles, another Ellis/Noriega bill (SB 352) regarding substandard buildings and a bill (HB 1551) by Rep. Hochberg allowing courts to order the cut off of utilities to buildings harboring nuisances.
The legislature passed on opportunities to allow neighborhood residents to sue to abate nuisances, provide cities additional means to enforce building ordinances and strengthen illegitimate massage parlor regulation.
Photographic Traffic Law Enforcement
TNT has supported the “red light cameras” that many cities have started to install during the past couple of years. As in past sessions, the legislature was very active with this topic, with eleven different bills introduced.
All three of the bills that would have directly or indirectly prohibited the cameras failed. One bill (HB 922), by Rep. Truitt, did pass, immediately banning speeding ticket cameras, but not red light cameras.
Two other bills (HB 1052 and SB 1119) regulating red light cameras did pass. They add explicit authorization for the cameras, which was not previously in state law. They also set state-wide standards and mandate that a portion of the civil penalty revenue (previously all going to the cities) be dedicated to regional trauma centers. The major bill (SB 1119) regarding this was authored by Sen. Carona. Both become effective on September 1, 2007.
Mandatory Homeowner Associations
As in past sessions, numerous bills (20 total) were filed affecting mandatory homeowner associations. TNT opposed legislation that would make associations less viable or less effective in protecting neighborhood interests. TNT supported legislation that would better empower neighborhoods, such as measures that would make it easier for owners to amend deed restrictions.
All eleven bills that would have added new restrictions or requirements for mandatory homeowner associations statewide failed. An omnibus bill by Sen. West (SB 979), which incorporated all or part of a number of the other bills, came the closest to passage. Reps. Bailey and Solomons also introduced bills (HB 1171 and HB 222, respectively) that would have affected associations in numerous ways.
One successful bill, HB 3674 by Rep. John Davis, applies Open Meeting and Open Records law to a single association in Clear Lake City.
Three bills generally beneficial to neighborhoods did pass. After September 1, 2007, architectural control committees may be established by deed-restricted neighborhoods that do not have associations, per HB 2218 by Rep. Hochberg. Also after September 1, associations may not establish new easements without property owner consent, per HB 2402 by Rep. Truitt. Some additional requirements for replats affecting common areas are effective immediately, per HB 3232 by Rep. Olivo. HB 3232 applies only to the Houston area, while the other bills apply state-wide.
Deed Restriction Amendments
A good provision allowing deed restrictions to be amended by only a simple majority of all owners was also lost when SB 979 got mired in the end-of-session legislative logjam. Three other bills that would have eased or, in some situations, enabled deed restriction amendments also failed. One such bill (HB 3518 by Rep. Creighton) did pass but only applies to certain associations in Galveston and Montgomery Counties.
Notification
TNT also supported good bills that would have given neighborhood residents better notification of proposals for projects which could be intrusive or incompatible with neighborhoods. All four such bills we followed failed. The legislature missed opportunities to improve the notification of associations or individuals in regard to solid waste facilities, group homes and zoning changes.
Homeowners Insurance Reform
TNT supported bills that would prohibit the use of credit scoring in determining what homeowners pay to insure their homes against catastrophes. Seven bills were filed on this topic.
None of the bills that would have prohibited the use of credit scoring passed. However, one bill (SB 611 by Sen. Lucio) did pass, effective immediately, which requires insurance companies using credit scoring to disclose that on their websites.
Recorded Votes
TNT, along with many other organizations statewide, supported legislation requiring the recording of most substantive votes by legislators. In response, eleven bills or resolutions were filed. Eight of them included a broad requirement, in line with the TNT position. Three limited required record votes to the final passage of bills.
One of the narrower resolutions, HJR 19 by Rep. Branch, did pass. It is a constitutional amendment, which will be on our general election ballot on November 6, 2007.
Burglary of Vehicles
TNT supported legislation that had the objective of deterring vehicle break-ins by making second offenses state jail felonies rather than misdemeanors. Two bills (HB 267 by Rep. Anchia and HB 303 by Rep. Farrar) matched our position. Eight other bills were filed with the same objective but with different changes in law (e.g. making a first offense or a third offense a felony).
