1. The Month of July 2010 was proclaimed as Parks and Recreation Month.

2. The City now has a new Emergency Management website, www.missouricityready.com. The site features all different types of emergency management and preparedness information and links to other sites. Residents can also sign up to receive notifications via either email or text message a cell phone. Staff also shared that the equipment for the AM radio station was ordered approximately 2 weeks ago and it usually takes between 6-8 weeks for the equipment to come in.

3. Consent Agenda was approved which included approval of meeting minutes, terminating a contract for Nomex Fire Shirts and Pants, amending an agreement with multiple MUD Districts for solid waste billing, authorizing the City Manager to negotiate an agreement for traffic engineering service, authorizing an interlocal agreement with Sugar Land for the construction of signal improvements at 21 intersections on HWY 6 and executing an agreement with CenterPoint for electrical services at the Surface Water Treatment Plant. Additionally, Council authorized an interlocal agreement with Fort Bend County for hazardous waste disposal services. On a first come, first serve basis, residents can request a voucher from the Parks and Recreation Department that can be used at the Fort Bend County Recycling Center in Rosenberg for disposal of hazardous materials. The voucher will either make the disposal free or will reduce the cost. Parks and Recreation can provide specific information on what types of materials are accepted. The monies being used to fund this program were excess funds from a grant received from an HGAC Solid Waste grant.

4. The following were authorized: paving of Columbia Blue Road, Pike Road, 3rd Street and Orchard St., a memorandum of understanding with the Harris County Flood Control District to ensure compliance with certain FEMA modeling standards, engineering and design services for grading of the former Executive Nine, agreements w/ the Gulf Coast Water Authority for easements for Centerpoint for the installation of water lines for the Surface Water Treatment Plant.

5. Council passed an ordinance that now limits “Public Comments” to 3 minutes and moves the time for public comments on the agenda to after Presentations and Recognitions.

6. Council passed an ordinance that allows staff to begin the transitions of solid waste service to the City contract, for those neighborhoods and areas effected.

7. Council passed an ordinance which prohibits smoking w/in all public places to include restaurants, bars, hotels and meeting rooms. The ordinance also prohibits smoking outdoors within 25 feet on an entrance to any facility and within 20 feet of any youth sporting activity at a City park. The ordinance goes into effect on October 1, 2010.

Missouri City is conservatively moving forward in these challenging economic times, Mayor Allen Owen told an audience of 200 recently at the Sugar Creek Country Club. The event was the 2010 State of the City, sponsored by the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce.

His speech focused on the Show Me City’s fiscal fitness, public safety record and steady business growth.

“We recently approved the 2011 fiscal year budget which set the City on a fiscally sound track to continue conservatively operating and meeting the citizens’ needs,” Owen told the group of business executives, community leaders and City officials on June 24. He further explained that “we have no plans to raise taxes, which will be challenging.”

Owen also pointed out the City’s commitment to safety, noting that “fifty cents of every dollar raised in the City goes toward public safety.”

Throughout his speech, Owen shared these City highlights:

*Finances are Sound. City Council recently approved a $31.2 million budget blueprint for fiscal year 2011. The plan, which goes into effect July 1, reduces spending by 6.1 percent ($2.02 million) from the previous year. Credit ratings are stellar.

*Business Growth is Steady. Emphasizing their importance to the local economy, Owen recognized some of the City’s new business “partners”, including Lufkin Automation, Global Geophysical, Professional Packaging Systems, Ben E. Keith, Trammell Crow, Wallace-Bajjali Development Group, The LaSalle Group of Dallas and Charming Charlie. “Their presence here is important to the stability of our local economy and strengthens our City overall,” Owen said. He anticipates this new business growth on the North side of the City will spur development along the Texas Parkway/Cartwright Road corridor.

*Super Six. The Highway 6 commercial corridor continues to prosper, with the addition of new food and retail businesses and two new medical facilities-Excel Urgent Care and UT Physicians.

*Citizens are Safe. Owen cited a number of police and fire initiatives under way, including a partnership with Sienna Plantation in the development of Fire Station Number 5, strong police attendance at HOA meetings, the addition of seven police positions that are funded in the 2011 budget, the implementation of a ban on texting for drivers and the City’s recent purchase of a low-power AM radio station to inform and update residents in times of crises. “We understand citizens’ need to know what’s going on in their City during an emergency and will be meeting that need soon,” he said.

