A Letter of Thanks from Rob Franke
March 6, 2006
I came to my office this morning to get a little bit of normalcy. Everything is so different and I can’t get the smell of fire out of my mind and nose. Other than that, life is great.
I wish I knew the right words, the right way to express the feelings, emotions and pure love we have for the people of Cedar Hill. We are blessed by each of you so much that I cannot begin to list the people, the acts of kindness, the power of prayer, and sincere love we have experienced. Please know that I praise God for each of you, I pray that God will bless you and return to you what you have given us.
When we talk about the distinctive character of Cedar Hill I think the most wonderful part is that people choose to care for each other. My prayer for Cedar Hill is that we will continue to be a family that cares for each other.
Thank you and God Bless each of you.
Rob Franke
Blaze Sparks Neighbor’s Aid
March 5, 2006
By KAREN AYRES / Staff Writer, Dallas Morning News
Mayor Rob Franke peeled the soot-stained cover off his living room sofa Sunday and discovered a gift.
Nestled among the mud and ash were several family photos in perfect condition, pulled aside by the firefighters who had tamed the raging blaze that practically destroyed the Franke home on Friday night.
“They saved a bunch of our pictures,” Mr. Franke said as he turned to Mayor Pro Tem Cory Spillman. “That is wonderful. That is just so wonderful.”
Few other items were spared after a fire of unknown causes started in the garage and quickly consumed most of the Frankes’ one-story home. But the mayor and his wife, Jenaie, say the dozens of people who came out to help them from across the area this weekend mean more than any material items.
“When you get into politics, you’re used to giving and not getting a lot in return because you’re just dealing with problems,” said Mr. Franke, mayor for the past nine years. “For people to come back and help us was pretty amazing.”
By Sunday, thick soot, mud and pieces of the fallen roof covered everything from the kitchen stove to Mr. Franke’s comic book collection.
The fire apparently started shortly after the Frankes and several friends left to celebrate their daughter Farren’s 16th birthday at Humperdink’s restaurant in Arlington.
They had just ordered drinks when a neighbor called to say he had spotted smoke and flames coming out of the house and called 911.
Mr. Franke told his wife to keep the news from his daughter and raced back to the house with Mr. Spillman, who was also at the party.
“There was no question that I was going,” Mr. Spillman said. “He’s like family, and you know their whole world is about to be turned upside down.”
The attic above the garage, filled with treasured Christmas ornaments and yearbooks, had been one of the fire’s first stops. The roof was next.
By the time they got to the house around 8:30 p.m., the flames pouring from it were so intense that the heat had melted the lights and bumpers on nearby cars.
Phone calls had already gone around town. About 50 neighbors, council members, friends and fellow members of the Cedar Hill Church of Christ lined up outside.
City Manager Alan Sims pulled the mayor aside to tell him that two of their dogs, Lacey and Lennie, and their cat, Roxie, hadn’t made it out.
As firefighters from Cedar Hill and DeSoto tried to stop the blaze from consuming the rest of the mayor’s home, council member Wade Emmert conducted a prayer.
“There were just open mouths and dropped jaws,” Mr. Emmert said. “We were in shock.”
The mayor watched the fire burn for an hour and decided to drive back to his daughter’s party. His only daughter would never have another 16th birthday; he would have another house.
Before Mr. Franke left, Ken Lybrand, an elder at his church, prayed with him privately.
“I prayed that God would give Rob the strength to get through the situation and the wisdom to deal with it,” Mr. Lybrand said.
The fire was out by the time the Frankes returned home at 10:30 p.m. with teenagers in tow.
They soon got a look at what was left: Two bedrooms had water damage. The remainder of the house – living room, game room, kitchen, Mr. Franke’s office and a third bedroom – was pretty much destroyed.
But they were not.
“It’s pretty sad,” Mr. Franke said, “but it’s just stuff. Life will go on.”
One family quickly took them in for the night. Within hours, the Frankes had toothpaste, deodorant, underwear and other necessities.
Fire investigators spent the night combing the garage for clues. Mr. Franke said electrical causes and arson have been ruled out. Mr. and Mrs. Franke don’t smoke, but it’s possible that someone else’s cigarette sparked the fire.
Another crowd started to gather at the house around 6:45 a.m. Saturday. Nearly 60 city employees, council members, neighbors and friends divided into groups. Many worked until 9 p.m.
Some people washed clothes that could be pulled from closets; others tried to salvage melted photos. Several people helped haul furniture to the back yard. After a friend offered to let the family stay in a nearby vacant house, others gathered beds and furniture.
“[The mayor] is always the first one there when other people are experiencing tragedies, and people felt compelled to be there when he was going through a tragedy,” Mr. Emmert said.
On Sunday morning, the family went to church as they always do. They were again the focus of a prayer by Mr. Lybrand.
“Rob and I looked at each other and cried,” Mrs. Franke said. “It wasn’t because of the fire. It was because of the people.”
Mr. Lybrand said he told the congregation that the Frankes’ love for God would continue to carry them through the tragedy.
“Too often we spend too much time asking ‘Why?’ instead of taking the time to deal with it and move on with life,” Mr. Lybrand said. “That’s what Rob and Jenaie are doing now. They’re dealing with it.”
The church is now organizing a committee to help the Frankes.
The family expects an insurance adjustor today, but they already know their plans: They want to rebuild in town, preferably on the same spot.
“I will stay in Cedar Hill,” Mr. Franke said, “no doubt in my mind.”
E-mail kayres@dallasnews.com
Please Pray for Our Mayor and His Family
March 4, 2006
This is a strange post to write. As I sit here, I still can’t believe it’s true.
