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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMayor's Newsletter 02/93 Ak A6 YO MAN Inv vl"u cat e An" tt, CITY OF EULESS February 1993 Mayor decides not to seek another term The following letter was read to The only area of major con- citizens, council members and staff cern still facing our commu- who were in attendance at the Jan.26 nity is the continuing negative City Council meeting. impact of Runway 16-34W if ` constructed as proposed. We must all continue to pursue a Dear Friends, fair settlement for our im- Following almost a year of pacted homeowners and the soul searching, prayer and city as a whole. I believe this seeking the counsel of family can be done and still allow members and a few close D/FW Airport to expand and friends, I have decided not to grow, seek the office of Mayor in Some may ask, what do I in- 1993. tend to do after city involve- This was no easy decision, as ment for over twenty-five few things done in life have years?First,I plan to continue brought more satisfaction than to pursue a fair settlement of VOTERS SAY 'YES' the twenty-five years spent as the D/FW runway matter, as TO GROWTH, a member of the Euless City requested by the City Council. ' Council. Second,I will assist my friend, DEVELOPMENT I believe a person departing Congressman Joe Barton as he public service should at least seeks to become our U.S. Sen- ❑Mayor says city will attempt to leave the govern- ator on May 1. Finally, I plan move toward goals mental entity in a better condi- to spend more time in my busi- On January 16, you the vot- tion than when they entered the ness and prepare financially office. The City of Euless is for retirement in the early ers in our city approved a half-penny sales tax ear- more fiscally sound, has more 2000s. marked for library facility ex- citizen benefits and a larger Of course, I will continue to pansion, parks and leisure number of good and competent serve as your Mayor until my services improvements and employees than it had in 1965 successor is elected in May of economic development.The when I was first elected to the this year. vote of 973 for to 769 against City Council.Furthermore,the Sincerely, proves this issue was import- recently passed half-cent sales ant enough to many residents tax will allow the present and to bring out a large number of future councils to continue to voters. The results will affect provide our citizens with de- Harold D. Samuels our city for years to come. sired improvements for the betterment of their families' lifestyles. See Tax on page 2 Tax Continued from page 1 council members and three cit- Revenues from this tax may The city will receive the first izens appointed by the council. be used to build these capital payments from the collected City officials are already improvements,but according tax in seven to eight months. working with consultants on to state law, tax money may The new half-cent rate will go plans for library facilities.The not be used for operational into effect July 1. This will city will soon work with finan- costs, nor can it become a make the overall tax rate equal cial advisers to issue bonds part of the city's general to or lower than the sales tax which will be paid for when fund. The tax is expected to rates in other area cities includ- the first tax receipts come into generate about $1.2 million a ing Dallas,Fort Worth,Arling- the city. year. ton, North Richland Hills, As sales tax revenues come Although these projects will Hurst, Keller and Plano. into the city,other projects will not come about over night,cit- One of the first tasks facing get underway,including parks izens will begin to see the re- the City Council is to appoint and athletic facility develop- sults of January's election a seven-member board to over- ment and expansion and eco- soon. A half-cent goes a long see funding of new projects. nomic development measures way to improving the quality The board will consist of four to attract businesses to Euless. of life for our citizens and pro- viding for the needs of all. ■ May election information This spring's election, which This spring's ballot will in- that is expected, Crim said. will be held May 1, will be clude races at the city level for Weekend voting will be pro- different from those in the past Mayor, Council Members vided on April 24 and 25 as due to a new method of com- Place 2 and Place 4. The well as extended hours on bining elections at the state, mayor and two council spots April 26 and 27. school district,county and city will be three-year terms for the Filing information level. When voters go to the first time since a 1991 revision polls, they may vote in all of in the city charter. To be eligible to run for city these elections at one central The only state item on the council, a person must be a polling lace, rather than Euless resident for one year,a P g P ballot will be for the U.S.Sen- registered voter of the State of going to a separate location for ator position replacing Lloyd re g each governmental entity. Bentsen. Hurst-Euless-Bed- Texas, a U.S.citizen, 18 years Voters in Euless will go to ford ISD positions on the bal- of