*Improving the Infrastructure. Missouri City has a number of significant ongoing projects. The City is also looking to link up with the Metro commuter rail system in the near future, Owen said, adding that the transit transportation will benefit 60,000 people who work in the Medical Center and live in a cone extending from Pearland to Katy. Capital improvement projects on tap now, include: The revitalization of the Texas Parkway/Cartwright Road corridor, mobility projects on Highway 6 intersections and medians, traffic signal improvements and upgrades, construction of a new surface water treatment plant to meet state water mandates, plans to build a new community center and golf course club house at Quail Valley Golf Course, the development of a tennis and recreation center and creating a park on the former Executive Nine site.

“We are extremely proud of the Quail Valley Parks Project. We finally own this outstanding property. Now, we look forward to planning and developing recreation and community center facilities that will be destination places,” Owen said.

Residents can view the Mayor’s State of the City speech on the City’s website: www.missouricitytx.gov and on Channel 16 on Comcast and Channel 99 on AT&T U-Verse.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has officially accepted Missouri City into the National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System, qualifying residents to receive discounted premiums when they purchase new policies or when an effective policy is renewed.

Based on the City’s strong CRS score of “7″, the average homeowner of a $150,000 house in a floodplain, who has a $50,000 content coverage, could see an $86 a year insurance discount. Residents who live in Special Flood Hazard Areas will receive a 15 percent reduction on their flood insurance premiums and those located outside these areas will receive a 5 percent discount.

Missouri City applied for participation in the federal flood management program last August and received its preliminary score based on the City’s documentation of existing practices and on improvements that were subsequently made. The first-time rating is significant because most cities enter the program with an 8 or 9 rating, City officials said. The National Flood Insurance Program, an arm of FEMA, rates U.S. cities on their efforts to implement preventive floodplain management measures and these standards are called the Community Rating System. The CRS program rates cities’ flood management practices through a 1 to 10 point system that rewards them for implementing organized and proactive measures (1 is the best score and 10 the worst).

“Missouri City’s years of proactive practice in drainage improvements and flood prevention have paid off, evident by the CRS scores we received,” said Jing Chen, assistant City engineer.

In recognition of the Show Me City’s participation in the program, Council members and staff received a certificate of honor from a representative for the Texas Water Development Board, the state coordinator for NFIP. While presenting the certificate at the June 21 City Council meeting, Debbie Cahoon said the “City’s work in implementing programs and policies that protect residents from flooding went beyond the minimum floodplain requirements and has helped make Missouri City a safer place to live.”

Notable achievements the City has made as a participant in the voluntary CRS program include public education initiatives such as promoting the awareness of the importance of acquiring flood insurance, sharing flood map information services, preserving open space and administering a flood warning program.

About 50 Missouri City residents shared their visions Tuesday night for making the future Quail Valley Community Center and Golf Course Club House a premier destination. The community input meeting was held at the City’s Community Center on Texas Parkway.

The resident ideas included a building that showcases an impressive entrance, multi-functional meeting rooms, enhanced traffic flow with parking for at least 500, a banquet room that can partition into variable sizes, an energy-efficient, two-story structure with a veranda that overlooks the 18th holes, and a Pro Shop with views of the El Dorado and La Quinta courses.

At the public meeting, residents were given the opportunity to form discussion groups and voice their ideas in break-out groups and illustrate their priorities with colored dots that decorated various ideas that were written on cards pasted along one wall of the Community Center.

“I would like to see a community center that would serve the entire City,” resident Linda Walker said. “I care about the outcome of what is decided and I would like to see an area for civic and church group meetings.”

Other residents echoed those sentiments. “I think it should be a major center of attraction,” said Angie Sanders, who spoke for one group of residents. “A place that would be good for major life events like banquets, wedding receptions, church and civic group meetings and large family gatherings.”

The City has contracted with Freese and Nichols, Inc. for $151,777 to provide design services for the project. The agreement will cover Phase 1 of the project, which will include community meetings, exterior 3D renderings, a design of the architectural character and style of the new community center, and a schematic design based on community and stakeholder input. Bill Petrelli, forensic architect with the firm, thanked residents for their feedback Tuesday night and said the company’s “interest is to promote the Community Center and Club House with an iconic architectural design so it becomes the pride of the area.”

Freese and Nichols has completed an analysis of the current Quail Valley Golf Course Clubhouse site and recommended building the new facility adjacent to the current building, allowing for staff to maintain operations in the existing structure until the new building is completed.

Petrelli said the firm is committed to facilitating staffing efficiencies and reducing operating costs, as well as addressing parking and code compliance issues.

The next steps in the process:

*Reviewing the community input meeting ideas;

*Presenting the concepts to Council and residents for review

Please watch the City’s website, www.missouricitytx.gov, and Council agendas for updates.

