Gary Burns Fun Run

Council Member Scott Johnson leading the pack (of Council :-) ). He was really moving..



If you have time to smile and listen to tunes, you are not going 110% (that is said with my coach hat on). We will give Council Member Jeff Cheney a break this time, but it's back to the gym for him.


Council Member Bart Crowder ready to move ahead in the pack - (again, if you have time to wave, your not running fast enough!)


In this picture, Council Member Bob Allen is moving so fast, my camera could only get the back of his head. He was actually trying to catch his wife, Teresa, who put the hurt on him and showed him how to reallly run a 5k!

Overall, the council team took 3d place. I will take the blame for coming in 3d. As the coach, I clearly have been too lax on our council members. Anyone care to join us for some 5AM jogs? Look for me in the city Prius leading a group of , athletes :-)

Sandra Brown coming to Frisco

Meet and Mingle with Sandra Brown New York Times bestselling mystery and romance author

Sandra Brown is coming to Frisco! The Friends of the Frisco Public Library is sponsoring a "Meet and Mingle with Sandra Brown Reception" on Thursday, November 12, 2009. The reception starts at 6:30 p.m. in the City Room on the fifth floor of the Frisco Library.

The Texas author  will discuss her books starting at 7:30 p.m. in the first-floor City Council Chambers, limited seating.  Book sales and signings will follow. Join in the fun, and learn about her latest mystery, Smash Cut, and her upcoming novel, Rainwater.

Tickets for the presentation are $20, or you can attend the reception and presentation for $35. Purchase tickets online at www.friscolibraryevents.com, or at the Borrow and Return desk on the first floor of the Library.

Gary Burns fun run

ROAD CLOSURES SURROUNDING FRISCO SQUARE TOMORROW, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31

(October 30, 2009) Streets surrounding Frisco Square and the George Purefoy Municipal Center,
6101 Frisco Square Blvd., will be closed Saturday morning, October 31, between 7 - 10 a.m. for the Frisco Education Foundation's annual Gary Burns Fun Run.

Main Street will be closed between World Cup Way and John W. Elliot
Drive; Frisco Street will be closed south of Technology Drive; Streets (most) in Frisco Square between Main Street and Burnham Street
will be closed. Through traffic on Main Street will be detoured around the race by using World Cup Way, Technology Drive, and John W. Elliott Drive

The Frisco Public Library opens at 10 a.m., when roads will reopen. Prior to 10 a.m., the parking lot behind the Library will be accessible to library staff, patrons, by taking Page Street from Dallas Parkway.

Patrons of the Senior Center at Frisco Square and Frisco Heritage Center should use Cotton Gin Road or John W. Elliott Drive to access those facilities.

Race participants must park at Pizza Hut Park. During the street
closures, Pizza Hut Park can be accessed on the west side, via World Cup Way.

Feed the Troop

Our very own Brianne Garrett is working hard to support out troops and their families. Please consider supporting this worthwhile cause:
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Thanksgiving Blessing
Feed the Troops

The holiday season is just around the corner and once again we have many service men and women who will be far from home serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. Volunteers from Mimosa Lane Baptist Church and others will be going to DFW Airport to serve a Thanksgiving dinner to our deploying troops on Thursday, November 5th from 11:00 – 2:00pm. Applebee’s Restaurant in Mesquite will be catering. The cost for this event will be approximately $1500.

“Thanksgiving Blessing – Feed the Troops”.

For more information, please contact
Brianne Garrett 469-688-1093
bgarrett@friscochamber.com

I would like to THANK YOU for your help and dedication on this event. You will never really understand what this means to be able to have their Holiday meal with their families before they leave to protect each and every one of us!

USA MILITARY ALL THE WAY!!! 

Sign Ordinance Public Input

CITY OF FRISCO SEEKING PUBLIC INPUT REGARDING SIGN ORDINANCE

(October 28, 2009) The City of Frisco will host two meetings to seek public input regarding the city's sign ordinance. Development Services staff reviews the document every few years to ensure the ordinance meets
public standards and reflects changing community needs.

Meetings will be held November 4 and November 11 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Both meetings will be held in the Vivian McCallum Room, located on the fourth floor of City Hall, inside the George A. Purefoy Municipal Center, 6101 Frisco Square Blvd.

The November 4 meeting will be business focused; the November 11 meeting will be resident focused. The meetings will have a 'come-and-go', casual format. Staff will be present to take comments.

Staff encourages residents and businesses owners to share their input by attending a meeting or
e-mailing comments or recommendations to Greg Carr, Code Enforcement/Animal Control Administrator, at gcarr@friscotexas.gov

Shawnee Trail on Display

EVERYDAY LIFE ON THE SHAWNEE TRAIL NOW ON DISPLAY AT THE FRISCO HERITAGE MUSEUM
Launches First Traveling Exhibit at Heritage Museum that Can't Be Seen Anywhere Else

(Frisco, Texas) October 26, 2009 ~ Artifacts and memorabilia that pay homage to The Shawnee Trail and explores and depicts authentic Texas cattle drives are on display for the first time ever at the Frisco Heritage Museum. The exhibit, installed on the second floor of the Heritage Museum will be on view through January 3, 2010 during regular hours of operation.

