Changes to Animal Control Ordinances
September 27, 2007
This past Tuesday, the City Council was briefed on proposed changes to our animal control ordinance. Over the past few months, citizens have made it clear that they want changes.
It’s time to get strict with loose animals that wander our neighborhoods.
Currently, the city has relied on animal shelter fees as the primary deterrent. When a loose animal is picked up by animal control and taken to our animal shelter, the owner must pay a fee to redeem the animal. These fees, while not very high, increase each time the animal is picked up.
This doesn’t seem to be much of a deterrent and the Council is looking to change that.
Read more
Cedar Hill Art Students Submit Designs In Police Department Contest
September 27, 2007
Cedar Hill art students submit designs in police department contest
By COURTNEY FLATT / The Dallas Morning News
The Cedar Hill Police Department was looking for bold, innovative squad car logos to make them stand out from other cities.
“We were looking for a way to go outside the box with different ideas on a stripe package,” said Sgt. Charles Woods, the project coordinator.
And by thinking outside the realm of professional designers, the department has been rewarded with more than 150 suggestions, free of charge.
Sgt. Woods contacted Cedar Hill High School art teacher Michael Bruno, who immediately got his students involved. Read more
Podcast #9: Place Confusion
September 26, 2007
Ever wondered why Cedar Hill Council Members have “Places” rather than “Districts”? Do you wonder who “your” City Council Member is?If you have asked either of these questions, then I have your answer.
Eagle Scout
September 23, 2007
Jimmie Burden, 18, supervised and participated in the removal of eight park benches at the intersection of Main Street and Belt Line Road in Cedar Hill and five other benches nearby. The benches were sanded, painted, waterproofed and reinstalled. He is a member of Troop 520, a freshman at Navarro Junior College and the son of Tonja Reddick Burden of Mesquite and Joel Burden of Cedar Hill.
Congratulations to Jimmie for his impressive accomplishment.
Source: Dallas Morning News
Community Wide Clean Up
September 22, 2007
Keep Cedar Hill Beautiful is sponsoring a Community Wide Clean Up.We need you to help clean up litter along roadways in Cedar Hill at this event.Saturday, October 20, 20079:00 AM – 11:00 AMThe event starts at City Hall, 502 Cedar Street.A hot dog lunch provided by Rotary of Cedar Hill follows this event, starting at 11:00 AM.This is a great event for students to receive community service hours. For more information, contact Stacey Graves at (972) 291-5100, Ext 1094.
Rise and Shine for Success
September 21, 2007
It was a “who’s who” of North Texas civic leaders, chamber of commerce members and other business owners representing at least eight cities [including Cedar Hill] from the surrounding area that attended Thursday morning’s Rise and Shine mayor’s breakfast at the Waxahachie Civic Center.
Three other mayors on hand also addressed the crowd: Joe Tillotson of Lancaster, Rob Franke of Cedar Hill and Boyce L. Whatley of Midlothian.
Read the entire article here.
Online Library Survey
September 21, 2007
The Zula B. Wiley Library is developing a long range plan. The value and integrity of this plan depends on community involvement. We want to make sure the plan reflects the diversity of the community as well as the diversity in library service needs today and in the future.
You can be a part of the library vision by participating in an online survey. We need 1400 responses, so please encourage others to participate as well.
Please contact your family, spiritual, social, business, and cultural networks to reach all of Cedar Hill and let them know that we really need to hear from them.
New Officers for High Pointe PID
September 20, 2007
HPPID’s annual election is complete and congratulations to the four new directors whose terms begin on October 1, 2007, and run through September 30, 2009.
The newly elected directors include three incumbents and one “first timer”.
The incumbent directors who were re-elected are Area 3 Director Mel Asuncion and At-Large Directors, Marlene (Maggie) Kloft-Knedler and Michael Quildon, The new director is At-Large Director Raymond (Ra) Stroh.
The newly elected directors will be appointed by the City Council at next Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
The agenda for the City Council meeting will be available on the City’s web site, www.cedarhilltx.com, by close of business on Friday, September 21, 2007. On the City web site home page “click” on City Council Agendas and Meetings and then “click” on Notice of City Council Meeting — September 25, 2007.
Source: www.highpointeinfo.org
New Program at the Rec Center
September 20, 2007
Coming this Saturday is Fun Time Live at the Cedar Hill Recreation Center.This is a great program for youth 3rd through 8th on Saturdays from 7p-11p. It’s fun, safe, supervised entertainment for the kids. They will have all kinds of activities for the youth.For more info call Fun Time Live at 972-772-6000.
