Cedar Hill Library, Fire Hall Look For City Bond Construction Money
April 26, 2008
Steve Snyder / Today Newspapers via Pegasus News
Zula B. Wylie Library Director Pat Bonds didn’t want to call it a “competition.”
But the library and the Cedar Hill Fire Department may be competing for capital improvement dollars in the coming fiscal year.
At the first of several workshops April 15, the Cedar Hill City Council began the process of sorting out what capital improvement projects to fund and how.
Unfortunately, the city is about $260,000 short of addressing all of the requests it received, outside of using debt-based money.
The winners from current budget funds are fire station and public works office improvements. Pushed off into bond-based funding is a Cedar Hill Museum of History at the Zula B. Wylie Library, along with expansion of the library itself.
Read more
Campaign Filings
March 11, 2008
The filing deadlines for the upcoming elections in May was yesterday at 5:00pm. Here’s the breakdown on the matchups:
City Council, Place 2: Daniel Hayden (incumbent) — no opponent.
City Council, Place 6: Clifford Shaw (incumbent) v. Wirt “Stoney” Jackson
School Board, Dan Hernandez (incumbent) — no opponent
School Board, Valerie Banks (incumbent) — no opponent
School Board, Michael Quildon v. James Charles. This is an open seat vacated by Randy Gaubert.
Government Center Nominated for Building of America Award
March 2, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Dear Mr. Alan Sims:
We are pleased to announce that the Cedar Hill Government Center project has been nominated to win a Building of America Award and will be featured in the upcoming Real Estate & Construction Review- Texas Edition. The publication is highly utilized by State, County and City Economic Development groups to highlight the vitality of their respected communities. Each project featured will show how it is making a difference for its community. Construction Communications works closely with each region’s cities, counties, major associations and organizations, developers and project teams to ensure the top projects are covered in each regional Real Estate & Construction Review. Each project is portrayed in a very positive manner, with the case study covering what makes each innovative and unique. Every project is chosen for its editorial merit and benefit of the readers; there is no charge for projects being included, and no one can pay to have a project included. We will be happy to provide you with copies of the finished publication that will showcase your project. Because of the positive nature of every case study, many owners choose to use the publication as a tool for employee recruitment and retention or as a third-party credible collateral marketing piece.
In addition, each regional edition of the Real Estate & Construction Review can now be viewed online at our website. You can get there two ways. Just go to www.constructionreviews.com and click on the Regional Editions button or go to the regional editions directly at www.constructionreviews.com/regional_ed/index.html. Our online editions not only dramatically increase visibility, they also allow you to view any or all of a particular magazine with a simple touch of a button.
Lawrence Street Publications, the parent company of Construction Communications, has been in business since 1996 and publishes in more than 25 markets throughout the United States. We take pride in helping owners and tenants learn to build better facilities through positive experiential analysis.
Sincerely,
Amy Pagett
Editor-in-Chief
Block Party at the Recreation Center [Pictures]
March 1, 2008
Photo Tour of Government Center
February 25, 2008
Shared City-Schools Building In Cedar Hill Scheduled To Open In July
February 23, 2008
The new Government Center, which houses the School District Administration offices, the City Hall, and the Police Station, is set to open in July.
Already it is getting attention.
The Dallas Morning News has an article about this unique building and all the relevant specifications.
But officials say the facility in the 200 block of Uptown Boulevard is on track as Texas’ first government building with city and school district offices under one roof.
“From what we can research, this is the only building of its kind in the state where the city and school administrations are located in one building,” City Manager Alan Sims said. “This is not an easy project, but building this together is saving the taxpayers money and is going to benefit the community.”
This is the continuation of other partnerships between the City and the schools, such as shared parks and athletic fields.
Black History Month [Pictures]
February 19, 2008
Time Capsule Update
February 19, 2008
It was two and a half years ago that I first suggested the concept of a time capsule in the new Government Center. Fortunately, we were able to get that included in the specifications for our new building.