The extensive display made possible by former Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau CEO, Doug Harman, consists of clothing, accessories, maps, spurs, guns and saddles. Mr. Harman, a collector of western artifacts for nearly 30 years, says, "The Shawnee Trail was the first major trail to take cattle to the North from Texas. Ironically, it is not nearly as well-known as the Chisholm and Western Trails, which emerged after the Shawnee Trail closed down. The goal of the Frisco Heritage Museum exhibit is to let the public know the important and interesting history of the Shawnee Trail."

Visitors will be inspired by the legacy of the cowboys. Tre Colvin, the Frisco Heritage Museum Coordinator, commented, "These exhibits compliment the many western sculptures and historical information that can be found throughout Frisco and we are delighted to open it up to the public."

The traveling exhibit, on loan and in development, is part of a larger cooperative with cities that run the length of The Shawnee Trail from Waco to Waxahachie, Cedar Hill, Dallas, Plano, Frisco and Pottsboro. Waxahachie and Pottsboro have both expressed an interest in hosting the traveling exhibit in January 2010. Debra Wakeland, President and CEO of the Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau, says, "It's important to share the history of The Shawnee Trail. We are very excited about being involved in the traveling exhibit and thrilled about the attention this will bring to our area."

Exide press release

CITY OF FRISCO RECEIVES NOTICE EXIDE AGREES TO WITHDRAW APPLICATION TO EXPAND PLANT PRODUCTION

(October 23, 2009) The City of Frisco received notice today Exide
Technologies will voluntarily withdraw its application for a permit. amendment with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to increase production limits.

In a letter dated October 23, Exide Technologies stated it will work with TCEQ to locate monitors as
recommended by TCEQ.

Frisco sent a letter to the TCEQ dated November 24,2008, protesting the permit application and requesting a contested hearing.

City Manager George Purefoy stated, "The history of the Exide plant in Frisco has been one in which the various owners of the facility, through the years, have been steadfast in their commitment to solve problems
created by the plant and to be a very responsive corporate citizen.

I believe the letter delivered to the city today reestablishes that
commitment to the city of Frisco and its citizens. Not only has the
company withdrawn its application to increase production, but it has also committed to support health studies and to install additional controls so that the plant may come into full compliance with the new regulatory standards. Exide heard the concerns of the Frisco city council and the Frisco citizens and has responded in an attitude of wanting to be a good corporate citizen."

Purefoy further stated, "After studying correspondence sent by Melissa Andersen Kuskie, SIP Project Manager for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which included reported emissions since 2000, it appears that the plant's emissions have been close to meeting the new
standards since that time. While the nonattainment area proposed by the TCEQ is based upon current permitted limits, the city will request that a similar map be produced which shows the nonattainment area based on actual emission data."

Ms. Kuskie states in the correspondence, "the predicted maximum concentrations in ambient air appear to be roughly two to three times
higher than actual monitored values."

"It's an important first step to give our citizens assurances their public health is a top priority," said Mayor Maher Maso. "We're pleased Exide listened to the concerns of our citizens. Transparency in government is
something we strive for daily and we're encouraged by Exide's written commitment to maintain a positive relationship with our city."

Frisco Fall Festival at Safety Town

'TRICK OR TREAT' AT FRISCO FIRE SAFETY TOWN HAPPENS TOMORROW NIGHT, OCTOBER 23; RESIDENTS ASKED TO USE FREE SHUTTLE SERVICE – EVENT SITE PARKING LIMITED

(October 22, 2009) Frisco Fire Safety Town will be the setting of a „spooktacular‟ event tomorrow night, October 23. The third annual Trick-or-Treat happens from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Children, tots through fifth graders, are invited to come in costume and „trick or treat‟ through our miniature town, located next door to Frisco Central Fire Station, 8601 Gary Burns Dr. Admission is free.

Parking at the event site is limited. The large field located to the east of Central Fire Station will not be open for parking this year. A free shuttle service is available at the Frisco Athletic Center parking lot, located at 5828 Nancy Jane Ln., just east of the Preston Road – Wade Boulevard intersection.

Frisco ISD school buses will be shuttling visitors back and forth from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Frisco Fire Chief Mack Borchardt encourages those attending to use the free shuttle service as the easiest and safest way to get to Frisco Fire Safety Town. "Due to recent, heavy rains, the fields around Central Fire are too muddy to allow people to park in them," said Chief Borchardt. "We don‟t want vehicles to get stuck in mud, so we‟re placing barricades around this area to prevent parking there. We encourage everyone to use the shuttle service from the Frisco Athletic Center instead."

This year, while you wait in line, refreshments will be available for purchase at Frisco Fire Safety Town. For more information on the event, please visit www.friscotexas.gov/safetytown.

