Week in Review

May 18, 2012
Here is the latest edition of Week In Review - a series of weekly messages from the Mayor and City Council to help Richardson residents and businesses keep up to date on events at City Hall. A list of links for stories in this edition is available at the bottom of the page.

Joe Walsh, Nelly and The Commodores Headline 20th Wildflower! Festival
The 20th Wildflower! Richardson’s Arts and Music Festival opens at 6 p.m. tonight at the Galatyn Park Urban Center. Musical acts include Joe Walsh, Nelly, Dashboard Confessional, The Commodores, Mark Chesnutt, Guy Clark and Jon Gorka.

Richardson residents may purchase discounted tickets through Saturday at the Heights Recreation Center and Huffhines Recreation Center during regular business hours.

Festival hours are:
Friday: 6 p.m.-midnight
Saturday: 11 a.m.-midnight
Sunday: 12:30-8 p.m.

Click the link below for the performance schedule and more Wildflower! information: 
http://www.wildflowerfestival.com

Wildflower! Festival Includes Entertainment, Market Place and Kidz Korner
Families and kids of all ages will find great entertainment during each day of the Wildflower! Festival.

Children 4 and under get in free each day, and thanks to Bank of America, on Sunday all children 12 and under receive free admission with the purchase of an adult ticket.

Sunday is also a special day for kids’ entertainment, with the Radio Disney AM 620 Road Crew, as well as special appearances on the metroPCS Stage by Disney Channel stars.

There are also children’s games and activities at the Kidz Korner, arts and crafts at the Market Place, interactive games at the Game Zone and a full lineup of entertainment on Performance Row in front of the Eisemann Center. New this year to Performance Row is the Flippenout Trampoline Show, an extreme trampoline act with complex acrobatic routines and high flips and jumps.

Galatyn Park Area Includes Ample Parking, DART Access
Richardson residents have an inside track on getting to the Wildflower! Festival, with easy access to parking many people in the Metroplex don’t know about. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas opens its parking garages to the public for the festival, providing thousands of spaces at Galatyn Park.

Including the BCBS garage, more than 8,000 parking spaces are available in the immediate area surrounding Galatyn Park. All festival parking is $5.

In addition, the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas Gateway is adjacent to the Galatyn Park Station on the DART Red Line.

Click the link below for Wildflower! information and directions: 
http://www.wildflowerfestival.com/event_info.html

Follow Wildflower! Festival on Facebook This Weekend
Whether you’re still at home or at the Wildflower! Festival, you can keep track of live updates from the festival grounds on Facebook. Richardson will have its own social media reporter walking the festival grounds, posting about music, festival entertainment, food and much more throughout the weekend.

Click the link below to visit the Wildflower! Festival Facebook page: 
http://www.facebook.com/wildflowerfestival

Wildflower! Festival will Live-Stream Singer Songwriter Stage Performances
If you’re not able to attend this year’s Wildflower! Festival, you can watch some of the nation’s best singer-songwriters at home on the web as selected portions of the Singer Songwriter Stage performances will be streamed live at www.cor.net/CITV.

Streaming will take place 6:30-8:30 p.m. Friday; 11:15 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturday (Songwriters Contest); and 12:45-4:15 p.m. Sunday (Budding Talent Contest and Songwriters Contest winners).

City Council Approves Water Rate Increase
The Richardson City Council on Monday approved a water and sewer rate increase that will ensure financial stability while also keeping residential utility bills below the average of those in comparison cities. It is the first rate increase in Richardson in more than three years.

The new rates will be in effect for bills mailed in June, which will reflect May water and sewer service.

Since rates last increased, the wholesale water cost to the City has increased 38 percent, and sewer treatment cost has increased 10 percent.

Rates based on consumption would increase by 9 percent, while the base charge for both water and sewer would increase $1 per month. That equates to an average monthly increase of $6.50 per month for the average residential customer.

While the North Texas Municipal Water District and the City of Richardson remain under Stage 3 once per week water restrictions, a move to Stage 2 twice a week watering may be implemented as early as June 1, 2012. The analysis supporting the proposed rate increases includes a return to twice a week watering, which the North Texas Municipal Water District is anticipated to allow at its May 24 meeting.  