The successful bill, HB 1887 by Rep. Truitt, makes a third offense a state jail felony and becomes effective September 1, 2007.
County Land Use Authority
TNT supported legislation giving counties the authority to establish building codes, regulate land use and in other ways protect neighborhoods outside city limits. Four of the twelve bills filed have become law.
The bills that are now law include HB 2591 by Rep. Bonnen, allowing counties to improve subdivision roads (including roads within cities); HB 3581 by Rep. Charlie Howard, authorizing counties to remove or remediate solid waste nuisances; SB 63 by Sen. Zaffirini, giving municipal authority to certain low-population counties on or near the Mexican border; and SB 680 by Sen. Williams, giving urban counties the authority to regulate swimming pools outside cities.
The legislature missed some opportunities with the failure of bills that would have allowed counties to adopt and enforce building codes (HB 617 by Rep. Quintanilla), allowed counties some fire code authority (SB 542 by Sen. West) and would have allowed municipal utility districts to have zoning authority (HB 3883 by Rep. Gattis).
Retaliatory Lawsuits
TNT supported legislation which would deter lawsuits against associations, association officers or individuals that are designed to discourage or penalize involvement in civic affairs. These lawsuits are often called SLAPP suits (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation).
This session saw two anti-SLAPP suit bills filed, following a legislative drought on this topic after Gov. Perry vetoed an anti-SLAPP suit bill several sessions ago. Both Reps. Raymond and Leibowitz filed bills (HB 1089 and HB 1130, respectively).
Neither got to the House floor, but we appreciate the initiative of Reps. Raymond and Leibowitz. Both were heard by the House Civil Practices Committee, who favorably reported the Raymond bill, which later died in the House Calendars Committee.
Public Recording of Real Property Sales Prices
TNT supported legislation which would require sales price disclosure. Because there is generally good publicly available sales price information regarding middle class homes and a dearth of information about high-end residential as well as apartment and commercial building values, all but middle class homes tends to be undervalued by county appraisal districts. This results in middle class homeowners shouldering a disproportionately high share of the property tax burden.
Six bills requiring sales price disclosure were filed. All failed. Rep. Villareal was the strongest advocate in the House, but none of his bills got through the House Local Government Ways and Means Committee. Sen. Wentworth had better fortune with his SB 270, which was approved by Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee but died on the Senate floor.
This report was prepared by David M. Smith, Legislative Coordinator for Texas Neighborhoods Together. He may be contacted at DMSmithIV@aol.com or 972-516-3849.
Just as I mentioned the unique level of reliability at GP&L, Garland is a leader in many areas. Teams from Garland are tapped often to assist other cities and areas. I am often impressed by the levels of preparedness that various Garland departments have achieved. Federal grants to cities after 9-11 to improve their readiness levels has greatly assisted our abilities to offer more security to residents.
I have mentioned areas where Garland has received more than regional recognition but national recognition, such as the Police Boxing Program. Word came recently that Garland's Regional Response Team was featured in an article published in the International Association of Emergency Managers Bulletin.
We owe a great deal of gratitude for the exemplary work and dedication to those individuals and departments that comprise the Regional Response Team: the Health Dept (Richard Briley and his team), the Emergency Management Dept (Darrel Toups and his team), the Fire Dept (Chief Dan Grammer and his team), and the Police Dept (Chief Mitch Bates and his team, including the Bomb Unit, SWAT Team, and more).
IAEM Bulletin July 2007 Online Edition
Garland Regional Response Team
By Richard Briley, MS, RS, DAAS, Director, City of Garland Health Department; Chief Daniel Kistner, CFO, Assistant Chief, City of Garland Fire Department; C.T. Payne, Bomb Squad Commander, City of Garland Police Department; and Allen Applegate, MPH, MMRS Coordinator, City of Garland, Office of Emergency Management
In late 2001, five individuals in the U.S. were fatally exposed to Bacillus anthrasis spores presumably delivered by standard mail. These deaths associated with inhalational anthrax received extensive media attention. These seemingly random acts, put in conjunction with the terrorist attacks earlier in the same year, heightened the awareness of the public to threats in their environment. Public safety officers were cast into new roles in an astonishingly short period of time.