As we prepare for the grand opening, we need to start thinking about what this time capsule is going to mean for the citizens of Cedar Hill — both from an historical perspective and a future perspective.
Where has our city been and where is it going? In 50 or 100 years, what will the citizens of Cedar Hill like to know about their history and the people that directed Cedar Hill during this transformational period?
With only a 12” X 36” cylinder, there is not much room, so we need to think carefully about what should be included.
Some ideas that came to my mind were the Bond Election flyer from the campaign that funded the construction of the building and perhaps a recorded message from the Mayor to the people who will open it in the future. Another idea might be notes from members of the community describing life in 2008.
What items would you include in the time capsule?
Public Servant’s Day
February 17, 2008
On Sunday, February 17, 2008, the House of Hope Church in Cedar Hill had a special service to honor some of the public servants in Cedar Hill.
Pastor Leroy Armstrong, Jr. thanked the Fire Department, Police Department, and all the other city employees and elected officials for the service they provide to the citizens of Cedar Hill.
Mason Leveling Ceremony
February 16, 2008
Despite the wind, rain and cold weather, the Mason Grand Lodge of Texas leveled the new CHISD building today.
Americans Masons have been leveling cornerstones since 1734, when Grand Master Benjamin Franklin presided the over the ceremony for Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Sixty years later, Master Mason George Washington leveled the cornerstone of the United States Capitol Building on September 18, 1793.
Since then there have been hundreds of public buildings, schools and churches which have had cornerstones leveled by The Grand Lodge of Texas.
Mix-Up Starts False Rumors Of Obama Coming To Cedar Hill
February 13, 2008
Read my lips: Barack Obama is not coming to Cedar Hill.
Apparently, a mix-up started a rumor that Barack Obama was going to be at the White Rhino Coffee House in Cedar Hill this weekend.
The Dallas Morning News has an article about the confusion:
“My phone has been ringing off the hook,” said Edna Pemberton, an Obama supporter who is organizing events in Oak Cliff. “When they thought he would be there, it took a life of its own.”
Apparently at least one person misread the electronic invitation, and it caught fire online.
“I am so excited about this that I’m forwarding to everybody!!” one woman wrote. “Please get the word out that Barack is coming to town!”
Stoney Jackson, the poor guy who put his home number on the invitation, could not be reached for comment.
Source: Dallas Morning News.
Cedar Hill Library’s Future = Vision+Marketing
February 8, 2008
By Steve Snyder Of Today Newspapers
The Zula B. Wylie Library may need a little bit of marketing work.
In an update on the library’s strategic plan to the Cedar Hill City Council Jan. 22, Sam McBane Mulford said that, in a survey of residents, 20 percent said that they either never used the library or didn’t even know the city had a library. Mulford, principal strategist with Ideation Collaborative, said the survey was non-scientific, in part because it concentrated on people who might not know about the library.
“You’re got an underutilized concept and there’s a lack of buzz,” she said. “With growth, you have the opportunity to change this.”
She said the rise of the Internet changed how many people related to their local libraries.
“They don’t see the library as an information source any more. They feel savvy enough to make their own information decisions,” she said.
But, she had a word of caution.
“Bad clicks can lead to bad decisions, and that’s where I think the library can (still) help.”
As for the library’s services, it meets either basic or advanced standards in all areas of service, per state library standards.
However, the library doesn’t have top-notch ratings compared to ratings of peer and near-peer cities in the area, Mulford said.
Councilman Daniel Haydin said the positive side was that the city knew where it was at as part of starting the process to where it wanted to go.
That all said, what should the future of the Wylie library be?
Mulford mentioned that survey respondents said the library is a “safe” and “neutral” place for discussion. They also said that, building on that, the library should be a place for “interactivity.”
“Distribution of content is huge,” she said. “I think we’re starting to see limitations as far as distribution and ownership of content.”
From here, she said the library’s future would probably have some version of a three-fold service module of overlapping domains. These three areas are life literacies, learning proficiencies and cultural and community connections.
