Rail

As many of you know, the entire region is studying rail. I first have to say that as long as I have been involved in government, I have never seen our region cooperate at this level and approach issues as a group.

The Rail North Texas Coalition is made up of 109 elected officials and business leaders that encompass a 12-county area. I serve on the board of directors representing Frisco and our region. We are trying to find solutions to expedite rail and improve mobility. This is a very active effort that has wide-spread support. For a draft background, here is a link from the North Texas Council of Governments.

If you have any comments on rail, I would like to hear your opinion. More on rail later.

A Day For All Ages

Tuesday was a very interesting day that covered a broad range of Frisco citizens. I thought the day would start off in a relaxed manner, but I ended up spending a lot of time on e-mail since we had a couple of issues crop up. We figured out we were not going to get those issues resolved, so I asked for a meeting at City Hall so we could get everyone in the same room.

Meanwhile, the first Mayor's Youth Council meeting was fast approaching at 11:30AM with a pre-meeting with the officers at 11:20AM. This year, we have a very large group of teens involved in the MYC and it is going to be an exciting year for our City. The MYC officers did a great job getting everyone involved and I look forward to a great year working alongside them.

I finished the MYC meeting and quickly ran next door to the Frisco Senior Center for the National Night Out Kick-Off Party. We had many of our police and fire department personal in attendance and I enjoyed visiting with the seniors. Mayor Pro Tem Tony Felker helped get things started in my absence. I wish I could have stayed for lunch, but I had to rush off too...

Corbell Elementary to visit the children that were involved in the "Wild Walk". This fundraiser is put on by the PTA and the kids either walked or ran laps during their PE class to earn money for activities. Rufus, our Environmental Services Mascot, was also there. I think he was in more pictures than I was :-) Cindi Wright, who chaired the Wild Walk and Christy Reese, the environmental chair, did a great job. Of course, the teachers also were very involved and the kids had a great time.

So, in the space of two hours, I was able to visit our High-School Teens, Our Seniors and our Elementary kids. Now you understand why I chose the title that I did!

After the visit to Corbell, I drove back to City Hall for the meeting that was set up earlier in the day followed by some office work and then home to get ready for National Night Out.

National Night Out was a huge success! I do not have the final numbers yet, but I know we had well over 120 neighborhood block parties in Frisco. I wish I could have visited every one of them, but time would not allow that. For those that I did get to visit with, thank you for taking the time to make Frisco a better place!

Okay, I better get off of here as the e-mails are still coming in...

Never a free minute

It seems that life is so busy lately, blogging and the newsletter have really fallen behind. I will try and do better, but being Mayor seems to consume all your free time (right about now, Simpson is rolling his eyes thinking "I have been telling you this for years :-) ).

Many of you know that I was on a two week trip to China. No, it was not a vacation, but more of a dual-purpose. As I mentioned in previous newsletters, I am finishing my EMBA at the University of Texas at Arlington. It has been a wonderful experience and I will continue my education. As I have said before, I am a believer in life-long learning and I love sharing my knowledge with others and also learning from them. The many times I give presentation to elementary, middle and high school students, I tell them of the importance of life-long learning. What better way to explain that to them than to show them what I am doing. If you are interested in my trip, you can take a look at pictures and blog that I maintained during the 2-week period. Visit the blog HERE.

Of course, I was told the jet-lag when I returned would be terrible. I got home around 10PM Wednesday evening and I had to wake up early to go to City Hall and prepare for the Public-Private Partnerships Making the Economics of Sustainability Work Symposium. Former Mayor Kathy Seei helped facilitate this sustainability symposium at the University of Texas at Arlington. I joined Arlington Mayor Cluck and Fort Worth Mayor Moncrief in a 3-panel presentation. You can read the story on the Frisco Enterprise Web Site.

My jet-lag did not show itself that day (Thursday), but let me tell you, Friday and Saturday were a killer. I had several functions to attend and I must have looked like someone who has not slept in a week!