The public demand stimulated an evolution in the methods used to respond to these new threats. The public safety departments in Garland, Texas (population 231,000) began using the resources provided to them in a unique methodology that has proven very successful.
All-Hazards Response
An all-hazards response team was developed that used resources in the health, police, fire and emergency management departments.
- The health department provides 12 health specialists with academic degrees in biological or chemical science. These professionals are equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and the knowledge of technical decontamination.
- The police department bomb squad consists of six bomb technicians and two logistics officers who provide the entry team and robotics needed to collect samples or remove/disable explosive threats. The police department SWAT team offers four tactical officers to give the team security and to eliminate any threats present at a response.
- The fire department furnishes firefighters and EMS personnel to assist with gross decontamination and medical or rescue operations.
- The combined team members are all HazMat-trained, and each has completed advanced federal training in CBRNE response. These personnel were brought together to form a unique integration that creates a one-of-a-kind resource for chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) events. The team successfully responded to several threats within its first two years of development. Neighboring jurisdictions began requesting assistance when potential CBRNE events occurred.
Garland Regional Response Team Formed
In January 2003, the Garland City Council, by unanimous vote, approved the creation of a “Regional Response Team.” The city council authorized the team to respond outside of the city of Garland with personnel and equipment in response to a CBRNE threat request in the northeast Texas area. No costs were to be charged the requesting agency; federal and state grant funding was to be sought to support the initiative. The emergency management department was charged with seeking, applying for, and managing grants received to augment the Garland Regional Response Team. To date, the Garland Regional Response Team has agreements to provide manpower and expertise in response to a CBRNE emergency for 40 municipal and county governments in northeast Texas (see map). In these small communities and rural areas, where resources (funding and personnel) are not readily available, the Garland Regional Response Team provides an invaluable service. The City of Garland has received more than $6 million dollars in grant funding to support and expand the initiative.
Regional Training
The team provides training to the jurisdictions with agreements. This training is designed to demonstrate the capabilities that are available upon request and define where their local emergency responders can assist during Garland’s deployment. Newsletters are provided quarterly to update the regional partners as to changes in equipment or changes in personnel on the response team. In the past two years alone, the Garland Regional Response Team has responded to nearly 50 calls for service, which includes responses within the city limits and a 24-county area.
Conclusion
The theory of a single municipality forming a diverse discipline team to respond to and serve a large geographic area at no financial obligation to the requesting department is truly unique. Regional grant funding was originally developed with this basic concept in place, but few jurisdictions have made it work. Garland, Texas has succeeded. For more information, please contact Richard Briley, Garland Health Department, at 972-205-3460.
Hat tip to MB!
Sunday morning Police Dept News Release:
95 YEAR OLD MAN MISSING
Garland Police are searching for 95-year-old John Lewis. Mr. Lewis suffers acute cancer and takes numerous medications for his illness. He is believed to be wearing a t-shirt, blue pajama bottoms, is 5’5” tall, has blue eyes and walks with a cane. He was last seen this morning around 6:30 a.m. in his neighborhood in Northeast Garland, close to the intersections of Naaman School Road and Pleasant Valley Drive. Police also believe that Mr. Lewis would not be afraid to ask someone for a ride.
Garland Police are asking for the public's help to locate John Lewis as they fear for his safety as the day gets hotter. If anyone spots Mr. Lewis, please call the Garland Police Department immediately. Dial 9-1-1.
UPDATE:
MISSING MAN FOUND
Garland Police verified information tonight that 95-year-old John Lewis has been located in Nacogdoches, Texas. Mr. Lewis has relatives in Nacogdoches and they found him tonight at his old home where he once lived. He evidently decided this morning he was going back home to Nacogdoches, managed to get on a bus and make the trip of almost 200 miles. His physical condition has been checked and he appears to be doing as well as can be expected for the condition that he is currently in with his cancer.
07/21/07
 Bryan Bradford presents goals and specifics directed toward Garland's fiscal health
The Council's Retreat is currently preparing to conclude. The Council, staff, and facilitators have spent most of today working on the specifics toward the general categories we worked on yesterday. The results are still rough and it will be awhile before the brainstorming and gleaning can be polished but I'm quite happy with the direction and the energy everyone is exuding.
