CITY OF WAXAHACHIE NEWSLETTER APRIL-JUNE 2009
In This Issue
Mayor’s Message Page 2
Sr. Center Opening Page 3
Annual Report Page 4
Summer Movies Page 6
Farmer’s Market Opens May 30
Pictured above: Patrons enjoy last year’s Farmer’s Market activities. Farmer’s Market is open in Downtown Waxahachie each Saturday from 8am-1pm beginning May 30 until October 17. Farmer’s Market is a great place to purchase home grown produce, plants, and homemade goods. For more information, please visit www.waxahachie.com or call 972-937-7330, ext. 198.
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City Council
Spring is in full bloom and once again we are reminded what a beautiful city we live in. There are several large projects underway with the City that are also coming to fruition. Our new Senior Citizens Center will be open this month after years of planning and preparation. This wonderful facility will include a 5,000 square foot multi purpose room, fitness room, numerous classrooms, coffee shop, outdoor garden area and walking trail, and many other outstanding amenities. The center will provide a great facility for our growing senior population to use and enjoy. The city will celebrate the opening of the Senior Citizens Center on Thursday, May 7, from 4:30-6:30 pm with a Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening. The community is welcome and encouraged to attend. Light refreshments will be served and the building will be open for tours. Construction is also progressing on the new Robert W. Sokoll Water Treatment Plant. The plant is scheduled to be online and operational this fall. At maximum capacity, the new plant will be capable of treating 80 million gallons of water per day. This plant is an important part of our infrastructure and will serve our city’s future growth well. The road expansion projects on Broadhead and Parks School House Roads are both moving along well. Broadhead Road is scheduled to be completed this October and Parks School House Road is on schedule for completion in November. Both of these expansions will help to accommodate the schools and subdivisions in their growing neighborhoods. Also serving our neighborhoods is our great system of city parks. We are very fortunate in Waxahachie to have many wonderful, and some historic, city parks to enjoy. I encourage our citizens to take advantage of the beautiful weather by spending an afternoon enjoying one of our parks. Whether taking your children for playtime, or riding a bike or walking or jogging on the Waxahachie Creek Hike & Bike Trail, our open spaces provide recreational opportunities for all. The annual Downtown Farmer’s Market will begin on May 30 and run each Saturday from 8am-1pm until October 17. This seasonal event is a great place to purchase some of the best home grown produce in the area. If you have any questions regarding any of these projects or upcoming events, please contact City Hall at 972-937-7330. Ron L. Wilkinson Mayor of Waxahachie Ron L. Wilkinson Mayor N.B. “Buck” Jordan Mayor Pro Tem Joe Jenkins Council Member Chuck Beatty Council Member John Wray Council Member
City Management
Paul Stevens City Manager Michael Scott Assistant City Manager
972-937-7330 Metro: 972-938-2101 www.waxahachie.com
For comments or questions regarding the City’s newsletter or other communications, please contact Amy Hollywood Community Relations Manager, at ahollywood@waxahachie.com, or call 972-937-7330, Ext. 284.
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Please join us for a
Grand Opening Reception and Ribbon Cutting
Waxahachie Senior Center
122 Park Hills Drive Waxahachie, Texas Thursday, May 7, 2009 Ribbon Cutting at 4:30 p.m. Followed by Ceremony and Reception Light refreshments will be served
Please call 972-937-7330, Ext. 284 with questions
Trees Still Available For Purchase!
Trees are still available for the city’s tree planting program through the end of April, or while supplies last. Trees may be purchased in honor or memory of a friend or loved one, or sponsored by a business or organization. All of the trees will be planted in city parks or public rights-of-way. A ceremonial tree planting will take place in October. For more information on the program, or to purchase a tree, please call 972-937-7330, ext. 284.
Mayor Ron Wilkinson and Fire Chief David Hudgins swear in Firefighters Glenn Morrill and Jacob Cooper at the March 16th City Council Meeting.
