tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24508729091998613272011-11-30T19:39:38.174-06:00Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.comBlogger321100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-57647616630293174642010-11-16T12:06:00.001-06:002010-11-16T12:06:47.519-06:00

The text of my letter is below. I'll follow-up in comments with his response, if any. Mr. Riggs, The council will probably vote to approve the Poverty Solutions Commission tonight. While reducing poverty in our city is a worthy and noble goal, I reject the idea that any social change must be administered by city staff. I realize it is too far down the road to change direction now, but here are

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-15457473702499918372010-11-14T00:35:00.002-06:002010-11-14T00:35:54.049-06:00

RES-646 will be considered at the next Waco City Council meeting. This will establish a Poverty Solutions Commission. Details of how this commission might work were discussed at the council meeting on September 21, 2010. A summary is below. After the initial planning of nine to ten months, a full-time city staff position may be considered in the next budget cycle. Summary of the Poverty Solutions

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-86222719034186031812010-06-14T23:07:00.000-05:002010-06-14T23:07:33.979-05:00

Click here to access the agenda for the 6/15/2010 meeting Tomorrow night, the Waco City Council will vote on a resolution authorizing the purchase of an Automatic License Plate Reader System for $65,000. The City of Waco is facing a $2.5 million shortfall. This is a luxury we cannot afford. Besides the cost, this technology may allow police officers to check the status of registration,

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-85528719048466350812010-05-17T18:24:00.000-05:002010-05-17T18:24:57.968-05:00

You can find the agenda for the meeting here: Agenda for 5/18 Waco City Council Meetings Remember that I LOVE comments....any kind of comments....anonymous comments are accepted and welcomed. If they are just plain mean for no constructive purpose, I will delete them. Since this is the first council meeting after the election, the schedule is changed. The work session will be at 3:00 pm. They

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-74393863620933852802010-04-21T12:21:00.000-05:002010-04-21T12:21:36.228-05:00

Waco City Council seeks bids to put GPS devices on city buses | Wacotrib.com

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-31525174234686167712010-04-20T13:34:00.000-05:002010-04-20T13:34:46.124-05:00

NOTE: Unlike certain local newspapers, I LOVE feedback and comments!!! I accept anonymous comments or there are several ways to login without having to create a new account. Lately, I've gotten more comments in person than I get on the site. That's VERY cool, but hopefully people will have comments about the items  I discuss telling me what you like and don't like. Let's start a conversation.

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-41622047530376522272010-04-03T10:53:00.001-05:002010-04-03T10:53:48.862-05:00

If you have ten thousand regulations, you destroy all respect for the law. ~ Winston Churchill This has been my thought all along, but this morning on Twitter (hat tip to @HenryJennings) I saw the sentence that said it succinctly. I don't have studies by social scientists to back this up. I'm sure they are out there somewhere. These are my own thoughts based on my own feelings. In any situation

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-64729448495940660282010-04-01T13:58:00.000-05:002010-04-01T13:58:22.112-05:00

Click here to see an article about improvements to the Waco Regional Airport. I had questions about what was going to be done. This pretty much describes it. http://www.allbusiness.com/government/government-bodies-offices-us-federal-government/14204899-1.html Highlights: The Waco Regional Airport will receive an additional $500,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation's

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-89901449215836927502010-03-25T13:45:00.000-05:002010-03-25T13:45:38.707-05:00

I'll just hit the highlights for this update. The agenda can be found at this link CLICK HERE and everything passed.  RES-143 and RES-144: My commentary can be found on an earlier entry, but I'd like to add the new information I learned. AHP exceeded their first contract's requirement for jobs. The contract called for 136 jobs and they ended up with 151. In response to my email, Ms. Herbert asked

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-85572664203080914212010-03-23T12:26:00.002-05:002010-03-23T12:26:56.208-05:00

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/88891967.html This will be discussed at the 3pm city council work session.

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-22420484693327686542010-03-23T12:23:00.000-05:002010-03-23T12:23:54.230-05:00

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/3969396 I searched on the Trib and could not find an article about this, but I got it in a Google alert. This tells about the deal. I really hate that these articles come out on the same day as the city council meeting and citizens do not have a chance to research.