We'll be fed one more time and then we'll be retreating from this year's retreat! |
07/20/07
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On the second day of the Council's budget retreat, after some personality profile exercises, the Council heard a presentation from Bryan Bradford, budget director, on the 2007 Financial Climate and Outlook. Then the rest of the day was spent identifying where we think Garland should be in five and 12 years. Some broader goals were developed with 2020 in mind and then some measurable metrics were proposed for five years. We will continue to work on that tomorrow and I'm confident we'll set some agressive but realistic goals that deal specifically with developing businesses and neighborhoods, maintaining the fiscal health of the city, citizen's quality of life, and more.
There were members of the public and media present today for various portions of the day's agenda.
The financial picture changes every year: revenues in some areas are up and down in others, some expenses and capital improvements can no longer be deferred but others are postponed, healthcare costs rise and headcount decreases. In general terms the budget may be similar to previous years but there will be plenty of decisions to be made to set priorities and to decide expenditures. This year is no different.
The Financial presentation shown to the Council today is available here or by clicking the image above. Review the slides for a general understanding of what was presented. I'll cover some of the points but the fine details won't be presented until the Council starts reviewing the budget, with the intent to approve it before Sept 20.
Although there are over 50 revenue categories (sources), 70% of the city's money comes from property taxes, sales taxes, GP&L's "In Lieu of Franchise" fees," franchise fees from other utilities, and municipal court fines.
The property tax base had a steady rise through the 1990's but started dropping in 2002. It is expected to rise to 5.9% this year but the residential portion is flat, not even keeping up with inflation. The rise comes from new construction, even though that is declining compared to recent years, but commercial tax assessments are higher. The rise in commercial tax assessments is probably a near-term anomaly and I've solicited a guest blogger article to give examples of why assessments are higher this year.
The city saw no increase in sales taxes form 2000 to 2004. The opening of the Firewheel Town Center and beer/wine sales caused a healthy jump in 2006. The trend has seen higher revenues since but the rate of growth is slowing. A new Firewheel Town Center cannot be built each year so the growth will eventually stabalize. This year has seen spikes and declines monthly but the long range outlook is trending toward the same level as inflation, about 3.5%.
We, as a city, not just the Council, need to work together to best define where we as a city and commmunity want to go. That process has started but we have an important journey that must still be made.
I invite you to start thinking about where you want your community to travel, in five years, in 12 years. What will your community look like in 2020? |
07/19/07
The Council is on its annual retreat; this year we're at the Garrett Creek Ranch close to Paradise, Texas. It is a working ranch. The accommodations are nice enough, not fancy but comfortable. (There's a flat rock for a table in the bath.) The meeting room is bright, so what else counts?
I got here about 4 p.m. so I could catch the Open Meetings Act training. We had a good dinner, the whole Council and the staff members that are here, and then went back to work.
We discussed Council retreat expectations and also policies and working together until almost 10 p.m. I'm sure staff members were bored out of their minds listening to us but they were polite and I didn't see any yawning.
There was a lot of discussion on how meetings are to be conducted. Having a professional parliamentarian for mayor made the outcome of that discussion pretty predictable. Meetings have always been conducted using parliamentary procedures but I'm sure everyone will notice that things will be stepped up a notch. I think the difference will most likely be in more information on procedures from the chair and more references among Council members. All good stuff to me.
And it could mean shorter meetings. Parliamentary procedures actually allow a speaker the floor twice and for only 10 minutes each time. The Mayor may choose to enforce this rule lightly, but maybe we will see the end of the ping-pong debate, back and forth comments that would drive normal people to the asylum.
If those exchanges disappear, this retreat will have been well worth it for me!
On the agenda early tomorrow will be personality profiles. It is useful information—it can make working with other personalities easier because there is some basic understanding of what drives him or her. It makes it easier to say, "I don't agree but I understand your perspective." A majority of the Council members have the same basic personality as me. It makes it easy to say that I don't agree and know they don't care. |
07/18/07
Staff Reports Vital Neighborhoods Progress -
Categories: Opinions, Neighborhoods, Taxes & Budget -
Douglas
@ 06:21:40 pm
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I talked about neighborhoods a lot during last year's campaign. I told people that I wanted to concentrate more city effort toward neighborhoods. I've looked very good on that issue because the staff, led from the Planning Dept with high participation across all departments, had the same ideas and were well advanced preparing to address the same issue. A click on "Neighborhoods" in the Categories to the right will bring up the multiple postings on neighborhoods.