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City’s Annual Report To Be Released
The city of Waxahachie will release it’s 2009 Annual Report in the coming weeks. The report is a retrospect of the 2007-2008 fiscal year. The 20-page booklet will provide an overview of city projects, development, leadership and accomplishments during that time. There will be a small amount of copies printed for the public, and the report will be posted online as well. The report will be available on the City’s web site at www.waxahachie.com on or before May 1, 2009.
Website Re-design Underway
The city’s web site, www.waxahachie.com, will take on a new look in the near future. Earlier this year, city officials began working with WISD’s Global High to redesign the site. Technology students competed in ten groups of four students each to come up with a winning design for the city to use for it’s new site. The students made formal presentations to the City at the end of March, and the presentations we all so great that not one, but TWO winners were chosen. Elements from each of the two winning teams’ entries will be used to create the new www.waxahachie.com. The new site is expected to be complete and up and running in late May or early June.
STORM
The American Red Cross wants you and your loved ones to stay safe during a Draw blinds and shades over windows. If windows break due to objects blown thunderstorm. Follow these important safety rules should a thunderstorm hit by the wind, the shades will prevent glass from shattering into your home. your area: If you’re caught outside Before lightning strikes If you are in the woods, take shelter under the shorter trees. Keep an eye on the sky. Look for darkening skies, flashes of light, or increasing If you are boating or swimming, get to land and find shelter immediately! Go to a low-lying, open place away from trees, poles, or metal objects. Make wind. Listen for the sound of thunder. sure the place you pick is not subject to flooding. If you can hear thunder, you are close enough to the storm to be struck by lightning. Go to safe shelter immediately. Be a very small target! Squat low to the ground. Place your hands on your Listen to NOAA Weather Radio, commercial radio, or television for the latest knees with your head between them. Make yourself the smallest target posweather forecasts. sible. Do not lie flat on the ground--this will make you a larger target! The storm approaches Find shelter in a building or car. Keep car windows closed and avoid convert- If someone is struck by lightning Call for help. Get someone to dial 9-1-1 or your local Emergency Medical ibles. Services (EMS) number. Telephone lines and metal pipes can conduct electricity. Unplug appliances. The injured person has received an electrical shock and may be burned, both Avoid using the telephone or any electrical appliances. Avoid taking a bath or shower, or running water for any other purpose. where they were struck and where the electricity left their body. Check for Turn off the air conditioner. Power surges from lightning can overload the burns in both places. Being struck by lightning can also cause nervous system damage, broken bones, and loss of hearing or eyesight. compressor, resulting in a costly repair job!
SAFETY
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Comprehensive Plan: Downtown Strategies
As part of the 2007 Comprehensive Plan, strategies were laid out for the city’s growth plan. These strategies include plans for Housing, Community Facilities, Transportation, Land Use, Neighborhood Enhancement, Parks and Recreation and Downtown Strategies. The Downtown Strategies section is of particular importance due to the fact that the Downtown area gives Waxahachie a great deal of it’s character, and is a major factor in attracting new businesses and residents. As stated in the Comprehensive Plan, the best way to enhance this asset is to build on the historic characteristics of walkability, continuous street-front buildings, and a healthy mix of retail, dining, and business uses. It is important to establish Downtown as a real, sustainable Downtown, with a full mix of uses and commerce. The Downtown also needs a long term parking strategy to support these uses. This ideal parking strategy would consolidate visitor and employee parking into 2 to 3 convenient locations around Downtown. Currently, the City is building a multi-level parking garage that is part of the new Ellis County facilities and will add over 300 parking spaces in the Downtown area. In 2002, Waxahachie residents voted in favor of establishing a Tax Increment Re-Investment Zone (TIRZ). This zone mainly covers the downtown area and the entry corridors into downtown. Each year, as new property values are assessed, any incremental increases are re-invested back into this area. Recently, two new projects have begun within the TIRZ that help support the strategies laid out for downtown in the Comprehensive Plan. The historic Texas Theater was purchased to keep the building an entertainment venue. Several proposals were reviewed for the management of the theater, and Tim Eaton was chosen to operate the facility. The theater will be open on May 2 and offer all sorts of different events, including movies, drama and live music. The Texas Theater will be open in the mornings for coffee and pastries, and at lunch as well. The MKT Train Depot was also purchased with TIRZ funds. This historic landmark is scheduled to be restored over the next year. The building will be multi-use facility, further supporting the strategies of the comprehensive plan, and also helping maintain the historical integrity of Downtown Waxahachie. For more information about the City’s 2007 Comprehensive Plan, it can be read in its entirety at www. waxahachie.com
Summer Moonlight Movies begin Friday,June 12 in DowntownWaxahachie!