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-29867519169240971482010-03-22T09:44:00.002-05:002010-03-22T09:46:06.061-05:00

The following two items are on the Waco City Council consent agenda for tomorrow. Items on the consent agenda do not have to be discussed in the open meeting and can be approved en masse with one vote. RES-143Consider approval of a resolution authorizing a Program Project Agreement between the Waco McLennan County Economic Development Corporation (WMCEDC) and Associated Hygienic Products, LLC (

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-30526063193828283882010-03-16T20:50:00.000-05:002010-03-16T20:50:49.571-05:00

I was flipping through channels tonight (Tuesday are awful for TV in my opinion) and I landed on the Waco City Cable Channel. A show called "For Your Safety" was on. There were three guests: the police chief, the Emergency Management Coordinator, and on more that I already forgot. (My memory is terrible lately!) Anyway, the part I want to call attention to is the interview with Frank Patterson,

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-91822029851781759302010-03-16T13:36:00.002-05:002010-03-16T13:36:27.908-05:00

The Waco City Council would normally have met today, but a couple of months ago they rescheduled this meeting for next week, May 23rd.

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-24515302072706756342010-03-09T13:35:00.001-06:002010-03-09T13:37:29.225-06:00

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/87104492.html The above is a link to a story on the Trib describing the races for seat on the Waco City Council. Yesterday, March 8, was the last day to file. Here are the candidates: MAYOR Jim Bush Addis McNamara DISTRICT III Randy Riggs DISTRICT I Wilbert Austin Carol Dugat I am happy to see some competition for the seats. The only way for citizens to have a

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-37319607067590431432010-03-05T01:41:00.002-06:002010-03-05T13:05:35.700-06:00

PH-112 - This is the one about the man working as an open air vendor at Parkwood and Bosque. The gentleman decides to withdraw his request and resubmit again as an O-3. I believe Larry Groth said this would allow for some special permitting and would be a better fit. The consent agenda passed unanimously with no exceptions. RES-114 - Adding $240,621.91 for an Aviation General Consultant. I

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-64644889379442541962010-03-02T10:25:00.000-06:002010-03-02T10:25:29.308-06:00

The City of Waco website has a cool, new feature. When you go to one of the pages, there will be a black "Notify Me" button hovering on the left side of the page. Click it, and it will ask for your email address and it will notify you by email when the page is updated. I have signed up for notifications on the "Meetings" page so that I will be notified when the agenda for the next meeting has

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-42272689742331762552010-02-28T01:08:00.000-06:002010-02-28T01:08:56.354-06:00

The agenda for the March 2nd Waco City Council meeting is now online here: 2010-3-2 Waco City Council Meeting Agenda Here are a few things I think we should pay attention to: RES-114 - Adding $240,621.91 for an Aviation General Consultant. I have a question as to what this is and why it's needed. RES-118 - This is to approve the acquisition of an easement on nearly 4 acres owned by Skinny's,

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-5028262547956442172010-02-27T18:52:00.001-06:002010-02-27T19:55:03.750-06:00

Click here for the agenda for this meeting: 2010-2-16 Waco City Council Meeting Agenda 10-084 - A trailer operating as an open air vendor at Parkwood and Bosque was identified as not having the proper permit because of zoning. They want to help the man since that business has been there for 3.5 years without any trouble. It fits in with the neighborhood and the neighbors are supportive. The

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-64704627646258375062009-11-22T23:58:00.000-06:002009-11-22T23:58:22.021-06:00

Is it a bailout or smart economic development? FreeFlight loan highlights prickly issueMore opinions on the FreeFlight deal. It stands on it's own and needs no further comment from me.

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-40393366724757100122009-11-21T12:33:00.000-06:002009-11-21T12:33:49.854-06:00

Last week's meeting did not contain any truly controversial decisions. They did the second reading of the smoking ordinance which makes it official. There was to be a public hearing about lowering the maximum height of fences. That was taken off the agenda. I have not seen any word on why that was. There were several zoning changes approved. I need to learn more about the codes. I know that

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-12827504323331685742009-11-12T13:25:00.000-06:002009-11-12T13:25:42.412-06:00

 I copied the following from the minutes of an old meeting agenda from March. DVD's and audio tapes are available. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DVD copies of either the Work Session or Business Session may be requested from the Municipal Information Department anytime within four months of the meeting date. Citizens should

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-28458392700109182212009-11-09T12:02:00.000-06:002009-11-09T12:02:31.182-06:00

TIF board weighs whether to change how it doles out funds for downtown projectsThis article explains a little about the TIF district and how the money has been used and will be used. It seems that this is actually working.The article discussed how the area has changed since the creation of the district in 1982 and now it is time to change how the money is spent.

