Podcast #3: Cedar Hill Antenna Farm
May 22, 2006
Cedar Hill sits atop the highest point between the Red River and the Gulf of Mexico which makes Cedar Hill’s ideal for TV and radio towers. Cedar Hill is home to the largest collection of very tall towers in North America. In this edition, we speak with Council Member Greg Patton about the history of the Cedar Hill Antenna Farm.
High-Tech Council Member Keeps in Touch
May 19, 2006
By LOYD BRUMFIELD
News Editor/Today Newspapers
Wade Emmert has always had a desire to stay abreast of high technology and its rapidly changing nature.
When he was first elected to the Cedar Hill City Council in May 2004, he wanted an easy way for his constituents to stay in touch with him, so he developed the first blog operated by a public official in the Best Southwest - and maybe even in Texas at the time.
“I’ve always been interested in technology and community service, and having a blog about the city council just seemed like the logical thing to do,” he said.
Emmert’s blog, www.wadeemmert.com, has grown into a site that gets hundreds of hits a week. His latest innovation for the site, a podcast element, has drawn 200 people who have listened to part one of a two-part interview with Mayor Rob Franke.
The blog offers biographical information, archives, links to the city’s site and other pertinent information, contact information and a section for public comment.
People can also sign up for e-mail notification when Emmert updates the site.
“I never expected such a response,” Emmert said. “I get comments now on just about everything I post. Almost all are positive, but sometimes we get into the discussion of issues.”
On a regular basis, Emmert updates the blog with links to issues that impact the city, whether it’s new from the latest council meeting or information about developments in the school finance issue.
School finance reform drew a passionate response, with some saying the latest efforts are a step in the right direction, and others saying give less money to public schools and more to private schools.
Podcasts are a relatively recent development, thanks to the profusion of iPods and other like audio and video products.
“I wanted to do more than just put city council meetings online,” Emmert said, adding that part two of the mayor’s interview is coming soon, and he would also like to talk to former mayors, members of the city staff and other community leaders about being subjects of future podcasts.
Right now, he doesn’t plan to turn meetings into podcasts, fearing their dry nature might not be practical.
“I want to inform or entertain people,” Emmert said. “Listening to a dry city council meeting just doesn’t seem like the way to do it.”
Eventually, Emmert wants to archive the podcasts, burn them on discs and bury them in a time capsule slated for construction at the new government center.
“That way, when people open the capsule 50 years from now, they’ll get an accurate historical record straight from the people,” he said. “You can’t do that with tapes, but as long as there are computers still around to play the medium, we’ll be OK.”
Emmert’s site also supports RSS technology, or “Really Simple Syndication,” meaning people can access news feeds from the site without actually visiting it.
“People can access a feed and they can view it in a number of different programs and they don’t have to keep visiting the website,” Emmert said.
The councilman spent about 20 hours - not all at once - constructing the framework of the site and getting it running, but the work of updating it doesn’t take much time, he said.
As of now, he’s the only member of the council to take the plunge into the blogosphere.
“There are people who have websites during campaigns, but it’s important for me to be able to stay in touch continuously with people,” Emmert said.
Designs for Government Center
May 10, 2006
Last month, I asked for your input in selecting the stone color for the new Government Center. These are some illustrations of the new Government Center to help you put the decision into better context. These images are about 9 months old, and there have been changes that are not reflected in the drawings, but this should give you an idea of what to expect. The groundbreaking will be in July 2006. We expect an 18-month construction period, with a completion date of December 2007. Please give me your input.
Podcast #2: Interview with Mayor Rob Franke (Part 2)
May 8, 2006
Cedar Hill Podcast #2, May 2006 - Interview with Mayor Rob Franke (Part 2)
In this edition we continue our discussion with Mayor Rob Franke, discussing topics such as the challenges ahead for Cedar Hill, the Mayor’s Transformation initiative, and the future of Cedar Hill.
Part 2 of 2 part interview.
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.