Moody’s Upgrades
September 20, 2007
By BRIAN ALLEN / Today Staff
Taxpayers in Cedar Hill got some good news Sept. 12 as the city’s bond rating improved according to both Moody’s Investor Services as well as Standard & Poor’s.
Moody increased Cedar Hill’s rating from A1 to Aa3. Standard and Poor raised Cedar Hill’s General Obligation Debt Rating to AA- from A+.
“This is great news for our city and its residents,” Mayor Rob Franke said.
“Upgrades from both firms are a strong endorsement of the direction of our City Council and the fiscal management provided by our city staff.
City officials met with analysts from the two firms the week before the announcement.
According to Moody’s analysts the upgrade “reflects the city’s ongoing economic development, a favorable trend of tax base growth and diversification. Sound financial management has resulted in a history of favorable financial performance and a moderate debt burden.”
Those same analysts praised city staff’s success in attracting substantial retail and commercial businesses.
Since 1999, Cedar Hill added three million square feet of retail development. Those increasing commercial values help hold down the tax rate, benefiting homeowners.
Moody’s analysts also cited the strength of building permits in Lake Ridge development despite a national housing slump as a positive factor. They believe tax base expansions will continue in the long term thanks to several major commercial, retail and park developments.
Standard & Poor’s said its higher rating reflects the city’s strong assessed value growth, above-average income and wealth levels and participation in the diverse D/FW economy.
S&P’s analysts looked to the potential of the upscale 800,000-square foot Uptown Village lifestyle center in 2008, and the impact it should have on property tax rates.
“Management will maintain its strong financial position and reserves through continued healthy property and sales tax collections; and overall debt levels will not increase significantly as management continues to implement its well-conceived capital improvement plan,” the S&P report said.
It concludes “Standard & Poor’s deems Cedar Hill’s management practices “strong, well embedded and likely sustainable.”
The rating upgrade applies to roughly $11 million in general obligation debt the city is issuing, Financial Director Hardy Browder said the improved ratings will provide substantial interest savings over the 20-year life of the debt because the city will pay lower interest rates.
Those lower rates, he said, will provide additional savings each time the city issues more debt.
Source: Today Newspapers
Proposed Changes to Impact Fees
September 19, 2007
The City Council convened a Special meeting on Tuesday, September 18, to discuss changes to the city’s impact fees. Although the ordinance has not yet been approved, the Council reached a general consensus on a plan to increase impact fees by 7%, 5% and 5% over the next 3 years. The details will be presented in a proposed ordinance at the next regular Council meeting.
What are impact fees? In short, impact fees are fees cities charge developers to help pay for the cost of new infrastructure. It is an attempt to shift the burden of paying for public improvements to developers.
Municipalities charge many types of development-related fees. Most fall into three broad categories: (1) planning fees, which cover the administrative costs associated with reviewing required planning documents; (2) building permit, plan check, and inspection fees, which cover the costs of reviewing building permit and other site specific permit applications; and (3) capital facilities fees, or development impact fees, which cover the up-front costs of providing capital infrastructure. Read more
Cinema on the Square
September 18, 2007
Save the date of September 22 for this month’s Cinema on the Square in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 502 Cedar Street.
The films were selected to celebrate the State Fair of Texas:
- 2 pm feature is “A Fair To Remember” a documentary about the history of the State Fair
- 5 pm feature is “The Big Show” starring Gene Autry and filmed at the 1936 Texas Centennial
Admission is FREE! You can have popcorn and a drink for 50 cents. Join us and learn about the Great State Fair of Texas.
Atmosphere Impresses Junior Ashcraft
September 18, 2007
Cedar Hill, Texas junior offensive tackle Thomas Ashcraft is used to early visits. For instance, the 6-foot-5, 280-pounder made his way to a number of camps after starting 16 games as a sophomore on a state championship winning team. This past weekend, Ashcraft made a trip up to Nebraska for the Huskers’ game against Southern California.
Source: GatorBait.net
Hawaii Pacific tops Northwood
September 18, 2007
Hawaii Pacific notched its first women’s soccer victory of the season in a come-from-behind 4-3 effort against Northwood (Cedar Hill, Texas.) The Sea Warriors’ Vailama Walker sealed the win with her second goal of the match with just minutes to play.
Ashley Dolan and Jamie Hirai also scored for HPU (1-4). The Knights, who got two goals from Alysia Kroger, fell to 2-4-1.
Source: Honolulu Star Bulletin
CHISD Launches New Website
September 17, 2007
The Cedar Hill I.S.D. has recently launched its new website. The new site provides a wealth of information.
Want the school calendar? It’s there. Need information about School Board meetings? It’s there, too. Just about anything you could want is available on their new site.
Be sure to check it out at www.chisd.com.
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.