1. Texas Water Development Board recognized the City for entering into FEMA’s Community Rating System at Class 7. This means that residents/businesses who reside in flood plain will now be eligible for reductions on their flood insurance.

2. Consent Agenda was approved which included approval of meeting minutes, authorizing an agreement with Fort Bend County for the collection of taxes, purchasing additional disk space for an area network server, awarding a contract for HVAC replacement and a traffic signal retrofit project. Consent Agenda also included the awarding of this years Community Development Block Grants. Total funding was $326,557. Funding was provided to many group which included Fort Bend Corps, Literacy Volunteers, Fort Bend County Women’s Center, Child Advocates, Fort Bend Meals on Wheel, Code Enforcement and sidewalks in some neighborhoods.

3. Council approved the 2011 fiscal budget. City Manager Simpson commented that the budget is down 6% this year, employee headcount is also down. Sixteen positions that were open have been eliminated from the budget; this does not include the 7 additional police officers the City is preparing to hire.

4. Council approved that no changes were needed to the current Lake Olympia Parkway Extension Service Area.

5. Council authorized an amendment to the solid waste collection letter agreement w/ Republic Waste.

6. Council approved an ordinance that allows for staff to transfer funds among accounts.

7. Council approved an ordinance that changes the rules for public comments at Council Meeting. Public comments are now limited to 3 minutes.

8. Council considered an ordinance to ban smoking within the City. This was the first of two readings. Four interested people addressed Council on the issue. There are some concerns about the current language which also bans smoking outdoors in public places and “grandfathering” existing restaurants and bars that currently allow smoking. Staff was asked to do some additional research. to present at the second reading.

9. Appointments were made for the Zoning Board of Adjustment, Construction Board of Adjustment, Parks Board, Planning and Zoning and the Electrical Board.

10. Council approved an ordinance amending the rules and regulations for the collection of residential solid waste. This ordinance continues to exempt existing service contracts until such time as their base rate is now lowers than the City’s base service rate.

11. MCTV is now available on AT&T’s U-Verse on Channel 99.

In a unanimous vote Monday night, Missouri City Council members approved the $31.2 million fiscal year 2011 General Fund Budget, a conservative financial plan with progressive measures that focuses on economic growth, investments in infrastructure and public safety.

“I believe this budget accomplishes our primary goal to maintain current services while keeping the tax rate level,” said Wes Vela, Director of Finance. “The approach was to streamline department programs to eliminate costs wherever possible and to examine alternative methods to deliver existing services. This budget will put the City in the best possible position going forward to meet the uncertain economic changes.”

“Show Me” the Numbers.
Here are some highlights of the budget, which goes into effect July 1:

*The overall total, $31.2 million, represents a 6.1 percent decrease ($2.02million) in spending from the 2010 spending plan; $1.25 million of this decrease is realized by not funding 16 positions that are currently vacant.

*The tax rate stays steady. When property tax assessments are finalized in September, City Council is committed to adopting the existing rate of 52.84 cents or the effective rate, whichever is lower.

*Seven additional police officers will be hired to help secure residents’ safety. The $514,000 expense for these jobs was funded from monies saved through line item reductions across the board. The funds were previously considered for a homestead exemption.

*Based on last year’s approved budget, property tax collections will be down 5.7 percent from last year.

*The City will maintain a fund balance estimated at 20.1 percent, well within the 15 to 25 percent range of budgeted revenues established by policy. The 2011 spending plan utilizes $778,471 from the $6.8 million fund balance. About $500,000 of that amount will be set aside for unanticipated expenditures; leaving a balance of $6.11 million.

*Personnel costs total $21.3 million and account for 68 percent of the General Fund Budget. Even with the funding of the seven additional police officer positions, total personnel costs are reduced in the proposed budget by more than $750,000.

*Staff positions will shrink by nine, for a total full-time workforce of 311 people. Some key vacancies that remain funded in the new budget: Parks Director, Street Superintendent, Community Development Coordinator and Communications Coordinator. Sixteen existing vacancies were closed and not funded and seven additional police officers were approved.

“Tight economic times have required the City to tighten its spending belt,” City Manager Frank Simpson said. However, “we do not plan to eliminate any programs or services currently provided for residents,” he added.

“Show Me” the Bottom Line.
Many governmental entities around the nation, state and region are working to keep their bottom lines strong in a struggling economy. In the Show Me City, projected revenues are down about 6 percent, property tax income is expected to drop 5.7 percent and franchise fees will likely be down more than 14 percent, from $3.89 million in fiscal year 2010 to $3.35 million in 2011. “The last couple of budget years and the next couple will present challenges for Missouri City as it has and will for most all other cities, and we will continue to craft strategic plans as a slow, steady recovery takes place,” Simpson said.

