April 27, 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.

Registration is Under Way for 2012 Summer Camps 
Registration is underway for Richardson’s Summer Camp Program, which provides children ages 5 to 15 fun indoor and outdoor activities.

Each series of camps includes eight separate weeklong sessions, beginning June 11 and ending Aug. 3. The cost ranges from $85 to $130 per week, depending upon the camp.

For nearly 40 years, the Richardson's summer camps have grown into an award-winning program that offers a variety of activities for children ages 5 to 15. Activities in each of the four camps offered vary by age range and include field trips, outdoor activities, time at the pool, crafts, active games and much more.

Click the link below for information about summer camps and to register for the program:
http://www.corcamps.com/

 D Magazine Best of Big D Awards Voting Continues
Wildflower! Richardson's Arts and Music Festival, the Cottonwood Arts Festival and the Eisemann Center are nominated for D Magazine’s 2012 Best of Big D Readers’ Choice awards. Community support will help to gain exposure throughout the Metroplex for two of Richardson’s major community events and the City’s performing arts center. Winners will be published in D’s August 2012 issue.

Voting in the Culture category will continue through May 6. Visit www.dmagazine.com/bestofbigd2012 to cast your vote. Each person can vote once a day.

State Rep. Angie Chen Button Presents Bike Friendly Proclamation
State Rep. Angie Chen Button on Monday presented a proclamation to Mayor Bob Townsend congratulating the City on its designation as the “Most Bike Friendly Neighborhood” for 2011 by Bike Friendly Oak Cliff.

Richardson was selected by Bike Friendly Oak Cliff for its “Best of 2011” list because of Richardson’s on-street bike lanes and its multi-use trails. Judges gave the City high marks for its 11 miles of bike lanes that serve a dual purpose – providing access to cyclists while calming car traffic through residential streets. Richardson has more than 30 miles of multi-use trails, with nearly 20 more miles planned. Many of those trails will tie into regional trail networks.

Tree The Town Planting Saturday at Cottonwood Park
Half Price Books will celebrate its 40th anniversary by planting 40 trees at Cottonwood Park. The planting will take place at 9 a.m. Saturday at Cottonwood Park, 1321 W. Belt Line Rd., and is being coordinated by the Texas Trees Foundation.

Click the link below for information about volunteering for the event:
http://www.texastrees.org/news-events/calendar-of-events/

City Council Member Amir Omar Selected for “One Man Dallas”
Place 7 City Council Member Amir Omar is one of 21 individuals selected from among hundreds of applicants from the Metroplex as a finalist for the “One Man Dallas” project.

Omar has chosen his charity event for One Man Dallas to be the creation of a “Tribute Grove” consisting of 30 trees at the Methodist Richardson Cancer Center. The event will be held at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 6, at the Cancer Center located at 2805 East President George Bush Turnpike, and will be an extension of the City’s Tree the Town program.

One Man Dallas aims to spotlight men in the region who can provide inspiration for more men to get involved in volunteerism in their communities. It encourages participation through volunteer work that focuses on charitable organizations and engagement in projects that make communities a better place to live and work.

Huffhines Renewable Energy Project Ribbon Cutting
To commemorate Earth Day on Sunday, the City celebrated the new Huffhines Recreation Center Renewable Energy Project, formally dedicating it with a ribbon cutting. The project is expected to reduce the facility’s energy use by 10 percent.

A grant from the 2009 Federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program allowed for installation of solar photovoltaic panels, a wind energy system, solar thermal hot water heating, electric vehicle charging stations and an educational kiosk.

The grant totaled more than $1 million and allowed the City to implement additional energy-saving initiatives such as installing energy monitoring systems at key City facilities, an LED lighting retrofit at the Eisemann Center parking garage, an LED street light pilot project and other HVAC and lighting enhancements.

Budget Report Shows Positive Financial Performance
The second-quarter budget update presented to the City Council on Monday showed that revenue and expenditures for Fiscal Year 2011-2012 are consistent with the City’s adopted budget.

Halfway through the fiscal year, General Fund revenue is ahead of last year’s actual collections to date and ahead of budget projections. The General Fund is the largest of the City’s major funds and includes most City operations. Sales tax revenue is $529,000 ahead of budget, but including the April sales tax report, revenue is $808,000 more than expected in the adopted budget.

In other major funds – Water and Sewer, Solid Waste, Hotel/Motel Tax and Golf – revenue and expenditures are consistent with budget projections.

Click the links below to watch the work session presentation: 
http://richardsontx.swagit.com/e/04232012-525/#5
http://richardsontx.swagit.com/e/04232012-525/#6 

City Council Approves Brick Row Multi-Family Revisions 
On Monday night the City Council approved minor design modifications for two new multi-family buildings to be built adjacent to the DART rail line north of McKamy Park Circle.

The two buildings, a four-story apartment building containing 59 units and a three-story building containing 18 units, will complete the build-out of that portion of the Brick Row neighborhood situated west of the Floyd Branch creek.

The approved revisions allow for modest reductions in the amount of masonry cladding material normally required for both buildings, specifically, a 5 percent reduction for the larger building and an 8 percent reduction for the smaller building. For the larger building only, the Council also approved a modification to allow four, one-bedroom apartments 714 square feet in area. The average size of all units within the apartment building will be 910 square feet, well above the minimum requirement of 800 square feet.

The modifications approved Monday night are comparable to final design modifications previously approved for the three existing Brick Row buildings and will allow greater design flexibility for both of the new buildings while maintaining architectural compatibility throughout the Brick Row development. 

Click the link below to watch the work session presentation: 
http://richardsontx.swagit.com/e/04232012-525/#3

Friends of the Library Book Sale is This Weekend
More than 25,000 books, audio books, CDs, DVDs and other media will be on sale today through Sunday at the annual Friends of the Richardson Library spring book sale.

Most books are $2 or less, except for rare, signed or collectible books. The sale will be open to the public 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 2-5 p.m. Sunday in the Basement Program Room of the Library, 900 Civic Center Dr.

Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will take place Saturday
The Richardson Police Department and the Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association will host a free prescription and over-the-counter drug disposal day on Saturday.

The program is part of a nationwide effort to promote safe disposal of unused or expired pharmaceuticals. The event will take place 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the south parking lot of the City Hall/Civic Center Complex adjacent to Belle Grove Drive. Call the RPD Crime Prevention Unit at 972-744-4955 if you have any questions.

Click the link below for more information: 
http://cor.net/index.aspx?page=64&recordid=1573&returnURL=%2findex.aspx

“Alice in Wonderland” at the Eisemann Center on Sunday
The Eisemann Center’s Family Theatre Series will conclude Sunday with a production of “Alice in Wonderland” by the American Family Theater. The show is at 2:30 p.m. in the Eisemann Center’s Hill Performance Hall. There will be a related Story Time today at 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble Booksellers on 15th Street at Creekwalk Village in Plano.

Tickets are $11-$21 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.
 
http://richardsontx.swagit.com/e/06012011-128/#1 

Taste of Eastside to take place Saturday
Retailers and restaurants at Eastside will hold the second-annual Taste of Eastside 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday.

The free event will include food tastings, giveaways, music and kids’ activities. Eastside is located at 700 E. Campbell Rd. at Central Expressway.

Click the link below for more information about the event:
http://www.eastsiderichardson.com/

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

Find Richardson Today on Facebook and Twitter.