FIRST TIER SUBURBS COUNCIL NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES

For the next couple days, elected officials and staff members from suburbs across the country will be in Garland and North Texas. The steering committee of the First Tier Suburbs Council, a part of the National League of Cities, will be meeting in Garland today and touring other suburban locations tomorrow. The steering committee has about 25 members and about 20 cities will be represented at this summer meeting.
 
The committee will hear presentations today that address regional planning, retail revitalization, transit-oriented development, and neighborhood vitality. They will tour Downtown this evening. Friday will begin with a presentation on the state of the economy and then move to a tour of recent development projects in Duncanville, North Richland Hills, Richardson, and Plano. The meeting will conclude Saturday with a presentation on economic development and a business meeting that will partly focus on the fall meeting in Denver.
 
As chair of the First Tier Suburbs Council, I'm very pleased that we are able to host representatives from so many parts of the country here in Garland and to learn from each other better ways of meeting the unique challenges that face first-tier/first-ring suburbs. Most of our city council will be participating, as will council and staff members from other area suburbs. We will do our best to demonstrate the hospitality for which Texas is famous. If you happen upon a bunch of "tourists" wondering around and you see a council member or two mixed in, it's probably us. Please feel free to offer your own greetings!