We need to be concerned. About two-thirds of the city's property tax base comes from residential sections. Last year this sector saw almost zero increase in value. The last projection I saw for this year was only 0.6%. Factoring inflation into the consideration, our citywide residential areas are steadily losing value. We will soon reach build-out when no room is left to expand and to add new value. It will be very difficult to grow the industrial and commercial sector of the pie, one-third of the base, to offset residential decline and to add extra value that will provide salaries, parks, libraries, and public safety—while a declining residential base is requiring more resources and infrastructure.
The only counter strategy that I can conceive is to grow the value of our neighborhoods. There are many components to that effort. Maintaining infrastructure is, of course, important. But more importantly is maintaining an atmosphere where people want to and are confident enough to invest in their properties and will attract investment by others. That means maintaining and growing a sense of community, where people know and trust their neighbors, where there is pride in the community, and where residents feel their investments will be rewarded.
Garland's program on Vital Neighborhoods is the first step to that goal. It has now been a year since the staff presented their concepts to the Council and have concluded working with their first four pilot neighborhoods. Staff members, enough to fill the room, were present at Monday's work session to give their first progress report to the Council.
I hope you will take a little time to watch and listen to their presentation. It is available on the city's CGTV website and can be accessed most easily by following the links below. It is well worth the time to become more familiar with this program and to understand its importance for our future.
As I have emphasized recently in various forums, I have found no template for us to follow. We are inventing the wheel. Cities living in the Vital Neighborhood darkness will come to Garland to learn our methods. I've mentioned to some staff members to be thinking about "writing the book," because none exists. We, our whole community, are the leaders. We will make some mistakes and we'll be slow to follow some promising courses, but we will invent new opportunities and we will succeed.
I am hoping over the next year to take the lessons from this year and greatly expand our toolbox that neighborhoods can use for their own improvement.
This is a theme that I will return to over and over while I'm in office. Failure is not an option. |
North Garland and Firewheel Are "On the Map" -
Categories: News, Development -
Douglas
@ 05:32:40 pm
Favorable comments from numerous people indicates a lot of people read and liked Sunday's Dallas Morning News article by Richard Abshire on the growth and progress in the Firewheel area. We do have a great story to tell and it is nice to be able to share it. City leaders years before almost all of us moved to north Garland envisioned what we are seeing today, first by establishing the Firewheel Golf Park and pushing for a shopping mall, the Firewheel Town Center. Vision is so important to success and it takes years for grande visions to become reality.
Bush Turnpike living up to high expectations
Garland: Multiple retail projects drive success in toll road corridor
12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, July 15, 2007
By RICHARD ABSHIRE / The Dallas Morning News
rabshire@dallasnews.com
Never is heard a discouraging word in Garland's Bush Turnpike corridor.
Seven years after the toll road opened, merchants, developers and city officials agree the area is living up to the high hopes they had for the city's last development frontier.
"There's still a lot to be done and a lot of room to do it," said Doug Athas, the City Council member whose district includes the turnpike. "The future is bright. There are still some development opportunities."
Bryan Bradford, Garland's senior managing director of budget and research, reports that sales tax revenues are up citywide from $18.3 million in 2002 to $22.5 million last year.
Though beer and wine sales and the Bass Pro Shops that opened on Interstate 30 are part of the success, there's no doubt the retail developments along the Bush Turnpike corridor are a driving force.
"It's going to continue to grow, and we're seeing good results from our retailers," said Earl Harris, vice president and director of project leasing with the Weitzman Group, the firm handling leasing for Firewheel Market, next door to Firewheel Town Center. "The outlook is really positive."
Like Mr. Harris, Ben Barnes of Reata Real Estate Services believes business in Garland will go from good to great as Bush Turnpike extends eastward.
Once the turnpike reaches Interstate 30, he said, the market will become regional, which will be good for everyone involved in terms of sales and taxes for schools and cities.
"That will expand the marketplace significantly," Mr. Barnes said. "Today, we're somewhat dependent upon the local market, which has been a very good market for us."