Last night, around 9:00pm or so, Mayor Rob Franke’s house burned down.
The fire appears to have started in the garage. The roof over the garage is gone. All that remains is the brick and chared remains of wood. The other side of the house is not quite as bad. The roof is sagging and I’m sure there is damage inside, but at least it wasn’t completely destroyed.
Fortunately, no one was injured.
It is times like this that we realize how blessed we are to live in a community like Cedar Hill. In times of trial, our community unites.
Even when the flames were still burning, the Mayor had a smile on his face. “Even though my house is gone,” he said, “I know I will want for nothing.”
He’s right. We will come together and help him any way we can. What a wonderful faith in God, and a belief in community.
Right now, please say a prayer for Rob and his family. It is difficult to imagine how devastating this can be. But with his faith in God, and the support of this community, I know they will make it through this difficult time.
City Plans to Dig Into Its Trash Contract
March 2, 2006
By LOYD BRUMFIELD
News Editor / Today Newspapers
Cedar Hill is staring a big can of worms in the face, Mayor Rob Franke said. The general reaction from most members of the city council was, “Open it.”
That “can of worms” is trash — the way it’s collected, how it’s disposed of and who does the collecting and the disposing.
The council conducted a workshop on the issue Feb. 21 at the Cedar Hill Recreation Center, and the consensus was that even though the city is satisfied with its trash service, it can’t hurt to take a closer look at see if it’s getting the best possible value out of its services.
The city’s contract with Allied Waste (formerly Trinity Waste Services) will expire in June. Cedar Hill has used the company for its trash pickup for about 25 years and has extended the contract regularly. The most recent extension took place in 2002.
During the workshop, the council took a look at several issues, including the bidding process for soliciting new services, whether to have separate contracts for hauling and disposal, the frequency of bulky/brush pickup and whether to go to once-a-week pickup instead of the current twice-a-week arrangement.
“I’m satisfied with Allied, but you don’t know what’s out there unless you look,” Council member Wade Emmert said. “I think we owe it to our citizens to see what’s out there.”
Franke said re-evaluating the city’s contract was probably an appropriate move.
A recent survey of city leadership and staffers turned up satisfactory results for the way trash is handled, said Melissa Valadez-Stephens, assistant to City Manager Alan Sims.
The city received 161 survey responses earlier in the year, with 13 percent of respondents saying they were “extremely satisfied” with the city’s current services and 52 percent were “satisfied.” Fourteen percent of respondents were “dissatisfied,” 5 percent were “extremely dissatisfied” and 16 percent were neutral.
In addition, survey respondents were extremely satisfied with bulky/brush pickup at an 8 percent rate, while 33 percent fell in the satisfied camp. Neutral responses total 37 percent.
City workers were also asked how they would change bulky/brush pickup, and 59 percent said they would increase the frequency of pickup and 20 percent said they would increase the amount allowed to be picked up. Currently, the city collects bulky items (tree limbs, etc.) on a quarterly basis.
“I don’t get too many complaints (about brush pickup), but people do want it to get picked up more often,” Council member Greg Patton said. “But if you picked up more often, I think you’ll see more complaints.”
Council member Daniel Haydin echoed Patton. “The biggest complaint I get is people who keep their trees trimmed don’t like it when it sits out forever,” he said.
Also in the survey, 48 percent of respondents said they would support roll-out poly-cart trash bins — giant bins designed to handle several loads of trash — while 38 percent wouldn’t.
A few council members said they didn’t hear much from citizens about trash collection. “The people I talk to are very satisfied with the services we provide them,” Patton said. “I’m surprised the poly carts showed 48 percent, because no one I talk to wants them.”
In evaluating the frequency of trash pickup, surveys indicated an overwhelming desire to stick with twice-a-week pickup rather than once a week. “I remember from having young children that once-a-week pickup gets a little raunchy in the summer with diapers,” Patton said, adding that food rots faster in hot-weather months.
Emmert said the survey results are fine but the city shouldn’t take them to heart too seriously.
“Let’s not forget the survey was sent to people on boards and on the city council,” he said. “It’s not a statistically valid survey … until we send it out to the citizens in general.”
Cedar Hill charges a $10.29 rate for residential customers, which puts it roughly in the middle of several other Metroplex cities studied, Valadez-Stephens said. Duncanville charged the highest rate among the other cities at $13.29, while Waxahachie turned in a low rate of $5.82. Several cities surveyed said they saved money by separating hauling and disposal contracts, including Duncanville, DeSoto, Allen, Plano and Highland Park, among others.
Most Cedar Hill council members expressed support for separate contracts if it meant saving the city money, but they are unclear on how it would work. As far as he knows, no city that has separate contracts has gone back to single contracts, Sims said.
“I don’t have a dog in that fight, but if it (the contracts) is separated, I would think the savings had better be pretty good,” Haydin said.
Council member Clifford Shaw said if there’s a sense of satisfaction with trash service, “the question’s going to be, if everybody’s satisfied, then why are we considering changing?”
Makia Epie had an eloquent answer: “It’s always nice to shake the body a little bit to see if the sugar has sedimented at the bottom.”
Contact Loyd Brumfield at cedarhill@todaynewspapers.net.
Welcome!
My name is Wade Emmert and I am a Council Member for the City of Cedar Hill. This web site is a way for me to share with you some of my thoughts about issues important to the City.
It is my sincerest goal to be a good steward of the citizens’ trust. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to serve you.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at Wade.Emmert@cedarhilltx.com or (214) 740-3164.