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-45954104261274712792009-11-03T16:35:00.000-06:002009-11-03T16:35:19.273-06:00

Tonight is the Waco City Council meeting. It should be a good one because there are two items on the agenda that people have been watching for awhile. The Trib had an article today about them. http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/11/03/11032009waccounciladv.html One is the smoking ordinance. There are two options on the agenda. Option 1 will practically ban smoking in public

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-89570669616379789202009-10-26T15:57:00.001-05:002009-10-26T15:59:17.252-05:00

Above is a link to an article about the FreeFlight contract. Thanks go to an anonymous reader who called my attention to it. It appeared the day of the city council meeting and it answers some of the questions my friends and I have...and brings up others. The loan has a term of seven years. $250,000 of that can be converted to a grant if the company meets certain requirements. They must maintain

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-22002037991688254162009-10-23T16:05:00.001-05:002009-10-23T16:09:00.104-05:00

EDITORIAL: New ordinance is needed but shouldn't hamper Waco pubs and restaurants Here is another perspective on the smoking ordinance from the editorials on today's Waco Trib. Personally, I'm against taking away any more personal freedom. Let the market decide. If people want smoke-free bars, then someone should open one and not allow smoking. I just don't see that happening. Whatever side

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-78498794736459769792009-10-22T12:12:00.000-05:002009-10-22T12:12:53.799-05:00

EDITORIAL: City, county leaders owe it to taxpayers to fully discuss loans for hard-hit businessesMy friend brought this to my attention since I was at the meeting on Tuesday. I'm ashamed to admit that it went right over my head.When I look back at the minutes, it's in there. I didn't fully understand what it was. All the more reason to have representation at the 3:00 pm meeting and to do

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-47566841361802772009-10-20T23:38:00.002-05:002009-10-21T17:44:15.137-05:00

Tonight's meeting did not reveal anything earth-shattering. It was a relatively short meeting. There were a lot of people there because proclamations were given to German exchange students. More on that below. I learned that the seats in the Bosque Theater have writing desks. That's MUCH more convenient. I'm left-handed, so I just used the one on the seat to the left of me. Mayor DuPuy

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-33410917335707654142009-10-20T13:28:00.000-05:002009-10-20T13:28:59.138-05:00

Tonight is the Waco City Council meeting. I certainly wish I could attend the work session at 3pm. They do not allow public comment during the work session, but there is a lot of discussion in that session that would help me understand the topics being discussed. Maybe I can work something out with my boss. But for now, I will have to go off the agenda provided and what I hear in the formal

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-39389979197526718502009-10-12T17:31:00.000-05:002009-10-12T17:35:17.690-05:00

I found an explanation on a State of Texas website that will be helpful in understanding TIF zones. They talk about this ALL the time during the city council meetings and I believe it is important to understand what this is all about.It's pretty dense stuff. Later, I'll read through this and try to come up with a "working man's" explanation of what all this means.Until then.....dig in!!! It's not

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-42000128431157854012009-10-07T22:27:00.001-05:002009-10-07T23:27:35.632-05:00

Mike Hoover and I attended the 6:00 pm Waco City Council meeting. It was FAST and furious. They have a 3:00 pm Work Session where most of the discussion is done and the agenda for the evening meeting is set. It seemed they had pretty much decided how everything was going to go.There were two proclamations made. That was nice. There were two public hearings to give the public the opportunity to

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2450872909199861327.post-4295011030550600002009-09-24T11:52:00.000-05:002009-09-24T11:56:02.138-05:00

Coming soon - summaries of city council meetings, editorials about city events.Our local television stations and newspapers aren't covering this adequately so I will.Minutes of previous city council meetings can be found at the following link.http://www.waco-texas.com/leadership/agenda.htmThe City of Waco website is actually very informative and there is a lot of useful information to be

Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451273631791683838noreply@blogger.com0