Mulford said that, in addition to the things discussed above, the city might want to discuss reconfiguring the library and reallocating staff and organization. She said this included thinking in customer-centric and not library-centric terms.
In response to a question from Councilman Wade Emmert, Mulford said Ideation Collaborative had specific plans for working with the council on how to best achieve these goals. She said she couldn’t provide an absolute road map, because that ultimately needed to stem from the ideas of residents. But, she said following the general outlines of the long-range plan, as specifically tweaked by residents’ input, would produce results.
“I can tell you that you will be (the) leading library (in this area) if you go down this path,” she said.
Library Director Pat Bonds spoke further about the long-range plan.
“It will be a change for us, doing more outreach and being a meeting place as well as a (place) for information and research,” she said. “It will probably mean additional staffing and possibly changing some jobs.”
She also tied the long-range plan to future library expansion, which is under discussion but has no definite date at this time.
“The long-range plan will help us when we are ready for the expansion on how we configure the space,” Bonds said. She said this could include a computer lab open after regular library hours and even a coffee shop.
“I appreciate your honesty in telling us this,” Mayor Rob Franke told Mulford.
He said he wanted to make sure the council “did it right” in taking action.
“A measure to improve the library got more votes than any other action in 2003,” he said.
Councilman Greg Patton put the library into a larger light. He said it was an important part of keeping Cedar Hill a premier city.
Acting on the long-range plan was on the council’s agenda, but Franke recommended it postpone action until the council’s Feb. 12 meeting to give councilmembers more time to digest the report.
Mulford and Ideation Collaborative compiled an in-depth long-term plan report for the library; copies are available for review at the library, including survey results like those summarized in the graphics at left.
Lions Club Pancake Breakfast
February 2, 2008
The Cedar Hill Lions Club held its annual Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, February 2, 2008. It was the largest turnout ever!
Unlimited pancakes and sausage drew a large crowd from the community. We gave away many prizes in the silent auction and frequent raffles.
The proceeds from the Pancake Breakfast go to support the many Lions Club charities, such as free eye exams and glasses for needy children.
Thank you to all who supported us!
New Website Design
February 1, 2008
I am excited to unveil a new design for my website.
When I started my website after being elected to the City Council, I was amazed by the positive reaction.
Four years later, the site was getting to be a little long in the tooth and it looked a whole lot like a blog. I wanted something more and I’m excited to say that I think I have found it.
You will notice that on the main page there is a featured article. Below that, you can see a tab with a listing of the past 10 articles sorted by date.
If you click on the Podcast tab, you can listen to the latest podcast. I’ll let you in on a little secret. Soon, there will also be a “Video” tab where I will have short videos of Cedar Hill.
Finally, toward the bottom of the page you will notice I have listed some of the most popular categories with the last article from that category. This is a great way to see an overview of the city at a glance.
I hope you enjoy the new site! Please leave comments about ways to improve it.
Community Members Come Together At Citywide Prayer Meeting
January 11, 2008
Here’s an article from Jacksonville, Texas. Seems like some of the prayer sessions we have had in Cedar Hill had such a big impact on one citizen, that when he moved to Jacksonville, he took the idea with him.
While living in Cedar Hill, Watters had participated in a similar citywide prayer group, and he said the results were profound for that community.
“We had a ministerial association there that decided to meet on a monthly basis for prayer, for fellowship and for sharing together. We began meeting and the impact it had on our community was incredible,” he said. “Our chief of police, who was a member of the group, shared with us that while all the communities around Cedar Hill had seen crime increase by 30 percent in the last two years, Cedar Hill’s crime had gone down more than 40 percent. And I am convinced today that it was because of our efforts to pray for our community.”
Watters was thrilled by the meeting’s attendance, especially considering it was a first-time event.
“I’m just terribly encouraged and impressed by the number of people who came out this morning. Our purpose is to present the needs of our community to our God, and we don’t need to be told how much our community needs our prayers,” Watters said.
Source: Daily Progress, Jacksonville, TX
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.