One new homeowner in the City said the budget news is reassuring to her family. “We’re concerned about the economy flip-flopping and one of the reasons we chose to buy in Missouri City is it’s a safe, stable community,” said Martyna Francis. “All families are making tough financial choices right now and we’re relieved to know that taxes will not be going up.”

To view the 2011 fiscal year budget, residents can log onto the City’s website: www.missouricitytx.gov, scroll down to “In the Loop” and click on “Budget Documents”.

1. Charlie Butera opened the meeting at 7:00pm and mentioned that the Fund is looking for volunteers for the Deed Restriction Compliance committee, if anyone is interested in serving. Additionally, Charlie reminded everyone about the meeting the City will be holding on Tuesday, June 22nd for public input on a new Clubhouse/Community Center for the Golf Courses.

2. Bob Fumagalli, CPA, has completed his audit of the Fund’s 2009 financial reports and gave his opinion that the financials have been reported fairly and did not identify any deficiencies or internal control problems. The Board approved to accept the audit. Copies of the audit are available at the Fund’s office for anyone interested.

3. Susan Fox reported that at the end of May there were 45 homes on the market and 10 homes sold in May according to transfers received from Null. 8 homes were pending/option pending. Website had 277 visitors in May with 77% of those visitors being new. 41 newcomer leads were worked during the month. Regular meetings were attended and presentations have been scheduled with 3 area realty offices (and working on scheduling more) to update area realtors as to the all the positive changes that continue to occur in the neighborhood, ie., Golf Course ownership settled, Tennis and Recreation Center and new Clubhouse,etc.

4. Cecil Willis, Executive Director, reported on the following:
a. collection on maintenance fees are at 85.18% in comparison to 90.04 % at this time last year.
b. All the stressed plants from the recent color change out have been replaced.
c. No improvements will be made to the entrance monument at Glenn Lakes and HWY 6 until the construction to widen Glenn Lakes has been completed.
d. A contract for needed street repairs in the Cottages Section has been awarded and work will begin in the next couple of weeks and is expected to last approximately 3-4 weeks, weather dependent.
e. Staff is currently working on 34 deed restriction violations; 13 of these have already been turned over to legal, 2 are at the certified stage and staff is working on 19.
f. Willis is seeing a trend of more violations having to move to the certified letter stage. Many of the violations are yards in need of mowing and trash being put out early. REMINDER: trash (to include yard clippings left by your lawn maintenance company) can not be put out until 6pm the day before trash pickup and containers must be re-stored by 6pm the day of trash pick up. Willis also mentioned that the garbage company will NOT pick up and haul away tree trimmings, unless they are bundled and tied in 3 foot sections.
g. The City will be taking abatement actions on two vacant homes (La Quinta and Tamarisk) that have overgrown yards.

5. Sgt Paske addressed the audience and reminded everyone of the texting ban that went into effect on June 1st. He also commented that crime in the area is down. He allowed that crime information is available on the City’s website through RAIDS OnLine. Many of the Missouri City Police Officers have now been trained and are carrying tasors.

6. The owner of the home on Glenn Lakes that has blue tarps on the roof (from Ike damage) addressed the audience and informed all that she is in litigation with her insurance company and is in litigation with the City over ordinance violations.

In an effort to continue to make sure that the Quail Valley Fund HOA fairly enforces its deed restrictions, the Board of Trustees has decided to develop a Deed Restriction Compliance Committee to supplement and assist the staff. “In the last 3 years, we’ve accomplished a lot in updating our Deed Restrictions and gaining support from the residents regarding the changes in restrictions and enforcement,” said Charlie Butera, Fund President. “This is just the next step in the process. Although our covenants are much more clearly defined, there will always be some gray areas and we want a volunteer committee of residents to assist us in how we fairly and effectively deal with what are possibly perceived violations.” The volunteer group will meet as necessary to review violations; members of the committee will not be tasked with seeking out and finding violations; they will only provide input and advice interpreting the current deed restrictions and deciding if an issue violates the covenants. If you are interested in volunteering, you must be a resident within the Quail Valley Fund HOA. For additional information, please call Cecil Willis at 281-499-8371 or email him at qvfund@aol.com.

1. Member of the Missouri City Juneteenth Celebration Committee addressed Council regarding the upcoming celebration. Activities begin Monday, June 14 and run through Saturday, June 19th. Activities include a golf tournament (to be held at QV), a wellness fair, gala dinner, historical reenactment at the Freedom Tree, a parade and festival. For more information, please visit www.mcjcf.com.