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Cinco de MayoCelebration Scheduled for May 2
The first annual Cinco de Mayo celebration in downtown Waxahachie is scheduled for May 2. The event will include food, entertainment and live music. Festivities will begin at 11am and end at 8pm. The Waxahachie Cinco de Mayo Fiesta is a celebration of Hispanic heritage combining live music, food, arts & crafts, contests, and good old fashioned family fun. Entertainment will include Folklico Dancers - Dos Tierras, Midcity Krew Cadetes, Mariachi Girasol, Groupo Escape, The Tequila Boyz, Elyssa Marie y Senal and Conjunto Baraja de Oro. There will also be food, and vendor booths selling gifts, souvenirs, and handmade goods. The fiesta will also include a hot sauce contest. The contest will have a restaurant and amateur division. For more information on the Cinco de Mayo Fiesta, visit the festival’s web site at www.waxahachie5de5.com.
1st Annual
w g.... No in ow h S
The Downtown Summer Moonlight Movie Series begins in June! Bring your blankets and lawn chairs for a great family outing!
June 12 - Places in the Heart June 26 - Barnyard July 10 - Baseball theme movie TBA - meet and greet with Waxahachie Varsity Baseball Players! July 24 - TBA August 7 - Journey to the Center of the Earth August 21 - Cars
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The City of Waxahachie is in its ninth year of offering an ongoing recycling program through both curb side pickup and drop-off at the Citizens’ Convenience Station. Regular residential trash pickup is offered twice a week, with one of those days being designated for recycling pickup. Items that may be included in curb side recycling are newspapers, magazines, plastics, cans, and glass. Citizens who reside in apartments may use the Citizens’ Convenience Station to drop off the same recyclables that are collected from residential single-family households. Bins are supplied at the station to separate each recyclable into. The Convenience Station is located at 499 Lions Park Road, off of Howard Road, and is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Periodically, regulations and environmental laws cause revisions to these recycling procedures. Citizens with questions about any of the procedures or recyclable items should contact the City of Waxahachie Environmental Health Department at 972-937-7330, extension 151, or IESI Disposal Services, Inc. at 972-9378836.
REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE
FREE MULCH!
The City of Waxahachie offers free mulch to residents year-round (while supplies last) at the Citizens Convenience Station at 499 Lions Park Road. The Station is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Several times per year, the brush that is disposed of by citizens is chipped into mulch and is available for residents to use, free of charge. The free mulch program is another effort by the City to be environmentally friendly. Mulch is available in several different stages of decomposition. For questions about the mulch program, please visit the Citizens Convenience Station, or call 972-937-7330.
