April 13, 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.

Wildflower! Festival Tickets Go on Sale Monday
Tickets for the 20th Wildflower! Arts and Music Festival go on sale Monday. Three-day passes are $30, single-day tickets for adults are $20, and tickets for children ages 5-12 are $3. They are available online or at any Metroplex Tom Thumb store.

Through May 19, Richardson residents may purchase discounted $10 adult day tickets. Residents may purchase up to six individual adult tickets per each day of the festival per household. There is no limit on the number of children’s tickets.

To purchase discounted resident tickets, present a current City water bill, a utility/phone bill with a Richardson address or a valid driver’s license with a Richardson address at the following locations during normal business hours:

• Customer Service Department at City Hall, 411 W. Arapaho Rd., Room 101.
• Huffhines Recreation Center, 200 N. Plano Rd.
• Heights Recreation Center, 711 W. Arapaho Rd.
• Senior Citizens Center, 820 W. Arapaho Rd.

The Wildflower! Festival will take place May 18-20 at the Galatyn Park Urban Center. For ticket and other festival information, visit the Wildflower! website at www.wildflowerfestival.com.

Zoning Approved for Methodist Richardson Medical Center
The City Council on Monday approved a zoning request that will allow Methodist Richardson Medical Center (MRMC) to complete a major expansion of its Renner Road facility. The expansion would add more than 500,000 square feet to the campus, bringing the total area to nearly 913,000 square feet.

The first phase of the expansion will add 125 beds in a four-story building, including critical care, universal care and intermediate care areas, as well as maternity and neo-natal facilities. The second phase will include an additional expansion of the hospital, an expansion of the existing cancer center and a new medical office building and three parking structures.

Even as the Renner campus is expanding, the MRMC Campbell Road Campus will continue to be a vital component of the hospital system. Acute care services will move to the new campus, but the Campbell Road facility will retain sub-acute care, a full-service emergency room, in-patient adult psychiatric services, rehabilitation and hospice services, radiology and diagnostic services. In addition, many of the primary care medical staff has committed to remain.

Future plans for the Campbell site include in-patient hospice service, an in-patient rehabilitation unit and long-term acute care services, plus possible addition of geriatric psychiatric services.

Click the link below to watch the City Council public hearing on the MRMC expansion: 
http://richardsontx.swagit.com/e/04092012-791/#11 

Utility Customers Can Choose Paperless Billing
City utility customers can now opt for paperless billing under a new online service offered by Richardson’s Customer Service Division.

By opting out of receiving billing statements in the mail, customers can help to cut printing and mailing costs for the City and reduce paper usage. The new service is a way to meet environmental initiatives implemented by the City Council.

Richardson was one of the first cities in Texas to offer online bill payment beginning in 2001, and has had double digit growth in people taking advantage of the service almost every year since. However, people who enrolled in online billing were still provided paper statements to allow customers printed documents for filing purposes.

To take advantage of the paperless statement, customers must log in to their account and select the option to turn on paperless billing. After log in, select the View/Pay Bills option then select My Preferences. The paperless feature can also be discontinued at any time, and access to customer utility statements is always available by logging into online accounts.

Anyone who has questions regarding paperless statements, including how to turn the feature on or off, can contact Richardson’s Customer Service Division at 972-744-4120.

Click the link below to read a full story about paperless utility billing:
http://cor.net/index.aspx?page=73&recordid=185&returnURL=%2findex.aspx

2010 Bond Program Update
The City Council awarded construction contracts for two projects from the 2010 Bond Program this week. The projects include alley reconstruction, storm drain improvements, street widening and a bridge replacement. In addition, the City Council authorized the solicitation of bids for the construction of a street and utility project along Dumont Drive.

The alley rehabilitation project will rebuild the alley north of the 400 block of Malden Drive from Custer Road to Malden Drive and the alley east of the 1400 block of Lorrie Drive from Lorrie Drive to Melrose Drive. Both alleys will be widened to a minimum width of 10 feet. Construction of the first alley is expected to begin next month, and both alleys should be complete by this July.

The $6.79 million Floyd Branch Storm Drain Improvements Project will provide increased flood prevention in the area east of Central Expressway between Phillips Street and Greer Street. The project will include the installation of underground storm drain culvert, and reconstruction of the Phillips Street crossing of Floyd Branch replacing the existing culvert with a bridge. The project will also include street improvements along Main Street from Interurban to the Central Expressway frontage road. Construction is expected to begin later this spring and be complete by December 2013.

The Dumont Drive project includes pavement rehabilitation between Hyde Park Drive and Central Expressway, installation of a new water main between Weatherred Drive and Central Expressway and drainage improvements. Pavement improvements include driveway approaches, sidewalk and curb repairs and installing new asphalt overlay. Construction of the project is anticipated to begin this summer and be complete in early 2013.