age,not finally convicted of their designated city polling lot include Places 4, 6 and 7. a felony and not determined place, either Midway Recre- Grapevine-Colleyville ISD mentally incompetent by a ation Center or Bear Creek El- positions on the ballot include court. ementary. All relevant items Places 5, 6 and 7. Filing may be completed in will be on one ballot, making Early voting will be held the City Secretary's Office the voting process much more April 12 - 27 at the Midway weekdays between Feb. 15 convenient, said City Secre- Recreation Center. This loca- and March 17,8 a.m.to 5 p.m. tary Susan Crim.The new bal- tion was chosen for the conve- For more information call lot will also provide a nience of voters and additional 685-1419. ■ cost-savings to taxpayers, she parking areas which will be said. needed for the heavier turnout p Airport U date ❑An open letter to nity groups across the state to expansion because if it is all citizens encourage them to support leg- completed as planned by the islation that would strip a Airport,it will have a devas- home rule city such as Euless tating effect not only on the Dear Euless Residents, of its right under the Texas value of property within the The City of Euless is currently Constitution to control the use City but, more importantly, involved in several matters re- of land within its borders.The on the quality of life of the garding the proposed expan- citizens of Euless adopted a citizens of Euless. There will home rule charter so that we be millions of dollars of tax- FW Airport l- DDFW Airport. The ordcould decide for ourselves able property values removed lenged the city's zoning rd tax- DFW Board has how the City will be run.The from the tax rolls, resulting in i- appointed members of the an increased tax burden on the nance which regulates the use DFW Airport Board are at- rest of the taxpayers in the of all property located within tempting to take this right City. Established neighbor- the city's boundaries, includ- away from us. hoods will be split apart by ing DFW Airportvirture of the proposed miti a In 1990, the DFW Airport City officials have also con- p p g - tacted legislators to persuade tion offered by the Airport,and Board sued the cities of Euless, the arks and recreation areas them to reject the Airport's in- p Grapevine and Irving, chal- vitation to deprive us of our will be negatively affected by lenging these cities' rights to right to self-government and to the overflights associated with zone the use of land at DFW let this matter be addressed on the westside runway. Airport according to their city a local level, where it properly Thank you for your continu- ordinances. In 1991, a Dallas District Court held that neither belongs. ing support of the City's ef- federal nor state law could The City is also challenging forts to ensure that the the Final Environmental Im- proposed expansion of the Air- override the three cities zon- ort be done with the interests ing ordinances.The DFW Air- pact Statement (FEIS) in the p U.S. Court of Appeals in the of the citizens of Euless clearly port Board, along with American Airlines, Delta Air District of Columbia. The in mind. Lines, United Parcel Service FEIS was adopted by the Fed- Sincerely, Co.and the cities of Dallas and eral Aviation Administration Fort Worth appealed the trial in April 1992, and was de- court's decision but the court signed to identify the environ- of appeals is not expected to mental impacts associated Harold D. Samuels render a decision for several with federal projects such as Mayor months. the proposed expansion of the Asa result of the trial court Airport. The FEIS failed to We urge you to write your Sen- ruling in favor t the three cit- conduct any environmental re- state senator at: Texas Sen- ies, the Airport Board has un- view of the construction of ate,P.O.Box 12068,Austin, i e, then i massive lobbying u streets, terminals, hotels and TX 78711. You may contact y g other facilities associated with your state representative at: effort to circumvent the court's decision.The Airport has been the Airport's expansion. Texas House of Representa- The Cit is greatly con- tives, P. O. Box 2910, Aus- contacting legislators as well y g y tin, TX 78768-2910. as city councils and commu- cerned about the Airport's 1992 a year of growth , progress �w Y A ♦ A t' F ill irU i�� i The new Quint fire truck helps firefighters get to Sgt.Gary Kopecky helps and teaches Trinity High emergencies quicker and easier than older trucks. School students as a part of the city's liaison pro- gram with the school. The year 1992 was one of growth and change for police traffic unit and a public service officer our city,but the dedication to our citizens was one position. Police cars were also equipped with a value that remained the same. Major projects and tracking system being tested by Southwestern Bell tasks were completed in the past year that have Mobile Systems and Rockwell International. The improved the operation of the city as well as the state-of-the-art system allows dispatchers to see quality of life for our citizens. Improvements and where each patrol car is located on a computerized acquisitions