Penn Park Pool Fundraising
Due to h e onomic owntur Due to the economic downturn, the City of Waxahachie u omi o urn, e Cit o ax h c i it axah is making budget cuts. Included in the cuts was the operating akin budg uts. n de ing g s e he ut wa th operati uts was atin ti expens expen es for the Penn Park community pool. Local business owner he e P r o munity pool.Local busine wne y oo Loc usin n Cind C p as ta lishe fundraisi g effo Cindy Camp has established a fundraising effort to help keep the ndy h undr sing drai i e ke p th he pool open, and is halfway there! o pen nd alfw y there! n, e The pool requires approximately $15,000 per year to h l requires pproximate y 15,0 equir r a 0 er ear operat and staff operate and staff. To date, Camp has rai d over $7,000 to help era ate a t te C p ha rai as aised over $7,00 o hel 0 e keep the pool open. Because of the these genero s donations, ep e o open Because o he the e en. a s e h erou d a s, the pool w be a le to open this year, but more donations ar e poo will b abl t p this e pe s t mor d n ons are ore r needed t keep it open for the entire summer ed to keep open or p pe nti mer. If you would like to donate or have questions, please you wou like to dona e e nate a ues n p as e contact i contact Cindy Camp directly at cindycamp@mac.com, Ellis County nt a irectly at cin yc mp@ma c m Ell C e n mp@ li L ing Living Magazine, 405 W. Madison, Waxahachie, TX 75165, 972azin azi adison Waxah ch n, x h 7 5, 2 935-093 935-0938. 9
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Community Calendar
April
April 18 - Hazardous Household Waste and E-Waste Disposal Day, 9-11am, Citizens Convenience Station, 499 Lions Park Road April 21 - Tuesday Trail Team, 5:30pm, Getzendaner Park April 20 - City Council Meeting, 7pm, City Hall April 22 - Planning and Zoning Meeting, 4:30pm, City Hall April 28 - Tuesday Trail Team, 5:30pm, Getzendaner Park *Last week of April is last chance to purchase tree for the City’s Tree Planing Program, for more information, please call 972-9377330, extension 284.
“Foxy”
Female, 2 years old, Schipperke Mix, good watch dog, great with kids.
May
“Dude”
Male, 8 weeks old, Heeler Shepherd Mix, needs kids to play with.
*Second week of May is law enforcement appreciation week. Thank an officer for all they do to make our City a better and safer place! May 2 - First Annual Cinco de Mayo Festival, 11am-8pm, Singleton Plaza in Downtown Waxahachie May 4 - City Council Meeting, 7pm, City Hall May 5 - Tuesday Trail Team, 5:30pm, Getzendaner Park May 7 - New Senior Center Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting, 4:30pm, 122 Park Hills Drive May 8 - Horton & Kelly Acoustic Duo at the Texas Theater May 9 - Local Bands Jam at the Texas Theater May 12 - Tuesday Trail Team, 5:30pm, Getzendaner Park May 13 - Planning and Zoning Meeting, 4:30pm, City Hall May 16 - 4 Way Street, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Tribute Band at Texas Theater May 18 - City Council Meeting, 7pm, City Hall May 19 - Tuesday Trail Team, 5:30pm, Getzendaner Park May 22 - Jeh Horton Blues Band at the Texas Theater May 23 - FastLane, Eagles Tribute Band at the Texas Theater May 26 - Tuesday Trail Team, 5:30pm, Getzendaner Park May 27 - Planning and Zoning Meeting, 4:30pm, City Hall May 29 - Blues Jam Hosted by Steven Kelly at Texas Theater May 30 - Farmer’s Market Opens, 8am-1pm, Historic Downtown Waxahachie
“Big Boy”
Male, 3 years old, great mouser, good with kids.
June
“MaMa”
Female, 3 years old, spayed, bobtail, good inside or out..
June 1 - City Council Meeting, 7pm, City Hall June 5-7 - Pump Boys and Dinettes at the Texas Theater June 6 - Downtown Farmer’s Market, 8am-1pm June 6-7 - Gingerbread Trail Weekend June 6-7 - “Covering Waxahachie in Color” Quilting Event June 10 - Planning and Zoning Meeting, 4:30pm, City Hall June 12 - Summer Moonlight Movie - Places in The Heart June 12-14 - Pump Boys and Dinettes at the Texas Theater June 13 - Downtown Farmer’s Market, 8am-1pm June 15 - City Council Meeting, 7pm, City Hall June 17 - Planning and Zoning Meeting, 4:30pm, City Hall June 19-21 - Pump Boys and Dinettes at the Texas Theater June 20 - Downtown Farmer’s Market, 8am-1pm June 26 - Summer Moonlight Movie - Barnyard June 26-28 - Pump Boys and Dinettes at the Texas Theater June 27 - Downtown Farmer’s Market, 8am-1pm