Reata is handling the leasing at Firewheel Plaza and was involved with North Garland Crossing, which is 100 percent leased.
Even Paul Mayer, the Garland Chamber of Commerce president who has been involved in the area since before the turnpike, said the area is exceeding all expectations.
"An offshoot we didn't necessarily anticipate is the effect on our Firewheel brand," Mr. Mayer said.
The city's golf center was dubbed Firewheel̬for a local wildflower—when it opened its original 18-hole course in 1983. It was expanded to 63 holes and became the largest municipal golf facility in the Southwest in 2001.
Firewheel Golf Park helped attract upscale homes to the neighborhood, which begat homeowners associations with such names as Firewheel Farms, the Greens of Firewheel, Hills at Firewheel and Fairways at Firewheel.
The idea took shape over the years for a new loop road beyond LBJ Freeway—known as Loop 9 and then State Highway 190 before the Bush moniker was affixed—to run through north Garland.
City officials passed tough building standards for development there.
The turnpike was the key to attracting big projects. At the top of that list was a regional mall.
In 1997, the city started talks with Simon Property Group about building a mall beside the turnpike.
Firewheel Town Center opened in October 2005 after many delays—including a change of plans from a traditional "big box" design to an open "town center" layout—and a lot of naysaying by doubters.
The center features Dillard's, Macy's and Circuit City as major anchors, 100 other stores and more than a dozen restaurants, 1 million square feet of retail and office space, and an AMC cineplex on more than 90 acres.
Move-ins will begin later this month on 312 apartments at the center.
"This has been a great year, with double-digit increases in comparable sales over last year," said center spokeswoman Melody Kamp. "Traffic is definitely up over last year and we're opening a lot of new restaurants and stores, including a two-level, 70,000-square-foot Dick's Sporting Goods store that will open next year."
Helen Kenny, who specializes in homeowners associations, lives in the Bush Turnpike corridor.
She sees the turnpike itself as a great asset for easing traffic and making travel convenient. As for development, she would like to see more commercial uses to balance against the retail and restaurants.
"I think the retail is very good for our tax base and I would like to see different kinds of restaurants," she said.
"But from the city perspective I would think that corporate campuses would feed the restaurants and provide jobs."
Ayako Oi, director of economic development at the chamber, points also to new townhomes and developers' interests in remaining land along the city's portion of the Bush Turnpike.
"I feel like finally Garland is on the map," Ms. Oi said.
I agree with Ms Oi—we're on the map and we have great things to come, and there is plenty of work still to be done. So go ahead, you've earned the right, put your pushpin here, we're all on the map.
07/16/07
Mayor Appoints Special Committee to Review UAB -
Categories: Opinions, Utilities -
Douglas
@ 11:30:31 pm
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At tonight's Council work session, Council members Rick Williams and Jackie Feagin had asked that the Council review the Utility Advisory Board and the Council's Utility Services Committee. Council member Williams explained that there was a perception that the two bodies were duplicative.
After some discussion, Mayor Ron Jones appointed a Special Committee to research the questions raised and to report to the Council. He appointed Council members Rick Williams, Larry Jeffus, Laura Cox, and me to the committee. I will serve as the chair.
The UAB advises the Council on matters relating to the city's utilities, following directions from Council on which matters it should review. The UAB has been a powerful and influencial board through part of its existence and less so during other times. Originally comprised as a nine-member board, it was later reduced to five members.
When it was five members, appointees were presented to the Council and the first to receive a majority of votes received the appointment. I was nominated and interviewed for the board in 1995 but the first person considered received enough votes for the appointment. That system made it too easy to "stack the deck" and a few years later enough Council members objected so that the board was expanded to nine members, in about 1999, allowing each Council member to appoint someone.
The UAB fell out of favor with a previous Council, which illegally removed two members, one of which was the chair. Illegal in the sense that the removals ignored the requirements of the City Charter. At the time (it has since been changed), the Charter required that the Council could remove a board, commission, or committee member only for "malfeasance or incompetence." Neither was the case in this situation and no such chargers were ever made. Then–Council members Holden and Dunn made separate motions for removal and both motions passed. It was not the first or last time that the |