were made in every department, in- map before deciding who will respond to an emer- cluding: gency call. Fire Finance/Water Office The city added a new Quint fire truck to replace The city implemented an average billing program an older truck. The new truck will allow fire- for residents who wish to spread out their water fighters easier access to narrow roads and en- payments over the entire year rather than paying trances, which will cut down on lost time when larger amounts during high-consumption months responding to a fire or other emergency. All fire in the summer. The new service is offered to vehicles were equipped with Opticom emitters residents who have been water customers for at which allow them to get through major intersec- least one year. tions faster by forcing traffic signals to change and Public Works/Streets provide them safe passage through the intersec- tion. The city also purchased a rescue tool pump Midway Road was extended to SH 360 and resur- and cutter for use in emergency situations such as facing of Midway near the recreation center was motor vehicle accidents. completed. SH 360 North frontage roads were opened to traffic with plans to build the highway Police in the future. Street lighting throughout the city The Police Department was also affected posi- was improved, using more cost-efficient fixtures, tively in the last year. The department added a and a new street paver was purchased. ` ;: Wf GROW 9.40 AGAIN.! ,�.w. a 7, uaaNil I'm Library volunteer Esther Akers shelves books at the Workers begin construction on the new Blockbuster Library in her free time,providing a valuable service Video Store scheduled to open this spring. to the city. Recycling planted in 1992 as well. The program is designed The state's most innovative recycling program to plant one tree for every citizen by the year 2000. was implemented in Euless, which includes col- In the spring of 1992,the city dedicated memori- lection from single-family homes and apartments. als to long-time city officials Bob Eden and The Euless program has one of the most com- Blackie Sustaire. prehensive lists of acceptable materials in the area, Economic Development including glass, newspaper, six kinds of plastics, The Office of Economic Development, whose aluminum and tin. mission is to promote a strong business commu- Parks and Leisure Services nity in our city, held the first-ever Euless Town The volunteer program implemented over last Hall Meeting for local businesses.The goal of the year saved the city $45,000 in 1992. The volun- meeting was to give business owners a voice in teers are used in many capacities at the city, in- the community. cluding clerical help in the library and other The city will also see other positives on the offices. economic front when Blockbuster Video, a na- The Parks Department also finished construction tional video chain, opens at Harwood and North of the Villages of Bear Creek Park and Amphithe- Main this spring. Other business movement in the ater and later hosted the first-ever Fall Music city included the grand opening of Home Depot Festival, which drew crowds from Euless and in the summer and soon to come,a 60,000 square- surrounding areas. foot physical rehabilitation center on Westpark The city also received a Tree City USA Growth Way.The center will be unique in design,offering Award, one of only three given in Texas. Euless' patients a complete view of the surrounding area record as a "Tree City" has been evident through- through large glass windows.The center will also out the year in events such as Arbor Daze, a include an indoor swimming pool,jogging track three-day celebration held in April which attracted and offices. ■ over 25,000 visitors from all over the Metroplex. The "1+1=2" program accounted for 5,000 trees RECYCLING KICK-OFF A SUCCESS TW 7' W ar 71 K.I.D.S members Tyler Burkey and Beau Bertkey Mayor Samuels and members of the Euless City Coun- show Euless residents Stephanie and John Darbo cil join with K.I.D.S.members as the first recyclables which products are packaged in recycled material. are tossed into a blue bag. Residents across the city who into a routine, the number of viroTours. The guided shop- eagerly awaited the first day of people participating will in- ping tours of the store gave collection for the new recycl- crease." residents the opportunity to ing program finally got their The official kick-off celebra- learn how to be environmen- chance last month when the tion and demonstration for the tally conscious shoppers. program officially began Janu- program were held Jan. 23 at K.I.D.S. pointed out products ary 23. The first day of collec- Kroger Food Store at North with reduced packaging,envi- tion saw a participation rate of Main and Harwood. Commu- ronmentally sensitive ingredi- about 41 percent. After only nity Waste Disposal officials ents and recycled content. two weeks of collection, were also on hand to show the The Euless program will con- 56,000 pounds of newspaper dumpsters used for collection tinue to focus on educating cit- was collected. Recycling Co- in apartment complexes. izens to the proper method of ordinator Michelle Wyman Representatives from