Texas Municipal League Annual Conference

Today was the start of the annual conference of the Texas Municipal League (TML) being held in Fort Worth this year. As usual, the conference is full of useful information for elected officials, including educational opportunities and seminars on things related to municipal government. Over 1,100 cities in Texas are members of TML.

It was an exciting day today because Frisco was named winner of the Municipal Exellence Awards for large cities. Because of the efforts of our public works, we were recognized today in front of all the cities in attendance.

I was in attendance as well as Council Members Jeff Cheney, Bob Allen, David Prince and Bart Crowder to accept this award on behalf of our citizens. We also had staff members from public works and the planning department.

I look forward to day two of the conference as we continue exploring ways to improve our community.

Preston Road Traffic Switch

As part of TxDOT’s widening project, traffic on Preston Road will be shifted into different lanes between Eldorado Parkway and US 380 on Thursday, October 15. Specifically, southbound traffic will be shifted onto the shoulder and northbound traffic will be shifted onto the former southbound lane. This will allow the existing northbound lane to be removed and for construction to begin on the new northbound lanes. Traffic will remain in this configuration for approximately 8 months.

Motorists are urged to use caution in the area as people become accustomed to the new traffic pattern.

National Night Out Info

I hope I will have the opportunity to meet some of you tonight during the National Night Out event. I also hope the weather cooperates! Please see the note below from our PD to some of the NNO organizers.

Regards,

Maher Maso
=============================
NNO Party Organizers,

Recently we have received numerous phone calls and emails asking if National Night Out will be cancelled or rescheduled in lieu of the impending weather. As you know, many weather forecasts are presently calling for some degree of rain tomorrow during the evening hours.

As of now our plan is to go forward tomorrow with National Night Out and make the rounds (rain or shine). Since we are so late into the year there is no plan to formally schedule a rain date for the 2009 City of Frisco NNO.

However, if it is raining and/or lightening during the timeframe in which your party is scheduled to take place we certainly understand the necessity to cancel your party, move it indoors, and/or reschedule it for a later date.

Please note that if you do decide to cancel your party, move it indoors, etc. - and time allows - please email me so that we may note this change on our party visitation lists and plan accordingly.

We will continue to monitor the weather situation closely, and in the meantime hope for the best.

Thanks again for your efforts in making Frisco a safer place,

Good vs. Good police/fire basketball game

Good vs. Good Basketball Game on October 10

FRISCO, TX - The third annual Good vs. Good Basketball game that matches up Frisco's finest police and fire personnel against one another will be held this Saturday, October 10. For a third straight year, the Frisco Police Department will be looking to beat the Frisco Fire Department in a good-willed game that is part of The City of Frisco's National Night Out festivities.

The basketball game will be held at Frisco High School, 6401 Parkwood Boulevard, with tip-off at 7 p.m. Admission to the game is $3 for adults and $2 for children. All proceeds will benefit the Special Olympics. In addition, an exciting halftime show is scheduled that includes a performance by the Dallas Stars Ice Girls, a free throw contest sponsored by Holiday Inn, and a special appearance from McGruff the Crime Dog®.
There are even prizes that will be given away to those in attendance!

Come join the fun and spend some time with Frisco's public servants as they run the court for a good cause. But don't worry, if you can't make it out to see the game you can always meet your Frisco police officers and firefighters on Tuesday, October 13, at your National Night Out block party. Visit www.FriscoTexas.gov/NNO for more information.

Storytelling Festival - street closure

Some Streets around Frisco City Hall, Public Library Closed to Traffic this Weekend for Lone Star Storytelling Festival

(October 8, 2009)The annual Lone Star Storytelling Festival begins tomorrow, October 9 and continues through Saturday, October 10, which requires some of the streets around the George A. Purefoy Municipal Center to be closed. All day Friday and Saturday, northbound Church Street and eastbound Frisco Square Boulevard in front of City Hall and the Frisco Public Library will be closed to traffic. Traffic will still be able to reach City Hall and the library from all directions (Coleman Boulevard, Frisco Square Boulevard, and Page Street), but traffic will not be able to park or circulate directly in front of the building.

In addition, on-street parking will not be allowed on the south side of Page Street between Church Street and Library Street for most of the day on Friday to accommodate the large number of school buses arriving to pick up students. Parking on the south side of Page will be available again at 2:30 p.m. Since there will be fewer parking spaces available during the festival, library patrons are asked to park in the lot behind the building.

During most of the day Friday, thousands of students will be using the tents set up in Simpson Plaza in front of City Hall. A large number of buses will drop off these students on Frisco Square Boulevard west of the plaza between 8:30 a.m. and noon. On the other side, a large number of buses will pick up these students on Frisco Square Boulevard east of the plaza between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Police officers will help the students cross into and out of Simpson Plaza, but drivers should avoid the plaza area between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. and be aware of children crossing the street if they do.

For more information about the Lone Star Storytelling Festival or to buy tickets, go online to http://LoneStarStories.org.