*Cities served by the North Texas Municipal Water District

(The average water/sewer bill for all of Richardson’s comparison cities is $913 and will go up to $919, which keeps Richardson customers well below regional averages.)

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Planned for Heights Shopping Center
Richardson will be the home to the first Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in the Metroplex as the Austin favorite expands into the region. The theater has developed a loyal following over the years and offers a unique movie-going experience.

The 35,350 square-foot Alamo Drafthouse Cinema will be a state-of-the-art theater with 100 percent digital projection. The building design incorporates mid-century modern elements consistent with the surrounding neighborhood. Alamo Drafthouse is a movie grill type of theater that serves dinner to patrons while they watch movies.

The theater is expected to serve as a catalyst for the shopping center, attracting other enviable retail to Richardson. The Heights Shopping Center was built in the late 1950s and early 1960s and has been a focus of revitalization efforts by the City and property owners.
 

Click the links below to watch the City Council public hearing:
http://richardsontx.swagit.com/e/05142012-578/#11
http://richardsontx.swagit.com/e/05142012-578/#12
http://richardsontx.swagit.com/e/05142012-578/#13

Construction Begins on Recreation, Aquatics and Gymnastics Centers
Richardson made history this week, breaking ground on two major projects in a single day. The Heights Recreation Center and Family Aquatics Center and the new Richardson Gymnastics Center are significant investments in the future of the community and will replace facilities that have served generations of Richardson families.

The Gymnastics Center is expected to open January 2013, while the Recreation and Aquatics Centers are expected to open in May 2013. Voters approved the projects as part of the 2010 Bond Program.

Heights Recreation Center and Family Aquatics Center Groundbreaking

Gymnastics Center Groundbreaking

Heights Recreation Center to Remain Open During Construction
The existing Heights Recreation Center will remain open throughout most of the construction of the new Heights Recreation Center and Family Aquatics Center. However, the parking lots along Arapaho Road and Floyd Road adjacent to the Recreation Center will be closed during construction.

Visitors will be able to use the Heights Park parking lot on Floyd Road and then cross the pedestrian bridge to access the Recreation Center.
  

Public Input Session on Heights Neighborhood Small Park to be Held
The Parks and Recreation Department will host a public meeting next week to seek input for the concept design of a new small neighborhood park planned for the Richardson Heights and Cottonwood Heights area.

The meeting will take place 6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 24 in the Richardson Room of the Civic Center, 411 W. Arapaho Rd.

Police Department to Offer Free Auto Theft Prevention Services
The Richardson Police Department, in partnership with the North Texas Auto Theft Task Force and Target, will offer free Vehicle Identification Number etchings and conduct Help End Auto Theft (H.E.A.T.) registrations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, May 24.

Bring your vehicle to Target at 601 S. Plano Rd. in Richardson to have the vehicle’s VIN etched into each window, a deterrent to auto theft.

Click the link below for additional information or contact the Richardson Police Department’s Crime Prevention Unit at 972-744-4955: 
http://cor.net/index.aspx?page=335

Early Voting in Primary Elections to Continue Next Week
Early voting for the May 29 Democratic and Republican primary elections will continue through May 25.

Dallas County residents may vote early at any of several locations, including the Richardson Civic Center, 411 W. Arapaho Rd. Collin County residents may vote early at one of several locations as well.

All early voting locations in Dallas and Collin counties will be open:
May 19: 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
May 20: 1-6 p.m.
May 21-25: 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

For more information, contact the Dallas County Elections Department at 214-637-7937, the Collin County Elections Department at 972-547-1990, or the Richardson City Secretary at 972-744-4290.

 
The Richardson Civic Center will not be an Election Day voting location.
Click the links below for more information about the May 29 primary: 
http://dalcoelections.org/  
http://www.co.collin.tx.us/elections/ 

Richardson Animal Shelter Pet of the Week
Meet the Richardson Animal Shelter’s Pet of the Week on the Shelter’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RichardsonAnimalShelter. You’ll see details about the adoptable animal and find out how you can take the pet to your own home. The Shelter Facebook page also has photos of other animals available for adoption and information about upcoming events at the Shelter.

Barkley--Pet of the Week 

 Related Links
City Council videos: http://www.cor.net/index.aspx?page=752
City Council agenda: http://www.cor.net/index.aspx?page=1006
City Council meeting documents: http://www.cor.net/index.aspx?page=1329

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