the recycling with the help of a declared the first two weeks a HEB Independent School Dis- $12,000 grant recently success even though bad trict, HEB Chamber of Com- awarded to the city by the weather discouraged many merce, Kroger headquarters, North Central Texas Council residents from participating on of Governments. the first round of collection. city staff and area residents were on hand to watch the For more information on the "We have had a tremendous Mayor and City Council toss in Euless Recycling Program, amount of support and concern the first recyclables. call the hotline at (817) 685- shown by citizens who want to After the ceremony the sixth- 1825. The Euless program ac- make sure they are recycling ce is newspaper; tin and Involved in Dedicated Service, properly," Wyman said. "As grade volunteer group, Kids aluminum cans; and six kinds more people get used to the and the League of Women of plastic; brown, green and collection schedule and get clear lass. ■ Voters took shoppers on En- g Calendar of Events The Mayor's Newsletter is a publication of the City March of Euless,printer in the January, May and August is- sues of Leisure Times magazine, the April ction 02 Dedication of original cornerstone at South Euless Bulletin and other times as needed., Elementary School,605 S.Main Street at 2 p.m.City Mayor and school officials will celebrate the school's 80th anniversary with current and former students. Harold Samuels 17 Last Day to file for Council election City Council 25 Euless Business Town Hall Meeting,Midway Mary Lib Saleh,Mayor Pro Tern Bobby Baker Recreation Center,6 p.m. Frank Douglass April Todd Smith 12-27 Early Voting at Midway Recreation Center Peter Staks 23-25 Arbor Daze'93,The Ultimate Free Family Festival, Henry Boatright will be held at the City Hall Complex.City Officials City Manager expect over 35,000 people to attend 3 days of free Tom Hart concerts,a business expo,a lawn and garden show Assistant City Manager and many other events. H. Kay Godbey May City Secretary 1 City Council Election Susan Crim, CMC --The City Council meets at 7 p.m.on the second and fourth Editor/Photographer Tuesday of every month In the Council Chambers. Katherine Thompson, Public Information Officer -The Planning&Zoning Commission meets at 7 p.m.on the Desktop/Layout/Graphics first and third Tuesday of every month In the Council Cham- Becky Null, Administrative Secretary bers. T H E :::: c i T r o F BULK RATE > tkl U.S. POSTAGE PAID EULESS, TX 76039 PERMIT NO. 28 201 N. Ector Drive, Euless, Texas 76039 Printed on Recycled Paper Visionary leader ❑Councilman gives experience, guidance to city Council Member Peter Staks looks out the win- dow of City Hall, his sparkling blue eyes giving no clue to what vision he sees. The Place 5 coun- cilman ponders his words before speaking, then eloquently reveals his visions for the city. "I firmly believe that there is always a solution to every problem," he says after the subject of the airport expansion comes up. 'Reasonable people can come up with reasonable solutions,but it takes both sides getting together to come up with those B solutions." Staks, who is serving his second term as an elected official in Euless, says his vision for a solution to the airport expansion controversy is important, but other visions have also urged him into the public arena. As a professional, Staks wcity's Zoning Board of Adjustments.His children works toward solutions to problems facing resi- Lukas, 13; Adam, 12; Amalija, 11; and his wife, dential and commercial developers. Vision, he Althea, are involved in the community as well says,is what helps him and others in his engineer- ing consultant firm to develop complete projects through school activity, garden clubs and other such as the Villages of Bear Creek, Valley Ranch community activities. and other planned communities around the state Staks has been described by city staff members and the country. as a highly intelligent leader who is often looked Visions are what also carried Staks parents to this upon for guidance and asked for advice. country during the 1940s from a war-torn Balkan "He is a man of vision who looks far enough into state under communist control known as Latvia. the future to see what is best for the community," Staks' parents kept the family's cultural heritage one departmental director said. "He can look at an intact by teaching the children their native lan- empty piece of land and see a development no one guage. else could envision, but one that could be possi- Staks has instilled this vision in his children as ble." well. Staks credits city staff for making the dreams and "Our family takes a lot of pride in our commu- visions of the council possible. nity," he said. "The city has been good to us, so "We can improve the quality of the city,"he said. we try to give back by participating in clean-up "The quality of the people is already here. All we projects and by getting involved in any way we need to do is move in that direction. We have the can " means to develop our city in the best possible way Before being elected to the City Council in May for our citizens." ■ of 1990 and again in 1992, Staks served on the