2. The Mayor recognized former Councilwoman Gary for her three years of service and dedication to the City by proclamation and with a gift. Ms. Gary addressed the audience expressing her concerns about misleading comments and attacks that were made during the election campaign.

3. City Manager Frank Simpson presented the 2011 Fiscal Year Budget. Budget is $31.2 million which is a reduction of 6% compared to the prior year. Approximately 68% of the budget is personnel related and this portion of the budget has also been reduced by 6% (which does not include additional police officers that the City is planning to hire). Simpson mentioned that the economy is starting to recover but the public sector will lag in the recovery because of property tax values and sales taxes. City has no plans for any layoffs or elimination of programs and/or services. The City currently has a hiring freeze with the exception of police and fire and has eliminated 16 open positions from the budget. Capital projects that have already been funded will continue and staff continues to leverage opportunities with TX DOT, the County and federal stimulus monies.

4. Assistant Police Chief Capps presented a report regarding the Missouri City crime statistics in response to a news segment that aired on Channel 11. Missouri City current uses Incident Based Reporting (IBR) for crime statistics instead of Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR), which many other area cities use. IBR counts each offense related to an incident as opposed to UCR, which only counts incidents. The news reports on Channel 11 did not accurately reflect the Missouri City crime rate in comparison to other area cities and staff could not replicate the methodology that Channel 11 used to determine their statistics. Using the official UCR data from the FBI and Texas Department of Public Safety, Capps showed that Missouri City had the second lowest crime rate of the 10 cities used in the comparison during the period of 2006 - 2009.

5. Public Works Director Scott Elmer updated Council on traffic issues at Watts Plantation and Sienna Parkway. There have been 14 accidents at this intersection in the last two years. The City had engineering studies done and made changes to eliminate left turns from Watts Plantation onto Sienna. He commented that this is a short term solution until the Fort Bend Parkway is extended and that adding a traffic signal at this intersection was prohibitive in both the time it would take to install and the expense. The City is continuing to take traffic counts and may possible make additional modifications. Several residents from the area also addressed Council.

6. Consent agenda was approved which included approval of meeting minutes, authorized the purchasing of playground equipment, awarding contracts for sidewalk construction and repair, purchasing and installation of ball field lights for Roane Park and replacement of a lift station at Community Park. Additionally, Council authorized the purchase of an AM radio advisory system. The Mayor shared that during Ike, many people did not know what was going on in the City because they did not have access to TV/Cable because of electrical outages and having an AM radio station will allow the City to communicate to residents during power outages. The station will also be used for non-emergency management situations, to communicate information on traffic, events, etc. Councilman Marshall also pointed out that the two contracts awarded for sidewalk repairs and construction came in at 47% and 38% lower than budgeted.

7. Council authorized the purchase of 9.8 acres for the Surface Water Treatment Plant, the purchase on 1 acre for Fire Station #5 (Sienna Plantation) and authorized an inter local agreement with Fort Bend County for road improvements at South Gessner and Cravens.

9. Noel Pinnock addressed Council, congratulating those who recently won elections and also expressed his concerns about comments made during the campaign elections.

10. Council approved ordinances to bring the Missouri City building codes current with the 2006 Edition of International Building Codes.

11. Council approved submitting a grant application to the Department of Justice for the hiring of additional police officers and a grant application for purchasing of additional equipment for the Police Department Dive Team.

12. Council resolved to join AT&T in promoting the dangers of texting while driving.

Eighteen residents graduated from Missouri City’s Citizens’ Police & Fire Academy on June 1 in a ceremony at the Public Safety Headquarters that featured Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald handing out certificates along with a delicious spaghetti dinner served up by members of the Missouri City Police & Fire Auxiliary.

The graduates received hands-on training during the seven-week academy that included searching for suspects, making a traffic stop and firearms instruction. Participants also watched a staged SWAT operation and witnessed the City’s Dive Rescue Team in action.

“The things I learned were priceless,” graduate Roy Wilson said. “I saw this as an opportunity to step up for my three children so they would understand that the Police Department is helpful as well as the Fire Department. We’ve got to stick together in the community and keep everybody safe.”

Penelope Hazlewood, another academy graduate, said, “I was thrilled to be up close and personal with the Police Department and Fire Department. I had seen the sign advertising the academy for years and finally decided to take the plunge and I’m so glad I did it.”

The graduates are now eligible to join the Missouri City Police & Fire Auxiliary and/or the Citizen’s Response Team.