Monday, March 23, 2009

Frisco City Council notes — 3/17/09

By Jeff Cheney of Blogging Frisco

Mayor Pro Tem Tony Felker was sitting in for Mayor Maso this week as the Mayor was out of town. The agenda was kept very light and we were wrapped up before 8 p.m. I was not complaining about the light agenda as I had flown back from Disney World that morning. I had planned to stay up late one night while on vacation to get through my packet and was pleasantly surprised by the light agenda so I could get to bed earlier than expected. This meeting also fell on St. Patrick’s Day which made many people glad to get out early. I was lucky that nobody noticed I had forgotten to wear my green tie!

There was only one proclamation, which was for “Fix a Leak Week.” The is the first nationwide effort to make citizens aware of the water we waste from unknown links through our home and sprinkler systems. The average home wastes 11,000 gallons of water per year because of leaks and is the most common source of water waste (yes even more than over watering your lawn!). This is a great time to remind people the valuable sprinkler audits Frisco provides at no charge. I recommend everyone taking advantage of this program. Here is a great resource to learn more.

The Finance Department presented us with the Annual Report Dated 9/30/2008. I had already review these in detail as I serve on the Budget and Audit Committee. The auditors had provided us with a clean opinion on our financial statements and also praised the internal control environment of our Finance Department. Nell Lange and staff do a tremendous job with not only our financial reporting but with our budgeting process as well. So much so that they are starting to pile up the awards. The following awards were presented at our Council meeting:

* The Purchasing Division received the Achievement in Excellence in Procurement award for the 4th consecutive year. Frisco is only 1 of 16 cities in Texas who received this honor this year.

* Tom Johnston received his Certified Public Purchasing Officer license

* The Finance Department received the highest form of recognition in Government reporting for the 8th consecutive year by receiving the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting.

Congratulations to the entire Finance Department for the high standard of excellence you have set for Frisco!

There were only two other significant topics on the agenda. One was reconsidering the emergency exit for Chapel Creek. This topic was tabled until the next meeting and I will review it more then. The other topic was regarding a Mosque in downtown Frisco. We approved this SUP nearly 2 years ago. If you recall this was a fairly controversial topic at the time. The Mosque had promised to be good neighbors and 2 years later they have done everything that has been asked and more. The Mosque was seeking a 3 year extension on their SUP as the tough economic climate has pushed back their ultimate relocation. In this request there was no opposition which states volumes about how they have been a good neighbor in downtown Frisco. The request was unanimously approved.

With a light agenda this time around, I am sure we will pay for it with a tough agenda next week.

Thanks again for reading and I hope everyone enjoyed their Spring Break!

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