Click the link below for information about the 2010 Bond Program:
http://cor.net/index.aspx?page=1459

New Web Page Provides Proposed Council District Boundaries
A new City web page allows members of the community to review options for new City Council district boundaries in advance of a public hearing scheduled for Tuesday, April 24.

The Council District Boundary Commission has narrowed its consideration to three options. Each of those, as well as background on the Commission’s work, is provided on the City website.

On Jan. 30, the City Council appointed the City Plan Commission to serve as the Council District Boundary Commission. Since then, members have met biweekly to decide on district boundary criteria and to review options for new boundaries. The April 24 hearing will allow commissioners to receive public input on the proposals.

The City Charter requires the election of seven City Council Members, four elected to “places” that correspond to geographic districts and three elected at-large. The Charter also requires that the City Council appoint a Redistricting Commission every 10 years (after the U.S. Census is complete) to review the district boundaries and ensure population equality. Current districts must be realigned because population growth in some areas of the city has led to disparities in the population distribution among districts.

New district boundaries must be approved no later than July 30, 2012.

Click the link below for detailed redistricting information:
http://www.cor.net/index.aspx?page=1565

Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program Discussed
The Richardson Police Department will continue to enhance crime prevention and detection through the 2012 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (JAG).

JAG grants fund the Neighborhood Police Officer (NPO) program, which helps to reduce crime by building relationships between police and the community, including both neighborhoods and businesses.

By placing highly experienced officers in neighborhoods throughout the community, the program has resulted in quicker response to problem solving, higher quality of life and detection of crime. Just over the past year, NPOs have assisted in making six felony arrests for crimes in progress.

The Police Department was first awarded a federal JAG award for the NPO program in 2009, and funding has been renewed annually since that time. The grants go toward supplementing salaries and equipment for the part-time NPOs.

Click the link below to watch a City Council discussion about the JAG program: 
http://richardsontx.swagit.com/e/04092012-791/#3

Click the link below for information about the NPO program:
http://www.cor.net/index.aspx?page=297

Learn 2 Live Green Expo Tomorrow
The regional Learn 2 Live Green Expo, co-sponsored by Richardson, Plano and Frisco, will take place 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at The Shops at Legacy at the Dallas North Tollway and Legacy Drive in Plano.

The free event includes exhibits, presentations on a variety of environmental topics, workshops, demonstrations, entertainment, green art and children's activities.

Presentation topics include energy, alternative transportation, green building and remodeling, indoor air quality, urban gardening, waste reduction, water conservation and more. Speakers include the “Dirt Doctor” Howard Garrett, investigative journalist Charles Fishman and other gardening and environmental experts.

Click the link below for more information about the Learn 2 Live Green Expo: 
http://learn2livegreen.com

Methodist Richardson Medical Center to Host Community Garage Sale
Methodist Richardson Medical Center is hosting a community garage sale to raise funds for the March of Dimes.

The sale will take place 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, April 14 at the former Methodist Richardson Cancer Center, located at 1977 N. Collins Blvd.

Community Support Helps Methodist Richardson Medical Center Cancer Center Win LIVESTRONG® Award
Methodist Richardson Medical Center will establish two patient support programs, thanks to a $30,000 grant from the LIVESTRONG® Community Impact Project. Votes from the community were critical in helping Methodist Richardson Medical Center to secure the grant.

Grant funding will support The Creative Center – Hospital Artist in Residence Program, which brings arts to people with cancer and other chronic illnesses, helping them deal with the stresses of treatment through artistic expression. Pillars4Life, the second program supported by the LIVESTRONG® grant, is a patient and caregiver support program that has been proven to enhance cancer patients’ quality of life and allows hospitals and their social workers to attend to the psychological needs of a greater number of patients.

Wildflower! Budding Talent Auditions
Auditions for this year’s Wildflower! Arts and Music Festival’s Budding Talent competition will take place Sunday, April 22. Winning singers in five categories from preschool (age 3) to 12th grade will perform at the Wildflower! Festival on May 20.

Contestants will need to sing one song from memory and bring an accompaniment CD to the audition. They may also accompany themselves on an acoustic guitar or piano or bring an accompanist. Small vocal ensembles of two to four singers are also eligible this year, but no bands will be allowed to enter the contest.

Auditions will take place starting at 1 p.m. at First United Methodist Church Richardson, 503 N. Central Expressway. Contestants must pre-register for the audition and can do so by e-mailing wildflowerbuddingtalent@yahoo.com.

Richardson Symphony Orchestra “50th Anniversary Finale” is Saturday
The Richardson Symphony Orchestra will conclude its 50th anniversary season and Anshel Brusilow’s 20th and final year as conductor with a performance of pieces by Aaron Copland, Peter Tchaikovsky and Bedrich Smetana.

The concert is at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Eisemann Center. Tickets are $19-$74 and are available online at www.eisemanncenter.com or by calling the Eisemann Center Ticket Office at 972-744-4650. The Ticket Office is open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and one hour before performances. Group discounts for 10 or more are available.

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.

Smokey--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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